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The Aquabats Are Bringing Their Live-Action Cartoon Chaos Back To Australia · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Look, I saw you guys at Soundwave years ago, so
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: it's pretty surreal to be talking to you ahead of
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: your return to Australia. What do you remember about playing here,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: and do you have any particularly ridiculous or unexpected memories
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: from your last visit?
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: You know, it's been so long. It's been a long time,
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: but we always have fond memories of Australia. Obviously, the
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: people are incredible and just so enthusiastic and great. And also,
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: you know, we love... the weather and the beaches and
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: things are generally clean. It feels like, it feels like
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: being from California, a bunch of California boys, it kind
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: of feels like California might've been back in the fifties
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: or the sixties. And I don't mean like in a
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: technological way. I just mean that in a like civilized
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: kind of a way, you know, like everyone's cool. But
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: what I think one of the cooler memories of sound
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: wave was when there was There was one of the shows,
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: I can't exactly remember which show it was, but it
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: took place kind of in like a park, but there
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: was the backstage and the dressing rooms were in a prison.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: It was in like a prison. And it was like
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: an ancient prison. prison and our dressing room was literally
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: in a in a prison cell.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Oh you must have been maybe melbourne.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Maybe it was mel i was gonna say it was
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: melbourne yeah oh but yeah i i don't i don't
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: exactly remember what the name of the prison was but
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: i just wow it was just so random because all
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: the bands were literally in jail cells and it was
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: funny because that's crazy that's cool kind of interesting yeah
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: but yeah soundwave was super fun and and again those
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: are the only times we've ever been there and yeah
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: it's been a long time too long it.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: Really really has i remember to be honest when i
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: first saw you guys at soundwave i didn't really have
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: a clue who you guys were yet right your stage
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: was it was like open like it was on the
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: ground it wasn't like a leveled stage if i remember
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: correctly and like you guys were just there just playing
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: and i was like hang on You guys look ridiculous,
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: but this music actually is amazing. It was awesome. Yeah,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: it was so cool.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we continue to look ridiculous. That's the one thing
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: that's the mainstay. But yeah, we appreciate that. We've had,
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: I think, three records come out since we've been to
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: Australia last. I think the last time we were there
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: was 2009.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Oh, was it?
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: Or maybe it was 2013. Maybe it was 2013. I
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: don't know.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: Was it 13?
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: Well, I think you guys came here in 2010, and
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: then you came here in 2015. And I think I
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: saw you in 2015, but I thought it was way earlier.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Either way, that's a long time.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Time, yeah.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: We've had a few records come out since then, and, like, yeah,
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: things have been good. Things have been okay, but we
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: haven't been able to get back there.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we're so glad you guys can. Back to my
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: statement before, with the costumes, oh my gosh, I didn't
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: even see.
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: Finally.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Finally, yes, exactly. With the costumes you guys have, do
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: you guys ever worry that maybe people don't musically recognise
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: you and they just kind of look at the costumes
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: and dismiss you?
