Transcript
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Music.
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I was raised in McCain, break by an old mama lion, can't know a high-toned woman,
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make me walk the line, you load 16 tons.
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Music.
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It's a love that I found, ever since you've been around.
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Your love put me on the top of the wall.
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Top of the wall.
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Permit me here and now to promise as a good comrade and a fellow artist that
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I will not report any of this, whatever it is, to the police.
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Music.
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Welcome to Abandoned Albums, the documentary podcast. Each week,
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our intrepid group of researchers and music archivists dig through the record
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crates of the world, finding those albums that may have been lost over time.
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If a new artist is discovered along the way, well, that's all the better.
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Using a patent-pending algorithm and spirited debate, we pick one album as an inroad to discuss.
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Once that is settled, we reach out to the artists and invite them into Thunderlove
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Studio to chat with your hosts, Keith R.
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Higgins and Jeff Calhoun. When we're lucky, they say yes.
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Our mission with Abandoned Albums is simple. To make sure artists' recorded
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work remains, or in some cases, lands on, the cultural radar.
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We invite you to sit back and relax. Thank you for joining us.
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Music.
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Johnny Manchild is a dynamic and innovative musical artist, best known as the
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frontman of the Oklahoma-based Johnny Manchild and the Poor Bastards.
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The band is a unique blend of punk, rock, power pop, and garage rock coupled
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with elements of classical music,
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and creates a fusion of genres that defy traditional categorization.
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Along with his ability to weave complex emotions into his lyrics,
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Johnny Manchild creates a rich, full-bodied sound that is both innovative and
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nostalgically familiar.
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His dedication to his craft and his
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ability to connect with listeners has cemented his position as
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a rising talent in the indie music scene as johnny
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manchild continues to evolve as an artist his journey
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reflects a dedication to musical exploration and a refusal to be confined by
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genre boundaries his work not only captivates listeners but also inspires a
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new generation of musicians to pursue their unique voices in the diverse landscape
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of modern music i got the chance to talk with Johnny as he was prepping his new album,
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Rapture Waltz, and getting ready to go on tour.
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Here's my conversation with Johnny Manchild. It's just the normal noises in here.
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I don't think I had enough time to prepare. Wow, a lot of stuff here.
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You've got some good work going on. I'm trying.
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You're succeeding from where I sit. I'm going to show you something before we
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jump into it. But these are all the names of artists that I thought might be
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inspiring you. I'm going to read some of them off to you.
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And I'm going to read them all off and then tell me if I'm close,
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way off base, or where I'm at.
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When I listen to your work, I hear Ben Folds, Billy Joel,
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Harry Connick, Nathaniel Ratliff and the Night Sweats, the bouncier version
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of Elton John, some Dave Matthews, some Steely Dan, Michael Bublé,
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Jamie Cullum, Bruce Springsteen, Prince.
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In particular, I heard Sade on We, which was really interesting to me.
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I don't even know who that is. Oh, wow.
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Good. good. Those are just some of the things, which is not to say that you
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don't have your own distinct sound because you do. And I think...
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The closest analogy I'll make is you can't upend the apple cart till you know
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what the apple cart is made of and is built.
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Like when you think about Jackson Pollock, if you look at his work,
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you might think it's just paints splattered on a canvas, but he can't do that
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unless he knows the history and how to do a still life accurately and all this other sort of stuff.
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So when I read all those names off to
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you those are things that I hear but I still hear
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Johnny Manchild well thank you first of
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all and yeah you know I've been this this
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project has largely been based on piano but
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that is kind of the centerpiece of the arrangement and everything and if
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you're doing anything that is piano or.
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Jazz influence mixing into anything alternative
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or mainstream stream you're gonna you cannot forget about
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ben folds or billy joel or elton john or you
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know you get jazzy talking about harry connor jr too
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like you can't escape those
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things like it's not i don't think it
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matters what you do you're gonna pull from that a little bit even
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if you didn't know who they were
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i would be shocked if you
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didn't accidentally steal from them anyway because they
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just did so much there's so much there and then
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yeah other people that i really dig i don't fall
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into the jazz thing let me rephrase that i don't
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fall into the pop jazz world too much like
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the michael buble's i don't do that whole thing
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what i really was taken to
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is like first of all i grew up on like
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grunge i love queens of the stone age i loved you
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know know green day and pavement and
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refreshments and replacements and like there's a lot of that stuff too it's
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all there and what you were talking about too i've done a few you know interviews
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and podcasts now for this record and it dawned on me the other day that there's
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something i've never talked about yet and so i'm going to talk about it here
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because it seems awesome.
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The whole thing about like pollock or any artist and like knowing the rules
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before you can break them is a really important thing.
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I often forget how... I'm only 28, but I've just been lucky enough to do a bunch of stuff.
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And I forget how much time I spent in the practice room.
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I'm a jazz performance major from the University of Central Oklahoma.
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That's where I started this project out of. I was also in the Wind Symphony.
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I toured Germany playing David Maslanka's Symphony No. 9. I was like a percussion
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player with them. I was in the army band for five years.
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And so like, I think like, that is one thing.
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It's also why I'm I think I'm such a hard critic of myself is because I am such
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a fan of music in so many different ways that like, it has to be interesting.
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Mm-hmm to me and i i blend a
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lot of things i just just now noticed that that said johnny manchal
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and the bad seeds and oh my god nick cave is
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another huge influence oh wow yeah murder ballads was a record that like shaped
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me as as a kid i loved that record probably shouldn't have been listening to
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it but i was i don't know why i had the bad season in my head but that's what
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i typed it out so my apologies for getting it wrong that's okay i just noticed I love Nick Cave too.
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So there it is. But all that to say, I think it's not by accident.
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All this stuff is very... I'm also a recording engineer. And so there's a lot
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of angles to this. I enjoy producing records.
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I listen to so much music all the time.
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And honestly, at this point, I don't know what my biggest influences are. It's a mess.
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I just like music a lot. so one of
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the things i miss about albums or even cds to a large extent
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is i'm going through your your albums and listening to them
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i can't pull up the information that i
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want to read like who produced it who engineered it where was it recorded when
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was it recorded how long did it take who are your thank yous tell you
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whatever you want to know if you have any questions i can i got all of
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it you know yeah no i'm sure you do let's let's
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go down the road i'm going all the the way back to the beginning and
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valencia where was that recorded this is
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the funniest one to me so the first record well let's
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even go before that the first single was a single called
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and the first ep and the first single and
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everything that's recorded at music group in edmund which is
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this little it's it's not it's
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little but it's great like it's very clean very pristine
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a little too much so but it was this little spot in
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edmund they do a lot of christian contemporary music a a
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lot of stuff like that but there's a friend of
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mine i can't even remember how we were introduced but his name is bryce sabrick
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he was also in the military and so he hooked me up and he did my first single
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for a bottle of captain morgan's rum and he dug the music and so he gave me
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a great deal i think we cut the entire five song or seven song ep for 600 bucks
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wow super cheap and it It sounds pretty good. It's not. It's really good.
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There's not a lot of dirt in it.
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Like it's pretty clean, even a little bit sterile, which is part like that's
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on me too, because I didn't really, that was my first time, not my first time
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in a studio, but my first time doing my own project in a studio.
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And so, yeah, super clean, super basic. The instruments sound exactly like what
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they sound like. Like there's no crazy production or anything.
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And that was Bryce Zabrick at Music Group Studios.
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Before I get to the second one, I want to push back a little bit on your age.
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You can't say you're only 28.
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I mean, you think about all these artists and what they accomplished in those
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early years. I mean, you're 28.
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That's the age you are. Your body of work.
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There are people 48 who don't have the body of work that you have and certainly
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the quality of work that you're, you're doing. So.
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Thank you. Sometimes I feel anxious and sometimes I feel really young and I don't, I don't know.
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It's so comparison is like the fucking thief of joy. So I just,
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I'm trying not to think about it too much. No, nor should you.
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Especially in modern age and the way things are, everyone's expecting stuff
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over and over and over nonstop. And I, I like albums.
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I like sitting and listening to vinyls, but people want singles because they
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can't pay attention for too long so i'm trying to split the difference and you're
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doing a great job that was one of the questions i had for you is because i see
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you're releasing and you're releasing regularly and you're not it's almost an album a year,
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for all intents and purposes up until what 20 yeah till
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covid and since then you've been you've been
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releasing things regularly and i think i'm of
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the age i remember the albums it's not like fucking foreign times i don't think
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we're in an album age anymore i think it's content i think just release stuff
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when it's ready to be released you can put together an album later you know
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yeah and i i did that you know i i did i you know you might have seen in 2019,
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yeah i'm sorry if i'm skipping ahead but we did a single the entire year that
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was the whole goal and at the time at the time we didn't have a fan base really
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and so i was like i have no idea how how I'm going to afford this,
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but let's just set it as a goal and we'll figure it out.
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And it worked. Like we got the fan base, the algorithm picked up what we were doing. And.
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Yeah, I got lucky, honestly. Luck is part of it, certainly, but I think talent always rises above.
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Thank you. I liked that record specifically. I mean, that was a cool challenge
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to me because we were working.
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So, okay, skip ahead to One Big Beautiful Sound. Yeah. We did that with Taylor
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Johnson at Lunar Matter.
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At the time, he... So, do you know Ackerman McQueen?
