Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 72: Zak Barnett (American Authors)

Episode Date: February 4, 2020

This week, we get hints as to what went down during Widespread's Panic En La Playa. And we welcome singer, Zak Barnett from the group, American Authors! Zak talks about his time at Berklee and his goals to be the best. Arno keeps it relevant and Ahri tells us who he'd go gay for. We close the show with Andy's longest running band mate and soul brother, Ernie Chang, as cohost. This is EP 72. 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. Check out Andy's new album, "Change Of Pace" on iTunes and Spotify Keep up with American Authors at www.weareamericanauthors.com Produced by Andy Frasco Joe Angelhow Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: Dave Schools Ahri Findling Arno Bakker 

Hey Andy, it's your friend Dave Schools. Just wanted to thank you for bringing the UN down to Panic on La Playa and tearing the place up. My wife's calves are still sore. Anyway, I'm hoping you'll give me a call because I'm here at the front desk of the Hard Rock, and they're not letting me check out. Apparently there's an issue with some charges made to your room that are being sort of forwarded to my account, like 130,000 pesos for something categorized as horseplay and shenanigans. And then something for tequila body shots with Pepe.

I don't know. Anyway, give me a call, Andy. I really hope to hear from you. Bye. How you doing, Mr. Frasco? This is Michael down at the front desk of the Hard Rock Hotel with the airifier. I have a question for you. I have Mr. Schools down here, and he is denying some of the charges in your room, and we cannot let him go until these are paid. This is an all-inclusive resort, but you had a couple of upgrades on your room, and we're going to need a credit card to get that through.

We wanted to just say that next time you stay with us, please do not call the concierge at 3 o'clock in the morning asking for, quote, unquote, that drugs because that is not legal. We cannot send drugs to your room. We cannot send processes to your room, and we cannot send any farm animals to your room. We cannot send processes to your room. And we cannot send any farm animals to your room. So the next time you stay with us, please do not call and ask. Thank you

so much. Give me a call back with that credit card information. Bye. Alright. We're back. Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. I. Andy Frasco's world-saving podcast. I'm Andy Frasco. How's everyone doing out there? It's been a tough week for me. Fucking COVID, dude.

COVID meant so much to me. I put out that emergency podcast when I found out. I put out that emergency podcast when I found out. I put that out the week, or not the week, the right after I played. I went back to my hotel room, fucking cried like a motherfucker, dude. And I knew I had to express my feelings during that time so I could look back and show that I feel something and shit. But

Kobe meant so much to me. He was always there when I needed someone to look up to. Maybe not personally, but every time I'm having a bad day or every time I feel like I want to give up in this music industry, It's fucking hard. I'd re-watch some Covey interviews, and I'd re-watch his practices, and I'd re-watch when he broke his arm or when he's shooting three throws at practice the next morning or when he tore his Achilles and shot those last two free throws like nothing happened and then slowly walked to the locker room.

You know, he taught me how to fight. He taught me how to, whatever is going on, you know, it's all about hard work. It's all about giving it 120% of your life. It doesn't matter what you do. Fuck, could be basketball, could be being a dad. He was such a great dad after his basketball career. He loved his daughters. He taught me how to live presently and live with full potential. You know, he was always doubted. You know, there's the Michael Jordans of the potential. He was always doubted. There was the Michael Jordans of the world. There was a bunch of just champions,

and he was just a kid from high school. And that's what he, in his interview, I rewatched one of his interviews, and he was talking about right out of 17, he wanted to be the best basketball player in the world and more popular than Will Smith. Well, in 1996, you know, Will Smith was God, I guess. But that's how much determination. And I look a lot, I look myself in the eye, you know, in the mirror or whatever.

And now I know where I got that determination because that's how I feel. I want to be the greatest songwriter. I want to be the greatest communicator. I want to be the greatest showman, entertainer. And I wonder where I got that work ethic from, and it's from Kobe. Kobe, his late- late night practices hearing stories about

how he used to wake up at 3 a.m to be in the first one in the gym just to fucking you know just to guilt trip his teammates i mean i remember doing that with my band i'm always the first one awake always the first one at my computer, always the first one checking emails, confirming shows, making podcasts, because you know this competitive nature, this industry is hard, and if you're not going to give it 100, fuck the industry, life is hard, and if we're not going to give it our 120 percent every day of trying to stay present and stay focused why are we living why are we always trying to think about the past or think about the future let's just be here now because if anything that this fucking horrible accident reminds us of is that we never know when it's our turn to leave. You never know. I thought he was immortal. I thought nothing could stop Kobe. Kobe's going

to be the last man alive. He's going to be alive to 140 Because I knew his will I knew He won a fucking Oscar First He wrote He wrote You know he might have paid for the Oscar a little bit He got all the dope pics

But The story in it Like have you watched Listen Read that Read that thing after his retirement Called Dear Basketball He was such a good writer.

He was so smart. Whatever you want to do in life, fucking do it. But give it your 120%. Life's too short. You never know when it's your turn to leave. It's insane. I have a different perspective on life this whole week about death about what i need to do as a friend you know like i i'm not a good friend at times and i need to

be better because life is more than just what you think everyone thinking about you is, if that makes any sense. We're always in our fucking head about how other people perceive us that then we're too afraid to even talk to them, communicate. Let's start being open. Let's start being vulnerable again because shit could happen just like that. And there might be never a time where you could say hello or I miss you or I love

you again to that person because they're gone. So let's not take life for granted. let's love our friends. And if you don't tell your friends, I got to tell my band more and more I love them. I was fucked up. I was crying. I had to perform. And I knew Kobe didn't want me to fucking cancel the show in some weird way.

I knew that I will give my life with that mama mentality that he taught everybody else for the rest of my life. I will give that to every show, every song, every podcast, every moment with my family, my friends. I will give everything to that because that's what Kobe would have wanted. Of course,

he's going to want us to mourn, but he wants us to move on and fucking learn from what he has experienced and learn from what I've experienced so we could just keep growing as people. He was just as talented as a dad, as a writer, as a philosopher, as he was as a basketball player because he gave it his all. If anything, that Kobe gives us examples of, it's dedication and giving whatever you're doing its full potential. Or don't do it. Same thing with this music industry. Same thing with my bands on the road.

Everyone out there listening to this, living in a van, fucking fighting for that $300 fucking Tuesday night bullshit gig in Kansas. Whatever it is, you keep getting that. You keep getting to that next town. And don't stop with that dream because if you're giving it 120%, it's going to happen.

It might not happen tomorrow, but it's going to happen. So fucking stay on it. Everyone else, if you don't like your fucking job, quit. Seriously. Find something you want to do. Find the people you want to be with and be the person you want to be because life is too fucking short.

All right. We got Zach Barnett from American Authors on the show this week Great guy Huge band I didn't realize how many fucking hits they have But a good guy He's from LA

He's from the Valley He deals with fucking stress and anxiety And his mother guilt tripping him and shit It's like all of us We're no different It's so funny how we put people on pedestals Like Kobe And when you break it down He's no all of us. We're no different. It's so funny how we put people on pedestals like Kobe. And then when you break it down, it's like, he's no different than us. We're all the same.

We're all fighting our insecurities with work and fucking staying on the road or overworking. So let's hear what he has to say. And I'll catch you on the tail end, this is going to be an interesting episode, I'm on tour with Big Something, we started our tour, we're going to get those guys on the show next week, but at the tail end, I'm going to bring in my sax player, Ernie Chang, and we're just going to talk, and you know, it's going to be a little memorial for Kobe, talk and you know it's gonna be a little memorial for kobe um and how we met how you know that's how i met ernie he wanted to be kobe i wanted to be shack in elementary school and we didn't really know each other he was four years older than me so i think actually i was in middle school i think

he was just turning high school but i was on the tournament basketball team four years younger than him. But I knew who he was. I didn't know he was a sax player at the time, but it was funny how things turn out to be how they are. So we're going to talk about how we grew up and what we learned from him and whatnot. But before that, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Mr Mr. Zach Barnett, and I will catch you on the tail end. And also, I love you guys. If I don't tell you that enough,

thanks for always being there for me. This whole week is one of the hardest weeks of my life. And to see all the support from my fans, and I am, I'm forever yours. All right. Love you guys. I'll talk to you afterwards Alright, next up on the interview hour We got Zach from American Authors I did not realize how big his fucking band is He's got a couple songs that are fucking huge I looked at the Spotifyify stream like damn dog

okay making that money good for you and i did some research and he's super fascinating um chris play some of his bangers while we're talking about him he went to berkeley school of music and some fucking shit went down the first semester he'll tell you all about it. Crazy shit. And then moved to New York with the band and just his determination, man. It's a nice episode with the Kobe feature because this guy was determined.

And he's trying to become the best, which I respect that. So ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy Zach from American Authors. Whoa, I'm never gonna give it up. No, please don't wake me now. One, two, three, four. This is gonna be the best day of my life.

