WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:02.160 Hi, this is Todd Parkmore with Big Hit Todd and 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:04.059 the Monsters, and you're listening to my weekly 00:00:04.059 --> 00:00:06.700 mixtape with Brian Colbert, and we just finished 00:00:06.700 --> 00:00:10.740 incredible discussions about some of our favorite 00:00:10.740 --> 00:00:13.619 songs of Big Hit Todd and the Monsters, and hopefully 00:00:13.619 --> 00:00:27.879 you'll be intrigued. Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:30.640 a podcast that takes the classic mixtape approach 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:34.020 to building a modern playlist. I'm your host, 00:00:34.119 --> 00:00:37.039 Brian Colburn. Joining me tonight as guest curator 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:41.700 is Todd Parkmore, lead vocalist and multi -instrumentalist 00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:44.320 for Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Todd, thank 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:46.600 you so much for joining me on My Weekly Mixtape. 00:00:47.020 --> 00:00:49.799 Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for having me. I'd 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:51.859 like to start by asking you the same question 00:00:51.859 --> 00:00:54.659 I ask all of my first -time guests, and that's, 00:00:54.990 --> 00:00:59.030 What does the word mixtape mean to you? That 00:00:59.030 --> 00:01:04.010 means a cassette tape that is designed to impress 00:01:04.010 --> 00:01:08.989 a girl, as it means me. Well, tonight we're going 00:01:08.989 --> 00:01:11.510 to be trying to impress a lot of people with 00:01:11.510 --> 00:01:14.709 our mixtape because we're going to create the 00:01:14.709 --> 00:01:18.109 ultimate Big Head Todd and the Monsters mixtape 00:01:18.109 --> 00:01:22.430 together. Me from a fan perspective and you from... 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.180 Well, the artist who writes all of the songs. 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:29.299 My question for you is, how hard is it? Because 00:01:29.299 --> 00:01:32.099 you guys do this on a nightly basis with your 00:01:32.099 --> 00:01:37.200 set lists. How hard is it to cull down 35 years 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:41.000 of music into something that's a little shorter 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:44.159 and digestible? Well, it's not as hard as you 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:46.840 think, because over those years, we learned what 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:49.840 works and what doesn't. And people have favorites. 00:01:50.650 --> 00:01:53.670 We notice that certain songs, you know, push 00:01:53.670 --> 00:01:57.569 buttons and are useful in certain ways. But having 00:01:57.569 --> 00:02:00.430 said that, we have a lot of variety in our sets. 00:02:00.790 --> 00:02:05.549 I write a different set every night, and we usually 00:02:05.549 --> 00:02:09.090 include the predictable hits and successful songs 00:02:09.090 --> 00:02:11.810 of ours, but also, you know, things that are 00:02:11.810 --> 00:02:15.409 my favorites or stuff that I haven't heard in 00:02:15.409 --> 00:02:17.550 a while. You know, we try to keep it fresh for 00:02:17.550 --> 00:02:20.259 the band. That's really important. So I feel 00:02:20.259 --> 00:02:23.099 good about having a lot of music to choose from. 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:26.819 Well, let's get down to business. Tonight, as 00:02:26.819 --> 00:02:28.939 I mentioned at the top of the show, Todd and 00:02:28.939 --> 00:02:31.180 I will be creating the ultimate Big Head Todd 00:02:31.180 --> 00:02:33.360 and the Monsters mixtape, and we'll use the old 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:36.439 cassette deck approach. Todd, as my special guest, 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:39.099 will begin Side A with his first song choice, 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:42.300 and then I'll add a song that I feel best follows 00:02:42.300 --> 00:02:44.819 up that choice. We'll then flip -flop choosing 00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:47.919 songs until we've mapped out 10 songs for Side 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:50.719 A. We'll then give our mixtape a proverbial flip 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:53.240 and we'll map outside. Be only this time, I'll 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:56.280 kick things off with Todd choosing second. Our 00:02:56.280 --> 00:02:58.400 overall goal for the episode is to craft the 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.379 best Big Head Todd and the Monsters mixtape possible 00:03:01.379 --> 00:03:04.580 through only 20 songs. At the end of the show, 00:03:04.599 --> 00:03:06.639 you can take our conversation to the next level 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:09.919 by visiting the episode page at myweeklymixtape 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:13.520 .com to give our final mixtape a listen via the 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:16.020 embedded playlist. And if you like what you're 00:03:16.020 --> 00:03:17.939 hearing on the show, you can help me out by either 00:03:17.939 --> 00:03:20.439 telling a friend, leaving the show a five -star 00:03:20.439 --> 00:03:23.060 review wherever you're tuning in, or becoming 00:03:23.060 --> 00:03:26.599 a Patreon mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:30.419 myweeklymixtape. And with that, Todd, I'm officially 00:03:30.419 --> 00:03:33.099 pressing the record button on our mixtape and 00:03:33.099 --> 00:03:35.979 the floor is yours. What song are you choosing 00:03:35.979 --> 00:03:42.020 to kick off side A? Whoa. Well, I like to choose 00:03:42.020 --> 00:03:45.370 a song called Thunderbird. And it's a new song 00:03:45.370 --> 00:03:47.810 of ours, and we'll get it to you so you can play 00:03:47.810 --> 00:03:51.469 it. But it's upcoming on our new release, which 00:03:51.469 --> 00:03:54.789 is called Her Way Out. It'll be coming in the 00:03:54.789 --> 00:03:57.050 end of May or the beginning of June, somewhere 00:03:57.050 --> 00:03:59.969 right around there. And this is the first song 00:03:59.969 --> 00:04:02.770 that I wrote for that album. And the way that 00:04:02.770 --> 00:04:08.449 it came about was during COVID, I got to watch 00:04:08.449 --> 00:04:10.530 a lot of movies since we were playing shows. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:14.219 I found out that it's a really great way to write 00:04:14.219 --> 00:04:17.360 songs. You know, Springsteen has this very cinematic 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:20.579 thing going on in his songs, and cinema itself 00:04:20.579 --> 00:04:24.160 is pretty interesting because there's a story 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:26.800 that's really important that's rich with a lot 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:30.000 of dialogue. So Thunderbird is about the movie 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:32.180 American Graffiti. If you recall, there's a white 00:04:32.180 --> 00:04:35.660 Thunderbird and this beautiful old lady that's 00:04:35.660 --> 00:04:37.600 driving it, and everybody's chasing her around 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.980 through the whole movie. But, you know, I just 00:04:39.980 --> 00:04:42.139 watched the movie and just kind of take with 00:04:42.139 --> 00:04:44.860 my notepad. And and that's how it went down. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:47.579 All right. We have an absolute first happening 00:04:47.579 --> 00:04:50.579 here on my weekly mixtape. I am going to, thanks 00:04:50.579 --> 00:04:53.639 to Todd, premiere the song Thunderbird for you 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:56.240 right now. And you're hearing it for the first 00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:59.399 time. As am I. This is really cool. Let's check 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:57.060 it out. The first thing I'm going to say is my 00:05:57.060 --> 00:06:01.500 first impressions, I 100 % see why we're kicking 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:04.879 off tonight's playlist with that song. It absolutely 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:09.000 rocks. I love it. Nice. Man, we are kicking off 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:13.339 2024 in style. And I get to follow up a brand 00:06:13.339 --> 00:06:16.959 new song. So what I'm going to do is play Counterbalance 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:20.279 to Thunderbird. And I'm going to go all the way 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:25.139 back to 1993. And I loved her yet. She Has Done 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:28.560 Me Wrong, the opening track to Sister Sweetly, 00:06:28.660 --> 00:06:32.540 Broken Hearted Savior. This song has meant so 00:06:32.540 --> 00:06:35.899 much to me over the years. It's just such a brilliantly 00:06:35.899 --> 00:06:39.639 written tune. And it's the first song that introduced 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:42.980 a lot of people to the band because it was the 00:06:42.980 --> 00:06:46.459 first song on your major label debut. So people 00:06:46.459 --> 00:06:49.639 putting in that CD for the first time, that's 00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:52.100 their introduction. Could you talk about the 00:06:52.100 --> 00:06:55.339 longevity of this song as well as Sister Sweetly 00:06:55.339 --> 00:06:58.060 as a whole? Because last year it turned 30 years 00:06:58.060 --> 00:07:01.819 old. Yeah. Well, yeah. Broken Heart Savior, as 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:03.680 you said, is the first song on that album. We 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:05.759 