Andrew Herman: Johnny Booth | Furnace Fest 2025 Series

Cullen and Mason chat with Andrew Herman from Johnny Booth. They chat about the band's history, their love for hardcore music, their upcoming show at Furnace Fest, and much more.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:29):
And we've got Andrew from Johnny Booth. Super excited to
chat with you. Andrew. This is uh, your band, Johnny
Booth is a band that I think I probably maybe
a few years ago now, kind of first heard about.
It's been you know, I didn't hear about you guys
very like early on in the twenty tens. But yeah,
last couple of years been checking you guys out, and
I was like, holy cow, this is exactly the kind

(00:51):
of metal core I'm into. You know. If it's not
obvious enough, Colin and I are big like Chariot fans
and Ormagine fans, you know, that kind of chaotic metal.
It's right up our alley. And so first listening to
you guys, were like, holy cow, this is exactly what
we're into. So really excited to chat it more about
your music. But before we get into all of that today,
how are you doing, Andrew.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
I'm doing great. I'm doing great. I'm just in sitting
in my office in a story at Queen's. And you know,
it's okay. If you didn't hear about us in the
early days, no one did at all, So that's fine.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
That's fine. Well, I mean we've been around our podcast
has been around for over five years and nobody still
has ever heard of us, So that's okay.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
It's a grind. No one knows about you until they do,
you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
That's right, that's right, that's right.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
So what is it like now, you know, playing you
know again, like you guys started what like two thousand
and eight. I'm sure when you guys were playing shows
early on, it's probably like you're lucky if like five
people show up to a house or whatever. Now you
guys are able to play for I'm sure probably what
a couple hundred or maybe more than that. Now, Yeah,
what's that like to now see like people just like
knowing your music? Like that's got to be like kind

(01:58):
of a cool transition that happens in like your creative endeavors,
where like you go from like people are just showing
up kind of out of obligation to now people are
showing up because they really actually truly like you.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, no, I don't know. It definitely is like a
different experience. Like when we when we first started out,
we were just like a college party band, So there
was like a built in scene in Oneonta, the college
that we went to and I don't know, maybe like
fifty to eighty kids in the entire school. We're really
into this genre. So like they'd be a show. We'd

(02:31):
put it on on campus and be a few bands
and like. But during those times, like I didn't even
we would finish writing the music. I didn't even write
lyrics yet, and I would just like fucking do stuff
and then we and then we'd be like, oh that
was cool. Like I would literally write them on the spot,
just to like try stuff out. And that's kind of
how we started forming songs. So before there was no

(02:55):
pressure because no one knew our music, so I can
do anything. So now there's actual pressure for me to
know the lyrics and uh before them. Well, but no,
it's definitely it's a cool experience to go from just
like a college party band to something more real. I
don't I guess real is a perspective thing, right, but

(03:18):
it feels more real. Right. There's there's people who know
the words, they follow the band. They at least tell
me they care, and that's good.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
It pays for part of the bills, I'm sure.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
I mean not really, I have a full time job.
We we all we all work full time I mean,
we all make some money from the band, but it's
all it's his groceries, right, yeah, yeah, groceries. It it's
all cyclical though, because we're a DIY band. So whatever,
Like anytime anyone listens to the music, we own our music,

(03:54):
that goes right back into the LLC, and then that's
how we fund going on tour. That's how we fund
paying for merch. So we have I basically have like
a built in platform to make music and I don't
spend any of my personal money on it, which is sure,
I think more than most people. Like that's I feel

(04:15):
super grateful for that, you.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
Know, Yeah, sure, I think it's kind of interesting that
that you guys started out as a college party band.
I feel like that's such a like a bygone era
kind of thing, like that doesn't exist anymore. I feel
like I've been to a lot of different college campuses,
and obviously I've been to college and all that stuff,
and it, I mean, there was a couple bands, but

(04:38):
I mean they weren't they weren't the kind of thing
that would like draw in a whole bunch of people,
you know, So it's kind of impressive that that's where
you guys got your start. It's also the last place
I probably would have imagined that you guys would have
gotten your start just knowing your sound. I am kind
of curious for you personally, where did where did the

(05:02):
musical journey start?

Speaker 2 (05:04):
For me? Personally, I think that I, you know, I
grew up on Long Island, and uh, you know, the
the culture on Long Island is is kind of unique, Like,
you know, sixty percent of the people there just on
a totally different wavelength than the other forty percent. I
think that's why a lot of bands come out of
Long Island.

Speaker 1 (05:25):
Sure, So I always felt kind of like, also like
New York is just like an anomaly to me. So
Colin and I grew up like very rural Midwest, and
like especially you know, once you get into like you know,
New York City, right like there's there's Queens, there's the Bronx,
there's Manhattan like there in you and there's like a
different culture within and there's multiple cultures within each one
of those. And then not to mention, like you just
go across the bridge on the Long Island and then

(05:47):
that's got its own thing too. And then if you
keep going across the Long Island. Then you get to
was it the Hamptons or whatever, and it's just there's
just so many things all in this like not that
big of an area. It's pretty incredible.

Speaker 2 (05:58):
Yeah, it's insane. Like Long Island on its own as
like seven and a half million people and like that's
separate from the city or anything else, just on its own,
So but you're kind of jam packed in there like
a sardine. Like in order to leave Long Island you
have to actually pay money to leave because you have
to pay tolls. So like growing up, you really don't leave,
Like Long Island is like its own thing because of that,

(06:20):
and like the music scene stays within that and that's
there's a community there. And I think growing up I
didn't really feel a part of anything, and I just
I feel like I needed that connection, right, So I
started going to shows when I was a kid. But
the first, like I think the first CD I ever
bought was like a minor Threat CD. Like I got

(06:42):
really into eighties hardcore, so that, oh yeah, that's like
always been really really big for me and where I
draw a lot of my influences. Even me getting ready
for this tour coming up, I'm just sitting around watching
like old bad brains like CBG, CBS videos and old

(07:02):
like minor threat live stuff, trying to find as much
as I can because that's really what, like, I don't know,
nourishes me.

Speaker 3 (07:09):
I guess sure I would not have guessed hardcore. I
guess I would have thought that maybe, uh, you would
have been like a Corn fan or something like that.
You kind of have a Jonathan Davis kind of look
going on, you.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
Know, Oh that's Adam. Yeah, there is that influence there.
There definitely is like the uh like the new metal influence,
but that definitely gets pulled in from like Adam and Ryan.
More So, the band really is a collective of people who,
you know, we're all music fans, we all care about
this medium of art, but we all like very different things.

(07:44):
So like my vocal styling kind of comes from like
my background and the music, like the things that I'm
screaming over right, like the the painting underneath it. The
underpainting is definitely way more like New Metal influenced for sure.

Speaker 3 (08:00):
Interesting cool, go cool.

Speaker 1 (08:02):
It's interesting again. Like Colin found this interesting too, is
that you guys, are you know, this college party band
and you typically I would say maybe generally this is
just kind of like, again, doing lots of interviews with
lots of heavy bands, it seems generally like when most
of these bands start is when they were in high school.

