Garza Podcast - 241 - Hellfest, Guitar Exercises & Fear of Heights

Episode Date: July 13, 2026

Garza is back for a solo episode to talk about playing Hellfest, Warped Tour & finally gives a raccoon update.Check out the merch here: https://garzapodcast.myshopify.com00:00 - Noise Pedal Riff01...:40 - Garza’s Hot Take06:45 - Fear of Heights08:30 - Hellfest & Warped Tour D.C.14:20 - Racoon Attack Update21:35 - Devourment Show 23:46 - J Update, Kids & Pets27:04 - Photography29:08 - Q&A: Guitar Playing Exercises44:14 - Q&A: No Time to Bleed CD Card54:09 - Q&A: Getting Starstruck w/ Guests1:01:26 - Upcoming Shows

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Starting point is 00:00:22 You're richer than you think. It sounds like shit. I forgot my noise setting. Oh, I ruined it. It's all right. Sometimes you just ruin things, you know. That's okay. How are we doing, Jay? Everything's cooking.
Starting point is 00:01:43 Oh, cooked up, dude. Everyone heard my crappy noise pedal going. I should have... Sometimes, like, you have, like, a really cool setting on a pedal, and then you mess with the knobs a little bit, and it's just gone. And, uh, I never put down my favorite settings from noise pedal. It's all right. Well, good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. We are back. Freaking forget how to do this, dude. It's been a month.
Starting point is 00:02:16 It's got home from the East Coast. Pretty cool back in California. I'm just going to open up with the... I experimented with this before. Just open up, open up with the hot take, you know. obviously I'm in California so we Suicide Silence I played the last two shows and this past weekend was a legendary nostalgic you even Say a festival called a Hellfest
Starting point is 00:02:48 In New Jersey pretty sick You know on the way out there This hot take Let's just go straight into the hot take Okay. What is it? Okay, first of all, I'm in the, we've all been there. You're in line to go through security to actually enter the airport gates, correct?
Starting point is 00:03:14 So behind me is, I want to say it's a young couple, right? And I want to see, you know, I don't know, 18, 19. And the human talking is the female. of the couple and what's up with people that talk on a phone on speaker? Is it just me? Is it just me? That's my hot take.
Starting point is 00:03:44 Talking on the phone on speaker phone when you're right next to people. I'm sorry. Jot. And I'm sorry to open up as just pure heat. I mean, I'm wearing the hot heat shirts. I figured I just got to live it.
Starting point is 00:04:00 and I'm trying to just zone out and she's right behind me and my God God, just why can't you just keep the conversation private? So that's my hot take speakerphone. It's just Remember when they were trying to, it was a quick trend
Starting point is 00:04:23 but it was here and gone they tried to do it with the iPad. Remember that? I'm like yo dude this is but luckily that never caught on it's like what do you put the iPad like you can't
Starting point is 00:04:35 you can't fit that in your back pocket you know but that was a quick trend in and out but people were still using the speaker phone on their phones
Starting point is 00:04:48 and it's just oh man I feel bad try to zone out and it's just like just gibberish yeah we'll fucking hang out yeah you go are you go in a pool
Starting point is 00:04:57 but first put on your makeup and yeah But then make sure we're at the pole and at pole. I'm like, oh, God. Just nonsense into my cranium. But I'm older, so just stay calm and just look forward, just forward in life. But it was cool. Got the security.
Starting point is 00:05:18 Security is way, it's so much easier. It's just so much easier. It's why I keep talking about technology and, you know, got, you got, you got, you, the bag with your underwear and your chosen pants you want to wear out there wherever your destination is and uh just just the quad boom and just put it so far it's been uh three flights i've had with the quad and nothing just put it through goes through nothing man we'll always get stopped because we have it's either like like like a like a razz or we put all these cables in a large luggage that has like the wireless um like the power
Starting point is 00:06:05 conditioner and always get stopped especially like it's five of us so i mean i'm just saying dude again we're a hot heat dude like i'm just going to open up this heat if i was a terrorist i said i said the t word i would stink something in behind the metal ban because we're the ones that we're the ones that always get fucked with. Because I mean, I don't know. I understand. They have a tough job. And especially post-September
Starting point is 00:06:39 11th. If we, you know, okay, they look pretty suspect. So we're going to stop them. It looks good on paper. You stop the five guys. It looked like they're drug dealers. I have more jobs. I get it. And I also appreciate it in the end.