My life. This is gonna be the best day of my life. Here we are. What the fuck's up, Zach? What's up, man? Bro, your band's big. Yeah, my band's all right. We're doing okay. it's popping off about to go on tour and yeah it's gonna be awesome i want to talk to um so you're valica i thought why does it say new york city on your on your bio well well okay so look i was born in los angeles and my family's all from the valley woodland hills and encino

me too baby yep that's it and then my mom my parents got divorced my mom moved me to minnesota Los Angeles and my family's all from the Valley, Woodland Hills and Encino. Me too, baby. Yep. That's it. And then my mom, my parents got divorced. My mom moved me to Minnesota. Okay. And I did. So I did my schooling there. I went back and forth between California, Minnesota. High school? Elementary, middle school, high school. Okay. Did all that. And then I graduated from high school and I moved to Boston. Yeah. For Berkeley. Berkeley. And that's where I met the band. Dropped out of school, moved to New York. So let's talk about this childhood stuff. That was like fast.

That was like real fast. And the interview was over. That's it, man. Yeah, like breezing through the... Did you want to move to Minnesota? No, dude, I was like two. Oh, so you didn't know better. Yeah.

I didn't know anything. So why did your brothers and sisters... Do you have brothers or sisters? Yeah, so I have two... I have two stepbrothers and one half-brother. So my dad remarried. Okay.

Yeah, but no, I didn't know. Two brothers and two half-brothers? Two stepbrothers, one half-brother. Okay. So your dad's fucking. He only fucked once because I only have the one. No, the stepbrothers aren't blood. That's a different, it's not blood related.

Okay. But that's my stepmom's kids from another marriage. Okay, cool. So my dad only, yeah twice so he fucked once for me uh-huh and then once for my little brother check this out my little brother my half brother he's he's like 19 now so i'm 33 he's 19 so there's a big age difference oh damn how old are your parents my My dad passed away. Okay. When? Like 2007. How was that? Terrible.

It was the worst. He had heart issues, heart complications, had a heart attack, survived the heart attack, got the defibrillator and everything put in his chest and was living with that and completely changed his diet, changed everything that he was doing. And it seemed to go well. It was all okay. And then like one day there was like complications and I had like just started college. I was at Berkeley at the time. And I was like calling him a lot to figure out I was going to go out to see him for spring break. We were talking a lot, whatever. And I called one day and my stepmom answered the phone. She's like, hey, there was like a little complication, but your dad's in the hospital.

He's okay. He's just going to stay the night, whatever. He'll be back tomorrow. We'll figure out the trip. Yada, yada. I called back the next day. No answer. Called my stepmom. No answer. Then I called my grandparents and my grandfather, my dad's dad, he was battling throat cancer or something at the time. So he had no voice. He talked like this. And he answered the phone. And he goes, hey, grandpa, have you seen my dad? And he goes, your dad's dead.

I'm like, uh. And my aunt, yeah, no, straight up. And my aunt was already there, my dad's sister. And she quickly, because these were landlines. She quickly got on the other line and was like, like, grandpa, hang up the phone. Phil, grandpa, dad, hang up the phone. She goes, Zach, I know this is crazy.

I'm so sorry. We got you on the next flight out from Boston tomorrow morning. I'm so sorry. And then I'm like, oh, what? What the fuck yeah it was like insane are you close with your stepmom

yeah yeah yeah very close so they were just in shock and it just happened they were like MIA like dealing

with the whole thing oh my god dude you know what I mean like they were just yeah I don't think anyone no one called you my brother was really

he was like five oh shit 2007 and yeah I mean he was really young yeah 2007 was a long time yeah he was like four years old or something he was like five. Oh, shit. 2007. And yeah, I mean, he was really young. Yeah, 2007 was a long time ago. He was like four years old or something. He was a little kid. So you didn't know better.

He didn't know. I think everyone was just like in shock and whatever. And I mean, I'm sure they would have called me. I think I was calling first though, because I was trying to get my flights booked for this spring break trip to go see my family. So I was just trying to like hit everyone up. I think they were still trying to deal with everything figure it out oh my god yeah dude it was really intense you're 19 so like i was like 19 at the time what he was

he was always going through through high school was he going through health problems no my dad yeah no i mean no no no he was always like a skinny guy musician whatever fun good dude um he got bigger not like massively crazy but you know like yeah big guy i would always tell people my dad looked like crosby from crosby stills national he like had that vibe like the long hair with the mustache and like a little bigger yeah a little thicker and dude i think it was just i don't know it hit him um i mean maybe like in his late 40s or whatever and can we talk about this more yeah of course that's it's very hard man because you're 19 you're just going to berkeley yeah like just got there you just got there yeah so how did you how were the

how are those years that first year yeah it was really hard it was a weird thing you know um yeah it was a weird thing man because you know this happened we'd kind of like gone through some shit just kind of like just some like disagreements and whatever before i even went to berkeley why i didn't want you to be a musician no he did he was a musician and he always supported me and always wanted me to be a musician always was there for me and whatever we're when we were super close there were just some disagreements with like there was just like some financial stuff that we were kind of like it's berkeley expensive dude it's crazy

expensive that's why no one graduates huh yeah well they say it's the curse like if you graduate you're not gonna make it that's what they said that's what they said i don't know man honestly for me i went there i literally went to berkeley to find like my like-minded musicians to start a band with and like drop out and tour and whatever i want to do i wanted to go with my band from high school and just tour but what type of band was it it was what like uh it was like very like ben folds five like ben folds meets the strokes love that shit that's one of my vibe yeah it was cool but i mean like i look back it was uh they all ditched me for college so i'm like well i guess if you guys are going to college i'm gonna go to college too so i want to do berkeley to do that to form a band and i think it was just really expensive

and um like my dad and i just kind of got into like some like money things whatever but it was it was fine at the end of the day and then we wasn't that big of a deal and so we kind of had that then we got over it now i'm in college and i haven't seen him in a while and we were talking and now we were like talking going back and forth and it was all cool and then yeah it was like my first or second I think it was my second semester at Berkeley because I went a semester late he passed away I went to LA for a few days told all my teachers and like well yeah we will give you time to anything you need and I don't know man for me i'm one of those kinds of people where i need to i need to move forward i can't it's really hard for me to just

stay stuck um did you have closure with the naked with the negativity uh i don't think so no no and like to the like right now like i'm seeing a new therapist and i'm really trying to like figure out a lot of things in my personal life because i don't feel like I've had closure I feel like I moved on did you went back to school what up did you mourn no I don't think I did anything I stayed in LA and it was weird for me because like one I just lost my dad that I grew up with my entire life he's you know it's like we were very close it wasn't like divorced parents oh you never see your dad it's like I saw him a lot we were really close so now it's like and I had my little brother. It's just like my grandpa was sick at the same time.

And it was, dude, it was a mess. It was a mess. But I was at Berkeley. And Berkeley's expensive. And I've never been that kind of person to be like, well, you know, I just, that's it. I'm not, I got to take time off and whatever, mourn or get closure or whatever it is. I've just never been that person. I'm like that too, man.

I just want to keep moving forward. Same. And so I did. And yeah, I think. And I didn't. And that was kind of it with that. I went back out to LA for the spring break. Because this was maybe like three weeks or two weeks before uh quote unquote spring break time

from school i had my flight booked so i went back out there for spring break without my dad and it was so fucking weird oh i bet man it was weird yeah it was weird it was weird to the point where like i remember my stepmom saying to me like hey i'm sure this is really hard and if this is too weird like we can change your flight and you can leave early but i'm not i wasn't gonna do i was like no no no it's fine and did you say a speech at the funeral i did is that hard for you lost my shit yeah yeah it didn't go great what happened i just lost my shit dude i broke down like i was up there and just like i could barely get through it so hard man yeah what what's your what's your mom's about all what

what was her attitude about this obviously sad yeah really really sad heartbroken you know um they kind of like any i think divorced parents you got your you got your parents fighting each other you know sometimes you'll come home to like a nasty voicemail you know it's like you're like just you'll hear stuff as a child growing up with that it's like i think that's pretty common yeah but at the end of the day it's like they both loved me they both would you know they would talk with each other sometimes some days were better than others, but whatever. Normal, divorced parents, shit. But she's heartbroken, man.

Yeah. Heartbroken to see him leave. Because I think she said to me one time, she's like, look, I loved your dad. Of course, I loved your dad, especially at a certain point. But what I really love your dad for is for allowing me to bring you into the world. And he gave me you. So it's like, obviously. A blessing.

A blessing. And I love this person and she was heartbroken. She still is heartbroken. It's a sad thing when you lose someone, you know? Yeah, man. So young.

It's fucking wild, dude. What's your therapist teaching you about mourning or accepting the past? Is like, what is she, what is she like trying to get out of you? I think, you know, I was never good with that. I was always the person who was like, I don't need a therapist. I got my shit figured out.

