1 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Strictly Business Varieties, weekly podcast on the business 2 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: of entertainment. I'm Jim Aswad, Deputy music Editor. Now, the 3 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: entertainment world is filled with people who can do a 4 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 1: lot of stuff, but even by that standard, Evan Bogart 5 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: is a rarity. He's a songwriter. It hits for people 6 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: like Beyonce, Rihanna, Lizzo, Madonna, Demi Levado and lots of others. 7 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,519 Speaker 1: He's the owner of a large publishing company called Seeker 8 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: Music that just bought the catalog of eighties superstar Christopher Cross, 9 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: as well as several other songwriters. He's chair of the 10 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: Recording Academy's New Songwriters and Composers Way and not least. 11 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: He's the son of the late legendary Neil Bogart, the 12 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: founder of the nineteen seventies powerhouse Casablanca Records, which brought 13 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: the world Kiss Donna, Summer Parliament, Funkadelic, The Village People, 14 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: and lots of others. Neil is the subject of Spinning Gold, 15 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: a biopeck directed and written by Evan's older brother Tim 16 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: and for which Evan is executive music producer. It comes 17 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: out on March thirty first. Evan talks about all the 18 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: above and lots more. After the break, we are here 19 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: with a stunning view of the four five Freeway in 20 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: Los Angeles with Evan Bogart. And I'm gonna have to 21 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: take a couple of breath when I'm describing all of 22 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: the things that he does, because he is a songwriter 23 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: of a song you may have heard Halo by someone 24 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: named Beyonce, as well as songs by Lizzo, Madonna, Jason Rullo, Demilovado, 25 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: many others. A publisher CEO of a company called Seeker Music. 26 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: He is chair of the Grammy's New Songwriters and Composers Wing, 27 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: which is to obviously represent songwriters and composers in the 28 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: recording Academy. Not least, he is son of the legendary 29 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 1: Neil Bogart, founder of Casablanca Records, which brought the world 30 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: Kiss Donna, Summer, The Village People, Parliament, Funkadelic, and many 31 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: many others. He is also a husband, a father, a 32 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: bon vivant triathlonist. All right, I made that part of 33 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: welcome Evan Bogart. I wish I was a triathlonist. It 34 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: depends what the triathlon is of us. Yeah, careers, I'm 35 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: definitely a t I'm like a tough mutter finalist if 36 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: it comes to careers, I guess even still, so I 37 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: will just leap by asking you, how do you do 38 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: all those things? How do you? I mean, do you 39 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: have a very structured date book? Do you have a 40 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: multi compartmentalized mind? I mean, I definitely have a multi 41 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: compart to mentalize. It's hard to say I definitely have 42 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: a multi compartmentalized mind. But I guess lots of routine. 43 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: I think that's the best way to say it. Like, 44 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: I have a routine, and I think when I stick 45 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: to my routine, I'm able to get it all done 46 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: and maintain my sanity. I always I'm kind of a 47 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 1: believer in the in the phrase that like through structure 48 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: comes freedom, And for me, when when I'm not structured, 49 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 1: I feel like I'm bouncing all over the place. I'm 50 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: pulled in so many different directions and nothing's getting done. 51 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: I structure my day into hour blocks, and within those 52 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,360 Speaker 1: hour blocks, I'm able to slot different things in depending 53 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: on what the priorities of that week are. And that 54 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: includes like wellness, that includes exercising, include spending time in 55 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: my family, includes taking some time off like I structure, I, 56 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: I schedule all of that. When did you start writing songs? 57 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: In two thousand and five, I got sober, I felt 58 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: really creative, and I decided I was going to put 59 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: together a girl group. And I was auditioning girls. I 60 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: picked three to put them together. I was getting tracks 61 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: from my two best friends at the time, an unknown 62 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: up and coming producer at the time named j R. 63 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: Road Um and an unknown up and coming producer lead 64 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: singer of an unknown band named Ryan Tedder. And these 65 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,040 Speaker 1: people are now major producer. Well, I was saying a 66 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: year and a half later, if I tried to make 67 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: that album, it would have cost me two million dollars. 68 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: So I was getting tracks from them and and about 69 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: forty songs in Zach sat me down, Zach hats and said, 70 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:38,040 Speaker 1: you know, these songs are good. The girls are good, 71 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: but they're not hits. You can't shop this group unless 72 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: you have hits. And I'm like, what do I do? 73 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: And he's like, why don't you try writing the songs? 