No Filler Music Podcast - The World Was So Big: The Music of Miracle Legion

Episode Date: February 14, 2022

If you were in college in the early 80s and tuned in to your campus radio station, you probably heard a fair amount of R.E.M., maybe some Pixies, or The Smiths even. But you may have heard a lesser kn...own group: Miracle Legion. With similar jangle pop melodies and vocal stylings as Peter Buck and Michael Stipe, the band was often compared to their R.E.M. counterparts. But what made Miracle Legion different is perhaps what kept them from reaching superstardom: the lyrical themes of singer Mark Mulcahy were less cryptic and poetic and more nostalgic and direct. They dealt with childhood memories we could all relate to. Which is why it's no surprise that the creator of the Nickelodeon cult classic TV show The Adventures of Pete and Pete approached Mark to write songs for his show about growing up in Suburbia (more on that next week). Join us as we listen to several tracks spanning Miracle Legion's short but impactful career leading up to the early 90s when they transformed into the band we knew and loved as kids: the one and only Polaris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:01:21 Go to bedfredsports.com for more information and your chance to win exclusive merchandise. Must be 21 or older. Play responsibly for help. Call 1-800 gambler. And welcome to No Filler. The music podcast dedicated to sharing the often overlooked hidden gems that fill the space between the singles on our favorite records. My name is Travis. I got my brother Quentin with me, of course. And we are talking about Miracle Legion today. And I'm stoked, man.
Starting point is 00:02:25 Stoked. Dude, it already feels nostalgic to me, you know. I haven't heard the majority. of these songs from Miracle Legion, but I've heard these guys, you know, I've heard them in the form of Polaris. So it just feels like a, like, familiar, you know, and I love that about, about this sound, this music, their music, man, just something about it. Right. Well, so, you know, we have been teasing this episode, um, for a couple weeks. Uh, originally we planned on doing like a, a, a combo episode, if you will. And we were going to talk about. And we were going to
Starting point is 00:03:01 about Miracle Legion and Polaris in the same episode because it's the same band, essentially. But the more I dug in the Miracle Legion and started listening to their music and stuff, I was like, you know what, there's enough great tunes here to do a whole episode on Miracle Legion. And then we decided to do a whole episode on Polaris. And if you don't know, Polaris is the essentially like fictional house band for the show, the Adventures of Pete on Nickelodeon that aired in like the early 90s, right? And it's essentially the lead singer and the rhythm section of Miracle Legion. So anyway, we'll dig in all that as we get closer to the end of this episode and, you know,
Starting point is 00:03:48 as we tease next week. But yeah, dude, I'm pumped, man. This is one of those bands that, it's funny because like you said, if you watched Pete and Pete as a kid like we did, then you know Pilaris, right? which means you know Miracle Legion. You just didn't know it. I think that was all like collectively, all the people around our age group.
Starting point is 00:04:08 I think that's our favorite band of the 90s. No, I'm not going to say that. But I feel like that, the intro to the Adventures of P&P is my favorite song from Nickelodeon. Oh, hands down. Easily. From a Nickelodeon show. Without a doubt. And, you know, it's just, you know what, Q, we're going to talk about this next week.
Starting point is 00:04:28 We don't want to spill beans. But yeah, they are so much a part of the show that they are on the freaking introduction. Right. And they're in at least one episode. Yeah, they're in an episode. Yeah. Anyway, join us next week as we talk about that. But here's essentially the origin story of Polaris, right?
