Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 52: Maddy O'Neal & Dave Schools (Widespread Panic)

Episode Date: July 16, 2019

This week, Dave Schools opens the show with Andy. They discuss the time spent together in studio and get deep on what it's like to work with the band (hint: MUSHROOMS). And we welcome Maddy O'Neal on the interview hour! Andy and Maddy talk about making music, being in a relationship...  making music while in a relationship.... Episode 52 is now Live everywhere.  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 inimitable, Maddy O'Neal at www.maddyonealmusic.com Check out Andy's new album, "Change Of Pace" on iTunes and Spotify Produced by Andy Frasco Joe Angelhow Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: Brian Schwartz Floyd Kellogg Ahri Findling Shawn Eckels Arno Bakker 

Hey Brian, it's Dave. We're down here at Prairie Sun Studios. We're recording and we're talking, I think we've got to change the plan here. The guys want to make a prog rock record. a prog rock record and I got their backs on this so don't call me this is what we're doing and I think they're doing a lot of mushrooms just thought you ought to know bye hey Schwartz Cools called me told me you guys are trying to sound like yes in the studio we don't have time to fuck around I don't care if Sean Apple wants to you know create owner of a lowly heart just get in there and uh you know record all those things and and uh and please focus i don't know if you guys are eating mushrooms i don't know what you're doing but start start thinking straight stay no fucking prog rock and now let's check in with the boys and see how that studio process is going

floyd learn the fucking part you've been in the studio now four hours i can't i don't have the money to spend for you to fucking figure out a simple ass bass part for four fucking hours you just showed it to me two minutes ago give me a fucking second it's you it's fucking prog rock it's hard the part it's actually difficult unlike. It's fucking prog rock. It's hard. Learn the part. It's actually difficult. Prog rock is it. Unlike your shitty music earlier. Prog rock is the new

fucking Mumford & Sons. Mumford & Sons. Mumford & Sons. Mumford & Sons. Mumford & Sons. Mumford & Sons. Mumford & Sons. Mumford & Sons. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go.

I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go.

I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you go. Hold on. If you fucking stop talking to me. And we're here. Wow. In the studio. Andy Frasco's world-saving podcast. Round two with Dave Schools. Dave, this is your chance.

This is an open zone to talk all the shit you want about this band and let our fans know. How's the recording process going? It's round two. Well, you're acting like you've asked me a loaded question. I mean, you guys are lunatics. Yeah. We've captured it. Yeah.

To me, that means the recording process is going just as it should so now that you have another year of producing under your belt like what do you look for this year as a producer you know for me it's just like every time i work with people i learn i learn how to work better with them and for me this work is helping you get your vision out you know so really the question is what's changed in your vision since we last worked together i think i'm trying to take this even more serious than i did last year i agree yeah you are but at the same time you know there's like a tightrope walk you're doing because to take yourself too seriously in respect to your act, as it were,

would be to take all the spontaneity and madness out of it, which is a big part of it. What I see is you've clarified your message. Yeah. It's an underpinning of everything you do, which, I mean, to me is love and inclusiveness and positivity, which is something that is severely lacking. And where you've grown up as a songwriter,

it seems that you don't have to preach it. You know, it's just an innate part of what you're doing. And it's noticeable. And it means something. And I'm really proud of you guys. Well, I appreciate it, man. I feel like we're blasting through these sessions. I feel like once you tell us what to do, we're ready to rock.

Right? Well, you showed up. We talked about how far along to have the band knowing the songs and the arrangements, and we decided leaving it loose. So they're like three quarters done, but nobody's particularly attached to their parts. Yeah. So that when I say, hey, maybe we put this little part over here, or we drop this part, no one's like, oh, but that's my baby, and I've nurtured it and loved it and cared for it,

and I can't live without it, and your ideas are and this makes the song no it doesn't yeah so do you think that's the better way to attack a studio session is when you're not married to the part because like last year all those songs we recorded with you we we played on stage for like three months like this session we didn't we're not playing them live we did a one day pre-production forgot like in fucking wherever we're at oh in buffalo and then we forgot about it and now we came back here and it feels fresh it feels like there's still ideas to grow do you think that's a good process i think for this one it is a good process i mean every artist is different and bands are particularly you know there's a whole lot of other chemistry

that goes on in a band you know if you were a solo artist you know we could do anything we wanted yeah but when you've got a band and you're a band leader so you understand that there's accommodations to some guys you give them more leeway with their ideas. Others, you know, maybe not. And then, you know, you've got, I don't know which bass player is going to show up. Chris is great. They've all been great, frankly. I mean, I think I was like the least of them all.

Oh, my God. Shut it, Dave. Yeah, you even played on our record. It's crazy, you know. We're blowing up. Dave's a popular man. It was a reggae broadcast coming in. Oh, really?

Yeah. That's the next project. Forget the prog rock album. It's reggae. We're going to do the next Brasco record. I'm going to have Dreadlocks and Snoop Lion, but change my name to what? Let's not go there. It's too easy to get into trouble these days yeah i feel you what about um i want to talk about like who else are you producing like what is your strategy when it's like not a band like us when you're trying

to produce like a songwriter like say like you did cat writes record right or some songs on it i did a couple songs on Cat Wright, and that was a result of a lot of conversations with Cat where she brought up some problems she had sort of with this really large band. It's hard to be at a particular level where big national acts are asking you to open for them, and then when you tell them you've got a horn section

and you're an eight-piece band, they're like, eh, that's not really what we're looking for. And while it's amazing, my suggestion to her, which I think she agreed with, was let's see what we can do with just your core guys. Bring your guys. A songwriter like Todd Snyder, that's a your core guys. You know, bring your guys. You know, a songwriter like Todd Snyder, that's a whole different animal.

You produced Todd? Did you produce those hard-working American records? I did, yeah. Oh, so what was that process like? How's Todd, recording with Todd? Well, Todd is, he's a genius and he's a poet. And he's been a solo artist for 35 years. Now, he's had bands.

He's had a band called the Nervous Wrecks that played with Panic. What were they like? What sound was that? Sort of just like gut bucket, early Americana rock. So you've known Todd this whole time? I've known Todd for a really long time, yeah. Wow. But there's a difference between Todd wanting to do other people's songs

and todd and his own songs yeah because his self-editing process is it's brutal you know he's brutal on himself and and uh the number of strainers and cuts and revisions that his songs go through uh It's brutal. It's hard to watch. But I learned a lot being a part of it. And all I know is this is a songwriting of a whole other level. But what was brutal about it? What he put himself through to come to...

I mean, first of all, you have to have the inspiration. There's a Guy Clark song that Hardworking Americans recorded called The High Price of Inspiration. Yeah. It's a really heavy song. What's it about? It's basically about the things that, you know, we do to achieve a creative state of mind. A lot of times they're not very healthy. It can involve self-medication.

Like manic? Well. I mean, what do you know about that? A lot. Right? Right. I mean, you've seen me. I've been, that was my process. This process is to calm my brain down. I was

trying, you've seen it. We've been taking mushrooms the whole trip. Not you, but the band. I felt it. I'm very empathetic. You know, like, how's that process with us? Do you think, are we still getting our point across? Are we just, are you okay with that? I'm okay with anything that results in positive results.

That doesn't sound right, but it is right. Yeah. Whatever results in positive results. You know, my challenge with you, I think, is that because of your super manic, ultra creative nature is to remind you to take a breath and let ideas finish. We're doing that. Yeah, you know, because the big thing I've learned

is that in a band, there's people with opinions. And you guys are a bunch of excellent musicians because the big thing I've learned is that in a band, there's people with opinions. And you guys are a bunch of excellent musicians who can play multiple things. Everybody sings, and everybody's terrific at what they do. So their idea is just a fly-in. And, you know, my challenge is let's let this guy's idea finish. Let's record it, and let's listen back and see what it sounds like before we shoot it down or augment it. Because we don't really know.