Starting point is 00:06:54 So I want to feel safe on the airplane. So that's my hot heat. We're only in five minutes in. Flight's good. And then one more thing about flying, and then we'll move on. What is it about, I'm terrified of heights. Like when you're at like, like, a ledge and like you look over, you know, like, that just, that's just, it's scary, man. I don't know, like, there's like a mental block where it's like, I feel like the,
Starting point is 00:07:28 like the guard rail or whatever you want to call it it could be like a hotel room or could be like something i just feel like it's the moment you put your hands on it's this is going to break and you're just going to fall down to your fucking death but but we're on an airplane that you don't you're not afraid of the heights it's so weird it's so weird um but yeah every once in a while you get a very bumpy ride this one and this flight in particular um it was very bumpy and um and um I was maintaining my sober composure because I like aisle seats because I don't like
Starting point is 00:08:06 the moment you got to piss I like the freedom getting up and going or or number two and so the female next to me like right literally right across was kind of freaking out and I was holding back a lap because she was like sitting on like her side
Starting point is 00:08:25 like awkward just trying to like it was pretty bumpy I will I will get that to her but uh it's like she sort of hitting like the seat in front of her like for fuck's sake
Starting point is 00:08:39 I just held back a laugh I was like oh she she's freaking out I understand so I'm gonna maintain my composure to uh hopefully I want to make her feel more safe I don't know but yeah landed
Starting point is 00:08:53 um Lennon an old New Jersey. Beautiful place. The show is awesome. Hellfest is sick. Dude, I remember, like, first getting into
Starting point is 00:09:06 hardcore. Like, I mean, I'm just getting into, like, the bleeding throughs, like the throwdowns, the 18 visions. And hate breed was the, I guess, didn't hit me into right now. Hey, breed, this was my
Starting point is 00:09:23 gateway hardcore band. I didn't realize out to right now. and I just seen the videos of like New York. There's like this festival. And it's crazy a festival like 2,000, 3,000 people. And it's a trip to fast forward. Hey, Jay, can we look up the years? I want to say, so you're pulling up, yeah, 2003.
Starting point is 00:09:56 I'm curious on the year. So yeah, I want to say 2003, which checks out because I'm at that point. I'm a sophomore. And so you're talking 22, 23 years later. I'm actually playing it. And I remember like just sitting around or going out and watching the bands. Oh, wow, I'm pretty, uh, there's one in 97, really? I didn't know that.
Starting point is 00:10:31 Holy crap. Yeah, I, I remember, like, feeling really honored to be a part of the festival, not only playing it, but headlining. With legendary bands, dude, legendary. It was disembodied. I saw it disembodied. I was watching Earth Crisis. Dude, it was, I was like, man, I just felt a lot of gratitude. being a part of it.
Starting point is 00:11:10 Slightly nervous because everybody was just killing it. I'm like, do we even belong here? Do I even belong here? Because like this, the way they have like the barrier is pretty sick. I mean, no barrier. Like the way they kind of let people kind of chill. Everyone kind of understands the assignment. Security understands the assignment.
Starting point is 00:11:30 Very cool. It was also like a third venue change shows everyone was kind of worried about the turnout. it was fine and it was sick dude it was sick also my second show not drinking and uh three week three weeks prior we played the play warped tour and man i played like play like shit also i had the worst spot at the stage like there's the way the sun was hitting the stage was like just fucking God was just like burning my freaking soul dude it was just
Starting point is 00:12:13 no stamina no cardio um still first suicide show with no alcohol in the system haven't done that in uh over 10 years yeah you guys actually see here they could like the other guys have like a
Starting point is 00:12:34 they could just move back a little bit and they got shade I had no shade to go to That shit sucked But uh And I played like crap I felt bad So Health Fest was at the time
Starting point is 00:12:46 To redeem myself I practiced a lot Um Jamming some Which I'll talk about later too I think it actually ties into a question Which I think might help Um some
Starting point is 00:12:57 Guitar players Or anyone that wants to improve Jamming some Ramones for a minute Really got the blood flowing and anyway I helped as stunn
Starting point is 00:13:11 I thought okay I played not like great but I played good I played really good so as opposed to warp toward walking off I play like shit I'm like when like you're trying to do something
Starting point is 00:13:21 and the wrist is just not doing what you're wanting it to do it's just like not fucking like and like the right and the left hand was it oh no
Starting point is 00:13:31 but everything was working the uh like the limbs and the fingers and the blood was blown, so it felt nice to play it well. You know, I like, I like planning well. So shout out to Hellfest. Thank you for having us. Thank you to Trustkill.
Starting point is 00:13:51 Again, a name I've been seen since I was a child, just getting into this genre music that would end up changing my life. Even though, like, there was a lot of people on the stage. was still very like respectful felt right again i just felt like god of gratitude like wow this is fucking sick dude i can't believe we're still doing this we're still doing and still getting a good reaction and uh it felt good it felt good um if you are i mean while we're in july i want to say I want to say the first solo episode
Starting point is 00:14:39 was last August, I think. The first time we did a solo, it might have hit September. It might have hit September? It might have September? We're August. It was definitely like a year ago. But if you remember, or if you actually listened
Starting point is 00:14:55 to quite a few of these solo episodes, oh yeah, it's one year ago. Holy crap is fucking crazy. I'm curious on the date. August 12th, okay, so almost a year ago. So there's been a few of these solos where, you know, I'll give like a raccoon update because around like summertime where it gets hot, like we have like a raccoon issue. Or, you know, again, I would talk about it.
