Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 18: Mike Gantzer (Aqueous)

Episode Date: August 21, 2018

On a very special episode of The World Saving Podcast: Andy and Yeti attempt to solve the riddle of incest porn's popularity. Truths are revealed and embarrassment ensues. More importantly, we welcome Mike Gantzer of the band, Aqueous, on the interview hour! Listen and learn as we break down the basics of how to write a hit dubstep tune. Shawn and Andee sing us a real pretty tune dedicated to our favorite waffle rockers. This is Episode 18. Follow us on Instagram @WorldSavingPodcast For more information on Andy Frasco, tour dates, the band and the blog, go to: AndyFrasco.com The views discussed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the guests. Keep up to speed with Aqueous by visiting: https://aqueousband.com/ Produced by Andy Frasco Yeti Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: Jack Brown Adam Gold Alex Greer Shawn Eckels & Andee Avila Arno Bakker

Hey Andy, this is Tom Delford from Riverbend, California. You played our Family Fun Fridays event last month. As you remember, the contract had a clause in it explicitly restricting you from using profanity or making sexual references on stage. Otherwise, you'd face fines for every breach of contract. on stage, otherwise you'd face fines for every breach of contract. Well, obviously you decided to disregard that part of the contract as you went on to use a grotesque amount of foul language during your performance. Specifically, you said piss six times, shit 14 times, bitch 17 times,

asshole nine times, pussy 18 times, cock seven times, and fuck or motherfucker an astonishing 68 times. Also taking the Lord's name in vain, making illicit drug references, and performing a countless number of polygraphic gestures during the show. We also referenced a member of your band as a totem-loving beef bloom. I don't even know what that means, so we're not going to fine you for that, but I'll tell you, it just doesn't sound right. Anyway, after deducting what we paid you for the event, you now owe us $6,583. You asked me to call you before bringing this to your manager's attention So please, you know, just let me know how you plan on paying for all this

I prefer to handle it without getting the city involved, obviously Anyway, I'll look forward to hearing back from you Thank you Bye-bye now How are we doing? Welcome to the show. What's up, everybody? This is your boy, Andy Frasco.

We are on Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast with Yeti. What's up, Yet? Hi. How you doing? I'm doing great. You feeling good? Feeling fantastic. We are on the road.

We like to rent cars and follow the van so we can do podcasts while driving because we are fucking living life on the edge, brother! 85 miles, 82 and a half. If we hit 88 88 we might time travel that would be dope we're even smoking weed out here in illegal states because we don't give a fuck

fuck the police fuck the police we listened to Ice-T we did Ice-T is a fucking G oh my god that was a great interview

and I loved how uh Combat interviewed yeah and Rest in Peace good Rest in Peace Combat you know what I was thinking

while I was taking a piss At the Rest stop Middle of nowhere Or whatever Yeah yeah What is the most embarrassing Thing that's ever happened to you

Oh really Oh this is good I've been loving I've been waiting for us To talk about these things Because we've hinted at it But I've been waiting True embarrassment

Crazy The most embarrassing thing When I was a kid Was I went to a family reunion. I was like 18 or something. A family reunion on the East Coast. I'd never met these frascos before.

Or I think it was on my mom's side. I can't remember. But like first time meeting them. West Coast frascos. No, they're Connecticut. So it had to be. They're like, Connecticut Yankees.

Like, white Christians or whatever. Gotcha. My dad's side, Catholic. Oh, gotcha. It's your dad's side. Okay. So, oh, shit.

So, this cousin's like, hey, I'm Andy. And the first time meeting my second or third cousin. He's like, oh, this is my girlfriend. Or like, and then she's like, I'm not your girlfriend. Oh, this is my girlfriend. Or like, and then she's like, I'm not your girlfriend.

Oh, shit. Vehemently. Yeah, right away. Not having it. Oh, shit. She said that to you or to your cousin? To me.

I'm not his girlfriend. You said that about her and she came back at you saying I'm not your girlfriend. You were like, this is my girlfriend. No, not, no. The cousin said that.

Okay, sorry. I had to get the story straight. I got you now. I'm following your girlfriend. You were like, this is my girlfriend. No, the cousin said that. Okay, sorry. I had to get the story straight. I got you now. I'm following you. Gotcha. Your cousin brought a girl. I'm flirting with her now. Your cousin brought a girl.

I saw the radar. Gotcha. I'm flirting with her. Yep. I'm following. I hook up with her, blah, blah, blah. You guys hook up? Yeah.

At the family union. You fucked her? In a bathroom? I ate her out in a bathroom. Yeah. I remember she had the hairiest vagina. Ugh. But I look left, and it's my second aunt watching me.

Through the window? The door was open. Oh, shit. It was the one that's like really close with the nephew, or like the cousin. That brought the girl. That brought the girl. nephew or like the cousin that brought the girl that brought the girl and i am like fingers deep in a very hairy vagina did you slam that door shut and finish the job i was 18 we're so embarrassed they're like get out of there like god damn it oh fuck told my mom and it was really, Andy, you can't be doing sexual things at a goddamn family union.

The fuck you can't. Here's the thing. They should just be glad you weren't fucking one of your cousins. Well, I was going to get to that. Have you ever had, do you think you'd ever, can you fuck like a second or third cousin? So in Idaho, you can marry your first cousin. Wow. It's fucked up.

You can't do that in Utah. Isn't that weird? Here's the thing. I have, I don't have any first cousins that I would, that I would

do that with just because they're, they're my cousins. What about second cousins? Because I had, I had a close family. So like we grew up together. Yeah.

I'd totally hook up with a third cousin. Yeah. I would. I would. Yeah. I don't think it's that weird. No, it up together. Yeah, I'd totally hook up with a third cousin. Yeah, third? I would. I would, yeah. I don't think it's that weird. No, it's not. But…

I mean, fuck. I had a third cousin. You had a question? Had the same last name as me. And I was… Whoa. I was… It was really weird that I was having thoughts about her.

Like you had thoughts about her after the fact? No, just like sexual thoughts. I was having thoughts about her. Like, you had thoughts about her after the fact? No, just like sexual thoughts. I was thinking sexually. When you were younger? Yeah. I don't think that's weird. I mean,

I remember when I was young, like before. No, no, no. This isn't that much younger. So like high school. Oh my God. Oh, you're in your 20s? I'm in my 20s.

Oh my God. Hey folks, for those of you following along at home, Andy's over here I'm like, oh, you're in your 20s? I'm in my 20s. Hey, folks. For those of you following along at home, Andy's over here just giving me this side eye and nodding his head with that, yeah, you know what I'm talking about. I'm like, and I wasn't getting it because I'm driving, looking down the road, and I can't look at him.

And I look over, and he's just got this side eye look at me. Why do people like watching Step Sister Fantasy? And what's funny is all this shit is just bullshit. I've seen the same fucking milf in every stepmom video for the last 10 years.

She's fucking hot too. You got a taste, Eddie. But what is that? What's the psychotic... It's the Freudian... It's the forbiddenness of it. It's the taboo. Yeah. Did you ever watch that series taboo? I think it's good. Yeah. It was really good. He's talking about, um, at Hardy. Yeah. Yeah. He's just talking about how we got to what became what's become tattoo or taboo and and how well i was thinking about tattoos but um and and i mean you gotta think about it like as americans i mean you've spent time in europe like we're completely it's a night and day difference as far as what censored what is censored and what is considered public information and you know i mean so that being said i mean we came out i mean

the people who founded this country left Europe because they were prudes. Like this is fuck. They're the Puritans. There's just a fucking truth. Like, so that's why I just find it hilarious that people are shocked that Americans are so conservative, you know, and it's changing, but not, yeah, we're not anywhere near it. What's the most embarrassing sexual thing that's ever happened to you? Well, there's a couple. There's a couple

things that I would be like... It's like, duh, what were you thinking? She wanted to fuck you. Why wouldn't you... Why wouldn't you close the deal on that? There's a couple of things like that, but that's embarrassing now. Dang! The deed! Okay, fine.

Jesus fucking Christ! During the deed, there's been Okay, fine. Jesus fucking Christ. During the deed, there's been a couple times whiskey dick just show, you know, not happening. I tried to finger a girl once, but I was younger

and I just went straight for the asshole. How dare that been there? It's like, oh, fuck. It's like, whoa. I had a buddy do been there it's like oh fuck it's like whoa I had a buddy do that because it was when so when I was in junior high

or middle school the the overalls yeah the shorts especially were the thing so it was easy access right and that was the idea

and this buddy of mine he was like he was talking about how he's and he would always like keep his hand he's like it's fresh like he'd smell it afterwards and like i guess one time he was doing because it kind of smells like butt it can especially when so he comes out and he's like check it out like dude that smells like because he would share which was weird but also cool at the same time and i was like like, that smells like ass, dude.

