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Transcript

Unsigned518 - Episode 218 - Owen Greene · Unsigned518

• 0:01
  Speaker A: He was born on a Saturday in 73 he loves punk rock music fighting the 13 cabin in the dazzle Jazz rock Now on the beat Guitar with a short wind radio bass his motherfucking envy scrolling look at motherfucker. Cause here he comes Andy Sculling wearing his orange hat.
• 0:27
  Speaker B: Welcome to unsigned 518. I'm here with Owen Green. How's it going, man?
• 0:32
  Speaker C: Good, good. How are you doing?
• 0:33
  Speaker B: Thanks for having me doing. Doing very well. And you know, I am excited today. Not just because, you know, we have. We haven't met and I like to meet new people in the. In the. In the music scene, so to speak. But you brought a keyboard with you and I didn't say anything about it when you came in, but keyboard was the very first instrument that I played and became obsessed with when I was very, very small. Not to say that I can play now because other than I think I got like Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue.
• 1:03
  Speaker C: Nice.
• 1:04
  Speaker B: And no, I think that's the. That's the only one I can still play. But so I'm excited to hear. I think it's probably the first keyboard performance here in the dazzle then. I've had, you know, acoustic guitars, I've had Irish duos, I've had full metal bands in here doing live performances, but I don't think I've had a solo keyboard. So I'm excited.
• 1:27
  Speaker C: I'm excited too.
• 1:28
  Speaker B: But we're not here to talk about my excitement. Although, I mean, I guess the show wouldn't exist without my excitement. But we're here to talk about you and your music and I guess, like kind of what it means to you is how we'll get the conversation started. You know, I guess where your relationship with music began, kind of.
• 1:49
  Speaker C: Yeah, well, my, My upbringing was very heavily centered around music. My. My mom and my dad are both phenomenal musicians. My mom is a music teacher. She works at Mechanicville. And my dad is a great bass player. He plays all around the capital region. So it's. It's always been a, you know, all over the place in my life. My dad had me growing up listening to just a bunch of, like the awesome stuff that, you know, he grew up with back in the 70s and 80s. Fell in love with Elton John in a very early stage in my life. So early, in fact, that I don't know if anybody remembers this, but there's a Bob the Builder special. I think it might have been a Christmas special or something. And had Elton John. They had Elton John come in on his Piano and. And, you know, play some songs and stuff. I must have been maybe two or three.
• 2:56
  Speaker B: Yeah. See, I'm probably your dad's age for real. Probably. You know, like when you say Bob the Builder, I'm like, that was, like, when I was, like, fucking 30.
• 3:04
  Speaker C: Yeah. That was more. Yeah, more for the Gen Z out there. Sorry. But I had a toy piano, toy keyboard. I'd roll it out and I'd have a little cape and some, like, cool star sunglasses, and I'd watch the episode. And once Elton John came up, I'd get there. I'd get up my keyboard and start dancing around and, like, playing with Elton John. And then my parents would look in at me through the other room. And once I saw them looking at me, I get all shy and stop. But. But, yeah, so I've always loved music. As a kid in the fourth grade, I started with trumpet for the school band, and I fell in love with trumpet. And I was like, this is what I'm gonna do. This is my favorite instrument ever. This is the coolest thing. And, you know, I just had a really great time with that up until about the seventh grade. And I went to a. Like a coffee house that the school was putting on, kind of like an open mic thing. And I saw this high schooler sit down and play some Billy Joel. And I'm like, well, he was singing along with it, and he had the whole crowd singing. And I'm like, that's the coolest thing ever. I want to do that. So then I fell in love with the piano, and I started taking lessons in the seventh grade. I was maybe 12 years old when I started.
• 4:33
  Speaker B: There is just something about, like, the piano has, like, that if somebody sits down at a piano and can play a song that everybody can, like, sing along to. Like, there's something, like, really cool about that at a party.
