Latest / Corpus Christi Originals Podcast / #61 | Marcos Leal [Ill Niño, Shattered Sun, Swim the Current]

Transcript

#61 | Marcos Leal [Ill Niño, Shattered Sun, Swim the Current] · Corpus Christi Originals Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_04: What's going on, y'all?
0:01
SPEAKER_04: Cops Christie Regionals back at it again.
0:03
SPEAKER_04: We got uh some folks in the in the building coming to you live from the produced sound studio downtown Copes Christie, Texas.
0:09
SPEAKER_04: Uh, real quick, we give a shout out to El Vago Burgers and Barbecue uh 4701 by the drive.
0:15
SPEAKER_04: Check them out if you haven't.
0:16
SPEAKER_04: Sponsor the show.
0:17
SPEAKER_04: Appreciate you guys today.
0:18
SPEAKER_04: We got Marcos Leal from El Nino Shattered Sun and Swim the Current.
0:23
SPEAKER_01: That's Glover, man.
0:24
SPEAKER_04: Co-host uh Nick Lopez.
0:26
SPEAKER_04: What's going on, yo?
0:27
SPEAKER_04: What's up?
0:27
SPEAKER_04: What's up, everybody?
0:28
SPEAKER_04: Y'all doing all right?
0:30
SPEAKER_04: What's up, man?
0:31
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
0:31
SPEAKER_04: Uh dang, dude.
0:32
SPEAKER_04: Uh so let me get this out of the way real quick.
0:37
SPEAKER_04: How how how are you gonna bring it go to the slay meet the slayer dudes in cowboy regalia, bro?
0:44
SPEAKER_01: Oh my lord.
0:45
SPEAKER_01: You know that story, or yeah, I know that story, bro.
0:48
SPEAKER_04: Even the most diehard uh cowboy dude know know that that kind of stuff is whatever it is.
0:53
SPEAKER_01: Hey, I went into the fucking nest with some vipers, bro.
0:58
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
0:58
SPEAKER_01: I I'm uh I'm a diehard cowboys fan, and and I know those dudes are diehard raiders, diehard uh San Francisco fans, but long story short, uh I felt I had a little bit of cred to where I could walk in there with my fucking cowboy shit.
1:14
SPEAKER_01: I was like, yo, and you know, the funny thing is I I blacked out that night.
1:18
SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, they they had a big eye sculpture where they were pouring shots down.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: So I was just I had the the paint under my eyes, and I had my cowboy jersey on.
1:27
SPEAKER_01: I was talking about the old days, I was talking about Emmett, I was talking about Irvin, and uh then I blacked out.
1:33
SPEAKER_01: I woke up the next day at uh at a McDonald's off the side of the road, and everybody was like, Man, do you know what the fuck you did last night?
1:40
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Oh god, what did I do?
1:43
SPEAKER_01: They're like, You were in there with your cowboys jersey talking shit about the 95 and 92 season.
1:48
SPEAKER_01: So oh man, I uh I let it show that I'm a cowboy so I've been kicked out of a couple Buffalo Wild Wings.
1:54
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna say Maya, put the camera right here, bro.
1:59
SPEAKER_05: Check this shit out.
2:00
SPEAKER_05: Here you go, bro.
2:01
SPEAKER_05: Oh, on the other side.
2:02
SPEAKER_02: Oh are you kidding me, dude?
2:05
SPEAKER_02: Oh my lord, thank you so much.
2:08
SPEAKER_02: That is incredible.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: That's funny that that this is on here because uh me and my wife have always wanted to steal the Leal Road coming back from San Antonio.
2:17
SPEAKER_01: We just never had a saw to cut it off.
2:19
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, that's awesome, man.
2:28
SPEAKER_04: You you know how we do it down here in South Texas, man.
2:30
SPEAKER_04: For sure, for sure, bro.
2:31
SPEAKER_04: That's awesome.
2:31
SPEAKER_04: Texas Texans, yeah, dude, for sure, man.
2:34
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so we got you, we got you, uh we got a couple topics here talking about an inino shattered sun, uh, swim the current, and then obviously what you're doing for your community as a musician.
2:42
SPEAKER_04: Uh, we'll go ahead and start with the niño topics, probably what every most people want to hear, obviously.
2:47
SPEAKER_04: So uh, you got a tour coming up, absolutely, and of course you guys are coming to Corpus.
2:52
SPEAKER_04: Yes, sir.
2:52
SPEAKER_04: Hell yeah, 21st of June.
2:54
SPEAKER_01: 21st.
2:54
SPEAKER_01: We're we're excited.
2:55
SPEAKER_01: Y'all get y'all tickets because it always sells out, man, every time.
2:59
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and being here in Corpus, there's a certain song, of course, we probably want to hear.
3:02
SPEAKER_04: You think we can hear that one?
3:03
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: This time around, uh, you know, it's funny, is is that was my uh my that was my chance to put my fingerprints on the band because we were talking about doing covers and whatever, and I came in at the last minute and I was like, hey, uh, can we do C Una Vest from uh from Selena?
3:20
SPEAKER_01: Everybody gave me kickback, and I kinda had to I kinda had to put my foot down a little bit and be like, hey, look, I want to put my fingerprints of my home and my town and my roots on this band.
3:31
SPEAKER_01: And they gladly uh obliged, and and man, it's it's an honor to pay homage to reina, man.
3:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
3:40
SPEAKER_05: I was so impressed, like, holy shit, dude.
3:42
SPEAKER_05: Like the guitars, everything, the drumming, I'm like, your your voice too.
3:47
SPEAKER_05: Like, I I never thought I would I ever hear that song in that style.
3:50
SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, it's thick with El Nino, like there's guys from Brazil, there's guys from Peru, there's guys from you know, South America here and there, and I'm like, man, well, you know, I'm a Latino from South Texas, you know what I mean?
4:02
SPEAKER_01: And and I have to I have to rep for my for my hood, you know what I mean?
4:05
SPEAKER_01: So that was the best way I knew how to kind of like put my fingerprints and and my style within the band because you know they're they they are very prominent in Spain and Mexico and here and there, but you know, South Texas, I feel like El Nino's always had a a home, you know what I mean, even since before I was in the band.
4:22
SPEAKER_01: So to uh to do that was special, man.
4:25
SPEAKER_01: Very special.
4:26
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, for sure, man.
4:27
SPEAKER_04: Growing up, definitely.
4:28
SPEAKER_04: There's a lot of fans, Il Nino fans.
4:31
SPEAKER_04: I mean, I didn't even know they were from like well, they originated in like the New Jersey area, so that was interesting too.
4:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you could tell they they don't like cowboy films.
4:41
SPEAKER_04: Ain't no blue up there, bro.
4:43
SPEAKER_02: No, you know, I try to take a little bit up there.
4:45
SPEAKER_04: There you go.
4:46
SPEAKER_04: That's a tough, bro.
4:47
SPEAKER_04: So, what can some of the fans expect from your upcoming tour?
4:50
SPEAKER_01: Man, uh, well, like I was telling you guys earlier before we came on the air, uh, I've been a fan of El Nino since I was, you know, a kid.
4:58
SPEAKER_01: So to be the singer now, I definitely try to be the voice for the fans.
5:03
SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, I I I feel like El Nino's got a lot of hits, but like I feel like a lot of the fans down here have a lot of deep cuts that they relate to.
5:11
SPEAKER_01: I I hear constantly all the time, you know, oh you know, I lost my grandfather, and and this song helped me, or I've been through this, and this song helped me.
5:20
SPEAKER_01: You know, a kid from Lubbock said, Hey, you know, how can I live helped me through a uh losing a child.
5:26
SPEAKER_01: And so I just kind of feel like I need to bring those voices out to the forefront on this tour and uh play some of the songs that we don't normally play, man.
5:34
SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm looking forward to playing some deep cuts on this one.
5:37
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, so those are too, man.
5:39
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, okay.
5:41
SPEAKER_04: Any special elements or surprise planned for the show?
5:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're gonna have a couple guest singers out and uh a couple of uh old school players from uh from from the early days of El Nino come out to certain dates.
