David Lowy (The Dead Daisies)

David Lowy is an Australian businessman, aviator and musician.  He formed the band The Dead Daisies in 2013 with ex INXS singer Jon Stevens.  The band has since featured members of Gun ’N Roses, Motley Crue, and Whitesnake.  The current lineup features Glenn Hughes, Doug Aldrich & Brian Tichy.  They have a new album called “Radiance” that comes out on September 30th, and there are some tour dates with Enuf Z’Nuff as well.  We discuss the new record, playing guitar, business advice, income inequality, saving Ukrainian refugees, and more! 

00:00 - Intro
00:34 - New Dead Daisies Album, Songwriting
03:15 - Producer Switch 
05:30 - Stand on the Shoulders of Giants 
06:23 - Face Your Fear & David's Philosophy 
09:54 - Hypnotize Yourself 
11:05 - Music Business Side 
14:05 - Playing Guitar & Writing Riffs 
18:46 - Early Days of Music 
20:43 - Business Success & Playing Music 
22:28 - Tour with Enuff Z'Nuff 
23:20 - Needing Luck for Success 
26:00 - Going All In & Business Success 
28:01 - Income Equality & Society 
32:10 - Playing in Cuba 
34:30 - Headlining Vs Opening 
36:18 - The Black Moods & Don Jamieson 
37:34 - Flying Planes & Angel Flight Northeast 

The Dead Daisies website:
https://thedeaddaisies.com

Angel Flight NE website:
http://www.angelflightne.org

Chuck Shute website:
http://chuckshute.com

Transcript

Chuck Shute: 0:00

We have a special treat today. David Loewy is our guest, David is the founding member of the band, the dead daisies, a very successful businessman with the Westfield group, and also a pilot who used to do air shows. But he's since retired from that and he'll tell us why his band the dead daisies, they have a new album coming out called radiance that we're going to talk about, along with tons of other great stuff coming right up. Okay, well welcome David. Hi, I'm Chuck, by the way.

David Lowy: 0:38

Nice to meet you, too.

Chuck Shute: 0:39

Yeah, so did Daisy's new album radiance. That you just you guys just released another album? Was that like a year ago? Was that 2021?

David Lowy: 0:49

Well, yeah, we we did, but we recorded it in 2019. And, yeah, COVID got the better of us. And we didn't release it. holy ground was released much, quite a quite a ways after we, we actually recorded it. So that's why it appears that the two have come in quite close.

Chuck Shute: 1:13

When was this one written and recorded?

David Lowy: 1:16

This was done earlier,

Chuck Shute: 1:18

earlier this year. Okay, so much recent,

David Lowy: 1:21

it's very recent, and six months, you know, we write all the time, like, we're always working on ideas. Some of us have our own ideas, some that we bring into the room, we collaborate together, other songs are almost finished, and then then the rest of us may critique them and change them. And it's a collaborative effort. Some songs are completely collaborative, others, more or less written, brought into the room and some just come from scratch. Nobody has any idea. We just start jamming, we come up with songs. So that's, that's, that's the process for us. So we, when we're on the road, we you know, often when we're there's a lot of time in rock and roll is one thing I learned about it all the time traveling and waiting and sitting around where you can make use of that time and work on ideas and things and that's what we do.

Chuck Shute: 2:15

So do you guys all contribute musically and lyrically? Or do certain people do only certain things?

David Lowy: 2:22

Musically, we all contribute. This album was basically Glen, Doug and myself and Brian also had input into it. But lyrically, lyrically. Typically with the dead daisies, it's the the the singer has done the lyrics because I'm a couple of occasions where it wears, I basically brought the song into the room, I can give a title to it. But then I like to tell tell a singer what I think it's about and then let them but then come up with the words in it, but we do critique them afterwards. We do you know, we do. As I said, it's a collaborative process, we'll kick it around. And everybody basically as input but in the main lyrics are done by the singer.

Chuck Shute: 3:10

Okay, and then remind me again, I forgot the who produced this because the producer, he co wrote some of the music to write and he I'm sure he helped shape

David Lowy: 3:19

not so much on this album. He did. I mean, our producer always helped shape always helped shape but and I mean, mighty Fredriksson did the previous couple of albums for us. And he came, he contributed quite a bit there as well. And on this album been just escaping for a minute.

