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Kyle Duckworth- Bassist of Letter Kills · Caught on the Mike...

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Disclaimer.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Listener discretion is advised.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Talking about a series of units built in 14 years.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: There's one band that's presence has been felt on the show more than any other band.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's my favorite band from the early 2000s, Letter Kills.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Joining me today is my good friend Kyle Duckworth, bass player for Letter Kills.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: They released a new single, right where we belong about a year ago and just recently, just within the past few weeks, released another single called Closer.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Kyle, how you doing, man?
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm doing great.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Glad to be here, Mike.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me on.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Man, it's always a pleasure getting to interact with you guys and kind of see things as they're happening.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I had the whole band on the show in June 2023, and I kind of had an idea that new stuff was coming because it was on the precipice of your first set of reunion shows.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then you guys dropped this amazing single.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: You play some reunion shows.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: What the heck has happened with Letter Kills in this past year since I've had you on the show?
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so we have uh we recorded that first single with with Joey Bradford uh down at his studio.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_02: And uh since then we've we've been down there for a couple more sessions.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we have a handful more songs we're excited about.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, we've done that.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: We've we went out with uh a band called Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, which was it was fantastic.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um just to be out on the road again and playing shows and to kind of get in the groove and knock some of the dust off, a lot of the dust off, I will say.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um man, that that that uh that two week, we were we were out with them for a couple weeks, and I think we did I want to say nine shows.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_02: And uh as fun as those shows were, it was definitely different than I remember touring in a good way.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um I had my family out with me for for about half of it.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: We turned it into a little vacation, but um as far as the band goes, man, it was so fun to be together again.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we we kind of remembered what it was like and and realized we actually like each other.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we like spending time with each other, and uh it was it was very refreshing.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_02: As tiring as it was, um, it was very refreshing.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_02: So um, yeah, we've done some shows, uh, we've been just trying to move, you know, move this thing forward with uh outside of everything we have going on in our personal lives, you know, we're full-time jobs, dads, um, husbands, so you know, trying to trying to devote whatever time we can to the band and keep it going, yeah.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Structurally, from your perspective now, you know, given the time limitations with day jobs and families and all of that, um, from what you were able to to observe from that little short tour comparing then and now, what is different about doing it now?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: What's the thing that strikes you the most immediately about doing it now versus doing it back in 2004?
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I was 19 when we started.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_02: And so I was, although I I think giving myself a little bit of the benefit of the doubt, I think I had a decent hat on my shoulders for a 19-year-old, but I was still pretty oblivious to what was going on, and we were so hands-off with budget, with I mean, we just showed up to sound check and play, and that was it.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_02: All I cared about what was what was in the in the dressing room as far as drinks and refreshments and some other things, and that was it.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I mean, right off the bat, we were we're much more hands-on this time around looking at you know, guarantees and budget and okay, logistics, we're doing all of that now.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so much more involved that way.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, granted, we can all handle that now.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, there's a lot more teamwork going on, you know.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um we kind of realize each one of us has our strengths and weaknesses, and we we allow that to work uh to our benefit if we can.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um so much more involved.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um I mean, I had my family out, which is a whole separate component.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then uh I mean the dressing rooms now.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_02: It's uh like foam rollers and massage guns.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: And and also we don't we all we're all going direct now, too.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: So logistically, we don't have uh we're not carting around cabs and and big old eight by ten ampeg base cabs anymore, um which helps a lot, you know, with flying.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: I I have I have a I just have a case and it fits everything I have, a couple bases and um everything I have to go fly with, which is huge.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's that is amazing.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, one of the things that has been the most fun to watch in real time is when you guys are sharing new letter kills content or sharing things on social media, it seems like every day somebody has this light bulb moment where they say, Oh, shoot, I remember those guys.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: I forgot about those guys, but I remember those guys and I love those guys.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, how is the experience interacting with fans again after so long at some of these shows?
