The Sailor Jerry Podcast
Inspired by Norman 'Sailor Jerry' Collins' Old Ironsides radio show on KTRG, we present THE SAILOR JERRY PODCAST! This is a wild homage to all our favorite things – Music, tattoos, travel, spiced rum, and more. Partnering up with our pal Matt Caughthran, the frontman of The Bronx, we're spilling these tales in our own damn style. Brace yourself for biweekly episodes, dishing out killer interviews with musicians who fuel our fire. Buckle up for The Sailor Jerry Podcast – where the coolest stories come to life.
The Sailor Jerry Podcast
75 - Ian Shelton of Militarie Gun
Ian Shelton is the lead singer of Militarie Gun. In this episode, we dive into the deepest depths of Ian's songwriting process, starting with the band's latest single, “Thought You Were Waving.” We also discuss the band's recent EP, working with Shooter Jennings, and the importance of collaboration and building genuine connections in the music industry. Matt and Ian also ponder the romantic implications of a first date at Olive Garden, DJing at the Taco Bell Cantina, actors as musicians, demo-itis, Aerosmith, Garth Brooks, Modest Mouse, Henry Rollins, horrible live sessions, and so much more! As always, brought to you by Sailor Jerry!
https://www.instagram.com/ianpatrkshelton/
https://www.instagram.com/militariegun/
https://sailorjerry.com
Fucking A. What's up? G, how you doing Doing all right. Thank you for being a guest here on the Sailor Jerry podcast. Thanks for having me. Yeah, it's been a long overdue thing for me. I'm a big fan of the band you know, really like what you do as an artist and as a singer, so appreciate your time today, thank you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man Thanks for letting me come over. Yeah, this is for people listening out. There we are, uh, live in the dojo. Okay, this is not over the internet, this is one-on-one mono, e-mono, uh, and it's a beautiful day outside in southern california. So, uh, yeah, man, let's, let's, uh, let's, get into it here. Um, before we get into military gun regional justice center, you just put out a new, single new, basically digital, 7-inch right.
Speaker 2:Well, we're starting the LP rollout. We put out two songs yesterday, One that has me singing, one that has my brother singing. For anyone who doesn't know about the background of Regional Justice Center. It's a band that I started kind of as a tribute to my brother when he got locked up. He did 72 months, so it was just about six years, and now he's out and he's singing half the record. I'm singing half the record.
Speaker 2:The record's called Freedom, sweet Freedom, which is meant as a sarcastic title. There's not really any. We don't get freedom, and he especially doesn't get freedom, even though he's technically out and free. He, uh, you know, subject to to so much bullshit and we'll be haunted by his past, you know, but yeah so that's dope.
Speaker 1:Yeah, everyone can go check it out online, uh, you know, and all the uh streaming platforms. Uh man, it sounds brutal. Where did you guys record it at?
Speaker 2:It was produced by Taylor Young who actually did the past military gun records as well. Him and I started working together via Regional Justice Center originally and that's where our friendship started, really. Yeah, he knows how to make a heavy record. That guy, that's sick man. Where's that studio at Currently Sunland? He just moved.
Speaker 1:Oh damn, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's where I came from this morning?
Speaker 2:oh shit, I came all the way from sunland down here. Where are you from originally? I'm from uh like. I was in the bay until I was 12 in concord california and then moved uh to enumclaw washington which is like a small town at the base of mount rainier hell yeah, what about?
Speaker 1:uh, one of the questions we got on the internet was your Mount Rushmore of Northwest hardcore.
Speaker 2:Of Northwest hardcore.
Speaker 1:Was there any bands when you were growing up up there that had an impact on you or anyone?
Speaker 2:coming through on tour, I would go, jensen from Iron Lung I would put this guy Floppy Matt and no one knows who he is. I guess this guy Jay Sidetracked and then see they're not, it's all like really local for me, I like that though, trying to think of who the fourth would be like the biggest influences, the people that when I first saw my shows I was like um, I guess brian skiffington yeah, hell, yeah, that's deep, deep in the vault. So, yeah, that's all.
Speaker 1:That's for absolutely nobody so at uh, you know how did music kind of first get going for you, like, what age did you start going to shows? What age did kind of music start meaning more than just something on the radio? You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:First concert I went to was Blink-182. Damn, it was Blink-182, new Found Glory and Sum 41. I was in fourth grade, I don't know, I think my you were. Oh, I was in fourth grade, I don't know, I think my. You're going to shows in fourth grade. Yeah, I was as a concert, you know. I'm saying I went to two, I think, my, I think I think we just did. My parents must have been doing better that year than any other year because I never went to a concert again you know, I'm saying like it never happened ever again after that, but that year I went to two concerts.
Speaker 2:That was fourth grade, so so whatever, probably 10 years old or something, but I was obsessed with music pretty much always. Yeah, like loved Elton John, loved Garth Brooks.
Speaker 1:Have you seen the Garth Brooks documentary on Netflix?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:Dude. He is such a screwball dude, Is it? It's amazing. I'll watch it.
