August 8, 2024 • 63 mins
David & Phil joyfully welcome Rachael Price and Bridget Kearney of Lake Street Dive, the remarkable band celebrating 20 years of making inspiring music without borders. Phil, Rachael and Bridget discuss how the group came to collaborate with him on the beloved, Emmy-nominated theme song for Phil's Netflix show "Somebody Feed Phil." They discuss the group's slow burning success story, their upcoming gig at Madison Square Garden, with surprising stories involving Seals & Crofts and Paul McCartney. All this, plus a cameo by another group member, Mike Calabrese. To learn more about Lake Street Dive, go to https://www.lakestreetdive.com. To learn more about building community through food and "Somebody Feed the People," visit the Philanthropy page at philrosenthalworld.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Phil. I want to begin by saying thank you because
you introduced me to the musical genius of Lake Street Donalds.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I introduced you to one that was exactly usually yes,
but I mean you're mister music.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
They're good, aren't they They're great? And not only that,
you're like, I don't know if it's the fifth or sixth,
you're like the Murray the k of Lakestone Dive. You
you appeared with this band. We'll discuss it with them
live on the in the Red Rocks Amphitheater, one of
the greatest venues in the world.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Is gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous, and it was a thrill of
a lifetime. For those of you who who might know
my show, you absolutely know that it has a fantastic
theme song. And the theme song is from our guest today, and.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
We're gonna have to get the whole story of how
that magic happened.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Ladies and gentlemen, we have Rachel and Bridget right here
from Lake Street Dive.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Let's build the beans, chew the fat, food for thought
and jokes on tap, talking with our mouthsful, having fun,
peace of cake and humble pie, serving up slice live,
leave the dressing on the side. It's naked lunch.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Clothing option.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Hungry man.
Speaker 5 (01:38):
He's traveling on the sea.
Speaker 6 (01:40):
In the Dame.
Speaker 7 (01:42):
Chang stands the art pasta but chicken a last he.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
Would drafted pie fla out to.
Speaker 8 (01:54):
And stands for people with a pack.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
As somebody.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Phil, Hello, you've made something magical happen. I finally get
to meet Lake Street Dive.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Yes, these are the These are two of the main
members of Lake Street Dive. Not everybody's there. There's three
other people, right, my friend Mike.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
James.
Speaker 8 (02:34):
Yeah, yeah, they're they're right next door. They could pop
in at some point if you want.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
That's okay. This is like, uh, this was like a
pictorial in the in Jazz Times. This is the women
of Lake Street Dive. This is much cooler.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Women women rule the world. I'm for it.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Well, actually, that's one question. I've always thought that the
I get I do a lot of liner notes and
stuff for Fleetwood Mac. I always think the secret weapon
is there's not enough groups in history that are men
and women in which women have at least an equal
force and power base in a group. And I wonder
do you ever think about that? With Lake Street Dive,
(03:15):
they're one of the you guys are now that Fleetwood
Macre gone, you're like leading the charge for.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
A mam Is into Papas.
Speaker 9 (03:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (03:23):
Well, it's funny that you should mention those two groups,
because yes, we are aware of this issue.
Speaker 6 (03:29):
And part of why is that we dress up as
a band for Halloween every year, and we used to
like base our choices on like finding a band that
had our same like gender array.
Speaker 8 (03:42):
And then we got through.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
All the bands.
Speaker 8 (03:44):
We did Mama's and the Papas. We did Fleetwood Mac.
Speaker 6 (03:47):
We did Abbay, we did a Starlight Vocal.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Starlight Vocal, Starlight, Starland Starland Vocal Band. Yes, oh my god.
Speaker 6 (04:00):
And then we had to just eventually, you know, except
that we could dress up as men and be the Beatles.
Speaker 5 (04:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Well, here's here's the thing. The new album Good Together,
which is unbelievably great.
Speaker 9 (04:14):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I listened to it again this morning and was thinking,
there's a new the and this is high praise. I
hope you take it at that. There was a track
and I said, like, I feel like I'm listening to
Rufus for today. I don't know if you are aware.
You're too young to know. Chaka Khan and rufus, but
it was it's the band. This record is so soulful
and like powerful. I felt rufous. We could be good.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
That's not It feels so good to good. That's very
high praise.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I love it too, but I love all your stuff.
A couple of years ago, you guys sent me, uh,
what do you call it? When the record's not finished yet?
But you have tracks and you want to see if
people like Yes, yes, yes, And I don't think I
was very helpful because I had no notes.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
It was just phenomenal. I'm your biggest fan.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Because because Phil is your biggest fan, Phil tell the
story of Phil not only got the greatest theme song
in history? Uh for somebody feed Phil with you. It's
the reason we have our own theme song by Brad Paisley,
because like we felt, we needed for the podcast to
have a great theme song. But you set the bar
(05:44):
very high. But Phil, how did your relationship with Lake
Street Dive happen?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I see the movie there's a documentary about the music
from inside inside Leewin Davis.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
And it was called another Time, Another Place.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Another Time, Another Place.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
And even though you guys correct me if I'm wrong,
You're not on the actual soundtrack of Lewin Davis. But
T Bone Burnett loved you so much he wanted you
in that concert and then filmed the concert, and these.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Guys stole the show.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
If people are listening, get that documentary and watch and
you'll see a great performance from Lake Street time. So
I see that, I call T Bone and who I'd
met just a little bit, and I said, who's that group?
Speaker 4 (06:29):
I love that group?
Speaker 2 (06:30):
If I never done this, but if they're ever in
Los Angeles and they let me come to the show,
I'll take the whole band to dinner.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
I didn't know what came over me. I don't do this.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I don't know why young people like you would even
want to see an old guy like me, And what
kind of creep you know?
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Says I want to take the band to dinner.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
But just my luck.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
You were hungry, literally, but you guys came.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
I think some some some the crew came. It wasn't
a lot of people, because I think your crew was
pretty small. Then right, dinner you gave us, but it
was very sweet.
Speaker 8 (07:12):
I never knew that we were the only band treated
to this occasion.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
I thought, do this. No, I'm very cheap.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
No, I love.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
No, I just it never.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
It never occurred to me, But I think it was
because your music is so I don't know, joyful and
welcoming and sweet and and uplifting.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
And brilliantly plays.
Speaker 9 (07:37):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
I just thought you're gonna you seem nice and you
can say yes, So.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
And we got along great, and and we stayed friends,
and I would come and see you guys in New York.
We've had dinner or lunch if you came into town again.
Now you're so busy. We'll get into that.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
But when it came time for somebody feed, Phil Netflix
asked me, is there anything you didn't have at PBS that.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
You would like to have? And I said, well, I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
I'd like a theme song, and they said go ahead,
So I called you guys. You guys were into it.
I wrote some lyrics, I sent it to you. You
guys wrote some additional better lyrics, and then this amazing tune.
And I think, I'm you know, we're starting our eighth season,
and I think it's only because of the theme song.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Yeah, and what what's the theme song? Emmy nominated? I
believe absolutely. Can you talk about from your point of view.
I know that you've put and we have to put
this footage on the episode. In some ways, Phil performed
live the rock Star Moment of all Time at Red
Rocks Amphitheater.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Would you call it that a performance? Well, I don't
think it was a performance really.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Performance?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Uh?
Speaker 6 (08:55):
But what what?
Speaker 1 (08:56):
What is the impact? Do you hear about the somebody
feed Phil fairly often in your lives?
Speaker 5 (09:03):
Yes, regularly.
Speaker 9 (09:04):
We do a little like a VIP experience before our
shows where fans can come and watch our soundcheck and
they can request songs. And every single time we do this,
somebody requests that we play the theme song.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Oh isn't that sweet?
Speaker 8 (09:20):
Yeah, and we love it, we play, We've played it.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Yeah, I love it. And you want to tell the
people you're going to release it as a single.
Speaker 8 (09:28):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 5 (09:30):
Finally, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Coming in out October. Yes, it's going to be the
version that I heard, the full length version of the track, right.
Speaker 8 (09:38):
That's right there.
Speaker 6 (09:39):
There's probably never before heard segments of the song because.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
I think McDuck's trumpet solo, yeah, I think, right.
Speaker 5 (09:48):
Which I honestly have completely forgotten about.
Speaker 8 (09:50):
Yeah, And there's like the whole bridge.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Yeah, that's it because obviously we use your first forty
five seconds for the main titles, but then if people
stay around for the end titles, you hear the end
of the song.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
So you're gonna hear the whole full thing. I'm so excited.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Can you tell us a little bit about the creative
process of how because hey, I got questions online saying
was Phil involved in the creative process of writing the song?
But can you tell us what was sort of your mission?
Because whatever you were shooting for you captured. I think
Phil used the word joy, the joy of the show,
the sense of love and comfort.
Speaker 9 (10:28):
And.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
You captured the spirit of the show before it really existed.
What was the process like of doing the song.
Speaker 6 (10:36):
Well, we we'd watched some of the show, like the
previous show, and so yeah, like had a sense for
your energy and like what you're putting out there, the
way you connect with people through food and like that
being so central to like, I think what people love
about the show. So like Phil had sent a us
(11:00):
I think it was the pre chorus lyrics, the sort
of I'll fly, He'll fly to you, I'll dive to
You'll sing to you, dance, dance, for you or something
like that, and then Mike Calbury's was the one who
was like, Okay, this is the chorus canceobody.
Speaker 8 (11:14):
Wow, you know, very triumphant and then uh.
Speaker 6 (11:17):
And then after that I worked on the the versus
the Happy Hungry Man, et cetera, sort of building up
to that moment narratively, and then I think, like stylistically,
what was cool about it is that you can do
us because you already kind of like what we do,
(11:38):
and so we didn't have to like be anybody else
than ourselves, you know, in the sort of musical energy
of the song, like it it's very much Lake Street Dive.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
It really is. It also has a little bit and
people tell me this it reminds them of an old
school sitcom.
Speaker 9 (11:57):
Yeah, or a style that we had explored, Like we
already had songs that we described as like, you know,
eighties sitcom. Yes, So when we when you asked us
to write a theme song, we were like, oh, this
is our moment.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
Oh I love it. Now are you are you writing
other theme songs? Are you doing movie stuff?
Speaker 1 (12:20):
What are you doing?
Speaker 8 (12:22):
M Nope?
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Okay, so this is we're putting it out there. Let's
let's put it out there today. You're available, We're available
to compose. You couldn't write better songs. Who wouldn't want you?
Speaker 9 (12:35):
Guys?
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Let me tell you how Phil Weirdly, this is like
I have to thank Phil because you know I'm a
music person. I you know, I come from Rolling Stone
and then I ended up writing all these music TV shows.
That's my world. Yet Lake Street Dive is an example
of I had not heard you, guys. I don't know
how I had that blind spot. And when he discovered you,
(12:58):
he started sending me video and he goes, what do
you think? And I said, I think this is one
of the greatest things I've ever heard. And those were
some of the early covers that you did. But I like,
you know, Rachel, you know I remember I think. I said,
it's like, oh well, it's like Sarah Vaughan singing I
Want You Back, Like it's the best thing I've ever heard.
It's it's you know, because you you two have you
(13:21):
both have a conservatory jazz background and like chops to
die for. But I couldn't believe how great it was.
And here's the thing where you will not remember this,
but I'm gonna you probably I'm gonna say, you secretly
have owed me a lunch for ten years because because
he turned yes, exactly what I'm trying to I'm collecting
(13:44):
by going to see you guys, and you know, maybe
I'll get on the early request thing with my wife
and we can call out for somebody feed filled. Because
that twenty this was in ten years ago exactly. I
was called into help with a new front, which is
sort of newer than the upfront for a studio, something
(14:06):
called Xbox Studios, and they said, put together your favorite
artist in music to play this event so that we
get great reviews. And I and they were broadcasting Bonnerou supposedly.
So I looked down the list of everybody at Bonnerou
and said, let's pay a lot of money to Lake
Street Dive to come do this event. And I did
(14:28):
the same thing. They said, we want to end with
a good dance number. I said, okay, let's get Nile
Rodgers and Chic and they said we need a host,
and we need a funny host. And they wanted ed
from the office and he didn't take the tremendous amount
of money they offered, and so I said, get Craig Robinson.
From the office. But I don't know if you remember
that event, but that was only because Phil had turned
(14:51):
me onto your music and I fell in love with it.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
You're welcome.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
Wow, actually did not know.
Speaker 8 (14:56):
Yeah, all roads lead back to Phil.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Come up.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
You guys are so grateful to you for taking the
time today, because I know you're not just on some
little tour. You're on a giant world tour. You're doing
a lot of one nighters. And Rachel, you have a baby,
I do, and you're bringing him along.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
What is that like?
Speaker 9 (15:21):
Well, it's it's mostly really really fun because she's at
like just a very fun age.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
She's fifteen months. She's saying new words every day.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Wait, tell me her name again, I said him. I'm sorry, Jupiter.
That's right, she's a baby.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
You know how old?
Speaker 4 (15:38):
How old today?
Speaker 5 (15:39):
She's fifteen months.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
So she's adorable.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I see the pictures.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
She's making everyone laugh. Sometimes she keeps me up in
the middle of the night and and that's okay.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Wow, so's it's really not a problem to Are you
on a big bus? How are you getting around?
Speaker 5 (16:01):
Yeah, we're traveling on a bus.
Speaker 9 (16:04):
Jupiter and I have a little setup in the back
of the bus. She has a crib and I have
a bed right next to her, and it's really not
because I mean, you know, it is sort of in
a sense like having it all kind of moment.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
Because I get to be with her all day, I
get to sing at night, and then I have a
little village of people to help me out.
