Shaun Newman Podcast - #95 - Earl Stevenson

Episode Date: July 13, 2020

The talented Earl Stevenson hopped on today. He is originally from Lloydminster & made his claim to fame by being a contestant on season 6 of Canadian Idol. He finished 4th overall and since then has released one album.   Let me know what you think     Text me! 587-217-8500

Hello, this is Earl Stevenson. Welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. Welcome back to the podcast, folks. Happy Monday. Hopefully you're not singing the blues. It is a great day. Playoff hockey's back. I mean, well, it's about to be back. They got the host cities announced now, Eminton, Toronto. It's looking like, you know, I didn't think I'd ever be excited for hockey in the middle of summer. But I tell you what, at this point, the Oilers being back in the playoffs, yeah, I'm starting to get, you know, a little bit hopeful that it might happen here. But before we get to that, before we get to any of this,

let's get to our sponsors of today's show. First off, welcome to Lindsay Olin and the team down at Kandu, Otto and Lube. They've been a family-owned and operated business since 1984. Now, my math is not amazing. So if I torture this, I'll probably hear about it, but don't hold it against me. 46 years.

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You need to get on their Instagram and check out all their amazing work. I was just talking to him last week and he's like, you know, your table isn't even the nicest one we've done yet. I don't know if that's a slight on the table or if he's trying to tell me that he wants me to do a new one. Hey, I'll take a new one, Carly. I'm sure a lot of people out there, if you get in there, you can see some of the work they're doing, and they gladly take one too. He wants to mention that they're in the deck, fence, window, and sliding door season. Give them a call, 780875-9663. Make sure to check out the SMP billboard across from the UFA.

If you're looking for a billboard, I highly recommend giving Deanna Wannler and read and write an opportunity. If you're interested in advertising on the show, visit shawnumannuponpodcast.com at the top of right corner hit the contact button and send me your information with just a little blurb of what you're looking for we got lots of different options and I want to find something that can work for the both of us now on to your T bar one tale of the tape born and raised in Lloydminster Alberta he made his claim to fame in 2008 while being a participant on the sixth season of Canadian Idol he finished fourth during that contest since then he's released one album titled Ghost. He's known for his unreal voice, and he currently is in Indonesia. I'm talking about

Earl Stevenson. So buckle up. Here we go. Sean Newman podcast tonight or this morning. We're on different sides of the world. I'm joined by Earl Stevenson. So first off, thanks for joining me. Oh, thanks for having me, Sean. So where on earth are you right now? Well, I'm actually in Indonesia. I'm on a little island called Gilly Trawanagan. I came out here in January or actually, sorry, mid-February, and it was planning on just coming out for a month.

You know, I landed in Vietnam in Hocci Men and then met up with a couple friends that were already out here. And then we were there, Vietnam. for a couple weeks and then we went to Cambodia for a couple weeks and then I got here on St. Patrick's Day and basically pretty much that was about the last boat here. Not really realizing this was going to be as big a deal as it is. And I kind of just like there was one plane, a couple planes leaving, like, right when I kind of got here, but I just sort of thought I'd wait, you know, maybe it would calm down or something, and it just got nutty and nutty or so.

So have you been able to work or do anything to kind of keep yourself busy? Well, fortunately, it's pretty cheap living out here, so that's a good thing. And I'm playing here and there a couple places here, but nothing too much. just mostly, you know, when I get inspired, try to write a song and that kind of thing, you know. Sometimes making music and songwriting takes a lot of boredom too. Well, and extreme circumstances. I'm sure you got lots of interesting things to write about sitting on that side of the planet. Oh, yeah, absolutely.

It's pretty wild experience for me. Like I was here, like we got here in about a week after Ramadan started. which is the Muslim holiday. So that's like a 40-day holiday. And like I live right by the mosque. And like there's honestly chanting. And it's mellowed out now because Ramadan's over. But during Ramadan like probably 10 times a day for an hour at a time,

there's like chanting and music and singing. And you can hear it all over the entire island. So it's pretty bizarre. What do you think of that side of the world now that you've traveled to different countries and bounced around? You know, you mentioned Vietnam, Cambodia. What sticks out to you other than, I mean, Ramadan? Well, it's very beautiful place and very beautiful people. And, you know, like, yeah, like just and the sense of community here, like, I guess I'm on a little island.

so that's a little more natural than a big city. But, you know, like the kids, they just run, run freely and, you know, and there's no, it's small enough community that everyone kind of trusts each other and knows each other. And like, like, if you did something stupid here, you'd have to pay for it because everyone on the island would know and everyone would, you know, like you want to keep your reputation good because you don't, you know, you want to keep your family situation healthy and everything so it's uh so it's kind of works it's

governs itself a little bit in that regard and yeah every like everyone's really pleasant and nice and which is like it's interesting because where i am right now is usually like very popular with tourism and like super busy and right now it's pretty well a ghost town so it's kind of like my experience of this i island, I'm sure, will be a lot different than most people's. What are you been doing every day? Well, I've been playing music and scuba diving here and there and swimming and being bored a little bit.

Do you have any idea when you're getting back? Well, like, I'm going to go to the bigger island, Lombok in the next. couple days and I'm going to a moped down to the scooter down to the airport and just get a better idea of like, you know, because I don't want to book a ticket

and then it be canceled and be out the money and stuff like that. So I'm going to go to the airport and show them, you know, be like what's the probability of me getting on this plane and is it all going to work out fine or is it last minute are they going to decide that it's canceled,

you know? I'd like to talk to someone face to face just to get a better idea. But I was hoping to get back, you know, by the, you know, a couple weeks ideally. Have you been talking to your parents at all? Oh, yeah. It's pretty, you know, with the video technology and stuff, you can stay pretty connected in that regard. Yeah, it's pretty, you know, this is pretty, it's almost surreal to sit here and have a conversation and know you're sitting somewhere else stranded. Yeah. This is a new one for me.

Yeah. Yeah, well, a new one for me too. Like, I guess coronavirus is a new one for everyone. Well, isn't that the truth? Yeah. Kind of a bizarre thing, you know. What made you decide that part of the world this time, Earl? I know you've, from my understanding is you've been all over Canada, all over different

parts of the world at different times. So what made you choose that part Indonesia this time? Yeah, like I've been, you know, North America, I've been to Costa Rica, I've been to Europe. Partly, this has been on my mind, this area of the world for a while. And since my three of my friends were down here, I figured it'd be a good time to go. And, you know, I thought I was going to escape a little bit of the winter, but not. the rest of the winter. Yeah, well, I can think of probably worst places to be held up in, that's for sure. Yeah, most definitely.

Have you had any issues then, regardless of COVID, just not being able to get home? Is that been the biggest thing? Or have you noticed anything on a local level? Like, it's, like I said, it's pretty isolated here. So they, no one's really wearing masks, you know, it's just kind of is what it is. But like if you do leave, like now and the restrictions have loosened up a bit in the last three weeks or whatever. But like for a while there, it was if you left the island, then you'd have to come back in quarantine for two weeks or whatever. So it's been kind of a deal where, you know, it's not in your best interest to really leave.