And he was like, he straight up was like, oh. I totally thought he was going to sniff it. Yeah. Because the other, the last time because it had been a while and he did that before and it smelled like good pussy. So I was like, all right. So I was like, I'll trust you on this one. And I was like,

it smells like ass. And he's like, yeah, I'm pretty sure I wasn't in there. Makes sense. Because he was like trying to go from behind or something. I was like, I'll trust you on this one. And I was like, it smells like ass. And he's like, yeah, I'm pretty sure I wasn't in there. Makes sense. Because he was like trying to go from behind or something. I was like, how do you not find the labia majora and menorah and just like go there? I don't understand how anus feels anything like that. I walked in on a band member snorting cocaine off a woman's vagina.

Offer, like, like, like. Straight off her vagina. I'm not going to say a band member snorting cocaine off a woman's vagina. Off her, like, like, like. Straight off her vagina. I'm not going to say the band member. You walked in on a band member snorting cocaine off of. Oh my God. This is a great story, actually. The labia.

We were in Boise, Idaho. Oh. We had an old tour bus. That's my hometown. We had an old tour bus. Uh-huh. Like 1970, 1983 tour bus. And like, it was, it always broke broke down we were so pissed off we were

in boise it was broken down we played a show at the reef after the show i guess one of the dancers there's a there was like a big ass thing of cocaine eight ball cocaine fuck and i'm like oh shit this is crazy so we grab it I threw it to my old tour manager at the time I'm out getting drunk we parked the van about across the street from the venue so I'm getting drunk at the Irish bar

next to the reef you know blah blah blah Tom Graney's then it gets to 3am in the morning and I'm like oh everyone's probably in the bus already I go into the bus. I hear just like fucking techno music. I'm like, oh God,

they're having a fucking party. I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight. So I get in there. It's just one of our band members. The lights. And she was with like this straight cougar woman.

Like she had to have been like 55. Yeah? She was hot? Oh, she was with this straight cougar woman. She had to have been like 55. Yeah? She was hot? I mean, she was hot. I mean, I got in. I'm like, oh, I'm sorry, guys. And then I'm like, because all I saw from my porn was eating. One of my bamers is eating out this chick.

And then he goes like this. And there's cocaine all over his face. I'm like, oh, my God. That's awesome. It's the most rock and roll thing i just like i gave him the look i'm like you got this so i just smoked a cigarette outside just let me know when you're finished he had that look like the devil i was like oh my god you know like when you're all coked up. Like, now I don't. Oh, you don't be coked, but yeah. Oh, it was fucking hilarious, dude. That is.

That's some rock star shit. Yeah. It was great. And then she got out and like fucking, you know, did her thing. I'm like, have a good day. Later. Bye. She went back to wherever.

Back to her husband. Back to her husband back to her husband probably well did can we hear an interview I don't know why we ended with that one

I had a question what has you've hooked up with a lot of chicks yeah what's the strangest thing anyone's ever asked you to do punch them in the face

like while you're fucking them well like you have you had rape fantasies girls say I don't like that no punch them in the face. Like, while you're fucking them. Well, like, have you had rape fantasies? Girls say- I don't like that. No,

but have they said they want to have a rape fantasy? Yeah. Or they're punching me. I had this one girl. I don't want to name the region, but we were in the South.

Oh, okay. You just named the region. Anyway, we were in the south like I'm not gonna name the state I mean yeah obviously okay go

um and she's like do you mind if you just like choke me until I almost pass out and then I'm gonna wake up and I'm gonna start

punching you in the face kind of a rape fantasy yeah rape fantasy I'm like I'm not gonna choke you I don't I mean I was like, I'm not gonna choke you.

I don't, I mean, I was, you know, I was thinking like, God, this is, this is how it ends. I'm going to jail. People are gonna think

I raped this girl. I'm gonna kill her. And she's like, but I'm like, I guess you could like punch me and shit. Like punch me. And, uh.

She wanted to beat the shit out of you. She beat the shit out of me. She hit you in the face? Oh man, I had a bloody lip. She was biting me, like punching my face.

I was like crying. I was like, oh, my God. Stop. Please stop. Please stop. Please stop. But I couldn't say that because I agreed to it. And I had to man up.

Did you not establish a safety word? No. Oh, come on. Banana hammock. I was in the adrenaline. I was already like marinating. Yeah, yeah. We were hooking up, you know,

just like kind of like getting in, feeling what's up. Oh, you had, you were beyond blue balls. And she wasn't like not feeling it that much. I'm like, is something wrong? I mean, I could go, you know. She's like, no, you know,

I just got this thing where I just want to get fucking beaten the shit out of her. She just wants to, she likes it rough. Yeah. I'm like, I already know this is strike one. My dick's not big enough for, give her just wants to, she likes it rough. Yeah. They're like, I already know this is strike one.

My dick's not big enough to give her a, yeah, to properly choke her. Properly give her what she needs. And I'm just, I don't, I've never gotten in a fight before. I don't have aggression towards women.

I've been ingrained by my mom and my sisters. Like, you treat women with respect. You don't touch a woman. Yeah, it's society. That's not,

it doesn't matter. It's respect. No, it is. It is. I'm never, it's society. That's not... It doesn't matter. It's respect. No, it is. I'm never going to do that. That's never... Exactly. I agree. Sorry I didn't mean to pee on your bread.

You know, I'm going to punch... So she's like, I'm going to punch you up. So she did it. And she did it, dude. And I got back into the van with a fucking bloody lip. Like, what happened?

Are you okay? Did you get in a fight? I'm like, no, dude. This girl just beat the shit out of me. I mean, yeah, dude. I think about that a lot bloody lip. Like, what happened? Are you okay? Did you get in a fight? I'm like, no, dude. This girl just peed shit. I mean, yeah, dude. I think about that a lot. I still came. Have you ever had anyone, like, you ever been peed on?

No. You ever done the pissing? No? None of that? No. You ever had a mature group? Oh, but I've had a girl pee on me. Yeah, she peed on me.

But it was by accident. We were in the shower. I was 19. I went to Arizona State where they fucking party. Sun Devils. I think chlamydia was invented in Arizona State. Yeah, pretty much. But I was only five hours away.

So I was like, I don't know. It was like right after like maybe 19, maybe 18. Yeah. We drive five hours, six hours from LA la that was our party spot right to go disappear for a weekend so i we hooked hooked up with some you know girl sorority girl whatever and we were hooking up blah blah and um she peed fucking everywhere she knew she peed she had to got out of bed no she peed fucking everywhere. She knew she peed. She had to go. She got out of bed. No, she peed all in the bed and all on me. She wet the bed?

She wet the bed, but she was like laying on me. So she was like peeing on my. But you guys were asleep. I mean, I can never sleep with someone. No, no, no. But like it was in the afterglow. Yeah. Is that what you're saying?

Like of the, you guys had smashed and you were hanging out. No, it was like right after I came, she was holding on like this. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Like quivering

and then she started peeing. Oh, okay. I got you. I was in and, um, I'm like, I didn't,

I was just, I'm like, I thought we were just sweating. Like, oh yeah, that was great. That was great. That was great.

And then I fell asleep and that shit was pee I was rolling around in it and like ugh then I ugh

rolling around in it yeah that was gross but no one ever and no one's ever asked you to shit on their chest or anything like that not like what McAfee

like that documentary god that guy's a fucking weirdo dude god what I mean some people like warm feces on their, uh,

uh, let's listen to the next interview. Uh, hope you enjoy. We'll catch you on the tail end. They're going to think about shitting. Mike, I want to talk about,

I want to, I want to start this interview. I have a question. If you can identify your musicianship with three musicians or your guitar playing, who would they be? That's a good question, man. Probably say Steely Dan. Okay. Pink Floyd.

Okay. Maybe like, I don't know, I feel like I got to get some kind of indie shit in there like Muse or like Queens of the Stone Age or something because that was a huge part of my, like Weezer, you know what I mean? Like those bands were just as influential for me on guitar as like classic rock. When did you start playing? So like when I was around 11 or 12, I had like really exhausted the classical come up like my I play trumpet you know I'm saying and I really didn't dig it at all I didn't dig the structure I didn't

dig like the reading I wasn't good at reading I just wanted to like play something and so my dad had like a guitar lying around the house and I just like would pick it up when he wasn't at you know when he wasn't home I thought I like wasn't allowed to use it or something it was like something secret or something and I just was like immediately like completely enamored with it and like from there on out that's all I did I fucking dropped all of my hobbies and just who's your guy my like guitar guy yeah I mean at that point it was like fucking like punk music you know what i mean like like pennywise and bad religion and uh you know like that and then of course like pop rock that was just the era you know i mean i was doing like green day shit and like blink 182 and all that stuff what about like deeper root pop punk

like what like um what are these east coast bands like starting line um senses fail like was it yeah i was down with sense yeah yeah thrice right oh so it was like alt rock stuff it was a little bit of that i feel like for me it was more like whatever it was through skateboarding like whatever i was hearing through skateboarding you know like in music you know music videos or like like there'd be all these skate parts that had all this music and i mean i discovered so much shit that way like even like david bowie was like that's how the first david Bowie song I ever heard was in an escape video.

