Artist Friendly with Joel Madden - Damiano David

Episode Date: December 4, 2024

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Damiano David of Måneskin. Måneskin — the ’70s-inspired Eurovision winners who became viral stars — have been championed by young rock fans. Over the past few months, though, their frontman David has been branching out by sharing songs from his first solo album (including the Labrinth-produced “Silverlines” and “Born With a Broken Heart”), which is set to arrive next year. In a conversation with Madden, the Måneskin singer reveals the importance of doing what makes you happy, missing family and friends on the road, and his upcoming solo project. ------- Listen to their Artist Friendly conversation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.⁠⁠⁠ ------- Follow Artist Friendly! IG: @artist.friendly TikTok: @artist.friendly YouTube: youtube.com/@artist.friendly ------- Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, what's up? I'm Joel Madden, and this is artist-friendly. On this episode, I'm talking with Italian singer, songwriter, the lead singer of the band Manaskin, and now solo artist with this new solo record coming soon, Damiano David. Let's go. I'm smoking on gas, I'm smoking out if that's my kind. I don't want no bad times. I don't want to have bad. Let's talk about your music. Okay. You drop two songs, Born with Broken Heart and Silver Lines, and you have more coming. Yeah.

And then an album's coming? Yeah. Okay. When's the album coming? 25. Right. So I'm wearing 25. Yeah.

I feel that. Like somewhere in 25, when I feel like it's done, it'll be done. And when we're ready to drop it, we'll drop it. These things write themselves. Yeah. No, the record is done. Okay. I want to give it time to come to life.

Right. I think dropping songs, the way you're doing it, is the best way. That's how I want to do it. We made a record and I keep telling everyone we should just put one song out of time. Get people reintroduced or whatever to us and then we'll know when the record should come out. Yeah. That's good. It's organic. Get people excited. Like show that you have something coming before you drop in. Yeah. How do you feel? I feel good. That's nice. It's a good experience. Once you make something and then you're holding it, it's like a relief to get it out. Mm-hmm. Yeah, definitely. Of the two songs you put out, is there one that you like the most or the most

excited about? I like both for different reasons. I think born with a broken heart, it's closer to than what the rest of the record is going to be. So it's more my sound, I would say, but that doesn't mean that Silver Lines is not my sound. It's just I'm more driven. in that direction right now. Right. What do you feel like your sound is? It's always been very hard for me to define music, even with the band. I think it's pop.

Yeah. But pop means everything. I would say it's like piano-driven pop, a little dramatic. Good songs. To me, that's pop. That's what I try to do. I think in rock we can hide certain things. If we turn it up, we can hide a bad chorus with guitar,

or whatever, like in rock, we can certainly get away with things that if you really stripped everything away and got a piano and sung a song, it might not translate always. But the good songs will translate. And that to me is pop. That's a good way to see it. Because we had a ton of pop songs. Us too. I would always say, like, if we can't play this on a piano, it's not a real song. I, yeah, I agree. I agree with that. You know, if you can't walk in and hear someone else playing it, and know what song that is, then it's not a great song. Yeah. If it doesn't sound good in acoustic, it's, yeah, I agree.

I agree, definitely. And I was always chasing the songs more than the look, the sound. I was chasing like. Should always be like that. Yeah. I think also, yeah, the sound, it's a little an overrated concept. Yeah. Because it's like, yes, makes you recognizable, but it's like also a cage.

On the long run, I think the sound means nothing. If I like, because I like in the same way, I don't know, the killers and Bruno Mars. In the same way. I couldn't say like one is better than the other. Yeah. My sound means that I can only do one of the two things. No, I think that like variety and adaptability

are two of the most important skills in an artist's bag. So it's like, let's do whatever the fuck we want and have fun with music it's a I think it's a big game and yes we have to take it seriously but sometimes it's also good to fun you know not take yourself too seriously not think of yourself as a messiah or the biggest singer ever and just have fun with it yeah it's just music we're not saving anyone but maybe we're saving somebody's life but not like directly you know we can't fuck up we can fuck up it's not bad yeah I agree with you a hundred percent but I think that your music gets big And then people maybe treat you that way sometimes.

