WEBVTT - Journey's Neal Schon 0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:04.760 Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Inside the 0:00:04.800 --> 0:00:07.960 Studio on iHeart Radio. My name is Jordan Runtag, but 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:10.879 enough about me. My guest today is the definition of 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:13.240 a guitar hero, and he's been one since way back 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:15.480 while he was still in his teens, he faced a 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:18.640 choice should he join a band with Eric Clapton or 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:22.720 fellow Bay Area resident Carlos Santana. He opted for Santana, 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:25.759 setting him on the path to rock immortality. He and 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:28.360 several other Santana vets with branch off the form a 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:31.080 little band you may have heard of called Journey. He's 0:00:31.120 --> 0:00:33.960 responsible for so much of the multi platinum band's music 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.600 over the years, including Wheel in the Sky, Open Arms, Faithfully, 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:40.640 Anyway You Want It, and of course Don't Stop Believing, 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:43.960 which recently became only the second tune to ever break 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:48.280 one billion streams on Spotify. Now, Journey or Back with Freedom, 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:50.839 their first album of new material and over a decade. 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:53.960 We'll talk about the new tracks, classic hits, and what's 0:00:54.000 --> 0:00:56.440 to come on his own musical Journey. I'm so happy 0:00:56.440 --> 0:01:04.600 to welcome Mr Neil Shawn. I am just absolutely loving 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:07.280 this new record. Congratulations. I mean, for me, it's up 0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:10.680 there with escape in terms of just energy and song craft. 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:15.520 It's so awesome, you know what. I'm really like proud 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:18.760 of this record. You know how it all came about. 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:21.720 There was like no pressure to make it. We had 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:24.039 a lot of time on our hands while everybody was down, 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:27.800 you know, and uh, I just went about it in 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:33.319 a really natural way, uh, not a forced way at all, 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:35.960 you know. I mean I was working with Narta Michael 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:39.760 Walden the whole time. Um As we live close to 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:42.399 each other, so we were able to get together and 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:46.640 actually play together. Well, everybody else had to overdub, you know. 0:01:46.760 --> 0:01:49.040 But um, I've made a lot of records in my 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:51.440 life so far, and you know, made a lot of 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:56.520 records just starting with drums and guitar, and so there's 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:59.920 a lot of life there, you know, especially in today's 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:04.720 age of computers and pro tools and you know, people 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:07.400 working just on a computer. I mean, him and I 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:10.600 came from an old school place of playing you know, 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:14.040 lead guitar with drums and laying it down and a 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:17.120 lot of soul like like let It Rain. You know, 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:20.400 that was just a live jam. Like I walked in 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:22.600 the studio one day and he goes, well, what do 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:24.679 you want to do? And I go, well, I got 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:27.000 this riff, you know, I'm messing around with and it 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:30.560 was kind of funky. It reminded me of Chaka Khan 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:34.320 and you know, Prince and Henrix and you know, so 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:37.880 he's like, you know, so badass on the drums like that, 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:40.160 and so I thought I gave like a little different 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:44.560 struck going, and you know, we just started jamming and 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:48.080 and we left it there. You know, I arranged it 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:51.560 as it went down into my head, not knowing where 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:54.639 the vocals would go, and just kind of jammed through it. 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:56.840 And we left it alone for months, and then we 0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:58.320 came back to and listened to it, and I went, 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:02.640 that's awesome, man, let's work on this. It sounds it 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:06.400 was almost the one that got away. Yeah, well, you 0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:10.000 know what, there's a bonch. Actually, um, there's fifteen on 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:15.760 this record, six um for the Japanese release, but we 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:19.520 did about thirty five songs and a lot of them 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:22.480 are are are very good. We did shows the ones 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:27.000 we did because we levitated that way, and the vocals 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:29.920 lended itself to go that way, you know, after Jonathan 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:33.799 got through with it and writing lyrics and stuff and 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:37.640 so he worked on the ones that kind of hit him, uh, 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:41.000 you know the hardest when we sent him to him. Uh, 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:44.800 and you know this is what we got. Oh, it's 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:47.200 so awesome. I know, looking at the credits and here 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:48.600 on the record, it sounds like you're playing a lot 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:52.280 more keyboards on this album than normal. What's uh? What? What? 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:57.119 What triggered that? Well, you know what, the pandemic actually 0:03:57.120 --> 0:03:59.720 triggered it. I'm gonna blame it on the pandemic. But 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:03.880 you know, I'm with months and months going by and 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:07.240 never imagined that, you know what we would be, you know, 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:10.560 sitting at home for so long and not working, and 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:14.080 so to do the album, for one was just a blessing. 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:17.159 But besides that, I had to figure out a way 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:20.640 to get inspired every day just you know, keep up 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:25.160 my craft. And so I started, you know, playing keyboards 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:29.640 more and looping, you know, looping into a stereo looper, 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:32.640 playing bass with my left hand, you know, on the 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:36.480 keyboards and then over dubbing strings, and you know, I 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:40.080 just sort of got more into voicinges, like keyboard voicinges, 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:45.159 and you know, wrote a lot from the keyboards. A 0:04:45.200 --> 0:04:47.240 lot of stuff was written on guitar as well, but 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:50.039 you know it brings you to for myself being a 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:53.520 guitar player. Really it I write in a different vein 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:57.800 when I sit on keyboards, and in a different melodic vein. 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:02.000 And uh, it's sort of because I don't play that well. 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:06.920 You know. Uh, A lot of things are more simplified. 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:09.960 You know. I orchestrate, well, it takes me forever in 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:14.160 the studio, you know, where somebody like Jonathan or accomplished 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:17.279 keyboard player could like do these overdubs in a second, 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:20.000 where I was out there for hours, I'm like, no, 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:23.160 Jim right with our engineer, I'm like, punch me. And again, 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:25.320 that isn't what I wanted to play, because you know, 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:27.200 I don't know anything about him. I don't I don't 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:30.279 really read music. I don't look at a black and 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:32.480 white keys. I just go by ere and I'm like 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:36.800 that sounds right, this doesn't you know? And you know 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:42.400 Jonathan was really busy doing all the different things. Then 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:46.200 I felt like we're not and I worked this stuff up, 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:50.039 the stuff that we did together. I then started even 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:52.640 playing bass on it. I played bass on it, I 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:56.599 played keyboards, I sang on it. We sang begs. A 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:59.479 lot of the bgs ended up on the album and 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:03.799 just reinforced by Jason and John you know in RNL. 