Season 6 Episode 6 W/ Career Day

Hello and welcome back to the Fresh Finds podcast. The show about discovering new music with good people. I'm Ryan and this month I'm excited to welcome back to the show Desmond from Career Day. How are we doing man? Welcome back. We're good. It's great to be back. It's been longer than I thought it would be since getting to be on here. It's been almost two years, almost exactly actually. That's what is crazy, which is so crazy to me. It feels like it was a few months ago, you know? In ways yes, in other ways no. I'm still finding my footing back in doing band stuff just because the little paws that we took, but it's great to be back especially because we unfortunately did not get to link up IRL. Yeah. I was so disappointed. Yeah, because you guys were going to crash at my place and the whole thing and then just the entire show fell apart because like somebody needed to ride from somebody else and couldn't get it. There was this. Yeah, it was like one thing leading to another leading to the show not being able to happen. It was a series of unfortunate events. It was. It was especially because we love Michigan, I mean the show that we played with no problem on in 2024 that was Trenton Michigan in a big or a big big or a great way to meet you. That was a great show. I remember it was packed and like there was just such a great spirit to that and getting back to the Midwest was awesome. Was very bummed to not get to do Michigan, but in the back of my head I did have of like, well, we'll probably link up like this and here we are. Yeah. Well, and also a little over a year ago now at this point you got to hit one of the biggest DIY festivals in the Midwest when you guys played football, which was super fun last year, right? That was last June. Yeah. That was last June. Yeah, that was that was unbelievable. I think that that set was very much kind of a that was a very reaffirming set for us as a band. And I also think that was a very great showcase for us to people that are from the scene. That maybe only know us from no problem or just know us from seeing, you know, social media posts here and there. Yeah. And to have, to have for like had that opportunity and for it to go as well as it as it did, you're like front and center in like that and in one of the videos from that set. Yeah. I think that when we played rumors, my wellness and the whole room was just like. That was the set. It busted my ass on the, yes, on the wedge too. And it's on video, it's on video, baby. Shout out to PlankFan for archiving the scene because we have, we have that. I'm definitely putting that in the edit too. Oh, it's, it's a great, it's great. I think I almost, yeah, I think that was, I can't remember what song that was during because I remember also during one bad day, I went into the crowd for the, the outro part. And then it went crazy and I kind of got flung over, over, over the monitor. And I was like, this is a good time. Well, because that, that side stage always goes insane. Like I think about, because that was the year of the Harrison Gordon side stage secret set, which was wild. I remember there's no room, there's no room in the entire, no, that bar. I remember the year before when Red Sun played the side stage and Nick from equipment was, he was crowd surfing for I think like three minutes, like straight because there was just nowhere for him to land. So people just kept like passing him around. He was, yeah, he was just up there so long, he could probably start like filing taxes, getting ahead. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I'm going to just call each and our block. But yeah, very excited that you guys were able to come back out to the Midwest and it sounds like you guys are trying to put together something for the spring as well, right? We cannot, we cannot say yes yet, but we will absolutely be back in, in, I would say April. We will, we will most definitely be back and we are also every and any festival that we should apply for. Now that, now that we've got the band together and we've got music on the way with more common, we're applying to, to everything, which it's time to get out of the Goku hyperbolic chamber. Yeah. Time, time to take off the, the training weights. Oh, yeah. Really? Yeah. And then we move on to, you know, the little bit of the, the break and the kind of reshuffling of members and things like that. I do also want to mention that that same year, last year was also, you guys played Fest as well, right? So well, or was that the year before? That was the year before. That was Fest 2024. Oh, okay. That was the tour right before we saw your photo was kind of that tour we kind of used as a period to kind of take a beat and pause. We didn't, we didn't get Fest this last year or this year, but, but we, we, we, we, we, we will be, we will be back when it is time to be back. I'm sure you guys will be festing soon or rather than later because I don't, I always feel like you guys have the perfect sound for that festival specifically. Like, it just, it feels like a match made in heaven to me, you know, how do you figure? I don't, it just something about like the, like, you guys kind of have like an org core sort of thing going on and I, and I've always felt like Fest was kind of the festival that catered the most to those types of bands, whereas something like Riot Fest is definitely a lot more, like, you know, kind of pop punk metal core, obviously a lot smaller, but there's a lot more, like Midwest emo sort of, you know, I, I feel like as far as like that sort of like sound, that's where it fits in the best to me, you know. True, true, I mean, it's one of those things where I think that it's funny because in the past, sometimes people mentioned org core to us, but like the one time it's been the one time that I can really recall, it was like, was one of those shows where just like I was a little bit sick and the, and the, the, the sound was rough. So I was like, very raspy and like, I think that's where they got the org core from because I have like, after that, after that, I was joked like, if someone says org core after seeing us live, it means that I need to probably warm up a little bit more, or be, be maybe drinking a bit more tea before, before our set, but, but like, because there is, there is org core influence, like Dillinger 4 was a huge influence on where we've always been, like that record civil war was such a big influence on songs like no problem, like sonically, songs like no problem, and views from the 516, and like, I don't know if, if like, job breaker counts as org core, that's just like old guy punk, but I think there is a degree of world weariness that is in our songs that, that, you know, can be a tribute, you know, that you can also probably hear in an iron chic song, just a little bit more, more newfound glories, or, or, sang, you know, more, and that's the thing, I feel like you guys fit in with that a little bit more when it comes to ethos and lyrical content, so then like, the actual, like, the sound of the music in general, which is definitely a lot more of that like, pot punk bordering on, you know, emo sort of set, which I, on a side note, emo is such a weird thing to me now, because like, over the last, I'll say five years, because that's about as long as I've been following like the current emo movement, but it's so weird that for a long time, it was like alternative music, was the umbrella, and then there were the little things of like, you know, you had the metal core bands, or whatever, you had the punk bands, you had the emo bands, or whatever, and now it feels like emo is the umbrella, and you have like metal core bands and pot punk bands and stuff like that that are kind of being called emo now, when they weren't, you know, 15 years ago, or whatever. It does seem like emo has, as time has gone on, and I don't know that it's necessarily a good or bad thing, it's just, as you said, it's an interesting thing, that it's become an umbrella, the way like indie is an umbrella, where we're emo at, you know, it's the, it's the, it's the meme, the real emo thing, but it's now, it's almost come full circle where it went from, you know, ethos to aesthetic, and now it is like so nebulous that it can kind of be whatever you want or need it to be. and it and it becomes that and and you know I think maybe for some it's a spirit for some and to me particularly emo and pop punk has always been such a not always a thin line there are some things that that are clearly one or the other but they're not most of it most of the vent diagram is a circle more of it's a circle than it is separate circles in my opinion and I feel like a lot of times what you call emo or pop punk is more cultural signifier I think it feels like a generational thing to me in a way because like for me I I'll be totally honest I wouldn't have considered myself in emo fan even like five years ago but then I got into it through like you know we'll say hot Mulligan and what's the other one that I was thinking of heart attack man was the other one that I was thinking of those were like two of the bigger ones that kind of brought me into like that sort of like DIY emo you know whatever you want to call it type of thing but both of them are really pop punk bands if you think I don't I've always thought that post emo feels like a rebrand of pop punk just so that people don't think of the like you know multitude of grossness called yeah yeah just just the allegations from like the warp-tour era bands and stuff like that I've always felt like post emo is just like a rebrand of pop punk basically most of the bands that people say that I sing like do not stand up great but yeah yeah so I get it no no I get the need for or the desire maybe for some to you know create and modify handles I mean but that's that's also that distinction is part of why for us we now have a second a second a second a second catchphrase has hit career day oh yeah it's emo for the end times and also the people's pop punk and see I like the people's pop punk that feels that feels so like bang on yeah so it's one of those things where for me I care less about I can care only so much what I assume people's feelings are and people that are so reflexively against it I we wouldn't be able to matter to them anyway but that's why kind of and