Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 36: Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk & Neville Brothers)

Episode Date: February 19, 2019

This week Andy starts the show by sitting down with his manager, Brian. Brian lovingly reiterates his concern for Andy's longevity. In the interview hour, Andy gets some great stories and insights from the LEGEND Ivan Neville. Ivan tells us about growing up in New Orleans, James Booker pretending to be a cop for months, and touring with the Stones. Halftime gives us a behind the scenes look at Andy's Instagram DMs. We close the show with a special treat from the UN. Episode 36 live now.  Follow us on Instagram @worldsavingpodcast For more information on Andy Frasco, tour dates, the band and the blog, go to: AndyFrasco.com The views discussed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the guests. Keep up with the Legend, Ivan Neville at www.dumpstaphunk.com Check out Andy's new single, "Waiting Game" on iTunes and Spotify Produced by Andy Frasco Joe Angelhow Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: Arno Bakker Shawn Eckels Brian Schwartz Ahri Findling 

Now, during the midnight hour at band camp. So, in this lesson I will introduce you to lubrication. To what? To lubrication. It's the most important part of the whole process. Oh, I see. Oh, you don't want that machine to be grinding away. No, no, grinding away, no. No, I guess you don't. You don't want your lips to get hurt putting all that pressure on them?

No, ouch. So, lubrication. Yes, lubrication. First, you wipe it all down until it's nice and clean. Now, wipe it down. Oh, it's very nice and clean, I see. It's very shiny now. Yes, I have this silicone fluid.

Oh, little squeezy bottles. Oh, it's so sweet. So, number one, greases it up. Apply some. Yeah, at the base of that pipe. Yeah, right down here. Yes, down there. Now, grease it up.

I'm greasing it up. Yeah. Now, this one makes it really smooth. Let it trickle down the shaft. Oh, down the shaft. And rub. Oh, I can feel that. Go ahead.

This is really good. Yes, work it in real nice. Yeah. Now get ready to give it a blow. Okay, a blow. Uh-huh. Oh, your lips down there. And let it slide down and back up again.

There you go. Now, that is beautiful. Now, watch me. Here I come. Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! And we're fucking here. Another episode. Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. I am your fearless leader, Mr. Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. I am your fearless leader,

Mr. Andy Frasco. This is a very special day for me because we have, I am here with my manager, Brian Schwartz. He said, you know, I'll come on the show. What's up, Brian? How are we doing? You know, all is well, Andy. Thanks for having me. And I'm glad you're here And that you're still alive Yeah And I know you're super young And I'm hoping we can preserve you Yeah you've been working with me now for three years So you kind of know my habits and stuff

You've been working with bands like Ozzy Osbourne I didn't Your tour accounting Yeah yeah And panic accounting And you've worked with some rockers. I have.

And to be clear, with Ozzy Osbourne, it was like I was a tour accountant assistant. But you're on the road. A tour accountant. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I wasn't their manager. That's Sharon, and she's amazing. I know, I know. But do you think I have an alcohol problem?

Yes. Why do you say that? Well, last night, when I picked you up at the airport, it was like 1030. Actually, I was surprised you came in. You were right on time. You had your little backpack. And we went for a drink, which is awesome. I love having a drink with you every now and then, though I do feel like I'm enabling you a little bit. No. But let me tell the audience here what you ordered. So I ordered a Manhattan, which for anyone that knows me, I'm not a big drinker.

But I do like drinking a Manhattan when I do have a drink. Andy orders like a vodka soda and a shot of Jameson at the same time. And then a pickleback, which is like the most disgusting thing anyone... You gotta stop the acid reflux, bud. You wouldn't have acid reflux if you didn't drink so much. You're right. But what do you think... I've mellowed out since the three years that...

Yeah, you're not doing blow, which is great. At least you're telling me you're not doing blow, which is fantastic. Yeah, I'm not. I'm sure that someone's going to debate you on that if they hear this podcast. I'm hooking up with less women. I don't care how many women you hook up with

as long as you use protection. I mean, you do whatever the fuck you want. I know. You're the artist. But my opinion, you should use protection. But no, you're awesome. I mean, I would say this if I wasn't talking to you. I would say this about you.

You're a unicorn and you're amazing. Well, I appreciate that, Brian. I want to talk about a couple of things. I know this is a very rare thing where Brian Schwartz turns off his phone and turns off his emails and just has a full-on conversation with me. So I'm going to take advantage of this.

How many years have you been in the industry? I started in 1998. Managing? No, no, no. I was doing tour accounting for about six years. Then what? And then toward the tail end of that the last couple years of that i started managing at the same time who was your first band the first band was a band called the love rustlers which no one ever heard of yeah uh

and i if i hope anyone from that band hears this but but somebody basically said to me, hey, Brian, you should manage. Actually, that's not true. How old were you? Oh, I don't even know. 26, maybe? And somebody who I was friends with in music in Boulder had heard I was doing tour accounting and was basically like, you should be a manager. And I was like, really?

And then I started paying attention while I was sort of halfway through my tour accounting years, six years on the road, started paying attention to Sharon Osbourne and Peter Katsis and Jeff Kwatenitz and people that I was working for, basically. And I was just like, yeah, I think this guy's right. I think I could do this.

Yeah? Yeah. So who was the first couple bands? I mean, by the way, I have a long way to go to be at that level, and I'm excited to get there. Well, you think I could do this. Yeah? Yeah. So who was the first couple bands? I mean, by the way, I have a long way to go to be at that level, and I'm excited to get there. Well, you've been doing it now. Yeah, it's good.

But what was the band that you started really making money on? Well, the first check I ever got, I don't remember. Man, probably, I don't know, probably Rose Hill Drive. Rose Hill Drive? Yeah. How long were you with Dinosaur Jr.? Well, I wasn't I started managing

Jay Maskis in the early 2000s and then we put Dinosaur Junior back together he and I in 2004 and we did our first shows

in 2005 April you're the reason why Junior is together well no Jay Maskis and Lou Barlow and Murph

are the reasons why they're together but you helped I definitely pushed for it because I needed to figure something out I was hustling what did you love about the band Well, no, Jay, Maskus, and Lou Barlow, and Murph are the reasons why they're together. But you helped. I definitely pushed for it because I needed to figure something out. I was hustling, yeah. What did you love about the band? I love everything about that band.

Yeah? Yeah, I mean, they're the most proficient players. They have a sound, which I think is so important for a band. Aside from great songs, it's having a sound. They are highly credible. People look up to them. They're influential.

They're inspiring and there was a demand for that type of music and there still is and they're an amazing band yeah they are an amazing band okay I got a couple questions and we'll start the show we have Ivan Neville on the show today very excited but Brian what does it take to have a long lasting career

in this industry well for you it's going to take a little less pickleback and a little bit... Oh, come on. You've had bands that party harder than me. No. I work with bands that drink a little bit. But look, it takes being... I think it takes an ethic.

I always say this. It takes more than just great songs or great performance. I always say this. It takes more than just great songs or great performance. It takes drive and discipline and motivation and honesty and functionality and being a good person and entertaining and creating community. And you continue that cycle of all those things, including great songs and great music and great performances,

and you build an audience, you're going to be around for a long time. Yeah. But what about right now in 2018 or 2019? What does it take to break a band with all the fat? I mean, you're pitching me all the time and it's hard to pitch me if I'm not the norm

and a lot of your bands aren't the norm. How do you break a band in 2019? I think a lot of it has to do with songs and in your case, I think a lot of it has to do with songs. And in your case, I think the live show is what's really driving the interest and your podcast.

Thanks for saying podcast. Yeah, you got it. Soft. Andy Frasco's world-saving podcast. I think it's what we have to do in your case is blend your amazing musical talents and songs

and voice and and start to turn fans on with that being the lead and then the show blowing them over the

you know blowing their minds as opposed to what we're doing now is that people find out about your show and then they come and they have an

amazing time which is great but in my opinion it should be about songs and music and show, not just show. Yeah. So I need to focus on songs. I would always focus on songs.

Absolutely. Focus on songs. Focus on playing great shows. Focus on community. In your case, we need to build out the production side a little bit. Make sure we have a sound guy so you sound great every night make sure we start thinking about lights and and just you know as much as i love seeing you bar mitzvah people uh and i want to see that

it's not so much less shtick it's a the fine combination of shtick entertainment and great music yeah people want to hear great music And you're so good at getting them in and getting them involved and letting them kind of forget about what's going on in their daily lives. Don't ever lose that. But break it down and like, I want to hear this new album coming out on the 22nd of February, Change of Pace.

