ME. - Mark O’Connell & Eddie Reyes (formerly of Taking Back Sunday)

Mark O'Connell and Eddie Reyes join Caught On The Mike to discuss the formation of their new band, ME., and the journey behind their debut album, ALL GOOD THINGS.

After spending nearly a decade apart following their departures from Taking Back Sunday, Mark and Eddie reconnected with no expectations beyond making music together. What began as a creative experiment evolved into an entirely new band built on trust, growth, and a shared desire to move forward rather than revisit the past.

In this conversation, we discuss the emotional story behind their debut single "Special," the process of writing without a frontman, bringing vocalist Mike Jansen into the fold through an open casting call, and why ME. represents a fresh start instead of a reunion. We also dive into creativity, accountability, personal growth, and what it means to build something new after years of experience in the music industry.

This is an honest conversation about reinvention, friendship, and finding purpose in the next chapter.

Listen to ME.'s debut single "Special" now and watch for their debut album ALL GOOD THINGS, arriving July 24, 2026.

caughtonthemike@gmail.com
www.caughtonthemike.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Disclaimer, the views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent. Listener discretion is advised. What do you do when the things that defined a huge chapter of your life is no longer the thing you are meant to do now? For Marco Connell and Eddie Reyes, the answer wasn't a reunion, it was a victory lap. It was starting from scratch. Today, the founders of me join me to talk about rebuilding trust, creating without expectations, and turning years of distance growth from hard-earned perspective into a debut album called All Good Things. This is a conversation about second acts, fresh start, and why sometimes the best music comes after the dust settles. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Caught on the Mic. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Caught on the Mic. Sometimes the best chapters in life come after everything falls apart. Today's guests helped define an era of emo and alternative music through Taking Back Sunday, but now Mark O'Connell and Eddie Reyes, who hopefully will be joining us soon, are stepping into something entirely different. Their new band, Me, isn't about reliving the past, it's about rebuilding after it. Today we're gonna talk about unresolved history, second chances, the emotional weight behind their debut single special, and why this new project might be the most honest music they've ever made. Welcome to Caught on the Mic, Mark. Hi, how are you, Mike? I'm wonderful, man. Dude, I was listening to Special before we uh logged on and started recording. You know, you and Eddie both helped build one of the most influential bands of the early 2000s with Taking Back Sunday. Thank you for saying that. Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. You're welcome, man. But when did you realize that this new project wasn't just gonna be a collaboration, but an entirely new band with its own identity?

SPEAKER_01 2:27

Um, right off the bat, like the the the first thing with this band was there's not gonna be a lead singer for the band. Right. That right, like so we made the identity around that idea. Um Mark and Ed. Just Marvin, like he was like me. I was like, you know, because we were thinking about names, and and I was, you know, I'm Mark Jorette. Like, and then he literally was just like, let's call it me. Like Eddie has Eddie's made up a lot, the movie life inside. He's made up the names for every single band that he's been in. And then so with me, I thought he nailed it with the and then with the period at the end. And so the identity is and was based around him and I coming together and making these songs uh and and and making it to where we made it clear to each other, like, yo, this it wasn't about a stream, it wasn't about any streams. Like we said we could make and use it together, you know, it could be zero streams, and that's just fine. It it was made, it was about, you know, you know, with family, sometimes you don't you end up not talking to a brother. And that's what it was for me and him for eight or nine years. And uh like it just, it just it had to be done right. Like we we came together, we were doing this thing, so it had to be we were unwavering in the control of the music that we were gonna make together because we knew that the thing that taking back Sunday, that sound that we have or had, you know, him and I knew it was me and him, and and and that's you know, like we knew if we can get past all the fucking garbage that we've had to deal with and all the b this and that and the other thing, not even just band stuff, just life, whatever the fuck. It the music wasn't even the problem. And man, Casey got us in a studio here in Long Island, we did two days, and the first day, have you heard the whole album? I have not yet. Can we get in the album? Yes, you gotta uh we're gonna send it to you, and then after this, man, you gotta Yes, you gotta hear it. I kinda like it's so good, man. Yeah, that they don't want anyone having it because they don't want to get lead, like, and that's how exciting this is.