And, you know, it's, and getting here on the airplane, it was right when it was kind of, everything was kind of beginning to happen, you know? And the airport was pretty hectic. It was, they, you know, they had me asking me a lot of questions, not sure if they were going to let me in and blah, blah, blah. And to be honest, I don't, I didn't really, I had quite a, like, weasy kind of chat. Like, it'll be interesting when I get back, you know,

to see if at some point maybe I did have it. I don't know. It's hard to say. I'm sure everyone's wondering that. But like I said, I had a respiratory, like I hadn't really, I've never really had that big of a respiratory issue. But it went away, obviously, but, you know, I don't know. It's hard to say. It's pretty, you know.

But they were looking me up and down and thinking I was sweating pretty hard. It's crazy to think that once again, the planet can be so big and so small, that the same thing, that's affecting this side of the world could be on some tiny island in the middle of the ocean. Yeah, no, it's bizarre. And I don't know if this would have happened 10 years ago, like I don't know what the, what would have happened. Like if it would have, the shutdown would have been on the global level like this or what they would have done. Like it's the having the connection with like, with, uh, with our,

social media and everything that kind of allowed everyone to get on the same page to some degree. You know, it's like, be kind of hard to coordinate something like this without all that interconnectivity with something like that. It's almost unnerving to think about, isn't it? Yeah, it is. Well, I mean, because you go, you can go 10 years back. You're right.

You go 10 years back and chances are, you know, it's talked about a lot. but with everybody having news right to their fingertips every single minute of the day, it is extremely, extremely hard to escape. Absolutely. If you're not careful, you know,

you can kind of put a lot of fear inside of yourself by, you know, watching too much news and, like, you got to stay informed, but at some point, it's kind of just like an overwhelming amount of, you know,

and it's funny now you go on, Facebook or whatever and it's become a political it should have just stayed a like a health crisis or whatever but now it's politics are in the mix you know all of a sudden you don't want to wear a mask you like Trump somehow or you know or you like and it's become this hugely political thing and you're just like well I thought this was a health crisis like I don't know how all this or like and then people with conspiracy theories too you know like at some point you're just like I don't know what's up what's down I have no idea to believe anymore you know well I think a lot of people uh in the beginning I think for a lot of us were like the unknown was fearful so

you you paid attention yeah yeah you tried to get as much information then after like week I don't and I for everybody it's a little different but whether it was week three week four you hit a point and you're like and I just don't care anymore like I'm doing everything I possibly can here to not touch everything in the world and try and spread this thing. I don't need to hear about, like you say, if I don't wear a mask, I'm a Trump supporter. You know, the political thing right now is just like absolutely safe on this side. It's hard. Honestly, you might as just keep your phone off because the stuff being talked about on there at times

is just leads you down a rabbit hole you don't want to go down. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. And then with all those riots too, like, or like all the protesting, which, you know, people have a million opinions about that. Like, I'm not about to speak my opinion about it because there'll be half the world will be telling you to shut up and the other half of the world be cheering you on. But to me, it's just, yeah, it's insane. It's wild, you know. I'm kind of glad I'm over here while all this is going down because it seems, you know, you look at the United States right now and you're like, is it the end of the world right now?

Like what's going on, man? It's crazy. And yet you wonder if, you know, I always say the crazy thing about social media is it can make it seem like the end of the world is here. Because you take one picture and it blows up to a million views or whatever. And then you think the entire world is like that. When totally that's one spot, don't get me wrong. The riots are happening.

The COVID is happening. It is like the perfect storm of events going on right now. And parts of the world are not. not in good places. But here in little old, Lloyd Minster, yeah, things are same old.

Same old, you know. Yeah. I was watching your, your audition tape to, or your audition video they had on Canadian Idol. And I just, I damn near cried myself laughing,

like, pissed myself laughing because you were talking about working for Bob's back on. I said, man, if that's the most Lloydminster thing in the world. Yeah, I know.

It's funny stuff. Well, and I mean, just Lloyd right now, no. Lloyd's, I mean, we got weird things going on with, you know, restaurants now back opening up, but they're only allowed 50% and things like that that are just, it's just different. That's all it is. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. A different world now.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you know, I kind of hope that people don't wear masks for the rest of our lives. That seems kind of disturbing to me, but. Like obvious. Oh, sorry. Do it. Oh, sorry. You know, whatever is necessary for the time being, but I hope people don't get some phobia

and they're scared of each other for the rest of time. I love history. I got a degree in history. And I've read a little bit. I can't say I'm sitting here. I'm the world leading expert. But I've read a bunch on the Spanish flu. And I had on my history professor, that was probably two months ago now,

to talk about some of the previous epidemics that have, or pandemics that have gone through the world. And at times, they social distance, at times they limited gatherings. At times they had signs saying wear masks. Are you going to be thrown in jail? Like,

this is, yeah, so it's not, before it. I don't think, it's just the social media interconnectedness. The fact we can do this is almost to the point of like it hurts my brain. yeah yeah i guess the global scale of this is really the most fascinating thing about it yeah well and

just how quickly everything shut down right like how quickly yeah yeah everybody was like whoa we got a right like boom like snap a finger and boom and if you weren't if you weren't shutting down then you were pretty much ostracized for not shutting down yeah exactly yeah it's pretty wild but i mean we can sit here and chat about this for the next two hours what i would i really wanted to have you on was to talk a little bit about you, Earl, and your journey with music. I know for Lloyd Minster, people around my age and older, maybe even a touch younger, I'll remember when you competed on Canadian Idol. But I thought maybe we just started a little bit before that because, you know, gee, I don't remember you being a huge music star in high school by any stretch of imagination. So maybe you could just

start us off back then. sure um so like i always i always sang growing up but not really publicly you know i always and i would sing from my sisters and they thought i was pretty good and this and that you know and um and and uh and really enjoyed music and stuff like that and always you know and i liked performing a little bit like we would be on the ski bus growing up and that The older guys would give me quarters to do Urkel impressions and things like that, you know. Can we get an Urkel impression? You want to do the Steve Urkel dance.

All you got to do is hitch up your pants. Bend your knees and stick out your pelvis. I'm telling you, baby, it's better than Elvis. How does that bring back, man? And I'd go, Laura, are you wearing a bra today? Pretty weird, I gotta say. Oh, God, that's good. But, yeah, so, like, I started really getting into, like, folk musicians a lot, you know,

kind of around the age of 19 and that. And then it kind of, like, it kind of hit me, like, a ton of bricks in a weird way. Like, I was, my friends were playing guitars a little. bit and I sort of just started sort of noodling around a little bit and I went on I went to Mexico and kind of it sort of hit me like a ton of bricks that I wanted to start doing it and then it was funny I picked up the you know and then started the songwriting aspect of it came pretty naturally to me and the nice thing about creating folk songs is you know know, you can start with three chords, you know, and you can be busy for a couple of years on just,

you know, learning five chords and then just, you know, giving different, changing the combinations and the timing a little bit and you can keep yourself pretty busy for the first three, four years of your kind of journey. And then slowly, but surely you learn a few, you know, more things just to keep it kind of fresh and creative for yourself. So and then the songwriting part of it kind of came pretty naturally to me and it was a almost fun almost easier in a way to make my own songs than it was to learn other ones. So and it was bizarre like I started doing it and got quite a passion for it and had a lot of energy toward it. And like it was no more than a year and a half after I started that I was on the show. So it just kind of happened out of nowhere.