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know that first comeback show, man, I wish I could have been there.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: I was trying to figure out everything I could logistically to fly out to California, but how was that interacting with a fan base again after so many years of not doing so?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: I can't really describe it.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_02: It was um, I've been so far removed for you know 14, 15 years that I didn't know what to none of us really knew what to expect as far as turnout.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, we had we're kind of getting this thing, we were getting this thing going basically just from ground level again.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: So resources, we didn't really know how to get the word out.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um we had limited resources to do that, so we didn't know what the turnout was going to be like.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um and we were we were very uh pleasantly surprised by the turnout and how much energy there was in that room.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_02: Uh interacting with some of those fans that some of them had traveled, I think there was somebody that came from Europe.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then a couple from uh they flew in from out of state across the country, and um it was pretty humbling.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_02: It was pretty special uh to say the least.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_02: So it was a lot of fun.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: And kind of along the same lines, because I know how things coalesce or gel back together over time, but what's it like interacting with your bandmates now on a more regular basis?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because before I know it was all remote, all digitally, and now you guys are actually getting together in person a little bit more regularly between the recording sessions and the shows.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how has it been like how's the chemistry like and how is that different now?
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_02: You know, when we were riding the bridge, we were in uh an old garage and we were there hours on end.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: We would just hash out these songs over and over and over.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: And uh we were able to work out all the kinks over, you know, a year.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: And now, like you're saying with us, we all live in different states other than myself and Gene, but we rarely see each other.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_02: We just kind of show up to the studio and we might shoot some ideas, some riffs, some melodies back and forth to each other.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: But um, to tell you the truth, that catalog of ideas has gotten so big that it's almost it doesn't even matter anymore to a point.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: And and we're so confident with um with the environment and kind of what Joey has and what he offers as a producer and a friend creatively, that we have a hundred percent confidence.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_02: We just can go down there and and we have confidence in everybody's abilities and uh and him to kind of hear all of his our ideas and and throw in his own input um that we don't even do much, you know, prior to getting to the studio anymore.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, this last session we had, we just kind of showed up and anybody have any ideas?
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I got something.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: All right, let's go.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that was it.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I gotta tell my audience, uh, you know, obviously, I have formed a friendship with the letter kills guys and with Kyle specifically.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've heard a little snippet here and there of some new letter kills material.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: And from my ears and from my vantage point, this is not only the proper sequel to the bridge that we never got, but almost an elevation of what could have been.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that for me is super, super exciting.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: What about your peers?
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like, have you interacted with any of your peers, any of the guys that you used to tour with?
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, obviously, um, you're working with Joey Bradford, who is the guitarist for The Used, um, fantastic songwriter and producer himself.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but almost like an extra member of Letter Kills from this process from my vantage point as well.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but what have you shared any of this stuff with some of your other former peers and gotten their feedback or their takes on it?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: We've we've uh sent some stuff around and and we've had um I'd say good feedback.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you never know.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_02: If you don't hear back, it might be if you don't have something good to say, don't say anything at all.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um but I mean not to say I don't care what other people think, but we are so excited about the songs we are writing that not uh it's it can come across maybe take it with a grain of salt, but we don't care what other people think.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we're writing them for us, and if whoever loves it, great.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_02: If you don't, great, you know?
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_02: So um yeah, I mean we've gotten for the most part good feedback.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um but we kind of take that with a grain of salt.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: We love our songs, and that's that's kind of what we're running with.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think that's kind of the arc that happens when you get to our age, and that's when your best stuff comes out artistically, is when you do start making the stuff that's truest to yourself.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you start playing and performing for other people and with uh maybe not so, how do I put it?
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, not not I don't want to say not so modest goal in mind, um it just doesn't come across pure anymore.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I I know that was something that we kind of we kind of talked about when you guys were initially trying to do a follow-up to the bridge because you were trying to meet and exceed expectations of that album.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: And now that you're doing this for yourself, I imagine this is far more fulfilling.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_02: You're exactly right.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it was almost 20 years ago, but when we tried to follow up the bridge, we were trying to write another bridge, and it was completely forced and you could hear it.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_02: Every s I mean, we wrote song after song, demo after demo, and it was completely insincere and you could hear it.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: It was forced.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_02: And if you're writing something to try and please somebody else, you're gonna sniff that out pretty quick.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: I don't like listening to music that sounds forced or insincere.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_02: So um yeah, that that that I would say is our goal is to uh be sincere in what we're doing, you know.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_02: We don't have we don't have time to waste to not be sincere.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_02: So right, right.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's nobody does.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: It it makes perfect sense.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know, um leaning into my own past experiences, I know that I had built a notorious reputation that I would get to a point creatively where if I felt something was starting to become too contrived and too serving to be popular or to serve an audience versus uh myself, I would hit these lulls where I would just almost have creative writers block where I just couldn't write.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: I would clam up and I couldn't write anymore.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like it's it's because this this feels artificial, and maybe maybe that's why music was never fully a path for me.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: I was always half in, half out.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: But I I totally understand that and I get that.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have a favorite song of this new batch yet?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um I mean, I thought we just did a couple new songs uh down at the vibatorium with Joey, and uh within the first week I thought one of them was my favorite.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: But the more I've kind of listened to them and they've all you know kind of settled in a little bit.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: Out of uh, you know, we've done I think six total, including right where we belong, and the newest five, each one of them just kind of kind of has its own its own path and its own life to it that I I kind of like them all.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, as as a parent of four children, it's kind of like picking a favorite kid.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: You just can't do that.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Can't do it.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: At least publicly you can't.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: No, exactly.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Not on the air.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: Oh man.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: So do you have um kind of a goal to when you're gonna get these out, or are you guys gonna keep churning them out?