And it can make you uncomfortable sometimes because you're like, you don't want to insult them by saying like, you're wrong. You're not wrong. I mean, it's great that you love my music and that you think I'm great. But at the end of the day, you know, and I'm trying my best. I want to be great. But at the end of the day, I also don't think on the answer to your problems. I think if my song helped you get through a hard time in your life.

That's the biggest achievement I can get. But if I don't get it, it's not something. I should feel guilty about it. Yeah. It's just a song. Like it's, didn't do it. For you, then maybe for somebody else made it. Maybe my favorite song ever is going to be the last streamed of my own, my whole career.

Yeah. Is that really a problem? I don't think so. Yeah, it's okay. As long as you do shit that you like and you're proud of, then the answer is like, of course it matters because we always want people to love our music and love our stuff and and relate with it. but at the same time it's like if I'm proud of it this album didn't make it I'll make an

other one hopefully yeah and you will yeah as long as the label supports me yeah even then even so even if you can make you can make it you can make it you can always make it but that's why you'll always that's why it'll likely always work if you're detached from the need of some result and you just make something you like and you appreciate the big wins when a song is like wow you're like that's cool but then you likely have that one song that you love and you love to play live and you love what that song means to you in a different way and you can enjoy that even more sometimes than the big hit songs but it all works together if you don't have one it's hard to have the other and really enjoy both yeah those of us that are fortunate enough to do this for a long time and to have different

hits and things like that, we know what that means and it's great. But there's nothing like standing on stage at 25 and feeling 25 and playing your music and being honest. That's why I think also we got to be honest with ourselves and know that this is our passion and so we got to treat it as a passion, but it's also our job. And so we got to treat it as a job. So you got to always make music that you love, but you also have to be aware of, you have to be your own I am. are, you know, and be aware of like, okay, these three songs are the most likely to work. So this will make the set list. If I have this, the other eight songs, I can do whatever the fuck I want.

Yep. If I don't get that thing, I've always going to have the pressure of, but when is the hit? But when is the hit? But when is the hit? So sometimes it's also about like being a little smart and knowing how to play the game. Yeah. You know. Yeah, it's awareness.

Yeah. And I find sometimes with artists where I want to kind of shake them and go, no, no, you have to be aware that this is actually your job as well. And just what you said, you have to be aware. You've got to make good decisions. You've got to show up. And you've got to show up. And you've got to take it serious.

Yeah. And be a professional enough to do the job so that when you want to go do the rock star thing, which is fine. I'm not, I don't judge it. I did it too. But you have to find the balance. It's not all about that. If you find the balance, you'll keep making the art,

but you can do it for a long time if you are professional. And you can support you. And yes, and you can be free by doing it. Yeah. Because it's not fun when you have to fight for the smallest things. So sometimes it's also about to be, okay? Like, I'll pick the hill to die on. Right.

Like this thing is, is this as important? Or I can give up like a little piece. of it so everybody's satisfied and then they're not going to push me on this other thing. Yeah. It's, yeah. That to me says that's someone who's been working for a long time. I've been doing this for 10 years. Yeah.

And someone who had enough time working at it without the big results and the big success to appreciate what they have and know what it took to get there. Mm-hmm. And also kind of has that gratitude. to like continue to want to maintain what they work so hard to have. I think with the band we went through every stage of fame. We went through like playing in the streets and playing restaurants without seeing, you know, the light at the end of the tunnel and getting like super frustrated and

having no money to do it and everything. Then we did the talent show, the overexposure, the, you know, all the distraction, everything but music. There's time for everything but not to write music. two extremes, the extremes. And then we got the extreme success and Eurovision and America, Fallon, talk shows, everything. And then of course, organically, you can't be at that level forever. And so like a little of a downfall and trying to stabilize, stabilize things instead of like keep pushing and trying to be smart. And then too much work. We got to, you know, push back a little

and chill out. And every time things were happening. I never wanted to let myself to just let things happen. Of course, you got to accept what's happening and what you can't control, but I always wanted to understand like, okay, this happened because this, this, this and that. This happened because, like, I want to know the reason. So when it's going to happen again,

I'm not going to panic, I'm not going to freak out, I'm not going to be stressed. I know that it's just what happens and it happens because of this and this and that. And if I want to avoid it, this is what I can control. Yeah. I might do these things and then I still don't know the outcome.

