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Joey Bradford- The Used · Caught on the Mike...

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Disclaimer, 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.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Listener discretion is advised.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you would have put badass rock resurgents on my 2024 bingo card, I would have called you crazy earlier in the year.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: But ladies and gentlemen, it's happening.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can see and hear the fingerprints of my next guest on a lot of exciting tracks getting the screen right now.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: My friend is a guitar swinging, golf club swinging, rock record-producing guy by the name of Joey Bradford.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: He also just so happens to play guitar for a little band you might have heard of called The Youth.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: And we take a deep dive into where he's been and where he's going on this episode today.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Caught on the Mic.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, ladies and gentlemen.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: I am gonna take you in the Wayback Machine, the Michael Clark Wayback Machine, to 2011.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: September 2011, the band I was in at the time, a band called Arasing, was playing the Rockstar Uproar Tour with Avenge Sevenfold and Three Days Grace.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I love Even Sevenfold, I love Seven Dust, I love everybody that was on that bill, but there was one band I was super, super, super excited to get to play in front of.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: And actually, our placement on the stage was two bands before this band, and that band was a band called Hell or High Water.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: If you have not checked them out, please go to your streaming services, check them out wherever you can, do a Google search.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: But I absolutely love that band.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: It was fronted by Brandon from Atreyu, and uh love that band to this day.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, my next guest is the guitarist uh for The Used currently.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: He is a producer that is kicking out some amazing jams.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: You've heard my friends Letter Kills, they've just released two new songs so far.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he's almost like the sixth member of the band at this point.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: But ladies and gentlemen, I am welcoming my friend Joey Bradford from The Used to the show today.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Joey, how the hell are you, man?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me, Mike.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm glad we finally got to make this work out.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Heck yeah.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Shoot, man.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: I I think we've been trading messages for the better part of the year, and it's been every bit worth the wait, man.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: How are you doing today, brother?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: Doing good.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: We got our first day off on this uh headlining tour we just started with um oh man, I almost said Pierce the Bell.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh with plain white tees.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, it's been great.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: We uh just finished a little round of golf and already got some good tour camaraderie, but things are going good.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Dude, I love that.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh a little over a year and a half ago, your guys' album Toxic Positivity dropped.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I gotta tell you, and I mean this in the most complimentary way possible.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: It seemed like it was a really strong return to form of the second album era of the used, and I loved every minute of it.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: It was a no-skips listen whenever I listened to it.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's great.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk a little bit about your origin story and kind of take a step back to the past and talk about how you got to where you are today.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's a long winding road, yeah.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh you tell me what you want to know, and I'll do my best to fill in the gaps there.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start like I I read something online that you jumped right out of high school into uh selling merch for other bands.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so so let's talk about it.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I uh um I played in a band in high school.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Cove Reber from Saosin and I were in a band all through high school.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: We played in a pop punk band, and um cove is a year older than me in his senior year.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: He joined Saosin, who was already kind of an established band, and uh and along with that, our buddy Phil, who was a year older than Cove, he had joined Aslay Dying.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: So a couple of our friends from high school were just immediately into the touring world and making records and um in in real bands as we called it back in back in the day, you know.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: So uh it worked out great for a whole group of us from our high school and our just group of friends because they took us with them.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it was I got a call one day, hey, you want to come sell our merch?
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: We're doing warp tour, and it was like, I don't know how to do that, but all figured out, you know, it can't be that hard, you know.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: So um yeah, Cove Cove took me with him and kind of taught me that I really love being on the road and I was able to make a lot of relationships, meet a lot of people that I'm still friends with to this day.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, and and honestly, even back then, I don't think ever in my wildest dreams did I truly anticipate being in this industry this long, getting to play in bands, you know, stepping out of the cruise side of things and and getting to play in a band like the used with my heroes.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, my whole career has really just been um kind of a pinch myself career where I've gotten to play with my heroes and be around people that I really respect.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I've I've been very lucky.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: So there's kind of a synergy with that scene in general.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but you can kind of it's the six degrees of John Feldman or six degrees of of Bert or whoever whoever you name.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um what what has blown your mind the most of that era from you know you first selling merch with Sao Sin to where you're at right now?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: What's been your biggest pinch me moment?
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Oh man, I I honestly I couldn't I couldn't pinpoint one of them.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like I I truly think my whole career has been um just overloaded with the feeling of imposter syndrome, which I think uh a really cool like something that I've realized through the years is that's kind of how everyone feels, you know?
