Latest / Best/Most / Sam Slick Part 2/ What is the song that MOST likely will make you drive faster?
Transcript
- Jose: Welcome to Best Mosts. I'm your host Jose, Jogo Gonzalez. This is the podcast where we ask the questions, what is the best or what is the most? For example, we ask questions like, what is the best song that realistically depicts the feeling of happiness? Or who is the most devious character in a film? Before each episode, I ask our online community a question that our guests had chosen as our topic. I then go over the community answers with our guests and we also discuss our own answers. You can check out and answer the questions the best dot most dot pod Instagram page. Join the conversation. guest is not only a phenomenal singer and songwriter, he is also a great guy. He filled in on bass and back vocals for some of my old band's final shows. His band also played our final show, which truly meant a lot to me. ⁓ Sam, you are super talented and I am very excited for your new record, After the Dream, Before the Memories. Welcome to best most, Sam Slick. Sam Slick: Jose, thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be part of Bestmost. We're going to have a fun episode right here. I've been having a great time listening to the show as it's been coming out and ⁓ happy to be a small part of the history right here. Jose: ⁓ man, it's good to have you and ⁓ I'm really excited about the show. we answer the question, what is a song most likely to make you drive faster? ⁓ Sam Slick, you this question, ⁓ why did you choose question? Sam Slick: Well, I want to have this one be a little bit more open-ended. Sometimes it's easy to have one as like pretty strict definition of like, well this song, why'd you pick like movie theme songs? That's kind of clear. Like it's a song. It's part of this movie or whatever. This one's a little bit more open to interpretation and people's reasonings for picking it. So I want to hear people's motivations and why, why this song is the one that makes them drive too fast. Jose: Yeah, man, so let's go into your community picks. What do you got? Sam Slick: All right, I'm going to start my friend Paul Shin sent a good one here. said, ⁓ you got a speeding ticket to smash and pumpkins rocket once. ⁓ if you know you're a smashing pumpkins guy, obviously, you know, rocket. Yeah, Jose: Yeah, yeah. Sam Slick: that's a great one. When that comes in. Yeah, I see that. I can see that lead into a speeding ticket. It's not the fastest song, but like, I don't know. It's got this power when it comes on. You're like, yeah, I don't know. I can see that happening to myself too. You Jose: Got some good energy. Sam Slick: have you. Got a speeding ticket to Special Muffins yet in your career? Jose: Not yet. know, something to look forward to, I guess, in the hopefully far future. But yeah, not yet. Sam Slick: when do know that you're not the only one it happens out there. another one also from Paul Shin here said, ⁓ his go-to, ⁓ his go-to would be mad Mike with the song planet X is better. had to this one up because I was not familiar and it's, it sounds like, I it came out like 1992. ⁓ It's some very like ravey techno. It is great. It's definitely of a time and place, but if that time and place is when you're driving, uh, I can see how that's going to make you go a lot faster. If you like, just, I don't know. It sounds like a song you can really lock into and like get down with and you know, press that pedal a little bit lower there. Jose: Oh yeah, so Sam actually played the song a little before we started recording, just so he can kind of get the idea. yeah, very techno-y. And it kind of reminded me of this one time I was in this car with a bunch of friends. I didn't know the driver at all, but they called him Pony. And like, ⁓ We're going crazy fast on the freeway ⁓ swerving around cars ⁓ listening to techno as well. ⁓ And then I think at point this guy was going so fast and he had to his brakes ⁓ to not hit car in front us. And I was like, I'm gonna fucking die tonight. Holy shit. ⁓ Sam Slick: you ⁓ Jose: And to Techno, what the fuck? ⁓ I kid not, it was like a size 7 shoe just away from hitting this ⁓ fucking car. yeah, Techno. Sam Slick: make you drive faster. I get it. I get it. It's not usually my music of choice, but when the mood strikes, yeah, I can definitely see how that would work. ⁓ Jose: Thank you. Sam