Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 290: JJ Grey

Episode Date: October 1, 2024

Friends, wooks, florida men... lend us your ears; cuz show bard Shawn admonishes us in an opening song that begs the question: why so serious? Andy & Nick. Nick & Andy. We haven't done this in a while, have we? And what's more! We got Volume.com's own (and our good friend), Ben Holst! We got a loooooong, long relationship on our hands with this guy who already feels like family. And as they say: DNA don't play. And if you don't know this week's Interview Hour guest, then WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, cuz we got ourselves a real life Florida Man: JJ Grey! This guy's been around, has seen it all, and has some serious wisdom to spill. Check it (and Andy's new tour announcement) out!  We're 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: Mara Davis Shawn Eckels

Now, a message from the UN. Death Threats, Death Threats, Death Threats Over Mayor McCheese, McCheese You all need to calm the fuck down It's just a little comedy You ain't quick enough for Andy's comebacks Ketamine makes you tired Better get some rest before my boy lights you on fire Talking about Death Threats, Death Threats, Death Threats Over Mayor McCheese, McCheese You all need to calm the fuck down Fire, talking about death threats Death threats Over me, I make cheese You all need to calm the fuck down

It's just a little comedy We're talking about death threats Death threats Internet chill, please You all need to calm the fuck down It's just a little comedy We're talking about death threats Death threats Over Death threats.

Death threats. Over mayo, mint cheese. Mint cheese. You all need to calm the fuck down. It's just a little comedy. You all need to calm the fuck down. It's just a little comedy. We've got to be on our A-game.

The bosses are here. They're literally staring at us right now. They're literally staring at us right now. You can feel them unendorsing the check. And we're live. Yeah, they're going to say, that check for the volume.com check is probably not going to go through today once they see our actual dumbasses.

Have you seen the Back to the Future movies where the people fade out of the photograph when they don't exist anymore? That's what happens on the front of the check movies where the people fade out of the photograph when they don't exist anymore? That's what happens on the front of the check. All the words fade out slowly as you keep talking. World Saving Podcast. Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. I'm Andy Frasco.

How's our heads? How's our minds? How are you doing, Nick? I'm doing great, I think. I think I'm just tired. But I don't feel like I'm like, oh, depressed. You've been worse. Yeah, I'm just tired. Shit's fucking popping off.

We just announced J.J. Gray. We're going to be opening for J.J. Gray solo. He's also on the pod today, right? He's on the podcast today. We're talking about the tour. But yeah, we announced last week I will be opening for J.J. Gray. Me and Sean will be doing a duo acoustic version of the Bar mitzvah party that we throw.

Like Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton? Are you guys going to do Islands on the Stream? Yeah. We're going to do Islands on the Stream. He's going to be Dolly. Oh, I figured you'd be Dolly, actually. I would love to be Dolly. Yeah, you're Dolly, dude.

Sean is not Dolly. He's definitely Kenny Rogers. If you're Kenny Rogers. You gotta know where to fold them. You know that song? Nowhere to hold them. Yeah, I know the Gambler. One of the most popular songs ever. I'm from Indiana, dude.

It's going to be fun. In January, guys, we're playing like 1,500, 2,000 cap. We're playing Moody Theater, ACL, Austin. We're doing a bunch of theaters. We're playing Sanody Theater, ACL, Austin. We're doing a bunch of theaters. We're playing San Diego, Los Angeles, Bellwether in LA. A whale's vagina. Playing big rooms in my hometown so you get to brag to my sisters. Yeah, we're playing the fucking amphitheater.

Like, I can't make it. They're like, I can't go. And mom likes me more than you. Actually, she doesn't, though. You're special. And then we're doing, yeah, I'm the special boy. I think Oklahoma City. We're doing Tahoe.

We're doing... What's the first three? Just look at it. Just look at it. Head to andyfrasco.com slash tour to grab tickets. And we're trying to get... Just buy a little JJ. Oh, no.

Sorry. Maybe we'll try to get volume to stream the tour. We should do that. JJ Gray, theaters. Seems like what they would want to do, exactly. Volume.com is in the house. It's their corporate meeting. We're scared. It's like, I always think

when the boys come into town, it's like that scene in Office Space with the TPS reports. It's just like, hello Andy and Nick, why don't you come to this room? I'm like, yeah, here you go. I did it all, actually. I set up the studio.

No, they're the best. They give us the best leeway. We're going to get oysters. They got hooked us up with oysters. I got a lobster roll. I'm a little tired from that lunch. I'm a little tired, too. We should, I mean, the bosses are here.

We should have them on the show to talk about it. Are we going to talk shit about Oasis coming back, too? I'm going to talk shit about the haircuts. Like, what's the deal? Like, let's keep that in the 90s. Them? Oh, yeah. They look like Coneheads. Total cash grab. They don't even like each other.

I think they got popular again because of that Hulk Hogan meme too. Remember that? Here's Wonderwall, brother. Here's Wonderwall. We should always do it with me sitting in the store. Anyway, brother, here's Wonderwall. Speaking of hair and facial hair, we have one of the best facial hair mans in the business.

He's got a food man too today. Ben Holtz, how you doing? Ben Holtz. Wow. Oh, business card. Benjamin. Wow. What's this made-up title?

Thanks for having me on our show. What's this title? You got six words, seven words in your title? Holy shit. It's probably the second title I had. I think I'm on... My fourth title. Director of Creative Media

and Brand Development. Wow. Ben Holst. Thank you. You used to be my boss until they put you on another elevator. He's a director now.

He's like, we're done with Frasco. Creative Media. I'm not a junior manager anymore, so I don't really have to. I don't have to be on these emails. Middle management. Yeah, we have a couple other people that are. Ben, it's been two years since we've been working together.

Really? It's been two years. Jeez. It's actually been a year and eight months. Oh, I didn't know that. Thanks for counting. I love it. I'm happy.

I feel like I'm adopted like Annie. You guys are like Daddy Warbucks and I'm a little orphan Annie. Thank you, master. Thank you so much. I'm that creepy butler. Thank you for the lobster, master. Am I a chef or something?

Where did I fall into this? You're adopted too, Ben. You're a musician. We know who you are. It's not an episode of My Two Dads or something. Party Dad. It's like Greg's like, we'll bring Party Dad over here

to check it out first before I come out here. See how big of a shit show this fucking thing is. I need you to go over to Frasco's 24 hours before I show up. I need you to check the perimeters. I need you to check all the corners.co's 24 hours before I show up. I need you to check the perimeters. I need you to check all the corners. It's like D-Day. Yeah. Yeah.

How's it going? Are you happy with everything? It's good. I'm acclimated to Colorado. Do you get itchy? Because you're from Atlanta, and it's dry weather. Oh, I was like, what? I get ashy.

We call it ashy. Oh, yeah. I don't really get itchy. That's something other people deal with. Yeah. I got jock itch once. He's a one-woman man. It was the worst, dude.

