Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 143: Adam Deitch (Lettuce, Break Science)

Episode Date: October 5, 2021

On the Interview Hour we welcome a powerhouse of a musician, living drum legend, and all around good-dude, Adam Deitch! No cuts given today as we present to you Andy's unfiltered conversation with tons of stories and insights from Deitch himself. Today's hymn comes from Chapter 13, verse 42 From the Book of Floyd; Join us as we sing: "I'm your friend and you're my friend, so let's be friends until the end. We'll be old men and old women; until the end, let's be friends." This is EP 143, my friends.  Follow us on Instagram @worldsavingpodcast For more information on Andy Frasco, the band and/or the blog, go to: AndyFrasco.com Check out Andy's new song, "DANCIN' AROUND MY GRAVE" on iTunes, Spotify  Find out what pocket means: deitchbeatsdontquit.com Produced by Andy Frasco Joe Angelhow Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: The U.N. Nick Gerlach Arno Bakker

Hey guys, it's Andy. No voicemails tonight. This week we are actually premiering a new song, new single actually, yes. It's called Friends, a song about friends. And that's basically what this song is about. Floyd wrote it and Sean wrote it. I wanted to write a riff song. They started writing it on the road and during quarantine we all kind of finished the tune up. It was one of the last songs we finished for this new record that's going to come out that I can't talk about yet. But ladies and gentlemen, Chris, play the world premiere, the flutes. Give me the flutes, baby, because we got another single from Andy Frasco and the UN, my band. This song's called Friends, a song about friends.

Enjoy, and let's start the show. Thank you. We're always seeing your way Come on We're always seeing your way Come on I'm your friend and you're my friend So let's be friends until the end We'll be old men and old women Till the end, let's be friends

I'm awake, maybe you're in chat The most mediocre thing I've ever had We got each other, don't act so sad Maybe you're my mom, maybe I'm your dad We've always seen seeing your way Come on We're always seeing your way Come on People act out if they're in the strange

Pop their ass on the front of your stage Let no one listen to the fucking station Sit right off on their own vacation Sit right down, words are hard You better listen when I feel bizarre You can ignore me for as long as you want Or find your friends before the end of this song We're always seeing your way

Come on We're always seeing your way Come on You're my friend, you're my friend, let's be friends until the end Let's be old men and old women until the end, let's be friends I'm your friend, you're my friend, let's be friends until the end Let's be old men and old women until the end, let's be friends till the end Be open and go women, till the end Let's be friends! Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, And we're back.

Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. I'm Andy Frasco. How's everyone doing? How's our heads? How's our minds? Are we enjoying fall? Hell yeah, shout to fall. Let's go, fall.

I love fall. Oh, man. I literally just got home. I ran. It was a great dude I'm telling you this is

I don't know what they call this maybe it's just a down spiral not down spiral I'm not spiraling but it was just it's been a crazy month we played Memphis Fest

Memphil Fest which was fucking awesome shout out to Memphil Fest hell yeah that was a blast Memphis you turned up for your boy I appreciate it Memphifest, which was fucking awesome. Shout out to Memphifest. Hell yeah. That was a blast. Memphis, you turned up for your boy. I appreciate it.

But, dude, it was so fucking crazy. Well, I'll tell you everything that happened that week, but before we do that, talk about what I did and how you're doing. You all good? Everyone taking care of themselves, taking care of their bodies um not letting anxiety uh just just straight fuck us you know just straight no lube just inwards don't let it go to you um just know that things um happen in your life and um you know nothing is forever and if we get in that mind state that nothing is forever and there's going to be bad days,

but there's also going to be fucking amazing days, then we're going to get through this. We're going to get through anxiety. We're going to get through just being present, you know, just staying present. But, oh, man, it was fucking crazy. I mean, I had two days off yesterday and I stayed in Seattle. Shout out to Seattle. That was a blast. And then I had two days off yesterday and I stayed in Seattle. Shout out to Seattle. That was a blast. And then I had two days.

I went to Denver for two days and basically caught up on sleep and started watching that squid show, squid game. I didn't realize that just a bunch of people just fucking dying and stuff. I'm like, whoa, my anxiety cannot handle that right now. And then I got on a plane to get to Memphis Fest. I was going to go there Friday, take a day chill. My flight gets, oh, that's what I did. I did Bert Kreischer's podcast. Oh, sorry. I flew to LA on Tuesday, went to Bert Kreischer's house. Shout out to Bert. Holy shit. I totally forgot about that. I did that before this fucking crazy story I'm about to tell you

shout out to Bert Kreischer we talked for two and a half hours we cried, I hugged, I tried to give him I don't want to ruin it but I tried to give him mushrooms it was 11am he was like I got two more podcasts I can't do this with you Frasco but I took him and I was very vulnerable talked a lot

and he is just, me and him are just so fucking the same person. It's just crazy. And we had a great time. So I was on his podcast, Burtcast. I don't know when he's going to post it, maybe next week, maybe this week, but catch that one. That's going to be a lot of fun. So I went to LA, fucking cloud nine. I'm hanging out, like I'm in with the comedians and they fucking love us and watch our songs. And Burt was talking about how he played Dancing Around My Grave before he went into surgery. He was really stressed out and that song made him cry.

I'm just like, oh my fucking God, this is really happening. And then we started talking about my life. And I think I spilled the beans about a little too much about my sex life throughout my life. But two and a half hours, if you want to hear me talk for two and a half hours. Not like you already hear me enough talk for fucking every week on Tuesdays. But this is a little reverse. Me and Bert just talking shit and getting to know each other. This is my first time even meeting the dude besides just Instagramming.

What up, Bert? He's like, what up, Frasco? So it was really nice. Shout out to the whole family. Leanne, his know, besides just, you know, Instagram and what up, he's like, what up, Frasco? So it was really nice. Shout out to the whole family, Leanne, his wife, everybody, the kids,

his house is fucking tight. Ballin'. The pool's pimpin'. I love it. So I went to LA and I surprised, it was my mom's 69th birthday, hot,

hell yeah, shout out to my mom. Happy 69th birthday, mom. Hell yeah, great year. 69, hope you make love to dad

do some kinky shit whatever I surprised her we went sushi and then I got on this flight on Friday and it was running a little late all these flights my band we were all having trouble getting to Memphis on Friday and my flight

was like two hours late because I had to lay over in Denver and I missed my flight was like two hours late because I had a layover in Denver, and I missed my flight. So I got to stay in Denver. My house was Airbnb'd, so I got a hotel in my hometown, and Scotty had tickets to TK and the Holy Nothings, who were fucking badass, FYI.

Shout out to TK. Jay Cobb from Fruition's in that band. That band is good. That band is going to blow up. I have a feeling they have really good songs and that show is fun at a loss Lake shout out to Scott Campbell for getting me in and Scott moral for getting me in. I love you guys always taking care of me. I really feel Denver really feels like home. And even if I'm only home for a day and I don't, you know, I don't have my house, you know, everyone's taking care. I mean, I fucking shout out to Denver day and I don't have my house, everyone's taking care of me. Shout out to Denver. One more time.

I fucking love you, Denver. It's my people here. I fucking love you. You're the shit. So my second flight from Denver to Memphis got canceled. So I stayed fucking binged, blacked out. I was so sad. I was already kind of bumming a little bit

because it's just so hard. Being on tour for five weeks, I haven't done that in a while and just like, just takes a lot out of you and you know, you're trying to give it your all every time and then,

so I got on this flight, day of show, which I hate doing because God forbid, you know, a lot of, you know, flying is weird right now.

A lot of, yeah, a lot of flights get canceled. FYI, Southwest, do better. Unbelievable. I'm going to call you out. Southwest, do better.

Your boy. I buy a lot of flights with Southwest. I'm like, yo, hook me up with a hotel. I don't want to go to the city, go hang out with someone, blah, blah, blah. Let me just get a hotel by the thing. They're like, nope, you have a Colorado license plate so you know where to go. So good fucking luck. So I'm like,

you know what? Suck my dick from the back, fucking Southwest and I'm going to get a new flight. So I got United and they're homies. Shout out to United. That was dope.

Thank you, United. Hooking a brother up. I might go back to you. Had a lot of miles with United. They're like, you know what? We got you. Frasca, we got you.

And so I got on my flight on Saturday. And we were supposed to play at Memphis at 4.30. Got on my flight, you know, putting on my podcast. And, you know, an hour into the flight, I look left, and I see this older lady starting to have a seizure. And I was like, I didn't think, I was like, you know, when you're in fucking airplane mode,

just like tunnel vision, you don't know, like if someone's like, just like an anti-masker, just like you making a scene or whatever, yada, yada. And she started seizuring. And all of a sudden, I took off my headphones. I was listening to like a podcast or whatever. It felt like everything was really still. All of a sudden, she passes out.

She's literally right next to me. I didn't know what to fucking do. I've never seen someone have a seizure or start foaming. I think she was diabetic. I think she was trying to say she had low blood sugar. And then she passes out. And two people run, like, all of a sudden, like, there's, like, an announcement.

Is there a doctor on the, and I'm, like, I'm shell-shocked. I've never seen anyone, you know, lose, like, consciousness after a seizure and die. I think she died. And all of a sudden, I just see this. I'm going to this festival, and I see this woman dying on the plane. And I start having this panic attack. And I don't want this to trigger everyone.

And I start freaking out, and then all of a sudden she passes out, and her eyes close, and you see her body dying. And it was the craziest thing, and people were putting water on her and telling her to breathe and feeding her orange juice,

and then she passed out. And then she started pat, she passed out and they took her body. And like, it was like took two dudes, took her body to the back of the plane. And all of a sudden we get the call from the pilot saying, we got to make an emergency. Um, we got to make an emergency, um, landing in Wichita and we get to Wichita and everyone's freaking out. I'm like, I mean, I've never seen anyone die ever. You know, like besides like, I still have, I still think about that scene in Saving Private Ryan where that guy watches that dude die with a knife.

And I still have nightmares about it. And I saw this happen and I I was so shell-shocked. And all of a sudden, the plane lands. Ambulance runs in with a chair. And all of a sudden, the person disappears in the back of the plane. And I think she died. And everyone was kind of like not saying anything about it. And I'm like, it really traumatized me.

And then they start driving or flying back to Memphis. And then I land at 3.30. My set was, we were like two hours late and my set was at 4.30, 4.50. And I got, and then like, I was just like a zombie walking to the festival transportation van with my, and I told my, I texted my tour manager, I'm like, yo, someone just died on my plane. And I don't know, I'm fucking spooked. And I get to Memphis and, you know,

my boys are all, you know, I couldn't talk to anyone. I was shell shocked. And then like 20 minutes later, I had to play in front of, like, fucking three or four thousand people, and it just made me realize, man, how fucking precious life is, and how we really need to stop taking life for granted, you know, it's, it's fucking weird, death, like, I know we, we put it in the back of our heads, we don't want to think about the inevitable, we're all, you know, we're all gonna die, and that's,

you know, it's like, just, and seeing that, I don't know if, I know, maybe, like, some people have seen someone die, or seen a shooting, or maybe, like, someone in your family, um, you know, gets terminally ill, and, you know, they're at their deathbed, and you, you know, gets terminally ill and, you know, they're at their deathbed and you, you know, some people like see them go to the next ether, but it really gave me perspective of, you know, like I always think about the past and I always think about the future and, um, you know, and the time when I'm most present is on stage, and there was a moment where I didn't know what to do because that was my sanctuary,

and I just want to shout out to Memphis, Tennessee for waking me up. Oh, man, I'm going to cry. Yeah, shout out to Memphis, Tennessee for, um, for getting me out of, you know, the funk and, and, uh, so I could try to do my part to make people present, you know? And, um, I, uh, I wanted to explain that. I mean, I literally just got home from this whole shell shock from it from Memphis. My house was Airbnb'd yesterday. So I just got home and I'm finally decompressing from the fucking weekend

because the show was amazing. People were crying and there for me and fucking thought it was such a great set. And I was really proud of our set i'm gonna give one more shout out to the band we played great and i wasn't there for a second and i woke up and i i basically dedicated that whole set to that grandma i saw who um on that plane and uh i hope you know you don't this grandma doesn't know me for anything. She probably didn't even know I was on the plane. And, you know, life is precious.