Chuck Shute: 3:47

I forgot to that's why I just I should have wrote

David Lowy: 3:51

a lot of things, a lot of things happening. A lot of things happening right now. So yeah, Ben Ben, it's a critical input of the producer because when you get the musicians themselves writing, collectively you need you need somebody to be the arbiter at the end of the day and and we we put the put it in the hands of the producer let him Let him make the decision. They can see it from a bigger picture than than that then the writers of the song so

Chuck Shute: 4:27

yeah, yeah. So it's been is it how do you say grace or Grace a gross, gross? Why about why switch because you said Marty Fredrickson, and I'm very familiar with him. Well, what made the decision to change producers for this one?

David Lowy: 4:40

I don't know. I just thought that you know, management takes a good look at it and then they think well, you know, maybe we need something a little different, maybe a little you know, with a different style or something a little bit different and you know, bands change producers from time to time and Don't don't take anything away from married to fat, he did two fantastic albums. For us. It's just the, that's what was thought to do this time. And typically, we let in terms of the producer management of the band makes the ultimate decision on that as well. Obviously, as musicians or writers, the songs we have inputted into it, but as I said, you know, you need a final arbiter for different things. So

Chuck Shute: 5:28

that's interesting, I would think that you kind of pulled the strings with a lot of this stuff, because it's your band, but you're handing some of that stuff off to the management and following their lead and taking their advice, basically, so what you're saying,

David Lowy: 5:40

Well, the way I, I do different things in life other than music, or I run my business as well, you know, all knowledge doesn't rest with me, in fact that in music, I'm the least knowledgeable in the band, and the least experienced it. So yeah, I like to stand on the shoulders of giants. You know, Giants make the make the calls, because they are going to make better calls and myself. So

Chuck Shute: 6:07

that's great advice. I love hearing this kind of stuff. This is why I wanted to interview you, because I think it's fascinating. I love getting this kind of advice.

David Lowy: 6:14

Yeah, I think that's, you know, find the best people and and let them do let them do them do it.

Chuck Shute: 6:20

Yeah. So the first song on the album, face your fear. I love that opening riff, by the way, but I'm just thinking like, You've accomplished so much in your life. Is there anything that you're afraid of? Is there a fear that you need to face?

David Lowy: 6:34

So we all have fears? And sometimes the more you accomplished more, more fears? Yeah. Because I think that's very interesting. I didn't never thought about it, since you mentioned it now. But yeah, I mean, the more you accomplish, the more, maybe that's what drives accomplishment is fear.

Unknown: 6:56

No, I think that's huge. Do you ever fear like losing it all? Or like,

David Lowy: 7:01

oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah, sure. And let me tell you something. History is that is something to always keep in mind. My father is a Holocaust survivor.

Unknown: 7:15

I know I read that. That's crazy.

David Lowy: 7:17

You know, things can change in an instant. In an instant. Yeah, I may go paranoid. But the reality is, we're only three meals away from anarchy.

Chuck Shute: 7:31

Never heard that same before. That's interesting. Yeah.

David Lowy: 7:38

Yeah, you think systems systems are so interconnected today that you can have a breakdown societal breakdown very, very easily, easily. We nearly had it in COVID. Just imagine that you can't, can't do a you can't transact because the internet's down or your supermarket can't turn on its freezers or you can't get cash out of a cash machine. The credit cards don't work. And you've got a day's worth of food in your fridge. What are you going to do?

Chuck Shute: 8:11

Wait, but you don't have like a bunker or go back? No, no,

David Lowy: 8:18

no. I'm just No, I'm not gonna I'm just giving you extreme. So I don't you know, I like to think about the what what are the extremes? What are the goalposts and what's the most likely outcome and I don't, that's not a likely Yeah, that's a very, very unlikely outcome. What I just articulated, but it's just, yeah, I got to wearing a door's t shirt. Okay, what's the last what's what's, what's the verse line in the last verse of Roadhouse blues? I don't know. I love that song. Okay. Okay. Since I woke up this morning, I got myself a beer. Yeah. Okay. The future is uncertain in the end is always neat.

