Listening as a Creative Practice: A Conversation with Tom Hamilton Jr.

Tom Hamilton from Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Ghost Light, Billy & The Kids, Electron & Brothers Past

The gang talks about how intentions are so important when recording music, when music activates parts of your brain that you may be uncomfortable with, focusing on the macro of songwriting and people talking during concerts - among other things.

Tom Hamilton Jr. had an amazing breakfast sandwich with scrambled eggs and pepper ketchup on a potato roll with Korean fried chicken on top of it.

• The Free Design - Bubbles | 1
• Frank Zappa - Sofa No. 2  | 2
• Protomartyr - The Chuckler  | 3
• King Curtis - A Whiter Shade Of Pale  | 4
• John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band - How Do  You Sleep? 
• The Bee Gees - Nights On Broadway | 3
• Gladys Knight & The Pips - Midnight Train To Georgia  | 5

1. Fan Pick by Tim Palmieri of Lotus
2. Fan Pick by Jon Gutwillig of The Disco Biscuits
3. Guest Pick by Tom Hamilton Jr.
4. Fan Pick by Steve Kimock
5. Fan Pick by Dennis McNally, biographer, and publicist for The Grateful Dead
   
   

Show quote: "This was a great experience, a really unique angle on doing stuff like this. Way to go guys, I really love it and think it's super cool. I'll be back, I'd love to do it again." - Tom Hamilton Jr.

This episode was originally recorded live on October 24, 2022 

Transcript

 Tom Hamilton Jr.: (00:00)
Hey, this is Tom Hamilton from Ghost Light and Joe Ruso is almost dead. Yo, this is Philip Lassiter.

Russ Lawton: (00:05)
Hey, Russ Lawton here from The Sole Monday.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (00:09)
And you're listening to, and you're listening

Speaker 2: (00:10)
To, you're listening to Galaxy Jams Reacts.

EJ: (00:32)
Well, sometimes you think this day couldn't get any better, but then you just happen to ponder this great endeavor, , that's another episode of Galaxy Jams Reacts where we listen to handpicked and fan-picked music. I am EJ here with my partner in crime, Mike.

Mike: (00:49)
So excited

EJ: (00:50)
And a wonderful co-host, Kai.

Kai: (00:52)
Thank You.

EJ: (00:53)
And of course, with us Tonight is the great Tom Hamilton Jr. Guitarist for Ghost Light, Joe Russo's almost dead American babies, Electron. And Billy and the kids, welcome to the show. Tom, how are you?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:05)
I'm great, dude. I'm absolutely great.

EJ: (01:08)
Phenomenal.

Mike: (01:08)
Yeah. Thank you so much for being here, Tom. You know, you're such a fascinating guitar player in that you're able to play in many different places and, you know, really fit yourself into the mold of what you're doing. And we have so many questions that we just want to ask you. But first, we really wanna know Tom Hamilton Jr. What did you have for lunch today?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:28)
I had an amazing, uh, breakfast sandwich with, uh, with Korean fried chicken on top.

EJ: (01:35)
Oh my God.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:37)
Um, yeah, there's this place that's right by my studio that is just awesome.

Kai: (01:43)
Uh, what, what else was on that sandwich aside from that? Were there any other fixings on it?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:48)
Yeah, yeah, it was scrambled eggs and a, uh, a pepper ketchup type of thing.

EJ: (01:54)
Spicy. 

Kai: (01:55)
That's Bougie. 

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:57)
That's bougie as hell. It, it, it is definitely a bougie cafe, I'm not gonna lie. Um, that sounds, and, uh, and on a, uh, potato roll.

Kai: (02:07)
That sounds fun. That sounds phenomenal.

Mike: (02:09)
Yeah, that sounds really good. What did you have, uh, for lunch,

Kai: (02:11)
Kai? I had some carbonara, like pasta carbonara, so the Alfredo with the bacon and all that stuff, but I only had like a small thing. Yeah,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (02:19)
There's egg in that too. Yeah.

Kai: (02:21)
Oh, that's right. 

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (02:23)
That's a heavy Lunch. 

Kai: (02:24) It's a very heavy lunch, that's why I could only have half of the thing because I would be asleep for the rest of forever. . So how about you, Mike? What'd you Have?

Mike: (02:31)
I had sushi and, uh, I had, uh, that like clear soup and then I got those like topo yaki balls, like the OC octopus. I think I just, yeah, I just butchered that. Yeah. And then I had this like a tuna roll and then a tuna avocado roll. Ooh. I like keeping it Simple, nice and creamy.

Mike: (02:51)
Yeah. What about you EJ? What'd you Have? 

EJ: (02:53)
Well, I had a couple of hotdogs. I went to the famous alcohol uncle Al's route. Really? And so I had a New York dog had spicy mustard and onion sauce on it. Ooh. It's delicious. Oh, good. And I want a little bit of tang. So I got the Boston dog spicy mustard and sauerkraut.

Mike: (03:07)
Were you looking at your phone?

EJ: (03:08)
I had to, I had to write down. I'm old. I, I don't have a brain anymore. You know, I ruined it back in the day.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (03:14)
Guys. Question. So is this a bit that we do every week we talk about what we ate for lunch?

Mike: (03:21)
Yeah. Because we wanna see what's powering this conversation, Tom. We wanna see what's, what's keeping this conversation going?

EJ: Yeah. What fuels it.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (03:28)
I'm totally good with it. I was just making sure. Because if, if that wasn't the case, the amount of foresight that it took for EJ to write down what he had to go lunch.

EJ: (03:36)
Oh, my I do it every day. I gotta remember what to journal

Mike: (03:43)
He has to tell his handler.

EJ: (03:45)
Yeah. I have to tell my handler what I had for lunch. I write it down every day of the week. 

Kai: (03:50)
Tom, I like the fact that you picked up on that, that he would had to actually think that Far. He's good.

EJ: (03:53) I've been doing it since 1982. .

Mike: (03:56)
Yeah. He has a list. 

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (03:57)
Like a Trapper Keeper from 93.

EJ: (04:01)
Yep. Trapper Keeper

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (04:03)
With the cast of nine oh two one oh on it?

EJ: (04:05)
I did the cool thing where I sliced the top and put my own drawings in it. Yeah.

Mike: (04:10)
. You know, um, I actually like saw that documentary about that guy that's eaten like the, like the most amount of Big Macs. You guys know what I'm talking about? It's this guy that's eaten like a million Big Macs, literally. And he keeps like the solid Rolodex of all the receipts of every Big Mac that he eats every single day. I don't know if you guys know about that. I didn't know that. All

EJ: (04:30)
Right. I had no idea.

Mike: (04:31)
Well, you guys gotta look him up because, you know, he's my best friend. So, uh, so we're, uh, so excited to be listening to music together. Yes. We have a lot of great handpicked and fan picked requests. So, um, why don't we just jump right into it. So, uh, today's first pick is a fan request from Tim Palmier from Lotus. Yay

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (04:54)
Timmy.

Mike: (04:55)
Yeah. And so, uh, I know that I was, uh, I started, uh, listening to your music when you were in Brothers Past. And, you know, they such a good solid jamica, almost indie band, you know, put those two genres together, which I really appreciated. And I know that Lotus ran in those same circles. And so, uh, Tim says, we're gonna be listening to a artist by the Free design. And this is their song Bubbles. So Tim says that he chose this song Bubbles to keep it light and show vocal harmonies. And it also, it gives some complexity rhythmically and hopefully blows your mind with late sixties Pop brilliance. Tim says that he was blown away upon first hearing this track, and he still is every single time. So we're gonna be listening to the 1998 album. Kites Are Fun. This is the free design with their song bubbles right here on Galaxy Jams. Reacts

Speaker 6: (06:01)
The chewing bubble Bubbles getting, getting rid all of my troubles watching the temples and cry Wow. And

Speaker 7: (06:22)
Crying

Speaker 6: (06:25)
Are arguing my best friend

Speaker 7: (06:34)
Come Logan,

Speaker 6: (06:38)
The chewing bubble, getting balls watching Thes keeps heavy.

EJ: (07:01)
Wow. I've already liked this song because it's so bubbly and it lives up to its name. I, you know, this reminds me of like one of those artists that were like in a variety show in the sixties, right? That's what it sounds like came out in 1998. But even the design that we're looking at here, it looks like as a sixties vibe, gold looks like a bubblegum band.

Mike: (07:19)
Mm-hmm. . What I really like about the vocals is that a lot of people, when they try and do fun stuff with multiple vocals and mm-hmm.  and harmonies and things like that, they generally like stack them on top of each other. Mm-hmm. . And what I really like that the Free design did with this is like, they kind of went all over the place. So not only is it really interesting, you know, harmonies in terms of the notes, but the placement of like all the sounds and things like that really lended itself to a, a really, really nice distinct sound. And also it reminds me a lot of king gizzard and the lizard wizards. Yeah. Yeah. Because I guess what they're trying to go for, at least King Gizzard is is like that, like sixties garage band psychedelic thing. Mm-hmm. . And there's no way that this band isn't trying to go for that as well. Yeah. What did you think, Kai? I

Kai: (07:57)
Like that a lot. Of course, as soon as vocal harmonies hit, I'm usually in it. But like you said, Mike, the vocal harmonies are unique and not only because they were stacked like kind of right after one another, but the actual choice of notes they weren't using like Right.

Mike: (08:09)
Like normal chromatic stuff. Really off the beaten

Kai: (08:11)
Path. Yeah. Like very dissonancy. So when that hit, I was kinda like, Ooh, that's pretty cool. Uh, what did you think, Tom?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (08:16)
Uh, I think it's cool. It, it's, it's, uh, it's funny. It's like stealthy, like proggy, you know? Right. The time signature isn't straight, you know? Yeah. It's very like, I don't know what, you know, I, I'm not gonna like nerd out and count it, but it's definitely something crooked that you can't, you know, it's like, it's like you try to like dance to it, you'll break your leg, you know, . Uh, so, and I, I, I feel like that's kind of, I don't know, I, I, I wonder if that's like a tongue in cheek thing mm-hmm. On their end, you know? Cause it's like, Hey, we're gonna take this thing that is that this general aesthetic, that sixties very easily digestible thing, but we're gonna make it an odd time. Mm-hmm. , you know, it's like, we'll give you something pleasing, but we're also gonna make you work for it a little bit. You know? And I think that's, uh, that's kind of funny.

