Breaking Bread with Tom Papa - Bedouine Was Devastated When She Left Saudi Arabia

Episode Date: September 24, 2026

Tom sits down with Azniv Korkejian for a conversation about growing up between Saudi Arabia and the United States, turning nostalgia into songs, and discovering a new sense of presence through parenthood. Azniv Korkejian also shares plans for her upcoming tour and the eclectic musical influences that shaped her work. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 00:00 Bedouine Was Devastated When She Left Saudi Arabia 03:03 The new album and going independent 09:14 Turning family history into an album 18:29 Growing up in Saudi Arabia 24:20 How songwriting really happens 30:28 Creative friction with a trusted partner 34:30 Azniv Korkejian on Roger Waters 37:14 Searching for a sense of belonging 41:32 Nostalgia, healing, and parenthood 50:38 Is art a job or an identity? 58:37 From Norah Jones to homemade mixtapes 1:05:58 Simple food and buttered pasta 1:10:38 Tour plans and staying close to home Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When I left Saudi, I was so devastated as a kid. There was a couple of solid years where I was just like pretty sad and angsty and like really hated my parents for like dragging me overseas. Yeah. And away from everything I knew. You know, I was just so far from understanding what had happened. And it was just so like earth shattering. It's breaking bread. Thank you so much for being here.

This is really great. Thank you for having me. This is so nice. I know. The last time we saw each other was. I think six years ago. God, I have no concept of time. Five, six years ago.

Just before everything shut down? After it all shut down. Wait, really? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Because I baked bread. Okay, I forgot about that.

We were in lockdown. Okay, you generously handed me a load. You delivered a loaf of bread. I drove it to your house. That was how I was kind of, looking back, I was keeping myself sane by keeping other people sane. and I would bake bread and then there was no one on the roads. So I could just get to everybody really quickly. That's so sweet.

I love that. And I bake bread for you and brought it over. And I remember, I didn't think about it until this morning. On the way there, like, because there were no cars on the 101. Do you remember, there was a car upside down in the middle of the 101. Like, I was driving, and this car was, like, flipped over, and the people were safe off to the side. but it had this eerie kind of vibe to it because there was just a car upside down and no one was there helping yet. You don't remember that?

No, did you tell me that when you handed me? I did. And you said how brave I was. Oh, really? To drive past it. To get to you and not help those people. How observant you are. Yeah.

I don't remember that, but that doesn't surprise me. My memory is so, so bad. Is it? I was probably just so excited about the bread, which was delicious, by the way. Yeah, that was good. And you're your big German Shepherd. Yeah, he's still around. He is?

He's getting up there. Yeah. I think this might be his last year, which is a little heartbreaking. Or his hips going? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I've tried to find, like, different solutions.

I don't know if you have any advice for me, but I've had, like, different, you know. Yeah. My brother-in-law used to use a towel just underneath his back and, like, wheelbarrow him out to the yard. I kind of do that, a manual sort of thing like that. Just stay on him. But he's so sweet. And he's still like himself, you know. Yeah.

And so it. That's the hard part with them. Yeah. They're so together, but they're just, yeah. Can't walk. So I don't know. We're still, we're finding solutions. Like we've got a little ramp out, you know, to get to the yard and stuff like that.

Yeah. He's doing good otherwise. Oh, that's good. Yeah. Well, it's nice to see you again. It's nice to see you too. I just got off the road so I couldn't bake you bread, but I brought you lodge bread. Okay.

Who are my favorite bread people? Okay, great. Yeah. So I'll send that home with you. Oh, amazing. Congratulations on the new album. Thanks. Yeah.

Yeah. It's been a little over two months now. Right. And we're in this kind of funny lull between the record release and the tour. Because the record released in June, early June, June 5th. Yeah. If I remember correctly. And the tour doesn't really.

really start until like, well, actually in a couple weeks I'm going to Europe. Okay. But American tour doesn't start until October. Oh, really? Yeah, so it's kind of a funny, it was, there was lots going on around the record release month, and then now we're kind of in a lull, which is working out because there's so many logistics to plan for the tour. And then we'll kind of have like this, you know, ramp up to that again.

But right now it's a weird in-between time. It was great just to see you coming out with more music. because the first one was, what, 2020? The first record? 2017, no, the last one. Oh, the last one. Yeah. So it was like very much pandemic times.

And it was, I don't think that I would have done that had it not been for the pandemic because that was very much like a pandemic project. Right. It was, you know, like your bread. Like I had to figure something out to deliver to people. Yeah. So that I didn't go insane. Right.

Yeah. So that was my bread music. Yeah. And it's been a second. Yeah, there's been a lot of life happening, but also a lot of like rebuilding. You know, I got done with like my, fulfilled my last record label deal and my publishing deal. And so it was a lot of just kind of like rebuilding trying to think about how I wanted to do a project this way. You wrap those up, you mean?

Yeah, it was all done contractually. And so like there's a lot of like, you know, shopping. record also deciding if I wanted to put it out myself, which I essentially have done, which I think was the right decision. But there was a lot to like contemplate and rebuild and stuff too. Does having a label mean less now? Like what they can do for you now? Like it seems like that's the question. Because just from the outside. Yeah. There's no difference in your release this time than the other times. Yeah. Oh, is it? That's interesting.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's, I'm intrigued to get like outside perspectives because I'm too close to it to know. But it's interesting that you should say that. Yeah, you just get hit up that you have new music out. Yeah, yeah. And then Spotify delivers it.

Yeah. And it just kind of comes out. And it's like, I don't know if like a marketing department would have gotten to me any better than however you did it. I know what you mean. I mean, I mean, I, I, I, I think that nobody's going to care as much as you do about your art, right? And so, like, if you have the time and if you have, if you're resourceful and you're willing to put in, because it is a lot of work.

And it's also like a confidence thing. I'm lucky to have a lot of friends that I lean on for feedback. Right. But I think that, like, ideally that's built into a label, maybe if you go with a label. Because I could still see someone really being enthusiastic. enthusiastic about the label system. If there's people at the label that you really click with and you enjoy talking to and brainstorming with, because that's essentially what it is. It feels like it's all just brainstorming. I have close friends that are also very independent with their own projects.

And so we have a nice little very unofficial collective of like getting together and bouncing ideas and, you know, getting feedback and stuff. I don't know. That's like kind of my answer to that. But I'm always curious, I always ask musicians that too. Yeah. I mean, just as a fan, it's like, you know, we're seeing it with comedy too. There's a lot of- Yeah, I was going to ask, what's the equivalent? Yeah, there's like a lot of people that, you know, can't get a, for whatever reason, the timing isn't right to get a deal with like a streamer or something to put out their thing. So they just put it out on YouTube and have their, you know, publicists set up interviews and everybody knows it and you know they get tons of views and it all kind of happens.