still play it every single night. It's probably 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:09.339 our most popular rock song. It's my favorite 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:13.939 rock song to play of ours. And I would say the 00:07:13.939 --> 00:07:16.339 success of that album, Sister Sweetly, I think 00:07:16.339 --> 00:07:21.240 it came out in 1993. really a special thing because 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:24.779 i'm still proud of the record i still think it's 00:07:24.779 --> 00:07:27.100 a really great record and we still love playing 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:31.560 all the all that material but to have fans have 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:34.759 it be their favorite record or an important part 00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:37.300 of their life i mean that's an honor for us uh 00:07:37.300 --> 00:07:40.259 it's been a really great life for me to play 00:07:40.259 --> 00:07:43.519 that record over the last you know couple decades 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:46.529 or whatever Has there ever been a moment where 00:07:46.529 --> 00:07:48.870 you said, let's try to leave that one out of 00:07:48.870 --> 00:07:52.250 the set? Or was that never a question? Um, not 00:07:52.250 --> 00:07:56.410 really. You know, I had my Dylan era maybe where, 00:07:56.470 --> 00:07:59.810 you know, we kind of like tried to zig and zag 00:07:59.810 --> 00:08:03.970 my way out of stuff that I thought was overplayed. 00:08:03.970 --> 00:08:07.410 But people pay money to get the pleasure of hearing 00:08:07.410 --> 00:08:10.750 their favorite songs. And it's really important, 00:08:10.930 --> 00:08:14.139 I think, to honor that. Well, following that 00:08:14.139 --> 00:08:17.800 up, the floor is now yours for track three. All 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:19.939 right. Well, track three, I'm going to choose 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:23.959 a song called Crazy Mary off of Beautiful World. 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:28.660 And it's one of my favorite songs. I had it sort 00:08:28.660 --> 00:08:31.000 of in my pocket when producer Jerry Harrison 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:33.639 was interested in recording the band. And I think 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:36.039 it was a song that really got to him and convinced 00:08:36.039 --> 00:08:40.059 him that I have to produce this band. And I just. 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:42.879 Again, we still love playing it to this day. 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:46.379 It just has a calm to it that I really like. 00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:50.340 And I love the solo section and I love the lyric, 00:08:50.379 --> 00:08:54.220 which is just about maybe a less fortunate person. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:58.080 Somebody who's had a hard time and who needs 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:01.980 an understanding person and an understanding 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:06.509 ear, let's say. By all means, that is a... Beautifully 00:09:06.509 --> 00:09:10.289 ethereal song. I absolutely love the guitar work 00:09:10.289 --> 00:09:14.909 on it. I actually hearken back to the 2004 Live 00:09:14.909 --> 00:09:18.610 at the Fillmore DVD and CD set that there's a 00:09:18.610 --> 00:09:22.090 version on that that just has it's just fraught 00:09:22.090 --> 00:09:24.850 with emotion. And you could feel it coming out 00:09:24.850 --> 00:09:27.409 of the speakers. Obviously, the studio version 00:09:27.409 --> 00:09:30.009 is amazing as well. But thankfully, with Big 00:09:30.009 --> 00:09:32.090 Head Todd and the Monsters, there's also a lot 00:09:32.090 --> 00:09:35.289 of live albums to choose from. And while I'm 00:09:35.289 --> 00:09:40.009 talking about that 2004 album, that was for a 00:09:40.009 --> 00:09:43.269 tour of one of my personal favorite Big Head 00:09:43.269 --> 00:09:46.129 Todd and the Monsters albums, Crimes of Passion. 00:09:46.549 --> 00:09:51.490 So I'm going to follow up Crazy Mary with a track 00:09:51.490 --> 00:09:55.470 from that. And this is tough because I love this 00:09:55.470 --> 00:09:58.840 album. keep the vibe slow and go with Angela 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:01.039 danger love. Cause that kind of keeps that vibe 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:04.019 going. I could kind of go with that dirty blues 00:10:04.019 --> 00:10:08.259 groove of love transmission, but I feel like 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:12.039 I want to pivot the vibe to just something down 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:15.860 and dirty. And it's, it's in the name dirty juice. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.440 Okay. I mean, the song itself, the name is perfect. 00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:23.320 The dirty riff that's in this song carries you 00:10:23.320 --> 00:10:26.840 through. It's got a massive hook. The song really 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:29.639 kicks off the album with authority. And now looking 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:33.100 back, with 20 years of hindsight, two decades, 00:10:33.500 --> 00:10:36.000 do you still feel the same way about this album 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:38.039 as when you guys first released it? Because as 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:41.139 a fan, I still love this album. I appreciate 00:10:41.139 --> 00:10:43.960 that. Yeah, you know, it has some favorites for 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:50.289 me. Imaginary Ships. Yes, yes. And yeah, I mean, 00:10:50.389 --> 00:10:53.210 there's a lushness to it. And there's a lot of 00:10:53.210 --> 00:10:56.730 sort of spacier kind of songs to it. And yeah, 00:10:56.830 --> 00:10:58.409 it's one of my favorites. And Dirty Juice, by 00:10:58.409 --> 00:11:01.970 the way, we still love playing. We play it almost 00:11:01.970 --> 00:11:06.509 every night. So we call it the hoedown. Because 00:11:06.509 --> 00:11:09.490 it's just got this kind of really solid blues 00:11:09.490 --> 00:11:13.299 beat to it. So I guess this next step won't be 00:11:13.299 --> 00:11:15.460 that complicated for you because the song is 00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:18.899 in your set list quite often. What song are you 00:11:18.899 --> 00:11:21.240 going to choose to follow up Dirty Juice for 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:27.500 track five? Well, I'm going to choose Tower. 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:31.740 Nice. Which I think it's on Beautiful World. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:37.779 Yes, that's correct. And it's got a Curtis Mayfield 00:11:37.779 --> 00:11:42.159 thing going on. It's a really great lyric. Walking 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:45.600 around the Tower of Love and rain coming down. 00:11:46.220 --> 00:11:49.740 It's just got something that is a really moody 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:53.919 soul song. Love the pick. Love the album. Beautiful 00:11:53.919 --> 00:11:57.179 World to me is an album that almost like a movie, 00:11:57.259 --> 00:12:00.200 like you said, there's a lot of different scenes 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:03.820 in the album because you go from a song like 00:12:03.820 --> 00:12:07.009 Crazy Mary, which is really. Like Ethereal, like 00:12:07.009 --> 00:12:09.649 I had mentioned before. And then you've got Tower, 00:12:09.789 --> 00:12:11.750 but then you go into kind of the bluesier side 00:12:11.750 --> 00:12:14.370 of things with your cover of Boom Boom, which 00:12:14.370 --> 00:12:16.330 maybe we'll talk about at some point tonight. 00:12:16.570 --> 00:12:19.809 Yeah. But that album as a whole feels like you're 00:12:19.809 --> 00:12:21.929 telling a story through kind of different chapters 00:12:21.929 --> 00:12:25.370 as you go through the album. Nice. Can you bring 00:12:25.370 --> 00:12:27.929 us back to that album cycle and put us in the 00:12:27.929 --> 00:12:31.210 mindset of the band at that time? Well, that 00:12:31.210 --> 00:12:36.000 particular period for us was really nice. One 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:38.720 of the things that was special about it was working 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:41.000 with Jerry Harrison. We recorded it at the plant 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:44.340 in Sausalito, which Fleetwood Mac, all kinds 00:12:44.340 --> 00:12:47.980 of people, is a really legendary place. And just 00:12:47.980 --> 00:12:50.659 to be there in that timeframe of our career, 00:12:51.460 --> 00:12:54.679 Bernie Worrell played on that album. Obviously, 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:57.759 John Lee Hooker played on it. So it was an incredible 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:02.470 session. And I'm proud of every song on it. Well, 00:13:02.490 --> 00:13:04.669 I think I'm going to throw a little loop now 00:13:04.669 --> 00:13:06.190 and go with something a little different because 00:13:06.190 --> 00:13:09.110 this is the first time I get to talk about my 00:13:09.110 --> 00:13:11.590 favorite songs from you. So I'm bouncing around 00:13:11.590 --> 00:13:14.370 from every album I can. And I'm going to go to 00:13:14.370 --> 00:13:19.129 2002's Riviera for this one. I'm going to go 00:13:19.129 --> 00:13:22.210 with a song that I think has such a ridiculously 00:13:22.210 --> 00:13:26.409 powerful hook. I am shocked the song wasn't a 00:13:26.409 --> 00:13:29.529 massive, massive hit. And it's the album opener, 00:13:29.669 --> 00:13:32.840 Juliana. I mean, it's an absolute highlight for 00:13:32.840 --> 00:13:36.299 me. And it's something that I've already chosen 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:40.000 several album openers tonight. And that's something 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:43.559 I want to touch on because every time I've purchased 00:13:43.559 --> 00:13:47.519 a Big Head Todd CD over the years that I'm sitting 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:51.059 here holding my stack of them, I always know 00:13:51.059 --> 00:13:53.519 when I put it into the CD player, the first song 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:57.080 I hear is going to grab my attention. And I feel 00:13:57.080 --> 00:13:59.080 like that's something that in the day of streaming 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:02.100 and in digital media, that goes kind of out the 00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:05.059 door now. People don't think of really hooking 00:14:05.059 --> 00:14:07.820 people with that opening song. And is that something 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:10.559 that you guys cognitively think about when you're 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:12.919 putting together a new album, say, Her Way Out? 