Chuck Shute: 9:04

That's a great I love that's my favorite door song. I love that. So that riff is just so badass. But that's a good line to I never thought of that.

David Lowy: 9:11

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, not a good stance. Yeah, I'm just I just like, I like to frame things and, you know, what's the most likely outcome? And what are the two other ends of the scale of unlikely bad outcomes and, and unlikely good outcomes, and, you know, 99.99% of the time, you'll be within the bounds of what's reasonable, but you just don't know.

Unknown: 9:36

You just don't Yeah, you never thought that people would be hoarding toilet paper and their you know, the all the stuff that happened over the last few years. I don't think anything anybody expected that.

David Lowy: 9:46

So, different things can change very quickly.

Chuck Shute: 9:50

Absolutely. The other saw, okay, we're gonna go through the songs here, but a lot of these tangents is amazing. Hypnotize yourself. I love that second. Don't like a classic guitar riff, I thought, What is the meaning of Hypnotize yourself? Like literally? Or is that a metaphor for something? Well,

David Lowy: 10:07

look, you know, each of these songs can mean different the lyrics of the lyrics as Glen Glen did these lyrics. But we participated in the names of the songs as well. And, and that they mean what they mean to the individual. Listen to them and, and take the meaning that you want to take from them. And yeah, that's how I think it's not, it's not, it's not for me to say what is a song about, it's for the listener to get what they get from it. It might be something from about what it's about for me, but, you know, you can you can dig into it very deeply and say, it's just, it's just really good raw, basic rock and roll. And, yeah, that's, that's how I think about.

Unknown: 10:58

Yeah, well, and you guys have already released some of the songs as singles like radiance and shine on, how are they doing? Do you worry about that kind of stuff? Like, it doesn't get enough Spotify plays or radio play? Or?

David Lowy: 11:10

Yeah, I mean, of course, we worry about think about it, not much, you know, it's management's responsibility to promote to do the promotion and to, to get it out there. And, you know, people like it, and they can hear it. The problem today is that the opposite the opportunity and the problem now, the opportunity to it's very easy to make music today, much cheaper than it was many years ago. And you can do it on your own, you don't need to be in a $20 million studio, and you don't need to have a massive record company behind you. You can you can, you know, you can do it and release it yourself, you know. So that's the opportunity. But on the other hand to get noticed, this is really difficult. It's really, really difficult. And, but yeah, we do our best. And I do look at the Spotify numbers, and I do I do want to know how it's doing. But yeah, it's, but it is, it is. It's a tough game. Music Camp is a very tough game. And it's got it's got plenty it's got it's like anything, got some great rewards, but it's, it's tough. Well, what

Chuck Shute: 12:20

is the goal for you? I mean, do you? So you do look at the Spotify numbers, but I mean, ultimately, do you care if this this endeavor makes? I mean, because you have money from your your business stuff? So do you even care if it turns a profit? Is it more just about growing the brand and, and, and just making the band as big as possible?

David Lowy: 12:39

Yeah, look, don't think about it in those terms. But to have commercial success at edit would validate it. Although we've got we've got plenty of fans now. I think we've had actually had 47 million Spotify plays, which is sounds a lot. It's not. It's not in the scheme of things. But it's not nothing either. We've got hundreds of 1000s of monthly listeners. And when we tour in Europe, when we do our own shows, we can we can get between 815 100 people to a show. So we we've we've got a solid fan base with this is our sixth studio album. We have many fans that have tattooed their logo on themselves which, which is something interesting. So I think the band The band has been a success. I that didn't start out start the band with any goal other than to play write, record and perform music with with people I want to spend time with and with very, very talented musicians. People who are who have done it all their life and more talented than myself.

Chuck Shute: 14:00

What do you play? Do you only do rhythm on these albums? Or do you do some of the leads?

David Lowy: 14:06

I do some of the leads. But why would I do leads when I got Duggal when toggled which is that I do some of the leads on stage and some bits. You know I love playing rhythm guitar. I mean Malcolm Young is my my hero and EJC DC fan obviously I grew up in Sydney Australia so but I am a rhythm player. That's that's what I've spent my time doing I guess if I would have focused on playing League maybe I would but you know it's I love playing the rhythm I really I really I really do I do the outside i But Doug is unbelievable guitar player and so why would I do it when when when? When he's one of the best on the planet?

