Matt Kupka: Southtowne Lanes

Cullen and Mason chat with Matt from the band, Southtowne Lanes. They chat about the band's history, how they have a classic mid-2000s emo sound, his favorite albums, and much more.

Check out Southtowne Lanes: https://www.instagram.com/southtownelanes/

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:30):
Today, we've got Matt from Southtown Lanes. Super excited to
chat with you. Matt, I'll be honest. Southtown Lanes is
a band that is new to me. I started listening
to you guys kind of recently when we started chatting
and tried to get this interview all figured out, and yeah,
but you all were new to me. What I will

(00:50):
say though, as much as you are the band Southtown
Lellions is new to me. That sound takes me back
to two thousand and five. I'm just saying, like, totally
absolutely incredible. How much your guys sound is such classic
emo from at least two thousand and five Emo if
you want to get you know, really fancy with the

(01:12):
whole wave stuff. But anyway, I'm a big fan, super
excited to chat with you. But we'll chat obviously all
about Southtown Lanes.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
But how are you doing today?

Speaker 3 (01:23):
I'm well, man, I just came back up. I'm here
in Portland, Oregon. The band is actually kind of based
between Portland and Eugene, Oregon, and me and my girlfriend
were just down in Eugene. We were gonna do a
friends giving, but everyone's sick, so we kind of just
went down to Eugene and hung out in an Airbnb
for tonight and I came back up, so it was

(01:46):
kind of a bummer. We see everybody, But man, I've
done that trip to Eugene, like for a long long time.
The band has been based in Eugene, and I've lived
in Portland and it's about a two hour drive, so
that interstate drive, I Interstate five. I've gotten so used
to just coming up and down.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
So yeah, it's literally just dying, Like, could you cover
your eyes and do it the whole way?

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Dude? Honestly, at this point, I seriously could. Like in
my early twenties, I think I was doing it like
three times a week. Like I moved to Portland when
I was eighteen and the band started happening, and I
just kept doing it over and over and over again.
That drive, I think will forever just be. I think
I just go into the exact same headspace every time
I'm doing it.

Speaker 4 (02:31):
It's, yeah, what is that headspace for you? Is it?

Speaker 3 (02:36):
Man? It's usually not like the best one. I'm usually
cause like, dude, a lot of the time, especially early
in Southtown, like it was to play like local shows
like for other touring bands and stuff like that, and
I would usually be getting off of work, driving down
playing the local show and then leaving the local show

(02:56):
and driving back home, and other people were like, why
aren't you sticking around? And I'm like, I live in Portland,
I know this is Eugene show, but like I got
to go back to work and do stuff, and so
I really have just associated that drive of just like
why am I fucking going to Eugene again? Right, But
that's just I'm being pessimistic. It's I mean, it's where
like we're from, It's where I grew up, and it's
where it is.

Speaker 4 (03:16):
But yeah, sure, sure, you know. I have to say
that this has been one of my most anticipated uh,
Southtown has been one of my most anticipated guests for
a while now, since since since May. I would say,
so I discovered I discovered you guys in May, and

(03:38):
I've been absolutely blown away. Could not believe I hadn't
heard of y'all. I know you have at least one
other record kind of going back to twenty sixteen. Right, Yeah,
I'm like I said, I'm blown away that I haven't
heard of you until now because you write songs like

(04:00):
I haven't heard from from a band in a long time.
I'm really, really really impressed. Songs that have choruses that
get stuck in my head, songs that hit like a
freight train, songs that both like musically and lyrically, and
then songs that will just take you on a journey.

(04:22):
How long has has Southtown been doing it?

Speaker 3 (04:28):
Well? Firstly, like, thank you so much for saying that.
I don't think you realize like at times it just
really means a lot. I appreciate that, and I appreciate
so much that that you're looking forward to and that
you listen to it just to begin with, that's awesome.
But we've been doing it for us. I mean it's
been a long time. Our first demo that came out

(04:51):
on tape was in twenty twelve, so it's been it's been, yeah,
thirteen years, but we took a long break in there.
So the kind of one of the way I sum
it up is we were all like nineteen years old
and we're like, yep, we're doing the emao band thing
in twenty twelve, and for about five years till about

(05:13):
twenty seventeen, we gave it a go. We were like
I said, that was from like we were all basically
like nineteen or twenty to twenty five, and we just
were relentless about it, and we toured as much as
we could, three or four times a year. We played
every local show. A couple members of the band like
started a DIY venue. We our houses were venues. We

(05:36):
like did that, you know, the normal formula thing. And
it kind of all culminated in that first record, give
Up the Ghost, And you know, we had done like
split EPs and stuff before that that you can find
if you dig around on there, and give Up the
Ghost was kind of like, all right, this is our
feature length album. We've been doing it, and we toured

(05:56):
on that, and to be honest, we kind of just
ourselves out a little bit. Mostly. You know, it's a
hard lesson to learn, but when you go into something
like really any entertainment industry, I feel like, you know,
expectations are really kind of the death of at least
the fun part of it. Sure, you know, it's nearly

(06:18):
impossible not to have wants or like, I hope this happens,
but I think we all had a lot more like expectations.
We were young in twenty four and we were like,
we're so we're just gonna be in a band and
it'll work and doesn't always go that way. So long, Bill,
we took a pretty long break other people. I went
to another project, other people did other projects, and then

(06:43):
we came back together in literally November of twenty twenty
one and played our first show back together in March
of twenty twenty excuse me of yeah of twenty twenty sorry, yeah,
right when a little pandemic hit, sure, and that kind

(07:05):
of took us all back. But anyways, we kind of
played catch up for a while and eventually got back
together and then wrote Take Care and put that out
last year. Yeah, that's kind of the history history of us,
of us being together.

Speaker 4 (07:20):
So for you individually, where does your music journey start?

Speaker 3 (07:26):
My music journey starts for me at a very young age.
I grew up in a in a like a classical
music family. My whole dad's side of my family are
all still classical musicians, and so I started playing violin
at I don't know, probably five or somewhere in there.
Music was like, not by even my choice, always a

(07:48):
part of my life and was going to be a
part of my life, you know, Like I had to
practice every day it's like, you know, when you meet
people like other kids that went through that, they're like, oh,
I know that was like I get you.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
So if you grew up playing violin and now you
play em I would imagine Yellow Card was probably like
your favorite band ever.

Speaker 3 (08:03):
Oh right, and I don't like middle school, I forget
like Keegan friends were out there playing the song on guitar,
like can you play the violent part of Ocean Avenue?
And of course I was like I don't know, and
I like look up sheet music and I think, oh yeah,
this is easy, this is it. But da dada, and
it was like, oh yeah, I was a huge Yellow Card.

(08:23):
I honestly, when you guys asked or mentioned in the beginning,
like top five influential albums, like, I wouldn't say any
there are any Yellow Card albums that are my favorite,
but I don't know. One of those might be in
there for like my transition of yeah like classical too
to like ebo yeah hell yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (08:43):
So you grew up in a in a musical family,
I can see where your I would almost argue it's
almost like a complex taste for melody that I have
heard in Southtown Lanes. That's gotta be where it starts, right.

