Episode 6: Eric Alexandrakis on Streaming, Creativity, Cancer, Songwriting, and Surviving the Music Business — Part 1 - Stuck on Sound

Episode Transcript
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Joey Stuckey (00:00):
Welcome to the Stuck on Sound Podcast.
I'm your host, Joey Stuckey.
And as always, striving to bringyou content that is fascinating,
educational, uh, maybe evenlife-changing.
Who knows?
I might get lucky.
With me today is a good friendand a really I don't I cannot
say enough good things about uhour guest because uh this this

(00:25):
is a true artist in every goodsense of the word.
It's my friend EricAlezandrakis, and I'm so happy
to have him on the program.
Uh let's just let's just uhlet's get started.
I want I have so many things toask you, Eric.
Thank you for being part of theshow.

SPEAKER_04 (00:40):
What a kind introduction.
Thank you for inviting me, myfriend.

You well, uh it's it's it's a pleasure.
You know, we have we have somewonderful things in common.
And uh, you know, being in themusic business is is uh I think
it's difficult uh uh you know atthe best of times, but it's it's
also what feeds and I know youfeel the same way.
It's what feeds my spirit, it'swhat makes me feel you know the

(01:06):
most human and the most engagedin in the universe.
And um, I mean, I know you feelthat way too because we share uh
some some uh some similar pathsthat we've taken over the years.
I am not two-time Grammynominated, uh, but like I like
your good self.
But but I I I know Yeah, well,it could happen.

(01:26):
You never know.
I might bribe the right person.
I don't know, I'm just kidding.
Yeah, yeah.
Um, but but I mean there, youknow, there's there's a um my
mom is is hilarious.
She's like, You're gonna you'regonna win a Grammy.
I was like, Mom, that's highlyunlikely.
Uh but anyway.

SPEAKER_04 (01:38):
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
I think it's it's uh very it'sjust you know, there's a whole
process to that.

There is a there is a process, and we may talk
about that process.
We may get some insight.
But I want to talk about your Imean, this is the thing.
You have been in this businessfor quite some time, and you
know, you started, if I remembercorrectly, around eight.
Um and okay, six.
Okay, well, I was close enough.

SPEAKER_04 (02:03):
Yeah, six was the classical piano.
I mean, uh I mean, I I won'tinterrupt, I'll let you
continue.

Well, no, I was gonna say you you start up that
was that's where I was headed.
So you you started playing pianoat six, and um what I want to
know is when I was six, uh youknow, uh I I was a very sick
child, and uh I was really hadto focus on survival until I was
about 16.

(02:29):
Uh and it was just, you know, itwas just keeping your head down
and like not dying.
And you know, but so I not notthat I didn't have things I
enjoyed, um, and I certainlybecame an early Beatles devotee
uh uh at that at that time.
And I know you're a big Beatlesfan.
Uh but but what was it that drewyou to the piano and made you

(02:51):
say, I mean, you know, playingclassical music on the piano
requires some serious effort.
So so what drew it drew you tothat and gave you the ability as
a six-year-old child, you know,famously six-year-old's
attention spans aren't great,uh, to do this to do this work.

SPEAKER_04 (03:07):
Well I think my parents saw something in me.
Yeah.
And they put me in classicalpiano at age six.
And um, which I did until about16.
Uh but I was always and youknow, growing up, I just uh I

(03:30):
would pick things and musicallyand make music out of strange
objects, and and I was, youknow, all through elementary and
high school, I was uh also kindof doing theater stuff.
Oh nice.
So I would get like the lead andthe plays and and things like

(03:51):
that.
And then I was in a band, andthen I I don't know, you know,
that sort of thing.
I I've had I've read a lot aboutwhy people get into the
especially like really highlycreative people, because I I
can't turn it off, it's on allthe time.
I make sure to I make sure tolisten to a new album I've never
heard before every day.
Sometimes it's three or four aday.

(04:12):
So in the last month I'velistened to about like 48 albums
that I've never heard before.
You know, some of them areremasters, some of them
whatever.
So I think it's it's it's kindof like I think it's the way of
science, there's been scientificstudies on this.
It's it's really the way you'rewired, you know, because people
who are on the high echelon ofcreativity, they react

(04:33):
differently to visual and audiostimuli than people who may not
have those extra nerve endingsin whatever part of the brain it
is.
So it's it's kind of like askinga gay person, hey, stop being
gay.

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 (04:49):
Yeah, it's a chemical thing, you know?
So it's very much that, but alsogrowing up, I was always around
uh creative stuff, art museumsaround the world.
My mother was an art historyprofessor and philosophy
professor, so we would go seeall kinds of interesting
architectural buildings, youknow, all over Europe and art

(05:13):
museums, and that fed into itbecause I'm also I'm just a very
visual writer, you know.
Like my endgame is always uhkind of the visual media, and I
I you know song titles arewritten according to how good
they look in capital letters,say on a screen, like a film
title.

Yeah, so interesting.

SPEAKER_04 (05:32):
Yeah, so I I uh I'm working on actually two film
projects now, but uh so you knowit's one of those things I I was
built that way um mentally.
Um I I do have other interests.
I mean, I was always interestedin space and um uh film.

(05:54):
And I've always said I I feellike a film director caught in a
musician's body.

I love it.

SPEAKER_04 (06:02):
Yeah, I love it.
So it's just the way I wasbuilt, you know, and I mean,
music business-wise, I mean, I Istarted in the music business
officially in '94 as an internat like the hot little label of
Miami at the time, which hadseveral major label artists.
And then you know, thingsstarted growing and uh expanding

(06:26):
uh because I I had a I have amaster's in music business.
So uh, you know, just over theyears things started expanding,
and then of course I had cancertwice, and and then uh that uh
after that I kind of got back ontrack.
But then the music industrybasically died in what 2000 when
Napster was um was introduced.

(06:50):
So uh it you know, it's it now II don't consider I actually
don't consider myself in themusic business because I don't
because I don't think it exists.
I feel like I'm in the Ericbusiness because what the music
business kind of people refer toit these days is really three

(07:13):
different things.
It's the music distributionbusiness, which Spotify is the
the the product, the live musicbusiness, which is dominated by
Heritage Acts and CorporateActs, which is run basically by
Live Nation and AEG, and thenthere's the music branding

(07:34):
business, which is what themajor labels are, and they sell
spectacle.
So none of those sell music,they all sell a distribution
method, uh a live showspectacle, and a branded uh
widget, you know, in essence.
Now, of course, there are otherlabels and they want to sell

(07:57):
albums and they want to sellmusic, but the drivers of the
statistics and whatever is leftof the industry are those three
kind of corners.
So, in a way, it it's goodbecause it opens things up for
like people like Angine dePoitrain, which I'm sure you've
seen, the uh band from Canada,which has taken the internet by

(08:21):
storm, yeah, um, where theycould be fully independent and
not have to even sign up with adistributor, they just press
everything themselves, and youknow, obviously they need
fulfillment and all that.
So uh, you know, so so it'salmost like back in the ancient
days of Greece, where there werelots of city-states, they all
spoke the same language,generally had the same gods, and

(08:45):
but had a few different vibes,different designs, or whatever,
but they all tied together.
But they were all their own kindof thing, you know.
Um, so in a way, that's prettycool.
You have these channels whereyou can punch through uh the the
noise if you know strategicallyif you can.

