October 14, 2025 • 49 mins
I was happy to get the chance to sit down with Zac from Minneapolis, MN based johnnyrook to talk about their song, "Missing You For Days".
johnnyrook has been a staple in the Minneapolis rock scene for decades now, and after a hiatus have come back strong with their new record, "The More Things Change" released this past July.
Be sure to show your support on Bancamp Friday and connect with them on IG to stay connected.
Keep up with johnnyrook at:
https://johnnyrook.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/johnnyrookmusic/
Thank you for your continued support!
Brett Johnson
Host of B-Side Breakdown
https://www.patreon.com/c/bsidebreakdown
https://www.instagram.com/bsidebreakdown
https://linktr.ee/bsidebreakdown
#MissingYouForDays #jonhnyrook #ZacBoyd #CardinalSunRecords #bsidebreakdown #threecrowsclub #brettjamesjohnson #musicpodcast
johnnyrook has been a staple in the Minneapolis rock scene for decades now, and after a hiatus have come back strong with their new record, "The More Things Change" released this past July.
Be sure to show your support on Bancamp Friday and connect with them on IG to stay connected.
Keep up with johnnyrook at:
https://johnnyrook.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/johnnyrookmusic/
Thank you for your continued support!
Brett Johnson
Host of B-Side Breakdown
https://www.patreon.com/c/bsidebreakdown
https://www.instagram.com/bsidebreakdown
https://linktr.ee/bsidebreakdown
#MissingYouForDays #jonhnyrook #ZacBoyd #CardinalSunRecords #bsidebreakdown #threecrowsclub #brettjamesjohnson #musicpodcast
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Three Tros, says B Side Breakdown.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hey everyone, welcome to the B Side Breakdown. My name
is Brett Johnson and I'm your host. This is episode
thirty nine of a podcast where I talk with other artists,
musicians and songwriters about a song they've written that is
meaningful to them that they want to have me play
in its entirety on this episode so we can chat
about it and get deep into the y behind it.
Today'm gonna be talking to Zach Boyd from the band
(00:28):
Johnny Rook about their song Missing You for.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Days, So let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Here is Missing You for Days by Johnny Rook.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
There's something else side these thigs back You. J Jackson
sings Sing the Seas but honest state to get a
weak could be something that blows the man ski Cat
(01:28):
see God Smote Funny Molly back set by the case
of God.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
So almost funny Moy.
Speaker 6 (01:44):
But tell me if God held on his can't take
the classle sins coming.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Up to the sea speak about toss sitting all the
seeds n stage together.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
We can pay something that fat foot facing soul muston from.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
The BBC speak Pacing Somosa forms a song see that's
(03:11):
what that's what she made. It will never be closer
than Evan the w all the notice the time. This
not s like get wonder that the sister seen God
some must time fun see after time. This is about
(03:40):
the cats. Got so sn.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
That go.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Let see your fo.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
All right, and that was missing you for days by
Johnny Rook. We're gonna take a quick break and come
back and talk with Zach Boyd about the band, the song,
and everything else they're working on.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
So stay with us. Hey again, it's bread from the
B side breakdown real quick.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
If you're digging this podcast and want to hear episodes
without the ads, you can join our supporters here called Down.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
For the Cause over on Patreon. It's five bucks a month.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
You get all of the episodes ad free, you get
them in advance before they're published, and you help keep.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
This whole labor of love alive.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
That's at patreon dot com slash B Side Breakdown. All right,
we'll be back in just a minute. All right, and
we are back. Let's bring in Zach Boyd from Johnny
Rook to talk about the song. Zach, thank you so
much for taking some time tonight to talk to me
about the song.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
Absolutely, man, happy to be here.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Yeah, it's great to have you on.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
I know I've known about your band for a long
time and from back when I lived in Minneapolis and
just the various kind of shows and scenes and through
Brad in his different ventures that he's been working on.
So it's super fun to finally get you here and
to talk about this song, Missing You for Days. I mean,
(05:23):
I really love the song, and I love the vibe,
I love the field. The sound is great, the songwriting
is great. I just would love to hear all about
why you wanted to talk about this song today.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
Yeah, man, Well, I appreciate the kind words, sincerely. Yeah,
I think I moved into the Minneapolis scene at the
ripe age of nineteen, and I think our pasts probably
were close to crossing but didn't quite get there in
the amount of time that I've spent in the Minneapolis
music scene, but obviously known about the things that you've
(05:55):
done and the music that you've transgressed. I appreciate being here,
but yeah, I guess to get started, you know, we
like We just released the album on the eighteenth, and
Missing You for Days was the second rollout single that
we released off of the record. And you know, it's
funny this song when I I predominantly write the music
(06:21):
before presenting it to the band, and there's a lot
of you know, I try to write at all of
the guitar parts with James the vocalist, with his his
stylings and mind and what would really speak to him.
And this song was really funny because I really didn't
think that he was going to gravitate towards this song
(06:41):
at all. And when we took a ten year hiatus
and we were kind of bouncing around doing other projects
and just you know, dipping our toes and other things
and just taking a break from all things Johnny Rook.
And when we got back together, we were at a
practice space and I just playing the song and uh,
(07:02):
we were just kind of in the middle of taking
a break in between playing other songs, and all of
a sudden, James just started belting out the course to
the song and I kind of looked at him funny,
and I said, do you do you actually like this one?
Do you like this riff? And he's like, He's like,
I mean, I've got a chorus to it right away, man,
Let's start working on it. And uh, it ended up
becoming one of my favorite songs off of the record,
(07:25):
just because of uh, you know, it's it's got a
it's it's got the vibe that we've always kind of
gone for, which is, you know, we essentially a pop
alternative rock band, but we've got so many different roots
in hardcore and post hardcore music, and you know, a
lot of those parts kind of shine through on this song,
(07:46):
and so, you know, it was kind of the way
that there's a lot of those other songs off of
this record too, don't get me wrong, but this one
was always just one of my one one of those
songs that was one of my more favorites. And when
we were picking which one we want to for the
second single and everybody kind of gravitated towards this one,
it was kind of a pleasant surprise on my end
(08:07):
because it was a song I never thought was going
to live as a Johnny Rook song and here they are.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
No, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
That's awesome, And thanks for the aut a context that
you took a break like I you know, we all
move around and we all do a bunch of different things,
and it's easy if you're not keeping up with everybody
on socials and things kind.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Of what's going on.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
So when I remember, like, if we can go back
a minute, one of the last things I remember hearing
from you guys forever was.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
There was a.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Sound Guarden tribute Fell in Black Days, I think it
was or something like that that Brad I thought put
out and you guys did blow up the outside world,
which I thought was awesome, and I was wondering it
was kind of after that that I sort of seemed
to lost track of you.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Were you guys around for a while after that or
kind of what happened there.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Yeah, Well, it's funny because we're one of those bands that,
you know, there's been a couple of hey, this is
our last show, and we've called it quits, But it
was never out of all of the times that we
decided that we didn't want to do it anymore. There
was never a point where there was bad blood between
any of the members of the band, and I can
(09:23):
honestly say, over the course of the last twenty years,
every member of the band has remained one of my
closest friends, absolute best friends in the world. So it's uh,
you know, we after we released a record in twenty eleven,
and I remember getting We were practicing in the basement
(09:43):
in my house in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, and we all
went out to go, you know, smoke some cigarettes and
have some beers on my deck, and everybody just kind
of said, you know, what are we doing? You know,
it just got to a point where it felt like
we were going through the motions and just playing shows
to play shows, and there wasn't really any kind of
a fervor or a drive or a passion there anymore
(10:07):
to do the things that that that, you know, because
we were we were I don't want to say younger,
because I still feel like I'm twenty some odd years old.
You know, as a younger man. We were a younger band.
We had all of these ambitions, and just like any
band that starts off that, you know, we wanted to
get signed and we thought that was the end all,
(10:27):
be all, sure, and you know, we we put our
nose to the grindstone. We worked with producers outside of
the Minnesota area. We did everything that we thought we
were doing we were supposed to do right. And you know,
everybody always says, oh, have something different and be unique,
and you're gonna get noticed, and you know, we really
thought that we had something special and unique, and it
(10:48):
just kind of felt like it was falling on deaf
years and so you know, we sat out on my
deck and it was like, what are we doing? Do
you guys even want to do this anymore? And it
was like, you know, let's just take a break, or
let's just not do it, and you know, it was
it was something that I didn't anticipate me in ten years,
by any stretch of the imagination. But you know, we
all got busy. I started a family, and we all
(11:12):
started doing other bands that kind of ate up the time.
And uh, after the last band I played in, I
wrote a couple of songs and I was going to
start a new project that I just kind of handed
off some songs to a bunch of vocalists that I
really admired, and you know, wanted to start something where
it was just kind of having guest vocalists come in
(11:33):
and James and I did a couple of songs and
people kind of reached out and were like, you know,
those those sound like Johnny Rook songs, and it was like, well,
you know, and I wrote I've written all of the
music for Johnny Rook and James has obviously written all
of the vocals. It's probably inevitable that it's going to
sound a little bit like Johnny Rook and Uh. We
got together at another barbecue when we were like, what
(11:55):
the hell are we doing? None of us were playing
really in this in the same bands anymore, and it
was just like, you're all my best friends, and I
just want to kick it and you you know, writing
good tunes and if it goes anywhere cool, if not,
at least we're getting together and you know, we get
to hang out as best friends and you know, the
commiserate over the things we appreciate about the music industry
(12:17):
and the things that drive us nuts, and share pears
and you know, we just get to hang out. So
that's kind of how it all came back to be again.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Got it? And so then when was that? Like when
did when did this pick back up? You know?
