Unsigned518 - Episode 208 - Super 400

[00:00:01] Speaker A: He was born on a Saturday in 73 he loves punk rock music fighting the 13 cabin. Radio back his motherfucking Envy SC Motherfucker. Cuz here he comes, Andy Sculling Wearing his or his. [00:00:27] Speaker B: Welcome to Unsigned 518. I'm here with Super 400. How's it going? [00:00:33] Speaker C: Wonderful. [00:00:34] Speaker B: And you know, I said before I got recording, I was going to hit you with a piece of information that I thought you might find interesting. Is when I first moved to Troy in 2002, I think I used to watch you guys play pretty much every time you played. And if I had to calculate all the bands that I've seen in the world, the band that I've seen the most would be you guys. [00:01:06] Speaker C: Wow, that's crazy. [00:01:07] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:01:07] Speaker C: How many times. [00:01:08] Speaker B: I mean, it's got to be 50 or 60 anyway. Like when you'd play at the Rock, like either at Super 400 or Blue Machine, I was there every time. But this was like, you know, decades ago. And I was not involved in a band. I wasn't in local music. I was just like some new schlub that was in a city that had moved from Vermont. [00:01:32] Speaker D: And were you lurking in the back eating chicken wings? [00:01:35] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, yeah. [00:01:36] Speaker D: Okay. [00:01:36] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I wasn't. I was like, you know, I was a shy Vermont kid and. [00:01:42] Speaker C: Yeah, people tell me all the time that they were at. Every. Every week on. At the Rock. Yeah, yeah, every week. [00:01:48] Speaker B: That was like our thing for like a really, you know. [00:01:53] Speaker D: How many years did we do that? Had to be over 10, I think it was. [00:01:57] Speaker C: Right. [00:01:57] Speaker E: Every week. [00:01:58] Speaker C: Yeah, it was like 12 years. [00:01:59] Speaker E: If we weren't touring. We were there. [00:02:01] Speaker B: Yeah. And every. We never miss a week. We would go like me and like all my friends and like I ran. Do you know Bacchus? Wood fired. [00:02:09] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:02:10] Speaker D: Yes. [00:02:10] Speaker B: I was the general manager from like when they opened. And for like the first five or six years, like that's. I lived on Second street right next to Russell Sage. Like I was just there, two minute walk from, you know, the ruck. Was buddies with Dave and. [00:02:27] Speaker D: What was your favorite pizza at Bacchus? [00:02:29] Speaker B: Probably the Ambustas. [00:02:30] Speaker C: Yeah, me too. [00:02:31] Speaker B: That it was just the. The best man. [00:02:34] Speaker A: The. [00:02:34] Speaker B: The black and the. I can vouch for, you know. And there's a lot of places that I've worked that I'll be like, oh, don't eat there, you know, or whatever. But that place did it right from day one. [00:02:44] Speaker C: Did you see us at Daisy Bakers? [00:02:46] Speaker B: Yes, I did see you at Daisy Baker several times. And I also saw a post that Jim is bringing it back. [00:02:51] Speaker C: I was just. He just showed me around. [00:02:53] Speaker B: I did. [00:02:53] Speaker C: No, yeah, he's opening it back. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:02:56] Speaker B: I saw a. Literally just like two or three days ago I saw. And my wife. Cuz my wife and I, we've been married 10 years. We met at Bacchus when I hired her as a waitress. She was in physical therapy school and that's how we met. And I was just her employer or her boss, you know, two days a week or whatever. Like while she was in college for years and that before we even started dating. Whatever. We've been married 10 years now. But yeah, we met at Bacchus. Like. Yeah. [00:03:28] Speaker C: Wow. [00:03:28] Speaker B: And what did you eat at the Rock? At the Rock. I was, I was always a wing guy. And it was barbecue. Barbecue hot. I didn't get the wing burger. [00:03:37] Speaker E: That was my go to. Every week I had a wing burger. [00:03:39] Speaker B: I was like such a creature of habit. It was just like that, you know, half barbecue, half hot. Mix it together. [00:03:45] Speaker E: I've never seen a wing burger anywhere else. [00:03:48] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't think I have either. [00:03:49] Speaker E: It's great. [00:03:50] Speaker D: What was the story one night when we played Daisy Baker's? Didn't a brick fall off the. [00:03:55] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. During the drum solo or something. Moby Dick or something like that. [00:03:59] Speaker B: I saw. I remember one time I was working down at Bacchus and one of the. One of the servers from down there had come down and they're like, oh, you know, they're all freaking out there because there's some musician. But I don't, I don't, you know, I don't know who it is they pointed out. It's just like some old guy. He was in some band called like the Velvet Underground or something. And I was like, are you fucking kidding me? So I walked upstairs and Lou Reed was sitting at the table in Daisy Baker's eating dinner with his family. [00:04:31] Speaker C: Wow. [00:04:32] Speaker A: Wow. Yeah. [00:04:32] Speaker E: And everybody was gawking at the them. [00:04:34] Speaker B: Well, I mean the people that knew were. But like that, you know, 21 year old waitress was like. Had no I from or server from Bacchus. Had no idea. And I can't remember the server's name. That was at Daisy Baker's Forever. She was like the main. Yeah, I can't remember her name but like she was on that. That was like. They can't. [00:04:55] Speaker C: He can't do shows. Unfortunately. [00:04:56] Speaker B: No. Yeah, because there's like people in the building. [00:05:01] Speaker D: People live in that building. [00:05:02] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. They like turned it into apartments. [00:05:05] Speaker C: He's got like. [00:05:06] Speaker B: The whole building is different. It used to be like businesses and. Right. We used to get away with a lot of shit. We used to just openly smoke weed in the office, day or night. Like, it didn't. Didn't matter if it wafted anywhere. It was like, Jim owns the building. What are you going to do? [00:05:25] Speaker C: Since he sold the building. [00:05:26] Speaker B: Yeah. But then they sold the building and then all these, like, rules. [00:05:30] Speaker D: Strictly