Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 3: Karl Denson (The Rolling Stones, Lenny Kravitz and Greyboy Allstars)

Episode Date: April 10, 2018

The World Saving Podcast goes galactic with Karl Denson (The Rolling Stones, Lenny Kravitz Band, and Greyboy Allstars). The boys get spiritual in the wake of ugly religious experiences. And featuring the first ever, Planned Parenthood Moment of the Week.  For more information on Andy Frasco, tour dates, the band and the blog, go to: AndyFrasco.com To keep up with the podcast, follow us on Instagram @WorldSavingPodcast For more information on our guest, Karl Denson: www.KarlDenson.com Produced by Andy Frasco Yeti Chris Lorentz Engineered by Chris Lorentz Featuring Arno Baaker Dave Schools (From Widespread Panic) and the Asian Tom Cruise, Ernie Chang

Now, a message from the UN.慢慢的拖上床的時候可以看到拖你內褲 上你的時候真的是 太好了 真的太好了 但是不知道 玩的時候還可以再玩嗎 我還想再玩 再跟你玩一下吧好不好

I still want to play I'll play with you again, okay? You're listening to This is Andy Frasco The World's Podcast We made it. Episode three of the world phenomenon. That is Eddie Frasco, world-saving podcast with a fucking Yeti. With a Yeti. Yeti, good to see you, pal. How are we doing? I'm doing well. How are you?

It's been a minute since I've talked to you. A whole week. The whole week has gone by. Here we are in the throes of the weekend, talking again face-to-face. It's snowing today. Pretty bad. We're about to play another show. Yeah. Here we are in the throes of the weekend talking again face-to-face. It's snowing today. Pretty bad. We're about to play another show at a ski resort. And I appreciate you coming to the show. Coming up.

I love ski resorts. I'm not skiing this year, but I love being around. I'm a Yeti. I'm Yeti. I'm not a Yeti. I'm Yeti. I am Yeti. That's my Instagram.

I am Yeti. Follow am Yeti. Yeah. That's my Instagram. I am Yeti. Yeah. Follow me. What's it been? So we talked last time you were having troubles with your girl. We were having relationship talks and you asked me the question, is she worth it? Is this,

is all of this, everything you're talking about worth it? And I said, yes. He said, it sounds like you need to go take care of some stuff. And I did. So, and we took care of that and life's been great. Not that it has to be great all the time. I don't want anyone to suffer

that delusion sometimes, but I think it just depends on how you approach it. Right. Is it nice to fight for something? Yeah, but it's nice to know what you're fighting for. I think there's a difference and I'll get into that. We can just talk about it. Let's talk about it. Yeah, so we'll get to some current events stuff, some funny stuff later, but let's just talk about this. So I had a full circle moment. So my background, really basic, the CliffsNotes version. You remember CliffsNotes?

Yeah, yeah, so CliffsNotes version is I grew up in an evangelical. I used to try to cheat off CliffsNotes, but the teachers are smarter than us. None of the answers were on the CliffsNotes version is I grew up in an evangelical... I used to try to cheat off CliffsNotes, but the teachers are smarter than us. None of the answers were on the CliffsNotes. Yeah, it's because they read the CliffsNotes and they're like, yeah, I'm going to put everything in. So they went to college and they had to read that shit

because CliffsNotes didn't exist when our teachers were in college. Teachers don't get paid enough to do research. I saw that. Oh, did you see that? That meme. Or now they want to teach them how to shoot a gun. What did Trump say? Yeah. It was a thing. Oh, did you see that? Now they want… That meme. Or now they want to teach them how to like shoot a gun. What did Trump say?

Yeah. It's just stupid. Fucking insane. I just gave you a sticker. What's it say? It says, Trump skis and jeans. It's pretty good. Pretty good.

It's really good. You think he does ski? You think he has like a turtleneck and shit? He probably does. Or appears to. This is the most exciting snowmobile race I've ever had in my life. He thinks he's on a snowmobile. That's probably, yeah.

I don't know. I could, I don't even want to think about it because it kind of ruins it for me, to be honest. He hates everything that skiing is about, which is being outside and in the environment. He hates musicians as well. He just, he hates guns. He needs some love.

He needs some consciousness. And that's what I was talking about is that we, um, we go around in these bubbles thinking that we have this thing figured out and then that bubble gets burst. And that happens to everybody. Um, when you think about it, it, in some ways it's really dramatic. Maybe your parents divorce or maybe a parent commits suicide or is gone suddenly.

And then for others, it's a matter of their belief system as it was for me. All of a sudden you have a gut check reality of how your decision-making paradigm and everything, the belief system, the belief structure that you've grown up with

or that you've come to develop, whether or not that's serving you. And that's where I arrived in my mid twenties, which was about 15 years ago. And I might say 10 to 15 years ago. And so I came to, coming to this time that you and I met and we started this, my whole thing was just seeking this level of consciousness that I knew was out there, that I had heard about. Eckhart Tolle talks about it. I mean, it's in every spiritual teaching, this is the center of it, is finding your Christ, finding your Zen, finding nirvana, finding consciousness.

And you and I have talked about this at length. And that's part of why we're doing this podcast is this is us saving the world, talking about how we bring about that change. And so for me, I had a full circle moment. I grew up evangelical Christian and walked away from that. I was hatred, hate-filled agnostic. What's that?

Was it agnostic? Agnostic just means I don't believe what I used to believe. Okay. It's not atheist as in I don't believe in anything. We're just stardust. Okay. So that's the difference. And so I was just- You're not like Degrassi. What's not atheists as in I don't believe in anything. We're just stardust. So that's the difference. And so I was just- Degrassi, what's his name?