Starting point is 00:15:26 It could have been like a family. It could have been two. Well, the raccoon is back. It's one. everything's fine it's cool I'm going to open up the story that it's everything's cool
Starting point is 00:15:41 when I was out in DC for Warp Tour fluent Sunday my parents watch Leo the cat when I'm away which I really appreciate
Starting point is 00:15:59 get in Sunday go straight from the airport Sundays are typically are my date night with the lady straight in the airport shower date night boom done bed um but i'll before bed my parents mentioned um yeah leo got into got into it with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with with the raccoon i didn't really think in in the oven until i saw him the next morning i got up pretty early like around 530 or uh or six and uh i noticed
Starting point is 00:16:33 that when i was petting him he was fine but then I got I got to his his tailbone he would kind of freak out he like meow and I noticed like his tailbone was inflamed a little bit then when he would walk around
Starting point is 00:16:48 because tail wouldn't move it's just like like this down flat it's just flat it won't move and you couldn't touch your tail at all it's like he'll kind of freak out so it didn't waste any time called the vet luckily they had an appointment the next day thankfully
Starting point is 00:17:03 So we You know I don't want to prolong these things You don't know It could be nothing but it could be serious You don't know so it's good It's good to make sure Took him to the vet Which he hates
Starting point is 00:17:18 Dr. Tuttle Very very sweet lady Got some x-rays She went straight to x-rays And then they shaved The lower part of his back And a tail to see like the extent of the
Starting point is 00:17:34 injury and there was a fucking uh like a like a four five inch long scratch down down his back that that was still bleeding and kind of like a poke at the
Starting point is 00:17:50 base that was also bleeding and it was like oh shit and then looking at the x-ray it looked as if like Leo was trying to get away and the raccoon probably just pulled his tail and probably went like a try to try to grab him but it's kind of what like like it looked like i was like like oh shit dude and then uh he got worrisome a little bit because they're like he's not in the
Starting point is 00:18:17 clear yet it looks like he'll make a recovery but we don't know the extent of his injury on his tail and the main issue is we don't know it like the raccoon has rabies i was like oh no good god um So we got him a rabies shot, gave him orally's something for the inflammation and the pain. And we're off. And they told me that we won't really know until it weakened if your cat has rabies or not. But hopefully you got in time. Luckily, you're on it. And yeah, that was three weeks ago.
Starting point is 00:18:57 So luckily, everything's fine. He's normal. The tail is a full recovery. A few days. So, yeah, I always, I remember, if you recall, I kept bringing up, like, I don't know how I feel about raccoons. Like, is it cool to hang around them? Are they, like, they look nice. And yeah, I'm definitely, like, yeah, finally after a year, made my stance.
Starting point is 00:19:24 I'm like, I'm not saying fuck all raccoons. I don't want to generalize, but, yeah, don't fuck with them. don't um just sucks that i wasn't there because normally they would kind of poke around the backyard don't take Leo inside but unfortunately I wasn't there
Starting point is 00:19:42 uh to separate him and Leo's he's a cat so cats are so curious um and ignorant in a way I wonder what I would have done though I don't know I would
Starting point is 00:19:55 fuck I don't know I don't even want to know what I would have done if I was there so yeah take the lesson from me. Don't fuck raccoons. I understand. I've seen people have them as pets and they're fine, but I don't know. I'm anti-like
Starting point is 00:20:13 if they're in the wild, you don't know. They have rabies. I should have known this. I know I brought up the past year. But so yeah, that's my update with the raccoons
Starting point is 00:20:27 and Leo. Luckily, it was best case scenario. Not seriously. injury. The cut's almost pretty, the cut on his back is pretty much gone. Tail is full on.
Starting point is 00:20:40 Full on being a tail. Yeah, I don't know why I even think about that. Like raccoons have fucking rabies, dude. You don't even, here I am being curious. Oh, they're, like, they look cute and they have a little families. They like room around, the back yard little family. You don't know to fuck with them.
Starting point is 00:20:59 And we have a pool, so obviously, it's probably why they're around to get like, I like watch them. They're like, I like watch them. wash like their little hands, little dirty, fucking rabid hands. But, uh, and they'll like swim too in there. But yeah, lesson learned. Uh, take the lesson from me. Keep your pets away from you do not know. I didn't know until something, unfortunately, actually happened.
Starting point is 00:21:26 But Leo's cool. Like the next morning, uh, because I like get up, have coffee. and I'll let him, I'll open up the back door so he could go around the backyard. He chills there the whole day. And he, like, just, I opened the door and he's kind of stood there. So he was, like, too scared to, like, go back outside. So he's a little bit traumatized, but, uh, all good. What else do we do?
Starting point is 00:21:53 Oh, dude, a lot has happened. Oh, my goodness, dude. As I mentioned, the last one, I went to, I just want to give an appreciation. Shout out to, uh, I went to the devour. show in LA. Dude. I went to 1720. 7020, you're an awesome venue.
Starting point is 00:22:20 Sounds awesome. The vibe is cool. Besides outside. But I might not be the target market, but I was very disappointed when I went to the bar and there's no non-uncoholic beer. I think there's two bars there
Starting point is 00:22:41 I went to both and I was like shit I was just craving of fucking IPA just to watch some fucking slams but again I might not be the target market but it'll be I would really appreciate it if you throw in some
Starting point is 00:22:59 some NAs in there and said I got some Diet Coke and then I bought other people beers that's kind of been my my thing. I'm living through other people drinking, I guess. But dude, man, they sound like their record. It was sick as fuck. And I just got reminded, like, what, um, what a goat. Their singer Ruben is. Sounded just like exactly how you want it. It sounded like, oh, it was fucking sick. Ruben sounded great. They're, uh, their singer. I was like,
Starting point is 00:23:32 damn, dude. I always say this, but you just, You just forget, dude. But, you know, shout out to the environment. I want to gave you a stink peek of what's to come in the future. But yeah, sick show. It's like an hour, 10 away from my house. So I had to leap early because you got, you got to go to bed. So yeah, that was sick.