We have so much in our own hands now. Are streaming platforms for like movies and TV and shows and stuff? Is that like analogous to the like record labels? Yeah. Yeah because they they platform it and then they somewhat market it, you know, and push it. And yeah, that's. That's definitely it. And then if you go independent, you just put it out yourself or just put it out clips on social media. And YouTube is like kind of like the streaming, like the DIY streaming platform. Yeah, right, exactly. Yeah.

Or just your cell phone. And you'd put one joke up and, you know, millions of people see it. Something goes viral. Yeah. Do you think when people do that, then they get hit up by streaming platforms to like tease something out bigger? Because that's what happens in music too. Yeah, if they're really big, like if it gets really, if it gets, if their audience really, it's up to you to bring the audience now. Yeah.

Well, that's the thing I think about it is that everything's so direct to consumer. And so, like, I think a lot of times also labels, they kind of want to see something work on its own and then, like, put, you know, fuel on the fire. Right. Rather than, like, build something. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know from scratch.

So if you, I don't know, so like if you can do that for yourself, which is what you have to do anyway. Anyway. So why? I don't know. I think there's just varies depending on people's lifestyles or what their goals are. If they want to lump sum of money maybe works for them or if they feel like they need that community. I don't know. Yeah.

Well, the album's beautiful. Thank you. It's really great. Thanks. It seems like it's a little more reflective in a way. I would say so, yeah. Right? Yeah.

A little, your other ones were a little more, just thematically. And I might be off. But it seems a little more like life reflective where the other ones were a little more romantic. Yeah, yeah. I think that's a fair statement. This is certainly the first time I've ever sat down with somewhat of an intention for the whole record in terms of, like, subject matter. And what happened, or the way it kind of got started was that I was, my parents were decided to retire from their work in Saudi Arabia, which is where I grew up, kind of my childhood stomping grounds. My dad, we all moved to the States when we were young, but then he eventually went back and took his old job back.

And I had been visiting him quite a bit, a lot more than I ever. expected to be able to visit him because I was starting to tour and going to Europe. So every trip to Europe, I would tag on this trip to Saudi Arabia, see my parents, revert to my childhood, you know, and mom did the laundry and brought me a trays of food and, you know, all the things that Armenian parents do. And I just like, you know, I really, I'm still kind of like a kid. Yeah, a child. Yeah, I'm still a child.

just cosplaying as an adult. And so, like, it was very sentimental to me to be able to go back, you know, to some place that easily feels inaccessible. Yeah. Wait, so when did you, so just the timeline of it. They went back, or he went back, or they went back? He went back first by himself, and then she joined him. And how old were you when he went back?

I had just started college, so I was about 18. So you had been here for? So we've been the state. So I'll give you like a cohesive timeline. Born in Syria. Yeah. Born in Syria. But just born, family was already living in Saudi Arabia.

I was just born there to be like born among family. Right. Because two of my older brothers, they were both born in Saudi Arabia without my grandmothers and cousins around and stuff. So I was just born in Syria. We grew up in Saudi Arabia. and, but my parents are Armenian. Right. And my family won the green card lottery.

So we moved eventually to America in 95 when I was about 10. Oh, 10, okay. And then we were in Texas. We were Massachusetts for a year and then moved to Texas. And that's where I went to like middle school and high school. And then I went to college in California at first. Really like took my time with college, though. Yeah.

It took eight years on and off to just like discover different places and majors and stuff. But as soon as I went to California for college, my dad decided to take his old job back, his old position in Saudi. So he moved back. My mom, like maybe a year or so later, joined him, sold the house in Houston. And so we were just all kind of splintered. And I didn't really get to visit them much initially because it's so far and it's just a big trip to make. Yeah. But I unexpectedly eventually, a while later, started touring, found myself in Europe way more than I'd ever expected to.

Right. And would just like, you know, and then when the tour's done, you're so, I don't know that this is your experience, but like pretty flexible outside of tour schedules. You know, you kind of get to decide if you don't have any other obligations, which I rarely did. It was kind of up to you to make a schedule for yourself whether it was writing or, you know, recording. Or going on vacation in Saudi Arabia. Yeah, I mean, so what I did was just went to go see my parents every chance I got because I really just loved being in a house with them. and so I would visit once, about once or maybe even twice a year in the, you know, adult years. And then it came time for my parents to retire and I had like really big feelings about that that hit me quite later.

And I just felt really sad about that. And I think that may be mixed with the pandemic and all my like tours getting canceled and things like that. I had time to like really address that sadness. And that's when I started writing. The very first song actually is the first song on the record that I wrote, which kickstarted the album and the concept, which was like, you know, grieving your childhood, looking back on it and your relationship to your family.

What happens when, you know, family members, you know, they splinter, like they peel off or whether it's, you know, know, for personal ambitions or, you know, political turmoil in the countries. And we've had both of that, both of those things. So, yeah, I had a lot of time to reflect on that. And I decided that for the first time I would, I would write a record that was, I don't know if you'd call it a concept record. I don't think that's really, but it's really a cohesive collection of work. Yeah. Yeah. It, uh, it, it, uh, it. It's when I last saw you around that time, it was like when we were coming out of the pandemic.

And, you know, I remember, you know, some people were like doing whatever. And some people were like really getting insular. And some people were getting reflective. I didn't realize on top of the pandemic, you had all these other thoughts going on. But I do remember, I do remember you being a little pensive. I wasn't just like sobbing. No, you were like, except with your bread. No, we had a very nice time when I came to see you.

But I remember seeing you posting and stuff. Yeah. You were a little more reflective. at that time. I remember seeing you, yeah, you seemed a little, yeah, a little more pensive. Oh, interesting, yeah. I mean, there was a lot of time. I had a lot of time on my hands. It was just really, at one point I was, I compared it to just like a canvas just getting like, like layers of paint just peeled off. Or you're just like, you know, how do you define yourself? Is it by the things that you do? Is it by your hobbies? Is it by your job? year, and all that stuff was just like, yeah, just disappearing.

Yeah. And so it was, you know. Yeah, couldn't perform and all that stuff. And so I was thinking a lot about, like, identity for sure. Yeah, it's, it's, that trip that, like, you're, you're moving and being, you know, you have nothing under your control at 10 and you're just, you're just, I moved once from, in third grade from, one town to the next town over. And I'm still getting over it.

It's a big deal. It was a big deal. It was third grade and it was like all my friends and I had to leave my house and everything that I built up and I was just like, yeah, it was a big deal. Let me ask you this. Did your parents like sit you down and like talk to you about what was about to happen? I don't think so. I think it was, hey, we're going.

Yeah. Grab your shit. Yeah, we're going to go look at the new house. Yeah, yeah. And it was like you went and looked at the new house, but you didn't. But you don't really register, like, what that means. No, you have no idea. But, you know, think about when you're 10, like the world, it's just, you're trying to find your place in it.

