Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi everyone and welcome to the Tulsa Temple Podcast.
(00:23):
This is our first show of 2025.
We are so glad to be here for another year.
Our host is Amy Elizabeth and we have a very special guest with us today.
Introduce yourself and tell us about this music we heard today.
I cannot wait to dig into this.
Yeah, so I'm Kristen.
I perform as Setic Cathedral and I would describe it as like a one or like a solo instrumental
(00:50):
progressive rock experience.
Like, I can't really call myself a band because it's me.
Yeah, so like a lot of this is built off of a lot of the music that I listen to growing
up especially from old Nintendo games and Saturday morning cartoons.
So you're not looping an instrument, you're not multi-instrument, you're not looping
(01:13):
an instrument.
So talk about how the virtual thing works.
That's interesting because that sounds great.
So my writing process, I'm a very visual writer as opposed to like a jamming kind of writer.
Writing like chokes me up and I get anxious.
So I write most of my music through music composing software called Guitar Pro.
(01:35):
I've been using for well over a decade and a half.
But I write out all my songs in that and most of the time it just starts with me just plugging
away.
Like I'll choose a tempo, choose a key and I'll go wild.
And right now, this is all within a music template which features, right now it's up
to 21 individual instrument tracks.
(01:59):
And six of those are ones that I focus on playing.
The electric guitar parts are all me.
Everything else is done through virtual instruments.
So I write these tracks out, export them and plug it into my audio workstation and do a
lot of manual adjustment of velocities and triggers and all sorts of things.
(02:22):
And yeah, it just consumed me.
It's what I love to do.
And yeah, it's crazy.
The songs just keep building themselves up.
That's great.
How long does it take?
Usually, I mean, do you find that you spend more time on certain rhythms or certain themes
of songs?
Like the slower ones, faster ones, you know, so how does the whole process, how does it
(02:47):
come together?
So you start with your guitar and then you build in the instruments.
And so like how long does that take?
Like a week, a day or does it just vary on your motivation?
It really depends.
Yeah.
Like so a lot of the material that I've built set a cathedral around was built about two
years ago.
(03:08):
In March or the spring of 2022, I lost my job and I became hyper fixated on composing
music and I ended up in a process of like a couple months, like wrote three hours worth
of music, each with like, you know, that many tracks and basically the unfortunate thing
is like somewhere in there, I've lost a lot of those.
Like I mistakenly pulled a flash drive out and like everything was gone.
(03:34):
And we even like tried to like get it like data harvested and like it was going to cost
like $1,200 and I was like, these are my songs.
I need them back.
Like because, you know, some of them really meant a lot to me.
There's one that I wrote for my child, which is an idea that's started since they were,
you know, since birth.
(03:55):
And so yeah, yeah, I just some songs were just like a day.
Like I just like Mary Ann would hear my wife, she would hear me in the morning and just
be like, you know, that's a cool idea.
And then by the end of the day, I'm like, hey, you want to listen to this?
And it's like three to four minutes of like obscene amounts of tracks like happening at
once.
(04:16):
And yeah, it's some of them take up to a week.
It just really depends.
Yeah, like on motivation or interest, I sit down with a blank template, plug in like a
beep, like a beats per minute that I think would work great.
Choose a key because I like to experiment and writing in different keys.
(04:37):
And then I just go wild and see what comes out of it.
Like I feel like adapting this process and being comfortable with it has like really
opened up a lot of musical like ideas for me because it used, you know, I like I said,
I just I would get choked up trying to jam or like trying to like force myself to write
a riff instead of just like, no, I'm just gonna sit down and just like plug away.
(05:02):
And like, I will not move on from like a bar of music until I've listened to it like well
over 100 times.
And that's just an individual bar like each each song is like 100, 100 plus.
So like it's absurd.
But when I'm in the hyperfix, like hyperfocus mode, like, not like nothing matters.
I just write.
(05:23):
Well, I love that though.
I love it because it has created some very, very good music.
Thank you.
So how did you come up with the name static cathedral?
I'm curious about that.
I love it and I like the little little math, I guess that you do on a so explain talk to
me about that.
So when I was in college, I started chemistry.
So that was the inspiration of that was I took like the sulfur and carbon periodic table
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blocks and just turned it into static cathedral.
But the name originated from my for my wife.
It was just something like toss around because we always like joke around like, we'll save
most like absurd thing and just click.
Oh, there'd be a great band name.
And so like, we've got like this Google keep list of like all these absurd bad names of
(06:10):
things that we've said and static cathedral was like one of those.
And so why static cathedral was my kiddo was like, I love that.
Like that should be it.
So the start of last year, my kiddo was like telling me like you just started a band because
like they were so tired of me just listening to my like tracks that I had written.
(06:31):
And they were just like, why don't you do something with that?
And so yeah, I was I did a show, I did an open mic like for this group called one ox.
They hosted monthly open mic for people who write bizarre weird music.
And most of like the idea is like, you just plug in an ox cord and go.
And so that worked perfectly for me.
(06:52):
Right.
Like all my tracks were just MP3s.
And so the first time I signed up for that, I did it under my name Kristen, Kristen Austin.
And then the next while doing the performance, I brought my child on to like MC and like these
songs didn't have names.
They were just numbers to me.
And so, you know, my my thing was like, hey, kiddo, just go up there and like make up names,
(07:14):
just whatever the first thing you think of, say it.
That'll be the name of the song.
And so I'm like, yeah, so they're up there.
We're sitting at the table like I got my laptop up and they're drawing pictures and then just
like introducing me and they're like, oh, by the way, he's static cathedral.
And then it just was just like, OK.
It's just stuck.
Yeah.
I'm just like, all right, I'm going with that.
Sure.
(07:34):
And like everybody loved it.
So at that at the event and then I love that.
Yeah.
And it just like, I don't know, it's it sounded cool and it seemed like it just kind of worked
with what I'm doing, I guess, like the vibe of the music.
I write, I suppose.
That's so cool.
And then that everybody's involved, you know, your whole family.
I think that's great.
Yeah.
I even I even include my pets.
(07:55):
My pets are considered the producers.
So every EP has been that I've released has been six songs and that's because I have six
pets.
And so every song is then, you know, judged on their vibe about which animal of mine they
sound or they seem like and that song gets a name of a nickname for that pet.
(08:17):
So what kind of animals do you have?
I have five cats.
Right now we have five.
We had we just got a new one, too.
So like we've always been at five cats.
So we lost Alba last October.
Unfortunately, she's a sweetheart.
So love her to death and she will always be featured.
But so yeah, there's five cats, one dog, all rescues.
(08:41):
They're the weirdest cats and dogs you've ever seen.
So yeah, there's Olive, Ink, Stormy, Elbow's one that gets she still gets named even though
she passed.
Rosie's our dog.
She's a German shepherd mix.
And then I miss we had goose.
And then now we've got hypotenuse.
(09:03):
And so everybody gets a name and everybody gets a nickname.
