Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 53: Mihali (Twiddle)

Episode Date: July 23, 2019

Friend to the show & joke peddling contributor, Ahri Findling kicks things off with Andy. They talk about the standup comedy biz and balancing family with the daily riggamorol. The interview hour features new friend, Mihali from Twiddle. The guys go deep, throw a hail mary, and get high to end it. RIP Art Neville, and thank you for being the Prometheus of Funk. Ep 53, live everywhere 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. Catch Mihali & Twiddle in a town near you: twiddlemusic.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: Brandon Miller Ahri Findling Shawn Eckels Arno Bakker 

Hey Andy, it's John Hunt. I don't know if you remember me, but we met in South Carolina at your show. I was the guy wearing and I can be friends because I think we'll get along because we both love music and sports and spaghetti so I'm going to come to Vegas to see you in October and maybe in Denver in November.

So I can't wait to see you. I look forward to meeting you again. Bye. Andy, why haven't you called me back? Don't you want to be friends with me? I love you. Andy, it's John again. I found your address on the internet and I'm driving to come see you.

I'm driving to come see you. And we're here. Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. I'm Andy Frasco. How we doing, everybody? Hope you're well. The sun is shining out here in New York City. And my co-host, you might know him from Reviews with Ari. You might actually, let's give the people a little quick little demo of what you've done for this show.

All right. Good afternoon, and welcome to Sliding Into Andy's DMs. I'm your host, Ari Finling. So what happened was Andy fell asleep at my apartment and left his phone unlocked so I'm gonna 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 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. Wow. Incredible stuff. Hey, Ari. Oh, I thought you were going to demo it. Oh, you want me to demo it? No, no, no, no. We're going to just, that was a cut, Ari. That's in show business called imprompting the cut. That's going to happen later. Got it. I can't tell you how much this microphone smells like a scrotum. I need to fix this. It smells so... Smell mine.

Let me smell it. Oh, it does. Doesn't it smell exactly like your scrotum? It does. And, you know, I interview a lot of musicians who, you know, are on benders and stuff. But I haven't changed those pop filters for three years. Jesus Christ. I mean, I'm literally almost licking it.

Are you a clean freak, Ari? Do you do anal? Do I do anal? No. Do you give anal? We tried. And I finally convinced her after like five years. And we started. And I go, okay, this feels different. I like finally convinced her after like five years and we start,

we started and I go, okay, this, this, this feels different. And then I looked down and I was just having sex with the space between her, her ass and the mattress. And I swear to God. And then we're like, okay, no, I w it was like, for like 10 seconds. And then I go, okay, let's really do it. And then she puts it in, and I go, okay, this feels different. And she goes, yeah, this really feels different. And then I look down, and we were just having sex in her vagina.

We're not good at sex. I mean, we do. I'm just not good at sex. You're about to have a baby. Congratulations. Thanks, man. You know, having a baby, being a comedian, an up-and-coming comedian. What a horrible idea

What the fuck What are you fucking doing, dude? Well, I mean Did I think it completely through? No But I, you know There's never a good time to have a baby Like anyone who's like

Oh, I'm ready to have a baby Is a psychopath Really? Yeah I mean, how can you be ready? It costs a billion fucking dollars To have a kid It's insane

You know what goddamn daycare costs in New York City? $2,000 a month. That's like a... You're paying an employee. That's like nine Lexus. I could buy nine Lexuses for that amount a month. It sucks.

What would you do with the money if you didn't have a kid? Probably just invest it, buy pot stocks what about mushrooms like buy mushrooms no no i'm gonna invest in psilocybin yeah but how do you like where do you invest in psilocybin there's a company colorado okay and you're gonna have to like kind of do it illegally for a while oh drug dealer. You're just describing being a drug dealer. No, I'm buying these, like, pot, these, like, companies who are, like,

doing marijuana, like, CBD shit. But isn't that, oh, CBD. That's where it's at. Well, no, there are companies that are selling marijuana legally on the New York Stock Exchange that you can buy. But isn't that train left?

Like, you're going to buy into... What do you mean? It's not legal in this country yet. Once it goes legal in this country, it's like a $7 billion business now. But CBD is legal. Not by the FDA. Wow.

Look at you. Comedian, investor. I'm a Jew. Come on. Obviously, I know this stock shit. How is it... I know you like finance. So what's your week?

Give me your week. My week. As a fucking... Because you only do's your week? Give me your week. My week. As a fucking... Because you only do comedy. I work two days a week. You work two days a week? Day job, two days a week. Okay, that's okay.

So that's like a part-time thing. But like, so five days a week. You have five days to do as much comedy as you can. I mean, you know there's seven days in a week, right? You said two days. No, but I'm still doing comedy those nights and those days. Okay, you got seven days. I'm doing comedy every night.

So I'll have three to four shows a week, and then I'll do another five to ten open mics a week. So you're doing ten gigs a week? I'm getting on stage ten to fifteen times a week, and then adding in podcasts and all that shit. And you're getting like $20, $30 for every... Not every... Overmikes, no money.

Club spots, you're getting money. Independent shows is kind of dependent on the show. So a week, I'm probably making $70, $80 on a good week in the city. And you're a good comedian. And they give you spots, and that's all you're making. It's hard, man. Why do you live here? Because there's not a place where you can get up this much.

What about L.A.? You can't get up that much. I can get up five times in a night in New York. I can't get up five times in L.A. You're spending two to three hours fucking driving from places i can bounce around the city in 15 20 minutes and do five spots so really if you're not becoming a comedian you're working on your chops this is the city to do it yeah you need like to me there's no better place to build your act than new york yeah i there's a you're going up with the funniest fucking people in the world,

and the audiences are hard. They make you work. How does your wife feel that she's married to you? That everything is interesting. I mean, it's never really a dull day. Does she come to your shows? Because I feel like if she'd come, because I've watched you on Instagram,

and you just fucking torment the fuck out of her. Most of my act is about her. But she comes to maybe one or two a month. But I don't really like want her there at every show. Like that's my job. You know, like I, I don't, who wants their wife showing up at their job and being like, what's going, you know, I don't, I need to like,

part of the job is like mingling and being with other comics and shooting the shit. And that's like part of the business. Do you, what is it like to have a pregnant wife who's, you know, very emotional because she's having a baby growing her and you're out there doing comedy for 10 bucks? It's hard. She yells at you? No, but she, she's very supportive of my career. What does she do again?

She works, she's a career advisor at Columbia. At Columbia. She's the breadwinner. Yeah, by far. So what's going to happen?

Is she going to go back to work and you're going to be like daddy daycare for the days and then you go and do your spots when she came home? She's going to go back to work

after her maternity leave and then we kind of figure it out. Maybe I quit my job, watched the baby, or maybe we put in daycare. I don't know. We haven't figured it completely out yet. We're trying to not think too far ahead,

because if you think too far ahead, we're fucked. Why? Because we don't have the money to... We don't have the long-term money to raise a baby. We have enough money to continue to just get by and you know you're saying you're selling your apartment yeah um and saying how expensive it is and you have a great place but it's just too small how many square feet do you live 225 square feet you have 225 so if you take if you like we're take a wall where we are right there that's the

whole apartment we have a murphy bed that comes down to there. Yeah. Like you and I were out last night drinking and I got back hammered and I walk into my apartment and I'm just in the bedroom where she's sleeping. And I was too drunk and couldn't get my pants off. And I literally fell and face planted in the middle of the apartment. And she was like, what are you doing? I was like, I'm just a little drunk.

And then like, just, I have to like wake her up. So like, we need to move to another place just because we need another fucking room. Where are you going to go? How are you going to afford it? I think we're going to Hoboken. What, Hoboken? Yeah.

That's cool. Is that hip area too? It's pretty cool. Is Jersey of a comedy scene? No. No. No. Who has a comedy scene that's like regional?

You can't, I mean like. I mean, I go to Philly a bunch I go to Boston Like once or twice a year I go to LA Like seven or eight times a year What do you have Any advice

Give me a tip Give me a tip At you You're in the grind right now You're fucking in the trenches I feel like You know You're floating

You know You got on some bigger stuff And I mean It's always to be a grind but I feel like you're starting to become a name so how do you keep it up? my advice would be

and this is not just comedy stand up advice I'd say this is life advice that I try and live by and it's focus on what you want to do and not who you want to be. Okay. So if you say, okay, I want to have a late night set.

I want to have my own television show. That's a hard thing that you can't necessarily build a plan towards. But if you focus on, I want to be funny, I want to be, uh, you know, the funniest person that I can be, that's something that you can easily work towards and you don't get too kind of ahead of yourself. And so like, theoretically you, like if somebody said, I want to be a U S Senator, that's a hard thing to say. But if somebody said, I want to try and find a way to make affordable healthcare or affordable college, that's an easy thing to not an easy thing, but that's an easier thing to work towards

and build towards. So think smaller. Think smaller. Focus on just getting better. I'm holding this. This is the size of your penis. I got a small dick too. You got a small dick? I'd say it's thin, but it's not small.