(08:23):
So there's some sort of reason that high school brings
this like hardcore metal kind of you know, type of
influence into I don't know, there's just something about being
in high school usually though by the time you're in college,
like maybe there's more like sophistication or whatever, and then
you might get into like other things. And so when
I think of like people who are starting bands in college,

(08:45):
like you know, the band that they start in college,
you know, around this like you know, mid two thousands era,
I'm like thinking like bands like MGMT or something like
some kind of like indie, interesting, stoner kind of pop
band or whatever, not a hardcore kind of band. And
so I don't know, I just thought that, like I
find that interesting. Is that kind of like your general
impression too, Like do you sort of think like, well,

(09:07):
it's kind of weird that we were this like college
band and not really actually like a high school band.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
I don't know. From my perspective, it felt very natural
progression in my life to like, okay, now is when
I start this kind of a band. Well, Ryan and
Adam really like started writing and I'm kind of hopped
in part of the way through. But it felt natural
and again in Oneonta at that time, it was kind
of built in. There were other hardcore and metalcore bands

(09:32):
that were like starting within this group. There was like
a large group of people from Long Island and Monroe County,
Westchester County, the Hudson Valley that all went to Oneonta
and we were all kind of into the same shit.
Some people from Albany to and like within that little
like I said, like I don't know, fifty to eighty kids,

(09:53):
we were all like forming bands, going to shows. Like
there was just like this larger scene within this small
town that was kind of separated from everything else. Like
only on has Greek life. There is like normal college
stuff going on, and then there was just this other
group of kids doing something totally different and we kind

(10:15):
of just lived on top of each other, doing totally
different lives. You know, it was interesting, but it felt
natural to me. You know, I don't know when people
really start these bands in their lives or not. I've
kind of done only this band from eighteen to now.

Speaker 3 (10:33):
That's a really rare thing in itself.

Speaker 2 (10:35):
Yeah, that part is weird.

Speaker 1 (10:38):
There must be something about you know, like New York.
You know, when I think of again, like people in
New York and maybe this is more true like New
York City type of people, maybe less you know, like
out of New York City. But you know, when I
think of like New York people, you know, it's like
very posh, the Bourgua gee and everything. You know. So anyway,
it but there is, like you mentioned, like there is

(10:59):
kind of this whole crew of people that you know,
grew up pretty underground, you know. Obviously, like New York
City has its own like hardcore punk scene that has
been around for a long time and even like more recently,
you know, like I think it was every time I died,
I think it's from Buffalo. It dies today, I think
it's from Buffalo. And then obviously I know this is
not New York, but I think like converges from Massachusetts

(11:21):
Boston area, if I remember right, So like there's something
about like that part of the like New England area,
where there's just like really good hardcore bands that come
out of there. Even though I think generally most people
think of like, you know, probably generally like New England
kind of people being like very like you know, rich, white,
liberal kind of folks or whatever, and not the like

(11:41):
underground anarchist kind of people or whatever.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
There's just so much here. It's so dense. So like
just my neighborhood alone that I live in, there's like
well over one hundred thousand people just in like a
couple of blocks over here, you know. So it's just like.

Speaker 3 (11:58):
That's one eighth of the pot of this in my state.

Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah, It's just like it's so it's so dense that
you can kind of find anything good and bad. That's
the beauty of New York City in general, is everything
good and bad is happening right now, all at the
same time.

Speaker 3 (12:19):
Always always.

Speaker 1 (12:20):
Yeah, I'm just I'm trying to imagine like fifty thousand
people that could probably fit on your farm.

Speaker 3 (12:26):
Color Yeah, easily, easily, because.

Speaker 1 (12:30):
That's exactly what New York City is, like a whole
town on your like plot of land in South Dakota.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
We building like a commune. Now, I'm down for it.
Let's do it. Except somehow he's already got the chickens,
like high rises in this in this commune.

Speaker 3 (12:47):
I want like a fallout style commune, just just like
scrapped together palettes, just scrummaging through people's stuff, stealing bolts. Yes,
that's what I'm talking about. Oh man, I love it well.

Speaker 1 (13:04):
Cool.

Speaker 3 (13:04):
So how does it transition from a college party band
to something more I wouldn't I don't want to say
legit because I don't think that's necessarily the right word,
but something more serious.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
I mean, I think in our heads we were always serious.
We just didn't really know what to do. We're definitely
a second chance band and a band that learned a
lot by doing and fucking everything up and like tons
of mistakes. We didn't have like friends in the like

(13:38):
friends in bigger bands that can take you out or
like any of that part of the community. It was
like a very grassroots, like our own thing. We're always
kind of just outside of like the larger community. I
don't know if it was something that we did to
ourselves or whatever, but I think after Oneonta we all
moved back to Long Island and we that's when we

(14:01):
recorded the Bronze Age, which was it was a very
difficult time for all of us I would say we
didn't really start hitting our stride until we went through
what we call the Dark period. Like there's this three
four year period where after Bronze Age, we leave our

(14:21):
label at the time, our booking agent dropped us, our
drummer and our bassis both left the bands. That was
a whole thing, not the best. But me, Ryan and
Adam just kept meeting up twice a week for years,
you know that. And Ryan. Me and Ryan known each
other since we were three years old.

Speaker 3 (14:43):
You know.

Speaker 2 (14:44):
Adam I met in middle school, so we've always known
each other. And sorry, I keep clearing my throat. That's
terrible for a podcast, terrible medium for this. But yeah,
during that period, the dark period, when we were like
very intentional with just kind of having to be on

(15:05):
the sidelines, right, Like we couldn't play shows, we didn't
have a drummer, we didn't have a basis. We were
trying people out. But we work full time jobs, so
it's like whatever you can get done on Wednesdays and
Saturdays for a few hours, you just like push the ball,
push the ball, push the ball, push the ball. Just
little increments in that time we just saw like the

(15:25):
way bands were promoting themselves what we thought was good
and bad about it, our idea around just like staying
DIY that you know, constantly soliciting and trying to get
help and get on a label and get the right manager,
and it's exhausting and it doesn't really do anything for you, right,
Like you need to build that hype. The people on

(15:45):
your team need to be excited. It's not about like great,
I'm I'm I have this great manager who manages these
big bands. But like if they're not excited about you,
if you don't have the buzz, if you didn't build something,
it's not gonna work and they're not going to work
for you, right, So we just we it forced us
to like stop and think and like, Okay, well this

(16:10):
isn't a band, this is an art project, and like
let's just put out the art that we want to
put out. And that's when we wrote first hand accounts.
And I wouldn't say we were really that legit until
after that album came out, because that's when like people
started to, I guess more hear about us outside of
like the the region. I think we at that point

(16:31):
we were just like a regional band for a long time.
But I think that's really when things started to move
for us finally, you know. But we put that we
put that album out on our own, five grand in debt,
had no plans to tour or play it live. Just
let's put it out there, let's do some music videos,
let's we'll just stay like a band on the internet forever.

(16:57):
And that was the plan. Does that to your question
or I just go on along Tegit for no reason?

Speaker 3 (17:03):
I think it does. What do you think it was
about maybe your sound or what was connecting with with
more people outside of just the regional area that allows
you to break out, Because I think this is something
that bans all over the country are like trying to
crack the code. They're like, what what is it? What
do I need to do to break out of this

(17:23):
this you know glass house I'm living in?

Speaker 2 (17:28):
You know, I think it really was the promotion that
we did on our own. We were very intentional about
like when things were coming out, what they look like, like,
we thought about how people would react to things, and
you know, like we we took you on a journey
very intentionally. Also, it's the time, right, so like you

(17:50):
we had you have access to things that you know
when we start in two thousand and seven eight, like
we didn't have access to like distro kid and add platforms,
and you know, Instagram didn't exist, and like we didn't
know how to run YouTube ads. You know, that was
the first time we ran YouTube ads, which were like
very successful for us. So I think we just operated

(18:12):
like like a marketing team basically, But it was just
you know, the guys in the band.

Speaker 3 (18:19):
Yeah, yeah, and all that's good, but but if you
don't have the tunes to go with, then people are
gonna come anyway, right.

Speaker 2 (18:27):
I agree. I think the music is your bass, right,
Like if the music sucks, then the band sucks. And
we had four years to write music, so it's like
our process is constantly revisions. Like we've thrown out entire
albums worth of music. There's an EP that we are
going to record the the studio we were going to
record got flooded and we just deleted the whole thing

(18:51):
and then wrote Connections the album instead.

Speaker 3 (18:56):
Did some of those songs make it on Connections then?
Or nothing at all?

