1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:01,240 Speaker 1: Taking a Walk. 2 00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 2: Hello everyone on Buzznight, and welcome back to the Taking 3 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 2: a Walk podcast. And please please, if you love what 4 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 2: we're doing, share episodes, leave us a rating and review, 5 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 2: please follow us. 6 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: We appreciate all your support. 7 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 2: Now we have someone here who is walking the walk 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,279 Speaker 2: on this Take on a Walk episode. His name is 9 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 2: Boy Golden. You know we love independent artists who find 10 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 2: their viral moments. He's a visionary singer songwriter. He not 11 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 2: only creates music that moves you, but actually has his 12 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 2: own walking Instagram series. Talk about a perfect alignment, and 13 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 2: Boy Golden has new music out. The album called Best 14 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 2: of Our Possible Lives a stunning leap forward an indie 15 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 2: rock meeting roots music. It's a really unique sound. It 16 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 2: blends kind of spacey indie rock with the eighties folk pop, 17 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 2: and all rooted in a Buddhist philosophy. 18 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: Right up my alley for sure and hopefully yours too. 19 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 2: I'm going to explore the creative journey behind this record, 20 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 2: talk about how walking inspires his songwriting, and dive deep 21 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 2: into tracks like Matter at Hand and Like a Child 22 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 2: That Showki's exactly why this artist is someone you need 23 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:13,759 Speaker 2: on your radar right now. 24 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: Will take a walk with Boy Golden. 25 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 2: Next Taking a Walk, Boy Golden, Welcome to the Taking 26 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 2: a Walk Podcast. 27 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 3: Happy to be here. 28 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, so let's start with the obvious. 29 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 2: You have your own walking Instagram series and here you 30 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 2: are on a show which is called taking a Walk. 31 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 2: I absolutely adore that. Tell me about your relationship with 32 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 2: walking and how it connects to your creative process. 33 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 3: It kind of comes and goes for me a bit 34 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 3: with the weather where I live in Manitoba. Right now 35 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 3: it is pretty cold, so I don't do as much walking. 36 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 3: But there was a time, especially about four years ago, 37 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 3: I would walk very far. I would walk. It took 38 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 3: about two hours for me to walk from where I 39 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 3: lived to the little studio that I rented where I 40 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 3: would make music, and I would do that most days, 41 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 3: and yeah, became just a very I guess, an important 42 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 3: part of my creative process. And I just started to 43 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 3: notice when you go for a walk like that, it 44 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 3: takes a bit of time for your mind to settle. 45 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:29,799 Speaker 3: And I often found that the first ten minutes I 46 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 3: might be ruminating or going in circles, and slowly the 47 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 3: circles start to get a little bit slower, and then 48 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:41,959 Speaker 3: often by the end of the walk, I feel very 49 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 3: different than the start, and I might have completely different ideas, 50 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:50,239 Speaker 3: maybe new ideas that I didn't have before. So yeah, 51 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 3: I think walking can be a great part of the 52 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,679 Speaker 3: creative process. It's like a lot of people use it. 53 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 3: There's a whole Julia Cameron book about walking. 54 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:02,399 Speaker 1: Are you a fan of the late Vietnamese monk Teek 55 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: not Han. 56 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 3: Yes, I've read actually several of his books. It's been 57 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 3: a few years, but I love the books. 58 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, and he obviously stresses the importance of being in 59 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:19,639 Speaker 2: a moment and walking really just embracing you know what's 60 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 2: around you and not taking any of it for granted. 61 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:23,959 Speaker 1: Right. 62 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, I was thinking about that this morning because I'm 63 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:31,799 Speaker 3: I'm at home right now, and I spend a lot 64 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 3: of time not at home touring, and sometimes I just 65 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 3: find it easier to be touring because there's just always 66 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 3: something to do, always something to take care of, there's 67 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 3: always a show to play. But I'm really really enjoying 68 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 3: being at home and I've been writing a lot. But 69 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 3: I am staring down a year that's going to be 70 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 3: really busy, and I also am like more financially insecure 71 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 3: than I would like to be and I just was 72 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 3: feeling stressed this morning, anxious this morning, and when I 73 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 3: and I write every morning, and I had this exact thought. 