Garza Podcast - 21: Jerry Clubb | Manager: SUICIDE SILENCE

Episode Date: July 5, 2021

Jerry Clubb is the manager for Suicide Silence. We talk about the Myspace days, losing a singer, and more. SPONSORS: Click this link to purchase from Sweetwater & help support the podcast: imp.i114863.net/rnrmVB

Our following guest is the manager for suicide silence. I believe we're going on 18 years of him being our manager, which is crazy to think about. All the way from Myspace Days to tragedies within the band, it was him behind his scenes really getting the band back on a speed to move forward. I hope you enjoy this conversation. Let's get into it. Please welcome Jerry Club.

I mean, there are definitely times where I might have thought that I wouldn't be in this room again. And yet here I am. The room keeps changing. but I'm still the same. You're still the same and you're still here, man. I am. Thank God. I know.

Thank God for everyone that's still here after this crazy year we've had. I know. And, uh, yeah. Jerry Club, man. This is going to be your, your lucky number, 21. The 21st episode, by request. I specifically said Chris Garza, 21 is my lucky number. I want to be that number on your podcast.

Let's do it. Why, uh, why is it? Man, there are a lot of reasons for that, but I would say most notably because my birthday is on the 21st of July. And so when you're younger and you're trying to figure out what your lucky number is going to be. Yeah. I mean, your birthday is a pretty good indication. That and 21 is kind of a, you know, a famous lucky number within, you know, blackjack and cards and things like that. So, you know, it's just one of those numbers that has made sense.

And there's been a lot of times where the number 21 is lined up in my life and brought me good luck. So, you know, so it's my lucky number. And then my second luckiest number is seven. And my birthday is 721. And 7's also a commonly known kind of lucky number. So that's how you roll. Cool. Well, Jerry Club, thank you for bringing your good luck here.

Dude, I hope so. I hope it's a great podcast. I hope people check this one out. Appreciate that. Jerry Club, B-War. The hidden six member of Suicide Silence. Thank you very much. It's awesome.

And also probably the longest standing member. Like how long have I known you and been managing this band? Yeah, that goes back to 2004, I believe, is when I first saw Suicide Silence play at the showcase theater in Corona. And when I got your guys' bludgeon to death demo, I think, and exchanged. contact information and yeah it goes all the way back then and like you said besides yourself I'm the next longest kind of person that's been involved that's still involved at this point so I know it's it's such a trip it definitely doesn't feel that long and you know we've we called you are our six beetle there you go and and in my

personal opinion you've been our our secret weapon All right. You know? Well, let's not expose too much of my secret weapon. But, yeah, I certainly feel like, you know, a part of this suicide silence family and always have. And, man, it's been an enormous part of my adulthood, dude. It's changed my life, obviously, and become my life. So, yeah.

So, yeah, it's an odd position to be in not being a band member, but being so integral and involved. in the career of the band in, you know, in a very personal way. Yeah. But yeah, it's awesome. And yeah, I'm happy to be here and reveal some of the behind the scenes of it all. Yeah. But, yeah, man. Right before we got connected, what were you doing before then?

So prior to seeing suicide silence in 2004, I mean, most directly. I was working at prosthetic records at the time as the kind of promo publicity guy was a job that I was probably just a few months into. It was my first real music industry job after having interned at Century Media. So, you know, that's really what I was doing and concentrating on is I wanted to kind of build a career within the label structure of the music business. and you know what led me to that was uh working at my college radio station as a metal director um i had a radio show at my college and i was the one that would kind of program what hard rock and metal CDs were on the shelves and that people would be spinning um and yeah of course i uh was in college going to film school so filmmaking was also on my my mind um as to what i was hopefully

going to do as a long-term career as far as post-production, maybe even screenwriting, things like that, and got my degree from Chapman University's film school with an emphasis in editing. And so, you know, I was trying to find my way post-college shortly after graduating. This was probably just about a year or less after I'd graduated from college that I was working at prosthetic and came across. you guys just during kind of a routine situation where a couple of our prosthetic bands were playing at the showcase theater in Corona

and I drove down to kind of meet them and to get more familiar with our artists and I remember seeing on the showcase theater marquee that Suicide Silence was playing above one of our new signings like the city and I remember thinking who is this band that's build above our signed band and playing between the two prosthetic bands,

like the city and Acacia Strain, and I kind of was going to watch it with a bit of a chip on my shoulder, like, okay, well, clearly, this is a mistake, you know, and sure enough, it was not a mistake. The band had obviously, you know, you guys, Suicide Sounds had obviously had a great local following brewing in this area,

and, you know, there were tons of people going crazy in the pit for the band, and I watched the whole set, and was obviously incredibly impressed to the point of speaking with you and and Mitch I think that night and the rest is you know kind of history that we could get more into more detail of but yeah as far as what I was doing I was trying to find my way post college like what was I going to do with my life you know and there were kind of the the degree that I had and then there was my interest in in music that uh you know I made some

connections there at college radio that led me to some label opportunities and I was just getting my feet wet with that and had no intention of being an artist manager. I probably didn't even know much about what an artist manager's job even was and you know I kind of decided to become that once once I tried to get you guys signed a prosthetic and just didn't work out and then I wasn't super happy with my job there and kind of threw it all to the wind and said let's do it i'll manage the band let's go big wow you went from getting a film degree in college to going straight into music and then that led you to us meeting yeah in some roundabout way that that that is what happened i mean like most young adults searching for what they're going to do in life i kind of um

you know, just found myself working at a, at a label that was a relatively young, exciting label and prosthetic. There were a couple acts that I really liked over there. All the Remains was a band that I was becoming familiar with that I was super into. And Lamb of God was kind of in the process of graduating from prosthetic up to Sony Epic. And yeah, and it just felt like a good opportunity. And, you know, obviously I felt like I had more of an A&R sense and had an interest in working with bands but I hadn't even really fully fleshed out what I wanted to do at that point.

It just really struck me when I saw your band play live at a time that, you know, I just thought there was something different about the type of music and the way you guys were performing that type of music. So yeah. So we spoke first, right? Because I was thinking like, did he talk to Mitch or me first? You know, I honestly, don't remember. I feel like I would have gone up to Mitch just being the front man that's more recognizable. Of course. You know, so I feel like I talked to Mitch first. I know it was inside the venue after the show. But yeah, I mean, I wouldn't be shocked if I also spoke to you that that night or whatever. But I was simply trying to just get the contact information exchanged.

And yeah, I was just eager to take it right to the boss man at prosthetic and try to get you guys signed. But of course, that wasn't my job at the label. But I wanted to make it my job because I felt like there was some real opportunity with what was going on. Yeah. I was trying to wonder how I got your number. Because, like, I don't remember I was talking that day, but I did get your number. And I know if for fact, I didn't get it from Mitch. I could have handed you a business card.

I mean, I'm always the type that would have a business card on me. I'm sure I had fresh prosthetic business cards that I was stoked about that I'm sure I handed him out. So yeah, it could have been that. And I don't recall, but was, you know, Gabe still loosely managing you guys at that time as well. I know he was kind of the friend manager situation that you guys had before me. and so I don't know to what extent he was involved with the band business as I was coming on board. But I know he was a key part of helping grow you guys early on. And, you know, his name and phone number was on like the demos, I think, and things like that back in the day.

So, you know, it was just, yeah, it was an amazing time to have gone to a show there at Showcase. which of course isn't there anymore and you know without it so many bands wouldn't have had the growth that they had and i know a lot a lot of bands got their start there you know shout out to gaba choa being being trio great guy you know he definitely helped out a lot with us i remember having your number and i'll be at anchos washing dishes and you either call me or text me and i remember always look at my phone my god Jerry's calling me. Wow. That's funny.

Because I was such a young kind of, yeah, I must have been, what, in 2004, I was only 22. So I was just this young dude that was probably thinking, these guys even take me seriously. I did. So it's definitely interesting to think back on. Because I was trying to make my way without knowing anybody and just thinking, like, I want to work with this band. I don't know how. I don't know how it's going to happen, but, you know, I was probably, you know, pretty aggressive with letting you guys know that at that point.

What was it about suicide silence that made you take that leap? Garza's great looks. No, it was, yeah, it was an immediate thing seeing suicide sounds perform at the showcase, you know, at the particular show that I was mentioning earlier. It was the ferocity of the live performance. A lot of it certainly had to do with Mitch and just the way he moved on stage was so unique and he was so, you know, just moving with the music, so to speak. And it was just so incredibly heavy

and the reaction that the fans were having was very much a losing their minds kind of reaction. I believe the family guy clips were present at that point to some extent. and just having those kind of cartoon clips in the songs was kind of a unique touch. And they would happen right before a big breakdown. So it kind of worked to build things up. And then people would scream the family guy quote, you know, along with the audio.

And then, you know, beat the crap out of each other. And it was a, yeah, it was a really unique experience. And it was just ferocious. and, you know, everybody on stage, not just Mitch, but everybody was, you know, huge movements with headbanging and, you know, and the drummer at the time, Josh, wore a mask. And, you know, that was interesting, obviously. It was something that Slipknot had been doing with, you know, all their members and things like that. So I immediately thought, oh, is this just kind of like a gimmick that he's wearing a mask? So I didn't know if that was really cool or not, but it certainly was unique and it certainly had me.

asking the questions as to, you know, why, why only one guy in the band wearing a mask? And it's actually funny that later on I go to find out that Josh kind of does make funny faces when he drums and that he really wanted to wear that mask to kind of cover up the fact that he felt like he looked awkward while, while drumming. And I just to this day, I'd feel like, do many people even realize that? Like, back then, I feel like it was kind of a, people didn't know. They probably thought the band was trying to, you know, just collectively decided to do that to be cool looking or something. But it was really an individual decision by him, right? More than anything.