Speaker 2:I like it I think because now, even though I was obsessed as a kid, elton John carried with me, but Garth Brooks didn't. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I couldn't tell you a Garth Brooks song.
Speaker 1:Well, my brother was obsessed with Garth Brooks so I kind of have it burned into my memory. Obviously, friends in Low Places, the rodeo.
Speaker 2:Friends in Low Places, yeah.
Speaker 1:The dance song. Is that fucking main ballad?
Speaker 2:Looking back. So I think now I would know it and I would be able to sing it, but I just don't recognize it as Garth Brooks. They're just like songs.
Speaker 1:You know it's good that you held on to Elton John and let go of Garth.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know, garth seems cool I'm listening to definitely a little bit more country now. A little bit of interest peaked back up, but not like not. Yeah, I haven't.
Speaker 1:you know, obviously not making a country record yeah, the country revival thing that's going on right now is huge and there's so many dudes that are getting a lot of praise and I see, like you know, my fucking punk rock friends listening to or going to check out and stuff and I still I can't. I haven't, like I haven't dipped in yet, you know.
Speaker 2:I mean, I feel like it's been a thing like uh, I feel like when I first came up in in like punk and hardcore it was like the older guys got into gaslight anthem, yeah and lucero you know like that was what the old heads did at that time, and I love lucero. Uh, I went and saw a gaslight anthem the other night. It's not like anything I. I don't know the songs really yeah, yeah, um, yeah I saw him in orange county with joyce, manor.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah yeah, I was up in the northwest so I went. I went to the seattle show, okay, cool, but um, but yeah, it was just a funny thing of like being like. Oh yeah, this is what all the old, you know, all the all the really shop barbershop motherfuckers used to get they used to go to. That was. The next step was the country music, you know, and they got into Sons of Anarchy or something.
Speaker 1:That's amazing man. So you know from what I've seen from you you are a multi-instrumentalist. I know at least you sing and you play drums are a multi-instrumentalist, I know at least you sing and you play drums. So at what point did you know picking up an instrument or starting the band, finding your way to a microphone, songwriting, when did kind of that start popping off for you?
Speaker 2:uh, I mean, I always just wanted to be in a band that was a big thing was and then I realized that there was no drummers, so I had to be a drummer.
Speaker 1:Drummers are sick dude.
Speaker 2:Then luckily I had Reaper and so I started kind of messing around making really bad demos by myself. I had not very many friends when I was a kid, so it's kind of like music was always somewhat of a semi-solitary activity you could make something without other people.
Speaker 2:I wasn't making nothing good until more recently, but uh, yeah, I don't know, it's kind of like the only way, my only tool for socializing, my only tool for expressing myself. So it was like the only thing I ever cared about was that, yeah and uh, basically yeah, since like sixth grade on, just been doing bands that's fucking crazy, dude.
Speaker 1:That's fucking wild. And you've been playing drums the whole time, or I?
Speaker 2:started playing drums in ninth grade, so I probably, like 14 years old, did you find your way to the uh, to the microphone.
Speaker 1:When did you start singing? That was always. That was all I always wanted to.
Speaker 2:I I would say that, like the really big thing was that I was really wanting to express myself up to a certain age and then I felt like um, kind of like allowed myself to get neutered by cool guys you know where it was like I I was really wanting to express very vulnerable things and then at a certain point I was like like it was so not cool to be earnest, or or like open-hearted and um, and I allowed myself to kind of like go with the flow and I stopped singing in bands because I really felt like I was like, oh, whatever I had to say, is I kind of cringe, like I?
Speaker 2:I think that maybe I'm whack you know, you let them.
Speaker 1:You let them put your flame out. Yeah, what the hell.
Speaker 2:And then um and then, yeah, it took a lot of years to kind of undo that and RJC was kind of the path towards Military Gun. I mean, I told the guitar player, rjc, like on our first tour I was like my goal with this is to like loosen myself up, to try to like be comfortable expressing myself on a microphone and then finally like learn to sing and do a band, which like it wasn't a conscious goal the whole time, and then eventually military gun emerges. So it obviously the, the grand vision was was seen. But, um, yeah, it was a interesting. It took a long time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it took a long time, that's dope. That's dope because, uh, you know, one thing I really appreciate about your vocal style is just the kind of simplicity and rawness of it. That's one of the things that first drew me to punk rock and to hardcore. Then, when I listen to your voice and the way you sing, uh, it just reminds me of like the like, purity and like joy, of just like expressing yourself on a microphone.
Speaker 2:You, you know, yeah, well, I mean, that's where the roots of the band, like my biggest influences, were Sam McPheeters and Henry Hollins, and then branching out into more, like Bob Mould and all that First wave of punk where it was so much just expression and less technical ability is what the vibe was you know that's what I was chasing, and then, as I've developed more technique, I've been able to achieve more things out of here in my head. But it's like trying to not lose that. Directness is an important goal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, man, that's dope. And you know you guys just dropped Military Gun, just dropped the latest single Thought you Were Waving and it's an awesome song. You know, I want to kind of talk a little bit about that song lyrically. You know where it comes from and also just you know how it was tracked and you know we'll start there. But I really want to get into songwriting with you because it seems like something you really care about.
