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Hey friends, it's Paul Ward, and
welcome to another On the Road. Well,
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if you're like me, you
appreciate good music,
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and maybe you wonder how good
music is put together. Well,
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who better to talk to
about that then our guests,
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the Kearns family at Goat Mountain
Recording. Pat and Susan Kearns,
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welcome to On the Road. Thank
you. Thank you. Absolutely.
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And we wanna thank our
sponsor, Opus Escrow. So Pat,
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how do you describe your job title?
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? I, I usually tell
people I'm an audio engineer.
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I didn't go to school for any of that,
but it seems to be the closest thing.
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I just do a lot of things with
audio. I record, I do some mixing.
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I do a little bit of mastering.
I do some restoration,
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audio restoration work and
that kind of thing. It's oh,
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and I have a radio show,
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but everything that I do
seems to revolve around audio.
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And you've built this building
that we're in the two of you
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to master that craft.
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I've had recordings studios since 1997.
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And so this is just, I mean, you
only, I've only had one at a time.
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It's just an ongoing line of them as I
got moved out of one place and moved on
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to the next. And this is where I'm at now,
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and we are hoping that this
is it. ? Yeah, .
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And we're in Landers,
California, near Joshua Tree.
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And you have a five acre spread here. Yep.
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And this structure is acoustically what?
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As good as it gets? Yeah. Yeah.
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It was built from the ground up.. With
help from an architect friend of ours.
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Ignacio Moreno. Elst.
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.
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Who we fondly call Nacho.
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And it's got no, as you
said, no, 90 degree walls?
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No, no. Yeah. No. 90 degree corners,
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no parallel walls or floors and ceilings.
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Which is one of the
tricks to designing these.
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This was done much more
scientifically than just
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blasting that out from nacho's end. But
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it basically keeps standing
waves from developing,
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which are like a big bump in a
certain frequency which makes
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things hard to deal with from
an audio engineer's perspective.
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And it helps with the clarity of reverb.
You don't get as many reflections.
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Our brains, the way they work
for everything, all your senses,
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as we pick up edges
you see edges when you,
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you look at a wall and
you see where it ends.
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And when you feel your finger across
a surface, you hear where it, or feel,
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where it changes the edge there.
And, and your ears work the same way.
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And so all those
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sort of slaps and echoes
that could develop from a,
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a room that produces those sort of things
can make audio sound unintelligible.
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Hard to hear.
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And what made you decide to take the
leap and build your own recording
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studio?
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This is a business that I've been
trying to quit my entire life. .
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I'm dead serious about that. It just
always I got sucked back into it.
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And it is my passion too. And it, it
is, it seems to be what I'm best at.
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And on some levels, the
only thing I can do.
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When I first met Susan,
like I had a straight job.
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I was also doing copyright control and
keeping track of data for the Oregon
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Health Sciences University
in Portland, Oregon, .
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And I was working 40 hours there a week
and then putting about 40 hours into my
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own forties.
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And you, all right. So it was kind
of getting crazy. It was just like,
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how could somebody work
that much? , .
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And we partnered up and
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she sort of like, after
a while was like, you,
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you have to quit the straight job and
just focus on Yeah. Do this passion.
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And so that's where some of that.
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I started to tell people no. So
it was like, you can't, I mean,
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if you're telling people
no turning business away,
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that's what you really wanna be doing.
Right. Right. Maybe it's time. Yes.
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Yeah. And then
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how we got here is my studio
that we, I was running,
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that we had up in
Load full transcript
Portland, Oregon. Between,
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I had that studio between 2007 and 2017.
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Gentrification and Urban
development rolled up the street.
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It used to be kind of in a warehouse area,
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and the train tracks and
the light rail were below.
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And the train tracks and the
light rail are still there.
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But now in between my studio and
the, the, that is a giant, like
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six or eight story apartment
building with retail shopping and
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a lot of, lot of outside noise.
Yeah. A lot of traffic. Yeah.
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Just more going on and more people
potential to, for noise complaints.
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I,
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I think they were setting him up for
like two years of construction where they
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were drilling an underground garage.
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Like literally stones throw six
feet away from the studio. Yeah.
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That's not gonna work.
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They, they didn't actually take my studio,
but the construction and everything.
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And we looked at the situation.
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It's funny 'cause it's act, the building
is actually still there. And like,
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there's this towering,
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gigantic six story complex.
So now you surround, now.
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You're out here off the grit.
It's kinda the opposite. Yeah.
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Yeah. I mean, that was tied
into this a little bit.
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We, we were coming down
here a lot to the desert,
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like when this whole gentrification
situation at my recording studio
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became app apparent.
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And we realized that if we cashed
in up in Portland and just sold
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everything, we could move
here and land was cheap here.
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And we could kind of like,
figure out a way to rebuild.