Hold on. Yeah, I guess mine. What about when blood gets it in you have a oh i'm a grower for sure yeah me too i for a long time i never let anyone see my penis soft why do you think comedians all need therapists because comics every normal i'm going to use the term normal person even though i don't mean it as a derogatory, but every normal person in the world spends every waking hour suppressing every emotion that they have. Anything that makes them feel pain, anything that makes them feel anxious, it just, they get freaked out and they try and suppress that feeling.

Comics or creative people, yourself included, spend every moment looking into those emotions and trying to find the humor or the art within those things when you open that box it's gonna fuck up your head a little bit yeah is that i'm going through my childhood every day that i can remember in my childhood and thinking about jokes i'm gonna remember getting my ass kicked and all this shit that happened in my childhood and it's gonna fuck my head up a little bit so you need somebody to just kind of like you know bumpers on a on a bowling alley just just kind of guide you back down the center lane i've never done therapy i'm thinking of doing it do it man you're gonna love it really i i think i was scared no man it's you

do you work out i mean it's like the same shit like i i think of new bits during it i it's you know a good just event like i can't therapist your friend though no no i mean i there are points where i i mean in a way like i there are days where i really like him he's helpful there it is where i fucking hate him like last week we got into a screaming fight um because i'm a crazy person and i was just yelling at him and he yells back sometimes i mean sometimes he says like you're being a fucking idiot and you need to you know just relax um why are you being a crazy person what were you stressed about uh having a baby and being a comedian i mean it's gonna be hard but when I think about the type of comedy I like, I speak from a vulnerable place.

Most of my comedy comes from my own vulnerabilities and anxiety, and sometimes you need to do some things that you don't want to do to kind of have the life experience that you want to talk about on stage. I'm not the type of guy who I can talk about, I can just kind of pick an idea and write about that one thing. I'm talking about experiences and stories that happened in my life.

That's what the most timeless, you know, artist. That's the type of comedy I like. Well, you know, that's the type of art anyone likes. Real shit. You know, it's like, I think, commentary on something we're all going through yeah to me i want to talk about the shit that i'm going through the shit that's frustrating me in hopes that somebody else is going through a similar thing and they can

relate to it you know not that they're just you know a lot of people can just write a joke you know pure setup punch line that doesn't necessarily tie to anything. But if I can make you feel better about feeling old or fat or vulnerable or anxious, that is a deeper level of affirmation that I like. Wow. I'm learning a lot today. I learned that you could make a living As a comedian In New York

Can or can't? I mean you kinda can You can Look you're surviving Yeah but you just It's a hustle You gotta hustle It's okay

Anything's a hustle I gotta go to fucking Kansas And shit to make money I mean you don't You just have to stay In one city Nah I get out a little bit Well yeah of course

But like On your day to day Like I can't I would love to do four shows. In one sitting. Yeah. Yeah. In one day.

But you will. Be awesome. But you will. Like that'll. Does that stress you out though to like, what if people like follow you? Like, I want to go see him again tonight. Great. Do you have to change the bit?

Yeah, but I have enough material to do that. But do you? If somebody can't, like I've had, I've had like a, like you went with Gary. I've had a buddy who like came around with me to a couple of shows and I'll, you know,

I'll change like 20 or 30% of my act, but it's not like brand new stuff that I haven't thought about. It's just like, I have, you know, over an hour of material that I can kind of circulate through. What a life. What a life. What a life. The life of a comedian is hard as fuck.

I think that's what I'm getting at. So you, I appreciate the hustle, Ari. Thanks for making all our voicemails and being part of our podcast. I know it's a different scene than you are in. No, I love it. You're the man. Thanks, dude.

Follow Ari. What's your Twitter handle? They call me Ari. Ari spelled A-H-R-I on all platforms. They call me A-H-R-I. What about the Instagram? They call me Ari. He's got one of the best Instagram stories about just tormenting his fucking poor wife, dude.

It's the best. I'm surprised she hasn't divorced your ass because of that. I'm a very generous lover. Yeah, that's a... I mean, you must probably eat her out for like 40 minutes. I mean, that seems like a long amount of time, but maybe like a good 15 spot, you know?

That's a long time. I get sick of it after a couple minutes. I'm a selfish lover. I'm like, I just want to cum. I think that under selfish lover in the dictionary, it's just a picture of you. I mean, you look just want to cum. I think that under selfish lover in the dictionary, it's just a picture of you. I mean, you look like a selfish lover.

I look like a generous lover? Yeah, you look like a generous lover. You look like a selfish lover. Thanks for being on the show, Ari. Thanks, dude. Bye. Next up on the interview hour, we have Mahali from Twiddle.

Pretty exciting. I've always wanted to talk to this guy. When you look at the internet stuff, there's mixed reactions. It's either they love him or they don't understand him. And I don't want to be biased to whatever the fucking internet says, so I'm glad we got a conversation. He's actually a really good fucking guy. He's passionate.

He went through fucking hard. Went through some addiction problems. And he fought through. And, like, people go, he went through addiction problems when his band was blowing up and really blowing up, not, like, the hard times. So, like, it's a very fascinating counterpoint. But he was a great guy.

Chris, play some Twiddle while I'm pimping Mahali out. He's got a great mind. He's a good lyricist and an incredible fucking guitar player. Just all in all, just a good dude. So, ladies and gentlemen,

hope you enjoy Mahali and me talking about life. Enjoy. When I played on time, your cell phone's lost the line Problems won't go away, you keep piling on your plate You just want to escape, you need to be awake now Listen to the words I'm saying in this line That your life will be just fine and the troubles do not stay They get replaced with good times, Now you've got a great life. Smile as you walk by. Thinking about the day.

How you doing, bud? I'm doing really good. It's nice to catch up. Gigging, being Twiddle. Twiddle. Tell me the story. I don't know anything about you, bud. The story of Twiddle, we were...

Not Twiddle. I want to know about you. Well, me. But Twiddle sort of... I wrote a lot of these songs in high school, which is interesting. Why? Man, you know, I think in high school I was writing tunes about what I thought was... I was really into fish and really sort of getting into the creative side of writing and music.

Right. Trying to tell a tale creative side of writing and music. Right. Trying to like tell a tale that's like fantastical and excellent with funny names and cool places. Who are you listening to like lyrically and like melody wise? Well, I guess my journey as a musician sort of like early on before I got into guitar playing, guitar playing, it was a lot of like Sublime, Bob Marley, some Dave Matthews, a little... Actually, a lot of Citizen Cope and G-Love, Blues Traveler, kind of that whole Horde tour vibe. All those bands. Did you go to those shows when you were a kid?

I was definitely too... Well, I could have gone, but no. I didn't get dragged to it. You're young like me. We just missed that, I feel. Yeah, we no. You're young like me. We just missed that, I feel. Yeah, we did. It was a cool thing. I would love to do something like that.

What do you mean? Well, I would love to be able to... I love the idea of the revolving caravan vibe-y. Yeah! Lots of different bands, maybe a few bands that do of do the whole run, but for the most part, like bands come in and out depending on the region. But it's just a day full of music and you choose the venue and it starts at like 1

and it goes to 10 or 11 or whatever. And it's sort of like a traveling circus with music. I think they did like Big Summer Classic a little while ago. That was like Cheese and Umphreys, a bunch of bands. And before that, really, the Horde tour, though. It was like traveling. What would be your dream Horde tour? If I could do it?

I would love to have... Horde, Mr. Horde himself. I would definitely want a tour with some of the OGs. Like who? So like G-Love, Cope. What do you like about G-Love and Citizen Cope? I really see that in your songwriting. Well, I think it's music that I grew up.

I think for all of us, maybe not everybody, but the music of our childhood, what really defined us when we were young, those nostalgic sounds. So you were listening to G-Love when you're like in middle school? I mean, I was, yeah. What happened was I was listening to Blues Traveler and Blues Traveler started Horde. So when they were going, I was sort of at least seeing who they were playing with.

I like Counting Crows a lot too. I did too. I was rocking that shit. What did you like about Adam Dirtz? Dude I love his studio work Like It's really great I think

I think he He definitely has a knack for that Have you seen him live? No I've never gone live He goes I'm telling you He does like this impromptu thing His band gets pissed

Cause he just goes He goes like this And he starts improv-ing And then he forgets the lyrics And like that's a true inspiration. I mean, I studied it. He's in it. He's in it.

He's in it. How hard is it to be in it vocally? Well, I guess I've definitely before switched up melodies. Melodies that everybody knows and sings along to. Sometimes over time, they change a little bit. Yeah, but I've seen some of Duritz's stuff. It's cool. It's great. It's almost like spoken word counting cr bit. Yeah, but I've seen some of Duritz's stuff. It's cool. It's great.

He does like, it's almost like spoken word Counting Crows. Yeah. Like the way he delivers those lyrics. I mean, obviously, you know, he could sing them the way he does on the record. He obviously chooses not to. And that's a purposeful vibe, I think.