Speaker 2:I do really care about songwriting but, that being said, it's all about intuition, and a huge thing was this instrumental was written two years ago.
Speaker 1:Yeah, was Malachi involved.
Speaker 2:I saw you post something Malachi couldn't dream of learning to play this riff Malachi couldn't dream of learning to play this riff, but we were making a music video for Drain. I was directing a music video for Drain and we were staying at Malachi's house.
Speaker 1:Malachi had begged to be the Malachi from Scowl, by the way.
Speaker 2:He had begged to be the PA on the shoot, and then he found himself thinking we weren't busy enough, and so he's like I'm going to go do jujitsu for a bit and I was like this is the worst PA I've ever had, but it was a free hotel room, essentially.
Speaker 2:So that worked out. And then so, yeah, we showed up in the middle of the night at his house and I just picked up his Strat and just started playing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What ended up becoming? Thought You're Waving? It wasn't right for a long time. I made an original demo which had a lot of the key pieces of the song, but didn't have a chorus, didn't have like the chorus riff. What is the post-chorus on the song? Used to be the chorus, okay, and it didn't have a chorus, didn't have like the chorus riff. Yeah, um, what, what was? What is the post-chorus on the song? Used to be the chorus okay, and it didn't work, it wasn't inspiring.
Speaker 2:I never sang on it or anything like that. And then we did these sessions with this guy, bobby uh, who was it goes by the hacks and cloak.
Speaker 2:He like scored midsommar and both afraid Beef, and he has been such an awesome supportive friend and he just kind of gave us the space to experiment with him recording and I was like, oh, I'm going to write a bridge for this song. I recorded it the way that I had it and what the bridge was was just the strummed out the same chord progression as the verse, but just strummed out. And I never do anything like that and I always am big on wanting to switch things and like I never think a song could be one riff or one chord progression. And then I left and I was like I think that's the chorus. Can you restructure the song to make that the chorus? And then that was what happened, and then everything else just fell out. After that, where I was obsessed with listening to the instrumental, which is what it takes for me to record on, the song is to be like this is what I want Now. I want to listen to it all the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah so then I sang on it with my buddy, phil Odom, who I do a lot of my vocals with, and I had just been listening to something and they described exactly the situation of the song, which was someone off the shoreline waving to somebody on this run and being like I need help.
Speaker 2:Yeah and not understanding and there's a famous poem, um, with the same imagery and I was like, oh, I wonder if this has been like really used much and I could. There's a sheer terror song that references it actually. But uh, I was like, oh, there's like not too many, like it's not like over tread, like a famous poem like that. You would assume it's referenced a lot and I hadn't couldn't find.
Speaker 2:I like searched waving drowning lyric, you know like just being like would it be whack if I did this and then, and then. I couldn't find it, and so I was like I'm going to fuck it.
Speaker 2:You know I thought you were waving, turns out you're drowning and we wanted to make it like somewhat sarcastic and kind of. The original version was a lot more cynical but we ended up trying to dial it back and really what I think kind of says it all about the song was that the second verse. It says I saw you through the window of another burning house, but I just thought you lived there, so I went and shot my house, which is to try to evoke this idea that it's normal to live in a burning house.
Speaker 2:And I feel like I lived in a burning house.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I feel like I lived in a burning house and I have many times and the idea that like that's so normal for all of us, like you're living in your own burning house, like how are you supposed to notice that that someone else is burning more than yours, and and it's just so easy to miss when someone's struggling and it's really hard to ask for help. And so I just wanted to kind of fold all that in and make a song that you know again. It's funny in some ways, but it says what it needs to say emotionally.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's sick man, and you know diving a little bit deeper into the songwriting process, you know one of the things that I have seen from you in that you know whether it's in like social media posts about songs you're releasing or stuff like that as there's always seems to be somewhat of a long road to uh, to finishing a song, not in a negative way, but in a way where you really love spending your time getting it right and making it feel exactly how you want it to feel. Yeah, um, what is it about, uh, writing a song that you love and what makes a good song to you? What are, like, the components?
Speaker 2:I mean is a lot of intangibles. I think in that is is is like really just comes down to do. I want to listen to it you know like I have to be the biggest fan of a song, first and foremost because no one should ever be the biggest fan of a song. First and foremost, because no one should ever be a bigger fan of a song than me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's songs that I'm not a big fan of now and people try to be like you should play that.
Speaker 1:I'm like well, I'm not a fan of that song, you know.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I mean, Military Gun was made during the pandemic and the big thing that we lucked out on was that we had nothing but time to write and it was all I was doing for a long time. And because of that, we created a backlog to work through and usually, if I do a band, I would have made that demo, released it immediately and then played a show and then I would have been on tour forever and there would have been no more songs made.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for a while, but we couldn't do that, and so all I could do to to exist within a band. To be in a band, you had to write a song. Yeah, because otherwise you're just a guy existing yeah you know like during that time there's like what is being in a band? It's either you're at band practice or writing a song or putting a song out. Yeah, otherwise you're not in a band that's the way I felt, at least uh, and so we were to create a backlog.