Speaker 9 (16:26):
So in some ways it feels like a more natural
way to raise a baby than, you know, just like
being at home with her.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
All day, just me and her.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
She's got a full family.
Speaker 9 (16:36):
We have way more of a social life on the
road than like a mom at home because usually I'm
just going to bed with.
Speaker 5 (16:43):
Her at night and you know, not seeing anyone in
New York. So it's like it's actually for me, it's
more fun for me to be on tour with a
baby than to be at home.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
And the baby becomes like the center of the world
on these things, right, and the whole bridget you get
you grab her sometimes say she's my.
Speaker 8 (17:00):
Oh yeah, it's so fun around tour.
Speaker 6 (17:03):
Yeah, I like, yeah, oftentimes I'll sleep later than other people,
but I'll wake up and everyone will already be out
in the front front lune, so I just wake up
to like a sort of joyful play scene out there,
and I'm like, yay, I get to get up and
play with Jupiter.
Speaker 5 (17:22):
It's great.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Well, maybe give.
Speaker 8 (17:36):
Me one man.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
Whown't you please help me.
Speaker 9 (17:49):
Now?
Speaker 5 (17:50):
And almost blind to let you go?
Speaker 2 (17:56):
No sing, Let's talk about this tour, because yes, I
did Red Rocks with you. I came out when you
did the theme song and I fed the band a
little bit and it was nice. But you replaced me
at Red Rocks with a.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
Full orchestra this year. What the hell you were cheaper?
Speaker 1 (18:17):
I'm sure?
Speaker 9 (18:18):
Yes? What was that? Like?
Speaker 1 (18:20):
How did that happen?
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Are you doing that some more? Are you recording that?
Speaker 9 (18:24):
So?
Speaker 8 (18:25):
It was incredible? Yeah, I don't know how it happened.
Speaker 6 (18:30):
Like I think they have a series each summer where
they just invite artists to come in and play at
Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony, and they have sort
of a go to set of orchestrators that they've worked
with a lot.
Speaker 8 (18:42):
So they just said, do you want to do it?
We said yes.
Speaker 6 (18:45):
They said, here's a batch of people that are available
to make orchestral arrangements of your songs, and we said great.
There was like a fairly easy process of like back
and forth with the orchestrators where they would send us
kind of a of like what they were writing for
the orchestra, and they would say like, yeah, I'm thinking
of bringing the flutes in on the bridge if that's
(19:07):
okay with you, and we'd be like two thumbs up.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Really, so you had no note, you had no notes
for them ever so occasionally notes, but.
Speaker 8 (19:16):
It was pretty smooth, like Yeah.
Speaker 6 (19:19):
There was one song where I was kind of like
felt that the orchestral arrangement was putting a very different
emotional character on the.
Speaker 8 (19:26):
Song, and so I was like, hmm, this one, can
you just like diet dial it back.
Speaker 6 (19:31):
Or make it like less playful and more sort of serious.
So we got it to a place that I was
really happy with.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
I'm dying to hear this is it? Is there a
way for people to hear it?
Speaker 6 (19:42):
Well? We made a like board recording of it, just
you know, from the microphones on stage, and I hope
that we can put it out because I think it
was a great performance and just like so special to
get to hear those songs in a totally new way.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
And I know you're playing some other big venue, use
can we say, oh, I know, this is out there.
You guys are headlining Madison's Square Guard mm hmm in October.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
September fourteen. It's coming up. Oh my god, god coming up.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
How How have you managed to build because you've built
this during an era when the music business is in
so going through so many changes. You've been on big label,
small labels, you know, your own label. You've done it
with the sort of spirit of independence. And yet through
everything that's happened, every trend you've built the band is
(20:36):
a live act, is just built and built. You know,
Madison Square Garden. I grew up. That was the ultimate.
That is the old biggest.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
Acts in the world.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
It's always the the Is this like for you another pinnacle?
I mean, I remember when you you got Radio City
that was gigantic, But now you're you know, Springsteen territory.
Speaker 9 (20:59):
Yeah, I think it's somewhat like unreal for us, even
though we have been like very very slowly but surely
building towards playing a room like that, I think until
it happens, we're gonna we're sort of in disbelief of it.
I mean, we've never we've never headlined an arena that
type of venue, you know, we've headlined bigger, we've headlined
(21:21):
some decently sized festivals, and we've headlined you know, a
room like Radio City that's sort of like the biggest
type of room that we've been Like, it's our show,
so it's it's gonna be pretty surreal when it happens.
Speaker 6 (21:36):
Yeah, I think we, from my perspective, have a somewhat
unique scenario in our career trajectory where like we've never
had like a big radio hit, we've never been on
like the cover of Rolling Stone.
Speaker 8 (21:52):
Like these kind of bursts haven't really happened.
Speaker 6 (21:58):
But what has happened is like almost a grassroots style.
Speaker 8 (22:02):
Of pr just like.
Speaker 6 (22:05):
Word of mouth, where like you know, last night or
a couple nights ago when we played at Red Rocks,
like there was nine thousand people there and I'm sure
most of them knew the band, but they probably brought
a couple friends.
Speaker 8 (22:16):
Like now those people know the band.
Speaker 6 (22:18):
And so like every time we play a show, there's
a few more people that know about it, and over
twenty years, that's built up to a Madison Square garden.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Yeah, listen, it's not right there twenty years for a band.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
That's why I'm wearing my Rolling Stones hat because I
was thinking about the fact that, you know, Mick the
day we're recording this turns eighty one and I saw
them and they are still good together. To use your phrase,
but you, guys, twenty years there's a lot of groups
that do not make it to that twentieth year, and
very few make it when they're playing the biggest rooms. Imaginable.
(22:53):
I mean, I have to believe that when you're at
the New England Conservatory of Music and saying let's play,
you're you're thinking clubs, You're not thinking the garden. I imagine.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
No, no, describe, sorry, go ahead, No, I want you
to finish, then I'll ask go ahead.
Speaker 9 (23:13):
Well, our motivation initially was to be able to make
music that we could play in a bar, and I
think it's somewhat came out of like being in jazz
education and like wanting to seek out a different type
of venue to be able to play in as jazz musicians.
So we were like, wouldn't it be fun if we
could just play like a three hour bar gig and
(23:35):
have everyone, like, you know, singing along with us, and
so like that's that's the kind of music that we
were sort of playing. We were trying to write songs
that people would like turn their heads and like by
the end they would be like, oh yeah, I remember
the chorus of the song.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Yeah, it's that catchy and a music.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
I will tell you. I think about it in terms
of I've spent this last weekend with my nephew who's
a conservatory you know, you study student. He studied at Rice,
you know, university, and I asked him about what he
thought of you guys, and he goes, they're like the dream.
They're the group that musically has kept their integrity and
just unbelievably great entertainers musically never sold out. So I
(24:17):
think at twenty years you should be feeling hopefully a
lot of pride.
Speaker 5 (24:23):
Yeah, it feels good, and it also doesn't feel like
twenty years.
Speaker 9 (24:27):
You know. Every time we put out a new record,
we feel like a freshness of this is the beginning
of something else, and so like it's just never it's
never felt monotonous, and it's never, yeah, felt stagnant, which
is very.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
Really a blessing.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
Take us to that first gig of you guys as
a band, was it at all?
Speaker 7 (24:52):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (24:52):
I think all, yeah, it was all I think it
was all Asia and I think it was the Nerds.
Speaker 8 (24:59):
Oh, the the shaky r the shak It could have
been Yeah, let's.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
We'll go with that because it was twenty years ago.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
And you're in, you're in, You're in college, You're you're like,
how old are you college from Boston?
Speaker 8 (25:13):
Yeah, sophomore year of college.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
Sophomore year. Yeah, we we we. The first time we
played was the very end of our first year at NEC.
That was like May.
Speaker 9 (25:22):
It was like we were all about to leave for
summer break and we McDuff told us we were a
band and wrote down, so that was so.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
This is us coming back.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
So he came up with the name, which is a
great name.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
Wow, thank you.
Speaker 8 (25:37):
I'm so glad you think.
Speaker 9 (25:38):
So.
Speaker 6 (25:40):
We fought the name for many years because so many
people get it jumbled up because.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
They say Lake Street.
Speaker 8 (25:47):
A lot of people say Lake Street Drive or Shore Drive.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Yes, I will give it. I'm going to give it
an A minus as a name. I give the Beatles
a cea as a name. So right, better in that way,
you're better than the Beatles. It's not a bad pun
to me.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
Oh, thank you.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
All right, So you're in a little what is it
it's a bar.
Speaker 8 (26:08):
Just what's that?
Speaker 4 (26:10):
It's a bar the first gig.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
Yeah, oh yeah, I mean a bar would be a
kind word for this.
Speaker 9 (26:18):
It was.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
It was a weird dump.
Speaker 9 (26:20):
They served very bad food and they had a little
stage and they were it was kind of one of
those places where they were like, yeah, I guess you.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
Can play here. And we played many gigs at the
all Asia Cafe.
Speaker 9 (26:32):
In Cambridge, probably not there anymore, and uh it was
a strange, you know, it was a weird gig.
Speaker 5 (26:40):
I think there's probably like seven people there.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
Yeah, And like one thing to keep in mind our
early years, like we had the instrumentation was a pair
drownd drum kit like kick and snare and upright bass,
Rachel singing lead and trumpet and nothing else. So there
was no guitar, no keyboards, no chordal instrument and no
(27:06):
background vocals. And no background vocals too. We hadn't discovered
that we.
Speaker 8 (27:10):
Could try to sing, even though we're not singers.
Speaker 6 (27:15):
Yeah, so it was a wacky instrumentation. The music that
we were writing was wacky because we were kind of
like had told ourselves we were trying to be a
free country band, meaning like avant garde country music played
by drums upright bassed trumpet and sorry. So yeah, we
(27:38):
were a very weird band for years.
Speaker 4 (27:42):
Yeah, and you know we try.
Speaker 8 (27:45):
I think we try to still be weird sometimes embrace that.
Speaker 5 (27:48):
Yeah, it's sort of written into the DNA of the band.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
I wanted to ask about each of your sort of
musical backgrounds and family and music grew up with until
this morning and I listened to an old podcast, Rachel,
I had no idea that you have a like. Weirdly,
I just was in Australia for the first time last
year and I decided I was going to just go
full in discovering a lot of Australian pop and rock
(28:12):
I didn't know. And weirdly, a song your father did
was one that's on my playlist since then. I didn't
know a if you could say a little bit about
his musical background. And then the fact that, like, my
secret favorite group is Citizen Crops and I didn't know
that there's a whole you sort of grew up somehow
(28:33):
around that group, Yes, very much.
Speaker 9 (28:36):
So. Yeah, Well, my dad moved to Australia with his
family when he was like fifteen and he ended up
going to Music School in Sydney. He studied conducting, he
studied orchestral arranging, but he also was like a mandolin
player and a guitar player.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
And at some point I.
Speaker 9 (28:54):
Don't really know how he started working with this artist
Billy Fields, who in Australia the time was a well,
I mean, he became a big artist and so he
had a hit called bad Habits in Australia.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
Covered by David Lee Roth the years later among.
Speaker 9 (29:11):
Other paper Da Roth I remember that because it was
a like it was like a check that like got
us like a new TV at home.
Speaker 5 (29:18):
Like we were like we were like, oh, someone covered.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
The song and like, no, we have color TV.
Speaker 9 (29:27):
But yeah. And then Seals and Cross, So my dad,
my family were all members of the Bahai faith and
so are at Seals and Cross.
Speaker 5 (29:34):
And they also lived in Australia at the same time.
Speaker 9 (29:36):
And then they moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee, and then we
moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee, so we were all on the
same Like Dash Cross lived around the corner from us
and picked me up on his motorcycle to take me
over to his house to play with his daughter, Amelia,
(29:56):
who's still my best friend, and.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
There's a version I think she did. And the two
daughters of Seals and Cross on the last record they
ever made, they do a version of Get Closer with
their daughters and it's amazing. I can't believe that you
are in that group. Now, Richard, did you grow up
in a musical family or were you spontaneously brilliant?
Speaker 8 (30:19):
Like yes, and no, No one in my family has
made a career of music.
Speaker 6 (30:24):
But I grew up singing the church choir. My family,
we all took piano lessons young and and then I
actually just found out like two months ago because my
dad had always been like, yeah, I used to play
guitar and like bands in high school and stuff. And
then it just came out recently that he made an
(30:46):
album with a band he was in called the Langston
Hughes Acoustic Improvisational Eclectic Jazz.
Speaker 8 (30:54):
Expectation or something. Yeah, there was two.
Speaker 6 (30:59):
Hundred copies printed. I found record of this on like discogs.
Someone found on it like a Wyoming uh, you know,
flea market, and he played bass on it, like my
dad played bass on an album.
Speaker 8 (31:14):
And I only found this out like two months ago.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
Have you heard it yet?
Speaker 8 (31:19):
No, I'm dying to find it.
Speaker 6 (31:20):
If anyone out there has goods and hughes, memorial acoustics,
et cetera.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
I know, likes and uses not around anymore, so he
can't help us.
Speaker 4 (31:30):
And he was not involved exactly. Oh my god, not
a mission if I were you to find that out.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yeah, But if you're looking into your discogs and looking
up great releases, I will tell you that. Like a
few months ago, my one of my closest friends sent
me a video that his daughter started and it was
your video. Uh it was Nancy Handleman. I don't know
if you remember her, but it was this incredible like
little love story played out in your video directed by
(32:01):
I think tom Son.
