WEBVTT - Lukas Nelson: A Star Is Born 0:00:15.436 --> 0:00:31.956 Pushkin, You're gonna waste your house and home doing your 0:00:32.076 --> 0:00:36.956 money was so long? Good back to love you, Thank you, 0:00:38.116 --> 0:00:42.876 gambling woman, don't let your love run dry. Growing up 0:00:42.876 --> 0:00:46.116 with a family full of musicians, Lucas Nelson was basically 0:00:46.276 --> 0:00:50.396 raised on stage. Lucas started playing guitar and his dad, 0:00:50.396 --> 0:00:53.276 Willie Nelson's band when he was just eleven years old. 0:00:53.996 --> 0:00:56.556 In those early days, he spent all of his time 0:00:56.636 --> 0:01:00.116 practicing and made a point of earning his stripes instead 0:01:00.156 --> 0:01:03.756 of just coasting on his dad's success. Beautiful bis, I 0:01:03.996 --> 0:01:10.796 see your Hi don't make good colors. That hard works 0:01:10.836 --> 0:01:13.596 paid off. In two thousand and eight, Lucas formed his 0:01:13.596 --> 0:01:16.356 acclaimed band, Promise of the Real, who've also spent the 0:01:16.436 --> 0:01:20.396 last six years as Neil Young's touring band. In twenty seventeen, 0:01:20.796 --> 0:01:22.876 Lucas and the band were cast and a Star was 0:01:22.916 --> 0:01:26.596 born as Bradley Cooper's backing band. Cooper learned how to 0:01:26.636 --> 0:01:29.556 embody a rock star on stage through working with Lucas, 0:01:29.796 --> 0:01:32.156 who also wrote the opening riff for Shallow and co 0:01:32.316 --> 0:01:35.236 wrote some other songs on the soundtrack sung by Cooper 0:01:35.276 --> 0:01:39.676 and Lady Gaga. On today's episode, Lucas Nelson sings some 0:01:39.756 --> 0:01:42.956 songs from his latest album, A Few Stars Apart. He 0:01:42.956 --> 0:01:46.116 also talks to Bruce Headlam about the very relatable experience 0:01:46.396 --> 0:01:49.476 of quarantining with his parents and talks about how the 0:01:49.516 --> 0:01:52.636 first song he ever wrote saved him from getting evicted 0:01:52.676 --> 0:01:59.756 from an apartment after leaving college. This is broken record 0:01:59.916 --> 0:02:07.996 liner notes for the digital Age. I'm justin Richmond. Here's 0:02:07.996 --> 0:02:11.236 Bruce Headlam and Lucas Nelson. So thank you so much 0:02:11.236 --> 0:02:13.796 for doing this. You've got this new album, A Few 0:02:13.796 --> 0:02:16.516 Stars Apart with your band promise of the reel. Can 0:02:16.556 --> 0:02:20.556 you just start by telling me a bit about this album. Yes, 0:02:20.836 --> 0:02:26.916 the record was recorded at OURCA Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. 0:02:27.436 --> 0:02:31.556 It's a historic place. Elvis and my father and so 0:02:31.676 --> 0:02:35.196 many others have recorded there. You can feel that history 0:02:35.196 --> 0:02:39.476 when you go in the building. Dave Cobb was the 0:02:39.516 --> 0:02:44.556 producer on our record, and he has produced many fantastic 0:02:44.636 --> 0:02:51.236 artists including Chris Stapleton, Brandy Carlyle. And he's just a 0:02:51.356 --> 0:02:55.676 really cool guy and was really happy to work with 0:02:55.756 --> 0:02:58.996 him because he tends to work the way we like 0:02:59.116 --> 0:03:02.236 to work, which is sort of analog, live in the studio, 0:03:02.916 --> 0:03:05.396 a little bit old school. You might say, but he 0:03:05.436 --> 0:03:09.636 can produce a fresh sound with that process. You know, 0:03:09.676 --> 0:03:12.556 we were really happy to be with him. Was this record? 