Starting point is 00:04:51 And the band is called Miracle Legion. And they formed in 83. and as you heard from that intro song that we played, kind of your college rock, right, indie alt rock sound that bands like REM essentially popularized, right? They got a lot of comparisons to REM, right? Rightfully so, I think, but they're also unique in their own right. I think the singer Mark Mulcahyai is,
Starting point is 00:05:27 He's not Michael Steep. He's not trying to be Michael's type, right? But the music, the guitar, the jangly guitar and stuff like that is very, very similar to R.E.m. The song structures, I feel like, are very, very R.E.m. Like, if you hit play on a Miracle Legion song, it's 50-50, whether or not Michael Stipe's going to start singing or Mark Mulcahy is going to start singing. You know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:05:49 Like, it's like, I can totally hear this being an REM song. You know what I mean? Yeah, and the guitar tone, right? lack of distortion. Yeah, exactly. All right, well, let's jump into this here, Q, because I got a lot of songs to play. So again, the band is called Miracle Legion. They formed in 83. And originally it was just Mark Mulcahy singer, also played with a guitar. And this other guy named Ray Neal, who played lead guitar. And they had, essentially, like Mark had like a loft space, that they would just kind of, you know, essentially do like jam sessions, right?
Starting point is 00:06:28 And they had a bunch of demo tapes and stuff like that. They never really thought it was going to go anywhere. But then they put out, you know what, let me let me let Mark tell the story. I actually got a video clip here. Let's just let Mark tell the story here. I started it with a friend of mine and we were a two-piece and we just didn't think anything would happen. We made a six song record called The Backyard. And a friend of ours made a video of one of the songs.
Starting point is 00:06:49 We said, let's go to MTV and see what they think. And we went in and we watched it with some guy and he said, oh, this is great. we'll put it on, you know? And by the time we got home, it was on MTV in a sort of regular-ish rotation. All these great, amazing things were happening just completely right out of the box. And to say, at that time, I thought, wow, this is just so easy. This is great. This music business is, there's nothing to it, you know?
Starting point is 00:07:15 Then things change. Things don't go that way all the time. All right, so he started to sort of foreshadow some trouble there at the end. But I thought it was kind of funny that, like, you know, they just went to MTA. Like, it's just funny to think that you can just go to MTV and just walk in the front door of MTV and be like, hey, here's a video. I was going to say, like, that's crazy that that's how MTV used to be, right? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:07:39 And that's, I mean, it's kind of a bummer that it's no longer like that. But how cool is that, like, the barrier to entry became so much lower for bands to get discovered. And it was on a massive platform like MTV. And like he said, they, by the time they got back home, it was, it was playing on MTV. I mean, that's insane. That's crazy. But yeah, definitely gave them probably a false impression of how the music biz works. You know, because as he was saying there, it's like, oh, man, this is just so easy, you know.
Starting point is 00:08:08 Things just started happening. So, yeah, like, you know, that kind of got them on the, they got them some attention, right, on MTV. But as I was saying earlier, you know, college rock, the idea of like college radio is almost like a genre. and we talked about it before, right? And I think we talked about the band real estate, kind of having this similar vibe, right? That's a modern indie rock band that kind of sounds familiar and sounds kind of like some of these 80s college radio alt rock bands
Starting point is 00:08:43 and also has that same sense of nostalgia that you get when you listen to the music. Yeah. But I've got an interview here. I'm going to read Ray Neal's response to the music. this question because I've never really heard this description of what college radio actually was. Like, what does that mean, right? So he was asked by this publication Penny Black music. The question was, Miracle Legion was part of the college radio circuit? Was that a chain of university and college campus radio stations? Ray says, not really. Radio was very influential
Starting point is 00:09:16 back then, and in those days, completely wide open. From what I understand now, radio is all about making money. Now they run a lot of formatted fake radio stations, but then on the college circuit, there was this really strong scene all around America of radio stations, mainly in colleges and universities that would bring the bands together. There wasn't a lot of university or college gigs as such. We would usually play at a club in town, although the scene largely generated from college and university radio, and so that way you could make your way all the way across America. So it kind of sounds like, you know, if you got your song on a college radio station, it would then find its way on the other college radio stations. And you could go from town to town and play at these local venues near the college campuses and one night, right?