You never know when it's your turn to leave the party or this beautiful life, you know, even when it's shitty. It's going to be fucking shitty. I had this whole fucking tour, five weeks of just getting punched and punched and punched and punched and punched and punched. Um, and to just keep, keep my nose down and know that what you're doing is for the better, you know, because when you're present, when you're making people happy, I mean, I don't know, I'm talking, I'm pumping, trying to pump myself up here. When you make people happy, that's what gets me happy, and that's what gets me present.

And for people to come out and support me, and that was such a huge crowd, and I was not expecting that. You know, we've played in Memphis a couple times, maybe for 100 people, 200 people. But it was just amazing to see the whole city just fucking come out there and fucking be there for me and celebrate life together because if there's one thing,

this seeing death right in front of your face taught me is how precious it is to be on this earth and how precious it is to have companions, friends, and to know that you're not alone. So if you're feeling alone, feeling like you just have so much stuff built in your brain and your gut and you're fucking suppressing everything just let it out don't hold that shit in because you don't want to be that person

or if you have an accidental death or whatever and you're regretting it when you're dying that you wish you were more honest with yourself and you wish you were more honest with the people around you. Let's live for each other. Let's have each other's backs. Let's support one another. Shout out to those two people helping that grandma out too.

Fuck yeah. Fuck yeah. You didn't know them. One guy left with the plane just to make sure she wasn't alone. See, I don't even, I'm praying she is alive, but I don't think she's alive. But that guy was a good fucking guy. I would have done the same fucking thing. So take care of each other.

Take care of your brothers and sisters. Life is too fucking precious. I'll say it again. Life is too fucking precious, and we need to have each other's backs. And I know it's weird to promote a company right now, but Repsy has my back too. Shout out to Repsy. Taking care of me. Podcasting. Let me be vulnerable on an outlet that lets me talk about these things. Because normally I just suppress shit. I just suppress.

And before this podcast, I was never able to communicate my feelings and that's why I dove into drinking. That's why I dove into drugs. And now that I have an outlet to express myself and express the thoughts in my brain and in my gut that fucking make me nervous and make me stressed out and make me hard to deal with,

I just hope everyone has that opportunity because you don't want to keep that shit in. Fuck it. Life is too short to feel shitty over something you did yesterday or when you're fucking eight years old or 12 years old. Get it out of your body. Talk to someone. If you need to talk to a therapist, can't afford a therapist,

you got backline for all those music people. If you can't afford backline or too scared to talk to a therapist, talk to a friend. Tell your mom you love them, tell your dad you love them, grandpa, get that stuff out of your body because we don't want to regret it when it's our time to go. And Repsy has been so good and so supportive. And if you're in a band, And if you're in a band, it's so supportive to me. And if you're in a band or an artist or a DJ or a comedian,

sign up for Rep Scene. Get your name out there and get your words out. Because like I said, we don't want to regret anything. We should give life 125%. And that's why I got Adam Deitz from Lettuce on the show today. I literally interviewed him five minutes. I got off my plane. I'm like, fuck. I didn't, you know, and Deitch was like,

I'll do the interview. I'm like, oh, fucking Jesus. Shout out to Adam Deitch. Getting me. And it was a fucking great one. We did an hour and a half of just talking about his life and talking about the hardships and talking about how much he loves

fucking music. And it was such a great interview. I think you're going to love it. And we got Nick. Shout out to Nick for bringing all the podcast stuff. I left my podcast stuff with Bo and Bo is taking four days off as he deserves. Shout out to Bo. Clap for everyone today because life is short.

We need to clap for our friends. We need to clap it up. It's going to be a clap-a-thon this whole episode because we're here to support each other. Shout out to Gerlach for giving me the fucking podcast machine. I'm like, oh my God, I didn't even think about it. I'm like fucking so in my head from this death and having such an amazing show and like really a turning point in Tennessee for my band.

We're all crying and shit. It was fucking heavy. And I got to see Dave. I've been seeing Dave's ghouls for two years and watching him be happy. And just, it was such a special moment. Menfo Fest, I will remember you forever. And you guys took care of me.

All the club, the bookers to the promoters, to everyone, you guys took care of me. And I just want to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Um, it was a hard weekend for me and you guys made me feel like a fucking rock star and I fuck. Yeah. Thank you. All right, guys. Um, let's listen to that Adam Deitch interview. Let's be present. Let's have a great fucking week. Shout out to the internet going down today. I loved it. I didn't have no promoting, no watching people.

It was like a day off. I think I needed that day off of just oversaturation and stuff. So let's listen to Deitch fucking talk about how passionate he is about music. He's got a crazy life. He's worked with everybody. The man has worked with everybody,

and I think you're going to love it. So ladies and gentlemen, I hope you have a great week, and I hope you like that single. I just put out a new single. I didn't even talk about that yet. Friends, that song you heard, it's coming out tomorrow, but you know the podcast gets exclusive love on it. And actually, as I think about it,

it's a perfect song for this episode because it is. Friends. Let's be friends again. It doesn't matter what you do. It doesn't matter who you are, if you're a Wook or a fucking Chad or Karen. Let's just try

to understand each other. That's all it is. And that's what that song's about. Shout out to Floyd and Sean for writing that tune, helping us and putting it on our new record. I think you're going to love this new record. This is the second single off the new record that

I shouldn't talk about because we haven't announced it yet, but there's going to be a new record coming out next year. Yeah, and it's I'm really proud of these fucking songs. The band's proud. We're really proud of this record, And I think you will be too. So without further ado, let's have a great fucking week. I'm gonna play the music for everybody. Let's have a great fucking week. I know we're going to do this fucking quarantine sucks.

The COVID scary, everyone off social media, they thought the world was ending. I literally saw people say they thought the world was ending because fucking social media was going like, oh my God, get off your soapbox. Let's have a great week. Let's fucking kill it. Let's be optimistic. And for God damn it, let's live in the now because that is what's important. Nothing else besides living in the now. All right, guys, you ready to have a great week? I am. I'm going to fucking get this shit. Got five days off until the Ogden, baby.

We're playing Denver. Denver, Colorado, come to the fucking show. We got sit-ins. We got Betty Bloom. We got Adam Deitz. We got the Denver homies are coming in. So get your tickets and enjoy Adam Deitch on the World Saving Podcast. I love you.

Next up on the interview hour, we have Adam Deitch from Lettuce, from Break Science, from Pretty Lights. Yo, play some lettuce, Chris. Dyche is one of the best drummers on the planet. And how compassionate he is about the music community and how hardworking. I mean, the man's story. This story is crazy. Like, my mouth dropped. Like, really, really, really. He's how hardworking. I mean, the man's story, this story is crazy. Like my mouth dropped, like really, really, really.

He's a hard worker and without any luck, there's no luck involved in his story. He's a fucking grinder. He wants to be the best and he is the best. And for that, I thank you. So ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy Adam Deitch from Lettuce. Adam Deitch, welcome to the show. Good to be here, man.

Thanks. We get to finally hang out one-on-one. Finally. How's it going? Real good. Real good. Just a beautiful day here in Colorado. Yeah. You doing good? Doing great. How's your head these days?

It's, you know, I'm in a good place. Good. I'm in a really good place where we got some gigs happening, COVID willing. Yeah. And, you know, just getting back on tour is what we need as human beings. Let's talk about the human experience with music. I mean, you're such a, you're like, your blood is music from your family,

from how you grew up, from your education. How important is music to you? It's, you know, everyone says like, it's not who I am. It's just what I do. You says like it's not who i am it's just what i do you know it really is who i am yeah you know it's just growing up my parents record collection all their knowledge and my great uncle was a a big band drummer in the 40s and 50s and traveled crazy play with like paul whiteman orchestra and all this shit so, it's just like generational thing in my family that we just gravitate towards, I guess. What is your family,

why did your family like all fall in love with drums? It starts with Uncle Dave probably. You know, him being really successful and he had his own radio show in New York. What was it called? It was on CBS radio. It was Dave Abrams and the Nutcrackers. Hell yeah. That was his band, the Nutcrackers.

And he was the drummer and the arranger, the band leader. And there's a picture of him sitting in front of the piano with everybody behind him. And that was his gig. And everyone in the family knew he was a successful drummer and band leader. So

he kind of passed that to my dad and my grandmother, of course, his brother, Dave's sister, she was super supportive of my dad. So they just got passed down. And my mom also had an uncle who played drums also. So they were pretty supportive of my mom playing drums also. That's crazy, man.

I feel like there's got to be this stress to be great with having so many great players in your fucking family, right? They always say ignorance is bliss. If you don't know a lot of the musicians out there, you can really get into your thing and know who you are. But if you are aware of everybody, like from the Max Roaches the roy haynes the great jazz drummers and all the funk cats all the like b-side funk cats that people don't know that are just incredible so i grew up being very like yeah it's

a lot of pressure and it was like a lot of insecurities involved you know like i'll never be this or that or that but the love was there so that kind of superseded the you know, like I'll never be this or that or that, but the love was there. So that kind of superseded the, you know, fuck, I'm not good enough. Yeah. With that though,

did you have a lot of anxiety when you were a kid? Um, I was too busy skateboarding from 12 to 17. I got away from music for a little bit. Why? It was just like hip hop and skateboarding in 1991 was just like, you know, street skating kind of vibe,

New York. Yeah. You were living in the city, right? Or kind of close. I was right. I was a half an in 1991 was just like, you know, street skating kind of vibe. New York. Yeah, you were living in the city, right? Or kind of close? I was right. I was a half an hour north of the city, you know. Close enough. We were trying to be city kids more than city kids, you know. Yeah.

Were you a good student? Or did all you care about was just skating and music? You know, my parents were both teachers and they're really into education. They were getting their masters when I was in like eighth, ninth grade. Went back to school, night school and shit. So education's cool. I wasn't like an A student. I was like, you know, they made sure I stayed around B's and occasional C's.

So like they didn't give you shit. Well, that's good enough for them to leave you alone. Yeah, it was enough. They knew I was doing my best, you know. Like, you know, I was definitely playing drums four hours a day, you know, zoning out, you alone. Yeah, it was enough. They knew I was doing my best. I was definitely playing drums four hours a day, zoning out. Really? What time? How old? Forever, since I was like five, six. So why did you take that break between 12 and 17? I just don't need to get out of the house, man. I was in the basement, bro. I know. You're talking about this basement

life. You were just stuck in the basement. Did you I know. You were talking about this basement life. Yeah. Like, you were just stuck in the basement. Like, did you have friends, or were you kind of like a loner, or how'd you get so good? I mean, my friends would come over and be like, let's go out, and I would be practicing Friday night, you know, and like lose track of time, and they, you know, they're like, let's go. Let's go do something, you know? So I was just kind of like always in the house, and then skateboarding was like, okay, let's be social.

Let's get out. Oh, so that was your like getaway. That was my get out. Yeah, that was my like, okay, who am I outside of this room? You ever fuck yourself up? Not super bad. You know, I fell and I hit my face once

and I wasn't supposed to be skateboarding because my parents would take my board away when I fucked up in school or some shit. So I had someone else's board and I fell on a curb, my face bashed and had someone else's board and I fell on a curb. My face bashed and I had to lie and say I got in a fight.

Oh, shit. Yeah. How'd you get out of that? Tell me the story. What'd you tell your parents? I was just like, my boy punched me in the face and they were like,

why? I come up with a story. What was the story? I was like, yeah, I forget what the fucking story was. It's so long ago, man. I was like 13.