But it's important to learn from the different faces of your career because it's also, I think it's insane to think that once you had a number one hit, you're going to stay there for the rest of your days. I think it's crazy also to want it. Yeah. It can drive you mad. But you're saying something really, really I agree with and I feel the same way. and it's really important for people and artists to hear.

But anyone building a real living, breathing business, you go up, you go down, you go up, hopefully a little higher, you go down. And as long as your trajectory keeps doing that, not just the success of your business, but your life, the development of your whole life. Am I happier? Do I feel better?

that comes through effort, put forth effort, there's a result, measure the result, try to make sense of it, adjust the effort. Also you get evaluated like the result and the effort. Like was the effort? Was it worth it? And then measure the whole way and find your true process in relationship to not just the results and the results you want, but also the feeling, the quality. of your life. It all works together. And what I think people get sold on in music and in art as a

business is there's only one or two ways you can win. This is how we measure it. And that's not actually true. Like your music, you could argue, is over the last five years, let's say, today more relevant than ever. Even if the song that was the first hit you ever had, wherever it landed on the chart doesn't matter it's about living and breathing in the world over time and people building relationships with it with their life with their moments of their life so a song that you had that maybe your first big hit could be more relevant today because more people have related to it in certain moments of their life whether it was a happy moment a sad moment and collectively it permeates out through the culture. And that's the whole point of putting the art out and letting it live.

And whether in the first rendition of its, the first phase of its living in the world, it was a big hit song, it's going to continue to change. And over time, I'm seeing it with our band, we're doing shows, the biggest shows we've ever done. Because the music has had two decades, three decades to live and breathe. And also because like the people who lose, listen to it, if it's very important, music, it's heritage. Like, I don't know, a fan of mine that now is 17, if they really like the song, when they're going to have kids, they're going to pass the music to the kids. It's like, it's really, it's culture, it's heritage.

We're going to pass it if it's really important. That's why I think chasing the number one spot, it's very dangerous and toxic. I think the best result that you can have, it's more weeks in like the top 50. Yeah, I agree. It's like consistency. It's like having a song out every three months, having an album out every two and a half years, having shows,

solding out your shows. Instead of doing arenas and doing three arenas because you have to do the event, do 20 clubs and sold it out. Make it special. Make it real. Go in front of people. Do it.

Do the job. Show up. That's what really matters because that stays. I agree. And sitting with you, I get it even more now. As long as you express yourself, and you show up like you did today,

just being yourself, I walked up on that scene and I was like, this motherfucker, look at him. That to me is it. Show up. If you can't do that, if you overdo it and you can't sustain it, you can no longer show up as you.

So you have to find that balance of like giving as much as you can, showing up and knowing when to pull back and then know when to make your solo record. Because I got to express myself. And then know when to go back and do a record with the band because people want to see us. And as long as everybody is expressing themselves and understanding the greater long-term legacy of our music is this. If you go out in the world and you being yourself, there are going to be new fans that come

and go into your world and start to do. discover your world. And then whatever you do, it just grows. It's like a tree. It spreads. And so as long as you, the artist, are making decisions, that's where the growth comes from. If we become a horse that people are beating because there's money to be made, there's things to be done, there's quotas to be filled, there's, you know, we will, the brand will suffer and and we will suffer and we will get beaten down. And I had that experience at a young age. I didn't know any better.

I was poor. I came in and we got on the train and we just, it was like we were just shoveling coal and just keeping. It's also your 20. Like, you know, you start your 20 and you don't give a shit about like your friends, your girlfriend. I just want to go out and do it all day because I'm 20. Yeah.

I'm having my shot. It's my first train. I want to use it. Then you become 25 and you're like, ah, I wish I had more time to spend with my. girlfriend I wish I had more time to spend with my family with my friends and it's like hey I want to still do it nine months a year not 12 and then you're 30 six months like life changes and you change and the way you approach to this job because we are lucky enough to not have a nine to five

where you got to show up and you got to go away and you have tasks we have a thing that can be 24 seven because you can think about your heart 24 seven and you can not think about your heart for six months and you're not guilty of anything. You're your own CEO. You want to close the shop. Close the shop. It's your own shop. Like, people have to figure it out because also making music, I'm kind of taking little pieces of myself and putting into something. At one point, I'm skin and bones. Like, I got to have time. I got to have experiences because otherwise I have nothing to put on the plate or I have the same stuff I put in the last album is just going to sound slightly different. Like, do we want that?

