Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 174: Stu Mackenzie (King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard)

Episode Date: May 31, 2022

Bonnaroo 2022 baby! This is pt1 in a series in which we highlight artists performing at one of the world's greatest frestivals... tune in this week to learn more about the infamous, prodigious, and peerless King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard; straight from the multi-instrumentalist source: Stu Mackenzie! Plus, a new song from The U.N.  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, "Puff Break (Believe That)" on iTunes, Spotify  More content than the Library of Alexandria: kinggizzardandthelizardwizard.com Produced by Andy Frasco Joe Angelhow Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: The U.N.

Hey guys, how we doing out there? It's Andy. Hope you're kicking ass. Hope this week you're just gonna skullfuck this week. I have a feeling you guys are just gonna fucking kill this week. No voicemails this week. I actually wanted to play a song off my new album that, because this is the first of three episodes of the Bonnaroo Music Festival installment. episodes of the Bonnaroo Music Festival installment. Yes, we made it. We're playing on Bonnaroo, and they were nice enough to let us be the podcast for the music festival. So this week we have King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Stu.

He's fucking awesome. You're going to love this interview. But first, I wanted to play this song. It's called Dream. We wrote this when we found out we got the Bonnaroo offer. It was such an amazing feeling to play one of the most prestigious music festivals. And we wrote this song about it. It's called Dream. So Chris, play the flutes, baby. A world premiere on the World Saving Podcast. Well, kind of. You might have already listened to it if you listened to the album,

but please enjoy our song from Andy Frasco and the UN called Dream. Dream. Well, I thought I'd be in Inglewood Shooting threes with 24 Since I was a kid Always tried to score. With that supermodel down the street, the debutantes in Tennessee.

Mama always said that a dreamer's gonna dream. Dream, dream, dream. All you gotta do is dream. Dream, dream, dream Yeah, all you gotta do is All you gotta do is dream Well, I missed my shot with Kobe Bean To L.A. for Tennessee

And that supermodel down the street never noticed me but that brought me here onto the stage rock and roll and purple haze everybody here just have a good time dream dream dream all you gotta do is dream Dream, dream, dream All you gotta do is All you gotta do is dream What you got, Shawnee? Well, my tour bus is still a van Grown men in a coffee can Things are rough and we got a plan

Plenty left to do Black shoreline and Bonnaroo Red rocks and hangouts too Things are good and I can't complain Every day's a dream Dream, dream, dream All you gotta do is dream Dream, dream, dream

All you gotta do is dream Dream, dream, dream All you gotta do is All you gotta do is All you gotta do is. All you gotta do is. All you gotta do is. All you gotta do is. All you gotta do is dream. I don't think it should be anything after that.

Oh my God. You're tired for a good reason for once. And we're back. Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. You sound like shit. I'm Andy Frasco. I literally just got off my plane from summer camp. I'm Nick.

I'm well rested because I didn't work at all this weekend. I lost my voice oh man it's the hardest part about these 2 a.m sets and festivals is the 6 a.m flight yeah because 6 a.m flight requires you to get to the airport at 4 30 or 5 both airport adventures were close calls at least your peoria is like a small airport so you don't have to like run through a bunch of security but you gotta like we were in virginia we had to drive an hour to the airport oh my god i hate that everyone's all fucked up there should be a law for festivals it has to be within 45 minutes of a major airport from now on yeah none of this three hour drive and then you know hell yeah what a fucking night summer camp was amazing i had a blast so was rooster walk um eight hours oh that's that's

enough it's funny eight hours of frasco is like two days of someone else who'd you see um i watched did you see bayless he probably watched main squeezer fun they're like the best band i think i love that band they're a good band i like them um who was the best we sat in with little feet no they're cool yeah um dolov cohen was a great sit-in he was there dolov showed up he went to summer? Like a bat out of hell, dude. That's the only way he shows up. With his sister and... His MAGA sister?

No, no, the other one. He has a MAGA sister, right? He's got a MAGA sister. Like insane MAGA sister. Yeah, like conspiracy theories MAGA. I wish I had a sibling like that. So bad. That'd be so fun.

All my siblings are like very normal and like... Man, summer camp. It was fun. But this isn't about summer camp. This is the Bonnaroo episode. Oh, yeah. We're on Bonnaroo now. We're like NASCAR.

I would love that. I would wear stuff all over my body. It just kind of pained me, obviously. Bonnaroo is coming up, guys. Manchester, Tennessee. We're playing Bonnaroo, and we have King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard on the website. On the website. I can't even fucking talk.

We're a podcast. This is useless. This is... No, people like this. This is... This is Andy. This is the Monday they don't see after my Monday Motivations. Which are recorded on...

You missed your Monday Motivation last week. I know. People were pissed about it. I know, but like... The internet was up in arms about you not posting. Follow your dreams. I'm on a yacht. That's exactly what I was going to say.

I was like... It's like so obnoxious if I'm like telling everybody. I'm like... Then I'm like a real one of those basic bitch influencers. Some welder getting ready to go weld for 12 hours. Yeah. And I'm on a yacht saying, you can do it.

Keep working hard. I got to go. My jet hours. And I'm on a yacht saying, you can do it. Keep working hard. I got to go. My jet ski's done gassing up. Keep working hard and you can take three vacations in two weeks. Vacation six hours. I'm done. No more vacation.

This is it. Only work. Only work. Just chill. You live in Denver. People come here on vacation. The problem is it's summertime, and everyone booked my house five months ago.

Oh, yeah, true. Summer, summer, summer, summertime. I can't even talk. I can't kick back and unwind because my house is rented out again because it's too expensive. The eight wrongs. Denver, baby. It's beautiful. is running out again because it's too expensive. He ain't wrong. Denver, baby.

It's beautiful, but a one-bedder was going to cost you about three. You're spicing it up tonight, and I like it. I haven't seen you since my birthday. I know. I had a great birthday. For instance, I played a show and almost... What a segment. What a turnover.

I want to get this in. First, because I know we're not going to go very long today because Tandy's tie tie. First, I played a show that tanks because it was 30 degrees in May on my birthday. All your birthday show tank. It wasn't like it was, you know, there was, I guess, Ophelia's had worse shows that week, but, you know, it was all right.

