Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 98: Sam Harris (X Ambassadors)

Episode Date: September 15, 2020

Andy did something questionable on a boat recently. Surprised? You shouldn't be! And on the Interview Hour we welcome Sam Harris of rock trio, X Ambassadors! Sam talks about his band, his brother, and his Jungian Shadow Self. Listen in as Sam & Andy plunge the oceanic depths of self-knowledge, and discover what horrors await there for our intrepid journeymen. Dolav feels unbridled joy. Shawn and Beats sing a song. This is EP 98. Follow us on Instagram @worldsavingpodcast For more information on Andy Frasco, the band and/or the blog, go to: AndyFrasco.com Check out Andy's new album, "Keep On Keepin' On" on iTunes Spotify  And keep on keepin up with the X Ambassadors while you're at it   Produced by Andy Frasco Joe Angelhow Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: Ahri Findling Dolav Cohen Shawn Eckels  Andee "Beats" Avila Arno Bakker

Mr. Frasco, this is Mike from Lake Powell Boat Rental. We just got the boat back, and it looks like there's a big dent on the starboard side. I'm not sure what happened here, but we're not going to be able to return your security deposit. I'm not sure what you guys were doing, if you were fucking around or racing or something, but this boat's going to have to be detailed. uh we're keeping that 1700 security deposit also you left a bunch of your shit i don't know if you want it there's a couple lakers jerseys some sweatshirts a bunch of handles of vodka that are filled with some sort of yellow warm substance i'm not sure what that is some nitrous canisters some mushrooms and mushrooms in a big plastic bag that,

I mean these things smell like horse shit. I'm not sure what they are. Some happy first birthday balloons and a bunch of botulist tampons. Call if you want it, otherwise we're gonna toss this shit out and keep it in security deposit. Alright, call us if you have any questions. All right, and we're live.

Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast. I'm Andy Frasco. How the fuck we doing? I'm back from a vacation. I went on a boat for two weeks. It was a lot of fucking fun. I basically took acid and mushrooms for two weeks straight to find myself, in a sense. It was a blast. Never had a vacation longer than that where there's no cell phone service. Taught me a lot about myself, but it was a blast. Had a good time, and I'm ready to rock. Getting this

shit going. We got Sam Harris, ex-Ambassadors. Big show. This guy was cool. He lives in LA. He's from upstate New York. Just a badass interview. You'll hear all about it. His brother's blind in the band and he had to take care of his brother basically his whole life. And he's in the band and being in a band with a brother, it's complicated. So shout out to you, Sam, for being vulnerable. Can't wait for you to hear this, but fuck dude, I got some crazy news. I am going to be closing out Red Rocks Amphitheater on September 17th, Thursday. It's going to be badass. I'm fucking pumped up about it. Just a bunch of crazy shit. I woke up from this daydreams thinking like, oh, fuck. Sometimes when you work so hard, you forget all the work you put in. And if you take a step back and realize that you're

doing a good job and don't be so hard on yourself because we're not that hard on anyone else but ourselves. We're hardest on ourselves. So we take a step back and say, wait, I deserve a pat on the back too. Not in a narcissistic way, but just give yourself credit for the work and just proud of the band that we even had a chance. I know it's only 200 tickets are allowed in the venue, but for them to give us the nod to play at a historic venue like that is fucking dope. So shout out to Red Rocks and shout out to the gang, Schwartz,

and the gang for getting us on the bill. Then also, we got the dance party rocking. We got the dance party back September 19th. Fucking pumped up on that. Just a big week for the band. We got, we'll be smoking some 14-year weed out there in the Red Rocks. Be like, ah, fuck yeah.

Out here, Boulder weed in the Morrison area. Let's go. If you're in the Colorado area, bring some to the show. Let's all get high and whatnot. But it's just been crazy, man. Sometimes you feel unmotivated to work when you get off the road or get off. I know I did 23 weeks of just straight live streams and content that my brain was just scrambled. And I was just like, I was, I feel like I was forcing

shit. And it's just, I'm just super proud that, um you know i got a great family and friends that uh take care of me when i'm feeling stressed out and not judge me and shit so shout out to all my friends out here in denver for holding me um and keeping me good but yeah it's it's it's fucking crazy out here right now for the frasco band it's awesome it's a lot of things brewing the shit show like i we got some great crazy news for that i can't tell you about yet but it's fucking exciting um just follow you know i'll you know just follow your dreams guys it's gonna be hard it's gonna be crazy you're gonna want to quit every other fucking day i've wanted to quit every not every other day but every couple months like fuck. I'm working too hard. And we realize that when you don't give up on

things, they come to you and they're not going to come to you when you want them to. They're going to come to you when you're not expecting it. It's kind of like love. I guess dreams, your dreams are love too, because you're not going to do something if you don't love it. I hope, you know, so stay strong out there. Do I have to put on this fucking eye of the tiger music for y'all? Stay fucking strong. The world's crazy. It's 2020. If we could have, this is what I want. I want you guys to prepare for 2021. You have three months to fucking, I'm tearing this down, but you have three months to prepare, to try to be optimistic for 2021. 2020 sucked. I know it was pessimistic city, fucking the virus and jobs losing. We're all living on unemployment. It's just,

it's fucking hard. But just if we could prepare ourselves and tell our mind that 2021 is going to fuck shit up, We're going to fuck shit up in 2021. We're going to be the best people we can be and prepare yourself just to try to look at life optimistically. Then I think we're going to make it through this fucking madness. You know, it's like we think about the future too much. You know, I'm telling you to prepare for 2021, but if we prepare for optimism, then whatever happens, we're going to be okay with. If we prepare for doomsday style shit, and we're going to fuck shit up in 2021. So let's enjoy this fall. Let's enjoy kind of this, you know, I'll call it the fallout fall. Like we're going to get rid of all the bad vibes and we're going to fuck shit up. You're going to fuck shit up because you're a legend. Don't forget how powerful you actually are. So get out there

and fuck shit up. Follow your dreams. Even if your fucking girlfriend or boyfriend or your parents don't believe in them, fuck them for now. Don't tell them to fuck off. But in your mindset, you know what? Fuck off, girlfriend or boyfriend or mom or dad. I'm going to do this. And I realized that through my two week of LSD is like, I hold people's words and I feel words

so heavy. Like my mom called me right before I went on vacation and was like, oh, it was kind of a weird conversation. She's like, I'm just worried that you're on heroin or you're on drugs. And before even asking me how my day was, it was kind of fucked up in a sense. And I, you know, normally I would just hold that shit in and just not say anything and just keep going with my day. But, you know, if you feel something, express it. And I did, and we're good now.