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know um when you and I were texting back and forth with each other, you said the goal is to do a full length.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: So what is kind of the end goal for this new batch?
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so we've we've talked about uh putting out a full length.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um I'd say that is still part of our conversations.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think we've been talking some strategy with uh management and and uh talking with Joey and and um I think we're probably leaning towards maybe releasing an EP.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_02: And and maybe trying to get into a cycle like that, release an EP every year and a half, two years.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um that that's probably a little more realistic.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_02: And and things have changed so much.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: We're not we're I mean we we know kind of where we stand.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_02: We're not we're not big enough to drop a a full length and have it do much.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_02: So we really have to think about strategizing and and how we're gonna release singles and um what our schedule looks like as far as you know, if if we can get some festivals, uh release a single right before or or certain you know headlining shows.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_02: We might put together some regional headlining shows throughout the year, you know, maybe go back to Chicago and Milwaukee and St.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_02: Louis, do a few in a in a weekend, and maybe release a single a couple weeks before it.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_02: So um our talks have kind of gone more like that.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um we just released closer a couple weeks ago now, I think.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_02: It's been a couple weeks, and um, yeah, we have four more ready to go.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_02: So we're um starting to work on look at at some video ideas for another single.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_02: So that'll we have stuff in the works and stuff we're working towards, definitely, but leaning towards an EP at this point.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I think anybody that has been following my show, and I I will completely transparent and honest with you.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: I have had numerous friends, and I when I say numerous, I mean numerous friends that have texted me and have actually gotten into letter kills recently as a result of you guys being on the show, and they're like, Man, I'm so pissed off that I missed these guys the first time around.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: So having you guys back is is gonna be a gift to everybody, and I absolutely love that.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: That that's awesome.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, we you know, eventually when we decided to play a uh release a single and play this show, um, our first show back, we kind of were just thinking, excuse me, kind of thinking just for any old fans who still cared.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um now we're wanting to, you know, kind of start over.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_02: Not start over.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_02: We want to kind of, you know, um get those old fans that still maybe remember us or still care, and and we want to get some new fans, you know.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes, yes.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_02: Excited about it.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: So let's turn the page a little bit because you and I have it sounds like we've kind of had similar summers.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're we've both been busy, we've been herding cats.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let's let's talk a little bit more about Kyle Duckworth and what he's been busy with this summer, what summer 2024 has looked like for you, and maybe a little bit more on the personal side of things.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: What else have you been up to, my friend?
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, wow.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_02: Well loaded question.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_02: Loaded question.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_02: How much time do you have, Mike?