Speaker 3 (09:00):
Sure, I think what kind of ends up happening is
you know, at least for me in my experience, when
you grow up playing you know, music like that, this
this incredibly complex like music that goes beyond anything I
could ever even dream. You know, these these pieces you play,

(09:21):
and so then when you go to write your your
EMO song that is you know, like a one, four
or five chord progression and these kind of like basic
but still incredible. And don't get me wrong, like I
am a love I have no issue with simple music.
I truly believe like Andy Andy Hull is one of
my favorite songs from manchest Workers, one of my favorite

(09:43):
songwriters all time, And I'm pretty sure Andy Hole could
write my favorite song with one note on a guitar
and like maybe two singing notes and he would still
create gold because it's not about complexity, it's about how
you write this song. But anyways, still, when you're in
this song right process, for me, at times, yeah, I
do kind of be like, Okay, well, this is totally

(10:05):
what you would do. This is what the park calls for.
Can we like, can we can we spice it up
a little? Is there anything like, wait, can we do
a harmony on there? Instead of singing this melody over
this chord, It almost would be more fun if we
sung it like this. So, yeah, you're absolutely right. I
think it's part of the classical upbringing that made us

(10:27):
make decisions like that at least interesting like.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
Your parents, with them being classical musicians themselves, like and
and maybe maybe maybe they were like the kind of
classical musicians were, like they only listened to classical music,
or you know, maybe maybe there are folks that listen
to pop music as well. But I'm just curious, like
when when you were really starting to get into like
emo music, and in particular, I would imagine there's maybe

(10:54):
a potential assumption that hey, this is way more low
art than the high art that is classical music. So
was there some sort of maybe disconnect with your parents
around that in particular, with with you getting in the
emo or was that like not a non issue.

Speaker 2 (11:09):
Yeah, I'm just kind of curious, like.

Speaker 1 (11:10):
How they would have perceived you really getting into wanting
to play emo music in particular, given the fact that
classical music was in your background, and you know, maybe
there were certain aspirations about you being a classical musician.

Speaker 3 (11:23):
To both those No, there was absolutely friction. The moment
I said I want to play guitar, my dad, who
was really the driving force of me being a musician,
was like, yeah, you can play guitar, but you can't
not continue your studies and violin and all this stuff.
And I said, okay. But of course, as I got older,

(11:44):
you know, and from older I mean like in high school, yeah,
I started to really want to play guitar and be
in emo music and do all this stuff. And like,
I have memories of my dad like punishing me by
locking my guitar like in the safe and was like,
you can only play guitar until after you've practiced for
practice violin for an hour. H And that was my

(12:05):
dad's rule. It was with it the same with my siblings.
It was that you live in his house, you will
play the instrument until you are eighteen. At eighteen years old,
you are you can do what you will if you
don't want to do anymore. But that was his gift
and curse to us was you will rigorously learn this instrument.
My dad had more sympathy for me doing rock music though,

(12:28):
because while my dad was a classical musician. No, my
dad did not strictly listen to that music. My dad's
favorite bands were like The Who, the Beatles, classic rock.
But my dad was mad at that. My dad played
drums as a kid, so he was still really into it,
and so when I was getting into that, he supported it.

(12:48):
But you know, it's actually it's it's it's funny the
name of this podcast not to go too much into
my family's history, but my dad and this my family,
my immediate family here in Oregon are truly and were
and are the kind of the black sheep of our

(13:10):
greater family that live in southern California. In the same way,
like you know, my dad being into the Who and
like I said, the Beatles and all this rock music,
my dad's side of my family that are all these
musicians that I was just speaking of are kind of no,
they're like the higher end classical musicians that playing string

(13:32):
quartets all over the world and are very incredibly talented
and skilled musicians. And so I don't know, it was
kind of funny growing up because I felt my dad
was the black sheep of his family because he moved
to Oregon and played drums, and I thought it was
like ironic. I'm like, Dad, I'm just doing exactly what

(13:54):
you did with your family, Like I'm playing guitar and
doing this thing. But yeah, long way around. I still
struggle with it a bit when I see like those
family members, because I'm close to them, and it's like
kind of this funny thing where they'll be like, yeah,
so like what if what's your what are you doing
with your music? And it's just like, you know, a
clip of me like screaming and playing a basement show

(14:15):
to twenty kids, and they're like, yeah, we were just
over in like Central Europe and played some of the
most beautiful churches in the world. We played you know,
Shostakovich number eight around and it's just like cool, yeah,
like and the my fav I'm not trying to throw
them under the dust. They're they're very sweet, they come

(14:35):
out to shows, they'll do it. But I definitely have
a lot of yeah, some of that feeling judged, I
guess still for being like, yeah, I play punk music
and you play the most you know, complex stuff.

Speaker 1 (14:51):
Do you ever counter with them like, yeah, you're you're
just like a cover band, dude.

Speaker 3 (14:57):
I think about that all the time. I think about
like you know, and we've argued about it. I'm like, yeah,
you're just playing with the same thing that like a
million other people have, you know, played over and over
again forever, Like have you ever thought about trying something
that's like your own, like if you're thought about how
that would feel? But then they count and they're like,
well you don't understand like when you play this you
make it your own and how you choose to play,

(15:18):
you know, and so then the conversation.

Speaker 4 (15:20):
But you know, I do find the dynamics of that
super interesting because it's it's it's like the opposite of
like the jock family, you know that like totally Yeah,
my cousin went to the NFL and my other cousin
is in the MLB, and here I am. I just

(15:43):
played Division one.

Speaker 3 (15:44):
Yeah you know, no, you're you're nailing it. That is
like the feeling that we carried, Like again, my last
name is Koopka, like the Koupka's carried in Oregon. Yeah,
we were like, yeah, we didn't make varsity me and
we we are like where were jv at best? We
are community college. We are not making it to to

(16:06):
USC like the rest of the family. But yeah.

Speaker 4 (16:10):
Yeah, that's such an interesting, uh dynamic and such a
turn on its head kind of yeah situation. I totally
While I feel for you, I also find that to
be a comical kind of kind of point of view.

Speaker 3 (16:24):
To be honest, it's interesting. Most of my friends didn't
really really it's you. I mean I grew up with it,
so I was used to it. But most of my friends,
you know, when they'd walk in and my dad was
like playing cell in the living room, they'd be like
what is he doing? Like what do you mean? Don't
your parents just like I play music? That's what you do.
You just play music everywhere. It's a part of every
facet of your life. Every family gathering, every birthday, every everything.

(16:47):
You guys all get together and like play a quartet together, right,
And they're like, no, man, that's just not That sounds
amazing though, And that's what they all said. They all
thought it was awesome, and I hated it growing up.
I was like, it's the worst he's talking about. I
don't want to do this shit. I want to play
video games. I don't want to I don't want to
sit here yet.

Speaker 4 (17:04):
Well, I was gonna say I was gonna bring that
up too. You know, most people or most dads would
be like, hey, I want to lock up your xbox,
but for you, it was I'm gonna lock up your guitar.

Speaker 3 (17:13):
Yeah, the guitar became the enemy that I just wanted
to learn ac DC. That's all I wanted to do.

Speaker 1 (17:19):
I'm like, I'm trying to imagine, like from your dad's perspective,
Like at some point he must have realized, like I
must have like the most well behaved kid in the world,
where my punishment for him is not not to like
keep him from playing his xbox or from doing some
sort of like you know, like doing weed or something like,
my punishment is to.

Speaker 2 (17:39):
Keep him from playing guitar in his room.