I want to hear Love Come Down and Can't Force Love and Waiting Game. But I want, yeah, I want to hear Love Come Down and Can't Force Love and Waiting Game Someday but I want yeah I want to hear these these songs that sort of have a little bit of

juxtaposition is that a good word? yeah just a dynamic feel so they know that I'm more than just a fucking wild animal yeah

a a a a a a a a

a a a a a a a a

a a a a a a a a

a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a I know it's I know you're so busy with your life wild animal. Yeah. A haza. A haza. Schwartz, thanks for being on the show. I know it's, I know you're so busy with your life and stuff. Whatever. You're such a busy man.

I just appreciate you keeping me alive. You made me a house of cats. You keep your alive. No, before I met you, I was like, doing blow and like,

and you settled me down. So I thank you for that. You're welcome. Please stay that way. I appreciate that. We have Ivan Neville on the show. Do you know anything about Ivan So I thank you for that. You're welcome. Please stay that way. I appreciate that. We have Ivan Neville on the show. Do you know anything about Ivan? I mean, I know about Dumpstafunk,

and I know about Ivan, and I know he's Aaron's son, and I know about the Neville's, and I know about New Orleans music. Do you think I could survive if I lived in New Orleans? No. No? Why?

Because I think you're up for a party at any time, and I think you need to live, as much as you're party at any time. And I think you need to live, as much as you're not going to like this, I think you need to stay in Kansas. Yeah. The only Jew in Kansas. I want to move to Denver, but you won't let me do that.

No, no. I think you should move to Denver. I think that'd be so great. You think that's the smartest? I think this community would really love having you. I think there's a lot of great people here. I think, you know, as long as we can keep you and Vince Herman separated

for enough time, we'd be in good shape uh Vince um I say that with much love and respect yeah

but um yeah thanks well if you if I stay here then you're gonna get sick of me I already know no way I would love to have you

you're already like kicking me out the door today I've been here just running around talking shit like alright calm it down Frasco calm it down

no no no we got stuff to do we're gonna do some liners and we're going to do some video stuff and take some photos. And then you're going to go have dinner and do your thing. I wonder, do you think when I hear you talk on the podcast, I can hear you breathing? Can you hear me breathing? I could totally hear you breathing. It's a thing. And I'm going to vocalize your breathing.

I feel like I'm breathing heavily. Yeah, you're nervous. Is it nervous? You're neurotic. I feel like I'm breathing heavily. Yeah, you're nervous. Is it nervous? You're neurotic. I am neurotic. But that's okay. Schwartz, thanks for being on the show. Be safe out there.

I want to approve this before it goes public. No, you're not. Okay. Thanks for being on the show. Thanks for having me. Thanks for being my friend. Hey, thanks for listening to Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. Okay, let's talk about that for a second.

Schwartz didn't want me to do a podcast. He's like, why are you wasting my time with a fucking podcast? I got so much shit to do, and now it's doing big. Well, that's not exactly true, but that's revisionist history. That's like people saying the Holocaust didn't happen. No. What I didn't want to do is have to produce another podcast. Yeah, you ought to do one.

And I was questioning it a little bit because I didn't know what you were going to do. And I'm wrong. You're really good at it. Thanks, buddy. And you should keep it up and I want to support you with it 100%. All right, let's go make some liners

and let's go take some mushrooms. I'll take them. You don't have to take them. Okay, bye. Enjoy the show. All right. We got Ivan Neville on the interview hour this week. Ivan Neville.

He's part of the Neville family. Yes, dad is in the Neville brothers. He's from New Orleans. He's in a band called Dumpster Funk. He is a staple keyboard player, piano player, organ player of New Orleans. You know, we talk a lot about New Orleans. Yo, Chris, why don't you play a little dumpster funk? This guy can sing.

He can do it all. He's such a nice guy. I was always scared to talk to him because he's way better at everything than I am. And he's sober now, and I was afraid that he wouldn't like me. But then we got to talking. He is one crazy motherfucker. Sweet man.

He's worked with, you know, Keith Richards. He's just been with everyone. He's had a crazy life. But let's listen to some Dumps Funk. Listen to Ivan talk about how much he loves this city

and how he got off the drugs and how his life's doing now. Enjoy some Ivan and I'll catch you on the tail end. Big love and peace, let's play I've been fucking Neville.

Holy shit. I'm with a legend right now. Get out of here. A fucking legend Really I looked up to you forever You're the best piano player I know Come on man

I've learned a lot from you man Thank you very much How you doing Ivan? I'm doing good man Welcome to the show Thanks for having me man Oh my god I got Neville

In the fucking building Okay so Okay I have a lot to ask you Let's go Come on The way we met You you don't know this. You don't remember this, but we were in Salt Lake City,

and we opened for you before we, like, got to know each other and stuff. I was in a different thing, and I'm like, I'm so thirsty. I go into the green room, and I see these double espresso Starbucks. Oh, no, don't tell me you drank. I drank one, and I got chewed the fuck out, dude. I came back in there probably looking, who drank my fucking double shots, man? It was that dude, Andy, man. I was thinking, that's a lot of caffeine.

I know. What was the party scene like? Are you sober now? I'm sober, yeah. I'm sober for 20 years plus. Do you mind talking about- I'll talk about anything you want. I don't care.

Okay. No,'t care. Okay. No, but the double shot. You know what's funny with the double shots? It's on our ride, on our band's rider. And people know that I drink them. So a lot of times I'll show up at these things. And there's other guys in the group that like them too. Like some of the crew guys, if they're tired, they might have one.

So I don't only, I'll drink like one. Okay. I thought you pounded down all of these. No, I don't fucking, no. I'll be fucking like I'm lit. I'm like I'm on a ball or something. Yeah. But I drink one.

And especially if I'm like not really, if it's like not late. Yeah. Like it's in the evening time or something, I may not drink one. But they have a few of them. And sometimes I show up On these gigs By myself right Yeah And there's like

Fucking eight double shots I might have one Okay okay It's like an evening time gig I'm not trying to be all You know So what was Were you

Did you switch Like you don't drink anymore either I don't drink at all No Did you do blow Completely sober Did you I did everything

I did coke I did smoke weed What was the drug of choice Like when you were doing it Mostly coke I did everything I did coke I did smoke weed What was the drug of choice Like when you were doing it Mostly coke I did coke That was what I liked I liked coke

Yeah What was How's it What was it like What was New Orleans Very stupid drug by the way Stupid drug Tell them why

I'm coming on here To be No no A non-advocate Or a preacher Because people do what you want. And I don't hate on anybody doing what they do. But the drug is so stupid because for a brief moment,

it makes you feel like you're cool as fuck. And then five minutes later, you feel like shit. And you're very uncomfortable. Yeah, and like insecure. You feel more uncomfortable than you've fucking ever been. And then you got to do more coke to get that thing back. uncomfortable. Yeah, and like insecure. You feel more uncomfortable than you've fucking ever been. Oh. And then you got to do more coke to get that thing back. Did you ever have a moment

or when you felt like the most uncomfortable? Like maybe you did a bunch, like... Oh, I was many times. I did that shit for fucking 20 years. Oh, yeah. I stayed up...

The longest I ever stayed up was five days. Five days. Yeah, I stayed up for five days. Were you gigging during those five days too? No, I was not, no. Just doing...

I was just getting high. I was smoking crack and shit. Yeah. Really? Yeah. Crack. He's got me chomping on this shit. No, I love it.

That's funny, man. Is that the culture? No, this was in the 90s. Actually, when I stayed up for five days, it was probably late 80s, 89, 1989, somewhere around there. What city? I was in Los Angeles. I remember exactly. I remember exactly.

I remember that period. And I remember that bender. Absolutely. Because something happened at the end of that bender. I ended up getting arrested. Really? I ended up getting arrested at LAX airport. For what?

For fucking possession of coke. I was going. It's a long story. It's a long story. It's a long story. Long story. Some shit's involved. Some personal stuff. So I was going to the airport.

I was bringing somebody to the airport. Somebody that I cared about a lot. And I was concerned with their well-being. So I was getting them to the airport so they could go home to get the fuck out of L.A. I was living in la you know and i had been up for four and a half days or so and then i went to the airport and i've just it was like kind of i threw on this this jacket there's this little vest this fucking jean vest that i used to wear all the time that if you saw any old press pictures of me from the 80s and the early 90s, I might have this

vest on. Matter of fact, I'll show you a picture that I have this vest on. I'll show you one in my phone. So you rocked it every day? No, I wore it all the time. I wore it on stage all the fucking time. But I just threw it on just for the fuck of it. Go for a t-shirt or something.