(09:08):
Um but uh but it's also badbecause there's too much noise.
And now Spotify with all the AIartists that are flooding, and
now this new scam of piratescloning other artists' music and
copywriting the cloned AIversions of themselves, and

(09:29):
these artists come on Spotifyand they're like, I didn't
record these three albums, whatis this?
And then those piratesmonetizing off of those those
songs that they created asclones and AI songs and
copywriting them, and what areyou gonna do?
You know.
So the interesting thing isstreaming doesn't have to exist.

(09:51):
It does not.
The labels could be making 12times what they're making now if
they weren't so afraid ofrocking the boat, because that's
how AR guys have always been.
They're always afraid of rockingthe boat, afraid of losing their
jobs.
When I was a kid in college, Iproduced the first digitally
watermark CD with the inventorof digital watermarks, Scott
Moskowitz.
And that technology, thosepatents, are driving every

(10:15):
single digital everything onplanet Earth and beyond.
So that was the means to protectintellectual property value.
But industry people, you know,have always been, you know, back
in the day anyway, you know,it's always been about like, you

(10:36):
know, uh telling the band or theproducer, hey man, great mix,
but can you raise the vocal 2dB?
And then you know the producersends it back saying, Yeah, here
it is with 2 dB, but he didn'tadjust anything.
And the AR guy's like, oh man,that's perfect.
Now it's a hit.

You know, or I have been guilty of that trick.
I have to confess.

SPEAKER_04 (10:57):
Well, it's a good trick.
You know, Lee Scular had like, Iremember I saw some review Lee
Sklar had like a knob on his uhbase, one of his bases that did
nothing.
And then you know, producerwould say, Hey man, can you
adjust the this and that?
And he's like, Yeah, sure.
How's that?
Oh, that's perfect.
You know, it's just it'samazing, it's utter nonsense.

So you have to produce protect the client from
themselves.

SPEAKER_04 (11:21):
Yeah, you have to, you know.
So um you know, that's that'show I look at it.
You know, there's there's itthere's a lot of it's a
disaster.
Like I feel now with this newthis new thing with these
pirates cloning people's songs,I think streaming is officially

(11:41):
over.
I think people in denial, and Idon't think they realize it
because all they have to do isis input a system within all
streaming platforms that that umdetects original watermarks from
original ingredients used forfor AI uh hybrids and

(12:04):
automatically zap those off ofthe platform.

Well, I have to tell you a secret.
Uh I saw you post about this onon your Facebook page.
Cool.
And that is what reminded me howcool you were.
And one of the reasons I reachedout from the I was like, wait, I
gotta talk to him about this.
It's you you you've got a lot ofinformation to unpack that
you've just provided.

(12:27):
And and I so, you know,everybody says, and I I really
want your response on this.
And I mean you've kind of givenit a little bit already, but I
want to I want to go deeper.
Uh, everybody says the utilitymodel of digital content, you
know, the the streaming, it'sit's just like it's here to
stay, it's never gonna gobecause the corporations, you

(12:47):
know, know they gotcha.
And you know, they they theythey are making a lot of money
doing this.
But but you did say on yourFacebook page, you know, hey,
this the death of streaming ishere.
Um I uh just unpack that alittle bit more for me because
as a lot of people that listento this show are Uber nerds and
and and are into business andare looking for answers.

(13:09):
I I just what what do you thinkthe the the death nail will be?
When will we realize that it'sdead and what what are we gonna
do uh you know after or in placeof it?

SPEAKER_04 (13:21):
So you take three or four of the top earners that are
on streaming, Taylor Swift, BTS,all that stuff.
If they take down their content,it'll kill Spotify.
Or if they re-upload theircontent with a voiceover, kind
of like on radio, so say TaylorSwift has a song and the song

(13:45):
starts playing, says, Hi, I'mTaylor Swift.
This is my new song I LoveKitties, and get it at
Taylorswift.com and then hervocal comes in, you know, like
radio, and then or at the end,as it's fading out, hi, it's
Taylor Swift.
I hope you like my song I LoveKitties, brought to you by
Maybelline, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah.

SPEAKER_01 (14:00):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (14:00):
So if she re-uploads every song of hers with
something like that on there,um, her being considered the the
biggest selling artist of today,and oh yeah, and BTS or whoever
else kind of in the same place.

SPEAKER_00 (14:15):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (14:16):
Yeah, because those, you know, CD sales went up a few
years ago, and the industry, youknow, the industry, quote
unquote industry writers arelike, oh, CD sales have gone up,
there's a resurgence.
Like, no, like Tao Swift and BTSreleased four different versions
uh with CDs and four differentcovers.
So they're right, though thoseum factions are driving the

(14:39):
statistics.
So if they do something likethat and there's something new
waiting in the wings that hasmore like an Amazon kind of
model where you have to pay,it's not sustainable to have
everything free, it's absurd.
Of course.
Uh it it would kill Spotify andit would kill all streaming
overnight.
So, my personal opinion is thatartists should be apps, and

(15:02):
there should be an app store andyou download an artist app and
you get some freebies, you haveaccess to merch, but you want
the new album, you gotta pay forit.
Ten bucks.
Who who can't afford 10 bucks?
People spend eight bucks on acoffee drink.
That's true, you know, and youspend 10 bucks on an album, it
could change your life, couldinspire you, you know, and so

(15:23):
and then they all have a commonmusic player uh where you can
make a playlist out of the stuffthat you download within the
this kind of music app store,you know, kind of like what
Apple does.
So you download something, andthen you could make playlists
within iTunes and your iPhoneand things like that.

(15:45):
That will, you know, because ithad there has to be a payment
system for it.
And uh, you know, you have topay for movies on Amazon.
It's just it's ridiculous.
It's it's a joke.
I just don't think uh I it can'tlast.
It won't, because now it's beingtaken over by all these kind of
digital things, and as long assomething is digital, uh there

(16:08):
will always be a workaround.
Piracy is dead because if theyuse the the digital watermark
properly, they can create appsthat zap uh on uh things without
permission that are being soldor synced or whatever.
YouTube is full of that stuff,but they allow it to exist.
They're like, well, we'll bemaking something, you know.