74 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 3: I was like, you know, I feel like a lot 75 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 3: of my stress right now is coming from just wanting 76 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 3: things to go well, wanting things to be a certain way, 77 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 3: wanting to feel more secure. I was like, I can't 78 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 3: actually change any of that. So I while, you know, 79 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 3: in a lot of interviews and in songs and in 80 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 3: some of my writing, I talk a big game about 81 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 3: being present and yeah, staying with the moment and staying grateful, 82 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,040 Speaker 3: it's hard to do that day to day. It's still 83 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 3: I think a practice. Think the best way to look 84 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:50,600 Speaker 3: at it is a practice. Practice makes progress. 85 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: And who doesn't need practice right there? 86 00:04:54,760 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 2: Yeah, So, congratulations on the new album, Best of Our 87 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 2: Possible Lives. How long was that process in terms of 88 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 2: start to finish, the writing, the studio work. How long 89 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 2: did it take you to put this a great music together? 90 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 3: So the recordings themselves, we started recording in March of 91 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 3: twenty twenty five and we were done by June. So 92 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 3: that's not too bad. That's pretty quick. But I've been 93 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:34,720 Speaker 3: writing these songs for four years at that point, and 94 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 3: so I had quite a large pile of songs. That's 95 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 3: kind of how I like to That's how I like 96 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 3: to work. I like to build up like a large 97 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 3: folder of demos and then choose from there. 98 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 2: So tell me the context of Buddhist philosophy that influenced 99 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 2: the record. 100 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,359 Speaker 3: Yeah, I didn't set up to do that. I just 101 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 3: have spent a lot of time reading a lot of 102 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 3: a lot of Buddhists philosophy, and I have spent a 103 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 3: lot of time practicing meditation. I just find these philosophies 104 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:16,280 Speaker 3: have woven their way into my day to day thinking 105 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,919 Speaker 3: enough that it kind of comes out in the music. 106 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 3: And I only really realized that those themes were there 107 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:28,159 Speaker 3: when I was putting together this the track list for 108 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 3: the album, and like thinking about the relationships between the songs, 109 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 3: and I realized that a lot of them could be 110 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 3: you could analyze the lyrics and the songs through this 111 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:42,599 Speaker 3: sort of Buddhist lems. So sometimes I think of them 112 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 3: like that, and sometimes I don't write. They mean different 113 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 3: things to me on different days, depending on what I 114 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 3: hear them. Sometimes I just like to listen to them 115 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:54,039 Speaker 3: and not think about what they mean at all. 116 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:57,040 Speaker 2: And forgive me for delving into that, because your writings 117 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 2: and what you give to the world is so wonderful, 118 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 2: but it's very personal too, So I hope you understand 119 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 2: the context of the question and he don't view it 120 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 2: as prying too deeply into now the backdrop of the writings. 121 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 3: You know, now you can ask me anything. 122 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, tell me about working with Robbie Lakritz. What 123 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 2: elements did he bring to you that made you better 124 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 2: in this process. 125 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 3: I mean, the first thing that Robbie brought that I 126 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 3: appreciated so much was he listened to I think a 127 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 3: folder of about seventy demos that I had sent to him, 128 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 3: and he listened to them and picked out songs that 129 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 3: he thought would go well together, and we worked. We 130 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 3: worked a lot on that selection of songs, and then 131 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,160 Speaker 3: before we got into the studio, we did quite a 132 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 3: bit of pre production. Even though we weren't in the 133 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 3: same room, we would just be sending audio back and 134 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 3: forth to each other all day and that really helped 135 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 3: me just feel confident that we picked the right songs 136 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 3: because I had sort of I'd reached a place with 137 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:10,240 Speaker 3: the album where I just had too many songs and 138 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 3: I did not know which ones were the good ones. 139 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 3: It was amazing to have an outside perspective there, and 140 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 3: then it continued to be great to have an outside 141 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 3: perspective throughout the entire process because prior to working with Robbie, 142 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 3: I had only ever produced, engineered, and mixed my own music. 