Yeah, one of those individual decisions slash quarks that just kind of sticks and works, you know. Yeah, and I like how when he was no longer in the band anymore, it wasn't like you tried to throw a mask on the next guy or something. It wasn't this gimmick where we're just going to use the same mask or use a different mask. it was very much like that was Josh's thing and yeah and doesn't he still have that mask I think so talk to him and he still got it he wears it to sleep at night dude it's it was cool man yeah yeah yeah he had his own thing it was awesome yeah it's kind of like that Jim Carrey movie the mask like Josh would put that on and he would like become the drummer of suicide sounds yeah and then

when he's not wearing it he's kind of just this really tall interesting dude that's that's super articulate and great at cooking you know cook man culinary major or whatever and it just yeah it's almost that was almost like his alter identity yeah shut up big Josh thank you for my first job at anchos dude he knew he was a cook at anchos one of the main cooks wow he was incredible and then we would i don't know if i should be saying this but uh we were anyone that would go to anchos who was you know hook up a little bit extra food he he would like hide fucking he would hide like tacos and any tamales or something like he would just hide extra like a whole other plate underneath it was it was awesome shout out it was great

it's wild man anchos just thinking back we had some band meetings there early on i think and yeah just just this whole corona area to me has such history uh i mean i've had very little reason to ever come here other than suicide science related business and there's been so much of it over the past 15, I guess, 17 years now. 17 years. I've just come out here so many times. And there's, yeah, it's, everything reminds me of, of the beginning. Just crazy.

It doesn't even feel that long at all. Dude, I know. I mean, I'm going to turn 39 this year. At a boy. And I'm thinking to myself, wait, wasn't I the young manager of this band at 22? Didn't I discover this band at the guy, I'm too young. they're not going to take me seriously. And now it's like, I'm too old.

They're not going to take me seriously. Yeah. What am I doing? Yeah. Still managing this band. You can't win. You can't win, dude. But it's just crazy how one little thing, like seeing a band play and then being passionate

about wanting other people to see that band and to hear that band, how that can create such a life-changing dynamic. even for the person that's not the musician like me. That's just like for some reason, I'm dedicated to proving to people, especially as a lot of people, you know, doubted the band early on or didn't want to take a chance, you know,

along with me as we were building our team and, you know, figuring out who we were going to work with. It just really fueled me to be like, I'm going to do this and this band's going to mean something to a lot of people and I'm going to, you know, be responsible for that and feel as a part of, you know, the success as I do about, you know, the passionate process of getting there. And yeah, just to think back and be like, that's what I did with my life, with my 20s and my 30s, and I'm not going to get them back, you know, and I'm not a

person that has regrets, really, or regrets that. But it's just crazy to think, like, when I was in college, I wasn't thinking, I'm going to be a band manager or I'm going to, yeah. find one band and just become like you said the six member behind the scenes it's just it's such a strange kind of career that i fell into and you know and then to to stay independent you know for the most part the whole time and just kind of do my own thing and not join a big management company and and do all that you know there's just choices along the way that you know that are uh yeah that have led us to where we are now and so many bands, so many even great bands from, you know, the mid-2000s that kind of were coming up with Suezat's and with our scene just aren't together anymore for whatever

reason, you know, with their members or their teams behind the scenes or whatever the case may be. So it's just a real testament to how the dynamic of me managing the band and helping hire our initial team and you know how that team develops into another team and how we have to replace members for certain reasons along the way and even then we've done that a lot less than a lot of other bands have um but you know just the process there's so many ways things can go wrong and there are so many things that even did go wrong and it's just to get to this point um yeah i'm super proud of where the band is and you know and i have to be proud of where I'm at and and you know my ties to the legacy that that is suicide

sounds at this point yeah it's so crazy like you're just saying how just one moment one day changed the course of like your whole life and you never and you never know at the time it just seems like another day but looking back it's you can just pinpoint these moments and be like wow if only I knew that moment was going to be that moment, you know. Yeah. Like what would I have done differently? But, you know, really nothing. Like everything, you know, happens for a reason.

And you even having this podcast. And I know we were talking earlier, like, what is the likelihood of Chris Garza having this podcast when I kind of always knew you as the guy in the band that was the very quiet, methodical thinker that didn't speak up very, very much? during most of my time managing the band. And so to have you running a podcast where you're being articulate and having conversations with people, it's just like,

what world do I live in? The Chris Garza podcast? Like, we've come a long way from the shy Chris Garza that I feel like, I mean, you were really young when I started working with the band. And so just seeing everybody develop as people and just the maturity

and just everything that comes along with keeping the band going as everybody changes and develops, you know, that that's how the art gets made and how that's ever changing. And it's just, yeah, it's awesome. It's awesome to be here. You hope to get there. Thanks, man. And you get like a few kind of ongoing questions about, one of them is

I'll get asked how do you get a manager I'm like shit I don't know I don't know how to band get some managers so it I kind of so two things is one since I could ask that question pretty often

it is it goes it's a testament that it's so a band needs a manager you know like I can't even like imagine like it's not having a manager because if we didn't have you like we wouldn't have gone

on like this trajectory you know we that that wouldn't happen when there's needing someone to be have like a focus and a passion and a love for it to make it make it happen and it's such a important part man you know I do agree

and I think everybody you know every type of manager is different though obviously didn't know anything about being an artist manager when I became one so I pretty much fully threw myself into doing whatever it took, financially investing, you know, money in the band and being available at, you know, two, three in the morning, dealing with emergencies, doing everything I can to make sure that we're able to stay together and to have a very, you know,

public-facing image of the band that is always showing progress and that things are going extremely well, even if behind the scenes there's, their struggle. So there's, there's so much work that goes into it early on that, you know, not every manager wants to do things like that, you know, especially managers that are experienced or at a certain level. I mean, sometimes they just pick up bands that get recommended to them or, like you said, bands are looking for a manager and there's maybe a manager looking to grow as his clientele, and the manager kind of does standard manager duties and the band's already got a little bit of a following and it just kind of things grow as they grow.

but with me and you guys early on, it was very much like I was going to do anything and everything and just become a member of the band because I didn't know how to manage any other kind of way than basically being like, this is my band. I'm a member of this band. I need to think of it like that or else I'm never going to be able to, you know,

work as hard for them as I would work if it was my own career, you know, like if it was my own project. So really seeing it as my own, own project allowed me to get immersed in it to that point and it obviously wasn't a bad thing that i had a lot of experience with videography from film school and had some great quality cameras and was able to film and edit videos that would go up early on in your guys's career on on my space and before my space was hosting music videos or before youtube was even a thing and so just being on the forefront of the video technology and having those capabilities combined with, you know,

just my computer sabbiness and my dedication to the MySpace platform really, you know, just allowed me to reach that audience that was out there because I was just like, hey, man, I can add friends on MySpace. Hey, there's an unlimited amount of people that I can find that are liking other similar artists or that I think they would like suicide silence or they would like suicide sounds better than this other artists they're following. I would just target those people, comment, message, add friends, you know, so much on MySpace there early on, particularly before there were restrictions. So early on you knew the importance of social media. Absolutely, particularly Myspace music, which I think the kind of the start of MySpace music probably aligned itself

pretty well with the timing of me meeting suicide silence and becoming your guys as manager, which I think happened just a few months after I saw you guys for the first time. I think it happened pretty fast. But MySpace music was definitely, you know, early on in its development at that time. And, you know, in the MySpace pages had a very standard HTML. and there just weren't people embedding videos or they didn't know how to or you had to host videos places in order to embed them. And so I remember having my MentalSuplex.com website and I put up that destruction of a statue, you know, live video from Showcase and, you know, and embedded that on the Suicide Science MySpace page.

And then people would share that page with their friends and people, would just freak out over that performance, the song, you know, the combination of that. And to this day, there's still people that hit me up and say, hey, I first heard about the band on MySpace because of that live video that was on their MySpace page. And it's like, I know exactly what one they're talking about. It's because there wasn't any real competition. And I remember that video got so many plays. I had to upgrade my server.

And it was just, you know, it was exciting. But I knew it was working. and I just knew based on that reaction that the more people heard it and saw that video, the bigger the band would get. And so I took full advantage of using all of my time to do that because, you know, I didn't know other people in the industry, really, you know, as far as people that would just do me favors or allow suits as that sounds to have a big opportunity. There was also a stigma, of course, that went along with growing on MySpace and being a MySpace

band you know where it took a while for some labels and other industry people to take a band seriously that was you know growing on on my space but certainly I knew with the numbers got big enough and we had the live footage that shows how the live shows how crazy they were going and and that fans were were packing venues I knew that it was only a matter of time and sure enough that's that's what did it and that's you know what got my start in the industry as far as being taken seriously was the success of suicide silence with social media and just our ability to to grow the band together, both the members and manager. And I guess, you know, long story short, when it comes to, you know, the importance

of a manager with a band, it just really depends on the type of relationship, the type of person, the type of manager, and, you know, that just doesn't happen very often. All the managers, that I've come to know over time in situations I've seen, it's rare to have somebody be able to put their heart and soul and every second of their lives into a band that they're not in. But sometimes if you got the right person and the right situation with the right band, then that can work for everybody. And, you know, luckily it worked for us.

And this was the first time I ever, the first band I ever managed and the first attempt I ever made at such a thing. Thank God it worked well because I certainly wouldn't have been a band manager if this first one crashed and burned because I would have lost all my money. And people would have been like, I told you so, why are you investing your money in a death metal band? And at a time when CD sales are going by the wayside, that kind of music doesn't sell much anyways. And now, you know, with Napster and all those other things that had come along, and, you know, it just, CD sales were on their way out. there in the in the mid to late 2000s but you know the strength of suicide silence and your guys as fan base and everything just really overcame that so so even

though you heard like the like the naysairs or even though you yeah he had outside opinions of uh you know what are you doing well it's a bad time where uh things aren't selling cd isn't selling you always hear like like the cds aren't selling anything you really didn't let that affect you at all. Correct. I definitely have always felt like I was fueled by the naysayers. You know, so it would just inspire me to work harder and produce the results faster and everything whenever I'd get another naysayer. I mean, I was a little bit worried from a financial standpoint, especially when the naysayers, you know, were my parents to some extent.