And I'm like, I didn't like how you talked to me that way. And everything worked out and she apologized and I apologized and told her I'm not doing heroin. I'm just doing LSD and mushrooms. So I'm like, calm down, calm down, calm the fuck down. But why I got there was we hold things in, don't hold anything in. If you have something to say, get it out there because if we keep all that shit in our body, it's fucking toxic and poisons that stay in our body become cancers and pessimistic ideas. And we stop following our dreams. And this is all about following your fucking dreams. Just follow your dreams. Be the people you want to be. Be as authentic to who the fuck you are.

Because at the end of the day, and when we go and die and do our thing, we just have our thoughts. And we just have our, we go out alone. So just make sure when that day comes, and we're all going to die, it's all good. It happens. That we feel good about what we brought back and the honesty we at least tried to bring into the world. So fucking stay honest, stay powerful because you're a fucking legend. Don't forget that. All right, let's get on with the show. Ladies and gentlemen, we're back from

vacation. I'm on fire right now, so let's do this shit We got Sam Harris, so ladies and gentlemen Enjoy the show And I'll catch you on the tail end To pump you up a little more Because you fucking deserve it Do I have to play the fucking music again? You deserve it, go get it

Go get those dreams Alright, I'll talk to you guys soon Alright Next up on the interview hour, we have Sam Harris from X Ambassadors, New York down to LA. Great story. Hey, Chris, play some X Ambassadors. Never really listened to the music before I did the interview. And then I started doing some research, played some music, and heard their story. And they're fucking good. And the guy is smart as shit. Writes for other people.

I kind of relate to him where he holds all this. He feels like it's on him to do things. And with that pressure, it makes you work harder or sometimes it'll get you in your head that, it'll get you in your head. And for him to take care of his brother who's blind and be in a band with his brother and, you know, all the dynamics of fucking brotherly love.

You've seen the Black Crows, you know. It's not easy to be in a band with your fucking brother you know the robinsons fucking hate each other probably so shout out to sam for being honest and vulnerable about the hardships it is to be in a band with the brother who has a disability and um it was a great conversation i was really looking forward to showing this guy i recorded this last week or right before I went on vacation. I was thinking about it. Yeah, this is a good one. So, ladies and gentlemen,

please enjoy Sam Harris from X and Bess. X and Bess. Everything I thought I knew was wrong Cause you know everything sounds like a love song Now that you're gone, gone, gone guitar solo Now everything sounds like a love song Now everything I thought I knew was wrong Cause now everything sounds like a love song Now that you're gone, gone, gone What up, dude? How we doing today?

What up? I'm doing great, man. How are you? How's quarantine treating you? Five months in, baby. You know, five months in, six months in, months in six months in three months in, I don't know. It's all blending together. It's good, man. You know,

it's, it's, it's a very strange time. I've talked about this, uh, that, that is like the understatement of the, of the century.

It's a very strange time, but it is, you know, I, I feel like I've been very actively creative in this time, been writing a lot of music, been working on a bunch of different projects and like kind of figuring out now I just like kind of dove straight into like re-navigating everything.

of dove straight into like re-navigating everything and i'll be honest with you some like yesterday and the day yesterday i i it like all just like hit me and i'm like exhausted i'm fucking tired yeah bro i'm fucking tired and then like today i'm feeling like pretty good again and like you know like you know it's monday i'm sometimes on mondays i'm like i'm like oh god just let me just hide for a second and i don't want to go out into the world and then you know today i'm feeling a little better so it's it's just like waves man it's just up and down and up and down. And you try not to let... It is like the greatest exercise in living in the present that I think any of us have ever experienced.

Definitely than I have ever experienced. What are your ways to re-navigate your anxiety? Because normally when we're on tour, we could fucking distract ourselves through our anxiety. Like now we're stuck with ourselves and we're stuck with our insecurities. Like what are you working on to re-navigate those insecurities?

Oh man, you know, they're louder than ever, I think, in a lot of ways. And then, you know, I think in a lot of ways. And then in, you know, I feel like, well, basic things. All right. Basic things. I wake up every morning and I make a cup of coffee. That is like my ritual. You know, it's all about for me finding those rituals. So there's that. And then I journal, I write in a journal. I do. So there's this thing called

the artist's way that i i actually never read the book but a lot of my friends have and someone a buddy of mine told me that he writes uh three pages every day so for the last year uh i've been journaling every day three pages every day just like right. Pen to paper, not like on my computer or on my phone or anything. Um, and that's a really nice way to like first thing in the morning, just kind of like, like vomit my, my, the insides of my brain out, um, which, which helps, you know, and I'm talking to my therapist still on a you know bi-weekly basis which is really really good and then other than that um you know just trying to trying to stay

busy creatively i i've never really had that problem i mean i've always even when I'm not on tour, I'm obsessively working on new music. It's something that I've talked about a lot. The weird thing about our job is that it's a job, but it's also my hobby. It's also what I love to do in my spare time. So it kind of is this all-consuming thing for me and and um i think the the the ways for me to stay healthy are usually like they usually involve pulling myself out of it yeah usually involve like going to the beach you know like in la i never go to the fucking beach out here and going in the ocean