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I could talk for a long time on this one.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah, so I'm married.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: I have uh three kids, 11, 9, and 5, that that all uh stay very busy with man, I don't know what they I don't know what they don't do.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_02: It's probably a shorter conversation, what they don't do.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_02: But they do anything from club soccer to travel baseball to both of our girls are in in dance, um jujitsu, music lessons.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_02: So we're constantly running them and getting them where they need to be, and um, which is an absolute pleasure.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_02: We love doing it, it's so fun.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I also coach my son uh with baseball.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um I try to stay as involved as possible with all of them, um trying to soak it all up and cherish every moment, you know.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um so yeah, stay busy with that.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_02: We we actually just moved.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um I live here in Southern California in Temecula, and uh we just did a full renovation of a house for the last seven months.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, completely gutted the place, took out walls, added on.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: So um we just moved in about six weeks ago.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_02: We had uh we cut our square footage in half.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: So we were kind of walking through, we had Home Depot boxes and we were kind of tunneling through for the last four or five weeks.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um but yeah, that's been that's been taking that took up quite a bit of our summer.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_02: We tried to work some vacations in around there, you know, going uh beach camping, um that type of thing.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_02: And then uh day to day around here.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_02: I work as um in the fire service, so I work as a uh firefighter paramedic for a department down here in Southern California.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_02: Every day, every time I'm off, I'm I'm I'm trying to spend as much time as I can with my family here.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah, yeah, and and I gotta tell you, man, uh I'm probably not telling you anything you don't know, but it happens so fast, so fast, and that time goes by so fast.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, um we've got the I've got my twin stepdaughters, my daughter, they're all three.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Seniors this year.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: My son's a sophomore this year.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it's crazy to the point where I will look at Facebook memories and such, and I will be like, oh, we just did this vacation like two years ago.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then I look at the timeline, it was more like seven, eight years ago.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it's it's life, man.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Life.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's by yeah, yeah.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: So what have you learned leaning into your letterkills experience that you've been able to apply to your everyday life as a father and as a career firefighter paramedic that has helped you improve and be a better man for your family?
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_02: That whole initial and then when we we were on the road for about four years, better part of four years, and like I said, I was pr I was young when we started.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_02: I was I had just turned 19, and I think that that world, I think day in, day out, it wore on me a lot.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, my personality, I have a an all or nothing personality, you know, yes.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: So if I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, you know, I didn't do anything too too crazy, but um I definitely realized, you know, after that that four years of touring, um and the band kind of you know, trying to find write a follow-up record, it fell through, you know, didn't we ended up disbanding, and I kind of felt like, well, how did I how did I get here?
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_02: What happened?
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, looking from where I was at the age of 24 and what was my normal as opposed to 19, um, such a huge difference, and it didn't happen like flip of a switch.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_02: It was little by little.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, you know, it was that day in, day out comparing myself to somebody else, saying, Oh, well, I'm not doing I'm not doing that, so I'm I'm doing just fine when in reality I was pushing my own line further and further, you know.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think that big takeaway is uh I'm aware of who I surround myself with now, you know, and very aware of it.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_02: I'm aware of who my kids are around day in, day out.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_02: Not that I try to we we don't try to snowplow for our kids and make things easy for them because I believe you know, an appropriate amount of adversity is good for grow, you know, for kids, but as far as the environments they're in regularly, we are very aware of it.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um because I learned even as an adult it can wear on me and I didn't even know it.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um you know, I we're all believers, right?
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and uh in the band Letterkills, we were all believers.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_02: We're not a Christian band, but we were believers.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_02: And um personally I I've realized how much how important it is for me to stay.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_02: I read my Bible, you know, um, and that's that is uh utmost importance to me now.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_02: So that that was really the takeaway for me from that that uh little episode, three, four years of touring, my big takeaway that I apply now.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it it's it's funny because when you're talking to people, and I'm gonna refer to them in the civilian world, not the music world or the entertainment world.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: They um people that haven't experienced it can easily write off creative endeavors as not having added value to your day-to-day life.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: But you described personal perfectly um kind of my opinion on things is I learned so much through my experiences in creative endeavors that it had a compounding interest on how I behaved socially and how I view my kids and how um I view family and the importance that I put on family and even how much I view structure, because creative people typically are not exactly known for being the most structured people, but successful creative people are the most structured people.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's it's funny because people write that off and they don't realize the value that you can gain from kind of taking that gamble in life and more times than not losing as opposed to winning.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we we learn more from failure than we do from success every single time.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_02: 100%.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_02: And you know what?
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_02: My dad, I was going to a junior college right out of high school when uh when I joined up with Matt, Tim, and and uh Paul.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Dustin and I were in a band, we joined up with the three of them, and within a few months it just kind of took off.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_02: Not that we not that us joining up had anything to do with that, but um, it was a series of events that just kind of all kind of came together.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_02: But um, I was at a junior college, just kind of going to college because it was the right thing to do, quote unquote, right?