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's I haven't I haven't let any of that wear off.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't feel like natural that I get to tell people, yeah, I'm the guitar player for the years to use a band that I bought their records and I was front row at the shows when I was a kid.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it has been really cool to you know get to know some of these people that were my heroes growing up and get to to connect with them on a real level and a human level and to have them say kind of the same thing.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: So um it really is, you know, like a a peek behind the veil, and you realize all of us are just going, is this real?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like there's a there's a really strong appreciation for people and bands, especially after 25 years, that is um, you know, it's it's really pinched me all of it, you know.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: Like from getting to play with the used, I got to guitar tech for good Charlotte, I got to, you know, fill in for a tree you and a static lullaby and sold merch for dredge and thrice, and you know, before I was a part of all of those conversations, like that was basically my iPod in high school.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's been pretty crazy.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: So have you always been a guitarist as your preferred instrument, or what all have you played, and how would what was your entry point into actually performing music?
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I started on an acoustic guitar when I was uh in in middle school.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um I was watching guys playing at the church I was going to and kind of figured out some chords just by watching them, and and that was really where my love for guitar came, uh was on the acoustic guitar.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: But once I um and even in high school I played guitar in in my pop punk band, and we were all just like whoever picked the instrument first, you know, it wasn't based on who knew what they were doing.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um but yeah, when I was 17 I joined a band called Thieves and Liars.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they needed a bass player, and I always felt really confident playing the bass.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: My brother was a bass player.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and honestly, having having our buddy Phil Scrosso, who's the guitar player for As Lay Dying, um, in our group of friends as kids, like it was crazy because he's always been the most insane guitar player, even from the time he was 12 years old.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I kind of had this prerequisite of what your your level of skill needed to be to be considered a real guitar player.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't until you know in my 30s that I realized no, Phil's better than everyone at guitar.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's just an unfair, an unfair win, you know.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: So um, but yeah, I was a bass player for the majority of my career.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: I loved playing bass.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: I still love it.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's kind of one of the jokes we make with the used, is we have a a singer, a drummer, and two bass players.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, guitar.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: I guess I moved over to guitar um probably about it 10 years ago, was uh it just was a a role that needed filling.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: I was kind of starting to write songs for Hell Right Water on guitar, and um it just made sense for me to end up playing it live because we were playing those records.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: So um, yeah, and then and then honestly, every every job I had after that was just like a challenge, a step-up challenge of it seems out of my ability, but I'm not gonna say no, so I'll figure it out, and it's it's been great.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: I've been able to, you know, advance my career and honestly advance my my skill level by just throwing myself into situations way over my head.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I feel comfortable calling myself a guitar player now, but it took a lot of years to get there.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Dude, I love that.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk a little bit about your approach to songwriting because you've been very, very, very in the weeds on that for a while now.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um you've got a a great facility, the vibatorium that a lot of bands have been uh uh been recording at, but you've been credited with a lot of co-writing credits on a lot of songs.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Who are some of your songwriting influences and what what is your approach to songwriting that might be a little bit different than your average Joe?
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, yeah.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean I'm I'm definitely um in love with storytelling.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I think there's something so special about uh getting to paint a picture and really, you know, capture a moment while you're singing it, too, you know.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like if it if it wasn't music, I think I probably would have gotten into writing literature, writing, you know, um nonfiction or something like that.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: But I just love telling a story, and I think I was highly influenced by my older brother.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh he was an incredible or is an incredible songwriter, you know.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: He's not full-time music anymore, but he's such a talented dude.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I I was a very competitive younger brother, where anything that he did, I that was okay, this is my identity now.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: We're songwriters, okay.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I do, you know.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but yeah, I mean, my brother was a big invoice.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: He could paint a picture and tell a story, you know, like it was second nature, just poured out of him.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, I don't think I was ever one of those like born with this magical thing, but I've always been proud of the fact that I I I surround myself with people that are are incredibly talented and incredibly good at telling stories, and I'm able to take you know all those things and throw it into something and and kind of judge what is or isn't gonna be um you know a good piece of art, and I'm lucky for that.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: But um, but yeah, I mean, I mean, songwriting, you know, John Feldman is a massive influence on me since I've been able to make some records with him and the youth, that changed quite a bit for the way that I approach producing music and writing songs, and um really just the the story is the most important thing, you know.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't matter what guitar is doing or the drums doing or the bass or anything if the story isn't good and and the song isn't, you know, gonna stick with you.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: But um I've just been really lucky, you know.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of talented people around me, um, and I try to take as much influence as I can.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: I never try to be the smartest guy in the room.