August 26, 2025 • 68 mins
Great musical chemistry often starts at home. Think of family bands like Sly and the Family Stone, The Beach Boys, the Bee Gees, Haim, Oasis, AC/DC, and The Jacksons. Infinity Song, our guests today, carry on that tradition. Siblings Momo, Abraham, Angel, and Israel Boyd grew up between Detroit and New York City, sharpening their sound wherever they could: in church, in the park, on subway platforms, even around the kitchen table.
Their devotion to performing eventually carried them to bigger stages, guided by their father and manager John Boyd and supported by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Along the way, they’ve developed a unique blend of R&B and folk that they describe as modern-day soft rock.
For today's episode, Justin Richmond sat down with the Boyd siblings live at the Tribeca Festival in New York. They talked about the role music has always played in their family, the pivotal moment when their dad saved the day in a high-stakes meeting with Jay-Z, and they performed a couple of tracks from their album Metamorphosis Complete.
You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite tracks from Infinity Song HERE.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Pushkin. It's my firm belief that our culture doesn't put
enough stock in family bands. I mean, just think about
the groups that include siblings, Sliing the Family Stone, the
Beach Boys, the Beeg's, hiam Oasis, ac DC, the Jacksons.
It makes sense that Ken would develop uniquely powerful musical chemistry.
(00:38):
After all, a love of music usually does start in
the home, and the same is true of our guests today, Momo,
Abraham Angel and Israel Boyd of the group Infinity Saw.
The four siblings were raised in musical households between Detroit
and New York, honing their sound wherever they could, in
churches and parks, subway stations, even around the kitchen table.
(00:59):
That devotion to performing carried them to bigger stages, guided
by their father and manager, John Boyd, and eventually jay
Z's rock Nation and their fervent love of me music
fuels their unmistakable blend of R and B and folk,
a mix they proudly described as modern day soft rock.
I spoke to the Boyd's siblings at the Tribeca Festival
in New York for a live Broken Record event. We
(01:21):
discussed the role of music and their family, how their
Dad came through in the clutch during a make or
Break meeting with jay Z and graciously they performed a
couple of songs from their album Metamorphosis Complete. This is
broken record, real musicians, real conversations. Infinity Song opened our
(01:44):
conversation with the performance of their song Lotus. It's so
great to be here with you guys, and to be
here with Infinity Song at Tribeca Festival of all places.
It's a storied festival, and I think we're here tonight
with talent that will be held in that regard. This
is a new group and they are already have such
(02:08):
incredible music as you'll see tonight their live show and
this is stripped down is phenomenal. So without further Ado Israel,
Angel Abraham and Momo Infinity Song.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Everything short off th yards say the world.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Listen to you, cans me. You're a love honest flower.
You may be.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Everything nassy and last long.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Again and ye now I know the wonderful love.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
And please don't make me want to again.
Speaker 5 (04:43):
The appliance is less. Just send me for for because
now it's take the love to say.
Speaker 6 (04:55):
Since you don't get for love, settle for.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
We could let you because I still go.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Your alone, Flory.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
May weed.
Speaker 6 (05:32):
Everything last see and last still long.
Speaker 5 (05:37):
And now how know ware the food.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Maybe please don't make me laugh again, MANSI.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
Place, just let me fall for because I would take
a lot to sais.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
Toever I lose myself to love. Then last year, I's fine.
And if you're love, it's just a lie.
Speaker 7 (06:17):
If it's telling me lies.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
But not let live to me just a crag me
dona not tell him as now I know, beautiful baby, Please.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Don't make me wise.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Man spends some awful because you would say the love
seems since my aness, I would say the scious less.
(07:21):
Just let me all, because I would say.
Speaker 8 (07:44):
Thank you so much, thank you, thank youes and gentlemen.
Once again we are infinity song. My name is Abraham,
my name is Momo.
Speaker 9 (07:59):
Hey, I'm angel and I'm in Drew and we've got
one more song for you before we get into the evening.
Speaker 10 (08:08):
Yeah, let's go.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
Now here you go again.
Speaker 11 (08:29):
You say you want your freeedom, Well, well, my gi me,
it's trying to ride.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
You should play away your feeling.
Speaker 12 (08:47):
But listen carefully to that sounds a long meess, like.
Speaker 7 (08:55):
A harpy jassy man.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Still song never not all want to tell you now
as you all know, pray enough place they say A
(09:32):
little man, welcome man when watches you thing you know? No,
I'll go again see the crystal leave.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
I came up vi first want.
Speaker 13 (10:05):
It's only me who wants you Apparon your dream.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
Have you an your dreams?
Speaker 6 (10:14):
You like to sell loneliness like.
Speaker 14 (10:19):
The Holy Giving in the stool and star remembering, watch
and watch Lounlogynagy.
Speaker 5 (10:40):
Wonders mistress when last.
Speaker 7 (10:56):
And say, well, man go mad in.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Clean you.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
Watch, Let you know, let you know.
Speaker 15 (11:39):
Lest too much.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
Names mus be racy, let's to much you.
Speaker 15 (11:52):
Want?
Speaker 5 (11:52):
You don't want? You listen at mess too.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Small Spot sweet team to Scott Spot.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
I gotta say, through this job, I've been privileged to
be around a lot of performers. Baby Face comes to
mind seeing him perform up close and personal. Neil Young, Right,
but this is my first time getting a chance to
see you guys, and just getting to see the love
(13:51):
of music that you guys have and the passion you
guys have for performing. It warms my heart because it's
something that I see a lot in an older generation.
But I don't always see the love of performance, and
I don't see I don't always see that passion flowing
through people. When you guys perform, it's evident that there
was probably nothing else you guys could have done, but
(14:12):
be musicians. Do you feel like there's anything else you
guys can I mean, this seems like what you were
born to do.
Speaker 9 (14:19):
Well, I guess that's a loaded question in the sense. Well,
first of all, thank you for having us. We've had
many conversations since being here, but this is for you guys,
So thank you justin for having us. We are so
appreciative have the privilege of this conversation. So our parents
(14:41):
raised us, I think, to be able to do anything.
That was a mindset in our family. But so they
raised us to pursue excellence and to pursue being well
rounded people with integrity and character.
Speaker 10 (14:59):
But music was the.
Speaker 9 (15:03):
Tool that was used to develop that in us. So
I probably couldn't be anything but a singer only by choice.
I could be more, but it's it just wouldn't work
for me. But that everybody has their own answer.
Speaker 16 (15:21):
Yeah, I would say performance is definitely like one of
the loves of our lives.
Speaker 17 (15:26):
We've been performing for so long. It's really funny.
Speaker 16 (15:31):
Some people who have seen us perform more than once
know that usually on dreams we actually come back in.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Did I ruin it? Did I come up too soon?
Speaker 17 (15:44):
We should have warned you.
Speaker 5 (15:45):
I should have come earlier in.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
The week and got to the blue note.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
I messed up.
Speaker 17 (15:49):
So we do like we fake end it, you know,
built the tension, and then we come back.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Guys, let me go walk off this day. I failed already.
I have failed everyone here. I have failed you, guys, myself.
I mean, she just wanted to say that, Yeah, that's what.
Speaker 16 (16:09):
Okay, you know, if you still want us to come
back and we can.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Bring it back, bring it back, bring it back.
Speaker 17 (16:19):
So serious, I want it to come back in.
Speaker 10 (16:25):
Don't go no, no, no, you gotta no. This is
a part of the conversation.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Let's you know, you know, cities, the.
Speaker 7 (17:22):
Watching, the watch, the watching, the.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Us cher, the house, the lot, hot y log house,
the fine fine.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
Fine, spe.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Berg, spurge, urgie, scrge.
Speaker 13 (19:11):
Thunder bad, when it's raining, play.
Speaker 12 (19:29):
Well, let's say weapon they will come and then well go.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Sh shoes clean.
Speaker 10 (20:24):
Okay, okay, so now we have been anything else.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Let's back to the qu not all the hold though
that was worth the public shaming.
Speaker 17 (20:37):
All right, that was wonderful, just public informant.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
It was a wonderful PSA. I am so glad you
brought that to my attention. Yes, but back to the court.
I mean, come on, there's no way you guys were
born to do this. Did you hear that? Unbelievable but
loaded question, leading question? You guys probably have your own thoughts,
you know.
Speaker 18 (21:02):
I mean obviously there's like you can get into a
lot of philosophy and all that, but I would say, yeah,
we were you know, we were born to do this.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
This cover of Dreams is beautiful, you know, and it's
not something that would have been not even that long ago.
It would have been shocking to see, you know, four
black siblings just killing Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. You know,
like because that's in the territory of classic rock, and.
Speaker 10 (21:32):
You know, there's so much that could be said.
Speaker 9 (21:34):
I mean, it really isn't novelty to us on that
On that side, it's it's real and it's organic to us.
It's music that we enjoy and most importantly, it's music
that we can all come together around. A song is
a song, and a song sure, different cultures contribute songs
(21:57):
to the world, and your different cultures contribute perspectives to
the world, but once it leaves and it's released to
the world, it belongs to the world, quite frankly, and
so you know, unless you're gonna block the dissemination of the.
Speaker 10 (22:15):
Creative, Like I like that song, I want to sing it.
Speaker 9 (22:19):
That's that's what it is super cool about music, and
we're starting to see it, you know, boundaries and different
cultural and ethnic backgrounds, the way hip hop really got
like the biggest consumers of say hip hop suddenly or
not or not who created hip hop or not.
Speaker 10 (22:39):
It's just changed the way that.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
It's ship Like blue happened to blues music and everything,
and it's just like.
Speaker 9 (22:46):
Okay, suddenly it's for the world, yes, and it's kind
of nice. Yeah, it's a really beautiful way of putting
it that music and music is for the world. And
that was the for so many years, the issue with
putting music in a in a genre and essentially in
a box and done by a marketing team to market
to certain audit you know, and it's like it.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Does it don't even matter, It doesn't matter what Everyone
likes the same stuff. Everyone likes the same stuff, who
doesn't like Dolly part who doesn't like Beyonce, who doesn't
like Whitney.
Speaker 17 (23:12):
You know, it's like, come on, yeah, okay, yes I will.
Music is for the world. Music is great, but.
Speaker 16 (23:23):
There's still very much an ongoing conversation about genre and
about who's allowed to sing this genre or that genre.
I think specifically, I think Cowboy Carter is a great
example of you know, a woman who grew up in
Texas who really identifies with country roots and has so much,
(23:47):
so much, so much, so much to say in this sphere,
but then wasn't necessarily embraced, you know, because she hasn't
been doing that like full out for years.
Speaker 17 (24:01):
And you know, that's.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
To be clear.
Speaker 9 (24:07):
I think genre is valuable, and I think building a
culture is valuable. So I don't really have too crazy
of a problem with gatekeeping a culture, because if you
build a culture and it becomes potent and important to
the world, I think you can be protective of it.
(24:28):
I think the challenge is, and my thinking is, let's
not be controversial this conversation. I think the challenge is
that it's not equal, meaning the guardianship of genres is
not equal, of course, and the beneficiaries of genres are
(24:52):
not I don't want to go to right, you're right.
