Caught on the Mike...
Caught on the Mike is a podcast where music, pop culture, and authentic conversations come together.
Hosted by Michael Clark, each episode features musicians, entertainers, athletes, comedians, and creators sharing the stories behind their careers, creative journeys, and life beyond the spotlight. From rock and reggae to comedy, MMA, and everything in between, every conversation is relaxed, insightful, and unscripted.
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Caught on the Mike...
David McWane of Big D & The Kids Table
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From their roots in the Boston ska scene to becoming one of the most consistent and independent voices in punk, Big D has spent decades doing things their own way. David joins the show to talk about the band’s upcoming album The Good Ole American Saturday Night, the meaning behind their new single “Whiplash,” and how they’ve managed to stay creatively inspired after more than 30 years.
This conversation dives into the band’s evolution, the freedom that comes with carving your own path, and the mindset that fuels their legendary live shows. It’s a look at what it takes to last in music without chasing trends—and why Big D continues to connect with fans across generations.
If you’re into ska, punk, high-energy live music, or stories about longevity and passion in the independent music world, this episode delivers.
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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. If you ever left a show drenched in sweat, ears ringing, and feeling a little bit more alive than when you walked in, this is that band. For over three decades, Vic D and the Kids Table have turned stages into chaos, community, and something that feels a lot like freedom. Now, they're back with a brand new album, The Good O'American Saturday Night, and a message that cuts through all the noise. Love more and live louder. Today I'm joined by the voice behind it all, David McQuain, to talk about the journey, the energy, and why this next chapter might be their most important guest. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Caught on the Mike. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Caught on the Mike. And after five years of silence, one of Ska Punk's most relentless forces is back, and they didn't come quietly. A band that spent three decades turning chaos into community, sweat-soaked shows into full-blown riots, and horns into weapons. They are stepping into a brand new chapter. Their upcoming album, The Good O'American Saturday Night, isn't nostalgia. It's a statement. Louder, freer, and fueled by one simple idea, just love more. Today we're joined by the voice behind it all, David McWayne of Big D and the Kids Table. How are you, my boy?
SPEAKER_00Doing great. And I'm happy to be here with you. And I do have to say, I have to get a recording later of that intro because that has got to be my new alarm clock.
SPEAKER_01I want that. Dude, if you're waking up to my voice in the morning. Yeah, goddamn right. I am ready. Awesome, man. I am so excited to have this conversation with you. I love the joy that your music brings to my ears, my friend. Thank you. I mean, that's the whole point. Yes, absolutely. Let's kind of set the table. Take me back to Berkeley, 1995. What was the original vision for Big D and the kids' table? Did you have any idea it would like last this long time?
SPEAKER_00Well, definitely not. Like, so when I went from high school to Berkeley, so you know, all of us are just my class, you know, we're all coming in at once. It's I later think about how beautiful it is. And if I go on a ta tangent, remind me about that point because uh I have something to tell you about that. But as a drummer, I went in for drums because drums were was my main focus. And as a drummer, you're just trying to like look for your guitar players and you're looking for your singers. And it's funny, the first guy I met that I vibed with was Chris Penny, the original drummer for uh Dillinger Escape Plan, but we're both drummers, so we couldn't be in a band. Do you know what I mean? Like when you're in Berkeley and you're kind of like a hardcore, kind of like Scott Kid, you're trying to find your friends, you know what I mean? And so that's basically how Big D started is Mark Flynn and Steve Foote, us three were just like talking about music, and we just I was the drummer, Steve was the bass player, Mark was the guitar player singer, and we just started, but it became a something very much different.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes. At what point did it shift from band to this is our life?
SPEAKER_00Well, yeah. I mean, so like I said, so Mark and Steve and I, we just kind of kept saying to our friends that we were, you know, our immediate friends, why don't you just come jam with us? It was just it wasn't supposed we weren't looking to be in a band to do stuff and be successful. It was literally just our time to hang out as buddies, and so we all just hung out and hung out, and then I don't know, it's just it's like it's like a snowball avalanche. Like we went on a tour, that was fun. It just kept unrolling itself. And some of the people who left, because we have had lineup changes, that's why some people have moved on. We're all still the exact immediate friends. Do you know what I mean? It's just that wasn't necessarily what they wanted to do in life. You know, you can't expect like 10 people at the age of 17 and 18 and be like, yep, that's it. You know what I mean? But I did know, me personally, I just always knew I was going to be in a in a band. I it's an addiction that I can't, you know, I just magnetic thing. I just keep going back to it and going back to it.