is like the most healing thing in the world and we did it just recently uh for the first time throughout this entire quarantine and it was so great what does your therapist tell you about you know because when we make our hobbies our living it kind of it it doesn't make it a hobby anymore it makes it a living so it's yeah like and when we have a hobby that we are so precious about and we now we're forced to do the hobby how do you get through the hump of doing still being creative for you instead of being creative for everyone else? Well, I think that's something that I've dealt with a lot recently. I think that even in my own work, there are so many levels to it because I've found myself in the past thinking about what I'm writing and what I'm creating in context of like, you know, what the label wants or what our fans want or what radio wants or, you know, like, and, and writing for other people you know it's like

you kind of get into this like it's very competitive and and you want to try and like you know have a million different ideas and a million different songs going all at once and that can also be overwhelming so what i've been focusing really simply lately is just like what what inspires me what do i want to make and that's it so what is i mean like look look what is that oh man um we've got this record so we have a new album album that's done now that is one of my favorite things that we've ever written. It's a concept record. It kind of morphed into a concept record. Yeah.

It started off as just like a collection of songs that I was, I wanted to weave like a sonic narrative through. And then once I found a sonic narrative, I kind of had this like narrative narrative, um, for it. Uh, and I wanted to also, uh, it, it's, it's kind of a story about this, um, this, uh, voice inside your head coming, coming to life and manifesting in reality and, and kind of what that does to you. It's like your, your, do you know the idea of the shadow self? Yeah. The, um,

the Jungian shadow self. Yeah. So it was kind of like a, uh, uh, like, almost like a cartoonish version of the shadow self. Right. Um, and the, the album is structured the shadow self. Right. Um, and the, the album is structured like a book on tape. Um, cause I grew up listening to lots of books on tape with my brother.

Um, you know, because Casey's blind, uh, watching movies together, like doing any of that shit was just like, not really, that was not watching TV together. That was not as entertaining for him.

So, so we would listen to books on tape together. So I always wanted to structure an album kind of like we have, have little interludes like that throughout. So that's what we did with this record and it flows like a book on tape and you have this voice of the narrator kind of blending in with the voice inside of your head um and it's it's a really weird trippy kind of um tim burton-y like uh album experience and we're working on a narrative podcast um that is gonna go along with it.

So shit like that. And then simultaneously we're working on, because we've been doing more and more writing and producing with other artists, I kind of wanted to do a project that didn't feature my voice, that was just us as producers. And maybe I sing a little bit on a couple songs like a hook or two or like some background vocals but it's mostly like production and then like introducing new voices um so we've been working on a project um that's an episodic

project that's that's kind of um along those lines that we're going to announce fairly soon. We've got some great artists with that. That's been a really fun project for me because that is really something that feels like we've essentially created it to be this completely free outlet where it doesn't have to be like, there's no worry about it like, is this a song for our albums, is this a song for their record,

is it just a single? There are no rules. It can just be a fucking cool song that we did with somebody else. How much pressure do you put on yourself versus the songs that write for X versus the songs you write for other people? um, you know, I would just, I just got kind of mentally caught up in like the rat race and like, you know, it's, I put so much pressure on myself and it, you know, it wasn't worth it in the end. It wasn't worth it for me in the end to do that. I am doing, trying to do less of that with, with myself. Um, working with other people that feels like there's like, I'm just,

I'm just there to be a, you know, to help be a conduit for someone else's work. You know, like I'm, I'm there in the service of, of the artist. Uh, you know, I'll, I'll make sure that it's it's the the the place where i come into is like choosing who i work with you know what i'm saying like once i get there once i like i i will say no to a lot of different projects but then when i say yes to something i come to the table and i'm i'm there for you i'm there to like for you to support your voice as as a songwriter as an artist uh even as a producer like you know if i i'm not precious about any of that shit you know when it comes down to when i'm in the room with someone who i i really respect

and admire i'm like just there for you so there's i feel like pressure and i and i want to make sure they know the pressure's off too you know like how are you supposed to create something if you're like how are you supposed to create something special if you're in this zone where you're like you know okay like i got uh i got until six o'clock let's try try and write three fucking smashes. Fuck that, man. I have no interest in that. I have more of an interest sitting down with you, seeing what you're interested in pursuing, trying to catch a vibe.

And if we do, we do. If we don't, we don't. And I want to create something that is interesting for you. Why does the music industry feel like we need to have quantity over quality? You know, I'm sure there are people out there who have much better answers to this. But I think that they're trying, on the business end, they're trying to throw so many different things against the wall, um,

to see what sticks. And, uh, um, you know, that's always kind of been the philosophy and the way that it operates, the label operates and publishers operate. Do you think that causes more anxiety for the person creating? If you let it, you know, if you take it upon yourself to be the one to give them the, you know, the plethora of, of shit to throw at the wall, then yeah, that'll, that'll really like fuck you up, you know? Uh, and I think, and I think a lot of us do, a lot of us take that

pressure on, you know? Um, because like, first of all, it's exciting. The idea of just like, just make a bunch of shit and you're like, Ooh oh yeah, I want to make a bunch of shit. And then you kind of, at least for me, I kind of lost sight of why I was making it in the first place. Yeah, same here. You know, like, why am I writing a million fucking hooks over a million different beats? million different beats like why don't i hone in on something create something from the ground up that i really feel passionate about yeah you know i i think that like god art you know our biggest our biggest struggle as people in this industry is to really really um balance the uh you know being a being a business person and with being

an artist and being, you know, someone who is trying to market themselves and being an artist. And, uh, you know, I, I think that it is so easy for me lately to lose sight of being an artist you know especially oh my dad's calling me right now i'll uh tell him what up dad i want to go back into shadow self background because oh yeah i mean if we give our shadow too much control of ourselves? Is that toxic? You know, the whole idea from what I've kind of understood so far about the Jungian shadow self is that it is, you know, when we're very young, we start to understand and we start to understand a little bit more about ourselves and our personality traits. We realize things about ourselves like that, that are able to help us survive, you know, and help us feel safe as, as young children. So it's like, if I grow up in