And it wasn't until like recently, I left New York like three and a half, four years ago. And it wasn't until like recently i left new york um like three and a half four years ago and it wasn't really by choice what happened it was just i went through a breakup and it was her apartment so obviously i had to leave i left how long were you with her oh like three years okay kind of you know enough to make it yeah painful yeah yeah yeah but so i left i went on a tour the next day for like three months and then i couch surfed for a while and i was crashing with a buddy of mine in los angeles and he had an extra room he's just like dude zach you don't need to be in l.a i'm sorry you don't need to be in new york just stay here i'm like okay so i just stayed all my shit was up in storage in new york i just left it there is that my mom's house in new york just stay here i'm like okay so i just stayed all my shit was up in storage in

new york i just left it there is that my mom's house in new york my mom follows me around the country that's cool fyi when i graduated high school and i left i left minnesota my mom left minnesota she's been following me around the country like pretty close ever since that's so cool it's actually really cool is it uh it's dope are you close with her yeah she's my best friend yeah best friend in the world did she convince with her? Yeah, she's my best friend. Yeah. Best friend in the world. Did she convince you to get therapy? Dude, she's been telling me to get therapy for, yeah, probably the last 10 years.

I mean, like, it's heavy, man. So, like, even this relationship, like, when you break up and have to leave the house that you're living at for three years. Okay, so when I finally planted my roots, like when I got into Los Angeles, I started seeing a therapist. I don't think I understood because I was so just like, oh, I'm in LA and this is new

and I have friends and it's fun and I'm going out every night and it's all good. So it was just like, oh, okay. I didn't really get anything from it i didn't feel like i did so i quit the therapy yeah just like i don't think i was like ready for it i wasn't processing anything because the move was so exciting for me yeah but now that i've been there for a while and

i've chilled and it's like and you know i've gone through stuff and know, it's nice to be there now to, you know, to deal with everything that's happening in my life at the moment. And then also to be able to. With what? Like band getting bigger, working harder. Bro, it's like band, business, current relationships, with whatever it is, like with, you know, with my girlfriend, my mom, my, any other family. It's like, other family it's like dude it's like there's

always gonna you're always gonna have things that you need to get out and you need to talk about yeah always dude i cannot recommend seeing a professional i agree therapist or whatever because dude there's it's just so liberating and it's so great to get a perspective fresh unbiased perspective on things and and it does open up things from your past too because again it's like i'm not in these therapy sessions now to just fucking just sit on the past yeah again i need to address that i don't even think really with the therapist because now i've just kind of been like last couple months been getting back into it and it's like i'm so focused on talking about figuring out me now where we're just kind of discussing the past a little bit so what are you finding what are you finding out about yourself through talking it out with some a professional uh i'm figuring out man i don't know what i'm figuring out with it same here dude

see like i just i just started therapy too i was going yeah i've been on the road doing 250 shows a year for 15 years now and like you know and just like you guys just we've had that dream that this is it this is what i want do. And we just let all these feelings of maybe we got fucking hurt in middle school that we fucking still remember. How do you cope with that stuff when you're always on the go? I'll tell you this.

Because again, I've only been with this new dude for a couple months or whatever, so it's still early. But we're seeing each other once a week, so we're seeing each other. dude for like a couple months or whatever. So it's still early. But we're seeing each other once a week. So we're seeing each other. Sounds like a beautiful relationship. We're seeing each other. It is.

It basically is. It's like your side chick. Check this out. I know, right? The therapist is your... It's healthier than fucking randoms, you know? Dude, it's honestly... This guy is awesome.

This new dude I'm seeing, he's great. My buddy recommended him. He's amazing. But I think what I am so bad at confrontation i hate confrontation i dude not for me describe i never want to dude i just any issues i have i just push down i suppress everything that i have and i just try to move on. I try to not bring it up. I try to not talk about it. Yeah, dude. You think that's an LA thing?

No, because I've been doing it long before. I'm just a very passive person. It's all good. So what if this happened? I'll move forward. I'll move on. It's okay. And I think going to therapy has helped me

open up more it's helped me for better or worse it's helped me speak my mind a little more and it's helped me be more upfront with people where it's like

dude I don't agree with that like with your band too with everything with my band my business my management with my girlfriend with my friends

it's like with my mom it's just like no no, that's not, I don't believe that and I don't want this. For better or worse, because sometimes it's like, I can like lose my shit on. I can just go too much. Yeah.

Because you're suppressing. Yeah. It is. And I feel like with all these things going on and then discovering these emotions that have been hidden down below for so long. Yeah. It's great that they're coming out. But now at this point, it's like, now what I'm really, really trying to work on and figure out is like, okay, how do you be respectful?

Look, I'm not a super emotional guy. Even like issues that are had, it's like like I can get over it for the most part. When was the last time you cried? I actually cried with my friends the other night. Yeah. I've cried. I cry a lot. Yeah.

I don't mind the crying. So you have feelings? No, I have feelings. I have feelings. I don't, look, okay, maybe emotional is not the right word. I don't hold on to things. Like I could have an argument or a discussion or a fight or whatever, and it's kind of like, all right, let's move on from this.

How many years have you been in a band now? 13. 13? Yeah. You ever had a, like, doesn't it feel powerful when you can finally speak your mind? Yeah. Especially to your brothers who you're fighting this war with, you know?

I mean, it's really nice, man. There must be a a complication i think it's just like look and again i think where i'm at now it's so much of it just has to do with this is the big thing that i've i've realized i have um i've been now in a new relationship i have a girlfriend for it's not a new relationship we've been together for like three and a half years now you's up yeah we live together we got a dog we got some cats it's she's great she's really really wonderful she's a really sweet person and i love her very much one of the biggest things that i'm starting to realize now that i do not think i've ever done in like past relationships with other women is sometimes i need to remember to be sensitive biggest thing that she tells me you know we were

talking yesterday and she was just like parking the car while i was saying something and i was like no i was just calling to do this we don't need to get into a big conversation she's like zach and whatever i'm parking the car and i'm getting exactly i'm getting stressed out i'm like whatever we don't need to talk right now like that's how i look at it and she's like zach talk right now like that's how i look at it and she's like zach she always says this to me like zach you just need to be sensitive like just know just take a step back and be sensitive yeah have you ever been insensitive towards your band yeah like what of course i've been insensitive like what kind of insensitive i've said shit to them that is mean i've said things to them that is yeah nasty mean disrespectful why because you're probably not nice uh yeah just probably a mixture of everything just tired

frustrated hurt drunk yeah whatever it's like these emotions come out dude it's like like pissed off at one thing and then you take it out on another person yeah and then you're happy again like it's like because you're you're suppressing those feelings or no no no it's not like i like get joy out of yelling at people or anything like that it's not like that just like we suppress we suppress until it's right here at our neck yeah and then it just all comes out and doesn't mean to be fucking angry it just means it's just like i can't keep anymore and i think that's the biggest thing man it's like that's the biggest thing with me and my girl me and the band them and me it's like dude when you have these relationships with

people for so long you can say shit yeah you know like we're so this is the first time so like we i said this to my bass player my bass player player and I, we've fought so many times. We've like been in each other's face before, you know, but we're such good. Fist fights? No fist fights. But we've been, we're such good friends. We will fucking scream at each other. Yeah.

And like, this is the first time he does like all like our like, kind of like our backing tracks and like electronic elements to the set. And it's the kind of thing. And this is the first time right now, just because this is a really big tour with Magic Giant that we're just doing something very new and different where we have a friend, we had an outside dude,

a friend of ours come in to deal with that stuff, to take the load off of our bass players back. Yeah. And I said to him the other day, I'm like, honestly, man, it's amazing having this guy here. I love our friend that's doing this stuff now it's taking the load off your back but one of the biggest things that i really like about it is

i would get frustrated at you and when you're doing it and if you take a little bit longer and he said it's he's like yeah he's like you see it's like little brother syndrome with him where it's like i'll be like dave what the fuck where are the tracks you're not done yet what are you doing what are you doing We would all like harp on them. And that's not healthy. No, it's not. It's just not. And I think it's easier said than done sometimes just to be like, well, I'll just change.

Yeah. Because when you know someone for so long, I don't expect anyone to change overnight. No. Not myself, not anyone. So I was saying to him, it's like, dude, I'm thankful that this person's here to help. anyone so i was saying to him it's like dude i'm thankful that this person's here to help so it just even it just it doesn't even allow that situation to come up between us are you hard on people maybe i don't know are you a perfectionist no then what are you hard about no i don't think i'm that hard on people you're just I think I can like

have moments but you're not gonna chew out the new guy you're gonna chew out the bass no no no I don't care I don't care that much no

what do you care about? no I don't I'm not hard on people if my monitor mix is not perfect I don't care if the set's a little loose

I don't care no I don't if you're honestly if you're late to rehearsal I don't care like that stuff I don't care yeah totally cool I think I what do you're, honestly, if you're late to rehearsal, I don't care. Like that stuff, I don't care.

Yeah. Totally cool. I think I understand. What do you care about that makes you frustrated? I care about when I'm doing all that I can, I want to see other people putting in as much effort as me on my team. I want my team, and not just business team, everyone in my life team. It's like I care about, I don't want people to, I don't like hypocrites.