Starting point is 00:10:04 So it has nothing to do with the sound of the music. I mean, maybe it does in the sense that like these college radios had a preference for alt rock, maybe, you know. I guess the scholarly kids from the 80s were listening to this stuff, not metal or grunge, right? Those are for kids who didn't go to college. Yeah, right. All the devil worshipers and stuff. All right. Anyway, let's dive into tune here.
Starting point is 00:10:33 So, you know, they put out the EP called The Backyard. The title track to that record was what we introed in. But this is what, you know, kind of got them into the door at MTV. and this is the radio or this is the album that got college radio play. So this is kind of what got them going, right? So let me read the rest of the roster here. So like I said, Mark Mokaha, singer rhythm guitar, Ray Neal lead guitar, Jeff Widerhaw drums, Joel Patoxi bass.
Starting point is 00:11:04 So it's important to name those two other guys because they switch out later in the 90s. So the band that you hear, the bass player and the drummer that you see in the intro of Polaris is not these two original dudes. Anyway, let's jump into a song here. So if you've been a listener of No Filler for a while, you may recognize this song because it was a what you heard of mine on our episode with Tyler Darling
Starting point is 00:11:31 of I Turned My Podcast on, the Spoon podcast guy. It was our dire straits episode. So you might recognize the song. But, dude, And that was the first time I had heard that song and I fell in love with it, dude. Like, this song is amazing. And again, it's like if you're familiar with Polaris and the music featured on The Adventures of Pete and Pete, you hear this song and it's like a B-side, right?
Starting point is 00:11:58 They've been very consistent with their sound. All right, here we go. The song is called butterflies. That song gives me butterflies. It never fails to put a smile on my face, dude. Yeah. Really. There's just something about it.
Starting point is 00:14:56 and and you know if you like that that song then you're going to love miracle legion right like if you've never it's the first time you've heard a miracle legion song that's this is it like this is their sound more of that now um you know they have they have a range of um you know i guess it's not all that soft and kind of like melodic and stuff like that you know they they can go a little bit more punkish and stuff like that which we'll hear a little bit later but like that's basically and like his voice the harmonizing and stuff like that that's where you get a little bit of the like the r em jangly guitar sound right they're really good he is a he's a really good um like hook writer you know what i mean like he knows how to write a good hook um and you yeah if you're gonna write you know use it for a tv show
Starting point is 00:15:46 including a theme song you better be good at hooks right and um that's probably why the creator of pete and pete approached Mark, right? But we'll get into that next week here. So basically, you know, after this record and, you know, after they got some exposure on MTV and whatnot, from what I've read, they played CBGV in New York and were approached by somebody at Rough Trade Records. And they signed like right then and there, basically. And then they put out their first full length because remember the backyard.
Starting point is 00:16:24 You know, even though it was seven tracks, it was, or six tracks, it was an EP. So their first full-length record is called Surprise, Surprise, Surprise. And it came out on Rough Trade Records in 1987, the year of our birth queue. So that's the year. That's right. And they had a slight lineup change, a base player named Stephen West, replaced Joel in 87. So I had not really dove into this record until like the last couple of weeks when I was preparing for this. And Q, you haven't heard any of these songs, correct?
Starting point is 00:17:02 Correct. Right, dude, I am stoked. All right, Q, let's dive into this here. So, again, this is their first full length. So, you know, they did a lot of touring. They play at CBGB. They get signed a ref trade. And they put out this record.
Starting point is 00:17:18 And we're going to play the very first track. This song is called Mr. Mingo. Start off the record, dude. Totally. Who's this Mr. Mingo? So Mr. Mingo is Mark's dog of the same name. That makes sense.