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yes. We don't worry about it. We just know
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: that it's definitely a polarizing thing. I mean, from the beginning,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: from the beginning, the costumes were, like, they were kind
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: of a way to strain out, like, certain elements, if
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: that makes sense. Because if you're down with the costumes,
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: that means you're down to have fun, you're down to
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: be open to things, you're... you're kind of open-minded, but
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: if you think the costumes are stupid or dumb or
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: all the other words that we can't repeat on the radio,
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: but we got called wearing costumes, then we don't want
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: you to come anyway. Just don't come. Yes. Just go away.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: And that's what's been fun about being a band for
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: 20-plus years, wearing costumes, is we've been able to create
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: and build our own audience. I mean, of course everyone's invited.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: Of course. and we want to be inclusive. We want
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: everyone to like the Aquabats, but not everyone is going
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: to like them, and the costumes are the great separator,
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: because you come out in the superhero costumes, and people
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: are like, this is great, or this is terrible, and
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: they lose interest, and that's fine, because the people that
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: are enthusiastic about it are just going to stick around,
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: and they'll become part of our tribe, part of our family,
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: and that's why I think the costumes are... for us
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: has been really important because it helps us get– we
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: don't have a lot of lukewarm fans.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: No. Yes, definitely.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: You either love the Aquabats or you're not interested.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: Yep.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: And that's okay with us. That's okay.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's awesome. And where did the original idea for
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: the costumes come about? I'm sure you've been asked that
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: a million times.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: So we were in the Orange County– kind of punk
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: and ska scene. I grew up in Los Angeles going
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: to hardcore shows and punk rock and was really into it. And,
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: and it got super violent. Like everything got really, really
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: violent and very gang affiliated and there was shootings and
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: stabbings and it just got like not fun to go
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: to shows. And so the ska scene hit Orange County
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: in the early nineties, late eighties. And it was fun
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: to go to shows. People were dancing and, there was
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: actually girls at the show, you know, like nice people
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: and people were having fun interacting and getting to know
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: each other. And it was like, this is, this is cool.
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: Like this scene is cool. And, and so we started
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: the Aquabats kind of as like, just like a way to,
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: to justify us getting into this scene, if that makes sense.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: We all, we did kind of feel a little bit
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: like imposter syndrome was strong with us at the time
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: because like, Playing in a ska band, you've got to
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: be like a jazz player or from Jamaica or like,
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: you know, we had this imposter syndrome. And so our
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: trumpet player, he worked at a wetsuit factory. Like he
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: made wetsuits for surfing because we were all surfers. Yeah.
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: So our first show he came and we didn't have
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: like a design like, okay, we're going to be superheroes.
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: But he made these helmets for us. out of old
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: wetsuit material. And our, so our first show we wore
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: these helmets and it was so silly, but right away
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: we could see that like, that's a, it was a separator.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: Like it was okay. People thought it was cool or
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: they thought it was dumb. Cause we ended up getting
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: in a fight with some guys that night that didn't
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: like the costume, but it was funny to us. It
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: was funny. So we just kept going with it. We
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: just kept going with the joke and, Yeah. Once you
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: get in the boat, you got to go all the
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: way up the river. Yeah.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: No, I love that. That's awesome. Like I didn't know
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: that story. I feel like you have really tried to
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: keep the fun and the positivity in the scar movement,
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: like you were saying, alive. In the California scene, did
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: you ever, was there ever a time where it did
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: feel violent there or was it other places outside of California? Yeah.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: Not necessarily the ska scene, but the punk scene for sure.
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, for sure. So like as a high school,
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: junior high, high school kid going to shows, it was
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: really crazy. And sometimes the ska and punk shows would combine.
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: And so sometimes like some skinheads would show up and
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: want to fight the ska kids. But it was usually
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: the ska audiences were very united and diversified. You know,
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: it was like, all different types of people, genders, everything.
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: Whereas the punk scene in the late 80s was all
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: young males that wanted to kill each other. And that
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: guy just got old for me really quick. Definitely. Even
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: though I liked the music and it was exciting, it just...
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: But I think to answer your long story, long answer,
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: I think the Scott scene was cool and that's why
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: we liked it because everyone was... a little more level
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: headed and they were there for a good time. They
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: weren't there to like kill each other.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: UFC championships or whatever, you know?
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah.
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: They weren't there to prove something. They were there to
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: just have a good time. Yeah.
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely. I can recognize that. Um, and if someone
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: has never seen the Aquabats live before, how would you
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: describe the experience to them without giving away all your secrets?
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: Is there anything that happens at a show that even
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: the band can't predict?
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: Well, yes, I think because we're playing music that's fun.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: It's kind of like a, it's kind of like a,
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: like a cartoon come to life, like a live action cartoon.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: And then the music isn't necessarily too cartoony, but it is.