143 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,680 Speaker 3: For the most part. I did hire another mixer one time, 144 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 3: but so I just worked with my friends and I 145 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,680 Speaker 3: produced it myself. And I sort of felt like I 146 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 3: had taken that as far as I could, and I 147 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,559 Speaker 3: was feeling quite lost. So Robbie provided me with a 148 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,439 Speaker 3: lot of direction and I think a lot of confidence, 149 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 3: and he's funny and I like working with him. 150 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 2: And tell me about how you came to work with 151 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 2: the great based legend. 152 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: Pino Palladino was also Robbie. 153 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:05,280 Speaker 3: Robbie did some heavy lifting and getting some incredible musicians 154 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 3: on the album. I think they had worked together on 155 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 3: a Bahamas record. I think it was as simple as 156 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 3: texting him, Hey, check out these demos you free for 157 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 3: these four days you want to come work on this record. 158 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:21,880 Speaker 3: I think he listened to the demos. I have a 159 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,560 Speaker 3: really fun text message saved in my phone that's like 160 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 3: got the songs really cool. I would love to do 161 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 3: it from Peter. 162 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: Wow. 163 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,440 Speaker 3: Cool, that's cool. So matter of fact, right, yeah, right, 164 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:38,960 Speaker 3: I mean the man has made hundreds of records, you know, dozens, hundreds, 165 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 3: it's yeah. So, and also worked with Abe Rounds and 166 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:47,680 Speaker 3: those two play together a lot. Abe and Pino play 167 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 3: in kind of like Pino's when he plays solo, ab 168 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 3: is often playing with him, and and Ab is just 169 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 3: I love his drumming. He just moves his body and 170 00:09:57,760 --> 00:09:59,319 Speaker 3: music comes out of it. It's amazing. 171 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 2: What of Pino's past work are you particularly a fan of. 172 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:10,760 Speaker 3: I mean probably the di'angelo records would be number one, 173 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 3: and then I love his like the Pinot, Blake Mills 174 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,960 Speaker 3: records together are really great. Those will be probably my 175 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 3: two favorites. 176 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 2: So let's dive into some specific tracks, and I'd love 177 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,360 Speaker 2: to get your personal take on them. First of all, 178 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 2: the song matter at hand, What were you processing when 179 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 2: you wrote it? 180 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 3: I wrote that in the summertime. I had a studio 181 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:46,040 Speaker 3: in downtown Winnipeg and things were just like tough that summer. 182 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:48,319 Speaker 3: There was a lot of the studio that I had 183 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 3: was in a what you might call, I guess, a 184 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 3: rougher neighborhood and there's just a lot of people on 185 00:10:55,480 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 3: the street living, sleeping rough at that in that year. 186 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:03,000 Speaker 3: I think I think a lot of places experienced that 187 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 3: during the pandemic, right there was there's maybe some data 188 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 3: on that. I'm not sure, but yeah, we all try 189 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:11,960 Speaker 3: to forget right, yeah, right, But it was like that 190 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 3: was a tough summer. It was really really hot, and 191 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 3: I was just processing. I think I was just feeling 192 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 3: like a shattering of my like younger self ideals, just 193 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 3: trying to figure out how to still live in the world. 194 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 3: And that's still something that I think about all the time, 195 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 3: and the way that I deal with living in the 196 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:41,199 Speaker 3: world is just trying to attend to the matter at hand. 197 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:44,640 Speaker 3: That's I think where that phrase came from for me. 198 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:48,920 Speaker 3: And then recently, just a couple of weeks ago, I 199 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:55,960 Speaker 3: was quite involved in organizing a funeral and memorial for 200 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:01,480 Speaker 3: a friend and that was interesting because the last verse 201 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 3: of that song talks about attending a funeral and like 202 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,720 Speaker 3: getting drunk in the parking lot with all my friends, 203 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 3: and that didn't exactly happen at this funeral, but it 204 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 3: was like an imagined scenario based on like other really 205 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:21,520 Speaker 3: difficult times that I've been through with friends and or family, 206 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 3: and sometimes how those those times can like bring you 207 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 3: together in a way that is like really rare. And 208 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:34,160 Speaker 3: so that last verse is about going through something like 209 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 3: that and realizing that you're having this like special moment 210 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 3: together and not wanting the night to end, even though 211 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 3: it's like objectively kind of a horrible event. And then 212 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 3: I kind of went through that again two weeks ago, 213 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 3: and I was thinking about that song and I was 214 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:56,960 Speaker 3: thinking about how it was difficult. It was, it was 215 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,240 Speaker 3: heavy and all that, but also like me and my 216 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:03,800 Speaker 3: friend Fontine, we're just like involved in in organizing and 217 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 3: setting things up and helping the family out and stuff. 