Like, let's make AI music at the point. So we copy shit. It's like we gotta have the time to be humans, you know? You gotta have experience. And to remember why we started in the first place, I remember at one point when the band, when we were just

touring 12 months a year, nonstop, we were literally coming off the road to make our record in three or four weeks and go right back on the road. And I remember three albums straight of that. And we started to really resuscary. each other. Mm-hmm.

And we didn't know why. Because we love each other. We started in high school. We were friends. And after our fifth record, we all sat down. And we had one, a couple of us had had babies. And we were like in our, it was 28, 29. And we said it.

We were like, we don't actually, we love each other. We've never taken a break, ever. So maybe we just stop. And then we, that was the plan. We just stopped. And we were like, let's just see what happens. and immediately everyone felt better and then we started navigating our lives

individually and then our life is a band differently. Of course. And I think exactly what you're saying we started living life. Going to people's birthdays and having relationships and all the things you have to do. I'm gonna'amena. And like my music, my hair changed with me

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No, you do your business will your success

with Shopify. And you start your per a year per

per records. Also because again, like when you start you're 20

and that's your whole personality. Yeah. I am part of this band. I am this like rocker, motherfucker. I do this. I'm cool. Everything. And then at one point it's like, yes, I am that. But also, you know, I love my girl. I have kids. I love seeing my

friends and having just the beer. I don't have to go to the other side of the ward and play for 50,000 people every day. Yeah, I can just be another guy in the room with this group of people. I'm just a dude. Like, that's really a thing. Yeah, it's a balance. It's like everything. It's, else in life, it's a balance. And also it's, again, it's a privileged job. Yeah. You got to keep it privileged. You got to keep it like a sweet treat. And I do shit because I want to do it. And I like to do it and I'm enjoying doing it. Because also the audience feel it. They feel it. They see you. They, they, it's all about it. It's like an emotional connection with people you don't know. people feel like they know you through your songs.

If you don't enjoy singing those songs anymore, they can't know you, they can't meet you there. Because of course they're excited. If you're not, there's a wall. You got to connect. How long ago did you start feeling like this? Was this just a natural progression? Or did you feel like you were starting to get burned out maybe?

I can't point out like a moment. It was a buildup when we, I think we did like, five tours back to back, you know, two albums. Yeah. Non-stop. Non-stop. And what really fuck does is that we got big in Italy, Italian tour, got big in Europe, Italian and European tour.

One month later, big in America. American tour. And then war tour. And then Japan. And like, everything was adding up because it didn't came all together. It was like Italy, Europe, USA, Asia, South America. It was like, what's happening and you can't miss. Playing catch up.

Yeah. Yeah. And I'm 23. The other guys are 20. They're like, let's do it. Let's go there. Let's play. Let's do Rock and Rio.

Let's do this. And of course, it's like the most beautiful things I did in my life. But at the same time, I was really letting back so many things. Yeah. Like, I realized at one point, I realized like, I miss my friends. Yeah. You know? And like, I miss.

my mom. Like I, as soon as I had money, I escaped from my house and went living alone as soon as I could. Because I was 18 and I wanted to do my shit. And then I was 23 and I was like, I miss my mom. I miss my brother. I miss my dad. What, what is this? Like, and it took like a year to realize it and then a year to take the decision of like, okay, I'm confident enough. We did what we have to do with the band. if we stop, we're not going to collapse. Yeah, it'll be fine. You know, you have to have that confidence. You have to be sure enough.

And at one point, I really was like, we did Rock and Rio. We opened for the Stones. We're a Grammy-nominated artist. We made it to America. What else do we have to do to feel quiet inside, you know? And then I understood that I wasn't quiet inside because I got all these things, but still I didn't. communicate what's most important for me now. Yeah, you know what I think the the hard part of the

development of a band is I think when we get success and we all come from different places. We react differently. We react differently and we have to we have to continue to evolve how we communicate with one another as we grow because we're all going to be different, right? but there's something extremely special about what we do together. And it captivates people's imagination and their attention. And what we had to learn because we weren't good at it in the middle part. And I would say like we probably like almost broke up and we almost went through everything, every band goes through, right?