So like up until that point, you weren't, you weren't even playing the guitar? No, no. I got, I actually got kicked out of band. No way. Mr. Holman's was like, okay, man, you got to stop this. Because I guess I just didn't care about, like, for me, like there's got to be some character and color behind what you're doing or else it's just kind of like, like, you might as well, you know. if you're not getting something out of it creatively, then there's not really a point. And then once I just seen the big picture of what it could be, it kind of changed my complete look on it.

So you mentioned it hit you like a ton of bricks. So do you remember like the time or place you were at when all of a sudden you just picked up a guitar and you're like, gee, why haven't I done this before? Yeah, well, like I was in, I was in Yulepa in Mexico. And it was my 21st birthday. And I was, and I actually smoked a dovie for the first time. And then I, it all kind of came to me in a wave, like, wow, this would be really fun to do. And then I was just listening to Neil Young, and I was on the beach, and I just kind of, just everything kind of came together that day in a weird way. That's a little romantic, but I would say that kind of was something that made me be like, wow, this has got to be something you can do with this, you know.

It's funny. I mentioned before we started that I was talking with Charles Clausen, and he said he was working with you one summer, and you were singing to the radio, and he looked over, and he's like, holy crap, this guy can sing. I don't think he has any idea he can sing. Yeah. Well, it was something I was. Like, I remember thinking in my head that that'd be about the most terrifying thing to do ever would be to sing in front of people, you know? So how did you get over that? Because, I mean, you end up, when you're on Canadian Idol, you have the most flavor at anyone that goes on there and sings. Like, you just, you're like, like, look at this guy go.

He doesn't have a care in the world. Yeah, yeah. Well, it's kind of one of those things where it's like, Like you have no choice. And I often attribute it to how it was snowboarding too. Like, you know, if you're going to go up to the jump and try the trick, there becomes a point where you can't turn back and you're only going to hurt yourself if you don't fully commit. So it's like, and that's how it was for me with music.

It's like it gets to a point that the pressure is so kind of built up that the only direction to go is fully committed. and, you know, so it's like almost a survival tactic at some point. Geez, when you bring up going down the hill and trying to hit a jump, I only ever tried two. I only lasted two jumps. I never committed to either, and I damn near killed myself on both. Yeah, I know. Like, that's a thing.

It's either it's a do-or-die situation. And snowboarding, I always, there was a bit, of that uncertainty in me. I think the music suited me more like I was more comfortable in that high pressure situation than I was in a lot of other things being in that situation. You know, and for me it's it's like doing a podcast like this or something's almost more nerve-wracking in a way because I don't know the path, you know. But with music there's there's this point to this point and all you got to do is stay focused in and you know it's kind of like you know the path and you want to be aware enough and available

enough to everyone that you can be spontaneous to you know and invite your surroundings in but it's kind of clear what you have to do you know it's almost like and like honestly after some performances like i'll get off stage and barely even remember what happened and it'll seem like I was only up there for like two minutes or whatever and and I've been up there for like 45 minutes or whatever and it just because there's so much energy going on. Yeah. Well, it's a pretty fun experience. I think when you talk about podcasting, that's what I enjoy about it is the unknown. I have, you know, sitting here across from you, I go, well, we talked about COVID for a bit and maybe that was a little bit, you know, you could kind of see that that being on two different parts of the world, you can kind of

see that but where it goes from here i mean i got a general idea but i don't like to plan it out too much because i the nervousness that you talk about i get exactly the same but i love that i come off come out of this conversation i'll have a high and i'll go conquer the world for the day yeah no it's it's a good you know people should learn to you know do something that they're afraid of and it's always like you said there's a high afterwards there's a confidence boost about it. There's something healthy about it. Like it can be, you know, nerve-wracking too, but like it's part of life. And you got, if you want to, if you want to make something of your life, whatever that may be, you have to face your fears. So, you know, it's always a good thing to do,

even though sometimes you'd rather just kind of hide away, you know. Well, I think you fear the unknown and the things you haven't experienced, but the only way to really grow, is to go experience those things because then you're like, yeah, no, I've done that. And you can just understand another chunk of the world or another chunk of performing or singing or whatever it is that you're a little nervous to go do. Because once you've done it, there's a little comfortability.

Comfort, yeah, yeah, exactly. And the comfort is a tough one because, yeah, we all want to sit inside and be nice and warm and you don't accomplish anything doing that. No, and eventually it doesn't feel good either. Never taking risks and always choosing the comfortable path, you know, eventually kind of leaves you a little bit feeling, I don't know, like you could have, you should have challenged yourself a little more, you know? So. 100%.

Yeah. What made you decide to go to Canadian Idol? or you were just you're like i'm in i'm in the mode now i've figured out this i've started playing a little bit i've been playing for like you say a year and a half and also in the canadian idol trial's come in emminton are you just like oh yeah i'm gonna go do this or did you have to be convinced um well it was funny because i was kind of like eh i don't know about that kind of deal and then i was in the west emminton mall and i was in the west emminton mall and i I was there with my mom and my cousin and they're like, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it,

kind of thing. So then I went and sat there in the lineup and was just kind of like, well, whatever. And then I just, it just kept going and going. It was like, you know, I waited in the line. That was the first line. And like, there's about four auditions you have to do before you even go in front of the TV. You know, like that what people think is the first audition is actually like the fourth or something audition.

So did you sing that same song? And then it just kept going and going. It was insane. Did you sing the same song every edition then for the first four? They asked me to sing like three different songs. So I sang heard it through the grapevine and a toots in the May Tales song. And maybe only those two. Yeah.

So you had songs picked out that you're like, listen, if I, yeah, I can do heard it through the grapevine. I can nail this one down. Like, did you have that in your head then? Because obviously, if we weren't planning, I would, I guess in my brain I would have been like, okay, you got to drive up to Emmington. You're thinking, okay, I'm going to sing this song. I'm going to do this.

