wellRED podcast - #37 - Paul Janeway (St. Paul and The Broken Bones!) + RIP Tom Petty/Self Driving Cars Might Not Hit

Episode Date: October 18, 2017

This week the boys sit down to discuss the death of Tom Petty and how Self Driving Cars present a bit of a moral conundrum.After that, Trae interviews Paul Janeway - Front man for an all time favorite for us here at wellRED, ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES!!!!stpaulandthebrokenbones.com for all their tour dates and suchwellredcomedy.com for all of ourspatreon.com/wellredpodcast for additional content Download, subscribe, tell your friends. Thanks in advance. We love ya like chicken.  

And we thank them for sponsoring the show. Well, no, I'll just go ahead. I mean, look, I'm money dumb. Y'all know that. I've been money dumb ever, since ever, my whole life. And the modern world makes it even harder to not be money dumb, in my opinion. Because used to, you, like, had to write down everything you spent or you wouldn't know nothing. But now you got apps and stuff on your phone.

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It's the thuggish-ruggish Cho. Hey y'all. It's the Cho. Tour updates right here. Let's see. This weekend, October 20th, Seattle, Washington, 21st, Eugene, Oregon. October 25th, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 26 through the 29th, Washington, D.C. November 7th, we're at the New York Comedy Festival in New York, New York,

just added another show because our first one sold out. November 8 and 9, Raleigh, North Carolina, November 10th, and 11th, Charlotte, North Carolina, November 12th, Greensboro, North Carolina. Obviously, all these can be found at well-readcom, W-E-L-R-E-D, Comedy.com, spelled just like the podcast. after Greensboro we're on to Denver, Colorado, then Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, Orlando, Florida, Clearwater, Florida, Atlanta, Georgia, Birmingham, Alabama, Portland. Well, excuse me, that's not true. Portland has been rescheduled. So we'll get back to you on that. Then, that's just, that's 2017.

Then, starting off 2018, already got some dates posted. January 10th, Los Angeles, California, back at Largo. January 11th, San Diego, California. January 12th through the 14th, Phoenix, Arizona, January 27th through the 28th, Asheville, North Carolina. That's the first of the year. Then we got Dallas, Texas, Austin, Texas, San Antonio, Texas, Houston, Texas, Jacksonville, Florida, West Palm Beach, Florida, Salt Lake City, Utah, New Orleans, baby. We're coming back. I can't wait.

That's just a few of the cities that we already have, you know, I guess everything locked down. But we'll be adding more. We add more every day. thank you guys so much for coming out and see us seeing us we really appreciate it man this past weekend was fun we uh we had a little midwest tour situation going on we were in iowa city lincoln nebraska springfield missouri and demoine and thank you to everyone who came out for those shows and uh hopefully you couldn't tell unless you check my facebook but i was sick as a dog man i was um you know show must go on so i drank some uh some earl gray and some green tea and shit

and went on with it. But I was sick as a dog. Drew was starting to get sick. And I think now that we're on break, Tray is a, Trey's also getting a little under the weather. But thank you guys for coming out and tolerating us. And, man, we had a blast. It was so much fun.

I'm feeling better now. I think I still sound like shit. But anyways, I said all that to say this. Patreon subscribers, which if you're not one, you can be. Go to Patreon and well-read podcast is on there. You have additional content for pledging certain amounts of money. But my apology is to you. those of you that already do, because clearly I dropped the ball this week.

Between traveling and just being sick, I wasn't able to put shit up there. I mean, it's no excuse. I still should do my job, but I was really feeling bad. And I got to tell you, we drove like six or seven hours each day. It was not a, it wasn't an easy run. It was a fun run, but it wasn't an easy run. So I will have more stuff on Patreon this week for you guys. And thanks for being patient with me.

And thanks for listening to the podcast. This week's a doozy. Paul of St. Paul on the Broken Bones. I'm so pissed that I wasn't there for that interview that Trey did. But enjoy the podcast, tell your friends, download, subscribe, all that good stuff. And check us out on the road. We love you. And skee you.

Well, well, well. Oh, Petty. Oh, yeah, okay. All right, yeah. Hey, everybody. Petty's dead, don't he? Oh, yeah, it really is sad, though. We've been listening to Tom Petty for the past couple hours just on repeat.

So we're not the same time. Hours, my ass, days. Well, yeah, but I mean, like, literally, we turn Tom Petty off to start recording. Right. When we were saying a minute ago, and me and you've talked about this a lot. We've always talked about this a lot over the years, but, like, disclaimer. before I say what I'm about to say, I fully,

completely recognize that Tom Petty is a legend in the eyes of everybody pretty much. He's extremely highly respected. I mean, he's Hall of Famer

without a doubt. I know all that. I still think that he was underrated. I agree with it. It is underrated. Yes. Because we,

I was mentioned earlier, I was like, that's how good I think he was. I was mentioning earlier, it's like, I have, and I knew, knew this,

because I fucked with Tom Petty my whole life. My papal was a huge fan. My dad was a huge fan. I've been a huge fan. But still, just when he died, of course, you immediately go, even though I fucked with him, you know, all the time, you go, you think you binge, you know what I mean? And I was like, God damn, man. It's like, I knew this, but it still is unreal just how many bangers he had.

And now, but I'm seeing people like, I didn't know that Tom Petty did that. I'm like, yeah, totally. There's one for me, I think you brought it up. There's one song that came out in like 92 or 94. It was a, you don't know how it feels. Yeah. And I was like, I thought with that song, but I didn't know that's when it.

I would have fought you over it being like from the 70s. Yeah. Yeah, me too. And like, I heard that when I was a kid, but it was also with my parents. So I was like, well,

they're playing the classics. That's also the same record that has, uh, you wreck me on it. Uh-huh. Yeah. It's good to be king and all. I knew them were newer,

I think. That one has that sound. I don't know. Maybe I'm just stupid. I think what, it is is that just Tom Petty's voice has never changed and it's so iconic with the 70s that no matter what he does

there's just that well this could be from anywhere because he's hit forever one of the funniest things I've seen my friend of mine Ethan S.P. A very young comedian I think he worked with you in Orlando or maybe no he opened for Norman never mind. He was at that fest though but he posted on there he's like go on the

real old white people who's Tom Petty and he was like making a joke but one of the comments he made letter he goes oh wait a minute was he that dude on the documentary I fuck what's the what it was the documentary about M&M and Dr. Dre and Jimmy the defiant ones yeah he was that one on Defy Nix that was

fucking with Stevie Nix for a bit anybody who hit Stevie Nix I fucks with he's like I don't know how anybody held that woman down for more than a month or two no doubt Andy saw Petty at Bonaroo Man you saw him there the later time the first time he came Stevie was with him she came out midway through it

Oh shit I didn't know that literally cried you told me that yeah we've I thought it I mean I thought he sounded fucking great

that time he saw him we weren't really we had just kind of started a date and she like called me from that she was like

I stood out she peed in the field like she because back then you know they changed it to where you can

wait in line for your band that's gonna be on eight hours later yeah right well back then it was just go to the front for the first band

that day and then stay there all day she did that all day to be front row for Tom Petty and she like peed standing

there, which of course she did, and got to see him eight hours later. This obviously don't make his death any more sad for the regular person, but just on a very selfish level, and I know y'all probably feel this way too. He's been brought up a lot over this past almost two years of touring, of like, we have this thing, dear listeners, where we hear somebody that hits for us, and we'll be like, I bet we're drunk, we're like, I bet you we'd hit for them. And what's hilarious is that the further we can climb up the, uh, he'll hear. hit ladder. Sometimes we say that and we do hit for them and we get to meet them and Petty had just started touring. I remember when he just started touring with Stapleton, I was like, or Stapleton

to tour him or whatever. I was like, oh, shit. We've been saying that. This is happening even further proof. I'm going to see this motherfucker. I've got to meet this motherfucker or at least just see him with some hitting tickets. Well, I mean, Tom Petty was. You guys hit for me. Yeah, man. Tom Petty was, you know, proud Southerner. For sure. Yeah. Well, you know what? He was a conflicted Southerner. Yeah, for sure. So speaking of that, yeah, he was proud. in the way that we are proud. Well, that reminds me

Patterson wrote about it in his thing about, he expressed the duality of the South. Now you brought up Patterson, that reminded me something I did want to get into. Our book, which, you know, shameless plug, just the paperback just came out two days ago.

Hold on. If we're getting off Tom Petty, I got no more thing to say. It's not off Tom Petty. The music chapter, we did some lists, and I was conflicted about Tom Petty. And I,

we did a Southern Rock thing, and I didn't mention the heartbreakers. And the reason why is I felt like, They never tried or wanted to be just classified as Southern Rock. One thing I wrote in the book is I feel like we only have a genre called Southern Rock because of Skinner. It was like. Skinner came out and everyone kind of went. And Grand Parsons.

That's like its own thing. Yeah. Well, but there was country rock already. Well, he hated him. Grand Parsons hated them both. Well, I mean, the band hated being called country rock. I didn't include the band because most of them was Canadian. But you can't deny Levan Helms influence on them and, you know, up on Criple Creek.

But they didn't include them because I, because I know they hate them. And they drove old Dixie down, but I know they hated that label. Yeah. And I felt like they superseded it. Whereas Skinnerd was it. Yeah. I also felt like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers rose above that subgenre of rock and became rock god. So I was like it might be insulting.

