Fresh Finds Podcast Season 5 Episode 2 W/ Adrian Rose

Fresh Hello and welcome back to season 5 of the Fresh Finds podcast The show about discovering new music with good people I'm Ryan and in this episode I'm joined by Central Pennsylvania rapper and producer Adrian Rose How are you doing man? I'm doing good, how are you? I'm doing alright We've been looking into setting this episode up for a couple months Ever since Danny Nono of Big Eleanor Records reached out to me Do you want to take a couple minutes to introduce yourself, talk about your music Just kind of get all of that out of the way Yeah, so I go by Adrian Rose, I'm from Central PA I've been making music for about 14-15 years now I think So I'm not just a rapper, I sing as well I actually do, I do more singing than rapping these days to be honest I have that like baritone soulful voice It sounds so nice I play multiple instruments all under like the R&B and like Soul kind of umbrella I've been a hip hop producer for the longest but I started working on like the vocal side of things Probably like four years ago Okay, alright, cool So what kind of got you into like doing music initially in the first place? So I was always artistic Like I would just sit there and like draw all day or something Sure I had like keyboards and stuff growing up So I would like try to figure out how to play songs And yeah, that's really just all it was It was just like a lot of Tinkering Plus like my father was a DJ Oh, alright And my mom She has like an amazing singing voice I think So that's kind of where that came from So would you consider like the keys to be your main instrument Or do you have something else that kind of like pulls you Like you feel better represents you Definitely bass Bass, alright, right on I didn't pick up the bass until like a few years ago But it definitely Feels better than every other instrument that I've played Just something about it Like I totally get that I mean like you play the bass And there's just something about just like feeling those low notes Like vibrating through it Like you feel like you got so much power to it, you know Exactly It feels so human Yeah, no, that's a great way to say that So what other instruments do you play? Just guitar, keys I do finger drum a lot Oh, okay Yeah, so that's pretty much it That's pretty much it Like I've dabbled in drums But I don't really like do live drums too often You don't play the kit? No, I don't play the kit Got you, got you I would love to Yeah I just need a little bit more space for it, you know No, for sure, for sure That's one of the biggest things with like a drum kit Is you need to be like away from people Have enough space to set it up As well as like not annoy the fuck out of your neighbors Because you don't want to get all them complaints So like I noticed like a lot of different styles Kind of like moving into The new project, All Caps Which came out at the end of last year What, December, right? Correct So what were you listening to at the time While you were making everything? I know that it was a long process But like some of the stuff that like stuck out to me Is like stuff like Rat Race Almost has like a jazz funk Kind of like almost live band vibe to it I also picked up a little bit When I was listening to it Like the end of the rain That like auto-walked Wah guitar solo thing Kind of gives me like Funkadelic vibes a little bit So like what were you like consuming Listening to while you were making this project? That was a lot of what I was listening to I was listening to like a lot of James Brown A lot of Parliament, stuff like that Just like a lot of psychedelic funk That's awesome I was listening to a lot of soul music R&B Like I would listen to Phil Withers Some Otis I'd even throw a little bit of Jimmy in there Really just that soulful thing? Soulful Soulful like old school kind of stuff Even though Yeah even though Jimmy's On the like rock side of the psychedelic parts But like definitely Like that That rumbled in my voice Yeah yeah yeah So like do you consider this album To be more of like a hip-hop album Or more of like a soul album? I mean it obviously pulls like influences From kind of like all these things But like what do you think is like Kind of like the main categories That you would put it under? I would definitely Call it more of an R&B album Okay Just because everything would fall under that Yeah for sure It's definitely like a hip-hop R&B fusion album I think I could agree with that And like what what Because at the very start of the album That intro track is a whole bunch of voicemails About like how long it's taken to drop the album You know I've been waiting for four years for this shit Like why isn't it out yet? So like what Kind of what I'm curious about I've this kind of a Kind of a two-part question I guess Is like you also had the Lloyd EP Which as far as I can tell Came out in 2023 So was that kind of like Did you feel like that was like more of a filler project? Or was it just because it was an EP You aren't like considering that as like part of the releases? So that one was not under the label Oh okay gotcha And that was more just like Yeah it was kind of like a filler project I guess Because like I did that obviously While I was still working on it Working on the project And I started working on the project Before the Lloyd EP So it was almost like a palate cleanser Like in the middle of it Was that something that you were just like Trying to like get back into it a little bit more or what? Well so the thing was I started like making some songs That I necessarily didn't think Fit on all caps Like sonically Okay And I was like well Well dang I have a whole bunch of these Let me just kind of group them together Into this little project And give the people that While they wait for the main project Almost like a teaser a little bit Kind of Because like it's not really like a teaser for the album No yeah Because it sounds totally different But yeah it's like I don't know There's something to hold them off you know No for sure Kind of tied people over That are waiting for like the next big release And like were you kind of holding off on it Because you were in the middle of making it When you made this other EP So like what was it that took you so long To like fully make it Fully flesh this out Was it just like This is just such an important project to me That I just need to make sure that I you know Dot every I and cross every T Make sure that everything's perfect Or was it just like you know Kind of live in life And things just naturally come up You know that kind of deal A little bit of both Okay So I moved Probably like halfway through The making of the project So that was part of it A lot of the instrumentation on the project Were like session musicians Like the sax players And there's a few guitarists on there Some other producers as well Got you So that part took a while as well But yeah I definitely spent a lot more time on this project And effort I think Okay sure Just because the Lloyd project Was co-produced by Young Music He co-produced some tracks on All Caps as well Oh okay But that entire project was co-produced by him So he would like send me beats that were Kind of there already I just kind of Played some bass lines Or added layers to drums And stuff like that Mixed it Just to like bring it to the finish line But yeah So for the most part He produced that And it was all sonically in the same realm And it was just like Probably over the course of a month That we just knocked that out real quick Oh got you Got you Okay And when you were working with like The session musicians and stuff like that Was that something where you were like Going into the studio And actively like working with them And everything Or was it a lot more of like Kind of reaching out to people Through like DMs and social media And like all that kind of stuff Being like this is kind of what I want And a lot more of like An internet collaboration type of thing Or was it a lot more of like An in-person type of deal? So some of the people I know in real life But a lot of the session musicians I did reach out to during like The COVID lockdown era Okay sure So everything was remote at that time Yeah for sure And yeah that was pretty much How we did all of the The session pieces on the project Was remotely Got you And I would just send them like The open spot And then they would send back their files And then I would just throw it in there Range it how I want And how much like direction Did you give them on that? Did you like kind of like map out parts And kind of like I want this I want that Or was it a lot more just like I like the vibe that you bring to a track Like just kind of do what you do on it So for certain things I was intentional with like the direction That I wanted it to go Mm-hmm Like I would explain What I want Like for the saxophone on Rat Race Yeah I hit up the sax player And I was like I want some like Terrace Martin type of Type of sax on this Like that Kendrick All right type of stuff Yeah And he was like Oh Yeah yeah He was like yeah My boy Terrace Yeah I got you No that's awesome And then And then for The guitar on the rain I actually had My own solo on there And I had Malcolm The guitarist The guitar player That did that I had him Use that as a reference For the solo on On there Oh got you So you kind of did like Like a demo version basically And then sent it off to him For like the final version Yeah And he's A lot more talented When it comes to that So Yeah sure That is kind of one of Let me get that That is kind of one of the things Where when you do it all You sing You rap You produce You you know Play guitar Bass Keys You know You've got the jack of all trades Master of none sort of thing going on, at least that's That's how I feel when I tend to like do a lot of that stuff is like, I can do all these things, but like, I could probably find somebody who could do every single one of these things better than me. Is that kind of, kind of what you were, what you were feeling with that? Um, not, not necessarily like, like that, that he's better than me or whatever, but or for that specific solo though, I definitely think, yeah, he's, he's better at doing solos than I am for sure. Not, not better across the board, but like specifically for that track. Yeah. Specifically for that part too. Cause, uh, at that time I'm pretty sure he was going through some stuff too. So like he was relating to the music while he was playing it. So like that raw emotion also played a part in it. No, I get that for sure. But there, there has been like songs that we've worked on together where like I would reach out for like a guitar part and then I would just end up using what I had anyway. Ah, yeah. Like, like. Like, but his solo game is crazy. Like every time he sends me a solo, that's, that's the one. So how was it that you got like involved with Big Eleanor Records and all that? Because like I, uh, I discovered them through Danny's old punk band, uh, from like, I think 2020, something like that. I, I found some of his stuff. I can't remember if it was on Instagram or, um, like band camp or something like that. I just remember that I found his old band and we kind of connected. We did an episode of the podcast back in the day, back in, I think like 2021. How was it that you kind of got involved with Big Eleanor Records and kind