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Okay, So that's the that's the messed up part, is
that this all came back together and about the end
of twenty nineteen, of course, and subsequently, you know when
everything COVID started to hit and all of a sudden,
we just start getting our wheels back underneath us and
start getting some ambition, and we wanted the talk of
writing a new record kind of came about. And then
(12:52):
all of a sudden, you know, shit hit the fan,
and it was everything was closed down and we couldn't
even get together to practice. You know, I'm writing stuff
in my studio, in my house, and I'm trying to
send it over the wire. But you know, any musician
knows when you're when you're not in a room full
of collective mindset of other guys, that the energy and
(13:14):
the feel of those songs just doesn't turn out the
same way because you're not feeding off of each other.
So we went through the entirety of the COVID fiasco
really trying to stay positive and on top of things
and moving forward. And you know, I think we did
a good job at it. But it was just by
the end of all of that, I think that was
(13:36):
the true test of you know, is this revival going
to actually happen or was this just kind of a
fleeting Yeah, let's do this in high five And you know,
the thought dwindles and then everything is kind of set
to the roadside, but you know, it stuck and here
we are, and I think, I think this is the
most fun we've been having and personally, I feel like
(13:57):
the best songs that we've ever written. And you know,
it's been a good time man. And I have zero
complaints of the hiatus that we took. I think it
did nothing but strengthen our resolve.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
No, that's awesome, that's wonderful, and thanks for sharing all that.
It's really good to connect the dots on so many
of those things. So then the song Missing You for Day,
so after you kind of spun back up back in
twenty nineteen, when was it you were in the practice
space and that event happened that you were talking about earlier.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
While that song was specifically started right in the twenty
twenty aspect of when you know, everybody kind of started
getting that fear of the COVID and thing right before
things got shut down. We ran through a verse and
a chorus and stuff like that, and I hadn't even
(14:50):
completed the song yet before we had started tooling around
with it. And then once everything shut down and we
were no longer you know, in Minnesota, if you remember correctly,
they had the National Guard trolling the streets and demanding
everybody get back inside their house. I mean, you know,
it got to a point here in Minnesota where it
(15:12):
was like the fear was palpable, and you know, and
I get it. It was a it was a complete unknown.
But it was just like when we finally got back
into our practice space in the studio area, we were
all you know, we were the practice space. We were instructed.
We still had to wear masks. Even though we're in
(15:34):
a you know, ten by twenty practice space, We're all
in close vicinity of each other. So it was like
there was still there were still a lot of unknowns
and things that were going on, and so that song
was kind of we we kind of finished that song
and if you listen, and I would just kind of
throw this in there too, But you know, when you
(15:56):
listen to the more things changed, there's a song called
set It Up, and that song set it Up on
the record is actually talking about, uh, that time frame
of when we started working on all of these songs,
and uh, we had written that song set it Up
before all of it fell apart, and you know, it
was just it was a weird time, man, and it's
it's weird to look back on these songs and kind
(16:18):
of reflect on them and uh, you know, really see
the things that you know, like uh specifically missing you
for days and stuff. It's uh to me personally, I
won't speak to uh exactly what James was talking about
when it came to the lyrical content of that, but
it was like, you know, there's so many lyrics on
the record that it you know, it speaks to a
(16:41):
lot of that uh, that that loneliness and that that
feeling that I think everybody shared throughout that that time frame. Uh,
you know, not being able to see loved ones and
uh you know, uh members of the band having people
that were in the hospital that we couldn't even go see.
And you know, so the missing You for Days is
is like it when you when you think about it
(17:03):
in context of the time frame when the song was written.
You know, for me personally, it makes me reflect back
on that time and you know, missing those interactions and
the friendships and the family uh and you know get
togethers and stuff like that. But also you know, I
think James was probably talking a little bit more of
uh you know, fleeting relationships and stuff like that. But yeah,
(17:26):
it's uh, it was about about that time frame that
that song started to get finished up was when everybody
kind of came out of those lockdowns and were actually
able to converse again.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
Got it.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Yeah, And that's a really really healthy reminder of that
because I'll just say transparently, for me, it's like some
of those things that just that you were just talking
about it, I'm like, oh, that's right, Like, I mean,
for me, it's been so long now, almost since some
of those things have happened that I'm like, I haven't
stopped to go back and really think about, Yeah, what
was that experience? Like, I mean, I remember, I mean
(18:00):
exactly some of the things you're talking about. For me,
as a cancer survivor, it was really scary being in
a practice space when we didn't know anything about what
COVID was or what it could do. And one of
the things they say is the worst is singing because
it's just the way to transmit it so quickly. And
I'm like, okay, so are we doing this?
Speaker 5 (18:19):
You know? And I got.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Bandmates who have aging, like eighty five year old grandparents
that live with them. You know, it's like they can't
get sick, And I'm like, wow, man, like this is
a whole whole different world.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
And that for me was kind of the last time.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
I mean for me, that was the last time I
was I've been in a practice space with people for
years until I mean I was in you know, getting
out of Minneapolis and moved to South Carolina and was
playing in a band in North Carolina for a while.
But it was it took a long time for me
to kind of get back to that. But then, right,
I'm thinking about old band members and other bands I'm
(18:54):
with right, like both their parents died, you know, like
right within days of each other because of it.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
I'm just like, man, you know, yeah, it was.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
It was a scary time.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
You know.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
The thing is that everybody kind of had a different
take on, you know, what was going on. And we
we had members in the band who, you know, they
had loved ones with respiratory problems and you know, at
the at the time, my father in law was diagnosed
with two different kind of lung cancer and uh, you know,
(19:25):
he got a cough and they put him in the
COVID wing of the hospital and you know, in complete seclusion.
And it was like it was it was a time
frame where you know, it's like you said, you look
back on it now, and it kind of all feels
like a dream, really really obscure dream inception type ship,
you know, but exactly. But it's it's crazy because everybody
(19:48):
had a different outlook on it, but collectively as a band,
it was like, you know, we were trying to do
what was best for you know, like nobody cared what
the other person, uh, you know, leaved or felt, if
that makes sense. We all just respected the way that
the way that current society was and you know, the
(20:08):
idea was like, let's just try to keep you know,
an open mind, keep everything safe because whether or not anybody,
you know, everybody claimed they were an expert social media
was the worst aspect of that entire you know, that
entire time. And it was like, whether or not anybody,
however anybody feels about this, we're all going to agree
(20:28):
that we're going to look at this from the lens
of we don't know, and we're just going to respect
where it's at in the moment. And you know, and
so so we we really did, and we we looked
out for each other, we looked out for each other's
family and respected where everything was in the moment. And
you know, by the time that it was all said
and done, it was like, it's weird how fast the
years passed. And now I look back on it and
(20:50):
I'm like, it's a blur, you know, and how crazy
everything was. It's just an absolute blur.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
Yeah, no, it sure is.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
And and also thanks for the mention of the song
set it Up, because that's good to hear that. That's
also kind of reflective at this time as well, So
I'll be sure to go back and check that out.
And for all of you listening, if y'all want to
hear the song set it Up as well, be sure
to go to Johnnyrook dot bandcamp dot com and buy
the record.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
The more things change. That just came out on July eighteenth,
twenty twenty five, so.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Find the band camp Friday of when that's available. By
it so they get all the money.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
Well, can I add to that?
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Yeah please?
Speaker 5 (21:28):
Yeah, there's a if you want the physical distribution of
that too. There's this rad new company out of the
UK and I'm not being paid to promote this, I
swear to God, but they have found a sweet new
way of being able to press one off vinyls and
we have a store where you can buy. They will
(21:49):
one off press either a CD or a vinyl for you,
and it's an elastic stage dot com backslash Johnny Rook
and you can order a vinyl and I can uh
with honestly say, I bought a test press of The
More Things Change in one of our last records, and
I was blown away at the quality. So, uh, if
(22:11):
you are awesome. Yeah, so if you're a fan of that,
that that physical media, uh, you can go on there
and within two weeks of ordering the record or the CD,
they drop ship it to you to your door and
you will have a sweet Johnny Red vinyl or CD
on your hands.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Oh that's great, thanks for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Yeah, YEA know that it was out there too, So
that's that's awesome and I'm totally going to look into that.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
No, that's cool man. So so the records out.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Bands back with a Vengeance and what so what are
y'all doing? What's what's going on?
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Like?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Are you doing shows locally?
Speaker 5 (22:48):
Is?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Has there been a formal record release show? Are you
doing something specific or special to celebrate this?
Speaker 5 (22:55):
So what we ended up doing was that we had
all the session files and we we uh teamed up
with another super good friend of the band and uh
longtime band Minneapolis musician from an old band called Minus three.
I think you might remember those guys. Yeah, the lead
(23:16):
singer of that band and I we we had another
band that we played in after one of the hiatuses
of Johnny Rook and so we we called him up
and uh he joined the band and uh we really
recorded all of we put his parts and his backing
vocals on it, and he actually mixed and mastered, uh,
the entire re release of this record. So we've been
(23:37):
trying to play shows that make sense and that they
That may sound cynical of me, but you know, like
the the music scene has changed, I guess is the
best way that I can put it, since since we
were young men, and you know, I remember the days
of making up flyers for shows and going and standing
(23:57):
outside of any venue that was playing local music or
e in a national show and handing out flowers to
our shows and trying to get people in the door.
And you know, today's a digital age and everybody relies,
even promoters, sadly enough, rely on the aspect of well,
we created an event on Facebook, and that's pretty much
the only promotion that you get on so, you know,
(24:18):
so the tough part is now is that getting back
together as a band, we wanted everything that we do,
uh moving forward to be calculated and precise. I guess
if that makes sense, you know. So we we pick
up shows here and there. We played Kansas City, went
back to to Iowa where we've always been welcomed, and
(24:44):
you know, we've played a few hometown shows. But we
we haven't celebrated the re release of this record quite yet.