And it happened to have an old packet of Coke that I had forgotten about at some point. It was in the pocket. And so I'm in the airport and I looked suspicious. And some police, some undercover guys pulled me aside and they found Coke on me. And they arrested me. I went to jail. And so I was arrested. And then I ended up getting sleep after that at that point i think i was in the cell in a holding cell

and i took a little nap in there what does sleep deprivation do to your brain you know what it you know it's probably fucked it fucks you up really bad i'm sure because it's a certain degree okay even on the natch so since i been sober, I've been sober since 1998. Fuck yeah, bud. Especially in this jam scene. Been sober since 98. Now, there's times when I've had stayed up, not long, like over two days or overnight and shit like that,

but doing three, four gig nights, tough, tough travel and all that kind of stuff that we do sometimes or maybe doing jazz festival one year where I did like three, four shows and I did two shows in a day and then one show at two in the morning

and blah, blah. I never really catch up on that rest. It's like rest you never really get. And you try to catch back up on it, but you never do. And it's just one of those things. You just try to take a nap when you can. Matter of fact, I took a nap a little while ago. Before they did the little alarm shit, it took me about an hour nap.

I laid there in the bed and went to sleep. So sleep's important, though. It has to be, especially if you want to start doing it. You've been doing this. How long have you been gigging hard in advance been playing you're 20 right since i was yeah since about right there so how many shows have you been doing non-stop you think since you're 20 i don't know i couldn't even fathom what that number would be yeah was it pressure to be a musician no i'm family no not at all i mean of those, my dad and my uncles, they were all doing what they were doing.

And I've looked, I admired all that shit. I admired them and I saw a lot of cool stuff when I was a kid. You know, the famous Cosmo Studios. You ever heard of Cosmo Studios? That studio where a lot of the Little Richard records were made and a lot of that stuff. I went to that studio when I was a kid with my dad a few times and I saw the early, the meters when they were younger, you know, like in the mid 60s and then late 60s and shit. I saw a lot of that stuff and my dad and Alan Toussaint.

I remember the first time I saw Alan Toussaint. Tell me, tell me. First time I saw Alan Toussaint, we were going, I was with my dad and we were going over to, I think, where the offices were at the time. The C Saint or the Alan Toussaint, wherever their little situation was. And I think it was on St. Philip Street in New Orleans. And we were sitting there waiting for Alan to arrive. And this fucking guy, this guy pulls up on a motorcycle, on a badass motorcycle.

But he was dressed to the nines. Like, why would you be dressed like that on a fucking motorcycle? He had some badass, like, boots and shit. And he's fucking some fucking fancy-looking sweater and shit. I was probably seven years old at best of some shit like that. You remember this?

Or is this from stories? No, I remember this. I remember seeing him for the first time. So keep going. Yeah, and I thought to myself, this fucking guy here, he looks a little different than all the rest of these motherfuckers. He's got something going on.

Even other than Dr. John? I hadn't really seen, I hadn't really, I had heard of Dr. John, but Dr. John hadn't become Dr. John yet. Yeah. He was still kind of Mack Rebenek. Yeah. And I didn't, but I knew him as well. But I saw Alan was like, I'm like, he's fucking making, he's got dough or something.

He's making some money. I've come to find out he had written songs already. He had already written the fucking song on the Herb Alpert record. That was the theme song from the Dating Game. So he had money. He had some dough. So he looked like he was successful in the music industry. That's what my impression was.

I'm like, this fucking guy. Who is it? And I asked my dad, I said, who is that? And he said, it's Alan Tussauds. I swear to God, I was no more than seven, maybe eight years old at the oldest. I swear to God. No way. Yeah, I remember this shit.

So, no, he obviously was doing some stuff. He had written songs. He was into producing and shit. And he was producing some stuff on my dad. Yeah. Holy shit. So, do you think he's the first guy That maybe inspired you to play the piano? No, no he's not

Not at all Or just subconsciously? No, no Or just imagery? No, I didn't even know he was a piano player Oh, you just liked his sparkles I had no idea I just saw him pull up in his fucking motorcycle

Dressed much better than the other guy My dad and my uncles and all them So you knew he was going to be a star No, he looked fucking like His clothes were more expensive than the shit that we had on That's what I'm saying, you know what I'm saying? I knew that.

I knew that much. I knew, I knew, but you know. So when did you start playing keys then? I started playing piano when I was about 15.

I didn't wait until later on to do that shit. Okay, so who was that? What was that moment like? Well, what really happened was there was a guy that was a childhood friend of mine

that went to grade school with my dad that was a high school class a childhood friend of mine That went to grade school with my dad That was Was a high school Classmate of my mom's His name was James Booker Oh Yes

What? Yeah And he used to come to our house So you were just surrounded with all these Fucking kids Yeah I'm telling you That's the fuck I'm saying He used to come to our house

Like every now and again This fucking crazy looking dude With a patch on his fucking eye And his funniest motherfucker. He was funny as shit. What was the funniest thing he's ever did? Oh my God. I could tell you a funny ass story of him, right? Okay, hang on,

but let me tell you. So he would come to our house and play piano. We had a piano in our house growing up. My mom played piano as a kid and she wasn't that good. She didn't keep up doing it, but she could sight-read a little bit and play some classical pieces. But James Booker would come by our house every so often.

You would see him a couple times a year, maybe. He would show up, and then he'd show up, and he'd have to play the piano if he can't buy it. Maybe my mom had some food. He'd maybe eat a little something, and he'd play this baddest shit I had ever heard on the piano. Like he was playing this weird boogie-woogie New Orleans-y sounding shit but with a classical Beethoven kind of vibe to it.

That's what I heard. At 15? That's what I heard. No, I'm talking about I had heard him before that. Okay. But this is when it really struck me when I was about 15. And then my dad played a little bit of piano too. People don't know that.

He played a little bit, a couple of little tunes. No shit. My dad actually taught me the first songs that I learned on the piano. What was it? He taught me to play Cabbage Alley. Yeah. That's a meter song that's based on a Professor Longhair song called Hey Now Baby. That's the first one I learned, Cabbage Alley.

And he showed me a couple of other things. And then one day Booker was over and Booker showed me Big Chief by Professor Longhair. Oh, fuck. So I learned Big Chief from Booker. From Booker? Yeah. I learned that from him. Get the fuck out of here.

Yeah. No, what's cool about that is every New Orleans piano player plays Big Chief slightly different. Nobody plays it exactly the same. Now the only one who plays it, Alan probably played it closer to Professor Longhead than anybody else. No shit. Yes, he was capable of doing it. So how did Booker play it?

Booker played it a little different, and so did Dr. John. And so did my uncle RT. And every fucking body else. Played it slightly a little. There's a little variations that are slightly different. Everybody got their. But you know that there's certain things that you know about the song when you hear it. This motherfucker knows how to play that song. Even though they were all slightly had little nuances about it.

So over the years, i took the way i played it and i kind of tried to incorporate i tried to incorporate different versions that i've heard so the way i play it now is kind of a combination of a few times a few ways i've heard it so yeah yeah that's crazy so i need to hear more so the funny the funny booker story okay tell me fucking booker was like this character man he was like he would show up like he'd show up at a house and he'd be in a cab he'd be in a cab he didn't drive i didn't i never drove i guess he never he never drivers i just didn't know how to drive or he just didn't care to drive yeah he'd pull up in a cab and obviously he had maybe went been overseas and made some money they really appreciated him in Europe. They didn't appreciate him in the States?

Not like talking about it. He would go over to Europe and tour and make fucking mad loot. And he'd come back home and he'd have some money and he'd hire a cab to drive him around on a particular day. That was his driver for the rest of the day. Be a fucking guy in a yellow cab.

And that was Booker's ride. It was like his limo.. Be a fucking guy in a yellow cab. And that was Booker's, that's Booker's ride, you know? It's like his limo. It's fucking, you got a cab driver. So he come to our house and he's sitting in the fucking,

he's in there in the cab just sitting out there for fucking an hour past five. The cab's sitting out there. And then finally Booker leave, he go get in his cab. Now the funny Booker story

is this. Booker had, he had, his sister's husband Was a police officer So at some point Booker decided to wear This guy's

Police uniform He fucking came outside On the street And he was wearing a police uniform So this was The word on the street was Booker's parading around the city of New Orleans And he's dressed like a fucking cop wearing a police uniform. So this was, the word on the street was, Booker's parading around the city of New Orleans,

and he's dressed like a fucking cop. I swear to God. He had the full uniform. He had the fucking police hat, and he had aviator sunglasses with glitter, where the patch, where the bad eye was. I swear to God. And so you might see him. You might see, well, there's Booker

in his fucking police unit. Yeah. So we were at this club called Jimmy's and we had been there. How old were you? How old was I then? At this point, I was probably 18. Yeah, you're right.

