1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:01,200 Speaker 1: Taking a Walk. 2 00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:03,920 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Taken a Walk Podcast. I'm buzz night 3 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 2: and we are into our Fresh Start twenty twenty six 4 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,879 Speaker 2: theme week. We're celebrating artists who have reinvented the rules 5 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 2: and carved out entirely new creative spaces. Adam Met and 6 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 2: his brothers in Ajar they didn't wait for the music 7 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:21,799 Speaker 2: industry to give them permission. They gave themselves a fresh 8 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 2: start by creating their own lane, producing, recording, and releasing 9 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 2: music entirely on their own terms. From their living room 10 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:33,199 Speaker 2: to sold out arenas, Ajar rewrote the playbook on what 11 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 2: it means to be an independent artist in the modern era. 12 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 2: But a fresh start isn't just about diy ethics. It's 13 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 2: about constant evolution. Ajar has never been afraid to experiment, 14 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 2: to blend genres in unexpected ways, and to push the 15 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 2: boundaries of what pop music can sound like. Each album 16 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 2: is a reinvention, a new chapter in their sonic story. 17 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 2: In this conversation, Adam opens up about the creator of 18 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 2: freedom that comes from doing things your own way, the 19 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 2: risks and rewards of constant innovation, and why embracing change 20 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 2: is the only way to stay relevant and authentic, and 21 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 2: he also talks about other ways to find your heart 22 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,399 Speaker 2: that are important to try to do good in today's 23 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 2: world as we head into the new year. If you're 24 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 2: thinking about breaking them old, trusting your own vision, or 25 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:28,320 Speaker 2: simply doing things differently, Adam Met's approach will inspire you. 26 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 2: Adam Met from Ajar is next on the Taking a 27 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 2: Walk podcast. 28 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 3: Taking a Walk, Well, doctor Matt, I hope you can 29 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 3: cure what ails me. 30 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 4: Welcome to Taking a. 31 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 5: Walk only if you're on a plane and I ask 32 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 5: for a doctor's help. 33 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 3: Well, we have a signature question first of all, that 34 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 3: we want to ask at the start here. Since the 35 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 3: podcast is called Taking a Walk, who would you like 36 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 3: to take a walk with? 37 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:01,559 Speaker 4: Living or dead? 38 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 3: It could be somebody in the music side of things, 39 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 3: but doesn't have to be. 40 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 4: It's your imagination, it's your walk. 41 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 5: Do I have to talk to them while I'm walking 42 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 5: with them? Or could it just be a silent walk? 43 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 4: It could be silent too. Ah. 44 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 5: I feel like I would want to take a silent 45 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 5: walk with Paul Simon and just be in his presence. 46 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 5: I feel like he's my favorite artist of all time, 47 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 5: and I feel like if I humanized him in my mind, 48 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 5: I might like him less, and so I just want 49 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 5: to see what it's like to be in his presence 50 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 5: and take a walk with him. 51 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 3: I like that because sometimes, you know, the bubble gets 52 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 3: burst with folks like Paul Simon, who we who mean 53 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 3: so much to us, right exactly, All right, that's a 54 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 3: good one. Now do you like to walk in New 55 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 3: York City? Do you have favorite places to walk there? 56 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 5: I walk everywhere, so I'm averaging now that it's nicer 57 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:03,799 Speaker 5: out in New York, around twenty thousand steps a day. 58 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,839 Speaker 5: So I walk while I'm doing conference calls, I walk 59 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,080 Speaker 5: while I'm in meetings, when I'm on the phone with friends. 60 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 5: I walk everywhere. And my favorite places. I live right 61 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,639 Speaker 5: near Central Park, so my go to is walk out 62 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 5: the door, go into Central Park around Belvidere Castle. The 63 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 5: theater where they have Shakespeare in the Park is under 64 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 5: construction now, so I can't really walk around there, but 65 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 5: I just go. It's one of my favorite things. Ever. 66 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 3: I love great walking cities. I live outside of Boston. 67 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 3: Boston's a great walking city. But yeah, I mean, it 68 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 3: makes so much sense in New York to start walking, 69 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 3: because the alternative is okay, hop in an uber or 70 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 3: whatever and then. 71 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 4: Sit there then don't move right exactly. 72 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 5: Yeah, it's a little better now with congestion pricing. It's 73 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 5: a little better now, but still a lot of traffic. 74 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 4: We have tons to discuss. 