No, you did the right thing. But it was. But I also wanted, I wanted, because I want, you know, to lay, I want a less to lay claim to some shit. Like Tom Bay of Heartbreakers, that's Jacksonville, Florida's shit, baby. You're 100% right, but you're also right in the sense. of the only way anyone would like if you hear Skinner even if you didn't know what Southern Rock

was you'd be like I think this is that with Tom Petty you'd have to kind of be told because he does seem like a game this don't mean he's putting on airs or nothing but he's such a laid-back cool fucking dude and he's got the goddamn John Denver blonde hair he seems like he's from California and he went there very

early and he made his music there right has a song accents and lines in it go no it's called rebels oh yeah rebels and then the third verse starts, even before my father's father, they called us all rebels while they burned our cornfields and left our cities level and all this

shit. And the course that song goes, I was born a rebel down in Dixie on a Sunday morning, one foot in. You know, so I mean, they're some of it. You're 100% right though. I mean, clearly he transcended that. Did you guys miss with that album that had going back down south on it? It came out and like,

oh, it was good. I'm certain enough. I don't think it was the heartbreaker. I think it was just Tom Petty. but he had that one headed back down south gonna find my old mentors I don't know if I ever not The next line was gonna dress like Samuel Clemens Wear Searsucker and White Lennons

I definitely love that line Because it was just like it was cool to hear Tom Petty Basically being like I'm just gonna go to Oxford And dress different Yeah yeah Well did you ever fuck with any of his mud crutch stuff Yeah a little bit of shit And the Trave on Wilburys by the first mud crutch album

Or well you know The first one that when they got back together Like 10 years ago or whatever it was I thought was fired. They just song on there called The Wrong Thing to Do. That shit is the jam. I got a woman waiting at the top of the stairs. It's the wrong thing to do, but I don't care.

Does it. The guitar hits in. Fucking chorus starts. It's a badass song. And that was like 2008, I don't know, eight or something like that. Man, I just want to hang out with Tom Petty now. I know, dude. I'm super sad.

It was like I said, being selfish. If I thought that would work. Being selfish, we've gotten to this point where it is kind of possible to have at least a chance to meet some of our heroes. And so, Nat, like, we could have fucking done it. And also, he weren't goddamn old. You know what I mean? I mean, he was old. In rock star terms, he was up, you know, like, shout out to Ralphie Mae, by the way, who also died.

But when that happened, you know, everybody's like, you know, what, damn, he was only 45. I said, yeah, but, you know, he was three people or whatever. Like, if you're 45 but weigh the same as three people, I'm not surprised. I'm sad and that sucks, but Liam with Petty, though. Tom Petty also probably during the 70s. He had a terrible cocaine addiction. Partied enough for three people. For sure.

For sure. I'm, he also. Up into the 90s. He also, yeah, later on in life, went through a whole thing with the horse. Yeah. Oh, hair on? He did. He did.

So, I mean, you know. Man. No, it's not surprising, but just like he's 60. That sucks, but that's got to be a good period in your life. I guess it's because, like, most of them do's, like, he, they literally just finished up a three-night stint at the Hollywood Bowl. I know that. Sold out all of them.

They said, right. They were talking about how that Rolling Stone wrote something about some, it's the most fire shows we were Tom Petty's ever done. It's fucking amazing. I didn't. So clearly he was still hitting like a motherfucker. I've been sitting here conflicted so much about whether I was even. going to say this or not, but I'm still going to.

Y'all remember when we were interviewing, well, I'm not going to say who because it's on a later episode that will come out, but we were interviewing somebody for the podcast, and my phone rang, and I said, oh, I'm sorry, I've got to take this, I'll be right back. Yes. It was Rob Thomas, who I'm working with on my show. I took it because I thought something important with the show might have happened or whatever, and that's why I stepped out there. What it really was, was him asking me if I wanted to come over to his place.

they had a limo coming to pick them all up to go to Tom Petty at the Hollywood Bowl with backstage passes and all this shit. And I told him that we had shit lined up for that evening because we did. And we did. And I didn't want to like cancel on people. But I also didn't want to bail on y'all and also my wife and kids and all that. And then it ended up not mattering. And then my fucking guest house flooded right after.

after that. And I didn't know that at the time, but like, you did the right thing. No, he did the wrong thing. That's, yeah, but I, and I can't say, if I was in your situation as much as the show as I am, I'd have done that same shit too. Buddy, I'd have done the opposite. I know I would have. Because I'd have just been like, y'all got to understand. I know Yun's understand. That's true. Actually, if you had to just brought that up, me and Drew both would have said, motherfucker, get out of here right now. Matter of facts, one time, and it might have been to take.

we saw Petty, I was supposed to go to a bachelor party that weekend of Bonnaroo and I got free tickets. Was that the year I got free tickets from Teets? My buddy Teets was like, I want you to go and I got you tickets, just get here. I was like, man, I got this bachelor party and then I was like, listen,

if my friend don't understand that free Bonaroo tickets is better than that, then he ain't really my friend. I was busy all day the next day with some other shit. I don't remember now what it was. See how he's still doing this? This part of the podcast, was cut out. Basically what happened was I yelled at Trey because he holds the microphone like a dumbass and then we had about three minutes of radio silence because he was so goddamn upset at me

for telling him how microphones work. They had to cut it out. So that's going to explain why we just jump back in here all the sudden and it seems like we jumped all over the place. Anyways love you skew. Yeah. Corey. Yes, Trey. I mentioned this earlier and y'all said not to bring it up, but I'm still going to bring it up. Because y'all want to hit, I'm going to... Why not? Okay. I just want to lay this out for you.

And you might have read or heard about this somewhere before. It's a very popular thing, but this is a thought experiment. Okay. You is standing on a railroad track, or you're standing by a railroad track. And ride up to weighs a little bit, it forks. The track forks off two different directions. Trains coming, and the tracks are set. You know, they've got those levers that ship the tracks.

It's always full. Right. So it's called a switch. Okay, the switch is set currently to the train is going to go to the right. Mm-hmm. You see that on the right side, days five fellers working on the track that's got like ear plugs in is looking that way. They don't know the train coming. They're going to get killed.

They're going to get killed. Mm-hmm. On the left side, it's one feller. working on the track who's going to get hit you are standing right by the lever you can make the train turn to the left and hit the one feller or you can do nothing at all and the five fellers will die yeah would you pull the feller easy you pull the lever yeah yeah so i've just murdered this guy well that depends on how you look at it right or i've murder to five people.

Right. Now, let's say there's another version of it. So that's your first answer. Then the follow-up is, let's say now you're on a bridge overlooking a train track. There's no switch. I only said that, by the way, not because it's less people, is because he clearly got no friends. Right.

And why he wants to die. So, fair enough. But there's, now you're on a bridge or something overlooking a train track. There's no fork. There's no switch. But there's five guys working on the track way down the. line. But the train, they're around the curve.

Train, driver can't see him, whatever. There's an old boy up there with you. And if you push him off the bridge into the path of the oncoming train, they'll hit him and throw on the brakes or whatever and they'll stop. Is it my friend? In time to see that guy.

No, it's the same guy. No, just some guy you don't do. No. I wouldn't do. I wouldn't do that. You wouldn't push him off? No. I feel like one, because I feel like one, I can get away with in court.

But that one, there's no fucking way. Let's say I'm telling you right now you're not going to jail for either one. Either way, no, still. Right. It's almost everybody gives the exact same responses to that question. It's more human. Right. You know what I mean?

Like, that's personal. I would never. Yeah. I mean, it is, it is ultimately the same. Right. No way. So, yeah. Well, you answered the way that, in both instances, you answered the way that like 90, whatever

percent of people answer the question, right? And that's been a thought experiment among philosophy majors and shit for years on the subject of morality and that type of thing, right? But it's kind of about to not be a thought experiment anymore. Right. Because we got automated cars coming down the line. What if you said? We're on this train track right now.

I just had to throw Drew off a bridge. Yeah. That's why I said is it tray. We've got self-driving cars coming down the line. If you don't put on the side of that microphone, I'm going to throw him off a fucking bridge anyway. Yeah. There was a part cut out earlier where they bitched to me for talking the side of the microphone. I'd explain that so you don't understand his stupid shitty joke he just made.

Anyway, uh, Corey's now not going to cut it out. Yes, I am. Yes, I was. Oh, absolutely. We paused for like five seconds. Self-driving, whatever. Vehicles. I am.

It sounds shitty. I'm not, and I'm going to have to cut this shit out. y'all don't hit he don't head right i'm trying to engage with you i was hitting self-driving vehicles basically what i just described to you is a thing that they will almost definitely that they'll have to be like programmed to deal with

so it's like some act of god thing happens a fucking deer runs out of it from a self-driving car or whatever something can't be controlled and now it's fucking the wheels out and it's out of control and it's gonna go into a sidewalk with a crowd of people on it or it can make itself, you know, veer the other direction and go off a fucking cliff and just kill the driver. That's a similar type of situation. Most people would say like, yeah, that's what it should do.

But you're the driver. But these car companies have to sell these cars to people and nobody wants to purchase a car that they know will make that kind of value decision about their own life that way. So it's like... Rich people will have a hack immediately. That'll be the first fucking thing they're allowed to have. What I was going to say is like in an instance where like how I would treat the self-driving car, I'm in the back drunk asleep. Right. But like let's say I'm not...

I feel like in these cars it's going to be like I can take over at any point. You know what I'm saying? So that would it... I don't know. I don't know either. No, I actually think that's not the idea. Really? Well, because part of it is like a lot of people have talked about like years down the line,

whenever we're fully automated and all that. There's no more traffic lights, no more intersections, there's no more nothing. You don't even own a car. Because nobody wants a car. Right. And they all just communicate with each other and it's like this network of, you know,

and so if that is what they're aiming for, then I would imagine they can't allow people to take up whatever they want because that'll fuck all that up. You know, this is either going to really help or really hurt. It's Pat Ball Batman. Yeah. Because that could help me out of it. lot because as a pat-ball you get away quicker maybe or it'll hurt you because it's all automated

and you won't understand the new technology that's true and as we said which was y'all's big uh slam against me which is true in a world where that is a thing constant surveillance is going to be even more so i didn't think about that i thought y'all brought it up last time no it got brought up i mean i didn't think about how if we don't own the cars whoever owns them is going to be surveilling the shit out of sure but you think like and one of these companies will probably be on the forefront of jumping into that, but like think about all the shit that that gets rid of, like, you know, taxi services, Uber Lyft, fucking freight companies, obviously.

Truck driving, every single bit of all that shit is gone. And yeah, the car manufacturers and fucking sales. We're about driving a four-wheel drive down to the water and hole and getting some puss on the weekend. Is that still possible? I think that type of thing is all that will remain like niche. You won't be able to get on the road with it. hobby type, right, but it won't be legal taking it on the road, yeah, but you'll still be able to have your old mudder or hot rod or whatever.