Yeah. But they believe me and, you know, I live to skate another day. That's great. I mean, it's got to be, I don't know, it's got to be, I used to lie a lot when I was a kid because I was just like worried about how my parents will react to who I was as a person. You know, it was like, I just think about like the competitiveness that, that there's gotta be through that, like you not even knowing about competitiveness

because your whole family is a bunch of brilliant musicians. There's gotta be that in you that drove you to be great at whatever you want to be great at. Or was that, did that not matter? It was just fun, man. Really? It wasn't like a thought of greatness or, you know. No shit. Any of that shit.

It was just like, this is what I like. This is a thing called the funk rush. My dad always, you know, he had a name for it, the funk rush, when you're playing a groove. It could be anything. You're playing reggae, jazz, whatever. And you feel like your skin starts to bug out and your hair

stands up and it's a real rush you know and that's the shit that I chase you know

it's a drug what was the first show that you got that rush at I played along with records just growing up it was my parents record collection

Earth, Wind & Fire you're playing along with the record and all of a sudden you're like inside it and you kind of envision in your mind like you're on stage with them you're like in the zone close your eyes you

know and and you once you become part of that record you're you start to like you know get excited so that do you have a good imagination i mean you know i try to definitely I definitely live in my own world yeah I bet I mean you got to when you're if you get those

chills from just pretending to be somewhere you know that shit's amazing isn't that an amazing drug it really is it's my favorite drug you know

being an only child also growing up so just like me and the dog you know was that hard to be an only child well you know

the drums and you know and Was that hard to be an only child? Well, you know, the drums and, you know, and music and making beats for my friends, my rapper friends, that kind of took my time away from thinking about, and my dad was young. My dad's only like 22 years older than me. So he was kind of- Oh, no shit?

Yeah. Was it an accident? No, it was real. It was real? Yeah. They got married at 21, I mean, 22, 23. And then they,

what were they studying? They were, my mom was studying education to be an educator, but she was also taking drum classes and keyboard and everything. And are you talking about their master's shit or their college shit?

Yeah, just like, just when you were a kid, what were they studying? They were, they were always studying music. You know, they're always, you know,

my dad was like learning to write classical pieces and study, get his master's in classical pieces and study, get his masters in classical Shit and 12 tone systems and all kinds of weird classical Theories and shit. Holy shit. So what 17 when you wanted to get back in it like hard like what was that epiphany? Like what do you remember that day? Well, you know, I was playing a little around town doing little things, you know I was playing a gospel church around town. little things, you know. I was playing at a gospel church around town.

It was a really great experience playing gospel music. Yeah. You know, yeah, the cat would like pick me up, and he would actually have a little J on him, and we would like hit a little J. You were smoking weed early? Yeah, you know. How old were you? I was like 14, 15, 16, you know. You never got into drugs or yeah you know how old were you like 14 15 16 you

know you never got into drug or anything no no just straight music weed and music weed and music holy shit i didn't even drink till i was like 35 no shit why not why like we were like the rap the rappers i was producing for they were like the weed only crew and like they kind of were on some like fuck these motherfuckers you know kind of on that shit so every Friday Saturday night we were just like blunts galore and uh you know just beats blaring you know that's when I like wasn't playing drums I was like 16 17 18 around there and then what about so who were your first mentors when you're 16 17 besides your parents oh mentor I mean just the cats I play with at church. Dale, my boy Dale, you know,

he was a correctional officer. It's sing-sing, you know, like a real serious prison. No shit, hard ass. But he was a cool dude. He ended up being a cop. But he was really cool. And he kind of mentored me in the gospel funk R&B thing. We had a gig

at like a local, you know, black club that was super popping. And really like all they wanted to hear was R&B all night. And I got to play that music. So it really helped out. Dude, it's crazy. Like what did they teach? Besides like, what did he teach you about life

that your parents couldn't teach you? I mean, a lot about the culture, man, the culture behind R&B, gospel, blues, jazz, funk, you know, just black culture, you know, and just getting kind of adopted by him. And my boy Steve Estiver also was a big influence and just kind of played every instrument. Church, grew up playing church and just kind of, it's like, oh yeah, you want to learn these chords? Go ahead. Oh, bass word. You know? And he was all kind of cocky about it. Like, oh, I'm so nice on bass. Check me out on guitar, bro.

Like he made it seem really cool like to be good at every instrument, you know, like, and then we go play basketball and he like bust my ass, you know, one-on-one. He was like 6'1". So you were into sports? I was into basketball, baseball. I mean, 90s were a good time for New York sports. They were. The 90s, I was real skateboarded out.

I was like, I didn't fuck with team sports. I was like, you know, strictly street skating. But when Jordan came back to the league, it was like, okay, who's this guy that I miss playing in his prime? And then he started busting everyone's ass at 38. Oh, so you didn't really get into Jordan until he was later in his career. Later, when he came back to the Wizards. That's when I was like, bam, I'm into this now.

Do you see any similarities in basketball and music? Absolutely, man. It's five on, you know, lettuce is six, guys. But having a team and getting psyched, go out there and perform and pass the ball and not be a hog and all those things. And, and also the improv of basketball, which is like, it's got the most improvisation of any professional sport, in my opinion. Tell me about it. You know, just the shakes, the shimmies, the crossovers, the God-champ, God-move.

It's like a lot of it is improv. And Kyrie is dominating the league, and he's an improvisational player. You know what I mean? It's also anti-vax, but that's another story. Yeah, we'll talk about that later. What are you doing, man? Come on, bro. But Kyrie is an improviser on the court.

And he's also a point guard, so he's a sister up. Were you a good basketball player, or you just loved watching it? I mean, I grew up in the court. Yeah. You know, and that's, you know, he's also a point guard. So, you know, he's a sister up. Were you a good basketball player or you just love watching it? I mean, I grew up in New York. No. Like, you know, I mean, you know, like I had some good nights. Yeah. You know, I got a hook shot because everyone's taller than me. So, you know, my hook goes in.

You know, I will hook it over. I'll shout out to that. Let's go. hook it over. I'll shout out to that. Let's go. So like you getting back into music at 17 and then all of a sudden going to Berkeley two years later, like that's insane. Like, were you not playing at all? Or were you playing a little bit? Like you just had it in you. I just had given up, man. It was like, I thought I wasn't good enough. You know? And then my mom was like, you got to try this Berkeley thing where you go for a summer to Boston. And you're 16 years old.

You stay in Boston for a month, five weeks. And my first time away from home that long. And there was, Jesus was there. Shemines. At the summer camp? At the summer camp thing. Shut the fuck up. Craz.

And we just met through like Hangs and weed Who's the first friend you met? Shmeans Okay so that's your boy boy? Yeah that's my super Number one Day one yeah And where's he from?

He's from Westchester Freshchester Right across the room Freshchester Yeah So how'd you meet Shmeans? He was in the room next to me I was practicing my drums

Fucking it up And he was next to me Playing his guitar And you know And I was practicing my drums, fucking it up. And he was next to me playing his guitar. And I was like, who is this fuck? He sounds great. So he was badass at high school. Badass. Like just.

He was singing. Let me stand next to your fire. Like getting it. And I was like, this dude. And I knocked on his window. And I was like, what's your name? Where are you from? You know, that was my shit.

At school, I would just knock on people's practice rooms. Be like, what's up? Killing. Oh, so you weren't afraid to talk to people. Well, once I got to a school of all musicians, I was like, oh, freaks like me. Like, weirdos that are totally into getting better. But it's like, you were 16, and you were kind of over music. What made you switch?

It was just like meeting those guys, know playing with shemines and he knew kraz and you know i ran to jesus at like a funk jam session that was happening so it's like when i met those guys like oh you want to you guys like hip-hop and you like funk and you're cool and you spoke we like i didn't never had that yeah it's like i was just a weirdo playing with older cats you know was uh did you feel like high school was like you just just a weirdo playing with older cats you know was uh did you feel like high school was like you just were stuck in a room with people you didn't like there just wasn't enough talent pool in my neighborhood for me to really be excited about practicing and everything you know damn you're just good and bored dog i was bored i spent every day man from five to like you know holy, 13, like playing for hours, man.

And like playing with everybody, older people, my parents, friends, like, and I was just like, man, it's like, I need to meet some kids my own age. They knew you were good though. They knew I had, my mom had a lot of belief. Yeah. You know. Holy shit. Okay.

So you get to Berkeley, you're, it's, and you're just a skater kid and like, kind of felt like you wanted to quit or you're still on that? Or did you feel like it was that moment when you met all these dudes who are like you? You're like, hey, actually, there is a community of weirdos just like me. Yeah? That's exactly it. We had that first jam. Where was it?

Tell me. It was in the basement of the Commonwealth Avenue dorms, Berkeley. Hell yeah. And we put up a sign like in use, you're not supposed to do that. Like you're supposed to have an hour or two tops and we played for like nine hours straight. You know, like people were like listening.

Homies started coming in, sitting down, just at the corners listening, you know, like. Kras was there too? Kras was right there. Okay, so you met Shemines and then who'd you meet? Shemines met Jesus. And Shmeans knew Kraz. And Kraz knew Zoetis.

And that was it. Did you have anyone else in your band that's not in your band now? That was the original homies. We tried out, we had a couple different keyboard players. You know, one was Jeff, who ended up winning producer of the year at the Grammys. What the fuck? Like, wrote 808s and heartbreak with did you know he was going to be that super talent we knew he was just a super genius he has free association

with lyrics so he's like lyrics just bing boom boom boom boom got the song got the hit got the thing he can play every chord he did wedding bands for years so he knows every song and he could flip it backwards and you know were you religious was that were you religious? Was that Were you religious? My dad is from a Jewish family That Was So fucked up by the Holocaust That they kind of denied They kind of just wanted us to be American

Oh fuck So we had a Christmas tree The Jewish side of the family With a A Jewish star on top Is suppression big in your family? Not really No?

No Just older generations of your family? It was just like Let's just be American And not worry about, you know, putting, you know, our Judaism first kind of family. You know what I mean? Yeah. And my mom's side's Irish Catholic.

Damn, that's a lot of guilt. Yeah. Jewish and Catholic, though. That's me, too. I'm Jewish and Catholic. My dad's Catholic. My mom's Jewish. No way.

Yeah, Jew-op. We call that a half. Oh, a half. Hell yeah. Shout out to that, too. Let's go. We're bonded. Okay, good. That's me, you, Kraz. Yeah, Krazy. Me, you Yeah, Jew-op. We call that a half. Oh, half. Hell yeah. Shout out to that too. Let's go. We're bonded. Okay, good.

That's me, you, Kraz. Yeah, Krazy. Me, you, Kraz, Benny. Benny is a half. It's very rare to have bi-religional friends. Yeah. A lot of people are biracial,

but not a lot of people have different parents have different religions. So why did you decide gospel music? Because that was where the best musicians were? That's where the cats were, man.

Fucking awesome. And the dude at school, Steve at the jazz band, he's like, yeah, come to my church, man. You're better where the best musicians were? That's where the cats were, man. Fucking awesome. And the dude at school, Steve at the jazz band, he's like, yeah, come to my church, man. You're better than the drummer at my church. And I was like, really?

He's like, he don't even want to play no more. You're the drummer at my church now. Were you getting paid? It was a little money. Like a hundred bucks, a hundred bucks?

Yeah. You get a little gas money. Did you have to drive? You didn't really drive because you lived in the city, right? I still don't drive, bro. You still don't drive? Fuck, dude. Shout out to that. You don't really drive because you lived in the city, right? I still don't drive, bro. You still don't drive? I do not drive.

Fuck, dude. Shout out to that. You don't need that responsibility. Your brain's at... You talk about that thing about lyrics and shit with your homie. Are you the same way with drums? How'd you learn that? Just like free mind.