It was 30 degrees outside. Then on the way home, my lift got blasted at a red light or at a green light. That was a birthday party on the way home from my birthday show that didn't do well luckily we had it was a guaranteed free show so whatever hold on a backtrack yeah what a shit you didn't put that together no you got in the accident on your birthday it's such a nick girl on birthday it's like so perfect i don't know why i'm laughing it's funny as shit tragedy is funny i mean i didn't get hurt too bad it's a shit birthday

no one should feel bad for me laugh at me laugh i'm sorry you got an accident but that's fucked up no one showed up to the gig and i mean people showed up i just wanted to be like a slamming birthday show you know what i mean it was fun people came out i'm sorry buddy i was i was predicting like a slammer you know yeah based on the internet buzz was good none of those people came out no not like i like a bunch of people were sharing it and like posting it and like yeah blah blah girl and then none of them came in their defense it was 30 degrees in may 20th that's insane i heard it snowed pretty bad. It snowed. I mean, pretty bad for May.

Yeah. In January, it would have been fine. So that was my birthday. This is like such my life. I'm sorry, bro. It's all right, Athens. My band also had to break up because we had to change our name

because Bill Cosby raped someone. You know what I mean? So it's like... Well, at least you have this podcast named after me. Yeah. At least I'm the other guy in a podcast. I get free gummies twice a month. Speaking about that,

did you take any dialed-in gummies to help your back? Yep. My back's messed up, my hip and my neck and my shoulder. So what happened? Oh, we were turning left on Colfax. Were you drunk? Well, I was in the backseat of a Lyft,

so it doesn't matter if I was drunk. I was probably like... You wouldn't have thought I was drunk, but I had a few pops. Were you drunk? Well, I was in the backseat of a Lyft, so it doesn't matter if I was drunk. I was probably like, you wouldn't have thought I was drunk, but I had a few pops. Did you wear a seatbelt? Yes, I always wear a seatbelt. Even in an Uber? Guys, listen.

PSA. Ubers are cars. It's the same thing. It's the world. You're still in the world. You're like the 10th person to say, oh, that's crazy. I never wear my seatbelt in a Lyft. Why? Even if you feel safer with the professional driver,

it wasn't my driver's fault, I don't think. I don't know. I wasn't looking at the light, but I don't think she ran the light. I think the other guy did. So you're going to make some money? I don't know. I can't talk about the ongoing lawsuit on a podcast.

Anyway, she was turning left. Yeah, but I don't want to you know who knows man i'm also being censored by the federal government right now it's like why because i made you just see that fleshlight post i made the other day on instagram it was like a slushy it was like a fake slushy machine like this thing and you squeeze it and it's exactly like a fleshlight yeah so i made like a post like oh my god you know what i mean like and instagram deleted it i'm being censored by the federal government andy you're not censored on this podcast hell yeah keep talking bud that's all i know i feel like i gotta do the heavy lifting this week and then i went to red rocks um twice this weekend while you were at festivals

yeah i tried to come and meet up with you for this string duster show yeah you didn't make it no it seemed like an ordeal it's such a journey but it's worth it red rocks is such a journey i kind of like that about it though i was thinking about that this week and i was like you gotta because it is a special place to see a show it's different than anywhere else right you you definitely earn it you earn it or you get an uber up the hill if you're tired 10 bucks i didn I didn't. I walked one of them, even with my hurt body. Yeah. And then I went to Motet and Pigeons the second night,

and the power went out during Pigeons. The power went out. Dude, I've never seen this before in my life. I've barely seen this in venues. I guess it went out. Who did the power go out on? Pigeons. Oh, no.

During their set. It was cool. They handled it really awesome. What'd they do? I have two videos if you want to watch them. I'll watch them. All right. So I guess they lost power in all of Morrisonrison scott moral said that this has happened earlier this

season too so it's not the venue's fault or anything i don't think no like no one like fucked up and like tripped over something like there was a huge power issue wow anyway so they were like in the course of some big i don't know their songs but everybody's singing it so it must be one everyone knows you know they're right in the middle of the course and all of a sudden both the you know the video walls they all went everything went out at once it was so jarring and then it was out like way awkwardly too long pull up the drum video and then gator hot guy gator saved the day he was speaking of that because the only thing you can hear is drums you know who's getting jealous that we're calling everyone hot besides him

and i had a conversation about it i knew it was stay sick oh my god ryan stays sick ryan fucking stays like my boy we were just he was he hung out we hung out with him a lot uh bayless went home he always goes home the second they hit their last note on sunday yeah and then stasek was like don't sugar cut i'm like you look really cute today ryan your hair is blonde jealous of me yeah i'm like you look cute and he's like don't tell me that don't fucking butter me up i know you think he's hot

he does we but does he think that when we say other people are hot, we're not saying he's not hot? There's no limit. There's no ceiling here. There's no ceiling in hotness. A lot of people could be hot. All hot guys matter, huh, Stasek?

Stasek, you're still hot. You're hot. Let's have a PSA. God. Ryan? One guy being hot doesn't mean you're not hot. Ryan Stasek, you are still hot. All these younger musicians who are getting strong and muscular,

like Gator. I hung out with Gator. He's hot. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I was with you, remember? Yeah. We were ragging on that thing I don't want to talk about in the podcast. What?

I can't talk about it. What were we ragging on? It's too mean. Okay. Don't say it then. I will after. But I can't remember. It was a certain list of things.

Of? That people... Oh, God. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can't do that. I can't do that. That's Cervantes. It was funny as hell, though.

It was pretty funny. Just verify for the fans that I was being funny. I'll clap up to the inside joke. I love doing that. All right, Gator. It's hot. And that was when Gator was hot. And, oh, yeah, we did hang out.

We hung out with all those EDM kids. Yeah, Menard Show. Yeah, Menard Show. And I got yelled at from some girl. She's like, you're not a DJ. I'm like. I can still attend events. I can still take a photo with these motherfuckers.

