Roy Lozano - Downset

revisiting an episode from the Union and Metro podcast

#punkrock #punkrocker #sandiego #jermaddams #thewasteaways #musichistory #punrockscene #punkrockhistory #podcast #podcaster #Diy #jermwarfareproductions #skateboards #artist #redrumskates #halloween #mars #museum #haunted #oddities #bassguitar #bassplayer #unionandmetropodcast https://youtube.com/@jermaddams?si=4bjqYtyh3tUaPCUd https://open.spotify.com/album/6WxUfbKnAAtKiNDphjHvmT?si=hM7myq-RQ0qtRIvskClG8A https://www.instagram.com/jerm_addams?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Transcript

SPEAKER_07 0:05

You've reached the Union of Metro Street podcast where we discuss the San Diego music scene of the late 80s and all of the nineties, from the shows we worked to the shows we played. Here we go.

SPEAKER_11 3:46

Any anyone else at the beginning?

SPEAKER_04 3:49

Bands that I played with or in. Turn down. Back in the day, I was in a band of cutthroat. Yeah. Yeah, you know. I've done, you know, my little bit. My my I I would say my bread and butter is just rap core. Mixing that, you know, hard, heavy metal with rap or heavy rap and hip like old old hip hop. You know, uh heavy hip hop with heavy metal and mix with hardcore and make punk a little bit. So it's been my you know my uh my forte or my bread and butter is what I've been doing for quite a long time. I'd say since uh 1990, 89.

SPEAKER_13 4:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 4:37

Yeah, uh I joined my first punk band when I was in high school and I was in uh 1988. Uh band called No Reason. It was uh OA punk band. It was like a minor threat, but just more more oay, more hardcore. And then um right after that I joined social justice. Um we played together in shows in Hollywood and and San Fernando Valley. And that's how I met Ray. And we put we played a show together in Social Justice and No Reason. It was at uh the anti-club. Okay, that's where I met Ray at the anti-club. We opened up for social justice and um joined social justice because he needed a guitar player, and then uh we released uh a seven-inch called I Refuse to Lose. Uh after uh it was a a year prior, they released um on eight uh 1989 they released um uh full length. Uh it was on Mystic. But um but they uh it was uh a subsidiary of Mystic. Oh okay. And I forg it was uh uh I forget what they it was just a one-off little you know label for uh a a label name. I don't know why they did it, um, but it was just for social justice and Brett Gerwitz um he recorded it at West Beach. He was the engineer, and uh it was a fun little album. I wasn't a part of it, but you know, it was I heard the stories because it was, you know, when I joined, it was like two years after they did that session, and they just kept talking about it. And so yeah, long story short, um, you know, we formed Downset, Ray and I after that, and um so you know, I selected you know, it was a an idea that Ray and I had, and then we were off trying to find members for the band and for for downset, and we just couldn't find any members, and and I was like, hey, well what about the guys or that we're jamming with in social justice? And so, you know, we we um asked Chris Lee and James Morris if they wanted to join us, and they did, and um we did that first demo, which is uh uh it was five songs, and then uh we released those demo songs on a seven on two seven inches and um which uh I think we did five hundred of each. And then that was in nineteen ninety-one. And thirty years, thirty-two years later, uh Nuclear Blast re-released them, and so we have them right here physical, yeah, a couple physical copies here.

SPEAKER_11 7:15

I can't wait to throw that on.

SPEAKER_04 7:17

So yeah, it's been uh you know, you know, in between all that I've I I played in other bands and um did a lot of uh session work as a guitar player for um a lot of hip hop, a lot of rap um albums with uh DJ Muggs and for uh a little while there. I played with Cypress Hill and in 2000 from two from 99 to 2005, I was um playing guitar uh with the live group and and I recorded on three albums. Um and so uh and I then I took a break and performed Powerflow and and then back in Downset. And so you know just flew by right, you know, those those years. But I was able to to do albums with you know with these bands in Cypress Hill and and Powerflow was formed, you know, uh you know, through me being in Cypress Hill and uh you know getting together with Sendog on the side and wanting to do another project, sort of sort of the same way, like performed Downset.

SPEAKER_07 8:20

And that was the same time that uh um B was doing uh Profits of Rage.

SPEAKER_04 8:24

Exactly the same time B was doing Profits of Rage, yes, exactly the same time.

SPEAKER_11 8:28

So there's all that nervous creative energy, and you got another idea. I mean that's that's the greatest thing about if you have an idea and you got other people that are available, you just start working on it if it works, then you just flow with it. Yeah, man, it's which you know, no pun intended with the power flow, but is that how it just came together?

SPEAKER_04 8:52

Just Yeah, you know, um it's just a um a matter of getting out there and and and doing it and getting up and and and say, okay, today we're gonna make a sticker. And and you you get together with whoever you're making the project with and and and the goal at the end of the day is to get the sticker done and you know get the artwork and and send it or or or take it to Kinkos or take it to the print shop or whatever it may be. You know, that's how you start things off. And um and the same with um you know with getting guys together and you make a goal and say, okay, hopefully within a couple weeks we can get a drummer and start a jam session, just the you know, guitar and drums and and singer can hang out and watch and start it from there, and then you know, if it works, you know, get a bass player, get another guitar player, and then you know, you build you build a good vibe and you just uh show up and and then you make it easy for people. If you're starting the project, you're gonna have to invest a little bit of money and and uh you know make it feasible for proper people to come by and you know, and because it's expensive and you know people it it's you know some people just don't have the money and they're good enough to be in bands, but they just uh don't have the money. You know, and and that's which always seems to be the case when when I I'm asking you know member you know musicians to come and join my band.

SPEAKER_07 10:21

It's just you know it's a or not or not just the money, the time too.

SPEAKER_04 10:25

It's yeah, a lot you know, and especially if it's at my age these days, and and I wanna if I want to play with people in my age, it's you know, that it's hard. Because every everybody's doing other things, like have a family and have kids and have a real job. But you you know, if you know, if if this is what you do and and you play in music your whole life, you're gonna find time to do music because you're gonna find a job that allows you to do that. You have to find a job that allows you to do your music and allows you to go on tour.

SPEAKER_07 10:56

Yeah, the thing is it's in our blood. That's the thing. You know, we've we've all three of us have done something in music and it and it it's it's inside of us. Yeah. I might not be a musician, but as you know, I've run a couple of concert halls, I've toured, and it's just something I it's in me, I have to be out there in that whole music process.

SPEAKER_04 11:17

Yep. Yeah, just being involved, it's it you know, part of the process is is you know, being involved in that process and you you feel good by accomplishing something, you know. It's a if it's a tour that you set out to you know, you set out a goal and and you're tour managing and and your goal is to get this band together and do a month and whatever it is and whatever your job is is to get the van and talk to promoters, advanced shows, whatever it is, you help make that happen and it feels good. Yeah you know, you said okay, in in 1992 we did that summer tour. We did 40 shows and you know it was historic.

SPEAKER_07 11:56

Wait, no, I was gonna I was gonna ask you back with downset. Um when did you guys get signed to Mercury?

SPEAKER_04 12:04

Late, I wanna say late 92, early 93, right in there.

SPEAKER_07 12:10

So you guys just give them gave them what you had, like demo-wise, and and there was an AR person that saw you guys play and was like, yeah, let's let's sign this band.

SPEAKER_04 12:19

Yeah, it was it was quite strategic for us at the time because um going through punk rock, hardcore, heavy metal, and the bands, our garage bands that were doing it, you know, we didn't have to deal with any business people at the time, you know, and and then so when we wrote that downset demo uh with the help of um with our producer Roy Z, who was my one of my first guitar teachers in Poquoima. And and he went off and produced a lot of cool things and and just recently done a lot of stuff. Um Bruce Dickinson and and um uh Judas Priest with uh Rob Halper and all the Helper stuff. And he was he helped us uh he put he helped us put together the social justice seven inch that that I recorded on and then the demos. And so the demos for Downset that we laid down, they they they had they had something. And when we played the music, we we liked it a lot. When you hear something that you do yourself and you like it a lot, you know you have something. Oh yeah. Sometimes you know you do something and you're like, well, you kind of cringe a little bit, and I don't think I want to share that too much. I don't think I want to work on that. I know I know that feeling, yeah. And you know, you know, you just erase it and you know start over yeah, or you know, just you know, erase those tracks or whatever. Um but with that particular demo, we felt something. We felt something right away, and and and it caught attention of a of a few managers, and oh caught attention of this one manager in particular, his name was Brian Brinkerhoff. He had a management company, a really small management company in Hollywood. And um he had a couple bands, you know, they're they're you know, they were you know, they were like um at that time they were in heavy music was just starting to come up. And people were barely like in the in the early 90s were you know the the masses were were just beginning to you know allow themselves to listen to that heavy distorted music. You know, grunge was helped open those doors for you know bands like Rage Against the Machine and Body Count, you know. Um and so uh yeah, man. So what happened? Uh he, you know, Brinkerhoff, the manager, he's like, I want to manage you guys. Um, what's going on? Um, you know, well, we don't have a full band yet. You know, we're still piecing together the band. He's like, I want to shop you guys. I'm like, we haven't played a show yet. Damn, you know, and he's like, Well, let's put it together. I got a I got a photographer, Alex Soka, really good photographer. Yeah, and that's where we got this this uh that that one first picture that's on that seven inch. That was our first photo shoot on that side down, and um, so we put together and then and then we added a guitar player, and then so we had a full band, and then um we were already for the most part, we had already been a band when we were social justice, so we were already gelled, we were already playing together. We just added another guitar player, Ares, um Brian Schwager. Um, he was he he came from Hollywood, he came from a whole different scene, um uh different music scene than we did. Um but when we gelled together, he brought in a uh he he brought in an energy and an excitement and he and he brought in a big crowd too. And yeah and each one, each one of us had our own crowd and our own crew of people. Right. So when we threw a show, it was a healthy show. A lot of people showed up. So especially for this thing that we're doing that was called Downset. And um, so you know, it was it was like a Hollywood script. I mean, it was like let's put together the band, let's do, let's do a showcase, and I'll invite a bunch of AR men and then we'll try to get a deal. We're like, well, okay, let's give it a shot. You know, we never done anything like that before. And we're you know, 19 and 20 years old. I was still going to college and I was you know driving back and forth from school to rehearse and stuff. And so um so I remember we the first uh the first SIR studios on Santa Monica, it was on Santa Monica, and it was right next to the old Epitaph Records. And um we rented out this rehearsal hall, and I remember Bad Religion was hanging out at their uh at their record label, and it was like a it was just a door and then a garage kind of door unit, and then then you had SIR rehearsal studios, and then and one and then the room next to us was Drama Rama. That band remember Drama Rama? Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah, so so it was time for you know the the AR guys were approaching, and it was like 15 minutes you know away, and so we got we had two keg two kegs of beer and we invited all our friends, and like about 150 friends showed up, and they're all drinking, having a good time. And so uh um Brian Brinkerhoff said, Okay, guys, are you guys ready? It's there the guys are here, all and the label guys are here. Are you guys ready to play? Oh, okay, go for it. So we start the set, two songs into the set. There's a big melee. Oh huge melee, and sets over, showcases over, and our people are gone, you know, guys are fighting. Yeah, it was you know, it was it was a brutal fight, and and I thought, oh man, there goes, there goes our record deal, there goes our chances, there goes our like, oh man, I was like, um young kid, I was all stressed out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then, you know, the next day, you know, all the labels called and I wanted to sign us, all of them. There was like four labels there. And um the first the first label that hit us up it was was Mercury Polygram. They were the first ones to respond right away in the next day, the next morning. And they said, We want to sign the band, don't let them if possible, don't let them play any more shows, do one more showcase. And and and this is these are two showcases that we played without even playing any shows, and we got signed. And then our very first show that we got signed, we got the record deal, we got on Mercury, it took a month to to execute the record deal, it was fast, super fast paperwork. Quickest record deal in history, it seemed like that was that's what they were saying.