(16:30):
Well, okay, a few pennies here,a few pennies there, and it's
great that you can find stuffyou've never seen and all that
stuff, but it's lowered the thevalue of intellectual property,
and people are alwayscomplaining, I'm not getting
paid, we're not getting paid.
No, you're getting paid.
You're getting paid the valuethat has been set.
So the the problem is notgetting paid, the problem is the

(16:53):
value has to be, there has to bea realistic value set for all
that stuff, not being paid andthey're doing all this advocac
advocacy, and we're not gettingpaid.
I mean, sure, like in thedigital age uh certain payments
and things are not beingaccounted for properly, and but
that's that's a software thing,you know.

(17:14):
So uh yeah, I I don't think youneed streaming, you know, just
because that's the the standard,I don't think you need
streaming.
You know, I I'm not even onSpotify anymore.
I left it two years ago.
I have my own Apple account andI upload stuff and it's there in
hours.
And when I had, you know, thesecond nomination was Silver

(17:37):
Moon.
I remember checking into thehotel downtown, and uh the the
track on streaming, it had a lotof streams, but what it had made
in streaming was like on Spotifywas like 30 bucks.
So when I checked into the hotelfor the Grammys, uh parking per
day was 40 bucks a day.

(17:57):
I'm like, this is so stupid.
You know, this is just absurd.
And and I'm insulting.
Well, it's insulting, and butalso I the numbers thing.
I I don't want people to knowhow many times it was streamed
or how many times people, youknow, who how many are following
it per day, because people go onFiverr and they'll pay 30 bucks,

(18:18):
10 bucks to some bot to inflatethe numbers.
Right.
And and it's it's bogus, youknow.
So you see people within ourcircle who don't have a hit on
the radio, don't have a song inan ad, don't have a song in a
film, don't have a song in TV,and aren't touring, and suddenly
somehow they have 80,000Instagram followers and 60,000

(18:41):
followers on Spotify.
And they they think that they'reable to fool the people who sign
the checks into thinking there'svalue there, but they know
better because they're like,well, who the fuck is this
person?
So like oh sorry, sorry for theF-word, but oh, that's fine.
Uh you know, uh, but uh it'sit's absolute nonsense.

(19:03):
And then you look at theirposts, and all of their posts
have 1500 likes, 1498 likes,1502 likes, uh 15 uh 53 likes,
and when you have thatconsistent uh amount of
impressions on posts, say onInstagram, with 20 comments or
whatever, it's obviously a botbecause nothing's that

(19:25):
consistent.
If you have that many likes, youshould have at least a hundred
comments.

So really good point.

SPEAKER_04 (19:33):
Yeah, it's all completely bogus.
And then, you know, even peoplein our circle who've won and
who've been nominated, you know,they they've inflated their
numbers, they run around tryingto look like they're in demand,
they're not in demand, nobody'spaying them, you know.
This so they keep pandering topeople within the kind of voting
contingent circle.
Uh, but but like if if you're awinner and you're being or a

(19:56):
nominee and you're being paid todo stuff, why are you constantly
pandering to your familiarcircle?
Why not go after big people andconstantly be consistent with
big people?
You know, it's one it's onething to you know to network and
try to push your stuff forsupport.

(20:19):
Sure.
But I can spot a fake a mileaway, you know, and it's yeah,
we we both know a few.

We both we both know a few.
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (20:27):
I mean, yeah.

There's some guys that you shake hands, got to
count your fingers after you'redone.
It's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_04 (20:32):
And they're trying to always find shortcuts, and
they don't understand.
Say it's like, no, you don'tunderstand.
You have to do the work.
You have to get out there and dothat.
You can't just suddenly appearout of nowhere because you have
deep pockets.
And you know, sometimes itworks, they get awarded and or
they get nominated, but nobodyis hiring them.
Absolutely nobody.

You know, that's really that is that's that's a
that's a great point because I Iam always saying uh everybody
likes the idea of being in themusic business, but what they
don't like is all the work thatgoes into making it actually
fruitful, not only from afinancial perspective, but from
a artistic perspective whereyou're doing something that's

(21:14):
you know compelling and actuallyworth listening to.

SPEAKER_04 (21:16):
Well, they they they're trying to compete with
something that's you can'tcompete with.
So when they say, you know, oh,I'm in the music business, uh
you know, you're not in themusic business, the music
business is is corporations.
Right.
You know, so they're trying tocompete with Harry Styles.
You can't compete with HarryStyles.
There's like$10 million behindhim just for his addresses.
You know, so so like you know,you have to kind of look at it

(21:39):
like, what is my value?
What is it that I can do?
How do I keep moving forward andjust do your own thing?
You can't think about any ofthat stuff because there are a
lot of independent people whohave no accolades whatsoever,
and they do really, really well.
And they sell merch and you sellone CD or one uh t shirt or a t
shirt and a C D.

(22:00):
You know, that's more than thestreaming of a Grammy nominated
song the first year it wasnominated.
So why, you know now, if you'reon the road all year round, it
it does make sense to be onstreaming because that could be
a few thousand a month.
Sure.
But but it still devalues you,and I'd rather not be part of

(22:26):
that phony game and just do itmy own way because I'm not
interested in passive listeners.
And and sure, there's somethingto say if somebody hears a song
enough times, it suddenly comesup in their playlist, and
they're not that big of a fan orkind of heard of you, and
they've heard something, theyput it in there, and then they

(22:46):
hear it a few times, maybethey'll become a fan.
I you know, I'm just notinterested in that.
I'm more interested in peoplewho are interested in me, and
like, you know, it's like theold days when I remember a new
Yes album came out and it hadbonus tracks.

(23:07):
And and and granted, what I'mabout to say, you know, the the
instant gratification and accesshas of course has completely
changed, but it it does comedown to this.
So you know, a new yes albumcame out, had two bonus tracks.
The only store that had it wasthe specs music in downtown
Miami.
So to get there, I had to get onthe train, go downtown, took 35

(23:32):
minutes, whatever, then get onanother shuttle to go a few
blocks, and then walk anotherfew blocks to the store to pick
it up because they held it forme.
And then I had to backtrack thesame way to get home.
Uh and that's what I'm after.
So, like, for example, ifsomebody hears me and I'm not on
Spotify and they're like, oh,he's not on Spotify, I'm not

(23:54):
really interested.
I don't care.
Because if if you hear somethingabout me and you're interested,
you'll you'll make it a point tofind me wherever I am.
So that's what I'm after becausethat's that's the loyalty.
That's where the loyalty and andthe true uh interest comes from
when people try hard to findyou.

(24:16):
I just don't believe in thiseasy access thing.
You know, I I mean there thereis there are there are pluses to
it because people can find youinstantly, but there's so much
content that everybody getslost, unless it's something with
a huge budget and it'severywhere.
You know, you're you go to thebathroom and target and in the
urinal and there's TaylorSwift's new album, you know, or

(24:39):
or you're in the serial aisleand there's Taylor Swift's new
album.
You know, I I just it I don'tcare.
I really don't care.
I'm only interested in peoplewho seek me out and you know are
loyal.
The loyalty comes from that.
I just don't care about passivelisteners.
It doesn't matter.