Don't overthink it. Wait, explain your question one more time. Your guy... I forgot his name. The guy who did all the Kanye stuff. Jeff. You thought he was just so free-willed with just lyrics and just being an open vessel, I guess,

let the music come in. Were you like that with drums or did it take a while for you to get that? I mean, it always takes a while, man. Sometimes it flows and sometimes it's blocks, but you just got to live for the times that it flow it flows you know do you take that philosophy with life absolutely you know you can't get frustrated with the blockage you know because you know that the highway is going to open up you know there's going to be traffic you know have you ever had any blockage in your life that

you felt like it was never going to go away that's an amazing question. Blockage in my life. Being a music addict and traveling all the time. Since I'm 22, my first touring gig with the Average White Band. It's like a 70s funk band. Fucking nuts, bro. I'm on the tour with 60-year-olds, and they're warming up, gargling with scotch. They sold millions of records and toured with earth 105 all my favorite bands were they bitter because they're older no they were super happy they were they were they they knew they made their mark on music and uh you know they opened up for marvin gay and the

crowd was in shock that it was like five white guys from scotland on stage you know like yeah like but as soon as they started playing, the crowd went nuts, you know? They just have the shit, so they, you know, we ended up opening for Ohio Players and, you know, Tower Power and all my favorite bands, and I'm just like the kid like hanging out with my idols and shit, so.

Go back to the blockage, though. What's that? Go back to the blockage. Meaning like, I was so addicted to traveling from that age that I kind of don't have a lot of life skills. You know, like cooking is like new. Since the pandemic happened, I learned how to do a lot of human things that normal humans are like, oh, you don't do that.

Do you feel like because of that, you feel like you've always been an outcast? A little bit. I don't feel like I'm as complete you feel like you've always been an outcast? A little bit. I don't feel like I'm as complete a human as a lot of people are. You know, like, oh, you set up that TV stand. Wow. Like, how do you read directions on an Ikea? Like, you know, like.

Yeah, I'm the same fucking way, dude. I went on the road when I was 18. Okay. Straight. 250 shows years since. I'm Ben. Applause. Oh, hell yeah. Thanks, man. I got the pause of dice, dude. away dude i'm on the road when i was 18 okay straight 250 shows years since i've been i don't applause oh hell yeah i'll thank you i got the pause of values dude i'll take that but like i i'm the same way too i felt like i wasn't i felt like i was like um what like not damaged but like

i just felt like i was different and it was hard for me to like have a girlfriend and have like a relationship and like feel comfortable and just like doing something that isn't on a routine where I'm traveling or going to soundcheck, driving five hours, blah, blah, whatever it is. Like when did it hit you? Like, oh shit, this is, did you ever have like depression about that? Like, fuck, I have to go back into real life for four months or something. It's really wild, you know, this is, did you ever have like depression about that? Like, fuck, I have to go back into real life for four months or something. It's really wild, you know, but I've never even had a break till the pandemic.

Same. I would have went straight to 70 or like till an injury or some shit, you know? And I'm just so happy that, you know, I was able to experience what it's like to just be around for a while. Yeah. You know, it's like.

What about the, so yeah you know what about the so were you bumming during the pandemic so that was like the first really existential crisis you really had in your life i loved it really i loved it i loved making music every day you know getting better at guitar bass i wrote like you know 30 letter songs 20 break science joints you know like just felt really inspired. My quartet just kept writing and writing and writing. Every day you wake up to do that. It's like the thing you want to get to, you know?

So like touring wasn't the thing you wanted to do. You just wanted to make new music. Yeah. I realized that that's a serious passion of mine. And I kind of forgot about because touring kind of takes precedence. And also just cooking and doing normal stuff. Being a human. Yeah. Going out and doing normal stuff. Being a human. Yeah, going out and seeing what people do on the weekends.

Like, what do people do on Fridays? Yeah, exactly. Wait, we could just stay at home and watch television. Right. It's so weird. It's so weird. Or just go out where people are just hanging out, drinking wine. You're like, wow, this is what people do on the weekend.

Did you freak out when you first were able to do that? It was kind of strange. I got to admit, I'm kind of people do on the weekend. Did you freak out when you first were able to do that? It was kind of strange. I got to admit, you know, I'm kind of getting used to it now. What about like, did you ever like take a chance to fall in love when you were a kid? Besides that other relationship you were just in, but. Yeah, I mean, I've had a couple of great relationships. They all seem to last about seven years for some reason.

Damn. You know, I've had some wonderful, you know, people in my life and very thankful for that, you know, but my touring just kind of took me away from them and what they deserved as a human being, I think, you know, to really, you know, be happy and get that attention, have someone there for them. You know, I felt guilty if I wasn't there.

Guilty. That's what it is. You feel guilty that you can't give them all the love. Yeah. And like they're great people and they really deserve someone there day in, day out. Yeah. You know, and it's like, you know.

Does that put a lot of pressure on, in your head? Like you're not, this person is like basically compromising for me and am I compromising for them? Mm-hmm. Was that hard for you to think about? It's very hard. It's very hard. I feel bad. Like, you know,

but we're going to be close, you know, spiritually forever, you know, both of them, you know. Shout out to Eileen and Tanya. Yeah, shout out to the girls. You know, and... Seven years though. Yes.

Do you always... Is commitment important to you? Absolutely. I come from... My parents, you know, have been together since I was 21. Seven years though Yeah Do you always Do you Are you Is commitment important to you? Absolutely I come from My parents You know Been together since I was 21 I really value

A true Like best friendship And relationship With you know With a partner You know Did you feel you had that In your earlier bands

Before Lettuce? I didn't really have any bands Before Lettuce man I thought like The When you're doing side gigs or filling in for people on tour. I mean, those were like, you're on a gig.

You're a hired gun. So you don't feel like a part of something, really. You're just there to fulfill your job. And you're happy. You make money making music. And that's cool. Because I couldn't really work at Dunkin' Donuts. I wouldn't even know how to get a regular job like i wouldn't yeah i would have no idea

what to do in life besides that so i was happy just being a side man but you know lettuce is the first thing it was like hey we're friends and we're in a band and this is real you know so like okay so you now you're you're grinding so when did you find out lettuce was real uh it was day one man we're 16 you know it's so insane did you guys know Lettuce was real? It was day one, man. We're 16, you know. That's so insane. Did you guys know that? Yeah, we came to school two years later as a gang. We were like a straight, you know, gang.

Like everyone's all nervous in school first day and they're like trying to meet people. So was it senior year that you did this summer? Like going into senior year? It was sophomore year, high school. So you had two years without them? Yeah. Or were you keeping in touch?

Keeping in touch, hollering, hanging out with Shemines. He was taking me to shows. We would go see things and come over and hang out once in a while. And I kept in touch with Jesus and everybody. Okay, so now you get to Berkeley. You're 18, 19. You have a fucking gang. You have a posse.

You have a real French, like real friends, like brothers. At the most important time of your life, where you really need like the homies, the new homies. You're away from home. You're in Boston. You're not in New York anymore. You know, and you need that crew. And we just had the crew, you know.

And especially being an only child. You never really had a brother. I didn't. Yeah, that was kind of, you know, important for me. Yeah. The brother thing. Yeah, because there's, like you said, there's only so much you could talk to your 50 year old uncle about you know you can't talk about pussy

i mean maybe you could but like you know not like how you could really talk about what they were like you know whatever whatever you do i know your your music is yeah they're everything everything yeah they're brotherly stuff brotherly shit yeah so you get you get to berkeley you guys we're gonna fuck this shit up did you was it just just like right away you knew that we're all getting there and we're getting the band back together and we're going to fuck shit up? Or was it kind of like a slow grind? Because college is new to people, right?

You get all these new things. You're in a dorm and it's lucky you didn't drink. That's when I started drinking was in 2019 when I was in college for that one semester. So tell me about those years in Boston. Did you guys graduate or I don't know? No, no.

I mean, did Crash tell you the story, Berkeley story? No, no, no. You left that out, huh? Yeah, yeah, you didn't. This has never really been told. Tell me. I won't even say which members. I'm going to say two members of the band were involved in an incident in their dorm room

members of the BAM were involved in an incident in their dorm room with some greeneries, some weed. And Massachusetts, don't fuck around with that shit. At that point, no. And neither did the school. And they were expelled. Oh, fuck. Yes. So did you guys have to make a decision?

This might have to be edited. That's fine. That's fine. Talk to your boys. Yeah, yeah. I'll talk. Yeah, ask Kraz. We can say that. Okay. That's fine. We's fine. Talk to your voice. Yeah, I'll talk. You can say that. Okay.

That's fine. We're all adults now. But okay, this happened. Now the posse is splintered. Two of our homies, I'm going to say it, whatever, Krazen. Yeah. So I just got kicked out.

And now we're like missing two vital parts to the band. And your friends. Yeah, and our best. And like, you know, they're like both huge personalities and like we were like damn and it was like we were like what now you know and we had to figure some shit out you know so we started like another thing called the formula which was like we were trying to do like a hip-hop thing you know it was like the roots were out like early roots and 94 you know so we started doing some hip-hop shit you could smoke in here too yeah um i'm down i'm six two whatever it's my house doesn't matter um oh you don't smoke

six sorry i know sorry um but uh okay so the formula what is this this is yeah we opened up for keros one for fucking Busta Rhymes. Like, we did a bunch of dope shit. Basically, members have let us do hip-hop beats, like, trying to sound like a DJ premiere record, but all full-life band. How hard was that to do? Hours of rehearsal.

So what are you rehearsing in these times to try to emulate that sound? Loops, loops. Like, having the feel and the loop and the no and and the the no ego shit where you just are playing as hard as you can and repeating over and memorizing where the drops are for the lyrics you know we had mcs and shit you know so that was a good good experience but it was really hard getting us mc to commit to the band because they're all like you know it wasn't the era where ms had bands and shit, you know?

So they were like, nah, man, like, you do what you do, we do what we do and I was like, damn, so, and then Kraz kept going

like, yo, I got a gig here. Kraz always has the gigs, you know? He's like, Did he stay in Boston? Did those boys stay in Boston?

He ended up going to Hampshire College which is like, you know, an hour from, a couple hours from Boston. So you guys, we're still homies?

Definitely still homies, yeah. Okay, so, the formula didn't work out? Yeah, we were gung-ho formula. Krabs was gung-ho lettuce. And Krabs was like, yo, man, I got this gig out Hampshire. I got this gig at the Iron Horse in Northampton. I got this gig in Boston. I'll pick you guys up.

And we were like, oh, lettuce, man, really? We were like, what happened to that? We were all like formulaed out, you know? Yeah. And then, you know,

eventually, Graz like had the gigs and the situations then he started Soul Live and all his situations got bigger and better. You know, like who to,

what gigs and where to open for Soul Live and what to do. Did that bum you out? No, it was amazing. Yeah?

It was incredible. So it was never, God, I always thought Berkeley trained you to be fucking competitive fucking monsters, dude.

I mean, it'll make you break you. A lot of people quit and be just like, I'm not cut out for this. Yeah. But we were too possied up to care about that shit.

So you had your, isn't that amazing? Like, when you're a lone wolf, like I was a lone wolf, my sisters were eight years older than me. So I always felt like

I was just a lone wolf But when you finally Get your group You never want to Leave that group Because like You finally found Your brothers

I mean it's 30 years later It's fucking Don't clap to that Hell yeah 30 years of music dude So what did So Kraz was telling you Yo what the fuck

Let's get Lettuce Rock Let's do it Kraz was like The main dude Like being like We gotta do this And you know And we were just Into hip hop at the time we were like oh he's got this gig you know a bunch of hippies yeah i know i know but the music was still the funk like krabs still always

want to play funk music you know with us and let us do our hip-hop hybrid function so we brought a lot of the formula sound into lettuce because we were into that so that's kind of how lettuce kind of got its sound was combining the hip-hop shit that we were doing for the formula and bringing that into like the straight herby funk that we were doing with crass okay so now when when did y'all quit quit music or berkeley berkeley everyone left i was out i was done after a year and a half okay same as everyone or did anyone finish? Jesus finished. Oh, wow. Yeah, somehow he did.