Oh, God. People are so fucking funny. You're still an artist. They invited you. Yeah. Like, you shouldn't take a picture with these DJs. You're not a DJ. I'm like. How about I take a picture with some cool guys I'm friends with? Yeah, how about I take a picture with these djs you're not a dj i'm like

how about i take a picture with some cool guys i'm gonna take a picture with my friend michael she's just mad because she's not in the picture she had to take the photo me and michael want to do a ghost stories podcast really yeah he was supposed to show up today i know i didn't it was too random we'll do another time when you're not like on no sleep so you saw gator he's hot stay sick um the best thing i realized that our fan not our fans are like our group of bands that we all hang out with everyone had each other's backs everyone was at each other's shows all the homes that's cool show all that we were all at their shows yeah you do that sometimes for people at festivals not me last year at summer camp, but, you know, other people.

A couple bands didn't show up when we supported them. You should have done the Olympic parade with them all. You didn't do that. Well, I did. I had fucking 25 sit-ins. Oh, God. Same shit. Just like we talked about.

But these are cool sit-ins. It doesn't matter. They're still sit-ins. Did Brian... I felt like I was in control. It wasn't all night, right? Yeah, no. All the sit-ins were like perfect.

But they were still a lot of sit-ins. Brian's not going to like this. Well, too fucking bad. Yeah. We had great sit-ins. We had Cherub sit-in. One. Two guys or both of them?

Just Jason. Just Jason. He sang with me on Talking Heads. That's one. We had the whole band of La Special. That's four. We had the whole band of La Special. That's four. We had Lowdown Brass Bath. Another five, right?

Nine. We had Mike Dillon. Ten. This is one set, guys. We had... Who else did we have? Oh, Sack Squatch. That's 11.

And then who else? I might do two for him because he's in costume little strangers how many of them two that's 13 i'm only gonna do one for sasquatch you're not 13 guys there's only five people in your fucking band it wasn't all at once well who else yes it was what that was it ruse what about rooster walk there's a lot of people too roosevelt we had roosevelt collier oh sick he doesn't count i'm not gonna count him actually he's too good he's sick and then i had um i am gonna count him though one fiddle players two people playing the same instrument you heard it here first separately okay but still three uh we had taz my son for your son test

i hope his dad watches this he was there i'm like this is my son he's gonna wear condoms oh my god i was like i'm like a pumping him up like i was a proud like this motherfucker's going to yale he's been at yale for a whole year i know but i was just jacking him up he's like i have been at yale for a year andy i'm smarter than you i. This guy's like, I have been at Yale for a year, Andy. I'm smarter than you. I love it. He's like growing up in front of my eyes, and it's amazing. Makes you want to have a kid of your own, I bet.

Nope. So that's four at Rooster Walk. Only a one-hour step there? Two hours. There was more than that. Who else said it? We had Kendall. Oh.

Five. Kendall on the drums, yeah. I guess that was it. We didn't really have that many that's that's 18 in two days so let's say we're gonna start an andy frasco sitting counter this summer okay for all your festivals that i think you're gonna go over 200 for the summer what 200 sit-ins oh yeah and that's by what through september probably right unless you have some weird october festival i'm mid mark in control it doesn't matter years they still happened i know i i basically do like one fourth the set sit-ins and then we play the rest by ourselves i understand that bride guy's not gonna like this though i know you're gonna get a angry voicemail he texts

me like how was it why did we spend all this time making this album recording all these songs this isn't how he really talks guys i do this anytime i'm making fun of someone i do this voice making all these songs and then you don't even play them at your festival and you have a dog don't forget to talk about your new lp shows and podcasts well that's true sets this summer i know you're on it just reiterate i'm surprised he wants you to talk about the podcast actually yeah well podcast is making every i have a theory that he hates secretly hates the podcast why because it wasn't his idea yes that's how managers are he told me not to do the podcast he's like why why are we wasting our time on this podcast well

now they're the only thing that makes 80 money in the entire entertainment industry. Every rich person in entertainment now is because of their podcast, I feel like. So, yes, we did have 18 sit-ins. Hell, yeah, but still, bracket up. 18 sit-ins, Fresco. Remember that. That's 18 entertainers. That's 18 different ways to sign up for Repsy.com.

Oh, they're still in. They're still here. Hi, Repsy. Actually, Repsy signed up for another six months. Let's go. Thanks, Repsy. Keeping the light bill on around here. Thank you, bud.

Maybe I could actually live in my house now. Might need a third sponsor. Might need a third sponsor. Sign up for Repsy.com if you're in a band. Magician. Magician. What else you got what else you got comedian my brain's not working comedian dj juggler uh wedding planner independent venue oh yeah i forgot venues i wonder if you could sign up as a chef and you're like an entertaining chef like emerald lag Lagasse, like Benny Bloom, like, like Benny,

he has a cooking show. Yeah. Benny and the cookers or whatever. I don't know. What's everyone? Benny came over the house. He's like, I have a cooking show.

I wasn't here when you guys did that. And I was like, we busted our asses to do the cooking show. And then the next day we went to my buddy's house and he's, he basically fired us before we found out we were fired. We were at Paris' doing Paris' thing. Yeah, Paris. He's like, oh yeah, Benny's doing a cooking show here.

I'm like, what the fuck? I don't have enough time for this shit. Shout out to Benny Bloom for making your decision quick. Hey, he's a hustler. I'm a hustler, baby. Sign up for Repsy.com and get your band out there it's literally free until they book you something i've seen their insta story and they've been getting bands a lot of

fucking cool college shows maybe i need to sign up you should you think they got gerlach money on that website yeah i think so i think so i've seen what you get paid seen what you get paid they definitely have that kind of money actually i think under no circumstances does anyone not have that money um and then let's um let's just do the dialed in one too dialed in gummies we don't have any right here where i know i ate them all you did i have some more downstairs i just really oh thank you i brought the new sand i love them i've been fine those are finally letting me sleep on airplanes oh really they help you sleep on an airplane god i'll take one and pass the fuck out one yeah i take three every night

yeah it's fun i take one play some video games and then take two more and i go nine nine is it illegal to yes bring weed on planes uh yeah really 100 oh yeah maybe i shouldn't promote that under no circumstances should well no you ate it before you got on the plane so it doesn't matter you didn't have it on the plane i ate it i ate it before you got on the plane a coffee yeah that's legal waiting for the airplane yeah that's fine i smuggled it into oh my god don't say the word can we bleep out the word smuggled you can't let's try not to admit to federal crimes. Literally, I have no filter, so you could ask me anything, and I'll say it. Man, I wish I cared about you enough to...