Speaker 1 (17:42):
Like that's gonna be like that you like I have,
you have literally struck gold as a parent. If that's
if that's the worst your child, like that's your punishment
for your child, truly.

Speaker 3 (17:54):
I mean, that's so funny. I've never thought about it
like that. I was pretty good to my parents in
high school. I didn't dream, I didn't smoke, I didn't
do anything really too bad in high school. They had
it pretty easy with me. Don't get me wrong. After
I went when I went to college, like you know,
then then things changed a little bit. But you're right, Yeah,
I totally I I took it. I took it pretty

(18:14):
easy on them, all things considered.

Speaker 1 (18:17):
You should you should not ask for a little bit
more of that inheritance or something.

Speaker 2 (18:21):
You know.

Speaker 3 (18:21):
Yeah, totally totally.

Speaker 4 (18:24):
So when when you guys get together here for Thanksgiving
or for Christmas, will you be taking part in the
quartet or something like that?

Speaker 1 (18:32):
Oh man, this year, Colin Colin's family, like they when
they get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas, it's a it's
a football game, uh that you know, we're Colin has
to jack up, you know, he just really got to
hit his cousin that he's always kind of secretly here. Really,
but I would imagine for your family, you're not you're
not playing football. There's not like a family football game
that's going on. It's a it's the family quartet.

Speaker 3 (18:56):
It is you, whatever it is you you are handed
like so this this Thanksgiving, we're actually not traveling. We
are holding out for Christmas and then the family's gonna
come up here and we will see what happens. But yes,
the last time family gathering happened with that family. At
that point, I probably hadn't played, like touched a violin

(19:18):
in probably like a year. I kind of go on
and off with it. But I showed up and you know,
I was picked up from the airport and we went
and got tacos and it was really great. And then
it was like, you know, ten thirty eleven o'clock, long day,
head back and I was like, Okay, I'll see you
guys in the morning. And my aunt was like, oh no, no, no,

(19:39):
look quick rehearsal and then we'll go to sleep. And
I was like what. She's like, well, we're playing tomorrow
night for the for the service. And I was like
I'm not. And she's like, here's your part, and she
handed me a violin and here's the thingya truly and
she's like and she's sweet about it. If they're kind
of relentless, and when I would make a mistake, they'd
be like, oh okay from the top and I'd be like,
damn dude, and you just it's the kind of thing.

(20:00):
It's like a grandma, you like, don't have a choice.
It's not like, oh I'd rather not. They they don't care.
They're just like that's fine, I don't. It's not really
about if you want to do it or not, because
you're just doing it, and you will get like, you know,
kind of childhood like ribbed by your cousins out of
your same age, being like just shut up, just stop
fighting it, just stop, just just play. It's fine. But yeah,

(20:24):
that one happens. It is like things are sometimes I'll
I'll have to sing, they'll give me there, like you're
in the choir this year, and I'm like, dude, I've
never even done this, Like I don't, I don't know. Yeah, Yeah,
it's funny.

Speaker 1 (20:36):
If you ever, like, have you ever thought to just
you know, especially when you sing when they ask you
to sing to just like maybe scream it.

Speaker 3 (20:44):
Oh, just scream it. I would never ever hear the
end of that ever again, and I would probably my
aunt would probably instantly slap me in the face without
a doubt.

Speaker 4 (20:55):
But many can I just not do it anymore?

Speaker 1 (20:57):
Then?

Speaker 3 (20:58):
Yeah? Losing battle? Losing battle?

Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yeah, do you ever wonder like I sometimes ask bands this,
and typically you know bands that are like, you know,
full time touring, uh, And I understand like Southtown is
not maybe not quite at that place, but I often
wonder or like one of the questions I ask for
bands that like, you know, really you know, like for

(21:23):
the musician that we're interviewing, like that is their full
time thing, Like that's what they do, that's what they do.
You don't pay the bills whatever. And I always wonder
like at what point, like does your family start, like
at what point does your family stop asking about that
thing as if it's a hobby.

Speaker 2 (21:41):
And realize like, no, that's what you do.

Speaker 1 (21:44):
Now. I understand like maybe Southtown like feels a little
different where maybe it's still is kind of like that
side thing that I still do as a side thing. Yeah,
but but yeah, like have you ever wondered like if
you guys had gotten to let's say, you know, like
you get signed and you're full time touring and.

Speaker 2 (21:59):
You yeah, I guessee or whatever.

Speaker 1 (22:01):
Do you ever think like do you think your family
would ever get to that point of actually accepting that.

Speaker 3 (22:07):
No? No, okay, Well I think well, okay, I think
it's it's probably the same for a lot of people.
I think. Okay, So, like any industry, right, you get
into it, and you know, you if you get signed
to your record label and you start doing opening tours
and you start doing this stuff and then you eventually
get to your place where yeah, you're you're doing your

(22:28):
headlining tour right, and you can book like your band
can pull one hundred and fifty kids out, which to me,
if you could do a full US tour and pull
one hundred and fifty kids in you know, like twenty
five markets, that's to me, I'm like, that's pretty that's successful.
That's doing it. You could make a living off of

(22:48):
that with other supporting bands and stuff and all that
kind of thing. But when I get to San Diego
where my family lives, and you know, we play at
the Triple Nickel bar that has a two fifty person cap,
and they're like, this is cool and all. But like
when I go to concerts, there's like thirty thousand people there,

(23:11):
and like, so I think, I think it really comes
down to how is your show in your parents' hometown,
because that is gonna, I think for me, determine how
they're going to feel about what you're doing. And so
I think if the show, if the show is big enough,
if you could get up to being like playing seven
eight hundred people, I think my mom might be like,

(23:33):
so when are you gonna go back to your real job?

Speaker 4 (23:35):
Though?

Speaker 3 (23:37):
But I think until that point she'd be like, this
is so cool, this is so awesome, I'm so proud
of you, but like, did you fully quit your job?
Like is there still a door open there? Because this
won't last forever. In the sweetest way possible, my mom
is very supportive, but yeah, no, I don't know, that's all.
I'd be curious to hear what other people have said. Why.

Speaker 1 (23:58):
I mean, I think about like so Colin and I
just saw Jimmy World about six weeks ago, and.

Speaker 2 (24:06):
They are a band, like you know.

Speaker 1 (24:08):
Obviously in our ether of the world that we're in,
like they're they are the biggest band you could imagine, right,
but like a grand scheme of things like each probably
each one of those guys maybe outside of it's Jim, right,
Jim Mackins. Yeah, Like outside of Jim, I think every
one of those guys could probably just like go around

(24:30):
town or around wherever in any city in the country
and probably beyond unrecognized, right, even fans, Yeah, among even fans, right,
And to me, like there is a level of fame
that I don't think a lot of people realize where
you outside of your own niche thing, like you are
recognized even if somebody doesn't even isn't even a fan

(24:53):
of you. Right Like, even if you're not a fan
of Taylor Swift, if you saw Taylor Swift, you know
who that is, right There is a level of fame
that that or like you know, Colin just saw like
a month or so ago, like Paul McCartney, right Like,
Paul McCartney is somebody that even if you're not a
Beatles fan, you know who Paul McCartney looks like.

Speaker 2 (25:11):
And you'd be like, wait, that's Paul McCartney right there.

