NEW LIFE ON THE ROAD (An After Hours Chat with Tempest Frontman, Lief Sorbye)

In this episode of the After Hours Chats podcast I am excited to welcome Tempest front man, Lief Sorbye.
Lief is among the founding members of the Celtic Rock band, and since the late 1980s, Tempest has been bringing their songs steeped in traditional Celtic Folk music, ancient wisdom and modern rock.
After a brief hiatus, Tempest is back on the road with their new tour, and there may be a few surprises for both fans and those new to their music!
Join me in this conversation with Lief as we talk of his new autobiography (out now!), what life on the road is like for Tempest, and some both spooky and memorable moments on the road!

check Tempest out at http://tempestmusic.com (and see if they're coming to a city near you!)


#paranormaltalk #celticmusic #celticrockband #tempestband #tempestmusic 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Hey guys, uh, Tiffany here, and welcome to not only the After Hours podcast, but also the Bonfires and Castles podcast. Um, as some of you know, um, if you've been listening for a while, every once in a while I do have on a guest that can fit on both platforms. So if that's possible, I like to give them some promotion on both. So, and this is one such guest. Um, I've known for several years. We actually met through a mutual friend of ours, Chuck Alston, um, when uh he was touring uh uh with his band uh Tempest. And I've seen you guys, I think every year you've come to like the Pittsburgh area. And um, yeah, this is um Leif Sorby. Uh very, very happy to have you on. And yeah, how have you been?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Like since um you know, yeah, it's been what three years since I saw you last?

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

You know, you know, we're based um based on the West Coast, um, and we haven't toured the East Coast since then, which 2023. We did three East Coast Midwest tours.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

And then a lot of other things started happening, you know, and uh and and now we're back again um next month in April. Yes, we'll be back on the East Coast and Midwest again. So that should be great.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

Great, can't wait to see you guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Yes, yeah. So so catching up with you, um let me see. We're we're in the fall of 2023, yeah, and uh that's when things started changing for me because I had a stupid little accident. I was on my way to the post office, oh no, and I was running across this bridge, across the freeway, and you and and there's a lot of crease in the asphalt around here from earthquakes and things.

SPEAKER_02 2:09

Oh gosh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

My foot got stuck and I went flying and landed head first, and you know, it was kind of you know, it was a silly accident, but I I tore my rotator cup and I fractured my arm, so we had to put the the tour on hold the the you know the following spring tour. I was waiting to see whether I needed to operate or not, which I didn't do. I'm a really good healer, yeah. And I started yeah, and I I did physical therapy and everything was cool, but since I had downtime, I signed the publishing deal. Because I'd you know, over the years, it's been kind of sitting there in the background, you know, like you know, and and uh and I thought this would be a good time to do it, yeah. And so um I got a co-writer and and and a publishing contract and started writing my uh autobiography, yeah, and uh and that and and that's been very exciting, and so that took me into 2024, yeah, and we still had some um festival contracts and things on the West Coast the year prior. And and um so what we did because we had a big reunion show at the end of 2023, just around the time I had my accident, where all the original original members of the band came together. You know, we started the band back, you know, 1988, you know, a long time ago. And when the band first starts, it's usually like friends get together playing music, you know, yeah, and then people grow up and have families and move away and whatever. And and Adolfo and I had kept the band going for like 37 years. Yeah, but but having this reunion inspired me to invite these guys on board for the shows we had in the books for 2024. So we did a handful of maybe maybe maybe a dozen gigs only uh that year, but it was with the all the original band members, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

And uh then my book came out when last year, uh only the first volume because there was gonna be more than one volume.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Yeah, volume one is uh is I mean the book is called uh what I tell my friends, and uh and uh volume one is the busking years, so it's all my crazy teenage years and and and stuff. You know, I started traveling around hitchhiking and busking when I was about 15, and that's how that's how I came to the US uh when I was twenty twenty-one. So there was just too many stories to fit into one book, so we decided to do two volumes. So volume one has been out for a few months and it's doing really well. And I started writing volume two um last year, but we also started touring again. And and so so now I try to juggle both because I have to I'm anxious to get volume two out, which is the Tempest Years, you know. You know, so after the spring tour, I'm gonna spend a couple of months getting back into the writing again. It's tricky to do both because it's all very in very intense stuff, you know. It's kind of been a purification in of sorts, you know, going through childhood memories and all that stuff. But it's been great, it's been a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

Oh, yeah, that's awesome. And you know, and I'm happy that you know you guys are touring again and that like your book is doing really well. It's like on my to read my to read list is so long, but it's on my to read list, uh, your volume one of your book.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Yeah, now it's available in three different formats too. It's uh you you know, first we we had the you know the the the deluxe version with all the color photos and stuff, and then paperback as well as Kindle is uh available too, so it's covering all price categories. And so it's on Amazon, um and of course it's on Amazon UK as well for people overseas, right? Yeah, but um, but it's cheaper to get it from directly from Tempest, yes. From our website, Tempestmusic.com, and then you know, I sign it for people and stuff. So you know, I almost treat it like you know another band product in a sense. I mean it's obviously not a t-shirt or a record, but you know, it's still that same kind of exchange, you know.

SPEAKER_00 6:48

Absolutely. Still that exchange of energy and you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Absolutely, absolutely, so that so that's that's an ongoing project for me. And it's been you know, it's been i it's wild because over the years when you're in a band like Tempest, you spend you know, eighty to a hundred days a year in moving vehicles with people. You change I mean, my my pastime is usually, you know, like you know, you tell stories and share experiences and stuff, and people have always said, Man, you know, you should write a book someday, you should write a book someday. Yeah, because you know, people want to hear these stories. And finally, it took an accident to get me off the road to do it, you know what I mean? So, so you know, it it had some sort of cosmic significance for me, you know, being laid up for a little bit. Yeah, so so so it's been great fun. And also being back with original band members are a lot of fun as well, you know.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

Absolutely. That that's so cool that you guys were doing like some of those reunion shows, like with the um yeah, with like the original band members and everything. And like, yeah, that's you know, it's kind of like that um, you know, that nostalgia for people who have like been with you guys like since the beginning, and you know, and then for people who are brand new to you coming in, it's like okay, this is where it started, you know, and then they get to experience that as well. So yeah, absolutely. I mean, it it's it's really, really kind of a cool experience, um, I would think, like, and I'm sure for you guys too, you know, getting a chance to play together and you know, and all of that. So, and your book, uh, do you have it um like with you on tour?

