Full Transcript for Figure Eights (A Music Podcast) Episode 76 w_ Peter Jesperson (former Manager of the Replacements, Author, A&R, DJ, Music Appreciator)

probably. 39 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:17.319 Yeah. 40 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:21.960 Yeah, Yeah, how you been I've been good. I've been good. Yeah. 41 00:02:22.039 --> 00:02:24.520 We're actually getting some warm weather. It's been cold here, 42 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:28.840 dipping down into the forties at night, which you know, 43 00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:31.159 I know for Minnesota that doesn't mean anything, but uh, 44 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:35.879 we're there. But I'm I'm avid bicycle rider. In the morning, 45 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:38.240 I do an early morning bike ride, and when it's 46 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:40.639 in the four when it gets below fifty, I don't 47 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:43.319 go out because it's just a little bit too much. 48 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:47.719 And so anyway, I missed my bike rides. But but 49 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:49.039 Sey LEVI you know I do. 50 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:54.360 Yeah. It's uh, it's funny because and you'll remember this, 51 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:57.000 but like you look out the window and it's like 52 00:02:57.199 --> 00:02:59.919 sunny and it looks beautiful, but it's thirty five. Yeah, 53 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:03.520 it tricks you when you walk outside and you're like, oh, 54 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:04.319 I guess it's cold. 55 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:08.360 Yeah. I was checking out some of your other podcasts. 56 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:10.199 You really do a good job, I got to say. 57 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:13.639 And the Brian Paulson one was really interesting to listen to. 58 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:17.240 And I actually hadn't talked to him in years and 59 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:20.759 I saw him. God, when was it. It would have 60 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:26.919 been I guess last last June doing some book stuff 61 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:29.800 down in North Carolina and he came to the Chapel 62 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:32.319 Hill thing that we did with which was it was 63 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:35.199 a fun when Tommy Stinson was with me and John 64 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:39.919 John Worcester moderated. So you know Worcester is of course 65 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:44.960 just such a you know, just bright light in music. 66 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:47.319 You know, he's such a fan and such a great 67 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:50.479 drummer and plays with all kinds of interesting people. 68 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:53.240 Yeah. I enjoyed talking to him. He was a blast. 69 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:57.240 Yeah, I've got I've got your podcast with him queued 70 00:03:57.280 --> 00:03:57.560 up too. 71 00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:00.840 Nice. Yeah, he's he's a riot and I liked Brian. 72 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:03.400 I never met Brian before, so that was enjoyable to 73 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:04.919 get to know him a little bit. But this has 74 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:07.639 been fun. I started doing it during COVID when there 75 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:11.080 was literally nothing going on, which is probably the best 76 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:13.360 time to do it because there was so much availability 77 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:15.439 by people. So I was just one after another, you know, 78 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:17.680 Jody Stevens, different people, and I'm like, Wow, this is 79 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:22.000 going well. I'm getting great guests and it's done pretty 80 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:25.040 well for what it is, so that's great. 81 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:28.000 You know, one other little thing that pops into my 82 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:31.480 head sort of personal, but I think you'll relate or 83 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:35.680 understand the thing about cats. I got those those two 84 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:41.120 siblings in September of twenty nineteen, and Terry Katzman was 85 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:44.480 out visiting here in November and passed away here at 86 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:44.879 our house. 87 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:45.680 And that's right. 88 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:49.079 And I believe that the cats were cuddled up with 89 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:50.120 him when he passed away. 90 00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:52.079 That's nice. 91 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:54.800 I had gone into our guest room to see how 92 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:56.839 he was doing. He hadn't been feeling well and just 93 00:04:56.879 --> 00:04:58.519 said he wanted to lay down for a bit and 94 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:02.920 and I went in to say, you know, how are 95 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:04.720 you feeling and he said, I'm fine. I said, oh, 96 00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:06.360 let me get those cats out here, and he said, 97 00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:09.279 oh no, I really like having them here. And they 98 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:12.959 were just kids of course at the time. Yeah, And 99 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:14.560 so I left him in there, and I mean, I 100 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:18.079 don't know, you know, I don't know exactly what that means, 101 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:20.000 but I just think it might, you know, there might 102 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:23.879 have been something comforting if he was you know, scared 103 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:28.839 there as you know, his body was doing whatever it 104 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:32.639 was doing, and so maybe if they comforted him, that 105 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:36.839 just kind of you know, that's a touching story. 106 00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:41.639 And yeah, yeah, and it's you know, obviously traumatic, but 107 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:44.160 kind of something kind of sweet too about you know, 108 00:05:44.279 --> 00:05:48.079 old friends being together at the end too. So yeah, 109 00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:50.800 I know a lot of people around here were pretty devastated. 110 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:52.560 I think I only met him a couple of times. 111 00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:56.360 I think he was working at High Fi John Clifford 112 00:05:56.399 --> 00:05:57.920 for a while, so I would see him in there 113 00:05:58.199 --> 00:05:58.839 on

occasion. 114 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:02.560 But yeah, Hey, what's the big Star forty five you 115 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:03.240 have behind you? 116 00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:08.839 Oh it's some weird bootleg Live nineteen seventy four, New York. 117 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:13.000 It does not sound great. The recording's pretty rough, but 118 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:15.480 I stumbled on it and I'm like, well, that's kind 119 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:17.160 of a cool thing that I've never seen anywhere. 120 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:20.560 Yeah, that's I have never I don't have that I have, 121 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:23.000 you know, I'm such a magnet for all the big 122 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:24.680 star stuff. But of course it was seventy four, it 123 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:29.279 wouldn't have had that lineup. That's great, right, but still yeah, yeah, 124 00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:34.639 I can't. It's at that Hempstead Long Island Recordings where. 125 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:37.199 I think I got it in. I believe it was 126 00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:42.319 in Hopkins, like an antique store. I'm like, that's yeah, wow. Yeah, 127 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:44.639 it just says live from New York. It doesn't live 128 00:06:44.759 --> 00:06:46.439 in New York. It doesn't say where it was. 129 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:51.519 Yeah, I think does it have like Motel blues on it? 130 00:06:53.800 --> 00:06:56.720 September Girls Way Out West Mode laying Don't Lie to 131 00:06:56.800 --> 00:06:59.839 Me on My Soul Ballot of good O thirteen, I'm 132 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:01.360 in love with a girl in the street. You get 133 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:03.759 what you deserve Daisy glaze back of a car and 134 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:04.360 she's a mover. 135 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:05.319 Huh. 136 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:07.480 I have pectured in Europe. 137 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:09.560 Huh. Interesting. 138 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:12.600 Yeah, the recording quality isn't great, but I was like, well, 139 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:15.519 that's it was worth the risk because it's kind of 140 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:19.160 a cool thing that I've never seen around anywhere, so right, yeah, 141 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:21.639 and before or after I still haven't seen it, so 142 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:24.199 I don't know. It says made in Europe, so I 143 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:27.560 wonder if somebody brought it to some because you figure 144 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:28.720 you'd run into it somewhere. 145 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:34.480 Well, you know, sometimes people put that put that you know, 146 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:37.759 made in Europe just to try to fool the you know, 147 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:39.839 authorities in America or whatever. 148 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:44.279 That's true, so they don't go after them very likely. Yeah, 149 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:48.800 So your room there looks amazing. Oh you are those 150 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:51.560 all music books or a little bit of everything.

151 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:56.240 Well, I kind of read. I'm a reader, so there's 152 00:07:56.360 --> 00:07:58.560 other stuff in here, but the but the non music 153 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:03.800 books I tend not to keep. I recycle or or 154 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:06.839 there's a really great used bookstore down the street where 155 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:09.279 I can you know, trade them in and that sort 156 00:08:09.319 --> 00:08:11.759 of stuff. The music books I keep, so yeah, most 157 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:13.879 of them, most of them that you see our music books. 158 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:16.639 And I'm completely out of space. I've got records all 159 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:18.480 over the floor now because I don't have room for 160 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:22.360 to file my vinyl and we're about to right outside 161 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:26.120 this behind me there there's a doorway that goes into 162 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:29.000 a dining room. And there's some wall space right behind 163 00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:31.759 the door that I convinced my wife and I'm going 164 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:33.399 to have a couple of record racks built to fit 165 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:37.240 that space and hopefully relieve some of the some of 166 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:39.720 the glut. But we like we you know, we we 167 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:42.679 don't necessarily like, but we we we live in clutter, 168 00:08:42.759 --> 00:08:43.720 and we like it that way. 169 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:46.480 I guess, yeah, Well, it's funny because I've got I 170 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:48.759 do the same thing. I keep my music books and 171 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:51.320 I have some down here and some upstairs, and the 172 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:56.240 records too, I have some upstairs. So I've been given 173 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:58.919 an amount of space upstairs where i can have that 174 00:08:59.000 --> 00:08:59.879 stuff in the rest. 175 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:02.480 Right. 176 00:09:02.919 --> 00:09:03.159 Yeah. 177 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:07.120 I remember moving in with a girl who I won't mention. 178 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:10.879 You may know her that I was dating so many 179 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:15.039 years ago, And as we were moving in, I remember 180 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:16.840 her saying I don't want my living room to look 181 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:19.879 like a record store. And I thought, oh, this isn't. 182 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:23.720 Going to go. Well, you know, sounds like you got 183 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:25.279 a deadline on that relationship. 184 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:28.039 That was very much so I should have I should 185 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:29.559 have write then, I should have said, you know what, 186 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:31.639 I'm going to just not move my stuff in. I'll 187 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:32.919 gout check with you later. 188 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:36.879 That's hilarious, hilarious. So what have you been working on

lately? 189 00:09:36.919 --> 00:09:38.360 You've You've got the book, and I want to go 190 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:41.320 I want to go back for sure, coming to the beginning. 191 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:44.679 But I you know, your book came out euphoric recall 192 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:47.960 that a year or two now, I can't keep. 193 00:09:47.799 --> 00:09:50.840 It came out November of twenty twenty three, so a 194 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:51.679 year and a half or so. 195 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:55.080 Yeah, that was quick. Yeah, And how's up being going? 196 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:57.480 Are you still doing events around or what? I know 197 00:09:57.559 --> 00:09:59.960 you have mentioned with Tommy and some other thing. 198 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:05.120 Yeah, I am, I mean, you know, it's uh, it's 199 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:08.840 it's uh. You know, I was with a small publisher, 200 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:11.759 Minnesota Historical Society Press, and they were, you know, they 201 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:14.639 were really nice people, but they weren't super music savvy, 202 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:16.840 and so they didn't they weren't able to really do 203 00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:20.960 a whole lot to help me get book events or 204 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:23.639 to promote the book events. And you know, I understood that, 205 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:26.919 and I hired an outside publicist of my own. I 206 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:28.919 actually had one at the beginning, and then another one 207 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:31.120 after the contract for the first one ran out, and 208 00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:35.679 and I had two really great publicists, Jim Merlis from 209 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:43.240 Big Hassle Media, and and then Josh Mills who has 210 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:46.120 It's a live media here in LA and they did 211 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:47.840 a really good job. But I set all that stuff 212 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:50.519 up myself, and again with a small publisher. They didn't 213 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:52.919 pay for my travel except to come to Minnesota to 214 00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:55.759 do you know, a couple of things that or that 215 00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:59.080 week of the book release, and so you know, I 216 00:10:59.159 --> 00:11:02.080 had to be cautious and spend my money carefully and 217 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:06.000 try to What I tried to do is book you know, 218 00:11:06.120 --> 00:11:08.000 find an anchor date and then book a couple of 219 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:12.000 other cities nearby so that I could only you know, 220 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:14.320 it would only be one plane ticket and rent a card, 221 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:18.000 you know whatever. And so so yeah, I've done twenty 222 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:22.919 of them so far, eighteen cities, two in LA and 223 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:26.440 two in Minneapolis. And then but I have offers to 224 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:29.039 do other things and it's just hard for me to 225 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:32.200 line them up like I could do Grimys in Nashville. 226 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:35.639 They've been gracious in saying anytime you you know, can 227 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:38.279 come down, we'd like to host you. And there's a 228 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:40.519 couple other places like that. There's I still haven't done 229 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:43.440 Boston proper, for instance, and that was a you know 230 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:45.200 town I spent a lot of time in in early 231 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:49.480 replacements days, and so we'll see where it goes now. 232 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:52.960 But I'm actually in the process of I believe I'm 233 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:57.039 going to do something in London next month, so that'll 234 00:11:57.120 --> 00:11:58.919 be really fun. At the I think they call it. 235 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:01.000 Let me just look here real quick. 236 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:03.639 It's the. 237 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:12.279 Oh Far Sight Gallery and they are it's a music 238 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:18.440 centric place. And Alan Jones, I'm really happy to say 239 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:21.000 Alan Jones, the old editor of Melody Maker and the 240 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:24.000 guy who founded on Cut magazine, is going to moderate 241 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:26.080 and he's helping me set it up. He liked my book, 242 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:29.440 and I've read his books and so we've we've I've 243 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:30.960 been in touch with him a little bit in the past, 244 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:33.759 but mostly since my book came out and his most 245 00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:36.919 recent book came out. So that's really I'm excited about that, 246 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:42.320 of course, And and then we'll see what else happens. 247 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:46.159 I mean, I'm open. I'll go wherever somebody will have 248 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:48.399 me if if it's affordable, you know, if I can 249 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:49.639 make it work financially. 250 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:53.080 No, no, I get that from me. You know. Being 251 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:54.879 in a band standpoint, we kind of do the same 252 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:57.480 thing where we're like, all right, we're gonna go here. 253 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:02.000 That that show pays pretty well. Try to find something 254 00:13:02.039 --> 00:13:04.519 around it to make it worth our while and you know, 255 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:05.960 see what we can do with it. 256 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:08.759 But uh, yeah, I have no I have no illusions. 257 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:10.360 I mean, I'm I it's a it's a it's not 258 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:11.919 a you know, never, it's not going to be a 259 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:15.720 New York Times bestseller anytime soon. But I I'm proud 260 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:18.639 of you know. Uh. Of course, there's a million things 261 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:21.440 I wish I could change now or fix

or add 262 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:26.159 or me but but I'm pretty happy with how it 263 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:29.200 turned out. And and so uh for me, it's all gravy. 264 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:32.000 It's a win win situation because I it was it 265 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:36.559 was a you know, slightly torturous, but generally speaking, fun 266 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:39.720 project to do. And and I got to really stretch 267 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:42.879 out and I said, I didn't want to try to 268 00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:44.679 write a book unless I could just clear my desk 269 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:46.360 and not you know, I wanted to be a full 270 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:48.159 time writer. And so that's what I did for a 271 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:50.600 couple of years. And yeah, it was really fun. I 272 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:53.039 mean just to wake up in the morning, I've opened 273 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:54.639 my eyes and I couldn't wait to get back here 274 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:57.440 to sit down to start working. And sometimes it was 275 00:13:58.039 --> 00:14:00.799 you know, a couple hours of being able to form 276 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:02.759 a decent sentence. In other days that it'd be, you know, 277 00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:06.120 twelve hours of just zooming and just throwing it out 278 00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:07.279 there and then editing later. 279 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:13.440 Yeah, it sounds a lot like writing music. Faucets on 280 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:16.120 and some days it's like, oof, this is not working. 281 00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:18.240 Do you know Ted nicely at all? 282 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:20.600 Well? I know him from Tommy Keane, I see, you 283 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:23.879 got to tell you good there. I don't know him well, 284 00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:27.039 but my wife and Tommy were very close, and so 285 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:30.279 she knew him. They both she and Tommy lived in 286 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:32.519 the DC area for a while. They got to know 287 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:34.600 each other there, and then Tommy moved to LA around 288 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:37.480 the same time my wife did, and so they stayed 289 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:40.440 friends throughout that whole time. And I got the benefit 290 00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:43.120 of their friendship and got to know Tommy pretty well too. 291 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:44.720 And through Tommy Ted. 292 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:47.840 Why do you ask, Oh, he's a riot, that guy, 293 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:50.320 so I first met him. I don't know if you 294 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:52.679 listened to that podcast, but I had kind of a 295 00:14:52.919 --> 00:14:56.879 Tommy Bandmates and Friends episode. 296 00:14:57.399 --> 00:14:59.240 I haven't And that's another one that I'd like to 297 00:14:59.600 --> 00:14:59.919 listen to. 298 00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:02.960 I think you'll enjoy it because there's some there's some 299 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:05.039 laughs and