Mike: (09:04)
Yeah. That's a really good point. Because, uh, I feel like when people do Prague Rock, it's really, really easy to like, essentially be like hyper self-indulgent about it. And then like, you go down this rabbit hole and then in turn you lose your audience because yeah. You're just kind of doing this like self masturbatory stuff where you do weird time signatures and things like that. But I think that what they're doing is like something that's complicated, but also really palatable. And it's really, really difficult to do that, especially when you kind of have this like, backdrop of like 1960s pop mm-hmm.  essentially,

EJ: (09:33)
You know, I feel like that to dance to this song, on your point, Tom, I do believe that you should have a go-go cage and white boots . Yeah. It's the only way you'd survive.

Mike: (09:43)
Yeah. No, it seems crazy. And also it is almost like theatrical, like, it sounds like Broadway almost. Yeah. You

EJ: (09:49)
Know, like a TV show. Yeah.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (09:51)
It has like, um, age of Aquarius, you know?

Mike: (09:53)
Yes. Yeah. Definitely

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (09:55)
Something from like hair or, you know, uh, Jesus Christ Superstar, like that whole era of, of stuff. So, and this was from 98, you said?

EJ: (10:03)
1998.

Mike: (10:04)
Yeah. Which I think makes it even more interesting. It was

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (10:06)
Definitely, yeah. It's, it's, but you know, it's interesting cuz in 1998, uh, the, these weren't the, these weren't popular production choices in 1998 by means like, uh, you know, like now most things are trying to sound like, like a, you know, a long ago time. Most things are trying to sound like mm-hmm. , you know, even the nineties, you know, but let alone the sixties, seventies, you know, like everything Dan Auerbach does sounds like it's like in like 1974, you know, like that type of thing. Uh, but like in the late nineties, that wasn't really what was going on in music, you know? Mm-hmm. , like, things were still kind of on a forward momentum mm-hmm. . So it's, it's interesting that this is so like, spec like time specific sounding at a time when that wasn't really

Mike: (10:50)
The thing. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Yeah. And then also, I really like how they're able to do that without typical gimmicks that people do now. Like putting like lofi, you know, on, on everything and making everything sound fuzzy or putting, like that tape his, or like the record popping. Right. I don't really hear any of that here. It does sound like pretty high quality, especially for the base. So it seems that they're, they're going for that sound like the hard way, which is like, subtle way Yeah. The way that it's actually written and not like the aesthetic that's under it.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (11:17)
Yeah. But you didn't have the option then. That's kind of like, I also, part of the point, right, in 1998, you weren't making records on a laptop, you know what I mean? Right. Yeah. Like, that's like, pro Tools still was dog in 1998. I mean, like, they were, they were probably doing this record. I mean, they probably did this on tape, but that's why it sounds like, you know, I mean, the most modern recording in 1998 was, uh, adat or, you know, digital audio tape. Yep. Um, so really good point. Like, you know, uh, just, you know, like, it's easy now to make things sound old because there's usually just a, a, a

Mike: (11:55)
Button plug

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (11:55)
That's like mm-hmm.

EJ: (11:56)
, Hey, it's

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (11:57)
A vst. Yeah. And hey, make it sound like this. Whereas in back then, you know, like they wanted that sound like these guys had had to do with a tape. You had to get like a real, uh, like a plate reverb or a spring reve, like al things. Not just like, oh, hey man, waves made this plug in. That sounds like right. You know? Yeah. Cuddly knows or whatever, you know. So, I mean, that's which kind of I, I, I think makes this significantly cooler, you know, that, that they did the work, you

Mike: (12:24)
Know? Yeah. That's a great point.

Speaker 7: (12:39)
Blowing

Speaker 6: (12:41)
Chilling, bubble coming. Blowing. Getting my and

Speaker 7: (13:09)
Cry

Speaker 6: (13:12)
From, from getting heavy

Speaker 7: (13:14)
Cry.

Mike: (13:22)
Dope.

EJ: (13:23)
I mean, I can totally relate because, so soap bubbles carry my dreams up as well. .

Mike: (13:29)
Yeah. That was, uh, cool. And I like how short it was too. They're able to like really cram in a lot of really interesting things without like, filler. Right. Uh, we have, uh, some people in the chat. Yeah. Frowning Flowers says that Is this, uh, paying homage to Joe Walsh's Bubbles there? Lowell. Oh, . Maybe, maybe not, you know, not sure. But I think that, uh, it's, I actually kind of wanna listen to the rest of this album. I mean, that sounded really, really cool.

EJ: (13:55)
Yeah. I wanna check it out. I've never heard of him before. I'm surprised.

Mike: (13:58)
Yeah. Me neither. It sounds like something that you'd like ej,

EJ: (14:01)
You know. Well, I, I said it so bubbles carry my dreams up. Yeah.

Mike: (14:05)
All right. Well, uh, that was, uh, a very, very cool pick by Tim Palmier from Lotus. We really appreciate that, Tim. Up next. I

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (14:13)
Also appreciate that, that there's no guitar,

Mike: (14:16)
Guitar

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (14:17)
A focus of this song.

Mike: (14:19)
I didn't even think about that. No, I didn't, I didn't either.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (14:21)
Thank you, Tim. Yeah.

Mike: (14:23)
Yeah. Tha thank you very much. So, uh, we're gonna go ahead and move on to our next one. Yeah. So this song is brought by John the barber gut. Willig of the Disco biscuits. Yeah. Recommended this song for you to listen to. We're gonna be listening to. Okay. Frank Zappa. Are you a big fan of Frank Zappa? Are you familiar with a lot of Frank's music?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (14:43)
I am era specific, uh, of Zappa. I like the live with the Fillmore apostrophe one Size fits all. Like, that's my, that's my sweet spot for, for Zappa's stuff. Like, once it got, once it got into like the late seventies and like the eighties, I kind of, I kind of fell off.

Mike: (15:01)
Yeah. He really does have like, a really big repertoire of music, and it's one of those things that it's really hard to like actually know, like all of it. Right. Especially when you start getting into like, double digit albums, it just kind of gets like,

Speaker 8: (15:13)
Oh my God,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (15:14)
He's, he's had like 60 records or something. I mean, it's like, it's kind of, it's, it's a lot to, you know.

Mike: (15:20)
Right. So, uh, we're gonna be listening to this, uh, album called One Size Fits All from 1975. And, uh, this, this is Frank. Love

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (15:30)
This record.

Mike: (15:30)
Great. Let's go for it. It's, uh, this is Frank Zappa with Sofa number two right here on Galaxy Jam. Reacts

EJ: (15:49)
Very, very goly,

Speaker 8: (15:51)
Very thick already. Yeah.

Mike: (16:44)
Sounds huge.

Speaker 7: (17:17)
It's

Speaker 8: (17:17)
Such a huge sound.

EJ: (17:19)
Frank Zappa never ceases to amaze me that I can never tell where he is going. Right. And I absolutely love that about Frank Zappa and his production quality, and this is great. It sounds so, it's very rich, so lush. Yeah. And it's almost like a weird gospel song. Mm-hmm.

Mike: (17:37)
. Yeah. And, uh, I really like also that he's, the thing with Frank Zappa is that, and like I talk about this on the show sometimes, is that he's so good at sticking by the rules, just like he's so good at breaking the rules mm-hmm. . And so, so, you know, he can do like such prolific things, but then like, literally one second later, he's doing some goofy silly, which, you know, you have to be like, you know, have an art degree to really understand why he did that. Mm-hmm. , you know what I'm trying to say. And so, uh, , uh, and I also like how he switched to German, and, uh, the reason why he did that was because he had a fascination with the German people as he toured in Europe. And so That's so interesting how it, because the thing is, is like when you make a choice like that and you have like a whole, like, even in like 1975, like making a record was difficult and you needed a whole team of people. And so to get a whole team of people to go ahead with, yeah, we're gonna sing in German, and everyone's like, great, let's do it. . I feel like it's like a really, really hard sell. And, uh, he was really good at selling his ideas to the people that believed in him, which is why he was able to like, essentially do all this prolific stuff.

Kai: (18:38)
Yeah, definitely. And, uh, Tom, you sounded really excited when you heard that we were listening to this. When was, uh, when, uh, what was your take on this? When's the first time you heard this?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (18:46)
Oh, uh, first time I, I, dude forever ago, man. Uh, I, this was one of those records, you know, that like, uh, I probably, ah, man, late nineties maybe, you know, I, I think I, I, my dad was super into a, uh, like, uh, the apostrophe record when I was a kid. And when Brothers Pass started and I met the keyboard player, Tom McKee, he, I feel like he was the one that was like, you know, had it on tape. I think, you know, it was like, oh, dude, you know, if you like apostrophes you, let's check out this. Yeah. You know, it's just, it's a great record. Inca Rhodes is on this, which the Jam and Inca Rhodes sounds, it's crazy. Just like the jam in, uh, in Reba, the Phish song. Reba Yes. And Inca Rhodes found of the same Jam.

Mike: (19:39)
Oh, wow. That's a good point. Mm-hmm.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (19:42)
Uh, yeah, man. But this is, this is a, it's a beautiful record. This is, uh, it's interesting, the music, you know, Zappa's lyrics are always kind of like, whatever I, you know, he, he's on his own trip, like trying to prove whatever point it, he's trying to prove . But musically, this record feels a lot more sentimental. Mm-hmm.  to me, like the, the, just purely from the composition, not, not ne not what they're saying. I mean, a lot of what they're saying doesn't matter, you know? Yeah. I, I, I, I lo I love this record. I front to back, I mean, it's all great. And I lo I love this track. It's, it's,

Mike: (20:15)
Yeah. I,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (20:15)
I think that especially where it's going right where we stop, like the rest of this tune it. Like it's, you know, yeah. It really, it gets, it gets to, to be, it hits you right in the middle, you know?

Mike: (20:26)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Frank Zba is so good at taking like, the most ridiculous. And when you listen to it, you, you feel like this is something that needed to be said. And I feel like when you get really complicated and you have those Prague rock bands, like sometimes I'll leave a song and I'm like, that sounded like sterile. Or it sounded like it was just like, why did he do that? And Frank Zappa's really, really good at taking absurd things and making it seem like really important.