75 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 3: We want to talk about the great new book Amplify, 76 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 3: We want to talk about your amazing commencement speech at Columbia. 77 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 3: We certainly want to talk about Ajar. But I do 78 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 3: want to ask you. I know Washington Square in New 79 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 3: York is of great influence to you over your life 80 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 3: and certainly your brother's life musically as well. Do you 81 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 3: remember the first time you walked into Washington Square and 82 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 3: saw whatever was going on in that particular day. 83 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I feel like there's so many memories 84 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 5: that have combined in my mind because the first thing 85 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 5: that really comes to mind is all of the different 86 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 5: street performers in Washington Square Park. And mind you, this 87 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 5: was during the day, because at night, the people who 88 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 5: were in Washington Square Park are a little bit different. 89 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 5: They're trying to sell you something different, but during the 90 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:56,600 Speaker 5: day they're trying to sell you performance. So there were 91 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 5: people who would do kind of acrobatic tricks at would 92 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:02,280 Speaker 5: flip over each other, there are people who set up 93 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:05,119 Speaker 5: puppet shows, there were people who were playing all different 94 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,359 Speaker 5: kinds of music, and everybody had their own space. It 95 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 5: almost felt like a variety show when I was a kid, 96 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 5: that I could walk through the park and get all 97 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 5: of this different entertainment. And so that really stuck out 98 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 5: to me as a child. And I mean, as you know, 99 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 5: we got our start street performing in Washington Square Park 100 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 5: as well, and the first couple of years that we 101 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 5: did it, it was strange because it was almost like 102 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 5: a business negotiation with the other street performers. We're going 103 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 5: to start our set now, then we'll pause while they 104 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 5: get to go. And it was a much more complex 105 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 5: system than you even think about street performing could be. 106 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:41,359 Speaker 5: But I think that was probably my first impression of 107 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:46,160 Speaker 5: the park that it was an overwhelming cacophony of the senses. 108 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 3: Did your parents give you and your brothers a long leash? 109 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 3: And if so, was that key to creative expression years 110 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 3: later that you still are so amazing it. 111 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:05,280 Speaker 5: They did give us a long creatively absolutely so. Our 112 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 5: dad was a huge music fan growing up. He had 113 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 5: quite a sizeable vinyl collection, and so we started listening 114 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 5: to things like The Beach Boys, and Peter Paul and 115 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 5: Mary and John Denver and people like that on vinyl. 116 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 5: But our parents were very supportive of any creative pursuit 117 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 5: that we had. So I did a lot of theater 118 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 5: when I was younger. I did some voiceover work, and 119 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 5: then we kind of fell into the music because of 120 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 5: being in the theater world. Something I don't talk about 121 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 5: often is that I was a professional dancer before I 122 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,599 Speaker 5: got into the music world. I was a professional tap dancer, 123 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:43,480 Speaker 5: and I ran a tap dance company and we toured 124 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 5: around the world. So creativity and expression through all of 125 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 5: these different modes out of art was something that we 126 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,920 Speaker 5: were not only encouraged to do, but given the kind 127 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 5: of full space to do as we were growing up. 128 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 3: Was there a first live content experience that really knocked 129 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 3: you out? 130 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:04,720 Speaker 1: Yeah? 131 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 5: Absolutely, So I love that you asked me the first 132 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 5: question that you did, because seeing Paul Simon live at 133 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 5: BAM at Brooklyn Academy of Music with Josh Grobin as 134 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 5: his opener, and then Josh Grobin coming back on stage 135 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 5: and performing with him when I was a kid, that 136 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 5: was a transformative experience. Seeing the person sing the songs 137 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,800 Speaker 5: that I grew up listening to on vinyl on my 138 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 5: dad's record player, and then seeing him live with my family. 139 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 5: I will absolutely never forget that. 140 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 3: And that, Yeah, I mean, the fact that this is 141 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 3: locked in your brain forever fuels your passion, fuels your 142 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 3: curiosity further around all other types of music. 