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Or yeah, yeah, I'm I'm I'm uh for for as long as supplies last anyway, you know. Yeah in the beginning, everybody got the hardback version, uh huh. Which you know, it's uh it's a lot cooler than the paperback, but you know, pay paperback is more affordable and it's lighter on the road. So we're selling a lot of paperbacks and and and uh and you know it's it's fun instead of just doing book signing, it's concept with book signing. So that works well, you know, which is like yeah. We've also been selling LPs lately, vinyl as well, uh CDs. And of course, we have a new tour shirt and and uh your local dates will be on there, and and so yeah, so that's so that's fun. That's fun. We're gonna we're gonna start start off um next month. Uh let me see where we're going. We're going we're start we're starting off in uh Iowa. All right. We're playing a barn in Williamsburg, Iowa. We've done that before.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

It's that is so cool.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

It's an old barn that's converted into um to a concert house. So that's that's beautiful. Yeah, and these these are friends of ours, so it's you know a place to uh to start the tour because you come across, you know, I'm flying, but people are you know traveling with the equipment across the country and stuff. Right. So you need to get to a place where where you can rest for about 24 hours if possible before we start, you know.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

So and and so after that concert, we're heading to uh the Focal Point Theater in St. Louis, Missouri.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

And uh that's another place we've been visiting every year. So it's it's like seeing old friends, you know what I mean? Which is really cool. And then uh then we're doing a bunch of dates in Rochester. I think there's some TV stuff going on as well as radio, and I think four three shoncerts in uh in upstate New York. And then we're in Rhode Island at the Blackstone River Theater. Yeah, and I'm saying it for the benefit of uh people that might want to come out, you know, get an idea where they can find us. And then and after Rhode Island, a bunch of Pennsylvania dates and New Jersey dates, and one of the Pennsylvania dates is close to you are close to Pittsburgh, aren't you?

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Uh-huh, yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

And and we're gonna be um doing a special concert, and this might be the last time we do this concert because our friend that you mentioned earlier, Chuck Austin, uh just retired from being a pastor at the Bryn Mawr Church. He was there for 47 years.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Yeah, and then it's like he was like a staple there, you know.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

I know, and and and not only that, but he's like the only goth minister I can think of. I mean, I mean, uh Chuck is is just a lovely guy, you know, and and and uh we usually he would usually always bring us in for a concert when we came through. And since he was no longer there, I was able to uh connect with the church directly as well. So we're gonna do this also as a celebration for Chuck.

SPEAKER_02 11:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

So it should should be really cool to get people out, and that's the 22nd of April in White Oak, Pennsylvania.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

Yeah. Yeah. That'll be cool.

SPEAKER_02 12:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

And then of course we're in uh you know Philadelphia area and and uh and stuff like that, and end up with uh with three, four dates in Ohio. So it's it's gonna be a busy month, you know. And if people are curious to whether we're coming to their close to their hometown, tempestmusic.com has our schedule. So that yeah, yeah, everybody go check it out.

SPEAKER_00 12:27

And so you said that you have new music coming. Um so tell a little bit about that because your albums um always seem to have like some type of cool theme around it. What like some like a lot of it's like Celtic, and then you did one around uh Native American um uh you know, Native American uh stories as well. Um so yeah, tell a little bit about the new music.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Well, the new music is is also old music because what we decided to do is uh do a reissue of our um first um official studio album because it's been 35 years since we first got signed, and uh we got that record out on Heyday Rough Trade back in 1991. Yeah, that's right. So that's that's a reissue with bonus tracks and stuff. So we're gonna be doing um some of those songs and listening back to and working on it and and uh re remastering it and stuff. You know, it's I don't know how good the record is, really, but it's uh a true true picture of where the band was when we started, you know. So it's got a lot of charm to it, you know. It's it's it's it's a younger version of ourselves, you know, it's it's it's a lot more innocent and not very seasoned, but it's a good good sounding product, and it hasn't been available for years, you know. So so we're excited about bringing that out. And also, what's gonna make this tour completely different is because we're doing it as an acoustic tours, as an acoustic tour. And and we never done that before. We've done occasional occasional uh acoustic concerts on the West Coast, but this time we decided uh to do the whole tour that way, so it's a little stripped down, but it's still the energy, the tempest energy that people are expecting. But we're you know, I'm you I'm using an acoustic double neck as opposed to an electric, and we have the fiddle player playing acoustic fiddle and uh and you know, with bass and drums and all that stuff. So it's still a real folk rock band, but it's a good way to showcase some of those um old songs, you know. Yeah, and uh so so the so it's different, and it's always cool to do something different. You gotta challenge yourself.

SPEAKER_02 14:57

Oh, yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

When you've been doing something for for as long as we have, you need to you need to pick up new challenges, and um so so we're excited about it. It's gonna be a really fun tour, you know.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Yes. Oh, that that sounds exciting. Yeah, it'll be um you know cool to see you guys just doing like a stripped-down acoustic uh version of that. Yeah, that's gonna be so cool. And sounds like I better bring money to this uh to the show.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

Well, yeah, well, you know, there'll be definitely definitely stuff on the on on the merch table, you know. Yeah, but but but I think I I think for our concert um at Brynmar, it's it's donations only, you know. So there's you know, there there's no cover cover charge there per se. It's different than all the other shows we do. We do it more as a personal thing, you know. So since since there's no cover charge but just donations, you know, people people sh people show their affection at the merch table, which is fine.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

Any Yeah, I was gonna say any um like memorable moments from recording that first album that you know you can think of.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Oh man, you know, there's always memorable moments for albums. But you know, I think we've we've done maybe 18 official uh albums since then, since since then. And and it gets a little bit blurry in the studio.