It's like a hobby thing, but there'll be laws surrounding it. There will be private roads. I feel like in, and there'll be tracks and shit. In our lifetime at least, like, this shit will happen, but like it'll be a, you get on this and here's this grid for that. Right. But like we'll still. Junior wouldn't be able to win the Winston Cup. Right.

But like we'll still totally, there will be a place where we can get in the South by God, we ain't getting rid of. trucks anytime zone. Maybe an hour like times because the three of us are probably going to die before too awful long for various reasons. That's all I care right up. Dude, that shit is coming a lot faster than people think. I agree. I mean, Google already hates the motherfuckers.

Well, okay. Every test. Civil rights. It's been coming for a while too. But, like, again, like, there's some hold-off places. That ain't, that's different. If we talked about Google on here before and how they freak me the fuck out, Google scares me.

Yeah. Their motto is, don't be evil. Right. If you have to say that, yeah. If you really, you kind of want to be evil. And it says,

don't be. They put it. There's a big signer. There used to be in their headquarters. Is it don't be or is it do no? Either way, buddy. But it's, yeah,

you are not have to say that. Right. Well, I was reading this thing the other day, just in terms of the future, about some of these people, some of these, they call them Silicon Valley philosophers,

and how some of them are really afraid of what they, have now learned about the psychology of apps and how addictive they are. So the pull-down menu on Twitter, that was invented by this dude who had an app called Tweeted or Tweedle. And the only reason he did is he didn't have room on his interface for a refresh button. So he made it to where you can just swipe down the touchscreen. That is one of the most addictive things ever invented in the technology world. Apparently, it's literally a fucking, what they call it in Vegas? Slot because

Are you talking about like when you slide it down to refresh and load more? Yes. And you're on Twitter or you're on Facebook you're waiting on them likes or them retweets

or their notifications to come in. And then the thing I was reading was also talking about how Facebook when they made notifications red, it changed everything. They used to be a blue like a little blue thing popped up but when it was red

they got like super popular because you could see it better and it's an endorphin drip. Anyway, it was talking about like the Russian shit, people hacking elections, fake ads and all that. And this guy was basically talking about how like, it won't be perfect. You can't control a human brain perfectly, but you could create, what was the word for it?

The example they used was bulimia was really, really rare in the 70s. And this dude did a paper on it because he had found like three girls who had it. And when he wrote about it, it got in time magazine. And now it's one of the most common afflictions. Because it wasn't rare, right? People were doing it. No, dude, I read it. that dude's argument was it was rare absolutely people would have

done that to get skinny but they didn't think of it I read in uh and I mean I'm not nationwide or whatever who knows because obviously Hollywood is and always has been its own thing you know fucking Harvey Weinstein well I mean what Weinstein did that happens everywhere too sure but fuck I'm distracting myself

I read in live from New York the oral history Saturday Night Live very popular book you know oh yeah one of them I just Gilda Radner had she was bulimic and in the section where they're talking about that. Yeah. They,

they're all just like, all the women and the men, too, but they're all just like, I mean, yeah, you know, it wasn't a secret.

Like, she didn't hide it from people. She used to openly joke about it. Everybody knew what she was doing and everybody, but we didn't know that was a disease. You're like that it was harmful. It was like, we just didn't know that shit back then.

I just brought it up, though, as an example of a phenomenon where something's not common. And then once it gets attention, it becomes more common because more people, because more people are into it. Another example of that is happening right now, and people on the left don't want to talk about this,

but it's completely true. Transgender is absolutely real. But another thing that's new, that is more common now than it ever was, is teenagers who have fucked up identity issues suddenly saying they're transgender, and then, you know, five years later, after a bunch of therapy, they're like, no, that was...

And I'm not saying a phase. I'm not trying to say people who say their transgender, engine or just going through a phase. I'm saying that the phenomenon of once something gets a lot of attention, people think they have it, like a form of neuroses. Isn't like gluten intolerance the prime example of that? That is a perfect one. Yes.

They're talking about how using the Internet to do that kind of thing. And this thing I was reading anyway, we're fucking way far afield. Yeah, I forgot how we were going on with this. I think about the future not hitting. Yeah, future don't hit. At the same time, future doesn't. I was thinking about, well,

reading that, it made me think of Brave New World. Everyone's always like, we're going to be in 1984, the novel 1984, the government's going to

control everything. But ever since Facebook came out, I always think more of Brave New World, where we're just entertaining ourselves into fucking oblivion. Right, yeah. Well, you think about

self-driving cars while you can sit in the back and scroll on your Facebook. Have you seen Wally? Yeah. I didn't think you really fuck with kids movies that much, but yeah.

I fucks with the ones that have dark themes and make people sad. But at Wally, that's kind of what has happened to human being. Right.

Yeah. Well, I mean, I'm just going to go native like they did in 19 and Brave New World and, you know, just fucking the woods. That'll hit. I will hit. Well, it will hit. So let me ask that this is my favorite word, tangentially related to that. And ostensibly. I was taking that.

Yeah, ostensibly also hits for me. I was taking a poop a minute ago on my phone scrolling through there. I was reading about Marcus Crassus, the wealthiest man. Rome, and some people say maybe the wealthiest man in history. Right. People have estimated he'd be worth over $200-something billion in today's money, right? Gee. Gee, for sure.

But it made me wonder, you know, we've talked a lot about, and I used to kind of have a bit about like, you remember, fuck your butler, Lord Grantham. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, that's a word of pizza from the turlet, you know, or whatever. Yeah. By the past don't hit. Pass don't hit.

Yeah. But it's like being that level of rich in the past versus just like sort of hitting now. We somebody else's past. What would y'all do? Buddy. Oh, that I'd- Me? Come on.

Well, yeah. You were just talking about how he would get terrified. Burn it all and run away. No, I'd rather be rich in the past. I'd rather be rich any time, I guess, obviously. Brother, that's always if you, my fat-ass, like, Marcus Crassuson have air conditioning dog. I know that.

kill me. That's true. But what I'm saying, with an ice block and then someone just blow us in their mouth on you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But he didn't know how hard it hit to be us. We are somebody's vat 2,000 years from now. And it still, it'd be, it hit to be rich right now. That's a really good point. All right. But let me answer you this. And throughout history, was it always? People back then weren't just going, why do we even bother? It's the year one. Of course. I mean. Just walking around like, there's a thing that hasn't been invented that I don't have. I guess I'm going to kill my house. A whole lot of people were absolutely walking around like, God damn none of this.

For sure. For sure. This is the worst. That's all they happen to, though. That's true. But not if you had $200 billion. Right. Here's the thing.

Getting money throughout time. Yeah, but we do know. And I ask you which one you'd rather do. And you do know. Which one I'd have that now or have that then? No, not have it now. No. Be you now or be loaded then.

That's what I was asking. He was like with the, was he alive. He was as loaded as anybody's ever been. But was he alive during the whole like the. Diseases? No, like the gladiator times. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Then that help. Here's what I was going to say. Accumulating money. Just all day. Well, that's what I was going to say. Cumulating money, accumulating wealth, power, land, whatever.

Throughout time, what people who have gotten it? What have they done with it? Yep. They want the best food. Yeah. They want to have the best sex. They want to go to the best places. Now, I'll grant you that, like, if you can fly to Mars in a thousand years,

that's something you literally just can't do now or you couldn't do a thousand years ago. But for the most part, rich people stay doing the same thing. Now, you're saying their lives are what they want them to be. In whatever era. Right. But if I do this, do I have all the knowledge of what I have now, or am I wiped and then I just go back there? Oh, that's a good question.

Because, yeah, if I go. I think it has to be the former because. Otherwise, why wouldn't you? Because, yeah, because you're right when you say they didn't know any better. They had no frame of reference. So that makes it like obvious. Because, man, if I go back there with all these memories and I'm sitting back her hitting but like, I ain't never going to see Marshawn again, you know what you're going to do when your gout flares back up?

Or a new version of your gout. Hold on. I wouldn't have to walk. They're going to be a gladiator. Yeah, but like you, what are you going to go to the herbalist? You know, call the apothecary up here. You're right. What's this in my name?

Also, do they're going to be a gladiator version of Marshawn, and he cuts people's heads off? It's like, well, sir, we could drain some blood from your eyes. I'd miss Isboh. Also, this is an argument I've been making for a while. Promising reports on that treatment. And the NFL is not regressive. It's super progressive. Because back in the day, the people who, like, crashed their bodies and into each other for entertainers literally were slaves.

Literally, we're slaves, and now they're millionaires. Yeah. I guess, though, that's like, that's the argument. That's what I'm going to say. I guess that's the argument that they are. slave still. Back then they died immediately. Now it's just they shoot themselves after years of brain injury. But their kids get you know good education. Trust funds and shit like that. Yeah for sure. Well I'm

just saying I'm not saying it's good. I'm just saying we've done better. I would say that yes you could make the argument that the NFL is better than the Roman glad airs. Yeah. Then Nero's what he had going on there. Yeah. I used to be trying to do a joke. No, I know what you're saying. That I couldn't get to work where I would be like now the worst thing the NFL does is like, oh, no, the fucking cowboys are playing the Redskins. The Redskins is offensive. It's like back then we used to actually own Redskins and make them die.

But I guess that's not, you know, everybody knows that. Yeah. And also, I mean, if you don't want to play in NFL, you don't have to. Back then, like, by God, it's either you don't want to be gladiator, cool. Like, cut your fucking head off and, you know, put olive oil in your skull. Sometimes I'm making arguments. And everyone's like, yeah, but we all know, man. I've been, buddy, I've been doing that shit my whole life.

One of the recent episodes you're talking about how I say everything as though you don't understand what I'm saying or what I'm talking about. Right. Fucking always been that way, man. Just comes from, you know, having stupid friends. Yeah, I've done it too. That's so funny. You said that? I could see that you didn't want to say it and I had to.

That's so funny. being the smart kid in a place like Salina or Sunbright, which is a very smart kid way of saying I had stupid friends. We just came from Cedar Rapids where Jake grew up. Remember Jake from Boston? He used to tell us this stuff. We would be out in law school and he'd be like, we'd be like, yeah, you're going on with that girl tonight or whatever it was?

