[Music]
Welcome back to another edition of the Phantom Power Artist Hour.
This is a listener supported value cast with no ads, no commercials, no sponsors.
Value for value, baby.
If you like it, if this brings value into your life,
I would ask that you share some of that value in return, be it with your time, your talent, or your treasure.
And I would hope that you do the same, not only for the artists on this show, but all of our shows,
and every other show in the value verse.
That's what value for value is about.
And it's not just about the Bitcoin, it's not just about the money, it's about your time, and talent as well.
And I welcome your feedback and suggestions, you can find me on Noster, Telegram, Mastered on Instagram, all that kind of stuff.
Thrilled to have you along.
Funny story about today's guest, the retrograde.
I had an amazing conversation earlier this week with Joey, Joe on guitar, and Carson on drums.
It was one of the best conversations I've had, and then the damn thing got erased.
That's what happens sometimes in the podcast world.
Anywho, so we had to do it all again, and the boys were very gracious.
But the good thing is, is that we got all four members of the band this time.
Giziah, the bass player, joined us, and the F&G, the new kid, the new guitar player, the second guitar player,
Cade Ryan Pickering joined us as well.
So we have a really fun conversation talking about not only value for value and what these boys are using in the studios,
but their musical guilty pleasures, a little bit about their upbringing, all that kind of fun stuff.
It's a really fun conversation, and I hope you guys enjoy it.
I'm so bummed that the original one was lost because we went hip-deep into gear.
Carson and I were geeking out about the faculty at FSU on the jazz side, which I had no idea about.
Joey's knowledge of gear and his fetish with electronics in gear is stunning.
All of that got lost, but this conversation is just as wonderful, and I really hope you guys enjoy it.
I saw these guys live here in Nashville on April 1st, and they blew me away, and I cannot wait for them to come back.
They're coming back in about four weeks.
They're playing in Nashville downtown on the Sky Deck, and you better believe I'm going to be there.
In the meantime, before we bring them on, let's kick it off with this barn burner of a church.
This barn burner of a track.
Oh, love that!
I need a little, to the retro grade, a fan of power artist Allen, and we'll bring the boys on.
I make the music in my hand, that makes you want to stop your show.
I put the feelings in my shape on a seven-even double-dove.
Oh, my love, I'm picking up, the things we used to do.
Oh, my love, on the hall, I guess that's over too.
One time!
I need a little, I need to get up, something over, nothing please me, but I don't say it.
I need a little, I need to get up, try to waste the soul, but you can never hide.
It's all in my life, you want it, I'll always take it up, if I'm here.
I'm leaving it behind, I need a little, I need to get up, never mind.
(Music)
It's prison after choosing, you never wanted the apology.
And now I turn the wood to you, when you tell me I don't want to blame.
Oh, my love, I'm picking up, the things we used to do.
Oh, my love, on the hall, I guess that's over too.
One time!
(Music)
I need a little, I need to get up, never mind.
(Music)
I will never find a way, no, no, no, I will take all the blame.
(Music)
I need a little, I need to get up, something over, nothing please me, but I don't say it.
(Music)
I don't believe in me, but I need a little, I need to get up, never mind.
(Music)
I need a little, I need to get up, never mind.
(Music)
I need a little, is in what?
E-flat? E-flat.
The bass player is like, yeah, E-flat.
Is it an E-flat?
No, hold on, no, it's an E-flat.
Yeah, let's say it.
Okay, all right.
Technically speaking, it's a 541.
It is technically a 541, I guess.
Technically in F sharp, F sharp, F sharp, F sharp, F sharp.
Okay, so that is, that's our discussion of us, by the way, that was us coming out of, I need a little, with the retrograde.
I couldn't remember what key it's in.
It's been a hell of a week, I had a one hour conversation with Joe and Carson earlier this week, and the whole damn thing got deleted.
So here we are again, round two, but this time we are joined by Josiah on bass.
And the FNG, the new guy, Cade on guitar, I got all four members of the retrograde here, fellas. Welcome.
Welcome.
Yeah, Cade, let's start with you.
Two questions, number one, did you know what FNG stands for?
Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
All right, good military acronym, right?
Yeah.
So I would hope that you have been going through the proper hazing that any new band member has to go through.
I mean, are they making you like haul all the merch, do all the gear, you know, clean, desires, bass strings, bring in the chicken tenders?
Are they giving you a proper hazing?
You know, I wanted to say I haven't experienced any of those things yet.
But, yeah, they have been waking me up though in the mornings to some just loud music.
Good.
Yeah, so that's the only sort of hazing I can think of at the top of my head right now.
Wow, I'm surprised.
I'm a little disappointed in your bandmates though.
I mean, you know, this is what you have to do to the new guy, right?
They've been nice.
They've been nice for now.
So, yeah, you've been with the band now for about a month, right?
Like you are second guitar player, right?
Right on.
Tell us a little bit Carson's back there jumping up and down.
He's like, we got another guitar player.
So tell us a little bit about your background.
Wait, I know right now you're in Nashville here, but where are you from originally?
So I was born in Illinois about, let's say, an hour south of Chicago.
I stayed there.
I was about four or five and then I moved to Alpercourt, E.D. Mexico.
And I stayed there.
I lived there, sure, about.
Yeah, definitely.
I lived there for about 10 years.
And then when I was 14, my family, we made the decision to move to Franklin Tennessee,
which is about 20 minutes south of Nashville.
Yeah, just wanted to be closer to family.
And about a year and a half, two years later, I guess a year, I started playing, I picked up the guitar,
because I really didn't know what I wanted to do in terms of just career or anything.
You know, I was just the classic teenage, you know, I have no idea what I'm going to do.
Then my parents got me a guitar for Christmas when I was 15 and just stuck for me.
So I met, well, it would be my first band, we were in high school and we played for about, God, five years.
And then that disbanded around, I think, this past December.
And so I didn't think I was going to be playing music ever again.
And then these guys hit me up, what, what, around April?
I would say, probably around April, it's a little hazy for us, you know?
And it's funny, it wasn't even, they weren't even asking me really to try out.
Because I played my old band, we played together a couple of years ago.
So they knew of me already.
And so it's funny, they didn't even ask me to try out.
It was mainly just the hey, y'all, you want to be on it?
That's a good feeling.
Yeah, it was. And then when I met them, I mean, we briefly talked,
a few years back, but when I met them, we had a seven hour drive from a fame studio.
And most of the shows, the show was telehazzy and it was like meeting my best friends for the first time.
That seven hour car ride felt like two hours.
We were just talking and laughing and playing music.
And then when we played, it felt very natural on my end.
I don't know about the other guys though.
That's good.
Yeah, I mean, he's all right.
Yeah.
Well, the kids all right.
When we did that drive, it was funny because we had only talked for a couple of minutes at the one show we played.
And then over that seven hours, we kept passing music back and forth.
And we were like, oh, we like these same exact music.
We're like, this is perfect, dude.
And I mean, you know, going back to the hazing thing we have in messing with them a little bit,
towards the end of the tour.
You guys think like, you think that's good?
And we were like, ah, Kate, you got a second to talk about.
We got to talk about something.