So how were you gigging? How were you just doing weekend gigs until Jesus finished? Or did you like go on tours and his teachers let him get out? Like, give me the scoop. I need the deets, dude. This is deets. I was in a band called Fatbag and F-A-T-B-A-G and people around Boston that are in their 40s might know about it.

Then we started to blow up and it was like a wild hip hop band with a fronted by a lead singer that was a saxophonist and rapped. Sick.

Could sing, rap, play the fuck out of a sax. And we had a full horn section, a DJ, percussionist, drums, guitar. Did you get a deal? We got a full deal from Interscope

and like, you know, had to drop out of school got a full deal from Interscope and like, you know, had to drop out of school. My parents love the band. They're like, definitely drop out of school. No problem. You know,

the coolest parents ever. Hell yeah. You know, they were front row at the shows. They were convinced, we were all convinced this is the band that's going to do it.

You know, I was 20, not even, I was like 18. They were all, like 25, Who was in the band? I was fronted by this dude,

Alex, who, you know know was kind of the force behind The thing he was always scouting Berklee For young guys to get in his band Smart you know and he scouted us out He came to you know a gig of mine And he was like you want to be in this thing And it was all the older best musicians in the school And you know playing hip hop

You know like tight arrangements Four hour rehearsals a night. And you're 19 and a half? Yeah, something like that. No money. But we started selling out shows immediately. We were hitting the stage. It's like a loaded gun

when you rehearse that much and you go into the stage and you guys are just like, they're not ready. That feeling. Hell yeah. We put in so much sweat into these rehearsals

that it's like when you hear about like, you know, how hard Kobe practiced. You know, that it's like, man, they walk into the game like, that's how we felt with Fatback.

That was like the feeling every night and it started to blow up and then we started playing New York, started to blow up Jersey, you know, all East Coast. Everything we did was blowing up. And one of, the guy that discovered Public Enemy, Bill know, all East coast. Everything we did was blowing up. And, uh, one of the guy that discovered,

um, public enemy, Bill Stephanie, he signed us. What was that? What was that dinner? Like, I mean,

it was incredible. We, you know, you're 19 fucking years old, dude. Tell me about this dinner or whatever. I mean, he just like came to one of our gigs and he was like,

I'm signing you guys to a deal. And I'm a subsidiary of Interscope. And, you know, and, uh,, and I looked and I dropped out of school. We got a house in New York City,

you know, for all of us to live in. You know, life changer, you know. So how long did that last for? About two years. Hell yeah,

that's not good. You know, two years of riding high and feeling like we're going to make it in life, you know, until we realized there was money missing

and lead singers were getting new stereos and new things and new wardrobe. Did he have a different deal than the band or did the whole band? Yeah, when we got the deal, he said, you guys sign to me and I'm going to sign the deal.

Yeah, that's fucked up. Which is cool if you present it as Andy Frasco and the UN. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It wasn't Alex and the band, the Fatback band, you know. Even though he had, you know, we built it on No Money as brothers.

Yeah. So that's what made it a valuable lesson. Like when you start something, you know, and you're a main writer, I was writing for it. I was living, breathing it. It was like religion, you know. And you quit your school and your livelihood to do this. Yeah.

And especially back then when the record deals were kind of fucked up. It was so fucked up. Yeah. So you realized, so a year and a half in, you realized that you're making way more less money than the lead dude. Yeah. It destroyed me, you know, it destroyed me in inch means. And Jesus was also in it,

kind of messed with him a little bit, messed with our psyche, but also made us bond in a whole different way from lettuce. Cause this, this whole fatback experience was like, I can't believe that three of us were doing this. And we felt the rise and, and how crazy that these things was and all the drama, you know, and.

Fucking nuts. Yeah. And then, so then fucking Krasner came back. Yeah. Krasner was like, when you guys are done with that crazy lead singer, dude, holler at me. Did he know he had a feeling that guy was crazy? Yeah, he knew.

Krasner, he's smart, bro. Dude, he's so smart. Krasner is one of the smartest and coolest dudes ever, you know, on the planet. And he always knew it was up and we were like yeah whatever man it's gonna be big was he like the older brother style

to you always always older brother he's younger than me I think but he just had that mind he's just

on it bro he's on it and he messes with me like a big bro he's just like that so you finally said fuck this I'm out of this thing

how'd you get out of that contract in order to retain the rights to the songs that I wrote I had In order to retain the rights To the songs that I wrote I had to play in the band For an extra two months Or he would've

My songs would've defaulted to him Holy shit So you guys hate each other And you guys are fucking Playing two months of music And it's a brand new band And everyone And you stayed

I had to stay To get my compositions back Oh my god That is so fun It was so ice cold The vibe was ice cold. So after shows, what would you do? Just go back to the hotel?

Out. Yeah. He didn't even say anything? He was just like. It was just. I kept it like professional. You know, I'm not like a. Yeah.

You know, trying to spite. And, you know, I was just like, hey, man, good, you know, see you tomorrow. Good gig. Yeah. You know. That's two months. Day 60. Yeah.

Get my paycheck. Out. I'm joining Eric Krasnow and the boys. Yeah. That's two months. Day 60. Yeah. Get my paycheck. I'm joining Eric Krasnow and the boys. Yeah. So during those two months, were you, Shemines, and Jesus like, all right, we're going to do this? Was there a game plan? That was a big motivator.

Like when we do lettuce and we get back with Krasnow, we're going to really do this. You know? Isn't it amazing? Like when our past kind of veer a little bit and then we realize what we missed or don't, didn't, you know,

what we don't have. We don't, we need that, getting fucked, in a way, to know what we missed out on. Absolutely, man. Thank God it happened in 21. Yeah, dude. It really, you know, getting off the path, like you said, is important to getting

back on, you know, like you veer, everyone veered, you know, and everyone has done other shit. Everyone's done other tours and, you know, we just knew that like, we'll get back together. It's on. So you, okay. So it's on. So now you left the band two months in, got your money, get back with the boys. Did you guys move? Did you all move to New York City? Or was Kraz in New York City? Was everyone in New York City at this time? Yeah, Kraz was the first one in Brooklyn. He's like, everyone get here now.

Did he have that pad that you said, like that apartment in Greenpoint? Yeah, you've been there? Hell yeah. That's our block. No shit. So that's where you guys did all your shit? I mean, that was our main meeting place.

Me and him live across the street from each other You know he found me an apartment Across the street Okay God fucking Krasnow dude What a fucking miracle man Yeah Okay so now

Lettuce is starting Yeah it's getting serious Okay gig What was the first gig You know like You got an agent Yeah So right away

Shout out to Josh Knight Oh Josh Knight was your guy Yeah immediately he was like I love you guys And I was like Man you're like the homie. You love it? He's like, I'm going to keep you guys working. So, okay.

So tell me about that first practice coming back as a new band. What was it like? I mean, it was like now we're opening for big crowds at Brooklyn Bowl because Soul Eye blew up, you know? It's not like we're begging to play the basement of Wetlands. We did that already. We played all these little spots in mercury lounge and you know but now it's like soul lives playing big spots you know and they need an opening band instead of them getting an easy opener or a good dj they would have like kraz's boys you know like all 10 of us you know

and so was so kraz he was double dipping then he was totally double dipping, you know. You know, like this. And so, so Krazy was double dipping then. He was totally double dipping. But, you know, he knew we wanted to play. He knew we had unfinished business, you know, like as a band,

as playing, doing what we did at Berklee in front of people. And you, do you still remember that, that energy? Like, what was that first,

give me that take of that first show you had with Lettuce. Like, where were you? How many people were watching? People were freaking out. Give me this.

I mean, when we did the Wetlands, crowds booked us weekly. Shout out to Pete Shapiro. Yeah. Applause for Pete Shapiro. Let's go. Pete, let's go. Shappy, if y'all don't know Shappy,

he's just a legend. Wetlands, on the Wetlands, and it was a great club. Everyone from the roots to fish, everyone playedlands. It was a great club. Everyone from the roots to fish. Everyone played there. That was our spot. Kraz got us every week for one month. We play once a week.

Did you guys have money? Were you broke? Totally broke. Just barely getting by. There's no one rich in the band. There's no trust fund. Just hard work. Yeah, just like blue-collar cats, you know. So we got this gig, and Kraz got us guests.

He got Schofield one night. He got Fred Wesley from the JBs. I'm like, how did you do all this? He's just like, it's easy, nothing. You know, next thing you know, we're playing with our legends, you know. And then Schofield calls me the next day like, man, you know, Kraz set it up. Set us up, you you know on a blind date you know basically

like on stage and then he wanted me to tour with him and you know that was a life changer and yeah so tell me about those years with Schofield

it's amazing man just like uncle how old were you uh 25 something like that so it was after

Average Wife Man okay so what about so what about those years those three years lettuce was popping were they pissed that you took the Schofield gig? No, because they love Schofield. They were like, you're playing with Schofield.

Everyone loves Schofield. Were they jealous of you? No, they were supportive, man. That's good. They wanted to be in there. I wanted it to be Lettuce and Schofield. Like we go out of Schofield and I have the boys in the band, and he was like, no, because it'll be a takeover.

I want to split you guys up and get new guys, you know. So I have like these two dudes. I'm the captain now. Yeah, he's the boss, and we're like the kids trying to do well, you know. So we got Avi Bordenick, amazing guitar player, Jesse Murphy, and Andy Hess were the guys in the Schofield band, but I had never met them before, and we were like new friends, and we had to perform for this legend every

night. So those three years was lettuce popping. Were you guys doing regional stuff or you're starting to get there or was it still slow grind? Kraz was intelligently booking things in between the Schofield dates. Whenever I was off, it was like lat cakes, you know? Okay. Was Kraz in Schofield's band?

He just knew your schedule. Kraz just knew my schedule, yeah. So he was really the point person in Lettuce for the first. Yeah, he had the booking contacts. And then once Josh took that over, he didn't have to do that. But he was always into playing, because he was also doing Chapter 2, which I was in that as well, which is like the Kraz band.

The origins of Kraz writing tunes, singing a little bit, band leading., which I was in that as well, which is like his, the Kras band, the origins of like Kras writing tunes, singing a little bit, band leading, you know? So I was supportive in that and like trying to get him to that point where he felt comfortable to like just be the man up there,

you know, and call the shots, you know? Okay. So how many years was Skullfield? Three. Three. So now you're 26?

Yeah, about that. Okay. So you're 26. Then what made you guys want to take lettucetuce to the next step after that? Oh, Skull was done. He was like, hey, man, thanks for your time. I'm going to do some jazz shit now, straight ahead.

That bum you out? No. It was great. It was time. Thank you, man. It was great. Were you always like half one in and one out? Or did you feel like that was like a gig, like your first gigs when you were 20?

It put me on the map as a drummer worldwide that gig like it playing with scofield is a hot seat and uh luckily the music he was playing was like drum loop hip-hop shit where i could do my thing and be creative and drum and bass and like i didn't have to be some jazz fusion guy like Dave Weckl or Vinnie Caliuta or something. Because I can't really do that. But what I did was get to play the music I liked, drum and bass, hip-hop, funk, and mess with it and kind of chop it up

as if I was cutting it on a sampler but doing it with the drums. And that just kind of caught people's ear. So during those three years, what were the boys doing? They were doing big things. Which means got in the Robert Randolph family band, you know? Like just playing like that amazing church funk rock thing they do. They took him in, you know, his family.

And he was doing that. Soitus had a record deal with his hometown main band, Rustic Overtones. Is that with Lyle? Was Lyle in that band? Lyle was not in that band, but he used to like go to all their gigs, you know? Yeah. Isn't Ryan a Burlington cat or something? Maine. They're all Portland Maine. Portland Maine.