Like, what are you doing? You got this college scholarship. We help, you know, we've helped you get to this point. And now you're just going to stop everything you're doing and not pursue your film career and manage this death metal band that, of course, my parents don't understand how it's even music. When they hear it, it just sounds like fingers on the chalkboard, right? And so it's just, yeah, it was definitely a big risk. And there were, you know, plenty of times that I thought, oh, no, this is going by by the wayside. I mean, if certain members quit the band or anything,

then there's a chance the band just doesn't continue. And I obviously would be in debt for a number of things, but mostly I remember spending a lot of money on merchandise that we would need printed for shows, you know, t-shirts and all that. Not to mention I started the little record label of mine, third-degree records when I put out that first EP of your guys, which was really just, when I say put out, like a non-distribution type thing. It was just me figuring out how to get CDs pressed, manufactured in our hands

that we could sell on the road and make deals with certain independent shops to sell otherwise. But, you know, even aside from manufacturing the CDs and kind of being the band's label for that initial EP, yeah, the merchandise investment was huge because all the money we'd make from selling merch. we'd have to, instead of it coming back to me, it would have to go toward other things that we would naturally need, like transportation and our ability to continue to do tours and all these sorts of things. So I remember being, you know, crazy to the point where, you know, we weren't that happy with our merch production situation and, you know, I remember in my apartment in West L.A., like shipping suicide silence merch myself for a certain amount of time. And I remember we had production issues. We just

weren't getting things in time to send to the fans. And of course, I was dealing with the fans directly on MySpace and the internet. You know, where's my shirt or I got this wrong shirt? And it was too much for me to handle also shipping out the merchandise and doing all that for you guys. So I remember being like, I'm just going to start a merch company and we're going to print our own stuff. And I'll have my family help me out. And they'll ship it from Arizona. And I trust my mom. And I trust my mom. and my, you know, my dad, and they're, like, diligent to the point where they'll make sure that the right people get the right shirts. And, of course, I bring my family on board of that crazy idea. And I say, yeah, let's print shirts and I'll find other bands.

And we'll just start a t-shirt company. And I remember for a while it was exciting because we were able to kind of control our merch in a much more direct way. We didn't have those same production issues or even customer service issues. but trying to expand that company came with its issues because I realized that not every, you know, the bands that I don't manage don't really care about paying their merch bills. You know, the only reason that it worked with Suicide Silence is I can make sure that we paid our merch bills, you know,

properly or reasonably so that the debt didn't get super ridiculous. But with other bands that I didn't work with or, you know, they got recommended to me. We'd print their merch over the years while I was still developing. third degree merch and and yeah it was it was a struggle printing a bunch of merch for bands that went on tour and then disappeared and never paid their bills and when am i going to be the guy that that sues these metal bands for for money i mean i didn't have the structure the legal structure in place to you know to scare bands into paying their balance nor did i really even want to and my family

didn't know the first thing about chasing metal bands for money so you know so that that that kind of changed over time. Strangely, that merch company still exists, although I'm not a part of it. My mom runs it from just a production standpoint. They no longer print for bands. They print for local sports teams and churches and things like that. But, yeah, I basically started a business that my mom ended up working for me and now runs herself and keeps very busy with.

And so I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing, but it's certainly a weird thing. and it's just another one of those early on with Suicide Silence doing their video stuff, doing their merch stuff, doing the record label stuff before we had Century Media come along and officially signed the band. So it really was a situation that's very unique as far as manager and band. I just did a lot more than standard manager stuff

because I considered myself a part of the band in a way and felt like I had to in order to get maximum success. And yeah, and everything that's happened since then has been because of those initial crazy ideas I had just dedicated to not letting the naysayers be right, you know. Yeah. It seems like you just found ways to do things. So, oh, whoa, when you CDs, then you found a way to print CDs.

When you need to merge, you find a way to print merch. When you need to promote the band, you found a way to do it. Like that goes well so far beyond any manager duty. Or even like if any manager will even be willing to do that. You went so above and beyond. Yeah. I mean, I think that's just, I guess, the way that I was raised and the way I've just always lived my life is I treated it like a school subject. Like I'm someone that got straight A's all in high.

school and college and just was super studious in that way and I just would hate for I'd be like embarrassed if I got a B or something. Wow. Because I'd be embarrassed that the teacher would think less of me or that I should be better than I am or or or something you know because I felt like I was such a good studier and I and you know if I really applied myself I should always be able to do well enough to what someone expects for me you know so i just think that i treated managing this this metal band that you're in as as like a school subject that like i have to pass it with flying colors you know that's just the the only thing i knew was school uh from that point you know i'd been fortunate to uh to have really concentrated on my education i didn't even really have that many odd jobs growing up or anything

all the jobs i worked were kind of just shooting video content on the side for people even when I was, you know, still in high school and making that transition coming out to college in California and everything. I simply had odd hustle jobs here and there. So to me, I didn't know anything other than like do well in school. That's what I'm good at, like make a good impression, get along with people. And so when it came to working with a death metal band, it was kind of that same thing, just had to dedicate to getting the best grade I could get in band management 101, you know, without knowing anything, it's just like, let me, let me create my success. And so it was exciting to not have a blueprint that I had to go off of. It was different

from school in a way that I didn't have something I could just study and remember, and that's how I passed. But I had to kind of create my own destiny with it. And so, yeah, it's funny, because I think about this origin story of suicide silence a lot. And I want to apply it to other things in my life. I'm like, man, if I could just throw myself at this, the way I threw myself at suicide sounds in 2004. Like, that's the way to get this done. And it's just so hard as you get older and older,

like to be so focused on one thing because as a growing adult, you know, there's all these other responsibilities that kind of prevent you from doing what I did, which was staying up all night in my underwear on MySpace, just being like, ad friend, ad friend ad friend

you know and that was the reality of it it was crazy I take a break I'd play some guitar hero when that first guitar hero was was hitting I was one of the early adopters

of that I just remember I think I probably even saw an ad or something on MySpace when I was adding friends for you guys and I was like guitar hero that sounds like something I would like because I don't really play guitar

but I'm a wannabe so I play video games it's perfect so I just like ordered it shows up I learn it start playing it before there was even a craze around it at all like i didn't know anyone else who even knew what it was i just ordered it because it was a playstation game that had the word guitar in it you know

that was it so yeah that was an exciting time because you got the dawn of guitar hero you got the dawn of suicide silence and and my space music and yeah man there's a lot to unpack in those mid-2000s yes it's uh you like when you get older it becomes a slightly harder to really put all yourself into something. You know, like, oh, man, I remember back then I was so focused. How do I do that for this? It's hard, man. When you get older, it's really hard to put everything you have into something.

It's totally tough. Yeah, even trying to still do it with suicide silence, you know, at this point in my life, I mean, things change. And I know you've heard me more than once be like, you know, Garza, I want to be able to tell you that I can be on your social media all day and all night and develop your tick TikTok and do all these new age things, but let me tell you the truth, man. I don't know how to use TikTok. I don't have one of those.

And at the end of the day, I don't know that I'd be the best to be figuring that out for the band. So things definitely change. And even my role is what I do from a managing the band standpoint, I think changes and needs to change with the band over time. And early on, you guys needed me to be that guy. Yeah. And now, you know, band members themselves are adults and matured in a certain way where you guys are able to handle some things that maybe you weren't able to early on and have such a grasp on what it takes to be a band this long that I don't have to stay awake all night worrying about getting a call from somebody about an emergency and, you know, just those situations back in the day, even with girlfriends or whatever, being upset. set with what are the band members and not wanting them to go on tour and I got to like convince the girlfriend to let the band member go on tour you know it's going to be okay you know I'll talk

to him every day he'll behave wait every other day or week yeah it's just you know so just the whole aspect of the therapy that had to go into being a young band manager working with a young band. It's like because I can't, you know, I didn't command a certain crazy level of respect as like a person that was inexperienced music industry veterans. So it's not like you guys would just listen to me when I'm dealing out life lessons of this is how you need to be in this band because it's like, how would Jerry know how to, like what it takes to be in this band? He's never even been in a band. And he's only a couple years older than us. And so I really, I really had to just dig to the core of of one of my other interests, which is like psychology and, you know, and just psychiatry and that

kind of stuff of just, just working with people and their feelings and making sure that everybody felt, you know, comfortable in the band and that their voice mattered and just just such a dynamic, you know, that not every group of four or five guys can't just figure that stuff out on their own because there's so many different types of personalities clashing and it's so easy for people to just be like, that's it, I quit, I don't need to be a part of this, you know, and luckily I was there to hopefully prevent things like that from really happening or boiling over, and I was able to use, you know, the communication skills that I've always felt was a strength of mine, you know, to manage the band in that way. So that's just a whole other aspect of managing the band and one that

was so delicate for me because I felt like, man, they don't respect me that much because I don't command respect. But if I'm just really honest and really articulate how much I care and just say like, guys, I really think this is what we need to do, calm down, like this is going to work. Like, don't be upset with so-and-so. And let me just be the middleman for this conversation to make sure that we all leave today with the band still intact.

You know, just those types of things were huge. And those aren't really responsible. It's of band managers typically. And in a lot of way, a lot of band managers or members of a band's team live in different states than the band themselves. And, you know, lots of times it's not even possible to be in a room and be the mediator like that. But, you know, I guess this, the destiny of all this also is that we've always been local to each other, you know? Yeah. You guys are here in Southern California and I'm here in Southern California.

And that's pretty much been the case the whole time. So, yeah. Yeah, I think us living so close body of each other has been very crucial, especially over the years. Totally. You know, it's just something kind of keeps us like just staying here. You know, it's weird. We just, none of us will really move, move away, even though it's cheaper or you want to. It's like, something just keeps us here.

Yeah, and that's one of many aspects of keeping a band together that's, you know, crazy when you think about it. like, man, you guys all pretty much have stayed in the same area. Like, what if somebody went and moved to another country or moved all the way across the country or things like that? Not that the band would have to break up, but it just changes the dynamic of how often you guys can see each other and get together. And sometimes it's one foot out the door for someone. If they live so far away, they start feeling distant from the other guys or whatever, then the synergy might not be what it once was. And so I think, yeah, I mean, you just don't always, doesn't always happen like this where a band is able to stay close together, both proximity-wise and just, you know, creatively and with their team, you know, including me going back so far and still being around. I mean, it's just, it's helpful because it's not easy because a lot of great bands break up before they, you know, maybe really needed to.

and even more so the case, a lot of great bands never get known or discovered because they just never collectively get it together to the point where all elements are able to be clicking, you know? Yeah. So, yeah. And man, I remember thinking back then in the mid-2000s when I first started working with you guys and managing bands,

like I'm just a few years late to this band management game, you know, records aren't selling. Like they used to, I'm meeting these other managers that are talking about all this money they were making in the late 90s and huge deals. And I'm just like thinking, man, I really missed the boat on this, right? And I'm just like, why am I like, I'm just late to the game if I was only born five years earlier or something, right? And then here today, I'm like thinking back, man, things were great in the mid 2000s. Oh, yeah. Like I love that.