My dick scrapped up. My dick scabbed up on jock itch, and I got boners because I was 19. I was getting boners a lot, and they would break. Oh, that elastic skin. Do you hear that? It makes that noise? Dude, I hear it because it kind of feels good when the scab first pops off, but then it just is so painful.

How about that raise? I'm just kidding. Nick's about to ask for his own fucking show while the bosses are here. God, Nick's so calm. Send in the prudest guy in the whole company and let's talk about the elasticity of frascos. You know what?

So you've been to our concert. You've seen our streaming numbers getting bigger. They are getting bigger. Yes. You guys are building me online, which is awesome. I needed it because I haven't had a platform for my music to really grow on. And now I have a platform, volume.com. Podcasts, we already know.

Everyone knows. Huge numbers. This is it. Huge numbers. Are you worried about our job safety? There's a lot of big bands you're getting. I see a lot of big bands coming in. I need you to know what your opinion is.

Go ahead, sir. That's a twofold question. I'm worried about your health, which affects your job safety. See, I'm more worried about money. You're worried about my health. You might be actually not part of that. You might be just mom. I'm more worried about money. You're worried about my health. You might be actually not part of that. You might be just mom. I've been on the bus.

I've been on the bus and in the band. We are burning it at both ends. Yeah. We need to calm it down. That's why you're here to help me. I'm here to gather information. Okay. That sounds bad.

I don't like that. I don't like that. He's starting to get two foreheads when he says that. He gets a line. I'm here to gather information. Okay. That sounds bad. I don't like that. I don't like that. He's starting to get two foreheads when he says that. He gets a line. I'm here to gather information. We call it data, but I call it information. That's when Andy gets two foreheads. I don't like that.

When you're like, get the line, you get two foreheads. That's when you're like, angstless. There's job security and there's job safety. Those are two different things. Okay, so what are you gathering information? How can you make our life easier so I don't have to stress out about this? Our role is to ensure that... It's the easiest gig on the planet.

Longevity. What are you laughing about? Shut the fuck up. You don't need to stress out about this. We're talking. I've never had a boss. These are my bosses. That's true.

What's weird too is you're my friends. We actually hang out. It's a hard thing to navigate. What? Yeah, they're not friends. No, no,, is you're my friends. We actually hang out. It's a hard thing to navigate. What? Yeah, they're not friends. No, no, no. We're not friends. We're just your bosses.

Relax. On paper, we're your friends. But in real life, we're just your bosses. I'm their friend. So if you would give us a report card, what do you think it would be? We had a private discussion yesterday that I'm going to make public real quick. that's all right since we're outing all of ourselves let me put the drum roll this is a this is where it happens this is from the director of creative media and brand development of volume ben holtz guys thank you put that on your linkedin yeah ben at volume.com

for questions comments and concerns about the hold on this it. This is when they fire us. Here we go. And... I'm practicing. All right. You're up. Okay. So you explained to me yesterday that live streaming your shows was something that was fairly new. Right.

And that it's affected your performance. Correct. And how you look at your performance. Correct. Tell me how that feels. Feels awesome. From a front man perspective. It feels awesome because it's like

there's another wall now that you can connect the fans to it's not just the people in in nashville or when you're just playing that show you could reach people who you know just want to hang out on their couch like i'd be coming to do i love sit on my couch he's learning oh i love sit on my i taught you i taught know you did I always talk shit that's how I meditate I was like you lazy fuck but I do a lot of shit on my couch actually

no but now I'm saying I'm sorry you play sex sitting down on your couch I want to apologize because now I know how awesome it is it's my form of meditation great

yeah alright keep going Ben oh no but you said live streaming has affected the way you look at your performance correct which I think is awesome. That was a cool thing to hear about last night.

Yeah. It keeps me on my toes. Yeah, you don't pride yourself as a jam band guy as far as meandering sets and changing stuff every night. So how has that affected your- Because I'm changing it up. And I'm having faith in my old songs that my fans love that sometimes I'm afraid to play because we don't play them enough. But now I'm just getting comfortable like, oh yeah,

people want to see me not just once a year. They want to see me 10, 20 times a year from their couch too. So if they want to do that, then maybe I could change up the set so I could have all the people on their couch have a new experience too. I love that.

Thank you. I'm going to clap for myself. I am growing. You're growing. Nick is looking at me like you are a fucking idiot. I get it. You're a psycho, dude. You're a fucking psycho.

I'm here for growth. You just learned that relaxing is good. He's always like, you're lazy. Because I lay down for two hours at the end of a day. That's what you're supposed to do. You're right. There's too much good TV out there right now. There's just too many good TV shows out there, you know? I know.

I think we're proud of you, though, Andy. Yeah, I think we're excited to see you grow and we're excited about a long relationship. Hold on. So did we just get an extension? Don't negotiate. Let's go go i was worried about getting fired we have a long relationship on our hands yeah personal relationship all right guys enjoyed thank you ben yeah i love you this weekend validate andy make andy stop worrying join us in the chat for some validation

I'm just trying not to Airbnb my house anymore I want this to be the full studio And we're kind of doing that We're getting there This is going to be Right Greg? I just don't want strangers to have sex in my house anymore I don't think that's true actually

Oh my god Did I tell you about what happened This group of people showed up I just don't want to have strangers have sex in my house anymore. I don't think that's true, actually. Oh, my God. Did I tell you about what happened? This group of people showed up at rents in my house for fish weekend. Yeah. There's tarps everywhere. It felt like there was ten tanks in here. I should have came over here. Sucking bloody snot loogies everywhere.

I'm going to come over here during fish when you're out of town. Just like, hey, you guys know Andy? I'm the other guy. Can I hang? I'll show you where the food is. I mean, it wasn't too dirty, but it was just like gross. We're going to have the blacklight episode. We were talking about that the other day. You don't want that.

We're going to do it. You don't want that. This leopard carpet. There's so much. We're going on a safari for Asko. There's a pentagram. We're going on this. There's a pentagram.

Come pentagram. It just said, and come OJ did it. It wouldn't be me then. Definitely wasn't me then. It was definitely you. No, he didn't do it. DNA doesn't play. Ben, you're just so optimistic today.

Give us, in the audience, a reason why they should have a great week this week before we go into the J.J. Gray interview. After that, J.J. Gray, people, if you don't know who J.J. Gray is, he's one of the greatest. He rules. He was what a real Florida band should be.

Oh my God, he was a Florida man. We were asking him stereotypes about Florida men. Oh, Greg's a Florida man. Miami's not Florida like that. It's a different thing, right? Two different countries. Each coast. It's like once thing, right? Two different countries. Each coast. It's like once you get up on Jacksonville,

it's a different sort of... You're a South Florida man. You're going to love him. After Ben says his motivational speech, enjoy JJ Gray. Then next week, we have... Who's on? Me and you, I think. I think it's Nick and Andy next week.