And everything's, that's why everything always looks bigger when you, everything looks smaller when you go back. Yes, I experienced that. Right? You go back and it's like. In the kitchen, you're like, wait, the cabinets are here. They used to be there. Yeah, right. And everything's like this.

Yeah. But when you're at that age and in your memories, it's palatial. It's huge. Oh, God. Because it's all your reality and you finding your place in it. Yeah. And then all of a sudden, uh, you're taking out and thrown into another place. You're like, wait.

Yeah. I just built this for 10 years. This is all I know. Right on the ceiling. And I know that sound when my dad walks down the hallway. This is different from my mom walking down the hallway. Yeah. And we didn't, and we didn't know.

It was sentimental until we lost it, you know? Yeah. That's the, yeah, it was so heavy. And I mean, literally my world turned upside down. Yeah. That's what I was good. Yeah, I mean, that's the preamble is that, to go from Saudi Arabia. To Massachusetts.

To Massachusetts. Yeah. I was like, what is this stuff falling from the sky? Yeah. What is this? Yeah. Yeah, it was very confusing. Trippy.

Yeah. What was the American section of the South. Arabia. Okay, so I lived, it was at the time, it was essentially an American compound. Okay. Which was a lot of like, um, um, expat workers were at the time it was contracted to school teachers for the American school. Okay. I, I went to, um, the school called Cesar, which was an international American school. English was the first language. We learned Arabic as a second language for one year, which is really silly. I don't, I don't speak. Arabic, which is like very shameful. I wish I did. But they treated it like just like a, you know, an elective or something for, because I guess that maybe, maybe people aren't there as long as we were, maybe. It's like a temporary job, like a couple years or something.

And your parents didn't speak Arabic at all? Oh, no, they do. Oh, yeah. My parents speak for languages. And they're like, hardly went to school. You know, that's the thing that's so funny. Like, yeah. Both of my parents grew up very. poor and they didn't even like go to high school. They were like, you know, working as kids and keeping, you know, keeping the family up and. Yeah. But no, they, it's very standard to like speak, they speak Armenian, Arabic, Turkish, and English now. Jeez. It's a fourth language. Impressive. I know. There's something so powerful about people that can speak a bunch of languages. Yeah. It really should be like the standard, I think, that we're just not. Yeah. And we were raised like Americans in the school, so we didn't learn like the native language, which is ridiculous.

My wife is part of her family is Lebanese. Oh, yeah. And my daughter has this little tattoo on her back. So something about, I don't know, something about not being fearful or something in Arabic across. And it's, it really is, there is that thing that we all just kind of yearn for with those roots. and it's like you want to know more about it, but the language is such a key. Yes.

And I think it's, and I don't know if it's generational or, um, cultural or something, but like getting my parents to reveal themselves and their roots is like pulling teeth. Yeah. Like,

I don't know if your wife had this experience, um, or you like, just like your parents not really talking about themselves, you know, um, and, and I don't know if.

maybe that's like an immigrant mentality or something. They're just like looking for it and looking for, you know, ahead and surviving. But a lot of this record also has to do with, like, getting my mom to talk about her past and try to get to know her better. And my dad, I would love that too, but he's just so stoic and, like, doesn't really, just like, I know. Short answers. You know, yeah. It was fine. Yeah, it was fine.

We worked hard. Yes. Wait, do you know my dad? That's because that was pretty good It's pretty much all days Yeah, yeah So, but my mom You know, every time I tried

I'd get a little deeper And then it eventually led to that Like this one recording on the album Which was this really sentimental Recording of her With the interview with her Exactly Yeah, yeah, yeah

She sounds like She sounds like the woman who runs this building Oh yeah? Is she Armenian? No, she's Israeli Oh, interesting. Yeah. Okay.

And, but the voice is very similar. Oh, wow. That's so interesting. Yeah, she's a little older and she's adorable. She's right down the hall. And yeah, as soon as I heard, I was like, who is it? Oh, wait. That's my mom.

I have to pay her rent. Yeah, you're behind. Because she grew up in an orphanage, right? So my mom, my mom was placed in an orphanage by her mom to protect her from her dad. which was who was kind of an aggressive figure in her life. And in Lebanon at that time, it might still be the case, but at that time there was a law that said that fathers, like mothers had custody guaranteed until age seven.

And at that point then it became like, I don't know exactly the details of it, but like they could be taken by their father. By the father. Yeah, she couldn't be protected. by that law, you know. It's a strange law. Yeah, yeah.

So mom isn't charged up until seven. Until up until seven. I think it, I mean, if I had to guess it would be just some kind of way to secure like the maternal. Yeah. You know, in like traditional cultures like that. And so I don't, I don't really understand it, but my mom was approaching six. And they were in Syria at the time.

So her mom fled to Lebanon, placed her in this orphanage in Lebanon, and stayed with family so that she could like visit her monthly during like the monthly bits of visits and stuff like that. So it came from a very like good well-intended place. Yeah. And their bond was, you know, super strong. I think my, my mom, you know, awaited her visits every month. And she, we talk, you know, we talk. You know, we talk. about it a lot nowadays too and she has nothing but pure love and adoration for her for her mom who's passed away since but right but yeah she had a difficult decision to make and I was really intrigued by that circumstance and and the way that my mom told me in that recording I just like knew that I needed to like write from that perspective right yeah you're such a good writer oh thank you your turns of phrase I've texted you before when I was just like

listening to something. It's been a while, actually. I was wondering if you... Well, you hadn't come out of the new album in a while. Okay. Okay. That's useful. Yeah.

But I would text you about lyrics, about specific lyric because it was... You have such a good turn of phrase. Thank you. Is it... How do you find writing? Is it... Does it tumble out or is it... It's so...

I don't know. It's so intuitive. And, yeah, sometimes I guess it does... humbles out and sometimes it really takes some work and some digging. I think I'm, the more experienced I am, the more, the more digging it actually does take, which I think maybe is counterintuitive, but I think getting more comfortable with like doing the work and sitting down and working through something that's not coming at you right away. Yeah. So there's definitely like a spectrum and it varies.

But I don't have, there's no, there's no really like method. I do have one book that I really like called writing better lyrics. And there's like a lot of different prompts in there and a lot of like, practices and stuff like that. And so sometimes when I have like the bones of a song, I'll like go back in and like really tease out the lyrics and look for ways to like, you know, employ. even more brevity or like, you know, curate the lyrics that so that they say as much as they can economically. And so I do put some thought into it. But I mean, there's some songs that just

yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It just fall out. Yeah. It's wild. Same. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You'll sit there and like be knocking away at something and sweating and hammering and it's taking a while. and then all of a sudden something happens and falls into your lap and you're up on stage and you walk away with a great joke and one night. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it just kind of happens that way. Do you find that like you have to live a little life in order to have that material?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. I don't really, I don't know how you are, but I, like the full-time, kind of like clocking in and clocking out, like having to write every day. That doesn't work so much for me. I feel like for me it works better if it's like a response to like your life as it is without the writing.