SPEAKER_07 18:39

You guys had no lawyers?

SPEAKER_04 18:40

Oh, yeah, yeah. Of course, of course, yeah. Yeah, but it was really a fast deal. It was quick, yeah. It sounds yeah, and so next thing you know, you know, we're on tour with Biohazard in Europe. Uh, state of the world address tour. Doggy dog, it was Downset, Doggy Dog, Biohazard. Our very first show as Downset, we're in Europe. That's crazy. Yeah, we it was 42 shows in 45 days. That was our first tour. And then we came back home, took a week up, week, week off, one week off, and then we're back out supporting Pantera on the Far Beyond Driven tour. 35 shows in 40 days. And so that was kind of that was just a you know, it was a just uh that's a whirlwind. Yeah, it was a dream.

SPEAKER_07 19:26

It was just first time touring, and you're playing in front of these huge crowds.

SPEAKER_04 19:31

It was just right away, boom, here we go. Big, everything huge, big stages, and and we got spoiled. Yeah, we got spoiled because off the bat we we only it was like our we did another tour.

SPEAKER_07 19:45

So were you at were you guys already well? Obviously, if you're in Europe, you're already in a tour bus, right? Yeah, we're all right away. You're not driving the van.

SPEAKER_04 19:52

It was tour bus, we had bot drivers, we had everything was, you know, we had tour support, a lot of a lot of tour support from a major tour. What about crew? We we had crew, we had we had a couple, two techs, we had a a front of house person, we had a road manager and a bus driver and a bus.

SPEAKER_13 20:10

Crazy.

SPEAKER_04 20:11

And but we were on a major label and we had tour support, a lot of tour support. So, you know, it it was almost like sky's the limit. We would ask for uh, you know, a conservative amount, right? We wouldn't ask for way too much, but because we were conservative about what we asked for, we got it. And you know, we were in debt right away, you know, but you know, we you know and then the next tour was uh Ozfest, then Test. Was that was that 99?

SPEAKER_03 20:43

Yeah, no, that was 95.

SPEAKER_07 20:45

No, that's right, the first Ozfest, right?

SPEAKER_04 20:47

Very first one, and so I wasn't on that. By that time I was out of the band, uh, because I wasn't on the second record.

SPEAKER_12 20:54

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 20:54

Um, we had a fallout, so I was not on the second record. I came back for the third album, Check Your People, and then um missed the next two albums and then came back and we recently released Maintain on Nuclear Blast, which was last year.

SPEAKER_07 21:12

Yeah, so you weren't um so when Downset played Soma that the first time I think when I was there, it was with you went on that tour. That was with Deft Tones and uh Far.

SPEAKER_04 21:23

Right. But then um came back when I when I joined, when I rejoined for um for Check Your People, we came back and played someone, opened up for for Fear Factor, no Static X, Fear Factory Actually you guys didn't Static X opened and you guys played and and then it was Slayer. Wasn't it Fear Factory?

SPEAKER_07 21:44

No, okay, okay. Static X, Us, and then Slayer.

SPEAKER_04 21:47

Yep. That shit was crazy. I put you guys on that bill. That was crazy. And we thought we were gonna get a hard time from the Slayer fans, but no, you know, it was, you know, I think they they dug the draft. Drop tuning of drop seat. The drop seat is heavy. And that I think um won over the Slayer crowd because it was heavy.

SPEAKER_07 22:14

I think that was ninety ninety-eight, I believe.

SPEAKER_11 22:17

Yeah, I left in ninety seven.

SPEAKER_07 22:18

So I know you came out and hung out with me for another Slayer show. Late night. And I think that was the one where the was that the one where the lights went out.

SPEAKER_04 22:31

I don't remember, bro.

SPEAKER_07 22:32

It was so crazy. Because it just the whole venue went black. Yeah. Because all the sweat you know rained off the ceiling fried the fried the lighting, the lighting board.

SPEAKER_11 22:45

I did that once when I think my band Meat was playing the side stage at the Metro when we blew the power. So the owner lands freaking you know, and I was running the place for him booking shit. He's yelling at me, we blew the fuses, and then there was another time on the main stage. Um the fuses have blown for something, but that it's so rare to have anything like that happen at that venue. But that's crazy. Well, I want to do a deep dive. What what got you into playing guitar at all?

SPEAKER_04 23:19

Like uh, let's see. I we gotta go back to when I was um five years old and I was bought a drum set because I I I was drawn to rock and roll. Yeah. I was drawn my favorite band when I was five years old was the monkeys.

SPEAKER_11 23:39

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 23:40

So I wanted to be just like the monkeys. I had the monkeys haircut, I had I had everything, I had the drum kit, and then um I grew out of that. I started playing little league baseball. So I I grew out of the drum kit for it was a it was a toy kit. Um but during that time when I was around seven or eight, I I was uh my brother was blasting Black Sabbath every day. We sold our sofa rock and roll tape. It was a tape, and he would play it and turn it and turn it over, play it, turn it over, play it, and that's all we heard all day. Heard you know, from changes, you know, to Sabbath, bloody Sabbath. And it was that we sold our sofa rock and roll. And um, I just remember um uh my brother, he's like, hey, um, you should learn how to play the guitar. I want I want to I want to hear you, I want to hear you play these songs for me. Like, all right, so he bought me a guitar, and then I learned uh I Iron Man, Paranoid, uh Sweet Leaf, and um Simp and uh Masters of Reality. Yeah. Those four songs and NIB. I learned five of the five songs and I was seven years, eight years old.

SPEAKER_11 24:59

Just gave me chills. Yeah, I'm a huge Sabbath fan. That's still my roots. Black flag and black Sabbath. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:08

That's oh my god. Yeah, bro, it was Sabbath, and and so um I started playing guitar. I was seven, eight years old, and and you know, but for a little guy at my age and playing these songs, and the guys, you know, people that were you know hanging out in a neighborhood or 18 to 30 years old would come by and listen to me play. Yeah. I thought it was crazy, it was different for there wasn't many people playing guitar in my neighborhood at the time, so it was it was a quiet little show I was giving. Yeah. Back in since I was you know eight years old. And then I just didn't really take it like really I didn't really like catch it, like I didn't really understand it until I heard Um Breaking the Law from Judas Priest. Yeah. When I heard that song, I was like, holy f I didn't I've never heard like two guitars like you know just blistering, like battling. Yeah, and yeah, and I I thought that was an amazing sound, and I wanted to achieve that, and so that's where it all started for me. That's awesome. That riff, man, it was just really blazing, man. Just yeah, blazing hot lick melting metal, bro. And that's it was and I was smoking weed too. I was nine years old and and I was hanging out with 18, 20 year olds. Yeah, smoking weed because I was the only one that could play guitar, you know. They were asking me to teach them. I was a little little guy teaching older guys how to play, you know, Sabbath tunes. And you were self-taught, right? I had a teacher, he was two houses away. So he he actually was a guy teaching me. So between um, between my brother and uh this guy named Alfonso, he was my very first teacher, Alfonso Torres, and he was two two two houses down. And so, actually three, and then the guy who was two houses down was was the guy who introduced me to to speed metal. So we're all right there in the same block. Wow so he's like, yeah, you know, Sabbath Maiden, because that's all I listened to was Sabbath Maiden and Judas Priest. That's it. Yeah, that's all I want to listen to. I had all the albums, all Sabbath albums, and I had a couple Iron Maiden some albums. I had Killers and Prawler, um, the the very first one Iron Maiden, and then um uh and and British Steel. And that's all I listened to. And he was hey bro, there's a lot more shit out there. I go, well, I'll bring it on. He's I'll be back. And then he's some albums. So he comes back with with like a good size, a good handful of albums, and so it was the first Cryptic Slaughter album, the first Corrosion of Conformity album, the first Exodus album, Bonded by Blood, it was the first Dark Angel album, it was the first uh Possessed album, uh, it was the first suicidal album, and what other one didn't hit?

SPEAKER_11 28:06

Did he go through my collection and just bring them all over?

SPEAKER_04 28:10

Helloights, oh yeah, yeah, and and DRI uh dealing with it. Oh, okay. Those eight albums was it was my introductory for this was was about to change my life.

SPEAKER_11 28:23

Cryptic slaughter is just alone at that age.