So we've also got a list of like the nicknames that we come up with for these cats.
So like when I like when I'm recording a new song, getting ready to put it together into
an EP or something like, all right, which cat is who?
Oh, how sweet.
Yeah, that's awesome.
When I lived in Monument Valley, I did I did a lot of animal rescue work up there.
(09:26):
And at one point we have 12 cats or no, I'm sorry, six cats and six dogs.
Oh, wow.
And we weren't going to get any more.
Yeah, right.
You know, those were our foster fails.
And then we had over 250 animals like mom cats, big cats, little cats, you know, we
had a feral community up there.
So we I mean, half of our the paycheck went to taking care of the animals up there.
(09:49):
But you have to, you know, you have to be their voice and, you know, all of and I loved
them all, you know, they were great.
And my cats were goofy to you.
And we had nicknames from them like, you know, Walter was Walter pepperoni.
And he had inky.
So he was inky, dink.
Oh, that's wild.
And I have a cat now her that lives with me.
She's pure white, big fluffy cat.
Her name is Diva.
(10:09):
So she's Diva Marie.
You know, yes.
And she is a very big Diva.
So anyway, I think our animal episode, our animal talk will be another episode because
we could probably go on about that for a bit.
So they're all great.
So this was your first time playing at the church.
It was.
How is that?
(10:29):
It was incredible.
I've I did a tour of the of the church like last summer and met Ronnie and talked about
setting up for their course to like learn more of like recording technologies and stuff
like that, which is still an interest, but something I've had to prolong due to a rough
year last year.
But anyway, yeah, I got to talking with him.
(10:51):
I got the tour.
I got to meet all the engineers and it was just so cool.
Ronnie was really nice.
And he's like, I love him.
And I was like, you know, I'm starting this this thing.
And I just wonder, like, what kind of opportunities does the church offer as far as like local
musicians?
And he told me about, you know, like local discounted rates for local musicians as well
(11:13):
as like the toons at noon thing.
And he was like, you know, he got so hyped when I was telling him about like what I do
and like what I wrote and like all that.
And he's like, you tell me when you have an hour worth of music and I'm putting you
on.
And I was like, OK.
And so, yeah, it was around what like October.
So I was just like, all right, I've got the music.
(11:34):
I was like, I was like, let's do this.
And like, yeah, that was this is that show is the longest set I've played to two and
a half months later here.
You are.
Yeah, not too bad for a long the longest set you're played right now.
Too bad of a venue.
Right.
How did you feel with Tom Petty and the turtleneck looking at you?
Oh, uncomfortable.
I think that's the everybody has said that because I stood up there and I'm a huge Tom
(11:58):
Petty fan, you know, and I'm like, and to see him in a turtleneck is odd enough.
Right.
So I'm like, I wonder what everybody feels like with Tom Petty like staring and then
you have Steve Ripley over on the side.
Yeah, exactly.
All right, no pressure.
Right.
Exactly.
I remember when I was doing my tour too and like Ronnie was just like, check out this
microphone.
(12:18):
I was like, OK.
And he's like, this was David Bowie's.
And I was like, excuse me.
Yeah.
Why are you just like manhandling this?
That's a piece of art.
That's what I call my mic, my precious.
Yeah.
Nobody can touch it.
Right.
Nobody is around my mic.
We have chicken in each state, so we believe that.
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So let's talk about the signs that you did.
(13:19):
The first one that you did, you put my readers on because you know, you're old like that.
You did High Power Moose and I want to say out of the four signs that you did that we're
going to talk about, all of them were my, I could hear your influences.
You know, you're all over the map.
I'm hearing, I was telling Brandon on the side, you know, I'm like, I'm hearing a lot
of influences here.
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But we, I was, it's like a video game or like, like the intro to some like really serious
like TV drama or movie.
You know, that's what, is that what you were going for with your sound or is that just
kind of how it went?
Because it's really cool.
Yeah.
Thank you.
So every song was just like how it happened.
Like the influences that I have, which are so vast, but like, you nailed it.
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Like old Nintendo games, like the old theme songs and boss battle music and like old Saturday
cartoons from the eighties and nineties.
Like those all fed this.
And then like, you know, I loved progressive rock.
I loved Judas Priest.
Nine Nails is like my absolute top band.
And it was like, all this like permeates my music and comes together and makes like this
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weird thing.
But it's like, I never intentionally go out of my way to be like, you know, like I want
to, I want to be this.
It's more like, I'll be like, I wonder what this would sound like if it was this like
high powered music exactly as a song where I was like, I wonder what the band, the deer
hunter would sound like if they wrote a hardcore song.
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So I was like, okay, I'm going to take all this instrumentation and apply it to like
a very kind of simplified like punk focused rhythm, you know, like the driving beat and
all that.
But then I was just like, it just kept getting weirder.
And then like, you know, the chorus sounds like a giant circus happening at once.
(15:12):
Yeah, I loved it.
Yeah, I loved it.
It was great.
And what a great song to open with too.
Thank you.
That grabbed you.
Yeah, that was so great.
Thank you.
I was, I was really happy to like share this because like, we just got hypotenuse like
in December and I was like, he's got to have a song.
I got to make some for this little guy.
And so I was like, I'm opening it with this guy because like, he's just, he's like the
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best thing ever.
Oh, that's so sweet.
Yeah.
So it went about the next one you did was Battlebots and that I have a note.
I noted to myself that sounds, I think he said that you have bizarre music.
I make bizarre bizarre music at that point.
And then you went into Battlebots and I'm like, ah, yeah.
(15:55):
So again, you know, I'm hearing these influences everywhere.
You know, I'm hearing all this stuff, just the genres that you mentioned.
I'm like, okay, yeah, I hear that.
I heard that, you know.
And so how did that come to be?
Is that was pretty much the same process?
Yeah, same process mostly, but it was like, I started out with that opening, opening riff,
which like doesn't repeat or, and just is like a kind of a weird introduction to like
(16:18):
what eventually happens.
And I was like, when I, when I wrote it, I was like, oh, this kind of sounds like
Coheed and Cambria.
And I was like, you know, that's like one of my favorite bands.
And I was like, okay, I'm going to keep moving forward with this because I was like, let's
see where it goes.
And then I was just like, this song needs blast beats.
And I was like, how do I do that?
And so like a lot of approaches are just like, I try to write like 16 bars of music or 16
(16:44):
bars of a riff, and then build on that.
And then like another 16 bars of like either, you know, changing that around a little bit
to make it more interesting or, you know, a whole new idea.
And when I approached new ideas, it's like, how could I make this fun or interesting or
like, what would make me want to hear it?
(17:04):
And so, yeah, it was just a lot of it was just like, what would happen if I tried to
do this?
And so like the chorus, it was just like, I was like, I want to have like a soaring loud
power metal chorus.
So I was like, I'm going to do, you know, some chords with some fast drums.
And then all of a sudden that melody came out of it.