But you know, we're we're working with our A and R.
You know, we're looking into festival ideas, we're we're trying
to get out of town as much as possible because
you know, it's just it's tough. After the whole COVID thing,
(25:04):
it was like there were so many music venues in
Minneapolis that closed down, right and now now the problem
is is every music venue that is around either wants
you to rent the room for an ungodly amount of
money or they are only booking cover bands to try
to make some money back from you know, what they lost,
and they realized that that's kind of the mo that
(25:25):
is going to make their club money. So the local
scene is kind of few and far between, and you're
you're pretty lucky to you know, land a show that
is going to make sense or have somebody that's actually
you know, worth their weight and we're worth their salt
and promotion and stuff. So right now we're we're working
on some publishing aspects, you know, we're really just trying
(25:48):
to focus on, you know, trying movies, TV shows, video
game aspects. And right now we're we're we're looking to uh,
you know, write the best song that we can enjoy
what we're doing and not really uh not really flood
the momentum with doing a lot of things that are
just there or do it to do it, so to speak.
(26:11):
So yeah, we're we're we're willing to play shows. It's
just kind of one of those things with everybody's got
a mortgage. I've got four kids, and you know, it's
it's just kind of got to make sense on the
on the back burner.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
No, it definitely does. And I totally get all of that.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
No, that's cool, and I'm glad that you're you're all
approaching it in a way that feels good and feels
meaningful to you.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
That's getting you in the direction you want to go.
Do you how far out of Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Are you looking to go like are you are you
trying to do I mean, you mentioned festival stuff, but
are you also just doing like potentially.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Club tours in any particular direction.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
I just remember, back in the day of cool, let's drive,
you know, maximum of sixteen hours that direction and play
as many shows as we can over the next week.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
But I don't know if that's still like on your
radar and not getting kids and mortgages and all that.
Speaker 5 (26:59):
Well, it's because I'm the only one in the band
that's got kids, and subsequently, I'm the only one in
the band that's got a job that I can pack
up my laptop and do it from the road to
So I am, dude, I'm wired so stupid, it's ridiculous,
you know. I'm I'm so willing to get in a
van and just go, yeah and drive around the countryside,
(27:21):
and whether it's two weeks or two months, like, I'm
all about it. If if it's something that you know,
like back in the day, it would have been like, whatever,
give us gas money and get us to where we're going.
Now it would be like, if you know, it would
be easy for me to continue to be in a
van and do my day job and then you know,
live the rock star life at night. But the hard
(27:42):
part is is that the rest of the guys that
only have so much PTO that they're able to you know,
spend throughout a given a fiscal year. But you know,
if it made sense, I honestly, I don't think that
it would be something that there's a single member in
the band that would say that they would, you know,
completely reject it. I think if if an opportunity presented itself,
(28:06):
you know, we would we would definitely weigh out the
pros and cons of it and and say yeah, let's
do it. I mean, right now, we're we're trying to
get a show uh down to Denton, Texas because we
have never met our A and R representative face to face,
and so you know, we we thought it would be
she lives in Denton, and we thought it would be
a really cool idea to uh spend the time and
(28:27):
drive down their meter face to face. Uh. You know,
personally think her for all the work that she's been doing,
I have a weekend of uh you know, party lifestyle
and then make the make the long drive home. But
we're not opposed to it. I mean entered into the
Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands for the Warp tour
down in down in Florida. So you know, we were
(28:47):
willing to do that, and just because it was like, man,
it'd be awesome to be on a big stage again
and and uh, you know, get that feeling of just
that rush of playing in front of a ton of
people again. And so if the opportunity made sense and
we we got to go do the things, I think
everybody's gotten a resurgence of how much fun playing a
(29:08):
show can be when the show isn't just playing the
show to play a show. It's like, hey, we're actually
making this an event, and this is something that you know,
we're going out and we're putting everything into it, and
we're gonna leave everything on the stage and walk away
from it and feel really confident about what we just did,
rather than showing up and hey, we're fifteen hours away
(29:31):
from home and there's five people here and the promoters
pissed off at us because we didn't bring a bunch
of people in.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
You know, right, No, I hear you. No, that's cool.
I hope you get to do that. Let's do this.
Let's take a.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Quick break, and we're going to come back and find
out what else you got going on and what's up
next for Johnny.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Rook and yourself. Is that cool?
Speaker 5 (29:50):
Sounds good?
Speaker 4 (29:50):
Man?
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Awesome? All right?
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Everybody hang tight, all right, and we are back with
Zach Boyd from the band Johnny Rook talking about the
song Missing You for Days. Zach, thanks again for coming
on and hanging out with me this evening and talking
about the record. I'd love to hear more about the
record overall. I know you've you've, you've briefly touched on
(30:12):
set it up and I'm Missing You for Days. We've
talked in depth about, but is there anything more specifically
about the record you want to kind of get into.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Yeah, I guess.
Speaker 5 (30:22):
The way it came about, you know, we we kind
of touched base a little bit on it, coming back
from that hiatus of you know it was. I guess
the way that this record came about. It's I go
back and I listen to it now, especially after the
magic that that Mitch put to this record, and I
can honestly say there has never been another collective of
(30:45):
songs that I personally have been more proud of. And
the thing is It's like I played in a band
right before Johnny Rook, and look, I had a blast
playing with the Bland the band, and you know, we
went on a pretty sweet national tour that that I
was really proud of. But the thing about it was
(31:06):
that it was a completely different genre of music in
terms of songwriting. And you know, I was kind of
the backup and I was playing in the band as
the main guitar, so that that band was the songwriter.
So I was kind of backing up everything that he
was doing. And you know, with Johnny Rook, it's just
(31:27):
it's always been a strange style. You know, I play
with multiple capos. It's kind of something that I get
teased for quite a lot just because you know, I
have a capo and then what's called a spider capo,
and it's just it allows me to play really weird
tunings and I just get to explore the guitar in
(31:48):
a different light. Yeah, but it's you know, the thing
is is that that's really only been something that has
been able to translate to a band like Johnny Rope.
Because James and I started writing songs together. It was
just something that you know, he kind of gave me
a lot of open freedoms, and so when I was
playing with this other band, I was I had tried
(32:09):
to write songs, but it just they didn't translate to
something that was more of an active radio rock type band.
So it was crazy when I wrote the two songs
and had James sing on those two songs, which eventually
we turned into Johnny Rook songs, but they I when
everybody was like, well, let's just why are we not
doing Johnny Rook. Let's just get back together and start
(32:31):
doing Johnny Rook, And all of a sudden, it was
just like I sat in my studio and it was like,
you know, songs just kind of started pouring out. And
I know that sounds really cliche, and you hear a
lot of bands that are just like, oh man, it
was just like the songs wrote themselves. But you know, honestly,
it was just I had spent five six years playing
(32:51):
in that band of not being able to, you know,
really express myself creatively that all of a sudden, it
was just like all of this bottled up and pent
up music that I hadn't been working on over the
course of six years, and starting to focus on what
was you know, really truly my niche. All of a sudden,
(33:12):
I just had this catalog of songs and we went
in and we were like, well, let's just record three songs.
And I had a catalog of like fifteen songs or
something like that. And then it was like, well, I
can't choose which one I want to do. I've got
vocals to this one. I've got vocals to this one.
Whereas back in the day, when we would write a song,
it would take us forever to write a song because
(33:33):
we just, you know, I was young. I just didn't
know what I was doing really, and you know, I
went from being a hardcore vocalist to being a guitarist,
and all of a sudden, it was like write songs,
and I was like, I don't know how to do that,
and you know, so getting into the swing of it
and really learning a lot from the in the ten
year hiatus, all of a sudden it was like, well,
(33:55):
why only do three songs, Let's do five. And then
all of a sudden, it was like, why I only
do five songs, Let's do a full album. And it
was crazy because we just got into the studio and
it's been the first time that we would work on
a song and we would complete the song and James
would say, you know, and I'm not really feeling this one.
I don't have anything to it. And instead of forcing it,
(34:18):
it was like, all right, well just put it back
in the catalog. Maybe we'll come do it to it
another day. What do you hear anything else on this
that you feel like you could do? So this whole
record was kind of an amalgamation of kind of finally
I say this kind of sarcastically, but finally getting out
(34:39):
of my own way, and you know, just sucking up
my pride, and you know, like as a guitarist and
writing the music, it's like, well, I thought I thought
this guitar part was really sweet. Why why don't you
like this? You know, and then kind of taking it
personally and and then making everybody else feel like they
had to do something with it, because you know, like
(34:59):
I with the guitar part, you played to it, whereas
this one was kind of like I want this to be.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
James.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
And so it was like every song that we picked
for this record, wass James had to have something vocally,
and you know, first and foremost had to feel a
hook for the chorus and feel strongly about it in
order for us to continue working on it. So for me,
this record was my most proud moment because of the
(35:30):
fact that it was more of a collective and collaborative
album where everybody got everybody had their own say and
creative outtake on everything that went into it, rather than
just going I wrote the song, it has to be
a song, because it takes me forever to write a song.
And I really feel like that's why this record turned
(35:52):
out the way that it did was because you know,
everybody got to put their egos aside and they got
to put their best foot forward and and I think
that's why the record turned out was so special in
my opinion.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
No, that's awesome, man, And that's super just vulnerable, transparent
and insightful, like awesome to hear that, Like I get it.
Some you said a minute ago, you know, I hear
you when you say it's cliche to say that the
music just poured out.
Speaker 3 (36:19):
Of me, But I mean, man, it does do that.