Neil Degrassi. Yeah, he's an atheist. And I mean, honestly, I just don't think I'm smart enough. I don't know if that's a cop out, but I'm just like, here's the thing. We all have a belief structure. We all put our faith or we put our hope or we put our goals. We hold up those things in some belief system. Even if you're an atheist, that's your belief system. And you can email us and everything and argue about that, but that's neither here nor here. My full circle moment was growing up in this, there's this sub-genre. You ever heard of Christian music? Yeah. Yeah. Right. And you've experienced some of it, right? Yeah. On the good side and the bad side. Good stuff. BBNCC. Come on. I mean, gospel And you've experienced some of it, right? Yeah. On the good side and the bad side.

Good stuff. BBNCC. Come on. I mean, gospel music. Like that's, that's the shit. Right. And then, and, and people are like, that's not, that's gospel. I'm like, listen, it's all lumped in the same. Like these are the same,

like 10 record labels that existed in the nineties. And so all of this happened. I, I was listening to this music by this artist named Toby Mack. Have you ever heard of him? Toby McKeon? No. Long story short, that guy went to Liberty and started a group called DC Talk, Decent Christian Talk.

And they did hip hop. And now he's this kind of everything artist, hip hop artist that turns around and he's pretty big. Anyway, I heard this song and suddenly everything that I had been learning about consciousness and that I've been really focusing on over these last few months made sense. And it was just then, because I had this Judeo-Christian belief system and suddenly

it made sense. And that all of that, that I had learned was just a little bit off. Like it, the principles are pretty good. I mean, yeah, be good to people and don't, don't fuck up. Like, I mean, that's, that's a good way to go about life. Right. So it's very Buddhist as well. It is. And so really it just, it was this, everything just coming together. And I was in a natural grocers in the parking lot and I lost it just sobbing because I had been carrying around so much hate for the life that I had lived for the things that I had said in that belief system for the, for the things that I had felt had been done to me or that I had been a

part of or a victim of. And so- You're just suppressing your feelings? And I realized I didn't have to hate that. That there was stuff, there was bad shit that happened that I don't agree with. And I'm not talking about anything major. I'm just saying there were things I don't like that happened, but I don't have to, that's not my story. That's not my identity. And I don't have to identify with that. And I can say all of this brought me to here. Truly, this brought me to here. And I think that's the part that we miss is that journey. And we want to cut off the beliefs of our youth or whatever it is. And really, that's the way you grew up in the world. And if you can't believe in that belief structure,

if you have a really horrible belief structure, you grew up and I get it. But if it's possible for you to view the world in your worldview now from that, I felt like it was just, all of a sudden it was easy. It was like, ah. You just had a ton of weights lifted off you. Yeah.

That's how I kind of feel too. When I, you know, I always have this resentment towards Los Angeles. Yeah. And how I grew up there my whole life. And, you know, just chasing the rabbit's tail my whole life, you know, just trying to be someone else.

Just trying to wear this costume every day because someone else wanted me to be like that. And I had to get out. And I had to travel the world to see who I was. You know, I didn't want to be this fake person anymore. Just trying to get a quick laugh. I wanted to be genuine. And through your process of growing and maturing and getting older, the only way to keep on moving up is self-analyzing yourself

and rechecking on all those systems like what's making me sad now? What's making me tired? What's making me tired? What's making me happy? Because what makes you happy now probably wasn't making you happy five years ago or vice versa. You know, like I always used to try to go back to what made me happy and get sad

because it wasn't making me happy anymore. It didn't have that. It wasn't the same. No, it wasn't the same. You know, I had to let that go and say, you know, as you get older, your needs and your likes are way different than what they were when you're 16 or 30.

And that's okay. It's important to keep growing the way you want to grow. Yeah. And that's that journey, right? That's that journey aspect. And it's just continuing on that. So that's where my week went. And's that journey aspect. And it's just continuing on that. So that's where my week went. And it went really well.

Did it feel good? Oh my God. Like this is like, the only way I could really describe, like, oh, I mean, there's a few things that happened and I can put it in the notes on the episode and there's not a lot,

but there is one documentary that I think everybody should watch. It's called Heal. Heal? Heal, H-E-A-L. And this thing is- It's not like a preachy God. No, no.

This is a very much what I was just talking about, that energy is singular. And it's talking about healing your body. And they talk about stories of radical remission, people that had cancer, tumor cells throughout their entire body, and they just melted away. And what happened, and what this person actually studied, 275, 300 different cases of radical remission and found out that all of these people that had this happen did 75 different things.

They all did these 75 different things. But out of those 75, nine of them, there were nine things that every single person did. And two of them happened to do with diet. The rest of it had to do with your spiritual practice and your attitude. Oh, no way. Right. And how you approach things. And that's what so, I mean, for me, it was just like, you know, for me growing up in a Christian church, surrender was surrendering to the Godhead, right? To Jesus Christ. And so, and now I don't see surrender as surrendering to a being. I see it as surrendering to the consciousness within you

that needs to come out because that is the raw energy of the universe. And that is, in your sense, your God now. Right. And some people, and I get it. Like I get through the belief structures. I don't want to get into that. You can disagree with me.

That's fine. This is where I am. This is on the chessboard of life. I hear you, Len. And so, and that's- That's how I am too. Yeah. And I just, it's, you just think about-

You're believing in yourself. Right. You're believing in yourself, which then just buys into this collective energy that we all have. You know, you're attracted to different people. You and I were compelled to come together in this universe for our creative combination, I guess. You and I were compelled to come together in this universe for our creative

combination, I guess, you know? And so, and so it's just, when you open yourself up to that, things start to happen. And that's what happened when you and I are launching this podcast, there's some great stuff coming. And you know, when you and I talk, when we really get into it, we're just geeking out. We're like, oh, and then we could do this. Then we can do this. I'm texting you while I'm listening to episode, to interviews that you've done. And so I'm stoked about it, man. I'm glad we're here and I'm glad we get to do this and get to do this journey together. Yeah, it's great, man. I was feeling the same way this week. You know, I've been gigging and, you know, I haven't had that, that release, you know, from my music. It was all

just music, you know, it didn't have that other thing that I could be creative with and express myself. And this is working for the moment. This is the outlet. That's what you got to do. You got to find your flow, right? Find where it's going. That's basically what we talk about with Carl Denson.