You know, you talk about an idea, it's a concept, and you don't really hear it until you hear how it sits against the rest of the song. Yeah. You know, it's harmony. It's like all those session cats that were working with Brian Wilson on Beach Boys Smile. Yeah. He'd pass the charts out to them and they'd look at each other's charts harmony it's like all those session cats that were working with brian wilson on beach boy smile yeah he'd pass the charts out to them and they'd look at each other's charts and they're like

is this what he really what he wants us to play it's never going to work yeah and then they'd play it because that was their job to read the score and play it and they heard the playback and they heard brian wilson's vision and they were weeping. It was innovative. So that's the power of an individual's idea. And just, it's okay. As much time as we spend fucking around preparing the drugs that we do in the studio to inspire us, can't we take some of that and just listen to some guy's idea and see if it works before we change it? So that's, to me, that's your thing.

But it's also part, this is the tightrope. It's part of your thing. Without that manic burn, would your shows be as exciting? Would it be as infectious? Yeah. Because when you open yourself up on stage and you give to the crowd, the whole idea is it's viral. People pick up on it, and that's what people need

a sense of community ritual so how how hard is that to emulate on a on a disc or on an mp3 or whatever whatever 2019 is for music well i mean if that's what you want to emulate just go make a live record it'll cost a lot less yeah i don't want to emulate that you know i think that the studio yeah we can get that manic energy yeah you guys do a great job of it but i think in the studio it's a chance to take a really high quality snapshot of a melodic idea and yeah i mean we could go in there and throw chairs around and destroy mooka's precious steinway piano which we did not do, by the way. No, Muka, don't put it on our end. No, no, no. It's not on the injuries list.

Not even on waivers. So what are your techniques in that? Because, I mean, you produce Panic records, right? No, no, no, no, no. Never? Unable to be produced, that band. Unable to... Okay, so that was the next question.

Can you produce a band you're in? Well, you did it for Hard Working Americans. It's really hard. I mean, you know, but that's just bass playing. Really. You know, and it's simple bass playing. If I do it, you know, I was able to do it because I had Rick Vargas in the control room who I

trusted and still trust with our lives because he's enabling this recording we're doing. But more importantly, Neil Casale, who is also a producer in his own right. So when I'm in there cutting bass parts, if Neil's in the control room going, yeah, that was bullshit, I believe him.

Because to me, I'm just an enabler. I'm not the kind of producer, I'm not going to write arrangements out for you. I'm going to suggest things that I think help the song. That's why I love you. I mean, that's your job. And if you want horn arrangements, it should be Ernie's job.

Or you hire a guy. So you're just basically, your idea of a producer is letting the artist be the artist, and you're basically massaging the ideas to see what works. You're basically a filter to the computer. Well, yeah, I mean, I think of it more as a third ear. You know, like it's hard for you being inside the bubble of the leader of the band and the creation of the music to to get an outside view and that's kind of my job and if we've done our job leading up to the session

we've got some agreements about our goals and then when the rubber's meeting the road in the studio and shit gets hot and stuff's flying around and ideas are whipping and we can refer to that and i can help you because really i'm an enabler and a guider you know if we didn't talk about it you know that would be a really organic and cool way to do a record do you think bands break up from making records definitely yeah i think anytime you know it's volatile they're volatile elements bands probably break up a lot more from being crammed into a tour bus for five years yeah um you know i mean some of the things that i always had a hard time with was like getting off the merry-go-round and being home like coming off of 10 or 12 weeks of tour and it's crazy fun and you're young and then you come home and it's like oh the bills are here and

uh why am i nervous at seven o'clock at night i'm supposed to be on home and it's like, oh, the bills are here. And why am I nervous at 7 o'clock at night? I'm supposed to be on vacation. Oh, it's a muscle memory of putting my game face on to go on stage. I think a lot of musicians have a harder time with that. But what makes bands break up? I think it's a lack of empathy. Or maybe it's just creative differences that don't translate into tension. You know, a lot of, like The Who.

Talk about creative tension. Daltrey and Pete Towns tension. You know, a lot of, like The Who. Talk about creative tension. Daltrey and Pete Townsend, you know, they fought like brothers fight. And they realized that, oh, maybe we can just channel this into our loud rock and roll. Worked pretty good for them. And even though they said, I hope I die before I get old, here they are in doddering old 70s rock and rollers

playing arenas and filling them. Yeah, it's pretty... Talk to me about that tension. Does that make you want to be on the road less now and just produce? No, I don't mind the tension. But that takes a long time to learn to deal with it.

It's just... It's letting people be and not taking stuff personally. I mean, you know, it's my dynamic might be calm or it might be completely uptight, which may or may not ruffle the guy next to me. He might be in a place of Zen and total understanding. And if I'm Zen and someone's encroaching on my vibe with their bullshit, I have a choice. I can either get back in their face and like redouble the bad vibes

or I can just be okay with it. You know, I mean, I think being okay with other people's shit is, it's a hard thing to, I don't think anyone ever masters it. If they did, they'd go live on a mountaintop, you know? How long did it take you? Let's see, what am I? I'm 54 now. It took me about 52 years.

Yeah? I'm working on it every day, man. I mean, because every time, it's a dynamic. It's a relationship. So I can think I'm okay, and then someone dances into my field with a vibe I've never encountered before, and I have to sort of recalibrate if I'm cool with it or not. You know, I mean, everything's a choice.

We're just faced with choices all the time, musical choices, choices to, like, scream at someone we love or accept their aberrant behavior. I mean, it's hard to not show your ass as a human. Yeah, I think it's very hard. You know, and like going back to what you said to me, like I was all, you know, angst up about these harmonies and I wanted it a certain way.

And I was, you saw me, I was pacing the studio. I know that look. You know, and you know, the mushrooms. I call it pro on fire. Pro on fire. Yeah, I mean, and the mushrooms don't help. It just makes me a little more manic in that sense. And then you came to me and said, calm it down.

Here's the whole part before you chew it out. And I could take that philosophy in life, too, you know, with how, you know, let things play out, you know, and before you make a judgment. You know, we're always so quick to judge a book by its cover, no matter what. Like, even you know, people could probably judge me saying, oh, this guy's crazy, this guy, you know, but, you know, if you look deeper into it,

you know, we're talking about stuff, like you said. We're trying to bring this inner peace. That's right. No one is as shallow as the way they look. I mean, if they are, it's pretty easy to discern that and move on. But everybody has layer after layer of what made them who they are.

And we get to choose whether we want to spend our time delving into that person. Yeah, first impressions are vital. I mean, that's the animal part of us being humans. You know, it's pheromones and smell and there's a visual cue. You know, why are you attracted to a certain person? You know, I mean, why?

We don't know. If there was, they'd bottle it and sell it to us because it's all about the money for most people. And I just, I think there's more to life than that. That's why we're creative people. Because to put art out into the world with intent And I just, I think there's more to life than that. That's why we're creative people. Because to put art out into the world with intent is, you know, it's why we're here. And it's worth all that fucking, all the van drives and, you know, the 14-hour days in the studio and the anxiousness for when you come home.

Because at the end of the day, we're trying to do good for humanity through art yeah exactly this is a higher calling that we choose and a lot of times we have to sacrifice a lot you know you guys how many people are in that sprinter van nine you know and how long is the tour you guys are on tour what 200 days a year 200 days a year we're on tour right now recording. That's right. This is so, you know, there's what you give up. You're missing Lakers games. I know. You know?

And Sean's freshly married. Yeah. You know, I mean, everybody's choosing to give something up. But, you know, what are we doing? How does it feel when you connect with a room full of people and you know that feeling? They're all getting what you're doing. Yeah.

I love that. That's when I feel the most high. When I look at the crowd and everyone is exactly, and that's why I do that toast every day. Let's just be happy. It's my moment to get everyone in a simpatico, if that's even the right word. Simpatico, yeah.