Speaker 1 (25:14):
We just don't realize like how high of a level
of that is. And the thing is is like the
average person that's the kind of music that they're listening to,
is they're just like kind of this like like I'm
trying to like this sort of consumer that just isn't
like actually actively engaged in the music that they're listening to.
They're just listening to whatever is getting thrown at them

(25:37):
and this blog. Yeah, and so because of that, like
you really have to break through to be actually recognized
by that average person. And so that's probably what I
would imagine like that's maybe for your family.

Speaker 2 (25:49):
That's what that is.

Speaker 1 (25:50):
And that's why like the the what they think of
as like that's what a musician does is a thirty
thousand you know, cap.

Speaker 3 (25:59):
Stadium, which is just I'm like, that is so that
not top one zero point one percent of musicians out there,
It's crazy. Yeah, I mean that's such a good example. Yeah,
I mean, Jimmy world is huge, man have been massive
since two thousand and one, and they can do whatever.

(26:22):
But yeah, like and I wonder if I saw jim
would I reckon? Would I be like that is him?

Speaker 4 (26:30):
That's yeah, you might second guess or something.

Speaker 3 (26:32):
My second guy. I might not even know. And that
is just funny, Like, yeah, how much man? Yeah, that
that upper echelon is just is crazy. That's crazy to
think about.

Speaker 4 (26:42):
Yeah, but there's so many great bands that aren't that
and that's perfectly fine too. And Southtown is one of
those bands that has captured my attention and held it,
which is not easy to do. I mean, I'm constantly
listening to new music, and if I go back to

(27:05):
a record that I've listened to recently, it usually means
that there's something there that's caught my ear. And if
I go back ten, twelve, twenty fifty times like I
have for Southtown, that's really a sign that there's something
special there, at least to me.

Speaker 3 (27:26):
Now, Thank you so much.

Speaker 4 (27:27):
I hope that that speaks to more people too, because
the songwriting for Southtown Lanes, like I was saying earlier,
is way higher quality than I think the attention you've gotten.

Speaker 3 (27:44):
Thank you so much. I really appreciate you saying that. Yeah,
it goes into what I was saying before. With take Care,
I really tried more so than ever to strip expectations
away of what could happen or what would happen, because
you know, you're kind of through experience you learn like

(28:05):
it just won't. It's just not good for you, and
it's kind of never enough when because I've also seen
other bands that have done very well and continue and
are blowing up and all this stuff, and like toured
with them, and you know, all that happens when you
get whatever that thing is. If your thing is, what
do you what do you consider equal? Right? So I

(28:30):
put this much work into this song, into this album.
What do I What do I want? Okay? I want
to be signed to a label, and I want to
open for Hot Mulligain. That's what I consider to be success, right,
and that's what you want, and that's expectation, and so
you go and you get that, and that all that
really happens is you then say, well, I want a

(28:54):
better record deal and I want to open for Jimmy World,
and you just kind of will do that, I think,
from an expectation standpoint, like kind of forever, definitely, and
definitely there will always be something better in a band
that has it better. There will be after you make
it for long enough and you're popular, there will be
a band that rises up to your level and above

(29:15):
in six months and it took you fifteen years to
get there. And you'll say, well, I want that. I'm
gonna start a new project and I want it to
blow up like that because I have all these connections
now and so kind of, yeah, what I'm getting at
is losing those expectations. And I hope with this next
album because despite me trying to not have expectations, I
know I still have and have like a lot, you know,
I still you still want a lot, and so if

(29:37):
this next album, I'm hoping to lose even more of
them and just really try to write to what the
album is and what it needs, and I think that's
at least the best form of songwriting, yeah, that I
can do.

Speaker 4 (29:56):
Sure. Sure. Do you feel like this last record was
kind of centered around a singular thing, maybe a life
event or something, because it, to me it almost I
don't want to say it sounds like a concept album,
but it feels like a lot of the songs are

(30:16):
touching a lot of the same the same points.

Speaker 3 (30:20):
Yeah. Yeah, the the record is entirely it's about grief,
and it's entirely around the passing of my dad. You know, this,
this massive figure in my life that you know we
talked about was yeah, the person who really gave me music,
and you know, he just had in a lot of

(30:45):
was a really sad life and really a lot of
sad aspects to his life. And he died in a
sad way from addiction, and it was just it was
it was hard. It was a hard way to lose
a parent. I was you know, you know, you're younger

(31:06):
than you probably don't want to be. I'm thirty three
now and I think I was twenty nine. I think
I was twenty nine when it happened, not to say
that people don't go through that every day everywhere, but
so the record is about that. It's kind of at
that moment how I felt, what that grief felt like,

(31:28):
my relationship with music while also losing how the music
was brought to me, and how I would kind of
want to like honor him and how I would want
him to how I'd like to think of him as

(31:52):
a Yeah, so sorry, I kind of get lost in
it there. But that's what take Care is about. That's
what the album titles about. It is at the end
of it. You know, if there's one message, if there's anything,
it's take care. It's and so that's that's what it is.
And getting to write the album, it was incredible, Like
when we started writing that record, we were writing it

(32:16):
in my dad's house where he lived alone, and he
hadn't been doing well and he had been in and
out of recoveries and in treatment centers in hospitals, and
his house was just falling apart man, and we carved
out this like the living room. I shoved all the

(32:37):
couches to the side and everything because I knew he
wouldn't really be in there. And that's where we started
writing the album, and then he passed like in the
middle of us writing it, and so the experience of
like writing in this house as we're like selling it
and like, I don't know, to me the record and

(32:57):
hopefully it sounds like one thing is because it was.
It was really such an important thing for me to
have for his passing was this band and being able
to write this album and being able to do it.
I I don't know what I would have done without it.
So yeah, but that that is, that is what that's

(33:19):
what the records about.

Speaker 4 (33:20):
With the if you could, if you could have your
dad sit next to you right now and listen to
that record with you, Yeah, what do you think he
would say or how do you think he would respond?

Speaker 3 (33:35):
I think he'd be devastated in the best way. I think.
I think if he got to hear it, I think
he would be I think he would hear a lot
of pain in it. But I think he would hear yeah,
a lot. There's a lot of like pity in the record.
It's a lot of my just sadness for him as

(33:58):
a person. I think I think think he would be devastated,
like I said, but in in a good way and
in some ways to me the record, I don't know.
I guess, I guess that's what I'll say. I'll leave
it with that.

Speaker 4 (34:11):
Sure.

Speaker 1 (34:14):
One of the things you brought up the fact that
you wrote you started writing the record while he was
still alive, and then obviously continued to write it after
he died. I find that to be like a really
unique experience, especially for writing a record.

Speaker 2 (34:30):
You know, a lot of records, like you.

Speaker 1 (34:31):
Know, obviously, I've heard records where somebody close to the
songwriter dies and the record is written after that. So
the record is written in reflection of the death. And
what I'm curious about is are there some songs on
this album that were written prior to him dying, and

(34:53):
what maybe sort of change happens maybe thematically after he
dies in terms of way, Like, I don't know if
that was a distinction that you noticed as you were
writing the album, but I can imagine that being a
potential thing.