But what you're saying is you literally walk by your parent, your mom and cousin convince you. Yeah. Which is maybe good, you know, maybe sometimes I try to just block too much. You know, you want to be well prepared. But beyond that, you kind of have. to like go on with your regular life and then you know once you once you once because you can get yourself really worked up if you think too much about it you know 100 percent so did they pick out those songs for you then earl or did you have them picked out no i i picked them out yeah

yeah yeah yeah yeah so tell us a little bit about the experience of canadian idol because i i watched all the clips uh over the last couple days and i'm like and it's kind of a cheesy show but yeah it most definitely is but the talent's real right when you get on and start singing like you're like man got a voice man you got some personality right like you had some flavor there it was cool to watch it bring it bring back memories because i remember watching i i can safely say i don't know if i ever watched another canadian well that was the last season i don't know if i watched something prior to that maybe the first maybe but that season i remember everybody watching mainly because of you yeah yeah well like you said like there is something kind of cheesy

about those shows um and there's a part of me that likes them you know they're pretty heartwarming you'll watch some of the new ones and they're pretty heartwarming and a lot of talent and stuff like that but they also breed kind of this this sort of get in get out type of mentality where you're famous for 15 minutes and then they're on to the next thing and like, I actually heard Keith Richards talking about it a little bit, and it made a lot of sense to me how it's just kind of, it's like a 15 minutes of fame thing instead of an actual career. And that's, I would say, the only kind of qualm I have with those shows is it's kind of,

instead of it, you know, getting to know the person, like, you get to know it, but it just like just seems like it's a bit of a cycle through, and you don't, they're not cultivating careers. the same way as they used to back in the day. And it can be kind of a, like, I'm kind of glad that I ended up where I was, what place, and kind of that it's been 11, 12 years or whatever, because now, you know, my music and stuff is about what I'm doing now. And most people don't even know I was ever on that show.

And I would prefer it that way because then it's just like you can focus on what's happening in front of you. It's not always about this thing, you know? And, um, but that being said, you know, it was, it was a life-changing experience, most definitely. And it was like really fun. And, you know, like, just like insane roller coaster. Like, like, I had the runs for like two straight weeks when I first got there because I was so worked up, you know? Well, it's a lot of pressure. Yeah. Yeah, like, but it was, like I said, it was super, super fun.

It was every day was like unbelievable, you know, couldn't believe. Still hard, like, as you're going through that experience, you like, really, it's hard to comprehend even. You're like, is this, like, is this actually happening, you know? Like, what's one of the days when you look back or all that you go, like, I walked in and I was like, who the, like, what am I doing here? Well, I would say after I made it into like the, well, when I made it from the first 200 to the 24, that was quite trippy.

And then when I made it to the top 10, I was like, wow, this is like, this is for real. Like, this is pretty nuts. And then I remember just coming off stage a couple times and just being like, or like I remember the one time, they're like Ben's talking up over there and the kind of the bleachers and stuff and they're like and back and you know

and they're like they're giving me the 10, 9 and I see like the whole crowd and I'm just sitting there on a stool with my guitar and there's like lights and videos cameras swooning in from angles and you're just like and then like I said you're by the time you start

you're done and you're like like when they would talk to me on the after the performances like I literally don't remember any of that. Like I was just like, you know, you're just in this other world. It's insane. Just on an emotional high? Yeah, just like, just like a terror or two, like a fear of whatever.

But, you know, like, and because it could be so easy just to completely freeze and forget everything. Yeah. Which I did early on in the like the top 24 or something like that. Like, I completely forgot the song I was going to do. I thought I was off the show for sure. Like, the fact that they let me go on was insane. Because I didn't even, like, I didn't even perform that time.

I, like, froze and forgot the entire song. How, was that defeating on you? Like, when you froze, like, were you going, oh, man, that was tough? Or did you bounce back real quick? Yeah. Well, I just simple, I just thought I was going to be. off the show. I just thought I was done. And then when they said I was going through, I was like, holy shit. And then I just kind of let it be what it was and just kind of continued on.

And it was cool, you know, got to go like, you know, it was fun, got to meet some interesting people. I'd say Tom Jones is my favorite guy to me. You know, got to go to a couple parties at the MTV or the Much Music Building. It was pretty cool. There's a throwback. Like one time, I'll tell you what one story that was pretty bizarre was I was out on the, I was at this party and I'm out on like the patio, like, or it's like a high-rise building and I'm out on the, what do they call it? Like the patio or whatever, like outside. Like the balcony? The balcony, yeah, yeah. And I'm out there with, because I got pretty chummy with Ben.

Mulroney there because, you know, he's kind of a, he's a fun, fun dude. He's pretty easy going. And, uh, and I met like his family and stuff. And I was out on the balcony with his younger sister sharing a cigarette. And then by the end of the cigarette, the entire, his entire family was out there with me. And she's like trying to hide the cigarette and pass it to me by behind her, behind her arms. And here I'm out on this balcony with the entire, Rooney family, Brian included in the wife too. So that was pretty trippy. Did you ever feel like, man, what am I doing here?

Like the sad thing is, is I kind of expected it to keep going and going, you know? I don't know if that's a sad thing. No, but it was like, for me, it was like, okay, this is the first stepping stone. I'm going to be Drake by the time this is finished, you know? That's how my mind was thinking. So when it all kind of just like, you know, after the, you realize that the show, what it is is a show. You know what I mean? Like, it's, if you can do something with the show afterwards, like to your own accord, you know, like if you have the widths to organize it and capitalize on it, well, that's great.

But no one's going to help you after, you know what I mean? Like the show is a show and that's it kind of thing. So, but in my mind, I was like, okay, this is the first stepping zone. Now I'm going to be doing this and this. this and you know um but it is what it is you know that might have been a pretty hard life in a weird way too because look at everyone i'm sure i would have been canceled cultured by now sure i've done something stupid in my life that people like oh he did that 20 years ago not listen to him anymore oh most deaf most death most death yeah so i don't necessarily

regret that that didn't happen but it is what it is and I still keep busy and I'm you know still play a lot of like before I came out here I was hosting an open mic in Calgary and playing you know three or four gigs a month two on top of that like every week I hosted the open mic and then I'd have another gig every at least every week so it was pretty good so what are you doing so like after the show ends what did you do where did you go? Well, I went to Toronto after that. I like, I came back home for a bit and then moved back to Toronto and I was there for a year. I made an album there. But it ended up, I wasn't particularly happy with the production of it. And it also, and it also just sounded a little,

I don't know, I was looking for something a little more organic. and and they I guess people don't know what you think you're capable of in your mind they can only see what you've produced at that point and like I wanted to keep saying like I was like oh I think we need to sing this song better this and mad and you know and this needs to be more cohesive and stuff but it was under a time frame

and it also cost me like $20,000 cost like $20,000 too so if that like that really put kind of a negative spin in a way to me like not making it too eager from i i wasn't very eager to record another album when you know it didn't turn out the way i wanted and it costed a bunch of money you were starting to see the business side of music then yeah a little bit and kind of got you know the relationship with the guys who produced it didn't really end that well it was okay but like the one guy like he got he like I had this two thousand dollar 1952 fender telecaster like reissue it was built the same way as they did in the in the 50s there and uh yeah he like

stole that from me and stuff because he figured you know he figured that the 20,000 dollars wasn't enough kind of thing and just like and the only reason he took it was because I like I left it at there the studio and and then he just then I was I went back home for a bit and I was going to come back and get it not thinking then he decided oh he's going to put it with his guitar collection so it's kind of like well you know kind of left me with a like how can you how can you possibly work with somebody like that afterwards like I mean you can't yeah yeah you're lucky you didn't take one of his guitars of his own and maybe break it over said person.