Speaker 16 (24:56):
But one thing I will say is that specifically, you know,
America is a very.
Speaker 17 (25:04):
Particular place.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
You are so politic, let's wrap it up, okay, But.
Speaker 16 (25:16):
But a lot of the genres, the roots of them,
you know, these genres did not just pop up out
of nowhere in the last fifty years, you know. And
then I think where the problem lies is when people
forget or they're not educated, and they and and by
the way, it's not only like if we're talking strictly
(25:39):
white and black. It's not only white people who will
look at us or you know, someone black and say like, oh,
you shouldn't.
Speaker 17 (25:48):
Be doing country, you shouldn't been doing rock.
Speaker 16 (25:50):
A lot of times we'll say that to ourselves, not us,
but you know, black people will say that to ourselves
because there just is like a lack of education on
just how the foundation of these genres came to be,
you know. And so I think overall, we just don't
(26:12):
know the history of things, which is why Cowboy Carter
is so cool because now we're getting into the nitty gritty.
Now we're saying, now we're seeing like with the backlash.
It forces all of us to study, to read, to
learn to look past the past like twenty five fifty
years and look really look into like the origins of
these things, right, and then so it then opens up
(26:36):
the conversation for all of us to feel at home
here instead of it being like one person, one group
of people, it's like, no, the evolution of this genre.
Speaker 17 (26:45):
Was actually very integrated.
Speaker 16 (26:47):
It's a lot of people coming together and just trying
to make something good, you know. And so when you
kind of are forced to look back into the history
of things, I think that's when change is made and
you know, we can move forward because because if we're
if we're listening to like, okay, granted I'm twenty six,
but if we're listening to twenty year olds, they're only
(27:09):
gonna know what's you know, what's been put in front
of their face over the past like ten fifteen years,
if they haven't actively gone and looked and studied. So
we've got to really and the people who are leading
the conversations a lot of times on the internet are
twenty year olds.
Speaker 17 (27:24):
So yes, you know, so it's just very very very
you know, it's very layered.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Naturally, that's why a group like you guys is so important.
It's so beautiful, you know. And I grew up playing guitar,
and it was like it was like, you know, it
wasn't a rock band. You know, people be like, yo,
what the I'm like, well, yeah, I like I like,
you know what I saw Hendrix. I was like, I
want to be I groom my hair out. I was like,
I want to be Hendrix. You know, I didn't turn
out to be Hendrix. You're closer to him than me.
It's real. But you know, it's like there's there really
shouldn't be limitations put on us again not to get
(27:53):
we can move out of the controversial as.
Speaker 10 (27:55):
It shouldn't be that controversial.
Speaker 9 (27:57):
But I think it's a it's a it's like a
minefield because one of these sidebars you could really say
something crazy.
Speaker 10 (28:09):
That's what I asked.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
Have you guys met Beyonce?
Speaker 17 (28:12):
Yeah, we have. We didn't sign an NDA, so yeah,
we can talk about it a few times, just casually, casually.
Speaker 10 (28:22):
There's no such things. No, there's no such thing as
meeting Beyonce casually.
Speaker 16 (28:30):
I just mean it wasn't under the like you know,
under like a work environment. So we didn't have to
sign anything.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Okay, Okay, well, I mean yeah, for context, you guys
are signed to rock Nation, which is jay Z's label,
which is why I asked if you guys have met
Beyonce is the affiliation? Did you guys play her any music?
Had she heard it?
Speaker 10 (28:48):
Or we didn't play her music?
Speaker 18 (28:51):
But I believe that we have heard that she has
heard our music. But yeah, it was just an honor
always to meet such an icon and a legend. Always
been very gracious to us as well, and so yeah,
we love her, big fans of her on and off
the stage.
Speaker 17 (29:10):
Yeah, she's really nice.
Speaker 19 (29:12):
And she always points at our eyebrows because we like
Israel has a very strong example of this, but in
our I don't know, in our fan our geens, we
have like an eyebrow flick or something, and I think
she has the same thing. And like in her childhood
pictures you can see she has one eyebrow that goes
really up, so she'll like.
Speaker 20 (29:33):
The eyebrows rounds them now always it might be a stretch,
but well, the few times we've met her, she has
been very excited to see that we have that in common.
Speaker 17 (29:46):
She's like my cousins.
Speaker 10 (29:49):
Please thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Yeah, I would die to have some cons family life.
This message is brought to you by Starbucks. It's the
best time of the year. The Punkin Spice Latte is
back at Starbucks. The return of the PSL marks the
unf official start of the fall season, and thinking back
(30:12):
to when I used to work at a Starbucks cafe,
I can remember the excitement that came with the return
of the beloved classic. The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is
hand crafted with Starbucks signature espresso, steamed milk, and real pumpkin,
then topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spices for
an indulgent taste of fall. And it's available as a
hotter ice drink, perfect for whatever you're craving this season.
(30:35):
The Starbucks PSL is my signal that fall is here.
There's something about the bright notes of real pumpkin, cinnamon,
and nutmeg. The flavors are so rich and vibrant, like
they bottled the best parts of the season. From the
very first sip, it feels like fall has arrived no
matter the weather outside, and the return of fall also
reminds me of fall playlists, songs, layered with rich vocals,
(30:57):
acoustic textures, and a hint of nostalgia. And just like
how we all have favorite tracks for the summer, there
are some songs that just feel like fall. So to
help me celebrate the return of the starbar psl and
the start of the fall season, I'm joined to buy
a broken record co host Leah Rhodse to build a
fall playlist with some of our favorites. Leah, thanks for
joining me.
Speaker 21 (31:18):
Thank you, justin I'm so excited to build this playlist.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
First song I thought to add to this was Villain
by Anastasia, an artist who just had on broken record.
Her new album Tether is incredible and for me, when
I think about a fall song, I don't think there's
much daylight between what a fall song is and the
song that you might play if you wake up before
everyone else in your house five forty five am, six am,
(31:42):
and put on a pot of coffee Starbucks roast of course,
and then you sit at your kitchen table and just
watch that misclear, watch that sun come up fully, and
you're sitting there in your house in the morning in peace,
like whatever that feeling is that happens when you do that,
like that's what this song feels like to me, so
that that would be my first pick to start us
off here.
Speaker 22 (32:03):
Yes, I feel that so deeply, and I feel like
Anastasia especially you mentioned fall songs having rich vocals, and
she has just like such deeply rich vocals.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Absolutely, Leo, what would what would you add?
Speaker 22 (32:18):
My first pick would be Simon and Garfunkel's America. Oh
my gosh, there's something about this song. It's just like
so grand and sweeping and you know, thinking about possibility
and potential, and I feel like for some reason it
suits fall.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
It fits that it fits that in line. Yeah, you
know of a question I found myself asking when when
fall hits, like where does the time go?
Speaker 22 (32:44):
You know?
Speaker 1 (32:45):
And so I felt like a really natural pick for
a playlist like this was Fairport Convention, Who Knows Where
the Time goes, which is also just beautiful, beautiful song.
It's a fall morning for me.
Speaker 22 (32:58):
Yeah, sometimes, especially fall mornings, especially if you have a
PSL in hand, you get a little hop to your step,
you might leave the house go on a nice brisk,
crisp walk. A song that I would put on for
that moment would be Tom Petty's Time to Move.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
On that's a walking in rhythm right there, that's pick
me up walk in rhythm.
Speaker 8 (33:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 22 (33:21):
There's something about the tone of Tom Petty's voice too,
that somehow plays into the Fall theme.
Speaker 21 (33:26):
It's hard to explain, but I hear it.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Well, it feels very familiar, and it feels very warm,
you know, if Tom has such a warm voice and
the songwriting is just you know, unbelievable. Of course, I'm
gonna add Junior Varsity Cross the Street to this list
because even though this song is much more a beat
than the other songs I've picked so far, it has
I don't know, it's like maybe it's that that almost
(33:49):
cheerleader chant one of the singers does on this song,
but it reminds me of like a back to school moment.
Speaker 16 (33:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 22 (33:56):
I think it's good to include some of the upbeat
songs too, because for Fall, it's really easy to get
stuck in like a like the cozy, nostalgic, almost kind
of down tempo songs, but there is a feeling of like,
all right, we gotta get going, we're back.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Yeah, yeah, it's the back to school There is an upbeat.
Fall isn't all slow and languid.
Speaker 22 (34:16):
Like it can be it can be fast, it can
also be very moody and kind of vibe. So my
next pick is Ermano Scutierre's Low Sun.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Mom My Boys.
Speaker 21 (34:28):
I love these guys so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Yeah, the way these guys play, they play with such
feeling and that just gets transmitted right through the record,
Like I love it.
Speaker 21 (34:38):
And this is a more contemplative song.
Speaker 22 (34:40):
So if you're in the fall mood where you just
sort of want to sit and you want to just
sort of think about where you're going, what you want
to do, this is an incredible song.
Speaker 17 (34:48):
For that too.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
And it's an instrumental, So you know what I'm gonna
I'm gonna pick. I'm gonna pick an instrumental. This is
from the album We three from the drummer Roy Haynes,
pianist Phineas Newborn Junior, and bass player Paul Chambers. Three
classic classic incredible jazz musicians. I'll pick the song Reflection
from the Week three album. There's just like a crispness
(35:10):
to this song and there's like a Christnas to Roy
Haynes playing. I mean, he used to call him snap
Crackle because it's just that the way he would just
hit that snare and hit the ride and the high hat.
So that song feels like Chris fall Day to me.
Plus you know, gotta have some jazz representation on the playlist.
Speaker 21 (35:26):
Yeah, okay, So my next pick it's a little bit.
It's a little bit different. Crosby still's a Nash Sweet
Judy blue Eyes, whoa one.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Of the great songs of all. I love that song.
Speaker 21 (35:36):
Come on, oh this song again. I don't know what
it is.
Speaker 22 (35:40):
It's hard to describe, but something about like the reflection
talking about I am lonely.
Speaker 21 (35:46):
It's so beautiful and it has those acoustic tones.
Speaker 22 (35:48):
It has all the things that you were talking about,
has the beautiful harmonies, has the vintage feel.
Speaker 21 (35:53):
It's a perfect song.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Okay, okay, so you know what, I'm gonna round out
my portion of the list. I'll less you have last
pick LEO, but I'll round out my portion of this
list with this great young Newish Australian artist, Grace Cummins,
with the song you gave unbelievable the vocals, incredible, songwriting
is amazing. You know, it doesn't have the patina on
(36:16):
it that like a Sweet Jerty blue Eyes does, But
in my view, it's it's equally undeniable.
Speaker 8 (36:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 22 (36:22):
Her voice is just so magnetic, it just pulls you in.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
All right, Lea, I'll let you round this out. I'll
let you take us home. Okay.
Speaker 22 (36:29):
My final pick, I'm going to stick with the Laurel
Canyon scene. I'm gonna go with Joni Mitchell from Blue
A Case of You.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Oh yeah, Man, Blue this song, but Blue in general.
