Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 178: Duane Betts (A Peach Fest Episode)

Episode Date: June 28, 2022

Andy and Nick are back this week with updates about life, the world, and how to hit the "RECORD" button. Plus, we got Duane Betts on the Interview Hour?! Hot damn! Let's lend an ear and LEARN SOMETHING. You'll want to know Duane a bit better before you see him hit the stage this weekend at the unrivaled, Peach Fest. Support each other. Support women. And in the face of the supreme injustices: remember to loogie well 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  Check it: www.duanebetts.com This weekend! thepeachmusicfestival.com Produced by Andy Frasco Joe Angelhow Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: Todd Glass Arno Bakker

Hey, hey, hey. Ty Glass. Do you recognize my voice player now? Just so I don't forget, by the way, not that it's an important thing, Jim Gaffigan said hello. He loved meeting you, and he hopes that one day we're in the same city. He would like to see you live. I asked him if he'd crowd surf with me.

He said no. And then the part, oh, by the way, Andy, what was that called? Giggle Juice? Holy shit. I'm going to start doing it every day. Just walk around with my Giggle Juice. People go, what's wrong with you? I'm on Giggle Juice.

All right. You're a good man, Andy Cresco. That was just pure joy hanging out with you. I love you. And sorry for the long message. I'm on my giggle juice. I love you, buddy. Bye.

Andy Todd again. I realized something today. In the room you were staying in, I make sure there's a table you can put your luggage up on. Because I know when you go over someone's house, a lot of times you just want to live out of your bag. It's on the floor. It's a pain. you didn't even show up with luggage you show up I'm like Andy I thought you were staying over where's your stuff you go oh here it is you pull

out like a little like if you went to a department store and bought a teeny little thing they give you a teeny little bag oh yeah what do you got oh you got a toothbrush and a chopstick yeah I didn't need to call you back for this. I'm on Giggle Juice! Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. Again. Round two, because we didn't hit delete. We didn't.

I didn't hit delete. I didn't hit record. Sorry. I'm Andy Frasco. How's our heads? heads how's our minds are we staying out of trouble um saved by the bell it is 6 p.m on a monday and we're finally doing the opening relevant content um we were talking good shit on that i know goose getting knighted goose gets ben knighted trey oceano sat in with him he doesn't just go around doing shit like that. I know.

It's over. If you're in any of these jam bands that thinks you're going to be the next thing, the next big whatever you think you are in your mind, it's over. Take your Langley Dock guitars, pack them up, and go home. Goose has been knighted. They are the Sir Paul McCartney of the jam band scene. It's over. And there'll be a peach fest this weekend.

There you go, boys. It's what you always wanted. Yeah, cool. Now you're hot and famous. Great. It's exciting. I'm happy for them. They're a peach.

No, I'm really happy for them, actually. It was so funny seeing Twitter. Like, Twitter was kind of, you know, these fucking jam band fans are so funny. They'll just wait outside of the venue for like six hours. Like, oh my God, I think that's Trey's guitar tech. He's putting Trey's guitar in there. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.

Isn't that insane? Y'all need jobs. And then they'll make fun of people who like love Kim Kardashian. Yeah. It's like you're doing the same thing. You understand that? Yeah. Except for you're doing it about a 55-year-old man.

At least she's attractive. I'll clap to that? Yeah. Except for you're doing it about a 55-year-old man. At least she's attractive. I'll clap to that, bud. Also, they do the same thing with like, you're way into sports. I'm like, okay, well, mister, I have every set list since 1997 on my computer. Yeah. What the hell's the difference?

Tomato, tomato. Let's all just accept that we're obsessed with celebrity. We're all dorks about something. We're all dorks about something. Like, I was a dork. I got hustled by Kyrie Irving thinking he was going to come to the Lakers. He's like, no.

The news is in. He's opting into his Brooklyn contract. Oh, he didn't want to lose $27 million and go to play for... You know Kevin Durant's like, you acting like a bitch right now. Oh, yeah. I don't know. He might still leave. If I was him, I would. I mean... He needs to go to a better... There was no trade... I mean, we couldn't give him anything that the Nets wanted.

What are you going to take? Give him Russell Westbrook? Russell Westbrook? And his bag of potato chips? And Houston Rockets second round draft pick in 2028? Yeah. Yeah. It's so funny.

This is why I told you in the beginning a couple months ago how important sit-ins are during a show. You didn't like it. Look at this. Goose is getting all pumped up because Trey sat in. Okay, but you have me sitting. They had Trey on the stage. months ago how important sittings are during a show you didn't like it look at this goose getting all pumped up because trey sat in okay but you have me sitting they had trey on a casey hey you're famous to me yeah but he's like the god of improv i love me sitting i love trey he's like i think he's like a really great musician and he's a good guy here i've heard i don't know

him personally but everyone i know that works for him says he's like the best guy ever speaking of that what oscar opio I played with him this weekend. Another great guy to work for. You're on fire this weekend, too. I'm sort of a professional something. Anyway, so this is getting annoying. What, are you just going to go handle the mic? Go rogue.

Go rogue, baby. Like the founding fathers. Anyway, Oscar Opio. I want to have him on the pod, first of all. He's in Denver for a minute. He's going on a little trip with us. His family came to the States. EDM scene is popping. Yeah, but he's not straight up EDM.

When I think of EDM, I think more of Wolfgang Gardner and the big ultra, but he's making some dope bass music. His stuff is so musical. Just like that type of music is the only thing that's selling out festivals. Is it? Yeah. I haven't really been keeping track of that, but definitely it was a great crowd. I saw a great crowd for Big Gigantic. Excuse me, I had Taco Bell before here.

Yeah. Big Gigantic had a huge crowd. Shout out to Jay and Dom, dude. They still got it. They still fucking got it. 37 years as a band and they're still crushing it. So anyway, back to Oscar. Dude'scar dudes the he's fun to work for people from new zealand are just nicer people much nicer like they they just like understand the world and understand people and like you know they don't let all the petty get in

the way of their happiness yeah the government isn't constantly taking rights away from them you know what i mean they can do basic things without being in fear speaking of that the ladies out there we we got your back. And more men need to start talking. Do I need to fucking give the men a little pep talk? Guys, you like having sex, don't you? Yep. You like your girlfriend.

Your girlfriend's probably a badass. Or if you don't have a girlfriend, the porn you watch is fucking awesome. Don't you want your crush to like you back? Don't you want your crush to like you back don't you want your crush to let you back support women right now new rule girls if if your crush is pro-life or someone's crushing on you don't crush back yeah don't have yeah exactly don't crush back we don't crush back on pro-lifers if we're not punching down we're not crushing back yeah i don't know how that made sense that doesn't make sense i'm just trying to be supportive i know it's fucked up it's annoying it's so annoying i thought republicans and conservatives were supposed to be the party of freedom yeah and it's just annoying where like people are you know they're you know a lot of people who are big talkers on the instagram

i'm not going to say names and then they can't support their girl not me well you support it i'm not talking i'm even attacking the democrats over it they've dropped the ball too crickets we hear we hear your silence okay it's deafening your silence is deafening yes suck our dicks from the back wow i'm over i'm just pissed i'm just pissed that no one's i'm completely over the culture war part of it i'm completely over the same stupid arguments being lobbed back and forth for 30 years. We don't need any arguments. The argument is up to viability. I can do whatever the hell I want with my own body

and whatever's growing inside of it. End of story. You don't need like, what about this situation? What about the situation where it's not your business? Yeah. Okay. Just like how you guys want it with whatever thing. You know what I mean?

I don't know. And also, going back to the Trey thing and the internet people ruining a surprise that they're trying to keep secret that Trey was sitting in with Goose. Like, why ruin a secret? Because it's like they're human beings and they're like, I want to be first so I can look cool. But you're not cool. You're at a Goose show.

Well, Goose is cool. You're at a jam band show. No, you're not cool. You're at a Goose show. Well, Goose is cool. You're at a jam band show. No, you're not cool. You're just, you know what I mean? You can't be cool at a jam band show. You got to go to Arcade Fire. You got to go see those people that wear the Mumford and stuff. What's a cool guy band?

Oh, my God. Tycho. People are going to quote that. I don't care. And you're going to be all up in that El Goose fan page. Fucking Nick's a dick. Yeah, well, I'm already in there, so that's fine. I love those guys. I love it in there, but you know, I can call them nerds. They are

nerds. We're about to get They honk. We're about to get Fox News up in here. Hell yeah, dude. Fuck yeah. No one's going to listen to the podcast in the beginning two minutes. No, that's not true. People are way more likely to engage with something they hate than something they like. If there's anything I know about the internet, it's true. People are way more likely to engage with something they hate and something they like. There's anything I know about the Internet.