And he'd be like, no. And he would lie to us about anything for no reason. And we would just be like, and then one day I said that to him. I go, Jake, you're used to being the smartest one of your friends, aren't you? Like, and that has. It has a very noticeable effect on people. Right. What are you doing with this shit?

You know? Well, I guess that's my version of it is I'm always just like, you know what, man? The NFL's better than gladiators, God damn it. When you think about it. Apples and rape. I'm so stupid. Apples and grapes is what they ate when they murdered people by cutting their throat. You said rape, right?

I did say rape. not rape. You said rape though, right? I said apples and rape because that's what got done to him if they didn't want to be a gladio. Oh, hell. Yeah.

That's what it would have been like to live back then. Yeah. You know how crassus made his wealth? How? He's had fire brigades and somebody's house shit start burning. His fire brigade people show up,

be like, all right, we'll put this fire out for X number of dollars. They'd be like, no, that's what? I don't have that. Well, okay, how about this? Well, what? Can't you just put the fucking fire? Give me something.

It's like, no, you're at least having to give me that. Anyway, the whole thing burns down. And then Crassus comes in and says, hey, I buy that burn down shit from you for 50 gold buttholes or whatever when it had been worth a whole lot more. And then they were like, okay, because I'm about to starve to death because the past don't hit. Is that where the term crass came from? Brother Crass? Rather crass. Actually, yeah.

Really? Is that also where, you know. Yes. Social democracy comes from. Think about that. You don't have insurance. Right. A fucking government-backed fire department.

Right. This is the smartest I felt in a long time. Some people, uh... Thank you, buddy. Or, well, I forgot I was going to say. Anyway, yeah, you hit by the hood. Well, that's fucked up. Yeah, he was cold.

I mean, but also, you know, pretty smart. So, uh... So, anyways. Yeah. this this week sorry it just got weird Drew was doing some type of

crab push-ups is hot is that what that's called crab push-ups we got distracted his wall push-ups okay he looks like a crack did he not look like a crab he do he do

we got to do a show I got to get woke up I heard that sorry yeah we can call this wrap me out okay this week unless

the audio court can't get to hit for some reason in which case he'll cut this part out but it's going to hit, it's going to be fine. It's a good interview. Audio better hit.

This week's interview is just me talking to myself by how much I hit. You're going to love it. Yeah, well, it's just me. Our fans are about to jack off. No, it's just me in L.A. at the time, Corey and Drew weren't in town. So it's just me sitting down with Paul Janeway, who is the singer and frontman of the unbelievable blues rock soul outfit out of Alabama called St. Paul in the broken bones.

He was in town to do a show, and I met up with him at his hotel room there in Los Angeles, and he's an Alabama boy, and I'm a Tennessee boy, so that led to some early initial tension, as it often does. Yeah. But it ended up being really hitting conversation, and he's definitely cut from the same cloth that we are in a lot of ways, so I think that y'all will enjoy it. Please, please, please, dig on this here interview with Paul Janeway, and make sure you keep coming back and hitting with us here on the well-read podcast.

See y'all next time. Well, well, well. I wish this had been working. It's true. It is a, yeah, masturbating bed and sleeping bed. That's it. We usually get a whole separate room for that. I like an audience.

Yeah, well, what do you, how long are you here for? We're in a universal. city, the valley, you know, northern part of L.A. right now. How long have you been here? You were here yesterday. I was here yesterday. We're doing writing stuff in a studio in L.A. Okay. And do that today and then show tomorrow. Yeah, so I'm here four days. So you leave on Thursday? Friday. Okay. I'm literally the only day this week that I'm not here is tomorrow, which sucks. Because I've actually I've never seen y'all live. I live streamed one of your Bonaroo performances a couple years ago, and it seemed awesome.

It was all. That was a good show. I would, I really wish I was going. It's at the Hollywood Bowl, right? It is at the Hollywood Bowl. It's big time, buddy. Yeah, that's awesome. It's pretty cool.

Yeah, I'll be in Conway, Arkansas, so, you know. Where the hell is Conway Arkansas? It's right outside Little Rock, but that's what I said, too. I'm at some liberal arts college there, Hendricks College. That's cool. Yeah, so, but I'm going into Marcos. and then I'll be back Thursday, so I'm just gone long enough to miss your show, which really sucks. But anyway, I know you'll kill it.

I actually haven't even been in the Hollywood Bowl period since I live out here. I moved here in January. Yeah. And I've never even been there. Everybody tells me it's one of the things that actually lives up to the... Yeah, I mean, I think for me, it's one of those places that you like... For sure. Kind of dream to play.

Right. And the Beatles played there. Right. Oh, yeah, man. So it's like, it's one of those weird things where you're just kind of like, all right, that'd be, you know, that's pretty awesome. I think what's bizarre for me is they typically have like a little more classier stuff than what.

Right. Oh, oh shit, whatever. And so I think that's kind of really, like they do like jazz series and things like that. So I'm like, all right, cool.

Yeah, they do. But I mean, hell, you're pretty classy. You're a classy feller. I guess so. Yeah. I think the music is classy too,

you know, as far as I'm concerned. So moving towards that, But the first question I have to ask, the most important question I'm going to ask you today. Are you an Alabama fan? Yeah, we're all right. Yeah, I knew it. God damn it.

I'll tell you how bad it is. Tell me how bad it is. I'm named after Paul Bear Bryant. Really? Really? I have two sons. My five-year-old son's middle name is Neeland. Oh, New England State.

Yeah. Oh, boy. Well, this is going to get interesting. I know. Yeah. Well, that's why I had to ask, because I assume, because you're from Birmingham or the Birmingham area. I'd say Birmingham because nobody knows where the hell Chelsea, Alabama. Right.

Well, I mean, I'm the same way, except I don't even, there's no Birmingham. I'm two and a half hours from Knoxville, Nashville, Nashville, Chattanooga, wherever is where I grew up. It's called Salina, Tennessee. Oh, okay. My wife's from Bristol. Okay, yeah, yeah. I'm like up on that northern part of the state, but west, like basically right between Nashville and Knoxville and up on the Kentucky line. Okay.

My dad's from Middlesbrough. Okay. Which is right there at the Cumberland. Yes, yeah. Anyway. Right. Yeah, yeah. So, anyway, yeah, rural Alabama.

So I figured, I mean, I figured it was either Roll Tide or War Eagle. Right. I wanted to get it out there. Just a second time. I can't help it. That's the one thing I was. I know you were born into it. I was born into it.

All the people. I know so many sons of bitches in Tennessee that are, you know, big roll tiders. And that shit just drives me insane. I'm like, where does this come from? But it's a good thing y'all's, My guy's an elephant because I don't think any other animal can pull your bandwagon. Well, that's okay. You're legit, though.

You're head to tell you. Well, I can't help. Yeah, I can't help that. Yeah. I did, do you know, I was wondering this when I was reading the Wikipedia earlier. So Al Gamble, who's in your band. Yeah. Is he related to Chad Gamble that's in Isbell's band?

That he is. That's his brother. That's their brothers. Their brothers. They figured they might be. Well, anyway, Chad, I did, I opened for, them, Jason in the 400 unit at the House of Blues in Anaheim in Las Vegas. Yeah.

And I have this joke in my act that basically boils down to, you know, if one of my sons turns out to be gay, that's totally fine as long as he's not a goddamn Alabama fan. Pretty much. Like, that's like the point of it. And Chad Gamble, he told me, you know, after the show, you know, he told me he liked all of it except for that part. He's like, I didn't really appreciate the Alabama part, you know. It's like, you need to watch it with that shit. Well, I take an instructor, because, I mean, I don't even really consider Tennessee arrival now. God damn it.

Yes. I mean, you know. Oh, I know exactly what you mean. I know, I don't, I mean, I usually just barbecue. Don't even watch the game anymore because I don't have to worry about it. All right. Yeah, this is going to be a short interview. No, I mean, you're right.

What can I say? Man, last season, my wife, so I was touring very heavily. the fall. We had a book come out and we were like trying to push that and everything. I wasn't home very much last fall. I happened to be home on the third Saturday in October, which, and this was in Knoxville. So I moved out here. I lived in Knoxville. I started coming in Knoxville. I lived there for seven years. My wife surprised me with like 50 yard line front row tickets to the game. Yeah. And as soon as she showed them to me, I felt so bad about this, but as soon she showed them to me,

I was just kind of like, ugh, like that. She was like, what? You know, she was expecting me to be just thrilled.

And I was like, I know exactly how this shit's going to go. And it did. And there's a pretty awesome panoramic picture of, she took a panoramic picture of Neeland Stadium where we were sitting, and it's absolutely amazing. And the very bottom right picture is me looking like I'm about to cry because of the context of the actual game at the time.

So anyway, yeah. I figured that that would be the case, but I wanted to make sure. So you grew up, what was the name of the town? Chelsea, Alabama. Chelsea? Chelsea? Chelsea. So geographically, where is that?

It's about, I'd say, 45 to an hour south. Now, where I grew up was, like, further in to the woods, but south of Birmingham. Okay. So it was a crazy place. When I was there, it was about 800 people. Right. That's about the size of my home. Yeah, and now it's what's crazy is this Birmingham keeps kind of growing out.

And I think it's about, I want to say, last I heard, there's 8,000 people now. Really? Really? Just from Birmingham? Yeah, it's one of the fastest growing counties in the country. I can't even imagine how much it must have changed in that amount of time. Now it's like suburbia? Yeah, it's a bit suburban now, which is so weird because, like, growing up, like, there was a feeding seed and a,

red light and that was it yeah now it's like i go back and i mean i don't it's not like i don't my parents don't live or my mom doesn't live there anymore um but uh well i'd go when i go back or drive through it i'm just like god damn like what's happened yeah that's insane i can't even imagine my like i mentioned earlier salina is it's not close enough to any major city to ever be enveloped that way right so that is not going to happen to us but uh i can't even imagine you know how wild that would be to see that happen to salina. It also is about, it's like around 1,000 people in the actual town. And so I know how small and rural that is.

You said, y'all had a red light. That's uptown shit. Right. I'm concerned. We don't have a single red light in the whole county. But anyway, so yeah, I'd imagine that is pretty wild. But what, so what year did you graduate? High school?