If you're going to preach something to me, I want to see you follow through. Don't preach it to me and not follow through. Are you like that? It's really, oh, dude, I try not to preach anything. Yeah. And if I do, if I'm giving a point of view or an opinion, it's like, i'll be the first one to be like look i do not do this but obviously like what is right is this yeah like i don't know

you know it's just like i was saying my mom and i got into this big big discussion i'm already look just to go back on that real quick i like if i'm putting in work and i'm putting in the effort i just want to see my partners doing that too. Yeah. Yeah, of course. It's like team effort. Yeah. Yeah. Have you guys ever almost broke up? Because you felt like...

Never. Never. You've always... The band has never once... I've never once thought about leaving the band. Never. Never. And I didn't pretty sure...

Is this the same bandmates? Same bandmates. The whole time? Whole time. What the fuck, y'all? Same bandmates, same four dudes. Dude, we've had the same crew. This is the time whole time what the fuck same bandmates same four dudes we've dude we've had the same crew this is the first tour that we've had a new crew and we know a couple of them but we've had the same crew for the last five six years too so

loyalty is important to you yeah yeah totally i mean these are my friends it's like and and and we get that and like if we scream at each other for this it's like i want to see people putting in the same work yeah same thing with my girlfriend it's like dude if i'm gonna be going to therapy and i'm gonna be taking these steps towards the future to be a better person yeah better partner for you i'm gonna try i'm gonna put in the work i need to see you i need to see you doing the same i need to see these people it's like mom if i'm going to be here doing this for you i need to see you doing the same yeah and if you don't want to do the same then don't don't give me shit yeah oh they still give you they feel you feel like they gave you shit i think just anyone people give each other shit all the time i know

yeah you know it's like don't like don't bug me about this don't bug me about that it's like you know what i mean with that look okay here's an example here's an example i'm gonna use this and let me just preface this right now because my mom said to me she's exact i've listened to some interviews with you and you always say how your dad taught you how to play music and your musical because of your dad when you i she's like you don't give me any credit i'm like mom that's ridiculous i always give you credit you're my best friend i've said multiple times that you're my hundreds of times in interviews that you're my best friend said all this stuff so stop she's well you i'm the one who showed you music

so why is she so offensive about that she's my best friend that's what you do with best friends you know you hear one interview and you talk more about your dad whatever it is it's like i get it do you date girls that are kind of like your mom no like freudian type shit i don't think so do you no i don't think so no i don't think so go back to this so what did you when you talk to her about this yeah well that was just one thing so okay so straight up my mom is my best friend and she had she was the most supportive person in the world like straight up this is crazy you know when all this stuff i didn't have any money to go to berkeley and how much is berkeley uh when i went it was like 12 000 a semester and that's excluding housing in boston yeah but i only took out money i only got money to pay for like the twelve thousand dollars was

it worth it yeah my band okay you i met my whole band at berkeley and people will say people will always say to me because i'll be the first person look look i'm like bouncing around so much right now we're going back again we're gonna go back to the mom i was talking with my mom last night again and you know we talk about how um advice for other people like with artists and i said it's very difficult for me now because i have people in my life i have my little brother who's 19 and i know the price of college like i know what humans now make i know what real estate costs and i know what college costs it all makes sense in my head now as a 30 year old in my 30s and and i was saying to her it's a tough position man because it's like what now when i look back i'm like dude why wouldn't you just go to a state school if companies just they're like i know so many super successful ceos that just went to a

state school it's like they didn't pay 50 80 000 a year to go to columbia new CEOs that just went to a state school. It's like they didn't pay $50,000, $80,000 a year to go to Columbia and New York. They went to ASU in Arizona, and they're massive CEOs. So it's like, that makes sense, right? You go to Las and yada, yada, yada. You get the same shit. But at the same time,

I am that person who went to the private school, the expensive private school, and I met my band, and I'm only where I'm at. Maybe not only, but- No, it's not only. I'm not going to go hypotheticals. Factually,'m only where i'm at maybe not only but no it's not i'm not gonna go but i'm not gonna go hypotheticals yeah factually i am where i'm at right now because i met my band at berkeley uh-huh so there's a lot of other factors in there and we worked hard but

are you supporting your whole family i support my mom yeah she retired so she has her retirement stuff too but yeah it's like i bought her a house first thing i did was i bought my mom a house that's cool man where in la i bought her when i was in new york i bought her a condo up like in westchester just north of the city and then when i moved to la she didn't want to be there anymore so she wanted to move to phoenix so we sold the condo and i bought three i bought her a house in phoenix, cool. So, man, it must be tough because when you have a mom who's so supportive and sensitive, you know? Yeah.

I mean, my mom, too, is, you know, it's like she always, it's kind of, I'm raised Jewish guilt. The guilt trip is just heavy. You got a fellow Jew tank clan member over here, baby. Oh, you tried, dog? Got it, baby. I'm the tribe. It is halftime

at the Andy Fresco interview hour. This is Ari Finling. Welcome to a new halftime segment that we're calling Who I'd Go Gay For. Number one on my list

of dudes I'd go gay for, Chris motherfucking Pine, talking about Captain Kirk with his gorgeous piercing blue eyes and gorgeous, gorgeous hair. I would drink his shit. Okay. He is insanely hot. It doesn't matter if he's fat, if he's skinny, he's literally hot in everything. He could be covered in blood. And I'd still be like, do you want to fuck right now? Because you're looking at me like you want to fuck me.

I would watch him fuck my grandma. I would watch him have sex with Kim Jong-un. I'd watch him have sex. That's how hot it is. And I would just cover Kim Jong-un with my hand and watch Chris Pine just give it to Kim Jong-un in the ass.

Alright, this has been the first edition of Who I'd Go Gay For, Chris Pine edition. So where'd you learn your work ethic? Dude, I always had it. Yeah? I think I always had it. Tell me about your younger life.

What were you doing? Man, I was just always like, you know, fun, popular kid in school, extreme sports. My youth was nothing crazy. I was just like popular kid and had bands, did musical theater. What plays were you in? I was in a lot. Grease, Footloose, West Side Story. So you had a dope voice.

You had a dope voice. Horror. In high school and shit? Yeah, middle school I was doing like talent shows with a band. Okay. And I was playing like, yeah, pop punk songs, Lagwagon songs, original songs. We played some original songs in the seventh grade talent show. Did you want to be a pop punk guy in the beginning?

I did exactly what I always listened to. So it was like pop punk from like eighth grade to 10th grade. Once 10th grade rolled around and all the The Bands took off, like 2002, The Strokes, The Killers, The Hives, The Vines, everything like that. I wanted to be a The Band, right? So then I had the primaries and that was like ben folds meets the strokes and then emo kind of hit hard in like 05 and i had

the primaries and then i also had this emo band that i was singing in called wasted on envy cool so it was always rock stuff yeah rock stuff rock was i mean that's all like i didn't really know anyone else doing anything else yeah edm edm was big like dance music was big and i always loved daft punk and chemical brothers and like all that stuff growing up that early stuff but like that wasn't a thing like yeah no kids tour wasn't there was a warp tour was the shit but no kids wanted to be djs and hip-hop was still like i don't know like i knew one white rapper yeah and so rock was like that wasn't really a thing was your path that was my path so what about i grew up listening to hip-hop and edm and stuff too but that just didn't seem... That was never realistic.

It just never felt realistic to me. So what do you think the lowest part of your life was? Oh, man. The lowest part of my life? Were you addicted to anything? No. No? I don't know.

A drink a good amount. A drink a good amount. Yeah, we all do. I don't think... Look, okay. You know, if you want to jump back to therapy, this is so funny. I don't know if this is right or wrong,

but I liked the answer. Because I'm not the kind of guy, like I don't wake up and start drinking. Yeah. It's very rare that I even day drink. Yeah. It's very rare that I even happy hour drink. You know what I mean?

You're a night after work is done drinker? Pretty much. Pretty much. You know? So I said to my therapist, I'm like, you know, I feel like i might have a drinking problem i feel like i've just been drinking a lot and i've even chilled out

on like going out but i'll be like and he goes well what's a lot i'm like honestly yes i drink every day he's like well what are you what are you doing and i'm like well look like most nights like i'll be cooking with my girl at the house and I like to open up a bottle of wine and like I'll drink a bottle of wine to myself within the night hanging at home. And he goes, you know, Zach. You're splitting that wine though with your girl.

No, she doesn't drink. So it's just me. Okay. And he'll go, you know, Zach, if you're drinking a bottle of wine at night at dinner, some people would just call that French. It's true. why do we think oh well i like where your head's at because now i don't feel like a complete piece of shit yeah

but you know and i tried i so i stopped but what do you do after that you booze it up no alcohol no i don't drink any hard alcohol because my voice doesn't react well. Dude, I'm like, I'm a redneck, baby. I do Bud Light, Fireball, and red wine. The red wine's like a little more chill. You're from the French side of you. That's the French side. So what'd she say? So she basically said you're not an alcoholic?

That's what the therapist said. So why are we so hard on ourselves? I don't know. Look, I'm talking like, you know, whether or not i'm an alcoholic or whatever you want to call it i understand the health reasons that's why i like it's this is my thing a practice what you preach i'll be the first person i'll give you an opinion right now it's like i know for health wise it's not good yeah do i still do it yeah are you scared i scared to die? I like it. No. No?