Starting point is 00:24:02 What else? I think it's time for a fucking, time for a J update, dude. He's fucking just horned up over there. Just working, man. Working, dude. Working. Excited? Working.
Starting point is 00:24:14 Dating. Oh, yeah. Hanging out with the wife, the dogs. The cats. Fuck, dude. It's a lot. How many pets do you have again? I got two dogs and two cats.
Starting point is 00:24:27 Oh, my goodness. And, yeah, they always need food. Then you go to the vet. It's like, too much. It's full of time, dude. Yeah, it's like, I told me, wife's like we may as well have kids like all this fucking responsibility it's like and she's like nah and i'm like yeah you're right now
Starting point is 00:24:48 nah because then we could just you know hang out dude a lot of people our age aren't having kids i wonder what it is i'm the only i mean i'm the only one that's like thinking about it everyone's just like hard no like damn it's just a lot man i wonder what i wonder what it is dude a little bit of A little bit of uncertainty about the future of the world. This AI shit is crazy. Yeah. Job market.
Starting point is 00:25:20 Education's expensive. Diapers. I need to hold on to every dollar I get, dude. Oh, of course, dude. So I could buy more cameras. Dude, that advice we got with the last guest saying that I look at every dollar is $10. I was like, oh, shit. It's pretty cool to say it.
Starting point is 00:25:39 Yeah, yeah. And it's like, you got a kid, dude? That's not your dollar. Oh, yeah. I'm bringing up all the time. Like, when I see people, it's like, oh, yeah, you want, oh, no, man, you want, you trying to have any kids. You're like, nah.
Starting point is 00:25:53 It's like, it's so common now. I'm like, I'm like the only idiot. It's like, I'm thinking about, the kid would be really nice, man, maybe. But yeah, everyone says on the. I'm 50-50. I know I'd be a sick dad just because, I mean, I got to be better than, my dad. Oh, yeah. It's a low bar, but I think I'd be sick. You would. Yeah. You would be a great dad, man. Yeah, I think you would too, man. Thank you. Yeah. Responsible. Fun.
Starting point is 00:26:26 If you want a $3,000 a month payday for life, what would you feel free to do? Maybe take a long weekend, every weekend, or try a bunch of new hobbies. Would you feel free to upgrade and listen ad-free? Don't worry. We get it. ticket can win you $3,000 a month for life and supports life-saving cancer research at the Princess Margaret. Feel free to buy your payday for life ticket today. Raffle number 155-2194. Please play responsibly. This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, Using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business.
Starting point is 00:27:14 The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify. Try it be responsible. That's all it is. Yeah. Just be good, you know, good person. That's all we're trying to do is like trying to improve from your parents.
Starting point is 00:27:39 yeah you're like okay i don't want to do that how to like better better the bloodline you know yeah i'm i'm on the fence but mostly no but i don't know who knows who knows i mean you're just one cream pie away just one failed fucking one accidental this is a great idea just two seconds of a failure that's all it is two seconds two seconds like a split like second and like Decision And then how did this happen? You fucking know what you've been doing dude
Starting point is 00:28:18 You fucking know But yeah dude we're gonna get into the photo game Photos are sick dude People forget Yeah everything's so a 4K video now It's like dude Just bring back the video dude There's a power and like stopping a moment
Starting point is 00:28:34 Bring back the photo I really love the photos we got the past couple episodes But I can't really obviously they haven't been released so y'all gonna have to wait next week but it's fun it's really cool it's very candid it has a different vibe to it yeah totally
Starting point is 00:28:50 yeah I've been talking about it photos are popping on Facebook dude like they're just like they tend to do better than the videos and I've seen people post photos on TikTok I'm like dude because photos capture moments if you get a good photo
Starting point is 00:29:14 it just captures I mean You guys got tons of Oh yeah I mean all the photos Amish dude It's like it just captures like a moment Like how did you fucking take that photo man Holy shit
Starting point is 00:29:26 It's like a little snapshot Yeah it's like literally like a snapshot in time It's pretty sick Wow It's as happy as far Oh shit I can't believe I'm here Just getting money I'm making money
Starting point is 00:29:42 I'm making money I'm making money money holy shit i'm like shit at this point you i'm like happy to be alive man holy shit i think you're ready to hop into some questions i try to make this one focus you know what i'm gonna do a hot take type of the show and then this is close for any questions dude yeah sorry about my updue oh no dude i'm chilling that's all i'm just literally oh i just been working out that's it
Starting point is 00:30:10 it's fasting fasting and that's been like my main thing right now working at your chest and working out your dick yeah that's it The two main muscles. Chast and cardio. Yeah. Hell yes. It's freaking hop in to some questions. First one is off our
Starting point is 00:30:29 Patreon Discord community. We got 5-stringer underscore, right? 5-stringer underscore Reaper. Garzo, what are some exercises that took your plane to the next level? Technical and creatively.
Starting point is 00:30:48 stacking that with songs as well if that helps. That's actually really precise as good. Trying to get my rhythm better on guitar. Do we all are? I'm still trying to get better at rhythm. I thought that's a really cool question because it fascinates me because rhythm seems so simple,
Starting point is 00:31:11 but you could practice one or two things over and over again and still get better at it. Like, I guess we'll open up this one with the boring side first. So the technical, what helped me the past couple years was planning along to a click. That's really helped me. They have apps or you get like actual physical little thing. And knowing what you want to do helps.