Speaker 2:And not only that, with that backlog, like a, a buffer, yeah we were to create a buffer so that there was never a rush yeah so we were releasing the backlog of songs all the way into our first year of playing shows, and our first year of playing shows we were listening to the demos for the next LP. Yeah, yeah, so it was just boom, boom, boom.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then we recorded the LP and then we instantly started writing the next record, so the record that we are about to record. We've been having some of these songs for two years you know what I'm saying and they have had the last two years for them. You know there's tons of songs I will never listen to again. Therefore, they'll never get released.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was going to say do you worry about getting like demo-itis? Oh yeah, I got terrible demo-itis Because you can sit with a song forever and it can fuck you up.
Speaker 2:But I get bored. That's the big thing. If I get bored of it, if I'm sick of hearing it, if there's something I don't care about, it's out, it's out.
Speaker 1:It's done, the song's dead to me.
Speaker 2:Maybe we can go into it and fuck around with it and make it exciting, but if I get over it, you know a great song you won't get bored of. That song has to exist for all the time until the collapse. When Spotify disappears off the internet and we realize shit, we have no other way to listen to music. Then it exists until that point, and so I have no problem making it. It has to exist in me for a long time for it to make the cut, and so that's where we're at Awesome. That buffer is important, so there's no rush.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, absolutely man. And you guys put out an EP this year, life Under the Sun, which is basically like a little bit more melancholy versions of some songs you've already put out, along with a NoFX cover. But you've got some collaborations on there Mannequin, pussy Bully, manchester Orchestra. You know you're someone who I always see bumping around like you know, talking to this person, talking to that person. You know kind of exchanging energy artist to artist. And I want to know, you know, you know, like, what kind of inspiration do you take away from um? You know, just working with other people. You know like collaborating on songs and and just kind of being able to sit down and work with other artists. I mean the first first form of.
Speaker 2:I'm a fan of music. Yeah, like, like, like I. I am an obsessive listener of music. Like I, I am obsessed with mannequin pussies records. I'm obsessed with bullies records. I'm obsessed with Manchester orchestra's record. I'm obsessed with no effects.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Like, like, uh, so to be able, and you, there's so much to learn.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And we all work different. We all have our own thing and and our own thing and, and you know to to just especially as something like life under the sun, where it's it's interpret they're interpreting. You know, like they're similar melodies but different. They're different words, they're whatever it is. You know, like my friends are having a hard time with manchester orchestra, like we talked about kanye west only one, and then shooter jennings recorded the piano parts yeah, yeah, we gotta talk about Shooter too.
Speaker 1:That's my man, dude, he's the best. So.
Speaker 2:Shooter recorded the piano. It was like me teaching him. I was like it's this note, this note and this note.
Speaker 2:And he'd play and I'm like, well, not that octave. I have a video of me teaching it to him. And then I laid down a really bad scratch vocal where I was out of tune and I was just like this is what we have. And then we laid down the drum machine part to kind of like. So they understood that I was like it should push in the middle. And then they went and made something entirely different and they didn't vocode my voice. What they did was they tuned't vocode my voice. What they did was they made my voice a keyboard so it sounds like a vocoder, but they're actually playing my voice as a piano on that song and making harmony out of it and doing all this shit and I'd never thought of something like that. And then we went and worked with them and just their versatility and ease of moving through a studio, you know, like from one instrument to another, so inspiring and like I don't know, I'm just a student.
Speaker 2:Like that's all I view myself as is like a person, like I didn't know about this stuff that long ago. I've been obsessed with it forever, but I've been an idiot for way longer than I've been a student, you know like uh, and so I just really enjoy like learning from all these people and and knowing that I don't know best and and just going in with an open mind to every session and and every. You know like I I approached you at sound and fury to be like yeah, I don't think this guy knows what I look like up close. You know, like someone's gonna be like what's up?
Speaker 2:all right, how are you doing? Like, um, also, I have a big chip on my shoulder because I think that I I people accuse, like, if you're in any position of anyone knowing who you are, people accuse you being a cool guy if you don't say hello.
Speaker 2:So I'm like my worst nightmare is being like able to cool guy is being like like I saw that guy around and he fucking, he fucking, he fucking ignored me, which is never the case. I'm like uh, you know, I I just didn't. Well, I was also drinking, so it was easy to like be saying what's up to people. But, um, you know, just like try to put myself out there and and and put myself out there as a fan of everything you know to be like I know what you look like because I'm a fan.