We were killing it. And look how great records were selling back then, right? Because today is a totally different story. And now I look at that time that I was in realizing, ah, man, I hear from the music industry veterans that things are on the decline. And now I remember thinking back to those times and being like, wow, those were awesome times for me. Because it just got worse and worse from, I guess, from an exciting standpoint where, you know, where records were still selling, bands were maybe able to,

to do a little bit better without relying on outside forces like Spotify and Apple and things like that now, which are great, but they're a lot different than, you know, even MySpace were, where myself and us were able to control our direct communication to our fan base and grow the band in such a way

that, you know, now there's other gatekeepers out there that decide what bands get on what playlist and how you know how much they kind of get in front of people whereas back then i felt like we had a little more control over who we got in front of because we were able to reach out to people that were yeah uh very responsive you know directly so hopefully we see things move in that direction where you know where there's a social platform that allows people to discover and communicate with with the band in a really like music centric way you know because the fact that

instagram is kind of like the spot for you know our social media it's just that's like an image based platform short video based platform it isn't a music player based platform you know where people are just exploring music and getting excited about it and that's really what what my space music as it was dubbed was was was all about and so that's just something that You know, it bumps me out that nothing has kind of replaced that. While I love the streaming services, they don't integrate the communication between the fans and the bands on there. You got to go elsewhere for that. And the second you're sending people multiple places, it's just things get lost in the shuffle.

Yeah, I hear it changing soon. I don't want to start any rumors, but I hear some of the major audio platforms are trying to find a way to answer. a great comment section and etc so that's good to know you're right i never think about that like my space it was my space music yeah it was like people will go there like to hear bands and then will communicate with each other i forgot about that yeah man that was that was the jam did as much as it was you know a silly thing in a way to be a my space band or to grow on there it was such a great platform and way that we can control our, you know, control our own future. And it was just huge to the start of this band in like the real sense, you know, going worldwide and being recognized by

labels and fans all around the world. And, you know, and it helped so many bands back then. And it's just, it's so tough these days. I can't imagine, you know, to be an up-and-coming band and how you get noticed and things like that there's just a lot that goes beyond you know your control these days so yeah what made you that you you you touch on it but this is something people always bring up is what made you put a video on my space except that has it been done yeah I mean I have before you did it people have definitely

asked me this before I don't recall seeing any one anyone else do it on MySpace. What drove me to do it simply was I saw this band live and that's what sold me on it to the point of quitting my job at the label and becoming an artist manager and integrating myself into the suicide sounds world.

And I thought, if only other people could see this band live and I'm not just talking about a camcorder in the back of the room, but let me use my videography prowess and my editing degree. and all that. So, you know, I got some people from film school to operate a couple other cameras, and we multi-camera filmed one of your, you know, next shows at Showcase, and I chose what song I thought worked best as a first impression. I chose, you know, obviously the ankles when I edited it and

put that all together, and I had a website that I had started previously from my video production, and so I had a place I could host it. And I knew enough about, quick time and embedding and things like that that I knew as long as it was HTML that I could code our MySpace page. It was at that time that, you know, MySpace was starting to allow this custom coding. Yeah. And so, yeah, I just did it. And, you know, obviously now that's embedding videos a super commonplace type thing. And YouTube videos are about a million places every day. But back then, yeah, it was something where I thought, okay, this is going to put us ahead of other bands and our competition,

and which was Jopper Cowboy and some other bands coming up around that time that I was excited to compete with because there were some other bands in our similar genre that were coming up that were doing well. And I remember thinking I gotta get a one up on these bands somehow, you know? And to me it was show the live performance that Suicide Silence puts on and just as importantly show the fans in that live video

and the way they're reacting to what you guys are doing on stage so that was you know the fans reacting to the band was just as important as seeing you guys and that just showed that there was something brewing that the rest of the world should be jealous of you know and I think that that video not only got a lot of people to see the band for the first time but it got you guys you know, a UK tour. And, you know, in what, 2006, when you were still an unsigned band, it got you over to the, to the UK to play a bunch of totally packed crazy shows, you know, to a part of the world that you'd never been to before,

you know, making a bunch of 16-year-old promoters over there a whole bunch of money by selling out a bunch of shows. But it happened, you know, because they were able to see what was. going on in Southern California and be like, man, we need that here. And then sure enough, we went and brought that to them, you know, and that was, and I went on that tour with you guys, which is one of the very few tours I've ever gone on with the band, because it's just not really my job or interest all that much. But I remember that was the first time, you know, any of you guys were leaving the country

and I was so obviously involved in everything that in order to make sure that nothing went wrong and that you guys didn't get trapped in another foreign country or something. I went along with you guys and that's definitely a cherished memory to this day is that UK tour and just seeing people in another country

young kids reacting to a band that I helped bring to them. made me feel so happy that, you know, that I was able to affect these people's lives. Even though I'm not the one making the music, I was able to connect you guys with them. And, you know, and the people that would thank, you know, you guys or message the MISPace and I would reply or whatever that thanked the band for saving their lives, you know, getting them through crazy times. there were so many, you know, young men and women that would message the MySpace. And again, it was me running it. So I would, you know, reply, you know, as the band, basically,

and be very gracious to what they were saying. But I know you guys got a lot of that at the merch table in person and things like that as well. So to me, that was the most gratifying of everything. When I talk about the success of being dedicated to the success of suicide silence and making sure that everything worked out was just having people thank us for for being something to them, you know, that helped them in their lives. That was, that's the payoff to me.

And it always has been, you know, what's kept me going, even through those times when the money was invested and I was worried that things could go wrong, just getting one message from somebody, like, especially in a foreign country or something, being like, oh my God, I just found your band. You know, I'm going through a really rough time with this. And I swear this has helped me so much.

Thank you guys, you know. And it's just like, well, obviously, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing because look it out, touch that person, you know? So, yeah. Yeah. That's, uh, yeah, man, embedding a video on Myspace. It's, it's, uh, definitely a time and a place in history where that, um, It is.

Where the stars align to make that work with a young death metal band, you know? Imagine if that was like just a DJ or a rapper or something. It would be the biggest thing in the world. But no, it was a young death metal band that had this video embedded on MySpace. And I really think it just, everything you guys were doing stylistically as well, it just really helped bring extreme metal to a younger generation of people, you know. that we're using that social media platform for, you know, reasons beyond music or for other genres of music. And, you know, I think it's cool.

Just like when you had Jose on here and he's talking about how exciting it is to get people to, you know, wave that flag for metal and get more people into metal. I mean, that's how I felt like we were carrying our flag early on was, you know, getting people into extreme music that happened to see that video on our MySpace page. And just seeing the type of energy that a live show, you know, with heavy guitars and screaming could bring, you know. Yeah. So it was awesome. It was awesome, man. It was that video. I mean, things definitely changed once he did that.

Like, we did a, like, right before that, you K-Tor, we had, like, a full-on summer tour that summer. and we were headlining it and there was five bands under us. It was a big tour. They're all signed. I don't know how. When you look back, I don't know how, because we didn't have a piece in that,

like choosing like the bands or, I don't think, or booking a tour. You, I don't know, who we were talking to or how you made it happen. You got us to play over like four or five signed bands and we still weren't signed it.

They all had CDs in stores and shit. I remember like them making comments. about it. Yeah. Was that the spreading disease tour? Is that the only talking about? Yeah. And so I think, yeah, and that was very, you know, purposeful.

I know that I was aware of that at the time and that we were making a statement as far as like, let's up that record deal. Double or nothing. Double or nothing. Let's up that record deal. Look at the hype here on this tour. And was it Ash that booked that tour? I mean, I know.

Yeah, early on. having Ash Affletson as an upcoming agent and me as an upcoming manager and and you know everything was aligning in a way where the labels were starting to really take notice and and yeah headlining a tour um with a great turnout over bands that were signed with CDs and stores and everything was obviously a big statement um but really I mean it was the billing that made sense I mean the um the MySpace numbers and everything that we were building it was translating into the live setting. And I think, you know, if it wasn't,

then people would notice and be like, all right, well, bands on MySpace are just big on the Internet. What is that going to do in the real world? Yeah. But the fact that we were able to do real world numbers, headlining and things like that, um, showed that the bigger your, you know,

MySpace numbers are and just what you're able to do on the internet worldwide. Um, definitely can affect your real-life turnout at live shows and and and thus in merch commerce and and all this so you know I think we were kind of guinea pigs early on for that at least within the metal scene of can my space numbers really equal attendance and making money you know and I think we proved we were actively proving that it could and that's really where you know labels started to take notice and that's where so many other bands I think started I know reaching out to me hey can you be our manager hey how do you run your my space you know so well and hey can we pay you to

build our my space and I'm sure you guys got saw a lot of bands coming up that were you know growing on my space and getting aggressive there and yeah and so many people were trying to then do what we were you know able to accomplish early on so yeah I know and you hope Start a whole thing. It's funny, you said you mentioned my space numbers. It's funny how that that was a thing which now has evolved to You know maybe that would those those were the like the at the beginnings of Then you have Facebook numbers and you have Spotify numbers and YouTube numbers you really think that's kind of like so many numbers Like the started you know oh wait like like like he kind of started this Oh wait like these numbers actually turned to like real people in like a live setting that that's when people

really sorry to take things seriously. Yeah, and remember before my space numbers, it used to be record sales. And even during MySpace, it was record sales and maybe your MySpace numbers, you know? Like, it was a long battle to overcome record sales numbers, which was what the industry was

largely based on when it came to billing a tour and everything, how many records have they sold. You know, we were kind of pushing that envelope of, well, how many friends do they have on MySpace? What's funny is, I remember where our MySpace ended basically.

We were near 600,000 on MySpace, and I know that doesn't sound like a lot because technically that's right around where the band's Instagram is at right now in present day. And even on Facebook, we got up over $4 million or something, which was what came after Myspace.