SPEAKER_01You know, the mid-90s was a perfect time with the third wave ska explosion that happened right around 1995, 96, 97. What was that experience like for you starting a band of that ilk around?
SPEAKER_00I describe it as like getting word that there was a party, like a really good party happening. And right when you get there, the cops had just shown up and everybody was gone. So, like when Big D showed up to the ska explosion, we got to the party and like everyone was arrested or just ran for it. And we were just like, and we were in the house. It's just empty now. We're like, this looks like a pretty good party happened here. You know what I mean? But we missed it.
SPEAKER_01We missed the party. You know, you've been quoted as saying that not getting too big gave you a lot of freedom. So, how did that shape your career decisions?
SPEAKER_00Of like, I mean, everything, you know, like for young people out there that might want to be in a band, you really have to ask yourself, like, what do you want to do? You don't want to have like a Twilight Zone Black Mirror life where you're you make the wrong mis you make the wrong choice as a musician, and then now you're playing in some band that you don't really like the songs and you don't really like the business and all that stuff. Like I said, Big T wasn't supposed to be doing this at all. And so, like, we don't if your goal is to be popular or or really big, then your songwriting will will go with that. Do you know what I mean? And none of my heroes, very few of my heroes, write those kind of songs. You know, I'm more of a Mr. Bungle Melt Banana kind of, you know, I like the artistic kind of like, well, that's brave. I don't even like it, but I love you for trying. Do you know what I mean? But I just am not very susceptible to uh I'm not trying to be cool at all either. Like, I really wished I cared about things that other people care about, but like I just don't grab on to pop like I don't know. There was never a goal of Big D to, you know, so that's our path. We we and a lot of my heroes, like Sam Blackchurch, Only Living Witness, these are Boston bands, you know, early mighty mighty Bostones when we were I was seeing that play. That's what I that's how I see music.
SPEAKER_01That's in the small clubs, and you know, that's that's so perfectly stated. Do you think that there have been experiences that your grounded approach afforded you that maybe more commercially successful bands uh didn't get as a result?
SPEAKER_00Well, it's really hard, it's really hard to say because I could really only speak to you know the Boston scene and of course New York, because Boston and New York often kind of just hang out with each other in music scenes, they can, you know, they can share shows. We often, you know, it's it's it's New Yorkers sharing shows with Bostonians, and that's how you start getting around. And I'll even give it to Montreal, you know. You know, if you're savvy, then you know that's kind of like how you'd want to do it. Maybe okay, maybe this. Um, because I really don't know. Like maybe that you could, if you were brave enough, walk over to the singer, he it was a he was accessible or she was accessible. Do you know what I mean? That's really nice. Um, having basic New England manners, you know, like maybe I don't know, like you're approaching it like yeah, I can only speak for Boston, but like when you love an artist that's a local artist in Boston, like Morphine, the band Morphine, and you go up to Mark Sandman, you know, you're just very humble and you're just like, oh my god, man, I love you so much. Like, imagine the Pixies are playing it and you could walk up to them, and it's just very accessible, down-to-earth people that you know have to wake up pretty early tomorrow because they're waiting tables on Friday or first shift. Do you know what I mean? So it's like everyone's just you know, surreal. I don't know, I don't know. I don't I don't know, you know. I don't I I I think I think okay, maybe allow me to give this a caveat. It's like for every good thing that you might learn as being a Bostonian and coming up with the that experience as a a musician, it also comes with some ankle anchors, it can hold you back too. You know what I mean? So it probably holds you back more than it helps you.