• 4:46
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 4:46
  Speaker B: Whereas, like, when someone busts out the acoustic guitar, there's usually like, you better. Better hit a threshold. Better be pretty good, buddy. You know what I mean? But, like, if someone can play basic chords on a piano and get people. Like, there's something magical about it. And I think it's because the keyboards are the root of a lot of music. Like, there's keys in everything. Like, shit you wouldn't even think of.
• 5:12
  Speaker C: Oh, yeah, absolutely. And just, like, I've always, like, thought of, like, the piano as. And, like, a lot of people think of it this way as, like, its own little orchestra. Like, if you think about, like, a. Like a symphonic orchestra, you get, like, the Highs like the woodwinds and the. And the low strings and even the percussion.
• 5:30
  Speaker B: Right.
• 5:31
  Speaker C: You know, like, it's just all of that encompassed into 88 keys. It's really cool.
• 5:37
  Speaker B: That is. That is a cool way. You know, it's like, oh, you have six strings. That's cute. Yeah, fucking 88 of them over here, man. So it is its own symphony. But do you, like, like, writing music or Before. Let's get. Before writing music, let's get back into when, like, you knew, like, piano was your thing. And after it was kind of like linking back to your early childhood with the Elton John thing. Like, did you immediately start, like, looking at piano from, like, a pop music view where you're like, I want to learn Billy Joel, I want to learn Elton John. Or did you take a traditional. Like, I'm going to learn how to play this instrument and then learn, you know?
• 6:22
  Speaker C: Yeah, it was definitely started out classically trained going, you know, you know, just starting out. Like, I. I got lessons from my chorus teacher starting out and was really heavy into, like, classical music throughout high school. I would go do like, the Nisma festivals and stuff about maybe in like 9th or 10th grade of. Of high school, I started to get really heavy into jazz. And I had a private instructor. His name's Charles Cornell. He was really, like, big into the jazz scene in the capital region. And now he's super famous YouTuber, which is really cool. But he is just a phenomenal jazz pianist. And he was great. He was. He really worked with me with, like, a lot of classical music because I was still kind of like, well, I'll go to. Go to, you know, college and maybe for composition or something. So I wanted to stay in the classical realm. But he really, you know, opened my eyes to a lot of, like, jazz, just the. Just jazz stuff, like chord structures, adding to my music. That and listening to a crap ton of Ben Folds Five.
• 7:49
  Speaker B: I want to talk about that a little bit, like, you know, because I, you know, spoiler alert. I've heard. Heard you play. And like, the first thing that I thought was like, I mean, clearly there's a Ben Folds comparison. And I was a huge Ben Folds Five fan back, you know, again, I'm super fucking old. But, like, so back in the. In the 90s, you know, when whatever and ever Amen came out, I was, you know, probably 24 or 25, and I became obsessed with that album, like, so much. And it brought out like a. Because I was also a classical music. Like, I was again, like piano. Like, I was Very basic. I never got into. But I like to listen to classical music. And to me, Ben Folds was like that perfect melding of. You're like. That knows how to play that instrument. Like, it's not.
• 8:43
  Speaker C: He's a wizard. Yeah.
• 8:45
  Speaker B: And. And it's. I could hear that in your stuff as well, where you're like. It's a command of the instrument first and then the song's second. So I don't know. I. I knew Ben Folds was in there.
• 8:59
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 9:00
  Speaker B: Like, the second I heard it. So when did you. When did. Like, when did you first get introduced to Ben Folds? Like, what. Or what era of, like, was it Ben Folds Five stuff or was it solo stuff?
• 9:11
  Speaker C: It was. Yeah. So it was Ben folds five when they came back in 2012 to put out Sound of the Life of the Mind. When that came out, my dad was big into that one, and that was. And that. That's. That was such a cool kind of mix of their, like, crazy, raucous, like, smashing the. Smashing the keys, like, beating on the drums and like, kind of his solo stuff, which. Which got like, a little more like. Yeah. Like melancholy, like, poignant, like. Yeah, it was cool. So I definitely got into it there and then I just was. Started exploring all his other stuff.