But on MySpace, we were around that $600,000 mark, which was at the time, you know, in 2000, whenever that ended in the late 2000s, it was a lot for a metal band to have that many. And I remember just being so proud and growing and growing it. And just to see those 600,000 basically just disappear and it all go away was seriously a devastating thing to me. I mean, I had never thought,

I thought that with that many people following the band and with how big MySpace music was for so much. many artists in our genre and others, I honestly thought that it could never go away. I thought that maybe it would change, you know, like Facebook's changed a lot since it, I mean, it started as literally a Facebook like yearbook type thing, add your college friends only, have to have a college email address to get on Facebook. It started as that. And now look where Facebook is. So I thought my space might evolve, but to basically become a cesspool and just disappear and become spam heaven and and all that just it was terrible terrible because we just didn't have this

easy connector to just get all of them to follow us on the next platform like i remember trying i mean there was a little bit of a crossover like hey come at us on facebook and stuff like that but there just was not that seamless connector you know like if only facebook could have just connected with our myspace and just grabbed all those profiles and we just start our facebook with 600,000 that would been great, right? But no, I had to start our Facebook at zero, just like our MySpace started at zero, you know? And so just to start over at zero with that Facebook, which I know, you know, I created, you know, even to see that number get over $4 million, I was like even more thrilled than I was with MySpace at that point about the number, but it still never was music-centric enough to really

allow us to do what we did with MySpace. And, you know, it's all about adapting to the current technologies and everything. But it just was never quite the same. And then, of course, those $4 million on Facebook. Now nobody goes to Facebook for music. And now that's not the, not really the spot for us. And now our Instagram, which strangely started as a photo sharing site, is now the best place to kind of currently see what's going

on with the band and have fans communicate with the band and each other. And so that's kind of strange. So yeah. And like you said, it's all about the numbers. Now it's, now it's really Spotify numbers that people look at and say, how relevant is your band, you know, because that's where the majority of people are listening to music. And of course, Apple and things like that. I just know that with Spotify, the numbers are very easy to see. And I hear a lot of people throw those numbers around since They're kind of public to, you know, public to the fans and the industry alike, you know, and the numbers are always changing on Spotify because they're based on monthly listeners. You know, that's the data that's public.

So it's a little different than the MySpace game where it's like you add friends and they stay your friends unless you delete them or they delete you. And same with, you know, Facebook followers. But when you're dealing with streaming numbers, you can see your numbers go up or down. So then you got to worry about, uh-oh, our numbers went down this month. So now we're in a decline. Now somebody can be like, did you see their numbers went down? The band shot, you know?

It's just like what? Just like that. Yeah, just like that. It's so crazy how one, literally, I remember one album, a few torn cycles, like MySpace, where it's our bread and butter. And it was gone. It was so seamless. It's all Justin Timberlake's fault, dude.

It was so crazy how fast that I remember like thinking back like that's kind of scary how your biggest platform can truly go away at any point It was quick and then Facebook luckily you got on your Facebook quick and you even though it's not so seamless to you And you know you also put in like the hours and working to it for us it seems so seamless So all you know one day my space is pretty much gone and now we have a Facebook and now we're at like a million Fucking followers like you really you made it look seamless that's part of the strategy of bandman sometimes. It's the smoke and mirrors of I was probably stressing out like oh my god, I can't believe I have to start this at zero. I need to change careers immediately and you are and then I go to the band meeting. I'm like it's okay guys. Our Facebook's growing great. You know so I'm sure I was

outwardly optimistic but you know it was a real struggle man. I mean they just don't make it easy on bands and when I say they I mean like big tech and everybody. It's just it's not easy on independent bands and it's not easy on metal bands and if you're an independent metal band and i say independent even though you know obviously we've been signed to labels and stuff but they've been independent labels this isn't you know uh such like a a big major label money making machine or some of these things can be overlooked but just everything that we've accomplished and the people we've brought along with us it's all been on a very independent level from the team you know at the core all the way to the labels we've worked with and everyone and you know it's people that have been

doing it for the love of of metal and the love of music and yeah and uh you know the technology and the social media apps and all that those people don't give a shit about us you know and that's just the reality of it is there's just there's just never been that that connection where it's just really helped young metal bands or or independent artists and and hopefully we're getting to that that point with some of these you know growths in in Spotify and and Apple and other streaming platforms and and all these sorts of things but yeah yeah it certainly has not been easy and uh yeah and then obviously the most depressing thing is when you look at Instagram numbers or Spotify numbers or anything of the genres outside of metal that are just you know rappers or

DJs or or anything that they're just massive numbers. You just look at it and go, wow. I just heard about this person yesterday. There's millions of streams, millions of Instagram followers. And you're like, man, I worked so hard to get to the number we're at, you know? Yeah. And so, yeah, just it comes down to, you know, working with what we love. And, you know, and we've been blessed to be in the position we're at with music that is

badass and yeah hopefully we'll we'll have our day where metal will dominate um in in some area where there'll be a nice way to both discover listen to communicate with artists um you know and a community that that can grow with all those things integrated so we'll see where it goes we'll we'll see where it goes man you you've you have a lot of experience experience with the managing a band and seeing ups and downs and money no money what uh two things what do you think keeps you here dealing with our shit still jeez what keeps me here what keeps me here dealing with your shit still um i mean man we haven't even talked about the time that i wasn't actually with the band for uh for a couple of years but

But perhaps that's another story. No, let's go into it. But yeah, I mean, to answer your question, firstly, what keeps me here really is the connection that goes back to when I first met you and, you know, and the other guys in the band at the time that are no longer, you know, the current members of the band. But so really a lot of it goes back to you, to be honest. but then every step of the way and everything that we went through, including the tragedy with Mitch

and so many things that are major life experiences and realizations and growing up with you guys in a lot of ways as like a family of brothers. It's been that sort of bond that keeps me going. I mean, I really think that, my personality combined with what I put into this band early on and through the you know 17 years on and off mostly on that I've been working with you guys um it I just have an inability to leave working with this band you know like I I can adapt to what I um feel like I can do as as the manager and and what makes sense for me as time goes on but as far as just getting up and leaving and calling it quits and saying, I don't want to do this, it's almost impossible for me to do. And even when we had our little separation, you know, between 2016 and 2018,

when you guys let me go, you know, there were positives that came out of that for sure for both of us. But it kind of had, if it was going to happen, it kind of had to happen with you guys letting me go because I just would never, you know, even not seeing eye to, eye with where you guys were at creatively at that time and things like that like that I wouldn't have been the one that that walked away because I just couldn't do it like I have an inability um when it comes to this band and just what it's meant to my entire career trajectory and my life trajectory um so yeah so why I still do it is you know sometimes I ask myself that question I go man I need to start a family and like I need to start focusing on real adulthood um you know which again you can

have a family and do this job but it's one of those things where I just always felt like you know at some point I'm going to settle down and and when I do maybe I'll settle into some of these other things I've been interested in from a filmmaking standpoint or you know working with kids is something I've always wanted to to do you know more professionally and things like that um And yeah, it's just, I don't know, I can't walk away from it really, as long as it's an active project and band because I always feel like, you know, I'm at the core of what this band is all about and the influence it can have. And I think that's a very powerful thing. And I don't want that to really exist without me if it's going to exist, you know, and I just feel like I'm the best person. you know, not playing an instrument that can be involved in this band.

And I feel like with everything we've done and accomplished and been through, that it just doesn't make sense unless I'm physically unable to work with the band anymore. You know, it just doesn't make sense for me to walk away from it forever. I'd rather adapt and, you know, just like we've had to do in the past. So that's my long answer to why, do I do it you know it's good we we so love it you know and then I mean we it's so rare do that especially a manager sticks around for so long you know it's it's super rare I can't I don't even know one really off at the top of my head that's stayed with the band during the ups and

downs money no money money money again it's extremely rare yeah that's that's that's true and that really, I guess, is just, you know, a part of the type of person that I am and how connected I feel to what, you know, to the work I've done with this band. And, you know, and it really just comes down to life, you know, like this band has been my life. It goes beyond the word work, you know. And it's kind of like being in a marriage, you know, with being in like a long-term relationship is kind of the way I see it. And it's one of those things where, you know, maybe sometimes you take a little bit of a break

and look at it from a distance and come back stronger. But at the end of the day, if the connection is there and you guys work the best together as I feel like I do with this band, we have different strengths that play together to help. Yeah. To help the band exist in any particular era of music. So far, it's, you know,

It's been great. And it's something I, you know, and also I want to think back on these days and just know that I gave it everything and that I was in it for the long run because I'm sure I've told you guys a bunch of times. You know, I'm in it for the long run. And just staying true to that is important to me. And yeah, and it goes beyond me being an artist manager because there was, you know, even a time briefly when I wasn't working with you guys that I was also hanging up artist manager. all together and moving on from it and you know now here I am working with you guys again and not really looking to expand my artist management roster because I'm interested in in some other things but you know but to me suicide sounds goes beyond that and yeah and I do also work with one

other band so it would be unfair not to to plug Kane Hill who I also manage at this point and they have been a great band to work with. And I'm super stoked about them. But again, you know, that's them as great people that I enjoy communicating with. And I got to be very particular about anybody that I work with these days because it can't just, you know,

can't just be a great band whose music I like, you know? I learned early on after picking up other bands after you guys that so many more variables come into play, then, hey, I love this band. I'm going to manage them. And people are going to like them. And the band's going to stay together. And everyone's going to make money.

It just doesn't, you know, play out like that. There has to be so many different things happening. And there needs to be such a great, honest relationship between manager and band and and between band members with each other and all this. So I won't even think about working with a band that that isn't, you know. already very professional and learned a number of those things, just because I'm at a different point of my life where, again, I'm not even interested in picking up any more bands.

But yeah, it's a, man, it's been a wild ride, Garza. I can't believe that it is the year 2021. I remember when it was turning 2012, and we were all like, oh, my gosh, this is like the year of the world's going to end and just you know that seemed you know like so late in life in a way and now it's 2021 I know I'm actually thought it was going to end remember like we were like trying not to play shows during like a certain amount of time because there was supposed to be like some earthquake happening or like there was supposed to be like you know he like believed it he believed in that stuff yeah well and that then that was

was a very significant year that everything did change you know on our end not in you know for the whole world but for our world and so yeah and it's crazy how long ago that even was you know yeah so eight years ago it's nuts it's it's it's nuts do you remember calling me do i remember calling you the night that mitch passed away yeah yep i remember calling you i remember where i was i remember I remember a lot about that night because it's such a, you know, vivid, surreal kind of experience. I'd never been through anything quite like it and thankfully haven't, you know, really since. But yeah, I do remember calling you and I remember not knowing how severe the accident was and just, you know, but knowing that it was important that we get to the hospital and assess the situation.