dining. [00:05:31] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, he. [00:05:31] Speaker D: Like acoustic music, maybe. [00:05:33] Speaker B: Acoustic, maybe. Yeah. [00:05:35] Speaker D: It just doesn't seem. I don't know, the space, it's a little different. [00:05:38] Speaker C: Like, you know, that divider is gone and now there's like these like half. Half circle booths where the divider used to be facing into it looks. It's gonna be nice. This is gonna be a different thing. [00:05:47] Speaker A: Okay. [00:05:47] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm sure it'll be nice. [00:05:49] Speaker D: Are the organ pipes still on the wall? [00:05:51] Speaker C: Yep. [00:05:51] Speaker A: Cool. [00:05:52] Speaker B: Yeah, he would never. He would never get rid of those. [00:05:54] Speaker E: Like, one of those fell when we were playing. [00:05:56] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Was it with Mike, Right? [00:06:00] Speaker D: Yeah, with Michael. Wanna. [00:06:01] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. [00:06:04] Speaker B: Moose. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I. That's. I figured I'd. And I've been waiting. I was like, I'm just gonna start the episode and I'm not gonna tell them until I hit record that, like, I've seen you guys play. Literally, you know, and I've seen bands played, you know, 10, 15, 20 times or whatever, but not, you know, sometimes multiple times in a week for years and years and years. [00:06:31] Speaker C: Where else? [00:06:32] Speaker B: Like Ale House Rock, Daisy Baker's. Like that Little Air, you know, because again, I worked at. I used to work at homes in Watson and then at Bacchus. But yeah, we used to. And basically anywhere that I could walk. Yeah. Rocking on the river for sure. Anywhere I could walk to. I would see you guys. Because when I moved to Troy, I didn't have a car. [00:06:54] Speaker C: Revolution Hall. [00:06:56] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Red Pop, definitely. For sure. [00:06:58] Speaker D: We just watched part of a video. I don't know who made it. It's pretty cool. Video from 08. [00:07:05] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:06] Speaker C: With multi cameras and shots. [00:07:09] Speaker D: Yeah, it's really cool. We were. We were doing a lot of touring at that point, and there was a band called Rose Hill Drive from Boulder, Colorado, who became close friends to ours. And they're one of the best live bands we've ever seen. And we just picked up on a lot of their energy and we were super inspired. So at that time, our jams were very aggressive. [00:07:33] Speaker B: Nice. [00:07:33] Speaker D: So the footage of that Rev hall show. [00:07:36] Speaker B: Rev hall, yeah. That was like. I Saw shows at Rev hall before I moved to Troy. Because it was like, when I was in the transitional, like, I'd say four [00:07:45] Speaker C: or five nights a week. [00:07:46] Speaker B: Yeah. And that was like one of the. I mean, the main reason, like, I love Troy to this day is that there was so much to do that I could walk to. I, like, again, I grew up in Vermont. Like, I couldn't. I couldn't get a cup. I couldn't go get a cup of coffee without getting in a car and driving for seven or eight minutes, you know what I mean? Like, so to be able to be like, wow, all this was like. Yeah, yeah. But I was. I was. I was lurking in the shadows, as it were. [00:08:14] Speaker E: Fellow green Mountain boy made the record cover. Michael Oatman. [00:08:19] Speaker B: Oh, nice. [00:08:19] Speaker E: Also over monitor now. Now a Trojan. [00:08:22] Speaker C: Yeah, Yeah. [00:08:24] Speaker E: A long time. [00:08:24] Speaker B: Well, yeah, now I live out in the sticks of Skylerville, but, you know, but still, I've been over here 21 years. 22 years or whatever. I'm never going back to Vermont. Hell no. But anyway, now that we got that out of the way for an 8 minute rant link, or not rant, but 8 minute tangent, I want to, like, start, I guess, talk how the band. Not necessarily go back to like day one, but like just kind of start the conversation of the music when. When you kind of knew that this was it for ever. You know what I mean? Because a lot of bands when they get together, know we're just hanging out for a little bit and like, so I guess it kind of tell the story of Super 400 how you want to. Or at least get the conversation started before we go off on other tangents. Because tangents is what makes it fun. [00:09:18] Speaker C: It kind of starts up from the beginning, right? Yeah, that's where it started. It was kind of like. It's been the same since pretty much. [00:09:28] Speaker B: So it was just. You immediately were like musically locked in and is that like a comfort thing? Yeah. Like what. What made it so different than who else? Who. Other people that you jammed with that you knew, or maybe not even knew. That, like, made you want to go to a second practice and a third practice and a fourth gig. And, you know, [00:09:54] Speaker D: I knew that I wanted to play with these guys before I ever played with them. You know, I saw them play and that was enough for me. [00:10:04] Speaker B: And yet you two were already. Already playing together. [00:10:09] Speaker C: Yeah, and we had some friends that were trying to fill in on the base and, you know, then Lori kind of appeared. [00:10:16] Speaker E: Joe and I had been playing together since we were in High school. [00:10:19] Speaker B: Okay. [00:10:19] Speaker E: So we were already writing songs and stuff when we were in high school and delivering pizzas, jamming in his garage. And his parents were tolerating it upstairs. [00:10:27] Speaker C: And. [00:10:28] Speaker E: And then, you know, fast forward. We moved to New York. Joe has two older brothers. Frank, his oldest brother, has since passed away. But Frank and Jack were great musicians, both of them. They moved to New York, and we followed them there. And we were looking to start a band with the songs that we had been writing starting in high school. Looking for a singer and a bass player. And then we. I ended up getting stuck singing, which I didn't want to do that, but reluctant. I wanted to just play guitar, but I got stuck singing because we couldn't find anybody that really fit the vibe of the material. And, you know, just. That's how it happened. And then we ended up, you know, moving to Woodstock and starting a band. And then we moved back home and we had