But how is it, but it's like you get to feel how he's feeling. Yeah, I mean, as like a fan that like, would maybe only get to go see them like, once in a month in Blue Moon, because we're always touring and shit. Like, yeah, I might be like, slightly sad I didn't get to see him like, singing the fucking...

But like, when you... I bet we could see this in live sets too. When the musician is sad You know Yeah And when we're going through our fucking Deep depression And like those are the years that we grow the most Like

What Tell me about like some times Like the darkest times Bro so many dark times Like what Did you do Okay I don't know you I just know rumors

That fucking Let's see the fucking trolls on the fucking internet. They're deep, bro. They're deep. We're going to talk about that. It's all right. Because I get shit talk. They call me the fucking jam band Flava Flav, homie.

So we're going to talk about that and fucking, we're going to figure that out. But it's crazy, man. Like, how do you get through that? Like, how do you, like, tell me about the dark parts. were you doing heroin you know yeah i was for uh the last injecting or no no i never used needles never um what'd you like about heroin i don't think i liked much of anything about it i i think um for me it was one of those things where I always did. I was in college and shit. And we started doing like pills pretty casually. Like Oxycontin? Yeah.

Yeah. And Percocet, Oxycontin, all that stuff. And like we, honestly, it's sort of, we got wrapped up quick. And then, you know, back then there wasn't as much education about it. Especially like. Did you grow up poor, rich? No, probably middle class New Jersey. Okay.

My pops died when I was like seven. So my mom was a single mom. So she hustled to give us a real nice life, you know? So you were basically alone a lot of the time. Yeah, me and my brother and my sister. Because your mom had to work. She worked, yeah. So who was the dad figure?

My brother, for sure. So did your brother get into addiction? No, man. He's a my sister. Because your mom had to work. She worked, yeah. So who was the dad figure? My brother, for sure. So did your brother get into addiction? No, man, he's a straight shooter. He's the man. He always, but you know. Did he get you out of it? No, see, the thing was, it wasn't ever high school. High school was chill, man.

My brother took me to festivals. My first festival was Vibes and then Berkfest. And we just. Burlington. Is this Burlington? No, New Jersey. New Jersey. Yeah, Maplewood, New Jersey, North Jersey.

Okay, North Jersey. But him and his friends, the whole crew that he rolled with were super cool. They let little brother tag along. You're little brother? I'm little brother. Fuck yeah. So you grew up fast. Yeah, I played guitar.

I was 13 at my first festival, and I was smoking weed and taking mushrooms, doing the whole thing, and we did that. And so by the time I was a a junior or senior i was sort of not like over the party but my brother and his friends had gone to college and my friends were partying in high school yeah we're doing low what no no no man it was just it was pretty natural it was like drinking and smoking so it's the high school mushrooms acid okay okay not like not molly or any of that shit all that came it later um i never thankfully never liked molly or coke or any of that shit speed's bad man i got addicted to it it's gnarly bro i can

grab hold of you for sure i have a lot of friends but continue this continue um so anyway so like the the pills thing was sort of random random random and then you kind of before you i mean honestly like i woke up one morning without it. Obviously, I had like a decent way to get it and it wasn't expensive. And then, you know, when that sort of, when that connection or whatever rolled out. How cheap is heroin? Heroin is super cheap. So you get. But pills were not.

So you realized you couldn't afford pills anymore. So what's the cheapest way to get the same thrill? What really happened was we were doing pills, and then they stopped making them. They stopped making Oxycontins. They put a pharmaceutical ban on it. What year was this? Man, I want to say like...

How old were you? I was in my 20s. Probably 26, 27, something like that. Were you in Twiddle? Yeah, Twiddle was crushing, dude. We were moving, bro. It was tough. What made you get on the Oxycontins, bud? Dude,? Yeah, Twiddle was crushing, dude. We were moving, bro. It was tough. What made you get on the Oxycons, bud?

Dude, when me and Ryan were writing in college, dude, it was what everybody did. It wasn't like something we just chose to do. Our group of friends and the scene we hung out with was super into it. But what did you like about that feeling? Were you lonely? No.

That's the whole thing, dude, that's fucking weird about it is that, like, when I first started doing it, it just made me sleepy and itchy and shit. And then, like, I remember being creative with it. And that was sort of the – it was like, let's get high and write music. Let's get high and do this or that. And then it was, instead of, like, getting high to do something, it was just like, let's get high. And music, let's get high and do this or that. And then it was, instead of getting high to do something, it was just like, let's get high. And it just happened more and more.

It really didn't feel... By the time I realized I was fucked, I was deep. You know what I mean? When I came to and sort of understood what I had done to myself, like I said, there wasn't a lot of knowledge about it too much then. What, heroin? Just the pills and shit. Oh, the pills, yeah.

I always said I would never do heroin. It's dirty, this or that or whatever. And then they stopped making them. And that was really the last year. So there was the very last year I switched and I always just snorted shit. I was never... What was the darkest moment in that,

like, I have to get help? Darkest moment, man? Being on tour. Waking up and being like okay so i'm out and i have shows and how the fuck do i do this like how am i gonna get this done i it was sketchy man friends because you're fucked up monoxies yeah and you're like and then you run out and then you're in the middle of fucking nowhere you don't know anybody you know and uh dude i feel so lonely man like especially when you're fucking out by then you're in the middle of fucking nowhere you don't know anybody you know and uh man dude that feels so lonely man like especially when you're fucking out by yourself you're in the fucking trenches molly you're you tore and it was uh it was i always said

man i always said twitter wasn't much wasn't really shit back then and i've always said thank god like it happened to us when we were grinding with no money and all that shit because you know i don't know if i would have had i got i was done with it like i was so done with it did you quit dude it wasn't even did you quit the band did everyone like were you fighting with the band no no no everybody was real supportive i said to the guys did they know you had a problem yeah yeah i mean they figured out they're not dummies um everybody you know it was it was disgust. It was time. We need time off. I need to do this.

I need to do this. What ended up happening is I got so fed up with it, bro. Like, so tired of it. Like, it was... Tired of what? Spending all my money just to maintain. I mean, towards the end, I wasn't even getting high. I was just feeling normal.

I was spending every penny I made to get normal. There was only one silver lining I ever saw out of my drug addiction. I played music every fucking night so I never had to sell drugs. I gigged every night for years just to pay for my habit. In that gigging, this is almost six or seven years

of playing every night just so I had a paycheck. I had this crazy solo circuit and I played every night. so I had a paycheck. I had this crazy solo circuit and I played every night and it, it gave me a work ethic. It, I learned so many songs. I learned how to read a crowd. I learned what to do and what fucking not to do. I was young and I was, um, and I had had enough. I talked to our managers, I talked to everybody and I, you know, the reason I don't really talk about it much and I don't –

I obviously have songs about recovery, but I don't – I'm not ever too outspoken about it is because my journey with that is not a normal journey or the usual journey that people take. I was ready. I said, I'm out. I don't want this shit anymore. I need a month or two to get it. Who got you help?

I did. I did it by myself with some weed. Bro, really? Cold turkey? I went. I told my manager. No rehab? No rehab. I told my manager I wanted a month. I got a bunch of edibles from our boys in Colorado. The strongest shit they could find. I think it was Chibichus.

So how many milligrams were you dosing yourself a day on THC to get this kick away? Honestly, I don't remember much of it. My wife is a nurse. She was not my wife at the time, but she's a fucking saint. So kind of the vibe was for that month, it was I think a May.

She would leave for work at like 5.30 in the morning and Danny, my tour manager, would roll in at like 5 35 and just sit on the couch pop his head in my bedroom hey man you need anything i'd make a grunt at him and he'd lay on the couch were you high yeah i was eating i mean see that was why i never want like i i sort of put myself through it by eating edibles. And I was eating, you know, a lot of them. But two weeks later, I sort of came to out of the fog and felt better. And was like, whoa, okay.

I asked Danny and my wife sort of what I was like. How many days would the withdrawal take? You know, like I said, I was... You had no withdrawal? No, I did, man. I definitely did. What were you thinking about? You know what's the craziest shit I had? There was... You had no withdrawal? No, I did, man. I definitely did. What were you thinking about? You know what's the craziest shit I had?

There was this big spider. We lived in a cabin on a lake, and there was this really big spider. It was a dock spider, which are gnarly spiders and poisonous. Are they various? Yeah, big, big. I'm trying to describe. It's not like a tarantula, but you'd see that and be like, what the... You know what I mean?

