Latest / LOYAL TO THE CRAFT / Grave Secrets: New Music, Big Tours, and working with their Heroes (Travis Barker, Joel Madden)

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Grave Secrets: New Music, Big Tours, and working with their Heroes (Travis Barker, Joel Madden) · LOYAL TO THE CRAFT

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_03: And today on Adobe Radio, we've got the band Grave Secrets.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_03: Super stoked to talk to you guys.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_03: Met you last year at our Vans Warp Tour pre-show in Florida, and I've been a super fan of yours ever since, man.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm I'm stoked to have you on the show.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome, Grave Secrets.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for having us, bro.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for having us.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_03: Appreciate you guys being here.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_03: Let's let's just dive in.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_03: You know, you're you're in the middle of a really exciting time uh for the band, and what's it been like since I saw you last November till now?
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_03: There's been a lot happening, management in the studio, songs coming out.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_03: What's some of some of the things that you guys have been working on that you're most excited about?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, well, we got new music coming out.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's always super fun and exciting.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've also been uh we we we have new managers as of I think six months ago or eight months ago or something like that.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um feel very lucky to have some of the best managers in the world, probably.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know so we we we linked up with the with the MDDN team and they've taken really good care of us.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, obviously I've had some like one-on-one time with Joel too, and that's been awesome.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he's a super inspirational guy, and um he's motivated all of us to try to take this thing to the next level for sure.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but what they've also done is they've gotten us in the studio with a lot of cool people.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: So we've you know, we've been writing with with all different kinds of guys, and um it it's been it's been really fun, and I think uh we've been in some rooms that like we can get into that people may or may not know about because we've only kind of like story posted stuff, but there's definitely like a lot of exciting stuff coming, yeah that we've been up to.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_03: You guys are at this point where it's been really fun to watch.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_03: I've known Dylan for a long time, dude.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_03: How we've known each other now for probably eight years, I want to say, maybe more.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_03: I think so.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_03: Time has been flying by.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe eight, ten years.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even know.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_03: I met you and your dad at the NAM show years ago.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_03: We became friends, you know, the drum industry brought us together and you know, found out about your band through Dylan posting stuff last year.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_03: Had you guys play the Vans Warped to our pre-show and you know, had the kind of conversation with your management then, and obviously I've seen it, man.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_03: You guys have been recording with some unbelievable people, and you're going from this independent band to like legit management that's like you just said, putting you in these rooms and these positions.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_03: How does that feel?
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_03: And for the youth, you know, the the musicians that you guys still are now, but were say a year or two ago, what message would you have to yourself two years ago to, you know, now that you're at this point?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, just keep like writing from your heart, you know, keep like being true to what like there's there's no right or wrong answer.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's the main thing that I've learned from like these writing sessions that there's no like right way to write a song.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like people write hits out of their bedroom all the time.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: So like write what's true to you and what you think is cool, and you never know, like you might end up in in a room with really cool people one day because the reality is like I feel like uh a lot of the more established writers are chasing younger artists that have like authenticity and realness behind their music and like looking for something to polish rather than something to create.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_03: That's a really cool way to put it for sure.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_03: Who are some of the producers that you're you've you've been working with that you're most excited about?
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_03: Is that something you can talk about yet?