an environment where, uh, I need to, if I, if I make my, to draw too much attention to myself, that puts, that puts me in danger or, or I get, I get made fun of, or I, you know, like I, uh, I feel unsafe, then I'm going to do, I'm going to take that part of me that is, is loud and gregarious and, and outspoken. And I'm going to, I'm going to put that away. I'm going to repress. I'm going to say like, I don't, I that's, that's not something I need. Yeah. That's not something I need in my life. Is that ego? Um, I don't know what that would be. I mean, that would probably be more like your, your, yeah, maybe, I don't know. Um, anyways, they're like certain personality traits that we repress because they they we

think that they endanger us right yeah and they could sometimes they're really good traits but sometimes they're really like sometimes you know when you if you uh um you're on the playground and you push a kid down just because you felt like it in the moment and they get a bloody nose and go to the nurse's office and you get scolded for that you take that in and you say oh okay so that's that's a part of me that exists that i probably shouldn't yeah i probably shouldn't do all the time yeah you know um and it's different for everybody and i think that the the really interesting part about the shadow self is it's there, it's put together of the things that we find ourselves later wishing we had more of. And also the things that we have always been afraid of showing the world because we consider them dangerous or ugly, you know. So in a sense, the shadow self is the things

that aren't you in the present moment. Who is your shadow self, Sam? Oh, man. You know, I think I am a very diplomatic person. And I think, you know, I think I am a very diplomatic person and I think, you know, let's, we can start there. Like I, I, I'm in a fucking band, right. I'm like, I, I am, I am the, you know, like the one who like really, I'm always juggling personalities and, and trying to be the one, you know, to make everything copacetic all the time and like to, you know, incorporate everything. And I think probably, you know, that comes from a place of me as the child wanting to, uh, wanting to help wanting to pacify because I, you know,

the household that I grew up in with, it was me, it was mostly just me and my mom and my brother. And my brother, uh, was not only, not only did he have a disability, but he was also like a very, very, very rebellious kid. So, you know, my mom had her. He was blind too, huh? Yeah, he was blind. And rebellious? Born blind and like, just like such a fucking little asshole.

And, you know, drove my mom crazy. And so I was kind of left to be the one to help navigate things. And I think I realized at an early age, like, oh, if I help mom out by doing this with Casey, that makes her happy. I see that makes her happy. And I kind of brought that in. So I think a part of my shadow self is someone who is a little more self involved and, and who is like, I want to do what I want to do. So you feel like you've always just gave for others instead of finding yourself.

I think a big part of a big part of me does. And I think I've constantly struggled between the two. I also had my dad who was someone I really, really looked up to and still look up to. And he was always kind of there to tell me, listen, you are a really talented, talented kid. You can fucking do anything you want. You can do anything you want to do.

Like make sure that you focus on what makes you happy. So I was kind of always battling with these parts. And still to this day, you know, I fight with that a lot. I think that's certainly a big part of my shadow self. I think. Do you feel like you're a father figure to your brother i feel like i am a father figure to a lot of people in my life and i'm also looking for a father figure and looking for like a brother figure you know like i it's a bit of both it's a bit of both like my brother

and i also have a very interesting dynamic because he's older he's older than me and yet you know he relied on me a lot growing up and still to this day relies on me you know for a lot of things and that caused when we were kids caused like a buckload of tension. And like we were in therapy for a while as little kids. And it was like a very, it was tense. But we were always there with each other. Was there always animosity between y'all? Or you guys? When we were teenagers, there was.

And then we started playing music together and then it all kind of changed and then you know it was around the same time that my parents split up uh and i think i was looking for something to really keep my family together and you know and i think casey casey had always been such an incredible musician. Did that piss you off? Because he was so good. He's better than you. Yeah.

Every time, man, I'd be in band practice in the basement of my house playing with my band. And he would sneak down when I wasn't there and like jam with everybody. And I'd come down and he'd be playing music with everyone. And I'd be like, God, dude, leave me alone. This is my, This is my thing. It is halftime at the Enni Fresco interview hour. Hello, everybody. Welcome to Sports with Dolav. He's talking shit about the game.

He's got a weird fucking name. It's sports with Don't Love. This week we're going to be talking some fucking sports! That's right. Quarantine is still happening, but not in the sports world.

From no sports to all the sports. You fucking cannot believe it. Whenever this podcast comes out, NFL football will have been played. NBA fucking playoffs are full blown. We got fucking WNBA. We got fucking tennis.

US Open. We got Major League Baseball. We got Major League Soccer. We fucking golf. What the fuck? We went from no sports to all the sports all at once. We got fucking hockey playoffs. If you're a sports fan, you're fucking pumped.

Maybe that's the thing. Maybe that's the separation between you and your brother. You need a sort of an individual feel, right? Yeah, yeah. I mean, he's such an independent person in his spirit. Yeah. You know, and I feel like I, and he was kind of forced into this collective because he needs to rely on people. And I rely so much on people and also like need to be, need to find ways to assert my independence.

You know, so it's like we're mirror images of each other, which is why we work so great together. I agree. And for someone to be so independent, but still be so vulnerable with help, I mean, going into his shoes, it must be pretty hard too, huh? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and trust me, like that is, that is something that I have thought about every day for my whole life. It's what, you know, like I was just journaling about this morning. It's what makes me so pissed off when I go out into the world right now and I'm seeing everybody like starting to kind of go out again and like go to their favorite restaurants. And like, yeah, you know, it's partially because I'm like, man, it doesn't feel safe right now to do any of that stuff. Partially because I'm like, man, it doesn't feel safe right now to do any of that stuff. And partially, you know, and know doing doing some going back to some level of normalcy i'm still like fuck you you don't know what it's like for people like my brother you know so i i have this like kind of this anger and frustration that i i think yeah

protection that i carry around it was like the same thing in new york when we lived there Frustration. wouldn't look up from wouldn't get up from their seat. Wouldn't look up, you know, I'd get so mad. I'd get so mad, you know? and, um, yeah, you know,

have you ever fought anyone for your brother's sake? I've gotten into very, very, very close situations. Like what? What? Tell me one, tell me one.