0:03:12.756 --> 0:03:17.116 Was it written while you were in lockdown for COVID? Yeah, 0:03:17.156 --> 0:03:19.636 I mean we looked. We looked through a bunch of 0:03:19.636 --> 0:03:22.676 the songs that I had written in the last few years, 0:03:23.396 --> 0:03:26.636 and a good portion of the songs we picked to 0:03:26.796 --> 0:03:31.156 be on this record were written during quarantine. Okay, Now, 0:03:31.276 --> 0:03:34.556 you're from a great musical family. Your father, Willie or 0:03:34.876 --> 0:03:37.436 your aunt has been his piano player for a long time. 0:03:37.636 --> 0:03:40.236 Got other musicians in your family. Were you able to 0:03:40.236 --> 0:03:43.476 see them at all during quarantine? I was with my 0:03:43.596 --> 0:03:48.636 mother and father during the beginning the first six months 0:03:48.636 --> 0:03:52.876 of quarantine, which was great. It was It was really 0:03:52.996 --> 0:03:54.996 nice to be able to be with them. One of 0:03:55.036 --> 0:03:59.396 the greatest pains in my life before the pandemic was 0:03:59.956 --> 0:04:03.676 the fact that we my father and I had separate schedules, 0:04:03.676 --> 0:04:06.916 and so, you know, him being in his later years, 0:04:06.956 --> 0:04:08.796 I want to spend as much time with him as 0:04:08.796 --> 0:04:12.476 I can, and my work was taking me away from him, which, 0:04:12.796 --> 0:04:17.116 even though I knew that he was proud and happy 0:04:17.156 --> 0:04:19.276 that I'm out doing my own thing and on the road, 0:04:19.676 --> 0:04:23.316 I felt pained not to be with him as much 0:04:23.316 --> 0:04:26.996 as possible, and so when when the pandemic hit, we 0:04:27.116 --> 0:04:28.916 just happened to be in the same place and I 0:04:28.956 --> 0:04:34.036 couldn't leave anywhere anyway, So we got quarantined together, and 0:04:34.116 --> 0:04:36.836 it was the greatest five or six months I'd ever 0:04:36.876 --> 0:04:40.556 spent with them. Now, I mean most people I've been 0:04:40.596 --> 0:04:43.956 away from my family. Your father, as you mentioned, is 0:04:44.036 --> 0:04:47.836 he's I think eighty eight. Now, you did a very 0:04:47.916 --> 0:04:51.716 lovely version online of Hello in there when John Prime 0:04:51.796 --> 0:04:54.196 first got sick, and of course very sadly he died 0:04:54.236 --> 0:04:58.196 of COVID. Yeah, was your family okay through all this? Well? Yes, 0:04:58.756 --> 0:05:02.596 I mean we were. We were relatively fine. Absolutely. I 0:05:02.636 --> 0:05:04.756 think that you know, when you look at how many 0:05:04.796 --> 0:05:07.676 people were suffering, I mean we were just sitting up 0:05:07.676 --> 0:05:10.676 on a hill in Austin, you know, with horses and 0:05:11.716 --> 0:05:15.396 eating food together and having family dinners and you know, 0:05:15.556 --> 0:05:18.156 things that we hadn't done in years, and so I 0:05:18.196 --> 0:05:21.436 suppose we were very grateful. I mean there were challenges, 0:05:21.556 --> 0:05:26.316 especially challenges and in living together after so long, you know, 0:05:26.396 --> 0:05:30.116 some childhood things came up, and you know, there's a 0:05:30.156 --> 0:05:32.596 funny there's a famous quote, and I can't remember who 0:05:32.596 --> 0:05:36.916 said it? Could have been Ramdas or or or Rinpoche, 0:05:37.236 --> 0:05:41.516 one of these these famous Buddhist monks. They say, if 0:05:41.556 --> 0:05:47.116 you think you're enlightened, spend a week with your parents. 0:05:47.916 --> 0:05:51.556 And I, you know, I can't stress enough. A lot 0:05:51.596 --> 0:05:53.636 of us, I was having a conversation the other day, 0:05:53.636 --> 0:05:56.716 a lot of us really feel like as adults, we've 0:05:56.956 --> 0:06:01.476 sort of become well, hopefully those of us that feel 0:06:01.516 --> 0:06:05.316 this way feel that we've become the most peaceful version 0:06:05.356 --> 0:06:09.116 of ourselves, and you know, our ability to let things slide, 0:06:09.556 --> 0:06:11.276 you know, at least for me, I feel like in 0:06:11.676 --> 0:06:16.556 my entire life, the most challenging experiences have been when 0:06:16.556 --> 0:06:20.396 I've been forced to spend them all that time with 0:06:21.596 --> 0:06:24.116 the people who've been able to trigger the darkest parts 0:06:24.116 --> 0:06:27.716 of my personality. And so it really is a great, 0:06:27.996 --> 0:06:31.836 a great lesson and test in mastering oneself in order 0:06:32.156 --> 0:06:34.236 when you're spending time with people who know how to 0:06:34.276 --> 0:06:36.756 press your buttons and who you know how to press 0:06:36.796 --> 0:06:40.156 their buttons, and so to to not to not say 0:06:40.196 --> 0:06:42.796 the wrong thing that will set them off, you know, 0:06:43.156 --> 0:06:46.036 And I don't I don't know anybody who hasn't experienced 0:06:46.076 --> 0:06:50.676 that at this you know, even at very enlightened levels. 