He's a 60-year-old man still on the road. Isn't that crazy? It's amazing. He has such a great story. This guy is one of the... He's a 60-year-old man still on the road. Isn't that crazy? It's amazing. He has such a great story. This guy is one of the, he's the foremost. I mean, if you think sax, yeah. But it's beyond that. I mean, his jazz influence, which you guys talk about, all of these things, this episode blew me away.

And do you remember I was texting you the other day when I was listening to it and I was like, this is amazing. I was geeking out. Yeah, it's a musician's story. If you are a music geek, this is, this is the episode you want to listen to. And if you're not, you will become one by the end of the episode. I'm not even kidding. Like it's, this is not like, oh, and then there was an F sharp and I was like, excuse me, that shouldn't be that. No, this is like talking about, um, soul and

finding his voice even at 60. Exactly. And refinding it and all of that. So it's a good story. And I, Andy, introduce it because I'll talk about it all day. If you don't know this man, Carl Denson, he's with the fucking Rolling Stones now, people. We got to interview a Rolling Stone. This podcast is going fucking galactic now, ladies and gentlemen. So you got to check it out. Carl D's played with Lenny Kravitz. He's got his own project, Carl Denson, and he's a great boy, all stars. He's just been a incredible person in my, in my jam scene. And wait till you hear this one. Check it out. Enjoy it. Carl D. I am sitting. We are at Jam Cruise.

We are on an ocean, it looks like. And it's beautiful. And I'm sitting with one of the best saxophone players of our time, Mr. Carl D. Carl Denson. How are you doing, buddy? I'm doing great. Man, thanks for coming. And it's a bay, by the way. Is it a bay?

Yeah, this would be considered a bay. I'm delusional i don't uh it was so bumpy last night or rocky that was uh i really don't know it's good for sleeping though yeah it's good for sleeping yeah we're doing 11 days in a row we're doing this one and then we're opening for uh yeah bare naked ladies and uh um need to breathe. So it's like from Jam Cruise to Cougar Cruise. It should be a good time. But man, your career is unbelievable. You've worked with Lenny, you did Grey Boy, you do your own project, and now you're with the Stones.

Did you think your career would be this at this point in your life? Well, no. I mean, the Stones thing is kind of way over the top. That was a huge surprise. It's unbelievable, man. So who passed the torch to you to get the Stones gig? Lenny. Lenny did?

Yeah. Really? Yeah, that was a Lenny call, a random call. And I picked up the phone. It was Lenny K? Yeah. Really? Yeah, that was a Lenny call. A random call. And I picked up the phone. It was Lenny Kravitz. And he said they were looking for a sax player. Oh, my God. You know.

So how many dates to do a year now? I'm going to say in the 30. Oh, that's perfect. So you can still do your thing? It's like they might do one tour. Yeah, they do like two-month tours. Yeah. And they used to put like 15 shows on that.

And maybe we'll do two of them. Maybe we'll do one. It's amazing. So is... And basically, they book that out, what, two years in advance? You know your schedule? No. Oh, so it's a lot of one-offs?

Those guys can sell so many tickets so fast. You know, they're like, oh, we might tour in May. And you're sitting around in December or January thinking, they better book this thing soon. They got like 60,000 tickets to sell in every city and they'll wait till February or April. What? And like it blows out in two weeks.

Stones. I mean, yeah, I wouldn't expect, but that's crazy. I feel like it takes so much planning to book an arena tour like that. It really does. But they don't like to book anything ahead of the tour they're doing. So it's always like the next tour, and then we'll think about what we're going to do next. So, you know, of course, management,

booking, they all have an idea of what they want to do next. But it's always, you know, pretty much within a couple of few months that we find out.

Oh, so with that, do they keep you on retainer or how does that work? No, man. We just... You just ride it. So what if you... That's why my manager

grinds them all the time that's great man that's you know great to have a good team like that so how many so how many dates are you doing a year just your solo project oh man i'm probably uh i'm gonna say i'm down from what i used to be, but I'm probably doing 100. It's great. 120, 130. Really? Still doing it.

Yeah. Yeah. How many years have you been on the road now? It feels like. I've been on the road since 1990. 1990? Yeah. Oh my God.

So how many years was Lenny going hard? How many dates was he doing a year? When I was with Lenny, he was going pretty hard. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was like, it was the, you know, the record cycle at that point. We were doing the record cycle. So, and I didn't end up with him when he dropped,

"'Are You Gonna Go My Way?" That kind of took off a little bit. And then, but I heard from the other guys when they did Fly Away that that was like a year and a half, two year tour.

Oh my God. Yeah. That's awesome. So I missed that. I missed that one, which I'm not, yeah, that was,

I'm glad I missed that. That's too much. It's a little bit, yeah, I'm on year 10 yeah that was I'm glad I missed that yeah that's too much it's a little bit yeah I'm uh I'm on year 10 doing 250 shows a year so yeah I'm like at that point where now it's time to think about my health it's time to exactly dial it in so yeah yeah and family is like can smell the roses a little bit it's it's a grind it is a grind thank god I'm still bachelor so I mean I don't have it no one really nagged me about that but you know my manager is telling me you got to drink water you can't be partying you know and eat vegetables yeah man you gotta gotta get down with the healthy living man

yeah ben ellman is i produced our record he did five songs off a record and dave schools did the other five and they tell us yeah you know no fast food and uh you know they're basically teaching me the the road life manifesto it's like after 10 years like your body is not you have to exercise now and you have to really dial it in like yeah what are some of the tricks do you work out every day or I mean you're i've been doing i've been doing tai chi for years so i do i do like a kind of a qigong uh-huh um oh i saw that aren't you aren't you doing something on the boat yeah yeah i thought i'm teaching i've been teaching bagua jin it's called the eight treasures for um for about six five six years now you love jam cruise yeah it's pretty

awesome and um uh what do you love about is it like just staying in the moment it keeps you it just fixes your body oh really you know like like literally i tell the story all the time but you know back in 2001 um and i was um you know, in my early 40s. 2001, you're in your early 40s? Yeah, I'm 60 now. Carl! You look good, man.

