SPEAKER_00 0:10

Hey everyone, and welcome to the Music Out Hero Podcast, hosted by Grammy Award winners Radio. Let's find them to celebrate creativity, share stories, and lift each other up in the art. This episode will dive in the conversations that inspire and power and spark new ideas. Because art isn't just about what we make, it's about the community we build together. So grab a speed, get comfy, and let's grow in creativity side by side. The music is our hero podcast for creativity, community, and inspiration comes to light.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

All right, we're in. Awesome. Alright, I'm sitting here today uh in Drowning Fishes live room with the Ant and Ange band, who I literally just got their names today, and uh I don't remember them all.

unknown 0:56

That's all right.

SPEAKER_02 0:57

So maybe we should just start with that. Who you guys are. Yeah. So you're Anthony. Okay. What do you do in the band?

SPEAKER_05 1:03

I'm the uh guitar player. I write some of the songs. Um yeah, that's pretty much it. The guitar player, I write a bunch of the stuff and then uh yeah, help book and all that kind of fun stuff.

SPEAKER_06 1:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:15

All right, and then my name's Angelo. I am the uh lead vocal for the group. I also help Anthony write this some of the songs.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Okay, cool. I'm Andrew. Uh I play bass.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

That's what bass players normally do. They're just like, that's what I do, and I don't want to talk about it or or do anything else. I just play bass. Whatever you want to know. No, no. And then so you're the drummer.

SPEAKER_07 1:41

Yes, my name's Eric, and I play the drum.

SPEAKER_02 1:43

And you play the drums. Okay. All right, cool. So, how long you guys been a band?

SPEAKER_05 1:47

Uh, solidly as the four of us, probably for about since since June of last year. Okay. So, what is that, like six, seven, eight months or so? Um, it had originally started out. Um, I've kind of been into music my whole life. I I played guitar since I was like 13. I used to live down in Nashville and stuff, and I came home from there and I got Angela. We've been friends since high school, and uh I was like, dude, come on, like let's let's start doing stuff. So we started out as an acoustic duo, and then we recorded a first album, uh, which was pretty much all acoustic stuff right there, which he brought for you. Wow, I love this.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

Shattered Figures did this nice stuff too for me. That's awesome. Give me a record, not a shirt though.

SPEAKER_05 2:27

That's that's what we do, really.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

I should have it on right now. I should have changed.

SPEAKER_05 2:31

So yeah, so then he uh him and I started doing a duo thing that went on for like like a year or two, and then we recorded a a second collection of 10 songs, and we brought in studio musicians for that, and we were like, all right, well, if we're gonna play out, we need a band. So then we found a drummer, which didn't really work out, but that drummer brought Kranick, the bass player, and uh that was cool, and then we had a a different couple of drummers for a little bit, and then in June it was like, all right, we need like a steady drummer. Yeah. Found our boy Eric down there, and uh it's been happening. That was last June that you found him? Yeah, last June, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:06

Okay, and when did you find him? I missed episode.

SPEAKER_06 3:08

That was probably I think it was August last year. Two two years. Two years ago. 2024.

SPEAKER_05 3:16

Yeah, yeah. Because it was June of 25 that we got Eric and then uh Yeah, you're like August 24th. Yeah, it's been smooth sailing pretty much ever since. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:25

Awesome. And you guys, you guys all get along great.

SPEAKER_05 3:28

Oh yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 3:29

During the writing process, so you do a lot of the writing. Yeah. Anybody else?

SPEAKER_05 3:34

He helps me out a little bit, yeah. In terms of the lyrics and stuff, but like uh like he'll he'll come over to my house and you know, I'll be like, I have this idea, blah, blah, blah. And then, you know, we'll tweak words, or he'll come over and have an idea, and we just kind of build it out and then we bring it to them at practice, and we're like, This is what we got, and then we turn it into something, something sick.

SPEAKER_02 3:53

Yeah, yeah. Awesome. And you guys just released a single like two days ago, right?

SPEAKER_05 3:57

I did, yeah. Lispast Wednesday, we put out a song called It's called Or it wasn't two days ago. Well, safe difference, yeah. March 4th. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I don't know what day it is. Oh, it's March 8th, right? Yeah, yeah, that's okay. Um, and so yeah, so Angelo and I had I guess back in early 2023, 2024, we had these 10 songs that we got an opportunity to an opportunity to record um with this guy, Obi O'Brien, and Mike Lawson, and they both work with Bon Jovi. So we got to like work with them to make these 10 songs. And Obi had brought in these studio musicians named uh the the bass player's name was Jay Bratton, and Elliot's last name is escaping me because his name is Elliot Drums in my phone. Uh okay. So but so they brought in Jay and Elliot and they So this was at what and you a studio. Uh so Obi's got like a Is that what the studio that's what it's he's just got Oh Obi's in the okay Yeah, he's a guy. He he's he's the producer for Bon Jovi. He lives up uh up in like I'm gonna call it Northern PA for lack of a better term. But uh so he invited us up there. We got to record with them and he brought those guys in and they totally tore it up. So all the songs that are out under the Ant Nange band are with them, and then we found Eric and Andrew because we were like, we need a real band up there.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_05 5:18

So these were recorded with studio. These are recorded at my so this is actually it's a it's a whole conglomerate. So this is our first album that him and I did together at my brother-in-law's.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

Did this artwork come from?

SPEAKER_05 5:29

I love this artwork. Little Betty Boob style, you know? Yeah. And um, so we recorded all that with my brother-in-law in like 2021-22 as just an acoustic duo. And then we wrote him and uh Angelo and I wrote 10 new songs, met Obi, and Obi recorded all 10 of them, and instead of putting it out as a second album, we've drip released them as 10 singles pretty much. Yeah. So and now we have 10 more songs that we're getting ready to record as a full band now with Obi and Mike again. Nice.

SPEAKER_02 6:01

That's so how do you know Obi?

SPEAKER_05 6:03

Through uh my cousin. He is uh he's like good friends with Obi. And before I had moved to Nashville in like 2018, he was like, I want you to go meet this guy and talk to him. And I was like, okay, I can do that. And then uh nothing really ever came of it. And when him and Angelo and I wrote the second album, not this one, I was like, you know what, dude? I'm gonna send him Obi, like send it to Obi for shits and gigs. And so I sent it up to we sent him like voice recordings, and he was like, This stuff is awesome, like let's let's make it happen. So uh he did that, and then it was like a year and change of a recording process. We went from like probably started in late like around May of 23. 23 and finished recording in June-ish of 24. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Were you um like in the studio a lot, or was it just that it took that long?

SPEAKER_05 6:54

Because studios, the studio, and it was like a mixture of both, because Obi was doing a lot of like Bon Jovi stuff, I guess. And then his he's got a guy that works with him named Mike Lawson, and Mike owns uh or co-owns a studio in Philly called Sign Studio. Okay. So sometimes we'd go down to Philly like whenever so it was kind of whenever they had time for us, we made it work because you know, yeah, that's what we that's what you gotta do.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

What's the um hardest part for you in the studio? Anybody, anybody can answer. Everybody should answer.

SPEAKER_07 7:26

Uh I think it depends on the song. Because sometimes you like to do tracking to make things sound on time, and other times you like to do the live recording and uh just trying to hit that perfect one live track. Yeah. You know, so I think that's always the hard part because as you keep playing it, keep playing it, keep playing it, and trying to get that right one. Sometimes it just sometimes you capture it, sometimes you don't.

SPEAKER_02 7:49

Yeah, and the more that you keep doing it, sometimes yeah, it gets lost. You lose the energy. I don't know what it's like with drums, but I know, you know, as far as yeah, the energy changes and you're overthinking it and everything just gets crazy.