of that bigger collective? So there's this, this like show that it's like a venue kind of, it's like a small living room type of vibe. Oh, sure. Called, uh, the DMZ house in Lancaster and they booked me and Laddie Moran for a show and then. Yeah. Danny was like, you guys are really good. Do you guys have a manager? And then that's kind of, that's kind of how that, that started. Gotcha. Yeah. Cause you guys were signed right about the same time, like a little less than a year ago. I think it was like that, that it was officially announced or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So me and Laddie are like, we're, we're family. We're basically brothers. So it was a package deal kind of thing. Gotcha. You can't have, have me without having my boy. Exactly. Yeah, for sure. For sure. So like, um, what, what are some of like the, the other projects that you've worked on recently that like, uh, people might find interesting that maybe like are a little bit different from what you're doing on all caps or like maybe something that, uh, is just going to like show a different side of like you as a producer. So I'm going to say it's, it's much different, but there is a project called this funk and it's me and JDP. He's an artist from Texas. Okay. So we formed a, we formed a duo and it's like very funk R and B and hip hop kind of fused, fused downs and stuff like that. But, um, it's, it's a lot different than all caps. I would think. Gotcha. That was also, um, started while I was working on all caps because one of those songs was supposed to be on all caps and we were like, nah, let's, let's just, uh, make this an entire project on its own. Gotcha. And then, um, aside from that, I produce a lot for, for Laddie Moran. Yeah. So his most recent project, uh, never ignorant, getting goals accomplished. I think that's like either 80 or 90% produced by myself, entirely mixed by myself. That's more of like, uh, it's like a socially conscious kind of political and let's say like a self-reflective kind of project. Gotcha. Okay. So it's, it's, it's a lot more, yeah, a lot more kind of like introspective and like kind of, uh, yeah. All right. Cool. Cool. Cool. Um, so like, what do you feel like are some of like the standout tracks, like some, some of the ones that like, if you're playing the album for somebody, you're really looking forward to like seeing their reaction to like specific tracks or like, uh, you know, any, anything like that? Uh, well there's crowd favorites and then there's my favorites. Okay. And they're not the same. Uh, not, not usually. Okay. So, so the crowd favorites are more like, uh, gimme that and rat race and, and, and, and stuff like that, where my favorites are lady and lay you down and songs like that. So it's like the ones that are a lot more like in the kind of like R and B direction, a lot more soulful type. Oh yeah. All right. Yeah. So, so waterfall, that one's like kind of both that one. People tell me they love that and I love that. So it's like, that's probably the one that I'll, I'll show people and be like, yeah, yeah. You'll like this. Yeah. I get that for sure. So, all right. Here we go. Here, here's a question for you. Cause it'll probably like informs your, um, artistic thought process and like just kind of your worldview as well. Like, what do you do for a day job? Are you able to make like music production, the thing that pays your bills? Or do you have like a, another gig that you do to, uh, take care of most of that? Oh, so this is mostly what I do for my income. Okay. I do have like a part-time gig as well. Like I do a lot of admin stuff. For my mom's business, actually, uh, she owns a salon. So I do like all the admin stuff for that. Like I do payroll and all the stuff that she doesn't want to do basically. Oh, sure, sure, sure. Family man for sure. Yeah, for sure. I love my family. That's awesome. But, uh, but yeah, but yeah, I'm, I'm blessed enough to be able to mix other people's music and produce for other people. So, and how long have you been doing that in a capacity that you're able to like pay your bills and, you know, do all of that just with making music? Probably. Probably about like five years now. Okay. So it's like, I didn't, I didn't start mixing and recording people until like right after COVID. Cause like, that's when I, I spent my whole stimulus check on like plugins and all that stuff and just like really learned how to do it. And then once everybody was allowed to roam again, I started booking people for sessions and started mixing their music and all that. So probably around five years now. Got you. Got you. And like, what was it like kind of like building up that? I would imagine that. Being an artist and a producer on the side more, you probably had a lot of those connections, but did you have any like a major learning experiences and stuff like that? Trying to like go from having this idea of wanting to make music your full-time gig to actually doing it? Uh, there's definitely growing pains. Yeah, for sure. Cause like working, working in person with artists was definitely new to me. Okay. Um, so I was like a producer first, so I would just send people beats and they would pick the beats and then go. Book a session somewhere else. And then they would send me the finished project and then that was it. That's as far as I really knew. But then when I started recording people, it was like a whole new world just opened up to me. And now I have more control of what the artist actually sounds like on the, on the track itself. So yeah, it was definitely a learning process for sure. And there's a lot more personal connection, kind of like trying to like coach people to get the right performance and like make them feel relaxed and all that. So much of being a producer. Being a recording engineer is also kind of like helping people deal with their shit and like come out of their shell a little bit and become like as good a performer as you know that they can be. So like, that's definitely gotta be like a new, like learning experience, kind of getting into that for the first time. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I definitely try my best to like provide good vibes sessions in the studio. Cause, uh, I feel like if they feel comfortable in the room, they're going to be more comfortable to open up and really show their experimental side. And that just makes for better music in general. You got any specific like, uh, like traditions or anything that you kind of do to like try and help like curate that vibe or is it kind of like a lot more on like a case by case basis type of deal? I mean, definitely lighting, uh, candles sometimes, um, specific artists do different things. Some people like to, uh, like to drink while they, while they record. I let them do whatever they want. Um, but yeah, everybody else, I mean, everybody has like their own rituals for sure into that like state of mind. So for like for Laddie Moran specifically, when he, when he comes to record, we'll just sit here and listen to random music for hours, probably before we even hit record on anything. We'll just listen to oldies or whatever. We'll listen to, uh, randomly listen to like tech nine or rich boy or something, something strange like that has nothing to do with anything that we're about to make. Just to like, kind of get us in that mode. Yeah. Just to start kind of thinking about music and like unlocking the neural pathways almost a little bit, just like get things moving a little bit. I get that for sure. For sure. What's like some stuff that you really like to listen to that like people might not pick up on from your, uh, from the type of music that you generally make. I mean, you've talked about like a lot of kind of classic R and B and like stuff like that. Like, is there anything that might like kind of surprise people? I mean, I listened to the current R and B and stuff too. Okay. Sure. I don't know. I don't know if anything would really surprise people. Like I listened to, uh, a lot of Cali UG's. Okay. I don't know if that would surprise anybody. Um, even like, like there's some like, uh, house ish producers that I listened to like K Trinada. Okay. Sure. I think he's phenomenal. I don't know if anything that would catch anybody off guard. You into like any sort of like, uh, rock music or anything like that generally. So, so system of. a down hell yeah okay that one probably catch people off yeah but um yeah that's that's probably my favorite rock band of all time he's got a really like rhythmic delivery so i could definitely see how like somebody who's like kind of into hip hop and like that kind of stuff like i definitely see how that could be something that you would that you would really like sink your teeth into for sure for sure that and like the just the content the lyrical content of the songs itself oh yeah they're uh like rage against the machines another one okay sure so so like super political like that kind of like uh conscious type of stuff yeah got you yeah yeah for sure um but even even other stuff like uh i was i was big into like offspring growing up and okay yeah yeah yeah a little bit of metallica a little bit of um green day and all the all the pop punk stuff too sure yeah that's one of the interesting things like when i'm doing interviews with people who uh like because i'm a rock guy that that's my main background is i listen to like a lot of like punk and metal and like that kind of stuff and i always find it interesting when i'm interviewing somebody who uh like their main background is in a genre that i'm you know familiar with for sure but but definitely not like my main thing is like kind of trying to see like the things that we uh that we gel on you know so like um like i've also had like some edm djs and stuff like that and kind of like trying to find like all right so what what are the things that we like kind of you know where where do we cross over you know well all right so i grew up with uh with a metal head for a cousin okay yeah so so i was exposed to like a lot of stuff like he would show me like mud vein and all different types of sure sure sure sure there i don't know if you're gonna like edit this but there's this band called goblin cock okay and he showed me that and i was like what the hell man that's incredible what what arrow was that because i i feel like i heard that name before not um it gave me like it gave me like death clock vibes oh got you got you so so it's like brutally heavy but also like kind of like tongue in cheek in a way oh yeah this is this is like late 2000s type of deal yeah i actually kind of want to check out some of that because that sounds incredible um but yeah i know that you and like pretty much all the big eleanor guys are from the kind of like central uh like pennsylvania area right uh for the most part shaw calhoun is actually from dc oh that's right i i forgot that he's a little ways away so how often like do you guys kind of get together like as a collective and kind of like uh like scheme about things and like you know put put together shows like talk about like uh promotion or anything like that or is that kind of a lot more danny's bag and you guys kind of do your own thing so we actually have a weekly meeting okay every tuesday um we hop in zoom i'm trying to get them to just do it in discord because there's no time limit and it's a lot easier but