Believe me, I've thought about going to Kitchener with a mask and sneaking in his back window. Well, I mean, that's... Just to steal my guitar back, that's all. Not to view them up or anything. Oh, that's, that would leave a sour taste in anyone's mouth. Yeah. And...

So what do you do after Toronto then? You record an album. I assume you think. this is going to be maybe a smashing success. Maybe you don't. I don't know. What was your thought process after the album was released and you've spent 20 grand? Was there?

Well, like, and I could almost taste it being what I wanted it to be, you know? But it didn't. It just didn't pan out. Like, there's aspects of it that I was like, that's what I'm looking for. But the whole thing is a whole, just, there's one song that I like on it, really. Like, I like the songs. I like the compositions and I like the, lyrics and everything, but just the way they're produced.

There's only one song that I was happy with the way it turned out on it. But yeah, so did that. And then, you know, I didn't have a manager or anything like that. Like, in retrospect, maybe I should have moot. And the reality is, it's like if you're not in Nashville, L.A., Toronto, possibly Vancouver or or really good at marketing yourself on social media and stuff like that then you know you don't really have that much of a chance really you know what I mean like to be for to get that kind of support that you need to make a career out of it um but the one thing

the one scene I really do like and love and get a lot of like it's would be where I would perform and kind of exist if I could. It's like all the festivals, you know, like the electronic festivals and also the folk festivals and stuff like that. Like I love the energy at those type of events. And it's for people that are genuinely there to see live music and get excited about it. It's not just a kind of, you know, a lot of modern music is almost like a, it's like a, it's a lot about, you know, image and it's a lot about how flashy your production

is and how flashy your video. And it's like how much of it's about actually getting something that really connects with you musically. It's kind of, you know, it's kind of a big rat race of kind of egos in a way instead of quality music. So I like the, like, which I've been a part of is these festivals and stuff like that. That's where I, you know, like I've been playing the bars and stuff like that throughout the year. And then in the summer, I usually have about four different festivals that I'm playing. That's where, you know, that's the part I really, really like as far as performing

and that. You speak of a time of music probably going back 40 to 50 years ago, maybe longer. Yeah. That's what you're talking about. You mentioned Neil Young off the hop a while back. Yeah. I mean, Neil Weyong wasn't having a music video with half-naked girls and whatever else. He just had...

That's right. He just had songs that hit you, grabbed you. And there's, I mean, you could mention about, well, a bunch come to mind, but you could probably mention a handful of people from that time era or maybe even the majority of them from that era where that's what it was about. They had really cool sound and cool voices and twangs to the way they sang that wasn't computer generated. Well, that's the thing these days is everyone's like, people have no idea the kind of work that goes behind, like, a lot of these songs. Like, people think autotune is only when you can hear it go boor-h kind of, you know, like, crazy noises, but they're so good at autotune and, like, compressing and pushing your vocals

forward and stuff like that now that, like, you would hear something, they'll hit a note and it doesn't sound autotune, but they're, like, pitch shifting that note and everything. Like, people don't realize the trickery that goes into, like, these, you know, big production, you know, high, high money production music, which is, it is what it is, but it's kind of hilarious that people don't realize that. They just think, oh, that's how they sing. You're like, well, they do kind of, but I don't know. But that being said, there's like a lot of,

there's still a lot of modern musicians I really like that, you know, are doing incredible work. It's just, it's kind of harder to find them in a weird way. Who's the modern musicians that you enjoy? Well, I love a guy named Fyner. Father John Misty, do you know him? I certainly don't, but I'm going to certainly look him up after we get done. He's a really cool guy.

Do you know Coulter Wall? Oh, yeah. Coulter Wall is my jam. That kid is off the hook, eh? It's the first time I got shown a video of him, Earl. I was sitting out at work with the boys out north and North Battleford. And they said they were playing a song and I'm like, oh, this is pretty good. Like, who is this?

Is this Johnny Cash or somebody like that? And they're like, yeah, yeah. Oh, you haven't heard of, yeah, you haven't heard of Colter Wall. And I'm like, no, who's that? He's Brad Wall's kid. I'm like, okay. So then they're like, hold on, hold on, hold on, we'll pull up a video and you watch this.

I'm like, okay. So pull up the video and it's him playing the guitar. And I'm like, okay. And all of a sudden he starts singing and your mouth like hits the floor because you're like, how is that guy singing like that? I know. He's like a 21. year old skinny kid you're like and and can just and sounds almost identical to johnny cash that that's the

comparison i think most people give them yeah just an incredibly colorful voice you know um and his songwriting is the best too like it's insane like he's he must love people like do you know who towns van santa's yeah i do actually you know like that must be one of the people in the forefront of his mind, you know, is these amazing musicians, like kind of cowboy songwriters, you know. It's more like sitting around the fire on the range with the horses than it is like modern country, you know. It's kind of that cowboy traveling too. It's a throwback is what it is because, I mean, like the modern, the modern country is almost

poppy, right? Oh, yeah. It almost sounds like it's a pop song. where what he's doing, you know, I sometimes wonder if he'll be become a global superstar or not, because what he's doing is, um, so unique. Yeah. And like, I just can't see everybody being like, wow, I love going back to the, like, there's people that enjoy that type of music.

Now, there's a lot of people that enjoy that type of music. But it, you know, when was the last time you had somebody of his talent, that style of music go mainstream i just yeah yeah it's kind of weird um do you know sturgel simpson uh sturgle simpson uh he's like a country singer a modern country he's pretty cool i think chris stapleton's got a hell of a voice yeah chris stapleton's got a hell of a voice um yeah there's a kid i've been listening to lately evan barlow he's really cool but he's more of like almost like a rapper in a way i wouldn't he's pretty variety almost like r and b bit of rap and almost a bit of like but he's a hell of it he's he's he's

really impressed me lately i've been listening to him um then i like yeah more some rnb kind of stuff like frank ocean do you know him at all can't say i know frank ocean you're getting me you know what I'm going to do today when I go to work, I'm going to have, like, 10 different people I'm going to have to throw on the playlist. And I'd love listening to new music. It's fantastic. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Never know what you're going to find. Right. Yeah, I have a really wide variety of music I like. So I might say someone that someone would like and then someone else that they definitely wouldn't. But that's, I don't really look at music in a genre form. in genres more than I it's like who's you can hear it in their voice if there's something of

substance you know and there's the song right it the words hit you they don't just fall off the side like they don't mean anything they like hit you and like you get a strong imagery or a real impact from it so whatever that happens that happens to me it doesn't matter what genre like or anything it just either it happens or it doesn't well what it reminds me of is a shout out to Skinny's tattoo parlor in town. I only have one tattoo. And when I got my first tattoo, he said, well, we're going to listen to some music since it's your first tattoo.