And I was like, this sounds like something straight out in Nintendo, like a Final Fantasy
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game.
And I was like, so I fell in love with it.
And I was just like, I'm going to move forward with this.
And like that one took me a couple of months to like wrap up because like I didn't know
how to finish it.
And I also was like, it was like around two minutes and I was like, I feel like this should
be longer.
But then when I did wrap it up, I was like, no, it's perfect.
Yeah, that was great.
(17:45):
Yeah.
And I love the, you know, the peaks and valleys.
I'm like, oh yeah, this is really good.
And then the next one you played was Storm Club.
And that was totally different from how Battlebots was.
It started almost like, I have, let me read my note.
It was like whimsical.
(18:05):
It started like with this whimsy, this real nice soft intro.
And then all of a sudden you like blast our face off.
I'm like, wow.
You know, I'm like, that is really, really good.
You know, so tell me about that.
That one was written around kind of the same time as High Powered Moose where I was, you
know, still in that mind frame of like, what would the deer hunter sound like with punk
(18:27):
beats or stuff like that?
And so like that opening was just very, it's very baroque.
And I was like, you know, this song needs a harpsichord.
So like that's not like writing that song was a moment.
It's a harpsichord.
Oh my God.
That's so cool.
Yeah.
And I was like, I was like, I want this to sound like, you know, kind of like Bakish and go
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with that because the original version of it didn't feature as much instrumentation.
It was like a six track piece.
And I remember like, I originally submitted it to like a rate your song live YouTube thing
and like the person reviewing was like, wow, there's like, it's kind of a, what is that,
(19:11):
counter, I can't think of what Bak was famous for, like counter melodies or something like
that.
There was like a lot of that happening.
Oh, that's really cool.
Somehow that happened.
And so when I came back to that song, I was just like, I was like, I had to make this
even more whimsical.
So it was like, I'm like, I've plugged it in my 21 track template.
And I was just like, I'm going to go nuts with the strings and everything and all the
(19:34):
all the woodwinds.
And yeah, then all of a sudden I'm like, what?
But that's what you don't expect.
You know, so that was so cool.
Thank you.
I love that.
Thank you.
It's so much fun.
You look like you were having a great time up there playing.
Yeah.
That's like my whole point of like doing music is like, it has to be fun.
(19:57):
Because like, if I'm not enjoying myself doing this, like I'm not, I don't really want to
do it.
Like I hate working.
Right.
So why would you?
Right.
And so like this whole thing has just been approached with fun and everything is like,
everything has been a surprise that's come out of it.
Like I've just approached it like selfishly.
I wrote this music for myself.
I was just like, I want to write music that I want to hear because like I've been listening
(20:20):
to a lot of the same music since college, since college.
Like I've been listening to the same bands over and over again.
And so like when I started writing my music and I just like, that's all I would listen
to.
Like I drove my wife and kids nuts.
My kid nuts.
Like they were like, I don't want to listen to this anymore.
And so yeah, it's just, it's been so neat that like people have like embraced it and
(20:44):
come around it and like, um, and have had positive things to say.
Like I don't know how to feel about that sometimes because it's just like, I'm like, I just
like this.
Like I really like this and it's weird, like being so vulnerable and being like, do you
like this?
Yeah, we've talked about that.
I've talked about that with other guests, you know, and we say, you know, music is our
(21:05):
joy.
I mean, that's what we do.
We love making music.
And you know, then all the other stuff, you know, always becomes like secondary, you
know, like, okay, so now we have to go out and hustle up a gig.
Now we're going to talk to a promoter, you know, and we have to go to our day gig too
because, you know, our music hasn't paid the bills yet.
So it's like you do what you love, you know, but it's just, you want to do it more because
(21:27):
that's just what you love.
And writing songs, you know, like a lot of us write, you know, like really sad songs
because they're easier to write.
You know, we've talked about that, but yours, you know, you don't have lyrics on yours,
you know, so we can kind of form our own story.
Yeah.
And that one of your intentions, you know, was to have people, you know, because I can
picture myself sitting with head with my earbuds in listening to this music and just daydreaming
(21:50):
about I can just see it.
I can feel it.
Yeah.
Was that was at your intention writing this kind of music?
That's always, that's always been the goal for me because like I have ADHD and so my
brain is so loud.
Like it's always so loud and so like when I, when I was discovering music, like nine
inch nails spoke to me as a teenager because like it was loud, but it was also so layered,
(22:13):
like delicately layered.
And it was like, if you like listen to it like, you know, from speakers or whatever,
it was just like, okay, this is cool, but like headphones.
And I was just like, whoa, what's happening here?
Like there's so many things like happening at once.
And like for me, like listening to listening to music has always been kind of like an almost
(22:33):
like a meditative experience.
And just like, I spend all my time like not only taking it in like fully, but also like
picking like listening to every individual piece that's happening at once and just being
like in awe of like trying to pick out and just being like catching those little like
hidden flourishes or things that like you don't really hear unless you're really into
(22:55):
it.
And like that's, I try to like pepper that in like a lot.
If I am writing my music for somebody, it's for the musicians that'll sit there and like
pick it apart and just be like, wow, why did he do that?
Or like, at least I hope so.
Like I don't know what other musicians think of my music, but I'm having so much fun doing
(23:16):
it and that's cool.
And I have a feeling that you're going to have some musicians kind of checking you out,
you know, to come and you know, help them, you know, especially with the exposure that
you're going to, you know, the props you're going to get from the church.
Yeah.
You know, everybody, we loved, everybody loves the tunes at noon.
You know, so when they see what you do, you know, and maybe you could bring something
into their project too.
(23:36):
And that's just, to me, that is like, that would be an ultimate compliment, you know,
anytime, you know, another musician acknowledges anything.
It's like, wow.
Yeah, it's so good.
It's so warming.
Yeah.
And you don't know what to say.
You're almost like, you know, you see this guy every day, drink beer with him, you know,
you hang out, you know, but then they acknowledge your music and you just kind of.
Yeah.
(23:57):
And like one thing that's like been so great about doing this project for the last year
is like, we, we, like my wife and I are just, you know, we're homebodies.
We kind of like stick around at home.
We don't have a large like social group here, but like the community that we've been able
to like participate in and you try to like create our own space in those communities
(24:20):
as well.
So like has been so good.
Like I've befriended so many great people and other like local bands and like, and some
of the scene and you know, venue owners have been so kind and so great around here.
And yeah, like just everybody's, everybody is so willing to volunteer what they can and
(24:42):
have to be, you know, to just build everybody up.
And it's so warming to like be a part of that.
And like my wife and I are trying to like give back as much as we can to because like,
you know, music doesn't pay anything.
Like what it takes like a million streams to make a dollar or something on Spotify.
(25:03):
So like, you know, we do like a buy month, we're starting to do like a bi-monthly pot
luck now where like the community is invited and our neighbors.
We did our first one last month, which was a lot of fun.
And then we're planning on doing one next month as well.