Starting point is 00:20:04 So in the booklet in the CD, there's a picture of Mr. Mingo. And you could see him right there, Q. Looks like a, what kind of dog is like you? Like a mini Doberman, or it could be full grown. full size I can't tell Quentin used to be a professional pet person That was a vet tech for a while
Starting point is 00:20:26 Back in the day So a professional pet person Yeah Yeah pet person Yeah It's got like an afro wig It's got like a two two on and stuff Yeah
Starting point is 00:20:36 So it's a very artistic looking pet portrait So he's saying goodbye to his dog Saying goodbye to his dog dude That's a That's a bummer Yeah That's a bummer way to start off a record actually That's a bummer way to start off a record actually
Starting point is 00:20:46 That's a bummer Yeah, so, you know, it's kind of a metaphor for relationships and saying goodbye to loved ones and stuff. But yeah, Mr. Mingo is his dog, too. So I guess it's sort of thought that maybe this was a dog that he had as a kid growing up. Yeah, you know, because, you know, so I say goodbye, even though I know I'll die, I said goodbye to Mr. Mingo. So, you know, it's so hard that you feel like you might die, Q. Yeah, so I think about our pets is tough. Yeah, tough.
Starting point is 00:21:24 I have yet to say goodbye to one since I've become a full-grown man. Yeah. Like the last time we lost a pet, I was still a kid, dude. I haven't really had one since, like, we've had our dog Darwin since he was, I don't know, one or two. And we've had him, the entirety of Sarah and my relationship, we've had this dog. So, yeah. And he's still going strong, but my. My God, too, that's going to be brutal.
Starting point is 00:21:50 Yeah, it's, yeah, we went through it in 2020 with my wife's cat, Penny. And, yeah, so, I mean, we got to, you know, put her to sleep, if you will. So we got to be there at the moment, right? So it wasn't a traumatic, you know, you walk in and there's your animal on the ground, right, kind of thing. Right. Which some people probably have to deal with. But, yeah, it's just, it's tough because it's just. You're there and you, as you know, Qaeda, because you may have been, did you ever have to do this as a vet tech?
Starting point is 00:22:25 Dude, every day, man. I didn't know if the vet techs did it because. No, we didn't administer the euthanasia agent. But you had to be there in the room or at least. We had to place the IV catheter, dude. Yeah. Which a lot of times, and a lot of times the owner wouldn't want us to take their pet into the back, you know. Because they want to be with room.
Starting point is 00:22:47 They wanted to be. So we had to, yeah. Place the catheter while they're watching. And usually the veins were like really weak and crappy because the pet. So we'd, you know, poke them three or four times sometimes before we got it. Yeah. It was brutal, dude. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:23:00 It was brutal. Yeah. You're right there. Interesting about this and some of their other songs is that like they write about sort of like suburban type things, right? There's a first record which is called the backyard. Butterflies was a name of a song. So it is no surprise that they are approached to write songs. for The Adventures of Pete and Pete,
Starting point is 00:23:21 which is a show about growing up, right? And again, we'll... Life in Suburvy in the 90s, yeah. All right, Key, let's jump to the next track here. So here's where things get a little bit more... A little bit more aggressive, I guess. Now, we're going to just hang out in this album for the rest of the time. No, no, we got another album that we're going to jump to.
Starting point is 00:23:40 All right. So, yeah, you know, these two songs we played, even the intro song that we played, have been sort of this kind of like, more melodic, light, upbeat kind of song, right? But they don't always stay in this range. They bounce around a little bit. And this next song is kind of an example of that.
Starting point is 00:24:00 So this song is called Crooked Path. And that's where I was thinking to myself when I first heard it. That could be an REM song, right? Yeah. You know, so the comparisons are like, you know, they're valid, right? but they hit around the same time you know that's the interesting thing is that like rm's first record came out in 83 so you know it's hard to say whether or not they were influenced by rm but by this time they may have been by 87 they may have been but it's always interesting to
Starting point is 00:27:31 think about that kind of stuff right especially when the two bands hit at the same time it's like what was what was in the water you know to have bands just appear and just write music that sounds similar. You know, always makes you wonder cute. But, yeah, I mean, if we know REM is considered a college rock radio band, right, they were when they hit. And so this is just what the colleges are into, man, this kind of music, I guess. Obviously, we know which band became more successful. But Miracle Legion has certainly sort of gained sort of a following for a lot of reasons, which will be.