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:16.759 Sure. It's really important. You know, if you 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:18.179 don't like the first song, you probably won't 00:14:18.179 --> 00:14:20.519 listen to much more of the album. If you're going 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:23.500 to bother with an album, you better start strong 00:14:23.500 --> 00:14:27.460 and then move on from there. That's the traditional 00:14:27.460 --> 00:14:31.820 logic is always to do that. And Julianna, I agree 00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:33.720 with you. I think that song should have been 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:36.779 bigger too. I love that song. And I think it's 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:41.539 a great pop rock song. By all means. Now we are 00:14:41.539 --> 00:14:46.820 back to you for track seven. Okay. If I could 00:14:46.820 --> 00:14:51.419 zag, I will. And I know that you are aware of 00:14:51.419 --> 00:14:53.779 this because of the mega fan you are, but I am 00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:57.820 such great. opportunity to learn about blues 00:14:57.820 --> 00:15:01.720 music through two projects that we did under 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:05.440 the moniker of big hit blues club yes and uh 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:08.440 one of them was uh it was a tribute to willie 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:11.179 dixon and the track is called sit and cry on 00:15:11.179 --> 00:15:14.159 the blues the coolest thing about this song to 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:18.080 me aside from it's really got a very unusual 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:23.429 middle section is buddy guy recorded it And I 00:15:23.429 --> 00:15:27.789 got to play it for Buddy Guy at Buddy Guy Day 00:15:27.789 --> 00:15:31.909 in Chicago when he was celebrated, I think in 00:15:31.909 --> 00:15:34.649 the early 2000s. So that's a special song to 00:15:34.649 --> 00:15:37.970 me. So I have to ask, the Big Head Blues Club, 00:15:38.169 --> 00:15:41.289 obviously you're diving much, much deeper into 00:15:41.289 --> 00:15:43.730 the blues than you would on a Big Head Todd album 00:15:43.730 --> 00:15:47.259 and bringing in a lot of guests. Was there a 00:15:47.259 --> 00:15:49.820 reason to not just continue calling it Big Head 00:15:49.820 --> 00:15:52.360 Todd and the Monsters? Were you trying to purposely 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:56.259 show the difference between the two? Yes. The 00:15:56.259 --> 00:15:59.980 whole project was sort of conceived as our band 00:15:59.980 --> 00:16:05.120 being a rhythm section for great living blues 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:08.820 artists that probably were slightly under -celebrated. 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:13.360 And at the time when it began, we were sort of 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:16.330 the rock -pop thing that would... Help bring 00:16:16.330 --> 00:16:20.210 people in. And the tours were in performing arts 00:16:20.210 --> 00:16:25.970 centers all over the country. And we did want 00:16:25.970 --> 00:16:28.289 to differentiate it because it's a blues project 00:16:28.289 --> 00:16:32.769 with a very expanded band. We had two drummers 00:16:32.769 --> 00:16:36.470 for a lot of it. And so it was a really different 00:16:36.470 --> 00:16:39.330 project. But what it did for us is it enabled 00:16:39.330 --> 00:16:44.809 us to meet blues legends that I'd always adored. 00:16:45.690 --> 00:16:48.250 to work with them and to learn what's going on. 00:16:48.669 --> 00:16:50.870 Luther Dickinson of the Mississippi all -stars 00:16:50.870 --> 00:16:54.549 told me something about this sort of thing that 00:16:54.549 --> 00:16:56.769 always resonated with me. He said, yep, blues 00:16:56.769 --> 00:16:58.870 is the kind of thing you have to learn from somebody. 00:16:59.870 --> 00:17:03.009 Like you need to have a flesh and blood connection 00:17:03.009 --> 00:17:08.089 to somebody to really get it. And not that I 00:17:08.089 --> 00:17:11.869 got it, but I, I got a long way into it for sure. 00:17:12.690 --> 00:17:16.859 And did those projects, color the way you guys 00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:22.200 wrote music in the album's following? Yeah. To 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:24.880 me, what's special about blues is that it's a 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:29.220 tradition. And the point of it is to honor the 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:32.380 mentors in a way and to carry the tradition through. 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:36.079 It isn't about, oh, I'm such a great songwriter. 00:17:36.180 --> 00:17:39.559 I've got all these novel ideas. It's more about 00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:44.900 honoring the past and bringing it forward. And 00:17:44.900 --> 00:17:49.759 that feel in songwriting, it just really got 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:52.480 to me. And the more that I studied the lyrics, 00:17:52.539 --> 00:17:55.299 especially Robert Johnson, Robert Johnson lyrics 00:17:55.299 --> 00:17:59.400 are vicious. Yep. Yeah. Are incredibly great. 00:17:59.500 --> 00:18:03.579 They're poignant and they're poetic. And there's 00:18:03.579 --> 00:18:06.839 a lot of imagery that it's just striking in it. 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:10.099 So I learned a great deal from, from doing both 00:18:10.099 --> 00:18:13.730 of those. Well, following that up. I'm going 00:18:13.730 --> 00:18:16.890 to go with an album that the band did a very 00:18:16.890 --> 00:18:20.210 unique rollout for. And it's one that I'll never 00:18:20.210 --> 00:18:25.849 forget. In 2007, the band released an album, 00:18:25.990 --> 00:18:29.750 All the Love You Need. And the album was actually 00:18:29.750 --> 00:18:33.950 paid for and mailed out for free by various sponsors. 00:18:34.150 --> 00:18:37.150 And that is how I got my initial copy of the 00:18:37.150 --> 00:18:41.000 album. Wow. And the first song on that album 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:43.380 follows where you went with the Big Head Blues 00:18:43.380 --> 00:18:46.140 Club because there's this dirty slide guitar 00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:49.200 on it that I absolutely gravitate to. And the 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:52.359 track is Her Own Kind of Woman. Yeah. My question 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:55.440 about that album was that was a very different 00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:58.559 way to bring music to the world. And this was 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:01.420 happening around 2007. Streaming was not there 00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:04.880 at this point. This was only downloads and iTunes 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:07.759 and everything else. What was the idea behind 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:11.440 that approach? Well, I think that was a time, 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:13.180 as you said, it was sort of in the middle of 00:19:13.180 --> 00:19:17.019 things. CDs were sort of less important. Other 00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:19.319 things were coming in. Napster, if you recall. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:23.160 Yep. But nothing was really firm. And we've always 00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:26.160 kind of struggled with the business model and 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:28.240 with labels and all that. That's always been 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:31.880 hard for us. But we basically just want to get 00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:35.359 our music to people. desperate as it may sound 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:38.779 you got it for free and that worked out so um 00:19:38.779 --> 00:19:41.299 i'm glad that you did and by the way that album 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:44.880 was produced by david bianco oh yeah who uh i 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:47.839 think he produced petty's wildflowers yeah he's 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:51.579 a great producer and uh had a lot uh to offer 00:19:51.579 --> 00:19:54.200 that album one of the things i noticed right 00:19:54.200 --> 00:19:57.039 from the jump in her own kind of woman was a 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:00.180 full horn section yeah Is that something that 00:20:00.180 --> 00:20:02.359 you guys have worked with a lot over the years 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:05.099 or wanted to? Because it was seamless in the 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:07.279 song. It felt like you've always been doing it. 00:20:08.019 --> 00:20:12.259 You're sweet. Yeah, we flirted with it. And I 00:20:12.259 --> 00:20:15.579 love horn sections. I'm a huge Tower of Power 00:20:15.579 --> 00:20:18.759 fan. I love rhythm and blues and I love horns. 