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, definitely.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: I mean the the big one is obviously Travis Barker.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like he, you know, we we got in the studio with him.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um this uh I hate to refer to him as this guy because he's my buddy, but like you guys know I I don't know if you know Nick Long.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um you you can Google him.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: He's he's had immense success.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, various artists and and big hits um all across the the scene for the last I think 10 years or something like that.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but he actually, you know, he he reached out to us via DM.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: This was actually before we linked up with MDDN.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think he was just a fan of the music.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: I think his old bassist send sent him uh our song.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we had a couple sessions with him, a couple writing sessions, and he was just like, Yeah, dude, I want to get you in with Travis, and we're like, okay, like, yeah, that'd be fucking insane.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like, of course we'd love to, but you know, I think we all thought, like, let's see, you know, but one night at like midnight, he was like, yo, dude, like Travis is Monday.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: Here's the address, and obviously, like sent the message to the boys, and everyone was was super hyped.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, that's a that's definitely a big one.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Just getting getting to be in the room with him.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I think everybody should talk about their personal experience because I think we all had different, you know, experiences there.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, um, but that's cool.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: And before like we move on, I just want to list or just give a couple other names.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: So like Matt Squire has also been super awesome.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he's obviously like a world-renowned guy.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody knows Matt Squire.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: So we have uh a few songs that we've written with him, um, sort of in this in this place where there's a lot in the vault, including you know, the Travis songs, the Nick songs, the Matt Squire songs, our songs, and kind of how to trying to figure out how to roll them out without releasing them into a void of nothing.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like I think building like some hype and and some a lot of people still have no idea who the hell we are.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: Most people don't.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: So trying to get some like awareness around the band before we start rolling out some of the bigger songs that play.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, everybody go around.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_03: I I really would love to hear your personal, you know, take and and emotions on Dylan for sure, working with Travis Barker.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and just the you know, Matt Squire, yeah, the dude's a legend, man.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_03: Like he Matt Squire actually was was helpful in you know my career early days with Panic at the disco 20 some odd years ago.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_03: So he's been a legend to me forever.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_03: You guys are in obviously the right rooms, and I'm so excited to hear all the all the new tunes.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_03: But Dylan, what was it like going into the studio with Travis?
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, uh, it was insane to think that it even happened.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it it was a very surreal moment.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um I remember we were there early, Travis wasn't there yet, and I stepped out uh to go to the restroom.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: When I came back in the room, he was there, and for a couple seconds I was just like, uh, do I act like I don't know this guy?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, um he's like, Yeah, Travis, nice to meet you.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh, nice to meet you, Travis, I'm Dylan.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but on the inside, I'm like, I know who you are.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: We all know who you are.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: We've been what we've all been watching you since we've been kids.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: And um it was great to see, like, you know, a lot of people they say, don't meet your heroes, but if your hero is Travis Barker, I would say you he's a guy you want to meet.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it was really cool, very chill guy.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, great to work with, has a lot of great ideas in the studio.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah, I mean, it it felt like a great accomplishment.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'd been uh DMing him for years on Instagram, just like little back and forth trying to get in touch, but ultimately, yeah, it was a crazy moment.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Felt great.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_03: Love it.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_03: What about you, Carlos?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: It's one of those things that um like when when it's actually happening, it just felt of course it's being surreal, like being able to be in a room with somebody that you grew up listening to.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but the cool thing at least for me is when I felt that when we were in the room finally working with Travis, at least for me, I felt like it felt like the right the right timing, the right place.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, you go in thinking like, oh, am I gonna fit in?
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: Or is it gonna be awkward?
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_02: But it it came as natural as it's ever been with any other experience we've been working with people, and I think that's what made working with them, you know, not just enjoyable, but productive, because you know, we still came at it not worrying about being starstruck.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: We got to handle, you know, writing songs that we needed to take care of, and it was just good being able to collaborate with, you know, kind of collaborating with the people that we've wanted to start putting our music in front of.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: So at this thing it felt uh yeah, it's sick.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, yeah, we're in the right room.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: It felt it felt right.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_03: Vinny, tell me, how do you know Nick?
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_03: You know, because another thing we talk about in this low-to-the-craft world ecosystem with the youth that hits us up often for advice.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_03: I look at the world and connections and the networking as a web.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_03: There's there's tons of people in the music industry, although it is a much smaller than you think when you're looking at it from the outside.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_03: And six degrees of separation everywhere.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_03: Somebody knows somebody.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_03: Obviously, your connection with Nick got you guys in with Travis.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_03: How did the connection with Nick happen?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: So Nick just Nick, I think Nick's old bassist from from his old band uh sent him Bluffside, which is a song that it's a song that like that I always loved, and you know, we were always super excited for.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: It didn't like, you know, like every artist, you release something that you're super passionate about, you're like, all right, this is it, like it's off to the races after this one.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: It didn't really like blow up the way that we thought it would or hoped it would, but we were talking about it recently, and like, yeah, that's that's what led to the connection with Nick.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like, that's what he liked.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: He loved that song, and that like inspired him enough to hit us up and be like, yo, we should get a session.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly, at the time, like I didn't, I didn't know what a session was.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't know like what he meant, you know.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: And in in my mind, like the only thing you do with other musicians is like jam, I guess.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I didn't know like he was hitting us up to right.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I honestly I didn't really respond to the message for a while um until like I had talked to like Adam, our one of our managers, and I was like, hey, like this guy Nick Long hit us up, and he's like, Really?