Starting point is 00:28:09 Oh, yeah. But, all right. So that was our two tracks here from Surprise, Surprise, Surprise, first full-length album that came out on Eighty-seven. So what happened after this was, it's kind of an interesting story. I'll read a quote here again from this interview with Ray Neal and Penny Black music. All right. So here's the question.
Starting point is 00:28:31 He says, after the surprise, surprise, surprise album and Glad 12-inch, you returned. to being a two piece. Did the rhythm section get fired or were they fed up? And Ray says, they were fed up. I think we played Washington, D.C., and they decided to tell us what they thought of us, just as we left Washington, heading to New Haven, which is like a good four to five hours in a van. So after they told us, it was a very long drive. I'm not going into that, but living in a band is a different way of life, which he says.
Starting point is 00:29:04 So basically, the two other guys, like, confessed on the way back from the tour. that they hated their guts or something like that. Yeah, they really didn't think that through. They should have, yeah, maybe. I guess they just couldn't hold it in any longer. So, yeah, they must have, must have really not liked it. So anyway, so now they're suddenly a two-piece. And apparently, Mark and Ray, you know, this is kind of how they started too as a two-piece, right?
Starting point is 00:29:31 So they're just kind of back to their original form. But what's interesting is, we've talked about them before, but the sugar cubes, right? This is Bjork's band. Oh, it's Bjork's band. Yeah. Invited them to tour with them as a two-piece. Nice. Apparently, yeah, I'm not exactly sure how they synced up.
Starting point is 00:29:52 But yeah, Mark and Ray started making music together as a two-piece. And then they put out a record called me and Mr. Ray as just a two-piece, which is kind of cool. So it didn't stop them from making music. and they probably got some more, some more listeners from touring with the sugar cubes, right? Yeah, totally cool. But that was, you know, pre-Biourke fame, right? So this is, you know, it's kind of funny.
Starting point is 00:30:21 He described Bjork as not, you know, she wasn't unfriendly, but she was in her own thing. I feel like that's probably just been Bjork her whole life, just in her own, like. on a whole other like a whole other plane existence yeah man she was in her in her own thing
Starting point is 00:30:40 I just think that's funny but yeah apparently they really enjoyed their time with the sugar cubes cube because they were you know
Starting point is 00:30:49 Icelandic so they drink a lot is what he said so that was the he said that was the the most rock and roll tour that they ever did that's funny I guess I don't know
Starting point is 00:31:00 that much about the Icelandic Falk, I didn't know they were drinkers. I didn't know that either. But here comes the two guys that replaced the rhythm section. In 92, David McCaffrey joined on bass and Scott Boutier on drums. And this is the lineup that we know as Polaris. Let's take a quick break.
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Starting point is 00:32:07 So again, this record came out in 92. So now we're in the 90s. Nickelodeon is hit. They're about to make some music together for the adventures of Pete and Pete, but first, drenched. All right, this song is called With a Wish. I could repeat, but I won't. That's just as casual as things can get.
Starting point is 00:32:47 And I could laugh, but I don't. Because that's just like waiting for Never lay Instead I stand To kiss your love That was the innocence of you And now the you She turns and she turns
Starting point is 00:33:32 But the innocence it burns and burns This is a band that I know and love, dude Yeah man So great Yeah this is the same time It is slightly different It is a little bit different But, yeah, I mean, the only difference is Ray.
Starting point is 00:35:11 So, Polaris is just the three guys minus Ray, actually, which is interesting. Yeah, there's something slightly different about it, man. I wonder if it has anything to do with the production of it or, you know, what these guys brought to the table for, you know, ideas for for melodies. And, like, his vocals are a little bit different. Like, they're not as, like, I don't know, it's a little less. You know, we're almost a decade into the band, right? So, like, you know, Mark's voice may evolve and his songwriting might change a little bit, you know, so it could just be, it could just be his styles changing, right?