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:25.259 I play sax and horns are really hard. It's hard 00:20:25.259 --> 00:20:30.250 to go on the road with horns. to Mike horns and 00:20:30.250 --> 00:20:33.569 horn players. You got to have them a bunch of 00:20:33.569 --> 00:20:37.210 them to pull it off. And so we, we do it every 00:20:37.210 --> 00:20:39.950 blue moon and it's worth doing it. And we will 00:20:39.950 --> 00:20:42.710 do it again, but it's not part of our regular 00:20:42.710 --> 00:20:46.130 system. Yeah. Her own kind of woman gives me 00:20:46.130 --> 00:20:50.170 almost a Rolling Stones exile on main street 00:20:50.170 --> 00:20:53.609 rocks off kind of vibe with the horns there. 00:20:53.650 --> 00:20:56.319 And it's just so unique. to have that kind of 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:58.680 come out of the blue in an album. And it just, 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:01.400 it was so seamless. It works so well. Thank you. 00:21:01.740 --> 00:21:04.079 Well, following that up, we're back to you for 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:07.200 track nine. Okay. Let me get my list going here 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:11.220 because you've thrown me some curve balls, but 00:21:11.220 --> 00:21:14.599 I'm going to throw you one. Okay. And this song 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:20.960 is called Long Cold Train. And it is, I can't 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:23.259 recall if it's on an album. I thought that was 00:21:23.259 --> 00:21:26.849 on New World Horizon. It is. It is. It's on New 00:21:26.849 --> 00:21:30.730 World Horizon. Thank you. But ironically, somehow 00:21:30.730 --> 00:21:34.849 on Spotify, it's in our top 10. And you wouldn't 00:21:34.849 --> 00:21:37.509 think that because it seems like kind of an out 00:21:37.509 --> 00:21:41.309 of the way song for us. I think it got on a really 00:21:41.309 --> 00:21:44.390 popular playlist and became popular through that. 00:21:44.529 --> 00:21:47.349 But regardless, because of that, we've been playing 00:21:47.349 --> 00:21:50.509 it again. And it's got some mojo. Check it out. 00:21:51.150 --> 00:21:53.470 Oh, it's a great tune. The whole album is fantastic. 00:21:53.950 --> 00:21:56.250 I'd be lying if I said that there might not be 00:21:56.250 --> 00:21:58.670 another song from New World to Rise and Coming 00:21:58.670 --> 00:22:02.710 Down the Pike. Okay. All right. Well, you started 00:22:02.710 --> 00:22:07.490 Side A with a song from Her Way Out. And I think 00:22:07.490 --> 00:22:11.529 I'm going to answer by closing Side A with another 00:22:11.529 --> 00:22:15.589 song from Her Way Out. And I am going to go with 00:22:15.589 --> 00:22:27.619 the lead single Crush. listening hallelujah I 00:22:27.619 --> 00:23:15.839 don't hear no echo but it sure Now, you've said 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:18.559 that this song is about how we're formed by our 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:22.500 past and the voices that influence us for good 00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:25.640 or for not. I'd love for you to elaborate on 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:28.180 that because that's a really interesting concept. 00:23:31.319 --> 00:23:35.240 Well, I think that, you know, especially children, 00:23:35.500 --> 00:23:38.759 we are raised oftentimes with messages that are 00:23:38.759 --> 00:23:41.759 self -defeating or that prevent us from reaching 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:46.839 our potential. A lot of times through relationships 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:51.859 on every level and in politics, in society, there's 00:23:51.859 --> 00:23:56.200 a lot of lying. And I really feel strongly that 00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:59.720 when you lie to me about something, you've robbed 00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:03.160 me of my freedom. Like if I tell you you're free 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:05.240 to choose between these two apples and I lie 00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:07.160 to you to tell you there's a worm in one that 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:09.759 I want to have, what happened to your freedom 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:13.750 to choose? It's gone. This issue, I think, is 00:24:13.750 --> 00:24:16.869 a really important one, whether it's a man -woman 00:24:16.869 --> 00:24:21.329 relationship or father -son or sort of just as 00:24:21.329 --> 00:24:25.390 saying, you know, I'm free. If I can see through 00:24:25.390 --> 00:24:30.690 what's going on here, then I'm free. Wow. Awesome. 00:24:31.009 --> 00:24:34.150 Well, there you have it, folks. Side A of our 00:24:34.150 --> 00:24:36.829 ultimate big head Todd in a Monsters playlist, 00:24:37.170 --> 00:24:39.789 which kicked off with Thunderbird from her way 00:24:39.789 --> 00:24:43.019 out. Broken Hearted Savior from Sister Sweetly. 00:24:43.180 --> 00:24:46.640 Crazy Mary from Beautiful World. Dirty Juice 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:49.579 from Crimes of Passion. Tower from Beautiful 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:53.599 World. Juliana from Riviera. Sitting Crying the 00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:56.440 Blues from A Tribute to Willie Dixon. Her Own 00:24:56.440 --> 00:24:59.259 Kind of Woman from All the Love You Need. Long 00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:02.309 Cold Train from New World Horizon. and crush 00:25:02.309 --> 00:25:06.150 from her way out. Head over to myweeklymixtape 00:25:06.150 --> 00:25:09.009 .com to hear all the songs we've discussed in 00:25:09.009 --> 00:25:11.910 this mix through the playlist embedded on the 00:25:11.910 --> 00:25:15.789 episode page. Now, Todd, earlier I had mentioned 00:25:15.789 --> 00:25:18.730 seeing the band on the Crimes of Passion tour 00:25:18.730 --> 00:25:21.569 some 20 years ago, and you had actually mentioned 00:25:21.569 --> 00:25:24.529 the North Mississippi All -Stars, so that brought 00:25:24.529 --> 00:25:27.910 up a memory for me. I saw a show, and I'm going 00:25:27.910 --> 00:25:30.660 to try to... Move some cobwebs in your brain 00:25:30.660 --> 00:25:33.740 because this was a show that to me is a defining 00:25:33.740 --> 00:25:36.339 live moment that I've seen in my life. Okay. 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:38.599 The show took place at the Meadowbrook Pavilion 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:42.700 in Guilford, New Hampshire in 2004. North Mississippi 00:25:42.700 --> 00:25:46.119 All -Stars, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and 00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:49.640 Blues Traveler. Towards the end of your set, 00:25:49.819 --> 00:25:52.880 you guys broke into Led Zeppelin's Fool in the 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:57.289 Rain. And one by one. members of blues traveler 00:25:57.289 --> 00:26:01.390 started appearing on stage to the point where 00:26:01.390 --> 00:26:04.309 at the end of the song, both bands were simultaneously 00:26:04.309 --> 00:26:08.549 playing with both drummers. And then one by one, 00:26:08.589 --> 00:26:11.789 you guys disappeared and blues traveler continued. 00:26:11.930 --> 00:26:15.789 So it was probably a 15 or 20 minute version 00:26:15.789 --> 00:26:18.569 in my recollection. And it was one of the coolest. 00:26:19.259 --> 00:26:22.960 live experiences i ever had because both of your 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:26.119 sets were longer there was no intermission and 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:28.799 the music just kept on going i would love to 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:31.759 know how you guys logistically pulled that off 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:34.759 because it was flawless to the audience that's 00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:36.839 pretty cool yeah i don't know that we've done 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:40.579 that since and uh i barely remember that but 00:26:40.579 --> 00:26:43.980 now that you mentioned it it was amazing and 00:26:43.980 --> 00:26:48.140 it was their their song that their band had kind 00:26:48.140 --> 00:26:50.859 of Been playing for a while, you know, covering 00:26:50.859 --> 00:26:53.799 that song for a while. So we just thought, you 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:56.440 know, that would be a great way to make a transition 00:26:56.440 --> 00:26:59.259 so that there's no, you know, people aren't just 00:26:59.259 --> 00:27:02.440 quiddling their thumbs. And we've never done 00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:04.819 it since. I've never done it since with any group 00:27:04.819 --> 00:27:07.660 ever, but we are out with Blues Traveler this 00:27:07.660 --> 00:27:10.140 summer again. So maybe that's something we should 00:27:10.140 --> 00:27:12.779 talk about. I want to put it out there that I'm 00:27:12.779 --> 00:27:15.599 feeding that seed because it was such an amazing 00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:20.299 jam. And from a, audience standpoint i remember 00:27:20.299 --> 00:27:23.640 your set was going on i'm going wow they've played 00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:25.940 for almost 75 minutes this is amazing we're not 00:27:25.940 --> 00:27:28.519 getting like a truncated set yeah and because 00:27:28.519 --> 00:27:31.420 there was no layover between the bands i felt 00:27:31.420 --> 00:27:35.339 like we hit the jackpot musically nice well i'll 00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:38.539 bring that up again all right well we're now 00:27:38.539 --> 00:27:41.680 moving into side b and i get to pick the first 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:45.369 track this time around okay And when I was thinking 00:27:45.369 --> 00:27:47.750 about how I wanted to lead into the side, the 00:27:47.750 --> 00:27:50.430 more I thought about it, I wanted to start things 00:27:50.430 --> 00:27:54.450 off with the funkiest, danciest Big Head Todd 00:27:54.450 --> 00:27:57.190 groove that I could ever imagine. And I'm going 00:27:57.190 --> 00:28:00.069 to go with the title track to 2010's Rock Steady. 