Well, this one dude like made some comment, like we were getting off the subway at my stop like he was i don't know it's fucking not all there but he like made some like dumb comment about like my brother being blind like made fun of him this is in brooklyn and i what we're we lived right off the subway stop so i dropped casey off at home and i turned right the fuck back around and i go find this guy i'm and i like chased him down i'm like yo what'd you say about my brother what'd you say about my brother he's like what's up what's up what you want and he was

like he like he was like you want to fuck you want to fucking go let's go let's go no and i and i just yeah and i and i i was like i i could clearly tell that this guy was like, crazy as fuck. But like that idea of protecting, I mean, God, it must be whole. I mean, that's maybe that's why you, you feel like you lost your identity and you,

you feel like you've always protected everyone else, but you haven't thought about yourself. Right. Yeah. I think that it's something. And I mean, and at the same time, I'm always thinking about myself, you know, of course, bro's something, and I mean, and at the same time, I'm always thinking about myself, you know?

Over musicians, of course, bro. And the way, even the way that we operate in the band, like, I kind of, I am the generating force behind, you know. Are you the point person? Like, you in terms of songwriting, you know, I'm the one writing the lyrics and melody and usually coming up with the, you know, the direction for where we're going. And, you know, but like, I think here's the ultimate thing is like, I think I realized that I, if I push everyone else away and say like, I'm doing everything on my own, this is every, like everything is all about me and I'm only going to do me and what I want to do. Yeah.

Then I'll end up alone and I don't want to be alone. Yeah. I mean, have you done that before where you feel like you're alone? Like push people away? Yeah. I was like that too. Yes and no. Yes and no. I mean, have you done that before where you feel like you're alone? Like push people away? Yeah. I was like that too. Yes and no. Yes and no. You know, like the minute I get a sense of like,

oh, this is how it feels. I'm like. I'm good. You know what? I'm good. Like come back. That's good that you have remorse, right? Yeah. I liked it. Like I've realized, I've realized that I really love having a community of people around me, you know, like I've been in, uh, you know, I'm, I'm married as of last year and I've been with my wife for, for 10 years, almost it'll, it'll be 10 years next year. Um, and, uh, you know, that partnership is really important to me. And the partnership of my bandmates is very important to me.

My manager, who we've been with since 2011. I just naturally gravitate towards other people. Yeah. And I think it's important for me to always kind of keep myself in check too and make sure that I'm not doing too much people pleasing, which is something I often go to. It makes you happy, but when you do too much of it,

then it's like you're not saving enough for yourself, right? Yeah, man. I'm a Libra. I'm all about balance. I got to stay balanced. You know what I'm saying? I think that – but I generally find that I really love – and especially in these times, man, I'm realizing it more and more and more

how much I love people. Yeah, because you – what makes you happy outside of music? Outside of music. I'm a big film guy. I mean like my shit always just goes toward the arts, you know, like I, I love,

I love film. I'm, you know, I have a production company with, with my wife and we're developing a couple different scripts right now. And, and, uh, I love it. I do it because I fucking love it, man. You know, and she's a, she's a director and a filmmaker and a writer and, and she's, she's done the festival circuit for number of years now. And, and, uh, I started getting inspired by her and started directing a couple of

my own music videos for my own band and you know and and i i i think i was talking about this yesterday like you know like i really want to i think another big chapter in my life i think will be making movies because i just love them so much. What do you love about them? And I've always, man, I mean, first of all, like, I think the art form is such an all encompassing art form. Like you are integrating so many different mediums into, into this one thing. And, and it, you know, it's like, that is all talk about community, you know, like, you're really like, that's something where you come into it, you know,

and what I feel like I've done my whole career is like, I come in with a singular vision. But I also love. So I love different voices. And I love getting people's like, opinions, because I know my strengths, but I also know my weaknesses. And I know getting people's like opinions because I know my strengths, but I also know my weaknesses. And I know that there's somebody out there who's going to be way better at this than I am. And I want to see what they bring to the table, you know? And, and I think that's a big part of, of creating a film, directing a film, producing a film. What do you think, what are your weaknesses? What do you think your weaknesses are? Well, I think that I'm not great on like marketing

side on the marketing side of things like every time like it comes from like a plate that same place where it's like i want to talk about myself like i'll talk about myself but i'm like nah you know what do i what do i know what do i know yeah What do I know? Uh, and, uh, I think that there are people out there who are much better at that than, than I am. Um, I think that, you know, um, there's something about the way my brain creatively works, where I, I'm obsessed with like tropes and cliches because oftentimes I find that they get to something that is so simple and pure and relatable and like eternal. But sometimes that means that I end up leaning on cliches or i end up leaning

on tropes hold on what do you like too much like what give me an example like i'm thinking about this this screenplay that i'm i'm writing and what's it about i'm writing it i'm writing it with a it's kind of like a uh uh it's loosely based on my, me and Casey in our teenage years growing up. Yeah. Being in a small town in upstate New York. What, Ithaca? Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Tell me about it. Well, about the film, it's still a work in progress. No, no. Tell me about the life that you had in Ithaca. It's still a work in progress. No, no. Tell me about like the life that you had in Ithaca. Well, it's a small town, college town, very strange kind of socioeconomic place. Like you have the universities like Cornell University and Ithaca College.