SPEAKER_07 8:00

Yeah. Sometimes that that first recording of it, you just capture it, you're like, I I almost don't want to touch it now because it has the sound you want.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Yeah. Yeah. So you guys play out a lot?

SPEAKER_07 8:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 8:14

Yeah, all the time. I mean, we try to play out like at least two or three times a month. Um we all have we have like a big Excel file where we all kind of put venues and stuff and we'll reach out to them and then it's Yeah, we'll play, we'll play anywhere. We just played uh last weekend at uh Dawson. Okay. Yeah, and then the weekend before that we were out at like Liberty Tavern in in uh I guess Chesterish kind of.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

Now is it all original music when you guys play out?

SPEAKER_05 8:40

Ninety nine percent. We'll throw like a couple covers or two in there because that's what people want to hear, but like our like a strict, you know, someone's gotta pick up the torch. Yeah. You know?

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Yeah. What are your um what is like some of your favorite venues?

SPEAKER_06 8:54

We played at it was it was early February, I believe. We played at Silk City. Oh, the diner? Yeah, the Silk City Diner.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

Yeah, where like so I do a DJ thing there uh for brunch. Where does the where does the band set up? There was I don't know if I've been in that part of Silk City.

SPEAKER_06 9:10

There was the diner end attached to the right, and then there's like a left side with the bar with the big yeah, they just set up a stage there.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 9:20

And you know, everyone else it's like a smaller little bit. Yeah, everyone kind of packed in in that room, but it was that was a lot of fun. Okay. We got there early, we all ate at the diner, got some food before, then just played a show. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 9:32

Then they have the beer garden too. Like inside outside kind of thing. So we hung out. It was fun.

SPEAKER_02 9:38

Yeah, that's super cool. For the single that you just put out, who who's behind it mostly with the writing? I know that you guys both write, but who started crazy it's called crazy, right? It's called crazy. Yeah. What's it, what's it, what's it about?

SPEAKER_05 9:51

I guess love. I mean, like, yeah, I guess for like like like hopelessly romantic love, you know? Yeah. Um, it like the lyrics are pretty much like uh crazy about you, uh, the way I feel about you can't be understood, and uh you and me together feels so good. Um so it's just lighthearted love, you know. Nothing nothing serious and big, like it's groovy, you know, for lack of like a better word.

SPEAKER_02 10:15

Um yeah, yeah, it's kind of and how would you guys describe your sound to somebody that's never never heard?

SPEAKER_06 10:22

Oh, we struggle with this vintage rock.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

Do you? It is vintage, yeah. I was listening to it on the way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 10:27

Vintage rock.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

I like that.

SPEAKER_05 10:28

That's what I would call it. Yeah, I think. Because it's got that old feel that you know, but it's new. You know? That's what I would say.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Yeah, yeah. How long did it take you guys to record the single? Like what kind of process was that?

SPEAKER_05 10:42

So it was I mean, it was a it was like a Did you do it with Obi? Yeah, yeah. We did them all. Everything except for that album with him we did, and uh we it started out, we tracked all the drums and all the bass, and then a couple months would go by and we'd come down to Philly and we'd do like vocals and guitar for there were ten songs we did total. So it was kind of just as as we had time. So like Crazy was probably one of the last songs we did, and the cool thing with them is they taught us these are the ten that you were talking about that you kind of are just doing one at a time. Yeah, now because we were gonna do a second album, but then Angelo and I'd kind of talked about it and like not to say anything about people, but like with Spotify and iTunes, like I I have the opinion that the attention span for an album just isn't really there, you know? Yeah. So if we drip one song every three months, then that will be a little more prominent than if I put 10 songs out and you don't ever listen at all. All of them, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 11:42

Um do you have three minutes to listen to my song? Do you have 45 to listen to my album? Right.

SPEAKER_02 11:49

I've thought that's about the single thing now for like over a decade. Like, who's who now? It's cool though when you have it like this, like because the records are coming back. So it is cool because that was the whole thing for a minute. Like, um, oh, when records weren't cool. Yeah. And the CDs took over, or whatever, but like, no, not even CDs. When everything went digital in like the early 2000s, and it was like, oh, we used to sit and look at the artwork and listen to the record. So that's cool. So if people have record players, they might listen to the album. Yeah, and we got like so you're dripping those, are you gonna end up having them all in one?

SPEAKER_05 12:20

It's such a pain or you don't know. It's we want to, but it's such a pain with uh we use CD baby, and like they give you a certain, I think it's an ISBC number, and then they can't take it. The ISRC. Yeah, and then for them to take it and put it all into like one album is seems to be such a hassle.

SPEAKER_02 12:36

I like years ago when I used to release more music, I was able to buy like I feel like still like an endless supply of these ISRC numbers, and like, and so I don't even use CD Baby, like I think it's like five bucks or something if you do it with CD Baby, right? And they give you the code.

SPEAKER_05 12:53

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

Or something like that. But I I mean I haven't released anything in a long time, but um, yeah, it's just like this endless supply. I mean, maybe they're not even working now, but there might be a way around that you could look into like buying your own, and that way you don't have to pay five dollars every time, and then you might be able to just release it with a new. Yeah, and we've talked about it before because like so each one has their own code, and then they're being all weird about it if you want to put them together, right?

SPEAKER_05 13:18

Because our biggest concern is like, you know, based on like Spotify and all the algorithm algorithms and stuff like that. I don't want our one song Dancing in France has like a thousand and change plays, so I don't want to put that into an album and then all of a sudden it says zero. Like, you know what I mean? Oh I don't want it to lose the fact that it would be released again, right? Exactly. So and they're like hard to get in contact with because they don't work on Fridays and they're two hours behind us.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

So oh okay, yeah, yeah. I use CD Baby for a long they've been around for a long time. Yeah. Um I love you, C D baby. Yeah, we love you, C D Baby. I do love you. Well, like, yeah, if you if you hear us, you know, maybe you can uh help these guys out. Yeah, stop copyright.

SPEAKER_05 14:03

Every song we put out, we get you get he deals with all of it. He's like the copyright fixer.

SPEAKER_06 14:08

Whenever I put up like an audio or something on YouTube, CD Baby will put out their own topic page with the song, but we have our own page that I want to grow, so I'll just put it out on the side and as soon as it goes. It thinks that you're stealing CD Baby. And I've done it for every song. I mean, I guess that's good.

SPEAKER_02 14:26

Because then you just gotta tell YouTube you own it, right? Or is it a pain? I never had to deal with that.

SPEAKER_06 14:30

That the pain part is trying to get because it's every single time. And after like the sixth, seventh time, it's like, all right, CD Baby, like you want to merge it and like make us an official artist channel. We can kind of cut the middleman here.

SPEAKER_05 14:42

So far, it's you know They don't work with YouTube anymore.

SPEAKER_02 14:45

I mean, it's all crazy right now with the streaming and the I don't know what's happening. I've I feel like I heard uh I say this in every podcast too, like I don't believe anything I read either in 2026. So it's like unless you're fact-checking everything, I still bring things up so we have some to talk about. But like I don't know what's even real. Like and I'm really just annoyed at this point. You know what I'm saying? Like I turn on, I know, like I'm I'm over, like I turn on the and like not to get into politics, we don't gotta do that, but that's like a huge part of what the problem is, is like you open up your social media and there's just all these things, and you're like, What? And you want to believe them. Oh, you don't want to believe them, but like you're like, Wait, is this real? And then some people run with it and they just start sharing this crazy thing. And I'm like, is this even real?