SPEAKER_04 28:28

It's crazy, bro. Such a good record. So, you know, the one album out of all those that stuck out to me the most as far as like guitar for guitaring was uh Bonded by Blood. Oh yeah. The riffs were just like like, wow, I can I can hear I can identify them because it was really hard. Some of the recordings back then from for these bands, these speed metal and heavy metal bands, the recordings were rough. You know, like it was hard to listen to Hello Eights because unless you had a really good ear, you can you really couldn't understand what was going on. It was muddy. It was just different. It was um, you know, the way they re you know, it was just different. You know, the recordings were, you know, they were still evolving, you know, and so they still didn't know how to record heavy metal in those days. It was just blistering, and they were just trying to contain it at the time, and it was really hard. It wasn't that to me, it sounds like there wasn't that many compressors around on that that Hella Waits album, you know. Yeah, but you know, then they did uh when they did uh South of Heaven, then I was able to uh I understand the riffs, I was able to identify it because the the recordings were just a little bit clearer, a little bit better. Rick Rubin was had kind of a hold on, you know, things there. But so so was um the the Rain and Blood album, you know. That was so so listening to all these albums at first was like it was really hard to to distinguish what what they were doing. The guitar players were doing what the drummers were doing, and and the singers were going fucking Buck Wild, and you know, and it was so my first show, I was like, man, I gotta now I gotta go to a show. So and and a lot of guys in the neighborhood were into punk rock and heavy metal, and there was even heavy metal gangs that were real heavy metal. There was four heavy metal gangs in my neighborhood, and they were and they meant business, you know, but and it was it was it's but uh going into the gang warfare is a whole whole other that's a different podcast, but but these it was a lot of there was a big scene, and I I just I remember going in my first show was uh Forbidden and Exodus, and um that was just the beginning. That was my very first like speed metal show, and that's you know, that's where I just you know changed and speak played guitar every day ever since. Um those are the days.

SPEAKER_11 30:53

That's awesome. That actually takes me back quite a bit. Were you ever into Venom at all?

SPEAKER_04 31:00

No, but those albums were with my buddy that let that loan me. His name is Joe Juarez. I remember they call him Jola. And it it is he's a popular guy from the neighborhood, and um I always want to mention his name because he's he he really helped me get in the scene and and showed me a lot. And and he was into Venom. He had a I I was just I couldn't get around to it that you know, he's got so many albums that I I I I couldn't really I didn't have the time to get into that because I was still you know you know really, you know, i getting into these these albums and and marinating with what the heck these bands were doing. Right and each band had ten like five albums, and so I had to get all every one of these albums. And and it took me a while to get around to like Venom or and and Death Angel and and but you know it took me a while to get around to everything, but still, even till today, I'm still, you know, coming across new old material, you know. You know, I've been listening to a lot of destruction lately and the old destruction and the new destruction. And yeah, you know, yeah, it's just you i I I go off and on listen, I will listen to a lot of oi punk or even get into ska. I can listen to a lot of ri uh rock steady. I'll go from that and I'll listen to hip hop. Then I just it just goes from, you know, it just it's waves, it's energy waves. And so yeah, that's uh how I listen to music.

SPEAKER_11 32:37

So what was your first guitar that you were playing?

SPEAKER_04 32:40

So it was an old back in the day, you would you can go to Sears and you go back there and they have the catalog and then and they have the Harmony guitar. Remember the Harmony? That was my very first guitar, Harmony. And you go back and then you you look at the catalog and then you write down what you want, you order it, and I think you put a down payment or you pay the whole thing. I I don't remember how it was, but it um they I don't remember if they call you or they mailed you at the time, and then oh, your guitar is here. Three weeks later, your guitar will show up at Sears, or and it was it was cool. Yeah, so I it was it came in a box, it was a it was a cardboard box. I remember it was a harmony, it was um uh that uh it was uh the gold sunburst.

SPEAKER_13 33:27

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 33:28

And then uh and then my next guitar was uh a real Fender Squire Stratocaster. Oh wow US Squire, yeah. It was really heavy, and they only made a few of those. I just remember how heavy it was. It was heavier than the US ones. It was this it was so special. It was a baby blue fender squire stratocaster made in the USA, and and man, I wish I I mean still had it. Oh my god, that thing was so so awesome, it was so heavy. And I remember my buddy had a USA fender, and we would compare the and why is this one so heavy? It was just a really special squire. So that was my first like real guitar, yeah. And then um what happened to it? I don't know. I don't I have no idea. I was uh by then I was like nine years old. My first guitar, I I I think I got I was seven years old. I got my first guitar. So when I was nine, I got my first serious guitar, which was that baby blue squire strat. I don't think I could ever find one like that again. And after that they started making them in Japan and then Mexico. Yeah. But they made them here in the US for a little while. In fact, Billy Squire was my first concert that I went to. My sister my sister took me to it, was uh a band called Saga opened, and then Billy Squire. And I got I was at the Long Beach Arena, and that was my very first concert. Yeah. I think I was like six, man. It was young, so I started young. So you were just destined. My sisters and brothers were like they were very supportive and they pushed me. And they pushed me into and my my father, my younger sister has been to every sh every show I've done in in in LA, every single show. My my little sister, and yeah, my my older sister, she was you know, they're all you know special to me. My s my older sister never forgets my birthday. She always sends me a Starbucks card or a card since I can remember. She would never forget my birthday. I forget their birthdays all the time. But yeah, they're my my sisters, they're super supportive, and my brothers, all my brothers are super supportive and proud that you know I I tour and release albums and you know do what I love and what I want to do. They're proud of me for it. That means a lot to me that it makes my family proud.

SPEAKER_11 35:55

It makes it easier to take the chances that you take when you're trying to write your own music instead of playing covers, and there's you know, that whole there's a confidence thing, but you started when you were young, so you already had that confidence. The reason why I play the bass is I had a Sears guitar, took guitar class, I got a D, and I I couldn't do the noodling and I just didn't want to do it. I was into punk rock and then Venom. But I just I couldn't do it, so then I went to be a vocalist, and then I just picked up the bass one day and I'm like fuck it. I'm just gonna and now I I love having with my bass on me, then I can do vocals. If I don't have my bass, then I'm I'm not really comfortable being that guy anymore.

SPEAKER_04 36:41

Um back in the day, you know, alcohol helped a lot, but oh yeah, it yeah, I it seems like alcohol was a part of everything back in the day. Yeah, a lot I was functioning alcoholic for many years.

SPEAKER_03 36:55

It caused a lot of problems. Yeah, yeah, of course. Had some problems on the road, yeah, yeah. I mean alcohol causes a lot of problems everywhere. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_11 37:04

So but that's a that's a hard pill to swallow once you realize that it's not so much the alcohol as you with the alcohol. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 37:14

You know. Yeah, you know, sometimes though, um, you have the right guys, it it can be pretty fun. Yeah. If you have the right guys with alcohol.

SPEAKER_07 37:22

If if people have your back.

SPEAKER_04 37:23

Yeah, you you you have some mature guys around you that are want to do business and they know how to have a couple drinks at the end of the day at the end of a show and and chill, it's all good. But um you know, it's it's it's all it's it's all the environment, man. It's it's it's all you know, and the people that you're with and you know, other bands that you're touring with too. So, you know, might not mix well with others, you know. Right. But um you know, as long as you can the the most important thing is to have control and you know, and you be as as respectful as you can, you know, and and and everywhere you walk in, venues or recording studios or podcast studios or you know, wherever you gotta, you know, walk in with with respect. And if you want to have your drink, you know, try to keep, you know, try to keep that in mind.

SPEAKER_07 38:16

And I did a I did a tour with Broy back in the day, back in 2000.

SPEAKER_13 38:20

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 38:21

Yeah, yeah. A lot of there was a lot of beer. There still is, there still is. Um, and I say not but you stopped drinking, but I still have a beer.

SPEAKER_07 38:32

There were some problems on that tour. It was yeah, but you guys broke up on that tour too after that tour.

SPEAKER_04 38:37

It was had it had to do with other things. It hadn't have to do with alcohol. Yeah, it could have been, but you know, I had other other things that are happening that um I wish didn't happen, but they did. And um, but we've moved forward s from from then and um you know there's just just time to move. It happens. Yeah, time to to just to move forward, man, and and forget about those things for those times that are that were you learn from them.

SPEAKER_07 39:05

Yeah. We always learn try to learn from our mistakes. That's the best thing you can do, right?

SPEAKER_04 39:09

Yeah, you have to learn from your mistakes, and or else, you know, you keep repeating the same mistakes, you're gonna get stuck in the mud and wondering why you're not progressing and be where you want to be, you know.

SPEAKER_11 39:19

So Yeah. Well, those are all life lessons that but with you getting the opportunities in the beginning, I mean there's so many bands that they'll they'll get they'll finally get to that opportunity. Okay, we're going over to Europe. Then they get over to Europe and then you know the ego starts to inflate, then bring in the alcohol or bring in, you know, whatever other sum to substance, you know, speed or you know, the weed. And then that becomes part of their character on stage.

SPEAKER_04 39:51

You ever run into any problems like that where any bandmates were a lot, a lot of uh, you know, uh there's uh there's been there's been a l in fact a lot of of people I met on the road who felt that they had to include this character that has this like uh this alcohol, this um this guy's known for drinking uh Jack Daniels. So the guy all you know, he always wants to have a Jack Daniels with him because he's known for that.

SPEAKER_12 40:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 40:27

And they can't he can't handle that. You know, that guy, that guy, you always see him with a a Bud Bottle. Hey Bud Bottle, you know, and it's what he's known for. And yeah. And and he's that that becomes part of his character, and and and I was one of those guys. Same here, yeah. And so um I felt that, you know, you know, having having my tequila or was you know, a part of a part of my lifestyle, it was a part of rock and roll, was a part of, you know, this is a a part of it, you know, but it was you know, I was wrong. Yeah, I was dead wrong, and and it doesn't have to be a part of it. So like I said, I haven't I didn't st I haven't stopped completely. I still have a drink here and there, but but I've learned a lot since then and you know, like you know, being a functioning drunk and trying to do business is just doesn't work.

SPEAKER_11 41:24

Right. You know, so that's part of the the wisdom. I mean, I'm gone through the same thing again, but as a kid, I mean I was well say a kid because of how old I am, but in the days when I was running the club, I always had Bud Light, and then eventually I switched to Coors Light. But if I had money, then I would get Guinness. But it seems, you know, I look at the old photos, I always have a freaking beer can in my hand. And that became part of my identity. Yep. And but I never toured or anything, so I wasn't, you know, a burden on the road. But because of that too, I never really progressed. I would get bands going so far, and then they would just break up for whatever reason. But I could go home and drink and and think about it on my own, you know, and not take any responsibilities.

SPEAKER_04 42:13

Yeah, there's a you know, there's uh yeah, there's uh a lot of business on the road and and you have to save your pennies, you know, and when you you're under the influence, you tend to, you know, money tends to kind of get lost.

