Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 243: Halloween Special w/ Michal Menert (Pretty Lights) & Luke Bemand (Lespecial)

Episode Date: October 31, 2023

Tricks & Treats are abound tonight as we bring to you a World Saving Halloween Special! Michal Menert opens the show under the heat of Nick & Andy's interrogation. Insane near death stories, paranormal ramblings, and Pretty Lights trade secrets are revealed. And why Andy doesn't sleep in his bed anymore (ghost residue, obviously). Then, we welcome bass guru and Lespecial hottie, Luke Bemand! Watch your footing as you strut down those streets in your cute little outfits tonight. Or better yet, stay in and Watch this episode streaming now!! Psyched to partner up with our buddies at Volume.com! Check out their roster of upcoming live events and on-demand shows to enrich that sweet life of yours. Call, leave a message, and tell us if you think one can get addicted to mushrooms: [phone]  Check out our new album!, L'Optimist on all platforms Follow us on Instagram @worldsavingpodcast For more information on Andy Frasco, the band and/or the blog, go to: AndyFrasco.com Check out our good friends that help us unwind and sleep easy while on the road and at home: dialedingummies.com Produced by Andy Frasco, Joe Angelhow, & Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: Arno Bakker Planned Parenthood

And now, your Planned Parenthood moment of the week. It's the Batman Motorsport! Batman! You know Batman? The fucking superhero! Give me! I'm not! I swear to God, I'm calling your father and you're punished! Give me the god damn receipt, you fuck! That's much too much for a display of power. How much is it, Mom? Five hundred dollars. Five, five, fuck, get in this... Take it back!

No! No! No! Five, five, five. Take it back. No, no. Did you just make the fucking $500? $500. $500. And we're back. Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. A Halloween special. Yes, baby.

We got the ghost man himself. Michael. Mennon. Hi. Hi there. Hot from Pretty Lights Tour. Wow. The boys are back in town.

The boys are back in town. It feels great, honestly. How's the tour been? It's been amazing. I mean, you know, doing four hours a night, three nights in a row. Fuck. That's a lot. With material that like we're trying not to do any repeats really. Wow.

For the whole tour? No, no. A weekend. A weekend. The first three weekends we did. So the first like 30 hours, I think we only repeated six songs. A weekend. The first three weekends we did, so the first like 30 hours, I think we only repeated six songs. Holy shit.

That's a lot of material, dude. But we're also like fishing out in the sense that we're doing like 23 minute version songs. Right. But it's cool because we've deconstructed stuff and we have a formula for basically being able to experiment

and do a different version. I've never seen so many grown men cry at a fucking concert. Pretty Lights is back, baby. Let's go. We're back. People are so excited. You guys are back. I loved watching it in Denver.

And my buddies were at your show at the Salt Shed in Chicago. And they're just like... I didn't grow up listening to Pretty Lies. I didn't know the magnitude you guys have towards the scene. It's pretty amazing. Well, and for me, it's amazing to be able to come back to something that I was kind of, you know, originally part of and then was, you know, friends with And in the same On the label and all The crew was together But for the longest time

These songs kind of Unknowingly, subconsciously became a soundtrack To a lot of my formative years as a musician And a touring artist And to be able to have a chance to recreate them live And give them a new life With my best friend It's magical

You don't realize how much songs that you've heard kind of passively or just shows that you opened up or whatever. You know, your friend's songs that you may have been on tour with multiple times that you didn't really have a part in creating and all of a sudden you have a chance to kind of reinterpret them. And it's like this thing where you realize like, man, this is like this beautiful story

that I get to like keep adding on to. Right. Yeah, what was that like when you got the call from Derek? Did you see your phone? Like, oh, fuck. We were working together for a while before that. He's been working on shit since the hiatus in 2018

and I've been going down there without any, like, hey, we're going to be pretty lights together again or what this is. It's still very loose and I don't want to talk too much about it because I don't want to talk too much about it because i don't right i don't want to disclose too much of the story or whatever because i'm sure that there's a you know the team wants to tell it right and in a certain way and i only have my perspective you know right um but i mean really like derrick has spearheaded so much of like the visual and the the live stream and just all of the way that the

things interact with each other and just like finding a way to make you know basically taking the time off to be like what did i not like about what we were doing what i what did i like what did i want to step up towards and i mean that's what makes i think pretty lights above and beyond so many other electronic groups that have the same sound or similar sound or similar aesthetic is like he cares so much about all the other aspects than the music just as much as the music you know yeah it's like most people are like yeah i'm just gonna have some visuals some lights or whatever right whereas he's like he has a real vision from start to finish and he's always had that i remember when we were first starting out and he was talking about going on the

road by himself and stuff and was like you know tell me all these ideas for how to like have an led wall before anybody was touring with that you know and i was kind of like that's crazy man like i couldn't even envision you know i was like i didn't see what with that, you know? And I was kind of like, that's crazy, man. Like, I couldn't even envision, you know? I was like, I didn't see what the value was for a fan, because for me, I was always more about the music and the performance, but it's like, with Electronic World, it's like the performance

sometimes takes slightly a backseat because you're not playing every single part of every song, you know? A lot of times, it's kind of like a mix between DJing and playing on top of stuff and then reinterpreting it and whatnot. So being able to have a companion piece visually I think is amazing. Damn, was he like one of the frontiers

of having an LED light board for a DJ? I feel like... Holy fuck! Now everyone it's like industry standard to have an LED board. You can't even DJ if you don't have an LED background. Yeah, I mean I remember his first headlining tour in the country was playing like three to five hundred person venues don't have an LED background. Yeah, I mean, I remember his first headlining tour on the country. It was playing like 300 to 500 person venues.

He brought an LED wall. It was one of those things where it was like taking a slight hit to be able to bring this production that then everyone's like, I got to see it next tour. So he's a genius in that sense, as well as musically. And it's just being able to be a part of it and kind of see it from behind the scenes. I appreciate it so much more than when I was like,

when it was just me and my friend fucking around. All right, so before we talk about the first show, what was the first practice like when you all finally got in the room again? I mean, the practicing, we had multiple things where we'd have different members kind of come and we'd deconstruct a song. And I'd have the original sample

chopped into little one-shots on SP-404. I'd have keyboard sounds that were similar to like I have a Mellotron I'd kind of mimic some of the more organic like the pianos and the strings the vibraphones that kind of stuff you know organs and then Borm would have synths and stuff like that

and we would just try to see let's take the training wheels off see if we can create this song in a format that's fun and flexible but doesn't just sound like a band kind of covering with, you know, with Casio sounds. And it was amazing. And I mean, we rehearsed for the whole summer,

like a lot of weeks or six days a week, you know, 10 to 12 hours a day in this warehouse. I was talking to Borum, like you guys were practicing. We were practicing. And a lot of it was like, you know, we prepare a lot of stuff. You know, we go back and forth, me and Borum, me and Carnes, was like, you know, we'd prepare a lot of stuff.

You know, we'd go back and forth, me and Boram, me and Carnes, me and, you know, me and Derek. And it wasn't just like we were just all playing instruments the whole time. It was like we'd basically do all this prep, and then for a few hours, we'd have like a swirl, where we'd just kind of take a thing and do like an extended, you know, almost ludicrously long, like, you know, version of a song to kind of just see where it can go. Being able to communicate and have Derek kind of guide the way of where he wants it to go.

Seeing like different places where we can take it in terms of like reinterpreting, you know, being able to have like a lot of things middied out so you don't have like

the warp of time stretching so then we can like slow things down and speed it up. Without changing like the sound of it. We have a few different techniques that are implemented. We have

our own mixes so we can listen to ourselves playing something before we send it to his mix. Oh, that's cool. And then we also have a secondary mix of the band where we can all go into it. So you can mute yourself? We can all write a B part on the fly while the A part's playing and be like,

Holy shit, you guys are legit jamming. So you're saying you can like... It's like so much improv. Oh my God. You're saying you can like mute what you're playing live so you can test it out and then send it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So only you can hear it. Yeah, so we have a mix that has like the click track, the talkback, the master mix,

the alternate mix of the band, and then our own mix. Wow. You know? So you can just be like, oh, maybe this will work, but you can make sure. It's funny because a lot of people are like, you guys seem like you're faking it because they'll see us playing stuff and hear it. But a lot of it is us just trying to find new parts and new places to take it every night. So when you feel like the part's ready, you send it to Derek.

Yeah, just to talk about it. Yo, I got something. I got a vocal sample. I've been able to just drag samples in and kind of pitch them live and do a bunch of cool stuff. Yo, this is sick. You just have a hard drive up there? You just have all your vocal samples?

I pull stuff every time. A lot of times I'll have something ready and right when I'm ready to do it, we switch. Have you sent it to Derek once? He's like, nah, this is trash. There's definitely times where people aren't feeling it like I am. Yeah, yeah.

But it's like, you know, I try not to get an ego involved. It's just like, we're all just trying to do some cool shit. You're like, yo, I got this Pavarotti vocal, man. Let's put this shit on it, bro. Wow. So now walk me through your first show. Were you nervous? Oh, we were super nervous, man.

I mean, I have a guitar that I hadn't played really. I mean, I tracked a few little lines on albums, you know, but it wasn't anything where I played through a whole song. And I brought it to rehearsal and Derek's like, yo, you gotta play guitar. And I was like, you've had like Krasno and all these great people. And I'm like, in the

headphones, like, okay, these five notes work. I'm just gonna... One thing I learned about working with mentors is like, if you don't want to play something on stage don't bring it to his house he's the same way so you play flute now by the way wow so you got out you guys walk up on stage how was like did you cry like i feel like i thought i was gonna cry but it was just it was honestly like i mean because we were at the first bank center that whole week rehearsing and then then we had half a day off. We had rehearsals that night.

With the LED wall rocking the whole thing? Oh, yeah, the whole thing. Because that's the whole thing. We're trying to rehearse it. Everything. Like dress rehearsal. Yeah. And even in the warehouse, we had the LED.