Speaker 2 (19:00):
Why deleted? We do that all the time though, There's
like this constant revision process within the band. I think
that's part of the reason why our songs are okay.
I mean, I think they're good to us, but it's hard.
All this stuff is subjective, right, like sure, sure, okay.

Speaker 1 (19:17):
So I got a couple questions. The first one is
a question that I actually usually hate asking, but I
feel obligated to ask because it's just to me, it's interesting.
What was it about the name Johnny Booth that was like,
we're going to choose a like solo country like like
a solo country act name for a band that's a

(19:40):
metalcore bands.

Speaker 3 (19:42):
Wait, hold up, Mason solo country act, Johnny Booth, John
Wilkes Booth.

Speaker 1 (19:47):
Oh, I guess I wouldn't have.

Speaker 3 (19:48):
You together, or maybe that's not what it is. I
don't know.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
It's yeah, like I said, when we started the band,
we were a college party band. The first version of
this band, we were a band called John Wilkes's Booth
with an apostrophe S And it was supposed to be funny.
And we had like like we were gonna make T
shirts with just like like a diner booth on it,
and like we had a poster that just had like

(20:15):
a phone booth. It was supposed to be a man
that owned Booths. Yeah you're not laughing. So it wasn't good.
So when we we we we kicked out our original
bass player and got a new one, and then we
decided to come up with a new name. But we
liked the idea of it not sounding like a metal band,

(20:39):
you know, like it was just so we took we
took the idea of the name idea and said, what
if it was just like a guy at one of
these parties, like Johnny Booth, He's just a dude you'd
see drinking beer at a party. Just some guy.

Speaker 1 (20:53):
Yeah, you know, yeah, he's definitely drinking PBR.

Speaker 2 (20:57):
Yeah, yeah, he's doing boiler Makers all day. But yeah,
it's just it's just some It was intentional to not
sound like a metal band. That you have to kind
of like open that book to discover. Whether that's a
good thing or a bad thing. I don't know. But
now I'm thirty seven and I'm kind of just too

(21:18):
locked in to do anything about that.

Speaker 1 (21:21):
I happen to love it. I mean, like again, like
we already mentioned them earlier, but Cullen and I are
huge normal Gene fans, and that's part of the reas
I think part of the reason why I love Normal
Gene is it is such It's a name that you
wouldn't and now maybe Normal Gene has sort of transcended
that name where now you when you think of Normal
Gene you just think of like heavy music. But I'm
sure early on people were like, this doesn't sound like

(21:41):
a metal band name.

Speaker 3 (21:43):
Yeah, like Marilyn Monroe, what are you talking about?

Speaker 2 (21:46):
Yeah, that that band is fantastic, obviously huge influence on us,
for sure.

Speaker 3 (21:51):
I love it well, that is That is actually something
I want to discuss with you, because I feel like
your sound is very unique in the scene itself. And
maybe the part of that is because of kind of
the wide array of influences that you're talking about in
such a confined space. But I feel like you guys

(22:12):
have this really, really chaotic sound that has a polish
to it that usually Mason and I are not fans
of we're not fans of polish, but you do the
chaotic part with a little bit of that that well
produced polish that makes it feel right. It doesn't feel

(22:37):
like it's going against like our ethos or something like that.
You know, Is that something that is intentional as well?

Speaker 1 (22:47):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (22:47):
I would say everything around the band is very intentional
and kind of always has been. We like to kind
of think out every little detail. That's why we don't
have a lot of music out for being a band
for or you know, around for so long. But yeah,
definitely very very intentional. And again part of it is
just like the different influences. But I think the cool

(23:09):
thing about you know, there's music like the medium, but
then all the different genres kind of have their own
like textures to them. I think what's cool about metal, metalcore, hardcore, whatever,
Like this area of the world in music is that
you can kind of do a lot of different stuff.
It's it's more accepted to have songs that can be

(23:31):
a little bit of a journey. Like I feel like
we like to experiment with song structures, right, Like there's
pop structures that we do sometimes, but there's definitely a
lot of songs we have that are just kind of
like they start somewhere and they end somewhere else and
all the stuff in between. There's there's a through line
that's purposeful. But you know, there's definitely stuff going on

(23:54):
that you wouldn't hear in any other genre of music,
just because I think people in the metal, metalcore world.
They like that stuff. They we like interesting parts, right, Like, Yeah,
it's not like that with like other genres to the
same degree, so we have to play into that for sure.

Speaker 3 (24:14):
Yeah, I don't think anyone's going to be arguing that
you are a cookie cutter band or anything like that.

Speaker 1 (24:18):
There is.

Speaker 3 (24:19):
There's a lot of experimentation going on there are it is.
It is kind of funny because the first thing I
think of when I think of Johnny Booth is like,
all right, chaotic, kick you in the teeth, heavy, heavy, heavy,
But then I also remember, like, you guys have a
lot of songs with like great clean vocals and almost

(24:40):
like like a synth pop kind of vibe to it.
It goes everywhere, and I really really appreciate that keeps
you on your toes. It provides a lot of dynamics,
It provides a lot of a lot of moments for
you to, like you said, go on a journey as
a listener, and that is unfortunately sometimes hard to I'm

(25:00):
by in the scene itself.

Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah, I think I think there are definitely a lot
of bands that you know, there's a lot of people
that you it's not just this genre, but no it's
not just this genre. I think people go, hey, I
want to play metalcore, and then you hear a metalcore
band and there's a metalcore sound that like there's a
bunch of different bands doing it that are really big,
and it's easy to be like I want, like I'm

(25:25):
playing in this genre. I'm gonna do that. But I
think it's important to kind of like be an artist,
like the concept of stealing like an artist, Like you
can take those ideas, but you still need to kind
of combine or transform them. So I think having that
in mind when you start a band is importantly. When
we started, we were like, if the Chariot and Mars

(25:45):
Volta had a baby, Like that's what I guess, and
that's you can I think hear that through everything we've
ever done, Like that's built into the basis of the band,
is the Chariot and Mars Volter like huge influences. And
then over time we're like maybe grabbing from other things
we're into at that time, but like that's that's the

(26:06):
through line for.

Speaker 4 (26:07):
Us on.

Speaker 1 (26:09):
Yeah, And what's interesting is like probably around the time
you guys started, it did feel like there was almost
an oversaturation of metalcore bands that just kind of all
sounded the same. And I think what it's cool is
like you guys started then, uh, and there was kind
of this oversaturation, and then you almost kind of got

(26:29):
lucky the fact that you didn't put a lot of
music out early on, and it has taken sometime because
you were able to find that sound too to something
where it does sound a little different. And now I
think we're actually like in a place in metalcore and
like hardcore music where there is just so much unique
sounding stuff that is actually kind of really popping off
right Like, you know, the dow Boys right now are

(26:51):
doing really well, and it's really cool to see them
do really well. I'm a huge, you know, fan of
Loath obviously not Loose is huge, and just all these
like metal core bands that are really kind of popping
off right now, but they all kind of have their
own unique sound and it doesn't feel overly saturated like
it did maybe back in like two thousand and nine,
twenty eleven.

Speaker 2 (27:11):
I agree, they're back. You know, early two thousands, metal
core there was like a sound everyone's trying to go
for and you're just trying to be the best at that. Yeah,
and you know, I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
I just think it's hard to.

Speaker 1 (27:23):
Come and that sound was August Burn's Red. Yeah, like
everybody just wanted to sound like them. And you know
what's funny, like Colin and I make jokes all the
time like we have actually no beef with August Burn's Red.
They just like, unfortunately were the blueprint. And because they
were the blueprint, like we almost kind of got sick
of them, even though they were the blueprint, Like they
were the originators of that particular sound.