No, that was last week Oh, you're right, yeah Because we do this in the future That's right Right before a podcast I had it backwards I thought we switched them and we didn't Whatever

We are going to be doing more Andy and Nick episodes So get ready for that Your favorite Your favorite, you love those ones All you do is complain about me Pokey Lafarge Oh, he was great I think Volume had Pokey once, I can't remember

We had a good conversation with him Yeah, he was a real Jesus dude But it was cool how he was great. I think Volume had pokey ones. We had a good conversation with him. Yeah, he was a real Jesus dude. But it was cool how he was. He approached the Jesus thing in a way I could understand. Yeah, and respect. Cool. All right, what do you got?

My inspiration is based on our corporate lunch today. Oh, God, here we go. I'm just kidding. Try the oysters, everybody. Do something that you might not always do. Try something a little different. Just like Frask over here. He's trying live streaming.

He's doing new sets. He's pushing the envelope. Order the oysters. This guy is your oyster. People, you too can get an extension and a podcast if you just try the oysters. Just try the oysters. You never know what will happen. You could find a podcast if you just try the oysters. Just try the oysters. You never know what'll happen.

You never know. You could find a pearl. I love it, boys. I can't wait to hang with you all week. It's going to be fun as fuck. All right, Nick. Thanks, Brasco. I can't wait to talk to you, brother.

We did it. We did it. This is fun. This is the fun of shit, actually. This is fun. See, I like having four people. I like watching you grovel. The boss is staring me.

He's pushed back into that I'm like I'm deep in there Mike so what do you really think like they're thinking of some extravagant studio just my hallway of my fucking house it works one of us is impressed one of us God I gotta go before I get fired bye guys One of us. Oh, God. I got to go before I get fired. Bye, guys. Goodbye.

No more clogs. No more time. A little less reason. A little more rhyme. All in all, it's been a day, but I'm still me. So clap your hands and stomp your feet Move your body round and around And around and around A real live Florida man is in the building.

Headline maker. Headline maker. JJ, how you doing, buddy? I'm doing good. How about yourself? I'm doing good. Where you at? Looks like a nice place.

I'm at home. Oh, cool. Yeah, I'm at home. How are you at? It looks like a nice place. I'm at home. How long have you lived there? In this spot since 2015. Obviously here my whole life, but in this place since 2015.

What is Florida like? Growing up in Florida, there's a weird stereotype about Florida. Especially the part of Florida you're from. Every time I go there, it's not that vibe. It's actually, it reminds me of California, to be honest. Yeah, it's pretty chill. Somebody sent me this morning, my light guy, one of the production guys, sent everybody on the chain a thing of a woman driving around

with a dude locked in the dog box in the back and the police pulling her over. This Florida man locked in the dog box in the back of a truck or whatever. So it's out there. But where I grew up is rural, so people would always say, you sound like you're from Georgia or Alabama, and I'm always say Florida, south of all that. So what's your interest in conserving Florida?

What's your fascination with it? Well, it's just with anything, you know what I mean? For me, honestly, all that kind of stuff has in some ways as many questions or more questions than it does answers i don't think there are any answers uh somebody way smarter than me said there are only trade-offs in the world and there aren't solutions so uh not at least there's not solutions that don't cause problems somewhere else downstream or have side effects. Right. So for me, it's just about. less about bitching and crying and complaining at people,

especially from a position of higher moral standing and preening. If that would have worked, humanity would have fixed everything thousands of years ago. So, you know, continually berate people and tell them they're not as righteous as you somehow or another don't belong in it like yeah right right right the terrarium will separate human beings from it like like like we all came here from another planet maybe we did i don know. We'll talk about that afterwards. Anyway, to make our story short, it's just, you look around and you figure, well, people

have to have houses. We all need to live. There's a lot of things that need to happen. Maybe if we all loved where we live, we would do a lot of that differently the way we did it. And that alone might make a monstrous change in the way that you know in other words you could be a a contractor that builds

neighborhoods and you can go in and clear cut everything and then plant you know uh the the typical a handful of palm trees the things that's going to appeal to people that have never lived in a tropical or subtropical environment. Or you could leave easements and right-of-ways for animals to move through and not tear everything down and create your own mitigation in your own mind because you feel compelled to do it, not because you're being forced to. Because frankly, I feel like humanity's, and I'm no authority on this, but it just, I don't know. It just seems like humanity's greatest gains were made because people did it for the love and out of their heart and not because

somebody forced them to or told them that they're an asshole if they don't do it. So none of that ever seemed to work. Yeah. And it's also even deeper. It's like, we don't love anything around us because we don't love ourselves. Oh, 100%.

Yeah. Which is, it's, it's, um, if you can figure that one out, how to do that, to love yourself.

How long did it take you to love yourself? It's not easy to look in a mirror yeah how long does it take until you are comfortable looking in the mirror i'm i'm working on it i'll let you know sorry i'm still working on that um it's um uh you know, um, cause I'm not sure what I am. So, so I don't know what I know. And to love it means, uh, in the shallower sense to me, it started out really what I was saying was, uh, do I like what I present to the world of myself, which is, um, you can run out of runway with that real fast.

So it's like, okay, so I got to get down to the deeper thing. And those are things that present themselves more than it's something that you can do. So it's just sort of like playing basketball or surfing or anything, martial arts, anything,

the old saying, you got to let the game come to you. And I feel like it's the same way with trying to figure out who the deeper you is. It has to happen. And I guess, but to answer more directly what you're saying, at some point, you have to stop taking yourself so serious right honor honor the world around you and uh but don't take yourself so serious in your position and then i don't know that's like maybe the first little baby step into towards uh letting it come to you yeah i mean it's hard to because it'll all get filtered through something if you don't you know totally mean, it's hard to because... It'll all get filtered through

something if you don't. Totally. I mean, it's hard to even fucking... When everyone's kissing your ass, like, I see a lot of cougar women at your show, JJ. I see a lot of beautiful women rolling in there. So I'm very excited to go on tour. By the way, we're announcing we're going on tour with JJ Gray. I'm opening. I'm doing

solo. It's my first solo performance. You did it for free because of the crowd? I did it for free because of the crowd, yeah. I'm opening. I'm doing solo. This is my first solo performance. You did it for free because of the crowd? I did it for free because of the crowd, yeah. I'm trying to see some rich southern women. Some Florida Panthers down there. Florida Panthers. But what I'm going for is like, you know, we've been on stage

most of our whole life, and when everyone's kissing your ass, you kind of lose identity a hair. And especially, I don't know about you, but for me, I've always been insecure my whole life, so like, I needed that stage you kind of lose identity a hair. And especially, I don't know about you, but for me, I've always been insecure my whole life. So like I needed that state to kind of like, you know, pat my back, but that didn't really do the work until I actually love myself. You know, everyone could compliment you. And, but until you look in the mirror and realize that, uh, you deserve your own self-love, all that other stuff is, it's hard to accept.

Is that, were you the same way? What were you like growing up as a kid? Was, were you picked on? Were you hot? I mean, you're hot now. I mean, you're probably hot then. Yeah. I wasn't really like picked on.