You need to teach me your ways, man. I'm dying slow. You look like you're getting Benjamin Button up in here. Yeah, there we go. There we go. Wow, 60. Yeah, tell me, what's up? But yeah, man, I started developing bunions. You know, my dad had bunions.

And so I started developing bunions. And I, you know, like I'd run through an airport, man, I would be hobbled. Really? And so I went back to doing my Tai Chi every day. And it fixed it in like two months. Really? Yeah, and I haven't had a problem since. Is it?

So I just, that's why I teach people that on the boat, because I'm just like, if you guys do this, it can fix things, you know? It keeps your back straight, it keeps your posture good. Oh my God, I got to start focusing on that because I've been trying different things and, you know. It's a great hotel routine. Like, and it it's just it's to augment all your other stuff like i do that and then i'll do push-ups and sit-ups and cardio stuff but but that's the thing that keeps me like

centered and um and my my skeleton in the right place really that's insane man that's good so and then i know where every Whole Foods is. Oh, that was my next question. So, like, yeah, what's your diet? You can't eat, like, late-night fast food. You have to really focus in. I don't eat fast food at all. No, good.

I mean, not for a really long time. What fast food would I eat? Every once in a while, I got to do an In-N-Out burger. Yeah, of course. Where are you from? California. Yeah, me too. What part?

Southern Cal. Oh, cool. I grew up in Orange County. Now I live in San Diego. Nice. I grew up in Calabasas. Okay, yeah. Yeah, when they'll come, you know.

So, yeah, you know the In-N-Out burger thing. Yeah, the In-N-Out. But generally, man, it's like, you know, just a lot of vegetables and all whole food. All whole foods. Yeah. Like, that's great. Do you drink anymore or do lot of vegetables and all whole foods. All whole foods. Yeah. Like, that's great. Do you drink anymore or do you every now and then?

Yeah, I don't drink much hard liquor, but I love, I'm a wino. Oh, wino. What kind? What's your? I'm a red wine guy. Red wine guy. Yeah. Man, I got to get on that Carl D diet, man. Cause I swear I'm feeling it.

I mean, it, I changed, I changed, like I was saying before, the Galactic guys helped me out with my diet as well. It was just little things. And I felt like I was more energized. My brain was working more. I was less stressed out and anxiety. Yeah. It's pretty, rest, exercise, and diet. It's pretty key. Yeah, that's important. And once you, what old are you now? I'm turning 30. Yeah, exactly.

So you're starting to get to the age where you got to start thinking about it. You know, by about 35, you're going to start finding that you can't lose weight as fast as you used to. That's what everyone says. The metabolism slows down. Yeah, you get the man weight. Oh, yeah. That's what I said. The metabolism slows down. Yeah, you get the man weight. Oh, yeah. That's what I say. I call it man weight.

Man weight. It's that 2 a.m. writer food. You know? Yeah, yeah. You got to focus in on not doing that. So do you have any new projects coming up? What are you working on? Man, I am finally, I feel like I'm learning how to write a song right now.

Yeah, I've been. What's been inspiring you? I've been working on my... Well, you know what? I've been writing. I consider myself a writer mostly. So just over the years and moving from jazz into soul and what I do now and writing vocal tunes and singing, I've been trying to perfect the song,

you know, and this year I got really comfortable with my band. So I've been able to have them produce their own tracks, which is huge. So I just come in with a melody, let them do their thing. And I'm, and we're really happy with it. A sax melody or a vocal melody or it doesn't matter. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And then, and then I just hired a vocal producer or it doesn't matter yeah yeah exactly exactly and then um and then i just hired a uh a vocal producer on my record man and we just went in the studio last week knocked down like six tunes you know background vocals and had him help me produce my vocals and you're doing all the back vocals too no no it's me him and a girl great and it's amazing just to have somebody that knows what they're doing oh you know like you got an idea and they actually flesh it out and yeah make it right and you know

and i come in with an idea of a vocal and i sing it and he goes okay that's good but you know more addiction more this more that you know oh yeah and um yeah it's like i feel like i just turned a corner as far as that so this next record record, which will come out probably close to summer, is going to be, you know, for me, like kind of an important work in terms of learning how to write songs and produce them. Yeah, it's great. Like, what do you, I watched your set last night and I just felt like your vocals have gotten so much better.

Even like when you're doing the call and response stuff, like all the funk stuff, the deep funk stuff, I really felt like your vocals are really powerful. I mean, you're- I finally learned how to sing the blues. Yeah. What was that epiphany? I'll tell you, this is a great story. Zack know, the original drummer from Grey Boy All Stars. Very talented cat. And he kind of, you know, stopped playing music for quite a while. And now I got him back in my band.

He's my favorite drummer ever. And he's also, he makes good records on his own. Is he out of Colorado? Where is he out of? San Diego. San Diego too. Oh, is all Grey Boy out of San Diego? Grey Boy All Stars is a San Diego band. Yeah. And so we all the great boys out of San Diego? Great Boy All-Stars is a San Diego band.