some tears and all the whole the whole 300 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:08.519 thing is there, and you know, people were talking about 301 00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:12.200 his competitive nature when it came to board games. Oh 302 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:16.080 so it was really fun. But Ted was on there, 303 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:17.559 so I got to know Ted a little bit through that. 304 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:19.799 And then I did a separate episode with just Ted 305 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:22.919 talking about you know, Fougazi and all the stuff that 306 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:25.799 he worked on over the years. And he actually asked 307 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:28.080 me to help him write a book, which I might 308 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:31.159 never That was something that never crossed my mind and 309 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:33.399 that we'll see whatever happens if we ever get around 310 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:37.919 to it. But yeah, it's it sounds kind of daunting 311 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:40.120 but kind of fun at the same time. 312 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:44.519 Yeah, I have a funny Tommy Keane a competitive game 313 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:50.159 story with my my son. We joke about it. He 314 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:52.600 grew up with two uncle Tommy's, you know, Tommy Stinton 315 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:56.159 and Tommy Keane and and As and Tommy. Yeah, he 316 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:58.200 would come over and we'd play board games all the time. 317 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:00.879 He was a real be Probably in you in your 318 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:03.480 talk with the band guys, you probably know he was 319 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:05.039 a huge fan of the game Clue. 320 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:08.240 And I don't know if they mentioned Clue, oh Clue. 321 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:10.159 He was just that so that was his favorite game, 322 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:11.679 and so we used to play that all the time. 323 00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:14.440 And my son, you know, was when he got old enough. 324 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:18.039 He might have been maybe eleven, maybe twelve at the time, 325 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:21.840 and he beat Tommy and it was really he won 326 00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:25.279 the game of all four of us playing, and I remember, 327 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:27.759 you know, Tommy was like he didn't know how to 328 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:30.039 react because he knew that it was childish to be 329 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:32.799 mad at an eleven year old. But on the other hand, 330 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:35.879 he was mad, you know, So it was it was 331 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:37.120 it was quite funny. 332 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:41.240 Yeah, I think Maddie. Maddie was talking about some game 333 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:43.080 they would play. He's like, which we started to call 334 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:47.039 hurt feelings that money. I was got hurt feelings whenever 335 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:49.840 we played it. That's funny. I think you'll enjoy it.

336 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:52.600 Tommy was such a great guy. We would we would 337 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:54.200 open for him when he would come to town, and 338 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:57.759 it's it's just the thing that about him that kind 339 00:16:57.799 --> 00:17:00.480 of amazed me is obviously he'd been playing music for years, 340 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:03.639 traveling all over the place, and you just could see it. 341 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:06.240 He would walk into whatever venue he's playing in and 342 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:09.279 someone would walk up to him and he would be like, hey, Phil, Hey, 343 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:11.559 you hey, Like he just knew everybody in the room, 344 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:14.200 remember their names. I'm like, I can't remember who I 345 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:16.359 met yesterday, and I'm just like, I was just blown 346 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:20.279 away by just how that stuck. And you know, it's 347 00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:24.079 a great thing to have, you know, network and build 348 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:26.160 and get to know people. But he, you know, anybody 349 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:27.920 who'd come to his shows over the years, he knew 350 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:31.039 their names when I walk up and they take pictures 351 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:33.839 and kind of just a neat guy and just one 352 00:17:33.880 --> 00:17:35.319 of the best damn guitar. 353 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:38.799 Players I've ever heard. Boy, I'll say, so. 354 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:40.640 So, where where did you grow up? 355 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:40.720 What? 356 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:43.400 I've read your book? But for those who haven't read 357 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:46.000 the book, and I was at the Feetus when I 358 00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:48.920 talked to you there and that you had a great 359 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:51.799 turnout for that, and I think I read that thing 360 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:54.279 in the day or two. It is really fun. But 361 00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:56.119 you know, where where did you grow up? For those 362 00:17:56.119 --> 00:17:57.400 who haven't picked up the book. 363 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:02.119 Yet, Minnetonka grew up in minute Well, I guess. I 364 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:05.519 lived in Robinsdale until I was about four and a 365 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:10.279 half and then we moved to Minnetonka, went to Hopkins 366 00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:14.200 Schools oddly enough, and yeah, so I grew up on 367 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:17.960 a sort of near where Ridgdale is now. In fact, 368 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:20.680 when they built Ridgedale, they tore down half of my childhood. 369 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:24.839 I used to ride horseback out there, and but we 370 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:28.200 had a nice five acre plot of land and we 371 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:32.240 had horses. We had usually two or three ourselves, and 372 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:34.920 then we boarded some for people in the area. So 373 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:38.440 it was a pretty happening place and house on a 374 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:41.000 hill in the middle of the five acres and surrounded 375 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:44.440 by pasture and pretty idyllic childhood. I got to say, 376 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:47.759 I mean a good our idyllic place to you know, geographically, 377 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:50.359 to grow up. It was. It was a lot of fun, 378 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:52.480 horses and dogs and cats all the time. 379 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:59.440 And that's amazing to think that there was pastures there. Yeah, 380 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.319 because for those who don't live here, there's you can 381 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:08.079 go to Dave's Hot Chicken, right and you know there's 382 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:10.160 I don't think the I think the Applebee's is gone, 383 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:12.680 but I'm like, there are no horses in that area anymore. 384 00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:15.599 There are. Yeah, that was like that was a you know, 385 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:19.279 a fun spot too. One of my best buddies, uh 386 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:22.599 you know, had his parents' house, had some property that 387 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:25.000 went down a hill that really faces right on the 388 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:28.799 site where Bridgedale is and they had built a fort there, 389 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:31.000 and and so we used to sleep out there all 390 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:32.400 the time. And in fact, the first time I ever 391 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:35.960 smoked pot was sleeping out in that fort. Uh And 392 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:39.119 and so you know, anyway, that whole area I've got 393 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:41.279 very you know, I we would have like looked out 394 00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:43.960 the front door of the fort and seen you know, 395 00:19:44.119 --> 00:19:46.759 the you know, the space that would be torn down 396 00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:50.400 for for for for the shopping wall. 397 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:55.839 Wow. Wow. And obviously you've been a big music guy forever. 398 00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:57.839 Did you ever pick up an instrument or were you 399 00:19:57.880 --> 00:19:58.920 just more of an appreciator? 400 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:03.400 You know, that's a question that I've wondered myself for 401 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:07.960 a long time. I never really did. And I did 402 00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:11.000 take drum lessons for a while when I was in 403 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:14.400 sixth grade. I've always had a pretty good clock in 404 00:20:14.519 --> 00:20:16.960 my head. I work well in the studio with drummers, 405 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:21.599 for instance, in a lot of cases, but or I 406 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:27.119 can if the drummer is open to you know, you know, discussion, 407 00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:30.759 the feedback. But I think, you know, and this may 408 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:33.359 sound like a cop up, but I really did

sort 409 00:20:33.400 --> 00:20:38.079 of like music overwhelmed me so strongly at such a 410 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:40.119 young age. I kind of always felt like, I'll never 411 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:44.119 be able to play like the people that I listened to, 412 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:46.400 you know, on the radio or on you know, when 413 00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:51.960 I started to buy records. So I, yeah, I didn't 414 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:53.480 really pursue it, but I don't think I had the 415 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:56.079 talent for it. And it's interesting. My son is twenty 416 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:59.319 three now and he's had the same experience. He you know, 417 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:02.559 we never pushed music at him, but we you know, 418 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:06.480 gave him piano lessons. We you know, bought him an 419 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:09.039 electric guitar and acoustic guitar bass. He had a drum 420 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:11.720 kid out in the back yard for a while and 421 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:15.960 things like that in a playhouse. But you know, he 422 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:20.640 and he was actually had proclivity with piano, but not 423 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:24.240 and drums too, but he never really kept at it. 424 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:28.319 And so you know, you're whatever it is is his drive. 425 00:21:28.599 --> 00:21:32.400 His inner drive towards music didn't include being a musician. 426 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:34.279 It's the same as same as it was for me. 427 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:37.839 That's interesting because I remember I was fifteen when I 428 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:40.680 started to play guitar, and I feel like the minute 429 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:43.720 I picked it up, I didn't put it down for years, 430 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:46.599 Like if we went on a family vacation, I was like, oh, 431 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:49.359 but I'm not going to be able to play this weekend, 432 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:51.119 Like there was just something. And I can see to 433 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:54.759 my kid for baseball, he is baseball, baseball, baseball. And 434 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:57.119 both my kids like music, they do music stuff, but 435 00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:01.160 baseball and gymnastics that's where all of their energy goes. 436 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:03.599 So I think everybody, you may have an appreciation, you 437 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:05.960 may like doing it, but there's something, there's some sort 438 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:08.640 of a poll that happens when you find that thing 439 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:11.839 that you really love. Yeah, So yeah, it's kind of 440 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:13.519 interesting how mine's work, I think. 441 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.519 But yeah, family vacations were an issue for me at 442 00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:18.519 a certain point because I'd be real grumpy about having 443 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:21.000 to leave my friends and my stereo. And so I 444 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:23.799 actually at one point got a little stereo that kind 445 00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:26.200 of the kind that the speakers folded up into a 446 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:28.759 little suitcase almost kind of thing, and so I would 447 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:32.880 always my records and my stereo on family vacations, and 448 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:36.240 my parents were really not happy about that, but it 449 00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:39.200 was a way to keep me from being grump the 450 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:39.960 entire time. 451 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:44.880 So it's funny. My son's uh, sophomore in high school, 452 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:49.480 and he's at this age now where we'll be driving somewhere, 453 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:52.000 he'll have his headphones on, so he's listening to his 454 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:56.039 music in the car and I and it's funny because 455 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:57.359 when I was a kid, I did the same thing, 456 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:00.319 and you know, you early don't think of it the 457 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:02.960 kid to the parent, right, And I'm just thinking sometimes 458 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:04.640 when he's sitting in the seat, I'm like, well, we 459 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:06.759 could be talking doing all this stuff, and I'm like, 460 00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:08.279 I did the same Damn. 461 00:23:09.160 --> 00:23:11.680 Been there down that I know exactly what you're talking about. 462 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:14.119 This is kind of how it works. It's like, well, 463 00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:16.319 this is time to go deep into the music that 464 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:20.079 he loves. And it's fun because he's like, you never 465 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:22.559 know what your kids are gonna like both, you know, 466 00:23:23.160 --> 00:23:25.960 music or whatever their hobbies might be. But his taste 467 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:28.720 in music for a sophomore in high school, he'll listen 468 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:31.160 to this, like some new rap stuff. I've been to 469 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:32.079 a couple of shows with him. 470 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:33.119 I like it. 471 00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:36.119 Fine, It's not my wheelhouse generally, but there's stuff I like. 472 00:23:37.559 --> 00:23:39.839 But then he's walking into the room of the notice 473 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:43.000 resting shirt on and he's actually wearing a Slim shirt today, 474 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:46.200 so that was kind of fun. So yeah, h Slim 475 00:23:46.279 --> 00:23:48.680 once told him, Henry, I'm the oldest man you will 476 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:53.119 ever meet so so, yeah, he used to go over 477 00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:56.079 there and visit with me. So but uh yeah, no 478 00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:59.519 he no, I don't think there's many sophomores in twenty 479 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:01.759 twenty five that I was just reading shirt. So I'm 480 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:03.680 pretty proud of that one. And he's

a big Marvin 481 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:04.319 Gay guy. 482 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:07.200 Too, So yeah, two of my favorites. 483 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:10.519 Yeah. So, so when you were a kid, what was 484 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:13.640 what was that first album or song that sparked you, 485 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:15.839 got you excited, you said you kind of have an 486 00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:19.400 emotional response to it from even early on. What was that? 487 00:24:19.519 --> 00:24:20.960 What was that first thing that you can think of? 488 00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:25.559 I mean, I have a real specific memory, and it 489 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:27.359 was The Everly Brothers. All I have to do is 490 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:30.359 dream and I was as I mentioned, we moved to 491 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:31.960 Minnetaka when I was about four and a half, and 492 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:34.319 I remember it was soon after that because I can 493 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:39.400 picture where I was playing, you know, in a ditch, 494 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:41.440 you know, with a little stream running through it with 495 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:43.359 a friend and there must have been a transistor radio 496 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:45.079 somewhere with an earshot. I don't know if it was 497 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:47.960 coming from somebody's house or you know, we had one 498 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:49.759 with us, or you know, it was one of his 499 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:53.079 older siblings or whatever. But anyway, I remember, you know, 500 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:56.519 and music had always appealed to me, I think, you know, 501 00:24:57.240 --> 00:25:00.319 I don't have a lot of memories from before that, 502 00:25:00.519 --> 00:25:04.519 but I do remember when I heard that something really 503 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:08.680 kind of physical happened to me. It was it wasn't 504 00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:11.119 like any other thing that I'd heard. I was. I 505 00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:16.480 was sort of transfixed, and and and it happened with 506 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:22.319 other songs, you know, soon after. Probably I'm guessing it 507 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:24.279 would have been nineteen fifty eight because I was born 508 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:27.160 in fifty four, so the Everlys All I Have to 509 00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:30.519 Do Is Dream came out that year. I think. Also, 510 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:34.960 the Kingston Trio had a big, big, big top forty 511 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:38.039 hit with Tom Dooley. You know, I was like a 512 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:40.599 murder ballad, but anyway, done kind of you know, pop 513 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:45.119 folk style of the Kingston Trio, and I was. I 514 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:47.599 was really taken with that, and it was I'm sure 515 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:49.720 the very first song I ever learned all the words for. 516 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:51.720 And I used to sing it all the time for 517 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:53.559 a friend of my dad's who would give me a 518 00:25:54.119 --> 00:25:56.559 nickel to sing Tom Dooley for him. You know. So 519 00:25:57.200 --> 00:25:59.440 that was a you know, and that's kind of interesting too, 520 00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:03.119 because you know, all I Have to Do is Dream 521 00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:06.079 is obviously a beautifully written song, but it's a pop song, 522 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:10.880 the very simple, you know, teenage kind of thing. But 523 00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:14.000 Tom Dooley was, you know, like I said, a murder ballot, 524 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:15.839 and it was there was a real story there, and 525 00:26:15.960 --> 00:26:18.079 I think that's kind of interesting because I, you know, 526 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:21.000 I've always been intrigued by the folk music and the 527 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:25.599 country music and the story aspect of that kind of writing. 528 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:28.079 So but anyway, yeah, that was the first thing that 529 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:32.240 really just clicked with me. And so and I knew something. 530 00:26:32.279 --> 00:26:35.079 I knew that it did something unusual, and I would 531 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:36.839 look around and I'd say, I don't see other people 532 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:39.279 reacting this way. So it kind of made me, you know, 533 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:42.240 feel funny and in weird way, maybe scared me a 534 00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:42.640 little bit. 535 00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:47.359 Yeah, mine was. So. I was born in seventy nine, 536 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:50.359 and it's funny when you're little, Like you said, you 537 00:26:50.440 --> 00:26:53.920 don't always remember details of things when you're very young. 538 00:26:54.440 --> 00:26:57.279 But I remember being in a specific room in my house, 539 00:26:57.559 --> 00:27:01.240 in my basement in North Dakota, and Little Red Corvette 540 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:03.640 was on the radio, like it just I can remember that. 541 00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:09.839 And Prince is still my guy had got the But yeah, 542 00:27:09.960 --> 00:27:12.960 so like I it's amazing how that sticks because it's 543 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:15.359 like I couldn't tell you anything else from that period 544 00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:17.480 of time. I was probably three or four years old, 545 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:20.000 but I remember being in that room and I remember 546 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:20.759 that song being on. 547 00:27:21.559 --> 00:27:24.319 I can totally relate to you. Nick. That's that's you know, 548 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:25.839 we both got it at an early. 549 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:28.799 Age, right, Yeah, that's that's the bug right there. So 550 00:27:30.279 --> 00:27:32.319 you got into, uh, what was your first kind of 551 00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:35.640 music gig? It was DJing, right, No, the first gig 552 00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:35.960 I had. 553 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:38.920 It was a real