But no, dude, I get messed so good.
Because me, Carson and just I have been playing together for going on what three, four years now?
Four years.
And yeah, I mean, Kate, just, you know, that first rehearsal, we sent them the album probably a week and a half before that first rehearsal.
And, you know, our first rehearsal with them, we burned through the entire album.
I knew every note.
I remember looking at your size face and we first started playing.
I just thought, I kind of like, give me a look.
I was like, yeah, I was like, this guy learned a shit, man.
I was like, you're gonna work out pretty good.
You got some firepower.
Yeah.
And then we, you know, we got to do this, this tour, you know, we played from Alabama to Illinois, Ohio, PA.
And really like every night, it just kept getting better and better.
I mean, we were firing on all cylinders by the end of it.
We weren't even using set lists.
We were just kind of fucking around.
I bet we could play one tonight without a set list.
Love it.
Yeah.
Well, I'm just gonna say, like, I'm, I'm stoked to see this lineup.
Because you guys as a trio, when I saw you April 1st here in Nashville at the basement, you guys,
we're gonna blew me away just as a trio, but I completely understand too.
And I know we, you know, Joe and Carson, we had this conversation the other day, like it's a,
it's a heavy load when you're a trio.
So you bring Kaden and it's like everybody can, can breathe a little bit.
Yeah, it's been the biggest thing for me, like the biggest adjustment.
Because especially when Joe is soloing, it was always a game of like me trying to fill as much
bases as I possibly could and make it feel like, like obviously there'd be a step down in dynamics
when your main core guy, the main guy pushing steps down and is playing, is not playing back up, like rhythm section stuff.
Yeah, by the way, to, to the listener, that's Josiah on basis.
Yeah, the biggest, the biggest difference is like, I don't need to fill as much base.
Like I can really step back and play and listen more than I was like trying to be, you know,
essentially just try to be another guitar player on base when Joe's soloing and now there's another guitar player there.
And it's like, yeah, they sound it and, and I mean the album is really guitar heavy.
I mean, there was, we spent days just recording guitar stuff.
Oh, I know, man.
So, and hearing the parts that we like wanted their live and just never were able to achieve, hearing that stuff being played is like just a super cool feeling.
It sounds like a million bucks to me, you know.
Carson, do you feel the same?
I mean, I always, I always tell bands when I'm mentoring them, like the, like the more bands you get in or excuse me, the more musicians you bring into the band, the smaller everybody's part has to get.
Yeah, I agree with that sentiment.
I think that as a drummer, I can kind of get away with certain things given the nature of the music that wouldn't be the same if I was in a four piece, like Country Ensemble or Bluegrass Ensemble.
And still heavy, I'm still approaching the same, you know, the instrument the same way.
I still played primarily the same fills that I do when we play just three pieces and when we do, when we do now is four piece.
But man, it's a lot more fun when you're playing behind that much more decibels.
I'll tell you that.
I feel like I'm painting with distortion behind the kit.
Because whenever I hit my crash, we're still musically intertwined and really first and precise, it's just a really powerful thing, this addition of another guitar.
And I'm a huge band.
I wouldn't want to be playing the three pieces.
I mean, the nature of the four piece thing we got going on.
Joe, we kind of talked about this the other day, like Kate, Kate's going to be taking some solos too, right?
Is it going to bounce back and forth?
Yeah, when we tried to, you know, when we did this first rehearsal, you know, Kate was like, you know, you're the lead guy.
And by the end of the tour, we finally got in the play lead on if six was four.
See, I think like, you know, I want him to play leads on certain songs just so that people get to, you know, every member of the band gets their moment during the set.
So yeah, he's been playing one on if six was four and, you know, it's nice for me to just be able to pluck along a little bit and just play some chords and, you know, kind of take the back seat for a second.
It's important for you as the singer too, because you have to have, yet you have to have some time to really, for lack of a better term, catch your breath.
Well, I mean, not even like lack of a better term, like it literally is just catching my breath.
Like that, that was the biggest thing with playing as a three piece versus a four piece.
You know, I had time to, you know, take a second and think about what I have to do with my body to sing the next verse instead of when we were as a three piece, it was, okay, I got to play this riff.
And I got to nail this riff, then I got to go straight to the mic. Yeah. So now that I have that little cushion, I noticed when we were on tour, like my voice just kept getting better and better every night.
Yeah, I was very, and I was kind of concerned about going in was how my voice was going to hold up. And by the last show on the tour, I was like, man, I feel like I could play 100 more and I'd be all right.
Yeah, you're lucky. I mean, it's, it's, you're lucky.
Because there's a lot of singers that go out on tour and they got to rest up and they, they really got to, you know, the, the tea and the no talking and things like that.
But it sounds, it, it sounds like you got one of the more durable ones out there.
Yeah, I think it's just, I mean, I put a lot of time into my mechanics with singing.
Yeah.
And, you know, a lot of diaphragm breathing in placement and I think the big thing that I do is I absolutely blast my vocals through my wedge just so I know I'm not over singing.
Yeah.
And even like when we played in Columbus, I mean, I was, I ended up getting sick. Like I had, my throat was all sore and my tonsils were swelling up.
And even then, like I felt like my voice was pretty spot on and, you know, I'm very glad that I took the time to learn all those techniques and had to preserve my voice.
It's hard to get me to shut up. I talk a lot.
You know, I get from New York, man. I mean, what do you expect?
Yeah. I'm Italian and we're loud talkers and we talk a lot.
But luckily, like, you know, by the end of the tour, I was like, all right, I think I can, you know, keep you up and instill sing, you know, at my fullest potential.
Yeah.
Now in the, in the, in the hour that was lost in that heartbreaking hour, we went over like, you know, Joe, you came down to Calla Hasse from New York.
You've got a real street sense view of the guitar in terms of your upbringing.
Carson, you came down from Michigan, right? Yeah. Great Lakes, Michigan, Chicago.
And you've got a degree from FSU and you schooled me on, on the jazz faculty. That's at FSU, right?
The lone Floridian in this group is Josiah.
I know him. The only local one. You know, Josiah, did you grow up?
Did you grow up and Tallahassee were or Auburn Gainesville? Where are you from?
Now born and raised Tallahassee.
Okay.
The only one ever had joking on the road. I was like, oh, you know, from Tallahassee for like, well, you're from Chicago, you're from New York, you're from, well, everywhere.
Yeah.
And I'm the only one from Tallahassee.
It's really weird like having a band made up of all these different people and from all these different places because Tallahassee didn't feel like such a small town.
You know, just a little college town, but it's crazy. The music scene that Tallahassee has had and has poured into people like
going in Carson and giving them opportunities to play. Tons of great clubs, the bread, rose, blues club and bunch of old, great blues legends that have come through there and and call Tallahassee home.
It's a really remarkable, remarkable town and it's cool to be from there.
How did you start playing bass? What was the, the impetus for you?
Bass was a, that was because I had to play bass because I wanted to be in a band. Start along guitar when I was 11, took it in middle school and took a
guitar in a high school then a bunch of my friends were, I wanted to start a band and they were already two guitar players and I was like, well, I own a bass.