Kai: (20:51)
Profound. Yeah. That's cool. Um, I'm just taking aback with how full this song sounds, cuz anytime I hear something that was made in the seventies, I don't know why. My, my brain automatically goes, it's gonna sound a little thinner. It's gonna sound like something's missing. And this doesn't, it's just completely filled out very, uh, I guess analog. Cause that's what they were using. But everything just feels very full. There's nothing that sounds like super dated to me in, in terms of instruments.

Mike: (21:12)
Yeah. The what, what, go on. What

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (21:14)
Else? What, what's an example of that? Of, of, uh,

Kai: (21:17)
Like, like thinness, I guess, or, yeah. I can't think of anything in particular. But every single time I like, I think 70, even eighties, sometimes I'm like eighties, seventies. My brain automatically goes, oh, that's older stuff. So it's gonna have this thinner sound to it. And then this is not the first time I've been surprised by it, but I've got surprised by it again where it's just like, wow, this sounds so full. I don't know if it's the sound system I'm listening to it through, but it just sounds really lush.

Mike: (21:40)
Yeah. Or sometimes, like, the way that the instruments are mixed can be like, a bit, uh, like really, really apparent, right? Mm-hmm. . And so, like, for example, when you're, like, when we were listening to the song beforehand, that was made in 1998, right. And I feel like the bass sounded good and everything else kind of sounded like kind of, you know, not remarkable in terms of the sound quality, but you know, when you threw, when we threw this song on, like, I felt like I was like taking into this whole production, right? Mm-hmm. . And so, cuz like, I feel like a lot of people, they get caught in this like, mouse race, you know, if you will, like Rat Race, where it's like they focus on like a snare and they will, you know, they're gonna spend 50 days in a row getting that snare to sound good, right. Instead of looking at the bigger picture of like, making sure it all sounds cohesive and like together how

Kai: (22:24)
They work. Yeah, exactly,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (22:25)
Dude. Absolutely. I, you know, I talk, I talk about this a lot with just like my friends or my band mates or, you know, I, I just, we just, uh, made an album with Ghost Light and I'm currently making an album with this other band more. And, you know, I and I, I produce all these, I produce all the records I make. So, you know, and trying to talk to the guys about the different ways you can make records and, and how they, they'll translate and also how they'll last, you know? And I think things like what you were saying, Mike, about getting lost, you know, with like, Hey man, you're gonna sit here and, and pay attention to that snare drum for, for, you know, two weeks. But the track sucks. You know, like, regardless of that's the best sounding scenario ever had in your life, you know, it's the vibe, you know, like there's a reason that it's been whatever, it's been 40, 50 years and we're still collectively as a people listening and, and, you know, and younger kids are still discovering the Beatles and Zeppelin and Floyd and The Stones and, and those albums.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (23:30)
And it's because of the performance. Mm-hmm. , you know, like, these were, this was a group of people in a room making this happen. Not like somebody, you

Mike: (23:42)
Know, adjusting waves on a computer, you know, to get like the wave, like, you know, perfect. Perfect.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (23:48)
Yeah. Perfection, I don't think resonates with us because we're not perfect. Like, it's not a thing. Um, you know, that zapper record, that's this song that we're listening to, I would venture to say, uh, was, if not all of it, at least everything except the vocals was done live. Yeah. Like those, all those people were in one room at Zappa's house, that's where his studio was. And, and they were making this, they were making magic together. You know, like that's where, that's where the magic is, is, is when it's a group of people, you know, it's like playing to each other and playing to the room and, and, you know, creating something, conjuring something. You know, it's like, if, if you're just microfocused on, on on too, any of the little things or zoom too far in, you're not gonna see the bigger picture.

EJ: (24:43)
Yeah. And I think one thing about recording back then, and the bands back then, and even up through the, the nineties to tell you the truth was, you know, there wasn't like a lot of like, okay, I'm gonna do the drums and I'm gonna go back in and review this track mm-hmm. , and I'm gonna take the best part of this track. It is like, they did it live in the studio, right. And they had that energy, kind of what you're talking about, Tom, they had that, it it's the energy you're hearing as well, because they're all in the same room and they're all playing it together, and they're all going through that experience at the same time. And, uh, that's what produces, you know, all that greatness. Uh, and also I think back then, truthfully, you had to be on top of your game when you went into a recording studio. You know, nowadays you're like, okay, I know I can mess up 50 times and still get this one take that makes me sound like a superstar. You know, there's

Kai: (25:29)
No controls in it.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (25:30)
Absolutely. That Yeah. Yeah. Man, you, you had to just be good at what you did. Mm-hmm.

Mike: (25:34)
. Mm-hmm. .

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (25:35)
Yeah. Yeah. And if you weren't

Kai: (25:36)
Yeah, you were wait, you were burning do something else, you were burning some serious money in that place.

EJ: (25:40)
Especially in the Zale's band, right?

Mike: (25:41)
Yeah, exactly.

EJ: (25:43)
And demand perfection.

Mike: (25:44)
Uh, I'm a firm believer that intentions and energy and mindset gets translated into a recording. Mm-hmm. , I mean, like, the thing is, is like when you listen to music, like it can like make people smile, right? Or it can make people cry, and it's like, that's like a energy transfer that's like somehow like being transferred from that period of time. And those people's intentions, like, into like what they're doing now. And like, I feel like when people focus on the micro, instead of looking at the macro, that's when people get lost in the weeds and they're not really creating like, what they mean to do. It's like a painter that's stuck mixing colors for five years to get that perfect color, as opposed to just putting whatever he feels and putting that flow out there and then just creating. Right. And so, uh, you know, I think technology really helped a lot of people create a lot of new sounds, but it's also like bogging people down.

Mike: (26:36)
And then also you kind of mentioned like things being like on a grid and like being quantized. Like, it's hard. Like, I like, like when you play as like, like a, a drummer, right? You can play to a click, but some, and like, for some kind of music, I feel like it serves a purpose, but sometimes it's better to not. So then you have that natural, like, ebb and flow of like, the back and forth of the band. And, you know, even mistakes can be endearing, you know, voices cracking or, you know, hitting the snare just a bit off. Like it gives things character.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (27:04)
Yeah. I mean, it's time, uh, is democratic, you know, or should be, you know, it's, it's what, it's what the, you know, the drummer is, uh, in theory setting a pace or setting, uh, setting a time of a tune. But the rest of the band where they fall on that dictates everything, you know? Exactly. And you listen to, you listen. A a buddy of mine does a lot of like, mixing for live bands, uh, like as far as like their live releases, right? And oh, I've had some opportunities to, to have a, like a session open and, you know, it's like, and these are like stadium bands, you know, these are like, you know, and I, you know, I would like solo just agar or then solo, just the bass solo, just the drums. And it's like, man, this sounds terrible. It sounds terrible.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (28:01)
You're like, I, I can't believe this. These are professional musicians. I, but then when you un solo things and just, and, and let the whole band go, it's perfection. Mm-hmm.  mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm.  because everybody's, you know, it's the, it's the, it's what everybody's doing that makes it awesome. You know, the Rolling Stones, it's like, you know, Charlie Watts is right down the middle, and you got, you know, Wyman laying back and you got, you know, Keith pushing over Laton and, and all of that makes that groove what it is, you know? Absolutely. It's, it's not, you know, I mean, like, immigrant song wouldn't make you want to, wouldn't make you feel what it makes you feel if it was to a click, click track, you know what I mean?

Mike: (28:44)
Yeah. Well said. Yeah.

EJ: (28:46)
Well, let's see where this song goes. You were saying it's gonna go somewhere cool,

Speaker 7: (29:43)
Soul.

Speaker 9: (29:46)
My,

Mike: (29:50)
It's crazy. I love it. It's like, it's like the, the Diary of a madman. Yeah. He's a very strange ending. I

EJ: (29:56)
Love it. I love it. Love it, love it. And I, that's what I love about Frank Zba, because I mean, I think that, you know, you, you say write, you know, write some sort stuff. I think he just uses the voices as a, a tool and as a instrument instead of worrying about really, really getting deep with his lyrics or something like that, you know?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (30:15)
Yeah. Not worry a message as much, just using it as an instrument

EJ: (30:19)
And kind of to paint a picture and to create characters, you know? Mm-hmm. , I mean, a dental floss tycoon, you know, he paints a picture of that in Montana and, you know, some of the other, other great ones. And I, I just, I don't know, I I've always loved Zapp. He always holds a special place down in the cockles. Yeah.

Mike: (30:37)
. Yeah. And, uh, I think, like, for example, there's a band I really like called Phoenix, which is like this French, like electro pop band mm-hmm. . And what they do is like, their words, it's kind of like word salad almost. They just sort of like, it's like words, but it's really like vowels mm-hmm.  that they just use essentially. And it's like, even though it's like random as hell, you can still like string together anything and find meaning in anything, right? Mm-hmm. , you could literally take a dictionary and throw a dart board at it and put the words together, and someone somewhere will find a way that they identify with it and what it means to them and things like that, which I think is such a beautiful thing about music, you know?

EJ: (31:13)
Yeah. It's all about interpretation. Yeah. Yeah.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (31:16)
One of my favorite bands is this band called Stereo Lab. Ah. And, uh, you know, they, they have some things in English, but a lot of their lyrics are in like French or German. I don't speak either of those languages, but, uh, it doesn't matter, you know, like mm-hmm. , you know, like, it's like the music's the music, you know? And, and, and all art is just a mirror, you know? It's mm-hmm. , it's the listener or the viewer or whatever the, the, the participant is inviting them options to see their own back at them, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. . Yeah. You know, so it's like, I don't, I don't know what, what she's saying in the, some of these tunes, but, you know, it could be to the Americans. I don't, I don't know, but I don't give a. It doesn't matter, you know? It's like, it, it's strikes me in a way, it allows me to project what I, what I need to project.