It's not like a pretty spider. And it was like way up on my ceiling. And, you know, I had like my brother calm down. Like everybody was good. The band came and visited me. Everybody knew I was struggling, but it was never like, I don't remember being too violently sick, but that's the whole thing is that I was sort of in this fog for like two weeks of being really uncomfortable and being

very fucking shitty man it was gnarly. Were you being an asshole to people? No it was just Danny my wife they said I was just sort of being a zombie that whole thing I would come out and try and get some food in me some liquid and all that and then go back and kind of rest and chill

but this spider man I remember this fucking spider because I'm in the bed. I can't sleep. I'm fucking withdrawing and dying. I'm like fucking sitting there. And I'm just staring at this fucking spider. You know what I mean? Like staring at it every day.

I'm staring at it. And it's there every day? It didn't move. I thought it might have been dead. My brother came and he was like, dude, we got to get rid of that. I was like, nah, man, leave him. He's chill.

He hasn't moved. Like, I'm not even sure if he's alive. What were you thinking about in this spider spider i'm just staring at this fucking spider and every day it goes on i'm like man there's something i don't know like i it was not like my buddy but like i kind of talked to the spider yeah fuck man you know like kind of looked at it it was it was and um i know and and then i the day i like woke up i woke up bro and it was like light out and i felt amazing the sun was coming in the window like hit me it was like that fucking scene in the johnny cash movie like literally like the sun came in the room hit me in the face i opened my eyes and for the first time in a really long fucking time, years, I was like, I feel fucking normal. That's weird.

Stood up, stretched, was like, oh. Like, I don't feel like shit. And I was hungry. And, like, I was like. What'd you eat? First time. Fuck, I don't even remember, man. Because you know what tripped me up, dude?

I looked up, and homeboy was gone. He was right after the, oh, man, dude. I woke up, and he up and he was gone and i was like okay so he was just there for me he knew i was better and he bounced you're deep man what do you think that means i don't know man i really don't but i i do believe that i'm not you know i'm yeah i'm pretty deep like i always look for the i look for the like further look into it and um he was helping me bro it was did he talk back i don't man like i said i wish i remembered more you know i asked danny a lot like what was i like was i dying running the bathroom all that shit he said i asked to take a couple baths and shit but what made you do this, man? I was done, dude. I was so over it. No, but what made you get to this point?

Like, it's the road hard, man. Well, back then, it wasn't... Ever since then, I've really enjoyed my life. I've enjoyed touring. I've enjoyed this. So what are you thinking about? What's going on in your head to make you feel like you need to go inward instead of outward? Like, as far as...

Just like, you know, I feel like Oxycontin's a very inward drug. Oh, it was, man. You know, you're like, you're not expressing your feelings. You're not fucking being the person that you're born to be. No, you're right, bro. I used to say all the time, man, like, fuck, I look at a sunset and I feel nothing. It's the saddest thing in the world. Isn't that sad?

Dude, it's the saddest thing in the fucking world. Why, though? What were you going through, bud? I think I was just young and naive, bro. It that's sad? Dude, it's the saddest thing in the fucking world. Why, though? What were you going through, bud? I think I was just young and naive, bro. It was, like I said, it was one of those, honestly, it was, like, honestly, God, man, it was just, like, one of those things where I woke up and it was, that was me. Like, before I realized how deep I had gone, I was in it. Were you in it for the partying?

No, bro, that's not a party drug. It's not like a social drug. So what were you sad about? Like, do you not like the road? I wasn't sad. I mean, if you wanted to get all, like, Dr. Phil on the shit, we could go deep. We could, like, say.

That's what I'm talking about, man. No, no, it's fine. Because I live in this shit. I'm 15 years in. I'm sad some days. I'm 15 too, man, 15 years in. We're doing this, man. We're giving everything to these people. Yeah. You know what I'm sad some days. I'm 15 too, man. 15 years in. We're doing this, man. We're giving everything

to these people. You know what I'm saying? So like, it's okay to feel fucking something. Dude, yeah, you know. I need to learn what's okay and what's not okay. Honestly, man, I realized, you know, check yourself. My life has gone. Since then,

I got married. I have two beautiful daughters. You know, like I have two beautiful daughters. You know, like I have made her up. Ever since the rehab? Yeah, I mean, that was. Like the withdrawal? That was quite a while ago. How many years? Maybe six.

Bro. Yeah. And you're out? You're still clean? Yeah, I haven't touched that shit, no. I mean, I smoke and drink a little bit, but that's about it. So what did you, if you could look back on that, what would you tell yourself? If you could give yourself advice, now clean,

then, and seeing this like... First try, I'd be like, don't even go near there. But I mean, honestly, that's the hardest part about it, because I truly believe in my heart that we're all on a journey, and that sometimes

it's different for everybody, but like, I believe that happened to me for a reason. I think it showed me a side of life and, and a side I don't ever want to be back on, but I think it also gave me some empathy and some compassion that I might not have had prior to it. Not just towards all walks of life, but in general, understanding that like people really do make shitty mistakes and bad decisions. And sometimes, you know, you have to just learn and, and honestly try to forgive as much as you can, as best you can, because nobody's perfect, really nobody's perfect. And, and, and it's, it's, Because nobody's perfect.

Really, nobody's perfect. And it's, you know, it's in our scene. I mean, I see it a lot. Like, I have a lot of friends, man. I still have a fuck ton of friends who are really struggling with a lot of things. And it's, you know, and fans. A lot of people and a lot of messages and emails. And I appreciate every single one.

And every single one moves me. I just, I never want to say to someone like, yo, bro, I shacked up in my house for a month and got high on weed and I figured it out because most people can't do that. Yeah. It's not, that's not the path that most people take and I wouldn't recommend it, honestly. I would never say that was the move that, go for that.

Oh, so people are asking about how to get out of addiction? Well, just in in general they want the story and how i did it and i the way i did it was unorthodox and it worked for me but i don't think it would work for most addicts yeah i also was in a different place in my life i had a lot of really beautiful things going for me that i was ruining and i could see that i mean i had the i had a very successful thing happening at that time that i knew if i could just fucking get it together this thing could really rock yeah and that's always what i told myself and that was a driving force for me to really do this thing and do it right you know and that was if i didn't have

that i don't know if the outcomes would have been exactly the same you know so if music so music's your muse yeah what's your balance man, man? How do you stay zen? Honestly, I don't think I'm... And not getting back on the oxys. Well, that was easy for me. I just made my mind up. I'm kind of one of those dudes. Cool.

Mind was made up. Good. You know what I mean? Always. That was an easy decision for me. I just needed to get past the physical part of it. And I did, which, thank God. And, you know, but I always have to watch my drinking.

I always got to keep it in check, man. I understand that that's a slippery slope too that can go down if it gets too out of control. I have a lot of friends too with that, that, you know, you have to know yourself, I think, is really what it comes down to. You got to understand your body's limits and limitations. Also, you're like, you know, everybody's got the red devil and the white angel on the shoulders. You write any songs about this situation? Yeah, Lost in the Cold is probably one of our most popular songs. And that is about addiction fully, first and foremost.

I mean, I wrote those lyrics when I was shitty. And then I wrote the other, the rest of it when I was better. So it's this crazy contradiction. I was flipping through my notes on the phone and I saw these sad words, you know, and I was like and I looked at the date and I'm like feeling good, you know and I'm like, wow, what a bad fucking place I must have been to be writing this down

and that ended up being the intro to the song and a lot of the... When you think about that in retrospect do you feel like, thank God? Yeah, man. Or do you think of like, did you write great songs in that book? That's the other thing, though, man. We did.

We wrote a lot of great music. There was a lot of inspirational times. You want to talk to any musician that's had problems, yeah, when it gets bad towards the end of it, you suck. Like writer's block and stuff? Yeah, because it takes over everything. I mean, then it becomes Ed the whole thing. But, you know, it's, I don't know, man.

Maybe I'm wrong. I could be wrong. Like, maybe I would have written better fucking music if I wasn't on the shit. I mean, I think I wrote decent music. I think you wrote good. When I was, you know, but I think that music would have come regardless.

I don't think it was the drugs that made us do anything It was the brotherhood Yeah Let's talk about that The brotherhood How hard is it to keep a brotherhood 15 years in? Dude, it's the hardest thing I've ever done It's harder than a wife, right? Yeah, because there's three of them

And you can't fuck them You can't fuck them, dude Yeah, you got three I got fucking 27,000 That's true, that's crazy, bro So tell me, give me some tips, man You've kept this band together Have you ever almost broken up?

You know, we've never really almost broken up, no We've always loved each other But, you know I think This has been such a crazy journey for us. Real low lows. Like we were just talking about. Yeah.

I mean, think about the other guys, you know? And then. Wow. I didn't think about that. You know, and then like real high highs, all the successful fucking kick ass shit we've been able to do, been blessed to do, you know? And then, um, and then the pressure of keeping it up. I mean, that's the whole thing.

It's like you get to a certain level, and people are probably listening like, no, no, we're getting into the deep shit. Now I'm going to talk about this. No, but, you know, you get to a certain point, and there's a lot of pressure to, next album's got to be great, and the live show has to keep one-upping and fans really want you to do, I mean, our fans, they love the change-up.