So there's a lot of money there. There's a lot of, you know, it's scholarly. It's, you know, it's scholarly. It's, you know, it's, it's, um, and light enlightened, you know, and, and, uh, you're surrounded by rural upstate New York, which is ultra conservative racist you know people that live in upstate new york and then there's also like a very large black community and community of color in you know in the cities and it's it's this very interesting melting pot and ithaca you know it is this this green little dot you know in in the middle of of kind of redder upstate new york blue dot there is a little too much kind of padding on the back of like you know accepting we are you know any any kind of like liberal college town in the middle of fucking nowhere has this

yeah and it's uh you know it's very evident growing up there that that's kind of bullshit and that there are still a lot of problems. It was like this idea of bullshit, fake optimism or like just fakeness. Well, no, I mean, I think I think for me, it felt like a small ass town in the middle of nowhere. It felt so isolated. And so a big part of why I do what I do now is because I was like, I want to do something that gets me as far the fuck away from this. I want to create music that reaches as far the fuck away from this as possible, you know? all the time and a lot of the music that I write kind of draws from my experience growing up there and that feeling of that kind of ennui of

being a teenager in a small town. I'm just I love it. I'm drawn to it over and over and over again. Isn't it amazing the things that we resent when we're kids we can't and we're obsessed with as we get older? It's crazy. It's crazy, man.

It really is so wild. I don't know. I'm going back home soon just because I've been thinking about it so much lately because obviously the world is ending. I'm like, I want to see my mom.

Does it make you nervous going back home? It does. It totally does. You know, I think something that often happens to me is that I get really excited about going back home and then I go back home and all of a sudden, again, I feel like that same feeling of like,

I got to get out of here. This is not, I know, no, no, no, I got to get out of here. Especially, you know, look, coming back This is not, I know, no, no, no, no. I gotta get out of here. Especially, you know, look,

coming back sometimes and like, you know, seeing people who haven't seen in a while and you know, and they're like, you know, big time, like, you know, we love your music. Like you're doing such big shit for Ithaca. Like, yeah. Like, and then all of a sudden I feel like, Oh my God, is this like, am I just like the most famous person in Ithaca, New York now? Is that all I'm going to be ever? You know, like, is that, is that like, is this my destiny?

Fuck, I don't want this. I got to get out of here. You know, there's, there's a little bit of that. Yeah. Well, like how long does it take you to normally get out of that push and pull that anxiety? Like, you know what I'm saying? Like hopefully it doesn't last for weeks. It only just lasts for a couple of days.

Like, I don't know, being in a small town, when you get famous and you lived in a small town, you're always going to now have that resentment feeling like, oh, Mr. Famous, Mr. Hollywood, you know? Like, it's kind of like, is that in our minds or do you think it's actually? Probably, probably mostly in, in your head. You know, I, I think that, um, you know, you just gotta be proud of where you're from and know that like,

you know, for me, it's like, I get really emotional and inspired when I talk to like my, um, my wife's little cousin who's at ihs right now he's moved to high school that i went to and he's making music and this kid is really fucking talented and he's like you know talks about the music festival that we put on key sound uh that we put on two years in a row and in ithaca the whole flub will be able to do again where we brought a bunch of different artists you know to our hometown and we put on two years in a row in, in Ithaca, that hopefully we'll be able to do again, where we brought a bunch of different artists, you know, to our hometown and put on this big festival. And,

and he talks about that, like it was the greatest thing, you know, for him and so inspiring, you know, for, for him and his friends who, you know, they get to see someone like me who made it out of the town and, and did something with my, you you know my music on a larger stage um and that's when i get that's when i'm able to like really be appreciative of of you know the that that whole thing yeah like what would you tell someone like that like a kid like that trying to get out of the town where they the inspiration that they look into you is like you got out and followed your dreams like

how do you talk to someone i tell them to get the fuck out let's go let's go get the fuck out i tell them i'm like cool cool cool you want to get out get out yeah why do you why do you think people are scared to leave their towns or scared to leave something new? I think that it's a combination of, you know, like comfort level of, you know, being a little afraid of the unknown. I think the prospect of, especially if you are, you know, have like the big fish little pond thing going on. especially if you have the big fish little pond thing going on. Sometimes the prospect of becoming a small fish again after you've worked so hard to become the big fish is really daunting. Daunting to who? Your mind? Or your ego?

Yeah, to you. To you. I think it's daunting to your ego because you want to feel... Everyone wants to feel safe somehow you know and i and i think it's something that you have to fight against as an artist constantly is and that's what you know that's what we're talking about earlier about like the idea of like individualism versus collectivism that's a constant battle you know because that you have to, you're obligated to have as an artist because it's your job to make sure you're never, never in your comfort zone. Yeah.

You know, like the minute you find yourself in that comfort zone, you have to take every ounce of strength in your body and like pick up your fucking leg and move it outside. You know, you have to. And it's, it's fucking hard man it is fucking hard and sometimes you don't know that it's happened until like you're in it and you're like oh my god i'm doing the same shit that i've been doing uh i gotta i gotta i gotta get out i gotta do this it becomes it becomes instinct after a you know, like it just becomes this kind of like, you suddenly wake up and you realize that you've been, you know, like in this comfortable little lane and, uh, that's why nothing is changing for you and you need to step out of it.

Do you ever felt that way with your ex-ambassadors? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I think sometimes I've gone so far as to step outside the lane, make something that I felt like was outside my comfort zone, and then make the decision to go back into something that is in my comfort zone because I've psyched myself out. Why do you think we're scared of the new? because I've psyched myself out.