yeah we hop in zoom and we kind of just like brainstorm the next steps or like just update what's going on with with like either the streams or whatever we're whatever we just did recently just updating everybody on that and we just sit there and bullshit a lot of the time too of course i mean that's that's half of it right like why why do any of this if you're not like having a good time bullshitting right yeah exactly but yeah there's definitely moments where we're like coming up with an idea just brainstorming writing things down and it feels like like four different parts of the same brain it's like somebody will start a thought and then somebody else will finish it it's it's it's really dope what are some of like uh what is the rest of like the scene kind of look like out there with like kind of the the hip-hop r&b space is there like quite a few venues or do you guys find yourself kind of like going back to the same few places like over and over and over um it really depends there's a lot more there's a lot more places in leicester i feel that are like diverse okay so they won't they won't just book like rap shows or r&b shows or or whatever like they'll book like punk or rock or whatever bulk even yeah like they'll book literally whatever kind of music but like the community that that we're a part of uh i feel just like it kind of blends well together so we usually end up on the same lineup as like other artists in our realm like uh sir dominique jordan or wednesday or uh nibe perez or those are all those are all like locally yeah yeah i i was gonna say i'm gonna go back in and like search all of these like after we're done recording so i can like uh have some artists to feature on like upcoming episodes and because like my my smaller artist like hip-hop kind of side of things is definitely lacking and so that's definitely something that i need to like get more into so i i think that this will be a good episode to like kind of get my foot in the door a little bit yeah for sure for sure and like that is one of the cool things about uh because i'm in detroit there's kind of like a really big like just there's a scene for almost every type of music out here i mean whether it's like you know different types of like rock music or whatever it's like you know different types of like rock or blues music there's tons of people who play like kind of folky type of stuff there's a lot of r&b and hip-hop and of course like a ton of electronic music and i think that like the blending in the crossover of that is really very interesting like i think one of the one of the coolest events that we have that happens every year at least as long as i've lived here it's called dally in the alley and basically there's like a oh i've heard of that oh have you really awesome well i i have a few friends from detroit too though oh cool right on yeah so it's like they they kind of shut down like a whole block and have like a bunch of stages and stuff like that and it's really cool because every stage will have different styles of music i mean even going to like you know almost like traditional like african music and stuff like that that's just like a lot of like hand drums and you know all that kind of stuff and i think that that is one of the coolest things about like kind of you know music and music and music and music and music and music and music and multi uh multi-genre multicultural like areas like that yeah for sure um i don't know if you've ever heard of clear soul forces but i know it sounds familiar it's a hip-hop group from detroit but they're they're amazing they're all like very talented rappers um i'm closer to the guy who made a lot of their beats um elijah day but yeah they're all talented yeah and uh that's that's where i heard of the the dally in the alley from oh right on okay because he's still i'm pretty sure he still performs and he's done that and like he streamed it on twitch and stuff like that oh that's sick actually yeah that's super cool yeah yeah it looks like uh looking up the the name it looks like they uh as a group haven't really been releasing anything since 2020 which is yeah they kind of they kind of went separate ways uh musically but they all still make music on their own i believe gotcha okay yeah that was just before my time of moving to the area because i'm from a lot farther up north originally so it is interesting hearing about stuff that like kind of disbanded just before i got here getting like a little bit of a history lesson almost sometimes you know yeah i would definitely go back and listen to that if i were you though for sure i'm i'm gonna i'm gonna save one of these albums to check out later is there anything else that you specifically want to mention about like you as an artist or like uh anything that you've got coming up in the future before we kind of like move on to the next uh next part of the episode here uh definitely just stream the album you'll get to know a little bit about me i think um play it around your lady friend there you go play it around your lady friend for sure uh as far as upcoming projects i don't i don't really want to like go or tell people what's coming up next i kind of want it to be a surprise sure but i won't i won't wait four years to drop it though got you got you all right cool so this is uh this this has been a good time i'm i i feel like we uh we started out a little bit slow but we've we finally uh finally found our way a little bit here so uh yeah for sure yeah uh so the next part of the episode we've uh both chosen some tunes to listen to uh i'm gonna go first and we're gonna go back and forth which is gonna give you the closer if that sounds good to you yeah sounds great all right cool so my first song is actually one that i found uh so i have a friend whose band hosts a festival every year out in nashville generally like more kind of like rock centered type of stuff but i was interviewing a bunch of the people who played and uh asking like oh what have you been listening to recently and one of the guys who helped organize the show introduced me to this artist called pk from nashville and uh he released a couple of different projects last year but the first one and the one that i listened to a lot more is called tech and tag and so it's a like the the whole course of the thing has like a ton of like samples from like tech in the fighting game and uh kind of you know all based off of that so uh the first song that i'm gonna play is uh round one which is of course the first track off of the album - Round one. fight fear no man if i bleed then he bleed so don't become a villain in my kung fu movie fear no man if i bleed then he bleed so don't become a villain in my kung fu movie fear no man if i bleed then he bleed so don't become a villain in my kung fu movie fear no man if i bleed then he bleed so don't become a villain in my kung fu movie one inch punch fist hard like steel leroy smith wing chun mike skills send a dissonance self-defense i kill any mc that think that he more ill you should have bought equipment instead you got a grill that's why you ain't got no studio in the crib your lab is whack i deploy jack six command attacks i'm a black belt on the fight pad when it come to rap fear no man if i bleed then he bleed so don't become a villain in my kung fu movie so don't become a villain in my kung fu movie fear no man if i bleed then he bleeds so don't become a villain in my kung fu movie fear no man if i bleed then he bleeds so don't become a villain in my kung fu movie fear no man if i bleed then he bleeds so don't become a villain in my kung fu movie i mean what else can a nigga even say i skate on every beat and i surf every wave come back i'm okujin the way i train because i break down all the competition in my way throw me in a volcano i'll conquer that terrain and crawl out the hottest young nigga in the game i'm sweating let's take a break and go play tekken man fuck it man yeah that's fire yeah right it's a lot more of like a like a kind of like chill beat but i i feel like he uh he flows over it real nice yeah for sure i like the the whole kung fu vibes too yeah i i said something about wing chun yeah well that that's what i'm talking about i'm not gonna lie to you i'm not gonna lie to you i'm not one of the things that i think is really cool about this project is like there's so many different references to like uh like like fighting and tekken and like video games and all that stuff i i really like when people do like short little projects like that that like really stick to this theme and these references and these samples and really kind of have like a very distinct identity in that way yeah concept albums are amazing yeah really show really shows off that like that creative side yeah yeah and and this one this one's a pretty short one i mean the whole thing's only like 14 minutes basically you know it's it's not super long but like it's kind of perfect in my opinion because like every time i listen to it it gets done and i'm like i kind of just want to listen to it again it's something that like just begs to like be looped over and over and over yeah for sure i also really like the lyric i i forget exactly what it is but talking about spending money on a grill and that's why you don't have a home studio and like talking about not uh you know not investing in the right things not investing in yourself you know kind of uh i tell people that all the time yeah it's well i mean it's such a big thing i feel like so many people come into money and like the first thing that they want to do is like blow it on some sort of status symbol whether it's like a watch or you know whatever shoes yeah exactly and it's like you know you could do that to like really buy some stuff to like change your life change you know this this that and the other and like kind of so many people don't do that when they come into money yeah yeah for sure like i have all this uh this equipment but um yeah when it comes to like fashion and stuff i'm really not chasing like name brand stuff like pretty understated my shoes the shoes that are on my feet right now thirty dollar and once all right yeah see that's that that's uh you know like somebody who wears something like that you know that they're gonna be like more of a down-to-earth kind of guy yeah it was funny when i got them i was just bragging about them to everybody i was like yo look how durable these are made in america i got them for thirty dollars it's it's like when yeah it's kind of like when a girl gets uh pants that actually have like pockets it's like every time somebody mentions it it's like they got pockets can you believe that can you believe it yeah it's crazy um actually that kind of like reminds me of something i'm talking about like the home studio deal is your studio where you uh like work with other artists and yourself and all that is that um like do you have a separate space for that or is that like a home studio that you built okay cool cool i definitely it's half art studio half music studio oh that's rad actually yeah so you do visual art too paintings some of these paintings are actually done by my nieces okay i have some vinyl hanging up as well yeah that's my uncle's band he was in a hair metal band oh that's sick um those are just some prints but yeah yeah uh like my whole life has been art i don't know if you can see that right there that's