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, Yeah, he's he's like, You should write with him.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, What did he want?
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like like, well, he just wants to write with you, you know.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, okay.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I I didn't know how any of that works.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're like a young kid out there and somebody hits you up for a session to write, like they just want to collaborate with you and and and they felt inspired by your music and they want to, you know, write something together and put something up.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that's that's how it happened with Nick.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_03: And it's a testament too, I think, of of how deep that web can go.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_03: You're his old bass player, you said, sent him your song.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_03: So it's a testament to just putting stuff out there.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_03: I think there's a lot of people, specifically the younger generation, that are are sitting on ideas, whether it's a song or a business idea or whatever, and they're a little bit intimidated or maybe not confident enough, whatever the terminology may be, that's stopping them from taking that first step.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_03: If you don't take that first step and put it out there, nobody's gonna hear it.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_03: And then you lose that opportunity of exactly that connection of his old bass player telling him about your song and your band, him liking it and then sending you a DM, right?
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, 100%.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think all musicians are guilty of like hiding songs for years, but yeah, you just gotta get it out there.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: And even you never know, it's like the same thing as playing a show.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: You there were so many shows early on where we played to five people, but there was like one guy in there that was pivotal to like the next step in where the band was going, even if we didn't realize it at the time, you know.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, yeah, you never know who's watching and who's listening.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_03: And I really want to dive into the process of finding the right manager, having those conversations, and collectively as a band, making the decision to get management as a lot of young musicians dream of.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_03: You want to get signed to a label, you want to get a booking agent, you want to get management, you might not always want to give up a percent or it might not be the right deal.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_03: How did you guys meet your management and when did you know it was the right decision to sign with them?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: So um we actually so the story's kind of crazy.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: So Kevin, um, he's not here right now, but I'm sure he'd be stoked to tell this story.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: But I'll I'll tell it for him, I'll try to do it justice.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: But he's a he's been a massive, massive, massive, massive fan of Good Charlotte since, you know, since he was a kid, since he discovered what like pop punk was.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: He's followed their their journey like from the very beginning.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I think it's his favorite band.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: So he has always like tapped in with Joel and Ben John, you know, like always followed their Instagram and just you know seen what they're up to and stuff.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I think one day, I don't know what we were what what he was doing.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: He was kind of out skateboarding or something, and like he just decided to message Joel and be like, yo, like check out my band, bro, or something like that.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: And Joel responded because Joel's a cool guy, and he like, I think he responds to a lot of people, you know.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think he's like really tapped in with not only like the the A-list levels, but also just like the street scene.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like he just knows what's up.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't know for whatever reason, he like opened uh Kev's DM and um I think he heard our song stuck inside and he really liked it.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: And he told Kevin, like, oh yeah, I really, I really dig this song.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: And he was like, uh he said something like we should meet or something like that.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously Kevin called me.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think I was at like the doctor's office and he was like, bro, Joe Madden just fucking liked our song, like freaking out, and I'm like, no fucking way, bro.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like that was the biggest thing to happen to our band, like at the time for sure.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like there that was the craziest thing to happen, you know.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we were like freaking out, like even just knowing that he had heard our music was like insane to us.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then somehow, like, he invited us over to the MDDN offices just to meet him.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: So we roll up, we you know, we meet Joel.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's Joel and Joey.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: Joey's the the VP of MDDN, and we're just like chilling in the office, like chopping it up.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: He's just asking us questions like, you know, like what kind of music do you guys like?