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_02: That's what everybody did.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um had no interest in it.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_02: And uh I was actually pursuing a career in the fire service at that point.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_02: I was taking some classes and uh the band started to we you know, we were presented with a contract, and I remember talking to my dad, and uh it shocked me his answer.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_02: But I said, Dad, you know, I don't know what to do.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_02: I'm loving this the fire service stuff.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I feel like I'm getting excited about it, but I've been wanting to do this with the band and have this opportunity.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_02: I've been working towards this for five years.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_02: And he said, You gotta take it.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_02: You gotta go do it.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_02: Because the classroom will always be there if that's what you want to do, but you're gonna learn stuff on the road that you can't learn anywhere else.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_02: And uh man, getting getting to be, you know, older and and to be a father now, to to have, I mean, the confidence he had, not only in me, but how he raised me to say, go do it.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um pretty remarkable.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_02: Granted, I think I, you know, I can't I came home sometimes and they'd see me after three months on the road and they'd go, oh, we should have stayed in the classroom, but but um but he was right.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_02: Man, I learned I learned, like you're saying, you learned so many things.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I learned a lot of things I don't want to do again, but just how to interact with people, I mean, how to get over some fears of getting in front of who knows how many people?
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um you kind of take it for granted, and like you said, it people don't really think much of it, but those little experiences build confidence that pay dividends throughout your life, you know?
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, how does Kyle manage his own stress in life now?
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: What do you do to unwind, blow steam, and take care of yourself?
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: You've done a really good job talking about how important family is, but we all know the airplane theory that you have to put that life mask on your own face before you can put it on your own kids.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: So, how do you take care of yourself outside of the world of music in the fire service and family?
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I um I expend my uh I guess a stress reliever.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_02: My outlet is exercise.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um and and I've I've found out a couple years ago I've neglected music.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, the the creative side of me um has been completely shut off.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_02: Not on purpose, just I just kind of separated it from family, and no, I can't blend the two.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_02: And um that has really helped um, you know, kind of relieve some stress from every day, you know, day in, day out stuff.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, certain stressors from my job.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um definitely I have to pay attention to what I'm bringing home and how I can kind of cleanse my mind and soul of whatever I'm seeing.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so music helps a ton, and then exercise is a huge one.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'll my wife, you know, might be in the afternoon and she can just kind of read me and she'll go, go work out.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: Just are we married to the same person?
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_02: You need to go.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a huge one for me.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: Huge.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: Do you ever notice whenever you've like like I'm sure you've had those moments where you've skipped the gym a couple of days and you can kind of feel yourself like lingering into maybe some neg more negative space because you didn't get that physical activity?
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know that happens to me too.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: Anytime I have a little gap where I'm not in routine, I fall apart.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, 100%.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_02: And it it feeds into if I go a few days without it, it um feeds into making some not so great choices as far as what I'm eating, and it all just kind of starts to snowball.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_02: So um yeah, I I I was better at it, you know, a year or two ago.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm getting back into the swing of things since we've moved here, but um, I have a full setup in in our garage with um I'm kind of I'm kind of a CrossFit geek.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was just gonna say, because I I I knew I knew you were involved with the CrossFit community.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I actually went to um my department sent me to a CrossFit level one trainer class.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_02: So um I went there about four years ago, and so I've coached some classes at some places around here, some gyms, um, and I love it.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_02: But man, that crossfit that when I went to that class, it was humbling, I will tell you that.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_02: I had never never done CrossFit, and it it was I wish I had some footage of myself there because it would have gotten some good laughs.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: Do you ever find um you because you mentioned something earlier, and I think this is another one of those things where you and I share in common, you're an all or nothing guy.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's how I am too.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and uh my buddies, when they joke around with me a bit like, oh, you're gonna play in a band again eventually.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, no, I'm not, because if I do, that's a slippery slope.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I not to not to degrade anybody that's gone through um gone through treatment or anything along those lines, but sometimes in some ways, I kind of equate it to addiction or alcoholism where it's almost a slippery slope.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: If I even dip my toes back in those waters, then I'm all in again and other things start to suffer.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: Do you ever find that it's difficult to maintain that balance between family, music, and your own personal health and fitness?