You know a lot of things. I'm watching this, I mean,
this is this is tangential, so I'm just gonna go
with it.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
But I've been watching this recent I just have to say,
growing up as a kid, I was super influenced by
Billy Joel as a really young kid as.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
A piano player, just because he's a ridiculous piano player
and songwriter.
Speaker 5 (36:44):
Right.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
So, I'm watching this thing that they recently put out
on whatever channel, and it's like the two part kind
of massive biography on him and interviews with him and
all this. And he was talking about when he lived
in Hollywood and he was going back to New York
because he's just like, why am I out in California.
This isn't my place, these aren't my people, Like, I
(37:06):
don't fit in here. And on the bus ride home,
he's the song New York state of Mind. He just
wrote it on the way home, and he's like, he
got into his house and he saw his wife. He's like,
where's the piano, you know, and he just ran upstairs
and he said, yeah, I basically wrote the song in
about an hour.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
And I'm like, and it's one of the.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Most massive, amazing cultural phenomena songs that reflects, you know,
how people feel about New York and that feeling and
you know what I mean, it's I don't know, there's
so much that's dope about that, But it's at the same.
Speaker 3 (37:35):
Time, right, man, these things just pour out of people.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
And I also think it's really cool just to hear
how you're putting yourself aside.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
I mean, I have some experience with that. I was
writing a record that I started.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
I don't know, like in two thousand and eight or something,
and was never really able to finish it because I
kept moving around, couldn't find players and whatever. Then finally
COVID happened and I had this band and I'm like, hey, man,
let's work on this. But then we had to do
it all remotely, and I had to really let go
of what my actual vision was for the song, and
I had to let it grow and evolve the way
(38:12):
that it was going to grow and evolved with the
input and the contributions of my bandmates.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
Like it just had to be that way. And it's
super That's a.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
Super challenging and cathartic and hard experience sometimes. But also
you know, some things came out of that that I
just never could imagine that would have Like some things
were so much better than ever. So anyway, just to
hear how proud you are of this record and the
process that you went through to get there. It's just
really inspiring to hear and I'm excited to listen to
the rest of it.
Speaker 5 (38:42):
Well, thanks man. Yeah, it's crazy, you know, because I
before I started playing in the band, right before Johnny
Rook that I heard some of their music on whether
it's released on YouTube or whatever the platform was, and
when they were going and the producer of the band,
(39:02):
I asked him. I was like, why didn't you at
the time, I wasn't really doing anything musically, you know,
seriously or anything like that, And I said, why didn't
Why didn't you tell me that these guys were doing auditions?
I would have auditioned. And he made the comment to me, well,
because that band wasn't ready for Zach Boyd, And you know,
(39:23):
I kind of kind of took it attle pretty personally.
I didn't it didn't really get pissed off about it,
but I know that there's been comments and even my
current band members will tell you too that, you know,
probably not the easiest individual to work with when it
comes to, you know, business stuff. But a good part
(39:44):
of that is because you know, really the passion takes
over when it comes to the band and you know,
from the inception of the band, I've kind of had
to take over all of the business aspects of it.
And there's a certain side of, you know, being a
businessman outside of being a musician that you know, you really,
you really kind of have to wear things pretty close
(40:07):
to your chest, and you know, your emotions run high
sometimes and you really kind of have to be an
art ass and sometimes that that boils over into your
expectations of, you know, what you have for band members.
And so when he told me that, you know, this
band wasn't ready for Zach Boyd and uh, you know,
and then I started playing in this other band, and
(40:28):
some of those band members you know, told me that
it was occasionally difficult to work with me just because
of those expectations and you know, like being professional, and
I'm also the kind of guy where it's like, you know,
I want to always remember where I came from, and
so I never want to get off stage and feel
(40:49):
like I'm not approachable. And I expect that out of
the rest of the band members too, just because you know,
we none of us are better than anybody else. We're
we're here doing something we love and the people are
here to support us, so, uh, you know, I always
had that expectation, but when when Johnny Rook got back together,
it was funny because I quit that last band and
(41:12):
you know, we went out on this month and a
half long tour with a national band, and when when
I quit the band, I really felt like, you know,
what did I do? I I felt probably the lowest
I've ever felt as a musician, as a creative individual,
whatever you want to have it, and you know, it
was it was kind of something that my my wife
(41:33):
talked to me about everything, and you know, what do
you define as success type deal? And the things that
I got to do. I there's not a lot of
you know, musicians that I know on a local level
I that have gotten to do the things that I
got to do. And I realized, you know, the success
(41:53):
is divine defined completely differently by a lot of people.
And for me personally, you know, I've been really proud
of the things that I've been able to do. So
getting back together with Johnny Rook, it took a long,
hard look at, you know, myself in the way that
I kind of approached things and the band and the business,
and the last thing that I wanted was for any
(42:15):
of this ship the resurgence of the band to be
stressful in any which I you don't stretch of the imagination.
Speaker 3 (42:24):
Sure, And so the we.
Speaker 5 (42:27):
Got together and when we talked, you know, I said,
I want everybody to really give me an idea of
how you want this to be different. And you know,
the communication was, you know, you got to chill out
a little bit, man, Like you can't be so you know,
aggressive about it. You know, when when you feel like
something is how it needs to be, uh, don't be
(42:47):
so close minded about it, like let's have a conversation
and let's have an actual democracy to where we we
talk about it and if you know, majority rules, you
got to be cool with it. And it was it
was crazy, man, because you talk about how you kind
of got to get, you know, step out of your
own shell a little bit and and grow up a
(43:09):
little bit and realize like, hey, you know there's other
members of this band that really want this to succeed too.
It's just they have a different outlook on it and
might handle business side of things differently, but you know,
communication is key. And yeah, it's ah. Ever since that point,
you know, I I learned a lot from that last
(43:30):
band and even from songwriting and you know, it kind
of gotten that mentality now like if it makes the
song better and it feels easy to me, it's not
you know, it's not about me playing Olympics on the guitar.
It's what makes the song better. So it's a it
was a long come about, you know, but I feel
like I have eventually got there.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Man, No, that's that's super awesome. And it's so much
what you said there. I just I just identify with
on so many levels. Just yep, how I was back
in the day and driving the band forward and.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
I don't care how much pet you have, were going
on tour for a.
Speaker 5 (44:09):
Month, let's go, you know, yep, like what does the
succeed or not?
Speaker 3 (44:14):
Yeah? Right, like quick then come on, let's go, you know.
Speaker 2 (44:16):
And it was that was that was a challenging dude,
and I was driven and I knew that, but it
was also you know, it took me a long time
to kind of come around on a lot of those things.
And I know the feeling about you know, I have
a lot of gratitude for the stuff I've been able
to do musically as well, and I hear that in
you just the whole.
Speaker 3 (44:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:34):
Man, It's like there's a lot of things that I've
I've had the fortune to be able to experience as
a musician that I know a lot of my friends
just haven't and or and I don't.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
You know, I hope they do. I hope they get
that have those chances.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
But it's like, you know, having that too, is just
that sort of humility about the whole thing and having
that willingness to be able to share it all with
your bandmates.
Speaker 3 (44:56):
I mean, I just it's super fun to hear. I
really appreciate you you're sharing all that.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
What I want to find out where should all the
people listening to all the awesome things about Johnny Rooks
that they can go find your music and catch up
and stay help with you guys.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Where's the best place for them to keep up with you?
Do you have a primary website that directs everybody? Or
is it just Instagram?
Speaker 5 (45:18):
Or what's what's the well we are We're a bunch
of aging dudes that just absolutely hate social media. You know,
it's funny because oh my god, dude, it's so bad,
you know, and it sucks because I missed the MySpace
days and that's the nostologist side of me. You know,
you give me your top eight any day over this,
(45:39):
you know, Facebook or Instagram bs. But with that being said,
it's inevitable. We talked about it being a digital age,
and you know, we don't have a website. It's kind
of one of those deals that it's just yet another
piece of the puzzle that we would have to maintain
and we're all too damn lazy to do it. But
if Facebook and Instagram both of our user names. Facebook
(46:02):
is just Facebook, dot com slash Johnny Rook music, and
on Instagram you can find us at Johnny Rook music.
Uh so those are those are the two primary points
that that you can connect with us, And unlike a
lot of other bands, we are the actual ables that
are answering all of the messages sent to us. So great, Yeah,
(46:25):
if you're going to reach out and get in touch
with us, but you didn't, you did mention band camp.
All of this stuff is available there otherwise. Physical media
is on the elasticstage, dot com back slash Johnny Rook otherwise. Yeah, man,
it's everything's up on streaming platforms, so it can be
found on Apple, YouTube, Music, and Pandora, Spotify, whatever, whatever
(46:47):
tickles your fancy as a DSP these days.
Speaker 3 (46:50):
Well, that's awesome, man, Zach.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
It's been great talk with you about the song and
the record and and just hearing about the history of
the band and kind of the the different sort of
faces that you've gone through and where you're at today,
and it just seems like a really cool, cool road
ahead and so I'm super stoked to see where you
all go. Thank you again for coming on and talking
to me about the song and the record and the band.
And uh, I'd love to stay in touch and catch
(47:15):
up with you next time you guys have another single,
another record, whatever, hit me up and let's let's do
this again.
Speaker 5 (47:20):
Absolutely, man, I appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (47:23):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (47:23):
Thanks Echree Tross.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
B Side Breakdown.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
All right, and that wraps up another episode of the
B Side Breakdown. I want to thank Zach Boyd from
the band Johnny Rook for coming along to talk about
the song Missing You for Days. In the background and
you're hearing a song called w t F by Audios
Fatso if you like what you're hearing, please go back
and listen to the previous episode, because that's what it
was all about. Up next, I have the Snorts and
(48:06):
talking with Aaron Stoker about the song Butterflies. I'll give
you taste of that at the end of this episode,
please so please hang out for that. Please subscribe to
this podcast wherever you get your podcast. I want to
thank Adam cool Long and carry Bosel for helping me
put together the jingle you hear at the beginning and
the end of this episode.