But what about what about then when you're going to work on it? Like if you like the editing of it and trimming it down and doing all that stuff? Yeah, I think that that requires a little bit more discipline. Yeah. But like I think of it as seasons. Like there's seasons to just like, like, live your life and be a person. Right.

And then there's seasons to like, if you're feeling, you start to feel like a little pent up, like there's things that you have to express or you have something that you, to say, you know. But I don't always have something to say. So I don't, I don't like make myself come up with something. It's never stopped me. Yeah. You just like taking his face. Just keep babbling.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, there's musicians that really do believe in that kind of discharging. But I don't, yeah, it's not, it's not quite for me. No, well, that comes through in your work. It's all very thoughtful and personal. And it's like it would be, yeah, it would be strange to think of you just cranking stuff out in the way. Yeah, I think, I, yeah, I would agree with that. Yeah.

Yeah. I really do like, I'm, I'm in the editing phase of this book right now. And it's my fourth one. It's not a big deal. And I do love this phase of it, though. I love it. I hated it this morning because I was going through an essay. They're all essays.

And you just go through. And the brevity and all that stuff and how you can say things more succinctly. And that puzzle of it, you know, the rhythm and getting the stuff. And why am I saying this five times? I could just take that whole chunk out. And just that whole part of it, I really do like it. Until today when I was reading one, I was like, I don't know if I even know how to write. Well, you get, I think you get a tag.

Well, you're probably, you're so close to it. But you probably have like an editor or something, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And she's great. And, uh, yeah.

It's funny with what I was, I'll just, just vent on this, but she was kind of stumbling or she was asking for it. Like she'll just be like little stuff and then they'll be like, what about addressing this more in this section or something like. Whenever there's like a little where she's really kind of like asking for more or less or whatever. Whenever there's like a road speed bump, it's not always necessarily right in what she's trying to fix, but she's right that we're in an area that's not working. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Like this morning, like she was going at it this way, and I was like, she's not wrong,

but actually if you sit and look at it, it's worse than she thought. And not in a horrible way, but it was just like, I was just repeating stuff and it's like, I'm just, yeah, yeah. So it's still insightful. Yeah, yeah. But there's always that thing of like, you probably have it lyrically where something's not working and to get to the, the heart of what it is takes a little time sometimes. Yeah, and sometimes it's not time just like sitting there trying to figure it out. Sometimes it's like it'll come to you in the shower or something. You know, like, I think. Walk away.

Yeah, walking away, I think is important. Yeah. Because, again, like the outside, you know, elements, they can inform us in ways, like, when we're not looking. Your husband or your partner, Gus. He, does he help? Is he your editor? He produces. I mean, he's. How close do you guys work together that way?

I mean, he'll, he'll definitely share feedback with me. And, you know, yeah, sometimes it's really, really helpful. Sometimes it causes me just like you were saying to reflect on something if it's working or not. And sometimes, sometimes I, you know, will ignore it. You know, like it's just, I think we've worked together now enough where we, we, we. have a good, it's a good push and pull. And I've come to really appreciate it. I think that like for a while I felt like I had something to prove like I can do a lot of this on my own. Yeah. And, but then I'm also come around to like really appreciating that, that friction that we sometimes have, you know, working together because there's like a spark that, you know,

comes with the friction. Yeah. And also just having any feedback will cause you to look at something harder, I think. Right. We'll put it under a magnifier. Yeah. And so, yeah, I've come to really appreciate that, his opinion. Because also he's grown, like my project has grown with him.

Right. Because he's produced all of it, most all of it. Oh, he has? Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, the first two records, he was like the only producer. Ever since those, we kind of like co-produce. There's a couple songs on this record that I produced with somebody else.

But I think since those first two records, I've been more curious to like do a lot of that pre-production on my own, which ends up a lot of it going on the record. So it's like, you know, demos and stuff like that or like, especially since the pandemic. setting up like a writing space so that I can record as well. And a lot of that, like, gets into the proper studio process as well. Right, right. He works with Roger Waters. Yeah.

Right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And does he produce other things also? I mean, that has kept him pretty busy more recently. But yeah, he works on other things. It really varies. But he also has his own music. It's fantastic.

He's an incredible musician. and songwriter, he just doesn't really like, he doesn't get much time to do it because he stays busy with. With Roger, with my music, you know, and I think it's sometimes a little bit of a, you know, protective mechanism that it allows him to procrastinate. Yeah. Because I think it's like, I think he's so generous with this time with other musicians. Right. And he cares so deeply about what, what he's working on for other people. Yeah.

But I think that he finds that if I had to guess, if I had to speak for him, that maybe he finds a little daunting to like work on his own music. Right, right. And because also he doesn't really know, like he stays pretty busy with music as a career in ways that he has, like, producing records for other people or touring for other people's bands who have like a huge infrastructure and, you know, around them. Yeah, big machine, yeah. Yeah.

And so like doing it for himself. where it would be quite a smaller scale, closer to something like that I'm doing. It's so time-consuming. Yeah. And it's a huge investment. It doesn't always pay off. Right.

So I don't know, like it's, you know, maybe not as wise for a person who has so much going on. Luckily, nobody's hiring me to be in their bands or produce their records. Right. So I have nothing but time. Yeah. Roger Waters is a tricky character. Mm.

Yeah. Yeah. Is he good to work with, like on that level? I have limited experience working with him. But I've been around him quite a lot. I really, I really appreciate him as a person and his perspective. He has a very unique delivery. Yeah.

It's very heavy-handed. Yeah. But he's really... He doesn't mess around. No, he doesn't mess around. But I agree with a lot of things that he says. And there's a lot that I just don't know enough to speak on. Right.

But I really do appreciate him. I think he's really, he's really sharp. And he sticks his neck out a lot. Yeah. Because, I mean, he really doesn't, he, he's got a lot to lose and he just doesn't, doesn't stop him. No. You know. No.

And I think he's kind of proof that he's not going to lose it. No. Right. Yeah. Even like within Pink Floyd itself. Right. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. I mean, I'm not sure of like what all those details were other than why isn't this working. Like as a fan with him and Gilmore. And it was like, but you could just tell like these are just huge personalities. Yeah. Yeah. Very confident in their own way of doing things. And that's going to, that could blow up and did. Yeah. Right. I know. I know. It's so funny because people ask me about him. sometimes. And I personally, I can only speak for my own personal experience. Yeah. He's a total delight. Yeah. That's great. And just like entertaining. And he treats his band so well. He's been so generous with everybody that he works with. Yeah. So I don't really Yeah. Yeah. I have a different maybe perspective. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's one of those people. the reason I'm even asking the questions is he's one of those people who...

