Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 28: Sammi Garett & Shira Elias (Turkuaz)

Episode Date: November 20, 2018

It's twofer Tuesday on the podcast as we serve you up a heaping pile of holiday-spiced interviews! We got our dear friends, Sammi and Shira of the band, Turkuaz joining us on the interview hour. We opened up for this band the last week of their tour, and let me tell ya: these homies know how to put on a show. Andy apologizes profusely for his behavior on Jam Cruise. Also, listen in as the boys sing you some Tyler Childers. This is Episode 28. To keep up with the podcast, follow us on Instagram @WorldSavingPodcast For more information on Andy Frasco, tour dates, the band and the blog, go to: AndyFrasco.com The views discussed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the guests. Follow our friends, Turkuaz at www.turkuazband.com/ Produced by Andy Frasco Yeti Joe Angelhow Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: Shawn Eckels Andee 'Beats' Avila Ahri Findling Arno Bakker

Hi, Andy. This is Brian from the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia. I'm calling about the Herman wedding on May 9th that you guys will be performing at. I am going through the contract that we sent you and the writers that you sent back for us, and it looks like we're going to have a tough time accommodating some of these. I just wanted to call and review them with you to make sure that none of them were deal breakers. It looks like, number one, here you have space for a 30-person entourage. That will not be possible. This is a smaller venue,

and I'm not sure why you need to bring 30 people to another person's wedding. Additionally, number two, you listed about eight or nine different types of drugs for the entourage, and while we do want you and your band to have a good time. We cannot purchase drugs for you. It is illegal in Pennsylvania and generally the entire United States. So hopefully that is okay. And three, it looks like you listed that you wanted to bring the bride and the groom on stage and strip for them. Again, not going to be able to accommodate that. One, this is an Orthodox Jewish wedding and would be highly against their religion to do that. And two, we typically do not allow people to strip in our venue. It is not a strip club. This is not a Chippendales

or some sort of donkey show. If you could give me a call back to confirm you still would like to perform, that would be great. Again, my name is Brian. Thank you. What's going on, everybody? It's your boy, Andy Frasco.

You're on the Andy Frasco World Saving Podcast with Yeti. Today I'm going solo on that ass. Just straight solo raw dogging it. And actually probably not raw dogging it because I only, that's kind of gross. And I just got my test and I'm finally clean. My dick's clean. Well, I've always been clean, but, you know, it's always nice to know that you're clean. But anyway, what's up, everybody?

This is the Thanksgiving edition. I wanted to make a cold opening today. You know, no bullshit aside, just want to talk about being thankful. You know, there's a lot of things that happen in life, like my parents and my family grew up in the valley, and right now it's fucking burned down. The shit's burning down. Thank God I left. God damn. But it just sucks. You never know what's going to happen in your life. You know, you could be having the highs of highs and all of a sudden, bam, shit like this happens. Your house burns down. Your friend gets sick. Your mom gets sick. Your dad gets sick. Whatever's

going on in your life that gives you that curve, that, all right, are we going to still feel this angst, this anxiety, or are we going to try to deal with life when it comes and not force it to not push happiness? I think that's important, but enough of that preacher stuff. What's going on with me? I've got a lot of big things going on. I'm going to be doing Jam Cruise. I'm going to be doing Rock Boat. We're about to start our world tour.

We're going to Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, China. And then I'm taking the boys to Japan for four days to see some Vending machines with dirty underwear in it I heard Japan's crazy I'm excited to take the boys there I heard it's expensive If anybody knows where we should go That isn't expensive Because I'm on a musician's budget

Holler at a boy What else? I'm going on tour with Carl Denson My man The OG of OGs holler at a boy. What else? I'm going on tour with Carl Denson, my man, the OG of OGs. It's going to be nice to have a couple days with him. And then what else is going on? I'm putting out a new record, guys.

I can't announce when I am, but you'll hear it soon on one of these episodes. But things are good right now. You know, I was going through some rough times, like everybody. I can't always be happy. That sounds fucking boring. You got to feel some shit too. And it's nice.

I'm sitting on top of my rooftop in Kansas City. I had one day off, so we drove here. Boys are still sleeping. I wake up at 8 a.m. no matter fucking what because that's just how I do it. Even if I have a bender. It's hard getting old. Hangovers hurt.

I'm tired more. That can't stop you from being the person you want to be. So here I am. On my way. To our next gig. We've been touring with Turquoise. I'm really excited about that. Those guys are bad to the fucking bone. You know, it's like whenever you're, I don't know, I think of musicianship and musicians and bands kind of like a competition.

Not because like, not like an angry competition, just like like you're here you want to play the best music you're here to bust people's ass every day you know like you want to be the guy and give the best performance you can you know it's nice to have a little competition and i thought i was gonna have more competition with these guys and you know and be like us versus them and it wasn't they were so fucking cool they They came up to us. They've just been super nice. I've got to stop getting in my head like, I'm Michael Jordan, everyone's against me.

It's music, Frasco. It's fucking music. That just makes me who I am, I guess. But those guys were so cool. We've been partying with them and having a great time with them. And I really enjoy... They have 14've been partying with them and having a great time with them and I really enjoy they have 14 fucking guys

who travel with them. I'm bitching about 8 people traveling with me. These motherfuckers have 14 people traveling. Like I'd lose a couple motherfuckers every night. Like where's Bill? Where's Johnny? Where's

fuck? We left Steven in the fucking bathroom again You know, that shit's hard So respect to them for making a living With 14 guys and living in New York City That's some respect You know, you gotta be playing good music You gotta be good to promoters And I've seen nothing but respect and etiquette

From those boys So shout out to Turquoise And that's who's gonna be on our show tonight I realize I don't have that many girls on the show And that sucks I like women And I think women are fucking strong, powerful humans And I felt like it's time

Let's get Shira We have Shira and Sammy on the show tonight I'm really excited to Hang out with them for a couple more days. It's been fun. Opening for bands is weird because, you know, you never know what you're going to get. If people are going to show up early, if the band's going to be pissed that you're fucking pouring Jagermeister

and fucking Jameson in your mouth and spilling all over their stage. You know, it takes the right balance. And these guys are it. So far, Pigeons, we've won. So far, Turquoise, we've won with those guys as well, you know, because they're just good dudes, and we're all in this together. So stop thinking, Frasco, that this is a competition. This is not a competition.

Sorry, that's me talking to myself again. But it's Thanksgiving, y'all. Things are here to be thankful. Even if my listeners in Europe and stuff listen to this podcast, you don't believe in Thanksgiving, fuck the Thanksgiving word. It's just about being thankful with what you have and who you want to spend your time with. You know, life is too short not to spend your time with people that you're thankful for. You know, if you're in a bad situation, get out of it.