00:28:00.430 --> 00:28:03.910 Ooh, cool. Yeah, this song has just the album 00:28:03.910 --> 00:28:07.369 as a whole has such a loose, relaxed vibe, but 00:28:07.369 --> 00:28:10.690 it's chock full of killer tunes. And Glide Magazine 00:28:10.690 --> 00:28:14.769 actually called the album. Fresh in ways even 00:28:14.769 --> 00:28:18.670 the band might not expect. Which leads me to 00:28:18.670 --> 00:28:22.269 ask, with that album, was there a sense that 00:28:22.269 --> 00:28:25.150 you guys were trying to push the musical boundaries 00:28:25.150 --> 00:28:28.289 in terms of what fans can expect from Big Head, 00:28:28.390 --> 00:28:32.190 Todd? Yeah, absolutely. You know, we had come 00:28:32.190 --> 00:28:35.789 back from maybe our first or second Caribbean 00:28:35.789 --> 00:28:40.509 cruise. We spent some time down there. And there's 00:28:40.509 --> 00:28:42.599 something about that. part of the world that's 00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:47.819 just so musical and i really felt just a janky 00:28:47.819 --> 00:28:52.420 reggae inspiration that came from that place 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:56.400 that we wanted to put into album form and the 00:28:56.400 --> 00:29:00.539 cover of rocksteady is from a very famous bar 00:29:00.539 --> 00:29:03.460 down there in the carib and i i can't recall 00:29:03.460 --> 00:29:06.299 but it'll say on the cover maybe you can call 00:29:06.299 --> 00:29:09.339 it like in the grill or something like that you 00:29:09.339 --> 00:29:13.119 know but anyways uh It is unusual. It's pretty 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:16.680 soul oriented, reggae oriented, which isn't kind 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:20.960 of our basic DNA. There's a lot of pretty produced 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:25.599 background, nice multi -part background chorus 00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:28.400 type things. The Beast of Burden on that is really 00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:31.920 good too. Oh my God. I love that cover. So there's 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:34.599 some really cool stuff. All right. Well, we're 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:37.480 back to you now to follow it up with track two. 00:29:37.900 --> 00:29:41.549 Okay. My track two is Her Way Out, which is the 00:29:41.549 --> 00:29:45.130 title track for our next record. She says I'm 00:29:45.130 --> 00:29:51.650 living in a one -track mind Like a runaway train 00:29:51.650 --> 00:30:39.500 running I want to tell you a quick story about 00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:43.740 how that song came into being. I had somebody 00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:49.119 that I knew who was in a relationship. And he 00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:51.740 had gotten a little too drunk and said some things. 00:30:52.539 --> 00:30:58.180 And the next morning, it was over. And she would 00:30:58.180 --> 00:31:02.259 not tell him what he said that caused it to be 00:31:02.259 --> 00:31:06.559 over. He was like... so wounded by that. And 00:31:06.559 --> 00:31:09.160 I just thought that was just quite a situation 00:31:09.160 --> 00:31:11.720 to be in. And it sort of kind of inspired that 00:31:11.720 --> 00:31:15.779 song. But the gist of it is that in that case, 00:31:15.819 --> 00:31:19.700 he gave her, he was her way out. His behavior 00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:23.480 gave her an out. But later in the song, that 00:31:23.480 --> 00:31:26.720 phrase takes a turn where relationship can be 00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:29.000 your way out. Being together can be your way 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:32.119 out. So the chorus kind of shifts its meaning 00:31:32.119 --> 00:31:34.220 by the third verse. It means something different. 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:37.039 But the second thing I'll say about it is it 00:31:37.039 --> 00:31:40.819 has a real Petty, Tom Petty vibe to it. It's 00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:43.160 really, I can't tell you how important Petty 00:31:43.160 --> 00:31:46.859 is to our group. And I'm almost crying thinking 00:31:46.859 --> 00:31:50.619 about him. But our bassist, Rob, is probably 00:31:50.619 --> 00:31:54.319 the biggest Petty fan there is. And this is his 00:31:54.319 --> 00:31:58.920 favorite song that we've ever done. Wow. So that 00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:02.000 meant a lot to me. And I knew right away that, 00:32:02.019 --> 00:32:04.440 you know, hey, this is a... probably something 00:32:04.440 --> 00:32:07.319 that we should pursue so i'm glad became the 00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:09.799 title track of the record it's at radio now we 00:32:09.799 --> 00:32:11.660 haven't been we haven't had a track at radio 00:32:11.660 --> 00:32:15.819 in 20 years and it's doing really well in its 00:32:15.819 --> 00:32:18.259 beginnings we'll see where it goes but we love 00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:22.400 the song check it out i immediately caught the 00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:25.480 tom petty vibes cool and for anybody who listens 00:32:25.480 --> 00:32:27.539 to my weekly mixtape they already know where 00:32:27.539 --> 00:32:30.400 i'm going with this but All the listeners know 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:32.680 Tom Petty is my favorite artist of all time. 00:32:32.779 --> 00:32:35.759 I actually have a candle that's sitting on my 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:38.480 desk that just says, some days are diamonds, 00:32:38.660 --> 00:32:41.839 some days are rocks. Words to live by from the 00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:45.039 song Walls. Tom Petty to me, his music means 00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:48.259 so much to me. And anytime I hear a band that 00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:51.059 I'm a fan of channeling that, it's bringing together 00:32:51.059 --> 00:32:54.670 two worlds that mean a lot to me. And this was 00:32:54.670 --> 00:32:57.269 definitely in my bank of songs to include later 00:32:57.269 --> 00:33:00.369 for that very reason. So I'm so glad you included 00:33:00.369 --> 00:33:04.930 it now. When Tom Petty passed, I was distraught 00:33:04.930 --> 00:33:08.849 for days. It just, it didn't seem real. And every 00:33:08.849 --> 00:33:11.329 time I listened to his music, it still doesn't 00:33:11.329 --> 00:33:14.430 seem real. He's one of the just greatest songwriters 00:33:14.430 --> 00:33:17.730 of our generation. I truly believe. Absolutely. 00:33:17.750 --> 00:33:20.809 No doubt about it. Well, following that up, I'm 00:33:20.809 --> 00:33:23.569 going to bring the. Because we talked about Tom 00:33:23.569 --> 00:33:26.809 here and it's putting me in kind of a different 00:33:26.809 --> 00:33:29.130 mindset. And I think I know the perfect place 00:33:29.130 --> 00:33:31.869 to bounce off this, bringing the mood down a 00:33:31.869 --> 00:33:34.490 little bit, but with a song that also celebrates 00:33:34.490 --> 00:33:38.710 somebody who was gone too soon. And I think I'm 00:33:38.710 --> 00:33:41.710 going to go with the title track to 2014's Black 00:33:41.710 --> 00:33:46.170 Beehive, the heartfelt tribute to Amy Winehouse. 00:33:47.089 --> 00:33:50.799 Musically, the song is just stunning. But then 00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:53.039 when you pull out and look at the album as a 00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:55.839 whole, it's an incredible body of work produced 00:33:55.839 --> 00:33:59.140 by one of the most underrated musicians on the 00:33:59.140 --> 00:34:02.519 planet, the amazing Steve Jordan. I'd love to 00:34:02.519 --> 00:34:04.960 know what it was like working with him on this 00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:07.440 album and what he brought to the table musically 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:11.260 for you guys. Sure. Yeah, he's one of the greatest 00:34:11.260 --> 00:34:15.260 drummers that ever lived and musical minds. He's 00:34:15.260 --> 00:34:17.960 been involved in, well, the Rolling Stones, for 00:34:17.960 --> 00:34:21.190 example. Yes. Little bar band, you know. Yeah. 00:34:21.190 --> 00:34:24.269 I mean, he's absolutely phenomenal. He produced 00:34:24.269 --> 00:34:27.429 John Mayer's Continuum. Yep. He's a great producer 00:34:27.429 --> 00:34:31.849 and just a really super smart guy. He loved Black 00:34:31.849 --> 00:34:34.789 Beehive. And I think that's one of the songs 00:34:34.789 --> 00:34:38.289 that completely sucked him in. He actually, that 00:34:38.289 --> 00:34:43.030 vocal was one take. Oh. He filmed the take. I 00:34:43.030 --> 00:34:45.650 think it may even be on YouTube. I'll have to 00:34:45.650 --> 00:34:48.760 see if it is because I think it might be. But 00:34:48.760 --> 00:34:52.260 at any rate, the song came about because I was 00:34:52.260 --> 00:34:55.159 writing a song a day and putting them on