SPEAKER_02 16:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

What was memorable about it was that it was recorded so differently because uh we started off by financing it ourselves, so we would book off hours in local studios, you know what I mean, to keep the costs down. And so it took a long time to do, which these days uh personally I prefer to do a record as a project, set aside a month where you have three three weeks in the studio when you just all you do is work on your record and that's it. So you you have a start, a middle, and an end.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

So after that month, it's you you got your product because it's uh recording in time, really, right? You record a period in time.

SPEAKER_02 17:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 17:15

And this is what the band sounded like, you know, in April 2014 or whatever, you know. Yeah, these are the songs we wrote, this is what we were up to, and this the this the this is the band from that era. So each record is is uh recording in time, except that first one took a bloody year to do because we were in and out of different studios, you know. Right. We would we would go out and do some shows and put a few grand together and and uh towards the record, and we did it that way, and then yeah, and and then um there was a San Francisco label at the time called Heyday Records. Okay, uh, and they uh took the record on after it was finished. And and since then, usually we've gotten a budget from a record label and then used that budget to record the album, it's been different. But we were with Magna Carta, we got signed to Magna Carta Record in 1995, okay, and they sold that label a few years ago. So our so our last album was the first one that came out on our own label, which is Celtadelic Records, right? And that that came out um uh in 2021 was it or 2022, 21. And uh so we decided to put out the first album uh on Celtadelic as well, since I actually own the masters. All the other masters are are owned by you know the guys in the suits in the offices, you know. So it's hard to keep the back catalogue alive when it's on the mercy of somebody else.

SPEAKER_02 18:57

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:58

But um, so we're you know, sh surely but uh slowly but surely bringing out the music that we have access to uh to bring back to people. And and uh so it's a step in the right direction to own our own back catalog, you know.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

Oh yeah, absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

And if somebody Yeah So as far as memorable moments of that album, all I could think of is you know working odd hours, you know what I mean? Like like like uh maybe work through the night because you know we got the engineer who who who got studio A available for 10 hours starting at midnight or whatever, you know what I mean? So it wasn't the way we would work now because I like to you know go into the studio like 10 in the morning and at six o'clock say goodbye and come back the next morning, you know, and and and do it when you're alert, you know. But but back when you're in your you know in your twenties and early thirties and stuff, you know, you don't mind sleeping on the floor and singing in the middle of the night, you know.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

So oh man. Yeah, but you know, I'm sure like you know, some of those late nights in the studios and everything, you know, it's like you know, I'm sure they were exhausting, but yet fun and rewarding, you know.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

Yeah, and it's not all the glamour that people think it is, you know what I mean? It's like we all all you because that whole access of the 70s, like I have painted a picture, um, you know, when when there was a lot of a lot of money going around and in in in uh in the in the rock and roll and and and stuff. And you know, these days it's a lot more focused than you know, it's like you don't bring in hangers on to sit around and watch you. You don't you don't you don't party, you know what I mean? But you you focus and you play and you're well rehearsed, you know what I mean? You're creating art as opposed to a party atmosphere. But I think a lot of the great records from the past that we love, you know, work came out of a party atmosphere, you know. Yeah, but but um you know Tempest has never been the Rolling Stones, you know. I mean it's we we have our own place in the world, you know. We've been able to survive doing what we're doing, yeah. And uh we without you know ever hitting the big time, you know. And I the the big time doesn't really exist on that level anymore, you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_02 21:32

It really doesn't.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

Yeah, it doesn't. It now it's more like hey, you find your purpose in life and you go with it, you know what I mean? And and then you create your own place in the world where where you be allowed to do what makes you happy. And and that's really what's been been driving me for all these years. You know, it's it's is is the fact that you know I found a job that combines the two things I love the most, you know, travel and play music.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

There you go.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

So I've been I've been blessed being able to do that, you know, ever since, you know, I I I was 15 years old. And that's why it's been interesting for me uh to go back in time and and write down my memoirs because yeah, things starts to make sense after a while, you know.

SPEAKER_02 22:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:19

And and uh you know it's it's it's it's it it's it's a good life and and and I'm happy to uh do what I'm doing and keep doing it, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:29

So that's cool. And Adolfo and I've been keeping that home fire burning the whole time. I mean, we we kept the band alive, we've had people coming and going. As I said in the beginning, you know, it's your friends start playing music together, it's very organic. And then now, you know, and they they all got their regular jobs because they had babies coming and they got married and all this stuff, and now you know the babies are off to college, or they you know, they're out of the house, and these guys are getting and their day jobs has retired, and now now they're back again, you know. Yeah, but we've been keeping it going the whole time, so yeah. So you know, so two of us never grew up basically. Right. Oh, that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Nothing wrong with that. But I know I know yeah, but uh, but the thing, but no, but you are, you know, definitely you make a good point uh when you say that, you know, kind of like the big time quote unquote is pretty much no more, especially, you know, with the age of the internet and all that stuff. And but in many ways, I mean, you know, and some people say the internet is both like a blessing and a curse, but um but the blessing that it's been is that you know, it makes it a lot easier. And I've discussed this with other people like that have come on the show too, that it does make it a lot easier for people to find their purpose and really act on it and you know, reach the people that they are meant to reach and you know, find their niche market and um and in a way kind of become like a mini celebrity within that niche market, you know. It's not really about like selling out arenas anymore. Um yeah, and so like how have you found like the um like the internet? Like, how has that been beneficial uh to Tempest?

SPEAKER_01 24:28

That's a that's a loaded question, isn't it? Well, the thing um what you what you're saying uh on one hand is true, of course, because it has triggered a lot of creativity in people and give people an you know an opportunity to fulfill some of their goals without you know having you know financial backing or whatever uh and and and carve out their own place in the world that way. Um for me as a musician uh my whole life, I can tell you that yeah, of course there's a good and bad that that's the thing, every change is like that. Everything but here's it, but but here's the thing the bad thing is that it's been taken away the living, you know. Right, the you know, the you know, it the it's really hard to just live on creativity alone, you know what I'm saying? Especially when you're a road warrior, you got to eat, you know what I'm saying? So so since um we used to do really well as a cottage industry selling records, you know. When we first got signed, uh there was a big controversy because the record label that that that signed us, and I'm speaking of Magna Carta, which was our main label for for 20 odd years. Yeah, the discrepancy was that we were selling a lot of records at shows, and they wanted to put an end to it because it cannibalized their efforts to get the record sold in the stores. You see what I'm saying? Yeah, so so it was it that was the hardest thing to negotiate to be able to keep that cottage industry we were doing alive, to keep that alive, to be able to do that. So I to get around it technically, I had to set myself up as a um mail order house. So I would I would be independent from Tempest and from the record label because they were under contract with Sony, and Sony would put a kabarsh on them if they let the artist go out there and sell on their own. Because when the Sony rep came to the record store to sell Tempest, they say, Oh no, they're out there playing gigs, selling it on their own. I don't think we can take much of this here because you know what I mean. So uh I set myself up as a mail order house, and I would then sell to Tempest, and I happen to be in the band, you know what I mean? So Magna Carta itself didn't break a contract with their distributor, they just were able to also sell to mail order houses. I was one of them, I happened to be in the band. So we found a found that loophole.

SPEAKER_02 27:24

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 27:25

And after the first two, three titles we did for them, the music industry was changing at the same time because now the internet started coming and things started changing, and all of a sudden, people weren't buying music at the record stores anymore.

SPEAKER_02 27:41

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 27:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

But Tempest was still selling a lot of records. So, but we were doing it on our own. So it became we became more important for the label as a customer at that point because they knew that we could take, you know, if you you know, I mean, like we we could move a few thousand over the first few months just through our own shows and mail orders. So we it was easy enough to invest in new to tempest records because they knew predictable there was a predictable turnaround of cash flow there that existed based on the fact that we had that going. So what we're we were not allowed to do when we got signed became the reason that we kept doing records for them later. You know what I'm saying? So having gone through all those changes and see how all that and and lived with all the changes in the music industry, yeah. It's very heartening now where people don't want physical products anymore. Because without physical pro the you know, the Spotify thing and all that stuff, yeah, it's great, you can get your art out there, but man, you know, it's like it's not paying anything. You can pretend that it's paid something, but it's so minimal that it's yeah, that it's kind of sad, you know? So that's the one thing that uh that the internet has done. They've created so many great artistic platforms for people to go out and have a fulfilling life, but they can't make a living doing it. And that's that's the problem. We you know, I'm lucky still doing what I'm doing, yeah. Uh because because it's what I do, you know what I mean? And and and uh but if I was starting up today, man, it would be a different story, yeah. You know, you know, completely, completely. So it's it's it's interest interesting how those times work, you know. And and my nostalgia for um for the vinyl came out uh because I I you know it's like I sold my vinyl collection back in the 70s and bought a one-way ticket from London to New York, you know. I mean I put all my records out on the street and I got a one-way ticket with Lakers Sky Train. So I I never replaced those vinyl albums until I started writing my book because you know, music is such a great memory trigger, you know, and I have a humongous CD collection and and and stuff, but it's not the same. I just realized that a vinyl record has a lot a lot of other things to offer, you know, uh-huh the physical physical aspect of it, yeah, you know, the way it sounds and smells and looks and all that put me right back to the era I was writing about, which was my teenage teenage years. So, you know, so I have now the last three years I've been like collecting all those things, all those albums I sold out on the street in Oslo is now on my shelf again, you know what I mean? And so it made me a lot a lot closer to um to to the source of of being a musician, what inspired me as a kid, you know what I mean? Right. And and that's been really exciting. And and uh it's it's harder for for you know for for people growing up now, if they're you know, if digital technology is all they know, right? They're they don't they don't have access to that experience on unless they really you know sort it out look for it and know where to find it and because it's available to people. Yeah, but the more shallow things can get, the more people are searching for the real thing too. Right. You know what I mean? So absolutely it's interesting times. I mean oh yeah. So you just have to roll with it, you know.

SPEAKER_00 31:47

Yeah, I just gotta roll with the punches and you know make the most of it, try to, you know, see the benefit and create um you know the benefit in it um as much as possible.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

Yeah, yeah. And and and but on the other hand, you know, uh yeah, so the the revenue from from records and CDs and and and and all that is not what it should be and not what it used to be. But live music will never go away. Yeah, you know what I mean? It'll never go away. It it's never gonna be placed replaced by AI and machines and stuff because it it doesn't connect with the human spirit. It really does in the same way, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

No, it really doesn't. And you know, and I've I've already seen some backlash from like AI. Like people are just like, a lot of people aren't having it, which is like really, really heartening, you know. Like of course there's always going to be that segment of the population that is like, oh, AI, yeah, blah, blah. But um, I I see more, I see more and more people every day just being like, yeah, I don't want this AI. I want like genuine art from the artist, whatever that art may be, whether it's music, movies, books, whatever. And, you know, and people, you know, there's people that um when if they even think that your book is AI, they're just like, you know, yeah, and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:20

Yeah, and and my publisher and co-writer put it right on the front page. This we will not use any AI on this, you know.

SPEAKER_00 33:29

No AI. Well, it's gotten to where like even if I like take a photo and maybe um edit it a little bit in Lightroom and everything, I put the disclaimer not AI, you know. I actually did the, I took the photo, did the editing, same thing with my music and same thing, you know, with my podcasting. It's all me, you know. I do um like I write everything. It's all like it's all me. Um, the one thing I do use is a um is a service called like Opus Clip, where like it actually it scans like say these podcast episodes and it creates highlight clips that I can post on like Instagram and TikTok. That does save me a ton of time, I will say that. So in that case, in that sense, it can be a good thing, but um like a good time saver as far as that can is concerned. But um, but as far as like the actual creative process, like it it's all me. And that's what I I always want people to know. Like it's you know, and I'm sure you too, like it's all me, you know.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

I know, I know, and and you know, it's it's yeah, AI is is fairly new, but but but but the whole digital technology, the way it's worked, you just look up music journalism. Yeah, I mean in the in the beginning, say I I was pretty good at promoting the band uh when the band started, you know. Yeah, and and uh I built up you know a whole community of uh of friends that were music writers, basically, because you know, they would do interviews and featured stories, and we got to know each other, and you know what we had in common was we were both music fans, you know. I was musician, but they were usually uh some of them might have been musicians with a failed purpose or just music fans that liked, you know. I mean, like we had that in common, so it was a community of people back then, you know, late 80s, early 90s, right? And there was a lot of intelligent articles, and you know, you're excited when you know, like I remember like one of the things that kicked us off as a band was when the music critic for the Oakland Tribune invited me for lunch to do a feature article. Nice and did an interview, it's like a big thing, you know what I mean? And then as the internet started sneaking in in the in in in in in the 90s and stuff, all of a sudden it was cut and paste.

SPEAKER_02 35:59

Right.

SPEAKER_01 36:00

You know what I mean? You just took the bio that the person put up on their website or what the band had to say about themselves, yeah, uh on their website and did a cut and paste job, all of a sudden there wasn't the heart went out of it, you know what I mean? Because everything just came was a matter of you know consumer convenience, you know, like so everything became more superficial as a result of it.

SPEAKER_02 36:25

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:26

It might sound like I'm I I'm against the internet, but I'm I'm absolutely not. I'm just saying that there's two sides of this coin this whole time, and it's didn't just start with AI, it's like that old s superficial way of using technology has been part of it, you know, for for the for the longest time. And uh you know, because now it's like you don't can connect with music journalists. When I'm gonna promote promote this tour, it's all gonna be like pay event pages and boost your post on uh you know on social media. In the past it would be sending out press releases, meeting up with journalists, doing phone interviews, radio spots. It was so organic, and it was personal, you know.

SPEAKER_02 37:14

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 37:15

And and music music performance is a personal thing, it's communication between audience and musician, and you know, and and and and and so a lot, a lot of the value has been lost. But as you said, you know, there's there's good things about it, you know. You know, it started when when when people could start burn their own CDs, you know. I mean, you didn't need record plants anymore to press albums, you know. People could put their music out and put it in front of people, and that's very, very rewarding right there, you know. I mean, but but but yeah, uh, but man, there's there's nothing more fun than you know being a teenager and hear yourself on the radio for the first time or walk into a record store and and and and and see your album on display, you know what I mean? It's like you know, it's now it's all so different, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 38:08

Yeah, yeah. And well, and the the thing too is though, is like I think when things start to like shift too far one way, the pendulum starts to kind of swing back the other way. And you know, obviously the internet's not going away anytime soon. However, um, I think there are a lot of people like seeking out more of a balance right now. Um, I think um, because I'm sure as you've seen, like celebrity culture, influencer culture is kind of dying out right now. Like people like they they want to see real, they want to see authentic. It's like they don't want to see, oh, look at my$10,000 designer bag that no, like absolutely like really no one can relate to that. And you know, and I think that there is kind of like that shift uh uh was what I'm seeing uh going back to, you know, you know, back in like say, you know, YouTube's original day when like people were actually getting creative with their content and actually doing it like from their hearts. And you know, and it wasn't just about you know showing off like you know, I I don't I guess like I said, like your newest handbag or something like that. It was actually about that creativity and people seem to be kind of like the pendulum is kind of swinging back there. And um, when I had uh Susanna Sprague on um my uh on the show, like we were kind of talking about this, and um and I would say, and obviously there were definitely some toxic things about the MySpace days too, but however, in the MySpace days, um, from what I can recall, like there was more of that balance where okay, people can log into MySpace, see what their friends are up to, see what their favorite bands or artists are up to. But then they also still had the life, their life outside of social media and everything. And you know, and that's that's what I would like to see. I would like to see that balance like come back. And um, and I think we're starting to see that slow shift over, because even like, you know, with my podcasts and everything, you know, my goal is to kind of bring some of that authenticity uh back to really like sit down and like, you know, whether I do a solo episode where I talk about something that's like on my heart, or I have on like a really cool guest, you know, and you know, just to kind of banter back and forth and like, you know, so that they can get their ideas out and you know, and and their workout and everything. Um, you know, like that's you know, one thing that, you know, I'm you know, at you know, trying to bring back, you know, like I'm not saying, oh yeah, I'm bringing it back, you know, but I like to think that, you know, I'm at least a small part of, you know, that shift back, you know.

SPEAKER_01 41:03

Yeah, yeah. Absolutely, absolutely. I'm I and I'm I'm an eternal optimist myself too, you know, because when it when I and that's one of the things that I think attracted me to the US as a uh as a as a as a young busking uh hitchhiking, you know, no fair kind of character. You know, I'm like completely fearless. I'm gonna go and do this, and I'm nothing's stopping me, you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_02 41:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:32

But what I was attracted to, I think, with the US, well, one of one of the things was it was such a bloody big country, you know what I mean? So you never ran out of any gigs, but on the other hand, the extremes were were so intense. I mean, for for all this like total ignorance, you also had so much substance on the other hand. So that so that's the two was really um it was easier for me to to recognize it and and and work with it and be excited about it, and and you know what I mean? Yeah, and and and and you you need the two those two opposites to to be there, you know what I mean? And and and right now, I mean with a country as split as the US is, yeah, the opposites are really it's really you know, uh there's a lot of rumbling going around, you know what I mean? And and I and I look sit in the middle, I go, Well, my purpose now is just if I can go out there and play music for people, I raise my spirit and I raise their spirit, and that effect is real, yeah, and all this other crap is not, you know what I mean? Just keep it very, very simple, you know. If people can walk away from your show feeling a little better, you know, I'm not saying forget about this or that, but like strengthen your core, you know, and and and having that exchange with an audience is so important, and that's what I realized when I when I took uh 2024 pretty much off performing was that I have to do this, I have to get back on the road again because I'm not complete without doing it. It's it's my bloody purpose. And if I can't live fulfilling my purpose, yeah. I mean, you doing all these other things like being in the studio or writing books or whatever, yeah, that's fulfilling too. But I need that connection, that real connection with with with the human spirit, because that's that's what I need, you know. I mean, you know, and and uh it's becoming very clear that people will always look for that. So the authenticity will be there. It's you're not gonna be replaced by machines because it ain't gonna it's gonna not make you ricketick go boom boom, is it? Right.

SPEAKER_00 43:51

No, and I know like you know, sometimes you have like you know, the doom and gloom uh crowd out there that's like, oh, AI's gonna, you know, take over. Everything and it's all gonna be blah blah blah. But you know what? But the thing is, and and and and I believe this, it's like whatever you set your focus on is what comes to pass. And if you continue, and and and this isn't just in the grand scheme of things, this is just even just in your personal life. You know, if you you know, just focus on the doom and gloom, the negative, and and I'm not saying like, you know, oh, for like say, like if you have to pay your rent, like don't pay your rent or whatever. But um, you know, obviously there are some things that do need your attention, but you know, but if it's just all like, oh, you know, just if that's but if all you're focusing on is just negative, negative, negative, doom and gloom, everything's crap and blah, blah, blah. Well, that's what's going to reflect back to you, you know, in your in your own life.

SPEAKER_01 44:52

And um of course, yeah. Well, what you what you seek is seeking you. I mean, that's that's that that that's continuous cycle is is is is is what you're living with the whole time. It's it's there, you know. So I mean and you and you and you gotta you you you gotta find your your your balance and and uh and uh and you know, I mean, yeah, you're right. I mean um we we are gonna we are gonna survive and we are gonna prosper and and we're gonna enjoy the journey, you know. I mean there's some obstacles along the way, but that's what we're dealing with, you know.

SPEAKER_00 45:31

Yeah, I think you know what, and I look at it this way, you know, humans have been through some real doozies throughout history, and you know what? We've you know, we're still here, you know.

SPEAKER_01 45:43

And and and and and at the end of the day, it's all consciousness anyway, you know what I mean? So so so you know, it's all about raising consciousness, and you can do that through art and music and and and and and and everything, and that's what we keep doing, you know.

SPEAKER_00 46:00

Yes, absolutely, and yeah, I I love that uh philosophy, and um, you know, and since uh we do get into some like you know, spiritual um subjects and even paranormal subjects, um, both on this podcast as well as on the Bonfires and Castles podcast. Um have you guys ever had any uh, you know, moments on the road that were maybe a little spooky, unexplainable, or maybe like, you know, awakened your consciousness even more? Um, and if so, like we I'd love to hear about it.

SPEAKER_01 46:36

So you know, I don't think there's been a real group consciousness uh with w that has had the same experience that I can think of. Yeah, you know, I mean, there's certainly been many, many spooky things on the road, you know. I mean, I I mean, I I I you know I've been expanding my consciousness on the road always, you know what I mean, and I've had my personal experiences as far as you know sh uh having that shared with band members, yeah. Um because we've had so many people coming and going in in the band over the years, so it's hard to like have have have that really established as you we never became one or organism that way, you know what I mean? But but but but now and again you will have your favorite bandmates that you might be rooming with or traveling with that that you can share these experiences with. But we've had but we've had a lot of really, you know, I speaking of spooking, I here's an example I could think of like 30 years ago, um the week before Christmas, yeah, we got uh a residency gig in a place called Mammoth, which is mountains in California. It's yeah, you know, um and and it's a ski resort, and we'd been there in the summer and on a festival, and one of the hotel owners came up to me and said, Look, you know, we got we got this fabulous nightclub in our hotel in the basement, and uh we can book you for a week, yeah and let's let's find a date. And at that point, you know, it's like yeah, you know, we don't have much going on in December because we don't play Christmas music. So they booked us the week week before December. And this is like way up in the mountains, like you get altitude sickness, you know, you get psychedelic dreams when you when you first try to sleep there. So we get uh so we yeah, so we get into this. I think we only got to play one night, and then all hell broke loose. There was the worst you know snowstorm that anybody remembered, you know what I mean? So we got snowed in on the mountain. Oh and this is like right before Christmas 1996.

SPEAKER_00 49:04

Kind of like the shining, you know.

SPEAKER_01 49:06

Completely the shining, because what happened is this this particular hotel owner, he had taken advantage of the fact that they're close to a lot of prisons down. Uh so they had hired uh from Corcoran, maybe other prisons around in LA County, they had hired lots of ex-cons to work cheap. So basically, that was the staff. And the minute, the minute there was a blackout, out came the knives and they started robbing the liquor cabinets, of course. Oh no. So so speaking of spooky, you know, you you sit there in your room and you're freezing cold and you got a little candle, and outside, you know, the it is the shining, right? Yeah. I remember uh the second day, Patricia and I got out to get supplies.

SPEAKER_02 49:57

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 49:57

So there was a little bit of what looked like you know, the storm had led up a little bit so we could get the van moved down to the local store.