Come on, that's the consummate Fall album.
Speaker 10 (36:45):
Oh.
Speaker 21 (36:46):
Just the songwriting is just unmatched, so gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Well, we've book ended this playlist with two great singer songwriters,
Anastasia Joni Mitchell. Incredible voices on the two of them.
Speaker 21 (37:00):
Yeah, for sure, I'm going to be listening to this
all throughout Fall.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
I'll be listening to them too. If you haven't heard
some of these songs, to add them to your cue.
We'll drop the full play list in this episode show
notes so you can sip on your PSL and enjoy
a soundtrack for the season.
Speaker 10 (37:17):
Hotter Iced.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
The Pumpkin Spice Latte is available now at Starbucks for
a limited time. Grab one, throw on your headphones, and
let the season begin. It doesn't fall without the PSL.
The Starbucks Pumpkin spice Latte, get it while it's hot
or iced your Rock Nation is such a cool group.
There's so many great and cool artists on it. I
(37:38):
just interviewed Bootsy Collins like last week and they just
picked up like Bootsy Collins and you're like, what, like,
what in the world, Like, it's such a wonderful collection
of artists. What's it like being heralded by someone like
jay Z? You know, because it's like it's an honor,
but it also could be like heavy, I'd imagine, right,
Like one thing.
Speaker 10 (37:56):
That it has not been is heavy.
Speaker 9 (37:59):
I do have to say that because when we signed,
we signed roughly almost we signed nine years ago as
a family. It was a joint venture between our famili's
company and rock Nation and there was really a connection
between him and our dad that set the relationship off
to a really, really good start, and there was an
(38:22):
understanding there. I can't really speak to it crazy, but
because I think it was like a relationship man to man,
and sure we were there, but there was a trust
there that so it's been very free for us as
a group. So we switched genres. We were doing more
(38:45):
R and B leaning and then we walked into the
label one day and said, we're doing soft rock.
Speaker 14 (38:53):
Now.
Speaker 10 (38:56):
Can you imagine the freedom that you have to have
to be able to do that.
Speaker 9 (39:00):
And early on in the relationship, one of the meetings,
jay Z he gave us permission and empowered us to
run our own race. He said the words, don't try
to catch up to us, wait for us to catch
up to you, and so that that was very empowering
and to set the tone for the relationship. I'm not
going to say that we've never, you know, disagreed on
(39:22):
anything within the label, because that just wouldn't be honest.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
Controversially, Brahm, No, no, No.
Speaker 9 (39:29):
What I'm saying is it's been a great relationship. It's
worked out really really well. So you have to put
I mean, that's cool. It's a record label, meaning you
have to kind of set the tone in some way,
and you were given permission by you know, this is incredible,
and that's what I That's why I said, of course
we've disagreed, and he said that in the meeting. He's like,
we will disagree on some things, but he said, do
(39:51):
not try to catch up. I want to frame it
in a way that just because you're given permission does
not mean that you don't have challenges. That's more my
thinking in the framing.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Yeah, the change from R and B soft rock, How
does that happen? That transpire within the group? Liked what
made you guys gravitate towards that kind of music.
Speaker 19 (40:15):
It's something that kind of happened organically. It's really hard
to when you're trying to figure out how to position
yourself or market yourself. I think you can get really
in your head about what's the right move for me.
It just so happened that I was in a space
(40:36):
where I wanted to keep doing things in life that
felt good. We were posting covers online of songs and
dreams by Fleetwood. Mac was one of these covers that
we posted went viral. Was just a huge you know,
our arrangement of it was so singular, and so when
we put it online, like everybody loved it and we
(40:57):
moved on. We did other covers a few months goes by,
and there was something about the way that we performed
that song and arranged that song. I just remember us
before ever posting it, like coming up with that like
end tag in the back room of our house where
we rehearse, Like I just remember us wanting to sing
(41:17):
it over and over and over again, and being completely honest,
when you're working with your siblings, that doesn't happen every day.
It's more so like you want to stop singing as
soon as possible and move on so fast forward, like okay,
thinking about the future of the band, Like if I
wanted this to feel like something every day, it would
(41:38):
be that moment.
Speaker 17 (41:39):
So that's how I.
Speaker 19 (41:40):
Kind of framed it in my mind, and I was
thinking about it, I was like, maybe we need to
sing more of that kind of style of music, and
I just presented the idea to everyone else after thinking
about it for a long time. I was like, actually,
as a collective, I think soft rock really does represent
us because it's a genre where we can each collectively
(42:04):
like play to our strengths all at the same time.
It's not one person's you know, in their sweet spot
and the other people are like struggling or whatever. It's
like equally across the board, able to highlight us as
both a group and individuals at the same time. So
everyone kind of was like, oh, yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 16 (42:24):
I would also say when we did sign to rock Nation,
we didn't really we didn't necessarily sign with a genre
picked out. You know, we like kind of I don't
want to say we auditioned for jay Z, but we
did perform on the top floor for him in the office,
and it looked something like this with a guitar and
(42:47):
us just singing like we did with the guitar. No, no,
Victory was playing the guitar, and then we were all singing.
So it wasn't like we came in with five songs
ready to be played that are in the studio and
they're leaning towards a genre. Like there was no genre
picked out for us, but he more so saw the
(43:07):
vision of us, and he saw similarities.
Speaker 17 (43:10):
Between our story and his story.
Speaker 16 (43:12):
And you know, he sold his CDs out the back
of his truck and we would sell CDs when we
were growing up, Like our dad would have us in
the studio just working on old songs like hymns and
gospel songs, but also songs that he had written or
we'd written together, and we would sell those like we
would sell them to people on the street, like, hey
(43:33):
want to buy our music, and so like that kind
of foundational drive, I think more is what he signed
us for. So when we did start getting in the
studio and making music commercially. I think it was more
of a maybe a self imposed pressure to do what
(43:54):
felt like it could be commercially viable. Like he never
told us like you gotta do R and B, but
you know, trying to find your legs and trying to
find out.
Speaker 17 (44:05):
Like, Okay, it's just a part of the process.
Speaker 16 (44:08):
You go through different genres, you go through different things
until you kind of return home, or you kind of
return back to what you've always done, which is melding
our voices together in sweet harmonic ways and writing very
honest and truthful lyrics and finding a place, like Angel said,
(44:29):
finding a place for us all to shine. So we
were never told to be R and B or pop.
It was just kind of part of the process until
we landed to something that felt so natural.
Speaker 1 (44:41):
It's amazing.
Speaker 9 (44:43):
Wait very quickly, there's one aspect of this story that
I feel like I need to tell because people don't
know it. So this might be the first time I'm
telling this story. So key fact, our dad he somehow
got I don't remember how it happened, but he got
in contact with jay Z and he sent him an email.
(45:04):
I don't know how it happened, but we ended up
in the office. Then our dad had a pitch a pit.
He was going to pitch the family to Jay Z.
He brought a deck, a whole deck. Spent I don't
know how many days building this deck, and so we
get in the room. It's just it's it's our family.
(45:26):
It's Jay and it's Tai Chai. And now someone else
was there, and it's our family. And he starts going
through the deck line by line by line by line
by line, and it probably the presentation probably took twenty
minutes or something.
Speaker 10 (45:42):
And he was nervous for sure. I don't know.
Speaker 9 (45:45):
I would have to ask him how he felt, but
he I anticipate he was nervous by the time he
got done through the deck.
Speaker 10 (45:53):
The next thing we were being offered was a record deal.
Like it was instant.
Speaker 9 (46:01):
It's hard to put into as we're talking about this
relationship and the nine years and the work and all
of that stuff and our story and our history. It's
pretty crazy and pretty admirable, and it's just a byproduct
of what we keep in mind as we continue forward,
(46:24):
Like I'll never forget that deck.
Speaker 1 (46:27):
Yeah, I feel like you should teach a masterclass all
the way. We don't bring that deck out.
Speaker 9 (46:30):
That's oh, I just made the connection. Okay, Yeah, Father's
Day is on Sunday. Heavy Father's Day, great occasion on
our fall.
Speaker 1 (46:41):
Mister boy After one last break, we're back with the
rest of my conversation with Infinity Song from the Tribeca Festival.
You said, Abraham that you're when you guys were raised
And by the way, hometown band was an asking top
New York. Yes, New York by way of Detroit. Yes,
(47:02):
I just want to make that clear because Detroit is
one of the great American cities produce some of the
great American votevocalists, and you guys in some way are
in that tradition and some others as well. But it's
just but you were raised in Detroit and you partially
and you said that your dad used music as an
instrument to teach you guys all kinds of things.
Speaker 23 (47:24):
And yeah, he's here, by the way, it's right there,
mister Boyd, And he used it growing up.
Speaker 9 (47:35):
But it's also something that he still uses to kind
of mentor us and teach us. He's our manager as well,
so we it's been a tool since childhood and it's
something that is still a tool of learning for us
as a family. So Detroit gave us our talent. New
York gave us our dreams, and that's often the story.
(47:58):
Usually it's hard to break through in the Midwest. The
South has figured it out that the Midwest is not.
So that's our story as well.
Speaker 1 (48:09):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I just want to make clear. So
four siblings are here, but how many total were in
the house growing up?
Speaker 17 (48:16):
There are nine of us and in total.
Speaker 1 (48:19):
Yeah, yeah, that's a job alled don dad. As a
dad myself, I'm not can only hope to.
Speaker 10 (48:25):
Wait, how many do you have?
Speaker 4 (48:27):
Two?
Speaker 1 (48:27):
And one on the way?
Speaker 10 (48:28):
So when when is the new one?
Speaker 1 (48:31):
September?
Speaker 9 (48:32):
Ooh yeah yeah, yeah, I'm a bar full summer.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
This is so many ways, but yeah, I could only
I mean, without pushing music on my kids, I hope
I try to keep the house musical. And similarly, I
hope I'm trying to use music as a way to
teach my kids, not mean that that there'll be musicians,
but just to teach them that you mentioned integrity. You
can learn so much about integrity and character through music
(49:01):
and through having a love of music, because it really
connects you to humanity and the people around you. Were
you guys in a musical house? What was the how
or how was it musical? It was clearly musical, But
how was it musical?
Speaker 17 (49:15):
It was musical in the small ways and the big ways.
Speaker 16 (49:19):
So like waking my dad waking us up by blasting
music through the speaker, you know, singing, we're.
Speaker 17 (49:28):
Just singing really loudly.
Speaker 16 (49:31):
Or every day gathering around the table and he's beating
on the table, using the table as a drum, and
he has us improvising on the spot. I remember being
so young when my older siblings would jump in and
be able to make up words and make.
Speaker 17 (49:48):
Up melodies, and I was like, will I ever be
able to improvise like that?
Speaker 3 (49:54):
You know?