maybe it's also the wrestling of fandom in me that's like having our own kind of like name for the type of music we make is oh yeah it kind of feels like an easy way to just onboard someone quickly specifically to what we're about and you know if you want to check it out check it out so since then we're kind of moving on a little bit here you guys took a little bit of a break over the past year-ish or so and had a few lineup changes and things like that what's the story there that you know kind of how did all that happen so you know there's nothing you know vitriolic or there's no animosity or bad blood it was just that touring there's this little thing called an affordability crisis that has been going on our whole lives but is exacerbating so it makes everything every part of doing this band stuff a lot and it was one of those things where just for multitude of reasons especially after you know from I would say summer 2023 to summer 2025 as a DIY band we had toured the Midwest three times we've done you know a dozen or more weekenders around New England the mid Atlantic the tri-state area and we did fest and it was just one of those things where Phil was was great and that tour like what was a really crowning like damn it feels like it feels like it's we get to belong like it amongst contemporaries like this it's almost like a victory lap in a way I feel like for a lot of people it did it felt it really did feel very very just reaffirming and and it felt like very much like a proof of concept of like you know we we can probably we might be able to make some something happen with this thing you know yeah and but you know there was that feeling about the the project at large but also internally there was just feeling like all right it feels like some of us are going in different directions you know our our old drummer our old drummer Ryan love him shout out if you're listening he had to actually after the photo set after that we stayed for photo but before our Sunday show post photo in Cincinnati he had to fly back because he had to work on on the Monday he he couldn't finish the last couple dates of it we had to finish with our friend Eric from this great band Fiona ourselves alone who is a labor organizer and happened to be in the Midwest anyway and was down to to rock with us and it was it was great but that was that was there was just this feeling of like operationally we probably need to take a beat for a moment and think about what we what we want to do and also in the grander scheme we had these song ideas that we've been working on that just there were some creative differences on that we wanted to just like let's take a beat come out of fresh and come out of right and Jacob and I you know took these songs and you know the these first two that that we're kind of unleashing from this this lineup they were utilized like last good day we get was originally supposed to be like we wanted it to have been the song that we put out for the photo tour but you've had it done for that long was it written at that point the idea of it oh the initial the initial bits okay the bits of it there's there's a decent amount of structure to it there was there was a lot of the chorus if not the whole chorus and some but like and I think I think maybe even had some a decent idea of it early spring last year or but when it came to actualizing the song and in totality we just weren't able to to balancing that with again all of the working and and being like last year 2025 was very much a learning experience of and I'm still in it in real time now yeah of what it is to be pursuing this music stuff when when working when having to try to work your life around things that accommodate music as opposed to hold it back because I was working HR right up until the fest tour I was working at it in an office job and that went away or I left it after unsuccessfully trying to get fired for a very long time I that was actually I think just before the the last episode that we recorded I think that I remember you saying that you would quit your job like the day before or something like that yeah that sounds about right and and it was you know a learning experience of like trying to to do this all the moving parts of this when you are working I'm at Trader Joe's working at the time 3pm to 11pm for not great pay you know it's making practicing hard it's making being home and seeing my wife like a hard it's making my head space very difficult and you know it it was one of those things where we were like you know but let's let's come back to these songs after after tour and and we kind of decided like when we try when we audition people for the the the next wave of this band we are going to use these songs as as part of the test because we want to see who can bring bring these songs to a new place we who can bring that extra a little bit of spice that it needs because right now it's just feeling just a little bland you need a little something jacoban i you know we we have a great chemistry and and rapport and we both are like we we need something more to happen on these songs than just us dictating and within that it was also this sense of let's make it so that the next thing that we do it's it might suck we might have to take a while to get get back going but in service of truly progressing the sound and the dynamics of what we're doing let's really find people that we can that we really want to to build with this and and that want to build these up and and you know that that we and we auditioned people all over the city feel weird auditioning people as opposed to yeah because I've always thought that like you know every band or like sort of jam or whatever that I've ever been a part of has always been like oh you know we we we chill together and then it's like oh yeah yeah I play an instrument yeah I do too let's start a band or let's jam or whatever and so like the idea of getting very like businessy and professional about like in audition feels very like strange for that sort of like punk band you know sort of energy well I mean the thing is is that like the the personal side is is also part of the what what what is required to make a band to work. - Totally, yeah. - I mean essentially, I mean, when you're on the road, you're seeing these people more than your wife, girlfriend, partner, or whatever, you know. - Yeah, yeah, well, absolutely. And, but yeah, it was, it's also just like, it's fascinating, Craigslist, Reddit, Instagram. No matter how many times you post exactly what you are looking for, it is clear that some people just reply to ads and don't understand the type of music that you make and wanna do it, or it's just clearly not a good fit. Like, it's kind of, I like in it to, you know, I like in it to, I play Goly and Hockey. And it was one of those things. Some games, you just don't have it. And there will be some auditions where it's like, ooh, this is gonna be a rough one to get to the end. And others, it's just like, oh, this is solid, this isn't bad, this is good, but I don't know if this is good with us. And also, we had some people that worked that kind of worked, but didn't work for the vision of touring, you know. The moving or, you know, just lifestyle-wise, it wasn't gonna be a thing. So rather than prolong it, let's just kind of keep the search going. To the point where we ended up having to look all the way to Philadelphia, to get our new rhythm section. - Do you have a newfound, maybe not appreciation, a newfound understanding of hiring managers? Or. (laughing) - Yeah, Zip Recruiter, you know, all that money that we've wasted on Zip Recruiter for our band, never getting them back. You think Instagram ads are bad, but. No, it was one of those things, both the playing and the personality side of things. It was like, if we're gonna do this, it's gonna be a hard no matter what. What is going to matter is what serves the vision of what we're doing and it feels most inspiring for us to actually see it through. And Kamal, our new drummer, knew him, had known him, been friends with him for about a year when we started talking. - Is he and other bands or anything? - He plays in, I believe, the Midnight Dispatch, a jam band in Philly, but he moved from, he's originally from Maine, met him at a shout out, Cinema Stair, show that we played in Connecticut, and at the time he's living in Maine, and he drove by himself to catch us and Cinema Stair. And afterwards, you know, we're talking and, you know, mentioned Kamal's Indonesian, and he just, we're talking about no problem and what it's like to kind of be a person of color in the scene and bonding over that a little bit. And then flash forward to April, 2025, we're playing a weekend here that ends in Philly, and who do I see in the crowd, but Kamal? And I'm like, sure enough. - What the fuck? - Dude, we just played Boston three weeks ago. Why would you drive this far from Maine? And he's like, actually, I just moved, I just moved to Philly this weekend. And I was like, oh, okay, we're chatting throughout the night. And like, I don't know why, but there's part of me that said like, hey, 'cause Ryan had communicated that he was going to be leaving at some point in the year. And it was like, okay, so we know we're gonna need, we know we're gonna need a drummer, and the megazord version of this band that we desire to be will also have a second guitar. So it's like, you know, if the answer's yes to playing and it's like either of those, where this would be cool. And he said, actually, I was like, you know, curious, you know, you play anything, we're looking to expand. Things might be changing. And he's like, actually, I'm a drummer. And something clicked in my head of like, let's bookmark this. Let's see if this is where we should come back to. And you know, we tried, like I said, we tried out other people. And I just said like, we lose nothing from trying it. But it's like, we ultimately know, we ultimately know that Kamal, like the video, the drum videos he had sent us, just that, you know, he'd done in general. And he's trying to think if he had one for, that he sent us for no problem. But like, it was just like, got great chops. And knew that he was a great hang. And the context of he drove all the way by himself, like four and a half hours, five hours to see us. This is someone that music means a lot to. - Yeah. - Clearly. - And we met, first we drove, Jacob and I drove down to meet up with him. You know, we sent him some, told him to practice some of these songs. And this is a new song, like that, that we want to see, you know, what you can do, you know, what you want to do with this. 