If it's something you can't communicate with them, get out of it. Life is too short, man. Life is too short not to surround yourself with people you love, you support, and you care about. Again, I keep on preaching when I go solo. But I think I'm just saying things that I keep on telling myself because I'm very insecure sometimes. This is why I'm a musician, I think. I need to be loved a lot. And that's okay. I'm learning how to love myself. And from this learning,

I realized that life will let you love yourself if you want it to. We could push ourselves out of this situation. Oh, feel sorry for me. Feel sorry for me. But where does that get you? Alone in your room, beating off to fucking you porn and shit. I've done it. I've been on Depression bins Or You know

My dick needs a breather It's true Just trying to You gotta listen to your body You gotta listen to your mind You know They'll always direct you Into the right direction

With that being said I know it's kind of vulgar With I have two girls On the show tonight But We got Shira We got Sammy

These girls are amazing They've true, true, true singers Amazing singers And I'm just so proud that Turquoise is really blowing up And they're in it And their power, the power duo I fucked up This is a crazy story

I tried to ask Sammy out on a date on Jam Cruise and uh it was during this like house game or some like boat game was like celebrity squares and they had a house band and I thought it'd be funny to ask her out on stage but I didn't realize her husband is actually in Turquoise and was the backup band for the celebrity game. So I was like, oh, shit. Oh, shit. Okay. Well, I'm sorry, bud.

I'm sorry for flirting with your wife. I told Sammy I apologize, I think, in the interview. But I just want to say I love you guys. No disrespect. Just a lonely man, single man, just trying to find his. But here's Sammy. Here's Shira. I love these girls.

I love this band. And I hope you do too. Have a good one and enjoy the interview. I'm nervous. Don't be nervous. Sammy. Hi, Sammy. Hi, how are you?

I want to first start off with this interview by apologizing about what happened at Jam Cruise. No, it was funny. I didn't know that you're dating the person who is in your fucking band. First of all, I didn't, like I knew you, but like we didn't know each other. So that's totally fair. I know, I know. It was funny. There's a lot of things in that whole conversation.

Because I called you, I still can't get over this. I called you one of the backup singers and that's such bullshit because I really had no idea about your band. I was just here dude it's totally fine we're on tour together you are definitely not a backup singer and i just apologize oh my gosh it's apology accepted you totally didn't have to apologize it was funny

we were both quick it was i was nervous witty oh no it's fine fine. Stop it. Sammy Garrett. Hello. How are you? I'm good. How are you? Good to see you today. Good to see you, too. Man, this has been so much fun touring with you, by the way. This has been so much fun. I think we're a good combo together, right?

One, two, punch. Oh, 100%. It's like I've never seen a full show of yours because we were always playing at the same time. Yeah. You guys are awesome. I mean, I- Like straight part party. Fuck yeah. we were always like playing at the same time. You guys are awesome. Like straight party.

Fuck yeah. Thanks Sammy. Party. You like to party. Exactly. Let's talk about it. I want to get to know you. Besides me asking you out on a date. I apologize. Not even knowing you. Where did you ask me to go? Olive Garden?

No, the Garden Cafe. The free buffet. On the boat. I apologize. Not even knowing it. Where'd you ask me to go? Olive Garden? No, the Garden Cafe, the free buffet. On the boat. On the boat. I'm sorry. Everything was free. I was skittering. I was like, oh, she's watching this. Okay, here's my chance. Sammy? Yes. I learned a lot about you. You went to Berklee's? Yeah.

What were you doing at Berklee? Vocal performance. Okay, so let's go back. Let's go back. Younger Sammy. What would you want to be? Did you always want to be in this jam scene? Actually, it's funny. I wanted to do musical theater. You and Shira are like the same fucking thing.

Okay. I know. What were you in? What were you in? So, I mean, well, I started off actually in band. So, I really wanted to play the saxophone. But the band teacher said I was too short so she wrote me down for the drums.

So elementary school, middle school, high school I played the drums which actually ended up being awesome and I ended up like I was a drummer in a ska band in high school. You have ska influences? Oh yeah baby. Me too.

I love ska. It's like Really? Yes. This is the Real Big Fish is the reason why- Oh my God. Real Big Fish, like the toasters, Aquabats. So young, okay, tell me-

Mustard plug. No shit. Like, yes, ska is like, there's like a special, special place in my heart for ska. So were you a ska drummer, a ska horn player? Yeah, drummer. No, I play the drums. How hard was it to do the, you know, because half my show is ska beats. I know.

That's why I think I enjoy you. I don't think. I know I enjoy you guys so much because I definitely hear that influence in your band. So you always wanted to be on the music side. Yes, definitely. Explain this ska. So you had this energy.

So I always played an instrument. I played like a little piano, a little guitar. And then in middle school, I got into musical theater because I was just always very into music. And then I was like, oh, maybe like I like performing. Maybe I want to go to school for musical theater. So I auditioned for like a handful of musical theater colleges. Equals. So I auditioned for like a handful of musical theater colleges. I also, like University of the Arts in Philly, the New School.

Okay. All like the really top ones. Yeah. East Coast? Yeah. Where? Born and raised in New York. New York. I was born in the city, grew up on Long Island, like 20 minutes outside the city.

We'll talk about that, but keep going. So anyway, I was like, oh, maybe I want to go to school for musical theater. Berkeley was the only non-musical theater school I applied to. I went to go visit it. I auditioned and I ended up really, really loving it because a lot of the musical theater schools

that I was auditioning for, they didn't do a lot of music theory. And throughout high school, I took music theory classes. And none of the musical theater schools really offered that. And I was like, well, I don't want to be an ignorant musician and not know how to write. You know, not know how to write like a chart or, you transcribe a solo or like no like I wanted to know what I was doing so Berkeley was the first college I got into and then that was it so these musical theater classes aren't teaching you theory they didn't they like maybe dabbled a little bit

but not as much as I wanted to learn so what what did you want to learn in music? Like, do you want to write songs? Yeah, like write songs, like be in a band, write music. And, you know, not really growing up playing a melodic instrument. I was super good at rhythm, but I wanted to get better at like, you know, writing chord charts for a band and writing melodies down. Are you singing when you're drumming? Yeah. So you were the lead singer, drummer?

Well, I wasn't the lead singer, but we kind of all sang in the band. What was the most memorable song? Scott's songs. We covered a mustard plug song called You. And that was pretty epic. Played in the Battle of the Bands. Yeah? Did you win? Battle of the Bands. Yeah. Did you win?

No. No? No. So did you always want to be a touring musician? You know, I don't think that was on my mind, but I knew I always wanted to play music. I knew I always wanted to perform. And I didn't know I wanted this till I was in it. And I was like, I cannot think of doing anything else but this.

What do you love about it? Everything. I love seeing the country. I love meeting all the different kinds of people. I love just getting up on stage every single night and like just performing for people. It's so awesome. Like how many people can say like they do that for a job? It's so awesome. Like, how many people can say, like, they do that for a job?

Yeah. It's pretty special, and I really like it a lot. So how did you get with your boys? So I knew of them at Berkeley. They were a super big, like, party band. People loved them. Were they the same band? Yes, they were.

People pronounced it wrong. were turquoise but then we later figured out it's turquoise yeah uh sorry turquoise and um so graduated college moved back home for a little bit um one of the old singers actually reached out to me because turquoise was playing a gig with pigeons playing ping pong. I went to high school with Greg Orman. Oh, no shit. So Geneva, one of the old- He was a musical theater guy too. Yes.