We had Jack, Anti-Alias. We had him. And then Laser Shark would fly in sometimes. And they would do rough renders of the light show so like we had a few of the lights there but you know it was like it was all being built in in unison so it wasn't just so it wasn't like music and then the visuals it was like no we're doing this you know we have like these connect things that do point cloud real time but you don't need lights on so you can have like real-time video of us even in the dark do people understand that

you're doing all this live? I think so. I mean, I think after they see a couple shows and they realize the different versions, they have to be like, this isn't pre-planned. I mean, at one point, yeah, you just have to look at what's going on and be like, okay, there's no way they could have pre-done this. It's not possible. I mean, we prepped like 70 songs in the summer,

and the first weekend, we played like 12 songs that we didn't prep. We were walking up on stage and being like, okay, this is in B minor. I knew the songs from listening to Pretty Lights but I didn't have anything ready. I got a synth, a mellotron, a guitar, and a bunch of samples that I can tune to different keys and we're going to

make this fucking dope. Who's freaking out the most? Probably me because I mean... Bormley's so good at improv and he's this fucking dope. Who's freaking out the most? Probably me because, I mean, I mean like, it's because like, you know, Bormley's so good at improv and he's just, you know,

he's a master. He's played with, you know, Warren Hill, Kanye, Modest Yahoo, Break Science, you know,

all these people and he's just, you know, he's at a super high level. He's like a music director of the whole thing, you know, so it's like,

he understands things so well and can just be like, okay, cool, here's something cool on the roads. Here's a cool profit. You know, that kind of thing. And, you know,

Alvin Ford's the same way. Alvin Ford's a fucking monster. He's a beast. Like Derek will be like, okay, there's a dropout that's like a five count and then like the next time it's a 13 count

and, you know, that'll be like paying attention and then we hit the song and he hits it perfect. I did have one question about the drums actually now that we're there. Is he playing all electronic drum pads? He has

a live snare and some live cymbals. But there's a lot of electronic drum pads, right? So is that like samples from the record that are in his... Yeah, and we just kind of, we picked like 16, just because it fits on the pads, you know. Different pads, or different selections of drum kits.

And the cool thing we have him doing too is he has a tuned 808. So he has like the S4DS where he can change the key and then do the 808 with his kick. Oh, that's cool. And so sometimes he's playing the bass. And sometimes Borm I feel like is playing synth bass too, right?

A lot of times. And Borm has a MIDI clip for all the songs. I mean, it's a crazy thing. But I was the most nervous because a lot of times and Borm has a MIDI clip for all the songs. And I mean, it's, it's, it's a crazy thing. And I don't, you know, but like I was the most nervous because like when I came in, I was like, Oh, I get to be back in this band. I wanted to be in a backup part of again,

but it's like, what the fuck do I do? Was there any animosity or nothing? No, man, Derek's been super, I mean, we've been super close and it's just,

you know, we're, we've grown up with a lot healthier than we used to be both psychologically and to ourselves and to others. You know, we were, I think we And to others I think everyone's kind of Found a little more humbleness In their nature and their interaction and appreciation He looks good

He's great and just the love I feel from him Is amazing I couldn't ask for a better situation And that's I think why I felt even more stressed Because I was just like Everybody else here has a part He has parts in the songs I'm like doing show one and that's, I think why I felt even more stressed. Cause I was just like, everybody else here has a part, you know, his car is a DJ. He has parts from the songs.

They've done this before. I'm like doing show one. I don't know what I'm supposed to, I'm just going to do stuff on top of it. You don't want to do too much. Noodle, like three notes on a synth on top of an existing pretty light song that everybody loves.

You know, it's like, I was just kind of like, at one point I had a meltdown. Like, what am I doing? Like a week or two into the, into the,

the prepping and the rehearsals. I was like trying, I spent like an hour trying to find like a new sample or something for the prepping and the rehearsals, I was like, I spent like an hour trying to find a new sample or something for this song and I just couldn't do anything and I just like

started having that panic attack where my eyes started tearing up. I think Derek saw it and he came over and he's like, how you doing, man? I'm like,

uh, I'm fine. I think I should maybe leave. And he's like, you got this, man. It's like, you don't always have to be playing something.

There's a lot of magic you can bring to a performance without playing notes. You know, it's like you can bring energy and kind of like, you know, leave spaces for people. And I mean, one thing about the way that I play instruments is I try to play like a producer rather than a soloist. So it's like I'll find like those, I'll be the guy that's like, boom, boom, boom. Right. Boom, boom. That's, boom, boom, boom. Right. Boom, boom. That's all it needs, you know? Right.

Rather than having a sequence that can be live and I can do some filters on it, you know? But it's like, I don't feel slighted by being the person playing the most simple part,

you know? Look at maturity. I fuck with maturity, baby. We're growing. Damn, Michael, that's so awesome. And I would like, I would have fucking cried. Being back with your boys.

I thought I was going to cry. I think it was just like, it was so overwhelming and so joyful. And you feel the joy in the room. I was like, mission, I'm going to cry the first night. This is such a huge moment for me. And it was just like, it was just so badass to be up there and just to feel the energy of everybody. And like, because we didn't know how it was going to go. You know, it's like, there's a lot, I've seen a lot of people in this realm.

Right. And even, I've even seen times where Pretty Lights has gone on tour with a band and people be like, oh, I wish you the DJs. You know, just like people just have their own version of like when they were the highest on ecstasy and that's when the music made sense the most, you know? Kind of true though. And so it's People are recreating these memories that probably aren't even accurate. I remember when Derek DJed at Six Hours, maybe

once at a festival after party or something, but that wasn't a common thing. That's one thing that's amazing. People are experiencing you on drugs, so The heightened experience of it is so intense that when you come back, there's probably

a lot of... Parasocial. Yeah. It's kind of like they better step up. 2008, bro. The fucking fest. These guys are... It's like, you're not as good as you were in 2008 either, fan. Yeah. And when a project that had that much you were in 2008 either, fan. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well,

you know, and, and when a project that had that much of a, you know, like a cult following. Magnitude.

And magnitude and such a huge amount of detail in the performance and the production, when that goes on hiatus for five years, people just assume like,

oh, they're coming back with their magnum opus, you know? So, so it's even more pressure to be like, you don't want to just be like, hey, check it out, here's the same songs people just assume like, oh, they're coming back with their magnum opus. So it's even more pressure to be like, you don't want to just be like, hey, check it out. Here's the same songs. And especially like

you're starting in Denver where it's like, fuck. The opus of opus. I would have started in like fucking St. Louis. It was funny too. We spent like two weekends in Colorado. Oh yeah, because you did Dylan right after that, didn't you? Yeah. So now that you have a couple

weeks under your belts, Chicago, now you guys are feeling comfortable now or what? New York was a turning point. New York was a time when like, because, you know, making the sets and prepping them every day has been really stressful for Derek and we've been trying to, you know, me and Borum and everyone kind of trying to give him

some help and advice and camaraderie when he's doing that on the day of the show. But, you know, New York, because of the whole scheduling thing with the flood, we had an extra day at the end, and we were doing a Monday show. I mean, when's the last time you did a Monday show? Dude, I don't know. A long time. Oh, that's right. You did a Monday show.

And it was like... In New York? In New York. Holy shit. Was that because of the flooding or whatever? It was the flooding, you know? And so that night, it was like the one night where, you know, it was like, he was like, I don't have a, I have songs I want to play.

I don't have them in an order or a set. I'm like, cool. Let's just fucking call it. Let's just call it. I'm just grateful to have that shit, you know? And just go from one to another how it feels. Oh, now you're fucking comfortable. Now you're just here like, yo, we're going out.

And that was still second base, dude. And that was the night, actually, like right before our first set, I went and FaceTimed my mom Because she was in hospice And she was unresponsive And my wife was there taking care of her And she was probably going to die soon And we played

Fly Away Another Day The Time Has Come All these songs that felt like They had All things come and all things go And then we ended with Finally Moving And two minutes before Finally Moving all these songs that felt like they had, we had a song that says something, all things come and all things go. And then we ended with Finally Moving. And two minutes before Finally Moving stopped,

my whole computer glitched out. In a way where the screen was frozen and shit like that. And I walk off stage and I get a text that's like, your mom just passed away two minutes ago. So it was like this crazy thing where like, and she died during an electrical storm in Fort Collins where there was like lightning and all this stuff. My cousin was driving there and her,

all her electrons in her car turned off when she died. Oh, I remember this story. So it was like this crazy thing where it was like, I was like, what the hell is going on with all this gear? It's never done this before. It's not like it's just frozen up because it's CPU. It's just randomly like I'm trying to move the mouse and it's two seconds later it's moving.

Hold on. Hold on, hold on, hold on. You were saying you were improv-ing this these four songs set like not even knowing and all these songs about death yeah like enjoying the moment happening then after that last song your mom died yeah and it was and it was called finally moving so it's like she's finally moving on you know so it was like this whole thing where it's you believe she was in your computer i believe i believe you know she was in your computer? I believe, you know, she was in the electrical field all around us.

You know what I mean? Kind of thing where it's like, I mean, we're all electricity or vibration or whatever you want to call it. You know, we're all movement of energy. And I think that she was just transitioning into like the plane that knows no boundaries. Right.

Michael, this is why I have you in my house. Because I think I have ghosts in this house Yeah? Do you feel ghosts? I feel something, man There's definitely a presence Like Where do you feel?

Right here This hallway And like in my room I don't sleep in my bedroom anymore I sleep on the couch every night Yeah, I was feeling it when I came up the stairs Really? Like a little energy

What have you experienced? She's harmless Yeah on the couch every night. Yeah, I was feeling it when I came up the stairs. Really? Like a little energy. What have you experienced? She's harmless. Yeah. I think she's a she. But she'll watch me when I sleep and I always wake up at 3 a.m. every night. Yeah. It's fucked up.

Yeah, I mean, you know, one thing I noticed about ghosts is I feel like the fear happens more when you start thinking about it. When you wake up at three, it's not like you're freaked out necessarily. It's like when you're like, oh shit, it's three o'clock again and I woke up and I feel like I'm being watched. Unless they can do something more than just turning on and off lights and whatnot. I don't think their physical plane power is very

strong. And so it's like, I think if you just, I mean, maybe talk to her. I do, but I'm a little nervous. What if it's just me? What can I say to her? Just express that like, hey, I'm harmless. Just say that you're comfortable

and, you know, if she needs something, you're happy to help. I fucking knew there was energy in this room. That's why we have this motherfucker here. Thank you so much, Scott. Michael, give me some... Were there any ghosts following the Pretty Lights tour? Were they big fans?

Were they there at pre-show? No. We have this new song that we made. My buddy Paul, he's the Paul Basin that goes by Primeform. He kind of started with a sample and gave it to me and then I was like, yo, Paul's got this cool thing. We should collaborate with him with Derek.

And so we ended up calling it Chasing Rainbows because it's got this sample that says sunset means another day's gone by and I'm still chasing rainbows in the sky. For a moment, there isn't any better way. And this fan, when we did dylan we played that song and a rainbow appeared and he lost his partner um recently and their whole thing was rainbows you know like the rainbows like mark these moments and and he was like you play that

song and the whole thing about like for the moment there isn't any better better way you know i i gotta try you know sunset means another day has gone by and i'm still chasing rainbows in the sky right at that time the rainbow came down and he said he could feel his partner there. He felt like this closure. Where he was like, we used to go to pretty light shows and this is the first time I've gone to one by myself

and I felt kind of weird. All of a sudden, I just felt her there with me. It felt like I didn't have to worry anymore. I can't fuck with this shit. I'd be very scared. You fuck with it. That it's like Andy gets scared So I'd be very scared You do fuck with it Because that's beautiful Music is spiritual

Right It's like I mean you feel it man It's like There's times on stage Where you feel almost like possessed Or when you're in the studio Where it's like

You go through this wormhole Where you're like creating And creating And like five hours later You're like I don't know what the fuck I just did But we have a song Right

Holy shit So that's like It's funny though You guys Your relationship with ghosts is different. Like, you're much more scared

of them. Michael's more like, yo, what's up? They're just like in the room with them and it's like, we're all here chilling.

