WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.660 Hey, it's Coco from Winona Fighter. Our debut 00:00:02.660 --> 00:00:05.519 LP, My Apologies to the Chef, is out now, and 00:00:05.519 --> 00:00:07.679 we're about to dive into the album on My Weekly 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:22.379 Mixtape. Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast 00:00:22.379 --> 00:00:25.760 that takes the classic mixtape approach to building 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.460 a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn. 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:31.679 Joining me tonight again is Coco Kinnan of Nashville 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:34.259 -based punk trio Winona Fighter. Coco, welcome 00:00:34.259 --> 00:00:37.240 back to the program. It is great to be back. 00:00:37.820 --> 00:00:40.560 Glad to have you. And since we last talked on 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:44.399 episode 71, which was the ultimate 90s punk rock 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:48.100 playlist, Winona Fighter has truly been taking 00:00:48.100 --> 00:00:51.240 off, hitting up major festivals. and some successful 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:54.659 tours, including opening for Bayside and Finch, 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:58.039 as well as putting the finishing touches on your 00:00:58.039 --> 00:01:00.659 debut studio album, which is going to be the 00:01:00.659 --> 00:01:03.840 focus of our discussion tonight. So even though 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:06.400 it's been less than a year since we last talked, 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:09.920 it feels like it's been an eternity in terms 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:12.420 of what's been happening with you guys. Yeah, 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:14.459 I mean, I was just saying to Austin the other 00:01:14.459 --> 00:01:17.400 day, someone brought something up at Thanksgiving 00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:20.390 that happened in February. And we were like, 00:01:20.469 --> 00:01:24.930 that was just less than a year ago. Like it's 00:01:24.930 --> 00:01:28.510 been the busiest year and time has flown this 00:01:28.510 --> 00:01:32.609 year, but it feels like it's been within the 00:01:32.609 --> 00:01:35.510 span of like five years. Now, when we talked 00:01:35.510 --> 00:01:38.469 about this on episode 71, and if you haven't 00:01:38.469 --> 00:01:40.689 heard it first, you really need to remedy that. 00:01:40.810 --> 00:01:44.209 But for those who haven't heard it yet, on stage, 00:01:44.310 --> 00:01:47.010 you sing and play rhythm guitar for the band, 00:01:47.030 --> 00:01:49.920 but in the studio. You're the band's drummer. 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:52.359 So can you talk about that dynamic and how it 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:55.079 plays out during the recording versus live phase 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:58.519 of the band? Yeah. So the drums are the first 00:01:58.519 --> 00:02:01.519 thing we'll record in the studio. And I'll actually 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:04.799 go in and record them first. And it really, I 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:08.819 think, just sets the groundwork for the rest 00:02:08.819 --> 00:02:13.080 of the songs to be built. But we do it in a way 00:02:13.080 --> 00:02:17.560 where I'm not going to go play a drum part that... 00:02:18.090 --> 00:02:20.590 our drummer sweating every night, like trying 00:02:20.590 --> 00:02:23.909 to do, you know, we want to make it as just kind 00:02:23.909 --> 00:02:26.770 of like straightforward, clean and hard hitting 00:02:26.770 --> 00:02:29.949 as possible. We're not trying to go Travis Barker. 00:02:30.009 --> 00:02:33.789 We're trying to go fuck Ringo Starr, just very 00:02:33.789 --> 00:02:37.689 lay it down and play hard. So that's the approach 00:02:37.689 --> 00:02:40.870 I take in the studio. And I think it really comes 00:02:40.870 --> 00:02:43.610 through not only on the record, but also when 00:02:43.610 --> 00:02:46.530 we play live, it's like, okay, these are live 00:02:46.530 --> 00:02:50.139 drums. Well, and this comes with zero disrespect 00:02:50.139 --> 00:02:52.400 to your live drummer because he's frigging awesome. 00:02:52.539 --> 00:02:55.259 But have you ever entertained the thought of 00:02:55.259 --> 00:02:58.139 it, maybe even for one song, sitting down at 00:02:58.139 --> 00:03:00.840 the kit and singing simultaneously, giving us 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:04.400 a the band type situation, a Levon Helm situation 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:09.360 for punk rock? My very first punk band, I would 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:12.240 do that. It was a two singer band. So the bass 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.840 player sang and I sang, but I was the drummer 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:19.520 as well. Will I ever do that for a Winona Fighter 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:23.319 song? Maybe not, because it takes a lot, a lot 00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:26.659 of energy to not only sing a Winona Fighter song, 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:30.120 but play drums to it. But we do, at Riot Fest, 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:33.080 I got behind the drums for a solo at the end 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:36.159 of a song. So that was fun, and I think a lot 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:38.699 of people were like... I could say all day long 00:03:38.699 --> 00:03:41.020 I play drums on the album, but then I'll play 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:43.939 drums at a show and people will be like, I didn't 00:03:43.939 --> 00:03:47.419 know you were a drummer. Well, let's get into 00:03:47.419 --> 00:03:50.419 the album. So let's start top level here and 00:03:50.419 --> 00:03:53.039 then work our way down. The title of the album, 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:57.419 My Apologies to the Chef. What's the story? It's 00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:00.780 just a little something I would say in the studio. 00:04:00.900 --> 00:04:04.360 I'm especially playing drums. I would like because 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:08.020 there are some. tricky parts on the record. And 00:04:08.020 --> 00:04:11.759 if I would like screw up multiple times in a 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:14.819 row, I'd start to get a little agitated. I think 00:04:14.819 --> 00:04:17.019 it was like anyone who's very serious about their 00:04:17.019 --> 00:04:19.379 craft does. I don't think there's like a very 00:04:19.379 --> 00:04:22.879 graceful, like someone who really cares about 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:24.620 what they do and they keep messing up. I don't 00:04:24.620 --> 00:04:26.259 think there's any person who's really graceful 00:04:26.259 --> 00:04:28.959 about that. And so Austin was always like, you 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:31.220 just got to take a breather, take a breather. 00:04:31.259 --> 00:04:33.920 And so then I started just saying like, I would 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:36.439 mess up. And I would start to kind of get agitated 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:40.500 and I would say my apologies to the chef, like 00:04:40.500 --> 00:04:43.740 make a little joke out of it and then keep going. 