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It doesn't matter. They're an advertising agency. They've been around since
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the 70s. They had a studio in this bank, this 1970s build out super amazing studio.
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That's where Taylor Johnson is now with Lunar Manor. Before that,
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he was in this little tiny room that had like an offshoot.
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And that's where we did every single song was in like a, it was like an eight by six foot room.
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And then he had a mixing room on the side of it. Like it wasn't big. but
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the thing there was we would
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take groups of three i would pick
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three songs we would go in the studio over a weekend and
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we would knock them all out and then we would have the next three months
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recorded so we could release a single a month and then you know
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in that last month we would go back in record three more but like every time
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we went in i didn't you know i had the horn parts kind of but i didn't really
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know what we were going to do like i had the basics fleshed out but there There
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is a lot of production and stuff that happened in arrangement in that moment.
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And so they're not perfect. They're kind of messy.
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The production isn't great. The mixing isn't awesome.
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But I think it was really cool for it. It was because it was a challenge just
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to see, can we pump these songs out this frequently?
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And so, yeah, I think that helped us grow an audience. I don't want to do it again.
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Did you find in that release cycle that with each release, you grew and grew and grew and grew?
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A little bit, yeah. Yeah. We did collaborations.
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We did a song with a YouTuber and that video took off.
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That was in combination. In tandem with that, it spiraled. That was in 2019.
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And then in 2020, that record kind of marinated. And I was also doing,
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I took that time in the pandemic to do Patreon and YouTube videos and stuff like that.
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So I think we definitely, our fan base, I think identifies the brand of the
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band with that era of 2019.
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Because it was just when we accrued the mass, like the most of our fans.
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Awesome. But there's the bit for that. Taylor Johnson, Lunar Manor for that
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record. Now Insomnia. That one was all me.
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I recorded and mixed it at my studio, and it was a bitch.
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I will never do it again. Why? There's a few reasons.
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At the time, I wasn't very good. Much better mix engineer than I was then. I learned a lot.
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I didn't have very good gear, whatever. whatever. There were some interesting arrangement moments.
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I definitely got ahead of myself in some ways. I brought in these big string
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sections and clarinets, flutes, and all this stuff.
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That was my, you could call it my Sgt.
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Pepper moment. I think every band has one.
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Absolutely. And that was my bit where I was just like, let's throw everything
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at the wall and just do all that. that the reason I will not record myself again,
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there's two big reasons.
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One is I think that the, let's say three big reasons, one big one, it's not as fun.
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Mostly because like, if I am in control of everything to that extent,
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and there are no surprises, and I am, it's kind of like if you're the,
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if you see the entire process, and then you see the end product,
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you see the end product for all of its mistakes.
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But if you are not involved and you take a step back and then you get finally
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to hear the end product, you can appreciate it for what it is.
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And so just for the sake of this being enjoyable for me, that's important.
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And then two, yeah, just the art of collaboration with other people.
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Actually having somebody else to weigh in is invaluable.
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You don't have to be an auteur or whatever. Create this in a vacuum and have
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complete control. Like it's not worth it to say that you did it just to do it
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because you're not going to enjoy it as much. And it's not going to be as good, most likely.
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I think like, even if you're the greatest, you know, greatest writer,
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artist in the world, like if you pair up with the right producer,
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the right engineer, it's, it's going to be better.
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And you just don't have to wear all the hats. Like it's yeah.
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And then third, it's impossible to say I'm done really.
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If you're the mix engineer and it's your project and your face and your name
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and everything, the, you are never finished.
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It's, it's impossible to hit that that complete button.
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And I, I was mixing and over mixing and remixing over and over again on that insomnia record.
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And I was just like, I never want to do this again. I will pay somebody to do this.
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Is that why you called it insomnia? Because you didn't sleep during the making of the record?
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Actually, so I was that was inspired.
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The first song I wrote for it was insomnia, which was maybe one of our least
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popular songs, but I liked it a lot. I never play it live.
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I I was on Welbutrin and lithium and I was on all this medication for bipolar
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and I had not stopped drinking, which is not what you're supposed to do.
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And so I had, I had these blackouts and I was experiencing like really weird things.
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And there was a period where I was up for somewhere around 90 to 94 hours.
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I just wasn't able, I wasn't able to sleep. I wasn't, I just wasn't able to sleep.
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And it got to the point where I was like kind of going insane
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because I wanted to I just like I had really fucked
256
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up my circadian rhythm I just
257
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messed myself up um there was also I took
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Adderall and a bunch of stuff I I really messed myself up there's there was
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definitely a time where I used substances a lot I'm with you I hear all of those
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drugs I recognize all of the drugs I'm with you and so like literally this that
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I wrote the song like on the fourth day of just being awake.
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I wrote Insomnia and it was just this fever dream thing. I don't know.
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Music.
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Manning everything yourself and and never hitting
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that finish button i write as
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well and you can edit yourself into
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a state of paralysis or you
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can edit the feeling and emotion out
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of anything that you're that you're creating if you got it too much did you
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find yourself running across that i ran into a different problem uh and that's
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like rick rubin has a phrase for he calls it demoitis I don't over edit I don't
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do that normally but one thing that I will do is I will get very.
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Tied to the demo and the way that I wrote it that way and that in itself is
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kind of a box that's not good which is why like lately I've been intentionally
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and it drives me crazy but I've been intentionally underwriting songs and just
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like because I think like any good song,
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you know it's it should be a good song without
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all this the frills and stuff like if i take something
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and i play it with the vocals and the piano it should be a good song still
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and so if i've got something and i know that it's good at that i won't touch
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it anymore eventually it's going to come time for me to do another record i'll
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come back to it and then i'll i'll play with it and then it's time to edit and
283
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stuff but i i've never been in
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a situation personally where where I've over-edited something into a blip.
285
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I only demo something at the base level now, the most empirical version of that,
286
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and then I step away from it.
287
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And I think that the act of stepping away from it allows for that...
288
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What is that? There's a phrase for it, the type of inspiration that hits very
289
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suddenly. That lightning in a bottle type thing. Spontaneous? Spontaneous.
290
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I suppose. You know what I mean. I get it, lightning in a bottle.
291
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Yeah, and if you step away from a song enough, when you come back to it,
292
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and you can almost listen to it as a passive observer instead of the writer,
293
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then I think you can start producing it.
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And then you might not over-edit that way. Now, if you write it and then you
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keep messing with it, you keep messing with it, then I think you could totally
296
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do that. But taking that step away from it.
297
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It helps with that. I think, um, I also, you know, like I said,
298
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I'm a recording engineer and I produce other people's records and like,
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it is part of my job sometimes to tell people that we are done.
300
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Like we've done, like we need to stop stacking.
301
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Yeah. Do you find that easier to do with other artists than you do for yourself?
302
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Yourself yes but like i like i said like that's that's the reason why i have stopped,
303
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why why i demo something and then forget about it and
304
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i i try not to succumb to that demo i just think because like i
305
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was saying like if you separate yourself enough from it you can
306
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come back to it later like i got some demos that i haven't heard
307
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in a year i can listen to them as like a passive
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observer and as if i've never heard it like i literally force
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myself to forget about it so that it's new to me and then i can produce it like
310
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i would anybody else's stuff but yeah it requires you to to have like no love
311
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for any one song like especially if i think i've got something really good i
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will forget about it i'll push it away and i won't think about it as much as i can,
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i think as a creative person you have to be you can't be too precious about
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things you know yeah you know you just can't be too precious i don't think and
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that's also that is something I learned with We Did Not Ask For This Room, our last I would put out.
316
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So I've always written all the music, but like for that one,
317
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I was especially exacting, I guess.
318
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There was, I was very specific about what I wanted things to sound like production-wise,
319
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and I had all the horn parts written out in sheet music. Like,
320
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we had everything rehearsed to a T.
321
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And so we went into the studio and we just did it.
322
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Part by part, like there really wasn't much room for experimentation.
323
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How do you feel that turned out? So it's good, I think, but I don't enjoy listening to it anymore.
324
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Really? Yeah. And it's because, like I said, I took the fun out of it for me, I think.
325
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I think that I have much less value in saying I did it exactly how I wanted.
326
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And I don't think it's actually very valuable to get exactly what you're asking for.
327
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Like when you're creating something or making a record, like I want to be surprised.
328
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I want there to be moments in it where there are like aha moments and fun things.
329
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Like that's the thing about music is it's something to be done with other people.
330
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Even if you are the main songwriter and you're doing all this,
331
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opening up avenues for expression from the people that you're working with in
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the studio and the other musicians, like it's only going to make the music better.
333
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I mean you you have to know what your hard limits are and
334
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you have to kind of rein things in here and there but like
335
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too much control from one
336
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person and again not to say that it's bad
337
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like if you if you like the record I appreciate that it's awesome and a lot
338
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of people do I don't like listening to it and so the question is like if I'm
339
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going to do this I have to remember the reason why I do music in the first place
340
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because I love it and I like listening to it it's fun and like Like I've discovered
341
00:25:10,203 --> 00:25:12,163
that's not the way to do it for me,
342
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even though it's, it yields a good album and stuff.
343
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I would rather, what's the word? Collaborate is what I'm saying. Yeah.
344
00:25:24,703 --> 00:25:29,503
The system won't let me do that. Okay. Yeah, no, fine.