Mike: (32:06)
Yeah. And when you were just saying that, Tom, I was thinking about the Psalm Gunga style. Remember that it came out from like South Korea, right? That was like gigantic. And there it wasn't in English, you know, and there wasn't anything particularly crazy about it. Dude had a dance, you know what I mean? Dude talked about living in, you know, an affluent suburb or whatever, and it just became like this mega hit. And I'm like, what about that song resonated with so many people that like, don't speak that language and don't know anything about what he's talking about. But obviously people just really, really liked it. And you're right. It's, it's just so interesting, like I said, intentions, right? And thoughts and like, uh, mindset. Right? It's also important when you're, when you're create putting it down, it's not just the sound, it's more about like, what you want to do behind it, and what is that song for, which I think is just as important.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (32:56)
Dance tracks are a, you know, a kind of a different thing. Right. You know, it's like that it's not necessarily high art. Right. You know, it's like you, you're trying, you, you're appealing to the visceral, uh, response of, of music at that, right. You're trying to

Mike: (33:10)
Do, it's like your lizard brain, right?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (33:12)
Yeah. You're trying, you know, I mean, like, like what you're trying to do is staying alive by the Bee Gees. You know what I mean? Like, that comes on and it's just like, whether you like it or not, you're at least just like, you know, like it's a vibe. You have to, you know? Yeah. I mean, it just has that groove, you know? Yeah. And like, dancing, anything that has like a four to floor. Yeah, absolutely. Anything that has that kind of thing is it's going to attack you this early, uh, more than emotionally, or, or, you know, psychologically, like the first thing that's gonna happen is it's that kick drum's gonna make you move your whether you want to or not, you know? And you're like, oh, what the hell's going on? This is, this is sick. You know, like all of a sudden, you

Mike: (33:56)
Know. Yeah. And you're right. You know, there's so much music, like, like for example, what you were just talking about is different than like, someone with an acoustic guitar and talking in terms of what part of the brain, like you're activated in terms of like, how you're identifying with it. And I think that that's like a really, really interesting thing that you said. It's really about, like, a lot about like, the genre. And that's one thing about Frank Zappa is like, I feel like he hits like so many different places in your brain that you have, like, feeling music receptors, right. To be able to like, understand what he is trying to do. And I think that that's like one of the things he was going for, right?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (34:30)
Yeah. And this isn't like a blanket statement necessarily, but you, but a lot of music, you could put in a kind of two piles, you know, uh, an active listening, right?

Mike: (34:39)
Yeah. Or

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (34:40)
Pass a passive listening, you know? Right. So something that's like dance track or, you know, disco or, or you know, e d M, that's passive listening, you don't need mm-hmm.  to understand the artist, you know what I mean? Or, or, or give a about much of anything. It's, it's, it happens to you, you know? And it's like almost, it could be an escape almost, you know? Whereas like, active listening, I think that's when you kind of, you have to lean, you know, you lean in and you're, and you're trying to understand and connect with that person. You know, like listening to, like a Nick Cave record is a very active Right. Uh, you know, task.

Kai: (35:20)
Yes. We had a guest come on and call the, uh, the former, you were just talking about musical junk food or something like that before. Yeah. It was lower, no lower. It's like your leisure, elitist, , you

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (35:32)
Know, that's a little elitist to, you know, to, to, you know, it sounds like they're disparaging dance music or disparaging.

Mike: (35:38)
Well, there's always a place I

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (35:40)
Think it's like, it's all necessary. Yeah.

Mike: (35:41)
Yeah. Right. There's always a place for Taco Bell at two in the morning. Yeah.

Kai: (35:45)
,

Mike: (35:45)
Right?

Kai: (35:46)
I mean, I, I personally like both, and, and for those two reasons you're talking about Tom, where there's, uh, there are definitely times where I want to engage the different parts of my brain when it comes to music, especially because I, like, I also like listening to how music is put together now. Um, as a singer, I used to not care about that as much, but now I really do. And there is a definite difference when, uh, like you had mentioned, uh, strange time signatures that always catches me. As soon as I hear that, I'm like, wow, that's really cool. Like, you know, I what, what possibilities could happen with this strange time signature as opposed to four on the floor, which is, you know, just to move, just to move your body.

Mike: (36:19)
Yeah. It's either, yeah, it's like music can take you somewhere, or it can keep you right where you are, but just kind of make like, where you are, like a bit better, you know, instead of like mm-hmm.  grabbing you and like, yanking goodbye the collar on this whole journey, you know? Very good, very, very profound, uh, statements from our very, very special guest, Tom Hamilton Jr. And we're gonna be listening to a song Pick by Tom. Yes. Right after this,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (36:53)
Uh, we're listening to the Truck by the band, proto Murder. And, uh, dude, I, I, I don't even know how I came across this band. I, I, but they just blew me away, man. Uh, it's, it's so unnerving. They're like menacing. They're, they sound menacing. And, and I love it. I love it. I, I, I, it's just, it just doesn't sound like anything else, you know? It's like, um, you know, like, clearly they're like influenced by, uh, like joy division and stuff like that, but, but it's like they're not around, you know? Like, like, I feel like, you know, uh, I don't know. It, it's just, it's just very exciting. It's, it's, it, I I love, I love this band. I think it's very cool. I, I, I played it for my girlfriend and she was like, she made me pu stop it. And, and she was like, okay, look dude, I totally understand why you like this, but it's making me feel not great, so I need you to turn.

Mike: (37:56)
Wow. Wow. And,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (37:58)
And, and that made me, and that made me really love it more, you know, , because it's the thing I was talking about that vi like, it does affect you viscerally, right? Just the music. And then when you get into the singer situation and what he's doing, you know, uh, lyrically it's so dense and there's an attitude in there that is, like I said, it's just like menacing. And it's like, if, like, it's like if the hold steady were, instead of being like, the guy got pushed into their lockers of high school, they were the guys putting kids in their lockers, you know,

Mike: (38:33)
, right?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (38:35)
It's, it's cool, man. Let's hit play. I'm talking too much.

Speaker 8: (39:07)
Cause it's ha

EJ: (40:40)
This is the kind of music when you walk into a dive bar and there's this band playing in the corner and you're ordering a pbr and you're just like, this is freaking cool. Yeah. This guy, I can, I don't even know what they look like. I don't know what they look like, but I'm imagining that this guy, this guy has to be like singing this song, uh, somewhere with his back completely turned to the audience, not even carrying nothing there. Right. He's that artsy guy that's, uh, just, uh, hair over his eyes, standing there, just like looking at the floor singing this. Right. And the band's going off, and the guitar player's like, I'm gonna be on 11. And, uh, yeah. , and I don't care about your volume, sir. Uh, but yes, I love the raw power of this, you know, it has that cool, like, hardcore punk kind of, uh, vibe to it with almost like, uh, I don't know how to explain his voice. It just is kind of a combination. Not like as sad as Morrissey, but kind of like having that kind of like, just downness singing and, and the band's just rocking

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (41:43)
Out. That's that's what that Yeah. That, that's what I was going with. Like, the Joy Division.

EJ: (41:46)
Yeah. Yeah. Well, like, yeah, definitely like Joy Division Ian.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (41:49)
And it's like, I, I, I love like the, the, the, like the, the cha the change of colors that the guitar player uses Yes. Go, like, to go from there to like, you know, like these like really super clean like choy thing to like super heavy and like, yeah. Ah, man, I, it's just, it just tickles me in, in a lot of cool ways, you know? Cause it, you know, man, you write, you, you're writing. As long as I've been, not like, I'm like forever old, but like, you know, I put out a lot of records in my career and, and trying to find new ways to organize 12 notes. Mm-hmm.  gets to be daunting once you get, you know, once you're into year 20 of, of doing something. Oh, yeah. You know?

EJ: (42:30)
Yeah,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (42:31)
For sure. Um, so like, discovery, like he finding these guys, I was just like, oh, man. Like, it has nothing to do with anything that I do. And I mm-hmm.  love it,

EJ: (42:41)
You know? Oh, I felt the same way when I first discovered like, Primus, right? So I, I was into so many different types of bands, and then Primus came out and I was just like, what is this? I've never heard anything like this before. You know? And again, like you're saying something, they did something completely with the chords that I didn't even think existed, you know? And the way that he plays bass, what is that? You know, I, it just, it was, it's kind of like just a new way to look at at music sometimes when you discover that. And it is a very hard thing to do when you've been writing music for a long time to kind of get outta your box. But then when you hear something like this, it kind of makes you look at things a little bit differently. So

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (43:18)
Just like the idea that, that there's still like, you know, it's just nice that there's still that, I don't know what that is mm-hmm. , you know? Mm-hmm.  mm-hmm. , you know, like, it, it, it's a refreshing thing to hear something that sounds like new information, not necessarily something that is just, uh, regurgitated,

EJ: (43:36)
You know? Yeah.

Mike: (43:37)
Yeah. When, when this band, when the song first started playing, I was actually thinking about the band, the Killers, it kind of reminded me a lot of them, but then also it reminds me a lot, a lot, a lot of Dinosaur jr mm-hmm. . And I think that the quality of, uh, the Singer's voice and Proto Martyr reflects a lot of the quality of Jay masses in Dinosaur Jr. Because I feel when, when he's singing, he's almost singing like it's an afterthought. You know? Like, it's like he half doesn't care about what's going on, . And I always think it's so interesting the way he's doing it. When I was listening to this singer, I think that he has that kind of quality too, that when he's singing, he's like saying what he's doing, but it's like in this almost like subdued, like, he's half there, half not there.

Mike: (44:23)
Like, it's like a crazy guy mumbling to himself almost, you know? Uh, but it's like, I feel like it's like really, really endearing the way that he's doing it. It's like on purpose, right? Where he's like, not, he's giving it all, but in such a way that it's like on purpose, sounding like he's not. And I think that that's a really, really difficult quality to find and mm-hmm. , you know? That's why I like Dinosaur Jr a lot. Also, the guitar, like totally, you know, going way too loud and overpowering everything. Mm-hmm.  is a hallmark of Dinosaur Jr. Two, and so it gives me a lot of those vibes. What do you think, Kai,

Kai: (44:54)
Going to 11 with that guitar? I actually really liked it a lot. Um, the, the word, the, the words that came to mind when the guitar part, the distorted part came in, was definitely like, blow your hair off, you know? Mm-hmm. , like, if you were in person. And, um, and that's what really caught me. But I, I, uh, like the insight on how he's singing and everything, I never would've, uh, thought killers. But now that, now that you've mentioned it, Mike, I definitely, uh, am hearing that too. Um, you, uh, Tom, you said that you, you just recently started listening to this, or was this something you've been listening to for a while?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (45:23)
Like, we were in Covid, I, I found it. Um, and, you know, i, i, this record and they have like an ep Mm. Um, I forget what it's called, like the Consolation EP or something like that. And, uh, yeah, man, it's just like, it's just really kind of, it just blew me. Af blew me away. I mean, the whole record is just like, you know, like this, this thing, it feels like you would think that it's building to something, you know? Right.