• 9:51
  Speaker B: Yeah, he's a great, great songwriter. And, like, I love. I mean, I'm sure you ever. Have you seen him live?
• 9:58
  Speaker C: I did, yeah.
• 10:00
  Speaker B: His live show is amazing, the way he, like, conducts while he's playing.
• 10:05
  Speaker C: Yeah, I've seen Doing the harmony.
• 10:06
  Speaker B: She'll be like, all right, this. This half of the crowd, you guys are this harmony. You know, teach them the army, then do this and this and this, and then do the song. Like, it's like, I don't know, amazing. Really, really, like, really like his stuff. And, you know, it's good to see, I guess, that style of music being kept alive.
• 10:26
  Speaker C: Yeah, it's definitely spoke to me. And it's. It's funny when I tell people that I grew up, you know, kind of classically trained, and they don't necessarily expect it, but it is fun. And, you know, I hear people say, like, you know, write the music that you want to hear. And, you know, I just. I want to hear a bunch of Ben Folds. I want to hear a bunch of early Elton John and. And it's just fun.
• 10:53
  Speaker B: I mean, classical music is raucous.
• 10:56
  Speaker C: It really.
• 10:56
  Speaker B: I mean, like, there'. Exactly, you know, a lot of, you know, powdered wigs flying off and while they're banging their heads.
• 11:04
  Speaker C: I used to play a Lot of, like, Rachmaninoff. That dude and that dude had humongous hands. So he was. But yeah, no, definitely. So much, you know, really like metal stuff in classical music.
• 11:17
  Speaker B: Oh, 100%. 100%. But I don't know. I dig it. So I guess, like, we've been talking so much about, you know, the. The piano and the songs and the. The Ben Folds comparison. Let. Let's hear a song.
• 11:30
  Speaker C: Sure.
• 11:30
  Speaker B: So what's the first one you're going to play for us?
• 11:32
  Speaker C: So this first one is called Stone. I just came up with it. I was at a Stewart's one day and I saw somebody working behind the counter with the, you know, the name tag, and his name's Stone. I'm like, I've. I've never met anybody named Stone. You know, I wonder. I wonder what he's got going on. So, yeah, and I just kind of wrote a song about it. I think mainly I had the music written out and I was just trying to think of some subject matter to write, so kind of sprung from there.
• 12:06
  Speaker B: All right, well, let's check out Stone Owen Green live here in the Dazzle Den and then we'll be right back.
• 12:32
  Speaker D: Behind the counter at a truck stop
• 12:35
  Speaker E: Sits a man named Stone who's sweeping up some breath mints off the floor he's trying hard to pass the time but there's a reason why he's never needed to before and Stone takes it
• 12:57
  Speaker D: as it comes it's all he's ever done.
• 13:05
  Speaker E: And Stone takes his coffee black to
• 13:10
  Speaker D: avoid a heart attack.
• 13:19
  Speaker E: He's apathetically reciting what his teacher said it's where where he was always meant to be and selling scratch off lotto tickets to the crossing guard he knows he'll never win and Stone takes it as it comes it's all he's ever done. And Stone takes his coffee black to
• 13:56
  Speaker D: a avoid a heart attack that's what he'll say.
• 14:44
  Speaker E: The early mornings are showing underneath his eyes and the days before begin bleeding into one big sigh his degree in whatever ology is in a banker's box in a 5 by 10. And Stone gets up late for work
• 15:55
  Speaker D: it's gonna be the time gets a pass
• 16:02
  Speaker E: and Stones turning out the lights Another day of fighting's left an imprint on his mind.
• 16:36
  Speaker B: All right, that was Stone Owen Green live here in the Dazzle Den. Now, you were saying that that song is about a dude that works at Storts, and we were talking before we got recording about, you know, meanings of songs and kind of what the Subject matter is. But this next one that we're going to hear, I feel like the story of the song deserves a little attention because you started telling it to me and I was like, no, no, no, no, we needed. We need to save this while we're recording. So tell us the story of this next song.