Speaker 8 (32:03):
Oh yeah, oh yes, this is my solo song. That's
not what you're talking about. Yes, yeah, yeah, Truman Hanks
directed that.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
It's great, What a great song, what a great video.
Speaker 8 (32:16):
Thank you. It was really fun.
Speaker 6 (32:17):
We kind of like played with the idea of obsession,
like taking a darker turn. And I don't want to
give away the ending, but there's a sort of stalker
shower psycho scene.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
But people should know that you have solo albums, Rachel.
You have albums with vill Ray that are awesome. There's even.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
From a few years ago Solo Jazz records with you.
You've been singing. There's video of you on YouTube, I believe,
singing at eleven years old.
Speaker 9 (32:52):
Yeah. Yeah, I mean I was performing when I started performing,
probably like with in some sort of capacity, when I
was nine, and I was, you know, auditioning for the
Christmas shows.
Speaker 5 (33:05):
I grew up in Nashville at the Opry.
Speaker 9 (33:08):
I was always I was always trying to like be
the kid and the Christmas shows that at the hotel,
and they one time they took me aside and basically
told me to stop auditioning because my voice sounded too old.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
Wow.
Speaker 9 (33:19):
They were just like, you don't sound like a child,
so like we can't really cast you in the shows.
But I remember because this lady took me aside and
she was like, but I really think you should keep singing.
Speaker 5 (33:28):
She's like, but you need to sound like a tiny child.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Hilarious.
Speaker 9 (33:32):
And I'd been singing, trying to sing like Ella FitzGeralds
since I was six, so.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
I had sort of a.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
Forced When someone says that to you at that age,
do you go, hmm, I guess that's great. I sound
like I've grown up or do you go damn it?
I wish I sounded more like a little kid.
Speaker 8 (33:51):
I don't.
Speaker 5 (33:52):
I think at the time I was.
Speaker 9 (33:54):
I felt encouraged, like I appreciated that the that the
like whoever was listening to the audition like told me,
she was.
Speaker 5 (34:02):
Like, you should you should keep going. Yeah, I mean
I was like, I.
Speaker 9 (34:07):
Just wanted to be a jazz singer, you know, I
was like nine, and I was like, just I just
want to hit that club.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
Circuit, you know, like that's amazing.
Speaker 5 (34:15):
Let me let me sing with a trio. That's all
I ever wanted.
Speaker 4 (34:18):
Yeah, but you could not every nine year old could
do it.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
You could do it.
Speaker 4 (34:23):
That's so amazing.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
And if anyone can get some of these other records.
If you love Rachel's voice, which who doesn't on Lake
Street Dive, I want you to hear her other stuff too,
because it's really great.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
You too, Bridget, I love your stuff too.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Can you tell us about the other members of the
group since we're featuring YouTube but obviously people who love
your music, you just say something about what everybody else
in the group brings to the party.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
Well, Mike's my buddy, is he right there?
Speaker 5 (35:31):
Is he?
Speaker 4 (35:31):
Next door, like.
Speaker 9 (35:35):
Mike was just in the green room writing jokes which
I think you would have appreciated for for some funny,
funny video series that he has coming up.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
He was.
Speaker 4 (35:46):
And I didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
That's great.
Speaker 5 (35:49):
Yeah, we'll see if you can come in. But uh, well,
I can talk about Aki Bermese.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
Your your your most recent addition to the group, I
guess in the history.
Speaker 7 (35:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (35:59):
Well, and McDuck retired after what sixteen years of service.
Speaker 8 (36:07):
Seventeen years service in the band.
Speaker 9 (36:10):
He formed the band, he made us go go full
time and then and then he said he white fanged us.
Speaker 4 (36:19):
Free quitter but McDuck.
Speaker 9 (36:22):
Yeah, So McDuck retired and James Cornelisson joined the band,
but Aki had joined us.
Speaker 5 (36:28):
I think Aki's been in the band for eight years now,
and we.
Speaker 9 (36:34):
He's an incredible singer, songwriter from Brooklyn, incredible keyboard player,
obsessed with musicals, obsessed with classical music, obsessed with writing
songs from the perspective of an alien and a human
falling in love with each other.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
So obviously he fit with us perfectly.
Speaker 9 (36:59):
We he just wanted him in the band as soon
as he started playing with us, and luckily he said
he said yes, and he's been playing with us ever since.
Speaker 5 (37:09):
You want to talk about Mike Calberies.
Speaker 6 (37:10):
Sure, Mike is an incredible drummer, and like he's very energetic,
but also I think very selfless as a musician, Like
he he serves the song.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
Right, plays.
Speaker 8 (37:27):
What's that?
Speaker 4 (37:28):
Plays barefoot?
Speaker 8 (37:29):
He plays barefoot. He's a great singer too, and.
Speaker 6 (37:36):
He also I think like is really invaluable as like
just a joyful presence. Like having him around kind of
like cuts any moment of like stress or attention because
he can always make a great joke about it.
Speaker 8 (37:54):
Yeah, and he's a deep feeler too.
Speaker 6 (37:56):
I think you feel both sides of that in his songs,
Like he's he's intensely emotional about you know, falling in love,
but also about like our planet and taking care of
it and so yeah, all those things come into his
his songwriting.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Is it a total democracy in the band? Can anyone
come in with a song they want to write and
you guys help and work it out?
Speaker 4 (38:21):
Is that how it works? Is there a leader?
Speaker 9 (38:24):
No?
Speaker 5 (38:26):
Never?
Speaker 4 (38:27):
Never?
Speaker 8 (38:27):
No, Yeah, we we just have a way of kind of.
Speaker 6 (38:32):
Navigating the flow collectively and like everything gets a shot.
But which I think is how we continue to grow
musically is by like letting in even a song that
you're kind of like, well, we've never done anything like
that before, but maybe it'll work. And then, if you know,
sometimes we have to let things go that we've tried,
(38:53):
and that can be challenging, but it's never really a
fight as much as we just kind of like shrug
our shoulders collectively and like, no, one's not quaite working yet,
you know.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Are you guys And have you ever been at the
mercy of the record company telling you what should be
and what shouldn't be?
Speaker 5 (39:17):
Not on a level that was like dramatic for us.
Speaker 9 (39:21):
I think, you know, we've gotten feedback that we were
surprised before or you know that we were like, oh
we thought this song was really working, or but overall,
I think that we've been really lucky with our relationship
with the label. Like we were on we released a
lot of our records. We were on an independent label
(39:42):
out of Northampton called Signature Sounds, right, and then we
were on none such And we've most recently released this
record with Fantasy Yes, And I think mostly just it's
like we've gotten feedback by like giving a batch of
songs you know, here's fifteen songs, tell us which one
you wouldn't put on the record.
Speaker 4 (40:01):
And you know, just going from there and what happens
to those songs?
Speaker 9 (40:08):
I think every time those songs just kind of go away,
like we don't really revisit them, which is interesting.
Speaker 8 (40:15):
Like there's did they leave anything? Well, did we finish
any songs on? Obviously that we didn't later, No, obviously we.
Speaker 5 (40:22):
Didn't finish anything. That's true.
Speaker 6 (40:23):
It was all because on our new record we have
two songs we got mixed that we haven't put out yet.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
So I don't know, you can you tell us eat
what you each admire about the other one, because I
you know, the first thing that I was aware of
was Rachel's voice, you know, just because it's extraordinary. But
I even more recently, as I love songs, and I realized, Bridget,
how many you have written like you're as a songwriter.
(40:49):
So for what do you most admire musically about the other?
Speaker 8 (40:56):
I mean, Rachel is like so.
Speaker 6 (41:01):
Like technically amazing, but I think even more compellingly emotionally
amazing with like her interpretation of songs, just like so
inside the song you really hear the what's being said
in the song, which is like such a gift as
a songwriter to be able to give it to someone
that's gonna like deliver it both musically and just like
(41:24):
in terms.
Speaker 8 (41:24):
Of a live show, like the.
Speaker 6 (41:29):
The way that Rachel has been able to like take
on the sort of narrative of for example, this song
danced with a Stranger, which is like all about kind
of connecting with the people in the room and making
meeting new people in a in a concert setting or
a dance setting. And so she she's able to take
that and like translate that message to the whole room.
Speaker 5 (41:55):
The strange, strange, it just stands.
Speaker 8 (42:04):
Change change, not.
Speaker 6 (42:11):
A definitely in a way that I'm incapable of. So
it's it's really a gift to get to work in
that way. And and same with I mean on another uh,
just on the other end of the emotional spectrum, the
song twenty five on this new record, which is like
(42:32):
a sort of love song to a past love that
that it's beautiful so didn't last forever, but like was
a gift for the time that it lasted. And so yeah,
like to to be able to have Rachel deliver that
message is amazing.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
Rachel, you know that Barbara Streissan has said that she
was an actor first and that if you like her singing,
it's because she's an actor.
Speaker 4 (42:58):
Do you feel that way?
Speaker 9 (43:00):
I do feel that way, And yeah, I've definitely connect
with songs from the story first, and certainly more so
that's been my focus for the last handful of years.
Speaker 5 (43:13):
As far as like trying to hone my craft.
Speaker 9 (43:15):
I realized that there was a certain point where I
was like, oh, should I be sitting down and like
trying to learn how to like sing riffs really fast
and like be a very like agile singer. And while
that's still like a possibility and I could focus on that,
like I realized that I was a lot more just
wanting to really sit in the story of the song.
Speaker 5 (43:36):
And you know, it's like to get to.
Speaker 9 (43:39):
Be a singer in Lake Street Dive, so to get
Bridget Carney's songs to sing, it's like probably how like
you know, Deon Warwick feels felt getting Burt backrack songs
or like burn it Atte Peters being like sonhim being like, yeah, I.
Speaker 5 (43:54):
Want you to sing the songs.
Speaker 9 (43:56):
That's how it feels to me because I just get
I get a whole war Old to interpret.
Speaker 5 (44:01):
And that's how I feel.
Speaker 9 (44:04):
When I get to sing those songs, is that like
I can just fully like go into like I have backstories.
Speaker 5 (44:10):
In my head about the songs. I don't even ask.
Speaker 9 (44:13):
Bridget, like about befull, you know, I'm like, Okay, You've
given the song to me, so now I get to
imagine it the way that that you.
Speaker 5 (44:20):
Know, I'm interpreting the lyrics, and that's like really really
fun for me.
Speaker 6 (44:26):
This is just like a little I was thinking of
this in relation to Rachel's like emotional delivery of songs.
Is we were both teaching at a music camp together
a couple of years ago, and I went to Rachel's
vocal workshop and what she was having.
Speaker 8 (44:41):
The students do, and I was one of the students
as well, was just.
Speaker 6 (44:45):
Like pick a song that you know really well that
you like don't have to really think about like remembering
the words or anything. So people would be doing like
you are My Sunshine or something, and then there would
be cards that had like an emotion written on it,
and like the other students would be standing there and
(45:05):
Rachel would point to one of them and they would
reveal what it's.
Speaker 8 (45:07):
On their card. And it would say like distraught or something,
and so then you have to sing like a you
or My Sunshine exercise.
Speaker 6 (45:19):
Yeah, it's it's all about it's all about like choosing
how you want to deliver the words and making that
the first priority.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
It's so funny you mentioned you or My Sunshine because
when we had t Bone Burnett, who was responsible for
phil discovery You, he said, that's literally like the root
song in the English language. That's that's the core of music,
and you know, and then and then we discussed how
like and every generation gets their version like we I
got Stevie Wonder. You are the sunshine of my life.
(45:52):
But it's sort of like the key words you sunshine
are being you know.
Speaker 5 (45:59):
It just that's interesting cool.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
Can we can I ask you?
Speaker 4 (46:03):
Rachel didn't say what she loves about Bridget she.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
Did so, but could we can get it? Get more
of that?
Speaker 9 (46:10):
And then yeah, the songs of course, and then the
bass playing I think is tremendous, is like I just
don't really think that anybody approaches playing the upright bass
like Bridget, which is just like with so much exploration
like she I don't not a night goes by on
stage where I don't hear her play.
Speaker 5 (46:31):
Something and I'm like, what, Like you thought of that
and then you went for that, and then you played that.
Speaker 9 (46:37):
And it's great because I know that you don't take
it super seriously even though you're like an insanely accomplished,
like virtuosic bass player.
Speaker 5 (46:45):
Like I'll look over at Bridget and she'll like smirk
it after.
Speaker 9 (46:48):
She's played a fil because she's like what, And I
really like I like that type of playing and I
think that's like that's very present in Lake Street Dive,
like Mike plays silly Phil's to make me laugh on stage.
I'll look back and Bridge will play feels and I'm
just like you you were just like let's.
Speaker 5 (47:07):
Give it a shot, you know what I mean.
Speaker 9 (47:08):
Like it's very like kids on a playground, and I like,
I think that that is a great way to approach
playing music.
Speaker 4 (47:15):
But Bridget can play it. Like when I first saw
you in that movie, you do the song you go
down smooth and Bridget, you're like playing rock and roll
on an upright bass that that thing goes into high gear.
I think because of you.
Speaker 5 (47:34):
Tell my face, tell you so it's like you make
me my problem, not mine.
Speaker 8 (47:47):
Go down smooth whatever it Chuck Well.
Speaker 6 (48:06):
I think also it comes back to that like original
instrumentation of the band.
Speaker 8 (48:11):
Yeah, before we had guitar or piano, I was.
Speaker 6 (48:15):
Kind of like trying to function in those roles and
just like figuring out like, Okay, we don't have any
chordal instruments or anything that can strum, So what if
I just like strum chords on the bass somehow.
Speaker 4 (48:28):
But it's percussion too, isn't it?