So I guess I'll play that and I actually started. I had an Ibanez crossover. So it was a six string same scale link as a guitar.
But, wow.
I made a larger bass strings and I made it sound like a bass. I got made fun of for playing it but it made me sound like a bass player and it made the transition over to a four string.
Quite a bit simpler. But my dad played bass and it wasn't a bunch of bands in the 70s and 80s. He's also a guitar player/bass player.
But yeah, it was kind of just was because I wanted to be in a band and play with my friends.
But love it. Was that your dad that I met at the show?
Oh for sure.
Yeah, he's a sweet guy.
No, he's he's he's a character for sure. He's definitely the reason that I am.
That I was able to pursue this at all as a career, especially as I call it a career as a high schooler.
I didn't have a car so he drove me to all my gigs and I sat in the crowd and you know,
like, like, everybody. So yeah.
Don't let Josiah tell you otherwise, but he was the man. Like, back when we were giving him that first call to join the band and
uh, he he ended up playing with a lot of touring blues musicians and going on truer with, uh,
butch trucks daughter and what?
He's an active part of the Tallahassee lineage, but he won't say that.
I got really lucky. I uh, so that my band in high school, we had a nine piece band like fun soul type thing.
Well, a bunch of us were just we in high school and then the year after I graduated, we kept playing together.
Um, they all moved away to go do college stuff and I stayed home and, uh,
just kind of did a year or so of giggling around and making connections and playing as much as I could and ended up.
The guy that if you needed a bass player last minute, you just you just called me so, um, I'm very fortunate in that in that, uh, right to, you know,
say that I was okay enough to get calls like that.
So well, yeah, but I'm clueling into what Carson saying.
I think you buried the lead there, sir. Like, because your last name,
I swear to God, I've seen you somewhere or you have a some famous musician in your family that.
That there are a lot of pies floating around there. Uh, uh, you certainly are with, you know, we're a musical family for sure and okay.
Um, yeah, I, I mean, I, I say I started playing guitar when I was 11, but I mean, I, I've been noodling around for as long as I can remember.
Um, they're just always instruments in the house and I grew up in church and there's always opportunity to play.
So, um, I'm very fortunate to call it my job.
And let us start, let's not get it twisted either when we called you, so, because we knew the bass player, me and Carson were sitting at Carson sass and we're like, like, dude, should we, you guys want to call just
us, and we were sitting there like, I was like, Yeah, dude, you think we'll do it? Like you think you'll be in. I don't know, man. I don't know.
You know what? Yeah. You learned an important lesson, Joe. Like what's, what's the worst thing he could have said?
Yeah. I mean, he could have told us that we stuck him or not worthy, but luckily he was, uh, I remember he was walking his dog.
He was, you know, we're gonna do some, some blues and rock and he was like, he was like, Yeah, dude. I'm just like, Yeah, when you guys want me to show up, what songs want me to learn?
So we spent them like a couple songs, then we came in and like, instantly just felt the kind of, we probably saw recordings from the first rehearsal we have.
I have recordings from that very first jam and it sounds like a bootleg from a, like, 71 Zeppelin show, because we did some Zeppelin tunes.
I'm not even flying you. Yeah. It was explosive energy filled recordings that are probably on my phone.
It shook my house like the smoke alarms fell off. Yeah. Like three smoke alarms fell off. And it was just magic in a bottle.
I love that. How many shows? So how long? I know Kate recently joined, but how long has this lineup, Joe on lead and vocals, Carson on drums, Josiah on bass?
How long have you guys formalized this thing? How have you been together? That's been going on since January 2021.
So, okay. We've been playing, you know, regional tours, little shows here and there, but we didn't start writing original material until, well, like, six months in.
I mean, you know, and then we just kind of, we're getting our legs back as the world was once COVID happened and it kind of bought us some time.
Or, yeah, we weren't playing or curing and to the extent that we wanted to be. So we just spent a lot of time writing.
How many shows have you guys did you guys do together as a trio before I saw you last month?
Man, not a whole lot. That's a great question. Probably no more than 35. Are you shitting me? I'm dead serious. We've been trying to make 30 shows together.
So we got a lot of growth to occur. The boss is so in that time that Carson is talking about COVID stuff. I mean, honestly, there weren't a lot of shows to be played, you know, in Tallahassee, a bunch of clubs, closed down.
Several still are facing the repercussions of all that stuff. But in Carson's Florida rooms turned home studio. We had, I mean, we put so much time into practicing recording, like practicing recording techniques and just getting the sound that we wanted to hear out there.
There are several songs that we recorded that we've since pulled down just because we were kind of experimenting and trying to figure out what was going to work.
But I think the secrets, the way that we sound now is just that we were always playing even if that wasn't in a live set, very often.
Yeah, because you guys sounded like he had been playing together for 10 years when I saw you. I mean, you see here now, Kate, well, I can't wait. June 20th up here, top floor of the MSE sweets, right?
Oh, yeah, I'll be there. Sky deck, baby. I'll be there. Yeah. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Let me, all right. Let's have some fun. I want to kind of pick you guys apart.
Kate, I'm going to start with you. You, you talked about that hang when you were in the car for seven hours and it felt like it was two. And that's magic right there because if the hang is not good, the band's not going to work, right?
And trust me, from personal experience, there's nothing worse than being a two days drive from home, right when the band broke up. That's a lot of fun. That's a lot of fun.
That's probably where I got my gray hair. All right. So I want an honest answer from you. I want a musical dirty secret.
Who do you love that's completely outside the genre that people would probably make fun of you for? And if it's Britney Spears, you better say it's Britney Spears.
And I'm going to hit the other guys and I can't wait to and I can't wait till I until I get to the professor Carson because you know the guy like he goes deep into drum theory and he, you know, he probably knows the size sticks at Jack Dejan that used.
So he's really going to take the hit. So yeah, you go first musical guilty pleasure. Who is it?
Man, I would say like late 2000s early 2010s hip hop rap and pop just be good like for example, like hops in logic.
Trying to think of like who other just because when I was an Albert Kirk that's all everyone listed do like I didn't even know the term Led Zeppelin until I was 15 years old.
Or the Beatles for that matter. Like it was only it was strictly just hip hop. So that's all I listed to so like, you know.
And like all the top 40 stuff like I remember thrift shop mafamore was fucking huge. Yeah.
Okay, but yeah, I probably say like yeah, old school, no, not old school, but like early 2000s or late 2000s early 2010s hip hop.
Okay. Just I get musical guilty pleasure.
Uh oh, he's music. I'm from the wrong. No, he's back. Okay. So I was looking on my phone to see if I could see how many songs I've liked by this artist. This is.
Here comes Madonna. No, okay. So I'm currently living Atlanta or just outside of Atlanta.
And there's a big country thing in this in the East ish part. And I'm not talking about like your willy Nelson like your classic stuff like your pop country.
So I am a huge loot coms fam.
Oh, interesting. Okay. I like much everything that he has released.
That would be a dream filling gig. Like I would dominate a show if they ever needed a film based player, I would dominate that show.
Yeah, I have to tell you I was really worried you're like you were going there. I'm like if he says Luke Brian, this interview is over.