74 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: And I was like, B pop songs and he's like, yeah, 75 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 1: Like you're so creative, like give it a shot, Like 76 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: you have all of Jr's beats, just sit down and 77 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: try writing to them. So I wrote this one song 78 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,599 Speaker 1: that was called Jung Realistic. I don't know, terrible title whatever, 79 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: but they're like, whoa, that's really good. Like write another one. 80 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: So wrote the second song called Rescue Me, and and 81 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: they were like that sounds like a smash, like let's 82 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: go shop the group. But yeah, I mean we shopped 83 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: the group. No one wanted to sign them. Everybody wanted 84 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 1: to buy the songs though They're like, yeah, we already 85 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: have girl groups or we have an artist. These songs 86 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: are work great for this artist. And eventually Jay Brown, 87 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:31,840 Speaker 1: when he was running Island Def Jam with Jay Z, 88 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:38,039 Speaker 1: said you know, tell me these songs and and they 89 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: basically called me when they're like good news bad news. 90 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:41,919 Speaker 1: I'm like what and they're like you gotta let the 91 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: girl group go. I'm like what. They're like, yeah, man, 92 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:46,919 Speaker 1: everybody's past, like it's not gonna happen. And I'm like, 93 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:49,839 Speaker 1: this is like my big like comeback in sobriety. And 94 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: I'm like feel so creative, Like how could you tell 95 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,599 Speaker 1: me that? And they're like, well, they're buying Rescue Me. 96 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 1: Island def Jam is buying it. Christina Milian's gonna cut it, 97 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,800 Speaker 1: and I was like, oh, well, all right, I mean 98 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: that sounds pretty cool. And so unfortunately let the girl 99 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: group go and we sold the song, and then a 100 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: month later I found out that Christie a Million didn't 101 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 1: want to cut it because she thought it was too pop. 102 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,239 Speaker 1: And I was like, okay, well that just ruined everything. 103 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:20,840 Speaker 1: So now I let the girl group go. Ilan defjam 104 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: owns my song, they're not using it. And then Jay 105 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 1: Brown was like, no, no, we have this new girl 106 00:06:25,279 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: that we signed. Just let us cut her on it. 107 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: And her name's Rihanna. And when it went on her 108 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: first album, they well, our second album, the first album 109 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 1: as the one, had Ponder replay on it, and he 110 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: basically was like she had like a mid charting, like 111 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: mid kind of club hit Ponder replay, like we really 112 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: think she's going to be a star, blah blah blah. 113 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: And she was seventeen at the time, and she cut 114 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: it and uh, and then he was like he's like 115 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: check it out. There's here's SS. And I'm like, no, no, 116 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:52,720 Speaker 1: rescue me. He's like no, no, no no SS. And I 117 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:56,840 Speaker 1: was like he's like, yeah, that's the title, which is interesting, right, 118 00:06:56,839 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: So he changed the title to SOS and then in 119 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: parentheses rescue me. Uh huh so stupid but whatever, it 120 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,599 Speaker 1: totally worked right. So then six months later the song 121 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: comes out and it blows up and uh And I 122 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: remember going February that year, in two thousand and six, 123 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: I remember going to they used to throw at the 124 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 1: House of Blues Rest in Peace. House of Blues. They 125 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: used to throw these Grammy American Express Platinum Grammy Week parties. 126 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 1: Event said every week they would have every night they'd 127 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: have a different artist playing. One night that follow boy playing. 128 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: So when jay Z was running it, and so I 129 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: went there, Jay Brown brought me over to jay Z 130 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 1: who jay Z whispered in my ears and smash and 131 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: I was like, whoa, jay Z just told me my 132 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: song is a smash And then in May it was 133 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,120 Speaker 1: So the moral here is, if you want to be 134 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: a songwriter, try to do something else kind of I mean, honestly, 135 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: I didn't know what I was doing. I mean the 136 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: excitement of having a number one song, your first cut, 137 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: and the dread that comes along with I hope I 138 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: can do it again because I don't want them to 139 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: figure out I'm a fraud. You know that kind of 140 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: like uh, imposter syndrome, right, like that comes along with it. 141 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: Like I didn't toil its songwriting for you. I wasn't 142 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: like I didn't arrive on a bus in Nashville with 143 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: a guitar on my back, and like I wasn't sitting 144 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: there like trying to get in rooms and like and 145 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, I was just like I wrote, 146 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: you know, a number one song for you know weeks. 