Speaker 3 (35:10):
A few songs. Firstly, my h the the non emotional
response is my songwriting style is very, very weird. I
like almost keep everything I have ever written, I just
it's just about when it gets used. So there are
like riffs and parts of songs that were probably written
in like twenty sixteen that are on Take Care because

(35:31):
I'll write it it doesn't fit for what I'm doing,
and I'll be like, let's tuck it away. That'll come
back eventually in time. And so yeah, there were a
decent amount of songs that were written, you know, before
his passing, but some of them, you know, the the
record changed so strongly when he passed, and like so
an example, there's a song, the second song on the

(35:54):
album is called Witness, and Witness is it's kind of
this like fast the versus the Little Boppy. It's very
major key, and the bridge of that song on the
record goes to a pretty heavy, screamy, yelly, intense section.
And when that song was originally written, that did not exist.

(36:16):
There the song continued to be I think there was
a there was a minor feel to it, but it
was it was not at all like we're gonna get heavy.
And then for sure, at the ending of Witness, which
on the record right now is like this, there's piano,
there's strings, it's like this massive ending of a song.
At least for us, that didn't exist like that either.

(36:38):
But when my dad passed that I mean that we
attacked that song differently and this like, yeah, it was.
It was literally what you're talking about, like this this
moment like change stuff. I mean. And there's a few
other songs, a few other sections were heavily impacted by

(37:02):
his passing. I hadn't really thought about that, but that
is funny, like the original versions of the songs at
times didn't have I don't think at times had as
much intensity they were they were, they were lighter in
some ways, they were, Yeah, didn't didn't bring this this
same like darkness or heaviness that I think, And by heaviness,

(37:24):
I just mean more like weight like like yeah, intensity.
But yeah, no, that that's a that's a really good
question and a seculd observation.

Speaker 4 (37:34):
Mm hm. When you go to write this next record,
sounds like you're already in the process.

Speaker 3 (37:41):
Yeah, yeah, I am. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (37:43):
Are you planning to try to kind of tap back
into that same state of mind, that same intensity, or
are you planning to go a different route?

Speaker 3 (37:54):
No? I you know, I view I have, Yeah, this
thing where I look at a lot of artists, you know,
bands that I've always looked up to, and I've looked
up to. Yeah, a lot of what they've done, and
a lot of them can tend not I mean not
all of them, but a few bands, as I call
them the Big three, and these artists tend to go

(38:16):
through a lot of bands go through this progression where
their first album is this generally more stripped down, raw
version of the band before they really get picked up, right,
And that's like the bands, you know, we're still figuring
it out. So for me, like if we're talking about
Jimmy World, that's kind of like clarity, right, And so

(38:37):
Clarity happens, it does well, it's not huge, it's whatever,
I know, you know, they got dropped by their label whatever.
And then you put out the sophomore effort, which to
me is always the bands like, this is what they are,
this is what the band sounds like, and this is
the radio hit. And so for Jimmy World, that's what
bleed American, right, and it has the hits, that has

(38:59):
the middle, has all that stuff on it. And to me,
take care, what was that. It's our second album. It's
the second one. It sounds like, yep, this is like
what quintessential Southtown sounds like. And then the third album
is the big one, like the concept album the all right,
we've we've had some success, We've had this like, let's

(39:22):
see what happens if we take this to the next level.
So Futures, which is arguably like a massive record, some
really long songs on there, like a lot more, but
also bringing in a lot of elements of clarity, not
just writing their commercial, you know, rock album, same with

(39:43):
like you know, like My Chemical Romance, right their Bullets
was their first record. Three Cheers was that thing, and
then the Black Parade so funny, it was a long
way about. I view this next record as being our
our big third like the let's let's take it up
one more not which I feel good about what the

(40:04):
concept of the record is going to be and how
it relates to the last record. And yeah, so I'm
not quite ready for the fourth album, which is generally
when the band starts to get a little weird, it
starts making some questionable decisions, when some fans start falling off,
start wondering, uh, was did you really want to do that?

(40:29):
But you know, you gotta find after three albums, you
gotta find a way to keep having fun.

Speaker 4 (40:32):
But sure, yeah, I appreciate the outlook that you have
on it and the perspective that.

Speaker 1 (40:38):
I do love the fact that you even like think
through like bands careers around that, because I think a
lot of other bands like they might have that same
sort of outlook, and but for for they for themselves
as a band, they're like, but we're not gonna like
we're we're still gonna do what we want to do,
and like all the respect to bands to do that, right,
Like I understand that, Yeah, but they still have those

(41:00):
thoughts around like they're like, oh, like whether you know,
maybe it's like Jimmy World, for example, we keep bringing
them up, so let's bring them.

Speaker 2 (41:07):
Up like Jimmy World.

Speaker 1 (41:09):
Like they're they're just like they're totally they're abandoning what
made them incredible, what made them really good or whatever.
And everybody has that sort of thought. But for that,
like for the people that are in bands that have
those sort of thoughts, it's like, well, what do you
do about your own band for that? And like to
make sure that that doesn't happen, But nobody sort of
one of those things where it's like everybody like wants

(41:30):
to make sure every other band like doesn't.

Speaker 2 (41:33):
Do this sort of trajectory.

Speaker 1 (41:38):
Yeah, but nobody else wants to like make sure that
they don't do that themselves.

Speaker 3 (41:44):
It's really hard. And I thought, I thought that thought.
I'm like, I won't do that, I won't be like that,
like my fourth album will still be so true and people.
But I don't know. I think, and I think a
lot about this, like why do bands do this? Why
do they change their sound? And I think to be honest,
and maybe bands wouldn't say it because from a publicity standpoint,
it's not a good idea. But I think, you know,

(42:06):
a lot of bands end up really resenting their last
or current albums as well as the fans. I think
when you are forced to play that music for three
years straight, two hundred and fifty days out of the year,
and you're never home and you never see your family,
I think by the end of it, you're like, fuck this.

(42:29):
I don't I don't ever want to play the Middle
again ever, and I don't want to play anything that
sounds like it. I want something new. I need something new,
or I won't be able to do this anymore. I
can't survive just playing the same thing over and over again.
So let's get some synthesizers. Let's get some like pop
features and like, let's do something weird. And so that's

(42:53):
why I don't know bands. To me, it seems like
a naive standpoint. I'm like, I don't know, man, if
you get out on the road forever, like it gets tricky.
But some bands have have managed to do it. I mean,
I even argue that Jimmy World is one of those
bands like that do it. I mean, what's the fourth
I mean, I know they had a record before. Yeah,

(43:13):
I love Chases Light. I think it's a great record.

Speaker 4 (43:16):
Really, Yeah, that's it's the only Jimmy World record that
I'm like, this sucks.

Speaker 3 (43:22):
That's so funny. I agree to disagree, that's great. I
still love Chases. But I'm trying to think of like
other bands fourth out, Like what about Title Fight? They did,
that's what if you get? Then they did Yeah, and
their fourth their fourth record was Hyperview, Right. Sorry, I
kind of just went in my head there but a

(43:42):
kind of divisive album where they got like chorus pedals
and we're like, we're not gonna do the floral green
thing anymore. We're gonna do this thing. And then the
band stopped happening after that because I think it just
became so.

Speaker 4 (43:52):
But then you get like a radio Ahead, Yeah that
makes Pablo Honey and then they're like fuck that sound altogether,
we're gonna.

Speaker 3 (44:00):
They break they break the mold. They're a unicorn band.