143 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 5: Right absolutely. I mean you think about Paul Simon. He 144 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 5: has experimented with so many different kinds of music and 145 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 5: so many different kinds of instruments and production. But the 146 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 5: thing that stays consistent with him is the equal parts 147 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 5: of simplicity and complexity of the lyrics. He plays with 148 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 5: the listener just as much as he wants the listener 149 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 5: to take what he's saying very seriously. So he tells 150 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 5: very specific stories, but tells them in a way that 151 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 5: feels like popcorn to the ear, and also tells them 152 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 5: in a way that are repeatable and shareable. I mean, 153 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 5: think of something like Me and Julio. That song is 154 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 5: just so crispy in its lyrics, but the lyrics are 155 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:40,080 Speaker 5: so impactful and true, and they're you know, kind of 156 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,719 Speaker 5: about the neighborhood where where he grew up. So he 157 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 5: is very consistent in lyrics, but very he takes a 158 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:52,479 Speaker 5: lot of creative liberty is in terms of his experimentation 159 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:56,360 Speaker 5: with production and instrumentation. So you really know when you're 160 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 5: hearing a Paul Simon song, and that's because of the 161 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:01,839 Speaker 5: vocal and the lyrics, but the fact that he does 162 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 5: get to have this playground of audio and it's something 163 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 5: that was really inspiring to me. 164 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 4: I don't know about you. There's one of his songs. 165 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:13,680 Speaker 3: There's so many that ring true, but there's one for 166 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,200 Speaker 3: the way the world is now and the way the 167 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:20,559 Speaker 3: country is now that I think about all the time. 168 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 3: It's an American tune and it's just. 169 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:28,319 Speaker 4: So poignant and beautiful, and. 170 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 3: I mean, I try to think though, when he wrote that, 171 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 3: what the world was like at that time that would 172 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 3: have influenced it, And if he wrote it now, how 173 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 3: much different the song may have been. 174 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:52,120 Speaker 5: Yeah, I think that. I mean musicians, artists, sculptors, dancers, painters, 175 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 5: people who create theater. A lot of what they do 176 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 5: is reflect on the world around them, and they hold 177 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:03,440 Speaker 5: up the mirror to what society is going through. But 178 00:10:03,559 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 5: at the same time, there are all of these people 179 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 5: who project their own solutions or questions onto the world 180 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 5: using their art. And I think that a lot of 181 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 5: artists are very intentional about the way that they do that, 182 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,319 Speaker 5: meaning they decide whether, Okay, this piece of art that 183 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 5: I'm doing is going to be a mirror to society, 184 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 5: so society can see what they're going through and just 185 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 5: have a moment to reflect. And then they can also 186 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 5: be intentional about something like protest music. Right, we need 187 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 5: to stand up and fight, we need to band together. 188 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,480 Speaker 5: There have been periods in time where protest music has 189 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:44,320 Speaker 5: kind of rowed, this wave of popularity. In the nineteen 190 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 5: seventies hugely popular. Twenty percent of the Billboard Hot one 191 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 5: hundred was protest music, and now we would say that 192 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 5: would never happen, right, But if you listen to the 193 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:58,200 Speaker 5: Billboard Hot one hundred now, I argue that there's even 194 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 5: more protest music on it now. Now, even though those 195 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 5: songs in their entirety are not protest songs, there are 196 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 5: lines here and there about that reflection of society. I 197 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 5: think artists can't help but write about the things that 198 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:14,840 Speaker 5: are going on in their lives and in their world. 199 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,480 Speaker 5: And we go through periods and music where they're kind 200 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 5: of big pop songs that are very general and so 201 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 5: everyone can relate to them. But We're in a moment 202 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 5: now where storytelling has become king. Right, people want to 203 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,959 Speaker 5: tell their own stories in a way that other people 204 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:36,319 Speaker 5: can see themselves in it. And so I think right now, 205 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 5: in terms of how we think about songs reflecting on 206 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 5: society and then reflecting society, I think more than ever, 207 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 5: we're seeing artists engage with what it means to be 208 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 5: making art. In twenty twenty five, I. 209 00:11:53,280 --> 00:12:01,079 Speaker 3: Love and amplify how you focus on authentic storytelling. In particular, 210 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 3: you highlight a couple of people. Uh, certainly Bob Dylan 211 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:10,440 Speaker 3: is a part of that highlighting, but you also highlight 212 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:17,760 Speaker 3: Phil Oaks as well. And you know, Phil back then 213 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 3: stood really in his own his own camp when it 214 00:12:22,559 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 3: came to how fiercely free he felt about speaking about 215 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 3: things you make mention of of Here's to the State 216 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 3: of Mississippi, and then here's Phil using comedy and rewriting 217 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 3: that song and creating Here's to the State of Richard Nixon. 