147 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: I think it was like number one for three weeks, 148 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: and like everyone was trying to get in with me, 149 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: but I was. I was working at the agency, and 150 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 1: so Jr. And Zach would call me every day and 151 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: be like you gotta leave the agency and I I can't, 152 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: you know, like I'm sober, I have a job, like 153 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: I have an expense account and insurance and like my 154 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,439 Speaker 1: mom will kill me, you know, and like my mom's 155 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: having calling her friends in the music industry, like Barbara Kane. 156 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: All these people are calling me. They're like, don't leave, 157 00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 1: like you know, you never know if you're gonna have 158 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: another hit, and like so what was the next hit? Well, 159 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 1: so they eventually they were like, what's going to take 160 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: you to leave the agency? And I was like I 161 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:10,079 Speaker 1: don't know, put me in the studio with Britney Spears 162 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: and the next week me and JR. Spent a week 163 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:18,680 Speaker 1: in Vegas working with Brittany on Blackout And what was that? Like? 164 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: I mean that was wild because kay Fed was there. 165 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 1: This is that era, right, So kay Fed's in one studio, 166 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: Brittany's in another. Jr's you know, playing beats for kay 167 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: Fed and working in cutting Brittany in the other room 168 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,560 Speaker 1: at the same time. It was kind of it was wild. 169 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: It was like an it was an era. I mean 170 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,319 Speaker 1: Britney Blackout era was I mean it got even wilder 171 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: and I was there for a lot. I was there 172 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:42,240 Speaker 1: for a lot of it because Jr. And her started 173 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 1: dating and it was like a whole thing. Jared was 174 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:49,320 Speaker 1: like her rebound after kay Fed, so like like that 175 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: was like that was definitely an interesting a lot of 176 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:57,560 Speaker 1: um Blackout produced by Danger. Yeah, it ended up ended up. Yeah, Okay, 177 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: got it. Another lesson which is you should maybe date 178 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:07,200 Speaker 1: the artist that you're working with. I don't know, Okay, 179 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 1: Quill be right back with Strictly Business. Welcome back to 180 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 1: Strictly Business with Evan Bogert. How did you and Ryan 181 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: Teder end up writing Halo for Beyonce. Ryan was on 182 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: tour with One Republic and I think they're in Michigan 183 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:37,959 Speaker 1: and he ruptured his achilles playing basketball on an off 184 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: day nice and they had to cancel the rest of 185 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: the tour and they flew back to la And on 186 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: his first day back in LA I went over to 187 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: his apartment and the minute his wife Genevieve left to 188 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: go to work that day, Ryan got up on his 189 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,000 Speaker 1: crutches and like, let's go write a song. When I'm like, 190 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 1: are you supposed to like played easy Man, and he's 191 00:10:57,480 --> 00:10:59,840 Speaker 1: like no, let's go right, Let's go right. And so 192 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:01,599 Speaker 1: we went into his second bedroom where he had a 193 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:05,600 Speaker 1: studio and he was like, they're looking at Jay Brown's 194 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: looking for a love song for Beyonce. And I was like, well, 195 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: what should we write about? And at the time, we 196 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:15,360 Speaker 1: were really we were really big fans of this um 197 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:18,040 Speaker 1: song called Shelter by ray La Montagne. It was like 198 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:20,439 Speaker 1: when Ray's first album was out, Yeah, and I was 199 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: obsessed with that album Trouble and Shelter and all those songs, right, 200 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:25,680 Speaker 1: And I was like, oh, what if we had a 201 00:11:25,679 --> 00:11:28,199 Speaker 1: song like Shelter, Like what would what would, uh, what 202 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 1: would like Beyonce and jay Z, Like they were like 203 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:32,959 Speaker 1: the worst kept secret in the world, right, Like everyone 204 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,360 Speaker 1: knew they were together, but they weren't out in public 205 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 1: about they were together. So we were like, what would 206 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,240 Speaker 1: people that were that big want from each other, like 207 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 1: to know that they could keep each other safe in 208 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 1: a way that no one else could keep them safe, 209 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: you know. And I was like kind of like shelter, 210 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: like you will shelter me and I will shelter you, 211 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:50,680 Speaker 1: you know, like that kind of thing, like be each 212 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 1: other's shelter. And I was going down my list of 213 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: song titles that I had. I always keep like tons 214 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,200 Speaker 1: of song titles, of voice notes, tons of lyrics, and 215 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 1: I had this list of song titles and literally as 216 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 1: my finger hit the word halo in my song titles, 217 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: Ryan played this patch on his on the keyboard, which 218 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 1: was the angelic patch that's in the song, and we 219 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,319 Speaker 1: let it, looked at each other and we were like yeah, 220 