345
00:25:30,203 --> 00:25:33,783
One Boba, please. We'll call it a mental health day treat. Self-care,
346
00:25:33,903 --> 00:25:37,143
right? Isn't that what people call it whenever they need an excuse to do whatever the fuck they want?
347
00:25:37,443 --> 00:25:40,263
I don't know. Yeah, no, No, of course you don't. Of course you don't.
348
00:25:40,583 --> 00:25:45,943
What I found on We Didn't Ask for This Room, there's a crunchier sound to it.
349
00:25:46,163 --> 00:25:49,483
And there's a big mixing of genre. I heard a blend of genres.
350
00:25:50,143 --> 00:25:54,723
I heard a little bit of ska on the clock. I heard Sade on We,
351
00:25:54,823 --> 00:25:56,363
and I don't know where I pulled that from.
352
00:25:56,623 --> 00:26:00,123
If you've been to the dentist, then you've heard a Sade song.
353
00:26:01,463 --> 00:26:08,943
But she's an old, from the 80s. But it's just methodically, that's what it kind of reminded me of.
354
00:26:09,143 --> 00:26:12,163
So I heard a lot of different things. I heard a lot of different genres going
355
00:26:12,163 --> 00:26:14,443
into that record. One of the reasons I really enjoyed it.
356
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Music.
357
00:27:29,425 --> 00:27:32,905
My favorite thing about that record, and it was extraordinarily intentional.
358
00:27:33,305 --> 00:27:37,245
One reason why I would call it a success in my eyes is like,
359
00:27:37,345 --> 00:27:42,545
I did, I was, I sought out to do one very specific thing with it because we
360
00:27:42,545 --> 00:27:45,645
had done Valencia and Insomnia and One Beautiful Sound.
361
00:27:46,325 --> 00:27:54,125
And for the most part, it was this sort of jazzy, poppy, alternative like thing.
362
00:27:54,125 --> 00:28:00,785
I got carved out a very specific sound and I wanted to do other stuff.
363
00:28:01,465 --> 00:28:06,265
Like I love Radiohead. I love fucking Sigur Rós. And like, I like,
364
00:28:06,305 --> 00:28:09,285
I listened to Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails.
365
00:28:09,425 --> 00:28:12,785
And like, I, you know, I go all over the place with that stuff.
366
00:28:12,945 --> 00:28:19,445
And I was just like, if I can, that's also why the album is 17 songs is I was
367
00:28:19,445 --> 00:28:23,685
like, if I can make a record where I go all over the place,
368
00:28:24,125 --> 00:28:27,405
uh and if people can accept that and
369
00:28:27,405 --> 00:28:30,325
they're not too put off by it then that will give me the freedom to pretty much
370
00:28:30,325 --> 00:28:33,725
do anything because this record goes enough places that
371
00:28:33,725 --> 00:28:39,045
it kind of opens doors to other it's basically i put a thing out saying like
372
00:28:39,045 --> 00:28:43,905
here's like a couple things that i would like to do is that cool with you all
373
00:28:43,905 --> 00:28:47,945
and for the most part everyone seemed to take to it so i think the last record
374
00:28:47,945 --> 00:28:53,005
was really just what i had to do in order for this new record to exist right Right.
375
00:28:53,185 --> 00:28:58,005
And the next one, I want to keep making.
376
00:28:58,265 --> 00:29:03,225
I don't want the next record to sound like the last one too much.
377
00:29:03,325 --> 00:29:04,885
I want to keep messing around.
378
00:29:05,025 --> 00:29:07,325
It's supposed to be fun for me. Again, at the end of the day,
379
00:29:07,385 --> 00:29:11,345
that's why I do this is because I like it, and it's my expression and stuff.
380
00:29:11,645 --> 00:29:16,445
On One Big Beautiful Sound, the two songs I liked were All Right and You Want a Song.
381
00:29:18,265 --> 00:29:19,885
Which, those were my favorites.
382
00:29:20,880 --> 00:30:45,520
Music.
383
00:30:46,197 --> 00:30:49,637
I would be remiss if I didn't single out the replacements, because you say you're
384
00:30:49,637 --> 00:30:53,177
28, and I'm curious how they impacted you.
385
00:30:53,437 --> 00:30:57,617
There was a time when I was around eight or nine, and there was a big influx of music.
386
00:30:57,717 --> 00:31:02,117
And they were one of the bands that I was made aware of at that time.
387
00:31:02,217 --> 00:31:06,137
And that's because when I was eight or nine, my mom was dating this other woman
388
00:31:06,137 --> 00:31:08,517
who is basically my second mom, Phoebe.
389
00:31:08,677 --> 00:31:13,197
And she was kind of a punk. She listened to a totally different kind of strain
390
00:31:13,197 --> 00:31:17,437
to music. She introduced me to the Descendants and the Refreshments and the
391
00:31:17,437 --> 00:31:21,937
Replacements and Bad Brains and Dead Kennedy and Rage Against the Machine and all this stuff.
392
00:31:22,297 --> 00:31:26,597
Dead Kennedys. But yeah, I think the first song I ever heard was Bastards of
393
00:31:26,597 --> 00:31:30,957
Young, which has nothing to do with the band name, but I do love that song.
394
00:31:32,157 --> 00:31:35,657
I think that's my favorite. Yeah, I don't know.
395
00:31:35,777 --> 00:31:41,097
I lumped them in with all those other bands because I was exposed to this mass
396
00:31:41,097 --> 00:31:43,397
intake of music all at once.
397
00:31:44,157 --> 00:31:48,397
But yeah, I think that's if I could pick one song that summarizes them for me,
398
00:31:48,437 --> 00:31:51,417
that would be it for sure. We are the sons of no one.
399
00:31:51,817 --> 00:31:55,277
Did you grow up in Oklahoma? I grew up a bunch of places. Why?
400
00:31:56,757 --> 00:32:01,077
Partially in like Fort Campbell, in like Tennessee, Kentucky, and then Oklahoma.
401
00:32:02,477 --> 00:32:06,957
But yeah, most of my life been here all over the state.
402
00:32:07,097 --> 00:32:10,597
And then I've been in like Oklahoma City proper since I was like 14.
403
00:32:11,097 --> 00:32:15,417
Do you have any siblings? siblings? Do you come from a musical family? No siblings.
404
00:32:15,917 --> 00:32:21,057
I don't, my family's not necessarily musical. My, my dad played guitar a little
405
00:32:21,057 --> 00:32:22,897
bit. He still sort of does.
406
00:32:23,457 --> 00:32:27,677
He was a metalhead. My parents were 16 when I was born.
407
00:32:27,837 --> 00:32:31,497
And so I, and I've talked about that a little before, because I think that's
408
00:32:31,497 --> 00:32:33,597
why I adopted some of their music tastes.
409
00:32:33,857 --> 00:32:38,337
Normally there's such an age gap between kids and their parents that they don't really cross over.
410
00:32:38,417 --> 00:32:43,457
But like, Like, you know, when I was, like, five, my mom was 20, like, 21.
411
00:32:43,577 --> 00:32:49,797
So, like, it's just not that far off. Like, they were 16 in 1995.
412
00:32:49,957 --> 00:32:53,617
And so, all that music they were listening to is what I eventually grabbed onto.
413
00:32:53,817 --> 00:32:57,977
Like, I had all their Case Logic books of CDs and stuff. Yeah.
414
00:32:59,124 --> 00:33:04,924
And so they weren't really musical, but they were definitely music fans. Like, absolutely.
415
00:33:05,584 --> 00:33:12,224
Are they still? Yeah. No, definitely. Yeah, my dad mostly listened to the metal,
416
00:33:12,304 --> 00:33:18,824
but he did introduce me to Misfits and Danzig and Rancid.
417
00:33:19,044 --> 00:33:21,824
And he listened to some stuff like that.
418
00:33:22,184 --> 00:33:26,064
Slayer, too. I grew up listening to metal. I think my favorite band when I was
419
00:33:26,064 --> 00:33:29,344
a kid, for a while, my favorite drummer was Joey Jordanson from Slipknot.
420
00:33:30,004 --> 00:33:33,084
Wow. Okay. I don't know where, because I was a drummer first.
421
00:33:33,484 --> 00:33:37,044
That was my first instrument. Okay. And somewhere along the line,
422
00:33:37,124 --> 00:33:41,244
like I said, when Phoebe came along, it was like tons of music.
423
00:33:41,724 --> 00:33:45,364
And it broke away into other things because my mom was a huge,
424
00:33:45,464 --> 00:33:49,864
she listened to like Nine Nine-ish Nails and Marilyn Manson.
425
00:33:49,924 --> 00:33:53,264
And she was like a goth pagan chick when she was a teenager.
426
00:33:53,424 --> 00:33:59,624
I think everyone has that one person that opens their mind up musically.
427
00:33:59,844 --> 00:34:02,324
Sometimes it's a sibling. Sometimes it's a partner.
428
00:34:02,604 --> 00:34:04,884
Sometimes it's, you know, there's always, what do we call them?
429
00:34:04,944 --> 00:34:06,024
It's almost like a drug dealer.
430
00:34:06,704 --> 00:34:10,544
Enabler. The music enabler. The gateway. Yeah. Yeah.
431
00:34:11,024 --> 00:34:15,044
If you like this, then you'll like this type of thing.