About your stupid fucking personal life, but I just don't. Oh, man. I barely care about my personal life anymore. Okay, we're done. We're done. Okay, this is why we shouldn't have done this podcast. No, I like it. After 48 hours of not sleeping. That's a good one. We talked done. Okay. This is why we shouldn't have done this podcast. No, I like it. After 48 hours of not sleeping.

It's a good one. We talked about a lot of fun shit. Back to that. Back to that. Back up. Back up. Back up. Back up.

Back up. I think about this if I'm just going to be alone for the rest of my life. You always have the cacuzas. I love. I have you too. The level. always have the cuckoo's. I love I have you to level you have me like you have the cuckoo's or don't love. That's true. I could fade into the mist at any moment. Yeah,

just go back to Indiana. I love when I ask you start digging graves. You love what I love when I ask if you want to hang out. Sometimes you just text no no not really so great hey you want to go to this no i don't isn't that kind of refreshing yeah it is wouldn't you rather hear that than like oh i got this i have to go over here and do like you can tell they're lying making up some dumb excuse just be like now i want to watch a tv

oh man she didn't get mad she got sad that I didn't talk to her for two. Well, she just needs to realize that it has nothing to do with her. Yeah, that you're an alcoholic and you just need to be alone to sober up

and not be hung over anymore. And sometimes it's better if you're not around people because you're all hung over and you're going to be a passive aggressive dick. So you might as well just get some lunch by yourself.

All right, guys, enjoy. I'm on a podcast. Wow. I almost died on my birthday. There's nothing like hanging out with... How was your birthday?

Oh, no one came, and then I got blasted in a car accident. How was yours? And then the cops made me walk home from the car accident. The cops made you walk home? The cops did such a terrible job like checking out my...

You should sue them, too. I'm going to sue everybody. I'm suing sue them, too. I'm going to sue everybody. I'm suing the city of Denver. I'm going to sue Ophelia's. First, we're going for Uber. Then we're going to Denver. And then we're going to the LAPD. Nick retired.

Woo! Nick retired. He made $18,000 on a car crash, and he retired. Oh, man. All right. Next up on the interview hour, we have Stu McKenzie from King Gizzard and Lizard Wizard. Yes, this band is popping off. This guy is a fucking genius.

This guy's put out like 20-plus records in the last five years. This band is very, they just do what the fuck they want, and I love that. Those guys, Stu was on vacation, and he was nice enough to do this interview while he was having his only two days off. Because he's going to be on tour forever, like us, for the next couple months. So keep kicking ass out there, Stu. And he's playing Bonnaroo.

So this is going to be the first installment, baby. Yes. So ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the interview hour, Stu McKenzie from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Let's do this. Stu! What up? How's it going over there? What are you eating? Eating corn chips and guacamole because I'm in Mexico. That's what you do.

Treat yourself, bud. Let's talk a little bit about it. Were you born in Melbourne or was the band formed in Melbourne? We're all Australian, but we're all kind of from around different parts. I would say as a general backstory, everyone knew each other before the band. Some people for longer time periods. I've known Cookie and Ambrose since we were teenagers and Lucas since we were teenagers actually as well. And then Cavs and our old drummer Eric, they went to school together. They're from a different part of town. I grew up on the coast in a surfy kind of town.

Lucas was from Geelong, which is the main satellite city of Melbourne, I guess. None of us is from Melbourne, I guess is where I'm getting with all this. We're all kind of country kids, really. But then we met in Melbourne, living there and becoming mutual friends. And we're all playing different bands. And at the start, King Gears was like the fun band. It was like the band that like it was kind of jammy and loose and like we didn't really practice. And it was the membership was fluid like people would come along

and just play one show or um we tried to make a band where like you could play if you didn't even know the songs or you didn't even know any of the members you would be able to join and like play a show and that's kind of like the early version of Gizlid was that. But yeah the seven that stuck around for like a long time before Eric left the band or whatever were just the seven people who I don't know like just thought that concept like had validity maybe everyone else was like I'm out here this was this is stupid. So yeah in that sense it was never really like a put together band that's kind of why we got sort of like two drummers three guitarists like harmonica this weird instrumentation makes no sense we play like weird genres and it just it just happened

you know it just like spontaneously formed um which which i like and it's always felt like a nice fluid energy of gizzard what um What do you like about the open door policy? I mean for starters it's not quite like that anymore but in those days, I guess it was a side project for lack of a better word. Like it wasn't like a very meticulously crafted idea actually. It was like we're all kind of doing intergeeks with these other bands that just feel a little bit more serious and a little like trying to do like annoying crap like be played on the radio and like we're trying to like get gigs at festivals and like do shit that like all people do let's have a band where

We just try to like alienate the audience on purpose and just have fun on stage, you know, yeah So I Mean in that sense it was like well, yeah, like you made Jimmy wants to join tonight cool Like bring him along words. Does he know how to play an instrument? No? All right. No problem. It was kind of that. Yeah, and it's kind of like a lesson of not taking life so seriously. You said all these other bands you're taking so seriously, and the band that you didn't take so seriously is the thing that's fucking popping off. so seriously and the band that you didn't take so seriously is the thing that's fucking popping off it is weird how it kind of happened like that i i do i do think that there was a magical chemistry between like the bad members and that again like wasn't formulated but maybe it was why after the open door policy had sort of just

naturally settled like the dust had settled and there was just seven people left maybe there's something about that which kind of creates like an interesting chemistry between the people that are left it's like okay i get it i get it i get it all those people who didn't really like you know vibe with the with the flow or the concept or whatever. They all just... And I think that there's something to be said maybe for that, about like forming a band in that way and just letting it be. Just letting it be until it just... be settled?

I don't know. I would never do it again. But it worked in that instance. Yeah, I bet it did. did i mean i want to talk about the the writing process like you guys putting out 20 records what the fuck are you add or like what give me give me the synopsis of when when you're in the process of making a record and deciding to make another one or do you make all of them at the same time? Give me a little bit inside scoop on what's going on there. I'd say it's usually, there's always an overlap.