accidental thing. My dad was working 554 00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:42.440 for a publisher in Toronto. He was he did he 555 00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:46.079 was in the magazine publishing business in the five state area, 556 00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:50.160 and and had worked for a couple of different companies 557 00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:54.160 and and and ended up getting a job with this 558 00:27:54.279 --> 00:27:57.839 company in Toronto. And they at one meeting he was 559 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:01.279 present for up there they had talked. This would have 560 00:28:01.319 --> 00:28:04.599 been in nineteen seventy two, early seventy two, probably February 561 00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:09.599 or March. And he came back from his trip saying, 562 00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:18.200 my bosses are talking about bringing in a British music 563 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:24.559 magazine to distribute in North America to compete with Melody Maker, 564 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:29.200 which was the you know, the more common better known, 565 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:31.680 at least to us at that time. In Minneapolis, and 566 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:35.000 I used to have a They had a little index 567 00:28:35.079 --> 00:28:38.720 card filebox at Shinders downtown and I had a card 568 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:40.880 there where they would save a Melody Maker for me 569 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:46.200 every week. And by the time I got it, you know, 570 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:47.960 it would say they would come over by boat, and 571 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:50.799 so the magazine, you know, the papers would be tattered 572 00:28:50.839 --> 00:28:53.359 a little bit, and you know, four or five weeks old. 573 00:28:53.440 --> 00:28:55.559 But I was still eager to you know, see what 574 00:28:55.799 --> 00:29:00.480 was going on in the UK and so way, when 575 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:02.720 my dad came home and said, they're talking about bringing 576 00:29:02.759 --> 00:29:06.839 in this other competitor of the Melody Maker called New 577 00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:11.240 Musical Express and talking about distributing it in you know, 578 00:29:11.319 --> 00:29:14.960 major markets in America, you know, New York, La, Chicago, whatever. 579 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:18.160 And he said, they asked me what I thought of it. 580 00:29:18.200 --> 00:29:20.319 I said, I don't know that much about this music, 581 00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:22.279 but I have a music crazy son. Why don't I 582 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:24.240 bring some home for him and I'll get his opinion. 583 00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:28.319 And I saw my first issue of NMMY and I 584 00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:31.440 just went, holy shit, this is I mean it was. 585 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:33.839 It was a Melody Maker. It was a little stuffier. 586 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:36.599 At that point they had a big folk section which 587 00:29:36.680 --> 00:29:38.759 I liked, but I'm you know, there was this is 588 00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:42.839 the you know time of t

Rex and Matehopel and 589 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:45.440 David Bowie and all that stuff. I thought, well, you know, 590 00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:48.599 an emmy just spoke to me. More So, I raved 591 00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:51.519 my dad about it, reported back to his bosses, and 592 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:55.240 they said, well, would your son like to distribute it 593 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:58.680 in the Minneapolis Saint Paul area. And I was like, oh, yeah, 594 00:29:58.720 --> 00:30:00.319 I was still I was a senior in high school, 595 00:30:00.359 --> 00:30:04.839 and I said absolutely. So they air freighted a thousand 596 00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:07.599 issues to me every week. A truck could pull up 597 00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:09.519 from the airport and drop them off in front of 598 00:30:09.559 --> 00:30:11.960 my parents' garage and I'd load up the car on Mondays. 599 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:15.119 And by that time I was on an independent study 600 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:18.480 program at school and so I had some flexibility and 601 00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:22.799 I could take after the morning classes on a Monday, 602 00:30:22.839 --> 00:30:25.039 I could, you know, go out and do my distribution 603 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:27.640 of the magazine. And it started actually at the end 604 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:29.960 of April and went through the summer, so the school 605 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.000 only impeded on it there for a short time. But yeah, 606 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:36.759 it was really exciting. And when I look back on 607 00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:39.519 it now, a couple of things. There's a they sent 608 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:42.359 me a big promotional poster to put up in whatever 609 00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:46.440 stores would display it. Picture of Mark Bowl and with 610 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:49.480 a flying V between his legs aiming it at the cabin. 611 00:30:49.640 --> 00:30:52.720 Very phallic, you know this Mary Jane's shoes on. And 612 00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:55.200 at the top it said say it Loud, and at 613 00:30:55.240 --> 00:30:58.000 the bottom it said the new musical Express. It's a cool, 614 00:30:58.519 --> 00:31:01.799 bright orange still I have it here framed in another room. 615 00:31:01.839 --> 00:31:05.640 It's a great poster, one of my advice possessions. But anyway, 616 00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:07.559 they gave me those to give away. And the first 617 00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:10.440 issue I distributed came with a flexi disc on the 618 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:15.480 cover that featured selections from the not as yet unreleased 619 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:19.599 new Rolling Stones album Exile on Main Street. So that 620 00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:23.119 was and so that was. That first issue sold very well. 621 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:25.559 The rest of them did not sell well, lasted about 622 00:31:26.440 --> 00:31:28.799 I guess. I did it through from from end of 623 00:31:28.880 --> 00:31:32.240 April to mid to late September

of seventy two, and 624 00:31:32.319 --> 00:31:34.119 then they pulled the plug because they just weren't selling. 625 00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:37.319 But I made a nickel an issue just for distributing, 626 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:39.680 so that meant a thousand issues. I made fifty bucks 627 00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:41.680 a week if I didn't sell a single one, and 628 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:43.599 then I made on top of that a diamond issue 629 00:31:43.640 --> 00:31:46.599 for whatever sold. So it was pretty decent little income 630 00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:49.279 for a high school kid living with his parents. And 631 00:31:49.400 --> 00:31:51.480 I got to get an end, you know with all 632 00:31:51.559 --> 00:31:54.680 the record stores and bookstores, and you know, I really 633 00:31:54.759 --> 00:31:56.839 knocked on every door I could find to see who 634 00:31:56.880 --> 00:32:00.279 would carry him. And it was a you know, it 635 00:32:00.319 --> 00:32:03.119 was it was a failed experiment, but I learned a 636 00:32:03.160 --> 00:32:05.480 lot from it, and I benefited from it. I think 637 00:32:05.559 --> 00:32:08.839 it really. Yeah, it was a great experience, kind. 638 00:32:08.759 --> 00:32:10.000 Of a foot in the door. So some of those 639 00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:13.559 relationships you built based on those did that carry forward? 640 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:14.559 Well? 641 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:16.079 Peg out? 642 00:32:16.799 --> 00:32:19.680 Yeah, my favorite store was North Country Music. Of all that, 643 00:32:19.720 --> 00:32:21.839 you know, I went to you know, you know, probably 644 00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:25.400 ten or twelve really good record stores that carried the 645 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:29.319 paper back then and and uh, the North Country was 646 00:32:29.400 --> 00:32:32.000 my favorite. And uh and then of course that became 647 00:32:32.039 --> 00:32:35.319 an or Folk and I spent a decade working there. Yeah, 648 00:32:35.799 --> 00:32:38.559 that was a relationship that, yeah, had opened a door 649 00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:39.480 for me in a big way. 650 00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:42.039 I don't know how often you come around here these days, 651 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:46.160 but have you been to Lucky Cat which was fun? 652 00:32:46.759 --> 00:32:49.160 I have been in it, but not since it was opened. 653 00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:55.200 Mark Treus, who owns the building, of course, Uh, you know, 654 00:32:56.839 --> 00:32:59.960 showed me the inside after they'd fixed it up and whatnot, 655 00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:03.000 so and I, yeah, I'm excited to go. I wanted 656 00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:05.359 to go. Was it last summer when they opened and 657 00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:09.200 Tommy was all Flowers played and all that stuff? That 658 00:33:09.319 --> 00:33:10.920 was I wish I could have been there for that. 659 00:33:11.440 --> 00:33:13.240 Yeah, I was. That's the only time I've been in 660 00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:15.359 there so far.

And it was that day because I 661 00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:17.359 stopped in to check it out because we were playing 662 00:33:18.920 --> 00:33:24.079 at Mortimer's off of Lindale, So I'm quickly go check 663 00:33:24.160 --> 00:33:26.759 it out, and then I'm like, oh, Tommy's playing here tonight. 664 00:33:27.079 --> 00:33:28.759 And then later I saw all the videos of the 665 00:33:28.799 --> 00:33:31.200 Wallflowers and they're doing all those clash covers and I'm like, well, 666 00:33:31.279 --> 00:33:31.599 damn it. 667 00:33:32.200 --> 00:33:32.400 Yeah. 668 00:33:34.240 --> 00:33:35.480 So yeah, but I'm in. 669 00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:38.279 Tex with Michelle, the owner, and you know, we communicate 670 00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:42.240 a little bit, and she was very you know, sweet 671 00:33:42.279 --> 00:33:44.799 about reaching out to me and asking my thoughts, like 672 00:33:44.880 --> 00:33:47.000 what what do you think about me? I'm reopening a 673 00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:49.599 record store there and that kind of stuff. So I'm 674 00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:51.519 anxious to see it for myself. 675 00:33:52.119 --> 00:33:52.319 Yeah. 676 00:33:52.359 --> 00:33:54.119 I think I think she's done a really good job 677 00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:57.359 with it, and it's it's got the charms, like you know, 678 00:33:57.440 --> 00:34:02.079 it's very Minnesota set, and I, you know, I it's 679 00:34:02.160 --> 00:34:05.359 not the same store, but there's a lot of the 680 00:34:06.400 --> 00:34:08.039 life of it is still in there. So it was 681 00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:10.599 really fun just walking in and going, Okay, it's back, 682 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:14.519 you know, a little different, but it's back. So yeah, 683 00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:16.840 because it was sad just driving past it all the 684 00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:18.840 time and seen that empty building, I'm like, come on, 685 00:34:18.920 --> 00:34:20.880 I got get something in there, and I'm glad it's 686 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:24.239 a record store. So yeah, So what happened after that? 687 00:34:24.440 --> 00:34:29.000 So the magazine ran its course? And is that when 688 00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:31.320 you got the job at the record store or was 689 00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:32.360 that how soon? 690 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:36.920 Oh, let's see seven. So September seventy two. I graduated 691 00:34:36.960 --> 00:34:40.599 in the spring, and I guess I thought that my 692 00:34:42.199 --> 00:34:44.559 my direction was going to be radio. I was, you know, 693 00:34:44.679 --> 00:34:46.559 such a fan of music. I love to play music 694 00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:49.519 for people. I thought, well, logically I should be a DJ. 695 00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:53.239 So I went to radio school and studied radio electronics 696 00:34:53.280 --> 00:34:55.039 and broadcasting at Brown Institute. 697 00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:57.960 Okay, so that I believe. 698 00:34:58.039 --> 00:35:01.599 I began in December. It was a real crash course, 699 00:35:01.639 --> 00:35:09.639 a six month course, and the broadcasting was really interesting 700 00:35:09.719 --> 00:35:12.599 to me and fun, and the radio electronics I'm not 701 00:35:12.920 --> 00:35:16.719 really I don't have that kind of brain. I really 702 00:35:16.840 --> 00:35:20.039 had to, you know, focus to do it. I could 703 00:35:20.079 --> 00:35:22.679 do it once I got the clutter out of my 704 00:35:22.760 --> 00:35:25.519 head and put some focus into it. But anyway, so 705 00:35:26.599 --> 00:35:29.079 I did. I figured I was going in the radio direction. 706 00:35:29.199 --> 00:35:33.880 And then when I graduated, I started they had a 707 00:35:33.960 --> 00:35:37.239 placement director who was trying to help me look for 708 00:35:37.400 --> 00:35:39.440 jobs in various areas, and I went on a couple 709 00:35:39.480 --> 00:35:42.519 of job interviews to little towns like I remember going 710 00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:46.559 to Freeport, Illinois, and actually was offered the job after 711 00:35:46.599 --> 00:35:48.719 I'd done the interview and spent a day there, and 712 00:35:49.880 --> 00:35:51.480 I thought, I don't know that I could live in 713 00:35:51.559 --> 00:35:54.360 such a small town. I thought people were very nice, 714 00:35:55.440 --> 00:35:57.239 but it just didn't seem like it would work for me. 715 00:35:57.320 --> 00:35:59.119 And then right in the midst of that, I got 716 00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:04.320 an offer to to work at or Folk the I 717 00:36:04.400 --> 00:36:07.000 guess it would have been the spring of seventy three 718 00:36:08.119 --> 00:36:11.320 or maybe March of seventy three when I remember shopping 719 00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:14.679 at the store and being I remember exactly where I was, 720 00:36:14.840 --> 00:36:17.760 like looking around the a's and the b's of the 721 00:36:17.880 --> 00:36:22.039 used record section and seeing somebody walking towards me out 722 00:36:22.039 --> 00:36:24.079 of my peripheral vision to my right, and it was 723 00:36:24.199 --> 00:36:28.079 the new owner. It had been North Country Music. Verne 724 00:36:28.159 --> 00:36:31.639 sand And bought it in January of seventy three, changed 725 00:36:31.639 --> 00:36:33.440 the name to or Folk Jocopus. And he was a 726 00:36:33.599 --> 00:36:39.880 very man a few words and it didn't have a 727 00:36:40.039 --> 00:36:42.599 very outgoing personality, and I got the impression he didn't 728 00:36:42.679 --> 00:36:46.840 like me. I was a very excitable, you know, you know, 729 00:36:47.039 --> 00:36:51.719 teenage music nut, and I just thought he didn't care 730 00:36:51.840 --> 00:36:53.960 for my demeanor or whatever. And so when I saw 731 00:36:54.039 --> 00:36:56.239 him walking up to me, I really thought he's going 732 00:36:56.320 --> 00:36:57.639 to kick me out of the store or something. I 733 00:36:57.679 --> 00:37:00.719 don't know, and instead he went, you want a job, 734 00:37:01.559 --> 00:37:05.000