I'll be Brian. Um, yeah, no, Luke comes. Some Morgan wall and tunes. I can stand.
That's I think it's just good. This is good. Like turn your brain off, grab an acoustic guitar, grab a beer and relax.
Yeah, you definitely grew up in the South. We're going to come back to that topic because that's a hot topic. All right, Joe.
Lead guitar vocals, musical guilty pleasure. Um, I mean guilty pleasure is what's thrown me off. But like stuff that's like out of our genre. Yeah.
Um, so like I really like early action, not even early. I like most economy west stuff. Uh, just because it's so it's so different from all the other rap that gets put out.
Okay. It feels like he makes records. He makes albums instead of singles. Um, yeah.
If you want to I can't even say guilty pleasure because they're just so good and one of one of my favorite vocalists of all time, but hauling oats.
Uh, Darryl Hall. Great voice. Um, how about pop writer, man? Oh, great writer. Great voice. Um, yeah. I'm trying to think like if we go.
I was real big into Mac Miller for a while when he was out swimming. Damn, I would have never guessed. I love this question. Yeah, I think it's just a killer record. Um, and then like, yeah, it's like technically our genre. Um, and you know, I mean, he's the greatest songwriter of all time.
I just absolutely adore Paul McCartney and wins, even though it's a little more poppy, a little more dancing. I love wings. Okay. All right. Wow. I'm surprised to hear that.
Uh, not not surprised that you like Paul McCartney, but like your guitar tone, you seem more like a George Harrison type of guy, but all right. That's cool.
The people can't see it, but I stole a penny lane sign until I allegedly stole a penny lane sign off of the promise of road. And then, uh, obviously got revolver and have you rode back there. I fucking, yeah, I just love the Beatles.
Okay. Good. All right, Carson. You're up musical guilty pleasure from the professor. No, no professor yet, but, um, I will practice this statement with none of this is guilt ridden. I have no guilt or shame for anyone.
I know what's coming, dude. I know what's coming. You ever, you ever hear this Swedish metal band called the sugar?
You got to be kidding me, dude. I, if I'm going through my Spotify, it's like all of, I think it's like, oh, Bayes and OB easy and or however you spell it.
Uh, what is it? Like new millennium signite Christ like that is that just gets me going. It's the most metrically modulated thing you can possibly listen to and it's so precise.
Um, bleed is obviously the track that people kind of relate to, but I love like knock loose. They just put out a record to, um, it's actually trending higher than Taylor Swift right now, which made me happy.
So, yeah, like hardcore and really thoughtful metal music. I grew up and right around the time animals as leaders was coming to fruition. And I'm a big Mac.
Garc go fan. Yeah. Well, Carson, tell him who lived down the street from you.
Uh, well, Tom Morello. I would have driven Libertyville, Illinois. So Tom Morello, yeah, like a couple blocks away. And I'd, you know, be slamming my symbol to rage against the machine and bulls on parade.
He just be riding his bike down the street, which is kind of funny. Um, Jimmy Chamberlain too is a family family acquaintance. So I'm a big pumpkin span.
Um, but just really heavy guitar music. I love really heavy guitar music.
There's also, there's one more that I'm looking for Carson and you said you listen to them unironically and I need to, I need to hear you say new, new the valid data. What is it? We need it. We know who it is.
Oh, my, from pala has to I love creed. Let's just. Okay. If I want to, I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry. Listen, like 15 year old me was blasting my own prison. Just.
Wow. Wow. You were up here, Carson. You were up here and and you've dipped a bit. Yeah. I'll take it, though. It's none of his guilt.
And it's my, my proof to my musical diet. I love for the coms is definitely not ironic. I love them. I'm not saying.
Well, and Cade will tell you, Kade, did you spend any time over on Broadway? Just just. Yeah. No. Okay.
You're like five times in the 10 years I will care. Good for you because you basically have to sell your soul to play a gig down there. But Carson, the reason why I bring that up Broadway, you know, is like it is like that forest block strip here in town where all the tourists go and there's just nothing
of cover tunes. Yeah. Creed has made a we were out doing a show in Missouri a couple weeks ago and I'm driving up there with a car player and he's like, man, you wouldn't believe it. But like fucking Creed music is taken over Broadway. Yeah.
I was there till like 6 a.m. last time we were in Nashville and I missed out. So you know, here in any creed. I probably wasn't here in any big, but bad ideas. So. Yeah. That's the only way that it's awful. Yeah.
And that's what happened after 2 a.m. Oh, yeah, especially in, especially in Nashville and Broadway.
Josiah, let me bring something up to you real quick because you talked about Morgan wall and you talked about Luke com's and tell me if I'm out of line because I said this before to a bunch of people and some of them don't understand it.
Some of them think I'm wrong. I'd say a third of them think I'm on to something when you think about country music today like Morgan wall and Jason out Dean, Luke Brian, you know, the popular male figures.
This could be an over exaggeration, but I think what they are doing to hip hop is the exact same thing that Pat Boone and Elvis Presley did to little Richard.
Talk like a little bit of cultural appropriation that type of thing. Do you think. Do you think.
Am I right? No, I think so. Because I think like.
I think Luke com's feels like in the streamline like well thought out pop leaning version of what country music is.
And Morgan wall is like the extreme pop like that's like I can see the appropriation and music like that. That's why I said like there's a couple of songs that I know and like.
But. And that's like my brother and a lot of stuff. He's a few likes Morgan wall and more than that.
No, I think you're definitely right. I think that's a it is an interesting thought. I've never thought about it like that before.
I like Luke com's too. I would I would take him over Morgan wall and I to me he comes across as authentic.
Yes, I don't I don't think Morgan wall and comes across as authentic at all.
No, it feels like he's like marketed to sell to as many people as possible.
Yeah, if I could put it. I'll tell you who I am.
If I could put it in I could tell you who I really like. And I'm drawn a blank on his name just I we were listening to him on tour.
Oh, it's chill.
Tyler shoulders.
Yeah, that's even more I think I think he is the perfect blend of country and blues and folk.
That's like appellation like almost. Yeah, you know, that's like real country music though.
Yeah, listen, I can get down to that son. Yeah, get me get me a cup of coffee in the morning and one singular and put on some Tyler shoulders and I'm going to have a good day.
And maybe some Zach Bryant, you know, in there a little bit, but.
I don't know.
You'll be pleasure and we're giving you that we're giving you all the good pleasure.
Yeah, okay. I mean, look, my my guilty pleasure is is the spice curls.
Oh, there we go. Right. I mean, I'll all own it.
All right. And they're like, we're very studied musicians. We love all kinds of music. We're also like people of our time.
You know, we keep them not grew up in the 2000s. You know, what is a go landscape was just a bismill.
So of course I last on decree when I was 13.
I was right on. Yeah. You know, and I think saying that it's just circumstance, you know, and I've sense discovered the records that are fundamental to modern popular American music and all of us had.
We made our way back through the blues through classic rock. And that's where I love truly is. But, you know, it's fun to divulge once in a while.
Well, when you think about it, like when we were growing up, the only real like rock music that was out there was the food fighters, the strokes, and then jet.