Speaker 2 (27:43):
That happens a lot though. I think that that's that's common.
But yeah, back in the day, it was like do
this thing be the best version of this? And now
I think not just the scene in general, of the world,
I think is more accepting of the weird, you know,
which is it's a cool time to be alive.

Speaker 3 (28:05):
Yeah, thank god for thank God for gen Z.

Speaker 2 (28:09):
It's an interesting time to be alive. But yeah, I
think also like bands like Turnstile and Knock Loose, and
you know, there's a handful of bands that are breaking
through in ways that no one in the hardcore meta
course scene ever have before. So the genre in general
is bringing in new people, which is sick. I think,
I think, I don't know your guys feelings on this,

(28:32):
but I feel like the genre is way less gatekeeper.
There still exists, there always will be, but you know,
these bands getting bigger. The ocean that we all live
in is just rising, which is good for all of us. Right,
And I think the ideals, the there's worldviews baked into

(28:54):
this music. We should spread it like a virus. We
like we should, we should try to get as many
people kind of like latched into this. I genuinely do
believe that, like, don't gate keep the shit, Like we
need to convert the normies as many of them as
we possibly can.

Speaker 3 (29:13):
I like that. I like that you're you're you're basically
calling for all out war against against the normal and
the commonly accepted.

Speaker 2 (29:23):
Right yeah, yeah, yes.

Speaker 1 (29:27):
And Like what's interesting though with that is I think, like,
and certainly I would imagine this is true for you
all in your band, is like you still want to
be like authentic to whatever sort of sound and art
that you're wanting to create, right, Like, it's not like
you're wanting to create art that is trying to be
as accessible to everybody. You're trying to create art that
feels true and authentic to whatever you're feeling, and you're

(29:49):
trying to include as many people into that as possible,
Like you're you're hoping as many people get it as
much as possible, knowing that there's no way that like ever,
you know, there's probably it's probably on likely that every
Swifty is really going to be into Johnny Booth.

Speaker 2 (30:03):
We'll see, well, But I think making honest music is
extremely important because I think people just can tell. And
I think that's where some of that like early two
thousand medal core stuff fell off because it was some
of it wasn't authentic. Some of it was, and some
of it wasn't. So I think just making music that
is like true to yourself. But then again being a

(30:24):
DIY band, being intentional taking you through people like taking
purposely taking people through a journey to like get into
your music. I think, you know, everything that we do
outside of making music is to maximize the amount of
people that will see or hear what we're doing, and

(30:45):
that kind of drives every decision that I make, especially
like marketing the band, or you know, we design and
edit everything internally, so you know that that's kind of
the main focus. That's how I think we've gotten this
far is you know, when when you come to a
fork in the road, it's but what will get the

(31:07):
most amount of people to see or hear what you're doing.
Everything else is bullshit.

Speaker 3 (31:13):
Yeah. I like that. I also like, I'm really impressed
that you have that that attitude because your music would
not not suggest that.

Speaker 1 (31:24):
Right, that's what That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 3 (31:27):
Yeah, it's a really really cool kind of line that
you're treading, and you're treading it really really well.

Speaker 2 (31:33):
I think, thank you.

Speaker 3 (31:35):
Because you are being true to who you are. As
Mason said, you're being true to who you are while
still while still trying to promote a well. I don't
want to say accessible sound because it's not accessible necessarily
it is. It's something that invites.

Speaker 2 (31:53):
M Yeah, I think, no, I understand what you're saying, right, Like,
the music is true, authentic to us the people making it,
and I think that that authenticity is something that I
hope people can hear and will draw people in. And
then the other side of it, because when you're in
a band, you're not just making music. That's the weird

(32:15):
part of being a band is the other part of
being a band is like running the marketing and the
business and doing the design work and doing all this
other stuff that isn't banned. Really, that's like half of
being in a band really, maybe even more. Yeah, And
on that side, it's it's all like, let's use the
tools and the technology that we have available to us.

(32:37):
And I think that I like to address that a
lot because I think a lot of bands in the
underground they'll use excuses like, oh, well, the algorithm is
shadow banning me, or you know, why put your stuff
on Spotify because it steals from artists. I'm like, you
have to meet people with where they're at. Where are

(32:57):
the listeners going actively look at how people behave online
and absorb music, and do the things to promote your music,
you know, in the way that people already tap into
the way people already interact with things. Right, So sure,
I think it's important to kind of like always drive
that message. And that's kind of why I do talk

(33:17):
about that stuff a lot, because I do want this
genre to spread. I want younger bands to get bigger.
But yeah, like, yes, the world sucks, but you know,
just you do it, do it anyway.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
Yeah, it's it's it's very obvious actually that you guys
are influenced by The Chariot, because that is one thing
that I think Josh Skogin always was mindful and intentional about,
was the marketing piece of being in a band, and
obviously the performance and everything matters just as much as
the actual music and creativity of the music itself. Yeah, right,
And so I like, I still remember watching all those

(33:53):
documentaries or I shouldn't say all of those the two
documentaries that The Chariot put out when they were very
early on as a band, and you'd see like Josh,
you know, they'd be stuck at some Walmart or whatever,
and he'd like find some cardboard and do some sort
of spray paint cardboard thing to give out to fans
or I don't know, like he just was always in
that mind frame of how can we promote this, uh

(34:15):
in a way that feels authentic to who we are
as a band. I don't know, he just was always
really mindful of that. It seemed like in a way
that you know, again, like you mentioned like there's some
people and in that scene that are just like they're
always like antagonistic to the marketing piece, or the business aspect,
or the the you know, just the I don't know,
just the general business of being in a band.

Speaker 3 (34:35):
I think of a I think there's this documentary I
watched a while ago and it had the Melvins in it,
and I think the Melvins are a great example of this.
They were too cool to promote themselves, and they were
too cool to want to put themselves out there, as
you know, the progenitors of this you know, cool genre
that's starting to pop off in the in the Pacific Northwest, right.

(34:59):
And then when other bands kind of took what they
did and actually marketed themselves and actually wanted to reach
people where they were at instead of being antagonistic to it,
all of a sudden, those bands were popping off. And
now the Melvins are sitting in the background pissed off
because they think that everyone just stole everything from them.

(35:20):
So I think that there is a little bit of
like this argument in the underground especially and the DIY
kind of bands, where they think that it's selling out
or they think that it's uncool, But you don't need
to sell your soul to the devil in order to
in order to have that mindset as well, that hey,

(35:42):
I want to reach people where they're at and not
just play to the same fifteen twenty people I've been
playing to my entire life.

Speaker 2 (35:50):
It's not uncool to make your music as big as
you possibly can or like push it. You know, I
understand where that's sent I think comes from. But yeah,
I definitely just totally disagree with it because I you're
the amount of time you it's it takes for you
to like write an album, actually write record, you get

(36:13):
it pressed, if you're trying to get a label doing
all that, like it takes years. It took it takes
us years, So why am I just gonna throw it
out there? And I do think that there is an
argument to be made, like being like the cool band,
but be intentional about it, like think it through. There
still should be pieces of it that like are like
promoting still, but like being the cool band can work,

(36:36):
but you just need to like be intentional in your actions.
Don't just do it because you don't want a participate.

Speaker 3 (36:42):
You think that there's you know, there's a do you
think there's like a fear that's involved with that, that
there's people that are like, hey, I believe in my music,
but I don't necessarily believe in it enough to to
push it, and so therefore I'm going to just blame
the system. Is that so what it is you think?

Speaker 2 (37:04):
I think there's insecurity in all of us, right, and
to make music and put it out there to play shows,
or to release music at all, is to be vulnerable
in some way. I think That's why. To me, it's art,
you know, and to treat it like art, I think
is important. But for some people they don't look at

(37:24):
themselves as an artist and put it out there to
play shows. You know, it probably goes the same for

(37:46):
lots of people feeling like a musician, feeling like an artist,
feeling good enough, and ultimately none of that really matters.
You know, if you're going to take the time to
put it out, take the time to release the music,
and you should take the time to try to promote it.
You know, it could help someone ten twenty years down

(38:07):
the road. I think that's the cool thing about music,
is it It can live longer than your meat vehicle,
you know, I feel lucky.