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like what bands are you inspired by?
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what's your journey been like so far?
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: And then he kind of like gave us an idea of like what his journey was like, and and there were there were a lot of like tidbits in there that we had no idea about that he shared with us that were really like comforting and and relatable to like some of the shit that we've you know been through with this band.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then he was like, I know I'm butchering the story, but like at one point, I think the coolest part for me was at one point he was like, yo, like let's bump some of your music.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: So he puts on like the music video for Mootering and uh on like this big screen TV, and like it's just blasting because they have like obviously their office is fucking sick and they have you know crazy speakers and whatever.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's just like rumbling in the fucking room, and it was dope because I love that song, and I I know that song slaps.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like I I love that song as a fan too, not just because it's our song, like I just love the you know, it just has a good fucking vibe to it.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: So just like jamming to it, whatever, and then there's like this slow-mo b-roll part in the middle of the the music video where it like cuts to to different like scenes of people like smoking or drinking or whatever, fucking around, and um there's like a slow-mo shot of Kev wearing like the most OG good Charlotte t-shirt ever, and like kind of like looked at each other, like I forgot that was in there, but it was like a cool, it was a cool little moment, like yeah, like we're we're real fans, you know.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I think at the time we were in the middle of doing the last EP release of Emo Knight.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: So he was like, dude, look, like send me the contract if you want me to look over it, you know, because it was like a single, I think it was a single deal plus an option to release another single is what it originally was for S2L.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um ended up turning into an EP deal, but yeah, he like reviewed it for us and he was like, sorry, let me back up.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: So he's like, send me, send me the contract, you know, if you want me to review it, I will.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: And then at the end, we were like, okay, so like what's up, you know, like, you know, like we're we're we would love to work with you guys, but we didn't want to like, you know, whatever.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: There, there's some nuance there.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: But he was just like, he was like, Cool, man, well, it's nice to meet you guys.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe we'll work together, maybe we won't.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: See you later.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: And that was it.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: That was like the fucking last thing we ever like heard from him.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: That was before Warp Tour.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: So we go on, like we do the deal with Emo Knight, we play Warp Tour, and then after Warp Tour, we were just like bombarded with we we we had a really great set in Long Beach.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: We like, I think I posted a TikTok that got a bunch of people to come to the set.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Ironically, here's a here's a lesson like that, you know, everybody can learn from like I just went on TikTok and was just like, yo, like I'm straight up nervous that nobody's gonna come to our fucking set because like we're the smallest band on the lineup.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're free, like you should check us out because we want some people our set, even if it's 50 of you guys, you know, like foolishly, I don't know, I was just like nervous about it.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't realize there's gonna be 80,000 people, you know, at at Warp Tour.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that TikTok did a lot for our set because there were like people lined up at the barricades half an hour before our set just to come see us and support us.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah, we had a killer set.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: There were obviously like a lot of managers there, there were a lot of booking agents there, there were just a ton of people scouting the small stages because that's what they do at Warp Tour.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: They scout the small stages for up-and-comers, you know, that aren't signed.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, we got hit up by tons of management.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Ironically enough, the booking agent that I had been hitting up for three years, like emailing, cold emailing.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: I fucking made a point when we were on tour in San Francisco, I went made a point to go meet this guy, shake his hand.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: Finally, like they wanted to bring us on.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, we had a bunch of options on the table after warp tour.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: And Kevin was just like, dude, we should just text Joel, you know, and see what he thinks.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, so he did.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: And Joel's like, well, wait a second, like, why don't you why don't you come come with us?
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: Would you guys consider us?
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: And we were like, fuck yeah, but we just didn't know if that was an option.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: So after like some back and forth, sorry, I'm actually freezing.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: My this room is like so cold right now.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: But anyway, after like a lot of um a lot of back and forth, we ended up going with Joel.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I do want to give, I do want to give like a shout out to we we did have a manager before we went with MDDN.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um his name's Johnny Barbarino.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Johnny like had been there for us from the very beginning of this band.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um he he's a co-owner of a of a management company called Unquiet, so shout out Unquiet.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they still um manage Deathlands and Sad Park, which are two of our favorite bands.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, so like obviously had to have the combo with Johnny.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um he understood.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, you know, Joel Madden's interested in managing us, and he was like, Are you fucking serious?
