Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 264: Joe Bonamassa

Episode Date: April 2, 2024

We open with show bard, Shawn's opus, a real musical masterpiece: Comfortably Hung. A beautiful coming of age song about accepting one's massive... blessings. The band has a tour BUS?! Midnight updates on the bunk's snoring soundscapes, the broken water pump (BEAU), and maybe even the new Playstation 5 on board. Keep it crispy. And on the Interview Hour we got blues guitar shredding legend, Joe Bonamassa! Most Most importantly: is Andy into cake sitting corn?? Listen in to find out! And guess what... Watch the full episodes Exclusively on Volume.com now in color!  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: Shawn Eckels Arno Bakker

Now, a message from the UN. To the Washington Monument When I stand up And I'm wearing sweatpants now You can surely see my chode Come on, it's time to go It's my main vein of which he's speaking For me it's never been a comfortable subject Fresco brags about the size of my mast Even talked it up on Bird bumper crushers podcast

When I was a child I carried Thor's hammer Walked around with this big wang My confidence is growing strong You cannot put ten fingers round it now This is just my big ham I have become comfortably hung I have become comfortably hung. Shit. And we're live. Andy Frasco's World's Favorite Podcast. Live from our first tour bus, baby

Let's fucking go We're back Don't call it a comeback We're slept, we're malnourished And we're ready to fuck this fucking West Coast tour How we doing, everyone? How's your heads? How's your hearts? We are somewhere in New Mexico

This is the first time we've ever got to a town at 10 a.m. And it's weird, right? Boys, get in here. Who wants to come in first? Ladies and gentlemen, we have Andy Avila. Andy Avila, how you doing, buddy? This is your little couch here. This is our interview hour.

Here, get in here, too. Get in here, too. Hey, we got Sean Eccles in the building, too. How you doing, Sean? Boys! Look at this! It's not a big tour bus, but it's our tour bus. It's ours. How we doing?

First night was great. What happened? I slept like a solid. And? And what else? And we broke the fucking water pump. We already broke the fucking water pump. We already broke the water pump, but it was only $100.

We tried to. We're working on it. We're working real hard on it. Yes. And the best part about it is now, instead of being in one person's hotel room, now I can hear everyone pitching about. This man was pitching a 45-year-old man about Dashboard Confessional last night. I was trying to get Floyd to listen to it, and he was listening to it.

Then I was screaming the words in his ear. What? No, all you were like, girls are whores. That's what all the music's about. I know. All those emo songs are about just the emotional imbalance of hormones. Their relationships with women. And maybe something to do with their dads.

I love, because I know how Sean is like a very metal head. And like, you're just putting screaming infidelities by dashboard confessionals in here. And I'm surprised you didn't want to fucking just fucking kill your neck. I'm getting used to it, you know. It's a little whiny for me, but you know, it's still hard. The weed helped, I think. It helped everybody. I'm excited for this new life for the band, right? Oh, it's great.. The weed helped, I think. It helped everybody. I'm excited for this new life

for the band, right? Oh, it's great. Put the microphone closer. Ah, you can hear me. It's great. It's fucking great. Because this thing blacks out all the way. It's pretty comfortable. And I didn't hear anybody snore. I didn't hear anyone snore either.

It's like white fuzz of the generator work. He's like, yeah. We can't tell climate control about this tour bus because this generator is rocking all fucking day. Oh, it's rocking real hard, dude. It's eating a diesel up. Yeah, dude. Greta Thornburg is going to be fucking pissed.

Pissed, dude. How dare you? Tour in America. How dare... We're like, Greta, this is our first tour bus. Let us live. Let us live. Jesus Christ.

I just reheated something in the microwave on the road. Let's go. We got a fucking microwave, baby. We got a live. Let us live. Jesus Christ. I just reheated something in the microwave on the road. Let's go. We got a fucking microwave, baby. We got a fridge. We got a PlayStation. We got an air fryer. We got an air fryer. We just picked up an air fryer.

And a fucking shower. We're going to Mexico. We're going to get a shower. Woo. The little things. We're hyped up. I like it because I get to sleep and I can work at 9 a.m. I wake up at 9 a.m. all the time.

And when I was on tour, staying up until 5 a.m. and then waking up at 9 to get in a van is not the healthiest thing. Yeah, and I drive seven hours. It's not that you're pissed, but you're pissed. It is tight waking up and being already in the town you're supposed to be in. It is

tight. At first, you're like, so what are we going to do? We're just going to sit in this parking lot? I'm like, we sure fucking are. Well, you know, we go somewhere where there's like Starbucks. I went to the gym this morning. Let's go.

You went to the gym. We parked at a Planet Fitness. I wasn't showering in that motherfucker. Yeah, the showers look gross as fucking Planet Fitnesses. It was like white shit all over the shower curtain. I was like, I'm gonna get the fuck out of here. I want to shower in here. I can't shower.

Bo broke the water pump, I think. He's the only one that showered in here. Yeah, well. Strong man. This bus is really expensive, so buy some merch online, people. We got some new merch items out there. Go to the antifrasco.com slash merch or wherever it is. Antifrasco.com. Get some merch online, people. We got some new merch items out there. We got some new merch items. Go to the antifrasco.com slash merch or wherever it is.

Antifrasco.com. Get some merch. Help us pay for this bus because they always say, once you go bus, you don't go back. I swear to God, if we have to go back to that sprinter, I'll kill someone. I will fucking kill someone. Boy. Boys, tour. We have a great one.

West Coast. West Coast, baby. We're going home. LA show, baby. LA. LA. Boys, tour. We have a great one. West Coast. West Coast, baby. We're going home. LA show, baby. LA. Is your family, are all hundred of your fucking family? All the guests,

this is all my family. No, no, no, no, no. They bought tickets, actually. Like you should do. Yeah, buy tickets. But this show's already going to be done before or after the show, but I already started seeing people

retreat in Spanish. Hell, yeah. Te quiero la ciudad, la antifrasco de U in Spanish. Hell, yeah. Te quiero la ciudad antifrasco de U.S. That's cool. I'm just kidding. No, but the family's coming out. My family's coming out. This is going to be a fun time.

We're going to have a blast. We have Joe Bonamassa on the show. Ooh, shredder. And, of course, we had to start the show with another guitar god, Shawn Eccles' version of Comfortably Hung. Listen, I was inspired. I took my time. This is my opus.

This is my... He wrote the words for that parody, standing naked in the mirror. Just to get a little perspective, you know. I hope everybody enjoyed it. It's great. It really is an opus. It is a podcast parody opus

because there's a lot of layers to it. It took a chance. It's one of the longest ones. It's like three whole minutes. By the time it gets to the solo, I was hoping it was going to be fun and you laughed. I fucking laughed so hard. The best is like, he talked about my dick on Burt Kreiser's podcast.

I'll hype that dick up all the time. I tell the story all the time. The first time I ever saw your cock, it was crazy. It looked like Thor's hammer I call it Thor's hammer You and Toby You and Toby are making love You ready for Thor's hammer?