Those are like the big three at that time.
Yeah, I mean, rage.
Well, I know rage was, yeah, winding down by that point though. Yeah, they were. Yeah, they were big.
They were big when I was out in LA. I was in LA from 95 to 03 and they like that's when they were just massive.
Nickelback, too, was pretty big in our time.
I forgot about Nickelback.
The Bickelback.
Oh, yeah. And listen, people give Nickelback a lot of shit.
But as a business decision, those three court songs got them farther than a lot of people will ever go.
And, you know, there's, I mean, there's two really, two really interesting points about that, Joe, that number one is, I think it's important for any artist who is going to be successful in this industry.
You don't have to like everybody's music. It's not possible. But I think that when you recognize that somebody has been bust in their ass, you got to, you got to respect the hustle.
Right. Like I don't, and the two examples I give are Jennifer Lopez and the Eagles. Like I never cared for the Eagles music at all.
But obviously it struck a chord with a lot of people. Obviously, like they knew exactly what they were packaging and what they were presenting.
And they knew the vision. And it's like, OK, I can still, I can respect the hustle. I can respect the band and, and not like the music.
And I think the say in a weird marketing over the top sense, you can kind of say the same thing about Jennifer Lopez.
It's like, there's nothing there substantially musically, but you got to give it to her for having the marketing sense, you know.
And at that point, it's, it's, it's not even a subjective opinion. You just object, you're like as a, another musician, you object, or you have to say this person put in work, even though I don't like the music.
Yeah, you can see the work comes through and like even like what the Eagles, like I'm not a huge Eagles fan.
But you want to talk about one of the greatest musical business plans of all time. The Eagles were built around writing music that.
He may just would like.
But teenagers parents would also buy tickets for.
It was like the, because it wasn't super heavy and it was very radio friendly.
And I mean, because like that's just an incredible business plan and they, and I don't get me wrong. I like, I love Joe Walsh.
Yeah, awesome. And I like this.
Great addition. Yeah, great addition. And like even like when you really break it down, like they were one of the best harmonizing groups of the time.
Yeah.
I mean, there's a clip floating around somewhere of them, like backstage at a concert getting ready to go on stage and they're doing these like four part harmonies on seven bridges road.
Yeah.
I mean, it is incredible.
Yeah, and that kind of goes back to the point that I would, that I made the Carson earlier.
It's like, you know, when, when you guys added Cade, everybody's parts has to shrink a little bit, right?
But, but I got to give it to the Eagles.
Like I, I saw a live video of them playing recently with Vince Gill on guitar. Good God.
That, I mean, it was, it was stunning.
But like, you know, everybody, it's like, okay, here's your lane, Josiah. And here's your lane, Cade. And this is like, I mean, there's seven.
There was like seven people in that band. And it's like, you know, you have to, you have to learn to play small in a band like that.
Yeah. And like my, the guy who told me guitar is names James Stanton. He's in Tallahassee. He's originally from Mississippi. They call him Mississippi James.
Yeah.
He told me that he saw the Eagles live once. And then he said he'd never see them again because they played the show note for note like the record.
He said there was so incredibly tight that you couldn't tell if it was live or the record.
And you know, I mean, I'm going, I do like going to shows were like, things happen and you're like, oh, something just happened.
And we got someone's got a phone apart real quick, but you're at well rehearsed. And you can sound just like the record. I mean, that's really a feat.
Yeah. I mean, but, but if you're going to see the Eagles, you know, you're not, you're not going to see McCoy Tiner.
You're not going to see fish, you know, you're not, you know, if you're going to see rush, you know, damn well, they're going to reproduce the record as tight as they can.
And even the tie that in our music like we got this, you know, the single that we just released closer to somewhere.
Yeah. You know, when on the record, it's three minutes, 18 seconds.
When we play it live, it's about six minutes.
Good.
You know, because we have this, you know, and we almost cut it like that. But thankfully our producer Spencer talked this out of it.
Because he said the song was too good and the radio doesn't want a six minute song.
So we, we have this entire jam section with a solo and breakdowns and hits.
And you know, that's the kind of stuff that I like seeing live because like you look at, you know, take the song remains the same.
That live record and film.
Yeah.
Every single song on that album is played completely differently from the recorded studio version.
But every time I hear the song now, I'm listening, I'm like, oh, they're missing the part.
When in reality, it's the part that they play a lot.
Yeah.
I think that's like a, it's a good thing to strive for.
So in your live show, have parts that weren't recorded that are so catchy that people wish they were recorded into the song.
Yeah, that's a good point.
You know what what, do you have the six minute version?
We probably have a lot of record in somewhere.
Yeah.
Okay.
Because I was going to say like if you got the studio version, you could put it out.
You especially put it out in the value for value world.
Right.
Yeah.
What the hell wouldn't hurt anything.
So, yeah.
Yeah.
So the new single closer to somewhere, I just saw it drop into wave like late last night.
Tell us about that song real quick.
I mean, because it's very different.
I mean, I can tell it's you guys, but it's different from I need a little.
Yeah.
So, closer to somewhere was like, so when we write songs, right?
We love having songs that are different from everything else on the album.
You know, you kind of look at like look at the white album.
Like you have health or shelter and Martha my dear on the same record.
But it works, you know.
And that's where I was kind of like the mindset that I was in when I was originally coming up with the tune was like, you know, I want something catchy, but still has the retrograde attached to it.
So, you know, I ended up with this little idea and I brought in the Carson and Carson like I remember when we were playing it for the first time Carson said he was like, did we like a indie surf band though?
And I remember saying I was like, dude, we can be whatever we want to be.
Yeah.
Like, you know, we just started jamming on it and trying different parts and eventually we got down to fame and we had this song.
And we had to see what that extended ending and all the jamming at the end.
And yeah, the song like, we're likely it can be pretty quick because I just wrote down what I was feeling.
It just kind of felt like, you know, we were putting in all this work and, you know, nothing was happening like obviously like, you know, this, I mean this band started during COVID.
So it's like we had all use, you know, we're like, oh, let's go out and play.
Well, you know, have the clubs closed down forever and the other half are just closed because you can't go out.
Yeah.
So I think like the frustration, learically that I'm conveying is like, it was kind of rooted in that and also like, it's kind of about doing all this work and then feeling like you barely moved an inch forward.
And that's when I kind of just coined closer to somewhere because you're not, you know, I wasn't quite in the same place, but at least something changed even if it was a little bit of momentum.
Yeah.
Yeah, it will add on to a lot of our favorite bands, our favorite albums are still incredibly diverse.
There has been a movement away from creating a body of songs that, you know, it is diverse, but unified by the underlying denominator of the band and the musicians.
Like, our guitar tones completely different, drum tones completely different, but it's still the retrograde.
And I think like what we're out to do is the band is not to tell the same story ten different times on an album. We're telling ten different stories.
You listen to the song remains the same and your house is the holy, you know, houses of the holy is a great example. Is that three, that four.
They're all very different than you get into the Beatles stuff that that's what we're trying to emulate.
We're not just, you know, play the same thing ten different times and hope to make a check off of it.
