S1E10 - Pursuit of Passion & Paying Your Dues w/Steve Rawles

Subscriber-only episode

This week in the Dojo, we're joined by Steve Rawles (Belvedere, Merit-Based Booking & Management). With over 2 decades of experience in the music industry, Steve lends his expertise and insight as we discuss the industry he's grown up in. 

Steve not only has significant time in the industry, but has also played shows and festivals around the world, having the opportunity to share the stage (and record) with Bad Religion, Pennywise, and many others along the way. 

Steve recently released a few covers, including an incredible punk-rock take on the Moana classic "How Far I'll Go", which has been a hot download already! (Check it out!!) Now runing his own business as well, Steve's depth of music knowledge and experiences will connect us to great stories and lessons in leadership, growth, discipline and perseverance. 

Download today from www.thebizdojo.com, or wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to support your local bands and arts as directly as possible. For Steve, you can do this in a few ways: 

Steve -

https://steverawles.bandcamp.com/releases
https://belvedere.bandcamp.com/merch
https://www.meritbasedbooking.com/

@mikeyandhisuke

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CITWZnkjjcy/...

@punkrockfactory

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIds1Pfj5VA/?igshid=4ngpd3rthqe9

The Biz Dojo - Podcast, Production & Professional Coaching
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Transcript

Seth Anderson: 0:00

This is Episode 10.

JP Gaston: 0:01

This is episode DESE.

Seth Anderson: 0:04

That's awesome.

JP Gaston: 0:05

Yeah, I'm super excited 10 episodes and our first little half season,

Seth Anderson: 0:10

did you know that 80% of podcasts don't make it past 10 episodes,

JP Gaston: 0:14

I did because you shared.

Seth Anderson: 0:18

Here we are. milestone number one,

JP Gaston: 0:21

I think it's like milestone three or four, we're getting heard we're, you know, over 10 countries in the world now and well over 100 cities. So it's not like, you know, it's one or two cities in 10 countries, we're, we're over 100 cities and over 10 countries and three, four continents now.

Seth Anderson: 0:41

And even more importantly than that, I mean, there's nothing more important than the listeners and customers in that, but we're having fun. I'm enjoying it. Yeah, like, I get excited every week that we're gonna do this. And I think we're also getting better. So

JP Gaston: 0:54

we're talking to so many different people like, and I think we'll talk about that on the pod this week. But we're talking to so many unique individuals from all over and we're learning from all of them. And that when we set out on this journey, that was the original intent is to find unique people from different industries to help shape what leadership is and provide some insight and

Seth Anderson: 1:19

you can't box leadership and leadership knows no bounds, right? Like it's it's everywhere, it's it's, it doesn't matter what industry you're in to be successful. It requires leadership, it requires entrepreneur, entrepreneurial spirit. And I think the fact that we've been able to sort of meet with all these different people with all these different backgrounds, all these different industries, I think the biggest common thread we found it's probably been passion and people who, you know, apply those leadership principles to things they're passionate about, invariably end up successful. Now, you know, what we get into in this pot is success can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. But generally, if you want to be successful, whatever that means to you, you got to kind of find that marriage between passion and and great leadership, I think,

JP Gaston: 2:09

well, we The other thing we found out is that a number of the people who have been on the pod so far and who have been successful and who help others be successful, are very prolific list writers. And given that at least 50% of the people who are on this pod right now at this very moment are list Raiders, I think we have a good shot at continuing to pieces,

Seth Anderson: 2:33

we got a shot. So you know, this week, you know, like we said off the top Episode 10. We met with Steve Rawls and Steve, very interesting background, over 25 years in the music industry. And currently, he is the lead singer and frontman for the band Belvedere, which has had, you know, pretty, pretty good success across Canada, and the United States. And they've done some touring in Europe, which we get into a little bit on the pod. And he also runs a company called merit based booking, I think around 20, punk punk and hardcore bands that he supports, you know, with their bookings, and management, mostly in North America, by the sounds of it, like there'll be a European band, he'll help them get set up in, in North America. And then he has some North American bands that he's just helping all across the world. So pretty cool to kind of get a glimpse into the day of what that is like, and, and then also just, you know, in order to pursue his passions and follow his dreams, multitude of side gigs along the way, which, you

JP Gaston: 3:38

know, we talk about at length as well, I feel like this is the if I thought of an interview, that would hit all the buttons for us, that when we set out for this show, this is the one this is you know, someone in an industry that a lot of our listeners may not listen to punk music, they, they may know nothing about it. It's somebody who has been in that industry for a while and has learned a lot of things that somebody who's helping other people come up in the industry. It takes a lot of boxes. And there's a lot that you can take away from this no matter what industry you're in. And no matter who you're leading, or how you're leading this was a really thought just expansive interview. I mean, we even talk about worldwide logistics.