some, you know, fill in bass players here and there. And then we met Lori. And it was pretty obvious from the first time she came over that we were a band. We didn't really know what to expect. But she came over and plugged in and we started jamming. And it was instant. We didn't really talk about what we were going to play or. It wasn't a song. We just started jamming. And it went on for about 45 minutes of just straight playing, just going through all the dynamics, up and down, loud, quiet and fast, slow and everything. [00:11:49] Speaker C: And it's the only time we played on that stage. I think. Remember, there was, like, a stage in our apartment. There was, like, a little stage over to the one end of the apartment. It was a giant loft that we. We, you know, we rented. We, like, renovated it, put up walls, and it was like a little stage. And then we spent all this time working on the apartment. Lori showed up, we played, and then the guy from downstairs came up and, like, started screaming at us. So we had to move everything to the back. Back of the building? [00:12:16] Speaker D: Yes. [00:12:17] Speaker C: Like, it missed a bunch of, like. [00:12:19] Speaker D: Because there was no one living up or down from the back. Back of the building. [00:12:24] Speaker C: Right, right. [00:12:25] Speaker D: So we thought we could get away with that for a while. [00:12:27] Speaker C: Right. So we did. But we had this stage set up right in the apartment. And the guy below us was like, what do you think we were gonna [00:12:34] Speaker B: be doing up here, building a fucking stage? [00:12:38] Speaker D: We've had a string of Troy landlords that thought it was a great idea to have a rock band, right. Until we moved in. [00:12:46] Speaker E: Then they found out otherwise. [00:12:47] Speaker C: Yeah, the guy talked us out of, like, a great space that move into his space. And then he yelled at us. His wife. His wife yelled at us. Because, like, the first day we started playing. [00:12:56] Speaker E: Well, there was. Yeah, it was kind of an egregious violation, though. Your brother Jack was over recording us, and. And he put my amp out in the back hallway and it was cranked [00:13:06] Speaker B: to the max, and it was, like, [00:13:07] Speaker E: blowing right up the stairs. And they came down, like, with their hair on fire. [00:13:10] Speaker C: That's when Bone was there. [00:13:11] Speaker E: Yeah. Yeah. [00:13:14] Speaker B: So Laurie. [00:13:15] Speaker E: But we already had gigs at that time anyways. We already had gigs. And so Laurie just jumped right in. And her first gig was probably like a week or two after that first jam. [00:13:23] Speaker D: It was one week. And you said. I remember it was at the QE2. It was one week later, and we were standing outside. [00:13:31] Speaker E: No, but wait, wait, though, when you tell this story. Wait, wait, wait. We had two. Just let me just up front say there was two gigs that weekend. And. Okay, now say what you're going to say. [00:13:45] Speaker D: We're standing outside the QE2 smoking cigarettes, and I'm nervous because this is before [00:13:50] Speaker C: the show or after? [00:13:51] Speaker D: It's before the show because Frank is standing out there on the sidewalk, which instantly made me very nervous. [00:13:59] Speaker C: My brother Frank. [00:14:00] Speaker D: Your brother Frank. Because Frank was the coolest guy we knew. And if he was there, it's like, you better come correct if he's there. So I'm nervous, and Kenny comes over to me and he puts his hand on my shoulder and he says, listen, don't worry about it. If you make any mistakes tonight, you get one more shot at it. [00:14:22] Speaker E: And what I meant was, because we got two gigs this weekend. [00:14:26] Speaker D: Tomorrow. [00:14:27] Speaker B: You know, tomorrow's already happening whether you fuck up tonight or not. [00:14:32] Speaker E: It's your first gig. Don't worry about it. But she took it to me, like, if you mess up tomorrow, like, you're out. Which I did not mean continue the [00:14:40] Speaker C: search for another bass player. [00:14:42] Speaker D: It's so funny because it was 30 years ago, and so much of, like, the first couple years we were together is such a blur for me. But you remember certain things, right? [00:14:53] Speaker B: And when you joined the. You know, because me, this is just, like, my own personal curiosity because, like, I'm a bass player and I'm enamored with your playing. Like, I watch all the. The Family Tree videos all the time, and I'm like, was that. Was bass something that you. Was that your first instrument, or was it something that you learned to be like, hey, you need a bass player off it. Like, how ingrained is. Is bass playing into you? [00:15:20] Speaker D: Like, it wasn't my first instrument, but I think that I was just looking for it all along. [00:15:26] Speaker B: Okay. [00:15:27] Speaker D: So, yeah, I asked my parents if I could take piano lessons when I was a kid, because that was, you know, I was really young, like six. And so I did that for a while, and I liked it, but I couldn't really feel it too much. It wasn't the ultimate thing for me. [00:15:44] Speaker B: Right. [00:15:44] Speaker D: So then I asked for a guitar, and my uncle gave me his acoustic guitar, so. So I think I took three guitar lessons, and then I started listening to Duran Duran. [00:15:58] Speaker B: Oh, nice. [00:15:58] Speaker D: And that was it. It had to be bass after that. [00:16:00] Speaker B: I love Duran Duran. [00:16:01] Speaker D: Never looked back. [00:16:02] Speaker A: Wow. [00:16:03] Speaker B: All right, who was the bass player? Was it John Taylor? [00:16:05] Speaker D: John Taylor, Yeah. [00:16:07] Speaker B: And there was what, three dudes named Taylor and Duran Duran. [00:16:10] Speaker D: And none of them were related to Roger Taylor. [00:16:12] Speaker B: Yeah. No. I love Duran Dan. [00:16:13] Speaker D: Incredible band. [00:16:14] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Hell, yeah. So that. And you just had. I mean, the. Your playing again is. I don't know. I'm someone who, like, came into bass late in life, like, as an acoustic guitar. Like, acoustic guitar was my main instrument. So, like, I'm now learning the technique, or I'm more learning the note, but I still don't have any kind of finger dexterity. Like, I use a pick for everything, and I try to, like. Because I was. I was like, oh, I used to play the drums. I can get that