And I was like, in this store, are you kidding? Hell? Yeah, 735 00:37:05.119 --> 00:37:10.159 So that's yeah. So I started there and end of again, 736 00:37:10.320 --> 00:37:11.719 end of April seventy three. 737 00:37:12.840 --> 00:37:14.920 That's funny. When I was when I was in high 738 00:37:14.920 --> 00:37:18.400 school and grew up in North Dakota near may Not, 739 00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:20.480 there's a record stom miy Not. It's still there, and 740 00:37:20.800 --> 00:37:22.280 that was my dream. I want to work at that 741 00:37:22.400 --> 00:37:25.159 record store. And I befriended the manager and I actually 742 00:37:25.199 --> 00:37:26.840 played with the band in in the nineties, and he 743 00:37:26.920 --> 00:37:28.880 would not hire me. I don't hire friends. I'm like, 744 00:37:29.039 --> 00:37:32.519 my dream is crushed. I moved. When I moved here 745 00:37:32.599 --> 00:37:36.480 in ninety nine Minneapolis, originally I was thinking of going 746 00:37:36.519 --> 00:37:38.320 to Brown because I also want to do radio. So 747 00:37:38.360 --> 00:37:42.280 I guess this is my cosplaying radio these days, right right. 748 00:37:43.480 --> 00:37:44.320 That's kind of funny. 749 00:37:44.760 --> 00:37:47.280 So hey, I gotta say I grew I spent a 750 00:37:47.320 --> 00:37:48.840 lot of time in mine not growing up. I had 751 00:37:48.880 --> 00:37:50.960 a my mom had an aunt that lived there, so 752 00:37:51.119 --> 00:37:54.400 I really I have great memories of mine. 753 00:37:54.440 --> 00:37:57.480 Not nice what years when you were kids. 754 00:37:58.360 --> 00:38:00.159 I would have been going up there from the time 755 00:38:00.199 --> 00:38:02.119 I was born, I'm sure when I was very little 756 00:38:02.400 --> 00:38:08.679 until so, you know, fifty five, fifty six through you know, 757 00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:14.360 the sixty seven sixty eight, I suppose. And the house 758 00:38:14.440 --> 00:38:16.199 that we used to stay at is actually if there's 759 00:38:16.199 --> 00:38:19.000 a mine not North Dakota postcard, they often shoot it. 760 00:38:19.480 --> 00:38:21.320 So you see this house in the distance. It was 761 00:38:21.360 --> 00:38:24.880 a very spectacular house owned by a guy who had 762 00:38:25.280 --> 00:38:28.960 kind of done well financially, and my mother's aunt married him, 763 00:38:29.039 --> 00:38:31.039 and so they have this, you know house that was 764 00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:36.159 you know, kind of fancy but really old and cool, 765 00:38:36.320 --> 00:38:37.440 and lots of. 766 00:38:37.519 --> 00:38:41.079 Many fancy houses out there. So yeah, I remember where 767 00:38:41.119 --> 00:38:41.320 it was. 768 00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:44.400 I don't remember it was. I know that, like I said, 769 00:38:44.440 --> 00:38:47.119 if you, if you there would be a picture on postcards. 770 00:38:47.159 --> 00:38:49.039 I still have one somewhere in a box, I'm sure 771 00:38:49.400 --> 00:38:52.519 where you're looking at the

skyline of mine not And 772 00:38:52.639 --> 00:38:54.599 in the background you can see actually see the house 773 00:38:54.639 --> 00:38:57.400 on a hill, you know, just slightly outside of downtown. 774 00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:02.280 Nice. That's cool. Left there in ninety nine and came 775 00:39:02.360 --> 00:39:05.599 here to grow up in Mine not Surrey, so like 776 00:39:05.760 --> 00:39:06.639 five minutes away. 777 00:39:07.039 --> 00:39:08.360 Wow, how interesting? 778 00:39:08.760 --> 00:39:11.719 Yeah, about a thousand people in my town and then 779 00:39:11.760 --> 00:39:13.960 mine not was we went to town. 780 00:39:16.800 --> 00:39:17.880 What an interesting connection? 781 00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:18.119 Now? 782 00:39:18.320 --> 00:39:19.840 Who else know about mine not? 783 00:39:20.079 --> 00:39:22.880 You know, not not many. I talked to Mike Mullinan, 784 00:39:22.920 --> 00:39:25.119 who used to be in the Goo Goo Dolls, and 785 00:39:25.239 --> 00:39:26.760 I brought up Mine not to him because I knew 786 00:39:26.760 --> 00:39:31.039 they'd played I saw them in ninety five or ninety 787 00:39:31.079 --> 00:39:35.760 six there, and he he had fond memories because he 788 00:39:35.840 --> 00:39:38.519 ended up playing with Tanya Tucker later, so he's played 789 00:39:38.559 --> 00:39:41.440 there twice. But he's like, I had a good jogging path. 790 00:39:41.599 --> 00:39:43.920 I did that, and like he actually enjoyed his time 791 00:39:43.960 --> 00:39:45.079 too when they were in town. 792 00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:48.039 And Mine not. Yeah, the Goo Goo Dolls played Mine. 793 00:39:47.840 --> 00:39:50.440 Not boy named Goo Tour, so I think that was 794 00:39:50.639 --> 00:39:52.519 you know, I remember the story about how they had 795 00:39:52.559 --> 00:39:56.079 that metal blade deal that kind of hampered them for 796 00:39:56.119 --> 00:39:59.400 a while. So they were playing that was right when 797 00:39:59.519 --> 00:40:03.239 Name hit and they were playing the state fairs, and 798 00:40:03.320 --> 00:40:04.800 I remember, if you look back on it, they were 799 00:40:04.800 --> 00:40:06.199 playing a lot of state fairs. I think they were 800 00:40:06.239 --> 00:40:09.280 just trying to get ahead financially at that point because 801 00:40:09.320 --> 00:40:13.119 of their record deal wasn't so good. But yeah, it 802 00:40:13.239 --> 00:40:16.480 was right then, right. You know, maybe now you would 803 00:40:16.519 --> 00:40:18.079 see it and go, Okay, well they haven't had a 804 00:40:18.159 --> 00:40:19.440 hit in a while. But I'm like, this was like 805 00:40:19.559 --> 00:40:22.400 right when Name was all over the radio. It's so strange. 806 00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:24.960 Ah yeah yeah. 807 00:40:25.360 --> 00:40:28.519 So so you got a job at or Folk And 808 00:40:28.639 --> 00:40:29.679 how long did you work there? 809 00:40:30.679 --> 00:40:36.559 From the like April thirtieth, seventy three to June of 810 00:40:37.079 --> 00:40:38.559 eighty three, a little over the. 811 00:40:38.599 --> 00:40:39.639 Years ten years? Yeah? 812 00:40:40.079 --> 00:40:40.320 Wow? 813 00:40:40.920 --> 00:40:42.880 Wow? And how did the record label come about? 814 00:40:43.000 --> 00:40:45.039 Because the record label? 815 00:40:45.480 --> 00:40:48.199 Yeah, twins, Yeah, that's I mean, these are. 816 00:40:48.599 --> 00:40:51.679 I just feel like this is a story. It's been 817 00:40:51.760 --> 00:41:00.400 told so often, but you know, I what happened was basically, 818 00:41:01.880 --> 00:41:04.079 there was a guy named Charlie Hallman who worked for 819 00:41:04.119 --> 00:41:07.639 the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, was a sports writer. Oddly enough, 820 00:41:08.400 --> 00:41:11.320 but he moonlighted writing record reviews and concert reviews. And 821 00:41:11.440 --> 00:41:14.239 his editor there challenged him one time and said, hey, 822 00:41:14.239 --> 00:41:16.119 you're writing about all this music, why don't you write 823 00:41:16.119 --> 00:41:18.840 about local music. And Charlie said, well, there's really nothing 824 00:41:18.880 --> 00:41:22.360 here that I've heard that gets my attention or whatever. 825 00:41:22.719 --> 00:41:24.719 And his editor challenged him, said you should go out 826 00:41:24.760 --> 00:41:28.199 and find I challenge you to find something in Minneapolis 827 00:41:28.840 --> 00:41:31.000 and Saint Paul, you know, in the Twin cities. And 828 00:41:31.079 --> 00:41:33.400 so Charlie went out and saw a bunch of bands 829 00:41:33.440 --> 00:41:36.800 and at one point encountered the Suicide Commandos and had 830 00:41:36.880 --> 00:41:39.519 that I've seen the future of rock and roll moment. 831 00:41:39.679 --> 00:41:46.880 And Charlie was a very charming and funny man, and 832 00:41:47.119 --> 00:41:50.119 he just approached the Commandos and told them that he 833 00:41:50.239 --> 00:41:53.079 loved them and would like to help and you know, 834 00:41:53.280 --> 00:41:55.039 in any way, and he said, you guys should make 835 00:41:55.079 --> 00:41:57.400 a record, and of course they said, we would love to, 836 00:41:57.559 --> 00:42:02.719 and they've made a couple forty fives, and so he said, well, 837 00:42:02.760 --> 00:42:04.920 I might be able to invest, you know, a little 838 00:42:04.960 --> 00:42:07.199 money to help you make a record. And they said, well, 839 00:42:07.280 --> 00:42:09.400 let's talk to the guy who recorded the two forty 840 00:42:09.440 --> 00:42:11.400 five's that we did. And that was a guy named 841 00:42:11.400 --> 00:42:17.599 Paul Stark, and Paul had a he had owned a 842 00:42:17.679 --> 00:42:22.280 house in dinky Town six oh six thirteenth Avenue southeast 843 00:42:22.360 --> 00:42:25.480 kind of heart behind Marshall High, I think it was. 844 00:42:26.800 --> 00:42:31.480 And so he converted it into a recording studio, had 845 00:42:31.679 --> 00:42:37.400 you know, bedrooms upstairs and recording studio and reverb, a

846 00:42:37.599 --> 00:42:41.760 reverb played, a huge reverb played in the basement, and 847 00:42:42.119 --> 00:42:47.800 so that put Charlie and Paul together and they then 848 00:42:47.880 --> 00:42:50.719 they thought, well, wait, instead of just trying to do 849 00:42:50.800 --> 00:42:53.760 a Suicide Commandos album. It was, you know, this was 850 00:42:53.840 --> 00:42:56.480 nineteen seventy seven. There were lots of indie labels popping 851 00:42:56.559 --> 00:42:59.000 up all over the you know, country and all over 852 00:42:59.079 --> 00:43:01.239 the world, and he said maybe we should put together 853 00:43:01.280 --> 00:43:03.960 a record label. And they asked Chris Osgood if he 854 00:43:04.039 --> 00:43:07.039 would like to participate, and he said yeah, And so 855 00:43:07.280 --> 00:43:10.400 the three of them formed a little partnership and we're 856 00:43:10.440 --> 00:43:14.800 starting to move forward when suddenly the Commando's got a 857 00:43:14.880 --> 00:43:19.840 record deal with PolyGram on a PolyGram imprint called Blank Records. 858 00:43:20.480 --> 00:43:23.760 And so suddenly Chris had to call Paul and Charlie 859 00:43:23.760 --> 00:43:25.519 and say, look, I'm going to be a full time Commando. 860 00:43:25.599 --> 00:43:27.239 I don't have time to do the record label. I'm 861 00:43:27.280 --> 00:43:30.639 really sorry, but maybe you should get in touch with 862 00:43:30.719 --> 00:43:33.599 this guy who runs a record store. He might be 863 00:43:33.679 --> 00:43:36.960 a good candidate to fill my shoes. And so I 864 00:43:37.039 --> 00:43:38.800 get a call out of the blue from Paul Stark. 865 00:43:38.840 --> 00:43:41.519 I think by that time I probably had seen him 866 00:43:41.559 --> 00:43:44.800 around a little bit, you know, because he was involved 867 00:43:44.880 --> 00:43:48.199 with music and recording and things like that, but I 868 00:43:48.280 --> 00:43:50.400 didn't really know him. And he called and said, hey, 869 00:43:50.440 --> 00:43:53.840 we're Chris recommended that we talk. Would you like to meet? 870 00:43:53.880 --> 00:43:56.559 And I said sure. So Paul, Charlie, Chris Osgood and 871 00:43:56.599 --> 00:43:59.800 I met at Williams Pub in the Uptown area and 872 00:44:00.599 --> 00:44:02.840 the four of us talked, and I just thought, these 873 00:44:02.920 --> 00:44:07.760 guys are onto something here and I'd like to be involved, 874 00:44:07.800 --> 00:44:10.880 and I said I'm in. And that's how it all began. 875 00:44:11.039 --> 00:44:13.039 So we've formed a partnership right away. That would have 876 00:44:13.039 --> 00:44:17.159 been October November of seventy seven, and then we incorporated 877 00:44:17.239 --> 00:44:21.280 in January of sixty seventy eight, Yes, yeah, seventy eight, 878 00:44:21.599 --> 00:44:24.599 and we had an audition at the recording studio, which 879 00:44:24.719 --> 00:44:27.679 was at that time called p David Studios for Paul 880 00:44:27.800 --> 00:44:32.679 David Stark, and we just invited really you know, A 881 00:44:32.800 --> 00:44:34.960 and R for Twin Tone. At the very beginning was 882 00:44:35.079 --> 00:44:38.920 really just which Longhorn bands do we want to sign? 883 00:44:39.320 --> 00:44:41.840 Because that was the only game in town. You know, 884 00:44:41.880 --> 00:44:45.400 there was nobody, there was really no place else allowing 885 00:44:45.480 --> 00:44:50.119 bands to play their own material, you know, and especially 886 00:44:50.199 --> 00:44:54.000 this new you know, I mean the Commandos really were 887 00:44:54.000 --> 00:44:56.800 a punk rock band before I ever heard the name 888 00:44:56.880 --> 00:45:00.920 punk rock, so so, you know, it was a music 889 00:45:00.960 --> 00:45:05.480 that obviously didn't appeal to lots of people, and uh 890 00:45:05.840 --> 00:45:08.119 and but we were totally we were all in on it. 891 00:45:08.239 --> 00:45:10.000 And and and of course that was sort of part 892 00:45:10.039 --> 00:45:12.920 of what became called new wave and and we just 893 00:45:13.079 --> 00:45:15.840 liked that left of center stuff. So that was we 894 00:45:16.000 --> 00:45:18.599 just basically picked the what we thought were the best 895 00:45:18.639 --> 00:45:19.960 bands from the Longhorn. 896 00:45:20.119 --> 00:45:24.159 Which one so initially when you first got involved, who 897 00:45:24.199 --> 00:45:25.599 are some of the first ones where you're like, we 898 00:45:25.800 --> 00:45:27.800 have to get them, Let's get a meeting with them. 899 00:45:28.519 --> 00:45:30.599 The first meeting, this first meeting I had with him 900 00:45:30.599 --> 00:45:33.400 at Williams Pub, I remember saying, I said, I'm sure 901 00:45:33.440 --> 00:45:35.599 we're going to have to, you know, talk about what 902 00:45:35.840 --> 00:45:38.119 kind of bands we want to sign, and specifically what 903 00:45:38.280 --> 00:45:40.840 bands you guys like, And I like and all that stuff. 904 00:45:40.840 --> 00:45:43.000 But I said, there's one there's one that we you know, 905 00:45:43.119 --> 00:45:45.280 that absolutely has to be somebody that we work with. 906 00:45:45.360 --> 00:45:47.719 And it's a guy named Kurt Olmsted. And he had 907 00:45:47.719 --> 00:45:49.960 a band called Thumbs Up. And I said, you know, 908 00:45:50.079 --> 00:45:53.719 he he we must make records with Kurt Olmstead. 909 00:45:54.280 --> 00:45:54.679 And uh. 910 00:45:54.880 --> 00:45:56.360 And at that time, it was, you know, it was 911 00:45:56.440 --> 00:46:00.320 really Kurt and Bob Dunlap and and uh they were like, uh, 912 00:46:01.360 --> 00:46:03.039 I mean, it's funny when I look back on it, 913 00:46:03.119 --> 00:46:05.639 they were almost like a two headed, you know person. 914 00:46:05.719 --> 00:46:07.480 I had never really thought of them separately. It was 915 00:46:07.519 --> 00:46:10.000 always Kurt and Bob, Kurt and Bob. And you know, 916 00:46:10.079 --> 00:46:13.360 Bob was the