I mean, like everybody, everybody's been picked on, but it wasn't something that happened all the time. But, you know, we've all felt the peck in order, so to speak. And part of that is, you know, at first it's a knee jerk. And eventually you realize these things help strengthen you later on you know the the what today's by today's standards are like microaggressions is the kind of like isn't a million micros better than one giant macro later on so but at any rate um uh you know in other words go to work on a construction crew and you're going to get you're going to get messed with the whole time especially when you're the rookie a new new guy

and uh and don't know anything about it and uh those things you know that's just like it's just like chickens pecking at each other just a little bit it takes a little bit of a football team whatever you've been on if you've ever done it anyway uh i guess sidetracked back to what you say asking about um um i've always treated the road as though it's not real. So I've never really bought into, like anybody, I go to Amazon and read all the negative reviews first. Got to get those microaggressions out of the way. Yeah, there you go. Bad news, as they say, has gone all the way around the world before good news gets its pants on. And for me, what that means is I just don't really listen to when people tell me how great I am.

Because if I do that, then I'm going to have to really pay close attention to when you don't do what they want you to do or what they think you should or be who you should be so the truth of the matter is i don't really go on the internet much i don't um i don't really look at tv much i don't uh but part of that is i'm just too busy doing other things and i think i got enough time to do it all but i don't and because i always tell my management uh uh, Hillary and all that. Okay. I'm gonna start doing, putting the stuff on the internet, you know, on, um, uh, Facebook or, uh, the other one, the camera, Instagram, but, uh, Instagram.

Yeah. It's Instagram. But, uh, uh, I know it's a Twitter. Sorry. And well, that too, I don't do any of it. I do like one post and then I never do nothing again for another four years. But the whole point is, I've just felt this. It's not even a conscious effort. It's just a thing of buzzers go off if I start digging too long into it you know right because it can be like uh so that stuff is its own version of porn and it just gets darker and darker and worse and worse before you engage it's so it's just like you know what man i'll just uh you know that that's not my that's not my thing so and blowing

yourself up from people telling you how great you are, it's the same thing. It's just, you know, I've come to a conclusion that anything that has a quick payoff and is so wonderful, it's terrible for you. That's why, you know, donuts are so much more fun than celery. than celery. But, you know, it doesn't matter. You can apply it across the board, whether it's construction material, anything that's made or grows really quickly, it rots really quickly. Everything, it's these things that, so to compliment, so to speak, I think are necessary at first. I think that you, especially when you're young and you're coming from a place of like what you're saying, the insecure. Of course, I was and still am in some in a lot of ways. But over time, you know, I think other people's words can kind of become a little bit of a mantra,

but if you dig too far into it to create an identity, you're going to be in big trouble because eventually, you know, you're going to do a song, open up an album with a song like the sea. And there's people that they only want to hear down home, harmonica, blaring,

guitar, blazing. And they don't realize that I've done all kinds of music all my life so um and i like things to sound beautiful too not always uh not everything doesn't have to be uh brawn yeah and tough guy right stuff man you know so so anyway you know um and and i've been that dude too you know one of. Some band I love comes out. Van Halen, they play Jump with keyboards. Like, keyboards?

God. Then it rules, though. Now, I'm like, God, it's killer. I've been the guy that cuts down the musician. I've built plenty of boxes for other people to live in in my mind and um and i found out the only person that ever lives in them is me i'm the only one that has yeah why do we feel like um why are we afraid to change why are people scared to see change especially in artists i mean we see change in our kids why can't we have change in our artists

our favorite artists yeah you know to me, to me, the thing is, it's like there's a thing about, I hate to even say this word, but I'm going to say it, the ego, whatever you want to call it, the small me, that's what I'll say, at least referring to myself. It's a map builder.

It wants to make everything, put everything on a grid, in a round universe or spherical universe or whatever where everything's curved and moving in curves and then we we create straight lines and that to me is because that shallow part of myself wants to anchor itself to something and so when it once it does it doesn't want to let go of that and change because it feels tiny and afraid in an infinite sea of everything and so the other the larger part of myself which is much quieter and sits way back in the background and is you know talking like ving reigns and inp Fiction, you know, real smooth and easy.

Hey, man, how you doing today? Yeah, yeah, that's fine. Everything's all right. No rush. Yeah, no rush. It ain't even no rush. Yeah. But your brain's like, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah.

Yeah. But that's me. The small me doesn't want to change anything ever. And then the bigger part. Some things don't need changing but some things do you know so yeah because didn't you grow up poor well i don't i wouldn't say poor i mean uh but um i would say um i don't know uh you know my dad was a policeman um and uh so we just i would say lower middle class because you know and primarily not because of how much money my dad made but uh as a policeman which isn't a ton but more to the point

my dad grew up in root hog or die days and then my grandparents definitely grew up in root hog or die so um what's that mean i don't know either uh root hog meaning like get out there and root like a hog in the ground to get something to eat or die or just lay down and die pick one and then so that's an old saying root hog or die that's an old saying here so um the and so they instilled that i'll give you an example so when we were kids uh you know we never went to a restaurant i mean that was that was that's crazy you know what i mean well i think we went to mcdonald's maybe once or twice which you know back then that you know nowadays definitely don't want to go too much to it but right uh and then we set out maybe we pull maybe two dozen chickens out of the chicken house because we had my grandparents grew commercially for for cargill like so they grew like 60 000

chickens a cycle so we pull out holy shit two dozen of them and raise them at scratch yard and here uh even in the 1970s uh we'd raise a bitty to a fryer which is ready to go to the fryer fryer so i'm ready to put in a fryer and go to the grocery store in six weeks six to eight weeks maybe wow and um the same chickens same biddies set out and grew up scratch yard style it's six months to do that you know whoa but there's even back in the 70s there's lights left on all 24 7 so the chickens don't hardly sleep just so they'll eat and and grow grow grow grow grow and uh wow and wow. It was a weird pay scale. You didn't really get paid by the chicken.

You got paid on a feed-to-chicken conversion. It was a weird thing. Honestly, my grandparents only made money selling fertilizer because the whole bed of the chicken houses were sawdust. So when I was 10, 12 years old, I'd run a 445 long front end loader and and i would pull it out and create a mountain of fertilizer and what the fuck we had different childhoods what's that i feel soft as fuck i'm from like la calabasas i'm like hey i play

so you grew up this way this um kind of like this blue-collar working mentality. How are you about success? Maybe that triggers it. Maybe you've always, like, what's your take when you first came? How old were you when you first started to see success in your music career? It started, so I worked at the L the lumberyard i was working at the lumberyard at the time and frankly i wouldn't been here if it wasn't for law then they helped me every step away but um eventually i'm gonna say around 2005 uh and that's starting i started like pretty

intently around 92 so it's around 2005 that it over what i was doing touring not record sales or anything like that i never had any of that kind of stuff but uh playing shows live over came to lumberyard so in other words normally i would go out and play and come back monday morning i'm right you know six six o'clock or seven o'clock i'm at the lumberyard and uh and i did that for a long time and then eventually i got to where um i didn't you know need to go to the lumber i don't know just unless they needed help or something but i just didn't really need to go back to work there so that's around 2005 i guess holy shit that's a grind that's a grind. So you feel like your career, you took the stairs the whole way up too. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's the thing. It's always just slow and steady. You know, when you're young, you know, you sit around and you gauge what you're doing by what other people are doing. And enough years go by, enough people rocket, skyrocket past you. And then sometimes some of them sink like a ton of bricks most of the time not because most of the people i'm in contact with are the same people that you're in contact with to road dogs and road dogs road dogs just grinded out whether they whether they had smash hits back in the day or whether they or whether they got a smash hit now there's road