00:04:43.980 --> 00:04:46.319 And then it just kind of like the boys started 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:48.839 doing it. And then we would start doing it in 00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:50.980 like our everyday life. We would start saying 00:04:50.980 --> 00:04:54.180 it. And we were like, that has to be the album 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:56.899 title because, you know, we say it whenever we 00:04:56.899 --> 00:05:00.360 like mess something up. And I think like the 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:04.420 record in general is about life. messing it up 00:05:04.420 --> 00:05:08.100 sometimes and so it just felt very fitting and 00:05:08.100 --> 00:05:10.220 then the album cover itself is that a depiction 00:05:10.220 --> 00:05:12.779 of you as a child holding up the sign that says 00:05:12.779 --> 00:05:16.579 my apologies to the chef my interpretation of 00:05:16.579 --> 00:05:20.519 like the title and the album cover is kind of 00:05:20.519 --> 00:05:24.439 like being a kid and from like a young age being 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:27.279 like i want to be in a punk rock band and you 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:30.519 know my apologies to the chef my parents being 00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:33.980 the chef Or even, like, maybe I'm the chef. I 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:36.519 don't know. But, yeah, it was kind of a take 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:40.000 on that, being young and wanting to just do this 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:44.120 completely outrageous thing and there not ever 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:49.399 being a plan B. Well, the album drops on Valentine's 00:05:49.399 --> 00:05:52.439 Day. Any significance with that? I think it's 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:55.860 just fun. I think for such, like, I think it's 00:05:55.860 --> 00:05:59.839 very, like, representative of us because we'll... 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.800 I'll be on stage and I'll be like, fucking move. 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:06.800 And then I'll be off stage and I'm just a kind 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:10.060 of a gentle person. So I think it's like has 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:12.379 that nice contrast as well as like, you know, 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:16.319 the band name, Feminine But Aggressive. The album 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:19.839 release on Valentine's Day, Feminine But Aggressive. 00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:22.620 It just kind of all fits in this like little 00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:25.240 package, I think. It's a yin and yang, right? 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:28.600 Yeah. Well, let's dive into some of these songs 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:30.879 now. And we'll start with, because I am an album 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:34.379 opener fanatic, the infectious opening track, 00:06:34.519 --> 00:07:31.920 Jumper Cables. Now, you and I talked a lot about 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:36.199 90s punk rock back on episode 71, and I can't 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:40.000 help but hear that bouncy, jumpy pop punk vibe 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:43.160 from the 90s shining through and everything from 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:46.939 the riff to that everybody jump opening. I think 00:07:46.939 --> 00:07:48.500 you know what I'm talking about when I call it 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:52.199 that all the way to the sing along slash scream 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:55.019 along, if you will, chorus. It's the perfect 00:07:55.019 --> 00:07:58.529 opening statement. How much thought went into 00:07:58.529 --> 00:08:00.730 the track sequencing for this album? Because 00:08:00.730 --> 00:08:03.069 as someone who's been familiar with the songs, 00:08:03.209 --> 00:08:06.029 having seen you live and as well as the singles 00:08:06.029 --> 00:08:09.329 that you've previously released, I feel like 00:08:09.329 --> 00:08:12.470 that answer might be a lot of thought just based 00:08:12.470 --> 00:08:15.089 on how the album plays through from start to 00:08:15.089 --> 00:08:18.910 finish. Definitely a lot of thought. But the 00:08:18.910 --> 00:08:22.350 two things that were kind of non -negotiables 00:08:22.350 --> 00:08:25.750 for me were the opening track and the ending 00:08:25.750 --> 00:08:31.189 track. Jumper Cables, I was like, if it's not 00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:34.470 first, it's not going on the record. Really? 00:08:34.750 --> 00:08:38.750 Yes. Just because it is so like, and no pun intended, 00:08:38.929 --> 00:08:41.590 but it's shocking. It's less than two minutes. 00:08:42.009 --> 00:08:46.509 It's just very like ramps you up. I think coming 00:08:46.509 --> 00:08:49.750 in with just that riff in the beginning and then 00:08:49.750 --> 00:08:52.529 everything else coming in is so like infectious 00:08:52.529 --> 00:08:56.049 and it pulls you in. And I think it's just like. 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:00.139 It's not too heavy. Really, really, really anyone 00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:02.539 who listens to the record can hear that opening 00:09:02.539 --> 00:09:05.259 song and be like, OK, maybe I could do one more. 00:09:05.580 --> 00:09:08.519 One more. We got 13 more to go. Let's come on. 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:11.139 Let's be honest here. Now, put your money where 00:09:11.139 --> 00:09:14.080 your mouth is and shut it. Can you talk about 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:17.360 the story behind the lyrics in this song? Yes, 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:24.049 I without saying too much, we. me as in we were 00:09:24.049 --> 00:09:28.690 dealing with kind of a legal thing and it was 00:09:28.690 --> 00:09:33.649 just a silly something so silly and it ended 00:09:33.649 --> 00:09:36.490 up being one of those things where I had to be 00:09:36.490 --> 00:09:40.049 like if this person is serious then like why 00:09:40.049 --> 00:09:42.970 don't you like put your cards on the table and 00:09:42.970 --> 00:09:44.830 we'll see if you're actually serious why don't 00:09:44.830 --> 00:09:46.809 you put your money with where your mouth is and 00:09:46.809 --> 00:09:50.470 we'll see if you're serious and when the time 00:09:50.470 --> 00:09:53.970 came They had to shut it. They couldn't put their 00:09:53.970 --> 00:09:56.509 money where their mouth was. So, you know, I 00:09:56.509 --> 00:09:59.769 think there's something so freeing about writing 00:09:59.769 --> 00:10:03.149 about an experience like that and something that 00:10:03.149 --> 00:10:07.009 really kind of was affecting us as a band and 00:10:07.009 --> 00:10:10.669 it being the opening track to our debut LP. Well, 00:10:10.690 --> 00:10:12.929 the next track I'd like to play is the single 00:10:12.929 --> 00:11:06.549 Subaru. Hand me down, Subaru. It's enough to 00:11:06.549 --> 00:11:09.529 get me through. Now, this song actually caught 00:11:09.529 --> 00:11:12.730 the attention of Subaru in a good way. Can you 00:11:12.730 --> 00:11:16.970 talk about that? Yeah. So we, because it's just 00:11:16.970 --> 00:11:19.250 a fun, silly little song. And so we were like, 00:11:19.250 --> 00:11:21.769 one would be really silly is if we got Subaru 00:11:21.769 --> 00:11:25.490 to use it, which they never did use it. But we 00:11:25.490 --> 00:11:28.970 just started tagging them in everything. And 00:11:28.970 --> 00:11:31.720 all of a sudden. They commented on the YouTube 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:34.860 video and the Instagram and the TikTok. And then 00:11:34.860 --> 00:11:36.559 they DM'd us and they were like, we would love 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:39.740 to send you some swag. So that was really cool 00:11:39.740 --> 00:11:42.740 and really special. And would we love to collab 00:11:42.740 --> 00:11:45.220 with them? Of course. But I think just the fact 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:48.500 that our song was able to reach those bounds 00:11:48.500 --> 00:11:51.980 was so cool. A Subaru tour bus. There's a nice 00:11:51.980 --> 00:11:55.740 ring to that. That's what I'm saying. A Subaru 00:11:55.740 --> 00:11:58.539 Sprinter van. There you go. You can make it work. 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:00.500 If you've got the money, make one, you know? 00:12:02.179 --> 00:12:04.019 Well, the next song that we're going to talk 00:12:04.019 --> 00:12:07.620 about is the song that truly introduced me to 00:12:07.620 --> 00:12:11.100 Winona Fighter. And that song is Hams in a Glass. 