Mike: (45:52)
Exactly. Exactly.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (45:54)
It's just making you uncomfortable, , you know,

Kai: (45:58)
And

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (45:58)
Yeah. And what he's doing as the singer, like Yeah. Like, yeah. It has a very J masks thing of like mm-hmm. , he's not trying to do anything,

Mike: (46:10)
Right? Mm-hmm.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (46:11)
, he's just doing what he does, and this is what it sounds like, or that's, that's how it comes off at least. Yeah. You know, it's like a, you know, anybody that's good at their craft, you know, they make it look or sound easy. He definitely, you know, makes it sound not easy, but he makes it sound so it just seems so sincere, you know? Mm-hmm.  that it's mm-hmm. , it's, there's a direct line from his brain to that microphone, you know?

Mike: (46:37)
Yeah. And, uh, I think that when you listen to music, like your brain wants resolution, you want like, everything to be like in this pretty bow, and you're right, this band is like a, this song is like a slow rush, you know? And they're

Kai: (46:49)
Not allowing it to be resolved.

Mike: (46:50)
Yeah. It's like, it just kind of keeps, you know, going and going and like, you're like, you, your brain's like, oh, like, what's, when is this gonna, you know what I mean? And yeah. You know, but I think that when a song makes you feel so strong that you gotta turn it off, and it's not because it's so loud or everything that's like a hallmark of like, you know, these guys are really putting some something that moves you, you know? And even if it moves you to not wanna listen to it, at least it moves you right. To do something. Mm-hmm. . Right. And, uh, that's, you know, kind of hard to do.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (47:21)
Yeah, man. Well, you know, it's like, it, it's, it's funny and I, you know, I, I understand, uh, you know, that every generation, it's like, you know, it's a new, people are finding things and finding, uh, sentiments for the first time or whatever, you know, but, you know, rock music as we know it, or popular music as we know it, it's been going on for, you know, a hundred years or so, and it's like a lot of times you're just talking about the same, you know? Yeah. Like, it's like, dude, are we still, and I, and I'm not saying this in like, like, I mean, I, I write these types of songs, but I'm just gen generally, you know, it's like, are we still talking about love all the time? Mm-hmm. , you know? Right. Are we still, you know what I mean? Like, it's, is that still the, the majority of the jumping point for things, you know, or just sentimentality in general of that one huge brushstroke that, that, uh, is being beat to death. Right. And, and you know, so stuff like this, or just anything that is just trying to talk about and make you feel different that isn't just based on being sentimental, it isn't based on the heart, you know, it's like there are so many colors to life. Right. You know, uh, you know, it's like, let's, let's celebrate it all, you know?

Mike: (48:49)
So. Well said Tom. And I really agree. Uh, we also have someone in the chat, frowning Flowers says that, uh, it, we were talking about how it was a change of colors and they agreed Exactly. And they say that the swapping from diminished sounds and chords to something cleaner makes this super fun. And, uh, I agree with that too. Yeah, definitely.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (49:10)
Okay.

Mike: (49:11)
Jump back in.

Speaker 8: (49:12)
Let's get right back into it. Doesn't matter at all. It's cool.

Mike: (50:48)
Hell yeah, dude, man,

Kai: (50:52)
That is when intense chord

Mike: (50:54)
Progression. Yeah. I love how they just kept opening it up. That guitarist is really, really making good use of those chords.

Kai: (50:58)
That tension on that last, that last chord change is Got it. Got me. That was

EJ: (51:02)
Pretty good. I think you broke a string

Mike: (51:04)
. Yeah. That was, uh, really, really find, I really, really enjoyed that. And I want to check out the rest of that album too. Thanks.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (51:10)
It's so good. The, the whole record is front to back. incredible.

EJ: (51:14)
Dude. That does not sound like it came out in 2017, though. That sounds to me like, I just, it just reminds me of so much music that came out in like the early nineties that wasn't popular music, but it was, uh, definitely had its place. Uh, I saw a lot of it in clubs, , and I love that kind of sound, um, just for the, everything we've talked about is it's awesome.

Mike: (51:36)
Yeah.

Kai: (51:37)
Thanks for, thanks for bringing that to us, Tom. That was awesome.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (51:39)
Yeah. Hey man, I'm, I'm glad you guys give it, get a shot.

Mike: (51:42)
Yeah. We really, really appreciate that. And so, uh, we're gonna move on to our next song. And so this song is by an artist called King Curtis. Have you ever heard of King Curtis before? I haven't.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (51:55)
Sure. Yeah.

Mike: (51:56)
Alright. Right. So, um, this is actually a fan request from Steve Kock for you and, uh, Steve. Okay. Steve Kock said that he chose King Curtis because he's great , but also because he thinks that he's been a huge influence on so many great artists. Probably a good idea to keep saying his name, just out of respect for all that good music like Aretha, Duane Allman, Donny Hathaway, Jack Dupree, et cetera. It was kind of a tossup for me today between King Curtis and Donny Hathaway. But Whiter Shade of Pale From the Fillmore is my single most listened to track of all time, just beautiful. On a more musical nerd musical level. Uh, this is by Steve Kim Mock. He says, uh, it's neat to see how King Curtis treats the basically 1, 4, 5 nature of the changes, not so much as a chord scale or guide tone, but more like, speaks a word of tonic or speaks a word of four, et cetera.

Mike: (53:01)
He also says, you don't have to include that last bit in the show, it's just nerds speak.  may, maybe Tom will get it, maybe not, not sure that I get it, but there it is, . All right. So, uh, that's pretty awesome. We're here with Tom Hamilton, Jr. From Joe Russo is almost dead, Billy and the kids ghost light electron American babies. And, uh, brothers passed and we're listening to, to a fan request from guitar player Steve Koch. We're listening to King Curtis from the 1971 album live at Fillmore West. This is a whiter shade of pale right here on Galaxy Jams, reacts

EJ: (56:23)
His phrasing and emotion in that horn man. Mm-hmm. , that was a think of of beauty. I think of beauty.

Kai: (56:28)
It sounds like somebody's actual voice. It's so good. Like there's, there's just so much emotion in it. It's great.

Mike: (56:33)
Yeah. The connection between him and his tool and the microphone is broadband, you know, he's just right in there. And, uh, and also it's like all about, like, that's why I think live shows are so cool because like I said, it's like all about like the intention and the energy, and I feel like this is a really, really good example of how like, all of that is captured. Like I could feel, you know, the joy of everyone that's there. I could feel the heaviness in the room, right. I could feel everyone kind of coming together and all the love. And it's just really, really hard to like, really convey that in an audio, you know, setting. What did you think Tom?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (57:11)
I mean, you King Curtis. Yeah. It's one of the all times man, and yeah. It's just so cool. Like the, like you were saying. Yeah. The intention you get it is soon as he starts it shoots right through you. Mm-hmm. , you, you don't have, you don't stand, you don't stand a chance.

Mike: (57:30)
.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (57:31)
Okay.

Mike: (57:33)
Take

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (57:33)
Me. Alright. I here. Yeah, here we are. You know, it, it, it, it, it like forces you to be present. Mm-hmm. You know, as soon as it starts, which is, I mean,

Mike: (57:44)
It's definitely an active listen,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (57:46)
That's what, that's Yeah, that's, yeah. Bigger sweet . It's an active Listen.

Kai: (57:52)
What did you think,

EJ: (57:53)
Ej? Oh, I just, it is incredible, you know, I mean this, I love, you know, especially recordings from back then. I, I always feel like they put me right into that era, you know? Uh, they make me imagine that I'm there in, in that room. Mm-hmm.  mm-hmm.  with the, everybody else, especially you hear these little things in the background, like the people. Oh, yeah.

Mike: (58:16)
Right. Or saying like, yeah, Curtis, you know, like, yeah, Curtis, it's

EJ: (58:19)
Great because people, you know, they, everybody was quiet for this, you know, and in the concert, you know, and, uh, they were just like, just respectful of listening to his voice come through and, and just saying little things like, oh, that's, wow. They really touched me. You know? He, like, you could just feel their emotion along with his emotion and, and, uh, it's one thing I love about live music in general, but especially with this type of live music, right. This type of genre, it's, I've listened to a lot of this kind of stuff and I just always really, really enjoyed, um, the respect the audience had for the performer on stage.

Mike: (58:53)
It's obvious

EJ: (58:54)
At that time. And also, um, just the, the way that they just gave themselves to the performer on stage and were like, just take me on your journey. I want to be part of your journey. Hmm.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (59:06)
It's cool. You know, I feel, uh, and I haven't read anything to back this up, but in listening to this, I would, I would venture to say that, you know, the, there's a sack solo, an alto sack solo at the end of it makes no difference by the band, uh, Las Waltz mm-hmm.  that Garth Hudson does. And I would, I would bet, I would bet a hundred American dollars that Garth Hudson was a King Curtis fan. Yeah. , you know, there's a w just like hear the through line of, of just like the phrasing and, and the breath work of it just feels free. Like thi I mean, I know, I know that recording, you know, like the back of my hand. So it's like hearing that and, and as soon as Curtis starts here, it's like, oh, man, I think I, I think I, I know one of your disciples, you know, .

Mike: (59:59)
Yeah. And, uh, I also think that like, it's the reason why some bands have policies where like, you can't have any cell phones. Right. Which is really inconvenient and really expensive to implement. Right. But then it's so people can be right there with you. Right. They're not having, like, in this recording, like drunk conversations with their friends about stupid, or they're not like, you know, on their phone or recording, like for TikTok or whatever. They're right in the game with him. And I feel like that's something that's like slowly, slowly getting more and more, like people are chasing that, you know, to have that direct connection with, you know, the emotion that the person on stage is having, and then they're connecting with the audience. And it's like this whole big, you know, jellyfish essentially that's all floating around. And I feel like, uh, you know, as it gets, you know, more and more technology, it's really, really difficult to be able to do that.