432
00:34:15,204 --> 00:34:18,024
You know, Phoebe was definitely that for me. and
433
00:34:18,024 --> 00:34:20,864
she was so cool she is so cool but she was like i
434
00:34:20,864 --> 00:34:23,584
swear she wore like those leather jackets with the studs and she had
435
00:34:23,584 --> 00:34:26,564
patches all over her jacket and shit and like i remember like
436
00:34:26,564 --> 00:34:30,884
when i first turned 16 and i got my first car i i remember my very first show
437
00:34:30,884 --> 00:34:34,324
at this place called the brass bell and it was a little like local diy punk
438
00:34:34,324 --> 00:34:39,924
show and like that's where i my first like shows that i ever went to were definitely
439
00:34:39,924 --> 00:34:45,624
like diy punk shows and those were my favorite like this band johnny Manchild,
440
00:34:45,704 --> 00:34:48,824
it is not a punk band at all. However...
441
00:34:49,942 --> 00:34:55,982
The feeling and the crowd and the vibe, like the people that I see and that
442
00:34:55,982 --> 00:34:58,482
I've gotten to meet on tour and stuff, it's similar.
443
00:34:59,322 --> 00:35:03,382
Because if you ever go to a punk show, it's not really, the music is one thing,
444
00:35:03,402 --> 00:35:06,782
but the vibe is a whole other thing. Like it's really a communal experience.
445
00:35:07,182 --> 00:35:12,642
Like it's very, it's the weirdos all in one place. And it's just a comfortable
446
00:35:12,642 --> 00:35:14,682
place to be. And our shows have gotten to be that.
447
00:35:14,962 --> 00:35:18,582
And I realized like through touring, like we're not a punk band,
448
00:35:18,582 --> 00:35:24,822
And, but the, the feeling of it and like the way that the shows go,
449
00:35:24,902 --> 00:35:26,942
like it's closer to that than anything else for me.
450
00:35:27,022 --> 00:35:30,382
Like that identity of that makes so much sense.
451
00:35:31,382 --> 00:35:35,342
Yeah. Without all the political anthems and all that, but like,
452
00:35:35,382 --> 00:35:36,802
yeah, we, we bring out the weirdos
453
00:35:36,802 --> 00:35:39,582
because we are weirdos and it's a comfortable place for them to be.
454
00:35:40,622 --> 00:35:45,522
It's like a revival gathering of sorts, like a Pentecostal gathering or something.
455
00:35:45,622 --> 00:35:47,522
Yeah. Without the religion stuff.
456
00:35:48,202 --> 00:35:50,742
Punk shows are about the people, and it's about the crowd.
457
00:35:52,062 --> 00:35:56,042
It's the same as jazz. You can listen to jazz on CD as much as you want,
458
00:35:56,122 --> 00:35:58,722
but if you don't go see it live, you don't understand. Yeah.
459
00:35:59,922 --> 00:36:05,922
I was on a date. I lived in the city at the time. Are you familiar with Smalls,
460
00:36:05,922 --> 00:36:07,002
the jazz club in New York?
461
00:36:07,562 --> 00:36:11,622
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I was like, oh, this will be cool. I'll take her to Smalls.
462
00:36:12,062 --> 00:36:15,142
We had dinner, and then we went to the jazz club. It's in the basement.
463
00:36:16,022 --> 00:36:22,782
Some brownstone and it's very crowded it's very cramped and we have a nice little table,
464
00:36:23,362 --> 00:36:28,402
and they start playing and we i think we paid 20 bucks each to get in and she
465
00:36:28,402 --> 00:36:31,842
looks at me and i look at her and she's like do you want to go i'm like yeah
466
00:36:31,842 --> 00:36:37,922
let's go so we we split and oddly enough we got our money back we were only
467
00:36:37,922 --> 00:36:41,422
like 15 minutes and the bouncer was kind enough to give us our of money back.
468
00:36:41,622 --> 00:36:47,142
And so my feelings for jazz, I think, are somewhat akin to punk. I miss it.
469
00:36:48,342 --> 00:36:53,022
See, my experience of Smalls is such a radically different story.
470
00:36:53,482 --> 00:36:57,822
Tell me about it. Well, the first time I was in New York, I was...
471
00:36:58,999 --> 00:37:02,299
I want to say I was 20 and I maybe I
472
00:37:02,299 --> 00:37:05,459
was 21 but barely if I was and I was
473
00:37:05,459 --> 00:37:08,579
in the jazz program like I I was in
474
00:37:08,579 --> 00:37:14,559
them the middle of like my most I practiced all the time every day like I was
475
00:37:14,559 --> 00:37:18,779
super super into it I was like a the jazz nerd of jazz nerds at the time like
476
00:37:18,779 --> 00:37:24,099
really practicing my ass off and like I didn't know what Smalls was or like
477
00:37:24,099 --> 00:37:27,339
I had I had heard of it but I didn't know where it it was. I didn't know anything about it.
478
00:37:27,359 --> 00:37:31,599
And I was just in New York with friends and I was absolutely shit-faced.
479
00:37:31,779 --> 00:37:36,239
Just like walking down the street with a slice of pizza, having a great time.
480
00:37:36,459 --> 00:37:40,719
And literally, I hear music and I'm just like, what is that?
481
00:37:40,979 --> 00:37:42,439
And I'm just following the music.
482
00:37:42,979 --> 00:37:46,479
All my friends are just kind of following me because they're like, yeah, sure, let's go.
483
00:37:46,699 --> 00:37:52,459
And we find Smalls. I walked down the staircase and I'm at Smalls and there's
484
00:37:52,459 --> 00:37:57,599
just band And just tearing it, just like absolutely shredding.
485
00:37:57,599 --> 00:37:59,779
The place is empty, which I didn't realize.
486
00:38:00,199 --> 00:38:04,299
I know. I didn't know better at the time to realize how insane that that was.
487
00:38:04,479 --> 00:38:06,099
It was like one in the morning and it was empty.
488
00:38:07,179 --> 00:38:11,119
And yeah, just these phenomenal players just tearing it up. And that was my
489
00:38:11,119 --> 00:38:14,939
first introduction to Smalls. It was almost like a religious experience.
490
00:38:15,219 --> 00:38:22,359
Because I was only 21. I was super into jazz. And so I was the target demographic for that place.
491
00:38:22,999 --> 00:38:26,739
Certainly especially well yeah and you're being buzzed helps
492
00:38:26,739 --> 00:38:29,799
oh way past by like i did
493
00:38:29,799 --> 00:38:32,439
i wanted to sit in but i was too drunk to do it and i was
494
00:38:32,439 --> 00:38:36,939
terrified because like there's there's it's one thing to be somebody listening
495
00:38:36,939 --> 00:38:40,779
and at a jazz club and having a good time it is an entirely other thing to sit
496
00:38:40,779 --> 00:38:45,239
in during the the jam sessions because like you know they do their their show
497
00:38:45,239 --> 00:38:48,719
and then usually late at night they'll open it up for people to sit in with
498
00:38:48,719 --> 00:38:51,219
the band oh i didn't and all that. Yeah, it's a pretty common thing.
499
00:38:51,539 --> 00:38:54,699
You won't find it at like BB Kings or something like that.
500
00:38:54,759 --> 00:38:57,719
But like at most jazz clubs, like around two or three in the morning,
501
00:38:57,779 --> 00:39:00,979
they'll open it up because, you know, any jazz musician knows standards.
502
00:39:01,159 --> 00:39:02,519
They can sit in and play. Mm-hmm.
503
00:39:03,518 --> 00:39:06,598
But it's scary. If you're from Oklahoma and you're in New York City,
504
00:39:06,758 --> 00:39:08,498
it's scary. I would imagine, yeah.
505
00:39:09,418 --> 00:39:12,118
At what point did you decide you wanted to be a musician?
506
00:39:13,538 --> 00:39:18,678
And sub-question here, or adjacent question, you were in the service.
507
00:39:19,358 --> 00:39:24,318
Mm-hmm. Thank you for your service. I appreciate it. I was in the band. It was nothing.
508
00:39:24,518 --> 00:39:27,578
Hey, you know, plenty of people did time in the band. Still in the service.
509
00:39:28,058 --> 00:39:31,138
Yeah. Basic training was fun. It's the same for everybody, I guess.
510
00:39:31,138 --> 00:39:34,638
So uh but yeah I I've always
511
00:39:34,638 --> 00:39:37,758
done music I my earliest memory
512
00:39:37,758 --> 00:39:40,738
of music was I think I
513
00:39:40,738 --> 00:39:43,638
was like four and I don't know if you've ever seen those little tykes
514
00:39:43,638 --> 00:39:46,398
drums like the yellow ones the red and
515
00:39:46,398 --> 00:39:49,298
yellow ones with the red sticks attached by strings
516
00:39:49,298 --> 00:39:52,218
and I was playing along to the beautiful people
517
00:39:52,218 --> 00:39:54,918
by Marilyn Manson that's the first thing I remember
518
00:39:54,918 --> 00:39:58,338
playing but I had been on like
519
00:39:58,338 --> 00:40:01,218
Ritalin as a five-year-old and it was not good
520
00:40:01,218 --> 00:40:05,478
for me and so instead my parents kind of saw that i was interested in you know
521
00:40:05,478 --> 00:40:09,198
tapping around in music and stuff and so i they got me a little drum set and
522
00:40:09,198 --> 00:40:14,558
then by the time i was eight is my oh no there we go by the time i was eight
523
00:40:14,558 --> 00:40:16,978
i started taking lessons and
524
00:40:16,978 --> 00:40:20,598
like there was never i don't remember there ever being a time where i was.