Yeah, I didn't do. So the songs on the record and I think we're all really collectively proud of it.
How many songs are on the full record? Ten tunes.
Ten. Okay. Yeah, and I love the fact that you guys cut a full record. I mean, I know it's going to have to be released in singles and whatnot, but, you know, the fact that you guys got all ten done and you got room to tour with them.
That'll sustain you for, you know, year two years, because too many artists get caught up in the in the whole singles thing, right?
Yeah. I mean, and all we're doing right now is that all we've done is we've gone right back to the format of the 1950s where everybody's kicking out little singles, little 45s.
It's the everything old is new again. It's the exact same shit. It's exact same shit. Yeah, like that feels like almost a lost art at this point is the art of a full LP.
Yeah, because it feels like we're almost back into that, you know, that early, like 1962 Beatles where it's like they cut all these singles and the record company was like, well, we're going to sell it as an album now.
And make a bunch of money off of it. Whereas, you know, you fast forward to when they cut rubber soul, like that felt like their first true album.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, because every song felt like it was supposed to be on that record.
Yeah.
And yeah, like even like with the songs we cut, like the full length record drops on June 21st.
And there's an acoustic piece on it. There's closer to somewhere. There's a whole, there's a song with a psychedelic section. There's, you know, a big thing that we like to do is we like hooks, you know, we like hooks in the chorus and the verse and the bridge.
So I think we have, we put together a really diverse album.
And, you know, we're real proud that it isn't just 10 songs that's, you know, written 10 different ways, but are really just the same song.
Yeah. Yeah. I'm excited to hear it. I mean, the first obviously I need a little just blew me away from the very first count in.
When you guys threw me for a loop and I tried and I had to go back and rewind it and clap it out a couple times. And I was like, all right, these smart asses.
All right, I'm hooked, all right. But I'm very excited to hear the rest of it. And it's really refreshing to hear quite frankly, real musicians digging into their craft and, and, you know, making and caring so much about the art to just keep pushing it and keep pushing it and making it as best as you possibly can be.
And I think that that bleeds through everything you guys do with, with all the releases that I've heard so far.
I want to talk real quick about gear to two more things before, before we wrap it up. And I thank you guys again for your time.
Giziah, I want to start with you. Let's get nerdy on gear. Oh, Lord. You're, you're playing a Fender P. The boys gave it away. What, what, what, what was your gear rig in famed studios and, and what, what are you to or with?
Okay, so every song except for one song, I've used the, the P base, and it's an American professional too.
I'm nothing to it except I put flat wounds on it.
Let's see.
Just because that's the way that I refer to roll.
Yeah. You play in a five string or a four string. Just a four string. Really? Okay. Yeah, just a four string.
And I'm trying to remember the amp that I used at famed. I believe it was an amp egg to 10, some 70s amp egg that I was on the familiar floor, but was told that it was like the thing that you recorded.
I brought a tour with a mark base two by ten combo, which is 20 for me. They're cheap. They sound good.
Tons of tone. And the boys will tell you that I need a stack. I need a fridge.
And I say, well, my bank account would disagree with that, that train of thought, but also, you know, I just like the mark base stuff. I really do.
And tone is in the fingers. So it doesn't really matter what amp you're playing through.
Yeah.
There's a lost start with base players playing with picks and stuff like that, especially in this genre of music.
And, you know, there's a couple of base players that really get away with it and have like a real warm and warmth and feel when they put it to pick McCartney being like one of the guys.
Oh, yeah.
Like everybody else, like it's all in the all in the fingers. So yeah.
That's really I'm really I'm not picky in terms of gear and stuff. I just want to base that feels good and flats on it. And I like just a warm kind of fuzzy thing. And it's pretty easy for me.
Well, maybe get a fridge one day though.
Well, yeah, you got the new guy in the band who is obligated to move the fridge for you.
Luckily for him. What's that, Carson? Luckily for him. Cade's got one. He's got a guy. We're ready to sell it to Josiah. So.
Let me start to go fund me.
There you go. There you go. All right. Cade. So what do you get? What what do you use on on the road with these guys? You were involved in the recording at fame. Were you not?
No, no, no. Okay. So what are you going to use on the road with these guys?
I had a little bit of a shit show in terms of my own gear. In the past, I always have my so bad. It's good. Gives in less Paul.
So just a 1990. I call it my Frankenstein guitar because I've done so much.
Monning to it. Essentially. Just a 1990.
Not not even a burst. What would you? I don't even know what it's.
I think at one point it was a burst. Yeah. It's so fun. But so pretty much. Yeah. It's just a 1990. Gives in less Paul.
When I got it, it was the ugliest guitar you would have ever seen.
Had the ugly tuners on it. The pickups were were reversed. The wiring was just sounded horrible.
So I modded it. I got vintage specs in it. Like, you know, 50s wiring, some 50s pots, some, like the bumblebee wiring and all that stuff.
But it was a desperate need of a setup that I didn't have time to get it set up in time for the tour.
So Joey was kind enough to let me use his 61 custom SG that I've used. And in terms of amps, you know, I have a, I can't remember what year it's a 60s twin reverb with JBL, do you want 20 speakers in them?
Now it was also being worked on as well. So Joey was kind enough again to let me use his Deluxe reverb because I really like the fender amps.
I think it complements our sounds are sound well because Joe uses a Marshall Plexi and I have a twin. So just, you know, the mix of both of a Marshall and a fender really works.
But I'm hoping I've been wanting the band. One of the bands we played with on tour. He had a high watt amp. So I'm trying to get in on that pretty soon.
I'll probably get it before precise gets his amp egg bridge.
Probably no, that's definitely not a race of this.
Yeah, I mean, once you start going down the rabbit hole gear, like you just, you can never have enough, right? Yeah. As you can see from the guitars behind me.
Joe, you, now you're playing, you're playing a less Paul, right?
Yeah, so I'm playing a 59 reissue less Paul. It's my forever guitar. It's never going anywhere. You know, it's all, you know, they want to charge you next to 2000 for a Murphy lab.
I just left it in the car on accident and then it turned into a Murphy lab pretty quickly.
Yeah, and then I run that through a, let's talk about the guitar for a little bit. It's got a un-potted pickups. I believe there's an E.C.O.3s.
Obviously, it's got the Bumblebee capacitors and all the old wiring.
And I run that through my 1959 model hand wire, Marshall head, 100 watts of pure British power.
Turn it up and let it get really hot.
Oh, man, it's just like, I remember the first day I got it. It was like, I played at my living room and I was like, wow, this is way too loud on like one and a half.
So what I ended up doing was I just got a Rivera rock crusher attenuator.
So I really have kind of ditched the pedals. I'm just getting all my tone from just, you know, natural tube overdrive.
And then obviously that runs through the 412 cab, Marshall cab.
And on my pedal board, I run a, a crybaby wall that I used for like 10 seconds.
And then I have a, a spark, TC electronics, a decibel booster, just for a little more volume.
And the only distortion pedal that's on my pedal board is an OCD.
And I have that thing set up with the volume at like five or six o'clock, the drive all the way down.