rhythm, but I can't. Like, I can't. It's frustrating. [00:16:49] Speaker D: Playing with a pick is cool. If that's your thing, stick with it. [00:16:52] Speaker C: It is my thing exclusively with picks, right? [00:16:54] Speaker A: Totally. [00:16:54] Speaker B: Yeah. Me. [00:16:55] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:16:56] Speaker B: Although I do play with a very thin pick. I play with a pick that's sometimes even would be too thin for an [00:17:04] Speaker D: acoustic with thin strings. What gauge strings are you using? [00:17:07] Speaker B: I have no idea. They're bright, neon orange. That's all I know. [00:17:11] Speaker D: So are they not. Are they not steel? [00:17:14] Speaker B: Yeah, they are. They're just paint. They're. They're painted like. They're like a orange neon paint on them. They actually sound fantastic. [00:17:22] Speaker D: Orange is your trademark, right? [00:17:23] Speaker B: Oranges? [00:17:24] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:25] Speaker B: I'm moving away from it, but I still love the color. But I'm not wearing the orange hat anymore because I fucking hate that hat. Did I just say that on the record? I did just say that on the. I used to wear an orange pork by hat to, like, get noticed, and now I'm like, all right, I've been noticed enough that's your brand. I'm gonna, yeah, it's still my brand. It's like my logo and, But I don't actually wear the hat out. [00:17:50] Speaker D: And how are people gonna find you in a crowded place? [00:17:53] Speaker C: Is it in the car just in case you gotta. [00:17:54] Speaker B: No, no, that's the point. They're not gonna find me situation, dude. I, I, I mean, I did that like one time. It was at a show at, I think it was like Empire Underground. I was there for, and there was like a bunch of, bunch of people, a bunch of friends there and I was covering it and I like had the hat on or whatever and I wanted to leave and my buddy was like, how, how the are you going to get out of here without saying goodbye to anybody? And I just took the hat off and shoved it under my shirt and walked out. Nobody even, nobody even said a thing. [00:18:26] Speaker D: Felt, felt pretty good. [00:18:27] Speaker B: It did feel pretty good. And that's when I was like, like, Irish goodbye. Oh, yeah, yeah. [00:18:31] Speaker D: And I was like, I love the sneak out. [00:18:33] Speaker B: Me too. I'm pretty good at it too, you know, and it, you know, I'm Irish on both sides of the family, so maybe that's the reason. But I'm, I'm good at the snout. [00:18:40] Speaker D: Put your head down and go straight through the crowd. [00:18:42] Speaker C: Someone started to say goodbye. [00:18:43] Speaker B: I used to, when, like back in the day, my, my move was I would always leave my pack of cigarettes in the car. You know, I could be like, I'll be right back. I left my pack of cigarettes in the car. And no one's like, no, you didn't. You know, they're like, oh yeah, I get it. [00:18:58] Speaker C: You look at your phone, you go [00:19:00] Speaker B: walk out to the car and drive away. [00:19:02] Speaker D: Cigarettes are like 50 a pack, so no one's gonna offer you one. [00:19:05] Speaker B: Well, this was back. I haven't smoked a cigarette in 23 years. So this is, this is going way back. [00:19:11] Speaker E: Use the excuse. [00:19:12] Speaker B: I can say, yeah, I should still do that. Be like, I'm gonna, I left my cigarettes in the 80s. So. All right, now we could mull around in like the early years, but like, I kind of want to bounce forward, I guess, you know, because this is the, what, 30th year? Yeah, 30th. 30th anniversary. So what if we went to like 20 years back? What if we like pick, picked up the story in like 2005 when, when I used to watch you guys play three times a week, fast forwarding and [00:19:48] Speaker E: we got a major label record deal and we put an album out and then the label was bought by another label and then we were on our own independent again, starting over. And then around that time period we made two records with Joe's brother Jack Daly we made in the early 2000s there. Like what, 2004, 2003. [00:20:11] Speaker C: Yeah, because we were working on a live at 5, live at 5, live 05. I'm sorry, while we were doing blast blast the message. [00:20:18] Speaker E: Okay, yeah, so, right, yeah, so you're [00:20:21] Speaker C: working the artwork while we were recording it. So it was all around the same time. [00:20:24] Speaker E: So yeah, we made Bless the Message and then we made three in the Beast with Jack recording and producing in New Jersey and we recorded some of the stuff up here and some of the stuff at his house and that [00:20:37] Speaker D: three and the Beast came out. That's when we met Rose McGathy and went to Europe for the first time. [00:20:42] Speaker E: Right. So then right around there we were playing with Mike Ferris too. [00:20:45] Speaker C: Right? [00:20:46] Speaker E: Mike Ferris is a really amazing soul singer. And around that time we were trying to get gigs in New York. We ended up opening for his band, Peaceful Knievel, which was an all star band that had him. And you know, guys from the Black Crows, Charlie Drayton on the drums, Andy Hess on the bass and Audley freed from Cry of Love. Was it packed pack show and they were, they were amazing. The George Lacks from Lenny Kravitz's band who played on our. On both of those records that we did with Jack on Keys. And then we ended up, we ended up taking their place with Mike. So the three of us ended up backing up Mike because he had this all star band that was kind of all over the place as far as availability. And his manager, after the show called us and asked us if we would play with him in their place. And we, we said yeah, great, because Mike is amazing singer. So we did that for a couple years and we were also playing, you know, at home and we were touring, we were going around touring. So Mike's manager, Rose McGathy was great. She was, you know, opened some doors for us. She got us a gig in Spain at the Esquina Rock Festival which was really a high profile, huge. Did they have like all really big name bands and they'll have one unknown band every year and for that year it was us. The headliner was tool. [00:22:12] Speaker B: Oh no. [00:22:12] Speaker E: MC5 was on the rail. Like just all these bands that you would know and then us, you know, we were the one and it. When it went over big and went over great and then we ended up