18 years old, something like that. 18, something like that. And we had been practicing or something at Jimmy's Club in this place called Jimmy's. And we was in the back of the club. And it was like in the evening. It was still light outside. I remember it being like about 4 or 5 o'clock in the evening.

And we're in the back part of the club smoking weed. And our friend Nick Daniels, Nick Daniels who plays bass with Dumpster Funk, I've known him since I was about 10 years old. But Nick was standing by the bar. And Nick knew who Booker was, but he didn't really know Booker. He wasn't really acquainted with Booker. And so we watched him stand by the bar. We watched Booker walk in with a fucking police uniform on.

And he was talking to Nick. And we saw Nick go in his fucking wallet. And I think he's asking Nick for his ID. Nick showed him his fucking ID and shit. So then Nick comes over there by us. He says, hey, man, when y'all about to put that weed out, that fucking cop's over there harassing me. I said, man, is that a cop?

That's fucking James Booker. So we're dying laughing that Nick thought that was a fucking police. He's like scared shit. So you didn't even look at his fucking glasses and see that glitter in his fucking, in his sunglasses? He just thought that was so new. Thought there was some cops.

So, so, so this is what happens. So he's, so he's, he's parading around like all the time now. He's got this fucking

police uniform on. So for the next month or so, you're hearing stories of James Booker in the police uniform on. And then the next time I so, you're hearing stories of James Booker in the police uniform on. And then the next time I saw him, he had a fucking billy,

a billy club. He had the little thing with the billy club. I'm like, oh, he's adding to this shit. And then soon after that, somebody said, oh, now he has a gun.

He had a starter pistol, like a gun with blanks. No one gave a fuck? He fucked it, but then he fucked around and he shot the gun somewhere. And he finally got arrested for impersonating a police officer. How many years? I swear to God. How many years did it take?

He didn't get in trouble. No, no, how many years did it take until he got in trouble by the gun? Oh, no, it was something. This must have happened over about a six-month period. Okay, okay, okay. When he was parading around as a police officer. And by month five or six, he started with the Billy Club. Month six, he had the gun.

And then finally, he got arrested for impersonating an officer. Oh, my God. Now, you know, there's a picture. There's a car, like a cutout

in the Maple Leaf Club. You've been to the Maple Leaf. I've been to Maple Leaf, yeah. You know that cutout of Booker? Yeah. He's got a police hat. Yeah. And he's got drawers on.

Do you know that? Yes. So right after he got arrested, everybody knew about it. It was the talk of the town. Everybody's laughing. He did an interview for the magazine of the time. It was called Wavelength Magazine, which was like the offbeat magazine. Yeah.

It was called Wavelength. And Booker was on the cover of that magazine with a police billet, the police hat, and drawers, and his fucking briefs. Was he like a rock star? And that's where that cutout, that cutout in the Maple Leaf came from that period. It came from that fucking, the police, when he was impersonating a cop. A lot of, nobody, a lot of,

you know, most people don't know that. I didn't know that. Yeah, but that's where that, when you go to Maple Leaf, and you see there's a fucking cutout thing of Booker. Yeah.

And that's where that's from. How long have you been playing at the Maple Leaf for? Huh? How long have you been playing at the Maple Leaf for? Was that? No.

Oh, he had been playing. Yeah. He played over there like once a week at least. So like, that's what I'm trying to say So like if he's making money in Europe

What if he runs out of money Can you build a Like a kind of a business Of just being a musician in New Orleans I mean Nowadays They got guys that do it You know that

No back then Oh back then You could But it was tough A lot of guys did it But it was tough It was tough What guys did it, but it was tough. It was tough. What was it like?

Was that in the 80s or the 70s? This was in the late 70s. So tell me about New Orleans in the 70s and 80s. Tell me about it. I'm so curious. What's the craziest shit you saw? Well, I saw a bunch of stuff. But I mean, in the 70s, it was like there was a band.

There were bands everywhere. Like there were bands like rehearsing the block. There were two in my neighborhood. There was a band on the street behind my street. There was a band that rehearsed three blocks around the other corner. And yeah, it was just fucking musicians everywhere. And everybody was trying to play music. Everybody was trying to have a band. And the thing about it is you knew the guys that were from Uptown or that were from the Sixth Ward or Treme. Yeah. Because a lot of the horn players were from Treme.

Drummers, a lot of drummers were from like Uptown and shit like that. And you could tell how Cats kind of played maybe what part of town they were from. Shit like that. So did you have to go into Treme to get some horn? Did you have to set up a lot of bands or were you already in a band? Everybody just kind of met up somehow. There would be dances and people played at high school dances and shit like that. How I got started was a fucking total fluke.

There was this thing called the Citywide Talent Show. It was sponsored by the New Orleans Police Department. It was called the Police Talent Show and the NOPD put on a citywide talent show where they had, and it was very good for the neighborhoods and for the kids. I mean, they need to have some shit like this nowadays. They would have, once a year, they would have this thing, and they would have little talent shows, like regional talent shows in the neighborhoods.

Like in the park, in every neighborhood park that was a sponsored park that was a part of the New Orleans Recreation Department, they would have a talent show. How old were you here? I was fucking 17 or some shit like that. Okay, so two years in playing piano. I was 16, 17. I was like 16 or 17.

How were your traps? I was 16. I couldn't play that great. I could play a few songs, though. Yeah. I knew a couple of songs. What songs? What were those?

The meter song? Huh? The meter song you were just talking about? I knew that. I knew that at that point, but I knew a couple of... The, the song I played in the talent show was something else. It was a song by Earth, Wind & Fire called All About Love.

Were you singing? A little piano tune. You know, I'm going to sing it tomorrow on the piano set. Fuck yeah. Yeah, on my piano set. That's going to be the first one. I mean, the second song I'm going to play on that set. Tired.

But anyway, that's what I, I was hanging out at the park. I knew about the talent shows, but I had never even thought to get into it. But I had played this song at my high school for like a nighttime assembly. I was in the stage band at school. And I played Big Chief one time during Mardi Gras season. People went fucking crazy. Just by yourself, piano? No, I was with the stage band.

I played the intro and shit. I did that intro. Motherfucking all the thugs went fucking buck wild. And I was kind of a... They knew you were a Neville or no? No, the Neville's weren't extremely famous at that point. But people kind of knew a little bit, but not really.

It was my peers. I was somewhat of a, I had my thug vibe as well to make it in the hood and around in the scene and shit like that. I grew up in the hood. Yeah, I grew up in the 13th Ward. What is New Orleans Hood? 13th Ward. Well, it used to be.

The 13th Ward is not the hood anymore. It used to be. You got gentrified like a motherfucker, but it used to be the hood. And so basically, I'm playing this fucking piano. I'm playing Big Chief in the auditorium at my high school. Everybody's going crazy. So mad respect. After that, everybody, well, Red.

They used to call me Red. Some people who didn't know, they called me Red. Man, Red, play that fucking piano, man. All right, now. You know, they called me Red. Red, play that fucking piano, man. All right now. That kind of shit. Rob Markman, So then soon after that, there was a nighttime little concert that the stage band gave and I played this slow tune, this song called

All About Love. I played it in front of the high school. Rob Markman, You singing it? Rob Markman, I was singing. Yeah, I sang this shit. I sang this shit. Rob Markman, You pussy in high school and college? school and college? I was kind of scared of girls. I was scared of them a little bit at that point.

But I knew that that was something. Soon thereafter, it was on. It was on. I was maybe 15, 16, something like that. Girls fucking were screaming. I was singing this shit. They were going nuts. I was like, oh, shit.

This is the shit. Damn. And so, I happened to be at one of the playgrounds that was closer to my neighborhood. Me and some of my fucking boys drinking wine and shit. We were out there getting fucked up and hanging out. And there was a talent show. I had no intention on

entering the talent show. One of my boys said, man, Ivan, man, you ought to get it. Man, you a witness, motherfucker, man. Get in the talent show, bro. my boys said, man, Ivan, man, you ought to get it. Man, you a witness, motherfucker, man. Get in the talent show, bro. We drinking Thunderbird, you know, and shit. You know, we like lit

and fucking hoodlums and shit. Yeah, you know. And so I said, fuck it. I'm going to sign up for the talent show. What was your first? You thought just to get some pussy or was it?

No, I was just doing it for the fuck of it. I was just doing it for the fuck of it. Why not? I'm like, you're just as good as the rest of you, motherfucker. Go ahead, get in it. So I signed just doing it for the fuck of it. I was just doing it for the fuck of it. Just why not? I'm like, you're just as good as the rest of these motherfuckers. Go ahead, get in it.