Oh, I'm already getting so much natural distortion. And the great thing that I love about that Les Paul is that I kind of use that as my distortion pedal because those pauses are so good that I can turn down to nine and a half or nine.
And I can take off that last little bit of edge. So you know, whenever I have to go clean for a section, it's just a quick little turn instead of going around with pedals.
Lovely. Man, that's just war, that whole thing is why I love the fact that everything you guys are talking here is just tube war.
Oh, yeah. You know, I mean, yeah, that's the only way like, you know, people say all these solid states are getting really good.
And it's like, well, I want the fear of the amp catching on fire, you know, that's what makes me so.
Which, which has happened.
Yeah, it shows before I blew a that Deluxe reverb that Cade was playing on I blew a capacitor on that in the middle of our encore once.
And wow, that's that's a smell, you know, that's the score. It was the middle of the show.
Oh, I thought it was like right towards the end. Was it not?
No, we had to die your shit.
Oh, yeah, it was bad. It caught on fire and I thought something blew up in the back, boil or room or whatever.
Yeah. And I looked to my left and there are literal flames like shooting out of this amp.
That's a rock show, baby. Love it.
It's on it.
Part of the choreography.
Yeah, that's just that's his baby. That's all that is that's the essence.
Carson, get, give us the rundown of your kit, dude.
Yes, but do you want the rundown from the recording or you want the touring rundown?
Well, yeah, if you can remember what you what you had there at, at a frame.
Yeah, what would you track the record on?
So for the most part, I tracked on a late 60s Ludwig.
So I brought my own shells there. I currently run a 67 three-ply maple, popular maple, get with a 20 inch kick drum, 12, 13, 14, 16 times.
So for the recording setup, I grabbed those toms and put control sound heads on them and took the bottom heads off.
So they were concert toms for concert.
The studio had a standard Ludwig from the late 60s, which is again the same shell, just a different headset up that I was using.
So I use that kick drum and I use three snare drums.
I use the LM402 Superphonic, so 6.5x14 the bottom snare.
And then I used the 90s DW brass snare drum. It was a 5.5x14 green badge DW is beautiful.
And then I use the Stave Hendrix snare drum, 14x4, here's Rosewood.
But yeah, for cymbals, just a bunch of vintage A's, I used the 15 transition stamps, 20 inch transition stamp crash.
And then I swear to God, this ride cymbal I cut on is the same symbol.
It was on if a man loves a woman. Like it was in the back of the studio.
I A beat it with the recording. It is the same stick, the same tone, the same body.
And obviously the players different, the rooms different, they cut an A, we cut an B, but I swear to God, same stick.
I wouldn't be surprised. I wouldn't be either.
I've got a buddy back in Tacoma, Rick King. He owns a guitar shop and a studio in Tacoma.
And he has how Blaney's all his old percussion gear.
Are you serious? I'm dead fucking serious, dude.
You have pounds, but that's not. Yes, exactly.
You go into the back room of the studio and you got the shaker bells and everything.
I mean, seriously, like, and still has how's name all over it, like duct tape with how.
And you start to learn about the record. We love pet sounds.
Oh my God, we love pet sounds.
Yeah, that record needs to be like kind of standard operating procedure for any songwriter, I think.
You need to listen to that. And I see all four of you nodding along.
Brian Wilson is genius.
Yeah, for sure. And completely underrated.
You know, as far as like current bands that piss me off, like, I really don't like what the beach boys have become in terms of like an industry and Brian love and all that shit.
Yeah, I don't.
You know, like my love, a my club. Yeah.
And quite frankly, like, I kind of feel the same way about Skinnerd, right?
It's like, how many surviving members you got, fellas?
I think it's zero now.
Yeah, exactly. You got one guy who was on like the second or third record in and you're out there touring under that name.
Yeah.
I don't dig that.
Well, guys, let last question.
But because I, you know, I found you guys via this whole value for value and getting paid in Bitcoin.
What's your take on this right now? I mean, I know it's really early. I know you've got great support from your label who really believes in this.
And I'm sure you guys have had a little bit of that direct interaction, but when you think about artists getting paid in Bitcoin and you think about value for value, like what, what, what's your thought process on it and what your reaction to it? Carson, you go.
I think it's a tremendous thing. I mean, what's the return that Spotify gives to their artists?
What, like a fourth of a, like a hundredth of a penny per stream?
If that, that's if you're lucky.
So I think that the actual currency itself, I remember watching it develop and just thinking how genius it was and I was in grade school and elementary school.
And it's just one of those things that gives the power to the people. It's a decentralized kind of thing.
And it really allows for people to like your music, just don't it to you directly.
You get rid of the middle man like we discussed in our last kind of all. I think that also being as early stages, there's no time like the president to kind of get involved in really, you know, connect with the people that are using this platform.
And yeah, share music in ways that it's almost sustainable in a small regard to live.
You know, if you go down the road as opposed to just grounds of living through streams elsewhere.
Yeah, it's so early, you know, I mean, we got to get more people in this space.
But, you know, the more time you spend in there and the more interaction you have, you know, the larger your fan base is going to be.
Does anybody else have any thoughts on that and that whole thing? I mean, I know Kate, you're probably brand new to it.
You're probably still trying to figure it out.
Yeah, I'm completely on educated on it, to be honest with you guys.
Yeah, I'm pretty much right there with you.
Like this is just something that label kind of made us aware of and kind of threw out of it.
Hey, I think you should check this out. I think it'd be a great opportunity for the band.
So we just, you know, we kind of just said, yeah, well, you know, we'll check it out. We'll do it.
And I think it has a good, it has great potential to end up being like the most artist friendly, sort of streaming space.
Because like Carson said, like, you know, Spotify, Pasia, I believe three or four tenths of a penny per stream.
And I mean, that's not a lot of money, you know, I'm like, you know, like, yeah, I mean.
And it is what it is. Like, obviously they have their own business model and, you know, I'm sure there's, there's corporate greed in there and there's.
You know, it just keeps getting smaller and smaller for the artists.
So I think it's a cool opportunity to have the ability to go directly to people and have people come directly to us.
And, you know, say, hey, I like your music.
Yeah. And just be able to, I mean, no matter what they, no matter what they send us,
it's more than four tenths of a penny.
Yeah. You know, like, no matter which way you swing it.
And, um, yeah, it's like looking back on when the whole Bitcoin thing kind of started.
It was like, you know, I'm not a great math guy.
I'm not a great computer guy.
I have no idea what was going on with it.
And then, you know, we know people who got in and bought, you know, a couple hundred Bitcoin on the low.
And, you know, bought houses.
And we're over here like damn.
Yeah.
You know, I just got, I, I got paid, you know, 15 cents yesterday by BMI.
You know, so that's cool.
Yeah.
Just, I, you were going to say, I also, I don't understand the space greatly, but I was, I was working, I used to sell cars before I was able to get out of that massive business.
And, uh, it would actually like to do.
Um, but there was a whole craze and, you know, it must have been, it was like October, November of 2021, a whole dogecoin thing happened.
And I had one of my good buddies I worked with do, um, very well.