I'd say there's usually two, three concurrent projects. Sometimes there's more and you don't even know that a project is a project yet. Sometimes you've got three songs that you think are on the same album and they end up being three different albums you know yeah um and it still it still takes us two years to make a record generally like from start to finish i feel like that's pretty pretty standard i there's something about that length of time to let like an idea or that many ideas or 40 50 minutes of music kind of gestates into like a finished

thing. It's just the time it takes, you know? I just think we've usually just got a few projects on the go. I think, yeah, I don't know why we do this, but we do it. For me personally, it's actually my favorite part i love playing shows i love touring i've actually grown to love it more especially the live performance i think over the years i've i enjoyed that more than i ever have now but the recording and like the writing has always and probably will always be my favorite part. You know, I like, I love writing songs, because I know that I'll get to record them, you know, and so much of the time it's like I write a song around an idea that I want to experiment with in the studio or like an idea I want to experiment with like a, with like a, with

like a chord progression or like a certain set of instrumentation I've never done before or whatever. It's like the writing is the recording with Giz. That's kind of, I don't know, maybe that's why we make lots of stuff because it's like in my mind the funnest bit. Yeah. And also do you write a lot to kind of like, you talk a lot about anxiety in your past interviews.

I'd like to talk about that a little more. Do you think writing helps you navigate your anxiety? I think it's like something I feel like I'm in control of, which I think is kind of powerful. And I think the primary thing about what you're talking about is that it's like when you can build something from the ground up, from literally nothing, from the spark of an idea to create something that is tangible and like be in control of that, there's nothing to me personally more just like rewarding

and yeah like soothing and just validating that like i've you know that that you can do um so i think i think that's that's that's definitely a driver for sure i also am not too good at chilling or like sitting still. So it's just felt like keep being the shark, you just keep swimming and yeah it's just like my version of like feeling good. It's just kind of like being very busy. Have you ever, did you ever get into any substance abuse growing up? I don't think I'd use the word abuse. I would like use the word like experimentation

and I like, I'm a kid and like a family and stuff now. So I'm pretty chill. Yeah, I'd say there's like, you know, with everyone, I mean, everyone in our generation, everyone that we like grew up with, everyone that we know know like it's kind of just given at this stage really I'm pretty hesitant to like make links between creativity and like that type of stuff in like a public sphere because I kind of do think it's bullshit, you know, for the most part. I think it's like an excuse that people have to like justify like partying or getting lit or whatever, which is fine.

Like whatever you got to do. What about psychedelics to cure your anxiety? Yeah, I think there's some validity in that actually, for sure. Yeah, I think there's some validity in that actually, for sure. I think there's a version of like doing it to like, clear the page, like erase the page, you know, go back to a blank slate. I think that's real. I think it's pretty i think it's like pretty dangerous to you know so i will i will always like say to take with a grain of salt because i have seen people go down like a dark path or one thing leads to another kind of type

of path and i do i do truly honestly think that you don't need to do that in order to like clear the blank slate i think it's like just you know how many people in the world are addicted to coffee like i'm addicted to coffee yeah like if i don't have coffee for a day i have like the maddest um headaches and like i just think there's a version of just being at peace or in control of your mind that you can do by yourself. That, I think, is what you're talking about. But yeah, there's a million ways to try to be in control of your brain. And sometimes those tools are really powerful.

Yeah, and I agree with that. You talk about having your own destiny and having your own control. brain and sometimes those tools are powerful yeah and i agree with that you know it's like you talk about having your own destiny and having your own control what about what's uh what was the difference between touring earlier in the band when it was an open door versus touring now as you know a unit um Hmm. Honestly, in some ways it's exactly the same. Like, I feel like the dynamic between the band members and our friendship is is still like really amazing and really strong and like very brotherly,

which I'm very grateful for. And I love that aspect. And I feel like that actually hasn't changed a lot. And in a lot of ways, we're still just doing the same thing which is cool somewhat unsettling now that i say that out loud because i'm like in my 30s now um but it's changed like in the sense that yeah we very very fortunately get to travel the world and play to lots of people and visit new places and see new things and do all these exciting adventures together and not have day jobs we have like amazing crew that travel with us who like really make things happen it's yeah we're really we're really lucky that the show has changed infinitely and has changed i would like to think it changes fairly significantly every few years

which i'd like to try to keep kind of doing um i guess i haven't even talked musically like musically that it's changed yeah infinitely like really has. And it's become kind of like it started off extremely loose. It got really tight. And now it's gotten extremely loose again, but in a new way. It's just gotten jammier and longer and more improvised as we've learned to play with each other better and listen to each other and um i don't know i've kind of just been trying to vibe with the idea of every single show being a unique experience um which is not a unique idea at all but for us it kind of is it kind of is

new to like the gizzard the Gizzard canon or whatever. Over the last few years of shows, it's progressed towards being more like that, which has made it feel so much more fulfilling as a musician and a creative person. Every day being on the road, every show feels like an adventure now, which is great. And I feel less like a performer and more like a musician. Yeah, which is kind of like, what I always wanted. How hard is it you seem like you're a man of structure? How hard is it to like get your head? How hard is it to get out of your own way to just have this loose life? Yeah. Life?

Like as in go on tour and stuff? Yeah, touring or just like trying to live life with no I wouldn't say obligations but no expectations. The hardest part is just navigating all the things that you have missed being at home,

your family and your friends and stuff and like seeing people doing fun shit like that you're not there for. Or even, you know, like having projects like a record that just doesn't get finished like because you're on the road and you can only work like an hour a day in this like small window when you're like i don't know not asleep or like a town check or whatever um on a plane you know what i mean yeah that's hard but i actually do quite enjoy the chaos of touring and every day is a different thing of touring and every day you wake up in a different city thing of touring you know that's always been like it always felt like it's given me life yeah and coming coming out of that adventure yeah you

like feel tired and like you're sick and stuff, and all of those things. But I always feel quite creative when I get off the road and start writing, and that's the thing. I love it. How do you separate dad time with your musician time? How do you delegate the time to do both? It is a hard one.