It's what it's that people love. Let's go to engage with content. They say they hate also. I'm kidding. I like these fans, but you are nerds. I'm a nerd. It's fine. It's fine. Honk in public, okay, you do you honk for grown around two is, round two is on fire. I love you. The band's great. You guys are very supportive. I'm glad that your favorite band is getting famous and they're going to be playing all these cool venues

you're going to go visit. You're nerds. You honk at 30-year-old men. You're nerds, but it's okay. Speaking of nerds, join Peach Fest. The boys are going to be at Peach Fest. Yeah, yeah. El Goose fans, get to Peach Fest.

This is another Peach Fest installment. We got one tonight with Dwayne Betts, and we have one tomorrow. Or one Friday with Isaac Thiel from Talk. It's going to be awesome. I love Isaac Thiel from Talk. Yeah, it's going to be a good one. Talk's a fun group of guys. Right.

I loved it. You know who I hung out with this weekend? Yeah, I do. Who? Jim Gaffigan. I just want you to say it. The homie Todd Glass. Yeah, who else?

Gary Goldman. You're jealous. I'm jealous because I say it. The homie Todd Glass. Yeah, who else? Gary Goldman. You're jealous. I'm jealous because I like comedians way more than musicians or actors. Even athletes. I should have took you with me. If you think about it, well, I had that gig anyway. If you think about it, comedians, you know, like, people think actors are all very interesting.

They're not. They're probably the least interesting people on earth. They literally just read other people's thoughts. Comedians are getting famous, and people are paying the money to hear how they think that's so you're going to want to get dinner with them oh god then you're totally like bashing me because i'm a musician with a well i'm a musician with a podcast i'm bashing myself i'm just saying we're pretty interesting i think musicians are more interesting than actors i think acting is basically the lowest form of art there is basically oh you can't say that i'm just you can't on a podcast when you're joking

everything here is bullshit i thought i grew up in la and i like i grew up in la don't you ever make fun of actors that's our third biggest source of income in the city behind commercial real estate and taking pictures of ourselves oh my And putting brand deals under it where we get 10% off if you use our code. That's number one. What was number two? Commercial real estate, then acting. I got drunk at the Largo when I had dinner with Gaffigan and Glass and stuff.

By dinner, he means pancakes. Let's not. That's what I like about comedians. They want to go to Swingers, eat pancakes. Yeah, they're not like let's go let's be cool let's go to nobu they're not cool that's why they're comedians they're cool they would you know i mean that's how you become a comedian you're not cool and everybody makes fun of your whole life and then you go like make fun of them back and you get a bunch of money for it that's all shout out hell yeah comedians are my favorite people let's go i love comedians the sacred art form but but I got drunk and I got a hotel by the Largo. Oh, but I knew glass didn't want

to hang out the next day until like eight p.m. So I had a whole day to kill. What do you have? I went shopping. I just don't like bothering. I hate a show that's a pet peeve of mine, too. Yeah, is when people show up early and you have to like feel like you have to entertain your show. You mean no, just like if i'm inviting people over like come over a date right right they come at three and it's like i'm like if i am annoyed by that i know glass is annoying she has like a show and yeah yeah but um so i had all day to like you know i went shopping for myself and got some nice stuff i'm sure you did did and I got a white t-shirt I love white t-shirt I bought a white t-shirt this weekend yeah I like it funny um

they're great I look good in white yeah you have that I don't really but you do your dark you look good in white it's okay but you have like better dark skin but Sephardic juice again but what I was saying is there's a museum it's called the selfie Museum in LA I'm like this is why i am fucking out of la that sounds like a good thing that's good for society though a selfie museum a bunch of people taking pictures of themselves yeah i wonder if repsy.com books the selfie museum look at that i doubt it but transition let me let me um look we got this new thing dialed and gummies got me this i can control it from my telephone ladies and gentlemen dialed in gummies look at that chirp we are a professional fucking show full repsy.com dialed in gummies let's start with

repsy.com if you're in a band um and um if you are an independent, if you're a wedding planner, juggler, magician, all of the above, sign up for Repsy.com. Your agents, I'm telling you this, I'm going to say this every day. Your agents, it's fucking war out there right now. Not a lot of people are selling tickets. It is war.

It's all cannibalism because everyone needs to go on tour and make money. Don't quit. Don't quit. So don't quit. Wink. And set on frame. Don't quit, but get extra help.

Yeah. Your agents are working hard. Shout out to John Bongiorno. Working hard. Yeah, I love that guy. Much like a personal injury attorney, they don't get paid unless you get paid. Right. There's no fee or anything.

No fee. So sign up for Repsy.com. And then while you're at it, and if you're in the Denver area, we might as well kill them both. Just get them. Dial in gummies, baby. Dial in gummies. Do you want one?

Yeah. Dial in gummies. Rosin gummies. What'd you say? Solvent-free? They're solvent-less, but solvent-free works too. Free solvent, everyone.

Get your free solvent. They're not mids, FYI. This fucking mid thing is out of control yeah but shout out to the haters because you paid my mortgage for two months still renting the condo out though yeah so fun to see you making more

money off something weird again shut the fuck up you make sure to say I know I'm just jealous because no one buys mine. Some people do. Buy some of Nick's merch. Yeah, go on my website

and buy my merch, you losers. NicholasGurluxColt.com? Yeah, there's, yeah, NickGurluxColt. It's actually pretty funny. These dialed-in gummies are so good. I know.

I just had one, so. Yeah, I'm about to get really high. We had one. We had one on round one, too. I'm waiting on this dude tonight. So if you're in the Colorado area, if you, I bet you have your

favorite weed grower i guarantee you dialed in gummies is doing a collab with them go to their website i've heard they're going to start collabing with some artists yeah named andy frasco and another one but i can't i don't want to say it's not my business somebody pretty big really yeah but i don't want to say creep it out big time. Big time. Way more famous than you. I know. He'll actually sell units. I'll just like have to give

him out. Yeah, but you're good on the internet, right? He's good on the internet. He's the best at the internet. So get some dialed in gummies and sign in for Rebski.com. We are going to have a

great fucking week. You're going to Iceland. You're going to miss me? Yeah, sure. Why not? Why are you going? Why can't you just record at home? We're making a record. record i don't know it's like some studio they do this it's like kind of color red but it's because you feel like you're a little indifferent about it no i'm excited this

is how i am remember i know but like iceland that's gonna be fun you're gonna go see some northern lights is it that time of year is it i don't know i actually don't know i heard it's really expensive so make sure you get a per diem. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, we're staying at... Everything's taken care of. Yeah. Beer's like 20 bucks a pop there. We're staying at some resort and stuff, and it's like kind of all inclusive.

Okay, but just be careful. All inclusive. I don't want you to come home. All inclusive. I don't want you... Because you know... Everything's included, Andy. Your dialed-in gummy paycheck comes in three days.

Hell yeah. I don't want you to spend it. First of the month. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Your dialed-in check just in three days hell yeah i want you to spend it first of the month wake up wake up wake up your dialed in check just came in wake up wake up hit that memo andy all right okay okay yeah um what was the first song you how were you the first time you smoked weed again i was 19 i was 18 what was the what like what was the song of your life? Really? Yeah, Crossroads. Mine was Spodeody Cadillac Dopealicious by Outkast. That's cool. I got so high my first day of college.

We had a Japanese tea garden on my campus, and then my friend drove me around in his Chevy Blazer with giant subs, and then we listened to Outkast for like an hour. It was awesome. Should I release that episode I did with my mom, dad, and Gonzo? Of course. It was so good. It made me cry.

I know. But do you think people are interested about hearing my mom on the podcast? People love parents stuff. Yeah. Okay. Your dad was really funny. My dad. He's a loose cannon.

Yeah. He's a loose cannon. And he's kind of right wing. I could have asked one more thing and it could have gone crazy direction. Let me tell you about these fucking Democrats. I'm like, chill, dad. This is a fuck chill. I'm a musician.

He's not going to... Yeah, he doesn't care. He's not going to hold back. He doesn't give a fuck. He says what he thinks. I respect that about him. Well, that's where I get it from. My mom is so even keeled.

Yeah, neither of my parents are very opinionated like that. You know what I liked about Jim Gaffigan when I was hanging out with him? He reminded me of you so much. Indiana boys. We're good at bold fashion Catholic, you know? He's just smart. He was sweet.

This is me flirting with you right now. It's funny that all the Indiana people you know are smart because we're not typically known as like the smartest, you know? Bayless is smart. I know. That's what I'm saying. Stasek is smart. We have great colleges there actually.