Speaker 16 (49:55):
So it was just the household of adapting, learning on
the spot, being able to be creative and think outside
of the box a little bit. I think that's when
you're young, you don't really understand all the lessons that
you're being taught, you know. And a lot of people
(50:15):
use so many mediums to teach their kids. Their sports families,
they are like film family. There are so many different
ways to teach your kids these fundamental life lessons. But
I think music being our dads, our parents' way was
so powerful because that's what you need. You need a
spirit of creativity. You need to be able to think
(50:37):
on your feet. You need to be able to deliver
a riveting performance in other ways in other areas of life,
and you know, win people over and speak people's language from.
Speaker 17 (50:49):
Heart to heart and unite people.
Speaker 16 (50:52):
You know, there's so many lessons that music teaches us
that you only start to realize when you get a
little bit older.
Speaker 1 (51:00):
I imagine the church as well had to do that
for you guys.
Speaker 19 (51:02):
Right.
Speaker 9 (51:03):
So for us growing up, we were exposed to a
lot of music, but we were not exposed.
Speaker 10 (51:10):
To all music growing up.
Speaker 9 (51:13):
So what that means is we grew up really steeped
in gospel music, classical music, and jazz, and then fourth
it was soul, but it wasn't like all soul.
Speaker 10 (51:29):
It was like Marvin Gay and the Earth Wind and
Fire and like ron Isley. It was a limited list.
Speaker 9 (51:39):
It wasn't it wasn't it wasn't everybody, and so I
think it was by design. Those were really foundational genres
that taught us. Music are to being a choir director,
having multiple choirs. Back in Detroit, choral music was was
key to our foundation. So we really didn't get into
(52:05):
pop music until teenage years. Which it's funny because now
we do prop me. I don't know, well, how.
Speaker 1 (52:14):
Does that happen? How how do you guys go from
you know, if the order of operations musically in the
home was gospel, classical, jazz, and a smattering of top
shelf soul, then how do you guys go from that's
your diet to when you guys are performing becoming more
of a pop group?
Speaker 18 (52:34):
I would say Also a big part of it is
that we all grew up obviously informed by the same
you know route, but we all took different things. We're
all different branches of the same tree. So you know,
Momo or Abram or Angel or whoever might gravitate more
towards one thing, and then I might gravitate gravitate more
(52:56):
towards another thing, and I think over time that just
that shaped us. You're hearing kind of an amalgamation, you know,
Like I remember growing up on gospel and classical in jazz,
but I didn't actually like I didn't understand music for
myself or even really listen to music. Until I was
(53:16):
sixteen or seventeen. So there was like when I was
a child and I would hear gospel or classical and
jazz in the house and I loved especially like an
artist my dad would play, Pat Metheeni was a really
big fan of him. I was around thirteen, maybe fourteen.
We were doing an interview and somebody asked, what's who
are your favorite artists? And I had no idea because
(53:39):
I didn't I understood music.
Speaker 5 (53:41):
I just didn't.
Speaker 18 (53:42):
I had not discovered it for myself. So I was
like Michael Jackson and I don't know, I liked these genres.
And then as I got older personally, it was it
wasn't so much discovering what I like more so it
was like putting faces to the things I already knew
I liked since I was a child. So I remember,
(54:03):
I don't know if we're supposed to say his name anymore,
but Kanye. I remember the first time, first time I
listened to him, I was like, oh, this puts this
puts a I think the first song I heard was
Blood on the Leaves, and I was like, this sounds
like you know, it was almost rock, you know, the
way he the spirit with which he, you know, wrote
that music. And but that's just one example. Then you
(54:26):
have just you know, over time, just musicians that I
personally gravitated towards that just uncovered what I like and
all that. I think that's kind of the thing for
all of us. The way, the way we developed as
a unit was that we all obviously have the same foundation,
but we all are very unique and Infinity Song does
(54:49):
not sound like any one of us. It sounds like
the collection of us truly. So that's how we get
to this. It's like, well, what do you like and
what do you like?
Speaker 10 (54:58):
What do you like? And then it comes to this
kind of home.
Speaker 1 (55:02):
Is that part of the writing process too, Like someone
brings an idea and then each person teases out what
their part is, or do you does someone come with
a fully formed idea like I believe you wrote pink
Sky right.
Speaker 10 (55:17):
So yeah, usually it's someone.
Speaker 18 (55:19):
Sometimes we write together, but actually we usually write separately.
But I think that even in our separate writings, I
think we all take into account the ear and the
temperament of the other performers, because you know, we're not
performing ourselves. So when I write, or when Angel writes
or whoever writes. I we just write for the group,
not for ourselves, because that's a whole whole different thing,
(55:42):
different temperament, different everything.
Speaker 1 (55:45):
Yeah, and you guys had it at one point another
sister in the group, Victory, and she did some of
the writing too, So I imagine, and do you guys
still work with her or are you guys writing with
her on any level?
Speaker 10 (55:58):
We look forward to I think that.
Speaker 9 (56:01):
I mean, that's our sister, So there's always an opportunity
to collaborate, always an opportunity to work together right together.
When she went solo, I think there was a real
desire for her to build her own sound, and also
we had to do a lot of work because Victory
is a founding member of Infinity Song and our sound
(56:25):
was very much rooted in her musical paradigm when she
was in the band, and so we actually had to
relearn how we do music when she went solo. And
that was a blessing, but it was also extremely challenging
in terms of just the anatomy of what do we
(56:46):
sound like now? Going from twenty losing twenty percent of
the band and then also like fifty percent of the
creative DNA that was that was that was very challenging.
Speaker 1 (56:59):
But until you can learn to, of course, reconfigure the
creative process and supplement the fifty and become your own
and find you right like I imagine you guys now
as a four some are finding your path creatively, like
Metamorphous is complete. It's such a wonderful project. And American
Love Song is a new song that came out. It's incredible,
really well written, beautiful song. So yeah, it seems like
(57:24):
you guys are are without victory finding it'd be like
earth Wind and Fire finding the way without you know,
Maurice or something. You guys are figuring it out.
Speaker 17 (57:33):
Oh absolutely, I think so.
Speaker 16 (57:35):
Metamorphosis complete was like completely written by US four, completely
written and produced by US four, and at this point
it is exactly like, Yeah, it was.
Speaker 10 (57:50):
A hard year, to be clear.
Speaker 9 (57:52):
It was one year where we were trying to figure
it out and then thank god, we came out with
better music than we've ever created together.
Speaker 10 (58:00):
So it's it's quite remarkable.
Speaker 17 (58:02):
Yeah, I would agree for.
Speaker 1 (58:05):
You, momo. How what was your sort of trajectory through
discovering guitar and finding your voice?
Speaker 16 (58:13):
So obviously the foundation that we've already you know, disclosed
like growing up in the household that I did, learning
so much from my dad. But then, as Israel pointed out,
like once you, once each of us reached a certain
age in like adolescence, you kind of have an awakening
(58:35):
like Okay, what do I really want to do? How
do I really want to sound? And I remember being
about eleven or twelve or something, and the biggest woman
singer influence that I had was Victory actually, funnily enough,
and I remember thinking, she has the best voice I've
(58:57):
ever heard. I want to sound just like her. And
you know, I would just watch her warming up, watch
her performing, and I would be like, Okay, if I
can sound like her, I will be very happy. And
that was my only goal. How do I sound like her?
Like when people cite their influences and like they say like, oh,
I learned this from Lauren Hill, And I learned that
(59:18):
from She's one of my initial influences.
Speaker 17 (59:22):
You know, No, Victory, Okay.
Speaker 1 (59:26):
Also Lauren, you said Lauren and that sort of thing
about unplugged.
Speaker 16 (59:28):
In the guitar and no, absolutely I was gonna get
to her next because absolutely huge. The Unplugged album actually
changed my life. Also, Donnie Hathaway, just excellent in every way.
Nina Simone as well, just excellent at what she does,
but so unique. Same for Ella Fitzgerald.
Speaker 17 (59:48):
Like I love vocalists that.
Speaker 16 (59:52):
They aren't necessarily doing every riff and run under the sun,
but they have a very distinct voice. Donnie Hathaway, his
voice can come on and you know just who that is,
there's no question, and he can stop time, he can
stop the room. Same for Nina Simone, lingud comes on,
everybody silent, you know, So like that type of grounded
(01:00:15):
vocal ability is rare but so powerful. Really inspired me
when I was like sixteen seventeen and just finding my
legs and then from there discovering more like current artists
and being like.
Speaker 17 (01:00:29):
Wait, okay, I kind of like pop, okay, kind of
like rock that's cool.
Speaker 16 (01:00:33):
Too, and then just taking what I like from each
of these, each of these artists, each of these genres,
and doing my best to, like you know, as any
artist does, doing your best to use it all to
make one one thing for yourself, one lane for yourself.
Speaker 1 (01:00:50):
I'm gonna let you guys do your song metamorphosis.
Speaker 24 (01:01:11):
I've never had a decent answer to a single question
I don't say my oveniance to I'm already sacond guessing.
Speaker 3 (01:01:27):
I can't take a man. The chance is I just
stick to ward the person I guess answer the first impressions.
Speaker 15 (01:01:47):
I gat.
Speaker 5 (01:01:51):
Give me a God, but I do to something ever
to be so much not now, I'm stuck.
Speaker 3 (01:02:15):
On out of mis Sometimes I don't like myself and
I be someone else, someone people makes that dreams not
(01:02:35):
true and drinks from the way she us, someone that
thy going and never seen to fall list.
Speaker 5 (01:02:48):
Sometimes I an't like myself and I be so much
use to get it out of God.
Speaker 3 (01:03:04):
Perhaps it's a bit of hell to be so no short,
no suck.
Speaker 5 (01:03:24):
A lot ca it the cord you can't see way
(01:04:00):
to look out on it? Things you do lo at rad.
Speaker 3 (01:04:06):
Offices five and loud to get allow around.
Speaker 5 (01:04:13):
A rock ship. He's in there on.
Speaker 3 (01:04:17):
A say job because you have the faith. You're basking
in light alas ride come out grave a thousing, the breeziest,
the brud.
Speaker 5 (01:05:41):
You don't confidence in joint.
Speaker 3 (01:05:50):
Look God, oh thank you did look at the mais.
Speaker 5 (01:05:58):
I found against the ship you say.
Speaker 3 (01:06:07):
Ala stage because she phone me a great flouson prazu shay.
Speaker 1 (01:06:51):
I was real scared. I was real scared to come
out this stuff. That was great, y'all. I want to
thank Infinity song Abraham Momo Angel Israel shredding the guitar
I was beautiful. I want to think Trybecca for having
broken the record here. It's wonderful live tape. And and
thank you guys for coming out and watching us up here.
(01:07:11):
It was great to have you guys, and hope to
do this again. Let us do it.
Speaker 17 (01:07:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:07:21):
In episode description, you'll find a link to a playlist
of some of our favorite Infinity song tracks and also
some of our favorite soft rock songs. Be sure to
check out YouTube dot com slash Broken Record Podcast to
see all of our video interviews, and be sure to
follow us on Instagram at the Broken Record Pod. You
can follow us on Twitter at Broken Record. Broken Record
(01:07:41):
is produced and edited by Leah Rose, with marketing help
from Eric Sandler and Jordan McMillan. Our engineer is Ben Tollinay.