Nah. I don't really think about it. I look at that where it's just like, I can live to 100. I could walk outside right now and get hit by a car. It's going to like, you can't live your life always thinking about those things. So why are you so worried if you're an alcoholic? Because I don't want to hurt the people around me. You know? And. word if you're an alcoholic because i don't want to hurt the people around me you know and

you think you're hurting when you get drunk you feel like you're i think when i think i think not a lot but sometimes it's very rare i think right now i just got a lot of shit on my plate i got a lot of shit going on in my life so i think i'm a little on edge like what uh just different things man different things with again like what i've been saying friends family business starting when you say starting new projects it's like just tons of shit it's just just everyday life man yeah it's like fucking even okay it's like look even this week i'm just gonna talk about right now it's like look i have my relationship with my girlfriend.

You're always going to have stuff there. I have my relationship with my mom who is always, you know, she'll be in and out of like little health issues and stuff. And then at the same time, we're talking about these real estate developments that me and her want to do together. At the same time, I'm doing car payments and trying to register my cars with my girlfriend while i'm trying to refinance my house and go on tour and i haven't even gotten to the point while i haven't even gotten to the music while starting a new band with a buddy of mine in la and i had to film two music videos in one day

for that project before I left for these rehearsals to get it all done. So it's preloaded for while I'm gone. Then going into the rehearsals, which essentially are like eight hour rehearsal days, which is fine, but then it's figuring out the set. We have a new single coming out next week. So that's figuring out artwork, release date, marketing plan, follow-up marketing plan to see how the song lives. Then we have another figuring out the songwriting splits, the production deal with the guy that we wrote it with. Then we have another song coming out in February with these DJs.

Again, that's figuring out splits, money, percentage, this, this, this. Then we're going to have to get into artwork. At the same time, I'm with my day-to-day manager figuring out all the merch designs. So you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself. It's just a lot of stuff. Yeah, I mean, I break down too. But this is what life is.

They're not bad things. These are all good things. It's all good stuff. But it's like when you have just, there will always be little tensions in there, not just for me, but for other people and it'll go back and forth so when you have those things it's like this is kind of what i was saying it's like coming back down taking a breather letting things go is huge that's why i try so

hard especially these days more than ever to not be that crazy perfectionist like oh you took an uber that cost eight dollars more than this uber you were late to this part it's like i'm trying so hard to just be like yeah do you want to go do that go do that you want to go do this that's amazing you're going to be five hours late that's fine it's like as long as it's all prepared and yeah you're good with your shit i said to my girl last night it's like she said she's like she's like as long as it's all prepared and yeah you're good with your shit i said to my girl last night it's like she said she's like she's like yeah you know i hung out with my two of my best friends yesterday for the first time in a while and it felt so good and i said i know because you need these things we all need these things and if you don't want to see me i wish you would just say

to me hey zach get the fuck out of the house i'm having my friends over tonight yeah stuff is important and i think maybe some people listening would just be like well i already have that that's easy and these things sometimes can be easy for people it's it's hard when you don't like confrontation it's hard when you don't like confrontation she doesn't like confrontation either i don't think she does no it's tough man it is tough relationships are tough right i've never had the balls to do one I don't think she does. No. It's tough, man. It is tough. Relationships are tough, right? I've never had the balls to do one. Yeah, they're tough.

Especially on the road. Like, how's that? How many shows do you have to do a year? Honestly, my girl's great with me on the road. Yeah? She's amazing. She's really good with it. Yeah, this tour right now is basically two months.

It's a lot of shows. It's like 40 shows-ish, maybe. And and yeah we've already kind of set up our days where she's gonna fly out to meet me and all good in the hood let's go back to uh why you're putting so much strength or you know you have these projects you have more projects like yeah yeah why are you putting yourself on that i don't know it's just i want to do it i'm passionate about it man it's not honestly i and i'll speak i'll speak for my band right now too it's like they're all doing the same shit yeah it's insane like i look at american authors with one we all write music we all write together so all the author shit that you hear is all written together and these dudes are like they're literally three of the best songwriters I've ever met. No joke. So you guys share everything.

Yeah, we share everything. Matt is, our drummer, is one of the most talented musicians across the board. Like this dude plays every instrument. He's insane. Like he has his solo music that he's working on right now. He just wrote a book. It's like he does crazy shit. Dave is one of the, he's an insane producer.

He's so good. Does everyone live everywhere now or y'all live in la they all live in new york oh yeah yeah so james james is uh like a business mogul he develops artists and he likes to like constantly finding new artists he's getting them signed and he's also like heavy into real estate like buying buildings and shit y'all are growing up dude it's crazy we've all been doing this stuff now from since we like you know got signed and shit yeah with island you've been with island the whole time okay so let's talk about what were the dreams

of being in a band when you're at berkeley versus now what are the dreams of being the band being like basically maintaining a career yeah what's the difference in your mind honestly it's an amazing question because american authors are not at the level of like uh i mean i'm sure every band will say maybe similar to what i will say but like we're not imagine dragons we're not one republic we're not at that level do you want to be fuck yeah bro everything i just told you about would go away i'd be like sick we'll meet up once a year we'll record an album we'll do a big old arena tour then i'm gonna spend six months by the pool not worrying about jack but you still would be worrying about shit bro you're right you are right we're warriors that's what that's what

makes the engine fucking a hundred percent man that's why like i'm sure if you were to ask imagine dragons they'd have they'd be stressed out with a whole new slew of issues yeah for me berkeley yeah what was your vision grinding we want to be banned we want to be the biggest band we still want to be the biggest we. We want to be Coldplay. Yeah, always. We've always wanted to be Coldplay. That's it. When we were in college, we wanted to be Coldplay.

Today, we want to be Coldplay. Just the massiveness. That's it. Yeah, that's it. So what was your vision? How were you going to get there at Berklee? Well, at Berklee, it was cool because that was really like hype MySpace time. Maybe end up MySpace. It was pinnacle myspace and

so this is what we would do we would hit up we wouldn't go after like the fallout boys and panic at the discos but we would hit up the smaller bands in boston no the bigger bands in boston we would hit up like there's a band called land and fall and they're good friends of ours now and whatever but at the time we never we didn't know them there were bands like that too like these Like there's a band called Land and Fall and they're good friends of ours now and whatever. But at the time we never, we didn't know them. There were bands like that too. Like these other pop punk bands that were like bigger in the New England scene. And we would hit them up and we would book shows.

Like a movie life and stuff? Not even that big. Smaller, smaller. I'm talking like they're only big in Boston, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island. Regional bands. Regional bands. We would hit them up. we would book shows with them like we would book our own tours with a buddy of ours and we would like we booked a tour for cash cash they're djs now but they used to be a pop punk band

so one of the tours that we booked we booked a tour for the band cash cash saying you guys will pretty much get all the money we're gonna book you this tour for free you're gonna get paid and we're gonna open the tour and we'll only take like 50 bucks a day like no we'll take no money but now we have a tour with cash cash yeah and now we're on like for us at the time like whoa this is a sick tour people are coming out and like you booked the tour for them we booked a tour for cash cash okay so so we did it with a homie our good friend jared caner he's a manager right now funded this uh it's the same way that you'd book a tour you get guarantees from clubs okay so cash cash i don't know what they had you just convinced we had this idea we just had this idea with our buddy jared

yeah and uh i think our buddy steve ackles helped out as well two dudes this was their idea and we thought it was a great idea because we before were just hitting up bands and doing one-offs and once we teamed up with jared he was the one who was like dude let's book a tour for these bands we booked a tour for this band called down with webster like hey we're we will book you a tour and we open and you'll get pretty much all the money smart yeah and then so we had dope tours and with that honestly from doing that down with webster's anr was shep goodman and he came out to the tour and he kind of discovered us through that tour that we booked for them. I love it. So you guys are always hustling. Yeah.

And then when Motown folded and he left, he went back to producing because he's a big producer. And we were in New York at this time now. And he hit us up and he's like, hey. How old are you? What age is? 21? 23. 23.

24. So you guys are- 24. Let's say I'm 24 at this point. So you've been a band for 5 years at this point Yeah I'm in New York now We're all in New York You know we're doing this shit

We're booking these things Whatever We're living in New York And now Shep Bushwick All of you All of us In the same one

Two bedroom apartment Yeah yeah yeah It was like Matt lived in the living room I lived in like this little closet area It was dope And your other guys Sick Have family money

No No one has family money You guys just No one have family money no no one's guys you guys just no one has family money so what were you doing for work to have a bushwick apartment bushwick was fucking piece of shit dude really now i paid 300 bucks a month in rent this was a bullshit little ass rat infested our drummer got mugged at knife point in front of our in front of our apartment when did it start getting gentrified? Oh, maybe. There was one coffee shop in our neighborhood. Were you near the Bushwick Flats?