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_02: 100%.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_02: That that's what you just said right there is what kept me from wanting to do this.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um Matt and Tim, they they called all of us.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_02: They tried to get this going again like six years ago.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_02: And what you just said is what I said, I I want no part of it.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um just because yeah, the personality and and I felt like when we ended, if we would have kept going on the trajectory we were on, um there was a possibility I had some bad things in my future coming.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_02: Right, you know, um if it kept if I kept on going like I was going.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's that kind of left an impression on me where I said, I'm done, I'm going the complete opposite direction.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I don't know what changed.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_02: I I think um I think getting more aware of it and then seeing my kids get older and kind of ask questions about it, and me thinking, I could include them in this and take them along for the ride and and that will be you know, like my son.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_02: If if we go on a one-nighter trip to go play a festival somewhere, I'm gonna bring one of my kids, you know, and it'll be a completely different environment, you know.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_02: It already is a completely different environment.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so but as far as balancing it day to day, it's a struggle, yeah.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's um you know, I've realized how much I love doing it, and it's I mean, it was on my mind a lot a year ago, and as this it's kind of continued to gain steam, it's on my mind even more.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_02: And I continually have to keep in check, um keep it in check with the things that you know, coaching baseball.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna get that back, you know, I'm not gonna get um those times with my family back.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_02: So it's definitely a continuing, keeping things in check, you know.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes the scales might tip a little bit, and you gotta bring it back, you know, and there's gonna be ebbs and flows with all of it, but um yeah, I mean, my family is at the forefront of it, and that's what I'm keeping as a priority, 100%.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: I love hearing that, and and to be honest, it's good for me to hear this, you know, on a personal level, not just a podcast entertainment sort of level.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like I just recently inherited a few of my dad's guitars.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: My dad passed away about a year ago, and um, he left behind, you know, he was a guitar collector, he was a professional musician, pretty accomplished one himself.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna play Johnny Name Dropper, but he he did some cool stuff.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I inherited a few of his guitars that I just recently got, threw one on, and I start playing it, and the next thing I know, I'm starting to think through set lists, and I'm just trying to play for my own enjoyment.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh my gosh, this is such a slippery slope.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know?
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_00: And and and I find that it is exactly that.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's like it's watching the scales and making sure the scales don't tip, and that it's okay to just play for my own enjoyment and for my own happiness.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have to play with a goal in mind.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: Fitness, I can go work out.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: The point isn't to look like Hulk Hogan.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's you know, um exactly, exactly.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that's something I still and I have to be very conscious about and say and be open and say that is something I struggle with, like is maintaining that balance for myself.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I I kind of imagined it was very similar for you as well.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, gosh.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, what's it been like having your kids at Letterkills shows?
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because that is not something I've ever experienced with my kids.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: I got out of it before they were old enough to kind of figure out what it was I was doing.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_02: I can still remember, I still remember, I mean, that that show a little over a year ago in Orange County.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I had not up until about six months prior to that, I hadn't plugged in a base since 2007.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_02: Oh wow.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_02: So I had I I was so far removed from that, and so I didn't know what to expect.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um and right when we started our set, it felt just like it did 20 years ago.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_02: And almost, I mean, it took me right back, and then as I kind of got into the groove a little bit and settled in, my kids were right in the front row, and it was the weirdest experience staring down and seeing them looking up at me, and I think they were shocked, they were a little shocked because they hadn't seen that side of me.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but it it was it was an awesome experience seeing my wife and my kids there.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, pretty surreal.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_00: I see, I'm experiencing this on the opposite side of things.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now that my daughter is singing all over the place and she's singing for a band, her uh the so she's in a curriculum-based um rock band thing.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like a school of rock type thing.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: And she's also trying to start her own thing.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: The director of that knew that I had a lot of ties and music, and I got to play a big time moment.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: They had been trying to get into this venue for the better part of two years, and her director comes up to me.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: Hey Mike, we've been trying to get into this venue for like two years, and I'm like, hold on.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: I had them a gig booked within five minutes, made a phone call, and I got to big time.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, so my daughter was like, Okay, my dad's cool now.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I think she just thought I was a dork that played that told all these stories about playing in rock bands, and then I got them uh a pretty decent gig.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: But seeing it from the other side of it and getting to see my daughter experience things like that, it's kind of crazy because I get to coach her in a certain direction.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: I be like, okay, do this, don't do that.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: Post this, don't post that.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: Promote this, don't promote that, you know, kind of mentality.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um do your kids have any musical ambitions or musical inklings after watching you, especially?