Speaker 8 (48:30):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (48:32):
I appreciate all this praise for you, but I believe
your bass playing is very derivative of the Langston Use whoever,
whoever that great guy was. Just I think you're ripping
off that guy from the Langston Used band.
Speaker 8 (48:45):
If we like track down that album, you will like mine?
Speaker 1 (48:50):
Can we can we ask about a few of the
classic songs, just tell us something about how it came
to life so that we can mainly want to work
some into this episode, Uh some just some of my favorites.
Bad self portrait? Where did that? How did that happen?
Speaker 6 (49:06):
I had like gone to visit this guy that I
was dating in Ireland, and I bought a camera to
go on the trip, and then we immediately broke up.
Speaker 8 (49:16):
That was like, what the hell do I do with this?
Speaker 1 (49:19):
And that was.
Speaker 6 (49:22):
Yeah, portraits but h And also I was I just
read Carol King's autobiography and was like learning a bunch
of her songs. So I feel like I was kind
of in some ways doing a little bit of a
Carol King impression, like or trying to again bags.
Speaker 8 (50:02):
I could have been a pain.
Speaker 1 (50:05):
Uh call off your Dogs? Where did that begin?
Speaker 6 (50:10):
That one? I had gone on a trip to Ghana
and was learning some gunny and rhythms, like there's a
lot of like six eight twelve eight kind of cool rhythms,
and so I was just thinking, like, and we'd also
done this cover of I Want You Back, and I
was learning these kind of motown basslines that are very
melodic and a little bit showy, and so I was
(50:34):
kind of like, what if we could use this this
like big three uh time signature and put a showy,
melodic bassline over it.
Speaker 8 (50:47):
And that was that was where that one started.
Speaker 6 (50:49):
And then also yeah, putting certain trappings of like the
the motown sound. Another one being the kind of like
octaves on guitar jink jink jinning drink jink and jing
and ingading that kind of thing, but like again putting
it into this big three time signature that I was
like newly obsessed with. So that one started like on
(51:12):
a purely musical tip and then like figured out what
sort of story it did.
Speaker 1 (51:16):
And Rachel, how did you who came up with the
vocal on it? Is amazing? But the first thing I
heard was I want you back?
Speaker 9 (51:24):
You know?
Speaker 1 (51:24):
And this is like, you know, I always think we
had Donnie Osmond on the show and he had one
bad Apple and the Jackson five had I Want You Back,
where they both were unbelievably great vocalist on their first
record when they were little kids. I didn't think I
needed to hear I Want You Back by any else.
Graham Parker, who I love did it. But you guys
brought that song alive that it just exploded off of
(51:47):
YouTube into our minds. How did how did that come about?
Speaker 9 (51:52):
I mean I think that you brought into the band
and you were like, let's play it slow, and I
was like, that's just how I sang it. I don't
even feel like I it was that different from like
the first you know, few times that we sang the song.
It was just like if you taking the song slowing
(52:13):
it down is just like that's what came out, which
you know it's it speaks to like how.
Speaker 5 (52:19):
Good the song is.
Speaker 1 (52:20):
It is a great song, and your version also, rich girl.
I just saw Daryl Hall with Elvis Costello at the
Greek where I will see you tomorrow. I wonder did
you ever hear Daryl's not the easiest guy. I think
he's going to do the podcast coming up. He's a
you know, I grew up in love. That was like
my second concert.
Speaker 9 (52:40):
Ever.
Speaker 1 (52:41):
Did you hear back from any of the people you
did covers of? Did Daryl ever write you a thank
you note? Because it's a great version?
Speaker 8 (52:49):
I don't think.
Speaker 9 (52:49):
I think we've maybe heard from Darryl's house like been
and maybe were invited on and we couldn't make it work,
But no, we've never heard anything directly from from Holland.
Speaker 7 (53:00):
You're a rich girl and you're gon do far because
you know it don't matter anyway. You can lie on
the oh Man's money, you can rely on the oh Man. Honey,
it's a bitch girl, and you gon' do far because
you know it don't matter anyway. Same man, but it
won't get you too far, too far, don't don't knock.
Speaker 4 (53:31):
Man is wrong.
Speaker 9 (53:32):
We have heard as far as covers. We have heard
from uh Bonnie Rait when we covered nick of Time.
Speaker 1 (53:40):
That's pretty great saying thank you.
Speaker 9 (53:43):
And I think that Carol King like retweeted or responded
when we covered so Far Away on our last covers
on fun Machine two and we got a little nod
from Carol King and.
Speaker 6 (53:56):
Oh right, we covered a background. So and got to
meet him shortly before he passed. Yeah, when he was
ninety four.
Speaker 8 (54:06):
He had a little We.
Speaker 6 (54:08):
Had a pool party with him, Yeah, breakfast by the
pool at his house in California, and he regaled us
with stories.
Speaker 5 (54:17):
Oh my god, so wonderful.
Speaker 1 (54:18):
I got to spend some time with him. He is
so burt Back. He was so burt backrock. He was
everything you wanted him to be.
Speaker 9 (54:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (54:27):
I was in the studio with him and Elvis Costello
when they were making that record they did together. I
don't know if you have heard that record, but like
there's a song called Toledo, and like I was like, Elvis,
you got to write a city song with Bert Backerrack
and it's yeah, that's dope. Yeah, that's there's nothing better
that you get to be Hal David for a few minutes.
(54:51):
I want to ask opening act, did you ever have
to open for someone absolutely inappropriate? Did you ever have
a dream? Oh? You ever? Now you're past that, but
did you ever have any tough or great gig opening
for someone?
Speaker 6 (55:06):
I mean.
Speaker 8 (55:09):
We we opened for a couple like back in the day. Somehow.
Speaker 6 (55:14):
The first community that like sort of welcomed us in
our weird like not genre lists existence was the bluegrass community.
So we opened a lot of bluegrass shows and you know,
they accepted us. They were like, okay, there's an upright
(55:34):
bas like we'll take it.
Speaker 8 (55:37):
Not really in the lane.
Speaker 5 (55:40):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 9 (55:41):
We opened up for some like jam grass bands, and
I think that, uh, those were like funny gigs for us,
you know. But at one time we did a tour
opening for a like a surf rock band that performed in.
Speaker 5 (55:58):
Uh what are those types of masks the LUs.
Speaker 9 (56:04):
Like Mexican wrestling masks and so very specific and they
had burlesque dancers come out, great show, but I do
think that their audience did not like it.
Speaker 4 (56:16):
It's impossible, No, you have to.
Speaker 8 (56:22):
My main opening goal would be McCartney. He doesn't usually
have openers piece.
Speaker 1 (56:31):
I think the second best bass player in popular music.
Have you met him?
Speaker 4 (56:39):
Have you met him yet?
Speaker 8 (56:41):
I met him on zoom. He was a guest in
the songwriting class that I teach.
Speaker 6 (56:49):
I teach a songwriting class at Princeton and my co
teacher at the time, Paul muldoon, was collecting McCartney's lyrics.
They were working on the book that came out that
was like the Collected Lyrics of McCartney and it has
little anecdotes and like stuff about the songs, and so
the two of them are working on that together and
(57:11):
we were like talking about who we might have big
guests in the class. This was in twenty twenty one,
so that was on the whole class on zoom and
he's like, do you think Paul McCartney would be a
good guest?
Speaker 8 (57:22):
And I'm like, yes, I do. And he's like, we're
not going for star power, but I just think he'd
be a good guest. And I'm like, agreed, If.
Speaker 4 (57:32):
You're not going for star power, you've done a terrible job. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (57:38):
But he came and he listened to all these like
he came for three hours and listened to what dinner
songwriters songs and like took notes and gave them like
extremely generous feedback.
Speaker 8 (57:51):
Yeah, so good.
Speaker 1 (57:52):
And by the way he does it at his Liverpool institute.
You know, it's like he really has a commitment to that.
That's so impressing.
Speaker 8 (58:00):
Come on, yeah, come on, who would you be your
dream opening for opening for someone?
Speaker 5 (58:07):
Oh it's hard to be Paul McCartney. That would be
kind of a dream.
Speaker 9 (58:13):
I mean, we've we've wanted to. I love I keep
wanting to play a show with Cheryl Crowe, so that
like because I'm just like think she's one.
Speaker 1 (58:23):
Of them pretty well, Yeah, she's been on the show.
She's I go back with her before she was Cheryl
crow Like when she was about to put her first
record out and her career. I'm so glad to hear
you say that, because I think finally she's getting the
respect she deserves, like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
She's been always been worthy of that. She's always been great. Yeah, always,
(58:43):
And like you musically that you know, the the daughter
of a piano instructor, so she knows she actually knows music.
Speaker 2 (58:51):
You just posted something with with with Mavis Staples, right
the greatest. You got to play with her with Mavis.
Speaker 8 (58:59):
Yeah, Mike gets here.
Speaker 4 (59:01):
Hi might hello, how you doing? I heard you're writing jokes.
Speaker 5 (59:07):
I'm trying to write some jokes. Uh, maybe I could
run some buy in.
Speaker 4 (59:13):
I'm very busy.
Speaker 2 (59:13):
Might know what jokes do? I'm not Paul McCartney. No, no, anytime, anytime,
I'd be honored.
Speaker 5 (59:21):
All right, I appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (59:22):
Sure, you guys talking food, having a good time.
Speaker 2 (59:24):
We didn't even get into food really, they just went
when the cameras came on, they caught us eating our sandwiches.
But uh, are you finding a good place to eat
in San Diego?
Speaker 5 (59:35):
What are we doing catering today? Take it easy?
Speaker 4 (59:39):
Did you go to any of those places in Vegas?
Speaker 9 (59:43):
No?
Speaker 4 (59:43):
We we got an overwhelming recommendation for Lotus of ciam.
Speaker 9 (59:48):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (59:48):
Yeah, that's that's huge.
Speaker 1 (59:50):
That it's great.
Speaker 9 (59:51):
Great.
Speaker 4 (59:52):
Did you love it?
Speaker 1 (59:52):
China Club was not far away. Yeah, and I was
looking at the Duck.
Speaker 5 (59:58):
We didn't have enough time for the duck.
Speaker 4 (01:00:00):
I'll go back.
Speaker 1 (01:00:00):
Oh they didn't get the roy Choice place one. That's
the greatest. Mike. I don't know you, but one question
when Phil was on stage with you at Red Rocks.
Was it difficult to have that kind of raw sexuality
male presence on the stage with you?
Speaker 4 (01:00:14):
Are you asking this?
Speaker 5 (01:00:16):
I know I appreciate it because I still have nightmares.
Speaker 4 (01:00:24):
I think the orchestra was an upgrade.
Speaker 5 (01:00:27):
Yeah, it's good to see you guys.
Speaker 4 (01:00:31):
Have fun. Thank you, Wow, Mike, everybody. Oh oh, I
thought he'd never leave.
Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
Well, thank you so much for joining us. And please,
uh check out our podcast theme and please I cannot
wait for Phil's to be out there so that we can.
It is your stairway to heaven. It is your the
song you will never get away from. I believe the rest.
Speaker 6 (01:01:00):
What is Brad Paisley, who like was in maybe your
Nashville episode and then you were talking about Lake Street
Dive and he like right oh.
Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
At the end, I asked him to do the song
because he owed me a small favor and he had
agreed to play my funeral, and I said, if you don't,
if you write the theme song for our podcast, you
don't have to play my funeral. Uh that's the story.
And now but as Phil says, now he has to
play the theme song at your funeral, you know.
Speaker 4 (01:01:32):
Yeah, And I think Brad said he couldn't wait for your.
Speaker 1 (01:01:35):
Funeral exactly, but he did say when I asked him,
he said, I'm gonna have to work hard on this
because I love Lake Street Dives theme for Somebody for
You feel so much. I don't want to let it down.
So our dream is a co bill someday with Brad
Paisley and Lake Street Dive.
Speaker 9 (01:01:52):
Up.
Speaker 4 (01:01:53):
Are you guys before we let you go? Are you
working on new stuff? What's happening?
Speaker 1 (01:01:57):
What's next?
Speaker 2 (01:01:58):
I mean, let's get through that since Square Garden, I
know that's going to be huge, and then you still
have more tour, right.
Speaker 5 (01:02:06):
More tour?
Speaker 4 (01:02:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (01:02:07):
I mean we basically learned how to play the new
record a couple months ago, the live versions.
Speaker 5 (01:02:13):
So we're focusing on the show right now.
Speaker 9 (01:02:15):
And then we've got we've got something brewing, but it's
you know, it's a long term goal.
Speaker 2 (01:02:23):
Great, Well, tell people where they can find you your
Rachel Price pants? Where'd the pants come from?
Speaker 1 (01:02:30):
Again?
Speaker 5 (01:02:31):
It's a nick it's a childhood nickname. Pants.
Speaker 2 (01:02:34):
They used to call you pants. Yes, I still do so,
Rachel Price pants on Instagram?
Speaker 5 (01:02:40):
Right, mm hmm, that's right.
Speaker 4 (01:02:42):
And Bridget, what's your handle?
Speaker 8 (01:02:44):
Bridget Carney music.
Speaker 5 (01:02:47):
Childhood name.
Speaker 4 (01:02:53):
Well, I love you both. I'd love the band. I
can't wait to see you soon.
Speaker 8 (01:02:59):
Great to see Love you too, Phil, Love you too,
David nic.
Speaker 4 (01:03:05):
Lake Street Dive Everybody.
Speaker 10 (01:03:07):
Naked Lunch is a podcast by Phil Rosenthal and David Wilde.
Theme song and music by Brad Paisley, Produced by Will Sterling.