And then another thing is working with some local, local trans people and building a music
(25:27):
festival, like a local music festival here for, you know, trans and queer fronted bands.
You know, we've got a good lineup like already lined up.
We've got a venue through Noistown, a sponsor through One Ox, which has been really cool.
And now it's just a matter of like getting that funding, which fingers crossed like I'm
applying through a partnership of Tulsa Creative Engine and Tulsa Remote.
(25:52):
My wife and I are both Tulsa Remoters.
So like hopefully that, you know, gives us some weight.
Yeah.
So like everything, like everything's all set up now.
The goal is to like get this funding through TCE to so that we can just pay the bands up
front, you know, just like everybody gets a flat rate for coming.
Thanks for playing.
You know, we pay the venue and then the fees that are, the goal is that the fees that are
(26:15):
collected at the door just are mutual aid.
Every, every dollar goes to mutual aid.
And like that's, like that's my mission as well.
Like my mission is set a cathedral is every dollar that I earn is invested back into my
community.
So, you know, it hasn't been much like I haven't gotten any Spotify pay, but you know, we did
(26:36):
a, I did a show at Norman got paid, you know, like 23 bucks or something like that.
And, you know, I sent immediately as soon as I could, I sent that to Tulsa Food Not Bombs
and what we just made through the church, you know, that's going to other mutual aid,
especially looking at some LA mutual aid support sources as well, because.
Yeah, yeah, that's a nice one.
(26:56):
That is really cool.
That is so cool.
Yeah.
And the Tulsa community, I mean, I've been here almost almost two years in May and I
noticed that immediately, you know, it's like they just you're just embraced.
And we've had, we've lost a couple of people in 2024, like the last quarter of 2024 was
not good.
Right.
I had somebody say to me, you have to, you know, we grieve as a music community.
(27:24):
We're going to heal as a music community because music is the healer and it sounds so simple
and so, but it's true.
And they told me, you know, let us love you, you know, lean in, you know, and it's like,
huh, you know, so instead of isolating, it was more like, you know, come to us, you know,
let us love you.
And a friend of mine, excuse me, that just recently had a loss.
(27:46):
I repeated that to her as it was told to me.
It really helped.
So now sure.
Yeah, that's our families like last year was a rough one for my wife and I as well.
Like, you know, it started, we started off the year with her in the hospital, say like
almost died from pneumonia, which is the worst thing ever.
(28:07):
Like I was, I was a mess.
And at the same time I was dealing with COVID.
So like, why?
Like 2024, just like started off just saying like, you know, thumbs down.
That's, but you know, despite all like the hardships that have occurred, like I had back
surgery last year too.
In June, like the whole time I was recording my first EP, the zoo was, I was in the worst
(28:30):
space like space of my life, physically, mentally, emotionally.
Like I couldn't walk to the bathroom without being in like severe pain or fatigue.
And I like set up this little mobile recording station in the living room.
And I just sat there and my wife would be watching TV or working and I'd be plugging
(28:51):
away like recording songs as best I could.
But it'd be like, I would do a take and then I'd have to like lay down for 15 minutes
because the fatigue was overwhelming.
The back pain was so bad.
So like right before I released the zoo, I like went under the knife, had a diskectomy
and was like, you know, like I couldn't do anything for a couple of months there.
(29:14):
And then, you know, it's like, I remember thinking like, when am I going to make this
a live thing?
Like when am I going to try playing this out?
And I was like, because I didn't know what to expect about back surgery recovery.
And thankfully, like, you know, July, early July, I reached out to like play a show at
the Soundpony and I was like, maybe, like maybe like I had gotten the okay from my
(29:38):
doctor to, you know, hold things greater than 10 pounds.
So I was like, all right, the guitar is back in business.
I was like, I can do this.
And then yeah, I was just like, I cash out my 401k because I was like, what's the point
if I'm disabled?
And so I bought that pedal and I was just like, let's do this.
Megan, this happened.
And like, I was so scared going into that show, too, because I was like, you know, what
(30:01):
if my back like what happens if something happens to my back or like, what if the fatigue
kick in, I was like, no, it just happened.
Like you said, music is healing.
And like, every show, like leading up to it or like afterwards, like, I'm a mess.
Like it's hard.
Like, it's hard to be mobile and active, but like when the show day, like, I'm a whole
(30:23):
new person during the show, I'm a whole new person.
But the next day, like when I go home tonight, like I'm not moving from my bed.
Yeah.
But so do you get that emotionally too?
Like I know, you know, like after performing, you know, you're just really, you're like
on this adrenaline rush, you know, and it takes a minute, you know, to come down.
But then I have to, I personally have to, I have to isolate for a little bit because
(30:46):
like it, we, we have a joke, you know, me and a bass player friend of mine, you know,
we say it got real peoply.
Yeah.
You know, and so we need to de-people.
Yeah.
I just want to kind of read my book and drink my tea and had my cat.
Yeah.
Exactly.
And I think that's, you know, as well of, you know, in addition to, you know, the physical
rest that you have to take.
Oh yeah, for sure.
(31:07):
Like social, like social events, like most of them I look forward to, but like it's,
it's hard.
Like it's hard to be around people.
I'm also autistic, so like, you know, social cues and body language and stuff.
A lot of things that I miss and like I also can say the most outlandish things that people
don't.
I like, I have a problem of assuming people are already in on the inside joke that I'm
(31:31):
telling myself.
And instead I just like anger them instead of making them laugh.
And like my wife, like every day she's just like, why did you, why, why?
It's like, I don't know.
My brain.
It's just in my brain.
I think kind of Brandon does that to me too.
I know when I'm getting over, you know, when I'm overwhelming, he'll go, Oh God.
Okay, I got to reel it back.
(31:54):
The boss is talking.
Exactly.
So, um, well, the last time that you did, I think that that one that we caught the lat
of your fourth set, I think that was probably my favorite.
It was called small time crimes.
And again, that's another one that started out, you know, like it was like, it had that
whimsy to it and then we're speed metal.
(32:16):
Yeah.
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(33:02):
We're out in the world.
(33:31):
We're out in the world.
(34:01):
We're out in the world.
(34:31):
We're out in the world.
(35:01):
We're out in the world.
(35:31):
We're out in the world.
(36:01):
We're out in the world.
(36:31):
We're out in the world.
(37:00):
We're out in the world.
(37:30):
We're out in the world.
(38:00):
We're out in the world.
(38:30):
We're out in the world.
(39:00):
We're out in the world.
(39:30):
We're out in the world.
(39:59):
We're out in the world.
(40:29):
We're out in the world.
(40:59):
We're out in the world.
(41:29):
We're out in the world.
(41:59):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(42:48):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(43:36):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(44:18):
We're out in the world.
(44:48):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
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We're out in the world.
(45:55):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(46:43):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(47:31):
We're out in the world.
(48:01):
We're out in the world.
Hi everyone and welcome to the Tulsa Temple Podcast.