Were they all through all those big parties? Yeah, like all the lofts. Yeah, we were off the Morgan stop. Oh, yeah, yeah. So basically, there was the McKibbin Lofts. So there were the McKibbin Lofts. Yeah. So there were the McKibben Lofts. There was Roberta's. Mm-hmm.

Roberta's Pizza. And then there was like a couple coffee shops. Okay. So you could live. Yes, but it was sketchy, dude. Of course. Like, again, I think the person in our apartment, I think James had like the only real bedroom uh-huh and i think

he paid 500 a month wow so tell me how to get uh stabbed or knife point what happened he just got mugged yeah he's just walking home and these dudes came up to him grabbed him held him at knife point and said give me your shit and he was actually just coming back from a new job like at a restaurant where he had to bring his social security card so they stole his wallet stole his social security card and then like through all this shit like he had like identity theft and like weird stuff like that like it's i don't think it's still going on but it just got resolved like a year ago oh my like something crazy like that i might not be telling it 100 right but like it was crazy y'all had these odd jobs we got these jobs we're in new york new york was sick man bands that we came up with it's like we came up with young rising sons

who were signed and doing well uh we were signed with or we were coming up with like my good friend mitchie c who was in oh honey and now is lovely the band biggest song of the year it's like um we just had so many of these friends who like all went on to do dope stuff were they did they get successful before y'all did well cash cash was they got more successful than us first we okay out of all the dudes that we i think the dudes that we hung out with in our scene because we were all trying to go we're all going for the same thing we're all homies and playing shows together and stuff we were the first ones was it a were y'all competitive against each other no not at the time i think it was just mitch i remember like mitch had the first

publishing deal mitch always seemed like he had a bunch of shit going on like he was always in bands that was like oh they're like being scouted by labels and he had a publishing deal and i remember like dylan um he's in rh2 now formerly rad horror he was the guitar player for young rising suns like he had a publishing deal earlier he was like whoa dylan has a publishing deal and oh mitch has a publishing deal but we were the first band to like write those two songs believer and best day and like take a look yeah it was funny too because it happened quick bro straight up you can listen to like i know all those dudes the producer of oh honey and the producer of lovely the band christian metis he's one of

our good good friends he was our first producer we did so much stuff like he's our homie it's like get the fuck out of here dude you can there's no we took oh honey on tour bro but it's like you go listen to oh honey and then you listen to american author and it's like you know what they're taking from yeah you listen to young rising, it's not even a secret, dude. I've said that to Mitch's face. What do you say? Mitch is my homie. I was talking with him all last night.

It's like, I don't know. He just had a laugh. Of course, I'm not faulting it. It's like, I don't give a shit. Yeah. We're all making money. Young Rising Sons, get the fuck out of here. It's like our guitar player, James, co-wrote their first single.

It sounds exactly like American Authors. Our same dude, Shepep is the one who did all their stuff does that offend you in a way uh you know what i thought i've said this to james too i don't care one young rising suns no offense there because i think you're a hustling musician you do what you couldn't do yeah james is just writing songs yeah and at the time he was a machine dude uh he was just writing and going out and this this this this this this this and we were burnt the other three of us were burnt out we didn't want to we're like dude we're just we're back for one day i want to sit at my house yeah and so i'm not gonna like i don't i'm not upset in any way that he was part of that

i think it was so similar to american authors and american authors was just coming up the person i look at our manager and producer shep i've said to him like bro are you fucking serious like you're literally we are just starting and now you're developing literally the same band. Like it's not just, oh, the same band with four dudes. Is that the industry though? It is. It is. Cause like.

I'm not, again, I don't hold any grudges to this day, but at the time I was like, dude, are you serious? Like, and I get it. It is the industry. And it was a smart move on his part because whoa i just crushed with this band i'll just make the same one because that's what everyone wants right now i remember my homies all over were calling me like dude i'm out here trying to write for syncs and other artists and all people are talking about her we wanted to

sound like american authors so it was like i can't fault him no it's a business movie and what he does in his business is did you learn that in therapy my business no i learned that just the fuck's the point what's the point hold i don't i try not to hold grudges man i honestly i don't think there is a person that i hold what about hold grudges with yourself um no with myself no dude i don't honestly i don't care i say the same thing that i've kind of like i feel like i keep touching i had a big conversation with my mom last night and this was one of the things i was saying to her i'm like i don't care it's like all i can do is what i'm doing today i can work hard i can do what i'm passionate about i can get my shit done

but why it's such a bummer to think about down the road. And you know what? Okay, look, I'll take it back. My mom said, I can't believe you're saying this because that's always been such a big issue with you. I always think years down the line, days down the line, down the road, what if this happens and this happens and this, this, this, this, this. this so it is i don't know when it started or how i got into this now but thinking about today is just all i that's i think that's the best how hard is it to stay present hard really hard i find more people live in the past yeah i think than the future i think personally more people live in the past than the future that's

what i found i just know a lot of people man and they're just still holding on to shit from the past they still talk about the past um and i don't know i'm not saying you can't talk about the past in these good ways but these these hardships and these things that really hurt you from the past and and it's what's the point yeah for me i always felt like i lived in the future and i was very worried about the future. Like, what if this tour doesn't go this way and this song doesn't do this? Then what do I do at this point and this, this, this? Where now it's like, screw that noise.

What can I do today? Okay, if I have this time, what can I do? I can meet with you. I can then go in there, finalize my artwork. I got my other two videos for my other project done. I can prioritize and do what I can just to keep today successful. Do you think you're more productive now that you're present? I think I've always been productive because I've always been a hustler

and I've always worked hard. There's no doubt about that. But I think I'm not super-duper stressed. Are you happy? I'm not freaking out, I'm not like super duper stressed. Are you happy? I'm not freaking out. I'm not scared. Yeah, I am happy. I'm really happy.

Have you, is it hard to be happy? Not for me. No? No way, dude. I got it made in the shade, baby. No, but like when you're in Bushwick and your boy's getting stabbed and like you love that, you're happy then too and your boy's getting stabbed and like, you love that. You're happy then too.

I will always tell people this. Cause people ask me, they're like, Oh, that must've been so crazy. Like hustling and Bushwick and being broke. I look at those times as some of the best times of my life. Same.

Now I didn't get stabbed. I didn't get held at knife point. So I cannot speak for Matt. Yeah. But I think for all of us to do so fun living in this shitty apartment together, we all had restaurant jobs going out we had all these friends who worked in the industry and they take us out to events and

it was sick dude so you used to stay out till 4 a.m then i'd ride the subway home because i didn't have money for a cab and i'd fall asleep on the subway wake up at the airport because that's the last stop and then i'd have to like sit there till it rode me back to my house and get home at 7 30 it's like dude that was fun and funny do you think you wrote a lot about that um in your life i think it i think just the hard work and everything i think it's like that shows in our music because our music is it's it's music about hope. It's for the hopeful. And it's really, it's like everything we do, even though our sound has evolved,

it's everything is about seeing that light at the end of the tunnel. Yeah. Even like this new project that I'm working on, it's a little like darker. It's like a little heavier. It's like a rap rock thing. What are you talking about? I'm talking about the same shit though though, man, because it still is.

The reason why I wanted to do that project is because I felt like there was this lull. I feel like there's these amazing heavy rock musicians out there now, but they're really serious. It's really either political or just different concepts that can be a little alienating to people. And the thing that I was missing, it's like I like that stuff. Like I like talking politics and I love that shit. But for me personally, it's like I think right now in music, people want to let go. It's good to fight and it's good to have a stance. And it's like we have charities that we donate to.

We're working with charities on this tour. We're doing things to progress. Magic Giants are good about that, too. They're amazing. Magic Giants are amazing. It's like, because of them, they're inspiring us where we're not doing any plastic bottles on the tour and just refillable water bottles that we have to bring. And we're taking these steps.

But in music, it's like, people have it hard. And even the people that have it good have it hard. And it's like we all need this hope. So it's like with my side thing, yeah, it's like a little heavier. But it's still this music about real life and hope. American authors, it's all about there's a struggle. It's not always going to be peaches and cream. It's hard.

But it's like being with your friends, being with good people, and staying hopeful. It's so important, man. like being with your friends, being with good people and staying hopeful. It's so important, man. And I think that came from our hard work. Yeah. And us having nothing and being able to laugh at these situations.

Yeah. Like fucking James, our guitar player, slanging MacBooks on Craigslist. That's what he did. He'd buy and sell MacBooks. I love that. You find them super cheap

and you go sell them to someone else. I love it. It's like Matt. So you guys are born to hustle. Born to hustle. I'll leave it at this. We'll leave it at that. By the by the way thanks for talking to you of course man thank you you know i know we're trying to stay present here but what do you want to be remembered by i think i want to i want to be remembered by obviously having good music that said good things and that helped people

really like by the by the mass like i think that's a nice thing to be remembered by. I hope that we just can affect people and affect people's lives. I hope people can look back on our music and really appreciate it, man. I hope that my friends and family can look back that I was a really fun, good person, that they truly liked to be around. I really hope that. Yeah. I hope my family can especially remember me for being there for other family members, you know, being supportive and being helpful and being a role model. It's awesome.