That's a funny question. Okay. Well, why didn't mean for it to be a funny question? That's a funny question. Well, so for me, it was supposed to be 2002. Okay. But I did not like school so much. Okay.

So I had to go to summer school and then had to take a class at the University of Alabama to get my damn high school diploma. Okay. In 2003. You got it in 2003? Well, that's not too far behind. Well, you laughed at that. I thought you were like still taking night classes. No.

Well, you know what I'm not. It was one of those funny things, though, because, you know, like, you know, it was one of those times were, like, my parents were going through a divorce, and I just did not give a shit about school. Yeah. You know? Yeah, I hear you. So I was just like, fuck, I'm just going to, you know, just didn't care. And so, like, then my dad was like, my dad works for an asphalt paving company.

Okay. And he was like, well, if your ass isn't going to college, you're going to learn. You're going to do this? You're going to do this. Yeah. So, you know, I was a go for it, a mechanic shop for. for a long time and worked on the row cruise. At what point did you find music while you were going through that tough time?

Or was it kind of always there? I always sang. I mean, I'm sure this is probably similar to you. Like the church was the epicenter, social epicenter. Yeah, it was. And actually that, I mean, where I'm from, that's absolutely the truth. One of the things that makes me very, very different from, the people I grew up around

and like even then was that I wasn't raised in the church. My dad my parents are also divorced. My dad pretty much raised me and my dad's brother, his only sibling, his brother is gay. Which I think is why my dad never really messed with the church.

Sure. Because his brother's gay and I don't know about the church you grew up in, but the church is up there was very stereotypically Fire and Brimstone about gays. And so I think for that reason my dad didn't go that way and because of that, me and my sister didn't like grow up in church. And again, that always made me very much so an odd duck.

And like the guys I tour with Corey and Drew, they're always, they make like Bible jokes and stuff like that. And like I don't even get them. Like the other night they were making some joke about, I'm about to butcher this, but about two dudes in a billy goat, Meshach, Mishak, and a Bidney goat. Is it Meshach, Ratchack, and a Bednego? Yes. But they were saying both their preachers, like hundreds miles apart, instead of a beddingo, they said a billy goat. Like, as like a joke that was like the clat, whatever.

And they were like going back and forth about the other night. And I was like, what? That's not real. That's real? You know, like I've never even heard of that. So it is all, even though I come from a place like that, so I have this like familiarity with it. And I know how much it's a thing. It also still is all kind of super alien to me.

Right. But I know that your story in terms of music and in the church is very, very much so a southern, you know, thing. Like, that's a lot of people's experience. There's an area of my hometown called Pea Ridge where, like, in my hometown, that's like, that's the redneck part. You know what I mean? Like, that's the dueling banjo's part of town or whatever. Right. And, but the other thing about those people that everybody knows is they all can sing like angels.

They all sing in church and stuff. And it's like they're all very musical people. But they're also, you know, the biggest hillbillies in town or whatever. So it's a thing. But anyway, so that was your experience, I take it. You grew up in church and you were singing in church from like, from how old are we talking about? I mean, my first solo was at four years old. Holy cow.

I've got a four-year-old. I can't, dude, I can't even hardly get him to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star without throwing the word. butt into it 15 times. Twinkle, twinkle, little bud, how I wonder what you butt. Seriously, that's what he does. I can't imagine getting him up on stage

and doing a solo at his age. That's insane. When I was four years old, do you remember it? I did, vaguely. I did, he's got the whole world in his hands. Okay.

But I think, you know, as time has gone on, I've kind of realized that, like, I really love the performance aspect of it. Right. And, but no, I sing in church, but I mean, my family, like, my family, like, making money in music was not, believe me. Not an option.

Believe me. I get it. That's the same way for me, except it was, you know, comedy. Right. But it was the same thing. But I didn't grow up, you know, telling dick jokes in church. You know what I mean? Like, I'd never even, I'd never even step foot on a stage.

I mean, there's always a good dick joke in church. Obviously, yeah. I'm sure they crush in the right circles. but I so I mean I wasn't even doing it like you were doing it so but I would just say like yeah I want to be a comedian and I want to you know

work in show business and all this stuff and it was my you know my dad was always supportive just because he was supportive of me and whatever but everybody else was always like because I made good grades like that and that was like my ticket out of there so they were like

no you can you can get out you can be a doctor you can be a lawyer that was always the conversation I'd be like, well, I think I want to be a comedian. They were like, what? No. What is, no, please don't do that. You know what I mean?

Right. Like, because it's not, that's not real. That's not a real thing where I'm from. You know, like, they know that people do that, but it's not something that somebody from Salina can do. Right. You know what I mean? Well, and I think, I think that was a situation, so I never even thought.

Right. So people are like, oh, you know, you just, you, that's what you grew up. Like, and I was like, no, I didn't, not once did I ever think, oh, you know what, I'll be making a living at this one. one day. Right. I thought, what I thought, honestly, is I thought, oh, I'll get my own church one day and be a preacher.

And that's really kind of the, when I was younger, I was about eight years old, nine years old, there was a preacher that came in and kind of took me under his wing and kind of of was like, you know, kind of teaching me how to, you know, preach to a crowd and I say a crowd, 80 people, you know, something like that, you know, but learning how to- I mean, that's a lot, especially for you're eight years old. Yeah, but learning how to do that. kind of thing. And so I, you know, that's, that was, that was the dream as a kid. So I was like, anytime it's, it is odd, because anytime the church stores were open, I was in them. And I never

went through that like crazy, I mean, I guess school was kind of it, you know, but I never went to that crazy, like, I've never, like, I've never drank alcohol. I've never, you know, I've never, you know, I've never, you know, done any left-handed cigarettes, you know, I haven't, you know, I'm just, really, to this day? To this day. And so it's a bizarre thing. that now i mean now it's not a moral thing now it's just like an expense thing yeah you know i was like well you know i'm you know i'm 33 now so why why in the hell what i mean i agree you've made it this far hell why you know so i mean the guys loved me because i was the designated driver i bet yeah good to have one of you around i never i've never had that and uh yeah i'm uh

yeah well i know but a hell good good on you seriously because i'm at a point now not for like you know, I haven't been waking up in ditches or nothing, but like I'm just, I'm getting, and you, I realize can't even relate to this, having not ever drank or anything, but I'm just in a position where, because I'm 31, I'm a couple years younger, but we're around the same age. And that's, that's not old. I'm not saying that's old, but I'm already reaching a point where, like, it's just not worth it to me physically. Right. The drink and, like, the way that I feel is so much insanely shittier than it was when I was, like, in my early 20s or whatever. some of the guys i have hangovers nailmen that last days day the last bonner i went to took me a full week seven full days to get over it and i'm not kidding and so like i'm going through a thing now

we're like i'm you know cutting back on drinking right and it's most of the time it's fine but still sometimes you know especially on tour on the road like i'm not all i'm trying to say is uh good for you i'm i'm envious i wish i didn't even have that uh you know that inclination it is bizarre though the people i mean especially in you know i mean comedy's the same thing oh yeah in our business like it's it's rare it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's fascinating and then i'm just like i just never i mean and i mean i'm glad now you know but but uh but you know when i was younger it was moral reasons but i never went through that phase as a kid which i thought was i think it's bizarre maybe when i hit 50 i'm just gonna go just crazy um well i

I mean, I never, I mean, honestly, I never did either. I mean, like, I was drinking and doing shit, but like, like I said, I didn't have the more, I mean, you know, my daddy, my grandpa, I come from a long line of drinkers. Right. But, again, not like violent, you know, abusive drunks, but drinkers, you know, the men of my family drank. And so drinking wasn't rebellious for me. It was like a birthright. You know what I mean? So that's what my dad, my dad, you know.

You know, my dad's dad was, you know, I think was pretty, pretty tough. Yeah. So my dad didn't really drink. Right. And he, you know, he said, you know, he said, you know, he said, you know, the last time he had to pull his dad naked out from the yard to put him in the trailer, he was like, I was, I was like, I'm never in my life going to do it. I mean, you know, I totally. And that's what I'm saying. Like, my dad, my dad ain't perfect, but that's something I'm like, man, he didn't, I mean, I, I mean, it wasn't around.

So, I mean, you know, kudos to them, at least on that stuff. For sure. Well, because it goes. I feel like it goes one of two ways with that in your dad's situation, not yours. But for people like your dad, it seems like it either goes do what he did or just followed that same trail. You know what I mean? Like go down the same road. Right.

It seems like it's usually one or the other. And, you know, I took the path most traveled by, probably, I think, and just also took up drinking. But anyway, yeah. I said, I'm trying to, you know, drop it now mostly just for health and wellness reasons. Well, I mean, I drink a lot of Coca-Cola. That's my... Buddy, that's my vice. Yeah, that's a hell of a vice. Yeah. Because that should... See, I quit drinking that at like 14 to lose weight. And it worked like a charm, by the way. I lost like 35 pounds just from quitting sodas. And I know I would

the moment that I quit doing it. But it's just one of those weird... A man's got to have something. You got to have some vice. Now everybody can be Tom fucking Brady. The guys in a band are like, don't stop that because if you stop that, I got to stop drinking. Right, yeah. If you don't even drink Cokes. Yeah.

So I was like, so that's my one vice. But yeah, so, you know, it is bizarre, though, because I didn't go through that stage as a kid. But kind of when I hit about 18 or so is when I was like, man, you know, they talk about a lot about love and all this stuff. like, and yet, you know, they hate, you know, like gay people are awful and all that kind of kind of shit. So I went through this really weird phase where I kind of fell out of love with church and was just like, man, I don't, I don't agree with this. Well, I was going to ask you. I mean, I definitely wanted to get to that and find out if what you just described had ever happened if you'd ever reached a point. Because I don't know. I mean, obviously, you know, I mean, I'm a fan. I dig y'all's music. And I had heard you grew up singing in church and I'm not surprised by that. You could tell by listening.

but I definitely, one of the curiosities I had was with what your current relationship was with it and how that had transpired. So was there like a certain watershed moment for you where a specific thing happened that you're like, wait a minute, this don't feel right to me? Or was it a very gradual thing? It was gradual, I think, because like when I was in high school, you know, I hung out with, yeah, I guess kind of the, I don't want to say, I guess the outcast, they weren't popular kids. But I kind of was just like, you know, that's just kind of where I fell. And not that I was, you know, unpopular or whatever. I was kind of a loner in law. I am still kind of a loner.