Were you in any plays together? Yes. Oh my God, come on. All of them. Really? Yes. It's funny. My parents actually just pulled a bunch of old home videos

from our storage unit that we have. And I have all of the plays that we were in. So hanging out with that crew, they said they were always into fish and stuff. Were you into a different side of it, like musical theater? Yeah, I wasn't really into like the jam side. Uh-huh. But I think he was.

I don't know. No shit. Okay, so. So anyway. Keep going. Our old singer ended up talking with Greg Ormont because Turquoise was looking for another singer. Greg was like, oh, hey, like this girl, Sammy,

like she lives in New York. I knew Geneva from Berkeley. So Geneva was like, wait a minute. What's Sammy's last name? Greg was like, Garrett. They didn't know that they each knew me. Geneva ended up texting me. She was like, you want to audition for Turquoise? I was like, hell yeah.

A week later, I auditioned. I went on a weekend run with them and they were like, you're in. Were they already touring hard? They were just starting to tour pretty heavily so whose idea was it for the girls they always had girls oh really from the very very very first show at the berkeley performance center wow they had girls so you got the gig got the gig and the rest is history straight into the van straight into the van how do you like

tour life how do you like that oh it's Is it hard? Because you guys have 14 fucking people. We do. There's a lot. That's a lot of heads in this wagon. There's a lot. I was talking to Shira about this. But honestly, I think it's even, I mean, I've never toured with like a three person band. I feel like that would be a lot harder.

Explain that. Because since there's so many of us, there's so many different variations of people you can hang out with. many of us there's so many different variations of people you can hang out with so let's say you know hanging out with one person you know get into an argument or you're bored or whatever but it's it's fun like you know we'll be in the van and you know it'll be a different group of people and it's like oh we haven't had like this group of people together before like let's see what this is like. And it's so much fun. Can you share a moment of just like, you know,

it's like maybe you're just like fucking tired or hungover or just like haven't gotten enough sleep. Do you have any moments like early morning, like, you know, Michelangelo just rips a huge fart or like, you know, just like what the fuck? We're pretty good with that. But there was a there was a funny moment where this was maybe about a couple years ago it was like a really really long when we were in one van so it was like 13 people in a 15 passenger van and i think it was

possibly early morning we started to drive someone was playing something on either their phone or like it was a radio and all of a sudden there was like harm i was like harmonica music or something all of a sudden out of nowhere mikey goes these harmonicas are driving me nuts and we just lost it we just like cracked up like crying so that was a funny like i don't know if we were hungover or we're just like really tired but that was a band camaraderie it's like it was just like we were like delusional and tired and that was a good moment how's it you know having a family of trellis i was here, I was talking to your tour managers, like, you are 14 deep even when you fly.

Oh, yeah. So, like, having this, like, how do you keep the chemistry? Like, maybe one day, like, the bass player, I don't know, or, like, might be having a shitty day. Like, how do you all, like, all right, let's take this behind us and let's play the best show we can. Like, do you guys have a pep talk or? I mean, possibly sometimes. I i mean it's all really like

based on friendship and i i think that's the super strong foundation and also like us wanting to all be here and do this so you know we're all really good friends we're family at this point. So I think that's what really kind of like holds it together. And we can like, you know, talk like family, not just coworkers. Yeah. You know,

is it hard being a woman in a, like a predominantly male fucking industry where like, um, I don't know. I wouldn't say hard. I would say, I think it, you know, gives me more incentive to be like, Hey, like I want to do this or like, you know, I got balls, you know?

Do you think it's helped you like, like kind of like give yourself that more motivation to like express how you feel? that more motivation to like express how you feel. Yeah, I think so. And also just like, you know, growing up, like playing the drums, like I was the only girl drummer. Yeah, it's fucking tight as fuck, by the way. It was a lot of fun. Would you ever sit in with bands as a drummer now?

Yeah, I mean, I haven't played like in a while, but there was in one song, I think it's in Looking Tough that we do. Every once in a while, I'll get back with Mikey and like we'll do our drum solo together. No way. Has Mikey ever gave you the full kit? No, not the full kit. Would you be nervous? Would you do it? I think I would do it. I think I'd be really nervous, though. I haven't like done that in a while. Yeah.

But I'm down. You know. You ever want to put out a solo record? Yeah, probably eventually. What would it be? What would be the sound? Well, I don't know. I really like, I grew up listening to like Joni Mitchell and like Carole King.

I grew up listening to like Joni Mitchell and like Carole King. So I like that sort of like all the feels sort of folky. I love Fleetwood Mac. So maybe something along those lines. It's so cool. That's why you and Shira work so well together. Because you guys have kind of the same background, but different, different tones.

Yeah. And I think that's why the harmonies work so well like did you know that you guys are gonna like how did you guys work did you know shira before no no like you got connected and they hooked up another one like all right now you guys gotta yeah i think she she knew someone i think who who also actually used to sing with the band and we were auditioning for other singers. And then she came and auditioned and she was just really chill and awesome. Was it hard to click at first? No, not at all. It worked?

No, it was great. Yeah. And that's what's so cool. I feel like we've all found each other. Sympatico. You know? Without even trying. Without even trying. Without even trying.

It just happened. Like, so with that being said, if you could, you know, tell 15 year old Sammy the advice that what now Sammy is dealing with now, what would you tell her? Go with your gut, trust yourself and just like be strong. Go with your gut, trust yourself, and just like be strong. Not that like I wasn't strong before, but like I really think being in music since I was like very young and also like Berklee, I think really gets you ready for like the real world. There's like no hand holding. I think it was all a really good experience and I think it really got me ready. Advocate for myself and speak up if I want something or I think something's wrong.

My drum teacher always used to say, like, hit the drums hard. Come on, be strong. And I think that's kind of like my attitude. In life? Yeah. Do you think you got that from New York? Maybe. How was it growing up in New York?

It was great. I grew up on Long Island, so it was just like 20 minutes outside the city. So just far enough? Just far enough where it was like suburbs, lived by the water. It was very nice. Those talk guys are from Long Island too. Yes, they're from Montauk. Montauk. Yeah, a little further out.

Is that like a scene? Is there beef between Long Island musicians and New York City or mainland? No, I don't think so. Because it's like a lot of the Long Island people would go into the city. Yeah. Because I was a big fan of Taking Back Sunday and Brand New. Yes, totally. And all these dramas.

Bayside, which is from Bayside. Dude, I used to work for Drive Thru Records. No way. Yeah, I used to book Rx Bandits. Get out. Yeah, I went through a punk stage too. Okay. Yeah.

So are you thankful you got in a band like this? It really has a lot of ska roots. It has the horns. Yes, totally. Was this kind of a dream come true or do you oh my god totally what's the ultimate dream though i mean just like i feel like i'm kind of doing it yeah yeah fuck yeah sammy i am doing it yeah i mean this is like getting to perform like every single night and like singing and dancing and it's great do you write any lyrics yeah

actually um i what songs you've written greg and i uh the tenor sax player actually wrote a song for one of our last albums together and and dave as as well it was sort of like a group group effort um shira and i actually wrote some lyrics for one of the songs. Actually, it's not out on an album yet, but we do it. We do it sometimes. Maybe we'll have to do it one night. So do you feel like, does that make morale better with the band when you guys are writing songs too and you're all being involved?