Motion for the day and living in the moment. That's right. It's like getting people off their phones. This is us. I haven't been on my phone. I mean, I love, I'm on Instagram all the fucking time, and I haven't been on the phone because I'm just absorbing. I don't get to spend much time with you, Dave.

So thank you for just letting me absorb your energy because you're a great fucking guy. Oh, thanks, Andy. Well, I mean, it works both ways. You know, it's like I get to come here. I love you guys. And I know you now. Yeah. And I've seen you live.

And we made some cool records in the past. And we're making a really cool record. This one's good, right? It's very forward. You feel like this is the next step? I hate to say it, but I think we have the same manager, don't we? Yeah. I think he's going to be pleased.

Fuck yeah. Thank God. He's such a tough nut. I know, dude. He's so fucking anxiety-ridden. But that's why I love him. Yeah, well, you know, he's really good so fucking anxiety-ridden. I think that's why I love him. Yeah, well, you know, he's really good at what he does. Yeah.

And everybody needs someone like that in their corner. Yeah. Dave, should we continue making this record? Should we finish this and do it up and do it big? Oh, by the way, how was Red Rocks? Oh, the panic shows? Yeah. They were great. It was sold-out shows, 58, way, how was Red Rocks? Oh, the panic shows? Yeah. They were great.

It was sold out shows, 58, 59, and 60. And people were wearing silver because, I guess, diamond. Yeah. I guess silver clothing is as close as you can get to diamonds unless you're a country star covered in rhinestones. Do you feel Hauser in those shows? Oh, man, he shows up. Someone sent me a photo of the clouds over the stage,

and it looked like him sitting on his stool playing his guitar. And it's not the first time that's happened. Kevin Kinney of Driving and Crying took a picture of some fireworks, and he wrote this little poem. It was the 4th of July, and the fireworks went off, and I saw Mikey in the sky. And this firework explosion. It looked like, because he's got,

he had like a looser kind of curly fro. It wasn't an outward fro, it was a hanging fro. Yeah. And it looked like him with his hair hanging down over his face, which was the way he played. Yeah, I hear him all the time. And sometimes we all hear him and it's like in a moment in an improv jam or something, we're all like, did you guys hear that?

Ghost notes. Yeah, we talked about this last time. I mean, he's there. I mean, energy is neither created nor destroyed. It never goes away. So if somebody dies, they've just shed this skin. Who knows what's going on? We're not privy.

You were talking about that before. I agree in that with the spirit. We were talking about that before. I agree in that with the spirit, you know, and when you pass, it either sticks around or it goes away or it goes into a different energy. I totally see that. Do you think me and Hauser would be buddies? I think he'd really like you.

Yeah? You'd find something. See, Mikey, he liked everybody unless they were just jackasses. Yeah, and he could smell bullshit? He could smell bullshit bullshit he was really smart he had a scientific brain he had a chemistry degree from uga yeah wow um but he would find if he decided that he wanted to spend his time with someone he'd find something to talk about and then go deep and it would usually just hear roaring laughter you know which to me is a great sign. Yeah, that's awesome.

He's a good guy. Well, let's kill some shit. Get to work. Let's get to work, buddy. Thanks for everything, Dave. I love you, man. That's the sound of skin on skin. All right, next up on the interview hour, we got Maddie O'Neal, my homegirl,

my squeeze out of Denver, Colorado. I don't have a lot of producers and DJs that are in the EDM world, so I thought I'd interview my homegirl, Maddie. She's fucking killing it. She's torn with lettuce. Yo, Chris, play some Maddie stuff. She's badass. She was in a band with her boyfriend before,

and they were in a big band, and being on the road's tough, and now she wants to do her own solo thing, and it's kicking ass. I'm really proud of her. So ladies and gentlemen, enjoy Maddie O'Neal, girl. What's up? What's up?

How's it going? I'm doing good. I'm hanging in there. So we've known each other now how many years? A couple years? Yeah. I creeped you on Instagram, and I remember the moment. I was like, damn damn This chick is badass

Her hair is fucking flowing She's on stage kicking ass Crazy Now a couple years later We're friends And now we've caught up with each other And now we're about to have a conversation Now I'm really going to get to know you

Where'd you grow up? Who fucked grow up? Who fucked you up? Well, how long we got here? We got all night, girl. We got all night. I grew up in St. Louis. You grew up in St. Louis? Yes. Really? For how many years? I lived there until 2008 when I moved to Colorado to go to see Boulder. Okay, so you lived there since 2008. So you grew up, grew up in St. Louis. Yeah, yeah, whole time.

Oh, wow. I started my scene there in St. Louis. You weren't a musician back then, right? No. What were you? I don't know. I mean, I left right out of high school to go to see Boulder, and I was studying journalism and marketing and PR. And I had not yet got into music.

But I grew up in a music family. My dad was in a band in like the 70s. What kind of band? Rock and roll. Was it touring or just like weekend? What were they called? Do you know Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds? Dude, fuck yeah. So the Kinchelows. Yeah, Jackson and Arlie. or just like they were like weekend warriors? What were they called? Do you know Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds?

Dude, fuck yeah. So the Kinchelows had Jackson and Arlie. Their dad and my dad were in a band together. In the 70s? In Hollywood. Hold on.

Backtrack. Yeah. What? Yeah. Isn't that crazy? Did you grow up with like Jackson and Arlie? No.

No, I didn't know them. This was like before I was alive. Okay. Wow. So your dad and Arlie? No, I didn't know them. This was before I was alive. Okay, so your dad is from LA? No. My dad grew up in Belleville, Illinois. Went to Harvard Law School. Skipped his college graduation.

He went to Harvard? Skipped his college graduation, ate acid, drove across the country, and started a band. Hold on. Back track here. So your dad's one of these freak geniuses who just like... So why did he go to Harvard in the first place? Do you know much about your pops? Yeah.

I don't actually know the whole timeline of it all, but yeah. He was a musician for a while. Did he have you as a musician? No, he was a lawyer. He went through so many different phases like toying with being a musician, then became a lawyer, hated it, went back to being an artist.

But I figured out that Arlie and Jackson's dad and my dad were in a band because their uncle sent me the tapes of the band. Yeah, like in the mail after my dad passed away. And I was like, what the fuck? This is so cool.

And then they were like, you should check out my daughter's band. And turns out it was Sister Sparrow. Shut the fuck up. Isn't that crazy? When did your father pass away? About three years ago. Yeah? Was that hard?

Yeah. Was that your buddy? Yeah, he was like my best friend. Yeah? Yeah. That was actually kind of the pivotal moment when I left my old project to start my solo. That's when he passed away.

Really? Yeah. It's kind of like. What was the moment? What were you thinking? What was going on? Drink, yeah. Let's talk about this.

Well, I was in a music project with my ex-boyfriend for like five years. We're going to talk about that too. Keep going with this. for like five years. We're going to talk about that too. Keep going with this. And it was kind of falling apart at the end of it. And when my dad passed away, it was kind of like that. Was he sick? Yeah, he had a version of like ALS.

So it was kind of like an on and off. So you knew a while ago that it's just started to happen or did it happen quickly? It was kind of a slow process because they weren't exactly sure what it was. But it all happened very quickly. But as soon as that happened, it kind of like made me look at my own life and realize that I wasn't happy. What were you unhappy about? Yourself?

No, I was just in a music project with a significant other that wasn't really working out. What was it called? Crooked Driver. Okay. And it was like a duo thing? Yeah, it was a duo. And we taught ourselves how to make music together.

And just toured it? Like ballsy? Yeah. What? Hold on, hold on. So you guys are like, fuck, we're just going to learn an instrument and just be on the road. Well, so backing up, I got into music very randomly. Like 2011, I'd always music very randomly, like 2011.