SPEAKER_01You know, I have had a lot of conversations with musicians in this post-pandemic world, because I mean, this podcast itself is a pandemic project that just so happened to last through the entire thing. Yeah, I could just thank you. Yeah. But, you know, that shared experience kind of changed everybody's perspective in the music industry, no matter what their level of accolade or success or anything along those lines. I talked to a lot of guys that multi-platinum selling artists that now have really refound discovered family life as a result, and like have turned touring into the Weekend Warrior project because they enjoyed being whole.
SPEAKER_00How did how did that impact you? I would say absolutely, like the first reason why I really loved going on the road is because someone like someone like me in the economic place that I am, like, we wouldn't be able to afford, like, people are always so like, Americans, why don't you travel? Why don't you travel? And it most of us can't afford to travel. Do you know what I mean? And so Big D has allowed us to like go to Europe and England and Australia and Southeast Asia and deep into China and Japan and all these things. Like, we shouldn't have this amazing culture. Do you know what I mean? And so I was very adventurous and wanted to Indiana Jones things and go out there and go out there and just like see what was around the corner, see what's around the corner. But what I did notice at one point about around the pandemic was I started to accidentally notice that I would see so many happy people in the front row, like a uh like a couple of partners going out and having a really nice time, and then I'll talk to them after the show, and we have a really nice time. And I started to actually realize with all my like Indiana Jones adventureness, going out there, going out there, going out there, I wasn't having those nights with someone I loved. Do you know what I mean? And so I started getting pretty envious. You know what I mean? I kept having to go out and be the good night, you know, the night that that was like, that was an awesome night. You know, that was awesome. I started getting mad envious so I could have an awesome night. Do you know what I mean? Like I wanted to be on the other side. So after the pandemic happened, I did I did want to investigate living the experience of the people who go to our shows. I wanted to live that experience. I mean, it's in front of me all the time. And I just wanted to be them. And I I wanted to take a little break and go to shows and enjoy myself the way they were they enjoy themselves.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and that kind of ties into my next question because five years, it's kind of a span of time between records. Like, what changed during that gap, both personally and creatively?
SPEAKER_00Well, I will say one thing that the record was ready in 2025, right? So I just I'm just trying to shave a year off the five years because we were ready. We were ready. It's just that, like, if you think about it, like some like I think anybody when it was the end of 2025, like we had the like I said, I'm a reiterator, so I reiterate we were ready. But then we went, I don't know, everything sucks right now. Like it, like it was good. It was like we really loved the record, we love still, and we were like, why don't we just like wait till 2026 and we'll put it out then and maybe everything will be better? So obviously things aren't better, but maybe the world needs the record more. I don't know. So so the record was ready four years.
SPEAKER_01I just wanted to make that well in that span of time, was there ever a moment where you questioned whether another record would happen? Whether it be four years or five years.
SPEAKER_00Oh no, like I said, it's an addiction. I I don't think it I don't think it'll we'll be able to stop. You know what I mean? I I think I think there's like there, yeah, there's more records coming. It's so beautiful. I mean, it's my favorite thing in in in the world. But yeah, but you're right. During that time I did have like a health scare thing during 2023. Basically, so now it's 2026, and I had I got cancer for a second time. Uh the first time was like a 2011, it was thyroid cancer, that's why I got that scar. And uh I I I kind of joked that it was drive-thru cancer because I kind of was you know, it was anybody who's had major, it was like major surgery, you know what I mean? It's like people go through it, you know what I mean? But this time it was a little bit more, and I spent about 2025 trying to hide it from everyone, and you never really want to like cancel shows, and so we had to cancel this Mexico run. And um, so yeah, 2025 what that was another reason. I think it's funny that I just talk about like other things because I forget that like it was also the fact that I had cancer that we were like, well, you don't want to put out a record and not be able to tour on it. So I'll I'll catch you up with I have two more treatments tomorrow and the next day, only two left, and I've had 38 in a row of radiation. I'm at the radiation stage. So I'm at the end of 38 days over about a year of dealing with it. And uh, so I guess I'll do two more days and then wait three months and get the test results and cross my fingers and hope I don't have to do anymore. Man, how are you feeling? I am now microwaved, if anybody knows. Like I am if if I if it sounds hard, I'm pretty I'm pretty blasted. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So how does making music and kind of being on the verge of such an upbeat and you know, love-filled release kind of help you manage your emotions through a process like that?