But also like tons of punk music. That was like the first thing, punk, you know? Because even the message, you know, like being a young kid and like, you know, I grew up like pretty poor and stuff. So when I heard this like whole concept of like, you know, kind of like, quote unquote, like fighting the power.

And you know, you're just an angsty teenager. That music is perfect for that. So that was like probably my first influence. Like the first song I've learned on the guitar was Brain Stew by Green Day. And I played it wrong, but I play, you know, and I was learning to play it, you know? And so everything for me was like, I learned by ear and, you know, that was just- Were you singing? Then yet? Yeah, but I was like, not like comfortable doing it in front of anybody, you know what I mean? Like, and even to this this day i don't feel like singing is like ever come nearly as naturally to me as the guitar has i feel like i can truly express myself on the guitar and vocals have been like just an uphill

battle the whole time but i work on it all the time and like that's a fucking mental thing bubba i well no you know i and i appreciate that i think that i'm finding my voice and finding my range and you know the more gigs that we do like playing shows with like bands like Turquoise and even like I remember we had like Natalie Cressman

on a show and stuff I'll ask them like questions about technique you know because for the longest time I thought it was some black and white thing like you're either a good singer

or you're a bad singer but it's not that at all it's like an instrument you know and there's like you know definitely a lot you can do to cultivate you know like getting

getting better at it and I never really thought about it like that. Now I'm learning about diaphragm breathing and all that shit because it's important to me. I really want Iqueous to be a band that's not... I feel like there's an ongoing joke about jam bands having bad singers and I don't want to

be a bad singer. I'm trying, man. Bro, I feel like these new age jam bands are fucking singing now. Agreed. Agreed. You guys, the Motet. Oh my God. You know.

Who else? Twiddle sings good. I don't know their music. Twiddle does sing good. Yeah. What's that guy's name again? Mahali. Mahali.

He's a great human. He's actually been super cool to me. I'm playing in Burlington next week. I'm going to meet up with him. Oh, sick. Yeah. All right. I want to go back to this punk rock culture though. Skateboarding, I'm fascinated in Burlington next week. I'm going to meet up with him. Oh, sick. Yeah. All right. I want to go back to this punk rock culture, though.

Skateboarding, I'm fascinated with this. So what did you like about the skateboarding culture that got you to inspire, to listen to punk music, inspired you to basically do this improv style music? I mean, I feel like it's all going back through the roots of this invincibility when you're a skateboarder dude i uh i think there's a lot of parallels between skateboarding music especially in the improvisational aspect like i i so basically my current instagram feed is like meme pages

and and skateboarding pages and that's almost it you know and i'm like great with that because skateboarding i'm like very inspired by. And I think there's a couple of things to take away from that. One of them is that in terms of improv, like these skateboarders show up in all these places that aren't meant to be skated at. And they have the adversity of like people

not wanting them to be there and like being looked at as a certain thing and all these connotations, you know, about them that aren't accurate, which a lot of times is the case with jam bands. And they like create something out of a spot and they come up with these unique ways to do these tricks down these mega stair sets

or all these crazy things and they're innovating all the time and breaking new ground. And it takes a lot of technical ability, but then there's also a lot of style factor. It's just like music. There's certain music that you hear that's super technical and impressive, but it doesn't make you feel something

yeah and then they're like in skateboarding it's the same way like there's these cats that can do shit like super perfect and it looks like out of a video game or something but there's these other guys that'll do it with so much like finesse and style and it just like looks a certain way that makes you go like wow like look at that, you know? And I think also, there's really something to be said about the fact that these guys fucking break themselves, like in a profound way to like, get this stuff. It's such a passion, you know, that I think any musician can relate to, you know, you got on the road for 10 years and you sacrifice everything and you get kind of beat up, quote unquote, and, you know, spit out by the road. And like,

these guys have the same experience. They go on tours, and they go out there, and literally, you watch some of these tries, they're trying to fly down 25 stairs on a handrail, you're going to get fucked up. And I find their perseverance truly inspiring. And for me, persevering through an experience of being a musician and trying to write original music and make a living off original music is a fight too.

And I find that that perseverance is necessary you know as a musician and i and i'm inspired specifically by skateboarding what are you fighting what are you fighting with when you're when you're writing music i mean what's in your head what internally fucking blockage do you have that won't let you be a complete open vessel yeah i mean that that's a great question man i feel like it can be anything. I think that you're, at least in my case, I'm definitely like my own biggest critic, you know, and I think most musicians are, I think most musicians that are down to earth and, you know, don't think they're like the greatest thing in the world. You know what I mean? I've, I've found that most of the great musicians that I've met or heroes of mine that I've met are not thinking that they're great.

They're thinking they could always do better and that there's always more. And that is so true. I remember hearing like a quote from Jimi Hendrix saying like, the minute that you're fat and happy, you're like fucked or you're screwed or something along those lines. And I think that's completely true. Like if you become complacent, you know, what's the point? You know, like if you're not breaking ground, you're not pushing yourself, you know? And so I guess for me, probably the biggest obstacle is just like, you know, believing in myself, you know, and I'm getting to a point where I feel comfortable as a musician and feel comfortable with like the purpose of, of, of what I'm trying to do with music. And that purpose for me is like to express something, you know, is to just write honestly about my experience as a person. And I think when you're young,

and you can even hear this historically in Aqueous' music, when you're young, you want to prove yourself as a musician as well. And so you write stuff that's maybe more out of a place of ego. And I think that that's a natural thing, especially on the guitar too, by the way. The guitar is such a stupid ego-driven instrument. It's really easy to go down that road. You fucking guitar players. Fucking guitar players, dude.

I wanted to be a drummer. I just landed here. What? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Big time, dude. From trumpet to drums or what? That's what I wanted to do, but I didn't have access to a kit.

You know what I mean? Yeah. Living in a poor community, was it hard to have a drum set? Yeah, I just didn't. It wasn't even ever going to be a thing. But I would learn. I mean, it's funny because I can sit down at a kit now and play a bit because I like got the concept. Like I understood the kick and the snare and the hat. So I would just emulate it on like desks and shit at school. And I found that that actually served like I could sit down at a kit and like play some stuff. And, you know, to this day, anytime I can, like after rehearsals and stuff, I'll be on Rob's kit or like just, you know.

Are you insecure yeah I mean I think that most musicians are somewhere deep down and I think that what's the insecurity about well I think that a part of growing up without things you know or without you know um a traditional structure without someone there telling you like you're doing great um you have so much to prove but you don't really know who you're proving it to and it turns out it's yourself exactly which is a funny a funny place to get to and the older I get I feel more and more comfortable and more and more at peace and where I was going with that whole music thing is like when you're young you want to prove your chops but that like becomes so unimportant like when when the older you get it's not about that. It's about creating something artistic and creating something that actually expresses

or reflects your life and trying to have an authentic statement. And so the difference between Aqueous' music in the very beginning, maybe being like there's certain songs that would just be progressive just to show that we could play that kind of shit. And especially the four of us never read any music,

don't know how to read. Like don't, I mean, the only traditional upbringing I had was at trumpet and I was like bad at the reading part. So I just abandoned that. And so everything is like, you know, we were all just like based off of feel and based off of ear, you know, just listening to songs that we liked and learning them.

And I think the older that we get, you know, you settle into just being comfortable with writing a tune. That's just a tune. And I find even my influences, like I'm listening to more Paul Simon and fucking Joni Mitchell and stuff that just hits you right in the heart. Because that's the point of life. That's the point of music. That's the point of art.

Do you think those guys overthought a guitar solo? Which guys? The Joni Mitchells of the world, those songbirds, or do you think they're more focused on the structure of the tune? I think that they live and breathe the structure of the tune. I mean, I think that there was a lot of stuff from that era that was way too focused. I mean, like a lot of the

70s music, like a lot of the super indulgent. No, I think that they were pretty tasteful about it and they were storytellers, you know what I mean? Even if it wasn't their story, and sometimes it was. You take a song like Deacon Blues and that's like a song of that like them sort of trying to like express their disdain for like you know whatever experience they're having is these like young hipsters like trying to yeah you know being out of place in the world but then you like you can

go to all kinds of 70s shit like like all like the stuff that spinal tap was making fun of yeah you know like the overindulgent like 20minute guitar solos and the guys coming down in fucking harnesses playing a keyboard solo or some weird thing. You know, where the purpose of the song is just to be like, I'm having sex with a ton of chicks and look how sick my guitar player is. Which is fine. I think there's a place for all of it.