Slick: yeah, great choice there from Paul. ⁓ I'm to go next one's from my, my keyboard player, my Hanna's, ⁓ he picked a synchronicity one, is the first track off the police album there. ⁓ It comes in, it's like really beeping and booping on, the keys there and totally a driving song. So I can see how that one, as a song picks up. So does the speed a little bit. It's really, it's really a good builder there. So I hear him on that choice. Jose: Cool, cool. Sam Slick: You mess with the police much? Jose: I do, but not a whole lot. I had one of my friends, Saul Arredondo, who's in Corey Diablo, check him out. ⁓ He was really, he's a drummer, and he was really a big Stewart Copeland fan. ⁓ So I listened to a few of their songs. I like some of their stuff. I think I even seen them at Dodger Stadium once. Foo Fighters opened for them. And I went with someone who really liked the police. So yeah, really good. They put on a good show. Sam Slick: Nice. That's really cool. I, ⁓ I never got was like, ⁓ I'm a huge fan, but I do love like that first record of theirs is more like reggae and like kind of punky at some points, you know, like they were just a trio, you know, when they started off, I mean, they're trio throughout, but the music itself wasn't like too thickly arranged. think as I went on, like they got to synchronicity and they added a lot of like keys and like a lot more layers there. ⁓ six got some of the cool sounds at that point. ⁓ but Yeah, mostly like what drew me to them was ⁓ the early stuff there when they're just like a raw trio with like incredible drumming there. And obviously everybody was, you know, master at what they played, know. Jose: Well, even you, I mean, you're a bassist too, right? sting with these crazy bass lines. Like, and then singing full vocal, like, yeah, lead vocals. Like, holy shit, dude. Sam Slick: Yeah. Yeah, he's really got this incredible blend of like being able he's a great singer and great bassist and doing both at the same time as like next impossible. Yeah, big for him. ⁓ Can't say I really care much for the solo stuff, but ⁓ but the stuff of the police. ⁓ got to at least respect it. Jose: Yeah, Sting, Master of Tentric, lovemaking as well, I heard. ⁓ Also, did you ever see that one clip on, I think it's like online, and it's like this one award, I guess, thing for the police, I think holds a Feliciano singing Every Step You Take, ⁓ and he's like doing his thing. Sam Slick: You Jose: And it looks like Sting's having like a complete stroke or heart attack just watching this like performance. He's just like, gulp Like holy shit. Sam Slick: Oh no, is he like terrified? it, was it like not, he wasn't taking well? Jose: Yeah, I think so. ⁓ like, Feliciano has a very distinct, like, you know, style. Like, you've heard that, right? ⁓ So, like, I think it just didn't mesh well, I think, as well, with every step you take. So I Sing was just like, Sing was just like, ⁓ shit, what's happening? ⁓ But, yeah, hey, check it out. ⁓ Sam Slick: ⁓ yeah. ⁓ I love this stuff. Yeah. I don't know. Was he just you know, he had to focus now on the lyrics and a bit like how creepy Jose: You Sam Slick: it ⁓ I know that's kind of the point of it, but like, you know, it's classic pop song thing where if you put it in a different context, the lyrics sound even creepier than they are Jose: You Sam Slick: just the original pop way you put them, right? Jose: He's like, wait, am I singing this? These are the lyrics I'm singing? Holy shit, am I creep? Sam Slick: Yeah. I've been saying Jose: ⁓ Yeah. ⁓ He's like, I'm the Sam Slick: 40 years. ⁓ Yeah. Yeah, exactly. ⁓ all right. Next response I got ⁓ we got my friend Renee, ⁓ said sabotage by the beastie boys. Great choice. Yeah. ⁓ Comes in Jose: ⁓ yeah. Sam Slick: there kicks in strong and has like, there's that little base break somewhere in the middle there. ⁓ yeah. Jose: Oh yeah. Yeah, that song, even in that bass break, it doesn't like relent. Like it just, it just drives the whole time. Oh dude, I love that song. Sam Slick: Yes. It also helps having the vocals be like at a 10 the whole time. Like they're not like, Jose: Shit. Sam Slick: they're not doing dynamics in this song. The only dynamic is just loud the whole time, uh, which is great for Jose: Yeah, yeah. Sam Slick: driving as fast as you can. So yeah, excellent choice. Jose: such a good song, man. Like that song is like a