And I really hope you mourn for your pops one of these days. Yeah. And I know you will. It's a process, dude. It is. These things are a process, man. I'm glad you're opening it up, man. It's a process, dude. These things are a process, man. I'm glad you're opening it up, man. It's really important, man.

Life is, we only get one chance at this. So we might as well just fucking be the people we exactly want to be. Definitely. Thanks, Zach. You're the man. You're the man, dude. Thank you, dude.

Well, hello. I am Arno Bakker, and this is Staying Relevant with Arno Bakker. Today, we will analyze lyrical, and this is Staying Relevant with Arno Bakker. Today we will analyze lyrical structures and hidden messages in the song The Box by the artist Ruddy Rich. Shall we get started? Ha ha ha, I've been moving out. It's still up with me then. He got the blues in the pouch.

Took her to the forest, Put the wood in her mouth. Bitch don't wear no shoes in my house. The private I'm flying in, I never won't fly again. I'll take my chances in traffic, yeah. She's sucking on dick. No hands with it. I just made the roll rolling plane like a landing strip. I'm a 2020 president candidate. I done put a hundred bands on Zimmerman. Shit. I am flabbergasted, gobsmacked, befuddled, gormless, staggered, baffled, discombobulated. I'm bamboozled, nonplused, buffaloed, not for a loop, muddled, puddled, and speechless. For I have no clue what this young man is babbling about.

But he seems to be into politics, and that in this day and age is encouraging. Let us hope he will strive for a safer environment, more equality between the sexes and a better distribution of wealth. In short, a better world. This is why I love young people. See you next week in Staying Relevant with Arno Bakker.

And there you have it. Thanks, Zach, for being on the show. Ernie Chang. What's up? What up? Chang is on the building. He's on the podcast today. Let's do this. We're talking Kobe.

I feel like that's how we really met each other. You know, actually, funny enough, one of the things we did when we were kids, we didn't know this when we first met, was you were on the same traveling basketball team as I was, but you were in the younger league with Coach Wallengren, and I was in the older one. So just basketball, Kobe, Lakers. I mean, I remember the first, like, when we really got to know each other,

you were looking at a guitar, a guitar merchant, that local guitar shop. Because we grew up in the same town, really. You grew up in Calabasas. I grew up in West Hills. Yeah. You went to Calabasas. I went to El Camino. Yeah.

But, I mean, you know, when you're that close of a town, I mean, you know each other. Yeah, pretty much. But it was Kobe, dude. It was Kobe. That's how we related to each other, was the Lakers basketball. I didn't know you played saxophone until you told me.

What's that story again? You were, like, looking at a guitar, right? No, no, you got that reversed. You were actually looking for pedals and you were talking to phil and uh phil was the owner of a guitar merchant and i was teaching there oh and then phil i was teaching a kid when you walked in and then phil called me out when i finished my lesson uh and he was like hey this is andy frasco this is ernie and then you're like hey man just got off the road with. This is Ernie. And then you're like, hey, man,

just got off the road with my trio. I had a trio back then. Yeah, you got off with your trio. And he's like, hey, man. Yeah, he feels like Ernie's an amazing saxophone player. He's like, oh, yeah, you play horn? I always wanted a horn. You want to come sit in?

I'm like, sure, man. Mind you, I'm already like working a nine to five job at Bank of America and being like a financial advisor and everything, making okay money. And then next next thing you know you come walking into my life and then uh yeah you wasn't it like i asked you go on tour like oh that so you yeah i remember so i sat in i ended up sitting in the whole set i love sex uh yeah i ended up sitting in the whole set and then um and then what was it you went you stepped outside with a friend of ours. I think I don't know who it was.

Maybe Emily Palami? Yeah, it was probably Emily. You're sitting outside. I walk out with my horn, and you fling the door open. It's like, Ernie, I like you. You want to go on tour? And I looked at you. It took me about 10 seconds.

I was like, yeah, why not? I'm leaving next week or something. What was it? Yeah, you were i'm leaving next week or something what was it yeah you left you were leaving for tour next week in june and i put in my technically my two-week notice that night and then i didn't show for the last week and i went on the road with you and that was what 13 years ago 13 years ago i think that was 13 years holy man man we're getting old dog we've been doing this a long fucking time yes Yes, we have. Man, I remember when I first... You're like, whoa, so what's the pay like?

I'm like, dude, I promise I'll take care of you. We're going to make like 500 bucks a month. But I will take care of you, man. We will ride this thing out. It was good, man. Fuck, I can't believe I've been rocking this now 13 years. Yeah, 13 years, man, I think. The ups and downs, dude.

But that's what Kobe taught us. Exactly. He's the one who brought us. I think he's the one who brought us together. I think he's the one who gave us our work ethic. I definitely think so. What about Kobe did you learn? With Kobe, here's the thing.

I learned that you have to love what you do. And that really meant a lot to me because when I was working at a bank, you know, I mean, it just wasn't fun. I wasn't loving it. I mean, I haven't touched my horn in a year after when I started that. And then I slowly got back into it.

And then, you know, the universe has its way of, you know, making it work. Found you. It's true. I mean, it's a way of, you know, making it work. Found you. It's true. I mean, it's crazy. Once you, like, stop overthinking the future, things start just happening. I feel like, I don't know, what do you think?

I definitely think so, too. But you know how our family dynamics are like, you know, an Asian family, a Jewish family, it's very, you know, they expect things from you. Yeah, it's the guilt trip. Oh, man. You get the guilt trip. I get the silent treatment and the stares.

What? Like, what do they do? You know, like, all right, I love my sister to death. You know, she will tell me what's up. But now my father, he'll be like, he won't say nothing to me. He'll just look at me. And then he would just be like, you make any money? I'm like, not really. He's like, is like you make any money i'm like not really he's

like is this something for fun i'm like um yes and no trying to do both and then he's like i think you should get a better job i'm like what kind of job you think i should get he's like you should work at the post office i'm like what what the fuck well because you give benefits and stuff yeah and it's like stuff And it's consistent Exactly He's that old school Asian mentality guy That just wants constant Did you always have that pressure As a kid?

I didn't, no My grandma was pretty nice She let me do what I wanted to do I was kind of spoiled by her God rest her soul Rest in peace grandma My dad was more of an uncle to me. Yeah.

Yeah, but I mean, with that. That's crazy, though. Your own father felt more like an uncle to you. Did that ever fucking piss you off or hurt you? Yeah, man. Yeah, of course it has. I mean, every family has its own, you know, ups and downs and relationships with their parents.

Yeah, so, you know, in my situation, me and my sister's situation it was more you know we had we thank god we had our grandmother and our other you know aunts and uncles that yeah were around you know and sometimes you know you just you just kind of have to hang with it and just ride with it with what you got so yeah it's true you do the best you can and that's the same thing what kobe taught us kobe's like no matter what, you could get shit thrown at you. You could have shit happen to you. Don't matter what, you have to stay focused and keep doing what you want to do

and what you love to do and give that 110, 120%. All right, let's talk about that. Now 13 years in, do you still love this shit? Yeah, dude. What are you talking about, man? Some days are tougher than others. Well, yeah. But now that you have a girlfriend, is it harder for you because you miss someone?

Yes, it is. I mean, I love her so much, but she also understands this is what we do. Yeah. And she fully supports what I do and what we all do. Did you almost quit? No, I didn't almost quit. It was more like one of my exes gave me an ultimatum. It was more like one of my exes gave me an ultimatum.

It was like, all right, I'm either breaking up with you or you got to leave. Now looking back, do you think you could have done anything else, Ernie, and be happy? Honestly, bro, just to be playing beside you and with everybody in the band, like with Sean B, Floyd now, and all the other ones. God, we probably have... How many band members do you think we've had? I go by versions. So, you know, sometimes with computer programs, you only got 1.0, 2.0.

I think we're at... I remember last time I checked, we're at version 14. 14.0, dude? Yeah, we're 14.0. You've been with me through... I mean, you've been with me through i mean you've been with me almost the beginning almost the beginning so you had you technically had two you had two uh three uh trios before me so you had you know what was it busy no no no no you had your cousin

matt's cousin and then and then uh uh greg greg uh greg yeah now he's playing with like fucking selena gomez yeah exactly and then lose all of them to disney stars dude yeah like neil too with some girl named duya or uh dupa i can't remember she's fucking huge but yeah but he but yeah they all all the drummers move on to you know disney star yeah whatever because i get them we get them in la yeah exactly and they're all fucking like yo fuck this I'm not playing a fucking ball at then now we're playing real rooms but yeah no but I mean that's the thing you got I mean we were we we started it from nothing you you started it from 5,000 to a 2,000 emails and you got a hundred replies back yeah that's how you started

in those trio. And then when I joined in, it was technically 3.0. Were you with me when I wasn't 21 yet? Yeah, I was literally, you just turned 21, and then we went out drinking. And, oh, God, you were having fun. And you just. I think I did an eight ball to myself.

I think I was Lafayette, Louisiana. Remember? Yes, it was. They spelled my name in cocaine. Yeah. Poor Ernie, dude. I can't believe he's been with me this long because Ernie doesn't do drugs. He barely smoked weed once or twice. Nothing.