Yeah. And so, so we're working on this tune, working on this new tune. I brought it in and the band's working with me and, and, um, you know, I came up with a bridge for it, a pre-chorus and I'm singing it and they're, and they start messing with the chords a little bit. And so they come up with a chord and it's, the chord sounds good, but it doesn't work with my melody. And, um, and I'm like, you know, hey know hey guys the that doesn't really work with the melody and zach turns to me and he goes i think you're getting stuck on that melody that like that's important that's not really the most important thing and then i looked at him and i and i'm thinking oh just sing the freaking blues yeah you know You know, and all of a sudden, I'm like going, yeah, baby.

You know, I finally understood. You opened up. I finally understood Marvin Gaye. Like, in a second, it like came down. And so now, when I'm singing, I've been doing that over every song now. And I got the band laughing half the time because I'm just like randomly throwing this thing in because I finally understand what it is you know what I mean

so it's just like I grew up you know in like light years in the last few months. Man it took you took you what 60 years to sing the blues. Yeah exactly. That's okay though yeah did you has that grown in your uh your sax solos too like learning how to play in between the rhythms and stuff sure man and actually the blues thing um for me it's like that's where i'm at right now because i'm i'm like you know i i grew up like as a jazz guy yeah you know thinking everything was about playing changes and then when when i started playing the blues it was confusing you know thinking everything was about playing changes and then when when i started playing the blues it was confusing you know because you got so many options yeah but you have to like winnow it down to what you want to do yeah and and now i'm um like i finally since

i've been playing with the stones tim reese the other sax player uh how long has he been with stones he's been with them like 17 years. And he's a great player, great jazz player. So one day I asked him, I go, dude, because we were playing some blues and he just sounded so fluid at it, like the jazz thing. And I go, how did you figure out how to play the blues? And he goes, and he referenced some guy

that told him what to do. And it was when he was with Maynard Ferguson and it was basically learn everything you know in one key like all your licks all your things that you that you defer to you got to learn them in every key because saxophone's very um it's like a freaking computer man yeah like you don't you don't get to move your hand up and play the same shit Every every key is completely different So I've been in the process for the last three years of just playing the blues Playing all my blues ideas in every key all day long

So I'm really enjoying practicing but it's also like opening up my brain to like understanding the totality of yeah baby oh yeah you know so i'm like i'm like starting to get it and it's like this this it's it's amazing i i i always i always laugh at like just the growth of the artist you know like and that's kind of the beauty of of art you know is is that you never get there. You're always on the journey. So, yeah, this has been a really fun year. My band feels awesome.

Your bass player is sick. Who's he? That's Chris Stillwell, Gray Boy All-Stars. Yeah. And that's one of the things I realized. See, I go in the studio over the last five years, right? And you go in the studio and you record and you're like, okay. You go back and you listen to it and you kind of figure out what's good, what's bad.

Well, the one thing I figured out was that I never, ever have to worry about my bass parts. Like the bass is always bulletproof. So that kind of freed me up of like, okay, I never have to think about Chris. So anytime I was recording and maybe my manager was like, maybe you should use Anders or Ivan and, you know, change it up.

And I'm like, okay, but I'm definitely going to use Chris, you know? And then now I got Zach back. It's like, okay, I'm always going to use Zach. And now I'm like more and more with my band, feeling more and more comfortable. So it's's like but it started from the bass just realizing damn he's always playing some he's your guy he's sick dude he's super ill and in the pocket like in the tone his tone was unbelievable i was like yeah he's such a badass i was i was as sick as i've heard you guys i think

you guys were just you're vibing each other. And what about, yeah, we're feeling super comfortable. And like, and we just did this recording, like a couple of months ago, we went in the studio and we knocked down like 10 new tunes where I just really, you guys record at, uh,

in San Diego, this place, uh, audio design that I always work out of. And I literally came in with like, you know, um, like I had the song in a dream,

here's how it goes. And then just have the band like make the stuff. And it like, you know, like I had the song in a dream, here's how it goes. And then just have the band like make the stuff. And it like, and it was so easy that we knocked down like 10 tunes in three days. Amazing how, when you stop overthinking music, how you end up getting into the groove you always wanted to get in, you know? It's like, you force it. I don't try to tell the drummer, the keyboard player.

I don't tell anybody what to do. I just, you know, now I come in, sing them a song and here's what it is. It's killer. Yeah. Oh my God. That is sick. It's super fun. It is halftime at the Enni Fresco interview hour.

And now your Planned Parenthood moment of the week. No! I need it now! I'm coming to get dressed. No! Don't push me. I need it now! Don't.

Can you just hit me in the face? Don't you hit me. Let me in! Don't push me. I need it now! Come in your room. Don't you bite me. I got it now! Don't push me. I need it now! Come in your room. Don't you bite me. I got you back now!

What happened when you're not getting dressed? Don't push me! Now! So, that's awesome. So what do you, I saw you play flute, I saw you play sax, what other, any other wins you play, or? No, no, but I'm i'm i'm uh i play

keyboards a little bit and i'm and i and the last few years i've been playing guitar really which has been you've been throwing it on stage yet no hell no come on the guys will back you up it'll come it'll come eventually but but not not yet but it's because it's because you know what because i'm really trying to stay as simple as possible because my brain works a little too complex by nature so so the guitar is like simplified ideas you know where like now when i write a song if i pick up the guitar and learn the song on guitar the bridge or the chorus comes super easy because the guitar kind of functions as a as a like a buffer yeah it's like a it's like a buffer between me and like yeah my my idea my vast weirdness you know add brain yeah yeah that's killer so are you are you like learning how to

like that can help you with your songwriting to know that's like exactly man Like I had a couple of songs that you know I had for years But I couldn't figure out what the bridge was and then I learned them on guitar and the bridge was right there Because it's the same chords the different you know in a different order. Yeah, exactly. That's how guitar works. Yeah different patterns Yeah, it's saying you learn five songs on guitar, you know 50 exactly Exactly. You just have to learn the different, yeah. I've been learning guitar a little bit and writing songs. I'm trying to write songs on bass.