YouTube 00:34:55.159 --> 00:34:59.199 as a kind of writer's exercise, which was exhausting 00:34:59.199 --> 00:35:04.380 because I write the song, record the video of 00:35:04.380 --> 00:35:10.579 a live solo performance of it. But so many things 00:35:10.579 --> 00:35:13.300 happen. And when somebody passes away like Amy 00:35:13.300 --> 00:35:16.800 Winehouse, there's an incredible story. just 00:35:16.800 --> 00:35:19.099 such a rich story there i just couldn't resist 00:35:19.099 --> 00:35:22.599 it and uh it was just a lucky day when i wrote 00:35:22.599 --> 00:35:25.780 it you know because there's a lot of killer lines 00:35:25.780 --> 00:35:28.880 in it and it really does honor her you know it 00:35:28.880 --> 00:35:32.840 says the story and uh i like that a lot and it's 00:35:32.840 --> 00:35:35.340 definitely one that i see continues through the 00:35:35.340 --> 00:35:37.920 band's live sets to this day which is great yeah 00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:40.760 it really fits so well and it's in our top 10 00:35:40.760 --> 00:35:43.579 on spotify too there you have it it's a top 10 00:35:43.579 --> 00:35:46.170 against onslaught And deservedly so. It's an 00:35:46.170 --> 00:35:49.469 amazing piece. So with that, we are back to you 00:35:49.469 --> 00:35:54.150 now to follow it up for track four. Okay. Since 00:35:54.150 --> 00:36:00.269 we're sort of in ballad mode, I'd like to submit 00:36:00.269 --> 00:36:04.269 one of my favorite ballads that I wrote. And 00:36:04.269 --> 00:36:06.429 it's called These Days Without You. It's on Beautiful 00:36:06.429 --> 00:36:11.650 World. And it's pretty simple. I Miss Somebody. 00:36:12.740 --> 00:36:17.099 but it's really a choker. It won't choke you 00:36:17.099 --> 00:36:20.420 up. It chokes me up singing it because the lines 00:36:20.420 --> 00:36:25.099 are just so delicate and so true. And I enjoy 00:36:25.099 --> 00:36:27.119 performing it for that same reason. Like when 00:36:27.119 --> 00:36:29.519 we're in exactly the right setting, that song 00:36:29.519 --> 00:36:32.659 kills. Now I've noticed you've pulled several 00:36:32.659 --> 00:36:36.340 songs from Beautiful World tonight so far between 00:36:36.340 --> 00:36:39.500 Crazy Mary, Tower. Is this one of the albums 00:36:39.500 --> 00:36:41.579 that just seems to resonate with you on a higher 00:36:41.579 --> 00:36:47.800 level? Yeah, I think especially in this sort 00:36:47.800 --> 00:36:52.679 of ethereal, atmospheric, soulful kind of thing. 00:36:53.059 --> 00:36:56.320 But at the same time, you know, Resignation Superman 00:36:56.320 --> 00:36:58.480 was on that album. I think that's what the head 00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:01.800 track was. It had, you know, helpless. There's 00:37:01.800 --> 00:37:04.880 a lot of rock in it too. And, you know, the whole 00:37:04.880 --> 00:37:06.320 thing we were talking about, Jerry Harrison, 00:37:06.400 --> 00:37:09.639 the former talking head, producer, brilliant 00:37:09.639 --> 00:37:13.630 producer. It was a magic. moment in our career 00:37:13.630 --> 00:37:17.869 well pivoting out of the slower songs now i want 00:37:17.869 --> 00:37:20.329 to pick it up a little bit we shall return to 00:37:20.329 --> 00:37:23.650 balance yes i want i want to pick up the energy 00:37:23.650 --> 00:37:25.929 a little bit i'm going to go with a song that 00:37:25.929 --> 00:37:31.110 during the covid lockdowns the band did a live 00:37:31.110 --> 00:37:35.550 stream from red rocks and it was one of the most 00:37:36.639 --> 00:37:39.519 memorable moments because it was one of the few 00:37:39.519 --> 00:37:41.320 nights where i felt like oh i'm not looking at 00:37:41.320 --> 00:37:43.019 the same thing over and over again here's something 00:37:43.019 --> 00:37:46.440 that's actually happening and my whole family 00:37:46.440 --> 00:37:48.840 got together and we watched the we're gonna play 00:37:48.840 --> 00:37:51.840 it anyway show yeah you guys did and i'm gonna 00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:54.420 go with the title track the song you opened with 00:37:54.420 --> 00:37:56.780 new world arise and i had mentioned it earlier 00:37:56.780 --> 00:38:01.260 that live stream was a musical highlight of a 00:38:01.260 --> 00:38:03.480 really tough time in a lot of people's lives 00:38:03.480 --> 00:38:34.699 right you talk about Well, because. Of COVID, 00:38:34.900 --> 00:38:37.960 you know, obviously there was no performing. 00:38:38.340 --> 00:38:41.500 It pretty much shut everybody's business down. 00:38:41.679 --> 00:38:45.880 We were all at home. And the chance to do that 00:38:45.880 --> 00:38:49.659 was just so great. I mean, Red Rocks is probably 00:38:49.659 --> 00:38:52.360 the best venue in the world and one of the most 00:38:52.360 --> 00:38:56.400 scenic anyways and best sounding. But to be able 00:38:56.400 --> 00:38:59.139 to play at empty Red Rocks, nobody's done that. 00:39:00.219 --> 00:39:03.079 Nobody's done that. So it was really an honor 00:39:03.079 --> 00:39:06.139 to be able to. to do that. And the fact that 00:39:06.139 --> 00:39:08.500 it could be live streamed and it could reach 00:39:08.500 --> 00:39:11.400 people and all that. I mean, that's just so meaningful 00:39:11.400 --> 00:39:13.980 to us. I would like to say something about new 00:39:13.980 --> 00:39:16.980 world horizon while we're on it. It's a, it's 00:39:16.980 --> 00:39:18.780 a, another one of our favorites. We play it a 00:39:18.780 --> 00:39:22.360 lot and obviously it rocks. It's a hard rock 00:39:22.360 --> 00:39:26.099 song, but the origins of the song came from Charlie 00:39:26.099 --> 00:39:28.639 Patton. Charlie Patton is one of the very first 00:39:28.639 --> 00:39:32.139 blues men, whoever, you know, recorded he, you 00:39:32.139 --> 00:39:35.219 can buy his. box set out of paramount he was 00:39:35.219 --> 00:39:38.360 popular in the 20s i think he died in 1940 or 00:39:38.360 --> 00:39:41.380 something like that but he was a huge inspiration 00:39:41.380 --> 00:39:48.000 to bob dylan uh uh i i'm the guy from uh i'm 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:52.500 zoning out but the credence lead guy john fogarty 00:39:52.500 --> 00:39:57.119 john fogarty he he paid for charlie patton's 00:39:57.119 --> 00:39:59.900 gravestone Wow. You know, it's like one of those 00:39:59.900 --> 00:40:02.219 kinds of things. And Charlie Patton had a song 00:40:02.219 --> 00:40:08.380 called Jesus is my dying bedmaker. And that's 00:40:08.380 --> 00:40:11.860 that song. I basically, you know, wrote some 00:40:11.860 --> 00:40:14.820 words to that song. I mean, it's a straight blues 00:40:14.820 --> 00:40:19.260 song, but it plays like a hard rock song and 00:40:19.260 --> 00:40:23.380 really fun. Well, we are back to you now for 00:40:23.380 --> 00:40:27.119 track six, the second half of Side B. All right. 00:40:27.159 --> 00:40:31.719 Well. You've been moving around a lot and through 00:40:31.719 --> 00:40:35.639 albums, which is really fun. And we get to bring 00:40:35.639 --> 00:40:39.380 up things that aren't albums that maybe aren't 00:40:39.380 --> 00:40:43.159 the normal for us. You mentioned Riviera. And, 00:40:43.179 --> 00:40:45.199 you know, I'd like to say a lot about Riviera. 00:40:46.019 --> 00:40:49.079 I love Riviera. And I also love the cover of 00:40:49.079 --> 00:40:53.139 Riviera. Yeah. It was shot out of my hotel room 00:40:53.139 --> 00:40:58.170 in, I think it was in Iowa City. He was in Iowa. 00:40:58.690 --> 00:41:02.409 But it's one of those things where at that time 00:41:02.409 --> 00:41:05.690 of our career, we weren't getting a lot of love. 00:41:06.030 --> 00:41:09.349 I mean, we were from you and from our fan base, 00:41:09.429 --> 00:41:12.489 but we were struggling with our label. We had 00:41:12.489 --> 00:41:15.449 been in a conflict with our label that lasted 00:41:15.449 --> 00:41:18.750 for several years because I refused to co -write. 00:41:19.369 --> 00:41:22.550 They wanted me to co -write with people that 00:41:22.550 --> 00:41:26.849 would kind of give some pop zing to end the band. 00:41:27.440 --> 00:41:30.940 And I just, I hated that idea. I just, I felt 00:41:30.940 --> 00:41:32.940 like I was, that I'm a good writer and I got 00:41:32.940 --> 00:41:35.420 things to say as a writer. And, you know, one 00:41:35.420 --> 00:41:38.800 thing that's nice about one guy writing is there's 00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:42.980 a person there. Like there's a marrow to something 00:41:42.980 --> 00:41:47.880 that one person did. And I just felt strongly 00:41:47.880 --> 00:41:50.780 about that. But that album just kind of has a 00:41:50.780 --> 00:41:53.719 special tone because of that. It was recorded 00:41:53.719 --> 00:41:58.179 at my, I had a log cabin. That was on Solar Power 00:41:58.179 --> 00:42:01.739 in Yampa, Colorado, which is like way in the 00:42:01.739 --> 00:42:04.800 mountains of Colorado. So it was a really fun 00:42:04.800 --> 00:42:07.239 album to make, a really special time of our career. 00:42:07.420 --> 00:42:11.019 And I love Riviera. Well, let me say I'm glad 00:42:11.019 --> 00:42:13.500 that you have chosen to continue to write songs 00:42:13.500 --> 00:42:15.679 on your own and not do the co -writing route 00:42:15.679 --> 00:42:19.460 because it shows I love the Riviera album. And 00:42:19.460 --> 00:42:21.420 I'm so glad you stuck to your guns with this 00:42:21.420 --> 00:42:25.099 one because it produced some amazing songs. Nice. 00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:28.800 Well, following that up, I am going to go with 00:42:28.800 --> 00:42:31.400 one of the bigger hits because I feel like I 00:42:31.400 --> 00:42:33.599 want to give a nice balanced approach here. And 00:42:33.599 --> 00:42:35.800 we've been digging deep, but I also want to put 00:42:35.800 --> 00:42:37.760 out some of my favorites of all time. Let's do 00:42:37.760 --> 00:42:40.699 it. And without these songs, I wouldn't be the 00:42:40.699 --> 00:42:43.820 fan I am today. And I'm going to go with one 00:42:43.820 --> 00:42:47.300 of the heaviest songs I think the band has ever 00:42:47.300 --> 00:42:51.059 written. It's just the energy and the aura around 00:42:51.059 --> 00:42:53.480 the song. And I'm going to go with Circle. From 00:42:53.480 --> 00:42:57.539 Sister Sweetly. It's just such a monster song. 00:42:57.639 --> 00:42:59.539 When you hit the high notes during the guitar 00:42:59.539 --> 00:43:02.519 solo, like the hair on my arms is standing up 00:43:02.519 --> 00:43:06.079 just talking about it. This song is so powerful. 