Chuck Shute: 14:53

Sure. That song cascade I thought that was a such an evil riff. That's one of my favorite riffs on the record is that who him

David Lowy: 15:01

you know, I can't remember who wrote each different because it's just it's it's not a one time process, you know? Yeah. Could be something that we picked up I got I would have on my iPhone now 300 riffs ready to go. That's how we do it. It's really, I mean, if we face your fear with and and hypnotize Glenn had had the most, I think, although maybe if you spoke to Doug, he might have a different view of it. But in my mind, they were very glam was very strong with those songs early on and shine on. I did. I did that mostly. But I, you know, it was also because of COVID. It wasn't done in one sitting, we had to start and stop and start and stop. And you saw it sort of goes into a bit of a haze after after Sure. Who did what, when how, you know, just, but it's the end product that counts. You know, as I said, it's a it's a collaborative effort.

Chuck Shute: 16:13

Yeah, it's a solid album, how do you? How do you narrow it down from 300? riffs? Like, do you have the other guys listen? And then they pick their favorites? Or do you just go okay, of the 300? These are the 20 best or?

David Lowy: 16:26

Well, you know, it's it could be one that? Yeah, I mean, what do you think it is? What do you think is what do you think of that? You can do something with that, you know? That's, that's how that's how that's how, how we would start. That's how I for me, I started with a riff and then get the some built around, either either myself or with the other guys, but I'd much prefer doing it in, in collaboration. Yeah.

Chuck Shute: 16:56

Is that your favorite part of making music? is making the music putting the songs together writing and recording, or is it playing live?

David Lowy: 17:04

It's, it's all good. Yeah. All good. It's, it's, you know, it music is having the privilege to be able to, to participate in it, it's all good. Of course, like everything in life, it has its very difficult moments. And, you know, when you've got full band members, and you've got management, you got a producer, and you've got, of course, you're gonna have differences of opinion. And the people hold strong views. So it can lead to friction. In any organization, or family, or sports team, or whatever, whatever you call it a band, because it's all of those things. It's a family. It's a sport, it's a reminds me of all of those things, you get a group of people with a purpose, but different views and different thoughts on on, on the purpose. So but it's, it's a wonderful thing to be able to play right and record music. It's a major part of my life, I learned piano was a child, my mother played piano. And then I played bass guitar for a couple of years GarageBand as a teenager, and then stopped for 25 odd years, and then just picked it up again. Because I wanted to do it, and I had the time, space and changed my, my career at the time, it gave me the opportunity to also have music as a major part of my life, which I wasn't able to do in my 20s 30s and even to my mid 40s. So like late bloomer, if you like living my life in reverse.

Chuck Shute: 18:46

That's awesome. I think you're living the dream. But tell me about this, like when you were playing in the cover bands early, and you're like carrying your own gear and stuff. And yeah. And you saw how, like how badly musicians were treated?

David Lowy: 18:59

Yeah, I had, I had my incredibly interesting experience. Very early on playing music I, I belong to an organization. It was it's a business organization, I'm not going to say the name of the organization, but they, they they think of themselves much higher than they really are. And they put on an annual event. And I fought they asked me Would my cover band play at the event? I said, Yeah, I'd love to do that's one of the first paid gigs that I was involved in. And

Chuck Shute: 19:33

they didn't know that you were part of the Westfield group or whatever

David Lowy: 19:37

they they did but but when I went into the function that people are organizing the function and didn't know who I was, as far as our concern was, I was I was a band member and that and they we couldn't eat with the with the it was a black tie event and we had to eat in the back in the kitchen. They gave us terrible food. They treated us like absolute shit. No Not the organizers, but the people running the running the event like the event organizers, kitchen staff, everybody, you know, we were just treated like the absolute, like absolute crap. And I thought, wow, this is how musicians get treated is terrible. I'm never gonna be if I have if I if I get involved in insulting you know, musicians need to be treated with respect that it's a talent that just doesn't come in is everybody's put an enormous amount of hard work into, into their craft and often it's not respected at these type of things, unless you're well known unless you're being stalked. And then it's the other way around.