driver in any, like any time you listen to it. Once it goes on, it just pops off. You're like, ugh! Sam Slick: Definitely, definitely works for that too. Um, all right. Another response I got, uh, my drummer, Dan, Hey Dan, hello. Uh, he said a swerve driver song, son of a Mustang Ford and that one. Yeah, that song is pretty, it's pretty hard. Uh, I can definitely get behind blasting that, uh, behind the wheel. Are you a swerve driver guy? Jose: I, as far as like the song, do I know the song or like, do I just swerve in general? Sam Slick: In general, mean, yeah You ⁓ both you can do a I don't know them super I they're like shoegazy ⁓ Jose: Okay, okay, Sam Slick: there Jose: never heard Swerve Driver. I gotta check them out, another band. ⁓ But I do like shoegazy kinda bands. ⁓ Yeah, I'll check it out. But do I swerve? Yeah, here and there. Sam Slick: Yeah, yeah, good soundtrack for it. know, it's good combination. Jose: Sorry Dan. By the way, I haven't talked to Dan a whole lot, ⁓ but I feel like Dan and I are on the same frequency a lot of times with music. A lot of his posts on Instagram, I'm like, ⁓ dude, he just hit the mark. Sam Slick: Yeah, that's just, that's who he is. We connected. mean, obviously we're in a band together. So yeah, we definitely have a lot of tastes in common, but he will pull out like some deep cuts and like, he just has like a really great broad knowledge of music in general. Definitely on the same. I like to be on that wavelength when I can, you know, I need to, I feel like I know a lot about music, but Dan knows like 10 times as much, you know, volume wise and Yeah, just really, ⁓ really tuned in there. So it's cool that you can see that a little bit too, you know, from his post. Jose: For sure. Sam Slick: And that's what I got from my responses there. I got a lot from my own, but let's go. What did you get from the community for this one? Jose: So I got, so David Antonio Garcia, he chose Do It Faster by ⁓ Military Gun. He said, definitely gets the blood going and hypes you up. I haven't heard that song, have you heard that song? Sam Slick: No, same. I don't know military gun. Jose: Cool, another one to add to the list, right? And then Veronica, my sister, she chose the Speed Racer theme. Sam Slick: Yeah. choice. Great choice. the, animated, like the original cartoon version. Jose: I think so. Sam Slick: right. ⁓ Jose: Yeah. I can see that. ⁓ you ever the movie? The live action film? Sam Slick: Only once. It's so weird. I like that it's gotten like, ⁓ I don't know. feel like I keep hearing it's getting like reappraised as being like, I don't know, kind of ahead of its time. And that's why I didn't catch on. I thought it just kind of strange and the acting was really disconnected, but I don't know. I'm not like really a critic or anything. It just wasn't for me. I don't know. ⁓ I liked, it like a video game. Like it looked like, ⁓ you know, more screen than anything. ⁓ but it was fun. I had a fun time watching it. Are you a fan of the? Jose: Yeah, ⁓ kind of funny was I heard a podcast, ⁓ a podcast about the movie and I kind of want to I was like kind of curious to rewatch it. So I believe ⁓ on a flight, ⁓ rewatched it ⁓ and I don't know, man, I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it as far as like the performances. Like everyone seemed to know, you know, that they're in that kind of movie ⁓ yet still kind of like did well. I would say the only person that I felt kind of like drop the ball was Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer. Because like you have like fucking, ⁓ what's his name? ⁓ John Goodman as Pops. You have Susan Sarandon as the mother, you have Emile Hirsch and he's like this like, he's the main guy and you're like, ⁓ I don't know, man. Sam Slick: I always pictured Jose: I don't know. Sam Slick: speed racer being a little bit lankier than Emile Hirsch. That's my like one critique. remember being like, I don't know. He should have been more like string beanie, you know, person that they cast Jose: Yeah. Sam Slick: for him. But I think he did fine, but I'd have to go back and rewatch it. It's been, it's been a few years now at this point. Jose: though, great movie, I think. ⁓ I'm not ⁓ to shit on Emile Hirsch. I think he's a great actor. ⁓ What's that movie? Into the Wild, is that what it's called? The one where he, yeah. Good movie, yeah, go check that movie out. But