On some level, it feels like it's come easy because I actually love being a dad so much. I don't know if you can see this. This is Winty. She's literally sitting right here. I see her. Hey, what's up? Cute. Hey, boy. What's up? cute. I think she wants to get out of the high chair right now. It's challenging in the sense of balance and like expectations and stuff but it's just like so I actually don't think about that very often It's so rewarding and so fun and feels so right and like we felt so ready to do it after not being parents for like so long and Yeah it's um, I'm very lucky that like my wife it is just absolutely super mom and

I don't know what like I would do without her honestly We're a good we're a good team we're a good unit um but i have had i've had to get i have had to get better at separating my time and like delegating my time and like when i get home i try not to just like think about the song i'm writing anymore which i find very challenging to do actually but i think i've gotten a lot better at it um just like when I'm a dad I'm just like a dad you know what I mean and then like I have to be like yo I'm out I'm like I need to go to work you know whereas in the past it was like I just was kind of always working or thinking about work or thinking about a song or thinking about something or like

there but not there you know and i didn't really have any boundaries or whatever with that like if i needed to get up from the dinner table and like record a voice memo i probably would just do it whereas now i sort of which is probably like actually normal like most people have jobs like have to learn how to do this at a much younger age yeah exactly but like i'm having to learn how to do that now a much younger age. Yeah, exactly. But like, I'm having to learn how to do that now. No, I mean, as long as you're trying, that's what I want to talk about. Like, is it hard for you to stay present?

Because you're thinking about all this other shit all the time? Hard, yes. But like, it's never felt like a problem. you know what i mean yeah it's just like okay i have to do this now it's like i don't know is it like a lot of things are hard but you don't they don't feel like a problem i think it's like that it's just yeah being a parent is hard from time to time like i think everyone would say that but, but it's just so awesome that it's okay. Yeah. Were you ever afraid to be a dad?

I think we talked about doing it several years before we did it. And so it felt like by the time we actually had a kid and you also like as everyone knows you get nine months to like figure your shit out as well yeah um which is pretty awesome and a lot of time in my mind um no it felt it felt really right we also had minty our daughter bg um around like in the pandemic and there was like nothing to do anyway so it was kind of like the perfect time in so many ways um i think the fear was there but like honestly i i do feel like i kind of felt ready and I feel like I kind of just thought about it and prepared for it in my mind a lot. We both had like, both thought about it a shitload before we did it.

And like, yeah, while we were kind of like, well, Kip was pregnant and waiting for her to pop out and join the world. pop out and join the world. So, yeah. I don't know. A version of fear, for sure. But not like, oh, shit. It was more like, wow, I'm going to be a parent. That's so weird.

What's like, what are your fears? Do you have any fears, Stu? I have heaps of fears. My main resounding fear is of mushrooms, which is really strange. And being a vegetarian person is a really annoying thing to be fearful of. But I'm scared of mushrooms, which is like a running joke within fingers. I just don't like mushrooms for some reason. Like a lot. Like all different kinds of mushrooms or hallucinogens?

All of them? No, all of them. All of them. It's so funny. It's like if I asked you to go and pick up a lump of clay and eat it or dirt, some shit, that's how i feel about them oh it's fucking amazing man yeah it's so funny what what we're scared of what about flying you scared of flying you've never been scared of flying um um not beyond like the normal fear of like it being

just it's like flying generally slightly anxiety inducing i wouldn't say i'm any different than anyone else i feel like i fear being like old and vulnerable for some reason um and i feel like i have like nightmares about that um so i wouldn't say oh i don't know am What else do I feel? I think about being old a lot and, like, yeah, being vulnerable. Like, I don't know. That, for some reason, like, I feel like it is a part of a driver of me, like, working hard as a younger person. Just feeling like when I want to actually like stop or retire or like whatever, I'm just going to be like starving or something.

Yeah. But like I'm still going to have like friends and family to like hang out with and like do shit with. Maybe I fear that. What about what about death? What's your take on death? Hmm. What about death? What's your take on death? When I was a kid, I used to think about dying a lot.

Or like maybe I went through a phase of like a couple of years of thinking about it a lot, which is really morbid. But I've since learned that it's like quite normal and like people just don't talk about it. What were you scared about in the beginning? I just used to like sort of like play it out in my head like how I was going to die like when I was going to die and what would happen and what it would be like and you know all those things and like trying to come to because I kind of grew up in an atheist household I never really ever was someone who even thought about the idea of the afterlife being real or anything like that and trying to grapple with the concept of end you know the end of like all of this i think is something i spent a lot of time

thinking about um i don't know if that constitutes a fear it certainly was a fear then i definitely still like have a fascination with death and i think it's it's it i think it comes from being like anyone in like the field of arts, there's a poetic aspect to death. And I think it's because it scares people so much. It's like, it's just a powerful writing tool. You know, it's a powerful thing. Like it elicits a visceral response from people or anything that does that. Right.

It's kind of like handy in your arsenal of like being a writer but but i would say i'm obsessed with death um maybe that's like the way i deal with the fear yeah and you know it's like when you think about it when you over think about it kind of like you stop thinking about it in a weird way like what about you know you talk about that open door you had in your band. Was there any band members you wish was still in the band?

Hmm. There were some really good friends that used to play with us from time to time. And it would be so cool if they were still in the band. But, you know, honestly, there is a reason that everyone who stayed, stayed. So I think we did end up with our healthiest collective.

What about, what's the difference between touring earlier years versus touring now? It's really the shows. Like the biggest difference is the shows, the music. I think everything behind the music, the way we make music together, you know, in, in, in the sense of the genre and all that stuff, it's changed massively in the sound that's changed massively. But yeah, like the way we make music music is is kind of exactly the same actually um but i would say yeah the music is the main difference easily easily the main difference

you talk about you the way you make music is the same. How do you guys approach songwriting? Um, it's, um, it's pretty fluid. Um, I would say we don't have like a set way. And in a sense, like there is a bit of an open door thing going on there too, because if you look at the credits of like our records, you know, not everyone plays on every song that everyone plays in every record, even people kind of come in, come in and out. We've only a handful of times made records in the traditional sense of like you go to a studio and you like make a record in one go. We've actually only done that like a couple of

times um i've always found that way of making music really really challenging we're more likely to just set up in someone's like kitchen or lounge room and just leave it there for like a couple of months and just work on it as we go and over the last like five years or so we've had we're on our second studio now but just like a a studio in melbourne that's like a kind of home base where we just kind of go and work and the current space we have is is one giant room where we can like make really loud music and no one will get pissed off basically um and then a couple of other smaller rooms that are like i guess like just miniature little control rooms where we can just go to like mix or edit or do overdubs or whatever and sometimes like all six six of us are there and sometimes there's

a bunch of other people there other people we work with or people from like labels or like you know pressing plants or like whatever that we're hanging with or artists jace who makes all of our art is often there as well uh and then sometimes there's one or two of us there just kind of like you know making music in more of a solitary way um but it is very much uh when we make a record it's like you can contribute as little or as much as you would like Like you can contribute as little or as much as you would like. And I guess like my role has always been to sort of, it's like the producer in like the old fashioned sense of the word.