Executive produced by Phil Rosenthal, David Wilde, and our consulting
journalist is Pamela Cellen. If you enjoyed the show, share
it with a friend, But if you can't take my
word for it, take Phil's.
Speaker 4 (01:03:24):
And don't forget to leave a good rating and review
we like five stars.
Speaker 10 (01:03:28):
Thanks for listening to Naked Lunch, A Lucky Bastard's production.
Phil. I want to begin by saying thank you because
you introduced me to the musical genius of Lake Street Donalds.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I introduced you to one that was exactly usually yes,
but I mean you're mister music.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
They're good, aren't they They're great? And not only that,
you're like, I don't know if it's the fifth or sixth,
you're like the Murray the k of Lakestone Dive. You
you appeared with this band. We'll discuss it with them
live on the in the Red Rocks Amphitheater, one of
the greatest venues in the world.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Is gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous, and it was a thrill of
a lifetime. For those of you who who might know
my show, you absolutely know that it has a fantastic
theme song. And the theme song is from our guest today, and.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
We're gonna have to get the whole story of how
that magic happened.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Ladies and gentlemen, we have Rachel and Bridget right here
from Lake Street Dive.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Let's build the beans, chew the fat, food for thought
and jokes on tap, talking with our mouthsful, having fun,
peace of cake and humble pie, serving up slice live,
leave the dressing on the side. It's naked lunch.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Clothing option.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Hungry man.
Speaker 5 (01:38):
He's traveling on the sea.
Speaker 6 (01:40):
In the Dame.
Speaker 7 (01:42):
Chang stands the art pasta but chicken a last he.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
Would drafted pie fla out to.
Speaker 8 (01:54):
And stands for people with a pack.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
As somebody.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Phil, Hello, you've made something magical happen. I finally get
to meet Lake Street Dive.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Yes, these are the These are two of the main
members of Lake Street Dive. Not everybody's there. There's three
other people, right, my friend Mike.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
James.
Speaker 8 (02:34):
Yeah, yeah, they're they're right next door. They could pop
in at some point if you want.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
That's okay. This is like, uh, this was like a
pictorial in the in Jazz Times. This is the women
of Lake Street Dive. This is much cooler.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Women women rule the world. I'm for it.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Well, actually, that's one question. I've always thought that the
I get I do a lot of liner notes and
stuff for Fleetwood Mac. I always think the secret weapon
is there's not enough groups in history that are men
and women in which women have at least an equal
force and power base in a group. And I wonder
do you ever think about that? With Lake Street Dive,
(03:15):
they're one of the you guys are now that Fleetwood
Macre gone, you're like leading the charge for.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
A mam Is into Papas.
Speaker 9 (03:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (03:23):
Well, it's funny that you should mention those two groups,
because yes, we are aware of this issue.
Speaker 6 (03:29):
And part of why is that we dress up as
a band for Halloween every year, and we used to
like base our choices on like finding a band that
had our same like gender array.
Speaker 8 (03:42):
And then we got through.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
All the bands.
Speaker 8 (03:44):
We did Mama's and the Papas. We did Fleetwood Mac.
Speaker 6 (03:47):
We did Abbay, we did a Starlight Vocal.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Starlight Vocal, Starlight, Starland Starland Vocal Band. Yes, oh my god.
Speaker 6 (04:00):
And then we had to just eventually, you know, except
that we could dress up as men and be the Beatles.
Speaker 5 (04:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Well, here's here's the thing. The new album Good Together,
which is unbelievably great.
Speaker 9 (04:14):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I listened to it again this morning and was thinking,
there's a new the and this is high praise. I
hope you take it at that. There was a track
and I said, like, I feel like I'm listening to
Rufus for today. I don't know if you are aware.
You're too young to know. Chaka Khan and rufus, but
it was it's the band. This record is so soulful
and like powerful. I felt rufous. We could be good.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
That's not It feels so good to good. That's very
high praise.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I love it too, but I love all your stuff.
A couple of years ago, you guys sent me, uh,
what do you call it? When the record's not finished yet?
But you have tracks and you want to see if
people like Yes, yes, yes, And I don't think I
was very helpful because I had no notes.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
It was just phenomenal. I'm your biggest fan.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Because because Phil is your biggest fan, Phil tell the
story of Phil not only got the greatest theme song
in history? Uh for somebody feed Phil with you. It's
the reason we have our own theme song by Brad Paisley,
because like we felt, we needed for the podcast to
have a great theme song. But you set the bar
(05:44):
very high. But Phil, how did your relationship with Lake
Street Dive happen?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
I see the movie there's a documentary about the music
from inside inside Leewin Davis.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
And it was called another Time, Another Place.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Another Time, Another Place.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
And even though you guys correct me if I'm wrong,
You're not on the actual soundtrack of Lewin Davis. But
T Bone Burnett loved you so much he wanted you
in that concert and then filmed the concert, and these.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Guys stole the show.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
If people are listening, get that documentary and watch and
you'll see a great performance from Lake Street time. So
I see that, I call T Bone and who I'd
met just a little bit, and I said, who's that group?
Speaker 4 (06:29):
I love that group?
Speaker 2 (06:30):
If I never done this, but if they're ever in
Los Angeles and they let me come to the show,
I'll take the whole band to dinner.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
I didn't know what came over me. I don't do this.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I don't know why young people like you would even
want to see an old guy like me, And what
kind of creep you know?
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Says I want to take the band to dinner.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
But just my luck.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
You were hungry, literally, but you guys came.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
I think some some some the crew came. It wasn't
a lot of people, because I think your crew was
pretty small. Then right, dinner you gave us, but it
was very sweet.
Speaker 8 (07:12):
I never knew that we were the only band treated
to this occasion.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
I thought, do this. No, I'm very cheap.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
No, I love.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
No, I just it never.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
It never occurred to me, But I think it was
because your music is so I don't know, joyful and
welcoming and sweet and and uplifting.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
And brilliantly plays.
Speaker 9 (07:37):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
I just thought you're gonna you seem nice and you
can say yes, So.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
And we got along great, and and we stayed friends,
and I would come and see you guys in New York.
We've had dinner or lunch if you came into town again.
Now you're so busy. We'll get into that.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
But when it came time for somebody feed, Phil Netflix
asked me, is there anything you didn't have at PBS that.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
You would like to have? And I said, well, I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
I'd like a theme song, and they said go ahead,
So I called you guys. You guys were into it.
I wrote some lyrics, I sent it to you. You
guys wrote some additional better lyrics, and then this amazing tune.
And I think, I'm you know, we're starting our eighth season,
and I think it's only because of the theme song.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Yeah, and what what's the theme song? Emmy nominated? I
believe absolutely. Can you talk about from your point of view.
I know that you've put and we have to put
this footage on the episode. In some ways, Phil performed
live the rock Star Moment of all Time at Red
Rocks Amphitheater.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Would you call it that a performance? Well, I don't
think it was a performance really.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Performance?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Uh?
Speaker 6 (08:55):
But what what?
Speaker 1 (08:56):
What is the impact? Do you hear about the somebody
feed Phil fairly often in your lives?
Speaker 5 (09:03):
Yes, regularly.
Speaker 9 (09:04):
We do a little like a VIP experience before our
shows where fans can come and watch our soundcheck and
they can request songs. And every single time we do this,
somebody requests that we play the theme song.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Oh isn't that sweet?
Speaker 8 (09:20):
Yeah, and we love it, we play, We've played it.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Yeah, I love it. And you want to tell the
people you're going to release it as a single.
Speaker 8 (09:28):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 5 (09:30):
Finally, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Coming in out October. Yes, it's going to be the
version that I heard, the full length version of the track, right.
Speaker 8 (09:38):
That's right there.
Speaker 6 (09:39):
There's probably never before heard segments of the song because.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
I think McDuck's trumpet solo, yeah, I think, right.
Speaker 5 (09:48):
Which I honestly have completely forgotten about.
Speaker 8 (09:50):
Yeah, And there's like the whole bridge.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Yeah, that's it because obviously we use your first forty
five seconds for the main titles, but then if people
stay around for the end titles, you hear the end
of the song.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
So you're gonna hear the whole full thing. I'm so excited.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Can you tell us a little bit about the creative
process of how because hey, I got questions online saying
was Phil involved in the creative process of writing the song?
But can you tell us what was sort of your mission?
Because whatever you were shooting for you captured. I think
Phil used the word joy, the joy of the show,
the sense of love and comfort.
Speaker 9 (10:28):
And.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
You captured the spirit of the show before it really existed.
What was the process like of doing the song.
Speaker 6 (10:36):
Well, we we'd watched some of the show, like the
previous show, and so yeah, like had a sense for
your energy and like what you're putting out there, the
way you connect with people through food and like that
being so central to like, I think what people love
about the show. So like Phil had sent a us
(11:00):
I think it was the pre chorus lyrics, the sort
of I'll fly, He'll fly to you, I'll dive to
You'll sing to you, dance, dance, for you or something
like that, and then Mike Calbury's was the one who
was like, Okay, this is the chorus canceobody.
Speaker 8 (11:14):
Wow, you know, very triumphant and then uh.
Speaker 6 (11:17):
And then after that I worked on the the versus
the Happy Hungry Man, et cetera, sort of building up
to that moment narratively, and then I think, like stylistically,
what was cool about it is that you can do
us because you already kind of like what we do,
(11:38):
and so we didn't have to like be anybody else
than ourselves, you know, in the sort of musical energy
of the song, like it it's very much Lake Street Dive.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
It really is. It also has a little bit and
people tell me this it reminds them of an old
school sitcom.
Speaker 9 (11:57):
Yeah, or a style that we had explored, Like we
already had songs that we described as like, you know,
eighties sitcom. Yes, So when we when you asked us
to write a theme song, we were like, oh, this
is our moment.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
Oh I love it. Now are you are you writing
other theme songs? Are you doing movie stuff?
Speaker 1 (12:20):
What are you doing?
Speaker 8 (12:22):
M Nope?
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Okay, so this is we're putting it out there. Let's
let's put it out there today. You're available, We're available
to compose. You couldn't write better songs. Who wouldn't want you?
Speaker 9 (12:35):
Guys?
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Let me tell you how Phil Weirdly, this is like
I have to thank Phil because you know I'm a
music person. I you know, I come from Rolling Stone
and then I ended up writing all these music TV shows.
That's my world. Yet Lake Street Dive is an example
of I had not heard you, guys. I don't know
how I had that blind spot. And when he discovered you,
(12:58):
he started sending me video and he goes, what do
you think? And I said, I think this is one
of the greatest things I've ever heard. And those were
some of the early covers that you did. But I like,
you know, Rachel, you know I remember I think. I said,
it's like, oh well, it's like Sarah Vaughan singing I
Want You Back, Like it's the best thing I've ever heard.
It's it's you know, because you you two have you
(13:21):
both have a conservatory jazz background and like chops to
die for. But I couldn't believe how great it was.
And here's the thing where you will not remember this,
but I'm gonna you probably I'm gonna say, you secretly
have owed me a lunch for ten years because because
he turned yes, exactly what I'm trying to I'm collecting
(13:44):
by going to see you guys, and you know, maybe
I'll get on the early request thing with my wife
and we can call out for somebody feed filled. Because
that twenty this was in ten years ago exactly. I
was called into help with a new front, which is
sort of newer than the upfront for a studio, something
(14:06):
called Xbox Studios, and they said, put together your favorite
artist in music to play this event so that we
get great reviews. And I and they were broadcasting Bonnerou supposedly.
So I looked down the list of everybody at Bonnerou
and said, let's pay a lot of money to Lake
Street Dive to come do this event. And I did
(14:28):
the same thing. They said, we want to end with
a good dance number. I said, okay, let's get Nile
Rodgers and Chic and they said we need a host,
and we need a funny host. And they wanted ed
from the office and he didn't take the tremendous amount
of money they offered, and so I said, get Craig Robinson.
From the office. But I don't know if you remember
that event, but that was only because Phil had turned
(14:51):
me onto your music and I fell in love with it.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
You're welcome.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
Wow, actually did not know.
Speaker 8 (14:56):
Yeah, all roads lead back to Phil.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Come up.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
You guys are so grateful to you for taking the
time today, because I know you're not just on some
little tour. You're on a giant world tour. You're doing
a lot of one nighters. And Rachel, you have a baby,
I do, and you're bringing him along.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
What is that like?
Speaker 9 (15:21):
Well, it's it's mostly really really fun because she's at
like just a very fun age.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
She's fifteen months. She's saying new words every day.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Wait, tell me her name again, I said him. I'm sorry, Jupiter.
That's right, she's a baby.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
You know how old?
Speaker 4 (15:38):
How old today?
Speaker 5 (15:39):
She's fifteen months.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
So she's adorable.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I see the pictures.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
She's making everyone laugh. Sometimes she keeps me up in
the middle of the night and and that's okay.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Wow, so's it's really not a problem to Are you
on a big bus? How are you getting around?
Speaker 5 (16:01):
Yeah, we're traveling on a bus.
Speaker 9 (16:04):
Jupiter and I have a little setup in the back
of the bus. She has a crib and I have
a bed right next to her, and it's really not
because I mean, you know, it is sort of in
a sense like having it all kind of moment.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
Because I get to be with her all day, I
get to sing at night, and then I have a
little village of people to help me out.
Speaker 9 (16:26):
So in some ways it feels like a more natural
way to raise a baby than, you know, just like
being at home with her.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
All day, just me and her.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
She's got a full family.
Speaker 9 (16:36):
We have way more of a social life on the
road than like a mom at home because usually I'm
just going to bed with.