Starting point is 00:35:51 Yeah. But yeah, I mean, the two guys, like, fit in so perfectly. But there is a slight change, right? That bass rhythm was great, dude. Yeah. And that song. And I will say, you know, what I love about Polaris is the bass, especially in the bass, especially in the music. the theme song, which we'll hear next week.
Starting point is 00:36:10 That baseline is what I remember about the song. Because right at the beginning, you hear that bass. Anyway, I know we're teasing it quite a bit. We can all hear it. If you grew up in the 90s and you watched Nickelodeon, you know, you don't have to hear it. It's in your head. Rent free for all these years. Exactly.
Starting point is 00:36:32 All right, I got one more track. And then I've got a little, some tragedy to talk about. Q. But let's not get into that just yet. We're going to play... Tease me like that? We're going to play one more track here off of Drenched. This song is called Velveteen. Dude, that's my favorite. It's a killer track, man. My favorite of the night. Really good. So awesome. Dude, that rhythm section, man. They brought it, dude. I like it when they turned up the volume a little bit, man. That's great. Yeah. So like I said, you know, they flirt with punk here and
Starting point is 00:39:57 they're like with this song for sure but yeah man my favorite thing about about miracle legion and paleris is mark's voice like that's what does he is such a good performer such a good singer he knows his voice yeah you know like he's just right there in it this song he embraces it yeah because it's like it's not perfect at all it's but it's just it's great it's great and this song kind of showcases everything because he's got that like whisper that he does there in the midsection yeah dude The screaming. It tickled my lobes, man.
Starting point is 00:40:30 Great, man. Great. Anyway, so that song was called Velveteen. I think that might be my favorite track of theirs that I heard. Yeah. For sure. I did not listen to their next and final record yet, but I will probably circle back to it. But anyway, yeah, so one thing I want to circle back to With a Wish real quick, the song that we played last.
Starting point is 00:40:56 because I wanted to talk about the lyrics a little bit, only because it reminded me very much of the type of theme, I guess, that our band Real Estate would sing about on days, which is the album we covered a few weeks back because, you know, I think they are the torchbearers of that kind of college radio sound, you know? And we talked about how they just sung about life and suburbia, and they would sing about like young love and all that kind of stuff, you know, lost love and all that.
Starting point is 00:41:33 The street lights would shine the way home or whatever. Right. Yeah. This song is this song with a wish is kind of a similar. You know, it's talking about, you know, I wish I could have you. What am I supposed to do with this wish that won't come true? In other words, like, you know, that's just your standard like longing for somebody. But, you know, you know, that's not going to happen.
Starting point is 00:41:56 That sounds like, yeah, exactly. We all went through it. We all went through it. Anyway, I just wanted to bring that up because, you know, one of the reasons that we decided to do Miracle agent after real estate is like, you know, that kind of music is still being made. And this is sort of like the origin of it, right? All right. So, yeah, wanted to talk about that, but got too excited and played VILBA team.
Starting point is 00:42:18 All right, let's talk about what happens here. One thing I did want to mention is that the two guys that joined in 92, the bass and drummer. They went on to join Frank Black of the Pixies as his rhythm section for his little side project, Frank Black and the Catholics. So that's pretty cool. Nice. I didn't know he had another.
Starting point is 00:42:41 Yeah, it's kind of like his solo project. But anyway. So, you know, a tale is old as time cue. They had issues with the record label after this album came out. and it basically sounds like there was some legal problems and like apparently their name was in limbo or something like that.
Starting point is 00:43:04 Like I don't know how that shit goes down. What? Like you can't even use the name anymore, Miracle Legion. I didn't dig too far into that. But it sounds like some trouble was afoot and the band kind of dissolved. And that's when the creator of The Adventures
Starting point is 00:43:23 of Pete and Pete approach. Mark to see if Miracle Legion could be the band for the show. And, you know, he obviously accepted. But Ray, I guess, was still too, the sting of this label drama was too fresh. So he declined the offer. But, you know, the rhythm section, you know, joined on to the project. So I could see that something going down and like, so we got to drop the name Miracle Legion and then we're going to be on a kid show.