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 1: and three hours later we had it was written. Ryan 221 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:22,360 Speaker 1: sent it to Jay Brown. An hour later, Jay Brown 222 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:27,119 Speaker 1: wrote back, that's hot, hold it for Beyonce and yeah, 223 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: and then and by the way, no bridge. There was 224 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,320 Speaker 1: no bridge in the song at the time. So the 225 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:33,079 Speaker 1: next day, now that we knew that they wanted it 226 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,760 Speaker 1: for Beyonce, Ryan and I decided we need to write 227 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: a bridge. So we came in and we spent three 228 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:42,560 Speaker 1: hours writing a bridge, just a bridge, as long as 229 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 1: it took us to write the whole rest of the song. 230 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:45,839 Speaker 1: Because now we're overthinking it, right, We're like, how do 231 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,680 Speaker 1: we write them Beyonce bridge? Like Ryan's vocal acrobats and 232 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,640 Speaker 1: he's like singing, it's all wordy, And so when she 233 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 1: goes to cut the song, of course she ditches the bridge, 234 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 1: and just as the opera part. To me, it's it's 235 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: an irony and an unbelievable travesty that the songwriter is 236 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 1: basically at the bottom of the totem hole in the 237 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 1: music industry today in terms of power, in terms of earning. 238 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:10,360 Speaker 1: It just it makes absolutely no sense to me. Now, 239 00:13:10,559 --> 00:13:12,959 Speaker 1: you are not just a self publisher anymore. You are 240 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,200 Speaker 1: the CEO of a publishing code. Are these things that 241 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:19,920 Speaker 1: you look to address with Seeker Music? Your company, and 242 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,040 Speaker 1: I mean your elevator pitch includes something about it's basically 243 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 1: it's this company is run by creators, right, Yeah, I 244 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: mean I have my kind of own like I call 245 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:35,360 Speaker 1: him seekers family values, and they're basically they're basically a 246 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:40,719 Speaker 1: list of things that we Our culture, you know, is 247 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: driven by a seeker. Some a lot of that has 248 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 1: to do with as a songwriter myself. These are the 249 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,840 Speaker 1: things that I would never want done to me. This 250 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:51,439 Speaker 1: is the way I want to be serviced, This is 251 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:53,320 Speaker 1: the way I want to be supported, This is the 252 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:54,880 Speaker 1: way that I there's the kind of team that I 253 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:56,559 Speaker 1: want to have, this kind of strategy I want to 254 00:13:56,559 --> 00:13:57,959 Speaker 1: have around what I do. This is the kind of 255 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 1: way I want to be Richard and and and thought 256 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: about and and so you know, you have a songwriter 257 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 1: kind of creating this culture for songwriters and for songs 258 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:14,839 Speaker 1: because we also acquire songs um and celebrating them and 259 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,679 Speaker 1: supporting them in a way that that I would want 260 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 1: my own catalog and my own and my own songwriter 261 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: self supported and celebrated. And so some of that is 262 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: like I would never offer a deal. I wouldn't sign myself, 263 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,160 Speaker 1: simple as that, right, Um, who are some of the 264 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 1: songwriters you're representing? Can you attach just some of the 265 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: hits they might be known for for the people who 266 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 1: don't know, Um, Well, we just start. I mean as 267 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 1: far as on the acquisition side of things, yeah, I 268 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: mean we've we've we've recently bought um uh or invested 269 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,840 Speaker 1: into John Bellian's catalog. Um, who's just a genius and 270 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 1: John Ryan equally a genius. Who have they who have 271 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: they written hits for? UM? I mean I mean Eminem, 272 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: Maroon five, One Direction, Um. You know, a couple up 273 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,280 Speaker 1: and coming artists like that. Yeah, yeah, sure, um And 274 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: and obviously John Billions and artist himself and John Ryan's 275 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: you know, featured on a few things too, like Piple, 276 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:14,720 Speaker 1: Fireball and and whatnot. But uh, more than that, you know, 277 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: we did deals with Mozilla who at Wrecking Ball. We 278 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 1: did Sam Waters who was in calling me bad and 279 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: then ended up writing a bunch of hits for Natasha 280 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:26,040 Speaker 1: Beddingfield and Jordan's Sparks at Anastasia. We did um, Christopher Cross, 281 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 1: we bought both his publishing and his masters. Um. And 282 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 1: I'm a massive Christopher Cross fan, which is as a songwriter. 