It's very collaborative. It's great. And I think, you know. So it's not a dictatorship. No, not at all. It's awesome. And it's cool because, like, all of us come from a different background so I think it's cool that we all bring a little bit of different flavor that is that becomes a turquoise song yeah which is very neat it's killer

yeah I got so many questions for you I want to go okay you you talked about greg that's a boyfriend right yes okay living on the road yes with your boyfriend yeah plus 20 million other people in the van like is it hard no it's super fun yeah it's great is it tough at times like what i'm coming i'm asking you from because i want to try it yeah try it out and have someone live in the van. But I know I just get sick of people so quick. So how do you get through those moments of like, oh, I just want to be in my own room. Like, fuck. Like, how, and you can't.

I think you have to find that special person. Do you share a bunk together? No. I mean, the bunks are tiny. Like, you know, they're small. Okay. I mean the bunks are tiny like you know

they're small okay um but I think you have to you know find that special person where you

do want to spend time with them and you don't get sick of them or you know but it's nice cause like you know

every once in a while I'll like go take a walk by myself and have like me time which is cool which I think everyone should have. No, but it's awesome.

I mean, we have a blast. How long have you all been together? Six years. Holy fuck. For as long as I've been in the band. I met him the day I auditioned. I feel even worse about me fucking asking you on this. No, don't.

Stop it. You didn't know. Okay, I didn't know. It's fine. So you guys did, so you met him at the audition? At the audition. Love at first sight. No way. That was it. What was the moment? When did you you guys did, so you met him at the audition? At the audition. Love at first sight. No way.

That was it. What was the moment? When did you know, like, this is going to be my guy? It's funny. I forget who I was. I was listening to an interview. Who was it? Where, like, they also met their husband, and it was, like, love at first sight.

Like, where she was saying, like, she felt like, she's like, it's not going to sound great, but she was saying like she felt like she's like it's not gonna sound great but she's like i felt sick and like it was kind of almost the same way i felt like very like dizzy and i was like whoa this is like weird and i was also like super nervous because it was an audition and i was like oh my god that guy's really cute so it was like a lot of emotions and i was like very overwhelmed and then that was was, you know. We kept it a secret for a while though. Because I was like. Okay, explain that. Because I was the new girl on the band

and it's like you don't want to be the new girl dating, you know, one of the band members. That's rule number one. Do you think they already knew? But like you guys were just like. No, we were really good about it because we were like, listen, this band means a lot to both of us.

When we're with the band, we're, you know, Greg and Turquoise and Sammy and Turquoise. And then when we're not, we're Greg and Sammy the couple. So we did a really good job of, and like, you know, they're all of, they're our friends. So we didn't want to make them feel weird. And you know, and I was the new girl and this was really, really important to me. And we didn't want to make anyone feel weird or jeopardize the band in any way so we were super respectful and then you know once it it was like all right we're serious this is real we told everyone and they were all cool and it was great and six years later because it's still in love. Still in love.

Any like epiphanies like when you're on the road like, oh, man, you might have had like a shitty week. You know, maybe some shows were kind of less than you thought. And then you had this plateau move in or break down. And all of a sudden you realize this is what makes me most happy. Do you remember any like certain moment on stage like opening for someone or like wow i'm really fucking doing it i can't think of like any particular moment but just like like after every show i go to the merch table and i talk to the fans and i think that is the coolest thing like doing what we do and you know having touched so many people and like them singing our lyrics and them like seeing them do our dance moves in the audience like that's wild I don't think I will ever like I'll ever like get over that like that's you know

people are like oh my god you're so great and I love your music and I that. Like that's, you know, people are like, Oh my God, you're so great. And I love your music. And I'm like, but it's weird. Like I'm just, and it's also hard to hide with pink hair.

So people like recognize me a lot and they just, you know, Was that a new change? Like you, cause you, like you said, you're shy. And all of a sudden the band has this marketing thing where it's like colors.

Well, it's like, how'd you get through that? I'm shy, but I'm also like, it's weird. I'm shy, but I'm outgoing. It's like very, I don't know, maybe it's like a Virgo thing. I like my, yeah. But I love the pink hair.

I think it's how I feel on the inside is like how I feel on the outside. It's very cool. And I've had pink hair for about three years now and I think it fits. It suits me. I found my natural hair color. It's what I should have had at birth. Yeah. It's fucking awesome, Sammy. I got a couple more for you then we'll get on our show.

For sure. This is the Thanksgiving episode. I want to know what do you what are you thankful for i'm thankful i know everyone says this but my family my family about them i love them they are super super supportive um i have a very very close relationship with my mom and dad and brother and what do they do are they in music uh they're not in music but my mom she is a graphic designer my dad is a psychologist and he teaches psychology and how is that it's great yeah it's great yeah he's super super smart and he works so hard he's like the hardest working guy i've ever known in my life inspiration yes totally he's, he's the best. And I mean, same with my mom and my brother.

My brother, he's a sculptor. And he also, he works at Parsons in New York. He's the, like the wood shop guy. I don't know his official title, but. So everyone's pretty creative. He works with wood. Yeah, super creative. Mind creativity.

Yeah. You know, Mind creativity. Yeah. You know, art creativity. Yeah. So you're thankful for your family. Definitely. What else are you thankful for? I'm thankful, you know, for my health and that, you know, also turquoise, that we're doing, like... Killing it.

What I think we all want to be doing yeah and you know we're you know we're going we're going places it feels good and it feels right and and you know everything happens for a reason and I think what we're doing is really really awesome it. It's awesome. All right, one last one. Okay. All right. You are a music guru. Let's pretend.

Let's put on the Sammy's going to throw a festival hat. Oh, my gosh. You get to pick six or seven bands, dead or alive. Oh, wow. Your band's already in. Don't worry. You don't have to say your band. Okay. So who would they be? Would you start with Ska? Oh, wow. Who would, your band's already in. Don't worry, you don't have to say your band. Okay, okay.

So who would they be? Would you start with Ska? Would you start with some Bluegrass? Would you start with some folk like Joni Mitchell? Like where would you go? Yeah, I was thinking like maybe Joni Mitchell, but maybe like start off with a bang. Maybe like, you know, the Toasters or like the Hippos

and just like blast off right in there mustard plug and you know little Joni Mitchell in there maybe chill it out um the headliners I think Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac definitely recently such Ameriquai sick Did you play with them? No, no, we didn't. But you played in the same festivals? Yeah, we played in the same festival. They were awesome.

Ooh, Little Dragon. I fucking love them. They would definitely be there. I also really like heavy metal. Like what? What? Get the fuck out of here. This is the shit I need to know.

What do you like i i enjoy uh slipknot fuck yes i went to a slipknot concert they were great great show uh guar is great i went to a guar concert they put on a great show don't they like spray like oh yeah like blood and cum and like all this stuff it's great uh that's super fun oh gosh like but i also really like like death cap for cutie and um like saves the day oh my god you're a sinister kid i love it saves the day saves the day was this shit dude at your funeral like reggie in the full effect reggie in the fucking Full Effect, dude. Get Up Kids. Get Up Kids. Oh, man. Like, awesome, awesome. Do you think that's where you get your energy? Maybe.