But I think the older I get, I just identify much more with stuff that hits you in the heart. And getting back to that, you look at today's music industry, I think we're still the same lost soul musicians we've always been. We're just overthinking because we've had now another 40 years of fucking people doing what we're trying to do. Well, that's the other thing about songwriting is it's tough to reinvent the wheel. I is it's tough to like to reinvent the wheel you know what i mean i think it's it's important to like just settle

into the idea that you know you can create an original thought but that most of the stuff has been said and done so it's more important than ever to just try to figure out what your voice is and just do that because i think a natural a natural thing to do as a young musician is to emulate that's like the very first thing you do. You take your influences and be like, I want to be exactly like that. And it's a pitfall for sure. But every musician goes through it. And I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

But it's easy to be derivative, I think, especially without even, whether it's a conscious choice or not. It's just a natural choice, I think, as a young musician. And I think the older i get i try to like take influence but then make sure that i'm like really filtering it through my own head before you know what i mean like you don't want to just spit out something that sounds just like something else and it's easy to do that i think that's like too easy do you think you write your best songs when you don't overthink them yeah i i think that like what songs did you do that you that are like your fans love that are that you basically put a couple

minute thought to yeah there's well honestly for me like songwriting it's very strange i've never ever been able to sit down and choose to write a song really yeah like which i wish i could in one way too but i think that it comes from some other place which i think is beautiful like i and i to sit down and choose to write a song. Really? Yeah. Like, which I wish I could in one way. Yeah, me too. But I think that it comes from some other place, which I think is beautiful. Like, and I remember hearing like, Where? Well, that's, I guess that's the question.

I don't know if it's like, to get all mystical and heady on you. Come on, get heady, baby. I don't know if it's like something from, you know, just the universe. Like if there's some kind of like rhythmic pulse in the world that, and you're just some kind of transient,

like catalyst for those things or whether it's just your brain processing stuff and it just comes out when it's ready to come out. I don't totally understand. I wish I did. For me, it's always fucking four in the morning. I haven't slept. I'm super strung out.

I'm just like whatever. The show. It'll come to me then and i'll stay up all night like working on something you know um drive you crazy no because in those moments it just all comes it's all there it's almost like it pre-exists like it's when it comes it's easy it's waiting for you to be an open vessel exactly and and if i have to be like super strung out and tired for that then it just is what it is and i I guess I'm okay with that. But it's really interesting like how that's the case.

And everybody's different in their process. But for me, it seems to just come when it comes and it comes all at the same time. Getting back to songwriting. So when you think about melodies, do you think in a guitar? Do you write the melody on the guitar? Do you write the melody on the vocal line? Because I'm curious about your band

because you guys fucking fascinate me. Not a lot not a lot of jam bands i'm not really into a lot of jam bands no no no bruno no disrespect you know fuck yeah but it's just not my taste and uh now that i'm in this scene i'm just so fucking fascinated with how people write songs because i grew up writing songs because i was inspired by the Otis Reddings of the world. How do you write a song that's instrumentally based, that has a melody, that has a progression? What are you thinking about through that whole process of going through the wave that is your instrumental part of your song? Yeah, I mean, it's interesting.

I feel like a lot of our writing, especially recently, is ideally supposed to reflect the feeling of the song. And that's why you asked me maybe three think there's a lot to be said about trying to like musically express a feeling and and and and try to like find the the best way to say that thing quote unquote say that thing that you're trying to to get out um but for us it's a mixed bag you know i mean we all write you know and it's interesting like a lot of people don't realize like our bass player evan writes like a ton of our lyrics and like what and he can put you know i mean like he's the shy motherfucker the shy motherfucker i love that dude dude dude no he's amazing he's amazing i didn't know the piano player right piano player guitar player oh that's dave so dave also writes a ton of shit but

evan i'm talking about about Evan bass player and Mo what yeah the one we were working with yesterday yeah dude yeah I didn't know that yes

and he can't sing he just writes lyrics yeah right so basically he'll send me a song that's basically completely done with lyrics with no melodies though

so I'll get to go in there and create melodies for it which is amazing because I think when you're writing as yourself you tend to there's like all these, like you default to like, you know, your set, your sensibilities. So like you tend to have these like kind of tricks that you, that you can depend on. And it's nice when someone else's lyrics and, and, and chords come in because you

can like see it with a pair of like totally fresh eyes. He gives you the chords too. Yeah. Like he'll write these full compositions, but won't have any melodies for the lyrics. Fucking Evdog. Evdog, dude. Out of nowhere. So has it always been like that process with your band? So it's not exclusively that. I mean, I write a pretty good amount. Dave writes a really good amount.

And it's always collaborative. I think we tend to send each other demos that are probably 60% done. And then we bring them to each other and say like, okay, how do we put this over the top? How do we give, you know, make this ours? Cause I think it's always been important for us to not be too like locked into our own visions. You know what I mean? Like it's, it's, it's easy to just write a whole song on your own and be like, let's play it exactly like this, but that's not a band. That's

a solo project, you know? So it's important. It's always been important for us to like leave space for each other and leave space for each other's ideas. And, um, it's very collaborative with us. I'm very open and it's interesting, you know, we've been a band long enough that you, you sort of navigate some of those early issues of, of like ownership over songs or, I mean, it's really easy to get attached to a vision of your own song and then feel really protective over it. But the whole point of, again, being in a band is that everybody's ideas are there

and that's the sound of a band. You know what I mean? So we tend to, usually what it looks like is someone will make a demo. We were actually just talking about this earlier, but my demos used to be really primitive, like phone recordings of just like- Now you moved up, you got a laptop, baby.

I got a fucking laptop. I got a fucking MacBook. I got a fucking MacBook, dog. Saved up my pennies. Got that Young Aqueous money coming in. Young Aqueous money balling in, coming in deep. Thanks, Kunch. Yeah, right.

Thank you, Kunch, for that laptop, dude. Because that's definitely how that worked. Yeah. It's not. It's definitely not. because that's definitely how that worked. It's not. And so now I'm able to produce a more clear or concise version of what I mean.

Because it's so funny, especially not reading music, you get in a room with your guys and you're trying to describe what you're hearing in your head, especially to a drummer, and you just sound like such an asshole. Yeah, I do. So this part is supposed to sound kind kind of like, you know, like kind of Steely Dan vibe, like, but, you know, do it like boom, boom, you know, it's so hard to like verbalize

that stuff when you don't have the language of like theory and, you know, of like, like if I had gone to Berkeley or something, I would be like, okay, quarter notes on this beat, 16th note, you know? And I, it's funny because all of us have taken the time to learn theory on our own and we actually do that together as often as we can because I remember when we first hit

the touring circuit, we were doing a whole series of shows opening for Dopapod and those cats are all Berklee dudes. Hold on, Dopapod is Neil on the drums? Yeah,

Neil Froh. I fucking love that dude, dude. He's amazing. That band's dope. I like that band too. They're one of my favorites, actually. They sing? Yeah, they do. Really? In fact, when we met them, they were all instrumental amazing. He's an amazing human. I like that band too. They're one of my favorites, actually. They sing? They don't really sing.

Yeah, they do. Really? In fact, when we met them, they were all instrumental and then integrated vocal shortly after that. But they're actually, sadly, currently on a hiatus

right now. I heard about that. Yeah. But I'm hoping that they're going to... Rest in peace. Well, hopefully it's just temporary. Oh, it's definitely temporary. They're going to love each other.

But anyways, we started playing with cats like that and for sit-ins and stuff, they'd be like okay like you know if we go to like the four chord or the five chord you're gonna like

be cool with that and I remember there was a time early on where I was not gonna be cool with that because I could totally handle it

musically but didn't know the language of theory and so like I needed to like adapt so I was like

able to hang in these scenarios because I feel like I've always had like and the whole band has always had decent chops and stuff but you know it's funny if you literally don't speak that language, your opportunities are limited. So we learned, we became versed in that language

shortly thereafter. It was like a crash course. I had that experience once and I was like, I never want to fucking feel that way. What was that experience? Tell me. It was like, again, Eli from Dopapod, like asking if I would be down to sit in. And I was like, Oh dude, Oh my God, of course. You know you know like that sounds amazing I love your band and he's like okay so we're gonna like go to the

four chord here and then like a six here and I was I literally did not know what that meant which is funny because that is like how old were you

I was probably like 22 or 23 or something you know have you guys been fucking doing this well that's the whole thing with us man is that we started

so young and it didn't wasn't supposed to be anything we were just like having fun in a basement, learning what harmony was and playing Pink Floyd covers and shit. Go back to this Dope Pod story. And like, of course, once I got up there, I can hear that and completely understand what he meant and was able to follow and stuff. But for me, it's like I never, you always want to, you know, come correct to scenarios like that, especially with bands you look up to. And, you know, the further that we go, you know, some of the sit-ins and stuff like that become more serious or like more like the pressure is higher. Like I sat in with Mo earlier this year, which is like a band I grew up like being a huge fan of, especially. Yeah. They're from Buffalo too.