dogs right now man that it's just in them man that the dog is in them. And they just, uh, part of it is road dog is just, you know, I saw water off a duck's back, man. It's, you know, it's, uh, I enjoyed everywhere I worked when I worked, I was a rafter rat running around in attics, putting air conditioning, duck work in for years and then and uh doing i worked in construction for years and then my dad didn't hire anybody when we were kids coming nothing uh you know we re-roofed our own house poured our own concrete driveway everything and much to uh my actually at the time it didn't bother me because i just thought

everybody did that, you know, but, uh, cause most of the people I grew up around did, but, um, I'm a little bit older. I'm not getting out there with an ax and swinging it all day. Just,

you know, uh, uh, I, I don't get me wrong. I like to work. Um, but,

uh, I'm going to go rent a skid steer. Yeah. How much they want to skid steer rent? I ain't doing that. Or I go rent a million. That's what I they want to skid steer rent no i ain't doing that or i go rent a million that's what i had kids for and yeah yeah that's right that's right that's what that's what youngins are for were you did you ever have any like resentment for him always making you work on stuff and not do the easy way or like later on your life or you i think it made you

especially now i'm even more appreciative now. Yeah. It's crazy. Where's the insecurity rooting from? Like, you had a good childhood. Like, where is this, like, uncomfortable with yourself rooting from, you think? Did you have trauma? Oh, I think you were born with that. I think you were born with that.

Yeah. I think every human being was born with that. I think it doesn't matter who it is. Gandhi was born with that. You know what I mean? human is born with that i think uh it doesn't matter who it is gandhi was born with that you know i mean everybody's born with that you know so yeah uh it's uh it's it it's it's the veil between you and you you know so it's like you can look in a mirror your whole life brush your teeth every morning and you still don't know what you look like and you know know what everybody else looks like. And you got an idea of what you look like, but you can look at yourself forever. But there's just this thin veil of something. It just doesn't come into focus. And I don't mean visually, it just won't come into full focus. And

it's like, there's this veil between, at least for me, there's this veil between me and me. And I just learned to fall in love with it, you know, be thankful that I have the veil between me and me instead of because I don't think it's an impediment. I think it feels like an impediment in a way. When you start plumbing the depths of yourself a little bit, it feels like an impediment, but it's not really it's uh it's um in a way it it softens the edges of you but in another way it clearly defines the the parameters of what you are it's game you know having that veil though how did you not become a drug addict i never really yeah it's not it never that wasn't a thing for you yeah i did uh i i you know smoked a little bit uh a couple times over the years um i love the smell

yeah i love the plant itself but yeah um i've drank more than my share but not not not a ton and i don't i only drink on the road sometimes. And that was to, uh, you know, calm my, uh, sort of silly perfectionist thing. And I think every musician feels that, you know, everybody else is like, man, that was great. And you're like, man, that was the shitty, that's the worst shit I ever did in my life. You, you, you, you hear again, you know, only we know these things you know what i mean and only we're the only ones holding ourselves up to this this bar this line or we i wanted to i wanted to

do a and instead i did b and nobody knows except you at any rate the insecurity thing i think it just you know it's just uh it's um i don't know you know, I think that's a metaphysical, philosophical, deeply, that's a question for the universe, you know. Right. Have you ever had like, what was like your lowest moment in your life? I never really have one. I don't know. I can't think of one. That's good.

No wonder he's still so good looking, man. He's so hot. I mean, I'm wondering when the man's been hot as all that. You don't need a veil, bro. You don't need a veil.

Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I'm trying to think. I need the veil. I just never... And I can't really think of the greatest one either. Because it's all been pretty fun, man. Yeah.

Pretty digging. And then when it sucks, it's like, yeah, that's what I'm talking about. You know, I heard a guy, this guy Jocko, I can never pronounce his last name right, Willink. He was a SEAL trainer, former SEAL trainer. And he has this whole thing. I heard Rogan talk about it one time. It was saying, good. Lost your place in the mission?

Good. Failed a test, a physical test? Good. Didn't get your real jiu-jitsu? Good. These are all opportunities. These aren't. This is the beginning. These are all opportunities. These aren't, this is the beginning.

These are all beginnings. These aren't endings, you know? So that's kind of the way I feel about life in general. You like the test. You like the test. Yeah. Yeah, I always love the idea of it until I'm in the middle of it.

Then I'm like, oh man man. Be careful what you have. Yeah. But when it's over, when it's over, whoop. I'll clap to that. And it goes back to that thing, like things that pay off immediately, they feel good instantly, and you always feel like afterwards. Like friends of mine at Cocaine Binge, you know, they are on fire. They're on top of the world.

And then when they do crash and they come down and then they feel guilty and it's like, you know, and then you go work out and you're like, I just don't want to be in here. I just don't want to do this. I just don't. And you just get going and you finally, in a minute, you're about two minutes from, you're like, I've actually done this. I've gotten through it.

And you get through it and you're like, you feel like a million dollars and you just have energy for a pretty good while so that's um um i don't know what that's got to do with uh where insecurity comes from but balance um this idea of balance i guess i guess i guess what i'm getting at is that you need the calamity. And I don't necessarily mean, well, calamity is a pretty harsh word. That's almost sounding more like catastrophic. Well, and those are going to come too. But like we just said a minute ago, I'd rather have a bunch of micros than one giant macro.

And the truth of the matter is, if you're protected and try to protect yourself from all the micros, anything becomes a macro later on. Anything. Any little disturbance, and it's like, oh, it's the end of the universe. You're like, why? And you're like,

somebody will tell you why, and you're like, what the hell are you on? What are you talking about? You know? Right. Were you ever on antidepressants or anything or had therapy? No, no, no.

No? No, no. I'm curious about how people stay balanced through the ups and downs. Is that maybe why you're obsessed with martial arts or surfing? Like, kind of this idea of staying in the middle? No, because if I was obsessed, then I would just be replacing that. So I have no problem with other people. Because whether somebody's smoking crack,

everything they're doing is in search of themselves. Or whether they're a health nut, it's in search of themselves. or whether they're a health nut. It's in search of themselves. So for me, the thing was is that the way that I could avoid too much self-medication is because I know that I'm full of shit and that I have no idea what I'm talking about and that I'm wrong more than I'm right. Sounds like you do, though. And I can live with that.