kind of, oh, I don't know, a 917 00:46:13.400 --> 00:46:19.880 little more practical musician who was the music director. And 918 00:46:19.920 --> 00:46:23.119 then Kurt was, of course, you know, completely out of 919 00:46:23.199 --> 00:46:26.320 his mind as he as he could, still still is 920 00:46:26.400 --> 00:46:28.920 to this day, and in the most wonderful way. And 921 00:46:30.239 --> 00:46:33.920 and so Bob kind of you know, tethered him to uh, 922 00:46:34.400 --> 00:46:38.480 you know, Terra Firma in some ways, and and well, 923 00:46:38.880 --> 00:46:40.960 you know, Kurt could have all these crazy ideas and 924 00:46:41.119 --> 00:46:42.960 and do all those you know, it was that interesting 925 00:46:43.079 --> 00:46:46.960 mix of I'd never heard anything like it until I 926 00:46:47.079 --> 00:46:50.280 heard Thumbs Up playing at the c C Club across 927 00:46:50.320 --> 00:46:52.920 the street from or Folk. I I hadn't really paid 928 00:46:52.920 --> 00:46:56.199 a lot of attention to Minnesota music, apart from my 929 00:46:56.280 --> 00:47:01.800 brother who had a bluegrass band, and so I was 930 00:47:01.960 --> 00:47:04.039 and and and of course Colonel Ray and Glover were 931 00:47:04.039 --> 00:47:07.440 also one that I I had a lot of admiration for. 932 00:47:09.000 --> 00:47:11.880 But anyway, Uh, when I saw Thumbs Up play at 933 00:47:11.920 --> 00:47:14.960 the at the c c CC tap it was called 934 00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:17.320 back then, that was the first time I'd heard a 935 00:47:17.400 --> 00:47:19.880 local band that knocked me out as much as the 936 00:47:19.920 --> 00:47:25.239 records I was buying. So so they were they were pivotal, 937 00:47:25.599 --> 00:47:30.760 uh experience in in in my uh you know, my 938 00:47:31.119 --> 00:47:36.480 early days, and and uh, they they were. Yeah, they 939 00:47:36.519 --> 00:47:39.360 had that kind of weird blend of of you know, 940 00:47:39.519 --> 00:47:42.239 Kurt obviously loved that old rhythm and blues music, but 941 00:47:42.320 --> 00:47:44.440 he also loved the British Invasion, and so there was 942 00:47:44.519 --> 00:47:47.679 an interesting mix. So it's I think the British Invasion 943 00:47:47.719 --> 00:47:50.519 stuff brought the melody, maybe a little more melody than 944 00:47:50.559 --> 00:47:51.800 there wasn't a lot of the R and B of 945 00:47:51.840 --> 00:47:54.599 the day. And of course he had that voice, you know, 946 00:47:54.719 --> 00:47:58.880 that could rattle windows you know, and uh so, yeah, 947 00:47:58.920 --> 00:48:01.679 I was just blown ay and both uh you know, 948 00:48:01.800 --> 00:48:06.159 I think, you know, both Paul and Charlie were aware 949 00:48:06.199 --> 00:48:08.360 of Kurt, but I don't think they necessarily would have 950 00:48:08.400 --> 00:48:10.599 thought of him as the first thing to sign for 951 00:48:10.679 --> 00:48:13.599 the new label we were putting together. But my enthusiasm, 952 00:48:13.679 --> 00:48:16.079 I think just they just said, Peter's so sure about this, 953 00:48:16.199 --> 00:48:19.519 we're just gonna trust him on it. And then and 954 00:48:19.639 --> 00:48:23.199 then Fingerprints also was the other band of the day 955 00:48:23.280 --> 00:48:26.400 that we really thought had great potential. They were very 956 00:48:26.480 --> 00:48:30.079 different from the other Longhorn bands a little you know 957 00:48:30.239 --> 00:48:34.000 more they're real musicians and uh and they had a 958 00:48:34.159 --> 00:48:37.159 very flamboyant lead singer, Mark Throne, who was a little 959 00:48:37.360 --> 00:48:41.360 jagger agg esque, played a little saxophone, but mostly was 960 00:48:41.440 --> 00:48:44.239 just a lead singer. So they were also kind of 961 00:48:44.239 --> 00:48:46.320 a shoe in. And those guys were all three of 962 00:48:46.360 --> 00:48:47.920 them were guys I went to high school with. They 963 00:48:47.960 --> 00:48:51.840 went to Minute or to Hopkins School, so there was 964 00:48:52.199 --> 00:48:54.800 a closeness there for that. And then and then there 965 00:48:54.880 --> 00:48:58.639 was this other, this other young band who had really 966 00:48:58.679 --> 00:49:01.760 barely played out that we got that I got really 967 00:49:01.800 --> 00:49:04.360 excited about. And this took some arm twisting with both 968 00:49:04.400 --> 00:49:06.760 Paul and Charlie. But I said, We've got to try 969 00:49:06.800 --> 00:49:09.599 these guys. This is exactly what a new label like 970 00:49:09.719 --> 00:49:14.079 ours should be doing, is rolling the dice on something 971 00:49:14.239 --> 00:49:17.079 crazy and brand new. And they were called the Suburbs. 972 00:49:17.719 --> 00:49:21.480 So yeah, yeah, so that was our first thing. It was, 973 00:49:21.679 --> 00:49:26.000 it was thumbs up fingerprints Suburbs. Of course, we recorded 974 00:49:26.000 --> 00:49:29.079 star recording those bands for those first three EPs, and 975 00:49:29.239 --> 00:49:32.639 and by the time we were done recording Kurt stuff, 976 00:49:33.280 --> 00:49:35.440 he changed the name, as he is wont to do, 977 00:49:36.079 --> 00:49:38.519 and so by that time they were called Spooks. 978 00:49:40.400 --> 00:49:44.519 Yeah, Curtis Curtis As he's quite the guy. It's amazing 979 00:49:44.880 --> 00:49:48.280 how far his legend goes beyond the Twin Cities. I've 980 00:49:48.320 --> 00:49:52.000 had Sam Powers, he was in the band Super Greg 981 00:49:52.760 --> 00:49:55.920 texted me one day and he's like, you ever have 982 00:49:56.079 --> 00:49:59.159 curse A on the show? I had Curtsey on the show. 983 00:49:59.239 --> 00:50:01.800 He's like, you should. He's like, buddy of mine said, 984 00:50:01.840 --> 00:50:03.920 he some in New York and whatever year was the 985 00:50:04.000 --> 00:50:06.000 best rock and roll show he's ever seen in his life. 986 00:50:06.199 --> 00:50:08.960 Like, wow, Kurt, I'm what's getting Kurt on your show 987 00:50:09.039 -->

00:50:12.039 is you'll never get him off. Kt him off and 988 00:50:12.119 --> 00:50:14.039 you'll still be recording a days later. 989 00:50:14.960 --> 00:50:18.519 I think I said something similar to say, it's gonna 990 00:50:18.519 --> 00:50:20.840 be Aliens, It's it's gonna be all over the place, right, 991 00:50:21.679 --> 00:50:25.320 And then, Uh, Jason Faulkner, Who's you know Jason Faulkner. 992 00:50:25.400 --> 00:50:28.519 I'm sure you know he is. He he loves Curtise a. 993 00:50:30.119 --> 00:50:32.000 So I told Genie Dodds that, I said, Hey, he 994 00:50:32.159 --> 00:50:35.159 was talking about how much he liked Curtise stuff, and like, really, 995 00:50:35.199 --> 00:50:38.880 I'll tell I'll tell Kurt. But yeah, he he likes 996 00:50:38.920 --> 00:50:43.000 the big hits of Mid America stuff. And I messaged 997 00:50:43.079 --> 00:50:45.360 him once that reissue came out and said, hey, that's 998 00:50:45.400 --> 00:50:47.039 out now, because he said he was. I was looking 999 00:50:47.119 --> 00:50:50.039 for it. But he he's a big Curtise a guy. 1000 00:50:50.079 --> 00:50:52.000 And I'm like, I don't think I've ever seen a 1001 00:50:53.039 --> 00:50:58.039 more talented dude than Jason Faulkner do everything. So it's 1002 00:50:58.159 --> 00:51:03.320 kind of a big compliment, uh for sure. So obviously 1003 00:51:03.400 --> 00:51:05.679 the story has been told a billion times, but that 1004 00:51:05.880 --> 00:51:08.480 that Westerberg character came in one day with the tape 1005 00:51:08.639 --> 00:51:10.719 trying to sounds like he was just trying to get 1006 00:51:10.760 --> 00:51:13.400 a show, and got a little bit more toney bargain 1007 00:51:13.480 --> 00:51:16.199 for Yeah, yeah. 1008 00:51:16.079 --> 00:51:19.880 That's another one and probably told told the story so 1009 00:51:20.039 --> 00:51:23.920 often I've gone like autopilot a little bit, but try 1010 00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:26.280 not to. But it was it was, yeah, just I 1011 00:51:26.360 --> 00:51:27.760 was getting a lot of tapes at the time, and 1012 00:51:28.840 --> 00:51:31.440 and I hadn't I've i've Paul had been in the 1013 00:51:31.480 --> 00:51:34.920 store before. I don't know that I remembered him, but anyway, 1014 00:51:34.920 --> 00:51:37.119 he came up to the counter at one point and said, 1015 00:51:37.119 --> 00:51:39.440 I've got a band. Would you listen to a tape? 1016 00:51:39.480 --> 00:51:41.199 And I said yeah, and he gave me a little 1017 00:51:41.320 --> 00:51:43.480 piece of actually I think I gave him a little 1018 00:51:43.719 --> 00:51:45.400 scrap of paper and he wrote his name and phone 1019 00:51:45.480 --> 00:51:47.880 number on it. And it was a cassette, no case 1020 00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:51.719 or anything. And you could see that he, you know, 1021 00:51:51.880 --> 00:51:54.480 the whatever had been on it originally had been scratched off, 1022 00:51:54.559 --> 00:51:57.159 and in the margins you could see the replacement's name 1023 00:51:57.239 --> 00:51:59.719 written and the song titles, you know, in the little 1024 00:52:00.039 --> 00:52:03.760 space that was left over. Kind of funny. And also 1025 00:52:03.840 --> 00:52:05.719 the other funny thing is when I flipped the cassette 1026 00:52:05.760 --> 00:52:10.960 over on the other side, in very girlish script handwriting, 1027 00:52:11.079 --> 00:52:15.079 it said Santana Moonflower. So it was like something he 1028 00:52:15.159 --> 00:52:17.599 probably swiped from his one of his big sisters and 1029 00:52:18.079 --> 00:52:21.599 record and recorded over it. So I remember kind of 1030 00:52:21.679 --> 00:52:23.679 chuckling about that, and I but I had I was 1031 00:52:23.679 --> 00:52:25.800 getting a lot of tapes at the time, for both 1032 00:52:27.199 --> 00:52:30.079 for both Twin Tone and for because I dj' did 1033 00:52:30.079 --> 00:52:31.400 at the Longhorn, and I had a little bit of 1034 00:52:31.440 --> 00:52:34.280 sway with management there in terms of booking, so if 1035 00:52:34.320 --> 00:52:36.039 I'd like something, I would bring it to their attention 1036 00:52:36.119 --> 00:52:40.400 and sometimes they'd actually, you know, book it. And so 1037 00:52:41.519 --> 00:52:43.880 I had a shoe box that we kept under the 1038 00:52:43.960 --> 00:52:46.239 counter that I kept under the counter door folk and 1039 00:52:46.719 --> 00:52:48.920 I would put tapes in there, and then when it 1040 00:52:49.000 --> 00:52:52.519 kind of a little stacked a masked, I would take 1041 00:52:52.559 --> 00:52:55.960 them in the back room at the office and listen 1042 00:52:56.039 --> 00:52:57.800 to them while I was doing paperwork for the store, 1043 00:52:58.320 --> 00:52:59.960 or sometimes they'd take them home listen to them now. 1044 00:53:00.159 --> 00:53:02.000 But anyway, I was in the in the in the 1045 00:53:02.079 --> 00:53:05.519 record store when I popped in the replacements tape, and 1046 00:53:05.599 --> 00:53:07.800 it really was just one of those things that I mean, 1047 00:53:07.880 --> 00:53:11.880 it's it almost sounds like, you know, like I'm making 1048 00:53:11.920 --> 00:53:13.800 it up, but I mean it was really, Uh it 1049 00:53:13.920 --> 00:53:17.280 hit me right between the eyes instantly, and uh, for 1050 00:53:17.440 --> 00:53:21.079 whatever reason, I just thought there was just it was 1051 00:53:22.559 --> 00:53:24.519 I think it was just the force of it. I mean, 1052 00:53:24.599 --> 00:53:28.000 I felt, I felt it just they just roared out 1053 00:53:28.039 --> 00:53:30.280 of the speakers the little boombox that I was listening to. 1054 00:53:30.440 --> 00:53:32.679 And then and then I caught a lyric that was 1055 00:53:32.840 --> 00:53:36.960 a little off color. And I won't repeat it necessarily 1056 00:53:37.000 --> 00:53:39.360 because it's not a very PC way of saying it. 1057 00:53:39.400 --> 00:53:41.440 And he changed the lyric by the time we recorded 1058 00:53:41.480 -->