yeah, so Emile Hirsch, ⁓ you ever listen to Best Most, we're not shitting on you, you're great. Sam Slick: Yeah. Yeah That's him, right? Come on the pod. ⁓ Jose: right? So Rudy Corona chose Radar Love by Golden Earring. Sam Slick: Yeah, Jose: that song Sam Slick: yeah, excellent choice. Jose: hits the spot. ⁓ my God. ⁓ That song reminds me of stepdad. So my stepdad, would like every, I want to say like Saturday or Sunday, we'd get in this big ass truck that he had ⁓ and he would just throw on KLOS and like songs like Radar would just pop on and I'd be like. Sam Slick: ⁓ Jose: Dude, this is like the best. So yeah, totally good memories with that song. Sam Slick: ⁓ I'm a big fan. I need to check out more of their music, but Golden Earring, also have their song, The Twilight Zone, which just absolutely rips. I should have chosen that actually for my driving Jose: ⁓ yeah. Sam Slick: song, but like, yeah, come on. It's so good. It's like, I don't know. It's kind of cheesy. They're both that and Radar Love. Kind of cheesy in ways, Jose: Yeah. Sam Slick: but like also like undeniable. Just too good. Too good. Especially when you're behind the wheel and you know, yeah. Jose: Yeah, I'd like, Twilight Zone is a really good song. It's very chill, isn't it? Like, do-do-do-do, Twilight Zone. Right? Sam Slick: ⁓ yeah, yeah, that big chorus there. But it's got like this like Jose: Yeah. Sam Slick: driving bass line there. It's a really cool little lick that's going on there. Like, played with a pick for sure. And yeah, Jose: ⁓ yeah, cool cool. ⁓ Jason Chavez shows foreplay, a long time by Boston. ⁓ makes you feel like a vintage 70s pilot. Sam Slick: that's a good one. Revisit it sometime. ⁓ Yeah, Jose: What song is that? Sam Slick: I mean, I can see. You don't know that one? ⁓ Ugh, Jose: I'm sure I've heard it. ⁓ can can you sing a little? I mean, not sing it, sing it, like. Sam Slick: It's like... ⁓ let me see. keep thinking, I keep going to like more of the feeling and this one's got so much more going for it. Like this one has a build that goes on longer. There's more longer Jose: Mm-hmm. Sam Slick: instrumental section there. ⁓ production's pristine. Like it's so incredibly seventies in the best way, you know. Jose: I know I've heard it because I went to go see Boston a long time ago with a bunch of really good bands. think like Toto was there and all that stuff too. ⁓ cool, cool. ⁓ I'm gonna, ⁓ like right away after this show, I'm gonna listen to it. ⁓ So Basis, he chose ⁓ most System of a Down songs, but ⁓ something aggressive like Streamline. Sam Slick: No. ⁓ Yeah, Susumadown definitely has that energy that will push you a little bit faster there. ⁓ Jose: ⁓ ⁓ heck yeah man. And that guy Serge's voice is like pretty nuts. Sam Slick: Yeah, almost like, I don't know, operatic in some ways, you know, his approach to singing, which is pretty impressive. You know, there's very, very fast and percussive ways that he approaches it, which is ⁓ pretty cool. Yeah. They had a cool sound going there. Jose: ⁓ Also those harmonies are really just catchy too. Sam Slick: Yeah. ⁓ Jose: And then Rosa chose a lot of songs by Yeah Yeah Yeah's like heads will roll or ⁓ lion Sam Slick: Gold Lion's a fun one. I can definitely see his had to roll. That one's a little bit faster there. Definitely push Jose: Yeah. Sam Slick: you a little faster too. You ever seen them? ⁓ Jose: Yeah, dude, a few times. I'd say like maybe three or four times. But yeah, so good. Sam Slick: Yeah, okay. saw him Jose: Yeah. Sam Slick: but was it was at a theater and it was like seated so it wasn't really ideal Jose: Was it recently? Fairly recently? Sam Slick: No, this was like when like it's blitz came out. So a long time back this point, ⁓ it was fun. I mean, like they sounded good. They put on a good show, but I was like, I want to be like standing up and, know, closer to this instead of like in a balcony watching from a distance, ⁓ relax in a seat or whatever, know, just didn't have like, you know, the, the show is too energetic for the setting. You know what I mean? Jose: Yeah, yeah, we had seen them fairly, because my wife and I are fans, and we had seen them fairly recently. I forgot what theater it was, but it was a seated show too, and they were doing kind of more chiller kind of versions of the songs, Sam Slick: Okay. Jose: which was, it was cool, it was cool. Some dude just kept burping