I I I love this because I I really I mean I
think there's something profoundhere because one of the things
I've kind of said, you know, tostudents or whatever, and and
you know, uh I work, I'm agovernor with a group recording
academy.
Um I take on mentors or mentees,I should say.
Uh and we just, you know, wejust try I try to help it if any

(25:18):
way that I can um to to givethem any kind of you know any
kind of uh advantage.
Uh but one of the things thatI've sort of said and sort of
felt that you have encapsulatedbeautifully uh here is is that
that the value uh of the music,you know, it's it's just become
so disposable, like the waypeople are using it.

(25:40):
It's disposable, backgroundnoise kind of stuff.
You know, the the when I was akid, and and you and I are
roughly the same age, uh, Ithink, and um, when I was a kid
in the 80s, uh you know, we wesaved up our allowance and
bought rec and bought records.
And then when we then we wouldget together, a group of us, and

(26:03):
I had the best stereo, soeverybody would come to my
house.
So we would get together andplay these records like all of
them.
We they would, you know,everybody brought their rec
their new record and we'd sitdown and listen.
And if something got us excited,we may we may list the whole
thing again.
Yeah, totally.
That that is the experience thatyou're talking about, really.

(26:23):
I mean, you're talking aboutthat experience that's
transformative, that where themusic is a part of someone's
life, um, and and not just thisdisposable kind of you know
thing.
Um and that and that's I thinkyou're right.
I I really do feel like you herehere in the United States in
particular, I feel like musichas become you know less valued.

(26:44):
Uh in in Europe, I feel like umit's it's still a little bit
it's different, yeah.
It's a little bit better.
I mean, the the like the thegigs, like when I'm in London um
doing one of my lectures at thecollege, uh that's what I call
the anchor gig.
Uh, and I go and and they theypay me enough that I'm able to
afford to come over and you knowstay in a nice hotel and you

(27:06):
know have a little bit of pocketchange, and then I will book um
other little shows and stuffaround it, just me and the
acoustic guitar, because that'slogistically like the best.
And you know, the the thingabout Europe is they they have
places that are, for lack of abetter word, listening rooms
where people come to hear newmusic that they haven't heard

(27:27):
before, where they they comespecifically to hear original
music.
They're not there to drink,they're not there to to pick up
a date.
They actually are there forthat.
Now they pay terribly.
Uh, and and you know, and theyonly hold about 70 to 100
people, but but but they arethere for the artist.
They want to meet you, they wantto talk to you, they want to,

(27:50):
they want to know more aboutyou.
And I I think that's reallygreat.
And that's the same thing herein the States, like where the
only place I've really foundthat kind of connection uh is
like these house concerts, whereyou know, you can go pick up a
you can sell a lot of merch andand and and sell a lot of you
know, they they pay you to play,they pay you for your merch,

(28:11):
they they buy you a drink, theyyou know, and it's it's this
whole real experience where theyare truly getting something from
you and giving something back.
Um, and I I I like that a lot.
I think, and that that's you'veencapsulated beautifully that
all my thoughts in that, youknow, in what you've said.
And I think it's just a questionof you know being dedicated to

(28:33):
being who you are and uh and andand just sticking with that.
I I had I mean, I'm like you, Imean, I had a girlfriend once
who her best friend came up tome and said, uh, I don't like
your music.
I was okay.
She's like, that that doesn'tbother you.
It's like, I don't care what youthink.
Yeah, it's like I mean, somepeople like it and some people
won't.

(28:53):
I'm you know, I'm okay withthat.
I'm not for everybody.

SPEAKER_04 (28:57):
To think that someone would come up to you and
say, like, uh like why did youfeel you had to inform me?
You know, the thing about Europetoo is that there's so many
cultures that are close by.
Yeah, you know, uh uh so peopleuh get exposed to a lot within a
short uh distance.

(29:19):
So you know, architecturally,historically, artistically, you
know, all that stuff.
So their ears are a lot morefine-tuned than uh in America
overall, because of thedistances in America.
You know, uh distances arecrazy.
Well, we're also disposablesociety, you know, Starbucks,

(29:39):
the the the the mall uh foodcourt, the you know uh just the
you know that all those kind offast food inventions.
I always I always kind of thinkof it as like Vegas or Disney
World, where you go to Vegas andit's like there's the fake
Eiffel Tower, and then a pizzacost slice costs eighteen

(30:04):
dollars.
Like, why the hell would anyonego there?
I hate Las Vegas.

You know, to be honest, I do too because I don't
drink and I don't gamble, and uhyou know, I just uh I'm you can
spend the same money and go toParis for 10 days, you know, and
see the real life.

SPEAKER_04 (30:21):
Yeah, totally.
But but also like in Japan, forexample, they have a thriving CD
rental business.
Really?

SPEAKER_01 (30:28):
Interesting.

SPEAKER_04 (30:28):
Yeah, so they're a very pure society, and they also
sell uh albums on onquarter-inch tapes for like$100.
Yeah, really high-end stuff.
But but yeah, they have athriving CD rental business, you
know.

Now do you do you tour much, Eric?
Are you I'm I've I've never I'venever known you to tour, but do
you tour?

SPEAKER_04 (30:48):
I mean, you know, I haven't heard about any touring,
but do you do you like to playlive or I love to play live, I
haven't done it in a long time,mainly because I I didn't want
to be away from my kid with hisupbringing.
Right.
So now that he's in college, II've actually been uh looking
into uh some dates and sometours and things.
Well, are you gonna put a bandtogether or are you gonna do

(31:09):
like play with tracks or what'syour uh I don't want to play
with tracks, but you know, whenI first started gigging solo, I
was it was just me and a bunchof pedals.
Right.
And um I'll probably mix it up.
I'd I'd like to have uh someplayers with me to just do it
properly.
It just depends on where it is,what they're paying, and what

(31:31):
the tour is and what the thisis.
Yeah, I've been talking to somepromoters in Greece for some
possible shows there and and andin Canada.
And so yeah, it's little bylittle.
I've just had a shoulder injurythe last six months and it Oh
man.
Yeah, it's excruciating to justlike even pick up a guitar.
So it's that is not good.

You can't, you can't, you you gotta you gotta
play that guitar, man.
You can't, you can't, you gotta,you gotta get I when I had my
shoulder surgery uh in 2018, Iuh I I held all I had you know,
the studio, as you know, booksup months in advance.
And uh I had commitments, andthey're like, you need to have
this shoulder replaced, and Iwas in a terrible amount of

(32:09):
pain, and I couldn't raise myarm above my head, but I could
still play my guitar.
But I had to get people to takethe guitar on and off me.
And uh but anyway, when myshoulder was uh when I had
shoulder surgery, that arm waslike stuck to my side and I
couldn't move it for six weeks,and I was so miserable.