00:53:44.679 the song, but it was. It was a song called 1059 00:53:44.760 --> 00:53:47.079 Raised in the City, was the first track, and and 1060 00:53:47.800 --> 00:53:49.679 I was just blown away. And I got so, I'm 1061 00:53:49.719 --> 00:53:51.679 listening to a bunch of tapes. I put the replacements 1062 00:53:51.679 --> 00:53:53.840 in on catches my ear, I put my pen down. 1063 00:53:54.119 --> 00:53:56.000 I say, wait a second, I start the tape over, 1064 00:53:56.880 --> 00:53:58.599 and I say, I've got to just listen to this 1065 00:53:58.679 --> 00:54:02.480 because this is this sounds extraordinary. And and then I 1066 00:54:02.559 --> 00:54:04.280 listened to the other three songs, and I was just 1067 00:54:04.599 --> 00:54:08.039 I mean, you know, and it really, honestly, if I've 1068 00:54:08.079 --> 00:54:10.119 ever had a magic moment in my life, it was 1069 00:54:10.239 --> 00:54:13.480 right then. It was. It was just I had some 1070 00:54:13.679 --> 00:54:17.519 kind of a revelation, you know, epiphany, I guess you 1071 00:54:17.599 --> 00:54:20.840 could call it. And and so I called Paul back 1072 00:54:20.880 --> 00:54:22.719 a couple of In fact, I thought I wanted to 1073 00:54:22.760 --> 00:54:24.039 pick up the phone and call him right away. And 1074 00:54:24.119 --> 00:54:27.599 I thought, I am, I'm too over the top about this. 1075 00:54:27.719 --> 00:54:29.639 I need to call him down before I call this guy, 1076 00:54:29.960 --> 00:54:32.159 and make sure listen to it, you know, sleep on 1077 00:54:32.280 --> 00:54:35.039 it whatever. And the next day I listened to the 1078 00:54:35.079 --> 00:54:38.199 tape again and I thought, even I liked it even more, 1079 00:54:38.280 --> 00:54:41.280 and and so I called him up, and I remember 1080 00:54:41.440 --> 00:54:45.000 very specifically a female voice answering the phone, which I'm 1081 00:54:45.039 --> 00:54:48.639 guessing was his mother. Could have been a sister, he 1082 00:54:48.679 --> 00:54:52.480 had three, but anyway, I said, is Paul there? And 1083 00:54:52.800 --> 00:54:55.920 she passed the phone to him, and I basically said, 1084 00:54:57.159 --> 00:54:59.360 you know, Peter from the record store, and I love 1085 00:54:59.440 --> 00:55:02.320 the tape and and were you thinking about making a 1086 00:55:03.920 --> 00:55:06.360 single or do you think you have enough material for 1087 00:55:06.440 --> 00:55:09.719 a full album? And it was this really long, pregnant pause, 1088 00:55:10.400 --> 00:55:14.679 and you know, he said, quote unquote, you mean you 1089 00:55:14.760 --> 00:55:18.719 think this shit is worth recording? And I said, I do, 1090 00:55:19.119 --> 00:55:21.000 I said, And then it occurred to me, Oh, you 1091 00:55:21.159 --> 00:55:22.840 gave me the tape because you wanted to get a 1092 00:55:22.920 --> 00:55:25.079 gig at the Longhorn you were And I guess I 1093 00:55:25.199 --> 00:55:27.159 found out later that he didn't even really know about 1094 00:55:27.199 --> 00:55:30.280 the label SOW or that I was involved with the 1095 00:55:30.360 --> 00:55:33.679 label and so yeah, so that's how it began. 1096 00:55:34.719 --> 00:55:37.320 Some things are meant to be. Did you get any 1097 00:55:37.360 --> 00:55:41.840 of those those reunion shows that they did, Oh yeah, yeah. 1098 00:55:41.920 --> 00:55:44.559 We went when they did the first three the riot 1099 00:55:44.599 --> 00:55:48.719 Fest shows, Toronto, Chicago, Denver. Were living in La Denver 1100 00:55:48.880 --> 00:55:50.559 was the closest, so we went there. My wife and 1101 00:55:50.639 --> 00:55:54.880 son and I all went, and you know, phenomenal. 1102 00:55:55.559 --> 00:55:58.960 Yeah. I was at the Chicago one in the park 1103 00:55:59.239 --> 00:56:02.840 ride Fest and probably about eight deep from Tommy and 1104 00:56:02.960 --> 00:56:04.760 they kicked in to take it a ride, and I 1105 00:56:04.800 --> 00:56:07.320 felt like I was gonna blow backwards exactly. 1106 00:56:07.840 --> 00:56:08.119 Wow. 1107 00:56:08.559 --> 00:56:10.719 I'm like, I could not believe, you know, you're going 1108 00:56:10.760 --> 00:56:12.960 into these things and you're really you know, there's some 1109 00:56:14.239 --> 00:56:17.119 replacement members and whatever, you're you know, Freeze is one 1110 00:56:17.159 --> 00:56:19.840 of the greatest drummers out there. But I just could 1111 00:56:19.880 --> 00:56:23.280 not believe the power coming out that stage. And in 1112 00:56:23.400 --> 00:56:25.480 true fashion, there were moments where it's like, oh, this 1113 00:56:25.639 --> 00:56:28.000 might just fall apart. Oh they got it back the 1114 00:56:28.079 --> 00:56:31.199 whole They went through the whole spectrum of who they 1115 00:56:31.280 --> 00:56:31.840 were known for. 1116 00:56:32.079 --> 00:56:36.719 You know, I was standing there. I remember standing side stage, 1117 00:56:36.840 --> 00:56:39.039 and they were very kind to let us be up 1118 00:56:39.079 --> 00:56:44.000 close there on the side and looking out at the audience, 1119 00:56:44.079 --> 00:56:47.119 looking out at seven thousand people shouting the words back 1120 00:56:47.159 --> 00:56:49.440 to Westerburg. I mean that was like a big moment 1121 00:56:49.599 --> 00:56:52.079 for me because you know, they were not they were 1122 00:56:52.159 --> 00:56:55.960 not unanimously liked when they first arrived on the scene, 1123 00:56:56.039 --> 00:56:58.360 you know, so yeah, cool that they got that. It 1124 00:56:58.440 --> 00:57:00.719 was very uh yeah, yeah. 1125 00:57:00.960 --> 00:57:02.639 I was at the Midway show as well here in 1126 00:57:02.719 --> 00:57:06.119 Saint Paul, which I came for that too. Yeah, very cool. 1127 00:57:06.760 --> 00:57:09.960 So all of those years, you know, we could talk 1128 00:57:10.000 --> 00:57:11.400 all day and I'm gonna keep you all day either, 1129 00:57:11.480 --> 00:57:14.440 But in all those years with the replacements, do you

1130 00:57:14.480 --> 00:57:15.679 have kind of a favorite moment? 1131 00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:20.800 No, I mean I have many favorite moments. It was 1132 00:57:21.760 --> 00:57:24.519 you know, it was a whirlwind, and you know some 1133 00:57:24.679 --> 00:57:27.480 of it was you know, hard, and some of it 1134 00:57:27.639 --> 00:57:35.599 was you know, downright unpleasant, but yeah, or worse. So 1135 00:57:35.760 --> 00:57:40.880 I don't have one moment, but I mean I guess, 1136 00:57:41.000 --> 00:57:44.719 like I think about something like, excuse me, when we 1137 00:57:44.840 --> 00:57:49.079 were in New York in December of eighty four, and 1138 00:57:49.920 --> 00:57:52.199 Let it Be was just out for a couple of months, 1139 00:57:52.400 --> 00:57:58.159 and we had done a show at CBGB under a 1140 00:57:58.199 --> 00:58:00.360 fake name because we had a booking at a larger 1141 00:58:00.679 --> 00:58:04.920 room a week or so later, and the CBGB gig 1142 00:58:05.079 --> 00:58:06.519 was just a dubicole. 1143 00:58:06.599 --> 00:58:06.800 It was. 1144 00:58:06.880 --> 00:58:09.000 They were just terrible. They got drunk, didn't play any 1145 00:58:09.000 --> 00:58:11.679 of their own songs. The place was packed. They'd been 1146 00:58:11.719 --> 00:58:14.480 on the cover of The Village Voice, so every A 1147 00:58:14.599 --> 00:58:16.480 and R guy in New York was going, you know, 1148 00:58:16.840 --> 00:58:18.639 picking up the paper, going, who is this band I've 1149 00:58:18.679 --> 00:58:21.119 never heard of on the fucking cover? And they all 1150 00:58:21.199 --> 00:58:23.280 showed up, and the replacements just kind of, you know, 1151 00:58:23.760 --> 00:58:29.360 slipped them a mickey and and actually not specifically because 1152 00:58:29.400 --> 00:58:31.760 the critic or the and our people were there, but 1153 00:58:31.880 --> 00:58:34.360 because Alex Chilton opened up and we were such fans. 1154 00:58:34.719 --> 00:58:36.320 I think they might have gotten a little carried away 1155 00:58:36.320 --> 00:58:39.000 and had an extra cocktail or two. And anyway, it 1156 00:58:39.079 --> 00:58:41.440 was a mess. And so a few days later they 1157 00:58:41.480 --> 00:58:44.320 were playing. We had our first headlining show at Irvin Plaza, 1158 00:58:45.559 --> 00:58:48.960 which was probably I think that was probably eleven hundred 1159 00:58:49.039 --> 00:58:56.280 capacity if I remember correctly. And and you know, you 1160 00:58:56.320 --> 00:58:59.360 would think logically, if the band had a complete failure 1161 00:58:59.639 --> 00:59:03.880 at one show, that they would come out, you know, 1162 00:59:04.000 --> 00:59:06.480 to fix it the next time, but the replacements didn't 1163 00:59:06.519 --> 00:59:08.639 work that way. They could do ten shitty shows in 1164 00:59:08.679 --> 00:59:11.719 a row and you just never knew when to expect 1165 00:59:11.760 --> 00:59:13.559 them to come out of it. But anyway, they walked 1166 00:59:13.599 --> 00:59:15.159 on stage that night. I remember being up in the 1167 00:59:15.239 --> 00:59:18.360 VIP section. I'd been racing around trying to get things ready, 1168 00:59:18.400 --> 00:59:20.880 and we got the band on, you know, going on stage, 1169 00:59:20.880 --> 00:59:22.679 and I had to run up to make sure some 1170 00:59:23.159 --> 00:59:28.280 VIP had gotten in or something. And so they walked 1171 00:59:28.320 --> 00:59:30.719 on stage, and I believe they opened with rock and 1172 00:59:30.840 --> 00:59:35.079 Roll All night by Kiss, and it was like before 1173 00:59:35.400 --> 00:59:37.599 anybody would have thought it was cool to do a 1174 00:59:37.679 --> 00:59:39.719 kiss song. I mean, I remember everybody kind of scratching 1175 00:59:39.719 --> 00:59:41.639 their heads. Of course, I didn't even know what it was. 1176 00:59:42.800 --> 00:59:44.840 I knew it because they had done it prior to 1177 00:59:45.920 --> 00:59:47.840 the New York show. They'd done it. I remember them 1178 00:59:47.880 --> 00:59:49.360 doing it at the Cabooz the first time I heard it. 1179 00:59:49.400 --> 00:59:50.719 But when they first did it, I didn't know the 1180 00:59:50.800 --> 00:59:53.320 song because I didn't no Kiss, and I imagine a 1181 00:59:53.360 --> 00:59:54.960 lot of other people in the room that were there 1182 00:59:55.000 --> 00:59:57.119 to see the replacements didn't know Kiss either, but some 1183 00:59:57.239 --> 01:00:00.239 people did recognize it. And I remember seeing you know, 1184 01:00:01.079 --> 01:00:04.320 the you know, rock critics and whoever else was in 1185 01:00:04.360 --> 01:00:07.119 the VIP section kind of going, WHOA what is this 1186 01:00:07.719 --> 01:00:09.960 and they just killed it. They just killed it. So 1187 01:00:10.079 --> 01:00:11.880 that was that was a moment where I think, I 1188 01:00:12.000 --> 01:00:17.199 really I treasure forever just watching them blow away a 1189 01:00:17.239 --> 01:00:19.360 New York audience. And of course that was the night 1190 01:00:19.400 --> 01:00:21.400 that seymour Stein happened to come and see them and 1191 01:00:21.480 --> 01:00:25.480 say he told our lawyer that right that night he said, 1192 01:00:25.519 --> 01:00:27.079 I'm going to have these guys signed before they even 1193 01:00:27.119 --> 01:00:27.960 get home from this tour. 1194 01:00:28.559 --> 01:00:30.559 Wow, that's an exciting. 1195 01:00:30.599 --> 01:00:31.519 Oh that was a big moment. 1196 01:00:31.880 --> 01:00:36.559 Yeah, no kidding well, and then later being cognizant a 1197 01:00:36.639 --> 01:00:39.800 time here too. So later on you went over to 1198 01:00:39.880 --> 01:00:41.599 New West Records. So what brought you there? 1199 01:00:42.480 --> 01:00:44.639 Well, we licensed a bunch of the Twin Tone Masters 1200 01:00:44.679 --> 01:00:47.199 to an LA based company in nineteen ninety two, company 1201 01:00:47.239 --> 01:00:51.360 called Restless Records, and I ended up

moving out here 1202 01:00:51.400 --> 01:00:55.280 in ninety five and working out of their office. At 1203 01:00:55.320 --> 01:00:57.719 that time, I'd started an imprint for Twin Tone called 1204 01:00:57.840 --> 01:01:02.000 Medium Cool, and so it felt like if and they 1205 01:01:02.039 --> 01:01:04.920 were really interested in helping me plug the Medium Cool bands. 1206 01:01:05.320 --> 01:01:07.320 Of course, I had Tommy Stintson and they were so 1207 01:01:07.559 --> 01:01:10.480 they were excited to have an ex replacement, and then 1208 01:01:10.599 --> 01:01:12.880 and then later had Slim as well. Of course, and 1209 01:01:13.559 --> 01:01:15.639 so they wanted to they wanted to support Medium Cool, 1210 01:01:15.679 --> 01:01:18.159 and it became very I would come out to Los Angeles, 1211 01:01:19.639 --> 01:01:22.159 and you know, we'd been out here with the replacements before, 1212 01:01:22.800 --> 01:01:27.280 and I didn't really like LA in the early days, 1213 01:01:27.440 --> 01:01:29.679 and uh so, but anyway, I had to come out 1214 01:01:29.679 --> 01:01:32.239 here for you know, to interface with the Restless people, 1215 01:01:32.320 --> 01:01:34.360 and and uh the more I was out here, the 1216 01:01:34.440 --> 01:01:35.599 more I got to like it, and the more I 1217 01:01:35.639 --> 01:01:37.599 thought that it's better for me to be in the 1218 01:01:37.679 --> 01:01:41.480 faces of these people who were supporting us financially, to 1219 01:01:41.559 --> 01:01:45.679 be honest, better for me to be there and show 1220 01:01:45.760 --> 01:01:48.280 my enthusiasm for the groups rather than trying to do 1221 01:01:48.400 --> 01:01:51.199 it long distance on the phone. So I ended up 1222 01:01:51.239 --> 01:01:54.920 moving here in July of ninety five, and and uh 1223 01:01:55.760 --> 01:02:00.760 and then that didn't go well because I just the 1224 01:02:00.840 --> 01:02:04.079 people at Restless were not my kind of people, and 1225 01:02:05.760 --> 01:02:08.519 I didn't realize that until the ink was dry on 1226 01:02:09.239 --> 01:02:13.920 the agreement. So it was the beginning was nice, but 1227 01:02:14.079 --> 01:02:17.920 then the screws kept getting tightened and tightened and tightened, 1228 01:02:17.920 --> 01:02:20.840 and I didn't really like the way things were working. 1229 01:02:20.920 --> 01:02:24.960 So I left. And that was in nineteen ninety eight. 1230 01:02:27.920 --> 01:02:30.119 But I've made thirteen records for Medium Cool, and I'm 1231 01:02:30.119 --> 01:02:31.800 really proud of them, and I'm really glad I did. 1232 01:02:35.320 --> 01:02:39.800 But then when I quit, I really didn't know what 1233 01:02:39.960 --> 01:02:42.119 was going to happen. And there was a period where 1234 01:02:42.119 --> 01:02:44.599 I really thought, you know, I've done music now for 1235 01:02:45.159 --> 01:02:49.719 twenty years, and I don't want to overstay my welcome. 1236 01:02:49.760 --> 01:02:52.559 Maybe it's time for