Seth Anderson: 4:23

It's amazing. And honestly, like, if you take nothing else from this, you get an absolute banger of a new song to listen to. With your kids with your cell even if you're not so much into the punk rock scene, I guarantee if you got kids, they'll they'll dance to it in conjunction with the punk rock factory. And the song is how far I'll go and it's from the marijuana Disney movie. And like I said, it's a banger like I was had to run into town today to grab some stuff and I was just like blasting it and really worth checking out. We'll get it That and more with Steve bright now.

Voiceover: 5:04

This morning the pod we're joined by punk rock musician, industry veteran Steve rolls. We'll talk about paying your dues, defining success and commitment to your passion. So welcome.

Seth Anderson: 5:25

Welcome to the dojo. Steve, we're super excited to have you just for the listeners, you've got over 25 years in the music industry, and a range of things that you've done from being an artist, band leader, but also on the business side of things, doing the booking agency and some of the management side, which we definitely want to tap into as we get into the interview here. But you know, obviously the thing that led us to to finding you, or you know, the relevant thing today, you're still making new music and you're branching off in totally new directions. Like you mentioned, how did you get hooked up with punk rock factory? And what was sort of the Genesis behind this Disney record and your involvement?

Steve Rawles: 6:05

Yeah, so it didn't start off as a Disney record these guys. They're funny, like they're from Scotland. And they, they just do covers right. So Disney wasn't even part of the conversation. They I'd seen my buddy roadie from protest the hero, he'd done a meatloaf cover that out of hell. And it was awesome. Like, so I was like, Oh, yeah, we should we should do something. And these guys were fans of my band and his band, lots of other guys. And they kind of grown up listening to us. And so they said, Hey, you want to come and do a song? I said, Yeah, for sure. So I'm just kind of brainstorming with them. And like, I want to do something cheesy, right? I want to do like a Backstreet Boys or Enrique Iglesias or something like that, where it's just totally off off the wall. And then I got for some reason I had was really hung up on doing a CSR. And now you know, if I actually thought about she's like, I could, I could have taken it down four keys and still not done it. Any justice, because she's just fantastic, right? way too high out of the register for me, so, and right around that time when I was kind of starting to feel bad about my decision. They said, oh, we're doing this Disney this Disney record, you want to do marijuana and like my kid and I watch it all the time. So I was stoked and it worked out. So that's basically how we kind of came together on it. You know, the album kind of got released yesterday. It's kind of blown up on like, social media platforms. I don't really understand like tik tok and stuff, which is like for the kids. So I. So they like, yeah, this is getting all these plays and stuff. And they just released it. And so yeah, it's it's cool. And apparently it's getting to an audience that my bands as punk rock bands don't probably get a chance to play for so it's cool.

Seth Anderson: 7:36

Yeah, we were chatting a little bit off the top and I posted a couple of videos of my son like he was full on ready to turn the kitchen into a circle pit this morning. So yeah, you gotta watch what you throw out those kids though, will damage the house. And he's all about the like, if I think back to when I was at age, sort of eight 910 dancing, you know, wasn't really my thing. But with what's the game that he plays fortnight? Yeah, that kid is dancing like 24 seven. So now he's just getting his mind open to this whole other genre of punk rock. And that's pretty cool. I don't know, obviously, maybe not something you were expecting. But how do you how do you think you'll build on that momentum? I guess? Yeah. I mean, hard to say. Like, I when I was a kid, I remember music being a part of, of our family too. And even though I was the only one that really, we were a baseball family, right. So I'm the only one that really kind of did a lot of serious music. And, but I do remember, you know, listening to a lot of music from the 60s and 70s, because I'm, you know, born in the mid 70s. And, and so, you know, whether it be you know, Woodstock compilations, or, you know, even like Waylon Jennings and, and Loverboy. And just like sort of you're getting you're creeping into the 80s. Now a little bit, but like Jimi Hendrix, and the music was always a big part of that. And we were probably dancing to all that stuff to just in different different time and different genre, but how am I going to expand and I don't think I probably Well, I'm not gonna start doing like, kids variety shows, no, just lay the seed for the later years. And hopefully, they start there and they grow there. I guess, growing affection for and a love for the music out of that, I think would be I you know, that'd be awesome.

Unknown: 9:16

Yeah, I mean, punk rock always been really great because I, you know, I got into going into shows in Calgary, maybe 9192. And I found a lot of it was, it wasn't put together in a pretty way, you know, so it was a lot more, maybe not as accessible as it is now, you know, with recording techniques. And, you know, obviously, things sound a lot more modern and stuff than they did back then. But, but it still really grabbed me and it was the, you know, something I really loved and it was something that was mine. And, you know, it took me You know, I've been listening to it for for the better part of 30 years now and it still inspires me and I'm a lifer. I guess,

Seth Anderson: 9:55

just sort of having a look through your background. A little bit and I noticed that you actually, you took Small Business and Entrepreneurship at Mount Royal. Yeah. What inspired you to do that? I mean, a lot of the people we talked to, on this show have been entrepreneurs, people who've started their own business. And, you know, something JP and I've talked about is you can be an entrepreneur, you know, it's not just starting a business, you know, and running a small business, but also in sports and music. It takes an entrepreneurial spirit to kind of be successful. So just curious, like, What led you to taking that and sort of your path into where you are now?