283 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: I mean, people don't really shows in your hip hop Brown, Yeah, 284 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 1: of course no, but people don't realize. Like, first of all, 285 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 1: the theme from Arthur is like, I mean, I can't 286 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: listen over that, getting chills and almost like welling up 287 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:50,240 Speaker 1: in my eyes. It's just so such a beautifully written song, 288 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 1: you know. Um, And obviously I grew up in like 289 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:55,640 Speaker 1: a household of my parents were friends with like Carol 290 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 1: and Burt, and like, you know, that's just that's how 291 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:00,880 Speaker 1: I knew who Christopher Christopher Cross was originally right, that 292 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: would be Carol Carol King and no, no no, no, Carol 293 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 1: Bear Sager and so yeah, I guess that Carol could 294 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: have been Carol King. Good point, mostly would be Carol King. 295 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 1: But but but like Chris, Like people don't realize about 296 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: Chris in nineteen eighty who was the biggest artist in 297 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: the world. And I say that because there are three 298 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 1: artists ever in the history of the Grammys who have 299 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: won in one year Album of the Year, Record of 300 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artists 301 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 1: all in the same year. And those three artists, the 302 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: first one was Christopher Cross. It's amazing, right, the second 303 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: one was Adele and the third one was Billie Eilish. 304 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 1: So if you think about how big those people were 305 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: at the time that they achieve that, and you apply 306 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: that to nineteen eighty, you're like Wow, Chris Cross was. 307 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 1: It's pretty damn fool, all right, And I didn't know 308 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 1: that till later on in my life. Okay, Um, one 309 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 1: thing I know is about you and your older brother 310 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 1: Tim who. Um, you guys have all been working on 311 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:05,399 Speaker 1: Spinning Gold, a biopic about Neil Bogart and cast a 312 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:11,240 Speaker 1: Blanket Records. Yeah, you guys both have this unusual ability 313 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 1: to be strong in both business and creative. And I'm 314 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:16,399 Speaker 1: going to go out out of a limb here and 315 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:20,159 Speaker 1: say it. You don't usually creatives don't usually make the 316 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:23,840 Speaker 1: best business people in vice versa? I mean, is that 317 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: just come naturally to you? You can shift lanes like that, 318 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: I can go from one to the others. It's just 319 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:32,160 Speaker 1: part of that compartmentalized brain. It's pretty weird, actually, Yeah. 320 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:38,120 Speaker 1: Like some like I could be in a session and 321 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:40,160 Speaker 1: I need to take a phone call, a business phone call, 322 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:43,520 Speaker 1: switch the light, take a business phone call, come back 323 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 1: into the session, switch the light, go back into being creative. 324 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:49,680 Speaker 1: And I've seen my brother do it on set as well, 325 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:53,199 Speaker 1: like literally be directing a movie and then be on 326 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 1: the phone and a marketing call and an architect and 327 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,680 Speaker 1: strategy for rolling out Spinning Gold and then come back 328 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 1: to directing, right, Like it's I don't know, I don't 329 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:05,639 Speaker 1: know if it's genetic, because it's not like him and 330 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:07,520 Speaker 1: I went to a school together for that or like 331 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 1: ever even talked about it. We just do it. Um, 332 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:16,320 Speaker 1: It's yeah, it's kind of but you know, deeper than that, 333 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: I've tried to only be creative and I miss the 334 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: business side. There's I'm like, oh, I wish I could 335 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:28,400 Speaker 1: do that. I wish I could do this, And I've 336 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:31,639 Speaker 1: tried to just stop being creative and just focus on 337 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 1: building my businesses, and I feel like my soul's missing. 338 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 1: They kind of feed each other and they they're like 339 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 1: symbiotic for me, Like I can't do one without the other. 340 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 1: I need to be able to activate both sides of 341 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:52,680 Speaker 1: my brain at any given time. Now do you think 342 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 1: that comes possibly from your dad, which sort of dovetails 343 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: into the spinning goalisation, right, because he was in musician first. 344 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:05,920 Speaker 1: No one taught me that it has to, right, And again, 345 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,359 Speaker 1: my brother and I never have talked about it. It 346 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:10,520 Speaker 1: has to. I don't know how. I don't know how 347 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,400 Speaker 1: you'll explain it. It's got to be genetic in some way, right, 348 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:16,760 Speaker 1: It's got to be weirdly genetic. Well, let's talk about 349 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 1: let's talk about the film for a minute, because I 350 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: know your dad passed when you were very young. You know, 351 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 1: Tim was a bit older. So on the one hand, 352 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:27,840 Speaker 1: your experience with your father is so much based on 353 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:32,959 Speaker 1: secondhand stories and legend in things like that, but also 354 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:39,400 Speaker 1: it's it's really funny the the film, which was twenty 355 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: three twenty five years in the making, Tim Bogart decided 356 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: when they were very far along to stop working with 357 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:52,800 Speaker 1: the person who was the lead, who was playing Neil Bogart, 358 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 1: and go with someone else. And it was very much 359 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: a gopher broke gut decision, very much in the spirit 360 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:00,920 Speaker 1: of Neil Bogart, because that it's the kind of company 361 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 1: that Casablanca Records was knife edge risk, gopher broke and 362 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 1: he pulled it off more often than not. And when 363 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:11,480 Speaker 1: I was talking about that with Jeremy Jordan, who's the lead, 364 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:14,400 Speaker 1: I was saying to him, you know, it isn't that funny. 