What's your instrument? I haven't heard it. I'm piano. I play piano. Yeah, I heard good things. I'm going to come see you guys tomorrow. Yeah, come sit in with us. Ernie would freak out.

He's like one of your, he looks up to you so much. And he's my sax player. He's been my sax player for 10 years. I think it'd be a killer vibe, man. You got some of the Dumps Funk guys coming in, sitting in too. Right. It'll be fun. All right.

Yeah. I'll definitely be there. Man, appreciate it, Carl. Man, thanks for talking to me, man. I'm digging on this jam cruise. What I've really been liking is, you know for me and dumps the funk and galactic and um yeah how many have you done you know there's like yeah it's garrick and mike d you know like we've all been on all these boats you know i've done every one and you've done every jam cruise

and every galactic too yeah they've done everyone and scarick's been on all of them has mike d been on everyone he's been i think he's been on all of them. Most of them. Maybe he might have been on all of them though. But, you know, for us, it's like, you know, you come here and you see all your old friends and we do the same thing every year and we watch and like about at about Jam Cruise 8, I was thinking, okay, this might be boring, you know, because I know everybody, but then everybody got way better that year. I remember distinctly, it was like, you know, because I know everybody. But then everybody got way better that year. I remember distinctly, it was like, you know, hearing Stanton Moore playing freaking jazz brushes in the atrium. And I was like, dude, what have you been doing? And he's like, oh man, I've been studying this Roy Haynes book, you know, and just watching everybody get better. And then this year,

you know, then you got like you know snarky puppy came in a few years ago oh yeah and they're like you know killing and then seeing you you know your band and then um um naughty professor oh dude you know like all these new bands and it's like it's so cool man like this the family's growing and i feel like we're all kind of going the same direction exactly but you know but it's really just about the quality. Like, work hard and make good shit. Yeah, quality over quantity. I agree.

And because, you know, there's a lot of these electronic festivals are taking over. And you see, like, these jam festivals are slowly, they're not, like, deteriorating. But, like, it's just, like, all the all the jam and like the scene is really sticking together and like really trying to keep things yeah and you know and i saw it i saw it back from like 2000 um where bonnaroo when bonnaroo happened bonnaroo was originally kind of a jam band festival oh really yeah what years was that when it was like a one oh two really and they had um it was like a lot of jam bands and then over the next five six years it kind of turned into like a pop festival you know where they were they're just trying to make money and and and the jam band scene kind of deteriorated a bit but then um but then the uh all of a sudden people started doing pure jam band scene um festivals again

you know and and and it's starting to it started to grow and it's still growing and it's like it's stabilized you know where people realize they want to see real music played by real people and um you know not to not to to bag on any other style of music because i love everything yeah but the jam band scene is really it's kind of like a jazz festival. Totally. You know, and people are trying to play their instruments well. Yeah. You know, so that's what, that's a difference, you know.

We take solos. We sing songs, but we also take solos. You know, where you go to Coachella. Yeah. And they're great songwriters, but they're not blowing solos. No, they're not blowing solos. They're backtracked and they're just trying

to get everything on the click. Yeah, it's got to be tight. Yeah. So that's what this is about. It's more of a jazz scene. And I'm watching everybody get better and better

and it's freaking refreshing. It's cool. Do you see bands like Wolfpack and the guys who are trying to bring singing back into this jam world, like Motet? Well, that's exactly what has been lacking. Yeah, it needed that. For the longest time, because, you know, you have, you know, the early jam band scene, even with mine, I figure, I feel like I wrote a handful of good songs.

But really, that was the hardest thing for us was to learn how to write great songs yeah because you know as a jazz guy you don't grow up writing lyrics and telling your little story you know yeah but like that's what we wanted to learn how to do and i feel like now it's starting to happen where you got more bands that are like wolf peck and and that that are writing good songs and they're singing. Yeah, exactly. It's like the best both worlds. Yeah.

And even in the, you know, when you move over to the, you know, the newer guys like Lucas Nelson and Graham Lesh, where they're like, they're writing in that Grateful Dead, Wilson vein, but they're still blowing solos. Yeah. And they're killing it. Lucas is killing it. They're pulling on like a, like a, uh, kind of a Neil Young, um, coattail, you know, where it's still about like, let's grind out a solo or Anders Osborn, you know, great songwriter and fantastic guitar player, you know? So it's, it's really, it's a very cool thing. And, and I know a lot of my, my compatriots out here, you know, they kind of shun the, the, the jam band moniker, but you know what, man,

these fricking hippies, they love it. They raised my kids, you know, and, and, and they like good music. And I love the whole scene. And I love that there's improvisation. And I tell my manager a lot of times, he sends me stuff and it's like, check this out, this is a new cool thing. And it's like, yeah, but dude, don't expect us to be in that because we play solos. Those guys aren't playing any solos.

They're not going to play solos. And sometimes he sends me stuff and I go, yeah, but they can't play their instruments. I love the music, but they can't play their instruments. I'm not interested in that angle because I'm trying to become a great musician as well as a great songwriter, you know? And that's what I feel like this jam scene is about. It's about great musicianship. And now I feel like we're really moving towards a songwriting thing, which I think there's going to happen. I think some cool shit's going to happen in the next few years.

Oh, for sure. Like, I love these collaborations. Like, yeah, like you said, like Anders,

like Anders, the killer guitar player, but then you hear like coming down and like those records when he was off, getting off the shit. Dude, I heard some shit on, I was listening to WOZ at home and I heard a track and I forget what track it was, but I was like, Ooh, that's a freaking awesome track.