So I signed up for it and I sang the tune. I won. I won. So then whoever, when you win, you get a little trophy, but then you entered into the citywide talent show. There's a big citywide talent show that's going to be at City Park Stadium when all the talent shows in each park are done. And the band is better. All of the winners

meet up in this one big citywide talent show. So I was, now I'm going to that. And I won that. You won that too? I won that shit. Ivan!

That was in 1976. 1976. And that was when all That was in 1976. 1976. And that was when all the cats were there. 1976. So what happened? Did that instantly build your career? No, it didn't build my career, but I knew that's what I wanted to do. But you made a name for yourself in New Orleans as a fucking piano player.

I knew what I wanted to do. But I was known as... But the singing is kind of... Because the song was like minimal piano shit. It was like, but yeah. The singing, the soul. No, it was that. The whole soulfulness of it. Oh dude, you were getting pussy. Oh my God.

Kind of catapulted me. Matter of fact, you know what was funny? My girlfriend, who had kind of broken up with me at the time, she saw me that night. She was like, Ivan, Ivan! and I'm like look yeah oh look

she wants me back nah she had broke up with me she had broken up with me and then saw me and was like oh Ivan I'm like oh yeah

I'll take her back she looks good you took her back I took her for a little while for a little while but it was funny yeah so what was your first big gig

like someone let you in well my first paying gig was Like someone let you in. Well, my first paying gig was with my dad. I made $100. Yeah? Yeah. Did you have to sell merch or anything?

No. My first paying gig was my dad. This is cool. The people that started, that opened up, that bought the club that's known as Tipitinas. Yeah, yeah. Which is in a great place now. You know the Galactic Boys guy? Oh, yeah, my Galactic Boys guy. Well, the original people, they were called the Fabulous 14

or some shit like that, or the Original Funky 14, something like that. Yeah. Well, they used to have house parties. And Sonny Schneider. Sonny Schneider was the guy that used to book the House of Blues. Well, he was one of the original 14. Oh, shit.

His sister's house, I believe, was this house. They used to have house parties in the basement. And this is before Tipitini was Tipitini. What was it called? Tipitini was known as the 501 Club, hence the address, 501 Napoleon. Was it packed? Was it happening back then, too? It wasn't.

No, it was starting. No, it was starting. It was starting to be something. Um, but at this point, my dad had a gig playing the house party and who he brought along for his group was me, him, and my great uncle, Jolly. Jolly's known as the big chief of the wild chopper toolers Indians. So my dad and we had a conga drum, a fucking tambourine, and they had an upright piano in the place. And my dad's playing piano. I'm playing the fucking conga drum, backing him up. And Big T, Jolly's on the tambourine. And then I maybe played a couple songs by myself.

Jolly played a few by himself. The dads played a few by himself. We played some together. And then when the end of the night, my dad gave me a hundred bucks. That was awesome, though. I was like, damn, $100. How old were you here? I was right around 17 and some shit like that.

Yeah. It is halftime at the Andy Fresco interview hour. Good afternoon and welcome to Sliding Into Andy's DMs. I'm your host, Ari Finlan. So what happened was Andy fell asleep at my apartment and left his phone unlocked. So I'm going to go into his Instagram account and read some DMs. Looks like the first one here, he asked a local art school if they wanted to sketch the band Nude. Pretty weird. He sent a message to ISIS. Didn't even know you could do that,

but that seems aggressive. He DMed Mark Cuban saying he had a great idea for a copper frying pan. I think that's already an idea. I have two of them. He messaged every player on the Lakers, that's already an idea. I have two of them. He messaged every player on the Lakers, including Nick Van Exel, who has not played in 15 years, and asked if they want to come over and teach him to not shoot like a six-year-old girl. That's pretty embarrassing. There's about 30 messages from women asking for pictures of his dong, which I have to say, looking at the picture is bigger than i thought and a very unusual color i might add um i'm just gonna say you should see a doctor i don't know where you are right now andy but go to the er your penis is dying um it looks like he sent lebron a bunch of messages none of which are frankly appropriate for me to read out loud, but they

are very sexual in nature. And lastly, it looks like Andy messaged the producers of The Masked Singer and asked to perform, and they responded, please abide by the stipulations of your restraining order. Okay, that's it. This has been Sliding Into Andy's DMs with Ari Finling. Be aware, if you send him a message, I will read it. So from there, when did you start touring at 20? So what were those three years? The brothers, eventually the brothers got together as the Neville brothers in around 1978. Okay, so you were 18. I had graduated

high school in 77. By this time, I was going to college a little bit, but I had my own band. What was it called? Renegade. What type was it?

Renegade. We played like original shit that we made up ourselves and top 40 shit at the time. Nice. So you could do any gig. Yeah, we played shit that people knew

and we played a few of our own shit in there we um we played like high school dances and shit like that yeah and and and fucking um the neville brothers had started doing that was your dad gigging hard before neville brothers he was out doing stuff he was out doing this and that and he kind of... The Neville brothers gave him really something really steady to do. He was off and on. I mean, it wasn't like he was making the fucking tons of... He wasn't making no money.

So was... Did that... He was working. He was working like on the fucking getting shifts on the river. On the riverfront. So he wasn't like always away? Or was he always away? He was away sometimes, which I used to love when he would be gone. I'd go, Dad's gone. Good.

I'd get away with some fucking shit around the house. Ain't got to worry about him fucking with me and shit. Was he strict? Oh, he was kind of strict. He was kind of strict because... What was the best ass-whooping you got from your dad? What'd you do? The best ass-whooping I got was from my mom. Really? She whooped the shit out of dad? What'd you do? The best ass whooping I got was from my mom.

Really? She whooped the shit out of me. What'd you do? She kicked my ass. I fucking raised my hand at her one time, like I was going to hit her back or something. And she fucking hit me in the head with some fucking piece of a, like some little plastic little clown that was like a spinning top kind of thing. Yeah. She picked that up and knocked the fuck out of me in the head.

And then she sat there and cried with me. Because she fucking, she fucking, I actually busted my guy in the head. She got, drew a little blood. But it was cool. I raised my hand like I was going to hit her. She fucking knocked the fuck out of me. Raise your hand at me, boy.

What the fuck? Oh, my God. So who were you closer to, your mom or your dad? I was closer to both of them in different ways, but I was really close to both of them. I was closer to my mom.

What'd your mom teach you about life? My mom, oh man, my mom, she, she don't take no shit off nobody,

man. She was a small, short lady, like four foot 11, something like that. She just tell it like it is, man. She just, you know. Yeah, you're pretty upfront and blunt.

Yeah, I get that from her. That's just all her. Has that always been your MO? Or did it have to like, were you more soft? You know what? It came to me more. Actually, when she passed away, I started acting. That happens.

Like when you lose... I noticed that. Like, when my mom died in 2007, my little sister, my baby sister, always looked more like my dad to everybody in our family. And when my mom died, I looked at my little sister. She looked fucking exactly like my mom. Rob Markman Really? Rob Markman I had never noticed that she looked like my

mom. Rob Markman What do you think that is? Rob Markman That's just what they do. They come and they're a part of you. Rob Markman They become your daughter. Rob Markman They're a part of you. They're a part of you. Like when you lose somebody like that, they're with you.

Rob Markman Was it hard? Rob Markman Oh yeah, it was hard. It was hard as fuck. And it's funny, you know what? I was on the jam cruise when my mom died. I was on the jam cruise when my mom died. I was on the fucking boat. Yeah. When George Porter's wife at the time, who has passed away too, at jam cruise.

I saw her walking toward me and I knew. I saw her walking toward me and I fucking started bawling. Was she sick? Did you know she was sick? She was sick. She had been sick. And I had just been seeing her like right before that. Did you ever say goodbye?

I didn't say goodbye. No, I didn't think I was going to. You didn't think it was going to be that. No, I didn't think I was going to fucking not see her again. But that's deep shit, though. You know, the fucking thing about it was that them people, they become part of you. Yeah. It's amazing.

That's like something something anybody who's lost like a parent or some shit like that. I mean, you know, there's a girl that I know that was a close friend that was actually

an early girlfriend of mine when I was in high school. Matter of fact, the one that fucking went back to you. That one, her. She's a good friend of mine. Her mom passed away maybe a year or so ago.

And I was trying to tell her that, because she was so devastated. Her mom died kind of unexpected. Rob Markman Yeah. Rob Markman My mom, we knew she was sick, and we knew it was just a matter of time. But you're still never ready. You never know. You never know that when you see them, that that's going gonna be the fucking last time you're gonna see them so this girl she's been pretty devastated and she you know and i told her one day i said i said i said your mom i said she's she's fucking with you

believe me i said i told her i says one day you're gonna say some shit and you're gonna you're gonna say some shit and then you're gonna say to yourself who the fuck said that you're going to say some shit, and then you're going to say to yourself, who the fuck said that? You're going to sound like her. Yeah. You're going to act like her. You know? You're not going to realize it all the time, but you will realize it. And she sent me a picture.