Starting point is 00:43:55 And we're going to make up a whole new band name? What the heck? Yeah. We're writing songs for a Nickelodeon show. What? What is this? Pete and Pete? I mean, what?
Starting point is 00:44:04 Anyway, I'm glad that Mark decided to do it, obviously, as we'll get into next week. And we're going to geek out on our love for Nickelodeon, the network, and talk about how it shaped our youth, man, in a big, big way. And now looking back on it, like, no wonder we live. like indie rock and stuff like that. And the culture. Yeah. You know, indie culture.
Starting point is 00:44:31 Yes, totally. Especially with the adventures of Pete and Pete. Yeah. And that show out of all of them, I think I've connected with the most at that age. Totally. All right. Well, I talked about some tragedy, right, here. So Mark goes on to continue to write.
Starting point is 00:44:47 He kind of does some solo stuff. He puts out three albums, just solo work, right? But in 2008, his wife, Melissa, suddenly passes away. And so he's left to raise their young twin daughters alone. Wow. So he had twins, Q. Wow. So something really special came out of that.
Starting point is 00:45:10 More than 40 musicians, including Michael Stipe of R.M., Tom York of Radiohead, Frank Black, and others put out a tribute album for Mark to raise money so that he could keep making music, you know, with, you know, after this new tragedy. Wow. It kind of befell him and his family, right? And the record was called Chow My Shining Star, the songs of Mark Mulcahy. And it was, you know, these guys doing covers of Miracle Legion stuff, doing covers of some of his solo work. So we're going to close with Tom York's cover of, uh, the, uh, the, you know, the,
Starting point is 00:45:52 off of surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise, called All for the Best. And it's awesome. Man, dude, how moving is that, you know, to realize that you had that much of an impact or that you're that, you know, loved in the music world that that many musicians, you know, reached out and came together to make a tribute album. And it goes to show how. how popular Miracle Legion of Mark was amongst these big names, right? And some of these up-and-coming bands too.
Starting point is 00:46:30 Because it wasn't just these really well-known artists that contributed to this record. So I've got a quote here from Mark from an interview that he did, this website called The Big Takeover. So the interviewer asked him about the tribute album. And he says that he didn't have anything to do with this. which is really interesting. It just happened organically. So like, you know, word spread that, hey, our buddy, Mark, you know, just went through something really tragic.
Starting point is 00:46:59 Let's get together and put this record out and raise some money for him, right? And the interviewer asked him if, you know, aside from the major stars, he says there were plenty of up-and-coming artists who were clearly inspired by you as well. Did you know most of the artists on there? Or was it kind of a reverse educational experience? And Mark says, yeah, it definitely was. Some of them I knew maybe one guy in the band or nobody at all. I still don't really know why anyone was on it, what the criteria was or anything.
Starting point is 00:47:29 The famous people are always a surprise, but the other people I didn't know. Some of them are just really great recordings. Because, you know, a song is a song. You can record it any way you like, so it's always cool when someone does it a different way. And he was saying that, like, you know, listening to some of these tracks from the really well-known artists. Like, you know, he said that, you know, they kind of did it better than he did, right? which, you know, that's what you're going to think if you're... That's the mindset of any person, artist.
Starting point is 00:47:57 Yeah. But, I mean, let's face it. If Tom York does a version of your song, it's going to be better probably, right? Because of Tom York. Anyway, so yeah, he's just been in the biz forever. And we'll talk about this next week, but the band, Polaris, came together for this P&P reunion, a reunion tour for the show. And they played the music from The Adventures of P&P for the first time live.