Notre Dame, Purdue. All those dudes. Sam from Humphreys is smart. Who else? Oh, the guys from Main Squeeze. Hella smart. A lot of them are from Indiana. All those dudes. Sam from Humphreys is smart. Who else? The guys from Main Squeeze. Hella smart. A lot of them are from Indiana. Yeah. Yeah, see? Shout out to Indiana. Yeah.

That state does not get enough cred. Yeah. Sports racing. Basketball. Yeah. Sports racing. Auto racing. Alright. Have a great week. Give these guys a little motivation. You can't just roll in here. Motivation. Why? I can do whatever I want.

What are you talking about? What are you going to tell the socialism people? Socialism people? What do you mean? About the American ways. I don't know. I might go there. I might storm the beach and just take it over for America.

There must not be oil there or anything because we haven't tried to take it over. I think it's just pretty. It's gorgeous. Only 400,000 people live there. Really? It's like the city I grew up in. Is it just hard to live there? I have no clue. I've never been. It's gorgeous Only 400,000 people live there Really? It's like the city I grew up in Is it just hard to live there? I have no clue I've never been

It's like the weather shitty I know they have elves I mean they say that Man I want to go with you to Iceland Iceland? Why don't you invite me? Because you're not on the record I invite you at everything

You're not on the session I don't care Just invite me It's your plus one I'd be great I'd clean up There's no plus one We're not doing shows

You got a sugar daddy We're not We're not doing shows. You got a sugar daddy. We're not doing shows. There's a sugar daddy paying for everything. You should have said, I need Andy there. I need Andy there. We'll get more done if Andy Frasco's here. That won't be a distraction. Andy Frasco will be here. We'll be able to really hunker down because Andy Frasco will be here.

Alright, we're done. Alright, goodbye. Dwayne Betts is on the show. Peach Fest. You ready? Are you ready to support me during Iceland when you're in Iceland? I'm not going to be in Iceland yet when you play Peach Fest,

but yeah. Will you just like give me good juju? Yeah. Because I'm having Trey Anastasio sit in at Peach Fest. I'm getting knighted next.

Let's go. Trey. Trey's a genius. Trey, come sit in. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No. Go crowd surf. Trey, come sit in. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No. Go crowd surf.

Then the haters will find something. Go crowd surf in your $800 jeans. You can't give Goose all the credit. You had to have Trey sit in, too. Then they're like, Pete Shapiro created Goose. It's an inside job. They've been a band for eight years. That is so fucking stupid.

They played the mousetrap. There's really a conspiracy that Pete Shapiro created Goose. I think it's like a half joke, but I bet you there's at least three guys that live in Des Moines that believe it. You know what I mean? Oh, my God. People are so annoying about their favorite bands. You don't need to know everything behind the scenes.

I guess I'm pretty annoying about the Lakers. I mean, Lakers Twitter is so annoying. I am fucking over Lakers fans. Will you guys quit fucking every day at some dream scenario where you don't have Russell Westbrook anymore and some other Max player just decides to play there for $8? Like, guys, it's over. You got your championship.

Just go into the sunset. You guys don't need to win one every three years. You know what I mean? We want to win every year. You're good every 10 years. That's the pattern. 2000, 2010, 2020. All right, we got to go.

It's 25 minutes. I told you this was supposed to be a short episode. Just shut the fuck up, Lakers fans. No, I'm just kidding. You guys are all right. You're sad. I'm sad. I lost everything.

You guys are good. You didn't lose everything. It's a basketball team. Well, I lost my happiness. They won a championship. That's my only hobby, Nick. If the Lakers aren't good, I have nothing outside of... Is that on the Lakers?

Or is that on you? It's on me. Why don't you learn chess or something? Are you good? I'm medium at chess. All right. I'll learn chess. All right.

Have a good day. Bye. Bye. All right. Next up on the Peach Fest, another Peach Fest installment is Dwayne Betts. Yes. Son of Dick Betts was in Almond Betts Band, which was badass. Now he's going solo.

I love to hear it. We talked it all. We talked about his life in Florida. We talked about his life in Jackson Hole. We talked about his new record that was recorded at Derek and Susan's house. The Deshies. I think you're going to really love this interview. He goes really deep. We talk a little bit about his addiction

scares and how he got through those as well. It's an all-around. I feel like you get to know the dude pretty well after this interview. Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy my next interview with the man, Dwayne Betts.

Wow. Dwayne Betts. How we doing, buddy? How are you, Andy? Good to see you, man. Buddy, you've been working hard. Our boy Dwayne is going solo like Tupac Shakur up in here. Let's go. Let's go. I love it. I love it. I love it. The sound effects, yes. So before we start talking about the solo record and stuff and all the endeavors you've been going on, this is a Peach Fest episode.

How important is Peach Fest to the family? episode. How important is PeachFest to the family? It's a really cool thing to go to a festival and know that it's kind of based on your family's music. The music that my dad created with those guys 50 years ago, it all kind of comes from that seed. Everybody is aware of that and and um you know i i didn't go to peach fest until the last several years i mean i think i've been there the last four years or so oh really why i mean well you know my dad wasn't in the band when it started and i think they started it in 2012, if I'm not mistaken.

Somewhere around there. Like many bands that have been around for 30, 40, 50 years, stuff happens and people separate. My dad wasn't in the band then for that time. I didn't really have any reason to go. When your dad wasn't in the band then, you know, for that time. And so I didn't really have any reason to go. So when your dad wasn't in the band, were you able to spend more time with him or were you busy with your career? I was able to spend time with him, but I was spending time with him anyway. I mean,

that's a whole different rabbit hole. I mean, that's kind of like a divorce or something. Because that was like, just to be open about it, that was kind of like I grew up in the 90s. I was homeschooled throughout for about four or five years there. And I kind of grew up around the crew. And I knew everybody. And it was kind of like family, how it is when you're on tour. It's a traveling family. And when knew everybody and it was kind of like family, you know, how it is when you're on tour, it's a traveling family.

Right. And when that happened, you know, it was kind of like, I was just kind of waiting for it to, oh, well they'll, they'll make up, you know, it'll, it'll work out. They'll get back together, you know? Right. And it just kind of, that's what happened. And you just, you know, you just accept things, you know, but it was kind of, it was kind of weird. It was kind of hard actually to be honest, because it was kind of weird. It was kind of hard, actually, to be honest,

because it was kind of like a family splitting. And then you see they're playing my dad's songs and my dad's not there. You get that as a young man. You're like, well, wait, man. My dad's like, they're playing his songs and he's not even there. And you're like, they're playing his songs and like, he's not even there. And like, you know, you're like, totally, you know, I love my dad, you know?

So, but you know, now, I mean, that was 25 years, 20 years ago when that stuff happened. So, I mean, now I think we're all a little past that now, you know, and look back in hindsight and, you know, time heals wounds, you know, it's like, even with like, you know, your sobriety, man, you've been sober for a while now. We're all different people. Thank God. I needed to be. I wouldn't be talking to you right now if I didn't.

Do you think your addictions, if you didn't stop, if you didn't get sober, you think those addictions would have attacked you and it would have got the worst of you? It already had. I mean, I couldn't do – it had completely consumed my life.

I mean, I was able to still play guitar, you know, but I couldn't hold on to any money, you know. I was always feeding the beast, you know, but I couldn't hold on to any money. You know, I was always feeding the beast, you know, and there's a big difference between going out and having a late night and having a little fun. And when it's just clear that you're have crossed a line and there's no putting the genie back in the bottle. And there's a big difference from that. I don't have, I'm not like an advocate of every person getting sober that, you know, likes to have a fun Saturday night. You know what

I mean? I mean, everybody does their own thing, but for me, just for my, I mean, I tried it and I had a lot of fun. I had a lot of dark times. I had a lot of, a lot of shit, you know what I mean? And it just wasn't working, you know? So I had to, I just didn't want to be 55 years old and still in the same predicament wondering, well, what would have happened if I would have given it, you know, 110% and made a valiant effort to kind of pull it together? Like, I wonder what would have happened

had I done that, you know? Yeah. So I feel like the proof is in the pudding. I mean, I was watching friends of mine do it, and their lives seemed to be, you know, so much better. I mean, again, I'm talking about, like, real people that were, like, real addicts. Right. There was no like kind of, well, you know, they might they might have drank too much the other night.

You know, there was none of that. It was like. So, yeah, I mean, you just watch people around you. Enough people die. Enough people get get it together and have a good life and see the results. And you're like, man, it's kind of time to do something about it. Well, I'm fucking thankful you did something about it, baby, because we got them now for another 30 or 40 years.