getting a booking Agency in Europe from that. So we started touring there. And we were touring, you know, here in the States, too. Like out to Colorado and back, you know, Midwest, kind of up and down the coast kind of stuff. And whenever we were home, we were playing the ruck every single week. So that's where we were kind of like just, you know, keeping loose, keeping our. Our chops together and keeping that sort of energy going. It was great. It was great for Dave to have us week after week for 10 years. It was really amazing, you know, right in the heart of Troy and Wing Burgers. [00:23:00] Speaker C: And I wish I knew exactly how long, but it was 12, 13. [00:23:03] Speaker E: It was a long time. Yeah. Anybody else have anything to add to that? [00:23:07] Speaker C: You know, what's cool about that? You're mentioning, like. Like, we were like, the unknown band. And, like, I feel like they sold, like, those people in Spain would see the lineup and they would, like, do their homework, right. Who was playing. [00:23:19] Speaker B: Right. [00:23:19] Speaker C: Because they all knew the lyrics before, like, before we even, like, we like, our first time playing there. And they're in the front singing along, [00:23:25] Speaker E: singing in the English. [00:23:26] Speaker B: I mean, I guess that that makes sense. Like, you know, if they're like, who's playing? So if it was, like, an unknown band from another country and these are, you know, fans, like, I would do the same thing if I was, you know, a band I've never heard of that was coming from, you know, Germany or whatever. And I was going to. [00:23:43] Speaker C: This be like, it. I'm going to look at the highway year. That festival was like, the biggest one in Spain. [00:23:47] Speaker E: It's huge. Really great festival. Then they still do it? [00:23:51] Speaker C: Yeah, I still have huge, like, huge lineups, right? [00:23:52] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:23:54] Speaker B: Now, how does it work? I mean, you know, we don't have to get too detailed, but, like, when you do a tour, you know, overseas, in Europe, like, through a booking agent, how, like, what kind of experience is that? Like, how much control over the whole experience do you have? You know, none. So, like, you're like. They're like, you go here at this time. You got to be here at this time. Or, like, do they. Is there drive? Like, do you have drivers? People pick you up and shit? [00:24:21] Speaker D: The tours that we did, we always had representation, so we had a label or manager or someone that handled all the details that you would think of. You know, the tours that we did there. There was also a language barrier a bit, so you're really reliant on your driver. And in all the cases that we were there, our driver was able to communicate in every country we were in. [00:24:45] Speaker C: So the one, Carmen, she spoke, like, four languages, right? [00:24:47] Speaker D: So what it was Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France. Spain. Where else is that about? [00:24:59] Speaker C: It covers it. [00:25:00] Speaker B: And what's it like dealing with international fans, you know, like, where you don't have. You cannot communicate with, you know, with language. What's that like? [00:25:10] Speaker D: You're communicating with the best language. [00:25:13] Speaker A: Right? [00:25:13] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, but I meant more like. Not necessarily, like, from a stage to an audience perspective, but I meant more like at the merch table. [00:25:21] Speaker D: People are just wearing their hearts on their sleeves over there, you know, I was looking at some video of us playing there the other day, and it's just striking because people are standing as close as they can get to the music and they're using their whole bodies, right, to react to the sound. Whereas more in the States, like, there's that little bit of a barrier. Right. [00:25:42] Speaker C: Which one did you watch? [00:25:45] Speaker D: I watched a little bit from. From the Hel Dorado. [00:25:49] Speaker C: Oh, [00:25:53] Speaker E: Hel Dorado is in the north of Spain, and it is a private club, which means they can do whatever they want. So there's no rules, there's no time limit, there's no. Nothing. [00:26:04] Speaker C: Warehouse district. So there's no. [00:26:06] Speaker E: It's like in the middle of a warehouse. So you go there and it's a big place. It's got an upstairs and a downstairs. Kind of like. Kind of like what Red Rev hall was like, but longer, like a long kind of rectangle. And they are partying, like, hard in there. They can smoke. They're doing whatever they want to do. And the stage is in the back, and behind the stage is the backstage. And there is no way out from the backstage. Like, there's. You can only get onto the stage from the backstage. There's no exit out there. So we would play there for, like, two hours straight. And then, you know, finale, whatever, get off the stage, and everybody there is, like, soccer, like, stomping their feet one more time. And we're in the back, like, what do we have left? And we go and play a couple more songs and then go back in the back again. And they'd start up again. And there's no way out. There's no way out. So you just have to. You just sit there and you can run out of tunes and you're just [00:27:07] Speaker C: waiting for the DJ to start. [00:27:09] Speaker B: Right? [00:27:09] Speaker E: But it's amazing. I mean, they're. They're incredible. Especially in Spain, because we did that big festival. It opened that up for us. And the Spanish fans are so intensely into Rock and roll. I mean, it's just. It's way different experience than touring in the states. So that. That was really, really fun. So we're looking forward to going back there. And it looks like we're gonna go next year right at this time. Like, awesome. Like a week from today, next year. [00:27:36] Speaker B: Oh, wow. Laurie's showing me a picture, but wow, [00:27:41] Speaker E: is that the El Dorado? [00:27:43] Speaker B: Alex? Fucking sick. [00:27:44] Speaker E: That's great. [00:27:45] Speaker C: That picture from the festival is really great too. [00:27:47] Speaker B: That's awesome. Well, I think maybe we should take a pause and listen to a Super 400 song. And before we got started, we were saying we're gonna maybe listen to super. Something from earlier in the catalog and then something from the new stuff. [00:28:01] Speaker E: We