Why do you think we're scared of the new? Man, that's a big question. I think that maybe it's something that goes, again, to the idea of comfort and safety. know again to like the idea of of comfort and safety yeah and i think that the older we get you know like the more we look to that the more we look back you know like you know i think just the fear of dying and you know that that fear of fear of getting older and um you know disappearing um you look to those things that you know made you who you are and that you that resonated with you at an early age yeah and that's kind of what you cling to um so something new it it you know it reflects back on you as being like something that you've never seen before. And when you're younger,

I think that's really exciting. And when you start to get older, it starts to be a little intimidating. Um, and because you're just reminded of like the passage of time, you're reminded of like, you know, the,

the changing of the guard, you know, you're reminded that like, you know, everyone becomes nothing eventually and that's fucking scary absolutely absolutely that's one of my biggest fears i think you know like the idea of just not command of that fear. Yeah, because it's a really hard thing to do.

I mean, it's kind of self-sabotage when we think about death. If we just think about death, we're not living presently. We're thinking about when we die instead of when we're living. How hard? I mean, like, it's so, for me too, it's like, fuck, if I think about death all the time, then I'm not thinking about living and then I'm not being present and everything should be about present. I know. And then you start beating yourself up over not being in the present. It's a vicious cycle.

My question is, why are we so much harder on ourselves versus other people? Man, I think that evolutionarily, have you read Sapiens? Have you read that book? Yeah. Yeah. evolutionarily have you read sapiens have you read that book yeah yeah so you know it's that it's that thing where it's like you know when we were you know for the most of human of the of the time period that homo sapiens have existed on this planet it was really like you know like survive you have to like know how to run fast so you can outrun the fucking saber-toothed tiger you know uh and uh and now

that saber-toothed tigers are not a daily threat they don't pose a daily threat to us yeah you know our our brains are still kind of like conditioned to look for those threats and look for those things so we we make it internal and uh you know we start you know kind of doing like oh don't like don't play with your hair in front of this girl. Cause she's, she's gonna, she's gonna think you're like a, you know, like, like Prissy or like, if you know, like, Oh shit, why did I fucking say that? Like, I sounded like such an idiot. Like I sounded like I, I was sounding so insecure, like, God damn it. You're a fucking, you're a fucking piece of shit. You know, like it it's a, I think that's partially where it comes from. And, man, it's hard. You know, sometimes, what's that saying? Like, I don't know where this comes from, but talking about, like, you would never say that someone's, oh, I think I got this through my Headspace app because I use Headspace.

It talks about the type of awful shit that you say to yourself in your head. Would you ever say that to another person? No fucking way, bro. No fucking way. Like, no way. So why would you say that to yourself? Yeah.

You know, like, I think just a little self-kindness goes a long way. I mean, yeah. And forgiveness. I agree. So, like, that's what I'm trying to get at. So, like, we think about everyone else. Start thinking about yourself, Sam. Start thinking about the way

that you're going to fuck shit up right now. Not tomorrow. Exactly. Not tomorrow. Not yesterday. Be yourself, bro. Wow, we didn't even talk about music. We just talked about, but I think that's more important. I think these type of conversations are way more important than, you know, kind of jerking each other off about what type of music we play.

Yeah, man. But this is a real reflection of the type of music that I'm making right now. Yeah. Is that I'm in this phase where I am really choosing to focus a little bit more on myself

and what I like and what I want. And I think that's an exciting place for me to be. That's important, bro. So I have one last question and I'll let you do your fucking living that LA life, bro.

What do you want to be remembered by, Sam? Therein lies the problem is that we're all searching for this thing that is going to make us immortal. That is going to make us last forever. I hope that for the time that I am, I am remembered on this planet,

that I am remembered, uh, as someone who brought people together as someone who, uh, encouraged others to be vulnerable, someone who was vulnerable himself. Yeah. Um, Someone who was vulnerable himself. Yeah. And who made some people very happy. I don't know. That's important, bro. That's what I hope. But, you know, I think that is that very question that, like, haunts a lot of us.

Does it haunt you? Absolutely. Me too, bro. Oh, my God. lot of us and does it haunt you absolutely me too bro oh my god and like what a fucking like what a pressure again what a pressure to put on yourself to like create something legacy yeah like oh my god like do you understand like i you know it didn't really make sense to me until a couple years years ago. I was in a songwriting session with someone and he was like, bro, this is like right around the time when four or five seconds came out. Yeah.

Kids on Twitter were like, yo, big ups to Rihanna for like putting up this putting on this dude, Paul McCartney. Like, damn, like he's going to blow up. That makes it put in perspective that you're just a timeline. Arguably the greatest band of all time. One of the greatest songwriters of all time. People don't know who he is. So maybe we shouldn't put so much pressure on Legacy and just build the best life we can

and fuck what people think about it. Exactly. Because, you know, like, I think your life is just yours. It's just yours. And, uh, and that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to live a completely selfish life. I think that that doesn't lead to a happy life necessarily for me, at least, you know, but I will, I will strive to do things that make me happy. And one of the things that makes me happy is, you know, creating a community around myself that is loving and supportive of uplifting other people and of doing stuff that, and creating stuff that I like. If you live by that, you know, I think that, that you're, you're going to be fine.

Yeah. Well, I'm proud to fucking meet you, bro. And I'm proud that you're going to be fine. Yeah. You know? Well, I'm proud to fucking meet you, bro. And I'm proud that you're living presently. And I'm just proud that you're fucking shit up. So keep fucking shit up. I'm trying, man. You too, baby. Hey, man. This was a great way to start my Monday off.

Thank you. Do I have to play the Eye of the Tiger music? You better fuck shit up today, Sam. You're going to fuck shit up so fucking hard that nothing's going to fucking stop you today. Let's go, baby. Let's go. Have a great day, bud.

Thanks for being on the show. You too, man. Hey, take care, bro. Later. There you go, Sam Harris. All right. Awesome. Wow.