0:06:50.916 --> 0:06:53.476 You know, I think that we're all in that same 0:06:53.516 --> 0:06:57.076 boat together. Even the Dalai Lama probably gets annoyed at 0:06:57.076 --> 0:06:59.596 some point, you know, but then he's able to he's 0:06:59.596 --> 0:07:02.476 got the tools to not let that show or not 0:07:02.556 --> 0:07:07.876 let that affect how he responds. The difference between reacting 0:07:07.916 --> 0:07:11.836 to something and then responding is that one is sort 0:07:11.876 --> 0:07:16.916 of unconscious reaction and the other is conscious response. And 0:07:16.956 --> 0:07:20.756 so that that lesson has been great, and I think 0:07:20.756 --> 0:07:23.196 I've learned how to do that a lot better. These days. 0:07:23.476 --> 0:07:26.716 I have to ask, what would trigger your family? When 0:07:26.756 --> 0:07:30.716 you're at home? What would you do to trigger your family? Oh? 0:07:30.716 --> 0:07:34.196 My goodness, Oh, there's so many triggers that we have. Um, 0:07:34.516 --> 0:07:37.876 you know, I mean, we're we're all flawed human beings. 0:07:38.036 --> 0:07:41.396 You know, we've we've got we've got these cracks in 0:07:41.516 --> 0:07:44.876 us that but they remind me of the cracks in 0:07:44.996 --> 0:07:48.156 the bulls in Japan where they filled the cracks up 0:07:48.196 --> 0:07:52.076 with gold, you know, because there is no imperfection. Really, 0:07:52.196 --> 0:07:55.116 it's all perfect. But you know, we have tempers. I mean, 0:07:55.156 --> 0:07:58.636 the Nelson, the Nelson family has has never been accused 0:07:58.676 --> 0:08:04.356 of being impassionate. We are very passionate people. Uh, we 0:08:04.356 --> 0:08:09.876 we have strong opinions about things, and we have a 0:08:10.076 --> 0:08:14.356 difficulty not expressing those opinions. I'll commit the question one 0:08:14.396 --> 0:08:18.476 other way, and it reminds me. You're in Texas, where 0:08:18.476 --> 0:08:20.956 I guess trigger should be left for that should be 0:08:20.956 --> 0:08:22.876 the name of a horse, not something people do to 0:08:22.876 --> 0:08:25.996 each triggers the name of my dad's guitar. That's right. 0:08:26.076 --> 0:08:29.196 It is completely forgotten that, all right, I am wondering, 0:08:29.236 --> 0:08:31.636 and it can, especially if it was in a musical opinion. 0:08:31.716 --> 0:08:33.996 Oh no, you know, none of that. No, you guys 0:08:34.036 --> 0:08:36.196 don't argue about music, and we don't argue about music, 0:08:36.316 --> 0:08:41.596 and I don't really argue much. It's oftentimes small things 0:08:41.756 --> 0:08:45.476 like you know, when you're when you're stuck, you know, 0:08:45.516 --> 0:08:49.636 in a room together, and you know, maybe someone feels 0:08:50.036 --> 0:08:53.076 unappreciated for the work they've been doing or pulling their 0:08:53.076 --> 0:08:56.276 weight in the family, you know, and then you know, 0:08:56.396 --> 0:08:59.836 somebody says something and it triggers something else. But listen, 0:09:00.076 --> 0:09:04.596 all of these things are universal. They're not unique to 0:09:04.636 --> 0:09:09.076 my family. No, I know, because you're describing my family. Yeah, exactly. 0:09:09.476 --> 0:09:11.516 You know, we may have different views. You know. I 0:09:11.796 --> 0:09:14.596 don't like to watch the news. Then they they like 0:09:14.716 --> 0:09:18.716 to have that news on twenty four to seven. So I, 0:09:18.796 --> 0:09:20.436 you know, for me, I don't like to you know, 0:09:20.516 --> 0:09:23.196 walk into a room and I'm all, I'm just like 0:09:23.356 --> 0:09:26.036 boom right there, it's in my face all these headlines 0:09:26.036 --> 0:09:28.116 and you know, and for me, I just you know, 0:09:28.236 --> 0:09:31.876 I prefer to get my information very quickly. I get 0:09:31.876 --> 0:09:34.596 notifications on my