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Our friend Nacho was in our life. And
so it was really like the, the team,
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and not just Nacho,
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but everybody was in place
for us to kind of try to do
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something like this.
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And so once we had the realization
and we had the realization very
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quickly but once we had it,
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it became a thing that was hard
to turn away from, of like, well,
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if we don't try this, you know, we're
always gonna wonder about that..
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And so we did it.
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And, and now that you have your own
studio and you guys are the Kerns family,
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your own your own bands, so
you're recording your own music,
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but then you're also helping other folks
record and do the audio as well. Yeah.
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I, well, I got involved in this whole
business. I started as a musician.
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I got involved in recording just
'cause it was a a way to cut cost
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if I did it myself and that sort of thing.
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But as I was doing that other people
asked me to help them out and do things
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like that. And so over time
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I've been very fortunate and gotten to
work with a lot of really neat people.
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And obviously you're good at your craft
because you're out here off the grid.
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You're, you're not exactly. I
mean, it's beautiful, but it's not,
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it's a little bit outta the way.
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One of the hard things about being in a
city, so many people have access to you.
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And this is just from a
recording studio point of view,
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I found myself doing multiple
short sessions in a day,
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juggling so many songs in a week,
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like moving between projects so fast
that it was hard to keep track of
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everything that I needed to in my head.
Melodies, structures, things going on,
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moving out here as slimmed that down
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to where I'm, I'm generally working
on bigger blocks. I might still like,
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go through a week where each day
I work on something different. It.
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Becomes a destination
studio for many too. Sure.
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He retains a lot of his old clients.
Yeah. They're all his best studios.
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They're all still coming.
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So like everybody is curious about it
and they wanna come to the desert and
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like, you know, hang it kind of, you know,
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it kind of just becomes
this destination place.
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And the desert kind of like ends up
sneaking into some of these recordings.
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Right. and I would imagine
the desert also is in your,
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the music that you've
created together. Definitely.
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You have an album called
Together and Alone. Yes. Yeah.
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Now this came out just this year. Yeah.
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End of January, 2025.
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It came out and it's just
the two of us on the album.
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It was recorded here live. And
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we did some editing. I mean, you
know, I'm an audio engineer. Right.
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I did some editing and I, I used
some of like, I like analog delays.
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So I used an old tape echo
and a space echo excuse me,
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an old echo plex and a space echo
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for delays on the album,
that kind of thing.
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And together and Alone, those are two
words that meet the, meet in the opposite.
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Yeah. The, but it's it's
just the two of us..
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And that's it is the Point.
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And so it was I think the title
is exactly about what you said
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it was to contrast that.
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That you can be together
yet alone.. You know. So.
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What, what genre would you
describe your music as?
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We've been I've been using
the term Western folk..
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It kind of is traditional, but it has,
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it definitely has elements of like the
Old West and imagery of the desert..
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And the Old West. And we like to
watch a lot of Old Western movies do.
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.
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I needle my wife too because we
both handle the booking of the band.
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But she did a string of emails this
summer where she started using the Western
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Folk thing. Yeah.
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I don't even know if it's a real genre
what is, you know what I mean? Like.
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Yeah. Like what's a genre? I think
we're the only one in that genre so far,
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. But I mean, there's some other
people I think you can put in there.
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When I saw it, I thought
it was really neat. I.
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Thought it was the most accurate
thing. I used to describe it.
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I read about Gamblers, drifters,
and the Broken Hearted. Was that,
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was that your writing or did
somebody else a critic come up? Our.
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Friend Will Amato was
working on something,
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a project of his own where he needed
bios for a whole bunch of people that he
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was including in his project. It sort of,
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I believe his project is like
a capture of people that are
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out here in the desert
doing weird stuff like us
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artists and things like that. He
actually had AI write the Bio ,
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so I'm sure this is so funny
'cause I, when I saw that,
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I read that and I was like, that's
weird. It's pretty accurate.
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But is there a gambler on the album? Oh,
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Charlie's kind of a gambler.
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Tell us about that song. I,
we, we listened to that song.
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I tried to, on this album let things
really bubble up from my subconscious.
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And that particular song,
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the way it started out was a
couple lines I found in my own
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notebook, in my own handwriting that I
just, 'cause I collect things constantly.
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I hear something that I think
sounds interesting or cool,
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I'll write it down in my song notebook.
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And I went back to write this song
one to intentionally write a song one
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afternoon and but didn't really have any
ideas and went into the notebook to see
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what was there. And there were
a couple lines in it. One,
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I knew where it came from and I
knew I was making fun of myself.
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And then the other one,
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which is the one you just referenced
about you Can't Be Smart to Hang with
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Charlie .
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I don't know where that came from or where
I heard that it was just there and it
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was great 'cause Charlie's name was there.
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And I used that as the opening line.