'Cause this is kind of why we're doing this. And it was, it was great. Like it was great. There's a feeling out process just of like, while we're doing this. And also like this, we drove driving. Like it was kind of surreal, just like driving two hours, two and a half hours. Yeah, two hours could be like middle, it was a weekday. Two, two hours, 15 minutes to jam. And you were like, let's do this. Like, let's absolutely do this again, especially like once you get that first time of like playing with each other, you know. And like that was really good. And you could see like when, you know, the loosening up around being in front of new people, like just like. - There's always that moment, where it's like somebody tests the water a little bit with something and you're like, yeah, all right. - Yeah. - Do that, do that. - Yeah, exactly. And then a couple of weeks later, we met up again, building on it and sent him another new song. I can't remember if we showed him both last good day we get and this alarms, or just last good day we get. But I think in the time between, also through misalarms at him. And like all the songs that we had, like right off rip, the stuff that he did with, with last good day we get and misalarms, was just like, all right. Like our friend, our friend Rob Lanterman who plays in this great band, Shrug Dealer, and also plays in this great band, One Z. Was with us and he's written on some of our songs before, 'cause we wanted him to join, but just he's in a million bands and life, you know. - It do be like that. But like, and if there's like someone that I want to have as a trusty musician in the room and ear to be playing bass in the room. And like within the, like right after the first song, I think he texted me, just like, yep, I think you found your new drummer. And I was like, awesome, awesome. So that was that. And then we continued to try out some bassists and people hadn't really quite clicked. Bass and a punk band, it's hard to find bassists and not guitarists that are playing the bass in a lot of instances. - I have said this so many times. She's not a little side note, but the music is always so much better when the bass part is written by a bassist instead of a guitarist who plays the bass. It's just a completely different approach to the instrument that is, you have to study it. You have to be, you know, a student of the craft. - Yeah, and in our case, it was, you know, we had, we knew that we wanted to like, we played one show with equipment in October before Kamal, officially joined or a Kim, yeah, before Kamal joined, but we, with Rob and this guy Nick that filled in for that show. We played a show with equipment in Brooklyn. And that's the first time we played last good day we get. And like, there was this feeling of, like, damn, all right. And it was a packed room because like, it was, equipment, see-through person, loose creek park was on it, and hey, I love you. - That's such a stacked line up, holy shit. - And like, yeah, we opened and it, but the room was packed and it was bouncing. So there was like, all right, let's book, let's see if we can put some, we had some feelers out and we were able to put a weekend together in early December, but we needed a bassist and Rob couldn't do it and because he had an obligation. And Kamal said, well, I have this friend, Milo, that, you know, I've been friends with forever, and he plays bass, he beat down the fill in. I'm not, you know, he was like, I'm not sure if, maybe like the touring side of things, but he definitely is down to do this. They drove up to practice, I think once or twice. Maybe we drove down once, there might have only been one practice. And it went great and then we had the weekend there, and the vibes were great, the hang was great. Like, Milo and Kamal crashed at my place, where, you know, showing them the bars in sunny side queens, one of which, a sweet avenue, named after the gesture brazil song, and it has like the gesture brazil orange rhyming dictionary color scheme in it. But like, yeah, we're just like, we're hangin', we're havin' a great time, which after just the time of working and trying to find new lineups and wondering, if we're gonna be able to get this thing back on track, it was nice to just have that weekend there. And then we get back from it and a day or two later, like Milo's like, hey guys, had a great time, and, you know, I know you're trying out people, but if it's okay, I'd love to try out. And we tried out a couple more people, and, or maybe one more person, and it was, it was fine, the person was fine. was good, but we just kind of like looked at each other and we're like, "It's Milo." It's like, "It's Milo." This is the thing. And the fact that Milo and Kamala have grown up, went to grade school together in Maine. And then when Sephiron moved to Philly, it felt like it was a long road to get it together. But it was meant to be. It found its way. And I'd like to think that now what we're putting together sounds like a very unified dynamic front. And how is the search for a second guitarist going? Or is that not really an active thing more of just a like, "If we find the right person, then we'll hit him off." If we find the right person, and if you think you might be the right person, please reach out to me, because it would be great to just, there's so much that, especially, there's so much that Jacob puts into these songs on guitar that like, getting to have more of that. And with adding Milo, we've added another singer. And there's, I think the harmonies that he's doing on these songs are awesome and compliment my voice great. But to now having both Jacob and and Milo singing, but doesn't hurt to have another voice. I don't hurt to have another voice in there. I put a lot of words into this thing and I've also decided to continue to challenge myself by just writing very different dynamics of vocals in these songs in different parts of them, where having someone that can tag in for me so I can get another couple seconds of breath here and there. Live would be really great, because that was the thing that being on tour, especially, was like, shit, playing a show, playing back-to-back shows, the sure. Playing a tour is its own type of shape that you find yourself back into by the end of it. But like, third or fourth day, you're like, okay, I was very grateful that we had a day off by design five days in, because like, especially the fourth show was back at Howard's Bowling Green Ohio. Yeah, people showing up on a, you know, the real heads know that 35 paid on a Monday in Bowling Green Ohio, off semester, is like, that's a feat. That's like, that's a nice-- It's pretty insane, honestly. That's a nice crowd, and it turned out, it turned out, will the footage of me drunkenly singing confessions, part two karaoke in the venue after hours, ever see the light of day? We'll see. I hope so. But yeah, it was, you know, having another vocalist and guitar in the band would be great, but we're already tackling writing, we have weekends just coming up throughout the fall, and we're planning to record again before the end of the year. Yeah, it feels like you guys are really just kind of hitting the ground running here with the sort of comeback era, so to speak. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's a, it's a, it's filed at the moment a nice to have, but not necessary for the current, I guess, moment, and I guess the priority list that we are already kind of have ourselves writing on the margins of. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So one last little thing before we move on, I know that we've been trying to stick to a little bit of a tighter schedule, but I do want to hit on this before we move on to the next part of the episode. These two tracks that you are releasing, which is last good day we get, which is already out. And then of course, Mr. Alarms, those were both produced by Nick Starrantino. Yeah. How, how was it working with him? You know, it seems like he does great work on just about everything. So I'm excited to hear a little firsthand account of how that process works out. So Nick, Nick has been a supporter of this band for a while and had reached out in the past. And, but I met him for the first time. Again, take a shot because we're mentioning faux again. Yeah. Well, and I'm going to bleep all of these two for the bit because we're not allowed. It's not allowed to be called faux anymore. So that'll be great too. Yeah, you know, but you know, Nick introduced himself after the set and was just like, dude, that was an amazing set. Like, and was just talking. I was like, oh, dude, thanks so much. Like, you know, and, you know, he said, you know, he was there for so many bands that he produced. Yeah, we're playing faux. And there was this thought when we were thinking about producing, we talked to a couple different studios. And there are a couple. It was closed because there were, it was a nice problem to have that there were studios that we really liked that have put up really cool stuff wanted to work with us. But there was something about Nick. Nick's interest in the band and his familiarity with the band from over the over the course of multiple releases. You know, and they felt like, okay, and he's also on a, on a, on a, a heater with like that, with that summer bruise record with, uh, I think I'm not sure if the deer marry and stuff he, he was already out by then. Um, but like, there was just a sense of new lineup that is aspiring to really grow, working with, and it's going to be our first time recording the four of us together. Yeah, as this group, as this group, it felt like someone that had a familiar, his familiarity and energy and understanding of the scope of the band and where we wanted to go, felt immensely, he felt like the perfect guy for just the understanding that those intangibles. But also his, his, his, his just straight up production was amazing in real time of like the pre-pro that we did on the songs was, it was the most, it was the most unifying pre-pro session that I've ever been a part