phone, I see the general headlines, and 0:09:34.636 --> 0:09:37.036 I turn it off. But you know, for some reason, 0:09:37.356 --> 0:09:41.476 that generation, my father's generation, my parents' generation, they love 0:09:41.596 --> 0:09:44.556 to just have the news on. And I, you know, 0:09:44.636 --> 0:09:46.796 twenty four to seven, I wrote a song called turn 0:09:46.876 --> 0:09:49.276 off the News and build a Garden, and that was 0:09:49.956 --> 0:09:52.556 so you know, we have differences in there, and and 0:09:52.556 --> 0:09:55.236 that's okay. You know, you know, it's their house. At 0:09:55.276 --> 0:09:57.916 that point, I was staying at their house, so you know, 0:09:57.996 --> 0:10:00.676 I can't complain when I when it's you know, on 0:10:00.716 --> 0:10:05.396 every TV. Well, despite what you're describing, Yeah, there's a 0:10:05.396 --> 0:10:07.676 couple of things that struck me about this album. It's 0:10:07.676 --> 0:10:12.076 a very very full albums. Togetherness may have been tough 0:10:12.156 --> 0:10:15.796 at points, but it's very much an album about togetherness. 0:10:16.196 --> 0:10:18.036 Do you see it that way? Oh? I do? And 0:10:19.276 --> 0:10:25.156 after a couple months of rediscovering the tools to live 0:10:25.196 --> 0:10:28.556 with each other. You know, we've been gone, We've been 0:10:28.596 --> 0:10:30.796 we hadn't been with each other. We'd been sort of 0:10:31.316 --> 0:10:33.956 in and out of contact and talking all the time, 0:10:33.996 --> 0:10:38.116 but really spending time together. We hadn't done that a lot. 0:10:38.436 --> 0:10:41.756 And so once we did, once we sat down, once 0:10:41.836 --> 0:10:48.596 we started hanging and I've rediscovered these beautiful people that 0:10:48.676 --> 0:10:53.156 were my parents, I felt so grateful and hopeful, and 0:10:53.236 --> 0:10:58.076 it gave me a stronger sense of peace than I'd 0:10:58.076 --> 0:11:01.636 ever had a stronger sense of contentment, of being comfortable 0:11:01.636 --> 0:11:05.076 in my own skin, of security, because you know, the 0:11:05.156 --> 0:11:08.876 insecurities that you carry with you from the relationship with 0:11:08.916 --> 0:11:12.756 your parents throughout life are very strong, and if you're 0:11:12.836 --> 0:11:16.956 lucky enough to be able to sort of confront those 0:11:16.996 --> 0:11:21.196 insecurities firsthand with the tools that I mean, I had 0:11:21.276 --> 0:11:25.716 learned how to do meditation, and I'd learned the tools 0:11:25.796 --> 0:11:28.876 that you need in order to respond and not react. 0:11:29.236 --> 0:11:32.836 And so even though I failed many times, towards the 0:11:32.956 --> 0:11:35.636 end of that period of time where I was stuck 0:11:35.676 --> 0:11:38.716 with them, we were really getting along and we worked 0:11:38.716 --> 0:11:40.356 through a lot of stuff, and it was really a 0:11:40.796 --> 0:11:44.116 necessary time for all of us. Well, you're giving hope 0:11:44.156 --> 0:11:46.596 to an entire country that's coming out of COVID. I 0:11:46.636 --> 0:11:51.596 hope you know that. Well, listen, what better gift could 0:11:51.596 --> 0:11:54.556 one hope to give? Well? You are. One of the 0:11:54.556 --> 0:11:57.396 gifts on this album is will Be all Right, which 0:11:57.436 --> 0:12:01.716 is the first song. Was that written with anybody in mind? 0:12:02.276 --> 0:12:05.596 That was written with everybody in mind, that was written 0:12:05.716 --> 0:12:08.476 with the whole world in mind. It's a pretty heavy 0:12:08.476 --> 0:12:12.036 song in some ways because it's you know, talks about 0:12:12.156 --> 0:12:18.356 empires falling and understanding that everything's impermanent, but you know 0:12:18.436 --> 0:12:21.236 through it all through the world. I write a lot 0:12:21.276 --> 0:12:25.556 about sort of the outside world collapsing and yet love being, 0:12:26.756 --> 0:12:31.036 love being what keeps us strong through that. I would 0:12:31.036 --> 0:12:35.716 say that I'm a classic liberal, classical liberal, uh not 0:12:36.156 --> 0:12:38.876 a