218 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:08,439 Speaker 3: So we just like had a list of tasks to do. 219 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 3: Go to Walmart, get this thing, We'll get the catering 220 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 3: this way, you know, go to the get the bill paid, whatever, 221 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 3: And we just had to deal with all these tasks. 222 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 3: And actually that made it so much easier because we 223 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:24,319 Speaker 3: just had to attend to this thing and this thing 224 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:28,240 Speaker 3: and this thing. So I was reminded of that song 225 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:30,960 Speaker 3: again and how just attending to the matter at hand 226 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 3: is often the way through difficult times. 227 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:39,680 Speaker 2: Another one of my favorites is like a child? Is 228 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 2: it fear to say like a child? 229 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: And matter at hand? It feels sort of like they're 230 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:50,680 Speaker 1: a conversation with each other. Is that? Am I getting that? 231 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:51,760 Speaker 1: Possibly right? 232 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 3: Yeah? I kind of think of them as all being 233 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,959 Speaker 3: in conversation with one another. But yeah, do you want 234 00:13:57,960 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 3: me to talk about like a child a little bit? 235 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:05,640 Speaker 3: You're yeah, Yeah, that song definitely came came from reading 236 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 3: The Data Chang a lot. I have a couple different versions. 237 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:12,840 Speaker 3: I really like ur Ligan's version. A big fan of 238 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 3: her fiction as well, but she also has a translation 239 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 3: of The Data Chang, which I find like really modern 240 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 3: and approachable and fun to read and engage with. And 241 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 3: there's all these verses in there about softness and how 242 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 3: softness actually is more powerful than hardness. And I think 243 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:37,760 Speaker 3: all the time about this analogy of rocks in a river. 244 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:42,680 Speaker 3: So if I am living my life and I'm in 245 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:46,480 Speaker 3: a river, inevitably I am going to run into a 246 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 3: rock some sort of obstacle, And so you kind of 247 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 3: have two choices. When you hit an obstacle, you can 248 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,760 Speaker 3: like stiffen up and fight it. And if you imagine 249 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 3: yourself stiffening up when you like, reach this rock. Probably 250 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:02,040 Speaker 3: the rest the river's going to keep on flowing around you, 251 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:05,360 Speaker 3: and you're just going to stay there, stuck. But if 252 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 3: you practice being soft and flexible and malleable and adaptable, 253 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 3: you might just move past the rock. And then over time, 254 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 3: if you continue doing that, continue moving past the rocks 255 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 3: over and over and over again, you'll do what the 256 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:23,320 Speaker 3: river does to the rocks, right. It will erode the 257 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:25,840 Speaker 3: rock down to a point where it's smooth like a 258 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,680 Speaker 3: river stone, and then you'll just flow right over top 259 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 3: of it. And you'll notice, you know, the obstacles there 260 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 3: seems to be maybe less of them. They're still going 261 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:35,880 Speaker 3: to be maybe different ones, but you might not have 262 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:39,640 Speaker 3: to deal with that one again. And I notice I 263 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 3: noticed that with myself when I have recently I did 264 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 3: I did a bunch of sort of self reflection work 265 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 3: where I was working with like negative thoughts that were 266 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 3: or I guess not necessarily negative, but whatever thoughts were 267 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 3: coming up into my head when I tried to make 268 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 3: myself believe that I'm an artist, or I'm a good artist, 269 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 3: or I have something to say. And in the past 270 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 3: I would often have a lot of like thoughts come in, 271 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 3: like well, no, you're not well, who are you really? 272 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:14,120 Speaker 3: And then I recently redid some of those exercises and 273 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 3: I just didn't have those same kind of blurts coming 274 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 3: through my brain. And I feel like that's because I 275 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 3: have over time been able to rewire some of those 276 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,880 Speaker 3: less healthy thought patterns, and I think that's maybe that song. 277 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 3: In practice. I want to be open to the world 278 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 3: like that, I want to be able to love like that, 279 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:40,000 Speaker 3: and I want to be able to move through the 280 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:43,400 Speaker 3: world like that. So that's what that song means to me. 281 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 4: We'll be right back with more of the Taken a 282 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 4: Walk podcast. Welcome back to the Taken a Walk Podcast. 