Great conversation. All right. I'll catch you on the tail end. Now, a message from the UN. Driven the back road so I wouldn't give way And if you give me Weed, white, sand, wine And you show me a sign I'll be willing

To be moving Smuggles of smokes and folks from Mexico baked by the sun every time I go to Mexico and I'm willing And I'm willing Kicked by the wind, robbed by the sea Had my head stoned in but I'm still on my feet And I'm willing Oh, I'm willing Cause I've been from Tucson to Tukumkere

To Hatchipede and Stonehall Too strong to come carry, to hatch a Peter, Stone, or Paul Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made Driven the back row so I wouldn't get weighed And if you give me weed, why say why? And you show me a sign, I'll be willing to be moving. Hey! All right. And there you have it. To be moving Hey! All right. And there you have it.

Thank you, Sam, for being on the show. First time meeting you. Very nice guy. Very cool. Very responsive. And was very vulnerable when I was asked. Again, trying to get deep with what's going on with this life. So shout out to you, Sam. Thank you, buddy.

Yes, Sam. But you, buddy. Woo! Yes, Sam. But that's it, guys. You know, wanted to make a quick call out to our boys, Camu Labs. CBD, I'm telling you, it is. If you don't like weed, but you don't like getting high, or if you don't like the the anxiety maybe like you get old like me i'm like that too i use a smoke pound weed i use a pound weed all the fucking time all day smoke joints my car is fucking blazed down and then one day i woke up

and i started getting anxiety attacks from smoking too much highly t high th levels. So I moved on to CBD and it changed my, it really changed my life. And these Kami labs are dope. They got a bunch of different ones. They have one where you could sleep, you know, like when you smoke weed, you don't dream. It's called dream and it's fucking awesome. And I sleep like a motherfucker. I'm like, oh, thank you, God. I wake up feeling good. Then I'll put some Revive in my body and Vitality. When I'm drinking, it's fire stuff. So go out there. Go check out camulabs.com.

I'm not just pitching it because they throw us money. I really believe in this product. I've been talking about this for weeks. So go grab some Camu Labs, CBDs, and tell them Frasco sent you if you want, or just get it. I'm telling you, you should just get it because CBDs are important. And the weed plant is really healthy if you take out the craziness that is in THC. So go grab yourself some Cammie Labs. If you're in the Denver area, go get some 14er weed because they're my boys, Evan's the man, and they've really taken really good care of us while I've moved to Denver. So shout out to 14er

one more time. But that's it, guys. I'll leave it to you at this. Listen to what Sam was saying. at this. Listen to what Sam was saying. Don't overthink your destiny. Just do. Just fucking do it. Life is short. If we can't follow our dreams now, and we're going to wait till we're fucking 70, and our knees hurt, and our fucking body hurts, and we're never going to follow our dreams. So go get them now. Go after it, get fucking crazy, fall in love, find happiness right now. So 2021 could be your year because it will be your year. It's going to be all our years. You know, even if it's kind of shitty and the virus is still rocking, we could, we could live. We learned that we could live through this shit. So just be protective. Think about others.

Wear masks. And let's get away with this. Get away through this virus so we can live the life we're supposed to live in 2021. All right, guys. I love you. Be safe. I'll catch you next week. We got some fucking fire, fire interviews.

Got Kamasi Washington on the show. We're almost at a hundred episodes. Isn't that fucking crazy? 100 fucking episodes. So shout out to everyone who's been rocking with us. Our numbers keep going up and up and up. And I'm thankful that I have an outlet where I could be completely honest with my fans and you don't judge me too much. And that's why we're here. And if you ever need someone to talk to, you know, you can hit me up on Instagram, Facebook. You know, I'm here.

We're all in this together. If you need to find help and can't afford to find help, go to Backline. They'll find you a therapist and, you know, try to get you a discount if you're in the music industry. Or even if you're a fan, that's still part of the music industry. We're all in this together. Fans, musicians, everything. So ladies and gentlemen, I'll catch you next week. Stay safe. Wear condoms. Don't feel like you got to populate the world because you don't if you don't want to. If you don't want a relationship, don't want to get married, fuck it. Cut the balls. Besect me, that shit. I've been considering just tying them up for 10 years or so so I can enjoy sex a little more. I'm afraid to cum. I'm afraid to cum in things that maybe might be able to grow something in nine months. So I might just zip it up for a few years

so I can enjoy sex again. I don't know why I brought that up, but I was just thinking about that. I'm like, damn, sometimes I just don't enjoy sex because I'm worried about coming in a situation that I shouldn't, it's probably inappropriate to come in when it's just a first date. So I might zip it up a little bit.

But with that being said, be who you want to be. Be the person you want to see in the mirror, like that fucking Michael Jackson song, Man in the Mirror. You want to look at yourself in the mirror? Be proud because you fucking earned it. You made it this far. Go out and get it, killer. All right, guys.

I'll talk to you guys soon. And I'll see you on Tuesday. All right, love you. You tuned in to the third season of Blissful Blah at Andy Fresco's World Saving Podcast produced by Andy Fresco, Joe Angel and Chris Lawrence. Please subscribe,

rate the show on iTunes and Spotify so we can make this a worldwide phenomenon. For an infom show, please head to Instagram at WorldSavingPodcast. For more infom blog or tour dates, head to AndyFresco.com Check out the new album, Keep on Keepin' On. Or let any entertain you at the Thursday night online shitshow. Or at this crazy Saturday night wanna-dance-with-somebody dance party.

Oh, right. Summer season is here. No festivals, no music. So instead of trying to keep the lip going and hoping to find some shitty patron born at your big gigs this summer, I decided to re-route. Building closets and wardrobes, build a tiny summer house and do some painting. It will be October in no time. And yes, I sort of hate it compared to the wonderful life I live, but I'm also thankful

that people trust my skills or my good looks or whatever. They have my back and I managed to make some money. The big danger in this line of work actually it pays a lot better than being a musician. All right how are you doing? Making ends meet? Worried? No work? Putting on a virtual dance party every week? Let's make sure to carry each other, get one another's backs, keep each other safe, keep each other sane, keep each other healthy. Let's unite, for it will be a long road ahead. See you next week.