And then it was him. It didn't even sound like him to me, but it's like he's just a great songwriter, you know? It's that New Orleans, man. Something in the water out there, man. I even like, oh, what's his name? He's in Dragon Smoke, Eric Lindell. Oh, yeah. Oh, he's a great songwriter too and you know and going back to the blues dude three to four chords

the revivalist oh you know they're like taking everything by storm right now they're blowing and they came straight out of this scene you know it's like no that was dope i just saw turquoise they could sing that was the first time hearing that exactly those girls are saying they can sing? That was the first time hearing them. Those girls are bad, dude. They can sing and they can play. You know what I mean? It's incredible. It's coming. It's really fun.

Yeah, I was worried because you see the over-saturation of everyone trying to do a festival now. Every city, every state have the same people. And you see some of the ticket sales lowering and not as big as they used to. It's just because now, instead of having a four-state radius clause, you're having a one-state radius clause. And you have so many more bands on the road now because of the music industry. You can't make money selling CDs, selling music. Get your ass on the road.

Yeah, so you got to Get your ass on the road. Yeah. So you got to get your ass on the road. So we're out there now competing with, you know, with, you know, with Jack White and all the bigger bands now that because they have to get on the road too. Yeah, it's crazy. Yeah. Which is kind of cool because I think at the end of the day, you know, it's really that cream rises to the top thing and people are going to gravitate to the end of the day, you know, it's really that cream rises to the top thing. And people are going to gravitate to the kind of music they really want to hear.

And I think as we, as a jam band scene, start writing better songs, the improvisation is going to take its effect. And yeah, so you think, I think as well, you know, the music industry crashed in 2006. I used to work at Capitol Records and Drive Thru Records when I was in high school. I grew up in LA. So you get the internships and then you could, you know, bullshit your way to get to the top execs and hopefully be their assistant. And you see the crash. But I think it was the best thing to happen. You know, it didn't make us money.

You're not getting the million dollar contracts anymore. Your record budgets are lower, but it forces you to be a better musician because you have to take your show on the road and go for it. You can't just rely on your record to make you money anymore. And you can't rely on a single. Yeah, or a producer.

Because we kind of went from like, back in the 70s and 80s of people making great records to all of a sudden they had this single thing where you make, you know, you go out and buy a record based on a single. And you're like, this record sucks. Yeah. You know, the single's great. Yeah. But the record was, you know, it sucked. It dropped 30K on the single and then dropped 2,000.

Yeah, man. And it's like, you know, like you look at Prince. When Prince said that once, he was like, you know, people should be embarrassed when they make a freaking record and they've got one good song on it. You know, but that kind of became the trend. And I think people, you know, the masses, you know, kind of rebelled against that to a certain extent and said,

you know, you major record companies are selling us a a up bill of goods and we're gonna go out and find our own music on youtube and wherever and that's you know i mean i totally wouldn't have existed without the new way of looking at music yeah you know 100 you know it's like you gotta adapt yeah if you're not gonna adapt with what the younger generations are finding their music, it's like you said, I'm cool. If I have to give away my music, that's fine. But they're going to come and buy a $25 T-shirt, and they're going to buy a ticket. And that's going to support me.

It fuels the fire. Yeah, and I don't have to be making a million dollars a year. If I can feed my family and play music, I'm totally happy. Married man, kids, everything? I was married. I have three kids. Oh, yeah. I have three kids.

Yeah. The road life's hard for that, huh? I'm trying to figure that out with myself. You know what? You just have to be patient and sort yourself out. It's really about sorting yourself out and what you want and where you're going. You know, make your moves at your own pace. Yeah.

I've never had a girlfriend like ever in my life. I'm still trying. I've been on the road for 10 years. I don't think women could put up with my shit, but. You know what? That's probably the best thing you could have done. Yeah. You're going to get where you're going with your art

and then you'll figure that out. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I just want to be the best musician and songwriter I can. And hearing your story and how it just makes me feel optimistic about the future. And I appreciate you, Carl. Yeah, man, it's very bright. Because there's such great music out there. There's such great art being made all the time.

And if we can be a part of that, we should be just grateful. Yeah, I agree, man. I agree. Carl, my man, I'll let you go. Thank you so much for this, man. Hey, dude, come sit in with us tomorrow. I will. That'd be dope, man.

Thanks, buddy. Peace out. Peace out. Now, a message from the UN. Hey, Andy. It's Dave Schools calling. You know, your producer and the voice of your conscience.

I hear you've got Carl Denson coming on the show. Look, I've known Carl for a really long time and there's a couple of things I just want to warn you about. No matter what you do, don't ask him about

playing with the Rolling Stones, man. No one wants to talk about that. That is just like, that's got to be some of the most uncool stuff you could ask a guest. Anyway, I hope you're doing good. Enjoy your time with Carl. Maybe he can give you some workout tips.

Wow. Wasn't that awesome? Again, I've got my hand in the air to the universe if you are not a music nerd by now, a geek at least. Oh man. I get high. That gets me higher than any fucking dab rig.

I was geeking out. It was ridiculous. And that's when I was blowing up your phone when I was listening to this thing because it was, I could tell. And I was like, this is what you're excited about.

And I'm excited about it. Yeah. It's crazy. You know, it's like he didn't end up sitting in with us, but he watched our show and gave me like the biggest hug. Like, damn, you're wild and you're it, man. Gave you some good compliments.

That's great. Gave you some good compliments. So respect. Thank you, Carl D. Thank you. Going on this show. Appreciate it. Thanks for being on fire, Carl D.

Speaking of festivals, I think it's time for our first ever Wook of the Week. Wook of the Week. It's the Wooks of the World. Speaking of man on fire, not Carl D. in this case. So, Bernie, man.