Colorizing. Or just intriguing. You can't really get to... You don't get much, like, real info on who these people are. Yeah. Other than his music and then sometimes he's bombastic in his comments about whatever. Oh, sure. But, yeah, just any...

Right? Like, I'm sure you have artists in your life. You're like, I wonder what she's like. Oh, yeah. Oh, for sure. For sure. Yeah. I guess I do have a strange access to...

to him that a lot of people would be curious about, especially like Pink Floyd fans and stuff. But yeah, I think in where it matters, I think he's a pretty solid dude. Yeah. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. Do you feel like you got kind of, because of all the moves at that age, do you feel like you got kind of, kind of locked in, like, at that age in a way, like of seeing, like when you say you go back and visit your parents and turn into the child.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, we all do that to some extent, but it seems like, or actually, let me ask this, this is a better way to ask it. Do you feel like you have a sense of belonging now? Like, how do you see yourself? Are you Armenian? Are you Syrian? Are you American? You like... I mean, what I've said is that it's always been like this weird blend, you know? So like, like, like, you know, you? Yes, I'm, I guess technically an immigrant. Like I moved here when I was 10. I'm not, and it wasn't born here. But also where I was born, I was raised in an American school. So like, there's always been this blend between the two. So the fact that it's continuing, it's almost like not a lot has changed.

I'm kidding. That what's continuing? You're searching for it? That combination. Oh, the combination. Right. Yeah. Because it's not all that different. Like, I will say when I, when I left Saudi, I was so devastated as a kid. I was like, there's a couple of solid years where I was just like pretty sad and angsty and like really hated my parents for like dragging me overseas. Yeah. And away from everything I knew. You know, I was just so far. from understanding what had happened.

And it was just so like earth-shattering. But I think like one of the ways that I accepted it was that it didn't really, it no longer mattered where I was because I wasn't home. And so I think I had a kind of detachment from where I was. And so I think maybe that showed itself in different ways. Like going to using college as like an excuse to just like explore. You know, I'd go wherever there was like I could get some like scholarships or like grants or loans or whatever. And I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do.

And so I would kind of hop around a little bit. Went to like this, you know, I started out in a college in California. I realized I probably wouldn't find my major there. So I like transferred to this junior college that had a dormitory, which is really essentially what I needed a dorm because I was like too young to figure out. I just couldn't like figure out how to like get my own apartment. I just needed it to be like built into some kind of system that could give me some money. Give me a bed in some drawers.

Exactly. Essentially. Yes. And then like, you know, that was only two years. And then so I would like, you know, move somewhere else and like, like, look at this other college and apply, you know, for something and financial aid and stuff and do that. And I was like, okay. It wasn't really until I discovered that, like, the sound design program that I went to, um, the college that I graduated from for, for sound design. And then I

came back out here to do sound editing. Yeah. Yeah. So it was a long, uh, it was a journey. But yeah. But answering your original question, it was like, yeah, I had, I had a detachment to where I was because of that. Yeah. Which, I know this is stating the obvious, but that's, Bedouin is your artistic name. Yeah, yeah. I mean, at what point did you take that moniker? Because it's, it is exactly what you're describing, right?

Totally. Nomadic life. I think I, I, I think, it must have been like, um, 2012 or 13 when I was like, considered it. Yeah. And I was like, kind of started chipping all. away at, you know, some version of it. But it wasn't until like 2017 that I was actually properly putting out, like, albums. Yeah, yeah. Has this album helped you figure it out? I mean, you're always kind of, we're always rehashing and figuring our life out over and over again, right? But was there

any kind of growth or understanding of the, diving into all of this? I think it was a really therapeutic process. I think like I it was a great way to just like force myself to sit with it long enough to get comfortable with that kind of discomfort because I think that's so much of it is like most of it really. It's just like getting comfortable with being uncomfortable and not running away from it because that just like creates more problems. Yeah. And so in that sense, yeah, I do think that it allowed me to like place my longing something. somewhere or my nostalgia somewhere because I was like so deeply nostalgic like to a fault that it was just like getting in the way. You know, it just felt so sad about not like not feeling like somebody's kid, you know?

Right. And just also just coming to an age where I felt like I didn't really have like access to family. Like I was no longer with my family and didn't really have a family of my own. Right. And so just like feeling in this in-between space just like. And, you know, in the pandemic, it was just like lots of identity stuff coming up. Yeah. Who are you?

Who do you want to become? And just all along feeling like a kid. Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know. It's funny. My daughter, my younger daughter has, she didn't let go of her child. She's still not letting go of her childhood too much.

How old is she? 21. Okay. Interesting. And it really bothers. They were like when someone knew. shows up in the family. There's like a one-year-old knocking around now. She's like, I'm no longer the baby. Oh, my God. Wait, does she still live with you guys? Yeah. I mean, she's at college, but yeah,

she's here now. Well, that's really great because I, okay, so I, my 20s for me were, maybe it's because I had already left home, so I didn't feel that same attachment. But like, for me, it was like, okay, time to get out of here, time to go. Right. I'm not home, so I may as well be anywhere, like, time to explore. But it wasn't until like way later. But so it's really sweet to hear somebody like not taking for granted their like, you know, proximity to their family. Yeah.

And anytime there would be something like that would demark her being older, is to mark her word, that she would be anything that would make her grow up, she'd be like resistant. Really? Yeah. She's like, you're ruining my childhood. Oh, that's so sweet. Yeah. Yeah.

Are your other kids like that? I don't know where it comes from. No, she has a sister, an older sister, and she's not that way. Huh. Yeah. She's the one who's just kind of like, I'm going and going to go do these things. Where is she? New York.

Okay. Yeah. That's nice. Are they close? Yeah, they're great. Yeah, we were just together this last weekend. Oh. Yeah.

It all works. It's good. But, yeah, there is that definite difference. And I don't know if it's because things happen when you're young. I mean, we did move her around a little bit. I was, we were back and forth a lot more from New York and L.A. at that time. Oh, okay. So maybe she was kind of craving it.

But a lot of it is just who they are, you know? Because the other one moved at the same time. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think we just kind of are built a certain way. And if your parents take you down a path where it's not in sync with who you are, it just kind of gets thrown a little bit. So maybe you've always been a little bit of a homebody.

I think, I think so, yeah. Has it changed? now that you have your own family? Yes, a lot. Right? It's really snapped me out of it. Yeah. Actually, drastically.

Because it's no longer about you. It's really no longer. It doesn't matter if I'm feeling that. There's no time to me nostalgic. There's just like I just, yeah, I don't have the choice. You have no choice but to be present in the moment, just keeping, you know. How old is she? She's almost two and a half now.