You know what I mean? But the one at your old house was kind of scary. Well, for me, it's like, it's like the reason I like horror movies.

You know, it's like, there's something kind of, ooh, you know, like tantalizing about being spooked, you know?

Yeah, yeah. And it's like, I like that. You know, it's like, even if I get scared, it's like,

there's something cool about that. And it's also just like, you know it's like i even if i get scared it's like i there's something cool about that and it's also just like it's i like being scared it feels good sometimes i mean especially if like if you're not in danger yeah if it's just if you're just scared because you're startled kind of you know it's like um a little adrenaline and it also kind of you know it's like we all i mean i believe in you know something beyond what we can see you know there's energies and things in the world and just coincidences that aren't coincidences and happenings that are so perfectly timed between people, whereas you're just like,

there's no way this could just be an accident. Things like the presence of spirits or feeling the residue of something that used to be somewhere when you go to a place of something that used to be somewhere when you go to a place.

Like, you can go to old churches and you can feel it. Oh, for sure. You know, so it's like, it's not just necessarily a ghost presence. It's like the activities and the energy people put into a place, it stays on the walls, you know? It's like cigarette smoke around the paintings, you know? Yeah.

You ever had any ghosts, like, after your set with Prey? It's like, man, that was a trash set. Yeah. Just like... Just like... Bro, I'm dead and I didn't like that. No,-dialysis, like, man, that was a trash set. Just like, bro, I'm dead and I didn't like that. No, but that's what like, but you talk about all these times,

like, okay, spirits are just there. But as any spirit, like really startled you. I actually had a steer. See, I have this foot issue that's been going on and off. I'm about to get an MRI. I've gone to an orthopedic specialist, doctors and all this stuff. For a while, I thought it was gout,

you know, because I'm a big dude. I eat and alcohol, but I checkedic specialist, doctors and all this stuff. For a while, I thought it was gout, you know, because I'm a big dude. I eat and alcohol, but I checked all the purine and all, you know, all the levels for it. And it was all within reach. And they did some x-rays and found some bone spurs when I used to skateboard. But when I was in New Orleans working with Derek last, about this time last year, right? I was staying in this apartment that was like an old brick and mortar kind of Airbnb down in like the

business district but it was an old building you know and this one night there was just all these crows just calling I was like outside my window you know like just a murder of crows in this tree just calling and like I was like I don't want to fuck with crows I don't want to startle them but then like after

like after like two hours of not being able to sleep and just hearing them I went to the door the window and just pound on it right and then I closed it was like a big blackout blind so I closed it they flew away and I laid down and right when I laid down I heard this in my room like

gasping and I jumped up and I was like I thought Bourne Town was in the other room playing video games or something. I opened the door. He's been asleep for two hours. I'm like, what the hell? And I go back to sleep and I wake up the next morning and I can't walk on my ankle.

My ankle's just like, it just hurts. It's this crazy pain. And I had this scratch on my back where I was just like, what the fuck happened? New Orleans is incredibly haunted, I feel like. What? And crows are like the you know the the gatekeepers between the yeah the worlds you know why aren't they fucking with

borum why they gotta fuck with my boy michael maybe he's not as open to it though like maybe because they know i can take it yeah really you know and some people aren't that's fucked up you have a shitty ankle i've had a shitty ankle before that but that just was a time where like i was like you know i was like jogging with Derek I was being healthy You know I wasn't drinking I've really barely ever drank you know And been taking care of myself for the most part Better than I have ever before

And like I was down there and Literally just woke up and I was like I didn't do anything crazy to my ankle And I just like I could barely walk What was the scratch like? Was it like nails or? It was like two or three little like scratches Like right here down the thing

It was like past the point where I could reach There was nothing rough in my bed This girl Pearl I was dating She She says demons scratch her all the time All the time? Why demons?

Or like whatever a ghost Cause she's the one who first said to me Hey There's something here in this house So people feel this shit dude whatever, a ghost. She's the one who first said to me, hey, there's something here in this house. People feel this shit, dude. How old is this house? This house is from the 70s. 1970s

to be clear. Fuck, dude. What about the next day in New Orleans? Did it come back? Did you feel anything? I didn't feel anything. The crow shit is wild. The crow shit is very wild I love crows

And you know I know that crows I can remember faces And they don't like people Flirting with them So I try not to Like if nature's doing its thing I'm gonna let nature nature

Yeah But it was just after two hours And I'm just calling on stuff I was like I'm not gonna hurt them If I just bang on this window And kind of shoo them off But literally like

It was like They were just They were there for a reason And I fucked with that And then You know The spirit world Fucked with me fucked with that. And then, you know, the spirit world fucked back, fucked with me back. That's how I felt, you know? Oh my God.

Did you, you didn't see anything. I didn't see anything. I just, it was just like, you know, I was on this side of my bed, the windows over here in between the bed, the window in the bed, it just sounded like someone was in my room and it was, I didn't have a fan or anything. It just sounded like a big inhale, you know? And I was just like, what like a big inhale. I jumped up and turned the light on and looked around.

I looked outside to see if maybe there was an aerosol can. Anything that could possibly be like that. New Orleans is kind of haunted. It's definitely the most haunted city, I think. Also, with all the voodoo and

the Caribbean culture rituals that have come over and are still practiced. And the way that they treat the dead and the way that they have these celebrations when people die instead of just mourning. The culture there is definitely a lot more

welcoming to spirits rather than like, shoo shoo, go to heaven. So what's your take on death and spirits? I mean, I think that my take is this. I think that our own consciousness plays a big part of

what our afterlife is. So it's like... Like if you don't want to die? Like if you don't want to die, you could be in limbo. If you feel like you're a shitty person and you didn't want to die? Like if you don't want to die, you could be in limbo. If you feel like you're a shitty person and you didn't make amends with stuff, you're going to go to hell in your mind. You know what I mean?

It's like you're going to be in this tortured state until you can find a way to come to terms with the things you've done. If you have made amends with people that you've hurt, if you've been a good person and helped, I feel like you can die with a clear conscience and you can ascend to whatever the greater plane of existence or dimension is. Wild. That's my feeling.

I mean, when my dad died, we were staying at a family cabin that he built up on the Colorado-Wyoming border. And me and my wife were in the room that my mom and him used to stay in. She was staying in a different room because she didn't want to stay there anymore. We were all with the family. We woke up and he had written his name in the dust on the mirror.

Yeah, fuck all that. See, I'm not into that. I like it. That gives me anxiety just thinking about it. If you just think of them as nice people. I don't know. What part of it makes you anxious? I don't know. I feel like they're just going to...

I think of exorcists. I don't want them to be in my body and controlling me. I think it's a different thing, though. Really? I think it's different between... Wandering spirits and the deceased from the human realm, I think, are different

than demons and conjured dark entities. You know, I have a friend that's like studying like shamanism and really deep into this whole world of just like the, you know, beyond what we see. And, you know, his teacher was saying that right now is a crazy time on earth where there's a lot of change happening. You know where there's a lot of change happening. There's a lot of turmoil. It's like we're in the chrysalis phase

of being a caterpillar where it's ugly and juicy and gross and things are kind of stirring and you don't want to look at that right now. Humans are figuring out how to be better. Some of us are figuring out how to hurt each other. So it's like this era of change. So there's all these interdimensional

galactic travelers that are coming here to see what's going on and to kind of like pay attention and to try to you know put their fingers in the pie and so that's what's happening right now i think is that there's like these interdimensional travel that's why there's so many aliens coming over here and like and and he was talking about how like there's you know like like he's saying especially with weed, weed opens you up. Because we're all lights in the spirit world. We're just these beacons.

But things like weed, because it opens you in a certain way, it really attracts these hitchhikers that hang on to you. And he says, everybody's got these hitchhikers, these past... Damn, I want to get high now.

I don't. That are the things that sometimes make you feel sad or make you, you know, like, give you, like, the bad feelings when you're like, I don't feel bad, but why am I feeling bad, you know? Right. Like, and so, you know, he was kind of explaining that to me that, like, right now is, like, a really, you know, it's an era of, like, peak overpopulation in the spirit world and on earth because they're all here to kind of like... Check out the show. Check out the show and the ones that are mischievous are trying to see if they can tamper with it. And a lot of

the darker ones, they feed off of fear and negativity and violence and conflict. That's me. They're feeding on you, Andy. I'm being last. I'm like, shoot, devil. They try to feed on me and they're like, there's nothing here. I'm dead inside already. I can just, I'll just take this over, actually. This is mine now.

Wow, this is wild. So do you think you can now go to heaven or the next entity because you and Derek are homies and on tour now? I mean, you know, when I got stabbed, I was

going into the phase of, you know, your life flashing before your eyes. And I think that's why I'm not afraid of death. And I think that's why I've had more visitations from the spirit world or more just awareness. Yeah, you talked about it in the last podcast, but why don't you do it again? So what I'm saying is, you know,

I was stabbed in the chest and I was laying there bleeding out and my legs started going numb from the loss of blood. And I was just like, this is it. You know, like I just thought, I'm stabbed in the chest and I was laying there bleeding out and my legs started going numb from the loss of blood and I was just like this is it I just thought I'm stabbed in the chest it's not stopping bleeding I don't know if it's through my heart or what not it's like

it feels like my life force is dimming and it wasn't you always think oh man I'm so scared to die it's going to be so stressful but it wasn't it was like this very peaceful thing it's calm because I think your mind

and your psyche just goes like this is happening you know it's like you know it's like anything else like you can stress out

about having sex with someone that you've really attracted to for the first time but then as soon as like it starts your body just kicks in like oh

this is what we this is like the one thing that I know how to do from birth yeah right so it's like it's that for birth. So it's like, it's that kind of thing where it's like, you can psych yourself out, but once you're in that moment,

your brain isn't thinking that anymore. So you're, when you're, you're bleeding out and you're just, you weren't, where was your life flashing before your eyes? My life was flashing before my eyes. And I was just kind of like,

like to me, it felt like, you know, the, the desk clerk in my brain was just like, all right, this is the last shit we got to file before he's ready to go.