of. And to some extent, we, how much of that was us practicing up, you know, we, we did play a smattering of, of shows in the spring to, you know, road test these songs a little bit to get tighter at playing and performing them and to get tighter, you know, at playing with each other. Uh, but like the pre-pro session was like the drum room was set up, you know, and then, you know, fuck a scratch track, the scratch track will be us doing pre-pro of like, you know, playing the songs as they are, including, and like the rest of us are in the control room, I'm singing, and I'm singing along, and I'm singing my parts. And it, it was like one of those things where like, okay, did that a couple of times. Okay, everyone is playing tight, everyone is, is, is, is, is on it. Um, what if we tried this idea on this bridge, what if we tried this idea on this bridge? And that was most of what got tweaked, like, uh, there's a section of Alaska Day we get bridge that is extended and that, and it's milks so much better because of Nick's suggestions and, and the whole, like, kind of quasi, like, breakdown part in mist alarms. Yeah. It's, Nick's, is Nick's suggestion entirely. And two weeks after we recorded, we played a one-off in DC, which popped off heavy for us, which was amazing. Shout out to, to, to CUNY for putting that show together, uh, and, and, uh, rediscover fire booking. But like, we, it's our first time playing those, the new versions of those songs. And when we get to the breakdown part of mist alarms, and it's our first time ever playing that song, um, anywhere, and kids are, are throwing down and, and pushpitting to that. And it's like, damn, that what, if there's not a, like, just a more obvious, it's just like, sense, like, you know, uh, it's that sort of moment of vindication where you're like, yeah, this, this was how it was meant to be. And it was just like, oh, yeah, no shit. That's such a smart part to put there. And like, see, yeah, Nick working with Nick was the, we very much are trying to, it's been too long, right? You said it's been two years since, since we spoken. Yeah. And when mist alarms comes out on September 25th, it will have been a day over two years from the EP coming out. And that's just too long. And, and so we're trying to make up for lost time. You can't rush it, but we have so many ideas we've been sitting on that we're now just like trying to like maximize what, like, we, we, we do check-ins, you know, on like, okay, deciding on what we want to write, what, what, what, what are we feeling most drawn to? What, what do we think right now? We think we can give the most to. All right, let's throw our energy into it, you know, and, and, um, having someone like Nick that can help kind of get our heads around what it, what it, it sounds like for us to put in the pieces. Yeah. To be putting the pieces together has been great and, you know, um, I, I definitely don't think that's the last time you'll, you'll, uh, be seeing that collaboration. Hell yeah. All right. So I know that you said that you've been working on writing quite a bit. Is it feeling like it's going to be an EP and album at this point, or is it too early to really tell? It's just a lot of cool ideas here and there. And it is too early in part because, you know, just off-ripped, the, the system is broken, you know, the, the, the, the, the way people take in music and the way it's distributed is not what it was. And I think who's been a better example of beating that dynamic than leisure hour, you know? No, that was the first example that popped into my head, too, because they did the perfect waterfall release structure last year. And then that album just popped off like crazy and they were getting huge opportunities everywhere. And I think, you know, and credit to them, they They also had multiple great releases before that, right? But that to me, it was a small, seeing that was a very, and they grind like crazy too. I tried to set up an episode of the podcast with them at one point and it was literally just we could not find a time that they weren't already in the studio or on the road and it just didn't work out. Yeah, no, no, but I am of the mindset that I think my style of songwriting, um, lyrically, it lends itself to a greater canvas, but at the same time, you know, who knows what this all will lead to. I think I've hinted greatly what I hope it does lead to, but to me, I am, there's such an energy to be a little bit philosophical. There's an energy right now to having this thing that I get to fucking talk about what the fuck it feels like to be alive and what the fuck I'm seeing on the streets and in the world. And for me, as much as I, there's this balance to strike of getting this out there, what gets this out, this project out to the most people as best as possible, but at the same time, I don't want to overlook the songs themselves because every single song is an opportunity to get to talk about something. And however long people get to stick with that song, you got to communicate with them. And people that stay and listen to the whole time, maybe they actually sit with this and it inspires them to do something, right? And like, that's part of what I love about, part of what I love about shows and touring is getting, for half an hour, 35 minutes, getting to just talk about this stuff, get to talk about why we're doing, why this song exists, what's happened in my life, what are things I've seen, and getting to just, for a moment in this age of technofashes, utter decay, AI, not knowing what is real, it is nice to get to have this thing that is urgent and these songs by virtue of us kind of recording in batches, they can be very current. Very timely, yeah, I like that, yeah, and I think for us, because all these things, you know, you strategize, and it makes sense to strategize doing this shit, you can't, if you want this to go somewhere, you can't just be like, well, the music's going to speak for itself, and it will get to the people it's supposed to get to, you know, and just assuming it does, work that goes into it, but like, at the end of it, at the end of it, it's what you, what you say, and having it structured in this way, there's many stresses to it, right? But there's also this feeling of like, I'm going to get to talk about, I'm going to get to talk about what I think about ICE, and how much I fucking think that every single person that is in ICE is a traitor to humanity, and especially traitor to their people if they look like me, and I just am kind of trying, right now, as you can tell, it's been a balancing act, but I am doing what I can, and all of us are doing what we can, and, you know, shout out to We're Trying Records, Jordan. I believe today is, I think I saw Jordan post that, I think it's the 11 year anniversary of We're Trying Records. That sounds right, because last year was the 10 year anniversary, they did the show in Chicago that I went to, and it was around this time, so I think that, yeah, that sounds right. So, and shout out to Jay, our manager, you know, we've got a team, and we've got the scene, you know, we've got the scene, I'm back here with you, the people that have been reaching out to us about the new song, and the new songs that were the ones that we've shared it at all with. It is as stressful as all of it is, everybody that does this knows that you are living on the edge, talking yourself off of it and onto it. So much of this, I think, is just riding the ledge, and I think, ultimately, what you have to try to do is not jump off the ledge, but how do we turn this ledge into a million-point Tony Hawk combo, you know, and it's stressful, but like, I don't know, it's all stressful no matter what, right? Like, it's, yeah. I'm working on my first entry for what will be a band-branded, kind of newsletter thing. Oh, cool. Call the bulletin head, or call it bulletin head. Yeah. And the first part of it is just going to be about thinking about what it is, like the feeling of affordability as a palpable thing in doing this and touring, both internally but externally, just seeing it, seeing the Midwest and seeing just the amount of shuttered businesses and rising homelessness in places that don't care, that continue to cut their services, to cut their investment in their own people, you know? Yeah. Yeah. And the farmers for Trump, well now the farmers, surprise, prize are not making their money back, they're getting screwed over, and now you have data centers that are trying to be, that they're trying to buy them out of their farmland to have data centers. And in the Great Lakes region too, that shit pisses me off even more, just because it's like, you know, one of the largest like naturally occurring freshwater sources in the world, you know? Yeah. That's either here or there. Oh, yeah. Well, but it is here. It is, it is. And it is here. And it's like, it's one of those things that, and coming back from tour and the grind of work that I've had to take on. And it's like, it's one of those things where all of that, things are so bad, there's a meme that's going around said, economy is so bad, I might as well chase my dreams. Yeah, I saw that. Yeah. And for me, I feel, I'm living that because it's like, there are times where I'm like, "Damn, this is a lot." And like, yeah, it does feel good, you know, it does feel like the band is growing and building, but at the same time, it's, it's a lot, New York, especially, is not cheap. And it's one of those things where it's like, "Okay, but I'm fulfilled, I'm stressed, but I feel like I'm communicating something and I'm participating in something that speaks to experiences beyond just my material growth and gain." That's where this summer has been so weird for me because it's been financially the worst like year of my life, but also incredibly fulfilling in every way, personally, and so, it's so weird, you know. You know what? I'll drink to that. Hell yeah. Let me get, I'm switching from the athletic to shout out to Trader Joe's discount because one Trader Joe's, they like it by individual beverages. So nice. And my 20% off employee discount definitely was not going to, to risk it on this boardwalk, lose slushy interest, but let's see real, real time. Real time react. Oh God, it's not good. That was the best I could hope for for a clip. That's not good. That's not good, but