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: I don't ever want to be the smartest guy in the room.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: I want to have people that are better than me around me and uh really pull things out of me that I I didn't know I was capable of, and I've been lucky enough to do that.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: So when you kind of look back and you think about, you know, as artists, we kind of find other people's fingerprints in some of the things that we create.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um so who are some of the artists that have kind of fueled your sense of creativity or influenced you and the way that you write and approach both writing and producing?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, strangely enough and lucky enough for me, uh The Used was one of my favorite bands as I was becoming a songwriter and becoming, you know, learning how to play with other guys in a band and and playing rock music and um the used, the way that the guitars were so weird and the songs were still palatable and really relatable has always been one of my favorite things.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, I don't think a lot of people in history have been able to be as highly influenced by a band that they get to eventually play in, you know.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: So my my life does feel a bit like a movie there, but um, but that's the truth.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I was I was front row at the used shows during In Love and Death, looking over at Quinn's pedal board to see what pedals he had so I could go learn how to do it, you know?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: And uh um there's a lot of people though.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think um Alice and Chains is has always been one of my favorite bands for the the fact that they go major minor and you know the way that they can bend chords and the way that they have always made me feel with their melodies.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think, you know, the uh the 90s melodies we'll call it, but you know, big harmonies and major minor has also always been huge for me.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um Thrice is one of those bands that's incredible at that, and that's always hit like my heartstrings the way that they write songs.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: But man, really just like um kind of minor-driven rock songs have have always been just like my favorite thing to hear, and I really try to bring that into any band that I'm working with.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I've been lucky enough to get to do that.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: One thing through my years of doing it, and I look at unsigned bands, I think the commonality with a lot of unsigned bands is the um it's not usually the absence of talent, it's the absence of a hook.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And and I and I think that there's no net there's not necessarily a magical formula to discover that hook, but uh what have you found without giving away your secret sauce, uh what have you found is the thing that kind of inspires a hook when you're co-writing with somebody or doing that writing process for yourself?
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think simplicity is something that I really, really try to bring to the table with anyone, you know, like um it's really fun if an artist comes to a session and they already have an idea or they have some lyrics or they have something that we can just kind of build around, sure.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, the the most success I've ever had with writing songs that that are really special is in the moment.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when a guy walks in the room with nothing and we start our day by having a chat like this, you know, where it's like, how you doing?
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: What what have you been thinking about?
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: What's been going on in your life?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, be it positive or negative, let's write about it, let's talk about it, you know.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like, um, you know, I'm sure I'm sure you and everyone else has been seeing all the Rick Rubin stuff going around the internet, his little quotes, you know, what a wizard that guy is.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: But I think he he's saying a lot of incredible stuff, you know, like a song is a diary entry, and I think those are the most relatable songs when you can talk about what you're going through right now in the moment without pulling from some other long forgotten experience.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think that to me is um, you know, the best way to write a song that's really gonna be special to you as an artist, you know.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: And that that really is something that I also push is, you know, we're not trying to make music for someone else, we're trying to pull this story and this art out of the artist so that they can, you know, express themselves.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: And if they're happy with it and we're happy with it, then we've done our job.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, if anyone else likes it, it's it really is a bonus.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: But man, come you know what, there's a song, and I didn't write this song, I wish I did, but uh, there's a new band called the Winetka Bowling League, and they have a song with Dawes and one other artist that has I've just been obsessed with a song this last week.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's called uh This Is Life, and the whole hook is literally this is life, this is life, this is life, this is life.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: But it's the catchiest melody I've ever heard.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the verses set you up so good to where you just have the most simple hook that draws me in, and I'm waking up in the middle of the night singing this hook and and picturing what it is that they're talking about, and that's what I really strive to do.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: When someone comes in and talks about an experience that they're going through, how can we say that in three words?
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, how can we really narrow that down and make it easy to to get back to that moment every time we listen to it for the rest of the time?
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: Guitar-driven rock in general seems to have struggled a little bit in the era of streaming, but it seems like it's really kind of starting to come back around.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I I don't need to sit here and and shine ass, I can be completely honest.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: But I I sincerely do think that you are on the precipice of something with a lot of the bands that you're working with, almost like a new era that is almost revisiting kind of the MySpace era of bands, if you will, that is is really a strong movement.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: Do you think that is driven by an audience's hunger uh because they've been starved from interesting and really good rock music for a long time?
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: Or what do you think is the catalyst behind all of that?
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's a few things.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: I think um, you know, the pandemic really put everyone in a crazy mental space, right?
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: Like it put us all in a, you know, what if we never get to go see live music again?
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: And then it kind of snowballed into if that was the case and I do get to do this again, do I want to go relive these rock moments, or do I want to go to a pop show or whatever?