What? Yeah. They're like the Buffalo band besides the Goo Goo Dolls. Those are like the two like exports from this area that are huge. And Rick James too, don't forget. What the fuck? Rick James from Buffalo? Yo, should we go to his grave today? Yes. Alright, yo. Dude. Pound it, yo. We're going. Buffalo's rich with that

type of shit, man. Buffalo's pretty rad. You love Buffalo? I fucking love Buffalo. Tell me about it. All right. All right, I will. I mean, every hashtag you have is, I love this fucking city. Buffalo, you eating fucking chicken wings. I mean, everyone's like,

talk to Mike. He's the Buffalo guy. So tell me about Buffalo. Dude, it's easy to have pride for this city. I feel like people had a lot of assumptions about the city. A lot of it through, which is from sports. Embarrassments, for lack of a better term. I'm like people had a lot of assumptions about the city. A lot of it which is from sports

embarrassments for lack of a better term. I'm not a sports guy at all. I cannot talk sports. I'll always try to keep up by saying the word franchise a bunch and hope that that'll get me through. It never does. And there's fucking diehards out here. Well, that's the thing. There's something about Buffalo where people are just passionate

about being from this city and everybody here is so down to earth and cool mellow. And there's a great art scene and there's just nothing not to love about it except for the fucking atrocious weather. But for us, like a lot of my pride just comes from a gratitude towards our original fan base. That's from here. That is the literally the, the reason that I'm doing anything in music right now, because they would come, you know, it started off as like maybe a group of 10 people I could all like name because they were people I knew. And, you know, it just spread and spread and spread. And so many people from Buffalo went so far out of their way to connect us with people in other cities or tell

their friends. And when we come home, dude, people are like, there's such a pride about what we're doing. You know what I mean? Like to them,, we're representing this city as we tour and go out and play with all these big bands or do these big festivals and stuff. And that to me is a responsibility I take seriously because I really do respect the fact that these people were the first people to ever believe in us and get behind us. And I'll never, ever forget that. They're the best cheerleaders, dude.

I just had a brief of that. I just put the cobblestone with you guys and we added like 300 motherfucking people in a day. Dude, you played like pretty early too and it was a mega set. Dude. Well, I thank you, Mikey, because you came and fucking jammed out on our set

and we're like, okay, this band's legit. You gave the mic approval. The mic approval. But I want to, that's so curious because I think this is why you guys are such good musicians is because it's always

so fucking cold outside. You guys are trapped in a basement or a fucking, just fucking for what? Six months a year? Seven months a year? At least sometimes

it stretches to seven months. So I mean, we get like maybe three to four months at best of quality weather. Dude, that's fucked up. Well, that made you such good musicians though. Right, you're trapped. You know what I mean, we get, we get like maybe three to four months at best of quality weather. Dude, that's fucked up. Well, that made you such good musicians though. Right.

You're trapped. You know what I mean? You're trapped. What are you going to do? Exactly right. There's nothing to do. You can't get fucked up every day. You'd be an alcoholic.

Right. And that happens here too. It really does. But, you know, music like it can be the thing, you know, and, and honestly for me was like there was, I think it was like a twofold thing for me growing up. Cause going back to what we were saying earlier like I grew up in a not a great scenario like a lot of bad stuff going on one of the beer mix up I will and I think that there was just sorry we're day drinking today the cold weather, it's the vibe. You grew up in this poor mentality.

Sorry, we're day drinking today. It is halftime at the Enni Fresco interview hour. And now, a lesson in how to make anything into dubstep. I've had the time of my life.

Never felt this way before I swear this is true I owe it all to you Drop the bass It's this cold mentality. I just think you guys learn how to really focus in and dial in. Do you have ADD? I don't know. I feel like probably because I definitely am a student. I'm very high strung.

What do you think it is? What do you think is causing this anxiousness? I'm sure that some therapist could sit down and pinpoint exactly why we feel the way that we do. But I feel like a lot of musicians are anxious. I think it's just how that type of brain is wired. I don't know what it is. I feel like that brain is definitely drawn to the arts. It's definitely drawn towards creativity.

But it seems to always come with some baggage in terms of darkness or, or escapism or any of these like kind of concepts that I think a lot of musicians can definitely relate to. And for me, like guitar was definitely an escape. So between being locked in a room just anyways, cause it's fucking freezing and then wanting to get away from the scenario that I was trapped in for a lot of years, um, with just a tough, you know, family upbringing. Um, what were you running from running from? Well, just, you know, I mean, my mom suffered a lot of mental health-based illnesses and just it was kind of a disastrous scenario over and over. And we were moving a lot. Was she a single mom?

Well, yes and no. I had a pretty normal childhood growing up for the first eight or nine, maybe 10 years. And then my parents split. My dad kind of left. And him and I reconnected later. But we were kind of left alone with my mom. And she was not well. And so things were really tough.

She, you know, we, again, moved a bunch of times financially. How poor were you? Pretty poor. You know what I mean? Like a lot of times didn't have heat. Like know. How poor were you? Pretty poor. You know what I mean? Like a lot of times didn't have heat, like going to friends' houses for food, you know. In fucking Buffalo? In Buffalo, yeah. I mean, and you know, like, you know, cold showers in the middle of February.

What the fuck? You know what I mean? Food stamps, the whole nine. Food stamps? Oh yeah, like poor, poor. But, you know, on one hand, A, it can always be worse. And on the other hand, it was important perspective to have because as things started happening for me in a positive way,

long story short, I was able to get out of that scenario. And luckily, my grandma took me in. And literally, every part of my life improved, and I was able to thrive. Because at that point, I was doing pretty badly in school, just trying to take care of my mom and see her through. And there's just no way a 14 year old kid can like handle all that and still do, you know.

And so I was like doing real bad in school and stuff. And it turns out that like, you know, you take yourself out of that scenario, you work yourself out of that scenario. And, you know, there was so much motivation for me to do well. Like I felt like I was given a chance to escape that. And I was, and I did.

And I ended up like graduating from college with like an honors degree because I worked so fucking hard. You know what I mean? And that's, but that's the thing though, is like, I don't think I would have done that if I just had like a normal, you know what I mean? It's, it's hard to motivate. You know, it's, it's easy to, again, going back to the idea of complacency. Like, I think that there is something to be said about people that struggle through something. There's an appreciation. Like for me, it's always a profound gratitude for anything, even the simplest thing, just having a place to stay or having, you know what I mean? Like, and, and now as things are like in a great spot, like as I've, I've like worked

my band up, you know, and worked as hard as I can to make this band a thing. Like we're starting to see some of that pay off and seeing some sold out shows and seeing people all over the country connect with our music. That to me is like the biggest reward because I put everything I had into this, you know what I mean? Like I needed so badly to make like a positive, you know, impact in the world, especially coming from a bad spot. And this to me is, I feel a great pride, a sense of pride and also like respect for my bandmates who like, just, you know, were with me on, or have been with me on this journey and have like known me since that time and have been

like the people that I, it's their houses I was going to, you know what I mean? Like to get out of those bad scenarios. And they've seen all kinds of shit over the past decade and, you know, been right there with me and made sure that I was okay. And brothers fighting in the trenches in a, in a true, like deep way. Oh my God. You're, dude. In a true, like, deep way. Oh my God. You're an angel. I already knew you were going to be an angel.

Wow. Mike. Fucking crazy, man. So, do you think your grandma was your muse? I think that you could say that, yeah.

I mean, it's funny. She's like not a typical grandma in any way. Like, dude, she would come home later than I would. You know what I mean? Like, she would go-

Is she a young grandma? Yeah, she still is. Yeah, she's alive and kicking. She's like- Shout out to grandma. Shout out to grams, dude. She like- What's her name?

Tati. Hey, that's a cool name. Classic grandma name, dude. So what was she doing to keeping you to like stick with it through all these fucking struggles and shit? It was just- Cold showers. It was just a place of consistency.

You know what I mean? It was a home with normalcy, with just every single day I could wake up and we would just have a nice conversation and just positive reinforcement, not like that chaos, not like the bad shit or dealing with a person's really dark issues that they're going through,

which was my mom, unfortunately. And yeah, I just... You write any songs about your grandma? a person's like really dark, you know, issues that they're going through, which was my mom, unfortunately. And, um, yeah, I just, uh, you ever, you write any songs about your grandma? No,

no. I mean, there's definitely a lot of content about going through some of that, you know what I mean? Or processing that, or, or, you know,

I mean, that's definitely within the Aikwe's catalog, but maybe it's time. Maybe I write a symphony for grandma. You are at a point in your life where I feel like on stage right now, I haven't met you when you're – I didn't even know you guys had been doing this since 2006. Yes.