Speaker 5 (16:43):
Her at night and you know, not seeing anyone in
New York. So it's like it's actually for me, it's
more fun for me to be on tour with a
baby than to be at home.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
And the baby becomes like the center of the world
on these things, right, and the whole bridget you get
you grab her sometimes say she's my.
Speaker 8 (17:00):
Oh yeah, it's so fun around tour.
Speaker 6 (17:03):
Yeah, I like, yeah, oftentimes I'll sleep later than other people,
but I'll wake up and everyone will already be out
in the front front lune, so I just wake up
to like a sort of joyful play scene out there,
and I'm like, yay, I get to get up and
play with Jupiter.
Speaker 5 (17:22):
It's great.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Well, maybe give.
Speaker 8 (17:36):
Me one man.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
Whown't you please help me.
Speaker 9 (17:49):
Now?
Speaker 5 (17:50):
And almost blind to let you go?
Speaker 2 (17:56):
No sing, Let's talk about this tour, because yes, I
did Red Rocks with you. I came out when you
did the theme song and I fed the band a
little bit and it was nice. But you replaced me
at Red Rocks with a.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
Full orchestra this year. What the hell you were cheaper?
Speaker 1 (18:17):
I'm sure?
Speaker 9 (18:18):
Yes? What was that? Like?
Speaker 1 (18:20):
How did that happen?
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Are you doing that some more? Are you recording that?
Speaker 9 (18:24):
So?
Speaker 8 (18:25):
It was incredible? Yeah, I don't know how it happened.
Speaker 6 (18:30):
Like I think they have a series each summer where
they just invite artists to come in and play at
Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony, and they have sort
of a go to set of orchestrators that they've worked
with a lot.
Speaker 8 (18:42):
So they just said, do you want to do it?
We said yes.
Speaker 6 (18:45):
They said, here's a batch of people that are available
to make orchestral arrangements of your songs, and we said great.
There was like a fairly easy process of like back
and forth with the orchestrators where they would send us
kind of a of like what they were writing for
the orchestra, and they would say like, yeah, I'm thinking
of bringing the flutes in on the bridge if that's
(19:07):
okay with you, and we'd be like two thumbs up.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Really, so you had no note, you had no notes
for them ever so occasionally notes, but.
Speaker 8 (19:16):
It was pretty smooth, like Yeah.
Speaker 6 (19:19):
There was one song where I was kind of like
felt that the orchestral arrangement was putting a very different
emotional character on the.
Speaker 8 (19:26):
Song, and so I was like, hmm, this one, can
you just like diet dial it back.
Speaker 6 (19:31):
Or make it like less playful and more sort of serious.
So we got it to a place that I was
really happy with.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
I'm dying to hear this is it? Is there a
way for people to hear it?
Speaker 6 (19:42):
Well? We made a like board recording of it, just
you know, from the microphones on stage, and I hope
that we can put it out because I think it
was a great performance and just like so special to
get to hear those songs in a totally new way.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
And I know you're playing some other big venue, use
can we say, oh, I know, this is out there.
You guys are headlining Madison's Square Guard mm hmm in October.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
September fourteen. It's coming up. Oh my god, god coming up.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
How How have you managed to build because you've built
this during an era when the music business is in
so going through so many changes. You've been on big label,
small labels, you know, your own label. You've done it
with the sort of spirit of independence. And yet through
everything that's happened, every trend you've built the band is
(20:36):
a live act, is just built and built. You know,
Madison Square Garden. I grew up. That was the ultimate.
That is the old biggest.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
Acts in the world.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
It's always the the Is this like for you another pinnacle?
I mean, I remember when you you got Radio City
that was gigantic, But now you're you know, Springsteen territory.
Speaker 9 (20:59):
Yeah, I think it's somewhat like unreal for us, even
though we have been like very very slowly but surely
building towards playing a room like that, I think until
it happens, we're gonna we're sort of in disbelief of it.
I mean, we've never we've never headlined an arena that
type of venue, you know, we've headlined bigger, we've headlined
(21:21):
some decently sized festivals, and we've headlined you know, a
room like Radio City that's sort of like the biggest
type of room that we've been Like, it's our show,
so it's it's gonna be pretty surreal when it happens.
Speaker 6 (21:36):
Yeah, I think we, from my perspective, have a somewhat
unique scenario in our career trajectory where like we've never
had like a big radio hit, we've never been on
like the cover of Rolling Stone.
Speaker 8 (21:52):
Like these kind of bursts haven't really happened.
Speaker 6 (21:58):
But what has happened is like almost a grassroots style.
Speaker 8 (22:02):
Of pr just like.
Speaker 6 (22:05):
Word of mouth, where like you know, last night or
a couple nights ago when we played at Red Rocks,
like there was nine thousand people there and I'm sure
most of them knew the band, but they probably brought
a couple friends.
Speaker 8 (22:16):
Like now those people know the band.
Speaker 6 (22:18):
And so like every time we play a show, there's
a few more people that know about it, and over
twenty years, that's built up to a Madison Square garden.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Yeah, listen, it's not right there twenty years for a band.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
That's why I'm wearing my Rolling Stones hat because I
was thinking about the fact that, you know, Mick the
day we're recording this turns eighty one and I saw
them and they are still good together. To use your phrase,
but you, guys, twenty years there's a lot of groups
that do not make it to that twentieth year, and
very few make it when they're playing the biggest rooms. Imaginable.
(22:53):
I mean, I have to believe that when you're at
the New England Conservatory of Music and saying let's play,
you're you're thinking clubs, You're not thinking the garden. I imagine.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
No, no, describe, sorry, go ahead, No, I want you
to finish, then I'll ask go ahead.
Speaker 9 (23:13):
Well, our motivation initially was to be able to make
music that we could play in a bar, and I
think it's somewhat came out of like being in jazz
education and like wanting to seek out a different type
of venue to be able to play in as jazz musicians.
So we were like, wouldn't it be fun if we
could just play like a three hour bar gig and
(23:35):
have everyone, like, you know, singing along with us, and
so like that's that's the kind of music that we
were sort of playing. We were trying to write songs
that people would like turn their heads and like by
the end they would be like, oh yeah, I remember
the chorus of the song.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Yeah, it's that catchy and a music.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
I will tell you. I think about it in terms
of I've spent this last weekend with my nephew who's
a conservatory you know, you study student. He studied at Rice,
you know, university, and I asked him about what he
thought of you guys, and he goes, they're like the dream.
They're the group that musically has kept their integrity and
just unbelievably great entertainers musically never sold out. So I
(24:17):
think at twenty years you should be feeling hopefully a
lot of pride.
Speaker 5 (24:23):
Yeah, it feels good, and it also doesn't feel like
twenty years.
Speaker 9 (24:27):
You know. Every time we put out a new record,
we feel like a freshness of this is the beginning
of something else, and so like it's just never it's
never felt monotonous, and it's never, yeah, felt stagnant, which
is very.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
Really a blessing.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
Take us to that first gig of you guys as
a band, was it at all?
Speaker 7 (24:52):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (24:52):
I think all, yeah, it was all I think it
was all Asia and I think it was the Nerds.
Speaker 8 (24:59):
Oh, the the shaky r the shak It could have
been Yeah, let's.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
We'll go with that because it was twenty years ago.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
And you're in, you're in, You're in college, You're you're like,
how old are you college from Boston?
Speaker 8 (25:13):
Yeah, sophomore year of college.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
Sophomore year. Yeah, we we we. The first time we
played was the very end of our first year at NEC.
That was like May.
Speaker 9 (25:22):
It was like we were all about to leave for
summer break and we McDuff told us we were a
band and wrote down, so that was so.
Speaker 5 (25:30):
This is us coming back.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
So he came up with the name, which is a
great name.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
Wow, thank you.
Speaker 8 (25:37):
I'm so glad you think.
Speaker 9 (25:38):
So.
Speaker 6 (25:40):
We fought the name for many years because so many
people get it jumbled up because.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
They say Lake Street.
Speaker 8 (25:47):
A lot of people say Lake Street Drive or Shore Drive.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Yes, I will give it. I'm going to give it
an A minus as a name. I give the Beatles
a cea as a name. So right, better in that way,
you're better than the Beatles. It's not a bad pun
to me.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
Oh, thank you.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
All right, So you're in a little what is it
it's a bar.
Speaker 8 (26:08):
Just what's that?
Speaker 4 (26:10):
It's a bar the first gig.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
Yeah, oh yeah, I mean a bar would be a
kind word for this.
Speaker 9 (26:18):
It was.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
It was a weird dump.
Speaker 9 (26:20):
They served very bad food and they had a little
stage and they were it was kind of one of
those places where they were like, yeah, I guess you.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
Can play here. And we played many gigs at the
all Asia Cafe.
Speaker 9 (26:32):
In Cambridge, probably not there anymore, and uh it was
a strange, you know, it was a weird gig.
Speaker 5 (26:40):
I think there's probably like seven people there.
Speaker 6 (26:42):
Yeah, And like one thing to keep in mind our
early years, like we had the instrumentation was a pair
drownd drum kit like kick and snare and upright bass,
Rachel singing lead and trumpet and nothing else. So there
was no guitar, no keyboards, no chordal instrument and no
(27:06):
background vocals. And no background vocals too. We hadn't discovered
that we.
Speaker 8 (27:10):
Could try to sing, even though we're not singers.
Speaker 6 (27:15):
Yeah, so it was a wacky instrumentation. The music that
we were writing was wacky because we were kind of
like had told ourselves we were trying to be a
free country band, meaning like avant garde country music played
by drums upright bassed trumpet and sorry. So yeah, we
(27:38):
were a very weird band for years.
Speaker 4 (27:42):
Yeah, and you know we try.
Speaker 8 (27:45):
I think we try to still be weird sometimes embrace that.
Speaker 5 (27:48):
Yeah, it's sort of written into the DNA of the band.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
I wanted to ask about each of your sort of
musical backgrounds and family and music grew up with until
this morning and I listened to an old podcast, Rachel,
I had no idea that you have a like. Weirdly,
I just was in Australia for the first time last
year and I decided I was going to just go
full in discovering a lot of Australian pop and rock
(28:12):
I didn't know. And weirdly, a song your father did
was one that's on my playlist since then. I didn't
know a if you could say a little bit about
his musical background. And then the fact that, like, my
secret favorite group is Citizen Crops and I didn't know
that there's a whole you sort of grew up somehow
(28:33):
around that group, Yes, very much.
Speaker 9 (28:36):
So. Yeah, Well, my dad moved to Australia with his
family when he was like fifteen and he ended up
going to Music School in Sydney. He studied conducting, he
studied orchestral arranging, but he also was like a mandolin
player and a guitar player.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
And at some point I.
Speaker 9 (28:54):
Don't really know how he started working with this artist
Billy Fields, who in Australia the time was a well,
I mean, he became a big artist and so he
had a hit called bad Habits in Australia.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
Covered by David Lee Roth the years later among.
Speaker 9 (29:11):
Other paper Da Roth I remember that because it was
a like it was like a check that like got
us like a new TV at home.
Speaker 5 (29:18):
Like we were like we were like, oh, someone covered.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
The song and like, no, we have color TV.
Speaker 9 (29:27):
But yeah. And then Seals and Cross, So my dad,
my family were all members of the Bahai faith and
so are at Seals and Cross.
Speaker 5 (29:34):
And they also lived in Australia at the same time.
Speaker 9 (29:36):
And then they moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee, and then we
moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee, so we were all on the
same Like Dash Cross lived around the corner from us
and picked me up on his motorcycle to take me
over to his house to play with his daughter, Amelia,
(29:56):
who's still my best friend, and.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
There's a version I think she did. And the two
daughters of Seals and Cross on the last record they
ever made, they do a version of Get Closer with
their daughters and it's amazing. I can't believe that you
are in that group. Now, Richard, did you grow up
in a musical family or were you spontaneously brilliant?
Speaker 8 (30:19):
Like yes, and no, No one in my family has
made a career of music.
Speaker 6 (30:24):
But I grew up singing the church choir. My family,
we all took piano lessons young and and then I
actually just found out like two months ago because my
dad had always been like, yeah, I used to play
guitar and like bands in high school and stuff. And
then it just came out recently that he made an
(30:46):
album with a band he was in called the Langston
Hughes Acoustic Improvisational Eclectic Jazz.
Speaker 8 (30:54):
Expectation or something. Yeah, there was two.
Speaker 6 (30:59):
Hundred copies printed. I found record of this on like discogs.
Someone found on it like a Wyoming uh, you know,
flea market, and he played bass on it, like my
dad played bass on an album.
Speaker 8 (31:14):
And I only found this out like two months ago.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
Have you heard it yet?
Speaker 8 (31:19):
No, I'm dying to find it.
Speaker 6 (31:20):
If anyone out there has goods and hughes, memorial acoustics,
et cetera.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
I know, likes and uses not around anymore, so he
can't help us.
Speaker 4 (31:30):
And he was not involved exactly. Oh my god, not
a mission if I were you to find that out.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yeah, But if you're looking into your discogs and looking
up great releases, I will tell you that. Like a
few months ago, my one of my closest friends sent
me a video that his daughter started and it was
your video. Uh it was Nancy Handleman. I don't know
if you remember her, but it was this incredible like
little love story played out in your video directed by
(32:01):
I think tom Son.
Speaker 8 (32:03):
Oh yeah, oh yes, this is my solo song. That's
not what you're talking about. Yes, yeah, yeah, Truman Hanks
directed that.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
It's great, What a great song, what a great video.
Speaker 8 (32:16):
Thank you. It was really fun.
Speaker 6 (32:17):
We kind of like played with the idea of obsession,
like taking a darker turn. And I don't want to
give away the ending, but there's a sort of stalker
shower psycho scene.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
But people should know that you have solo albums, Rachel.