Let's fucking go. Let's have some fun now, man. Let's quit talking about the heavy stuff. I know. I just wanted to get that out of the way because it seemed like it was like during the same time as the whole, was it, how young were you when the breakup happened with your dad and stuff? Oh, I mean, that all happened probably when I was, it kind of coincided, but I don't know. I mean, part of it is just you discover how some of that stuff makes you feel.

And you're like, wow, I really like this. This kind of makes me feel great. I can feel good and it makes me feel better. I can feel horrible and it takes that away and makes me feel better or great. It's kind of worked in my favor for a while, regardless of if I felt good or bad. I mean, you know what I mean? Yeah, totally. You know, is there pressure?

Now moving forward, as you become your own man and your own identity, is there pressure for you to like play your dad's tunes at these festivals? Or can you like be your own person, like in your head? These are all imaginary illusions. Yeah, I don't know. I'll just be really out front. I really respect somebody like Lucas Nelson, who kind of sounds...

He's great. He kind of has the same... His dad's voice is reminiscent of his dad. Yeah. And I mean, I think he, I've seen him do like Georgia On My Mind, which isn't his dad's song, but he's famous for it. But he doesn't really play his dad's songs because he wants people to come to see him play his music. Right. music right so i get that and i really respect him a lot as somebody who um is uh you know the son or daughter of somebody so famous but has kind of made their own way having said that i don't

think there's anything wrong with well there's nothing wrong with doing any of it i mean if you want to go out and play all you know all my brother's songs i mean that's great you know right i wouldn't i mean i i'm i would stay far away from that myself let's go yeah you're your old man you know i mean i i think i think there's a happy medium in there where you know playing a couple of a couple of tunes that the people that everybody loves and that you know will get the crowd going and you love playing.

Because I mean everyone else is doing it. I mean there's so many you know what I mean? Everyone else is playing their music. Why do the Bloodline have to do it? So I love playing that stuff. I mean I'll play a few and it depends the situation stuff I mean I'll play a few And it depends the situation

I mean once As long as you have a bunch of your own tunes To kind of sprinkle those in Then you feel good about it Yeah totally man That music That music is classic And people are going to react to it

In a way that I mean everyone loves those songs. Yeah. So, of course, they're going to react to it more than a song that I, you know, if I go play a song off of my new record that isn't out yet, I mean, they might like it, but they're not going to, you know, react the same way on the first note, you know? Yeah, that's what I was going to say. Well, not yet because you're a fucking legend, bro. And they're going to hear these tunes. They're going to fucking come themselves.

I know it. I have a feeling. Yeah, it's going down. It's going down. I'm excited. Yeah, I want to talk about that whole process at Susan and Derek's studio. We'll talk about that.

Before we get there, so you, Almond Betts, you guys are on a hiatus. Yeah, correct. Yeah. Feels good to like take a break and take a breather and like do your own thing? Yeah, I mean, it just was kind of, it was just kind of felt like the right time to do it. I mean, we had been working really hard. We made two records.

We toured, you know, toured around the world and dealt with COVID. And I wanted to really do this record. And I mean, I'm not getting any younger. And Devin wanted to do a record. And it just felt like the right time to do that. And yeah, I'm just really focused on it and excited about it. I'm fucking excited. I like the challenge.

excited about it you know i'm fucking excited i like the challenge of it's fun like having to build something you know from the ground up i mean not all the way back to the ground but you know what i'm saying like yeah like it's cool to be in a comfortable uh really comfortable position or situation and then say yeah you know what but i going to give some of that up and do this other thing because I really want to do it artistically. You know what I mean? Yeah. So it feels good. You know what I mean?

And it just shows the confidence. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, brother. Yeah, brother. Yeah. I definitely know what you're saying. You know what I mean? You know what I mean?

You know what I mean? It also shows the confidence you have in yourself because a lot of people people as they get older They're afraid to start over And they're afraid to like Try things that they've always wanted to do Because they're in a comfortable situation I see like a lot of people

Well I mean I don't think of it as starting over I just think of it as something that I needed to do Because I never I've never put out a record I mean I never really even started singing until I was like late 30s. You know what I mean? Like five or six years ago, you know? And I mean, it's a work in progress always, you know?

I mean, I've always just been a guitar player and i've always written some um in bands i've been in and then i you know playing with dawes playing with my dad i mean you know those bands you know i was kind of like in the band you know or in with dawes i was in the touring band i wasn't like officially in the band but um but I didn't really start singing my own songs until more recently. So that's why it just never was a thing. So when you were first writing these new songs and performing them as just Dwayne Betts, was it nerve-wracking, or did you always have the confidence? Well, I haven't performed any of them yet. Holy shit, dude.

This is about to go down? Yeah. Well, I'm doing an acoustic thing with Barry Oakley and Johnny Stachela. I saw that. The summer dates? We're doing kind of like an intimate kind of city winery kind of tour, if you will. And we're playing Peach Fest and we're playing, we're doing some festivals and stuff. But I just wanted to do something and have fun

and keep it really simple at first. And then once the record is announced and stuff like that, then go out with a full band. I kind of have in mind who I want to play with in that band. We're just really looking forward to doing these dates up in the Northeast. I love playing in New York City. I love playing all over New England. And Peach Fest, obviously.

It's been great to us over the years. Totally. When you stripped down the... That was your question. You had asked a question. I kind of got off. No, no, no. We're getting to that.

It's early for both of us, bud. Don't worry. Because when you strip down the songs to those bare bones, like how you're going to do it for this summer set and the summer tour, you really get to down the songs to those bare bones, like how you're going to do it for this summer set and the summer tour, you really get to understand the songs.

And like, as you build a bigger band, you get to feel what works as a live setting. Because isn't it different? Do you feel like it's different when you're in the studio writing these songs versus playing them live? Yeah, I mean, all of them evolve. I mean,

once it's, you know, you have your recorded version and you have and you can expand from that, you can make solos longer, you can add sections to connect it to another song. You can do whatever you want. But I mean, the foundation of the song doesn't change.

You know, that's kind of they're all written pretty much, even the more rocking ones were kind of written on acoustic guitar. Really? Yeah. I mean, these songs are kind of, I wrote them with my partner. I've kind of been working with Stahl Vaughn writing songs for over 10 years now. I mean, we met about 10 years ago.

And so we wrote some together. Then Johnny wrote some with us. You know, there's a few that the three of us wrote. And then a few of them are just me, you know. So, you know, the process was pretty cool down at my dad's house in Florida. We'd all kind of meet down there and, and, and right in the, in the study there. And it's just, it's just like a great vibe and a great room.

Did you all live at the house? Well, I was living down there. I mean, I was living, I, I just goes on, I just got property down there and I'm from there. And so we want to build a house there, but it's, there's nothing there. So we're kind of staying at my dad's guest house on his property. Right. In the meantime and spending time with him, you know, which is a great thing. And then stall was down there for the winter with, you know, his family. And then we flew Johnny down.

We had a couple months there where we were writing. And then some of the tunes were written earlier than that, during the summer of 2020, I think, during COVID. I wrote a bunch then. And some of the tunes are from that period. What's the difference between writing with a writing partner versus writing by yourself? Well, it's a lot easier to finish songs.

I have, I'll get like halfway through and, you know, I mean, sometimes it's just like, hey, you know, you finish a song and it's just like, okay, this is what's good and this is what needs work, you know, and if you have somebody you trust that can kind of edit thing where they have these great lyrics and then you have the melody and the music and, and, and the rest of it, you know,

and that's kind of, I mean, Stahl's really a great lyricist. I mean, that's his strong suit. And so I'll, I'll write, I'll get lucky and write some really good words,

you know, but they don't, they don't just flow out of me like some people that, you know yeah but um they don't they don't just flow out of me like some people that yeah something that would be great if like bob dylan or you know um chris christopherson or somebody like that but um but yeah it's good to have somebody there to kind of go through and say man this is great and then we need to make this chorus better. So that's kind of me and Stahl's songwriting relationship. Is it harder to be vulnerable in the writing process with the lyrics about your personal experience

when you're not writing by yourself and you're writing with a writing partner? Yeah, I don't, I mean, I find that all of the lyrics that I'm really proud of are always written by myself. I haven't had much luck. And then, so that's that I'm really proud of are always written by myself. I haven't had much luck. And then, so that's what I'm saying. I'll bring in something and then we'll work on it or I'll send it. But the stuff that I write that I'm proud of lyrically is really, I have to be alone.