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:07.840 But you know, I mean it was pretty much we 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:11.479 were doing everything in there, you know, and trying to 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:16.560 um before we sent it out to to Jonathan or 0:06:16.720 --> 0:06:20.600 Arnell or Randy who had like a basic you know, 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:23.080 I wanted them to hear the vibe or what I 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:24.760 was hearing in my head and what we were hearing 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:27.520 because an Art and I were co producing it, and 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:30.960 so you know, I didn't want to, you know, end 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:33.279 up with my base on the record, but I ended 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:35.680 up playing pretty good where Randy Jackson just took what 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:38.479 I played like on Rain, I did all that Jack 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:42.520 Bruce stuff and I'll love you know, and then Randy 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:44.640 just took it to another level. You know, he's a 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:47.960 way better bass player, but he could get the vibe. 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:50.000 But what I was what I was going for, you know, 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:53.200 by the demo of how I played on it. What 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:55.120 was it like working with Randy again the first time 0:06:55.160 --> 0:07:00.160 since Race on radio right? And you know, I I 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:03.320 love Brandy to dad. You know, He's just such a 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:06.919 great person for one and positive person to be around, 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:09.240 as well as Narda. You know, it was. It was 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:13.119 really great to have that fresh energy, you know, coming 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:17.960 from a fresh new rhythm section, and you know, we 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:20.400 got this new stout about it. You know, it was like, 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:23.760 you know, there was a new dance going on. And uh, 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:26.120 you know, I love Brandy. I talked to him every day. 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:30.880 Has been very involved in this record, helping me, uh 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:34.000 get on management, you know with BMG. Like I have 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:36.920 meetings every Monday with b MG and we get on 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:40.800 and we talk about strategy, about singles, what we're gonna do, 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:43.600 how many interviews are going to do. I mean, I've 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:46.920 been like cramming it man, for real. Oh man, I 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:48.560 mean it's it's funny. I mean now that after the 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:50.840 last two years, everybody's kind of starting to get back 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:54.000 out of the title freedom really has a special ring 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:56.280 to it these days. What led you to that? Uh 0:07:56.440 --> 0:08:00.600 that title? You know, the title goes back along ways 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:05.560 um our. You know former manager and original manager Herbie 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:12.080 Herbert Um before we finished Raised on Radio and before 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:15.000 it was called Raised on Radio, he always came up 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:17.640 with these titles for our albums, you know, and they 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:21.320 were one word titles. And I love that and this 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:25.320 in particular, Records Steve produced and you know, took ahold 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:28.240 of he didn't want to name it. You know, he 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:29.960 fought with her be about it, and he ended up 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:33.320 winning and he got you know, raised on radio. So 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:37.480 it sat there for many years, and um, you know, 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:41.720 we we went through a lot of help in the 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:44.440 past couple of years with the lawsuit with the X 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:48.360 band members all that. When we got through it all, 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:51.040 I was like, why don't we did she use freedom 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:54.319 for everything? We use freedom for you know, the new 0:08:54.520 --> 0:08:58.040 ll C s that that John and I you know 0:08:58.240 --> 0:09:02.760 made up. And then you know, album title came and 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:05.559 we were throwing around album titles and I go, right, 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:08.880 not freedom, just make everything freedom everybody. You know, that's 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:11.520 what they want right now they've been locked down. It's 0:09:11.640 --> 0:09:14.720 what everybody wants in the world anyway, you know. It's like, 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:19.920 so it just seemed like a natural choice of an 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:24.160 album title and for everything. Really, I love the video 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:25.920 that you guys have for the way we used to 0:09:25.920 --> 0:09:29.360 be the animated video for the couple in the in lockdown. 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:32.760 I thought that was a very very sweet way to 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:35.559 show kind of what we're all going through. Oh, you 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:37.840 gotta get back to the way we used to be. 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:42.000 Yes yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Um, that's funny. You call 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:43.360 it the way we used to be. That's what it 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:46.160 ended up being. I always called it you I Gotta 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:49.560 get Back, and so it was implanted in my head 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:55.600 that the title was I Gotta Get Back. Yeah, but yeah, 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:59.160 that that was from Randy. That was Randy's idea actually, 0:09:59.840 --> 0:10:02.880 uh um and some you know artists that he knew 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:06.640 that did that type of work, video work, and so 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:10.280 we went with his idea, and you know, that's it's 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:15.160 it's something different than we've never done before. Um, certainly 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:18.079 better than trying to do a storyboard for us, as 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:20.960 you can see from our past, you know, separate ways 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:25.640 and yeah, especially during lockdown too. It's gotta be tough. 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:31.200 Yeah yeah, but you know, live videos, it's either you know, 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:33.280 the cartoon thing was al read a lot of people 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:35.640 like this. Some people didn't like it. They're like, I 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:37.720 don't get it for Journey, But I thought it was 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:41.120 interesting and a good idea for you know, being a 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:43.200 time that we couldn't all be together and actually do 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:46.520 a live video. I mean you were talking earlier about 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:48.560 how let It Rain kind of came about from a 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:51.719 group jam that coalesced together in the studio, and then 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:54.000 you have stuff like, you know, the way we used 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:56.560 to be, something that sounds like it was much more done, 0:10:56.679 --> 0:10:58.959 you know, individually at home on a keyboard or something. 