Like I'm just, I'm just kind of keeping everyone organized and trying to curate the best ideas and sometimes make hard calls. If things don't work, if people put a lot of time into a certain idea and it's not going to work you know that's always a tough call um but it's yeah it's always kind of been my role to like i guess oversee all that also be the immediate to keep everyone happy and still like creatively stimulated try not to make people do more than they want to but try to keep people interested enough that they want to keep creating and keep being involved.

So that's my very loose and vague and probably not really answered to your question, answered to your question. So if you put on your producer hat, how do you know when... It's like you say it normally takes two years, but it seems you're really meticulous about the finishing of a project. How do you know when a song's done or a record's done for you? It's really, really hard because you can't always work on something forever. I do always try to remind myself that things don't need to be perfect. And when we're making a record,

there are certain artists that I like to listen to a lot. But when I'm finishing records specifically, there are certain artists I like to listen to a lot because their records aren't perfect and that's why I love them. And it really helps like center me and remind myself that I'm not trying to make like a piece of glass that you can see right through and you don't even know that there's any imperfections in there. It's like the imperfections of what make the piece have character.

For example, like my favorite person for this and this is something that someone that I love that I don't think about is Bob Dylan. I like his records, never ever sounded perfect, but they always just had so much character. I do try to listen to music like that a lot when we're finishing something, just so I know it's okay if it's not perfect. It's just about the vibe.

How many records did it take until you took that philosophy into place? Add that from the first one, which gives it because I think it went to the idea of being in other bands that were trying to make their records perfect. And it was the philosophy from the very beginning actually so that's one thing that stuck around through every record that we've made do you think uh do you do you take that same philosophy as being a father um maybe without realizing a little. Yeah. We'll see.

Any records, you know, any records in the past that you lose sleep over because you felt like they weren't finished and you forced to release? No. We've never been forced to release anything really. We've always been very careful about the people that we work with or record labels or distributors or whoever um we've never been in a situation where we felt pressured to do anything and or anything or do anything weird or nothing that we haven't wanted um which is really lucky and great so yeah there are records which like if i made today i would make them different definitely but when i have had to listen back to our music that was made i always listen to it and i'm like well what the that for that's that's weird you know why did i do that that's strange but then i'm like i guess that's i have no idea why i made that decision. Why does that guitar sound like it's coming out of a fucking deodorant can?

But sometimes, but then I think, okay, well, yeah, that's cool. I don't know why I did that, but why not? It's awesome to think, just to forget it. Because I talked to a lot of musicians about this. It's not about the records. They're not about us, it's for them. So if we overthink them it what's the point you know totally and that it is the most liberating experience as well to finish a record and then

to put it out and to finish it and to belong to other people and for it to just that's the moment to me where it feels done because you can't change it everyone's already heard it it's just like the biggest fulfilling sigh of relief right it's the best is there any records that you like try to play live and they're just they don't hit as hard as the as you you vision them as a record you vision them as a record? There are heaps actually. More like song to song really. I think over the years like we've learned to just, if that happens and it does happen, to not worry too much and just let it be different and then find a new version of that song to exist. But yeah, like Butterfly 3000, for example, which was made out of like modular synthesizer loops, really, and then recorded piecemeal in Melbourne lockdown with everyone in different houses.

Trying to translate that live is really hard and just not really in the DNA of what our band is about. Just a free flowing kind of band. We've never even used a click track, whereas for all these songs, we have to use a synthesizer clock and stuff, and it's just like, fuck this. It's just too hard. We actually have put a lot of hours into translating that stuff live. We've been playing one song from time to time, not super often.

I like to play more it's just we actually just have a lot of other songs that like I want to kind of bring in to so yeah maybe one day we'll get there and we'll play all those songs that's I was thinking you know with 20 records you know how do you decide what songs to play each night is it your decision or do you kind of not try to have the same set list or do you not care about that shit? Hmm. Um, no, we've been doing like a different set list every night for the past few years. Um, I think we've done like 80 something songs on this tour so far, which is, which is cool.

It's like kind of what I've always wanted it to be. It's like each, you know, each show is, is cool it's like kind of what i've always wanted it to be it's like each you know each show is is very different um yeah that's we've been sort of like working towards this being the thing for a while and i feel like we're starting to kind of like nail that that's like a concept too and each show feeling unique sometimes we write the set lists a week or a few days in advance if there's certain songs there that people need to like run over spend some time like spend some time with then maybe songs that we haven't played for five years or something or maybe something never

played or whatever but oftentimes they're kind of written day of and it will be based on like what the venue's like or maybe what played the last few. I try not to repeat many songs at all from like the last time we played that particular city. And if we play multiple nights in a certain city, we'll try and repeat no songs at all. Yeah. So that's kind of a fun vibe. So it doesn't really matter about what songs you put out in that year because if they're going to come to one of your shows you might not even play anything off that new record.

Yeah, totally. Bonner's going to be a blast, dude. Have you guys ever played Bonner before? We have. I want to say it was like 2015 or 16. I can't remember which year, but we have played before.

It's cool. It's a rad festival. But yeah, I guess that was a fairly long time ago now. So probably changed a bit. It's probably still great. I'm sure. I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, you got a bigger stage.