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I think that had quite an influence on people wanting to do something real again, you know, and and I've been pleasantly surprised seeing a lot of the younger generation, you know, I'm getting up there now, so the younger, the younger bands are half my age, and watching them come back to to drums and guitar and bass and getting in a room and playing live together again is so cool to see.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, this resurgence of of 90s fashion and music and everything is so sick.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's great, you know.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's really giving people it's putting the guitar back in the songwriter's hand, you know.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think there was at the last decade, because it is so convenient, there's been a lot of, you know, turn on the computer and sit with a MIDI keyboard and look up a sample and whatever, and it's been a cool way for people to be creative.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not knocking that at all, but there's just something special about sitting down with a piano and writing a song before you're on the computer, or sitting down with an acoustic guitar and and writing about how you feel before you get to listen back to every single thing.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: And and I've seen the younger generation do it, and it's coming out really cool.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's some artists um that I've been loving, uh, an artist called Noelle Sucks.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: She's kind of like a 90s alternative, like kind of melancholy artist.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: She's incredible, she's killing it.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there's a band called Slowjoy from Texas that is just like the coolest kind of grunge band.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: Incredible singer.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like, it's been so fun for me to kind of discover new music again, and it being these rock bands that are, you know, they're still having to do, you know, be part of the algorithm and do their TikTok and do all that stuff, but now it's a lived band performing in front of people, you know.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm getting really excited about the next generation.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: And um I'm I'm excited to hopefully be a part of it with some of these artists too, you know, like give them a place to come to plug in and and make their songs and just for them, too.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's a that's a huge resurgence of people making art for themselves and really seeing that being genuine is what leads to success instead of trying to write something that you think people want to hear.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I think people are smarter than that.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: We didn't give people enough credit over the last decade, but listeners, you know, can can see through some bullshit.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: So Oh, you are absolutely right.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: Dude, there are so many things that you struck a chord with me on.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my friend John, you know, he lives about two hours away from me.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: His son is now singing for a rock band, high school age kid.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, most of what they're playing is they're doing like 90s covers.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: My daughter, the last two summers, has been doing the same exact thing, and most of what their sets are are like 90s covers.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: I was at a venue not too long ago, and I was standing back with one of my old band, croonies, and we're watching my daughter's band.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, man, I can't believe that they're cover covering Smashing Pumpkins and they're covering this and they're covering that, and he's like, dude, that's classic rock now.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Don't do that!
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: It really is.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's insane.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: I guess, yeah, you put it into perspective.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I was covering Zeppelin and Floyd and you know that kind of stuff in my era, absolutely.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, it's it's funny because you know, listening to you describing some of these new acts, it did make me think about my own daughter and my buddy's son and some of these kids that are are getting into it now.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I erroneously, this is like the second episode that I've mentioned this on, maybe even the third.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: I erroneously thought because of the TikTok era, the social media era, the streaming area era that we're in, that we were gonna just skip over 90s nostalgia all the time.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: I really sincerely thought we were.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I was proven wrong.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I had a uh a uh podcaster and author on my show not too long ago, a guy by the name of Rob Harvilla, and he has a podcast on Spotify called Sixty Songs That Explain the 90s, and he takes a song and he breaks it down start to finish.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: And he does it.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, dude, you gotta check it out.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: And he does it in the most ironic way possible.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like he was talking about Smash Mouth's All-Star, but he was con doing the compare and contrast with the death of Chris Cornell, and it's like, how do you get that from that?
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: But it it really it it it it peels the onion back a little bit, and it makes you think about the layers of things, and and it's it's great, but I mean, kind of long-winded tirade to to a point here.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I am really encouraged by this next generation for all of the things that that you said.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also encouraged by the fact that we have guys like our friends and letterkills going out and giving music to the world again.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, me too, especially a band like them that only ever did one record.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: That front to back was amazing.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I was so honored when I heard from them.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I kind of weaseled my way into that too.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, when I when they first hit me up, it was hey, we want to do a reunion show with one of the bands that managed Dead American.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, that sounds great, but if you guys are gonna do that, you might as well make some music.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's it doesn't cost half a million dollars to go make a record anymore.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'd be willing to let you guys come to my spot and we could figure some stuff out.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: And uh it's been such a blast.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, um just like the used, Letter Kills was one of those bands that I was lucky enough to see at in small clubs when they were coming up, and I was you know, didn't know who they were, walked in the room, was blown away by their show, so I went and bought their CD, and then it was like part of my life now, you know.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, having 20 years later getting that email, and I was like, get out of here.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: Letter kills, let's go.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: And and wearing their shirt around, you know, especially the tours I'm doing and the people that are around uh the use, it's been really cool because people either love them or don't know who they are.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: So the people that see me wearing the shirt, they're like, no way, letter kills, like that that's one of my favorite bands.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like, go check out their new music.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, great.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: And they showed up and killed it, you know.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: Matt and and Tim and Kyle and and all the guys just still have it, man.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we all we all may look a little bit older, but those dudes still freaking rip, you know, and Matt, what a voice.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I was so pleasantly surprised to work with them and they didn't skip a beat.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's there's a joy in getting to introduce people to letter kills for the first time.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I agree.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, one of my best friends, he'd never he'd never heard them and until I'd had them on the show, and I'm like, dude, you won't listen to this record.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: It holds up.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: And you are gonna be so pissed off that this was not the biggest record of 2004.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: I go to the ball.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: And it's so I mean, hearing their story, how they just kinda like broke up because they didn't know any better, it's like, oh, like you had, you know, and whatever.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, life happens for reasons, and they're all happy and they have families, and you know, no one's no one burnt out or anything, but man, they they really could have been, you know, playing these late afternoon slots on when we were young with the rest of us, you know.