I'd always like envied my brother and my dad, and I never stuck with an instrument. My brother gave me Ableton, the software that I use. In 2011? As a Christmas present. And he was like, you should just fuck around with it. I know you have the ear for it. You've always wanted to get into music, but I didn't think I really had a chance. What were you in high school?

Were you just like a sports girl, party girl? What were you? Yeah, I played lacrosse and field hockey. Yeah, so you, okay. Very fascinating. But I was super into music. I went to shows all the time, but I didn't think that I had, I thought I kind of missed my chance

because I saw my brother making music from age five. Isn't it so weird? We think just because we're older, we can't learn something. Yeah. What is that? What do you think that is? I don't know. It's hard because I did the same thing.

I was 18. I'm like, I'm never going to be this good. My friends are all fucking prodigies and shit. I'm coming out late in the game. So who pushed you to say, no, you could do this? Really, it was my brother. Is that your buddy? Yeah.

Real close? You guys are like best friends? Yeah, we're super close. Yeah. He lives in Laramie now, so we're going to make a lot more music together. Laramie, Wyoming? Yeah. Nice.

He moved from LA to Laramie. What's he doing over there? Nice. He moved from LA to Laramie. What's he doing over there? Well, he quit all of his bands and is teaching and becoming a writer. He's working on a novel and getting his MFA. So it's weird.

I was becoming a writer and he was a musician. And then we both kind of switched places. Now I'm the musician and he's the writer. It's really weird. So do you guys trade off giving each other tips now? Yeah. Because you guys are so like... Yeah. I don't really give him writing tips, but he gives me music tips.

Oh, because are you the baby? Yeah. Okay, so he's never going to fucking listen. He listens to me. He told me I was wise the other day. Yeah, what were you wise about? Well, it was my dad's birthday yesterday, so we had a long talk about our paths

and where we ended up. Yeah, we just had a long... What was the best advice your dad ever gave you? Trust your soul. I think when he... Acid years. Yeah. Well, when he passed away,

I think one of the coolest compliments was his friend reached out to me and said that the coolest compliment that my dad ever gave us was that he was proud of me and Evan because we had soul. Yeah. And that was like the coolest.

Did you feel you had soul when you were a kid? I don't think I was paying attention to it. I think I was very distracted and caught up in... With what? Just all the bullshit of being a teenager. Yeah. Were you getting into drugs when you were a kid? Were you a party animal?

I partied. I wasn't really into drugs when you were a kid? Were you a party animal? I partied. I wasn't really into drugs in high school. You're an athlete, but you were drinking. You were at a house party. That's normal. I'm a bit of a party girl. What's the craziest thing you did in high school, Maddie? Shit.

I don't know about high school. College? Did you go to college? Yeah. I finished school. I don't know about high school. College? Do you go to college? Yeah. CU. Yeah, I finished school. I went to CU Boulder, got into music sophomore year, moved to Denver, and just kind of like dove in headfirst.

I finished school for my parents, but I also had no idea how far I was going to take music. Yeah. I just knew I was really into it. You were kind of just like floating. Yeah. Figuring out what you were trying to do. Some people don't was really into it. You were kind of just like floating. Yeah. Figuring out what you were trying to do. Some people don't get to know what they want to do until later in life.

Yeah. So with this, going back to your dad and going back to this advice he gave you about following your soul, do you think, when did he tell you this advice? I think it was like throughout the years. I also learned from like watching him. Well, I guess I didn't necessarily watch him, but hearing stories about how,

you know, he went to Harvard Law School, became a lawyer and hated it. You know, that was the money making thing. And that's what he thought that he was supposed to do. But then he went back to being an artist. And that was when I saw that he was the happiest. but then he went back to being an artist and that was when I saw that he was the happiest so I kind of learned by watching you saw him be the artist I saw him be the late artist how old were you um let's see I don't know must have been in like in middle school high school when he I mean he was still doing the lawyer thing, but he also like started. Oh, so you're developed.

You're like starting to be developed. Like it's not like it was like six years old seeing his gigs. So you really knew. Yeah, I never saw him like play shows. That was like in the 70s. But like he would play music with his friends and like then would buy antiques and paint them

and like became this eccentric artist which was what he really wanted to do in st louis yeah is it a big art scene out there yeah the art scene's really cool i mean it was mostly for himself he didn't really he did a couple shows here and there but yeah yeah what inspired you about his story um story? Just seeing him kind of struggle with this is what society wants me to do. I know I'm smart enough to be a lawyer, but seeing him follow

what made him really happy I think was the most inspiring thing. Yeah. That probably gave you the strength to say fuck it i want to learn how to play an instrument yeah yeah so what so you started with this ableton ableton yeah what is that just like i see i saw i've seen i think i've seen you it's like colorful i'm not really i'm very new to this to the scene real colorful no but it's like it's like a lot of little squares yes and then it's your program so it's basically it's basically a lot of little squares. Yes. And then you're programming. So it's basically a keyboard.

It's the software that I use to make music. So the little colorful squares that you see are like the clips of audio. So you have to put those clips, though, of audio in each square. Okay. So are you creating this this i'm new to this so yeah like um so okay do this so are you it's basically a recording software because you're you're talking about anti-sampling right you're you're you started sampling as we all should yes that's how i learned everything i think i'll everyone. I mean, even as a songwriter, I sampled fucking Marvin Gaye melody

and ripped off fucking. I think that's the important part about developing as a musician. I think everyone is subconsciously sampling everything. So you started sampling stuff. Do you have any DJs you were inspired by or people or who? And how old were you when you got to Ableton? I was 19 or 20. So I started sampling like a hip-hop producer.

I would actually go to record stores and dig for vinyl and then I would come home and sample it and put it in my computer and chop it up. And Michael Menard was actually a huge, huge influence in doing it that way. You're in Colorado now? Yes. How old is he? Sorry, I'm like jumping all over the place. He, I think mid-30s.

So he's our age. Yeah. I mean, how old are you, Maddie? I'm 29. 29. Okay. Same age as me. Well, I'm older than you, but fuck.

Fuck. Okay. So Michael, did'm older than you, but fuck. Fuck. Okay, so Michael, did you meet him in college? No, I met Michael after I had already started making music. I kind of, being in Colorado opened my mind up to like this whole world of electronic music that I was. Was it popular in Denver and Boulder? Yeah. When you were 20? Yeah, I mean like Pretty Lights, Bass Nectar, Soundtribe. Popular in Denver and Boulder? Yeah. When you were 20? Yeah.

I mean, like, Pretty Lights, Bass Nectar, Sound Tribe. Oh, my God. Those were, like, my first intros to what was going on. And were you listening to that music before you moved to Colorado? No. So what were you listening to in St. Louis? Pop and shit? No, I was listening to, like, LCD Sound System. Oh, so you were always hip.

Jamie XX. Yeah, like, my brother was kind of, like, my. Oh, so you're always hip. Jamie XX. Yeah, like my brother was kind of like my feed of like what's cool. That's good. You know, yeah, he saved my ass from being a little pop queen or something. Yeah, you could have been. I mean, I did love the Spice Girls. Of course, who didn't? But yeah, he like showed me what was up.

He showed me good music. And how many years older again is he? He's three years older than me. Okay. So that's perfect. So you went to high school. You were a freshman when he was a senior? Yeah.

I think so. Yeah. So how was that relationship? It was good. Was it? Or is it like, I know my sisters are three years apart or two years apart. They fucking hate each other in high school because it's like stepping on each other's toes.

Like, oh, you're the little one. You don't fucking know. Yeah. You're the older one. This is the younger generation. You know? Yeah, I mean, he... We didn't, like, hang out super tough in high school, I don't think.

Like, closer towards the end, like, we would accidentally throw parties on the same day or something. And then you'd be forced to hang out. Your parents would be cool with it? You threw a lot of house parties? No, we would throw parties at my dad's house when he was out of town. So your parents are divorced? Yes. And when did they get divorced?