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I just sat down and started
playing these chords.
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And the melody started to pop
reveal itself. Not all at once,
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but just like the first
line and where it was going.
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You can't be smart to hang with Charlie
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because Charlie always does for thinking
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his New Year's car needs an oil change.
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Tags expired two years ago. Today.
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You can't be straight to hang with Charlie
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because Charlie's always
high And Drinking.
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He's a good friend. He's always pouring
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even when it rains Up in Heaven.
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What usually comes first? Is it
the, is
it the, the melodies, the music or the,
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or the lyrics? Or is it kind
of combination back and forth?
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I think it's kind of a combination.
There's, they're all different,
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but I am possessed by melodies..
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There were a few times we were driving
around and I hear this like humming,
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you know, passenger seat and he's humming
something. I'm like, what is that?
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And he's like, I don't know, just,
I'm gonna get your phone out. Put the,
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you know, put the recorder on. And I'm
like, you know, let's record it and like,
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just have it, you know,
'cause it's gonna go away.
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So, and even without her
prodding, I mean, I do that too.
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And so we have a lot of these
things around. I often go back,
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like looking for a melody or looking in
my book for a line as someplace to start
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or both that kind of thing. We have
a lot of songs that that come around
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that way though. But, and she
does do a lot of prodding.
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We have another one
called, it's Brand New,
224
00:14:57,606 --> 00:15:02,485
called if a Cowboy Goes
To Heaven. And I just,
225
00:15:02,486 --> 00:15:03,185
like,
226
00:15:03,185 --> 00:15:08,005
we were getting set up at a gig and I
sat down and just played a run on my
227
00:15:08,006 --> 00:15:11,005
guitar. And she's like, what is
that? And I was like, I don't know.
228
00:15:11,006 --> 00:15:12,725
I'm recording it right now. just.
229
00:15:12,725 --> 00:15:13,325
Popped in my.
230
00:15:13,325 --> 00:15:16,525
Head. Yeah. And that, that
became the, the whole intro for
231
00:15:18,245 --> 00:15:20,285
that it didn't really pop
into my head. It, it, like,
232
00:15:20,445 --> 00:15:22,925
I don't feel like my head was
very involved in that one.
233
00:15:23,305 --> 00:15:25,205
My hands just sort of played it. Right.
234
00:15:25,605 --> 00:15:26,438
Interesting. Right.
235
00:15:26,686 --> 00:15:30,805
Does the Kerns family play just local or
you guys travel and you go on the road?
236
00:15:31,505 --> 00:15:34,245
We actually just came back
from a, a cross country tour.
237
00:15:35,315 --> 00:15:39,635
Yep. But we play a lot locally
today, but yeah. So yeah,
238
00:15:39,636 --> 00:15:41,195
we play a lot of gigs a year. We.
239
00:15:41,315 --> 00:15:42,595
Go on that one big one like once a year.
240
00:15:42,596 --> 00:15:44,875
And then we're working on
some small runs right now.
241
00:15:45,515 --> 00:15:47,035
How do you, how do you find your venues?
242
00:15:48,175 --> 00:15:50,355
You were the one who took
the lead on this? Well.
243
00:15:50,595 --> 00:15:53,115
We, we, we just started
using this database,
244
00:15:53,335 --> 00:15:57,755
online database called Indie on
the move that we book tours with.
245
00:15:57,865 --> 00:16:00,115
It's just a little helping
hand to guide us along.
246
00:16:00,615 --> 00:16:04,835
To research some venues and yeah. So the
Kerns family, we can't play everywhere.
247
00:16:04,865 --> 00:16:08,155
It's like a specific thing that we're
looking for. And it has to be kind of,
248
00:16:08,735 --> 00:16:12,395
you know, a smaller, intimate space.
It doesn't have to be a listening room,
249
00:16:12,415 --> 00:16:13,715
but it could be a bar. But
250
00:16:16,515 --> 00:16:19,395
the people are kind of there for the
music and not, you know, just the dance.
251
00:16:19,465 --> 00:16:19,955
They're.
252
00:16:19,955 --> 00:16:22,675
Coming to see the music not just
as background noise because.
253
00:16:22,775 --> 00:16:26,475
We play Western folk.
And people will make,
254
00:16:26,575 --> 00:16:30,955
mix that up with Western Swing or we'll
say, we'll play country thing. Yeah.
255
00:16:31,015 --> 00:16:32,595
And they'll think honky tonk. That's.
256
00:16:32,595 --> 00:16:33,635
Why I don't like to use country.