Mike: (01:00:46)
Of course. And I love how you're right. The audience has so much respect for him. You can hear it just in their exclamations and you know, how quiet that they get. You know, usually when I'm at a show and there's a lull, that's when everyone starts talking. You know? That's like when everyone starts to, you know, yapping with their friend or going and getting a beer or like, whatever. And I really like how in this recording, when it's like a lull, that's when people key in the hardest. Right. Which I think is, uh, something that hopefully it gets, uh, to become back soon.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:01:17)
I agree. I, I, I, I couldn't, I couldn't agree more, man. It's, uh, you know, uh, it, it's as a performer, you know, as being on the other side of the, of the stage for that, you know, it's like when we're trying to really get it down and, and, and have a moment, you know, it's just, it's, it's just like a telling thing of how vulnerability is like a scary thing for people, you know, silence, right? Mm-hmm. , you know, not, you know, it's like, Hey, you don't have to say something just because there's nothing happening. Mm-hmm. , you know, like, you know, there's always that one bighead that's like saying woo or whatever. And it's like, you know, we're all trying to share a moment mm-hmm.  together. That's the point of, of, you know, especially this kind of music and, and you know, like, and, and the things that I do where, you know, it's all about the moment. It's about, you know, that room with those people at that time and, and it's just like, you know, yeah. Man, shut the up. . Yeah. And just be vulnerable. It's okay. Yes. It's okay to just, to feel something,

Mike: (01:02:31)
You know? I think that some people, like, when it, when those moments happen, they kind of like get that moment that's to themselves. And some people are like terrified of that, you know? They're terrified of like, be feeling something and mm-hmm. , you know, it's just them and the music, and they're in their own thoughts. And, you know, like when I'm at a show, sometimes I think about the weirdest stuff. Like I'll like be listen to some soulful part and I'll be like, you know, I wish I talked to my parents more. Or I'll think of like, you know, oh, like this bad thing that happened. And it's like all these uncontrolled things coming into my head. And I feel like some people, they get like really terrified of that, you know? And that's why they try and like, do other things and like talk or like whatever mm-hmm.  to kind of escape from, uh, you know, something that's really, really important.

Kai: (01:03:11)
I think the vast majority of people, honestly, are, are afraid of vulnerability of one kind or another. And actually meeting people that will embrace it is, is more rare than you might think. But I, it's funny, I never thought, like, the guy that's yelling woo in the background, even though we've all been there and heard it would come from a place of, uh, someone who's just not okay with that silence. But it's, it is absolutely what it is. It's somebody trying to make light of a very serious moment,

Mike: (01:03:35)
Right? It's like seeing a car accident and you're laughing, or like, well, not really like that, but it's like seeing like something, and it's like you're, you can't like allow yourself to be on that journey mm-hmm. , you know, because it's taking a turn that is, uh, touching a part of yourself that is maybe not seen light in a very long time. Mm-hmm. You know? Mm-hmm. .

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:03:56)
Yeah. It's like, Hey man, oh, I just came to the show to like, have a good time and hang on my buds. And like, I don't want to be made to feel famous . What, what, what? It's like, you Oh my God. And it's like, alright dude. Well, you know, okay,  may, maybe, may maybe don't come to a, a show that's like this, that Yeah. That requires us all to be willing participants too.

Mike: (01:04:20)
Yeah. I just want this to be a Disney movie, you know, like, I want, I wanna laugh and, you know, chip Chop, after 90 minutes, we're out. That's what I want.

EJ: (01:04:27)
One of the, uh, experiences I've ever had with that actually happening at a show where the artist stopped and had a conversation with the person was, uh, I saw Tori Amos, uh, playing by herself, uh, just her and her piano at the Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, Virginia. And, uh, these people were talking in the front row, you know, and, uh, these two girls were talking in the front row, and she's like right in the middle of the song, and she just stops and she just turns around and looks at them, and she's like, uh, so what are you talking about?

Kai: (01:04:57)
Oh my God.

EJ: (01:04:58)
And they're, and they're like, they don't say anything. Of course. They're just like, oh. She's like, no, no, no. She goes, it must have been an important conversation. You know, you came here, everybody else is listening, and you're talking in the front row. What are you talking about? Oh my God. And this and that. You know, you know, Amy and everybody else here paid just as much as you did, I guess. You just paid to come in here and talk and, and this guy's stuff like this and go, you just go ahead and have a conversation and this and that. It was like all, everybody was quiet too, right? And then she was like, okay, I guess you're done. And it went right back into where she left off. It was amazing.

Mike: (01:05:28)
Yeah. , there's a time and place for everything, you know, and I feel like shows are a good place to catch up with people you haven't seen in forever and, you know, but you can do that in the back.

EJ: (01:05:37)
Absolutely. Mm-hmm.  definitely do it in the

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:05:40)
Back. Yeah. Or before or after the show. Yeah.

Mike: (01:05:43)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:05:45)
Joe, as soon as the lights come down, shut the up until lights come up. It's pretty easy.

Mike: (01:05:51)
Great. That's a great quote.

EJ: (01:05:53)
You should get shirts. It seems easy now. Get shirts and wear 'em on stage to say that.

Mike: (01:05:56)
Yeah. Literally.  shut if you can, if you can see this shirt, don't talk. It's like,

EJ: (01:06:01)
Nobody ever told me to shut that up before. Wow.

Mike: (01:06:03)
Yeah. Wow. I'm glad I paid $25 to be here, .

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:06:07)
It's just like the, the, the jam scene can be like that a lot, whereas people, like, they're not, they don't, the music is secondary, you know, it's like, well, my friends, you

Mike: (01:06:17)
Hang. It's

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:06:18)
Like a crucial thing. I don't even really wanna go to the show, but I need to say hi to, you know, it's like, well, dude, do something else, man. Maybe you guys should have a party at your house and you could all talk then. Like, why do you gotta come and, you know, call

EJ: (01:06:31)
Him on the phone,

Mike: (01:06:33)
call, call him on the phone during the show,

EJ: (01:06:36)
,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:06:37)
Let's get the rest of his back.

EJ: (01:06:40)
Let's check it

Mike: (01:06:51)
Outs taking me to church. Oh, I love how quiet he is. Wow. Every note until the very end. He was just slaying it. Yeah. When we were deep into it, I was like, I could hear him do this like, for like five more hours and be, and be stoked.

EJ: (01:09:20)
. Oh yeah. Yeah.

Mike: (01:09:21)
Beautiful. It was really good. Yeah. That was, um, a great fan pick from Steve Keach. Yeah. Thank you so much, Steve, for, uh, recommending that amazing song for us to listen to with Tom ej. What do we got next?

EJ: (01:09:35)
Well, we've got a song by John Lennon and the Plastic Owner Band. Uh, this is a interesting tune I've always liked that John Lennon did. And it was after The Beatles broke up, and of course there was this famous feud between him and Paul McCartney, and it had a lot to do with the business. And, uh, they had Apple Records together and, and had to do with the business and kind of the split of the Beatles. And, uh, it was kind of a song, uh, that John Lenner wrote at the height of his feud with Paul McCartney after The Beatles broke up. Each line of song is an attack on some aspect of Paul McCartney's life or music at the time. For instance, the Line, everything you'd done was yesterday since you, uh, gone. And just another day refers to Paul's song yesterday with the Beatles and his first solo single after outside of Beats called Another Day's. Yeah. So it was kind of like a message.

Mike: (01:10:24)
It disc a disc, track

EJ: (01:10:25)
A message back and forth, and they were kind of doing it back and forth in a way. So, um, this is a really cool, uh, group of people actually has George Harrison on Sly Guitar and Alan White on drum's, uh, Klaus Borman on bass, and some other great players like Andy Davis and Rod Linton and Ted Turner and John Touts, and also Nikki Hopkins, additional piano parts. So, uh, just a really cool, um, view. At one point Lennon was interviewed about it, and he said, you know, I use my resentment against Paul to create this song Sibling Rivalry. He goes, it was a creative rivalry. It wasn't a vicious vendetta, but I felt resentment. So let's check it out, is how do you sleep? John Lennon from the Place Band here on Galaxy Jams, reacts

Speaker 10: (01:11:09)
1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4.

Speaker 11: (01:12:12)
Tell

Speaker 7: (01:12:12)
Me

Speaker 11: (01:12:18)
How you sleep at whoa, sleep

Speaker 7: (01:13:19)
At

EJ: (01:14:21)
How great and Funky is this, right? Yeah. What a dope Great. Yeah. Song. And then the a again, again, we were talking about it earlier, those guys just playing in the studio, right? That what I'm saying, they're all just sitting in one room. It's cool vibe, just playing the song and it sounds like freaking gold. Mm-hmm.

Mike: (01:14:35)
. Yeah. And then also, uh, the intentions behind it. Mm-hmm. , you know, the feelings that are propelling the song. It's a very strong intention behind the song. And even if you don't know what's going on, you can still feel like something, you know? Oh, yeah. Something propelling it. And like you said, Tom, you know, some people that propellants love, you know, and some propellant is, you know, hate or anger or, you know, sadness or like, whatever, whatever color it's gonna be. And I think that, you know, to do like a straight up disc track, right? Like, this is a very, very rare, you know, energy behind a song. Indeed. You know? Mm-hmm. , not a lot of people make a song that actually sounds good, that's like literally dunking on someone unless they're like a rap god or something like that. .