SPEAKER_04 (32:27):
Oh, it's totally miserable.
Like literally, like for reallycreative people, you know,
creating is part of mentalhealth.

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 (32:37):
And you know, if I had to take a desk job tomorrow
at I'd age 10 years in a month,and I'd probably shrivel up and
die.
But like it's it's part of ourif if I if a day goes by and I
don't do something creative, Ifeel like the whole day is
wasted, even if it's even ifit's just taking a photograph.

Yeah, me too.
Well, you know, I I'm notobviously me, I'm not the guy to
take the photographs, but the uhsure you are.

SPEAKER_04 (33:00):
I'll I will say that'd be an amazing exhibit.
I'd love to see that.

Okay, hold on, wait, wait.
We've got this on tape.
You have now volunteered tocreate a Joey Stucky photo
exhibit.
Yeah, well I know that's I'mgonna hold you to that.
I'm gonna remember remember, Iknow your wife.

SPEAKER_04 (33:16):
So you should you should take you should get a
Polaroid and just guide yourinterest in shooting stuff by
what you hear.

SPEAKER_00 (33:27):
I like it.

SPEAKER_04 (33:28):
And then and I think it'll be interesting because
you're shooting with your ears,not with your eyes.
That's for sure.
And uh I love Polaroids.

Oh well, you're the thing is you are such you're
like one of the few people Iknow that I consider, I mean, a
dyed-in-the-wall, like trueartiste.
Oh, next one.
That's what I like to hear.
Well, you I mean you and you doso many different things.
I want to talk about this.
This is this I have alwaysadmired.

(33:57):
You have set yourself differentum, I won't say limitations, but
different parameters sometimeswhen you create.
And you know, I remember Iforget which record this was.
I think it was the first Grammynominated record.
I might be wrong about that, butyou you did it on like a
16-track or an eight-track.
Four track.

(34:18):
Okay, so so there you go.
So you that I borrowed.
Yeah, and you had like theselimitations, and you know Well,
I was undergoing chemotherapytoo.
Right.
Well, we're gonna talk aboutthat too.
But I mean you but you did suchamazing work with with so
little.
Um I like that because I thinkthat one of the one of my talks

(34:41):
is how to avoid sound blindnessand return to critical
listening.
Uh it's a big floofy title, butwhat it what it really
interesting.
What well what it reallypreaches is this you don't you
should never approach our craftthinking you have to do X or
it's wrong.

SPEAKER_04 (34:58):
Right.

And and what I'm saying is nowadays everybody's
like, oh, I have to time a line,oh, I have to phase a line, oh,
I have to pitch correct.
Do you?
No.
I mean it's like it's like Imean It's about ideas.
Yeah.
It may maybe you need to dothose things, but before you
make that decision, you shouldlisten to what you got.
I mean, and it's it's people arenot doing that anymore.

(35:20):
And uh but let's oh go ahead.

SPEAKER_04 (35:22):
Well, I was gonna say is it's funny, those those
four-track recordings.
Uh I mean the first uh soloalbum was done while the tumor
was growing and I had pains, Ididn't know what it is.
And then this what it was, andthen the second was done during
the exact six-month period of myfirst chemotherapy treatment,
and I had no job, I had noinsurance, I had no gear, I was

(35:44):
borrowing stuff, I was smashingstuff, banging on pots and pans,
washing machines, making themsound like timpanies with one
SM57.

SPEAKER_01 (35:53):
I've been there.

SPEAKER_04 (35:54):
Yeah, and um and uh I've I love the idea of making
the most of what you have.

SPEAKER_03 (36:03):
Yes.

SPEAKER_04 (36:04):
So I've tried to kind of keep that thread because
if you have too many choices,you get kind of lazy.

Uh or there can also be choice paralysis, like
two.

SPEAKER_04 (36:14):
Choice paralysis, yeah.

I mean you're like, oh my god, I have so many
choices.
What do I you know, how do I geton dead center?

SPEAKER_04 (36:20):
Yeah, I don't I don't have like I use Logic, so
I haven't bought any plugins, Ijust use the plugins Logic has.
Yeah.
And then I handmake pretty mucheverything else and play and
automation curves and stuff likethat.
Yeah, I don't I learned on an MS16 back when I was 16, 16 track,

(36:41):
you know, where we were splicingtape and stuff.

So I've done it.

SPEAKER_04 (36:44):
Uh yeah, it's it scares the hell out of me.

But if you if you want to see, this is where I
learned to cuss is as a blindman cutting tape with a razor
blade.

SPEAKER_04 (36:53):
Yeah, I I was never so brave.
I remember being in a session inthe mid-90s with Rob Freeman,
who produced the um first Gogo'sand the first and second blondie
and the first Ramones.
He was an engineer and AceFreely's first album.
And it was it was like a it wasa solo singer-songwriter, and
he's splicing uh 24-track tapeand oh dear god like at

(37:19):
lightning speed, and there'slike all this tape on the floor,
and I'm just like looking at itwith like PTSD.
I'm like, I I I you seriouslyhave to be super brave to be
able to do something like that.

I do like control Z, I must confess.
Yes.
I do, I do like that.

SPEAKER_04 (37:36):
Control Z is great.

I well, but but let's talk.
I want to talk about thisbecause I'm a brain tumor
survivor, you're a cancersurvivor, and I think we have uh
a similar uh thing.
One thing you said just a minuteago is so me, is that if I
haven't done something creative,I'm I'm very restless about
that.
I'm very frustrated by that, andI feel like I've wasted my time.

(37:59):
Frankly, I don't like sleeping.
I mean, I I I think it's a wasteof time.
Uh but I but I have to.
I have to, but I don't want to.

SPEAKER_04 (38:07):
I wonder if that's the cancer thing.

I think so.
I think it's I think it'sbecause you and I have a a very
firm understanding that uh ourtime is limited, and uh, you
know, uh and tomorrow ispromised to no one.
And it's you know, there's agreat line in the in the
Hamilton musical, uh, which iswhy are you always writing like
you're running out of time?
And I don't feel depressed aboutthat.

(38:32):
I just feel aware that you knowI have things I want to do, and
uh I would rather be about doingthose things than not.

SPEAKER_01 (38:43):
Yeah.

And I I wondered, well, I was just wondering, like
you, you know, your mind, I Ithink the art too for you and I,
uh, and you you correct me ifI'm wrong here.
I don't want to, I don't want toproject onto you, but I think
that the the art for us, youknow, for me it's it's spiritual
nourishment.
It's it's a compulsion and anobsession.
I think it's a healthy one, butit is you know the great

(39:08):
motivator for me to get out ofbed even when I don't feel like
it.
I mean, it's you know, I mean,it is do you find I mean, do you
feel that same way?