I think I was in elementary school. Like, for— Did that affect you at all? Was it weird? They hated each other. Yeah? Yeah, so I'm happy that they did it. You know, I can't imagine now them being married.

Do you remember them fighting a lot when you were a kid? A little bit. A little bit, yeah. I try to remember anything from fifth grade, and I only remember a couple things. Yeah, I think I just kind of blocked it out of my memory. Do you think that's fucked you up with having relationships?

I don't know. Maybe. I'm really into relationships right now because my parents have been together for like 45 years. That's a long time. Yeah, and it stresses me out because some days they're like, man, do they like each other?

You're like, how did you do it? Yeah, and wondering if they're just doing it for the kids or if they're doing it for, you know, because they're afraid to go outside of the bubble. Right. Well, it's got to be hard when you get to be that age. Yeah, and especially like when your kids are developing at nine. Yeah.

That must have been hard. Like, do you remember any, like, what your, so you spent most time at your pop's house? Was your mom more strict? No, I spent most of the time at my mom's house. Was she, like, supportive about the music? Not right away. My dad was the supportive one.

But they're both lawyers and went to prestigious colleges. So you never had to struggle for money? You were well off. Not well off, like super rich. Growing up, no. I mean, I definitely went through the whole artist struggle phase when I first did that. When you're independent. I mean, I definitely went through the whole artist struggle phase when I first did that. When you're independent.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, like, you know, like, having that backbone where you don't have to, like, stress about, you could really be the person, you know, that you, the dreams you want to have. Yeah, totally. Like, if it was lacrosse or. I think that's, I mean, I was very, I'm very grateful to grow up the way that I did and have my dad's support when I started music, too, because they kind of raised me to feel like I could do anything I did and have my dad's support when I started music too because they

kind of raised me to feel like I could do anything I wanted to do it's awesome which is amazing so your dad so your your your brother got you into all these types of musics and stuff and you're and and you're like slowly like having like this back of your mind like oh my dad fucking quit fucking doing this yeah do this yeah so then you finally get this instrument uh ableton yeah which i do consider an instrument i do too yeah i mean there's no different than a fucking keyboard you playing an electric keyboard and they have a different sound yeah it's all the same shit so anyone who's hate on that it's just i used to i'll be honest maddie I used to be a fucking hater. I know.

Chandler told me you were a hater. Dude, Chandler knows I was a fucking hater, dude. Shout out Chandler. Yeah, Chandler, dude. My guy. But it's true, though. You know, when you don't understand something, your first defense is like,

oh, no, I don't like it. Yeah. So when you're going through these phases of learning this instrument, what's going in your head? What are you trying to focus on first? When you're writing a song like that. Well, I mean, I literally knew nothing when I started.

Like, no music theory. At 20? Yes. Fucking crazy. Yeah. And knew nothing about how to dj like and nothing i just knew that i loved it and i knew i had the ear for it like i could always pick out like certain songs that had the same you know chord structure and all that um but i watched a fuck ton of youtube

videos i studied like who sampled who and kind of reverse engineered how hip-hop beats were made and how they chopped samples and started teaching myself keys. And yeah, I just nerded out for a long time. Was there any musicians you were really looking up to? Who were your guys at that part of your development um well i think the first people that kind of showed me that the fusion of like electronic music and hip-hop was like a thing was like shadow and rjd2 and then being introduced to

pretty lights and michael minnert when i got out here. They were doing it on a whole other level. I've heard that R2 band or thing. R2-D2. R2-D2, but Shadow? Was he popular? Yeah, I mean, he's just like a legend. He's been around for... Okay, so he was popular or was he going, like, getting popular? He wasn't necessarily

like... In my eyes, he's always been popular, but it was just something that I had discovered. So you're going through these samples, and what was the first song like? What was your... This is what you were so proud about. It probably was, but it was your first song.

Was it hard, or did it come easy? It was really hard. It was really frustrating. What was frustrating about it? Not knowing I could hear the way that I would put two

samples together and be like, this sounds right. But I couldn't tell you what the technical term for any of it was. You know what I mean? It was frustrating having that as a barrier in what I was doing. But I also think that that was an advantage to me because I didn't know if what I was doing was right or wrong.

If there is a right or wrong. Isn't that the best way to be creative when you don't have rules? Exactly. So I think that that really was an advantage to me because like I had this whole perspective on it that like a classically trained musician might not, you know. So I was just like full experimental mode, you know, learning as I went. Yeah. So then you meet Michael and he kind of like fine tuned your vision or what? And he kind of like fine-tuned your vision or what? Yeah, I mean, so I met Michael probably three years into making music and actually reached out to him on Facebook because I heard he was like, would come out to Cervantes every once in a while

and we had like our big DJ battle show. And I was like... In college? You drive down from Boulder? Yeah, I was still a junior in college, I think. But I lived in Denver now. Oh, cool. Okay. You drive to Boulder for school.

No, I transferred to CU Denver my sophomore year because I lost my scholarship and I was partying too much. What did you have a scholarship for? Academic. What were you doing? Partying? Academic? So you were smart.

I knew you were smart, but I'm not questioning. You were smart? I still am smart. Yeah, I bet you are. I don't fucking doubt it. You built a fucking career starting at 20. It's only been 8 years. Look what you're doing. Pretty dope. Alright, I don't want to boast about you. I'm supposed to get down to the nitty gritty.

So you get back. you're in Denver, and you're building the scene here? Or did you meet your boyfriend yet? Or soon to be, what's his name? Donnie. Donnie. Okay, Donnie. Oh, we're going here.

Donnie and Maddie. It's like perfect. Okay, so you're doing this with Michael. He's playing at Servs. What did you learn? So we had a DJ battle show at Cervantes. It was like a Monday night. Was it hopping?

Was that like this? Well, it's supposed to be hopping, but... It wasn't yet. No. So we hit him up randomly on Facebook, and we're like, hey, we heard you're kind of around in the scene. We have a show tonight. You're a big influence. hey we heard you're kind of around in the scene we have a show tonight like you're a big influence

like come through if you're around. There was like probably like 10 people there and Michael shows up and like we were like

almost shit our pants we were like oh fuck did you have a set yet? Yeah we had a set. Hold on we had a set. Yeah this was my

duo project. Oh so you're with this guy now. Yes. So you met this guy in college. We met my sophomore year. We got into music together from my brother giving us the software and teaching ourselves together. So you're hooking up, blah, blah, blah, partying, doing some drugs, and you realize you both want to be in a band together. Yeah. Bad idea. band together. Yeah.

Bad idea. Holy shit. Okay. Now we're getting into the juiciness. Okay. So you guys are working together.

It's like perfect. It's romance. It's new. It's fresh. Yeah. Neither one of us knew anything so it was cool.

We were on the same playing field, you know, motivating each other to like learn and set like schedules. We like stopped going out just to like sit around and

get better, you know. Which was cool at the time. Yeah, of course. And then, okay, so you see Michael, you guys are playing for 10 people. You're fucking freaking out. What's going on? Does he come up to you? Yeah, it was the most nerve-wracking show ever.

He waited till the end of the show, came up to us, and was like, you guys are awesome. I'm thinking about starting this record label. I really want to talk to you guys about it. And let's hang out. Come over tomorrow.

So he invites us over. We go see a movie. Don't talk to each other the whole time because we're in a movie. You and Michael? Yeah other the whole time because we're in a movie. You and Michael? Yeah. And Donnie. Yes.

And his girlfriend. Michael's girlfriend. Yes. Okay, so it's like a double date. Yeah. Yeah. We were like, what's going on?