Why don't you pick the first song? And so I picked Neil Young Harvest Moon. And from there, we just went on this, like, journey of music and stuff I'd never heard that he introduced me to, but all over the map. And then stuff that I liked. And that's what's lovely about music, I think, is people shouldn't, get stuck into one genre, right? If you like rap, that's cool.

Right. Some good rap songs out there. There's nothing against it. But the same time, if you go to the throwbacks, man, there's some great, we just at a buddy's house, buddy's house down south. And we were listening to a little CCR. Like that's, but I can flip over right away over to a little M&M or something, right? Just to bounce all over.

Sure, why not? Yeah. It's all about your mood. Like I said, it comes, yeah, it comes down to who's, there's the spirit behind the music and that's what matters like sometimes you can you know with some of those cookie cutter songs i can almost instead of getting an image of whatever their story is i get an image of four songwriters in a studio room trying to crap out another song just for the sake of doing it you know there's not really that much emotion behind it you know my wife

makes fun of me all the time, Earl, because I hardly ever listen to the words. I love the sound of the music, so the beat you give me and the voice, those two things. At the time, they can sing about whatever. It could be walking your dog for all I care. And just the personality or the effort that goes into music, I always think of Sam Roberts when he came to Lloyd. And he was out there. Yeah, yeah, I remember He was unbelievable. Yeah, I remember that. That was cool. But I don't know, truthfully,

I still don't know what the heck he was singing about at the time, and I don't know if I really cared. Just the way he sang and the way he performed was unbelievable. And like you said, for me, it doesn't really matter, you know. It's the full package. Like, there's times that I like, you know, it just literally doesn't matter. Like either the words will catch me, the melody.

will, you know, something about it, but it's just a matter of it catching you or not, you know. So I feel that sentiment, too. It's not always the words, you know, but yet, for me, sometimes it is a word. I don't know. True, true. Sometimes it's got to be that whole, that whole kind of package is that, you know, like when you listen to Coulter Wall there, everything about it is just like thumbs up, you know what I mean? Like the voice, the lyrics are cool as hell, you know?

It's got this kind of badass vibe to it, kind of like, you know, it's super cool. It's kind of, you know, and I love something like the blues too for that reason. You know, it's simple, but, you know, the voices are incredible. You know, it's just the color in it is amazing, you know. So in your travel, you know, it's been 12 years since Canadian Idol. You mentioned Toronto. I think you mentioned Vancouver. You've kind of been all over the place.

Have you been singing ever since then, for the last 12 years you've been performing? Oh, yeah. Yeah. So I lived in Toronto. I lived in Vancouver. My friend owns a hostel in Hawaii in Paia. So I've been there four different times throughout the winter and stayed there for three months at a time.

And I'd play there. I'd perform there. Calgary is where I am now, and I've been there for like three, four years and been playing pretty regular there. Are you just performing and that's how you make a living? Are you working a full-time job? Or what do you do to make ends meet? Kind of a jack of all trades to some degree. Like, I'll work with my friend Adam painting. houses in Lloyd sometimes.

I built a hemp house with, you know, Mark Faber? No, the name. Can't think of the face right now. Well, he, like, he's big into this company called Just Bio Fiber, and I went out to Sukbc with them for three months and built this house out of hemp. It was really cool. Built a house out of hemp? Yeah, it's like they're, they're like, they look like Lego blocks, basically.

like the kind of eight peg Lego blocks and you lay them like bricks but you like yeah you lay them like bricks and they kind of click in and then you like plaster them and still like there's this kind of fibery kind of goop that you put in between them to like seal them and then you like plaster them and and you can stucco it on the outside or whatever and yeah they're really really cool it's a really cool idea it's it's an amazing idea and just as productive and like as cheap as doing a normal traditional house it's just the problem is like trying to get that idea across to people and get that sort of concept into the zeitgeist of building you know because people are because they're putting their money into it. They don't want anything to go wrong. So people are pretty, have the tendency to

follow tradition when it comes to that kind of thing because it makes it easier to sell, blah, blah, blah. But the reality is it's a great building property. It's a great way to build. And it just needs to be kind of massaged into society a little more before it might take wave. So you build the walls with Hemp? Is it supposed to be just strong, sturdy, both costs? Yeah, it's, it's like has insane, like insulating quality. Like, it's also fireproof. It, um, super good for sound. It's like soundproof too because they're like this thick.

It, uh, it's good. for like and it like it also cures over time so it produces like oxygen and like it absorbs CO2 out of the air and produces oxygen and it's really yeah because it's curing like the hemp's curing so it like it like absorbs CO2 from the air and then and then and it takes like 50 years to cure or something like that and it's like I said it's fireproof too so um and uh and it's also like fast too because you you know you're skipping so many steps there's like little cavities in them so you can run your wire through those then you just like drill a little like with a router or whatever you drill like you know and then and uh so you put the bricks down

and then basically you plaster the inside and stuck or the outside and then you're pretty well done instead of, you know, putting, framing the wall, the insulation, the vapor barrier, the dry wall, the lighting, the tape, you know, like the vinyl on the outside, the plywood, you know. So it's pretty cool. So since essentially what I'm getting at here, while not getting at, I mean, we're having lessons 101 with Earl on building hoses, but since 2008, you've been experiencing life is what I'm, what I hear. You could say that. Yeah. I think that's safe to say. Where, you know, I don't have, I don't have a million bucks yet, but.

Hey, man. I don't have a million bucks yet either. So we're in the same boat there, and I don't know what I'd do if I got a million dollars. Probably the same thing I'm doing right now. So, yeah. I'd just probably look a little, I'd probably have a front tooth, maybe. That's probably, everybody would probably be happy because I'd have a full smile. But I kind of like the, you know, it's funny.

You know, it's funny. Every, every, uh, Nine out of ten people are like, man, it's just you. And then there's always the 10th person who's like, you really need to get a, you really need to get some teeth. And I'm like, yeah, I don't know. Sure. Sure.

I mean, that's you. I guess. Yeah, yeah. I like it personally. What, where's the, you know, stick with music. Where has been the coolest place or the one performance that you look back since Canadian. So over the last 12 years where you're playing in. wherever and you're just like man that was a lot of fun that was so fun yeah um i would say

the festivals have been the funest for me like it's fun because i have a lot of friends in the electronic music festival scene so and i love the energy there it's like young youthful excited ready to rock kind of vibes you know um like there's been a couple really fun ones like uh my buddy Barron, do you know Barron Faber? Once again, I... He graduated same years as me. Once again, I know the last game and I can't put a place for it. Well, he lives in Calgary too, and he started this company called Basebus, and it's

kind of like an event coordinating business. And he also, like, gets involved. He throws a huge festival in Calgary every year called... circle and i've played that a few times that's been a blast you know that's been a hell of a time um then uh like there's this one wicked woods it's called wicked woods and i play that um what is that most years that's in uh radium hot springs oh okay and that's been really those have been really fun um uh what else i would say those festivals are have been the where i've got the I've had a lot of fun, and I'd love to keep doing more and more of those.