And I just remember thinking, like, man, I can't believe, you know, that Mitch got in this accident and that, you know, that he's, that it sounds like he's severely hurt. Like if he has broken bones, he's not going to be able to do this next tour. I remember things like that crossing my mind. Like, like, how injured is he? And is that going to mean he's, you know, learned his lesson? of not being so, you know, careless and even riding a motorcycle and things that could be inherently dangerous. But, you know, the thought of his life being over just didn't even crossed my mind really, like when I first called you because I wasn't told anything like that.

You know, I just knew that the accident took place and we were going to go to the hospital and all that. So to me, I was thinking, like, man, what what is this going to mean as a setback to the band? obviously I hope he's okay and all this kind of stuff and you know but like what does this mean for him what does this mean for all you guys and all the hard work everybody was putting in and so I certainly wanted to to be there and and help him and all you guys through that challenging time and then of course it ended up playing out in a way that was much you know worse than any of us ever imagined and yeah and then so much after that is It's just, you know.

It didn't seem real. I remember, like, we all showed up at the hospital, like, around the same time. It was me, you and Kip, Mitch's dad. I remember, like, going in the hospital, my word, where's everybody else? I only no one really knew. I was at part of as we were part of thinking our heads. You know, it's not, it can't be that bad. Yeah, well, we also didn't.

Yeah, we also didn't want to overreact. not knowing what was going on. And I think, you know, you and I were somewhat locals, you know, and in town and able to be there. And it was also Halloween night, so people, you know, had plans or were out certain places. So, yeah, I mean, I felt like at least that initial moment of us getting together with his dad and just, you know, being there was obviously super important. But it was, you know, it felt like an okay, it felt like the right reaction to to not, you know, knowing what was going on.

And of course, you know, you being the band leader and band founder and you being the band manager and him being Mitch's father. And it just felt like we were, you know, reacting appropriately. And then I know we made phone calls, you know, once we realized the severity of it to other people. And it started rallying everyone. But yeah. And just from that night and next morning onward, my feelings about everything are so, you know, strange where it's obviously terrible, but somebody great things came from, you know, the fans raising money for Mitch's daughter and her college fund and just seeing people come together and celebrate Mitch's life and just all the video footage that I had compiled and others had compiled overall. the years kind of coming together and just that memorial show that we put together that was so special that you know his spirit was was like in the room you know and on the stage it was uh some some

crazy spectacular came things came from the ability to celebrate his life but obviously just being in that position was you know the most tragic thing i had ever experienced and you know and probably still has been the most significant loss as it directly relates to my life. And, you know, so, yeah, man. So I do remember calling you because, like, Jolie called me and then I called you. And then, you know, and again, you just never think that, oh, it's the absolute worst scenario. No, you think, like, uh-oh, there was an accident, you know, and then I, thought as the band manager, how am I going to damage control this, both publicly and

privately, so that everybody in the band feels like they can, you know, grow stronger from it. And, you know, and hopefully people learn to be as safe as possible, which is obviously very difficult, you know, in your guys' line of work and constantly traveling and all this. Accidents happen. It's just something like this, you know, just happened. happening at home, so to speak, was just such a tragedy. So yeah, I mean, I think the fact that we all went through something like that and everything as well, I mean, probably even relates to the question you asked me earlier about,

why do I still do this and all that. And it's, you know, it's obviously so deeply connected to me in those ways where, you know, somebody passed away that was involved in this band, that because the steps that took place of me discovering the band and the band growing and all the things we all did led to that, you know,

tragic day happening, it's just, it's a part of everything and someone's, you know, life and legacy and what they leave behind it's directly related to things that we all experienced together and did together. And I certainly, I think, felt that drive when the band decided

to stay together after that and get another vocalist. I know I felt that that drive to to continue doing what I do alongside you guys you know, for the sake of Mitch's legacy and memory and just how important it was to continue to bring awareness of

his life because this band was his life in such a huge way. Obviously that and his family and everything like that but it's it's all uh yeah it's that's someone's life you know it's super important and and because of this band you know there's there's a lot that's attached to that that story and our ability to remember and everything so yeah and music lasts forever you know the the beauty of spotify and these sorts of digital streaming outlets is you no longer have to go rummage through a CD been at a store anymore to find a band that you like or an album somebody told you about you know

like that music is there for everybody to find just with a simple search term you know and so those records that Mitch was on and everything it's just people are going to new generations of people are just going to hear that forever yeah and so you know it's just it's so important I think um you know just the entire scope of the career of suicide silence and how we've been able to celebrate Mitch's life and and you know and the music that he was involved in with you guys and you know and allow that to help people that find that music and hear those lyrics and things like that you know forever um helping new people so and the more we put ourselves out there and the longer the band continues it's just the more that overall awareness grabs on to new people you know so yeah

i really appreciate the the length of time you guys have been able to keep this up and and you know and i've been in it with you guys for probably a lot of those same reasons of of carrying on for reasons that we all kind of felt like we had to you know exactly no i put the same way it's kind of one of those things that people don't really know what's going on like behind the scenes like people don't know like that you're involved you know what people don't know like hey like our manager that's been our manager's day one is still involved we're like for making we love this we're we're going to make this work you know for for the sake of mitch and for the sake of the band everything that we've been through we've been through tragedies you know and we've been through

so much together so people don't really see or know what's really going on you know they just kind of see like a band name and then they but they'll know the work that you're you're putting in, you know, and the love and passion, you know, it's very rare. I mean, if, if that tragedy happened and you weren't in the band, you weren't part of our foundation yet, I mean, it would have failed, you know, I mean, it had to be somebody that quite literally was, was in it, you know, and was a part of that, that, that tragedy. Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, it all happens for a reason.

it's me for a reason and in my life it's you guys for a reason and so you know uh so we are where we are as far as all that goes and i'm still trying to figure out my my ultimate path in life beyond managing this band and and uh some of the other bands that i've managed over over time and you know i definitely want to do some other things and i feel like i'm at that turning point of some some other things are inevitably going to happen and take priority in my life and hopefully, you know, all for the better. But I certainly think that being involved in this band has been so significant. And I hope it continues to be.

And I certainly plan to remain involved. And yeah, what you said about people not understanding the inner workings of the band and knowing who I am and kind of what goes into surviving these tragedies and everything, else it's uh yeah you're totally right about it and that's always been that that tough part of running the band social media and things like that i'll see a lot of the messages from people that have their opinions about the band should break up the band should change their name or this that and the other thing and there's so much humanity lost in these some of these comments and opinions where people you know don't stop and think when they're on the internet about like the real lives of people

that are affected in these scenarios and these decisions, and it's not just as simple as, you know, what they imagine would be best for them as the listener of this band, you know, like there's real people's lives and, you know, they only get one shot at being the age that they are. Anyone does, you know, and what you decide to do, whether you're making music or any other job, it's like, you know, they're big decisions.

And I think this band has always stuck together and persevered through a lot of things that, you know, the listeners and fans might not fully understand. And hopefully even me chatting today adds a little bit of perspective to the humanity of it all and how difficult it is behind the scenes to continue with the band, whether it's through tragedy or whether it's through stylistic changes or band member changes. or anything and even even bringing on eddie and having you know people think that we broke up all shall perish or be upset that you know that eddie's old band isn't isn't currently a thing i mean they don't know all the behind-the-scenes details of what was going on with that band and whether whether eddie would have had a continued career in that band and things like that whereas you know we kind of have more of an inside track as to you know the decisions we're making and and how people's lives, you know, are truly affected by these things. And we're certainly, we've always

been very careful and calculated and, you know, and do what's best for, for the people that are close to us and what we feel like is the best direction to take in any time, you know. And so, it's just really easy for people on the outside to be like, man, they broke up my favorite band, or they should have got this guy. They should have got this guy. It's like, well we don't just like pick from a from a hat and then that person comes down to the jam room and all a sudden they're in our band and and then we break up their band and it's perfect right it's just like no you got to have so many things working together to you know to replace especially a key band member or frontman or anything like that like you know we're not looking to replace somebody

for a week or a single album or anything, but you're talking about, like, again, people's entire futures and things like that. So much goes into these decisions, and there's so much pressure within us, let alone to the fan base to, you know, to continue on and make the right decisions. It's just so difficult.

And like you said, it takes the right person working with the right band to make the right decisions, because there's just so many things that can go wrong along the way. And so many little things, big things that you got to get right. You know, if you don't have someone, especially like you, like to steer the ship that that's been there for years and knows the history and the backstory and the story, everything,

you kind of need someone that's been there. Speaking of a story, just like a real, quick one that might lighten the mood a little bit. I love it. Um, that I know I've never said publicly really, but back in those days of running the MySpace, I mean, I think I've told you this story before, but there was a, that guy in Mexico that I guess worked at some convenience store and he was wearing our pull the trigger bitch tank top. And I remember he sent a picture of him wearing the pull the trigger bitch shirt covered in blood, given the metal horns. And he based, and he based, basically said, hey, I was wearing this at, you know, this convenience store.

And these guys came in and held me up and shot me. And I thought it was crazy. I'm wearing the pull-the-trigger bitch shirt. And I just remember seeing that being like, geez, man, this is real life right here. This is real life. This guy's wearing a shirt that says pull the trigger bitch. And somebody pulled the trigger on him. And I remember thinking, and he thought it was metal.

And I was like, dude, these Mexican fans are crazy. And like, I just. We got to go down there. To me, that's, I know. I don't have the type of stories that you guys have on the road and these sorts of things. So to me, my stories about the band, you know, besides the behind the scenes, private stuff of everything we go through, you know, was simply relegated to like MySpace messages back in the day. So I just always remember, you know, you'd get those ones of people that are suicidal and they're thankful that the band saved them or helped them through this, like I had mentioned earlier. But then you sometimes get these crazy ones where a guy gets shot wearing the pull the trigger bit shirt.