Speaker 1 (38:15):
It's a great way to describe it. Well, speaking of
releasing music, is there any plans to be releasing any
music in the near future. I know the last album
came out just a couple of years ago now, but yeah,
any hopes to get some new stuff out here soon
for sure.

Speaker 2 (38:29):
Yeah, it's been interesting like this time in our lives
because we're touring more than we ever have, which is
still not a lot compared to like full time bands.
We're still we're still all like nine to five rs,
you know. But yeah, we're working on It's just kind
of hard to kind of do touring and writing at
the same time. But we do have We just released

(38:49):
a song get Well soon. We have another song locked
and loaded in the chamb. I hate that I abbreviated that. Like,
as I said, I'm awful. I'm just kind of saying
anything at this point, but yeah, we have another song ready.
We're like starting to work on another album. But I
think I think we'll just like kind of drop some

(39:10):
singles for a little bit and then we'll like really
hone in yeah, probably next year and like start to
really write another album again. It all has to be intentional,
like when the time is right, the time is right,
but it will happen. They'll we'll always be around. It'll
just take years. It's fine killer.

Speaker 3 (39:31):
A lot of people are saying, uh, song of the
year already.

Speaker 2 (39:35):
I like that.

Speaker 3 (39:36):
Yeah, No, I mean I mean I like up on
the reddits and all that stuff as well, and I
would have to agree it goes so hard, dude, thank
you so hard.

Speaker 2 (39:47):
You well.

Speaker 1 (39:48):
Also, I know you guys are doing some tours here soon,
but we brought you on to talk about for Incest
as well. Uh have you have you guys played it
for Incest form trying to remember No.

Speaker 2 (39:58):
Never, never been very never, it's never been.

Speaker 1 (40:02):
All right, Well, it is simply the best festival there,
and I'm sure every festival for you from here on
out will pale in comparison. It's just simply the best.
So you know, ride that high while you're there. But yeah,
anything that fans can expect from your set at Furness Fest,
I'm sure it's probably gonna be similar to what you
guys typically play, maybe for like a thirty minute set

(40:24):
or whatever, but yeah, any any fun surprises we.

Speaker 2 (40:26):
Could expect, Yeah, I mean one will definitely be playing
the new song obviously get well soon, so if you
know the lyrics, please help me out. I think it's
going to be very hot and I may need your
support physically emotionally. Yeah, so that would be fun. I'm
excited for that. And so for this tour coming up
leading into furnesce Fest, we're playing a song that we've

(40:48):
never played live before, and I'm not going to tell
you which one, but it's from Moments Elsewhere. There's a
few songs that on the Moments Elsewhere a tour we
didn't get to play live, and we've there's two songs
in particular that I think may bust out for furnace Fest,
but again, we've never played them live. So am I anxious?

Speaker 1 (41:06):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (41:06):
Am I nervous? I think those mean the same thing,
So yes, I'm freaking out on the inside, but I'm excited.
I just want people to have a fun time. And
I love the idea of playing furnace Fest because it's
such like a festival culture in general. It's yep, it's
an exciting, singular event. That's what shows should be, right,

(41:27):
like you should treat shows. It's easy to get caught
in like the I'm playing thirty shows this month and
what's just crank them out one show after another. You
can see bands getting jaded, not for the people in
the audience, like it's a single serving of I'm playing
thirty shows. Yeah, yeah, you know, there's just so much

(41:58):
more baked into furness Fest already, and I believe we're
playing the Shed too, So I'm very, very excited to
just kind of be a part of that story and
hopefully create a like a unique and awesome thirty minutes
for people. So yeah, I'm excited.

Speaker 1 (42:16):
I love that point about. I love that point about
you know, the fact that you know that this is
something where for the people who are showing up, it
isn't just thirty days of touring, right, Like, it's the
one show that they're going to to see you, and
even maybe more more to that, this is the only
time that that group of people will ever be in

(42:37):
the same room together, right, So why not make that
the most special thing for that moment, right Like it
you'll never get that that unique number of people or
that that unique group of people in the same room
ever again, and that I think is special and we
should treat it as such.

Speaker 2 (42:55):
Right Yeah. No, I one hundred percent agree. I think
every show is like that, but especially festivals, especially Furnace
Fest on top of that, so it's It's something that
I think more people should appreciate, you know, But I
also get you if you tour full time. I lived
two lives at the same time, so like it's it's

(43:16):
weird for when you're a nine to five or but
you're also like touring and doing that stuff. But for me,
when I do play, it's like there's nothing else that matters.
There's no before or after, it's just right now, Like
how could I get people the most excited possible and
for them to have like the most amount of fun

(43:37):
and hopefully build that connection with each other. Right, Like
the scene really helped me feel like I belong in
this world. I think that is so important. That's such
an important aspect of this. So the band is kind
of like the central piece in creating those connections. So
like just give a shit, you know.

Speaker 1 (43:59):
Yeah, exactly. Well, speaking of giving a shit, are are
there any bands that you're going to give a shit
at Furness Fest that you're gonna see?

Speaker 2 (44:07):
Too many bands? Honestly? Well, obviously knock Loose still in
your escape plan shout out Billy Rymer, great person. Very
excited to see them play. I didn't get to catch
them when they played New York. So I'm pumped for
that Tony Danza Tap Dance Have a Ganza. Yeah, that's
gonna be I I may actually throw up. It's gonna

(44:29):
be so much fun. I'm very excited to see that band. Also,
if you guys are into this band's soft play, yeah,
I love that band quite a bit. They're playing Furnace Fest.

Speaker 1 (44:42):
And are they the one from like Britain or something.

Speaker 2 (44:44):
Yeah, yeah, Okay, they're awesome. They put out a new
album called Heavy Jelly, I believe, and very excited to
see them, and I the cool thing about festivals is
like you can discover new bands, right, so like I'm
excited to you hit the early stages, you know, like
we'll be there all day. So I love going. I

(45:06):
always see openers, right, like when I go to see
live bands and shit, So I'm pumped for that.

Speaker 3 (45:13):
Hell yeah, hell yeah. That's uh. That is actually probably
one of my favorite things to do, especially at festivals,
because it's you're already there, so you might as well
you might as well just go find something new, right.
If there's something that there's three bands playing on a
ticket or on the on the same time slot, you
got options.

Speaker 2 (45:34):
So yeah, hoop around, see something news. But if you
don't know all three of them, like check them out.

Speaker 1 (45:40):
Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Speaker 3 (45:43):
Cool.

Speaker 1 (45:44):
Well, I'm I'm so stoked for a furnaces. This will
be Colin and NIC's fifth year. We've been to all
the furnace fests that you know, since that first kind
of iteration of it in the early two thousands, So
Colin and I have been back ever since, and it
has It's like it's one of our favorite kind of
moments together as friends. Colin and I have been best
friends for many, many years, and it truly is like

(46:07):
one of our favorite experiences that we get to experience together.
So I'm excited that you will also be able to
experience for this fast for the first time.

Speaker 2 (46:14):
I'm very pumped. That's also adorable. I love that.

Speaker 1 (46:17):
Yeah, we are adorable best friends.

Speaker 3 (46:20):
Yeah, I'm glad that you used adorable. Usually usually they
think they say gay.

Speaker 2 (46:25):
No, it's cute, it's good, it's a good thing.

Speaker 3 (46:28):
Mason and I will go to bars and stuff like
that together and like they're always.

Speaker 1 (46:32):
How long have you? Oh, I'm so glad that you
guys can get married now.

Speaker 3 (46:37):
No joke, you think that's a joke. It's not a joke.