(00:23):
This is our first show of 2025.
We are so glad to be here for another year.
Our host is Amy Elizabeth and we have a very special guest with us today.
Introduce yourself and tell us about this music we heard today.
I cannot wait to dig into this.
Yeah, so I'm Kristen.
I perform as Setic Cathedral and I would describe it as like a one or like a solo instrumental
(00:50):
progressive rock experience.
Like, I can't really call myself a band because it's me.
Yeah, so like a lot of this is built off of a lot of the music that I listen to growing
up especially from old Nintendo games and Saturday morning cartoons.
So you're not looping an instrument, you're not multi-instrument, you're not looping
(01:13):
an instrument.
So talk about how the virtual thing works.
That's interesting because that sounds great.
So my writing process, I'm a very visual writer as opposed to like a jamming kind of writer.
Writing like chokes me up and I get anxious.
So I write most of my music through music composing software called Guitar Pro.
(01:35):
I've been using for well over a decade and a half.
But I write out all my songs in that and most of the time it just starts with me just plugging
away.
Like I'll choose a tempo, choose a key and I'll go wild.
And right now, this is all within a music template which features, right now it's up
to 21 individual instrument tracks.
(01:59):
And six of those are ones that I focus on playing.
The electric guitar parts are all me.
Everything else is done through virtual instruments.
So I write these tracks out, export them and plug it into my audio workstation and do a
lot of manual adjustment of velocities and triggers and all sorts of things.
(02:22):
And yeah, it just consumed me.
It's what I love to do.
And yeah, it's crazy.
The songs just keep building themselves up.
That's great.
How long does it take?
Usually, I mean, do you find that you spend more time on certain rhythms or certain themes
of songs?
Like the slower ones, faster ones, you know, so how does the whole process, how does it
(02:47):
come together?
So you start with your guitar and then you build in the instruments.
And so like how long does that take?
Like a week, a day or does it just vary on your motivation?
It really depends.
Yeah.
Like so a lot of the material that I've built set a cathedral around was built about two
years ago.
(03:08):
In March or the spring of 2022, I lost my job and I became hyper fixated on composing
music and I ended up in a process of like a couple months, like wrote three hours worth
of music, each with like, you know, that many tracks and basically the unfortunate thing
is like somewhere in there, I've lost a lot of those.
Like I mistakenly pulled a flash drive out and like everything was gone.
(03:34):
And we even like tried to like get it like data harvested and like it was going to cost
like $1,200 and I was like, these are my songs.
I need them back.
Like because, you know, some of them really meant a lot to me.
There's one that I wrote for my child, which is an idea that's started since they were,
you know, since birth.
(03:55):
And so yeah, yeah, I just some songs were just like a day.
Like I just like Mary Ann would hear my wife, she would hear me in the morning and just
be like, you know, that's a cool idea.
And then by the end of the day, I'm like, hey, you want to listen to this?
And it's like three to four minutes of like obscene amounts of tracks like happening at
once.
(04:16):
And yeah, it's some of them take up to a week.
It just really depends.
Yeah, like on motivation or interest, I sit down with a blank template, plug in like a
beep, like a beats per minute that I think would work great.
Choose a key because I like to experiment and writing in different keys.
(04:37):
And then I just go wild and see what comes out of it.
Like I feel like adapting this process and being comfortable with it has like really
opened up a lot of musical like ideas for me because it used, you know, I like I said,
I just I would get choked up trying to jam or like trying to like force myself to write
a riff instead of just like, no, I'm just gonna sit down and just like plug away.
(05:02):
And like, I will not move on from like a bar of music until I've listened to it like well
over 100 times.
And that's just an individual bar like each each song is like 100, 100 plus.
So like it's absurd.
But when I'm in the hyperfix, like hyperfocus mode, like, not like nothing matters.
I just write.
(05:23):
Well, I love that though.
I love it because it has created some very, very good music.
Thank you.
So how did you come up with the name static cathedral?
I'm curious about that.
I love it and I like the little little math, I guess that you do on a so explain talk to
me about that.
So when I was in college, I started chemistry.
So that was the inspiration of that was I took like the sulfur and carbon periodic table
(05:50):
blocks and just turned it into static cathedral.
But the name originated from my for my wife.
It was just something like toss around because we always like joke around like, we'll save
most like absurd thing and just click.
Oh, there'd be a great band name.
And so like, we've got like this Google keep list of like all these absurd bad names of
(06:10):
things that we've said and static cathedral was like one of those.
And so why static cathedral was my kiddo was like, I love that.
Like that should be it.
So the start of last year, my kiddo was like telling me like you just started a band because
like they were so tired of me just listening to my like tracks that I had written.
(06:31):
And they were just like, why don't you do something with that?
And so yeah, I was I did a show, I did an open mic like for this group called one ox.
They hosted monthly open mic for people who write bizarre weird music.
And most of like the idea is like, you just plug in an ox cord and go.
And so that worked perfectly for me.
(06:52):
Right.
Like all my tracks were just MP3s.
And so the first time I signed up for that, I did it under my name Kristen, Kristen Austin.
And then the next while doing the performance, I brought my child on to like MC and like these
songs didn't have names.
They were just numbers to me.
And so, you know, my my thing was like, hey, kiddo, just go up there and like make up names,
(07:14):
just whatever the first thing you think of, say it.
That'll be the name of the song.
And so I'm like, yeah, so they're up there.
We're sitting at the table like I got my laptop up and they're drawing pictures and then just
like introducing me and they're like, oh, by the way, he's static cathedral.
And then it just was just like, OK.
It's just stuck.
Yeah.
I'm just like, all right, I'm going with that.
Sure.
(07:34):
And like everybody loved it.
So at that at the event and then I love that.
Yeah.
And it just like, I don't know, it's it sounded cool and it seemed like it just kind of worked
with what I'm doing, I guess, like the vibe of the music.
I write, I suppose.
That's so cool.
And then that everybody's involved, you know, your whole family.
I think that's great.
Yeah.
I even I even include my pets.
(07:55):
My pets are considered the producers.
So every EP has been that I've released has been six songs and that's because I have six
pets.
And so every song is then, you know, judged on their vibe about which animal of mine they
sound or they seem like and that song gets a name of a nickname for that pet.
(08:17):
So what kind of animals do you have?
I have five cats.
Right now we have five.
We had we just got a new one, too.
So like we've always been at five cats.
So we lost Alba last October.
Unfortunately, she's a sweetheart.
So love her to death and she will always be featured.
But so yeah, there's five cats, one dog, all rescues.
(08:41):
They're the weirdest cats and dogs you've ever seen.
So yeah, there's Olive, Ink, Stormy, Elbow's one that gets she still gets named even though
she passed.
Rosie's our dog.
She's a German shepherd mix.
And then I miss we had goose.
And then now we've got hypotenuse.
(09:03):
And so everybody gets a name and everybody gets a nickname.
So we've also got a list of like the nicknames that we come up with for these cats.