Yeah. JJ, fuck. I disagree. Sounds like he knows exactly what he's talking about. He doesn't need therapy. He should be a therapist. Well, he is. He's a songwriter. How many of your songs are kind of about this

theme? I think all of them, even when I didn't know it, they wrote themselves. I go back and I was just listening recently. I thought about going back. I found some old demos of some stuff that I did back in the late 80s and early 90s, which

would sound more like Pearl Jam or something. Somewhere between Pearl Jam and early The Cult. Some of it back in the guitar-centric heavy stuff. something you know uh or somewhere between pearl jam and and like early the the cult you know some some back in that guitar centric heavy stuff anyway uh i was saying i was writing lyrics lyrics to write themselves i should say i just back then I really went stream of consciousness. I would just write. When I say I write, it makes it sound like I made it up. I didn't make it up. It made itself up. And I still do it that way. And I listen to those words now and they're like, oh my God,

they're like infinitely deeper than I thought they were. And I don't mean deeper as in, I'm a super deep person, y'all check me out. I don't mean like that. I mean, like, at the time, what I thought they meant is shallow compared to what I think those words mean to me now, so to speak. But I think you can do that. You could probably read a coloring book 20 years later, or, you know, or a highlight book that you saw in a doctor's office when you're waiting to see the doctor or the dentist or whatever, and you read a little highlight book, the goofiest and gallant. Yeah. That whole thing. Gallant. And suddenly it's so deep.

Oh, my God. Especially if you smoked enough weed, it'd be like the deepest thing you ever read in your life. But I think it's. What's that? Go ahead. Oh, continue. Continue what you're saying and I'll let you know. I think it's... What's that? Go ahead.

Continue. Continue what you're saying and I'll let you know. Yeah, I think that that's the way I stayed away from the self-medication type thing was that I didn't make a great effort to.

I just, here again, I knew that I didn't have to believe what my mind said. And that 99% of the time it was wrong and it was full of shit. You know, whether it was judging other people, you know, you go to the mall or you're in a crowded mall or crowded area and you see a friend of yours across the way that you hadn't talked to in a minute. You wave to them and they look right at you and then they turn around and walk off and you're like what the hell did i do to that what's up with this i guess this asshole's pissed at me and when they didn't actually see you because they weren't looking for you they were looking for somebody else and then you build up a whole story in your

head about well i'm telling when i see him i'm gonna tell that song about you know and all this other crazy stuff that you rehearse for all for a drama. And that little part of me loves that shit. It can't wait to get the fork and the knife out and dig into the world is against me drama or somebody is against me drama. Kind of makes you work harder. Yes. I'm like that too. I try to remember when it happens that it

it's it's I'm God what's this bullshit I'm full of shit I ain't listening to that so

but it made you work hard to get you where you are now yes 100% and there's no way to get rid of a friend of mine called them gremlins

yeah you know this thing they're they don't go away mine they don't go away yeah they don't go away if you're if you're uh uh a guru in the himalayan mountains they're they're popping they're popping they're they're chipping teeth man bumping gums at you all the time so it's just are you gonna listen to them you know and believe them and then if you do it long enough not back up i won't even say you do it long enough i think you're born we're born feeling

like that's us and yeah the transformation is the old saying you know it's sort of like um an old old old uh japanese samurai culture sort of to die before you die, you know? And then you realize there is no... Yeah. Holy shit. JJ fucking Gray. Just give us the fucking ego death right there, bud. It's only noon on a Tuesday, man.

No, but it's true. It's true, though. I mean, that's why I'm so fascinated with, like, athletes like Michael Jordans of the world, Kobe Bryant. They're building these, like, fake enemies'm so fascinated with like athletes, like Michael Jordans of the world, Kobe Bryant. They're building these like fake enemies just so they can get better. Yeah. But that kind of pushed them to be further alone in their thoughts.

Like you don't see Michael Jordan having friends or Kobe having a best friend. No. It's like, fuck, sounds lonely to have that competition always in your head. But then you look at the end game, it's like he's the greatest. Yeah. It's like this idea of, I was wanting to go back to when you're saying the songs i don't write the songs the songs write themselves so do you feel like you're just a vessel yeah yeah sometimes yeah um i just know the the, the less of me, the better for the songs.

The more I'm involved in the process, you know, sitting here by myself, the more I get involved in starting out with stuff like, oh, you know, this is kind of, people have done this already and all that. The minute that comes into play, it's like it's over. And no matter what comes out there, it turns into like you got drunk off your ass and woke up the next day like, what the hell was I thinking? You woke up in somebody's house. You're like, what the hell was I thinking? And I feel that way about songs late at night not i'm not chasing the rabbit at that point at that point i'm just like constructing all this stuff and and this is going to be more clever and this is and and i haven't used this chord change like this before and i haven't done you know and the next

day you listen to you're like what the hell was i drunk i mean this is the worst sound of shit I've ever heard in my life. And that night, you thought it was awesome. Should have just wrote a blues. I tried to get it out of the process. What's that? Should have just wrote a blues again. That's what works. You know what I mean?

Yeah. Well, it's a mixture. You want to keep on pushing yourself to be great. You also don't want to break what's not broken. So it's kind of this idea of finding yourself and getting better and better. It's like Dewey Cox in Waqar where he starts bringing the donkeys

and the fucking DJs. I can see JJ Gray in the everybody's like, we need more gator sounds. Digerit don'ts. Didoo don't yeah but like yeah it's like kind of like i mean how many records you have now bro uh black water lot loose country ghetto um orange blossoms this river georgia warhorse um old glory and then this one um which was um uh ost so that's is that eight or was that did i not put my finger up for one of them i don't know i think it's eight

or nine yeah and they're alive so do you how long does it take you to make a record do you are you like an overthinker when the records go or like it's like your career has been so long only eight records sounds kind of the new one took a while i noticed yeah yeah yes it took it was it took a little more time it didn't take more time than the first one that's my whole life hell yeah so somebody's like it's just the longest i might know the first one was because i didn't do it till i was my third nearly it was all 30 years in the making but at any rate um that was nine years i think but i started recording uh funnily enough i just looked that up yesterday because i was asked when did i start tracking this record i started in 2017 and um but man if you added up all the actual time like working on song right the songwriting part arranging part tracking part and all that stuff it it could have been all been done in two or three weeks max you know or less it's really i just everything was so spread out because i just

wasn't interested i just didn't care and what i mean when i I just didn't care. And what I mean when I say I didn't care, I don't mean I didn't care at all. I just like, I got other things to do. I got mowers that are broke. I got tractors that are broke. I got a truck that's broke. I got the gates broke again. The hurricane knocked the gate out for the 15,000th time. I got to replace that. I got to do this. I got to do that. You know, there's always something, man. I come home and I love it. I love doing normal stuff. When I say normal, I. I got to do this. I got to do that. You know, it's always something, man. I come home and I love it. I love doing normal stuff. When I say normal,

I mean, normal compared to traveling to a different place every single day and playing music for two hours each night. Nothing normal about that. That's why musicians wound up on drugs. And cause, you know, talk about circadian rhythm,

non-rhythm. That's, that's one of them doing that. Doing that, but at any rate, that's nomadic to another level. Right. At least old school nomads like, okay, let's camp here for a week, three days instead of

a season even. But come home and do that, and after a while, I'm like, man, I can't wait to go on the road so I don't have to work on stuff anymore, bust my fingers and tear everything up, fixing stuff I can't wait to go on the road so I don't have to work on stuff anymore, bust my fingers and tear everything up, fixing stuff. Can't wait to go back to work. Are you married with kids? What's your deal?