Yeah, they're like the Maine crew. And Nigel was part of the Maine crew Even though he's from D.C. He like moved to Maine When he was like 16 Okay, so Everyone was busy Everyone's doing it Skullfield

Says I'm going Doing something else And you're like totally cool You got the boys back together Or you guys had a meeting And said let's fucking do this full time I mean, absolutely

You know And then Jesus calls one day, he's in New York. He's in the studio with DJ quick and Wyclef. So sick, dude. You guys are fucking doing it. Well,

Jesus is like, he is the number one session bass player for hip hop. Maybe of all time. Like you look, you look at his, his, you know, his credits and it's goes like so deep, you know, in front, like the Dr. Drake hand, you know, his credits. And it goes, like, so deep.

You know, like the Dr. Drake hand, you know. But then outside of that, like Lil Wayne, Kanye, like everybody, like, he just has mad credits. And he could literally just stay in LA and just not even think about a session. He'll get a call, like, hey, man, come on in. You know, we're in here with the game. We're in here with whoever.

Did he get you a lot of gigs? So yeah, he called me and he brought me into the session with Quick and Wyclef. And then Wyclef was there and he tested me to see if I knew Haitian music. And I grew up with a bunch of Haitians. I grew up in a town, Nyack,

where it's just like a lot of big Haitian community. And I was best friends with a lot of Haitian kids and they play compa music. They like compa. And I knew how to play it on the drums. I played it for Wyclef. Andian kids, and they play compa music. They like compa. And I knew how to play it on the drums. I played it for Wyclef, and he's like, you're my new drummer, and we're going on tour next week. So it feels like every time you wanted to take Lettuce seriously,

you kept on getting these crazy kicks. Another life opportunity would jump there. And the guys were like, wow. And Jesus was like, wow, I can't believe it. And Wyclef was fucking popping. It was popping. He had the sweetest girl, the new single, and the whole shit. Was that the biggest thing you ever did?

It was huge. We were playing like amazing gigs. Like, you know, I pulled Dave Grohl up from the crowd. And like I had him sit in at the gig, like at this like film festival. And like we partied all night, you know. I fucking love it. It was like all this celebrity shit, you know, hanging out with Akon. And like, you know, just like,

while Clef was deep into that, that whole like, he just has the most, you know, magnetic personality I've ever been around, you know, like.

And it feels like you're magnetic to older people. I mean, I just stay out of the way. Like, you know. You've always been like

the youngest dude in the band. That does, that's been my place, you know. Yeah. Isn't that crazy how people, you feel like you're an old soul? I learned a lot. I shut up and listen.

I like to learn things about people and get them talking. Okay, so Wyclef. Now, right before Lennis gets full on, you get the gig with Wyclef. How long did that last? That was another three years, man. Oh my God.

Traveling the world with him. And Jerry Wonder, the great producer of the Fugees. And the first Fugees reunion with Lauren. I'm in the room with her. You met her? I hung out. Yeah, we totally played. Did gigs.

Studio. What was their chemistry like? Like the Fugees chemistry. It wasn't cool. Yeah. You know, but it was cool. At the end of the day, they did the gigs. You know, they're on tour right now

it's like the difference between it's a job and it's your love and music and what not you think about the bands I just think of like Mick and Keith and stuff they don't really like each other but they do the gig

and they have a synergy with business and with music. They can get past the other bullshit and get to what's really important. The music. Yeah. Okay, so now three years later, you guys are becoming older adults.

What, 27, 28, 29? About that, yeah. So this idea of lettuce is still throughout. We're going to do this full time. We're going to still throughout. Like, we're going to do this full time. We're going to do this full time. We're going to do this full time. And then everyone keeps getting steered away. How did you keep the dream of lettuce going on?

I mean, Soul Life is still going this whole time. You know, like, Kras was in a van for years, you know, with those guys. Shout out to Neil and Al. Yeah, yeah. Let's go. Let's go. You know, and Neil. Let's go. Let's go. You know, and Neil was super

into Lettuce. Like, he like really, you know, he became a member and he was like, I couldn't believe it because I was like,

I worship so, Neil was like, he's a genius, you know. Yeah. Left hand bass while he's playing the right hand chords

and soloing and writing all those tunes. He wrote most of the solo shit. So, he's like, as a composer, he's my,

one of my biggest influences of like how I try to you know like maybe I'll write something like I really hope Neil likes this you know like

and sometimes he would shit on it was he honest with you? absolutely brutally because you're a little bro yeah absolutely him and Kraz

are brutally honest so Kraz was brutally honest yeah you're a little bro yeah yeah absolutely so when was have you ever has Kraz known any of those dudes,

like you were just like so in love with this one tune and you're like finally bringing it to the boys. Yeah. And then they just shit on it. Absolutely. What song was it? Do you remember the worst heartbreak? I mean, there's so many.

There's so many misses, bro. Really? And I started writing in bulk. And that's what got me writing like continually delivering, you know, and making them cooler and cooler and studying what they like like what kind of sounds is neil like you know this kind of organ like an old sounding organ with the reverb you know the guitar tone's got to be right there's got to be live drums can't be like fake you know pro tools drums you know it's got to be like real drums and like i started making these demos and like over and over and

getting better and better and better and so it's just like got my chops up. You know, some people get put off by getting rejected and some people get mad and want to get even. And it's like the fuel. Fuel, absolutely. So was that fuel for you? Absolutely. What about if someone that isn't your big bro

starts talking shit? Is that more fuel or do you get more bummed out? I mean, you know, depends on if I'm a fan of their work. You know, that's the only time I get bent out of shape. You know, if I'm not a fan of their work, it's like, where is this coming from? You know? Like, what about, so that's got to be, that is the greatest, when your mentors are your best buddies and your big bros. Yeah.

I mean, it just, it makes you stronger. Yeah. It's got to. Okay, so, this is tight. All right,

so you're 29. What happened with Wyclef? Three years and I got it, I think, break science started to pop off. No shit.

You know, because I got the thing with Borum. Where'd you meet Borum? In New York. Was he popping? Yeah, dude. He was the only dude in New York that could play jazz keyboards and had Ableton chops and samples

and all kinds of dope dubs and reggae sounds and sirens and effects. No one had all that bag, you know. So it was like, we started the duo, and it just started to pop off with the right, you know, shout out to... Were you starting into electric music, or electronic music then? Or what was break science back then? Break science, our real influence was J Dilla,

and wanting to like kind of do that live, and you know, Flying Lotus, early Flying Lotus, like we're like, damn, we would love to like have some samples and still play, you know, like create a hybrid of live and electronic.

That was our thing from day one, like 08. Holy shit. Okay. So was Break Science ever like really, really popping? Because you guys were on all the festivals. This is when I started getting into your scene.

I saw Break Science really starting to pop off and getting bigger times at festivals. The trajectory was really going well. The whole Pretty Lights, shout out to Derek at Pretty Lights. He put us down with the Colorado mob. Yeah, you didn't even get to that. You were with Pretty Lights, weren't you?

Yeah, totally. What's that? Another two, three years, you know. I feel like your life is threes and sevens, dude. It's like that. Maybe, man. Love life, seven years. Music life, three.

But Lettuce has been there the whole time. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so was Pretty Lights before Break Signs? No. Break Signs was popping. We had a gig together one night, and I couldn't believe that. I was told that Pretty Lights was a light show,

and I was like, a light show's playing after us? Like, who are these guys? It's like 08, 09, you know, and we're in LA or some shit. And we did a show together, and then I got reached out to by Phil Salvaggio, and he was just like, we want you to join the band. Was Derek popping back then?

Derek was just absolutely straight line up, going bonkers nationwide. And okay, so then you took that gig? Yeah. That was in 2010. Holy shit. So this idea of having Lettuce be the front was always the dream. Yeah.

But you just kept on having these sidetracks that essentially built your career and made you who you are. And it made Lettuce, you know, people take notice of Lettuce. Like, you know, Derek would, like, bring me out front to the crowd at Red Rocks and be like, this is Adam.

He's in Lettuce and breaks, like, support him. You know, like, he just was so cool with that shit like he you know a lot of DJs do not or you know producers give the shine to the musicians on stage like that you know and he was just like this is fam you know like holy shit yeah and just like so all of a sudden

the Break Science thing was like happening and like and then I knew I didn't have to I knew I should concentrate on the, on brake science and lettuce. And then the trajectory started happening at the same time. And it was like, okay, now I just have these two things that are incredible.

That could totally be full time. Yeah. How do I do both? Were you getting burnt out at this point? I never was home. You were home. I never was home. Yeah.

Were you burnt out or? No. You loved it It was great It was a great ride Totally great Okay so why Why'd you decide one over the other I never did decide one over the other

It's just like Drink your water if you have to Yeah let us Sorry dude I got so many questions about this People go break science Your side part Like hell no

That was a fucking full gig It's a full It should be full time But it's like I had my let thing so many years, you know, playing funk. It's different sides. I like making beats. I like, you know, playing electronic DJ shadow, RJD2 type shit, you know,

and I also like playing James Brown type shit, you know. So you felt like that point in your life, you really had a full, your musical heart was complete in a way. In a way, like, you know, having two sides of the game for me and then still doing Pretty Lights in between those two. So how many shows were you doing at 29?

It was pretty crazy. 300? Like, if you could see the flights crisscrossing, like, it would just be a giant... And you never got burnt out. I mean, the flights, to this day, the thought of going on a flight for leisure, even to a fucking beach,

even to Hawaii, I'm just like, you know what? I got to fly for fun. I would rather stay on the ground. You know what I mean? Because I flew so much from 30 to till today were you ever like playing beats from a break science song that you're playing that you like accidentally were playing in another show because you're just like you know was there ever shows where like you played one show break science and oh yeah i

need to work break science opening for lettuce like times, like full tours like that. Was Lettuce popping in 09? It started to pop around 10, 11, 12. I mean, really, you know, Derek definitely helped a lot. And, you know, Grammatic had us play Red Rocks, like open up for him in Red Rocks. That was like super cool of him to do. Did any of the guys in Lettuce feel like they were second fiddle to any of your other projects? No. They were all doing big shit.

Jesus was in the studio with Dre like live gigs? What's that? He's like, you guys play concerts? That's pretty cool. He's like, I'm in the studio with rap legends every day. Kraz is doing big things, writing with this dude, making his own records, doing his thing.

Neil's doing soundtracks for all kinds of documentaries. Everyone survives very well. And you still haven't drank yet? Barely. During the Pretty Lights thing was me starting to experiment. I felt like that's a very big party scene.

That area. You're starting to get into that world where it's starting to party. It was insane. How hard was it to's starting to party. It was insane. How hard was it to say no to things? It was just like, you know, it was really, you know,

nothing I've ever experienced before. You know, I was always a very, you know, we took it pretty light, you know, as far as partying. You know,

like, but that was, this was like, you know, a party bus every night and like totally but that was this was like you know the party bus every night and like it was just wild did did you ever get burnt out from that part of it no no everything was just such a great it was really amazing you know at that point my life never having done it you know and it was at the end of a relationship and then i was single and it was just like having fun it was just yeah was this the first time you were really making

a lot of money or a decent amount of money it was definitely the most money I made in a while you know but I definitely was flying for it

and traveling for it and no sleeping for it you're working your ass off yeah I feel like it's like they don't realize like people who make money

it takes so much effort to make fucking money yeah and like you know it doesn't just come out of the air unless you're a trust funder, but. Yeah.

I didn't spend it on anything. I barely bought anything. I just literally just stacked it and just kept working, you know? Yeah. Are you good with money? I don't spend on things. No.

Ubers. Yeah. What's your guilty pleasure? Food? You know, I've been cooking a lot, so I don't spend that much money on food, like organic food. So I've been trying to cook for myself.

I just don't, you know, I went shopping and I bought two pairs of jeans. They look good. Shout out to my girl. Sarah actually took me to the mall, Cherry Creek Mall with Nordstrom's. It's the first time I've been shopping in like five years. I feel like people have to stop you and say, hey, we're going to go to the park.