5:54
SPEAKER_01: And I know Corpus, we got a few things planned, and uh man, it it's just always a special time to play in Corpus, man.
6:01
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I've been playing in Corpus since I was 13 years old, man.
6:06
SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, to be selling things out now at 35, 36 years old is is I don't take it for granted, my man.
6:13
SPEAKER_04: That's what's up, man.
6:14
SPEAKER_04: That's dope.
6:14
SPEAKER_04: What's going on, Matt Guntoo in the in the chat and you uh uh YouTube.
6:20
SPEAKER_04: What's going on, Prinzilla?
6:21
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
6:22
SPEAKER_04: Matt was saying, uh, who's he saying that the reason why y'all played a certain song at the at uh somewhere shattered sun or something is because he brought it up or whatever.
6:31
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
6:31
SPEAKER_01: You know, Matt Matt's been a uh a big time supporter of us.
6:34
SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm very, very proud to see that he's making moves on his own.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: A lot of these uh a lot of these young cats, man, that I started out with, uh, you know, that are out there making moves, man.
6:44
SPEAKER_01: It's it's special to me to because we have those conversations as musicians, you know what I mean?
6:49
SPEAKER_01: Hey, do this, try this, you know, go this route.
6:52
SPEAKER_01: To see them making moves and gaining notoriety.
6:54
SPEAKER_01: Anybody here from Corpus Christi, man, it it makes me so proud, dude.
6:58
SPEAKER_01: So so proud.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: Because it's all about the next generation, bro.
7:02
SPEAKER_01: Always, always.
7:03
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, right on.
7:04
SPEAKER_04: And it seems like we're like we're there's a lot of hard workers down here, bro.
7:08
SPEAKER_04: Like you mentioned you're a truck driver in one of your interviews.
7:10
SPEAKER_04: I'm a truck driver at all LP around Texas.
7:13
SPEAKER_04: Matt, I mean, uh, Nick over here does welding and stuff like that.
7:16
SPEAKER_04: So and a lot of us, it's it's our dream as well, you know.
7:20
SPEAKER_04: So just just knowing that somebody from around from South Texas, like you yourself, is is touring and doing all these things, it's amazing, dude.
7:28
SPEAKER_04: It's amazing for us.
7:29
SPEAKER_01: I try and uh I try and carry that with me constantly.
7:32
SPEAKER_01: It is uh, you know, not only from tour to tour, but from album to album.
7:36
SPEAKER_01: Anything that I do, I I constantly let myself know, like from Alice, you know what I mean.
7:42
SPEAKER_01: A lot a lot of dudes that I grew up with, I was the one to kind of you know take this the long way, you know what I mean?
7:50
SPEAKER_01: And to carry that with me, man, I I I I carry so much respect and and so much uh love for for everybody that had that dream, and I I feel like I'm carrying those dreams for for them as well.
8:00
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, right on, man.
8:01
SPEAKER_04: Uh so your story with the band El Nino, obviously a lot of us know.
8:06
SPEAKER_04: I've I know some of it because I watched your interviews that you well, you started in Shattered Sun, right?
8:11
SPEAKER_04: And eventually you started touring, and then you got to know the guys from El Nino by uh doing sound checks, right, for them or something like that.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we were the we were the opening band on on uh on one of the tours, and you know, Shattered Sun is is kind of always where my heart's been and what gave my first break, you know.
8:28
SPEAKER_01: We sold over 60,000 uh records worldwide and had over a million streams.
8:35
SPEAKER_01: That was the first time that I've ever signed a record deal.
8:37
SPEAKER_01: Like so they they they took me and uh we were able to do some really special things, but when I got on that El Nino tour, that's kind of where I knew something was uh was gonna shift, you know what I mean, at some point.
8:50
SPEAKER_01: And yeah, you know, I was doing sound checks and and uh things like that just to kind of help the previous singer, Christian, uh you know what I mean, and in some of his struggles that he was going on with.
9:01
SPEAKER_01: And I just kind of knew in the way Dave was looking at me that something was uh gonna happen down the line.
9:08
SPEAKER_01: Not right then and there, but it won't it wound up happening.
9:10
SPEAKER_04: Oh man, how do you how do you how do you find yourself preparing for uh for a tour like physically and mentally?
9:17
SPEAKER_01: Man, it's it's uh it's different.
9:18
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I uh sometimes I really get into it physically and run and and do all that stuff.
9:24
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I try not to let all of those things uh stress me out because man, it can become an anxiety box, you know what I mean, where you're like the tour's coming up, and your kids and you're this and that, man.
9:36
SPEAKER_01: Always try and tell my wife, you know what I mean?
9:37
SPEAKER_01: Let's just control what we can control that's right in front of us, and and uh you know, touring's touring, man.
9:44
SPEAKER_01: I I I love it, and but it's also something that I've had to learn, you know what I mean, uh many years into this, how to kind of work my body the right way, work my voice the right way.
9:55
SPEAKER_01: And I kind of feel like I have a good groove in it now.
9:58
SPEAKER_04: That's awesome, man.
9:59
SPEAKER_04: And so you've been like, I guess, uh touring with them before creating an album with them?
10:05
SPEAKER_01: Correct.
10:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
10:06
SPEAKER_01: I uh I've well so I I first started touring professionally in 2014 uh with Shattered Sun, and then when I got with El Nino, you know, I jumped in, we did a few singles that that came out, and uh we were working on a record the whole time, but uh it was definitely my job to restore the band, and I I know Nick could speak to this restore the band to where it was when I first saw them, which was Concrete Street, you know what I mean?
10:34
SPEAKER_05: Uh like we talked about, we went to all the same shit.
10:37
SPEAKER_05: It's good to have we didn't link up before.
10:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I know that that is nuts.
10:40
SPEAKER_01: But I I when I first joined the band, I told Dave I want to restore the band to prominence, to the marquee, El Nino's playing, headlining, and and that was always my dream, that was always my goal, and uh I feel like we're doing that, man.
10:54
SPEAKER_01: I feel like we're doing that.
10:56
SPEAKER_01: It's it's special.
10:57
SPEAKER_04: How how do you think the band how has the band's sound and dynamic evolved over the years?
11:02
SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, in the beginning, they were, you know, I know Nick could speak to this.
11:06
SPEAKER_01: In the beginning, they were cutting edge, you know what I mean?
11:08
SPEAKER_01: They they were what drew me to El Nino was my parents fucking hated metal.
11:14
SPEAKER_01: They hated, you know, I brought Slipknot home and they were like, what the fuck is this, corn?
11:18
SPEAKER_01: What is this?
11:19
SPEAKER_01: Like, and it wasn't until I put on the El Nino CD Revolution, Revolution, that they were like, Oh, these guys can play.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they go.
11:32
SPEAKER_01: They related to the Latin side of it, so that's where my love grew for them, like right away.
11:37
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
11:38
SPEAKER_01: It's like, oh man, my parents, you know what I mean, love this, so I love this, you know what I mean?
11:42
SPEAKER_01: And and over the years, I I had seen my my favorite band kind of die, you know what I mean, kind of really fall.
11:52
SPEAKER_01: And when I was touring with them with with uh Shattered Sun, I noticed, man, this is not the band that that I loved growing up, you know what I mean?
12:01
SPEAKER_01: So like I I offered myself to help it anyway.
12:04
SPEAKER_01: I noticed the singer was struggling.
12:05
SPEAKER_01: Hey, let me go down there and sing a song with you, you know what I mean?
12:09
SPEAKER_01: Let me do the screams so you can hey, you know, take a breath, you know what I mean?
12:13
SPEAKER_01: And you know, I I saw the band kind of decline fiercely.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: And when I joined the band, that was my first thing was like, hey, we need to sound the way you guys sounded in the beginning, where you were coming in and captivating people, you were coming in and and taking over shows, and yeah, I feel I feel like we've we've achieved that, you know what I mean?
12:33
SPEAKER_01: We've we've uh we've come in and and really made a mark, man.
12:38
SPEAKER_01: Because El Nino was definitely not where we are now.
12:42
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
12:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, because I'm I've been seeing y'all hitting festival after festival.