Speaker 1 (46:39):
They're like, they're like, wow, since twenty fifteen, you've been
able to do that. They got rid of sodomy launch
just for you.

Speaker 3 (46:48):
Two.

Speaker 2 (46:51):
Where do you guys live again?

Speaker 3 (46:54):
We grew up in the same hometown in Watertown, South Dakota.
Mason lives in Minneapolis.

Speaker 2 (46:59):
Now, oh, breaking up the band?

Speaker 1 (47:03):
Yeah? The hell bro All right, Well we're close enough.
We get to hang out every now and then in person.

Speaker 3 (47:09):
Yeah, yeah, especially and other times.

Speaker 1 (47:14):
But yeah, yeah, So well, let's talk about your top
five most influential albums. It sounds certainly like the Charde's
going to be there. Maybe maybe Mars Folta. Yeah, let's
let's hear. Let's hear this top five.

Speaker 2 (47:28):
Yeah, honestly, I think I got to start with band
in DCA brands.

Speaker 1 (47:33):
Yeah, so go good.

Speaker 2 (47:35):
Yeah, that's a fantastic band, fantastic album. First hardcore band
on the East Coast ever, so they're such a huge
influence for me.

Speaker 3 (47:45):
Is that really the first one?

Speaker 2 (47:46):
Uh huh? They so you can argue DA technically put
out the first hardcore album, but I think they were
like three weeks apart. But back then, like coasts and
geography mattered, so yeah, Bad Brains put out the first
hardcore record on the East Coast of all time, and
they should get their flowers for that.

Speaker 3 (48:08):
Yeah. Well they're also just badass in general. Yeah, so yeah,
even if they weren't the first, amazing.

Speaker 2 (48:15):
They're sick and they're definitely a huge influence for me.
And then I will say, also Germs, GI, I think
they're like the precursor to hardcore, and I very much
love the Germs. Yeah, I would say like hardcore probably
wouldn't exist without bands like the Germs, and then you know,
punk rock without iggy Pop and the Stooges, right, So
it's that kind of relation to me, A.

Speaker 3 (48:37):
Quick question, the precursor to hardcore? Would they call that
like chubby core or what?

Speaker 2 (48:42):
Well, it's kind of a mix. It's basically punk rock,
but it's like there's this weird exchange, right, Like reggae
heavily influenced punk rock in like England, and then England
created punk and punk when it came over to hear
Americans made it hardcore, right, So like there's this early

(49:03):
early parts were like the Ramones obviously were a big
part of punk rock, and the later stages of punk
rock in America like the Germs, you know, A couple
of years later is when hardcore was like first invented.
So like, yeah, I I I'm a nerd with this ship,
so I can talk it.

Speaker 3 (49:20):
I I was trying to. I was just trying to
make a bad direction joke.

Speaker 2 (49:25):
Well, I'm gonna talk about it like it matters, and
I like this stuff. I'm gonna take that joke and
I'm going to ruin it.

Speaker 1 (49:37):
No idea. Pat Smear was in that band, which now
I'm realizing Pat Smear is so much older than like
Dave Grohl.

Speaker 2 (49:44):
Yes, actually he booked. They booked their first show before
he learned how to play. He bought a guitar, played
booked the show, and then learned how to play guitar
for that show.

Speaker 1 (49:55):
Holy shit, that is punk rock as ship. Just like
that's why punk rock sounds like the way it does.

Speaker 3 (50:03):
It's got to be the same three chords in different orders.

Speaker 2 (50:06):
Didn't know any better, all right, So those are two yes, Okay,
So then yeah, obviously I gotta do a Mars Volta
de laust. It's almost not fair, you know what I mean,
because I think that album is too good. Like when
you talk about Mars Vulta albums. I almost think you
need to like not say that one because it's so

(50:29):
obviously the right one, you know what I mean. So
I think that's how I feel about it. But I
think that's probably one of the best albums.

Speaker 1 (50:38):
Can you can you settle a like a potential hot
take that I may have? Okay, and I don't. Maybe
it is a hot take, maybe it isn't. I just
don't like. Maybe that's my question. I think that at
the Drive In is better than Mars Volta. Is that
a hot take or is that not a hot take?
I think the people, regardless of whether you think it's
right or wrong, do you think it's a hot take.

Speaker 2 (51:01):
I don't think it's a hot take, but I think
like public opinion would say that's a hot take. But
they're just so different, you know, that's true, Like they're
making totally different things. But I do understand where you're
coming from. But I think Mars Volta is just so
multi dimensional. There's just so much going on, Like they're

(51:24):
like the Pink Floyd of our generation, and it's kind
of hard to be Like there's other bands around that
time that were doing really sick shit but like it's
Pink Floyd, you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (51:34):
Yeah, it's a little more a little more proggy.

Speaker 2 (51:37):
For sure, but that they're I feel like they're in
the same vein of like Timeless, and I think that's
why I like them too. Chariot, I think, will also
be one of those bands, like there's a million bands
out there, but only a handful will be Timeless. Will
actually four generations down the road, people is going to
pick up those CDs and be like like bad brands

(51:57):
like I just said, like band in DC like that
that's going to be around way longer than any of
those people live. That's amazing, you know.

Speaker 1 (52:07):
For sure.

Speaker 2 (52:08):
Mars Volta I think are one of those bands too,
even though their new album I didn't like.

Speaker 1 (52:11):
Sorry, it's also hard to believe again and maybe I
just like missed the whole Mars Volta train, but I
can't believe how much more popular they are than At
the Drive in Yeah, I mean I think really it
is one of those things like typically once you like
quit your band, right like a band, and it wasn't
like as you know, At the Drive was big at
the time, and once you like leave that and then

(52:34):
start another thing. Typically you don't end up getting way
more popular, but somehow that happened with I'm forgetting those
guys Rodriguez, I think both of them are anyway, but
that doesn't typically happen.

Speaker 2 (52:46):
Yeah, no, it definitely is like a rare arc. It's
a cool arc because the other guys on the band
started Sparta Correct, which is also an interesting band. More
like at the Drive in I would say, yeah, but
now we've gone into a tangent, haven't we. Yes, sorry,
I'm the Fiance obviously, same thing interesting. I have to

(53:12):
because that was the That was the first time so
I was really into eighties hardcore, like I've talked about
too much, and I also really like reggae and Scott
and things like that, punk rock, but the Chariot and
like Calculating Infinity, like I heard of those around the
same time. And that was the first time I heard
someone like screaming like that, Like eighties hardcore people are yelling.

(53:35):
It's not fully formed in terms of screaming the way
that we think of it today. So The Fiance was
the first time that I like heard someone scream like that,
and I really connected with it, and I listened to
that album on repeat all the time. I mean, Josh

(53:56):
is such like a foundational piece I think in the
scene and in this genre of music, so much so
that I played a show with sixty eight and I
could not meet Josh because I was afraid I would
punish him, and I went to go on stage. Caloustawboys
is setting up Josh's side stage. I went to go
watch Calistavoys side stage. I look over, Josh is there

(54:18):
and I left the venue. I didn't even I just left.
I was like, all right, I don't belong here, Like
I can't meet him. It sucks because I think he's amazing.

Speaker 1 (54:29):
That might be the ultimate form of imposters total. I
was like, oh, I don't know if there's a more
clear example of it.

Speaker 2 (54:36):
I was like, there's no possible way for me to
meet you and to like hold up.

Speaker 1 (54:41):
Like I have to be physically out of like I
can't be in the same space as you.

Speaker 2 (54:44):
Yeah. Yeah, that's a real that's an actual true story.

Speaker 3 (54:48):
You know what. That's actually probably better though. Don't meet
your heroes, don't.

Speaker 1 (54:52):
Meet somebody, don't get out of the same building as
you're here. Yes, the moment that you finally get to
play a show with that person, fucking go oh just leave.