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:50.620 this is a song along with a few others on the 00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:53.480 album that have been road tested and single tested 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:56.919 as hams originally was a single back in 2023. 00:12:57.700 --> 00:13:00.620 Did the time you spent playing these songs on 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:04.639 stage and pre -releasing the singles help shape 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:09.620 this album as a whole in any way? I think, you 00:13:09.620 --> 00:13:13.139 know, like some of the newer tracks that are 00:13:13.139 --> 00:13:17.200 being released as singles. Recently, we were 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:19.700 able to kind of play those on the road before 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:25.820 we recorded them. But Hams, we wrote it and pretty 00:13:25.820 --> 00:13:28.860 much recorded it straight away. Maybe we played 00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:33.019 it for five shows, but nothing really changed 00:13:33.019 --> 00:13:36.309 from the demo. to the recording because it's 00:13:36.309 --> 00:13:38.950 definitely a what you see is what you get song. 00:13:39.250 --> 00:13:42.789 It's fast, it's aggressive, and there wasn't 00:13:42.789 --> 00:13:44.909 much to change about it. I think if anything, 00:13:45.190 --> 00:13:49.070 we just learned that Austin cannot throw his 00:13:49.070 --> 00:13:52.870 bass in the air during the bridge if he does 00:13:52.870 --> 00:13:58.029 not have another bass on hand. Now, speaking 00:13:58.029 --> 00:14:00.230 of that bridge, I want to play a clip of that 00:14:00.230 --> 00:14:22.159 for a second. that scream is so visceral after 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:25.960 the spoken word build was that done in one take 00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:29.440 because it you really feel that moment in the 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:32.299 song. And it feels too, and I hate to use the 00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:35.179 word sincere because we're talking about a scream, 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:38.000 but there's something about it that just feels 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:40.419 like you let it all out in that moment. And that 00:14:40.419 --> 00:14:44.039 was it. I think it was the first and only take 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:46.440 of that scream. And it's so funny because people 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:49.220 will be like, oh, well, that's the worst scream 00:14:49.220 --> 00:14:51.720 I've ever heard. And it's like, we're not going 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:57.240 for like a knocked loose metal core scream. We're 00:14:57.240 --> 00:15:00.440 just going for an actual scream. You're letting 00:15:00.440 --> 00:15:03.179 out all your frustration at that point. Yeah, 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:07.019 exactly. I think it keeps the authenticity of 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:09.919 the song. Whereas if it were a note that was 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:14.940 held out or some type of pig squeal or whatever, 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:17.639 it would have just completely, I think, taken 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:20.860 people out of the authenticity and the realness 00:15:20.860 --> 00:15:23.320 of it. And then they would have been like, oh, 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:26.429 this is just like a... picture that's being painted, 00:15:26.490 --> 00:15:29.409 where instead it's like, here's a bunch of fucking 00:15:29.409 --> 00:15:33.629 scribbles to match exactly how the song feels. 00:15:33.970 --> 00:15:36.789 And as you've been playing it now live over the 00:15:36.789 --> 00:15:39.629 last year and change, have you seen the callbacks 00:15:39.629 --> 00:15:41.730 from the crowd during the sing -alongs and the 00:15:41.730 --> 00:15:45.210 chorus happening? Definitely. It's as soon as 00:15:45.210 --> 00:15:49.320 it hits that down note. I don't even have to 00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:51.980 say anything. I just point the microphone at 00:15:51.980 --> 00:15:54.700 the crowd and everyone starts, I'm a little stressed 00:15:54.700 --> 00:15:57.980 out. You have people singing the song. You have 00:15:57.980 --> 00:16:00.980 people sweating bullets because Austin's doing 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:04.799 his thing. And then you have people who are just 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:07.539 prepping to hit that scream. They've been waiting 00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:11.299 all day to let it out. Absolutely love it. Now, 00:16:11.299 --> 00:16:13.820 there's also a music video for this track, along 00:16:13.820 --> 00:16:15.379 with a couple others we're going to talk about 00:16:15.379 --> 00:16:18.279 a little later. But who's the person behind these 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:21.279 music video concepts? Is it you? Is it the band? 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:24.779 Or is there a mastermind that you go to for like 00:16:24.779 --> 00:16:28.639 your video gurus, so to speak? We have a mastermind 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:33.639 behind it. I would say, and I don't know, I think 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:35.960 it's a lot because I deal with a lot of the business 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:39.059 stuff as well as creating the music. There's 00:16:39.059 --> 00:16:43.240 no extra space in my mind for like. Like there 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:45.120 are a lot of artists who are really good at visuals 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:49.340 and branding and concepts. That's not me. Just 00:16:49.340 --> 00:16:51.899 let me write the songs and let me deal with the 00:16:51.899 --> 00:16:55.200 business. And so we actually go to this company 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:58.419 in L .A. We're all going to die with Dan Masso 00:16:58.419 --> 00:17:01.700 and Jake Johnston. And they are they'll listen 00:17:01.700 --> 00:17:05.119 to the songs and send over a concept. And it's 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:08.720 like, yes, if I had like thought up something 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:10.920 in my head, this is exactly what it would have 00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:13.910 been. Well, let's dive into another one of those 00:17:13.910 --> 00:17:16.049 music videos, as the next song we're going to 00:17:16.049 --> 00:17:19.829 play has a very memorable music video, and that 00:17:19.829 --> 00:18:10.980 is I'm in the Market to Please No One. Now, you 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:12.980 and I talked about this song a little bit back 00:18:12.980 --> 00:18:16.339 on episode 71, as at the time it was the band's 00:18:16.339 --> 00:18:19.660 current single. While the lyrics feel like it's 00:18:19.660 --> 00:18:23.240 coming from a place of anger, for you, it's actually 00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:27.480 more than that. Yeah, it's a place of anger, 00:18:27.539 --> 00:18:32.319 but a place of, I think, freedom. And it's been 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:35.640 so interesting. I wrote the song for myself and 00:18:35.640 --> 00:18:39.660 for other young women who have dealt or are dealing 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:44.230 with domestic violence or assault. And yet there 00:18:44.230 --> 00:18:48.089 will be these big ass grown burly dudes in the 00:18:48.089 --> 00:18:51.869 audience, like scream, singing, crying it back 00:18:51.869 --> 00:18:55.950 to me. And it just made me realize that the song 00:18:55.950 --> 00:18:59.730 is so much bigger than who I intended it for. 00:18:59.990 --> 00:19:03.269 And I think that's incredibly special to like 00:19:03.269 --> 00:19:06.690 be in a situation like that for such a, I mean, 00:19:06.690 --> 00:19:08.509 I would say probably one of our most vulnerable 00:19:08.509 --> 00:19:13.390 songs. And I will say as a father of two girls, 00:19:13.589 --> 00:19:18.529 having songs that empower women like this, this 00:19:18.529 --> 00:19:21.230 is the kind of music I want them singing along 00:19:21.230 --> 00:19:24.529 with. Because there are so many artists out there 00:19:24.529 --> 00:19:30.089 where the lyrics put women down or treat them 00:19:30.089 --> 00:19:34.190 as a prize or a possession. And as a father, 00:19:34.250 --> 00:19:36.970 seeing them sing out with some authority and 00:19:36.970 --> 00:19:39.069 a little bit of punch, a little bit of fight. 