12:48
SPEAKER_05: I was like, holy shit, like, dude, like this is the shit I remember they're always on a fucking tour, always on tour.
12:55
SPEAKER_05: And then now, like that kind of like you said, it died down.
12:58
SPEAKER_05: I didn't see that much.
13:00
SPEAKER_05: But then after with this new new blood, this new creation, dude, y'all are fucking hitting hard.
13:06
SPEAKER_05: I know, I know Dave's a fucking go-getter too, and so but just to see y'all on these festivals and him doing these fucking massive tours, dude.
13:14
SPEAKER_05: It it excite me, like it brought that 12-year-old back out of me, like holy shit, like very much so.
13:19
SPEAKER_05: Let's fucking go.
13:20
SPEAKER_01: That's that's how I feel too, man, is is you know, opening for Megadeth, opening for Biohazard, man.
13:25
SPEAKER_01: We opened for Metallica in fucking Germany.
13:28
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
13:28
SPEAKER_01: It was it was some surreal shit, dude, because it it was it was like, yeah, you know, you're in it or whatever, but step back.
13:37
SPEAKER_01: You know, you're the you're the you're the kid you were when you were 15, and you're like, man, this is uh where I wanted to see it.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and to to have a hand in that means everything to me, man.
13:49
SPEAKER_01: It means everything.
13:50
SPEAKER_04: Do you feel like you have to have that like you have to have that type of drive to to get to there?
13:56
SPEAKER_01: I mean absolutely because that that started with uh with Shattered Sun.
14:00
SPEAKER_01: Uh I have to credit our our producer Robert Beltran because he he taught us that from the beginning.
14:06
SPEAKER_01: That's why we got our first record deal.
14:08
SPEAKER_01: Hey, fuck everybody, fuck this.
14:09
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
14:10
SPEAKER_01: At that time, the oil field was paying$50,$60 an hour, and and and he was the first one to be like, hey, you have to commit and go for the goal.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: And we were so hungry, went for the goal, we wound up getting signed, you know, and doing all these special things.
14:25
SPEAKER_01: I took that same mentality to El Nino.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna allow my favorite band to die.
14:32
SPEAKER_01: So if that means me going to the fucking links of my body and voice, then that's what I'm gonna do.
14:38
SPEAKER_01: And and I feel like the uh the proof is in the pudding, man.
14:42
SPEAKER_01: I feel like people gotta see the see the new music, and there's definitely a vibe there.
14:47
SPEAKER_04: Oh, for sure.
14:47
SPEAKER_04: Nice.
14:48
SPEAKER_04: So uh Ill Immortals is the new album.
14:51
SPEAKER_04: Uh, can you tell us about uh this new album?
14:54
SPEAKER_04: Uh what themes or messages are are you exploring?
14:58
SPEAKER_01: Well, very much uh like I just said right now, uh, you know, I I view El Nino as like one of those bands that's like lifelong, you know what I mean?
15:06
SPEAKER_01: Like a corn, like a slip knot.
15:08
SPEAKER_01: Like, you know what I mean?
15:09
SPEAKER_01: Those are the bands that I grew up loving.
15:11
SPEAKER_01: And uh I feel like people thought, oh man, the band's dead.
15:15
SPEAKER_01: You know, they got a new singer, they got new guys, but you know, the one thing that they didn't realize is they got they got a bunch of dudes from South Texas, you know what I mean?
15:23
SPEAKER_01: So we don't we don't fucking die easy, you know what I mean?
15:26
SPEAKER_01: And and we all came in with that mentality, like, hey, we're going to restore the band.
15:32
SPEAKER_01: That's where Ill Mortals came into place, you know what I mean?
15:35
SPEAKER_01: Like, yo, the band is Ill Mortal.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
15:38
SPEAKER_05: That's a sick ass title, too.
15:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, and I I gotta credit Dave, man.
15:42
SPEAKER_01: Dave, Dave really came up with that, but you know, seeing the fans from all over the world, because it's not just here in the United States, bro.
15:50
SPEAKER_01: Like, when we went to Spain for the first time, like I was so nervous because I was like, man, they don't they don't want to see me.
15:58
SPEAKER_01: They they they want to see the they want to see the previous, they want to see the old, they want to see and I remember we were going to the meet and greet line, which was like a mile long, dude.
16:08
SPEAKER_01: It was so many people there.
16:11
SPEAKER_01: And I remember I sat down, I was having a beer, I was just trying to trying to be chill.
16:15
SPEAKER_01: The first person that came up, Marcos, very nice to meet you.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: So it it made me feel like I was a part of it, you know what I mean?
16:23
SPEAKER_05: And and uh it just takes that one yeah, it just takes that one, and and you know what I mean.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: Everybody in the crowd kind of knowing the South Texas kid who was new to the band, you know what I mean.
16:32
SPEAKER_01: It it it made me feel very much at home there in Spain and Mexico and Germany and Denmark, you know, we've we've been all over the place, and uh I'm just very, very, very thankful for the fence.
16:45
SPEAKER_04: That's amazing, man.
16:46
SPEAKER_04: To be that's amazing, dude.
16:47
SPEAKER_04: That's a lot a lot of our dream, a lot of us have that dream out here, you know.
16:51
SPEAKER_04: It's so awesome that you're that you're kind of like living it for us, you know what I mean?
16:55
SPEAKER_04: It seems like you're looking at it in that perspective, absolutely.
16:57
SPEAKER_01: And and even you know, we went to Dubai, we went to Budapest, and I carry that weight.
17:04
SPEAKER_01: Exactly what you're doing, what you guys are talking about, Corpus Christi, all the guys that have followed me, Shattered Sun, everything.
17:11
SPEAKER_01: I carry that weight with me when I walk out on stage, and I try and uh I try and represent for Corpus and for Alice and San Diego and Robstown and Kingsville and Cal Allen, you name it, man.
17:23
SPEAKER_01: It's in my blood, man.
17:24
SPEAKER_01: That's how my father raised me.
17:25
SPEAKER_04: So and Alice, bro.
17:27
SPEAKER_04: Alice is just you just drive through it like you know what I mean, and you're from there, bro.
17:31
SPEAKER_02: It's it's so it's so don't don't tell none of the coyotes that because they'll they'll they'll fucking crazy, bro.
17:37
SPEAKER_04: Damn, it's crazy, man.
17:39
SPEAKER_04: So can you share like the uh what was the creative process like for this album?
17:44
SPEAKER_04: Uh compared to well, I guess you kind of compare to the previous one.
17:48
SPEAKER_04: Well, you've done singles though, right?
17:49
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
17:49
SPEAKER_04: So what's what was the creative process like?
17:51
SPEAKER_01: So I knew uh coming in that El Nino has to have a sound, you know what I mean?
17:57
SPEAKER_01: They have a sound, they have a they have a sound, you know this, you know what I mean?
18:00
SPEAKER_01: So my point was to not disrupt that sound, but also kind of put my fingerprints on the band.
18:07
SPEAKER_01: So when I first joined the band, uh we did the song Sangre and we filmed it in Allen's, which I was so proud of.
18:15
SPEAKER_01: Like we we because I I just told him, I was like, yo, we we had my wife's nephew be the the main star, and we we used the bar that I frequent in a weekly, you know what I mean?
18:27
SPEAKER_01: Right shout out B, shout out Nick.
18:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh so it it it uh it was it was special to me, but it was also that man, I have to be able to write for this band because that's that's my specialty, bro.
18:41
SPEAKER_01: Is is I might not be the greatest singer in the world, but I'm a I'm a really great writer, and I know what the fans want to hear from El Nino.
18:49
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I had a discussion with them where hey, you have to let me write.
18:52
SPEAKER_01: You have to let me write in this band.
18:54
SPEAKER_01: And if not, then I feel like it's not genuine.
18:58
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
18:59
SPEAKER_01: And uh, so they they granted me that privilege, man, and and uh we wrote a whole record, which is to me, man, you have every every part of my soul on this record.
19:11
SPEAKER_01: You know, I I went from being a father to being uh losing my losing my own father, losing my father-in-law, you know.