Starting point is 00:31:43 So for me, I'm okay. What do I want to do? Okay, I want to get better at downpicking. Okay. triplets, speed picking, and I call them the accountable pinky. Like the little hammer-ons,
Starting point is 00:31:56 like the Pat O'Brien's, like fucking... Okay, so just play to a click for 30 seconds and just have like a couple warm-ups. And then on the third try, for example, I guess we'll go into downpicking first. And then you got your two warm-up sets. and then on a third one I'll
Starting point is 00:32:19 put the click slightly faster than what you're actually able to do and you'll barely get until 30 seconds maybe not even get there and they'll bump it back like 10 to 15
Starting point is 00:32:37 beats per minute and then oh shit this is okay this is actually easier okay I'll try I remember like when I was doing it consistently. I was at like when I was killing it,
Starting point is 00:32:51 I was at like 2.15 down picking pretty pretty solid. And then when I'll drop it down to 200, I was like, oh shit, it's like okay, like this is pretty, I mean this is working. And then
Starting point is 00:33:09 I noticed after about three weeks of doing that, I was like, oh shit, I'm a different player already. I'm known to be like kind of more on like the sloppy side so for a player like myself especially coming from like the rhythm side when you're playing more assault you're like oh shit
Starting point is 00:33:29 you like notice and I notice the band did get better just playing and click and then I apply that same theory to each exercise so the triplets um let the cannibal pinky and let the suicide picking the tremlo, as people call it
Starting point is 00:33:48 these days. And yeah, to start, have two warmups, go crazy fast. Like, I think five to 10 BPM more than what you're actually capable of doing is
Starting point is 00:34:06 what personally helped me. I maybe even give you a little taster. I do have the, if you're just listening, I have the OG Fender here because this will be the last time
Starting point is 00:34:19 this looks like this so I just want to get it on camera I'm taking a defender tomorrow I'm trying to retire it I'm not sure just because I just don't want to break it so I'm going to get relicked by a hobby
Starting point is 00:34:33 Cuba it's going to look basically it's already beat up naturally I was planning to play it forever on tour but it says I don't know it's too much sentimental value to it so I'm like I don't want to tour full time with it anymore
Starting point is 00:34:46 maybe once a year this ultra fucking relicate preumps new strings and new nut I noticed that the nuts this is a bone one
Starting point is 00:34:58 I noticed like the white one whatever nut is on that just keeps the tuning better so I'm also like the string spacing sound is good here so before that goes full on relic mode
Starting point is 00:35:12 I'll change it up so I'm talking boring stuff dude like so if I'm warming up I want to say was like the first warm-up is at 60 like you know 30 seconds dude then they'll go to like I think I went to like 85 or 90 and it's like and then just hit that click dude and get literally you're going literally going as fast as you fucking can do it's like Just flop up a little bit.
Starting point is 00:35:58 And then you're fucking burning and then you crank it back, dude. Actually, Jay, can we, can we get a click here? Is that, is that possible? Born stuff, dude. But it really helps. Let's, uh, I want to embarrass myself. Can we go 2.15? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:30 Shit. It sucks! Okay, so I'm burning, right? Okay, so that was terrible. Now let's go down to 200. So that's easier. Do that? I mean, I think I was going like four days a week.
Starting point is 00:37:11 Then next week seemed pretty pointless. I would just practice in my backyard chilling. And then I noticed after three weeks of doing that shit, dude, I was like, oh shit, I'm like... playing way more solid. So that's like the technical side of it. And course, as I said earlier, like the other parts like the same concept. The hardest one was the pinky one. Even to the day, I still struggle with the, those are my four. Those are my four chosen things I would practice on as far as the technical side.
Starting point is 00:38:03 And then I did notice, then we'll go more towards the, uh, creative side is, uh, I was subconsciously building a toolbox, and I didn't even know. It's when I was writing, more risks were coming out. And that was surprising. But even though with that, I think it's fair. I talk about it all the time here, but I think it's really important to just to play, just to play guitar or just play your instrument.
Starting point is 00:38:41 So you Which you are you actually already kind of It's funny how what I'm doing It's basically what your question is Like I got a technical aspect of it It helps you creatively And then you stack it with songs Um
Starting point is 00:38:56 Buzz Osborne was here and he talked about it He's jamming songs and um And uh Playing guitar is so important And like having just jamming some songs dude And um And um And uh
Starting point is 00:39:10 We could take it back Like said earlier, we could take it back to Hellfest. I'm like, oh, I need to play fucking better, dude. Like, I played like shit at the last show. I really want to improve. And a few guests have been here that's talked about, you know, just warm it up slow. And it's very true. And a song that's been in my arsenal for a while has been Ramon's surfing bird.