Speaker 2:You know I know what anyone looks like because I'm a nerd about the music and so same thing with actors, same thing with directors, like all, like anything I'm into, like I'm, I know a lot about and I want to exchange with those people. Yeah Uh, first and foremost as a fan, and then if that can grow into like being any sort of peer of collaboration or whatever. Like I love that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, dude, it's rad and I think that there's like a uh, I mean it's obviously been a super inspiring thing for you creatively and I imagine you're just learning so much working with all these other artists and it's it's great for the band too, because I mean it's it's seeing you guys pop up on radars and in places that you know maybe you wouldn't reach if you weren't reaching out to collaborate with these people, or try to talk to these people you know so um, I mean, I got to meet so many of my idols.
Speaker 2:Now because, but what I will say? Because it is hard, because people approach us as well, don't, I wouldn't say, lead with trying to like collaborate with somebody? I would say, build a friendship you know like sometimes you know, sometimes these things are like more businessy, where you're arranging collaborations through business people or whatever. But I think just if you're a younger artist, like just approach people as a fan, approach people as a peer, whatever, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And then if the vibe's there, then you can talk about those things.
Speaker 2:But you don't want to seem too thirsty too hungry. There is a peril in being too thirsty.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, true, true, true. Shooter Jennings real quick. What's that guy like? Because he seems like he's amazing, he's the best, he's the best man, he so shooter.
Speaker 2:You know he is someone who obviously is country music royalty, yeah, um, but he is a rock guy yeah you know, and and he's, and he loves all sorts of music. You know, like we could talk about so much. When I go over there I was playing him demos and we were talking about Ian Brown and we were talking about Spiritual Eyes and we were talking about.
Speaker 2:Kanye West and we were talking about all sorts of shit, and that's why, ultimately, we did the EP with him. Was that the vibe was right? I mean, again, he's just a fan. That's the type of thing. We've been texting a long time because he knows that Mike Dean goes to a certain spot and his wife would see him around. And then he finally introduced himself to Mike Dean and you're like we're fans.
Speaker 1:It's the same. That's what we have in common.
Speaker 2:He didn't say hi, I'm Shooter Jennings, I'm somebody. He went I'm a huge, I'm a huge fan, man, you know like and that's what we have in common is that we just love music and we love talking about music and we love making music yeah and you know getting to make the record with him was awesome.
Speaker 2:Was just like us drinking White Claws, smoking weed and he has this raspberry pie that just like shuffles movies, so sometimes it'd be like the most b horror movie. Sometimes it's storytellers from mtv, sometimes it's you just look over it once upon a time in hollywood. I would be on on like a tube tv and which was just awesome to to look at, um, and it was just like he curated, like such a great vibe and any idea I had he was just down to try yeah you know, and, and he's also such an amazing player you know like he I'm seeing all these videos of him playing with turnpike troubadours and like arenas on the keys.
Speaker 2:You know he's like playing a upright piano in an arena and you're like that's crazy that's my friend like yeah, but he's just awesome man, he's just awesome. Going hanging out with him is the best.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, man, yeah, and I think that you know. Going back to just songwriting for a second, I think that that's one of the things that really shines through with you and with military gun um is just, you know the, the love you have for the craft, for music, for songwriting, and I think that that is something that is always going to translate artist to artist. You know what I mean. Like when someone really enjoys what they're doing, it's like hell.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, and we we, we, we know music history. We know you know what I'm saying, like we know all the nerd facts and so we can go into these conversations, like with anyone, where you know the people that are there's people I've met who are big people that I'm like there's no nothing behind the eyes. Yeah, yeah, and you know those people and there's nothing to share.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, you could maybe get some dollars out of them. Yeah, but that's not what the goal is. I think that if that was the goal, that the shit would collapse yeah where, like, what we're trying to do is build a house of bricks and that is built through only genuine connections. We're not working with anybody. We don't got like a legitimate, genuine connection yeah, hell yeah so um.
Speaker 1:You can tell those people yeah, you know, absolutely, man, awesome. Uh, before we kind of get into some internet questions here, I gotta ask you, uh, about very high, because that's the song that, like you know, do it, do it faster came out and uh, you know, that song is great, amazing. But when very high drop, that was the song that sealed the deal for me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we thought that was going to be the big one, and it's fucking.
Speaker 1:Do it Faster I fucking love that song, so just give me a little bit of detail on how that song came together.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, as with most songs, it was kind of freestyled in the moment. The literal origin was I drove by a Smokey, the bear fire warning sign and it just said very high.
Speaker 1:So I was like oh, it's a sign. I was like, I was like that's a song title very high.
Speaker 2:I was like it's stupid, but fuck it. And then literally I was like I've been feeling pretty down, so I get it just, you know one of those things it just feels like I'm being pulled along, it just all just like.
Speaker 2:Suddenly occurs to me like I'm like I don't feel very responsible for any of this shit, like it just like existed already and I'm like, oh, there it is. Uh, I guess, but that that's just. You got to be open to the world around you, um, but yeah, I mean, there was our. Initially. The riffs were started by our guitar player, will, who's never played in a band before this. This is the first song he ever wrote.