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: And if the themes are silly and, and it's just
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: there for fun, but we definitely also have been your
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: TV kids and, Now it's YouTube kids, a short attention
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: span theater. So we try to keep things. active and
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: going and we have videos playing behind us and there's
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: inflatables and beach balls and it's just like kind of
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: an onslaught to keep you entertained, basically. It's just entertainment.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: It's fun. And we– want to have as much fun
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: as the audience too. So it's not like we're doing
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: some mind-bogglingly difficult art on stage for people to like,
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: you know, I get to be part of this, you know,
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: it's just, we want everyone to be involved and have fun.
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: And we, and we, we really, we really love it. We,
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: and we love our, our fans. And so there's a
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: lot of love at the show. There's a lot of love.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: And that's not something you would think from these buff superheroes.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: That's true.
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: It's a lot of love.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Definitely. Definitely. And if it's one thing, it is fun
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: seeing you guys. It was just all about fun. And
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: I liked that you kept it personal. Like again, when
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: I saw you guys, it was like you guys were
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: here and I was here, like very close to be
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: able to interact and see you guys. And you guys
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: were really interactive with the crowd as well. It was
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: like we were a part of it, if that makes sense.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and again, I think that comes from the realization
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: that when you're wearing these costumes and most of the
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: crowd hates you, when you're opening up for Rancid or
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: you're playing Blink-182 and most of the crowd hates you,
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: you have to find your tribe. You have to find
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: your people.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: That's it.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: And so we really made it a thing that when
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: we're getting positive smiles and people singing along, we just
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: get right in there and sing with them. And we
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: just love. we love being personable with our fans because there,
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: there are, you know, birds of a feather flock together
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: or whatever, but it's, it's our tribe. There are people
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: like they get it and we get, we get you
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: cause you get us, you know? So let's hang out.
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: Let's hang out. Instant friends, instant friends.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: Oh, I love that. I love that. And, um, you
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: guys do feel like we were talking about that Saturday
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: morning cartoony kind of feel, uh, when, uh, what sort
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: of inspirations for the band did you have? Did that
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: come from any particular cartoons that you remember watching? Yeah.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: I mean, there's a, there's a ton. I mean, there's
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: a ton of cartoons. I could, I could be, I
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: could name a million, but there's a lot, you know,
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: and obviously the live action like Ultraman and the Japanese
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: stuff like Godzilla. And there was a show called, um,
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: johnny sacco and his giant robot which was like a
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: huge influence on me and the show and the look
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: of the things but but you know cartoons everything from
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: you know johnny quest to the herculoids thundar the barbarian
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: like every everything the super friends yeah i was a
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: huge tv kid so like the tv was my my
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: parent growing up so one of those latchkey kids you
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: know yes at work and Get the television, you know,
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: which is crazy because I would have loved to have
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: lived in a time where you could just a la
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: carte look at whatever you want on a YouTube. But
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: we were kind of just, I think because maybe we
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: couldn't do that. The things that we would get would
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: really stick in our mind. Like that's it. And then
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: you wouldn't know that when they were coming back. So
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: when you could find it again, you were like, oh
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: my gosh, it's on again.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I think there's something to that that I think
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: the modern day kids miss a little bit because they
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: can watch whatever they want whenever they want. It's just
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: always on.
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: That's so true.
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: It's kind of an interesting thing.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: I think. Yeah, I never really thought of it like that.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: I've got kids myself and they're obviously iPad kids, which
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: I hate. But, you know, there's nothing really that I can...
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: not a TV show or a cartoon, then I'm like,
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: that was theirs because they're constantly watching so many different things.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah. And it's always changing. And so it's harder. I
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: think in some ways it's easier for the younger kids
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: these days to just kind of get swept along with
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: whatever's next rather than latching onto something like, this is
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: my thing. I'm the next thing, but this is mine
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: because this resonated with me and I have to find it.
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: I had to go chase it down.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: And I had to mark it on the calendar when
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: it was going to play again.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: That's when it's on. Yep.