SPEAKER_00I'll tell you, okay, yeah, okay. Two things about that. So Big D has a record and I have a side band, Cuidado, which is just with old Drexel. I used to play in a band called Drexel, it's like old Drexel Buddies, and and we uh were doing a record too. But I made sure when when I started sniffing around the doctors and they were like, you know, you you're gonna have to like you know go to like five different hospitals all the time. Like, I was like, guys, why don't we record a whole bunch of records? And so we so so Big D and Cuidado had records, like you're saying, like while I was doing treatments, mixes were coming in. And every musician knows when mixes come in, it's like it's like the greatest. I mean, there's it's like eating your favorite cheesecake while your favorite sports team is winning while you just won the lottery. Like getting mixes is like every good thing happening at once. And so yeah, it was very helpful. And then when the band was nice enough to convince me to like let people know, and I had all the nice wish from the public, let the public know, I had all these well wishes coming back to me, you know, like people were saying nice things. I the only thing I wanted to like that was great, it was lovely, but I because I have to wait in the waiting room for uh rate radiation, like I just wish everybody around me that I sit with like stuff too, you know what I mean? Had mixes in the in in in the chamber and had really nice people saying so. It's like other than me being like you're saying, like it felt great for me. I just it's just the m my mom and me, it's just like I just wish everybody else had that as well. You know what I mean? It's like it's like you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's it's uh it's almost like shared empathy.
SPEAKER_00You want to cut peep nobody wants a whole cake. It's like you know what I mean. Like I it's like I was given like with all the mixes and all the niceness, I had like a whole cake to myself, and it's like you wish you could, you know, cut it up.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So you've called the good old American Saturday night more of a mission statement than a victory lap. What are you trying to say with their record?
SPEAKER_00It's a little bit of complacency, you know, it's a little bit of like some Russian friends I know and some British friends I know, like say, you know, like in China and people friends from China and Japan, sorry, I keep doing it, that you know, I'm being cheeky a little bit with it with the amount we've accepted, like with have it be a normal Saturday night, and so many bad things happen in that night, but you're still just like that's where we are with the dream, and that's where we are with everything, and put that smile on while you burn, you know what I mean? And it and you know, it's you know, Big D often has been very political about when we want to be political, but you know, there's two reasons why we haven't like full face valued talked about what's going on right now, and there's two reasons. One is I don't want that guy near our music, like I love our music so much, you have no idea. There's no way I want a Hershey squirt from that fucking guy. I don't want to I don't want to smell any of him near my shit. You know what I mean? Like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And the other thing is we've said so much in our our lifetime, you know, and and when we were come kind of coming up in the popular sense, like we were putting like humanitarian, environmental, and political things up front. And that, you know, as a band, when you it's that push, you know, you you're really like making a choice. But we're like, of course, you know. But what my point is, I started going, like, am I am I causing this? Meaning, like, am I the one doing it? You know, trial, you're like, everything's getting worse. I need to change how I'm approaching it. So no longer am I preaching to the choir. I'm just like you said, we're trying to do love more. We're just going into the soil now. We're we're not, we're we're trying to go deeper into the soil to help people during the time rather than just bark the same barks.
SPEAKER_01Man, I tell you what, you are preaching to the choir. Because you know, I'll doom scroll online, and I do not advise anybody do that. As a matter of fact, I encourage people to get offline more often. Yeah, it's kind of funny coming from the podcaster, but you know, it's crazy because everybody expects you to extol your opinions about everything. And sometimes you're not really helping, you're just adding to the conflict. And, you know, as a podcaster, also, you know, and somebody that's uh has a public presence, I would rather just instead of saying how I feel about things, platform those people that I believe in, the human rights issues that I believe in, a variety and diversity of guests that I believe in, because I just don't want to add to the narrative narrative anymore.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, true. And don't get me wrong to the public, like, try out your voice. You know, I always that's one of our songs. Like, try it out. But I think you and I have been doing something for a while, and we're saying this, you know what I mean? But everybody else will try out your voice, scream, fucking, fucking scream. We're just saying that we're changing our approach. You know what I mean? Agree. But like, yeah, yeah, man. I mean, I every I already said all the things too, and and I have one joke about it too. I think the dropkick Murphys did a pretty fine job on their own. I don't think, like, meaning like if Boston and Alston start knocking at my door and say, you know what, Dave, we need Big D and the kids table to add another song because the dropkicks haven't done it good enough, then we'll go, oh, okay, oh, okay. But I think the dropkicks is I think they have a pretty I mean it's Ken's killing it. I mean, everything they're doing is is killing it. You know what I mean? Like, you know.