218 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 5: Yep. 219 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 3: Yeah, And he but he he stood on on that 220 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 3: ledge often by himself. 221 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: Yeah. 222 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:55,599 Speaker 5: I mean, even Bob Dylan was critical of him for 223 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 5: going too far. He called Bob Milan, called phidel Oaks 224 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:02,559 Speaker 5: a singing journalist, right, And so what kind of thing 225 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 5: does that evoke? You know, if you're somebody who's an 226 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 5: artist but you're also being called a journalist, You're making 227 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,320 Speaker 5: you're sharing facts, you're being very direct, and you're letting 228 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,360 Speaker 5: the audience kind of pull their own conclusions out of 229 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:21,200 Speaker 5: what you're saying, but you're being very honest. And I 230 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:24,400 Speaker 5: think that that's something that we don't see so much 231 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 5: anymore and art that blatantness that Phil had. And so 232 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 5: for people who are listening who don't know Phil Oaks 233 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,160 Speaker 5: is because I know that he is a less common 234 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 5: name than Bob Dylan. He is one of my favorite 235 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,720 Speaker 5: artists of all time. All of his albums are great. 236 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,440 Speaker 5: But there's a story. So my uncle and my dad 237 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 5: saw Phil Oakes downtown in New York City one of 238 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,960 Speaker 5: his final performances, and he actually ended up committing suicide 239 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:55,920 Speaker 5: a few weeks later after that performance that he saw them. 240 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 5: But he was completely out of his mind during that performance. 241 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 5: Apparently again I'm hearing this secondhand, but he was so drunk, 242 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 5: couldn't remember any of the lyrics. Everything he did up 243 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:13,600 Speaker 5: until that point was with so much intentionality, engaging around 244 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:19,080 Speaker 5: the Democratic National Convention, really participating in everything that he 245 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 5: felt could be better in America. He saw what was 246 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 5: going on and reflected on it through his art. So 247 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 5: please go listen to Pillows. 248 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 3: I couldn't wait to share this with you and the audience. 249 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 3: I believe one of the first mass organized, ticketed event 250 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 3: protest concerts was organized by Phil and some others at 251 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 3: Madison Square Garden. It was called an Evening with Salvador 252 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 3: Allende right after the Chilean overthrow, and all sorts of 253 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 3: people played at that from Dyl Into, Pete Seeger and 254 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:07,240 Speaker 3: Arlo Guthrie. But it was a Phil moment because Phil 255 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 3: was one of the instigators that brought that whole crew 256 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 3: together and it was it was quite a night. I 257 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 3: was a nerdy fan who came from Stanford, Connecticut, took 258 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 3: the train down and went by myself actually and saw 259 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 3: the show at Madison Square Garden and it was pretty 260 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:28,280 Speaker 3: pretty wild. 261 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 5: I have to say, I'm so jealous. I am so jealous. 262 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:33,479 Speaker 5: That sounds incredible. 263 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: We'll be right back with more of the Taking a 264 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 1: Walk podcast. Welcome back to the Taking a Walk Podcast. 265 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 3: So the focus, among other things in the book Amplify 266 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 3: is certainly community building and really showcasing specific ways to 267 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 3: be able to do that from your experiences and certainly 268 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:09,200 Speaker 3: the band's experience experience is still Do you think community 269 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:13,880 Speaker 3: building has sort of become a little bit of buzzword 270 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 3: bingo if you will, because I know with you one 271 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 3: thing that irritates you is meetings that ultimately have no 272 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 3: action that initiates from that meeting. 273 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 5: Are you taking that from the commencement speech that I 274 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 5: offer Columbia very possibly? Yeah? Yeah, community building. So when 275 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:44,680 Speaker 5: I say community building, I don't mean it for the 276 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,200 Speaker 5: sake of building a community. And I know that sounds strange, 277 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:54,200 Speaker 5: but community building happens through action, and happens through reaction, 278 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 5: and happens because of the things that people actually do. 279 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:02,560 Speaker 5: I think there's a different in saying let's, you know, 280 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 5: do something for the sake of doing something, as opposed 281 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 5: to let's do something on our way to trying to 282 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 5: get something done. And that was pretty vag. So I'll 283 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:14,840 Speaker 5: give you an example. Let's use the idea of music. 