Speaker 3 (48:22):
If you want to.
Speaker 2 (48:22):
Help keep this labor of love alive, please go over
to patreon dot com slash b side Breakdown and become
a supporter. It helps us to keep the lights on
and these episodes keep coming out. So thank you so
much for all of your support along the way, and again,
be safe out there and we'll catch up on the
next one.
Speaker 3 (48:38):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (49:01):
I gotta face nobody look directly again. You have to
say that the reppen not not to say yours.
Three Tros, says B Side Breakdown.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hey everyone, welcome to the B Side Breakdown. My name
is Brett Johnson and I'm your host. This is episode
thirty nine of a podcast where I talk with other artists,
musicians and songwriters about a song they've written that is
meaningful to them that they want to have me play
in its entirety on this episode so we can chat
about it and get deep into the y behind it.
Today'm gonna be talking to Zach Boyd from the band
(00:28):
Johnny Rook about their song Missing You for.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Days, So let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Here is Missing You for Days by Johnny Rook.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
There's something else side these thigs back You. J Jackson
sings Sing the Seas but honest state to get a
weak could be something that blows the man ski Cat
(01:28):
see God Smote Funny Molly back set by the case
of God.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
So almost funny Moy.
Speaker 6 (01:44):
But tell me if God held on his can't take
the classle sins coming.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Up to the sea speak about toss sitting all the
seeds n stage together.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
We can pay something that fat foot facing soul muston from.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
The BBC speak Pacing Somosa forms a song see that's
(03:11):
what that's what she made. It will never be closer
than Evan the w all the notice the time. This
not s like get wonder that the sister seen God
some must time fun see after time. This is about
(03:40):
the cats. Got so sn.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
That go.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Let see your fo.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
All right, and that was missing you for days by
Johnny Rook. We're gonna take a quick break and come
back and talk with Zach Boyd about the band, the song,
and everything else they're working on.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
So stay with us. Hey again, it's bread from the
B side breakdown real quick.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
If you're digging this podcast and want to hear episodes
without the ads, you can join our supporters here called Down.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
For the Cause over on Patreon. It's five bucks a month.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
You get all of the episodes ad free, you get
them in advance before they're published, and you help keep.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
This whole labor of love alive.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
That's at patreon dot com slash B Side Breakdown. All right,
we'll be back in just a minute. All right, and
we are back. Let's bring in Zach Boyd from Johnny
Rook to talk about the song. Zach, thank you so
much for taking some time tonight to talk to me
about the song.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
Absolutely, man, happy to be here.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Yeah, it's great to have you on.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
I know I've known about your band for a long
time and from back when I lived in Minneapolis and
just the various kind of shows and scenes and through
Brad in his different ventures that he's been working on.
So it's super fun to finally get you here and
to talk about this song, Missing You for Days. I mean,
(05:23):
I really love the song, and I love the vibe,
I love the field. The sound is great, the songwriting
is great. I just would love to hear all about
why you wanted to talk about this song today.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
Yeah, man, Well, I appreciate the kind words, sincerely. Yeah,
I think I moved into the Minneapolis scene at the
ripe age of nineteen, and I think our pasts probably
were close to crossing but didn't quite get there in
the amount of time that I've spent in the Minneapolis
music scene, but obviously known about the things that you've
(05:55):
done and the music that you've transgressed. I appreciate being here,
but yeah, I guess to get started, you know, we
like We just released the album on the eighteenth, and
Missing You for Days was the second rollout single that
we released off of the record. And you know, it's
funny this song when I I predominantly write the music
(06:21):
before presenting it to the band, and there's a lot
of you know, I try to write at all of
the guitar parts with James the vocalist, with his his
stylings and mind and what would really speak to him.
And this song was really funny because I really didn't
think that he was going to gravitate towards this song
(06:41):
at all. And when we took a ten year hiatus
and we were kind of bouncing around doing other projects
and just you know, dipping our toes and other things
and just taking a break from all things Johnny Rook.
And when we got back together, we were at a
practice space and I just playing the song and uh,
(07:02):
we were just kind of in the middle of taking
a break in between playing other songs, and all of
a sudden, James just started belting out the course to
the song and I kind of looked at him funny,
and I said, do you do you actually like this one?
Do you like this riff? And he's like, He's like,
I mean, I've got a chorus to it right away, man,
Let's start working on it. And uh, it ended up
becoming one of my favorite songs off of the record,
(07:25):
just because of uh, you know, it's it's got a
it's it's got the vibe that we've always kind of
gone for, which is, you know, we essentially a pop
alternative rock band, but we've got so many different roots
in hardcore and post hardcore music, and you know, a
lot of those parts kind of shine through on this song,
(07:46):
and so, you know, it was kind of the way
that there's a lot of those other songs off of
this record too, don't get me wrong, but this one
was always just one of my one one of those
songs that was one of my more favorites. And when
we were picking which one we want to for the
second single and everybody kind of gravitated towards this one,
it was kind of a pleasant surprise on my end
(08:07):
because it was a song I never thought was going
to live as a Johnny Rook song and here they are.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
No, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
That's awesome, And thanks for the aut a context that
you took a break like I you know, we all
move around and we all do a bunch of different things,
and it's easy if you're not keeping up with everybody
on socials and things kind.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Of what's going on.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
So when I remember, like, if we can go back
a minute, one of the last things I remember hearing
from you guys forever was.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
There was a.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Sound Guarden tribute Fell in Black Days, I think it
was or something like that that Brad I thought put
out and you guys did blow up the outside world,
which I thought was awesome, and I was wondering it
was kind of after that that I sort of seemed
to lost track of you.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Were you guys around for a while after that or
kind of what happened there.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Yeah, Well, it's funny because we're one of those bands that,
you know, there's been a couple of hey, this is
our last show, and we've called it quits, But it
was never out of all of the times that we
decided that we didn't want to do it anymore. There
was never a point where there was bad blood between
any of the members of the band, and I can
(09:23):
honestly say, over the course of the last twenty years,
every member of the band has remained one of my
closest friends, absolute best friends in the world. So it's uh,
you know, we after we released a record in twenty eleven,
and I remember getting We were practicing in the basement
(09:43):
in my house in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, and we all
went out to go, you know, smoke some cigarettes and
have some beers on my deck, and everybody just kind
of said, you know, what are we doing? You know,
it just got to a point where it felt like
we were going through the motions and just playing shows
to play shows, and there wasn't really any kind of
a fervor or a drive or a passion there anymore
(10:07):
to do the things that that that, you know, because
we were we were I don't want to say younger,
because I still feel like I'm twenty some odd years old.
You know, as a younger man. We were a younger band.
We had all of these ambitions, and just like any
band that starts off that, you know, we wanted to
get signed and we thought that was the end all,
(10:27):
be all, sure, and you know, we we put our
nose to the grindstone. We worked with producers outside of
the Minnesota area. We did everything that we thought we
were doing we were supposed to do right. And you know,
everybody always says, oh, have something different and be unique,
and you're gonna get noticed, and you know, we really
thought that we had something special and unique, and it
(10:48):
just kind of felt like it was falling on deaf
years and so you know, we sat out on my
deck and it was like, what are we doing? Do
you guys even want to do this anymore? And it
was like, you know, let's just take a break, or
let's just not do it, and you know, it was
it was something that I didn't anticipate me in ten years,
by any stretch of the imagination. But you know, we
all got busy. I started a family, and we all
(11:12):
started doing other bands that kind of ate up the time.
And uh, after the last band I played in, I
wrote a couple of songs and I was going to
start a new project that I just kind of handed
off some songs to a bunch of vocalists that I
really admired, and you know, wanted to start something where
it was just kind of having guest vocalists come in
(11:33):
and James and I did a couple of songs and
people kind of reached out and were like, you know,
those those sound like Johnny Rook songs, and it was like, well,
you know, and I wrote I've written all of the
music for Johnny Rook and James has obviously written all
of the vocals. It's probably inevitable that it's going to
sound a little bit like Johnny Rook and Uh. We
got together at another barbecue when we were like, what
(11:55):
the hell are we doing? None of us were playing
really in this in the same bands anymore, and it
was just like, you're all my best friends, and I
just want to kick it and you you know, writing
good tunes and if it goes anywhere cool, if not,
at least we're getting together and you know, we get
to hang out as best friends and you know, the
commiserate over the things we appreciate about the music industry
(12:17):
and the things that drive us nuts, and share pears
and you know, we just get to hang out. So
that's kind of how it all came back to be again.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Got it? And so then when was that? Like when
did when did this pick back up? You know?
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Okay, So that's the that's the messed up part, is
that this all came back together and about the end
of twenty nineteen, of course, and subsequently, you know when
everything COVID started to hit and all of a sudden,
we just start getting our wheels back underneath us and
start getting some ambition, and we wanted the talk of
writing a new record kind of came about. And then
(12:52):
all of a sudden, you know, shit hit the fan,
and it was everything was closed down and we couldn't
even get together to practice. You know, I'm writing stuff
in my studio, in my house, and I'm trying to
send it over the wire. But you know, any musician
knows when you're when you're not in a room full
of collective mindset of other guys, that the energy and
(13:14):
the feel of those songs just doesn't turn out the
same way because you're not feeding off of each other.