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:01.120 Do you have a up away that you prefer to 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:02.840 to write you prefer to do it in the room 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:05.160 with the other guys. Who'd you prefer to to sit 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:07.560 down and sort of composed or does it depend on 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.720 what you're trying to say? You know, what I like 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:12.640 to do, what I found that I like to do 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:15.520 is and what we've done in the past, you know, 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:18.800 with some of our bigger records is you know when 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:22.319 it was Steven and John and I way back, we 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:24.960 would sit around a piano I said, with acoustic guitar 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:27.840 and the three of us would bang it out. Then 0:11:27.880 --> 0:11:32.040 we'd get together and we'd rehearse as a band before 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:35.440 we went into his studio to record and play it 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:39.080 as if we were gonna walk on stage. So if 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.679 I'm gonna play fills in between, the vocals are gonna 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:46.000 do it live right and not go oh, I'll just 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:47.560 do it later. You don't want to get to an 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:50.760 overdubbed stage because I hate overdubbing like that. I think 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:54.719 it's always better when you're playing as a band to 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.480 play live. You know, so many people just don't do 0:11:57.600 --> 0:12:01.080 that anymore, and it doesn't have that at that flow 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:05.400 or that flare um, and it doesn't sound authentic, you know, 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:10.079 like it happened in the moment, and so um, I 0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:12.760 like the way we went about this record, just because 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:15.800 of the way the record came about and we didn't 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:19.280 have a ton of material walking in, but I got 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:20.719 to get back to the way we used to be. 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:24.920 That came from my keyboard plane. You know. I played 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:27.920 the keyboard part and I in the whole song, and 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:30.880 that was it. And I sent it to Jonathan and 0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:34.160 he finished, you know, the lyrics and sang the rough 0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:36.920 vocal and that was it was like, and everybody over 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:40.559 dubbed on it and it was done. That's such a 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:42.719 great track, I think. I remember you saying that that 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:46.160 songs like lights and Patiently came together really quickly. Do 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.920 you find that that the best songs kind of come fast, 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:54.640 almost fully formed. Yeah, definitely, most definitely. I think that. Um, 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:58.839 you know, there's there's you know, two ways agoing about it, 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:02.600 you know, and in trusting songs have become big Um, 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:05.439 coming about from working on it for a while, like 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:09.480 don't stop believing, you know, lights came, you know. Steve 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:12.880 had most of the song put together, a recall being 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:17.560 down in in Greg Rawley's uh you know downstairs area 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:21.600 where we sit around on bean bags with piano and guitar. 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:24.800 Ampson kind of kicks stuff around, you know, in his 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:30.560 house in Mill Valley and Parrots Steve Parrot. Perry played 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:34.120 drums as well as bass and a little bit of guitar, 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:36.719 but he had a bass on and he was like 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:39.880 playing more of an R and B group, you know, 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:43.040 not the stroll that I put it to after I 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:46.400 wrapped the chords around it, like the Hendrix as you know, 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:51.400 Sean cords. I'm gonna own it too right now, you know. 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:56.360 But um, you know he was singing it, and you 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:58.599 know what better instrumenting you have when you're singing a 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:02.080 melody as the route it's a base, you know, because 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:04.080 he changed one note in the base and it changes 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:07.160 the whole melody of what you're singing. It really doesn't 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:09.880 matter what everything else is doing. That's all like you know, 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:12.840 I've seen on the cake and so the root note 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:17.480 and then the main melody is it? And so I stopped, 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:20.840 you know, I listened to what he did, and I said, 0:14:20.880 --> 0:14:22.760 what if we started like this? And I did this 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:26.240 little rolling you know, rhythm part that the song starts like, 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:29.280 and then I put it into the old stroll kind 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:33.520 of field, you know, rather than a straightforward R and 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:38.400 B funk field and UM. Then I wrote the bridge um, 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:41.040 and he sang on it and I played a guitar 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:43.720 solo over it. It was that was it, you know, 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:47.440 a song like Don't Stop Believing. We were in my 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:51.360 uh studio over in Oakland that I took over from 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:54.720 Larry Graham years ago after I played with him, and 0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:57.800 that was sort of our That was our clubhouse for 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:00.520 writing all that stuff and rehearsing for as you know, 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:04.680 all our material and getting ready to go on tour. Uh. 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:09.880 We Jonathan brought in you know, uh opening chords for 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:13.040 the verse UH for Don't Stop Believing, and he had 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:16.840 you know, the hook uh and the lyrical content that 0:15:16.960 --> 0:15:19.880 his dad had told him, you know, like don't stop 0:15:19.960 --> 0:15:22.400 believing in son, You'll get there. You know. He was 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:24.840 starting to lose hope in the music industry and having 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:28.640 a tough time, you know, surviving in it, which can 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:32.600 be difficult man, especially in today's day and age. I 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:35.600 mean it was difficult back then as well. But you know, 0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:38.480 we brought that in he's saying, you know, the melod 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:40.480 he had, And then we sat there and we just, 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:42.520 like I thought about it for a second. It was 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:47.240 mainly the three of us before Smith and Ross came 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:50.320 in on it, but uh, it sat there, and then 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.920 I started thinking, you know, we need like a motown 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:59.560 type baseline to follow, and so then between John and 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:01.880 I we came up that don't doo doo doo doo 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:06.240 doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo. Yeah, 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:09.960 and and so then you know, I came up with 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:12.160 the B section. We looked for a B section to go, 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:14.240 but where's it got to go from here? And I 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:18.960 went strange and wait in U you know, and it 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:21.520 was like, yeah, they go all right down, and so 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:25.320 we did die. Then we went back to a verse. Right, 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:27.400 We're thinking, well, do we need to go to a 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.680 chorus because by now where everybody's looking at their watch, 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:36.720 which is really tedious, like how many minutes has it 0:16:36.840 --> 0:16:39.520 been since we haven't gotten to the chorus? You know, 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:45.160 and I said, who gives a fun? Yeah? So you know, 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:48.320 I started playing the little train guitar thing, which sounds 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:50.200 like you know, I used to listen to symphonies and 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:55.040 I played clarinet nobo in high school. And dad's a 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:58.600 big band arranger. Yeah, yeah, And I just heard the 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:01.720 thing didn't and didn't and didn't like a symphony type part. 