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:43.660 It makes the dad in me proud to hear. Oh yeah. 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:46.519 I think, you know, I think we need more songs 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:50.000 where women can like speak on these issues without 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:55.160 having to like come across as, as a victim or 00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:57.900 as, you know, weak or as, you know, I think there's 00:19:57.900 --> 00:20:00.240 something that can be really empowering about 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:03.059 songs like in the market. And it's definitely 00:20:03.059 --> 00:20:07.140 empowered me to be more vocal about the topic 00:20:07.140 --> 00:20:10.559 as a whole. And the music video for this song, 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:15.839 it really kind of takes the music and visualizes 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:19.339 it as if it was playing out in real life as you're 00:20:19.339 --> 00:20:22.240 singing it to your therapist. Can you talk about 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.680 how that concept unfolded in the music video 00:20:24.680 --> 00:20:29.819 with the team? Yeah. So when Jake and Dan first 00:20:29.819 --> 00:20:33.599 sent over the treatment, it was this very serious 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:38.819 video, like very, very serious. I was like, I 00:20:38.819 --> 00:20:41.799 love everything you guys do. I was like, this 00:20:41.799 --> 00:20:46.400 is not it. We need something that matches the 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:49.240 music and we need something that is upbeat and 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:52.740 uplifting. Because my view on it is if you take 00:20:52.740 --> 00:20:57.059 a serious topic and you make a serious song and 00:20:57.059 --> 00:21:00.259 a serious video, it's going to be too heavy to 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:02.500 talk about. So it's like if we keep it light, 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:06.569 it can be more of a conversation. Austin actually 00:21:06.569 --> 00:21:09.109 brought up the idea of what if there was like 00:21:09.109 --> 00:21:13.549 a therapist and then whatever chaos unfolds. 00:21:13.750 --> 00:21:17.450 And pretty much from there, you know, we hired 00:21:17.450 --> 00:21:21.210 an actress to be a therapist and we kind of played 00:21:21.210 --> 00:21:24.769 out the scenario in my mind of like when I would 00:21:24.769 --> 00:21:29.470 go to therapy for this thing and hated it. And 00:21:29.470 --> 00:21:33.589 then the next, you know, scenes where it's. I 00:21:33.589 --> 00:21:35.849 mean, the boys playing in the bedroom is just 00:21:35.849 --> 00:21:39.410 kind of a freeing experience. You know, you can 00:21:39.410 --> 00:21:42.230 see we're all just like letting loose and thrashing 00:21:42.230 --> 00:21:46.089 around and letting all of that emotion out. Singing 00:21:46.089 --> 00:21:48.589 the lyrics back and forth to each other in the 00:21:48.589 --> 00:21:51.609 video. There's definitely, like a lot of the 00:21:51.609 --> 00:21:54.210 things Winona Fighter related, a yin and a yang 00:21:54.210 --> 00:21:58.569 type flow to the concept that's unfolding. Well, 00:21:58.609 --> 00:22:01.250 it's amazing. You know, I'm surrounded by these 00:22:01.250 --> 00:22:07.660 two. empathetic, strong guys who would fucking 00:22:07.660 --> 00:22:10.759 jump in front of a train for me. And so getting 00:22:10.759 --> 00:22:15.039 to scream this song about the complete opposite 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:19.450 type of guy with them is awesome. Love it. And 00:22:19.450 --> 00:22:21.269 I should probably mention that you could see 00:22:21.269 --> 00:22:23.690 all of the music videos we're talking about tonight 00:22:23.690 --> 00:22:27.849 over at the episode page at myweeklymixtape .com. 00:22:27.990 --> 00:22:30.769 Or you could just search Winona Fighter on YouTube 00:22:30.769 --> 00:22:32.670 and follow them there, of course, because all 00:22:32.670 --> 00:22:35.029 the videos are up there. But while we're talking 00:22:35.029 --> 00:22:37.789 about music videos, I think we should queue up 00:22:37.789 --> 00:22:39.809 the next track to share with the listeners. And 00:22:39.809 --> 00:23:38.140 that is Attention. Now, taking this back to the 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:39.559 beginning of the interview when we were talking 00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:41.839 about Jumper Cables and talking about the track 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:44.759 listing here, it actually shocked me to find 00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:48.200 out that Attention wasn't the lead track on the 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:51.079 album. Because when I first heard the song, I 00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:53.559 went, ah, there's your album opener. And I was 00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:56.799 totally wrong. It's actually track 10, which 00:23:56.799 --> 00:23:59.400 just goes to speak to how strong of a track listing 00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:02.880 this album has overall. Was that something that 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:05.059 you guys had to really consider when you were 00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:07.500 putting this track listing together? Yeah, I 00:24:07.500 --> 00:24:10.539 think the thing about Attention being track 10 00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:14.559 is the track list. It's kind of the sequence 00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:17.160 of like the first three songs are more that like 00:24:17.160 --> 00:24:21.400 90s, early 2000s pop punk. And then you have 00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:27.019 Hams, Talk, Swimmer's Ear, which are like kind 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:32.440 of that indie punk, 90s, grungy, just thrashable. 00:24:33.019 --> 00:24:36.900 And so then it's like, are you famous? Another 00:24:36.900 --> 00:24:40.819 one, Attention. And those are definitely the 00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:44.039 rock side of punk rock. So the whole track list 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:47.819 is this umbrella of punk rock. And I think the 00:24:47.819 --> 00:24:51.599 reason Attention is number 10 is because naturally 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:54.720 that's just kind of when going across the sequence 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:58.640 and kind of the lighter to hard, it definitely 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:03.779 fits in that segment very well. Now, back on 00:25:03.779 --> 00:25:06.099 the ultimate mixtape, which we did for episodes 00:25:06.099 --> 00:25:09.880 100 through 102, your choice for that spoiler 00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:12.119 alert for those who haven't listened yet, you 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:15.160 had chose Best of You by the Foo Fighters. And 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:17.559 when I hear attention after hearing what you 00:25:17.559 --> 00:25:20.220 said about Dave Grohl and your love of his music, 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:24.500 I hear that element of the Foo Fighters, not 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:27.079 saying it sounds like a Foo Fighters song, but 00:25:27.079 --> 00:25:31.730 I hear. That side of Winona Fighter coming out 00:25:31.730 --> 00:25:33.750 in that track, was that something that you were 00:25:33.750 --> 00:25:36.210 looking to achieve with the song? Definitely. 