We're going to go get you some jeans, you know? It's like that. It's like, she's going to get me out of the house and doing normal human things. So you got out of Pretty Lights. Now you just have Lettuce and Break Science. So we're, and they're both just, you guys were touring together. You're double dipping. You're doing both shows.

Just everything is music. together you're double dipping you're doing both shows just everything is music so when did i felt like when did lettuce start doing like becoming your full-time gig well i was still you know or you're doing production still well the lettuce thing started really starts you know incline and uh the grammy was was a big thing the getting nominated for the grammy you know um it was it was a major event for us. Did that change your band's trajectory after getting that? It validated us in a weird way to each other. Because we all respect that community.

It's called the Quincy Jones Award to me. That's really what a Grammy is. He has something like 30, 40 Grammys. And he lends, he makes that shit legit to me, you know, and so in our,

and you know, as friends, we're like, wow, this is like a real thing. You know, this is not, not like an award

should validate you at all. That's some bullshit. You know, like, let me go back on that. I'm just saying like, because I grew up watching it every day,

my parents, every year, my parents, and like, it's a major part of it. So it was just kind of, you know. That's a huge accomplishment for being homies at 16 in a fucking practice studio.

Don't give yourself more credit than that, Deitch. No, that's a huge accomplishment, dude. And like, it doesn't matter. Yeah, fuck the award. But the idea that you're getting an accomplishment for the music that you're playing is, you know, that's a bow. I mean, there's a lot of... Let's go, let's go, let's go.

There's a lot of my heroes that did not get nominated for a Grammy. You know, it does not make, you know, make it any less and we didn't win, you know, but whatever it did, but, uh, you know, you know, whatever inspires you, inspires you. And that, and that, that's what life's about. What is, is that one of the most, what's the most proudest thing or accomplishment you've ever done?

I mean, definitely having my parents at the Grammys, you know, just the lead up to that was probably like good, good for them. You know, I just felt like they felt validated finally. Cause I was,

you know, they had high hopes for me being like this big time producer, like what, what Jeff was doing, you know? And I had opportunities where I was like in the studio with Justin Timberlake, just, you know, they had high hopes for me being like this big time producer, like what Jeff is doing, you know? And I had opportunities where I was like in the studio with Justin Timberlake, just one-on-one, me, him and an engineer.

And I was like his producer, you know? And we were making beats like all day long for like a week and a half. Is that how that works with those bigger guys? They like, they see what producers they want to play with. I don't even know how I got that gig, man. It's just... Like, I can't remember. Really don't even know how I got that gig, man. It's just like,

I can't remember. I think my manager at the time got a call from somebody that knew him and they got me in the studio with him. We did a whole record, you know, and, and then he was like, Oh,

I got to go to Virginia to work with Timberland. I got to, you know, he wants me to come down and they did sexy back. And that was it. What about the record that you scratched? He just sitting on a hard drive somewhere, you know?

Oh, that is that mind.atched. He just sitting on a hard drive somewhere, you know? Oh, is that mind fuck? It's kind of fucked. It would have made my career was super soulful. And there was this dude with an MPC with all the dope Dilla sounds. And we were making some cool neo-soul shit that wouldn't have sold a lot of records. But it would have been super dope, you know? Yeah. And then he comes out with...

Oh, my God. And I was like, oh, I should have made him some electro funk. like super dope you know and then he comes out with boom oh my god you know like and I was like oh I should have made him some electro funk if that's and like I knew how to fucking write

those type of fucking songs dude I was thinking like you know I was on that like soul querions neo soul shit you know

so that bummed me out that would bum me out it was it hurt a little bit you know but what did it teach you you know man sometimes bit, you know. What did it teach you? You know, man, sometimes you miss, you know.

Sometimes you think something's going to happen and it ain't. But whatever happened from there, it's like he still told me he wanted me to be his touring drummer. And I was like, oh, shit. This is going to be tough to tell the guys what I'm with Justin Justin wanted you to be his guy yeah like he had me playing in the studio like tell me this beat play that beat play this for an emc beat play this and I was just like hitting him with it was Blackstone in the band this yeah Blackstone was the MD at the time yeah oh yeah that was your dude yeah but he he ended up Blackstone and ended up going with uh John Blackwell rest in peace, one of the greatest, Prince's drummer, John Blackwell.

Damn. Who was like one of my idols. We went to school. He was like the dude at Berklee that was like Kobe as a freshman. Oh, he was the GOAT. And I was like, you know, Keith Van Horn. I was just like, just so, you know. Still pulling 18.

Yeah, exactly. Still doing good. You know, and he would like throw the sticks at me and smile. I'm like, you play now, motherfucker. You know, like. Was it ever're doing good. You know, and he would, like, throw the sticks at me and smile. I'm like, you play now, motherfucker. You know, like. Was it ever like that movie, that drum movie? I mean, I got definitely, like, friendly bullied by the better drummers. Because they knew you were good and they knew potential.

Yeah, they wanted me to get into that, like, competition thing where it's like, you know, they push me and I do better because of it, shit. You know, meanwhile, it, like, kind of crushed my soul, you know, they push me and I do better because of it, shit, you know, meanwhile, it like kind of crushed my soul, you know? Yeah. It's gotta be hard being a kid

and like, I mean, you're still a fucking kid. We could wear a badge of armor or we could pretend we're bigger than we are but really,

we're still fucking developing our brains, dude. It's gotta be so fucking hard. I mean, as musicians, our egos are glass you know

anyone can say one tiny thing and your whole shit's just shattered you know you're like no it's cool

it's totally cool you know I'll do better no no no totally it didn't bother me at all you know where it's like

fuck and you're just like your heart broken like your heart is just like fuck when people say like hey man

it was a good show all I hear is good not great yeah like, hey man, it was a good show. All I hear is good, not great. Yeah. Oh, it was great. It was good, huh? I'm like, oh, thanks man, so much. When I'm inside, I'm like, fuck.

I gotta fucking get him tonight. What did I do wrong? What did I do? Did I hit that fucking snare wrong? I should have practiced before the gig. After the gig. Do better, diet. Okay. I want to go back.

I want to go back to this Timberlake thing. He wanted you to be your drummer. Yeah. And what happened? He told me and then I guess, you know.

He told you personally or his people? Yeah. For like a few months I was like preparing myself for that, you know, and then I guess Blackstone

went with John Blackwell which is totally cool because. So Blackstone hooked you up with Timberlake on that world? No, no. I didn't even know

Blackstone at that time. I just knew Justin what wanted me and I know that Justin probably told Blackwell like I didn't even know Blackstone at that time. I just knew Justin wanted me. And I know that Justin probably told Blackwell, like, I want this dude that's in the studio with me

to play drums. You've never heard of him. You know, and they, you know, and they was like, no, we're going to get

this professional stadium drummer who I know, John, you know, John Blackwell, who's like, you know,

one of the greats and he could twirl, he could twirl sticks. He was like, just, he could light up the crowd just by himself. You know, and that's something I could never do as a drummer. Like, I'm not, I have no tricks. I have no bag.

You don't need it because you got. I mean, I wish I did. I wish I could like, you know, sit in on the show and, you know, and do some shit that the non-musicians could be like, that's fucking awesome. Yeah. You know, I don't have anything in my bag like that.

I'm just like business. I go out there and I'm just trying to make it groove and feel good like the records I grew up playing along to in my parents' basement. That's why all those dudes picked on you when you were a kid because they knew that you were straight fucking business. It's like that meme of that teacher

who walks in and he's holding the same t-shirt but it's a different colored t-shirt like Go to work. It's like that meme of that teacher who walks in and he's holding the same t-shirt but it's a different colored t-shirt like going to work. It's like going back to work with it.

They were trying to see what I had in the bag besides a beat. You know, until to this day when I have to like do a drum fill or a drum solo,

like I start to have a heart attack, you know, because it's like, oh, this is that other stuff that the guys do and they, you know, Tommy Lee and the, you know, because it's like, oh, this is that other stuff that the guys do and they,

you know, Tommy Lee and the, you know, flying sauce, whatever, the upside down drum set. Yeah,

you're not like that. I just, you know. You were never flashy, huh? I don't, I hate flash, man.

What about like in your personal life? Yeah, I'm kind of like, just like to play, you know, a background chill. I'm not,

never really trying to shine on anyone like that. I don't wear jewelry or big watches or shit. Like Adam Dyke's solo project or something. Yeah, I love doing music projects. I have 15 different new things going on. Yeah, talk to Fairman about you. Shout out to Josh Fairman.

Right, he got you. Absolutely. Great bass player. Great bass player. Amazing bass player. Amazing person. Amazing engineer. Just really helped out my whole shit. What do you like better, producing or playing live?

Oh, man. Don't do that to me, bro. Don't do that to me, man. Take your time. I know. That's a hard question I mean if I don't do One or the other

I'll go fucking crazy How about that Just leave it at that So you're a balanced dude You need to be full circle I just grew up doing both My dad was into music production And had all the synthesizers

And samplers in the house And like You know I had Ensoniq ESQ You know ESQ1 Then I had the Ensoniq sampler The ASR-10 And so I was

making beats from like 13, 14, 15 on. So I was really into that. And so that kind of took over from drums. And I've just always been loving both. So I have to do both. That's good. Do you regret any gigs you didn't take?

I regret not being a full year-round producer and moving to LA and just like, you know, having the beautiful studio by the pool and just, hey, I'm here

and I'm ready to make records with all you LA cats. Why can't you still do that? Because they look at me as like, oh yeah, you're on the road, right? We can't hire you for this.

Really? You know, it's like I'm going to tell my boys that I make a record for two months, you know, I can't tour.'s like yeah oh so you really are you ever you're always thinking of your boys even throughout your projects that's

important to you what we you know what we're here to accomplish it's like you know not done you know we have a lot to do like what I mean create a community that's just undeniable and beautiful and peaceful and safe and cool and into funk and, like, understanding that, you know, having an audience like Earth, Wind & Fire, multiracial audience and creating an inclusive vibe at these festivals, you know. Yeah. And, you know, getting more bands like Butcher Brown and you know Ghost Note Shout out to both those bands and like

getting them out on the road so it's like you know what we're doing is not done so I feel like we all owe it to each other to keep building that

Do you feel like you'll ever stop? Knock on knock on wood Yeah like getting sicker Of course

Yeah I don't see stopping I feel great You know You think you'll be on the road Till you're 100 I don't see why Look at Bob Weir bro

Yeah that's what I'm saying He's loving it He sat in with Lettuce Like the whole gig We thought he was gonna play A song with us At Pete Shapiro's festival And like

He stayed the whole gig He's up there enjoying it You know And like We were playing The funky JGB. Is he good? Yeah, bro.

He was in it. He was in that groove, singing, you know, vibing. That's fucking beautiful. Mayer was in a vibe that day. He was like hanging with me and Nigel, and it's like smiling, vibing out. This is insane, Dice. But you deserve this, man.

You dedicated your life from 11 years old. I mean, five. Or five, yeah. We'll take five years out, because you had to do your thing. Oh, yeah. Do some kickflips. Absolutely. 360 shove-its.

360 flips. You don't do that shit anymore? I got my board at the house. I'm just like, I feel like, again, I owe it to my boys not to break my wrist. Yeah, true. Being a jerk, you know? Yo, Gerlach, get up here. I want you to ask Dite some questions. Yeah, get over here, man. Get over here., Gerlach, get up here. I want you to ask some questions.

Yeah, get over here, man. Get over here. Nick Gerlach, ladies and gentlemen. Hey, Nick, grab your mic. Dude, that's insane. You got a little time? You got 15, 20 minutes? This is an amazing story, and it's all music.

Nothing distracts you. Sorry, man. No, it's perfect. I'm glad. Because when you put dedication, some people believe even how much hard work you put into something, sometimes it takes luck. When really, I'm like that too.