525
00:40:21,058 --> 00:40:23,818
Where i asked if it's what i wanted to do or i said it or if
526
00:40:23,818 --> 00:40:27,018
anybody asked me or anyone made me do anything it's just it was
527
00:40:27,018 --> 00:40:29,938
what i was doing and i like doing it and i
528
00:40:29,938 --> 00:40:32,758
it's just been that way like i'm it was just
529
00:40:32,758 --> 00:40:37,178
what i do i guess yeah i've always
530
00:40:37,178 --> 00:40:40,138
like that's awesome i had my mom's little
531
00:40:40,138 --> 00:40:43,078
walkman when i was a kid and i remember just like
532
00:40:43,078 --> 00:40:46,898
i would listen to everything like i think my first cd the
533
00:40:46,898 --> 00:40:49,618
first couple things i ever listened to was live in
534
00:40:49,618 --> 00:40:52,558
la vida loca by ricky martin the marshall mathers
535
00:40:52,558 --> 00:41:00,158
lp wow 40 ounces to freedom like sublime like that was just some of the cds
536
00:41:00,158 --> 00:41:04,078
my my parents had and i remember listening to those a bunch and i think eventually
537
00:41:04,078 --> 00:41:09,678
it started to spread out but like oh and spit by kitty i was really into that,
538
00:41:10,718 --> 00:41:16,338
never even heard of that they were an all-female metal band gotta make a note of that.
539
00:41:17,409 --> 00:41:21,609
The first thing I remember liking, the first album I bought with my own money
540
00:41:21,609 --> 00:41:25,689
was Elton John's Greatest Hits, Volume 1. I have two things about that, actually.
541
00:41:26,149 --> 00:41:28,969
I do remember the first CD I ever bought with my own money.
542
00:41:29,429 --> 00:41:33,109
And that was From Here to the Infirmary by Alkaline Trio. Wow.
543
00:41:33,769 --> 00:41:38,729
Loved that record. That, and then I think shortly after it was Coral Fang by The Distillers.
544
00:41:39,029 --> 00:41:42,329
Wow. I also loved them. I was a huge Brody Dahl fan. fan.
545
00:41:42,449 --> 00:41:47,309
But speaking of Elton John, piano people, going back to Ben Folds,
546
00:41:47,309 --> 00:41:53,389
my first introduction to piano alternative, piano rock, that kind of thing,
547
00:41:53,469 --> 00:41:55,489
it happened before I even knew.
548
00:41:55,629 --> 00:42:00,529
I didn't find out until I was 15 that I had been listening to Ben Folds since I was six.
549
00:42:01,369 --> 00:42:07,669
Because Ben Folds had a song called Lonely Christmas Eve on Jim Carrey's The
550
00:42:07,669 --> 00:42:12,109
Grinch Who You Stole Christmas record, which that was my favorite song.
551
00:42:12,329 --> 00:42:16,389
And I had no idea it was Ben Folds until I got back into them in my teens.
552
00:42:16,889 --> 00:42:19,549
But yeah, that one had been marinating for a while.
553
00:42:20,289 --> 00:42:25,109
And as far as Christmas goes, thank you for now. You have now written my new
554
00:42:25,109 --> 00:42:26,009
favorite Christmas song.
555
00:42:27,809 --> 00:42:33,709
It's Cold As Fug As I Am. Yes. I was like, wow, I'm not much for Christmas.
556
00:42:33,769 --> 00:42:37,229
And I just, I love that song. So thank you for that. Of course.
557
00:42:38,069 --> 00:42:42,649
So you've got to check out Cyndi Lauper and the Hives. They did a song called
558
00:42:42,649 --> 00:42:44,369
A Christmas Duet, and it's fantastic.
559
00:42:44,829 --> 00:42:48,629
Really? And I always encourage people to write a Christmas song because it's
560
00:42:48,629 --> 00:42:52,109
going to get played every year. Every year. Every year.
561
00:42:52,629 --> 00:42:56,129
It's like Mariah Carey getting thawed out. It's funny.
562
00:42:56,729 --> 00:43:00,909
You started on drums. Let me ask you this. What instruments do you play?
563
00:43:01,009 --> 00:43:02,749
Drums, piano, bass, guitar.
564
00:43:03,069 --> 00:43:05,029
Okay. What's your primary interest?
565
00:43:05,369 --> 00:43:08,769
Jesus. What's your primary instrument outside of your voice?
566
00:43:09,229 --> 00:43:13,909
It's piano. Piano, okay. And I don't, I've never considered myself a singer.
567
00:43:14,807 --> 00:43:19,947
But I, I'm trying, like I always, I'm trying to get better. And I've always,
568
00:43:19,987 --> 00:43:21,187
I keep trying to get better.
569
00:43:21,667 --> 00:43:24,547
I consistently write things that are outside of my ability.
570
00:43:25,127 --> 00:43:29,627
It is hilarious to me to hear people, they consider me a singer.
571
00:43:29,727 --> 00:43:33,907
They like how my voice sounds or they think it's, people ask me questions about
572
00:43:33,907 --> 00:43:35,727
it. And I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing.
573
00:43:35,947 --> 00:43:39,087
And the fact that you think it's impressive is insane to me,
574
00:43:39,187 --> 00:43:41,447
but I'm going to roll with it as hard as I can.
575
00:43:41,727 --> 00:43:44,607
As you should, as you should. It means you're doing something right.
576
00:43:44,807 --> 00:43:47,867
I'm all character and no technique, I think.
577
00:43:48,867 --> 00:43:52,247
A lot of people have made it with far less than that.
578
00:43:53,347 --> 00:43:57,887
What are your career aspirations? I want to do what I'm doing, honestly.
579
00:43:58,267 --> 00:44:03,307
I've realized I was really scared before I went.
580
00:44:03,687 --> 00:44:06,707
So I'll talk about last year a little bit just to dig into this.
581
00:44:06,787 --> 00:44:09,227
I feel like every time you ask a question, I go on a tangent,
582
00:44:09,287 --> 00:44:10,667
and I apologize for that. that.
583
00:44:11,627 --> 00:44:17,307
But speaking of career aspirations, last year, actually, I believe two weeks
584
00:44:17,307 --> 00:44:22,387
ago was the one-year anniversary from when I went to a mental hospital again, which is cool.
585
00:44:22,527 --> 00:44:29,887
But I have some issues. I had a little psychotic break, you might call it.
586
00:44:30,467 --> 00:44:33,227
And it was right before we left on the six-week tour.
587
00:44:33,847 --> 00:44:38,987
And so I was in the psych ward for six days. And then I get out.
588
00:44:39,027 --> 00:44:41,647
And about a month month later, I was supposed to leave.
589
00:44:42,247 --> 00:44:48,007
I booked this entire six-week house show tour myself, which six weeks is a long
590
00:44:48,007 --> 00:44:49,467
time to be gone straight.
591
00:44:50,087 --> 00:44:54,787
We were all over the East Coast, through Canada, all that. And so I got to thinking
592
00:44:54,787 --> 00:44:59,527
a lot while I was in the hospital, what am I doing?
593
00:45:00,667 --> 00:45:06,687
I had to question, do I enjoy music or am I wrapped up in the momentum of what what I'm doing.
594
00:45:06,827 --> 00:45:10,747
And I questioned a lot, do I actually like what I'm doing anymore?
595
00:45:11,327 --> 00:45:16,527
Am I going to be able to go on these tours? Am I up to it? What if I'm not the
596
00:45:16,527 --> 00:45:18,367
kind of person that enjoys this?
597
00:45:18,767 --> 00:45:24,287
Not everyone's made to tour. It is a lot of work and it is grueling and mentally taxing sometimes.
598
00:45:25,047 --> 00:45:28,067
And I was very happy to find I loved it.
599
00:45:28,327 --> 00:45:31,487
I absolutely loved it. The moment that I was in the van.
600
00:45:31,667 --> 00:45:36,807
I had not, I had six straight weeks with no anxiety, no depression,
601
00:45:37,027 --> 00:45:38,187
no questions about anything.
602
00:45:38,407 --> 00:45:43,467
Like everything is so clear when you're on the road of like, your goals are so clear.
603
00:45:43,567 --> 00:45:47,447
You know, you, you go to a new city, you meet these people, you play a show.
604
00:45:47,567 --> 00:45:52,387
Everybody has a good time ideally, or there's no one there and you just get the jam out either way.
605
00:45:52,667 --> 00:45:56,027
And you're seeing the world you're traveling. And that is what I want.
606
00:45:56,087 --> 00:45:59,727
Like I, that is for sure. My.