Yeah, I'm married. I'm married. My son, he's born in 88. He's 36. I'm 36 too. I'm sure he matches better than mine so 36 and he's um uh he just he's a he's a freak man he's like the he's broke six world records he's like the strongest human being pound for pound to ever do a strict curl he just did he crushed it at the

arnold schwarzenegger Classic this year again. What? Yeah, he's nasty. Now he's going to go after bench press and he's going to break that, he said. Is he huge? He ain't small. It's lean muscle. But you know what? He can also...

He just worked me out this morning and he did box jumps till he threw up. He literally just threw up all over the floor. So he ain't just muscle, dude. He can run like, he could probably run eight miles. I mean, run. I don't mean jog. Eight miles without stopping right now.

He could go say, hey, run, run from here to blah, blah, blah, without stopping. He could do it. Whoa. So he's like a crazy athlete. When was the first time you realized he could beat your ass? What was the first time you realized he could beat your ass? Well, it started happening when he was probably 14 or 15. Because I had a squat rack, a homemade squat rack on my back porch when I lived at the trailer in Maxville.

And he bent all my Olympic bars. He bent all of them. Whoa. And I'm still using one. I love it. It's bent. It reminds me of them. Whoa. And still using one. I love it. It's bent. It reminds me. That's awesome. At 14, that's insane. Have you ever yelled at him and then he'll stand up and you're like, oh, maybe I shouldn't have yelled at him.

Yeah, well, now I'm like, he could probably bench press over three times his body weight. So he'll pick me up and throw me off. Was he a Navy SEAL or what? No.

He actually makes herbal formulas for people and trains people. People like C.T. Fletcher, those kind of cats, man. He rolls with all that crew. He's your bodyguard. And then my daughter's 15. you know, people like CT Fletcher, those kinds of cats, man, he, he, he's friend, he rolls with all that, that group, your bodyguard. And then my daughter's 15, she's 15.

Whoa, damn. 20 years apart. 20 years apart. What was it? An accident? Or like, did you like,

was same girl or what? What happened? Yeah. First one. Yeah. But happy accident. Yeah. What are you learning?. Yeah, but happy accident. Yeah. What are you learning?

She can see. What are you learning? Yeah. That all the years I told people I wouldn't put up with this, and I tell my kids, and they wouldn't back like that. And they would, you know, I quickly realized how full of shit I was. But luckily, our kids have been wonderful. They're great, and they're, they're great. And they're, they're on their own people. And she can sing way better than I can.

She, she, and she actually sings background vocals on the song to see on the new album. That's cool. And she's, she's a double national champion in karate as well. So she can scrap man. She can spar. You're not breaking his house. Oh, my God.

This whole family is... I'm going to really be on my good behavior on this JJ Gray tour. That's crazy. That's crazy with the age gap. You ain't got to worry about me. It's them two. It's crazy with the age gap. It's like raising them in two different cultures almost. That's what I was going to ask you.

What did you learn from raising your first kid of how you raised your second kid? Because you have 20 years of experience since that. And you're probably gigging harder then where you're gigging harder now. So you're probably there more for the daughter. Or was it the reverse? No, it's what you just said. Absolutely. no it's what you just said yeah absolutely so um the first lesson i learned was uh and i know you you've you've dealt with this i i left home especially when kids are a

certain age and i left home and uh back then i'd be gone three months or so you come back and and your kid's four inches taller right and the baby fat's gone and now you're like they look like a different human being like that's not happening again so i i took the more expensive route of two and a half weeks is my max and that's two and a half weeks you can do three weekends and um i didn't do that with the start of this new record because uh i wanted to uh uh bring the the trailer pack was so brutal on the crew because it's stacked to the ceiling everything in it that i wanted to get another trailer out so which meant another bus which meant okay well now i'll bring a couple more people from home out that that play with us when we're at home, so I brought a bigger band out. But that was one of the big lessons I learned was don't be gone so long.

And space, you know, the greatest gift you can give anybody is space. So people can conflate that with a lot of things. When I say space, I mean, you you know to listen to them when they're talking yeah um uh in context i don't mean i don't mean i don't want to sound like uh one of these people that their kids have just as much their kids what their kids have to say is so important about you know the geopolitical conditions of the world you're 15 dude because i can't even listen to me because i have no idea what i'm talking about and neither does anybody else i'm sure not listening to a 12 year old kid yeah give me a lecture like i don't know anything and i raised you yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah i'm

you're still being introduced to the whole concept that's all this gum bumping. Nobody really knows what's what. We're just all making semi-educated guesses. But at any rate, that was the biggest lesson to learn to give give give them space. And obviously, a son is different than a daughter for sure for for father and mother you know because both of them impart different different things to them and they need they need uh you know uh uh my like my son would need uh uh more of a rite of passage at some point, which he got. Yeah. You know, and more of an acceptance as I accept him now as a man.

And he's not just my son. He's a grown man now. You know what I mean? And I had that with my dad. And I think that sometimes you're lucky to have that, you know, because not everybody gets that opportunity. And I think maybe as humans for thousands and thousands of years, that's the way it always was. You know what I mean?

That's like you're on the construction crew. You go out on a hunting party in the Amazon basin, and it's like you're 12 years old. I'm finally taking you out with us to go hunt. And now keep your mouth shut and your ears open. And eventually, one day, now you're a man. And now, you know, you have a little bit of a rut. And I don't mean necessarily you have to swim crocodile infested waters to prove you're a man.

I just mean like at some point, you're like, okay. Teddy Roosevelt style. You know, you got some tread knocked off those wheels. So now we can get down to brass tacks as man to make that of father to son all the time. Yeah. Anyway, those are just little things that I picked up in between. And I add all that other because it is different between the daddy-daughter connection. It's more like the mom-son connection.

Yeah. And, you know, you're softened up a hair. You're getting older. And, like, you're a little more sensitive as you get older. I mean, it's probably a blessing in disguise. You had a daughter. You're a little softy now, JJ. I like it.

It's awesome. Yes. Girl dad. I know we're running out of time. I know we didn't even talk about any music, but this is way better. Yeah, that's all right. I don't like talking about music anyway. I mean, what can I say?

Yeah, we didn't talk about the fucking notes. What's that thing? I don't want to know. I don't want to know music anyway. What can I say? We're going to talk about the fucking notes. I don't want to know who produced the fucking record. I already know the fucking guy who's making the songs. That leaves me... By the way, I can't wait to tour with you. I actually have three weeks with you, bro. This is going to be fucking awesome. Me and Sean...

Sean is Todd's best friend. In Denver, they play together all the time. We're all homies with Todd. We're all homies with Todd. And not to belittle their relationship, the whole world is Todd's best friend. That's fair. That's fair.