Poor Toby She's the best Alright guys, let's have fun New Mexico baby, are you ready? We got two more weeks Of touring guys I think we're going up Northern California

Caleb Hawley And we got Caleb Hawley Touring with us Nicholas Moyle From the World Saving Podcast New York Edition I know Nicholas is in it And then we have

Dogs in the Pile For some of the run too We're playing the Fillmore We're doing Winter Wondergrass We're going to Portland I love going to Portland Portland's fun We should get tattoos from that guy

Let's get tattoos everywhere And we gotta find that sandwich spot in Portland We went to It had like lobster soup and shit It was fucking sick I don't know how we're gonna figure that out We won't get there And then we go to Seattle

And then we go to Boise And then we go to wherever else Salt Lake City Commonwealth I'm excited See at first After three week tour He's like here we go Van tour Now it's like let's stay in the Commonwealth I'm excited See at first After three week tour He's like Here we go

Van tour But Now it's like Let's stay in the bus I haven't even Left the bus I was It was so nice

You guys were chugging beers While we were driving I was just in my bunk I was just in my I was in my I was in my blanket I was like This is the best day

Of my life It's nice It's an upgrade We'll get a tour bus here, too. I mean, this is a big-ass bus. It's a bus. We got Gonzo back. If you guys aren't on volume.com, by the way, volume.com, go check out all the

live streams. I'll pimp them out in a second. But if you can't see it, there are eight bunks in here and a bathroom and a PlayStation 5 and a fucking air fryer. Let's go. We bought an air fryer. We bought an air fryer. $25.

It's the little things, people. It's the little things. All right, guys. People like crispy food. People like crispy food. Okay. I'm out. I'm out.

All right, guys. Have fun out there. You know, wow. We're all jacked up. I know it's only day four of the tour, but we're fucking jacked up. Buy tickets to West Coast Tour. Guys, I know we don't come out to the West Coast a lot, know it's only day four of the tour, but we're fucking jacked up. Buy tickets to the West Coast tour. Guys, I know we don't come out to the West Coast a lot,

so it's like a slow crawl to get to these sellouts, but tell your friends about the Frasco Band and the West Coast. We don't play here enough for people to know what the deal is yet, or maybe they're just scared of us. Maybe the West Coast is too woke for Frasco Band, but come on out.

But come on out. But come on out. Tell all your friends. We need all the help we can get out here. We just got to bust people. And we're going to the smallest markets we have of the tour. So we love you. Volume.com. Guys, before we talk about Joe Bonamassa.

Guys, there's two ways of going on Volume.com. Which way would you are? Are you just a listener? Do you just love your favorite bands? Do you want to see them fucking kill it in Omaha or wherever the fuck? Volume.com flies their people out to go see your favorite bands to record them. Head to volume.com. All the podcasts are archived.

So if you want to go see Nick Hexum's hot ass. Dude, Nick Hexum is so hot. 311, we got some exciting news. We're about to announce that we are be doing with 311, which I can't talk about. His little fucking... You used to love 311. I used to drive around in my AMC

pacer and do acid on farm roads listening to 311. We have a big announcement about 311 here soon that we can't talk about, but it's happening. 3.11, sandwich. Head to volume.com. See all the archived podcasts. Also, a lot of your favorite bands

have been getting archived in volume.com. You might as well go check out all the great content that is involved with volume.com. The best thing about volume.com, if you are an artist, yes, a musician, a comedian, if you like to sit on cakes. I've just seen a lot of porn

where women are sitting on cakes. It's kind of hot, actually. I don't know why. It's just weirdly hot to me. Head to volume.com and be a content creator because we need to take the power back. Social media, you see it every day. People are getting more and more not into the idea of social media,

which I think is actually a good idea because it's fucking up all our mental health. And you still want to stay in touch with your favorite bands and artists. You will have a push notification. So every time you go live, every time you put new content out on volume.com, it'll directly go to your fans. Hey, Frasco is streaming right now. You should go check it out.

Or hey, Frasco just put out a new music video. Go check it out. We need to take the power back, people. We are not window shoppers anymore. Volume.com has us covered for music content and artist content. So let's fucking go. Let's fucking go. They're the best. Volume.com has us covered for music content and artist content, so let's fucking go. Let's fucking go. They're the best. Volume.com, we love you.

Alright, guys. Joe Bonamassa. Here he is. Do you know anything about Joe Bonamassa, Sean? Do you want to do the pitch for Joe Bonamassa? He's a badass guitar player. He's got good-looking hair. He wears good-looking clothes. He hosts a cruise. A blues cruise thing. A lot of our buddies have played it. I don't know. Se's got good looking hair. He wears good looking clothes. He hosts like a cruise.

Like a blues cruise thing. A lot of our buddies have played it. I don't know. Seemed like a cool guy. Cheers. Thank you. What a pitch. What a fucking pitch.

What a goddamn pitch that was. Joe Bonamassa, one of the greatest blues guitar players out there. I think he's a Gibson guy. Yeah. Is he a Gibson guy? I think so. I think he's his own guitar. But you're going to love this interview.

He's no bullshit. We were talking shit about the music industry. It was awesome. He was giving us the honest take. He's been in the scene for so long. He's seen every inch of it. I mean, and especially the blues scene. You know, they've had dealt with the fucking wrath of the music industry

when blues was starting to fall off. And then finally has a rejuvenance now with the Gary Clarks of the world and the Andy Frasks and the UNs of the music industry when blues was starting to fall off and then finally has a rejuvenance now with the Gary Clarks of the world and the Andy Frasks from the UNs of the world. I think you're really going to love this interview. He's no bullshit. He is a guy who I asked him all the questions some people are afraid to ask. You know how I roll.

He's like, you know what? Here you go. Here's the real dirt. Alright guys. Anyway, I went on a tangent. Enjoy Joe Bonamassa, and I'll catch you next week. We're going to Skype in or Zoom in Nick, and we'll get Nick back

on the show next week. All right, love you. Buy tickets for the fucking tour. Please, buy tickets all you can. We just announced more pigeons playing ping pong and dogs in a pile dates. We're going to New York, baby.

Pier 16. Big rooms. We need you to buy all the tickets you can. And we're going on tour in, baby. Pier 16. Big rooms. We need you to buy all the tickets you can. And we're going on tour in Florida, which I was like, fuck, no one's going to show up. And we've actually, we're almost sold out on a lot of these dates.

So thank you, Florida. Let's go. All right, guys. I love you. And enjoy Joe Bonamassa. Joe motherfucking Bonham. What's up, dog? How you doing? How you doing? I'm good, bud. How's it going out there in guitar world? Well, it's quiet.