Starting point is 00:39:35 And it's just two fucking riffs, dude, the whole song. There's two riffs. And I'm probably going to play like crap right now, but, uh, so this helps out with like the down, not only the downpicking, but just getting the blood flowing to your wrist. And just getting like your hand, it sounds just so silly and so simple, but just getting your hands on the instrument and getting the feel for it. It sounds silly, dude, but like it's, it's still a staple. But what I did last time That really helped And I'm parking to do it more
Starting point is 00:40:16 Was Okay, I'm starting up Sitting down Have headphones on I'm gonna ignore the world around me It's like We have a busy dressing room Tends to be like all these friends
Starting point is 00:40:28 And bands are in there hanging out I'm like so I Can my headphones on Like I This doesn't exist anymore It's just like you're just honing in On your instrument I was like you know what dude
Starting point is 00:40:39 I'm not gonna I'm not gonna I'm not gonna downpick this. I'm gonna no ego. I'm just gonna fucking strum it and dude it helped me. I did it's I played it four times because it's a pretty short song and as opposed to down picking it like John Ramon style. All right, I'm on I'm on warm up. Let's play the song and I just I was strumming it. Like just filling the strings just building the neck. What's going to your wrist. Did that about three times. Just I noticed like, oh shit, like it felt it felt good. I still struggle how to put this into words.
Starting point is 00:41:41 But there comes a point when you're practicing and playing for me, it's like 45 minutes in. The strings like you, I don't know how to put it into words, but maybe some of you could, could help me with it. It's like just something happens. like the strings are bouncing off the neck like you like you really i guess you i simply put you're just playing better you're just playing good like oh shit like landing it's like it's easy it feels effortless and that takes a good like 45 minutes at least for for me and uh that really helped that made the show i just strumming it sounds i mean it sounds so silly and it seems silly but this is a simple concept really helped me just drum it
Starting point is 00:42:27 then once i was okay i feel warm though okay now now i'll play like the record like straight up just johnny down picking dude so yeah stacking with songs um again in my experience what's helped me might help you might not it helps you use it but doesn't just uh forget everything i'm saying right now um yeah stacking songs i noticed um having songs that you actually enjoy playing but i have a couple or few in there they're like oh this is pure like and for me like that that Ramon song is a combination of both I enjoy playing it but also it's pure skill
Starting point is 00:43:31 this this is helping the right hand this is going to improve everything like all this is going to like help me play better this is going to help me get feeling and then you know I'll play like a corn song or something maybe like a Slipmont song stuff that I enjoy playing
Starting point is 00:43:48 um I play the I'll play Master of Puppets, just pure skill. Like, for me, it's not fun to play, but it's just pure skill. Like, okay, if I play the Spirit, right, okay, this is, I'm going to have a good show. And then to stack it with songs you love. That don't do anything for his school. I think it's really important.
Starting point is 00:44:09 Just, just fucking play. For me, obviously, you have corn songs, Slipnut songs, some Soulfly songs. Stuff that's really easy. just get just get your fingers on the fretboard but yeah that's what helped me uh i can talk about this shit for a long time but uh hopefully that that helps uh close it off with uh yeah 45 minutes of jamming songs really helps kind of feel like oh shit like i'm kind of feeling i'm playing guitar right now and then um yeah just a warning with jamming to a click it really
Starting point is 00:44:50 seems boring sometimes and pointless but if you keep at it, like it's changed my it's made me it's taken me from a bad guitar player to a not so bad guitar player and help me write, help me
Starting point is 00:45:08 sound better which I think all other goals. Anyway, good luck with you man. No secret dude, you had to fucking practice, dude. Practice playing, but play more than in practice. I think that's a good way to end it. Thanks dude. And this next question is going to be interesting.
Starting point is 00:45:33 All right. Another Patreon slash Discord question. Dalton 0-1-1-00. What would your answers to these questions be nowadays? So if you're just listening, when we released No Time to Bleed, the deluxe version had like these cards in it and each member had their own card and it had like I think I see like
Starting point is 00:46:01 eight nine questions on there eight questions and we all had it we all answered them so Dalton here asked the question what my answer will be and then he sent a picture of the card and I was like wow so what would the
Starting point is 00:46:22 answers be nowadays. Well, I guess we go from the top, top to the bottom. Name Chris Garza, I hopefully, I'm still myself. Birthday, December 3rd, 1985. That's still my birthday, hopefully. Sign. Huh. So during this time, I'll always, I'll walk around and go, huh.
Starting point is 00:46:44 Just, that's something I was doing back in the day. Gear used. Crank app. crank amps ESP guitars both way different not even I still like the crank cabs still like those special move the warm bang which is at the time was the only way I could describe the way we had bang it's kind of like you're a worm or gumby or something just like channeling your inner gumby or warm favorite album corn life is peachy and that still checks out I was just thinking about this a couple days ago
Starting point is 00:47:25 just hearing those wrists and all shit this is still one of my either my favorite album or one of my favorites favorite movie Dark Knight checks out
Starting point is 00:47:35 I would switch it to the original teenage mutant Ninja Turtles but for a while I was going back and forth with those two so this answer still checks out
Starting point is 00:47:48 Um, this is, this is where it gets funny. Uh, favorite way to get lifted because we're kind of doing like, that's a marketing thing where, um, the second song's lifted. Um, really, uh, doubling down on the 420, you know, so that this, that's what kind of made this question here. Um, favorite way to get lifted. A bottle of Jack Daniels. so I want to say when do we write these things it released summer of 2009 we probably answered these
Starting point is 00:48:30 the top of the year so yeah that was the worst of my drinking I was thinking about that when was I drinking the most there was a time in 2009 where I just started drinking and then we
Starting point is 00:48:50 We did some tours in 2009, and then I got into a relationship the following year. So that little period was like, just in 21. I haven't drank or smoked my whole life until 21, if you don't know. And, you know, it's my classic drinking course light. Let's get some Jack Daniels, some Yeager Meister, just all the stupid stuff. one of my first drinks on my birthday was a double Jack and Coke because this is what I kept hearing about
Starting point is 00:49:27 so I wanted to try one man did I it's so weird to think back at like I would drink Yeager Meister and Jack Daniels and enjoy it it's such a weird you ever look back at things you used to do like why how did I do that
Starting point is 00:49:46 how did I like that It's a different fucking person. I was talking to Jay earlier here. Like, it's such a trip. Like, doing a show, flying home, and then being home and then working or just having energy. It's like, wow. Because normally, all right, I'll fly home. I'll probably have, like, a glass of wine or something.