257
00:16:34,235 --> 00:16:37,315
Anymore. Sure. We're not exactly,
I mean, you can dance to us,
258
00:16:37,375 --> 00:16:41,525
but it's not exactly
you know, honky tonk or,
259
00:16:41,945 --> 00:16:46,525
or that kind of thing.. And
so it's really funny, we're,
260
00:16:46,575 --> 00:16:50,445
we're actually trying not to get caught
up in those clubs as we're booking
261
00:16:50,446 --> 00:16:55,005
things. But just the same, like, we do
really well with the punk rock crowd,
262
00:16:55,505 --> 00:16:58,125
so we'll like, look at a gig like
that and be like, Hey, we can,
263
00:16:58,185 --> 00:16:59,445
we could probably like, yeah.
264
00:16:59,585 --> 00:17:04,125
If they're willing to take a chance
on a really quiet act we can do that.
265
00:17:04,275 --> 00:17:05,108
That club.
266
00:17:05,345 --> 00:17:06,885
How many stops would you have on a tour?
267
00:17:08,035 --> 00:17:11,725
This one we had 10 total. One was, one
was a kickoff gig that was at home..
268
00:17:12,665 --> 00:17:14,925
And then there was nine on the road. Okay.
269
00:17:15,025 --> 00:17:17,365
So the kickoff gig, the folks
actually come here to the.
270
00:17:18,325 --> 00:17:19,125
No, no.
271
00:17:19,125 --> 00:17:20,484
It was in it. Joshua Tree.
272
00:17:20,635 --> 00:17:24,925
Yeah. A club in Yucca Valley called
Mojave Gold. Got for that one. Yeah.
273
00:17:25,295 --> 00:17:26,244
Great place. And then.
274
00:17:26,244 --> 00:17:27,325
You also have a radio show?
275
00:17:27,725 --> 00:17:28,205
I do.
276
00:17:28,205 --> 00:17:33,085
I am the host of the Z 1 0 7
7 local music showcase outta
277
00:17:33,086 --> 00:17:36,165
Joshua Tree, California . And
278
00:17:37,955 --> 00:17:40,244
yeah, every week I do two hours.
279
00:17:40,925 --> 00:17:45,805
I curate two hours of
music for
musicians that live out in this area.
280
00:17:47,625 --> 00:17:51,325
Or sometimes at least have a
lot to do with it. I, I played,
281
00:17:51,645 --> 00:17:56,525
I got an incredible song from
a band out of the UK this
282
00:17:56,526 --> 00:17:58,965
week called Flying Mojito Brothers.
283
00:17:59,625 --> 00:18:00,565
But .
284
00:18:01,425 --> 00:18:06,405
The vocalist on the track is Ken
Lane from Desert Oracle who lives
285
00:18:06,406 --> 00:18:10,645
here in Joshua Tree. And it's
just, oh my gosh. It's so good.
286
00:18:10,744 --> 00:18:15,045
And desert Oracle is also a
radio program and a podcast,
287
00:18:15,585 --> 00:18:18,845
and Ken just has a vibe. Does.
288
00:18:18,845 --> 00:18:23,005
Desert music have a sound to it? I know
Dwight Yoko's got his Bakersfield beat.
289
00:18:23,155 --> 00:18:23,635
Yeah.
290
00:18:23,635 --> 00:18:27,805
Bakersfield has a sound. But,
but, you know, sometimes, I mean,
291
00:18:28,885 --> 00:18:30,085
I don't know, at least for me,
292
00:18:30,115 --> 00:18:34,085
it's a pretty far stretch between Merle
Haggard and Buck Owens. Yeah. You know,
293
00:18:34,285 --> 00:18:35,565
I mean, there's a thing there, but.
294
00:18:36,625 --> 00:18:39,045
But there's a theme. There's
at least a theme. Yeah. I.
295
00:18:39,325 --> 00:18:42,285
Looking out here, I think, I think
with the desert, like on some level,
296
00:18:42,955 --> 00:18:46,165
like when you say desert music, and I
think to a lot of people in the world,
297
00:18:46,225 --> 00:18:50,365
it starts to refer to bands like Queens
of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death
298
00:18:50,605 --> 00:18:54,845
Metal. And it's a very narrow
thing.. Living out here
299
00:18:56,635 --> 00:19:00,565
it's a much broader thing because
there's a lot of singer songwriters.
300
00:19:01,485 --> 00:19:03,925
There's a lot of
experimental music people,
301
00:19:03,955 --> 00:19:08,645
there's a lot of experimental fog
machining scene. Yeah. There's, it's.
302
00:19:10,244 --> 00:19:10,655
There.
303
00:19:10,655 --> 00:19:14,195
Is something, but it's it
about the desert sound,
304
00:19:14,455 --> 00:19:18,035
but it's much more intangible
because it can be any genre.
305
00:19:18,655 --> 00:19:19,675
But there's something
306
00:19:21,505 --> 00:19:26,255
about living here where you're a
little untethered from the rest
307
00:19:26,315 --> 00:19:28,255
of society and that kind of thing.