Oh, man. That's so sweet. Oh, God, it's the best. Oh, it's the best. It's the best. that's the biggest thing right that it just you just no longer count yeah but it's in a way that it's like so nice freeing yeah it is really yeah all this time that i was longing for my childhood like it is kind of scratching that itch to be honest like i feel like now i feel like i'm

looking at my childhood again from like a birds it's almost like i'm playing it back or something and Yeah. And now you can do all the things that you wanted to do. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Holidays. Only whatever comes up, like, whatever it is.

Yeah. Mostly hanging on for dear life, but. But yeah, all that stuff, I think, hopefully it'll come. But, yeah, I mean, we're in the very wiggly stage where it's like, even just going out in public, I'm like, oh, dear God. Yeah. Right. Exactly. What will happen this time.

But, I mean, she's a delight. She's not the monster I'm describing. But no, but you go through that period like that beginning when they're really brand new. And you're like, she's so cool. We can go to restaurants. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Oh, I got a good one.

She's so good. And you realize, no, she's just dormant. Yeah. She hasn't come to yet. Yeah. And as soon as they come to. Oh, she's come to. Yeah.

And you're like, we can't go out to a restaurant for 18 years. Yeah. No, I've basically made peace with that like I just don't, I'm okay with like not traveling as a family until she's like four or something. Right. Even though like she's, she seems relatively manageable and just so sweet and so like just understands everything. Like it's so easy to discount them and like underestimate their intelligence. But like, as long as you actually express an idea, she's fully, she's just like fully locking in.

She knows exactly what we're talking about. Yeah. It's so impressive. It's wild. It's so wild. And so I think I think we. could probably do it, but... She's not going on tour?

No, no, no. I hardly manage myself. I mean, I just, I don't think... Tour is, I think maybe if I got to a point where there's like a little bit more infrastructure, but it's so, like, touch and go. Yeah. You know, at the stage I'm in right now.

Right, right. And I just also, like, I think it's a nice... I love the idea of it, and I look forward to, like, being able to travel with her. Yeah. And go to, like, introduce her to new, you know, countries and cities and cultures. But tour is not that.

Tour is... No. Tour is dark alleys and dirty toilets. I mean, it's not... You know what I mean? It's not that. Romanticized thing. No, I know.

Do I want her to hang out in a dark alley while I'm loading out? Yeah. No. So I don't... But... It's true. That's just my experience. Plenty of other bands are doing it.

friends that I know very close to are doing it and are really enjoying it. Yeah. But I don't have that. I don't have that experience. Right. Yeah. Yeah. No, I know what you mean.

My wife's always like, I'll come with you more often because her work is shifting and our kids are grown. So it's like, oh, yeah, we'll be able to go do that. And literally just this week, I was like booking the flight like, we're going to be in Portland and then we're going to get out of there. the only real direct flight is at 7 a.m. So that's a 5 o'clock pickup to get to the airport to go to the thing. And I'm like, yeah, of course.

And then I was like, oh, wait, she doesn't know that we're not going to go to a brunch. She's going to find out. Yeah. Totally. It's so much of that. Or go to a museum or any of that stuff. It's like, no, we're on the move. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know. I think maybe there's a version of it where you can like build around. you know, that. Or maybe, I think my version of that is maybe just like tagging on an extended stay at like, you know, a city at the end or having them come out or something.

Yeah. But no, I think tour itself is very stressful. Yeah. It's so funny to think of you being on the stressful tour and loading it in alleys and stuff because it's all so beautiful when you're performing. There's flowers on the, on the, On the mic stand.

That's what I want you. It's so peaceful and like beautiful and idyllic. And to think that like as soon as it's over, get in the van. Yeah. Yeah. Let's move. A lot of fist fighting and cursing. Yeah.

No, I mean. Yeah. Yeah, it is. That's the grind. Yeah. It's a grind. Yeah. For sure.

Yeah. And also I think of it as like people, I mean, I don't know. I don't know if this is controversial to say. but it's work. Yeah. If I was home alone, I wouldn't sit there and play my songs to myself like every day, you know? Yeah. Like I wouldn't, I don't think I would do that.

Yeah. I go months without playing. Do you really? Yeah. Wow. It's not, I don't, it's not how I, it's not my whole identity. It's like, definitely it's like something I do. It's not me.

Really? Yeah, for sure. Really? Yeah. So it, that side of it is, It's not for me, you know. What isn't? Playing a show.

Right, right. Yeah. You know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's work. So that's not you. So who are you? That's a question.

You'll never know. What are you more than that? Who knows? I don't know. See, here's the mystery. Here's the mystery. Yeah, I... This is why it's intriguing.

This is what makes you cool. I'm hoping you don't have an answer. I don't think I actually do, but it's not for, not because I'm hiding anything. I just, you know, I don't know. Yeah, it's being a person, a real person. Yeah. Yeah.

For sure. I mean, do you think, do you think of comedy as like who you are? Yeah. Really? You don't think it's like just one side of you? It's a dominant side. Yeah. Yeah.

It's a dominant side. Because it's, yeah. Between, yeah, it is. Don't get me wrong, because I think it's actually like, and I've said this before, I think it's really important that everyone find a way to express themselves, even if you don't consider yourself to be like a creative type. And so I think it's like really healthy. But I also like thinking about it as like one of the things I enjoy doing. Yeah. You know.

Yeah. Yeah. No, it's an interesting question. it definitely is the dominant thing. I mean, there's always between this and the shows and the writing for the books and all that, it's always like a, it's always a mining, unearthing way of making people laugh.

Like it's like, that's like, that's, yeah, that's really who I am. I always think that there should be other parts. But it sounds like you have a good variety. of things. Like I, I love when I turn on the radio and I hear your voice. It's such a treat. Like, it's such a, what a great counterbalance to like, you know, doing your own shows and writing about yourself or whatever it is. Like, to, to like host. Oh, like, wait, wait. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that is such a treat. Yeah. You're so good at it, too. Oh, thank you. Like, do you enjoy that?

I do. I do. Yeah, I really like it. And how often do you do that? Because I've, I've, been hearing you more and more often lately. Yeah, it's been more often. Yeah. I would say I'm there like once every month and a half. Yeah. Maybe, yeah. Guest hosts, you know, I don't know.

It depends on whatever Peter's doing, you know, because he goes off and does other things. And how did you get into that circuit? I just loved it. Like, I really, that was on my wish list for a long time. I just loved hearing Paula Poundstone on there and Peter and all those in Bill Curtis. And it was like, I'm such an NPR. head. Yeah, me too. Me too. And then, and I love Garrison Keeler. I really love Perry Home Companion. Yeah. When I was like young and driving to gigs. Yeah. I remember just being like in a car like by

myself, you know, going to do some show in like Atlantic City or whatever in the winter, listening to Garrison Keeler on the radio. Totally. And I just really loved it. And I just always had it in my mind and to end up getting to do Perry Home Companion. That's so wild. That's got to be a pinch me moment. That was a pinch me. To be like at the Fitzgerald Theater where he did most of them and be doing my monologues, which was called Out in America. Uh-huh. I know. Right? He was doing, you know, of course, Lake Wobagon and not just to say, just to say that I was on the show, on that show, doing my version of a monologue in that spot. Amazing. Was just like a holy cow. And it's really like, you know, because, you know, if you're an NPR head,

A lot of the world doesn't even know what that means. You know what I mean? You're like, I just did, we're Garrison Keeler. And they're like, who? Yeah. Like, no, this is like, this is a god. Totally. Cranked out so much material.