Are we going to like talk about music or are we just going to like sit next to each other silently? Yeah. But afterwards, we all hung out and

you're hung out. You're freaking out. Like, you're probably not even paying attention to the movie. No, not at all. I'm like, what is going on? But no, it was amazing. We were, like, hanging out with, like, one of our biggest inspirations. And, you know, we became friends from there and started hanging out more and more. So what advice did he give you?

and started hanging out more and more. So what advice did he give you? Basically, keep doing what we're doing. And, like, you know, he liked the style that we were doing and that we were doing it the proper way, kind of like old-school sampling, because he's big on that. You were old-school sampling? Well, yeah, I was at the time. Was it like, all I know is I used to be really into this band Girl Talk.

Yeah. They got in trouble. Oh, I know. I know. Big time. I want to talk about the copyright stuff too eventually in this conversation. So you're having with Michael, he said, keep going, keep going. So when was it the idea like, oh, well, we're going to keep going.

Maybe we should get out of Colorado and start touring this thing. Did you do it? Was it a show that you're like, oh, fuck, there's 300 people fucking going crazy? What was that moment? Well, Michael is actually the first person that brought us on tour. I think that was our first out-of-state show. Yeah, he started a record label called Super was our first. Were you on his label? Out of state show. Yeah. He started a record label. And he signed you.

Super best records. Who else was on the label? At that time. Late Night Radio. And Muxmul. I think it was the four of us. That started. And Mikey Thunder.

The five of us. That kind of started it up. So we. It was more of like. An artist collective. You know. We would kind of like. Help each other out.

Were you making money? On this label? Or was it just like. No. A gang of. Your homies. Like a rap band. No. No. No. It was more. It was more of a collective. We would kind of help each other out. Were you making money on this label? Or was it just a gang of your homies? No, no, no. It was more of a collective. We would rep each other. It seems like it wouldn't cost that much money to record a record, right? Because it's all internally.

No. Yeah, yeah. It wouldn't cost really anything to make what we were making. What about now? Does it cost? Yeah, well, because I've moved away in my solo project. It costs really anything to make what we were making. What about now? Does it cost? Yeah. Well, because I've moved away, like, in my solo project, I've moved away from sampling because, number one, I don't want to get sued.

Yeah. Is that the scare? Is it the scare? Of every producer? Yeah. And I don't necessarily – I some some of my best friends are still putting out you know super sample heavy hip-hop beats even on spotify and they're not getting fucked but you can get fucked five years from now yeah once you get popped like yeah then you're on the radar yeah yeah yeah it's like yeah so i'm just like it's also been a big challenge for me too.

Like when I started my solo project from that, I wanted to like change up my sound and kind of like find this other path. So I stopped sampling and started working with a lot of live musicians and creating my own samples. You know, working with vocalists and guitar players. So you're like, you're legitimately being a producer yeah you know yeah i'm like a like i was like a felt like a one-man band like creating from like collaging from samples but now i'm like i feel yeah like i'm producing and you're becoming a pro yeah 10,000 hours I think I believe in that 100%

Yeah You start somewhere Like I started playing only Songs Two chords And I would play those same two chords For four fucking hours A show

Yeah That's all I knew Then you evolve You evolve You evolve So Now So that's cool

That you're You're really developing your sound But I want to go back To this fucking relationship thing Okay We'll talk about Maddie's solo project in a little bit. Okay, okay. Time.

What in the right mind did you have fucking going on tour with your boyfriend and starting a business with your boyfriend where you have no break, Maddie? I mean, did you like, were you just like hopelessly in love? Only I can talk to myself now. Well, yeah, we'll talk about that too soon here,

but hopelessly in love? What was it? What was going on in your head? Was he your best friend forever? When did it start fucking up? I think it became more of a business. You didn't like that?

What? It became more of a business. Well, our relationship became more of a business well our relationship became more of a business oh yeah yeah um well duh yeah

thanks Andy I know this now I know but what do you okay so and you know and when you're touring and you think it's right

you're dating someone and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but we we stopped getting along relationship wise you're dating someone and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But we stopped getting along relationship wise and whatever and then we stopped getting along

creative wise too. We just wanted to go in different directions. He started getting more controlling. Do you think it was rooted because of the breakup? Or because you stopped loving each other?

Probably. And he knew that I could go off and do my own thing so he wanted to kind of keep me in this place i think fucked up oh god i'm actually talking about this it's okay i mean it's i mean it how many years ago is this uh it's been like four years yeah so time's gonna pass so yeah it makes sense. I mean, like when ships start passing, you know, we're trying to hold on. It's like the same thing when we have old friends. Yeah. You know, and we are completely different people. Like I try to stay in this group text message with my friends from kindergarten, like 30 people.

Oh, God, wow. And I was really trying to be in it for like two or three years. And it's just like we just like don't understand each other anymore. And like, you know, you're just doing it to just keep the memories alive. But it's not, we're not really becoming friends. We're not becoming like evolving our friendship. Totally. So is it, once like the relationship starts breaking up and you have like a hundred shows still confirmed.

I mean, like that must be fucking hard, right? Yeah. And even, well, we broke up and we tried to continue the project and I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't be on stage and try to pretend like I was happy or, you know. What were you happy with? It didn't feel genuine anymore. You know, I was happy or, you know. What were you happy with? It didn't feel genuine anymore. You know, I was like putting on this mask.

Yeah. So that's when I was just like, I'm out. I can't pretend to be somebody or like, you know, that everything's cool. How hard was that to quit? Oh, it's the hardest thing I've ever done. Ever. How many times did you try to quit was that to quit? Oh my, it's the hardest thing I've ever done. What? Ever. How many times did you try to quit before you actually quit?

So many times. What was the moment? Any shows where like, it was a city that you remember just so distinctly? There was, yeah. There was definitely a very distinct moment. We were on a run and it was like a festival. I forget where we were. I was like in Kentucky or something. I don't want to talk shit.

You're not going to talk shit. Just let the listener know the story. It was just like we, he ended up trying to start like a fight with me in front of people. And it was kind of just like... A lot of ego got involved. And then I realized that I was kind of... Trying to defend something that I didn't even believe in anymore. Yeah.

It is halftime at the Andy Fresco interview hour. Well, hello. I am Arno Bakker and this is Staying Relevant with Arno Bakker. On today's segment we will be analyzing the lyrical structure of the song Gucci Flip Flops by Bad Baby featuring Little Yachty. Shall we get started? The song Gucci Flip Flops by Bad Baby featuring Little Yachty. Shall we get started? I got big guap, pussy, yeah. I am real rich, yeah. Six cars, two houses and I am still rich.

Can't fuck the bitch if she got her virginity, oh yeah. Cause then she gon' really be intoity, oh yeah. Cause then she gone really be into me. Oh yeah. 223 shots. I might run for the enemies. Ah, put a few holes in his kidney. Ho ho, little boat. Goo goo gee, flip flops, fuck it.

Hit your bitch in my socks. There's a big watch. diamond dripping off the clock. Pull the six out, wintertime, drop in the top. Give it to they pussy ass, turn the shit up a notch. Gucci flip flops, fuck it, make it kick rocks, bust it. There's a big clock, check the wristwatch. Check it. Gucci flip-flops? Fuck it. Hit your bitch in my socks. Mr. Yachty's apparent commitment issues have led him away from intercoursing this underage girl.

Still, the adolescent seems to be really into him. Calls him her big watch. The wealthy man with six cars. But behold, a stand has to be made to those besieging this young love. Luckily, he has an AR-15 with.223 Remington to deal with the enemies. The bad baby girl fights them off with the Gucci flip-flops. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad girl. See you next week in Staying Relevant with Arno Bakker. You're thinking about having a solo career. Who was the one who pushed you to say, do this, Maddie?

Yeah, I mean, I think it was like the last year of it. I really started thinking about doing my own thing. The last year of it? Yeah. Well, that's when I really got like the confidence. No, I didn't talk to anyone about it. Why not? It's good.