Speaker 1:Hell yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think the naivete of the riffs you know, like basically the process was him coming with that and him and I are the same in that we're not guitar players.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, like I'm not a guitar player but I write all these songs, yeah, and so it was like he, uh, he, he came with it and I just made it like a little bit more cynical where his was like more purely poppy, yeah, Um, and so that you know it's like that little cynical underbelly to it that I think is kind of like what makes us not just like some shitty pop punk band or something. It's like that in production.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean the drum beat on that song too.
Speaker 2:It's like that in production.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean the drum beat on that song too it's got like that 90s kind of drum beat feel to it too. That song is so good man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you, we're very proud of it. We wrote it. That was one of those ones that sat around for two years and three years Three years. We wrote that before we wrote songs like Ain't no Flowers, like that before he wrote songs like ain't no flowers, like like. That was written very early, maybe like the fifth or sixth song we ever wrote, but we were so scared of it because we we knew that it was a big song and we kind of knew that we weren't capable of achieving it yet yeah you know, and so it took us a long time to kind of like slowly move it into the right, massage it into the wood, yeah, and then we got it the right time, I think.
Speaker 2:So, very proud of that song, very proud of the collaboration with Will, I mean to have that be the first song you ever wrote it's pretty crazy. But we thought that was the big one. And then Do it Faster is the big one.
Speaker 1:So I don't know, I don't know how that works. Awesome man, and you guys. You mentioned a new record coming down the pipeline.
Speaker 2:Working hard on it. Right now, yeah, yeah, I mean, unfortunately we're on tour from like August 15th, november 16th.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:So we're going to be, you know grinding into it.
Speaker 1:Is that a headliner support tour? What is that?
Speaker 2:We're going to Europe headlining Hell yeah, doing. Redding and Leeds, oh dude.
Speaker 1:So in Leeds? Oh dude.
Speaker 2:So much fun. We come back and do a tour with Manchester Orchestra and then we're waiting on a tour to be announced I don't know when.
Speaker 1:I would love to drop it here, but I can't Big one, or Massive one, massive, massive one. What Massive one?
Speaker 2:Biggest one. Yet Can you give a hint? It's bands from our world that are doing very well.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:I think I got that one All right, so let's head to the internet here for a couple questions.
Speaker 2:I'm excited to see this. I thought your audience would be like who?
Speaker 1:No, no, no, Hell, no man. All right. Well, we got a little focus on the important questions here, ian. Is the Olive Garden a respectable place for a first date?
Speaker 2:For a first date If you have the right conversations, like you know. If somehow you land on the idea that you're both into that, I guess. But I would say, have some conversations first I'm assuming you're already kind of in a situation, chip at that point, if you're willing to go there, if it's a cold call, don't no, I would say not. Yeah, I feel like maybe in high school, yeah so for the longest time check this out, I legitimately thought red robin was one of the nicest restaurants around I'm not like, like I would go on dates to red robin.
Speaker 1:It's a bottomless prize. Yeah, I thought red robin was legitimately fancy.
Speaker 2:I thought it was so fancy, in fact, because my family didn't go out like that nicest meal we ever went to was was red robin yeah, every once in a while, you know. So I thought that was like a legitimately nice restaurant. I didn't know there was scales to this shit yeah, so olive garden to me at one point probably seemed like a really, we just never ate olive garden. So yeah, first date, I don't know second date for sure, uh okay, here's another question here actors as musicians.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, is it legit or are they acting well? I play in one. I play in, uh, one band, sex with a terrorist, with an actor who's the actor. His name is spencer granite. He, he's been in like, um, better call soul, okay. Um, he's been in now I'm I'm, I'm so big on listening his credits all the time and now I feel like I'm out of the rhythm with it. He's been in now. I'm so big on listening to his credits all the time and now I feel like I'm out of the rhythm with it.
Speaker 2:He's been in Minds. He's been in a lot of stuff, not like a big actor, he's kind of like, really, on the up right now Plays in a band that I do with Patrick Kinlan called Sex with a Terrorist, aka SWAT, yeah, and so I mean. The thing is these are people that have other interests. You know, like right now they're where there's certainly a moment with wallow, wallows, I think that's what they're called. Big, really big band. Uh, the kid was in that show. 13 reasons why he was in one of the most recent screams.
Speaker 2:Oh, man, it's massive there's some band that has a massive tiktok song with one of the kids from stranger things not the other kid, not Not the Finn Wolfhard, some other kid from Stranger Things Massive song, I don't know. It's interesting. People have different interests. It's weird.
Speaker 1:I saw. It's like you know. There's like the Keanu Reeves side of it where it's like you feel like he just loves playing bass.
Speaker 2:And he was in.
Speaker 1:Dog Star, and then it's like then you have like the Russell Crows and the Steven Seagals. So what we come down to. What we come down to is and then you have the Jared Leto, who's, like the ultimate actor, musician, I think. I feel like.
Speaker 2:Oh he's. I can't talk too much about him because we're the same company gives out the checks, I think yeah, yeah, yeah, I got you, I got you. But, yeah, that one's hard for me. No, I mean, he seems like a douche for sure. What we're talking about, then, is taste.