SPEAKER_04 4:48

You know, I I have my own interjection here is I had Eddie on the podcast about a year and a half ago, and I I'm gonna show how the sausage is made a little bit, a little bit behind the scenes. Usually after I stop pressing record, we have a little bit of a conversation after as we wait for the tracks to upload. And at that point in time, Ed goes, Well, hey, you know, I just started texting back and forth with Mark. He just left taking back Sunday, and like my wheel started turning in my head, and then the next thing I know, I start seeing on social media like you guys are talking again, and like you guys are getting together, and that was super, super exciting. You both have Yeah, yeah, you both have mentioned that there were unresolved things after leaving uh Taking Back Sunday. What did reconnecting after nearly a decade apart teach you about each other and yourselves?

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Well, one thing I knew about Eddie, and I think that no, he he said as he has said this also as well, is like our relationship was salvageable. We we didn't there was I've always known I always loved him. I always he he's a he's got a good heart, and and man, in this, in this world where motherfuckers, these motherfuckers are real cutthroat in this world, man, and these corny motherfuckers make it hard for all the people that just want to live.

SPEAKER_04 6:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:14

You know, all around corny everywhere, not just one person in general. It's a lot of people. You know, and so like our relationship was salvable because I love like and and man, I knew like him and I are I'm three years sober. I just got three years sober on the 18th. Congrats, dude. Thank you, thank you, and he's six. He's uh like he's six years. Six and a half, he'll let you know. Six and a half, forty-five minutes. But and uh so I just he wanted to see what would happen. And we like like I said, like the the idea of him and I hanging out, it wasn't about if we can get a lot of streams or if we can go on blah blah blah or whatever it is. It was about him and I seeing if we could still be friends. Like he was getting married, and he he got married, he got married a year ago, and and I knew that one thing, like I was like, all right, he was like, Mark, I really want you at that wedding. I was like, yo, I'll tell you this. Maybe we won't even play music one time, but I can guarantee you I'll be at that wedding, man, and ready to and ready to hang with you. So we went. And and but man, like when the first we we got two days in the studio, it was a basement studio, and the first day we came up with a song that is now called By Them People, and the second day we came out with a song that's called Bloodsport, first song on the album. Fucking dope. And man, like literally, I was like, yo, we can just go in and like there's no one here. There is no one here to tell you you can't play that riff because of blah blah blah blah blah, and I can't do the fill because of blah blah blah. None of that fucking bullshit, none of it. Want nothing to do with it ever again in my life. Like that's that's what him and I have right now. We we did the thing that we knew that we needed to do to be away from whatever type of behavior we didn't want to be around. Because, man, there's no point in living any other type of way. Just happy, happy is worth all the money. Happy is worth all the fans. And I like it's amazing that we pulled this off. And I I wish that you like once you hear this album, like front to back, it's a it's a it's a one through ten motherfucker. Like, it's an unquestionable one through ten, no motherfucking skips, and on a level that you can you could hear him and I, you could hear the creative freedom and the joy in the songs.

SPEAKER_04 8:49

And I love that. I love this and the pain. You know, why why was it so important to draw that line creatively and emotionally from the beginning?

SPEAKER_01 8:58

When you get stripped of artistic whatever, for whatever reason is, like when when you're just not able to, like if you're an artist and this is what you do, and and you get to the point to where you're living out your dreams about, but then all of a sudden everything gets, you know, nothing is good enough. The riff has to be bigger, fancier, whatever. Like the soul gets sucked out of things when there is just micromanaging with horseshit ideas. You know what I mean? And with music, for the most part, man, if if someone's if someone's faking it or they're just kind of bullshitting their way, or some, you know, they're trying to get a pop hit, for the most part, people are hearing it. People can know. It's like, dude, this shit is whack. This is corny as fuck because you're trying to do this other thing so you could have a lot of strings. And we didn't want that. And we didn't do that. And that's that's cool.

SPEAKER_04 9:55

Yes. Yes. You know, just for people that are listening to or watching this, you guys wrote nine instrumentals without a singer and no hierarchy involved at the start. Why did what did stripping the process down just to the music unlock for you creatively that maybe hadn't existed before with previous projects like Taking Back Sunday?