19:19
SPEAKER_01: It I went through so many life changes within this process that it's all there on that record, and uh I'm excited for people to hear it, man, because it's it's uh such a big part of my soul, man.
19:30
SPEAKER_01: That's on there.
19:31
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just so happy that it's uh to the point right now that it's it's about to be out.
19:35
SPEAKER_05: I know it's almost there.
19:36
SPEAKER_05: I'm like I was I've been waiting patiently for this, but that's crazy.
19:41
SPEAKER_05: So there I just thought today because the pre-sale is live today.
19:44
SPEAKER_05: You could do get your pre-orders.
19:46
SPEAKER_05: Correct.
19:46
SPEAKER_05: Uh so there's two volumes.
19:48
SPEAKER_05: Can you explain that?
19:49
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so uh we you know, in the record industry, they try and make you put out eight, ten songs, you know what I mean?
19:57
SPEAKER_01: And and we wrote about 16, 17, maybe 18 songs that man, we just we battled it out for so many months, being like, No, this song, no, this song, this song's about my fucking popo, bro.
20:09
SPEAKER_01: Like my pop up.
20:11
SPEAKER_01: So there was there was so much of that, you know what I mean?
20:14
SPEAKER_01: The song's about this, the song's about that, you know.
20:17
SPEAKER_01: So rather than cut songs and be like, oh, we'll revisit on the next record, nah, like the the El Nino fans have waited long enough to where I feel like we can give them 16, 17, 18 songs.
20:31
SPEAKER_01: So rather than cut songs, we're just gonna give you two albums, and uh, it was a long, long, long process to come to that.
20:41
SPEAKER_01: I think that's something that a lot of fans uh don't understand is you know, there was a lot of legalities and things as soon as I joined the band.
20:49
SPEAKER_01: Yo, you can't just throw out a record, you know what I mean?
20:52
SPEAKER_01: It it's uh it doesn't work that way.
20:55
SPEAKER_01: So the fact that we were able to do it like this and give you two albums in one, man, I love it.
21:00
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I saw it, I was like, oh, badass, and I was like, volume one, volume two, it's like no fucking way.
21:06
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I we're not even getting one, we're getting two.
21:08
SPEAKER_05: Oh my god, dude.
21:10
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
21:11
SPEAKER_01: Shout out, shout out to Dave and shout out to the management team for uh really making that work because man, we we fought some deadly battles where motherfuckers are not gonna be friends anymore and shit, like trying to cut songs, you know what I mean?
21:24
SPEAKER_01: So I'm glad it worked out this way.
21:26
SPEAKER_04: Hell yeah, I can't wait.
21:28
SPEAKER_04: That's awesome, man.
21:29
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
21:30
SPEAKER_04: So when you whenever you're writing the music, do you feel do you are you like purposefully writing for ill the in Nino that you know, or is it like the new, you know what I'm saying?
21:39
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, because it seems like you because the fans already heard without you know with their previous single, but I guess it's a new because when I hear the the singles, man, it's dude's voice is totally different, bro.
21:51
SPEAKER_04: Like you your voice is I like your voice, man, especially like in sat in Shattered Sun, and it seems like you brought that because it's your voice.
21:57
SPEAKER_04: Obviously, you brought it over to here, so when you
22:00
SPEAKER_01: you when you're writing do you feel like you're writing for I guess the El Nino that you knew or or you know what I'm saying like there's a there's a very fine line to uh to walk right there because when I first started working with our producer uh Chris Sadafied you know the first thing he told me was we have to differentiate your voice from shattered son you know it it has to be different you know what I mean and which it is uh um I mean I I know Nick can attest to that in Shattered Sun is a lot more thrash and a lot more you know yeah over the top with El Nino I know we have a box that we have to stay in but why can't we kind of push outside yeah you know what I mean push outside of the box every now and again and and that's that's what I uh think when I'm writing I always think of the old school El Nino fans but I also think of like man I see a lot of 14 15 year olds 16 year olds at our show man like what about them you know what I mean what about so it it's uh it's such a uh fine line to walk man but uh difficult at times uh but also at times very creative you know what I mean and and being able to do something like that uh but I think fans from all walks of life in El Nino from the very beginning to now I think they're gonna love a lot of the stuff that we have on this record because it's it's so personal man uh we we you know not only myself you know I lost several people but you know Dave lost his sister Mark lost his mom you know it's Sal's you know going through some issues and and yeah everybody's gone through certain things to where it's like that comes out on the record and and uh I think fans are gonna be really really in touch with those things nice I know a lot of us are looking forward to hearing it man that's awesome thank you so we got uh ill niño next we're doing uh shattered sun topics shattered sun resurgence yes sir yes sir yeah what's going on there um just had it recently what are the what factors do you think that have contributed uh to this renew this renewal I guess this resurgence yeah man uh so I have to credit my father in law my late father-in-law uh my my wife's father uh when I joined El Nino I think people were kind of like oh what's gonna happen with Shattered Sun you know I put my focus there because that was everything to me at the moment but uh my father-in-law passed away you know recently and one of the things he would always tell me he was always so happy for shattered for for El Nino and everything that I did but he always would tell me man if if you guys in Shattered Sun could just put aside your differences and just just do something you know I mean do do a show do a this do a that and I would always say ah you know it's it's it's so difficult you know what I mean grow putting putting a band together with uh six hometown guys that were best friends since they were fifth grade you know what I mean it it it can cause some problems you know as much as much as it as much as it's a beautiful thing it can definitely cause uh a lot of a lot of issues you know what I mean and and so my father in law passed away unexpectedly and immediately our first thing was man let's put shattered back together because that's what he really wanted and we wanted to raise some money you know what I mean for the family so we put together a show there at Brewster Street and we were thinking oh man we'll sell like 200 tickets 300 tickets nothing crazy man we s we almost sold a motherfucker out you know what I mean we sold 889 tickets and and I just did not think that people cared about us that much you know what I mean with everything that that had gone on with El Nino and everything that had gone on in my life to see that people still cared about Shattered Sun was so special to me.
25:53
SPEAKER_01: I remember the the first two or three days we called and we said oh what's the ticket count at oh it's at 398 tickets we're like what what like you know it was a shocker you know what I mean and and to see all the fans that came out and and all the people that came out to support my father in law it just felt like that was the right time to be like alright let's uh let's put this back together let's figure out some things and and we've been in the studio we've been working on a few songs and uh you're gonna be hearing some stuff pretty soon we actually have a show at the House of Rock uh July 26th uh so I like I said earlier I have a lot of music going on yeah but but yeah Shatterton's gonna have a show July 26th we got uh some killer acts coming out and we're looking forward to continuing you know are y'all still like because you've been y'all were through several different labels right are y'all still on a label or no so with we signed with Victory uh records which I know they catch a lot of heat I know you've heard a lot of heat yeah but man they invested so much money in in in Shattered Sun and they really put us out there man they put us on all the big tours they put us on all the radio stations because I think I think a lot of people don't understand that's a money game.
27:11
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean it's it's not a hey man they wrote a great song so it's on the radio now it's a money team and it's a it's a it's a label team that's always doing every band that you hear that's on the radio they got some kind of team that's working it you know what I mean so they put a lot of money behind Shattered Sun and uh they really got us on the uh on the right track and you know funny enough C101 was the first radio station iHeart media radio station to kind of give us some credibility because when we started sending Hope within hatred out everybody was like nah nah nah this is too metal this is too edgy nah nah we don't want anything like that C101 was like we'll fucking add it because they're hometown boys and we'll so I think all the iHeart re uh media stations were kind of just like oh man they're on to something cool you know what I mean we should add it too you know what I mean so it it it caught on like wildfire man and and uh it really sparked Shatterton's career and man I'm I'm so thankful to be revisiting that now and and hopefully trying to make a new you know what I mean with the new stuff.
28:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah so you have to do both of those at the same time as well it was like I said yeah not just too you know oh yeah yeah and uh you know this past week I've really kind of learned like oh fuck I kind of spread myself thin here because I've got El Nino to be right here coming out got Shattered Sun stuff coming out and I'm also transitioning into uh country rock with with my other group so it's been uh it's been a tugging pool I mean my wife can attest to it I'm I'm on the phone maybe 80% of the day man so it's uh but it's very honored like I told you earlier to to to be busy to be uh blessed to be working man nice how's it going Francesca hi mama thank you for uh being on the podcast jose laso is on there San Diego in the house oh let me tell you what jose laso dude we we used to uh we used to fucking party so goddamn hard together in fucking san diego and our dulce and fucking that yo I think we we I think we got left in some fucking fields at some point man so shout out Jose I love you man it seems like that's the right passage for a lot of young young dudes happen it's not till you become a daddy where you're like oh fuck nah nah nah nah you're not like it's gonna be a keg there no nah fuck that I went through it so you don't have to deal with one point with what said so like no that ain't happening that's awesome and y'all it's it man it's amazing dude like how all y'all started in Alice Texas bro like and since fifth grade it's still the same original members yeah man uh that's amazing so so you know we've we've gone through uh uh some member changes and stuff like that throughout the years you know like I said it's very difficult to uh to form a band with your best friends that you've been friends with uh you know since fifth grade and stuff like that business wise it can be tough you know what I mean it could be uh it could be very tough because the family side of it you know what I mean so and so's Thea you're like oh man fucking so and so's Thea's talking shit on Facebook and you're like god damn it man you know what I mean it's just oh fuck man you know but but you have to step back and uh look at it as the big picture you know shattered sun has gone all over the world sold records all over the world and and done things all over the world so it's kind of like it's hard to differentiate diff differentiate that from Alice you know because Alice is here but the whole fucking world is here you know I mean so you know it it's uh it's tough to to do things with the original members and and we kind of have set it up in the place where it's like hey where we have uh some members that can't be there we know people like Jess and we know people like George Frank from MIBG and John Luna from the Periwinkle Mask people are gonna help out you know what I mean so so it's uh I'm looking forward to everything that we have coming up with Shattered Sun.
31:22
SPEAKER_01: Nice man I mean you mentioned in an interview where like when you first I guess it was with them when you started like touring or y'all got signed or whatever you're like I thought somebody was giving me like a manual of what to do what not to do whatever yeah so how far do you think you've come since that and do you think you've learned a lot of stuff I have absolutely with the with the bit with the business end of it uh I was very very fortunate to uh be a part of Johnny Z's legacy Johnny Z signed Metallica signed anthrax signed Testament signed you name it he signed so many of the biggest bands in the world he found Metallica you know what I mean so to be a part of his legacy where we were the last band Shatterstone was the last band that Johnny was like hey I'm gonna take this band from a little place called Alice that nobody knows who the fuck it is and and launch it you know what I mean and he absolutely did that so within that time I was able to learn from him I was able to learn from Maria Ferrero who is uh PR giant I was able to learn from Chuck Billy who's a legend you know in the thrash game I've learned uh so many sides of this industry to where it's like I think of Marcus back then where it's like nobody gave me a handbook now I try and be that handbook for a lot of these younger bands man because I went about 10 years doing things the wrong way crazy before somebody came in and was like hey young man this is how we're gonna do it like and this is the this is the pro way you know what I mean so I try and uh I try and push a lot of that on on the the younger bands and I just don't want them to waste 10 years like I did you know I wasted I wasted a lot of a lot of time in my life uh doing it the wrong way you know so what what what did you have a question what what motivates you like to sub to support that next generation of musicians or artists?
33:17
SPEAKER_01: Because I didn't have a hand coming up uh I had a very rough time coming up you know what I mean and I did things a lot of the wrong way I ruined friendships I spent money that was shouldn't have been spent and I did I did things the wrong way you know what I mean and and we all did and it wasn't until I had somebody that came in and was like here young man let me help you up yeah and man I went from uh doing this since I was 15 years old I didn't get that break until I was 25.
33:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah you know what I mean so that was a long time that I was doing things the wrong way and thank God I got that hand up but I see a lot of these younger bands that you know make questionable decisions and I I try and come in there and I try and be that that hand that was given to me try and be that for them uh earlier you know what I mean earlier in the game you know I see I see bands that they'll they'll book a show you know on the 26th and they'll promote the show but then they'll book a show on the 25th and the 24th and then and then they decide to book another show on the 26th later that night man you you're doing it all wrong you know what I mean like you're focusing in the wrong places you know what I mean uh taking taking pictures take uh making music that sounds good man because at the end of the day I remember Chuck used to tell me that all the time you need to make music that fucking sounds good so people fucking like give themselves give themselves to you you know what I mean and I didn't learn that until late and I see a lot of bands making those you know mistakes now so I just try and try and guide man but ultimately at the end of the day everybody's gonna make their own moves how they want to make them but if I can guide one band in the right way then then that's what I'm gonna do.
35:06
SPEAKER_04: It's always interesting to me when I hear people do that for others and it makes me think about like who influenced you to do that.
35:16
SPEAKER_01: I mean because it seems like uh like the the it seems like that it's like that among our culture you know what I mean you help out others my my dad was my dad was very much like that my dad uh when I first started touring would always tell me hey man make sure you make sure you look nice make sure you shave make sure you smell good used to always tell me that man uh yeah and uh he used to take care of your crew take care of your driver make sure your driver eats make sure you're make sure your crew guys this and that and he was telling me this at an early age where I was like man I don't give a fuck like you know I'm trying to fucking play and get drunk and whatever.
35:51
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
35:51
SPEAKER_01: But like now I see it you know we're in the position I'm in where I'm like man I I try and help our crew all the time I try and help the the other crews all the time and it's very much something that was uh instilled in me but also from my own experiences too man like I don't want to see every anybody fall on their face as hard as I did.
36:10
SPEAKER_01: So if I can help you know what I mean in in in some places man I will.
36:14
SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
36:15
SPEAKER_01: You feel like your your your family grounds you in that sense I've had the uh I've had the opportunity to live in New York LA Portland Dallas I I stay in Alice for that specific reason because it grounds me and that's where my father raised me that's where my grandfather raised him and that's where I'm gonna raise my kids so it keeps me keeps me grounded man keeps me grounded.
36:41
SPEAKER_01: That's a job man I get to see uh I get to see all of the world in all of these things that I do man uh I'm always gonna be an Alice kid and my kids are going to be Alice kids too.
36:51
SPEAKER_01: Uh looking back what do you think have been the key decisions that helped you succeed in the music industry committing and I tell I tell young man this all the time and you have to commit normally there's there's bands you know what I mean like I won't say names I don't want to insult anybody but there's bands that are like on the cusp but they won't commit you know what I mean because hey man I I work on the weekends and I have a gig and you know I get paid$40 an hour.
37:16
SPEAKER_01: Hey man I got a I got a kid I got two kids I have to do this or that I've been there my bandmates have been there it wasn't until we committed where it was like hey we're gonna make a record that it's either going to get us signed or we're gonna give up music altogether.
37:36
SPEAKER_01: That's what happened with Shattered Sun first record we we put everything into it everybody around us put everything into it the sacrifices that were made not only by us but like by our wives and by our family because we were going out there we weren't making shit man like in in the in the beginning because that's how it goes that's how this that's how this industry goes you're gonna go out there and you're gonna swing but yo man you're probably gonna make two three hundred bucks for that you know what I mean so you have to commit and I know when you're standing at the end or you know before you take that jump and you're just like man I could go work in this oil field right here and I could fucking make could make fucking$40 an hour you know$50 an hour.
38:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah that that was such a big thing for us but we we had to commit man and uh and really go for it dude and it's it's easier said than done I know that I know that because not a lot of people can do it but we heard we heard it in the album though man yeah the fucking Hope within hatred was a great fucking album yeah and you you could hear that y'all put y'all's fucking souls in that album to fucking make it I can't tell you I can't even tell you man like how many uh hours we spent in there how many how many fights that were had with spouses how many I have to be in the studio because of the laughter so and so's pregnant like you know we didn't we didn't find out till our bass player was pregnant or his wife was pregnant until we were in the in the van getting ready to go on our second tour and we all looked at him we were like yo damn your girl's pregnant he was like I didn't want to say anything bro I didn't want to say anything so that that's what I that's what I tell I tell bands like that's the commitment and no it might not be the healthiest at times but like that's the only way to do it is to commit and be like hey yeah I might lose 40 an hour but man I'm gonna go do this and you know fortunately for us it paid off man because it could have been a horror story too for sure uh Robert Liao proud proud of uh cuz your dad and father in law are so proud of you love you man oh man that's my cousin man he's been he's been supporting me since uh the underground days driving me to gigs and uh I love you Rob man I appreciate you man uh you know something I try and tell a lot of these younger bands is is even with me you know I've I've had a lot of the success but even with the success there's been moments within it where I'm like you know my dad was diagnosed with cancer and you know I want this was right when I was in El Nino and everything was kicking off and my instant reaction was I'm canceling everything I'm I'm gonna stay home I'm gonna my dad refused he was just like no you're you're gonna go you're gonna get on that plane you're gonna do this you're gonna do that you're gonna you're not gonna let this stop you and so months went by you know he he he succumbed to his illness and I did all of those tours but the guilt like haunted me dude like and it and it turned into this bus you know you used to ride in a van you know what I mean but this bus that you're in that's state of the art it's a prison now because you're here and I I tell bands all the time there will be a price that you pay at some point you know what I mean if you want to do this all the way and I've learned that the that those moments were uh the price that I paid you know what I mean being my dad being so sick and me being in Germany and him staying up till 1 a.m to to see me walk out on stage you know those those things to this day man they kill me but you know what I mean it's it's the price you pay to committing you know what I mean and doing those things man and uh I'm very thankful that I had my father to uh support me through all of that and you know push me to do all of that because without him I would not be here today.
41:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah shout out to Pops man yeah for sure uh was uh one of your songs from uh swim the current inspired by the passing of your father yes uh so a lot it's funny now that uh a lot of the stuff is is kind of inspired by my dad whether it be being a good dad or you know what I mean looking out for your kids and you know the all all those things they they kind of come back to me now full circle you know so when I when I uh decided to join Swim the current I wasn't really looking for a new band you know what I mean I wasn't looking to do a new thing it it started as a feature they hired me to do a feature and uh the music was so good that I was like man this is this is cool like and I it's something I always tell the to young musicians like if the if if the words and the lyrics just flow out of you then it's something special you know what I mean not where I have to go think about it I have to write this song in a room for four days man if it comes like that like right off the bat upon first listen there's something special there so that happened with the first one they came at me and they said hey man we'll you know we want you to do another one I did another one and and then it was kind of like hey well you know what man I love country like you know I know you bunch of motherfuckers from New York but like there you go very much so very much so and and maybe it's a fatal flaw inside of me man because I wore my fucking Cowboys jerseys up there too but you check New Yorkers now I do man a lot of my business is in New York man I don't know why but but uh I told him man I you know I love country and you know I really don't want to do another metal band you know and I want to do something that's different with my voice and you know El Nino's here and Shadaton's here do something here man and anybody that knows me uh knows that I'm the biggest country fan I uh I can clear out an El Nino bus and fucking five seconds I'll put on some fucking George Strait and everybody's like yeah but I'm gonna go to the green room man like all right yeah I'll see you in there man that's uh that's that's kind of my thing man and uh so I've always had a hand in uh singing country music but never was it to the point where I told the band hey well I want to do this you know I want to do some kind of country style music they were like okay well let's try it out and it worked we put out our we put out our first single which is a couple Of co-wetzel.
44:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm a I'm a huge Cow Wetzel fan, huge Jason Aldean fan, huge George Strait fan, huge Garth Brooks fan, you name it.
44:10
SPEAKER_01: Uh so we did that cover just to kind of tap our feet in the water to see like see what it stirs.
44:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because I don't want to be full on country.
44:20
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to walk in a Nashville and be like, oh, I'm a new fucking country guy.
44:23
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm not that.
44:24
SPEAKER_01: I I want to bring the Steve Perry to country, man.
44:28
SPEAKER_01: I want to bring I want to bring that journey, that rock to to country.
44:33
SPEAKER_01: And uh that's what we're trying to do, man.
44:35
SPEAKER_01: So we we we did that first single.
44:37
SPEAKER_01: It it worked out great.
44:38
SPEAKER_01: It's charting right now.
44:39
SPEAKER_01: I believe it's yeah and 19 on uh on the the charts right now.
44:45
SPEAKER_01: So that's the cover, man.
44:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we have about four or five or six songs that are that are loaded, that are country rock, and I'm excited for people to hear, man.
44:54
SPEAKER_01: They're just loaded up in the gun, ready to shoot out.
44:56
SPEAKER_05: Come on with that six shooter, yeah.
44:57
SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you, I'm telling you, man.
44:59
SPEAKER_01: So it's yeah, it's it's we we went to go uh we went to go record with uh one of the best writers, producers that ever been with uh Sahaj uh Ticketin.
45:11
SPEAKER_01: He he works for or he's a singer of Raw.
45:16
SPEAKER_02: Uh Do You Call My Name?
45:19
SPEAKER_02: Do you feel my brain?
45:20
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, huge, huge band from that era with El Nino.
45:24
SPEAKER_01: He's a huge time producer.
45:26
SPEAKER_01: He works with Motley Crue, he works with Star said, he works with Nothing More, some of the biggest bands in the industry.
45:32
SPEAKER_01: And uh we went over there and and uh he was like, yo, let's take some fucking swings at like some country shit.
45:39
SPEAKER_01: You know, like let's fucking go for it.
45:41
SPEAKER_01: And yo, I had an American Idol moment, man, because straight up when I when I got there in Indianapolis, he was like, Look, I'm gonna be honest with you.
45:49
SPEAKER_01: He's like, I don't fucking think you can sing country.
45:52
SPEAKER_01: He was like, and I'm not gonna waste my time writing country songs, and you can't even sing country.
45:58
SPEAKER_01: He was like, So sing me something country.
46:00
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Oh, no, I don't, I don't know.
46:03
SPEAKER_01: And he was like, no, no, no, no, no.
46:04
SPEAKER_01: He put on he put on some country songs on the on the on the jams, and he was like, sing it.
46:09
SPEAKER_01: Let me hear you sing it.
46:10
SPEAKER_01: So I had to sing like I was in my backyard, you know what I mean, drinking, drinking Bud Lights, and I gave him the gave him the country drowl.
46:18
SPEAKER_01: And I I sang it to him, and and after after a couple songs, he's like, Okay, I believe you, man.
46:23
SPEAKER_01: Like, let's make some hits, dude.
46:25
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, we we got it, we got a few songs coming out, man, and uh, I'm really excited about it.
46:30
SPEAKER_01: Because like I said, everything that I do is El Nino's here, Shattered Sun's here, some the currents here.
46:35
SPEAKER_01: So I try and try and keep everything a little bit separate, but also a little bit different, you know what I mean?
46:41
SPEAKER_05: Wow, that's awesome.
46:42
SPEAKER_05: My wife even made a comment too that I would walk right out to with the country.
46:46
SPEAKER_05: Oh I'm picky, I'm picky with the country.
46:49
SPEAKER_05: I'm picky with the country.
46:50
SPEAKER_05: My wife's a big country listener.
46:52
SPEAKER_01: I'm a big Jason Aldean slut, dude.
46:57
SPEAKER_04: Oh, that's that's your wife?
46:59
SPEAKER_04: That's my wife.
47:00
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, shout out.
47:01
SPEAKER_04: Shout out.
47:02
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that's awesome, man.
47:03
SPEAKER_04: Uh big love to Marcos from New York.
47:05
SPEAKER_04: Mad Talent, brother.
47:06
SPEAKER_04: Love you.
47:07
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, my man.
47:07
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
47:08
SPEAKER_01: These Giants fans love me.
47:10
SPEAKER_01: I don't know why, man.
47:11
SPEAKER_04: I don't know why.
47:13
SPEAKER_02: Sign up, bro.
47:16
SPEAKER_02: Cowboy.
47:16
SPEAKER_02: I don't know why these Giants fans love me, man.