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, that's a good question.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_02: First of all, your daughter, she can sing.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks, man.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_02: She's great.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'll pass that on to her.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_02: She'll love hearing that.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_02: Pass it on.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um they they all dabble.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we have guitars hanging around the house.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_02: We have, you know, a piano, keyboard.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um we we will have them in guitar, piano lessons.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_02: We don't force it with them.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_02: My my oldest is probably the most interested consistently, and so we'll have them in a piano lesson maybe once a week for six months, and then we just stop.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I we just let her we want it to be fun, you know.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_02: But she'll go in and she'll play piano for 20, 30 minutes.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, maybe she might do that a few days in a row, and then she won't play for a few weeks.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but just I think she's at this point, she's the most interested.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_02: She can sing, she can play.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, my son just wants a set of drums, I think.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_02: We're putting that off as long as we can.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of kind of a common prank is uh it's usually some uncle or aunt will buy them the set of drums, much to your chagrin.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_02: But and then we get them back next Christmas with something.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's uh it it is it is a uh a truthful thing that the more you try and impart your interests onto the kids, the more disinterested they're gonna become.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I I've learned that through trial and error.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I I'd wondered if they'd kind of discovered some of that on their own.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, they have.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um and we, I mean, our our house here, we don't have TV up, we don't have anything um right now.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_02: And my wife's usually a pretty big proponent of uh, and especially nowadays, kids are so engaged all the time with things, and so are adults.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's just constantly being bombarded with just stuff phones, TV, everything, you know, that um I think when you think about songs and paintings and all these things, that usually stems from people having downtime to perfect their their craft or their art or being bored, you know.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_02: So we try my my wife's better at this than I am, but we try to keep our kids okay with being bored and finding picking up a guitar and going and just noodling.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_02: Around on the piano.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because that's where some of those great songs and great artists come about, is from being quote unquote bored, you know?
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, having to create their own entertainment.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_02: So for everybody, anybody who's listening, we deprive our kids of.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: Oh no, no, no, man.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_00: You're you're preaching, you're preaching to the choir.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_00: Another challenge we have in our household is being that uh we're a blended family.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, my my two kids are at a different household half the time than they are at this one.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_00: So it's almost like two different sets of rules and two different cultures.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of like when they come here, and I'm like, no, no, no, you don't get to get on Xbox, you don't get Xbox time until you get outside time.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's culture shock for them in some regards because you're absolutely correct.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody's face is glued into an electronic device anymore, whether it be a TV, a cell phone, video game system, what have you.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so there's almost too much overstimulation going on.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_00: So they're not tapping into that left side of their brain where the creativity exists and having to make their own entertainment like they used to.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_00: I I think that's I if uh if I'm gonna be frank and I don't talk it normally, and I'm I'm not going there, but I think that's where some of our socio-political divide comes from as well, is from people being overstimulated all the time instead of just like we can have different ideologies politically and still be friends.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_00: I remember when I was a kid and going and eating lunch in a bar with my grandparents and seeing signs let's say no politics in this bar, and and and it's just because you know, um, we weren't force-fed different ideologies all the time.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_00: And and I think I think all of this overstimulation kind of contributes to that for sure.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: I agree, I 100% agree.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_00: Gosh, see, listen to this, listen to us.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome, man.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_00: I knew there was a reason you guys were one of my favorite bands.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, what's it gonna take to get letter kills to the Midwest?
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we have a few things we're working on for uh getting back there next year.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um hopefully we can get back there.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_02: I know St.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_02: Louis has been on the radar, Chicago and or uh Milwaukee.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think there's a festival in Ohio, one or two uh we've put in for next year.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_02: So we're we're definitely we definitely want to get back there.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then we're trying to get over to East Coast at some point.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_02: But awesome.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's some band from St.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: Louis.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: What are they called?
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_00: Something of the I forget.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_00: I don't remember.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_00: I forget.
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh oh, yeah, story of the year.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_00: Are you guys gonna do a show with Story of the Year in St.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_00: Louis?
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_00: Is that what you're kind of not really saying, but saying?