So like when I like when I'm recording a new song, getting ready to put it together into
an EP or something like, all right, which cat is who?
Oh, how sweet.
Yeah, that's awesome.
When I lived in Monument Valley, I did I did a lot of animal rescue work up there.
(09:26):
And at one point we have 12 cats or no, I'm sorry, six cats and six dogs.
Oh, wow.
And we weren't going to get any more.
Yeah, right.
You know, those were our foster fails.
And then we had over 250 animals like mom cats, big cats, little cats, you know, we
had a feral community up there.
So we I mean, half of our the paycheck went to taking care of the animals up there.
(09:49):
But you have to, you know, you have to be their voice and, you know, all of and I loved
them all, you know, they were great.
And my cats were goofy to you.
And we had nicknames from them like, you know, Walter was Walter pepperoni.
And he had inky.
So he was inky, dink.
Oh, that's wild.
And I have a cat now her that lives with me.
She's pure white, big fluffy cat.
Her name is Diva.
(10:09):
So she's Diva Marie.
You know, yes.
And she is a very big Diva.
So anyway, I think our animal episode, our animal talk will be another episode because
we could probably go on about that for a bit.
So they're all great.
So this was your first time playing at the church.
It was.
How is that?
(10:29):
It was incredible.
I've I did a tour of the of the church like last summer and met Ronnie and talked about
setting up for their course to like learn more of like recording technologies and stuff
like that, which is still an interest, but something I've had to prolong due to a rough
year last year.
But anyway, yeah, I got to talking with him.
(10:51):
I got the tour.
I got to meet all the engineers and it was just so cool.
Ronnie was really nice.
And he's like, I love him.
And I was like, you know, I'm starting this this thing.
And I just wonder, like, what kind of opportunities does the church offer as far as like local
musicians?
And he told me about, you know, like local discounted rates for local musicians as well
(11:13):
as like the toons at noon thing.
And he was like, you know, he got so hyped when I was telling him about like what I do
and like what I wrote and like all that.
And he's like, you tell me when you have an hour worth of music and I'm putting you
on.
And I was like, OK.
And so, yeah, it was around what like October.
So I was just like, all right, I've got the music.
(11:34):
I was like, I was like, let's do this.
And like, yeah, that was this is that show is the longest set I've played to two and
a half months later here.
You are.
Yeah, not too bad for a long the longest set you're played right now.
Too bad of a venue.
Right.
How did you feel with Tom Petty and the turtleneck looking at you?
Oh, uncomfortable.
I think that's the everybody has said that because I stood up there and I'm a huge Tom
(11:58):
Petty fan, you know, and I'm like, and to see him in a turtleneck is odd enough.
Right.
So I'm like, I wonder what everybody feels like with Tom Petty like staring and then
you have Steve Ripley over on the side.
Yeah, exactly.
All right, no pressure.
Right.
Exactly.
I remember when I was doing my tour too and like Ronnie was just like, check out this
microphone.
(12:18):
I was like, OK.
And he's like, this was David Bowie's.
And I was like, excuse me.
Yeah.
Why are you just like manhandling this?
That's a piece of art.
That's what I call my mic, my precious.
Yeah.
Nobody can touch it.
Right.
Nobody is around my mic.
We have chicken in each state, so we believe that.
(12:51):
So let's talk about the signs that you did.
(13:19):
The first one that you did, you put my readers on because you know, you're old like that.
You did High Power Moose and I want to say out of the four signs that you did that we're
going to talk about, all of them were my, I could hear your influences.
You know, you're all over the map.
I'm hearing, I was telling Brandon on the side, you know, I'm like, I'm hearing a lot
of influences here.
(13:40):
But we, I was, it's like a video game or like, like the intro to some like really serious
like TV drama or movie.
You know, that's what, is that what you were going for with your sound or is that just
kind of how it went?
Because it's really cool.
Yeah.
Thank you.
So every song was just like how it happened.
Like the influences that I have, which are so vast, but like, you nailed it.
(14:04):
Like old Nintendo games, like the old theme songs and boss battle music and like old Saturday
cartoons from the eighties and nineties.
Like those all fed this.
And then like, you know, I loved progressive rock.
I loved Judas Priest.
Nine Nails is like my absolute top band.
And it was like, all this like permeates my music and comes together and makes like this
(14:29):
weird thing.
But it's like, I never intentionally go out of my way to be like, you know, like I want
to, I want to be this.
It's more like, I'll be like, I wonder what this would sound like if it was this like
high powered music exactly as a song where I was like, I wonder what the band, the deer
hunter would sound like if they wrote a hardcore song.
(14:51):
So I was like, okay, I'm going to take all this instrumentation and apply it to like
a very kind of simplified like punk focused rhythm, you know, like the driving beat and
all that.
But then I was just like, it just kept getting weirder.
And then like, you know, the chorus sounds like a giant circus happening at once.
(15:12):
Yeah, I loved it.
Yeah, I loved it.
It was great.
And what a great song to open with too.
Thank you.
That grabbed you.
Yeah, that was so great.
Thank you.
I was, I was really happy to like share this because like, we just got hypotenuse like
in December and I was like, he's got to have a song.
I got to make some for this little guy.
And so I was like, I'm opening it with this guy because like, he's just, he's like the
(15:35):
best thing ever.
Oh, that's so sweet.
Yeah.
So it went about the next one you did was Battlebots and that I have a note.
I noted to myself that sounds, I think he said that you have bizarre music.
I make bizarre bizarre music at that point.
And then you went into Battlebots and I'm like, ah, yeah.
(15:55):
So again, you know, I'm hearing these influences everywhere.
You know, I'm hearing all this stuff, just the genres that you mentioned.
I'm like, okay, yeah, I hear that.
I heard that, you know.
And so how did that come to be?
Is that was pretty much the same process?
Yeah, same process mostly, but it was like, I started out with that opening, opening riff,
which like doesn't repeat or, and just is like a kind of a weird introduction to like
(16:18):
what eventually happens.
And I was like, when I, when I wrote it, I was like, oh, this kind of sounds like
Coheed and Cambria.
And I was like, you know, that's like one of my favorite bands.
And I was like, okay, I'm going to keep moving forward with this because I was like, let's
see where it goes.
And then I was just like, this song needs blast beats.
And I was like, how do I do that?
And so like a lot of approaches are just like, I try to write like 16 bars of music or 16
(16:44):
bars of a riff, and then build on that.
And then like another 16 bars of like either, you know, changing that around a little bit
to make it more interesting or, you know, a whole new idea.
And when I approached new ideas, it's like, how could I make this fun or interesting or
like, what would make me want to hear it?
(17:04):
And so, yeah, it was just a lot of it was just like, what would happen if I tried to
do this?
And so like the chorus, it was just like, I was like, I want to have like a soaring loud
power metal chorus.
So I was like, I'm going to do, you know, some chords with some fast drums.
And then all of a sudden that melody came out of it.