not a neoliberal, but a classical liberal, in which 0:12:38.916 --> 0:12:43.236 I really believe in the strength of individuals, knowing that 0:12:43.316 --> 0:12:48.276 things around will be at times very very very difficult, 0:12:48.676 --> 0:12:52.836 and so giving people the tools. Instead of saying, you know, 0:12:52.956 --> 0:12:57.756 let's let's eradicate bullying from the world, maybe instead say 0:12:57.876 --> 0:13:02.276 let's learn how to not let bullying affect you. You know, 0:13:02.396 --> 0:13:05.796 let's learn how to take people's words and let them 0:13:05.836 --> 0:13:09.196 slide off and not really let them affect you, you know, 0:13:09.396 --> 0:13:12.636 spilled the strength from within so that we learned to 0:13:12.676 --> 0:13:17.516 be strong people instead of relying on or trying to 0:13:17.556 --> 0:13:21.916 just say, well, let's eradicate negativity or let's let's take 0:13:21.956 --> 0:13:24.556 this bad thing. And because you're never going to do that, 0:13:24.556 --> 0:13:26.556 there's always going to be a new thing that pops up. 0:13:26.876 --> 0:13:30.316 So rather than campaigns against the thing itself, maybe the 0:13:30.316 --> 0:13:34.676 thing should be learned how to deal with inside. And 0:13:34.756 --> 0:13:37.716 that's sort of a theme that I think recurs in 0:13:38.316 --> 0:14:05.796 a lot of my songs. You are the image of 0:14:06.036 --> 0:14:26.876 love encased in this moll moment, suspendedible, and we can 0:14:26.916 --> 0:14:41.516 hold on through struggle and strike despite all the darkness. 0:14:45.676 --> 0:15:02.996 We'll be all right. Solved as the river flows, bowl 0:15:06.796 --> 0:15:22.676 in water is silence delivers the goal. You can jump 0:15:22.796 --> 0:15:41.596 in any time. Just see you're ready, I'll say, your mind, 0:15:46.036 --> 0:15:57.676 and we will be all right. If we land on, 0:16:00.516 --> 0:16:13.476 our love will guide us where we belong. Oh, and 0:16:13.676 --> 0:16:37.356 empires will fall and everything don't work. Theyly we'll be 0:16:37.556 --> 0:16:47.996 all right. That's will be all right From Lucas Nelson 0:16:48.036 --> 0:16:50.876 and promise of the reels new album A few Stars apart, 0:16:51.436 --> 0:16:53.956 We'll be right back with more from Lucas Nelson. After 0:16:53.996 --> 0:17:01.316 a quick break, we're back with more from Lucas Nelson 0:17:01.516 --> 0:17:06.596 and Bruce Headler. Your father had a difficult relationship with 0:17:06.676 --> 0:17:09.516 Nashville when he was a songwriter there, Sure, and he 0:17:09.716 --> 0:17:13.636 returned to Texas. Some of you, some of your experiences 0:17:13.836 --> 0:17:16.476 remind me a bit of Rosanne Cash, whom we've interviewed, 0:17:16.516 --> 0:17:20.756 whose father also had a difficult time with Nashville, sure 0:17:21.636 --> 0:17:25.036 and didn't want to be there. What's it like for 0:17:25.076 --> 0:17:27.916 you to go to Nashville, which is not just a city, 0:17:28.596 --> 0:17:32.876 not just a place with great studios and great great musicians, 0:17:33.716 --> 0:17:37.476 but a kind of industry that represents a certain way 0:17:37.476 --> 0:17:41.996 of thinking about country music. I think Nashville has changed 0:17:42.076 --> 0:17:45.916 quite a lot since those times, especially in that there's 0:17:45.956 --> 0:17:49.956 a lot of quality music coming out of Nashville now, 0:17:50.476 --> 0:17:53.916 separate from what the radio stuff is, you know, separate 0:17:53.956 --> 0:17:58.116 from what the new country you know that comes out. 0:17:58.676 --> 0:18:03.076 There's really good stuff coming out of Nashville. But there's 0:18:03.276 --> 0:18:05.956 there's great stuff coming all over the place now because 0:18:05.996 --> 0:18:07.956 we have the Internet and we don't need to be 0:18:07.996 --> 0:18:11.236 in a specific spot really to you know, there is 0:18:11.316 --> 0:18:16.796 no hub but Nashville itself has an energy and going 0:18:16.836 --> 0:18:21.156 there it can help inspire I think good music to come. 0:18:21.836 --> 0:18:25.476 But and the level of musicianship that is condensed into 0:18:25.596 --> 0:18:28.396 Nashville is incredible. Some of the best musicians in the 0:18:28.436 --> 0:18:31.316 whole world. It's sort of one of the last places 0:18:31.756 --> 0:18:37.436 where people really appreciate musical talent in terms of proficiency 0:18:37.436 --> 0:18:41.116 at an instrument and not like proficiency at you know, programming. 