Because I was scared. What were you scared about? Being honest? Whether I could do it. Fuck yeah, you could do it. Well, hell yeah, again. I didn't know that at the time, though. I was like stuck in this crazy mentality.

Were you scared? Were you insecure? What was going on? Well, yeah. I was kind of like in a situation where... I don't know. It was like... Yeah, I don't know. It was like Yeah, I didn't

I was we were reliant on each other in a way and I think he wanted me to feel that way too. So I didn't realize my own potential. Yeah. Okay. Does that make sense?

It totally does. Oh, no. Oh, God. We're getting real deep. But it's real, though. This is what people want to hear. I mean, it happens in a lot of relationships sometimes. You feel like you're in this spell and you get into these mental habits.

And the thought of me totally switching up my entire life, walking away from something that I built for five years, and completely starting over is the scariest thought in the world. Yeah. So what was the moment? You said, you know what? Fuck this. It was when my dad passed away.

Yeah. I was like, fuck this. I'm not happy. I have way more potential. And you're thinking about all these things your dad did when he's like on the highs of Harvard and then quit wow Maddie

your dad's your muse I know it's really cool it's amazing it was like he gave me the courage to do all of this damn that gives me chills oh my god. That's amazing, Matty.

Oh god. Because like everyone has that in their life and for them to be your dad and having to pass it just like made me realize how short life is and if I'm not happier doing what I really want to be doing or take the risk

to do that, then nothing's ever going to change. So I was like, fuck it. You can have our project. You can have all our music. I'm going to start over. And I had a fuck ton of support behind me that I didn't even know that I had. You know, when we're feeling vulnerable, we feel like everyone's against us. Yeah.

And really, they're not. No, people came out of the woodworks that I had no idea were even paying attention. And were like, hey, we got you. That's why I believe in universal souls. Everyone's really connected in a way. I'm starting to get that more. I took DMT for the first time

and I felt that connection. Yeah, that's just great. Really weird. Wow, man, that's amazing. Thank you. That's beautiful. Thank you. Because, you know, like, you know, all things said about the relationship, it was the past.

But, like, for you to have this growth in your life from just a relationship, because you're going to look back at this when you're fucking 100 years old, and that's just going to be a glimpse, a little, that band. But you'll see your career and you'll see your life and you'll see the the love you get in and the you know if you want kids or whatever um or dogs or yeah we're not in the kids business here i think uh but it's really it's gonna be really like that it turns you into a woman yeah Yeah. That's pretty powerful. It was real powerful. And I think that fueled my music, too.

Because I was in this... My whole life came crashing down, brought me to my knees. So everything that I was making during that time period was real vulnerable and honest. So it was a cool way... And you still love that music, right? Yeah. Because it's being honest. Yeah, totally.

It's amazing when we are finally just honest with ourselves. It's crazy. Yeah. We never, you know, it's hard for me to be honest with myself. Sometimes like, do I need a relationship? I can't handle this shit. Yeah. You know, but like then deep down I get lonely.

I'm like, yeah, maybe you just gotta like throw a curveball at yourself and see how it works. Yeah. You know? This lifestyle is very, very hard to have a relationship with.

Like, I'm totally married to the game right now. Me too, girl. Yeah, speaking of married to the game, you just went on tour with Cherub and parted your asses off.

Oh my God, yeah. Those guys are crazy, huh? Yeah. They're wild. They're pretty crazy. Any crazy, like, throughout the game, you know, the hustle, you're going to have to deal, because you're hanging out on tour bus, huh? Yeah, it was almost a...

What's the first time? I did a mini run with lettuce on a bus, but I think that was only, like, a week. This was almost three months. Yeah, we were in Scram in that time. I was like, I want pictures of the bus. But I think that was only like a week. This was almost three months. Yeah, we were in Scram at that time. I was like, I want pictures of the bus. Can you show me the pictures? I love that shit.

I've still never, I'm not in a bus band. Oh, you'll be there real soon. But it's cool with producers because you can all slam into one bus. Yeah. Well, it's so much easier to travel by myself even. All right, let's talk about that. Does it get lonely traveling by yourself? Do you have someone with you?

Or is it just normally you and you're going into another team? It's normally me, yeah. Just going into someone else's world. Is that hard? You're like a stand-up comedian. Because stand-up comedians are like, not like your show is, but like the mentality of how their life is. They fly in by themselves.

Yeah. Join a group. Yeah. For a couple of days and fly back. Is it lonesome? Yeah, it definitely is lonely. But also, I think when I first started doing it, I was kind of excited for that freedom. And I needed to like embrace've embraced the alone time too um

but yeah of course it gets lonely and I've been really really lucky that like almost all of my tours that I've done as a solo artist have been like with some of my best friends already you know you're comfortable yeah and obviously I mean like I got to know them on a whole other level touring with them. It was people that I already knew. I wasn't going blind into a situation. Do fans creep into your DM trying to smash?

Oh yeah. All the time? I feel like it'd be hard to do that. I bet. Some chick hit me up the other day and sent me these screenshots to do that. You know, like, I bet, because, you know. Some dude, or some chick hit me up the other day and sent me, like, these screenshots

accusing me of fucking her boyfriend. I had the same thing happen to me, Maddie. But on the other side. So what happened? You were just talking to her? Talking to the,

he probably came up to you. No, I didn't. I probably talked to this guy for, like, two seconds at a show. And he, like, had lied to his girl. He was, like, trying. No, I didn't. I probably talked to this guy for like two seconds at a show. And he had lied to his girl. He was trying to make her jealous or something. And she didn't believe me. Oh, fuck.

And she was like, yeah, well, I hope. You fucking bitch. I'm not just taking my man. And I was like, oh my God. What the fuck? Dude, that's scary. Yeah. I mean, I bet fucking dicks are throwing it into your DM at all times.

I'm honestly mad because you're a beautiful girl. Thank you. You're very fucking talented. And you're like a unicorn. Really. For real. And the dudes probably see you, and they're probably all fucking tripped out on their show.

They just had an amazing show. And they probably hit you up at like 4 a.m. I feel like a lot of guys are scared of me, too, which is kind of cool. So I'm like, if they're not scared of you, they'll be scared of me because no one's going to be fucking with you. Honestly, Matt, you're a good girl. I'm like, you've grown a lot.

I mean, like, just from hearing your a lot i mean like just i'm hearing your story i mean this is my first time really talking i know and like having your dad pass away and stuff and like having the inspiration from your pops to like do the solo career and then look what you're doing now yeah and like three in like three years i feel like I've done way more than I thought I ever could do. I'm very proud. And it's a lot in part to all the support that I had from everyone else, you know? Because Michael called me when I first was starting the solo project. And he used to be a part of Pretty Lights.

Michael was? Yeah. Him and to be a part of Pretty Lights and he... Michael was? Yeah. Him and Derek started that together. So he went through the same kind of thing where he left a project to do a solo thing and he hit me up and was like, hey, I'm putting you on these shows. You have no choice. Like, you're playing them. Those were my first solo shows.

Were you scared? And like, basically hung up on me and was like, this is going to be your motivation. I'm not going to let you sit around and feel sorry for yourself. Like you're on these shows. Yeah. And he fucking hung up on me. And during the time that I had that phone call and the first show, I wrote my

whole first album. It was like exactly what he thought. That was the slap in the face that said alright, sink or swim. This is my chance. Yeah. So I had a lot of really good people in my corner that were like, we're not going to let you sit around

and wonder if you can do this. Michael's low-key music as well. Oh, yeah. Totally. He's like the mentor who really sculpted your vision on how you see music. Yeah. And he was the first person to really believe in me and us.

Yeah. Wow. Love you, Michael. Maddie. Love you, Michael. Let's get Michael on the show. You should. Yeah, he's working with Mickey Hart in California.