Unknown: 10:31

Yeah, I had a, I had a real fork in the road when I was 18. I was I was really into playing football, I was, you know, there was some tryouts and scouting and letters and stuff. And there's a lot of us. Not nothing of big note. But I mean, you know, I was interested in taking another step into college football, and I had a short stint at USC, and my, my option was the kind of like, play for them take General Studies, because I didn't know what I wanted to do. Or there was this new program that started in that row, which was small business and entrepreneurship. And I was like, Well, you know, you have to come to sort of an understanding that I'm not gonna be anything spectacular at football, I just like playing it was fun, you know. So I was like, well, I'll just go to Mount Royal and pay half of what I would be paying at the university. And at the time, it was just a college. So I was like, well, I'll just pay half and go there. And I just wanted to stay in Calgary anyways. And but also, I wanted, you know, I wanted to start a business. And so actually, I started a record label. And that was a 90, or 95, I started signing local bands and putting out records. And that's what I thought I was going to do, I thought I was going to be the record guy that the silent guy that kind of sits in the back promoting bands. So I did I put a dozen releases over quite a few years, I think eight or nine years. And but along the way, Belvedere started playing and touring and I started realizing that touring and making music and getting in front of people was was sort of the, what I love, more than just kind of hiding in the shadows. So as, as the labels the band started to break up or go on to bigger labels, Belvedere started getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And it got to the point where we were touring, you know, 200 days a year. And, and that's just, I just love travel, I just love, you know, meeting people and, and, and just kind of like handing that CD to people one person at a time, you know, like that was and, you know, 25 years later, I'm still handing that CD to people, or vinyl, or begging them to go download it or

Seth Anderson: 12:25

that. No, that's, that's awesome. And you also did a bit of a consultant business as well, on the side was that.

Unknown: 12:32

So I mean, we could we could talk this whole interview about all the part time jobs I've had in my life, because anybody that knows about being a touring musician is there's not a lot of money to be had here. So I mean, trying to raise a family and even paying for your own rent is can be a struggle. So yeah, I've done it all. I've done construction I've done you know, I've worked in liquor stores or working gas stations, I've been out in the field, I've you know, I've done delivery things. I've delivered floor mats, I've you know, like I've probably 20 some 25 different jobs because you go on tour for two months, and they don't want to take you back so you won't find another job. And I've ran coffee shops, and I've worked in Starbucks and and now I'm selling beer on the side just to kind of make it all work until we can start to earn again. But yeah, I did. I did oil, oil and oil field sales downtown for a while too. So that's what the consulting stuff is,

Seth Anderson: 13:17

you know, you're involved in a few things now. merit based booking. Looks like you've got quite a few bands that you're you're working with and maybe just give us a little bit of insight into what what goes on there.

Unknown: 13:27

Yeah, I was really looking to transition back into music. And it wasn't always, you know, with having a family and not wanting to be out there. 200 days of the year I wanted to still I felt like I was under utilizing my contacts and my friends and stuff. And no, just booking Belvedere, the other band. This is a standoff. It just wasn't enough. And so I started managing and picking up bands. And it started locally, I had some friends in Chicago that I that I work with la Armada, who I've known since they were kids, and you know, I had wulfric in Edmonton and that's where I kind of started with those two bands and the gods kind of book you guys in the side we'll see how it goes and thinking you know, like, oh, man, I'll help you out and maybe you'll get to bigger things. And then I started realizing what what like maybe I don't want them to leave I want to I want to actually be the be all and end all this is where I'm you know, this is the agency where they work with and get to where they want to go. And so yeah, it's it's been almost two years. And I've got 20 bands, Europe lot lot from the States, a couple from Canada. And unfortunately, you know, I picked a bad year to really go for it but it's just off grant, you're just kind of laying groundwork at this point now so but it is a booking agency. So I mean, I book some of some bands I booked like others to some of the to the bigger bands, mechanic surfers and no fun at all. They're from Sweden, they have big agencies in Europe, so I booked them just for Canada. I booked bands in Japan and South America and you know, 40 countries probably

Seth Anderson: 14:51

what's a day in the life look like when you're doing that? I mean, obviously COVID I don't know COVID aside, but you know, are you just constantly sort of finding them Using gigs, or just sort of working with them to figure out where they want to go, I What is that? What does that look like?