This is the rainy season as we this is when we plant crops and and and uh plot for the new year yeah but uh it was good 2023 was great uh looks like uh you know 2024 is shaping up to be busy um and we're just about to finish a record we started last year and, you know, I'm looking forward to getting, getting back to work. I mean, like I,

I don't sit idle. Well, I, I, I, I, I, I,

I, I, you know, I like to work. My whole life has been music. My whole, you know, my whole,

how I live in a house of guitars, as you can tell. Yeah. And, you know, I mean, it's, it's, it's something that yeah um and you know i mean it's it's it's something that i really you know still enjoy yeah i was 50 years old i was gonna ask you that how do you stay inspired with such a shitty music industry in 2023 well it's you know i i was able to because

you know again i've been doing this 35 years i mean i was able to kind of slip through the cracks you know i was i went independent right as labels started to kind of that well not implode but but shift their business from from hard copies to streaming you know because i you know you remember when Napster came out and then everybody bought them and put them out of business. Well, then Spotify and all these other streaming services started Apple Music, and now they love it

because they don't have to pay mechanicals to Harry Fox and the writers get screwed. The thing about the music business today, if I was starting today, it would be a lot different. It would be a vastly different pathway to success. I came up independently when you could still sell a record. CD players were still stock equipment in cars.

Now there's not that anymore. And, I mean, if pressed, here, here's a CD, Joe. and i mean if pressed here here's a cd joe play my record right now in your house of music with hundreds of guitar amps and i can't do it yeah i don't have a cd player most people don't have a cd player diehards who who have audio and like you know i mean everything is streaming so you know i mean if you're a young kid you know want to be songwriter, want to be an artist and you want to sell records. Well, you just leave that dream at the door because there's there's no record in this industry left. You have to be a touring act. You have to be vertically integrated.

You have to know how to sell merch. You have to know how to market yourself and take advantage of all the free spaces that you have in online. advantage of all the free spaces that you have in in online and and you know god forbid you know i know some of these people you know they didn't want to be called this but you know the pathway to success is for some people's to be an instagram or tiktok influencer and that's how people get their name out right it's no different than what pbs did for me or you know being on the cover of guitar player Magazine 20 years ago. It doesn't matter. It's getting the name out.

It's a means to an end. So if you can get your name out, it doesn't matter how you did it. You've got to do it. You're not going to come by ticket. Yeah, and it's evolution. It's just like what people are using now to promote themselves versus what they're using when you're getting popping like how do you promote your tours now

well you know luckily i mean we have we've established a brand long enough to where you know um tours tend to be promoted you know there's a there's always a drop you know it's like in the jam band there's like tickets on sale friday 10 a.m there's a drop right you know so you wind up your your followers you wind up your you know your email list and whoever you know and you know boom you hit they you hit you hit the numbers right off the bat and then and then it sells how it sells going out and you know what you have to do is it is be very very careful about you know the kind of dates once you've established a brand the kind of the kind of dates that you do take because you can easily fall back into when you were first starting out right right you don't want to go back to playing for ten dollars there's no the model

collapses for ten dollars you know what i mean it's like yeah it's a great for the fans 100 can they say i saw so and so for 10 bucks yeah that's great the business model collapses right at 10 because and i'll tell you why because last time i checked gasoline in in Nashville was almost $4 a gallon, and a Ford Econoline van has almost a 28-gallon tank or a 25-gallon tank. If you're paying for $10 and can draw 100 people, you're paying for the van. You can't pay the players. You can't stay at the Red Roof Inn. You can't do this.

You can't do that. God forbid you've got to print up t-shirts that's out of pocket. It collapses at $10. So you have to be very careful to, to try to get at least, you know, and I think the fans kind of understand it now it's, it's like, yeah, if my favorite artist is playing for 25 bucks, I'm going to, I'm going to pay the money because they know that, that if you give them, you know, if you give, you know, your, your, your fans, you know, $40, you know, if you give your fans $40,

you know, it's like, here's $40 for a ticket. It's not like it goes right into my front pocket, and that's all. It's not. You're lucky to get 10, 12, 15% of that, even if you're pinching pennies and your margins

are good, but you know what I mean. It's important for artists to know the ins and outs of touring because you can go out of business just as easily as a, as a, as a, you know, as a, as a pizza shop or a, or a, or a seven 11, you know, it's just cash in cash out, you know, I sound like Kevin Leary from the fucking shark tank, but I'm not telling you things that are telling you facts here. Yeah. I sound like Kevin Leary from the fucking Shark Tank. I'm not telling you things that are telling you facts here.

Do you think inflation is killing the music scene because we're not getting inflated? Everyone else is inflating their prices. The venues are inflating their prices. The tickets people are inflating their prices. We're still making the same amount of fucking money. It's bullshit. I don't know. Do you think that's

killing? I'm 35. I've been doing this. Yeah. How, what was the, what was the first time you took your, the, uh, a plane ride, like on a commercial jet? Um, probably eight. So yeah. So, okay.

So maybe 94. So maybe 80s, early 90s. Yeah. Early 90s. If you went on United or, or, or Delta or American or delta or american or us air remember they used to yeah he's called us scare anyway yeah the frontier of the 80s but exactly and they would always provide before the the ages the before the age of of in-flight entertainment free wi-fi and everything the only entertainment was whatever magazines or books you could buy at at the at the hudson news or if you forgot to do that you could you could then scroll through

the american way magazine which was just a bunch of like you know softball you know public interest stories it's like you know discover the blue crabs of maryland and colorado not just mountains yeah you know yeah these kind of like tough pieces, you know, discover the blue crabs of Maryland and Colorado, not just mountains. You know, these kind of like tough pieces that, you know, 1500 words. In the middle of those magazines was a guy who would do seminars. His name was Charles Karras. And his whole thing was you only get what you negotiate. Right.

And that was his whole class. He would go to to you know the the the omaha airport sheridan and and for a fee speak to people who were trying to build their business and his whole thing was you only get what you negotiate now let's get back to the music business like you just said we're getting paid the same but the venue costs are going up and the this is going up and the and the the diesel goes up and the and the bag of fucking doritos goes up yeah okay whatever whatever however whatever lifestyle you're you've accrued out there on the road that becomes you know this is where the the the model begins to

either collapse or work because you have you have to go to your your vendor meaning your promoter or your club or if you're promoting yourself yourself and say in order for this to work because you have to keep that margin or else you go out of business for this to work you have to get paid more so then who pays more club pays more yeah or the venue pays more? Club pays more. Yeah. Or the venue pays more. Well, who's paying more after that? The fans. Now, maybe tacitly,

they're not paying more for the ticket. Maybe if you, if you have enough leverage and you can negotiate that deal, we're like, I'm not raising my ticket prices. You're just giving me more. And live nation goes, absolutely,

sir. We love you. We're you're, you're the greatest thing that's ever happened to this organization and company. We just can't wait to just snuggle you and embrace you in our corporate goodness. OK, who pays more? The parking goes up. The fucking hot dogs go up. That's how they make it up in the end. The fans will pay more either way. So at the end of the day, the inflation the inflation of it all now everybody can see that

you know the price of of you know one of the great road meals used to be back 25 years ago for the band we'd stop at mcdonald's and the value the 2.99 value mean okay two cheeseburgers fried and a diet coke that was a good for the day you know right now exactly that doesn't happen anymore and i feel sorry for everyone because it's it's it's um the economics of touring are really really really tough and and it's and it's sidelined post pandemic it's sidelined a lot of great talent because it just can't get it going right and they just they just don't want to go out work their ass off for six weeks and then have to god God forbid, cut a check. I've done that.