• 25:37
  unknown: Right.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, it that kind of that brings another topic to fruition here is like do you think them moving on at that point in time or anybody at that point in time is a result of the old business model, the old record label business model, versus how the model exists today.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because I I think people have a lot more freedom today, but there's a lot uh also a lot more vessels to get the music out there, you know what I mean?
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but I think also like that era, you know, albums and CDs were still selling, like there was still enough of a profit to go around, even if it was upside down that artists didn't really know about anyway, but there were still checks being cut.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: But I think what what happened with a lot of those artists is they were literally just young kids.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how could they know, A, that the music industry was gonna change, and B, that like even be able to zoom out and see the life that they were lucky enough to kind of stumble into as artists, you know.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: I think I think about when I was 18.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: If I was signed to a major label at 18 and went and spent a million bucks on an album and went on tour with my, you know, like I did those things a little bit, but I had no idea how that would impact my adult life and could have impacted my business and all this stuff.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think letter kills they were just young kids and like, oh, we don't really like the same stuff anymore.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: I guess we'll break up.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: Not knowing that, like, hey man, if you push through and you like make this work and you guys figure it out, you make really good art people like.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: So But here we are.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's never too late.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: Music lives forever, so let's let's talk a little bit about some of the art that you've made and kind of circle back a little bit to some of that.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um Hell or High Water, how did that project come about?
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: And is there any possibility that there could be more of from that somewhere down the line, or is that a done deal?
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, no, I don't think it's a done deal.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's very casual at this point, you know.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um we pushed that band pretty hard and we had a blast.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: We had so much fun touring.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: We were a family, our our ladies would come on tour with us.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like that was some of the most fun I've ever had for sure.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think, you know, as we all started having kids and uh Brandon jumped back into doing a Treyyu, and um even a trayu kind of started to make some changes that moved more into that active rock world, and it kind of just made, you know, it kind of put us in a position where we were kind of like the little brother band, which I don't think any of us were like mad about, but it was like we can't sustain and take care of our kids and families and mortgages and stuff with like a side project, you know.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: So um, man, as much fun as we had, I think it just just kind of did its thing, you know.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: We never broke up, we never officially did anything other than, you know, Treyu came back and started doing records, and then um, you know, then I joined the used, and and then, you know, Kyle joined the Treyu for a little bit, and um, we kind of just all moved on and did our thing.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, Brandon and I, and and Kyle and Molly and John, like all of us are still buddies, and we still talk from time to time.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: Brandon and I will send each other songs, you know, a couple times a year, like, oh, maybe we'll do something.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I'm sure we will at some point.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I have the amount of music I have on hard drives and songs that we've started and and ideas that could be finished is like overwhelming.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, all it would take is us getting in a room for a weekend and we could, you know, put out a record the following week.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm sure it'll happen someday.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's just, you know, the stars haven't aligned yet.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: We're we're busy with certain things.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I mean, I love playing with those guys.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, some of my best friends, I mean, and they always will be, you know, like we were bros.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: But again, we all have too many kids to like be doing stuff on the side.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's you know, kind of talking about the the new business model, you know, talking, you know, I've had Adam from Story of the Year on my show before and a c a couple of the other guys.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: And um, in even talking with Kyle Duckworth just recently, the the way this the new business model works, it is a lot more amenable for you to have families and bring families along, and it it's not the need to be on the road six months straight out of the year.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's just different, man.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's like you used to have to go grind to tell people that you existed.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like there was not a platform with a worldwide audience that you could just say, Hey, here's one flyer, and we're gonna market it to every country, every person between 18 and 27, like you used to have to go to Kinko's and print out flyers and walk to the mall and hand them to people and say, Come to my show, or at least listen to my band or whatever.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: So that tour grind, you know, it used to bear fruit.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: It used to work.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: You could literally go guerrilla style and and market yourself one person at a time and sell records and like get home and pay your rent, which is not like that anymore.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you go on tour and it's probably a loss, you know, but you're trying to maintain so that all of the, you know, your online merch and your streams and everything catch up to where you're meeting in the middle somewhere and can can turn a profit.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: But but like I said, like it's it's it's such a weird world because at the end of the day, we are artists, you know.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_01: So like the business side of things and monetizing and marketing and all the kind of like gross shit you gotta talk about, right?