That's fucking honorable as well. I mean, we're road dogs. Big time. And like for someone to have that inspiration into your life where now you had the backbone to push your way into a fucking van and sleep in people's houses and fucking write songs that not sure if they're going to sell or not. When did you start getting a management?

When did you start getting a booking agent? What were the first five years of the band like? Was it chaos? Tell me the stories. Tell me some fucking dirt. I want to hear the aqueous that i never get i wasn't fortunate enough to meet yeah right right you know so i i feel like each era was was pretty unique um and you know the first five years for us was just being high school kids you know what

i mean like like a lot so you were a high school band yeah we started in 11th grade y'all best friends yeah big time i mean for us it was like skateboarding and mario kart and fucking just like kids stuff you know what i mean and it was playing rock pretty pure we just wanted to like play yeah play like we'd like cover like stevie raybon music so that right when we started i like was discovering fish and i like saw my first mo show and i saw it on free show and that was like definitely the foundation of the inspiration for the band because i saw i saw a mo concert it was like a free show they we used to do like basically annually down here and it like completely fucking blew my mind i was like wow like they like came out and played a song that was like they like dabbled in jazz and heavy

rock and you know kind of like fusion elements and they have a guy playing the fucking like mallet cat marimba thing i was like what what the fuck is this because when you're in high school it's easy to like break up music in all these like really specific groups people like love genre like you know what i mean they love they'll be like that's metal or that's goth or that's like you know all these labels and shit but the older you get you realize like music is just music and it's like it could be anything and for me seeing a band do what they did um fish this is mo actually because when but when i was getting into jam bands fish wasn't even a band yet like they were i mean they were excuse me they were not a band yet but they weren't a band anymore they were on their hiatus yeah see we're on that

we didn't get the the prime fish years right we're the same age yeah so go back to mo so mo was your but a local band like oh these guys are breaking the barriers yeah and i saw them doing the two guitar thing really well and dave and i had started to like play together a lot at that point we're trying to figure out how to like work as a team and it's funny because like i've played with dave i mean i'd only played guitar for about two or three years by myself before i met dave and every single thing since then has been us playing as a duo so we've always tried to like work as one guitar player and like create like contrasting by myself before I met Dave. And every single thing since then has been us playing as a duo. So we've always tried to like work as one guitar player

and like create like contrasting rhythms and soundscapes and just try to sound like one big guitar player, but like with our own unique voices and stuff. And Mo was like the first band I saw that was like doing that. You know, I saw it like live. Like I saw their show and I was like, whoa, like this guy is like doing like really staccato,

like bluesy riffs. And this guy's doing like really psychedelic, like, you know, delay based, like, you know, just, yeah, just like trippy shit. You know what I mean? And it was cool to see how they worked as a team, you know, kind of, and like before that, like my dad growing up had listened to like a lot of Almond Brothers. So I had that perspective, but it was cool to like get a chance to see a modern band like doing that or having their take on it.

And so like that, that was a big inspiration for us growing up. And especially going back to the idea of mimicking your influences. In the beginning, you can hear our early albums were so clearly informed by Mo. And even Umphreys and stuff like that. Because as we went down that path, Umphreys was cool for me because I was into heavy music, like punk music, and even some metal and stuff. And they go all the way in on metal like they don't give a shit like i and i was always like impressed because i think my first impression of the jam scene was fish and mo and it was pretty light and silly and kind of whatever you know like it's really fun but it's not like

there's not a lot of darkness or intensity and stuff shoot my nail off yeah shoot right off i'm very fascinated with this so Mo okay so let's talk about the touring years like when did you start getting into a van and said alright fuck it my band's good right

what do we got so like 2011 what was this 2011-2012 was when we were all finishing up college and like really oh so you went through college

yeah yeah yeah I went the whole band did the whole band did everyone has a degree holy fuck mine is in communications and I was actually going to go

to be like a guidance counselor. That's what I want to do. I wanted to give back because I had a, high fives, I had a guidance counselor growing up that like through some of that earlier stuff

we talked about, the bad stuff, helped me like navigate some of those changes and I like was influenced by him too and so I was kind of following that path

but once music like got in my head, that was all I was ever going to do and that's like, you know. So Dave has a chemistry degree and he

you know from Niagara University like top of his class super smart cat he's always been smart Evan has a degree in environmental science and was like

had gone down to like the Everglades to like study these ecosystems and shit like and y'all are smart motherfuckers

smart cats right so and he decided to make no money, become a musician. Yeah, I didn't give a shit. I mean, and that's the thing. Even to this day, our band is not motivated at all by money. I can tell.

I mean, you know, we're obviously like, it's funny. The older you get, the more of a necessity it becomes because you start having true responsibilities, like fucking rent and, you know, just like life shit. That's okay. It's inevitable. And that comes with the territory. territory and of course like you realize too at some point like you're worth that you know i mean you put the work and you should be getting paid but yeah 2012 i didn't give a fuck like i we were going on the road like i wanted to live on the road and just

and we did you know i mean it's funny kind of van uh okay that's a great question the first one ever was a 1991 Ford Eco line Ford Eco line which was sick because it was it was a conversion van you know what I mean so it had

it had like a 1991 TV in that bitch so I would I brought I brought my Nintendo you know what I'm saying I'm playing Super Mario World while we're driving to places

and just like loving did you pull a trailer not back then we used to put we used to like block the you know took out the back seat and just piled all our gear and we're driving to places and just like loving. Did you pull a trailer? Not back then. We used to like block the, you know, took out the back seat and just piled all our gear and we're just stuffing this little. So you guys are all in captain seats?

Oh yeah, big time and loving life. Like it was so exciting back then. And you're free. And we were playing probably about 170 shows that, you know, within the first two years of like really going out, we played more shows back then than we do now. Were you booking them?

Yes. Yourselves? Our drummer at the time, Nick, was booking was booking everything um just you know like figuring it out and trying to and actually a classic story i love this story this is one of my favorite things he there was this festival that we were on like really small festival doesn't even exist anymore i won't say which one it is um talk that shit this isn't this isn't here's that dirt here's that dirt um we literally like fish announced that they were gonna be doing super ball like one of their big fests that they do and we like decided we absolutely we were like mega fish fans at that point like really deep into it

and we like told the festival that we couldn't play because we were going to see we like told them the reason like we didn't it didn't even occur and this was i did not i didn't tell him the reason but our drummer like was booking at the time and like was just totally straight with them like he it didn't even occur to him to be like yo one of our members is sick we can't make this or something he's like we decided that we're gonna go see fish and we can't like which is like a no-no the biggest no-no like i i look back at that with such a deep regret and shame like you can't fucking do that. But that's like, those are like,

you know, like that's being a young band and like having no fucking clue what you're doing. You know what I mean? How pissed was the promoter? So pissed. It was like, it was like a four word response. Basically it could have been a two word response that fuck you.

Basically, which was so warranted. It could have been like, like, dude, they like, it was so stupid, but that's like us in 2011.

Well, you know what I mean? You got us in 2011. You got your fair band. You got your fair band. So the next couple of years are interesting because any musician or any band that's gone out for the first couple of years, unless you're some miracle case, can relate to the idea that you're playing for nobody, which is great because you need the opportunity to- How many years were you playing for nobody? At least four.

At least four. In all regions of the country. And every once in a while we'd have a win and the hometown shows would be great. And the regional shows would be all right. To make you keep going. Yeah. Yeah. Just, and just enough to not quit, but not enough to convince you like your family or your girlfriends that you're doing anything worthwhile. You know what I mean? Um, but you know, in your heart, like you can picture it and you can see the long game, you know? Um. And so, you know, it's interesting because the next couple of years saw some really tough stuff. Our drummer at the time, Nick, you know, who did like our Cycles record. He's like our longest, you know, period drummer.