Chuck Shute: 20:42

Right. So how do you get treated? Because I would imagine given your your business success and your history with that, do people treat you differently? Do they maybe in a good way, and maybe sometimes in a bet? Maybe you get judged? Or?

David Lowy: 20:54

I don't even think about it? Most people don't know. They don't? They might know but they don't know, you know, I'm just one of the I'm a band member we we traveled together we stay together we stay in the same places and and I don't I don't even think about it actually. It's just not relevant to me. It's not relevant. And most people have come to see us that they might know my background, but they come to see it come to see the music, listen to the music. People don't even ask me about it. Which is which is which is a good thing.

Chuck Shute: 21:26

Probably I just meant that I meant more like a like other bands that you play with like, if obviously the fans that come they're just there to listen to music. I don't plan. Yeah.

David Lowy: 21:37

No. Yeah, the bands? I don't think they know. I don't think they care. You know? Yeah. So it's, it's just is you know, it's, it's a bit unusual, I suppose. It's a bit unusual, but I tell you what, it's a it's a long hard road and just because you know, you've got the the financial capacity to do it is that that's that's not what it takes. I've put in a huge amount of practice playing play practice every day. And so for as much time as I can actually put in and it's, it's a you kind of buy your way into this thing. If you could, there's a lot of guys around like me that play guitar, but there's not too many bands like The Dead daisies

Chuck Shute: 22:22

know you put together a great band and now we so you're doing a tour with enough's enough, right.

David Lowy: 22:29

Yeah. We the other night.

Chuck Shute: 22:32

Is there going to be more shows Atticus, I think there's only like 10 dates on the books or something like that.

David Lowy: 22:36

Yeah, the US US tours quite a short tour. As I don't, management decides when where, how to play, who to play with. I don't you know, as I said, when it comes to the band, I don't want I don't do any business with the band. I don't make any decisions outside of what I'm what I need to play. And when we're writing, it's, it's it's not what I want to do. It's not what I don't want to do that. And I just leave it leave it to them good, bad indifferent. I think so far, they're pretty good job. We've got a good crew, we got got good organization, good marketing, and it's up to the songs at the end of the day. And, and, you know, it's about serendipity as well. Anybody who's been very successful at anything and doesn't realize that they're also been very lucky is just fooling themselves. So you need luck in anything that you do and to get to get really noticed in this game, you have to be very good. You have the very good songs you have to be have been very good performers. If the good musicians, but you've got to be good you've got to have the lack of being noticed at the right time be like right time Right place, right people those type of things so because you can have you know, look there's there's plenty of incredibly hard working people out there driving cabs Ubers because the luck just didn't need it. It didn't it didn't intersect with them. So or not doing exactly what they want to do. So success has to be noticed. You've got to you've got to be all those things, but then you got to have a lot of luck at the same time.

Chuck Shute: 24:19

So how much do you think it is luck? Like? I thought luck was a smaller portion like maybe five 10% of you're saying luck is a big part of it.

David Lowy: 24:28

I don't know what percentage it would be but I know you can't get there. You can't be there without it. I mean you know look Keith Richards and Mick Jagger as I read it met each other on a bus one day carrying albums under their arms. What if they wouldn't have been what are they would have got the 30 seconds later on called a different bus.

Chuck Shute: 24:51

That's crazy to think of your

David Lowy: 24:53

university the movie sliding doors.

Chuck Shute: 24:56

Yeah with Gwyneth Paltrow.

David Lowy: 24:58

Well check it out. You know mean like, what if they wouldn't have met that day? What or they would have met somewhere else, they might have even been bigger stars. So, there's a lot of serendipity in life. So,

Unknown: 25:11

yeah, that's true. I mean, I feel like they still would be successful, maybe just not as big or different bands, or,

David Lowy: 25:18

as I said, You need to be, you need to have the talent, and you need to have the grit and the hard work and put in the hard yards. And then it needs to go your way, in anything in sport, business, and you can get a top athlete that gets you know, that gets dropped, gets drafted into the top team, and that gets injured on the first game and never really never really makes it again, if you wouldn't been on the field at that instant, you wouldn't have gotten injured and you know,

Chuck Shute: 25:48

that's, that's definitely sports there has the ball has to bounce a certain way a lot of times, and

David Lowy: 25:53

that's life. Ball has to bounce. That's life.