SPEAKER_12 42:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 42:29

You know, you tend to spend more than you want to. And you know, you gotta be in a under a strict budget when you're when you're out because your bands are not making a whole lot of money to begin with. You know, it takes a long time to to develop uh a following that helps you get paid. You know, and so you know, there's uh there's there's a lot of accounting, accounting that you have to do, a lot of you know business that that you have to, you know, be on top of and and kind of like you said, you gotta have good people around you. Yeah, and and that and that that really helps. And you have yeah, some cool cats around you that that that accept you for you and and they have confidence in themselves, so they're not in walking around insecure when they have to beat you up with words because they're insecure, you know. It's like, you know, there it's it right now the the group of guys that I have uh currently in my band and downset are good guys. They're all very confident, they have a they're all very s secure with themselves, and they can you know these guys can have a beer and and or two and and say, I don't I don't need any more. We're you know mature dudes that are that I'm working with and I'm looking forward to to doing this uh the new downset that I'm you know that I've that I've been you know are you guys tasked to do.

SPEAKER_07 43:50

Are you guys still going out on tour this this month?

SPEAKER_04 43:52

Yeah, so we're gonna we're gonna leave on the 27th and come back uh 4th of July. We're gonna we're doing five US East Coast. shows at the end of the May and then and then from from the East Coast fly to to Europe and do a month come back take a couple weeks off and hopefully continue touring. So I'm still uh booking shows and still booking for for the I we plan on on just doing as many shows as we can this year. And then uh and during the shows dur during the tours we're gonna try to write as much as we can. You know uh it all goes down like an um soundcheck sometimes we can write some cool stuff so we're gonna have a recorder and and record all the stuff on sound check on during soundcheck because we're I know we're gonna come up with a lot of riffs and then 2025 I want to put some things together and and and write a new album with with the new guys in the band. Nice.

SPEAKER_11 44:54

Well what let's go back to when you had left downset the first time what what um because you had so many different projects what would you end up doing at that point?

SPEAKER_04 45:05

Well back in those days um downset was really the only that was my baby. That was the only thing that you know that I put everything into and I was you know nine I was 19, 20 21 years old. So it was you know it was really I put really my whole heart into just this one group. I didn't have I didn't I haven't developed contacts yet where I was doing session work or or or playing in other bands at the time. So at that time um when I I I had the Fallout which was in 95 um I didn't join another band. I didn't make another band. What I did was I I got a job at a recording studio was it was called Sound City was popul a popular studio that used to be in Van I's it's not there anymore. But um I wanted to get into the recording aspects of things and become an engineer and and get and get into becoming you know a producer. Okay still be involved in music but I I felt that my strong points were in recording. And so I wanted to learn more and I got a job at Sound City and and at that that's where I met a lot of cool bands and uh a lot of great records were done there. The first Rage album was done there the Nirvana Nirvana Nevermind was done there the Fleetwood Mac all the fleet with Mac and all the Tom Petty and Rick Springfield it was a lot of stuff done there. Dio Holy Diver um so you know when I was working there I worked there for two years and I got to work with a lot of really good engineers and producers uh Nick Rasculenix Jerry Finn Mike Klink uh I mean a lot of dudes that yeah I got got to learn um a lot a lot of their like they gave me pointers and I got to you know just by watching I got to learn a lot of their tricks you know and I was just lucky that I was there you know watching and they they allowed me to be there and learn from them. You know some people are not are not cool with that. Right, right yeah but they were cool with it you know the if if I was work we were working there and we're all part of it and that's where you go to learn. And so if you have a job there and and and a lot of these guys that were engineers and producers were were very how happy to show me something or show show me a trick or two about right mic placement or signal flow or what have you so and then um I sw I I started playing with turned down for a little while it was a it was a like a power pop band. We sounded more like DAG Nasty Turned down song like Dag Nasty um with you know very melodic it was with Andrew from Strife and um I was in in that band and then I got and then right after that I joined Cypress Hill and then I got a job at working at Conway so I I did the Cypress recordings it was a skull and bones and then um I was working at Conway as a runner and um so I was there for a couple years and then it was like within that month after we recorded that rock superstar and can't get the best of me and we it was uh on skull and bones it was that month that was released and it was already on the radio. So I was you know working and my songs are on the radio and I got back in Downset and then and then everything started like to really accumulate for me I was getting asked to play on these uh hip hop albums and I was starting to produce other bands because I had a lot of studio time at Sound City and at Conway and so you know I I was working with guys like Michael Beinhorn and and and just a lot you know George Massenberg a lot of these like they're these legends studio legends a lot of people don't know who these guys are but these you know if you talk to like in the recording world these dudes are like legends man and um they you know George massenburg he he he came in and he was recording I for I forget what he uh edda james or something like that and and then you you walk in there and and he's he's you know mixing and you look at the gear all the op or gear and and he invented like half the stuff that's in there so it's like wow you know he's actually here yeah you know it's a trip. Yeah for me it was you know it was I nerded out and those kind of things and I love to you know learn about recording and all the aspects that have to do with recording and um though that's still my thing. That's that's still what I go after. I'm yeah I'm I'm always after tru you know trying to find the best recording gear or the best you you know interface you know and best mic and you know always you know into it and still producing other things today and and I'm still recording other bands and and involving right now I'm doing um I'm mixing um Lou Graham from Foreigner. Oh I'm mixing his his uh his live album uh Lou Graham All Stars and this is probably gonna be his last uh his last hurrah he's yeah um he's might him and and Nick Jones might get together and do a foreigner show at the at the rock and roll hall of fame but this live album that I'm that I'm really lucky to be mixing um it fell in my lap and uh from an old friend of mine from high school that was funny how how it happened but he's he's now his tour manager and and and he was able to record him live on his interface and he sends me the stems and I'm I've been mixing these songs man all these these hit songs like uh Urgent and uh Head Games and Hot Blooded and I Wanna Know What Love Is like when I'm mixing these songs that's giving me chills. Yeah it's crazy dude you know so I've been it's you just never know yeah I've been like it's been I I like there I'd wait I'd do a song on the next day I'm like did I just am I working with Lou Graham yeah I'm working you got a pitch yourself yeah with this dude yeah does it ever intimidate you like well um we haven't got in this we were haven't been in the studio together okay um but they send me all the data and right in the beginning I had to you know they say Roy I need this mixed and so do what you gotta do what do what you gotta do so I had to find a mixer and I found three different guys um three different studios one in one in Burbank one in North Hollywood and one in Oregon and I had these guys do a a mix shootout for me and the best guy was gonna get the job. Yeah and so you know um I I picked I picked uh the dude from North Hollywood along with with Jake he was you know he he needed to be in the process of picking the guy too but it was just these are guys that I had that I've worked with and um so we've been you know now we're on song six we're gonna do 11 songs and and it's gonna come out on vinyl uh by the end of the year I think so we should have a a cool little album to listen to from Lou Graham All Stars. And he I I wish it could be called Lou Graham a foreigner but he can't use that because of legalities. Yeah he doesn't own the name Mick Jones owns the name. So maybe they'll they'll bury the hatchet one day and and you know they're you know really close you know to to get in I don't know why they haven't been in the hall of fame but before but now they're you know finally gonna get asked to be in it and and uh I might be able to I'm hopefully we can go go over the when when they get inducted and we're gonna try to re do a recording if they're if they're gonna if they play and we're gonna record that. Wow. Yeah so we'll see how that goes. But that's what I've been working on lately. I've been working on that um and um I also been working on a a hip hop project with um with my buddy Paco Manson and and Sonny from POD it's a a hip hop album and it's yeah it's just uh it's it's an underground thing and so that and then and then just getting the downset stuff together is just really it takes you know it takes all my time there. Yeah and then and then I have I have my my day job my electrical day job that that I try to fit in yeah or or vice versa you know so it's it's I've been pretty busy and um I thank God that um I have all these opportunities and and I'm able to you know ha have a clearer head in in the in this this time of of my career and these days where I'm a little more clear than I was back when I was a youngster and more focused. Yeah you just you know get a little older and wiser and I'm I'm just happy that I'm that I've made it this far.

SPEAKER_12 54:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_11 54:22

Well it's a it's amazing actually where you've come from because you know with the rapid start of getting launched into and you know going over and touring the UK a lot of people would just take that fill up their ego and then end up you know dropping the ball but it seems like you keep being in the right place and and utilizing opportunities.

SPEAKER_04 54:45

Well that's happened to me too you know I've I've I've had you know it's happened to a lot of us you know but uh you know to you gotta get back up and you know and realize that there's a lot of work to do and that you just can't stop on one album. Yeah you you you you're a musician and you you should keep writing until you can't anymore. And it's you it's it's it's difficult but you should always strive to record and write songs.

SPEAKER_11 55:13

If you're in a band and you're and you're a musician and that's what you do and that should be a a high priority you know so speaking of what um we were talking guitars earlier but what uh what what guitar are you playing now? I play Jackson now.

SPEAKER_04 55:29

Jackson yeah I I wish I back in the day I I came across a Jackson and I remember how how uh sturdy it was it felt it was a you know it was a beast of a guitar it was heavy but it was too heavy for me. I just I I I wanted to you know you know to be um let's see uh to have uh have uh you know well now it's my you're my stage presence back in those days I was you know more uh you know jumpy and and more physical and and and if I had a heavy guitar I I couldn't be that yeah uh nowadays I've uh it's more of an opposite thing for me more I s I now have more control of my of my body and my hands when I play guitar because I'm just more precise and and I just I just just want to play play better. Right be jumping around and doing backflips and and not playing anything you know yeah but I actually want to be playing my guitar and so so um now I've I've got accustomed to to play these Jackson guitars which are are are amazing. They have the jumbo frets and they have a lot of room to to noodle around and shred and and uh it's just a great guitar to play live. Yeah stay in tune uh I know it's is you know some of these guitars have the the Floyd road and some don't um and it's hard to to work with the Floyd but you just get used to it and man it's it's money in the bank when it comes to guitars being tuned and and they play really well and they sound good it's just like a home run off the bat you know well other guitars um that are not as well made they they they tend to have more mood like um mood swings and some days you just can't tune them or some days they don't sound good. So you know the obviously the better quality you're gonna have less of that. Yeah but really good quality guitar you're gonna have your guitar have less of mood swings and less less of that they can concentrate on your show. Yeah so you know it's it's you it's it's that thing is just for sure.

SPEAKER_11 57:40

What strings do you use? Um yeah I like all this geeky stuff I want to get to your whole your whole rig.