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: That's it.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: And so, you know, but it's just something we have
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: to navigate as parents and as gatekeepers to the youth.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: To help them, you know, find things like maybe the Aquabats.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: That's something weird that doesn't come around every so often.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: But when it does, there it is, you know, so.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: Very true. And we got to make a TV show,
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: the Aquabats Super Show 2, which was on.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: You did.
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: Yes as well so.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: That's right that's right i remember that that was back
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: in like 2012.
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: Or something yeah 2012 2013 that.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah i'll have to show my kids yes i'll have.
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: To yeah i think they would like it especially if
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: they're like six and older because there's some scarier episodes
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: a little.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: Scary yeah yeah that's right no that's awesome thank you
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: for reminding me um and just quickly who is your
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: favorite superhero.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: Oh, wow. That's hard. It's hard to know. It's kind
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: of varied over the years. There's different ones. I don't know.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: That's hard to say.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: I'll put you on the spot. I'll tell you my favorite.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: Mine's Phantom or Batman. I know, really classic answers.
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: I think as I change and get older... it changes
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: and changes with me. You know, when I was a kid, Spider-Man,
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: Spider-Man and Batman, they were the coolest. When Batman first. Yes. Because,
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: because of the TV show and then Spider-Man, because I
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: could relate to the teenage angst and the kind of
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: like being a hero that you didn't really want to
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: be stuck. And, you know, and, and then it, it
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: changes from there. Like, well, then you want to be
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: Superman because you want to be able to do whatever, whenever.
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: And then that's kind of boring. Cause yeah, There's no weaknesses. Anyway,
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: you know, there's a lot of funky answers, I think.
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: I'm just trying to think what superhero.
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: Who do you like at the moment?
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: Oh, man, that's so hard. I kind of have Marvel
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: fatigue a little bit. So I'm watching the movies as much.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: That's okay. But you know what I like is that
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: you were like, I think, did you go to your
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: friend who made the outfits and did you say, like,
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: we want to be a superhero? Or did he just make.
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: The helmet and it happened? No, he just, well, I said,
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: you know, we are fans of Devo and we wanted
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: to do something.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: Something like, yeah.
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: And he just made these. He just, because it's kind
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: of a swim cap. It's kind of Buck Rogers. It's
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: kind of like space. It's kind of superhero. Yeah. And
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: then he just brought them. Like, so he just brought them.
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: He just made them in a vacuum by himself and said,
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: what do you guys think about this? And we're like, great,
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: let's just do it. So we just kind of went
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: with it. So I appreciate that kind of superhero that
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: can just go with the flow and make it their thing.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: That's it. That just forms out of something or nothing.
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: I love that.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: Right. And after more than 30 years, how do you
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: guys keep the band feeling fresh? Is there a constant
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: battle between wanting to evolve musically and preserving the wonderfully
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: unhinged identity that people fell in love with in.
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: The first place? That's a fantastic question. Very well written. Oh, thanks.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: I think there's stuff that's fresh, like the new record,
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: but even we kind of tailored some of the newer
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: songs to sound a little like the older ones because
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: it feels like it's come full circle now. It's definitely,
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: even though I think we're a little less, um, oppositional
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: or like trying to go against the grain, we've been
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: able to kind of forge our own path. And so
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: every show we play and, you know, since, and obviously
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: since the pandemic, um, we just never thought we were
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: even going to be able to do this again. So
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: every time we play, it's like, we treat it kind
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: of like this could be our last show. And so
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: we really want to connect with everybody and, and we,
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: we notice things a lot better and we don't take
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: things for granted and we're grateful and just like, and
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: I think that also comes with being older as well,
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: as you realize that things could just be taken away
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: at any minute. Whereas when you're a kid, you're just
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: like expectations are like, you know, where's my wifi? Right. Right.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: When you get older, you realize someone has to pay
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: for that wifi. Go away any minute. Yeah.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: That's it. That's it. Right.