Broken Record is a production of Pushkin Industries. If you
love this show and others from Pushkin, consider subscribing to
Pushkin Plus. Pushkin Plus is a podcast subscription that offers
bonus content and ad free listening for four ninety nine
(01:08:03):
a month. Look for Pushkin Plus on Apple podcast subscriptions,
and if you like this show, please remember to share, rate,
and review us on your podcast app Our theme music's
by Kenny Beats.
Speaker 10 (01:08:14):
I'm justin Richmond.
Pushkin. It's my firm belief that our culture doesn't put
enough stock in family bands. I mean, just think about
the groups that include siblings, Sliing the Family Stone, the
Beach Boys, the Beeg's, hiam Oasis, ac DC, the Jacksons.
It makes sense that Ken would develop uniquely powerful musical chemistry.
(00:38):
After all, a love of music usually does start in
the home, and the same is true of our guests today, Momo,
Abraham Angel and Israel Boyd of the group Infinity Saw.
The four siblings were raised in musical households between Detroit
and New York, honing their sound wherever they could, in
churches and parks, subway stations, even around the kitchen table.
(00:59):
That devotion to performing carried them to bigger stages, guided
by their father and manager, John Boyd, and eventually jay
Z's rock Nation and their fervent love of me music
fuels their unmistakable blend of R and B and folk,
a mix they proudly described as modern day soft rock.
I spoke to the Boyd's siblings at the Tribeca Festival
in New York for a live Broken Record event. We
(01:21):
discussed the role of music and their family, how their
Dad came through in the clutch during a make or
Break meeting with jay Z and graciously they performed a
couple of songs from their album Metamorphosis Complete. This is
broken record, real musicians, real conversations. Infinity Song opened our
(01:44):
conversation with the performance of their song Lotus. It's so
great to be here with you guys, and to be
here with Infinity Song at Tribeca Festival of all places.
It's a storied festival, and I think we're here tonight
with talent that will be held in that regard. This
is a new group and they are already have such
(02:08):
incredible music as you'll see tonight their live show and
this is stripped down is phenomenal. So without further Ado Israel,
Angel Abraham and Momo Infinity Song.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Everything short off th yards say the world.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Listen to you, cans me. You're a love honest flower.
You may be.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Everything nassy and last long.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Again and ye now I know the wonderful love.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
And please don't make me want to again.
Speaker 5 (04:43):
The appliance is less. Just send me for for because
now it's take the love to say.
Speaker 6 (04:55):
Since you don't get for love, settle for.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
We could let you because I still go.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Your alone, Flory.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
May weed.
Speaker 6 (05:32):
Everything last see and last still long.
Speaker 5 (05:37):
And now how know ware the food.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Maybe please don't make me laugh again, MANSI.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
Place, just let me fall for because I would take
a lot to sais.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
Toever I lose myself to love. Then last year, I's fine.
And if you're love, it's just a lie.
Speaker 7 (06:17):
If it's telling me lies.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
But not let live to me just a crag me
dona not tell him as now I know, beautiful baby, Please.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Don't make me wise.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Man spends some awful because you would say the love
seems since my aness, I would say the scious less.
(07:21):
Just let me all, because I would say.
Speaker 8 (07:44):
Thank you so much, thank you, thank youes and gentlemen.
Once again we are infinity song. My name is Abraham,
my name is Momo.
Speaker 9 (07:59):
Hey, I'm angel and I'm in Drew and we've got
one more song for you before we get into the evening.
Speaker 10 (08:08):
Yeah, let's go.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
Now here you go again.
Speaker 11 (08:29):
You say you want your freeedom, Well, well, my gi me,
it's trying to ride.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
You should play away your feeling.
Speaker 12 (08:47):
But listen carefully to that sounds a long meess, like.
Speaker 7 (08:55):
A harpy jassy man.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Still song never not all want to tell you now
as you all know, pray enough place they say A
(09:32):
little man, welcome man when watches you thing you know? No,
I'll go again see the crystal leave.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
I came up vi first want.
Speaker 13 (10:05):
It's only me who wants you Apparon your dream.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
Have you an your dreams?
Speaker 6 (10:14):
You like to sell loneliness like.
Speaker 14 (10:19):
The Holy Giving in the stool and star remembering, watch
and watch Lounlogynagy.
Speaker 5 (10:40):
Wonders mistress when last.
Speaker 7 (10:56):
And say, well, man go mad in.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Clean you.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
Watch, Let you know, let you know.
Speaker 15 (11:39):
Lest too much.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
Names mus be racy, let's to much you.
Speaker 15 (11:52):
Want?
Speaker 5 (11:52):
You don't want? You listen at mess too.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Small Spot sweet team to Scott Spot.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
I gotta say, through this job, I've been privileged to
be around a lot of performers. Baby Face comes to
mind seeing him perform up close and personal. Neil Young, Right,
but this is my first time getting a chance to
see you guys, and just getting to see the love
(13:51):
of music that you guys have and the passion you
guys have for performing. It warms my heart because it's
something that I see a lot in an older generation.
But I don't always see the love of performance, and
I don't see I don't always see that passion flowing
through people. When you guys perform, it's evident that there
was probably nothing else you guys could have done, but
(14:12):
be musicians. Do you feel like there's anything else you
guys can I mean, this seems like what you were
born to do.
Speaker 9 (14:19):
Well, I guess that's a loaded question in the sense. Well,
first of all, thank you for having us. We've had
many conversations since being here, but this is for you guys,
So thank you justin for having us. We are so
appreciative have the privilege of this conversation. So our parents
(14:41):
raised us, I think, to be able to do anything.
That was a mindset in our family. But so they
raised us to pursue excellence and to pursue being well
rounded people with integrity and character.
Speaker 10 (14:59):
But music was the.
Speaker 9 (15:03):
Tool that was used to develop that in us. So
I probably couldn't be anything but a singer only by choice.
I could be more, but it's it just wouldn't work
for me. But that everybody has their own answer.
Speaker 16 (15:21):
Yeah, I would say performance is definitely like one of
the loves of our lives.
Speaker 17 (15:26):
We've been performing for so long. It's really funny.
Speaker 16 (15:31):
Some people who have seen us perform more than once
know that usually on dreams we actually come back in.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Did I ruin it? Did I come up too soon?
Speaker 17 (15:44):
We should have warned you.
Speaker 5 (15:45):
I should have come earlier in.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
The week and got to the blue note.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
I messed up.
Speaker 17 (15:49):
So we do like we fake end it, you know,
built the tension, and then we come back.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Guys, let me go walk off this day. I failed already.
I have failed everyone here. I have failed you, guys, myself.
I mean, she just wanted to say that, Yeah, that's what.
Speaker 16 (16:09):
Okay, you know, if you still want us to come
back and we can.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Bring it back, bring it back, bring it back.
Speaker 17 (16:19):
So serious, I want it to come back in.
Speaker 10 (16:25):
Don't go no, no, no, you gotta no. This is
a part of the conversation.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
Let's you know, you know, cities, the.
Speaker 7 (17:22):
Watching, the watch, the watching, the.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Us cher, the house, the lot, hot y log house,
the fine fine.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
Fine, spe.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Berg, spurge, urgie, scrge.
Speaker 13 (19:11):
Thunder bad, when it's raining, play.
Speaker 12 (19:29):
Well, let's say weapon they will come and then well go.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Sh shoes clean.
Speaker 10 (20:24):
Okay, okay, so now we have been anything else.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Let's back to the qu not all the hold though
that was worth the public shaming.
Speaker 17 (20:37):
All right, that was wonderful, just public informant.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
It was a wonderful PSA. I am so glad you
brought that to my attention. Yes, but back to the court.
I mean, come on, there's no way you guys were
born to do this. Did you hear that? Unbelievable but
loaded question, leading question? You guys probably have your own thoughts,
you know.
Speaker 18 (21:02):
I mean obviously there's like you can get into a
lot of philosophy and all that, but I would say, yeah,
we were you know, we were born to do this.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
This cover of Dreams is beautiful, you know, and it's
not something that would have been not even that long ago.
It would have been shocking to see, you know, four
black siblings just killing Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. You know,
like because that's in the territory of classic rock, and.
Speaker 10 (21:32):
You know, there's so much that could be said.
Speaker 9 (21:34):
I mean, it really isn't novelty to us on that
On that side, it's it's real and it's organic to us.
It's music that we enjoy and most importantly, it's music
that we can all come together around. A song is
a song, and a song sure, different cultures contribute songs
(21:57):
to the world, and your different cultures contribute perspectives to
the world, but once it leaves and it's released to
the world, it belongs to the world, quite frankly, and
so you know, unless you're gonna block the dissemination of the.
Speaker 10 (22:15):
Creative, Like I like that song, I want to sing it.
Speaker 9 (22:19):
That's that's what it is super cool about music, and
we're starting to see it, you know, boundaries and different
cultural and ethnic backgrounds, the way hip hop really got
like the biggest consumers of say hip hop suddenly or
not or not who created hip hop or not.
Speaker 10 (22:39):
It's just changed the way that.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
It's ship Like blue happened to blues music and everything,
and it's just like.
Speaker 9 (22:46):
Okay, suddenly it's for the world, yes, and it's kind
of nice. Yeah, it's a really beautiful way of putting
it that music and music is for the world. And
that was the for so many years, the issue with
putting music in a in a genre and essentially in
a box and done by a marketing team to market
to certain audit you know, and it's like it.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Does it don't even matter, It doesn't matter what Everyone
likes the same stuff. Everyone likes the same stuff, who
doesn't like Dolly part who doesn't like Beyonce, who doesn't
like Whitney.
Speaker 17 (23:12):
You know, it's like, come on, yeah, okay, yes I will.
Music is for the world. Music is great, but.
Speaker 16 (23:23):
There's still very much an ongoing conversation about genre and
about who's allowed to sing this genre or that genre.
I think specifically, I think Cowboy Carter is a great
example of you know, a woman who grew up in
Texas who really identifies with country roots and has so much,
(23:47):
so much, so much, so much to say in this sphere,
but then wasn't necessarily embraced, you know, because she hasn't
been doing that like full out for years.
Speaker 17 (24:01):
And you know, that's.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
To be clear.
Speaker 9 (24:07):
I think genre is valuable, and I think building a
culture is valuable. So I don't really have too crazy
of a problem with gatekeeping a culture, because if you
build a culture and it becomes potent and important to
the world, I think you can be protective of it.
(24:28):
I think the challenge is, and my thinking is, let's
not be controversial this conversation. I think the challenge is
that it's not equal, meaning the guardianship of genres is
not equal, of course, and the beneficiaries of genres are
(24:52):
not I don't want to go to right, you're right.
Speaker 16 (24:56):
But one thing I will say is that specifically, you know,
America is a very.
Speaker 17 (25:04):
Particular place.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
You are so politic, let's wrap it up, okay, But.