So we went through the entirety of the COVID fiasco
really trying to stay positive and on top of things
and moving forward. And you know, I think we did
a good job at it. But it was just by
the end of all of that, I think that was
(13:36):
the true test of you know, is this revival going
to actually happen or was this just kind of a
fleeting Yeah, let's do this in high five And you know,
the thought dwindles and then everything is kind of set
to the roadside, but you know, it stuck and here
we are, and I think, I think this is the
most fun we've been having and personally, I feel like
(13:57):
the best songs that we've ever written. And you know,
it's been a good time man. And I have zero
complaints of the hiatus that we took. I think it
did nothing but strengthen our resolve.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
No, that's awesome, that's wonderful, and thanks for sharing all that.
It's really good to connect the dots on so many
of those things. So then the song Missing You for Day,
so after you kind of spun back up back in
twenty nineteen, when was it you were in the practice
space and that event happened that you were talking about earlier.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
While that song was specifically started right in the twenty
twenty aspect of when you know, everybody kind of started
getting that fear of the COVID and thing right before
things got shut down. We ran through a verse and
a chorus and stuff like that, and I hadn't even
(14:50):
completed the song yet before we had started tooling around
with it. And then once everything shut down and we
were no longer you know, in Minnesota, if you remember correctly,
they had the National Guard trolling the streets and demanding
everybody get back inside their house. I mean, you know,
it got to a point here in Minnesota where it
(15:12):
was like the fear was palpable, and you know, and
I get it. It was a it was a complete unknown.
But it was just like when we finally got back
into our practice space in the studio area, we were
all you know, we were the practice space. We were instructed.
We still had to wear masks. Even though we're in
(15:34):
a you know, ten by twenty practice space, We're all
in close vicinity of each other. So it was like
there was still there were still a lot of unknowns
and things that were going on, and so that song
was kind of we we kind of finished that song
and if you listen, and I would just kind of
throw this in there too, But you know, when you
(15:56):
listen to the more things changed, there's a song called
set It Up, and that song set it Up on
the record is actually talking about, uh, that time frame
of when we started working on all of these songs,
and uh, we had written that song set it Up
before all of it fell apart, and you know, it
was just it was a weird time, man, and it's
it's weird to look back on these songs and kind
(16:18):
of reflect on them and uh, you know, really see
the things that you know, like uh specifically missing you
for days and stuff. It's uh to me personally, I
won't speak to uh exactly what James was talking about
when it came to the lyrical content of that, but
it was like, you know, there's so many lyrics on
the record that it you know, it speaks to a
(16:41):
lot of that uh, that that loneliness and that that
feeling that I think everybody shared throughout that that time frame. Uh,
you know, not being able to see loved ones and
uh you know, uh members of the band having people
that were in the hospital that we couldn't even go see.
And you know, so the missing You for Days is
is like it when you when you think about it
(17:03):
in context of the time frame when the song was written.
You know, for me personally, it makes me reflect back
on that time and you know, missing those interactions and
the friendships and the family uh and you know get
togethers and stuff like that. But also you know, I
think James was probably talking a little bit more of
uh you know, fleeting relationships and stuff like that. But yeah,
(17:26):
it's uh, it was about about that time frame that
that song started to get finished up was when everybody
kind of came out of those lockdowns and were actually
able to converse again.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
Got it.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Yeah, And that's a really really healthy reminder of that
because I'll just say transparently, for me, it's like some
of those things that just that you were just talking
about it, I'm like, oh, that's right, Like, I mean,
for me, it's been so long now, almost since some
of those things have happened that I'm like, I haven't
stopped to go back and really think about, Yeah, what
was that experience? Like, I mean, I remember, I mean
(18:00):
exactly some of the things you're talking about. For me,
as a cancer survivor, it was really scary being in
a practice space when we didn't know anything about what
COVID was or what it could do. And one of
the things they say is the worst is singing because
it's just the way to transmit it so quickly. And
I'm like, okay, so are we doing this?
Speaker 5 (18:19):
You know? And I got.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Bandmates who have aging, like eighty five year old grandparents
that live with them. You know, it's like they can't
get sick, And I'm like, wow, man, like this is
a whole whole different world.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
And that for me was kind of the last time.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
I mean for me, that was the last time I
was I've been in a practice space with people for
years until I mean I was in you know, getting
out of Minneapolis and moved to South Carolina and was
playing in a band in North Carolina for a while.
But it was it took a long time for me
to kind of get back to that. But then, right,
I'm thinking about old band members and other bands I'm
(18:54):
with right, like both their parents died, you know, like
right within days of each other because of it.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
I'm just like, man, you know, yeah, it was.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
It was a scary time.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
You know.
Speaker 5 (19:04):
The thing is that everybody kind of had a different
take on, you know, what was going on. And we
we had members in the band who, you know, they
had loved ones with respiratory problems and you know, at
the at the time, my father in law was diagnosed
with two different kind of lung cancer and uh, you know,
(19:25):
he got a cough and they put him in the
COVID wing of the hospital and you know, in complete seclusion.
And it was like it was it was a time
frame where you know, it's like you said, you look
back on it now, and it kind of all feels
like a dream, really really obscure dream inception type ship,
you know, but exactly. But it's it's crazy because everybody
(19:48):
had a different outlook on it, but collectively as a band,
it was like, you know, we were trying to do
what was best for you know, like nobody cared what
the other person, uh, you know, leaved or felt, if
that makes sense. We all just respected the way that
the way that current society was and you know, the
(20:08):
idea was like, let's just try to keep you know,
an open mind, keep everything safe because whether or not anybody,
you know, everybody claimed they were an expert social media
was the worst aspect of that entire you know, that
entire time. And it was like, whether or not anybody,
however anybody feels about this, we're all going to agree
(20:28):
that we're going to look at this from the lens
of we don't know, and we're just going to respect
where it's at in the moment. And you know, and
so so we we really did, and we we looked
out for each other, we looked out for each other's
family and respected where everything was in the moment. And
you know, by the time that it was all said
and done, it was like, it's weird how fast the
years passed. And now I look back on it and
(20:50):
I'm like, it's a blur, you know, and how crazy
everything was. It's just an absolute blur.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
Yeah, no, it sure is.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
And and also thanks for the mention of the song
set it Up, because that's good to hear that. That's
also kind of reflective at this time as well, So
I'll be sure to go back and check that out.
And for all of you listening, if y'all want to
hear the song set it Up as well, be sure
to go to Johnnyrook dot bandcamp dot com and buy
the record.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
The more things change. That just came out on July eighteenth,
twenty twenty five, so.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Find the band camp Friday of when that's available. By
it so they get all the money.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
Well, can I add to that?
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Yeah please?
Speaker 5 (21:28):
Yeah, there's a if you want the physical distribution of
that too. There's this rad new company out of the
UK and I'm not being paid to promote this, I
swear to God, but they have found a sweet new
way of being able to press one off vinyls and
we have a store where you can buy. They will
(21:49):
one off press either a CD or a vinyl for you,
and it's an elastic stage dot com backslash Johnny Rook
and you can order a vinyl and I can uh
with honestly say, I bought a test press of The
More Things Change in one of our last records, and
I was blown away at the quality. So, uh, if
(22:11):
you are awesome. Yeah, so if you're a fan of that,
that that physical media, uh, you can go on there
and within two weeks of ordering the record or the CD,
they drop ship it to you to your door and
you will have a sweet Johnny Red vinyl or CD
on your hands.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Oh that's great, thanks for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Yeah, YEA know that it was out there too, So
that's that's awesome and I'm totally going to look into that.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
No, that's cool man. So so the records out.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
Bands back with a Vengeance and what so what are
y'all doing? What's what's going on?
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Like?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Are you doing shows locally?
Speaker 5 (22:48):
Is?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Has there been a formal record release show? Are you
doing something specific or special to celebrate this?
Speaker 5 (22:55):
So what we ended up doing was that we had
all the session files and we we uh teamed up
with another super good friend of the band and uh
longtime band Minneapolis musician from an old band called Minus three.
I think you might remember those guys. Yeah, the lead
(23:16):
singer of that band and I we we had another
band that we played in after one of the hiatuses
of Johnny Rook and so we we called him up
and uh he joined the band and uh we really
recorded all of we put his parts and his backing
vocals on it, and he actually mixed and mastered, uh,
the entire re release of this record. So we've been
(23:37):
trying to play shows that make sense and that they
That may sound cynical of me, but you know, like
the the music scene has changed, I guess is the
best way that I can put it, since since we
were young men, and you know, I remember the days
of making up flyers for shows and going and standing
(23:57):
outside of any venue that was playing local music or
e in a national show and handing out flowers to
our shows and trying to get people in the door.
And you know, today's a digital age and everybody relies,
even promoters, sadly enough, rely on the aspect of well,
we created an event on Facebook, and that's pretty much
the only promotion that you get on so, you know,
(24:18):
so the tough part is now is that getting back
together as a band, we wanted everything that we do,
uh moving forward to be calculated and precise. I guess
if that makes sense, you know. So we we pick
up shows here and there. We played Kansas City, went
back to to Iowa where we've always been welcomed, and
(24:44):
you know, we've played a few hometown shows. But we
we haven't celebrated the re release of this record quite yet.
But you know, we're we're working with our A and R.
You know, we're looking into festival ideas, we're we're trying
to get out of town as much as possible because
you know, it's just it's tough. After the whole COVID thing,
(25:04):
it was like there were so many music venues in
Minneapolis that closed down, right and now now the problem
is is every music venue that is around either wants
you to rent the room for an ungodly amount of
money or they are only booking cover bands to try
to make some money back from you know, what they lost,
and they realized that that's kind of the mo that
(25:25):
is going to make their club money. So the local
scene is kind of few and far between, and you're
you're pretty lucky to you know, land a show that
is going to make sense or have somebody that's actually
you know, worth their weight and we're worth their salt
and promotion and stuff. So right now we're we're working
on some publishing aspects, you know, we're really just trying
(25:48):
to focus on, you know, trying movies, TV shows, video
game aspects. And right now we're we're we're looking to uh,
you know, write the best song that we can enjoy
what we're doing and not really uh not really flood
the momentum with doing a lot of things that are
just there or do it to do it, so to speak.
(26:11):
So yeah, we're we're we're willing to play shows. It's
just kind of one of those things with everybody's got
a mortgage. I've got four kids, and you know, it's
it's just kind of got to make sense on the
on the back burner.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
No, it definitely does. And I totally get all of that.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
No, that's cool, and I'm glad that you're you're all
approaching it in a way that feels good and feels
meaningful to you.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
That's getting you in the direction you want to go.
Do you how far out of Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Are you looking to go like are you are you
trying to do I mean, you mentioned festival stuff, but
are you also just doing like potentially.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Club tours in any particular direction.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
I just remember, back in the day of cool, let's drive,
you know, maximum of sixteen hours that direction and play
as many shows as we can over the next week.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
But I don't know if that's still like on your
radar and not getting kids and mortgages and all that.
Speaker 5 (26:59):
Well, it's because I'm the only one in the band
that's got kids, and subsequently, I'm the only one in
the band that's got a job that I can pack
up my laptop and do it from the road to
So I am, dude, I'm wired so stupid, it's ridiculous,
you know. I'm I'm so willing to get in a
van and just go, yeah and drive around the countryside,
(27:21):
and whether it's two weeks or two months, like, I'm
all about it. If if it's something that you know,
like back in the day, it would have been like, whatever,
give us gas money and get us to where we're going.
Now it would be like, if you know, it would
be easy for me to continue to be in a
van and do my day job and then you know,
live the rock star life at night. But the hard
(27:42):
part is is that the rest of the guys that
only have so much PTO that they're able to you know,
spend throughout a given a fiscal year. But you know,
if it made sense, I honestly, I don't think that
it would be something that there's a single member in
the band that would say that they would, you know,
completely reject it. I think if if an opportunity presented itself,
(28:06):
you know, we would we would definitely weigh out the
pros and cons of it and and say yeah, let's
do it. I mean, right now, we're we're trying to
get a show uh down to Denton, Texas because we
have never met our A and R representative face to face,
and so you know, we we thought it would be
she lives in Denton, and we thought it would be
a really cool idea to uh spend the time and
(28:27):
drive down their meter face to face. Uh. You know,
personally think her for all the work that she's been doing,
I have a weekend of uh you know, party lifestyle
and then make the make the long drive home. But
we're not opposed to it. I mean entered into the
Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands for the Warp tour
down in down in Florida. So you know, we were
(28:47):
willing to do that, and just because it was like, man,
it'd be awesome to be on a big stage again
and and uh, you know, get that feeling of just
that rush of playing in front of a ton of
people again. And so if the opportunity made sense and
we we got to go do the things, I think
everybody's gotten a resurgence of how much fun playing a
(29:08):
show can be when the show isn't just playing the
show to play a show. It's like, hey, we're actually
making this an event, and this is something that you know,
we're going out and we're putting everything into it, and
we're gonna leave everything on the stage and walk away
from it and feel really confident about what we just did,
rather than showing up and hey, we're fifteen hours away
(29:31):
from home and there's five people here and the promoters
pissed off at us because we didn't bring a bunch
of people in.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
You know, right, No, I hear you. No, that's cool.
I hope you get to do that. Let's do this.
Let's take a.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Quick break, and we're going to come back and find
out what else you got going on and what's up
next for Johnny.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Rook and yourself. Is that cool?
Speaker 5 (29:50):
Sounds good?
Speaker 4 (29:50):
Man?
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Awesome? All right?
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Everybody hang tight, all right, and we are back with
Zach Boyd from the band Johnny Rook talking about the
song Missing You for Days. Zach, thanks again for coming
on and hanging out with me this evening and talking
about the record. I'd love to hear more about the
record overall. I know you've you've, you've briefly touched on
(30:12):
set it up and I'm Missing You for Days. We've
talked in depth about, but is there anything more specifically
about the record you want to kind of get into.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
Yeah, I guess.
Speaker 5 (30:22):
The way it came about, you know, we we kind
of touched base a little bit on it, coming back
from that hiatus of you know it was. I guess
the way that this record came about. It's I go
back and I listen to it now, especially after the
magic that that Mitch put to this record, and I
can honestly say there has never been another collective of
(30:45):
songs that I personally have been more proud of. And
the thing is It's like I played in a band
right before Johnny Rook, and look, I had a blast
playing with the Bland the band, and you know, we
went on a pretty sweet national tour that that I
was really proud of. But the thing about it was
(31:06):
that it was a completely different genre of music in
terms of songwriting. And you know, I was kind of
the backup and I was playing in the band as
the main guitar, so that that band was the songwriter.
So I was kind of backing up everything that he
was doing. And you know, with Johnny Rook, it's just
(31:27):
it's always been a strange style. You know, I play
with multiple capos. It's kind of something that I get
teased for quite a lot just because you know, I
have a capo and then what's called a spider capo,
and it's just it allows me to play really weird
tunings and I just get to explore the guitar in
(31:48):
a different light. Yeah, but it's you know, the thing
is is that that's really only been something that has
been able to translate to a band like Johnny Rope.
Because James and I started writing songs together. It was
just something that you know, he kind of gave me
a lot of open freedoms, and so when I was
playing with this other band, I was I had tried
(32:09):
to write songs, but it just they didn't translate to
something that was more of an active radio rock type band.
So it was crazy when I wrote the two songs
and had James sing on those two songs, which eventually
we turned into Johnny Rook songs, but they I when
everybody was like, well, let's just why are we not
doing Johnny Rook. Let's just get back together and start
(32:31):
doing Johnny Rook, And all of a sudden, it was
just like I sat in my studio and it was like,
you know, songs just kind of started pouring out. And
I know that sounds really cliche, and you hear a
lot of bands that are just like, oh man, it
was just like the songs wrote themselves. But you know, honestly,
it was just I had spent five six years playing
(32:51):
in that band of not being able to, you know,
really express myself creatively that all of a sudden, it
was just like all of this bottled up and pent
up music that I hadn't been working on over the
course of six years, and starting to focus on what
was you know, really truly my niche. All of a sudden,
(33:12):
I just had this catalog of songs and we went
in and we were like, well, let's just record three songs.
And I had a catalog of like fifteen songs or
something like that. And then it was like, well, I
can't choose which one I want to do. I've got
vocals to this one. I've got vocals to this one.
Whereas back in the day, when we would write a song,
it would take us forever to write a song because
(33:33):
we just, you know, I was young. I just didn't
know what I was doing really, and you know, I
went from being a hardcore vocalist to being a guitarist,
and all of a sudden, it was like write songs,
and I was like, I don't know how to do that,
and you know, so getting into the swing of it
and really learning a lot from the in the ten
year hiatus, all of a sudden it was like, well,
(33:55):
why only do three songs, Let's do five. And then
all of a sudden, it was like, why I only
do five songs, Let's do a full album. And it
was crazy because we just got into the studio and
it's been the first time that we would work on
a song and we would complete the song and James
would say, you know, and I'm not really feeling this one.
I don't have anything to it. And instead of forcing it,
(34:18):
it was like, all right, well just put it back
in the catalog. Maybe we'll come do it to it
another day. What do you hear anything else on this
that you feel like you could do? So this whole
record was kind of an amalgamation of kind of finally
I say this kind of sarcastically, but finally getting out
(34:39):
of my own way, and you know, just sucking up
my pride, and you know, like as a guitarist and
writing the music, it's like, well, I thought I thought
this guitar part was really sweet. Why why don't you
like this? You know, and then kind of taking it
personally and and then making everybody else feel like they
had to do something with it, because you know, like
(34:59):
I with the guitar part, you played to it, whereas
this one was kind of like I want this to be.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
James.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
And so it was like every song that we picked
for this record, wass James had to have something vocally,
and you know, first and foremost had to feel a
hook for the chorus and feel strongly about it in
order for us to continue working on it. So for me,
this record was my most proud moment because of the
(35:30):
fact that it was more of a collective and collaborative
album where everybody got everybody had their own say and
creative outtake on everything that went into it, rather than
just going I wrote the song, it has to be
a song, because it takes me forever to write a song.
And I really feel like that's why this record turned
(35:52):
out the way that it did was because you know,
everybody got to put their egos aside and they got
to put their best foot forward and and I think
that's why the record turned out was so special in
my opinion.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
No, that's awesome, man, And that's super just vulnerable, transparent
and insightful, like awesome to hear that, Like I get it.
Some you said a minute ago, you know, I hear
you when you say it's cliche to say that the
music just poured out.
Speaker 3 (36:19):
Of me, But I mean, man, it does do that.
You know a lot of things. I'm watching this, I mean,
this is this is tangential, so I'm just gonna go
with it.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
But I've been watching this recent I just have to say,
growing up as a kid, I was super influenced by
Billy Joel as a really young kid as.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
A piano player, just because he's a ridiculous piano player
and songwriter.
Speaker 5 (36:44):
Right.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
So, I'm watching this thing that they recently put out
on whatever channel, and it's like the two part kind
of massive biography on him and interviews with him and
all this. And he was talking about when he lived
in Hollywood and he was going back to New York
because he's just like, why am I out in California.