it, it, it, again, but we persist, right? And, and I hope I didn't interrupt you, yeah, your, your, okay. The horrors persist, but so do we, and on that note, I think it is time to move on to our song choices, our fresh fines, if you will. Absolutely. Hell yeah. So I'm going to go first. We're going to go back and forth. It's going to give you the closer. You know all of this already, so getting right into it. My first song is by a band called Forest Green, who are Michigan locals, and they're a name that I've heard quite a bit recently, you know, the last few years and all that. I finally saw them live at a festival at the beginning of August that I can't remember the name of now. I'll look it up while it's playing, but, but, but these guys were playing at the outdoor stage. It was sort of like a two stage set up. There was one inside, one outside, you know, um, and they're like a, like a heavy emo kind of post hard core, ish type of band. Um, and so I listened to all of their, like, released music after I had seen them at that show. And this was the one that stood out the most to me in that listening. So this is from their newest album, You're Alone, which came out last year in June. This song is called Did You Just Say Baby? I've been searching for the perfect place to hide away without a son forever in this moment. And I've been thinking of the perfect time to get away There's no real mouth or sex or evil slaves The curse by the wind knows We give the dark spots With the pictures for your sisters And the rest can save this place For what if we weigh on around the dark? We'll take hands and kiss goodbye And hold me as I shake The dark are you decry And tell me it's what we're seeking It'll test me you a day What if we weigh on around the dark? What if we weigh on around the dark? We'll take hands and kiss goodbye And tell me it's what we're seeking It'll test me you a day And tell me it's what we're seeking And tell me it's what we're seeking Hanging out in your bedroom Talking about my skin tone You say I should be happy Not feeling afraid or so But your family Still calls me Yeah I can't believe the things you Say to me So I'll just sit and wait inside And say nothing Tell me again how dark my skin gets Under the sun Tell me again how you fell in love 'Cause I'm one of the good ones 'Cause I'm one of the good ones 'Cause I'm one of the good ones Yeah, I like that a lot Yeah, yeah, I mean that That Paul the singer played solo Opened for one of the first shows That I ever played with Jacob Which I consider to be kind of The real starting point of the band Yeah It was a It was a benefit show Raising legal funds For A Filipino political prisoner Who had been organizing Against the Duterte government That like you know They were I forgot what they were Holding him in like Detention for like An ounce allegedly Allegedly an ounce And was like you know Hannibal Lector style You know just throwing him away And Paul I remember Paul played that song So like acoustic And I was just like This needs to become a song You need to do this This experience Is something that I want To be A song for There needs to be a song for it And I think So knowing that the song at its core And then Getting to now hear the fleshed out version of it We just played With them their first show In six years But yeah Out on Long Island a couple of weeks weeks ago. And it's just the feeling of like seeing this song with again like the the spirit of a band kind of elevating this message out there, the energy of it. That feels really great. Like to me, you know, I think I'm pretty sure that they played like the Unitarian Church back in like 2019. I forgot what show festival they were on. But they were like doing cool shit. And I just was just like, you know, that I feel like the scene is better. And I want to participate in the scene more when I see bands like Live Well and I hear songs like that. It makes me want to make more songs and stand on business. It makes me think through every lyric I write a bit more. So yeah, was that your first time ever hearing them? It was. Yeah, I definitely hear the career day DNA in there a little bit. You know, I particularly really love the the sort of like wordplay of the whole like cuz I'm one of the good ones because you know, that's obviously something that you've touched on in your lyrics, you know, a bunch of times as well. But it just it always feels so pointed because it's like everybody knows that that is like the generic like kind of like racist, but not over and like outward sort of like thing that people say, you know, and so it's sort of become the it's sort of become like like the the the joking punching bag in a way because everybody who is who would be in on the joke understands why that's so generic and stupid. Yeah, like I kind of love that aspect of it because it's like I don't know just something about that I really enjoy it. It's yeah, it's it I just it is something to I also think that I think it's a I very much love that the the the line like that ending line it is triumphant, you know, it's it's them. It has the gang vocally part to it. And there's what was that lyric actually? Tell me again, wait, it's a tell me again, how dark my skin gets under the sun. Tell me again, how you fell in love because I'm one of the good ones. And and I thought like the the gang vocal aspect of it with how well the song builds to to that where it's it's a you know Paul the tone that that Paul is singing and the song is feeling very not not restrained, but it's very much just like it feels like it's being needled, you know, and makes the lyrics it makes the it makes the discomfort of the lyrics be as uncomfortable as they're supposed to be, right? When I love that back and forth of it too with like, you know, being very open with those like just strummed chords and the verse and stuff like that. And then everything kind of comes pounding in for that chorus, you know, it really kind of like hammers that home. Absolutely. I just think it's a way that to me it's like so I'm an idiot singer that has no sense of music theory or any of yourself a little more credit than that. So so I I think about like what is everything in this song singing the way it's supposed to and is it is it is eating each other and that that little that little beat that that little interlude instrumental between the the first and second verse it really just lets the songs mood it's a bit more the little bit it lets the lyrics free the bit and then like when the chorus comes and explodes and it feels triumphant it it's just it it's a great payoff it's it's a great way to build to a payoff totally. So my next song is a band that I had seen around a little bit but they're a local Michigan band that I finally saw live for the first time last month because some friends of mine who are in a band called Toad were playing a festival called Dunesville which was up in like the northern lower peninsula of Michigan and I was hanging out with them during that it was like a camping sort of festival so we had like one big like campsite we were all hanging out and all that and so I went to that and finally saw these guys for the first time after hearing about them for a while they're called chirp and they're like a Roots Rock jam band in a way which is really really fun especially you know last set of the night when everybody's just like stoned and drunk as hell you know oh yeah that's that's when they cook that's when that type of music cooks exactly exactly so but they actually just released their newest album torque like two weeks ago on August 19th and so I decided to play the opening track from that album because I really liked it I was listening to it at work today and all that and I just couldn't really choose which one was my favorite so I was like I'll just do the first one so this is Sanctify by chirp hellio oh take a look inside and find it what will you find inside it been dying to go I'm sure we're beating piece if we can oh you know it yourself is leaving with your worries in tow I've got a stranger read your range of mind you're ever had oh say the beat my say you're not real yeah yeah we didn't even have switch places amongst the open spaces you got to find a one's lead the one's been hungry one's been eaten they won't stop beating so now which one will you be I've got stranger read your range of mind you're ever had oh say the beat my say you're not real bird's and wings passed by he walks them for you to the night wanting to be sanctified all your demons and your reasons climb into the open sea asking to be sanctified you (upbeat music) ♪ I've got strength or freedom ♪ ♪ Raise your mind ahead ♪ ♪ More, safer, be my savior, now, now, now, now, now, now ♪ [MUSIC] >> This time it's actually. >> Yeah, I didn't get my ass, I didn't get my ass that time. Those false stops, I felt, I felt like I was being baited. >> Well, that entire intro is kind of just trying to fuck with you in every way. You know, nothing is like in a time that you would like think it is. It's all just like, it feels very random, but it's also like kind of contributes to the groove, you know? >> For sure. >> No, I mean, it definitely, that is a jam band. I'm definitely going to tell Milo and Kamal, because I feel like that's a band. That sounds like something that they might maybe shroom out to a little bit or something. >> See, when you had mentioned that they were in a jam band at some point, I was like, all right, I feel a little bit of indication for this pick, even though I know it's probably not quite your wheelhouse. But I was still like, you know, it's a fun one. But I really love particularly the bass playing in this, because it's not very showy, but every time they kind of stick out and have this little lick, it's always the tastiest thing you've ever heard. You know, it's just, but it's like, just in the context of everything, it sounds so fucking cool. >> Contextual playing is better than, you know, the foundation of punk music is like foundational playing or contextual understanding is so much more important than proficiency or mastery. >> I've said for a very long time that I think that's what makes punk drummers really good, is that punk drummers know how to serve the song better than almost any other type of drummer, because they know how to play something that's simple, but effective, but it's just going to like, you know, too many people get too many different drums and too many different things going on, and they're just, you know, it gets a little masturbatory after a while. >> For sure, for sure. >> All right, so what do we have up next? >> Up next, we have, again, take a shot for a photo. Pretty bitter Tommy Deluxe goes Hollywood. [MUSIC] It's a fair assessment to keep me in the cover. Take me out when you close the shutters, I don't blame you. I don't want you to want me anymore, I don't blame you. I don't want you to know me anymore, I don't blame you. Don't worry, until I'm tied with a highway makes it home. It's not forever, it's not forever. There's a cardboard cut out of something better leaning against the sofa. And you are me, the deer on the side of the highway don't get home. Don't worry, start up your cheek won't be there till the end. You've got forever, you've got forever. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] It's not forever, it's not forever and you won't be there. You are making fun of my life, you won't find, you won't find. [MUSIC] >> Certified stank face on that, man. >> And rocks. >> Speaking of tasty baselines, let's talk about those baselines, man. >> They were so nice. >> Seeing them play at Photoshop, it was the first time I saw the play. And there was just such a like, what did they play? >> Sorry, I cut you off in the middle of your thing. >> I think they played, it's hard to say, because Photoshop, I was on another plane of existence, because I was on steroids from being very sick and getting prescribed them that morning. And you're not supposed to drink or do anything else on steroids that I did a lot of stuff. >> I think I remember you telling me that. >> Yeah. >> So I can't remember was after we played, because I was really becoming one with the set. But it was just one of those things of this band is playing such interesting, but within pop, song structure, songwriting. But the way they're playing, what they're playing is so interesting. Mal has an amazing voice, amazingly expressive. And they put on such an energetic show too. There, it's just like this band should be globally huge. I'm like, it was one of those things where my brain was not understanding how this band wasn't more seen just because, okay, right off rip, that song, the acoustic, but then the electric guitar, it's one of those things where the parts independently, some of them you wouldn't put with the other parts in the same song, and they all work so well. That's the funniest thing to me is there's a breakdown in the middle of that that still just has a banjo playing, banjo shit over top of it. And I'm just like, hell yeah, this is sweet, they do, that is the thing that I think is the most interesting about them is the fact that they are willing to experiment with the instrumental side of it. And it almost gets to the point where it's like this organized chaos where I feel like if you were to listen to this, this is very to my ear that listens to a lot of types of music and things, you know, feels very poppy to me in light because of like the delivery and things like that. But I feel like if you were to, and if you were to show this to somebody and be like, oh, hey, here's a song, they might, they might vibe with it, they might not, you know. But I feel like if you were to take the vocals off of that and show it to somebody, they would be like, what the fuck is this? Like there's not really a genre to describe what they're doing because it's not Midwest emo. It's not, you know, hardcore, it's not punk. It's this completely different thing that pulls from all of these different directions. And that's what makes it so interesting, and that's what makes music interesting to me in general is that you can take pieces from different puzzles and put them all together. Now, the core, like the core of the songwriting, the lyrics and the way mail sings, it reminds me of like what I consider like the oldies music that I try to like, harken back to sometimes when I'm like, trying to think about good, fundamental songwriting, like Jackson Brown, you know? Oh, okay, sure, yeah. Like that, you know, that era of songwriting, and I don't know. There's something just, there's, you know, this thing like Judy Sill, Jim Krochi. Like, there's just, like, it ties it together, so, it ties it together so nicely, but on the other end of it, everything that happens around it makes it just feel that much more just like of an emotional ride. I don't know. It's, it's, they, you know, because I don't know what to call their sound. Like, I don't, I don't know what to call it. I just think they're amazing. And I, and I think that from a marketing standpoint, that might be part of the reason why they don't have as many listeners as because it's hard to put them into a box in that way, but from an artistic and musical standpoint, I think that that's what sets them apart and makes them so interesting. And I think that the, the, it's one of those things where the talent and the people involved is strong enough that they will continue to catch ears and grow, and I do think I think the world of that band, I know they've got a lot of fun stuff in the works. Shout out, Mel and Mary, we hung out, their half of the band moved to Chicago recently, so got to hang with them a little bit, like they were still literally unpacking boxes, because it was like the week that they moved. But yeah, that's awesome. Unbelievable, one-of-one band for sure. All right, so moving on to my next pick. This is, it's interesting because they say all of these things, and I honestly don't know what the differences between many of them, and I may get crucified for that. They consider themselves scrimmose, scrams, and emoviolence, which, you know, that's just never, I love that type of music, but like the genre labels and things have gotten too out there for me at this point. But it's a band called Snag from Milwaukee, and I was literally, I found this preparing for this podcast, because I was like, "Man, what am I gonna play? I feel like I haven't been like finding a lot of new music recently, so I went on band camp, and I just started like searching for stuff as I do sometimes." And these guys popped up, but I particularly want to play this song because it's in the middle of their new album. All the cages holding us will one day turn to dust. Great album title, first off. But I wanted to play this song, "Juneberry", specifically because it is so different from everything else on the record. So here we go. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Like not at all what you would expect going into this, right? Well, especially when you when you you led with scrams and emo violence. Yeah, exactly. That felt like some like classic, like count your lucky stars type type. See, when I was listening to it, I thought that the album had changed, and it was playing like in a place for owl song or something. Yeah. Like I mean that the build on that was something because it felt like every like three seconds I was hearing it in an additional voice. Yeah, coming in. And I love how much ambience is in those vocals too because they sound so distant, but also like right there, especially they do that a lot with like the harsh vocals, which I think is really cool, especially in like those sort of more low five super aggressive sorts of styles of music, having that little bit of ambience around the vocal is very interesting. But I also really like it in this context too, where it just kind of like it sounds so open and like kind of ethereal, especially with like the steel guitar or like the pedal steel and all that too. Yeah, it's so cool. Yeah, no, I that that was what was the name of that band again? Snag, that's sick. Yeah, no, I we what we really wanted to get to to mill walkie on this tour, but it was just kind of hard to to book it all like a lot. It was a classic thing of classic DIY thing of a lot of bands were either already had a show coming, people were on vacation, or there's a festival that had a ratings clause. Yeah, but you know, and that's the scrams, scream-o scene is just in general in the Midwest seems like it's it's really popped off, but especially in trying to like looking to try to put together Milwaukee show so many Milwaukee bands were in that scene. And I just I would not have expected like it's cool that within their scene, they're there within that scene that you have that that kind of like experimentation happening exactly with it. And I also just a little side thing, I just sent you the link to that album too, because I was like, I want you to to be able to experience what the rest of that album is and how and how vastly the vibe changes when that song comes on. But yeah, for sure. Yeah, it's it's so cool. There's so much cool stuff going on out of Milwaukee, that kind of like, you know, Wisconsin area. Like low key, I feel like everybody gives Michigan our flowers for like how many, you know, cool like emo alternative bands we have and stuff like that. But nobody gives enough flowers to Wisconsin, because they have so many cool fucking bands out there. Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, I it seems like it has started to come on a little bit with tiny voices as well. Yeah, it seems like like Wisconsin is starting to M and M ways is Wisconsin. No, yeah, they're from Madison. So it's I feel like Wisconsin is definitely starting to get to have it's it's moment for sure. Yeah. And it's cool getting to hear a band that is you know, is not one of those names that you kind of hear a little bit more in the scene is like really trying stuff. That's that's really cool to hear. And that's why I was so stoked on it. So what do we have up next next? We have fellow New York City rockers, alapartists. Hell yeah. Trains is a podcast. ♪ Freedom is the meds we have to ration. Freedom is the homes we can afford. Freedom is the past that never happened. Just a dad we didn't take. But we're still going to have to pay free to be weak. And we're free to be poor. And we're free to all we need while we watch TV. And we're free to be mad. And we're free to be scared. There's no love to trust except for us. ♪ Our past has abandoned us. Freedom is a lonely way to ashes. Freedom is a common in the school. Freedom is a future that never happens. ♪ Just a fate we'll have to face. But never would we choose. Everything again. And nothing left to lose. Freedom be weak. We might end up free to be scared There's no one left to trust except for our sorrows as up and in us Free to be weak, free to be poor, free to O.D. While we watch TV, free to be mad, free to be scared There's no one left to trust except for our sorrows as up and in us Free to be weak, free to be poor, free to be poor I love when you hear new things in songs that you've heard a million times before because your brain is working differently There's in that bridge there's the little talking section that's talked really far back in the mix And this is the first time I ever noticed that because I'm listening on headphones very attentively and I was like, "That's so cool!" So, Alapartist Adam, the singer, is he is very much an awesome, force of nature He's a fascinating and very interesting individual He is a, he's been a labor organizer and I expressed with him, we played a show earlier in the year, January It was after what, it was right before Big Snowstorm hit and it was right after one of the many ice killings that was just happening every day I mean, they're still happening, but we're just happening in televised everyday I felt this immense and we were fliering for an ice out of New York meeting the following week But there still was this futility that I felt about, what the fuck are we doing here? What does any of this mean? And Adam, he told me, he talked about how, there's a story that he tells it to show sometimes His, I believe his mom was a nurse in the 80s or healthcare provider 80s, 90s during the AIDS epidemic And that there was a phrase that they would bury their friends in the morning, they would protest during the day and then they would party all night And the partying was not a distraction, the partying was a rally and the partying was what they did And even if I have songs that are about that, it's a thing that in real time, when shit gets real, it feels very heavy and hard to feel that But you know, Adam's perspective, you hear it in these songs And again, it's, it's the same thing that informs a lot of what we do, it's the crafting of the songs You know, that's like, their sound reminds me of like, dangerous summer, a little bit less spacing, anglin airwaves Like, these very lush, interesting, poppy, catchy forms that they are infusing with immense immensely important messages about reality, about facing the reality that we have And I think that like, I feel that's the type of stuff that I want this generation of, you know, punk, emo, whatever I, it's, that's the whole thing, we need to be using these, these very familiar forms to be saying things that that maybe if, you know, earlier generations of poppy music, we're going to the mat on maybe more people would listen At the very least, it makes me feel a little bit less insane at the moment Well, and two-year point too, I think about this a lot with their activism is the fact that even with the recorded music outside of the lyrics, I remember when this single dropped 'cause I think it was a little over a year ago at this point now, and I remember they had done something on their Instagram where they were like, oh, join our mailing list or whatever, physical mailing list, by the way And it was a free thing, I was like, yeah, sure, you know, Adam's been on the podcast before I really like, you know, all of the all-apartist music, so I'll join this and the first thing that they sent, I wish I still had it to show, but they sent a little, like, eight-panel scene that had, like, recommended reading for, you know, the times that we're going through as well as, you know, recommendations for places to look for support if you happen to be having issues with, you know, certain things as well as, I forget what else was in it, but there, there was, you know, it was full of a whole bunch of really interesting material, some of which had to do with the music and some of which had to do with, you know, just sort of like the political activism side of things, and I thought that that was so cool to be taking this single rollout and turning it into a way to spread the word that you're trying to spread through physical means that people can pick up and tangibly hold in their hands, was so fucking cool. Walking the Walk, man. Exactly. Like, they talk that shit and they walk that shit, and I have nothing but admiration for all of those guys. Absolutely. So my next song is a little bit, well, not older than that one, but a little bit older compared to a lot of the picks that I tend to choose in that it was released back in February. But, you know, I was looking for songs that I wanted to add, and I was like, man, what if I want to play? And this was something that I've been listening to so much, but I've never mentioned on the podcast. So I decided to feature a song by Rat Boys, who are based out of Chicago, super cool band. I don't know too much about them outside of that, because they don't have like a very personable social media if that makes sense. I think they have a social media manager who does all of their stuff, and it's mostly just about, you know, the music. But I've been listening to this album a ton. It's called Singing to an Empty Chair, and this is probably my favorite song off of it. This is Anywhere by Rat Boys. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] ♪ I'm going anywhere, you're going ♪ ♪ I'm going anywhere, you're going ♪ ♪ I'm going anywhere, you're going ♪ ♪ I'll go to you ♪ ♪ Take me with you ♪ ♪ I'm going anywhere, you're going ♪ ♪ I'm going anywhere, you're going ♪ ♪ I'm going anywhere, you're going ♪ ♪ I'm going anywhere, you're going ♪ God, that's so much fun. Right to it, you know, that's just good. You know, 90s inspired, you know. Exactly. Pop Rock, you know, punk songwriting. And the thing that I love about this album in particular, have you listened to this album before? No. So the thing that I really like about it, and you can only kind of hear it in this song in like, the choices, like the note choices in the guitar solo a little bit. But on this album, they kind of lean into the like, alt country moment that's going on. And kind of, yeah, you can hear that. And I think it's really cool because I have a very deep love of like, 90s country music and before. I was raised on 90s country a little bit. My dad listened to that and then I loved like, you know, outlaw country back in the day and all that. But I think that like, the modern alt country sound is finally a country like, fusion genre that takes the type of country that I enjoy, as opposed to a lot of other ones that tend to feature things that I'm not quite as into in country music, which I think is really cool too. Interesting. That would be interesting because I also might be a sign of like, it might be a good sign for the future of labor, if we're starting to get like actual, you know, country of the people type music and not the Luke Brian, Morgan Wall and bullshit. Exactly. Yeah. I also want to really quickly mention that I love in the, I think it's the end of the second verse, the vocal delivery of the lyric, I'm fine, where they, it has this sort of like, you can hear the vocalist kind of break a little bit in that there's like a little bit of like a laugh or like an sort of like something to it, where I was like, I always love small little things like that in music, where you can tell that like the vocalist was feeling it in this particular thing. Like, I feel like you can almost hear when a singer is smiling in the way that they sing. You know, it just slightly like changes the sound of things a little bit. And it's so funny because you can almost hear somebody smiling in the delivery of their songs in the booth. And I think it's so cool. No, no, that's, I mean, that's a real thing. It's like, a lot of times if I'm trying to refine a vocal parts like mouth shape and like, it always is interesting when singing through a smile actually like helps. Yeah, yeah. And it's so funny to me that it's like almost intangible, but you can hear it like just a little bit, you know. For sure, for sure. What do we have up next? Up next. Staying in New York City. Hell yeah. Post-hardcore Dweller. Make Home. How can I make home when all you make is home? 2026 leading up to whatever this new project is coming. - Yeah, I mean, yeah, they, I'm trying to think, I think I went to one of their first shows, but yeah, they've been active since then, but I think they have been really working on, a funny, you know, circular thing here was, beginning it back in February, went to Alapartus Show and talked to Juan from the singer of Dueler. And yeah, they were mentioning that they were, you know, working on these songs, talking to Duelable and hoping to tour, and all of that has like come, but I think they've been kind of meticulously plodding for a bit, they've been playing shows a bit, I think they've done some week-enders and so tour, and they just did some touring. I think their tour and our tour missed each other by like exactly a week, like they caught-- - Oh, no! - And, but yeah, they, I think they've been kind of plodding and they're now about to grind real hard. And I mean, if it's gonna be exciting to see them tour more and I think to get to ride the excitement of tour and the anguish of the music into just I think something, I think there's a lot of good stuff that's gonna come from them soon. - Hell yeah. - So my next song is one that I got sent directly, we're actually listening to it a couple days early and full circle moment, again, again, it's a Dagwood track, which we talked about, Dagwood the last time you were on the podcast two years ago. It seems like you guys are on very similar time frames as far as your project releases because they have a new project that is coming out that this is off of, that comes out, I wanna get the date right, comes out on September 8th. So we are listening to this exactly one week ahead of time, it comes out next Tuesday. And this song is called "No Where Now." (upbeat music) ♪ See the signs all around the proverbial town ♪ ♪ Somewhere is a state of mind ♪ ♪ Top down satellite, look you find ♪ ♪ All you want for the ride, but I don't mind ♪ ♪ You coming with me, nowhere now ♪ ♪ I'm just stalling, nowhere now ♪ ♪ Never left somewhere near where I came in ♪ ♪ When the