a that's a hip-hop sandwich that i did okay in in ninth grade i can actually oh yeah that'd be cool i'd love to get a better look at that this was an art show too oh that's sick as hell that's super cool you got your money turntables glasses headphones and then uh there's a spray can guy who's breakdancing okay yeah yeah you you ever get into like uh like tagging in graffiti or anything like that or was that uh yeah cool cool cool cool yeah for sure my brother is actually a graffiti artist still um he's very talented he's the one that did the artwork for the album oh right on sick i always find it interesting finding out that like musicians also do visual art or some sort of other artistic medium because i feel like generally like people who are who want to be an artist and that's what they want to do with their life generally you don't stick with one medium but also like there are some people who just have like a million you know different music projects but i think that there's a little bit more balance when you do like a visual medium and like a musical medium or something like that because they're not like the same so you get like burnt out on one and maybe like you would get more life in the other or something you know yeah for sure and like um just in in music alone just working on other projects by other people with different sounds from mine that's also refreshing and kind of saves me from burning myself out because it's like i'll work on my project and then i'll go work on like a like a hardcore rap project or something like that like something like real gritty and raw and i mean it's all kind of raw but something more aggressive you know because i'm not i'm not gonna hop on a track and be super aggressive yeah but being able to work on it like i might scream but that's it yeah but being able to work on it you can still kind of like get those those feelings out and everything yeah for sure no i i get that a lot for sure all right so uh what is our next tune gonna be here uh girls slash ugly by laddie moran your boy six seven eight months you've been gone why you on my mind so damn long i ain't need you write this song plenty pretty women in my phone suck tweet the bitch that left with my heart no communication now we worlds apart high double bitch i think i love tripping on some other other stuff only call up when i want to rub a butt what the fuck wrong with him won't walk through the mall with him won't sit at the bar with him palms got a lot of dog in a new mama told me granddaddy was a whole flipping another single stuff another context and when i want to probably die alone sex and when i want hit a minimum ex-drug delegated young nigga find a bad bitch have some fun with it write a song for a shoot event with it probably never share my heart again shit i barely want to share bed and take her to the jetta jetta tour bands after quarantine we should link again girls wow whose purse is this because it's no girls here fuck you oh this is your purse where the bitch is that first of all you said the key things no girls dude i'm sorry i'm working and girls are a distraction i know they're not because i'm looking for the bros what what what love myself i love my i love my i love my yeah say love is warm love is cold love is shy love is bold love is young love is old love is giving never old love is free Ay, said love is free Yeah, yo, said love is pleasure Love is pain, love is sun Love is rain, love is blind But love can see Love is you and love is me Love is free Ay I love you, I love you, I love you Don't give up now, somebody needs you Take the mask off and just be you That's the key, not gonna free you, yeah Listenin' to Kenny like I love myself Gotta hug myself I met you, we on a whole nother frequency You're good enough and all you need to be On that fuck, waitin' on the world to see I said fuck so you understand the urgency I love the love, love's a drug I love myself, I love my son I love my blood, I love my cuz I love the grind but not the wealth I hope you hear this rhyme and you love yourself I hope you realize you a light that shine I hope you ease up, give yourself some time I hope you find yourself but you leave surprised Head high with a peace of mind Cause love is warm, love is cold Love is shy, love is bold Love is young, love is old Love is given, never old Love is free Yeah, ayy Said love is free Yeah, yo Said love is pleasure Love is pain, love is sun Love is rain, love is blind But love can see, love is you And love is me, love is free Love is the only thing I can do to make you happy thing. thing instrumental music like that the way that you can do like variations on a form and keep keep things fresh while also very clearly like still being kind of like the same sort of thing like that that's kind of like same house different rooms yeah exactly like that's kind of like what i love about like jazz and stuff like that too is like it's all kind of like jazzy exactly you keep like very similar like things about it but you change up just enough that it like stays interesting yeah like like it has those the bass bones but there's really no rules yeah it's just like creative expression yeah and their bassist is just incredible too like you get into like that slap stuff and all that like oh man that was very pleasing to my ears yes they are uh like i said releasing their first ep you uh at the beginning of february this is the first track that they've ever released actually uh so really fun to like get into some of these newer artists uh as as early as i can interesting yeah that was uh definitely definitely i'm definitely gonna look out for their other music when they when they drop some yeah i i think you'll get a kick out of it for sure yeah that's definitely going on my list hell yeah so uh what do we what do we have up next we have fine wine by schnitzel all right you want to you want to give a little bit of uh more in-depth uh introduction for this one for sure um she is actually laddie moran's wife oh all right keeping it in the family she's an r&b singer exactly yeah yeah she's like my sister but um but yeah um she's she's an amazing singer she probably without knowing well she probably knows but without like actually hands on teaching me how to sing she is probably my favorite singer i think she's probably my favorite my biggest teacher when it comes to just the way i sing the just the the sounds that i i do like like from producing her as well i kind of found my own sound you you kind of like taught each other along the way in a way basically yeah yeah yeah like she was already an amazing singer when when i met her but but yeah yeah sonically uh i think we we definitely kind of grew and we have pretty good chemistry now when it comes to music nice have you guys collaborated with this on anything uh like yeah she actually has an album called uh her ethereal beauty oh vocally vocally no we haven't okay i haven't clapped on anything but except for actually in this song there's a part where like i was i was coaching her to uh sing the one part like a specific way you can barely hear me but i'm in the background singing along with her so she hit that okay cool cool cool all right uh no we definitely need to like do a song together i think that would be nice like duet or something especially because because you say that like your your voices like complement each other fairly well i think that would be cool yeah i mean yeah i think they would complement each other it was mainly just me like listening to her saying and trying to figure out how do i do that how do i do that same thing yeah okay cool cool cool my piece of mine my business they won't cry lay back drinking wine man i feel so goddamn fine baby should hold on to what makes you feel my insecurities can't get the best of me gave god the worst of me and he still loves me god and all my men still love me don't be such a fool demons act like your friend too oh hug your soul fake make you whole steal your light then dim your light don't dim your light dim your light don't be such a fool demons act like your friend too hug your soul fake make you whole steal your light then dim your light don't dim your life don't be such a fool demons act like your friend too hug your soul fake make you whole steal your light then dim your light don't dim your life don't be such a fool demons act like your friend too hug your soul fake make you whole steal your light then dim your life don't dim your life don't be such a fool demons act like your friend too We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Is that an upright bass? Or like a fretless bass at least, probably, right? I believe so. I actually didn't make that beat. Oh, okay. But I believe so. It just sounds like one. Yeah, no. That was like the first thing that I picked up on was I was like, all right, I really dig that kind of like upright bass sound and everything. Like it gives such a like nice kind of like vintage sound to everything. Like that's one of the things that I love about like this whole track is just it has such a like kind of. I don't know if this makes sense, but like smoky is like a kind of like kind of like descriptor that I like. It just sounds kind of kind of has that smoky vibe to it. Yeah, I feel that. I definitely tried to make it kind of feel that way with the delay and distortion on like the drums and stuff like that. Kind of kind of give it that like dreamy feeling. I also really like the delay on the vocals, too, because there's like a couple spots like that little transition. Yeah. Yeah. It's got the little delay throws like that's a little production technique that I just absolutely love is like fun little like delay throws and stuff like that. They add so much character to a vocal specifically like at the end of a phrase or something like kind of build it up, give it a little bit more impact. Yeah, for sure. I think I think it can be overdone in songs, but if it's if it's done intentionally like like how we did with that. Yeah. It just hits different. Yeah, I think there are some people who kind of do that on like every line and it kind of like stops losing that impact. And I mean, that's just a thing with like music production in general is like you do one thing too much. It's the exact same thing is like, you know, alcohol or drugs or anything like that. You know, you do it too much. You're going to develop a tolerance to it. It's not going to not going to hit the same. Yeah. Moderation is key. Yes, sir. So that came out last year, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. It came out five months ago. Got you. Got you. So did she have another another. like full length project in the works do you know um we talk about it but we i don't think we've really started working on it yet um there might be like a couple songs that we started working on but got you there's no really there's really no timetable for that yet but there will be projects plural i'm sure we got projects plural coming from so many artists right now honestly i i like that though i feel like that's kind of like a good way to like almost like set yourself up for success have like a lot of stuff that you can put out in a short amount of time especially in the internet age when like you know people's attention spans are so short you really have to like keep putting stuff out and reminding people that you exist in order to like really