We get all this success we want it. And then we're all there together and we start fighting amongst ourselves having like being passive aggressive or being like and not communicating instead of coming to. For stupid shit. Right. Over dumb shit. Especially. And then we hold everything in instead of what I learned when I got older, through therapy

and other things, figuring out a way for all of us to come to the table and be, no one's right, no one's wrong. Everyone only has a point of view and a perspective. And if we can listen to each other and hear each other and accept each other and not be locked into wanting the result we want. So if I just want the band to make another record, but he doesn't, we're not every. going to come to a middle ground where he's going to be happy because he doesn't want to make a record. And so we have to detach ourselves from the success or the fear or whatever it is that we're all

carrying with us and get back to loving one another and giving each other the freedom and the autonomy to be who we need to be. And that took us a couple of years of practice. But I would say like today we're in like 28 years as a band or 29 years and like I would say like through years of practice we're in such a good spot where we talk about what we all want to do and we come to a conclusion that everyone's happy with and like right now that's like last year we played two shows we just made a record we're going to play a couple more shows coming this year we'll probably play 20 shows that's good and it's good that's good that's sustainable like we're all happy Plenty shows is good.

And we get together and we have fun. And you're happy to be together. And we're happy. And you can't wait to play. That's it. And we love seeing each other. And so I encourage other bands all the time. I'm like, take time off.

Make a break. Yeah. Like give each other space to do things and be happy for one another. Like if you're starting your clothing brand or if like, like, whatever you're doing, every band has different characters and we all, but like you're all. But like you're all real people with real lives. Be that again. Yeah.

And find your identity outside of this. Because that's exactly like, which I see you kind of doing. The band is four different individualities. Yeah. Like ingredients to do a common thing. It's like different ingredients of a dish. They come all together to make a dish. Do you want to do the same fucking dish for 20 years?

Like at one point, it doesn't matter how good it is. You're going to be sick of it. At one point, do your thing. become a different ingredient. And the mixture of those ingredients is going to make another dish. It's going to be different from the other. But of course, it's you. It's always you.

Like that's also what's important. And I think it's a big problem with the people that follow us. And I think it's why a lot of artists don't go through changes. They get locked into their fans. Sometimes people don't accept that who you were when you were 20. It's different who you are when you're 30. I pray to God to be as different as possible in 10 years from now because I have to change.

It means you grew. Yeah, of course. And as a band, we all have to change. And then the band has to change. And it's going to be better. It's going to be more mature. It's going to be more aware. Maybe it's not going to get number one spot.

Or maybe it will. Maybe it will. But fuck it. Yeah. We like it. We like playing it. We play 20 shows. We kill 20 shows.

Yeah. It's better than playing 50 and giving. seven out of ten. I agree. Just do, just also design your tour so that you can go full throttle every show. Don't manage yourself. That's not fun. That's becoming a job.

That's touring for a job. If you're touring for fun, you're going to sing the shit out of every song every night because you have the time to rest. You have the time to be a human. And then you're on stage and you're like, I want to kill it. I have one hour and a half to kill these people.

And that's what you want to do. It's not too much. It's all about designing things. And it's like the great bands, they do that. They, they, I think you guys are a big rock force, like a big rock brand, a big rock. We're a live band. Music band, right? It's alive.

The characters on stage, the way you guys interact, the way you, it's a big rock show, right? And I think every era of your life as an artist, you have to find that again and what does that mean now? I think it's still going to be a version of a big rock. Yeah, the core is now. You know, and so I think you see bands, they go and then they come back, and it's this refreshing version of the thing you love, and it's exciting again each time. And so I think that comes as exactly what you're saying,

is like continuing to search for the ways you could express yourself in the times you want to do it so that when you're doing it, it feels honest. So I think you're on like the right artist journey that I really hope other artists see and they go, I could do that. I could just do what I want. That's fun. That's where to go out. You know, that's extremely fun to rebrand yourself. Yeah, and do what you want. It's fun. It's fun. It's fun. Yeah, it's fun. And live a life that you actually like living in. And you don't feel like depressed because you're not and frustrated because you're not doing what you want.