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it is part of it, but like ultimately what I'll tell any of my artists is like, dude, be be an artist.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like any financial gain that comes from your art is the cherry on top.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: But like if you go into making art being like I need to I need this to pay my bills, it's just you know, people are smarter than that.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: So, and that's another, you know, that's why I I've been really pleasantly surprised with the social media artists, you know.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like, there was a period of time where it's like this kind of gross, like someone just goes and gets followers and now they're the popular artist, but it really is like it's the same people that were the grinding on touring and going and working their ass off to show everyone their music.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's you know, I've seen people online get go viral because their song is great, not because they're buying followers or whatever, it's because these these talented freaking kids on the internet are getting attention because their talent is floating to the top, and it used to be like that on the road too, you know.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: There is no magical formula to unlocking the algorithm, but if you have a quality product, at the end of the day, it sure does make it a hell of a lot easier.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, I think uh the same kind of prerequisites exist from before, where like like I just said, the talent flows to the top.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_01: It used to just be in a live scenario first, where now, you know, people have the ability to use the internet to showcase their talent, but you still have to, I mean, especially now with the internet, there's so many people who are really good at what they're doing.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: If you're not the best songwriter with the coolest voice and some unique thing, then then you're really getting lost in everyone else's you know, videos and whatever.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: But if you can if you have the song and the talent and the ability to make a video and put it online and be like, regardless of the quality and your budget and whatever, like these kids sitting in their parents' basements are being able to showcase how insanely talented they are without having to have a budget or take a loan or whatever it is, like we had to do when when we were coming up, you know.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I see both sides of it in other times where I can become a bitter old guy and save this bullshit and I don't want to do this, you know.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_01: But there's other times where I'm like, man, I would have never found out about like a girl like Noelle sucks to stick with that same reference.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like that just popped into my feed somehow, and now I'm you know, I'm looking forward to every new song this girl puts out, and she's killing it, you know.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_01: And also I've had the ability to reach out to her directly because Instagram exists and say, hey, you're doing great things.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_01: I would love to work with you and and whoever you're working with, and you know, keep it up.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_01: So, man, there's a lot of benefits to it.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: I try to turn off my grumpy old man stuff and and you know, buy into it.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: For sure.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: For sure.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about creativity and bands that we love.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: How did you join your favorite band's favorite band, The Used?
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: How did you end up in that position that you're in right now?
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_01: Oh man, so a lot of things led up to it.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, Heller High Water was fortunate enough to tour with the used briefly, and and that's how I kind of first was introduced to the guys.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then the band's management uh was also involved with Heller High Water, so we had a connection there.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but really, when I found out that their previous guitar player was no longer gonna be working out, and it it was a pretty quick uh time frame from when that ended to when I kind of found out.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I really just, you know, potentially crossed the line, which I've always been down to do.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: But I mean, I reached out, I reached out to their team in the middle of the night when I found out and said, hey, uh, you know, I don't know what the situation is, but I am available if you need a guy, like I would love to, you know, have my name in the hat.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I kind of just like I said, like I I annoyed them enough to where they gave me an opportunity to at least audition.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: And my my oldest daughter was three days old when I was able to go up there and jam with the guys.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I hadn't played guitar in a week or so and prepping for my first kid, and drove up thinking, you know, at the very least, at least I'll get to jam with some of my heroes, and they're sweet dudes.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'd already met them, so we jammed.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't think it was that rad, but I was like, I didn't do very good, but these guys are super sweet, and we hung out for a short time.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, I gotta get back to my three-day old and um you know kind of put it out of my mind, and then a few weeks later I got a call and like totally unexpected, and and yeah, I've been coming up on seven years, and these are my brothers, and you know, I just had my third kid since being in the band, and and it just feels surreal.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: Congrats on that, by the way.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: That was just what three weeks ago?
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: Three weeks ago, yeah.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_01: My wife's been home with with all three of my girls, and um, yeah, I'm out on the road with playing with my favorite band and my favorite dudes in the world who have have you know treated me like an equal since I came in, so it's it's been amazing, man.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like, so the pinch for myself moment is is all of it.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_01: It really is.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like, my imposter sends your face through the roof, dude.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, yes.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: So how does being a girl dad influence being a band dude these days?