607
00:46:00,899 --> 00:46:03,739
Aim in this career is like i i love touring i
608
00:46:03,739 --> 00:46:06,579
love meeting people and like the communal aspect of music
609
00:46:06,579 --> 00:46:10,159
and you know i've got to
610
00:46:10,159 --> 00:46:13,499
hear so many cool stories from different people and not
611
00:46:13,499 --> 00:46:16,179
including like even the bands that we get to play with and
612
00:46:16,179 --> 00:46:19,259
the other musicians that i get to meet and what you're exposed to
613
00:46:19,259 --> 00:46:22,279
and what your influences come from
614
00:46:22,279 --> 00:46:25,159
when you're on the road like you see another band that kicks ass and
615
00:46:25,159 --> 00:46:28,139
you're like why can't we do that and then you go down this whole other
616
00:46:28,139 --> 00:46:31,579
other avenue and like it is a similar
617
00:46:31,579 --> 00:46:34,259
feeling to when i was in the thick of college and it's
618
00:46:34,259 --> 00:46:37,159
something that a lot of people don't realize until they're out of college is that
619
00:46:37,159 --> 00:46:40,299
you are surrounded by a bunch of people in
620
00:46:40,299 --> 00:46:43,099
the thick of this thing like you can
621
00:46:43,099 --> 00:46:45,979
go down the hall and you can be talking
622
00:46:45,979 --> 00:46:48,739
to somebody about 16 8 16 80 italian opera
623
00:46:48,739 --> 00:46:51,919
librettos and then you can go down the hall and someone's talking about coltrane's like
624
00:46:51,919 --> 00:46:54,699
music theory and his pentatonic whatever the
625
00:46:54,699 --> 00:46:58,659
fuck and you can there's all this going on it's the same way out on the road
626
00:46:58,659 --> 00:47:02,619
is you've got all these bands operating at a high level all trying to perform
627
00:47:02,619 --> 00:47:08,079
their best they're all on their own grind their own kick like it's i think it's
628
00:47:08,079 --> 00:47:12,179
just something about that that's that's my career goal is to be.
629
00:47:13,219 --> 00:47:18,099
Performing at a high level constantly learning as much as i can and being surrounded
630
00:47:18,099 --> 00:47:21,559
by people who are doing the same thing i think that's the best i can put it
631
00:47:21,559 --> 00:47:27,999
like i ideally i make some money while i'm doing it but like i that's that's really what it is.
632
00:47:28,815 --> 00:47:36,315
Since you opened it up, I'm going to ask, how do you think mental health informs your creativity?
633
00:47:36,695 --> 00:47:41,195
I actually just wrote a song called Medicine Dance,
634
00:47:41,415 --> 00:47:49,615
which is, you know, for anybody that's ever had to, let's take insurance and
635
00:47:49,615 --> 00:47:50,675
cost out of the equation,
636
00:47:50,835 --> 00:47:56,695
just trying to find the right combination of medications, because it's out there, supposedly.
637
00:47:56,695 --> 00:48:03,735
Supposedly, but you know, I've taken bupropion and like it's Seroquel and lithium
638
00:48:03,735 --> 00:48:08,615
and Prozac and olanzapine and prazosin and all this stuff.
639
00:48:08,695 --> 00:48:14,115
Like you try all this shit and it's, first of all, even if it,
640
00:48:14,135 --> 00:48:16,835
if let's say it is the right thing, that's good and great. But if it's not,
641
00:48:16,895 --> 00:48:18,495
now you fucked up your brain a little bit more.
642
00:48:18,595 --> 00:48:22,355
Now you got to recover, go back from that. Like you keep just messing with your
643
00:48:22,355 --> 00:48:27,715
mental chemistry over and over again. And then best case scenario, you get it right.
644
00:48:27,815 --> 00:48:32,715
Right now, I'm on a pretty good concoction with Prozac and some other stuff.
645
00:48:32,815 --> 00:48:36,355
And it is very helpful, but it is hard to write.
646
00:48:36,455 --> 00:48:42,955
It has changed my creative process. Because normally, my bipolar disorder does kind of affect me.
647
00:48:43,035 --> 00:48:48,155
It's in my low points is usually when I'll write the most.
648
00:48:48,295 --> 00:48:52,955
And then on my upswings is usually when I have the energy and the mindset to
649
00:48:52,955 --> 00:48:58,135
actually demo and record and kind of shape it a little bit. it.
650
00:48:58,475 --> 00:49:04,715
But when you're healthy, like I'm, I'm, you know, a lot more even keel right
651
00:49:04,715 --> 00:49:07,375
now, but it does make it difficult.
652
00:49:07,415 --> 00:49:11,895
I have to kind of read the redesign, how I do things. And yeah.
653
00:49:13,421 --> 00:49:17,981
Is worth it because i know myself off the medication and so yeah there is a
654
00:49:17,981 --> 00:49:23,021
balance it affects it absolutely and it's something i'm probably always going to be,
655
00:49:24,341 --> 00:49:27,961
working with and against like forever
656
00:49:27,961 --> 00:49:30,721
yeah i mean i i have my
657
00:49:30,721 --> 00:49:33,741
own battles with it not bipolar but depression i was i
658
00:49:33,741 --> 00:49:37,021
mean i've dealt with it my entire my entire fucking life
659
00:49:37,021 --> 00:49:40,021
i like to joke that i was probably depressed in utero
660
00:49:40,021 --> 00:49:44,241
you know it's just it's just as complicated like
661
00:49:44,241 --> 00:49:47,161
it's and it is it's a matter of finding the cocktail
662
00:49:47,161 --> 00:49:50,441
that works for you just last month like early december i
663
00:49:50,441 --> 00:49:53,341
was like i don't like this i can't write i'm feeling
664
00:49:53,341 --> 00:49:58,161
planned it's affecting my life like and so i just stopped i cold turkey'd all
665
00:49:58,161 --> 00:50:02,681
my drugs and if anyone out there is considering that who happens to be listening
666
00:50:02,681 --> 00:50:08,141
to this don't do that because i mean the mental thing is one thing but the physical
667
00:50:08,141 --> 00:50:12,821
response to cold turkeying a drug you've been on for 14 months.
668
00:50:13,161 --> 00:50:16,901
I got to learn really close what brain zaps were. What brain what?
669
00:50:17,661 --> 00:50:21,321
Brain zaps. What are those? They used to think that they were mini seizures,
670
00:50:21,521 --> 00:50:23,681
but they're not, because that's kind of what they feel like.
671
00:50:25,101 --> 00:50:29,661
My girlfriend describes it as like, imagine if you died in a video game and
672
00:50:29,661 --> 00:50:32,501
you respawned. There's just a moment where you're just like,
673
00:50:33,209 --> 00:50:38,769
and then you're back. It's literally this zap. And it's an SSRI thing.
674
00:50:38,889 --> 00:50:40,929
It happens when you call turkey SSRIs.
675
00:50:41,169 --> 00:50:44,249
They don't know what causes it, but I'll tell you, it sucks.
676
00:50:44,409 --> 00:50:49,329
I would be driving and just be like, and have to recalibrate my entire body.
677
00:50:49,529 --> 00:50:56,089
But anyway, point is, I think these things are difficult.
678
00:50:56,369 --> 00:50:59,649
There is a long history of people with mental disorders, and bipolar specifically,
679
00:50:59,649 --> 00:51:03,869
specifically who say that their medications dull
680
00:51:03,869 --> 00:51:06,589
them and there's a really good quote i don't
681
00:51:06,589 --> 00:51:09,409
know if it was freud or something but somebody says
682
00:51:09,409 --> 00:51:12,229
like creativity or genius lies just over the border of madness
683
00:51:12,229 --> 00:51:16,609
or something like that and like it's nice to think that way and it's kind of
684
00:51:16,609 --> 00:51:22,849
romantic but like in all reality like i'm gonna die if i don't stay on my meds
685
00:51:22,849 --> 00:51:28,249
like i am not safe for myself and so you have to realize like these things aren't
686
00:51:28,249 --> 00:51:29,489
going to make it perfect but i think.
687
00:51:30,869 --> 00:51:35,849
They're meant to get you closer to the middle of the road so that you can take
688
00:51:35,849 --> 00:51:38,189
the steps you need to to get the rest of the way.
689
00:51:38,869 --> 00:51:44,849
And so, with that same train of thinking, okay, it's not going to be the same creatively.
690
00:51:45,129 --> 00:51:47,649
I'm not going to have the same process. That doesn't mean I can't do it.
691
00:51:47,729 --> 00:51:48,609
I just don't know how yet.
692
00:51:49,169 --> 00:51:53,449
And I have to relearn that. And that's kind of where I'm at right now.
693
00:51:53,449 --> 00:51:56,229
Is and i this is one thing that's
694
00:51:56,229 --> 00:51:59,249
nice about being a producer i do my job just fine with
695
00:51:59,249 --> 00:52:01,949
other people's music and i get results that
696
00:52:01,949 --> 00:52:05,409
work and so i just have to learn how to channel that it's
697
00:52:05,409 --> 00:52:09,989
kind of like having a crush versus actual love like one is really flashy and
698
00:52:09,989 --> 00:52:13,949
it's really nice and it's really big and spontaneous and fireworks and everything
699
00:52:13,949 --> 00:52:18,469
but it's not necessarily real chances are actually it's going to be a lot more
700
00:52:18,469 --> 00:52:22,269
special to you than it is to anybody else doesn't actually I mean, that's great.
701
00:52:22,349 --> 00:52:25,809
But like the thing that you actually put time into and you work towards in the
702
00:52:25,809 --> 00:52:29,789
everyday thing, like building your skill set, like understanding...
703
00:52:30,688 --> 00:52:34,408
I don't know. There's a million ways to write a song. I've never been the guy
704
00:52:34,408 --> 00:52:40,428
to take a template or really sit down and hash out a song, but that's not to say I couldn't.
705
00:52:40,468 --> 00:52:42,928
That's not to say maybe someday I take a storytelling approach.