And that's what art is about. You can organize around it in a way that you can still share it with people. You're doing it. Put out a record. You're going to go play some shows. You're going to promote it as much as you can stand to promote it. Yeah.

Because you love the music. When you love the music, it's easy to promote. It's easier. Easier, yeah. The song and dance of promotion is tough. It's a circus. You're on the morning show and you're on the fucking,

Hey, hi, it's nine in the morning. You want to sing the shit out of the song? The morning zoo. Yes, of course. You know what I mean? Yeah, and we do as much of that as we can stand. We always say that. I always say, I'll do as much as I can possibly stand to do.

And you've got to see the goal. If my goal for this song is to go number one, I'm ready to promote everything out. I'm ready to go to every radio station in the country. If my goal is to put out this song, give it the cure it deserves and the respect it deserves. I'm going to do the promo. I'm going to treat it well.

But am I going to die for it? No. Yeah. Because I want to be energized for the next one as well. Like I want to do this for the next 10, 15 years. So I don't want to, I don't know. Yeah. You know, run out of fuel at 25.

I agree. Because you have another 25 years at least. Oh my God. So when I was your age, I thought, okay, I'm 45. So I'm 20 years older than you. And I thought, when I was. When I was 25, I was like, there's no way I'm going to be on stage at 45 singing good Charlotte songs. I just thought that.

I have that thing. And then I got 45 and it turns out I am and it's more fun. And the show is better. But you got a break. But I got a break. I got a long break. 10 years or six years or whatever. And we really don't do much.

But also your music is mature. So I do think that the songs age well. So I don't think that there's a, there's not a, it isn't a time stamp on the songs. No, I can see myself like being, I wouldn't say old, but like a little gray on stage singing with a suit and be very like demure on stage.

I can't see myself do what like, I don't know, Mick Jagger is doing. I'm like, hold the record. I'm not, I'm not going to. try to take it away from you, you know? Yeah. It's like, not everybody's built for that. Where do you live usually? Are you in Italy?

In Rome, yeah. In Rome? Yeah. I love Rome. Yeah, it's pretty. Like, to me, it's like the New York of Europe in Italy and like, I don't know, something about Rome for me feels like a city that's like buzzing. There's not a lot happening. Like, if you want to do shit, you go to Milan. But I think, like, for like an artist, it's way more stimulating than.

any other city. Are you from Rome? Yeah. Oh, okay. Born and raised. That's cool. Yeah, that's cool. Where did you learn to speak such good English?

Being here, working and my girlfriend. Music. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Pop culture. Yeah.

Do you feel like most of the younger generation in Italy all speak English? No. No. Okay. Wow. Absolutely not. I always wonder that. Because when I go to Italy, I can find, usually find people who speak English.

But it can be hard, too. Yeah, I think it's weird because like there's no average level. There's people that speak it very well because they went like to Ingrid school or they work outside of Italy or they did like study and college outside. And then there's people that really can talk anything. So you as an artist and then obviously your band, you guys are big in Italy. Yeah. But to make a global impact, it feels like you have to be able to navigate the world. and speak more than one language.

For sure. Whether it's Spanish, English. I think even like no matter the language of your music, you have to be able to speak English. Right. Like even if you do, even if you got like, if we stick to Italian music, if you make it outside of Italy,

you have to be able to speak English. Is that something you always wanted to do was take your music outside of Italy? Yeah, yeah, that was always the goal. Right. I imagine you grew up listening to bands from all over the world. fans from all over the world. Yeah.

And your dream was always probably outside of Italy as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, me too. You know, when I started, I was in a small place, but I wanted to go to Italy. I wanted to go to the UK. I wanted to go all over the world. So I learned to speak through touring. I learned to speak a little bit of each language.

But I always wish I spoke better Italian and Spanish, but I don't speak it. I speak it okay, but not not fast enough to like get around the way you probably weekend. Your English is like perfect. But you've probably been speaking it a long time. Yeah. Yeah. In this moment, I speak more English than Italian for sure. Right. Yeah. Because you're all, you're somewhere in the world. Yeah. And also like my partner speaks English. Right. Is she American? Yeah. Okay. Cool. Seattle. Seattle. Yeah, that's cool. Maybe this is a dumb question. Do you ever model? Oh my God. I take pictures. You're good looking, man. You're very good looking.