It was kind of like your body. And I've read this about people that are, I saw this with my dad on hospice when he kind of found out that his, when they came in, my dad was super jovial and making jokes and stuff like that. And five minutes before they told him

his kidneys weren't going to work anymore, he was like, don't worry, it's going to be fine. They got, you know, I was like getting emotional and they came in and they're like, sorry, Mr. Mentor, like, you know, your only kidney has failed. There's nothing we can do.

You're going to die in a few days. And he just sees him shut down and go inward, you know, and just go start like preparing psychologically and all, you know, just putting everything in order so he can leave this plane. And I think that's kind of what you do. It's not scary. It's not, it's sad because we miss people, you know? But I don't think for that person, it's sad. I think that they just know that like, okay, cool. This is, I'm about to leave on this really dope trip to, and nobody knows where it really

goes. So I'm going to get as prepared as I can internally and kind of like go through stuff. I mean, honestly, my only thought at the time of what I wanted to do is I was like, hey, if someone comes by with a cell phone, I want to call my girlfriend and tell her I love her. You know, that was like the one thing that I was like, wanted to do with my life still. Yeah. I was going to die that night, you know?

But I wasn't, I mean, there was, obviously I was a little bit scared or anticipating like, this is going to be kind of fucked if I die, you know? But it wasn't this overwhelming like, oh my God, you know, panic. It was just, you're just like, cool, this is happening, you know? And I could either like sit here and be a baby about it and get hysterical, or I could just accept it and try to use this time to feel life for the last time, if that's what it is. Ever since you almost died, has it been easier to not take life for granted?

Yes. It's been easier to not take life for granted. I always compare it to the extra ball and pinball. When you're playing pinball and you think it's over, and they're like, oh, extra ball. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's what it is. You know, it's like I already, I had come to terms with I was going to be dead.

When the doctor got me in, he said I have a 50-50 shot, and if it went anywhere near my heart, it's probably over, you know? And they couldn't tell until they cut me open. So I was like, it was just basically like, here, we're going to put you under, and if you come back out, we did it. Right. I had the same thing in my first car accident, but totally different because it was a head-on one where I was, I remember thinking, oh, so this is how I'm going to die as I'm rolling over.

You realize, you almost think like, it was more my thought was like, oh my gosh, I know how I'm going to die now because you don't ever know how you're going to die. That was the one thing I remember being like, not excited, almost excited about. I was like, oh, this is it. And then I didn't die. I mean, I think... It was so weird. I just came to and I was like, I thought I was dead.

One of your biggest regrets of life. I know, exactly. Been uphill ever since. So if you're looking for spirits to come on you, not like literally come on you, just attach to you. Get some dialed in gummies. Shout out to dialed in gummies.

Grab yourself some dialed in gummies. They are from Colorado. Megadose. If you want to really see some spirits, go grab the 50 milligram ones. If you want to just have a little stony trip, grab the 10. They're the best in the business.

So shout out to Dialed and Gummies for this special ghost episode. It reminds me of Joey Cocodillas. He has a thing where he's like, I'm going to take fucking 400 milligrams and see the devil. He's got legendary dosage. Wild shit. And you should really watch this

on volume.com. Head to volume.com. Live streams. Are you guys And you should really watch this on volume.com Head to volume.com Livestreams Are you live streaming any of these shows Or are you making them experience All of them are 100% live streamed And we have like Cameramen and drones flying through I saw one of the live streams

And I was like this is a dope recap This is like what's happening right now Oh crap it's like video quality Dude I've watched like your recaps. Whoever's making your recaps, that dude is a legend. Oh, it's Lane Kelly and it's also Isaac Schultz, who's Derek's nephew. Oh, my God. It is so good.

Like, I was like, damn, this is like a feature film, dude. That's what I'm saying. And like the live streams are like that for like a lot of the shots because we have these guys with these high power cameras just going around and like capturing capturing these really cinematic wide-frame lens. They're doing all those fractal things over it, too.

The whole team is amazing. The whole way it's being presented is it's like... It's not something that's like, oh, this just costs a lot of money. It's very well thought out. It's a way to do something that's magical that even if you had a lot of money, you couldn't recreate without the team that we have and the people that are

dedicated. Michael, you're fucking glowing, dude. He's back, baby. Our boy's back. Let's go. Seriously, anytime you want to be on this show, please come on. I'd love to, man. You're the best, dude. And you know, I know how dude, he was fanboying so

hard at your concert. I like it. In Colorado. Michael's one of the four artists I'm actually a fan of. know how... Dude, he was fanboying so hard at your concert. I like it. I like Michael. Michael's one of the four artists I'm actually a fan of. And he's one of the people that after the show, I'm like, who do you think? Because it's like... Because you know I wouldn't lie to you. Oh, yeah. And I'm not bashing music fans, but it's like for the longest

time, I sat there and valued my own personal worth on people who I wouldn't take like, hey, what hat should I wear? Advice from. You know what I mean? I was like letting them decide how valuable I was to myself. It was good. I went to the third night of Mission for reference. If you guys want to judge if I went to

a good show or not, okay? And I did. It was fun. That's the whole thing too for me is like, you know, we've had music friends that have gone out of their way to go to shows, you know, and people that I know a lot of times have hilarious takes on a lot of electronic music and stuff too,

you know? So, so, so to be able to have my friends that I look up to and feel like less than in terms of like technical, technical ability, you know, like to have them be like,

dude, that was awesome. Yeah. It was a lot because it's like, um, you know, PL fans they have so much love

for the material already that they're gonna they're gonna find the things that they love in the night anyway but when it's someone that isn't just a fanatic

that hasn't gone to 50 PL shows you know that comes to that and is like and is also making music and also knows what goes into it and when they're like

dude that was fucking dope that means a lot to me because it's like that means that we're not only hitting the mark of people that don't know what's going on on stage, but people that can see what we're doing are also impressed. My whole thing was it was just nice to see somebody come back, and it doesn't seem like just a cash grab.

You know how these bands always come back, and you're like, oh, my God. It's the opposite. I was like, damn, are these guys losing money? Did they sell 5,000 tickets at Mission and come out in the red? I mean, you think about it. We had to get all that stuff off the opposite. It's clear. I was like, damn, are these guys losing money? Did they sell 5,000 tickets at Mission and come out in the red? I mean, you think about it. We had to get all that stuff off the ground. So we had three months of people being on a base salary and rehearsing every day with no shows.

And on top of that, we had people building out the production. Greg was getting all the codes for the lasers. It's like all this money that goes into it. And it'd be different if it was like this we had a tour a year ago right it's like a lot of things would already be in place but this is like you're taking a spaceship and building it yeah from the ground you know from scratch you gotta build it before you get paid to fly yeah so you know we all went into this uh with an understanding of like we all want to be here it's not about the money it's not about like whatever. We're willing to sacrifice our

time and ourselves and everything to give the most we can to it. Do you think it's going to change your approach to your solo music in some ways and your solo tours? Definitely. I've learned so much just being around all these people.

I'd have to be a complete idiot to not let it change me. This is an awesome thing. I'm not going to let this affect how I dick around on stage ever. Well, this is beautiful. Go see Pretty Lights if you haven't yet. How many more shows do you have this year? If you can get a ticket. We got sold out instantly.

We got two shows at Hula, two headlining sets at Hula. First festival set? No, we had Cascade. Oh, Cascade. The power generator blew out its first song, and then we couldn we had a cascade oh cascade the power generator blew out it's first song and then we couldn't get everything synced

and then like at one point about halfway through the set I look out in front of house it's completely dark and then I look up

and like our you know we have like half a million dollar production thing and it's dark on stage there's just like a couple house lights

but like but what's crazy what's crazy is like you know like did you still play oh we still played yeah yeah but you know it just it it it makes you feel unconfident even if you're killing it because like

there's a whole thing that we're doing and when there's no video there's no lights and it's just us playing and all and half the shit that we're trying to play like the computers aren't working they're not syncing so we're like okay we're gonna kind of do this alternate version of this with what we have you know um holy shit so so you know like that was you that was one that was definitely like but you know at the same time it's like and this proves that i've had i've had shows where i've been like i oh that

was awesome and i've walked off stage people like yeah that's all right i like you and i've had shows where like i i was like i need to i'm gonna quit tomorrow and people like that's the best i've ever seen you you know and people are posting like this is amazing and doing videos of like when the lights were down you know and they were still just like this is probably the best so've ever seen you, you know? And people are posting like, this is amazing. And doing videos of like when the lights were down, you know, and they were still just like, this is probably the best. So it's like, you know,

it makes you realize that like, if as long as you still put your heart out there, it's not going to be a bad show. You know, it's just like when, like all the shows that I've done where it's like 20 people there, you know? Yeah.

And you can think about it being like, Oh, like they all think I suck, but no, everyone that's there is like, this is awesome. Yeah. I get a private show like people are

idiots that they don't know about this you know it's like those are shows where like I try to even go harder because those people are going to be like dude I got to see the most amazing show and I had the whole dance floor to dance and all this stuff it's like if you treat it like a 20 person show and a failure from when you walk on it's like you're going to have less the next time because those people that came out

are going to be like he didn't care because it wasn't those people still paid the re-emergence of Michael Menner the next time because those people that came out are going to be like, he didn't care because it wasn't enough people. Those people still paid. The re-emergence of Michael Menner. I feel like he was always... You've never stopped. I remember I saw you, you just sold out. You did your solo show. You sold out in Fort Collins or something? Cervantes.

Cervantes, yeah. You had Make a Thunder open? Yes. Was I there for this? I feel like I was. God damn it. Michael, you sat in. I did so much shit. You played the last 20 minutes, Nick. We are honored

to even share your presence because the Pretty Lights thing is fucking cool. You are a bad motherfucker. Thank you. Two more Hulaween shows. And then what else? Caverns. Caverns.

Oh, festival. God, that would be sick. That's like a festival you're hosting with other artists. So we brought a bunch of our friends. We got like Nelly coming out there and late night radio. Like Nelly? Like Nelly Nelly from St. Louis? No, like Ryan Nelly.

Okay. But you would love Ryan Nelly. But you know, it's like a big homie fest. I'm doing my Moxie project, side project there. I'm doing a late night in the caverns Everything's sold out right? Everything's sold out This is crazy

So yeah the caverns And then after that it's SF And then we close out in the end of November In New Orleans No New Years Oh he's coming home for the last show? Oh sick Where is it at?

It is at the Mardi Gras World. Oh, sick. Oh, dude. Yeah. I'm excited about it. And we actually have a little bit of time before then, so I'm hoping we can get together. Because we did so much rehearsal before the tour,

and then it's been like, sometimes we have back-to-back weekends, but sometimes it's three weeks apart. I mean, you know from playing in a band, it takes like half a set for the chemistry to re mean, you know from playing in a band, it's like the, it takes like a half a set for the chemistry to like, re-gel because you're just like, you're all in your own head spaces

and it's like, but you know, a lot of nights, a lot of places we go, we have like two to three hour rehearsals every day of the show. Sick. So,

you know, we're playing that and then four hours of sets. Fun. Well, they're just getting started, people. Yeah.