00:43:06.440 --> 00:43:09.320 And at the time when it came out in the 90s, 00:43:09.320 --> 00:43:14.079 this was a six plus minute single. That is unheard 00:43:14.079 --> 00:43:17.340 of now. Yeah, I guess it is. You're right. That's 00:43:17.340 --> 00:43:20.420 interesting. Yeah. You know, at that time too, 00:43:20.500 --> 00:43:23.659 there wasn't a lot of guitar rock happening either. 00:43:23.880 --> 00:43:28.340 We were sort of unusual in that way for those 00:43:28.340 --> 00:43:32.519 days, but we still play Circle every show. It 00:43:32.519 --> 00:43:36.880 is usually in the, at the, it's our show ender. 00:43:37.619 --> 00:43:40.320 Almost every show. I mean, we'll play an encore, 00:43:40.400 --> 00:43:43.260 but I can't say enough about how important that's 00:43:43.260 --> 00:43:45.500 been to our career. I appreciate that you guys 00:43:45.500 --> 00:43:48.619 like it because. Oh God, yeah. Hell, when you 00:43:48.619 --> 00:43:51.000 guys open it up and take it into eight, nine, 00:43:51.079 --> 00:43:53.420 ten minutes, I'm all here for it. So, I mean, 00:43:53.500 --> 00:43:57.500 you know, jam on, man. Nice. All right. Well, 00:43:57.579 --> 00:44:00.519 following that up, you have track eight. All 00:44:00.519 --> 00:44:06.559 right. Well, let's go with. Just give me a moment 00:44:06.559 --> 00:44:12.539 here. Because I think I wouldn't mind going to 00:44:12.539 --> 00:44:15.519 another hit. I'm just not sure which one. I think 00:44:15.519 --> 00:44:18.639 I'll choose. I think I'll choose It's All Right. 00:44:19.239 --> 00:44:24.659 Nice. Which has been really an amazing thing 00:44:24.659 --> 00:44:27.639 for us to be able to play. You know, it's obviously 00:44:27.639 --> 00:44:31.320 been a successful song for the band. We've had 00:44:31.320 --> 00:44:35.340 incredible vocalist Hazel Miller as a big part 00:44:35.340 --> 00:44:37.579 of our career. She's been all over that song. 00:44:38.079 --> 00:44:41.460 And the original recording featured Javita Steele 00:44:41.460 --> 00:44:45.300 as she was the vocalist on that song. David Z 00:44:45.300 --> 00:44:48.699 produced it, who was Prince producer. And we 00:44:48.699 --> 00:44:53.440 recorded it at Paisley Park, that album. So he 00:44:53.440 --> 00:44:56.820 had a lot of that really slick kind of soul, 00:44:57.000 --> 00:45:01.760 R &B, Prince oriented, you know, very tight. 00:45:02.199 --> 00:45:06.400 At that time, there weren't computers. We weren't 00:45:06.400 --> 00:45:08.619 like gridding things out on a computer then. 00:45:08.840 --> 00:45:13.599 And so to get that kind of sound, I mean. was 00:45:13.599 --> 00:45:17.639 was a chore and that album it took a long time 00:45:17.639 --> 00:45:19.679 we were in the studio for like three and a half 00:45:19.679 --> 00:45:24.139 months really it was very intensive because of 00:45:24.139 --> 00:45:27.980 that you know going for that perfect time before 00:45:27.980 --> 00:45:30.099 there were computers you used to have a thing 00:45:30.099 --> 00:45:34.960 called it was called a russian dragon like russia 00:45:34.960 --> 00:45:37.699 you know on the on the faceplate of the machine 00:45:37.699 --> 00:45:40.300 yeah but it would tell you if you were rushing 00:45:40.300 --> 00:45:44.039 or dragging But there was so many things like 00:45:44.039 --> 00:45:47.659 that that just made that a really special Sally 00:45:47.659 --> 00:45:52.860 record. It really is. And that song, again, to 00:45:52.860 --> 00:45:56.519 me, it's a staple. It's a song that I don't want 00:45:56.519 --> 00:45:59.719 to say you expect to hear, but you'd almost be 00:45:59.719 --> 00:46:01.900 disappointed if you don't hear it in a live show. 00:46:01.920 --> 00:46:04.460 It's just so great. And I think I'm going to 00:46:04.460 --> 00:46:06.159 follow it up. We're going to do a trifecta from 00:46:06.159 --> 00:46:09.300 Sister Sweetly. I feel like we have to do that. 00:46:09.400 --> 00:46:12.340 And for track nine. I'm going to go with the 00:46:12.340 --> 00:46:15.699 song that introduced me to the band, which made 00:46:15.699 --> 00:46:18.679 me buy Sister Sweetly, which made me hear Brokenhearted 00:46:18.679 --> 00:46:21.159 Savior for the first time. And I'm going to go 00:46:21.159 --> 00:46:26.360 with the amazing pop rock hit, Bittersweet. I 00:46:26.360 --> 00:46:30.099 absolutely love the song. And what I love about 00:46:30.099 --> 00:46:34.360 it, it has all the workings of a classic 90s 00:46:34.360 --> 00:46:37.929 rock song. But then there's the guitar solo, 00:46:38.070 --> 00:46:43.130 and it just is so bluesy and so jangly, for lack 00:46:43.130 --> 00:46:46.489 of a better word. It takes it outside of what 00:46:46.489 --> 00:46:49.969 you would consider pop rock, and it just adds 00:46:49.969 --> 00:46:52.409 a whole new layer of complexity to it. Well, 00:46:52.429 --> 00:46:55.849 thank you. And to me, that is always what resonated 00:46:55.849 --> 00:46:58.309 with me about the band. There was a pop sensibility, 00:46:58.369 --> 00:47:02.250 but... You stuck to your roots of blues and rock, 00:47:02.289 --> 00:47:04.389 and you never let those fall to the wayside. 00:47:04.429 --> 00:47:08.170 They always stayed a part of the sound. My question 00:47:08.170 --> 00:47:11.630 about Bittersweet, that was originally featured 00:47:11.630 --> 00:47:16.929 on Midnight Radio. Why was that the one song 00:47:16.929 --> 00:47:20.730 that made the leap to Sister Sweetly? This is 00:47:20.730 --> 00:47:23.630 an excellent question. As you noticed, it did 00:47:23.630 --> 00:47:28.530 appear on Midnight Radio, and that was all perfectly 00:47:28.530 --> 00:47:31.929 good. Midnight Radio was the last album before 00:47:31.929 --> 00:47:34.530 we were signed to a major label. We released 00:47:34.530 --> 00:47:36.710 Midnight Radio on our own along with another 00:47:36.710 --> 00:47:40.070 album, another Mayberry. Yes. Before we were 00:47:40.070 --> 00:47:45.070 discovered by a major label and put in that system 00:47:45.070 --> 00:47:49.230 or whatever. When we did the album, Sister Sweetly, 00:47:49.389 --> 00:47:53.590 I did not want Bittersweet to be on it. Really? 00:47:54.070 --> 00:47:57.469 Because it was already on Midnight Radio. I mean. 00:47:58.409 --> 00:48:02.429 Oh, why am I putting it on two albums? That doesn't 00:48:02.429 --> 00:48:06.769 make any sense. And the powers that be, you know, 00:48:06.769 --> 00:48:10.730 put a lot of pressure on me to include that song. 00:48:11.409 --> 00:48:13.710 They ultimately prevailed. And I'm glad they 00:48:13.710 --> 00:48:16.750 did because, you know, the version that is on 00:48:16.750 --> 00:48:20.329 Sister Sweetly just, you know, has all those 00:48:20.329 --> 00:48:23.409 really high, you know, those big production poppy 00:48:23.409 --> 00:48:26.889 kind of elements. And it really is the band's 00:48:26.889 --> 00:48:29.800 most important song. It was our only number one 00:48:29.800 --> 00:48:36.280 rock radio hit. And it still is the song that 00:48:36.280 --> 00:48:40.719 people pay money to see us play, probably more 00:48:40.719 --> 00:48:43.300 than any other song. And you can feel it when 00:48:43.300 --> 00:48:47.579 we play it. So I'm glad you chose it. Well, now, 00:48:47.679 --> 00:48:51.440 Todd, you have the privilege, honor, or whatever 00:48:51.440 --> 00:48:55.260 you want to call it, a tough choice to pick the 00:48:55.260 --> 00:48:58.989 song that closes out Side B. Of the ultimate 00:48:58.989 --> 00:49:04.230 Big Head Todd in a Monsters playlist. Wow. Okay. 00:49:06.550 --> 00:49:11.570 I'm going to choose another song from Riviera, 00:49:11.670 --> 00:49:15.130 which is my favorite song since you've given 00:49:15.130 --> 00:49:17.610 me that chance. Sure. It's called Secret Mission. 00:49:18.510 --> 00:49:22.670 Nice. And I just love this song. I'll be honest 00:49:22.670 --> 00:49:25.909 with you. The very beginning, I borrowed from 00:49:25.909 --> 00:49:31.130 The Clash. Really? Clamp down or something like 00:49:31.130 --> 00:49:34.309 that. That feedback at the beginning going in 00:49:34.309 --> 00:49:39.070 there. Yeah. Outside of that, it's a very original 00:49:39.070 --> 00:49:44.650 song. And I love the lyric. Invisible ink on 00:49:44.650 --> 00:49:47.070 invisible paper, but I can still smell your perfume. 00:49:47.349 --> 00:49:51.010 That song is full of great run liners. And it's 00:49:51.010 --> 00:49:53.829 really an emotional and fun song to play every 00:49:53.829 --> 00:49:55.510 night. We don't play it every night, but we play 00:49:55.510 --> 00:49:58.329 it a lot still. Well, there you have it, folks. 