develop a fan base you know yeah literally like uh staying in people's faces all times it's tiresome but yeah yeah it definitely there's a demand for it now i i think that that that whole thing with like promoting music in the way that we do in the modern age like through social media and stuff like that is so kind of like weird and interesting because you do have to like put so much effort into like kind of trying to stay consistent and stuff like that i noticed that you uh post a lot of like on your tiktok and instagram and stuff a lot of uh like performances and stuff like that which is definitely a good way to go about it yeah um i see people do like little videos where they're like just lip-syncing to their songs or something like that and i'm like i would just rather perform it and then show you that i think it's more interesting that way too yeah yeah for sure but yeah um when it comes to like content creation i'm not really i don't really call myself a content creator like i make art and i'll show you my art that's about as tiktok trends and stuff like that yeah and honestly i respect that because like i feel like there's so many people who on who honestly kind of like sell themselves short for the trend instead of like remaining authentic to themselves and that's kind of like i mean especially i feel like it's especially bad on like instagram reels and stuff like that oh yeah but you like go on there and you see so many bands or artists or whatever doing whatever the current trend is and like even if you blow up off of that like is that gonna turn into new fans new followers new listens for your music probably not and i think that that's like a big thing with all of that is trying to uh you know be as authentic as you can and actually like try and build a you know a community and a fan base yeah and like a core fan base because what's the um have you heard like the thousand true fans theory i think it's heard of that yeah and i think that that's so true because it's like you can have you know just a thousand people who really like fuck with you really ride ride for you and you're gonna do so much better in the long run than like big numbers that just kind of like fall off as people forget that you exist yeah because like that 15 minutes is up and then what nothing you got nothing to show for it after that you maybe got a couple people but like a lot of the time it's it really is just like the trend is basically all that you're uh all that you're doing at that validation yeah exactly exactly yeah for sure this whole grind is definitely worth it though oh 100 i think that that's again like like you said you know really putting the effort into uh making the album exactly what you wanted and like doing everything just so and even even to a lesser extent kind of like waiting to put it out and like doing other things like to have more projects to like put in into the pipe for like the uh for the promotion on social media and stuff like that i think that all of that is a really good strategy for trying to have longevity in a career yeah for sure for sure all right so my next song uh is another band that i discovered from seeing them live this was a couple weeks ago now my friends in the band cascade riot who are a local detroit uh pop punk band that i have featured on a previous episode they were playing a show probably a half hour away but uh because of all the snow that we've been getting and things like that uh it was closer to 45 minutes they were really surprised that i came out when i came out to the show but i was like it's just snow it's it's whatever you know and i was really glad that i did a lot of that what's that i said you guys usually get a lot don't you it's interesting so i'm from farther up north and so i'm used to more snow it feels like the snow that the amount of snow that we get around here is like kind of minimal and i think that that's why i had that attitude about going towards the about going to the show too as i was like this is nothing but uh you know that's just i'm from the north pole what are you talking about exactly exactly uh but i'm glad that i did go to that show because i found this band called violet daybed who are from southeast michigan i'm not sure exactly where but they kind of have this like 90s alt rock sound to them that i think is really cool like people who are kind of nostalgic for like the radio rock alt rock kind of thing think of like like third eye blind and like maybe like that kind of stuff that was popular in like the late 90s i think that people who like that kind of stuff would really fuck with this band and so the song that i am gonna play is called friendly enemy which is the second to last track off of their album to it that like i think makes projects like this a little bit more um compelling in a way yeah for sure it's kind of that thing where like you lean into like something not quite being as good and it makes it feel more real almost yeah it's like the raw talent exactly yeah yeah yeah and uh definitely i definitely like that like imperfection across like any kind of music that i'm listening to like i look for like the the things that aren't like perfect and that kind of what's that's kind of the thing that sticks with me the most yeah i think that something about the imperfections again just like kind of makes it feel more human and more like interesting in a way so it's easier to like connect to it yeah yeah for sure and it's just it's just more like memorable in my opinion yeah that's like like like when somebody's not singing perfectly like with auto-tune or whatever like that's that's what makes my my skin get goosebumps my hair stick up yeah it just it gives me chills i think there's also just like such a in like the modern like pop kind of like thing so much music that does have like squeaky clean perfect like kind of production that it feel it i feel doesn't feel as impressive as it used to in a way because so many people are doing all these meticulous edits and things that it almost like is an act of rebellion in an in and of itself to go back and like make your production sound more human yeah for sure like when i first started uh making beats and stuff i didn't have these stringed instruments so everything that i played was all keyboard emulated stuff was all like midi and yeah it was all it was all midi and it was like perfectly tuned so it kind of had like a an electronic feel to it yeah for sure when you make beats you said that you tend to like hand drum uh quite a bit right yeah yeah i finger drum a lot yeah so do you uh do you quantize that much or do you try and keep that loose specifically to like have that more like kind of boom bap old school kind of feel to it yeah i don't quantize anything just to keep the human feel for sure nice same with like the velocity and stuff like that like i see people uh like they'll they'll do their drums that'll be quantized but then they'll like hand move it off of the grid to make it sound more human and i'm like why don't you just yeah that's that's kind of goofy it's like you're you're trying to find like a perfect way to achieve imperfection instead of just like really kind of leaning into it that is funny actually so what do we have up next we have what's a matter by raldy okay he's uh another he's another lancaster artist um this is actually the title track for his project that uh he came out with it was some years ago but that's another one of those projects that was four years ago so 2020 oh yeah um that was that was another project that i produced the majority of feels like all you guys have kind of been like on a similar trajectory like like it was like a little bit like a build-up like like independent kind of thing up until 2020 and then like a big long hiatus with big stuff coming soon yeah for sure so uh this song like i made this beat for him uh-huh and like i called the beat what's a matter and then he ended up calling the entire project what's a matter so i was like i look he named his name what's a matter and then he ended up calling the entire project nice is that something that you like uh like if you're just making a beat you just give it like a random like bullshit title yeah um there's there's a lot of beats that have wild names okay i'll just i'll just leave it at that like i'm i'm probably the most disorganized creative of all time i feel like that's kind of like a thing with being creative though is like a lot of people who are kind of like in those creative things tend to not be great with like file organization and things like that my biggest issue i go the exact opposite way i'll make something that i don't have any like vocals for so i don't have a name for it and then it just sits as project 27 forever it's like i've written the vocals i've tracked the vocals i know what the song's going to be called but like at the very top right in logic it still just says project 27 on it which is terrible but yeah for me for me like when i first start working on an idea it'll get that random name but as as it gets to the other stages like once once the artist is like finished writing it or or like we start the recording process then it'll get the actual name of like the actual song and it'll be a lot more organized it'll say the artist name the song name the date uh whatever version the mix is or something like that i'm good about that when i'm working for other people but my own stuff i'm just yeah terrible about it but yeah the early stages are just insane i'm pretty sure one of the songs on all caps for a minute like the the name was just baja all right all right and you couldn't you couldn't even guess which song that was no i'm not gonna tell anybody either that's for everybody to discuss and try and figure out for millennia to come yeah for sure all right let's give this a spin let's give this a spin let's give this a spin let's give this a spin let's give this a spin that's my curse what you know about your worth what you know about your pain how you gonna use that hurt is you gonna run from the flame when they fire you up and lighten you up the lows take you up in the up and like what niggas in the same old song ain't trying to write what's wrong ain't trying to write they wrong rather maintain they boss rather maintain they shadows come alive in the moonlight feel alive do or die blame it on the moonlight shadows come alive in the moonlight feel alive do or die blame it on the moonlight when the moonlight hit it's all making sense what's the matter with you how you play the fence are you with the shits nothing really exists it's all making sense when the moonlight hit what's the matter with you trying to say the kid when the moonlight hit it's all making sense what's the matter with you how you play the fence are you with the shits nothing really exists it's all making sense when the moonlight hit what's the matter with you trying to say the kid yeah that's a fun one man yeah for sure it's got like this really cool like laid back energy to it but like the vocals like deliver so much energy to it as well i think that that's like that's one of my favorite vibes in this song i think that's one of my favorite vibes in this song i think that's one of my favorite vibes in this song i think that's one of my favorite vibes in this song i think like hip-hop type stuff is when like you give like a blank slate almost and like the