SPEAKER_04 (39:15):
Do you feel you know I think that's part of it.
Also, I grew up around a lot oflike Nobel Prize winning
physicists, and uh my godfatherwas Einstein's neighbor and
colleague at Princeton, and mydad's mentor, and he lived with
us for nine years and was like agrandfather.

(39:35):
And I used to have to give up myroom to Nobel Prize physicists,
you know, physicists uh uh tosleep, you know.

So you felt like you were slouching if you didn't
do something.

SPEAKER_04 (39:47):
Um I don't no, I didn't feel slouching.
It's just I was very inspired.
Like I I really wanted to, I'vealways wanted to do big great
things that stand the test oftime.
Right.
Um like this this World War IIDNA thing.

This is very interesting.
Yeah, tell us about that.
This is this is awesome.

SPEAKER_04 (40:07):
So around 2018 I had this idea to go into the the
German archives and try to findinformation on 18 villagers who
were executed after the Battleof Crete in my father's village.
And one of them was mygreat-grandfather, one of

(40:30):
another one was my grandfather,and then two uncles.
And there was like a15-year-old, and you know, it
was uh it was a variety.
So it was it was repercussions,you know, to put fear, they were
doing it all over Crete becausethey resisted so hard.
Hitler thought he could take theisland in like a matter of
hours, and it took them likealmost two weeks.
Wow.

(40:50):
And they got slaughtered.
They really got slaughteredbecause the the Cretans, you
know, they you you don't messwith their land, you know.
They and they're they're veryfanatical and very uh, you know,
the Turks had to deal with themand the the Nazis and the
Venetians and all so there's along history uh of that.
Very, very protective and veryproud of their place as they

(41:13):
should be.
Yeah.
Uh so I just had this idea, andI I, you know, I thought, you
know, it'd be cool to like getall this information.
Maybe there's photographs, maybethere's records, and see who
were the commanders and who gavethe orders and who were the guys
who pulled the triggers.
And I was talking to my dadabout I said, you know, this I'm
working on this thing, and youknow, it would be cool.

(41:34):
Maybe it could be a documentary,and maybe there could be a DNA
analysis on the bones, and aspart of the documentary,
matching the the DN the boneswith the existing family
members, surviving familymembers.
So I asked him, because he wasone of the main founders, uh
co-founders of the University ofCrete.

(41:54):
And I said to him, Do you thinkthere's somebody at the
university you could maybe kindof do the analysis?
He's like, Oh yeah, maybe,whatever.
I told him, and I, you know, I II don't think he thought it
would be an easy thing, but Iwas to me, everything is easy
until it's not, you know.
So I so I'm like, well, thisthis would be a great cause.
Like somebody should do it forfree, you know.

(42:17):
So um so some months go by,maybe almost a year, eight
months, or something, and hecalls me up, he's like, It's
happening.
I'm like, what's happening?
He's like, gonna do the DNAanalysis of the bones.
I'm like, really?
So he he basically spearheadedthat, he funded it, and um the

(42:41):
interesting thing is the DNAanalysis was going to be done at
the university he helped start,and they're doing the analysis
of our family's bones at theuniversity that he helped start.
And you know, he grew up withouta father, they were poor,

(43:02):
everybody was a farmer, and thenhe ended up at Princeton
graduate school, and uh and yetthe analysis on his father's
bones, grandfather's bone anduncles was being done at the
university that he helped.
Uh you know, it's an interestingcircle.

It is a circle that's very cool.

SPEAKER_04 (43:19):
Yeah, so uh the reveal was I think two years
ago, it was a big ceremony, andpoliticians and military and all
this stuff is really touching.
It was at the execution site andum the news in Greece went
completely crazy.
They called it the mostimportant thing to happen to

(43:40):
Greece in 50 years, uh, which Iwould have thought getting out
of debt was was the mostimportant thing.
But I guess uh, you know, we'lltake it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You know, there was otherworldwide press, and now it's
moving into a different phase,uh uh a a new analysis of
certain things which I'm notsupposed to talk about yet.
Gotcha.

(44:00):
But uh you know that that's thethat's the kind of thing that uh
you know makes a difference andwould make people think and is
something for the ages,especially today, because
history is repeating itself.
It's just in a different form.
Right.
And to be able to do somethinglike that that inspires people,

(44:26):
you know, I l uh that makes mefeel good, you know.
But it's like with a digitalwatermark.
I mean, that thing iseverywhere.
We're using it right now.
Yeah.
You know, so I I'm reallyinterested in doing things that
and musically as well.
Musically, it's you know, it's alittle difficult at times
because it requires you know, topenetrate through the masses, it

(44:47):
requires massive budgets, youknow.
Sure.
What Universal spends and allthese people spend.
So I I mean, you know, that'spart of it, but but I'm really
interested in things like thatthat really make a difference.
Like Shatner, he you know, he'sdone this this um horse charity
thing for over 30 years, andhe's raised a fortune for
children and veterans and and umuh organizations that that help

(45:12):
people deal with PTSD th withthe use of horses.
And uh yeah, I'm I'm interestedin things that make things
better, you know, whether it'sart or just initiatives, you
know.

Yeah, and and you've been you've been part of
that, uh, the the Shatnercharity, and I think donated
some auction items and somevarious things for a long time.

SPEAKER_04 (45:36):
Yeah, I've been donating for years, and you
know, actually I'm supposed tosend him his annual every year
for his birthday.
I send him some of our olive oilthat we grow in Crete.

Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_04 (45:45):
Yeah, so he he digs it.
I can't take uh credit for hisuh immortality, but I'm not
gonna deny.
I don't know.
I'm not gonna deny that itprobably can contributes to it.

Oh, that's I mean, I think I think from now on you
should you should uh you know,as for for the uh Uber fan uh
bundle, when you get the CD inthe t-shirt, you get the olive
oil.
That's the I have thought ofthat.
As used by the uh remarkablylong live William Shaq.

SPEAKER_04 (46:13):
Yeah, I should put his face on it.
You should.
He'd love that.

Yeah, he's he's amazing.
He's amazing.
Really, you know, I love youknow, my dad's 87 and works all
the hours of the day, and and Ilove seeing that in people.
And um you know, because I Iwanna I want to do that too.
And I I just I you know I wantto work till I'm till I just
drop.
I'm me too.
Retirement?

SPEAKER_04 (46:34):
Like how do you retire from yourself?
Like that's what's it.