308
00:19:28,256 --> 00:19:33,015
And that creeps into music in
a way as it does anybody's art.
309
00:19:33,095 --> 00:19:35,575
I mean, I see it in the
painters out here. Well, you're.
310
00:19:35,695 --> 00:19:37,935
Surrounded more by nature. I
mean, you see stars at night,
311
00:19:37,936 --> 00:19:41,375
you've got critters
walking by the house. Yeah.
312
00:19:41,835 --> 00:19:44,535
And, and, but that's not
necessarily like that.
313
00:19:44,536 --> 00:19:48,335
You could point to that and say everybody
has that. Right. 'cause I don't,
314
00:19:48,395 --> 00:19:51,335
but it, but it, it's a big part of it.
315
00:19:51,515 --> 00:19:55,135
And something about the solitude..
Being alone. Yeah. Yeah.
316
00:19:55,375 --> 00:19:56,975
Think thinking about quietness, we got.
317
00:19:57,285 --> 00:20:00,975
Yeah. My music got,
318
00:20:02,095 --> 00:20:02,415
I mean,
319
00:20:02,415 --> 00:20:06,855
I was never exactly like stupid loud
or heavy rock or anything like that,
320
00:20:06,955 --> 00:20:11,535
but everything got way quieter and more
321
00:20:11,565 --> 00:20:12,415
introspective
322
00:20:15,165 --> 00:20:18,385
and starker feeling living here.
323
00:20:19,145 --> 00:20:22,505
I could see why you wanted to get away
from the subway in Portland. .
324
00:20:22,785 --> 00:20:23,545
.
325
00:20:23,545 --> 00:20:28,385
I would assume that the local community
appreciates getting local music
326
00:20:29,325 --> 00:20:30,158
on the air.
327
00:20:30,545 --> 00:20:32,425
Oh man. I mean, I, yeah.
328
00:20:32,505 --> 00:20:35,505
I feel incredibly well loved
by the local and there's so.
329
00:20:35,505 --> 00:20:36,465
Much talent in this area.
330
00:20:37,045 --> 00:20:41,585
And I feel incredibly
fortunate to actually be the
person that gets to showcase
331
00:20:41,885 --> 00:20:46,545
all that amazing talent. 'cause
It's, it's stupid.. For how many,
332
00:20:47,065 --> 00:20:50,285
the number of people who live out
here, the, the amount of quality
333
00:20:53,555 --> 00:20:56,765
artists, musicians, every, it is just,
334
00:20:57,234 --> 00:21:00,565
it's a big percentage of the
population. Yeah. It feels like it,
335
00:21:00,566 --> 00:21:04,885
it's not everybody. We have everybody
here. Right. But it's really,
336
00:21:05,484 --> 00:21:09,885
it kind of amazes me to be
the guy. Like first like,
337
00:21:10,125 --> 00:21:14,965
I guess the often the way the process
works is they hear my voice on the radio.
338
00:21:15,265 --> 00:21:18,445
And at some point in the show I, I'm like,
339
00:21:19,835 --> 00:21:23,205
give my email address, you know,
and say, if you're a local musician,
340
00:21:23,265 --> 00:21:26,605
get a hold of me. And so I, I
start getting emails from people.
341
00:21:27,515 --> 00:21:30,685
I've met so many people
that live here locally.
342
00:21:30,905 --> 00:21:34,405
The first time I met 'em was by
getting an email of like, Hey, like,
343
00:21:35,045 --> 00:21:39,405
I live in Joshua Tree, or I live in
29 Palms or Wonder Valley or wherever,
344
00:21:40,335 --> 00:21:41,168
and
345
00:21:43,015 --> 00:21:47,155
here's my music and here's a little bit
about myself. I moved here, whatever,
346
00:21:47,775 --> 00:21:50,475
six months ago, two
years ago, 10 years ago,
347
00:21:50,915 --> 00:21:53,155
whatever the thing is to get,
348
00:21:53,156 --> 00:21:57,915
to be the person that gets to share
the thing they're sharing with me.
349
00:21:58,295 --> 00:22:02,875
And music is a very personal thing..
It's just really fortunate. And
then,
350
00:22:03,335 --> 00:22:06,195
you know, everybody gets a thrill
outta hearing themselves on the radio.
351
00:22:07,055 --> 00:22:08,555
And later on it's, you know,
352
00:22:08,556 --> 00:22:11,675
oftentimes I might be playing a show
out at the Palms in Wonder Valley,
353
00:22:11,895 --> 00:22:14,555
and those folks might come and say hello.
354
00:22:15,295 --> 00:22:18,155
And you get to soon be friends
with them and the community.
355
00:22:18,435 --> 00:22:23,435
'cause Community's not very
big. Right. And it's really
356
00:22:26,005 --> 00:22:29,225
an amazing spiderweb
of things that happens.