You have albums with vill Ray that are awesome. There's even.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
From a few years ago Solo Jazz records with you.
You've been singing. There's video of you on YouTube, I believe,
singing at eleven years old.
Speaker 9 (32:52):
Yeah. Yeah, I mean I was performing when I started performing,
probably like with in some sort of capacity, when I
was nine, and I was, you know, auditioning for the
Christmas shows.
Speaker 5 (33:05):
I grew up in Nashville at the Opry.
Speaker 9 (33:08):
I was always I was always trying to like be
the kid and the Christmas shows that at the hotel,
and they one time they took me aside and basically
told me to stop auditioning because my voice sounded too old.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
Wow.
Speaker 9 (33:19):
They were just like, you don't sound like a child,
so like we can't really cast you in the shows.
But I remember because this lady took me aside and
she was like, but I really think you should keep singing.
Speaker 5 (33:28):
She's like, but you need to sound like a tiny child.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Hilarious.
Speaker 9 (33:32):
And I'd been singing, trying to sing like Ella FitzGeralds
since I was six, so.
Speaker 5 (33:38):
I had sort of a.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
Forced When someone says that to you at that age,
do you go, hmm, I guess that's great. I sound
like I've grown up or do you go damn it?
I wish I sounded more like a little kid.
Speaker 8 (33:51):
I don't.
Speaker 5 (33:52):
I think at the time I was.
Speaker 9 (33:54):
I felt encouraged, like I appreciated that the that the
like whoever was listening to the audition like told me,
she was.
Speaker 5 (34:02):
Like, you should you should keep going. Yeah, I mean
I was like, I.
Speaker 9 (34:07):
Just wanted to be a jazz singer, you know, I
was like nine, and I was like, just I just
want to hit that club.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
Circuit, you know, like that's amazing.
Speaker 5 (34:15):
Let me let me sing with a trio. That's all
I ever wanted.
Speaker 4 (34:18):
Yeah, but you could not every nine year old could
do it.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
You could do it.
Speaker 4 (34:23):
That's so amazing.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
And if anyone can get some of these other records.
If you love Rachel's voice, which who doesn't on Lake
Street Dive, I want you to hear her other stuff too,
because it's really great.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
You too, Bridget, I love your stuff too.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Can you tell us about the other members of the
group since we're featuring YouTube but obviously people who love
your music, you just say something about what everybody else
in the group brings to the party.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
Well, Mike's my buddy, is he right there?
Speaker 5 (35:31):
Is he?
Speaker 4 (35:31):
Next door, like.
Speaker 9 (35:35):
Mike was just in the green room writing jokes which
I think you would have appreciated for for some funny,
funny video series that he has coming up.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
He was.
Speaker 4 (35:46):
And I didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
That's great.
Speaker 5 (35:49):
Yeah, we'll see if you can come in. But uh, well,
I can talk about Aki Bermese.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
Your your your most recent addition to the group, I
guess in the history.
Speaker 7 (35:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (35:59):
Well, and McDuck retired after what sixteen years of service.
Speaker 8 (36:07):
Seventeen years service in the band.
Speaker 9 (36:10):
He formed the band, he made us go go full
time and then and then he said he white fanged us.
Speaker 4 (36:19):
Free quitter but McDuck.
Speaker 9 (36:22):
Yeah, So McDuck retired and James Cornelisson joined the band,
but Aki had joined us.
Speaker 5 (36:28):
I think Aki's been in the band for eight years now,
and we.
Speaker 9 (36:34):
He's an incredible singer, songwriter from Brooklyn, incredible keyboard player,
obsessed with musicals, obsessed with classical music, obsessed with writing
songs from the perspective of an alien and a human
falling in love with each other.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
So obviously he fit with us perfectly.
Speaker 9 (36:59):
We he just wanted him in the band as soon
as he started playing with us, and luckily he said
he said yes, and he's been playing with us ever since.
Speaker 5 (37:09):
You want to talk about Mike Calberies.
Speaker 6 (37:10):
Sure, Mike is an incredible drummer, and like he's very energetic,
but also I think very selfless as a musician, Like
he he serves the song.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
Right, plays.
Speaker 8 (37:27):
What's that?
Speaker 4 (37:28):
Plays barefoot?
Speaker 8 (37:29):
He plays barefoot. He's a great singer too, and.
Speaker 6 (37:36):
He also I think like is really invaluable as like
just a joyful presence. Like having him around kind of
like cuts any moment of like stress or attention because
he can always make a great joke about it.
Speaker 8 (37:54):
Yeah, and he's a deep feeler too.
Speaker 6 (37:56):
I think you feel both sides of that in his songs,
Like he's he's intensely emotional about you know, falling in love,
but also about like our planet and taking care of
it and so yeah, all those things come into his
his songwriting.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Is it a total democracy in the band? Can anyone
come in with a song they want to write and
you guys help and work it out?
Speaker 4 (38:21):
Is that how it works? Is there a leader?
Speaker 9 (38:24):
No?
Speaker 5 (38:26):
Never?
Speaker 4 (38:27):
Never?
Speaker 8 (38:27):
No, Yeah, we we just have a way of kind of.
Speaker 6 (38:32):
Navigating the flow collectively and like everything gets a shot.
But which I think is how we continue to grow
musically is by like letting in even a song that
you're kind of like, well, we've never done anything like
that before, but maybe it'll work. And then, if you know,
sometimes we have to let things go that we've tried,
(38:53):
and that can be challenging, but it's never really a
fight as much as we just kind of like shrug
our shoulders collectively and like, no, one's not quaite working yet,
you know.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Are you guys And have you ever been at the
mercy of the record company telling you what should be
and what shouldn't be?
Speaker 5 (39:17):
Not on a level that was like dramatic for us.
Speaker 9 (39:21):
I think, you know, we've gotten feedback that we were
surprised before or you know that we were like, oh
we thought this song was really working, or but overall,
I think that we've been really lucky with our relationship
with the label. Like we were on we released a
lot of our records. We were on an independent label
(39:42):
out of Northampton called Signature Sounds, right, and then we
were on none such And we've most recently released this
record with Fantasy Yes, And I think mostly just it's
like we've gotten feedback by like giving a batch of
songs you know, here's fifteen songs, tell us which one
you wouldn't put on the record.
Speaker 4 (40:01):
And you know, just going from there and what happens
to those songs?
Speaker 9 (40:08):
I think every time those songs just kind of go away,
like we don't really revisit them, which is interesting.
Speaker 8 (40:15):
Like there's did they leave anything? Well, did we finish
any songs on? Obviously that we didn't later, No, obviously we.
Speaker 5 (40:22):
Didn't finish anything. That's true.
Speaker 6 (40:23):
It was all because on our new record we have
two songs we got mixed that we haven't put out yet.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
So I don't know, you can you tell us eat
what you each admire about the other one, because I
you know, the first thing that I was aware of
was Rachel's voice, you know, just because it's extraordinary. But
I even more recently, as I love songs, and I realized, Bridget,
how many you have written like you're as a songwriter.
(40:49):
So for what do you most admire musically about the other?
Speaker 8 (40:56):
I mean, Rachel is like so.
Speaker 6 (41:01):
Like technically amazing, but I think even more compellingly emotionally
amazing with like her interpretation of songs, just like so
inside the song you really hear the what's being said
in the song, which is like such a gift as
a songwriter to be able to give it to someone
that's gonna like deliver it both musically and just like
(41:24):
in terms.
Speaker 8 (41:24):
Of a live show, like the.
Speaker 6 (41:29):
The way that Rachel has been able to like take
on the sort of narrative of for example, this song
danced with a Stranger, which is like all about kind
of connecting with the people in the room and making
meeting new people in a in a concert setting or
a dance setting. And so she she's able to take
that and like translate that message to the whole room.
Speaker 5 (41:55):
The strange, strange, it just stands.
Speaker 8 (42:04):
Change change, not.
Speaker 6 (42:11):
A definitely in a way that I'm incapable of. So
it's it's really a gift to get to work in
that way. And and same with I mean on another uh,
just on the other end of the emotional spectrum, the
song twenty five on this new record, which is like
(42:32):
a sort of love song to a past love that
that it's beautiful so didn't last forever, but like was
a gift for the time that it lasted. And so yeah,
like to to be able to have Rachel deliver that
message is amazing.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
Rachel, you know that Barbara Streissan has said that she
was an actor first and that if you like her singing,
it's because she's an actor.
Speaker 4 (42:58):
Do you feel that way?
Speaker 9 (43:00):
I do feel that way, And yeah, I've definitely connect
with songs from the story first, and certainly more so
that's been my focus for the last handful of years.
Speaker 5 (43:13):
As far as like trying to hone my craft.
Speaker 9 (43:15):
I realized that there was a certain point where I
was like, oh, should I be sitting down and like
trying to learn how to like sing riffs really fast
and like be a very like agile singer. And while
that's still like a possibility and I could focus on that,
like I realized that I was a lot more just
wanting to really sit in the story of the song.
Speaker 5 (43:36):
And you know, it's like to get to.
Speaker 9 (43:39):
Be a singer in Lake Street Dive, so to get
Bridget Carney's songs to sing, it's like probably how like
you know, Deon Warwick feels felt getting Burt backrack songs
or like burn it Atte Peters being like sonhim being like, yeah, I.
Speaker 5 (43:54):
Want you to sing the songs.
Speaker 9 (43:56):
That's how it feels to me because I just get
I get a whole war Old to interpret.
Speaker 5 (44:01):
And that's how I feel.
Speaker 9 (44:04):
When I get to sing those songs, is that like
I can just fully like go into like I have backstories.
Speaker 5 (44:10):
In my head about the songs. I don't even ask.
Speaker 9 (44:13):
Bridget, like about befull, you know, I'm like, Okay, You've
given the song to me, so now I get to
imagine it the way that that you.
Speaker 5 (44:20):
Know, I'm interpreting the lyrics, and that's like really really
fun for me.
Speaker 6 (44:26):
This is just like a little I was thinking of
this in relation to Rachel's like emotional delivery of songs.
Is we were both teaching at a music camp together
a couple of years ago, and I went to Rachel's
vocal workshop and what she was having.
Speaker 8 (44:41):
The students do, and I was one of the students
as well, was just.
Speaker 6 (44:45):
Like pick a song that you know really well that
you like don't have to really think about like remembering
the words or anything. So people would be doing like
you are My Sunshine or something, and then there would
be cards that had like an emotion written on it,
and like the other students would be standing there and
(45:05):
Rachel would point to one of them and they would
reveal what it's.
Speaker 8 (45:07):
On their card. And it would say like distraught or something,
and so then you have to sing like a you
or My Sunshine exercise.
Speaker 6 (45:19):
Yeah, it's it's all about it's all about like choosing
how you want to deliver the words and making that
the first priority.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
It's so funny you mentioned you or My Sunshine because
when we had t Bone Burnett, who was responsible for
phil discovery You, he said, that's literally like the root
song in the English language. That's that's the core of music,
and you know, and then and then we discussed how
like and every generation gets their version like we I
got Stevie Wonder. You are the sunshine of my life.
(45:52):
But it's sort of like the key words you sunshine
are being you know.
Speaker 5 (45:59):
It just that's interesting cool.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
Can we can I ask you?
Speaker 4 (46:03):
Rachel didn't say what she loves about Bridget she.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
Did so, but could we can get it? Get more
of that?
Speaker 9 (46:10):
And then yeah, the songs of course, and then the
bass playing I think is tremendous, is like I just
don't really think that anybody approaches playing the upright bass
like Bridget, which is just like with so much exploration
like she I don't not a night goes by on
stage where I don't hear her play.
Speaker 5 (46:31):
Something and I'm like, what, Like you thought of that
and then you went for that, and then you played that.
Speaker 9 (46:37):
And it's great because I know that you don't take
it super seriously even though you're like an insanely accomplished,
like virtuosic bass player.
Speaker 5 (46:45):
Like I'll look over at Bridget and she'll like smirk
it after.
Speaker 9 (46:48):
She's played a fil because she's like what, And I
really like I like that type of playing and I
think that's like that's very present in Lake Street Dive,
like Mike plays silly Phil's to make me laugh on stage.
I'll look back and Bridge will play feels and I'm
just like you you were just like let's.
Speaker 5 (47:07):
Give it a shot, you know what I mean.
Speaker 9 (47:08):
Like it's very like kids on a playground, and I like,
I think that that is a great way to approach
playing music.
Speaker 4 (47:15):
But Bridget can play it. Like when I first saw
you in that movie, you do the song you go
down smooth and Bridget, you're like playing rock and roll
on an upright bass that that thing goes into high gear.
I think because of you.
Speaker 5 (47:34):
Tell my face, tell you so it's like you make
me my problem, not mine.
Speaker 8 (47:47):
Go down smooth whatever it Chuck Well.
Speaker 6 (48:06):
I think also it comes back to that like original
instrumentation of the band.
Speaker 8 (48:11):
Yeah, before we had guitar or piano, I was.
Speaker 6 (48:15):
Kind of like trying to function in those roles and
just like figuring out like, Okay, we don't have any
chordal instruments or anything that can strum, So what if
I just like strum chords on the bass somehow.
Speaker 4 (48:28):
But it's percussion too, isn't it?
Speaker 8 (48:30):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (48:32):
I appreciate all this praise for you, but I believe
your bass playing is very derivative of the Langston Use whoever,
whoever that great guy was. Just I think you're ripping
off that guy from the Langston Used band.
Speaker 8 (48:45):
If we like track down that album, you will like mine?