They want to see us playing different songs every night and this song going into this song and this song played backwards and sort of the traditions of the jam scene, which I grew up loving, bro. Don't get me wrong, I do. But it also makes it, I mean, maybe just for me, I feel sometimes a bit of pressure to try and be authentic, but also I'm a student of this scene. I've loved all these bands for so many years.

I've watched all of them do their thing years. I've watched kind of all of them do their thing, and I've gone to all the shows, and everything I loved I always wanted for Twiddle, all of that crazy-ass jam shit, which is what I was just saying, the segments and this and that and all. Thank you. I appreciate that.

And then there are some nights where I just want to sing the songs that people I know that they like, and I like to sing them and the band likes to play them. And, and it's maybe not a 30 minute song or in and out, but I've sort of come to terms with if we can do all that cool shit and it might be a little more work and it might be, um, every night right like we might fuck that shit up because it's it we're rehearsing it in the green room that day all these transitions and segments there's not like we don't have like full tour rehearsals before we go out and learn all this shit i don't really see a set list no i'm whipping up kind of we do it day of, you know, and it's like, and I sometimes have crazy ideas.

And then the band, we hustle in like the five hours between when I make the fucking set list and sound check to try and get as much of it in. And so some of it lands and some of it, you know, is better than others. But I love the fact that we go to, we try it every time. Try to do something different. Yeah. Attack the day like it's a new day. Yeah, yeah. It is halftime at the Andy Fresco interview hour.

Hi, I'm Brandon Miller, lead investigator for the World Saving Podcast. Let's fucking do this. It's Andy investigator for the World Saving Podcast. Let's fucking do this. It's Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. We're out here seeing how everybody's time was tonight. See if you had any fun stories. It was fucking awesome. And he's awesome.

Jewish and all. I mean, I'm Catholic and fucking loved him. You still like the Jews even though you're Catholic? Love the Jews, especially when you explain You know like missionary plus like Oh fuck my parents are gonna come home Or your kids are gonna come home We should hurry up and have sex

Yeah loved it Those Jews are alright They're 100% alright Well this is Andy Frasco's microphone Oh huge fan Smells like a ball pro What do you like to hear by the time I ate pussy in a windbreaker, sir? Fuck yeah!

Well, one time, my bar manager at the bar seduced me over Jameson, which I, as I understand, is Flesco's drink of choice. Would you eat Andy Flesco's pussy in a windbreaker? If Andy Blasco has a pussy, I have my windbreaker in my car, bitch. I would like to buy him a shot of Jameson and then eat his pussy in my windbreaker. Damn! What about you? I fucking loved it.

It was great. What was your favorite part of the night? Don't tell them what we did in the porta potty. Yeah. What we did in the porta potty is illegal in this state, across the border, and then also, I believe, in Switzerland. And they're a neutral country. Oh, can we get a little bit more?

This is anonymous. What happened in the porta potty? He'll have to tell you. It's unmentionable. Yeah, that's about all I want to talk about that, friend. Goddamn. That must have been some shit. The old blue foot. Better than blue balls. Hold on,

hold on. We're coming over here. You got Changbang tonight? Whoa, whoa, whoa. His name is Ernie Chang. Oh, yeah. He was fantastic. I totally got Changbang. He was fantastic. She was having big time sex with him mentally. Like tender sex. That's like the tender

sex reference. You got it, though. Oh, I got it. If there's anyone I would cheat on my husband with, it would be the saxophonist for sure. Yeah, Chang really blows. Bingo! When should I expect this to appear? You just got to listen every week.

That seems like a lot of work. Yeah, it is. It's a horrible podcast. What's wetter, this dew point here on a KC night or your panties after that show? Panties. I agree. Nice.

Not a dry seat in the house. Bingo. Can I ask you something? Sure. Why do you play music? I think, you know, it was. Right now. Right now. As a 33-year-old, is it survival or are you playing music to play music? I think, you know, it was... Right now. Right now?

As a 33-year-old, is it survival? Or are you playing music to play music? That's a really good question. I think it's a bit of both. I mean, it's the only thing I really, truly love doing, right? So I would always play, no matter what. Even if I was told that nobody's ever going to come see you ever again, starting now. Yeah.

I would still play for no one. Out, you know? I can see that nobody's ever going to come see you ever again starting now. Yeah. I would still play for no one. Out, you know? I can see that with your solo thing. I've been seeing you hang out with my great dude. Pigeon Boys are my boys. I love those guys. They're my fucking Jewish tribe. Yes.

And they're my brothers, dude. I fucking fight with them. And, you know, see you guys trying shit out, trying new shit out. I mean, like, y'all stress me out with how y'all have to change the scene. I'm in your fan page, dude. Seeing the fucking happiness and the fucking shit talk. There's a whole range of emotions. I would need to have therapy.

I would know what's right or wrong. You want to know what I did? What do you do? I don't read any of it. Fuck that. I'm not in the fan groups. I'm not on Instagram. I'm not on Facebook. You got a do you do? I don't read any of it. Fuck that. I'm not in the fan groups. I'm not on Instagram. I'm not on Facebook.

What about when you had a big fucking show? I don't do it. You don't do it? No. Why? And I told everyone. Why are there so many haters? You're a good dude.

And I told everyone around me not to show me this stuff. You know, honestly, man, I'm pretty sensitive, honestly. Me too. It's sometimes I have a hard time. Even though I i know you know people just are trolling me they don't know me this and that and people want to just kind of have a big voice behind the screen it's not easy to read and honestly it was affecting what i was doing it was affecting the music in a way that i was starting to cater to like

some dude's really vocal opinion that nobody really gave a shit about. Yeah. Except for me. Yeah. Because it's my pride and my music. And I want it to be perfect for fucking everybody. But it took me a few years to realize it's never going to be perfect for everybody. If people love it, I love that. And if you don't love it, I'm sorry. And maybe just go see some music you do like.

Yeah. I'm down for it. And if people... Why do you think they hate it? If people hate on it and they've never gone to it because of kind of the cool thing is to hate Twiddle, which is fine, whatever. Fucking stupid.

People, you know, it's all good, man. And, you know, but... I would always just say come to a show. And if you hate it, I get it. No big deal. Yeah. I would never... It would be

crazy naive of any of us to assume that everybody's gonna love what we do yeah because i don't love every band i respect every band though and i would never vocally talk shit go out of my way to to purposefully try and sway other people from not going to see a band because that to me is is crazy because the stuff you like is not what your neighbor likes it's not what the dude next to you likes either everybody is different everybody's individual and something they may like something yeah you know i mean it's like you got to let people really figure it out i guess that's where it gets upsetting but honestly i found myself a much happier person and the band being much more productive when I wasn't paying attention to that shit.

Yeah, dude. Same here, man. I get shit talk. There was a gingerly fellow I talked to one time. What did he say? He said, hey, man, you either read it all or you read nothing. I think what he meant by that was you read the good and the bad or you don't read the bad or the good. Yeah.

You just be you. And I took that as that's what I want to do. I don't want to read great raving reviews. I don't want to read people's awesome comments about how much they liked it even though... Do you take therapy? Yeah. I got people

I talk to for sure. I'm curious about this. Because that would be really This thing that you love This fucking thing dude You have these songs and you want to give them to the people And these fucking haters Just shit on us

Like they don't realize that we're just We're not machines we're fucking actually human beings You know It's just It's unbelievable And they could hide I would have Man I know, it's great. You know, it's just unbelievable, and they could hide. I would have, I mean, man.

You know what the best thing for me is, and this has happened quite a few times, was people coming up to me after a show or like a random festival, or someone stops me and says, hey, man, just wanted you to know I used to be one of those dudes that made fun of you a lot, but I actually saw the set and I really liked it. You live for those moments? I love that when someone says I came and it was actually pretty good.

My bad. I don't know. That's cool to me. You're a fucking good guy, dude. You know what I mean? Those probably are the best. Other than that, just keep the head down. Keep grinding. Keep writing.

Keep making music any way I can. I have a solo record coming out soon. I'm excited about that. I've been working on it with Eric Kras now for two years now. Two years? Two years. Well, because I don't have any time, man. So like Twiddle stops, I'll fly to Kras for a couple days, three days, two songs are done, and I'll go on with life.

Tell me about producing with Kras. Oh, he's the best, man. Honestly, I've never really worked with a producer before. I've never worked with anyone outside of myself for artistic direction. And when I was talking to my manager about, I really would like to work with another person on this record because it's not that I didn't want it. It's not like I don't like Twiddle.