He drinks like we all, but I couldn't believe it. He'd go to these parties when I was fucking a wild dog, and they'd spell my name out, Andy Frasco, in cocaine, and I'd be like, let's fucking go. Oh, man.

Oh, God. I mean, yeah, we're surrounded by it. Yeah. I just choose not to do it. It's awesome. I don't need to. It's a lot of willpower. Yeah.

I mean, I'm pretty good with that kind of stuff. I mean, I quit smoking, too. Yeah. I mean, it's been a year now. Yeah, it's been about a year. You know, I'm pretty good with that kind of stuff. I mean, I quit smoking, too. It's been a year now. Yeah, it's been about a year. I feel good about it. I definitely think I could play longer notes. Yeah, I bet.

Yeah, but besides that, man, I mean, hell, we have so many things that we did. Remember when we spent a winter in Iowa? Oh, man. Yeah, we got snowed in. We got snowed in, and we just kept on booking shows in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Oh, man. Yeah, we got snowed in. We got snowed in, and we just kept on booking shows in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Like, what the fuck are these kids? They're just hanging out. Well, if you remember, we couldn't get out because it was iced over.

They couldn't get the interstate to open again for like a week and a half. We're living off of schwa's asparagus and avocados. And deer chili. And deer chili. Oh, God, yeah. And then seaweed. That was what it was. Oh, yeah, we had seaweed.

Oh, man. Seaweed salad. Shout out to Schwa. You ever talk to Schwa anymore? I mean, occasionally when we were in Cedar Rapids, we would always hit him up. I mean, we always ask where he's at. He showed up to our last Cedar Rapids show. Yeah.

And he brought his mom and her husband. They would always show up and come hang out. Are your parents proud of you now? I think my dad is. My sister, my sister definitely is. Yeah, she sees our growth. This is a big couple years for us.

Yeah, definitely. Definitely, I believe that. And then, like, my cousin's always been supportive. Or, are they not going to be happy until you buy your own fucking Mercedes-Benz

with your own money? You know, honestly, I don't think it, I mean. My parents, I it... I think about this too with my parents. When did they start becoming happy? When I started making money or I started becoming fulfilled with my dreams? Honestly,

I think it's going to be all of the above. My dad belly flopping in the panic on the playa. Shout out to Bruno. Oh my god. Oh man. So funny. I think that was probably... I've never seen you the most on the playa. Oh, Bruno. Shout out to Bruno. Oh, my God. Oh, man. So funny. I think that was probably I've ever seen you like the most proud of your father.

Yeah, man. You were, I mean, we just found out Kobe died. Yeah. We were like... Found out 10 minutes before the show. And we were like, okay, this is our first show.

First show ever in panic on the playa. We're making our statement there. And like, you know, we're amped up to do this and then we get that devastating news. And then, you know, Frasco, I gotta give you credit, man. I love you to death.

Dude, you had that switch. You just switched it on like how Kobe does. Mom mentality, dude. Exactly. You say, all right, fuck this. I gotta do what I gotta do. I got a job to do.

This is what I love to do. And then you did it and we killed it. And then next thing you know, you see your dad on the side smiling big, your mom smiling big. And then your dad just sees you go in from the crowd, sir. Bruno, Bruno.

The whole crowd is going, Bruno. Everybody's just shouting Bruno. And, of course, your dad's going to be like, well, my son went in. I'm going to have to go. And then he kept telling me afterwards, he's like, Bruno had to go. You know he's lit when he's talking to himself in third fucking person he was fucking hammered that show and um but it was just cool like you know because you know they they think of you as their son too you know like they fucking love you ernie you've been with me you've been fun they're all about loyalty and they see who's loyal. They see this band's been loyal

with me forever and like, that's the great thing about my parents. They care. They care about the people who are treating me good. When they start treating me bad,

they're like, fuck those guys. My mom was funny like that. She's like, nope, fuck them. Nope, I don't want them.

Nope, they're not part of my, they're not part of my, Oh God, I love Marlene. She's so awesome. She's a good woman. Chang, thanks for being on the show.

More time. We're going to get more of you guys on this show because people are asking, and we're going to give... Once it gets a little more popular, we're going to just give you your full fucking hour. I'm going to fucking... I'm going to start being psychiatrist.

Oh, God, here we go. All right, let's bring it on. One last thing before we go. All-time best Kobe moment for you. Ooh. Man. Did you ever meet Kobe? I never did meet Kobe.

Me either. But you remember we met Vanessa. Yeah. We met Vanessa. We did their party. Yeah. We did their party. We did their party.

We played the Nike party and Vanessa was there. Kobe wasn't there. No. Kobe was on a road game, I think. But she did those things. Oh, you know what? She was wearing a Top Gun outfit, too. Oh, it was a Halloween?

It was in a Halloween? Yeah. Oh, no. God damn it. Yeah, that's why last time. But I never met Kobe. You know, I always wanted to. Vanessa was always so beautiful.

Yeah, I mean, she, dude, she was a force to be reckoned with herself. Yeah, because Andy Avila's close friend, her, our close family friend was Kobe's publicist.

Yeah, exactly. And she got us on the show like maybe Kobe's there like we'll fucking take the gig. Yeah, we don't care,

we don't want money. We just want to see Kobe. Yeah, Vanessa showed up and that's cool too. that was definitely cool. No, what was Beats' friends? Kobe called her the pipple with heels.

Yeah, pipple with heels. She was her fucking. His PR agent. She was a killer. Yeah, yeah. That's what it was. She got us Kobe shoes throughout the years. Yeah, she hooked it up. She hooked us up.

Yeah. Fuck yeah. But best Kobe moment? You know, honestly, I still think it's probably, I mean, personally, it has to be that last game of 60 points. Yeah. Because we saw it. We saw it.

But, I mean, his best moment, in my personal opinion, I probably would have to say his first championship after Shaq left. Yep. Me too. It's just, you know, and he played it against, I think it was, was it Boston? It was Magic. Oh, it was Magic. Yeah, Dwight. Yeah, Dwight.

Yeah, Dwight. And he fucking jumped over his head. He's like, how my dick taste? Yeah, exactly. But I have to say,

because that's a stamp. He's like, I don't need Shaq to win championships. And then next thing you know, he won, you know, number one after that. And then,

five, five on his fingers. Yeah. We don't need to open for anyone at Red Rocks. We'll get there ourselves, buddy. We'll do it. Damn buddy. We'll do it. Damn right.

We'll be like Kobe 0-9, 0-10, dog. Hey, Kobe and pal. I love you, Chang. Thanks for believing in me, and thanks for fucking riding this. You know, you could have done anything in your life, and thanks for sharing your years with me, bro. Fuck yeah, brother, man. I love you, too.

I love you. Guys, thanks for being on the show. Next week, we got Nick from Big Something. He's sound checking right now. We hear you, baby. Yeah, brother, man. I love you too, man. Guys, thanks for being on the show. Next week, we got Nick from Big Something. He's sound checking right now. We hear you, baby. You're up next. Yeah, buddy. You're up there next week.

Yeah. All right. Love you. Be safe. Wear condoms. Take care of yourselves. Tell your fucking neighbor or friend that you love them. You never know when it's their turn to leave.

And you ready to rock a show? Let's do it. It's Big Something Tour's been going killer. Dude. I'm fucking killing it. It's their turn to leave. And you ready to rock a show? This big something tour has been going killer. Dude. I'm fucking killing it. It's been so much fun. Y'all, you should all buy tickets to this tour. It is fucking fun.

We had Billy Strings up last week. We got so many guests sit in. We're doing this wrestling thing. I'm not going to ruin it for you. Go buy tickets. AndyFrasco.com. Arno, I love you. Ernie, I love you.

Let's go fuck these people up. Let's go. You tuned in to the third season of Informative Idiocy of Andy Fresco's World Saving Podcast. Thank you for listening to episode 72, 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 worldsavingpodcast. For more info on the blog and tour dates, head to andyfresco.com. Now, Andy, when is the new album due? Just curious? And in the meantime, I am listening to your music on iTunes and Spotify.

This week's guest is Sam Barnett from American Authors. Find him on weareamericanauthors.com This week's special guests are Ernie Chen, Ari Findlings, Dave Schools and Dolph Cohen. Now last week Andy suggested I have a cynical view

on America. A remark that I cannot leave contradicted. For cynicism in modern language implies you have given up. You're standing on the sideline just complaining about the world. And my observations and remarks on the dark side of the America that I love, the America that led my world for the time I knew it, are not coming from an oh fuck it mentality, but from a source that believes change for the better is possible. I will be dissatisfied. I will be dissatisfied

until we rule out inequality, injustice, poverty and the suffering that comes with all that. In a world where even our biggest heroes are sadly subject to mortality, we can only learn that we ourselves have to step up and be our own hero. Thanks for showing the path and may you rest in peace, Kobe Bryant. And now let us embrace those who stay behind

and find the courage to step up and make this world a better place. See you next week. Cynicism.