Unknown: 15:05

Yeah, I mean, every everyone's different cuz everyone's in a different spot you I'm dealing with brand new bands that I'm trying to develop that, you know, you can't really get much more than I'm getting some bands that are sort of the bands that are sort of in the middle middle of the pack, where, you know, they're actually doing fairly well. And it's just a matter of expanding, really just getting them the best possible deals and getting the play in the in the, in the, you know, the cities that are going to give them the best kind of shows, because a lot of these guys are not doing this full time. So they tour 30 days a year, you want to get them on some festivals, get them some good close club shows around, you know, at this point, everyone's just trying to have a good time. But yeah, Day in the Life is, is because I work on a 24 hour clock, I'm forced to, yeah, sometimes I have to just say, Look, I'm just shutting the phone off, I got to sleep because I get I get messages from Japan, I get them from South America, I get them from Europe, and they're all kind of from different time zones. And so I used to be very present with people where I would just like answer you right away, and I just can't do that anymore. You know, it's been a quiet, obviously, the last six, nine months. But yeah, it was really starting to be a bit of a thing. But a year ago, just like trying to keep it all together. And but then I've got some help with a guy Ray in Holland, he's helping you book some of the stuff. And then I've got another guy in Toronto that's helping me. So try to start with interns and see where we can kind of expand things. And when bands can start playing again, then little the doors open. That's,

Seth Anderson: 16:21

that's exciting stuff, I think, very cool that you've been able to pursue your passions over the last, you know, 25 years or so. And I think something, you know, any of us when we get to a certain point in our career, and we look back, we may have advice for our younger selves, if we could give it you're sort of in that unique opportunity where you get to see these new bands that are coming in. And it's almost like giving yourself that advice. Yeah, what are some of the key things you tell a new up and coming band? You know, whether it be about the touring the grind that like what were some of the key points that you tell them to focus on?

Unknown: 16:53

Yeah, so like, I've never had an easy road with with my band. So you know, when bands kind of say, how do you guys get there and stuff like that? Some of them don't really want to hear the answer. Because it's like, Listen, I you know, we've had videos on much music, we've had big tours, but you know, nothing's ever we play a certain style of music, that's we're not going to be on the radio, we're not going to like all of a sudden sell a million records, you know, we're going to work our asses off, we're going to make as many friends as we can be nice to everybody. And slowly watch this trajectory kind of go up. And if you believe in the music that you play, you're doing it for the right reasons, some form of success will come You know, I'm not saying it's monetary, maybe it's you get to go on tour to 30 countries, and you'd never thought you'd do that before. success is measured differently by different people. But to me, that's, that's kind of like what I portray is you worked for it, because you love it. And good things will come because you love it so much. But you know, I'm not the guy to say like, Well, look, what I did was because without like, this is my full time, like we, I made it, I've retired or whatever, you know, like I'm still grinding away like I was when I was 19 I have better perspective. And my give up my give up, about like that now. But you know, I would have I would have, I would have tried to please everybody 20 years ago, I just can't do that anymore. So you just have to, that's what I tried to tell younger people is just like, do do what makes you happy play the music you want to play. And if I was to tell my younger self, something would be like, just chill out. I got a guy got pretty wound up, you know, but everything when I was younger,

JP Gaston: 18:23

so I think a lot of people don't realize how hard it is to actually do that grind. Especially when you're starting out as a band. You're just trying to get your first couple paid gigs. I'm from Ontario. Everything in Toronto is Hey, you want to play for a pitcher of beer? And nobody wants to play for a pitcher of beer. But do you find that there's a difference? Like your booking all over the world? Do you find that there's a difference in?

Unknown: 18:43

Yeah, I mean, it's, you know, in the late 90s, mid to late 90s. We toured the us a lot. And it's not unusual at that time for us to play a full month in the states and not play a proper venue. Like we used to book there was this old magazine from San Francisco called maximum rock'n'roll and they used to put out this magazine every year called book your own life. Basically, you would go and send for this magazine, they would send you a list of punk promoters and you would you would mail physically your your demo tape or whatever. And you book these shows and they'd be basement shows. They'd be frat parties. They'd be outdoor shows. And like every once in a while you'd play this like, proper venue, your 200 cap room, and they were always the shittiest shows like because nobody cared like it was like, Oh, why they booked Belvedere. Well, nobody knows who Belvedere is. They booked us on a Monday night. So of course, it was us playing in front of the sound guy three people, right? So, but if you know if whatever punk kid from Iowa put on a show in his basement and he got 40 of his friends to show up. That was an awesome show. And you got to remember, like, you know, we were sleeping in a van half the time. Like, you know, you give us 50 bucks for gas. That's awesome. We sell a couple of CDs. Hey, we're making it you know, like, we dumpster dive for food at times. You know what I mean? Like it was we went crazy. Like, you know, it was we were out there three, three months straight at times and it was like there's nothing coming in. We're selling In Florida, what do you do? Like, you just, you hang out with people and you try to, you know, you stay at people's houses because they're, they're, they're, they're really amazing people and they're, they're friendly, and they're giving, and they each buy a CD, and they give you 30 bucks. And that goes, that takes you into Georgia, like it was that kind of a thing for a long time for our band. So even though we were at times playing with bands like Bad Religion, and playing in front of 1000s of people, it wasn't like, Oh, we've made it now. You know, like, I remember when we played a Bad Religion, there's 2000 people in Toronto sold a ton of merch, we go back to thank god, it's gonna be awesome. And we played in front of five people in Toronto the next time, because everybody had come from those big to that big show, and they're all out in the suburbs. So we were playing in front of 50 100 kids all over the suburbs. And then we go to Toronto, and there's 10 people. And then there was 10 people, and then there's 12 people, and then there's 25 people, and then you know, you get up to 100 200 people, but like it took years, like 810 times to go back to Toronto. And some people aren't ready for that kind of commitment. If someone had told me that's what it would take, I don't know if I would have done it. But once you get gone, you just see you're just making these little incremental baby steps. And it doesn't even matter anymore. You're just having such a blast. It's what you do. You know, when you're out there 250 days a year. It's not about where you're going to go. It's just that's just what I do. Yeah, I