This is recently. She sent me a picture of herself that she took, and she's smiling. And she said that her brother saw that picture and told her that he saw my mama in your smile, in your picture. And she sent me a little note saying, you told me that she was with me. Thank you for telling me that. It's fucking deep.

That's amazing, though. Because it's crazy. I totally believe in that, too. When people pass and they're still with you, that is their genes. You are their genes. Yeah, you are them. You are them. And that's deep.

That's deep shit. Dude, I respect that, man. That's great. So do you think she was your low-key muse? Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah? You write a lot of songs about her? She was a piano player. I wrote only one song really about my mom. your low-key muse? Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah? Yeah.

You write a lot of songs about her? She was a piano player. I'm only writing one song really about my mom. Which one? One song. It's a song called River Behind Me.

Yeah? Yeah. What's it about? It's fucking, it's probably about, it's so much about, about a mom, about a mother, man.

It's so deep. It's like, my friend Chris Jacobs wrote, helped me write this song. And it's the words are like, it seems lifetimes ago that we were one. It seems lifetimes ago when we were one. A rootless tree in the wind, still a mother's son. Drifting along, looking for some way back to where he belongs. And it says, I hear love in the songs.

Nowhere else to go. Hang on. No, no, no. Oh, man. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Oh, I'm still drifting along somewhere else to go.

I hear love in the songs, the only truth I know. All I can do is call out for you and hope that you hear me at all. And then the hook is, they're right beside me, letting me know. A river behind me, watching me grow. Holy shit, that gives me chills. It got me too. Oh my God. So what year was this? Just like the first year we wrote this dude, that gives me chills. It got me too. Oh my God. So what year was this?

Just like the first year we write this song, a few years ago. Oh, okay, cool. Three, four years ago. And it's on a record we put out in September, Neville Jacobs, right? Damn. They're right beside me, letting me know, river behind me, watching me grow. Just like the first time I opened my eyes, love, it ain't no surprise. Fuck.

Yeah. Ivan, you write these lyrics? Me and Chris Jacobs, yeah. So do you love writing songs? Yeah, I fucking love. I love doing that. What do you love about the songwriting process? I love that you're like a conduit of some sort. That you're channeling something that comes through you

that you don't really create but you're part of it yeah because i never feel like i'm creating anything i feel like something's just coming and flowing through me open vessel yes that i'm helping it to get out i'm helping it to breathe life. I'm helping to breathe life into something. I'm helping the creative process. That's what I love about it. What's the favorite song you ever written?

Or the most meaningful? That's a close one, but there's one that I wrote a long time before that called Stay What You Are. That's probably one of my favorite. I don't know. I had this that I wrote a long time before that called Stay What You Are. Yeah. That's probably one of my favorite. Why does it mean so much to you? I don't know. It's like I had this fucking, I had this chord change in this chorus.

Yeah. For so long, and I couldn't come up with the words. And it's one that's about my mom and my dad. It is. This is one that's about them as well. But this was written in fucking in the 80s. And it got completed. The song was finished in the early 90s and a friend of mine by the name of Bobby Floyd, who God rest his soul, he was a great guy who helped me. He helped me make this record. The record's called Thanks.

It's my second record that I put out. Rob Markman, Solo? Rob Markman? Yeah. Did you like solo career before you go to that? I mean, you know what? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what? At the time, I was fucked up all the time. So I wasn't able to put into it what I think it deserved.

So I never really gave it what it needed from me you know what I'm saying it gave me more than I gave so I never really appreciated it you know so go back to this song I had this song sitting around you know you have a fucking idea sitting around

I had the hook the hook will stay what you are nobody knows what really goes on inside you cause they don't understand you've come so far still a long ways to go take a look around you Nobody knows what really goes on inside you because they don't understand. You've come so far and still a long ways to go. Take a look around you, but don't you ever change. And then this friend of mine, Bobby Floyd,

he wrote some lyrics for some verses. And it was exactly what I would have wanted to write for this song. It's fucking insane. And that's probably been a favorite song that I ever wrote. You ever write anything with your dad? We have never actually written a song together. No. Why do you think that is?

I don't know. Egos? Oh, no, I'm lying. Yes, we have. Shit, we have. I'm fucking, what am I talking about? We have. We have.

We have. But have. We have. But not like the conventional sense. I've co-written songs. Like, I've taken some poetry that he had, and then we made a song out of it. And that was kind of the way we wrote a song together. So he had a poetry, and then you added. We took the poetry, and I wrote some music to it, and then we made it into a song. Have you ever just sat on the piano with him and just wrote a song together So he had a poetry And then you added We took the poetry And I wrote some music to it And then we made it

Have you ever just sat On the piano with him And just wrote a song Or just jammed We jammed Did you have that relationship With him Yeah we cool

We cool like that We kinda You know It's a weird kinda thing We very We like brothers You know We way like brothers

Yeah Unbelievable Yeah What does New Orleans Mean to you Oh it means the Fucking world to me It's like Explain It's part of It's We're way like brothers. Yeah. Unbelievable. What does New Orleans mean to you? Oh, it means the fucking world to me. It's like... Explain.

It's part of... It's like... It's way a part of who I am. I mean, like, it's way a part of who I am. It's like this place that's fucking enriched with culture. It's all about people. It's all about people. It's all about people. Because food, music,

that's all enjoyed, you know, and that brings people together. Food and music brings people together. Yeah, it's so true. And New Orleans, that's what the fucking New Orleans is all about. Yeah. And like the dish, the gumbo.

Gumbo best describes New Orleans. Because when I make gumbo, I've heard people talk about a seafood gumbo. Or chicken and sausage gumbo. I make gumbo like my mom and then made it. They put everything in it. Everything? Like the kitchen, anything? No, where they put The chicken Sausage

Shrimp Crab All of it Yeah And seasonings and what not That's it I mean all of the stuff And that's New Orleans

In a nutshell That's a fucking Yeah You mix it all up You mix it all up You got all the cultures You got all the different Ethnicities

That kind of came through there And everybody's all mixed the fuck up you know everybody i'm i got like my great-grandfather on my mom's side was italian yeah my great uh uh grand uh father on my on my on my dad's side was like hardcore he's like like American, but Native American slash African. It's like I'm mixed the fuck up. So cool. I've got French,

Native American, Italian, African. So you learned all these different cultures. It's in me. In New Orleans, a lot of people are mixed up like that because New Orleans was a place where everybody wanted to stop. Back in the days, way back in the days, everybody up like that because New Orleans was a place where everybody wanted to stop. Like back in the days, like way back in the days, everybody wanted to stop.

New Orleans was a stopover point. You go stop and hang out in New Orleans for a little while on your way to somewhere else. But you'd stop there and take a break, chill, have a few drinks, get laid and shit. Maybe sell some of your goods, trade, make some new friends, and then you fuck along your way. And that's what New Orleans is, that kind of place. It's about people. It's about fucking hospitality and shit like that.

Which is so bizarre to me because I grew up in L.A. And that's the complete fucking opposite where everyone is totally selfish, totally think they're self-righteous. So how is that, having this background, this culture of doing New Orleans, then coming to this fucking shallow-ass city as LA? Did that eat you up? Is that why you did drugs? Nah, I was doing drugs any fucking way. I was doing that shit anyway.

I just, LA, back then, everybody wanted to go to LA. It was like, that's where the It was like That's where the industry is That's where You know The music And the shit That was going on Around that time in LA

Yeah Whiskey The whole The fucking It was all The shit man All of those musicians Hanging out

And the guys That were playing on All them records And shit Were like The Toto guys And fucking Pacaro

And Jeff Pacaro And And all Everybody man Was hanging out man It was It was a fun shit with the Toto guys and fucking Picaro and Jeff Picaro and everybody, man. It was hanging out, man. It was a fun time. I heard you were hanging out with Keith Richards. I played in a band with Keith. Get the fuck out of here. Keith did a solo record. Okay, I can tell you the whole

shit about Keith. Let me tell you the whole shit about Keith. So, in 1981, the brothers, the Neville brothers, we got, something happened. Keith was on the cover

of Rolling Stone magazine in 81. And upon, the guy writing the piece said when he walked into the room, Keith announced, this is the best record

of the year, and he put on the Neville brothers Fire On The Bio album. And that's how the article starts. Oh, shit. Yeah, 1981. So basically, the brothers, the meters had opened up for the Stones in 75, 76.