0:18:41.396 --> 0:18:44.516 And speaking of which, you did this whole album on analog. 0:18:44.676 --> 0:18:47.396 You did it on tape, didn't you? We did, yes, yeah, 0:18:47.476 --> 0:18:50.156 did you edit it digitally but just recorded on tape 0:18:50.316 --> 0:18:52.836 or well, we didn't do much editing at all. It 0:18:52.916 --> 0:18:55.876 was all live for the most part. There were hardly 0:18:55.916 --> 0:18:58.716 any overdubs, I don't think. And it's funny because you know, 0:18:58.996 --> 0:19:02.636 people don't really know that, they don't notice that because 0:19:02.676 --> 0:19:05.436 everything has been edited that they listened to to the 0:19:05.476 --> 0:19:08.316 most part for the most part. So a lot of 0:19:08.356 --> 0:19:11.996 times people think that our music is really slick, when 0:19:12.036 --> 0:19:15.236 at the same time, it's just that, you know, this 0:19:15.316 --> 0:19:18.916 band is really really good. They're really good, and so 0:19:18.996 --> 0:19:20.996 they sound like it's been It sounds like it's been 0:19:20.996 --> 0:19:23.676 produced and edited or whatever, but it is. It isn't. 0:19:24.836 --> 0:19:27.036 It hasn't. And these guys are just good and they're 0:19:27.076 --> 0:19:30.036 good musicians, and so I'm proud of them for that. Yeah, 0:19:30.076 --> 0:19:31.996 there's not a lot of auto tune on your voice. 0:19:31.996 --> 0:19:36.196 I noticed. I wish I could sing better and tune, 0:19:36.276 --> 0:19:38.756 but you know, I try. I've heard that you don't 0:19:38.796 --> 0:19:41.516 like your own voice. Is that true. It's not that 0:19:41.556 --> 0:19:44.116 I don't like it, It's just that I'm it's a 0:19:44.436 --> 0:19:47.436 work in progress. I mean to say, I actually liked 0:19:47.476 --> 0:19:50.676 my voice. But I can hit any note. You know. 0:19:50.716 --> 0:19:52.996 I can hit high notes, I can hit low notes. 0:19:53.796 --> 0:19:58.196 It's just a different sound, a different timbre, and but 0:19:58.236 --> 0:20:01.436 it's getting more character to it as time goes by, 0:20:01.636 --> 0:20:04.876 as I go through more things in life, and it 0:20:04.916 --> 0:20:08.596 gets a little more weathered, and so you know, I'm 0:20:08.636 --> 0:20:11.996 I'm trying not to judge it yet. I think your 0:20:11.996 --> 0:20:14.396 mother said that she thought you'd found your voice on 0:20:14.476 --> 0:20:17.516 this record. Yeah, what do you think she meant? There's 0:20:17.556 --> 0:20:20.156 certain songs where I'm actually really happy with the sound 0:20:20.156 --> 0:20:23.716 of my voice. She said that specifically regarding a song 0:20:23.756 --> 0:20:26.756 called Throwing Away Your Love, which is sort of a 0:20:26.836 --> 0:20:30.756 more conversational sort of tam or as a lower register 0:20:30.876 --> 0:20:33.596 of my voice, and I like that lower register that 0:20:33.676 --> 0:20:37.076 a higher register. You know, I couldn't sing that lower 0:20:37.556 --> 0:20:40.716 when I was when I was younger, but I'm able 0:20:40.756 --> 0:20:43.316 to sing it now. You know, get a little lower 0:20:43.356 --> 0:20:45.276 down there. Do you want to play a song for us? 0:20:45.276 --> 0:20:57.676 And we'll keep talking after sure? Time wasted again and again, 0:20:58.836 --> 0:21:06.116 criminal intentions. I sense a deeply rooted network of confusion 0:21:06.396 --> 0:21:12.916 in my brain. My pain is so very elementary. I 0:21:12.996 --> 0:21:16.716 think the child and me is banging on the wall 0:21:16.756 --> 0:21:21.476 that separates me from the light on the other side. 0:21:22.556 --> 0:21:28.636 And I'm trying to remember why I might have left 0:21:28.756 --> 0:21:38.516 your love behind. Oh, and I like to testify me 0:21:38.676 --> 0:21:44.916 half of my word mine for the crime of throwing 0:21:45.036 --> 0:21:53.796 away your love, throwing away your love, throwing away your love, 0:21:55.556 --> 0:22:03.236 throwing away your love. Exhibb it ain't, mama. I've got proof. 