00:25:36.210 --> 00:25:39.670 Every song we do, we always pick kind of a reference 00:25:39.670 --> 00:25:44.089 track for each song. And Attention, definitely 00:25:44.089 --> 00:25:48.309 we had a reference off of the color and the shape 00:25:48.309 --> 00:25:51.970 for it while doing it. And just based on the 00:25:51.970 --> 00:25:54.769 tones we want, how we want the vocals to come 00:25:54.769 --> 00:25:58.119 across, all of that. Yeah, I love that song. 00:25:58.319 --> 00:26:01.579 I think it took a couple people back, especially 00:26:01.579 --> 00:26:04.359 on the pop punk Reddit page. Because I think 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:09.279 a lot of pop punkers want to claim us as that. 00:26:09.460 --> 00:26:11.480 Like they're like, they're ours. They're a pop 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:14.380 punk band. And then we go and release kind of 00:26:14.380 --> 00:26:17.880 a rock song. And they're like, what the hell 00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:21.940 is this? What do you think you're doing? But 00:26:21.940 --> 00:26:23.819 I think once people listen to the whole record, 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:26.960 they'll be like, okay. I like take it back. This 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:30.019 all makes sense now. Oh, as someone who's heard 00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:32.380 the whole record, it does make sense. And to 00:26:32.380 --> 00:26:35.619 me, when an album has that amount of diversity 00:26:35.619 --> 00:26:38.900 in it, where you can please both the pop punk 00:26:38.900 --> 00:26:42.539 fans, as well as the, I don't know if you want 00:26:42.539 --> 00:26:45.640 to call it mainstream rock, but when people talk 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:47.339 Foo Fighters, that's kind of where they land. 00:26:47.400 --> 00:26:50.210 So just for sake of argument. We'll call it mainstream 00:26:50.210 --> 00:26:53.650 hard rock sound. And there are similarities that 00:26:53.650 --> 00:26:57.410 run between the two genres, whether the purists 00:26:57.410 --> 00:27:00.029 of each side want to admit it or not. Because 00:27:00.029 --> 00:27:03.549 I hear some punk rock spirit in songs like Monkey 00:27:03.549 --> 00:27:06.170 Wrench. Just like I said, I hear a little bit 00:27:06.170 --> 00:27:08.710 of Foo Fighters spirit and attention. Yeah, I 00:27:08.710 --> 00:27:12.029 think it's so cool to be able to touch different 00:27:12.029 --> 00:27:16.230 realms of it. And I'm happy to have a radio rock 00:27:16.230 --> 00:27:21.369 song. So I don't know. Now, the Western concept 00:27:21.369 --> 00:27:24.809 for the music video. This looks like it had to 00:27:24.809 --> 00:27:27.170 be the most fun you guys had on set. I mean, 00:27:27.190 --> 00:27:30.609 this video is just pure fun as far as I'm concerned. 00:27:31.089 --> 00:27:35.930 Oh, my God. We were cracking up. There's this 00:27:35.930 --> 00:27:38.910 one scene where we're on the hill and the camera's 00:27:38.910 --> 00:27:42.309 far away and it like zooms in. And funny enough, 00:27:42.410 --> 00:27:46.430 the director. is lying behind us on the slope 00:27:46.430 --> 00:27:49.589 of the hill with his phone playing the song so 00:27:49.589 --> 00:27:54.410 we can like hear it. We had so many laughs that 00:27:54.410 --> 00:27:58.089 day. It's funny, we hired one of Austin's friends 00:27:58.089 --> 00:28:00.849 to play drums in the music videos because we 00:28:00.849 --> 00:28:04.470 were one of his friends out in LA. And the whole 00:28:04.470 --> 00:28:07.029 time I'm like, hope you're okay with a little 00:28:07.029 --> 00:28:08.849 bit of comedy. I hope you're okay with a little 00:28:08.849 --> 00:28:11.730 bit of a couple laughs. Hope you're okay with 00:28:11.730 --> 00:28:15.009 like a silly goose time. And it was, I think, 00:28:15.009 --> 00:28:19.589 a couple people on set expected the fun, comedy, 00:28:19.809 --> 00:28:22.089 funny, lots of laughs. And then there were a 00:28:22.089 --> 00:28:24.789 lot of new people on set. And by the end of the 00:28:24.789 --> 00:28:28.970 day, we were all just, like, best buddies. Because 00:28:28.970 --> 00:28:31.930 it was so funny. And, like, you know, you have 00:28:31.930 --> 00:28:37.170 Austin with a shotgun and Dan with his double 00:28:37.170 --> 00:28:41.690 pistols just going at it. And it was, I can't. 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:45.539 enough say how many laughs we had. It was so 00:28:45.539 --> 00:28:50.059 much fun. Now that was shot in LA or? Yes. Okay. 00:28:50.119 --> 00:28:52.839 I was going to say it appears in the music video. 00:28:52.940 --> 00:28:54.839 Like when I, the first time I watched it, I actually 00:28:54.839 --> 00:28:58.359 said to my wife, the abandoned gas station that 00:28:58.359 --> 00:29:00.680 you play in front of, I said, it's giving me 00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:04.140 route 66 vibes in Arizona. And I don't know if 00:29:04.140 --> 00:29:06.099 that's what the director was going for, but that 00:29:06.099 --> 00:29:09.259 I picked up on that immediately. We were out 00:29:09.259 --> 00:29:13.390 in the desert. And so we did the Swear to God 00:29:13.390 --> 00:29:18.009 That I'm Fine, Talk, Attention, and another song, 00:29:18.190 --> 00:29:21.390 Are You Famous? We did all four of those within 00:29:21.390 --> 00:29:25.990 two days. Wow. Attention and Are You Famous? 00:29:25.990 --> 00:29:29.869 We did in the desert. But both days, I don't 00:29:29.869 --> 00:29:32.230 know if you heard about this, but LA was having 00:29:32.230 --> 00:29:35.640 this like massive heat wave in September. For 00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:38.079 like three days. In two of those three days, 00:29:38.099 --> 00:29:40.940 we were filming. Oh, because of course you were. 00:29:41.140 --> 00:29:45.140 Yeah, it was brutal, dude. We were like, oh my 00:29:45.140 --> 00:29:49.839 God. Well, as we're going down this music video 00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:52.500 road, let's go with the next track, Swear to 00:29:52.500 --> 00:30:38.390 God That I'm Fine. I swear. Now, this might sound 00:30:38.390 --> 00:30:40.769 like a strange question, but I want you to stick 00:30:40.769 --> 00:30:44.250 with me for a moment here. Jumper Cables, along 00:30:44.250 --> 00:30:46.970 with several other songs on the album, are written 00:30:46.970 --> 00:30:50.849 out in all capital letters. While other songs 00:30:50.849 --> 00:30:53.549 are written, I don't want to use the word normal, 00:30:53.670 --> 00:30:57.230 so I'll just go with AP Headline style, with 00:30:57.230 --> 00:31:00.130 capital letters and lowercase for the rest of 00:31:00.130 --> 00:31:02.869 the word, the way you would see in a title. However, 00:31:03.150 --> 00:31:07.779 tracks like this. Use a combination of both styles. 00:31:08.240 --> 00:31:11.799 I'm just curious what you as the artist's reasoning 00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:15.660 was for mixing up capital letter songs versus 00:31:15.660 --> 00:31:20.279 quote unquote normally written songs on the album. 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:21.920 Because when you look at the track listing, those 00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:25.200 certain spots do jump out at you. If I'm being 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:29.579 honest, it's really just how I like heard them 00:31:29.579 --> 00:31:33.299 in my head. Like if someone said the track title. 00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:36.380 You know how some people can like hear colors? 