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, yeah, he was like, dude, go.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: So he was like super sweet about it.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and yeah, we like told Johnny we're all good to go, and then now we're actually with UTA, that's our booking agent.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: So we didn't go with the agent that we had been dying to go with after all those years, which I thought was funny.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: Kind of like, you know, should have taken us sooner, you know, but whatever.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we're stoked to be where we're at.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_03: Crazy story, man, and it's such an inspiring and motivating story right there.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, just the the t-shirt in the music video, you know, it's like real realistically, these things can and do happen.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_03: And you guys are literally not even a year after everything that you just said occurring, and it it can actually really happen.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I hope that those listeners on Adobe and on Loyal get inspired by that because it does feel sometimes like you're in a sea, uh a small fish in a large sea, but these things actually do happen.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_03: You guys ended up in the right room, you ended up having this conversation, it didn't go probably how you wanted it or thought it was gonna go.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_03: You're at the end of that meeting, it sounds like you're like, what is happening?
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_03: And nothing happened.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_03: You had to follow up again, and it was like cool that the the opportunity was there for you guys, but also you worked for it.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_03: You hustled, you put in the work, you continue to put in the time.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_03: You had a great set at warp tour.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_03: There were a ton of people there.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_03: I remember that post that you made.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_03: I saw it.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_03: We were just hanging out a day before at our pre-show.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_03: Um, or sorry, that was the Orlando one, but you know, I had my eyes on you guys all all summer since again I told you uh seeing Dylan start posting about the band.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_03: But what other learning opportunities and and learning moments have you had since getting on the management company, having UTA book you guys?
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_03: You know, what are some of the realities of like, okay, this is how it works.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_03: I thought this is how it works.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_03: I thought it was gonna be more like this.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_03: What are some of those things that you guys have learned that you might think the youth may benefit from?
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: I think like the biggest thing is your management is there to support you.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're lucky and you have good managers like us, then they're gonna provide opportunities.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't think that that's the case for most managers, even other managers that are great, you know, they that just because they're not necessarily putting you in these rooms that our managers have doesn't mean they're not doing their job or like, you know, doing a great job for you.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: So my point is like at the end of the day, even with managers that do put you.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: In rooms or whatever, like tours that you get on and and like new opportunities for your career, they're only gonna come from you, like you alone, like you going to shows, you meeting people, you like becoming homies with you know other bands.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: That is literally like the most important thing, and it's something that like we try to do.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: I think we're all like slightly antisocial in this band.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, we like to have fun and fuck around, but like we, you know, I'm a I'm personally a homebody.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like, if I don't have to like get ready for a show or something or work, like I want to play like Rocket League or R graders, like for eight hours, you know.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: But that's not that's not a good thing to do.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you should be out like meeting people because like we do have a massive tour announcement um coming in September, and like that was through like becoming somewhat friends with a band for like years, you know, like via social media.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: So, and our managers and a combination of a bunch of things, but point is like, yeah, like I would say like that's just because you land all these things doesn't mean you're done.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like the work just got started.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: Now you gotta go out and like really like squeeze the fucking juice out of the lemon.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you have a lemon, like go squeeze it.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you had you grew the lemon, but you guys, I mean, from what it sounds like, you were sending DMs and hitting up booking agents, and obviously Kevin had a had a lightning bolt of inspiration that day.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_03: The universe told him to reach out to Joel, and he did.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_03: And that is that is a massive step, and a lot of people aren't even taking that step.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_03: You have nothing to lose by sending somebody a message, and you guys had already done a lot of the work, written great songs, had music videos, had had actual, you know, hard things that Joel could sink his teeth into, booking agents could look at.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_03: So it's all the steps that that get there for sure.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_03: What an inspiring journey so far.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, it's been awesome.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um another thing too that I want to mention before we like get past this part.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um our our partnership with Emo Knight was also like pretty huge for us.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: And um it was it was like slightly unconventional on its face in the very beginning because like I think it was a brand new label, and emonite was just a party, like, and not just a party, obviously, like massive company TJ and Morgan have had like immense success.