I'm playing, I was supposed to play the summer games there in Lloyd, closing ceremonies or whatever this year, but because of Corona or whatever, I'll be doing it next year there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Do you ever think about recording a new album and anything along that lines? Absolutely. I um well like I said it's always been kind of a money issue for me um but another place it's been a lot of fun to play is a place called the blues can in Calgary okay and I play there with my band like all my bandmates are really good musicians um so that's been really fun um the one day I was playing there and this this guy named Steve Gerard a really cool dude he's recorded a lot of people that are on CKUA

and stuff. He just was watching us and he said, like, just before I left, we had had a few recording sessions with him. Yeah, he wants to record, like, a high-quality demo at least here. So when I get back, we'll probably be doing that. And he's not charging me anything. So it's pretty nice of him. He just was excited, you know, that's what you need is someone who believes in you and

things they can, you know, and if it was a great success, something like that, well, then, you know, then the payoff would be then, you know, but someone needs to believe in you, believe in you in that degree, you know, because it's, I think that right there, the, uh, what that is transferable across anything in order to be successful at a, whether you're a musician or a hockey player, you have to have somebody who believes in you. Yeah. I mean, and that's a powerful thing to have someone's belief in what you do. It, that can motivate you pretty, pretty good.

And it can open up some doors and it can give you almost wings to go after it. Absolutely. It also kind of, you know, gets all the ugliness out of the environment, you know. Because if you're always thinking about, oh, I better do this, this try, because there's money on the table, well, how authentic, you know, it could work, but sometimes that just takes away from the kind of, ideally you want like an energy, like a fun at either whatever atmosphere you want to create. You want to create that not being like worried about money in the head, you know.

You want there to be some like body energy and what's happening, you know. And with him kind of just saying, giving a shot, you know, gives you the freedom to, you know, try you know like obviously you want to work um smart and not waste people's time but yet you know it doesn't all of a sudden it's not about just about money or something like that so that's a nice feeling and i always i record with my friend rich at in lloyd quite a bit like i have a band camp it's called earl stevenson earl stevenson at bandcamp dot com and i have music on that The listeners could go check that out if they were. Absolutely.

I was going to say if there's a way for people to find you and find new music of you or help support what you're doing, how would they do that? Like I said, I would say Earl Stevenson at bandcamp.com is the best. And lately I've been posting a lot of music on Facebook, you know, just sort of because I haven't been able to perform and stuff. And it seems like the way people are getting their music. out there to some degree nowadays. Well, you're on the same playing field pretty much as everyone right now because everybody's

stuck at home, right? So even the people with all the money in the world, I mean, somewhat, are stuck where they can't perform in front of large crowds. They can't do any of that. So they're trying to figure this out too. And I think it's interesting to watch everybody try and figure it out because that's what the most successful in any industry right now. are all trying to do because they they just can't do what worked for them before right like

they're sitting in all going like so now what do I do yeah I know it's like I said I hope it's not like this forever I can't see it being like this forever I think yeah you're already starting to see the world try and pull itself out of this because yeah no we can't stay like this forever it's it's insane people need to be out and move it and interacting and if you know businesses need to have their doors open otherwise they're all going to be closed and pretty soon we're all going to rely on the government to hand out whatever they can and that only so long and geez you go down that rabbit hole too far yeah i know eh um yeah it's been quite the experience for all of us i would say absolutely so what what is next here before i get

on to the final segment what is next then you come you're trying to get home and once you're home it's back to hopefully doing a little bit of music again. Yeah, that's the plan. Like I said, my main prerogative is, you know, getting back with Steve Gerard there and my band and try to get, you know, whatever we can, hopefully 12 songs kind of that we're happy with recorded. And then, you know, a lot can open up for you after that.

and plus my friend Conrad wants to do a music video too so I'd like to at least get one song I'm ecstatic about and then maybe make a music video too so cool well that's kind of that's the plan there mainly you make sure when you uh create whatever song you got I'd love to I'd love to promote it for you or toss it on here because I'd love to enter to Mr. Earl Stevenson breaking it down for me. I think that'd be pretty cool. Absolutely. That'd be fun. Okay, well, let's go into the final segment, the Crude Master Final Five. It's just five questions, long or short as you like.

Shout out to Heath and Tracy McDonnell, sponsors of the, and supporters of the podcast since day one. So the first one is, if you could sit down with a beverage, with anyone, current or past, who do you want to sit down with and pick their brain? I think I'd like to have You still there? I'm still here I think I'd like to have a white Russian

With Nicola Tesla That'd be pretty cool I like your drink choice too I tell you what When you come back here We're going to be in the podcast room We're going to have some white Russians That is a promise

That sounds good right on Tesla yeah yeah That'd be an interesting conversation Because he's a bizarre dude like he you know he i don't know like became a recluse and like basically lived in a new york hotel for the last 40 years by himself and didn't really have much money and his best friend was a pigeon and yet meanwhile you know and meanwhile he he he thinks that aliens are talking to him and and that all being said this sounds like the diary of a madman but yet he was one of the most innovative

thinkers that ever existed. So you're like, well, what's going on there, dude? Absolutely. Do you read it all then, Earl? Are you a guy who picks up lots of books? Well, I listen to a lot of audio books. Oh, yeah. Audio. Yeah. Like, I like a lot of, I'm more into like philosophy and things like that than like, you know, then fiction or whatever. So what is the book? You wouldn't catch me reading a fiction book generally, but. So what is the book you're reading right now? or listening to. Well, I like a lot of, like, do you know who Eckertoli is?

I know the name. What's his book? Like the power now and the new earth and stuff. It's just basically, it's a modern approach to sort of Buddhism and Taoism and sort of mindfulness or, you know, like kind of saying all you have is the present moment, you know, don't be possessed by your mind type, that kind of philosophy. It's nothing new, but he breaks it down in a very intellectual, very clear cut, very comprehensible way, which I really appreciate.

He's a very cool dude. Then I like weird stuff like Carlos Castaneda, who's like, he's like, he was an anthropologist who, who they were supposed to write about, like, sort of. of I don't remember exactly, but he was going down to, he was from San Diego or something, he was going down to Mexico. And he said that he met this guy named Don Juan. And he was like this like medicine man from Mexico. And he taught him all these crazy things.

And he would do peyote with them and do all this crazy stuff. And, you know, like it really bizarre out there stuff like like everything, almost to the point that. it's just kind of, it's wild, but it's really cool. And, you know, it turned out that he was a little nutty. And maybe it's a little, there's a bit of like dark wizardry in there. But it's kind of entertaining. It's fun. You know, anything that's kind of not what the eye can see,

something beyond our perception, you know, I'm pretty into that kind of thing. If you could open for one band or performer, who would you like to sit in front of and break it down for? Like, and they have to be alive or dead? Does it matter? No, it could be anyone. I'll give you anyone.