• 17:09
  Speaker C: Yeah. So this is. This is a really funny story. A couple years ago, I was playing Keys with a Grateful Dead tribute band. We went on like a week and a half tour out in. Out in like the Midwest and then kind of down south a little bit. But the second night we played a show at a Kombucha bar in Ypsilanti, Michigan. And the next day we had to drive down to Ohio, to Fairport or something in Ohio. So we stayed the night after the show at the drummer's buddy's house. He just knew him. And it's like this big farmhouse probably like 10 miles out of the city. And, you know, we play the show, we get back, we hang out for a bit, and we crash because we got an early morning the next day. I end up sleeping on the couch in the living room, which is just connected, like right next to the kitchen. It's like big open kind of pattern. And so anything that's going on in the kitchen is like very easily heard in the living room. So we crash. And at about like three in the morning or something, this. This lady comes in, this random girl, and like, nobody knows who she is. It must have just been friends with the guy who owned the house or whatever. But she barges in and she's like screaming like this. This guy broke up with me.
• 18:43
  Speaker E: I hate him.
• 18:44
  Speaker C: He's. He left me all alone at the party. And people, you know. You know, she woke basically everybody up, and they were like, okay, I'm sorry. Like, keep it down.
• 18:57
  Speaker B: I'm sorry. But I kind of can see why.
• 19:01
  Speaker C: Yeah. So she ends up. I don't know if she ends up leaving or staying the night or whatever, but the next morning I wake up and we're getting ready to go. We're packing up, and the guitar player comes up to me. He's like, man, I was a crazy night last night, right? I'm like, yeah. I'm like, what? What happened? And he was like, what, did you not wake up for? That she was on a rampage. But, yeah, I ended up sleeping through the whole thing. She didn't wake me up, which was great.
• 19:36
  Speaker B: Like a violent rampage, like breaking shit. Or.
• 19:39
  Speaker C: I. I'm not sure if she broke anything, but she was crashing around Slamming doors and stuff.
• 19:44
  Speaker B: Funny.
• 19:45
  Speaker C: But. But yeah, no, that was pretty funny story. Lost my. Lost my train of thought. Yeah. Oh, right. So anyways, the song that I wrote about it, I. I decided to write the song even though I, you know, didn't wake up to hear what she was saying. I just wanted to write a song about what I imagined her yelling and screaming about in the, you know, in the middle of the night. So that's what that song is about.
• 20:22
  Speaker B: And then what's. What's the name of the tune?
• 20:25
  Speaker C: It's called Passed out because I still passed out the entire time.
• 20:30
  Speaker B: Well, but, you know, before we. Before we hear the song, I do just want to, like, the. Your music can be found. You have a YouTube channel, right? Yep. Like, what was that?
• 20:39
  Speaker C: Yep, my YouTube channel is Owen Green Music. You can find me on Instagram and Tick Tock. Instagram is Owen Green with two ends and Owen. Because, you know, Instagram, it's impossible to get a handle.
• 20:57
  Speaker B: Yeah, I was. I was tagging you in a post earlier, and when I started typing in, oh, and I typed and like five or six different ones came on, man, I don't know which one it is. And then I, like, had to go back out. Go back in. Oh, the one with two ends. That's actually clever, you know.
• 21:12
  Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, I've got some recordings, mainly live recordings of my stuff up there. I've got some. Some things in the work as far as getting music out, but it's still just kind of getting into it, which I. Which I find is pretty exciting, like, you know, recording some music and starting to get myself out there some more.
• 21:35
  Speaker B: Yeah. Hell yeah. Excellent. All right, well, let's. Let's check out Passed out live here in the dazzled end from Owen Green. Then we'll be right back to wrap it up.
• 21:55
  Speaker E: Passed out on a couch in Ypsilanti we're driving down to Fairport in the
• 22:03
  Speaker A: morning
• 22:06
  Speaker D: at 3am they hear and knocking.