706
00:52:44,008 --> 00:52:47,228
There's a million ways to be creative and to approach this thing.
707
00:52:47,508 --> 00:52:50,368
I'm going to figure out what my next thing is.
708
00:52:52,068 --> 00:52:55,988
I'm in the middle of it right now, figuring it out. Good. I'm glad to hear you say all of that.
709
00:52:56,428 --> 00:53:00,128
I find it extremely important and
710
00:53:00,128 --> 00:53:03,328
admirable that people like yourself and
711
00:53:03,328 --> 00:53:06,268
king iso i interviewed a couple weeks ago they speak
712
00:53:06,268 --> 00:53:11,848
openly about mental illness i keep it pretty close to the chest i might not
713
00:53:11,848 --> 00:53:17,588
i might not even leave this part in because it's but i think it's so important
714
00:53:17,588 --> 00:53:21,948
to speak openly about it because it takes away some of the stigma attached to
715
00:53:21,948 --> 00:53:25,888
it the more we talk about it i'll say this i had an an experience.
716
00:53:26,148 --> 00:53:29,548
So that's something this band has changed who I am as a person. Good.
717
00:53:30,208 --> 00:53:35,768
Because I'll say this, when I started this band, I was in another band as the
718
00:53:35,768 --> 00:53:39,728
bass player and I was the backup singer and I was writing songs for the band.
719
00:53:40,088 --> 00:53:43,528
They used a couple of mine and they kind of ripped me off.
720
00:53:43,648 --> 00:53:49,528
They took my songs and they submitted them to ASCAP as writers and stuff and
721
00:53:49,528 --> 00:53:52,588
they kind of fucked me over a little bit and I ended up quitting the band.
722
00:53:52,788 --> 00:53:55,468
It was such a bad experience. when i when
723
00:53:55,468 --> 00:53:58,208
i quit the band like everyone quit the band but because we all
724
00:53:58,208 --> 00:54:01,268
agreed to do it together because it was such shit but like i had
725
00:54:01,268 --> 00:54:05,608
such a bad experience i was like fuck this i've got songs obviously they're
726
00:54:05,608 --> 00:54:09,428
good enough if people want to take them and so i started this band johnny man
727
00:54:09,428 --> 00:54:17,228
but at the time i was not a performer i had never been i had never sang like
728
00:54:17,228 --> 00:54:19,808
that i had never been the front man of a band before i was always the drummer
729
00:54:19,808 --> 00:54:21,228
or the bassist or something else.
730
00:54:21,908 --> 00:54:26,308
And I decided to do it and I threw up before every goddamn show for like the
731
00:54:26,308 --> 00:54:29,768
first three and a half years because I was so nervous and I definitely drank
732
00:54:29,768 --> 00:54:33,048
before shows there was a time where I did that because it was the only way I
733
00:54:33,048 --> 00:54:34,328
could chill out enough to do it.
734
00:54:35,397 --> 00:54:39,937
And eventually I got over that. But in the process of doing this band,
735
00:54:40,177 --> 00:54:41,617
a couple things have happened.
736
00:54:42,437 --> 00:54:46,777
One, I got over that anxiety and that performance anxiety, and I learned to enjoy it.
737
00:54:46,957 --> 00:54:52,477
Another thing is the brand of this band has sort of become, just naturally, transparency.
738
00:54:52,957 --> 00:54:57,197
It's something I am extremely transparent about my past and my history and what
739
00:54:57,197 --> 00:54:58,717
the songs are about and just everything.
740
00:54:58,717 --> 00:55:02,857
Thing and that has been because
741
00:55:02,857 --> 00:55:05,737
one because it's kind of like a therapeutic thing for
742
00:55:05,737 --> 00:55:08,677
me but also because it's what i get back from the fans like
743
00:55:08,677 --> 00:55:11,957
it's this open dialogue that's going on where
744
00:55:11,957 --> 00:55:15,877
people feel comfortable enough to talk to me about these things and i
745
00:55:15,877 --> 00:55:18,677
i do battle with the concept of like i don't necessarily
746
00:55:18,677 --> 00:55:21,577
owe them anything that's not how this works
747
00:55:21,577 --> 00:55:24,377
but like i
748
00:55:24,377 --> 00:55:31,557
i have the right to my own privacy but at the same time it is a very cool thing
749
00:55:31,557 --> 00:55:34,777
having this communication like that's the whole that's the thing about music
750
00:55:34,777 --> 00:55:39,017
it's it's relatability and bringing people together and having something that
751
00:55:39,017 --> 00:55:43,877
you can talk about and relate to others with and there's a moment,
752
00:55:44,357 --> 00:55:47,737
two big things on that six-week tour that first big tour that we went on,
753
00:55:48,537 --> 00:55:52,757
where i realized like how important that was one of them was i had a fan come
754
00:55:52,757 --> 00:55:58,117
up to me and say that This was their one-year anniversary of their hormone therapy.
755
00:55:59,712 --> 00:56:05,392
And I was just like, first of all, like the fact that you, that you chose to
756
00:56:05,392 --> 00:56:07,772
spend that with me here at the show is amazing.
757
00:56:07,892 --> 00:56:12,232
The fact that you're comfortable telling me that, and that you don't feel like
758
00:56:12,232 --> 00:56:17,392
this, like the, just the fact that this is that our, we create this vibe and
759
00:56:17,392 --> 00:56:21,272
these shows where people are comfortable enough to express that is amazing.
760
00:56:21,452 --> 00:56:26,652
And it's made me, me more comfortable expressing myself because everyone's, it's just a good vibe.
761
00:56:26,752 --> 00:56:30,252
And I think that's really important. And then the other thing,
762
00:56:30,312 --> 00:56:34,432
there was this dad, did not expect this at all.
763
00:56:34,452 --> 00:56:38,072
The last person in the world I expected this from, but he came up to me after the show.
764
00:56:39,412 --> 00:56:42,212
And he was like, you know, I really appreciate you talking about,
765
00:56:42,392 --> 00:56:46,172
because I talk about this kind of stuff at shows sometimes. I tell people what the songs are about.
766
00:56:46,892 --> 00:56:52,652
And he comes up, he's like, you know, I've been on this medication for depression
767
00:56:52,652 --> 00:56:56,692
recently. I went like my whole life kind of not believing in it.
768
00:56:57,012 --> 00:57:00,452
And, you know, I'm dealing with my own mental stuff. And it's nice to hear you
769
00:57:00,452 --> 00:57:03,392
talk about, you know, it's been kind of an issue with my family,
770
00:57:03,512 --> 00:57:04,972
like in my kids and everything.
771
00:57:05,132 --> 00:57:09,472
And it's become something that everyone can kind of, I don't know,
772
00:57:09,592 --> 00:57:12,592
it's an open conversation that somehow makes it all feel better.
773
00:57:12,812 --> 00:57:15,212
Like it doesn't have to be this weird taboo fucked up thing.
774
00:57:15,332 --> 00:57:19,632
And we can all talk about mental health, and we can share our experiences with it, how to get better.
775
00:57:19,712 --> 00:57:22,792
Like it's, it does make the whole thing a little better.
776
00:57:22,792 --> 00:57:27,332
Like it's it's just good i don't know it's a good feeling it's it's it those
777
00:57:27,332 --> 00:57:30,472
are the reasons why i don't think i could ever quit doing this is because it's
778
00:57:30,472 --> 00:57:39,412
such a good like human thing that's happening i keep my distance out of deference it happens.
779
00:57:40,080 --> 00:58:44,080
Music.
780
00:58:43,922 --> 00:58:46,822
Video for oh songbird thanks but yeah i don't
781
00:58:46,822 --> 00:58:49,982
know who's behind that but i like the juxtaposition of playing
782
00:58:49,982 --> 00:58:53,602
in front of a barn when you're clearly not barn type music i
783
00:58:53,602 --> 00:58:56,562
loved your outfit i thought that was great i don't
784
00:58:56,562 --> 00:59:00,182
know the shirt was amazing and the end
785
00:59:00,182 --> 00:59:02,982
i just got goosebumps the end i'm not going to spoil it for
786
00:59:02,982 --> 00:59:06,222
anyone because i think you should watch it but the end was just perfect thank you
787
00:59:06,222 --> 00:59:09,122
tell me about the concept of that you know
788
00:59:09,122 --> 00:59:12,042
we actually got in trouble for that okay i can't say
789
00:59:12,042 --> 00:59:18,182
i can't say i i don't want to say just in case i can't whose theater that was
790
00:59:18,182 --> 00:59:23,382
it used to be another person's theater and they like jumped up my ass about
791
00:59:23,382 --> 00:59:27,682
being there and they were talking about lawyers and all this and so the sign
792
00:59:27,682 --> 00:59:29,202
in the back that says johnny manchild,
793
00:59:30,042 --> 00:59:33,742
i'll just say that's not what it said in real life and our videographer is a
794
00:59:33,742 --> 00:59:35,382
very talented vfx artist.