And I was like, this sounds like something straight out in Nintendo, like a Final Fantasy
(17:25):
game.
And I was like, so I fell in love with it.
And I was just like, I'm going to move forward with this.
And like that one took me a couple of months to like wrap up because like I didn't know
how to finish it.
And I also was like, it was like around two minutes and I was like, I feel like this should
be longer.
But then when I did wrap it up, I was like, no, it's perfect.
Yeah, that was great.
(17:45):
Yeah.
And I love the, you know, the peaks and valleys.
I'm like, oh yeah, this is really good.
And then the next one you played was Storm Club.
And that was totally different from how Battlebots was.
It started almost like, I have, let me read my note.
It was like whimsical.
(18:05):
It started like with this whimsy, this real nice soft intro.
And then all of a sudden you like blast our face off.
I'm like, wow.
You know, I'm like, that is really, really good.
You know, so tell me about that.
That one was written around kind of the same time as High Powered Moose where I was, you
know, still in that mind frame of like, what would the deer hunter sound like with punk
(18:27):
beats or stuff like that?
And so like that opening was just very, it's very baroque.
And I was like, you know, this song needs a harpsichord.
So like that's not like writing that song was a moment.
It's a harpsichord.
Oh my God.
That's so cool.
Yeah.
And I was like, I was like, I want this to sound like, you know, kind of like Bakish and go
(18:49):
with that because the original version of it didn't feature as much instrumentation.
It was like a six track piece.
And I remember like, I originally submitted it to like a rate your song live YouTube thing
and like the person reviewing was like, wow, there's like, it's kind of a, what is that,
(19:11):
counter, I can't think of what Bak was famous for, like counter melodies or something like
that.
There was like a lot of that happening.
Oh, that's really cool.
Somehow that happened.
And so when I came back to that song, I was just like, I was like, I had to make this
even more whimsical.
So it was like, I'm like, I've plugged it in my 21 track template.
And I was just like, I'm going to go nuts with the strings and everything and all the
(19:34):
all the woodwinds.
And yeah, then all of a sudden I'm like, what?
But that's what you don't expect.
You know, so that was so cool.
Thank you.
I love that.
Thank you.
It's so much fun.
You look like you were having a great time up there playing.
Yeah.
That's like my whole point of like doing music is like, it has to be fun.
(19:57):
Because like, if I'm not enjoying myself doing this, like I'm not, I don't really want to
do it.
Like I hate working.
Right.
So why would you?
Right.
And so like this whole thing has just been approached with fun and everything is like,
everything has been a surprise that's come out of it.
Like I've just approached it like selfishly.
I wrote this music for myself.
I was just like, I want to write music that I want to hear because like I've been listening
(20:20):
to a lot of the same music since college, since college.
Like I've been listening to the same bands over and over again.
And so like when I started writing my music and I just like, that's all I would listen
to.
Like I drove my wife and kids nuts.
My kid nuts.
Like they were like, I don't want to listen to this anymore.
And so yeah, it's just, it's been so neat that like people have like embraced it and
(20:44):
come around it and like, um, and have had positive things to say.
Like I don't know how to feel about that sometimes because it's just like, I'm like, I just
like this.
Like I really like this and it's weird, like being so vulnerable and being like, do you
like this?
Yeah, we've talked about that.
I've talked about that with other guests, you know, and we say, you know, music is our
(21:05):
joy.
I mean, that's what we do.
We love making music.
And you know, then all the other stuff, you know, always becomes like secondary, you
know, like, okay, so now we have to go out and hustle up a gig.
Now we're going to talk to a promoter, you know, and we have to go to our day gig too
because, you know, our music hasn't paid the bills yet.
So it's like you do what you love, you know, but it's just, you want to do it more because
(21:27):
that's just what you love.
And writing songs, you know, like a lot of us write, you know, like really sad songs
because they're easier to write.
You know, we've talked about that, but yours, you know, you don't have lyrics on yours,
you know, so we can kind of form our own story.
Yeah.
And that one of your intentions, you know, was to have people, you know, because I can
picture myself sitting with head with my earbuds in listening to this music and just daydreaming
(21:50):
about I can just see it.
I can feel it.
Yeah.
Was that was at your intention writing this kind of music?
That's always, that's always been the goal for me because like I have ADHD and so my
brain is so loud.
Like it's always so loud and so like when I, when I was discovering music, like nine
inch nails spoke to me as a teenager because like it was loud, but it was also so layered,
(22:13):
like delicately layered.
And it was like, if you like listen to it like, you know, from speakers or whatever,
it was just like, okay, this is cool, but like headphones.
And I was just like, whoa, what's happening here?
Like there's so many things like happening at once.
And like for me, like listening to listening to music has always been kind of like an almost
(22:33):
like a meditative experience.
And just like, I spend all my time like not only taking it in like fully, but also like
picking like listening to every individual piece that's happening at once and just being
like in awe of like trying to pick out and just being like catching those little like
hidden flourishes or things that like you don't really hear unless you're really into
(22:55):
it.
And like that's, I try to like pepper that in like a lot.
If I am writing my music for somebody, it's for the musicians that'll sit there and like
pick it apart and just be like, wow, why did he do that?
Or like, at least I hope so.
Like I don't know what other musicians think of my music, but I'm having so much fun doing
(23:16):
it and that's cool.
And I have a feeling that you're going to have some musicians kind of checking you out,
you know, to come and you know, help them, you know, especially with the exposure that
you're going to, you know, the props you're going to get from the church.
Yeah.
You know, everybody, we loved, everybody loves the tunes at noon.
You know, so when they see what you do, you know, and maybe you could bring something
into their project too.
(23:36):
And that's just, to me, that is like, that would be an ultimate compliment, you know,
anytime, you know, another musician acknowledges anything.
It's like, wow.
Yeah, it's so good.
It's so warming.
Yeah.
And you don't know what to say.
You're almost like, you know, you see this guy every day, drink beer with him, you know,
you hang out, you know, but then they acknowledge your music and you just kind of.
Yeah.
(23:57):
And like one thing that's like been so great about doing this project for the last year
is like, we, we, like my wife and I are just, you know, we're homebodies.
We kind of like stick around at home.
We don't have a large like social group here, but like the community that we've been able
to like participate in and you try to like create our own space in those communities
(24:20):
as well.
So like has been so good.
Like I've befriended so many great people and other like local bands and like, and some
of the scene and you know, venue owners have been so kind and so great around here.
And yeah, like just everybody's, everybody is so willing to volunteer what they can and
(24:42):
have to be, you know, to just build everybody up.
And it's so warming to like be a part of that.
And like my wife and I are trying to like give back as much as we can to because like,
you know, music doesn't pay anything.
Like what it takes like a million streams to make a dollar or something on Spotify.
(25:03):
So like, you know, we do like a buy month, we're starting to do like a bi-monthly pot
luck now where like the community is invited and our neighbors.
We did our first one last month, which was a lot of fun.