I've been thinking about this, too, but with my band. Like, I used to love New Found Glory. Totally. I used to love bands that were just, like, super energetic. Yes, yes. And, like, maybe that's the reason why we want to be in energetic bands. Like, I really like Paramore. Like, I feel like if I had my own band, I would want to have like be like that. Another badass rocker.

Totally. Wow. So you would go into. I could totally fucking see it, dude. I think so. I think you'd kill it. Yeah. Thank you.

That's an exclusive. You hear? Watch out, Haley. Sammy's coming For that ass Thank you Sammy So much for being on this show Thank you Thank you for having me

We gotta do more shows You're so sweet Yes We gotta do more shows together Yes We will Please I had a great time

Hanging with your crew The other day So much fun I've been having fun And thank you for letting me Do an interview In my shady van Of course

And I love you Playing video games. We're playing video games. Tight. God of war. Don't. But you're a metalhead, so this is all good for you. That's great.

I'm, like, into this. So let's come in. Very cool. Let's get some warmth, and thank you so much. Let's have a great show. Let's have a great show tonight. Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving.

It is halftime at the Enni Fresco interview hour. And now, a holiday message from Chris Logger. What are you thankful for? Your friendship. Give me more than that. What are you thankful for? Sparkle in your eye. What else are you thankful for?

I'm thankful for love. For my kids. For my wife. For my family. For my band. For my friends, for the people who come to see our shows, to the people who love live music, to the people who create art, to the people who do what they love to do instead of doing it for the money, for people who care about others and show compassion and love and don't hate on people for any reason because they know that hate and intolerance never solves anything.

So I'm grateful for those people out there in the world. I like to call them the sunny day soldiers. You know what I'm talking about. Well, I'm thankful for your dreadlocks. You better be. Happy Thanksgiving, Chris Lager. Happy Thanksgiving, Andy Fresco. I love you.

We're here. We're live in a van. There's no place I'd rather talk to you, Andy Fresco, than in a van in Omaha. In a van in Omaha. Shira Turquoise. Wow. This is nice.

We've been trying to do this For a long time I know And the time has come I want to talk You know We have Very similar

Situations I feel We both grew up Musical theater background And Our first experiences As like Choring musicians

We got thrown into A jam scene that we have no idea you know like it's true like string cheese what what the fuck how did you get to this point in your career where like you look back and you look at yourself when you're what

16, 15, 13 and now you look at yourself now do you think do you ever think you would be blowing up in this jam scene? No, definitely not. I didn't even know what the jam scene was, except for my summers at Camp Solomon Schecter. They really, really liked Dave Matthews. Hold on, talk about, was this Jew camp? Of course it was Jew camp.

My Jewish queen. Tell me about it. Well, in Olympia, Washington, every summer, Camp Solomon Schechter, it was like a conservative reform United Synagogue youth summer camp. And I went there. All my youth, I was a counselor, had most of my first everythings there as far as like sexual experiences. Oh, shit. So like you learned how to be a woman in this.

I mean, that's why They send us to Jew camp To meet Jewish men and women And make more Jewish babies Is that kind of like birthright? I mean it's a lot more money Because birthright's free So you're going there You're going to this camp

You're hearing Dave Matthews In the woods Yeah but I was like I was into it for the hang Because you know I just want to be part of the thing But as far as jam scene goes I didn't know anything So what were you listening to? Well I was for the hang because you know i just want to be part of the thing but as far as jam scene goes

i didn't know anything so what were you listening to well i was well if we're going way back i was like pop princess like okay christina jessica well whitney mariah those are my girls and i was like musical theater nerd to the max so it was like either like bitches belting or musical theater. Yeah. Oh my God. So what brought you, so that's what you wanted to be. You want to be a musical theater. I wanted to like be a Broadway star. Like that's pretty much why I moved to New York.

Okay. So what was this moment you wanted to be a Broadway star? This moment? No, it was like. Was it a moment? I mean, I was like, you know, this cliche, like little girl just like singing in on a camcorderorder and just in front of everyone all the time, getting on the table, singing, dancing. I was just doing theater since I was like five. What plays were you doing?

My first show was Oliver Twist. I was like a little orphan in pickpocket. And I did Joseph and the Amazing and Technicolor Dreamcoat with Donny Osmond. With Donny? With Donny, baby. And the cutoff of the kids' choir was eight years old and I was only six,

but they let me in anyway. You're a star. I guess. So what? Did your parents, like, push you to do this? Or, like, how was that relationship?

My mom, like, always kind of prided herself on not being, like, a pushy mother. Like, I wanted to do everything. And, like, the minute that I

would have ever said, like, I don't want to do this, she would have been like, hey, like I wanted to do everything. And like the minute that I would have ever said, like, I don't want to do this, she would have been like, hey, we're not doing this anymore. But I fucking loved that shit. You came from Canada though. So like you had to make the move. Like you're six years old making the move.

Like that is an adult thing to do. Well, no, what do you mean? The move to New York? No, just like Tell your parents Yo check it out We're out of Canada Well it was like

I just wanted to perform For people Any chance I could And so Oliver My mom saw in like So Richmond British Columbia Which is like a suburb

Of Vancouver There was like auditions At Gateway Theatre For Oliver Yeah And she was like Do you wanna go? And I was like Fuck yeah yeah, I want to go.

And I didn't even have any sheet music. I was six years old. I didn't even know. Or no, five at this point. I didn't know about any of that. She didn't know any about that. I went to the audition, did the song Maybe from Annie a cappella, because I didn't know. And they were like, yeah, dude. I think I was five at that point.

Hold on. Back the fuck up. No vocal lessons. No, but I was just like. Just straight out of the womb. Just. My parents took me to Les Mis, Les Miserables, when I was five. And I already, like, knew it. We had it in French, English, and Hebrew. And I was just, like, five-year-old singing.

You sang it in Hebrew? I did. Yeah. We had it in the car. Oh, my God. Okay. So, six years old. You're like, fuck yeah, let's go do this.

I was like, I want to sing for these people. I want to be in a show. I want to do this shit. And that's what happened. So you made the move. So from there, your mom's like, this is fucking dope. She's amazing. So you're like, we're moving New York City.

Well, okay. What happened? First of all, my dad is from New York, so I have dual citizenship. So, like, I right away, like, won the lottery there. And so my whole life was just kind of— Were you traveling in New York, like, throughout that time? Like, once a year, going on a holiday trip? We were going to, like, visit family on holiday, maybe, like, once every couple years or something.

Like, I grew up, like, I went to New York a bunch and like obviously Broadway was like my everything. So my whole life was kind of just like waiting to move to New York. It was always my plan. As soon as I graduated college, it was like... Everything. Of course. That was like honestly just my whole life waiting to get to New York. Okay, so you get to New York.

What happened? Like did you try out for some auditions for like, when you were like, okay, now I'm old enough to follow this dream. What was your first step? Yeah, I mean, I did the whole auditioning thing for a while. It's really hard and sucks. Talk about it.

So, it's like, you know, it's so many people wanting to do this thing, like coming fresh out of college and you like line up with like hundreds of girls each morning at like ass o'clock to maybe sing 16 bars for to get a part. And like at the beginning, like I was not part of the union. I was non-equity. And like, you know, when I first came here, didn't have an agent. And it's like you're literally nobody and nobody wants to talk to you.