If you haven't got a ticket, maybe there'll be a tour next year, but I'm not going to say yes and he's not going to say yes. We're going to keep it a surprise. Yeah, we don't know yet. We don't know yet. We're going to see how this goes first. We're going to see how this goes first. Michael, thanks for being on the show. Thanks. Happy Halloween.

Happy Halloween. Congratulations on all your success, and now that you live in Denver, let's have some hangs. Let's do some more ghost stories. All right. And we're back. Luke, your band is getting famous, bro. It's stoked. I'm all down.

It's just a co-bill. No, no, no, no. You can tell when people show up early that people are stoked to see Le Special. I see your shirts. I see them everywhere. I'm noticing more merch. What's the game plan as you get more famous? The game plan?

Yeah, you have everything strategized. You're a very strategical type of person, I can tell. Really? Does it seem like that? Oh, fuck yeah. Okay, yeah. It's all going according to plan so far. Let's go.

Let's go. We love to hear it. Yeah. We love to hear it. Just following the roadmap that when, you know, me, John, and Rory got together in John's mom's house, you know, when we were 16. Right.

We said, 2023, Luke's going to go on the Frasco podcast. It doesn't exist. It doesn't exist. It doesn't exist. It's famous. But we knew, you know. I love it. Yeah. So do you guys still like each other?

Everything all good? Do you guys fight? Is it more famous? Everyone asks for more money. Give me the inside deals. Yeah, you know, we all like each other, but we all still fight, you know. That's how you know you like each other. That's how you know you like each other.

That's exactly. No, we got a great team and a great system. And coming off the biggest tour we've done in November and December, the tour with Sun Squabby. So sick. Yeah, it was wild. And so we all took some time, you know, but we still get on the phone every week with our crew, with our team.

And, you know, we try to keep shit moving, but also try to give each other a little personal space. How do you guys stay inspired? I know you're like a virtuoso musician. What's the game plan for like, you know, when you're on this like jam band? Because it seems like everyone's fought, like you have a lot of fans who follow the tour. Yeah.

What are you doing? Try to change it up. Like, do you have like, play more Primus, play more, what do you got? It's wild because, yeah, I mean, just trying to do a Primus song every night. Copy Primus.

Who else do you copy? Give me some ideas for next year. I need to freshen it up. I'm doing the horror every night. It's honestly a good question because it's like, yeah, we're not a typical jam band. The set list is totally different every night. But we do try.

Oh, so you play the bangers? We try and play the bangers. We switch it up each night, but we have our bangers, our go-tos. You're not like a traditional jam band. You know what I mean? Thank you, Nick. You're jam band adjacent, as I like to say. Oh, that's a good way of putting it.

Because you're not like... You guys have songs, first of all, so that helps. And you make real records, so that's kind of the thing jam bands don't do. And you're really good with marketing. I see your logo fucking everywhere. It's really cool. Who drew that? You? The tri-face was drawn by our friend Feather, who was like a childhood friend of

ours that lives in Norway now. Yeah, Feather. And she's done all our album artwork. Most of our merch has come from a design that she makes. And then our boy Chris, CB Video Marketing, and our manager Klaue take him. He's in the house. Shout out. Shout out to Chris. Yeah. He's over there.

Look, he's doing media marketing right now. He's working as we speak. I love it. Him and Klaue just kind of run with it and make all these different designs. We've worked with some really badass artists this year. I tease Klaue and I tell him he's kind of got this jam band metal artwork niche that he's kind of

finessed. It's got skulls and like daggers and shit but there's also you know like a bong or something so you know are you saying no to things yet uh like in terms of what like shows like people offer you shows you say no yet yeah yeah i see like festival lineups all the time i'm like what the fuck and they're like oh we turn that down i that down. I'm like, why? My boy's getting famous. Let's go! If you're out there, I don't turn anything down.

You know what's nice? It's very powerful to say no, but it's also very powerful that agents will say no before even coming to you because they know how much you're worth. Which is exciting. I guess you're right. That is a good way of looking at it. Usually I'm just kind of irritated by it.

I'm like, we'll take the couple G's. I'm like, I wanted to go to Costa Rica. Why aren't we going there? They're like, we're in Seattle. And I'm like, well, Seattle's cool, but I'd rather be in Costa Rica. You're not burnt out yet? Oh yeah, I am. What's going on? Oh no, I'm definitely burnt out. You kicked so hard last year

with all your projects. Yeah, it was an intense year So you taking a couple times off? Yeah, it's funny, I was just talking to Eccles You know, your guitarist in the kitchen before And it's like, you get off these tours And you're like, he's like, man, I'm still beat from tour And I was like, when did you get off the road? And he's like, two and a half weeks ago

The recovery time is intense And yeah, we're just kind of always doing stuff So when we're not on the road we're trying to finish an album Or we're getting ready for like a themed show I played with some really dope bands this year I got to fill in with the Funky Dogs Brass Band I love those guys They're so dope

We started a new band with Mike Dillon I love that That's like a dream match made in heaven Who else is in it? It's just John, Rory, myself from The Special, and Mike Dillon. Oh, it's you guys with Mike Dillon. It's pretty much...

When is Mike going to join your band, The Special? Well, his fucking A is now this is our hybrid project. Yeah, now you have like a second thing. I love it. I love it. You would love it for Asuka. I love it. It's wild.

I mean, he's Mike Dillon. I mean, he's a punk rock icon. Yeah. He's a complete... Wow, this is exciting if Mike joins your band. Well, he kind of is. Yeah, I mike jordan japan well it kind of is yeah i mean now dude we kind of started it this summer we came out and we did a little rehearsing and recording at color red um and then we hit like some mountain towns we hit like pagosa springs and

some places around there and did a little run and it just was a blast and the energy was so dope that we were like yeah let's just start a fucking band so we're doing this little run in the northeast and right when i get home i to like relearn all these songs. And the Mike Dillon songs are like not easy. No, not. They're psychotic. Is he singing it too? Oh, yeah.

He's like, he loves when we play with him because he plays with so many talented musicians, Nikki Glaspy and Brian Haas. Everybody, man. Everybody. I mean, he's, you know, the best. But with us, like he just jumps up on the PA speaker and is just screaming, doing his best jazz Iggy Pop.

And we're just back there with distortion and picks. He loves that. We go real punk rock trio energy with him, and he gets to be the front man. And he's still playing the Marimba and stuff. Yeah, and he'll just jump back there and just start battering. He's doing all this stuff. Doing all of it, but he loves being the front man with this band.

I am so thankful. Oh, this was perfect. Because Mike man with this band. I am so thankful. This was perfect. Because Mike needs to stay around. I know. Mike Dillon's band's great, but I'm glad that he's getting some fresh blood in there. You guys are popping and it just gives him a little more energy to just keep going.

He's like, what, 50? He's older. 60? He's like the most ripped 60-year-old. He's in his 50s. He's so ripped. 50, 60. I don't know how old he is. his 50s. He's so ripped. He was talking to... 50, 60, I don't know how old he is. He'll be like, he said that he hung out, I forget the musician now he was talking about,

someone like the, one of the big, I think like Stan Moore, you know, like one of these like NOLA legends, and he says what up to him, and they give him a hug, and they're like, wow, Mike, feeling really stiff and ripped. They're like, what's your secret?

He's like, well, I still carry my own gear. Let's go, Mike. I mean, you see, this guy is like, what's your secret? He's like, well, I still carry my own gear. Let's go, Mike. I mean, you see, this guy is like, you know, he's lugging a fucking vibraphone up and down the color red staircase. I mean, he would destroy any of us. Has he told you any of the stories about when he was a heroin addict? Yeah, yeah. I mean, his stories on the road. I mean, he tells them on the mic.

You know, I appreciate how open he is about all that stuff. He should do a one-man show. I love my favorite Mike Dillon story is when he's like, he just got off heroin, and he's like, but I need to make money. So he set up a tour where all the venues were close to the methadone centers. Wow.

So he could do methadone and not get addicted to shooting meth. Luckily, they're usually not very far away. They're usually not part of town. I feel like... The's fucking crazy, man. The music industry back then is way different. It was cool to get addicted to meth.

I mean, it was... Nowadays, people are like, it's not cool anymore. It's not cool to really... Be a drug addict? Be a heroin addict. No. I know. 90s was like, everyone was doing it. Kurt Cobain was the poster boy. Yeah.

And everyone idolized those guys who were just sad. Well, that was the rock star look back then. The vibe was so different. Now it's like, you know, you got to be drinking like, you know, organic smoothies. And they're like, that's a rock star. Look at him. He took care of himself. Look at this guy.

He has two charities. Yeah, exactly. This guy's got kids. He has two charities. He's a fucking rock star. He's got one for kids and one for adults. That's your rock star now. You used to have to, like, at least die.

Yeah. You know, you'd be dead for, like, two minutes. That's how you become a rock star. Now it's whoever gives away the most money. Yeah. Have you talked to Les Claypool lately? No, I haven't. You know, like, I've never really met him or anything.

Not yet still? Not yet. My drummer. Is he your favorite or something? He's good. Yeah. Yeah, he's my favorite. Obviously, he's my favorite. Rory did a podcast with him, this podcast Primus Tracks that we've been on a few times.

And we're friends with some of the people in their management and Mike, obviously, and Mike will relay. Mike will be like, hey, go check out these guys. Let's measure. And I don't know what he thinks or anything, but the circle's getting's getting close you know closer so working with Mike is maybe you guys should open for them sometime do they still I mean it'd be cool right they don't have openers well he's doing the the Les Staples Fearless Flying Frog that's right that's my favorite thing of his actually I don't even know if I could say that I don't know if they announced their tour yeah they did

they announced summer camp they announced like shows so they're gonna of course they're gonna tour we all know that um so have you tried to get on that to like Oatman? Yeah. Maybe it's too close. We'll see. I don't know. I know that we've been pitched a couple times. It all comes down to Les. Les has the final say with what bands he plays.

It's so cool that he's still hands-on like that. It's amazing. He's so in control. He's got a great team, but he's like the creative director of everything they do, from the art. Yeah, totally. Everything goes through Les. I mean, he's just got a lot of talents, too. I mean, he used to, that guy, you know, created a record label, would make all the Clay Nation covers, made movies,

wrote a book. He's a prolific dude. And that's why he is probably my favorite musician. It's not just like, yeah, he is crazy at, you know, slap bass, but I mean, he's like a prolific dude. And that's why he is probably my favorite musician. It's not just like, yeah, he is crazy at slap bass, but he's like a prolific creative genius. Is it true that he drives his own bus or something like that? Yeah, he owns his bus, La Fonda.