SPEAKER_01 15:34

Right. Well, that's sort of funny because like I met someone recently and she like had heard of our band, but she didn't actually know if we were real or not, apparently. Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:44

Yeah, well, because like they really did the people dirty, yeah. Like Spotify and all they made up all that's funny though.

SPEAKER_05 15:51

Yeah, like we're real. We're definitely if you Google ABNAG. I mean, it's real though.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

Like they literally, I mean, that's something that's going around, and I haven't dug deep into it, but it makes sense that a corporate like POS uh company would do this, and they created all these AI bands, and so really they're just profiting off of this. Yeah, it's madness. Um, and then I read, I don't know again if it's real that DistroKid is selling out. It's one of some of the distributors are selling to major labels. Oh, really? Which is crazy. So just band camp it. Like, yeah, you know, I mean, we can't though, because you gotta like even this podcast, I release it everywhere because you want to make sure people can hear it everywhere.

SPEAKER_05 16:35

Well, that's the thing, right? Like, you know, our first drummer was like a big like down with live nation, down with Spotify kind of guy, and like I get it, but not the majority of people aren't on you know the the secondary apps, like Band Camp. If I want, I'm just saying, like my aunt and uncle to hear it, they're going on Spotify.

SPEAKER_02 16:54

They're not, they don't even know what they don't even know anything else exists, right? Yeah, and and I'm like, I'm hoping like through I mean, I have I dream big, so I'm like, you know, I'm doing this podcast, music is our hero, I think it's such a great thing, and I would love to just get so many people involved. We all just have to like be involved because uh it's the labels against us, yeah, you know, and and if people want to get signed, I mean that's up to you. Do you guys have like your business? Do you guys know who who's the business guy in the band? You and you, yeah. So you guys have like your publishing you have a publishing company and all that, or how do you guys get it?

SPEAKER_05 17:27

I so when I was in Nashville, that was probably one of the best things I did was I learned all about like ASCAP and BMI and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_02 17:33

So you were living there um like as a kid, pre-COVID.

SPEAKER_05 17:36

So I'm I'm like from here and everything, and then uh in college, I guess around 2019, I dropped out and moved down to Nashville, maybe for because of music, yeah, just for music. And I I was down there, I was playing, I was doing a lot of songwriter, like individual, like uh acoustic nights and playing at all sorts of places, but then I got heavy into like the I guess for yeah, the business side of it. So I had made my own ASCAP. I had him make an ASCAP when we started doing acoustic stuff, and then I created my own publishing company like on ASCAP so that I can retain all the rights and everything to our music.

SPEAKER_02 18:11

So do you guys have like an LLC that everything falls under? Not yet. So because I mean, what if a label with a lot of money, you know, saw you guys liked you guys and were like uh we want to sign you, you know? Yeah, like how would the the good thing is you have your publishing and if you could set up um for for like your own label, yeah. Do you have like your own label set up?

SPEAKER_05 18:31

Pretty much, like everything comes out.

SPEAKER_02 18:32

Because then you can go in with the and gatto publishing, everything comes out under Yeah, so under the publishing, because so when you copyright, do you guys do two or you do one? Just one. Okay, because it's all the same authors, yeah. Yeah, um, because there's um so if you if a label did come to you guys and you have your business set up so you could protect yourself, you know what I mean? Like, would you guys take the offer?

SPEAKER_06 19:00

It'd be a discussion.

SPEAKER_05 19:01

Yeah, that's a loaded I think it's a loaded question.

SPEAKER_02 19:03

Because if I would it is I would love to, but it is because like really, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_05 19:07

Like you offer me two mil to be like a huge band, right? But now I'm two mil in debt, right? And it's like, you know, I don't really have much leverage because they could just as quickly turn around and be like, all right, go to hell. Like, yeah, I'll give me the next band, right? So I don't I don't know. It's it would be very like it'd be a discussion between the four of us, I think. And then uh I'd honestly I'd probably talk to Obi a little since he's in that world with Bon Jovi and stuff. Like I would he'd probably be like my first call.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, maybe there's a way to do it where it's like, yeah, you don't sign your life away and have to get lent that much money. Yeah, something like that. If you were lent money, what how much would you guys want? To like Yeah, I mean to like like are you guys do you guys have like families and stuff? Are you married or anything? Like I'm married, you're married, no kids. No kids. I'm not married, not married, married, no kids, married, no kids, married and no kids, married, no kids, almost married, no kids. Yeah. Um what are your actual like I know obviously playing and and all all the things that you're already doing, but how far would you guys really like this to go if it could?

SPEAKER_05 20:16

I mean, I do I want to give like I I mean it's like my dream, you know. I'd be willing to give the Beatles a run for their money if I could. Yeah. Yeah. That's I mean, that's how big I want to be.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

I don't and I know Have you ever gone on to like a little tour? Have you ever d arranged one of them yet? No, because I mean it's probably in the future. They do a little indie tour.

SPEAKER_05 20:32

Yeah, I mean, just with us like meeting Eric in June, it has it hasn't even been a year yet. And we're playing uh we're we're signing up for festivals now. We're waiting to hear back from them, and like we're trying to get out in the tri-county or tri-state, like Jersey, Delaware, yeah, New York. We're open to play anywhere.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

And you have a great sound for it. Um, I know I told you guys before the podcast that I run sound, the Grateful Day Trippers. In your journeys, you're gonna hear, you're gonna find these people. Yeah, and it's exactly it's kind of like shattered figures, kind of like what you guys are doing. It's like this whole indie scene of people. To me, that's why I just get excited every time I'm talking to somebody on this podcast because I'm like, you guys are all gonna, we're all gonna meet. Like this is gonna be crazy. And I think we could take take over the world, you know, not over the world, but the to the scene, like we have to keep music alive.

SPEAKER_05 21:16

Well, yeah, someone, like I said in the beginning, someone's got to pick up the torch. Beatles are great, stones are great, right? But they're 85 and they're gonna die eventually.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

What's what's his face still alive? Um, McJagger?

SPEAKER_05 21:26

Living and breathing, still touring.

SPEAKER_02 21:28

Is he still doing sold-out shows at the Yeah?

SPEAKER_05 21:31

They were just here like two years ago in Philly doing at the link.

SPEAKER_02 21:34

And they sell that out. Could you imagine selling out the link?

SPEAKER_05 21:37

Yes. Yes, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

That's that would be crazy. That's our goal, baby. Yes, that would be amazing. I'll buy a ticket. You all live in different places. So, what's it like trying to practice? How does that work?

SPEAKER_07 21:50

Ironically, the place that they were practicing uh when I first tried out for them was the same place my previous band used to practice at. So I already knew the place because we were there. For six or seven years before. Oh, wow. So uh it's kind of a central location, right? Westchester. Um, writing is maybe a 40 minute drive. I think a little bit less for these guys. Yeah. But somewhat centralized.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Okay. Cool. And how often do you guys got to do that?

SPEAKER_05 22:14

Every week.

unknown 22:15

Oh.

SPEAKER_05 22:15

We practice every Wednesday every Wednesday. That's why you don't have kids.

SPEAKER_02 22:18

You can't have kids. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 22:20

Can't have a kid to be a musician. It was great because we're pretty organized, and uh we kept running into drummers being the hardest thing. And we met Eric and he was like, I want a solid date that we're always practicing on this date. And I was like, You you are the man. Yeah. So Wednesdays were our day. And so we meet every Wednesday, six to nine, we practice. Cool. Yeah. Awesome. At Firehouse Studio. Thanks, Paul.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

Oh, that's where you practice. Firehouse Studio, and that's in Westchester. Yeah. Is it just a rehearsal space or is it a studio?

SPEAKER_05 22:47

It's like it's his house, but he's turned the whole room into a like a pretty functioning studio, and he's got a sound room upstairs that he uses. Uh so if you wanted to record an album there, like you could. Yeah. But it's all it's a it's a great practice space for what it is, and it's cheap.

SPEAKER_02 23:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 23:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

So Obi, does he have a nice mic collection?

unknown 23:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 23:07

Or do you know if he does? Obi has like one of the original mics the Beatles sang on on the Ed Sullivan show, I think. Okay. I don't know what they're called, but it's like that big silvery square.

SPEAKER_06 23:18

With like the lines.

SPEAKER_05 23:19

He had everything. I mean, yeah. He he was so monotonous about the mics he was using, like for the drums and how they're angled, and it was just amazing. Even the stuff they had playing guitar through is stuff I've never seen, or even yeah. He pulled out like a$2,000 sitar pedal, and I was like, like, this is amazing, you know. Like, I can't I can't compete with this at all.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

And the sound that he captured like that's basically that's what you guys sound like. That was all your sounds, and then he captured it and it was and it sounded cool.

unknown 23:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:50

So let's talk about some experiences in the life of the band. Um, I would love a good experience, and I would also love like one of your worst experiences. It could be writing, recording, playing out, business, could be anything. Just something that uh I don't I feel bad.

SPEAKER_05 24:13

I feel like I'm doing all the talking. I mean, working with Obi-Chair. They're all smiling right now. Working with Obi is one of the coolest things that's ever happened to me in my life. You know, that is pinnacle level of someone who's been in the echelon, the top of the music business, to work with us, and they're gonna record another album for us now. So to have that is like like come on. That's amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

But what about like a show experience? One of the first things that comes to mind is like before we met Eric, we were playing with like an in-between drummer at a place in Downingtown, and uh it was like a very quiet, like intimate crowd, and it was just for me, like I was just completely like that. Was the worst like anxiety I've probably ever had playing, and I was like, how am I gonna like well? Yeah, it was like so quiet and like everyone's just staring at you, but also I was just like still getting used to playing in front of people. Like my first gig ever was with them two uh new years ago, you know, and it's been a while since then, since then, obviously, but like yeah, like at that one downing town gig, I was just like terrified. But like, but like I feel like I've come a long way. Like now, like our last show, I felt like at Dawson Street, I was like, I I felt like for me and for us as a band, I felt like it was like our best energy.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

I felt like when you when you would feel that way, like is there something like everybody has this like weird thing they might do, like that would like calm you down? At all?

SPEAKER_01 25:46

Yeah, it would be stop smoking weed before playing.

SPEAKER_02 25:49

That's something you gotta do not before a podcast, too. I did before the Shattered Figures podcast, and then I just kept forgetting everything I was gonna say. Like, so okay, yeah, yeah. That'll that'll definitely even as a DJ, if I if I smoke beforehand, it's like all of a sudden I'm like, I have no idea what to play. Yeah, I can't do this, I don't want to do this.

SPEAKER_01 26:15

Like, yeah, but that's not for everybody. Like, some people are like, that's what they do. That's what they do. It's crazy. I know a lot of people like that.

SPEAKER_02 26:23

I'm like, how the hell are you putting a blunt to the face right now? Yeah, like I just took one hit and I'm whacked, and I feel like I can't do anything. Yeah, some people need it, I guess. I don't know. So that's one coping mechanism. Is that the only one?

SPEAKER_01 26:38

Um just thinking, like, so I mean, obviously, like I want the crowd to have a as great a time as possible, but like for me, it's like if I focus on the band and the sound and all that sort of thing. And forget that they're not trying to be, yeah, and not trying to be like perfect and never make a mistake, because it'll like happen. A mistake could happen, but like the more I play, like the more we play, like this those mistakes are kind of not as noticeable anyways. Right. You know, we just can just keep going. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 27:09

We smile at each other now. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:11

Well, when you like get through a little moment, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 27:14

I think the last couple of times we've played out, like the vibe from all of us is we're just having fun anymore. Where initially it may have been a little more serious. So then it's like more stress and get the song right. Now we feel comfortable playing with each other. We're just having fun.

SPEAKER_02 27:29

Yeah, yeah, that's good. Yeah, that's the fun part. You guys are at the fun part. Is there any uh ever any um creative differences in any songs with working through cover songs is uh nothing bad.

SPEAKER_05 27:45

It's just uh, you know, cover songs are hard to pick sometimes because you know, everyone's got different opinions, stuff they like, stuff they don't like, and then you know, we also not trying to play the A-sides of every like I don't, you know, like we don't want to do all the hits, you know. If we're gonna cover a band, let's do a little bit more of an obscure song by the Chili Peppers or by the Beatles or by Dr. Dog. Yeah. Um but no, I mean, no, that that's even a stretch saying that covers are are they're not even an issue because we work through it and we have fun and it's and so and so in the creative process of also writing your originals, it's not there's not a lot of disagreement.

SPEAKER_02 28:24

Is there a lot is there anybody that's like No, we're good.

SPEAKER_06 28:28

I mean, on Wednesdays we practice, like it's almost a hangout. We have a lot of fun together.

SPEAKER_03 28:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 28:33

And in terms like in creative differences, none so far. I mean, we'll that's good. It's all like all good ideas, bounce.

SPEAKER_02 28:43

No one's tell everyone what's happening.

SPEAKER_06 28:45

No one would get hurt if we were like, ah, we don't want to do that. Like, well, this it's fine. Yeah, you don't want to do it, well, we won't do it.

SPEAKER_07 28:51

Yeah. Trying to do what's best for the song rather than you know that's exactly what getting spotlight on one person or the other. What's best for the song? Let's try and do that. Yeah, we can experiment later after it sounds pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 29:05

Yeah, that's what's most important.

SPEAKER_05 29:07

Right, like him, you know, Eric and Andrew for them, like Eric's the drummer, right? I'm not gonna tell him what drums to play. I don't I don't play the drums, right? So it's like you have full creative liberty to lay down whatever kind of beat you want, and then same with the bass. And then if I write a song, he, you know, I don't tell him how to sing it. It's like you're the singer. Yeah. Sing it however you whatever works for you, right?

SPEAKER_02 29:30

How about writer's block? Does that happen?

SPEAKER_05 29:33

For me for sure, yeah. It's gotta happen, right? You can't just write a lot of spurts where like I might not write for like three months, and then all of a sudden I write four songs, and three of them are junk, and one of them is like, you know, we'll try all three or all four, and a month will go by at practice, and we're like, forget this.

SPEAKER_02 29:52

Is there any ever a time like one of those songs that you're like, all right, we gotta put it over here, and you come back to it like a year later or something, and then you're like, This is actually a pretty good song. Maybe we should see this through.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

Well, I guess I would say like, yeah, the one that I like we were just talking about with the where I came up with the chords, like we had like I I brought it to the group like at one point, and we like jammed on it and all that kind of thing, and then eventually, yeah, we didn't come back to it till like a couple months later, you know, and we just kind of like changed the structure of it a little bit and went from there, you know. And it worked.

SPEAKER_05 30:30

Turned it into a song, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 30:32

I think we're starting to get comfortable at practice where like at the time I was trying to get caught up with what they're playing. Right. So we could sound like a band, and then we're focusing on all right, we need this for a set list, that for a set list. So some of the creative stuff were shelved and we started bringing them back when we had time. But now it's like all now we're just shelled up and mixing and matching. Let's do set list stuff, let's you know, play with some creative stuff. Yeah. And practice is just fun.

SPEAKER_02 31:00

When you write, is it more you're writing stories or is it like more personal? Or is it both?

SPEAKER_05 31:11

Yeah, I'd say a little bit of both. My at least for me, my writing process has been a a journey of uh started out as uh not personal text, but it was like, you know who this is about. You know exactly who this is about. And now our songs, the songs that are all out under the Ant Nanj band, I feel like are very obscure. They're they're not yeah, they're not like there's no they're not about anybody or a specific thing, because I want them to be relatable for you and for them and for anybody.

SPEAKER_02 31:43

So the way you tell the story, yes. So anybody can like make their own story to the story.

SPEAKER_05 31:48

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 31:49

Yeah. So how about how does it affect your life, like your your own, wait, your own relationships, right? You all said almost married or not married. You're not. You're not. Okay. Um, how does like music affect like how is music can take up a lot of your time and sometimes people don't understand that? Like how it how are is how are you guys your relationship, like do your wives and whoever understand? I'll start.

SPEAKER_07 32:16

Um my wife's very understanding, very patient. Uh back when I first met her 13 years ago or so, I was always just playing the drums, but not really in a band. I played in middle school, high school jazz band, marching band. So I kind of shelved it uh to focus on sports and then came back to it. And ironically, uh I met her around the same time I had a work injury and I actually had a finger amputated. And one of the things that I did constantly, like didn't leave my room, I would just play on this electric kit. And that was kind of my therapy. And she actually was the one that pushed me to keep going with it.

SPEAKER_03 32:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 32:58

So not only has she been understanding through the process, she's actually pushed me a little bit to do that.

SPEAKER_02 33:03

That's good.

SPEAKER_07 33:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:04

Yeah. She got support. You got support.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

Oh yeah. Like, I mean, I'm I'm always like, you know, my wife is always like incredibly encouraging because of like yeah, like she likes to see me and us like going out and having a good time and like enjoying practice, enjoying going out and playing, creating, and yeah, I feel like I've had nothing but support my friends and family.

SPEAKER_05 33:33

Um I'll shout out my wife too. She's the bomb. I'm a I'm a big dreamer, and uh like text and Obi. I d I send him voice recordings and she is always like, just do it. What's he gonna say to you? No. So yeah, she's she's a big supporter for the band.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

That's great. Yeah, that's great. That makes everything a lot easier. Yeah. Yeah. So it consumes Wednesday nights, and then I guess writing. If you guys could like collaborate with one other artist or band, who would it be?

SPEAKER_07 34:03

I'm a big fan of Reverend Horton Heat. Okay. It's like a psychabilly. But I think a lot of what he does with the guitar, they use a stand-up bass, but three-piece, like us with vocals. Um, I feel as though that would be a fun collaboration.

SPEAKER_02 34:18

Yeah. Yeah. Anyone else have any?

SPEAKER_05 34:23

Sorry, my answer is Clapton. If I could if I could collaborate with anyone, I'd have Eric Clapton in the world. Eric Clapton. Yeah, I would do a L.

SPEAKER_02 34:30

He's still alive, right?

SPEAKER_05 34:31

You said Yeah, I don't care if he's basically crippled.

SPEAKER_02 34:34

What do you love about him so much?

SPEAKER_05 34:35

Something I love is that uh when you watch him live, it is never the same solo. And that's what I love about his playing is he might play I Shot the Sheriff 400 times, but it's always got that like different aspect of of it. He's he's creative. You force yourself to play the music right there, you know? Yeah, that's what I love about him. Yeah. If he ever sees that we'll just click that and send it to him.

SPEAKER_02 35:05

Next thing you know, you're Eric Clapton's giving you a call for collaboration.

SPEAKER_05 35:12

I'd have a heart attack.

SPEAKER_02 35:14

Oh, well, then maybe he shouldn't call.

SPEAKER_01 35:16

Um, I mean, I feel the same way in terms of like playing bass too, though, like like keeping it new every time we go out and play, you know, like not just play note for note every song, you know. Um, but no, in terms of like collaborating with people, I don't know. Like, I love like I guess probably one of my favorite bands is definitely the Beatles, and like, but like I feel like Paul would be a little like uh controlling or something. I'm sure he wouldn't be able to do it.

SPEAKER_03 35:46

I'm sure he would be able to do it.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

Yeah, he'd be like, just do this, and he'd be like, I'm already playing bass, so like you can just stand there and do nothing.

SPEAKER_05 35:53

Wait until you meet Obi, buddy. Just wait until you meet Obi.

SPEAKER_02 35:58

What's it like being the bass player? Do you like bass players? I don't know. I don't even know what I'm asking, but I feel like bass players, it's like they're usually quiet.

SPEAKER_07 36:09

They're unique.

SPEAKER_02 36:10

They're always unique, they're always unique. I don't know why.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

I am the only one wearing blue, a blue suit, I guess. And we were supposed to all wear like 20s, was that 20s outfits the one? Yeah. And I was just wearing like normal, not normal clothes, but not the same outfit everybody else was.

SPEAKER_05 36:29

Typical bass player.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

What were you wearing?

SPEAKER_05 36:32

Uh like a t-shirt, like not a t-shirt, like a Hawaiian shirt almost thing. Yeah, something and it was for a show, but at the show was 1920s themed. Right. So with him and the airball suspenders on. And this guy walked out in 1965. Like right off the beach on LSD. Yeah. Pretty much. Literally, right off the beach on Molly.

SPEAKER_02 36:57

So um, yeah, but you get to just jam. So these guys will send you like the guitar basically, or the melodies and everything, and then you just jam, and then you two obviously have to lock in to things.

SPEAKER_01 37:09

Yeah. Often, I mean, when I first joined the band, like, you know, they already had songs that were, you know, kind of finished. So I'm like, you know, kind of learning that part of the song, and then like the bass part. And but then, you know, I have the create the uh creative liberty to kind of take it my own direction, yeah. As long as it still fits what we're trying to do, you know, the vibe of the song and all that. Um, but then with the new songs, often it's just like, you know, we're all kind of in it together, and like we'll bring something, these guys will bring something to practice, and we'll kind of just figure it out right then and there, you know. And yeah um yeah, and it'll change them, and yeah, it'll eventually kind of marinate, if you will, and get somewhere.

SPEAKER_05 37:59

Only a bass player would say the song marinades.

SPEAKER_01 38:02

I got you.

SPEAKER_07 38:03

A lot of work shopping off jams, which is fun, you know, which is like here's something he that they brought to practice. Him and I just trying to lock in on something, and we'll just jam for 30 minutes and find clips of that that could be a song.

SPEAKER_02 38:18

That work, yeah. So as the drummer, when you when you do uh write the beat and all that, it's like what what what are you listening to besides uh well not besides just what are you listening to? Like how do you write your drums?

SPEAKER_07 38:33

The stuff that they had written, I try to get as close as possible with how it was on the album, but maybe add my own flair to it. Um anything new, I'm typically listening for the guitar riff and then I'm feeling the bass and listening for the spots where there is or is not notes being played. I don't like stepping on things, I like leaving natural space. Okay, so I like to just listen to so you'll be less busy, like if he's busy, is that what you mean? Yeah, it I I I don't like being that guy that's making uh a song with too much drums in it if it if the song doesn't call for it. Right. Um, so a lot of feel, but a lot of locking in with the bass as far as tempo, but locking in my actual drum beat off the guitar lick. Okay. Okay. If possible.