the whole time, so that was horrible, because it smelled really bad, but ⁓ yeah. Outside of that, we've seen them at FYFS as well too. Sam Slick: ⁓ yeah. Jose: which was a really fun environment, yeah. Really cool, really cool. But yeah, I fucking love Karen O And like, all those guys are great. I mean, yeah, the guitarist is just like, ⁓ one guy, just has such a huge sound, and the drummer's so fucking great too. So let's see, those are my community picks. Let's go into your answer. ⁓ What is ⁓ the song that would likely make drive faster, Sam Slick? Sam Slick: I mean, I picked this question, but I have a hard time having like a one single answer for this one. It's tough. It's tough. It kind of depends on a couple of things. So Jose: let's ⁓ Sam Slick: when I'm driving, If I'm driving alone, then I'm to go for something that's like dry. Like the music is driving as well. It's going to be like drums and bass locked in there. Good groove. Usually. At this point, I'll go for something maybe like something by Morphine, something that builds up that where it's just like drums and bass are like pushing the music instrumentally. ⁓ Sometimes I'll go for something a little bit more chaotic or like proggy. Like this is, I don't listen to like a ton of heavy stuff. Like usually I'm like more like, I don't know, generally rock and roll or Americana type sounds is what I listen to the most, but driving, that's when I'll listen to like heavier stuff or, you know, more, more rock stuff. ⁓ the other day I was listening to a band that, ⁓ was newer to me. Angine de Poitrine, they're, ⁓ this like French Canadian band. ⁓ it's just like this instrumental duo and it is great. Like, I guess there's like a little bit of vocals, but you know, mostly instrumental, ⁓ it's cool. It's just like very riff driven, like very chaotic sound. ⁓ yeah, tight, very, ⁓ very driving drums behind them. So I've been listening to their stuff driving a lot and definitely driving a little faster because of it. You ever listen to them? Have Jose: Nice man. Sam Slick: you heard them before yet? Jose: I haven't, I haven't, yeah. Sam Slick: They're this duo, I saw them, I think it was like a month ago or so. I mean, by the time this comes out a few months back, but it was, there's just a duo and they dress up in these like wild costumes. Like they're like covered like head to toe in polka dots. And it's just two people, like a guy on guitar and a guy on drums. And they both have these like giant like paper mache, mask, helmet type things that like look impossible to play music in. ⁓ let alone like Jose: Yeah. Sam Slick: really kinetic, ⁓ fast ⁓ instrumental music. I don't know how they do it. I'm impressed. ⁓ music's fun too. Jose: I gotta check out some YouTube videos for sure. Sam Slick: Yeah, they did like a KXP that like kind of blew up and now they're like, I don't know, booking world tours and stuff, but a lot of fun. Really like, I don't know. So I was reading like it's kind of mathy, but I don't really listen to much like math rock. That's this one just sounds more fun to me. I don't know more joy in it. ⁓ Long answer going, kind of going around on that for my, like Jose: no worries ⁓ Sam Slick: when I'm driving alone. ⁓ Usually it'd be something like a little heavier weirder. I'll say morphine like they're a great band that was out of Boston in the 90s and it's Drums bass and saxophone Usually is the arrangements on their songs So they I don't know they have this low sound and the faster songs I'd say are pretty good for for driving too But they just get a good groove going every song there. So that's something I can get behind driving a little faster for When I'm driving with other people though, it's gotta be a different vibe entirely. You know, like it's not like multiple people sitting in a car, like, you know, getting into a groove of like just drums and bass lower self there. When it's like a group of people, it's gotta be something that like you're going to belt out that you're saying along to you or just like, I don't know, go a little wilder for. For this one, I say probably my top choice here. Cause I had like a memory of this one time a friend was like driving me home or a party. And this song came on and like blasting it like way too loud at like whatever two in the morning and like driving way too fast. I was not driving, but you know, I was in the car and, ⁓ gotta