Speaker 1 (44:02):
But you're right, yeah, actually, like the true like dream,
like if you think of it as like ultimate dream
when you're like thirteen years old and you want to
start a band, like the ultimate dream would be like
to be that exception band, the band that can or
the artist that can like break the mold every time
that you release an album and your fans still love

(44:27):
it and potentially even it's still a commercial success every
single time. And radio Heads one of those bands that
I mean outside of like I'm trying to even think
like what what for radio Head hasn't been like a
huge album for like I don't know if there's an
album where at least like one song on a Radiohead album,

(44:48):
like they wouldn't be able to play live and people
would freak out, Like I don't think they maybe moonha
Pools maybe, but like they doesn't have that ye dreamings
on that one.

Speaker 4 (44:59):
They actually they intentionally tried to create no like sing
a long songs on that one.

Speaker 3 (45:05):
Which is crazy. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I mean
that's the goal, but man, it gets I don't Yeah,
I don't know. It's a whole thing. Like I said,
I spent a lot of time thinking about that. Like,
but then you know, when you when you start moving genre,
you get new fans, fans that that are like, I
don't actually like the old stuff. The old stuff is
a little too weird and edgy and dark and immature.

(45:29):
I like this new stuff that you do. But yeah,
it's interesting, I.

Speaker 2 (45:36):
Will say so.

Speaker 1 (45:36):
I just saw Thrice a couple of weeks ago, and
and Thrice is a band where they almost feel like
and not obviously not in terms of sound, but in
terms of like just their career and their relationship with
fans and how they've been able to navigate the creativity
around their music and so on and so forth. They

(45:57):
do feel like the radiohead of the scene of that
we're in.

Speaker 3 (46:02):
I completely I feel like most yes, I think most
musicians agree that Thrice is another Unicorn. They're like, no, no, no,
they're on a different level like that, what they've done
is on a different yeah, trajectory, but yeah, totally. Where
are you, guys, are Central? Where where are you guys
even in the same city where you guys.

Speaker 4 (46:22):
At No, South Dakota and Minneapolis.

Speaker 3 (46:25):
South Dakota and Minneapolis.

Speaker 2 (46:27):
Okay, yeah, yeah, you got very central.

Speaker 3 (46:31):
Yeah truly, yeahs as.

Speaker 4 (46:34):
Central as possible. Well, I any idea of roughly when
the fans should expect the next record?

Speaker 3 (46:42):
Oh man, it'll be a bit. I mean, it's so
funny the I plan things ahead like really far, Like
I really am ahead of stuff, like the other people
in the band, Like this week we're are meeting up
and they're gonna be like, we're doing another album. Oh okay,

(47:03):
all right, so what do you think? And I'm like,
don't I got it all? I got it all planned
not to. I don't like write their parts or anything like,
it's not like that. But I would say it would
be optimistic if it came out this coming year, in
twenty twenty six. But that is what I'm shooting for.
So I'm shooting. But we'll see what happens.

Speaker 4 (47:27):
Well, one more question before we move on to most
influential albums. The dynamics between your band seem very very
tight to me, just from like a visual aspect, then
also just from a listening aspect. You guys seem like
you are so in sync, and I think part of

(47:49):
that is obviously because you guys have been around for
a little while, but you guys have clearly matured together. Yeah,
what do you think is like the special sauce behind
South Down Lanes?

Speaker 3 (48:02):
We oh, man, there's so much that goes into it.
I mean me and Tyler, who was kind of like
the founding member of the band. I mean we we'd
known each other since kindergarten play so Tyler actually isn't
in it anymore, but Tyler played guitar. If you watch
our Go Cold music video, he's the one that isn't

(48:25):
me playing guitar. And Tyler's still like my best friend.
He's he's he's awesome. It just gets harder to keep
doing this stuff, you know, when you get older in
your thirties and it starts it costs a lot. But
what is the glue? Yeah, A I think is that
we entered it really as friends, and then we really
grew together and went through some hard shit and still

(48:48):
came back together. So normal, normal trajectory friends like say music,
let's start a band, We we play, we do it.
Band gets hard, we start not liking hanging out together.
Tour sucks, we make no money. We're infinitely jealous of
every other band around us. I hate you, I hate you.

(49:10):
Band done, And I think that we were able to
grow past that, which did happen. I think I really
glossed over that in our history. I quit the band,
like in twenty seventeen. I left and I was like,
I'm upset with you, guys. They were like, I'm upset
with you. And it was a whole thing. We didn't
talk for like a couple of years, and then we

(49:32):
were able to mend it and we all realized we
really had something missing in this and it was this
connection and what we had through the band. And so
I think growing together and going through something really hard
like that as a group and being able to come
back together and in my opinion right for Cord and

(49:57):
release something that was better than what we had done before,
or at least I don't like to use words like that.
Maybe not better, but but was able to pick up
where we had left off and continue on the storyline
of this band and continue on. I think that's a
deep part of what made us so height together and

(50:19):
so dynamic and so yeah for this record, just so yeah,
so InSync.

Speaker 4 (50:26):
Yeah, I appreciate that. That's cool. All right. Should we
get into your top five most influential records Top five?

Speaker 3 (50:33):
Okay, I've been trying to think of this while we've
been talking, and I swear this is not like I'm
not just saying this because we've been talking about it. Literally,
the first CD that was rock music that I can
ever remember getting was Bleed American and I put it

(50:55):
in my CD player and I would play Zelda al
GREENO Times sixty four and I would just listen to
that album on loop. It would end and I would
start it over. I didn't really get it yet. I didn't,
but I knew I liked it and that is the album.
And then as I kept listening to it, like over
a year, I started to be like, wait, I I

(51:16):
really like this, this is this is what it is.
So Bleed American to me is the album that got
me into listening to music. I don't remember like listening
to music before that album truly. I remember being forced
to play it in school. I remember having like top
forty like now that's music CDs and being like, yeah,
this is cool. But Bleed American was definitely definitely number five.

(51:44):
If I'm yeah, looking at it chronologically.

Speaker 2 (51:46):
Can I get the next one?

Speaker 1 (51:47):
Can I say right before you get into your next one.
One of the things that I've noticed for actually now
years of asking this question to artists is every time
we ask this, were like, Hey, tell us about your
like top five or tell us your top five influential albums, right,

(52:08):
And I often think to myself, like, if you just
ask the average person, especially in America, like what are
your top five influential albums? First off, most people would
not be able to even like identify what specific albums
of the music that they like, right, Like, they wouldn't
be able to do that point. Then there is another tier
of people where they like albums, but they wouldn't be

(52:29):
able to, like they would just start listening, like they
literally they would be like Taylor Swift evermore blah blah blah,
but like they would just But then then there is
a tier of or a category of music fans, typically
musicians like yourselves.

Speaker 2 (52:46):
Where as soon as we ask, hey, what's your.

Speaker 1 (52:49):
Top five most and most influential albums, and you list
your first one and you immediately go into a story
about it, and that is what That's why Colin and
I do this is because we ask the kind of
people where they we don't even have to ask you,
tell us, tell us more about it, Like you don't
even like list albums. You're actually starting to tell us stories.

(53:10):
And that's just like coming to mind right away because
we didn't ask you to do that. You just started
telling us this story about the time that you were
playing Zelda and your and you're listening did you meet World?
And you it just like brings you back. And and
that's how Culin and I are. And so every time
that we asked that question, it's so funny how like
so many musicians that's exactly what they do.

Speaker 3 (53:31):
Yo, that's so awesome. You that's so sick.

Speaker 4 (53:38):
That's a good point.