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:41.180 I can hear capital letters. So I was like, oh, 00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:44.119 that one's all capitals. That one, some capital 00:31:44.119 --> 00:31:47.960 letters, but not all capital letters. So it was 00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:50.700 really just how I like pictured them being in 00:31:50.700 --> 00:31:54.559 my head. No real rhyme or reason, but it just 00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:58.240 felt like when I listened to the song, pretty 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:00.599 much. It's like, this is a capital letter song. 00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:04.420 So you knew Fine was going to be in capital letters 00:32:04.420 --> 00:32:07.140 as soon as you were done writing this one. Oh, 00:32:07.140 --> 00:32:10.539 yeah. It's funny. That song was called Locomotive 00:32:10.539 --> 00:32:15.200 at first. Oh, really? Yes. But once we decided 00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:18.599 it was going to be a single, our manager in the 00:32:18.599 --> 00:32:20.759 label, they were like, you know, it might go 00:32:20.759 --> 00:32:23.019 to radios. You might want to consider naming 00:32:23.019 --> 00:32:26.859 it a line in the song. And so someone else was 00:32:26.859 --> 00:32:29.599 like, why don't you just name it Fine? I was 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:32.279 like, that's too easy. So then I was like, why 00:32:32.279 --> 00:32:34.859 don't we do swear to God that I'm parentheses 00:32:34.859 --> 00:32:39.279 fine. Now, this music video concept seems to 00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:41.839 tie in with the album cover a little bit as it's 00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:44.220 kind of seen through a child's eyes. Would you 00:32:44.220 --> 00:32:46.680 mind talking to us through this video? Yeah. 00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:49.759 So as we were talking about before with the album 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:52.279 cover, we based this music video off of that 00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:56.619 and the whole premise of being a kid and knowing 00:32:56.619 --> 00:32:59.819 like. this is the only thing I want to do. Like 00:32:59.819 --> 00:33:03.380 I dress different. I listen to different music. 00:33:04.140 --> 00:33:08.079 I just want to play music. I don't want to be 00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:10.259 pushed to do anything else. And so we based the 00:33:10.259 --> 00:33:13.880 music video off of that. And the kid we had hired, 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:18.839 so sweet. It's so funny. We were talking to him 00:33:18.839 --> 00:33:20.799 and we're like, is this your first music video? 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:23.619 And he was like, no, I do a lot of music videos. 00:33:25.299 --> 00:33:29.220 And we were like. Okay. But he was so funny. 00:33:29.420 --> 00:33:33.140 And yeah, at the last scene, the director was 00:33:33.140 --> 00:33:36.079 like, okay, just throw the papers and just dance, 00:33:36.099 --> 00:33:38.339 dance, dance. And so we did a couple takes of 00:33:38.339 --> 00:33:42.240 that and he killed it. He asked if he could floss 00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:47.400 dance. I said, please don't do that. And he didn't. 00:33:50.289 --> 00:33:53.750 The look of joy on his face during the end of 00:33:53.750 --> 00:33:56.730 that video takes this video that for the most 00:33:56.730 --> 00:34:00.470 part is very serious. And again, like we keep 00:34:00.470 --> 00:34:02.789 mentioning, it's that yin and yang. It brings 00:34:02.789 --> 00:34:05.630 this jubilation at the end and the celebration 00:34:05.630 --> 00:34:08.510 to the end of the song when he throws those papers 00:34:08.510 --> 00:34:11.010 up of like, man, that looks like fun. I want 00:34:11.010 --> 00:34:13.630 to do that. We had to pick up the papers quite 00:34:13.630 --> 00:34:18.269 a few times, but no, he was just. He was so enjoying 00:34:18.269 --> 00:34:20.769 himself and it took him a second to like loosen 00:34:20.769 --> 00:34:23.570 up for the end scene. And we were like, this 00:34:23.570 --> 00:34:27.070 is just fun. Be a kid and have fun. Cause you 00:34:27.070 --> 00:34:29.090 are a kid and you should be having fun. You know, 00:34:29.110 --> 00:34:32.269 I can imagine being like a kid actor stressful 00:34:32.269 --> 00:34:35.050 sometimes. So it's just like, just your job is 00:34:35.050 --> 00:34:39.190 to be a kid. And I love the tattoo sleeves. Yes. 00:34:39.349 --> 00:34:42.070 Part of me was like, if they had actually put 00:34:42.070 --> 00:34:45.889 Hannah or colored tattoos on his arm, I don't, 00:34:45.889 --> 00:34:48.820 I feel like. seeing the shirt with the sleeves 00:34:48.820 --> 00:34:51.659 made it feel like this is a kid that wants to 00:34:51.659 --> 00:34:54.059 go down the punk rock road but is still kind 00:34:54.059 --> 00:34:56.480 of learning along the way i don't know if it's 00:34:56.480 --> 00:34:59.119 if it was that nuanced but in the video that 00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:02.739 certainly comes across to me no yeah i agree 00:35:02.739 --> 00:35:07.039 i think the tattoo sleeves like actual sleeves 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:09.880 were i think the best choice we could have made 00:35:09.880 --> 00:35:13.730 and um yeah he was He was great. He really was. 00:35:13.849 --> 00:35:15.389 And he didn't have to go to school afterwards. 00:35:16.030 --> 00:35:19.449 So he kept his eyeliner on. So maybe we changed 00:35:19.449 --> 00:35:21.849 him a little bit. He's going to go home. His 00:35:21.849 --> 00:35:22.989 mom's going to be like, wait a minute. You're 00:35:22.989 --> 00:35:25.449 wearing that tattoo sleeve shirt every day now. 00:35:25.489 --> 00:35:29.989 What's going on here? Now for the song, that's 00:35:29.989 --> 00:35:34.730 one that's been out all of 2024 as well as in 00:35:34.730 --> 00:35:37.960 2025 leading up to the album. When I saw you 00:35:37.960 --> 00:35:40.400 at the Starland Ballroom with Finch and Bayside, 00:35:40.420 --> 00:35:42.920 the band was only given 20 minutes. But as you 00:35:42.920 --> 00:35:45.199 guys have played more shows leading up to this 00:35:45.199 --> 00:35:48.659 album being released, have you road tested some 00:35:48.659 --> 00:35:50.719 of the new material that maybe people haven't 00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:53.119 heard, at least in video or single form yet? 00:35:53.679 --> 00:35:57.079 It's tough. You know, we didn't really get much 00:35:57.079 --> 00:35:59.780 of a chance to play anything new for most of 00:35:59.780 --> 00:36:03.380 2024 because the Bayside tour, we had a 20 minute 00:36:03.380 --> 00:36:06.949 set. So we just played what we had. You know, 00:36:06.989 --> 00:36:09.449 festivals, we have 30 minutes. So if we have, 00:36:09.570 --> 00:36:12.230 can throw an extra song in, we usually do a cover. 00:36:12.909 --> 00:36:15.929 However, it's funny. We played a show in Boston 00:36:15.929 --> 00:36:21.550 and we played Jumper Cables and that was in March. 00:36:21.590 --> 00:36:28.110 And then we played Indianapolis in July and someone's 00:36:28.110 --> 00:36:32.269 like, play Jumper Cables. And we're like. What 00:36:32.269 --> 00:36:35.409 do you mean played? We've only played it for 00:36:35.409 --> 00:36:38.309 one audience ever. And I don't know, I think 00:36:38.309 --> 00:36:42.630 someone leaked a video of it on Reddit. But it 00:36:42.630 --> 00:36:44.809 was just so bizarre. So we were like, okay, we'll 00:36:44.809 --> 00:36:48.150 play Jumper Cables. But I think since it's new, 00:36:48.329 --> 00:36:51.449 that's why they were like, oh, I love this one. 00:36:51.570 --> 00:36:53.690 But I think there are a lot of new songs on the 00:36:53.690 --> 00:36:56.070 record that I think people are going to find 00:36:56.070 --> 00:36:59.110 their kind of which new one they really like 00:36:59.110 --> 00:37:01.969 and are really obsessed with. But yeah, I mean, 00:37:01.969 --> 00:37:06.130 the sequence is in a way that we, of course, 00:37:06.130 --> 00:37:11.050 we're catering to our OG fans. But the album 00:37:11.050 --> 00:37:16.869 set sequence is created for people who are listening 00:37:16.869 --> 00:37:19.969 to us for the very first time. So you'll see 00:37:19.969 --> 00:37:22.389 that it's jumper cables and then a bunch of songs 00:37:22.389 --> 00:37:24.489 that have already been out. But it's because 00:37:24.489 --> 00:37:29.500 we wanted to. put it together for new ears. And 00:37:29.500 --> 00:37:31.599 the hope is that the album reaches a lot of new 00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:35.179 ears. And the first few