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: And it's the same with being in a band. It
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: could just disappear any second. And so we're grateful every
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: time we were able to just get up on stage
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: and jump around and, and have fun with our friends
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: that we don't know yet, but then our friends.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: That's awesome. And you mentioned you have kids. What do
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: your kids think about you.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: And the band? Well, again, they went through the whole
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: like Aquabats were cool because it was superheroes and they
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: fight monsters. And now they're older and they love it
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: because they love the music. and the songs and they
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: like hearing the stories from the road and silly stuff
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: that happened and my youngest is 18 and he's just
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: he just comes to shows and gets right in the
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: pit and just wants to go in the pit and
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: circulate and dance and sometimes he comes up on stage
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: and he's a monster and they love it they think
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: it's funny And they loved this TV show too. They
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: were big fans of the TV show. So it was
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: kind of like this, you know, there was like generations or,
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: or time periods where it was like, yes, dad does
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: this weird thing where he dresses up as a superhero
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: and then, wow, dad's on TV as the superhero. And
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: now it's like, wow, dad has a cool band.
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah. The music's actually, yeah, exactly.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: The music. Yeah.
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: That's so cool. You couldn't ask for, yeah, a better,
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: I don't know, It's a better thing for your kids
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: to come along with too on the journey. That's awesome.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah. We all like hanging out. It's fun. It's just
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: being a kid, having kids, I think was a good idea.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: Some people think it's a bad idea. But if anything,
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: it brought us closer together and we're like friends. You
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: can't be always friends with your kids when they're younger.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: But if you can be when they're older, then you're friends.
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: You won. He won.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: Isn't it amazing? I have a really good relationship with
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: my daughter who's nearly 12 and it's like we're best
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: friends and I couldn't have asked for, you know, it's
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: just awesome. Yeah. Perfect.
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: Bring her to the show. She'll have a great time.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: Yes, I think I will. All right. I better stop
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: talking because we have no more time left, but I
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: do have maybe two more quick questions. What's the coolest
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: or weirdest thing a fan has ever given you? Hmm.
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: There's been a lot of weird things. Uh, I'm trying
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: to think of the coolest thing. Um, man, there's been
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: so many things. Um, but there's something that a guy
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: brought to a show, um, the other day, which he
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: made himself at And I have it on my couch.
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: It's like this giant Cyclops that he made. Oh my God.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: And it's like a big pillow. It's like really squishy
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: and cute. It's like a giant Cyclops of one of
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: the monsters that we fight on stage. Yes. I don't know.
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: There's just, our fans are amazing and they're always coming
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: up with amazing creative things that they're giving us. And
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: I'm sure if I thought about it for a while,
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: I could think of the one. But there's so many
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: good ones.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: That's a pretty good, yeah, to be given the other day.
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: That's awesome. I know. People are so creative, aren't they?
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: Yes. It's great.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah. And finally, let's look ahead to the next chapter.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: After everything you've accomplished over the years, what's still on
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: the Aquabats bucket list?
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: Definitely... Coming back to Australia, going back to Japan, going
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: to New Zealand, places we haven't been before. But I
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: do think it would be fun to dust it off
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: one last time and do either like a short film
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: or like an extended episode, like a kind of one
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: more shot at making something weird to watch. Yes. And music.
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: We just played in Mexico City for the first time
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: in 30 years, like two weeks ago. Wow. it was crazy.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: People were crying and there was like 10,000 people. It
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: was at the warp tour. And I, at the end
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: of this set, I got emotional. I started crying. Cause
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: it was like, we'd never been there. And there was
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: so much love and we had so much love for
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: them too. We just wanted to go out and hug
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: everybody in the crowd. And like, it was, I didn't
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: want to leave. It was so much fun. So, um,
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: we're hoping to keep having those kinds of experiences and,
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: and hopefully we can do another theatrical release. Yes.
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: Yes. I love that. Love that idea. And I hope
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: to see it soon. Thank you so much, Christian. We
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: cannot wait to have you guys here so soon. And yeah,
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: thank you so much.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: Thank you, Angela.