And it's the worst feeling in the world when you're just trying to eke out a living, pay your rent in Nashville or whatever. And you come back home, you're like, what do you mean? After agent fees, gasoline, the red roof in, and a couple of dinners at Outback Steakhouse. That's our life, bro. I know. By the way, the Bloomin' Onion is the worst thing you can order. I know. It's horrible.

It's the most calories in a single appetizer, I believe, in the entire U.S. restaurant chain. Yeah, I think it's 2,300 calories. 4,000? I think with the sauce, it's almost 4,000 calories. They listed it at 2,800, but it's bullshit. Yo, fuck that, dude. I'm just telling you,

every extra 3,500 calories is a pound gain. If you're feeling skinny, go for it. If the clothes are tight... That's why I'm so curious about your story, bro. How did you not drink with being on the road so much?

I mean, you're... Because I don't drink. I thought you didn't drink. No, no. I like wine or a martini, but... Never substance abuse. Nothing was ever... No, no, no.

That's what I mean. Too fucking pragmatic for that. Like what? Like, what was the... Because you've learned so young in your life, you think? Or what do you think that's why? I'm too pragmatic, and I'll tell you why. You know, my entire life, my entire career has been,

I have a funny last name. I play music that's not exactly pop. Yeah. I've had to fight for everything. Every step up the ladder I've had to earn, you know. And why would I do something counterintuitive that would maybe make me go down rungs on the ladder as opposed to go up? Or at least just stay there.

Once you reach a certain altitude, you're going, okay, I did this. Now it's my job not to screw it up. It's really important. When you start doing well on the road there's no word that says there's nobody that says no hey do you want a blooming onion sure how am i how about 10 blooming onions no problem just bring it on the bus. You understand? Yeah, you're totally right. You're totally right.

And you also have to respect what you're actually doing out there. When you're traveling and you're playing the Red Rocks one night and you're playing Greek Theater the next night, you're traveling. But you also start at zero every day. The thing I love about touring is every day you start at zero. You the newest thing i love about touring is is is every day you start at zero you could have the greatest night we've had some unbelievable gigs at red rice greatest big i mean just sold out and rocking in there yeah but the next day you wake up and guess what you start at zero yeah so in salt lake city they're not they weren't there last night you have to completely clean this lake so i try to give a hundred percent or whatever percentage i have to the fans who pay all that

money for tickets and parking and everything and if for some reason i have a cold i'm at 80 you're gonna get a hundred percent of the 80 right but my job is to mitigate anything that that could that could take the quality of the show or the quality of the performance down for the folks that that have literally been with me my entire career and that and that's you know um and that's something i'm i'm that's very proud of that we've been able to maintain and that's why substance abuse and overindulgence is just, you know. My only addiction is this. Yeah.

That's non-negotiable. Oh, non-negotiable. And your cars. Yeah. And what? One's going to kill me. The other one's going to make my niece and nephew rich. Yeah, exactly.

But what about, like, what was the mentors in your life that taught you this work ethic? Or did you learn it by yourself? Like, I mean, you've been in the music industry since what? Since you were four? Like, you're touring with BB at 12? Yeah, my first paying gig was about, I was 11. I was like 89, you know? So you were in the bars early.

Oh, yeah. So, like. My dad would have, he had a band I would sit in in the 80s. And then we had our own band by 89. I had a record deal when I was 13. But they didn't know what to do with me. So I was in a band. Did you quit school?

No, no. My mother always says, she always said, people don't like a stupid guitar player I'm like I get it stay in school anyway I wanted to finish school you know

it's also just I knew what I wanted to do but as far as as far as a you know I knew I wasn't going to go to berkeley i knew i wasn't going to go to you know secondary education because i knew what i wanted to do i wanted i wanted to be a musician and a rogue guy and and and and play my guitar as loud as people let me

and that so far has worked out but you know the people that mentored me were you know a guy named danny gatton saw something in me yeah a great guitar player late great danny gatton he mentored me my father was a big part of of my musical journey um bb king was a big part of my musical journey he said you know know, one of the things he would always say, watch your money, watch the girls. No better advice for a young dude on the road. Buddy God,

Paul Rogers, George Therogood. George gave me a stage years, for years, year after year. And he would come to me and be like, listen, you've got something here, but do me a favor. Don't wear an Eric Clapton shirt on stage when you're playing because you want people to want to see you. Right.

You don't want them thinking about Eric Clapton while you're playing. And it made all the sense in the world and george thoroughgood as far as i'm concerned was a consummate it is a consummate professional on the road he knows who he is and and he flips his personality from from just george talking about the mets to bad to the bone guy right and when I started to see that, and I started to see that in a few other artists, the switch. Yeah. And about 2004, my producer, 2005, my producer, who's been with me now almost 20 years, said, your image, you look like a slob. You got to change your image. And I said, okay, I'm going to start dressing better than the audience.

And I started putting on the suit suit and then I put these fucking sunglasses on because I'm kind of light sensitive for the spotlights and we were doing well enough where the House of Blues, the occasional House of Blues had spotlights and I'm like, oh my god and that became the thing

and that's the switch I respect the switch so much the free t-shirt guy and the free Gibson hat And that's the switch. Yeah. I respect the switch so much. The free t-shirt guy and the free Gibson hat. That's the other 22 hours. Right. The switch at eight o'clock and you become the character and you become the performer and you entertain and you have this. There's that's that's where the ego really kicks in.

It's like you walk out and this is my house. This is my this is the way I this is this is my evening and then you take your fans on on this journey and then at 10 10 put the sunglasses back in the case put the suit back on the rack and get back into this and it's over for the day you ever was there any years in your career where you just didn't take that for you you took that for granted like kind of like kind of jaded by the industry or kind of you know was kind of over the industry and kind of treated people like shit

or like any of those type of years? Well I think part of my part of the benefit I was never invited into the industry. I was never embraced by the industry. Yeah that's fucked up.

I was told to go away and die slowly or do something else. Why do you think in retrospect? Nobody, it didn't fit into a box. Everything has to fit into a box.