284 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:15,200 Speaker 4: Right. 285 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,840 Speaker 5: There are fan clubs in music, and people say I 286 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 5: want to create a group of fans and we're going 287 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,399 Speaker 5: to get together and talk about the music and discuss 288 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 5: what we like about it. Things like that. Great, that's 289 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:30,720 Speaker 5: building a community, right, There's nothing kind of further to it. 290 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,720 Speaker 5: But if you're doing something like that, creating a mini 291 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,199 Speaker 5: fan club for a band that's up and coming like 292 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,119 Speaker 5: we were a handful of years ago, one of the 293 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:43,919 Speaker 5: amazing things that can effectively build a community is to 294 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:46,439 Speaker 5: take a group of people who are like minded and 295 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:50,239 Speaker 5: have them work towards something bigger. For example, when we 296 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 5: went to Boston. The first time we went to Boston, 297 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 5: we played a place called the Red Room, and it 298 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 5: was a really tiny music venue and we sold like 299 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:03,200 Speaker 5: a tickets. The second time we came back, we couldn't 300 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 5: play any vide ers. We played the Red Room again. 301 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 5: But some of these fan groups had started to form 302 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 5: and they took it on as their responsibility to spread 303 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 5: the word about us. They shared with their friends and 304 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,199 Speaker 5: their family, They put up posters around the city, they 305 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,160 Speaker 5: went to the colleges and the high schools. That show 306 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 5: completely sold out over two hundred people, and so that 307 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 5: built even more of a tight knit community among those 308 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:32,119 Speaker 5: fans because they took ownership over that process and they 309 00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 5: were actually able to achieve something together. So does that 310 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 5: make sense The difference if we can actually use the 311 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:40,399 Speaker 5: community for something as opposed to just building it for 312 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 5: the saken. 313 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:41,720 Speaker 4: Makes total sense. 314 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 3: The application that you know your band applied certainly was 315 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:51,600 Speaker 3: the creation of of you know, one of the cover 316 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:56,679 Speaker 3: art pieces, and yess you basically gave that ownership, you know, 317 00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:01,239 Speaker 3: brilliantly to the to the fans. How much science are 318 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 3: you using when you're applying some of this And I'll 319 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:10,080 Speaker 3: give you a specific example referencing that question. I know 320 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 3: around covid the band ended up finding a way to 321 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:19,920 Speaker 3: pay for medical treatment for people who were in particular need. 322 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:23,520 Speaker 3: Were you this is the data nerd in me now 323 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 3: asking were you able to go into a database of 324 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:31,680 Speaker 3: sorts that you guys had created and go right down 325 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,640 Speaker 3: to zip codes where you knew fans were. 326 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 5: Yeah, So that's one of the amazing things about building 327 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:42,639 Speaker 5: a fan base. The way we have is that we 328 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 5: know exactly how many tickets we can sell in each city. 329 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 5: We know exactly where our fans are from the data 330 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 5: that we gather from places like Spotify and other music 331 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:58,920 Speaker 5: streaming services or places like Instagram and TikTok. We really 332 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,520 Speaker 5: know the that fans are engaging and exactly where they are. 333 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:06,679 Speaker 5: So in this project that we did during COVID, we 334 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:10,600 Speaker 5: did a big fundraiser specifically for people in the zip 335 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 5: codes where we knew that we had the largest concentration 336 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:17,440 Speaker 5: of fans, and these people were impacted by crippling medical 337 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:21,199 Speaker 5: debt related to COVID. So we ended up partnering with 338 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:26,360 Speaker 5: this organization called Rip Medical Debt, which multiplies the donations 339 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 5: that you get by buying up medical debt for one 340 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 5: penny on the dollar. So for the amount of money 341 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:36,119 Speaker 5: that we raised, we ended up alleviating over seven and 342 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,159 Speaker 5: a half million dollars worth of medical debt in the 343 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:42,280 Speaker 5: community is where we have the most fans, So it 344 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 5: was all very intentional. We wanted to make sure that 345 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,680 Speaker 5: our community that had supported us for so long, we 346 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:50,439 Speaker 5: were going back and supporting that. 347 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:54,400 Speaker 3: There's so much in the book that I think it's 348 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 3: great for you know, musicians that are trying to build 349 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:03,880 Speaker 3: their their brain and podcasters trying to build their brand. 