SPEAKER_02 39:26

Cool. Cool. What do you guys so this podcast isn't gonna come out till April? Is there anything in the works or coming up or anything like that that you know of? You're gonna you're applying, are you applying to festivals? Have you already applied to any?

SPEAKER_05 39:43

Uh bond a couple. Uh what are they called off the top of my head? I couldn't tell you. We got into launch festival in Reading, but we we don't we're not gonna be able to make that because a couple of us are gonna be out of state, uh, which just happened with the dates.

SPEAKER_02 39:57

Just got you all remember the other ones.

SPEAKER_05 39:59

One's called Pine.

SPEAKER_03 40:01

Oh, Pine Pine Pine Ridge. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 40:04

They have a third stage they're opening up, so they just got back to us uh about doing that. And then um we still have three more songs that we recorded with Obi that were one might come out in April. What is that next month? That that's high hopes, but I I I doubt it. Uh just because we're trying to we don't want to run out to stuff to put out before we have more stuff to put out. Uh right. So probably in the next month or two we'll have another song out.

SPEAKER_02 40:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 40:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:29

What's it called?

SPEAKER_05 40:30

It's either gonna be flames or be with you. We're we're trying to think because it's it's a darker is a is a strong word to use, but like it's got wintertime vibes. Okay. Wintertime's almost over. So now we're gonna buy a farmer's almanac and see when there's gonna be a big thunderstorm and we're gonna release it on a thunderstorm week.

SPEAKER_02 40:50

Farmer's almanac. Yeah, we've still county for sure.

SPEAKER_05 40:56

For sure. So, you know, because I it like I said, it's got a little darker undertone. So if I put it out on like a sunny and 75 kind of day, you're gonna be like, what the hell's happening?

SPEAKER_02 41:07

This is depressing. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_05 41:08

But if it's thunderstorm and we got like fake thunder in the song, everyone would be like, Yeah, this is cool.

SPEAKER_02 41:13

Yeah. That's a good idea.

SPEAKER_05 41:15

But yeah, you won't know. Farmer's almanac. Sponsor us. We're looking for t-shirt sponsors.

SPEAKER_02 41:24

Oh my god, that's funny. Um, you have any shows booked that you know of?

SPEAKER_06 41:28

Like in April 4th, we do have a show at Liberty Tavern in English.

SPEAKER_05 41:35

Um April 18th, we're playing at Century Bar in Philly.

SPEAKER_06 41:40

June 26th.

SPEAKER_05 41:41

Well, May. May we're playing at the Mill in Aston. Okay. And we're playing potentially that Pine Ridge Festival. And then yeah, June 26th. Uh Delaware. We're opening for uh Too Hot for Leather. They're a band from Nashville.

SPEAKER_06 41:57

Wow.

SPEAKER_05 41:57

They're like on a tour and stuff. So yeah, they hooked us up. We're gonna put it up for them for them, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:02

Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_05 42:03

So that should be cool.

SPEAKER_02 42:03

And where's that at?

SPEAKER_05 42:05

Uh what is that place in Newark? Yeah, somewhere in the world. I think that's it. Yeah. Some whispers, some big things could come in July, but you know, nothing crazy we don't know about yet. And then we're gonna be recording with Obi again, so that's that's gonna be great.

SPEAKER_02 42:20

Yeah, yeah. What is a good crowd? Like, what do you guys like from an audience? What is something when you look and you're like, oh man, this is great, or oh man, this is this is horrible.

SPEAKER_06 42:31

This is less specific, but uh our last show at Dawson Street Pub was uh it was a little bit of a smaller space, more intimate, and there was a ton of people there. And I loved it because there was as opposed to um like we played at the gym, which was awesome. The gym was a lot of fun, but there was a lot more open space at this place. There was there was just this crowd of people, like I could touch them with my hand just like that. And that was I don't know, some people might hate that, but I thought it was really fun. There was just like this little circle of people.

SPEAKER_02 43:04

And were they there for the music?

SPEAKER_06 43:07

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:08

So they were jamming with you.

SPEAKER_06 43:09

It wasn't like they were all just like they're there dancing, wooing and stuff. That was fun.

SPEAKER_02 43:13

We did four encores.

SPEAKER_06 43:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:15

Oh, yeah, yeah. That sounds like a good time.

SPEAKER_06 43:17

It was like one in the morning. It was you know, it was it was a good time.

SPEAKER_05 43:22

Yeah. Same as Silk City was like that. Yeah, it was. Silk City's crowd was they were pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02 43:27

What's one of your like most unlike your unforgettable moments? At Silk City. Uh oh yeah, in Silk City, that's right. That was the spot. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_05 43:35

The Thursday, the Thursday before we played at Silk City, I I had made some homemade bread and I was cutting it for dinner, and I missed the bread and decided to slice my finger. Uh and this is like my play, you know, my my fretting hand. And uh at Silk City, I covered my guitar in blood. Oh, and people thought it was the coolest thing in the world. It was it was awesome. I mean, they said that should be my three.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

Blood. Was it like on your guitar?

SPEAKER_05 44:05

I had a band-aid on, and then it was like, ah, to help with this.

SPEAKER_01 44:08

Oh, it hurt like hell, but it was like uh Aren't your fingers like sticking to the neck though?

SPEAKER_05 44:13

Yeah, but you would think you would think with like dried up blood, you're or you know, you'd think since there's you know blood is wet, but it it like instantly dried on the strings, so like I they got like wow sticky, and then the strings kept slipping into the cuts.

SPEAKER_02 44:28

It was kind of gross, but that was the one did you only play at Sook City once so far? Okay, so that was the great experience in Austin.

SPEAKER_05 44:35

You were just bleeding off. People loved it. They're like, that's gotta be your thing. So I'm gonna start cutting everywhere. Like all over the net. Everywhere on my guitar was just covered in blood. Yeah. Wow, that's intense. It was a small cut. And we don't play hard music like that. Our music is not like Metallica, like I'm up here playing like blues.

SPEAKER_02 44:57

You guys ever hear Guar? No. Oh my god, it was like an old you you have? Yeah, way back like in the 90s, they were all crazy. Like you're not a band like that. No. What's your guys' most favorite song to play? Do you guys have the same one? You probably want the same one.

SPEAKER_07 45:12

Oh, I like dancing in France.

SPEAKER_02 45:15

And is this on like somewhere to stream? Okay, it's dancing in France. I'm a bunch of. It's out everywhere. Dancing in France.

SPEAKER_07 45:21

Yeah, I feel every time we play it, it's just I I like playing out live that song because people who aren't paying attention that might be at a bar. You see the head turn, it's like, yeah, yeah, we've captured them, and then they start bobbing the head. Yeah. That always gets people going.

SPEAKER_02 45:37

And what's dancing in France? Like, I mean, I know kind of your vibe of your songs. What's what's going on with that song? What's it about? Or that doesn't even matter. It's the feel that you like, right?

SPEAKER_01 45:48

Yep, the feel that's very high energy for sure.

SPEAKER_02 45:50

Like you can it's like literally dancing in France, it feels like.

SPEAKER_05 45:54

Yeah, it's all about falling in love and being like, well, fall not kind of getting rejected, I guess. Like we should be dancing in front of France.

SPEAKER_06 46:00

Yeah, almost reminiscent, like picturing us together.

SPEAKER_05 46:04

It's got like a weird stray cat vibe kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02 46:07

Was this one released before you guys? Was it one?

SPEAKER_05 46:13

One we recorded without them, yeah. Like everything that's out under the Ant Nange band is just him and Angelo and I, and then the studio musicians. Um, and then obviously now everything we play live is with Eric and Andrew, because you know, we can't get studio musicians to play live. Not that we would, but you know, you know what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_02 46:32

Like, so they're gonna still hire the studio musicians when they have the records.