SPEAKER_04 57:49

Yeah for for um for a lot of years that I I used Dean Markley they were the only ones that actually give me anything. Fried amps were really cool to me they they've given they give me a lot of you know they help me out a lot um but and and Gibson back in the day gave me a few guitars. Okay. But it was Dean Markley who supplied me strings for many years. I want to say 25 years. Nice and so um I you know I have you know they they're good strings there's there's obviously there's you know there's other strings out in the market that cost more and they're better. But nowadays I buy them in bulk I go to it's called C B C B giddy CB Giddy it's is just a warehouse in the East Coast and I buy them in bulk. Just a nickel just good good old nickel American steel string guitar uh for for electric guitar and I buy them in bulk and I buy them you know I I you know buy them in uh like a cases at a you know 25 per string and so they come in these these long bags and and that's what I use for they last pretty good not really no you don't but for tour it's fine because you got you could only you could only go it doesn't matter what strings you buy when you're on tour they only last for two days. On the third day they're gonna bust because the the sweat and the salt that comes out of your pores and they go into the on the guitar strings even if you clean them up you know it's still the humidity and this and the salt just breaks right through the strings. Yeah on the third day they're gonna break. So basically you're changing them every two days every every two shows I change my guitar strings so uh for recording you know um definitely you want to buy the highest quality because it does make a difference yeah um for bass guitar as well um so if you're gonna record you want to really you know get the best strings that are available uh for touring you know just get some you know I you know good old American nickel steel wound electric you know simple simple that's all I need yeah you know so plus when you're comfortable with something because I play blue steels medium wound is a good I I actually was turned on to those from Jim Cherry rest in peace Jim from Strung Out and um when I was doing a band called Cinsen77 I tried to I was working with them to get a sponsorship but I never got them our album because we lagged on it so but I still to this day I swear by 'em and I mean I've broken plenty of bass for the strings but I like 'em and it's just because I'm comfortable when I play something else, it's the feel.

SPEAKER_11 1:00:48

You know, and if they don't feel right then in my head it's something clicks and it's like okay where's where's my drink and you know it just it throws me off my game.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:56

Yeah yeah there's definitely um there's some strings that are wound differently you can feel them right off the bat. Yeah. And you can hear it too. So you know it's just it it would I if you know for people out there who are trying to figure out what the best string is for them you just gotta try them all out and see what works best for you.

SPEAKER_12 1:01:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:16

Um but I can the reason why I stopped using D Markley is just because I I think I think they got bought out by somebody else or something. And then I lost I I lost my contact over there and that was it. You know I I I didn't bother to ask again to get get my uh endorsement back or you know I just I I found what was better for me for touring and and I found I needed because I ha I I I play a a a a certain uh gauge set and you can't find them in in in regular packs at the store at Guitar Center because they're mixed up I have mixed up I go from 56 to 42 to you know so it and they're you know 11 they're all you can't find them all together and you have to buy them separately so that's why I had to start buying in bulk. So that's the only reason and it's cheaper for me and and I'm happy. You know yeah so it's as long as you have fresh strings they're all you're gonna always sound good. Even if you're recording if you have some cheap strings as long as they're fresh they're gonna sound good for a little while.

SPEAKER_12 1:02:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:26

You know it's just I think it it comes down to the the the just uh the longevity of some of these strings that that are out there on the market that they last a little bit longer and they sound and that's that's all yeah wear wear and tear.

SPEAKER_11 1:02:40

Yeah. Well that's the thing too when you're touring if you go through say you know you start off in the States and you might do a couple warm-up gigs and you go over to the UK you go through different climate changes and if you're just bringing your guitars and using a back line that's supplied well that guitar case even if it's a hard case it goes through temperatures it's in the freaking belly of the plane it's freezing. So that's another thing and then you know the humidity of wherever you're playing different clubs if you're playing smaller places they're little hot boxes and humid that that fluctuates the the person you know the the mood of the guitar.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:25

And so like I said if you if you have you know you know a guitar that's you know on the cheap side and you know it's not built really well it's that thing's gonna mood swing like a son of a gun. It's gonna move it's gonna expansion expansion and contraction yeah that that you know neck's gonna bow and you know it's gonna be out of tune. So that's why the Jacksons are really strong their neck through in one piece and so they barely move I I when I put 'em um when they go on the plane I just maybe drop this you know make sure uh um I loosen up the the lock nuts at the end make sure you have loosen those up yeah and they just you know drop each string you know just a half note um just uh you know a step down just give it a little breathing room yeah because you have a Floyd Rose that has spring action so if that's gonna move up and down that's gonna be enough for guitars like uh Gibson's that don't have a a Floyd Rose and springs then you gotta you gotta really loosen those. You gotta loosen you gotta loosen them because you know when when they go in the belly of the plane it gets really cold and the strings contract and they can pull your guitar and they can break your they could break the the the neck.

SPEAKER_11 1:04:43

Yeah so so these are all the little geeky things that's yeah I mean it's I love it because the more that I learned because you know after guitar class and then just over the years having certain guitars and having them tuned up and then especially in summer where it'll be super humid in my place. You remember the place in Camulos and no B and I had a guitar that it was just from the weather basically and being in my place the next started to blow and then of course I knew it was a cheaper guitar but it bowed enough to where is it was just useless. And actually I have a guitar that's Frankenstein from other guitars because everything you know my buddy a guitarist of mine he frankens a guitar because he had the same problem. And that's the thing when you have a cheap instrument and if you're a touring band you can't rely on on garbage because you're only as good as your equipment. Just like you're only as good as your bandmates.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:45

Yeah you know electrician is only as good as his tools you know you gotta have it all man. Yeah. Yeah man it's uh yeah one thing I noticed uh like friends of mine that have guitars and they live by the beach and then Salt the air. Yeah, they they hang the guitars on the wall and they wonder why all the hardware is rusted because of all the salt that's in the air. You know, I recommend that you don't hang your it looks cool when you hang your guitars and the wall looks cool, but I don't recommend it because it's your parts are gonna rust and you gotta replace them all. And especially if that guitar is expensive, you don't want to hang it on the wall. You want to put it, keep it in the case, seal it, keep it away from the moisture, and that's how you that's how you have uh that's how you keep a guitar for a long time in good shape. You know, so it's one one to one to grow on. Yeah.

SPEAKER_11 1:06:40

Temperature control.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:41

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_11 1:06:42

Very important it's the same thing with with vinyl and a lot of things. And then uh one thing that I had a problem with that one of my bases just finally crapped out is it was so old from all the sweat that getting into my pickups and then all the wiring, all the wiring was starting to rust out.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:01

And then you gotta dissect it, you gotta pull everything out, and then you gotta chip away the salt. And depending on how much you sweat and how many shows you have. Bobby Hamble from Biohazard, for example, uh his tech has to completely take his whole guitar apart every two shows because the salt is builds up on the in the pots and the stream. He's gotta chip it away. Chip the salt with with with the screwdriver and then put all the parts back because they sweat so much, it's so much salt that you know it's just you gotta do it.

SPEAKER_07 1:07:37

You guys playing any shows with the biohazard?

SPEAKER_04 1:07:39

We're playing one. Yeah, once in um in June. One show. We'll play we'll play I gotta look at the schedule, but we have uh we play with with pretty much uh, you know, all the hardcore bands that are touring right now. We're gonna play a show with them somewhere, some festival. Uh Biohazard, Agnostic Front, Mad Ball, Bane, Death Before Dishonor, Slapshot, uh Sick of It All. I know those are those are bands from the top of my head that I know we're gonna do.

SPEAKER_11 1:08:14

What about Chromex?

SPEAKER_04 1:08:15

And the Chrome Ax. I I saw I saw them on one of the flyers. So yeah, we're gonna see Harley. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, we should have we're gonna have a busy summer and it should be it should be good.

SPEAKER_11 1:08:28

Yeah, we'll definitely when um when I start doing uh posts to promote this, I'll get you know a list of whatever I can from you and use that in the in the listings and the promotions that I do on social media. But um how um when you're out touring and who's setting everything up? Are you doing all that or do you have the people at home doing anything for you? Yeah, I mean how DIY are you getting into this?

SPEAKER_04 1:08:57

It's um it's it's uh changed through the years. Um in the beginning, uh when we decided to hire a manager uh and and wanted to test uh the the world of the major labels and and try to get a deal. Yeah, uh it it it wasn't as dyy, but we had because we were used to the DIY way, we were able to to really come up with a lot of content for for our management team and for our label. We provided a lot of content, a lot of artwork, just a lot of stuff in those days, and and so we were we were feeding it. Right. And so we had we had we had a team, we had a marketing team, we had a management team, uh, you know, we we we had it it was a com a combination of everybody working together. And then through the years, going you know, from Mercury um to Island Def Jam to Epitaph, um, still under management, it was still, you know, a group effort, you know, but DIY at the same time. Because that's that's where our strengths were were, is uh we're we did everything ourselves. And and but you know, you had I don't think it was like a a a choice, you know. We had to do it yourself. It's not like you know, we're gonna choose to be a DIY bad. It's like no, no, we it's you gotta go and you just gotta do it. Yeah, you know, and it just happened to be called DIY. But so no matter what, even you know, with whatever teams that we had, you know, promoting marketing teams, street teams, management teams, um, we we still had to do a lot of things ourselves. You know, and then um so like through the years, we had our manager Scott Koenig. Um he just passed away um uh during the pandemic, the the Delta, it was the Delta virus, but he helped us with the last album that we released uh with maintain uh on and he helped us get the record deal on nuclear blast. And um, you know, it was it was always you had to, you know, do a lot yourself, even if you're on a label, even if you have management. Now I don't have a manager. Now I do everything. Oh, okay. I do everything except tour, uh, except book Europe. I have a we have a booking agent, uh, M A D. Uh, and uh the lady there, Uta, is the best. She's great, she's been with us for 20 years, and and you know, it's it's we're lucky to have uh a booking agent, especially today. Um I'm looking for a new booking agent in in the U.S. and and an Asian booking agent and a South American booking agent. But you know, nowadays, you know, I don't have a manager, and we're not looking for a manager. Oh, okay. I think um we're just, you know, we're we're gonna downsize everything and and we're we're we're not gonna hire anybody on tour. It's just gonna be the four of us. There's gonna be no no driver, there's gonna be no techs, there's gonna be no front of house guy, no stage manager, no tour manager, nothing like that. It's just gonna be the tour.

SPEAKER_07 1:12:36

That's the way a lot of bands are doing it now.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:38

We're gonna strip it all the way down. And and you know what? I think um it's just we're gonna try something different because there is a a a lot of lounge time when you're on the tour.

SPEAKER_07 1:12:50

So you can fill that void.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:52

Yeah, so you know, a lot of that is watching people do your work, and it's something that you can do yourself and and and and you don't have to pay somebody. And I think it's I I think it's good to hire people when you need it. Right, right, right. We don't need it, you know, we're we're we're we're we're like we're playing clubs that are like from you know 200 to to 400 capacity. We can handle this ourselves. Oh yeah. But once it starts to get into like 800 people a night, not you know, a thousand a night, then there's a lot more work, a lot more production that needs to be done. There's a lot more to have you need some you need more people. Right.

