April 30, 2026 • 37 mins
On this week's In Service Of Steve Baltin sits down with all three members of The Fray to talk to the band about their first album in a dozen years, how they decided to go on without former lead singer Isaac Slade, touring, the lasting impact of songs like 'How to Save a Life' and more.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hi, It is Steve Balton, host of In Service Up
and this week I am honored to be joined by
the Frey. You remember them from How to Save a
Life other hit songs. It's been a dozen years since
their last album, but they are back in a kind
of new incarnation and having fun touring and really enjoying
(00:30):
being a trio at this point in time. SO had
a really good conversation with them about kind of reinventing
the band but staying true to who they always were.
Fun conversation, really interesting, guys, and very educational if you
want to learn about the evolution of a band. SO,
(00:50):
I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did.
They had a lot to say and really get to
talk with them about how the songs have evolved and
how they've changed and the new pay on a Life
that Waits. Thanks and congratulations on the record, you guys.
(01:20):
You know, it's an interesting thing. I've spoken to so
many bands about this that I know. It's one of
those things.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Where when you have a band member either leave or
join the band, even when it is the most amicable
thing and everybody's on the best of terms. Very simply,
there's a chemistry in bands and.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
When someone, you know, you add someone to subtract someone,
it just changes things, not necessarily the better, it just
does because you know, obviously a band is such a
you know, dynamic thing.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
So for you guys, how much do you find to
make this record? That it felt like kind of a
new start also because it had been so long.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Yeah, for sure, I think, like you said, there's an inevitable,
inevitable shift. But I think once we got into working
on our new music, I think we found that some
of that was was maybe more necessary than we knew.
And it was kind of like I, you know, a
little while ago, I was thinking of it in the analogy,
(02:30):
like the it was a four legged stool that went
down to a three legged stool, and there was you know,
we just had to kind of reorient the support system
a little bit and figure out a new way of
doing things. But in figuring that out, it kind of
forced us to engage in a new way. We were
sort of on autopilot, you.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
Know, and.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
In so many ways that when we kind of had
to be forced to re engage, it required something of
us that maybe this band hasn't before, and we had
to dig a little deeper. We had to baby be
a little more honest with each other than we wanted
to be, or or with ourselves maybe, but that definitely
(03:10):
had a lot to do with the end results of
of what came of this record.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
Yeah, it's funny even if even if a band Quille
stays the same, they still change and people say they change,
and the chemistry changes and the dynamics change, and a band.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Is never the same thing. So we're just at this
point in our.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Like twenty years in as a band that we find
ourselves in, you know, a newness and that's life giving.
And I think that's what you want as a band
is anything that gives you life, anything that gives the
band the individuals create the sparks chemistry, and that translates
(04:03):
to live It translates to shows bands can tell. You know,
I've been to be the shows where some of my
favorite bands it's the same same members, but you go
and the band's checked out, you know, and you're like
so fucking bummed seeing something that you know is sacred
to you and they're just disjointed and it doesn't feel connected.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
So I think you hope, you know, the hope is.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
For a band is to wherever you're at in life,
that you find new glue, new new life, new new
blood in it.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Well know, it's interesting you say that, though, because I
have seen bands checked out as well. But then I've
also seen I look at a band like you know,
I'm always fascinated with Zezy Top because, first of all,
I've interviewed every band in the world and.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Some of those functional things that ever existed.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
You take the Sure Marriage ever, and it's like it
is nothing compared to some of the and dynamics because
I gave and Eddie having to be.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
The excellent slash my god. But you look at a
band like s Eezy Top, say three members for over
fifty years.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Until someone sadly passed away. Are you looking at a
band like you too? I have so much respect for
them forty plus years in. Are there bands for you
guys that you look at at the way.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
They've been able to evolve and grow and change that
you really admire for that? You know?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
I mean I always joked that Zeazy Top should get
like you know, they should be getting Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Fifty years together as one band ever breaking up?
Speaker 5 (05:37):
Oh man, the stories are all different, right, I mean,
you get Fleetwood Mac that like members come and go,
lawsuits happen, the police, like they can't stand each other's lawsuits.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
They're seventy years old, you know.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
And then you get bands like Genesis where they evolved
and then have five albums in just the three of them.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
I remember there.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
I looked back on their albums and like when they
changed and evolved, it was their first album was called
just the three or now or now there's three of
us or something about just the three, and then there
were three and.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Then there were three.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
Yeah, so yeah, it's like whatever, whatever, wherever you find yourself,
it's always and then there was fill in the blank.
It's just that's just the story of any band. Or
you're just like okay, and now we're this, and then
we are this.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
So I found myself really inspired by the Chili Peppers,
even you know, outside of the genre. I mean, they
certainly we're at the peak of nineties rock for us
and our age, but beyond the music, like when you
watch them play today, like on stage, like Joe was saying,
the fans can tell it's kind of undeniable when a
(06:49):
band gets on stage, like what the vibe.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Is, and the Chili Peppers still.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Look like at least look like they're having an absolute
blast together, you know, and they do this thing. I
was listening to Questlove's podcast and he was talking about
how he saw them during the show in a stadium.
In the middle of the show, they would circle up.
They'd all come back to the drum riser and for
like a minute and a half they were in a
(07:15):
circle talking and he was like, what the hell were
they talking about? And you know, Flee was like, Oh,
it's just any thing that you know, it's different every night,
but just that I think that camaraderie and the fact
again after so many years, You two is another one
of those bands, certainly for us. But yeah, you look
at you look at the Chili Pippies.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
You're like, damn, let's you know what are they We'll
have what. We'll have it. We'll have what they're having.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
It's funny when when we toured with You two. One
of the things I remember like sitting we had a
couple of dinners with you know, with the band and
kind of their core team, and one of the things
Edge was telling me, just like just just keep going,
just keep do this as long as you can. Don't like,
don't stop. He didn't say stay the same, he said
(07:58):
just keep going. And because you can't stay the same,
it's like okay. For for the three of us, we realized,
we want to keep doing this. We love this, Let's
keep going. We have more to say, Let's make let's
make new music, let's go tour the world, Let's do this.
So I think if you could just stay and just
go keep going and don't stop, that's the hope that
(08:19):
you you know, and there's.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Gonna be all types of changes in that, but yeah,
it was. It was interesting.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
I mean, listen, we'd all love to be the band
like you two that's you know, has has had the
members since they were high schoolers, and they they you know,
they've supported each other over the years and Adams had
to check out and a couple of tours and personal
things have happened, and but they.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Support each other. You know, but what do you do?
Speaker 5 (08:44):
And you know, when you're left with, you know, kind
of the the decision whether you want to keep going
or not, and that just means change. So for us,
it was, you know, a lot of hard talks and
it was clear that okay, let's try this.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Let's jump in, see if we can swim.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
And for you guys, how much fun has it been?
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Because again, when you realize you now, it's one of
those things, right, like I've talked about with people, when
you're with someone who is not enjoying what they're doing
for whatever the reason, you know when that happens again.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
And I mean, I won't ask you to comment on
someone else, but as someone who again has interviewed everyone
from James Brown and BB King to Taylor Swift, I
think fame is the worst fucking thing in the world.