You guys are blowing up. I fucking love to see it, bud. So keep rocking. You put out 20 records. I'm assuming you're going to put about 20 or 40 of them, more of them. When it's all said and done and you go on and move on with your life, what do you want this band to be remembered by? Yeah, man, that's like a heavy question hey um like firstly it's kind of i will i will put like a little asterisk on it and

we'll say that i don't think it is a driving motivation for us about like what other people kind of are going to be remembering us for or what our legacy is or whatever i don't think we're like thinking about this in some sort of spartan way about like legacy or anything i really do think we're just in it for the kind of friendship and the camaraderie and the and the adventure um but like yeah i i'd like people to think that we we were somewhat fearless maybe and we just kind of yeah we kind of just did take risks and um mess with the kind of like accepted norms of what being a musician was supposed to be um i'd be pretty pumped if people thought that about us but aside from that like i'm honestly just happy to be here like i just feel like really stoked to be here and be doing what we're doing still

after 10 or plus years of doing it. That's the truth. Well, I'm going to clap to that. Let's fucking go. Let's go. Way to go, Stu. Keep rocking, dog. Fuck shit up out there. Go out there. Enjoy Mexico. Enjoy your

tour. Enjoy fatherhood. And I'll catch you up on everybody thanks y'all see you at bonnaroo see you later yeah later how's it going there it is let's do yeah awesome that was fun i need relationship advice i'm glad to give that i have a great relationship that's the one thing I do know how to do is keep a woman quiet. You're insane. Yeah, I am. Should I read this text?

Not her text, my text. How I approached it. Do you want this? Do you want this on the podcast? I'm asking for advice. Okay, we can cut it out. I just don't know what the text says yet, so I don't know how revealing it is.

You know what I mean? I was just telling her how busy I am and how I'm at campgrounds where there's no service. People hate to hear about how busy you are, by the way. Okay, just so you know. I told her... I also told her I'm an empath and I can't live... That's number two mistake.

Don't ever call yourself a fucking empath. The only people on earth that call themselves empaths are narcissists. Next thing. Oh, fuck. Well. You asked. I know.

I did ask. Don't ever call yourself an empath. That's so douchebag. Really? I hate when people... I have a joke with it with my high school friends. Whenever I mess with them, I'll go, as an empath, I agree.

If you call yourself an empath, you're weird weird it's normal to have empathy guys you're supposed to have empathy you're supposed to feel things you're not an empath you're a person you're supposed to feel yeah you're a human being good job way to go well i don't even want to read this no i'm on your side no you're not i'm just saying don't say i'm just giving you advice okay i'm saying don't call yourself an empath empath that's was my main thing i said i feel i i can't i feel is a much better i'm an empath and i and i feel everything when it hurts you oh and um i don't think a relationship should feel like that Chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill. All right.

I need to go to bed. Pussy. As an empath, I can see that you're tired. Okay. Fuck you, Nick. This is as an empath thing. It's never going to die. It's here forever.

Get used to it as an empath. We got shows coming up. We're playing in Atlanta this weekend, Friday, with Grace Potter. She's a badass. She played Rooster Walk, too. My friend's playing drums for her right now. This girl from my hometown. Oh, she's dope. The blonde hair?

Yeah. She's from my hometown, Fort Wayne. Oh, sick. Fort Wayne. Tell her she killed it. She's awesome. Does she sing, too, in that band? She sings.

Yeah, yeah, she sings. She's from Fort Wayne. So if you're in atlanta i know we have a lot of podcast fans in atlanta come see me at candler park the music festival friday we're in lafayette louisiana this is another is mincy gonna go to that one that's right the heart of mincy country he's in new york city oh yeah he's a missus i saw that video viral i saw that i'm proud of mince you know? That's one of the rare times in my life. I actually commented on his shit.

That's one of the rare times in my life I've seen someone go viral for yelling at someone, and I'm on the side of the person yelling. Oh, really? The super whistler, yeah. So we're at Lafayette. Shout out, Mincy. Shout out to Mincy. We're in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Hell yeah. Opening for the Cold War Kids on Saturday, this Saturday, and then Sunday, we are in St. Augustine for Fool's Paradise. Oh, that looks awesome. Unfreeze, lettuce. Yeah.

And we got Corey Henry on the show next week. Carrie Henry. Carrie Henry. Carrie Henry. It's going to be exciting. That's awesome. I love that guy. He's a genius.

Yeah. These are the reverse dates. So now we're playing at 3 o'clock, 3 or 4 o'clock. That's better. No, because you have those 6 o'clock flights. Oh, I get it. And then you go right to the gig. Go right to the gig.

So 6 a.m. either way. I hate 6 o'clock flights. It's the worst because, you know, we roll in, the band rolls in like a fucking, like a herd of zombies. And we go to the bar. We drinking that's your first mistake well we have all day to hopefully recoup go to bed hopefully because the show's ended four you can't just like fall asleep i get it i'm not like knocking you here i've done it you're not making oh god let's i got a loogie can we i'm drinking that i'm spinning it oh yeah go ahead i just won't drink any more of it what if i still drink it oh man all right i gotta get out

of here jesus christ i'm going to bed i'm not healthy right now um you want to give me your nose your septum is like you're going every time you breathe in i'm sorry for my disgusting uh i didn't even i didn't do cocaine or nothing it's just you don't do cocaine you just have private deviated no it's the allergies going from fucking one farm town to a next at the town to the next you la pieces of shit or so fucking i'm sorry people are out there making the food you eat so you can have your goddamn poke bowls and your sushi burritos before you go surfing at 3 p.m. on a goddamn weekday. Shut up. God.

We got to go. Here's your motivation. Don't get in a fucking car. Wear your seatbelt and your lift, idiots. It's the real world. You're still in a car. You're still alive. It's just a human being driving the car.

It's not some special. There's no force field around it. Just because you paid $11 doesn't mean they're guaranteeing your safety for the rest of the car. It's not some special... There's no force field around it, okay? Just because you paid $11 doesn't mean they're guaranteeing your safety for the rest of your life. Okay? There's your motivation. Stu was great, and...

Stu, that's my middle name, remember? Yeah. And sign up for Roxy.com and buy some dialed-in gummies. Yeah, eat them gummies up. I'm sorry the promotions weren't as good. You tuned in to the World Saaving Podcast with Andy Fresco. 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 the 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 andyfresco.com. And check our socials

to see what's up next. Might be a video dance party, a showcase concert, that crazy shit show, or whatever springs to Andy's wicked brain. And after a year of keeping clean and playing safe, the band is back on tour. We thank our brand new talent booker, Mara Davis.

We thank this week's guest, our co-host, and all the fringy frenzies that help make this show great. Thank you all. And thank you for listening. Be your best, be safe, and we will be back next week. No animals were harmed in the making of this podcast as far as we know. Any similarities, interactions, or knowledge, facts, or fake

is purely coincidental.