SPEAKER_07 1:13:29

So you guys you guys are doing your own merch too on the road?

SPEAKER_04 1:13:32

Doing our selling our own merch. We order our own merch. We have our contacts with our own merch companies and you know, overseas.

SPEAKER_07 1:13:38

You're still you guys still with Warlord?

SPEAKER_04 1:13:40

No, that's that was that's just an online company company in the US that was. So they're not they're not making your merch or no, not anymore. It was just for a little while, just something that was online to get some stuff out there, but um, we're not on Warlord anymore. So, you know, we're you know, like we handle our own merch and I book my own tours with with my booking agent. Um and then we we just got on New Age Records. So we're gonna put our we're gonna release our album on under New Age. New Age has been around for a long time, uh, underground hardcore label that's been in uh in Orange County for many years. Uh Mike Hartsfield. He's uh he he plays guitar in Outspoken and uh New Age is his label, and he's he released a lot of his albums on New Age. And uh so it's gonna be fun doing an album with them. And um we we have a lot of work to do. So thinking about a release and and a concept for the album, I don't have that yet because it's it's very fetal right now. I just have riffs and some some some uh some song titled ideas, and so when when I get together with with Joe, our new singer, Joe, um Joe Meller, he's aka um Joe Hyde. Uh he he sings in a band called Ilmatic out of Detroit. And um he's been in the Detroit hardcore scene for many years, and and and he did the crossover into the rapcore as well. He was in in other hardcore bands as well, but the the band that he's currently in is called Ilmatic. And um, you gotta check them out and they're hard, like rap core. And so, you know, he you know, I gave him a call and we became friends, and and he was I felt that he was a perfect fit for downsetting and and he thought so as well. And so he, you know, he he was he really loved the band and and wanted to be a part of it, and has a lot that had a lot to do with the decision of choosing him because he he really wanted to be in this and really he likes the band. So it means a lot to me and and it's gonna and it's helps the band too. Rather than have a singer who just wants to come in and fill in and just you know, just kind of be there and do it, is you know, the you know, the feeling is different. So I have a good feeling with Joe, and we're gonna do a a good album next year. Um and um so but you know, before I get into even thinking about that album, you know, we like I said, it's still fetal. And so I think after we do these tours, it's gonna start to really start to shape up the concept of what we want talk about for the next album. Because I think this is gonna be the biggest album of my life. You know, I've done a lot of albums. I've done over seven, I've been on 70 albums, you know, from playing and recording recording different bands and and session work and from my own bands that I've been in. I think this next album is really gonna really define what what I've what I've been doing my whole musical career, and um I'm looking forward to this challenge because it's a big challenge. And you know, to to put out a a a new downset album with you know with me being the only original member, you know, it's gonna be a big challenge. You know, some are gonna some of the the fa of our following is gonna dig it and some are not, you know, and and and the ones who who don't, and you know, you know, hey, you know, I'm just gonna say I'm gonna ask you to give it a chance, and if you don't like it, that's fine.

SPEAKER_11 1:17:20

You know, but you but you're gonna pick up a whole new audience. Yeah, and you know, I can't I mean now I'm already looking forward to it, and you've just the concept's still stupid, but I can I can see it in your eyes and I can I can feel the energy. I mean it's giving me chills. It's actually how I feel about the what I'm writing right now, but I'm now more stoked about you. Because I've you know doing the research and then refreshing, but it's it's that energy when you're like, yeah, I'm I'm in this, I have this. And you've simplified down to where you're in control that I mean it's gonna be freaking brilliant one way or another because Yeah, it took a long time to to feel that I was in control of whatever I was involved in.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:06

Um you know you can't control everything. Right. As much as you want to, you can't. Um you just gotta let allow things to play out, play themselves out, and just allow things to develop, and then when it's time to put it make a push, you make a push. Yeah. You know, so and uh and I've been able to identify those situations easier.

SPEAKER_07 1:18:30

And what the and with the old guys from the original guys from downset, they just don't want to do it anymore, right? Because they're all in careers.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:38

Well, you know, I I I can't talk for them. I don't know what's in their mind. You know, if they wanted to do it, they would have been here. They'd be here, they'd be here doing this interview. Um I don't know how much of a full-time musician they are in their hearts. Um I don't uh, you know, I you know, I don't know. I question that. You know, I'm I've known them for a long time. I I know they love music, I know they love downset. Um but I don't know like where they are as of you know where they're at right now.

SPEAKER_07 1:19:14

I don't I don't know basically like some of the guys just still want to tour anymore.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:18

Well, you know, like I said, like we'd mentioned before, you know, when we're at this age, we we have different priorities. And um some, you know, being in a band like Downset uh probably doesn't fit the priorities. It probably won't it'll mess up, you know, if you try to prioritize Downset in their their their mix of priorities these days, it'll probably dysfunction make things dysfunctional, you know, because they have their families and they live far or but none of them are in bands. None of the original members that I did this band with are doing their own band or or or in a serious or in a serious band.

SPEAKER_07 1:20:06

Have you have you talked with uh Chris Hamilton at all? Yeah, yeah. How's he doing?

SPEAKER_04 1:20:10

Yeah, he's he's alright, he's in Philadelphia. I talked to I I speak to Chris Lee, the original drummer, a lot. We talk all the time.

SPEAKER_07 1:20:17

Because I mean he Chris Lee came back, right, and he did he did something with you as well.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:21

Yeah, yeah, he came back. He did um he did the Universal album, and then um he helped me with a lot of the artwork um for maintain because we re-released the other albums, uh uh One Blood Universal, and he had a lot of stuff that he there was a lot of stuff that he had that I needed, and he was really cool about it. And uh I'm in touch with James Morris. Um he's he's uh I know he does some type of uh college professor, teacher at Valley Alley Valley College.

SPEAKER_07 1:20:53

Teaching camera work.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:55

Yeah, and camera work for like ABC or something. So being in a band really will offset his, you know, he just doesn't have time to do full-time, you know, full-time musician. Really?

SPEAKER_07 1:21:07

I think he's working for Telemundo or something.

SPEAKER_11 1:21:09

Yeah, none of these dudes could are are full-time, you know, so it's a different sort of commitment, especially with with kids like my bandmates, they both have younger kids. And mine's turning 24 in June, so it's but like I said, I don't I don't like the tour anyways, but I'm at that point being I'm turning 56 where it's my turn now musically, where I'm like I can't wake up in the morning without thinking, oh, if I change that riff or if we do this, you know, I'm constantly thinking about music now. Finally I've gotten to that point where I'm obsessed with writing music. And I've been doing bands since I was since the dinosaurs roamed the earth, it feels like. But you know, when you are in that and you can commit, then you know, just you know, no holes barred and just go for it. But some people, especially when they get younger kids, it's you have you know your career that you have to worry about, you got the kids, and then can I get away for that long? And then once that gets in the head, it just you know makes it hard.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:28

Yeah, I mean if if you know if if you really want to play music, you can find a way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:22:35

Um yeah, because you you've always been committed. Yeah, I you've you've always done music.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:40

It's just you can't I've chosen to do this uh a hundred percent. So I have to find if I'm if I'm not working, if I'm not touring or or recording a band, I gotta find uh some type of work that's gonna work around m music. And so that's what I look for, you know. So right now I'm doing electrical and I'm um and I'm work for an independent contractor that you know allows me to to leave if I need to leave tomorrow. You know, I want to come back, I'll still have that job.

SPEAKER_07 1:23:15

That's good. You know, yeah. So those you know It's har it's hard to find those those kind of comp you know people that will allow you to do that.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:21

Because in my heart I I believe that I'm gonna continue to work in music and you know uh back there was there's a lot less money, cash flow there in in the industry than there was. Yeah. You know, back in the day where I I you know, I actually all I did was was session work and and music, my bands, and that was all all I did. And then and it was and made me enough money to pay my rent and pay my car bill and my phone and my food and my health insurance. You know, and then through the years it just started kind of dwindling down a little bit. But I've I think I think as as long as I keep working as hard as I as hard as I can, you know, I'm gonna continue to find work in this business and it continue to be a part of making music, which is really what I love to do is record and and write, and that's the part of and I and performing is cool too. You know, that's a part of it. And and that's if you release an album and people and people like it, you're gonna be asked to do shows. You know, and and to and that's a privilege. Um so you know, I'm I'm I'm grateful and and thankful that people are still willing to come out and buy a ticket and and and you know, come do my show. Yeah.

SPEAKER_11 1:24:50

So speaking of what's a track that we can play right now that from your past year like when you hear it again, it gets you thinking, yeah, I I'm stoked I wrote this. Um because you know, we being musicians, we'd have so much stuff that we don't get it either it doesn't come to fruition or you record it, it's like, ah, that's not the idea. But what's what's the one song that that you wrote that just really gets your blood pumping?

SPEAKER_04 1:25:20

Well, um, you know, there's the the the mo the the most popular song that I was a part of was uh uh a song called Rock Superstar by Cypress Hill. And then uh I that was the second song I recorded with Cypress Hill. And the first song I recorded with them was uh song called Can't Get the Best Of Me with Brad Wilkes from Rage Against the Machine on the Drums. And so I thought that was a pretty cool track. But I think my favorite one is is Rock Superstar because it's it's you know really like identify it really like just like when we did that, it was it was so fast uh when I recorded that song. I mean everything was done so fast and it's just gelled, it was just everything happened, everything was going perfect that yeah, and that kind of changed everything with Cypress Hill as well, that song. Yeah, they yeah, they started doing more rock stuff and they hired a rock band, and and then the next two albums after that, you know, there was a lot more rock added to their albums. Then after uh there was so there was three albums where where Cypress Hill had a lot of like rock and roll in it. And after it was it was it was Skull and Bones, To Death Do His Part, and Stone Raiders, and then after Stone Raiders, um they kind of went back to to the beginning of like being pure just pure hip-hop and just do pure rap. And they stopped, you know, uh the bands the hiring uh a group and they stopped you know, they stopped the whole the the show with with the with a band, and hope now it's just back to the three of them doing you know raping.

SPEAKER_11 1:27:08

Yeah, back to basics. Back to the basics, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:27:11

Did you want me to play? Yeah, you want to play that one? Yeah, rock superstar.

SPEAKER_07 1:27:15

Go for it. I'm sure a lot of people have heard this song. Cool. It's pretty popular.

SPEAKER_06 1:27:19

A lot of chameleons out there trying to change up anytime something new comes along. Everybody wants a bite. Don't happen overnight.