And he's still one of my best friends. Like he's the best man. That's your first drummer, right? Yeah. Actually, he was our second. We had one that I started the band with in high school, Brad. And that just like didn't work out early on. And Nick actually was... Was the band always called high school, Brad, and that just didn't work out early on. And Nick actually was-

Was the band always called Aqueous? Yeah, like from minute one. And that's because of Dave and his chemistry shit. That's like a chemistry term. You guys are fucking smart-ass people. All right, keep going. So anyways, Nick got a girlfriend, and she wasn't into this shit at all

and totally fucked with his head and got him to quit the band, like ultimatum and all this. Yeah, not great yeah not great not great and I actually had a long time girlfriend that did the same thing and I was like

well I gotta do the band see ya it's okay though because you found your wife exactly congratulations thanks man and the wife is

super about it man that's fucking sweet she supports and it turns out those people are out there for any musicians that are worried about that you can find a person

there is your white unicorn out there, musicians. It's rare, but it's there. Ooh, God, that's a song. God! It's rare, but it's there. Go back to the second years. Come on, I'm curious about this. So Nick leaves, and our longtime sound guy,

the guy that, because we, early on, even when we could not afford it at all, hired a sound guy to do as much of our shows as we could because we realized that the consistency of having the front of house engineer for our style of music like having the right balance and giving the best impression we could every night we like someone i forget someone had given us that piece of advice it might have been delpopod it might have been turquoise i don't really remember but we decided to like invest in that person and luckily the guy that was doing sound for us at the time was like he had got into berkeley for drums didn't go because he couldn't

afford it and he knew all of our songs from mixing us for so long so he stepped in right so and this is the start of a pretty tumultuous period for our band in terms of the drummer thing it was like a spinal tap fucking thing so he um drummed for us you know for about a year and then ended up having like super bad like arthritis in his elbows like you know because again playing 160 170 shows a year and this you know all of our drummers like musically speaking you know we do get to play for four hours you got to play four hours a night and we play like pretty heavy you know there's a lot of stuff that's pretty intense and we'd like our drummers to hit that snare with some authority and you know and he did and and he just fucked himself way up just over the course

of a year so he was there for a year, right? And had to quit because he was in so much pain, couldn't play the same way and was losing ability, losing confidence. And so obviously we were already stressed out from like losing Nick and like that type of fluctuation in a band is bad for morale. It's tough to, you know, especially when there's not that many people at your like shows, you know, we're touring nationally, but there's, you know, you go toaho or fucking iowa and there's not that many people there and your drummer's like i gotta quit again second drummer within a year's period like oh my god so around 2013 i think 20 you know it actually does probably about 2014 2015 we found this local cat which was one of the

biggest mistakes you know i hate to say it like that but he was a great player amazing player he could play guitar as well maybe better than i could but was a that, but he was a great player, amazing player. He could play guitar as well, or maybe better than I could, but was a drummer first. But he was like, he didn't tell us he was like microdosing acid every day until we like got in the van with him and he was driving and like making some crazy decisions

behind that wheel. You know what I'm saying? I remember- So he took a little too much. Too much, yeah, yeah. And he was like, like he couldn't relate to him. You know how it is. I totally get it, dude.

The hallucinogens, like it's super cool. I'm like all about it. I'm like a big mushroom guy myself, but like, yeah, couldn't relate to him. You know how it is. I totally get it, dude. The hallucinogens, like it's super cool. I'm like all about it. I'm like a big mushroom guy myself, but like, high five on that too. But like, you know, there's a line

like where you just either relate to humanity or you don't. And it's fine. But this cat, like dude, he would literally, I remember him passing somebody on a road

that you can't pass somebody on, like going like 80 miles an hour with a van and fucking trailer. Like, and we almost hit a mailbox or almost hit their car by like 80 and he was not even phased dude he was like he like because i think in his acid mind he could like see it though you know tunnel vision and he had like he had it but we were all like oh my christ and he was like over there be like not even sweating but anyway so like a month later like he's learned our catalog by now

he's great musician but weird cat we were like having all kinds of weird conversations and experiences with him. We were in the middle of a show. And by this point, we're having, it's 2014, 2015. So we're starting to have some audiences around. And we're playing in Erie, Pennsylvania, which is an interesting town. I could go all day about Erie,

but he had taken Molly before the show, didn't tell anybody. And we were in the middle of a composed section of the set, you know, one of our songs, like composed section. And he just stops playing. And I... Yeah, he's our drummer. And you know, the drummer's got, he's driving the fucking train.

So I'm confused. I turn around and I kid you not, he's got his elbow on his fucking snare drum and he's got his hand resting on his you know, he's got his head resting on his hand on his elbow on the snare snare drum and he's got his hand resting on his, you know, he's got his head resting on his hand, on his elbow, on the snare drum. And he's just looking out at the audience and just not playing.

I don't know if he forgot that we were playing a show or whatever. And so I'm pissed, you know what I mean? Cause like we're in front of, I think, I think we had about 400 people at the show, which back then was like a pretty huge deal. And even today,

you know, certain markets, 400 people is great, you know? And, and, and for us too, it's,

you know, first impressions are, you know, and it wasn't a first first impression but you never know who you're playing in front of and for us that we really care about the quality of the show the quality of the set quality of the music and this motherfucker's like on tripping balls on molly back there fucking just rolling into town and like just staring out at the audience and we're like dude what and then so during set break i was like what, what's going on? He's like, oh yeah, yeah, I took Molly. He's like, I'm having a great time. I'm like, well, I'm not. And it's so funny because I pitched this. What time

of the set? What part of the set was this set? This was three quarters into the first set. So pretty deep. But only in the first set. He was holding it to go right. And so things like really transpired from there. It's funny. He had an idea for the set list earlier in the day. And I wrote that idea into the set list and I was walking, you know, before every set, Aqueous, we always like go through like game plan, you know, kind of a little

huddle and be like, okay, this is how we're going to do this, how we're going to do this. And I told him, I like walked him through his idea and he was blown away by it thinking it was a new idea. I was like, dude, that was your idea. You know what I mean? Like, so it was just, so, okay. So that anyways, long story short, he didn't last. And it's funny, we didn't fire him. He quit like two and a half months in like, and, and just like completely, you know, he just, he just completely abandoned the whole thing. Um, as soon as he finished learning the catalog. And then unfortunately my dad passed away like right during that time. And it was like one of the most stressful periods in Aqueous's history. unfortunately my dad passed away like right during that time and it was like one of the most stressful periods in aqueous history because my dad passed away and he sent the email the day after that saying he was going to quit and i'm like dude not now you know what

i mean like and we had yours uh that was at the very end of 2015 so not that long ago holy shit and so i'm sorry oh dude well that well that's the thing man i mean i i think that the story of any band is going to have its ups and downs, and some are more severe than others. But, you know, we just hit a dark time. You know, that was a dark period for us where we weren't happy with the shows because of reasons like that.

And the future was very uncertain, but we were starting to have some success with, you know, like audiences coming out and stuff. But within the structure of the band, things were rough, you know? I mean, me and Evan and Dave have been there since the very beginning and we're like, you know,

became even closer through that, but had to like really like really choose you know like I think that's the closest our band has ever come to folding but we really wouldn't we didn't want to do it we had a lot of music written that we couldn't work on because the drummer scenario we like there's we have so much more to say and do and we don't want to throw this away so we decided to persevere and this is interesting because Kunj um I didn't know Kunj at all at the time. I knew Live for Live Music, of course. They had already become really established as one of the premier publications. So what happened?

So at that point, we realized that there was really not anybody in Buffalo that we felt would, because there was plenty of amazing players here, but nobody that knew what it was like to sacrifice and be in a band. There was a lot of cats that do gigs that are great, but there's so much more to it.

I think in my head, weekend warriors, exactly. In my head, it's like 40% of it is the chops and 60% of it is like knowing how to handle your shit out here and like being on the road and staying engaged and, and, and you know,

and like knowing when to party, knowing when to not party and all those factors were, were serious. So it has to be a good hang, right? It's gotta be, it's you, that's everything. like knowing when to party, knowing when to not party. Exactly. And all those factors were serious. It has to be a good hang, right? It's got to be. Dude, that's everything. And especially for our band, because we were friends first.

And that's always been the vibe. You know what I mean? The music exists because of friendship, you know? And so we decided to go national with the search and Live for Life Music helped us do that. Which is funny, because I don't know if I know. Kunj and I have never even talked about this, which is so funny, because we're very close now. Yeah, you're a manager. Kunj is our manager, for those listening that don't know if i can't i've never even talked about this which is so funny because we're very close now yeah you're a manager kent is our manager for those listening that aren't you know don't know what we're talking about here um but so he helped us you know do this national search where we like put out all these like parameters of what we were looking for and

got all like we had like literally hundreds and hundreds of video submissions we asked people to like cover our songs and so we could like you know weed through them and check them out and uh you know so we found our current drummer and the drummer the drummer of Aqueous like our forever drummer we found through this search

and he was the very last one to come in we were super discouraged thinking we're totally fucked we had a tour coming up and like how many people gave you audition tapes?

I think like 180 or something oh shit you went through 180 drummers? your goddamn run in that would fucking drive me fucking nuts.