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_01: Oh man, it's crazy.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_01: All so my uh my drummer and my singer, they both have daughters as well, so it's uh it was just a bunch of girl dads on tour.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we we try to pull kids up on stage in our shows a lot, and you know, which usually ends with us like cussing at the kids, but everyone loves it.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um but man, it's it's been crazy.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_01: It is it has been totally crazy.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like I am head over heels in love with all those girls.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: They have me wrapped around their little fingers already, and uh, you know, fortunate to get to FaceTime with them every day and and still be a part of the life when we're on tour.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but man, influencing it, I I think I've always just been I've been a kid in a candy store as a touring musician as it is.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like I've always been a just happy to be here guy.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I never really had those uh an era where I didn't feel like a dad.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_01: Even in the 25 years I've been doing this, I kind of always felt like I was the tour dad anyway.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_01: So it's fitting that I would have a bunch of girls and and settle into it.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: I the reason I asked that is because I think anybody that's tasted any level of success in any way, shape, or form breaks stereotypes and they have a strong moral compass.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_00: So the you know, the uh the old stereotype is oh, this guy's on the road, he's phandering around, you know, he's a womanizer, this, that, and the other thing, and it's like no, the successful guys are usually in their hotel rooms playing PlayStation or just being nerds.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_01: They're doing a lot of sitting around the trailer talking about the old days.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right, exactly.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: But but it's like it's like being being the f dad to your bandmates to a certain extent, and it takes a lot of discipline.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_01: I've said for a lot of years.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I've said for a lot of years, kind of my like uh my second calling as a touring dude is like a tour therapist.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like I just end up taking on a lot of people's stuff.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if that's from being a dad or from what, but I've always kind of been a good listener.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's it's nice to take that role.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: So let's look ahead to the future.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_00: What is next on the agenda for Joey Bradford with everything that you have going on between producing and writing and your duties with the used?
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, we got a we got a lot of stuff going on next year.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I know we haven't really announced stuff next year, but next year's the 25th anniversary of the used.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we're gonna be doing some really, really special touring.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and yeah, I've I've got some projects lined up.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_01: I got a couple artists that I'm getting ready to produce.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really trying to kind of lighten my load next year.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, having a third kid put a lot of stuff in perspective.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I I really you know when I'm home, I've been extremely busy for for the last handful of years taking on projects and producing kind of non-stop.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: And uh my family's been totally supportive of it, but I think uh I've been lucky enough to get myself in a position where next year I'm really gonna try to pick and choose what I work on.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'd really just focus on the family and and focus on the used and really appreciate the position I'm in.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think I came before this ban, I come from such like a fight or flight kind of career path where every time I was home I had to hustle my four side hustles to make ends meet.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just kind of coming to terms with the fact that I'm in like pretty good shape and I'm pretty blessed to be doing it the way that I'm doing it.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I mean, next year we're touring a bunch.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_01: I have a couple producing projects on the books.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I'm I I do have a lock, I have a lot of stuff on my plate.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like with my management company, we we're running a few more merch stores for some artists that we love.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I do stay busy, but man, I'm really just trying to focus on the family and the used and sneak some more golf in where I can and and you know, just kind of kind of chill it out a little bit.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: I don't need to be working, you know, 320 days a year.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think I'm gonna try to chill a little bit more.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_01: So meantime next year.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: Love hearing that.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a legacy artist or one of your favorite artists?
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm talking tangible access that you haven't got to work with yet that you would love to work with on the production side of things.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that could go so deep.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, the first thing that comes to mind is is a band like Jimmy and World.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I love the way that they they're some of my favorite songwriters.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think, you know, like I talked about the simplicity that I love as a producer, they have been just like the kings of writing a one-note riff that is the catchiest thing you've ever heard for some reason.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I just have a huge amount of respect for for the songwriting that they've done across their career.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's really connected with me.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, man.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Thrice would be one of those.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I was able to work with them, I was able to play guitar a little bit for them, but I've before any of that, I was a huge fan.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like I've always loved the way that they write songs and the mood that I'm put in when I'm listening to their music.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think it would be so much fun to work with them on that level.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but man, at this point, it's like a lot of my friends, you know.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I would I would love to do some some more stuff with Saleson.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think that'd be fun to get my boys in the room and do it and um kind of discussing, doing some stuff with a static lullaby right now, who are some of my boys.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_01: And uh man, there's so many.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, uh, all these bands that we tour with, you know, like I would love to get Rise of Guests in here, I would love to get Story of the Year in here, I'd love to get Koheed in here, but uh anyone and everyone, man, I have I have so much respect for a lot of these legacy acts that have been able to stick around and and you know been true to their sound and just been nice people enough to stick around for for 20, 25 years.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm blessed to work with anyone, man.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm down to work with anyone who I I connect with quick.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm super in.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know if you saw how animated I got when you said Jimmy World.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're on the same page here.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: I get it.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: Right, totally be well, here's the funny thing about Jimmy World.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I slept on them for way too long, and something happened during the pandemic where I was just like I've always casually liked them where I decided to just like take a deep dive in their discography, and as a result, they've become one of my most favorite bands.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I've bought every single album on vinyl now, and I'm like, dude, why did I sleep on these guys for so long and so ignorantly?