I know, dude. He's kicking ass. All these guys are kicking ass. What's the dream, Maddie? At this point in your life. these guys kicking ass yeah what's the dream maddie at this point in your life um i'm doing a lot of it right now i think the dream is to be the ultimate dream in any situation is to be happy doing what you're doing no matter what are you are you genuinely happy right now yeah cool yeah that's a really cool thing to be able

to say fucking awesome yeah how many people can say that not a lot cool thing to be able to say. Fucking awesome, dude. How many people can say that? Not a lot. And of course, there's extreme highs and extreme lows in this industry and this lifestyle. But yeah, overall, I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else. We'll leave it with this question. If you could tell young Maddie, 20 years old,

just about to jump on the road with her boyfriend, the advice that you know now, what would you tell her? What if you were Michael Maneer? Weird fucking Rick and Morty question, dude.

What would you tell her? Be confident and trust yourself and realize that anything is possible if you really believe that. As cheesy as that sounds. It's not cheesy. It's just true. really believe that. Yeah. As cheesy as that sounds. You know? It's not cheesy. It's just true. Because like,

your mind is a very powerful thing. So, if you're stuck in a loop or a certain mentality, it's really hard to get out of that. So, if you start actually like,

listening to what you want or like, if you're not happy, change something. Yeah. And it's really important. It's fucking, it is. Mental health is important, right?

Sometimes we're scared to we think we're prisoners in our own heads. Really all we have to do is walk out the door. So whenever you're feeling like you're a prisoner just know you have a support team and I'm another one on that fucking team, Matty.

So whatever you need from me, I got you, girl. We should do a song together. Teach me the world of producing. I'll show you about the little colorful squares. I'm in. I'll just send you a song, and you fucking rock those fucking colorful squares. I'll organize the fuck out of them. Matty, thanks for being on the show.

Thank you. I love you, and I'm glad we're friends. I'm really happy I slipped into your DMs. Did not send a dick pic. You did not. We actually had some good conversations. You got me through a lot too.

We talked when we were lonely on the road. I'm doing the same shit you are, girl. We're all fighting and all these musicians listening to this show. It's important to have those people that understand where you're at, too. 100%. And, like, get all the haters out of your life. Get all the fucking people who think, oh, she's a girl.

Fucking blah, blah. Fuck that shit. Yeah, I'm over that. Yeah, good. You gotta have haters. Well, the haters make you stronger. Yeah. I think. I like the feel for the i'm that fuels me up a little bit sometimes it gets in my skin a little

bit and i gotta stop looking at fucking only a couple just like the one or two where you're like and it's so weird when this is i'm gonna totally uh anti what i just said here but like fuck i get all these comments and I remember that one fucking hater. That one comment that gets you. Not all the others. What was it? Oh, this one guy. He saw my show in 2014.

Probably hasn't seen it since. He's like, oh, Frasco, one trick pony. You know, he's got a little fucking stick, blah, blah, blah. And just wrote this like Fucking mean And that made me It built me And said

You know what I'm not gonna be this I'm gonna do Different shit I'm gonna write Different songs I'm gonna have Different shticks

I'm gonna have Different bits I'm gonna prove These motherfuckers wrong So you keep Proving motherfuckers wrong Cause you're kicking ass Yeah

And I'm So excited to watch you build into this fucking amazing flower that's already coming into blossom. You got to come see the show. I know we'll be at the same festivals. We'll be at the same festivals and I'll come to his show.

Honestly, I officially stopped drinking the haterade. I'm going. I'm listening. I even went to a Big G show. So, like, I'm going. I'm listening. I even went to a big G show. Oh, shit. I'm telling you. Am I the first? I wouldn't consider myself EDM, but producer, DJ you've had on the podcast?

You're the second one. I just did Jeremy. Oh, dope. He's Jewish. He's my tribe, dude. Oh, yeah. You guys probably had a good time. We went to sushi and we were just staring in each other's eyes. Just being like, hey, bud.

Oh, hey, bud. I met Grizz, too, for the first time. That fool's tall. Yeah. So all of you guys just hang out. The Denver scene's got all the best producers. Yeah. I mean, everyone's coming here.

I know. It's great. For a good reason. All right. I am. We'll talk about that after the show, though. Thanks for being on the show, man. I love you, girl. Thank you. And I'm here for you. Appreciate yeah. Thanks. We'll talk about that after the show, though. Thanks for being on the show, man. I love you, girl.

Thank you. And I'm here for you. Appreciate it. Later. Hey, Brian. Brian, it's Dave. I'm calling from the shower in the studio because it's the only place where these guys can't find me.

in the studio because it's the only place where these guys can't find me. It's like picking so many mushrooms. I mean, I feel high just being around these lunatics. The prog rock album is off. That idea is done. I was ready to be behind it

and I told you so. But the new idea has really got me scared, man. I heard about time. It's going out on tour with Slayer, and it's, like, gone from this prog rock sausage party to this crazy white lightning and mushroom-inspired sort of, like, sacrificial death metal things. And, like, Sean, he's like a demon.

And Andy, you know, he's like Moloch himself. But I think you need to send an exorcist down here to Prairie Sun. I got to go. Aye, aye, aye. David, he does lots of blow. He's a lead singer of big rock and roll Lee Roth, it is his last name He's got a nickname, it's Diamond Dame Doing pounds of cocaine Before he hits the stage

Doing big old rails with Diamond Dave Begging all the tail with Diamond Dave Gotta keep our train to drink Gatorade 10-foot Gatorade with Tom and Dave Wow! All right, there you have it. Thanks, Maddie, for being on the show. Thanks, Dave, for always coming into my life at the right time I'm gonna make this

ending quick because they're waiting for me in the studio but subscribe to the podcast thanks for listening we got a big show next week we got Mahali from Twiddle on the show yeah it's been great

we're in San Francisco recording again at Tom Waits' old studio. It's his old chicken shack that was converted into a studio. Tom loves weird shit, and I love weird shit too. So we've been getting a great vibe. I think you're going to be really proud of these songs, guys. But that's it. I love you.

Be safe. I'll see you next week. guys. But that's it. I love you. Be safe. I'll see you next week. Like Dave was saying, you know, give people time to talk about what they want to talk about or their ideas

before you go and attack the idea. Because you know, everyone should be, deserve to be heard out before you have to you know, selfishly put your own ideas in place before that. So give everyone their time to talk before you judge them or before you see them. Don't judge a book by its cover. And, uh, hopefully we could, uh, start understanding

each other a little more. All right, guys, be safe. Wear condoms. Comb your hair. Love your neighbor. I'll see you next week. Arno, kick it. Well, thank you for listening to episode 52 of Andy Fresco's World Saving Podcast, produced by Andy Fresco, Joe Angel-Howe, and Chris Lawrence. Now, please subscribe, rate the show on iTunes and Spotify

so we can make this a worldwide phenomenon. For info on the show, please head to our Instagram at world-savingpodcast. For more info on the blog and tour dates, head to andyfresco.com. Andy is working on a brand new album, and in the meantime, you can listen to Change of Pace, the last album, freely available on iTunes and Spotify.

This week's co-host, it's Dave Schools from Widespread Panic. And this week's guest is Maddy O'Neill. Find her online at maddyoneillmusic.com. This week's special guests are Floyd Kellogg, Brian Swartz, Sean Eccles, Arne Bakker and Ari Findlings. Last week, now we, the Netherlands, we lost the finals of the World Cup. We are talking soccer. And you won.

You. You, the Americans. Now, you might not have heard about it because we are talking the Women's League. But you won because you were stronger. Your women were stronger. Like the team's captain, Megan Rapinoe, who made a very clear statement about not being interested in visiting the White House. She spoke out against the lack of inclusiveness on display.

Of gays, of people of color, of women. The long struggles, the slow movements. And Megan has a strong fire burning within her. The soccer team will go to Washington, but to meet with Congress. May their fire burn for good. May it enlighten all the Statlers and Waldorfs to better the home front. And to keep the boys home for a change.