Speaker 16 (25:16):
But a lot of the genres, the roots of them,
you know, these genres did not just pop up out
of nowhere in the last fifty years, you know. And
then I think where the problem lies is when people
forget or they're not educated, and they and and by
the way, it's not only like if we're talking strictly
(25:39):
white and black. It's not only white people who will
look at us or you know, someone black and say like, oh,
you shouldn't.
Speaker 17 (25:48):
Be doing country, you shouldn't been doing rock.
Speaker 16 (25:50):
A lot of times we'll say that to ourselves, not us,
but you know, black people will say that to ourselves
because there just is like a lack of education on
just how the foundation of these genres came to be,
you know. And so I think overall, we just don't
(26:12):
know the history of things, which is why Cowboy Carter
is so cool because now we're getting into the nitty gritty.
Now we're saying, now we're seeing like with the backlash.
It forces all of us to study, to read, to
learn to look past the past like twenty five fifty
years and look really look into like the origins of
these things, right, and then so it then opens up
(26:36):
the conversation for all of us to feel at home
here instead of it being like one person, one group
of people, it's like, no, the evolution of this genre.
Speaker 17 (26:45):
Was actually very integrated.
Speaker 16 (26:47):
It's a lot of people coming together and just trying
to make something good, you know. And so when you
kind of are forced to look back into the history
of things, I think that's when change is made and
you know, we can move forward because because if we're
if we're listening to like, okay, granted I'm twenty six,
but if we're listening to twenty year olds, they're only
(27:09):
gonna know what's you know, what's been put in front
of their face over the past like ten fifteen years,
if they haven't actively gone and looked and studied. So
we've got to really and the people who are leading
the conversations a lot of times on the internet are
twenty year olds.
Speaker 17 (27:24):
So yes, you know, so it's just very very very
you know, it's very layered.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Naturally, that's why a group like you guys is so important.
It's so beautiful, you know. And I grew up playing guitar,
and it was like it was like, you know, it
wasn't a rock band. You know, people be like, yo,
what the I'm like, well, yeah, I like I like,
you know what I saw Hendrix. I was like, I
want to be I groom my hair out. I was like,
I want to be Hendrix. You know, I didn't turn
out to be Hendrix. You're closer to him than me.
It's real. But you know, it's like there's there really
shouldn't be limitations put on us again not to get
(27:53):
we can move out of the controversial as.
Speaker 10 (27:55):
It shouldn't be that controversial.
Speaker 9 (27:57):
But I think it's a it's a it's like a
minefield because one of these sidebars you could really say
something crazy.
Speaker 10 (28:09):
That's what I asked.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
Have you guys met Beyonce?
Speaker 17 (28:12):
Yeah, we have. We didn't sign an NDA, so yeah,
we can talk about it a few times, just casually, casually.
Speaker 10 (28:22):
There's no such things. No, there's no such thing as
meeting Beyonce casually.
Speaker 16 (28:30):
I just mean it wasn't under the like you know,
under like a work environment. So we didn't have to
sign anything.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Okay, Okay, well, I mean yeah, for context, you guys
are signed to rock Nation, which is jay Z's label,
which is why I asked if you guys have met
Beyonce is the affiliation? Did you guys play her any music?
Had she heard it?
Speaker 10 (28:48):
Or we didn't play her music?
Speaker 18 (28:51):
But I believe that we have heard that she has
heard our music. But yeah, it was just an honor
always to meet such an icon and a legend. Always
been very gracious to us as well, and so yeah,
we love her, big fans of her on and off
the stage.
Speaker 17 (29:10):
Yeah, she's really nice.
Speaker 19 (29:12):
And she always points at our eyebrows because we like
Israel has a very strong example of this, but in
our I don't know, in our fan our geens, we
have like an eyebrow flick or something, and I think
she has the same thing. And like in her childhood
pictures you can see she has one eyebrow that goes
really up, so she'll like.
Speaker 20 (29:33):
The eyebrows rounds them now always it might be a stretch,
but well, the few times we've met her, she has
been very excited to see that we have that in common.
Speaker 17 (29:46):
She's like my cousins.
Speaker 10 (29:49):
Please thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Yeah, I would die to have some cons family life.
This message is brought to you by Starbucks. It's the
best time of the year. The Punkin Spice Latte is
back at Starbucks. The return of the PSL marks the
unf official start of the fall season, and thinking back
(30:12):
to when I used to work at a Starbucks cafe,
I can remember the excitement that came with the return
of the beloved classic. The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is
hand crafted with Starbucks signature espresso, steamed milk, and real pumpkin,
then topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spices for
an indulgent taste of fall. And it's available as a
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(30:35):
The Starbucks PSL is my signal that fall is here.
There's something about the bright notes of real pumpkin, cinnamon,
and nutmeg. The flavors are so rich and vibrant, like
they bottled the best parts of the season. From the
very first sip, it feels like fall has arrived no
matter the weather outside, and the return of fall also
reminds me of fall playlists, songs, layered with rich vocals,
(30:57):
acoustic textures, and a hint of nostalgia. And just like
how we all have favorite tracks for the summer, there
are some songs that just feel like fall. So to
help me celebrate the return of the starbar psl and
the start of the fall season, I'm joined to buy
a broken record co host Leah Rhodse to build a
fall playlist with some of our favorites. Leah, thanks for
joining me.
Speaker 21 (31:18):
Thank you, justin I'm so excited to build this playlist.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
First song I thought to add to this was Villain
by Anastasia, an artist who just had on broken record.
Her new album Tether is incredible and for me, when
I think about a fall song, I don't think there's
much daylight between what a fall song is and the
song that you might play if you wake up before
everyone else in your house five forty five am, six am,
(31:42):
and put on a pot of coffee Starbucks roast of course,
and then you sit at your kitchen table and just
watch that misclear, watch that sun come up fully, and
you're sitting there in your house in the morning in peace,
like whatever that feeling is that happens when you do that,
like that's what this song feels like to me, so
that that would be my first pick to start us
off here.
Speaker 22 (32:03):
Yes, I feel that so deeply, and I feel like
Anastasia especially you mentioned fall songs having rich vocals, and
she has just like such deeply rich vocals.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Absolutely, Leo, what would what would you add?
Speaker 22 (32:18):
My first pick would be Simon and Garfunkel's America. Oh
my gosh, there's something about this song. It's just like
so grand and sweeping and you know, thinking about possibility
and potential, and I feel like for some reason it
suits fall.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
It fits that it fits that in line. Yeah, you
know of a question I found myself asking when when
fall hits, like where does the time go?
Speaker 22 (32:44):
You know?
Speaker 1 (32:45):
And so I felt like a really natural pick for
a playlist like this was Fairport Convention, Who Knows Where
the Time goes, which is also just beautiful, beautiful song.
It's a fall morning for me.
Speaker 22 (32:58):
Yeah, sometimes, especially fall mornings, especially if you have a
PSL in hand, you get a little hop to your step,
you might leave the house go on a nice brisk,
crisp walk. A song that I would put on for
that moment would be Tom Petty's Time to Move.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
On that's a walking in rhythm right there, that's pick
me up walk in rhythm.
Speaker 8 (33:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 22 (33:21):
There's something about the tone of Tom Petty's voice too,
that somehow plays into the Fall theme.
Speaker 21 (33:26):
It's hard to explain, but I hear it.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Well, it feels very familiar, and it feels very warm,
you know, if Tom has such a warm voice and
the songwriting is just you know, unbelievable. Of course, I'm
gonna add Junior Varsity Cross the Street to this list
because even though this song is much more a beat
than the other songs I've picked so far, it has
I don't know, it's like maybe it's that that almost
(33:49):
cheerleader chant one of the singers does on this song,
but it reminds me of like a back to school moment.
Speaker 16 (33:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 22 (33:56):
I think it's good to include some of the upbeat
songs too, because for Fall, it's really easy to get
stuck in like a like the cozy, nostalgic, almost kind
of down tempo songs, but there is a feeling of like,
all right, we gotta get going, we're back.
Speaker 1 (34:11):
Yeah, yeah, it's the back to school There is an upbeat.
Fall isn't all slow and languid.
Speaker 22 (34:16):
Like it can be it can be fast, it can
also be very moody and kind of vibe. So my
next pick is Ermano Scutierre's Low Sun.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Mom My Boys.
Speaker 21 (34:28):
I love these guys so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Yeah, the way these guys play, they play with such
feeling and that just gets transmitted right through the record,
Like I love it.
Speaker 21 (34:38):
And this is a more contemplative song.
Speaker 22 (34:40):
So if you're in the fall mood where you just
sort of want to sit and you want to just
sort of think about where you're going, what you want
to do, this is an incredible song.
Speaker 17 (34:48):
For that too.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
And it's an instrumental, So you know what I'm gonna
I'm gonna pick. I'm gonna pick an instrumental. This is
from the album We three from the drummer Roy Haynes,
pianist Phineas Newborn Junior, and bass player Paul Chambers. Three
classic classic incredible jazz musicians. I'll pick the song Reflection
from the Week three album. There's just like a crispness
(35:10):
to this song and there's like a Christnas to Roy
Haynes playing. I mean, he used to call him snap
Crackle because it's just that the way he would just
hit that snare and hit the ride and the high hat.
So that song feels like Chris fall Day to me.
Plus you know, gotta have some jazz representation on the playlist.
Speaker 21 (35:26):
Yeah, okay, So my next pick it's a little bit.
It's a little bit different. Crosby still's a Nash Sweet
Judy blue Eyes, whoa one.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Of the great songs of all. I love that song.
Speaker 21 (35:36):
Come on, oh this song again. I don't know what
it is.
Speaker 22 (35:40):
It's hard to describe, but something about like the reflection
talking about I am lonely.
Speaker 21 (35:46):
It's so beautiful and it has those acoustic tones.
Speaker 22 (35:48):
It has all the things that you were talking about,
has the beautiful harmonies, has the vintage feel.
Speaker 21 (35:53):
It's a perfect song.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Okay, okay, so you know what, I'm gonna round out
my portion of the list. I'll less you have last
pick LEO, but I'll round out my portion of this
list with this great young Newish Australian artist, Grace Cummins,
with the song you gave unbelievable the vocals, incredible, songwriting
is amazing. You know, it doesn't have the patina on
(36:16):
it that like a Sweet Jerty blue Eyes does, But
in my view, it's it's equally undeniable.
Speaker 8 (36:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 22 (36:22):
Her voice is just so magnetic, it just pulls you in.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
All right, Lea, I'll let you round this out. I'll
let you take us home. Okay.
Speaker 22 (36:29):
My final pick, I'm going to stick with the Laurel
Canyon scene. I'm gonna go with Joni Mitchell from Blue
A Case of You.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Oh yeah, Man, Blue this song, but Blue in general.
Come on, that's the consummate Fall album.
Speaker 10 (36:45):
Oh.
Speaker 21 (36:46):
Just the songwriting is just unmatched, so gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Well, we've book ended this playlist with two great singer songwriters,
Anastasia Joni Mitchell. Incredible voices on the two of them.
Speaker 21 (37:00):
Yeah, for sure, I'm going to be listening to this
all throughout Fall.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
I'll be listening to them too. If you haven't heard
some of these songs, to add them to your cue.