Speaker 3 (53:39):
It's well it's funny, yeah, yeah, go ahead.

Speaker 4 (53:47):
It's something that that you you kind of take for
granted when you're on this side of the microphone, because
you're right, Mason, if we were to ask anybody else
that they'd be like, uh, that one five Finger Death
Punch record, Yeah, you know. And yet it's like, why
is that influential to you?

Speaker 3 (54:06):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (54:06):
I don't know. I just like to I like the
way it sounds. Yeah, be a little more descriptive, please.

Speaker 3 (54:12):
That's so funny. No, And I'm trying to think of
it because Clarity is my favorite Jimmy World record, But
I have to say that, Yeah, Lead American, I think
was more influential on me as a song right or Yeah,
my musical journey. They led me straight into my chemical romance.
Who to I think if I had to put one

(54:35):
band that is like, this is the band that changed
everything for me. It is my chemical Romance. It will
always be them. My favorite record by Farrest is their
second three chaser, Sweet Revenge. But I would be lying,
and I know a lot of my chem fans would
be disappointing me for saying this. The Black Parade was

(54:56):
more influential on me at the time in high school.
The theatricality of it. The big idea is, you know
that it was the first record that blended any kind
of orchestral thing with rock music, which taught me I'm
like I could do that, Like I like, I don't
have to just be a loser violinist, Like I could,

(55:17):
I could like do that And that literally that album
made me get the guitar.

Speaker 2 (55:23):
I makeup.

Speaker 3 (55:25):
Yeah, exactly, they were like the first like real concert
that I went to in freshman year. So Black Parade
has to be number four. Again, I'm going influential, not favorite,
But third Moving along the Island was then I got

(55:47):
onto guitar. I knew I wanted to be an emo
band and do this stuff, but I was started guitar.
And I have to say that Paul of Troy's doppelganger
was immediately a huge influence on guitar playing because his
guitar playing is so like I mean, I mean the erratic,

(56:09):
and they stayed about Jimmy Page slop like so much
is just pull offs and all this crazy stuff. And
whenever he doesn't know what to do, he just starts
hitting dissonance. But it's so but it sounds so cool,
especially when you're in high school. It's like the sickest
sounding thing you could ever imagine, Like it's just shredding,
and so it's very attractive to want to learn how

(56:30):
to play. And then but and I maybe I'm selling
him too short, because he's an incredibly talented guitarist and
can play scales fully and sweep and do a lot
of technical stuff that isn't just like I think he
was just like self taught because he was a drummer
before and was like I'm gonna play guitar now, and
you know, he just freaking went for it.

Speaker 1 (56:49):
But that's a band that blows my mind because like recently,
I think they they like released like a new album.
Was it like a year or two ago, and like
they hadn't Yeah, they hadn't been a band.

Speaker 2 (57:02):
For a while.

Speaker 1 (57:04):
But Fall of Troy is like one of those bands
where I never really understood their level of popularity until
they just like released this like new album and they
were like they literally like they headline red Rocks, And
I was like, what really, Like they're big enough to
headline red Rocks, And like part of the reason why
it blows my mind is I'm a huge at the

(57:26):
Driving fan, and so my like when I think of
I always forget their names, but like the guys that
ended up forming Paul of Troy, I just think of
them as like at the Driving guys, and Fall of
Troy was like the side project, but Faul Troy got
to a point where like, wait, actually that's the side
project that got way bigger than the main thing. Yeah,

(57:47):
And like that rarely happens, right, Like we hear all
the time of like bands that like, you know, they'll
they'll be the main band or whatever, and that dissolves
or whatever, and then the side project starts or like
the next thing happens, and it's just never quite as big.

Speaker 2 (58:01):
Or quite the same.

Speaker 1 (58:03):
But Fall of Troy's like one of the exceptions on that,
Like where at the Drive in massive at the time,
and then Fall of Troy got way bigger, and it's
just one of those things where I didn't realize how
much bigger they got until much later after the fact.

Speaker 3 (58:19):
Totally, yeah, they did. They they got out there. I
mean there were a lot of I remember one touring
I don't know, I think we were in the Midwest somewhere,
but we were playing with this other emo band called
Arrows in Her and as we'd like we can join,
and we were all sitting there at a house like

(58:41):
staying somewhere. After the show, someone started playing FCP remix
and then we literally went around a room and I
watched all these emo musicians be like, oh, I know
this Fall of Troy song. I know this, And I
was like, oh my god, every like every twinkly emo
emo kid that I know, like came up on Fall
of Troy at least that's, you know, in my age thing,

(59:04):
and I think that's so funny. But yeah, everyone at
some point was like that or at the Drive In
super similar. I mean to me, at the Drive In
is like grown up. Fall of Troy is like like
or maybe like intentional. I guess it's like at the
Drive And I'm like, well, they're like, I don't know,
in a musician's standpoint, I'm like, well, instead of just

(59:25):
pulling off the open string, they're they're hitting the note
that actually would make sense there rather than just this
kind of erratic sound. But babe, second man, I have
so many and I'm really struggling to pick which one.
But I have to say because I've followed them for
so long, and this is when I've answered this question.

(59:46):
This is the one that usually people don't know this
band as well. But do you guys know the band Mansions?

Speaker 4 (59:54):
Not familiar now?

Speaker 3 (59:56):
Mansions is he He was just one guy at one
point and then I think he's had other people come in.
But Mansions is just this band from I think they've
been in Seattle the entire time. But Mansions changed the

(01:00:17):
first South Pound music was just heavier. Mansions, he really
is just this kind of it's like singer songwriter stuff.
I really don't know how to say it. If you
play guitar, he plays an open d a lot. It's pretty,
but it's just like this sad emo music. But that
for some reason, that first album, Dig Up the Dead.
I still listened to it to this day and when

(01:00:38):
I'm having a hard time figuring out what should happen
next in the song, I will repeatedly go back to
that album and just remember my roots. Like to me,
it really again, Jimmy World was how I discovered music.
Mike m told me I wanted to play emo. Fall
of Troy was like, I'm going to be able to

(01:00:59):
play guitar, not well, but make it sound like I
can play guitar well. Mansions was like, Oh, this is
how the music is gonna actually sound. This is how
this is the real thing. We're not gonna sound necessarily
like the Black Parade. We're gonna sound like this. So
that would be my fourth and then my fifth for

(01:01:22):
influential has to be it has to be mean everything
to nothing by Manchester Orchestra. Like I mentioned earlier in
the in the podcast Andy Hole is like maybe like

(01:01:43):
my number one idol. I think everything he's done, from
the soundtracks he's done to just all the projects he's
been in. But I swear that man is just like
gold in music, like anything he does, and he's becomes
this like parent figure to like future you know, to

(01:02:03):
like Julian Baker, to Phoebe Bridgers to like all these
other art like another one of my favorite bands like
All get Out like he that him and in Manchester
Orchestra to me are also like one of the most
underrated band Like to me, that band should be fucking massive,
like I just think they're but uh and why they're influential.

(01:02:27):
Song structure exists for a reason, and you don't need
all the trumpets from the Black Parade and you don't
need the crazy asque guitar lead from Fall of Troy
to make a really good song. And Manchester Orchestra has
like instilled to remember like what it means to write
a good song and what what can be done literally

(01:02:49):
with two chords for for an entire song. So I
think to me that yeah, me and Everything to Nothing
is is my fifth It's.