So I was really just between those two shows and then to be on them, just kind of like, I don't know, you know what I mean? Like there's the, it wasn't like a plan and I'm going to make it happen. I just had it in my head. I would love to do that one day. Uh-huh. So you just kind of make little micro moves that make you, that you just end up there one day. Yeah, yeah, totally.

You know what I mean? To be hosting weight weight at times and doing that garrison thing was just like, yeah, yeah, man. That's cool. Now, it sounds like, yeah, you have like a nice variety. Yeah, yeah. But it's all like, you know, I do, you know, I think having a family is the other, is the counterbalance. Totally. I mean, that's.

It's such a great counterbalance. Yeah. Yeah. It'll snap you out of your ego. Yeah, and just, you know, like, you know, the concerns of the girls and my wife and my parents and all of that stuff, it's like, I just live in that. Like, I'm not going golfing. I'm not, you know what I mean? I don't have, like, other kinds of things.

Is that something you used to do, golfing? No, I'm just saying, like, you know, a lot of people, people do. And it's either I'm working on all this stuff or I'm with the family making dinner. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. I'm appreciating that duality. Yeah.

It's, I think it enhances both sides of it. It can be really challenging, which it has been. For me, over the course of this year, for sure, like my first record out with a family, with a child. But it just keeps you so intentional about how you're spending your time. Like, I just can't believe how much time I had before that I wasn't really making such good use of. Yeah. And so I really appreciate getting kind of like, you know, whipping back and forth between these two things.

Yeah. I would always think, and like you just put out this album while have, like, if you were to just put out an album, that's a huge thing. But it should be graded on a curve because you're also being a new mom at the same time. That's like a whole other thing. It's like I always wanted the audience to know, like, I've been up since 6 a.m. and going to carpool and the amount of shit that I did. Yeah. These other comics got up at noon.

Yeah. I know. It always makes me. Do you know Anara George? No. She plays at, she's in that band Bird and the Bee. And she was on stage one time. She had two young children.

Yeah. And she was playing like this packed house. And I'll just always remember what she said once. She was just like, oh, this is just so cool. like if you guys had any idea how I spend most of my time. And I was just like, I think she might have been talking about like changing diapers and stuff. And then all of a sudden she got to be like this like rock star stage to this like full,

you know, full house for a band that didn't really perform a lot. It was more of a studio, you know, a band. And so I just always think about that. Like, yeah, people have no idea like what you're up to. No clue. It's just, yeah, graded on a curve. I think that's a good approach. Who were your musical influences?

Because you have, you've kind of a, you've got like your own style. Were the bands that were your influence, were they more like you? Or were they different? I think that like, I think that I always knew that my, my music would be on the softer side, like sonically. Yeah. And so, like, I was blown away, for instance, when Nora Jones, became really popular. Right.

When I was in high school and like her first single was just like, you know, I mean, I wasn't really paying attention to what was charting, but like that it was on like MTV regularly and something that like so soft and soothing and quiet could take up so much space in the mainstream. Yeah. So that was like really, that was really inspirational to me. And I loved her music and, and her voice and just like her approach to. to the kind of intensity that she had.

Yeah. But yeah, I don't know what really found its way into my music sonically. Because the stuff I was listening to growing up, it doesn't really, it's pretty, like, random, especially like being in Saudi Arabia. Like my first records were Boys to Men and Mariah Carey, and I think I had like a Michael Jackson bad tape. And then we had, you know, MTV over there and I had like this little handheld tape recorder and I would like just like tape things next to the TV, which was like mostly Nirvana on MTV coming up. And so it was just like this weird whatever just was like being thrown at me.

Yeah, yeah. It wasn't until like way later that I was kind of finding my people in places that I was getting introduced to things that I liked more. Yeah. But still it was like, it still, it felt really intuitive. Like when I was getting, I didn't even know who Nick Drake was. And then when I released my first record and I would hear some, I would like read some comparisons. Or like, you know, somebody would tell me about his music, like to talk about a song or something. Yeah. And it or like even like Bobby Gentry or people like that where we're now looking back. I'm like, oh yeah, it totally sounds like they were an influence, but I didn't even know of them. And so it just felt, I mean, the music itself has been mostly so much. minimal, that it's really like the songwriting just was really just intuitive. Yeah, yeah. For this record, it's a little bit different because I dug in a little bit deeper to try to find

a different approach to it because I also was curious to sing differently. And I think that was influenced a lot by like the bands I was opening up for because I would play like this really hushed, quiet opening set. Yeah. And then I would like walk off stage, relieved. And then like hear their set, which was like, you know, could be bombastic or like. like really like kind of crooning or like belting or people sing the different ways people sang and I found that to be really inspirational and I thought like I would really love to

sing out more and so I think it inspired me to like shake up the the approach and for instance like try writing on piano which I tried with a few songs this time around and so yeah it's still kind of an experiment but this this record I think there was a lot more of like the kind of classic singer-songwriter like Carol King, Todd Rungren, you know, those kinds of influences, Carpenters. I was really interested in like their melodic top line and the way that their voices kind of move around the chords. Yeah, yeah. So there were like more specific inspirations this time around. but generally speaking vaguely, I don't know.

I don't, I feel like I'm too close to it to really even know. Yeah. Well, it's definitely a, it's definitely a spectrum. Yeah. But it shows that you were listening for it. If you're holding a, if you're recording things off, your little recording next to the TV, like sound was, for sure. You were finding it.

Yeah. And I was, I think I was also just like a, you know, kid that wanted to be cool. And like, I would play it back, like, walking around the soccer field. field at recess, like in my Doc Martins and my black overalls and like, you know. And so I think I was also just like trying to figure out how to be a person. Yeah. You know, or maybe I just needed a Walkman. I don't know. Maybe my parents just should have gifted me in Walkman. It would have been easier. It would have been easier. I would have been at school in time. Yeah. But it's hard to say. I think, I think, I don't know. Does comedy work that way? Do you have influences? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

But it's similar. Like you, it really is kind of a spectrum. Like once you start learning that this is a job and people are doing this for a living, I just started gobbling everything up. Like anybody that was working for a laugh. Oh, yeah. So you actually like be studious about it, like really kind of study.