We'll drop the full play list in this episode show
notes so you can sip on your PSL and enjoy
a soundtrack for the season.
Speaker 10 (37:17):
Hotter Iced.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
The Pumpkin Spice Latte is available now at Starbucks for
a limited time. Grab one, throw on your headphones, and
let the season begin. It doesn't fall without the PSL.
The Starbucks Pumpkin spice Latte, get it while it's hot
or iced your Rock Nation is such a cool group.
There's so many great and cool artists on it. I
(37:38):
just interviewed Bootsy Collins like last week and they just
picked up like Bootsy Collins and you're like, what, like,
what in the world, Like, it's such a wonderful collection
of artists. What's it like being heralded by someone like
jay Z? You know, because it's like it's an honor,
but it also could be like heavy, I'd imagine, right,
Like one thing.
Speaker 10 (37:56):
That it has not been is heavy.
Speaker 9 (37:59):
I do have to say that because when we signed,
we signed roughly almost we signed nine years ago as
a family. It was a joint venture between our famili's
company and rock Nation and there was really a connection
between him and our dad that set the relationship off
to a really, really good start, and there was an
(38:22):
understanding there. I can't really speak to it crazy, but
because I think it was like a relationship man to man,
and sure we were there, but there was a trust
there that so it's been very free for us as
a group. So we switched genres. We were doing more
(38:45):
R and B leaning and then we walked into the
label one day and said, we're doing soft rock.
Speaker 14 (38:53):
Now.
Speaker 10 (38:56):
Can you imagine the freedom that you have to have
to be able to do that.
Speaker 9 (39:00):
And early on in the relationship, one of the meetings,
jay Z he gave us permission and empowered us to
run our own race. He said the words, don't try
to catch up to us, wait for us to catch
up to you, and so that that was very empowering
and to set the tone for the relationship. I'm not
going to say that we've never, you know, disagreed on
(39:22):
anything within the label, because that just wouldn't be honest.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
Controversially, Brahm, No, no, No.
Speaker 9 (39:29):
What I'm saying is it's been a great relationship. It's
worked out really really well. So you have to put
I mean, that's cool. It's a record label, meaning you
have to kind of set the tone in some way,
and you were given permission by you know, this is incredible,
and that's what I That's why I said, of course
we've disagreed, and he said that in the meeting. He's like,
we will disagree on some things, but he said, do
(39:51):
not try to catch up. I want to frame it
in a way that just because you're given permission does
not mean that you don't have challenges. That's more my
thinking in the framing.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Yeah, the change from R and B soft rock, How
does that happen? That transpire within the group? Liked what
made you guys gravitate towards that kind of music.
Speaker 19 (40:15):
It's something that kind of happened organically. It's really hard
to when you're trying to figure out how to position
yourself or market yourself. I think you can get really
in your head about what's the right move for me.
It just so happened that I was in a space
(40:36):
where I wanted to keep doing things in life that
felt good. We were posting covers online of songs and
dreams by Fleetwood. Mac was one of these covers that
we posted went viral. Was just a huge you know,
our arrangement of it was so singular, and so when
we put it online, like everybody loved it and we
(40:57):
moved on. We did other covers a few months goes by,
and there was something about the way that we performed
that song and arranged that song. I just remember us
before ever posting it, like coming up with that like
end tag in the back room of our house where
we rehearse, Like I just remember us wanting to sing
(41:17):
it over and over and over again, and being completely honest,
when you're working with your siblings, that doesn't happen every day.
It's more so like you want to stop singing as
soon as possible and move on so fast forward, like okay,
thinking about the future of the band, Like if I
wanted this to feel like something every day, it would
(41:38):
be that moment.
Speaker 17 (41:39):
So that's how I.
Speaker 19 (41:40):
Kind of framed it in my mind, and I was
thinking about it, I was like, maybe we need to
sing more of that kind of style of music, and
I just presented the idea to everyone else after thinking
about it for a long time. I was like, actually,
as a collective, I think soft rock really does represent
us because it's a genre where we can each collectively
(42:04):
like play to our strengths all at the same time.
It's not one person's you know, in their sweet spot
and the other people are like struggling or whatever. It's
like equally across the board, able to highlight us as
both a group and individuals at the same time. So
everyone kind of was like, oh, yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 16 (42:24):
I would also say when we did sign to rock Nation,
we didn't really we didn't necessarily sign with a genre
picked out. You know, we like kind of I don't
want to say we auditioned for jay Z, but we
did perform on the top floor for him in the office,
and it looked something like this with a guitar and
(42:47):
us just singing like we did with the guitar. No, no,
Victory was playing the guitar, and then we were all singing.
So it wasn't like we came in with five songs
ready to be played that are in the studio and
they're leaning towards a genre. Like there was no genre
picked out for us, but he more so saw the
(43:07):
vision of us, and he saw similarities.
Speaker 17 (43:10):
Between our story and his story.
Speaker 16 (43:12):
And you know, he sold his CDs out the back
of his truck and we would sell CDs when we
were growing up, Like our dad would have us in
the studio just working on old songs like hymns and
gospel songs, but also songs that he had written or
we'd written together, and we would sell those like we
would sell them to people on the street, like, hey
(43:33):
want to buy our music, and so like that kind
of foundational drive, I think more is what he signed
us for. So when we did start getting in the
studio and making music commercially. I think it was more
of a maybe a self imposed pressure to do what
(43:54):
felt like it could be commercially viable. Like he never
told us like you gotta do R and B, but
you know, trying to find your legs and trying to
find out.
Speaker 17 (44:05):
Like, Okay, it's just a part of the process.
Speaker 16 (44:08):
You go through different genres, you go through different things
until you kind of return home, or you kind of
return back to what you've always done, which is melding
our voices together in sweet harmonic ways and writing very
honest and truthful lyrics and finding a place, like Angel said,
(44:29):
finding a place for us all to shine. So we
were never told to be R and B or pop.
It was just kind of part of the process until
we landed to something that felt so natural.
Speaker 1 (44:41):
It's amazing.
Speaker 9 (44:43):
Wait very quickly, there's one aspect of this story that
I feel like I need to tell because people don't
know it. So this might be the first time I'm
telling this story. So key fact, our dad he somehow
got I don't remember how it happened, but he got
in contact with jay Z and he sent him an email.
(45:04):
I don't know how it happened, but we ended up
in the office. Then our dad had a pitch a pit.
He was going to pitch the family to Jay Z.
He brought a deck, a whole deck. Spent I don't
know how many days building this deck, and so we
get in the room. It's just it's it's our family.
(45:26):
It's Jay and it's Tai Chai. And now someone else
was there, and it's our family. And he starts going
through the deck line by line by line by line
by line, and it probably the presentation probably took twenty
minutes or something.
Speaker 10 (45:42):
And he was nervous for sure. I don't know.
Speaker 9 (45:45):
I would have to ask him how he felt, but
he I anticipate he was nervous by the time he
got done through the deck.
Speaker 10 (45:53):
The next thing we were being offered was a record deal.
Like it was instant.
Speaker 9 (46:01):
It's hard to put into as we're talking about this
relationship and the nine years and the work and all
of that stuff and our story and our history. It's
pretty crazy and pretty admirable, and it's just a byproduct
of what we keep in mind as we continue forward,
(46:24):
Like I'll never forget that deck.
Speaker 1 (46:27):
Yeah, I feel like you should teach a masterclass all
the way. We don't bring that deck out.
Speaker 9 (46:30):
That's oh, I just made the connection. Okay, Yeah, Father's
Day is on Sunday. Heavy Father's Day, great occasion on
our fall.
Speaker 1 (46:41):
Mister boy After one last break, we're back with the
rest of my conversation with Infinity Song from the Tribeca Festival.
You said, Abraham that you're when you guys were raised
And by the way, hometown band was an asking top
New York. Yes, New York by way of Detroit. Yes,
(47:02):
I just want to make that clear because Detroit is
one of the great American cities produce some of the
great American votevocalists, and you guys in some way are
in that tradition and some others as well. But it's
just but you were raised in Detroit and you partially
and you said that your dad used music as an
instrument to teach you guys all kinds of things.
Speaker 23 (47:24):
And yeah, he's here, by the way, it's right there,
mister Boyd, And he used it growing up.
Speaker 9 (47:35):
But it's also something that he still uses to kind
of mentor us and teach us. He's our manager as well,
so we it's been a tool since childhood and it's
something that is still a tool of learning for us
as a family. So Detroit gave us our talent. New
York gave us our dreams, and that's often the story.
(47:58):
Usually it's hard to break through in the Midwest. The
South has figured it out that the Midwest is not.
So that's our story as well.
Speaker 1 (48:09):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I just want to make clear. So
four siblings are here, but how many total were in
the house growing up?
Speaker 17 (48:16):
There are nine of us and in total.
Speaker 1 (48:19):
Yeah, yeah, that's a job alled don dad. As a
dad myself, I'm not can only hope to.
Speaker 10 (48:25):
Wait, how many do you have?
Speaker 4 (48:27):
Two?
Speaker 1 (48:27):
And one on the way?
Speaker 10 (48:28):
So when when is the new one?
Speaker 1 (48:31):
September?
Speaker 9 (48:32):
Ooh yeah yeah, yeah, I'm a bar full summer.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
This is so many ways, but yeah, I could only
I mean, without pushing music on my kids, I hope
I try to keep the house musical. And similarly, I
hope I'm trying to use music as a way to
teach my kids, not mean that that there'll be musicians,
but just to teach them that you mentioned integrity. You
can learn so much about integrity and character through music
(49:01):
and through having a love of music, because it really
connects you to humanity and the people around you. Were
you guys in a musical house? What was the how
or how was it musical? It was clearly musical, But
how was it musical?
Speaker 17 (49:15):
It was musical in the small ways and the big ways.
Speaker 16 (49:19):
So like waking my dad waking us up by blasting
music through the speaker, you know, singing, we're.
Speaker 17 (49:28):
Just singing really loudly.
Speaker 16 (49:31):
Or every day gathering around the table and he's beating
on the table, using the table as a drum, and
he has us improvising on the spot. I remember being
so young when my older siblings would jump in and
be able to make up words and make.
Speaker 17 (49:48):
Up melodies, and I was like, will I ever be
able to improvise like that?
Speaker 3 (49:54):
You know?
Speaker 16 (49:55):
So it was just the household of adapting, learning on
the spot, being able to be creative and think outside
of the box a little bit. I think that's when
you're young, you don't really understand all the lessons that
you're being taught, you know. And a lot of people
(50:15):
use so many mediums to teach their kids. Their sports families,
they are like film family. There are so many different
ways to teach your kids these fundamental life lessons. But
I think music being our dads, our parents' way was
so powerful because that's what you need. You need a
spirit of creativity. You need to be able to think
(50:37):
on your feet. You need to be able to deliver
a riveting performance in other ways in other areas of life,
and you know, win people over and speak people's language from.
Speaker 17 (50:49):
Heart to heart and unite people.
Speaker 16 (50:52):
You know, there's so many lessons that music teaches us
that you only start to realize when you get a
little bit older.