Starting point is 00:48:28 So, like, you know, they recorded the stuff for the show, but it's not like they were suddenly Polaris, this band. Right. They were going on tours. They made more music. That was it, right? It was a one and done kind of thing. But there was so much interest in the band and the record, because they did put a record out
Starting point is 00:48:44 called music from the Adventures of Pete and Pete that, you know, sort of the second wave of interest in the band and the music and stuff. I mean, it's pressed on vinyl, dude. Yeah, I try to find it. Every record store I go to, I'm looking for that. Good luck, dude. That's going to be a purchase online kind of thing. It came out on a record store day.
Starting point is 00:49:06 One of the record store days had it as a release. I think it was like 2017, 2016, something like that. It's out there, dude. I'll find it in the wild. And it'll be one of those moments, dude. Dude, you'll probably cry. Holy shit. I would.
Starting point is 00:49:18 Yeah. I don't care the price. I'll throw down whatever amount. If you own a record store and you have a copy of that, please reach out to me on Instagram. I will send you money. From Mad World if you're listening. Yeah. From Mad World Records, please.
Starting point is 00:49:36 There's nothing I want more in my life. So anyway, we'll get into that next week. So more of the same, but this collection of songs from Pete and Pete have a different. vibe and it's kind of interesting the way that these songs came about. So we'll get in all that. But yeah, that's it, man. What a fucking awesome band. Yeah, dude. Good stuff. So again, the band is called Miracle Legion. If you like that stuff, you like all of their stuff. And we're going to get into Polaris next week, which is essentially the same band, minus one guy. But you know what? we're going to spend a lot of time just waxing nostalgic.
Starting point is 00:50:23 I can't wait. Yeah, dude. It's going to be fun. All right. Like I said earlier, we're going to close with Tom York's cover of Miracle Legion's all for the best. Go and listen to the actual song after you hear this because it's interesting like what he did with it.
Starting point is 00:50:41 All right. Well, like we've mentioned a couple times, you know, follow us on Instagram. Reach out to us on Instagram. Tell us what was your favorite Nickelodeon show, right? Maybe we'll talk about it next week. Did you love the adventures of Pete and Pete as much as we did? Do you remember that song? Like, is it just stuck in your head forever, the theme song?
Starting point is 00:51:03 Because it sure is for us. And we're going to listen to it next week, of course. Absolutely. In fact, we're going to pull up the clip and watch the freaking intro on YouTube, right? Because you have to see it. that's the full package, right? Oh, yeah. Dude, I can see it in my head, dude.
Starting point is 00:51:21 And Polaris is freaking in it, man. They're on the front lawn rocking out. Totally. It's amazing. But yeah, you know, reach out to us on Instagram or at the very least follow us on Instagram. Just search for No Filler Podcasts. We'll pop right up.
Starting point is 00:51:34 And of course, you can always tune into us on the Pantheon Podcast Network where you can find plenty of other great music. podcast, pantheonpodcast.com. And I want to say briefly, just real quick, dude. As always, we want to give a special shout out and thank you to AKG for supporting the show. Haven't really mentioned this awesome mic and headphones in a while, dude, but they send us the AKG podcaster essentials kit, which is something you can get yourself. If you're thinking about starting a podcast, this kit is pretty much everything that you
Starting point is 00:52:15 need. It comes with the AKG Lyra microphone, which is what I'm speaking through right now. And the K-371 headphones, and I've said this many times, dude, it still holds true. The comfiest pair of headphones I've ever owned in my life, it's pretty ridiculous. And the sound is fantastic as well, dude. Like, it sounded like Mark was just right there whispering in my ear, man, during that song. He was. So yes, grab yourself the AK-G-G-G-G-2.com. You know, podcaster essentials kit from AKG. It comes with the mic, the headphones, and Ableton Light, which is like the, I guess the free version of Ableton, which is the software that I used to piece together the show.
Starting point is 00:53:01 So really, if you're thinking about starting a podcast, get yourself the AKG podcaster essentials kit. It's got everything you need. All right. Well, we will talk with you guys next week about Polaris and Nickelodeon and everything amazing about the 90s, basically. Can't wait, dude. Can't wait. All right. Well, my name is Travis.
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