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think people realize like how much those guys have crushed it.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean they they they went, they did, I think there was like an acquisition with Emo Knight Insomniac.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if that's public info, but I'm sure it is.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: But anyway, that's not the point.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: My point is like it was slightly unconventional to do a record deal with emonite.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't an epitaph, it wasn't a this or that.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: But to us, we're like, oh, this is like a sick brand, it's a sick company.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: These guys are cool as fuck, they love our music, let's do it.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: And like I would say emonite, first of all, like we wouldn't have played Warp Tour without doing the Emo Knight deal, period.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: They they were fully responsible for us for Warp Tour.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and also like sent our music to like a bunch of people, and there's like some stuff I can't talk about yet because it's not announced, but like I think the a big reason also why we're we're going on this big tour later this year is because of of TJ like literally just texting his network of homies that he has, you know, like he knows the singer of every band, and like TJ really put in a lot of work for us too.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that's awesome.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: I definitely want to give a shout out to Emo Knight and TJ.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you guys have put in the work, man, and it's all the web uh working for you, working in your favor, and just having these great relationships and and connections.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_03: I want to talk about real life.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_03: You guys have this, these incredible things happening, and from the outside, you know, in the scene, I think there's some people that could could talk crap and be like, oh, Grave Secrets has it all made and they're they're on the great management and they've got UTA and they've got these things.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_03: But the reality is, and Vinny, you mentioned this, there's still a lot of work to be done for the band, and there's still work to be done in real life.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_03: And sometimes you have to stack skills, sometimes you have to hustle multiple jobs just to afford to go on tour or get new gear.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_03: Management and tours don't equal overnight success and just automatic financial freedom.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_03: Let's talk about the realities and the support system that got you guys here, whether it's your parents or your guardians and all the people around you that rallied to get you to the point to be able to do this as uh as close to full time as possible to get to that point.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_03: Carlos, it looks like you're at work right now.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_03: What are you are you at work and what do you guys do as as day jobs, you know, until this band is the full-time thing?
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so um, I mean, I'm on my break right now.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_02: I let my co-workers know, hey, I'm gonna be gone for this little meeting.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_02: But um, yeah, um my day job right now, I work at a bank.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, not the most cool job ever, but it keeps the lights on.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um I mean, I've always just said I always believe that regardless of what it is that I work in, like I always pivoted back to music and I always just made sure I maintained some livability in my life so I can support myself doing this venture.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I I think you know, like if you, you know, I I measure a lot of how people are, and not just how they are and like how they accomplish their music stuff, but how they are outside of a band.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_02: So I mean, I'm sure we'll get to the guys soon, but a big reason why, you know, like I'm here is because I respected a lot of what Vinny, what Kevin, what Dylan do outside of the band.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, like a lot of how you carry yourself outside of that and bring it back into the studio and bring it back to the practices and live sessions, like you know, you gotta be a you gotta be a killer inside the studio and outside.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_03: So it's just it's one of those dude, a hundred percent, man.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_03: Super that of everything we're talking about, obviously, like goosebump chills, you know, with the Joel story and the N D DN story, but like that's the real stuff, dude, for real.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_03: Like a lot of people don't talk about that, and it needs to be talked about more.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_03: And I feel like there's this front in music where it's like, nope, we're made it, we're we we don't work real jobs and like whatever, where there's no shame in it.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_03: Dude, you gotta you gotta put food on the table and you gotta pay the bills while you're chasing this dream of like being a full-time musician.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_03: And again, you guys have some incredible opportunities, but it's not there yet where you're it's it is full-time and you gotta do those things.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm sure the people that you work with at the bank, if they see you online or come and see you guys at a show, it's pretty badass to see you know your your coworker at the bank rocking up on stage, you know, with you guys' show, which is full of energy.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_03: That's pretty amazing.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_02: Thankfully, uh a lot of the people that I work with all support me.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that helps, you know, that takes a lot of stress.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_02: I've been in workplaces where you know I'm just like I'm just scared to share what I do outside of work because it's gonna give a certain perception, you know, depending on your industry.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_02: That may or may not be a case, but um, you know, just just doing this until I don't have to do it no more, and um comes first regardless.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_03: And Dylan, you got a studio in California that you pretty re pretty recently opened with your dad, right?