SPEAKER_01Man, that's such a crap.
SPEAKER_00Why would they need us? We're the little rascals. They're like the big, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Like, we don't what they said, you know what I mean? With the core message of the album being love more, it almost feels rebellious right now as we're kind of pointing out. Do you think that punk in general has lost some of that optimism over time?
SPEAKER_00I'm pretty dis. I mean, I shouldn't say it too much. Well, I've I'm already blacklisted all over the place, but like I was pretty disappointed with some of the the American punk rock stuff. Like, I I don't even want to speak about it. Like, I don't know. I'm a hardcore kid who loves ska. I'm blessed. I never say that. I am lucky enough to rub elbows with so many people's other people's heroes, you know what I mean? And like it's great, but like I don't, I don't know. You know, I just I just like I don't know. I can't speak about other bands because like because other bands have other goals, do you know what I mean? Like, I don't really I've never really I don't understand some bands' goals, and you know, so so I I I just don't know how to speak upon it, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, no, that pain that's totally fair and it may Makes perfect sense.
SPEAKER_00I don't know. It's like, you know, I mean, you know, I'll tell you one thing. Check this out. The punk the American punk rock scene is starting to turn into Thanksgiving, where it's like, I don't know if we should talk about politics. I don't know if everyone's going to be comfortable. So it's like it's like Thanksgiving out there. I don't know. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So much as so much nuance has been lost as well. And that kind of just convolutes things even more.
SPEAKER_00And and I was, and I I want people to like younger listeners to know that like I was gravitated to the music and the message because of music and the message too. And and now that I'm older and all these weird things are getting flipped over and analyzed, and we're understanding these things, it's like it's hard for me to s it's hard for me to talk about the message that directed the course of my life and speak about it compared to right now. You know, it's like there's so much disappointment. There's so much disappointment that like how could I start? You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm excited for the album to drop. For those of you that are listening or watching, the album drops on June 12th. A song has already been released, a song called Whiplash. Whiplash kind of takes a brutal scenario and turns it into a sing-along. How do you turn chaos into something fun?
SPEAKER_00Well, it's funny. This is what I was saying about whiplash is so with Big D, we don't have like a major songwriter. We encourage everybody to write a song. And if you haven't been writing a song, we'll be like, dude, write a song. You know what I mean? Like we we want, like we encourage it. You know what I mean? Like if we're starting to see a record come out and somebody does, you know what I mean? We'll be like, come on, come on, come on. And so Ben, the bass player, had the song Whiplash, and it was supposed to be on Do Your Art, the record before. But you know, sometimes it's not quite right. And so we always knew we were gonna like leave the charge on this record, and that's what we did. And so in this room, we were figuring it out. He was kind of showing us his his ideas song, and we were figuring it out and we finished it, and we were like, Yeah, man, we love this song. We we love this song. It's like perfect punk ska, perfect, like it's just across the board, awesome song, Ben. And so while we're outside this house, everyone's getting in their cars and we're doing the high fives and stuff, and everyone's doing the last things. And Ben starts telling me a story about like one of his old uh, like I guess uh partner experience, a romantic experience, however you're supposed to say, and uh, and I'm listening to him tell me the story, and it's the subject of whiplash, and I'm I'm just and I already still have the song in my head, like it's playing in my head, it's like and he's telling me the story, and I'm just like going, and he's like, it's never happened. He's like writing the lyrics while I'm zoning out with the song in my head, and he's like, and then this, and then this, and I'm like, yeah, yeah. I've never stared at someone and gone like you're writing the verse in front of my face. And so he told me the story, and then I would say like LAX, the song LAX was a was a one drop, and a one drop is when you just write all the lyrics and no was in phones yet. You know, you just I was on the subway coming home from work, going home. It was a one drop, and I changed I didn't change anything except like one word. But Ben and Whiplash, it was like a one drop. He told me the story, and I was like, bye. And anybody knows who doesn't have a good memory, you gotta get it out quick. So they left. And I was like, okay, bye. I was like, I was like, got it. And I look at it as like ghosts, like Ghostbusters. You get the ghosts in the trap. I was like, got it, I got it in the trap, I got it, I got it in the trap.