I just really want it to have its own identity and its own vibe. And I knew that if I was in charge and driving the ship, no matter what happened, it would reminisce Twiddle because that's me. That's just who I am. You know what I mean? that's me that's like just who i am and you know what i mean and like that's so i i i thought of who out there i could you know who is it out there that could say bro that verse sucks and i would be like okay you're probably right yeah and who else is also branched out from a thing and done a solo

record and like i think that's the great and uh, uh, it was, it was Kraz. I've always loved Kraz. I've been a huge solo fan forever. I love all his solo music. And, um, you know, when we had our initial meeting,

we vibed out on the whole thing and we were definitely in, in tune with the vision. What do you like about Kraz's songwriting that's helping you with your songwriting? You know, man, he's got such a great grasp on just the song in general, what it needs, what it doesn't need. And also like what, I guess, the things I don't hear, the things that I would never

think of to go in the song is where, I mean, he just hears all this stuff. What do you think? And I'm like, fuck, that's awesome. You know, I mean, he just hears all this stuff. What do you think? And I'm like, fuck, that's awesome. You know what I mean? It's that vibe. And so it was easy. I mean, I've never co-wrote lyrics with anybody. I had a couple songs on the record.

We co-wrote the lyrics. I mean, we co-wrote a few of those songs together, you know, and that was a first for me. But honestly, I'm honored. How hard is it? To what? How hard is it to get the mind off of Twiddle and the personalities or, like, whatever?

Because, like, bro. Well, you know what's crazy, man? They didn't care that you did a solo record? No, this is the whole thing, is what I was saying to you before was playing every night. I've been doing the solo act as long as Twiddle, every night. Oh, really? They're just used to it. I've been doing the solo act as long as Twiddle every night. Oh, really? They're just used to it. I've been doing these solo shows around Vermont. I just only this past

few years decided like, hey, I think maybe there is something to this act. I have this whole world of songs that I don't play with Twiddle that I only play at the solo shows that I think I should put out on a record because I think the fans would love it. I think people would enjoy it. And I think also maybe some fans that might not be in it would dig some of that stuff too. So I think there's another opportunity there to reach more people. So what's your vision on the solo record? Or like the solo project? I don't know.

Who are you listening to right now? What songs do you want to put out to the world? What's the message here? It's a little more conscious. It's just songs a it's just songs there's not it's not very jammy it's not what are you talking about i'm talking about really my life i mean i'm always been a pretty introspective writer everything i've done is is very reflective of if it's not about me it's something i've seen or some someone that has

affected me and i've written about them particularly a lot of them come out in the first person narrative but they're not all about me and what do you like about first person narrative songwriting I guess it's just something I've always done I don't know it's easy for me do you feel like you're helping yourself

while you write down the story of your life? I think I used to think that a little bit and now I think that I think it can become not dangerous but you can't put pressure on yourself to heal yourself with your own music.

Do you know what I mean? Like there's other ways to figure your shit out. maybe listen to other people's music but like you can only write what you see and how you feel but I'm not sure that's there to help you you know what I mean like I think

or maybe it is you're right but I think sometimes maybe through your struggles and your venting through your music other people relate and they grab on and maybe they find answers that you haven't even found yet i mean my wife says to me all the time uh when shit happens she's like why don't you just like listen to your own advice like why don't you just read this lyric you know and and then and i'm like listen i can't do that i can't be like

all right let me just read it you feeldle lyric. You feel like a narcissist? It doesn't vibe with me. You know what I mean? It doesn't make me feel. If someone said, read this lyric, and it was a fucking Kendrick Lamar lyric, and it vibed with me, and I would be listening to that song a lot. Or a fucking Adam Dirt's lyric, Counting Crows, whatever it is. But if it's coming out of my fucking mouth, I don't want to hear it.

You know what I mean? I'm like, you fuck. You know, what is that? Like, do you still, like, now you're 15 years in, do you still love going to music when you're off the road? I do, you know, and we never get to do it. I never really get to do it. And I got to see Citizen Cope in Montana this fall tour or whatever.

It was the first, like, I realized, the first full fucking show I've gone to in a long time. And I loved it because I'm a big fan of his music and his whole catalog, and I like his new record a lot. So I really enjoyed it. I mean, I really did. And, yeah, I realized then that maybe I should try to make some more time to see some music.

Do you think when you start becoming this, start getting addicted to this, and, like, you just, like, when is there enough? You play, what, 200 shows a year, 300 shows a year with both projects? Yeah, a lot. What makes you not want to stay in a town you know it's it's i don't know what it is i think i've always been um i'm so i just want to be home with my daughters obviously and my wife and i want to be home as much as i can um but after a while i just want to play yeah i mean do. I just want to get out there and play.

I think what I said to you earlier about we do get that three hours of happy place or whatever, three or four hours. I think I need that, man. Is that your meditation? I think it is. Not fully, but I think without it, I would struggle. Yeah. Truly. 100, I would struggle. Yeah. Truly. A hundred percent.

I mean, going backwards to like, if you didn't have music and you're addicted to Oxygen, you'd be dead, bro. You wouldn't have, yeah. I mean, like, this is the beauty of music, man. Yeah. We're fucking alive because of music, baby. I'm done with pussy because of music, baby. Like, I'm seriously like, it of music, baby. I'm done with pussy because of music, baby.

I'm seriously like, it's crazy, man. I keep thinking about this and keep thinking about this. What keeps on pushing us? Because right now it's different. We used to just do it for our songs and do it because we fucking love this song. Then it turns into a thing. Now it's a fucking thing. Now it's like, oh, this fucking drummer has a mortgage. And fucking we, I have to get fucking diapers and fucking, you know.

It's real. It's real. Like, how do you keep saying to still write beautiful songs? I paint. You paint. But then the painting kind of became a thing. Are you hustling the fucking paints by Mahali or what? I haven't.

Shut the fuck up. Really? No, no, no. What do you love about painting? Oh, you know what I love? I'll tell you what I love about painting. One, I never had any training, so my paintings are kind of weird. But two, I lose hours.

I love that. I love whatever. Get super high, a couple dabs, smoke a joint, whatever. Go to my basement, throw on a record, and then go to town on this painting. And then I'll fucking look up, and it's like six hours later. I'm covered in paint. I have this finished product in front of me that is crazy looking. And I'm sort of coming to and thinking, whoa.

And that is the closest thing I have gotten to meditating. And being in the moment? And like being truly in the moment of something, but not really. I'm not like, I don't really remember it. It's like I just do that. I like just fucking do it. And then I feel so relaxed after. It feels good.

It's like coming. Yeah. It is. It's that tingle. But the best... You ever had that in a show? Like when you're fully in the moment? Yeah, we call it the oh fuck moment. What happened? Where is it? Tell me the

best oh fuck moment. The best that you ever had. Do you really want to know? This is a throwback. Come on, tell me. This is a fucking shitty... You got time to talk? Well, it's not a... Yeah, I got time. It's not even a long story. And I guess I couldn't call it a shitty bar. It's a great bar in Rutland, Vermont called Sidelines.

It's down in some alleyway. And we used to... That was our jam when we started. I think the first show we did there, the owner made us play the same set twice because we were like, we don't have any more songs. He's like, well, fucking play it again.

You need to play for two more hours. But anyway, we sort of kind of cut our- Were you back in the house? Eventually. And I think that was the first real oh fuck moment that I'll never forget was, yeah, we had this one tune called Dr. Remedies. There's this big build in it with a big like climaxing band. Something about the energy in the room that night.

Finally packing, selling the room out. The big fucking, you know, the big band climax of the song. It was a crazy feeling. I think that was maybe the first moment where I thought,

yo, maybe we could do this. Maybe this is something. Why'd y'all pick Burlington? I don't know. I mean, we met at Castleton State College. Did you like fish or like, did you like, you want to be part of that crew? Well, all the other three dudes are from Vermont. Oh, okay.

So that was easy as pie. I just was, you know, I was just the boob from New Jersey. So y'all went to college together? Yeah. Well, yeah, sort of. So you were a college band? Well, I only went for like a semester. You quit, but you stayed there, the college.

Yeah. So you technically... Yeah, yeah, exactly. That's my dog. I made it a semester, too. Yeah, I was... What didn't you like about college? Oh, man, I only went to college to start a band.

That was the goal. Found the band, stopped the college. I mean, it was that. You had this vision to be a fucking rock star since when? 14. I just wanted to play music. Who was the first rock star? Who was the first musician?

Who was the first guy like, I want to do that so fucking bad? Probably Dave Matthews, honestly, because that was my first real live music experience as a real young dude, 13 years old old older brother dragging me those dave shows uh you know his band especially in like 98 i think that was right around there you know they're crushing man yeah carter on drums and all that shit dude big sound Big sound. Tight. You know what I mean? Did you ever want a sax in your band? Yeah. Of course I did.

Yeah, and a fucking fiddle. I want the whole kit and caboodle. So why do you like four piece? You know what it was? So Dave was early. Then I started getting into guitar playing. Discovered Phish. Just went down the rabbit hole deep. Then Jerry went down the rabbit hole deep then Jerry went down the rabbit hole

and then so it was Trey and Jerry and then went down like Schofield Jimmy Herring and I went I dove into guitar players

and I was like truth truthfully I was like no I don't like Dave Matthews anymore you forgot to ruin Tommy I was like

no straight up bro I was like I only listen to Phish and the string cheese incident oh fuck at AT1 and Humphries McGee I mean I was big fan of the scene you, bro. I was like, I only listen to Phish and the string cheese incident. Oh, fuck. And A2O. And Humphreys McGee. I mean, I was big fan of the scene.