Starting point is 00:50:16 A couple of small glasses. little mini pint you know come home maybe you know celebrating the shows with the lady okay I'll probably have two beers there
Starting point is 00:50:32 we're talking within 48 hours I'm at 40 drinks without even trying money comes along not hungover but not as productive as I can be um just the idea of
Starting point is 00:50:48 It's like wow Just a short amount of time I can't imagine It's weird I can't put it in Into words yet I am struggling right now It's
Starting point is 00:51:01 It's very new It's like wow I just have just a couple beers But that was not just to fucking Oh man Make you tired Then you had a couple drinks You're like you know what's a great idea
Starting point is 00:51:15 A pizza Two drinks in pizza or burrito or just overdose on sugar like right before you go to bed you wake up your full of fucking beans and alcohol you know so it's it's a trip seeing
Starting point is 00:51:36 seeing that answer a bottle of Jack Daniels and I I answer this confidently this was a confident answer back then was I think I just turned 22 I probably just turned 22 either 21 or 22. Different time, man. Different time, different time, different person.
Starting point is 00:52:03 So I think it was an interesting time to answer this question. It's a perfect time given the past four months. Let's see. First concert, Rock Is Dead Tour, 1998 with Corn and Rob Zombie. To this day, the best show I have ever been to. checks out still that show is this top rob zombie just fucking just dropped his first record
Starting point is 00:52:32 it's just the production oh my god it was crazy that's why I'm here that show made me want to play guitar that's why I'm here um okay and last one where I'll be in 10 years
Starting point is 00:52:49 working at Walmart hopefully um no hit on Walmart, but why did I put that? Wow. Maybe I thought the band was it going to work out. I don't know. The band, why would I put that? Interesting.
Starting point is 00:53:08 Interesting answer. Again, no disrespect if you work there. But man, if I'm trying to rock and follow the dream, I put working at Walmart in 10 years, especially 10 years of music or 10 years following your chosen path or dream, 10 years is nothing, dude. we're six years into this thing almost six years nothing that's like you're not even started yet um i wonder where i was mentally when i uh i answered that it's a very weird answer because i'm pretty like uh pretty uh forward thinking i want the band and work out i don't know why
Starting point is 00:53:52 but maybe maybe i was joking oh no you ever see pictures of of yourself from back in a day or see like you're like who's that that's holy crap that was me why why did i wear that i wore that and thought that was cool my holy crap it's always a trip seeing your past self um more older photos of yourself interesting answer walking on walmart hopefully hmm i don't know why that's trip threw me out so much well as i've gotten older i definitely treat everything as it's my last right this is my last record the last song
Starting point is 00:54:37 last tour it's no guarantee especially unfortunately where our career has taken ups and downs people die you know you don't I've been treating everything as like the last well it could be the last record I don't know
Starting point is 00:54:52 it's no guarantee um I was just thinking about that this week never know or last time you might see somebody never know but yeah appreciate your question man
Starting point is 00:55:09 it's really cool to go down memory lane to trip I think we'll do one more Sarsruck guest I'm gonna sip this coffee real quick I apologize okay
Starting point is 00:55:29 oh my goodness Skank Hunt Skank Hunt 053 Um, do you find yourself getting Starstruck with certain guests? So this is interesting because, uh, uh, each guest I tend to learn something from. Maybe not, uh, good things, uh, being like, oh shit, I fuck it up. I shouldn't do that again. Hopefully I could, okay, learn. Um, so answer is, I want to say Star-Stra.
Starting point is 00:56:18 Strzruck. It was more so, oh shit, I don't realize how much I respect this person. And I expect myself the fanboy so hard over this person and was happening in real time. And I was like, fuck, I'm fucking this up. And that was Adam D. Again, not Starstruck. We're talking. And I was fanboying.