Speaker 4 (01:02:58):
A great one. Mason and nice Uh, Manchester Orchestra and
Jimmy World at Red Rocks was that two years ago now,
mays right? And it was incredible because you know, Jimmy
World is headlining. Technically, they're both, they're like co headlining technically.

(01:03:20):
Jimmy World was playing last, and that's what I came for.
I mean, I literally flew there to go see it
because I wanted to see it so bad. There. Yeah,
and uh, Manchester Orchestra brought the house down beforehand and
honestly kind of stole the show, I would argue, and
it was it was an emotional heavy moment.

Speaker 1 (01:03:43):
Andy's scream like whenever he would just like the way
it filled Red Rocks in particular, And I don't know
how screams do in Red Rocks, but my goodness, his
scream in particular at Red Rocks.

Speaker 2 (01:03:56):
Ho Lee cow.

Speaker 3 (01:03:58):
Yeah. Man, They're show just changes the game. It's crazy,
like yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean you guys saw it.
It's I've got to see them a couple of times.
But yeah, his yeah, his voice is something else.

Speaker 4 (01:04:11):
Yeah. When you say that the live show changes the game,
I've always like been like a casual listener at times.
Manchester Orchestra but after seeing them live, I get it.

Speaker 3 (01:04:23):
It's like it clicks. You get it. You're like, oh,
oh okay, I understand. Oh this is why this album
Okay yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they're They're so good.

Speaker 4 (01:04:32):
Totally all right, man, what would you like to plug?

Speaker 3 (01:04:35):
Plug?

Speaker 2 (01:04:35):
Man?

Speaker 3 (01:04:35):
We are in a weird not weird, but and in
between we're kind of getting ready to restart here. We're
gonna be announcing some shows out here in the Pacific
Northwest in kind of the first quarter January February March.
I can't I can't name any of them quite yet,
but if you're in the Pacific Northwest, we're gonna be

(01:04:56):
doing some stuff soon. I think we might be doing
a run out east pretty soon, maybe even coming through
your guys's neck of the woods. Yeah, we got a couple,
we got a couple of videos up. Check them out.
But really, if I had to plug one thing for
the band right now is yeah, look out, look out
for some shows coming in twenty twenty six. We're gonna
try and get some stuff going before we uh potentially

(01:05:18):
record another record and uh yeah that's that's what we
got going on. Yeah, there's one more.

Speaker 4 (01:05:23):
Yeah, go ahead, you have some you have some cool
merch too, like.

Speaker 3 (01:05:26):
Totally merch is always always for sale on on the
band camp. Thanks for saying that.

Speaker 4 (01:05:32):
I appreciate it. I like the designs. They're very very
uh uh. They're very kind of dark, but not not
like in like your metal way or anything like that,
more like, yeah, your moody way, you know.

Speaker 3 (01:05:48):
Yeah, our manager was sitting next to me. Jed literally
designed all of them and like really took us under
his wing. And honestly, Jed yeah paved paved the way
for a lot of house Southtown put out this record.
So and Jed Jed is actually helped us with a

(01:06:09):
much bigger thing.

Speaker 4 (01:06:11):
But yeah, yeah, show us Jed.

Speaker 3 (01:06:13):
Quick judge does not he judge? I swore I would
not show him. He made me swear and I won't
do it. I respect it.

Speaker 4 (01:06:22):
We can't, we can't give me give me your hand.

Speaker 2 (01:06:25):
Is his last name Jed Bush?

Speaker 3 (01:06:28):
No, it's Hambleton. Is a Jed clamp It Hamilton, Jed Hamilton.

Speaker 4 (01:06:35):
All right, Well tell Jed because I will seems like
a cool dude. Yeah, all right, anything else you'd like
to plug?

Speaker 3 (01:06:46):
Well, So part of why I asked Jed to be here,
Jed has a lot of connections in like a lot
of places, and it's part of why I've been able
to yeah, part of why we wanted him on board.
And he's kind of, yeah, a unicorn in that way.
But do you guys do Tim Robinson at all?

Speaker 4 (01:07:07):
Oh? Yeah? I love Tim Robinson?

Speaker 3 (01:07:08):
Okay, do you guys do? Have you guys watched Chair Company?

Speaker 4 (01:07:11):
Not yet? It's on my list here to probably watch
tonight to start with.

Speaker 3 (01:07:15):
Okay, so he you're okay, You're okay if I say
this right? Okay, So, Jed's I can't name names. Jed's
cousin is a part of that show in some capacity,
and Jed was able to get us actually like a

(01:07:36):
literal guest spot on the series finale coming out next week. Truly,
all of Southbound. Tim Robinson is like literally gonna be
in the shot. He's like singing along with it. It's
like a huge thing. I think it's gonna be like
huge for us, truly. I can't, like, I can't name

(01:07:57):
any names of who knows who and stuff and that.
But if you if you watch Hair Company, it comes
out on Sunday night, So if you watch next Sunday night,
you'll see Southtown Lanes on HBO, like on the screen.

Speaker 4 (01:08:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:08:09):
I don't know what it is about Southtown Lanes, but
like when I think of Southtown Lanes, and if I
were to think of a comedy equivalent, it would be
Tim Robinson.

Speaker 3 (01:08:18):
That's it. That's what it is. I don't know. I'm
excited to see. You know, we did a whole bunch
of shooting and stuff and I didn't really get to
see how it's going to turn out. So I'm excited
to see it too.

Speaker 4 (01:08:27):
Yeah, dude, what an exciting moment.

Speaker 3 (01:08:30):
Truly, I know we are so hyped about it. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:08:33):
I think about a lot of the bands that we
listen to and how they kind of got to start,
oftentimes from some some little show piece or something like that.
I don't know if you guys remember I was the
movie Lords of Dogtown.

Speaker 3 (01:08:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:08:49):
Blindside plays a song really really and yeah and no
it's called Grind Grind the movie Grind. It's another another
skateboarding movie.

Speaker 3 (01:08:59):
Oh okay, okay, okay.

Speaker 4 (01:09:00):
Yeah, And they play a song like near the end
and this like early on in their career. In it,
they went massive. It was pitiful.

Speaker 3 (01:09:11):
Yeah, that's awesome. Well, hopefully the same thing happens solid.
We could really use it. We could really use it.
So hopefully if people watch Chair Company, they'll be like,
who's that weird email band at the end with that
crazy song?

Speaker 4 (01:09:23):
Who says nepotism is bad? Come on?

Speaker 3 (01:09:25):
Yeah exactly, I agree.

Speaker 2 (01:09:29):
Milk that as much as you possibly can.

Speaker 4 (01:09:30):
Right soon, soon enough you get the San Diego Philharmonic Orchestra.

Speaker 1 (01:09:36):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, the banana stand that is the orchestra, his.

Speaker 4 (01:09:45):
Cousins and everything.

Speaker 3 (01:09:46):
Yeah truly. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:09:48):
Well, thanks so much Matt for hanging out with us
and talking more about South. Heleans super excited for you
all and the eventual new album. And uh yeah, if
you guys come through the the Midwest at any point
anytime soon, Colin and I will be there. We're excited,
absolutely cool.

Speaker 3 (01:10:06):
Thank you guys so much. Thank you so much for
having me and listening to me talk for like an hour.
That's crazy that you will think of it, man. Thanks
Joy