You're focused. Dude, I was. I would be too. Everything I wanted to do was lead guitar. Hardest songs were written. Weird time signatures. Go for the fucking jugular. Hold on.

Backtrack. You didn't want to be a songwriter. You wanted to be a shredder first? Yeah. Yeah. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. You didn't want to be a songwriter You wanted to be a shredder first Yeah Yeah Oh Yeah And then as

Twiddle's kind of thing moved on And we had all the hard songs And the weird instrumentals And all that stuff You know I started noticing a jump in our You know Just people were responding

To a couple tunes I wrote That were a little more meaningful Winter Rain's of Pores Was the first one I really noticed Which is probably our biggest song now Still And that was the last tune We played together, which is probably our biggest song now still. And that was the last tune we played tonight.

Yeah, I popped up on my fucking Spotify. I don't doubt it. I got you. You know, I never thought that song was going to kind of do what it did. You make some money on that song because you can't, like, as a jam band, like, you know, as a jam band, like, being a songwriter, like, we're going to get the streams and stuff, but, like, we're not going to get the fucking Bieber, not the Bieber, but the songwriter, the indie songwriter money.

No, man. Did you get some sinks? Yeah, we had a couple things. Animal Planet hooked us up. What? Yeah, we had a pig singing. Shut the fuck up, really? You get paid?

A little bit, yeah. By your house? Yeah, not too bad. That's my fucking guy. No, I didn't buy a house. You know how they talk about, like, yeah, I bought That's my fucking guy. No, I didn't buy a house. You know how they talk about, like, yeah, I bought that house with that song. Yeah, I bought a house.

No, no, I'm still working on that song. Do you want to do that? Buy a house with a song? A single song? Do you want to be a songwriter like that? Yeah, I do. I do. I really think the power,

I guess that's where I was going with this, is I realized later that the hardest thing in the world is not a guitar solo or anything to do with chops. That is an incredible skill that takes practice and motivation to get there and should be respected at the highest degree. But I truly believe the hardest thing in the world to do is write a good song that means something to people. It's the hardest thing in the world.

What do you consider being a great song? What do I think is a great song? When you're thinking of a song, a structure of a song, what are the points that you need for you to really love the song? For me, honestly, I think I was touching on it earlier.

It's like if a song becomes a theme for a month or a month out of a, let's just say, there was like one or two songs from a band I heard all summer, my eighth grade summer year. No matter what, when I hear that song, I feel those weird young vibes again. That nostalgia comes back. Man, that means the world to you.

And no matter who you are, even if you fucking loathe the band that you're hearing, when you hear that song, if you're at a live show, you will feel all those cushy, warm, delicious feelings. Do you feel that with that song? With Winter Rain's A Pores? Do you play that every night at the end? No, we switch it up. Why? Because they you play that every night at the end? No. We switch it up. Why? Because they would just be so mad on the interweb.

Man, but fuck them, dude! Molly, fuck them, dude! You're playing music for yourself, man. I do to a certain degree. Get those feelings, man. You're going to fucking, I mean, it's going to drive us fucking crazy. But the thing is, I don't necessarily feel that about my music that

sort of vibe i was saying but let's just say that um you know lost in the cold and every song when it rains it pours was on some 14 year olds playlists the best summer of their lives right or whatever when they're fucking 40 guess what they're still gonna love those songs no matter what it's still gonna have a place in their heart they may hate them during their college years but as they get older and learn a little more about themselves and and dig back to why that's and that's what i did and i believe that and that's why like you know there's some people that just love the 90s dead or the 80s dead or or they have specific keyboard players they like because that was when they were going or listening more.

I love meeting deadheads because they're all so specific. What guitar they liked Jerry playing, what years they think are the best. You're a deadhead? What year did you like Jerry? Okay, so I like Wolf the best as far as the guitars. I love all the 70s stuff. But honestly, as I've gotten older and more into guitar stuff and under and watching how Jerry evolved his gear and his sound.

I mean, he was just he just wanted the best. Like he was really into kind of the cutting technology or just making everything sound better. And he liked to experiment with that and i i like to say you know it's like the eternal quest for tone and i don't think that ever stops like i think if jerry was still alive he'd probably have a different rig than he had you know when he passed is that what you're striving for the eternal quest for tone i'm a big guitar gear nerd yeah i could tell by your little fucking thing i've spent a lot of time on my rig um so i'm yeah i'm a pretty big fucking nerd with that

shit i i changed my shit up way too much probably more than i should but um i love it okay so tell me something when you saw jerry start well, we were too young to see it. Yeah, I wasn't. I didn't really. But, like, to understand, like, what the opiates did to him. Totally. I've read a lot about it since my whole thing. Did it scare you?

Honestly, dude, when I was, Trey was a. Oh, it happened to Trey. Trey was a huge inspiration for me. Because when he got arrested and he did his thing i was still sort of in the midst of it and him obviously there's trey and some turd jam band that nobody fucking cares about a big difference but the fact that i knew he could do it and come back and play um and and be a millionaire and still do it right like that's the hardest thing you got the money and so do it, right? Like, that's the hardest thing. You got the money, so clearly it's not an issue attaining the drugs, whatever. But I don't know any details about Trey's intake or anything,

but I know that seeing him do it and seeing him be so proud of doing it and watching his drug court videos and watching every interview I could and then reading every book I could on Jerry. Did you ever talk to Trey? I have, yeah. So, like, did he help you through like getting, like figuring

out a way to maintain a career? He had some great, I mean, he had some good things to say. What did he say? I mean, and mainly, um. About like maintaining a career? You know, I think Trey was super cool and super humble. He didn't, um,

try to, like... I don't think he wanted to preach too much. He just... We talked about playing sober. We talked about how it's different at first, but how much fun it can get and how kind of different that vibe is. Different feeling.

And then, of course, me being the gear nerd, well, first we went straight to having daughters, and then we went straight to gear. And then we talked about gear for a really long time. Because that man can talk about gear. What? Is that one of your mentors? Trey?

Yeah, man. I would, you know, at some point I would love to maybe pick his brain more about how he's such an inspiration. What do you like about him? I love his work ethic. I love that he just never stops being creative. He reinvents, it's almost like he's reinventing his brain constantly. Like, from the orchestra stuff to the most recent ghosts in the forest to the solo

stuff he's doing i mean everything has a purpose everything is well thought out very well executed um he's obviously got a great team behind him you know who uh is obviously making his vision come yeah uh to fruition but it's been really cool to watch as a fan of his music from when he started. I mean, I used to, on his old website, I don't know, they used to have this little tab

of all the weird bands he did, and there was one just crazy, freeform jazz thing he did with Modesti and all that stuff. Anyway, I dug into all that stuff. I dug into all that stuff I mean I've been a fan of his playing fucking nerd

yeah no it's true man like I said like I just that's so cool I mean like when we love someone man I did this

with Damien Rice I love songwriters yeah yeah I listened to every version of Damien Rice every song every

everything I could find from each song and how he made different and how he made to the same. Our mentors are our mentors. No matter what, the Muse is. Do you think he's the Muse?

Who's the Muse, man? The Muse. I think my life is the Muse, bro. Everything that happens to me somehow squeaks its way in one way or another, but mainly my wife, my kids. I mean, I think in the end, it's been my wife because she was there for everything. Like, for the bulk of this journey, the good and the bad. She's seen the real shit side.

She's seen the ups. I'm not a perfect dude. I continuously fuck things up all the time. You're a good guy, though, man. You really are. I'm trying my best, but she's truly the angel in the whole thing. And I find myself reading back lyrics and looking back on things, and I'm like, that was totally about you.

You know, and, like, more than that, I find myself sort of always. Oh, that makes me want to cry, dude. Love is real. It is, man. It sort of always comes to me. Love is real. It is, man. It is. Is this your first time in love? I think really in love, yeah. I mean, I had girlfriends before her, but nothing like this.

I mean, I don't think there's ever any... When you have kids, it's like... It's different. And you see your lady being super mom and all that like there's this whole level of respect and admiration and like this weird like spiritual vibe shit that happens and you're like how the fuck did you make that in your stomach and i was like this whole everything gets put into perspective it's fucking crazy so yeah that that has by far. Marley, dude. Yo, bro, that's been the journey. Most recently, the last few years, the family vibe and figuring that out, dude.

That's been the next thing. That makes me so happy. I would love to tour less and be with them more. You will. And still find the balance. Write that song. I have. Write the timeless song.