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_03: Tell me about that and what that endeavor's been like.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so uh we're coming on two years, uh, it's called Downbeat Rehearsal.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: We're out here in uh San Fernando Valley, Tarzana, California.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I guess the main idea with this place was as a musician myself, I've been to plenty other rehearsal studios, and we just wanted to open a spot that kind of takes care of all the problems that other people have at other studios.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: But um outside of that, I mean the reality is it's it's a fresh business, it's still in the process of being built up, and there's a lot of work that we do outside of rehearsals as well.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, taking recording sessions, like tracking bands and stuff, mixing, mastering their music.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah, I think uh well not I think I definitely want to mention uh having the support system that is my dad.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um and a big thing I want to point out, like having a supportive father doesn't mean having a dad that just lets you do whatever you want or encourages to do anything you think you want to do.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's also the side of like getting me to learn what hard work means, and you know, just learning things outside of just playing the drums in a band, like doing everything um that I can do to be like a well-rounded musician and stuff.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's a lot of things that goes into uh getting music to be your career.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: You can't necessarily just focus on one thing.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, I mean, it it pays to have a supportive father and to uh just you know keep my head up and keep working.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_03: Your dad is the man.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_03: I've I've I like I said earlier, I met you guys at NAM probably 10 years ago.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you're right.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_03: Like eight, nine, ten years ago, whatever.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_03: And I'll just see you guys every year, smile on the face, great energy, have amazing conversations, sure, about drums, but about life too.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I remember bringing my son and your dad, and you met my son when he was like one year old at the NAM show, and like that hits hard for me because it really does take uh a village to create opportunities like this to have different individuals come together collectively, share the same vision creatively, all the way down to obviously the music that you write and having a really great support system, whether it's your parents, guardians, friends, teachers, guidance counselors, whatever.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_03: Shout out to all those people out there that support support the kids and the youth in chasing their dreams and creative endeavors in the arts for sure.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_03: And I've I've enjoyed, you know, getting to know you and your dad, and obviously having you guys at the pre-show last year in Orlando was pretty awesome getting to hang out and you guys perform in front of the school of rock students.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_03: You definitely made a huge impact on those kids.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_03: You know, again, the music and the the musicianship and the energy you had on stage, but also just hanging out with the kids and showing showing them like we're real people too.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_03: And this is this is like kind of like what you said, Carlos.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_03: It's like you can be one way on stage and you have that energy, and how you are in the band, in the studio, but also how you are in real life, in the work life, in the personal life, that's all equally as important.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't know if that's talked about enough, but I appreciate you guys bringing that up for sure.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_03: What about you, Vinny?
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_03: Bef besides playing video games, uh, which is I'm sure great for creative flow, what do you what else do you do?
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_03: Like, what do you find helps you the most get into that creative, you know, space to write to write songs for the band?
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: What helps me write music, I would just say, is like just life, you know, like just talk is talking about like shit that happens, you know, like relationship stuff or whatever.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like I just think being vulnerable and like Yeah, it's like it's like therapeutic to write, you know, and just talk about whatever's going on.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because like every every grave secret song is about something.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_01: There is not there isn't a single song on our discography that's like, oh, like let's just what rhymes with this, you know what I mean?
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we don't write shit like that.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's like every song is about something real.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: And there's like some songs that I don't like to play because it's like brings me back to some weird, some weird times, you know?