You wouldn't believe some of the ones we got to. And even just some strange shit. What was the worst one? Don't tell me names. I will never tell a name, but this one dude added. The drumming was already just okay, but then he added, out of nowhere, I never saw it come in a million years. In the middle of the video, it gets to the chorus of the song he covered,

and a screen pops up in the corner of the video, and it the chorus of the song he covered and a video a screen pops up in the corner of the video and it's him in a vocal booth and he added a third part harmony which honestly i i totally respect what he was trying to do but it wasn't like super good and it was like hit like we just like hold on so he added a third harmony onto your songs yeah like but that's awesome it was so funny you gotta give the guys some balls some credit the audacity alone I was respect points through the roof

but certainly not what we were looking for poor bastard spent like $500 on that video I think he did I know and I felt bad about that but anyways

Rob's came through and in the you know there was the first video that we were pretty blown away by like wow this guy looks pretty legit this sounds amazing

and so I got in touch with him he's a good looking dude he's a great dude um he turns out to be like the coolest dude fucking ever and it was so weird is he from buffalo no he's from cincinnati and he moved you know he moved his whole life from cincinnati to buffalo to do this and his his passion has spoke for itself and his musicianship has elevated our band not only did we like i mean i feel so much gratitude for him dude like i i really do because we were so close to having to throw in the towel even though we didn't want to weren't ready to and he completely saved our whole shit and not only saved us but amped us up like he literally like built our the quality of our our show up maybe five times because he he was versed

you know i mean his background was that he was like a funk drummer for this uh a record company called coal mine so he was like a studio cat for this uh a record company called coal mine so he was like a studio cat um i don't know i know they're associated with like i know they've worked with like orgone and like oh it's like a funk band funk yeah funk act so he like was really versed in that but also loved like heavy stuff and it was so weird dude like at his audition we connected immediately it's like like even as people but more importantly as musicians well maybe not more like actually less importantly as musicians but he it was so well maybe not more like actually less importantly as musicians but he

it was so strange like we were like it's as if we'd known each other forever we were like laughing at the audition like about shit that was happening to the improv section

like I would go to throw out a rhythm and he was like already right on it and it was just like felt like fate for sure holy shit and since that moment

so we have spent a lot of tumultuous years like playing to like you know half empty rooms or completely empty rooms and all this drummer fluctuation and the stress and all this anxiety and this and that. And finally Rob came in and from that moment on things have just been this like beautiful, you know, knock on wood upward trajectory. And it's nice because we've finally been able to do what it is that we've wanted to do, you know, and see our vision through and come out with new songs and write new songs and write a whole new album.

Because we finally had the structure within the band that's so solid. And we finally found our crew too. We found our front of house engineer and we found our tour manager. And it's just a really beautiful, after a lot of years of struggle, I've come to a truly beautiful place. It's that release. It's the release.

You'll never always be, you know, it's not always going to be bad. If you keep, man, this is like a fucking sports movie story, dude. Let's go over this. Okay. I really feel like this is like your ex-girlfriend. When your ex-girlfriend broke up with you and you felt like, oh, what the fuck am I going to do? This is like your drummer. It's the same full circle story of like waiting and fighting through the storm to find exactly what you're looking for.

Exactly. We were always headed towards that place. We just didn't know it. Exactly. And there's such a lesson in there, just even in life. What's the lesson? Tell the people. Yeah, I'd say for anybody listening, the perseverance is the thing.

If you really believe in something, fucking see it through. Even if there's no hope, you got to find the hope. You know what I mean? Like in those silver linings, I feel like they're always there. Sometimes they're harder to see. But man, at least for me,

I'm so glad that I stuck with it, you know, because now we're in a position where we're able to like have a career and we're all best friends and having the experience of still finding joy in those dark times just as friends and now where we get to just be those friends but still and and have to experience some level of success or and success can mean anything you know i mean of course like we're stoked when we have sold out shows or bigger you know you know packed rooms and

this and that but for me success is like peace within the band you know what i mean and like and just hallelujah you're speaking my language. And just like being, you know, where we're just in a zone where everything just feels right and natural. We're working on music and we're excited about the music and feel-

Open vessel. Open vessel, baby. That's what it's all about. Mike, what a fucking life, man. Let's go over it. Yes. Poor man. Going through whatever he had to go through to believe in something called music

yes bass player becomes fucking tom marshall drummer becomes superman yep and through that you've guys made it through the storm and look at you now yeah i'm fucking packing Peach Fest, packing out Cobblestone, having a local fan base that really brought, really keeps inspiring you to go out there and fucking go out

in the fields again and fucking work it out. Yeah, man. I'm proud of you, man. Appreciate that. We've become friends and later quick friends. Just from Jam Cruise.

Just from Jam Cruise. You know? And I still can't think about, can't sleep sometimes thinking about you're hanging out on the side of the stage and I didn't get you on stage at that fucking jam session. I still think about that because I promised you. It really does. Sometimes, like I'm a man of my word and I want people to respect that I am, I'm not just saying things to blow smoke up people's asses. Yeah, yeah.

And to, I just. I get that. I mean, I can a thousand percent get that sense about you. And I love you, man. Probably one of the most legit people I've ever met. Yeah, dude, I didn't even think about that twice. And plus, you also just had me up in Buffalo and that was pretty epic. Dude, I've been, I mean, I told you this in the beginning of the interview.

I, it's hard for me to like a lot of jam bands not because of their musical talent it's just I I look for different things in shows of course and like I really love your band like no bullshit you're dope and I'm looking forward to this friendship I can't wait to hear this new record whenever it comes out in the next couple months or whatever. I'm just really excited for your career. And yeah, I'm proud. Thank you for having me, for being on the interview, man.

Dude, absolutely, man. I really appreciate that. Follow his band, Aqueous. If you don't know them, they're fucking dope. If you don't know them in the jam scene, you're fucking delusional. Watch the band, see the band.

You'll love these guys and they're just sweet guys and, you know, Western New York represent the best. We're out of here. We're out of doing it. We out.

Now, a message from the UN. Here's a little ditty about Jack and Adam A white New York rapper and a cheap Jewish man. Jack's beating them lyrics the best that he can. Adam plays keyboards, counting money in the van. Email the two rows off, even after the chicken and waffles are done. Even after the chicken and waffles are done Ooh yeah, 50% off For all touring bands that stay in our lives

E-man, the two rolls on Wow. Wow. Wow. Talking about being peed on to an heartfelt interview. I had a, you were talking about the chick. The show goes everywhere. God. You were talking about the chick that wanted to beat the hell out of you. Yeah.

And I was going to say, I was hooked up with a chick. I was telling you about this, but I hooked up with a chick. And she was a Latina chick. Yeah. And I was going to say, I was hooked up with a chick. I was telling you about this, but I hooked up with a chick and she was a Latina chick. Yeah. And she was very fierce. You know, she was all about the nails, scratching and all this.

And she kept like pinching and really biting my nipples. Yeah. And that doesn't work for me. Like I'm not into pain. Yeah. And who knows, it might be now,

but I wasn't then. And I was like, hey, stop. You need to stop that. And she wouldn't. Like I'm not into pain. Yeah. And who knows? I might be now, but I wasn't then. And I was like, Hey, stop. You need to stop that. And she wouldn't, she did it again. And I was like,

seriously, this is not working. And then like, she did it one last, it was the last time. Cause I was like, all right, you got to go.

Like, sorry, I'm done. Like, I can't do this. Holy shit. So yeah, that,

that was, it was embarrassing in the sense, I was embarrassed for her. Like, the fuck, you're not that fucked up. Like, how the hell are you not listening to me right now? I'm not even listening to you right now. That shit was boring as fuck, dude. Listen to our podcast.

Thank you for listening. Subscribe. Instagram. Frasco and Yeti. Frasco and Yeti. Find Yeti, a girlfriend at IamYeti. Go to his Instagram. He needs to get laid.

Slide into my DM. Slide into the DM. He's a sweet man whose most embarrassing moment is not getting up. Is not. Not what? Your most embarrassing

sexual moment is just like having a flaccid dick. That shit happens on the regs when I'm on whiskey dick. No, I totally get that. But that's, yeah,

I haven't had anything that's like, I mean, I guess that you can't losing my virginity. Like, yeah, that was like embarrassing. Anyway, we've got a website.

FrascoYeti.com For tour day, it's go to AndyFrasco.com That's it. I think we gave you a lot today. We've learned a lot about our sexual endeavors again.

We appreciate you guys listening. We will catch you next time. Comb your hair and wear a condom. Peace. Well,

thank you for listening to episode 18 of Andy Fresco's World Saving Podcast with Yeti. Produced by Andy Fresco, Yeti and Chris Lawrence. Please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes and Spotify

so we can make this a worldwide phenomenon. For info on the show, please head to our Instagram at frescoandyeti. For more info on the blog and tour dates, head to andyfresco.com. For more info on our guest mike gancer from the band aqueous head to a-q-u-e-o-u-s band.com aqueous this week's special guests are adam gold jack brown alex greer sean eccles flo Floyd Kellogg, Andy Avila and Travis Gray. And remember, we are like water. Follow us and you will go down too. What? What? Andy! Ah! Andy! Andy! Shit! Ah! Asshole!