say Panama by Van Halen. I wouldn't listen Jose: ⁓ yeah. Sam Slick: to this in another context, but in the context of being in a car with friends, going to drive faster. one, you know, ⁓ Van Halen is stupid. I'm sorry. It's, it's just not very Jose: You Sam Slick: like. There's not a lot of thought behind it. I'm not like listening to them, like inspecting their lyrics, but like, you know what? True daily Roth. You really speak to the soul in this one, but when you hear it, like, you know, this one's really going to like pump you up a little bit. So as dumb of a song as it is, and sorry, I'm just talking trash about Van Halen, but you know, Jose: Shots fired, yeah. ⁓ Sam Slick: yeah, uh, it's fun. It's, it's a song that will make me drive faster. I'm like, if I'm just listening to like classic rock radio or whatever, and that comes on, I'm like, all right. Let's pick it up a little bit here. Jose: You know what's funny is I used to think that song said mother-in-law. Mother-in-law. Sam Slick: you can give us some new lyrics. Jose: For years, I was like, ⁓ cool, I guess this guy really hates his mother-in-law or shit, you know? He's really excited about that. Sam Slick: really passionate singing about Jose: ⁓ Mother-in-law, yeah. ⁓ Sam Slick: Alright, Jose: That's a good one. Sam Slick: if I had to pick one, it's probably gonna be that one. Jose, ⁓ what you got? What is your song that's gonna ⁓ most make you speed up while you're driving? Jose: So I really like a lot of mid-tempo songs and I even like, you know, thinking about this question, I was like, ⁓ gosh. the answers I got, very fairly mid-tempo songs, but I think I like a lot of dramatic stuff. So it's not quite in the aggressiveness of the song really. It's more so that it's dramatic and it's like, yes. And you're like, fuck yeah, I'm gonna drive, you know, whatever. Sam Slick: you Mm-hmm. Jose: What's funny is Sam Slick gets to enjoy my little hand movements and getting all crazy here. Sam Slick: It adds a lot. ⁓ Jose: I appreciate it. So, one of my answers, I have a few of them, is a song by Blonde Redhead. It's a song called Spring and by Summer Fall. It's on their album 23, they came out in 2007. And it just has a Really nice, have you heard that song before? Sam Slick: No, I don't know them very well. I'm familiar with the name, but, ⁓ not the music yet. Jose: Well, like that song is very just like, it's just a driving song. ⁓ the are so in that song. it has a really cool ⁓ dreamy kind of guitar to it, but it just like drives the whole time. Great song. And also from ⁓ Blonde Redhead a song called Maddening Clouds. It's from the album Misery is a Butterfly. And it came out in 2004. Same kind of thing, really driving. The bass song in that song is great. A lot of dramatic kind of feel to it. And a lot of atmosphere. So those are some of my choices. Also, quick story about Blonde Redhead and why I will always give them so much fucking respect. I... ⁓ I was introduced to Blonde Redhead, when I was a kid like in high school. So like in literally 2000, the year 2000. ⁓ And ⁓ it was one of bands that just had this instant cool feel to it. A lot of atmosphere, a lot of like just like, just ⁓ like nothing I've ever heard. ⁓ Years later, hear this one song of theirs called Drip ⁓ and I looked it up on YouTube to watch the performance. ⁓ And also I had seen them at, I think it's FYFS, live front row in a tent. And this song is played and it sounds very different live than it does sound on their album. And I was just like so fucking curious, I was like, like what the hell, you know? ⁓ And was in a band at that time and I was trying to figure out, I was having a hard time. ⁓ getting a song from my head to like ⁓ the finish line. So ⁓ I started thinking about it. I think Alison told me, she's like, you should ask the band. I'm like, yeah, sure, why not? So I sent them ⁓ a message. I think it was an email online and like a day later I got an answer. ⁓ And it was so fucking human and amazing. ⁓ I think it was the guitarist. I'm sorry, I don't know the name. I am really bad. ⁓ And he said, ⁓ We've been racking our brains on how to like really kind of like bring that song, give that song justice. We're still working on it. Like it's still in flux ⁓ ⁓ tried to do it kind of like exactly how it sounded ⁓ the album. It just didn't work. So we're still continuously working that song. ⁓ hopefully ⁓ we figure out at some point soon. But it's like this band who I thought was like amazing and I still think is amazing. I even think more amazing. I just connected in such a way with them at that point I was like, oh shit, these guys have to figure this stuff out and so do we, you It's pretty cool. Sam Slick: They're human musicians just like us, know, the same problems, even if they're on like a bigger scale of an audience, they still have the same thing of, how do I translate this song from the idea to a live performance, right? Jose: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I mean, you're an artist too, you play music. when you're... you write songs, how do you guys... I mean, like, do you usually come with a melody or do you come with ⁓ like chord progressions or do you guys just kind of like jam it out and you kind of just come up with it? Sam Slick: Usually I bring it in and I'll be like, you know, here's what I'm thinking. And then the guys just kind of put their ideas for like, ⁓ here's what I want to do for my part. I try not to dictate too much of like, I want you to play this, you know, because everyone in the band is a better musician than I am at their know? So like, ⁓ you like not going to come up with Jake's lead guitar parts or like Dan's drums or Julian's bass. Like that's not. I can play some instruments, yeah, but like they're great at what they do. So maybe sometimes I'll have like an idea like, okay, well I want like, maybe this guitar should have tremolo on or something for, I don't know. I don't really have much more. I'm like dictating a sound or anything like that. I'll be like, this part needs like an instrumental break of this kind or something like that. Usually I'll have, um, you know, definitely the melodies and the chord progressions and pretty much the structure, but I'll leave it open enough that like, you know, if someone's like, Oh, can we repeat this again here? Or like, well, let's just cut this and go straight to whatever the next section. Like I'm open to those ideas usually. Um, you know, or I'll come like, there's one song I brought to the band and like, all right, well, let's try it this way, but I have like three different ways to end it or whatever, you know, like different Jose: Yeah. Sam Slick: sectors you put in if we're not crazy about this. don't know, we found the way that worked for us and like kind of just stuck with that ever since, Jose: Cool, cool, cool. Sam Slick: But I'm lucky. mean, I have a band, like a band that I play with, you know, consistently ⁓ who, you know, I'm not... Usually not having to like hire people to fill in you know unless someone's like out or whatever can't make dates or something but typically like we have a consistent lineup and like it's Feels like it's a rarity these days to have that or it's less common. You know of having ⁓ the same band around So very lucky and great guys there. You know you can hear what we sound like ⁓ live or on recording Jose: Yeah, and everyone's really nice too. I mean, that's super important too, but yeah, everyone is very super talented and super nice. So you guys always been very welcoming. So I really appreciate that. ⁓ So let's ⁓ see. ⁓ Another song I chose was Bill to Spill's Go Against Your Mind. ⁓ Sam Slick: Ooh, yes! ⁓ Jose: So that song is a pretty long song, ⁓ but it's like in the best ways, fucking long. ⁓ You kind of just want it even to go longer. Sam Slick: Yeah. Jose: ⁓ Sam Slick: Great. Jose: Right? But it's like it starts off with this cool drum beat. And then the guitar comes in. Such a fucking good song. ⁓ I'm probably doing it justice, but if you you might also want to just hear it on a. your streaming service or something, but yeah, such a fucking good song. You've heard it, right? Sam Slick: ⁓ yeah, Love Built A Spill. That song's great. ⁓ It's just insistent, you know, that's how I describe that song. Where it's really relentless with the beat there. The drum is a really simple part, but it's so like, I don't know, it amps you up. ⁓ By the time they Jose: Yeah. Sam Slick: get to the chorus too, it's like such a great one to sing along to. Like you don't really need to know all the lyrics, but by the time gets going against your mind, like yeah, you're singing too. Jose: ⁓ heck yeah. Let's see. I have the Get Up Kids, Holiday. That's just a fucking fun song, dude. It's a little bit more upbeat and