Uh you said something early that I want to
backtrack to because you said,you know, I I love this idea of
you being a brand, which whichis that happens.
I mean, that should happen forany artist, they should
understand their their ownbrand.
But uh I love what you saidabout you being an app and
people downloading that app anduh being able to interface with

(47:01):
you in a profound way.
Uh and and you know, I I lovethat.
And I want to know, like, fromyou know, from a content
perspective, like how much howmuch uh pressure do you put on
yourself uh to to make new art?
I mean, do you wait until you'reinspired, or do you sit down and

(47:22):
go, okay, I gotta get some workdone today?
Or what's your what is yourprocess?
Because you've always everythingI've heard of yours has always
been uh something you could tellthere's a lot of work put into
and something that wasinteresting.
And I know that I know thatyou're I know that you are like
me in the sense that you know wewe certainly we we we do things

(47:45):
that interest us.
I mean, I'll you know, I'll playa blues song, but I'll put in
jazz chords and and you knowbecause that entertains me.
Like you know, you know that'scool.
So so I mean, yeah, so I mean II'll have songs that are you
know somewhat you know, they'rethey're somewhat if you if you
were to analyze them, they'resomewhat avant-garde, but they
don't sound that way becauseI've got good voice leading.

(48:08):
You know, they don't they don'tsound jarring unless I want them
to.
Uh they don't sound particularlyjarring or or you know, but I
I'm a big fan of dissonancebecause I think that's what
moves the vehicle.
I mean, I think, you know, Ithink that's I think that's the
major transportation artery ofart musically is you know the
dissonance.
So uh but anyway, tell I justwonder how much like your
process, like how how do you areyou always inspired?

(48:31):
Do you or do you ever sit down,hey, I mean, I got like a song
written today, or what do youwhat do you how do you do all
that?
I mean, because you've put outsome really compelling stuff and
and you've put out you know apretty good amount of content.
So you what's what's the what'sthe process for you?

SPEAKER_04 (48:45):
So I I constantly feel the pressure.
I I'm backlogged 14 albums.
Oh, I I believe it.
Yeah, I mean, I have an albumwith Dolores Ariardan.
We were very close friends, youknow, that's sitting on the
shelf.
I have tracks with guys from TheCure and The Smiths and um Duran
Duran.
Those are sitting there.

(49:06):
I have um I have 20 unreleasedtracks with Sean Malkovich,
which has people like Steve Howefrom Yes and uh Gary from NXS
and Shooter Jennings and Ohinteresting.
Yeah, and then I also have youknow various solo records.

(49:28):
Uh I mean I found I found a fewmonths ago, I found a new age
album I recorded in the 90s thatI completely forgot about.
Uh and I'm just like, holy crap.
You know, I it's just a constantthe problem is like I'll sit
down to like finish somethingand then three more ideas come.

Right.
So um an embarrassment of richesin that in that sense, yeah.
It's horrible.

unknown (49:51):
You know.

SPEAKER_04 (49:53):
No, I I, you know, one thing I'm trying to stick to
now since the beginning of thisyear, I have so many demos, demo
ideas that I feel like I need toat least get those in demo form.
Right.
So that something happens to me,or uh also to keep me from

(50:14):
writing new stuff, you know, toto get it all in demo form and
see what I can monetize off ofit.
So you know, you know how it is.
I mean, you could see a bird anduh some idea come from it, or
you hear a phrase.
I mean, I remember listening toum what was that band from the

(50:36):
80s, their their first record.
I forget, I forget who it is.
And I was listening to their umto their album, and some song
came on, and there was a lyricthat said unfinished business.
And that those two wordstogether just kind of hit me
like a John Hughes album.
Yeah.
And so I was on a walk and Iheard that, and by the time I

(50:59):
was off the walk, I had thewhole song in my head, and I got
to the house and recorded.
It sounds like the outfieldmeets Duran Duran.
You know, I didn't know.
Nice!

Both excellent bands, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (51:09):
Yeah, and and and I found the first song that I had
written when I was like it was astruct the first really
structured song that I'dwritten.
I was 17, and uh the idea was togive it to somebody.
And it got lost over the years,and I you know, ten years later,

(51:30):
I did something to it a fewyears later, and then and then
it got lost.
So it was lost for like decades,and I remember finding it, and
I'm like, wow, this is reallycool.
It's like a it's like a mix oflike the cars meets Blondie,
meets a little deaf leper, youknow, a little stuff.
And then that sparked a wholenew album called Dance Like It's
1984.
So then I started rapidlywriting it was like a tribute to

(51:55):
my to my youth.
So there's like 10 tracks tothat, they're not all done.
You know, yeah, it's it'sterrible because you know it's
hard to focus.
Um but uh I guess it's a goodproblem to have because it keeps
me creating and it keeps mybrain active.
But there's no real process.

(52:15):
I mean, if I'm doing somethingfor a client, for a project, an
ad or whatever, I I canbasically come up with I when
when there's when there's a uh amission for a job, I can come up
with stuff very quickly.
And I the I I find the beststuff I come up with comes from

(52:38):
having a lyric first.
Gotcha.
Because then that createsimagery, excuse me, imagery,
absolutely, and then a vibe.
Whereas if if if I come up inthe music first all the time,
too many songs start to soundthe same, same chords, same this
and that.
So it can come from it can comefrom a line, it can come from

(53:00):
watching a monkeys episode.
You know, I love the monkeys,and uh I've always wanted to
make like a monkeys album.
And uh I remember I sawsomething and then I I I I made
a monkeys track.
Uh uh Sounds just like themonkeys, and it's it's about
going to a party and uh seeing,you know, excited to see the

(53:21):
girl you wanted to see, andshe's dancing with another boy.
In fact, that's what's I'll sendit to you.
I think you'll dig it.

I love it.
And I've had that happen before.

SPEAKER_04 (53:30):
Yeah, I'm sure, yeah.

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (53:32):
So, and you know, I don't I don't like to be
autobiographical.
In the early days, I thoughtthat's what it was about.
You write about yourexperiences, and then I started
writing in code.
So then you hear all these likemetaphors, nobody understands
what the hell you're saying, butI I totally understand.
And then I realize, you know,you know, it's fun, is that, and
because uh I don't have thatthat many experiences to talk

(53:53):
about after having written like600 songs, so yeah, you know,
you'll you'll kind of like theunfinished business, you know,
thing.
You'll you'll hear the words andthen make a fake story about it.
So you you project anexperience, so uh around uh you
know, a pro you you create aprojected experience around

(54:15):
something rather than just like,oh, this happened to me and she
did that or he did that.
It's you know, I think it's morefun that way because it gives
you more more more freedom to becreative.
I love the creative lyricalwriting of it.

But it's I think that's that's very true, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (54:32):
Yeah, it took me a long time to kind of really
learn to write lyrics properly.
Because uh even though I was uhundergrad, I was an English
English literature major, so Iread pretty much everything, all
of Shakespeare, all that stuff.
Um But to make it fun, I Ididn't I was I wasn't I didn't

(54:58):
understand the process of makingit fun.
You know, it for me it was morelike I'm trying to express
something, but it's not aboutme, really.
You know, it's more fun to getto connect, to make people think
about what you're saying or say,oh, that was an interesting
wordplay.
It took a while for me to learnthat, you know.
But that's other people reallygood point, yeah.