So you take all these classes, you pay to take things with casting directors. Oh man, it's exhausting. And then, but like there's just this crazy dream that's like such a part of you. And like even at the, you'll go a whole day waiting to get seen. And then like you might get seen, you might not. And if you get into the room and get to do a 16 bar cut of a song, then like you win. Okay, so what's the first steps in that? So how do they get to like, all right, let's get her to sing.

Like, what were you doing? Well, first of all, there's like sign up sheets. So like all the what's it called? All the union people get to go first, hands down. If you're nonunion, you get to like wait till the end. And sometimes they have this thing called typecasting where they would bring all the girls in, put out your headshots, have you line up and like just look at you like you're like a piece of like meat.

And then from just your headshots and resume, like before you get to say a word, they're going to be like, OK, Shira, Kelly, whatever the fuck. Like, can you say everyone else? Thank you very much. After you've been waiting for like hours. It's it's fucking brutal. after you've been waiting for like hours. It's fucking brutal. But once you kind of get in, if you get in, then like, or if you have an agent,

and then once you get part of the union, like I took all these steps and it, you know, but I just, you know, I got some like regional stuff and, you know, you just keep fighting, but it's a hard life. Because like eventually with theater, even if you get booked, the show show's gonna close and then you're back where you started and for theater as opposed to music why a lot of times like I think theater is harder is because someone has to like allow you to do your art like they have to cast you

I mean obviously you can produce your own show but that's fucking crazy and hard to do and cost a lot of money with music even though you might not be getting paid very well to do it you can always play you know you can always play music you can always do it and that's to me like one of the saving graces of like why i feel like playing music is better for me what um what was the worst, like, heartbreaking audition you've ever been on? Like, why am I fucking doing this? Well, I got an appointment for Elphaba for Wicked on Broadway. And, like, I hired, like, a coach. Like, because they give you, like, you know, the songs and the sides and whatever. And, like, this was, like, my dream role.

Like, still is, you know. It's hard as fuck. But, like, Idina Menzel, if that rings a bell. I know Idina. Yeah. So was But like Idina Menzel, if that rings a bell. I know Idina. Yeah. So was this before Idina got the gig or after? Oh, no, this was like way into like the run. Like it had been already running.

That's real tight. You know the role. Oh, yeah. I'd seen the show. You've seen the show. Well, and I, you know, I hired coaches because they have like they're very specific about these roles, like who they're going to cast. You know, I have to fit like a very specific mold. And I thought I did a really good job and I killed it and I was so excited I was like this could be my fucking

moment to whatever I'm you know I didn't get it and something that they told my agent that I was like too short or I don't know you never fucking know what the real truth is but that was pretty crushing but you know that's what about it was crushing not getting it yeah but like was it like that you work so hard to like be this person and see this persona of who you thought you would be yeah like it was tied up into my identity like everything I had always wanted in my whole life. And to be brutally honest, like, I probably didn't deserve to get it because most of the time I was auditioning in New York, I was really trying to fit into a mold of what I thought

casting directors wanted me to be. And what usually the people that succeed in theater are, they come in as themselves and they're the best version of themselves. And either that's going to fit the role or it's not. but they're not trying to fit into some other box and that's kind of what I was trying to do and like near the end of my theater days of auditioning when I was more transitioning into music I started kind of not giving a fuck and just coming in like being me and that's when I got the most callbacks yeah that crazy how we stop being someone else for a second we just be ourselves totally good shit and they can like smell the desperation and the and the fear and

the like wanting to please and it's like the the most effective you can be is to be like the strongest you because no one else can do that and i know that kind of sounds cheesy but it's like very true is do you think in this band is the strongest you yeah yeah I mean I try I'm not trying to be someone else so then yeah I mean I think we all try to find the strongest us for the rest for our whole lives but you know yeah what about okay so if you gave you kind of briefly talked about this but like if you would if you give yourself advice if you could give yourself your 13 yourself 13 year old self advice of what you are now and what you've seen in the music industry what would the advice you'd give them yeah to just yeah not be stuck in any sort of like category of like labels of what you thought, how you thought your

life should go. And it's just kind of follow the path of, because like, I don't regret any of the theater stuff and it's still such a huge part of me, but like, and I think it also helped me get to where I am, you know, like, and giving me, gave me a ton of skills that have brought me to where I am in music, you know, like the performance element of things that like the ethic of, you know, when you do like rehearsals for production, there's like a lot of rules and it's very structured and like in music, sometimes less so, you know? So I think I would just say like, just like ride, ride the wave, dude.

Or just like whatever comes, just like do the best of it. And, and always, I wish I, if I could go back then, I would say, tell myself to create more. And because especially with theater, it's easy to just be like, okay, well, you're given the material and then you try to reinterpret or create someone else's material. Yeah, let's talk about that. Because I feel like it's the same contrary

when like you become a classical musician or like you're just reading people's notes instead of creating yourself. You've got to have that outlet as an artist and stuff. Yeah, but I think that every artist has their specific skill that they're best at. Look at Whitney Houston, for example. She didn't write most of those songs, but had she not sung them and interpreted the way she did, they wouldn't have been those songs. So she may not have been a writer.

There's many kinds of artists that it's not always about creating from scratch. Some people are better collaborating, or some people are better to interpret something else. So I think it's just not that cut and dry of like if you didn't make it like from scratch and obviously you know this is from me like a singer like sings a lot of other people's music so what type artist do you want to be shira like the best one that i can. And the most like honest and authentic and one that helps the world be better. Yeah. How do you think you could do that?

I don't know that I can like 100% definitively answer that. I think all I can do is like make the opportunities for myself and also take the opportunities that lead me to becoming the artist that I am going to become and I definitely want to create more and need to kind of sometimes push myself to do that but for me my best like feeling of being an artist is on stage like hands down me too yeah why do you think we feel like that because we're flow junkies yeah do you know what that is no tell me what it's a flow i don't want to like explain it because i'm like definitely not like an authority of like an there's no fact checking here but i'm not you know but a dear friend of mine brought this whole

concept and to me and that's like a same similar thing that athletes get um when that pinnacle you know that moment we get like on stage where you like almost like black out and you're not really there and it's just like such an it's like this energy that you get from the audience this energy that you get from yourself and your people on stage and it's like we're always chasing that that flow where you get into that flow like we're junkies for it and i think it's that flow where you get into that flow. Like we're junkies for it. And I think it's,

is it adrenaline? Sure. But I think it's more than that. I think it's like this energy connection that is like, do you know, like sometimes when you're nervous before a show and you're like off stage or sometimes I get this when I'm sitting in with people that like, I don't know very well or I don't, it's all like last minute.