• 22:11
  Speaker E: I was fast asleep when she cried
• 22:16
  Speaker D: he broke my heart he left me there on the front steps of the party he doesn't care he's unaware that
• 22:25
  Speaker E: I stole his stupid dadpan.
• 22:27
  Speaker D: And as she's walking in the kitchen, another diet soda screaming session happens every night.
• 22:50
  Speaker E: She was throwing all her stuff around the kitchen unabashedly resigning her position
• 23:01
  Speaker D: and crashing up and down the stairwells and
• 23:07
  Speaker E: I was still asleep when she cried he broke my.
• 23:12
  Speaker D: He left me there on the front
• 23:15
  Speaker E: steps of the party he doesn't care
• 23:18
  Speaker D: he's unaware that I stole his stupid Damp pen As she's walking in the kitchen Another diet soda screaming session happens every night. I loved everything about him and how can I ever live without him? He up and left me for some singer who made her name on Jerry Springer. He broke my heart he left me there on the front steps of the party he doesn't care and he's unaware
• 24:26
  Speaker E: that I stole his stupid tap pen
• 24:29
  Speaker D: as she's walking in the kitchen another dog hits so the screaming session happens every night I,
• 24:45
  Speaker B: I.
• 24:56
  Speaker D: He broke my heart he left me there in the hot tub at the party and he's never getting back that stupid dad pen.
• 25:10
  Speaker E: It's at the bottom of Lake St.
• 25:13
  Speaker D: Clair where I bet you really missing. Well, I hate you and I hate that chick from Springer.
• 25:29
  Speaker B: All right, that was passed out. Owen Green, live here in the Dazzle Den. And I want to want to thank you so much for taking time out of your day to come out and do this. It was a really cool conversation and a really cool live performance. I liked it a lot. And for those listening, I did video the performance, both songs here in the dazzle then. So go check out my YouTube channel and eventually I'll get it up because, you know, doing my own production, sometimes I get fucking lazy, you know. But anyway, before we go, I want to give you a chance to say what I refer to as your gratitude. So the microphone is all yours.
• 26:05
  Speaker C: Thank you so much. Gratitude. Obviously, I love to thank and shout out my teachers, all my teachers, all public school teachers, notably my music teachers in Skylerville where I went to high school.
• 26:24
  Speaker B: Oh, no.
• 26:25
  Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. I was actually used to live right around here. But yeah, none of this, you know, would. Would be possible without, you know, just all the help that they've given me and all the support and just they. They are really, really important to, like, society and to, like, kids growing up. Just giving kids opportunities to really express themselves creatively is really important. So big shout out to my teachers, my friends and family. Absolutely. Like I mentioned before, my mom and dad were huge musical influences on me. And, you know, all the support that they've shown me throughout my career and, and all that is absolutely, you know, just. Just really amazing. I also want to shout out my lovely, beautiful partner, Hayley Haley Moonbeam. She has, you know, she's also a phenomenal local musician. She's been.
• 27:30
  Speaker B: She's been on unsigned 518, and she's also sitting right here on the couch, unsigned 518 alum. And you're making her.
• 27:39
  Speaker C: But really, I. She is a big reason that I even got back into, you know, playing music out of like college and, and everything when we met a couple of years ago. So, you know, really appreciative and I absolutely want to thank you, Andy, for having me on the show. This is was really awesome. It was something that's new for me. So had a really great time time.
• 28:03
  Speaker F: Awesome.
• 28:04
  Speaker B: All right, well, he is Owen Green. I am Andy scullin. This is unsigned 518. I'll see you on the road.
• 28:13
  Speaker F: Unsigned 518 is produced and hosted by me, Andy Scullin. New episodes are available every week wherever you stream podcasts. If you'd like to help support the show, please like and subscribe wherever you are listening. Or you could buy me a coffee@buymeacoffee.com Coffee unsigned 518. If you would like to advertise on the show, send me an email at unsigned518mail.com and to be a guest on the show, reach out to me through Instagram signed518. Take care of one another and I'll see you next week.
• 28:50
  Speaker E: Andy Scullin.