47:18
SPEAKER_02: They fucking love me, man.
47:21
SPEAKER_01: Uh, eventually I'm gonna get them wearing cowboys boots and eating brisket and all that stuff.
47:25
SPEAKER_01: That's what I tell that's what I tell my man George and Joe from from Swim the Current.
47:29
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, yo, man, we gotta get you down here just for like a like a Sunday.
47:33
SPEAKER_01: Yo, we'll start drinking before the game on like Friday.
47:35
SPEAKER_01: You know, we'll cook a brisket.
47:37
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
47:38
SPEAKER_01: It's it's funny too because uh the the fan is different in New York than to uh Dallas.
47:46
SPEAKER_01: Like in Dallas, we're like, yeah, man, come down.
47:48
SPEAKER_02: Nah, dude, this is my deal.
47:50
SPEAKER_02: This is my yeah, no, yo, get him a beer, bro.
47:53
SPEAKER_02: Get him a we've been smoking these fucking three buzz for all day, whatever.
47:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we're gonna get a plate, bro.
48:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, what part of New York are you from, dude?
48:03
SPEAKER_01: Nah, I've been up there one time, like in New York, they're just like, yo, who's this who's this fucking guy in the fucking cowboys jersey, bro?
48:10
SPEAKER_01: Yo, is that your guy or what, bro?
48:12
SPEAKER_01: Hey, they they they make it real weird, bro.
48:15
SPEAKER_01: They make it real weird.
48:17
SPEAKER_01: There was one time that we were playing in uh in New York on September 11th, and the Cowboys were playing the Giants, so it was a big fucking deal, dude.
48:26
SPEAKER_00: And Giants, yeah.
48:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was 9-11 or whatever, so I was the only dumbass in fucking New York, and so fucking Dak, bro, fucking Dak.
48:33
SPEAKER_02: Dak attack.
48:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, dude.
48:35
SPEAKER_02: Oh man.
48:36
SPEAKER_02: So we walk into this bar, and as soon as I opened the door, it was all fucking boom, bro.
48:41
SPEAKER_01: It's like, all right, this ain't the spot for us, dude.
48:44
SPEAKER_01: We walked a little while down the road, and and this French guy was standing out in front of his bar.
48:48
SPEAKER_01: He goes, Cowboy Fenn, Cowboy Fenn.
48:50
SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir, yes sir.
48:51
SPEAKER_02: So come in, dude.
48:52
SPEAKER_02: We were like the only people on the bar.
48:54
SPEAKER_02: We're like, yo, New York is nice, bro.
48:56
SPEAKER_02: New York is fucking nice, dude.
48:59
SPEAKER_02: That's hilarious.
49:00
SPEAKER_02: Good time, sir.
49:01
SPEAKER_04: That's what's up, man.
49:01
SPEAKER_04: How much how much time we got on the clock?
49:03
SPEAKER_04: I can't see it here.
49:04
SPEAKER_04: My about 10.
49:07
SPEAKER_04: Okay, okay.
49:08
SPEAKER_01: Oh, Joe, my man, big love, big love, New York.
49:11
SPEAKER_01: He's gonna be a Cowboys fan soon.
49:13
SPEAKER_04: Nice.
49:13
SPEAKER_04: Who's that?
49:14
SPEAKER_04: He's he's in your he's in the group or no.
49:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he's uh lead guitarist for Swimming Curve.
49:18
SPEAKER_04: Oh, come on.
49:19
SPEAKER_04: It's awesome, man.
49:20
SPEAKER_04: So do y'all are do y'all plan on uh building on the success of the chart?
49:23
SPEAKER_04: Uh absolutely, yeah, yeah.
49:25
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
49:25
SPEAKER_01: Uh we have we have a song coming out that is let me put it to you this way.
49:30
SPEAKER_01: It's it's probably the most country thing that I've ever done.
49:33
SPEAKER_01: I showed my wife for the first time and she was shocked.
49:36
SPEAKER_01: I showed Daniel for the first time and he was shocked.
49:39
SPEAKER_01: But the one thing that I've heard uh about this track is like, man, it gets stuck in your head, and it's got some Jason Aldean co-vibes, and uh I'm excited about it, man.
49:49
SPEAKER_01: I'm really excited for people to hear that side of my voice because it's it's something that I've only ever done in like the backyard when I'm drunk.
49:56
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
49:57
SPEAKER_01: So now doing it professionally is pretty cool.
49:59
SPEAKER_04: What do you think has been the key to that success on the chart?
50:03
SPEAKER_01: Uh like I said earlier, uh, I'm not trying to be Jason or Co.
50:09
SPEAKER_01: or or George or I'm trying to bring my rock voice into that.
50:13
SPEAKER_01: Because, like, you have that hat right there, Giovanni, man.
50:16
SPEAKER_01: Uh Co is playing on C101 and a lot of these bands, Austin Me, they're they're they're they're crossing.
50:23
SPEAKER_01: So, like, why can't I bring more of the rock side into the country?
50:26
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
50:27
SPEAKER_01: Because truthfully, I I feel like a lot of these country guys, if they had the uh grit and more metal side of my voice, they would be doing it, you know what I mean?
50:38
SPEAKER_01: But uh it's something that I need to do, you know what I mean.
50:41
SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm I'm very excited to do it, man.
50:43
SPEAKER_04: That's what's uh man, that's awesome, man.
50:45
SPEAKER_04: Happy for you, dude.
50:46
SPEAKER_04: Thank you, man.
50:46
SPEAKER_04: Happy for what you're doing, all kinds of stuff that you got going on, man.
50:49
SPEAKER_04: Helping out musicians.
50:51
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely, man.
50:51
SPEAKER_04: A lot of lot of what do you what do you say?
50:53
SPEAKER_04: Uh a lot of irons in the fire.
50:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
50:56
SPEAKER_01: And and and giving back, you know what I mean?
50:58
SPEAKER_01: I I I definitely try and uh try and help these these younger musicians up, man.
51:03
SPEAKER_01: It's it's very important to me.
51:05
SPEAKER_01: Just because if man, if I drop dead tomorrow, I want uh my legacy to be that you helped up some guys along the way.
51:14
SPEAKER_01: Because I didn't get that.
51:15
SPEAKER_01: And I I definitely try and I definitely try and provide that.
51:19
SPEAKER_01: And even at a detriment to myself, sometimes uh I try and uh help some of these young guys up, man.
51:25
SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm I'm looking forward to the future.
51:29
SPEAKER_01: Some of these bands, man, like Excess, like there's a there's a band out of Alice, man, and a couple 14-15-year-olds called Fallen Fears.
51:36
SPEAKER_01: There's some bands here in town, Zombie King.
51:39
SPEAKER_01: I know you interviewed their their singer.
51:41
SPEAKER_01: I think they're incredible, you know what I mean?
51:43
SPEAKER_01: Uh a lot of bands that are gonna take that step, but all of them have to take that step, like we did, you know what I mean?
51:50
SPEAKER_01: Commit, you know what I mean?
51:51
SPEAKER_01: And and uh I'm looking forward to seeing what they do.
51:53
SPEAKER_04: What's what's some what are some thoughts, final thoughts that you would like to share with them as far as giving them some advice?
51:59
SPEAKER_01: Oh man, um just just to really like step back, you know what I mean?
52:07
SPEAKER_01: Because I I that's something that I had an issue with.
52:10
SPEAKER_01: Everything was a problem to me.
52:12
SPEAKER_01: Everything was, oh man, so and so is this, and so and so is that man.
52:15
SPEAKER_01: Step back.
52:16
SPEAKER_01: Are you writing great music?
52:18
SPEAKER_01: And that's something that was told to me from the very beginning, man.
52:21
SPEAKER_01: Are you writing great music?
52:23
SPEAKER_01: And that that's a bitter pill pill that uh us as musicians have to swallow.
52:29
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
52:30
SPEAKER_01: Because I think you can kind of get locked into man, I wrote this and I'm this, and it's great, and it's great.
52:35
SPEAKER_01: Well, step back, you know what I mean?