What's the most proud lyric you wrote on this new record that you're like, God damn. I really like, there's a song called Circles in the Stars that I wrote that I'm really proud of. What's it about? It's kind of a love story. It's just kind of about getting lost

you know with someone and and in the night you know yeah so like you know you had a great day and you're you know maybe we'll draw circles in the stars you know tonight or you know i mean that's not the word but that's not the lyric but that's kind of the sentiment of it. Yeah. It's about like enjoying life and being, being lost and in love, you know? Yeah. How hard is it to have a balanced life in this rock and roll lifestyle you have, Joy? Um, I don't know, man. I'm enjoying, it's pretty bad.

I mean, I'm kind of like, I'm kind of like, I, I feel like it's kind of, um, I love traveling. So I'm always on the move and I love that. So I don't, I don't like, there's a lot of times when I'm kind of always on the move, like I'm like on a trip. Like we had, we went to Bali, you know. When?

Well, we just, I think we got back about a month ago or five weeks ago. Was it dope? Yeah. It's, it's one of my favorite places. It was my third time there. Well, my wife does a lot of her, she's a designer my wife does a lot of her she's a designer and she does a lot of her manufacturing there and and she uses like the textiles like from the um from the ancient you know from the tribes you know what i'm saying and it's and it's um it's really cool and she's made friends with a lot of the people there and stuff.

And she works with them. But she, because of COVID, she hasn't been able to go there. And she kind of has to go there a little bit to kind of keep an eye on it. There's only so much she can do from a distance. And so anyway, we had a great trip. Yeah, but it was kind of a business vacation, you know. What have you learned about, you know, like you're a guy who travels, you see all how people live their lives and stuff. What, what have you learned from the people of Bali that you could take into your everyday life?

Man, that's just, that culture is so, it's like, it's such a peaceful, loving culture. Like the, the off, they give these offerings that it's Hindu, you know? Yeah. So they give these offerings. I mean,

I don't know inside and out, like what the, the procedures are and like, but they give these beautiful offerings out in front of their businesses. And just in the middle of the road where it's like a, a burnt cigarette and flowers and incense and and so it just smells like the smells are beautiful like these amazing smells outside of houses and stuff and it's just really cool it's just like a really a really loving peaceful people you know and mean, of course, there's so many people that aren't

from there, you know what I mean? So it's not like it's just those people, but it's kind of this, it's kind of this cool kind of convergence of like people from all over. And then you have like the real, the Balinese people in the culture and it kind of, it works it all kind of jives together so but a cool story that i have that's actually really great is that i got chased by a monkey and i i got hurt i got i got um i'm i'm fine but um it was like it was my birthday actually the day after my birthday and i was we were staying at this place and I was on the edge of the property, like looking out over the water. And, uh, I turned to walk back to our room and, you know, the property line, there's like a natural barrier, like rocks and plants and stuff. And so I turned to walk back to my room about 50 or 60 feet behind me. And I turn and about, you know, five to eight feet from me

is this monkey up in the rocks, like at my eye level. And I'm, I was very startled because I have, there's all this space and I'm in the corner of this property, like five feet from a monkey. And I was like, so I jumped back. I'm like'm like ah and he like opens his mouth and shows me his teeth and jumps down and runs toward me and I had my phone and they love to steal your phone so I didn't want him well I didn't want him biting me

but I also didn't want him running up my leg was it a small monkey? I mean it's you know it wasn't a gorilla but it wasn't like a little i mean it was it would fuck you up it'd fuck you up yeah i mean if he wanted to bite you yeah um so i ran from him and i didn't have any shoes on it's 10 in the morning and i man i'm gonna run from this thing i'm like man this monkey is not getting me.

He's not getting my phone. He ain't getting nothing. I'm running. I get 10 feet and it's a little bit downhill. My feet just go out from under me and I land just right on my tailbone and my back and my wrist. I tweaked my wrist up. Oh, fuck.

Yeah, and I was like, oh, shit. I would have been a lot better off not running from you because I just hurt myself way worse than the monkey would have hurt me. Was the monkey still chasing you? Well, that was the thing. Right when I landed, I was like, oh, damn. I completely forgot about the monkey. The monkey wasn't on top of me. I completely forgot about the monkey. Then finally, when I was able to get up, I got up and I looked over and he

was about 10 feet or 15 feet from me, just walking away from me. He had no interest in me. Once I was chased and I fell, he had no interest in attacking me. He had no interest in me. Once I was chased and I fell, he had no interest in attacking me. He's like, this clumsy motherfucker. I'm done with this.

This ain't no fun. He was just messing with me. That's wild. That was pretty eventful. You have a brace on your wrist right now. What's going on? No, I took it off. I had a thing on just to kind of keep it straight.

I mean, it's fine. I can play. I just can't put weight on it. Still? After a month? Yeah. If I went like this, if I did a push-up, it would hurt. I can't do yoga.

I can't, you know. But I can do a lot of other stuff, so whatever. You always, you tell me, do you still live in Malibu still? Or is it always Jacksonville? I don't have a place there. I mean, Malibu's always, my mom lives right around there. My mom lives in Calabasas. So pretty much most of my friends are out there.

Yeah, that's where I grew up. Oh, in Calabasas yeah yeah west hills yeah yeah she lives right over she lives right on the line of woodland hills and calabasas yeah yeah technically but yeah valley circle yeah right there she lives right there and she's she's lived there for a while but um do you ski and stuff in jackson hole like what i do a little bit i'm not much of a skier i mean I don't I'm not a cold weather person I'm not spending all winter In cold weather

I like it for a week Like the hot cocoa by the fire I love it for a week The sauna The winter wonderland I love it but no I grew up in Florida, south. Well, I mean, south Florida is really considered like Fort Lauderdale, Miami,

but down there, like the east coast. But technically, it's the southern. I grew up down in Florida, and I grew up in southern California. Why does Florida get such a bad rap? Because there's a lot of crazy idiots there. I don't know. Did you have a lot of wild Florida? I'll say this.

I love, look, man. Like, Florida is a very diverse place. There's a lot of different types of people there. Yeah. And that's what makes it Florida. And it's a beautiful place. It's a really special place, especially, I mean, where I grew up. I mean, the beach, white sand beaches.

And I mean, it's a nice town, you know. It's a nice place to be, for sure. Is it like, you know, they always talk about Florida man and all these things. Is it really that hyped of all these crazy-ass people there? Is it just... I mean, it's not... I mean, look, there's people everywhere, but I mean, there's a lot of stuff

happening in Florida. I mean, you watch the movie, like... I mean, there's definitely a segment of you know, there's some crazy shit going on there. But no, like, it's very... It's a well-rounded place. I mean, it's, you know...'s some crazy crazy shit going on there but no like it's very it's it's a well rounded place i mean it's you know it's uh that you go to the interior and it's a lot different

than than you know miami i mean that would be the the most vast difference you know yeah because you record that's what's cool about it you drive 40 minutes inland and you're like in the swamp with a bunch of you know yeah cats on airboats and stuff you know yeah then you go you go to the coast and it's like a you know you're at like nice restaurants and the you know white sand beaches and you know give me a story of the craziest Florida experience you ever had oh man well I don't know a lot of them I probably wouldn't want to go into because they're all drug related

yeah I feel you they're all like horror stories of being in like trap houses oh my god I had a gun pulled on me once because I was getting I mean should I was getting, uh, I mean, should I go into this? Yeah. I was getting fronted.

Like I had this dealer that would front me and he was all good with it. We had a good relationship and I was, I was, and he was like, man, I can't like, he was like, man, I can't, I can't, you gotta have the money though. You gotta have the money. And I was like, I didn't like he was like man i can't i can't you gotta have the money though you gotta have the money and i was like i didn't have the money and i knew i could just talk to him but i'm like i'm good for it like he like always let me like run on run on a tab you know what i'm saying and um so i showed up and i'm like he had it all bagged up for me and he's like and i'm like man i don't i'm gonna pay you on Monday or whatever day it was like and I like had it all worked out like I literally was getting the money and like you

know and he always believed me like he like I'm saying it was never a problem anyway he flipped out on me and like pulled a gun out on me and pointed it out me. I knew him well enough to where I just was like, what, are you going to shoot me, dude? Come on. Oh my God. He pulled a gun at me. He ended up letting me take it. I was like, cool, man. I took care of him

and stuff. That's wild, man. You weren't scared because you knew him. If I had a gun pulled at me... I just didn't try. I knew him if i had a gun pulled out i just didn't try i knew him well enough to know he was he was he was uh he apologized he said it wasn't even a real gun but it looked real to me it didn't i didn't i didn't do it because it looked fake and i knew it was fake like he could have beat the hell out of me i was in it you know yeah like he didn't need a gun but I just knew that you know I knew that I could

convince him I mean it wasn't like some stranger it was like somebody that that I dealt with and that we had developed a rapport isn't it crazy anything else in the world besides drugs

if someone pulls a gun out on you for you own a money, you'd be like, whoa, whoa, this is not good. I said it was like somebody I dealt with but it was definitely scary I mean it was in the hood and it wasn't it wasn't like next door at my best friend's house or some shit it was like it was the real it was the real deal you know but yeah I mean I have a lot of great Florida stories going down to the keys with my dad when I was young going out on deep sea fishing boats going out and parking the boat and then swimming the islands and just jumping off the boat out in the gulf or you know sounds awesome man out in the bay you know in the 80s when when um when uh you know mtv first came out i mean right we are we all have those like childhood memories of like man you know i remember when hbo first came out you know and when when my family first got cable and hbo and mtv and and uh yeah man it was a great time man the

early mid you know the 80s was was a fun time to grow up you know i bet man do you ever get deja vu now as you are an older man of like times in your hometown? You're in your parents different house but yeah no i go back to the old neighborhood i i i um i saw some folks that i grew up with that i hadn't seen in 20 30 years um the other day and it was yeah i mean it's really it's cool it's like full circle yeah man and you're like you're You're a man now and you're fucking clear-headed and shit. It's pretty wild.