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, no, no.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_02: We haven't there there hasn't been any talk of that.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_02: But yet.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_02: I would say if if that opportunity came up, we would be all over it.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I know it.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_02: I know it.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_00: Those are your favorite bands' favorite band.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, they were so good.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_02: We had so many, I would say probably half the we were on the road with them probably half the time.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and they were they were our touring family.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_02: It it was pretty amazing.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for anybody that's a really keen observer, if you look at Dan's shirt in the live at the Lou or Live in the Lou uh DVD that came out in 2005, he's wearing a letter kill shirt on that live performance.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_00: Is he I don't know if you've ever noticed that before, but yeah.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's a part where he's wearing a letter kill shirt.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I knew you guys were close.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_02: So I you know, I haven't talked to them in a while.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_02: They've they've um I mean they're they've done very well since they've come back.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um they've been doing some big stuff.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um I haven't I haven't talked to them.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_02: I know Matt and Tim, they've they've gone out and uh saw them, hung out with them a bit when uh when story went through Dallas and when they went through Salt Lake, where Tim's from.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, I haven't I haven't connected with them.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_02: I want to.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_02: I miss those guys.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, and and having talked with Adam on the pod, oh, almost not quite two years ago, um they're also kind of laying the blueprint for how you can still do this professionally, but still maintain your family life and your other career avenues and such as well.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's kind of a lot of the new um music industry model is especially bands from our era figuring that out and figuring it exactly what we have been talking about pretty much this whole time, maintaining balance.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_00: 100%, 100%.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_02: That that's another thing that kind of uh, you know, talking with and hearing about Story of the Year and hearing about some other bands that that are um at that same stage in life and they're able to kind of do the, you know, they don't need to be on the road for nine months out of the year, right?
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um that's another thing that kind of made me go, hmm, I think this is doable.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we could make a run at this and and go, you know, like we're saying, you know, maybe every few months go play some regional shows, line up a few shows and keep that going as long as we can, you know.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_02: And we're in for a ton of festivals, and we're putting in for every festival you can think of.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um and those some of those festivals do so well.
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_02: That when we were young is huge.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, it's it's it's all a game of working smarter, not working harder anymore.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_00: And for as much as we can vilify and demonize social media, that is one area where social media has actually been helpful is been making that connectivity with an audience 24-7 really easy so you don't have to be on the road six months to a year at a time.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_00: So one of the benefits.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, what else do you have to share?
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_00: What else is in the future of letter kills?
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_00: How do you want to wrap this all up, my friend?
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_02: Future letter kills.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_02: We're just getting started, you know.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_02: I think uh I think we've been so surprised at the the songs we've put out.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I we're just so happy with them and we're excited about them, and we feel like we have so many more um in the chamber ready to go.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's just finding the time to get down and and track, but um, we feel like we can keep this thing going for another decade.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we we're uh we've been building kind of our team uh management and booking agent, and and we have some people that we are so fortunate to be working with.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_02: I think next year is is gonna be a big year.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um we have some big stuff in the works.
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_02: I hope, I hope some of it, you know, if if half of it happens, then it's gonna be a success.
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_02: So um we're excited to get some more songs out.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we just had closer, like like I said, closer video uh single just released.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um looking to get another one released by the end of the year.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_02: If not the end of this year, it'll be first quarter next year.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_02: And uh yeah, we're just looking forward to get out and playing.
• 52:22
  SPEAKER_00: Man, Kyle Duckworth, figuratively and literally, that is music to my ears to hear all of that happening.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_00: I am glad we are able to just message each other every now and again and say, hey, what's up, buddy?
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_00: And uh sit down and have another podcast episode together.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's always great here.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_02: I always always love uh getting a notification that I got a message from Mike.
• 52:48
  SPEAKER_00: So um it's always great to hear from you.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_00: Likewise, man.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_00: Kyle, thanks for doing the show.
• 52:56
  SPEAKER_00: The world's a much better place with you in it, my friend.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Mike.
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_00: Great talking with you.
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for having me on.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_00: Once again, I want to thank my friend Kyle Duckworth of Letterkills for doing the show today.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_00: Go check out the two new singles right where we belong, and closer on your nearest streaming platform.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_00: They are on Spotify.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_00: Closer has a video on YouTube is fantastic.
• 53:24
  SPEAKER_00: Big thanks to Letter Kills.
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you give them a follow on social media and also follow Monaco Management Wild.com.com on the mic with Michael Clark.