365 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:16,120 Speaker 1: You know, the decision to bring you in was very 366 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,280 Speaker 1: much a kind of Neil Bogart move And he said, 367 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: he said, there's so little video of Neil Bogart speaking 368 00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: that I would really just look at Tim and take 369 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: from him to channel the character, and I see a 370 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:30,119 Speaker 1: lot of similarities between the two of you. What is 371 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:37,159 Speaker 1: the experience of making that film been like for you? Ah, 372 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:43,160 Speaker 1: I mean it's been well, first of all, because I 373 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:46,400 Speaker 1: grew up because I was four when my dad passed away. 374 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:50,520 Speaker 1: I've learned so much about my dad through the experience 375 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:55,880 Speaker 1: of research and making this film over the last couple decades. 376 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:00,919 Speaker 1: All the different interviews and stories and people who have 377 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:04,919 Speaker 1: you know, gone on record about their relationships, and sitting 378 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:07,480 Speaker 1: down with artists and sitting down with executives from back 379 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: in the day and hearing hearing what they had to 380 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 1: say about my dad. It's like I've kind of formed 381 00:21:13,119 --> 00:21:16,359 Speaker 1: who he was. You know. My mom obviously is still 382 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:19,200 Speaker 1: around and she's spoken to me a lot about him 383 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:21,640 Speaker 1: as well. But it's also just really hard to kind 384 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: of put my finger on like on like what, I 385 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 1: don't know, it's weird, like I just never had a 386 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:31,720 Speaker 1: relationship with him. He had a relationship with me, but 387 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: I never had a relationship with him. So I think 388 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:36,720 Speaker 1: a little bit of this movie is what movie making 389 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 1: experience was feeling closer to him in some way. But 390 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:45,639 Speaker 1: it was also a cathartic experience, you know, in the 391 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:49,159 Speaker 1: sense that it was it was a little bit of 392 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:53,480 Speaker 1: like processing. I've never really processed his death. I've never 393 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:55,440 Speaker 1: really dealt with it in the way that I probably 394 00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 1: should have because I never really up close to him. 395 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:05,719 Speaker 1: He was, like you said, a myth, a legend, a story. 396 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: But how would you process that anyway when you're five 397 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 1: years old? And I meant, even, yeah, I don't know. 398 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,040 Speaker 1: I don't even know. I honestly I don't know. I 399 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: don't know how I'm supposed to process that. I will 400 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:18,840 Speaker 1: say this, I can't make it through the movie. I've 401 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:22,400 Speaker 1: seen it at least fifty times, maybe more. I can't 402 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:23,880 Speaker 1: make it through the movie with that. I mean, you've 403 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,439 Speaker 1: seen it. I can't make it through the movie without crying. 404 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:30,840 Speaker 1: And that last the last monologue at the end. Every time, 405 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:35,159 Speaker 1: I've like pinched myself, bit my cheek, looked away, closed 406 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,439 Speaker 1: my ears. I can't. I can't make it. I mean, 407 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 1: I'm even get you know, I get emotionally even talking 408 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: about it. It's like and and when I when I've 409 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:45,359 Speaker 1: read the script the first time, I couldn't make it 410 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:48,520 Speaker 1: to the script without crying. And so there's definitely something 411 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,200 Speaker 1: that's like I feel connected to it in that way. 412 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:56,880 Speaker 1: You know. Um, I obviously I had an amazing upbringing. 413 00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:59,800 Speaker 1: It's not like I didn't I didn't want for anything. 414 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: M you know, it wasn't something else where I was like, 415 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 1: I felt like I lost out on something, but I did. 416 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 1: I feel like I feel like through the process, I've 417 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:11,959 Speaker 1: gotten to know my father in a way that I 418 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:13,880 Speaker 1: never would have been if we never made the movie. 419 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:20,119 Speaker 1: The ending that Evan is referencing Neil, the Neil character 420 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: is looking back. He's talking about his career and Kiss Parliament, Funkadelic, 421 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 1: the village people down, a summer disco, all these things 422 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:32,439 Speaker 1: that he didn't create but midwifed. And he's sort of 423 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:36,480 Speaker 1: saying that, he says, none of you knows my fucking name. Yeah, 424 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:39,520 Speaker 1: and you know that is not only is that true, 425 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: but like it's also very touching and that the film 426 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:48,040 Speaker 1: ameliorates that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean and honestly, like 427 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 1: most people, most people don't know who nilboll Right is. 428 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:53,240 Speaker 1: I mean I always liken it