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:04.480 And I started playing all right, and they go, well, 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:06.480 I really like that. So instead of going to a 0:17:06.640 --> 0:17:09.800 verse right away in the second verse, that little mini 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:13.639 guitar solo, whatever you wanna call it, that happened, and 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:18.320 that actually brought the lyrics that came next. But you know, 0:17:18.480 --> 0:17:20.800 she took the midnight train going anywhere because they thought 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:23.680 it sounded like a train. So those are the good 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:25.840 things that happened when you work together, when you have 0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:29.560 chemistry with guys, you know, and you bounce off each other, 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:34.160 the lyrical content everything kind of flows, you know, while 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:37.440 you're in the room together, and then you know it, 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:41.879 we went back to another B section, strangers waiting, and 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:44.080 then it came time for a little mini guitar so 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:47.640 and so I go, what am I going to play? Man? 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:51.280 It's so short? Uh? And I'm thinking, oh, we haven't 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:54.080 even hit the chorus yet. As the first song we've 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:57.240 ever done, I think that didn't hit the chorus until 0:17:57.320 --> 0:18:01.440 the end of the song, right, And so I go, 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:04.320 I'm gonna play. I think I'm gonna play the course. 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:07.680 And I remember Perry looking at me and going, you're 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:11.040 really gonna do that? You can play that? I would 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:13.520 even sung me yet, you know. He was kind of 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:17.320 pissed about it, and I went, well, yeah, why wouldn't 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:21.159 I it's a setup, man, Why should I not implanted 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:24.399 in everybody's head before you sing it? And he was 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:30.080 like okay, And so you know, we did it and 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:33.080 the rest was history, you know. And I recall when 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:37.760 we finished it in the studio and we're listening down 0:18:37.840 --> 0:18:40.399 to very close to final mixes, and I looked at 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:42.800 the guys and I go, I don't know, there's something 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:47.119 about this song. I think it's gonna be massively huge, 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:49.879 you know. And when they released it, I believe it 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:52.600 only it went to like number eight. It was always 0:18:52.640 --> 0:18:54.840 a very big song, you know, live for us, but 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:58.639 many of our songs were like lights Now is like 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:03.480 and at big anthem, like don't stop believing? If not 0:19:03.680 --> 0:19:06.719 bigger live. You know, the whole place lights up. They 0:19:06.800 --> 0:19:08.880 all sing it louder than I can hear the band, 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:12.800 and so, you know, just things kind of take on 0:19:12.960 --> 0:19:16.280 their own organic state of you know, how people are 0:19:16.280 --> 0:19:31.000 going to perceive them and accept them. What is your 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:35.600 process of of constructing a solo. Is it something that's 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:37.560 more sort of that you prefer to do in the 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:39.879 moment when, as you said, like with with the band, 0:19:40.400 --> 0:19:42.200 or is it something that you really sit down and 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:47.200 um construct to playoff potentially the lyrics. I know that 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:49.639 that your solo inspired the lyrics, but don't stop believing. 0:19:49.760 --> 0:19:52.600 But is it something that um, yeah, I just I'm 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:54.840 curious about how much of it is pre planned versus 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:56.440 how much of it is just does a different take 0:19:56.520 --> 0:19:58.840 to take and in the moment, you know what. I'm 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:02.920 always I have to honestly say, there's very few solos 0:20:03.000 --> 0:20:07.040 that I ever planned out, uh and and worked on. 0:20:07.600 --> 0:20:11.119 They just kind of flew out in the moment. And 0:20:11.359 --> 0:20:15.120 I found that the more I thought about it, the worst, say, God, 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:19.000 you know I had to work on something. You know, 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:22.679 we'd always go back to the first take, um, whatever 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:25.520 producer we were using, whether it was Roy Thomas, Baker 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:29.040 or whomever, you know. I mean, it was always like 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:31.440 the first take and second take at the most, and 0:20:31.480 --> 0:20:35.080 the third suck and the fourth socked worse. And so 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:38.280 you know, I just like I would come in and 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:43.959 just kind of be able ready to accept as long 0:20:44.040 --> 0:20:46.440 as it had the soul and the feeling of the song. 0:20:48.240 --> 0:20:53.600 Main thing for me, especially in Journey, is to convey 0:20:54.880 --> 0:20:58.120 the melody, the vocal melody after you know, they get 0:20:58.160 --> 0:21:02.359 done singing, you know, because Journey songs are all about melody. 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:05.199 You know, it's not about a lot of abstract stuff. 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:08.040 Even though I love that stuff too, it's not the band, 0:21:08.200 --> 0:21:12.600 you know. So I tried to to play what is 0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:14.840 needed in the song, not what I want to play, 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:17.520 you know. I mean we had fights about it, you know, 0:21:17.680 --> 0:21:21.440 years ago for the song like Who's Crying now? You know, 0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:24.320 it's another when John first came into the band, he 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:27.840 brought that song in along with Open Arms, and I 0:21:27.960 --> 0:21:30.680 was like, what the funk am I supposed to do 0:21:30.800 --> 0:21:33.120 with this? You know, don't I don't get it, man, 0:21:33.359 --> 0:21:36.280 you know, And and they've become like the biggest hits, 0:21:36.400 --> 0:21:39.840 you know. But but I struggled in the studio playing 0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:46.000 the solo on Who's Crying Now, because I was trying 0:21:46.040 --> 0:21:48.320 to do more with it, you know, I was trying 0:21:48.359 --> 0:21:51.879 to make it more musical because I just thought that 0:21:52.000 --> 0:21:54.159 the song was so simple and it was like a 0:21:55.280 --> 0:21:58.320 pop song, a pretty pop song. But I was trying 0:21:58.359 --> 0:22:02.800 to put a little bit like, you know, just musical 0:22:02.960 --> 0:22:05.000 expression in it, and trying to play more like a 0:22:05.119 --> 0:22:09.080 horn player rather than a simple guitar part. And I 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:12.120 remember everybody was in the studio when I was out there, 0:22:12.200 --> 0:22:14.560 and it just was not coming out, you know, and 0:22:14.640 --> 0:22:16.040 if it doesn't come out of me in the first 0:22:16.080 --> 0:22:19.720 couple of days, everybody gets really frustrated. And so they did, 0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:23.639 and they were like, just play the simplest fucking thing 0:22:23.720 --> 0:22:26.240 you can think of, you know, and I was out 0:22:26.280 --> 0:22:29.760 of I was kind of like being a smartass, I believe, 0:22:29.880 --> 0:22:32.040 and you know, kind of lumb from the neck up 0:22:32.080 --> 0:22:34.800 back in those days. And you know, I don't know 0:22:34.840 --> 0:22:38.399 many drinks or whatever we had, you know, and I went, Okay, 0:22:38.520 --> 0:22:40.399 I'll fix them. You know, I'm gonna just play this 0:22:40.560 --> 0:22:45.320 stupid little melody doing it, and and I thought it 0:22:45.440 --> 0:22:49.360 was gonna be like, you know, like they'd go, come on, man, 0:22:49.840 --> 0:22:51.879 what are you doing? You know, because they kind of 0:22:51.960 --> 0:22:55.080 got under my skin. There you go, that was perfect. 0:22:56.840 --> 0:23:00.879 Oh I'm like, oh no, what did I do? And 0:23:00.960 --> 0:23:03.199 then it turns out to be like, you know, one 0:23:03.240 --> 0:23:06.720 of the classic solos that everybody sings every night I have. 