283 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 2: It's amazing how there's so much of a calming influence 284 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 2: when I listened to the music, and there's a calming 285 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 2: influence listening to you give us the background and the 286 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:15,960 Speaker 2: inspiration behind these writings. Who influenced you personally and gave 287 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,639 Speaker 2: you that trait of calm? 288 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 3: Oh, I don't know a lot of people. I feel 289 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 3: like one of the first people was someone who I 290 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:30,879 Speaker 3: would consider something of a mentor to me in my 291 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:36,680 Speaker 3: late teens. His name was Don Benedixon still Pals, and 292 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,199 Speaker 3: he engineered and produced for my first band, and I 293 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:44,920 Speaker 3: just really loved the way that he was moving through 294 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,679 Speaker 3: the world, and I really feel like I took a 295 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:51,960 Speaker 3: lot of inspiration from that. That's a good question, though. 296 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:53,400 Speaker 3: Off the top of my head, that was the first 297 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 3: one that came to my mind. But I also just 298 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 3: feel like I've met I meet so many people touring 299 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 3: and traveling and working with people on music. There just 300 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,840 Speaker 3: is a certain kind of person that makes you feel 301 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:13,359 Speaker 3: really calm and really open and creative. I also have 302 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,480 Speaker 3: spent a lot of time producing for other artists, and 303 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 3: that has always just been my goal in the studio 304 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,359 Speaker 3: with them. It's like, can I be that presence for 305 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:26,160 Speaker 3: you where you feel really comfortable expressing yourself. My friend 306 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,280 Speaker 3: Sheena once told me that cool people make other people 307 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,359 Speaker 3: feel cool, and I've never forgotten that, so I. 308 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:37,400 Speaker 1: Well put my god, yeah, right, Every artist has. 309 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:44,439 Speaker 2: An origin story. Can you take us back at the 310 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,679 Speaker 2: point when you knew music wasn't just going to be 311 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 2: something that you love, but that it would be your calling. 312 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,359 Speaker 3: I mean, I always loved it. I was in a band. 313 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:57,240 Speaker 3: I've been in a band since I was like fourteen, 314 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:00,000 Speaker 3: and then I toured a lot with my high school band, 315 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 3: and we really tried, but I was never able to 316 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:06,639 Speaker 3: write my own music at that point. I had a 317 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 3: lot of blocks, creative blocks I had to overcome. But 318 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 3: then when I was twenty one, I went through like 319 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 3: a breakup that really like tore my heart up, which 320 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,119 Speaker 3: maybe this is a pretty classic story, but somewhere in there, 321 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:24,359 Speaker 3: I was like too heartbroken to care if my music 322 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:26,639 Speaker 3: was good or not, and I just started writing. And 323 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:28,880 Speaker 3: I started writing a lot, and then I just got 324 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:34,719 Speaker 3: completely addicted to it, and I always wanted to and 325 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,240 Speaker 3: I would try, and then I would run up against 326 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,200 Speaker 3: those rocks in the river and I would stiff enough 327 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:45,199 Speaker 3: and just you know, call myself names and be very 328 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:50,119 Speaker 3: unhelpful to myself. And so somewhere around the age of 329 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:52,359 Speaker 3: twenty one, I started writing a lot of songs and 330 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:57,719 Speaker 3: then I haven't stopped. And it still brings a lot 331 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:00,720 Speaker 3: of joy and peace and growth into my life. So 332 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:02,639 Speaker 3: I try to keep writing all the time. 333 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:09,159 Speaker 1: Who are your pillars of musical influence that have shaped you? 334 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:16,359 Speaker 3: Sonically? JJ Cale big time as far as writing goes, 335 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 3: listening to Williams, Gillian Welch, My favorite band is The 336 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:26,439 Speaker 3: Talking Heads. Love David Byrne John Prime probably would be 337 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:29,719 Speaker 3: in there, Chris Christopherson would probably be in there. Maybe 338 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 3: Carol King might be in there. Those be some of 339 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 3: my main influences. 340 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:39,359 Speaker 1: Wow, that's a good playlist. That's a really good one. 341 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 3: Only the greatest of all time? 342 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:42,000 Speaker 1: My god. 343 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,040 Speaker 2: So what are you most excited for people to experience 344 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:50,159 Speaker 2: when they sit and listen to the record from front 345 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 2: to back. 346 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 3: I'm really proud of the way this record sounds. I 347 00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:58,320 Speaker 3: just think it sounds great and I still love listening 348 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:02,280 Speaker 3: to it just for that. So I wonder if maybe 349 00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 3: at first they might just enjoy the feelings of like 350 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:11,480 Speaker 3: listening to the great sounding music. Then I hope the 351 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:15,960 Speaker 3: lyrics have something in them that will resonate for people. 