to the same way, 429 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:54,760 Speaker 1: like I never I didn't know who Henry Hill was. 430 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:58,680 Speaker 1: What before I saw good Fellas, right. You know, I 431 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: always joke like the movie should have started as far 432 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:01,960 Speaker 1: back as I can remember, always wanted to be a 433 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: record man, you know, because to me it has that 434 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,159 Speaker 1: good Fellas vibe. But in the music sense, you know, 435 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,080 Speaker 1: not like it's mafia, but just in the sense that 436 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:14,520 Speaker 1: it's like it's a little mafia there, but it's not 437 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: like full mafia, by the way, could have gone. That 438 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:19,240 Speaker 1: could have totally gone that way, right, I mean, that 439 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,439 Speaker 1: was the era, right, But um I think it was. 440 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:26,200 Speaker 1: I think Tim tastefully had that in there, and and 441 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:30,400 Speaker 1: in a in a way that wasn't overly overly that way. 442 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: But either way, I just think that I think that, Um, 443 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:37,920 Speaker 1: I think it's a real this isn't. You know a 444 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:40,400 Speaker 1: lot of people like it's a Casablanca movie. It's not. 445 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:45,200 Speaker 1: It is, but it's it's not really the Casablanca movie. 446 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,240 Speaker 1: And it's not the Kiss movie, and it's not the 447 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,520 Speaker 1: Donna movie, and it's not the Parliament movie or the 448 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:53,800 Speaker 1: Village People movie, or even all the artists that were 449 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 1: in Buddha before Casablanca or you know, Bill Withers and 450 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:58,920 Speaker 1: Gladys and all the other stuff. It's not it's the 451 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 1: Neil bogra movie. And I think it's it is an 452 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:06,920 Speaker 1: amazing homage to the spirit and the passion that he 453 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:12,080 Speaker 1: had for music and musicians and for artists and um 454 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:16,640 Speaker 1: for being like the real greatest showman, you know, and 455 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:22,119 Speaker 1: and and really um and really fighting for what he 456 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:25,960 Speaker 1: believes in and for dreaming, and and I think there 457 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:32,359 Speaker 1: I think that that that spirit was captured on film. 458 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:35,680 Speaker 1: I really do. I also think that, you know, there 459 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,840 Speaker 1: are other there are other um sentiments that were also 460 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:44,200 Speaker 1: captured on film. Like you know, there's that whole scene 461 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:46,439 Speaker 1: where they talk about is it you know, would be 462 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: great to like have everything and die young or die old? 463 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:52,840 Speaker 1: And I think that like there's a little bit of 464 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:57,120 Speaker 1: like you know, of his own demons that are captured 465 00:25:57,119 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: on film too. It's not just a fluff piece like that, 466 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:01,880 Speaker 1: just that little Yeah. No, I'm just you know, right, 467 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:04,600 Speaker 1: And I'm just saying, like it's taughest, it's really honest. Yeah. 468 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 1: So while it captures the spirit and love and passion 469 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:12,199 Speaker 1: and and and and believe and dream the dreamer that 470 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,680 Speaker 1: was Neil Bogart, it also captures the human that was 471 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,760 Speaker 1: Neil Bogard. No, and it's it's also It's very interesting 472 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:19,800 Speaker 1: that I had met you before I had seen the film, 473 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 1: but I hadn't met Tim, and I still haven't met him. 474 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,359 Speaker 1: We had a long zoom call. You guys look so 475 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: much alike you. Your your mannerisms are so much alike. 476 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:30,560 Speaker 1: And I really feel like a lot of that spirit, 477 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:33,280 Speaker 1: that ability to fill the room, the dreaming, the excitement, 478 00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: I feel that in you. It's a very strange sensation 479 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:39,639 Speaker 1: to actually to like have met the two of you 480 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 1: and seeing the film. But it's just like this really 481 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,920 Speaker 1: unusual thing that the two The two moments I had 482 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: with people like that in my life was really really funny. 483 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:50,960 Speaker 1: One is I worked with Donna Summer on her last album. 484 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: Oh I didn't even know that really, Yeah, And I 485 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: wrote a song with her called the Queen's Back, which 486 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:58,159 Speaker 1: actually opens her musical was on her last album and 487 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:02,320 Speaker 1: then opens her her musical that they made um and Uh. 488 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:05,600 Speaker 1: She was just like staring at me during the session, 489 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:09,080 Speaker 1: and I was like, what she was like, I feel 490 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:11,920 Speaker 1: like your father's Like she was like tripping out, like 491 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: because she felt like she was in the room with 492 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,160 Speaker 1: my dad, which I thought was so interesting. And one 493 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 1: time I went to go to doc McGee's office to 494 00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:21,680 Speaker 1: pick up tickets to a Kiss concert and some guy 495 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:23,199 Speaker 1: was sitting in the waiting room and he was just 496 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: staringly and I was like yeah, and he was like, 497 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,080 Speaker 1: I feel like I'm having an acid trip. You look 498 00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:30,760 Speaker 1: just like your dad, Like this guy like freaked out. 499 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:33,480 Speaker 1: But um, but yeah, I mean it's it's weird. And 500 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 1: you know what the weirdest part about that is is 501 00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: like the fact that I didn't grow up with him, right, 502 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 1: I didn't learn this from his mannerisms. Again, not a 503 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:44,639 Speaker 1: lot of him, not a lot of videos, not really, 504 00:27:45,359 --> 00:27:47,359 Speaker 1: you know, after after my dad passed away. You know, 505 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,880 Speaker 1: we have different moms, right, as you've seen in the movie. 