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:10.520 I don't have a clue sometimes about you know, what 0:23:10.800 --> 0:23:13.320 people are really gonna like and what they're not gonna 0:23:13.400 --> 0:23:16.600 like from me. I like it all. But you know 0:23:17.280 --> 0:23:23.800 what people what catches on is the simplicity definitely, you know, 0:23:24.119 --> 0:23:27.600 you know, knowing Less Paul and becoming pretty good friends 0:23:27.640 --> 0:23:31.840 with him for for years. He always when we were talking, 0:23:32.000 --> 0:23:34.480 we talked about melody and you know, the first time 0:23:34.480 --> 0:23:36.200 I went to play with him at the Ridium and 0:23:36.680 --> 0:23:40.280 New York City, I was in the studio with the 0:23:40.359 --> 0:23:43.480 guys and we were recording our first album with Steve A. 0:23:43.640 --> 0:23:48.880 Jerry singing Rival and and uh, we're recording the whole 0:23:48.880 --> 0:23:51.119 album in New York. So we went, you know, our 0:23:51.280 --> 0:23:53.760 producer at the time, Kevin Shirley, said let's go down 0:23:53.840 --> 0:23:56.200 and see Less Paul, and I said great, So we 0:23:56.320 --> 0:23:58.920 went saw him. I'm sitting in the audience and I'm 0:23:58.960 --> 0:24:01.879 not gonna name any names, but two very good guitarists 0:24:01.920 --> 0:24:03.720 got up, you know, and I didn't know he was 0:24:03.720 --> 0:24:06.760 gonna call me up later. But they were playing like 0:24:06.880 --> 0:24:09.040 every note in the fret board, you know, and not 0:24:09.200 --> 0:24:12.919 playing too much melody. Unless was the funniest guy. I mean, 0:24:13.000 --> 0:24:15.479 he was like, you know, it was like the Jackie 0:24:15.600 --> 0:24:18.800 Glease and Les Paul hour with him and Loop follow 0:24:19.160 --> 0:24:22.840 He was quick, man, really really quick and really really 0:24:22.920 --> 0:24:28.480 you know, like Zappi you know people and uh funny, 0:24:28.600 --> 0:24:30.879 you know. I mean he's been known to unplugged people 0:24:31.000 --> 0:24:34.040 on stage if they played too many notes. You know. 0:24:34.160 --> 0:24:36.600 He just like they'd be like looking up at the 0:24:36.680 --> 0:24:39.880 ceiling and playing and they just like take the cord out. 0:24:41.320 --> 0:24:44.480 And so he goes, you know, all these guys, these 0:24:44.520 --> 0:24:47.560 two guys are playing all these notes, and he looks 0:24:47.600 --> 0:24:49.479 over in him after they get then he goes, all right, 0:24:49.560 --> 0:24:54.000 you're done, and he and he goes, uh, that would 0:24:54.040 --> 0:24:57.200 never end. Then he go, oh yeah, I'm gonna be 0:24:57.280 --> 0:25:01.640 humming out one all night long. And I was like, ouch, man, 0:25:01.720 --> 0:25:04.879 it's like any glue in here, you know. And so 0:25:06.160 --> 0:25:08.000 then he called me up out of the blue, you know, 0:25:08.119 --> 0:25:09.639 and I was like, oh man, I don't want to 0:25:09.680 --> 0:25:12.600 be put on the spotlight. So I tried to be 0:25:12.680 --> 0:25:16.359 really respectful, you know, and just you know, I just 0:25:17.160 --> 0:25:20.720 goofed around a bit and you know, plays some bluesy 0:25:20.840 --> 0:25:23.520 jazzy licks, and I guess he really liked that. He 0:25:23.880 --> 0:25:26.280 you know, I played one of his guitars that were 0:25:26.320 --> 0:25:28.240 on stage, and he gave it to me afterwards and 0:25:28.440 --> 0:25:30.800 signed it. It was the coolest guy when we became 0:25:30.880 --> 0:25:34.440 friends after that. But he always talked about melody, you know, 0:25:34.960 --> 0:25:37.800 how important melody is, and you know he could do 0:25:37.880 --> 0:25:42.320 it all. Yeah, oh yeah, what an innovator. I just 0:25:42.520 --> 0:25:44.040 was at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and 0:25:44.119 --> 0:25:47.639 I saw some It was like a cylinder brick with 0:25:47.720 --> 0:25:50.800 like a broom handle and some jerry rigged microphone that 0:25:50.880 --> 0:25:53.160 went into you know, it was early double tracking machines. 0:25:53.200 --> 0:25:56.760 It was insane. He told me the story himself, and 0:25:56.880 --> 0:26:01.480 he stole a railroad track, which double from a railroad track. 0:26:01.880 --> 0:26:04.840 That's where he got the wood, right. He stuck it 0:26:04.840 --> 0:26:07.080 in the back of his pickup and he took it 0:26:07.200 --> 0:26:09.359 home and he carved it out and he put the 0:26:09.440 --> 0:26:11.880 strings on it, and then he was trying to think 0:26:11.960 --> 0:26:14.639 in his mind, how am I going to make this guitar? 0:26:14.720 --> 0:26:18.480 Electric and the only thing that his imagination he came 0:26:18.560 --> 0:26:22.320 up with was taking you know, off an old phonograph 0:26:23.000 --> 0:26:25.359 before there was actually speakers in it. It was like 0:26:25.480 --> 0:26:27.960 the little needle that you dropped and has a built 0:26:28.000 --> 0:26:32.359 in speaker, a sound hole on the actual needle, like 0:26:32.720 --> 0:26:37.080 patrol in the wood. Oh my god, so would resonate, 0:26:37.320 --> 0:26:39.080 you know, And then you know they kind of came 0:26:39.160 --> 0:26:42.000 up with the dough Bros And everything after that up 0:26:42.040 --> 0:26:47.520 are resonating top of the guitar. But yeah, that's where 0:26:47.520 --> 0:26:51.800 it all came from. What an incredible genius. I mean, 0:26:52.040 --> 0:26:56.280 you know, we wouldn't have all these Beatles records, nothing 0:26:56.400 --> 0:27:00.600 without him coming up with all these you know, insane, 0:27:01.280 --> 0:27:04.080 I mean, total madness. How he even came up with it. 0:27:04.640 --> 0:27:08.719 I mean, just a total genius. Oh yeah, those records especially, 0:27:08.800 --> 0:27:10.720 I always love the ones you did with Mary Ford 0:27:10.840 --> 0:27:13.640 back in the late forties early fifties. Oh my god. Yeah. 0:27:13.640 --> 0:27:17.720 I mean, for anyone listening to hasn't uh explored those yet, 0:27:17.800 --> 0:27:20.040 I envy you because they will blow your mind. There's 0:27:20.119 --> 0:27:24.040 so so fresh, so intricate, there's so cool. I think 0:27:24.080 --> 0:27:28.959 he's the greatest. Uh definitely. Last time we spoke, actually 0:27:29.080 --> 0:27:33.359 we were talking about you were, um, you were letting 0:27:33.400 --> 0:27:38.920 go of some guitars, some incredible guitars. UH broadcaster A 0:27:39.040 --> 0:27:42.440 no castor uh A fifty nine gold top less Paul, 0:27:42.480 --> 0:27:45.520 if I recall, I I just I love the mythology 0:27:45.720 --> 0:27:48.760 around guitars. I love guitars that have back stories that 0:27:48.800 --> 0:27:51.359 have been passed from player to player. Maybe it's my 0:27:51.480 --> 0:27:54.560 King Arthur ex caliber fantasies in there. I just love 0:27:54.640 --> 0:27:56.840 that that these guitars take on a life of their own. 0:27:56.920 --> 0:27:59.919 You've got the stories of Jeff Beck giving Jimmy Page 0:28:00.119 --> 0:28:03.960 his Stairway to Heaven telecast, or or um clapped in 0:28:04.160 --> 0:28:07.520 or clapped in giving the lucy les Paul to uh 0:28:07.880 --> 0:28:09.760 George Harrison. I was just wondering, do you have any 0:28:09.800 --> 0:28:13.600 guitars that kind of come from a long historical lineage. 0:28:14.840 --> 0:28:19.879 You know, I've got I've got a few vantage guitars. 0:28:20.480 --> 0:28:22.639 You know, I don't have a lot anymore, man, because 0:28:23.040 --> 0:28:25.040 they were not my go to guitars. To tell you 0:28:25.160 --> 0:28:30.080 the truth, I collected uh during the pandemic, you know, 0:28:30.200 --> 0:28:33.600 because I've never done it before. Joe Bonamassa was given 0:28:33.600 --> 0:28:35.760 me a lot of help, you know, because he was 0:28:35.800 --> 0:28:38.680 a pro added obviously, and I didn't really know what 0:28:38.760 --> 0:28:40.040 I was doing. And I was like, hey, what do 0:28:40.120 --> 0:28:42.160 you think it is? Is this? You know, they ask 0:28:42.240 --> 0:28:43.880 him too much for what? What do you think I 0:28:43.920 --> 0:28:48.680 should offer for it? And I collected, you know, well 0:28:48.760 --> 0:28:52.640 over I don't know about a hundred fifty guitars and 0:28:52.720 --> 0:28:55.800 they were all vantage they were stacked up in our house, 0:28:56.320 --> 0:28:59.960 you know, crawling over guitars to get through with anywhere. 0:29:00.800 --> 0:29:03.800 And I just kind of take it on. I took 0:29:03.800 --> 0:29:06.880 it on as a hobby and learned how to work 0:29:06.960 --> 0:29:10.479 on them. And you know, I never had owned them, 0:29:10.560 --> 0:29:13.040 and so I wanted to own them, and I wanted 0:29:13.120 --> 0:29:18.360 to work and find out if I really loved them not. 0:29:19.480 --> 0:29:23.040 And so the telecasters and a broadcast that you were 0:29:23.040 --> 0:29:29.200 talking about, the black parts were completely insanely meant mint condition, 0:29:29.800 --> 0:29:32.800 like brand new, you know, uh. And I paid a 0:29:32.920 --> 0:29:37.160 small fortune for him, really um. But the problem with 0:29:37.360 --> 0:29:41.840 them was that they were only worth that much money 0:29:42.320 --> 0:29:44.280 if you don't mess with him. And I wanted to 0:29:44.360 --> 0:29:48.560 mess with him. All my stuff did I play. I 0:29:48.720 --> 0:29:51.880 messed with you know. I I switched pick ups at, 0:29:51.960 --> 0:29:55.800 I switched pots out, I put different frets, I you know, 0:29:55.880 --> 0:30:00.040 I make it comfortable for myself. And the frets that 0:30:00.600 --> 0:30:04.800 the guitars had come with were so tiny I couldn't 0:30:05.040 --> 0:30:08.520 get you know, I just couldn't get under them, you know. Uh. 0:30:09.080 --> 0:30:12.400 And then I could never set them up to feel comfortable. 0:30:12.400 --> 0:30:15.080 And then the screws in the back by the bridge 0:30:15.120 --> 0:30:17.680 were sticking out and they were very uncomfortable, and I 0:30:17.760 --> 0:30:19.560 wanted to put smaller ones, but then I go, if 0:30:19.560 --> 0:30:22.800 I change it, it's gonna take the value away from 0:30:22.880 --> 0:30:27.040 the guitar. So I had, you know, so many great 0:30:27.600 --> 0:30:32.480 uh relic tellys and strats that I got from Fender, 0:30:32.560 --> 0:30:35.200 and they're just like off the hook right now with 0:30:35.360 --> 0:30:38.920 the product that they make, uh, you know, relicting old 0:30:39.040 --> 0:30:42.600 guitars and not only the lookal but they sound old 0:30:42.800 --> 0:30:46.720 and they play old, but with a new modern edge 0:30:46.760 --> 0:30:48.920 to it. You know, they'll have a little bit bigger frets, 0:30:49.360 --> 0:30:53.320 a little more comfortable. The neck is actually worn up 0:30:53.440 --> 0:30:56.240 on the older Telly's. I'm talking about the black guards. 