summit has cracked between us ♪ ♪ Better watch where you step, what you say ♪ ♪ What you see, what you get, but I don't mind ♪ ♪ You coming with me, nowhere now ♪ ♪ No one's calling, nowhere now ♪ ♪ No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Hold on, play your star loud 'cause it's cold ♪ ♪ No doubt and nowhere now forever ♪ ♪ I don't mind ♪ ♪ You coming with me, nowhere now ♪ ♪ I'm just stalling, nowhere now ♪ ♪ I don't mind, you coming with me, nowhere now ♪ ♪ No one's calling, nowhere now ♪ ♪ I'm just stalling, nowhere now ♪ (upbeat music) - That was sick. - Do those guys know how to write a fucking hook or what? - Man. - Yeah, I mean, that was my first thought. I made the comparison on the last episode when we put them on. I, there is just like such a continuation of like the energy and spirit of the blue album but like just with much people that are good hangs. - Yeah, yeah. - And yeah, that's a song that is, it's just hooks. It's amazing, you know what I mean? - The entire thing. - That was songwriting. - And the guitar solo is super fun too. It's got these, like the little (singing) like it's such a goofy sounding kind of thing but with everything else going on around it, it just sounds cool as fuck for no reason. It's so, I love it. - It sounds like I feel like they have a lot of fun writing songs. You know what I mean? Like it's one of those things where like, not that I'm sure there's a lot of work that goes into writing, but there's a lot, I know there's a lot of work that goes into writing. - Oh for sure. - Like there's just like a damn, I love to be in the room when they're cooking up. - Yeah. - Like every single part of this is going to just be bopping, right? Okay, cool. (laughing) - Well, and I'm still disappointed that I've never been able to see them live yet because they seem like they would be such a fun live band to just like, both on stage and also just like, they seem like they'd be a good hang to like, on the down low a little bit, you know, I was like, oh, what song am I gonna play? And I realized that the album hadn't come out yet. I emailed them a half hour before we started recording to be like, hey, what song can I play that's not gonna like annoy you guys if I play it like a little bit early for people? And they were like, all right, take this one out. They got back to me like, I think less than 10 minutes later, I was like, all right, these guys are fucking sick. I love this. (laughing) I mean, there's not much more that can be said. I'm excited, is it an album or an EP? - It's both. They have an album and a companion EP that goes along with it. I don't know what the release is on the EP. They sent me both, but the email itself specifically was talking about the album release. So I don't know if the EP is gonna be coming a little bit later or what it is, but yeah, it's almost like a double album, but they did an album and a companion EP to go along with it. - Save some for rest of us, damn. - For real, for real. So I hope you have a strong closer. What are we ending out on here? - I do, it's a similar, similar Bop from very underrated friend of ours, from Massachusetts. Good June, I want it all. (upbeat music) ♪ What do I say when it's all right but it's not okay ♪ ♪ I think about it more and more easily ♪ ♪ I don't know if they can change you ♪ ♪ Been picking it through staying up all night ♪ ♪ With nothing leaves ♪ ♪ And this is what I should do ♪ ♪ I feel it's all just all bad news ♪ ♪ So I guess I want it all ♪ ♪ I want it all ♪ ♪ I want it all ♪ ♪ So I'll get out of sight and get out just mad ♪ ♪ And forget my thing and the big red ♪ ♪ I just got out of sight and I want it all ♪ ♪ It's all for us in the start, out there's sound ♪ ♪ When I'm moving all over the ground ♪ ♪ It's all for me, it's all for all ♪ ♪ So I guess I want it all ♪ ♪ I want it all ♪ ♪ I want it all ♪ ♪ So I'll get out of sight and get out just mad ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ I just got out of sight and I want it all ♪ ♪ You're real time in here ♪ ♪ 'Cause it's not so dear ♪ ♪ No one will fear ♪ ♪ That I won't let you run ♪ ♪ All I ever be enough ♪ ♪ Will I ever measure up ♪ ♪ So I guess I want it all ♪ ♪ I want it all ♪ ♪ I want it all ♪ ♪ So I can let it say ♪ ♪ I want it all ♪ ♪ I want it all ♪ ♪ I want it all ♪ ♪ So give it a say ♪ ♪ As you say ♪ ♪ That little last hit ♪ Yeah, no. I was actually trying to-- I might have been a sound on my phone here. 'Cause I wanted to make sure I got the lyrics right. But like, Alex from Good June is unbelievable. Great lyricist. So much of that band's songwriting and Alex's songwriting particular. I believe Evan Weiss is like his goat. And like, there is a strong intuit over it. Dry jacket type of feel to a lot of what they do. That's a band that I think Alex's devotion to his craft definitely deserves a lot. And the band as a whole is super tight. And Jacob and Alex, I believe, met in college. And go all the way back there. And so, like, my knowledge of Alex started back with our first Boston show back in 2022. And it's just knowing him as a songwriter. There's been a consistent just dedication and growth. And I think like this EP, it's off of an EP called After Image that came out a couple of months ago. But I highly recommend it. Especially for the fall. This is going to hit, like, this tenor of song is going to hit extra nice. It's already saved to my library. Nice. Nice. Your first time hearing I present, right? Yes, yes. What do you think? No. I liked it a lot. It was something where I didn't really know what to expect. And I liked how it kind of like got more aggressive as the song went on with like kind of getting those like the screaming kind of vocals at the very end. But I liked that they saved it until the very end because it really helped with like that build up, you know? And it's also like, I don't know. It does kind of have that like throwback sound a little bit in a way that I really, really kind of dig where it feels fresh again, you know? There's a band look Mexico. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of this band. I have not. But there's definitely a bit of that spirit to it. But yeah, I just wanted to because when I was like making these lists, it's super hard. You're like, first you're like, how am I going to talk about five bands? And then you're like, how am I going to not talk about 25 bands? Yeah, exactly. And then it was like, I was like, you know what? This is one that I absolutely wanted to make the cut here just because I think this sounds that Good June has is like, it just needs people to hear it. Yeah. That's simple. It's so cool. I really enjoyed that a lot. So we're kind of getting to the end of the episode. Oh yes. We can never keep these under two hours with the two of us. We just go back and forth and impossible. Impossible. I like his talk. Yeah, but is there anything that you want to say one last time to kind of end out the episode, anything that we might not have mentioned before, that you want to hit on just one last time before we sign off for the end of the episode and play the new song once? Sure, sure. Well, yeah. You know, last good day we get is everywhere. Miss alarms will be out in the fall. But we're out on September 25th and we have a weekenders throughout, we have a weekenders each of the rest of the next three months. This month. Oh, hell yeah. September, end of September. We have Jersey, Brooklyn, Philly, a couple weeks later. We have Boston, Portland, Maine, and maybe Connecticut. Please, if you're listening from Connecticut, can help with shows. Please. And then November. We've been trying to set stuff up there. And we tentatively have something cooking in beginning of November with the DMV. DC loves us. I'm guessing it's the political unrest. Yeah, I would assume. But yeah, we got, you know, all our socials are career day and why, even though half the band is in Philly. And that's a new development. And, you know, check the checkout hour. Not sure when, on Labor Day, the first, I'm aiming to have the first rendition of Bulletin Head out, so that, you know, a little bit of a tour, a little bit of a tour unpacking. And I think in the age of how shallow and fleeting all of this feels, we, something that people say to me at our shows, is like, hey, man, really, like, what that song was about, really, like, what you said about it between the sets. And in the, in the spirit, like, you mentioned, alapartist mailing stuff. In the spirit of, like, holding on to deeper connections and just giving a direct sightline to the band. I think, like, the, the, to the headspace of the band. Having something like this where, you know, you'll have contributions from everybody in the band in it. I think it feels like a nice thing to start. That, you know, you'll see us on social media. We have some interesting things that are going to be coming your way. But, you know, signing up for that, it's a way to, you know, I'm sure we can utilize it to give you sneak peeks of stuff before it's out. But, I think, you know, it would be a great way to stick with the stick with, stick with us in, in, in a way that, I think, doesn't always lend itself to 15 seconds or, um, 280 characters. Yeah. I will try to, if there's, like, a link to sign up for that or whatever, I'll try to make sure that that's in the description on YouTube and all that too, so that it's easy to find anything else, or are we, are we pretty much, pretty much there? I think, I think we're there. It's nice to be back in the scene. It's nice to be back on fresh fines. It's great. I'm so bummed that we could not hang. IRL, like we said, at the beginning of this over two hours together. I'm sure it'll happen, but it'll happen itself. It'll happen in the spring. I'll see you soon, my friend. Hell yeah. On that note, this has been the Fresh Fines podcast. And this is the new career day single, Mist Alarm. Fresh. It's great to be back on the show. It's great to be back on fresh fines. [Music] I'm not you, I'm not you. I'm not you, I'm not you. It's a long game. If you let it be, touch up and it feels good. Don't have a face, it goes on a mystery. Fuck the world, do you see shit? Get some sleep, they can't agree, get up to read. There's no more time for me, so much. No more time for me, so much. Don't touch me, it's worth the hell. No more time for me, so much.