Chuck Shute: 25:57

Yeah. So when you before you started dead daisies, and you were fully focused on business, I mean, you feel like you have to kind of go all in with with something when you do it, though.

David Lowy: 26:06

Yeah. I don't believe in doing anything in moderation. As long as as long as it's legal, you're not going to hurt anybody. And you're not going to kill yourself. Don't do it anything in moderation, do everything to access.

Chuck Shute: 26:25

Is that Is that how you get so successful in business? I mean, you must, you'll obviously learn some of this from your father, but you guys were very successful. I'm just curious, like, I just like to pick people's brains. Yeah, how you got so successful. So you just, it's like, you're just doing it to access?

David Lowy: 26:40

Well, in business, you've got to wait, like, you gotta have the right price. Want, and you got to be able to, to create that product at a at a price that's less than what people are prepared to pay for it. And you've got to be able to withstand the knocks in it, because then inevitably get a lot get knocked down a lot. And in our business grew, we've come very close to on a number of occasions, to you know, going bankrupt, and because you try to take you don't make without taking risks. And sometimes it doesn't go your way. Fortunately, you get market downturns, you get all sorts of things that that can happen, but, but we managed to navigate our way through those and survive them and make our business grow and be successful at it. So it's very hard to when you're, when you're in it. You don't always people think you make this grand plan and you start here and go there. It doesn't work that way. You got to you got to continually adjust and, and change with change with the times and change with what's happening in the external environment. There's so many, there's so many variables. Yeah, well, what

Chuck Shute: 27:59

do you think just about society? And I don't know about in Australia, but you know, in America, there's a lot of like, anti rich people, they don't pay their fair share of taxes and, and all this like evil millionaires and billionaires. What is your take on all that? Because obviously, you come from a family and you have success in business. Do you feel like that's warranted? Or do you feel like that's unfair?

David Lowy: 28:23

I think it's unfair, warranted not more unfair, it's, it's, it's the human condition. You know, it's, it's just a it's a fact of life. And it's understandable. There is a lot of income inequality is, is growing income inequality will continue to get worse by the nature of simple mathematics that the people who have things or who have assets, those assets tend to grow over time as economies grow over time and people who don't have assets and not growing they're they don't have so they're not growing over time. So the people who have stuff it's growing and increasing and creates a bigger a bigger disparity. It's just I don't I don't I don't really focus on think about I just go about my business and do the best I can and I don't judge I don't judge whether that's right wrong and different pay their fair share not I've played over the years, paid huge amounts of tax and, and, and but I got a lot for it. Got a society. But the rule of law, law and order, people just can't come and take your stuff, you know, without consequences. Got an army, military, you know, I actually spend most you know, I'm based in New York now have been for many years, but so there's, someone's got to pay for it. I guess the people who have the ability to generate income and employment for others. They're the ones that are gonna pay the most. It's an actual thing, so not really. I don't think about it like that.

Chuck Shute: 30:11

Ya know, it's just interesting to hear your take on that. Yeah, it's it seems like that's like a hot topic these days on the

David Lowy: 30:18

I think it's always been a it's natural. Well, I wouldn't be, you know,

Chuck Shute: 30:23

I just feel like it seems like there's this targeting towards towards people. But I feel like I just think everyone has a purpose in life. Everyone has a, you know, should have goals. I mean, your father started as a penniless immigrant. And that's what and then he built this giant business from nothing, basically. Definitely.