352 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 3: Lyrics are really important to me, and I spend a 353 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,919 Speaker 3: lot of time editing them and working on them. I 354 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,040 Speaker 3: feel like people connect with my lyrics, so I'm hoping 355 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:32,520 Speaker 3: more people do. Yeah, I would love for Also, this 356 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 3: is always my marker of like a great record or 357 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,359 Speaker 3: a great song. If my record makes you feel like 358 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 3: you want to go make a record or you want 359 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,800 Speaker 3: to go write a song, that would be the best 360 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:46,719 Speaker 3: possible outcome, because that is my favorite feeling when I 361 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 3: listen to music that inspires me and makes me go, oh, man, 362 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:52,600 Speaker 3: I got to go home and practice, I got to 363 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:54,199 Speaker 3: go home and write, I got to go home and 364 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:58,440 Speaker 3: record something that is like kind of the highest compliment 365 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:02,680 Speaker 3: I give to another artist. It's inspired me so much. 366 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:10,480 Speaker 1: So talk about the tour. Is there one in the works, 367 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:13,680 Speaker 1: and at what point will you be out there? 368 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:18,120 Speaker 3: I'm opening for two other artists for the first half 369 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 3: of twenty twenty six. So I'm opening for William Prince, 370 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:27,400 Speaker 3: who's an incredible folks singer songwriter in Canada. He's touring 371 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 3: at big theaters all across the country, so I'll be 372 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 3: chasing his tour bus around in my van and opening 373 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:36,640 Speaker 3: up for him. And that'll be a really special tour 374 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,919 Speaker 3: because I really love his new album that he's touring, 375 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,680 Speaker 3: especially because I've worked on it. I've produced the whole thing, 376 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 3: So I think that'll be like a really sweet story 377 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 3: to tell on stage, and I'm hoping that it's like 378 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 3: a really fun show for people to come to. And 379 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 3: then the second tour that I do, like immediately after that, 380 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:01,760 Speaker 3: is opening for my friend Kat Clyde, who is a 381 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:04,439 Speaker 3: featured artist on two of the songs on my album 382 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,919 Speaker 3: and that's in April and May, and that's also going 383 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:13,560 Speaker 3: to be special because she's featured on my album on 384 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:17,399 Speaker 3: several songs, and I played on her album once she 385 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:21,119 Speaker 3: made it down in Georgia in April. So just to 386 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:25,159 Speaker 3: really like connected, that all feels like very synchronous and 387 00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 3: very the right things to be doing. 388 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:30,199 Speaker 2: So as we close, we're kind of going to go 389 00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 2: back to where we opened a bit. I usually open 390 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:35,760 Speaker 2: with this question, but I thought it was most fitting 391 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:39,399 Speaker 2: for you to customize this and close with the question, 392 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,400 Speaker 2: which is, if you could take a walk with somebody 393 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,879 Speaker 2: living or dead, who would you take a walk with? 394 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,359 Speaker 1: And where do you think you might take that walk? 395 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:53,919 Speaker 3: M great question. I mean you can edit out this 396 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,679 Speaker 3: really long pause that I'm having. 397 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:02,399 Speaker 2: Well, it's meant to be a difficult question, oh, because 398 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:04,880 Speaker 2: there's no right or wrong answer, and by the way, 399 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 2: just to be fair, it could be more than one 400 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:10,320 Speaker 2: answer to the question as well. 401 00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:11,840 Speaker 3: I think I would go for a walk with my 402 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:15,720 Speaker 3: late grandpa Duncan. I miss him a lot and have 403 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,800 Speaker 3: been thinking about him these days. And I don't care 404 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:25,480 Speaker 3: where we walked, probably just around his neighborhood in my 405 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 3: hometown of Brandon, but I would love to go for 406 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:30,400 Speaker 3: another walk with my grandpa. That'd be nice. 407 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 1: It's wonderful boy, Golden. 408 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:38,080 Speaker 2: Congratulations on the new music, best of our possible lives, 409 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:42,680 Speaker 2: the upcoming tours, and all that you give to us. 410 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:46,680 Speaker 2: Were so grateful for. Thanks for being on Taking a Walk. 411 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:47,560 Speaker 2: This was a lot of fun. 412 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 1: Thanks for inviting me. 413 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:49,879 Speaker 3: It is blast. 414 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,080 Speaker 4: Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a 415 00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:58,000 Speaker 4: Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends 416 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 4: and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking 417 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 4: a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 418 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 4: and wherever you get your podcasts.