And didn't tell any of us about it at the point, but he got married a couple months ago, maybe a year ago, and I went to it and I said, how much of you makes money told me and he's like, I was like, okay, well, I didn't even know that.
Um, I guess like the entire yearly revenue of the dealership network combined.
Yeah.
He was in on it at like, I can't even really remember, uh, but he bought like 75,000 dogecoin at one point and then made a teeny bit of money, then bought back in and then made more money.
So I don't understand the space and how all the crypto stuff works, but it was really cool to see the power go back the consumer.
Yeah, the, the, the, the potential of it. Now I don't know dogecoin either. I don't, I don't, I, I never got into it. I briefly studied Ethereum and I, you know, I got a couple of bucks and they really just watch it, but I, you know, let, like anybody else, who's really serious about the space, there's, there's Bitcoin and then there's shit coin, you know, and, um, and I've never been more excited for independent musicians than I am now.
I mean, I really wish we had something like this when I was coming up, you know, I mean, just the whole decentralized nature of it, right.
And I'm sure you guys have seen it. Maybe Kate has even seen it up here in, in Nashville because he's a little closer to it, but like NSAI and the MLC, like they both started filing lawsuits against Spotify with, with, with respect to royalties.
And so it's, it is, it is still so early. There's a lot of technical hurdles that we got to get over, but you guys are in on something really special here and, and you're in early.
And you guys really stand to make a chance. I mean, there's a, you know, to make some good money out of it.
You know, there's a couple artists that are doing really well in the space and it's still just really stinking early.
Yeah, I think eventually we'll get to a point like with a space like this where, you know, if it makes enough noise, you'll see, you know, the major labels have to, you know, pull their corporate voodoo magic on it and try and get in on it or trying, you know, shut it down.
But I think like once the power is back in the people's hands and it's like, you know, it's a real game changer for the entire industry.
And they're going to fight like hell once you figure it out, they're going to fight like hell. It's going to be like Napster again.
Oh, that's exactly it. That is exactly it. And here's where the challenge is going to be because like, you know, like, Haydenko, let's just say, Haydenko lives in Germany.
Right. And he finds this band called the retrograde and he loves their stuff and he sends the band a hundred bucks directly.
What the hell is the label going to do? Are they? I mean, and not you. I mean, I know you guys are on an indie label and Johnny gets it.
You know, your team gets it. But like, let's say you guys are some independent band out of Tallahassee coming up and you're not signed to a major label and somebody starts throwing you a bunch of money and then.
And a major label comes in and they're going to want to take a piece of that.
Not just a piece. They're going to take a 95% and what? So what? What's the incentive for you guys to sign to a major label when you have this decentralized direct form of payment between you and the guy in Germany, who loves what you're doing.
Yeah, you know, eventually, you're just going to get the point where like people who are currently signed to majors.
The majors are going to find out that it's going on. They're going to. I mean, there's nothing in their contracts about it.
Well, no, I mean, there's something bands, especially in our.
Uh, kind of floating in the same genre that we're in that are doing incredibly well and have no financial support from any major, anything going on.
Just because now there's so many platforms like this where they can stand a chance to do it and make it on their own.
Yeah. And, and, and then they can, and then all the power is put in their hands so that when a major label comes calling.
They can, they can really call the shots and just say, look, we don't need you for this. We don't need you for that.
Like if you want to help us with tour support, let's talk, but you're not going to take my master's ear.
You're not going to take 70% of my publishing, you know, what we're not going to sign some stupid 360 deal, right?
So what could, what could end up happening is it turns into leverage for the artists.
Absolutely. So the artist can just be like, hey, uh, yeah, we know if you want to get, you know, we can give you 10% of the money.
10% of publishing, but you got to put a shitload of marketing into this.
Yeah.
So it makes it profitable for the record company itself.
Yeah.
You know, it's going to be fascinating to see how it all shakes out.
And, um, you know, I kind of go back and forth between, you know, it'll probably happen within a year or two or, and, and other people who are smarter than I am and it tend to think three to five.
Um, but either way, um, I'm thrilled that you guys are in here. I'm thrilled. That's how I found you. I'm glad you guys are making some, some Bitcoin on the side.
And, uh, it's going to be fun to, to see how this all shakes out. So let's, um, guys, yeah, you've been very sweet to give me another hour of your time.
And I, and I really appreciate it.
So, yeah, we're going to take it out.
We're going to, I'm sorry, go ahead, Joe. I was going to say it's an easy interview when we're talking gear and theory and making fun of the new guy.
Yeah.
So, hey, I, I'm really excited about seeing you guys up here in Nashville on June 20th.
Uh, is that, is that going to be a public show or is that a private show?
Uh, that will be a public show. It'll be at, uh, we got a sky deck.
Okay. And, um, you got any other gigs coming up within the next month or so that you want to, uh, do a shout out for right now.
That's the big one right now. We got some kind of college things that we're working on. Some college parties that'll be pretty fun.
And then we're working on some southeast tour stuff. So keep an eye out for it.
College, college parties are a blast.
Yeah, they're bigger than ever now too. I mean, they're putting together some shows with a couple thousand people.
Yeah. But then again, what, what's that, Carson?
Especially at Florida State.
Oh, come on.
You see, they don't mess around. I'll tell you what?
Come on. Do you see that lamp back there in the back of the studio? You see that, buddy?
No, I can't see nothing. You see that University of Colorado? That's what we're talking about, my friend.
Okay. We'll get up to that's in Boulder. We'll get up to Boulder at some point.
There you go. There you go. Yeah. That's my, uh, that's my undergrad alma mater.
And I will tell you probably the funnest college gig that I ever played.
I think it was Sigma Chi house. They pushed all of the meal tables into the corner of the room.
We set up on the tables. And then when we were done and we offloaded all the gear,
I shit you not. There was about a half inch of beer on the floor in this, in this 40 by a hundred foot room.
And it was awesome.
Of course, that was back in the early 90s. We, when you do that type of stuff.
Oh, it was, it was a big sticky cigarette, but mosh pit full of Boulder hippies.
It was fantastic.
All right, fellas, be good. We're going to take it out with closer to somewhere here on the Fansome power.
Artist hour and you have been listening to the retrograde.
And thanks, fellas. That was a lot of fun. Stick around. We'll talk a little bit more.
Thanks for having us. Yeah. Thanks. Thanks, guys.
[Music]
Down on your look like you was before.
Feels piling up on your front door. I believe it's true that it starts with you.
Lord won't you tell me what it's to do?
Yeah.
Close to nothing, it's to leave it. I believe it. Close to something.
Don't you want me, don't you need me? I can be in the beginning of making work in it.
And I'll do it. Close to something.
Waiting around for your lucky break.
Picking up all the things you say. I don't like the sound. Won't you come around?
Lord won't you tell me that it's true?
Yeah.
Close to nothing, it's to leave it. I believe it. Won't you check it out? Close to something.
Don't you want me, don't you need me? I can be in the beginning of making work in it.
Close to something.
Close to nothing, it's to leave it. I believe it. Won't you check it out? Close to something.
Don't you want me, don't you need me? I can be in the beginning of making work in it.
And I'll do it. Close to something.
[Music]