0:30:56.720 --> 0:30:59.440 I mean, all the lacquer was still on and I 0:30:59.520 --> 0:31:02.480 don't really like the lacquer, and I wanted to stand 0:31:02.560 --> 0:31:04.280 it down, and I was like, no, I can't do that. 0:31:04.960 --> 0:31:08.080 And so, you know, it was a classic case of 0:31:08.240 --> 0:31:11.640 after having them and working on him and finding if 0:31:11.680 --> 0:31:15.080 I really was attached to him, that I wasn't attached 0:31:15.120 --> 0:31:17.600 to him, you know, unless I just wanted to have 0:31:17.760 --> 0:31:20.760 a museum someday. And then I went, I don't see 0:31:20.840 --> 0:31:23.080 that happening, because it's kind of a look at it, 0:31:23.160 --> 0:31:25.880 kind of like it would be like a restaurant, you know, 0:31:26.040 --> 0:31:29.640 something you have to run yourself all the time, and 0:31:29.720 --> 0:31:32.160 you can't really, you know, trust any one person to 0:31:32.280 --> 0:31:35.120 do it beside yourself, and so I just I'm never 0:31:35.160 --> 0:31:37.080 gonna have the time to do that. So I just 0:31:37.160 --> 0:31:38.920 thought I'll put it in the hands of somebody that 0:31:38.960 --> 0:31:41.720 can really appreciate it. And I got rid of a 0:31:41.800 --> 0:31:44.400 lot of stuff that I still have, like about you know, 0:31:44.600 --> 0:31:50.959 seven seventy seven fifties something like that. Guitars. What's your 0:31:50.960 --> 0:31:52.600 go to? Now? What did you play? What was your 0:31:52.680 --> 0:31:57.200 rig for? For freedom? Uh? You know what? On freedom? 0:31:57.400 --> 0:32:02.800 I I brought had I brought about thirty five guitars 0:32:02.880 --> 0:32:05.880 into the studio. You know, I'd bring like about two 0:32:05.960 --> 0:32:10.160 a day for you know months. They pile up. He's 0:32:10.200 --> 0:32:12.640 in it were piled up, you know. Nardi was like, dude, 0:32:12.640 --> 0:32:14.480 I think you need to like make a little room here. 0:32:15.120 --> 0:32:17.280 But you know, I had a little bit of everything. 0:32:17.440 --> 0:32:21.920 You know. I had um a gold top of one 0:32:22.000 --> 0:32:24.959 of my last calls, and then s model that they 0:32:25.040 --> 0:32:28.120 only made, you know for a year, and he made 0:32:28.160 --> 0:32:31.800 two hundred of them, and uh, I used that on 0:32:32.040 --> 0:32:36.920 some tracks they wanted a little bit thicker sound. Um. 0:32:37.800 --> 0:32:44.640 Then I had a relic offender black Telly sixty three 0:32:44.680 --> 0:32:49.160 telly that I played a lot. And people don't affiliate 0:32:49.280 --> 0:32:51.440 me with a Telly because they never seen me, but 0:32:51.520 --> 0:32:54.440 they tell you, but that was, uh, you got the 0:32:54.520 --> 0:32:56.920 best of me. That is my telly. You know, that's 0:32:56.960 --> 0:32:59.480 a telly. It's a thick sound, he telly, but it's 0:32:59.520 --> 0:33:04.840 got attitude. You know. Telecasters just have that gnarly thing 0:33:04.960 --> 0:33:07.640 that they do. And you know, if you play him 0:33:07.720 --> 0:33:12.200 through a fuzz face or something like that, like you know, 0:33:12.560 --> 0:33:17.160 I found out that even purple haze that Andricks did 0:33:17.280 --> 0:33:19.640 was on a telly and it wasn't a strap and 0:33:19.800 --> 0:33:22.720 so that's what Telly sounds like through a fuzz phase, 0:33:22.840 --> 0:33:26.240 you know. And uh got a big, thick sound. And 0:33:26.720 --> 0:33:28.960 what's cool about him is you you you wind the 0:33:29.080 --> 0:33:32.160 volume back and it gets brighter and more staccato in 0:33:32.200 --> 0:33:34.840 your face, so when you're playing solos, when I really 0:33:34.880 --> 0:33:37.680 wanted the notes to stick out and be more staccato, 0:33:38.080 --> 0:33:40.520 I just rolled the vying back and what I wanted 0:33:40.560 --> 0:33:42.520 it to get thick because some of the more singing 0:33:42.600 --> 0:33:44.800 notes you pull the volume Up's kind of like what 0:33:44.920 --> 0:33:48.240 Jimmy Page said on the first Led Zeppelin album. You know, 0:33:49.040 --> 0:33:52.360 big thick Telly sounds on that album all throughout the album, 0:33:52.840 --> 0:33:55.600 and it's through, you know, over dry pedals. I don't 0:33:55.600 --> 0:33:58.360 know if you use a fuzz face or UH tone 0:33:58.400 --> 0:34:02.120 bender or whatever he used by uh that that those 0:34:02.200 --> 0:34:04.560 guitars as something else, And so I used a sixty 0:34:04.680 --> 0:34:10.319 three I had. UH. I used a Relic sixty three 0:34:10.440 --> 0:34:14.640 strat from Fender UH with some bigger friends on it 0:34:14.880 --> 0:34:17.719 that has some you know, custom pickups in it. There 0:34:17.760 --> 0:34:20.560 were no hume. They weren't like the new no homes 0:34:20.640 --> 0:34:23.120 that they they're putting in and I don't even know 0:34:23.200 --> 0:34:25.239 what they are. They could be the Marzos, whatever the 0:34:25.320 --> 0:34:28.080 pickups are. The guitar sounded great, though, so I just 0:34:28.320 --> 0:34:36.080 used it. UM. I used a tailor or acoustic guitar, 0:34:36.760 --> 0:34:38.920 a little bit acoustic that I did play on the record. 0:34:39.640 --> 0:34:43.960 And you know pretty much I that was it, you know, 0:34:44.040 --> 0:34:47.120 I didn't. I ended up honing into those about those 0:34:47.200 --> 0:34:50.880 three guitars, you know, throughout the whole record, and I 0:34:50.960 --> 0:34:55.960 don't recall you using much more than that. Speaking of Hendricks, 0:34:56.040 --> 0:35:00.279 I loved your performance at the NBA Final. So I'm 0:35:00.320 --> 0:35:02.719 a Boston boy myself, so we might have some some 0:35:02.920 --> 0:35:06.759 differences there, but that was incredible performance. You know, I 0:35:06.880 --> 0:35:09.360 was obviously I was at the first game. That was 0:35:09.400 --> 0:35:12.120 an honor for me. You know. It's, uh, it's so 0:35:12.280 --> 0:35:16.880 great that you know, now that I've been managing myself, 0:35:17.600 --> 0:35:21.920 you know, I don't have anybody diverting the calls, is 0:35:21.960 --> 0:35:24.960 what I found. Like, you know, when I first played, 0:35:25.280 --> 0:35:27.239 when I got asked by the Raiders to do it 0:35:27.320 --> 0:35:30.040 in Vegas, you know, uh, they called me and it 0:35:30.080 --> 0:35:31.399 finally got a hold of me and I said, dude, 0:35:31.440 --> 0:35:34.120 you are like the hardest guy to get ahold of. 0:35:34.239 --> 0:35:36.680 And I said, what are you talking about? And I said, 0:35:36.719 --> 0:35:38.400 we've been trying to get a hold of you for 0:35:38.520 --> 0:35:40.960 like twenty years. And I said who are you talking to? 0:35:41.040 --> 0:35:44.319 And they said management And I said, one day tell 0:35:44.360 --> 0:35:47.000 you and they said, I said, you weren't interested and 0:35:47.080 --> 0:35:52.800 I was like nice. And so now you know, people 0:35:53.040 --> 0:35:55.960 are calling me directly and I'm getting asked to do 0:35:56.080 --> 0:35:58.920 it all the time, and um, it said quite was 0:35:59.000 --> 0:36:01.960 quite an honor. Uh, it was a little freak key 0:36:02.080 --> 0:36:03.600 for me. You know. It wasn't like being on a 0:36:03.680 --> 0:36:08.280 big giant football field, you know, in the stadium in Vegas. 0:36:08.840 --> 0:36:11.239 That was really comfortable. The first time I've been in 0:36:11.800 --> 0:36:16.319 you know, we played it Chase Center in San Francisco 0:36:16.760 --> 0:36:19.000 on his last tour, but I was on the stage, 0:36:20.040 --> 0:36:22.880 you know. This time, I'm down in the middle of 0:36:23.000 --> 0:36:26.279 the court and while I'm getting ready to do it, 0:36:27.560 --> 0:36:31.279 I'm barely hearing the announcer because the sound system they have, 0:36:31.440 --> 0:36:34.160 the p A address system, whatever they have in there 0:36:34.640 --> 0:36:37.600 is not like what they have in Vegas, you know. 0:36:38.440 --> 0:36:42.399 And so and and I got all players from both 0:36:42.440 --> 0:36:46.120 teams right on each side of me, and they're all 0:36:46.200 --> 0:36:48.520 falling down in front of me. The balls are flying 0:36:48.600 --> 0:36:51.200 by it. I'm like, I'm gonna get taken out of here. 0:36:51.239 --> 0:36:55.000 In the second man, it was interesting these guys Luke 0:36:55.480 --> 0:36:59.120 nine ft tall. When you're standing down there with him, 0:36:59.160 --> 0:37:02.080 then for a real I was just like, wow, this 0:37:02.360 --> 0:37:07.719 is insane, and so um, I wasn't quite hearing enough 0:37:07.760 --> 0:37:09.600 of myself in the house. I think they were a 0:37:09.640 --> 0:37:13.000 little gunshot, you know, with with the the guitar in 0:37:13.080 --> 0:37:15.359 the mix, because I believe it's the first time they've 0:37:15.400 --> 0:37:18.560 ever allowed, you know, a guitar player to do that. 0:37:19.520 --> 0:37:24.320 UM on the first playoff on you know, televised across 0:37:24.400 --> 0:37:30.240 the world, and so UM, I was mostly hearing myself 0:37:30.360 --> 0:37:33.719 on the ground with the two martial cabinets I had, 0:37:33.760 --> 0:37:37.600 and it's a wooden floor. Everything was bouncing around, and so, 0:37:38.200 --> 0:37:40.799 you know, I do I think I could have done better. Yeah, 0:37:41.040 --> 0:37:44.120 but you know, there's gonna be another time, you know. 0:37:45.160 --> 0:37:48.400 And uh, it was a great experience. I'm just you know, 0:37:48.520 --> 0:38:05.319 thrill that they they even asked me, you're going back 0:38:05.400 --> 0:38:07.760 out on the road. You're playing some dates in Vegas 0:38:07.880 --> 0:38:11.200 with an orchestra. I mean, that's gotta be That's I 0:38:11.520 --> 0:38:14.840 cannot wait to hear clips from that. That seems amazing. 0:38:14.920 --> 0:38:17.160 That's gonna be such a great way to to augment 0:38:17.360 --> 0:38:19.759 these songs. It seemed really as you mentioned earlier, I mean, 0:38:19.840 --> 0:38:22.080 with your solo for Don't Stop Believing. I can totally 0:38:22.160 --> 0:38:23.800 hear how the orchestra could fit into a lot of 0:38:23.840 --> 0:38:26.520 these tracks. You know, we've done it a couple of 0:38:26.680 --> 0:38:30.560 times now. Um. We did it at the Hollywood Bowl 0:38:30.719 --> 0:38:34.120 years ago. We did it with a full like one 0:38:34.719 --> 0:38:37.799 over one hundred piece orchestra, and we did a long show, 0:38:38.040 --> 0:38:42.360 close to three hours, and uh, we rearranged all the 0:38:42.920 --> 0:38:45.920 songs to accommodate orchestra and to make it a bit 0:38:45.960 --> 0:38:48.239 different than a record, and we did, like you know, 0:38:48.920 --> 0:38:54.200 it was interesting is the hits that you wouldn't naturally 0:38:54.280 --> 0:38:57.120 hear an orchestra, and whether it's you know, like the 0:38:57.200 --> 0:39:00.440 ballot is like faithfully or or open arms, so whatever 0:39:00.719 --> 0:39:05.160 sounded you know, more like not that different from what 0:39:05.280 --> 0:39:08.120 we did live. But the rock songs that we did 0:39:08.239 --> 0:39:14.320 took on a whole different feeling, you know, um, like City, 0:39:14.360 --> 0:39:16.960 I hope we did. We're gonna be playing that off. 0:39:17.000 --> 0:39:20.080 The first album we did with our now right uh 0:39:20.640 --> 0:39:22.600 for on it was the second album. I can't remember, 0:39:23.320 --> 0:39:27.520 um whether it was Eclipse or right. Um, the first 0:39:27.560 --> 0:39:32.920 album with him Revelation, Um, and you know there was 0:39:33.040 --> 0:39:35.960 