SPEAKER_07 1:31:47

Alright, guys, we're back.

unknown 1:31:49

Wow.

SPEAKER_11 1:31:50

See, I've I've heard that before, but now that I understand the story behind it, and then when you come in, it just like takes it to a different level, as I was just telling you when it's playing. I gotta get this. And it's gotta be on vinyl. I don't care if it's expensive, but that's just awesome. Now I see see I'm I'm getting chills thinking about it. That is so crazy. When you were a kid, did you ever like have a vision of where you wanted to go and like different artists or what you wanted to do with music? Or did it just you just walk through every door that was an opportunity and and ran with it?

SPEAKER_04 1:32:31

No, I mean it you know, my thing was I w I spent all my time in playing baseball and I was trying to, you know, make baseball my career. So since you know, I can remember I was five years old, I remember playing baseball, then later picking up the guitar as a hobby. So really um where my mind was is was in athletics and school. And I think um the discipline from school and athletics. Um I I was a you know, I I played three years of college baseball, you know, and I I I I was an NCA athlete. So I I used I think what I've learned through you know going to school and and and with the really good coaches that coached me. They taught me how, you know, to you know, be persistent and be tenacious in anything that I do. So I think that helped me with music because I never looked it was until maybe uh when I was in college when I when I figured out when I first when it dawned on me that I I was approaching a music career. Where actually I was you know, we were getting looked at by major labels and we were doing, you know, the when the whole the downset thing and um where I actually had to really uh focus and ex and and accept it that I was entering a business with music. And it wasn't until my junior year in in college I was already playing in punk bands and hardcore bands and releasing seven inches and already getting into the field of releasing, you know, vinyl and and and being in the in the hardcore punk rock scene and um going through through that scene. Um our desire or my desire really wasn't to, you know, get signed on a major label and become a rock star. That wasn't that wasn't really our goal. Our goal was to to release uh sincere music that that meant something that had meaning behind the lyrics and behind what we were doing. Um with social justice, uh it had it had a positive movement of being uh you know, we were weren't a straight edge band, but it used to be social justice used to be straight edge. So a lot of it was like you know, trying, you know, staying away from you know the you know the the bad parts, you know, uh the drugs and and and you know talking about things that have meaning and and you have a you have a platform. You know, you people are gonna read your lyrics and and they're gonna go a long way and and your lyrics are gonna last longer than you than you live, your albums, your music that you release is gonna last longer than you live. So in in those days it really wasn't like uh I wanted okay to to form a business. And it it it it was more like let's do the best music that we can do and release it and and listen to it and share it and have a good time and do local shows and try to do benefit shows and try to do things that help, you know. Any anything that we can do to help in any way that we can get our band to help people was root for us. We were really trying to do that. We were really trying to use our band to to to make a a positive imprint in the society that we grew up in and the neighborhoods that we grew up in. Right. And so we were able to, you know, play benefit shows that, you know, uh, you know, or or you know, we play in high schools and you know, like anti-gang rallies and and you know, so really never was something that I I was trying to get into as a business. It was something that that happened and I had to and I had to get a hold of it as as fast as I could to to understand that I that that an opportunity is on my lap. And then and I need to know how to work it and and and accept it and and and ex and accept the business parts of it and and and and do the work. Yeah. Because I I didn't know what what the work was gonna be. I didn't know what it was gonna entail, whether it was touring or making sure you release an album every two years, or you know a niche that I found for uh a good ten years was it was being uh a guitar or bass player on on rap albums. Again, um hired as a as work for hire musician, work for hire for recording sessions. So that just started happening for me when I started working in recording studios. So yeah, so to answer your question, I just I'd never really I wasn't seeking it out to be a career, it's just it it happened. We were writing some cool music that I thought were was cool for us, yeah, and and other people thought it was cool too. Legendary at this point. It started to thank you, bro. It started to, you know, to to snowball a little bit. It wasn't a massive snowball, it wasn't like we got gigantic and made so much money. It was it was a slow build, and but the foundation was really strong. Yeah. And so we've you know you know, I I thank people, everybody who's followed us and and who supported, I'm really thankful to have these people, you know, follow my music and or or be a fan of the music, or you know, it's uh I'm really thankful to have one follower. Yeah, yeah. I wasn't really that wasn't what I saw. I just wanted to record and hear myself out and out of the speakers, whether it was on a tape or a CD. That's what I was in it for. I wanted to hear myself play a guitar and um and on a song and maybe have it released without me asking for it to be released. I just wanted to hear it one day, and and that was really my desire was to hear myself through the radio waves. That was really it for me. That's all it was I was.

SPEAKER_11 1:39:28

Yeah, that was that was mine, and the first time I heard it was on a local, and it was my band since in 77. And when it came up, I just like a little kid, just giddy, couldn't handle myself, just kind of shaking. It was like, okay, I reached that goal. And that that in itself was just incredible. But then, you know, along with that comes still the drive to keep writing more music, but I was on the radio, so I was like, okay, so now I can just concentrate back to writing music. Now, since out of all the records that I put out, I've never been on vinyl. So my goal and my before I turn 60 is to have a vinyl record of my music. And we're actually we're working on a seven inch, a split seven inch, so that's my goal right now. And it's just it's the most exciting thing, just thing I mean, I'm you know, like I was saying earlier, I'm I'm so excited about just writing the music and I think about it all the time. You know, it's like skateboarding to me. I think about skateboarding and art all the time, but now it's these songs that I'm writing. And that, you know, with you setting up and going on tour, gonna do an album with a new band coming up, and you know, that's is it that's mainly the time that you can write is when you're on stage doing a sound check, is you can run over a riff and you know, just kind of free flow and jam, and then they start to become songs.

SPEAKER_04 1:41:07

Yeah, well for me, for me now, right now, with with the band that I have, they they're none of nobody lives in LA. Oh my my uh Joe singer lives in Detroit. Um Beto, our drummer, and our bass player, Renato, they live in Brazil. So the only time we're gonna have is gonna is is soundcheck. But a lot of bands that I know, even uh bands today they're they're still together, they get a a lot of cool riffs that they make up during their sound check and they lose them because they don't record them. Yeah, you know, even even if they're at home writing and stuff, a lot a lot of it, a lot of uh a lot of it does come out during sound check.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:50

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:41:52

But I wish I had uh you know, maybe one day they'll move to LA and we can just get together twice, three times a week at the rehearsal studio and just jam. That's actually the best time to make music. Oh yeah. When you're at home and and and guys show up and you play, the more you get together and play, the more music you're gonna write. It's just a matter of getting guys together and that are willing to want to play and and that are on the same page as and they want the same thing. You know, they gotta get guys that get with guy get get with musicians that they have the same goal and they want the same thing. And it it works out a lot better.

SPEAKER_07 1:42:29

Yeah. So they got you guys before you get head out on this next tour, are you guys gonna do a couple rehearsal days?

SPEAKER_04 1:42:35

Yeah, a couple rehearsal days in Detroit, and then we're gonna our first show is in Cincinnati, then uh Boston, and then New York, and then Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and then Chicago. Day off in Detroit, and then we fly to Amsterdam and pick up the van and the gear, and the next day drive to Dynamo, Eindhoven. Yeah, that's a big that's a big festival. Big festival, live in Eindhoven. And then just uh keep it moving from there. And um look look to do as many shows as we can this this year, get out there as as many faces as possible, you know, show people that you know downsets back. It's gonna it's a new downset, and this is what it is.

SPEAKER_11 1:43:23

That's awesome. I'm so stoked for you. Thank you, bro. That's really exciting. Thank you.

SPEAKER_07 1:43:29

You guys you guys toured with the the Boston too back in the day, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:43:33

Yeah, I've uh uh yeah, and I've um I worked with the Mighty Mighty Boston too in the studio. Um uh we we have uh a lot of history together. We're on the same major label um and we became friends and toured together. Um there's a song I did with them. I like I I wanna maybe play it tonight and show you the song that I did, you know, that I co-produced for the Boston's.

SPEAKER_07 1:43:58

But you're still friends with Tim, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:43:59

Yeah, yeah, still friends with with Johnny Vegas, Tim Burton, he plays uh Saks, he lives in the East Coast now. Um yeah, good pals of mine. And like I say, we became friends because we were label mates in Mercury Records, the same guy that signed uh signed the Mighty Mighty Boss Tones, Alec Peters. Uh he also um uh signed Gangrene, he's uh manage Gangrene first uh skate core of the East Coast.

SPEAKER_07 1:44:28

Yeah, and we gotta give a a shout out to uh Gregory Lee, Rest in Peace, Rest in Peace I know I was good friends with Hapcat.

SPEAKER_04 1:44:37

So good yeah, good buddies of mine, and I met them uh at Sound City Studios when they did uh their album right on time, and I was the runner for that album, and that's when they were just they were at like prime time. Yeah, you know, those guys are just such good musicians for you know, you listen to that album, you think you know, man, the musicianship and you would think these guys are like in their 60s, you know, in the 70s, because they're the musicianship, the type of music that they're playing is not easy. And so it's the type of music you gotta be involved in it for a long, long time to know what you're doing. Yeah, and these guys are playing this. I mean, they're young too, and it's just super grit. All those guys and Hipcat, the you know, the best musicians that I know.

SPEAKER_07 1:45:32

And you guys you put out like a fanzine, I remember back in the day.

SPEAKER_04 1:45:36

Yeah, it was um actually it was um it was Johnny Vegas from the Mighty Mighty Boss Tones. It was his uh magazine. I I just helped him with it. Uh just did some articles. It was called Root International, and it was all about being a rude boy and ska and ska. You know, I was never a rude boy, but I like ska. I like what it was about. And and and back in those days, you you know, a lot of bands played together, and it was a big mix back in the day. You had ska, punk, and hardcore all the time. You know, if you had a hardcore show, sometimes you're gonna have a heavy metal band and a ska band.

SPEAKER_07 1:46:13

Um it's like you know, we did a we did a podcast with uh Craig from Fuck O Nine and we talked about a show they did with uh Murphy's Law and H2O. So it was always a mix back then, but that's good because then you you exposed yourself to a bigger audience with different different fan bases.