What's going on with the Wooks? This didn't happen this week, but I think it's just worth mentioning. And I know you agree. There's a man 41. 41. He's 41. Joel Mitchell, 41, an American

living in Switzerland, ran into the flames during the burning Burning Man? Yep. Ran into the flames during the burning of giant wood effigy. Are you serious? They have this thing. So Burning Man? Yep. Ran into the flames during the burning of giant wood effigy. Are you serious? They have this thing. So Burning Man takes place in-

Like Nevada, right? Yeah, the southwestern desert of Nevada. It's on the border of California. It's out in the middle of nowhere. And there's this city that pops up when all these burners, as they're called, come out and it's called Black Rock, Black Rock City. And they have kind of a loose structure. They have a sanitation and they have people that are

leaders. Like you build your own civilization. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they, and then they take it away a few weeks later. So, and, and they have like a water supply and they have a sanitation. So they, and trash and all these things and emergency preparedness, but, and then at the culmination of Burning Man, have you ever been? I never, I hear it. Yeah. At the culmination of Burning Man, they have this giant effigy of a man. It's, you know, think of, think of like, you know, the art dudes, the little wooden art dudes that you pose. Like, I mean, think of that. But it's, it's huge. And it's not necessarily like that exactly, but if you look it up, you'll see it, but it's huge. I mean, think of that. Just giant. It's big. But it's huge. And it's not necessarily like that exactly. But if you look it up, you'll see it.

But it's huge. I mean, we're talking like hundreds of feet high, like 300 plus. Like, and they cordon off this area in concentric circles. Like, you know, like think of like an archery target. Like the, remember Robin Hood? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, okay, think of that.

Like red is where it's on fire. Yellow is like almost bullseye. And then orange and then green. And then it keeps going out and then blue. Like that's kind of what they have. They have these levels of security because this thing could like, it's supposed to like be structured to like fall

like a specific way, but you never know, right? So they give like, you know, the length of the structure plus, but it's still massive. So what happened? So what, he run into the burning man? This dude ran into the burning man and he got through like,

he got to like level seven on Mario. That fool has taken the name of the festival way too fucking literally. And so they got him out. He died of his injuries. He died? Yeah, he died. Jesus Christ.

So who, was he on drugs? Did they say, was he on drugs or anything? Had to be. Oh, most likely. I mean, are you seeing the picture right here? Like this is. Look at that. Oh my God.

Like this guy's fit. Like this isn't like some fat ass, like guy that doesn't have any limb for it. Like this guy. No, he's dead. Like he has like dreadss he's like really ripped um he's an american living in switzerland and he just goes and the thing and people i don't know like i just oh how how tripping how i mean this is like people are on like e and molly like this

is crazy this is festivals in america yeah this this is… A Burning Man… Yeah, you talk about this. A Burning Man died at Burning Man. A Burning Man died at Burning Man. Like, what's the equivalent to that to other festivals? Like, a white 20-year-old girl died at Coachella after wearing, like, a native headdress or something? Like, he was attacked by birds or trying to pick up their feathers? This is, like, the most literal thing.

This has to be. This is the wookiest thing I've ever heard in my life. He wasn't drug into the fire. He was drugged into the fire. What the fuck? Wook of the week. Thank you.

That is the wook of the week. Thank you. What's his name again? Aaron Joel Mitchell. May you rest in peace. Rest in peace. I know it's... You went out on top in my opinion. Thank you. What's his name again? Aaron Joel Mitchell. May you rest in peace. Rest in peace. I know it's, I'm not,

you went out on top in my opinion. If you're going to go out, just do something fucking crazy that gets some attention and makes people realize. Went out with a flame of glory. I also, I know we don't edit,

but I am going to. It's not 300 feet. It was 40 feet high. Oh, it was 400, 300 feet. That's like a Trojan horse. Yeah,

that's what I was thinking. I just wanted to make it more than it was. I'm sorry. Well, there you have it. That's the look of the. I just wanted to make it more than it was. I'm sorry. Well, there you have it. Wook of the week. Pretty good. And if you guys have any stories

of any festivals you guys are at, because I know a lot of my fans are festival goers. And if you have any of these stories, please send them our way. We'd love to hear them. Email us. I am Yeti. What?

I am Yeti at Gmail? I am. You can do, just go to, yeah, just go to, hit me up on Instagram. Instagram. I am Yeti. I am Yeti. What? I am Yeti at Gmail? I am. You can do, just go to, yeah, just go to, hit me up on Instagram. Instagram.

I am Yeti. I am Yeti. That's the easiest until we get it figured out. Well, there we have it. Episode three is in the books.

What did we learn today? We learned about self-indulgence. Self-indulgence or full circle. Full circle. We learned that you could be 60-year-old and still learn how to sing the blues like Carl D.

Yeah, figured it out. That was the point in the story. We learned that you could literally be a Burning Man at Burning Man. It's the second time it's happened. Guys, do not run. I don't care. Stop taking so many drugs that you feel like it's an okay thing to burn yourself at a fucking festival.

You are not what the old, you're not the Old Testament. You're not the Old Testament story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Like, it's not it. Remember the guys at the fiery furnace? Yeah, you're Jewish. I was Christian.

Like, we all grew up with that part together. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, here we are. Thanks for coming out. Subscribe to our podcast. Rate it. Give us some five stars. Let's make this thing a worldwide fucking phenomenon.

Tell your friends. Tell your friends. We're only at episode three. I want to make it to episode 100 before they cancel us. We're going to get there. We'll get there slowly. Thanks, guys. Thanks for listening. Until next time. Peace, love, and... we're going to get there we'll get there slowly thanks guys thanks for listening

until until next time peace love and make sure you comb your hair thank you for listening to episode 3 of the Andy Fresco

world saving podcast please subscribe and comment on iTunes or Spotify and make this a worldwide phenomenon. For more information on Andy Fresco, tour dates, the blog and the band, visit andyfresco.com. For more information on our guest Kyle Denson,

please visit kyledenson.com. Produced by Andy Fresco, Yeti. Engineered by Chris Lawrence. Featuring Arno Bakker, Dave Scrooge from Widespread Panic and Ernie Check. See you next week.