SPEAKER_02 50:06

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 50:06

But by the time we got down there, like sneaking down the mountains in the van, but by the time we got there, it was complete whiteout. And I got lost in the parking lot. And I never experienced a total whiteout before where you can't see anything. And I don't know how this happened, but we ended up getting kind of rescued by some local guy that put us in a little cabin, and we had a little wood stove. We sat around in that wood stove for 24 hours, got a little sleep in front of the stove.

SPEAKER_02 50:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

Got ourselves back up on the mountain, and uh we were just basically the band got stuck. We were stuck, and you go like we didn't know if we're gonna make it home for Christmas, kind of a thing. And and and at the same time, there was very strange things going around in this hotel, you know. Yeah, but but but you know, somehow the storm ended, and you know, on the 23rd of December we came came back to our uh home base in in the Bay Area, and I remember that being really, really spooky. And when I think of spooky too, I think a l a lot of like prison things comes into mind, you know. And I think for me, probably a lot of past life trauma when it comes to being being locked up. Like when I when I was um when I was a kid, uh huh. I remember my I I cleared out a room in my parents' basement and turned it into a jail. And I and and and I had them lock me up there and just give me uh uh you know bread and water. It's like I'd love being locked up. It's it's like this weird fascination.

SPEAKER_00 51:45

So you know, I've always booked some type of past life, you know.

SPEAKER_01 51:50

Yeah, and and and and my so I've always booked yeah, prison gigs for the bands I've been in, dating back to my old bands in Norway. And the Tempest have done those too, and those have been some of them's been spooky. Like one year with the the Corcoran. Well, we did Corcoran when Manson was there, for one thing. And I and I got and and and that that's that's a whole other story that I should write about in my in my next volume of my book. But the one that comes to mind is the Christmas. I mean, the the prison for the criminally insane in Vacaville, California. Back then we had um Sue Draheim, fabulous fiddle player, was with us. And and um we we we we got stuck in there. I mean, like that's a really, really high security prison.

SPEAKER_02 52:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:43

And we got the gig because there was a real progressive guy in charge of the budget. Okay. And so he goes, like, well, we're gonna have to bring in some some some some culture into this reality of these people. And so he was a Tempest fan. So he were able to finagle us into the budget so we could do this, do this gig.

SPEAKER_02 53:08

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 53:08

But there was the the powers to be in that prison did not like this. You know what I mean? They didn't like it at all. Why these like long-haired kids are gonna start playing guitars and sing about the meaning of life in inside of their prison. You know, it's like, yeah, you know, so they're they uh what they did is they called um the they set the alarm off after our second song. Oh so that so there was a lockdown. So nobody could get in, nobody could get out. So we were stuck, stuck in this prison. And so and Sue and I, and she was really, really strong. I mean, you know, being in a woman in that environment was really difficult, but yeah, we spent we spent the day talking to people, like you know, what we went from cell to cell and just talked to people like you know, and outside you can they had little cards uh that would say you know how long they've been locked up and yeah, name name changes, sex changes, all kinds of stuff were recorded on these little cards. Yeah, uh, and and uh we talked to people that hadn't talked to people on the outside for for for years and years and years. Yeah, and so you know, spookiness on the road for me, a lot of it takes place in prisons. I mean it's we have we haven't done it for a long time, but but but yeah, whether it's on Mammoth Mountain or or or anywhere else, it's uh you know, when when when when people are you know people are in prison in their bodies to begin with, and then they lock these bodies up in little cells, you know. It's and going in there as a free spirit, yeah, playing music to lift their spirit, it it's just a wild experience. You know, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 54:57

Yeah, sounds like it.

SPEAKER_01 54:59

But but but it's but as far as abnormal, I mean like I it's hard of me to think of it that that way because the you know the mystery of life isn't it it's it's all in the transcendence anyway, you know what I mean? It's it it can all be explained that way, and I and I feel that you know all all all this little thing you encounter along along along the way are just little pieces of that puzzle, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 55:31

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 55:33

So I'm just happy being alive doing what I'm doing and yeah.

SPEAKER_00 55:39

Oh so cool. And um like and what like advice would you have, like just for people to like stay grounded and stay balanced, like with all the craziness going on?

SPEAKER_01 55:51

Well, I see you know, they have to find their own source, you know. Uh and do doing things that would feed their spirit, you know. You know, meditate, you know. Number one, and uh be true to yourself. Yes, you know what I mean. That's you know, you if you do that, you're you're you're totally on your way. And and and and uh find your place in the world where you can where you can do a little good, you know, because you know, a little good goes a long way, you know.

SPEAKER_00 56:21

Oh yeah. You know, yeah, you never know who you might impact or help, you know, just by doing your thing.

SPEAKER_01 56:28

Yeah, exactly. Exactly, exactly. So so yeah. Yeah. So well I I certainly have a uh a great time talking with you and I'm uh and uh and let's let's let's see what you do with the with the final product. I'm sure there's a lot of stuff you can edit out.

SPEAKER_00 56:48

I you know what, I haven't really like I don't really edit things out because you know, unless like there's like a major flub up, like, you know, okay, like I had um one person where like okay, like they just completely froze and then we had to regroup and come back on, like something like that I would edit out. But you know what, but I like the authentic conversations and you know, and that's what this is really all about. I mean, yeah, it's to like you know help, you know, promote like my fellow artists and stuff like that, but I also I like you know just authentic and real conversation too, and that's also you know my goal with these. So I yeah, I don't really edit things out unless there's like some major flub up. So yeah, no, but a lot of a lot of good stuff, and um, yeah, and so and people can uh find more information about your um you know your shows and everything at the Tempest website.