can listen to a song that is a favorite of a lot of people's live when we play it. And it's from the time period that we're talking about from the blast of the message record. And it's called greengrass end. [00:28:12] Speaker B: Okay, cool. Well, let's listen to Greengrass end Super 400, and then we'll be right back. [00:28:24] Speaker F: Just what's on your mind my blue little girl? Have you been worn down by what you must prove? And how did you find out it wasn't just you? You should not lose so many things you never knew it all will break inspire you but it won't, it won't last I lay in the grass it feels so free it's just a dream of sou [00:29:02] Speaker A: yeah. [00:29:07] Speaker F: Well, there's a quiet soul on my [00:29:11] Speaker A: stereo and it doesn't make me feel [00:29:16] Speaker F: like three years ago well, there's only so much love you can squeeze from one song I never felt so free and true Must be something just you can do Only time has passed I never looked the other way I beat up at one of these days oh yeah, oh yeah. It's a greengrass air to a cruel cold day It's a green rest end [00:30:12] Speaker A: to a cruel cold day. [00:30:29] Speaker F: Guess what's on your mind by blue little girl have you been worn down by what you must prove? And how did you find out it wasn't just you? You should not lose so many things you never knew it all will break its body of you but it won't, it won't last I never look the other way I beat up had one of these days oh yeah, [00:31:11] Speaker A: oh yeah, yeah [00:31:18] Speaker F: It's a greengrass end to a cruel cold day It's a green grass [00:31:30] Speaker A: inn to a crucial day yeah, it's a green mess green bread it's a green breast green Bread It's a green blessing Green breath bless It's a regress and I hear your voice it's all I have I can feel your power it's all right yeah I can hear your voice it's all I have if I can feel your power it's all right it is a great breath To a cruel cold day It's a great. [00:32:55] Speaker B: All right that was green grass and Super 400, and we were talking a little bit while the song was playing that, like, from that time period, there was so much that happened that it's almost like you can't even talk about one aspect of it without the other. And it would take a really long time. Like you just said, Laura, you're like, we can talk about it for an. Another hour leading up to, like, the COVID area, so. Or era. So I guess we'll just kind of start in the COVID era. So let's fast forward again to around, what, 20, 20 or so and kind of see what was happening with Super 400 then. [00:33:38] Speaker C: I don't remember what was happening before COVID so much. [00:33:42] Speaker B: None of us do. [00:33:44] Speaker D: Yeah, there's. There's a memory thing. [00:33:46] Speaker C: Yeah. Before COVID All I know is that I work at a bar, and it was about to be St Patrick's Day tomorrow, and we closed. And we were closed for like, six months. [00:33:57] Speaker B: Right. [00:33:57] Speaker C: And everything just shut down. [00:33:59] Speaker D: Yeah. So Kenny and I have a music school downtown called the Troy Music Academy, and there was, like, rumblings about this virus, and we thought, oh, you know, and places were starting to close. And then it became obvious that right away all of our teachers needed to start taking their lessons online. So we learned about Zoom and did that. [00:34:21] Speaker B: I mean, not to branch off, but, like, did that. Is that something that, like, stuck around the. The online or the online music lessons? [00:34:30] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. In fact, when we reopened for in person lessons maybe a year or so later, a majority, not a majority, but a good number of the students decided they liked the convenience of Zoom so much that. No, that's okay. I'm going to stick with that. [00:34:47] Speaker B: I don't have to leave working. [00:34:48] Speaker D: I don't have to leave my house or get dressed. [00:34:50] Speaker C: And you still do some, right? [00:34:51] Speaker D: Yeah, Yeah, I still have Zoom students and Kenny does too. [00:34:56] Speaker B: Yeah. And it's. It's fun, you know, Funny how, like, the. The adaptation to. To something can. You could be like, oh, well, this is actually, you know, and I wouldn't want to. And I was talking with, again, branching off, but Ryder Cooley of Dust Bowl Fairies and she was saying how, like, their show at Cafe Lena is, you know, live with an audience, but they're also offering tickets to a live stream. And I think having that both is great. I wouldn't want to see in person stuff go away by any stretch of the imagination, but I love the hybrid. [00:35:30] Speaker D: Yeah, it's cool if the show sells out. [00:35:32] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Or, you know, someone's 600 miles away or whatever and still wants to catch a show like that school. And as the online lesson, do you still just focus locally with Troy Music Academy or if someone from, you know, wherever wanted. [00:35:48] Speaker D: We have students all over the place. [00:35:50] Speaker B: That's amazing. That's really cool. So as a. As a band, like, once things started shutting down and it was like. Because it was fucking immediate. I remember, like, you know, you were saying it was like, yeah, we're just gonna. Just gonna chill for a second. And then everything was gone. Like, how did that affect the band? Like, immediately? [00:36:13] Speaker E: What happened with us was we were starting together, get together with friends and go for walks, you know, go for walks outside and take a walk on our trail or something like that. And we, you know, Joe would come over and we would go for a walk, you know, just to hang out with each other. Like outside, you know, you were afraid to be inside with anybody. But we were like a little bubble, you know, where we could hang out. And so we would go for a walk and then we would come back and jam. And it was really nice because we were just kind of learning how to record ourselves in the house with our own equipment. We had never done that before. We'd always gone to studios and had engineers and sometimes producers and, you know, record labels and all that kind of stuff. We had never really recorded ourselves successfully because we didn't know how to. So we were fooling around with that and. And we were just sort of testing that out. So we would go for a walk, come back, and just play whatever