Yeah. These people I hadn't seen since before any of that stuff. People I grew up with in elementary school and they were in the neighborhood when I was really young. Were you a troublemaker as a kid? No.

No, you're a good kid? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I wasn't skipping school. No. Of course, I was homeschooled, so I didn't even go to school. Yeah. From eighth grade on, I was homeschooled. i didn't even go to school yeah you're from seventh from eighth grade on i was homeschooled and you're traveling to i went to uh you know k through uh i went to

you know k through five and then i went to sixth grade in middle school in florida and sarasota sarasota bradenton. And then I moved to California. I went to seventh grade in Malibu. And then I went on the road with my dad. So I was eighth, you know, all through high school, I was like homeschooled. So I was out on the road all year. Like they weren't touring all year,

but you know what I mean? They take the winter off, but anything in the fall or spring, you know, obviously the summer I was on, I was out. Was it lonely? Like always moving schools? Like,

was it hard to find new friends? I remember moving schools. I mean, I only went, I only went to school in two places. I'm, I mean, I was homeschooled.

So I was, I was moving. I was traveling with the band. Yeah. Or what? No, I'm talking like sixth to seventh and eighth. Those are like developmental years of like. Yeah. Yeah.? No, I'm talking like sixth to seventh and eighth. Those are like developmental years of like.

Yeah. Yeah. So I, I switched, I went to, to, yeah, I mean,

I had been in Florida and, and so I went to Malibu and yeah, I mean, I loved it there, but it took a minute to get acquainted and make good friends. And yeah, but that, that was the funny thing is about the second half of the year.

I was like, oh, I love it. I'm in. I made friends. I'm good. I love it here. And then you left. My dad's like, you know, son, I want you to come back and stay with me. And I was like, well, yeah, I just got used to it out here.

And I love it. I'm thinking. And he's like, and I want you to go on tour with us and we'll get you a tutor to come on tour with us. And I loved touring. I loved being on tour with that band. I loved the traveling and the community of it. And I knew everyone because I'd been on tour in the summers

the past two years, you know? And so I was like, Oh, done deal then I'm good. Like, yeah, let's do it.

You know, that little thing just switched, switched from me being kind of bummed about it. Cause I had just gotten used to it out in California to being like, Oh hell yeah. So, so yeah, that was the, that was the deal.

Was the Allman Brothers tour a good place for children? Yeah, I mean, there was some definite stuff happening, you know, and you kind of knew it. There's some substance abuse stuff, but it wasn't ever, like, in my face or face or anything i mean i wasn't watching people doing drugs yeah you know or like act did you ever accidentally walk into a room and like it traumatized you or anything um well yeah i like go on the crew bus and just the way those guys talk and yeah i mean you know i there's nothing, nothing at a really young age. I mean, you know, there's people smoking pot

and stuff, but there wasn't anything going on that was like, you know, out in the open. There was some stuff that was obvious when people were having some issues, you know. Do you ever catch a fight or something?

Like, I had to walk out. You didn't want to see that stuff, right? No, I didn't see anybody fight. I just thought I'd tell when somebody maybe had a little too much or something. Fucking wild, dude. You lived on the road as a kid, as you're growing up. I mean, that's pretty wild. I mean, it's my dream

because i started touring when i was 18 and i went on my first tour when i was 16 and it changed my life and i it was the best time of my life i get what you're saying like you get a taste of the road and all of a sudden like you you want that all the time right yeah i mean not everybody loves it but i mean i loved it it was certainly comfortable you know right it wasn't like ritz carlton's and four seasons every night but it was like you know i had my own room and you know what i mean it was kind of like it was kind of like it wasn't like we were like roughing it and then i of course i worked i worked as an assistant guitar tech. I worked with Joe Dan Petty, who was one of the beloved. He was a great man, but he made boots for my dad.

He was my dad's bootmaker, but he was the Allman Brothers original guitar tech. So he was somebody I loved, and I worked with him, and I strung all the guitars and stuff, and I made 500 bucks a week, and I spent it all on CDs. Really? What was the first CD you bought? Oh, I don't know.

I don't know. I was listening to CDs when my mom... My mom's... My mom had a CD player, her boyfriend at the time, in the late 80s, mid-late 80s. And, you know, Jimi Hendrix. I remember listening to The Cure, Kiss Me. Remember that artwork, the CD?

There was a bunch. I mean, there was some rap stuff, you know. This guitar tech you're talking about, you loved him a lot. What did he teach you about life and like guitar and whatnot? He was pretty traditional. He was Southern, you know, he lived in Macon. And he was, he's just a sweet guy, you know. He was really, him and Red Dog, you know, Red Dog was kind of like,

he was, had a certain swagger to him, you know. And Joe Dan was more just a sweet guy who was more, his mannerisms were more understated. Yeah. Understated, that was the word I was looking for um yeah he was just great but the two of them were like a team like they were both original roadies you know and you must so crazy he goes red dog yeah where's red dog i mean so cameron crowe's just pulling out like real names you know because he was on the road with the brothers and so a lot of that story i mean if you notice the corretta's character like looks exactly like my dad yeah it's crazy

so yeah red dog was a legend joe dan was a legend i mean some of those other guys i didn't i don't know those are the knew. Yeah. I just talk about them. The other guys are legends too. And I think one of them is still alive too, but, but, uh, you know,

campaign or, you know, there's, there's other names in that mix, but Joe Dan and red dog were the ones that I knew that, that I was hanging out with. It's so amazing, you know,

cause like you experience all these amazing life experiences and like a lot of people who've experienced life experiences as a kid become assholes and you are not an asshole. You're humbling and you're fucking a bad ass. I try to be. I can be an asshole too. What makes you an asshole? What things get in your head that make you a dude?

I can be short fused. I can be if I have anxiety, if I have stuff going on in my head, if I get uncomfortable, I can just lash out at whoever's closest to me. I'm like that too. You know what I mean?

Poor Schwartz. He has to deal with my ass. I can kind of let that happen. I'm working on that. No one's perfect, right? Right, exactly. You've been working on yourself, bro. It's fucking badass.

You know, we talk about the old days, but I want to talk about this record, dude. Do you record? Let's get on it. Let's get to it. Because this is really important stuff. And like, Dwayne, this is a solo record. It's going to be fucking awesome.

You're going to kill this shit, dude. Tell me, so you recorded it at Derek and uh Susan's house yeah they their studio is on their property it's a beautiful beautiful in Jacksonville is that in Jacksonville yeah that's where he's from and so what did Derek truck who produced it I produced well I mean it was kind of a group effort I mean me and Johnny kind of produced it but everybody threw in their ideas i mean we had uh falcon uh tyler you know green green well i think it's his last name from tedeschi trucks yeah i mean he you know you have a room full of people that know what's up john kinty yeah fucking badasses so i mean you have kind of like a room full of producers right there but

i mean it's my record. Yeah. I'll probably take credit for the whole thing. No, no. Hell yeah, Dwayne. You should, dog. Yeah, no, I definitely played a big role in it. But everybody chipped in a lot with great ideas. And then Bobby Teese recorded it, engineered it.