506 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,560 Speaker 1: So I'm the I'm the son of Joyce, the only 507 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,960 Speaker 1: son of Neil and Joyce, and my brother and Tim 508 00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:59,280 Speaker 1: and my other brother Brad and my older sister Jill 509 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:04,200 Speaker 1: were from my dad and Beth and so, um, after 510 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:08,119 Speaker 1: my dad passed away. Um. Growing up, you know, they 511 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:12,359 Speaker 1: would live with they lived with Beth and Um. You know, 512 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:14,120 Speaker 1: they went back and forth, like I would see them 513 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:17,320 Speaker 1: in the summer, I'd see them at different times. Um. 514 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,159 Speaker 1: And I obviously loved hanging out with my older brothers 515 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,159 Speaker 1: and I have amazing memories of that, um, but I 516 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:26,400 Speaker 1: didn't get them. I didn't get them in the sense 517 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,440 Speaker 1: that like I was in the same household with them 518 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:30,639 Speaker 1: in a way that I ever really remembered. Like I 519 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:34,040 Speaker 1: have there's home video of us in the front yard 520 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:35,880 Speaker 1: playing when my dad was alive, right, I mean three 521 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,280 Speaker 1: years old, four years old, and we're all together playing, 522 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:41,280 Speaker 1: all four of us, and this and that. But um, 523 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 1: my memories of being of being a kid are largely 524 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 1: just me and my mom and me and my mom, 525 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: my stepdad and then my stepsister. Like and I would 526 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,040 Speaker 1: see Tim and Brad and Joe and we were close, 527 00:28:55,160 --> 00:29:00,560 Speaker 1: but they were you know, they lived in Boston and 528 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:03,240 Speaker 1: then Tim went to ny U. My brother Brad was 529 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: in school in New Hampshire, and my sister Jill was 530 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:09,120 Speaker 1: she she I saw her a lot because she went 531 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,320 Speaker 1: to USC. So it was like but it wasn't like this. 532 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:12,760 Speaker 1: It wasn't like I grew up in the same household 533 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: asn't them. And they're also a lot, not a lot 534 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:18,840 Speaker 1: older than me, but like, you know, significantly, Yeah, my 535 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:20,720 Speaker 1: brother Tim's like seven years older than me, or brother 536 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,720 Speaker 1: Brad's like five years older than me. I think that's 537 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 1: a testament to the force of Neil Bogart's will right there, 538 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:29,360 Speaker 1: for sure. Yeah. But but it's weird, right, Like we 539 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:32,120 Speaker 1: have a lot of the same mannerisms and a lot 540 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:35,520 Speaker 1: of the same I mean, it's really it's it's hard 541 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:38,920 Speaker 1: to argue that's not genetic, right, No, No, it completely 542 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: is in you know. I mean, I'm yet another person 543 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,920 Speaker 1: who's seen it. So, um, you just finished another movie 544 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: or finished shooting it, right or almost finished shooting they're 545 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:51,480 Speaker 1: finishing shooting it as we speak. Okay, Yeah, in the 546 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:54,600 Speaker 1: in the north of Italy, which is just lovely in 547 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,280 Speaker 1: the winter, Oh my god, And tell us what it is. 548 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:02,240 Speaker 1: It is called Verona. It is a ah, it's an 549 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:07,720 Speaker 1: original pop musical, a feature film. It is a somewhat 550 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 1: retelling of Romeo and Juliet with its own kind of 551 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:14,080 Speaker 1: spin to it. Um. I think my brother said it best. 552 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:19,600 Speaker 1: It's like where Shakespeare's story left off. We kind of, um, 553 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:22,920 Speaker 1: we kind of uhum retell it, yeah, pick up, but 554 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:24,920 Speaker 1: also retell it in a way that we feel like 555 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:32,920 Speaker 1: was also more um historically accurate to some extent. And um, 556 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:35,160 Speaker 1: you know where brothers studied this for a long time 557 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 1: and all the different um uh poems and and and 558 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:44,720 Speaker 1: writings that came before Shakespeare World, rot Me and Juliet 559 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:47,640 Speaker 1: that Romeo Julia was based on and then really trails 560 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:50,080 Speaker 1: down to really based onto his history in the early 561 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 1: thirteen hundreds and Verona Evans, such a pleasure is always 562 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:55,640 Speaker 1: thank you for taking the time to do this, so 563 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:57,480 Speaker 1: thank you for having me man, it's always great talking 564 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 1: to you. You've been listening to Strictly Business with Evan Bogard. 565 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 1: Check in next week.