52:36
SPEAKER_01: Is is it really great?
52:38
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
52:38
SPEAKER_01: And and that's something that I try and uh provide to a lot of bands, and there there is something that Chuck uh from Testament taught me and and the way it came down, and I know my wife can attest to this too, she worked for Testament.
52:53
SPEAKER_01: Um so I would always see Chuck when I was touring with him, they would have people pay hundreds of dollars for meet and greets, but then I would see Chuck come out of the bus later at night.
53:03
SPEAKER_01: We would be drinking by the van come out with a big joint and smoke with the fans and and hang out, you know what I mean?
53:09
SPEAKER_01: I would always ask him, man, why do you do that if people are paying$200 a clip to do that?
53:16
SPEAKER_01: Man, I learned this from Ronnie James Dio.
53:18
SPEAKER_01: Ronnie James Dio used to come out and used to roll up a big joint, and he told me this story about how Ronnie James Dio was about to miss a flight, and they said, Hey, you're gonna miss this flight, man, if you don't do that.
53:29
SPEAKER_01: Fuck that flight.
53:30
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna sign everybody's thing here.
53:34
SPEAKER_01: So to know that it came from Ronnie to Chuck, from the fucking God himself, yeah, and then from Chuck to me to pass that down to the next guy, man, that's that's everything my life's all about, man.
53:47
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, because without the fans, I mean, no band has this success.
53:51
SPEAKER_05: Absolutely, and that's what I always liked about you, dude.
53:53
SPEAKER_05: Like ever since going back to the Shatter Sun, I mean shit, like we were talking about earlier.
53:59
SPEAKER_05: Being playing in Corpus and Alice, like small, small venues like the Underground compound, and then going back to bars like Zeros, you always look back on that and realize, like, you know, you humble yourself, like, damn, I came from this to this.
54:15
SPEAKER_05: And if it wasn't for the heart, of course, for your hard work, but also for the fans.
54:19
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
54:19
SPEAKER_05: And then, you know, creating new fans with him.
54:22
SPEAKER_05: Of course, without them, dude, no band would exist.
54:24
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, man.
54:25
SPEAKER_01: Like, like, like I said, you know, El Nino, before I joined the band, they were playing at zeros to a small number of fans, man.
54:32
SPEAKER_01: To to be the new singer and coming and playing for them and playing at Brewster, selling it out.
54:38
SPEAKER_01: First, first day with the band, sold out Brewster.
54:41
SPEAKER_01: Last time we played at Concrete Street or at uh House of Rock, sold it out 630 tickets to know that we're coming back again.
54:49
SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be sold out again, man.
54:50
SPEAKER_05: It it's I would love to see all concrete though.
54:52
SPEAKER_05: It's especially dude.
54:53
SPEAKER_01: It that's concrete's my Super Bowl, man.
54:55
SPEAKER_01: Like that's that's my uh that's my place, man.
54:58
SPEAKER_05: Is that your main goal?
54:59
SPEAKER_05: Like, because I wanted to ask you, like, being in you know, these bands, whether it's Shadow Sun, Il Nina, or whatever, uh Swim the Currents, what is like your main goal?
55:10
SPEAKER_05: Like, what where's the place that you want to play?
55:12
SPEAKER_05: Where like, okay, this is like what's your goal place to play at?
55:15
SPEAKER_01: My okay, aside from my play, because you know, Madison Square Garden, Concrete Street, I would love to play at ATC, ATT Stadium, you know what I mean?
55:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, maybe not show.
55:26
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna play on a Friday or something.
55:29
SPEAKER_01: But uh, my main goal, and I know Michelle, my wife knows this, it's something that I tell my daughters all the time.
55:36
SPEAKER_01: I want to write a song that is going to live on far past the days that I'm here.
55:45
SPEAKER_01: And I've yet to achieve that just yet.
55:48
SPEAKER_01: But that's my goal.
55:49
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
55:50
SPEAKER_01: Is is to write a song that when I when I die and when they put the dirt over my bones, man, hey, I'm gonna live on forever.
55:58
SPEAKER_01: And uh that's my that's my goal, man.
56:01
SPEAKER_01: So I still got a lot of time to do it, man.
56:04
SPEAKER_01: So hopefully, hopefully it comes on this next record.
56:07
SPEAKER_01: You're busy, you're you're putting in the work, so absolutely, absolutely.
56:10
SPEAKER_01: We we got I got a couple records coming out, so hopefully it comes out on this next one.
56:14
SPEAKER_01: But like I said, I'm I'm never uh I'm never shy to swing, you know, never shy to swing.
56:20
SPEAKER_04: Leaving a legacy.
56:21
SPEAKER_04: I don't even think we think about that stuff when we're younger, when we first get started.
56:25
SPEAKER_04: It isn't until you actually uh gain some years that you finally have that outlook.
56:30
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, yeah, because you're not thinking about that in the beginning.
56:33
SPEAKER_01: I didn't know that until my dad passed.
56:34
SPEAKER_01: That you know, like I told you earlier before we came on, uh you know, my dad would say, Yeah, you're you're gonna you're gonna do music, but you're also gonna have a backup plan.
56:44
SPEAKER_01: And I would all I would always take it as a slight.
56:47
SPEAKER_01: Oh, you don't believe in me?
56:48
SPEAKER_01: Oh, you don't think I can do it?
56:50
SPEAKER_01: No, just as a father now, as I'm a father now, you know.
56:53
SPEAKER_01: I just want you to have something that if you do fall on your ass, you got something.
56:58
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
56:59
SPEAKER_01: And uh fortunately, I haven't fallen on my ass just yet.
57:03
SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm very, very excited about what the future holds.
57:07
SPEAKER_04: Alice Texas in the house, baby.
57:09
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, Alice Coyote, shout out to the graduates, baby.
57:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
57:15
SPEAKER_04: That's cool, man.
57:16
SPEAKER_04: Well, dude, thanks for being is there anything else you want to share or uh mention?
57:20
SPEAKER_01: I just want to say thank you for having me, man.
57:22
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having my my wife and my my friend Daniel in here, man.
57:25
SPEAKER_01: And uh I'm just very thankful to be uh honored by my community and and by the people that uh that started me, man.
57:33
SPEAKER_01: So thank you for having me, bro.
57:35
SPEAKER_04: You're welcome, man.
57:35
SPEAKER_04: There's a lot of us that look up to you and just like Nick here.
57:39
SPEAKER_04: I invited Nick on the show because he's he's a listener up to our show, and I know he's he's totally in the scene.
57:44
SPEAKER_04: I was like, let me bring Nick on, dude.
57:46
SPEAKER_04: I know he would appreciate this, dude.
57:48
SPEAKER_05: I was at work, and I was like, I saw it, I was like, oh, let me get back to him real quick and then send me another message.
57:52
SPEAKER_05: So I was like, Oh fuck.
57:54
SPEAKER_05: I was like, fuck yeah, I'm down, dude.
57:56
SPEAKER_05: Let's go.
57:56
SPEAKER_05: I appreciate that.
57:57
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate that so much.
57:59
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, Nick man.
58:00
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, man.
58:00
SPEAKER_01: Man, appreciate you, brother.
58:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you, man, for having us.
58:03
SPEAKER_04: All right, yeah.
58:04
SPEAKER_04: Well, if nothing else, you guys.
58:05
SPEAKER_04: Thanks a lot.
58:06
SPEAKER_04: Stay tuned for the next uh few we got.
58:08
SPEAKER_04: Um, and uh go check out El Vago Burgers and Barbecue Q 4701 by the drive.
58:13
SPEAKER_04: Check out the Turzilla, you don't want to miss that uh sandwich.
58:16
SPEAKER_02: I heard some of the shit.
58:19
SPEAKER_02: Is it good or what?
58:20
SPEAKER_02: It's good, bro.
58:21
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna have to fuck with it.
58:23
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you yeah, yeah.
58:24
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, all right.
58:24
SPEAKER_04: Appreciate you guys.
58:25
SPEAKER_04: Stay tuned for the next one.
58:26
SPEAKER_04: Have a good one.
58:27
SPEAKER_04: See you later.