And he thinks it's cool. And you're just like, man, we've made it, man. I mean, our merchandise is getting bloodied across the border. Like, this is real. Yeah, it's definitely one of those moments. But, yeah. Wow, dude, what a trip. Metal fans, man.

I mean, I feel so bad that the guy got shot. I know. But that kind of, I mean, back in the day, I don't know that this happens that much anymore, but I remember just those, you know, violent pits that we would sometimes have and fans would get, you know, broken noses or they'd get bloodied in the pit. And again, they would. like come up after the show and talk to us or talk to you guys and be like dude i fucking broke my wrist in the pit tonight dude you guys are crazy and it's like dude if i if that was me i'd be

in like the hospital being like i'm not going to another metal show ever and yet these these fans especially in those early days it seemed like when the scene was like really coming up and exciting like people would just get hurt and they would almost wear it like a badge of honor that they got hurt during the suicide silence set you know they like know the song they got heart during it's just like man you guys are man it's like rabbit out there so i mean yeah so to lighten up the mood uh i sometimes fondly recall the uh pseudo violence that took place uh with our fans back in the day and how because they're so metal they like appreciate that they were able to experience this pain which is just so just use that when you're writing the new record garza to really dig

down and make the heaviest songs you've ever made. Use that pain that people self-inflict upon themselves or others and enjoy it because they felt the music during the time that it was happening. I mean, for all I know, the guy that came in the story had his headphones in and he was listening to the song when he got shot. I mean, in my mind, that's how the story goes. Wow. But, yeah.

That's nutty. There's a lot of nuttyness about the way this band came on. And again, you take something as... Still going. You take something as humorous and kind of, I guess, childish as family guy and that kind of humor. And you mix it with brutal vocals and presentation. And you've got this really interesting hybrid of a young band, you know, finding itself in this dawn of Death Corps as it turned out being. and yeah it's just again talk about a time and place man it just it couldn't have happened at any

other time in history and any other garage except for this one and yeah it was uh significant in the lives of a lot of people and those people have now grown up and thus that makes me pretty old but i think uh there's always new generations of metalheads coming up and there's always new new music that you guys are conjuring up. So I look forward to being a part of all that, man. And now that we're out of this pandy, as you like to call it, or trying to be out of this pandy and get back to any semblance of real life,

hopefully we'll get some more suicide silence music soon. And obviously, these tour dates coming up with Ginger in the fall are going to be awesome. and hopefully we see a real resurgence of people's love for music and love for metal. And, you know, again, Jose said it best when you had them on a couple episodes ago. It was just that positivity and people coming together over all types of metal subgenres and things like that. I, you know, I really enjoy being a part of that as well. And I hope that if anything, people have learned through this pandemic and being alone and not having concerts and all this is that it doesn't matter what type of metal you're into.

Like it's a community. You have people. Things are always changing. Let's help each other out. Let's, you know, grow as people. Let's help bands grow and spawn other bands that are also badass and just, you know, just have that synergy so that everybody can. thrive together because there's just, you know, that's the only way people can make a living doing this kind of music and things like that is if everybody works together and tours together

and promotes each other and, you know, and spreads positivity because there's plenty of negativity and in the news and everywhere else. And the last thing we need is any of that in metal. And especially since metal always had that stigma of like negativity and Satanism and all this stuff, I really think metal community has done a great job of shedding a lot of that and and people coming together, working together on stuff, you know, charities. And again, just people helping each other out. I think I've seen that grow over the last few years for sure. And I think hopefully that's going to grow exponentially.

Once touring gets going again and, you know, people start supporting artists and supporting each other yeah one thing that you never did to us that a lot of other managers do is uh you never blew smoke up our ass i always blew it right down your throat yeah you always uh never over hype things never you always shot us to us straight and uh in in in a long run that's definitely been very bent beneficial i will we'll play like like an amazing show like I don't like knock that or something like something and you just don't you do good good show man and then I was like what he won't he won't say anything good to us fuck well I've always tried to be the right level of encouraging but you're right I would never overhype you guys to yourselves

or or I would never over hype you too much to even to other people because I felt like people could see through that you know I wanted the appropriate amount of real to what's going on, especially since your guys' success was really strong most of the time, you know, and it's just shooting it straight was, I think, the best way to show people that this is growing organically, and it's not smoking mirrors in any sort of way. And, yeah, I mean, I would tell you guys how it was and not make you promises that I couldn't keep. I wouldn't say, oh, yeah, you're going on tour with this band. No problem.

It's going to happen or anything like that. I wouldn't lead you guys on. And I wouldn't tell you, oh, you're the next big thing, you know, either. You know, so I think. But a lot of that, I mean, that's just me being me. And I guess that's different than if I were to have apprenticed or been the protege of some other manager. Maybe I learned from some manager. No, you got to talk to your artists like this.

You only tell them what they need to hear. And then don't tell them about this and don't ever talk about this with them. And, you know, whatever the strategies are to make sure. that your artist is kept at a distance and you're taking the commission check and everything's hunky dory like i never ran things that way because i never saw any other managers do anything i just learned you know how to do things based on my own personality and just how i am as a person and i just chose to just be me around you guys from the very beginning and i think you not seeing me as a manager trying to get into your pockets and make money off you.

few for my own, you know, personal gain or something. I think the fact that I never came off like that is the reason that I'm sitting here right now, you know, because that is what you mentioned earlier about bands changing managers all the time and things like that is, yeah, people don't stick with the same manager for a long time because usually the relationship can, it's really hard to see eye to eye on the business side and the creative side for an extended period of time, especially when, you know, people can't help but have their own well-being in mind in their lives. And sometimes it's just really difficult to keep up a relationship, you know, with anybody, whether it be a marriage or a best friendship or managing a band or whatever.

It's just, it's difficult, especially when money is involved because somebody can always choose to see it as that person's ripping me off. You know, like I, and they could go both ways. A manager could see a band as like, you know, the band's taken advantage of me or the band can see the manager as like he's taking advantage of me and the problem is so many managers do take advantage of bands and have historically you know taken money from bands that didn't belong to them or or had shady business practices or whatever and then that kind of adds a stigma to to all band managers as like got to be on the lookout because you know you'll hear stories about this manager or that manager or you know you said something

important early on about how bands need managers, but which I of course agree with in, you know, almost all cases, but you'll definitely find people that say, like, don't get a manager or you guys don't need a manager or, you know, just you need to keep all that money for yourself, do this, do that. But there's just, you know, and maybe for very few artists that can that can work but there's something to be said about the right person for that job for the right band and being that buffer you know i think it's the thing that goes undiscussed typically that of a manager's role with the band that i've always thought has been huge is being that communication buffer so when you're communicating with other other you know bands about tours or any business to be done

within the music industry talking to labels or other managers or lawyers or anybody. It's like you don't want the band members sending the emails and making the phone calls because what if they come off wrong to somebody that that you don't want to burn a bridge with or whatever the case may be. What if someone misinterprets what you say as attitude? What if somebody misreads an email and goes, that guy's a dick, you know? And to have a manager speaking on behalf. of the band, it protects the band from their own, you know, reputation and from and from things

that could go wrong in that area. Because, again, if somebody dislikes your manager because he sent some email and said something they didn't want to hear, that's fine because that's your manager and that's part of the job as the manager needs to, you know, absorb those types of, you know, of opinions that people might have. Yeah. And things like that. So there's, it's just being, being communication buffer and also being that kind of at least the way our relationship works being that sixth member in a way where when decisions are kind of split or the band needs somebody to come in and say all right i see both sides but this is what we're doing you know having somebody outside of the band that's close enough to the band that they're involved in everything um is key to sometimes

make decisions that are really tough to be made when you have them split between members because if you don't have that manager to help make the final decision then you've got somebody in the band that has to make that decision and then other people kind of see that

as like oh so now this person thinks it's their band to make these decisions you know or there'll be some people that are unhappy that they didn't get their way and some people in the band or one person that does or whatever the case maybe and it just creates a dynamic that doesn't need to be there between band members when

somebody can just like play mediator get the conversation over with get things moving in a direction and needs to go on and you guys can concentrate on being a band working on music not thinking about uh-oh this guy is telling me what to do and he's my band member and like he's taking too much control or things like that you know there's there's enough you guys have to deal with any man has to deal with being with each other working on music, living together on a tour bus or in a van, you know, so I think managers are important when it comes to, you know, helping make split decisions and helping basically being the person to blame, you know, when it comes down to even something going wrong or whatever, because I would rather you guys blame me and have that happen than

one of you blame the other person, and then that could lead to the band having, turmoil that leads to, you know, one of you guys walking away in the middle of a tour or something because something that started back on a conversation two weeks ago, you know? So there's just, there's so much. And yeah, and when people always ask me, you know, what is, and I guess, you know, I should address that here is people always ask me like, what does a manager do? Just like, you know, people that work outside of the music industry ask me all the time when I say that that's what I do.

And they always go, oh, so you book the shows for the band, right? I got, no, that's their booking agent. It's like, oh, so you put out their, you like make their albums? Nope, that's the producer. Oh, so you like put out their CDs? Nope, that's the label. It's like, well, what do you do? And it's such a big misconception.

But what I usually tell people when I try to explain it briefly is what I was telling you that, you know, I basically handle all things that relate to the band's business and the team that we hire, you know, that we, you know, that we, choose to work with to build our career and you know a key component in in even the creative decisions a lot of the time as far as you know what the band's going to do when we're going to do it how we're going to do it how it's going to be executed all those things and then you know just to be that communication buffer person that speaks on behalf of the band um you know it's such a key role that again if you're a dude in a band and you don't think you need a manager and

you're handling all that communication. Maybe you're the most well-liked dude ever, and it's going to do you decent in that regard, but there's almost always a situation that will come up where somebody doesn't like you or read you the wrong way or something, and that could hurt your band and people's personal opinions of you and people talking shit behind the scenes and all that. But, you know, that's what a manager's for to be,

damn it that band's manager, I remember that email I got, from him and where he told me no. I feel good. Always never listen to that band again, right? But it's a lot better than somebody going and personally, like, shaming your name because they feel like you're cocky or full of yourself or something. Because, again, when you're emailing on behalf of your band and you're becoming a successful band, you also always have that balance of how do I pursue opportunities and not come off as, like, cocky.