Back in the days of radio. Okay? If you didn't sound like this, if you didn't sound like that, if you didn't sound like this, there's no chance. This notion of being a snowplow, and I know it's the wintertime, being a snowplow and I know it's the winter time being a snowplow and blazing your own path

was just because you needed the marketing that the major label provided once Facebook started once even MySpace and just forums forums remember forums

reddit this thing called the less paul forum and yeah people talk about less paul and they also talk about artists next thing you know my name starts to get more traction this is this is 20 plus years ago yeah and it was just it was never it was never like oh my god i had a big big single and then it's over it was just little mini micro steps and then in 2009 we played the elver hall for the first time sold it out and eric clapton came out and god god be thankful for that is we turned into fucking cameras which we spent every my manager of 35 years and spent every freaking dollar we had recording that thank god though and then and then pbs and the united states picked it up as a national campaign and they would put us on at eight o'clock in kcet

in los angeles or wherever and it was sandwiched in between like nova antiques road show lawrence well hell yeah celt Women. And this was like being Metallica. I bet, dude. That's how it went down. If you watched an evening of public broadcasting, initially

it was like Metallica in the middle of Del McCurry and Billy Strings. It kind of stuck out. All right? I fucking love it, Joe. Do you think there's, like, because there's gatekeeping in TV,

do you think there's gatekeeping in music, in the music industry? Oh, so many records. So many great, I mean, how many times? I just sat, I sat next to a guy on an airplane from Los Angeles to Nashville. He's a EDM producer now. He's the same age as me.

He was in four different major label bands that got shelved four different times because of... A&R person gets fired, president of a label who's... I remember somebody saying something very profound to me

a long time ago, but it didn't sink in. And I kind of lashed back a little bit. What did you say? This woman said, commenting on an artist. And she said that this particular artist was so great in the meeting. This artist just blew my mind in the meeting. And everybody was just going, what meeting she just this artist just blew my mind in the meeting and everybody was just going what amazing meeting this was i'm like the fuck are you talking about how can she sing can this person sing on stage well no no she's developing but she's great in the meeting

and i said come on this is this is nonsense But no truer words have ever been spoken to me. Because back in the day, when you had a major label, you had to be as entertaining. I remember somebody telling me at Sony, like, hey, when Joe comes to the building, he should dress like he's going on stage. I'm like, why? He's a commissary. A bunch of cats with posters. Anyway, it was it joe you're the realest motherfucker on the planet dude i love this keep going keep going i'm independent i have nothing to lose yeah same but the reality is it's like you had to be good in

the meeting you had to be just as charming and and put on just as much of a show for them, six people, as you would for 16,000 at Madison Square Garden a few blocks away. And that never made any sense to me. But in the context of the major label model, that is big. And the only place that that still exists, still lives and thrives and the evilness is you can feel it. It's just over here, just to my right just down the street a music row in nashville evil monsters these fucking evil major monsters that in country radio just just just carrot and stick and all the evil things about the business still exist in a little pocket in the 615 but you, you know, people are now going more independent.

But major country acts still need the country radio. It's the difference between clubs and arenas still, you know, for them. And they know. And it's, you know, it's like going into a time machine. How do you negotiate your deals going into session works when you know that you have to deal with the monster? Session work, I generally generally if i'm playing on a friend's record yeah my fee is extraordinarily low yeah um because i know even if it's a major

label project every dollar that they spend is one dollar they're not going to get on the back end of the events and that's the only money they're ever going to see yeah so i said listen man two diet cokes yeah okay if it's not over an hour it's gonna be two diet cokes that's it i'll be my own stuff i carry my own shit yeah you know fucking joe no cartage just just tell me where to park plug in i do it for free and and it's and it's done you know because at the end of the day if they're independent artists i mean that that every dollars you know whatever money they're going to spend on me for my two Diet Cokes, which is in these inflationary times, which is now $5, is $5 they don't have to throw into marketing, which I'd rather see my friends put the money into marketing, not to me. I don't play sessions for a living.

I'm lucky enough. My day job is very lucrative and and we do fine yeah and and that's part of the the philanthropy of when you do do well it's it's that's the time you like start looking in the mirror and going like what can i do to help others and through our keeping the blues alive foundation we've given away over a million dollars almost we've raised almost two million dollars've given away over a million dollars. We've raised almost $2 million. We gave away over a million dollars for musicians in need during the pandemic. We did all this stuff out of the goodness of our heart because we knew that the community was really suffering and we could weather the storm, but some people couldn't.

And that's part of what I do all the time. Yeah, I was going to ask you that. What's your take on modern blues? Do you think it's a dying industry or do you think it's growing? The problem, the thing with the blues, it's not a problem. It's never been it's never

it's never been the flavor of the month, but it's never going to die either. And I think that's part of its beauty. it's every 10 years there's someone that comes through i did it oh eight oh nine and and next thing you know the magazine covers both in europe and here it's like joe bonamassa with the the new king of the blues question mark or you know like the savior of the blues question mark all this out these clickbait pre-clickbait headlines and uh and then next thing you know five six seven years later gary clark jr the savior of the blues question mark same fucking shit just different picture you know

and now it's kingfish or whoever and then if you you look back, you know, in the 80s, it was like Robert Cray, the fresh face of the blues, or Stevie Ray Vaughan, Texas gunslinger saving the blues, question mark. They've always written off the blues as something that could die out and be relegated to a Smithsonian tribute night in Washington, D.C. next to the great works of John Philip Sousa. in tribute night in Washington, D.C. next to the great works of John Philip Sousa. It's never going to die because everything that we listen to from Taylor Swift down is the building blocks

of that music is the blues. Every Jerry Garcia run, everything goes back to Sun house and and robert johnson and that dna it's like it's it's like it's like the french cooking of of of of music it just it just the the whatever we're listening to has roots in it now it's sometimes it's harder than others to pick it out,

but, you know, you listen to all this Americana stuff, it's all blues-based, you know what I mean? And country music is blues-based, you know? So, to me, I don't think it's ever going to die. I just think we just need to continue

supporting young people in the blues, like you know uh kingfish and and and and samantha fish and joanne shaw taylor and and and all these people that that that that are have well i mean they're not career musicians they've been in the game a long time and they're keeping it going and it and it and it and it's up to the community to embrace that and not push them out, going, well, you're not quite what we define as blues. No, no, bring everybody in, and we'll sort it out later. Why is the blues so important to you?

It's just what I liked. Yeah. You know? I mean, it was just like my dad would play me everything from prog rock to the Byrds to Crosby, Stills and Nash and Jethro Tull. And next thing you know, I'm listening to Eric Clapton and Roy Buchanan and Guitar Slim and Albert King. I'm like, that's what I wanted. Yeah.

I was like, oh, I want to do that. Was your dad competitive while you were growing up? No. My parents are both still alive, and they're both very supportive. They always told me, especially when I was a teenager, if you want to go to college and quit this hideous fucking business, let's do it. I'm like, no, I still got something to say. And I still want to do it.

And I'm glad want to do it. Yeah. And I'm glad I stuck to it. But it wasn't always, you know, I mean, again, there's no, it's very hard to go to a kid and say, listen, put a guitar in their hands and say, listen, I know you're six years old now, okay? By the time you're 36, you're going to be bitter. Or a million. It's so true. It's so true. It's so true. There's no middle ground.

Oh, I'm crying, Joe. It's going to be in 30 years, this thing is going to make you bitter, jaded, and resentful, or a millionaire. And you're not going to know the difference. And you're not going to know why. And it's just, that's what's going to happen.