came to mind. Just like we did in the old days. This was the first time we got together. We just started playing, you know, just. Just play, just whatever. We wouldn't even talk about it. Same thing that you would see at the Rock. Week after week, we would just be making it up. And then a lot of times those things go into the song or something will happen. Some riff or something will happen or some little feel or something that'll start becoming a song. So that that was happening, we would just, like, go for a while, come back and record it, and then I would take it and, like, make a little Mix of it and send it to everybody. And we'd all just have it and be like, oh, that was cool. And then we'd do it again a couple days later, a week later, get together, go for a walk, come back, jam for a while. I take the best little piece of it and send it to everybody. And those ended up being the songs that we started releasing from home for the first time on our own, doing things a different way, just releasing singles, like, write a song, record it, put it out. Write a song, record it, put it out. Just, you know, here and there as we could. And that's how this record came about. From just gradually, like, building up enough songs to the point where we're like, hey, we need, like, three more to make a vinyl, so let's. [00:38:16] Speaker B: And how was it, like, crush it out? You know, being in a band that. That tours and, you know, plays out constantly. And that's obviously you. You approach. You approach things differently. Like, when you don't have that pressure of not only do you not have anything scheduled, but you're like, there's no place to play. You know, like, when that's taken away, what did that do to, like, your freedom of creativity? I guess to not have to worry about, you know, having your chops ready for a live performance when you can just be like, all right, well, now we're just making kind of. You're almost kind of making music for yourself, I guess. [00:38:56] Speaker D: Yeah. Well, there's no deadline. [00:38:59] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:38:59] Speaker D: So that's a positive, but it's also. It's also kind of a negative because you feel like you're floating somewhat because there wasn't a thing where it was like, live music will resume in four months. No one knew. So I think probably a lot of creative people took the opportunity. I'm going to take a picture of my dog with you. My dog is crawling all over you. [00:39:26] Speaker B: You can jump up. I'm fine with it. He's like, calvin. Oh, hi. [00:39:31] Speaker D: This is very cute. [00:39:34] Speaker A: Yeah, no, it's fine. [00:39:35] Speaker B: I'm gonna get in trouble when I get home because Calvin's gonna be like, yeah, what the. He's like, you know, he's like, I'm [00:39:42] Speaker C: gonna be getting some kisses. [00:39:43] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:39:43] Speaker C: There's nothing you can do about it. [00:39:44] Speaker B: It's like, you leave me. Leave me home alone in the middle of the day and then come back. So, yeah, not having that deadline, but you're right. It's. I don't know. It's. It's just weird to. That almost like, too much freedom can be A detriment, you know what I mean? Because it's. If you don't like a deadline is. Or at least myself, it's what keeps me moving. You know what I mean? If you have a deadline when you're like, well, I can't. I can't stop. I got to keep going. But if that deadline's taken away, myself, I would be very scared that I wouldn't have that output, you know, Like, I'd be. So I. I don't know. I guess it's. It's cool that you took it and turned it into something really positive. Whereas, like, I mean, you know, I was in a musical outfit during COVID but we were an acoustic duo and whatever. And like, you know, my band kind of started post Covet, but I. I think it. A lot of people up and like [00:40:50] Speaker C: a reset, I think. [00:40:51] Speaker B: Yeah, but it's. Oh for you guys. [00:40:53] Speaker C: I think so. [00:40:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:40:54] Speaker C: We just kind of like it was all stripped down and then we just started jamming again without any kind of pressure. [00:41:00] Speaker B: Right. [00:41:01] Speaker C: You know? [00:41:01] Speaker B: And how was that like then having control of over even the recording, you know, like, did that change how the songs were written, like without anybody telling you no or maybe try it this way instead? Like. [00:41:15] Speaker C: Yeah, I think this record is different. I mean, it sounds different than anything else we've done. Right. It's like we kind of just did what we felt like doing. [00:41:24] Speaker D: One of the big things that made it different was that we mixed it ourselves. [00:41:28] Speaker B: And is that the first time. [00:41:30] Speaker D: The first time we've mixed an album? [00:41:32] Speaker B: Wow. [00:41:33] Speaker D: Yeah. And we did it together. The three of us would get together every day that we could. And speaking of deadlines, we knew that we needed one to get it done, so talked with Greg Bell and asked him about doing a 30th anniversary show. And we picked a date and we said, okay, there's our deadline we need to get. Especially for vinyl, because it takes. Takes six weeks generally for vinyl. So we knew the package had to be done and you know, with the artwork alone, formatting an artwork for vinyl and then cd, it takes a little while for sure. [00:42:12] Speaker B: Now we didn't even talk about whether we would talk about the show, but I think since you bring it up, we should so tell everybody about the show. [00:42:21] Speaker D: Yeah. The co host music hall is a magical place. If you're curious and you've never been there, check it out. And February 28th would be the perfect time to go because it's our 30th anniversary show, it's our album release party. Tickets Are on sale now@the cahosemusichall.org and all the seats are the same price. So you can rock out on the floor, floor level, standing room, or you can get a seat. [00:42:51] Speaker B: And you said 28th? [00:42:52] Speaker D: Yeah, February 28th. [00:42:53] Speaker B: Yeah. Then I should. I'll release this on Tuesday the 24th so that I can put the link in. So that if people are listening to this, like, they can still get. Get tickets because, you know, I'm glad I made a note of that. So I didn't release it in March and go, oh, yeah, that show. That happened a