JP Gaston: 21:14

don't know what home looks like. And then you got to be like, passionate, right? Like the you have to love it. Yeah, the passion you have for music. Like I remember how excited I was the first time I got paid for a gig. And it was nothing like it was here's a you know, here's a pitcher of beer, here's a meal. And I'll give you 20 bucks. Thanks for thanks for playing to these six people that showed up to the bar tonight. Yeah, but it was so exciting.

Unknown: 21:35

Yeah. And I mean, like, you know, we definitely, you know, we really hit it hard in the States and the states is a hard place to tour. For a lot of bands, even even even American bands have a hard time. That's why they all go to Europe. Once we started going to Europe, it was like, Okay, this is what you because you're, maybe you play for 30 people, but 15 of them by merge. And you're in Europe, you know, it's not like I'm in whatever place in Nebraska, it's like, it's a different thing now, right? Like I'm making, I'm in Germany, now, I never thought I could do something like that. So once we started going there, and then, you know, things really took off for us overseas. And then. So we kind of focused on Canada and Europe and South America and Japan, stuff like that. But, you know, I, we had a really good run in the States. And we have pockets of places that were really good for us. And I hope that in 2022, maybe we can go back down there because it's been almost 20 years since we've been down there.

Seth Anderson: 22:22

Was there ever a moment the you can think back on when you were just like, screw it. Like this isn't worth that. I'm going to you know what, just like one moment when you're kind of looking back?

Unknown: 22:34

Yeah, I mean, we broke up unofficially, a couple of times, usually only lasted a couple of days. But like we we split up for real at the end of 2005. I think it was. And we were split up for seven years, and then got back together for just some reunion shows in 2012. And then that's that's hasn't stopped. So some not everybody stayed. But you know, I want to keep going. Was there a time when I wanted to just kind of throw in the towel? Not really, like, you know, we argued a lot we didn't always get along. And so I didn't like that aspect of it. But not I never didn't want to do it. I just didn't sometimes I just needed a break. And I didn't know how to do that, you know, when you're out there 200 250 shows a year you don't really, it's kind of all or nothing, you know, it's not like, let's just cancel this tour, and you just go I can't do this anymore, you know, so, but it wasn't like, you know, I think a lot of people would have quit because there's no money in this. That was never a thing for me. I don't really like I always find little side jobs and hustles to make it work, make it worthwhile. I've never went, I don't want to tour anymore. I hate this. This is this is not rewarding for me anymore. I've never felt like that. I just felt like I needed to take a step back here and there a couple times for sure.

Seth Anderson: 23:44

This sort of looking forward or even in the now what do you do to stay current or get better? I mean, you've been at it for so long. It could I imagine like anything get you kind of get a little more relaxed, but the people who are great, they kind of push themselves to get better. So what do you do to stay sharp and keep getting better?

Unknown: 24:03

Yeah, like, you know, I would, even though I'm traditionally a good guitar player and the rhythm player in the band, I think my like singing is become my instrument, something that I've probably focused the most on. Like I can just kind of you know, I can keep up as far as guitar playing goes but I I spent a lot of time really analyzing what I've done singing wise and why I haven't gotten as much out of it as I should have. You know and so you listen to a lot of the great singers and whether it's pop or whatever, you listen to the little inflections and and you know some of the ear candy you know what makes them so special, you know, and I've tried to like try to become a better singer and listen to myself a lot more. I'm little even technical things like getting inner ear monitors when we play I feel like I'm much more of a consistent singer than I was 10 years ago even and oh blow my voice nearly as much as I used to. Because I have inner ear monitors. I'm not, you know, screaming over a PA that doesn't work anymore. And So that's been a big challenge, a big challenge that I've overcome. And, and then also just really like, no, really following the bigger bands we tour with and what, you know why they, you know, like, what do they do like, you know, really listening to the singing, I think is a big one. So I just tried to just, you know, try to be better. I just I don't, I don't go, I'm in my mid 40s. I've had my best days behind me, I just I just go, I just want to get better at what I'm doing every record every every guess thing i do i just want to get better.

Seth Anderson: 25:30

Is there a band that you've toured with that sort of stood out from inspiring you sort of musically or professionally over the years I've imagined is probably a few. But anyone in particular?