David Lowy: 30:40

Exactly. He did. I love those kinds of stories. Yeah, yeah. And then my brothers and I joined and as soon as we finished school, I never worked anywhere else. So we've collectively put about 170 years, between my father and myself, my two brothers into building what we built. So yeah, but as I said, we had a lot of luck on the way. I, you know, there's, there's, there's natural, there's natural pushes and poles in society. And there's power bases and power bases shift over time, and everybody's jockeying for, for position in one way or the other. It's, it's, it's how human beings survive. So you got to understand the, it's about understanding that the environment, you're in and navigating your way through it, and they're always going to be detractors. And they're always going to be people who, who don't like you and who want what you've got. And, and, and we want a different type of society. And there are different forms of society other than the society we live in. And there's a lot of debate. I think about it myself, what would be is there another way of doing it? What would be better? So far? Yeah. Liberal Democracy seems to be the one that gives the most people the most things that they might need. But you know,

Chuck Shute: 32:06

yeah, no, it's it's it's just interesting to think about you guys. The dead daisies played in Cuba. Were you the first American rock band to go to Cuba after the embargo was lifted?

David Lowy: 32:15

It was before the embargo. We've managed to get there before the end. But it was just before the embargo. Yeah, we think we're the first band aid. Radiohead went there in 1992 or something. We went 2015. That was a real that was a wonderful experience. wonderful experience. And yeah, it was, it was I don't know how it came about. Somehow we got invited to go and, and we took some friends with us and some other musicians. We had Darryl Jones with us from the Rolling Stones at the time and, and also one of the backing singers from the stones, I can't remember. Yeah. So Richard Forrest was in the band at the time from Guns and Roses. And this is your read was as well. So it was Bernard Fallon. So he came with us as we went to, went to a couple of music schools, and we we played in clubs, and we it's just a very interesting musical experience. For sure. The Shan is

Chuck Shute: 33:27

what's it like in Cuba? I mean, the culture is so interesting to me.

David Lowy: 33:31

It's a very interesting culture. Well, firstly, they love music. This society is such that if you if you do go to music, school and university you get you get a music job. Afterwards, you go into the hotel we stayed in, there's no there is no recording music play. There's a band in the lobby, there's a band at the pool was abandoned the restaurant, there's a band on the rooftop everywhere and these people are employed by the state. And they don't earn much but they do actually have a job doing it, you know. So just to see a different, different perspective is interesting. And different political system, different. Different outlook on life. Yeah, every society has got its every, every society organized a certain way. It's got its pluses and minuses. They have their pluses and they have their minuses just like every

Chuck Shute: 34:27

other. Sure, sure. So I mean, all the bands, places that you've toured, you've probably been everywhere, but shows with Kiss and Def Leppard. And, you know, Judas Priest, Aerosmith. Is there anyone left on your bucket list that you haven't played with that you want to?

David Lowy: 34:43

It's great. It's great playing with these fantastic bands. It's a thrill, obviously, to meet the guys and to share the be on the same stage with the fans. Having said that, I think I prefer to play our own shows in a small club. Really? Yeah, I do. Yeah, I do. I mean, it's a great experience playing support. You know, sometimes I joke about it. Yeah. We're, someone said to me, you're opening for Judas Priest tonight. So well, you could look at it like that one. Someone could say, well, maybe they're closing for us. Right? It's just making a joke, not making light of it. But look, it's all types of gigs are great. Yeah, even bad ones are great. So it's all it's all part of the journey. And obviously, it's a way to promote the band to earn fans to get exposure. It's a great way to get exposure. A lot of our fans have come from the from from the kiss tours that we did. With the kiss crews, we've done a number of times and yeah, other bands. It's, that's, that's, that's a that's how you do it. So try and get exposure today. Yes, it is hard when the fans are not there to see you. Right. You gotta work very hard. It's a challenge. It's a great challenge.

Unknown: 36:16

Yeah. So when you did the show, I think was called like no other US tour with the black moods. And I'm in Arizona. So I know the black lives really well. And then also comedian Don Jameson. Yeah. How did that go? That sounded like a fun I wanted to see you guys are gonna come here. But I think I got canceled because of COVID or whatever.

David Lowy: 36:32

Yeah, it was a it was a fun gig was fun having done on the road with us. And having a comedian open up for you as it was good. It was good. Yeah, it's, uh, yeah, part of the journey, as I say, No,

Unknown: 36:49

I think they told it was the black moods, or somebody told me he was actually in the middle like it was the black moods. And then Don Jameson and then yeah,

David Lowy: 36:56

yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Interesting.