couple weeks ago. Yeah. So if you're listening to this as this episode airs, you can still get tickets. And is it just. You got. How long are you playing for? [00:43:20] Speaker D: We're having our friends from Saratoga. They're a duo called Drank the Gold, James and Una. James and Una. They're going to open the show and get everybody happy with their truth. They're amazing players and singers. [00:43:34] Speaker B: They are great. They. They gave me one of the. The coolest moments when they came up to my place and recorded an episode and they did a live jig in the studio and I, like, left them alone and went out. Out in the living room and was. Was out there smoking a joint. Just like, there's some really dope music coming out of my garage. [00:43:53] Speaker A: Right. [00:43:53] Speaker B: You know, it was like one of those moments where I was like, my life's kind of cool sometimes, you know, having to Drank the gold give me a private performance. Anyway. Yeah, that's gonna be cool. So February 28th, that's a Saturday. If my aging eyes don't deceive me as I look at the calendar. [00:44:10] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:10] Speaker B: But anyway, you can get tickets. I'll link them in the show notes. So if you're listening, just scroll, click, buy tickets right there. I did my due diligence with the. [00:44:22] Speaker D: Well done. Thank you. [00:44:23] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good. That's gonna be really cool. I'm stoked for that. And it's hard to believe 30 years it's been. It was 20 something when I, you know, you've been a part of my musical journey for 20 something. Anyway. Wild. All right, enough. Enough existential dread on my part. Let's get back to the music. So the show coming up on the 28th, the album is coming out. That is it. That day will be the first. First availability of the. I have one. [00:45:00] Speaker D: We're taking pre orders now. And the album will be released officially on February 25th. [00:45:06] Speaker B: Okay. So a couple days ahead. Give people a chance to learn the lyrics. [00:45:10] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:45:10] Speaker B: All right, so that's gonna be super cool. Make sure to go to co host music hall. It is a great venue, by the way. The sound in there is really cool and there's not a bad seat in the house, which, which I like in a venue. But you know, we're just gonna jump right into it and play a song. We played a song. Your career. And now we're going to play something off the new record that is out on the 25th. So what are. What are we going to hear? And I guess tell us a little bit about the song. [00:45:36] Speaker C: This is called Agent of Change. It's the first song on the record Spirit of the Sound. Spirit in the Sound record. We're just super excited about it. It's pretty rocking. [00:45:47] Speaker A: Nice. [00:45:48] Speaker B: All right, well, let's. Let's check it out. Spirit in the Sound is the album and then Agent of Change is song. [00:45:56] Speaker C: First tune on the record. [00:45:57] Speaker A: Cool. [00:45:57] Speaker B: Well, let's check out agent of change, super 400 and then we'll be right back to wrap it up. [00:46:21] Speaker F: Over the stipend bow. [00:46:24] Speaker A: It's a wick if you got the fat bound banging all on the edge of the sky. I got your name in the star of my heart and watch it burn till the end of time. [00:46:40] Speaker F: Agents have change, you can change my mind. I'm chasing down shadows with holes in my shoes Nothing can stop me on the brave paths of you. [00:47:01] Speaker A: Cut down the demons in idols Feed the bones to the loaches and flies. You carved my name in the star yard and brought back to me with the joyful pride. [00:47:17] Speaker F: Agents of change, you change my mind. [00:47:53] Speaker A: Sam. [00:48:28] Speaker F: Agent of change, can you change my mind? Agent of change, can you read my mind? [00:48:46] Speaker B: All right, that was Agent of Change, Super 400 off the album Spirit in the Sound, which I'm. I'm holding in my. My grubby little hands. I'm actually going to listen to this on the way. On the way home because I got a 40 minute drive so I'll be able to hear the whole thing and you know, anyway. But I want to thank you so much for inviting me into your home to do this. This was really cool. And I was. I was nervous on the way down and. And you. You set me at ease right away, so I appreciate that. And before we go, I want to give you the chance to say your gratitude. So, Laurie, we'll start with you. [00:49:19] Speaker D: Oh, we're just grateful to have the chance to talk with you, Andy. And it's really a pleasure after 30 years to still be doing what we love and making our dreams come true. So thanks to anyone who has been to a show or supported us by buying a T shirt or an album. And let's pack the place on February 28th. You can also see us super400.com Sign up for our mailing list, which we send out once every month or so. So keep in touch. [00:49:49] Speaker E: You pretty much covered it, so now I have nothing left. And when, when I get done, then Joe's really not going to have anything left. I'm gonna paint you right into a corner [00:50:01] Speaker C: now. I would like to thank everybody that's been coming to see us from. This is a long time we've been. And it's a lot of the same people that have become. They're like family. [00:50:07] Speaker B: Right? [00:50:08] Speaker C: You know what I mean? And they've been coming to see us for. Since the beginning and hopefully we'll see them on the 28th. [00:50:14] Speaker E: And Greg Bell, thankful for Greg Bell for working with us at the Coe's Music hall and the Coe's Music hall for having us there several times. It's really our favorite place to play and we're really looking forward to kicking off the album there in our next chapter. [00:50:30] Speaker B: All right, so they are Super 400 I am Andy Scullin. This is unsigned 518. I'll see you on the road. Unsigned 518 is produced and hosted by me, Andy Scullin. New episodes are available every week wherever you stream podcasts. If you'd like to help support the show, please like and subscribe wherever you are listening. Or you could buy me a [email protected] unsigned 518 if you would like to advertise on the show, send me an [email protected] and to be a guest on the show, reach out to me through Instagram 518 take care of one another and I'll see you next week. [00:51:15] Speaker A: Andy Scullin.