So that's the connection was made back then. Yeah. So in 80, 81, the Neville's, we met up with Keith and Ron Wood and them guys, and we went in the studio and played around, fucked around a little bit, and that's when I really met them. After that,

I happened to be in New York one time and later on in 86, 85, some shit like that, and the Stones were in the studio recording this record called Dirty Work. The album that had Harlem Shuffle. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I went to the studio.

A friend of mine knew they were recording. I went over to the studio and saw them. I was hanging out and shit. And I ended up playing bass on a fucking song on that album. I swear to God. Yeah, I'm on bass on played bass on a fucking song on that album I swear to God yeah I'm on bass on the song

on that album it's a song it's a song called I swear to God are you fucking kidding me no the way it happened was so this is how it happened

so I was going over to the studio hanging out and so some nights Ronnie Ronnie would Ronnie and Keith

would be there or some nights Mick might be there but mostly those guys would. Ronnie and Keith would be there. Or some nights, Mick might be there. But mostly, those guys would go in kind of soon. Yeah, they do. Keith and Ronnie would go in. Keith and Ronnie hung out a lot. And one night, I went to the studio, and it was just Ron. Ron Woods and what's the girl, the lady, Patty.

Patty who's married. No, Patty Scalf who marries Bruce Springsteen. Oh, no. Patty Scalf. I don't know. I don't know her last name. No, I know who you're talking about, though Bruce Springsteen. Patti Scalfie. I don't know. I don't know her last name. No, I know who you're talking about, though.

How you say it? You know who I'm talking about. Yeah. Bruce Springsteen's wife. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who used to sing with Bruce Springsteen. She was there. Don Covey. You ever heard of Don Covey?

I'm going to tell you about him in a minute. Yeah. And Ronnie and me and who else? Somebody else. How old were you? I was in my fucking... I was in my 20s. I was in my 20s.

Mid-26, 27, some shit like that. So you were prime partying too. So we're there in the studio hanging out. We're singing on some shit. So then I ended up, long story short, I ended up going to Ronnie, Ronnie invited me to, he said, my son, my son Tyrone's having a birthday party. I want you to come by the house.

And so the next day I went to Ronnie's house and Keith was down in the basement. So Ronnie and Keith were hanging down in Ronnie's basement. And I went down there and we down there, I had a studio downstairs. And so we down there, we down there getting high and shit and playing music. There was no keyboard in the room, I don't think. So I picked up a bass and I fucked around on the bass guitar and the guitar a little bit. So I was playing bass. We were jamming, just fucking around. And we were in there playing for like a while. And at some point, Keith did kind of mention,

he says, man, you know what? Maybe I should get him to play a bass on that tune, that one song, blah, blah, blah. And I thought nothing of it. And so then we went to another studio. We left Ronnie's house, went to another studio. Are you just thinking like, what the fuck is going on right now? I was just hanging.

I was just hanging. I was just hanging. I was hanging, man. I was getting so fucking lit and shit. And then we ended up back at the Stones session. So then we're all, and over there at the session was Charlie Drayton, one of my favorite musicians in the fucking world, one of my favorite brothers in the entire world. Charlie Drayton, one of my favorite musicians in the fucking world, one of my favorite brothers in the entire world. Charlie Drayton, Steve Jordan. Steve's the fucking guy.

Steve and Charlie, that's when I first, and I had- Who produced that record? Steve Lillywhite. Okay. And Steve and Charlie were there, and Mick was there, and Ronnie and Keith. Holy shit. So we all in studio. Don Covey was there. And Ronnie and Keith. Holy shit. So we're all in studio.

Don Covey was there as well. And I think that girl, Patty, Bruce Springsteen's wife was there. And we sang on this one song called Fight. I want to get in a fight. Oh, oh, no. Oh, oh, no. But we stood around the mic and sang this background vocal on this song. For the song.

On the shit. So then we're back in the room and then they put this other song up. And then Keith looks at me and says, hey, man, you think you want to try to put a bass on this? I'm like, yeah, sure. So I go out. I grab a bass. They put a bass on this. I'm like, yeah, sure. So I go out, I grab a bass, they put a bass on me, I'm fucking and, you know,

the music stand's sitting there, there's a pack of Marlboros, and you need a drink, and you drink, blah, blah, blah, I got a little pile, a little bump, a little cigarette, a little drink, Jack and Ginger, and I'm gonna play this bass part. And I'm playing the part, and those guys are in the control room, like Mick and Ginger and I'm going to play this bass part and I'm playing the part and those guys are in the control room

like Mick and Keith and them are in there and I'm playing, I'm stomping I'm stomping and I see them in there fucking dancing around, I'm killing the bass and they're in there dancing in the fucking control room I'm like fuck I was elated, I was like so lit I'm like god damn

I mean all the drugs I was doing was nothing compared to how elated I was. I mean, all the drugs I was doing was nothing compared to how elated I was feeling about the experience of doing what I was doing. Rob Markman That's why you do it. Rob Markman So I played bass on this song and then, mind you, I was fucking so, by the time we left the studio, it was daylight. It was 10 in the morning. I was so fucking insanely wired. I was like, there's no way I'm going to sleep. And I went and woke some fucking people up. I went and

knocked on this girl's door that I knew. Hey, baby, what's up? I just played on Stone's record. Come on in. Come on, I got some of this. Oh, man. That kind of shit. Yeah, so that was a hell of a night. And that song made the record. And

actually on the fucking record it spliced. It has Ronnie's, Ronnie played bass on it as well. So Ronnie's bass is on the beginning of the song and at some point it changes. It goes into your funk dude. Yeah. Ronnie's playing with a pick and at some point you hear it. I'm plucking and shit

I'm doing that popping and shit Look that shit up I will A song called Hold Back So when did So that was the moment So when did Keith like So that was

So this was in the Mid 80s Some shit like that And then Later on When During this time Keith and Mick

Were kind of bumping heads A little bit And Keith didn't want to Mick didn't want to tour on that record. And Mick wanted to go do some solo shit. And so Keith decided he wanted to do some stuff. Make a record or something. Or do something.

And so I got a call. Was he on methadone? No, he wasn't on no fucking methadone. You know what's funny? There's a myth. That's a myth. Really? Keith, when I was around him, I know that he did fuck around with heroin back in the

days at some point. But when I was around him, when I was fooling around with Keith, Keith wasn't on any of that shit. No blow. And he was doing less coke than all of us. I swear to God. He would have it. Yeah.

He'd have it. He'd go in his fucking doctor bag or something. He'd pull some shit out and had the best shit that you would find. No, but you know what he had? He had the Merck. You might have heard about that. What's the Merck? Merck was this fucking pharmaceutical coke. Yeah, that's what I thought. That's what he had. Merck.

That shit is so fucking good. Yeah. It's a whole other person. It's a guy. It's an old guy Yeah It's a guy It's an old guy Named Freddy Sessler Who was this guy Who was the Merc guy I knew Freddy too

Freddy was like a Like another Father figure to Keith That was an old Old Jewish dude Yeah That was like fucking Bad

He was a cool motherfucker Anyway He did He did less drugs Than all of us Yeah When I was around All the time

But So the green rooms weren't They weren't like You guys you guys were partying, but a little below here. Oh, no, we were insane. Believe me. We were fucking insane. What happened? What's the craziest green room story you got from that era? The craziest story is probably the EMG tour.

Also known as everything must go. We were in Europe. And we started out the tour somewhere. I don't know where the first date was. But anyway, Keith wasn't feeling that good. He was kind of a little under the weather. So most nights, he wasn't hanging out. Like, at once the gigs, after the gigs, he was going to bed.

Yeah. And so we played the first gig. And the next, we got to the first place and we got a call, come up to the room, we go up to the room and everybody gets a little packet, a little bindle, got you a little starter package. And then at some point I'm going to get with the crew and find out who's the local people that's got some blow. You're in Europe. It's not easy to find. Yeah, it's hard. The crew knows, though. So we find out shit, whatever.

By the time we're ready to leave, to get on the bus, to go to the airport. We did airport. It was an airport. We flew everywhere in Europe. We weren't on a tour bus. So we had to go through customs every fucking time we go to another place. So you just have enough for the day. No, we'd get on the

bus to ride from the hotel to the airport and Keith wasn't hanging out. So he'd still have his stash. He'd pull out like a fucking eight, like a fucking big, a bunch of big bindle full of shit and he'd say

everything must go. And so we're fucking Just raging. We're lit. I'm going to the airport fucking deranged. You ever get searched in Europe? That's scary.