795
00:59:37,302 --> 00:59:40,042
So i i won't i don't i don't even want to
796
00:59:40,042 --> 00:59:42,942
put that onto the universe by saying who this is but god they
797
00:59:42,942 --> 00:59:46,742
made my life a fucking pain ultimately though looks
798
00:59:46,742 --> 00:59:52,042
a lot cooler saying johnny manchild absolutely so the new album drops on march
799
00:59:52,042 --> 00:59:57,302
22nd you spent five days tracking the record in total six because we had an
800
00:59:57,302 --> 01:00:01,262
additional day for horns okay back in oklahoma we recorded Recorded the horns
801
01:00:01,262 --> 01:00:04,942
with Michael Treponnier at Cardinal Song Studio,
802
01:00:05,202 --> 01:00:12,302
which he is the definition of audiophile when it comes to an engineer.
803
01:00:12,422 --> 01:00:18,662
He is scientific and precise, which when it comes to doing live horns is great. That's what you want.
804
01:00:18,902 --> 01:00:22,122
You've mentioned a couple of other favorites. Do you have a favorite song on the new album?
805
01:00:23,062 --> 01:00:29,682
It's been really difficult, but right now it is between Beyond Me and Everything Stays.
806
01:00:30,522 --> 01:00:33,502
Fake me out is also up there it's really that's
807
01:00:33,502 --> 01:00:36,382
our single coming out this friday okay and that
808
01:00:36,382 --> 01:00:39,842
one's pretty cool but like something about beyond me
809
01:00:39,842 --> 01:00:47,522
is a super tramp song essentially like i wanted to do bloody well okay i i wanted
810
01:00:47,522 --> 01:00:53,102
to go that way it's rare that you hear super tramp name check right i love super
811
01:00:53,102 --> 01:00:58,222
they're great you know um but yeah like i mean If you like Steely Dan,
812
01:00:58,502 --> 01:01:01,322
Supercrime's right there. No, for sure. For sure.
813
01:01:01,762 --> 01:01:05,842
But yeah, I wanted a song like that, which you could say Benny and the Jets, sure.
814
01:01:06,022 --> 01:01:09,562
And most people will say that. But what it really is, is Bloody Well Right.
815
01:01:09,722 --> 01:01:12,122
If you're going to say that I'm stealing, that's what I'm stealing from.
816
01:01:12,422 --> 01:01:16,262
And I love it. I just wanted something with lots of space and something groovy.
817
01:01:16,582 --> 01:01:19,102
And then Everything Stays, I kind of...
818
01:01:19,797 --> 01:01:26,637
I was listening to a lot of Spoon, and it goes a little more that way. It's guitar-driven.
819
01:01:28,857 --> 01:01:31,677
Lyrically, it is my favorite song on the record, so I'll say that.
820
01:01:33,817 --> 01:01:40,037
You have so much ahead of you, man. I don't want to tell myself this is going
821
01:01:40,037 --> 01:01:43,297
to be awesome and blow up and do something, but I hope that it gives me a few
822
01:01:43,297 --> 01:01:45,337
steps forward, for sure.
823
01:01:45,877 --> 01:01:49,177
It seems like your career has been going that way.
824
01:01:49,177 --> 01:01:54,217
It's really hard to tell when you're in my position i'll just say that you know
825
01:01:54,217 --> 01:01:59,197
and it has like we've got i'm so grateful for what this is like because i recognize like.
826
01:01:59,837 --> 01:02:03,377
I am me four years ago would
827
01:02:03,377 --> 01:02:06,177
be shitting his pants that this was that
828
01:02:06,177 --> 01:02:09,877
this is where i'm at and i have to recognize that that a
829
01:02:09,877 --> 01:02:12,597
lot of people aren't this lucky to like this is what i do
830
01:02:12,597 --> 01:02:15,577
for a living you know i have to do engineer work
831
01:02:15,577 --> 01:02:18,537
here and there but for the most part this pays my bills which is
832
01:02:18,537 --> 01:02:21,997
insane on its own to be a musician yeah that's
833
01:02:21,997 --> 01:02:24,877
really lucky it's a big deal and so it's why
834
01:02:24,877 --> 01:02:27,617
i yeah i love doing this and that's why
835
01:02:27,617 --> 01:02:30,817
like when you say that when we ask me like what i want to do or what my aim
836
01:02:30,817 --> 01:02:36,177
for my career is like i'm there like it's it's this it's this close and like
837
01:02:36,177 --> 01:02:40,877
i know that it's never going to be a big jump but i just try and i'm trying
838
01:02:40,877 --> 01:02:45,357
to tweak it little by little as we go and i don't know i i think this record
839
01:02:45,357 --> 01:02:47,277
will be good i i enjoy it very very much.
840
01:02:47,377 --> 01:02:50,897
I think a lot of people will like it, and I hope that a lot of people get to hear it.
841
01:02:51,517 --> 01:02:55,777
I don't know. We'll see what fucking happens. Johnny, I've taken up so much of your time. Thank you.
842
01:02:56,217 --> 01:03:02,397
I love the album. I love your work, and I wish you so much success as you're moving forward.
843
01:03:02,817 --> 01:03:06,277
I have no doubt that it'll find you. Well, I really appreciate it.
844
01:03:06,337 --> 01:03:09,737
I put a lot of effort into this one.
845
01:03:09,937 --> 01:03:13,277
I'm already thinking about the next one, so I hope this one lets me do something
846
01:03:13,277 --> 01:03:15,477
even cooler next time. Thanks, Johnny.
847
01:03:15,557 --> 01:03:18,197
I really appreciate it. Take care, man. You too. Bye.
848
01:03:18,697 --> 01:03:21,497
Many thanks to Johnny for taking time out to talk with us.
849
01:03:21,637 --> 01:03:25,597
The band's new album, Rapture Waltz, drops on March 22nd.
850
01:03:25,737 --> 01:03:30,977
He's currently on tour, so check out his website, manchild.band, for a date near you.
851
01:03:31,617 --> 01:03:34,437
Extra special thanks to Dana Gordon at Indie Music Media.
852
01:03:35,697 --> 01:03:39,777
This episode of Abandoned Albums was written and produced by Keith R.
853
01:03:39,817 --> 01:03:44,017
Higgins. the show was recorded at Thunderlove Studio, where it was engineered
854
01:03:44,017 --> 01:03:47,597
by Daphne Morris, with help from John Thomas.
855
01:03:48,057 --> 01:03:51,017
Abandoned Albums was edited by Mike Hunt.
856
01:03:51,177 --> 01:03:54,637
Our theme song is Booty Cooler by Shuggie Otis.
857
01:03:54,777 --> 01:03:59,197
In the opening of the show, the songs you heard were Rumble by Link Ray,
858
01:03:59,457 --> 01:04:05,037
16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford, and the Carpenters classic Top of the World,
859
01:04:05,197 --> 01:04:06,917
performed by Shonen Knife.
860
01:04:07,653 --> 01:04:11,753
You can stream all of those songs and artists wherever you stream your favorite music.
861
01:04:12,233 --> 01:04:16,453
Original music by Mike Pellegrino. The songs you heard during this podcast were
862
01:04:16,453 --> 01:04:19,633
Johnny Manchild and the Poor Bastards' new single So Much Better,
863
01:04:19,773 --> 01:04:22,233
from their forthcoming album, Rapture Waltz.
864
01:04:22,313 --> 01:04:27,113
You also heard Insomnia off their album by the same name, We from We Did Not
865
01:04:27,113 --> 01:04:31,173
Ask For This Room, All Right from One Big Beautiful Sound, and lastly,
866
01:04:31,353 --> 01:04:34,653
Oh Songbird, also off the upcoming Rapture Waltz.
867
01:04:34,653 --> 01:04:38,913
You can stream Johnny Manchild and the Poor Bastards wherever you stream your favorite music.
868
01:04:39,393 --> 01:04:41,553
Please remember to support independent artists.
869
01:04:42,173 --> 01:04:45,313
If you like what you've heard, please be sure to subscribe and leave us a rating.
870
01:04:45,433 --> 01:04:47,213
It really does help. Thanks for listening.
871
01:04:50,173 --> 01:04:53,373
Grazie. Daily Leaf. Rob Janicki.
872
01:04:53,993 --> 01:04:59,993
Mike Pellegrino. Therena Vela. Ronnie Barnett. S.W. Loudon. Michael Janicki.
873
01:05:00,333 --> 01:05:03,133
Peyton Janicki. And our executive producer.
874
01:05:07,953 --> 01:05:11,253
Abandoned Albums receives funding from Damon Pharmaceuticals,
875
01:05:11,273 --> 01:05:12,753
the makers of Ben Affleck.
876
01:05:12,933 --> 01:05:18,653
Ben Affleck is the only chewable tablet made to combat stomach unease associated with mediocrity.
877
01:05:18,793 --> 01:05:23,353
Taken daily, Ben Affleck can help combat explosive gastrointestinal shame.
878
01:05:23,593 --> 01:05:27,613
You can find a multitude of flavors in the incontinence section of your local pharmacy.
879
01:05:27,893 --> 01:05:32,133
Ben Affleck, save yourself the embarrassment. The side effects include dry mouth,
880
01:05:32,213 --> 01:05:34,413
headache, anal leakage, muscle soreness, bad decisions, gender confusion,
881
01:05:34,573 --> 01:05:37,693
constipation, evil spirit possession, and banality. Use only as directed.
882
01:05:41,360 --> 01:05:47,600
Music.
883
01:05:45,313 --> 01:05:50,833
And now, until we meet again next time, I remain, as always, obediently yours.
884
01:05:53,313 --> 01:06:00,933
A Band in Albums is a production of PopRant Media. And now, a word from our sponsor. Thank you.