Yeah, listen to this guy and listen. Yeah. And it's like a wide spectrum. And then, you know, some of it influences you. I mean, I guess it all does. But some,

a little more specifically, you start, you know, heading a certain direction or something. And then you get around, then you start, and then there's just people in the scene that are in influence

who are a little ahead of you. And yeah, kind of, but it really is that, uh, that thing that you're describing of like, you didn't even realize you were influenced by certain things. Totally. You're just distinctly yourself.

It's really when you put the blinders on, like you kind of fill up with it all. Uh-huh. And then it's like when you stop caring about everything else and just start thinking about, what you want to do and express yourself that way. Yeah. It kind of comes alive.

Totally. Right? Yeah. And sometimes I even like wonder, you know, because there's a few different flavors, you know, to different songs, like I'll do stuff that's like very kind of classic 60s, like folk stuff.

And then some of it has this a little bit of like a country funk thing. And then some of it has just like a Basanova flavor. Yeah, yeah. And then you wonder like, well, what? Is this confusing? But it's all coming through you. And so there's like, a glue to it and so yeah yeah i think it just i don't know it just happens yeah i know yeah exactly

it's amazing it's uh it's really kind of cool that you kind of drill down into this part of your life it'll be interesting to see where you go from here because like this is such a huge uh this is like a huge thing to wrestle to the ground in a way yeah yeah it's like it's it it's seems like it's going to be nothing but open space. For sure. I definitely feel like I've made a lot of mental space for myself. Yeah, yeah. And I think there's a lot of places to go from there. A year from now, we're going to be like, so, a disco album. You have no idea. I don't know. I've already had one.

That's a good question. Yeah. What's your food, Miss International Flavor? What's my favorite food? I grew up all over the. place. Like, do you cook? Do you, like, would you be like, my people's food is? Mm. I mean, okay, so I am not a great cook. So I like to keep things simple, which actually is like, um, works really well for me because I, that's how I like to eat too, where I have just like, you know, just vegetables, like whole ingredients just out. And that's actually how my parents, so my parents visited me up until this very morning. I dropped him off at the airport at 7 a.m. this morning. And how they eat is that they just have like Tupperware of ingredients. And they just like load the kitchen table with like, they'll be like some boiled eggs, a plate of cucumbers, a plate of cherry tomatoes, a plate of olives, a plate of cheese, some, you know, pita bread. And they're just like kind of wrapping stuff up and just eating coal.

Yeah, yeah. And so that's kind of how I eat too. Like, that's like Middle Eastern. Yeah, it is essentially like. just having like essentially the ingredients out. Right. And I like to eat that way because at times I think about like, oh, I wish I was a better cook. But that also takes like a lot of ingredients that you don't necessarily need. Yeah. You know?

So I just like getting like the right to the source. Oh, that's good. You know? Yeah. And not having to add like, you know, sugar or things that aren't as good. Yeah, just all the stuff. But yeah, so how I eat, I make a lot of like lentil soups. and, you know, like some kind of beany dish.

Because I'm a vegetarian too, so it's just like trying to get the nutrients that I need. Yeah, yeah. And otherwise, just like, you know, making like a large quantity of like a grain or something and then having that with like roasted vegetables and stuff. I love roasted vegetables. Yeah, me too. That's like, that's my name. I know.

Roasted broccoli. Man, when I think of all the years that I was like making, broccoli other ways. It's so much better. It really is. Just olive oil and salt on a pan. I mean, that's the thing. That's like, sometimes I feel kind of dumb for not really knowing how to do more than that, but that's like the best. It's the best version of it. It's give it, yeah, we have everything we need, but we don't really need to do much with it. It's so good. No, exactly. So I don't know, it's kind of a boring answer, but. No, it's good. No, that's good. Yeah, I would put it Middle Eastern leaning.

Yeah, yeah, totally. Which is great. Yeah. How about you? What's your deal? Italian. Yeah. All the time?

Not all the time, but that's like the dominant. Yeah. What did I make last night? Oh, yeah. My daughter was getting her wisdom teeth out today. Oh, wow. So it was her last meal. So she got her, she got her last meal, which was butter pasta.

She just likes pasta. Nice. We always kind of teeth. teaser because we come from this, you know, making sauce and all of this, you know, garlic and, you know, big Italian stuff. And she was always like, I just like it with butter. And we were like, she really still is a kid. She really is, yeah, completely.

And then we were in this Italian restaurant that we love. She's a huge toddler. And yeah, and she really is. And we said to the waitress, to the server, you know, we, she just wants butterpast. And the, I don't know if the cook came out or something. Somebody was like, well, that, you know, that is the best way to eat pasta. And they were, they were being completely serious. They're like, there's nothing better than that.

All these other sauces, it's great, but butterpies. And she just sat there at like seven, like, that's right. Amazing. And she's never gone off it. Wow. But roasted broccoli and butter pasta that was last night. Yeah. Yeah.

I wouldn't say no to that. Totally good. But is the pasta, are we talking like, are you making the pasta? No. Okay. No. I'm going to start, though, because I'm going to have some bread tools coming out that... I bet you could. This is my cutting board, and this is mine.

Wait, are you serious? Yeah. That's crazy. This company Nambay. And, yeah, this... Wow. Back here, this guy. That's beautiful.

Congratulations. Thanks. And they want to do a line of pasta stuff, like the shaper and all that kind of stuff. And I was like, I better start making some pasta. Yeah. So you don't seem like a fraud. Totally. That's exciting.

Yeah, no, it's good. So you're going to go out on tour? Yes. You're up first, so I can't see you until you come back. Yeah, we were playing L.A. in October. The date escapes me. I should know this. All right.

Yeah, I'm playing in October at Sid the Cat in Pasadena. Yeah, yeah. Their new auditorium, which is a beautiful new space. Oh, yeah. the privilege of seeing. Nice. And, yeah, and we'll do, like, some really bite-sized tours in the fall. Cool.

Just doing, like, you know, a few dates up the West Coast, come back, a few dates on the East Coast. And then, like, another month doing, like, a few dates in Midwest. So it's really kind of just not wanting to be out of the house to... Yeah, going nonstop. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Just stay home, close to the kid. And the Europe one is a little bit long. It makes me a little nervous to be gone that long. It's the longest I have been gone, two weeks. Two weeks? Yeah. But it seems like, you know, still manageable. Yeah.

Just leave her some food. She'll be all right. Yeah, yeah. Just leave a bowl. Kind of like one of those automated kitten bowls. Yeah. She sounds like she's got it together. She actually is quite independent.

No, but she's got a good routine here. She'll be good. Yeah, that's great. Yeah. And people just. find you on social media and for dates and stuff like that right yeah yeah yeah yeah it's all up there great you know well congratulations thank you so much yeah let's uh see each other more often i would love that yeah for sure yeah and i will bake you the next bread yeah this one's gonna be good though

so yeah whatever we got it guys