And it's like kind of like jumping off a diving board of like, here we like this is it like you don't have a choice just go just go do it and that yeah I guess it's adrenaline in a way yeah do you want to put out a soul record definitely yeah what would you what would the feel be I think on my own the music that makes me the happiest to sing is mostly like soul neo soul yeah um so definitely in that direction you ever had conversation with erica falls do you guys ever have like a bonding moments like it seems like she was just like brought into the jam world too like do you have any friends like i know you have friends but do you have any friends that are dealing with the same situation you're dealing with with uh you know just diving into a music that you didn't know that you could appreciate yeah and then all of a sudden you're in it and

like the ups and downs of the scene whatever i think it's it can be uh an actual advantage and a blessing that like there you know it's it's a I kind of like know the lane that I want to be in you look at Jennifer Hartsbeck for example who's like you know soulful diva trumpet player extraordinaire and she's obviously risen to the top of this scene you know like hulaween like playing with string cheese and stuff and like I feel like she's obviously risen to the top of this scene, you know, like Hulu-ing, like playing with string cheese and stuff. And like, I feel like she's like a great example to me of like knowing who she is and knowing her sound and the kind of music that she wants to play, but also like kind of being adaptable to anything.

Like, you know, like I, a couple, like I've done a bunch of those everyone orchestra gigs and one of them was like a dead night thing. And like I knew one Grateful Dead song from doing weddings, which was Shake Down Street. What? The Jews love Shake Down Street? Well, any weddings, really.

So I don't know. Some people are like. So did you do a lot of weddings? Yeah, definitely. Oh, yeah. In Vancouver and in New York, for sure. Okay, so go back to this Jen Hartswick situation No, no, I was just saying that

Oh, the Grateful Dead thing And then I was assigned a couple songs And I learned them And I sang them like me And I put my Shira whatever on it And it was great And it was so fun And the dead is not necessarily my

shit, but you just, you just make it happen. Yeah. It was fun. What about any bands? Cause you know, you're, you're a newbie in the jam scene too. Like any bands that you thought you'd not be into and then expectations and then they're actually pretty decent. Like, you know, like, you know, like I have those bands where like, I'm just, I just build a wall and don't give bands a chance. Yeah. You know, just not, maybe it's my ego.

Maybe it's something, but like, like touring with bands, like, like, like you said, you don't, you're not, you didn't grow up listening to this. So like all this is new stuff. So are are any bands in the scene that you enjoy listening to um well okay uh this is more out of like ignorance like you said like building up the wall of not listening to them and just lumping it all in with the jam uh but like i'm freeze like

those dudes can play their fucking asses off so I remember it was a lot always they play a lock-in yeah when they did the bottom yeah we did how was that I mean it's great lock-ins is a dope festival you get on a revolving stage and it's so cool would be the dream festival to be on for you for me yeah, what are the big ones? Remind me. I don't know. Bonnaroo.

We did it. What? Yeah. Bonnaroo? Yeah, two years ago. Quaz did Bonnaroo. We did Bonnaroo, dude. Jazz Fest.

Bonnaroo. Oh, Jazz Fest. I want to do Jazz Fest. That's tight. Like, on the ground. Yeah, on the ground. I could see you guys killing Jazz Fest. Yeah, I would love to do that.

Are you guys big on the West Coast? Yeah, like San Francisco and, yeah. L.A., those scenes? Well, L.A. is a little harder, but San Francisco we do really well. How do you, do you think going back to musical theater in Los Angeles, do you think it's non-existent? Or, like, is there a play movement in L.A.? Like, could you, like, try to audition in L.A.

more than you could audition in New York or no? I mean, it's like, I mean, it's hard for me to say cause I don't live in LA. I don't really know, but, uh, more than New York, definitely not, but I'm sure there's, yeah, there's definitely a theater scene there for sure. And there's a lot of touring shows that come through, not that you can live there and do it, but yeah, I mean, cause you did hair. That's pretty cool. And Atlantic, where was it? Where'd you guys do that it was in New Jersey is that a dream come true like because you're touring with turquoise you know you're doing your thing we need to talk about something about your pronunciation of turquoise okay what is it the emphasis is on the tur not the quaz turquoise turquoise turquoise turquoise turquoise yeah only cuz you

say it on the mic multiple times. I know. That pronunciation is actually one of the acceptable ones. There's a lot of really crazy ones. What's the worst one you've heard? Like, uh, turquoise. Turquoise? Or like, I don't know.

Do they think you're a Turkish man? Well, it is a Turkish word. Yeah, it's for, uh. Turquoise. What is it? I took a picture of it Well, it is a Turkish word. Yeah, it's for... Turquoise. What is it? I took a picture of it. It's like a pizza shop. It's a deli, a bodega place that was across from Dave and Taylor's apartment at Berkeley in Boston.

Oh, no shit. I got a couple more for you. Yeah. Let's talk thankful. What are you thankful for? Oh, everything. Like what? thankful what are you thankful for oh everything like what i'm thankful that uh my life led me to be in this extremely awesome privileged position to be able to tour around the country and soon

hopefully the world to like play music for people that's who got who gave you the call sorry to interrupt you who gave you the call so i had been like doing like the singer scene in new york and just basically taking any gigs i could and like you know singing gave you the call for two calls? So I had been doing the singer scene in New York and just basically taking any gigs I could and singing a lot of backgrounds for people and still doing weddings and just random things. What year in New York were you here? What year did I move to New York? No, what year were you in to New York?

I auditioned October 2014. Okay, and how many years were you in New York before you auditioned? I moved September 2009 Oh wow So you were there Five years Yeah

And like you know The first So you were getting Beaten down For five years Yeah man Through these auditions Totally

What kept you going It's just It's like Why does everyone Keep doing it And it's like It's just because It's like

This part of you That you just Cannot let go Because it's like It's wrapped up in your identity. I always was going to be a Broadway star. And there was definitely part of me as I was transitioning being like, am I like losing me and this dream? But it's not. Your dreams change. And, you know, it's reality.

It's like knowing the ins and outs of the theater scene in New York and what that life is like. It's not super fun if especially I know this is coming also from someone who didn't have the most success in that world well that's in anyone everyone's right and so you know ultimately too like I'm a performer and I'm a singer and you know a lot of the people uh like the casting directors and the classes I would take a lot of them would, the feedback was always the same, like, oh your voice is great, your voice is great, you don't need to work on that, but like if you want to like do like the whole thing, the acting part, like you need to like do a lot more on that end, and the last one I took, this last casting director, we had like a private one-on-one part of it, and he was like, I see all these things, all these things you're telling me you're doing.

He was like, do you just want to be a singer? And I was like, eh. He was like, it's okay if you do. I was like, but I think you,

I think you want to be a singer. And I was like, I guess I kind of do, but I still really, you know, I want to be on Broadway. So he pushed, okay,

talk about that. What's that moment? What was that push and pull? Because he asked me at the beginning of it like what what am i doing right now for my career basically like he and you know i was saying i was doing all these other projects singing for people doing weddings and then i was also like auditioning and he was like so what are you doing like he's like if you want to do this like theater thing there's like all this other crazy shit that like you're not doing like all this networking and stuff with agents and stuff with casting directors and acting classes and all this shit which like I love and I did

love doing it but like it wasn't necessarily in me I was more compelled to like look for gigs I guess what didn't you like about it just like the you know the fake hustle and not fake, I guess. What didn't you like about it? Just like the, you know, the fake hustle. And not fake, but I guess like selling yourself. Like you really have to just like be a fucking like car salesman for yourself and like schmooze the casting directors. And this isn't everybody's experience. There's some people that just like...