Sure. Well, I guess, you know, I'd like to open for someone like Coulter Wall, you know, just because it'd be fun to have a comrade. I could say some epic legend from beyond the grave, but maybe it'd be nice to have a, comrade and someone like that, which is cool because he's a Saskatchewan kid, you know, come from the same sort of world. Be fun to make friends with some guy like that.

That'd be a cool concert, too. Yeah. If you could perform in one place, where would you go? Oh, another musician I really like, too, is Lucas Nelson. It's Willie Nelson's son. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah, he's super cool. He's really good at guitar, too.

He sounds like his dad. but it's got a little more of a surf rock to it. I've seen him perform in Charlie's Bar in Paia in Hawaii, which is really cool. Yeah. It was wild because I watched Neil Young perform there too, and it's only a bar the size of like OJ's or something. You watch Neil Young perform there?

Yeah, yeah. Dude, I'll tell you a wild story. So I watched Neil Young that night performing a bar about the size of OJ's and Lloyd. And then the next day, like my friend the owner of the hostel said that he managed to get backstage and he overheard the managers

saying they're staying at Mama's Fish House it's like three kilometers down the road so the next morning I skateboarded to Mama's Fish House hid my skateboard in the bushes and to get into the resort you have to sneak through the kitchen and I snuck through the kitchen and then I got to this top of this hill and there was only two people on the beach

and it was Neil Young and Daryl Hannah. No kidding. Did you go talk to him? Oh yeah, man. I was like, my heart was just like, and then I went and I walked down the beach pretending not to see him. And they were just sitting there

and then when I got to them, I was like, hey, Neil. And he looked over and I shook his hand and then I sat there with him for about 10 minutes. What did you ask him about? I just told him I was from the prairies like him and I'm a huge fan and you know like you know just sort of you had a good show last night I didn't get through the door but we watched it through the screen kind of thing and told him I'm a musician too and you know just a little bit I did I and I didn't want to overstay my welcome

obviously and I didn't want to ask for a photo or anything I just thought it was nice it was a fun experience that's all I was asking for is just to have but it was wild man I was sitting here's him, me just sitting there. Like no one around. Like that's insane. Absolutely. Yeah. And here's one of my heroes too.

So it's pretty bizarre. You know what I mean? Hawaii has a certain magic to it like that. Yeah. Maybe like the Grand O'Olloppy or something in Nashville would be pretty cool. That'd be pretty cool.

Yeah. Would you go back? My next question is, if you could go back and see one performance, who would you go see? Would you go back and see a Neil Young then? No, I think I'd have to go see Hendricks. Ooh, yeah, okay. Yeah. Because he was just like, it was like he was being possessed or something when he was up there.

You know? And it's funny because he was kind of a, like, kind of a timid, shy guy in many ways. And then he gets up on stage and it's just like, is he being possessed? like by a voodoo doctor right now. Like, I don't know what's going on, but this is sick, you know? In your travels, you've been all over the place where, when you finally get back to Canada and things go back to somewhat normal, where will you be off to next? Where's your next bucket list trip?

Where do you want to go? Um, I could, I would like to eventually go. I think South America would be pretty cool. Um, yeah, like, I don't, Columbia might be pretty cool to check out. I think. That's an interesting choice. Yeah. It looks really beautiful.

And the girls are pretty cute. On a side note, what do you have been drinking the entire time? What type of beer? I see the snow. This is San Miguel. San Miguel. Yeah, that looks rather tasty. Oh, yeah.

Unfortunately, beer isn't as cheap as I'd like it to be out here, but. Well, what's a beer cost out there? Well, they're all nice and cold, and they're, but you can only buy singles here. You don't buy them in cases. So what's the single? It's worth about $250. Canadian? American?

Yeah. Canadian? Yeah. $250 is still not that terrible of a deal. Not too bad, not too bad. Maybe 280, somewhere around there. Yeah, it's not too bad. but in Cambodia, they're like 50 cents.

Yeah, yeah. You could have stayed there. Which was pretty sweet. Yeah, well, I was kind of planning on going back there. Like, I was kind of only planning coming here for a couple weeks and then maybe going back there for a little bit. Well, cool. Well, I appreciate you hopping on with me and talk a little bit about your career, talking

about being over in Indonesia and what life is, you know, where you're at in life. And I think it's super cool conversation we just had like on two. Absolutely. That's fun. Like next time you're back in Lloyd, you make sure to drop me a line. I'll show you the studio. We'll have you in and do another BS session. Sounds fun.

Hey, do you want me to play a song for you before I go? Oh, Frigg, yeah. You'll be the, hey, your episode like 93, you're the first person to ever sing on here. Or do a Steve Urkel impression. So fire away. Nice. Right on. Okay, this is a new one I wrote actually probably a couple weeks ago.

It's called Where It All Goes. Show me your heart And I won't let go I love it when we're dancing When we make love slow Tell the tale about a lot Sing a song about a chance We're taking

Where it all goes We got a big old world To keep us on Our days a walking down Show me all the things It drives You got me giddy darling Like a new ball

It's a gamble, baby Like a war for Sunday I got Give it all good Keep us on That was super cool. The video showed off for a quick sec, but that was super cool. Thanks again for having me on.

That was a blast. Yeah, man. That's my podcast, cherry. I tell you what, that's one way to end a podcast right there. Right on, buddy. Thanks again. Thanks, Sean. Hey, folks, thanks again for joining us today.

If you just stumble on the show and like what you hear, please click subscribe. Remember, every Monday and Wednesday a new guest, will be sitting down to share their story. The Sean Newman podcast is available for free on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you find your podcast fix. Until next time. Hey folks. You're hanging out waiting for a teaser, are you? Well, if you are new and you've never heard this, essentially we're having a little fun here,

a little social media game. So we're marching towards episode 100, and I'm allowing, I'm throwing out little teard. teasers here at the end to try and, you know, generate some interest of who is 100. So if you have a guest, a guest. If you have a guess, go on to social media, tag the podcast and the hashtag who's 100, W-H-OS, the number 100 with your guest. And you'll be entered into a draw that has a round of golf for four people in two carts at Sandy Beach.

so a huge shout-out to Sandy Beach golf course and park. And a $200 gift card to factory sports. And a huge shout-out to the boys over at Factory Sports for helping out with this little game as we're trying to have a little bit of fun. So your clue for today was, or is, he was at the 2010 Winter Olympics. So once again, head over to social media,

put out your guests, tag the podcast, hashtag who's 100 for each post whether it's on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or just head to the website and email me your guest. People have been doing that. And you'll get an entry into this draw. All right. We'll announce the winner at the end of episode 100. All right, a little bit of fun, all right?

Enjoy the day, folks. We'll see you next time.