No, no. But it was the funniest thing because the next time we got to go through customs again and we get on this bus again and then he pulls it out again. Everything must go. And we're throwing buds of weed out the fucking window of the bus and we's fucking sniffing big fucking

railers and by the third or fourth time i'm looking at one of the guys i think it was wadi wadi wateau i'm looking at wadi and we look at each other and we're like i'm scared to get on the fucking bus he said me too i don't want to get on the fucking bus. He said, me too. I don't want to get on there. Fuck! It's like a fucking circus. You know what's going to fucking happen when we get on there. Were you on benders? Was that a big bender? The Europe tour? I got on a

bender a couple of times. I got on a bad bender one time somewhere where they had to pry my door open in my hotel room. Holy shit. What? Because you were just super anxious? I had just fallen asleep. I had been up all night, and then I crashed out at the last minute. And you had to get out of there.

Yeah. And as a matter of fact, it was funny. I think it was Keith and somebody from security or something that came and got me. Was Keith a friend? Yes. Big brother. What did you learn from him? He never

influenced anybody in a bad way with that shit because he fucking hated he hated that the way I miss you, the way I did because I had smoked freebase and all of that shit and crack. He hated that kind of shit.

He always thought of it as a little tool that you use a little bit here and there. He wasn't into the whole partying and sitting in some fucking dark room somewhere getting fucked up with nothing to do but look out a window. He was never into that. I mean, I was into that dark fucking shit. Yeah. He would tell me, you need to stop that shit. Yeah. I mean. He did it more for socializing?

No, he just done it, enhanced the vibe. As a tool, you stay up a little bit, maybe a little bump. He didn't do that much. I saw him. He did less than all of us when we did that fucking shit. Unbelievable.

I'm going to leave you with this one, then we'll get going. By the way, thanks for doing this. Oh, man, no problem. We got to do this again next year for sure. Okay, here we go. One more question about Keith. What did you learn from his songwriting?

What did you learn to adapt in your way? Oh, man, he was relentless with a song. Some of the riffs that you hear, riffs that are embedded in our fucking every existence, some of the Stones riffs, some of those riffs, he would just drive it. He would not give up on a song. There was a song we played, we played it so many fucking times, the same riff over and over. And I'm like, damn, where's this going to go?

And then it became this fucking thing. Like, oh, this is a bad fucking tune. That's why we're doing this like this. He loves music. Rob Markman Like you. Rob Markman Yeah. Like we all do. And what i always appreciated about him is he he listens he like he listens to music all the time like and i and he reads and shit like that

he's a fucking cool guy yeah he's very very intelligent and not wasteful of time like people might think like he's sitting around. No, he's working. He was fucking never like that. Yeah. He was always productive and doing stuff, you know?

And I mean, obviously, yeah, the fucking song is what it's about. Exactly. Songs rule. All right. One lap.

This is last. That's fine. Okay. Ivan, if you could tell yourself, your 25 yearyear-old you, the knowledge of whatever you've learned from this 30 years, 40 years of touring, what would you tell them?

Say we're talking to a new band that's just coming up, and you're touring. They're touring now. It's like if you could have a talk with you as a young. I would say, I would, first of all, I'd probably say, please allow the music to get you high. Yeah. And if I would have done that and not have the belief that I needed all this other shit to make me better.

When I had it, I had it. I was, it was in front of my, it was in, it was within me the whole time. And I didn't fucking know it. I was looking all around me for something to fulfill me or something to complete me.

And it was, it's an inside job. And I fucked off a lot of time, you know, searching, looking for drugs and trying to get that right feeling where it was there the whole fucking time and i was missing it a lot of times i was so busy worrying about what i was going to miss i was missing the fucking moment so i would tell myself, enjoy the fucking ride. Don't miss the moment. Worrying about the outside shit.

Enjoy that shit that's inside fucking job. I love that song. I wish I knew what I knew. What is it? The Faces? The Faces. La la la. Dude, I mean, Rod Stewart.

I mean, those guys were great. Some bad shit. Bad songwriters, man. What I knew, what I knew. When I was younger. What I knew. You should do that. I should. You should bust that.

Ivan Neville, thanks for being on the show, my man. Thank you, man. I appreciate you. Thank you, man. Pleasure, man. Thank you, my friend. Thank you, my brother. And let's sit in.

Come sit in this trip. Yeah, absolutely, man. All right, buddy. See you soon. Thanks. Hey, my buddy. My pleasure, man. Come sit in this trip. Yeah, absolutely, man. All right, buddy. See you soon. Thanks. Hey, Schwartz. I know we spoke about this, but I'm still thinking about it, and it's not a joke. I'm worried about you.

You're definitely going to get old before your time if you keep drinking like this. As we discussed, I think it's a simple program for you. Say no to shots and hold your drink longer. You don't need to drink 20 drinks in a night. Try drinking four. And you don't need to do shots when everyone's like, let's go, let's race, here's a shot. You don't need to do that.

I'm not even joking. No shots, hold your drink longer, and hopefully you'll be around longer. All right. Bye. in heaven back to the ground keep your arms wide open babe I'm coming down I'm coming down like a man losing grace I'm coming down falling flat on my face I'm coming down like a storm through the clouds To keep your arms wide open, baby I'm coming down I'm addicted to something that I can't touch

Like a giant abyss that I'll never fill up Keep your arms wide open, baby I'm coming down I'm coming down like a man losing grace I'm coming down flat on my face I'm coming down like a storm through the clouds to keep your arms wide open baby I'm coming down

So keep your arms wide open, baby I'm coming down Coming down And there we have it. Ivan Neville. Man, that guy's a badass. Just so soulful. And just like, he really cares about people. He's genuine. I think that's one thing that New Orleans brings.

It's like a family. Everyone takes care of each other. Everyone loves each other. Thanks for being on the show, Ivan. It's crazy to hear those stories about fucking Keith Richards and him partying harder than Keith Richards. That's crazy. That man was a fucking animal.

Thanks for being on the show tonight. I'm in Denver, Colorado right now. I have meetings with my manager, as you know, because Brian was on the show at the opening. He's a kook. I'm definitely the craziest band on his lineup. He manages a lot of uh you know folk singers like his gold messenger and then like he's got some rock bands like dinosaur junior but

every time i come and he was judging my my drinking skills i uh ordered a vodka soda with a uh with a with a shot of jameson and a pickleback. Had a couple of those. I think I frightened him a little bit. I think I might need to not drink in front of him anymore because he's scared. He's definitely scared, but it was good to see Brian. It was good to see Rachel. I do love Denver.

Denver is a good city. I hung out with Jeremy from Big Gigantic. He took me out to dinner. We had sushi. And then we went on a little man date to Anderson Park at the Fillmore. And then Vince Herman has been trying to tell me to skip my thing.

It's okay. Trying to skip my thing to do, take a vial of acid with him. So I'm trying to convince him that it's probably not good for my health to just take a vial of acid with him. So I'm trying to convince him that it's probably not good for my health to just take a vial of acid and try to write songs. But who knows? I might not come back.

I might stay in Colorado. I like the scene here. I got two more weeks off until we start our CD release tour. It's going to be awesome. We're going everywhere. My new album comes out next week, y'all. I am stoked, dude. I've been working on this fucking thing

for a year and a half and it's finally coming out. But that's the most stressful part because now you got to start working on the new album before it even, this album comes out. So you could have some fresh stuff for the tour.

But come on out. Shows are selling really quickly. So grab your pre-sales. Hope to see all y'all there. Subscribe to the podcast. Rate the podcast. Tell all your friends. I love seeing all these new fans coming in.

Our Instagram is getting bigger and bigger. And it's a nice sign because I'm not really promoting the Instagram as much, only on the podcast. So that means we have new listeners. So welcome aboard. I'm going to try to get you guys on the straight and narrow and you guys are going to get me on the straight and narrow.

It's been fun, but that's it. That's all I got for you. Be calm. Don't let life get you down. Like Ivan says, he went through it, but there's a way to get out of it if you're not stuck. You'd never feel like you're stuck. We could always keep moving forward. But I love you guys. Be safe. Comb your hair. Wear condoms. know accidental babies, and Arno, kick us off with something nice and sweet.

But again, like Michael Rapaport says, give me something funky. Love you guys. Thank you for listening to episode 36, the Andy Frasco World Saving Podcast, produced by Andy Frasco, Joeaving Podcast produced by Andy Frasco Joe Angel Howe and Chris Lorenz

we have a new Instagram go to atworldsavingpodcast subscribe to the show and make this a worldwide phenomenon our special guest Ivan Neville from Dumpster Funk please check out

dumpsterfunk.com for more information. Other special guests are Brian Schwartz, Andy's manager, Sean Eccles singing a song from Anders Osborne, Coming Down, and Ari Feinlings. Please follow Ari at Ari Feinlings on Twitter. Please follow Ari at Ari Fine Links on Twitter. Thank you and hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day.