And he had some great ideas. So it was a collaborative effort on that end. But yeah, man, they're just the sweetest. And for them to have us, it was just really a magical situation. When you have all these legends in the room and they're kind of producers as well. And you know, and you, it is your, it's your show, you know, it's your, it's your gig. Was it hard to like step up and say,

I don't really feel that's the right direction for a part or was like, did you like. I didn't have to do that. No, we just try. I mean, if there was something that wasn't working, and I kind of, I mean, you try it, and then if it's working, everybody kind of agrees on it. Yeah, the universal language. There was stuff that, there's always stuff like little things,

but as far as, there wasn't big uh calls that needed to be made that were disagreed on you know right it was all it all kind of was a natural flow um and there was stuff that needed to be worked out you know i had an instrumental that i had that i'm I'm really, really pleased with that called Under the Bali Moon. I had these really cool parts, but I had a lot of parts and I wanted it to be like this long thing. But I'd never played it with a band and I was just, well, I hope it's cool. It sounds good and and i had played

it for people we you know johnny and i had worked out all the harmonies together and gone through the parts and yeah and uh and we got in there and it was like it just took on we really had to work on it but we kind of just trimmed about half of the parts out and just focused on the really really like the the coolest parts about it and um and it turned into this other kind of thing that i didn't expect and that was really thanks to falcon for for like really pushing it and and not just playing like, oh, yeah, I can play that and that'll be easy. It just wasn't happening. So we turned it into this other thing

and he came up with this really cool drum beat that starts it. And it's really cool. How long were you all in the studio? All day. You know what I'm saying? But we had the luxury of like studio? It took all day. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. But we had the luxury of this might take all day. I mean, we went into that day knowing that that song needed to be worked on.

Right. How many days did you get to have all these guys in the same room together? Well, the tracking pretty much was, I mean, obviously I'm not keeping everybody there the whole time, but for the basic tracking, I mean, it's like three days. We did two sessions. So all that was done in total from those two sessions was like three days each. So six days. And then, uh, you work on any guitar stuff that needs to be fixed or added, and vocals. That's pretty much it.

How many songs are on the record? Ten. So there's ten songs. How many songs did you write for the record? I mean, we have songs sitting, so, I mean, we... We probably wrote 20 for this,

but, like, we had songs sitting from the past, but it's like, you know, I don't know. I'm not as excited about using something that, for some reason,

we haven't already used. Like, if we didn't already use it, then maybe we should just... Yeah, there's a reason for it. Let it go. There's a reason for that. But we did use,

there was some stuff that we had written, some other stuff where we would pull like, we would pull like some lyrics from, or, you know, a line here, a line there, you know, and not, and kind of that song wasn't used, but we can pull out that and put it and write it, write a new song. What did you learn about songwriting throughout this record process?

Um, Hmm. I mean, I don't know. I learned that it's got to really capture it when the spirit comes. If the spirit's there, don't let it go. I kept telling Stahl that we needed a song in 6, in 6-8. telling Stahl that we needed a song in 6, in 6-8. And he's like, oh, well, you can make one of those in 6. And try that. And I was like, and he's like, yeah, see, Ben, that's good. And I'm like, man, I'm thinking, man, that is not it.

Yeah. And then that night, I sat down and I was in bed with an acoustic and I kind of came up with what became a song that's on the record called Stare at the Sun. Yeah. And I recorded the verse and the melody and sent it and it was like, boom, that's it. And then the next day we finished it. If I hadn't stayed on that I'm really, really happy I stayed on that

because it turned out to be one of the one of my favorite things on the record. None of it's done yet. What do you think that is? You think it's done yet you know yeah what do you think that is you think it's just like you you kind of briefed on it like is this like do you believe like when the vessel opens like you don't know who makes these songs you know it's like it just comes out of the

ether right when the yeah i mean i just hope and pray that something worth a shit comes at some point, you know? Because it's hard. It is, dude. It's hard, you know? How, was it like, so when you hear, when you see, you can realize when like the vessel inside you is opening up, right? Yeah, I think when, yeah, I think anybody, when they're onto something, they feel it. You know, you're like, man, this is something worth diving into head first

yeah um and it's always great when you have a little bit of help you know because sometimes sometimes you can get stuck man it's just the way it is and that's what that's what's great about having someone to bounce ideas off of. Did you put a lot of pressure on yourself because this is your first solo debut? Or did you say, fuck it, I'm just going to, this is who I am. Are you a person that doesn't put a lot of pressure on yourself or do you overthink it? Well, I mean, I just want to have fun. I mean, I knew it would all work. I just want to have fun.

I mean, I knew it would all work. I mean, I get, like, anxiety about doing shows and tours and stuff that I know I can do. And I don't think this was any different. I mean, yeah, I had anxiety about it. I'm like, man, you know, this is, I'm putting money up. And, I mean, what if it doesn't happen? Like, what if I can't do anything? Or what if I don't like what someone else is doing?

You know, or whatever. And it's like, and then you're like, well, no, actually all that's, you know, bullshit because it's amazing. It's going to be fun. And, and so, yeah, you know, you just, but once it happens and you're like, oh man, that was, that fun yeah that was fun that's what it was that's what i was hoping it was it was it wasn't it wasn't like we couldn't get anything done and nothing was working and so yeah you i mean those voices come in your head but you just you gotta acknowledge what the reality is which is that you're gonna you know you're gonna kill it and it's going to be fun. Is it hard for you to have fun? No. No, I don't think so.

Do you think it is? Sometimes when I over... If I had no other outside opinions on the fun I'm having, I don't think it's... I think it's normal. I mean, I have fun in my own way. I mean, fun I'm having, I don't think it's, I think it's normal. I mean, I have fun in my own way. I mean, if I'm like, if you're out on a boat or something and people are having cocktails and like for me, I'm sober. So like, I see people like, and I'm like, man,

I would, you know, sometimes I'm like, man, like it would be nice to like just have like have man, I would, you know, sometimes I'm like, man, like, it would be nice to like, just have like, have some fun like that, you know? And I can't like, I have a different kind of, I have fun. I definitely have fun. But I mean, every now and then if I'm in my head, I do get in my head. I can, I can be a person that, that gets in my head and overthinks. Absolutely. Yeah.

I mean, and then that will prevent you from having fun when you could just be like not worrying about it and having fun but I think I've gotten better at that I think overall I you know I have fun you know that's good well keep fucking having fun Dwayne because life's short bro you know

hey man you're telling me you're telling me you ever realized you'd be this age. Yeah, I didn't think I mean, I didn't think when I was going through all my my stuff, I didn't think. You know that I was going to die, which is kind of like what a lot of people think, and it's not doesn't always work out that way. But but I'm really grateful to have made it through all that stuff. which is kind of like what a lot of people think. And it's not, it doesn't always work out that way, but, but I'm really grateful to have made it through all that stuff. But I, yeah,

I thought I, I never thought I wasn't going to make it to, you know, I never had like a death wish or anything. Let's fucking go. That's what I'm talking about. The power of Dwayne Betts, the optimism,

baby, you know, and that's, that's, It's amazing, man. I'm really proud to know you and I'm thankful that both of us are managed by Schwartz.

I don't know how he is with your relationship, but with my relationship, he's the perfect dude to calm me down. Yeah, I love Brian, man. He's a perfect dude to calm me down. Yeah, I love Brian, man. He's a beast, definitely. Yeah, man, he's a good friend. Somebody that I can text and kind of bullshit with anytime.

He's a smart dude, too. He's sharp. He's a sharp tack or tick or whatever you call it. Sharp tack. How many managers have you had? A few. Yeah. You know, I didn't, I kind of, you know what?

I had the same manager as my dad. My dad's a longtime manager. And I just wanted to kind of break away from having the same manager as my dad and it all kind of being connected so much. Yeah. And, you know, for whatever reason. Yeah, you are your own fucking man, Dwayne Betts. Yeah, yeah.

Fuck yeah. Yeah, man. Yeah, keep being your own man. Well, yeah, I mean, there's something to be said when people are in the same business and the family. There's a lot of mistrust. And so it's good to have somebody that you trust. And also, you want someone in your camp

that has just your best interests. It's important. Absolutely, absolutely. So you're going to go out, you're going to fuck shit up all summer. You're going to kick ass. These songs are going to sound better and better. Yeah, man. I mean, we're going to go out. You're going to fuck shit up all summer. You're going to kick ass. These songs are going to sound better and better. We're going to mix and get it mastered.

There's some guests that need to be added. Some background vocals and some pedal steel. Will we have a Derek or Susan appearance on the record? You don't have to tell us. Don't tell us. I'm not going to say, but I think the chances are pretty good.

Okay. Fuck yeah. I can't wait. This record's going to be awesome, dude. Stoked for you. I can't wait to see you at Peach Fest. We should keep doing the thing. I want to come to Jackson. Hold on. I'm here, man. I'm here.

Let's go fishing or something, bro. When are you playing here, man? Let's get it I'm here, man. I'm here. Let's go fishing or something, bro. When are you playing here, man? I'll just come out, man. I live in Denver. I don't live far. Yeah,

it's great. I mean, it's, let me tell you, it's, uh, it's a magical place, right?