songs are just kind of 00:37:35.179 --> 00:37:39.380 nostalgic and fun for the OG fans. Now, does 00:37:39.380 --> 00:37:42.460 the wide spectrum of genres that you cover on 00:37:42.460 --> 00:37:44.920 the album, the pop punk, the modern rock, when 00:37:44.920 --> 00:37:47.559 that all comes together, does that color how 00:37:47.559 --> 00:37:50.219 you guys pick a set list for when you're playing 00:37:50.219 --> 00:37:52.920 live, depending on what the festival or tour 00:37:52.920 --> 00:37:56.599 you're on has to offer? I think one thing people 00:37:56.599 --> 00:38:02.420 admire about us is we don't follow a status quo. 00:38:02.679 --> 00:38:05.920 So I think we'll just kind of do our thing no 00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:09.239 matter what. I mean, we just did Aftershock and 00:38:09.239 --> 00:38:12.119 Louder Than Life and we were definitely the fish 00:38:12.119 --> 00:38:15.659 out of water, but we played our normal set. And 00:38:15.659 --> 00:38:20.059 I think the thing that helps us is the set is 00:38:20.059 --> 00:38:26.980 so raw. and so real and punk. It's a punk show 00:38:26.980 --> 00:38:29.579 that it doesn't matter if we're playing our more 00:38:29.579 --> 00:38:32.760 pop punk stuff or more hard rock stuff. It's 00:38:32.760 --> 00:38:35.500 the same vibe and the same energy like the whole 00:38:35.500 --> 00:38:38.679 way through. And which show was it that had the 00:38:38.679 --> 00:38:44.099 girl pit? Aftershock. Oh, that was amazing. Can 00:38:44.099 --> 00:38:47.699 you talk about that one? Yeah, we played Aftershock. 00:38:48.139 --> 00:38:52.909 Another scenario where We soundchecked. There 00:38:52.909 --> 00:38:56.110 were maybe like 10 people and we were like, okay, 00:38:56.309 --> 00:38:58.309 let's just see what happens. And then we got 00:38:58.309 --> 00:39:02.349 on stage and it's just a sea of people. And yeah, 00:39:02.429 --> 00:39:05.670 we started playing in the market and the girl 00:39:05.670 --> 00:39:10.130 pit opened up and it made me emotional. It was 00:39:10.130 --> 00:39:13.690 the coolest thing to see. And you could see girls 00:39:13.690 --> 00:39:17.289 like from the back of the crowd get the courage 00:39:17.289 --> 00:39:20.360 to come into the mosh pit. Because they were 00:39:20.360 --> 00:39:24.219 like, oh, that's something safe for me. And the 00:39:24.219 --> 00:39:27.619 men were being so respectful. And it was the 00:39:27.619 --> 00:39:31.099 coolest thing ever. I loved Aftershock. I did 00:39:31.099 --> 00:39:36.280 take a hard tumble on the last song. I saw that. 00:39:36.360 --> 00:39:38.699 That looked, not going to lie, kind of painful. 00:39:39.559 --> 00:39:42.039 It was like one of those where I just kind of 00:39:42.039 --> 00:39:45.800 hit the ground so hard I bounced back up. So 00:39:45.800 --> 00:39:50.869 I didn't notice at first. Everyone like I got 00:39:50.869 --> 00:39:52.250 off stage and everyone was like, are you OK? 00:39:52.349 --> 00:39:53.869 Are you OK? And I was like, yeah. Why is everyone 00:39:53.869 --> 00:39:57.010 asking if I'm OK? And they were like, the stage 00:39:57.010 --> 00:40:02.409 shook. You hit the ground so hard. So just a 00:40:02.409 --> 00:40:06.369 couple of bruises the next day. But worth it. 00:40:06.530 --> 00:40:09.869 Worth it. I went to Napa the next day. So I just 00:40:09.869 --> 00:40:13.110 kind of nothing Napa can't fix. I was going to 00:40:13.110 --> 00:40:16.829 say, who needs Advil, right? Yeah. Well, for 00:40:16.829 --> 00:40:18.789 the last song clip of the night, since we talked 00:40:18.789 --> 00:40:21.650 about the album opener, we should probably dive 00:40:21.650 --> 00:40:24.449 into the album closer as well. That being the 00:40:24.449 --> 00:41:15.539 soaring Don't Wallow. little closer, listen to 00:41:15.539 --> 00:41:19.039 these songs. There's no other plan for me. I've 00:41:19.039 --> 00:41:22.739 made my peace with God. If you had to sum up 00:41:22.739 --> 00:41:26.360 all that you've learned from the first note that 00:41:26.360 --> 00:41:29.659 you laid down on My Apologies to the Chef to 00:41:29.659 --> 00:41:32.599 this very moment right now that the album's being 00:41:32.599 --> 00:41:35.280 officially released, what would that lesson be 00:41:35.280 --> 00:41:38.320 for you? Well, I literally just got goosebumps 00:41:38.320 --> 00:41:40.800 when you read that lyric back to me. No one's 00:41:40.800 --> 00:41:45.130 ever read that. And I was like, oh, Shit, I wrote 00:41:45.130 --> 00:41:47.570 that? Well, those were the lyrics that made the 00:41:47.570 --> 00:41:49.789 hair on my arm stand up the first time I heard 00:41:49.789 --> 00:41:52.670 the track, so I went with it. There's a lot of 00:41:52.670 --> 00:41:56.429 lessons to be learned, but I think the most important 00:41:56.429 --> 00:42:00.710 one is just staying grounded and keep on doing 00:42:00.710 --> 00:42:03.969 our thing, because that's how we got here. That's 00:42:03.969 --> 00:42:06.369 how we created the album, by just doing our thing. 00:42:07.179 --> 00:42:10.119 We signed to our dream label by just doing our 00:42:10.119 --> 00:42:12.519 thing. We do all these festivals because we just 00:42:12.519 --> 00:42:15.920 do our thing and we stay grounded and we stay 00:42:15.920 --> 00:42:20.719 humble and we stay uncomfortable. And I don't 00:42:20.719 --> 00:42:23.059 think that's ever going to change. And so doing 00:42:23.059 --> 00:42:26.039 the record was very humbling, especially doing 00:42:26.039 --> 00:42:30.980 it right off of tour. But it was special. You 00:42:30.980 --> 00:42:32.659 know, it was just me, Austin and Dan the whole 00:42:32.659 --> 00:42:38.530 time. That's a very, very grounding experience. 00:42:38.909 --> 00:42:43.030 Our biggest release to date, and we just did 00:42:43.030 --> 00:42:45.809 it ourselves. Do you feel like that's a message 00:42:45.809 --> 00:42:48.889 to some of these younger punk bands, to be able 00:42:48.889 --> 00:42:51.550 to go out there and just grind and do it yourself? 00:42:51.690 --> 00:42:54.690 Because really, at the end of the day... the 00:42:54.690 --> 00:42:58.369 Blink -182 and Green Days are not the norm. They 00:42:58.369 --> 00:43:01.409 are kind of the outliers. And the punk scene 00:43:01.409 --> 00:43:03.690 is so much bigger than that. And I feel like 00:43:03.690 --> 00:43:07.949 there's a message there. Yeah, I think, and I 00:43:07.949 --> 00:43:10.570 can't just credit ourselves on this. You know, 00:43:10.630 --> 00:43:15.369 I got to shout out bands like Not Loose and Mannequin 00:43:15.369 --> 00:43:20.269 Pussy. And, you know, it's, I think, the goal 00:43:20.269 --> 00:43:24.349 for everyone. who tours and releases records 00:43:24.349 --> 00:43:29.429 or most everyone is how can I like do this and 00:43:29.429 --> 00:43:34.030 make a living and hey maybe one day have a dream 00:43:34.030 --> 00:43:38.030 house and I think that's a very hard goal to 00:43:38.030 --> 00:43:40.969 foresee when you're doing something a genre that's 00:43:40.969 --> 00:43:44.050 so niche and not only you're doing a niche genre 00:43:44.050 --> 00:43:46.769 but you're kind of like stepping out of the bounds 00:43:46.769 --> 00:43:49.949 like you can call us pop punk you can call us 00:43:49.949 --> 00:43:53.780 punk rock but Whatever you call us, we are so 00:43:53.780 --> 00:43:57.500 far outside of the boundary of what that is. 00:43:57.599 --> 00:44:00.360 And those bands are too, but they're making mainstream 00:44:00.360 --> 00:44:03.880 success out of it. And it's because they did 00:44:03.880 --> 00:44:08.079 their thing. They kicked ass. They were kind 00:44:08.079 --> 00:44:12.460 along the way. And they didn't let, I think, 00:44:12.460 --> 00:44:17.420 bands like us are more susceptible to hate. I 00:44:17.420 --> 00:44:20.949 think we are more susceptible to critics. You 00:44:20.949 --> 00:44:23.590 can't let that get in the way. You can't post 00:44:23.590 --> 00:44:26.030 a video of you crying on the internet because 00:44:26.030 --> 00:44:28.329 it gets hard. You got to just kind of like keep 00:44:28.329 --> 00:44:31.289 pushing and know that you are the best in the 00:44:31.289 --> 00:44:35.389 room and get in the van and go tour, make it 00:44:35.389 --> 00:44:38.570 happen. I mean, I meet with like a lot of new 00:44:38.570 --> 00:44:41.289 artists who moved to Nashville. Like they'll 00:44:41.289 --> 00:44:43.190 DM and they'll be like, hey, can we grab coffee? 