Speaker 1:Yes, we're talking about tasteless people versus people with taste, which ultimately is it.
Speaker 2:I remember seeing a band once open a massive tour and I was like I'm in the stands, I could play every instrument on that stage, I could sing the way they're singing, but there's an intangible there that they're a part of that I'm not. But then it arrived and I was like, well, it's all about taste. Yeah, Taste and perspective is what makes art meaningful. The exact same piece could be made by two people, but it is the story and the taste that supports it you know what I'm saying, like what I think separates our music from others is the roots in classic rock and what.
Speaker 1:What is the the, the bedrock that it's laid upon, is different than just like some younger kids that are like we, like title fight and title fights like the end of their music history or some shit you know, yeah, um, and so I think it comes down to that, where it's like, yeah, russell crowe has no fucking taste you know, like he's gonna play in a shitty band because he has no taste and he's surrounded by yes men, you know like uh, what I would say.
Speaker 2:That's probably the problem with most of these actors is they? Got no taste and they're surrounded by yes men. So it can be good. Most likely won't be good, but we're seeing a renaissance of people playing bands that are successful actors that are good yeah.
Speaker 1:It would be unfair to say that an actor couldn't be capable of wanting to do those things. But then I think it's just because they're actors. Sometimes it just uh, as if it like lifelong diehard musician.
Speaker 2:Sometimes you just kind of, you know, wonder, you wonder if it's real or not, you know well, I mean, it's the type of thing where it says like every uh actor and comedian wants to be a rock star and then a rock star wants to be like you know, like it's the same thing as everyone. Everyone wants what they don't got. There's not enough money in music to really truly envy what we got. Going on, I don't think.
Speaker 1:All right, here we go. Ian, walk me through DJing the Taco Bell canteen.
Speaker 2:It was fun. I mean, this is one of those things where, like, we've just kind of lucked our way into whatever all this shit is you know yeah um. The first hour was all executives, uh, and I played laughing hyenas and it was really funny because taylor young was there with us, and he just goes too aggressive he like turns, he's like too aggressive and so like I was like.
Speaker 2:But then I'm looking around, no one's batting an eye, and I'm like all right, I'm playing some songs off life of crime and no one's batting an eye, so where else can I go from here? You know how much more subversive you know. At one point I played doc, don't talk to me by gg allen there you go, looking around, no one's noticing and you're like this is just funny.
Speaker 2:You know like there's no purpose for me there, but it's like that. I, I don't know, I don't even know why it happens. I don't know what it does for them. I know what it does for me, yeah, but I don't know what it does for them. And, and you know, like some do with, like some would call that a dream gig, by the way, yeah, I don't know, it's one of those bizarre things, yeah.
Speaker 1:You find yourself in strange places, sometimes in the music world. Shout out to Tim Bergevin and John Landman, of course.
Speaker 2:John Landman, let's go.
Speaker 1:They're the fucking best. All right, here we're going to dive into the live music spirit world, okay, okay. So what we're going to do here is we're going to pretend we're in the cosmos and there's two doors. Okay, there's a door to your left. There's a door to your right. Okay, which door are you going to walk through? Okay, the first test here Aerosmith on the left, kiss on the right.
Speaker 2:I like more Aerosmith songs than Kiss songs.
Speaker 1:I'll do Aerosmith. You're going to see Aerosmith, all right? What about Red Hot Chili Peppers on the left, grateful Dead on the right Chili Peppers, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Chaparron on the left, charlie xcx on the right.
Speaker 2:charlie charlie charlie, I don't, I don't listen to chaparron ice cube on the left, ice tea on the right.
Speaker 1:Cube, nice, nice, uh. Modest mouse on the left and the strokes on the right oh, this is the hardest one.
Speaker 2:Okay, wait, I gotta say we did just have a night with isaac brock and it was amazing he's, he's fucking, he's the best I, it was, it was amazing uh like the most, like life-affirming shit, you know to be like holy shit, like I grew up, yeah, and I'm hanging out with this guy that part on, uh, on, thought you're waving that well, uh that's awesome. That's got some. Someone might be in the studio right now. Really hopefully, hopefully, hopefully. It goes through hell, yeah, but uh, maybe thought you're waving too.
Speaker 2:I'm going to have to go temperamental rock stars. Here I'm going to go, modest Mouse. Strokes are one of my favorite bands. I'm going to go Modest Mouse.
Speaker 1:All right. Pixies on the left, radiohead on the right. Radiohead. No effects on the left. Pennywise on the right.
Speaker 2:No effects.
Speaker 1:Oh, straight, no effects. All right here, last couple ones. We're going to just throw out some general, just softball themes. Okay, all right, just pump it or dump it here, mark Wahlberg.
Speaker 2:Rocking with him, mario Lopez Not rocking with him.
Speaker 1:Sports Rocking with them. Mario Lopez, not rocking with them. Sports Rocking with them. Exercise Rocking with it. Politics.
Speaker 2:Fuck them.