Starting point is 00:56:46 I was like, oh, I didn't realize what a fan I was of him. until we're in the moment. And unfortunately at the time, I didn't have the tools to kind of navigate that. Because once the cameras are on, they're on. They're on. I just don't like, hey,
Starting point is 00:57:08 let's do it again. So it still happens all the time where like something happens in real time and it's, I got to figure it out. It's not like he could pause and but that's part of the gig and that's part of what makes this fun and then so I'm fan-boying in real time
Starting point is 00:57:25 with no toolbox and I was trying to force a beat and I learned in that conversation oh like nothing was hitting my jokes weren't hitting nothing was like landing on was like oh my God dude what the fuck
Starting point is 00:57:41 and I just couldn't get I was trying to force a beat And I realized with that one, like, oh, you can't, the conversation needs to be what it is. And so that was, and that was a, this month in particular too was an interesting month because we had our best, worst, and hardest podcast back to back to back. Because right before Adam D, we had Chris Barnes. And that was the first time we're like, oh, shit, like, when I'm trying to, trying to do is working. Oh shit. Like, oh shit, it landed. So I was feeling good. And then,
Starting point is 00:58:24 I was trying to apply the same thing that Adam D. This didn't work. It is terrible. And I won't say who it is, but to that conversation taught me, oh, shit, do not force it be. Let the conversation be what it is. Like, whatever it is, that's what it is. Um, which in turn, um, that, that has helped me with so many future guests where we had a guest where uh it was hard it was hard getting information out and like five 10 minutes in the adam d thing just happened i just sat there and i'm like it's bombing i don't know but you know what i'm going to sit in a bomb and have fun and that's saved the podcast and it ended up being fun and no one even no one even has said anything about uh i might even say the name uh um
Starting point is 00:59:16 So again, like being Sarstruck No, just really I just really fanboyed And unfortunately Everything Everything comes with the price Um
Starting point is 00:59:28 I learned To kind of control the fanboy I'm still working on it Um But unfortunately There is a job to do And you're all listening and watching And it has to be
Starting point is 00:59:44 Somewhat presentable Um I do ask selfish questions and do navigate it in a selfish way sometimes I'm just asking things I want to ask but it does seem to be somewhat presentable
Starting point is 00:59:59 so unfortunately like a good example of Zach Wilde you know you can't really you can't really cross that line or it's like oh shit like I'm starstruck like dude no
Starting point is 01:00:19 we're about to sit in front of camera in two minutes like you can't you can't really do that so uh and I've learned through past encounters with bands
Starting point is 01:00:30 we met on tour that being a fan board just being a star truck it's just weird so unfortunately I learned you gotta be professional I still do it
Starting point is 01:00:40 it's just like it's crazy sometimes oh shit it's that person holy fuck but this in a day man it's just other person
Starting point is 01:00:47 you know and um so uh i've chosen the path of just being professional and uh i just want this going to be good so can't really and zach taught me too like he actually said it here like yeah it's just another just another show just another podcast just another guest i'm like it's true and you all get the same treatment and um mchk uh You can't be like, oh shit, it's a fucking celebrity. Like you can't, it's just, that's, it's just, it's, it's just, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's just, it's, it's just, it's talking to a homie. You're just talking to a friend.
Starting point is 01:01:29 You're just having, trying to have a nice, uh, in-depth, heartfelt conversation. And that's the most important part. So, uh, yeah, I just don't allow myself, I guess, to be starstruck anymore. It just does, it's just weird energy. Um, and that makes for a bad conversation. and so yeah so yeah in short Adam D
Starting point is 01:01:55 but it was more so like fanboy and like just a lot of respect oh shit dude you wrote those fucking million dollar riffs man those million dollar metalcore riffs dude so talented man such a fucking legend you know but uh yeah we live and we learn
Starting point is 01:02:15 um all right I think we're shout out to Adam D. Great guy though. Great guy. Phenominal guitar player. Phenomenal, dude. He showed me the riff for,
Starting point is 01:02:27 what was it? My curse. Because I was playing it wrong. And he was like, no, it's actually like this. And I was like, oh, that's sick. Yeah. On the, on the strat. So sick, dude.
Starting point is 01:02:40 It wasn't all bad. It was like. It was still fun, dude. It was still fun. All right. I think we got it. These are... First of all, thank you for listening and watching.
Starting point is 01:02:54 Some shows that I'll be at. In case you want to see me out there, come say what's up. Well, I'll be at slash suicide sounds. We'll be playing the advanced warp tour in Long Beach, California. Saturday, July 25th. So I will obviously be there. I'll do my best to walk around.
Starting point is 01:03:21 Be honest, it depends on the weather. DC was hot as fuck I was walking around dude I was like dude I'm sorry dude I'm gonna find some AC so if weather permits I'll be walking around
Starting point is 01:03:34 warp toward Long Beach on 25th um July 30th Thursday I'll be at the Flyleaf show at the House of Blues in Anaheim
Starting point is 01:03:47 I never seen Fly Leaf I just kind of one of those like legendary band names I keep seeing it around and so I'm going to check them out I'll be there and last I'll be at the speaking of Lorna Shore
Starting point is 01:04:02 I'll be at the Motionless and White Lorna Shore show at the Keog Forum Saturday July 31st I'll be there I'll be at the bar I'll probably buy you a drink
Starting point is 01:04:17 I'll be drinking some non-accoholic beer hopefully And Yeah, those are the three shows I'll be at this month Until the next solo check-in That's gonna be a sick show, dude
Starting point is 01:04:30 The forum, the forum is sick Dude, last time I was there Was with my lady We saw Manaa It was so good, dude Some arenas just have this vibe The forum has it The Hana Center here in Anaheim has it
Starting point is 01:04:47 It's literally down the street It has that energy That's a really cool energy to it but so yeah thank you for listening watching
Starting point is 01:04:58 check out the Patreon if you don't like ads you also get episodes really there merch some hot heat merch and I will see you next week we have the legendary band
Starting point is 01:05:11 Devarmit love you guys I'll see you there later

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