350 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,399 Speaker 3: I come out of radio, so you know, radio stations 351 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:13,480 Speaker 3: or personalities trying to you know, grow their brand. And 352 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:18,159 Speaker 3: you talk also about something really important and maybe you 353 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,919 Speaker 3: could expand on it, the importance of super fans and 354 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:23,440 Speaker 3: what they kind of mean to all this. 355 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:29,520 Speaker 5: Yeah, there is nothing like a super fan. So we 356 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:32,240 Speaker 5: have a lot of super fans. But one in particular 357 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:33,920 Speaker 5: that I write about a lot in the book is 358 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:38,200 Speaker 5: this young woman named mel and she essentially took our 359 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 5: fan base and grew it to the point that fans 360 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 5: were engaging in a much deeper level, more than we 361 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,960 Speaker 5: ever could have engaged with the fans. She built all 362 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,919 Speaker 5: of these activities with them, She built incentive programs, she 363 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 5: built ways for them to bring other people into the 364 00:21:56,280 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 5: fan base. And this model that she developed kind of unknowingly. Traditionally, 365 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:05,879 Speaker 5: when you're in activism or advocacy, or you're in music, 366 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:08,639 Speaker 5: you're trying to move people up this ladder of engagement. 367 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 5: You know, they take one step, they hear a song, 368 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 5: and then if they go home and they buy a 369 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,240 Speaker 5: concert ticket, they move up another rung. If they follow 370 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:18,439 Speaker 5: you on Instagram, they move up another rung on that ladder. 371 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 5: This is not the model that works anymore in music 372 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 5: or in advocacy. The model that we found that works 373 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 5: really well looks more like a hurricane than a ladder. 374 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:34,119 Speaker 5: And a hurricane because when people first start engaging with 375 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:36,960 Speaker 5: an artist or with a cause you want to bring 376 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,080 Speaker 5: them in really close, give them all of the tools 377 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:42,719 Speaker 5: to then have them go back out in the world 378 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:47,040 Speaker 5: and be evangelizers for the movement, and movement could be 379 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 5: for music or advocacy. It really is building a movement 380 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,560 Speaker 5: for both of them. And when you give them the tools, 381 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:55,960 Speaker 5: they feel ownership over it in a way that they 382 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 5: become evangelizers. They want to share their little secret with 383 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:03,640 Speaker 5: the world that is so much more powerful than any 384 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:06,120 Speaker 5: amount of ads that you can run on Instagram. 385 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 3: So I know, as this book tour for Amplify will 386 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:16,160 Speaker 3: be rolling out, you've made it public to your fan 387 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:19,239 Speaker 3: base and Ajr's fan base that you're going to be 388 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 3: not at all the shows. Yes, when AJR is out 389 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:27,040 Speaker 3: on the on the road, Yes, I hear a big 390 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:32,520 Speaker 3: collective sigh from the audiences as I'm delivering that in 391 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:36,399 Speaker 3: case they didn't know. But you've been very transparent and 392 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:40,480 Speaker 3: the band's been very transparent about that. What's been the 393 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 3: reaction to you sitting some shows out? 394 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:49,560 Speaker 5: So it's really been bittersweet obviously fans that are disappointed 395 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:51,560 Speaker 5: that I'm not going to be at some of the shows. 396 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,240 Speaker 5: But one of the things that's been really important to 397 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:57,439 Speaker 5: me over the last bunch of years is bringing fans 398 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,879 Speaker 5: along with me on my journey. As I've been working 399 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,840 Speaker 5: on my master's and my PhD, as I started teaching, 400 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:06,560 Speaker 5: as I've been working with governments around the world on 401 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:10,240 Speaker 5: their climate policies, and so they know every step of 402 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:12,440 Speaker 5: the way everything that I've been doing and how I've 403 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 5: been growing my work outside of the band. So just 404 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,800 Speaker 5: as much as I see the disappointment that I'm not 405 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:22,520 Speaker 5: going to be there, they've also been so supportive. I mean, 406 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:24,840 Speaker 5: if you look at the post that we did when 407 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:26,680 Speaker 5: I announced that I wasn't going to be doing all 408 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:30,679 Speaker 5: of the shows, there were thousands of comments across social media, 409 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,880 Speaker 5: just so supportive that I'm going to do this work, 410 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 5: and a lot of them want to join me. The 411 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,160 Speaker 5: number of people who have written me emails or dms 412 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 5: saying that they started studying environmental science because I was 413 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,040 Speaker 5: the one who introduced the field to them. Even if 414 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,359 Speaker 5: they're just a handful of those people, and I've done 415 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 5: my work right, it's I am proud and I am 416 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:57,679 Speaker 5: satisfied that that's the work that's been done. But at 417 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:01,359 Speaker 5: the same time, there is this whole additional journey in 418 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 5: the climate space that I'm taking with this book and 419 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 5: this chur and all the other work that I'm doing, 420 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 5: and they've been right there with me. And it takes 421 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:11,960 Speaker 5: a while. 