Speaker 1:Sex.
Speaker 2:That's how we go.
Speaker 1:I enjoy it Canada.
Speaker 2:I'm rocking with it.
Speaker 1:E-bikes Definitely rocking with it. Vaping Not rocking with it. E-bikes Definitely rocking with it Vaping.
Speaker 2:Not rocking with it. Hell yeah, professional wrestling Rocking.
Speaker 1:I got it. I got it legally. I got to say, yeah, yeah, we just dropped the wrestling intro.
Speaker 2:You guys are on the fucking you guys are on the game, right, yeah? And then we wrote a wrestling, oh that's sick, dude.
Speaker 1:Hell yeah, All right, A couple more questions here then I'll let you get out of here my man. This is the Sailor Jerry podcast. Norman Collins, the traditional godfather of tattooing here. Do you have any tattoos?
Speaker 2:You got a couple right, I got a couple None good, what was your? First one. My first one was this logo for the band Neanderthal right here. That's pretty tight. This logo for the band neanderthal right here, that's pretty tight. I've always been a fan of the blast beats and uh, yeah, hell yeah, that was my first one awesome, all right, hypothetical here, bill and ted time machine.
Speaker 1:You walk out the apartment, you know the booth comes down, door slides open. Rufus says ian, get in here in history first place. You want to go, and why oh?
Speaker 2:this is hard. I guess if I could do anything I would just be an assistant at Abbey Road just in the 60s, in the late 60s I mean the records you could, just the songs you could hear being made on a given day. That would be insane, like I think that would be the most special thing you can witness.
Speaker 1:Have you guys done Maid of Veil like BBC session?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we sucked, I sucked, I sucked.
Speaker 1:Dude. Okay, so real quick. So the Bronx has done a couple over the years. The first time, bro, like you know, we were still I was still really young, figuring out I didn't really have any sort of technique or like any sort of vocal responsibility. Let's just say that, you know. So we were out every night, we were raging and I don't know what it is, but there's something about that studio that is like extra brutal and extra dry on vocals, yeah, and you hear yourself back and it's it can be fucking tough. I had a session there that was a fucking nightmare, dude. I, I, I hate the recording this is so.
Speaker 2:You know you learn some tricks, like we've half-stepped some songs and like made them easier on the voice live. You know we did a blowout London show, where of course I'm so stupid.
Speaker 1:We fucking did an encore you know, and my voice was fine, and then it was like the encore ruined my shit.
Speaker 2:And yeah, you know, I remember I was in the booth at Maid of Ale, like trying my best not to cry, to be know just I would. I remember I was in the booth that made avail, like trying my best not to cry to be like wow. I can't believe I've screwed up this crazy opportunity. You know, like our manager was even there, like he flew out to. England and, and you know, I just feel like I'm humiliating myself in front of the engineers.
Speaker 1:They're tracking their shit and it sounds all good and you're like I can't do my job. I suck at myself in front of the engineers and the bands hide their track and their shit and it sounds all good and you're like I can't do my job.
Speaker 2:I suck at this. You know it made better sense, but I swear to God, every time we have to do one of these live sessions we'll be fine. And then I'm like something bad happens right before and I'm like great. I'm going to be bad again. We finally got a good live session. That's going to drop this month. I don't like a single one yet. You did KXP too right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it sucks. You don't like it. I hated it. I love that one. I hate the way it sounds.
Speaker 2:No, I mean, I liked doing it, but I hate the way.
Speaker 1:I sound Got you, got you.
Speaker 2:We had to play a show later that day. We played a show the night before we to do that. Like, yeah, it sucks sometimes, man, what's the one that's gonna drop soon? What one is that? Uh, we did a a late night. We played in the round at primavera, oh sick, like at 2 am, oh dope and um, yeah, I just been very pumped on the performance I didn't even have monitors, it was I.
Speaker 2:I started with an in-ear in and like, yeah it like I. I never used ears before, though like we pulled up and they were like well, none of the other artists had instruments, so we don't even like monitoring what do you mean?
Speaker 1:like there's no monitors.
Speaker 2:You know I was really drunk and it was. I got a black eye because I beat myself up during the performance but, I because I thought I sounded terrible. And we got it back. I was like I sound good, yeah, uh. And so that's where the black guy came. Yeah, the black guy was me self-inflicted.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, awesome man. Well, uh, it's been a pleasure having you here on the silly jerry podcast, my man thank you for having me thank you for making the time. Thanks for coming down. Last question here uh, what to you is the meaning of life?
Speaker 2:The meaning of life. I guess it would just be to share something. You know, yeah, like, think about all the moments. I think about it as moments of sharing something, whether that be sharing music or sharing in, just like family. You know, like those are probably my music and my family are probably two, two most important things to me. So, and that extends to my friends, my friends and my family very close, create familial bonds with my friends so yeah, man, they can't escape me, you know can't get out of this one.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I don't know. I'd say just like sharing and something, hell yeah, at all times awesome.
Speaker 1:Thank you and appreciate your time, man thank you.