This isn't my place, these aren't my people, Like, I
(37:06):
don't fit in here. And on the bus ride home,
he's the song New York state of Mind. He just
wrote it on the way home, and he's like, he
got into his house and he saw his wife. He's like,
where's the piano, you know, and he just ran upstairs
and he said, yeah, I basically wrote the song in
about an hour.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
And I'm like, and it's one of the.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Most massive, amazing cultural phenomena songs that reflects, you know,
how people feel about New York and that feeling and
you know what I mean, it's I don't know, there's
so much that's dope about that, But it's at the same.
Speaker 3 (37:35):
Time, right, man, these things just pour out of people.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
And I also think it's really cool just to hear
how you're putting yourself aside.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
I mean, I have some experience with that. I was
writing a record that I started.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
I don't know, like in two thousand and eight or something,
and was never really able to finish it because I
kept moving around, couldn't find players and whatever. Then finally
COVID happened and I had this band and I'm like, hey, man,
let's work on this. But then we had to do
it all remotely, and I had to really let go
of what my actual vision was for the song, and
I had to let it grow and evolve the way
(38:12):
that it was going to grow and evolved with the
input and the contributions of my bandmates.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
Like it just had to be that way. And it's
super That's a.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
Super challenging and cathartic and hard experience sometimes. But also
you know, some things came out of that that I
just never could imagine that would have Like some things
were so much better than ever. So anyway, just to
hear how proud you are of this record and the
process that you went through to get there. It's just
really inspiring to hear and I'm excited to listen to
the rest of it.
Speaker 5 (38:42):
Well, thanks man. Yeah, it's crazy, you know, because I
before I started playing in the band, right before Johnny
Rook that I heard some of their music on whether
it's released on YouTube or whatever the platform was, and
when they were going and the producer of the band,
(39:02):
I asked him. I was like, why didn't you at
the time, I wasn't really doing anything musically, you know,
seriously or anything like that, And I said, why didn't
Why didn't you tell me that these guys were doing auditions?
I would have auditioned. And he made the comment to me, well,
because that band wasn't ready for Zach Boyd, And you know,
(39:23):
I kind of kind of took it attle pretty personally.
I didn't it didn't really get pissed off about it,
but I know that there's been comments and even my
current band members will tell you too that, you know,
probably not the easiest individual to work with when it
comes to, you know, business stuff. But a good part
(39:44):
of that is because you know, really the passion takes
over when it comes to the band and you know,
from the inception of the band, I've kind of had
to take over all of the business aspects of it.
And there's a certain side of, you know, being a
businessman outside of being a musician that you know, you really,
you really kind of have to wear things pretty close
(40:07):
to your chest, and you know, your emotions run high
sometimes and you really kind of have to be an
art ass and sometimes that that boils over into your
expectations of, you know, what you have for band members.
And so when he told me that, you know, this
band wasn't ready for Zach Boyd and uh, you know,
and then I started playing in this other band, and
(40:28):
some of those band members you know, told me that
it was occasionally difficult to work with me just because
of those expectations and you know, like being professional, and
I'm also the kind of guy where it's like, you know,
I want to always remember where I came from, and
so I never want to get off stage and feel
(40:49):
like I'm not approachable. And I expect that out of
the rest of the band members too, just because you know,
we none of us are better than anybody else. We're
we're here doing something we love and the people are
here to support us, so, uh, you know, I always
had that expectation, but when when Johnny Rook got back together,
it was funny because I quit that last band and
(41:12):
you know, we went out on this month and a
half long tour with a national band, and when when
I quit the band, I really felt like, you know,
what did I do? I I felt probably the lowest
I've ever felt as a musician, as a creative individual,
whatever you want to have it, and you know, it
was it was kind of something that my my wife
(41:33):
talked to me about everything, and you know, what do
you define as success type deal? And the things that
I got to do. I there's not a lot of
you know, musicians that I know on a local level
I that have gotten to do the things that I
got to do. And I realized, you know, the success
(41:53):
is divine defined completely differently by a lot of people.
And for me personally, you know, I've been really proud
of the things that I've been able to do. So
getting back together with Johnny Rook, it took a long,
hard look at, you know, myself in the way that
I kind of approached things and the band and the business,
and the last thing that I wanted was for any
(42:15):
of this ship the resurgence of the band to be
stressful in any which I you don't stretch of the imagination.
Speaker 3 (42:24):
Sure, And so the we.
Speaker 5 (42:27):
Got together and when we talked, you know, I said,
I want everybody to really give me an idea of
how you want this to be different. And you know,
the communication was, you know, you got to chill out
a little bit, man, Like you can't be so you know,
aggressive about it. You know, when when you feel like
something is how it needs to be, uh, don't be
(42:47):
so close minded about it, like let's have a conversation
and let's have an actual democracy to where we we
talk about it and if you know, majority rules, you
got to be cool with it. And it was it
was crazy, man, because you talk about how you kind
of got to get, you know, step out of your
own shell a little bit and and grow up a
(43:09):
little bit and realize like, hey, you know there's other
members of this band that really want this to succeed too.
It's just they have a different outlook on it and
might handle business side of things differently, but you know,
communication is key. And yeah, it's ah. Ever since that point,
you know, I I learned a lot from that last
(43:30):
band and even from songwriting and you know, it kind
of gotten that mentality now like if it makes the
song better and it feels easy to me, it's not
you know, it's not about me playing Olympics on the guitar.
It's what makes the song better. So it's a it
was a long come about, you know, but I feel
like I have eventually got there.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Man, No, that's that's super awesome. And it's so much
what you said there. I just I just identify with
on so many levels. Just yep, how I was back
in the day and driving the band forward and.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
I don't care how much pet you have, were going
on tour for a.
Speaker 5 (44:09):
Month, let's go, you know, yep, like what does the
succeed or not?
Speaker 3 (44:14):
Yeah? Right, like quick then come on, let's go, you know.
Speaker 2 (44:16):
And it was that was that was a challenging dude,
and I was driven and I knew that, but it
was also you know, it took me a long time
to kind of come around on a lot of those things.
And I know the feeling about you know, I have
a lot of gratitude for the stuff I've been able
to do musically as well, and I hear that in
you just the whole.
Speaker 3 (44:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:34):
Man, It's like there's a lot of things that I've
I've had the fortune to be able to experience as
a musician that I know a lot of my friends
just haven't and or and I don't.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
You know, I hope they do. I hope they get
that have those chances.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
But it's like, you know, having that too, is just
that sort of humility about the whole thing and having
that willingness to be able to share it all with
your bandmates.
Speaker 3 (44:56):
I mean, I just it's super fun to hear. I
really appreciate you you're sharing all that.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
What I want to find out where should all the
people listening to all the awesome things about Johnny Rooks
that they can go find your music and catch up
and stay help with you guys.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Where's the best place for them to keep up with you?
Do you have a primary website that directs everybody? Or
is it just Instagram?
Speaker 5 (45:18):
Or what's what's the well we are We're a bunch
of aging dudes that just absolutely hate social media. You know,
it's funny because oh my god, dude, it's so bad,
you know, and it sucks because I missed the MySpace
days and that's the nostologist side of me. You know,
you give me your top eight any day over this,
(45:39):
you know, Facebook or Instagram bs. But with that being said,
it's inevitable. We talked about it being a digital age,
and you know, we don't have a website. It's kind
of one of those deals that it's just yet another
piece of the puzzle that we would have to maintain
and we're all too damn lazy to do it. But
if Facebook and Instagram both of our user names. Facebook
(46:02):
is just Facebook, dot com slash Johnny Rook music, and
on Instagram you can find us at Johnny Rook music.
Uh so those are those are the two primary points
that that you can connect with us, And unlike a
lot of other bands, we are the actual ables that
are answering all of the messages sent to us. So great, Yeah,
(46:25):
if you're going to reach out and get in touch
with us, but you didn't, you did mention band camp.
All of this stuff is available there otherwise. Physical media
is on the elasticstage, dot com back slash Johnny Rook otherwise. Yeah, man,
it's everything's up on streaming platforms, so it can be
found on Apple, YouTube, Music, and Pandora, Spotify, whatever, whatever
(46:47):
tickles your fancy as a DSP these days.
Speaker 3 (46:50):
Well, that's awesome, man, Zach.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
It's been great talk with you about the song and
the record and and just hearing about the history of
the band and kind of the the different sort of
faces that you've gone through and where you're at today,
and it just seems like a really cool, cool road
ahead and so I'm super stoked to see where you
all go. Thank you again for coming on and talking
to me about the song and the record and the band.
And uh, I'd love to stay in touch and catch
(47:15):
up with you next time you guys have another single,
another record, whatever, hit me up and let's let's do
this again.
Speaker 5 (47:20):
Absolutely, man, I appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (47:23):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (47:23):
Thanks Echree Tross.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
B Side Breakdown.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
All right, and that wraps up another episode of the
B Side Breakdown. I want to thank Zach Boyd from
the band Johnny Rook for coming along to talk about
the song Missing You for Days. In the background and
you're hearing a song called w t F by Audios
Fatso if you like what you're hearing, please go back
and listen to the previous episode, because that's what it
was all about. Up next, I have the Snorts and
(48:06):
talking with Aaron Stoker about the song Butterflies. I'll give
you taste of that at the end of this episode,
please so please hang out for that. Please subscribe to
this podcast wherever you get your podcast. I want to
thank Adam cool Long and carry Bosel for helping me
put together the jingle you hear at the beginning and
the end of this episode.
Speaker 3 (48:22):
If you want to.
Speaker 2 (48:22):
Help keep this labor of love alive, please go over
to patreon dot com slash b side Breakdown and become
a supporter. It helps us to keep the lights on
and these episodes keep coming out. So thank you so
much for all of your support along the way, and again,
be safe out there and we'll catch up on the
next one.
Speaker 3 (48:38):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (49:01):
I gotta face nobody look directly again. You have to
say that the reppen not not to say yours.
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