it's a driven song, but it's like, yeah. I don't know. The Get Up Kids are, I feel like, are pretty underrated. ⁓ it's so, I can't say a whole lot of that about them because I just, amazing. And that song is off the album, Something to Write Home About. Go check it out. So. Sam Slick: Thank Jose: These are more traditional songs that I got, but Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper, of course. ⁓ Sam Slick: Yeah. ⁓ Jose: I think that's a total drive song where like, go fucking faster. you, Reaper. ⁓ And then Led ⁓ Whole Lotta Love and Immigrant Song. Sam Slick: Right. Yeah, of course. Jose: right? Sam Slick: Classics right there. Jose: Yeah. ⁓ Sam Slick: If I may throw another classic in the ring, here's one that I usually just put in when I'm like starting a road trip, but I did does usually kick it off right and a little fast too, is On the Road Again by Canned Heat. I don't even know that they're like 60s band, like kind of blues, rocky. They played like Woodstock, like they're like that era, you know, of like kind of hippie-ish blues bass bands. But On the Road Again. I don't know, it's great. It's got this cool, like weird, droney sound going on, almost like sitar-like, over like, you know, kind of like a blues-like shuffle going on behind it. ⁓ It's great. The Jose: Can you sing the whole thing real quick? Sam Slick: whole thing real quick. No, not very well. It's, it's, ⁓ it was ⁓ that singer who sings it, they had like a few singers in the band. He had this like really like ⁓ unique, like kind of like haunting falsetto he sang with, which is like very... ⁓ I don't know. was weird because the other singer, the main singer of the band, he's got this like horse-like, I don't know, like shouty kind of voice, know, which is great. You know, it's like a biker band, you know, but like this guy who sang, you know, he passed away pretty young, but he had this like really like haunting falsetto. was really cool. On the road again, canned heat. Go to whenever I'm starting like a long drive, like got to put that on there somewhere in the list, if not like starting the drive off, right? Jose: Heck yeah One thing I do want to add about Immigrant's song ⁓ is it kind of, it's like, ⁓ dude, kind of special. ⁓ So it's kind of a dumb little thing, but I think it's kind of cute. ⁓ My wife, every time I do the, ⁓ Sam Slick: Yes, please. Jose: very badly, but yes, my wife just cracks up. I don't know why she cracks up, but she just loves it. And then she'll randomly kind of do it. So I think it's like, hear that song and it instantly makes me happy. So I'm like, ah, yes. Sam Slick: You Jose: So let's take a look. that has been our episode. It went by so quickly. Did you have fun? Sam Slick: had a great time. I hope our listeners had a great time as well. How about you? was that? Did you have a good time? ⁓ Jose: I did, honestly, yeah. You know, it's funny, I enjoy all these conversations and they kind of hit in such different ways and ⁓ yeah, it's exciting every time I kind of start recording, so yeah. So would you like to plug anything or give any shout outs? Sam Slick: Sure, I'm going to plug ⁓ my latest album, After the Dream, Before the Memories, just came out a few weeks ago. Go stream it wherever you listen to music. also have ⁓ it's pressed to vinyl. So if you are interested in enriching your collection or starting your collection off right, go ahead and order it off samslick.bandcamp.com. You can also find me wherever you follow people on social media, Mr. Sam Slick, because it's nice and formal. Otherwise, stream my music. Just look for Sam Slick wherever you listen. Jose: I've said this every week, and I'll say this every week in the future episodes. Thank you to our online community for taking the time to answer the questions on best.most.pod ⁓ Instagram ⁓ You help expand the guests in my conversation on the show. ⁓ It's probably one of my favorite parts of the show, to be honest, when I listen to it, because I do listen to it because I want to hear the levels and everything. But ⁓ thank you so very much. ⁓ Sam Slick: you Jose: prayer hands, I'm doing them right now. Also remember, there are no guilty pleasures when it comes to music, movies, and all art preferences. Love what you love and enjoy what you enjoy. That connection is such a gift. And until next time, take care and take care of each other. Bye bye. Sam Slick: Bye.