Speaker 2 (55:03):
Yeah, I couldn't the floor. I know I couldn't do it, man,
I couldn't do it. I wish I could. He's probably fantastic.
It scares me.

Speaker 1 (55:13):
Yeah, yeah, that's funny. I literally have the exact opposite reactions,
Like I just it's just him. When whenever I see
somebody there, I'm like, oh my god, they've changed my life.
I want to meet that person.

Speaker 2 (55:28):
It's just him, man. It really is like specific to Josh.
I've met tons of people that I've been like, I
grew up listening to him and like now we're cool,
like we talk, we're friends. Josh, I just was like,
he's too like, as you.

Speaker 3 (55:44):
Know, there's there's an enigmatic quality to him that it
feels like it is a little bit untouchable. So Mason
and I have had a chance to meet him a
couple of times, and both times it felt very very
strange to me, but like everyone else in the and
not an issue at all. Right, it's there, there's some
there's some enigmatic quality that I don't know. I don't

(56:08):
quite don't quite.

Speaker 1 (56:09):
I do think his mind works on a different wavelength
than most people. Yeah, and so he probably is one
of those people where and I'm sure he's like cool shit, Like,
don't get me wrong, he just probably is one of
those people that's like and how you become like good
friends with him, he's like maybe a little difficult to
like just be cool around.

Speaker 3 (56:25):
Yeah, to get a read on especially Yeah.

Speaker 1 (56:27):
Like, I'm sure Aaron weis for me without yous like
that too, Like I've only met him once and he
was really kind, but he's probably like I guess, like
what I maybe I'm trying to say, is the other
guys in like Me without You, for example, are those
are the kind of guys that like you can just
strike up any kind of conversation with. It's Aaron that
might be a little bit more like he kind of
gotta be on his own way strange, just doing his

(56:48):
own And I'm sure that's probably maybe the case for Josh.
I could be wrong. I don't know.

Speaker 2 (56:51):
I mean, he's I don't know, obviously, I don't know
him either.

Speaker 1 (56:59):
Right, Andrew, I think you got more Sorry You're good.

Speaker 2 (57:03):
System of a Down the self titled Yes, oh yes, yes,
it's it's the same thing again. I think the last
three albums I named were like if you were like,
all right, what's the best album of that band, It's
you can't even say it because like it's so up
here and the rather the other ones are like in
the mix, so it's not even a conversation, right, It's

(57:24):
like you want to have that like ranking order, it's
it's it's that one.

Speaker 3 (57:28):
Sorry, Yeah, I think uh. I have a kind of
a weird take on on System of Down. I think
that they might be the most misunderstood band, like of
all time. Like I feel like nobody misunderstanding, Like nobody
knows what to think about them. So, like you have

(57:48):
like the diehards that obviously like they will ride or
die no matter what. Then you have a couple they
have you have quite a few people that know the
big tunes and then everything else they would be massive
turned off by. And then you have people who think
that they're satanic, and then you have some people that
they're like firmly like new metal, and then you have

(58:09):
some people that say that they're radio rock, and then
you have me and I'm like, I'm pretty sure that
they're just like the talking heads for the metal world.

Speaker 2 (58:20):
That's an interesting take. Actually, I've never heard anyone say
that before, and as you said it, I'm like that
kind of makes sense. They're definitely like their own thing.
I think a lot of new metal bands got just
roped into it's new metal, but it's like they're just
kind of a unique band. It's not the thing they
have new metal ish stuff, but it's also kind of

(58:40):
the way that they came up that time period. But
they're definitely one of the more unique band because also
like at a time they were like Deaftones is new metal,
but like they were around before and way after, you know, right.

Speaker 1 (58:52):
Kind and they were always kind of doing their own
thing that didn't sound exactly like Lincoln Park or Corn
or whatever I.

Speaker 3 (58:58):
Think, and arguably they fit that that Moniker the least.

Speaker 2 (59:03):
Yeah, but even those bands like Corn Lincoln Park, like
a lot of the bands in new metal, like if
you just remove the genre and like really look at
them across like metal and hardcore and metal core, like
they're all pretty unique bands, like all those big ones.

Speaker 3 (59:19):
There's only one band that I would actually consider like
fully new metal, and that is Biscuit, not limb Biscuit,
I would say mud Vain, Hey, I can I think
they're like the quintessential metal band.

Speaker 1 (59:33):
Yeah, what about what's the alien Ant Hill Farm? Alien
Ant Farm Farm Farm.

Speaker 2 (59:44):
A new band, but you just made that.

Speaker 3 (59:46):
It's actually pretty funny.

Speaker 2 (59:48):
Alien Ant Farm. I don't think they're they were not
new metal. I actually really liked them when they first
came out, Like I did buy their first CD and listen.

Speaker 3 (59:56):
To They had great tunes. They're left on.

Speaker 2 (01:00:00):
Rifts don't lie. I think that's important. You know, sometimes
bands have like a a stigma that happens or like
the fans or I don't know what it is, but
you know, riffs don't lie.

Speaker 3 (01:00:12):
Yeah, and if you are willing to cover the prince
of pop and not completely fuck it up good, it's
pretty impressive. And you got the blessing from Michael Jackson
himself to to do it because he liked it. I mean,
that's that's something completely different.

Speaker 2 (01:00:34):
It's true. That's true.

Speaker 1 (01:00:35):
That's true. So so here's my So it's interesting you
think the system of down is misunderstood Colin, because like
I actually don't understand how they got so popular, Like
there is truly true nothing about them from like especially
like even contextually, like you think around that time, especially
like a lot of alternative music was like really important,

(01:00:57):
you know, really popular. But still I don't know how
they broke through because like as good of a vocalist
that Surge is, like obviously just his range is incredible,
Like he just he sounds weird, like he just is
a weird way of doing vocals music. The music itself
is weird, Like you've got like the obviously the like

(01:01:18):
Middle Eastern kind of influences that you hear. But then
like somehow they were able to make catchy pop songs,
Like I don't understand how they were able to like
do all these things and it's still become like worldwide popular.

Speaker 3 (01:01:31):
So they're understood, is what you're saying.

Speaker 1 (01:01:34):
Well, yeah, I guess, like I don't don't understand's But
that's the part of it that I don't understand, Like
I all those other questions that you had about, like
you know, how they maybe are misunderstood like that to
me seems to make sense. What I don't understand is
how did they just get so popular? I don't understand it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:48):
Oh, it's interesting.

Speaker 3 (01:01:48):
I think that getting in with Rick Rubin certainly helps that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:52):
I do think that's a part of it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:53):
Yeah, Yeah, I think the backstory two of them being
Armenian and everything that kind of comes along with that
makes you interested. I think that alone is like what
does that sound like?

Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
You know?

Speaker 2 (01:02:05):
I think they have like a built in story that
makes you want to like it's intriguing, you'll open that
door whether you stay in that room or not. As different,
but like everyone's listened to them once, you know.

Speaker 3 (01:02:17):
I think, I actually think it comes down to one
major thing musically at least, and it's.

Speaker 1 (01:02:22):
That they are.

Speaker 3 (01:02:26):
The most perfect dynamics band ever. Their Their mixture between
loud and soft and like gentle and absolutely like kick
you in the face, is there's no other band that's
done it as well as they have. Well also maintaining
like really really good grooves and stuff like that. I mean,

(01:02:47):
that's just not something that most bands are even capable of.

Speaker 2 (01:02:52):
So very unique. Yes, yeah, yeah, that's a great list.
Huge that list at me too.

Speaker 1 (01:03:02):
I haven't really gotten into like a lot of the
eighties seventies hardcore stuff as much, but my goodness, that's
an incredible list.

Speaker 2 (01:03:07):
That's the time, that is the time dive into it.

Speaker 3 (01:03:11):
It's always a good time to look back, I think,
so I do.