Unknown: 25:42

Yeah. I mean, like, I mean, Bad Religion was a band that I always loved when I was a kid, you know, it was. So often you want to listen to bands, and there's so much production into these records. They never pull it off live, you know, but like, I always love how bad religion had five of them up there. And they would all sing these background harmonies. And yes, they're nailing that, you know, like, that really got me going. But I mean, as far as singers go, I mean, we've probably toured with the Mad caddies the most. And I think Chuck from the Mad caddies is, I mean, he's just so good at what he does. And he's a guy that like, throws in earplugs, you know, doesn't have time for all that stuff. He just like goes up there and sings and he sounds amazing. And it's the consistency is is the big thing. And not only is the sound of his voice and what he's nailing the notes. He's just so consistent every night. So I'd say that that's that's probably a big one.

Seth Anderson: 26:29

Who is the funnest fan?

Unknown: 26:30

You've toured with this band? Hmm. I really don't know. I think live wagon is awesome. We had we spent two weeks down in South America there about a year and a half ago with with penny wise and in comeback kid. And those guys were really, really fun. We were in South America flag wagon. That was great. I spent a lot of time on the road with strung out and mag caddies and pulley and you know, lot armadas great. wulfric is it's, we're not big partier. So it's not like I'm like, oh, man, you remember that night when like, we blew up a fire station like it's not. It's always like, Hey, we had a great time at the show, we had a beer, went to the hotel and fell asleep, woke up the next morning and did all over again. Like that's really our story. Now,

JP Gaston: 27:14

I think a lot of bands do that these days, like I know, back in the day used to be, you know, drink party. But now with management and all those sorts of things that a lot of bands are getting, it's no longer, hey, go and drink your face off and try and play the next day. If you can stand up a lot of these bands, they know that they got to be ready and on for the next day.

Unknown: 27:37

Well, I think we definitely had there. I will say that in there wasn't the late 90s. And I wasn't like the big loser in the band, for sure. But there was a point where everybody kind of said, like, you know, we're not really we're not mailing it in, but we're pretty sloppy. And it's like, what, what are we doing here? You know, you're 3000 miles from home, you've given up your entire life just to go and get wasted all day and have a show in front of 20 kids? Well, how is you know, maybe there'll be 10 the next time because you were awful. Or maybe it'd be 15 next time? Because you're a great you? We can't we there was definitely a point after tour we went, you know, who do we want to be? Do we want to be just this joke of a band that just passes around and fades out? Or do we actually want to be something that that? You know, we actually want to be better?

JP Gaston: 28:18

Yeah, like, are we make? Are we making money just to drink our faces off in different countries.

Unknown: 28:23

We never made money. There was always free beer that people were getting or stolen or Yeah. But you just kind of you kind of go. Because when it's not about money, it's about love and passion and being proud of what you do. If you just if you do a job, then what do you do?

Seth Anderson: 28:38

So again, just sort of looking forward. What What's next? what's what's coming up for merit based booking? I know we touched on it a little bit, hopefully some live shows in 2021. But you know, what's, what's your big focus coming up?

Unknown: 28:50

Well, that's the big thing is, is there's so many question marks. And it's, it's, there's so much the pressure of everything is compounded because there's so many unknowns right now. So you've got, you've got COVID, which is obviously shut everything down. The music industry is the first to close, it's going to be the last to open. I'm sure you've probably seen that before. And, you know, a lot of these bars and venues are just hanging on by a thread, whether they've had government assistance or not, they're really gonna have a hard time making this work. So if you're a small band, and you're you're relying on these club shows, and I hope that many of them will still be there, you know, and that's, that's, that's a scary part of this, then there's the whole Has everybody going to dig themselves in such a hole here. Nobody's gonna have any money to go out to shows anyways. And then there's the whole travel like, you know, sure Australia's got 40 cases, but they're not gonna allow anybody in there until the end of 2021. And if I was a European and I had everybody had their vaccine and all of America's still a disaster, who's gonna want American bands over there. And if American bands go over there, how you gonna have the festivals because they're the ones that are ahead the the headliners. So there's like this big amount of questions and a big amount of dances, a lot of complex issues that are going to it's not just going to be like, we got vaccine in January, so get ready for June, because six months later may not make the difference to let governments allow 10,000 10s of 1000s of people together in an outdoor field somewhere. And you gotta remember, for punk bands, the festivals are what's paying for the flights over and the heavy expenses, the club shows are where you make your money back. But like, you know, it's the festivals that really like, you know, that's where the merge sales are the big merge sales. And that's what that's where the flights are, you know, so it's for the smaller bands, we're gonna have an interesting hill to climb. And then it's just, you know, everything else that doesn't get talked about like, or, you know, in some respects, it's, it's not all the monetary thing, how do you, everyone thinks, Oh, I'm gonna write three records. Because I've been sitting at home for seven months, well, this has not been a very fun seven months to be sitting at home, right? Like, how do you creatively bring yourself out of that dark place and create something that you're proud of? You know, so there's a lot of things that are going against musicians right now. And I've got a lot of friends that, that are just musicians, and especially in the states where they've done all for these musicians. I just, I just hope that it's not too late. When it's time to get things rolling. Here again,

Seth Anderson: 31:03

have you found that this is unlocked? Anything, technology wise for bands to be able to leverage? Oh, sure.