I bust my ass every day. Work on music. Work on being in the industry. Trying to figure out a way to just be part of this community. And that stuff helped, and it works too. And that stuff helped and it works too. And that's part of the dream too. If you put yourself out there 120% and not just do 60% in something, I really feel that you could build your own life, right?

I mean, absolutely. You're living proof, man. You know, like you're putting so much into the road and like into the videos and all the stuff you're doing, man. It's like really, you know, inspirational to all the homies, you know, Bloom and Nick and myself included, you know? So it's really about, you know, how much you put into the thing. Like I'm, I'm at home writing letters tunes all the time.

You know, I'm making break science tracks, setting up the Borum, Borum going, you know, why'd you say that for your solo shit you know I'm like damn I was like I really thought this would be a great okay alright man

you know it's like damn my friends are just real they're just so real well that's good I love it I rather wouldn't want anyone kissing your ass

yeah no that's not a friend you need someone to be honest with you that's what a friendship is that's what they're there for. It's crazy. I'm not too honest.

Hey, Nick. Nick Urlach here. Hey. What were you guys talking about? That's not headphones. Music. Talking music and how dedication. Yeah, let's smoke another one.

We got time. Yeah, pass that shit. Yeah, pass that shit. I'd love to be dedicated someday. The reason why I wanted to talk to you because I've been talking with Nick so much and he speaks so highly of just your work ethic and stuff. It's pretty insane. I'm extremely high when I talk about you.

What did you learn about Deitch? What did I learn about Deitch? Well, here's the thing about Deitch. I knew I was a fan of Deitch before I met Deitch. Because when you're when you play saxophone in the 2000s, there's like four cool bands that aren't jazz you know what i mean yeah like lettuce i don't know that's probably it actually

so i was really into deitch before i was even like a touring musician and then i got to open for him and then we became you know friends i guess at least acquaintances. Yeah. So now I guess the allure, you know, the gossamer thing around him, now I know him as a person. So what are you asking me? What do I like about him? No. This isn't a date, dog. This isn't a fucking date. I'm not hitting your cigarette. I'm sorry. I'm asking like,

what have you learned from work ethic from Deitch? Well, Deitch beats don't quit. What's that mean? That's his slogan.itch beats don't quit. What's that mean? That's his slogan. It's not my slogan. What does that mean? It's definitely your slogan.

No, shout out to this girl, Heather. She used to be a bartender, and she used to come to all the shows out here in Denver. She's kind of a legend. She was super left field, but funny as shit. And she made these pins that say Deitch beats don't quit. She started handing them out to everyone in Colorado. Well, she thought of it, but it's your slogan. It's become a thing.

People just started saying it. Well, Deitch is different. You know, he's always creating. Seems like a lot of people want to make beats like Deitch. Yeah, because he's one of the best. We're having a podcast while Deitch is here. It's fine. Hopefully they make beats like themselves.

You ever get pissed off when people rip you off? Why would they? Why would off? Why would they? Why would they? Why would they? You kind of have to rip Deitch off if you want to be a good drummer. That's some bullshit, man. If you want to play in the R&B. Well, no, not because of who you are and that stuff.

Because you learned the tradition the right way. So if you want to learn the tradition the right way and play the music the right way, you're going to sound like Deitch in some ways. Because he studied the masters. So you have to study the masters to be way and play the music the right way, you're going to sound like Deitch in some ways. Because he studied the masters. So you have to study the masters to be good at stuff, right? So there's going to be some crossover. I mean, everyone knows if you

study the greats, you know to have your own sound. Whatever it is. That's the most important shit. There's still an attitude and stuff that you have to have, you know what I mean? Yeah, I mean you definitely got to be focused. If you want to be a great jazz saxophonist you're going to play some charlie parker shit sometime you exactly there's a language but you hope for people that are younger than you that they find their own shit and if you are a path of that you

know or a piece of that recipe of their recipe that they're they're cooking making their stew and you're a piece of that that's cool the thing about dice too is he's always writing right so and i i think there's a problem with a lot of people i know especially in the like producer community where they're like waiting for inspiration to strike them to write their album whereas like people like dyche and i try to be this way you have to write every day it's not like that you have to be digging every day and then you'll find the gold it doesn't just like come to you it doesn't like it not Amazon. You don't wait for the delivery of it. You know what I mean?

Or if you have that tiny idea and you just go for a walk to the store and you hear that bass line and you're like... You got to get it down right away though. You got to sing that to your phone. Then you got to turn that into a demo and you take it to the furthest place. Don't let that fly away. That little guitar riff in your head.

Those three words you thought of in that Uber ride home. Okay, so now you let that fly away. That little guitar riff in your head. Those three words you thought of in that Uber ride home. Now you have that bass line. In your brain, do you departmentalize where I'm taking this song? Am I taking it to Lettuce? Taking it to Break Science? Exactly.

You start with the bass lines. If it's a funky thing like the one I just sang, you sing it into your phone, and you do little mouth drums, do a little beat box, however you have to do it to get that beat and the tempo locked down. Now you have the meat and potatoes of a fucking song.

And then you take that to whatever you use, Fruity Loops, Pro Tools, Logic, and you fumble your way through it. I might spend three hours on a one-bar guitar line, you know, one-bar guitar part, and I'm playing one note at a time. It's eight different tracks open for me to do one thing at a time, but to get it where it sounds like Shemene's playing the guitar.

And the details. You know, yeah, and it's like the pocket's got to be right in there because they're going to hear this, and if it's not in the pocket perfectly, they're going to be like, get the shit out of here. I would not want to bring this along. Or what about even like during quarantine when you're writing songs?

Normally you guys are with each other when you're writing tunes. I mean, that's how we used to write and that's how we also write a lot but I just started getting real kind of obsessive

with like presenting tunes to them and they were just like, shit. They just kind of were like, fuck it, we got to play these tunes. You know, like we should,

but then they write killer tunes too like so they come at me with like, and I'll be You know, like we should. But then they write killer tunes too. Like, so they come at me with like, and I'll be like, this is a hit. Like, anytime they come at me with a song, I'm like, this, we're definitely doing this. Even if they have a half an idea or just a phone, a lot of Jesus things are just like him sending me, him singing a bass line on my voicemail. Holy shit. And I'll just like take that bass line and I'll write a whole tune to it, you know.

So what about, Benny was telling me you guys were doing something during the quarantine where like you're a bunch of artists were doing a certain musician album, an album for a musician. I can't remember. And then you wrote the whole tune and then everyone rewrote.

Oh, the Count Basie thing, yeah. The Count Basie thing. Yeah, and everyone. Shout out to Benny Bloom, man. Let's go. Our boy. Our guy. Our guy. Our fucking guy. Benny Bloom, man. Let's go. Our boy. Our guy. Our guy.

Our fucking guy. Benny Bloom is directly associated with the rise of Lettuce. Him and Nigel becoming full-time members with the band about nine years, ten years ago, whatever the fuck it was, that's when the band started to pop off. And we actually, Kraz and Neil, could actually move on and go back to solo life full time.

And we actually didn't falter and just turn to dust. Did that bum you out when Kraz left? No, because he's

an amazing solo artist. That's my boy. Like, I want him to be doing what he's doing right now. Like, you gotta, you know,

his records are great and now he's got Otis, you know, who I introduced to. Taking that credit. There we go. Shout out to Otis you're working he got me this gold field gig he got me like a hundred sessions he got me in with Calentel and Quali

and Farrow Munch and in the studio at most like Krez did a lot of things so the fact that I can at least hook him up with Otis McDonald it's like the one thing I'll clap to that that's crazy, dude. God. We like to put Benny in sketches, too.

But yeah, shout out to Benny. Probably the best actor in the whole music world. Not only is he one of the greatest people and musicians, but he's funny as fuck. Impressions. And he's a good friend. And he keeps us from doing that 30, we've known each other for 30 years.

We start getting each other's skin, and Benny will come in and just crack some shit. That's what I do on their tour, actually. He's our Benny Bloom. You gotta have that. He saved the band like multiple times just like just being himself you know. So through all this

through being brothers and stuff and not being able to be with your brothers how hard is it to keep camaraderie and how hard is it to keep inspiration in a band that's all doing their own thing? I mean the the music itself, how it feels from note one. How it feels. It's like, bam!

It's like an anvil. Like, hit it. Kung! You know, you feel that first downbeat. And you're like, wow, everyone felt that downbeat exactly the same. Like, oh, yeah, we've been playing together since we were six. Right. Like, the rhythm is, like, deeper than, you know, the notes to us. We're all, like, you know, everyone in the band is kind of than you know the notes to us we're we're all like you

know everyone in the band's kind of like a drummer kind of vibe you know so the way they hit that downbeat is like you know it's that that's how you stay inspired like that feeling that rush yeah fucking adam deitch wow thank you nick for bringing him into my life i told you it's gonna be a great conversation i've been waiting for this. Thank you, man. You know, like I- Especially for a drummer. The only way I knew you, Dyche, because we were at a festival

and we didn't know each other and you took our Jameson. Oh, no. I was pissed. I'm like, who the fuck are over here, dog? Taking our Jameson. You know what?

It might have been my ex. It might have been my ex. I wouldn't have been. That's something she would do. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shout out to my ex. I know, that's some life. No, but you've had a great life so far,

and I'm just proud to be ruining you on as a fan. I'm proud to just starting to get to know you as a friend. You know, Scott Morrill. Shout out to Scott Morrill. One more time. Yeah. Let's go. Let's go.

Scotty all day. But you guys became super tight, and he's always been in the scene and never really wanted to shine he's not a shine on people kind of guy real low key but doing a lot

for the community and you gave him a chance to shine and now he's like DJ Sleepy you know he's doing it man he's doing it

and it makes me feel good for him because like he deserved that that feeling people love DJ Sleepy he's great shout out to DJ Sleepy yeah you know and it's

that's what it is like this is a like you said in the beginning this is a community we're building a community deserve that. People love DJ Sleepy. He's great. Shout out to DJ Sleepy. That's what it is. Like you said in the beginning, this is a community. We're building a community. And the only way we could build a community is when our roots are strong. And our community

has a strong roots once we all just like take our swords or our shields away and just let life open up and be a vessel and be present and not think about the people we were 10 years ago

or the people we want to be and just live now. Exactly. That's why I'm here, man. Thanks for being here. I got one last question. I'll let you go on with your famous life in Denver, Colorado. Almost famous. What do you want to be remembered by, Adam Deitch?

What did Maya Angelou say? How you made them feel. People don't remember shit about you, your music, nothing. Just how did you make them feel, which I like. Hopefully I didn't give anyone shit or if you give me negative energy, I try to not throw that directly back at you. I fight that, you know, that urgency to give you back,

you know, energy that might not be all the way positive. So, you know, I try to keep it cool. So, you know, I want to remember that first and being supportive of my musical heroes and all the musicians that I grew up around shining a light on them and the respect

for all the drummers that have literally taken me under their wing like Mark Simmons and Charles Haynes and little John Roberts played for John Jackson Prince, John Blackwell they took me under their wing and they gave me a shot so I definitely want to be remembered for you know giving up credit where credit's due you know I mean I'm not on some like bullshit not some Elvis bullshit good good well thank god you're not on some Elvis bullshit thank you uh Thanks for being on the show.

And let's be friends, okay? Absolutely, man. All right, buddy. It's nice to be here. Friends. I'll talk to you later, Nick. That's what friends are for. You tuned in to the World Sefer Podcast with Andy Fresco, now in its fourth season.

Thank you for listening to this episode. Produced by Andy Fresco, Joe in its fourth season. Thank you for listening to this episode, produced by Andy Fresco, Joe Angelo and Chris Lawrence. We need you to help us save the world and spread the word. Please subscribe, rate the show, give us those crazy stars, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you're picking this shit up. Follow us on Instagram at World Saving Podcast for more info and updates. Fresco's blogs and tour dates you'll find at andyfrescott.com.

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