I've heard a lot of people talk about this. Yeah, but I mean, there's some people that like they get an agent, you know, fresh off the plane after college, especially also certain colleges are kind of like farm. What's it called? Yeah. Farm League. Farm League that like you go to that college and then you're automatically kind of like in the in the thing.

But yeah, I kind of like to like do the thing and I don't love to like sell the thing so this teacher basically how my question is how hard is it to understand that your dreams change and that's okay i think that is a maturity and a wisdom that comes with like the world like i'm not the same person i was fighting it when you were younger fighting that change like oh fuck no i want to be an actor, I don't think I had to fight it. I think it was part of the dream. And then when I got to New York and kind of did it, and then also other things happened in my life personally, relationships and all these people I was meeting. Like what? What happened? Like I was in a serious relationship with a musician for a long time that was quite

tumultuous, but like there was a lot learned and we did a lot of music together and I learned and he taught me a lot of stuff. Was he in your band? What band? Was he in Turquoise? Did you date someone in Turquoise or no? Yeah. Okay, that's earlier.

Well, no, this, yeah, this was like when I moved to New York. Okay. But just the person that I ultimately feel like I was supposed to become was, you know, the dreams change. And I think that's okay. It's like, it's not like that part is dead. It's just evolved. Yeah, so it's like realizing you're not in love with something anymore.

If it's a man or if it's a job or something. Sure, and it's not necessarily like a bad thing that you don't have that beautiful part of your life and made me who I am and stuff. But things need to go forward and yeah. You know, I thought we were talking about one thing, but now I want to talk about this other thing. Okay.

How do you fucking tour with someone you're dating with? You know, like, how do you shit and sleep at the same time? Like, I need to know for myself because I've never had a relationship before, Shira, and I'm very commitment-phobe, and, like, I feel like the only way it'd work if your partner is on the road. With you you you mean

yeah yeah but also I'm like so just like I need my space like how do you how hard is it to like date someone on the road that's in the same band as you you know like well I think you know there's challenges with any kind of relationship. Yeah. I think to have boundaries and then also just super clear communication. And there is a beautiful thing about doing this life and this endeavor together that you believe in so much. And to do it with your friends and to all be in it together and everybody understands everything, you know, if we're comparing it to being in a relationship while you're on the road with someone who's not, that's hard.

Yeah. What's hard about that? I mean, I actually have only recently found out how hard that is, that being on the road as much as we are, it's really got to, like like work at it and figure it out how both parties are gonna feel good and comfortable and safe and valued and given time to like this whole thing that we're doing is i don't know if i keep like pointing to the bandwagon uh it's crazy and so like not being physically there but being with someone who is there, I can imagine is hard. Yeah.

Is it like just them thinking like, oh, they're probably just fucking partying and fucking hucking up. Probably. I mean, I don't know. I'm just, I'm envious that you have the patience. And I'm curious. I think if you, you know, it's like with anything, if you really want something, then like, you just got to just talk about it.

And none of this, like, game bullshit. No games. Just be honest. Just be honest. Yeah. That's how it works. I think so. What's the happiest moment you've ever been in?

My whole life? Your whole life. That you always remember. When you're having a sad day. Whenever you're feeling shitty about yourself. something that's always picked you up. One thing? You could say two or three or seven. I mean, whatever. You're a happy person. I want to know how you stay happy. You know, this road is hard. You know, we deal with so much all the time that is good for our hearts and bad for our hearts.

And when we're having those bad days, what do you look for? Honestly, this is like the cheesiest thing I've ever said. But like, just like being on stage is the fucking best. I agree. It's the fucking best. It's like there's no feeling. I mean, granted, when things are going well. Sometimes when things are going well,

sometimes when things are not going as well, it doesn't feel as good. But when it's good, it's fucking good. There's nothing better. You said it. Shira, I'm glad we're friends.

Me too. I'd like to be more friends and just, I don't know if that makes sense either. I'd like to be more friends. I'd like to be more friends too. Let's be more friends. Love you, Shira.

Love you too. Can't wait to hear your show and can't wait to just be friends. I'd like to be more friends. Let's be more friends. Love you, Shira. Love you, too. Can't wait to hear your show and can't wait to just be friends with you for the rest of our lives. Yes, man. And thank you for making people happy.

Well, I learned it from y'all and we all learn it from each other. We have each other's backs, you know, the happiness brigade. That's what we're doing, right? All right.

Yeah. Coming from the van. Coming from the van. Stay happy. Stay thankful. And we're going to be fine. Love you, Andy. Happy from the van. Coming from the van. Stay happy. Stay thankful. And we're going to be fine. Love you, Andy. Happy Thanksgiving, Shira.

Now, a message from the UN. Well, my fucker makes impressions On the inside of her thigh There are little feathered Indians Where we tussled through the night If I'd known she was religious Then I wouldn't have came stone To the house of such an angel Too fucked up

to get back home looking over West Virginia smoking spirits on who she asked anybody told you that them things are bad for you I said many folks

warned me there's been several people try but up till now there ain't been nothing And many folks have warned me There's been several people tried But up till now there ain't been nothing That I couldn't leave behind Hold me close, my dear Sing your whispering song Softly in my ear

and I will sing it long. Honey, tell me how your love comes true. Now I can always count on you to be there when the bullets fly. I'll run across the river just to hold you tonight. There you have it.

Another great episode. Shira, Sammy, Turquoise. That was a fun interview. Fun day. Fun week. We're taking next week off. I'm going to Europe. But happy Thanksgiving.

Take care of each other. Even if you don't like your family, just pretend to like them. Because they are the only people you got that have the same blood as you. Love you guys. Make sure you're thankful for living. Make sure your house isn't on fire. Shout out to all my friends out there in the valley.

Shit's fucking tough right now and stay strong. Love you guys Be safe Subscribe to the podcast Rate it The whole nine We need your comments We need your ratings

Keep this shit afloat Next episode We're releasing a new single We got pigeons playing ping pong Big week Big week But take a week off episode, we're releasing a new single. We got pigeons playing ping pong. Big week. Big week. Take a week off.

Hang with your family. Hang with the people you love and we will catch you in December. First week. Talk soon, guys. Be safe. Don't forget to comb your hair. Give your family a hug from me. And thank you once again for listening to episode 28 of Andy Fresco's World Saving Podcast with Yeti.

Produced by Andy Fresco, Yeti, Joe Angelow and Chris Lawrence. Please subscribe and rate this show on iTunes and Spotify so we can make this a worldwide phenomenon. For info on the show, please head to our Instagram at Fresco and Yeti. For more info on the blog and tour dates, head to andyfresco.com. For more information on our guests, Shira Elias and Sammy Garrett from Turquoise, please head to turquoiseband.com. That is Turk, U-A-Z, band.com. Turquoiseband.com. That is turquoiseband.com. Turquoise. This week's special guests are

Sean Eccles, Andy Avalon, Chris Lager, a group of Wookies, and Ari Feindling. And it's the fourth Thursday in November soon. You all know what that means. May you reap what you have sown. November soon, you all know what that means. May you reap what you have sown. May your copy of Harvest been chewed up by the dog. May the skies be turquoise unlike your turkey. Like your neighbor instead. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!