0:22:03.996 --> 0:22:07.156 I have a lot of pretty memories I can show you. 0:22:07.276 --> 0:22:12.396 Dust them off, fancy that you're the perfect girl for me. 0:22:12.716 --> 0:22:16.636 But somehow he slipped away for reasons I can't see. 0:22:17.676 --> 0:22:21.596 I'd like to boy ahead plead insanity. My mind is 0:22:21.796 --> 0:22:26.676 not my friend. I think it wants me to be lonely, 0:22:27.196 --> 0:22:33.116 and I'm trying to remember why I might have left 0:22:33.276 --> 0:22:42.796 your love behind. Oh, and I'd like to testify on 0:22:42.956 --> 0:22:49.476 the half of my mind for the crime of throwing 0:22:49.596 --> 0:22:58.396 away your love, throwing away your love, throwing away your love, 0:23:00.116 --> 0:23:08.876 throwing away your love in my life. Oh, the sit 0:23:08.956 --> 0:23:16.516 you vision is beyond my control of you gone me too, 0:23:16.796 --> 0:23:24.036 hundred thousable. I'd like to testify be have of my 0:23:24.356 --> 0:23:37.676 word mind for the crime of throwing away lowe away, 0:23:40.196 --> 0:23:51.516 throwing away your lie. That was fantastic. Thank you so much. 0:23:51.916 --> 0:23:55.036 I'm gonna tell all our listeners now to run out 0:23:55.116 --> 0:23:57.356 and listen to the album version because it's got a 0:23:57.516 --> 0:24:02.196 very full it almost sounds like the band. Yeah, band 0:24:02.276 --> 0:24:05.316 like that descending bass, and it feels like Rick Danko 0:24:05.436 --> 0:24:07.956 singing it. And that's just such a different, wonderful version. 0:24:08.076 --> 0:24:10.236 Thank you, Oh, thank you. Can you tell me about 0:24:10.276 --> 0:24:13.156 writing that one? Yeah, that was one of the ones 0:24:13.196 --> 0:24:18.356 that I wrote a while ago, and I just I 0:24:18.556 --> 0:24:21.316 can't help but just feel like it was sort of 0:24:21.356 --> 0:24:24.196 written like a band song. It's very like, you know, 0:24:24.596 --> 0:24:27.116 I wanted to write a song it was that was 0:24:27.236 --> 0:24:30.436 groovy but mellow and and and it is sort of 0:24:30.516 --> 0:24:33.036 I think it's one of the more fun lyrical songs 0:24:33.116 --> 0:24:36.076 I've written. I was having fun playing with words on 0:24:36.196 --> 0:24:38.956 that song. You know. It just felt like I was 0:24:39.116 --> 0:24:43.076 tangled up in my emotions, you know, and I was 0:24:43.196 --> 0:24:47.196 sort of like trying to write about leaving this girl behind. 0:24:47.396 --> 0:24:50.916 And maybe I was watching some law and order show 0:24:51.076 --> 0:24:53.516 or something, or I felt like, you know, I was 0:24:53.636 --> 0:24:58.996 using a bunch of legal terms. Yeah, and this album 0:24:59.236 --> 0:25:02.916 is more for people who have followed you. It's a 0:25:02.996 --> 0:25:06.196 more country album. You and your band are. You're a 0:25:06.316 --> 0:25:10.396 kind of very heavy guitar driven California style band, but 0:25:10.516 --> 0:25:13.716 this one feels a little more Austin to me. Yeah. 0:25:13.956 --> 0:25:17.556 I don't know where that California style got thrown into 0:25:17.636 --> 0:25:20.756 all those articles. I mean, you know, we we we did. 0:25:21.116 --> 0:25:24.556 The first record was in Austin. We've actually only recorded 0:25:24.596 --> 0:25:28.236 one record in California, or two records in California. But 0:25:28.636 --> 0:25:33.076 most of the time I grew up listening to Austin, 0:25:33.236 --> 0:25:38.556 Texas musicians and Seattle musicians. There's no there's no bands 0:25:38.596 --> 0:25:42.836 that I was influenced really from California, unless you include 0:25:42.916 --> 0:25:45.916 like Buck Owens or or you know, the sort of 0:25:45.956 --> 0:25:49.396 the Bakersfield sound, Merle Haggard, that kind of thing, or 