So I'm not surprised that I'm surprised that more people
don't jump drop out. But for you guys that when
you find a line, it's like, okay, this is everybody
who wants to be doing this at this point. How
(09:41):
much more like sort of freeing and fun?
Speaker 4 (09:44):
Is that?
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Not because again, anybody you're mad at it but or
there's a problem, it's just simply like like I've been
to shows with someone right who doesn't enjoy it. And
when you're with someone who's not enjoying something, unless you're
a total asshole, you're gonna feel bad not want them
to be there.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Yeah, I think it feels I think it feels freeing
and fun.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
But more so for.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Me, the overwhelming feeling is like confirming, right, Like, so
for namely, for Isaac to step out because he, in
the most simple words, didn't want to be doing this.
Then requires me to ask, like, well do I do
I want to be doing this? And just being asked
to even ask that question is so important. So it's like, yeah,
(10:27):
it's freeing and fun. And we play music. I play
drums for a living. It's like every time I do that,
some part of it is freeing and fun. But on
a deeper level, this transition is has been really confirming
for me because it's like, if I'm still here, I
need to want to be right, you know, for my
sake and also for Joe and Daves, like it's like,
don't waste anybody's time, like be sure about it.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Yeah, I know. It's interesting.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
I mean, you know, and it makes sense because I've
talked to so many about this dude, Right, you decide
when you're ten years old, you're like, I want to
be a rock star, and then you actually make it realize, wait,
this is not what I expected. So there does make sense.
If there's a point where you're like, I do I
still want to do this? So for all of you guys,
now that you made that.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Decision, do you feel kind of reinvigorated like when you
were making this record, which you know definitely has some
amazing moments, Like even in the songwriting process, was it
that feeling of being like, Okay, this is who we
are now, this is what we want to do, Like
this is the Pray in twenty twenty six, you know,
(11:33):
versus the Fray in two thousand and five.
Speaker 5 (11:38):
Yeah, I mean you are who you where you're at right,
and you know, the three of us getting in the
room deciding to see what happens and to listen to
each other.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
I mean it really is like writing is listening.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
And when we work through the shit that we needed
to to be able to like up and listen to
each other again and to write, I mean that's it.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
That's like again, that's like a whole new.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Life source when when you can discover that you can
you can learn to listen in new ways and you
can learn to listen to each other. But yeah, I
mean we're I have no idea what what ten years
from now, five years from now looks like who knows
if we're even going to be you know, if there's
a music industry in four years, AI might be all
(12:29):
the bands.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
So we were humans.
Speaker 5 (12:33):
That were imperfect and that's on the record, and that
is that's on stage, and you know, and and it's like,
all right, we're leaning into that and thank god we have,
you know, a story, and that to me feels interesting.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
So what is that story for you guys right now?
When you go back and listen to this record, what
is that story? And I'm looking at titles because I'm
old school enough that I listen to everything all the
way through, so I say, track six, our track eight,
you know, so I want to actually have titles. But
for you guys, when you hear a light that waits,
what is that story for you guys? Now?
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Good question. I think I think we're still discovering it. Honestly,
I'm not sure if I know that yet. We've only
just put out the record, which to me feels like
the adolescent phase of these songs. You know, they're like
growing up and we're getting to know them in a
different way. Like when we hang up with you here,
(13:35):
we're going to go and to rehearsal and play and
rehearse some of these new songs for the first time,
and we will learn something about them in that setting.
That's very different than in the studio when you're discovering
the song for the first time. It's like, I think
we're still learning a lot about the songs, which in turn,
(13:57):
I think will teach us a lot about ours. Like
on the flight yesterday, I was I was listening to
the record a little bit, like just getting at top
of mind, refreshing, reminding myself of some of the drum
fills and stuff like that. And for whatever it's worth,
I don't know what this means, but I could, like,
I like recognize myself, like looking in a musical mirror,
(14:20):
you know, I could like hear like, oh yeah, okay,
that sounds like me, that sounds like us. And I
guess that's all I can say to to what the
story is now. You know, we're still still discovering it.
We'll let you know in a few months or years.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
Yeah, it's certainly us, no one else.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Well.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
You know, it's funny though, because I've talked with so
many songwriters about this, and you know, songwriting is very subconscious.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Most of the time.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
You know, there's this Nick kak but that I just
love and he said, you know, in his book Faith
he mccartines, She's like, I'll be on staging enough later
I'd be like, Oh, that's what that means. Most artists
will tell you that when they're writing, they have no
idea what the hell the song is about. Is it
like that for you guys, that's funny with the idea
that writing is very sub conscious. Were there things that
(15:11):
you know emerged on this record that now you hear
and you're kind of like, oh, that's what that means,
or it will take you a year or only the
Branco when sold me it took her twenty years to
figure out what a record's about.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Oh yeah, definitely definitely changes.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
No, I've remember hearing Billy Joel talk about his songs,
his early work, and what he thought it was about,
and then you know, years later, after he's played it,
you know, thousands of times, he realizes it's not about
what he thought it was about. And absolutely, I mean,
that's that's what you hope I think happens, is that
a song isn't contained just one thing and one idea.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
It's this like evolving story.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
And I mean that's that's what I love about music,
because everybody experiences it differently too, depending on where you
come from and what's happened in your life or what's.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Going on in the moment.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
And these were just captured in this in this era
and this time for us, and absolutely some of them
I think I know where they came from, and I
at least I know what I was feeling or thinking
at the time or processing. And then there's just lyrics
that you you know, just drop in You're like, well,
this sounds goddamn good, Like I think we should just
(16:41):
put it in there. I don't really know what it means,
but yeah, A light that waits is a statement that
we're still discovering. Something is waiting for us, and something
is discovered at the same time.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
And there's you know that's maybe.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
Within that's without others that help us see yes, us clearly,
but yeah, that's even our first record of me. I'm
just still I'm still wrestling with some of those songs about.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
You know, what they truly were about. You know, like
it was easy.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
To define it to a certain extent because it was
like easy to be like, oh, well, it's just about
this thing, you know, it's just about this person.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
And then I look back on it, I was like, oh.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
My god, no, that sure, that's part of a story.
But what we were going through and what the anxieties
or the stress or the up ending of life like
that stuff fed into the lyrics, That stuff fed into
the songs. And had no idea because I was in it.
(17:46):
You know, It's like you don't know until you're like
far removed from from that time, right of like what
was happening in your life and that stuff does like
channel through into songs.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
What's so interesting you say that because you know that
also of course happens when you're in bands, and of
course the more successful you get, the more whirlwind it gets.
And you know, I've talked to so many bands about
this and they're like, you know, you literally have no
idea where you are, So for you guys, are you
able to look back now a little bit and appreciate
some of the things that happened?
Speaker 2 (18:20):
And you know, it's funny because I've realized music industry today.
I'm a big sports fan, right, you know, and pretty
much basketball and football at this point, and I believe
numbers have a lot of validity in there. I do not, however,
think that numbers mean a fucking thing in music. I've
never an artist let's said, oh I got this many
streams or I sold this many records. But I've talked
(18:44):
with so many artists who will tell you the stories
they hear from fans of like this song saved my life,
this song I had a baby tail.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So for you guys, and I imagine a song like
how to Save a Life, for example, is one of
the songs that, like, you hear these insane stories. And
I remember talking with like different and you know, one
of my favorite things is when people talk about, you know,
the crazy places they've heard their songs or where they've reached,
or like a paleontologist I met who listened to the
(19:12):
doors while excavating dinosaur bones of Patagonia and I told
the story to Robbie Kreeger and John Densbourn and they're like,
what the fuck you know? Or the black Key's telling
me that literally listened to like Black Rangers listen to
that song on the way to get Osama bin Lauden.
So for you guys, you know, tell me, like, have
you heard these stories? And one have been the crazy
(19:35):
experiences you've heard of, like you know, people saying like
your song changed my life or save my life, or
I had a baby to it, or it was my
first at the wedding, or like you know whatever.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
I'm sure, yeah, we all have heard those stories.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
I think thank god we have, because, like you said,
that's the true meaning, that's what you hold on to.
That's that's what hit you and the soul and the
gut when it's a real, real life that's connecting to
it and not just a number that like you said,
the industry is.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
Just thinks that it's built upon.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
You know, Like we played a show recently, and before
the show, we did you know, we were meeting some
fans and this this mom and a ten year old
came up and it was just like this this show
is you know, this this night is so sacred and
important to us because this was the anniversary of you know,
my my son's debt and dad's death, and we listened.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
To your song and played it at the funeral.
Speaker 5 (20:37):
And just want to know, I want you guys to
know how special and how part part of our lives
your music is in our story and you know, just
like heartbroken, you know, in this moment and sharing in that,
and you know, the whole show was thinking about this kid.
And and then after the show, the exact contrast, you know,
exact exact opposite happened. We're leaving the show, getting into
(21:00):
the car, and there's this like you know, the young
couple waiting there and.
Speaker 6 (21:04):
They're in love and just there just like, well, we
just wanted to just let you know that we're getting
married and we got engaged to your music and we're
gonna play your song and our first dance. So it's
like love and loss and you know, all of in between.
Somehow our music is has been a part of people's
lives that way.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
So you know, I have no idea how that happens.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
Just you know what, the only thing I can say
is that you know, these are true songs to us
and and and they're honest, and.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
We were never afraid to be vulnerable.
Speaker 5 (21:39):
And I think that's that that's pretty clear in the
in the lyrics and the songs that whatever it was,
and and our upbringing is as boys, the combination of
our stories that we were we were okay being vulnerable
in our music.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
You know, it's so cool though. It's like I always
thinking of a song like Tom Waite's Ttaking with Me
is one of my favorite songs of all time, right,
And I always joke that's song that being played both
my wedding at my funeral.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Because it's saying universal. So it does make sense for
you guys to have these songs that like, literally the
one person that can mean death to another person, that
can mean in a wedding whatever. So for you guys, now,
I'm curious for each one of you, is there that
one or two songs that you think of in your
life that does have that sort of and like you said,
(22:29):
songs change. You know, you hear a song when you're
ten years old and you don't know what the fucking means.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
It just sounds good. And then you know you're fifty
or forty or whatever and you're like.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Oh, that's what that means. So freach to you guys,
what's that one song from someone else that kind of
has been with you your whole life?
Speaker 4 (22:50):
Wow?
Speaker 5 (22:52):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (22:53):
The first thing, because you said whole life, The first
thing I thought of was, you know, my dad's collection,
which was pretty small, but it was like, namely the
Doobie brothers, Simon and Garfunkle, the Beatles in Chicago, and
of all those, like I think of Simon and Garfunkle,
(23:15):
and I think the song is called Bookends or old
friends sat on a park bench like Bookends and that
like that always reminds me of my dad. But also
it's like from the earliest memories of like listening and
discovering that song through my dad to then me discovering
that song and that artist and those artists too, Like
(23:38):
in a couple of months, we're gonna go see Paul
Simon at Redrocks take my dad for his birthday. And
it's just like that song has become a part of
my life as much as it was a part of
my dad's and has evolved, and like always like just
all the feels every time I hear hear Simon and Garfunkle,
for sure, specifically that.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
Song, it is a great song. What about for you guys?
Speaker 7 (24:06):
Well, rather than overthinking it, the very first thing that
I thought of when you said that was Debuc's Claire
Daloon And there's obviously not a pop song, but it
is one of those few pieces of music that I
think takes me somewhere else every single time, and somewhere
(24:27):
different every time, and.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
I don't really know.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
It kind of like is one of those lightning rod
songs where you just kind of stop what you're doing
when you hear it, and you listen, and then you know,
a few minutes goes by and you realize you haven't
been doing anything other than just listening to it. I'm
sure there's a lot of you know, I could think
of a lot of bands that you know, contributed to
(24:51):
influences and whatnot. But that's the song that I thought
of first when you said that.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
See, I love that because I always just go with
the gut answer. There's always one thing that comes to mind.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
Sorry, it was a lawnmower that they pulled up next
to me. No worries.
Speaker 5 (25:10):
Yeah, I went the music I could listen to outside
of church music when I.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
Was little was you know, we're like the Beatles and.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
Samon and Garfunk and and uh, you know Blackbirds specifically.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
For me, you know, just I just remember my childhood.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
I remember, you know, driving road trips with my family,
my sisters, you know, like the summer trips. And then
it became a song that I would sing to and
still do to my kids.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
I have two older daughters.
Speaker 5 (25:46):
And now they're twenty and twenty three, and I sing
Blackbird to them every night, and you know, putting them
to sleep, and and I have little ones. You know
that I do the same, and you know, so now
it makes me think of their childhood and growing up.
Speaker 8 (26:03):
And then we have a we had a we had
a story with Paul McCartney when we played Milwaukee Summerfest
and years back and he was playing on a different
stage we're playing at the same time.
Speaker 5 (26:15):
There was some sound bleed from our stage to his,
and so his crew came over before the set and
they were like, hey, keep Paul. Would you know, just
a big question here for you y'all, Like, would would
you mind stopping your set at like fifteen minutes in
so Paul can play Blackbird on acoustic because there's just
a lot of sound bleed and he'd love to play
(26:36):
Blackbird tonight. So we were like, yeah, absolutely, Paul McCartney,
we will stop playing our show. So we got out
on stage told the audience at you know, fifteen minutes in,
we got to stop playing because Paul McCartney's playing Blackbird,
So just you know, you could probably hear it if
you'd be quiet.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
So you know, there's just an evolving story with that
song for in my life, and.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
Uh, you know, I'm sure it'll take on new meanings,
you know, as my life hopefully continues.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I love that. I mean, what do you say when
Paul McCartney says, can you stop so I can play Blackbird?
That's like, nah, we have our own set going.
Speaker 5 (27:22):
And yeah, you know, there's I could name a couple
other artists that we probably would have said no to, but.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Oh, for sure, I don't think there's anybody who would
have said no to Paul. I don't care who you are.
It's like one of it's funny you said you do
it with you too. One of my favorite music stories
of all time involves you too. But I wasn't in
this conversation Ryan Tedder, I'm sure you guys have done
for a long time with some story and this is
the greatest story of all time. He's writing with Bono
(27:54):
and there was a knock on the door in Bono's
assistants like, you have a call and Ryan, and Bono
was like, I'm writing, tell him, I'll call him back.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
And the assistant was like, I really think you should
take this, and Bono was like, who is calling that
you're interrupting? Like right, very nice about it, but just
like dude, I'm writing why and she goes, oh, it's
the Pope.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Yeah. So for you guys, will wrap up on the album.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
You know, we were talking about like the rehearsal and
the nois songs change and it's funny the song that
jumped out of me this morning and again I've listened
a few times, but of course with any good records,
it changes constantly was wherever you reach for me. And
I always love the fact that when you play live,
the audience will say, you know, like you may have
(28:48):
a favorite song you may love still got your Ice
Colt Lakes, and the audience is like yeah, And then
you know, may have been like song I'd rather not
sing is kind of like a throwing in the audience
is like, oh my god, this is the greatest fucking
song I've ever heard.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
So are these songs that you know, you're very excited
to see what the audience makes their own.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
Oh hell yeah, I have no idea what they're gonna
respond to.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
You know, you can start to see numbers, but again,
that doesn't, like you said, like it doesn't translate, and
it's still early, and especially putting music out nowadays, it's
like you gotta like it takes time for people to
even know and to discover. There's so much like in
our faces every day, so you know the fact that
like fans will still be discovering this, you know, in
(29:34):
six months, or people that don't even know the frame
of discovering in eight months.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Like but yeah, like I don't know what people are
gonna respond to.
Speaker 5 (29:44):
We're gonna play a couple of new ones this weekend, uh,
you know, for the first time, and then you know,
summer tour, like that's when that's what we really feel,
you know, the yeah, just what what these songs mean
to folks? And and you know, and we can feel
to a certain extent, we've that doesn't even like you
(30:06):
can't even land on that.
Speaker 9 (30:07):
Because there's songs in the past that haven't really resonated
or weren't singles, you know, and and then now like
this like gen Z has taking the song and like
it's become like part of their story and then they're
coming out and responding to it.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
It's like, whoa, we didn't we didn't see that that
coming at all, So I don't know. You can certainly
feel when when something's falling.
Speaker 5 (30:35):
Flat, and you know, I think you can feel when
the band energy is is falling flat two on a song,
So we certainly have have experienced that quite a bit too.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
But yeah, I'm curious to see what works.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
So for each of you, guys, is one song right
now that you're just like, can't wait to see how
it goes over lot because the course as songs change.
For you guys, when you're playing a chill you know,
you can expand it. You can grateful dat it and
turn it into like a forty five minute you know whatever,
or you know, Jacky prophies or whatever it is. Or
(31:17):
you know, that's a great thing about playing live is
you can take a song that's about and turn it
into a fucking poka. So for you guys, is out
there one song for each of you on this record
they just can't wait to see how it's going to evolve.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
For you guys, yeah, some of those feelings are.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
At least today, I feel a little more nervous than
I do excited because because I'm proud of the record.
I'm proud of how it turned out, and I'm I
want to do the live versions of these songs, you know,
do the songs justice. So let me go first as
probably the one that I'm like that feels like a
little bit of a hill to climb, which is good.
(31:56):
It's like, it's nice to have like a Okay, what's
the live version of song gonna feel like? And you know,
over the years we've felt that way. I have felt
like we got this one in the bag on certain
songs and then we start playing it's like, oh shit,
that's that's okay. We gotta and other ones that you
feel nervous about and they just kind of flow really easily.
Speaker 4 (32:18):
So who knows.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
It's like it's really hard to say, but that's the
one for me that I feel kind of like a
nervous excitement around.
Speaker 7 (32:28):
Yeah, I think, uh, ironically, you mentioned the mine as well.
I think Wherever You Reach for Me is a song
I have been looking forward to seeing how it reacts
with people even before we put it out, and but
that I think is on the list this weekend a
couple of these shows, so you know, it is a.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
Very small sample size.
Speaker 7 (32:49):
It's only two shows, and you know, I'm not exactly
a core core fan base, but nonetheless it will see
the light of day, that song from the stage.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
I'm very curious to see how it goes.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
What about you, mum hm.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
Oh, just I hate the feeling of of of a.
Speaker 5 (33:13):
The the flat song live and you just like poured
your heart into it and you thought it was you know, prognna.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Maybe like it, but it's just part of what we do.
And uh, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (33:30):
I mean, I think, yeah, I'm curious about Tasted Glory Live,
curious about.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
Wherever you reach me.
Speaker 5 (33:40):
I think certain songs on the record, I'm just like
on a performer front, I'm like, I'm like a from
a singer standpoint, I'm more excited about.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
And maybe those are the ones that just feel more
like pocket for me.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
And and unless like Okay, I gotta buckle up for
this and really nail it or or people are going
to like cringe, But yeah, wherever you reach for me
feels like pocket vocal, you know, ice Cold Lakes Pocket.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
There's so there's there's just there's quite a few on
there that I just yeah, I'm excited to deliver live.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Very cool. What do you guys want to add that
we did not talk about.
Speaker 4 (34:31):
I think you're coming it comes to your show. Yeah,
come see your show.
Speaker 5 (34:36):
US or Europe or you know, wherever, wherever you're at,
wherever you're reading this, hopefully we're in a city near you.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Very cool.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Well, congratulations on the record, you know, And it's funny because,
like I said, I've talked to so many bands about this,
and it's just like, you know, again, it's like the
also very simply in life, unless you're deranged, fucking lunicic
who happens to be running the country. You know, as
you get older, you get more comfortable, you get more confident,
(35:06):
and so I mean most ninety percent of bands I've
talked to are just the older you get, the more
you enjoy it because you also, you know, like you
mentioned the Chili Peppers flee as a friend and we've
talked about this.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
You know, when you're young, there's so much competition and
there's this and that, and then you get older and
you realize like none of that shit matters.
Speaker 7 (35:25):
You know.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
So for you guys, are you just feeling like right
now it's just simply more fun?
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Oh for sure, Yeah, it's we we have the gift
of perspective in hindsight a little bit. And yeah, we
feel grateful to even be having this conversation with you
and to even have new music to talk about and
shows on the books.
Speaker 4 (35:46):
It's it's a gift for sure. Oh yeah.
Speaker 5 (35:49):
I mean we're playing on the on a beach this
weekend at a festival, whether I should or not as
a you know, mid aged mail, I'm going to be
probably wearing a tank top and come on, like we're
alive and we're playing music, touring, you know, making new music. Uh,
(36:11):
you know when you're when you're a boy, dreaming about
it like this is the ship, this is the stuff
you look at you like, hope that happens wearing a
tank top on the beach.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Mm hmmm. Yeah, it's funny. Most rock stars do not
have that particular dream. But it's like, you know, why not.
Speaker 4 (36:35):
That's a that's that's a little sarcasm there for your stage.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
You guys. Thanks for your regulations and good talk with
you guys.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Thanks too, Man
Hi, It is Steve Balton, host of In Service Up
and this week I am honored to be joined by
the Frey. You remember them from How to Save a
Life other hit songs. It's been a dozen years since
their last album, but they are back in a kind
of new incarnation and having fun touring and really enjoying
(00:30):
being a trio at this point in time. SO had
a really good conversation with them about kind of reinventing
the band but staying true to who they always were.
Fun conversation, really interesting, guys, and very educational if you
want to learn about the evolution of a band. SO,
(00:50):
I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did.
They had a lot to say and really get to
talk with them about how the songs have evolved and
how they've changed and the new pay on a Life
that Waits. Thanks and congratulations on the record, you guys.
(01:20):
You know, it's an interesting thing. I've spoken to so
many bands about this that I know. It's one of
those things.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Where when you have a band member either leave or
join the band, even when it is the most amicable
thing and everybody's on the best of terms. Very simply,
there's a chemistry in bands and.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
When someone, you know, you add someone to subtract someone,
it just changes things, not necessarily the better, it just
does because you know, obviously a band is such a
you know, dynamic thing.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
So for you guys, how much do you find to
make this record? That it felt like kind of a
new start also because it had been so long.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Yeah, for sure, I think, like you said, there's an inevitable,
inevitable shift. But I think once we got into working
on our new music, I think we found that some
of that was was maybe more necessary than we knew.
And it was kind of like I, you know, a
little while ago, I was thinking of it in the analogy,
(02:30):
like the it was a four legged stool that went
down to a three legged stool, and there was you know,
we just had to kind of reorient the support system
a little bit and figure out a new way of
doing things. But in figuring that out, it kind of
forced us to engage in a new way. We were
sort of on autopilot, you.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
Know, and.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
In so many ways that when we kind of had
to be forced to re engage, it required something of
us that maybe this band hasn't before, and we had
to dig a little deeper. We had to baby be
a little more honest with each other than we wanted
to be, or or with ourselves maybe, but that definitely
(03:10):
had a lot to do with the end results of
of what came of this record.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
Yeah, it's funny even if even if a band Quille
stays the same, they still change and people say they change,
and the chemistry changes and the dynamics change, and a band.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Is never the same thing. So we're just at this
point in our.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Like twenty years in as a band that we find
ourselves in, you know, a newness and that's life giving.
And I think that's what you want as a band
is anything that gives you life, anything that gives the
band the individuals create the sparks chemistry, and that translates
(04:03):
to live It translates to shows bands can tell. You know,
I've been to be the shows where some of my
favorite bands it's the same same members, but you go
and the band's checked out, you know, and you're like
so fucking bummed seeing something that you know is sacred
to you and they're just disjointed and it doesn't feel connected.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
So I think you hope, you know, the hope is.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
For a band is to wherever you're at in life,
that you find new glue, new new life, new new
blood in it.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Well know, it's interesting you say that, though, because I
have seen bands checked out as well. But then I've
also seen I look at a band like you know,
I'm always fascinated with Zezy Top because, first of all,
I've interviewed every band in the world and.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Some of those functional things that ever existed.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
You take the Sure Marriage ever, and it's like it
is nothing compared to some of the and dynamics because
I gave and Eddie having to be.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
The excellent slash my god. But you look at a
band like s Eezy Top, say three members for over
fifty years.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Until someone sadly passed away. Are you looking at a
band like you too? I have so much respect for
them forty plus years in. Are there bands for you
guys that you look at at the way.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
They've been able to evolve and grow and change that
you really admire for that? You know?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
I mean I always joked that Zeazy Top should get
like you know, they should be getting Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Fifty years together as one band ever breaking up?
Speaker 5 (05:37):
Oh man, the stories are all different, right, I mean,
you get Fleetwood Mac that like members come and go,
lawsuits happen, the police, like they can't stand each other's lawsuits.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
They're seventy years old, you know.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
And then you get bands like Genesis where they evolved
and then have five albums in just the three of them.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
I remember there.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
I looked back on their albums and like when they
changed and evolved, it was their first album was called
just the three or now or now there's three of
us or something about just the three, and then there
were three and.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
Then there were three.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
Yeah, so yeah, it's like whatever, whatever, wherever you find yourself,
it's always and then there was fill in the blank.
It's just that's just the story of any band. Or
you're just like okay, and now we're this, and then
we are this.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
So I found myself really inspired by the Chili Peppers,
even you know, outside of the genre. I mean, they
certainly we're at the peak of nineties rock for us
and our age, but beyond the music, like when you
watch them play today, like on stage, like Joe was saying,
the fans can tell it's kind of undeniable when a
(06:49):
band gets on stage, like what the vibe.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Is, and the Chili Peppers still.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Look like at least look like they're having an absolute
blast together, you know, and they do this thing. I
was listening to Questlove's podcast and he was talking about
how he saw them during the show in a stadium.
In the middle of the show, they would circle up.
They'd all come back to the drum riser and for
like a minute and a half they were in a
(07:15):
circle talking and he was like, what the hell were
they talking about? And you know, Flee was like, Oh,
it's just any thing that you know, it's different every night,
but just that I think that camaraderie and the fact
again after so many years, You two is another one
of those bands, certainly for us. But yeah, you look
at you look at the Chili Pippies.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
You're like, damn, let's you know what are they We'll
have what. We'll have it. We'll have what they're having.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
It's funny when when we toured with You two. One
of the things I remember like sitting we had a
couple of dinners with you know, with the band and
kind of their core team, and one of the things
Edge was telling me, just like just just keep going,
just keep do this as long as you can. Don't like,
don't stop. He didn't say stay the same, he said
(07:58):
just keep going. And because you can't stay the same,
it's like okay. For for the three of us, we realized,
we want to keep doing this. We love this, Let's
keep going. We have more to say, Let's make let's
make new music, let's go tour the world, Let's do this.
So I think if you could just stay and just
go keep going and don't stop, that's the hope that
(08:19):
you you know, and there's.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Gonna be all types of changes in that, but yeah,
it was. It was interesting.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
I mean, listen, we'd all love to be the band
like you two that's you know, has has had the
members since they were high schoolers, and they they you know,
they've supported each other over the years and Adams had
to check out and a couple of tours and personal
things have happened, and but they.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Support each other. You know, but what do you do?
Speaker 5 (08:44):
And you know, when you're left with, you know, kind
of the the decision whether you want to keep going
or not, and that just means change. So for us,
it was, you know, a lot of hard talks and
it was clear that okay, let's try this.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Let's jump in, see if we can swim.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
And for you guys, how much fun has it been?
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Because again, when you realize you now, it's one of
those things, right, like I've talked about with people, when
you're with someone who is not enjoying what they're doing
for whatever the reason, you know when that happens again.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
And I mean, I won't ask you to comment on
someone else, but as someone who again has interviewed everyone
from James Brown and BB King to Taylor Swift, I
think fame is the worst fucking thing in the world.
So I'm not surprised that I'm surprised that more people
don't jump drop out. But for you guys that when
you find a line, it's like, okay, this is everybody
who wants to be doing this at this point. How
(09:41):
much more like sort of freeing and fun?
Speaker 4 (09:44):
Is that?
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Not because again, anybody you're mad at it but or
there's a problem, it's just simply like like I've been
to shows with someone right who doesn't enjoy it. And
when you're with someone who's not enjoying something, unless you're
a total asshole, you're gonna feel bad not want them
to be there.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Yeah, I think it feels I think it feels freeing
and fun.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
But more so for.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
Me, the overwhelming feeling is like confirming, right, Like, so
for namely, for Isaac to step out because he, in
the most simple words, didn't want to be doing this.
Then requires me to ask, like, well do I do
I want to be doing this? And just being asked
to even ask that question is so important. So it's like, yeah,
(10:27):
it's freeing and fun. And we play music. I play
drums for a living. It's like every time I do that,
some part of it is freeing and fun. But on
a deeper level, this transition is has been really confirming
for me because it's like, if I'm still here, I
need to want to be right, you know, for my
sake and also for Joe and Daves, like it's like,
don't waste anybody's time, like be sure about it.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Yeah, I know. It's interesting.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
I mean, you know, and it makes sense because I've
talked to so many about this dude, Right, you decide
when you're ten years old, you're like, I want to
be a rock star, and then you actually make it realize, wait,
this is not what I expected. So there does make sense.
If there's a point where you're like, I do I
still want to do this? So for all of you guys,
now that you made that.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Decision, do you feel kind of reinvigorated like when you
were making this record, which you know definitely has some
amazing moments, Like even in the songwriting process, was it
that feeling of being like, Okay, this is who we
are now, this is what we want to do, Like
this is the Pray in twenty twenty six, you know,
(11:33):
versus the Fray in two thousand and five.
Speaker 5 (11:38):
Yeah, I mean you are who you where you're at right,
and you know, the three of us getting in the
room deciding to see what happens and to listen to
each other.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
I mean it really is like writing is listening.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
And when we work through the shit that we needed
to to be able to like up and listen to
each other again and to write, I mean that's it.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
That's like again, that's like a whole new.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Life source when when you can discover that you can
you can learn to listen in new ways and you
can learn to listen to each other. But yeah, I
mean we're I have no idea what what ten years
from now, five years from now looks like who knows
if we're even going to be you know, if there's
a music industry in four years, AI might be all
(12:29):
the bands.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
So we were humans.
Speaker 5 (12:33):
That were imperfect and that's on the record, and that
is that's on stage, and you know, and and it's like,
all right, we're leaning into that and thank god we have,
you know, a story, and that to me feels interesting.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
So what is that story for you guys right now?
When you go back and listen to this record, what
is that story? And I'm looking at titles because I'm
old school enough that I listen to everything all the
way through, so I say, track six, our track eight,
you know, so I want to actually have titles. But
for you guys, when you hear a light that waits,
what is that story for you guys? Now?
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Good question. I think I think we're still discovering it. Honestly,
I'm not sure if I know that yet. We've only
just put out the record, which to me feels like
the adolescent phase of these songs. You know, they're like
growing up and we're getting to know them in a
different way. Like when we hang up with you here,
(13:35):
we're going to go and to rehearsal and play and
rehearse some of these new songs for the first time,
and we will learn something about them in that setting.
That's very different than in the studio when you're discovering
the song for the first time. It's like, I think
we're still learning a lot about the songs, which in turn,
(13:57):
I think will teach us a lot about ours. Like
on the flight yesterday, I was I was listening to
the record a little bit, like just getting at top
of mind, refreshing, reminding myself of some of the drum
fills and stuff like that. And for whatever it's worth,
I don't know what this means, but I could, like,
I like recognize myself, like looking in a musical mirror,
(14:20):
you know, I could like hear like, oh yeah, okay,
that sounds like me, that sounds like us. And I
guess that's all I can say to to what the
story is now. You know, we're still still discovering it.
We'll let you know in a few months or years.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
Yeah, it's certainly us, no one else.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Well.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
You know, it's funny though, because I've talked with so
many songwriters about this, and you know, songwriting is very subconscious.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
Most of the time.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
You know, there's this Nick kak but that I just
love and he said, you know, in his book Faith
he mccartines, She's like, I'll be on staging enough later
I'd be like, Oh, that's what that means. Most artists
will tell you that when they're writing, they have no
idea what the hell the song is about. Is it
like that for you guys, that's funny with the idea
that writing is very sub conscious. Were there things that
(15:11):
you know emerged on this record that now you hear
and you're kind of like, oh, that's what that means,
or it will take you a year or only the
Branco when sold me it took her twenty years to
figure out what a record's about.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Oh yeah, definitely definitely changes.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
No, I've remember hearing Billy Joel talk about his songs,
his early work, and what he thought it was about,
and then you know, years later, after he's played it,
you know, thousands of times, he realizes it's not about
what he thought it was about. And absolutely, I mean,
that's that's what you hope I think happens, is that
a song isn't contained just one thing and one idea.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
It's this like evolving story.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
And I mean that's that's what I love about music,
because everybody experiences it differently too, depending on where you
come from and what's happened in your life or what's.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Going on in the moment.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
And these were just captured in this in this era
and this time for us, and absolutely some of them
I think I know where they came from, and I
at least I know what I was feeling or thinking
at the time or processing. And then there's just lyrics
that you you know, just drop in You're like, well,
this sounds goddamn good, Like I think we should just
(16:41):
put it in there. I don't really know what it means,
but yeah, A light that waits is a statement that
we're still discovering. Something is waiting for us, and something
is discovered at the same time.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
And there's you know that's maybe.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
Within that's without others that help us see yes, us clearly,
but yeah, that's even our first record of me. I'm
just still I'm still wrestling with some of those songs about.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
You know, what they truly were about. You know, like
it was easy.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
To define it to a certain extent because it was
like easy to be like, oh, well, it's just about
this thing, you know, it's just about this person.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
And then I look back on it, I was like, oh.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
My god, no, that sure, that's part of a story.
But what we were going through and what the anxieties
or the stress or the up ending of life like
that stuff fed into the lyrics, That stuff fed into
the songs. And had no idea because I was in it.
(17:46):
You know, It's like you don't know until you're like
far removed from from that time, right of like what
was happening in your life and that stuff does like
channel through into songs.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
What's so interesting you say that because you know that
also of course happens when you're in bands, and of
course the more successful you get, the more whirlwind it gets.
And you know, I've talked to so many bands about
this and they're like, you know, you literally have no
idea where you are, So for you guys, are you
able to look back now a little bit and appreciate
some of the things that happened?
Speaker 2 (18:20):
And you know, it's funny because I've realized music industry today.
I'm a big sports fan, right, you know, and pretty
much basketball and football at this point, and I believe
numbers have a lot of validity in there. I do not, however,
think that numbers mean a fucking thing in music. I've
never an artist let's said, oh I got this many
streams or I sold this many records. But I've talked
(18:44):
with so many artists who will tell you the stories
they hear from fans of like this song saved my life,
this song I had a baby tail.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So for you guys, and I imagine a song like
how to Save a Life, for example, is one of
the songs that, like, you hear these insane stories. And
I remember talking with like different and you know, one
of my favorite things is when people talk about, you know,
the crazy places they've heard their songs or where they've reached,
or like a paleontologist I met who listened to the
(19:12):
doors while excavating dinosaur bones of Patagonia and I told
the story to Robbie Kreeger and John Densbourn and they're like,
what the fuck you know? Or the black Key's telling
me that literally listened to like Black Rangers listen to
that song on the way to get Osama bin Lauden.
So for you guys, you know, tell me, like, have
you heard these stories? And one have been the crazy
(19:35):
experiences you've heard of, like you know, people saying like
your song changed my life or save my life, or
I had a baby to it, or it was my
first at the wedding, or like you know whatever.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
I'm sure, yeah, we all have heard those stories.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
I think thank god we have, because, like you said,
that's the true meaning, that's what you hold on to.
That's that's what hit you and the soul and the
gut when it's a real, real life that's connecting to
it and not just a number that like you said,
the industry is.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
Just thinks that it's built upon.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
You know, Like we played a show recently, and before
the show, we did you know, we were meeting some
fans and this this mom and a ten year old
came up and it was just like this this show
is you know, this this night is so sacred and
important to us because this was the anniversary of you know,
my my son's debt and dad's death, and we listened.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
To your song and played it at the funeral.
Speaker 5 (20:37):
And just want to know, I want you guys to
know how special and how part part of our lives
your music is in our story and you know, just
like heartbroken, you know, in this moment and sharing in that,
and you know, the whole show was thinking about this kid.
And and then after the show, the exact contrast, you know,
exact exact opposite happened. We're leaving the show, getting into
(21:00):
the car, and there's this like you know, the young
couple waiting there and.
Speaker 6 (21:04):
They're in love and just there just like, well, we
just wanted to just let you know that we're getting
married and we got engaged to your music and we're
gonna play your song and our first dance. So it's
like love and loss and you know, all of in between.
Somehow our music is has been a part of people's
lives that way.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
So you know, I have no idea how that happens.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
Just you know what, the only thing I can say
is that you know, these are true songs to us
and and and they're honest, and.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
We were never afraid to be vulnerable.
Speaker 5 (21:39):
And I think that's that that's pretty clear in the
in the lyrics and the songs that whatever it was,
and and our upbringing is as boys, the combination of
our stories that we were we were okay being vulnerable
in our music.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
You know, it's so cool though. It's like I always
thinking of a song like Tom Waite's Ttaking with Me
is one of my favorite songs of all time, right,
And I always joke that's song that being played both
my wedding at my funeral.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Because it's saying universal. So it does make sense for
you guys to have these songs that like, literally the
one person that can mean death to another person, that
can mean in a wedding whatever. So for you guys, now,
I'm curious for each one of you, is there that
one or two songs that you think of in your
life that does have that sort of and like you said,
(22:29):
songs change. You know, you hear a song when you're
ten years old and you don't know what the fucking means.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
It just sounds good. And then you know you're fifty
or forty or whatever and you're like.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Oh, that's what that means. So freach to you guys,
what's that one song from someone else that kind of
has been with you your whole life?
Speaker 4 (22:50):
Wow?
Speaker 5 (22:52):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (22:53):
The first thing, because you said whole life, The first
thing I thought of was, you know, my dad's collection,
which was pretty small, but it was like, namely the
Doobie brothers, Simon and Garfunkle, the Beatles in Chicago, and
of all those, like I think of Simon and Garfunkle,
(23:15):
and I think the song is called Bookends or old
friends sat on a park bench like Bookends and that
like that always reminds me of my dad. But also
it's like from the earliest memories of like listening and
discovering that song through my dad to then me discovering
that song and that artist and those artists too, Like
(23:38):
in a couple of months, we're gonna go see Paul
Simon at Redrocks take my dad for his birthday. And
it's just like that song has become a part of
my life as much as it was a part of
my dad's and has evolved, and like always like just
all the feels every time I hear hear Simon and Garfunkle,
for sure, specifically that.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
Song, it is a great song. What about for you guys?
Speaker 7 (24:06):
Well, rather than overthinking it, the very first thing that
I thought of when you said that was Debuc's Claire
Daloon And there's obviously not a pop song, but it
is one of those few pieces of music that I
think takes me somewhere else every single time, and somewhere
(24:27):
different every time, and.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
I don't really know.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
It kind of like is one of those lightning rod
songs where you just kind of stop what you're doing
when you hear it, and you listen, and then you know,
a few minutes goes by and you realize you haven't
been doing anything other than just listening to it. I'm
sure there's a lot of you know, I could think
of a lot of bands that you know, contributed to
(24:51):
influences and whatnot. But that's the song that I thought
of first when you said that.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
See, I love that because I always just go with
the gut answer. There's always one thing that comes to mind.
Speaker 4 (25:03):
Sorry, it was a lawnmower that they pulled up next
to me. No worries.
Speaker 5 (25:10):
Yeah, I went the music I could listen to outside
of church music when I.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
Was little was you know, we're like the Beatles and.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
Samon and Garfunk and and uh, you know Blackbirds specifically.
Speaker 4 (25:24):
For me, you know, just I just remember my childhood.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
I remember, you know, driving road trips with my family,
my sisters, you know, like the summer trips. And then
it became a song that I would sing to and
still do to my kids.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
I have two older daughters.
Speaker 5 (25:46):
And now they're twenty and twenty three, and I sing
Blackbird to them every night, and you know, putting them
to sleep, and and I have little ones. You know
that I do the same, and you know, so now
it makes me think of their childhood and growing up.
Speaker 8 (26:03):
And then we have a we had a we had
a story with Paul McCartney when we played Milwaukee Summerfest
and years back and he was playing on a different
stage we're playing at the same time.
Speaker 5 (26:15):
There was some sound bleed from our stage to his,
and so his crew came over before the set and
they were like, hey, keep Paul. Would you know, just
a big question here for you y'all, Like, would would
you mind stopping your set at like fifteen minutes in
so Paul can play Blackbird on acoustic because there's just
a lot of sound bleed and he'd love to play
(26:36):
Blackbird tonight. So we were like, yeah, absolutely, Paul McCartney,
we will stop playing our show. So we got out
on stage told the audience at you know, fifteen minutes in,
we got to stop playing because Paul McCartney's playing Blackbird,
So just you know, you could probably hear it if
you'd be quiet.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
So you know, there's just an evolving story with that
song for in my life, and.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
Uh, you know, I'm sure it'll take on new meanings,
you know, as my life hopefully continues.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I love that. I mean, what do you say when
Paul McCartney says, can you stop so I can play Blackbird?
That's like, nah, we have our own set going.
Speaker 5 (27:22):
And yeah, you know, there's I could name a couple
other artists that we probably would have said no to, but.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Oh, for sure, I don't think there's anybody who would
have said no to Paul. I don't care who you are.
It's like one of it's funny you said you do
it with you too. One of my favorite music stories
of all time involves you too. But I wasn't in
this conversation Ryan Tedder, I'm sure you guys have done
for a long time with some story and this is
the greatest story of all time. He's writing with Bono
(27:54):
and there was a knock on the door in Bono's
assistants like, you have a call and Ryan, and Bono
was like, I'm writing, tell him, I'll call him back.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
And the assistant was like, I really think you should
take this, and Bono was like, who is calling that
you're interrupting? Like right, very nice about it, but just
like dude, I'm writing why and she goes, oh, it's
the Pope.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Yeah. So for you guys, will wrap up on the album.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
You know, we were talking about like the rehearsal and
the nois songs change and it's funny the song that
jumped out of me this morning and again I've listened
a few times, but of course with any good records,
it changes constantly was wherever you reach for me. And
I always love the fact that when you play live,
the audience will say, you know, like you may have
(28:48):
a favorite song you may love still got your Ice
Colt Lakes, and the audience is like yeah, And then
you know, may have been like song I'd rather not
sing is kind of like a throwing in the audience
is like, oh my god, this is the greatest fucking
song I've ever heard.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
So are these songs that you know, you're very excited
to see what the audience makes their own.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
Oh hell yeah, I have no idea what they're gonna
respond to.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
You know, you can start to see numbers, but again,
that doesn't, like you said, like it doesn't translate, and
it's still early, and especially putting music out nowadays, it's
like you gotta like it takes time for people to
even know and to discover. There's so much like in
our faces every day, so you know the fact that
like fans will still be discovering this, you know, in
(29:34):
six months, or people that don't even know the frame
of discovering in eight months.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Like but yeah, like I don't know what people are
gonna respond to.
Speaker 5 (29:44):
We're gonna play a couple of new ones this weekend, uh,
you know, for the first time, and then you know,
summer tour, like that's when that's what we really feel,
you know, the yeah, just what what these songs mean
to folks? And and you know, and we can feel
to a certain extent, we've that doesn't even like you
(30:06):
can't even land on that.
Speaker 9 (30:07):
Because there's songs in the past that haven't really resonated
or weren't singles, you know, and and then now like
this like gen Z has taking the song and like
it's become like part of their story and then they're
coming out and responding to it.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
It's like, whoa, we didn't we didn't see that that
coming at all, So I don't know. You can certainly
feel when when something's falling.
Speaker 5 (30:35):
Flat, and you know, I think you can feel when
the band energy is is falling flat two on a song,
So we certainly have have experienced that quite a bit too.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
But yeah, I'm curious to see what works.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
So for each of you, guys, is one song right
now that you're just like, can't wait to see how
it goes over lot because the course as songs change.
For you guys, when you're playing a chill you know,
you can expand it. You can grateful dat it and
turn it into like a forty five minute you know whatever,
or you know, Jacky prophies or whatever it is. Or
(31:17):
you know, that's a great thing about playing live is
you can take a song that's about and turn it
into a fucking poka. So for you guys, is out
there one song for each of you on this record
they just can't wait to see how it's going to evolve.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
For you guys, yeah, some of those feelings are.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
At least today, I feel a little more nervous than
I do excited because because I'm proud of the record.
I'm proud of how it turned out, and I'm I
want to do the live versions of these songs, you know,
do the songs justice. So let me go first as
probably the one that I'm like that feels like a
little bit of a hill to climb, which is good.
(31:56):
It's like, it's nice to have like a Okay, what's
the live version of song gonna feel like? And you know,
over the years we've felt that way. I have felt
like we got this one in the bag on certain
songs and then we start playing it's like, oh shit,
that's that's okay. We gotta and other ones that you
feel nervous about and they just kind of flow really easily.
Speaker 4 (32:18):
So who knows.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
It's like it's really hard to say, but that's the
one for me that I feel kind of like a
nervous excitement around.
Speaker 7 (32:28):
Yeah, I think, uh, ironically, you mentioned the mine as well.
I think Wherever You Reach for Me is a song
I have been looking forward to seeing how it reacts
with people even before we put it out, and but
that I think is on the list this weekend a
couple of these shows, so you know, it is a.
Speaker 4 (32:48):
Very small sample size.
Speaker 7 (32:49):
It's only two shows, and you know, I'm not exactly
a core core fan base, but nonetheless it will see
the light of day, that song from the stage.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
I'm very curious to see how it goes.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
What about you, mum hm.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
Oh, just I hate the feeling of of of a.
Speaker 5 (33:13):
The the flat song live and you just like poured
your heart into it and you thought it was you know, prognna.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Maybe like it, but it's just part of what we do.
And uh, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (33:30):
I mean, I think, yeah, I'm curious about Tasted Glory Live,
curious about.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
Wherever you reach me.
Speaker 5 (33:40):
I think certain songs on the record, I'm just like
on a performer front, I'm like, I'm like a from
a singer standpoint, I'm more excited about.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
And maybe those are the ones that just feel more
like pocket for me.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
And and unless like Okay, I gotta buckle up for
this and really nail it or or people are going
to like cringe, But yeah, wherever you reach for me
feels like pocket vocal, you know, ice Cold Lakes Pocket.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
There's so there's there's just there's quite a few on
there that I just yeah, I'm excited to deliver live.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Very cool. What do you guys want to add that
we did not talk about.
Speaker 4 (34:31):
I think you're coming it comes to your show. Yeah,
come see your show.
Speaker 5 (34:36):
US or Europe or you know, wherever, wherever you're at,
wherever you're reading this, hopefully we're in a city near you.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Very cool.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Well, congratulations on the record, you know, And it's funny because,
like I said, I've talked to so many bands about this,
and it's just like, you know, again, it's like the
also very simply in life, unless you're deranged, fucking lunicic
who happens to be running the country. You know, as
you get older, you get more comfortable, you get more confident,
(35:06):
and so I mean most ninety percent of bands I've
talked to are just the older you get, the more
you enjoy it because you also, you know, like you
mentioned the Chili Peppers flee as a friend and we've
talked about this.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
You know, when you're young, there's so much competition and
there's this and that, and then you get older and
you realize like none of that shit matters.
Speaker 7 (35:25):
You know.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
So for you guys, are you just feeling like right
now it's just simply more fun?
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Oh for sure, Yeah, it's we we have the gift
of perspective in hindsight a little bit. And yeah, we
feel grateful to even be having this conversation with you
and to even have new music to talk about and
shows on the books.
Speaker 4 (35:46):
It's it's a gift for sure. Oh yeah.
Speaker 5 (35:49):
I mean we're playing on the on a beach this
weekend at a festival, whether I should or not as
a you know, mid aged mail, I'm going to be
probably wearing a tank top and come on, like we're
alive and we're playing music, touring, you know, making new music. Uh,
(36:11):
you know when you're when you're a boy, dreaming about
it like this is the ship, this is the stuff
you look at you like, hope that happens wearing a
tank top on the beach.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Mm hmmm. Yeah, it's funny. Most rock stars do not
have that particular dream. But it's like, you know, why not.
Speaker 4 (36:35):
That's a that's that's a little sarcasm there for your stage.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
You guys. Thanks for your regulations and good talk with
you guys.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Thanks too, Man
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