SPEAKER_04 1:46:32

And and the ethics behind all you know all these um scenes is is the DIY part of it. Yeah, that's what we have in common um is the DIY part, you know, the you know, the vinyl release, the the underground shows, and you know, uh do-it-yourself, you know, low ticket prices. Um we all had that in common. That's where we're all able to play together. So yeah, so this uh this magazine we he did it did maybe ten issues. And I remember uh interviewing Hepcat was one of my interviews. And uh still have that first issue. Yeah, that's cool, yeah. Yep, yep. So that's uh back when I was in a band with with Johnny Vegas. Um we're we had a band called the Geezers, and it was it was just like uh oi. It was just straight oi punk. Yeah and it was a band that lasted for a year. We didn't we recorded a demo but didn't take it anywhere after that. We just didn't um we stopped becoming serious about that. Who else was in that band? Anyone? Scott Abel, he was in Hepcat too. He was also he also played with Lars Fredrickson and the bastards. Um and uh it was just the three of us. That's cool. Yeah, but nothing became out of it. I mean, we talk about doing uh a geezer's album, but uh he lives on the east coast and uh he's he's gotta kick up the dust because he was he was the singer and and the founder of the name The Geezer. So if he wants to do it, calm down, but he's gotta do the what's he doing now? He's he's he's in Boston, uh working. Uh he doesn't I don't know, I don't think he's doing any music right now. So he's taking a break after they broke up. It was a big breakup that they had, which was uh a couple like a year or two ago they broke up. So I remember. Hopefully they get back together. I know Dickie Barrett has a new band called The Defiant. Uh so looking forward to that band and watching them play someday and maybe do a show with that.

SPEAKER_07 1:48:45

They played uh they played in November at uh Punk in the Park, actually in in uh Anaheim.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:50

Oh, okay, okay. Cool, man. Yeah, if you if you want to hear one of the songs I did with the boss tones, um it's uh I don't know if we have time.

SPEAKER_11 1:49:00

Yeah, no, we'll we'll actually if it's cool, we'll we'll play that, but um we'll just close out.

SPEAKER_04 1:49:09

Yeah, we can play some downset too.

SPEAKER_07 1:49:11

Yeah, let's do let's do uh let's do what do you want to hear from downset?

SPEAKER_04 1:49:14

Yeah, uh let's we can play um let's just go ahead and play anger, one of the the the songs that I wrote and um that that I'm I'm known for in this band. Um if you wanna play the demo version that's on the vinyl, it's it's it's a 92 demo version and that has all the unedited lyrics and we have different lyrics on the on the demo than in the album.

SPEAKER_07 1:49:40

I don't know if I can find that on here.

SPEAKER_04 1:49:42

It's there, you'll find it. There's a lot of dissing. Uh look for just down set demo of ninety two.

SPEAKER_07 1:49:56

As as it goes silent. I know.

SPEAKER_11 1:50:00

That's okay. Jerry's looking for it, so we'll just fill in the time. But you you ever run into that where you write your song and you do a demo version and then by the time you get in the studio you're like and you chop it up and then redo it.

SPEAKER_04 1:50:17

Yeah, that's what happened with down set.

SPEAKER_11 1:50:19

Yeah. Was it just for the lyrics or for the music?

SPEAKER_04 1:50:22

If if everything we didn't we didn't have real drums and the the demo version. Oh, okay. Uh in my early days, yeah. It was like that. We we had to spend a lot of time on demos and then we would get married to it and then we wouldn't want to change it and we get used to it, and but we we knew that it needed to be changed. Right. But we got married to it, we got used to it. But nowadays it it's not like that for me. I I I I move on after I write something I move on and then don't say I I feel that I'm on to something and I feel there's something that I feel about that song that I would do and then I'll do that at the time. Yeah, but I usually I work on a lot of songs at the same time and do not go back to it, go back to it, do something you go back to that, do something you go back to that, and then come around and keep it chipping away, keep it away. Yeah, do it. But there's a lot of different ways to do albums and depending on the environment and the recording environment that I'm in, or the budget situation that I'm in, or depending on where I'm at. Yeah, so it's all different. But if it was my way, you know, it'd just it'd be a certain way, and of course it'd cost a lot of money. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:51:57

Anger, hostility towards the opposition. Anger, hostility towards the opposition. Anger, hostility towards the opposition. Anger, hostility towards the opposition. Anger, hostility towards the opposition. Anger, hostility towards the opposition. Anger, hostility towards the opposition. Anger, hostility towards the opposition. Anger, hostility towards the opposition.

SPEAKER_10 1:52:25

Anger, I'm still towards the opposition. Anger, I'm still towards the opposition. Anger, I'm still towards the opposition. Anger, I'm still it towards the opposition. Anger, I'm still towards the opposition. Anger, I'm still it towards the opposition. Anger, I still towards the opposition.

SPEAKER_05 1:52:58

Damn!

unknown 1:53:00

Like, don't kill it, the kill this way, got a fucking heart.

SPEAKER_10 1:53:05

Will it I raise them up? It's a way of your boss, fight. I hate LX5, what the back? We kill my fucking LADY, yeah, they kill my daddy, yeah, they kill my daddy, and if I don't bust the back, don't they gotta fucking kill? I'll give you the door twenty nine, LXY I killed the book for the biggest one. What's in a wake, but who's the real motherfucker? And when it's raised no more fast, motherfucker, big roll back, put your number one inside Big Motherfucker, even things. I want to make it just a shiny job.

unknown 1:54:17

Wait, that's a bummer!

SPEAKER_09 1:54:32

I got that egg gut! You got that egg good! We got that egg good!

SPEAKER_10 1:54:41

That motherfucking egg good! Alright, both 38.

SPEAKER_11 1:55:53

Alright, so that was Anger and was that the the demo version? The demo version. Okay.

unknown 1:55:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:56:00

You got the seven uh seven-ish right there.

SPEAKER_11 1:56:02

Yeah, believe me, that's going on first thing tomorrow morning when I'm back getting ready to When you're getting angry?

SPEAKER_07 1:56:07

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:56:08

Those uh those lyrics are are different from the album release. Check them out for yourself and listen in. Definitely spoil it. I won't spoil what what it's about. You gotta go in and listen to it.

SPEAKER_07 1:56:25

So are those are those uh are those re-issues they're still available out there, or is that done?

SPEAKER_03 1:56:30

Um I think maybe Nuclear Blast might have a few left.

SPEAKER_07 1:56:34

So just go to the site.

SPEAKER_04 1:56:36

Yeah, and ask for I mean there's a few left. There's a few left. Yeah, so everything's limited. Limited release, all is limited. Awesome.

SPEAKER_11 1:56:48

Well, we're gonna um let's close it. We'll play one more song. But I want I want to thank you. I mean, realistically, we've been trying to make this happen for a while, and I appreciate you coming down. I mean, that's that's huge. And um Did you've completely I mean because you guys are legendary, down set. And I remember and I r kinda remember the show, but now after talking with you, I realize the layers and you've like, you know, as we've been talking about, I'm I cannot freaking wait to start working on my record. You're an inspiration. Thanks, man. And I I really, really do appreciate you coming down. I'm so stoked that we got to sit and chat.

SPEAKER_07 1:57:32

I gotta I g I gotta ask Ru whose is uh favorite live band.

SPEAKER_04 1:57:36

Favorite live band?

SPEAKER_07 1:57:37

Yeah. Oh man We bring this up quite a lot on the podcast.

SPEAKER_04 1:57:42

You know, I you know, like it's changed and changes, you know. But like I gotta think about it. Yeah, I mean the Fergazi's great. We thought we got to hang out with those guys a couple times. Yeah, good Fagazis, of course. Yeah, I just you know uh lately I've just really been into like instrumentation and people that are really hate their instrument series. You know, I just some good heavy metal here and there. Maybe some old stuff, you know, like like um to be honest, uh like I haven't seen these guys live, but but if they ever got back together I'd go see them in the white lion.

SPEAKER_07 1:58:35

I met one of the guys from that band.

SPEAKER_04 1:58:36

Peter Brada is probably the best guitar player on the planet. You know, he's fucking badass. But uh I I would like to see them, you know. When the when the children cry. The whole their whole look, you know, whatever, you know, whatever that was that whole whatever they got going on.

SPEAKER_03 1:58:58

That whole time frame. Yeah. Late 80s, early 90s. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:59:04

Yeah. But you know, like I would say Hebcat. So good musicians. I wanna say Hebcat was probably my favorite band. Um Gazi was cool to watch. You know, yeah, we got to we gotta watch Fagazzi at uh at the palace.

SPEAKER_07 1:59:30

And then we went on out with the Metal Venture Theater. Yeah, those are good shows. Yeah, back in the day. Because every every show was different. They didn't they didn't follow the same cell list. Yeah, like three different amazing bands. Oh yeah. Bad brains back in the day. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_11 2:00:00

So now when I watch an old video or I'll watch the um back when they were still in the suit and it's just yeah. They're just one of those legends. I mean they they heavily influenced me for sure. But um Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:00:18

I think I think nobody talks war. Never seen them.

SPEAKER_11 2:00:26

Yeah, neither have I. I've I've seen little bits and pieces, but Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:00:32

Yeah, back in the day. Excel. Excel. Suicidal.

SPEAKER_07 2:00:40

Is a Christian in Excel? No, he's in Beowulf, that's right. I don't even know.

SPEAKER_11 2:00:45

Oh, Beowulf is another I have still have that vinyl. And Excel. I was telling Jerry earlier and with Craig, right? I was on a Venice kick for a while. Straight out of Venice. So that's when I had found out about cryptic slaughter. And during that time is when I got into COC.

SPEAKER_07 2:01:03

Oh the other No Mercy was the other one of the other bands.

SPEAKER_11 2:01:06

Yeah, No Mercy. I think I still have them on vinyl. But yeah. And we actually went we're trying to go to a show or something, and he drove and we went through watts. And I was like 18. I'm like, at at night. I'm like, I'm not gonna get out of here alive. Where where are you taking me? And it was fine. You know. They're like, look at the freaking redhead with some I think we were in a station wagon even then. Oh my god, I'm old. But um, yeah, so what are we gonna listen to to close us out?

SPEAKER_04 2:01:51

Uh it's um we're talking about the Mighty Ba song. Do you want to hear that song? Uh it's called the Lyft.

SPEAKER_07 2:02:01

They're not gonna get mad at us, are they?

SPEAKER_04 2:02:03

Why would they get mad at us? They'd be happy to hear their song.

SPEAKER_07 2:02:07

And what did you do on this album? I mean on the song, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_04 2:02:10

I played some guitar and I I I did the sound design and mixing.

SPEAKER_07 2:02:16

And what uh what's the record? Roy, thank you for coming down here. Thank you for having me. It's been a while since I've seen you and uh great great kid to know. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Chair, music provided by BreakAr. We appreciate all our listeners and our guests. Please stay tuned for the next one.