0:25:49.476 --> 0:25:52.516 in Neil Neil Young. I guess supposedly, you know, made 0:25:52.596 --> 0:25:56.236 his real sound down there in California. But we called 0:25:56.276 --> 0:25:59.996 ourselves cowboy hippie surf rock when we started out, so 0:26:00.196 --> 0:26:03.396 maybe California was just sort of grandfathered in. At that 0:26:03.516 --> 0:26:07.916 point I mentioned you're from this storied musical family. Not 0:26:08.036 --> 0:26:10.556 only you grew up in your musical family, you joined 0:26:10.596 --> 0:26:14.436 the family band pretty early, didn't you. Yeah, I started 0:26:14.516 --> 0:26:18.716 playing when I was thirteen fourteen in the band. How 0:26:18.796 --> 0:26:21.516 long have you been playing? By that point a few years. 0:26:22.156 --> 0:26:26.796 I really got proficient, at least good enough to hang 0:26:27.236 --> 0:26:30.756 By the third year I was playing. Because I spent 0:26:30.836 --> 0:26:33.436 hours and hours and hours and hours and hours playing, 0:26:33.476 --> 0:26:36.756 I didn't stop. I wanted to be an Olympic athlete 0:26:36.796 --> 0:26:38.676 when I was a young kid. I wanted to be 0:26:38.916 --> 0:26:43.996 a swimmer, and I knew what it took, and I 0:26:44.116 --> 0:26:47.356 wanted to give that same amount of focus and attention 0:26:47.436 --> 0:26:50.916 and practice to music. To stand out as someone who 0:26:51.236 --> 0:26:54.356 definitely made their life about music, to stand out as 0:26:54.476 --> 0:26:59.116 someone who loves music and embodies music and isn't just 0:26:59.636 --> 0:27:04.076 writing on coat tails or something, you know. I feel 0:27:04.076 --> 0:27:06.316 like I had a little something extra to proof and 0:27:06.596 --> 0:27:10.236 to myself as well as to others, but mostly did 0:27:10.396 --> 0:27:13.916 myself that I was okay on my own and that 0:27:14.356 --> 0:27:18.676 if my father hadn't been famous, I would still be 0:27:18.876 --> 0:27:22.716 capable of putting in the effort required and working hard 0:27:22.876 --> 0:27:26.676 enough to stand and be heard. No matter what what 0:27:26.796 --> 0:27:30.436 happened to Swimming Well, I got distracted by music. At 0:27:30.436 --> 0:27:33.556 a certain point. I started putting more into music than 0:27:33.636 --> 0:27:36.796 I did to swimming. Music has taken me all over 0:27:36.876 --> 0:27:42.796 the world. Music has taken me to loves in my life. 0:27:42.876 --> 0:27:47.196 It's given me confidence, It's given me strength. If there 0:27:47.356 --> 0:27:49.556 is a God, I think God is music, you know. 0:27:50.396 --> 0:27:53.396 So when did the songwriting start for you? When I 0:27:53.556 --> 0:27:56.156 was eleven years old, I wrote a song called You 0:27:56.276 --> 0:28:00.076 Were It, and my dad liked it so much he 0:28:00.156 --> 0:28:03.156 put it on his record It Always Will be At 0:28:03.196 --> 0:28:06.836 the time, I was probably about eleven years old when 0:28:06.916 --> 0:28:11.556 that happened. So you're eleven you start to get royalty 0:28:11.676 --> 0:28:13.796 checks from one of your dad's albums. I have a 0:28:13.836 --> 0:28:17.196 funny story about that too, because when I was older, 0:28:18.036 --> 0:28:22.996 I was living in California. I went to Well. I 0:28:23.076 --> 0:28:26.876 went to Loyal and Merrymount University. Briefly I dropped out, 0:28:26.996 --> 0:28:29.516 but as I went after I dropped out. I was 0:28:29.596 --> 0:28:34.716 paying rent at this place in Venice, California, and month 0:28:34.796 --> 0:28:37.356 to month it was kind of difficult. I was going 0:28:37.436 --> 0:28:40.076 on the road and making money, but there there were 0:28:40.196 --> 0:28:44.116 times where I was not almost going to make my rent. 0:28:44.196 --> 0:28:47.436 And I remember one day the day of the rent 0:28:47.556 --> 0:28:51.156 came due and I didn't have the money. I didn't 0:28:51.156 --> 0:28:54.516 have hardly any money at that point. I'm not sure 0:28:54.516 --> 0:28:58.396 if anybody realizes, but I'd never take money from my parents. 0:28:58.516 --> 0:29:01.196