SPEAKER_01So, what do you want fans to feel when they hear that track live?
SPEAKER_00Fucking friends are looking out for you, and just like your experience isn't just your experience. Other people think things are bullshit. You know, nobody gets a trophy for for bullshit that happens in their life. Do you know what I mean? Like, you know, like sometimes bullshit stacks on you, and nobody gives you a trophy, and so it's kind of like a little bullshit trophy I'm giving Ben. I hear you, man. That sucked. You know what I mean? I don't know, just friends.
SPEAKER_01You know, that's great. That's that's fantastic. So this record pushes your sound forward while feeling unmistakably big D. How do you continue to evolve without losing that?
SPEAKER_00I think it usually starts with drum grooves. Like, like let's say you let's say you go out and you're hanging out or you're driving. Usually for me, it's places where my you know my mind wanders, going out because I'm zoning out and driving because you're focused, or you know, whatever. And what I'm getting at is like you might go, I like this song. And as a singer or any sort of instrument, you go, I've never sung on this groove. Do you know what I mean? Like, let's say you're Dave Mustaine from Megadeth Metallica, and you always solo, but then it's halftime, you're listening to some biohazard thing, you're like, oh, I haven't you know, you go, Well, what would I sound like if you do that? And and and with Big D, I would often do that. I'd be like, guys, this when we're writing a new record, can we play in this tempo in this groove? Because we don't know what will come out. You know, I mean, I think we know what No Effects is gonna do if it's a punk beat. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? You know what I mean? Like they're skilled at it, they know how to do it, they're they they know what's going on. But like, what if you change the beat? You know, like what would come out of certain communions? You know what I mean? There's more in there. There's more in there. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01So is there anything you tried on this album that might have scared you if you tried it 10 years ago?
SPEAKER_00That's a really good question about being scared. Um uh I don't think we're scared uh uh at all. I think like, you know, I think um we had backlash when we went from how it goes to strictly rude, like how it goes people were angry about strictly rude, and then like when strictly rude people were angry about fluent stroll. You know what I mean? But so we have a cornucopia of just different fans that have different memories with different records. But so we're not scared, but the two songs that we well, I was scared about one thing. The two the three songs that I would say Rocker's Way was a groove that we intentionally said, like, let's do something in here. And you know, people can like it or not, but like we intentionally want wanted to go in that groove and be like, what comes out? Like I was just saying, and then opportunity that's another song, opportunity, and I think we might do a video for it. I'm pressuring Dan Doby. Dan Doby, let's do it. Um, it's another one, like just being a fan of different artists. So so yeah, we uh we intentionally stomped down, but I guess scared was the song Little Talks, and whenever I have to like okay, whenever I have to like really sing and be soft and and heartfelt, I sometimes get a little nervous. So yeah. So Little Talks has a little maybe a little nervous, but the guys would F with me. They they they got me through it.
SPEAKER_01You know, you talked about your audience having different favor favorites and disliking other elements because they become so beholden to these favorites. Is there a non-negotiable part of the big D sound that you guys say it's gotta be this way?
SPEAKER_00No, and I think so. I would say, sorry, I I would hate to start a sentence with no, but you know what I was saying, like no, there isn't no. I didn't need to be like no, like, no, there isn't that, but I really think it comes down to this. I think I where I come from with music is always before 21. I usually I call it seven fourteen to seventeen, meaning like I think when you're 14 and 17, like you're the most real about music, you know what I mean? And and and that's who counts. I don't I don't ever write music for anybody of like above 21, you know what I mean? Like because now they're trying to court people and you know what I mean? Like I I really I really didn't like adults when I was young, and I still don't. And and so like I believe in the 14 and 17, and so that's kind of how we who we are writing to, but not in a sophomoric way. We think they're more intelligent and we're more worth our time. That's why I say you know, like everyone is encouraged to write a song, and that um you know, we have it has to be the free time of us. We don't like to do that whole like you have to rehearse, and I recommend this to people, don't do that whole like if you can't, if you can't, if you can't, whatever. But like we we practice from seven to nine on Tuesdays, and you have to work the next day. Like that's not good for that's not good for your songwriting, and you know, you you know, like try to be a little bit hippie about it and be like, we're doing Sunday at 11. Do you know what I mean? Like unless you do what you want to do, but like don't kill your you you you have to make the environment good for yourself to write songs. And so um the only non-negotiable things, and then the other thing I was gonna say is you have to know the menu you're making. Like, if you're making an album that's like French cuisines, you don't want you know if someone brings a really tasty lasagna to the to the the album, you gotta be like, oh man, you know, like this lasagna is really good for later. So you have to know it's good to know what you're writing, but there's I mean, I'll tell you what, the older Big D gets, the more we'll try and do different things.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. That's perfectly fair. Let's let's step into the live spectrum here. You've described your shows as a proper live music riot. What's the mindset when you step on stage after all these years?
SPEAKER_00After all these years, I I and people sometimes say like making it. I would say always that like the when you the like you're saying, mindset. When you first pick up a mic at your first rehearsal, I mean, every every singer's gotta know, like picking up your mic at your first rehearsal and singing in front of your friends, like that thing is still I I still just kind of like I pick up the mic. Remember, I'm still a drummer. I'm like, I can't believe people want me to pick up this mic and do this. Like, like I want to do it, you know, like you know, it's allowed me to fly and I want to fly and I want to fly and I want to fly, but when people go, you're allowed to do it again, you know, it's just ridiculous.
SPEAKER_01And I yeah. Awesome. That's amazing. You know, one of the very fortunate things you get to say that you're experiencing is that you're entering your fourth decade as a band. What still drives you to keep going?
SPEAKER_00Hey, let's see. Uh well, just recently, uh I'll kind of connect it to this. Like before we announced that I had cancer, like, I I kind of was like, you know, I was just doing the the wallos, you know, I was doing like, well, you know, I had a good run. You know what I mean? Like, you know how you like the dark stuff, you're like, that was really fun. But you know, things, you know, I don't know. You know, like, but then when the band was like, you got you know, like let it out there and all the nice words came. I gotta tell you, these things people said that came to you know us uh really jump started like a fireworks show in my chest of it all in the band and and and being like you know, with all the atrocities that are going on. And that's why I keep being like, I wish I could share this, because like all those good, nice things that they were people were saying about me made me made me definitely sharpen my spear more and be like, let's put that out there, let's let's do this. Do you know what I mean? Like we have our new record, like it's not that I forgot I I don't know. It's they were nice to me. Do you know what I mean? And they made me feel like you know, they made me feel really really good. Like really, really good. I would say all the messages that came was the nicest out of the 30 years, 31 years almost of Big D B in a band, that was the most I ever felt it in my life. Yeah. I was like, Jesus Christ, that's nice. We all know, we all know life's so hard. You know what I mean? Like somebody will say something nice to you, like not to be so New England, but at Dunkin' Don't, it's like, you know, like like you could be just like passing someone and they could say something that's weirdly hits you as nice, and you're like, oh, it's nice. But when it comes like an avalanche like that, it gives you it gives you it fills your tank, it fills your gas tank, and so you're ready to you're ready to run.
SPEAKER_01With the full tank and a new album and two music videos, yes, ladies and gentlemen, two music videos, one dropping April 28th and one dropping on May 27th.