Unknown: 31:10

Yeah. Like, I mean, we've done we've done digital shows, and people have done, you know, acoustic shows where people do pay pal, and they send money and stuff like that. And, you know, I've done a few, a few of them myself, which are just kind of like, you know, freebies, for festivals, or whatever. And, and you get asked to do this stuff a lot, right? takes a lot of work to and it's not, you know, you don't get anything, right. So it's like, you get burned out a little bit on this stuff, right? So like, you want to keep promoting, you want to keep putting yourself out there. But there's a lot of expectations that because you're an entertainer that you you need to entertain all the time. Sometimes you just can't, like, you know, I got to go get a job because I can't pay my rent, you know, like this is this is really screwing things up. So it's, it's a really complex issue for a lot of guys. And me, I'm really lucky, like I've, you know, I've had, I've worked my ass off over 20 years, and we're not in the worst spot, but like, there's an end to everything, you know, this can't go on forever. And that's gonna it's hard on me. And it's hard on a lot of the people there too. And, and you really feel for a lot of the people that they just want to get out there and play shows again, and they want to go out there and see shows like it's, you can see it's wearing on people. It's amazing how how important music is for people. And then it may be you know, it takes something like this to show them how important it is. So I hope that when when when things get to go again, that that people will come out and support not only the bands, but the venues that need to, you know, need to open up he got coming up

JP Gaston: 32:35

behind you here that you're super excited about, that people should know about if they don't if they don't already.

Unknown: 32:42

Um, well, I think wulfric from Edmonton is a really good metal band. I think they're neat. They're they're a band of people. There's plans to bring them on tour with Belvedere just to kind of expose them to a bigger audience and I hope that they'll do well. La Armada from Chicago is, you know, a Latino is some English some Spanish hardcore band that I just love. And they just blow everybody away. I couldn't see him live. It's like it's scary. You know, like, it's so good. Like, it's just it's great. I think drones from the UK is a really good, really good band, a female fronted political punk band on there from London, cF 98. from Poland and other female fronted band. I've got a couple of fat records bands, the last gang and useless ID there's mineria from Sweden, you know, much the same cigar was like, I mean, I love all the bands. So it's hard to really like, Hey, who's your Who do you think is really going to make it you know, I'm there's new bands, like there's old bands, and there's new bands, but I love them all. And I think they're all great. So it's, it's, I just hope that that people can can check them out when they when they get touring again.

Seth Anderson: 33:48

Awesome. Well, it's been a pleasure having you in today's Steve, where's the best place for people to find you and your work, though.

Unknown: 33:56

I mean, of course, you can go to all the streaming things, but if you really want to help bands out, go to places like band camp. So ours is Belvedere dot band camp calm. But if you like the bands, go and download the record, go buy the actual record, or buy a T shirt because as much as you know, the Spotify and iTunes and stuff, you know, great that people streaming because you as a musician, you want to get your music out, but you'd have to stream it like 10s of 1000s of time to equal one t shirt. So that's how bad the formula is for bands. So if you really want to help bands out, go to band camp, if you're going to be on iTunes, download the record, don't just stream it and look up the bands and and, and, and, and show a commitment to them, you know, buy their t shirt like you know, really help them out because I think that's, that's that's what will really help bands get through this.

JP Gaston: 34:41

So was there anything that you that you specifically wanted to chat about or make sure that we get out to folks?

Unknown: 34:47

I know just you know, try to not only support the bands, but support all your local venues and when when you're able to go go, you know, they need you. They need you. What do we what are we going to do like what are we going to do without them you know? Like, it's really, you know, you are your musician, you understand this. And there's a lot of people that love music. But there's a lot of people that love big artists, you know, they're like, oh, we'll just wait for the next Saddledome show. But you know what, like, they came from a small place, they came from a 200 cap room and work their way up to that. So, you know, don't kneecap the next generation of big bands by not supporting them when they need you the most. So that's what I would say is just, you know, if you love a band, show them some support. And that's, you know, that's easy for me to say things are hard right now, for a lot of people. So you know, obviously take care of yourself, but support them if you can,

JP Gaston: 35:34

I think the other thing people don't realize is, a lot of those big bands are going to communities where they know the music scene is good. Like even if you've got a decent venue, some of those bands will bypass those areas, just because they there's not a great music scene or not a great support in place.

Unknown: 35:51

So the more you support, the smaller bands, the venues, those sorts of things, the more support you're giving to the community, which will just, it'll help everybody for sure. And I mean, even from my history, you know, we before we could actually draw people in Toronto and LA and Berlin, or whatever it was, and we were always playing the small towns, these small little was, you know, I don't even know if we do that great in Amsterdam, but I know, like, when we go to Den Haag are now vague, or hard or vague, like those little places where you play in front of these, you know, 100 people and stuff, like they love you there. You know, I'm like, and that's special. So you have to support the small towns too. And it's no different here in Canada. You know, there's only 15 you know, somewhat good sized cities there. But we would do 35 day tours across Canada, Sydney, to Sydney, you know, so you'd play humbled and you play your yorkton and, and Medicine Hat and Red Deer and like it was Yeah, it's just as important for sure.