(55:21):
Other people write about theirexperiences, it's totally fine.
It's just I find it's more funto make stuff up, like acting.
You know, it's it's like acting.
So I did a lot of acting.
I was good, uh when I went tocollege, the I wanted to be a
theater major.
Yeah.
But my my parents quickly uhmade me said, well, they made me
realize I'd be disowned becausemusic was always like breathing.

(55:43):
Yeah.
You know, it was just so it justcame.
You just don't think aboutmaking a profession.
I mean, you had dream, you know,I had dreams when I was a in a
band being a singer and beingSarah LeBon, who's my favorite.
Uh, but like it was all aboutum, you know, I had to pick a
major and I was doing a lot oftheatrical stuff in high school.

(56:04):
It was really fun to justpretend to be somebody else.
And lyric writing for me is likethat.
It's like acting, you'repretending to be somebody else,
and it's just great fun to justword scenarios and characters in
unusual made-up ways.

And and and you know, you think correct me if
I'm wrong, but I mean you thinkvery visually too, right?
I mean, when you're writingsongs, you see the movie in your
mind, and you yeah.
And and and you do, if Iremember correctly, and I may
have this wrong, but I think youdo a lot of videos with with
your music.

SPEAKER_04 (56:38):
Is that I do, yeah, you know, even even little demos
that may not be in perfectpitch, yeah.
I'll I'll do it because I I feellike I need to keep driving my
creativity, even if it's justnot even a single.
Yeah.
Um, I don't I don't like tospend money on stuff like that

(57:01):
because people get bombarded allthe time.

SPEAKER_00 (57:05):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (57:05):
So I like to do it in my own way and um to drive
the the little 20-second,30-second feeling and and still
keep content kind of driving.
Uh you know, it's it goes backto making the most of what you
have again.
You know, there's some peoplewho spend constantly lyric

(57:28):
videos, and obviously if youhave a big budget, then um fine,
you know, you uh it's cool, butnobody has a big budget on an
independent level if they're ifthey're uh relying on streaming.
Right.
It's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 (57:45):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (57:45):
You know, too many people want to create the
perception that's true of ofsuccess or whatever, but you
know, it depending on who it is.
I mean, if you're not on theroad all the time, there's no
point in investing in stuff likethat.
It's pointless.
Yeah.

I I like you say, I mean, I think um, you know, I
I I'm always interested in beingof service if I can, and uh
helping people not to have tomake the mistakes I made or
whatever, you know.
And uh so you know, you go intosome of these um theoretically,
they're they're they're you knowchat rooms where you can you

(58:23):
know help help people and getadvice.
Oftentimes they become uh densof iniquity.
I'm like, oh my God.
But anyway, like you know, oneof the things that starts a
brawl in any audio forum is uhwhat's the best microphone to
buy?
And that is like, and I'm like,please do not ask this question.

(58:43):
You're going to get trolledhere, you're gonna get people,
you're gonna get a lot of hate.
You're gonna get a lot of hate.
And uh, and and so uh my answeris whatever gets you to the
sound you want fast enough.
Like that's get get that one.
But the the fact is, like, youknow, I've taken absolutely
nothing, I mean, recordingequipment that's you know
laughable and and and madesomething decent out of it.

(59:05):
I mean, you know, and and you'reright.
So you you use what you I thinkthat's really important.
You know, one of the things thatum again, this is sort of the
brain tumor survivor attitude inme, uh, you know, is uh I have
preferences, you know.
Sure, I'd love to use the Neaveconsole.
That'd be great.
Uh so I have preferences, butI'm a professional, so I will

(59:28):
take what you give me and makeit work.
Like I don't have I work reallyhard not to have things that
like, oh, if I don't have X, Ican't do my job.
Like I just I just I just don'tbelieve in that.
I just you know, and I like yousaying, you know, use what you
got, and and then you're I thinkhonestly you're forced to really

(59:48):
be creative.
Yes, absolutely.
You know, it even more so thanthan if you had your choices.
So I like that when I workedwith Alan Parsons um and got a
chance to be on some recordingsessions with him, and you know,
he he uh be uh started trustingmy judgment on some things,
which is a a real honor.
Uh and uh I don't say anythingunless I have something to say.

(01:00:10):
Um, but um what was interestingwas you know, Alan started with
the Beatles when he was 19, youknow.
I mean, that's and uh granted hewas a tape operator, you know,
and he worked his way up, butum, you know, he has always been
in a position to take his time.
Well, like, you know, this isback when Neal Records had real

(01:00:30):
budgets, and they, you know, butand of course there was a lot of
time wasted uh by by peoplebeing stoned at other mines or
whatever.
But uh, but but anyway, my pointis like, you know, he he's
always had the luxury of time tomake um decisions.
And Joey's clients do not havethat budget.
Right.

(01:00:52):
We have to learn to makedecisions fast, and we just hope
that the right ones.
And so, you know, I noticed whenwe were working, I was like, I
came to this, we came to thesame conclusion, but I came
there like two hours ahead oftime, you know, and it's it was
just you know, so it comes backto that use of what you got.
Um, I think that's a wonderfulmantra to to have.

SPEAKER_03 (01:01:10):
And well, I'll tell you something funny.
Yeah, is uh, you know, the firsttracks I ever got got licensed
were four-track recordings.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (01:01:18):
So the um the a music supervisor over at Viacom
heard the stuff and asked forall the variation mixes, all the
vocal, all the instrumentalmixes, and none of that stuff
was mastered.
Right.
That and that was the stuff onthe first Grammy nominated
record, and it still hasn't beenmastered.
Oh, really?
Yeah, so that happened around2000 where those got licensed,

(01:01:41):
and they've probably been anevery reality show ever known.
I mean, my ass cap statementsare 50 pages long.
That's awesome.
You know, there's they get usedand used and used and used and
used, even songs today, youknow.
So I both uh licensed those toVicom and Buna Murray and CBS
and and things like that.

(01:02:02):
And they were never mastered,and yet they keep using them.

Joey Stuckey (01:02:06):
That is incredible.
I love it.
And that's where we're gonnahave to leave it for today.
This is part one of my two partinterview with my very talented
friend, Eric Alexandrakis,fantastic, two time Grammy
nominated artist.
And uh, we will see him againnext week on Stuck on Sound.

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Episode 6: Eric Alexandrakis on Streaming, Creativity, Cancer, Songwriting, and Surviving the Music Business — Part 1

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Episode 6: Eric Alexandrakis on Streaming, Creativity, Cancer, Songwriting, and Surviving the Music Business — Part 1