How do I negotiate money and not? come off as like feeling like I deserve more than I'm worth and, you know, being bold. But it's just like almost an impossible balance to reach. That's why you need another person to reach out and say, yeah, the band needs this much money. Because it's one thing if I'm telling somebody how much money you guys need to make an appearance or to do something. Then if you're telling somebody and they're like, come on, man, you're full of yourself. Give me a discount.

Remember that time we smoked out at the behind the venue? No, I don't need to negotiate with you right now. Like that's why you have managers and stuff so that the conversation never gets to that. Come on, bro. I thought you were cool. You know? But.

Well, Jerry, thank you for being that communication buffer. Dude, I do my best. And I will continue to do my best. And I look forward to the many, many phases of this band that are still yet to come, like the grandpa version of suicide silence, where you guys are all old man and you can't even get out of your chair

but technology's got it to the point where you can just like track your records while reclining. You don't got to go anywhere dude. The producer's like right there on this tall like LED screen right in front of you.

Perfect dude. There'll be robots tracking your record. Yeah I was about to say we'll probably be a lot slower but shit if we could get robots. Dude at that point you'll be able to write riffs just like with a chip in your mind. So instead of even like having to record the demo,

you just think the riff and then boom, there is, dude. Dang, are we getting a chip? I mean, we might already have it. I hope not. That too. I hope not. Are we even alive right now? But dude, with how much has changed in the music industry

and just the time that I've, you know, worked in it and you've been in a touring band and everything, I mean, dude, just to think about what could happen in another 10 or 15 years. It's just crazy how fast things are moving and what technology, you know, is going to be like and how bands are going to record and release music and whether full-length albums

are even going to be a thing at all or if it's just going to be singles and short EPs and, you know, vinyl's had its resurgence, but, you know, what if that dies out, then what's the cool collectible going to be? Our cassette tape's going to come fully, back as the cool collectible are people going to start putting CD players back in cars again just just for fun you know and then all the sudden cds are going to be collect collector's items all the

sudden um you know who knows but i just hope that every i guess what i really hope is that everyone that works in this business is able to find their way and continue working and doing what they love whether that's the producer the mixer managers the artist themselves of course um you know music video directors all these sorts of things you know a lot of which i've merch companies things that i've dabbled in that you know i've seen those industries change so dramatically and budgets fall apart and um it being difficult for people to to continue you know as technology progresses and things get cheaper and and you know people are able to just get things done differently than they used to.

So I just hope that everybody that's really put their heart and soul into music and into our metal scene specifically can continue to adapt and change with the times. And yeah, and that bands can be self-sufficient, you know, as much as they want to be or are capable of working as a unit

to accomplish things independently, I think, would be huge. And again, I cite those my space, days as like the golden era for us like we controlled our destiny we were like yeah we don't need to sign to a label right now we're just going to do it on our our own and grow it even more to the point that it's undeniable you know there's something fun and adventurous about that and i'd love to see that happen with with more new bands and hell even with suicide sounds all over again you know just be able to

you know control to some extent our our destiny as far as the music business goes which is which is tough

but I think it being in the artist's hands directly to the fans is really the only way to go these days so hopefully that continues to develop I think I think it will and it's crazy that

we've been doing it for so many years and it feels like we're just just beginning it feels like a whole new beginning into another golden era let's hope so man let's do it i mean with i think your podcast is a great start dude i mean i've been learning a lot about a lot of people that i only loosely new details about and um you know your podcast has shed some some light on their stories and how they got to where they're at And I hope that this continues well beyond episode 21 all the way to episode 221. Yeah, what's your third lucky number? Yeah, you have 721.

Now what's the other one? I mean, technically my birthday is 72182. So if you want to have me back on as the 82nd episode, I mean, I might have all new stories I can tell at that point. I mean, who knows? Maybe I'm not your manager anymore. Just kidding. But that would be interesting if this episode was all about me saying, I can't ever leave. And then you have me on 80 and number 82 and I'm like yeah man I became a doctor

I'm doing a surgery tomorrow night a brain surgery I hope it goes all right shit without being a year and a half from now probably what there's 52 weeks in the year dude I just hope you're I can't you right don't quiz me on that kind of stuff let's just guess that so yeah a year and a half you'll you'll be back I can't wait to hear what all the other guests are between 21 and 82 And if I'm not 82, you better have a good guest on for 82. Yeah. Someone real special.

Someone iconic. I'm not sure who, maybe. Stephen Tyler. That's a good one. I'm down. Someone crazy. I'm down for all of them, man. I want, dude, every person has their own, like, thing.

It's crazy. Yeah, and continue to get some people behind the scenes or people that aren't on a lot of podcasts. I mean, I think that's really been a great thing. thing about your podcast so far is there's all sorts of different people from different walks of life that you just kind of let talk and tell their stories. And even though it's impossible to cover even like a fraction of all the things that they could talk about, they kind of talk about what comes naturally. And I think that's, you know, a big part of the success of this so far. And I think the continued success, just letting people's personalities come through. Very, you know, Howard Stern-esque,

where you just kind of get to the the nature of the individual and people can kind of feel like they know the person better. Totally. Definitely a shocking like accelerated way of learning each week. Like there's like oh wow.

Whoa. There's like one thing. Well, I'm not sure what you learned about me, Garza, but there's got to be some things in there that maybe you never knew before. Yeah. Secret reveal. It's like or some of, or sometimes you'll hear something

and they'll hit you like a month later. Like, oh, whoa, they said that. And then it stays with you. It's weird. It's cool, though. I learned a lot. Or, you know, some of that one time I was, this week I was having, like, a, oh, know,

like a non-inspired day and, like, thought about, like, this thing that I learned from Lorenzo. Lorenzo pops in my head. I'm like, oh, shit, he said that. That was very true. Holy shit. And then my day's better. Holy shit dude like that's this

I should have come here with some inspirational quotes or something I don't know what you're going to take from this No who knows I'll probably listen back to this and like whoa How long are we even chatting by the way What is the what is the running time on this right now? We're almost at two hours Man

Time flies dude Yeah see I can't even believe that Yeah this is one of those more positive Momets we had in this room We have any We've pretty we've had so many types of conversations in here.

Band members leaving, almost taking hiatuses or breaks or people wanting to leave or I don't know. Yeah, so I guess... Being broke or getting paid, we have every type of... Yeah, that's true. I should have said early on that not only

it was this, you know, the band rehearsal room for all these years, but it's been the band meeting room. So all those scenarios where where key decisions were made or things like that happened here because this is just where we would have our band meetings. You know, I would drive to Corona. This would be kind of the home base for the band.

And, you know, and there were lots of times in this room that I'm sure everybody was worried thinking, will the band continue? Oh, yeah. How is this going to go on? And yeah, and so to be in this room now and see it transformed into like a podcast studio and have air conditioning in here, which is. just an accomplishment in itself because we have spent some hot, hot days in here. And I wasn't even the one performing. But like I filmed you guys in here rehearsing before and I've almost passed out just from operating a video camera in here during the, and like the lens would fog up.

I mean, it was like real legit heat in here. Yeah, it gets nuts in here, man. Definitely. Yeah. About two decades too late. But hey, it's here. It's here. See you in here.

Oh, crap, it feels good. And now you've got to find that balance of band rehearsal room and podcast studio and how are you going to make them both work

unless you've got, you know, some revolving wall where it can just switch around. It's a lot of breakdown and set up and I know you have a balance to try to figure out here,

but hey, that's what happens when the Pandy hits and Chris Garsa starts a podcast and, you know, all of a sudden, this room has multi-uses. I know.

Well, Jerry, uh, thank you for being here, man. Appreciate all the years you put into this band. We wouldn't be here without you. Most definitely not. I don't

see us being a band if you weren't still with us. You know, all those key decisions that you were there for, you know, helping us get our star to get us back on our feet after we lost Mitch. I mean, we

couldn't have done it without you. And you are a huge part and that's why you are. member of his band you know well thank you very much guys i appreciate it and it's uh meant a great deal to me it did then it does now and uh still look forward to all the things we're going to accomplish together moving forward and hopefully our future families will know each other and be friends and make music and all sorts of cool yeah cool shit in the future you know so i couldn't be more thrilled to to be involved in your life

and everybody else in the band and yeah it's that sort of camaraderie and brotherhood that you know that allows a band to continue on the way this band has and even without me playing an instrument and never playing a live show in my life

to feel a part of a band you know and its success and just you know everything you just said there it's just super significant man and it really is an awesome thing to experience and yeah and hopefully people that are aspiring to work in the music industry in any sort of way can realize that you know they don't necessarily have to be musicians or be in a band to have an impact and and truly help others through the discovery of music and and the things that I mentioned earlier so you know although our situation is very

unique it certainly um is not not the only case of of uh people with different skill sets coming together to to make music and and bands grow and affect people positively so yeah so hopefully everybody can stick together and yeah and uh stoked to be going to concerts again it's coming up dude absolutely man ready we're already well yeah thank you for having me guys uh and And I look forward to seeing the next suicide silence show. It's been a long time coming. Let's get some people in the pit. Let's make sure there's not too many bad injuries, but let's let's keep it wild either way.

Catch us on the road. November, December with Ginger. Holy shit. And Jerry Clip will be in the pit. So you see him. That has literally never happened unless I'm filming, which maybe has happened a couple times. Yeah, you haven't pit once? I've been in some pits.

That's funny. This is probably what we should have spent the podcast talking about. But we should have talked about how I have no tattoos, and I've never really moshed much, and I've never staged dove in my life. That's really what we should have talked about. I've never staged of. So for episode 82, sometime between now and then,

you've got to get me to, like, stage dive out of show, maybe with a video camera in my hand, because maybe that's how I'll feel most comfortable. I feel like I'm doing it for the purpose of the band's content if I have a video camera in my hand. Stage dive. As long as it's packed, dude,

it's got to be packed. But yeah, let's make that happen. Before I hit 40, I think before 40 is a thing. So we have about a year and three months. Make it happen. Before I hit 40,

I got a stage dive. Stage dive. Let's wait until I'm about 50 to get the first tattoo, maybe 60 before I get a piercing. But let's stage dive before 40. Let's go. Add a boy.

Cherry Club. Love you, man. Until next time. All right. Everyone, that's it. Later.