But I just, I was just like, man, you know, some of them were gay and some of them, you know, had, you know, with dealing with all sorts of things. And I just thought, I was like, man, like, these are good people. Right. Why are we, you know, why is this a whole situation? Like, if you approach things, which I struggle with nowadays, you know, with the current climb is like approaching things from love, from an aspect of love. And that's a difficult thing to do.

And I just, I just had such a disagreement. I remember having a conversation with the preacher. And, um, he told me Gandhi was in hell. And I was just like, man, right, that guy's in hell. Because he's not a, he wasn't a Christian. Because he didn't know Jesus. Right. Yeah, exactly.

And I was, and so I struggled with that and struggled. And finally just like, you know, my parents, you know, my parents divorced, like, they quit going to church as much. And so just kind of for me, it was just like I just fell out of love with it. And then, like, over time, you develop a lot of venom, especially when you grow up in that environment. I'll do my other, one of my guys, Drew, his dad's a preacher, like, and Drew grew up in it. He's not a singer, but he was very, you know, president of the FCA, all that shit. Right, right.

Very heavily involved in it, had a similar experience, as you've described. And then he developed a lot of venom. He is actually your age. He also, class O2, y'all are the same age. he is now, because he's a natural contrarian, Drew has now, like, he still doesn't go to church or whatever, but because he got sick and tired of the venom from the other side, like, toward the church, that he's now, like, he's still not down with it, but he's, like, kind of naturally defensive about it. So, like, he's been all over the mat.

I think it's a thing like, look, I can be venomous toward them, but you can't. You know what I mean? Like, it's my church. You can talk bad about your own sister, but nobody else can talk bad about it. It's that kind of thing, I think. It is. And so, as over time has kind of gone. on, you know, I'm not a religious person now, but, you know, my wife's Episcopalian, and she is, she really has kind of like, help me kind of be like, all right, look, there are terrible things that happen, and there's good people in all religions, and so you have to figure that out.

Because she actually is the associate director of an honors program at a university in Birmingham, and so she deals a lot with service. and trying to teach you smart kids about service and what true poverty in the States looks like. And so it's really, so that's, she's, you know, I mean, honestly, like, that's really kind of what changed things for me is just kind of been like, all right, you know, I'm not, I'm not as venomous as I used to me. Well, I'm not going to, I'm going to go ahead and tell you, I'm not going to have a follow up to this because it's not going to mean much to me. But what denomination were you? Like what? It was non-denominational. It was charismatic.

So, like, you're speaking in tongues. Really? Yeah, and, like, healing and all that good stuff. Really? Really. Like, the whole, like. The whole thing. Yeah, the whole thing.

You grew up in that kind of church? Oh, buddy. That's wild. Did y'all handle snakes and shit? No, no, no, that's, that's too far, man. I know. What are you talking about? Yeah.

That's crazy. We ain't crazy. We're not crazy. But, no, that's, you know, there is, in Sand Mountain in Alabama, there is a place that does handle snakes still. But, no. It was weird. Like, the church, you know, when I first started going there, the church was, it was, it was charismatic, but not. And then, like, a preacher came in and it changed.

It changed into that. And so that's kind of what I grew up around. And, uh, and I, man, I dated a girl one time. And they were doing, uh, they were casting out demons. Yeah. And you talk about some scary shit. I bet. It's still like, it's still like, like, they talk about, I was like, man, there's kids in there seeing this.

Like, that stuff still haunts me. I'm sure. You know? And so, but yeah, but I never, I never actually, it was someone, someone asked the question not long ago, like, did you ever actually speak in tongues? And I never actually did. My mom and dad were, they were still trying to, they're like, you know, they're still trying to figure it out.

And then that was about the time they started, you know, going through divorce town. And so it was a, it was a weird thing. But, I mean, I knew people that did, and they believed firmly by it. And I saw, and I think the bizarre thing for me was, I saw people who had, you know, real sickness get healed. And I also saw people who had sickness who died thinking they didn't have enough faith to get healed, which I think. Right. To me, anybody that preaches that kind of stuff.

Right. You're far below any prostitute that is on the planet because I think that's so wrong. Oh, I agree. I mean, that person just go into their grave thinking like they've tried their best and their God is, they're not enough for them or whatever. Yeah, and that's terrible. Yeah, that's pretty messed up. Pretty messed up. But, but, but you saw, what kind of illnesses did you say, like a sinus infection got cleared

up? I saw, I did see. I did, there was a woman with like legit cancer that, that, that really, that got better. I'm not kidding. And so that, but also the thing is, like you read up, it's like, you know, there is like a mentality, like mind over matter type thing. Yeah. I mean, that's what the placebo effect is, basically.

Yeah. Like, you get people just sugar pills and it'll end up. weird. I mean, you know, hell yeah, it's weird. Like, all right. I mean, I'm real skeptical about this, but this did happen, but I mean, but there was, the problem was there was plenty of people, you know, and they preach about prosperity and how God is, you know, you're supposed to be rich and all this stuff.

And I was just like, see, how does that work? Like, again, if somebody didn't grow up in it, I thought it was pretty, Jesus was pretty explicit on that whole point. So, you know, the whole camel through the eye of the needle thing. Right. flipping the tables of money changers and all that stuff. See, I know a little bit. No, yeah, you got it.

You basically have it all down. But I don't, yeah, we don't, but. So where does that, what you just said? Prosperity. Yeah, how does that, how do you get there from? It's so bizarre. It is, it is, it is a reach for sure. But what happened is what some of the, the ideology,

some of the kind of, I guess the theory behind it is that when, when Jesus passed away, and then came back that he instilled in all of us, you know, we have the, the goal is to be, to be Jesus, you know,

is to be more like that. And so you possess these gifts and these, and one of the things that they say is that you just accumulate good, like good vibes, basically. And so you can accumulate riches and things like that. And it's, you're supposed to,

because Jesus did that, that you're supposed to experience some of heaven on earth. earth. And so the theory behind that is that, well, being rich and, you know, and all that is part of that. It's so bullshit, but it's, it is, but I mean, it is crazy. Well, so what about just to circle back a little bit? You said you never spoke in tongues or whatever, but how is that, like, is the idea that you're overcome and it just starts happening, like it just starts coming out of you like it's involuntary or like or or what yeah well i mean there's there's different and even in speaking in tongues there's different things some people believe that you you can pray

in tongues right and that that's a there's different levels of speaking in tongues um biblically though i mean the bizarre thing is biblically it does talk about speaking or you know really paul talks about speaking in the language of angels and that's what it's supposed to be Okay. And in that, they're supposed to be, and like it just hits you. It's like, it's like praying really hard or something to go, ah, you know. And then they're supposed to be like an interpreter and someone who's interpreting this language or whatever. And it's something, but, yeah, I mean, that is, there is biblical basis on that.

Right. And that's where I, that's the only time that when someone's like, that's crazy, that's not, and I was like, it's in the Bible. Yeah. It is there. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of crazy shit in the Bible. For sure. But it is there.

And just how you interpreted it out. So did you start, I know you said when you were about 18 or 19, you started questioning the whole thing. Had you already put aside the, I'm going to be a pastor stuff before that? Or did that happen? That was about the time. And so then you, well, then where did your head go after that? Because you're like, oh, damn. I should have.

I should have paid more attention in math class. I should. I should have paid a deal. Just speaking tongue stuff. It's a crazy journey, man. I first, bizarrely, I was, I was, my dad, my dad luckily, he had a, he had a two-bedroom apartment and we were, it was like three of us living in that place. And I didn't have a car, so I'd have to, I worked at a tanning salon. Really?

That I could walk to. Doing what? I just like, clean the beds and like, you know, and, you know, old women come out. like, I don't know how this thing works. You come in there and like, oh, let me show you, ma'am, put clothes on. Because you're not what I would call bronzed. I am as white as it is. I mean, we have that in common.

Yeah, you know, I'd freckle up. But anyway, but yeah, I did that. And then my dad was like, you know, he's like, well, I think I could probably put a good word in for you. You know, would you, you know, for work at a mechanic shop as a gopher? So I just go get parts and cut the grass, work on the crew. My favorite thing I'd get to do is I got the escort, the big. old trucks. Uh-huh.

And that's really where I, because until then, I'd only listen to like real gospel music and a little bit of soul music. That was it. It's all I grew up around. And that's when I really, I'd get on those trips and I'd just download, you know, all this music illegally. Yeah, yeah, you know. Well, I mean, we all did for why.

I mean, people of our, our generation especially. I can't, I would be a hypocrite if I'd sitting here going, I couldn't afford it. But I would load up. I had a little iPod and I'd load that thing up and just go down. You know, we'd go all the way from North Alabama to South Alabama. And I'd just listen to music. So what, how, first, A, what kind of music are we talking about? B, how did you find it in the first place if all you'd ever had was this stuff?

Like, what was your... I mean, obviously the internet. You know, you start like going, all right, well, you know, and then I just, I just... I mean, I started off of like something like Tom Waits. Yeah, okay. Which was bizarre. Yeah. And I just, you know, I was like, well, and it just kind of spiraled down.

And so I went everywhere because I felt like I was playing ketchup. Oh, right. I'm sure. Yeah. You know what I mean? So I was like, man, all right, well, I got to listen to the Beatles. Man, I'm, hell, I'm actually kind of ambitious of that too. That's wild being like an adult or some type of adult.

But you're like 19, whatever. You're not really an adult. But you're not a kid either. Not four years old. And hearing all that shit for the first time, I bet that was wild. It was wild. And so, you know, they're still, and so just playing catch up. So I just got, and to this day it's that way.