SPEAKER_01 57:51

Yeah, tempestmusic.com. Um they can they can uh you know order our um CDs there and of course you can order the book there too, get it get it a little bit cheaper than Amazon. So order my book on tempestmusic.com and I'll I'll sign it for you. Yeah you know and and and and that's been an an another great exchange one-to-one, you know, getting the feedback from people, you know, because putting put putting my story out there was a little bit nerve-wracking to begin with. But it was easier to do after my um parents had passed. I mean, this is this is uh had been an ongoing project in the back of my mind for a long time, but I knew that the only way I would do this was to be like you know, completely honest. And my my memory is very good, yeah. Uh but it's subjective, you know what I mean? I'm I might remember it a little different than somebody else. Yeah, and and I figured if I'm gonna tell my story, it's gonna be the real deal. So if yeah, one day come and my memory is not as good anymore, I can read the bloody book, right?

SPEAKER_02 58:59

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 59:01

And so and and so it would it was a real purification thing to do that. Yeah, and and I kind of lived inside of it, I couldn't just yeah, you know, write for a couple of hours and then go out and and have a band rehearsal and then go to the store and write for another half an hour. It had to be like focused, you know. I would have three, four days at a time, that's what I would be doing. Yeah. So I could relive the experiences, you know what I mean? Yeah, listen to the music from that time, look at old journals, go through old letters, photos, put the pieces together, and realize so much by just being witness to my own life that way. So it was it was a trip, and and uh and uh and and and and people seem to really enjoy it. And um obvious obviously most of the people that have bought my book has been you know Tempest fans or people that know me from the band. Yeah, so they're waiting for the second volume because the Tempest Years is uh the the what I'm working on now. So they we're gonna bring the story up to date. But I hope I can I hope I can do it in one book. I mean, I'm I'm I'm one third into it, you know. I mean, I'm trying not to get more than 80 80,000 words in there so we can have a lot of good photos and stuff. But but you know, the I I think people will be very excited about the second volume.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:29

Yeah, yeah. And you said you're coming to my area in April, correct?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:35

Yeah, yeah. April 22nd, we'll be at the Brynmar Church in Whitehope.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:39

Yeah, we'll be there.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:42

And the next night we're in Cleveland, and the night before we're in Heistown, New Jersey. So, I mean, check out uh we're playing every night, so check out our tour schedule. We're going through we start in the Midwest, go a loop around the East Coast and back in uh in the Midwest. Um it's been three years since we did that swing. So yeah, I look forward to see old friends, hopefully make some new ones, yeah, and introduce them to the more acoustic aspect of our music. Oh, and we'll be playing, you know, some more there'll be some unpredictable things in there, you know. Yeah, they've got some great old Nordic stuff that we haven't done uh with Tempest for a long time, and yeah, and and and and stuff Tempest never done before. But um we also have a compilation of radio performances we did over over the over the years, and though those by nature have been more stripped down because yeah, a lot of times in a radio studio you can't really bring all the big amplifiers and all that stuff. So it's been more stripped down and more acoustic. And some of the songs we adapted into this live set. So it's gonna be good. It's gonna be, you know, friends on the road together, yeah, you know. You know, it I'm looking forward to it. A lot of miles on the road, though. A lot of miles.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:05

Yeah, but sometimes that's good, you know, just kind of doing that open road, road trip, you know. I love me a good road trip, absolutely. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:15

Exactly, exactly. So we'll look we'll look we'll all look forward to see you soon and we'll celebrate your your friend Chuck Austin's whole, you know, his his life and career there at uh at the Brynmark Church. And and uh we're gonna give him a nice opening slot and you know he'll invite some friends and then and then we'll do a do a special concert for for everybody. Yeah, since it's probably the last time um we we have a chance to do that in that venue, you know.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:45

Yeah, you guys have been like going to that venue for quite some time and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:49

I I'm trying to figure out it's been at least 15 years, I think.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:53

Yeah, yeah, some yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:54

Yeah, but I remember the first time I met Chuck, man. We were playing a back room at a pizza parlor in Pittsburgh.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:03

And I remember him showing up, he had like a he had a black beret on, and and he and and he he he seemed to know more about Tempest than I did at the time, you know. And he we he he was really into mythology, and you know, we were had long discussions about you know Appalachian uh versus Celtic. And we remember we were talking about the house carpenter and and and songs like that, and and uh uh before the show, and then we had an opening band. They were called what they called again, like the the crawling low band. Oh the yeah, the crawling low band. And they their feature instrument was a bowed saw, and they sounded so bad that all our fans vacated the venue because it was like you know, disharmonic song music, it was really bizarre. Oh no, but and it all took place in the in in the back room of a pizza parlor in Pittsburgh, you know what I mean? So you never know what's gonna be, but that's when I first met my Chuck Austin, you know. And uh and and I I have a lot a lot of affinity for that guy. He's he's he's done a lot of good in his community, yes, and he's always been a one-off. Now and again you meet people that are one-offs, and he's one of them.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:24

So absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:26

Uh being able to do it, do do another show with Chuck is good, and I hope that a lot of his friends will come out and and honor his time at the Brynmark Church, you know. Absolutely, absolutely, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it'll be good. It'll be good. All right, Tiffany. So it won't uh in a in a few short weeks, we're gonna see you. In the meantime, in the meantime, thanks for everything you do online and elsewhere. And uh and if you if you have it have any requests for the show, uh let me know.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:02

I'll have to think about that. Think about it.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:05

Can't promise anything, of course, but you know, you never know.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:08

Give you a little, yeah, look kind of like a couple requests there. All right.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:13

All right, okay, you have a good one.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:16

Yes, you too. Thank you, and thank you, everybody, uh, for listening. And if you have um have a chance to go see Tempest, I definitely recommend it, especially since they're doing this very um, it's unique to them, you know, an acoustic performance, like an acoustic tour. So I definitely recommend checking them out. And um yeah, definitely look forward to seeing you um in Pittsburgh um on the 22nd, correct?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:44

Wonderful, 22nd of April. And and and thank you, everybody, and thanks for having me on. And I hope we can do it again soon.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:52

Absolutely. Thank you, everybody, as always. Stay safe, stay fierce, and if you're listening on the After hours podcast, stay spooky as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:03

All right.