SPEAKER_05 46:36

So, you know. Yeah, no, um, so yeah, all the stuff that's out is with the studio guys, but um yeah, what about you? I don't know. What's your favorite song we play?

SPEAKER_01 46:46

Me? Uh bass player. Uh I do like well, The Waltz is great. So that one kind of has uh that's one of the newer songs. It just sort of has like so is it out to stream or anything?

SPEAKER_02 46:58

No, not yet.

SPEAKER_01 46:59

Uh but uh we've been playing that out live, you know, more and more recently, and uh it has like a nice like tempo switch like a couple times throughout the song, which is cool, and uh but like it kind of has room for extended like soloing, improvising, you know, before it comes back into the song. And I don't know, I always like you know, I like that. But then yeah, like dance in France is great because it's like a little more short and sweet and but like to the point and like catchy, I would say, you know, catchy in a good way, you know. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:36

I don't know what else to ask. Maybe we have covered a lot. Yeah, do you feel how do you feel, bass player? I love bass player.

SPEAKER_07 47:43

How do you feel, blue suit? How do you feel? I feel good. Well, I think I was watching the well I'm getting there. Do you still ask?

SPEAKER_01 47:49

I'm gonna, yeah, you know I'm gonna ask that again. Don't jump the gun, buddy. Relax.

SPEAKER_05 47:55

Let it burn me for a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 47:57

I just always like when I do this, want to keep talking, but I'm like, I'm just gonna start repeating having them repeat, like, because I just love people's stories. What's your and I love that you guys like get along with the other band I have is Shattered Figures. I don't know if I've talked to that I can remember. I think everything's been like solo and but like they get along, like they have such a great story too, and they get along, and you know, I just love it because being in a band is not necessarily like an easy thing.

SPEAKER_05 48:24

Nah. It was a long time coming. Our we've been like I said, we've had Kranick now for two years, and then trying to find a drummer was like the hardest thing in the world, and Eric rolled up, and it has been like nice little happy marriage for the four of us. Yeah, yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_06 48:41

It's definitely fun now. There was uh calling them dog days would be harsh, but when we were a duo, we were doing a lot of the uh acoustic singer thing and like the bar scene, like three hours of cover songs. Right. You sing to like 15 dudes who want to listen to CCR. Right, and it's fine at first. You're like, oh, I have a gig. Like I'd go to his house and instead of writing music, he'd be like, Alright, we've really got a hammer in. Have you ever seen the rain? Yes, that's what I'm talking about. Yeah, that got old fast. Yeah, but but what we do now is at least it's fresh, it's so much fun. We at a show, we'll have people singing along to like our gravy and grits. That's gravy and grits.

SPEAKER_02 49:24

I had on the car, and I was just big and I can just see like at a festival, like the the the tents, and they have the campers and they have the cooking, and that's when Gravy and Grits came on.

SPEAKER_05 49:35

I just that's it's I think a big thing that I love about the band too is uh we all we play original music and some people get into that and there there's no money in being an original band.

SPEAKER_02 49:49

You know that's what we need to change.

SPEAKER_05 49:50

Like, there's there needs to be. We're not we're not here to go to a bar and make five hundred dollars a night. We got fine jobs. Like, I'm not right, I'm not doing this to make money, I'm doing this to shoot for the stars. And the fact that like I got three guys with me that are helping make that come more and more true every day, and now people are listening to our music and it's and it's good, it it is just like awesome. I think uh it's very easy to go like go be a cover band or a wedding band and and make a lot of money doing that. There's certainly a side of music where there is money, right? But like I said in the beginning too, like someone's gotta pick up the torch. And if making no money now means uh I don't even I don't I'm not here to make millions of dollars, I'm just here to continue on the the like linear progression of music. That's what I want to do, you know. Yeah, so and that's what'll make you happy. Yeah, I'm very grateful for the guys.

SPEAKER_07 50:42

Yeah, it's it's tough because the band I was in previously uh it ended up folding after about six or seven years. But we started a couple years before COVID, started recording stuff playing out, and it's hard because we only played original music, never did a cover live. And then post-pandemic trying to find some of those venues that closed that never made it through. So you know it's starting to come back finally. Yeah, but you had a you know, 2021 to 2023, you had a lot of venues that were closed, and the only places that were open only hiring cover bands. So the original music was kind of tough.

SPEAKER_02 51:21

Yeah. Do you guys have anything else? Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_05 51:24

Yeah, seriously, thank you so much for having us here today. It's awesome. Yeah, this is our first podcast. I love that. So all right.

SPEAKER_02 51:33

Well, if you guys don't have anything else to add, I'm gonna ask the final question of the podcast, which is how is music your hero? And whoever wants to start it can start.

SPEAKER_05 51:43

Started on Facebook.

SPEAKER_01 51:44

Yeah, yeah. He's been marinating. He's yeah, he's well, no, I was thinking uh while you guys were talking a second ago about like so I went to school, I went to Westchester for accounting. Like 2009 I graduated. Uh-huh. And I remember like when I started, like 2005, I uh started hanging out with a guy that I actually went to high school with. He went to the same, he went to Westchester University as well. So I started hanging out with him and uh he played guitar and I started like learning a couple things from him. Pretty soon we're like playing more often together. He's teaching me even more things. I'm playing with other friends, and and at a certain point I remember with accounting, I felt like uh it was like ripping me in two. Like there was like this music thing that I really like doing, and then there was like accounting was kind of like sucking my soul away. Right. And it like soul. I ended up being like, whoa, well, I'm already so far with my degree, like I might as well like keep going. And then like two accounting jobs later, like I ended up, I haven't done accounting for like over 10 years now, and like more and more the past few years, it's like I've been able to like play more and more. Like I started going to open jams and eventually switched from guitar to bass, and I met these guys, and I start, you know, doing this now, and like so I don't know, I feel like it's like giving me new life for anything.

SPEAKER_02 53:14

Yeah, like you're so much happier, probably. Right.

SPEAKER_01 53:17

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Okay, that's cool. Yeah, so in in that regard, like yeah, music's pretty great. Like and and you know, it just allows you to kind of express yourself in ways that m many other things don't allow, you know? Like accounting, like it's not really allowed much accounting. Not allowed to do that. Oh no.

SPEAKER_02 53:39

Yeah, I couldn't, I couldn't do it to sit there with what Excel sheets and stuff.

SPEAKER_03 53:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:46

Well, I'm glad you found your happiness or are finding it. Yeah, yeah. All right, who's next? Okay.

SPEAKER_07 53:53

Um I grew up in a musical family. My dad was always playing drums for different blues bands. Um, his grandfather and his great uncles they used to play in swing bands back in the twenties and thirties. So a lot of people on my dad's side were professional musicians or played out. So there's always a drum kit for me to play on as a kid. And uh I gravitated toward the drums. My brother gravitated toward the saxophone. So we used to play all the time. He moved to guitar, then later bass, and I used to play with him in another band. But um music and sports were kind of the forefront of me growing up. And then I started to veer more toward sports um in high school and college. And I I always listened to music because it was always a part of the life, but didn't get back into playing it until the hand injury. And kind of it just rewired everything I'm doing to always you know, playing drums, dabble with bass, always trying to find new music. Music has gotten me through the greatest and the worst times of my life. So ever since I hold music very dear.