I mean, I just anything, anything that makes me just kind of go, oh. And luckily now I got, you know, got good friends who are, I think, have pretty good taste of music. And so they kind of, it is kind of fun getting curated that way. But I don't pretend to know everything about it because I don't. Right. And so then, yeah, I would do that. And then when the economy went to shit, I lost my job. so I was on unemployment for like two years that's one they kept like renewing it and I was like

all right yeah yeah yeah I remember and uh and but then I was like then met a girl and who's my wife now and uh she was really smart and she she was she we started kind of dating and then she got a scholarship to go to Georgetown to get her masters in D.C and I was like man I got to do something you know so I decided well I'm going to go I'm going to go to college. Okay. I'm a late bloomer. I'm still, you know, I'm living in my dad's two-bedroom apartment.

Right. And so all the meantime, I'm still playing music. And I meet Jesse, who's our bass player in that process. And we just kind of hung out and played music, and I still did it, but I never really thought, I mean, there wasn't a lot of bands, to be fair from Birmingham who had, like, made a career out of it. So it wasn't something. So we just did it for fun.

But all in that time, I'm going. I get a job at a sporting goods store. I'm going to community college. And then I get in accounting school at UAB. And I'm in accounting school. And then me and Jesse make this recording for this band. And it just kind of took off. And you said to hell with his numbers.

I was like, I'm done. I don't have to, yeah, I don't have to do. You know, it helped us early on in this band. Yeah, I bet, yeah. But so it was, it's so some interesting, like, journey getting here. Well, man, damn, good for you. Why was it accounting in the first black,

because I thought, practical? Yeah, practical. Right, I get to that. I wasn't bad at it. Yeah. You know, and I thought, you know, I thought, well, accounting, you can get a job when the economy's bad and when it's good.

Everybody needs an accounting. I actually got an MBA for the exact same reason as just practical. Because like, you know, my whole thing is being a liberal redness. neck. Right. When people find out I have an MBA, they're like, that's neither liberal nor redneck. You know what I mean? And I'm like, yeah, I know, but it was practical.

Right. Because I, well, but I knew I wanted to ultimately be a comedian, whatever else. So I just wanted a degree that would help me get, like you said, get a job. Like, no matter what was going on, get a job. So I got like a business degree. That's what I was thinking at that point. I wasn't thinking, oh, well, you know what? I'll be traveling the world playing in a band.

Yeah. I was thinking, well, man, I really like this girl. Yeah. settling down and I mean godly I got to prove myself a little bit yeah hurt when her parents first met me they cried I'm not I'm not kidding because they're like sorry no I believe you yeah because they were like I had a hole in my shirt and like I was not and they're like what's you do is she's like hey he's just he's just on unemployment he's living with his dad getting unemployment and they're just I mean they're and they're great people yeah really are some of the best people I know yeah you're like they

weren't wrong. I mean, they weren't wrong. Yeah. But, uh, but, uh, but, they're all just, you know, getting a scholarship to Georgetown. And I'm like, well, and they're just, it was, uh, I mean, they love me now, but it was really funny, like, and so.

Hell yeah, I bet that. But I, but I kind of thought, I was like, man, I got to. Yeah. Get my life in order. I totally get that. I keep, uh, I keep referencing the other two, you know, my co-hosts who aren't here, but Corey Forrester has, he's in kind of, he would totally relate to that because it was kind of similar situation for him and his,

fiance when they first got together. So your wife, she's not, is she musical at all? Is she in music at all? Not really, no. She finds the whole music business kind of interesting. So how does she, well, see, I'm, my wife is not in show business at all and not a comedian of any kind of whatever. My wife's an academic.

Right, yeah. So. Well, so how does she, I don't know, how does she feel about all this stuff? Like, I mean, obviously, I'm sure she's super supportive and all that, but still like, sure. Well, I mean,

that's, that's why I think it's crazy. Like when she, I mean, she first met me to now. Yeah. You know what I mean? And so for her,

like, the plan was like, all right, going to accounting, we're going to do the nine to five thing and like live this life. And I, which I wasn't like,

oh, I'm going to be so unhappy. Um, but then it turned into this. And so she's, she's great, man. I mean,

she, I think for her, I think the, the best thing for us, And I don't know what your situation is, is that she has the thing that she does. And I have the thing that I do. And, like, we're not trying to get in each other's way to, you know, like, but, you know, we love each other dearly. And, I mean, I'm not, I mean, I'm not a part of year.

You know, I don't go out. So it's kind of one of those things. Like, you don't have to be like, well, you know, that kind of thing. It's 2 a.m. Where's Paul's ass? Yeah, where's Paul? Yeah. You know, I'm usually in my bunk reading a book.

Right. So, so she, she's, you know, but there's. travels. Right. Well, it's that part. I mean, I mean, that's, I'm a homebody by nature. I am too, man. I'm a home body by nature. And, and so for me, this is like, this is pretty, it's pretty insane. So how, so do you, is it, and I get that this is kind of a difficult question because you don't want to come across as like ungrateful or whatever or anything like that. I mean, because I feel the same way, but I'm saying like this, all this, the road life and touring stuff, like, is it hard for you at times?

Or is it all still kind of like just amazing or whatever? It varies. It varies. There's things, I mean, it's, it's, it's a love-hate relationship. Absolutely. There's things that I absolutely, like, to me, they don't pay you for the show. 100%. They don't pay you, I would do that.

They pay you for all the other shit. That part is free. Yeah, that part is free. Absolutely. I completely feel the same way. That, to me is the part. But part of me, though, is like, Like, it's weird.

Like, I have this, like, ambition to be like, all right, let's build. Let's build. Let's build. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so you have that part of it where you're like, all right, well, let's just see how far it's going to go. And I don't want to ever be outworked. Right.

Yeah, yeah. And so that's just kind of how I am. But at the same time, it's like, man, I like being home. And, you know, we don't have kids. So that's kind of a good thing. My wife bought me this camera that feeds our dog. So I can look at that whenever I get home. sick and that kind of thing.

Yeah, that definitely adds a whole other level to it. But it also, in my experience, like, you know, stokes the fire underneath you, too. You know what I mean? Yeah. I feel like the stakes are way higher, like having kids. You know what I'm saying? Oh, 100%. Like, so it's that same.

It's both. You know what I mean? It makes it harder, but also pushes me harder too. It just intensifies that whole dynamic you were just talking about. Well, I think for me it's one of those things that, you know, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, think it's like I said I think it's good that she has the thing that she does right because I think if she was just waiting at home you know just waiting to hear you know yeah hope he called you know like she's not that way right and I appreciate that I love that about her yeah

but yeah man I I traveling traveling can get it can I don't I mean the thing is we have eight guys in the band so yeah yeah I don't know in your experience because what I when I've talked to comedians like there's a lot of lonely travel see I'm I'm very very lovely love in that way and honest and I kind of like that's it that's not the reason that I got Corey and Drew and said hey come on the road with me I did it because I thought it made a lot of sense right this like because it's like a themed tour you know what I mean like again we're all where it's a there's a whole thing progressive southern comedy or whatever I did it for all those reasons and because we're good friends and yada yada and and it works really well in my opinion

but I have been retroactively really, really glad that I did that for that reason. Right. Because 99% of comedians are alone all the time. Anytime I've had a conversation with someone, that's what they talk about. I don't know how they do it like tomorrow. I told you earlier I'm going to Conway Arkansas tomorrow. That's just me. Like I'll still do some individual gigs if whatever just comes up.

Right. So like that's just me. That's a solo thing. And it's just that one night, I guarantee you tomorrow. I'd be like, man, I miss Corey and Drew. And I'll also think like, God, most comics, this is it. Always all the time.

And I mean, yeah, no, it's brute. I mean, I'm lucky in that way, too, that I'm not doing it totally by myself. With eight guys, you experience the opposite. It's way too much. It's way too much. You need some time to. I mean, I mean, the two favorite things I love,

love playing shows, and then I love coming off stage, and we just, you know, we joke and laugh. And then I'm like, all right, see y'all. Bye. I don't want to see you. Yeah. You know, but because, I mean, in 2014, we played over 200 shows. And then, you know, I mean, we've been on the road at least, I don't know.

I mean, almost 200, 300 days a year. But so you just have this, it is this weird thing where you're just like, I love those guys dearly. And you can't, all the politeness goes away. For sure. I can tell you everybody. They can probably tell you what annoys them about me. Oh, yeah. We definitely have that.

You know what I mean? And so like that's, for sure. But when you have eight guys and then you have, I mean, I mean, think this tour we got, is it six crew, something like that? You just, you know, I like to know everybody and know what's that going on. But it's just, it gets exhausting. I'm sure. And you just kind of want to just be like, all right, I got to get away. And that, to me, like, it's not as hard for me because I'm a little bit more of an extrovert.

But like Jesse, our bass player, who's, you know, my best friend, he's an introvert. And there's just times I can just tell he's like, over it. I got to get away. Yeah. I got to find a way. So, like, I mean, because people are like, don't I eat dinner all the time. Right. Nope.

Right. I try to find the furthest restaurant from the venue. Yeah. And go have a meal by myself or go see a movie by myself. Whatever I can do. Right. And, um, but yeah, man. But it also, but it is this family.

Yeah. It's like when I'm home three days, I go, man, I wonder what those guys are doing. Yeah. And you're like, no. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, like, we'll see in a week.

Yeah. Yeah. No, yeah. I totally get all that. It's much the same with us. So I wanted to, and we'll wrap up soon, I really appreciate you taking the time, by the way. But I wanted to ask a little bit about,

so based on, like, reading Wikipedia, right? That's all I really had to go on. Right. It really reads as, and mine would read in much the same way, as a just a real like overnight success type thing like a meteoric rise where you know you you and jesse i think i played together for a while and then you yeah got together for this which you weren't even really planning on being like a thing necessarily no but then like the first thing y'all recorded got people's attention and then from there it was just off to the races is that pretty accurate

Pretty accurate. But as far as all the stuff you were doing before that, like, does it, I don't know, to you, does it feel like an overnight thing or does it feel like you? Because, I mean, you've been singing your whole life, you know what I mean? So, like, is it a little bit of both? For me, personally, it feels a little like, whoa, how that happened? But, I mean, a lot of the guys in the band have been playing a long time. I mean, Jesse, I mean, God bless Jesse, man, because that guy has been at it. a long time.