artist is really able to like do whatever they want and they bring the energy you know what i mean yeah yeah for sure and he definitely brings that every time his wordplay is just so nice that's the that's my biggest issue with like recording these episodes live and not having heard things before give me just one second hold on somebody's at the door all right what were we saying about the wordplay and you're saying that listening to oh yeah on the spot yeah listening to things like for the very first time like especially with like hip-hop or like anything else that has like really dense wordplay is not being able to like pick up on all the like double entendres and like really interesting like rhyme schemes and stuff like that right away like that's also just i listen to music i tend to like enjoy like the vibe and the and like all that first and then listen to like the lyrics later and so i always try to like find it uh like the lyrics online or something like that so i can like read along or whatever but i couldn't find them so yeah yeah yeah not everybody has that no but um i'm the same way like when i first listened to like a project front to back the producer brain kicks in first and i'm just kind of like listening to the actual music and like dissecting the like how everything was produced and mixed and everything like that and then the second time around it's like i'll listen to projects like over and over and over again to fully digest it oh 100 the second time around the second time around is when i start like really diving into the lyrics and even then like i don't fully digest the the lyrics till probably like the 10th to 20th time well and that's the thing like with especially good wordplay like it's so deep and intricate that like you can pick up on new stuff like every time you listen to it for sure like there's there's probably albums from like the 90s that uh like i've listened to like a million times that i'm i still like go back and i'm like oh shit he just said this and this and this wait how did i miss that i mean hell you look at like breakdowns of like an mf doom song or something like that and it's like a two minute song and you got like a 30 minute video essay of people like explaining every single like rhyme scheme and reference and internal rhyme and shit like it's insane yeah nowadays i i do see people kind of reach when it comes to that stuff like making making something out of nothing yeah it's like no that's that's not what he meant when he did that they're they're like oh this is actually like uh this is actually a reference to in uh you know 1960s uh cuba this thing happened and it's like no i i don't think that that was what that was about i think that that was just a filler word yeah one of my one of my recent favorite uh instances like that is uh what i forget which song it is so things like reincarnated or something by kendrick oh yeah but they're like oh i can't believe he he uh made this song and all the lyrics are other songs i was like he didn't do that what are you talking about you just made that up no i think i saw a similar thing so somebody was like oh yeah they're uh you know they're there's this reference like on to pimp a butterfly that would like later be on this thing on gnx and it's like i mean yeah but he didn't have that planned out you know 10 years ago i don't think like well some some of the stuff he probably did that is true that whole that whole like drake and kendrick beef has been going on for around that long so yeah well and it was also i mean that whole thing was also just like wild promotion because everybody's just like oh he hasn't dropped in so long like like mr morale was kind of like it didn't really like go as hard as everybody was expecting it's an album for me that i enjoy as an artistic statement but i don't tend to like put on and just listen to if that makes sense i'm glad that it exists i think that the things that it does as a piece of art are very good but it's not something that i come back to the same as like that or like good kid mad city or something like that okay i could see that there are songs on there that i go back and listen to a lot yeah but there's definitely ones that i don't like listen to a whole lot like i'm not gonna put on we cry together yeah but i'll put on uh the n95 and and what's the other one count me out i'll put on that silent who like we cry together the one that is basically just an argument over top of a beat yes yeah so i will say one thing that's kind of crazy about that is like soon after it came out somebody was at like a stoplight right outside my apartment and they had it like cranked up with like the windows down and everything like that i will say it sounds like a real argument because i thought that there were two people down there that were actually fighting each other and then i'm just like oh it's just somebody's listening to the new kendrick okay it's like should i call the cops yeah like literally i'm like is this like domestic abuse going on right now like yeah i'm not gonna put that on even though the beat was crazy alchemist snapped on that but i'm not gonna yeah put that on i also like i think that the uh like the music video because i also just watched the music video for this uh for this tune as well is really neat like the visuals that they do for it with like the moon in the background and then like zooming in and then he's like standing on the moon and like it's a really well put together video yeah so the guy who did the video is super talented it's uh the video was done by dunk made it he's also from the lancaster area i think now he kind of stepped away from like the music video stuff and he actually does college sports for uh espn oh wow that's kind of crazy doing doing like broadcasting and stuff yeah so shout out to dunk hell yeah that's awesome like he'll do like the uh like hype videos and stuff like that like when they're like walking out of the stadium or like highlights and stuff like that oh gotcha okay so is is he doing a lot more of like kind of like the the post-production side of things as opposed to like the the broadcast yeah yeah for sure gotcha okay cool cool that's something like there's so much that goes into like video production and things like that that i know so little about that i always find it so fascinating yeah i could never it's like a whole different beast like i can do some simple stuff but i mean yeah that is like crazy like that's art in itself oh 100 i i think that that's something that a lot of uh people tend to like look past is like the video editing or anything like that as in artistic expression and i i think that like anything like that where you are taking something and creating something with it all of that is artistic expression in some way or another and i think it's just funny that some people like overlook that in a way they're like oh it's just a simple visual it's just a technical thing and it's like no you like i mean even you think about like like lower thirds and then you're like oh it's just a simple visual it's just a technical thing and it's just like lower thirds right like the the little thing that's just gonna like show your name on the screen or whatever you have to like time that out and it's almost like a musical thing you have to like time it out and make it sure that like it hits the beat right or whatever like uh there's a lot of like musicality to video editing yeah for sure for sure everything's kind of like rhythm based it really is i think that that's i mean even like just human expression in general we've got a natural rhythm in it and it's just like it's just like a natural rhythm in it and it's just like inside us if you think about it and so i i mean it's really everything comes down to the rhythm to make it feel good i never really thought about it like that but yeah you're 100 right yeah i mean i have my moments all right so um my next song is going to be a bit of a different one so this is by an artist called sun kin he is kind of an experimental artist from la who um released this this album that this song is off of uh i believe in april yeah april 19th of last year and it's kind of weird i would say that it's almost like modern psychedelic yacht rock in a way if that makes sense uh like like yacht rock like uh you think of like uh like steely dan or like fleetwood mac but like that kind of stuff because it's got this very like chill kind of vibe to it that's also like extremely like poppy and catchy but it's also got some like really weird like experimental kind of like uh you know rhythms and things like that in it i think it's a really neat really neat vibe so this song is called all the we works are dead all the we works are dead we play now drinking lemonade in the ruins of downtown i'm not yet but i have been retrofitted work is out it's not a competition but i have been retrofitted all the we works are dead we play now all the we works are dead we play now presenting our big routine to the trees in the crowd i'm not yet but i have been retrofitted work is out it's not a competition i'm not yet but i have been retrofitted rip it up there's cracks in the foundation taking it down like a dog clean i'm not yet but i have been retrofitted work is out it's not a competition testing the strength of its jaws fighting the head off a grown man Suit up and get in the van We're going to family camp Panning and mining a void Looking for coins in the sand Ripple effect De-stabilizing the place Happily lifting the weights Turning the people in wheels Deals have to be chased I must have gotten it wrong Cause I thought all the WeWorks were I'm not hip, but I have the retrofitting Work is out, it's not a competition I'm not hip, but I have the retrofitting Rip it up, there's cracks in the foundation Work is out, it's not a competition I'm not hip, but I have the retrofitting I'm not hip, but I have the retrofitting I'm not hip, but I have the retrofitting This train falling off the track. Faking smiles, faking laughs I've been trying to fight depression See the light, but darkness crept in And it's hard, my only weapon Until the demons get to stepping in I needed something real like a fear This ain't love So I've been praying up above I've been praying for better days Will I find my way No time to waste No time to waste Find better days Will I find my way Will I find my way Find better days Find better days Find better days Find better days Find better days Better days, better days, better days, better days, better days, better days, better days, better days. I don't know what I'm trying to find no more. I appreciate that. It's, again, kind of like more of this, like, chill. I feel like this is, again, kind of like more of like a smoky kind of type of sound. Yeah, for sure. For sure. It was funny. When we were writing to that beat, because Young Music, he actually made the beat. Okay. When we were writing to it, like our verses, he said something about Waze app, and I said something about Google Maps. Okay. And we had no idea what each other's verses sounded like as we were writing. That's so funny. So that was just a happy accident. Just happened to mention different navigation apps. I was like, holy crap, that's insane. That's just like an example of chemistry. Yeah, for sure. Like, you don't even have to, like, think about it. You just kind of, like, seamlessly kind of do that. Yeah. And it is such a, like, such a relatable topic to kind of, like, trying to figure out what you're going to do. Yeah. How to get over, like, whether you're feeling depressed, kind of just in your feelings, you know. And especially, like, I think it was his verse, the first verse, talking about, like, the strain isn't making me feel how it should or something like that. Like, that's definitely something, too, where, like, you know, so many times people will try to self-medicate with different things and stuff. And they don't necessarily, like, sometimes it can help, like, in the meantime. But it feels like a lot of the time. Yeah, it's temporary. Yeah, exactly. It's temporary. That's why I said happiness ain't in a fucking bed. Yeah. No, I like that a lot because it is, like, I mean, we've all been there, you know. Yeah, for sure. Like, around the time when I was making this song, I was going through some stuff and I was smoking heavily. Yeah. But, yeah, that was definitely just me being self-aware, I think, of the situation and the coping mechanisms that I was looking towards. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And we've all got our different ways to try and, you know, relax and everything. And like you said earlier, you know, it's all about moderation. Yeah. Yeah. I don't even really smoke anymore. Really? That's so funny because there's so many songs. I don't think he does either. Really? I was going to say, because there's so many songs on All Caps that are, like, specifically, like, about that. Oh, yeah. I think, I'm not sure if there are any on this funk that aren't referencing smoking. But, yeah, we're both, we're both not potheads anymore. Gotcha. Did you do anything for, like, the instrumental on this as well? Because I know that you were featured, but I also hear, like, a lot of, like, similar kind of keys sounds and, like, guitar sounds to some stuff that's, like, on your record, too. So I mixed it. Okay. I think that's about it. I might have layered some drums or something, but I don't, I don't think I did too much to this one. Gotcha. Because I want to say they have a friend who played the guitar and he did that. But, yeah, when it comes to, like, the mixing of all the instruments and stuff, I did all of that. Okay, so. So that's probably why it sounds kind of in the same realm. Yeah, for sure. So this is another question that I have for you. When you're working with other artists who get beats from other people, because I know that you've said that you do that before, too. Do you try and get them to get, like, a multi-track from the person that? Yeah, yeah, I definitely prefer doing that, because it just sounds way better when I have full control. Oh, 100%, yeah. Versus, versus just the beat and then the vocals. Sometimes I'll, if I don't have that full control, I'll, I'll use one of those, like, stem splitters. Oh, sure. So it separates, it isolates, like, the bass and then the instruments and then the drums and. And sometimes those can sound really good. A little bit of control. And other times they're a little iffy. But, yeah, I'd much rather have the, all of the stems. Yeah, because I, I feel like I've heard, like, some other engineers and stuff like that. They're like, oh, yeah, I had this rapper come in and they had this beat. And I feel like there's kind of, like, two ways that people generally, like, deal with that if they don't have the multi-track. And it's just kind of like, eh, it's just another day at work. I don't really care that much. And so they just kind of, kind of just put the vocal over the beat, you know, do maybe a little bit of EQ to help it sit. And then there's other people who kind of go. Like, super try-hard mode and almost, like, try to, like, recreate the beat themselves, like, 100%. And I think that that's even crazier because, like, you're trying to, like, capture the exact vibe, you know? Yeah, so that's, that's what I would do if, if it came down to it. Like. It's a quality control thing, I feel like. Yeah, yeah. It's like, I have artists that will write to, like, a YouTube beat and then they'll bring it to me. And then I'll just capture that vibe. I won't, like, remake the beat exact copy. Yeah. But I'll capture that same vibe and that same key. So, like, we can just kind of put their, their song on the new beat and it sounds, like, even better. See, I, I think that that's the way to do it. Especially, like, as an artist yourself, you have the tools to do that. So, like, why wouldn't you, right? Yeah. And, and, like, when I first started making beats, I would do these, like, remix contests. Okay. On, like, BeatStars or something where they give you the vocals and then you remix their song. So, I basically just made an entirely new beat. New song out of the stuff they gave me. So, I had experience doing that. I was like, why not do this with artists that I actually work with? I think that that's, like, a really cool, like, way to go about. Do you do, like, a lot of, um, sampling when you do, like, beat making for other people and stuff like that? Or is it generally, like, you come up with the idea from start to finish? Yeah, I do a lot of, uh, from scratch. Gotcha. I used to sample, but I don't know. I just felt, I just felt like, uh, when it comes to, like, owning your music. It's a lot easier to make everything from scratch. Yeah, I've, I've heard that that's kind of, like, a big issue with sampling in the modern day is just, like, how, uh, kind of power hungry a lot of, like, the bigger record labels are and things like that. It's a lot harder to get a sample cleared than, like, it used to be back in the day and stuff like that. I get that for sure. Yeah. Yeah, especially, like, when it comes to, like, uh, placements and stuff like that. You have to own your music. Is, is that something that you do quite a bit as well? Trying to get, like, stuff placed in, like. Like, uh, ads or, like, uh, shows or anything? So, so I haven't really yet, but we're, uh, we're in the process of doing that right now, actually. Like, just, just, uh, getting everything ready and, and submitting them to, like, the, the big catalogs and stuff like that. That's something I've always been, uh, like, interested in or, like, been meaning to, like, look into a little bit deeper and kind of just, like, never got into. I've heard that people make pretty good money doing it sometimes, but. Even being featured on something, like a TV show or something, and somebody's like, oh, what's that song? And then they shazam it. That's the thing. It's great promotion, too. Because, like, not only is it, like, oh, yeah, you get, like, the royalty check every time the episode or the ad plays or whatever. But, like, if it is a legitimately good song and people hear it, like, I mean, I've discovered tons of really small artists through, you know, just a random placement in, like, a Netflix show or something. Exactly, exactly. Um, what was I gonna say? Oh, that's my train of thought. Sorry. Happens to the best of us from time to time, right? Yep. All right. So, my final song of the evening is one that was directly submitted to me, uh, by a band called Surrender the Ghost. If you are listening to this episode and you make music and are interested in sending it my way for a possibility of being featured on an episode, freshfindspod at gmail.com. But this is kind of. It's kind of like a punk alt-rock band. They're from Columbus, Ohio. This is definitely a lot more in my bag as far as, like, kind of that. you know, punk and rock and like that kind of stuff. And this is the first single from an EP that they have coming out in March. This song is called Smoking Doesn't Help by Surrender the Ghost. I've done red. It's like a bullet in my head. I can't fall asleep. So then, wishing I could try again. Smoking doesn't help, so I decide to have a drink instead. I shot a bullet to the head. I finally can't pass out. Well, I appreciate the words that you so often have said to me. We've made it through some of the toughest times and now we're surprised to be. On our own, didn't think this could happen. On our own, this time we started back in. Just let us try this again. We're not gonna be the ones that you could overlook. We're not gonna be the butt of every fucking joke I told you. But I knew that you were never here. A cold brew beside you and you still don't think clear. No surprise. We're gonna try this again. Finally. We can see. We can see. In bed, thinking back on every word I said. Every single thought is like a message that's left unread. I can't fall asleep. Well, I've been thinking back on every word that you've ever said to me. We made it through some of the toughest times and now we're supposed to be on our own. I'm happy this happened. On our own, it's time we started back in. Super fun one there. Yeah, for sure. That definitely reminded me of like Warped Tour era. Exactly. Yeah, that's what I really like. I also find it really amusing that this came after the last song that we listened to because both of them kind of being about like, you know, trying to figure out how to deal with, you know, the things in your life and realizing that the vices aren't the answer that you thought they might be. Exactly. Very, very good thematically that these two lined up that way. Yes, that's very interesting. Another thing that I like about this song, particularly the end kind of reminded me of it, is that they do the like guitar solo underneath the final chorus kind of thing. I think that like over the last 20 years or so, as specifically like the last like 10, it feels like guitar solos have kind of fallen out of fashion in rock music. Or just in general, like solos in general. Yeah, that is true. Like a lot of like just instrumental. Like instrumental breaks and stuff like that. Like it tends to be a lot more kind of like lyric driven type of stuff. And I get why in certain ways, because you want to make like your music more concise and things like that. And so that it's easier to listen to. I also get that like guitar solos, I've heard people refer to them as kind of masturbatory in a way where the person who's playing the guitar solo is probably having way more fun doing it than everybody else who's watching him. And I kind of get that to an extent as well. So I always find it really interesting when you do the guitar solo under the final chorus, you kind of get like the best of both worlds there where like there's a cool thing, but it also acts as a counter melody, which like makes the arrangement more interesting as well. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, it's definitely like a nice compromise. Yeah, it's just something that I've noted, like a little trend that I've noticed recently that I think is pretty cool. Yeah. For me personally, I don't mind solos. I think they're cool personally. I'm like, yeah, small. Yeah. I have two of them on my project. Yeah, yeah. Well, and those were the specific things that I, you notice I mentioned both of them too, the sax solo and the guitar solo, because I'm definitely like. I was like, yeah. I think that it comes down to being an instrumentalist yourself. You can kind of like appreciate it more. Whereas like if you don't play an instrument. If you don't play an instrument and you're just broadly listening to music, you might not like, you might not appreciate or enjoy that quite as much. Yeah, for sure. Like I even mentioned earlier when we were talking about the Pimple Butterfly and I. Yeah. That bass solo. Yeah. Man, that is, that was my favorite. I, that is such a good song. I just want to say that again. It literally is like one of my favorites. I feel like every podcast that I've been on. I've, I've probably talked about that album and, and that song specifically and that baseline. It's, it's just so like, it's so beloved. I think it's, I mean, it keeps coming up for a reason, right? Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, like I said, this is the first single that they have off of their upcoming EP, which I unfortunately don't know the name of yet, but it comes out March 28th and it is via PNWK Records, who are a pretty new. Uh, record label in the kind of like DIY punk and emo space. They, uh, they kind of, kind of pulled up like middle of last year. It felt like was when I first started hearing about them. And, um, a lot of specifically Midwest bands, bands from Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin generally have been picked up by them, which is really interesting because they're based out of like the Pacific Northwest. But, uh, they've been doing a lot of really good stuff. They've been doing a lot of really cool stuff with a lot of really cool bands and, um, everything that I've heard about them from people who've worked with them has been really, really solid. Yeah. They definitely have a great sound. Definitely. It definitely like feels nostalgic. Like that Warped Tour era for sure. Yeah. And I think that that's kind of coming back. Like there were kind of like some waves of pop punk where it went in like more of like a more of like the heavier direction. And I think that we're kind of like going back to like the more fun. Like, uh, yeah, yeah. That kind of like Warped Tour kind of era again. It gave me, um, yellow card vibes. Yeah, I get that too, for sure. All right. So how are we going to end this episode off? What's our final track? We have No Voicemail by Shaw Calhoun, my label mate. All right. Also fellow, uh, alumni of the podcast. Exactly. It's them terrible days that seems everlasting. But anybody find yourself clashing. Showing patience to any form of fashion. Yeah. No happy go lucky. I'm full of passion. It's below your satisfaction. Below. Do the math. This day deserves attraction. Just want to get home and get relaxing. Yeah. Obey the speed limits. See, that was fancy. Eyes peeled. I'm strolling through Aspen. Charlie patrols. They harassing. Passing for whereabouts. Call a backup so they can take a scout. All this extra shit while I'm in route. Yeah. Yeah. Damn. No rest of trips. It's a mix where we in. It's third eye gym. Got me itching for my pen. Yeah. Shall we begin? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Set up shop. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Write a verse. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My lyrics take care of me. Yeah. Yeah. They therapy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Finally had that long day of fuckery. Your boy twisted up contemplating on what to eat. Fire stick on deck. YouTube is a must to me. Knucklehead pod. Every episode trusts a scene. True. When I finish this gas, I got to stay on task because procrastination stay kicking my ass. Yeah. Focus is perfect phone. I do not disturb. I'm deeply locked in to keep that shriek with the words of my past. Put the pad to get the jock. Just talk about you scheming niggas plotting. Homes are good for just sliding. All your steps keep spoiling and gas rotting. Oh, what's up? Story about the forgotten. Uh. Better hear the pen. My current energy. Me and the pen be sharing natural synergy. Real talk. Calculated in the pace This is baby Ginger Lee. Yeah, I never went ink up on my enemies. I write a verse. They therapy. Every section of the world I've tried to reach out. There could be someone. They therapy. They therapy. Shaw has such a cool sound, man. He's a real spitter. It is such like a throwback style, too. Especially like, you know, you got the DJ scratches and everything. Like, that's really not something that you hear a lot of people doing anymore. Thanks. I saw somebody said he's the second coming of Sean Price. And I was like. I could see that. Yeah. I also just particularly really liked this project. Like, I had him on the podcast to promote Fly Langston when it came out, like, the year before. Okay. And I like that project quite a bit, too. But I think that carry out on Shaw was a lot. It felt like a big step up to me. Or at least maybe. What, like conceptually? Yeah. And I feel like also. And I don't know if this is just me. But I feel like it also, like, stylistically was a lot more my thing than, like, his stuff before. Not that I didn't like it. But I think that I just, like, I enjoyed this more. Yeah. I mean, that's definitely going to be a given as you grow as an artist, I think. For sure. You kind of sharpen your skills and everything becomes more intentional. Yeah. I need to look up. Because there was a lyric that I. I remember really enjoying. But I do not remember what it is anymore. I need to see if I can find the lyrics anywhere. Another thing I wanted to mention was, like, the mixing of the project. And, like, just, like, the production and all of that itself. Like, the more the engineer and the artist and producers work together, like, the more polished and pristine it's going to sound. 100%. It's like his engineer, Ben. Like, I know Ben from Kaleidoscope, the guy who mixed it. Okay. I know him personally. He's very talented himself. So, like, the more they work together, it's like, wow. Because he's also, like, a musician, too. Oh, yeah, yeah. He plays a lot of instruments. And then just adding that to it, like, the creativity that goes on behind the scenes. And even Danny just, like, putting his two cents in. It's like a group effort, for sure. You know, that is something that I've been curious about. Like, how much influence does he have on. I mean, obviously, I'm sure that he lets you guys. You guys do what you want for the most part. But, like, how much influence does he have on kind of, like, how the final project sounds? Does he give, like, full mix notes kind of, like, the same way that, like, an artist would? Or is he kind of pretty hands-off unless he's got a specific idea about it? It really depends. Because, like, he was in a band, like we were talking about. So, he does have, like, that creative insight that is valuable when it comes. So, he's more. He's more hands-on with Shaw, I think. Oh, okay. Than he is with me or Laddie. Just because, like, the type of artists that me and Laddie are, like, we already bounce ideas off of each other, like, nonstop. So, like, just adding another into that mix is sometimes difficult. But he does have good ideas, and they do get used sometimes. But, yeah, for the most part, we kind of stick with the ideas that we have. I think that kind of makes sense, too, though. Because as far as I remember, obviously, you're also. You're also a musician and instrumentalist. I believe Shaw is strictly an MC. I don't think that he plays an instrument or does any production or anything like that. So, I could definitely see how that would lead to situations where it would definitely be useful to have the input of somebody who is a little bit more musically inclined on, like, the instrumental side and things like that, for sure. Yeah, yeah. Like, him and Shaw, they'll cook up, like, concepts together. Oh, okay. And this was definitely, like, a very high-concept project with all of the imagery and the music videos and, like, the whole nine. Like, that was, I feel like, also the first time that I thought, like, oh, yeah, Big Eleanor Records is really, like, kind of helping him level up what he's doing with this, like, high-concept type of stuff. Yeah, for sure. It's, like, cinematic. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it really does tell a story. Even, like, just. Just through, like, the whole thing of, like, you know, the skit at the beginning of them talking about wanting to roll up and go into this new spot. And, you know, it really tells a full story in the, like, 26 minutes or whatever run time of the project. Yeah, for sure. And they executed perfectly, I think. Yes, 100%. All right. Is there a. I think that this has been a good episode. Is there anything else that. You want to mention one last time before we sign off? Anything about the album? Anything about what you've got coming up? Just any last thoughts in general? Yeah, definitely. Just go stream the project. All caps everywhere. Follow me on socials. Adrian Rose Music everywhere. Yeah, other than that, just stay true. Be yourself. Love yours. All right, man. Thanks for coming on the episode. This has been the Fresh Finds podcast, the show about discovering new music with good people. Thanks for having me. See you next time. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that high. Give me that low. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me what's mine. Give me what's yours. Give me that. Give me that. Yo, give me that. Give me everything I need. Won't you hold it down? Hold it down for me whenever you're around. What you trying to be? What you want it now? If you feel like you're going to be what you want it now. Feel it what you see. Baby, lock it down. Holding out on me. I just need a raise. I can guarantee we'll see better days. Don't know where we going, but we on the way. I just need a bag for my catch-a-case. I just need a bag, right? Up and down, bad, right? Take me down bad, right? Need another stint just to get by. Cost of living crazy, it should be a crime. Ain't no fucking way, yes, it's a sign. Feeling like I'm losing my damn mind. So give me that. Give me that vibe. Give me that cold. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that vibe. Give me that draw. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that high. Give me that low. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me what's fire. Give me what's show. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that. Where all the love go, they know where the hate at. You wonder why I get so high, cause I started from the bottom till I rose, now I'm really dead. Either way they say, I'm still giving that country rain effect. Been like this, what you expect? Don't test me, I'm too legit. Yeah, with the income, hella bad, but rather my impact connect. Cross my O's with an X. Consequence if you assess. In my own class, I do confess. Plus, I got the gift, and if you need it, miss not hit me with a text. In the testing, I'm a bird to the X. Give me everything in your pocket. I still live for that concha. Give me some room to step on my touches. I don't snuck no up, but fucks love it when I pull up with the 2-2-2. Send me straight through the voodoo. Like Mario, brother with the show. 50 feet tall, try to tell me, give me room, not standing on business. Give me that problem, I'll be finna bring it to the table like a pilot. Put a blade on the back, but 50 for the gossip. Beware, never tell who talks to them. It ain't my ass fault that I came up. Burn that concrete, no more blisters on these damn feet. And my right hand's like, damn, damn. Give me that fire, give me that cold. Give me that, give me that. Give me that, give me that, give me that.