Write that timeless song. Which one is it? Well, no, I haven't written that timeless song yet. Write that song. I have. Write the timeless song. Write that timeless song. Which one is it? Well, no, I haven't written that timeless song yet. I hope so. What do you want to be remembered by? I just want my songs to be timeless 500 years from now. Don't talk. I hope some fucking dude with some fucking Mad Max gear on

when this whole shit's like a desert and nothing's left. He's like playing some weird fucking technology from the past and there's a fucking song of mine on there and he's blasting it. And we're playing Twiddle. Well, I hope the best of luck for you, man.

I fucking love you. You're a good guy and I can't wait to be your friend. I'm really excited about this. I think we can help each other. I love this. We're going to be homies. Yeah, bro. Cheers.

Now, a message from the UN. Crossroads Seem to come and go Yeah Gypsy flies from coast to coast Knowing men and loving none Bearing sorrow, having fun But back home he'll always run Sweet Melissa Again the morning's come

Again he's on the run Sunbeams shine through his hair Better not to have a care Think if you give a gypsy roll Crossroads Will you ever let him go No, no Will you ever let him go? No, no, no.

Will he lie beneath that ghost? Will you hide beneath the flame? Will his spirit fall away? But I know that he won't stay Without Melissa Yes, I know that he won't stay Without Melissa That he won't stay without Melissa Ooh No, he won't stay There we have it Thanks Mahali for being on the show

Thanks Ari for talking about Your personal love life with your wife And all the anal y'all do And you're having a baby Congratulations That's hard um but yeah isn't it crazy addiction can hit you in all different ways you know in mahali's case it hits it hit him when he was his band was blowing up it was already big he's already making money he's on a you know chilling out, we got to take care of our mental health

because you never know when it's going to hit you and where you have to rely on being addicted to other substances to make you happy. So stay focused. Remember that addiction is real. And it could happen to any of us, even in the best times of our life, you know, because if we suppress our sad feelings,

those things are going to pop up even when shit is sweet in your life. So take care of that. I'm actually in Los Angeles. I'm sitting outside because it's 9 a.m. before it gets to 120, and I grew up in L.A., so I'm at my parents' house. My grandpa had his 90th birthday party, which was beautiful and sad as fuck all at the same time because, uh, I got to see my family.

Everyone was like a family union. You know, it's amazing how people come together when you don't get too much time with another person left, but I'm glad, um, I got to see all them, but it was crazy to see my grandpa, man, he's 90 years old, he's, I think he's dying, it's, you could see it in his face, like, he has lung cancer, I think, they didn't want to announce it at the, at his birthday party, but I think, I just feel he lost a lot of weight, his eyes, he's not as driven, you know, but it's crazy life. It makes you realize, you know, that everyone goes through the inevitable disease and that's called, uh, getting older and dying. And, uh, it was just hard for me to see a man who I looked up to my whole life as, uh, just a strong workaholic, just always was passionate about

working. And, you know, once, once he couldn't work anymore, you know, he lost the motivation to live. You know, it's, it's, it's, it's an important thing that I learned that don't give up on what you like. Cause if you give up on what you like because if you give up on what you like then you have no path and when you and when you have no path we get scared and start giving up on shit and that's how we I think that's how we get closer to death even at old age find what you love you know and stick with it because once you stop doing the things you love we start becoming more hollow and more hollow and all those little diseases that we've had through our lives start popping back up because we're putting emphasis on death and not life

so love each other love the life you have. You know, I was... Has anyone seen the Aziz Ansari new comedy special right now? That was so good. Like, it gives me chills thinking about it. You know, he turned to the next chapter in his life. He turned a corner in his comedy. It's so smart.

It's not just, like like gimmicky, sticky stuff. And I feel like that's where I'm trying to get to as well with this podcast and how I'm approaching songs and stuff. But he had this great thing about talking about his parents and talking about his grandparents and stuff. It's like as we get older, you know, we don't see our parents as much. What, we maybe see our parents twice, our grandparents once or twice a year at holiday events and shit. And think about that. If

you only see them once or twice a year, and let's say they're 60 or 50 or however old your parents or grandparents are, 80, that means, well, we got maybe 20 more years, 30 more years with them. So that means you only have 50 to 60 more meetings or hangouts with your parents. And that's not that much time, man. You know, get to know each other. It's like the same thing with anything within life, your sisters, your brothers, your cousins. Make sure you are fully present in those moments

and get to know your family and get to know your friends because you're going to wake up one day and you're going to be 90 and you're going to see all these grandkids and all these, you know, all your kids and their kids and family all at the house and, you know, you're gonna have to like be okay with knowing that I tried my best to learn as much as I can about these people. You know, I don't want to regret because when they're gone, you can't talk to them anymore unless, like, you take fucking DMT or whatever

and you're fucking, whoo, you see your parents or stuff or Hauser, you know, like how Dave has seen Hauser. So take the time. Enjoy with your parents, enjoy it with your grandparents, because you'll remember, like, oh, I fucking should have said something. Like, I was talking about this yesterday.

I wanted to have this private conversation, talk about, you know, why am I motivated, and because I'm motivated, it's because of my grandpa, and because of my dad, and how hard they worked and i knew that if i had that conversation with him he would just it wasn't his mind wasn't there and i wish i said it to him five years ago or three years ago while his mind was still good so i'll remember that and um so i got my peace with him, I gave him a hug, I looked him in the eyes, you know, just don't be afraid, I don't know why I'm tearing up right now,

it's sad as shit, but don't be afraid to be vulnerable with your family, we only have so many days on this fucking earth, and you just gotta take care of each other, love each other, and just open up with each other go have fun go laugh go to the beach you know shit we don't have that much time on this earth and it fucking flies by so give it all you can and um yeah that's all i'll say about that but um you'll be hearing this episode when i am on a beach Or I'm on Not a beach I'm going on a lake I got this fucking

Big ass 20 Like bedroom houseboat With jet skis And LSD And It's gonna be

It's gonna be fucking awesome So hopefully This isn't the last episode Hopefully I come back from this trip I won't know If it got released a lot, but, uh, cause I will be gone before this is even posted, but, um, take care of yourselves,

guys, I love you, I'm taking a week off, I'm going to Europe, I gotta get ready on the mind, say, by the way, these songs we're writing are fucking good, I'm not trying to be narcissistic, I'm not trying to be, uh, they're really, I really like these songs and I'm really proud of them. They're, they're growing as we grow. Um, so shout out to Dave, shout out to Kenny, all these guys, Rick Vargas for getting the best out of me and the boys. Cause I'm really proud of this shit. So, anyway. Love each other. Be safe. We got Marcus King on the episode next week. And Andrew from The Revivalists.

Oh, not next week. The week after. Because I'll be in Europe and fucking internet sucks there. So, it's hard for me to fucking post from Europe. But I'll do some bits and let you know how the European adventures are going. But yeah, it's going to be exciting. We got Marcus. He's talking about some very exciting things.

I won't spoil them. And Andrew from The Revivalist, the drummer, he's the man. Him and me have become really close friends last year, and he has some nice things to say About you know Just being in a band that's getting big And how to stay humble

And how to just keep Maintaining happiness So I hope you enjoy that Subscribe to the podcast Rate it Find my tour dates At andyfrasco.com. And thanks for being friends. Wow. 50 fucking three episodes. Wow. Look at us. We're just turning into a regular thing in your life.

So thank you for being a part of this mission with me. Just letting all these artists and you know movie people and comedy people and thinkers get out those fucking demons and let them talk about it publicly because it's important it's important for all of us to be on the same page sometimes sometimes yeah I get the whole keeping some stuff inside, but it's good to let people know that we are all fighting the same fight. So keep fighting, and I will catch you in a couple weeks. I'll have a tan. I'll be back. I got two weeks off.

I'm chilling. I am fucking chilling. So I'll hopefully write some songs on the LSD. I'll make a music video because it sounds fun. And I will catch you next week or in a couple weeks. Love you. Arno, kick it off. Well, thank you for listening to episode 53 of Andy Fresco's World Saving Podcast.

Produced by Andy Fresco, Joe Angelhow, and Grizz Lawrence. Produced by Andy Fresco, Joe Angelhow and Chris Lawrence. Please subscribe and 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. You can still listen to Change of Pace, our last album, freely available on iTunes and Spotify. This week's co-host is Ari Findling.

And this week's guest is Mahali from Twiddle. Find them online at twiddlemusic.com. This week's special guests are Brendan Miller, Ari Findling, Sean Eccles and Arno Bakker. I am biding my time in the south of France, waiting for the boys to come to Europe for a summer tour. It's blazing hot as we speak. The donkey tries to find a shelter underneath a small tree. Smells of lavender and pine fill the air. The sound of the cicada and the grasshoppers fill the background. Bruised, the dog is lying on the relatively cool tiles in a sort of cool house. Walls are pre-air conditioning, pretty much over two feet wide,

and hardly anyone dares to go outside. We're all watching the Tour de France. Fools on bicycle racing up a mountain for five hours straight. We open another bottle of red wine. I talk into this machine. I love summer. So, see you all soon. I can't tell you how much this microphone smells like a scrotum. Smells like a ball fro. Bingo!