SPEAKER_03 55:03

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 55:05

I'll go. Um I kinda piggyback off of Craniqueira. Music has given me a new fun chapter in my life. I even though it was in the the family, my dad he plays piano and keyboard, I've done it his whole life. I never picked up on any of it. So and Anthony and I's relationship predates any sort of music relationship. We were 14 years old in high school, and it wasn't until he finally, you know, got me to do uh the duo stuff, whenever that was. I mean 2019, something like that. And even then, like I said, we earlier we were kind of it was less about writing, more you know, just just getting comfortable doing some covers here and there, and it's finally snowballed into this new chapter where I it is you know, it is my first band, so I've at least you know, like two, three years in I get at least I at least am a bit more familiar with everything we do and stuff like practice and shows. It's it's just a lot of fun. Yeah. And it's just it's really it really is something I'm just I'm just going with the wind. I really I really didn't think I'd be doing it. Yeah. So it's it's a fun new chapter for sure. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 56:30

All right.

SPEAKER_05 56:32

Yeah, all right. Uh I love music. Um I've always loved music. I've always wanted to play the guitar. Um I started playing when I was like 13 or so. Took lessons for a couple months with a guy named Rob Birch. He went into a coma and I used to go to the hospital and play while he was in a coma just to practice and get a grade. Um and then my parents split up when I was like 14. I lived with my dad and I didn't we didn't like it was what it was what it was, but every dad pretty much come home from school and get pretty stoned up and lock myself in my room and just play the shit out of my guitar.

SPEAKER_03 57:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 57:08

Um and I love it. And I I wouldn't change one one minute of my musical journey from doing that to I'm I'm a big people person, so like making connections like like Obi prior to Nashville. He told me to go to Sun Studios and meet this woman, and it was all this stuff, and it's just been uh it's just been crazy, and then you know, I I wasn't doing anything really. I before Nashville, I was going to open jams, and I was just some kid that could play guitar like half decently, and I and that was that, and went to Nashville, came home, we started doing the duo thing, and it was like he's got a kick-ass voice, like a kick-ass voice, and he didn't sing, and I I was like, no, like I I know that if this guy starts singing, people are gonna eat it up. And I guess I've been I'm 27, so I've been doing music for 14 years, and the past four years with Angelo, and then the past year and change with these guys, the the jump in things that have happened, I wouldn't change it for the world. So music's my hero just because it it's such a big part of my life.

SPEAKER_02 58:17

Yeah, because it just is. Yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_05 58:19

And I don't go a day without playing my guitar or or listening to music or playing the piano, it just uh I need it. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 58:27

I love that all of you guys, it's like you have found this happiness. Yeah. So that's fantastic because that's the whole point of it.

SPEAKER_07 58:35

I would like to add one of the cool things, and not to put you on the spot, Angelo, but um looking at our early uh shows, because a lot of times we record them compared to the later ones, the confidence and stage presence, uh seeing him transform into somebody who's a little more nervous to somebody who owns that microphone. It's really cool to see.

SPEAKER_03 58:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 58:58

Thank you. I I certainly was a nervous wreck. The uh the first time I ever sang in front of people was at the grape room and many young. Shout out the grape room. It was just an open mic. We showed up, and you know, oh, I was I was I was like shaking on stage. I had a hat on because I had a I had a I had a bad haircut, and I was like, I was I just I didn't want to be uh on stage in front of people, so and he was like, I was like, dude, let me wear the hat.

SPEAKER_05 59:31

He's I'm a ball breaker. And I uh when he started, I was a little like this is how it's gonna be kind of thing. Because we hadn't done anything before, and like here we were, pretty much dressed like this, and he had like an old trucker hat on, and I was like, You're not wearing the damn hat on stage, and he was like, I need to wear the hat on. Okay, just wear the hat. That's a funny video. And now my man wears different colored bedazzled jackets and grips that mic like it's his baby.

SPEAKER_06 59:58

I remember like shaking when I was up there. And now it's it's a lot more fun. I still, you know, I still get nervous, but yeah, you know, you learn ways to channel it.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:08

Yeah. Do you guys drink? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:12

Rarely.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:13

Rarely. But you do when you so when you play though, you don't you don't drink a lot. Or you do. We've had we've had there's there's a there's maybe you're a little younger, maybe you can handle it.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:23

There's a there's a bit I like I had like I don't know, six or seven glasses of wine at Dawson, but we got there at seven and didn't play till eleven, so you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:30

But did it does it affect your playing?

SPEAKER_05 1:00:32

No, kind of like what Kranick said in the beginning. Like, I I'm the guy that'll like I'd smoke like eight blunts before we could go on, and I'm just as fine at that. Okay, you're that guy. I'm pot head kind of guy first, and uh yeah, I could get I could get fried off my mind and walk upstairs. You'd just be fine.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:48

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:48

They used to call me Stony in Nashville. There's a couple videos of me, and they'd say it's a nice nickname. Stony.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:54

It's better than alcoholic. Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:58

You got something? Yeah, well, yeah. Well, I feel like I used to, you know, since you know, especially that one time I got so nervous. Like I I used to like uh drink more before the show, like not a ton, but like just like a like some whiskey, you know, and like because I felt like it would, you know, relax me a little bit. I think the one show I was kind of like, I'm a little, I'm a little drunk right now. I should probably stop.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:25

But like, but um no, like but as far as you know, since you guys have been playing together, it's never been like it caused some sort of like, dude, what did you just do? Nobody's calling over the case.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:36

So it's like yeah, we save the beers for after the show. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, and that has happened. Yeah, certainly.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:46

Not at never a confrontation between us or anybody, but uh because one of us gets it's not like the people at karaoke. Nah, nah, no. Now we're gonna be nice and clean.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:57

Um, I sang was karaoke. It was not good.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:00

Yeah, well, that's what karaoke's for. Yeah, yeah, they love it. Uh, the people love it.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:05

Shout out Myrtle Beach.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:07

That's where that happened.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:09

Were you living there?

SPEAKER_07 1:02:10

I was down for bike week and I just turned 21. I was with my parents. I I don't remember the name of the bar. I do remember getting kicked out because I was peeing in the corner of the bar okay because I couldn't find the bathroom.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:22

One of them. What's wrong with guys? I mean, it's a question that us females have. Like, what is wrong with you? Like, how do you not know? That's not a like the one time, long time ago when I was a teenager having a party, and the guy's just like peeing in the lawn in the laundry room sink. Like it was like a big sink. Like, what? You how do you not? I mean, what if I just went to the house?

SPEAKER_05 1:02:43

It's easier for us.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:44

We just females were like, oh, I'm on a toilet.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:48

I have a friend that would say he was like renting from another friend, and he would just he would just be like, Yeah, like if you have to pee, just go pee in the utility sink. Crazy. Like, there's stuff in the sink. I'm like, what are you gonna do with all this stuff?

SPEAKER_07 1:03:01

Like, there's or like you know, they get in the middle of the night and just like pee in the open clothes drawers thing into the toilet and just what is wrong with guys.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:09

I peed on my friend's TV when we were in high school. Why? I was I mean, I was wasted and uh then they drew all of it.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:15

I think alcohol has a play in it a lot though.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:17

Yeah, for sure. And we go anywhere, like you just whip it out and I don't have to squat or wipe, none of that, you know. Shut up being a guy.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:23

Shut up to being a guy. All right. Well, anyways, you guys, thank you for taking the time and coming here and uh hanging out and talking and all that fun stuff. Thanks for having me. And uh yeah, you're welcome. And I look forward to the band growing and taking over the world.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:40

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:44

Yeah, and I'll definitely get to a show. So it's super cool to meet you guys. So thank you.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:47

That'd be awesome.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:50

Until next time, keep connecting, keep connecting, and keep building together. Remember, we're in this together, so let's keep each other down.