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_01: Timing is everything though, you know.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_01: Now you now you got it all at the right timing.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they were just one of those bands that as their their records started to mature at the same level as like my musical journey was happening.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_01: So every kind of little twist and turn they would take, it was like, well, that's what I'm into right now, also.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, there's been a few bands that have done that through the years, and and um it's been it's so cool when a band you love makes a record that's like uh a little bit different, but the way you want it to be, you know, like sometimes bands take a turn that that is right for them, but not for you as a listener.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm always relieved when people I like are are turning with me.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's a good way to put things.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking of Turning with you.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, my wrap-up question.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lot of fun.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_00: I love the answer that I get out of everybody that's on the show.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_00: But what's your advice for making the world a better place tomorrow than what it is today?
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because it sounds to me like relationships are pretty important to you the same way they are to me.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_01: So what's your advice?
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, honestly, it's as simple as as just be good to each other.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like it's almost a bill and ted, like, be excellent and prosper, you know?
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like my old motto, um, which I don't even know is as as acceptable anymore, but my old motto was be a dude and prosper.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like, if if you treat people with respect and you can read a room, then the world is your oyster, you know?
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like treating people the way you want to be treated is such a simple concept that we've all heard our whole lives, but I truly have seen that pay off for all the people around me.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_01: I was lucky enough to be a fly on the wall with a lot of artists that I worked for before I was given these opportunities.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: And the ones who were were just nice people and willing to listen and talk and and accept people no matter what, are always the ones that people are pulling for and and get doors opened up for 'em.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, something I've tried to do my whole life is just treat everyone with respect, from the security guard to the singer of the headlining band to the whatever, you know.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_01: We're all just floating on a rock, you know what I mean?
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_01: So be good and proper.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: Dude, I love that.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_00: Tell my audience where they can find you online, your management company, wherever.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_00: Just plug your stuff, my friend.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, sure, yeah.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm on uh, let's see, I'm on Instagram at Brutalford.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_01: That one stuck with me for many years.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I have a management company called Moniker Management Co.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, which you can find everywhere.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_01: And uh my studio is called the Vibratorium.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_01: My band's called The Used, you should check it out.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I don't know.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm plugged in with lots of stuff you like.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_01: Hopefully you'll see my name floating around and now you know who I am.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love that.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_00: Man, I tell you what, you rattled off a bunch of artists.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you kind of text me some stuff and be like, Yeah, Joey, send your bro some uh some playlists, some playlist ads.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_01: I've been really trying to focus on on finding some of these younger artists that are just, you know, sneaking through the radar on the internet that just are unreal talented.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a handful I'll send you right now.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: Dude, I love that.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: I love that we're in each other's orbit, man.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_00: I am glad to have got to spend a little time with you and get to know you, man.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm glad we can call each other friends now.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_00: The world's a much better place with you in it, my friend.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I appreciate you, buddy.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_00: Once again, I'd like to thank my friend Joey Bradford for joining me on the podcast today.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_00: The used is on tour right now.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_00: Look for a date when they're coming to your city.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_00: Check them out.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_00: Give Joey a follow at Brutal Ford on Instagram.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_00: Follow his management company, Moniker Management.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_00: You can just search them in the search bar, he'll come right up.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_00: And make sure you're following the used if you're not.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_00: And they've been one of my favorite bands forever.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_00: It was awesome to hear how Joey got to join his favorite band.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, while you are being generous with the social media follows, make sure you follow me at caught on the mic on all social platforms.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_00: I am the most active on Instagram and TikTok.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_00: But you can find me everywhere.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_00: You can also visit me, www.caughtonthemic.com, and support the show.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_00: Buymeacoffee.com backslash caught on the mic.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_00: Anything you can give will be much appreciated.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_00: This has been Caught on the Mike with Michael Clark.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Michael Clark.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, thank you.