EJ: (01:15:20)
Oh, yeah.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:15:21)
I mean, you know, I, I, I, you know, especially these guys, um, there were things like, uh, what is it? I think it's Love Minus Zero, the Dylan song. Mm-hmm. , you know mm-hmm.  was, that was basically like a disc track, uh, uh, to John Lennon, you know, like, uh, you know, Lennon Lenn put out, uh, Norwegian Wood, and Dylan was just like, okay, this guy is ripping off my, you know? Mm-hmm. , and, you know, uh, love Mind at Zero is like his, his response to, to that, you know, uh, kind of thing. I mean, I, I think, I think guys, I think people talk to each other through their songs back then mm-hmm.  for sure. Mm-hmm. . Um, but like you were saying, the, the intention, I think is the thing that matters the most. Uh, you know, I always talk, when I'm in the studio, I always talk to whoever players I'm with about, about intention.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:16:19)
Uh, it's all, you know, it's all a personal thing, right? Like whatever that player's bringing, it can come from wherever it comes from, but it has to be there, you know, like, it has to be, it's gotta mean something to you, what you're doing. It doesn't have to necessarily mean, you know, like what Klauss is playing. Maybe he's not thinking, you, Paul McCartney. Right. You know? Mm-hmm. , but he is thinking like in the moment and he's bringing something into what's going on, and, and, and there's intention, there's purpose. Mm-hmm. , it's, you know, and, and yeah, man, it's like, that's the thing. That's the variable. It's the intangible thing about recording like that mm-hmm. , you know, with just the people in a room, you know, like you, you never know what's gonna happen. And the thing is, you know, when you, you record 10 takes of a track, the one that is the one, everyone knows it, everyone in the room knows it when they, when they listen back mm-hmm. , they're like, oh, this is, this is it. Because you could, because that thing that you can't describe or, or, or teacher make a plug-in out of is just happening. And everybody's like, oh, this is it. You

EJ: (01:17:30)
Know? Mm-hmm.  mm-hmm. . And I think what's what, the thing that's cool about this song is it is John's intention to send a message, but if you didn't know that and you listened to the song, you could fit this probably into a relationship you had with somebody. Right. You could fit us into like a breakup with a boyfriend or a girlfriend or whatever. Um, you could fit this song into anything. And it is really the sound of the song, like we were saying, has that sound of like, yeah, you know, it's like funky and fun, but it's also has that kind of dark side to the sound of it, and it's the way they're playing it too. So I think that's

Mike: (01:18:03)
Pretty special. Yeah. And, uh, also like when it comes to improv, I think that that's like, especially important. I read this interview or something like that with like Trey Anastasio and he was saying that sometimes when he is jamming with Phish, he can tell like how their day went, you know? Oh. And it's like really, really interesting because especially when you start going into improv, it's like so many things just come out because to do improv you have to really relax and you have to really listen, and you have to really like, you know, take your time and open yourself up. And that can have like a lot of, you know, other effects. Like, I feel like it's, there's, this is like one of those songs where like, something that's happening where even if it's inadvertent, it's giving it equality that's like so endearing and like so many people really, really like, and a lot of the times that's how it works, where it's like something you're not even necessarily going for is the thing that makes it mm-hmm. , you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. .

EJ: (01:18:53)
Mm-hmm. ,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:18:54)
Happy accidents,

Mike: (01:18:56)
. Yeah. That's exactly what

EJ: (01:18:58)
That is. And just thinking about, uh, just going back to just the act, this actual song John's voice Oh yeah. Is really good. So amazing. There's nothing like

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:19:06)
It too. Yeah. There's nothing like

EJ: (01:19:08)
It. He's just, he can, he can sound, you know, really, really smooth. Sometimes he can sound, he put, can put the grid on it. And that's one thing I liked about the Beatles is they had the, the way that they would just change their voices for different songs and the way they experimented, even just, uh, with the way they recorded and, and, and everything like that. And just how they would put themselves in the moment of whatever message they were trying to get out or whatever feeling they were trying to get out. And they would augment themselves and, and really, really try to sound different on a lot of different songs. Cuz you know, he sounds completely different on this song. And if you listen to like, woman or you listen to, you know, um, Norwegian Wood, like you said, like completely different. Like, if you didn't, you could still tell it's him. If you, if you're really, like, if you're really a big giant fan of The Beatles, but if you had somebody who didn't really know The Beatles and you played those three songs, they might not even guess it was the same person

Mike: (01:19:59)
Or the same band.

EJ: (01:20:00)
Right?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:20:01)
Yeah. I mean, you know, the Beatles, it was, you know, they had four singers, but they had 20 different voices, you know, know. Right. That's why, that's why they were the Beatles and, and were not, you know,

Speaker 11: (01:20:11)
. Right. Let's get back into it. How do you sleep

Speaker 7: (01:20:38)
At night?

Mike: (01:20:40)
They're all just chilling, like friends that are just relaxing in the studio together.

Kai: (01:20:51)
Yeah. I really love the grit that he's putting in his, his vocals. It's so good.

Speaker 11: (01:21:50)
Me sleep

Kai: (01:22:04)
There with the roads,

Speaker 11: (01:22:48)
Sleep at night

Mike: (01:22:50)
Doing a clean right there. That was a clean pass. They're just nailing it. It's, it's like perfect.

Speaker 7: (01:23:26)
Okay. Okay.

Speaker 10: (01:23:28)
Do you think we should listen and see what we're doing or what

Mike: (01:23:31)


EJ: (01:23:33)
That's like

Mike: (01:23:34)
Exactly. I love that. What we were all just talking about .

EJ: (01:23:36)
Yeah. I like in the chat, frowning Flowers says what is, uh, so on to him is, uh, the influence that Paul and John obviously had on each other at any second. I feel could be listening to Wings until I hear John sing or something else. Quintessentially Lennon happens. I agree. I mean, the thing is, they grew up together, you know, I mean, they were really young when they first met and started making music. I think they were 13, 14 years old. If I'm not, I didn't mistaken. You know, they, they were like best of friends for the a long time. And, uh, it was a really, really cool relationship that they had. I mean, even George Harrison was in there early too, and Ringo was one of the last ones to get in there. But, uh, their relationship and their songwriting relationship and the way they worked together was, was one of a kind, you know, that's what makes this song, if you know, all that kind of stuff, you know, the history, it makes this song like, wow. You know, cuz he even says, you know, how do you sleep at night Brother? Right. So, and everything, he's sang in the song too. He's referencing things from The Beatles and Beatles songs and, and moments that they had together, you know? And he goes, you must have learned something through all this formative years. You know, so it was just, there's a, there's

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:24:41)
There's an outtake of that where he sings Howdy is Sleepy, you can't

EJ: (01:24:46)
Yeah,

Mike: (01:24:46)
I've heard that. Oh my God.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:24:48)
Yeah. And, you know, it's like, yeah,

EJ: (01:24:51)
I was waiting for him to do that. He didn't, but this wasn't one of those versions.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:24:54)
Yeah. That was probably the other, the other Take

EJ: (01:24:57)
.

Mike: (01:24:58)
That was a great Sherry ej. Thank you so much. And, uh, we got another pick from our very special guest, Tom Hamilton Jr. Right after this.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:25:18)
Okay. So we're listening to, uh, Knight on Broadway by the Bee Gees. Uh, I recently watched the, uh, documentary on, uh, that was on HBO about these guys and fell down the rabbit hole. And, um, you know, like I grew up, my parents were both like, my parents both loved the early bgs like Predis stuff. Um, and which yeah, I a lot, I think a lot of, a lot of the boomers were of the opinion of, you know, the early Bee Gees were amazing, but the disco stuff was kind of lame, you know, or whatever. Um, but, you know, I I I think it's all, I think all of it's pretty great, you know? I mean Oh yeah. You know, some, some, but, you know, I think generally it's all pretty great and, uh, this tune. Yeah. I, I didn't know this song, uh, prior to my watching of this documentary, and it just me up.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:26:10)
I was like, dude, you gotta be, you gotta be kidding me with these guys. You know? It's just, it's just, they're just weird and cool and, and yeah. You know, they did something just, I, I think unique with, with, it's kind of like the thing of, we're talking about how like, dance music can be junk food. Mm-hmm. , but like, these guys were real dudes, you know? Like these were real songwriters. These weren't, you know, just like, this wasn't. These guys really knew what they were doing. And these guys were great at, at writing Melody and, and, and, right. Uh, and, and they just applied it to disco because that's what was going on at the time. Yep. And, uh, yeah. But anyway, this tune is just, it's just hilarious man. It's, it's just, it's so good. And like, the falsetto at the is like, I think it's, I think it's just, it's awesome. It's a great tune.

EJ: (01:27:08)
Well, let's get on into is the BJ is Knight on Broadway here in Galaxy Jams? Reacts,

Mike: (01:27:14)
Yeah. I think this is where they debuted this logo too. Was this album.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:27:21)
It's just like the soundtrack to like cocaine.

Speaker 7: (01:27:23)
Yeah.

Mike: (01:27:24)
That's like the bgs are. Yeah. That's a hot logo though. For real. Hell yeah.

Speaker 7: (01:27:45)
Standing in the You.

Mike: (01:28:08)
I love their harmony is so good. They get so

Speaker 7: (01:28:11)
up dude. Standing in the line.

Mike: (01:29:01)
Oh my God. I love that. Sin

EJ: (01:29:43)
Amazing. I love the Bee Gees. Have you, do you know a lot about the Bee Gees?

Mike: (01:29:46)
My dad really likes them along. Oh, my

Kai: (01:29:48)
Parents are huge fans of Bees too, but

Mike: (01:29:50)
I don't know a lot of their music go.

Kai: (01:29:52)
No. I've been listening to them a lot more lately because one of the singers in our band really loves them cuz Wonderful. He grew up with them too. So we've been hearing, I've actually never heard this song before and it is hot. Like it has everything and it's sick. It's so good. Like, it has the tension notes and the chords, like those, those epic tension notes. And then it has, uh, some really thick harmonies, which again said in the beginning, I, I dig it. So, uh, really, really cool picked

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:30:16)
Tom. Are you guys, are you guys looking at the visuals also? Yes. Oh

Speaker 7: (01:30:20)
Yeah. Oh yes.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:30:21)
You, you couldn't get an undershirt on these guns. .

EJ: (01:30:24)
Yeah, . He's

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:30:25)
Just like, look, this is what, Hey, we're the begs we have Falsettos Yeah. And chest hair. Oh yeah.

Kai: (01:30:33)
Oh yeah, for sure. Okay. That's what we're, and

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:30:35)
Probably we're providing to

Kai: (01:30:36)
The party and probably Mountains of Cocaine, I'm sure.

EJ: (01:30:38)
Yeah,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:30:38)
Dude. Just like, Hey, wear the jacket, but I'm not wearing anything underneath it.

EJ: (01:30:43)
. Yes. I was about to say, that's hilarious when it, when it was down at the chest hair and coming out, you didn't see people's faces At first. I thought it was a picture of Mike . He has a chest hair like that too.