Speaker 1 (48:50):
Can we can we ask about a few of the
classic songs, just tell us something about how it came
to life so that we can mainly want to work
some into this episode, Uh some just some of my favorites.
Bad self portrait? Where did that? How did that happen?
Speaker 6 (49:06):
I had like gone to visit this guy that I
was dating in Ireland, and I bought a camera to
go on the trip, and then we immediately broke up.
Speaker 8 (49:16):
That was like, what the hell do I do with this?
Speaker 1 (49:19):
And that was.
Speaker 6 (49:22):
Yeah, portraits but h And also I was I just
read Carol King's autobiography and was like learning a bunch
of her songs. So I feel like I was kind
of in some ways doing a little bit of a
Carol King impression, like or trying to again bags.
Speaker 8 (50:02):
I could have been a pain.
Speaker 1 (50:05):
Uh call off your Dogs? Where did that begin?
Speaker 6 (50:10):
That one? I had gone on a trip to Ghana
and was learning some gunny and rhythms, like there's a
lot of like six eight twelve eight kind of cool rhythms,
and so I was just thinking, like, and we'd also
done this cover of I Want You Back, and I
was learning these kind of motown basslines that are very
melodic and a little bit showy, and so I was
(50:34):
kind of like, what if we could use this this
like big three uh time signature and put a showy,
melodic bassline over it.
Speaker 8 (50:47):
And that was that was where that one started.
Speaker 6 (50:49):
And then also yeah, putting certain trappings of like the
the motown sound. Another one being the kind of like
octaves on guitar jink jink jinning drink jink and jing
and ingading that kind of thing, but like again putting
it into this big three time signature that I was
like newly obsessed with. So that one started like on
(51:12):
a purely musical tip and then like figured out what
sort of story it did.
Speaker 1 (51:16):
And Rachel, how did you who came up with the
vocal on it? Is amazing? But the first thing I
heard was I want you back?
Speaker 9 (51:24):
You know?
Speaker 1 (51:24):
And this is like, you know, I always think we
had Donnie Osmond on the show and he had one
bad Apple and the Jackson five had I Want You Back,
where they both were unbelievably great vocalist on their first
record when they were little kids. I didn't think I
needed to hear I Want You Back by any else.
Graham Parker, who I love did it. But you guys
brought that song alive that it just exploded off of
(51:47):
YouTube into our minds. How did how did that come about?
Speaker 9 (51:52):
I mean I think that you brought into the band
and you were like, let's play it slow, and I
was like, that's just how I sang it. I don't
even feel like I it was that different from like
the first you know, few times that we sang the song.
It was just like if you taking the song slowing
(52:13):
it down is just like that's what came out, which
you know it's it speaks to like how.
Speaker 5 (52:19):
Good the song is.
Speaker 1 (52:20):
It is a great song, and your version also, rich girl.
I just saw Daryl Hall with Elvis Costello at the
Greek where I will see you tomorrow. I wonder did
you ever hear Daryl's not the easiest guy. I think
he's going to do the podcast coming up. He's a
you know, I grew up in love. That was like
my second concert.
Speaker 9 (52:40):
Ever.
Speaker 1 (52:41):
Did you hear back from any of the people you
did covers of? Did Daryl ever write you a thank
you note? Because it's a great version?
Speaker 8 (52:49):
I don't think.
Speaker 9 (52:49):
I think we've maybe heard from Darryl's house like been
and maybe were invited on and we couldn't make it work,
But no, we've never heard anything directly from from Holland.
Speaker 7 (53:00):
You're a rich girl and you're gon do far because
you know it don't matter anyway. You can lie on
the oh Man's money, you can rely on the oh Man. Honey,
it's a bitch girl, and you gon' do far because
you know it don't matter anyway. Same man, but it
won't get you too far, too far, don't don't knock.
Speaker 4 (53:31):
Man is wrong.
Speaker 9 (53:32):
We have heard as far as covers. We have heard
from uh Bonnie Rait when we covered nick of Time.
Speaker 1 (53:40):
That's pretty great saying thank you.
Speaker 9 (53:43):
And I think that Carol King like retweeted or responded
when we covered so Far Away on our last covers
on fun Machine two and we got a little nod
from Carol King and.
Speaker 6 (53:56):
Oh right, we covered a background. So and got to
meet him shortly before he passed. Yeah, when he was
ninety four.
Speaker 8 (54:06):
He had a little We.
Speaker 6 (54:08):
Had a pool party with him, Yeah, breakfast by the
pool at his house in California, and he regaled us
with stories.
Speaker 5 (54:17):
Oh my god, so wonderful.
Speaker 1 (54:18):
I got to spend some time with him. He is
so burt Back. He was so burt backrock. He was
everything you wanted him to be.
Speaker 9 (54:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (54:27):
I was in the studio with him and Elvis Costello
when they were making that record they did together. I
don't know if you have heard that record, but like
there's a song called Toledo, and like I was like, Elvis,
you got to write a city song with Bert Backerrack
and it's yeah, that's dope. Yeah, that's there's nothing better
that you get to be Hal David for a few minutes.
(54:51):
I want to ask opening act, did you ever have
to open for someone absolutely inappropriate? Did you ever have
a dream? Oh? You ever? Now you're past that, but
did you ever have any tough or great gig opening
for someone?
Speaker 6 (55:06):
I mean.
Speaker 8 (55:09):
We we opened for a couple like back in the day. Somehow.
Speaker 6 (55:14):
The first community that like sort of welcomed us in
our weird like not genre lists existence was the bluegrass community.
So we opened a lot of bluegrass shows and you know,
they accepted us. They were like, okay, there's an upright
(55:34):
bas like we'll take it.
Speaker 8 (55:37):
Not really in the lane.
Speaker 5 (55:40):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 9 (55:41):
We opened up for some like jam grass bands, and
I think that, uh, those were like funny gigs for us,
you know. But at one time we did a tour
opening for a like a surf rock band that performed in.
Speaker 5 (55:58):
Uh what are those types of masks the LUs.
Speaker 9 (56:04):
Like Mexican wrestling masks and so very specific and they
had burlesque dancers come out, great show, but I do
think that their audience did not like it.
Speaker 4 (56:16):
It's impossible, No, you have to.
Speaker 8 (56:22):
My main opening goal would be McCartney. He doesn't usually
have openers piece.
Speaker 1 (56:31):
I think the second best bass player in popular music.
Have you met him?
Speaker 4 (56:39):
Have you met him yet?
Speaker 8 (56:41):
I met him on zoom. He was a guest in
the songwriting class that I teach.
Speaker 6 (56:49):
I teach a songwriting class at Princeton and my co
teacher at the time, Paul muldoon, was collecting McCartney's lyrics.
They were working on the book that came out that
was like the Collected Lyrics of McCartney and it has
little anecdotes and like stuff about the songs, and so
the two of them are working on that together and
(57:11):
we were like talking about who we might have big
guests in the class. This was in twenty twenty one,
so that was on the whole class on zoom and
he's like, do you think Paul McCartney would be a
good guest?
Speaker 8 (57:22):
And I'm like, yes, I do. And he's like, we're
not going for star power, but I just think he'd
be a good guest. And I'm like, agreed, If.
Speaker 4 (57:32):
You're not going for star power, you've done a terrible job. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (57:38):
But he came and he listened to all these like
he came for three hours and listened to what dinner
songwriters songs and like took notes and gave them like
extremely generous feedback.
Speaker 8 (57:51):
Yeah, so good.
Speaker 1 (57:52):
And by the way he does it at his Liverpool institute.
You know, it's like he really has a commitment to that.
That's so impressing.
Speaker 8 (58:00):
Come on, yeah, come on, who would you be your
dream opening for opening for someone?
Speaker 5 (58:07):
Oh it's hard to be Paul McCartney. That would be
kind of a dream.
Speaker 9 (58:13):
I mean, we've we've wanted to. I love I keep
wanting to play a show with Cheryl Crowe, so that
like because I'm just like think she's one.
Speaker 1 (58:23):
Of them pretty well, Yeah, she's been on the show.
She's I go back with her before she was Cheryl
crow Like when she was about to put her first
record out and her career. I'm so glad to hear
you say that, because I think finally she's getting the
respect she deserves, like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
She's been always been worthy of that. She's always been great. Yeah, always,
(58:43):
And like you musically that you know, the the daughter
of a piano instructor, so she knows she actually knows music.
Speaker 2 (58:51):
You just posted something with with with Mavis Staples, right
the greatest. You got to play with her with Mavis.
Speaker 8 (58:59):
Yeah, Mike gets here.
Speaker 4 (59:01):
Hi might hello, how you doing? I heard you're writing jokes.
Speaker 5 (59:07):
I'm trying to write some jokes. Uh, maybe I could
run some buy in.
Speaker 4 (59:13):
I'm very busy.
Speaker 2 (59:13):
Might know what jokes do? I'm not Paul McCartney. No, no, anytime, anytime,
I'd be honored.
Speaker 5 (59:21):
All right, I appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (59:22):
Sure, you guys talking food, having a good time.
Speaker 2 (59:24):
We didn't even get into food really, they just went
when the cameras came on, they caught us eating our sandwiches.
But uh, are you finding a good place to eat
in San Diego?
Speaker 5 (59:35):
What are we doing catering today? Take it easy?
Speaker 4 (59:39):
Did you go to any of those places in Vegas?
Speaker 9 (59:43):
No?
Speaker 4 (59:43):
We we got an overwhelming recommendation for Lotus of ciam.
Speaker 9 (59:48):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (59:48):
Yeah, that's that's huge.
Speaker 1 (59:50):
That it's great.
Speaker 9 (59:51):
Great.
Speaker 4 (59:52):
Did you love it?
Speaker 1 (59:52):
China Club was not far away. Yeah, and I was
looking at the Duck.
Speaker 5 (59:58):
We didn't have enough time for the duck.
Speaker 4 (01:00:00):
I'll go back.
Speaker 1 (01:00:00):
Oh they didn't get the roy Choice place one. That's
the greatest. Mike. I don't know you, but one question
when Phil was on stage with you at Red Rocks.
Was it difficult to have that kind of raw sexuality
male presence on the stage with you?
Speaker 4 (01:00:14):
Are you asking this?
Speaker 5 (01:00:16):
I know I appreciate it because I still have nightmares.
Speaker 4 (01:00:24):
I think the orchestra was an upgrade.
Speaker 5 (01:00:27):
Yeah, it's good to see you guys.
Speaker 4 (01:00:31):
Have fun. Thank you, Wow, Mike, everybody. Oh oh, I
thought he'd never leave.
Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
Well, thank you so much for joining us. And please,
uh check out our podcast theme and please I cannot
wait for Phil's to be out there so that we can.
It is your stairway to heaven. It is your the
song you will never get away from. I believe the rest.
Speaker 6 (01:01:00):
What is Brad Paisley, who like was in maybe your
Nashville episode and then you were talking about Lake Street
Dive and he like right oh.
Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
At the end, I asked him to do the song
because he owed me a small favor and he had
agreed to play my funeral, and I said, if you don't,
if you write the theme song for our podcast, you
don't have to play my funeral. Uh that's the story.
And now but as Phil says, now he has to
play the theme song at your funeral, you know.
Speaker 4 (01:01:32):
Yeah, And I think Brad said he couldn't wait for your.
Speaker 1 (01:01:35):
Funeral exactly, but he did say when I asked him,
he said, I'm gonna have to work hard on this
because I love Lake Street Dives theme for Somebody for
You feel so much. I don't want to let it down.
So our dream is a co bill someday with Brad
Paisley and Lake Street Dive.
Speaker 9 (01:01:52):
Up.
Speaker 4 (01:01:53):
Are you guys before we let you go? Are you
working on new stuff? What's happening?
Speaker 1 (01:01:57):
What's next?
Speaker 2 (01:01:58):
I mean, let's get through that since Square Garden, I
know that's going to be huge, and then you still
have more tour, right.
Speaker 5 (01:02:06):
More tour?
Speaker 4 (01:02:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (01:02:07):
I mean we basically learned how to play the new
record a couple months ago, the live versions.
Speaker 5 (01:02:13):
So we're focusing on the show right now.
Speaker 9 (01:02:15):
And then we've got we've got something brewing, but it's
you know, it's a long term goal.
Speaker 2 (01:02:23):
Great, Well, tell people where they can find you your
Rachel Price pants? Where'd the pants come from?
Speaker 1 (01:02:30):
Again?
Speaker 5 (01:02:31):
It's a nick it's a childhood nickname. Pants.
Speaker 2 (01:02:34):
They used to call you pants. Yes, I still do so,
Rachel Price pants on Instagram?
Speaker 5 (01:02:40):
Right, mm hmm, that's right.
Speaker 4 (01:02:42):
And Bridget, what's your handle?
Speaker 8 (01:02:44):
Bridget Carney music.
Speaker 5 (01:02:47):
Childhood name.
Speaker 4 (01:02:53):
Well, I love you both. I'd love the band. I
can't wait to see you soon.
Speaker 8 (01:02:59):
Great to see Love you too, Phil, Love you too,
David nic.
Speaker 4 (01:03:05):
Lake Street Dive Everybody.
Speaker 10 (01:03:07):
Naked Lunch is a podcast by Phil Rosenthal and David Wilde.
Theme song and music by Brad Paisley, Produced by Will Sterling.
Executive produced by Phil Rosenthal, David Wilde, and our consulting
journalist is Pamela Cellen. If you enjoyed the show, share
it with a friend, But if you can't take my
word for it, take Phil's.
Speaker 4 (01:03:24):
And don't forget to leave a good rating and review
we like five stars.
Speaker 10 (01:03:28):
Thanks for listening to Naked Lunch, A Lucky Bastard's production.
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