I mean, and he, you know, he tried, you know, he tried to do the, like, I don't know, being a responsible adult, but he kept coming back to music. Yeah. And, like, I mean, Jesse's been at it a long time. For me, it was a situation where this is the second band I'd ever been in, you know, and I do feel, I mean, we, we, I mean, obviously you work really hard. I mean, you know, you work really hard, but there, there, it doesn't feel overnight. Right.

But it definitely, there was definitely, like, changing. There was a switch that you're like, okay, this is not, this ain't, this ain't, hey, we're going to go play the local bar downtown. Like, this is a legit thing. And so that, and there's just, there's each, there's steps that kind of happen that way. And I feel very fortunate in that, but like, for me, it kind of feels a little bit like that. But for the other guys, ain't no way. Right. Yeah.

I know. Like, I get, if anyone ever, you know, says that type of thing about, like, me and my situation. Like my knee jerk reaction is to get defensive because I'm like, well, I was doing stand-up comedy. Sure. It just shitty bar shows and whatever else for like seven years. Right. And then that happened. But at the same time, it went from I'm doing stand-up and like middling at clubs or, you know, headlining in bars or whatever to people.

No one there has any idea who I am. It went from that to like pretty much literally overnight. I, you know, got like fans and them selling tickets and stuff. And then a couple months later, I'm on HBO and whatever else. And so, like, it's a little bit of both for me. Like, I feel like I put, like, the time in. Sure. But it was, it all has happened very quickly.

Right. You know what I mean? Like, very, very quickly. And it's wild. It's a trip. I mean, it's like, I mean. It's a trip. No, man.

Hollywood Bowl tomorrow, man. Hollywood Bowl? I mean, I mean, golly, we've, what are we done? We've played with Elton John, like, played with the stones. Like, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, like, I mean, like, I mean, I mean, like, I mean, I mean, I mean, yeah it's hard i mean that that that's that's not you don't get you don't get that you know and and uh and so i have my biggest issue and and my wife's tried to help me this is i'm a look forward person it's like when an album's done all right what's next thing what's next show next and so that's where

i've i don't know how you i don't know how you feel about this but it's always like all right what's i got i'm not looking i'm not oh man it was cool playing with elton you know or like this It's like, it's like, all right, what's the next step? What's the next? You know, what's the next? That's exactly how I look at it, yeah. And so that to me is like that, that, so I haven't had time. Maybe, you know, maybe when this all goes to pieces and falls apart, maybe I'll be like,

I'll be like on my porch telling like, yeah. Reflecting on it. You're right. That is the time to look back, not now. I don't, I mean, now it's like, I mean, I'm. So what is, what is next for St. Paul? Like, what do you want to, how, where do you want all this stuff to lead to? Um, I mean, right now.

now we're working on new music. Yeah. And, uh, and, uh, and I think that's, you know, I mean, part of that's writing in LA as we are right now. And, and, uh, I think for me, it's just, I think, you know, you see shows or you see music or you hear things and you just want to, you want it to get better. And whatever you perceive that is better. Um, you want the shows to grow. And, and I think, I want all the success we can have on our terms. Right. Which is a very selfish, but like, but I think that's, that's the only way

that you can enjoy it and that you'd be like, totally get what you mean by that. You know, I don't mind success. I'm not like, oh, God, success as long as it's on my terms

and I have the ability to be like, nah, you know, I don't want to do that. Yeah. You know what I mean? That and, and we have that.

And that to me is, so you just want it to expand and grow and try to, you know, make great music. So can I ask you, and again, we're wrapping up soon,

but what, when you say on your own terms and all that. Like, what does that mean to you? Because, like, what that means to me is I'm not going to be, I'm not going to do, you know, like a version of, you know, the blue collar TV. Or, like, you know, I'm not going to be cable guides. Right. Like, I want to do as well as I can with it.

And he's very, very funny. I'm not, like, disparaging any of them personally. But that, that's my version of that. I get what you're saying. That's my version of that. I want to do everything I can without being. molded into that because I don't want to be that so like what is that for you for me it's one of those things like I guess it's the old term what does it sell out yeah right

well yeah yeah because I mean the only way people can make money in music is to sell their songs to commercials right but it's it's a version of that for me it's like we control the creative process for me like we control I mean we control every aspect of that so like I mean, I get down to like, what do the t-shirt designs look like? What do the posters look like? Like, to have that ability to do that. Not necessarily, you can put people that you trust in those situations.

But for me, it's like, I want the ability to do that. And so in the creative process, it's like, you know, like, for example, like, labels are, major labels are very big about, oh, we need a radio hit. Right, need a single, right? A single. We need a single. Oh, let's get a single. Which, you know, is, if you get one, it's great.

Right. And I'm not opposed to getting one. Right. But as long as it's like, it comes from a very real, it has to be me. Not something you made in the mindset of turning in a single. Like here's our single. This is what a single is supposed to sound like. So that's what I'm doing.

It's got to be the other way around. You do something you love. And hey, turns out this works as a single. And so, and for us, it's not like we write inaccessible music. Right. Oh, yeah, no. So it's like, you know, we're not writing death metal. Right.

And so that, but just having the ability to be like, no, this is what. as I still, as lame as sounds or whatever, I still feel this as an artistry. And I feel like, for sure. And as, you know, as however that sounds. But for me, so that's really important to, you know, have, you can control your vision for whatever it is. And if, to me, like, if we fail miserably, I'd rather do that than just, like, skim the surface. You know what I mean? I'd really like to take.

And that's just how I view things. I'd like to take a risk. like to do things differently. And I think as long as we're able to control our vision. And a lot of bands and artists and probably comedians that don't have that. You know, they don't have that ability. They have to, like, do it within this square. And we could just fart in the mic for 30 minutes and be like, well, here it is.

Our manager wouldn't like that very much. But you know what I mean? Yeah, we could. We could do that. And I think that having that ability, I think is so important because that's what sets you apart because you listen to the radio now and you listen to top 40

and you might find something in there but rarely it's all I mean music there are producers out there that have music down to a formula for sure yeah mathematical formula like all right well this is where we're gonna we gotta take the pre-course here in the bridge here that to me is so wrong yeah yeah and none of the greats did that

and so that those are the people I look Have you seen that YouTube video It went viral that was I think now, it's like 2015 or something It was like every country hit from 2015 And it The whole point of it was

Demonstrating how it's a formula Like they're all exactly the fucking same No, and it is. But it really is like It's not like someone on YouTube being like Hey, you know what I'll show? It's like it genuinely is a formula That some producer has gone like

All right, well let's, all right This, you know, four beats here and da-da-da. And I just, that's so wrong. I could not agree. But as you, as we see now, especially in country music, you start seeing, you know, some real talent kind of rise to the top. Yeah. And that's, that's what's happening. I think that's happening all across music.

There's still, to me, there's still a market there for people. But do you think, me and Corrin Drew talked a lot about this, do you think that when, like, you know, the studio or the, the labels, for me, it's studios. when the labels start to see that like the popularity of like a true original artist and stuff rising up do you think they'll like oh well hey all right well let's just do that let's do that guys and then they'll but then and so they'll kind of like bastardize it or whatever and 100% right I mean because that's just how it goes right that's just how it goes because every label person is smarter than the artist right yeah and you're always like there's so many parallels Yeah, you know what I mean? Maybe you are smarter, but still the personality, when you drain all the personality out of it, you know, I think it's, this is bizarre parallel, but I'm a huge pro wrestling fan. Yeah, yeah. Okay. And so you know, have you ever heard of Conrad Thompson? That is my favorite podcast on the plane.

Seriously? Oh, he's going to love this shit. Conrad, Conrad did our show. He's done this podcast. Oh, okay. We went to Conrad's place outside of 100. Huntsville, which is called the Conradison. It's this big, he's got a big mansion down there.

That is, filled with all this wrestling memorabilia. It's insane, dude. You would love it. That is my favorite, something to wrestle with for Bruce Pritchard is like, I listen to that podcast religious. I will, like, listen over. All right. That's how bad it is. Well, see, I didn't, we, but Corey, one of the dudes has just got to be friends with Conrad through, like, comedy in Huntsville.

one of the comedians in Huntsville is friends with Conrad Gordon in that way that's how we met Conrad I had no idea that he was and then what has happened is since then I'll meet people and I mention something like Conrad and they're like you know Conrad? You know like wrestling people or whatever I didn't even know he had this thing until then

but yeah he's awesome I love that guy so but in the wrestling right now this is such a bizarre this is this is as Alabama's it gets but like the big ones the WWE and it's homogenized and so like it's all scripted and there's all the characters about drained out of it so now what you're seeing is a lot of indie promotions start you know rising up and it's a and it's actually gainful business and I think music's kind of the same way it just gets so bastardized and they drain everything out of it because it's corporate and it's like you got to be safe and and what you start to see is like real real shit starts kind of rising to the top and I think I mean you see it in

I think you see it on a lot of places. Right. But it's still, I mean, we still show up to a festival and they're like, where's your Pro Tools kit? Meaning, where's your auto tune? Where's your tracks? I'm like, you're looking at it, buddy. Right. You know, and that's, unfortunately, that's, that's, it's a lot of popular artists do that.

And it just frustrates me because some of them are actually talented. Oh, yeah. And, uh, but it really frustrates me that that happens. Well, that's what happens any time you add, you know, profits in the equation. Like, whenever they see what works, people are just like, they, they, they want to turn it into a formula because that's their job. You know what I mean? Yeah.

So you just have to, you know, if you find the right relationship there. Right. It can be beneficial. Right. But in the music business is changing quickly. I mean, we saw it, you know, like, you took about like solid album sales to streams. Oh, God. Yeah.

I mean, like, it's changed. We released our first record in 2014 and then we released our latest in September 2016. We saw a significant change that way. Mm-hmm. And you know what I mean? Like, it's a streaming world. It is.

Yeah. We're just living in it, buddy. All right, Paul, I'm going to let you go now. I really appreciate you taking the time, though. And like I said, I'm a fan. And also appreciate the mindset that you have because it's one that I share. I think you're doing it the right way right now. So keep on keeping on.

Thanks, man. Thank you very much. All right, Paul Janeway, everybody. We'll see you next time. Skew. Thank you all for listening to the well-read show. We'd love to stick around longer, but we got to go. Tune in next week if you got nothing to do.

Thank you, God bless you. Good night and Skiu.