00:49:58.510 --> 00:50:01.849 Side B of our ultimate Big Head Todd and the 00:50:01.849 --> 00:50:04.570 Monsters playlist, which kicked off with Rock 00:50:04.570 --> 00:50:07.570 Steady from the album of the same name. The brand 00:50:07.570 --> 00:50:10.190 new track Her Way Out from the album of the same 00:50:10.190 --> 00:50:12.309 name. And I'm actually going to say this a third 00:50:12.309 --> 00:50:15.309 time. Black Beehive from the album of the same 00:50:15.309 --> 00:50:18.190 name. All title tracks. There you go. These Days 00:50:18.190 --> 00:50:21.170 Without You from Beautiful World. Okay, here 00:50:21.170 --> 00:50:23.550 we go again. New World Horizon from New World 00:50:23.550 --> 00:50:26.760 Horizon, album of the same name. Riviera from 00:50:26.760 --> 00:50:30.159 Riviera, album of the same name, a trifecta of 00:50:30.159 --> 00:50:33.059 songs, Circle, It's Alright, and Bittersweet 00:50:33.059 --> 00:50:36.679 from Sister Sweetly, and Secret Mission from 00:50:36.679 --> 00:50:40.519 Riviera. Head over to myweeklymixtape .com to 00:50:40.519 --> 00:50:42.940 hear all the songs we've discussed in this mix 00:50:42.940 --> 00:50:45.760 through the playlist embedded on the episode 00:50:45.760 --> 00:50:49.539 page. Now, we did not touch on cover songs tonight, 00:50:49.719 --> 00:50:53.539 and I want to take a moment to do that because 00:50:54.760 --> 00:50:57.619 Through the years, cover songs have always been 00:50:57.619 --> 00:51:01.519 a part of Big Head Todd's repertoire, but done 00:51:01.519 --> 00:51:05.019 in a way that truly make them your own. A couple 00:51:05.019 --> 00:51:07.579 of them that come to mind, the band did an amazing 00:51:07.579 --> 00:51:11.800 rendition of Tangerine on the Led Zeppelin Ecomium 00:51:11.800 --> 00:51:16.539 release that came out in the 90s. You did a insane 00:51:16.539 --> 00:51:21.780 180 degree pivot. of leonard skinner's sweet 00:51:21.780 --> 00:51:25.179 home alabama on the under the influence tribute 00:51:25.179 --> 00:51:29.579 where you slowed it down and made it a hazy tripped 00:51:29.579 --> 00:51:32.239 out version it's just unbelievable we talked 00:51:32.239 --> 00:51:34.920 about your cover of the rolling stones beast 00:51:34.920 --> 00:51:38.340 of burden from rock steady you talked about the 00:51:38.340 --> 00:51:41.880 cover of boom boom with john lee hooker and then 00:51:41.880 --> 00:51:44.860 you also recorded a cover of neil young cinnamon 00:51:44.860 --> 00:51:50.000 girl with toad the wet sprocket What is the band's 00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:53.059 overall mindset when you're covering a song, 00:51:53.159 --> 00:51:56.019 trying to put that Big Head Todd stamp on it? 00:51:56.039 --> 00:51:59.460 Because all of those examples truly do that. 00:52:01.500 --> 00:52:04.840 Yeah, I think it's really important to try to 00:52:04.840 --> 00:52:08.840 add a little bit of your own way of doing things 00:52:08.840 --> 00:52:12.159 if you're going to do a cover. And at the same 00:52:12.159 --> 00:52:15.519 time, all those songs are huge songs. If you're 00:52:15.519 --> 00:52:18.599 going to just play just like it is, then... It's 00:52:18.599 --> 00:52:21.739 less impressive, I think, but choosing the song 00:52:21.739 --> 00:52:24.800 is so important too. You know, Tangerine has 00:52:24.800 --> 00:52:28.019 been a big song for us. There's a lot of great 00:52:28.019 --> 00:52:31.079 Led Zeppelin songs, but that's just such a, I 00:52:31.079 --> 00:52:33.579 don't know, that's just a clever song. I think 00:52:33.579 --> 00:52:37.099 that's been so fun for us to do. While we're 00:52:37.099 --> 00:52:39.059 on the cover songs, I want to mention Brandy. 00:52:39.099 --> 00:52:41.739 We have a version of Looking Glass Brandy that's 00:52:41.739 --> 00:52:45.980 really popular. Again, it's on a Spotify top 00:52:45.980 --> 00:52:48.320 10. It's probably number six. Or something like 00:52:48.320 --> 00:52:51.699 that. And it's not on an album. It's one of the 00:52:51.699 --> 00:52:54.960 Monster Monthly things. But like YouTube video, 00:52:55.079 --> 00:52:57.719 I think there's over a million views in it. Elliot 00:52:57.719 --> 00:53:01.900 Lurie, the singer from Looking Glass, gave us 00:53:01.900 --> 00:53:04.940 a huge kudos saying, you know, you guys made 00:53:04.940 --> 00:53:08.659 me proud covering that song. That's amazing. 00:53:08.760 --> 00:53:11.340 And unlike some of those other ones, that song 00:53:11.340 --> 00:53:13.460 is just pretty much straight and true to the 00:53:13.460 --> 00:53:15.860 original form of the song. We really didn't do 00:53:15.860 --> 00:53:18.769 much except for redo it. as good as we could. 00:53:18.829 --> 00:53:22.050 And it just worked out well. And then lest we 00:53:22.050 --> 00:53:24.550 forget the cover of Bruce Springsteen's Rosalita 00:53:24.550 --> 00:53:26.750 that you did with blues travelers, John Popper. 00:53:26.829 --> 00:53:30.050 Yeah. That's a special one too. John Popper playing 00:53:30.050 --> 00:53:33.710 the harmonica parts for all those Clarence Clemon, 00:53:33.789 --> 00:53:36.110 you know, all those big man sax parts. Yeah. 00:53:36.650 --> 00:53:39.989 Monica in our, in our thing. And that, that song 00:53:39.989 --> 00:53:43.869 is just a glorious, whatever it is, seven minutes. 00:53:43.889 --> 00:53:46.820 That's a long song. There's a lot of words in 00:53:46.820 --> 00:53:49.300 that song, but man, what a great piece of work 00:53:49.300 --> 00:53:51.840 that is. And you guys did an incredible version 00:53:51.840 --> 00:53:55.000 of it. Thank you. Well, along with the release 00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:58.599 of Her Way Out, what does the rest of 2024 have 00:53:58.599 --> 00:54:02.480 in store for the band? Well, we're in the middle 00:54:02.480 --> 00:54:05.440 of our winter tour. We're finishing it up. We 00:54:05.440 --> 00:54:10.659 have about three weeks left down the East Seaboard, 00:54:10.739 --> 00:54:14.909 you know, from New York to Carolina. And we'll 00:54:14.909 --> 00:54:17.650 finish that up at the end of February and have 00:54:17.650 --> 00:54:19.969 a couple months off. We're gearing it up for 00:54:19.969 --> 00:54:22.630 a release. It's been about seven years since 00:54:22.630 --> 00:54:25.650 we've put an album out. And we're really proud 00:54:25.650 --> 00:54:27.909 of what's going to happen when this comes, you 00:54:27.909 --> 00:54:31.110 know, this piece of music. That'll be kind of 00:54:31.110 --> 00:54:35.389 tied to our Red Rocks play in June, where we're 00:54:35.389 --> 00:54:37.949 going to do two shows with the Wallflowers. Nice. 00:54:38.010 --> 00:54:41.210 Which is pretty cool. Yeah. And then this summer, 00:54:41.250 --> 00:54:45.199 we'll have us back. with Blues Traveler. We played 00:54:45.199 --> 00:54:47.500 it last summer with them kind of in the West 00:54:47.500 --> 00:54:49.940 Coast and a little bit of Midwest. And this summer, 00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:52.340 we're going to finish it up and get to the East 00:54:52.340 --> 00:54:57.059 Coast. And after that, we'll do another winter 00:54:57.059 --> 00:55:01.980 tour. And in March, we'll be on a Joe Bonamassa 00:55:01.980 --> 00:55:07.539 cruise. Nice. To Belize. So I don't know who 00:55:07.539 --> 00:55:10.019 the other groups. He's got incredible artists. 00:55:10.039 --> 00:55:12.699 So it's a big... He does these big cruises with 00:55:12.699 --> 00:55:16.500 five or six big bands, but he's such a great 00:55:16.500 --> 00:55:19.679 guitarist. I really look forward to not cutting 00:55:19.679 --> 00:55:23.019 heads with him, but learning from him, you know 00:55:23.019 --> 00:55:24.980 what I'm saying? I'm not going to lie. I'd love 00:55:24.980 --> 00:55:27.079 to see you two throw down together on a song, 00:55:27.119 --> 00:55:29.059 man. I think that'd be amazing. We'll see what 00:55:29.059 --> 00:55:33.059 happens. I'll practice my skills. And don't forget 00:55:33.059 --> 00:55:35.980 Fool in the Rain with Blues Traveler this summer. 00:55:36.119 --> 00:55:38.519 Full band crossovers. Let's make it happen. Yeah. 00:55:38.800 --> 00:55:43.710 I love it. Okay. We're hoping to cover, just 00:55:43.710 --> 00:55:47.230 before with Blues Traveler, the song that we're 00:55:47.230 --> 00:55:51.389 hoping to do with them is The Wizard, Black Sabbath. 00:55:51.849 --> 00:55:55.849 Really? It's a really cool song. Oh, I love it. 00:55:55.889 --> 00:55:59.650 That harmonic is so haunting in it. Yeah. Oh, 00:55:59.690 --> 00:56:03.289 that'll be badass. We've been talking about it, 00:56:03.349 --> 00:56:05.130 so it's going to be cool when we pull it out. 00:56:05.289 --> 00:56:07.389 Are you taking the lead vocals on that or with 00:56:07.389 --> 00:56:12.420 John? We'll see. Uh, John, he, a lot, he's a, 00:56:12.599 --> 00:56:15.800 an incredible singer too. So I hope that he'll 00:56:15.800 --> 00:56:19.440 take some, but I, I'm really good at, uh, I got 00:56:19.440 --> 00:56:22.079 a pretty good Ozzy Osbourne imitation in here. 00:56:22.599 --> 00:56:24.820 Oh, I can't wait to hear it. That's gotta be 00:56:24.820 --> 00:56:27.460 another monthly release. It just has to happen. 00:56:27.579 --> 00:56:31.260 Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, Todd, thank 00:56:31.260 --> 00:56:33.820 you so much for joining me on my weekly mixtape. 00:56:33.900 --> 00:56:37.400 This has been an absolute honor. All right. Thanks 00:56:37.400 --> 00:56:40.329 Brian for having me. And, uh, I love, I just, 00:56:40.389 --> 00:56:43.329 it's humbling to have somebody like you that 00:56:43.329 --> 00:56:47.909 fell for my music. I mean, to such a degree that 00:56:47.909 --> 00:56:51.489 you have. Of course, we love it. Our band loves 00:56:51.489 --> 00:56:55.690 all of our albums. You know, it's just really 00:56:55.690 --> 00:56:58.809 special to have a lengthy career and to have 00:56:58.809 --> 00:57:01.909 people say that this song or that song is my 00:57:01.909 --> 00:57:03.809 favorite or this album is my favorite. I mean, 00:57:03.869 --> 00:57:06.469 that's just such an honor. So thank you so much 00:57:06.469 --> 00:57:09.050 for caring about our music and supporting our 00:57:09.050 --> 00:57:11.880 group. Well, trust me when I say, Todd, the pleasure 00:57:11.880 --> 00:57:15.019 is all mine. Thank you once again. And to all 00:57:15.019 --> 00:57:17.280 the mixtapers out there listening, you can find 00:57:17.280 --> 00:57:19.739 My Weekly Mixtape on almost all the social media 00:57:19.739 --> 00:57:23.099 haunts at My Weekly Mixtape. You can also head 00:57:23.099 --> 00:57:25.559 to MyWeeklyMixtape .com to check out the full 00:57:25.559 --> 00:57:28.909 catalog of My Weekly Mixtape episodes. And if 00:57:28.909 --> 00:57:30.630 you like what you're hearing on the show, you 00:57:30.630 --> 00:57:33.110 can help me out by either telling a friend, leaving 00:57:33.110 --> 00:57:34.989 the show a five -star review wherever you're 00:57:34.989 --> 00:57:38.210 tuning in, or becoming a Patreon mixtaper at 00:57:38.210 --> 00:57:41.869 patreon .com forward slash My Weekly Mixtape. 00:57:42.230 --> 00:57:44.409 That's all for this week. Thanks again for listening. 00:57:44.489 --> 00:57:46.550 And until next time, enjoy the tunes.