SPEAKER_00If someone's never seen Big D live, what are they missing? I would say that it's like in the 90s, there's this beautiful thing where like Primus could play with Rage against the Machine that could play with the band Lush, that could play with Pearl. Like it was just music. There wasn't such ice cube trays of genres, and you go there and you go, and it's an American thing because uh you know, outside of America, people do enjoy more music, they allow themselves to enjoy more music. And so I say this to my high school friends, you know, like they brought me up, my middle school and high school friends, and I'm staying true to them. I'm I'm staying true to the 90s attitude, the 80s, 90s attitude of like if you don't know Big D, you don't have to worry about one genre. We're all over the place, but we're still the same, you know, group, like group of people that like you know, widespread of what goes through us and what is us, if you know what I mean. We're just trying to do music. I'm gonna say it. I'm gonna say it. We're trying to do music for music's sake because it's easily the most important thing to all of us. And we're not trying to climb a ladder and we're not trying to write a popular song. Please allow us, if you feel stuck, to live vicariously through us because we're the underdogs that just won't be stopped, and we're just gonna keep playing music.
SPEAKER_01I love that, and I gotta tell you, little silver lining for from your friend Mike to you, is as a father of teenagers, they don't look at genre at all anymore. And I love it. I love it. Like all of my daughters, their playlists are all over the place, and I'm like, when I was your age, it had to be this genre, you identified yourself through this genre and this genre alone, you know? And I love the diversity with kids these days.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's almost like okay, I never I didn't know that, and that's that's awesome. And it's like I used to say Americans almost wanted you to know what they don't like more than what they do like. Yes! They they put out forward what they don't like.
SPEAKER_01Oh man.
SPEAKER_00You know, but it's it's it's this comic Ricky Gervais has this really funny joke about like like being angry at another band is almost like someone writing guitar, like a guitar lessons when you leave leave leave the supermarket and you see kind of like that flyer for guitar lessons and calling them of them being like, I don't want guitar lessons. It's like you don't have to call them, you don't have to worry about it. You don't need to worry about it. I love it. Or like calling like a like a lost cat and like, I don't know where the cat is.
SPEAKER_01It's like, well, then don't call. You don't need to call. Well, my friend, my closing question, I ask this of everybody that does my show because I love their individual perspectives. Through your personal experience and everything that you see in front of you, what's your advice, simple advice, for making the world a better place tomorrow than what it is today?
SPEAKER_00Okay, what should each person do in their own life to make sure? Okay, so I I don't want to do bullet points because you can almost see like bullet points. Uh yeah, I and I'm not sure I'm not being tacky. You just gotta love more. You in the whole the love power thing, um, it has to come back like when someone's talking to you and you might find like your friend and you might find this, this, this, and that other thing that's wrong with it, try to look at them and just be like, I love that motherfucker so much. You really have to start enjoying life and loving more. It's and with the dope dope dollies, you have to make your own sunshine. You gotta make it yourself. You gotta do it yourself, gods.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I love it. I love it, man. And I have really thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with. Let's do it again, ladies and gentlemen. Big D and the kids' table, brand new album, The Good O'American Saturday Night, comes out June 12th, 2026. My friends are fucking awesome. That cup is amazing. David, thank you so much for doing the show, my friend. Anything else you want to add? I hope we do it again. Dude, you you and me both, thank you so much for doing the show. The world's a much better place with you and it, my friend. Cheers! Once again, I'd like to thank David McWayne for joining me on the podcast today. Big D and the Kids Table have a new album coming out June 12th. A couple of videos ahead of that time. Make sure you're giving him a follow on Instagram at Big D and the Kids Table so you can learn about when those things drop first. And while you're being generous with the follows, make sure you're following at Caught on the Mike on all social media platforms. Make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel, share your favorite episode with your best friend, let's spread the news like wildfire. You can also visit me, www.caughtonthemic.com. Send me an email, caught on the mic at gmail.com. For all booking and guest inquiries, I've got some exciting things coming along the way. I just want you to be a part of it. This has been Caught on the Mike with Michael Clark. I'm Michael Clark. Until next time, thank you.