French horns. It was all this stuff going on that 0:39:36.200 --> 0:39:39.879 really you know, embellished the tunes and so it's gonna 0:39:39.920 --> 0:39:42.680 be interesting to play all that stuff again, uh, and 0:39:42.760 --> 0:39:44.440 the arrangements they're gonna have to learn in my care 0:39:44.560 --> 0:39:46.960 Remember where we did it was such a long time ago, 0:39:47.080 --> 0:39:50.600 but we'll pick it up past. Oh man, I know 0:39:50.719 --> 0:39:53.719 you've got another big milestone on the horizon. I hope 0:39:53.760 --> 0:39:56.040 you don't mind me mentioning it, uh fifty years with 0:39:56.160 --> 0:39:59.560 journey coming up. I understand you've got some some big 0:39:59.640 --> 0:40:01.799 plan possibly in the works. I was wonder if there's 0:40:01.960 --> 0:40:05.680 uh anything you can share about that. Um, there's some 0:40:05.840 --> 0:40:08.239 I'm not supposed to talk about. Have already been like 0:40:08.360 --> 0:40:11.759 they smacked my hands, like to talk about that, and 0:40:11.880 --> 0:40:16.520 I'm like, I'm but no, there are big plans and 0:40:17.239 --> 0:40:20.319 uh the immediate plans just for the fans out there 0:40:20.840 --> 0:40:23.360 that you know, I feel really bad about. You know, 0:40:23.719 --> 0:40:27.080 the last four gigs that we had we had to postpone, 0:40:27.760 --> 0:40:30.520 uh due to COVID and one of us getting sick. 0:40:30.600 --> 0:40:33.400 And it wasn't me, but I'm not gonna say anything 0:40:33.520 --> 0:40:37.200 more than that. But um, everybody assumed it was me 0:40:37.360 --> 0:40:40.960 because Classic Rock, you know, the mag they came out 0:40:41.040 --> 0:40:43.400 with a little blurp about it and they used a 0:40:43.480 --> 0:40:46.560 picture of me, so it must have a kneel And 0:40:46.920 --> 0:40:51.600 right now it wasn't me, but um, we're gonna make 0:40:51.680 --> 0:40:55.399 up those dates. What the talk is right now, those 0:40:55.400 --> 0:40:58.840 will be the first dates that we play of the 0:40:58.960 --> 0:41:02.080 new year, Gonna go out early again, like we did 0:41:02.600 --> 0:41:05.839 you know this this year, and we're doing the first 0:41:06.000 --> 0:41:10.080 forty shows at plus the makeups with Toto again, which 0:41:10.160 --> 0:41:12.719 you know was a call of mine. I you know, 0:41:12.880 --> 0:41:15.560 I've known Luke at there Steve Lucat there forever and 0:41:15.840 --> 0:41:19.520 you know, amazing guitar player, amazing friend of mine. Uh, 0:41:19.760 --> 0:41:22.120 We've known each other and respected each other for years, 0:41:22.200 --> 0:41:24.600 and I just thought, you know, I saw a poster 0:41:25.400 --> 0:41:28.279 years ago from a Day on the Green and it 0:41:28.480 --> 0:41:33.040 was Bill Graham's Dana Green and it was Journeys Santana 0:41:33.160 --> 0:41:36.640 and Tote, and I went, what a great Bill that that? 0:41:37.080 --> 0:41:41.759 You know, I see that happening, and possibly, you know, 0:41:42.360 --> 0:41:45.480 we're gonna do these forty days with Toto. And the 0:41:45.560 --> 0:41:48.840 deal I made with Luke at their managing was like 0:41:48.920 --> 0:41:51.200 I said, look, we're we could probably sell out these 0:41:51.280 --> 0:41:54.480 places by ourself, and A E. G. Didn't know at 0:41:54.520 --> 0:41:56.320 the time because we hadn't worked with them yet, but 0:41:56.840 --> 0:41:59.880 I had a good clue that you know, while we 0:42:00.040 --> 0:42:03.680 were being stuck in sheds for the last two decades, 0:42:03.840 --> 0:42:07.640 and you know, only accountable for five thousand seeds because 0:42:07.640 --> 0:42:10.319 there's only five thousand seats. I used to pay guys 0:42:10.400 --> 0:42:13.920 in the parking lot, you know that we're brothers of mine, 0:42:14.000 --> 0:42:16.520 and and I say how many cars were here tonight? 0:42:17.239 --> 0:42:21.600 And I say like two thousand, you know, And I said, 0:42:21.719 --> 0:42:23.960 oh really, And then I go to work on how 0:42:24.040 --> 0:42:26.480 many do we have here tonight? And you go, oh, well, 0:42:26.560 --> 0:42:28.359 you didn't do it as good as you did last year. 0:42:28.440 --> 0:42:31.719 You're probably about eighteen thousand and so when you're on 0:42:31.960 --> 0:42:34.520 stage and you're playing in sheds, you can't tell how 0:42:34.560 --> 0:42:36.439 many people are there. You have to go and pay 0:42:36.480 --> 0:42:38.839 the guys somebody in the parking lot and ask them 0:42:40.480 --> 0:42:43.040 just a little clue for other bands. So I had 0:42:43.080 --> 0:42:45.800 a good clue of how strong we were, you know, 0:42:46.440 --> 0:42:50.040 really being told one thing to keep you kind of 0:42:50.160 --> 0:42:53.000 down here, you know, and don't get let them get 0:42:53.040 --> 0:42:56.279 outside the box, you know. But you know, I had 0:42:56.320 --> 0:42:59.880 managed to do a few gigs. One was in Indianapolis 0:43:00.280 --> 0:43:04.840 five hundreds anniversary. Actually my wife and I put together 0:43:04.960 --> 0:43:09.440 with friends of ours that that run not and at 0:43:09.480 --> 0:43:12.640 the time our management wasn't going to allow us to play. 0:43:12.800 --> 0:43:15.719 They didn't want us to play. We went, uh, just 0:43:16.040 --> 0:43:20.400 to witness it, and you know, before we played another 0:43:20.520 --> 0:43:23.719 time and hung out and they were like, how come 0:43:24.120 --> 0:43:25.640 you don't want to play? And I'm like, what are 0:43:25.680 --> 0:43:28.319 you talking about? I don't know anything about it. I said, 0:43:28.320 --> 0:43:30.640 I'd love to play. Well, I said, so let me 0:43:30.760 --> 0:43:32.680 call somebody and and put him on the phone while 0:43:32.719 --> 0:43:35.040 I was sitting there with the main guys. And so 0:43:35.200 --> 0:43:39.080 this is all why you know I'm doing it myself now, 0:43:39.719 --> 0:43:42.400 you know, is that because I want to hear what's 0:43:42.520 --> 0:43:45.680 really going on from the get go, before it goes 0:43:45.760 --> 0:43:48.160 from this person and that person, this person in person 0:43:48.520 --> 0:43:50.400 and then you hear whatever you here in the end, 0:43:50.680 --> 0:43:54.080 which is total bullshit. It's a game of telephone. Yeah, 0:43:54.640 --> 0:43:58.319 you know, so I just you know, um, I'm I'm 0:43:58.440 --> 0:44:02.440 enjoying knowing what's really going on. But we're gonna go. 0:44:02.600 --> 0:44:05.080 I told Luca thro I said, look, and we did 0:44:05.160 --> 0:44:09.040 sell out. We started selling out immediately, and you know, 0:44:09.160 --> 0:44:11.680 as when we got past I think the first week 0:44:11.760 --> 0:44:14.800 it was totally sold out the whole tour, and so 0:44:15.840 --> 0:44:19.960 it'll happen again. It's a great package. Our fans love 0:44:20.160 --> 0:44:23.919 the package were total and you know, I go by 0:44:24.600 --> 0:44:29.080 every night. You know, I'd hire like um uh three 0:44:29.840 --> 0:44:32.800 pro photographers to come with us, you know, which I 0:44:32.960 --> 0:44:36.680 thought was really important the beginning of our tour with 0:44:36.920 --> 0:44:39.840 a G to show the strength of the band. And 0:44:40.120 --> 0:44:42.440 one of the guys in particular, Iron Mike. You know, 0:44:43.000 --> 0:44:45.920 he's well known in the rock industry, and he he's 0:44:46.080 --> 0:44:48.880 known for he's like, you know, the goat man. He 0:44:48.960 --> 0:44:51.880 goes way up in the coliseum or wherever you are, 0:44:52.280 --> 0:44:55.440 because see these long shots of the audience. That just 0:44:55.560 --> 0:44:59.880 shows a packed audience, you know, and shows the magnet 0:45:00.160 --> 0:45:04.160 in the size of our crowd, you know. And so 0:45:04.360 --> 0:45:06.960 I started posting this every night with pictures of the band, 0:45:07.120 --> 0:45:09.680 thanking everybody from the city. It was like doing this 0:45:10.320 --> 0:45:13.440 by myself, you know, and taking it upon myself. It's 0:45:13.480 --> 0:45:17.040 like my responsibility as a manager to do this for 0:45:17.160 --> 0:45:20.160 the band, to elevate us. And sure enough it just 0:45:20.239 --> 0:45:25.520 started snowballing, snowballing. So now a G. I obviously loved 0:45:26.480 --> 0:45:28.480 how well it did, as well as C A. A. 0:45:29.080 --> 0:45:32.799 And our agent there, Jeff Frasto, And so now we're 0:45:32.800 --> 0:45:36.440 gonna we're gonna continue. I said, let's just continue, you know, 0:45:36.560 --> 0:45:39.080 there's no reason not to. So we're gonna play the 0:45:39.160 --> 0:45:42.799 secondary markets in the first forty shows, makeup to dates 0:45:42.880 --> 0:45:45.279 that we had to cancel, uh they We're gonna play 0:45:45.320 --> 0:45:47.920 some of the main markets that we did miss this 0:45:48.080 --> 0:45:52.359 year next year in the first forty dates. Then we're 0:45:52.400 --> 0:45:55.960 planning on going overseas with TODE, which is was the 0:45:56.040 --> 0:45:58.319 deal I made with Lucather because they have a big 0:45:58.440 --> 0:46:01.480 following over there and believe we do too, but we 0:46:01.640 --> 0:46:05.040 just don't know it yet because nobody wanted us to 0:46:05.120 --> 0:46:09.920 be big over there because there's different guys that that 0:46:10.200 --> 0:46:13.920 you know, do the shows, you know, and they're independent promoters, 0:46:14.040 --> 0:46:17.560 and so we weren't allowed to do that twenty years ago, 0:46:17.680 --> 0:46:21.080 and so now we are. But you know, Lucather got 0:46:21.120 --> 0:46:24.120 back and I said, that's the deal. I said, you know, well, 0:46:24.200 --> 0:46:26.880 we'll take you guys on this and it will elevate you, 0:46:27.000 --> 0:46:28.600 and then we'll go with you and it will elevate 0:46:28.719 --> 0:46:32.680 us as well in Europe and in South America, and 0:46:32.960 --> 0:46:36.120 so we're gonna go explore all those territories with them. 0:46:36.160 --> 0:46:37.960 And he's already gotten back to me and said, hey, 0:46:38.520 --> 0:46:41.759 and some of my promoters and he manages Toto too, 0:46:42.320 --> 0:46:44.160 and he says, some of my promoters so many we 0:46:44.239 --> 0:46:46.279 can go onto stadiums, which is the two of us, 0:46:47.000 --> 0:46:49.879 and so I said, I thought, so, so we're heading there. 