Thank you. I thought you were good looking from pictures. And then I saw you in real life and I was like, you're like smoking. I'm like, God damn. Good Lord. It's not very often that you meet a rock and roll guy who's writing songs and singing and that's like got his shit all dialed also. I mean, you're edgy. You got tattoos and stuff, but you're like your shit's put together.

Yeah. Which I respect as a man. I like see other men and I go, man, he's got his shit together. I try my best, too. It's very good. Is that just like experience? Yeah, I think I care about how I project myself into the world. Me too.

Now, I know I'm 25, I'm young, but now I feel like way more adult. Yeah, young but old enough. Yeah, like a young adult, like I'm starting to care about more adult stuff and to even appreciate and evaluate more. details. Yeah. So I think it's, it just reflects in the way I dress and I move, but I can be extremely goofy. Yeah. No, I know, but, but I don't think we acknowledge like when we see someone who has it together or put it together. We curate ourselves as people, right? Not just men, women. We have to learn, especially if you grew up and maybe you didn't have money or you didn't

have experience, you didn't get to travel. I had to learn, like, what did I like? Just because something was expensive or it was a brand like that I heard of doesn't mean it looks good on me. But it might look good on them. Or might not look good at all. Or might not good at all. Right. And so fashion is one part fashion and then one part taste and personal expression. And so when you see someone who's put together and they got it right, and you're like, God damn, like that's the perfect look for that guy. I have to acknowledge it because I think it's important for people to do that for themselves, to take themselves seriously enough to say, I should think about what I'm wearing and try to find a way to be everything I can be when I go out into the world

and feel good about myself and present myself the way I want to be presented. Some people dismiss it. I think it's like a part of taking care of yourself. Yeah. I don't know. Because I don't want to say that like if you're not well dressed, you don't take care of itself. Of course, it's not that. But like, I don't know. Our image is part of our communication. Whether we want it or not, we don't have to be obsessed by it. You have to be comfortable enough that if you got to go out to take out the trash,

you can look like shit. But at the same time, it's like being aware of the context you're going, the other people around you. And I don't know how you smell, how you look. Yeah, yeah. How you fit in the situation. I think it's actually a thing. Yeah, it's being aware.

It's part of being smart in my point of view, because it's like part of being able to read the room, read the situation, you know? And I think sometimes in fashion, they make it feel unattainable. What I say is like, if you work with what you have, if you go into and you just put thought into what you're wearing, and some people pull off that look like way better,

like some people can put off the, put on sweats and make it, look a certain way. But everyone's going to find their own authentic style, but I do think you've got to think about it and put time into yourself. And some guys could put on a white t-shirt and a pair

of dickies and look like a fucking model. And some guys can, everybody's different. So all I'm saying is like when I see people that take the time to think about those things, I am inspired because I do and I just have

my own taste. But I always want to try to present well, right? So whenever I see it, I'm like, God damn, I'm working, good job. You're having a lot of success with these songs, though. Ben God. It's great. That to me says number one,

well, obviously people like it, but that's good for everything. Whenever you decide, okay, the band's like, hey, let's make a record. You don't think you guys are going to be playing these fucking songs, too? You'd better. Sure. They're fucking good. You know what I mean? And then it'll be fun to hear the version

And that would be the most fun thing possible for me. That's what the fun part of music is. Of my own solo songs. Yeah. That'll be fun. That's going to happen. I'm telling you, down the road,

whenever that happens, it's going to be another fun little ride. And that brings more interesting life to all of it. And that's why I think the number one rule has to be express yourself, make music that you want to make, the way you want to make it, put it out, how you want to put it out.

And then it breathes life. into everything you did and everything you're going to do as long as we get to express ourselves and that's what i see you doing so i don't even think you have a problem sticking to your guns i can tell you you you do i'm very i'm very good at it yeah but it's inspiring because i think a lot of people do yeah a lot of people have trouble yeah pulling the trigger on something that they you know and i think you if you have a feeling when it comes to art shoot first and apologize later yeah you know and and I think you do that really well. I'd be really disappointed if I found out you don't drive a Ferrari.

I don't have an expensive car. I have a shitty car. Please get a Ferrari one day. Whenever you get the time and the energy and the space. No, it's in the list. But the fact is, now I live in Rome. If you drive a Ferrari in Rome, you deserve to be robbed. Right.

You deserve it because you're being mean to people. It's stupid. It's a small street. It's obnoxious. Exactly. Right. Obnoxious. Okay.

When I move here, a little bit more acceptable. You know? Yeah. People go around with cyber trucks, so I'm not going to be the biggest dick in the town. Yeah. Exactly. That's what I say. My kids are like, get a cyber truck.

I'm like, guys, no. The only reason I like. Guys don't get a fight. No. It's a red flag. Yes. It is a huge red flag. It is a problem.

I tell my kids. It's the only reason I would ever get a cyber truck is it drives itself. But soon enough, every car will drive itself. So I'm waiting for a more normal looking car to drive itself. And also, do we need a car that drive themselves? I do. Yeah. Okay.

Okay. Respect that. I also want to get a robot as soon as they're available. Okay. No, I'm scared. That shit scares me. Oh, I really love the idea of having a robot. Okay, let me know.

Yeah. I will. Supposedly they're going to be available next year. I'm scared. And I'm definitely going to get one. My wife and me are arguing about it because I am waiting for the like pre-orders or whatever where you can like put your hand up and get in line for a robot. She hates it.

She's like, it's going to kill us all. Yeah, probably. Yeah. I don't know. I watch through my shows. But I like your take. I like your take on the Ferrari. It's a real honest true take.

And I agree with it. It's like clothes. You have to read the room. Read the room. Read the room. Read the room. Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

It's really smart. Yeah. But also, like, you don't want to be that guy. I don't want to be that guy. Yeah. I agree with that. Not yet. Yeah.

I don't have a Ferrari either. But if you saw me in one here, you'd be like, oh, okay. I could make sense. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's fine. Yeah, yeah. I haven't been able to bring myself to get one of those kinds of cars because of one

where I'm from. I could never drive that where I'm from. It's also my background. Like, my dad, I grew up with a dad that every time. he saw this type of cars, I was like, asshole. Fucking idiot. Yeah.

He spends all his money on that. So for, I have. It's like deeply ingrained. Yeah. It's like it's cultural. Yeah. We hate rich people. I'd be,

I'd be embarrassed if I pulled up next to another guy. And also I hang out with the same friends of high school. So I'd be, I'd be like the moron that comes with the Ferrari and everybody has a regular car. And it's like, Hey, guys.

You really want. want us to know that you're rich. I don't have to. In a full like Gucci jumpsuit. Track suit and loafers and a name is Tony, you know. Yeah. In a full Gucci track suit with your Ferrari. Like, what's up guys?

You're like, there's down you're not. How you doing? Yeah. Yeah. Maybe one day. Maybe one day I'll become. You know what? Maybe one day it's a classic Ferrari.

That, no. Okay. Be serious. If I get a Ferrari, it's a vintage. one. Vintage? Of course. Because I have a couple

vintage cars. I never feel bad about driving in them. No, you're the coolest and you break down. Even in the nice ones, you end up in a parking lot and you have to fix it

or figure it out, get it towed, and it's like something really like, there's something about that that reminds me in my childhood because we always had shitty cars and they'd break down.

And now the only car I have that breaks down is my old cars, which I care about the most. If you drive them, one in five times, they're going to end up in a parking lot.

Of course. And that makes me feel like okay about having this. We did this shoot with like a super old alpha Romeo or something. I swear to God I drove it for 12 seconds and all the smoke was coming from the car. And the owner was like, I didn't do anything, dude. I burned the clutch out. Just drove. Yeah.

So thanks for coming. Of course. Thanks for having. So you're obviously promoting the music and you're going to be doing this for, sounds like the next year. The next year. Yeah. It's exciting.

It's nice. It's a good feeling. I'm happy for you, man. Thank you. Thanks for coming. Of course. Hope I see you down the road somewhere. Yeah, sure.

At a festival or. I'm moving here, so. Yeah. We're going to have many chances. Yeah, dude. Thanks, dude. I hope you enjoyed today's episode of Artist Friendly. If you really liked it, you can follow, like, subscribe to the show.

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