And then we're planning on doing one next month as well.
And then another thing is working with some local, local trans people and building a music
(25:27):
festival, like a local music festival here for, you know, trans and queer fronted bands.
You know, we've got a good lineup like already lined up.
We've got a venue through Noistown, a sponsor through One Ox, which has been really cool.
And now it's just a matter of like getting that funding, which fingers crossed like I'm
applying through a partnership of Tulsa Creative Engine and Tulsa Remote.
(25:52):
My wife and I are both Tulsa Remoters.
So like hopefully that, you know, gives us some weight.
Yeah.
So like everything, like everything's all set up now.
The goal is to like get this funding through TCE to so that we can just pay the bands up
front, you know, just like everybody gets a flat rate for coming.
Thanks for playing.
You know, we pay the venue and then the fees that are, the goal is that the fees that are
(26:15):
collected at the door just are mutual aid.
Every, every dollar goes to mutual aid.
And like that's, like that's my mission as well.
Like my mission is set a cathedral is every dollar that I earn is invested back into my
community.
So, you know, it hasn't been much like I haven't gotten any Spotify pay, but you know, we did
(26:36):
a, I did a show at Norman got paid, you know, like 23 bucks or something like that.
And, you know, I sent immediately as soon as I could, I sent that to Tulsa Food Not Bombs
and what we just made through the church, you know, that's going to other mutual aid,
especially looking at some LA mutual aid support sources as well, because.
Yeah, yeah, that's a nice one.
(26:56):
That is really cool.
That is so cool.
Yeah.
And the Tulsa community, I mean, I've been here almost almost two years in May and I
noticed that immediately, you know, it's like they just you're just embraced.
And we've had, we've lost a couple of people in 2024, like the last quarter of 2024 was
not good.
Right.
I had somebody say to me, you have to, you know, we grieve as a music community.
(27:24):
We're going to heal as a music community because music is the healer and it sounds so simple
and so, but it's true.
And they told me, you know, let us love you, you know, lean in, you know, and it's like,
huh, you know, so instead of isolating, it was more like, you know, come to us, you know,
let us love you.
And a friend of mine, excuse me, that just recently had a loss.
(27:46):
I repeated that to her as it was told to me.
It really helped.
So now sure.
Yeah, that's our families like last year was a rough one for my wife and I as well.
Like, you know, it started, we started off the year with her in the hospital, say like
almost died from pneumonia, which is the worst thing ever.
(28:07):
Like I was, I was a mess.
And at the same time I was dealing with COVID.
So like, why?
Like 2024, just like started off just saying like, you know, thumbs down.
That's, but you know, despite all like the hardships that have occurred, like I had back
surgery last year too.
In June, like the whole time I was recording my first EP, the zoo was, I was in the worst
(28:30):
space like space of my life, physically, mentally, emotionally.
Like I couldn't walk to the bathroom without being in like severe pain or fatigue.
And I like set up this little mobile recording station in the living room.
And I just sat there and my wife would be watching TV or working and I'd be plugging
(28:51):
away like recording songs as best I could.
But it'd be like, I would do a take and then I'd have to like lay down for 15 minutes
because the fatigue was overwhelming.
The back pain was so bad.
So like right before I released the zoo, I like went under the knife, had a diskectomy
and was like, you know, like I couldn't do anything for a couple of months there.
(29:14):
And then, you know, it's like, I remember thinking like, when am I going to make this
a live thing?
Like when am I going to try playing this out?
And I was like, because I didn't know what to expect about back surgery recovery.
And thankfully, like, you know, July, early July, I reached out to like play a show at
the Soundpony and I was like, maybe, like maybe like I had gotten the okay from my
(29:38):
doctor to, you know, hold things greater than 10 pounds.
So I was like, all right, the guitar is back in business.
I was like, I can do this.
And then yeah, I was just like, I cash out my 401k because I was like, what's the point
if I'm disabled?
And so I bought that pedal and I was just like, let's do this.
Megan, this happened.
And like, I was so scared going into that show, too, because I was like, you know, what
(30:01):
if my back like what happens if something happens to my back or like, what if the fatigue
kick in, I was like, no, it just happened.
Like you said, music is healing.
And like, every show, like leading up to it or like afterwards, like, I'm a mess.
Like it's hard.
Like, it's hard to be mobile and active, but like when the show day, like, I'm a whole
(30:23):
new person during the show, I'm a whole new person.
But the next day, like when I go home tonight, like I'm not moving from my bed.
Yeah.
But so do you get that emotionally too?
Like I know, you know, like after performing, you know, you're just really, you're like
on this adrenaline rush, you know, and it takes a minute, you know, to come down.
But then I have to, I personally have to, I have to isolate for a little bit because
(30:46):
like it, we, we have a joke, you know, me and a bass player friend of mine, you know,
we say it got real peoply.
Yeah.
You know, and so we need to de-people.
Yeah.
I just want to kind of read my book and drink my tea and had my cat.
Yeah.
Exactly.
And I think that's, you know, as well of, you know, in addition to, you know, the physical
rest that you have to take.
Oh yeah, for sure.
(31:07):
Like social, like social events, like most of them I look forward to, but like it's,
it's hard.
Like it's hard to be around people.
I'm also autistic, so like, you know, social cues and body language and stuff.
A lot of things that I miss and like I also can say the most outlandish things that people
don't.
I like, I have a problem of assuming people are already in on the inside joke that I'm
(31:31):
telling myself.
And instead I just like anger them instead of making them laugh.
And like my wife, like every day she's just like, why did you, why, why?
It's like, I don't know.
My brain.
It's just in my brain.
I think kind of Brandon does that to me too.
I know when I'm getting over, you know, when I'm overwhelming, he'll go, Oh God.
Okay, I got to reel it back.
(31:54):
The boss is talking.
Exactly.
So, um, well, the last time that you did, I think that that one that we caught the lat
of your fourth set, I think that was probably my favorite.
It was called small time crimes.
And again, that's another one that started out, you know, like it was like, it had that
whimsy to it and then we're speed metal.
(32:16):
Yeah.
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(33:02):
We're out in the world.
(33:31):
We're out in the world.
(34:01):
We're out in the world.
(34:31):
We're out in the world.
(35:01):
We're out in the world.
(35:31):
We're out in the world.
(36:01):
We're out in the world.
(36:31):
We're out in the world.
(37:00):
We're out in the world.
(37:30):
We're out in the world.
(38:00):
We're out in the world.
(38:30):
We're out in the world.
(39:00):
We're out in the world.
(39:30):
We're out in the world.
(39:59):
We're out in the world.
(40:29):
We're out in the world.
(40:59):
We're out in the world.
(41:29):
We're out in the world.
(41:59):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(42:48):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(43:36):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(44:18):
We're out in the world.
(44:48):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(45:27):
We're out in the world.
(45:55):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(46:43):
We're out in the world.
We're out in the world.
(47:31):
We're out in the world.
(48:01):
We're out in the world.
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