It's like this badass old coach bus. He drives it with his wife, Chaney. They go fishing all across the country. He's a road dog like Mike. These guys just pick their routes that suit their lifestyles. He just goes fishing. He loves it, man. It's amazing. It gives us hope that, going back to the

burnt outness, figure out ways to make this life still work where you don't feel burnt out or missing out on the other things in life. It's tough, man. It's that balance you have to strike to make it you're not just dogging away every night and like you know

dragging your body on stage but have enough time to do your own show I mean you guys just finished a ridiculous tour whenever I'm like yeah you know this is the biggest tour we've done then it'll be like Frasco's like pod tour day to rent I'm like what the fuck are you doing dude yeah I mean this is like a bit

next chapter last year was the next chapter in our life So now we're not doing that anymore You said that before last year too though I looked at my tour schedule this year It's not as much as You literally dropped a West Coast tour announcement this morning No I spent it

It's only two weeks We're taking it easy I'm like bro You're the same ADD psychopath too luke you're out you're doing miscellaneous gigs with all we're we're with the funky dogs in nebraska oh yeah well it's you know how do you manage how do you what do you like what are your hobbies do like make you not think about music for a second well it's hard because it's like when i'm coming out to denver and all of a sudden like i was coming out to just chill and hang with chris

and we were gonna to do some skiing and now I'm like gigging every day. Yeah, but you don't want to go skiing. You're not even going skiing anymore? I might. If I have time on Monday, I'm going to try and go skiing. But everything just got filled up,

which is great. You know, I came out last January. We kicked it last January at Cervantes. I DJed with Calm Trues. That was dope. that was a blast i love calm trues me too that synthwave shit is actually so that's what's been inspiring me lately bro basically i've been listening to a ton of synthwave i got picked up for the they're like you want to come out and dj your mom's house and i was like yeah let's fuck yeah and i hit up fro

and he's like yeah i'm there i'll drum and i love it and i got inspired to make this mix that i just recorded before i came out here it's a synthwave 80s werewolf movie inspired mix. Wow. So I've just kind of been like watching werewolf movies and like mixing synth and synthwave shit. Yeah, that's what Gerlach said. You're really into horror. Yeah.

Yeah, me and Gerlach are spooky boys. I'm also into synthwave. You fuck with gunship, Gerlach? Yeah, but I make a lot of synthwave too. You make some? Yeah. Let's make some together. Okay, I'm down.

You free this weekend? I actually... Fucking psych. I'm down. No, I'm actually... I'm going to be... You were going to pause that. No.

Why do you work? No way. Luke? Yeah? You need to chill. You need to take a breath. You don't need to chill. Go make love with some mountain women.

Don't do that. Go out there. No, make songs. Go out there. I texted. I remember I texted women. Don't do that. Go out there. Go out there. I texted. I remember I texted. Don't listen to him. Wear condoms. I'm the Insta star. Are you single, man? Yeah. Let's go.

I know. Frasca, you keep me in order, though, when you respond to my stories. I got you. You're like, wear a condom. You're about to blow up. Yeah. Yeah. I'm serious Luke I wrote it down man It's in my planner

Do not come in anybody I don't think you should take breaks Or relax at all Just wait until it all dies My career No Nick His inspirations are like Due to our lifers.

Yeah. So like if you're going to go burn it, burn candles when you're young, you're not going to make it to 80. Sleep when you're dead, brother. No, no, no. You got to take a breath. Sleep when you're dead.

It's my motto. Take it from me. I'm a lifer. Yeah. We're all lifers. How old are you? I just turned 34 last week. Okay, we're the same age.

You're 34? 34. Yeah, wow. Amazing. Wow. No, it's the same age. You're 34? 34. Yeah, wow. Amazing. Wow. No, it's scary. I don't know. I've been starting to dream more.

Yeah. Why? Are you drinking less or something? I'm drinking less and I'm not smoking as much weed. Maybe you're actually getting REM sleep. Really? You're probably sleeping deeper, actually, because you're actually sleeping. Yeah.

You're not in some hotel half drunk, you know? Right. And I have fucked up nightmares just constantly. It's never good. I never have a chill dream. You have nightmares? Yeah. People think it's because I watch a lot of horror movies.

I'm like, maybe I'm just deeply traumatized. I don't know. Maybe it's the other way around. Let's go into this. This is good to talk about. Have you had nightmares your whole life? Um, yeah,

no, like recurring, crazy, like drowning nightmares. Like I've had that one. That's the worst. You know, the dream,

like, did you ever have the dream? I had this recurring one where I lived in Scotland as a kid. And I just like associated with Scotland. Like, cause I was just every night. I feel like I would have this dream where I'm like skipping across this little stream that was near my house.

It was like these little rocks that I would like jump across and I would fall in. And then it would go to this like wide out angle where I'm just like a speck sinking in like this massive abyss of water. That's my biggest fear too. I can't fly over water because I'm afraid that I'm just going to drown in the water. I mean, you can. I know, but I'm like, that's when I have most anxiety. When I'm like flying over water or on a boat really

a sailboat you're scared of are you scared of like drowning I think I'm scared of drowning my nightmares are more like usually like

I'm trying to do something and I can't do it it's not even like a scary thing oh it's like you're trying to do something like I can't get to a gig and like there's something

going on and they're like starting the gig without me and like I don't have but I'm standing right there but I can't get there you know what I mean

or like it's similar to the going to school with no pants on kind of dream probably like like it's more like i can't do this thing i usually wake up during my dreams i think that's kind of why i have insomnia i think i just wake up when i start like your nightmares are all like situational though yeah yeah like i gotta play at cervantes and then at new conscious yeah and i missed the new conscious like Sideman nightmares. I have nightmares like that too. I'll have nightmares that I fuck up a song live and they'll be like beef on stage

or something like that. I never worry about making mistakes, I guess. Do you have FOMO? In terms of what? Fear of missing out of anything? Of anything? Yeah, totally. I think that's part of the reason I like to... Part of the nightmares? Well, I think just, you know, I like to be active and do different play shit. And if I see something like, if I see some festival lineup or a tour, I'm like, I like to... Part of the nightmares? Well, I think just, you know, I like to be active and do different... And play shit. And if I see something like...

If I see some, like, festival lineup or a tour, I'm like, I want to be on that shit. What about... Going back to these nightmares, do you think in your brain you weren't accepted as a kid? No, I think that I was. I was kind of like... I was a little bit of a prick, like, in school. I was always just fighting. You used to fight people?

No, I didn't fight people. I had to fuck with people. Oh, you were like the Bart Simpson vibe, maybe? Yeah, I was a little bit of a prick like in school like i was i was always just fighting you used to fight people no i didn't fight you i had to fuck with people oh you're like the bart simpson vibe maybe yeah i was a little bit i was a bad little boy for sure so did anyone call you out and then you realize you're being an asshole um yeah totally like my my core group of friends back then are like they're like still like my best friends now like my boys french and gary and all them they're all like bigger than me but like if i was a punk like they'd push me around just be like shut the fuck up and i'd be like, shut the fuck up. I would talk shit, but I could get put in my place too. Where'd you grow up?

I grew up in Connecticut. I lived in England and Scotland for a little bit when I was young, but I moved to Connecticut when I was 10. The main streets of Bridgeport? No, I just live closer to there now. In Kent's Connecticut. There are some rough areas of Connecticut though. Yeah, for sure.

Hartford sucks. What's the scariest dream that you still remember? Man, I had a fucked up nightmare the other night, and I couldn't... I gotta start doing that whole, like, wake up and write down your dream thing. But man, I had some fucked up dream the other night. It's hard to put into...

to remember, like, there's a narrative. It's more like a feeling. I'm put somewhere. I'm in some dark fucking building and somebody's holding me hostage there. Somebody's chasing me. It's just these weird kind of... I'll have a feeling that it's some early 2000s... Who's the guy that directed all those shitty remakes?

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake? No, Rob Zombie. His are actually kind of good. I know what you're talking about. I can't remember his name. It's like the Blumhouse production ones. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're these very like greedy looking. They're not good at all. They're not good. There's always like hooks.

Yes. I think I just watched too many of those fucking movies. So you're more into the gore stuff than I am. No, I'm not really though. I would watch that shit as a kid. Yeah. You know, now, no, I like 80s horror shit. That's when it was the best. Yeah, I like slashers. Because it was corny then. Do you beat off to horror porn? No, I don't beat off to horror, but just horror movies.

Who needs the porn? He's already got the murder. It's already, yeah. It's really just about the bloodshed for me. He saw a woman get murdered. That's all he needs. What about Punisher 2? Punisher 2?

The one with Ed the Clown. Ed the Clown? Are you talking about Terrifier? I haven't seen that I heard that's like torture porn Have you seen it? No but I've heard it's the scariest movie of all time I don't like those

I would go and see the Saw movies when they came out Where's the chase? They were terrible but they were like the franchise movie If I grew up in the 80s I would have been seeing the Friday the 13th movies every halloween yeah those are good but those are still a little campy for me too oh they're campy but you know that like every generation has their franchise definitely better than saw they're better than saw but i would go and see the saw movies just because they were like they felt like my generation's franchise but i don't

i can't even watch that shit now the saw movies are absolute garbage too much for me i'll take my i think of my generation of this this generation, the Scream franchise, even though it's kind of more of a comedy, it's kind of the best horror, too. Yeah, I saw the new Scream in theaters when I was in Denver last year. And it kind of revived that whole genre, too, you know? Yeah, slashers just kind of come and go, you know what I mean?

Is Synth, going back to the Synth Rock, you said, what do you call it? Synthwave. Synthwave. Synthwave. It's like Doom Flamingo, Synthwave? For sure. Like, Ross from Doom Flamingo, Synthwave? For sure. Ross from Doom Flamingo kind of got me into some of this shit. He showed me this band Carpenter Brute. That guy's the shit. It's two guys.

They played Fillmore. Did you see them? I didn't go. I couldn't go. Oh man. They got this album Leather Terror. Because they don't come to America that much. That shit is funny. Since the whole like 80s um where we're like the dark synth i like the dark shit man i i like i like i mean john carpenter is one of my favorite all-time composers so when you mix in like a horror movie samples with 80

synth wave like this shit just works i'll like crossfade like you know escape from new york and like some john carpenter synth yeah and then go into like a car you know like a carpenter brood or gunship track, and they work. And that's when you can tell the synthwave bands now are successful, because it's like, yeah, your shit sounds like a John Carpenter synth. I'm very influenced by that. The Weeknd? His newest album. No, I haven't heard it. It's very synthwave

influenced. Yeah. But it's kind of like, they made it a little too poppy, too, on top of it, so it kind of took the edge out of it. Oh, okay. I mean, I guess I heard the single. But I'm also into like, there's also like a hip hop version of synth wave. That's really tight too. It's like more based on like the R&B 80s samples, you know what I'm talking about? Yeah.