And it's true. It's a hard ask, but it's true. But isn't that part of life is like the adventurous idea? This is why I love being in a band and being traveling is this adventure. It's like this journey. It's like this, nothing is, you don't have this nine to five where it's just so boring. You know,

I think that's what intrigues us with it. I mean, I've been, you've been doing a little long. I've been doing this for 15 years now doing 250 shows a year. Great. I love it. I still love it,

but I'm still bitter as fuck. But, but, but, but those are the, the thing is, this is why you're the most balanced person that I'm having the conversation. Both of you and I are the most balanced people in the music business.

We have chips on both shoulders. So we wake up in the morning, ask someone to knock one off. And that's the drive. That's the passion. It's not all about the talent. It's about the drive and the way that you pinpoint your goals. It's just like, I want to be successful. Okay, in what?

Do you want to be a touring act? Do you want to be a recording act? You have to be like, I just want to go on the road. I'm nomadic by nature, and I want to pinpoint what i where i want to be it's like pick a venue and just manifest yourself into that venue right that's what i did i picked a venue i said i'm going to do that one of these days i don't know how but you know 20 years after i picked the venue here i am you know and that's that's the thing that really um that's the thing that that you don't want to lose sight of is is the goals it's like you know it's like i want to play uh

you know i want to play uh you know giant stadium okay well maybe let's start with manis square garden let's start with the beat okay let's let's let's get something that's a more attainable and realistic about you know the kind of music that you'd play. We're in niche genres that are not necessarily mainstream. You know what I mean? Taylor Swift is not my peer.

That's a different world. Neither am I hers. We're in the same industry industry but but that's not that's not we're not peers okay she has her she has her own lane and she's the she's the biggest celebrity in the world i play blues rock guitar and i know i stay in this lane and i know the appeal of blues rock guitar and i try to expand it a little bit at a time. And that's it. But you're the biggest celebrity in that world too, though. King of the anthill.

Doesn't matter. You know what I mean? There's people that... You're right. There's people that I've never heard of in the music business that headline major festivals. I have to look them up. Never heard of them.

I mean, and I'm not just being facetious or putting on a stick here it's like i have no idea who this is wouldn't be able to identify them on the street as a musician who would have a wouldn't have the slightest clue and they're in the biggest font baru and whatever these big festivals that nobody invites me to. And, and, uh, I look these people up and on their Instagrams and their whatever, they have enough followers to declare themselves King or queen of any country. They choose where, where the fuck are all these people coming from? Where are they?

Exactly. Because it used to be MTV. It used to be a traditional way of like going, Hey, here's the latest Madonna, you know, and here's the latest this. And even though I wouldn't have seeked out Rihanna's music, I was certainly aware of Rihanna's music and would have heard it in a vague casino on the floor when I was playing a slot machine, which is probably where i first heard it and and at the end of the day that's how it became aware if someone in the music business now i don't know where all these people come from and they're doing great and god bless them they figured out they figured out how to do it in a much bigger scale than i will yeah And that's fine. I think that's great.

How long did it take you? Did you have to be successful until you could actually appreciate other people's success? Or did you always appreciate people's success? That's a good question. And there's... I tried

not to be Hollywood. Really, I was, you know, it's like when I'd see someone get upped or their profile go up and we were still plateaued. Yeah. Indelibly was happy for them because, you know, when you're on the oyster line and you're shucking oysters, okay, every day, all day, you got that fucking glove on, that little knife, okay, and your pal Charlie next door, he gets up to going from shucking the oysters to making the oysters Rockefeller, okay? You're like, oh, shit. Now he's got to deal with breadcrumbs and Parmesan, but it's a lot easier than shucking these fucking oysters. So part of you is happy, and then part of you goes, well, what could I do

to get to be the same? And it's a healthy thing. It's the ones I worry about. Here comes the clickbait. There's about 10 things that are going to be clickbaited by Guitar about okay and here comes the clickbait there's about 10 things that are going to be clickbaited by guitar magazine today um here comes the click the ones i worry about are the ones that have the fake hollywood laugh i'm just so yeah happy for

your success and they kind of giggle and stutter and there's like i go those are the ones i i like i go do i have to like put metal detectors at the front for you yeah yeah are we okay here are we okay and but the other thing is all it's also important important to help people right help people figure out their lane you know and and and like here here's a here's a profile here's a here here's take my social media i don't care yeah you know i mean you know plug a record and we do a lot of that kind of stuff and and it's worked you know it works it's worked for our uh our uh our friend larry mccray and joan shaw taylor and robert john on the wreck and it's like you know it's like we're we're helping get those people and and trying to move them up a few steps on the ladder and and

most importantly it it makes for a healthy community going back to that thing the passive aggressiveness of the LA fucking fake smile shit that's why I left it you know it's like I was working in the industry I was working yeah I was working at capitals working at

drive-thru records and just like the fakeness of like yeah we'll get you it and never it happening you know it's kind of like the fakeness of like yeah we'll get you it and never it happening you know it's kind of like that that rabbit it's like it it hardened me to uh not to just keep going but also it's like i feel for these kids who don't really have any like social hardening they it probably ruins them it ruins it will ruin some you have to have a very very hard exterior right and not let anybody get inside your head and and you just have to go i'm going to do what i believe if you don't believe in what you're doing like yourself

yeah and it's a cop it's a it's a it's a it's a combination of confidence, like a dash of arrogance. It's like the seasoning salt, like Old Bay. Just a dash of that. Too much is, you know, you ruin the meal. But a little dash of Old Bay, aka arrogance, and a blind belief in yourself that if you don't if you're not convinced that you're worthy to do this on the road or it be in this field how the hell you do you expect to convince others to bet on you exactly and and that's and that's at the end of the day it's like no matter like i i love the flexors those are my favorite the people and. A lot of flexing in the 615.

It's almost like the golden game of flexing in the music business. It's uncircumcised flexing. I've gotten to the point where I can literally just tune out the Peanuts characters. When they all talk, wah, wah, wah. When it just becomes all this input that I just don't care. I just, okay, great. Good for you. I just don't care. Good for, I just, okay, great. Good for you. I just don't care.

Good for you. What's the bad, I mean, what else can I say? Yeah. You know, it's just, it's the egos.

Yeah. It's crazy. And anybody who has to give me the resume within the first 35 seconds, you know, it's like, it's like, it's like good. I'm,

I'm thrilled. Did you know? Great. Sir, it's like, it's like, good. I'm thrilled. Did you know I have, great. Sir, this is a Wendy's. Sir, sir, I'm in the drive-thru of the Wendy's. I'm trying to get a chicken. Yeah, it's a White Castle, man. It's like, it's like, I don't get it. But, but, but you, but you know what I mean?