00:44:43.849 --> 00:44:46.190 Because I never had someone kind of showing me 00:44:46.190 --> 00:44:49.309 the way. Or like offering advice. So I'm like, 00:44:49.349 --> 00:44:51.409 yeah, like, let's go. And the main thing I'm 00:44:51.409 --> 00:44:53.570 just like, make it happen for yourself. Play 00:44:53.570 --> 00:44:56.429 as many shows as possible. It doesn't matter. 00:44:56.570 --> 00:44:59.110 Go, if you're playing to zero people, just go 00:44:59.110 --> 00:45:03.530 like play. So yeah, I think that's, and I know 00:45:03.530 --> 00:45:06.630 I went off on a complete tangent, but it's yes, 00:45:06.670 --> 00:45:11.190 doing it yourself and making it happen and listening 00:45:11.190 --> 00:45:14.309 to your gut and trusting that you are doing what 00:45:14.309 --> 00:45:16.500 you're supposed to be doing. And for me, what 00:45:16.500 --> 00:45:19.179 I think about Winona Fighter, I think about authenticity. 00:45:19.780 --> 00:45:23.099 There's something about these songs that just 00:45:23.099 --> 00:45:26.460 feels real. It feels like it comes from an honest 00:45:26.460 --> 00:45:29.780 place. And in a world where a lot of artists 00:45:29.780 --> 00:45:33.260 that you discover on Spotify or that get pushed 00:45:33.260 --> 00:45:35.699 to you through the algorithm almost feel like 00:45:35.699 --> 00:45:38.579 they're coming from an inauthentic place. So 00:45:38.579 --> 00:45:41.559 I think that's a reason why I admire Winona Fighter's 00:45:41.559 --> 00:45:45.059 music so much, is that honesty. Thank you. Yeah, 00:45:45.179 --> 00:45:49.059 I can agree. I think there's like a lot of inauthenticity 00:45:49.059 --> 00:45:52.599 out there and just a lot of people who are like, 00:45:52.659 --> 00:45:54.539 okay, well, how can I make it to the top the 00:45:54.539 --> 00:45:57.719 quickest? And it's like, man, why do you want 00:45:57.719 --> 00:46:01.500 to do that when you could work your ass off and 00:46:01.500 --> 00:46:04.400 do what you want and still maybe make it to the 00:46:04.400 --> 00:46:06.820 top? I mean, what do they say? There's a 1 % 00:46:06.820 --> 00:46:12.050 chance it'll work. And every day we're inching 00:46:12.050 --> 00:46:15.369 closer to that 1 % and it's very exciting. But, 00:46:15.369 --> 00:46:17.750 you know, we're not just going to do a 180 and 00:46:17.750 --> 00:46:21.650 start pumping out generic pop punk songs or, 00:46:21.670 --> 00:46:24.809 you know, whatever, just to get there quicker. 00:46:25.110 --> 00:46:27.949 And we have our moments. I mean, the other night 00:46:27.949 --> 00:46:30.610 I'm like, oh, I just like really want this to 00:46:30.610 --> 00:46:34.329 work. And Austin was like, it is working. He's 00:46:34.329 --> 00:46:37.219 like, shoot it up. It is working. I was like, 00:46:37.260 --> 00:46:39.659 yeah, but like, I didn't really want it to work. 00:46:40.340 --> 00:46:43.260 I understand that concept because at least here 00:46:43.260 --> 00:46:45.280 with the show, while a podcast is a different 00:46:45.280 --> 00:46:48.199 creative outlet, you put out an album that is 00:46:48.199 --> 00:46:51.400 real and authentic. And each week I attempt my 00:46:51.400 --> 00:46:54.019 hardest to do that with this show and try to 00:46:54.019 --> 00:46:57.860 put out something that shows my love of music 00:46:57.860 --> 00:47:01.119 in a real way. And when I hear bands doing that, 00:47:01.239 --> 00:47:03.739 it's hard not to get behind them and support 00:47:03.739 --> 00:47:06.869 them like I am with this album. Well, I think, 00:47:06.869 --> 00:47:09.670 you know, like our records, similar to how your 00:47:09.670 --> 00:47:13.429 podcast works, is I think people love a conversation, 00:47:13.650 --> 00:47:18.909 like a real conversation. And my apologies to 00:47:18.909 --> 00:47:21.969 the chef feels like a real conversation that 00:47:21.969 --> 00:47:24.590 you're having with someone. You know, we're like 00:47:24.590 --> 00:47:27.409 a super private band. I know there are a lot 00:47:27.409 --> 00:47:29.750 of artists out there who post everything on social 00:47:29.750 --> 00:47:32.010 media, which is, you know, that's what you want 00:47:32.010 --> 00:47:35.280 to do. Cool. Not us. We like to post out music 00:47:35.280 --> 00:47:38.420 and I think it allows us to have a deeper connection 00:47:38.420 --> 00:47:41.559 with our fans. So when we do post release vulnerable 00:47:41.559 --> 00:47:44.519 songs or when we do get a chance to have like 00:47:44.519 --> 00:47:47.119 a one -on -one conversation with people, it's 00:47:47.119 --> 00:47:51.559 like it creates this, I think, deeper level of 00:47:51.559 --> 00:47:56.449 communication and a deeper relationship. So the 00:47:56.449 --> 00:48:00.110 new album is out. What does 2025 have in store 00:48:00.110 --> 00:48:03.289 for Winona Fighter in terms of touring and supporting? 00:48:03.570 --> 00:48:07.329 My apologies to the chef. We are doing our first 00:48:07.329 --> 00:48:10.469 Big Daddy headlining tour, the Yes Chef tour, 00:48:10.690 --> 00:48:15.150 starting in February. And it goes until March. 00:48:15.630 --> 00:48:18.530 And that will be the first leg. There will be 00:48:18.530 --> 00:48:22.570 more legs. I can assure everyone of that. We 00:48:22.570 --> 00:48:26.030 have some really exciting festivals booked. We 00:48:26.030 --> 00:48:29.730 have Innings Fest in Tempe, Arizona. We are doing 00:48:29.730 --> 00:48:34.469 Warped Tour in Orlando, Florida, which is so 00:48:34.469 --> 00:48:38.269 exciting. Kind of a shock to us, honestly, because 00:48:38.269 --> 00:48:41.630 I was still like a super young teenager, tween, 00:48:41.630 --> 00:48:45.510 when Warped Tour ended. So it's so cool to be 00:48:45.510 --> 00:48:49.130 able to be a part of it now. Well, this is the 00:48:49.130 --> 00:48:51.150 future generation of what Warped Tour is all 00:48:51.150 --> 00:48:55.469 about. Exactly. We're going to do Slam Dunk Festival 00:48:55.469 --> 00:48:58.630 in the UK and we're doing one more show while 00:48:58.630 --> 00:49:01.110 we're over there. I don't know if that gets announced, 00:49:01.170 --> 00:49:03.510 so I'm not going to say anything about it. Yeah. 00:49:03.570 --> 00:49:06.429 And just, you know, we would love to do a supporting 00:49:06.429 --> 00:49:10.469 slot on a tour, maybe in the fall, reach a new 00:49:10.469 --> 00:49:14.190 audience. If not. We're just going to keep playing 00:49:14.190 --> 00:49:17.469 festivals until our little fingers give out. 00:49:18.250 --> 00:49:20.869 It's so cool being, I think we're considered 00:49:20.869 --> 00:49:24.670 a festival band. And not only that, a mainstream 00:49:24.670 --> 00:49:28.610 festival band, which has been really cool. And 00:49:28.610 --> 00:49:31.690 yeah, then hopefully, you know, the success of 00:49:31.690 --> 00:49:36.070 this record will allow us to write another one. 00:49:37.000 --> 00:49:40.639 My apologies to the chef available on vinyl CD. 00:49:40.840 --> 00:49:44.139 Thank you very much from a CD fanatic and available 00:49:44.139 --> 00:49:47.199 on streaming, which I will embed the album over 00:49:47.199 --> 00:49:49.840 on the episode page at my weekly mixtape dot 00:49:49.840 --> 00:49:52.599 com. Coco, thank you so much for joining me on 00:49:52.599 --> 00:49:54.340 the show. And I look forward to catching Winona 00:49:54.340 --> 00:49:56.280 fighter the next time the band rips through New 00:49:56.280 --> 00:50:00.079 Jersey. Thank you so much. And remember, you 00:50:00.079 --> 00:50:02.340 can find my weekly mixtape on almost all the 00:50:02.340 --> 00:50:05.579 social media haunts at. My Weekly Mixtape. You 00:50:05.579 --> 00:50:08.199 can also head to myweeklymixtape .com to check 00:50:08.199 --> 00:50:10.980 out the full catalog of My Weekly Mixtape episodes. 00:50:11.360 --> 00:50:13.179 And if you like what you're hearing on the show, 00:50:13.260 --> 00:50:15.119 you can help me out by either telling a friend, 00:50:15.300 --> 00:50:17.420 leaving the show a five -star review wherever 00:50:17.420 --> 00:50:20.920 you're tuning in, or becoming a Patreon mixtaper 00:50:20.920 --> 00:50:24.760 at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape. 00:50:24.940 --> 00:50:27.300 There you can enjoy ad -free episodes of the 00:50:27.300 --> 00:50:30.440 show, chime in on upcoming episode topics, become 00:50:30.440 --> 00:50:33.519 a future guest, and so much more. That's all 00:50:33.519 --> 00:50:35.380 for this week. Thanks again for listening, and 00:50:35.380 --> 00:50:37.539 until next time, enjoy the tunes.