And then there's Calm Trues like who I played with last year. That's almost even more minimal. Yes. I mean, that's techno. Yeah. That's just shit that you just like drive along to like a city at sunset cruising. Who drives in your band? Chris.

CB Video Marketing drives the band. Really? He drives the whole time? Yeah, he does a lot. Is he like a control freak and he won't let you drive or you guys just don't want to? Both. Okay. That works.

It works. That's good. Wow. What about composing films? Would you ever do that? Oh, I'd love to. Yeah. I'd love to do more.

We've dabbled in it. We scored an episode for a Vice web series during quarantine. Yeah. How was that? Oh, I'd love to. Yeah. I'd love to do more. We've dabbled in it. Um, we scored an episode for a vice web series during quarantine. Yeah. How was that? It was amazing. It was so cool. It was about, um, it was friends of mine that I went to school with that work for this, um, vice web series called source material.

And they were making all these amazing documentaries in 2020 with like found footage and things like that. Like, um, so this episode was on the bushfires in Australia. And so they tapped us to score it. And we wrote all this music for it and sent it in. And they're like, okay, they're into it, but they say it's too heavy and too intense. And you realize...

Well, scores are like... They're supposed to be background. Yeah, exactly. I mean, we were playing like diminished riffs. Like... They were like, yeah, no, not that. You're the background maybe it's like a lesson too like

this isn't for you this is well you know I think that it was a lesson for sure in how to go about doing it and then we tried we took another stab at it and basically we kind of ended up like sending them stems and chopping stuff up and they brought in some other composers too so it ended up being more collaborative

they didn't want it to just be a straight band thing. But yeah, I mean, we've been talking more about trying to get into video game scoring. So any of that stuff is a goal of ours. That's what you guys do for sure. Some video game shit? Yeah, because you can be more aggressive with that stuff, I feel like. That's true. Especially if it's not like a storyline video game. If it's like a

platformer or something. I would love to do something like retro platformer shit. What is the dream sounds for a horror film? That's a great question. There's so many different things. Like, you know, when you talk about the 80s shit, like it's that synth stuff. I mean, John Carpenter's created the most iconic

horror film score of all time, Halloween 1978. Which is crazy because he's not even really a composer. You know what I mean? Well, you know, yeah. I mean, have you ever checked out his Lost Themes album he does with his son, Cody Carpenter? Yeah, but you know what I'm saying? He started out as a director. True, yeah, for sure. And he's like, oh, I mean, have you ever checked out his Lost Themes album he does with his son, Cody Carpenter? Yeah, but you know, he started out as a director. True, yeah, for sure.

And he's like, oh, I'm going to write music for this too. And he just turns out to be amazing at it. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think like, I love that aspect. I also, I love the Friday 13th music. It's inspired by like Bernard Herrmann, like psycho, very violent, screechy, scratchy. So you can go either way. I mean, you could go Danny Elfman, the oompahs.

There's so many different things you could do. But it can also be boring. A lot of horror movie music can just be ominous tones. You know what I felt was a horror? Probably wasn't. No country old men because of the music. It was like siren-y. It's like a thriller though. Barely any music in it too. There really wasn't much of a score. It was just like a little bit

of sound design. Just like when he came in. That's a good argument. I'd make an argument that's a horror movie. Anton Chigurh, he's like a slasher. He could be a thriller. Can a serial killer show

be a horror film? Yeah, that's what Halloween is. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, for sure, yeah. The slashers are typically serial killers. Wow.

But you could make an argument for so many movies. I've heard an argument that Terminator is a slasher. I don't know many movies. I've heard an argument that Terminator is a slasher. I don't know about that. I don't know about that either. I think it's a sci-fi.

It's a sci-fi thriller action. But you could see, okay, it's this guy that's chasing down a woman. I'll listen to the argument, but I don't agree with it. But I'll listen. Okay, you didn't even hear it. I didn't say it. We're interviewing Nick Gerlach today.

No, I get what you're saying. No, I get why though. I disagree as well. It's a fun... I love that discussion of is it horror? I think that in general, it's just a lot of films can have horror elements without being strictly horror.

What about... What's the worst era for horror films? Worst era? That's a great question. Early 2000s. Early 2000s. I think that's what we were saying. They were kind of remaking. It was very not creative. There was, you know, like when they were remaking movies like, you know, Texas Chainsaw

Bad. The Hills Have Eyes remake I actually enjoyed. The Friday 13th one from like 2009. But they just ran at like, the 90s were fresh because they were bringing back slashers from the 80s when movies like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer they felt fresh they were like sexy and yeah and they had like yeah sexy yeah they had like the

vibe to it they were hot early 2000s music kind of sucked too maybe it's like a whole thing yeah it was just kind of like the pop music then wasn't that good either it's true yeah I think just that was a little bit of maybe not a high point 9-11 ruined everything. Yeah, we'll blame it on 9-11. Best era of horror.

I think it depends on who you ask. I think for me, you know, personal favorite, like I love 80s slashers, but I also love the crazy creativity and grit of like 70s horror. Right. You know, I mean, I love... Those were shot really well, those 70s. Yeah, totally, man. Just handheld cameras.

It was so cheaply done, you know? But it was crazy. Even like late... Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a favorite. I watched Black Christmas this Christmas. That's considered one of the first slashers.

What if you went like 1977 to 1983? That'd probably be my favorite era. Yeah, Friday 13th right in there. Then you get the early 80s slasher stuff.

I go to 84. 84's got my Friday 13th part four which is my favorite. That's true. Yeah, I think that's 78 and 84. I think that's it. I think we just nailed it.

I interviewed Margaret Trill last week and she's obsessed with horror films. She is? Yeah, obsessed. No way. That's her thing. Oh, I didn't know that. Were you on the interview?

No, I just did the opening. She just opened it. But she's saying all these like mind fuck horror films are like really dope like mid summer yeah what else is cool hereditary last year a film came out called Malignant

that is a mind fuck crazy like just taking a lot of different elements but making it very modern and very new there's a movie that came out this year. A lot of people have been talking about Barbarian. That's sick. Have you seen Barbarian? Dude, I love them. Did you see it? To be honest,

hot take, I'm kind of scared of horror films. It's okay. This one's awesome. There's people listening right now that share that sentiment. What's Barbarian about? Barbarian is Airbnb horror. Yeah, but don't. What? There's a huge right of your alley yeah there's like a massive twist in it you can't really say what it's about or

ruin the whole twist there's like a twist like halfway through kind of yeah yeah it's true it's something you can't go too deep into the plot it's definitely a movie go in blind but it's you know like people like describe like ultra horror it's like up close and it's intense and it's like visceral and it's very and it's like visceral and it's very unique i think it's very unique it's brilliant it's terrible it just keeps taking turns and you have no idea what the next thing is it starts off and it's just kind of a creepy like okay two people seem to be renting out the same airbnb at the whole time but you're constantly wondering what's gonna happen next who's the villain here who's the bad guy who's gonna kill who and it just i mean

there's left turns and then there's just like fucking bonkers 180s and it goes to places you would never think is schindler's list a horror well like what is the definition of horror i mean that's a great question i mean it's like that's a real life it's based on a real life horror yeah you know but it's like i think that horror when you're talking about, is it like imaginary horror? I think it's, no, I think you can have real life horror. You like the Dahmer shit

that everyone watched this year. I didn't watch it, but, because that to me is too real. Yeah, it's real. I don't need to watch this guy be a psycho.

It has to be fictional to be horror. I want fiction. Well, I think that, you know, you could do a real life horror, but it's a style. It has to be more stylized

to be considered horror. Wow. You know, like, and Schindler's List was more of like a historical kind of epic. You know what I mean? What was Schindler's List? Can we get a genre?

Is Cocaine Bear a horror? Oh, I haven't seen it. Is it out yet? I just saw a trailer. It looks awesome. It looks insane. Who directed it? Elizabeth Banks. I don't know. Who did? Elizabeth Banks. Elizabeth Banks, the actress? She's been in a couple horror movies too.

She was in Slither. I love Elizabeth Banks. She's amazing. Schindler's List genre. It's got to be drama. War, history, and drama. Historical drama. See if you can add horror as a genre. I want to know your top 10 horror films

of all time. Oh, man. You've probably already talked about this on your podcast. horror as a genre. I want to know your top 10 horror films of all time. You've probably already talked about this on your podcast. I haven't done the podcast. That's what Nick and I have talked about. I had this podcast called Dead Last Podcast. It's still out on iTunes and SoundCloud and Spotify and stuff. I did it in Boston with a comedian friend of mine, Brandon Valley.

It was a blast, man. It was so much fun. You were living in Boston? Yeah, I was in Boston for a while. I think I met him when we played there. He bartends. I think you did. Yeah. He bartends at... Well, I don't know. He doesn't bartend, but he was working somewhere. I feel like you guys did meet.

There's one I opened for you in Boston. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I might have just entered. Okay. I wasn't there. Okay. But we tried to do it. Yeah, I lived in Boston for eight years.

I went to Berkeley and then just stayed there and played in a bunch of bands there. Oh, you went to Berkeley? Yeah. I'm a Berkeley nerd. Did you guys all go there? Did you graduate? I graduated. Let's go. I'll clap Berkeley and then just stayed there and played in a bunch of bands there. Oh, you went to Berkeley? Yeah, I'm a Berkeley nerd. Did you graduate? I graduated. Let's go. I'll clap for that. Thank you. Not a lot of people do that. Well, I wanted to get a degree from there. You know what I mean? I was in a special before

that. Rory and I both went there. Johnny went to Bennington in Vermont, but I didn't go there to get a band. I went there to get a degree. A whole lot of good has done me on tour. Well, you're famous now. Okay. I thought you guys actually met at Berkeley. No,

no, no, no, no. We knew we were a band in high school. I went to a different school and Rory went to Berkeley and I was like, you know, I'm going to go to Berkeley.

Can I ask you something? Yeah. How much did it end up costing you? The whole thing, the Berkeley, how much did it cost? I mean, it was like 40,000 for like a year,

you know? So it was a hundred, you got it $120,000 a day? No, $160,000. Four years. I went, I got, I went for three years because I transferred from another school where I was a music major. So I was able to like transfer the credits over. $120,000!

But look, the money, yeah, the money was crazy. I mean, it's an insane amount of money. But like my whole, my whole family helped pay for it. And that was like a deal. They were like, look, like we'll help pay for the, for school if you graduate. And if whole family helped pay for it. And that was like a deal. They were like, look, we'll help pay for school if you graduate and if you go and do it. Because it's not... Every private school is that much right now.