I totally get it. I totally get it. You just have to, just the, the one lesson that one lesson that I do, and I'm a character. People I know, I'm polarizing because I have a weird sense of humor. But most of the people who meet me will say this. And I learn from the greatest. The most talented people I've ever run into in my entire life are also the kindest and nicest. But they carry themselves with a quiet confidence

that, listen, I'm BB King. I'm aware of what I've done and who I am. But I don't have to advertise. And that's the kind of way that I always, it's like, I'm aware that I'm a successful guitar player

named Joe Bonamassa. I don't have to advertise. And I want everybody to win because the more people that succeed in the guitar genre or blues genre or American roots, whatever you want to call it, you know, jam band, all this stuff that's devoid

of copious amounts of Ableton Live and tracks and real music played for real fans, everybody wins. The more people that are involved in that, the more the bigger the movement gets and the better the live shows are. The more people show up.

Right. So why are we more worried about Grammys than fucking just entertaining people on the road? Well, I know a little bit too much about how that thing works. That's why I was asking about gatekeeping, because I want to get to this part of the gatekeeping. I know people with multiple Grammys that have a hard time selling tickets, and I guarantee you that they would probably trade them both if they could sell at the Beacon. Yeah, right.

really trade them both if they could sell it to beacon yeah you know right and and but also too you know like that that that statue opens the door you know true and and it's it it's it's very difficult in any in any subjective media to go, what's the best. Right. So you're just kind of just lobbing it out there by vote. Yeah. You know, what's the best Americana album? I don't know.

Well, this person, you got six people up for it and this one got the most votes. Okay. I guess, I guess that's the best. Now it's again, it's subjective. What's the best

blues album of the year? I don't know. You know? It's one of those things. When your record's in there, nominate. Are you allowed to vote? Yeah. Yeah, fuck it. The whole Grammy thing. Every award show

from the Golden Globes to the Oscars, Grammys, anything with a gold statuette and a three-course prefixed menu party has a... It's all about buttering your own bread. You butter mine, I butter yours.

And we'll get a little collusion going and a consortium of like-minded folks. And that's why you see people with multiple statues. They call that a bukkake in the porn scene. Yeah, it's something.

It's something. It's their process. It still means something. It would mean something to a lot of artists. Does it mean something to you? It didn't. I've been nominated three times I never went no we're I've been up for four one is a producer and one and three is an artist I never went because I was on the road yeah and I was like well they'll you know and what I didn't what I

didn't realize is that when you do lose and and you lose, I can test them three times, four times a year. When you do lose, what you get in the mail subsequently is a box that says Cartier on it. And it's a medallion. It's like an Olympic medal. It's small, but it's a medallion with a like a it's like a it's like olympic map small but it's cartier and it says 59th annual grammy awards whatever and you know and and you know underneath it's you know says nominee medallion and and and um i call them the loser medallions because i just like put them on take a picture at my house look at at you. It doesn't... It's not you that's looking at those motherfucking things. A Grammy would not move the needle for me.

A Grammy would move the needle for Larry McRae. Or Eric Gales. And there's certain people that it would definitely help their life. It would definitely help putting on that poster. It's all marketing. It's like, hey grammy award winning

eric gales you know he's listen grammy nominated eric gales congratulations that was that was a huge feat in itself you know so at the end of the day it's there are certain artists that it would mean something why do you think there's a difference between how popular blues is in europe versus how it is in america it is it it's it it goes it predates us all yeah like like you would see i mean in the 60s muddy waters would go over okay he and find huge audiences that knew his records inside. And he'd still be playing a club in Chicago. I know. You get those great photos, and these

promoters bringing Howlin' Wolf over, and those great German television specials they do with Mississippi Fred McDowell, Son House, you know, and they do these sets, and they have a name for it. It's kind of escaping me at the moment. But, you know, and they'd recreate, they'd do these sets, and it's like, they have a name for it, it's kind of escaping me at the moment. But, you know, the Europeans have always been a dilettante, they've been dilettantes of American music for a long time.

And they've subsequently adopted American roots music as as their own and and in a sense that it's a it's it's it's pop music in certain places you know it's like i've had hits over in europe i've had i play arenas over in europe yeah it's fucking nuts dude it's crazy you know but it but at the end of the day it's because they there was a there's because there was a market for it. There was a media that would support it and play it. And fans would come out right off the bat. There was like American blues. We were exotic.

We were exotic to them. And it always made a difference, too. Like a lot of times, I've always brought my band. I was lucky enough to be able to bring my band everywhere I've gone yeah i know some people that go over there as american blues artists they go you know if i'm more popular here than the states i'm gonna i'm gonna live in brussels and just tour europe i'm like okay well it doesn't work that way because now you're now you're living there and using european bands and then the gate draws down. It's like you got to bring the – they want to see American musicians. Yeah.

American – it's like it's just this weird – it's weird how it works. I realized that because I had a – half my band was from Europe before I – because I was just too cheap to take my American band, and I saw my numbers start dropping. The minute I started bringing my American band, we're back to selling out Paradiso. It was so weird how that happened. You're totally right about that.

It's the idea of the American dream. It's the same thing that happened here with the British acts. It's like, why is Coldplay selling out the Rose Bowl? It's crazy. They've been massive here, and they're British. And it's crazy and and and it's like they've been massive here and they're british you know yeah and and and it's like it the same thing with like zeppelin broke here and the

yardbirds and and you know all of all of those of the beatles and the stones and everything they found huge audiences re-importing the music that we, that the country had exported, meaning they couldn't believe that Holland Wolfe wasn't a huge star. They couldn't believe that Muddy Waters wasn't bigger than everything put

together. They couldn't believe that Ray Charles was touring these underground circuits in the South. They couldn't fucking believe ray charles was was was touring these these underground circuits in the south couldn't fucking believe it because to them they were gods and they are musically they are gods and and and but and then the music that like their versions of those songs were more popular than the songs themselves and it's just it and if you want to critically think about it like well america's inherently this or that it's really not it's just about what what hits people in a certain way why does the american blues interpretation hit the germans a certain

way i don't know i don't i don't question it you know i mean it's just we're just lucky enough to have those audiences and and and you know it was great to see B.B. King selling arenas in Europe up to the very end. It was great to see Ray Charles doing the same. Finally, after all that time, getting their due and having the rock stars that they created kiss the ring going, if it wasn't for you, Ray, I wouldn't be here. And that's the truth. Do you think in America it's a little bit to do with racism? No. No? I think it has to do with the vastness of the country, the differences in taste.

Like, Iowa is different than California. Because we're such a big country. You have to work every territory as if it's its own country. Because, quite frankly, having experience in Europe, you do. Like, okay, we got our New York down. Now let's go to Pennsylvania. Let's work Jersey. Let's work the Mid-Atlantics.