me to go look at something else, 1237 01:02:52.760 --> 01:02:56.840 you know, Like I said earlier, I love books and literature. 1238 01:02:56.880 --> 01:03:01.039 I thought maybe something in that field, you know, something 1239 01:03:01.159 --> 01:03:03.239 kept kind of drawing me back towards music. And then 1240 01:03:03.239 --> 01:03:06.199 all of a sudden, ten eleven months later, I get 1241 01:03:06.239 --> 01:03:09.079 a call from a guy named Cameron Strang who said, 1242 01:03:09.119 --> 01:03:12.280 I have a one man record label I'm looking to expand. 1243 01:03:12.440 --> 01:03:15.320 I like the work you've done with Twin Tone. Would 1244 01:03:15.360 --> 01:03:18.039 you like to, you know, make some records with me? 1245 01:03:18.239 --> 01:03:21.400 And his name and his label name was New West Records. 1246 01:03:22.000 --> 01:03:28.599 So I met with him and I really liked him instantly, 1247 01:03:28.800 --> 01:03:31.559 I really I liked him. I believed he was a 1248 01:03:31.679 --> 01:03:35.400 real music guy. But he also had something I didn't, 1249 01:03:35.440 --> 01:03:40.840 which was a good business sense. And so he's one 1250 01:03:40.840 --> 01:03:42.800 of the few people I've ever met that could straddle 1251 01:03:42.880 --> 01:03:46.280 the fence between the creative and the business in that 1252 01:03:46.519 --> 01:03:48.559 kind of way, at least in a convincing way to me. 1253 01:03:48.920 --> 01:03:50.719 I'm sure there are plenty of them that I don't know. 1254 01:03:50.880 --> 01:03:53.440 But anyway, so I signed on right away and we 1255 01:03:53.559 --> 01:03:57.280 were a two man operation for a while. He'd put 1256 01:03:57.280 --> 01:03:59.440 out about ten records when I joined up with him. 1257 01:04:00.199 --> 01:04:01.880 First record he and I really got to work on 1258 01:04:01.960 --> 01:04:05.239 together was Tim Easton, a guy from a folks singer 1259 01:04:05.320 --> 01:04:08.599 from Columbus, Ohio, and that was a really, really a 1260 01:04:08.679 --> 01:04:10.679 great project. We had a lot of fun with it. 1261 01:04:10.840 --> 01:04:13.360 We got Joe Chicicarelli to come in to produce. We 1262 01:04:13.519 --> 01:04:16.760 used part of the Wilco band to back him. I 1263 01:04:16.880 --> 01:04:19.960 went to King Size in Chicago to record the basic tracks, 1264 01:04:20.760 --> 01:04:23.440 mixed it out here in La Anyway, that's where that 1265 01:04:23.559 --> 01:04:27.000 whole thing started, and Cam and I really got along 1266 01:04:27.199 --> 01:04:29.440 very well. And then as the bottom dropped out of 1267 01:04:30.280 --> 01:04:33.400 physical record sales there and I started with him in 1268 01:04:33.480 --> 01:04:38.280 ninety nine. By you know, two thousand and two thousand 1269 01:04:38.280 --> 01:04:40.480 and one, you know, there was the whole Napster debacle 1270 01:04:40.559 --> 01:04:43.000 and people didn't want to pay for music, and it 1271 01:04:43.039 --> 01:04:47.840 got really difficult and Cameron, you know, had a business 1272 01:04:47.920 --> 01:04:50.920 to run and much as he loved the creative side too, 1273 01:04:51.039 --> 01:04:53.400 he had to, you know, sort of deal with the 1274 01:04:53.440 --> 01:04:57.000 bottom line a bit more so, so that became a 1275 01:04:57.079 --> 01:04:59.360 little harder. I realized I wasn't going to be able 1276 01:04:59.400 --> 01:05:01.960 to sell him on my A and R ideas very much. 1277 01:05:02.039 --> 01:05:07.960 But since he was overseeing the you know, the big picture, 1278 01:05:08.480 --> 01:05:10.639 I ended up doing the day to day A and 1279 01:05:10.760 --> 01:05:13.280 R and all the projects he brought in, And I 1280 01:05:14.440 --> 01:05:16.760 was unhappy that I couldn't sell him on my projects. 1281 01:05:16.800 --> 01:05:18.400 But at the same time, I'm not going to complain 1282 01:05:18.880 --> 01:05:21.719 about working with Delbert McClinton or John Hyatt or Steve 1283 01:05:21.760 --> 01:05:24.599 Earl or Dwight Yoakum or Chris Christofferson. I mean, it 1284 01:05:24.719 --> 01:05:26.880 was like, oh my god, what am I? What am 1285 01:05:26.920 --> 01:05:29.239 I doing working with people at this caliber? But it 1286 01:05:29.360 --> 01:05:32.199 was great and it was fun and we had They 1287 01:05:32.239 --> 01:05:35.760 were They were nice to me, They were respectful. They 1288 01:05:35.840 --> 01:05:38.400 knew I was a you know, I wasn't in this 1289 01:05:38.519 --> 01:05:40.719 from the same major label world they'd been in, but 1290 01:05:41.079 --> 01:05:43.559 but they knew I was a music guy, so they 1291 01:05:44.280 --> 01:05:45.320 you know, they treated me well. 1292 01:05:45.679 --> 01:05:48.559 Yeah, he had a pedigree there. So do you have 1293 01:05:48.599 --> 01:05:51.719 a favorite record from the news days that you were 1294 01:05:51.800 --> 01:05:52.079 part of? 1295 01:05:52.880 --> 01:05:56.239 Absolutely I mean the I I I mentioned it in 1296 01:05:56.280 --> 01:05:58.360 the book The record. The best record I think New 1297 01:05:58.400 --> 01:06:01.400 West ever put out as an album called by Daniel Romano. 1298 01:06:02.639 --> 01:06:04.519 And I say that with great respect for all the 1299 01:06:04.599 --> 01:06:07.239 other artists and records. You know, many of the they 1300 01:06:07.280 --> 01:06:09.920 were very The thing about New West was we rarely 1301 01:06:10.000 --> 01:06:12.639 put out a record that I didn't think was absolutely great. 1302 01:06:12.719 --> 01:06:15.199 I mean, I really thought we were on a roll. 1303 01:06:15.360 --> 01:06:18.719 And and you know, even in some cases we made 1304 01:06:18.760 --> 01:06:21.639 a you know, maybe we made records with one of 1305 01:06:21.679 --> 01:06:24.079 the veterans that wasn't as good as their heyday, but 1306 01:06:24.519 --> 01:06:27.440 at the same time they were still you know, there 1307 01:06:27.559 --> 01:06:31.840 was still uh, you know, valid artistic merit,

you know, 1308 01:06:31.960 --> 01:06:36.079 involved and and so. But but the Romano record is 1309 01:06:36.119 --> 01:06:38.880 the one that, to me, really I think it's one 1310 01:06:38.880 --> 01:06:42.400 of the greatest records ever made. Period. And and uh, 1311 01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:47.239 I had I had been slow to warm up to 1312 01:06:47.320 --> 01:06:48.840 him because when he first came in he was in 1313 01:06:48.880 --> 01:06:53.480 a complete country phase. Yeah, it's all about almost cornball 1314 01:06:53.559 --> 01:06:56.280 country in a way, some of the early songs and 1315 01:06:57.119 --> 01:06:59.239 and and then plus the I remember seeing the artwork 1316 01:06:59.280 --> 01:07:01.719 for the first album, did for him come cry with me. 1317 01:07:02.119 --> 01:07:04.039 He's wearing a cowboy hat, he's got like a Nudi 1318 01:07:04.119 --> 01:07:06.880 suit on. I was like, did he spend more time 1319 01:07:06.960 --> 01:07:08.599 on his outfit than he did on the songs? I 1320 01:07:08.679 --> 01:07:12.840 don't know, you know, But then those songs started to 1321 01:07:12.960 --> 01:07:16.400 I started to realize, well, they are a little novelty 1322 01:07:16.760 --> 01:07:18.760 based in some cases. But then there were ones that 1323 01:07:18.880 --> 01:07:21.079 weren't on the record that I hadn't paid attention to. 1324 01:07:21.559 --> 01:07:23.960 And then I started hearing the demos for the record 1325 01:07:24.000 --> 01:07:27.320 that came after, which is called if I've Only One 1326 01:07:27.440 --> 01:07:31.000 Time Asking, And that was when I just I had 1327 01:07:31.880 --> 01:07:34.920 again maybe a bit of an epiphany for Romano. And 1328 01:07:35.239 --> 01:07:37.440 I remember seeing him right as I was getting the 1329 01:07:37.519 --> 01:07:41.119 bug at south By Southwest. He played a number of 1330 01:07:41.199 --> 01:07:45.199 times at New West events down there in Oh god, 1331 01:07:45.239 --> 01:07:48.360 what year would that have been, twenty twelve maybe or thirteen, 1332 01:07:48.880 --> 01:07:52.599 And I mean I was just blown away. One particular song, 1333 01:07:53.960 --> 01:07:56.800 Valerie leon Is the record is the song that opens 1334 01:07:57.159 --> 01:07:59.519 Mosey and I remember seeing him do that at a 1335 01:08:00.079 --> 01:08:02.239 thread Gills where there was an outdoor stage at thread 1336 01:08:02.239 --> 01:08:04.760 Gills where we had a New wes Day party, and uh, 1337 01:08:05.000 --> 01:08:07.239 and I remember him doing it and it's those are 1338 01:08:07.880 --> 01:08:11.000 crazy rapid fire words, and I was just I was 1339 01:08:11.119 --> 01:08:13.760 mesmerized by that, and and that was when you know, 1340 01:08:13.840 --> 01:08:17.319 the just blew my mind and and uh so I 1341 01:08:17.439 --> 01:08:19.399 I love him to this day. I think he's one 1342 01:08:19.439 --> 01:08:21.319 of the one of the best artists in the business. 1343 01:08:22.279 --> 01:08:25.840 Well, yeah, I know you you've you've posted about him 1344 01:08:25.880 --> 01:08:28.560 on social media, and I know because you you mentioned 1345 01:08:28.600 --> 01:08:30.760 some show with him a couple of years ago that 1346 01:08:30.840 --> 01:08:32.319 you went to and how great it was. And I 1347 01:08:32.359 --> 01:08:35.039 know there are people here talking about you talking about 1348 01:08:35.119 --> 01:08:38.439 how great that was. So he was playing at the 1349 01:08:38.560 --> 01:08:40.399 Entry and they're all sorts of people who were kind 1350 01:08:40.439 --> 01:08:42.960 of curious based on what you had been saying. Yeah, 1351 01:08:43.600 --> 01:08:47.039 just yeah, he took he tore the roof off that night. 1352 01:08:47.119 --> 01:08:48.960 I was like, okay, I know, I know a couple 1353 01:08:49.000 --> 01:08:51.359 of people who say it's the best show they've ever seen. 1354 01:08:52.720 --> 01:08:55.079 Amazing, just that great live artists. 1355 01:08:55.640 --> 01:08:57.199 And I saw him do I saw him do ten 1356 01:08:57.239 --> 01:08:58.760 of those where I was just standing there. I was 1357 01:08:58.800 --> 01:09:01.039 almost like that feeling of the Replacements, where you go, 1358 01:09:01.239 --> 01:09:03.239 at this moment, there cannot be a better rock and 1359 01:09:03.359 --> 01:09:04.319 roll band on the planet. 1360 01:09:04.760 --> 01:09:07.760 Yeah, pretty impressive stuff. Yeah, pretty cool. Who are you 1361 01:09:07.800 --> 01:09:09.840 listening to today? What's what's in the stereo? 1362 01:09:10.399 --> 01:09:12.840 Actually I was just playing Jake Xerxes Fussle. 1363 01:09:13.000 --> 01:09:14.640 You know him, No, what's this? 1364 01:09:15.159 --> 01:09:18.640 He's a he's a kind of folk blues guitar player 1365 01:09:18.720 --> 01:09:24.199 singer from I think he's from Georgia. Anyway, I'm going 1366 01:09:24.239 --> 01:09:27.319 to see him tomorrow, and so I was just refreshing 1367 01:09:27.359 --> 01:09:30.399 my memory on his stuff. He's he's got five albums 1368 01:09:30.399 --> 01:09:33.880 out I think you know. It's a rootsy kind of thing, 1369 01:09:34.000 --> 01:09:38.840 but exceptional guitar player and a real student of song. 1370 01:09:39.920 --> 01:09:42.279 He's got liner notes that are very specific about where 1371 01:09:42.359 --> 01:09:45.439 all the songs came from, Like he does Duke Ellington 1372 01:09:45.600 --> 01:09:48.439 song Jump for Joy opens the album. He does these 1373 01:09:48.520 --> 01:09:53.159 things there. He actually lists the source on the back, 1374 01:09:53.319 --> 01:09:55.600 like where did I first hear of this song? And 1375 01:09:55.680 --> 01:09:57.880 nobody knows when it was really written? Kind of thing. 1376 01:09:58.720 --> 01:10:01.560 So that's what I'm listening to just as of this morning. 1377 01:10:02.800 --> 01:10:06.920 Last night, I had a nice evening just my wife 1378 01:10:07.039 --> 01:10:08.720 was out doing something else, and so I had a 1379