I've really grown to love it here. I'm not, like I said, I grew up in South Florida, Southern California. I'm not like a, but I, I love the mountains in the summer, especially because it's not freezing.

But my wife has lived here for a long time, for 20 years. This is her hometown. And so I met her, I came here for the first time about five years ago. I don't know know somewhere around there yeah and uh we went into the market and we were stocking up you know i was with a friend of mine and his family has a place here we had to stop for groceries to stock up the refrigerator at their place and we were in the small market and there she was and my friend started hitting on her because he's really up front and obnoxious and i'm more reserved yeah and i'm like well she's she's cute you know and but i mean he was doing

all the talking and being obnoxious in any way finally she agreed to meet us for lunch her and a friend met us like four or five days later for lunch and then we just kind of kind of went from there so was your homie pissed that you stole the girl? No, not at all. He was just trying to get something started for the party, for the team. Yeah, totally. He was trying to make something happen.

Trying to go fishing, dog. Yeah, man. You gotta just do what you can. Is it too small? Huh? You grew up in all these big cities. When you first moved... I grew up in a big city. Sarasota's not a big city. Sarasota's not that big, but LA, Malibu,

Calabasas is pretty big. LA is a big city. Yeah. That's my second home. I didn't live there until I was 13. Then I was 12, 13. Then I went back to Florida.

Then I moved back there for six years. And then I kind of went back and forth a lot. So you enjoy stillness, like when a town is still. Yeah, man. I mean, right now, this place is beautiful. I mean, it's going to warm up more. Yeah. It's going to be gorgeous i mean i could i could

deal with it being a little warmer than it is like today yesterday but but it's going to i mean it's summer damn it it's june it's better you know it's like 86 and you know it's all tropical down in sarasota and then i come here. It's beautiful here. Gorgeous. Keep chasing that sunshine, buddy. We're happy for you. That's a good last statement there.

Keep chasing that sunshine. I got one last question and I'll let you go. When it's all said and done, what do you want this new record and this first debut solo album of Dwayne Betts to be remembered by? I mean, I just...

Man, at the end of the day, I just want to make great music and be really thoughtful about the music. And I want it to kind of be compelling to people, you know? And not... I don't really want to do stuff that's, like, kind of be compelling to people, you know, and not, I don't really want to do stuff that's like kind of middle of the road, you know, and the song, I mean, it's really, at the end of the day, it's all about the songs, you know? So if there's music on there, if there's songs that, that connect to people, I mean, that's all I can ever ask.

Right. If somebody, if it makes somebody feel better, if they connect to it and they get it, then man, that's all I can ever ask. If it makes somebody feel better, if they connect to it and they get it, then, man, that's what it's about. Right. But definitely, I mean, you want to kind of do what we tried to do or what we're trying to do because it's not finished. it's really kind of do something that's interesting, you know, that kind of traces the, like the roots and, and you hear that stuff, but, but there's some stuff on there that makes you think, well, that's different.

Yeah. It's not like the obvious thing. So. Is it hard to think differently? You know what I mean? It's true. Only time will tell big dog. Only time will tell. I mean, hopefully somebody fucking likes it. You know, when you talk about, I got one last thing about that. You know what I mean? It's true. Only time will tell, big dog. Only time will tell. I mean, hopefully somebody fucking likes it. You know, when you talk about, I got one last thing about that. You know, when you're trying to make new stuff, do you take all the other music you ever learned out of your head or do you try to mix and match different things that inspired you to try?

No, I think it's just about kind of like marrying like a classic country thing with something that has not, you know, I mean, not, I don't mean like genre bending, like let's put reggae in with like salsa and like jazz, like Dixieland, you know, I don it's just about given using some really classic things that are, you know, familiar and then, and then just adding to it and kind of connecting different influences. Well, does that make sense? No, a hundred degree.

I love Waylon Jennings, you know? Yeah. Waylon's a shit. I wish I could sing like him. I mean, but, uh, you got a great voice, but, uh, there's stuff that, you know? Yeah, Waylon's the shit. I wish I could sing like him. You've got a great voice,

Dwight. But there's stuff that there's like... I mean, and I also grew up listening to Radiohead and Jeff Buckley. I mean, I have that stuff in me too. But you'll hear the

instrumental, you'll hear kind of... It's a real... It's guitar harmonies, but it's kind of all reverbed out and kind of in a, it kind of sounds like Radiohead actually. Dude, well, when you're done with it. Like a clean, you know, like a clean melodic trancy, like tripped out kind of thing, you know, and Ginty did this really amazing piano that I don't know. It sounds like some of the more atonal stuff on some of the Bowie records. I don't know what song,

but there's some Bowie stuff that has piano like this, but it's cool. It's a little different. I'm stoked to hear it. All Almond Brothers 101 is what I'm trying to tell you. Tell you what, brother. You keep being you. You keep being the OG that I know you are, and I'll see you at Pitchforks Monday.

Yep. For sure. Well, have a great day, Dwayne. Thanks for being on the show, buddy. Yeah, man. You too. Always. Have fun in Jackson Hole, and I hope you get some sunshine.

Always a pleasure, my man. All right, buddy. Talk to you soon. Oh, man. Man, what are we going to do? So this week, what do we got to do? Oh, Peach Fest. Peach Fest.

I'm playing Peach Fest on Friday. I do have this really good bit I have. I'm not going to say because it's too good, but you'll see. Wow, must be really good. Maybe your bit should be no bits. We're just a good band. Of course, we're going to play. No, it's more about like, when I talk about bit,

I'm talking about set, like the songs. Are you going to do Dreams? It's been killing. I know. That song's been killing. You closed it at Red Rocks, didn't you? Second to last. You played my song.

I did. Puff Break. That song has the second most downloads. It's a catchy one. I feel like it should be in a McDonald's commercial or something. Do you want to try to write a song this week? Yeah. Sure.

I'm down. Might as well. I'm in the mood. Give me a vibe. I'm on fire right now. Far. I have five. I wrote five new songs in two weeks.

Who's that guy you were writing with this weekend? Kenny Carkeet from AWOL Nation. Oh, that's where a wall nation oh that's sick dude yeah we wrote two and then i wrote two i wrote one with the dudes who produced the need to breathe record and then i wrote one with chris galbuta who was need to fucking sick as fuck he did like revival i know chris very well yeah chris is sick yeah he wrote some solids and He wrote some for Meghan Trainor. He wrote some Meghan Trainor. Yeah. I got some solid songs. I'm really proud of them. Awesome.

Wednesday album coming out next week. Just kidding. I got to finish it by September. Why don't you, you still got time with this to push this album still. I know, but I fucking hate the music industry,

dude. It's so stupid. It's taking six months to get a record out. I know. So like the time you release, you put it into the system, you can't i i don't even have my fucking vinyls from the album i put out in april wash rinse repeat they're not gonna be here till august what yeah copa fucked everything

up with that but also now it's such backtracked and backlogged backlogged like they're thinking it's still gonna be a seven month wait if you put if you like um put your album into like the whole machine thing by september why is everything you know because of covid because i want to get it out by april by then people have completely forgotten you i hope not or you're that album at least the cycle is so fast you have to put stuff out people forget about new records in a month it's like that stupid spotify ceos it was like you gotta keep putting stuff out it's like that's not how music works you dumbass we're not making yeah aren't you like diluting music if you if you're so focused he doesn't care about that he cares about making money i know but you're

diluting the music scene if you're just like forcing creation i can't remember the number but some insane amount of thousands of songs get put up on spotify every day it's like guys you don't all have to be making music most of you are terrible come on let's then this is a this is a podcast about optimism well just keep your hobby a hobby everything doesn't have to be some money grab where y'all make a little money you're diluting it for me and my friends who are real musicians. I flew in early for this, Nick. Yeah, you did. I flew in early.

Well, prove me wrong. I could have done the podcast with Jim Gaffigan and here you are just being pessimistic. Just because you have Ableton doesn't mean you need to put music on Spotify. Okay, okay, okay. We got it. God.

Who hurt you? No one. I'm doing great. Really? I'm still right about that, though. You are kind of right. Just take your time. Okay, here's my motivation.

Put out art that you're proud of. Don't put out art because everyone's forcing you to put out art. I had this weird existential dilemma thinking like, oh, am I doing this too fast? This is how I work. And I'm writing good stuff, but don't overthink your art. No, fuck that. If you want to put out art, who cares? Fuck everyone else. Put out art. if you want to put out art who cares fuck everyone

else put out art if you want to put out art every month fuck it right if you want to call the stuff you're making art not you just anybody jesus all right we're done we're done we're done we're done you tuned in to the world's health 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 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 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.