Let's work the South. Let's work the thing. Blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. And yeah, there was racism back in the 40s and 50s and 60s when our heroes were out there touring and they couldn't go into certain restaurants or use the water fountain. 2024, it's not about that. It's about getting out there and what and and what what you're doing does it hit a nerve with an audience and it doesn't matter how old that audience is what

they look like what what demographic they are if it hits a nerve they're going to come buy a ticket and come see you and and why not embrace all of that and not overthink it you know and it's like i looked out in my audience and it doesn't matter if i'm at the hollywood ball or i'm at the chicago theater it doesn't matter okay it doesn't it really doesn't matter because the way i look at it is a 50 percent of the audience if you just if you just go by where the country's at 50 percent of the audience thinks a certain way the other 50% of the audience, if you just go by where the country's at, 50% of the audience thinks a certain way, the other 50% of the audience thinks another way. What's the great uniter

that's gotten them all in the room at the same time? Music, baby. Music. Music, baby. End of story. End of story. End of story. Whether you're male, female, black, white, Asian, it doesn't matter. Everybody's in there, and they all come for an escape.

They've all come to be there and escape the barrage of whatever they're consuming on whatever device they have. And that's what we sell as musicians. We sell escapism and joy on a binary level. And it transcends race. It transcends religion or creed or sexual preference. Music hits humans on a binary level. And that's the greatest thing about what we do is that we can cut through all that bullshit with a fucking A-chord. Yeah, I love it.

Exactly. It's bitter or not, like we talked about earlier in the podcast. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter because I'm proud that we could be glue to people, you know? And I'm proud that we're able to go out and play something, and now I'm old enough where kids will come up to me and be like, hey man, I started learning guitar from your, you know, ballad of John Henry.

I'm like, oh my god, I am getting old. You know, it's like, I started at four just like you, and my first record was this. I'm like, wow, doesn't seem like that long ago. But then they're 16, 17, and it makes sense. The record is 16 years old. Okay, I get it. What's your take on age?

Like, how do you feel about getting older? This is my favorite response to the trolls that say, okay, boomer. Okay, boomer this. Okay, boomer this. It's like, listen, man. The one thing you cannot prevent, literally, the one thing you cannot stop is this globe that we're on lapping the sun and every time we have the sun it takes one more it'll happen to you listen i think musicians just start getting good in their 40s yeah they have a combination of energy passion but most importantly they're

starting their second if they've been in it long enough they're starting their second set of 10,000 hours on stage oh shit i didn't think about that replacing that you do the 10 the first 10,000 hours now you're on the second maybe even the third set if you know you're you're doing 250 shows a year you're you're definitely the second second set yeah so and there's no there's no replacing that there's no there's no teaching that there's no course you can say you know there's no there's no teaching that x factor and that experience about being on stage and comfortable in yourself and looking them in the audience, looking them out, look at an audience in the eye. It doesn't matter if there's five people or 50,000 and think,

and everybody in the audience thinks you're looking at them. Buddy Guy does it better than anybody. Oh, Buddy Guy is the fucking pro. He does it better than ever. He's the best at that. He literally doesn't have to play a note, doesn't have to sing a note. He just walks out there, looks him in the eye

and smiles and it's over. Everything you've done before has been forgotten. Buddy freaking out. There's no better and that you can't teach. Now he's on his sixth set of Yeah. But I feel like that's the same as you, Joe. You walk on, I love you, man. You're a great

fucking performer, great player, but when you walk on the stage, everything just shuts the fuck up. Well, the best way to get him to shut the fuck up is to bring it down. Don't make it so loud. I learned that B.B. King would come out and be a

barrage of horns and a couple of stinger notes and then he'd bang. Bring it down. Showbiz. showbiz baby it's the same thing P.T. Barnum did it's the same thing it's the same tenets that go into movies and plays

and operas and comedy I was talking to a friend of mine who's an agent big comedy agent and we were talking about a friend of mine who's an agent, a big comedy agent, and we were talking about the notion of dynamics and how comedy is like, go take it to the mic, and then they bang. Like Sam

Kinnison, Chappelle does that. And then there's other comedians that just shout their act to you straight out. And it's less effective that way. It's like having sex. You know, you can't just go full on right away. You got to fucking get used to it a little bit.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah. I mean, bring a light show. You know, just bring some production. Get some lasers. Yeah. Get some fog in there. You know, bring some distractions.

You mind introducing me into the room? Yeah, exactly. You got to save time for band intro. A little shout out to the production guys. Well, Joe, thanks for being on the show, man. It's been an hour. I know you got to get back to your life. But I'm in Nashville all the time, man.

Let's go have a coffee or something. I would love to, man. I don't know if you do the Instagram thing, but I'll shoot you a message. Just hit me up on Instagram. I'll give you my number. Thanks, buddy. All right, I got one last question for you, Joe thing, but I'll shoot you a message. Just hit me up on Instagram. I'll get the, I'll give you my number. Thanks, buddy. All right, I got one last question for you, Joe, and then I'll let you go. You know, when it's all said and done, you know, what do you want to be remembered by?

Oh, I think when it's all said and done, I think more than the music, I think the proof of concept. Yeah. more than the music i think the proof of concept yeah it's like the the like if i can give hope to the perpetually uninvited that they one day one day they can have their own world then i've done my job because you know and that's that's the that's the most discouraging thing that i that that brings people there it It's like being the professionally uninvited. It's like, they don't remember me. They don't care. They don't rate me.

It's like, okay, well, I'm going to throw my own bar mitzvah. Okay? You're not invited. Yeah, exactly. And if you are invited, you're going to fucking pay. Yeah. You're going to fucking pay. You're going to pay a fortune.

Let's go. So that's the one thing I hope to leave. and pay a fortune. Let's go. That's the one thing I hope to leave. Listen, you have to understand that there's so many talented musicians that for some reason don't get the invites.

It just ruins and discourages a lot of careers. People are not into it. We're thankful you're around, buddy. Thanks, man. and discourages a lot of careers and people are not into it. Yeah. Well, we're thankful you're around, buddy. Thanks, man. I appreciate everything.

This was really nice. It was really nice. I first started my career as a blues guy and looked up to people. Thank you. Have a good one, buddy. I'll shoot you a text. Thanks, man. Appreciate it.

Later, buddy. Cheers. Bye. It's only just begun, so thanks, Joe. Appreciate it. Appreciate it. Later, buddy. Cheers. Bye. It's only just begun, so thanks, Joe. Appreciate it. Appreciate it. You tuned in to the World's Health Podcast with Andy Fresco. Thank you for listening to this episode.

Produced by Andy Fresco, Joe Angelo, and Chris Lawrence. We need you to help us save the world and spread the word please subscribe rate the show give us those crazy stars itunes spotify wherever you're picking this shit up follow us on instagram at world saving podcast for more info and updates fresco's blogs and tour dates you'll find at andyfresco.com and check our socials to see what's up next might be a video dance party, a showcase concert, that crazy shit show, or whatever springs to Andy's wicked brain.

And after a year of keeping clean and playing safe, the band is back on tour. We thank our brand new talent booker, Mara Davis. We thank this week's guest, our co-host, and all the fringy frenzies that help make this show great. Thank you all. And thank you for listening be your best be safe and we will be back next week no animals were harmed in the making of this podcast as far as we know any similarity instructional knowledge facts are fake is purely

coincidental