It's insane. It's not like paid off. It seems like state schools are that much right now. I don't know. It's got to be so wild. Think about you hear the success stories of Berkeley, but you also don't hear about the not success stories of Berkeley. They're not you also don't hear about the not success stories of Berklee. They're not doing podcasts.

Yeah, there's 160K student loans, and you give up on the dream because it's just not what they want to do. Yeah. I mean, people go there for like, you go there, you get loaded up on software and then bounce. You know what I mean? So I get that, or you just find a cool band but the networking was was cool you know you do meet

a lot of people you know like we played at paradise last week and like so you know like a bunch of people that are not a bunch but a handful like the people that are still there that i went to school with came out and right that was really cool for me because it was like that paradise was the place i was going and hanging out at you know what i mean mean? Do people end up like staying in Boston after they go to Berkeley? Not really. No, not really. I mean, I stuck around for a while because the music scene was popping back in like 2012 and 2013. Right.

And I was DJing a lot then too. It's ironic. I was like going to school. You know, I would like DJ at like the Wonder Bar. Like I had a residency there. So I'm like DJing and hanging out with all these like EDM acts and DJs and shit like that. And LED hula hoops and Jameson shots. You know the way.

Look at you. But then the next day I would like go to like Afro-Cuban drumming at like nine in the morning, the head pounding. And the guy's like, how are you doing? I was like, what did you do last night? And I was like, I DJed. He's like, you don't look good. Man, you are just like a full, full like arsenal of music, man.

Thank you. It's pretty fucking amazing. Are you living by yourself? Are you living with roommates? Me and my brother moved into our parents' house during quarantine. Just stayed there. I built out a basement studio space

where I can record and shit like that. We've been on the road so much that it's just kind of been... Yeah, I guess so. Do you have sex at your parents house do I or do they do you I can't come on my mom is gonna like listen to this podcast come on you're 34

year old man you should be gonna make it more or less sad you should be in the trying to figure out what way you're going there last birthday don't you have sex at your parents house you're 34 year old man like which way are we going here? But, like, everyone now moves back to their parents' house.

Yeah, I would. I mean, you know, it's funny. Like, you know, when I moved, I was living with my ex-girlfriend at the time in Boston and touring so much. I was like, this just makes literally no sense. I'm, like, driving three and a half hours to meet up with my band. And so, yeah, it was ridiculous. And as soon as I moved back, like, we finished an album. You know, we started to really go hard with the new merchandise and new management and touring

and shit. And like all my best friends from home, like still live back there. Like one of my best friends from third grade, like he moved back in with his dad. And so we're both just like, check us out, man, 34. So we'll try and like go meet up and like hike and shit. But I'm not, I feel like I'm not really there a lot. Yeah. I never see you in Connecticut. Yeah. What am I doing there, man? People in Connecticut love to leave Connecticut. It's the best part. Yeah.

But they love to say that they're bands from Connecticut. I mean, maybe now they do. Oh, because Goose, you guys. Who else? Aggie. Yam Yam. Yam Yam's not from Connecticut. I thought they were from Denver.

Oh, no, no. They're from East Coast. Orange County for ska bands is Connecticut for jam bands. Aggie's from Connecticut. Yeah. There's a lot of jam bands out of Connecticut. Orange County for ska bands is Connecticut for jam bands. Yeah, there's a lot of jam bands out of Connecticut. Orange County, ska bands. Connecticut, jam bands. You're the real big fish of jam bands.

Thanks. Us or... Yeah. I don't know. Goose is not a jam band. Goose is a metal band. They're jam adjacent. They jam.

We're jam adjacent. You're a band that jams. But the thing about Connecticut is, now there's more of a pop and music scene, but even growing up, it was the proximity to other cities. It wasn't far to New York or Boston. So we got to, like, work those cities and not have to live there, you know.

But Boston was home base for a while, especially when I was living there. Seems like Connecticut's a good hub. You go north, go south. It's, like, perfect. Yeah, man. These days, like, the Bridgeport music scene is poppin'. You know, we had two sold-out nights at this venue, you know. I mean, it's a...

Is that the one that starts with an S? Westville. Westville Music Bowl is dope. Have had two sold out nights at this venue. Westville. Westville Music Bowl is dope. Have you done that yet? We haven't played it. Is that the dream? I mean, I don't know if it's the dream. I go there and hang out. For a hometown show. For a hometown show, what we've been doing,

we play Connecticut twice a year and we've been doing this event called Le Getaway in October and it's actually at a camp that I lived at as a kid. What camp? It's called Club Getaway. Cool. And Ken, yeah, you guys would love it. It's amazing. It's like peak foliage, Berkshire Mountains. Everyone gets a cabin. We have like music

activities. My crazy friend Bluto like dresses up like a Swiss guy and does a pub hike. Luke, I love you, man. You're just working. You work hard. I love people who work hard. Yeah. Thanks, man.

Thanks. Yeah. I think, you know, people like us like to stay busy. Yeah. I could always work harder. I could be up at 7 a.m. like you fucking guys

and in here, you know. You gotta find out that I'm an usual dread. Yeah. I am more. I'm a night worker. Yeah, that's okay. Two to eight.

That's my sleep schedule. I had a few more questions. I want to talk about the women. I did talk about that. I want to talk about the sex at the parents' house. That's once I found that out. That was one and two. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Horror. I do want to hear your top ten. Oh, okay, great. We got mad sidetracked. Man, that's a great question. All right. I'm just going to. Halloween, number one.

Yeah. Gerlach knows my number one. For sake of just rattling them off and not sitting here and like reading into my I'm just going to give you like my top ten we'll go Halloween 1978 Friday 13th part 4 Jason Lives no no no sorry that's the final chapter

The Shining I wore my yellow shining I love it thank you Jaws okay now I'm starting to get a little... These are in no particular order. What about one of the screams? What about...

Scream. First scream. Don't let him, Tom. No, he's good. I needed help there. I started to slow down. He was asking for help. I'll put scream up there

because it was just influential as fuck for me. Oh, you know what, man? I'm a big aquatic horror movie. I would probably do as a part. They can each share the six spot, would be Lake Placid and Deep Blue Sea. Oh, I love Lake Placid. Oliver Platt, Bill Pullman.

Betty White. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Bridget Fonda, dude. Amazing. What about Dante's Peak? Is that a horror movie? I put Volcano just above Dante's Peak above Dante's Peak what's Dante's Peak

that's a Volcano movie yeah what about Abyss if you like hold on Abyss hold on don't change the subject

you haven't seen Dante's Peak I don't think so oh man what's it about it was with what's his name Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton

and they're like escaping a volcano basically they like live in like a nice Washington town it's like it's called it's a little bit more

low stakes like Volcano it's like a volcano under LA. You must see that one for Asuka. I was scared to shit. You could have like two Halloween movies, probably your top 10. Oh, I could. I mean, all right. Yeah. H2O is pretty fire. H2O is like a definitive one for me. I definitely like that and like Scream. Like I kind of put in that same 90s wheelhouse. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I guess, you know, in terms of like newer, like I love a lot of newer shit.

I love like The Ritual was a great like folk horror. Yeah, that was good. That's a good spooky. I'm trying to think of some of my like top ones. Yeah, I mean like hereditary mid summer are, are, are both great. Malignant, um, barbarian, all these newer movies are,

yeah, they're getting more creative with them. They are. And they're harkening back to the eighties shit, but I don't know. So somewhere around, around there and I'm, maybe I'll do like,

like, uh, the hills have eyes. Um, and then maybe to like throw it back. Like I'd probably do, if I had to pick like a, a Dracula movie,

I would honestly maybe even pick the ridiculous Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Francis Ford Coppola, Dracula. Whoa. I'm noticing that we have a similarity in that we don't really like haunted house ghost type movies. No, I don't really fuck with that. The Conjuring movies are cool, but I don't know.

Houses don't scare me. Yeah, exactly. Ooh, hot. What about you? Do you like ghost stories? Haunted house kind of movies? No. Yeah, they're not as... I don't like that.

It doesn't scare me unless it kind of really happened to me a little bit. A little bit. A little bit, you know. I think the scariest... I think the scariest is Save Private Ryan where he slowly chokes him out. While the other guy... And stabs him. Oh, my God.

While the other guy stands around the corner. One-on-one. Yeah, I hate that. That. While the other guy stands around the corner. One on one. Yeah, I hate that. That movie is visceral. I hate that scene. I hate like really close death where you slowly see the death come out.

Yeah. That's scary. So you're more like realistic life horror I like realistic shit. Yeah. Or don't like. I don't like.

Yeah. War movies are they're a whole different league of horror. Yeah. You're like That's horror too Like you're seeing These eight year old kids

Just kill themselves Apocalypse Now I would consider Like definitely Like elements of horror Definitely like a horror vibe To them Platoon

Yeah I mean Any of those Vietnam movies It's just scary bro Wow It's just scary What a fucking episode Just Anytime you're in Colorado

Just come on the show Bro I'm happy to And it's great to be here in your studio in the house. It's great. And you can always stay here too if Lakewood's too far. Yeah. But you seem like you have a nice setup there. I appreciate it. I'm bopping around, man. I'm just taking

any gig that's thrown at me. Well, Luke, go have fun out here. Go get in trouble. Get some sleep. Have some fun at the show. I can't wait to see what the DJ. I love Fro. I love he had Leo on there. Yeah, I can't wait, man. So he's playing with you? Yeah, he's going to play drums on my whole set, and then we're going to play, we're going to jam a little bit afterwards.

Where else are you playing? Out here. The next night, I'm going to do this at Mile High Spirits. My friend Boone hosts a bingo night. I love that. Yeah, it's fire. I'm going to DJ with him. It packs out. It does. I've been to his bingo party before. It's amazing. That's his competition for game show hosts. Really? You and Boone? I'm much better with him. He does trivia. He does bingo party before. It's amazing. That's his competition for game show hosts. Really? You and Boone?

I'm much better with them. He does trivia. He does bingo. I like Boone. I love how you're angry. I'm much more engaging and charismatic than him. You guys could do like a... What's harder, writing a two-hour trivia show or saying numbers? Shut the fuck up.

Okay, we're done. We're done. Thank you, guys. Thank you, Luke. Keep killing it. I'm Shut the fuck up. Okay, we're done. We're done. We're done. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Keep killing it. I'm very proud of you. I'm ruined for you, buddy. Thanks, brother. I know. You're really killing it. I really appreciate all the support, brother. I got you. Great to be a part of the family. Yeah, Boone. Thank you. Maybe that's the Tupac

and Biggie beef. Get off my island. Boone and Gerlach. Bingo? There's no Jam Band beef in Denver. It's just like bingo and trivia. I've been trying to get bands to beef, and they won't do it. They're all too nice to be true. I love it. They won't beef.

Luke, go have fun. Go fucking dig it. I'll start a live. We love you. We'll do it. Love you guys. Bye. 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. Weced 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.

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