JP Gaston: 36:43

Yeah, I've played for 17 people in Grand cash. So I feel, yeah, all 17 people came out, it was great. She's a

Unknown: 36:50

grind. I think I'm I think I'm at about 2000 shows maybe more? No, it's a grind. And then most of them were in front of a lot. Not a lot of people. You know, it's funny, like, we played, we just played one of the biggest shows we've ever played just before like it was this last December, we got flown down to Colombia to play this festival. Midian. We didn't played medion for 15 years, and there's probably 30,000 people, there was one of the biggest shows we'd ever done. And I remember being up there. And I was thinking about this, this little closet, like of a venue that we played in North Dakota, and it was just like, you know, no stage band goes in the corner, everyone's on the floor. And we did that so often. And, you know, you kind of go, Oh, well, that must have been way more fun. I don't know if it was more fun. It was it was a lot more pressure, and a lot more going on. And it's you know, you're kind of overwhelmed by it. But I think I had, you know, just as much fun in some of those small venues. And I think that's when you know if you can honestly tell yourself that, that you're you're you're in the right, you're in the right lane.

JP Gaston: 37:51

All of my stories are about the small places, the crappy little green rooms that you have before you go on and those sorts of things. They're fantastic. Most of the big shows I've ever played I you know, I remember I played them, but that's about it.

Voiceover: 38:07

The podium, Glock edition.

Seth Anderson: 38:13

This week on the podium, we're talking top three punk covers. Do you want to lead off this week? JP Yeah, so I,

JP Gaston: 38:22

I like you like we discussed I had a really tough time finding my top three. But I narrowed it down to ones I used to work in radio. And so I narrowed it down to ones I actually heard a lot or got a lot of requests for except for one of them which you'll understand in a minute but the Donna's dancing with myself. Yeah, they're great. The Donna's are awesome. But that dancing with that version of dancing with myself might be my favorite version of that song. A tarries boys of summer that was that was huge for a couple of years it was you know every 13 seconds or so get a request at the radio station to play that song. So that was a that was a big one for me too. And then the third one is actually my former band guiche we did a cover of Wk AARP in Cincinnati. Oh I can't I can't help but smile and it may be that I was you know in the band it may be that it's Wk RP in Cincinnati as a punk rock.

Unknown: 39:21

But was it the lead in like the intro or the outro? Because the outro had a wicked like was a wicked song too.

JP Gaston: 39:27

Oh, it was it was the intro?

Steve Rawles: 39:29

Yeah, it was on Wk on RP is but the outcome remember the last month worked out? like yeah

JP Gaston: 39:38

that was a great team. We should have done that. We should have done both as we should have done blended out there but yeah, we did the we did the intro and every time I listened to it. I just get a smile on my face. Um,

Unknown: 39:49

yeah, I okay, I'll step in here but I won't give you the top three. I'll just give you an album, bad religions Christmas album. So I kind of had a raised eyebrow when this came out like Bad Religion playing Religious songs what's going on, but then I, you know, you kind of listen to it a bit and I even read their book and they kind of talked about that a little bit. But these are just age songs that go back so far and have such great melodies and you know, even if you're not into what the what it's kind of talking about, it's it's pretty easy to get caught up in the actual sing song part of it. So I thought that was good. And so we've listened to that a couple times, even this year and last year, and there's some there's some good ones on there.

JP Gaston: 40:24

I actually forgot about that. I've got a I've got to go back and listen, because I remember listening to that

Seth Anderson: 40:29

very timely. I'll be checking that out for sure. Mine as usual, JP, you made a list I cheated and you ranked them and I rank them I'll call it my honorable mention the first like punk cover I can remember as a teenager that I just loved and I think was on every burden CD that I had. Stand By Me penny wise. Just that is an unreal job on that. Number three I've got anywhere you want it rise against another one just for my teenage years that I loved. Number two, I kind of I forgot about this song for a really long time. But I just remember rocking out to this all the time and it was glory of love by newfound glory. And then number one my all time favorite on this front is country wrote me First and the Gimme, gimmes. Every time I hear that guitar riff to open up that song. It just takes me back. So that's my list.

Unknown: 41:18

Yeah, you know, it's fun. Yeah. And of course, me first is all covers right. So it's, there's there's some there's some gems on there. I'll throw one more out yet you go your own way by no effects off s&m Airlines. Yeah, that was that was like, What? Like, they did that. And it was so good. I think it was like 15 when I heard it, but it was great.

Seth Anderson: 41:36

Now next time, we could do top three no effects songs. I could I could do that all day too. Yeah, yeah, I know. A couple of Awesome. Well, thanks again for joining us, Steve. Absolute pleasure. And good luck. Thanks, guys.

JP Gaston: 41:47

This was great. Appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Voiceover: 41:54

Thanks to Steve rolls for joining us today. Remember to support your local musicians and artists. Join us again next week for a very special episode 11 with Seth at JP Tilden. Click subscribe and join us on our Facebook and Instagram pages. We'll see you again next week in The Biz Dojo