Speaker 1 (51:00):
I imagine the church as well had to do that
for you guys.
Speaker 19 (51:02):
Right.
Speaker 9 (51:03):
So for us growing up, we were exposed to a
lot of music, but we were not exposed.
Speaker 10 (51:10):
To all music growing up.
Speaker 9 (51:13):
So what that means is we grew up really steeped
in gospel music, classical music, and jazz, and then fourth
it was soul, but it wasn't like all soul.
Speaker 10 (51:29):
It was like Marvin Gay and the Earth Wind and
Fire and like ron Isley. It was a limited list.
Speaker 9 (51:39):
It wasn't it wasn't it wasn't everybody, and so I
think it was by design. Those were really foundational genres
that taught us. Music are to being a choir director,
having multiple choirs. Back in Detroit, choral music was was
key to our foundation. So we really didn't get into
(52:05):
pop music until teenage years. Which it's funny because now
we do prop me. I don't know, well, how.
Speaker 1 (52:14):
Does that happen? How how do you guys go from
you know, if the order of operations musically in the
home was gospel, classical, jazz, and a smattering of top
shelf soul, then how do you guys go from that's
your diet to when you guys are performing becoming more
of a pop group?
Speaker 18 (52:34):
I would say Also a big part of it is
that we all grew up obviously informed by the same
you know route, but we all took different things. We're
all different branches of the same tree. So you know,
Momo or Abram or Angel or whoever might gravitate more
towards one thing, and then I might gravitate gravitate more
(52:56):
towards another thing, and I think over time that just
that shaped us. You're hearing kind of an amalgamation, you know,
Like I remember growing up on gospel and classical in jazz,
but I didn't actually like I didn't understand music for
myself or even really listen to music. Until I was
(53:16):
sixteen or seventeen. So there was like when I was
a child and I would hear gospel or classical and
jazz in the house and I loved especially like an
artist my dad would play, Pat Metheeni was a really
big fan of him. I was around thirteen, maybe fourteen.
We were doing an interview and somebody asked, what's who
are your favorite artists? And I had no idea because
(53:39):
I didn't I understood music.
Speaker 5 (53:41):
I just didn't.
Speaker 18 (53:42):
I had not discovered it for myself. So I was
like Michael Jackson and I don't know, I liked these genres.
And then as I got older personally, it was it
wasn't so much discovering what I like more so it
was like putting faces to the things I already knew
I liked since I was a child. So I remember,
(54:03):
I don't know if we're supposed to say his name anymore,
but Kanye. I remember the first time, first time I
listened to him, I was like, oh, this puts this
puts a I think the first song I heard was
Blood on the Leaves, and I was like, this sounds
like you know, it was almost rock, you know, the
way he the spirit with which he, you know, wrote
that music. And but that's just one example. Then you
(54:26):
have just you know, over time, just musicians that I
personally gravitated towards that just uncovered what I like and
all that. I think that's kind of the thing for
all of us. The way, the way we developed as
a unit was that we all obviously have the same foundation,
but we all are very unique and Infinity Song does
(54:49):
not sound like any one of us. It sounds like
the collection of us truly. So that's how we get
to this. It's like, well, what do you like and
what do you like?
Speaker 10 (54:58):
What do you like? And then it comes to this
kind of home.
Speaker 1 (55:02):
Is that part of the writing process too, Like someone
brings an idea and then each person teases out what
their part is, or do you does someone come with
a fully formed idea like I believe you wrote pink
Sky right.
Speaker 10 (55:17):
So yeah, usually it's someone.
Speaker 18 (55:19):
Sometimes we write together, but actually we usually write separately.
But I think that even in our separate writings, I
think we all take into account the ear and the
temperament of the other performers, because you know, we're not
performing ourselves. So when I write, or when Angel writes
or whoever writes. I we just write for the group,
not for ourselves, because that's a whole whole different thing,
(55:42):
different temperament, different everything.
Speaker 1 (55:45):
Yeah, and you guys had it at one point another
sister in the group, Victory, and she did some of
the writing too, So I imagine, and do you guys
still work with her or are you guys writing with
her on any level?
Speaker 10 (55:58):
We look forward to I think that.
Speaker 9 (56:01):
I mean, that's our sister, So there's always an opportunity
to collaborate, always an opportunity to work together right together.
When she went solo, I think there was a real
desire for her to build her own sound, and also
we had to do a lot of work because Victory
is a founding member of Infinity Song and our sound
(56:25):
was very much rooted in her musical paradigm when she
was in the band, and so we actually had to
relearn how we do music when she went solo. And
that was a blessing, but it was also extremely challenging
in terms of just the anatomy of what do we
(56:46):
sound like now? Going from twenty losing twenty percent of
the band and then also like fifty percent of the
creative DNA that was that was that was very challenging.
Speaker 1 (56:59):
But until you can learn to, of course, reconfigure the
creative process and supplement the fifty and become your own
and find you right like I imagine you guys now
as a four some are finding your path creatively, like
Metamorphous is complete. It's such a wonderful project. And American
Love Song is a new song that came out. It's incredible,
really well written, beautiful song. So yeah, it seems like
(57:24):
you guys are are without victory finding it'd be like
earth Wind and Fire finding the way without you know,
Maurice or something. You guys are figuring it out.
Speaker 17 (57:33):
Oh absolutely, I think so.
Speaker 16 (57:35):
Metamorphosis complete was like completely written by US four, completely
written and produced by US four, and at this point
it is exactly like, Yeah, it was.
Speaker 10 (57:50):
A hard year, to be clear.
Speaker 9 (57:52):
It was one year where we were trying to figure
it out and then thank god, we came out with
better music than we've ever created together.
Speaker 10 (58:00):
So it's it's quite remarkable.
Speaker 17 (58:02):
Yeah, I would agree for.
Speaker 1 (58:05):
You, momo. How what was your sort of trajectory through
discovering guitar and finding your voice?
Speaker 16 (58:13):
So obviously the foundation that we've already you know, disclosed
like growing up in the household that I did, learning
so much from my dad. But then, as Israel pointed out,
like once you, once each of us reached a certain
age in like adolescence, you kind of have an awakening
(58:35):
like Okay, what do I really want to do? How
do I really want to sound? And I remember being
about eleven or twelve or something, and the biggest woman
singer influence that I had was Victory actually, funnily enough,
and I remember thinking, she has the best voice I've
(58:57):
ever heard. I want to sound just like her. And
you know, I would just watch her warming up, watch
her performing, and I would be like, Okay, if I
can sound like her, I will be very happy. And
that was my only goal. How do I sound like her?
Like when people cite their influences and like they say like, oh,
I learned this from Lauren Hill, And I learned that
(59:18):
from She's one of my initial influences.
Speaker 17 (59:22):
You know, No, Victory, Okay.
Speaker 1 (59:26):
Also Lauren, you said Lauren and that sort of thing
about unplugged.
Speaker 16 (59:28):
In the guitar and no, absolutely I was gonna get
to her next because absolutely huge. The Unplugged album actually
changed my life. Also, Donnie Hathaway, just excellent in every way.
Nina Simone as well, just excellent at what she does,
but so unique. Same for Ella Fitzgerald.
Speaker 17 (59:48):
Like I love vocalists that.
Speaker 16 (59:52):
They aren't necessarily doing every riff and run under the sun,
but they have a very distinct voice. Donnie Hathaway, his
voice can come on and you know just who that is,
there's no question, and he can stop time, he can
stop the room. Same for Nina Simone, lingud comes on,
everybody silent, you know, So like that type of grounded
(01:00:15):
vocal ability is rare but so powerful. Really inspired me
when I was like sixteen seventeen and just finding my
legs and then from there discovering more like current artists
and being like.
Speaker 17 (01:00:29):
Wait, okay, I kind of like pop, okay, kind of
like rock that's cool.
Speaker 16 (01:00:33):
Too, and then just taking what I like from each
of these, each of these artists, each of these genres,
and doing my best to, like you know, as any
artist does, doing your best to use it all to
make one one thing for yourself, one lane for yourself.
Speaker 1 (01:00:50):
I'm gonna let you guys do your song metamorphosis.
Speaker 24 (01:01:11):
I've never had a decent answer to a single question
I don't say my oveniance to I'm already sacond guessing.
Speaker 3 (01:01:27):
I can't take a man. The chance is I just
stick to ward the person I guess answer the first impressions.
Speaker 15 (01:01:47):
I gat.
Speaker 5 (01:01:51):
Give me a God, but I do to something ever
to be so much not now, I'm stuck.
Speaker 3 (01:02:15):
On out of mis Sometimes I don't like myself and
I be someone else, someone people makes that dreams not
(01:02:35):
true and drinks from the way she us, someone that
thy going and never seen to fall list.
Speaker 5 (01:02:48):
Sometimes I an't like myself and I be so much
use to get it out of God.
Speaker 3 (01:03:04):
Perhaps it's a bit of hell to be so no short,
no suck.
Speaker 5 (01:03:24):
A lot ca it the cord you can't see way
(01:04:00):
to look out on it? Things you do lo at rad.
Speaker 3 (01:04:06):
Offices five and loud to get allow around.
Speaker 5 (01:04:13):
A rock ship. He's in there on.
Speaker 3 (01:04:17):
A say job because you have the faith. You're basking
in light alas ride come out grave a thousing, the breeziest,
the brud.
Speaker 5 (01:05:41):
You don't confidence in joint.
Speaker 3 (01:05:50):
Look God, oh thank you did look at the mais.
Speaker 5 (01:05:58):
I found against the ship you say.
Speaker 3 (01:06:07):
Ala stage because she phone me a great flouson prazu shay.
Speaker 1 (01:06:51):
I was real scared. I was real scared to come
out this stuff. That was great, y'all. I want to
thank Infinity song Abraham Momo Angel Israel shredding the guitar
I was beautiful. I want to think Trybecca for having
broken the record here. It's wonderful live tape. And and
thank you guys for coming out and watching us up here.
(01:07:11):
It was great to have you guys, and hope to
do this again. Let us do it.
Speaker 17 (01:07:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:07:21):
In episode description, you'll find a link to a playlist
of some of our favorite Infinity song tracks and also
some of our favorite soft rock songs. Be sure to
check out YouTube dot com slash Broken Record Podcast to
see all of our video interviews, and be sure to
follow us on Instagram at the Broken Record Pod. You
can follow us on Twitter at Broken Record. Broken Record
(01:07:41):
is produced and edited by Leah Rose, with marketing help
from Eric Sandler and Jordan McMillan. Our engineer is Ben Tollinay.
Broken Record is a production of Pushkin Industries. If you
love this show and others from Pushkin, consider subscribing to
Pushkin Plus. Pushkin Plus is a podcast subscription that offers
bonus content and ad free listening for four ninety nine
(01:08:03):
a month. Look for Pushkin Plus on Apple podcast subscriptions,
and if you like this show, please remember to share, rate,
and review us on your podcast app Our theme music's
by Kenny Beats.
Speaker 10 (01:08:14):
I'm justin Richmond.
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