Mike: (01:30:54)
Nice. . Yeah. And, uh, I really, really like how this song, it snuck up on me. You know, at first it sounded like deep and dirty and I'm like, oh, okay. Like, they're getting deep, you know? But then the more like the song kept going on, the more I'm just like, oh my God. Like they're taking me to this like Bee Gee's place, you know, where it's like this hip happened in Groovy like thing mm-hmm. . And it's like, I really, really like a band that can make me feel, you know, like a certain aesthetic. Like always like I can count on them to do certain things, right? Mm-hmm. . And I feel like they're a really, really good band they can throw on for a party. And I feel like they're just, I know that they're like world famous and everything, but especially nowadays, I feel like they're criminally underrated.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:31:33)
Yeah. There's a lot of pushback because of the disco thing, you know? Mm-hmm. . Um, I, I think, and, but yeah, man, they're, they were, they were incredible songwriters. They really were. They were great songwriters and, you know, uh, if you go be pri you know, prior to this record, like when they, before they got into the disco stuff mm-hmm. , I mean, you know, songs like to love somebody in Massachusetts. They, I mean, they're just, they're just great songs, man. And the, and the fact that they're able to do that thing where they're brothers. So their voices are all pretty, pretty identical. Yeah. Uhhuh . And to be able to do a thing where they're all in the same melody and then they fan Yeah. Into those huge chords. Right. It's just, man, there's not a lot of, there's not a lot of singing groups that are, that can do that. You know? I mean, there's, it's The Beatles csn. Mm-hmm.  the Bee Gees. You know, I mean, it's like, it's a pretty, it's a pretty short list of, of bands that can sing like that that can just three people can walk up to a microphone and just make

Mike: (01:32:36)
That do everything.

Kai: (01:32:37)
Yeah. Absolutely. And they have that, that signature bgs falsetto like tone to their voice. Mm-hmm.  that, that, even though other people are singing in falsetto singing super high notes, you know, it's the Bee Gees. As soon as that tone comes in, oh yeah. It's

EJ: (01:32:49)
So good. Mm-hmm. , they were like a, a singing group. Like a family singing group. I mean, they were doing it when they were really young. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that's why and one reason why their voices can, are kind of melded together. You know, they know they, they can easily like do the harmonies off each other cause they've just been doing it for so long, you know, by this point.

Mike: (01:33:08)
Yeah. Something about having, and I talk about this sometimes, like, I, like having family members in your band is like cheating because it's like, it's a lot harder to break up because it's easy to like, have your life path be on the same as like someone that's related to you, right? Mm-hmm. . So it's an easier ask for you to like, live your life on the road or like be in this band together. And then also it's like, again, it's like you have like the, the, the the blood relative thing where it's like they probably like telepathically communicate together, you know, like while they're performing and while they're writing and things like that. Able to put things together and uh, you know, man, three brothers just together in a band that all can sing and all can write and, uh, it just wasn't fair.

Kai: (01:33:47)
No think a chance, you know?

EJ: (01:33:49)
I'm jealous. Think it's great. Mike's jealous . You shouldn't be jealous of the hair. You got more on them.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:33:54)
Let's get to this bridge. Dude. They're, they're about to break it down for

EJ: (01:33:57)
Us. Let's do it.

Kai: (01:34:06)
All right. Come on.

Mike: (01:34:09)
Take me

Speaker 7: (01:34:11)
Chest hair.

Mike: (01:34:14)
All of it.

Kai: (01:34:18)
Got the sl vibrato from the eighties. I love it.

Speaker 7: (01:34:22)
feeling you

Mike: (01:34:43)
So awesome. They just know their place. Like each of the voices knows exactly where to go, where they each hit like a different registry that kind of like makes this like, whole wall of just like, man, you know, going to church

EJ: (01:36:03)
Barry. So

Mike: (01:36:04)
Good. What an awesome

EJ: (01:36:05)
Pick. Wow.

Mike: (01:36:07)
Yeah. That was, uh, an epic one, Tom. We really, really appreciate it. Um, I know it's

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:36:12)
Kind of the opposite pro order, you know? Mm-hmm. .

Mike: (01:36:15)
Yeah. It, it was, you're right. And, uh, cuz like, I think in, in so many different ways and, you know, we really, really appreciate it and we know that, um, we told you that this show would be about 90 minutes, but do you have time for just one more, Tom?

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:36:29)
Let's do it. Let's do

Mike: (01:36:30)
One more. Great. Thank you very much. So, uh, this next one, um, actually ej, why don't you talk about it?

EJ: (01:36:36)
Oh, you want me to talk about it? All right. Uh, this next one is a, uh, fan request from Dennis McNally. He's biographer and publicist for the Grateful Dead and Sure. Uh, he wanted you to check out this tune, uh, from Gladys Knight and the Pips, uh, from their album Imagination from 1973. Uh, this is from Dennis to you. This was the song Running Through My Mind when I read your request to pick a song for Tom Hamilton Jr. It is of course, a great song in the Motown tradition. The call and response integration of Lead and backup is about as good as it gets. Hmm. Let's check it out. Gladys Knight and the Pips, he

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:37:17)
Is absolutely

EJ: (01:37:18)
Right. Yeah. Gladys Knight in the Pips Midnight trained to Georgia. Let's check it out here on Galaxy Jams reacts

Speaker 12: (01:37:43)
Too much for me.

Mike: (01:37:45)
Her, her voices are sweet.

Speaker 7: (01:37:48)
Make,

Speaker 13: (01:37:49)
So he's

EJ: (01:37:49)
Leaving the,

Speaker 7: (01:37:53)
He's

Mike: (01:37:53)
Come

Speaker 7: (01:37:53)
To, he said he's

Speaker 14: (01:37:58)
Going, he said he is going back to find,

Speaker 7: (01:38:02)
Going back to find

Speaker 14: (01:38:05)
What's left. Ups were the world he left behind not so long ago.

Speaker 7: (01:38:20)
He's leaving

Speaker 14: (01:38:30)
Trains, going back

Speaker 7: (01:38:35)
To

Speaker 14: (01:38:35)
A simpler place. Be with him. I

Kai: (01:38:54)
Like that.

Speaker 14: (01:38:55)
That live without him in mind

Speaker 7: (01:39:00)
Is his. He's

Speaker 14: (01:39:04)
Happy dream. That's someday he beat Star, but oh my God. The, the

Speaker 7: (01:39:17)
Trees

Speaker 14: (01:39:18)
Don't always come true.

Speaker 7: (01:39:24)
So

Speaker 14: (01:39:25)
Home one week, take it back to the life he wants new. Oh, yes, he did. He said it

Speaker 7: (01:39:45)
Woulds

Speaker 14: (01:39:46)
Leaving,

Speaker 7: (01:39:47)
Leaving

Speaker 14: (01:39:48)
Lone Midnight. Chevy's going back to

Speaker 7: (01:39:59)
Oh.

Speaker 14: (01:40:00)
A simpler place in in his world than without him in mind.

EJ: (01:40:24)
I totally agree about the call and response of this song. It's so great. It's like there's sometimes they set her up to sing what she's gonna sing. Sometimes they back her up sing what she just said,

Mike: (01:40:33)
Or sometimes they just do like a whole different thing. Mm-hmm. , I feel like we're literally like, this is like a textbook in how to do that style. It's, and, uh, they're, they're exercising like so many different ways to do it. What do you think, Kai?

Kai: (01:40:44)
Yeah, it's very, it was very unpredictable in a good way. Like, it, it wasn't just set up with pattern. Um, and I really like how they did things like the, the woohoo stuff to sound like the train and everything. Yeah. , that was really cool. Um, yeah, it was a good pick. I, I really like it so far and I love Gladys Knight's voice. It's so good. It's a treasure. Yes. What did you think, Tom? Yeah,

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:41:03)
I mean, I mean, dude, this is, yeah. I mean this, this song, man. I mean, I I I probably listen this on a thousand times in my life. It's just the, everything, just the way the re the recordings of, of all this Motown stuff, it's just like, it's, you know, it's, it's on par with like the Beatles of just like mm-hmm.  the way this sounds and the intention that everyone brings into the room. Right. It's crazy. I mean, like, Mo Motown is its own genre. Yeah. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm.  like, which is crazy. And it's really, it's, I think it's the only genre that I've never met somebody that didn't like it. Yeah. You know, I've never met anybody that was like, like when like Marvin Gay came on, somebody was like, oh, turn this off . You

Speaker 7: (01:42:00)
Know what I mean? You're like, you

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:42:01)
Mean? Yeah, that's true. It's not a thing that happened. You know, midnight train of Georgia's gonna come on. Nobody's gonna get upset about Midnight Train of Georgia. You know, everybody's gonna be like, oh yeah. Had this tune. You know, like . It's just, it's just, it's, it's remarkable, you know? I mean it's, it's, again, it goes to that thing of, of real talent and real and real intention in in, in what everyone brought to the table. It's just this stuff is, this is the that, that our grandkids, grandkids will still be listening. Mm-hmm. , this

Speaker 7: (01:42:38)
Is leaving Midnight Train Georgia leaving on the midnight train. Yes. City's going back to find back with him Hope Midnight. I gotta live in his without him. Epic to go,

EJ: (01:43:57)
Wow.

Mike: (01:43:59)
That taste will fade out.

EJ: (01:44:01)
Yeah.

Mike: (01:44:03)
Man, what a great pick. That was awesome. Straight up classic. And I love how it's like so sweet, but so funky and so sassy. Yeah. Like all at the same time. A

EJ: (01:44:13)
Beautiful song.

Mike: (01:44:14)
Yeah. Agreed. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, that was a great pick from Dennis McNally, the biographer and publicist for the Grateful Dead. Yeah. And, uh, you know, we just had so much fun listening to music together. Thank you so much for being on the show, Tom. Yeah. Yes. We really appreciate it and we hope that you had fun.

Tom Hamilton Jr.: (01:44:32)
Nice. Thank you. Of, I, this was a great experience. A a a really unique angle at doing stuff like this. Like, way to go guys. I, I really love. I think it's super cool. Thank, thank you. I'll be back. I'd love to do it again.

Mike: (01:44:45)
Thank you so much. We do hope that if we work our very hardest, that we can circle back with you in four or five months to see how we can do the best job we can to listen to music again together. I'll definitely do it. Definitely do it. Yeah. You're awesome. This was great. Um, I wanna do a good job of thanking my lovely co-host ej

EJ: (01:45:02)
Oh, thank you. From the lovely, uh, bottom of my

Mike: (01:45:04)
Heart. Wanna do a good job of thanking you, Kai. Thank you. Wanna do the best job of thanking myself. And then I also want to thank our very, very special guest, Tom Hamilton Jr. For listening to music together. And I want to thank everyone that's in the chat. Yeah. And I want to thank everyone that's listening and we will see you next time right here on Galaxy Jams. Reacts. See ya then. Bye

EJ: (01:45:28)
Everybody.

Mike: (01:45:29)
See you guys. Bye-Bye.