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like that song Joel loves, uh Stuck Inside, like that song is is literally about like a really dark time in my life where like I was really depressed, and it's about being like when you're depressed, like you feel like you're stuck in this fucking depression, like you're stuck in this hole.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what the whole song's about.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_01: And funny enough, that was a song that was supposed to be on Till Your Lungs Fall Out.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_01: I snipped it at the last minute, wasn't gonna put it out, and Kevin was like, bro, that's a good song.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like, please, let's just put it out.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Alright, fuck it, like let's do it.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_01: And then that's like one of the crowd favorites.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: People like literally, the like I've seen tears in the audience for that song, like people singing every word to that shit, and yeah, so that's I think that's somewhat of a lesson.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I that song almost never came out, but yeah.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I would say just writing about like just trying to be real, you know?
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, love it.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_03: Cool.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_03: Well, what can you guys tease?
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_03: What do you have going on the rest of 2020 26?
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_03: Is there anything we can talk about now?
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_03: I know there's some exciting secret stuff going on behind the scenes, but what what uh what do you want to tell the Adobe listeners uh to track onto with uh with your band?
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely look out for an e another EP from us.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: It was gonna be a full length, but it's gonna be an EP full length next year.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think the EP is probably gonna come out sometime in August.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: We're obviously doing a tour with uh Deathlands and Heart to Gold, two of our favorite bands ever, ever, ever.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that's just going like Pacific Northwest-ish.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: But big news um for sure is we're Graveseekers is finally hitting the East Coast properly, like the entire East Coast, um, with a band that we have all loved since we were kids.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_01: And it's such an unreal, it still doesn't feel real.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we're we're super excited.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_01: So be on the lookout for an announcement.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: And that's like uh I think this comes out July.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_01: This should be announced.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're listening in July, we were really excited for this show.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: So come see us and come support us at those shows.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, I I think those are like the two big things, definitely, just like new music and and east coast, like full full east coast, mid midwest too, like pretty much the whole country besides California and stuff.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um but yeah, I love it.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'd say those are the two things.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, also I think the first single is gonna be Cherry Chapstick.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_01: So go check out Cherry Chapstick, should be out soon-ish.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_03: Awesome.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_03: Dylan, Carlos, any last words or does that wrap it up for you guys?
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, one one last thing I just want to bring up, but I think we all share that.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, also I want to thank Kevin who's not here.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_02: Having Kevin around has at least motivated me and all of us to stay as healthy as we possibly can.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_02: And a big thing about this type of you know, this type of field is you got it can really tear your body apart down really fast.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_02: So, I mean, just take care of your health, take care of your body, take care of your mental, because I mean, without all of that, what's you're not gonna be able to enjoy the fruits of all this hard work.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I just wanted to say uh shout out, Mike.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having us here today.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_00: And uh also my pops want to say what's up.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, dude.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_03: Shout out, shout out, tell your dad, give your dad a hug for me, tell him I said what's up.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_03: Really appreciate you guys doing this.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's such a fun time watching your band for me.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I'm I'm watching all this unfold, I'm seeing all the stories and talking with you guys now.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_03: There's some unbelievable things that are about to happen over the next 12 months for sure.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_03: And it's not, it's not, you know, there's luck involved for sure, but you guys have worked really, really unbelievably hard to make these opportunities happen.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_03: And I commend you for it.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_03: And I really hope that people are inspired by your journey to go, whatever the journey looks like for them, to go and make that first step.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe it's the 10th step, maybe they're, you know, again, not confident about doing something.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_03: Go do it.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_03: Go put that music out there.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_03: Go take a picture of the art that you made and post it up.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_03: Just do it.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_03: Get your stuff out there.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_03: The creative arts are an unbelievable place to be.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, Vinny, as you just said, like songwriting, things like that are just ways to process emotion and do it in a healthy way.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so everybody go follow Grave Secrets.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_03: You're not gonna want to miss the new music and tours that they have lining up.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, and uh fuel the habit.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_03: Give Loyal to the Craft a follow.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_03: Check out our website, loyaltothecraft.com, sign up for our email newsletter, and just shout out Adobe for having Loyal to the Craft on here and shout out DistroKid, one of our great brand partners, helping support independent artists around the world, put their music out there.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we'll see you guys next time.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_03: Grave Secrets, thanks again for being here, man.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_03: You guys roll.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_01: Appreciate it.