SPEAKER_01 10:19

We we were allowed to live. Like we were allowed to celebrate each other. We wanted to celebrate each other. We want, you know, like the drums on this album are very loud. They are prominent. And I always wanted that. Like, I hit drums hard. That's how I played. And and like this, this is the first album that, like, okay, with working with Eric Valentine on Ladder Now and the and the self-titled, it it was great. But this is hands down, this is the sound that I've tried to have. And I couldn't be more happy with this drum sound. But like Eddie wanted it. Eddie didn't go, hey man, you know, but my riff, how about like I I want his riffs to shine. I want him to shine. That's the difference. When you want your creative partner to shine and fucking show, dude, do your shit, and like not get in the way of what comes naturally. We did we made it a point to not get in the way of our of our own selves in any way, shape, or form. And that's why we didn't let any motherfuckers tell us shit.

SPEAKER_04 11:24

Yeah, yeah. Dude, what's funny is I, you know, following you guys through the genesis of this project, like I said, having Eddie on the podcast, like right before you reconnected, watching you guys reconnect online. That's so cool. And watching the genesis of this project and as it developed, you guys doing the lead singer search, the forming your first Instagram page, watching you track drums and the Instagram reels and the stories, that might have been some of my most favorite things to watch because you could genuinely see the freedom as it was taking shape. Uh-huh. I want to touch on the single in particular, special. It seems to be the emotional catalyst for the band. Do you remember the first time you heard Mike Jansen's submission and realized that this had become something much bigger?

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Very clearly. Very clearly. I'm on Long Island, so we were in this town called Linbrook, a couple miles away, and I remember the street corner. We were on it at Atlantic, and I could see it. Atlantic, we were on Atlantic Avenue in Linbrook, and uh, we were at a light, about to make a left, and I wasn't I wasn't trying to hear it at all, to be honest with you. Like, I thought the whole idea of having submissions, I was like, this is a terrible idea. Right. Terrible. Like I want nothing to do with this, and I couldn't be more wrong. I could not have been more wrong. Like, I knew what might have come with it, and it did, but so fucking what, you know. So like Casey had this idea, and and Eddie got on board first, like, yo, let's do it. Let's let's just do this. And from what I had heard earlier, there was some cool shit. There, there was some cool, there was some this dude Alex, who actually came and did some, he's gonna be on a song with us. Very good dude. And he was really good. But other, you know, it was kind of rough goings a little bit, and I didn't want to hear it anymore. I was like, Casey, do you know, get that shit out of my face because it's gonna hurt, because if it sucks, it's gonna hurt my feelings and I can't do that. And she was like, she was like, no, no, no, you have to. And and she was so insistent that I had her thought, all right, go ahead. And then as soon as he came in, like, what's there for the first verse was is pretty much exactly what he said in the original thing before we knew him, I knew other whatever. And I knew like it was immediate. It was immediate. This dude is dope. He's on another level. Yeah, he he sings, this man fucking sings his ass off, and it's and it really does seem to me like the Karma Music Gods came down and said, You motherfuckers deserve this guy. Everybody knows y'all deserve this man who is a wonderful set talent, and um, and he is, and we do, and and the album shows it.

SPEAKER_04 14:20

Dude, that is amazing. You know, Mike and Neil joined the band without carrying the emotional history that you and Eddie both had. How valuable was that outsider perspective and helping the music move forward instead of staying stuck in the reflection?

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Well, okay, so Mike, we didn't know he was a human being, Eddie and I, but Neil, Neil and I have been friends since we're five years old. Like he grew up, we grew up in the same neighborhood. Neil's older brother, do you know the band of movie life? Yes, yes, yes, yes. Neil's older brother is Alexander Rudin, who was in the movie life with Eddie. Right. So it's really funny because Movie Life, when when Neil and I were in high school, Neil knew Eddie, but and we used to, you know, fuck around and smoke weed and drink 40s out in front. And you know, Eddie would pull up and his Satramom van, that's actually the van that we toured with. We're taking back Sunday in the very beginning. So Eddie has known Neil since he'd been a teenager, and I, and and that's how I actually met Eddie, just like him being like, hey Neil! Like fucking with Neil, being like, hey, what are you losing? You're losing friends and drinking and smoking all the time. But so I, you know, but so Eddie has known Neil. And the thing is, is like I these three years, the last three years for me have been brutal, like really not that easy to go through. And I was I had nowhere to stay. I had nothing, I know nothing worked, I had nothing, no money, no out of nowhere, I had nothing. I I was staying in those basements, like for weeks, and and uh so because he was he's the fucking best guy in the world. Like when when when we down on the rock, man, you'll see, you'll find out who cares.

SPEAKER_04 16:09

Right. Love it. I love it, I love it. So all good things, the album title, it feels hopeful but also bittersweet. What does it mean to you personally at this stage of your life?

SPEAKER_01 16:22

Well, it was something that like when we started getting this thing rolling and we were in the studio and shit was flowing, Eddie was going, you know, like it's all good things. This is all like Marky, it's all good things, Marky. Like, and he just said it over and over and over again, and it was such a it has such a positive and warming effect for just for this for us to thrive as as friends and bandmates and and do this thing that it just got sad enough to where we're like, yeah, let's call let's call the album all good things, keep it positive, you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_04 16:53

Yeah, yeah. So I I mean I don't know if you guys have announced it for sure yet, but do you have an official release date for the album?

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Uh July 24th. Dude. Dude, how stoked are you? I am it is wild. Like the fact that this album, like Eddie, it the fact that Eddie and I actually created this album, got it done, got a singer, have the best manager in the goddamn world. I don't know. Cause like it's it's it's that rebuild part, you know. You gotta start all over, you gotta let it go. You gotta you just gotta be able to go, all right, you know what, it's not even worth the just my mental health is so much more it's valuable. Just take everything, get the fuck away from me. That's where I you know straight up, and having to be okay with it and having okay with what's my like what's yours isn't it's not yours, man. It's not yours. Like it was yours, but just to be able to just have that just you know, you just what's the word you're investing in yourself and and your happiness and and what you want to do as an artist and and letting motherfuckers know, like, nah, I'm not going anywhere. Like, I know what I I'm I know what I'm capable of. And yeah, man, I knew what K Eddie and I were capable of is just the fact and the fact that we got it done in a way that is on the highest level. And we have the dopest, but that's the other thing. We have the dopest people in the music industry that are just fucking the best to work with. Everyone at the Syndicate, fucking Alina, Rob Row, like Stevie, all these people that like they are so on board with us and they have been so supportive. And to have that, like Eddie and I are getting information about things for the like things that we, you know, for the first time, so like what a cool it's unbelievable. I swear to God, we're the motherfucker. We are Rudy of Rock and Roll.

SPEAKER_04 18:52

Yes, great comparison, bro. That is so good. You know, it's it's crazy because you know, putting my own personal experience out there, like, you know, back whenever I was playing in bands, I walked away from it back in 2014, and then a year later, or actually 2012, and then a year later, I found myself divorced. And it's weird to like start over again because you think that your life is ending, and then you hit this moment where you're like, oh my gosh, this feels like I'm a teenager all over again, and it's starting, and I have a fresh start, and this is so amazing, and it kind of feels like you're experiencing some of the similar things.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

A hundred percent, like a hundred percent, you know, yeah. Like it's life is brand new. Like, like, okay, shit, I was doing well, but like, no, like that part of me is just it's like a fucking song. It's crazy. It's like that was the other thing about Mike sending what he sent, not knowing any information about my life and his life and the whole thing, really, and him just writing that because you know, it it just hit the nail. You hit the nail on the head, man, like with the subject matter and just the delivery of it. Yes, but yeah, it's starting over and it's amazing. I feel like got the whole I got the next 45 unlocked.

SPEAKER_04 20:10

Yeah, yes, you do you feel like that? All the time, dude, all the time. And in that's great that you bring it up with Mike's submission because it centers on self-awareness and accountability rather than blame. And like that emotional honesty and intelligence, like, how did that feel to put that to record?

SPEAKER_01 20:32

It felt amazing. I mean, to put you know, I swear to God, the Karma Gods gave us the best singer in the goddamn world. This guy is incredible. It felt amazing, it felt amazing, and it felt it was we it was vindicating. We were vindicated. We we knew we knew we knew what we were capable of, and then to be able to to catch that fire, catch that spark. Like, I'll tell you what, special's not not even it's not even close to my favorite song on the album. Like, I love the song, special's a dope song, but there is uh there are other songs on that album that I am just fucking like you know, but I want people to hear it so badly because I really feel like I know that we're gonna we're gonna have we're gonna do it again and and we're gonna make a a a mark on society. Like it's gonna it's gonna be part of society in 2026. This what our next our third single, Sun Poison. I wish you fucking heard it.

SPEAKER_04 21:32

Like it's I know Casey's gonna send it to me and I'm gonna jam it later tonight.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

She already did.

SPEAKER_04 21:38

She sent it to you. Yeah. Love it. Sun Poison. Well, you you guys are releasing this album independently, and after everything you've experienced in the music industry, what does having, and I kind of know the answer to this, what does having creative freedom and ownership, full ownership, mean to you now?

SPEAKER_01 21:59

You get the name. The label follow the money. That's one thing. Which is a dope label name. You get to decide who is gonna be running with it, running down, so we have this chance to go. Who do we want around us? What type of people do we want around us? And we want the best. And we want people that we can love and trust. Family, actual family, not just fucking saying in interviews, actual real motherfuckers that will be there if needed, because that's what family's supposed to fucking do. And that's who we're surrounding ourselves with. And like File the Money Records is gonna be me, me, Casey and Neil. Like, if what happened to me, like I can't really go, I don't, you know, but like what has happened to me in the last three years, and the things that I have seen and the and the and the behaviors that I have witnessed are above and beyond the most disgusting fucking thing. It is fucking gross. You know how it goes.

SPEAKER_04 23:04

Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. So for longtime fans who grew up with your earlier work, and for completely new listeners discovering me for the first time, what do you hope that they take away after they hear all good things front to back?

SPEAKER_01 23:20

They're gonna know that there's actually, you know, like rock and roll is back. Rock and roll is motherfuckers back, loud drums, loud, real drums, room mites, John Bonham, triplets, rock and roll. Because this shit has been so fucking warded down. Because I'll tell you what, hip-hop, hip-hop is real, and that's why people like it. Because these motherfuckers are nasty, gritty motherfuckers, and they're real. So there's you can and rock has compl in my opinion, rock has completely lost any type of grit, any type of guns and roads, this appetite for destruction shit, you know, which to where you like see a group of guys and you're like, oh my god. Because, you know, now you got people in, you know, in former outfits and shit, or whatever it is that you know labels are trying to sell that and people, it's bullshit. It's a bunch of fucking corn. Like it not everybody, but there's a lot of corn corny motherfuckers out there just kind of phoning in what they think that they should do. And I think it's rock is not good. And I really believe that this album is gonna make people go, holy shit, no, like cut it out with the fucking electronic drums. Leave that shit for EDM, leave it for Calvin Harris. He's dope at it. If you play rock, pay fucking rock. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_04 24:37

Yes, yes, for sure. So obviously, you're gonna be taking this on the road at some point. What what do live shows look like for you in the not too distant future? Like, are we gonna be really good live? Are you asking? I I know you're gonna be really good live, but I'm talking about when's it gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

We can we can say we can say there will be an album release show.

SPEAKER_01 25:05

There will be an album.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

Stay tuned.

SPEAKER_01 25:09

Yeah. Okay, there will there's gonna be an album release. Stay tuned, I think it's gonna be on Long Island. And I know that we're trying to get Andrew Ellis to be our booking agent, and that would be the best ever. He does your Apple and Trio, does a fuck ton of bands, but Andrew Ellis. Once we get our booking agent, which it's gotta be him, then we're really then we're gonna be gone. Like, it's crazy. Mike Jansen, I gotta, I gotta tell you, and I'm not trying to blow smoke, I'm just trying to say how it's how exciting it is for me per on a personal level. The motherfucker, when the dude plays a song acoustic, you're not you don't know if it's an album or him actually playing at that moment. It's insane.

unknown 25:53

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

It's really exciting.

SPEAKER_04 25:55

I love that. I love that. We'll we'll talk about that after we stop recording because I'll I I I got a fun story I'm gonna tell you. But I'm not gonna record the fun story I gotta tell you. If me represents a second chance creatively and personally, what's one thing that you're doing differently this time that you wish you understood and did differently 20 years ago?

SPEAKER_01 26:17

Bet on yourself. Care about yourself. You know, don't stop it with the alcohol, stop it with the fucking bullshit, get it out of your life, take yourself, care about yourself, and be the best version of yourself. I love that, dude.

SPEAKER_04 26:32

Yeah, I love that. So, what does that look like for you three years sober, you know, this new direction in your life? Badass band. What does taking care of yourself look like for Mark right now?

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Waking up early, going to sleep, wait, you know, going to sleep early, waking up early. When I get up, you know, do what I gotta do, take care of the dog, take you know, kid, whatever. But the first thing, like this, like it was it was a good amount of time to wear like you know, every day, this was my life. Like you get up and you play, you play. It's damn right there. Right. That's the main thing. Like making sure I keep up. Because it's just you want to be good. You want to stay, you want to stay good, you want to keep up with if you want to be the best at what you do and you and me, I talk a lot of shit. I'm I am the best drummer in the motherfucking world. I'll tell everybody. And and you know, and that's always argument, you know, it could be Ringo, it could be, it could be Keith Moon, it could be anybody, but man, like if you believe it and you stay on top of yourself, I don't know. I'm maybe I'm going off, but No, I I love this, man. Push yourself when people are like, hey, don't be so hard on yourself. No, no, you should be more hard on yourself. And yeah, I'm gonna stay on myself because that shit's important, you know.

SPEAKER_04 27:57

Do you find that you're own you're your own worst critic? Hell no.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

I know for a fact that I am absolutely not.

SPEAKER_04 28:06

Yeah? Man, that that's one of us, man. I I beat the shit out of myself, I swear to God.

SPEAKER_01 28:12

You know, I I do. Listen, if you if you if you if you've seen the lawsuit that I got going on, you you'd see that maybe I'm not the hardest on myself. But I'll tell you why.

SPEAKER_04 28:25

I mean, there's I'm not sure. There's a difference between being hard on yourself and betting on yourself to a certain extent, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:32

Yes. Yes. And and you know what? I mean, you got you gotta be hard on yourself. Like, like I'm vegan. To be vegan, you gotta be hard on yourself. Like, don't eat the fucking pizza, you know? So yeah.

SPEAKER_04 28:45

Yeah, oh man, that's that's some discipline on a different level, man.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

Do you drink? Do you drink alcohol? No, not at all. So there you go. I mean, it and and it's probably so easy at this point because you just don't do it. But I mean, you don't want to do it. Like you don't want to do it. It it man, alcohol is uh it's just hey, hey. What's up? We were just talking about how alcohol.

SPEAKER_02 29:12

What's up, dude? Boo alcohol.

SPEAKER_04 29:15

You know what I mean? Ladies and gentlemen, the one, the only, Mr. Ed Reyes joins us as we're starting to wrap up, but that's okay. Dude, how you doing, Ed?

SPEAKER_03 29:27

I'm doing it outside of a Panda Express because me and Michelle wanted to have a dinner together saying we've never had Panda Express before. So we came here and then we realized why we never had Panda Express before. You're here. You're here, brother. What's up, bro? How are you doing? Hey, Mark. Hi, how are you? You know, Mark and I have a fantastic conversation. I'm sure you did. I'm sure I was like, uh, Mark's fine. He's like, I that's what I said.

SPEAKER_04 29:56

I was like, uh Ed and I have done this before. This is great. This is a little different perspective. I did tell him that was a couple years ago. Yeah, it was about a year and a half ago, and I was telling Mark, I said, as soon as Eddie and I got done recording our first episode together, like off recording, Ed told me, you had told me that Mark had just left taking back Sunday, and it was kind of super on the DL at the time. And then a couple of months later, I see you guys reconnected, and that was amazing. What was that reconnection like for you?

SPEAKER_03 30:31

I mean, it was it was uh it was hesitant, and then you know, my son, he was uh talking to Mark, and he like I'm sure Mark explained it to you, and uh he set it up really. I mean, and then he got me and Mark talking again, and then it just you know, it felt like I haven't talked to the guy in a long time, but it just it felt natural, you know. So I said, why not? You know, when we decided to get together and jam out, I said, Well, why not? Give it a try. You know, what what what what could hurt? Write some great fucking songs and nothing happens, nothing happens. But it's been turning out really good, right, Mark? I can't hear Mark. You can't hear me? Okay, now I can. Now I can.

SPEAKER_01 31:11

Now I can. It's amazing. I mean, I I I know that you and I both know that this is absolutely the best, the best thing that we've done. Yeah. Along with each other, without each other. Like, this is hands down the best album that we've ever created. And also, I was telling Mike that like the when for me, for me and you to be together, like, I knew that our relationship was salvageable because we never did each other so dirty or nothing like that to where, like, and you knew my heart was good. I knew your heart was good, and there was there was a there was a way to make it work if we wanted it bad enough. And and we did. And and here we are.

SPEAKER_03 31:51

Mentioned that to you too. Like, not you, Mark, you know, I was I think I mentioned that to you a while ago when we were talking about I said Mark was the only guy in the band that like in my heart, I was like, he didn't I I don't think he could have been a part of that. Like, that's how I did it in my head, you know? But uh Yeah, it's all true. Like, that's just uh I I knew that I knew that there was a chance that one day I would bump into you again, I would probably hug you and say, let's jam out, you know? Thanks fucking God.

SPEAKER_04 32:23

Yeah. Dude, I'm so glad it happened. And I gotta tell you guys, I and I'm kind of repeating myself because I told Mark earlier, like connecting with you, Ed, doing the podcast episode with you, you know, becoming friends on Facebook and like, you know, just kind of seeing the trajectory of your guys' lives afterwards. It was cool having a front row seat to see you guys reconnect online and then see the genesis of this project and the development of it happen over time and to land in such a good place and have such an impactful first single with the song special. What does that song mean to you, Ed?

SPEAKER_03 33:02

I mean, you know, I'm not good at answering those kind of questions, man. You know, like when people, when people do the whole, tell me what it felt to you. You know what it felt like to me? I don't know. I wrote some reps down, Mark put some sick drums to it, and my singer killed it. Like, that's how it, that's how it feels to me. I don't know. I uh you know what? I grabbed a glass of wine and some cherries, and I I sat in the field and with every bite of cherry I contemplated, wow, what a great song.

SPEAKER_04 33:34

You know, my most favorite thing about like hanging out with you guys and just shooting the shit with you guys like this, is this sincerely feels like a gathering of friends just sitting around a bonfire sharing stories about why like their art is such an impactful part of their personal lives and so much of their heart. So, like, this is me drinking the wine and eating cherries and saying, you know. Yeah. I wouldn't be drinking the wine. No, me neither.

SPEAKER_01 34:06

Yeah, it it would be Coke Zero for me or monster. I you know, the the comfort of being able to make yourself vulnerable without having to worry if someone's gonna use it against you makes an atmosphere and a vibe and and a culture where it people can thrive. And and you know, and that's that's what that's why that's why I think that you you're having that feeling, because I'm having that same feeling, and and I think that that's why, you know, just being comfortable.

SPEAKER_03 34:38

Yeah, I mean, I don't, I mean, it's also like I look at it this way. I've had nine years to get older and mature and fix my brain, and now I look at it differently, and I'm more uh wiser and and and just like and I know I know when something's fucked up and not right, and I know when something's right, and this is right, and it's going good, and there's no reason to mess with it, fuck with it, just live with it, have fun with it, and just roll with it. You know what I mean? Without anybody telling you, but you should play the riff this way, even though I wrote fucking so many riffs, you know, shit like that. I told him you told him like this told you. Check this out. It's offensive to me when people say that to me. You know what I mean? No, no, no, no, not you, Mark, not you, Mark. I'm talking about the whole thing. No, I know, I know. Because I've been writing songs probably as long as these guys have been in diapers, you know? And it's like, and I don't have an ego. So I sit there and I keep my mouth shut, you know? Because I like I'd rather observe in my autistic brain than blah, blah, blah, blah. You know what I mean? So it's like I have the comfort now to not worry about that anymore. Like Mark looks at me, you know what I want, right? And I was like, yeah. And I look at Mark and I go, eh, do that other thing. And Mark goes, I know what you want. And then that's it. That's it. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:56

I see. She never really goes. She's over that mark. Mark, give me a little bit more Spanish.

SPEAKER_01 36:00

Yeah. And I'm like, like this, and he's like, yup. Like seriously, that's actually what the conversations.

unknown 36:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:08

Well, right before, right before you jumped on, Ed, I I asked Mark if me represents a second chance creatively and personally, what's one thing that you're doing differently this time that you wish you had understood 20 years ago?

SPEAKER_03 36:21

Not to start a band with the those other guys? No, I don't know. Not you, Mark. I still would have found Mark somehow. I figured. Hey, I figured because I'm here. Yeah, exactly. Like, I I would I would have always found Mark, but no, I don't know, man. You know, it's like this, man. I don't regret anything I did in the past because that was my baby, and there was some great shit that was done with that, and a lot of not great shit. But to me, the way I look at it, this is a ladder. I've already had like eight ladders in my life because I'm almost 54. And it's just a new ladder. It's just a new part of my life that I need to focus on and put whatever I have left in me into. Do you know what I mean? So I kind of look at it as like, you know, that's done. That was great. I have accomplished so much, but now I'm onto this, and this is my only focus. Like, I don't give a crap about that other stuff anymore, you know? That makes any sense.

SPEAKER_01 37:21

And and moving, and moving through, older and wiser, sober, you know what you learn. All right, I'm not like don't do that. Like, learn what not to do. Learn what not to do and to take out of your life, to get rid of the bullshit. You know?

SPEAKER_03 37:38

You know, it's it sounds cheesy, it sounds cliche, but fucking up isn't fucking up. It's just learning how to make it the right way the next time. Do you know what I mean? And it's a very cliche thing. And the way I look at this band, that's the way I that's how I look at it. Not fucking it up my way. On my part, not fucking it up the way I did in the past. So I'm just ex- you know, the music's just it's just right. It's what I wanted to do for a long time. So I'm happy. I'm not happy with Pand Express, though. Pand Express sucks.

SPEAKER_04 38:13

But I'm happy with the music. I love that. And I gotta tell you guys, I am so proud of the both of you. I'm proud to call you guys friends. Ladies and gentlemen.

SPEAKER_01 38:22

Mike, I like you. I like you, Mike. You're cool, dude. He's good people, TikTok. I told you, Mark, he's good people.

SPEAKER_04 38:29

He did. He did. He did. I love it. I love it. Well, guys, all good things drops July 24th. Special is available right now on all streaming platforms. Make sure you are following me, the band, on all social media platforms. Let's follow these guys. Let's give these guys the second chance that they deserve the first time around because I think this is gonna be fucking better. And uh, I'm stoked. I'm the big fan of this band. I'm a bigger fan of these guys as individuals. Mark, Eddie, thank you guys so much for doing the show. The world's a much better place with the two of you in it.

SPEAKER_03 39:06

And I'm sorry I'm late. Thank you. I promise you a full hour next time. That's my bad. Well, Mark, I'm sorry. That's okay.

SPEAKER_04 39:14

If you motherfuckers go on tour and you come to come to Nebraska, we're hanging out. You're hanging out.

SPEAKER_01 39:21

Hell yeah. Come and hang out. Hit up yup and we'll hang out without a without a question.

SPEAKER_04 39:26

That's all taken care of. I want to thank my friends Mark and Eddie from the band Me for joining me on the show. Make sure you follow them on Instagram, the band.me. Be on the lookout for their new album, All Good Things Dropping in July. And while you're being generous with the follows, make sure you're following at Caught on the Mike on all social media platforms. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and share a favorite episode with one of your friends. It helps the show grow. You can also visit me www.caughtonhe dot com or shoot me an email, caught on the mic at gmail.com. This has been Caught on the Mike with Michael Clark. I'm Michael Clark. Until next time. Thank you.