Unknown: 37:00

Yeah. How did that go for him? I mean, it sounded like it went well, though, that he would come

David Lowy: 37:04

good. Yeah, he got he did really well. And he it was a great addition to the tour grow something a little bit different. And he did great. He. He wanted the audience over every night warmed him up for us and made some jokes about us, which is good, because it's important to laugh at yourself.

Chuck Shute: 37:23

So really, what were the jokes about? You guy didn't hear those?

David Lowy: 37:26

I can't remember now. You could ask him.

Chuck Shute: 37:29

Okay, I'll have to have him back on the show. Yeah. And then obviously, you're still doing all the aviation stuff. I don't know if people understand you don't just like fly a plane. You know, to carry the band. You do like these? Like, air shows. Right? So you go quiet?

David Lowy: 37:43

Yeah. stuff. And yeah, I was. I was Australian aerobatic champion in 1998. And I've flown over 1000 air shows. And I've got a I created a museum in Australia for military aircraft. Basically, to honor the men and women that served in our in our Air Force, and are in the armed forces of Australia to it's more about the people in that aircraft. Having said that, it's one of the best aircraft collections that there are, but to the world war, two Spitfires that I that I used to that I fly, I actually don't do that type of flying anymore. I stopped doing it a couple of years ago. I have had 21 friends killed doing it. And there but for the grace of God go I so I thought I was flying an air show in a small ground attack jet that's part of the collection of the museum I created. And I just fell I'm not as sharp as I used to be. And it's a very unforgiving environment flying airshow flying at low altitude, high speed, high G forces. And I thought, well, I've done it for this long and I've got away with it. I'm still here many of my friends not. I think I'll call it a day. It's not one of those type of things that say someone you can say to yourself, well, I should have retired yesterday.

Chuck Shute: 39:10

You can't Yeah, no, that's

David Lowy: 39:12

I stopped doing the acrobatic flying and now I've now fly. Mostly a business jet, which I use when I travel for my business when I travel anywhere, but I can own a drive. I drive myself everywhere. But I also fly humanitarian missions. I actually rescued some babies from and young mothers from when the when the war started started in Ukraine. I flew. I flew into Moldova. And I don't want to go into the whole story now but but I rescued some people in the very early stages of conflict when there were no commercial flights going anywhere near that. And, and flew them, flew them out and flew them to a country that would accept them. I also fly for organization he called Angel Flight, which people who are, it's not air ambulance but people who have who either particularly during COVID, who were immune deficient and could not get on an aircraft because there may be under cancer treatment and can't go with 150 people are in this in the 737. And as a volunteer organization, pilots with aircraft, they'll take patients to the required many, many people go to hospitals far away from their, from where they live, or they don't live in big cities. So they got to be picked up and flown. And so this organization called Angel Flight northeast, I fly for them, so I've done quite a few missions for them.

Chuck Shute: 40:50

Oh, that's very cool. Why always end each episode with the charity. So do you want to people have an extra few dollars after they buy the new dead daisies? Can they donate to that? Charity?

David Lowy: 40:59

Angel Flight northeast? Okay. Look it up on the web to great organization they

Chuck Shute: 41:04

do. I'll put the website in the note in the show notes along with the dead daisies a website, I think the new album, is it coming out September 30. Is that the date? Yeah. Yeah. Okay, great. And then get that and then hopefully more shows will be added. I see that you're on the US and it's like you're near me. You're but you're not coming to Arizona yet. So hopefully that date gets added or often make a road trip.

David Lowy: 41:25

Hopefully like a road trip coming soon. In LA or where's the closest? Sacramento?

Chuck Shute: 41:32

Yeah. Or is like Vegas is a road trip for me too. If Yeah. Cool. Thank you so much, David. All right. Thanks. Thank you. My thanks again to David Loewy. Fascinating man. He really should write a book on his life. I would definitely read that new dead daisies album radiants comes out on September 30. Or it's already out if you're listening to this in the future. Make sure to check the dead daisies website for current tour dates or follow them on social media to keep up. Thank you so much for listening. Have a great rest of your day and shoot for the moon.