Speaker 1 (01:03:15):
I do long for a day when we interview somebody
that un ironically mentions a G. G Allen album No
as an influence.

Speaker 3 (01:03:24):
No, No, I think the only way that that could
be a part of your most influential list is if
you were there and you watched.

Speaker 2 (01:03:33):
You saw it, you saw it.

Speaker 3 (01:03:35):
I was there, brother, Yeah, yeah, you need you need,
you need an old head to Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:03:40):
That may be a little bit too out there, but yeah,
I mean there's definitely that person exists. It could oh
yeah if you Yeah, someone will say it and they
don't mean it as a joke, but they should. But
I think, but they should. I think, uh yeah. I
love eighties hardcore and I think everyone should just dive

(01:04:03):
into the history of where a lot of this stuff
comes from and that that's kind of why I listened
to a lot of reggae growing up too. It's like
reggae SKA the first generation of that. They wouldn't be
punk rock. Without punk rock, they wouldn't be hardcore.

Speaker 1 (01:04:15):
So yeah, speaking of hardcore. By the way, I don't know, Andrew,
if you're a fan of the band The Beautiful Sorry,
the world is beautiful place and I'm no longer afraid
to die.

Speaker 2 (01:04:25):
Have you heard of them.

Speaker 1 (01:04:26):
That's literally the band name. The world is a beautiful
place and I'm no longer afraid to die. They have
been like a very kind of classic like fourth or
third wave indie emo band. But they they're just starting
to put out like some singles for this new album,
and it's like some of it is just straight up
hardcore and it's unbelievable.

Speaker 2 (01:04:44):
Yeah, in interesting. I just pull them up on Spotify,
I will listen.

Speaker 1 (01:04:47):
Yeah, they've been around for a while. I mean they've
probably got six or seven albums out now, but yeah,
they're incredible. But it's all very like like indie emo
kind of stuff. And then now they're just deciding. I
don't know, they just I don't know if they got
a new guy that screams or if that guy has
been in the band and now is just like unleashing
that part of his what what he has to offer.
But it is incredible.

Speaker 2 (01:05:07):
Ye sick. Yeah, I'm gonna check him out after this.

Speaker 1 (01:05:13):
Love it, Love it.

Speaker 3 (01:05:15):
What would you like to plug?

Speaker 2 (01:05:17):
What I like to plug? What would I like to plug?

Speaker 3 (01:05:20):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:05:21):
What would I like to actually plug?

Speaker 3 (01:05:24):
Yeah? What would you like to actually plug for?

Speaker 4 (01:05:25):
Yeah, I'm plugging toilet Yeah, I'm plugging that we're going
on tour with We came as Romans for July and August,
so that's gonna be fun.

Speaker 2 (01:05:35):
It's a North America tour, so if you live in
a city, I will be there hopefully most likely, please come.
It's gonna be fun again. We are playing a song
we've never played before live and I'm scared, so help
me help me out.

Speaker 1 (01:05:51):
And it's will our good friend Jeremy Schaeffer be doing
some sound for you guys.

Speaker 2 (01:05:56):
Jeremy is such a beautiful man. I could also do
a whole other podcast about how much I like him,
but I will say Jeremy, I think knows more about
live music than almost anyone on the planet, and we
are very grateful to have him a part of the team.
So yeah, he's going to be with us new merch.
We got some sticker packs that we just made. I
got them in my room. They're actually in a box

(01:06:17):
right here and right off camera. But yeah, we're going
on tour and then we're going to Furnace vest and
we're also doing Bliss Myths this year, maybe a couple
of tours in between, and then we'll be writing music
in and around all of these things. So it's going
to be an exciting like next half of the year.
So if anyone is into it and wants to scream

(01:06:39):
along and grab this microphone, I fully promote that, So
please help.

Speaker 3 (01:06:43):
Hell yeah, anything else?

Speaker 2 (01:06:47):
Yes, yes, yeah. So if you go back and you
watch season three, episode two of broad City, you will
see me in the background of the co op episode
where one of the characters twerks and knocks over all
the beans. I am a man shopping in the background.

Speaker 3 (01:07:09):
Hell yeah, hell y yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:07:12):
Were you expecting this? Like, were they like did you
were you casted to be in this or was this
something where you were just trying to shop like a
normal ass person and all of a sudden, somebody's twerking
and you're like, what the fuck?

Speaker 2 (01:07:25):
No, I got a I actually this is the only
time I did extra work. For some reason, they were
they were looking for people and uh that looked like
they worked or would go to a co op and
will you get them? And apparently I'm just the guy
they needed. I goes type shasted as co op shopper,
and I was like it was pretty cool, you know,

(01:07:45):
like craft services is the thing I never experienced before. That,
so that was fun. I basically just sat around and
ate food. It was also the episode they did the
ginger Man blunt and there's a guy that they have
on staff who just rolls blunts all day. That's that
was his job, and I got to watch him like
actually make a ginger Man blunt together. And how much

(01:08:08):
is that guy getting paid more than me? But yeah,
it was a really cool experience and that is a
thing that happened once in my life.

Speaker 1 (01:08:20):
Well, I'll make sure that I go back. I love
the fact that you're just You're just the look of
a person that goes to co op. I mean, as
somebody who lives in Minneapolis. I don't know how much
you've explored Minneapolis, Andrew, but Minneapolis has plenty of co ops,
and honestly, I think all co ops must be the same,
because you look exactly like somebody that would go to
a Minneapolis.

Speaker 2 (01:08:39):
Co op to I'm insulted, I'm upset. I've never been.
I've never been there. Actually I hope to go soon,
but I've never been. And I will venture into one
of your co ops.

Speaker 1 (01:08:53):
And you will find you'll find fifty other guys that look.

Speaker 2 (01:08:55):
Exactly like the universe will break because I'll be working there,
You'll be doing the Spider Man. Mean, yeah, they'll be
like the Time the Time timeline will rupture and Biff
will be president kind of is yeah, pretty much is
I think about that all the time. Sorry, another tangent

(01:09:15):
that's the future too, is true, And I feel like
we're we like the Riff the Shitty Timeline, like we
just that's just us now, and there's a version of
you that like everything's cool and fine, but we got
like the Biff one.

Speaker 3 (01:09:34):
It's uh, it's something that I'm gonna need to go
back and watch again and try to pick out as
many details so I can see where the future is going.

Speaker 2 (01:09:44):
You should because he looks like him too, so it's
like if it's uncanny and he runs it like.

Speaker 3 (01:09:51):
Somehow though Biff has better hair, which is wild.

Speaker 2 (01:09:56):
Yeah, of course, of course.

Speaker 1 (01:10:01):
I feel very excluded from this conversation.

Speaker 3 (01:10:04):
Ever seen back to the future, shame.

Speaker 1 (01:10:07):
Not are you guys talking specifically? Maybe the first one,
mate number two, but if I have, it's been number
two with the Riff, with the Biff Riff Timeline, the
Big Riff Timeline.

Speaker 3 (01:10:20):
Mason, you need to go watch it, right now.

Speaker 1 (01:10:22):
Yeah, it's true, I've got a meeting to go to,
but all right, we'll after your meeting, all right, well,
I'll listen to that band and after that meeting, you'll
watch Back to the Future too.

Speaker 2 (01:10:30):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:10:31):
Great, We've got we've we've got tasks.

Speaker 3 (01:10:32):
We have homework, homework, all right.

Speaker 1 (01:10:36):
Well, Andrew, thank you so much for sharing a little
bit more about Johnny Booth. Super excited. Hopefully we can
catch you at a town near us, you know, with
this new tour. But at the very least we will
certainly see you in October. We'll give you a big
hug and yeah, I'm just really really stoked.

Speaker 2 (01:10:52):
Hell yeah, looking forward to seeing you guys at Furness
Best Hell yes,