He is the nicest guy on the planet. Yeah, that's why. He was pulled over at a rest area in Germany and somebody knew who he was and was just talking to him. That's why it broke my heart when he had that family situation of how he dealt with it. How did you walk him off the ledge to kind of get him back into sanity? Because that's a hard thing to do when you're a kid. Yeah, I try not to give people too much advice about it.

try not to give people too much advice about it you know i just um the most i can do is tell them you know i had a i had a family member die when i was on the road once in chicago and i flew home and it was the first time i you know i've known a lot of people to die and a lot of people to actually get killed back in the day but um this was the first time that when you go see him, when the people are in the casket, you know, the viewing. I think that's another name for it. Anyway, it's the day before the funeral, usually. And I went up there and, you know, they got him laid out and they got their hands like that, you know, on their heart in the casket. And I put my hands on her hands. And it was just like as inanimate as putting it on a piece

of fiberglass it was just ice cold and not real and I knew then that uh uh nothing is forever not even life isn't but neither is death so that means that uh nobody's ever really gone and I know that's and that everything that ever was and ever will be is all happening at once. And that time is just a figment of our imagination. Part of the ego to throw grid lines across something that's only this instant and no other time. And so, you know, I try to say that without being that long winded. But to anybody that because that's what that's-winded, but to anybody that, because that's what helps me.

I guess it helps me. I don't know. It's just my dad died a couple years ago. It's just sad to see everybody else crying and broke down. But for me, it was, I don't know. I don't even talk about, well, I'll see him again one day. I don't know how I'll see him or whether I'll see him. I just know he's not gone. And I don't know.

I don't know how to explain that. It's a feeling more than something that I can couch. Does that philosophy... Oh, keep going. But what? No, no, go ahead. Does that philosophy help you

be less scared of Dying yourself 100% Yes Peter Pan said Dying will be a wonderful adventure That's a great quote And if a Trillion people before me

Animals and stars If they can do it I can do it That leads me to my last question It's like before me and animals and stars if they can do it i can do it amen that's what you know that leads me to my last question you know it's like when it's all said and done what do you want to be remembered by jj um um you know i don't need to be remembered at all i just hope anything i've ever done helps anybody as much as it's helped me that's all i don't beyond that it's a legend i couldn't ask for more than that you know what i mean so well listen to jj's new record feel his vibes he's a fucking i can't wait to i can't wait to have coffee with you. I'm going to get so

yoked out, dude. I'm going to be doing push-ups with you. I don't know. We'll be... Three weeks. Three weeks is just... I'm going to have no nap, dude. It's like going to prison. It's going to definitely take more than three weeks. Boom. Boom, boom, boom.

You can have coffee, and I'll have... My buddy calls it hippie coffee like the herbamate or something oh you drink the herbamate stuff yeah that's oh trust me it's not health i'm sure coffee is healthier for you because i drink this shit till my heart almost explodes i i come up with excuses i think i need to go to the health food store you know my eyes starting to and i gotta go get it because it's loaded with caffeine. Yeah, those things are so good. I'm a caffeine junkie.

Yeah, that's worse than cocaine for me. I'm like dry heaving. I'm like, what the... It's 11 a.m. I don't want to be thinking about my mother and shit. Talking about high school stories and shit. You know, one redeeming quality, I guess, about cocaine is, at least in the interim,

just from my friends, I've never actually done it, but I've never wanted to speed up, but at any rate, is, at least you feel guilty later on, if you drink coffee, and take all this other shit,

and your heart explodes, and never feel guilty, at least it makes you feel guilty, like I shouldn't do this, and then you do it again, there's not commercials for cocaine on TV, exactly, there's commercials for extra latte, super caffeinated fucking herbamate.

Pumpkin spice. Pumpkin spice, so it has got flavor. Your heart will explode and you'll have anxiety for four hours. It's good for you. It's $5. Well, JJ, I know you guys... There was a Coke. There was a Coke-a-Cola when I was a kid.

It was called Jolt. Do y'all remember that? Oh, my God. And Kick. The advertising slogan was all the sugar and twice the caffeine. So those were the good old days. It's illegal now. I know. Well, rest in peace, Jolt.

Yeah, probably, yeah. Now they got Yerba Mate. Do you suck it out of like a metal straw like the real hippies do? No, no, no, no. I just drink it straight out of the can. I love those things. Yeah, he always drinks those Yerba Mate fucking cans. They got those ones with less sugar now, though. The yellow can?

Yes. I'm so glad. I'm just not... They taste better, I think. Do good enough to myself to abscond from sugar. Maybe one day I'll do it, but I just ain't got there yet. Real problem for me. Sidebar, Ivory Daniels,

get this man a Yerba Monte sponsor. Stop making him pay for all this fucking Yerba. Let's get out there. They sponsor things. They're out there. They do sponsor. Let's get them going. Get some on the bus.

I'll make sure. That'll be my gift. I'm going to get you a sponsorship for letting... Us too, actually. Why are you doing sponsorship? Y'all will come to my phone ring and I won't be answering. You'll come here and I'm either vegged out or completely heart exploded.

Dude, we are very similar. Yeah, we are very similar. We're very high or very low. All right, JJ. Andy did it. Andy did this to me, y'all. Yeah, exactly. He said I could.

Well, come catch us on tour in January. This podcast is releasing when we announce the tour. So come on out in January. We're going to the West Coast. I'm coming home, baby. Going to LA. I can't wait. You haven't been in the West Coast for a while. This is going to be fun.

In a minute. Yeah, It was November right whenever everything opened up from COVID. So that's probably 22. Damn. My parents are coming. My parents are coming to LA. So it'll be fun to meet my parents. So cool. And they're going to see you be like

a songwriter. Yeah, this is my first. He's only playing duo, guys. I'm only doing duo. So this is going to be like a really... I've always wanted to do this. Thanks for giving me the shot, JJ. I really appreciate it. No worries. Thank you for doing it. Let's fucking do it.

All right, Jay, enjoy the time off until you have to go back on the road. Don't piss off your daughter anymore. Just go have your own... Sounds like she can kick your ass. Sounds like she can kick your ass as well. 100%. Well, buddy, good luck out there,

and I'll see you in a, buddy, good luck out there. And I'll see you in a couple of weeks, a couple of months. Yeah. Yeah, man. Thanks. Looking forward to it, brother. Fuck yeah. Thanks, Joe. See y'all.

Appreciate you. You've just tuned in to the World Saving Podcast with Andy Frasco. Produced by Andy Frasco, Joe Angel Howe, and Chris Lorenz. Please help us save the world by subscribing and rating the show on volume.com, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you're listening so we can spread the word and save the world.

Follow us on Instagram at world saving podcast for updates, for tour dates, merch, and whatever crazy special event Andy thinks of next, check out andyfrasco.com. Special thanks to this week's guest, courtesy

of our talent booker, Mara Davis. That's me, or Andy's other mother. Be your best, and we'll talk to you next week for another great episode of the World Saving Podcast. Fuck. I always say talk to you next week, but actually

you do see them next week because it's a video podcast.