01:10:08.880 --> 01:10:11.920 nice evening of just listening to whatever I felt like. 1380 01:10:12.119 --> 01:10:16.840 And and I was listening to a Woody Guthrie double 1381 01:10:16.920 --> 01:10:21.319 album from that those tributes right after he died, they 1382 01:10:21.359 --> 01:10:24.319 did the one in sixty eight in New York that Dylan, 1383 01:10:24.680 --> 01:10:29.239 and I was just actually i'd forgotten looking at the 1384 01:10:29.279 --> 01:10:31.800 credits of the record. I pulled it out, and I'd forgotten. 1385 01:10:31.800 --> 01:10:34.279 They don't even list the band because they weren't the 1386 01:10:34.359 --> 01:10:38.560 band yet, oh so or or or they they weren't 1387 01:10:38.640 --> 01:10:41.039 known yet. I guess maybe maybe they were the band. 1388 01:10:41.079 --> 01:10:43.399 But anyway, so it's just as Bob Dylan, but it 1389 01:10:43.439 --> 01:10:47.000 happens to be with Robbie Robertson and Richard Manuel whatever. 1390 01:10:47.159 --> 01:10:51.000 So so they do three songs and they're spectacular, but 1391 01:10:51.000 --> 01:10:53.079 it's also got you know, Judy Collins and Odetta and 1392 01:10:53.560 --> 01:10:55.119 all that. So that was something I was listening to 1393 01:10:55.279 --> 01:10:57.399 last night, and really I hadn't listened to it for 1394 01:10:57.640 --> 01:10:59.720 you know, a while, and and and that was fun. 1395 01:11:01.640 --> 01:11:04.399 Also I'm really big on My son is working in 1396 01:11:04.560 --> 01:11:08.840 music now and he's he's building a stable of artists. 1397 01:11:08.880 --> 01:11:11.960 He's working for a record label and also has a 1398 01:11:12.319 --> 01:11:16.600 separate management company just of his own, kind of not 1399 01:11:16.680 --> 01:11:18.319 really hard to call it a company, I mean, it's 1400 01:11:18.840 --> 01:11:20.800 not super formal, but anyway, he's got a couple of 1401 01:11:20.840 --> 01:11:22.520 artists there that I just love. So I was listening 1402 01:11:22.560 --> 01:11:25.199 to a bunch of their stuff last night. Guy in particular, 1403 01:11:25.239 --> 01:11:27.960 I would highly recommend you check out. And I know 1404 01:11:28.039 --> 01:11:31.319 this will sound like nepotism, but I would not say 1405 01:11:31.359 --> 01:11:35.039 this if I didn't genuinely believe that Truman Sinclair is 1406 01:11:35.119 --> 01:11:37.000 the guy's name, and I think he's going to be 1407 01:11:38.119 --> 01:11:41.479 someone to be reckoned with. A lot of labels are 1408 01:11:41.560 --> 01:11:44.399 looking at him right now. His you know, metrics, as 1409 01:11:44.479 --> 01:11:49.319 they say, are exploding. And they put out an indie 1410 01:11:49.359 --> 01:11:54.000 record in February that's fantastic called American recordings like Johnny Cash, 1411 01:11:54.079 --> 01:11:59.119 but they're inspired by Johnny but all original songs. And 1412 01:11:59.199 --> 01:12:03.399 Truman is really really something. He's a fantastic live and 1413 01:12:03.840 --> 01:12:06.439 you know, my son's age twenty three and and just 1414 01:12:06.600 --> 01:12:10.319 really one of those guys who, like you said, when 1415 01:12:10.359 --> 01:12:12.239 you picked up a guitar, you couldn't put it down. 1416 01:12:12.279 --> 01:12:13.720 He's like that guy. He walks around the house with 1417 01:12:13.800 --> 01:12:15.680 the guitar hanging around his neck all the time. And 1418 01:12:16.560 --> 01:12:20.199 and so I think the guy he is, he is 1419 01:12:20.239 --> 01:12:21.960 an l a guy. I think I grew up in 1420 01:12:22.039 --> 01:12:24.960 Chicago and then moved out here with his family when 1421 01:12:25.000 --> 01:12:27.399 he was the ten or eleven, I think, And but 1422 01:12:27.479 --> 01:12:29.279 he's been playing in bands since he was eight, and 1423 01:12:29.399 --> 01:12:40.319 he's just really really good in Fontaine's DC gold Star, 1424 01:12:41.199 --> 01:12:42.760 one of the one of one of the best things 1425 01:12:42.800 --> 01:12:47.199 I've heard in recent years. L also LA based somewhere 1426 01:12:47.199 --> 01:12:51.119 in between. I guess this is a thumbnail sketch, but uh, 1427 01:12:51.800 --> 01:12:55.079 somewhere between the dark underbelly of the Only Ones meets 1428 01:12:55.439 --> 01:12:58.479 the kind of anthemic songs of Tom Petty and the 1429 01:12:58.520 --> 01:13:02.560 Heartbreakers really really great. 1430 01:13:03.159 --> 01:13:06.319 That's a good mix. I'll check those out. How often 1431 01:13:06.319 --> 01:13:08.079 are you going out to see shows these days? It 1432 01:13:08.119 --> 01:13:10.279 seems like you go quite a bit all the time. 1433 01:13:10.479 --> 01:13:11.520 I go, you know, we have. 1434 01:13:11.680 --> 01:13:13.640 That's one of the lucky things about living in LA 1435 01:13:13.840 --> 01:13:16.760 and also kind of hard to deal with because there's 1436 01:13:16.760 --> 01:13:18.439 a show, you know, there's you know, a couple of 1437 01:13:18.479 --> 01:13:20.000 shows I want to see every night, and you know, 1438 01:13:20.079 --> 01:13:24.399 you just can't do that. But but yeah, I yeah, 1439 01:13:24.439 --> 01:13:27.960 I mean, I'm don't. It's you know, they sometimes come 1440 01:13:28.039 --> 01:13:31.560 in spurts, but I probably see eight or ten shows 1441 01:13:31.560 --> 01:13:32.159 a month. 1442 01:13:33.119 --> 01:13:36.359 Quite a bit, quite a bit. That's you know, we 1443 01:13:36.479 --> 01:13:39.560 appreciate you come out. We appreciate you coming out to 1444 01:13:39.600 --> 01:13:40.439 see us when we're there. 1445 01:13:40.479 --> 01:13:42.199 That was fun to have you there, and it was 1446 01:13:42.279 --> 01:13:44.880 that Redwood Bar is a fun place where both Autry 1447 01:13:44.880 --> 01:13:47.640 and I, my son, Audrey and I really enjoyed the set. 1448 01:13:47.720 --> 01:13:50.439 You guys were great and it was I think I 1449 01:13:50.600 --> 01:13:51.800 like the atmosphere of that place. 1450 01:13:52.239 -->

01:13:54.479 Yeah, that's a cool place. Hopefully we can get back 1451 01:13:54.560 --> 01:13:56.720 out there. We got another invite, but I'm not sure 1452 01:13:56.720 --> 01:13:58.159 we're gonna be able to pull it off this year. 1453 01:13:58.199 --> 01:14:02.479 But same rem Yeah, yeah, we're uh, we're playing in 1454 01:14:02.560 --> 01:14:04.920 Chicago in a few weeks at the Montrose there for 1455 01:14:05.039 --> 01:14:09.119 this thing. That's with these we usually build some shows 1456 01:14:09.159 --> 01:14:11.000 around it as well, kind of like what you were saying. 1457 01:14:11.119 --> 01:14:14.279 So yeah, but yeah, it's a lot of fun. Those 1458 01:14:14.319 --> 01:14:17.079 are There's always a great turnout and we usually we 1459 01:14:17.199 --> 01:14:20.880 do nothing can change you the Tommy Keane cover when 1460 01:14:20.920 --> 01:14:24.680 we play at these I pos. So it's fun because 1461 01:14:24.720 --> 01:14:28.960 you can with that crowd. They know it and immediately 1462 01:14:29.039 --> 01:14:32.199 you kind of see everybody kind of oh yeah they're 1463 01:14:32.279 --> 01:14:35.239 doing t K. So yeah, it's it's always a good time. 1464 01:14:35.520 --> 01:14:37.600 Appreciate you jumping on here. I'll let you know when 1465 01:14:37.680 --> 01:14:40.479 I when I get it edited and ready to go. 1466 01:14:41.159 --> 01:14:43.520 It's going to be a busy week. My son's got 1467 01:14:43.560 --> 01:14:46.840 his driver's tests this week, so it's knee deep and 1468 01:14:46.920 --> 01:14:49.239 all of that we're trying to get this new high 1469 01:14:49.239 --> 01:14:55.279 on Stress record done too, which is taken way too long. Yeah, 1470 01:14:55.399 --> 01:14:57.560 we've got that going. And then I'm also kind of 1471 01:14:57.600 --> 01:15:01.960 doing a side it's kind of a solo collaboration record 1472 01:15:02.079 --> 01:15:05.439 with Kevin Salem's worked on. He did a song with 1473 01:15:05.520 --> 01:15:08.000 me on it, which is super cool. I know, you 1474 01:15:08.119 --> 01:15:11.119 know him, and it's great. He sent me this guitar 1475 01:15:11.239 --> 01:15:16.000 track and I'm like, this sounds like Keaven, just this 1476 01:15:16.319 --> 01:15:19.479 kind of rhythmic guitar thing he did. It was very 1477 01:15:19.560 --> 01:15:21.680 much like his first record, so I was pretty pumped 1478 01:15:21.680 --> 01:15:22.000 about that. 1479 01:15:22.640 --> 01:15:24.760 That's great. I love him. I actually just saw him 1480 01:15:24.800 --> 01:15:28.279 for the first time and got twenty plus years I'm sure. 1481 01:15:28.399 --> 01:15:30.680 I got to do a book thing in Woodstock and 1482 01:15:30.760 --> 01:15:34.680 he lives there, as you know probably, and it was 1483 01:15:34.760 --> 01:15:36.720 so much fun to talk to him. And now he's 1484 01:15:36.760 --> 01:15:40.079 working on some new recordings of his own YEP for 1485 01:15:40.199 --> 01:15:42.199 the first time in a while, he says, and he 1486 01:15:42.319 --> 01:15:45.000 sent me a bunch of them and asked for, you know, feedback, 1487 01:15:45.039 --> 01:15:47.560 and I was, I mean, I was just knocked out. 1488 01:15:47.600 --> 01:15:49.800 I mean it's really really great stuff. 1489 01:15:49.920 --> 01:15:52.920 So yeah, it's cool he sent you the sampleat with 1490 01:15:53.000 --> 01:15:56.159 all the songs on it. Yeah, yeah, that's that's the 1491 01:15:56.199 --> 01:15:58.520 one I got too. It's really cool stuff. So yeah, 1492 01:15:59.079 --> 01:16:01.319 about time to put on any record of his stay. 1493 01:16:01.399 --> 01:16:03.600 And I was working on something but never anything of 1494 01:16:03.680 --> 01:16:04.039 his own. 1495 01:16:04.159 --> 01:16:07.239 So yeah, and his wife is brought me into a 1496 01:16:07.359 --> 01:16:09.840 project I'm consulting on too that I'm very grateful for. 1497 01:16:10.079 --> 01:16:12.159 So nice, said Kate. Hyman. Was an A and R 1498 01:16:12.239 --> 01:16:17.319 woman made the major label circuit back in the day, 1499 01:16:17.439 --> 01:16:20.079 and so it was nice to be in touch with 1500 01:16:20.159 --> 01:16:21.920 her again, both her and Kevin. I got to spend 1501 01:16:21.960 --> 01:16:23.520 some time with in Woodstock. That was great. 1502 01:16:23.920 --> 01:16:26.239 Yeah, he's a great guy. He bought like five high 1503 01:16:26.279 --> 01:16:32.279 on stress stocking caps for the local baristas. Oh He's like, 1504 01:16:32.359 --> 01:16:34.359 they liked my hat, so I'm buying them all one 1505 01:16:35.039 --> 01:16:37.680 thanks Kevin. Yeah, no, he's he's a good guy. And 1506 01:16:37.720 --> 01:16:40.000 then I've got I'm going to work with Dan Murphy 1507 01:16:40.039 --> 01:16:42.039 on some stuff too. He's coming over here tomorrow to 1508 01:16:42.720 --> 01:16:44.399 do some stuff. So I don't know, I don't know 1509 01:16:44.479 --> 01:16:45.720 what it's gonna end up. I've got a couple of 1510 01:16:45.760 --> 01:16:47.960 things he's played on a mine that will probably come 1511 01:16:48.039 --> 01:16:50.720 out at some point. And then he's working on stuff 1512 01:16:50.720 --> 01:16:53.640 of his own, so I'm I'm co writing a couple 1513 01:16:53.640 --> 01:16:55.479 of things, so we'll see what happens with those tracks. 1514 01:16:55.520 --> 01:16:58.399 But I love that guy, give him my best will. 1515 01:16:58.479 --> 01:17:00.840 He's just a sweet guy midway us, through and through. 1516 01:17:01.479 --> 01:17:01.960 That's right. 1517 01:17:02.520 --> 01:17:04.840 Good to catch up with you, and I appreciate oping 1518 01:17:04.920 --> 01:17:05.760 on here to chat with me. 1519 01:17:06.199 --> 01:17:09.039 Fun conversation. I appreciate you asking, yeah. 1520 01:17:08.960 --> 01:17:11.720 You bet, Thank care of yourself, you too, Bye bye. 1521 01:17:19.319 --> 01:17:23.079 How about that, Peter Jasperson. That was a fun conversation. 1522 01:17:24.000 --> 01:17:27.960 Thank you for tuning in, meaning to get around asking 1523 01:17:28.079 --> 01:17:30.920 him to be on and finally finally made it happen, 1524 01:17:31.119 --> 01:17:34.359 and it was. It was fun. One of my favorite 1525 01:17:34.359 --> 01:17:38.000 episodes for sure. Forgot to mention at the top of 1526 01:17:38.079 --> 01:17:42.159 the show. Hian Stress has some shows coming up. Debuke 1527 01:17:42.439 --> 01:17:48.600 Iowa at the Lift on May first, and on May second, 1528 01:17:48.800 --> 01:17:54.840 we're playing the International Pop Overthrow Festival at Montrose Saloon 1529 01:17:54.960 --> 01:17:58.479 in Chicago, Illinois, which is going to be awesome. And 1530 01:17:58.640 --> 01:18:03.079 then May the third, we're playing at one of my 1531 01:18:03.199 --> 01:18:08.680 favorite places, the law office is called Office Pub Yorkville, Illinois, 1532 01:18:08.720 --> 01:18:11.920 with our friend Matt Dirda, and it's gonna be a 1533 01:18:11.960 --> 01:18:15.039 good time. So thank you for tuning in. Hope to 1534 01:18:15.079 --> 01:18:18.199 see you out there for some shows. Oh, we're also 1535 01:18:18.239 --> 01:18:21.560 playing May thirty first at Palmer's as part as front 1536 01:18:21.840 --> 01:18:25.119 Row Paul Festival as well. There's like six over sixty 1537 01:18:25.159 --> 01:18:30.079 bands playing in support and memory of front Row Paul, 1538 01:18:30.680 --> 01:18:35.199 local legend music lover here in Minneapolis. So we have 1539 01:18:35.399 --> 01:18:39.640 a lot of stuff going on and apprecid you listen 1540 01:18:39.680 --> 01:18:42.439 and we'll see you next time from Studio twenty four 1541 01:18:42.520 --> 01:18:45.560 in Minneapolis. Figure It's podcast. 1542 01:19:00.039 --> 01:19:01.680 And you see you there. 1543 01:19:02.399 --> 01:19:21.239 She was in the crowd, whirrelling alone. 1544 01:19:23.039 --> 01:19:30.079 When everybody wants you right now, she's never home, didn't. 1545 01:19:29.840 --> 01:19:32.199 Met them at the take full side. 1546 01:19:32.840 --> 01:19:36.359 But everything has changed, so we all know that you're 1547 01:19:36.399 --> 01:19:39.920 waking U to die inside now. 1548 01:19:40.000 --> 01:19:46.720 There's nowhere enough to go now, nothing can change you. 1549 01:19:48.199 --> 01:19:51.199 Would you be before to love? 1550 01:19:51.880 --> 01:19:56.680 Your world is stranger? Can you tell me things that 1551 01:19:56.880 --> 01:19:57.439 you loved? 1552 01:19:58.359 --> 01:19:58.560 Now? 1553 01:19:58.800 --> 01:19:59.920 Nothing could change. 1554 01:20:01.680 --> 01:20:08.520 We feel fool of your world, estrange man, And you 1555 01:20:08.720 --> 01:20:11.359 tell these things the child dreams of them. 1556 01:20:11.720 --> 01:20:11.760 No