422 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:12,240 Speaker 1: Line. 423 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:15,480 Speaker 5: It's very weird, right for an artist to say, Okay, 424 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:17,199 Speaker 5: you know, we have tons of fans. We've sold out 425 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,080 Speaker 5: Madison Square Garden multiple times, We've sold out TD Garden 426 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 5: multiple times, and now I'm going to go work in 427 00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:26,760 Speaker 5: climate policy. That's a weird thing for fans to see. 428 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:30,000 Speaker 5: But the fact that they've been there and so supportive, 429 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 5: I can't thank them enough. 430 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 3: So I want to close on the commencement speech. Look, 431 00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:41,680 Speaker 3: we're at a really, you know, difficult time. There's many 432 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 3: folks who have lost sense of optimism about, you know, 433 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 3: where things are heading. And one of my takeaways from 434 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:55,160 Speaker 3: your great speech was, I think you have a different 435 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:59,800 Speaker 3: outlook in terms of where there is some optimism, how 436 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:05,359 Speaker 3: folks can be activated, how important it is, whether it 437 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,879 Speaker 3: be in the largest election or the smallest election, to 438 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:11,520 Speaker 3: show up and be involved. 439 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 4: Can you talk a little bit about that. 440 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,600 Speaker 5: Sure, I spend a lot of time traveling around the 441 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:20,320 Speaker 5: country and the world, and the number one question that 442 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 5: I get from fans and from people. It protests, events, 443 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 5: community meetings. Is what can I do? I want to participate, 444 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:31,240 Speaker 5: what can I do? It doesn't feel accessible to them. 445 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:34,880 Speaker 5: Climate change is not accessible to them. It's big, it's existential. 446 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:37,560 Speaker 5: What does one point five degrees celsius even mean? 447 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:38,120 Speaker 4: Right? 448 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:43,000 Speaker 5: The people who make the decisions about the future of 449 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:47,440 Speaker 5: your community, of your city, of your state happen at 450 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:50,640 Speaker 5: the most local of levels. Yes, of course, every four 451 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 5: years we both vote for a president. Of course, every 452 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:57,040 Speaker 5: two years we have a midterm election. But between that 453 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:01,640 Speaker 5: there are hundreds and hundreds of elections around the country 454 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 5: that are voting people into office that are at the 455 00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:09,040 Speaker 5: state level, so state Senate and state Assembly, and even 456 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:13,800 Speaker 5: more at the local level community boards. These boards make 457 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:17,440 Speaker 5: such impactful decisions on your day to day lives. They 458 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:21,200 Speaker 5: make decisions about zoning, They make decisions about where you're 459 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 5: going to put this petrochemical plant, they make decisions about 460 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:28,159 Speaker 5: local transportation. Some of these people, when they're running in 461 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:32,439 Speaker 5: these elections, win by ten or twelve votes. And this 462 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:33,919 Speaker 5: is one of the things that I mentioned in the 463 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:39,360 Speaker 5: commencement speech. Your power at the local level is thousands 464 00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:42,520 Speaker 5: of times more than your power at the federal level. 465 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:45,240 Speaker 5: I'm not saying don't vote in a federal election, but 466 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:48,960 Speaker 5: my call to action for you would be go look 467 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 5: up when your next local election is and look at 468 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 5: the people who are running, because that is going to 469 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:56,960 Speaker 5: make some of the biggest difference in your own life. 470 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:04,639 Speaker 3: Adam Medical, congratulations on amplify and thanks for that work, 471 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 3: but also all your other work and this little band 472 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:09,080 Speaker 3: called AJR as well. 473 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,920 Speaker 4: Thank you for that, and thanks for being on Taking 474 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:13,200 Speaker 4: a Walk. I really enjoyed it. 475 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:15,160 Speaker 5: Thank you so much for having me. This is fantastic. 476 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:18,960 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a 477 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,880 Speaker 1: Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends 478 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 1: and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking 479 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:30,400 Speaker 1: a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 480 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:32,880 Speaker 1: and wherever you get your podcasts.