357
00:22:29,445 --> 00:22:34,385
And one of the things I guess I try
to do with the show through that
358
00:22:34,455 --> 00:22:39,055
spiderweb, is I try to rub
people up on each other.
359
00:22:39,355 --> 00:22:42,935
So sometimes, like, I don't
always do it this way,
360
00:22:43,715 --> 00:22:44,655
but sometimes, like,
361
00:22:44,675 --> 00:22:48,895
if I think two artists should maybe
hear each other or whatever, like,
362
00:22:48,896 --> 00:22:52,015
I'll put 'em next to each
other and then talk about it.
363
00:22:53,035 --> 00:22:56,135
One of the guys on your
crew is Gerald Emrich.
364
00:22:56,515 --> 00:23:01,375
And there was this guy whose music
I thought Gerald would like named
365
00:23:01,376 --> 00:23:03,855
Peter Fay, who I was
playing on my show, .
366
00:23:03,915 --> 00:23:06,855
And so I tied all that together
and it was hilarious getting,
367
00:23:06,975 --> 00:23:11,455
I got a phone call from Gerald this week,
and he's like, Hey Peter, miss Peter.
368
00:23:11,645 --> 00:23:15,015
Yeah. He didn't meet Peter, but he
wanted to talk about it. Peter's,
369
00:23:15,285 --> 00:23:19,734
Peter's a tough guy, does
tracked out. He's but if you can,
370
00:23:19,925 --> 00:23:23,535
it's go see that guy play live. I think
he's something real special. Awesome.
371
00:23:23,795 --> 00:23:27,535
And we wanna hear something special
ourselves. Will you guys play for us? Yes,
372
00:23:27,815 --> 00:23:28,855
sir. Awesome. Two,
373
00:24:04,675 --> 00:24:06,045
When I was younger,
374
00:24:08,385 --> 00:24:09,925
my mind was sharp.
375
00:24:12,065 --> 00:24:14,965
The paint wasn't peeling and
376
00:24:16,525 --> 00:24:17,358
love and heart.
377
00:24:19,385 --> 00:24:22,125
Now the dust keeps creeping in
378
00:24:24,885 --> 00:24:25,718
the corner.
379
00:24:42,585 --> 00:24:46,525
In the album. There's a, a painting
at the bottom. Yes. Is this,
380
00:24:46,705 --> 00:24:49,805
is this your work? I noticed there's,
it is artwork. It allows the studio.
381
00:24:50,355 --> 00:24:54,165
Yeah, it is. I'm a visual artist
like an expressionist painter..
382
00:24:54,565 --> 00:24:55,385
I guess I would call it.
383
00:24:55,385 --> 00:24:57,445
And that's a painting called
Somewhere in the Southwest.
384
00:24:58,225 --> 00:25:01,045
And I saw a buffalo and an owl, and.
385
00:25:01,565 --> 00:25:05,605
I use a lot of animal imagery.
They're like big splashy paintings.
386
00:25:05,955 --> 00:25:09,405
Have you always been a painter? Yeah,
I've always been a painter. Okay.
387
00:25:09,455 --> 00:25:13,565
Since a young child. I, I was an artist,
like, everybody kind of like, oh,
388
00:25:13,566 --> 00:25:17,925
she's the artist of the family. So I
kind of just grew up with that label.
389
00:25:18,075 --> 00:25:19,045
Pick up a brush and.
390
00:25:19,155 --> 00:25:22,285
Yeah. Pick up a brush. And I
went to art school. You did?
391
00:25:22,625 --> 00:25:25,484
And yeah, I just took a painting
392
00:25:27,075 --> 00:25:28,165
kind of post art school.
393
00:25:29,025 --> 00:25:31,925
And I started out a little more realistic
and it kind of just got a little more
394
00:25:32,165 --> 00:25:34,125
abstract as I guess many artists do..
395
00:25:35,566 --> 00:25:37,525
Do you showcase your, your.
396
00:25:37,585 --> 00:25:41,605
Art? I do, I do. Shows mostly
local at this point.. I mean,
397
00:25:41,805 --> 00:25:43,285
I would like to branch out at some point,
398
00:25:43,305 --> 00:25:47,965
but my biggest show is it's called the
Highway 62 o Open Studio Art Tours..
399
00:25:48,465 --> 00:25:52,645
And that takes place the first three weeks
of October 1st, three weekends. Okay.
400
00:25:52,744 --> 00:25:56,725
And it's a open studio tour where
people drive around and you get a map.
401
00:25:56,865 --> 00:26:01,565
And there's like maybe a hundred artists
about that participate. Oh, really?
402
00:26:01,905 --> 00:26:04,885
And it's all throughout the Morga
Basin. There's some amazing artists. Do.
403
00:26:04,885 --> 00:26:05,845
They come here then?
404
00:26:06,355 --> 00:26:10,165
Well, I do it at another
studio. Okay. With a group.
405
00:26:10,265 --> 00:26:13,965
So there's five of us that do it.
Five artists. I create my art here..
406
00:26:14,286 --> 00:26:19,005
But I kind of create it. I'm, I paint
open air. So I, I paint outside..
407
00:26:19,525 --> 00:26:23,125
I get real splashy. And it's not
very glamorous. .
408
00:26:23,665 --> 00:26:27,005
Nobody wants to see that studio.
And maybe they do, but like, and.
409
00:26:27,005 --> 00:26:29,285
If you, you looked at the map, like last,
410
00:26:29,605 --> 00:26:34,365
I think last year we weren't even where
we live wasn't even on the map. Okay.
411
00:26:34,535 --> 00:26:38,805
We're so far out. Right. so to make
it easier for people to get there,
412
00:26:39,015 --> 00:26:41,965
she's buddied up with some friends
that are closer to town. Gotcha.
413
00:26:42,405 --> 00:26:44,244
. Yeah. It's kinda like
a scavenger hunt where you,
414
00:26:44,805 --> 00:26:47,365
and we decide where you're gonna go and
which artists you're gonna see. And.
415
00:26:47,555 --> 00:26:50,325
Yeah. And it's actually, they have a
catalog, so you could kind of like,
416
00:26:50,805 --> 00:26:55,365
plan out your route. And actually Pat's
play there a couple times. Yeah. it's,
417
00:26:55,395 -->
00:26:56,228
it's a party.
418
00:26:56,555 --> 00:26:58,325
Yeah. It's just kind of a hang it's party.
419
00:26:58,765 --> 00:27:03,725
I'll often have my guitar there and
my singer songwriter friends who show
420
00:27:03,726 --> 00:27:03,965
up.
421
00:27:03,965 --> 00:27:07,365
I encourage them to bring their instrument
and we'll just kind of hang out and
422
00:27:07,366 --> 00:27:12,175
play while people are buying
art and doing things. Very cool.
423
00:27:12,515 --> 00:27:15,015
And you're the, you're the
standup bass player? I am.
424
00:27:15,335 --> 00:27:16,695
And you also play the electric bass? I do.
425
00:27:17,275 --> 00:27:19,665
Do you have a preference or
do you like 'em both. Ah.
426
00:27:20,345 --> 00:27:24,375
Yeah. I get in trouble for my other band
mates, but I do like the standup bass.
427
00:27:24,895 --> 00:27:25,595
Really.
428
00:27:25,595 --> 00:27:27,494
And when did you pick up that instrument?
429
00:27:28,175 --> 00:27:31,605
Probably when I was around
third, early thirties.
430
00:27:32,125 --> 00:27:35,645
I played guitar when I was a teenager.
So I put it down for a long time.
431
00:27:35,665 --> 00:27:39,405
And then I just hung out with a
lot of musicians and, you know,
432
00:27:40,825 --> 00:27:41,915
late twenties, early thirties,
433
00:27:42,035 --> 00:27:46,305
I picked up the electric
base and started playing that
434
00:27:46,845 --> 00:27:50,415
and after a while, picked
up the upright base.
435
00:27:51,755 --> 00:27:56,175
And it was through a project that I was
in that was like a chamber pop thing
436
00:27:56,176 --> 00:28:00,335
when that was popular.. People
were using a lot of strings Right.
437
00:28:00,395 --> 00:28:04,575
And indie music. Right. and I
just thought it would be fun..
438
00:28:05,016 --> 00:28:07,775
And I bought like a play upright
bass, which I still have now.
439
00:28:09,025 --> 00:28:12,965
And I started playing that. And it was
I just really, I, I liked it a lot. And,
440
00:28:12,984 --> 00:28:14,244
but it was hard to find after,
441
00:28:14,295 --> 00:28:17,285
after that kind of passed
and I'm moved to Portland,
442
00:28:17,345 --> 00:28:20,125
it was really hard to find projects
where people were using the upright base.
443
00:28:20,285 --> 00:28:25,005
I was kind of in a rock and roll group
of like a scene of people. Right, right.
444
00:28:25,105 --> 00:28:29,125
You know, nobody really wanted the
upright base band, but Yeah. Yeah.
445
00:28:29,185 --> 00:28:32,005
One thing led to another, I guess I'm
kind of jumping ahead a little bit, but.
446
00:28:33,055 --> 00:28:33,888
How did you guys come?
447
00:28:34,075 --> 00:28:34,915
I started playing play together.
448
00:28:35,925 --> 00:28:39,545
We started playing together.
I had a group of songs.
449
00:28:39,705 --> 00:28:41,105
I was always in rock and roll bands,
450
00:28:41,106 --> 00:28:43,625
but I had this group of songs
I didn't know what to do with,
451
00:28:43,626 --> 00:28:45,465
they weren't Right for
the Rock and Roll Band.
452
00:28:46,865 --> 00:28:49,045
And I asked my friend Greg Odell,
453
00:28:49,055 --> 00:28:53,485
who's a drummer what I should do
with them. And he was like, well
454
00:28:55,835 --> 00:28:58,935
we should treat 'em kind of
like jazz songs or whatever.
455
00:28:58,965 --> 00:29:00,615
I'll get this jazz kit with
456
00:29:02,175 --> 00:29:06,535
Hyde drum heads and we'll play Real Soft.
457
00:29:06,675 --> 00:29:09,055
And he wanted to get
our friend Alan Hunter,
458
00:29:09,235 --> 00:29:13,615
who plays bass for the eels on and off
to play upright bass in the project.
459
00:29:13,795 --> 00:29:17,935
But Alan was busy for the next six to
eight months. . And so Greg,
460
00:29:18,235 --> 00:29:21,015
he was like, what about Susan?
And I was like, oh, like.
461
00:29:21,715 --> 00:29:23,055
Oh. He was like, no, no, no.
462
00:29:23,535 --> 00:29:24,368
.
463
00:29:24,685 --> 00:29:25,655
Well, she, we had.
464
00:29:26,215 --> 00:29:29,695
This bass in our living room, her upright
bass, but, but it was never played.
465
00:29:30,575 --> 00:29:33,495
And I said, she never plays that
thing. Greg's like, before that.
466
00:29:33,635 --> 00:29:37,095
We just practiced play together. He had
his, like, we were both in bands Yeah.
467
00:29:37,155 --> 00:29:39,695
In Portland. Like, I had my
thing and he had his and,
468
00:29:40,195 --> 00:29:41,645
we went to each other's shows. Yeah.
469
00:29:41,665 --> 00:29:44,605
We played together a little bit
on some one-off things. Yeah.
470
00:29:45,045 --> 00:29:46,805
But never anything like beyond that.
471
00:29:47,025 --> 00:29:51,085
But Greg got us practicing regularly
two or three days a week, .
472
00:29:51,385 --> 00:29:56,125
And after about eight weeks of
doing that, we, we cut four or five,
473
00:29:56,225 --> 00:29:57,365
six songs in the studio.
474
00:29:58,495 --> 00:30:01,915
And we've been playing
together ever since.
475
00:30:02,995 --> 00:30:05,375
And you guys have a practice
routine, as I understand it. You,
476
00:30:05,475 --> 00:30:09,535
you make sure that you do a certain
number of songs every day or every week,
477
00:30:09,565 --> 00:30:13,495
just so you're, you know Yeah. You've
been up on your, on your skills. Yeah.
478
00:30:13,495 --> 00:30:14,535
We play almost every day.
479
00:30:14,935 --> 00:30:17,615
Yeah. We try to play a
half dozen songs every day.
480
00:30:18,485 --> 00:30:22,335
It's not really about the number of
songs we're playing so much as like,
481
00:30:22,825 --> 00:30:27,475
putting the time in. So if we decide to
just work on something for a long dime,
482
00:30:27,476 --> 00:30:30,825
we'll do that. But it's,
483
00:30:30,855 --> 00:30:33,505
it's about just getting down
here and playing every day. And,
484
00:30:33,565 --> 00:30:37,385
and doing that kind of thing.
It's made it really fun
485
00:30:38,905 --> 00:30:40,945
to do it every day. I, I can't believe it.
486
00:30:42,015 --> 00:30:45,625
It's always more meaningful
when your, you know, job is fun.
487
00:30:46,205 --> 00:30:49,425
As cowboy Jack Clements says,
we are in the fun business.
488
00:30:49,485 --> 00:30:53,385
If you're not having fun, we, you
know, we shouldn't doing this my.
489
00:30:53,505 --> 00:30:58,145
Own. I used to play with some band mate.
Band mate in Portland that used to say,
490
00:30:58,146 --> 00:31:00,905
they don't call. It's not, it's called
playing. It's not called working.
491
00:31:01,425 --> 00:31:03,505
It's called playing for a
reason. Yeah. It should be fun.
492
00:31:04,045 --> 00:31:06,025
So Kearns family, pat and Susan,
493
00:31:06,026 --> 00:31:08,745
thank you so much for being
our guest on the road. Thanks.
494
00:31:08,745 --> 00:31:09,545
For having us. Thank.
495
00:31:09,545 --> 00:31:13,225
You. Absolutely. And we wanna
thank our sponsor, Opus Escrow.
496
00:31:13,685 --> 00:31:16,265
Be sure to tune in next
time for On the Road.