0:46:50.239 --> 0:46:52.160 I think it's gonna be really really interested in my 0:46:52.360 --> 0:46:56.400 I'm so excited, uh to get back and play outside 0:46:56.400 --> 0:46:58.520 of the US as well, because I know we have 0:46:58.960 --> 0:47:06.000 so many like billions of fans basically not millions, billions, 0:47:06.600 --> 0:47:10.160 you know, all over the world. And um, and then 0:47:10.160 --> 0:47:13.080 I'm talking to Carlos Antiana, you know, him and I 0:47:13.200 --> 0:47:16.560 are like really you know, as tight as ever. We're 0:47:16.600 --> 0:47:20.040 talking about working together again, and so you know, I'm 0:47:20.160 --> 0:47:24.440 warming them up to the idea of if we, uh, 0:47:24.520 --> 0:47:27.440 if I start out with Toto and we play the Marcus, 0:47:27.480 --> 0:47:30.600 that they're strong. And I know how strong Santana is 0:47:30.680 --> 0:47:32.960 across the world because I played in the band when 0:47:33.040 --> 0:47:35.480 I was just a kid. And it remains like that 0:47:35.680 --> 0:47:38.239 for him. You know, God bless him, you know, God 0:47:38.320 --> 0:47:41.839 bless them fans. I mean, it's so awesome. I dad 0:47:42.000 --> 0:47:45.120 experience for me was just like nothing ever born. I 0:47:45.200 --> 0:47:49.040 will never forget that, you know. Um. But as there's 0:47:49.120 --> 0:47:51.640 no reason not to do it at this time because 0:47:52.080 --> 0:47:56.560 it is my fiftieth anniversary, and really that's where Journey 0:47:56.680 --> 0:48:00.960 came from, you know. Uh, and so have that story 0:48:01.680 --> 0:48:06.000 with us, you know, and playing with Carlos and some 0:48:06.120 --> 0:48:10.960 of these dates, and I see us playing some stadiums, 0:48:11.400 --> 0:48:14.640 coming back to the US and playing some stadiums with 0:48:14.920 --> 0:48:19.520 Antana as well, and possibly Toto, you know. Carlos likes 0:48:19.600 --> 0:48:22.200 Earth to win and fire though two and they're awesome. 0:48:22.280 --> 0:48:24.279 So we'll see what happens, maybe all four of us 0:48:25.200 --> 0:48:30.000 or or three of us, and then there's plans for too. 0:48:30.080 --> 0:48:32.480 But that's when I've been smacked down about. They don't 0:48:32.520 --> 0:48:37.440 want me talking about it, but it is four. So 0:48:37.560 --> 0:48:40.319 we're like going like this, you know, at this point 0:48:40.440 --> 0:48:45.359 here is my career. To watch it escalate to even 0:48:45.440 --> 0:48:49.759 a higher level than it's ever been. It's just it's 0:48:49.920 --> 0:48:53.800 very gratifying to me. Is the word is gratitude, you know. 0:48:54.520 --> 0:48:58.200 And and um, you know, I love the fans so much. 0:48:58.280 --> 0:49:01.040 They're like so supportive. I always knew they were there 0:49:01.120 --> 0:49:03.600 for us much more than it appeared, though, you know, 0:49:03.840 --> 0:49:08.000 And now I'm seeing for real, um, what is all about? 0:49:08.840 --> 0:49:12.320 And so it's it's, um, you know, we're we're moving 0:49:12.400 --> 0:49:15.040 up really really quick. And the other thing that I 0:49:15.200 --> 0:49:18.560 cleaned up that my wife and actually and I cleaned up, 0:49:19.120 --> 0:49:24.480 that we investigated for about six years is our merchandise. 0:49:24.640 --> 0:49:27.000 You know, we have been lied to for many many 0:49:27.120 --> 0:49:32.480 years that you know, our merchandise was trademark, and we 0:49:32.560 --> 0:49:36.839 found out it was never trademard. And so our merchandise 0:49:37.040 --> 0:49:41.360 is massive across the world, and we're like receiving chump change, 0:49:41.920 --> 0:49:47.120 you know, but people are making billions billion dollars. I mean, 0:49:47.200 --> 0:49:50.960 people do not realize in bands how big merch is 0:49:51.640 --> 0:49:54.920 because most management they don't want them to know how 0:49:55.000 --> 0:49:57.600 big it is. That's way bigger than playing, you know, 0:49:57.680 --> 0:50:00.880 if you haven't put together right. So out we got 0:50:00.960 --> 0:50:04.239 all that put together. I've been doing clean up for 0:50:04.320 --> 0:50:08.320 the last two years. Took everything off the shelves. The 0:50:08.400 --> 0:50:11.239 only thing that's left out there and retail is all 0:50:11.280 --> 0:50:14.600 bootlegs up uh and they're all phony deals that that 0:50:14.680 --> 0:50:16.920 it was under and it was saying they were licensed deels. 0:50:17.000 --> 0:50:19.400 And you know, I was basically on the phone with 0:50:20.040 --> 0:50:24.320 and on zoom with with CEOs of these bigger stores saying, 0:50:24.600 --> 0:50:27.839 you know what, man, you have a real problem here. Um, 0:50:28.920 --> 0:50:31.640 well we had, they said, we had contracts and I go, 0:50:32.360 --> 0:50:36.120 not real ones, No, no real contracts here, And I said, 0:50:36.200 --> 0:50:39.640 and people basically that you had contracts with are fired now. 0:50:40.160 --> 0:50:43.200 And so you've been selling our stuff really illegally for 0:50:43.360 --> 0:50:46.960 two years. And so you know, we're gonna have to 0:50:47.480 --> 0:50:51.960 settle up here and move on, and you know, and 0:50:52.200 --> 0:50:55.640 so that's what's happening right now, and taking on a 0:50:55.800 --> 0:50:59.600 lot of stuff. Man, steering the bowl in the right areas. 0:50:59.719 --> 0:51:03.320 But man, you know, at this point, I'm just not 0:51:03.520 --> 0:51:07.480 effing around anymore. You know, It's like, why, why, if 0:51:07.640 --> 0:51:10.840 if it's really doing that well, why should we not 0:51:11.000 --> 0:51:14.320 be the ones that that are, you know, receiving the 0:51:14.400 --> 0:51:17.800 benefits of it, you know, not everybody else that's ripping 0:51:17.840 --> 0:51:22.000 you off. So that's where it's. That's where I'm at. 0:51:22.520 --> 0:51:24.560 I'm in the cleaning the whole thing up, but not 0:51:24.880 --> 0:51:28.840 losing music. The music is the main thing, you know. 0:51:29.880 --> 0:51:33.640 But the rest of it is not that hard, man, honestly, 0:51:33.880 --> 0:51:38.759 you know it now that everything is removed, it takes 0:51:38.800 --> 0:51:40.520 a lot of effort to stay on top of it. 0:51:40.640 --> 0:51:42.799 You know, I could use a day to day guy 0:51:42.920 --> 0:51:45.160 to come in and do a list of stuff for 0:51:45.239 --> 0:51:47.640 me that I don't really feel like doing now that 0:51:47.719 --> 0:51:49.920 I've done it, as long as I can find somebody 0:51:49.960 --> 0:51:52.560 that can follow the list and do what I ask. 0:51:52.640 --> 0:51:56.560 And that's another chore in itself, finding the right person, 0:51:56.719 --> 0:51:59.720 you know, finding the right person that has a niche 0:51:59.840 --> 0:52:02.840 of what you're talking about, that gets it immediately, so 0:52:02.960 --> 0:52:05.600 they're almost reading your mind and you don't have to 0:52:05.680 --> 0:52:08.080 take them. You don't put the training wheels on for 0:52:08.680 --> 0:52:11.800 six months or two years and they still don't get it. No, 0:52:12.040 --> 0:52:14.040 you need to find the right person. And so until 0:52:14.640 --> 0:52:17.000 until I do, I'm just gonna keep on doing what 0:52:17.120 --> 0:52:21.719 I'm doing. You know, I saw on your Instagram. I 0:52:21.800 --> 0:52:24.800 think it was in Texas a view from the stage. 0:52:25.160 --> 0:52:26.879 Must have been during lights, because I feel like they're 0:52:26.920 --> 0:52:29.239 everybody had the lights up in the air. I mean, 0:52:29.400 --> 0:52:32.359 just more scenes like that, more scenes like that. That's 0:52:32.440 --> 0:52:34.680 what we're That's what I hope to see more for 0:52:34.760 --> 0:52:37.480 you in the next couple of years. Good lord, you 0:52:37.520 --> 0:52:40.239 know what you're going to see that. I think all 0:52:40.360 --> 0:52:45.000 day long in every city that was that was like 0:52:46.120 --> 0:52:49.439 one of the best shows that we had definitely done 0:52:49.480 --> 0:52:52.560 in many, many years. Um And I didn't know what 0:52:52.680 --> 0:52:55.920 to expect going in because I knew nothing about the event. 0:52:56.480 --> 0:52:58.279 You know, all I knew is is that it was 0:52:59.800 --> 0:53:02.960 it was. It was not an a e G. Event. 0:53:03.120 --> 0:53:06.280 It was like a private promoter and it was a rodeo. 0:53:06.600 --> 0:53:09.920 And I'm thinking to myself, we're playing a rodeo, And 0:53:10.040 --> 0:53:12.960 I said, well, who else played these rodeos? And they go, well, 0:53:13.000 --> 0:53:15.360 Beyonce has done at jay Z. They've done it, like 0:53:16.040 --> 0:53:19.280 you know, multiple times, and Santana's done it, and everybody's 0:53:19.280 --> 0:53:21.640 done it. Go what, it must be a cool experience then, 0:53:22.239 --> 0:53:24.800 you know. But I had no clue going in like 0:53:25.000 --> 0:53:29.239 how big it was and this audience, I mean all 0:53:29.400 --> 0:53:33.040 seventy two thousand, it was sold out, and they were 0:53:33.120 --> 0:53:36.200 die hard Journey fans. Okay, they weren't there. You know, 0:53:36.280 --> 0:53:40.040 they buy tickets for like the whole rodeo and they 0:53:40.080 --> 0:53:44.240 have lots of different artists, but this particular night sold 0:53:44.320 --> 0:53:47.680 like really quick. I talked to the promoter and they 0:53:48.040 --> 0:53:52.040 were just in from second one and I started up 0:53:52.120 --> 0:53:54.840 with star spangled banner, and I'll tell you what, that 0:53:54.920 --> 0:53:58.640 place came on freaking glue like I've never heard before. 0:53:59.160 --> 0:54:02.279 And they stay that way through our whole show. And 0:54:02.440 --> 0:54:05.720 then you know, we had like a new merch company 0:54:06.160 --> 0:54:08.719 future shows that we're working with. They didn't know what 0:54:08.840 --> 0:54:12.880 to expect. They ran out of merch, you know, And 0:54:12.960 --> 0:54:15.440 I'm like, how can you run out of merch? You know? 0:54:15.960 --> 0:54:18.960 Never again? No, it's never happened again now, you know. 0:54:19.600 --> 0:54:22.040 Honest to God. Since I clean up the merch, we're 0:54:22.160 --> 0:54:27.400 like doing like numbers like nobody we never did in 0:54:27.440 --> 0:54:31.759 the eighties. Uh, in our height. We're like, we're like 0:54:31.840 --> 0:54:34.480 doing numbers like merch numbers. And lets me know that 0:54:34.560 --> 0:54:38.320 I'm on the right bound and you know, the man upstairs, 0:54:38.400 --> 0:54:41.080 he's on my side. He's leading me the right way. 0:54:42.760 --> 0:54:45.239 Well you got the music man? Oh good lord. I 0:54:46.480 --> 0:54:47.880 I could talk to you all day. I don't want 0:54:47.880 --> 0:54:49.200 to take up too much more of your time, but 0:54:49.360 --> 0:54:51.600 I just I am such a huge fan. I just 0:54:51.680 --> 0:54:54.320 want to thank you U for your time today, but 0:54:54.400 --> 0:54:56.560 most importantly, thank you for your music. It has meant 0:54:56.640 --> 0:54:58.680 the world to me and my loved ones over the years. 0:54:58.960 --> 0:55:00.920 Thank you so much. It's been such an honor to 0:55:00.960 --> 0:55:03.360 speak to you. It's great to talk to again and 0:55:03.719 --> 0:55:10.960 come down to the gig in Vegas. We hope you 0:55:11.080 --> 0:55:13.680 enjoyed this episode of Inside the Studio, a production of 0:55:13.719 --> 0:55:16.840 I Heart Radio. For more episodes of Inside the Studio 0:55:17.040 --> 0:55:19.959 or other fantastic shows, check out the I Heart Radio app, 0:55:20.000 --> 0:55:22.800 Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast.