Free the Witness: Punk, Pressure, and Good Mourning America

Cold Open And Introductions

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Oh wait a bit wait a bit oh sorry you're fine. I noticed there's a typo it says fear the witness.

SPEAKER_06 0:07

I saw Oh yes, that's on me. That's on me. Yeah. On on the doc it is correct. It autocorrected on the actual internet.

SPEAKER_01 0:14

I didn't know if it was live streaming.

SPEAKER_04 0:16

I saw like fear the witness somewhere.

SPEAKER_06 0:18

Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_04 0:19

One thing you should know is none of us can spell or read.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Yeah. It is a true circle. Which I'm sure you probably wouldn't want your nurse to tell you, but whatever.

SPEAKER_02 0:28

No, it's okay. You're not my nurse. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 0:34

All right.

SPEAKER_06 0:34

All right. Cold open. What happens when a punk band takes everything it loves about the scene, adds a little post-hardcore chaos, and calls the results Good Morning America. Let's talk about it. I fucking love that. I'm telling you, I'm the worst person to have a podcast. I can barely. What's up, everyone? Welcome back to the show. I am your host, Harley, joined as always by my co-hosts and little sisters, Taylor and Chris. And as we said, we have an extremely special guest on the show today. We are interviewing the one and only Free the Witness for their new EP, Good Morning America.

Weddings Tour Life And Vows

SPEAKER_06 1:46

So I do want to talk about the album, but first, we do always do this. Life updates for everybody. Jake, tell us about what's going on in your world.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Uh, I'm getting married in less than a month.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

So I'm very congratulations. Congratulations. Yep. I just got finished doing two tours. One was a U.S. tour, and then we just announced another tour that's going all the way down to Florida. So I'm a very busy guy. Woo woo!

SPEAKER_06 2:19

That is awesome, man. So congratulations on the the early engagement that you're gonna have.

unknown 2:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 2:27

Are you I was gonna say, are you excited? Are you nervous?

SPEAKER_01 2:32

I'm like very, very excited, which anybody should be if they're getting married. Yes. And definitely not I yeah, like healthy nerves, but also I'm like, I feel like I don't know if any of you guys are married, and it's none of my business if you aren't, but I I definitely feel like it's something that's always on my mind. So I'm looking forward to enjoying the day and then living my married life, yeah. You know, because the planning's been a lot on top of planning tours and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_06 3:08

Right. How long have you guys been together?

SPEAKER_01 3:11

We've been together, we're going on four or five years now. I I'm not good at math. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 3:21

So I was engaged for I was engaged for two years. We were together for five or six years. Six before six, thank you, Taylor. Before we actually got married, and we had lived together, I believe, for four years out of those six.

SPEAKER_04 3:40

Yes, that's the same.

SPEAKER_06 3:41

So for us, yeah, for us, next to nothing changed. We were kind of already in the uh swing of things, you know what I mean? But like the experience, man, you can't you can't take away that experience. It's a it's a once-in-a-lifetime feeling, like truly. And I I was also never nervous the entire time. I was just excited.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

I I would say that I am just so so so excited, like nervous, excited to see what she's gonna look like. Like I it's that I it's so silly. I I I was like daydreaming about it the other day. Wait, that's so cute! Which is yeah, which is real sappy and all, but now I trust you are writing your own vows, right? No, chat GBT is doing it all. Yeah, nice, nice, nice. Yeah, no, no, of course, of course I am. Which, yeah, I gotta hop on that.

SPEAKER_06 4:40

Being a musician and a songwriter, is your wife nervous about your vows completely demolishing her vows to you?

SPEAKER_00 4:53

That's a great question.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

I think that she she is aware that I have a way with words, and she's vocalized at the name.

SPEAKER_06 5:05

That I I until this moment, I never even thought about that with Lindsay, my wife. I I should ask her when I get off of here if that was ever a nervous part for her.

SPEAKER_04 5:15

Do you remember your vows?

SPEAKER_06 5:17

Yes, they were hilarious. I started my vows by reciting Abraham Lincoln's speech.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

That is wow.

SPEAKER_06 5:27

Yes, cool.

SPEAKER_04 5:29

Yes, and then he said, Oh, wrong piece of paper.

SPEAKER_06 5:33

Yeah, and I folded it up and put it back in my pocket, and I pulled out a nice book and started reading my actual vows. But yeah, I I think it was it was a very, very long-winded way to say that I love her.

SPEAKER_04 5:48

That's the idea.

SPEAKER_06 5:50

I think the idea got the point across. Very much so. Very much so.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

That's good. That's all that matters. I think that's cool. I've never heard of somebody starting their vows with an Abraham Lincoln quote.

SPEAKER_06 6:03

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

It was really funny. I it was very funny.

SPEAKER_06 6:07

And I said four scores seven years ago, and then I went on and I was like, Oh, wait, sorry, wrong speech. And then I folded it back up. It was it was a good time.

SPEAKER_01 6:14

It was it was a good bit. It really was. Do you have any kids? Do you mind me asking?

SPEAKER_06 6:18

I do. I have a son, he just turned two years old.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

That it congratulations. That's so dad joke-coded. Yes, it's hilarious.

SPEAKER_06 6:31

Now, Chris also is a family man, he's got five children and a lovely wife as well. Chris, what was your wedding day experience like?

SPEAKER_03 6:40

Dude, it was a blur. I think I maybe took one bite of food and like a sip of beer running back and forth. I remember seeing what, like a hundred people and like, oh hey, making sure to like talk to everybody, talk to everybody. And then it was over.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

I I yeah, I worry about that, you know, but it's I guess it's powerful of the course. I can only relate it to like after a concert that we do in our home market. I feel like any friends or family who came out to that, I feel like I have to ping around and acknowledge that you know, thank you so much for coming.

SPEAKER_06 7:19

And right. So well, so I agree with Chris in the sense of like, I don't remember my reception at all, but the wedding itself, the ceremony, I'll never forget that moment. I'll never forget the way I felt in that day. But the reception, I do not remember any of it. It was a complete blur.

SPEAKER_04 7:39

We did take shots.

SPEAKER_06 7:40

We did, we took shots, we did a lot of beer.

SPEAKER_04 7:43

We ate pizza. I don't know who's we on that.

SPEAKER_06 7:46

I took shots, I drank no beer. There was a lot of moonshine for sure.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Yes, oh this was like a wedding.

SPEAKER_06 7:57

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

Yeah, blinking a blinking speech, and moonshine. We are from Ohio, yeah. Oh, there's also that Ohio is like one of my favorite places we've toured to. Ohio knows how to party. Really? Ohio knows how to party. We do know how to party.

SPEAKER_06 8:17

Yeah. Chris, Chris, what's going on in your world, sir?

SPEAKER_03 8:23

Uh nothing. Nothing. Uh, we actually have our anniversary coming up. Yes, that is right. Yeah, so do I. Shoot. On on Halloween.

SPEAKER_04 8:32

I should figure that out.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Yeah. That's pretty, that's pretty big. That's that's not nothing. That's pretty cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:39

That's really sick. Now's married life, guys.

SPEAKER_06 8:42

I was gonna say, Taylor. Three people here have gotten a step further than you in life. How's everything going for you and Dylan? I'm sure he can hear.

SPEAKER_04 8:52

He can't. He has his headphones on right now. He's playing his video games with his friends. I know you're trying to be funny, but actually things are great. Things are great. I'm I'm big chilling. No ring, no ring. We had to drop a bag on my car. So any any money that was for a ring definitely went towards my engine, and that's okay.

SPEAKER_03 9:13

I'll I'll mail Dylan a ring.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

Okay, you gotta be able to drive to pick up the ring.

SPEAKER_03 9:18

That is true.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

Exactly. I would not I would not risk getting it nailed. See, Chris, you have to come drop it off.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Yeah. Florida?

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Yes.

Influences From Skate Punk To Pop

SPEAKER_06 9:30

There is a handful of things to talk about. I did want to bring up. I recently went and saw stained and seether and hoopsank and hinder. Jake, how do you feel about those bands? They're they're kind of not not really in your lane, but genre-wise, they're similar. You know, you guys are both in the rock genre, so to speak.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Right. In the broader family.

SPEAKER_06 9:58

Yeah. They would be like the grandfathers, right? Of of the new wave of post pop punk.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

Yeah. I don't know. I don't really, I don't personally vibe with them. I I can appreciate, you know, I'm sure I could appreciate them, but I don't really listen to them. So it's like totally out of left field the those guys. My taste is very, very, very specific.

SPEAKER_06 10:24

Yeah. So yeah. Who who are some of your inspirations?

SPEAKER_01 10:29

Like uh Bad Religion's my favorite band of all time. Pennywise, no effects, like Bouncing Souls. You can you see where this is going? And then I also you know, uh Strike Anywhere I've been getting into. I love Madonna, Tom Petty, like Brian Fallon. Pretty much it's either really like skate punk or like really pop, like but like good pop, like Madonna. Come on, and then folk, yeah. Like folk marijuana.

SPEAKER_06 11:02

Yeah, and like that's my stuff. You you guys, correct me if I'm wrong here, also played with No FX, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Yeah, we did, yeah, back in 2022.

SPEAKER_06 11:13

What was that experience like? Because that's gotta be incredible to be able to have that inspiration and share the stage with them. That's gotta be awesome.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Yeah, I mean it was it was a dream come true to play on a I mean, a lot of I I think I could speak for almost any Asbury Park musician, and they'd say that one of their dreams is to play the Stone Pony summer stage.

SPEAKER_02 11:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

And I've always said that in this crazy journey that I've had, when I did that, I'm proud of I don't think I'll ever be satiated in in what's next to come. I'm always gonna be like looking for that. But I'm really proud that I even got to that point.

SPEAKER_06 11:55

Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

And and played with my heroes. You know.

SPEAKER_06 11:58

Now, did you get the chance to meet them as well?

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 12:03

Did did they sometimes when you meet people that you idolize, they don't pan out to be the people that you wanted them to be. Were they exactly who you wanted them to be?

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Not entirely to be transparent, yeah. Um but like I also like understand as a like touring musician now that like if you're on the road for days and days and days at a time, and like it just gets really tiring. So like they're at the point in their career where like they have the liberty that like you know that they went through hell and high water to like like going through like the hard stuff. Like on our last tour, we slept on a motel room floor in Bakersfield, like NoFX has done stuff like that too. So, like, they have the liberty now to be in their tour bus and sleeping, and like you know, kind of wanted to stay in like their like own bubble and stuff like that, and that's cool. And I totally like understand that vibe because they worked their asses off to get to that point. So I was I I respect it, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 13:54

Taylor and I have had a very similar experience on this show with one of our idols. You you you'll know it later when we talk about it after the show, but you'll you'll remember the story. I'm not gonna bring up names, but we had an interview with somebody that was supposed to be a half an hour interview, and then they were 10 minutes late to the interview, and then also said, Hey, by the way, I can only give you 15 minutes, and we've already used five.

SPEAKER_04 14:24

So I love here, like we're not going into details, and here is the detail.

SPEAKER_06 14:28

Well, I am not saying the name because I do still respect this man.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Yes, I I can I say something about that, of course. Yeah, please. I I I wholeheartedly stand by this. I don't care if I'm the most famous person in the world or if I'm the like you know guy on the bottom of the totem pole. There's just a level of respect, and that's just disrespectful to somebody's time. So I don't care, I don't care who you are, and I'm I'm the kind of person who would call that person out, yes, for that.

SPEAKER_04 14:56

Yes, and he was also, you could very much tell, was bothered that he had to be there. And I was like, Yes, you could have just like not came on, it's okay, it's fine, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 15:07

Yeah, but you know, I still love the band, I still love the guy. I mean, yes, Santa Monica is one of the greatest tracks of all time.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

I feel like I should know. I should know, but I'm searching for it, and it's not. It's okay. We'll text you later.

SPEAKER_04 15:29

We'll text you later, it's fine.

SPEAKER_06 15:31

Yeah, I'm sorry. But no, I I understand maybe it's good feeling that feeling though. It's it we got off of that, and I was like, man, that that definitely hurt, you know.

SPEAKER_04 15:41

Yeah, but with that to be said, we've had so many other incredible interviews though with other idols of ours.

SPEAKER_06 15:47

So it's like absolutely and speaking of this. This how how do I say this without it coming off as incorrect or or deemed disrespectful? You won't people often will ask me if I know people from Ohio. When I say I'm from Ohio and somebody knows someone from Ohio, they'll say, Oh, do you know Joe? And I'll be like, I don't know Joe. Not everybody in Ohio knows everybody in Ohio.

SPEAKER_03 16:15

Yes, the that's different with West Virginians. Everybody knows everybody.

SPEAKER_06 16:22

Being from Jersey, West Virginia's pretty badass. You and this person are both musicians from Jersey. Do you know Danny from Just Happy to Be Here, a Jersey-based band?

SPEAKER_01 16:40

No, no, oh you should just happy to be here. Yeah, no, what uh where in Jersey?

SPEAKER_05 16:47

I believe uh boy boy in bo bayon bayon.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Oh bayon. Oh yeah. Oh I'm happy in Asbury Park. Uh we've got that, but but you should you should connect us and maybe we can play a show together sometime. Exactly.

SPEAKER_06 17:08

That's what I was thinking. Yeah, you guys, you would love his band. They they have a very, very similar vibe as you guys, and and he is a blast to hang out with.

SPEAKER_04 17:18

So oh, he's amazing.

SPEAKER_06 17:20

But let's dive into the music, man. Tell me a little bit about the band and how you guys came to be. Let's start from the beginning because there is not a

How Free The Witness Forms

SPEAKER_06 17:31

lot of information about you online, so this is new information to a new audience. So walk me through the journey of how things started.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

You know, I I'm always surprised, you know, that there's not that much information online that that you say that because like I would like to assume that there would be. Maybe I'm doing something wrong on my part, or maybe I just didn't do enough media at the time. But I like to start from where we are right now, which is the current lineup. There's a history to the band that goes back all the way to 2018, and you know, with COVID and and just finding the right people who had the same vision as me. There were bumps along the way, but I like to envision the starting point, which is when we signed with Dan. And that's when we really locked in. And you know, I found Brandon, a guitarist, and then we ultimately had Johnny and Brendan come in, and the lineup was we had a different drummer and bassist at the time, but nevertheless, onwards, right? And so the second that I'm not even kidding you, the second that Johnny and Brendan joined, I I was transparent with them and I said, Hey guys, I think you're great musicians. I would love for you to join this project, but we're gonna go balls to the wall. And if you're not gonna be willing to tour this entire country with me, don't join the project and don't waste my time. You know, don't waste Brandon's time, don't waste the project's time. But if you guys are like wholeheartedly in this and you believe in this vision that I'm presenting to you, hop on board and let's like do this thing. Maybe like a month and a half month later from Johnny and Brendan joining, we had Dream Me go viral.

SPEAKER_05 19:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

And like bless them, what a Roman to step into. You know, I don't know. Yeah, so that's the start for this iteration of Free the Witness.

SPEAKER_06 19:35

When that track went viral, what was that experience like for you guys as a group? Was it one of those like overnight type of things where you were just like, hey, I think this is I think this is gonna be something. And then over that following week, you were like, oh shit, this is crazy.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

I think we had you know, Dim had like coached us enough to like build the muscle of social media presence that we had been we had been busting our asses off for like two years, nonstop posting. Now I'm not talking like posting like once every week, like posting every day for two years before something finally happened. And the some when the something that happened happened, we had just released Dead Man's Tale. No, it had been a year since we released Dead Man's Tale. And Brandon texted me. I remember I was in the parking lot somewhere, and he texted me, should I post this video? And it was of him playing this guitar riff, and I texted him back, no, don't post that. We have a record to focus on and promote.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

Brandon, being the stubborn person that he is, posted it anyway.

SPEAKER_01 20:55

And I had to stand corrected on it because I woke up the next morning, Matt calls me, and Matt's our manager, yeah, and he calls me and he's just like, yo, your kid post uh the kid posted something and he's on to something, he's on to something with that video. And I'm like, What? What is he talking about? I was busy. I open up Instagram and it's at 60,000 views or something like that, and I was like, What? And now it's now it's

The Viral Dorm Riff Moment

SPEAKER_01 21:23

gotten millions of views at this point across like a few videos, but at 60,000, that was like the biggest at that point. So I was just like, What the heck? Like, one, I was a little embarrassed because I told him not to post it, and then the second thing was is that Matt was like, We need to turn this into an entire song. So we sat down, me and Brandon, and we turned it into an entire song it that day.

SPEAKER_06 21:53

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 21:55

Because it started as just a guitar riff, right?

SPEAKER_06 21:59

Now, now, given given that situation with your virality there, now moving forward, was it everything gets posted no matter what we might think, or do you still be conservative with choices?

SPEAKER_01 22:15

Everything gets posted. I think that you have a job to do with promotion for like the record cycle that we're in right now. We're still posting stuff for that. But if we have something that we think is really badass, I mean like egg was on my face there, you know? Like I had to I had to take it on the chin.

SPEAKER_04 22:38

Um, does he still hold it against you? Do you know what I mean? Is it does it still get brought up?

SPEAKER_01 22:45

Yes, but. I have a beautiful counter and my counter is this. He originally posted the video. To be fair, I'll give him credit. I had to take it on the chin. I was totally wrong. You know, I stood corrected. He was right. He should have posted that. He posts the video, right? And it gets like 60,000 views. I tell him, because Matt had coached me with this social media brain. I say, Brandon, you need to post that again, but this time with a caption. And a caption that's really, really good. He fought me tooth and nail on it. This is where he he has to stand corrected. We got in a big fight over it. Finally, he just, I guess, backs down, takes the because he posted the same video again, but without a caption. He f he takes the video down and I said, dude, just post it with a caption. He posts it with a caption. And all credit to him for this caption because it was brilliant. It was guitarist will smoke a bowl, write a riff like this, and then like forget it like 10 seconds later or something like that.

SPEAKER_06 23:55

That is genius.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

Don't quote me. I don't think that's verbatim what the what the caption is, but it was really funny. And when he when that happened, that's when it skyrocketed. With that caption. It was that caption in conjunction with the how good the riff is, it was it just went boom.

SPEAKER_04 24:16

So is it like a pendos situation? Like it just cancels each other out then.

SPEAKER_01 24:20

I would like to think so.

SPEAKER_04 24:22

Okay, okay, okay. I'll take that answer.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

That's a great analogy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:29

So Jake, uh, if I'm not mistaken, I remember this it says it's riff number four, correct?

SPEAKER_01 24:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:37

What what's the four stand for? I'm ignorant.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

So Brandon had Brandon's the youngest in the band, and he had just gone off to college, and he started for fun posting on his personal page dormriffs. So like he was in his dorm room and he would write uh riff.

SPEAKER_03 24:56

Dormriff number four, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 24:58

Right. And so it was the fourth one that he posted. It's cool the lore behind it. So yeah, the the song was originally put up as Drain Me.

SPEAKER_06 25:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

Because I said I said, you know, if you listen to lyrics in the song, you know, I say those words and sing them. But I think, you know, Brandon was just like, can we add the Dormrith

Writing Process And Beating Writer’s Block

SPEAKER_01 26:14

number four back to it? Because like there's something really wholesome about it, I think.

SPEAKER_06 26:18

Yeah, I think it tells a two story, absolutely, yeah. Yeah, the the lore of these songs and how they come about is just as important as the lyrical elements that you guys choose. Now, lyrically, you guys have a way of writing something I would say teeth the line of political and uh rage almost. Yeah. How how do you guys go about the writing process when when you sit down specifically to write a song? What direction do you guys choose to go with?

SPEAKER_01 27:01

I hate to say that's a loaded question just because like I feel like everybody wants to know, you know, rightfully so, what an artist's writing process is like. And I feel like it's so different for each song that I'd be lying to you if I told you I stay up till like two o'clock every morning and this is my ritual. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:26

So there's no equation, there's no, hey guys, you know, input a time. Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

No, I I I think it's more along the lines of I'm definitely more politically charged with my writing. And I would say that Brandon, and I think this comes with his age, is at a time where he's more emotionally charged with his right song. Not that I don't write from emotion, but I just tend to be, I guess there's definitely an aggravation.

SPEAKER_02 28:04

Oh, yeah, politically.

SPEAKER_01 28:07

And Brandon experiences that too. Brandon experiences that too. Don't get me wrong. I just think that like our writing styles differ in those senses. For sure.

SPEAKER_06 28:18

Now, as as far as the the writing process goes, though, is it is it something that you do like sit down and take time to do, or is it more like for me, I'm a songwriter as well, and I just put fractions of songs in my notes app on my phone, and then I so you don't finish them? I know it's like the big thing, right? Right, right there's a really famous quote that's like finish the damn song. Um but like I I guess I have a bunch of fractioned pieces of ideas and concepts and and wording and phrases that I like, and I just put them in there, and then when I do find down, I pull that out and I'm like, okay, I pick one section, I'm like, this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna finish this one. Is that similar for you that you'll just be kind of throughout your day and see something and be like, oh, I'm gonna just jot that down real quick?

SPEAKER_01 29:16

I think since I got back from our West Coast tour, Chad from Bridge the Gap and banned out in Utah. He told me that he doesn't finish he like if he starts an idea, he doesn't let himself get up until he finishes it. So I've been trying to do that more lately. And also, I don't think I answered your question totally. What what was it again?

SPEAKER_06 29:43

I mean, I've just do you jot down ideas and then come back to them? Or so but you're saying you're trying to sit down. For me, I feel like I would be in such a writer's lock and frustrated from trying to force an idea.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

It's actually, I I would say that I've been in a writer's block for like a couple years, even with the EP that we just did. Yeah, I still felt like I was in a writer's block during that time. I got back and I took Chad's advice, and I feel like I broke through this ceiling that I was having a hard time breaking through just because it started building the muscle of learning how to finish.

SPEAKER_06 30:26

Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 30:29

Yeah, I I I do understand that. I just anytime I push myself to that extreme, I find myself like coming up with like choruses that I don't truly believe in, or you know, melodies that I'm like, eh, that's not great, but like I can work on it on the back end.

SPEAKER_01 30:46

Well, I wouldn't get demo itis. That's something that Matt Matt calls it. And I think that's something that I try to shy away from. Usually my initial reaction with where I want the chorus and verses to go is the right reaction. And I feel like it's easy to fall into a trap of going back a million times.

SPEAKER_06 31:06

Yeah, yeah, that that's me, man. I I'm always going back and being like, ah, that's kind of lame, or that that's too simplified. I need to make it a little more exquisite and and and more profound.

SPEAKER_01 31:20

Which you should go back and like refine things, but like I wouldn't do it to the extent of like driving, excuse me, driving yourself crazy.

SPEAKER_06 31:28

You know, right. I have to ask, I I see the June tattoo. Can you explain the June tattoo?

SPEAKER_01 31:34

It's my grandmother's name. Oh, that's beautiful. Yeah, she's still alive. I I didn't want to get a tattoo when she when she passed, so I called when she was alive. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, thanks.

SPEAKER_06 31:49

Now, I know that you are a nurse, yeah, but outside of your career and music, what kind of hobbies do you have? What do you like to get into?

SPEAKER_01 31:58

I've been surfing non-stop. I my life consists of music. Surfing is like music's a job, right, at this point for me. And a job that doesn't pay well. And then it's surfing and and my docs and and fiance. That's awesome. My life, and it's beautiful. And we're five blocks from the beach, and I'm very, very happy. It took a long time.

SPEAKER_06 32:28

Dachshund's the the wiener dog, right? Yeah, or is that a dash hound? Or are those the same thing?

SPEAKER_01 32:33

Those are the same thing. The same thing.

SPEAKER_06 32:35

Oh, okay. Okay. Let's talk about Good Morning America a little more. Because we've talked about Riff 4. Tell me a little bit about see, I'm so bad with names. How the story ends. I I want to know the story behind

The Meaning Behind How The Story Ends

SPEAKER_06 32:52

how the story ends.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

I feel like that's not my place to talk on. It's a very personal song to Brandon. Right. What I can give you is the version that I don't think is crossing any boundaries that he may not want to air to the public. I don't know. The song is about a very low moment that he had and that he picked himself up from ultimately. And I I think I can leave it at that. If you listen, if you look at the lyrics and even the song title, I think it kind of speaks for itself. Sonically, I think it's cool that it's in 6-8. You know, it's a yeah, it's a it's it's a very, it's a very pretty song. So 6-8 is my worst nightmare.

SPEAKER_06 33:44

I'm a big Tool fan. It reminded me a lot of Tool. And then like these two people here on the show know what I've been dealing with recently. So that's why that song gravitated with me. Oh wow, like I I I heard it and and I was like, wow, man, like that's a super impactful song, and it it describes a little bit of what if I I'm trying to challenge myself to get through now. So I I think I understand.

SPEAKER_01 34:11

I think it's one of those songs, and I hope that you're getting through that because that sucks. For sure. And so I think that there's some songs that just come out naturally and that are just so pure and authentic, and it's there's no songwriting process because it just comes out from the heart. I I believe that I had a choir teacher who would say music is the doctor of the soul, and I think hearing that that song resonates with you, even though you're like from a different state, you know, a grown adult as opposed to this 19-year-old who who wrote it and stuff like that, I think that's beautiful, it's universal.

SPEAKER_05 34:57

Yeah, so I hope you're happy.

SPEAKER_06 35:00

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

I think it's his his most well-written song. It's I think it's really good.

SPEAKER_06 35:07

For everyone listening, we are talking with Jake from Free the Witness, and the album or EP, I'm sorry, is called Good Morning America. Please check it out. Jake, can you tell us a little bit about some dates and stuff that you got coming up or anything that you're working on?

SPEAKER_00 35:26

Yeah, we got some November and December shows going down all the way to Florida, and then some shows in New England we're circling back to.

SPEAKER_01 35:38

And we might be 70 or 80 percent done with enough material for another record. Oh, that's awesome. That's sick. Yeah, I really locked in when I got back from tour.

SPEAKER_02 35:53

So nice.

SPEAKER_06 35:54

So feel free to decline to answer this question because I completely understand if you would like to, but there is some really big music news going on right now, and we're we're typically not the the political show in any

Art Politics And Speaking Up

SPEAKER_06 36:09

regards. We we dive into a little bit of our opinions, but we try to uh kind of stay in in uh ambiguity. However, there is there's something really big going on right now with Ed Sheeran? With Ed Sheeran and Macklemore and Pink. And if if you would like to comment, I would love to know your take as a musician in in the industry, but if not, I do understand.

SPEAKER_01 36:36

I think that art and I stand strong on this, that I think art and politics are intertwined with each other, and I don't think that that's something that artists should feel like they should shy away from. And I feel like I feel like genocide 80 years ago was wrong. I feel like genocide today is wrong. And I feel like it's not hard to say, that's not a hard thing to say, and I think that our last record speaks on it lyrically. I think my objective as an artist isn't to play a show and alienate people who appreciate our music. That being said, if you don't do your research into the band and what we stand for and what we're and and or or the things that we stand against, you know, you know, there is there's a genocide happening against Palestinian children, and it's wrong, and Palestinian and Palestinians in general, and I've had a this is very, very personal, so and it's scary for me to say this actually right now, but I I've the the whole thing has been very hard for me. I have my fiance is is Jewish, and I've found it very difficult because I can see everything that's wrong with Donald Trump, I can see everything that's wrong with fascism, and I and I I get frustrated and now you got my you got my head spin spinning, but I get frustrated because it's been a very trying time for me as an artist because I don't feel like Judaism and Zionism are the same thing. Agreed, yeah, and and it's upsetting to me to see that people there's many people who can't separate those two. And I think that arguably those people can fall into a category of being equally closed-minded. To wrap this all up, what I'm really trying to say is it's been it's been a very hard thing for me to like speak openly about outside of the music speaking for itself. And one of the ways that I figured out how to cope with that was you know, well, I said to myself, well, I'm American, right? You know, you're American, I'm from New Jersey, I'm American, I'm proud that I'm American. And and and I'm proud that I'm American. And I can't stand Donald Trump. Yes, you know what I mean, and I think that that speaks for itself. I I have family that's Jewish, and I think that it's wrong that there's a genocide going on, and I love spending the Jewish holidays with my family, and I love participating in that, but I disagree vehemently with what the Israeli government is doing. I I think that's my answer on that, and maybe you guys can take take this and kind of shorten it because I know it was really long.

SPEAKER_06 40:16

Of course, of course. I agree. I didn't for real. I was gonna say, Chris and I literally just had that exactly.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

I'm actually shaking talking about it right now because I'm really scared talking about that. Cause obviously my fiance and my wife to be means the world to me.

SPEAKER_05 40:33

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 40:34

It's a really frustrating time and situation. Our first record was about World War II and the genocide that happened during that time period, and it really hurts me and it's upsetting to see when things are right in front of your face and history is repeating itself, and somehow people can't grasp what's in front of them.

SPEAKER_05 40:54

Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 40:55

And that goes for the same people because there has been an insurgence of anti-Semitism that's unwarranted as well.

SPEAKER_06 41:06

Agreed.

SPEAKER_01 41:07

Yes, and I and that has nothing to do with me saying that has nothing to do with supporting what the Israeli government is doing. I think everybody has the right to practice their own religion freely, and I think that every murder's wrong, genocide's wrong. Yes, I don't know why that needs to be said so many times. Yes.

SPEAKER_06 41:33

Dude, I you're you're preaching to the right crowd. Uh Chris, do you let me ask Chris real quick? Chris, do you mind if I talk a little bit about our conversation that we had in regards to this?

SPEAKER_03 41:44

No, no, no, go ahead.

SPEAKER_06 41:45

Okay. So so Chris and I were talking about this exact situation and understanding that Palestinian people are Palestinian people and Israeli people are Israeli people, and it shouldn't be an ostracized statement to just simply say that you don't want anyone to be brutally murdered. There's no reason that that is such a political charge statement. And Chris and I were talking, and and he made a statement about how, you know, oops, sorry, my camera does that. He made a statement about security. He made a statement about how, you know, he he apologized. He said, I I I hope this isn't coming off as anti-Semitic. And I said, It's not. That's the sad part, is that we can't have these conversations without fear of being labeled as anti-Semitic when all we're saying is that people are people and they all deserve to live.

SPEAKER_01 42:43

Right. Likewise, like I am not anti-American because I dislike Donald Trump.

SPEAKER_03 42:51

Yes, not at all.

SPEAKER_06 42:52

I love this country, I'm a patriot through and through. And I can't say that.

SPEAKER_01 42:56

I think it is patriotic to question your government's actions. Yes, I think it's patriotic to to to be able to recognize when somebody's abusing power. And I think it's patriotic to uh I don't know what I was gonna fucking say. It's it's all patriotic. Our country is patriotic to write a to write a an album that calls the the US government out on their bullshit as well.

SPEAKER_03 43:23

Yeah, there's not enough people doing that.

SPEAKER_06 43:26

It is what our country was founded on is the idea of questioning power. I think we get away from the understanding of that is literally the reason we ended up here in this beautiful land.

SPEAKER_01 43:38

And for some future songs, there's some songs for us that are even more outspoken than Good Morning America on this that will be on this the upcoming record. So I you know, I'm feeling more confident in accepting. I always have accepted art, art, and politics being a thing that go in tandem with each other, but even more so, I feel even strong stronger on it.

SPEAKER_06 44:09

I I have never made a statement like I'm about to before, and the other two people on the show can choose whether or not to endorse what I'm about to say, but I stand with Jake, I stand with Free the Witness, and I stand with the Palestinian people. It is what it is, man. That that shouldn't be a crime.

SPEAKER_00 44:32

No, no, yes, Jake.

SPEAKER_06 44:36

I can't thank you enough for everything that you guys are doing, and I can't thank you enough for being on the show today, and thank you for for having the bravery to stand up and stand for what you believe in.

SPEAKER_01 44:50

Thanks. I appreciate that. I try to be authentic.

SPEAKER_03 44:54

Jake, that was pretty real, man.

SPEAKER_01 44:56

That was fantastic.

unknown 44:58

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:59

I don't think I've ever shaken on a podcast like that before. Oh first time.

SPEAKER_03 45:03

Thanks, Harley.

SPEAKER_01 45:05

I I know hey, screw you, man. No, it was a it was a pleasure having uh being being on this podcast. So I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_06 45:17

Absolutely again, everyone, please check out Free the Witness and go see them live. If you're gonna be in Virginia, I would love to see you. Alexandria.

SPEAKER_01 45:27

We're go we're going to uh we're gonna be in Galactic Panther on 11. Well, one of the November dates. You can find all the dates on our social media and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_06 45:38

Chris, Alexandria is not terribly far, right? You guys gotta come out.

SPEAKER_01 45:43

If you don't come out, you can't make deep drive.

SPEAKER_06 45:48

I can I can take a road trip. I'm in. I would love to. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:52

Oh, I'll be there in spirit. You guys FaceTime me.

SPEAKER_06 45:55

But I you said you're gonna be in Florida too, Taylor. You gotta go to the Florida shows.

SPEAKER_04 46:01

I don't drive. Oh, Disney. I'll find someone to drive me.

SPEAKER_01 46:05

Yes. Thanks. That's the girl math I was looking for.

SPEAKER_06 46:13

Jake, again, thank you so much, man. I really appreciate it. And please come back anytime.

SPEAKER_01 46:19

Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_04 46:21

Get out of here. Go save wives.

SPEAKER_06 46:22

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 46:24

Thanks.

SPEAKER_06 46:24

Get some sleep, dude. Oh, we'll see you later.

SPEAKER_04 46:28

See ya.

SPEAKER_03 46:30

Bye, Jake.

SPEAKER_04 46:32

And then there were three.

SPEAKER_03 46:37

Oh right. I did not think you were gonna go there.

SPEAKER_06 46:42

I you know, I was debating it

After The Interview Processing The Debate

SPEAKER_06 46:44

the entire episode, and I I feel better in my soul for doing so, if it matters.

SPEAKER_04 46:52

Good, I'm glad. And you know, you know what's crazy is I have been thinking a lot more. Sorry if you guys can hear the dogs. I've been thinking a lot more about our conversation. And the more I sat on it, the because I and I still sorry, this is gonna be minute. I'm gonna go all my hand you now. No, please. I still think it's not great the way that it was done. Harley and I talked about this, Chris. This is this is some backstory. I'm the one that told Harley about this. He knows so so we had a whole discussion, and I was like, yes, uh, politics and music go hand in hand, absolutely. And I think all musicians should stand up for what they believe in. Absolutely. However, I was like, it's Ed Sheeran Show that it was done at. Do you know what I mean? That's where I was kind of like, yeah, Chris and I talked about that.

SPEAKER_03 47:42

Yeah, I used I've used the example of like. Oh no.

SPEAKER_04 47:50

Oh, Chris, you you froze at the most.

SPEAKER_06 47:54

That would that was the that was the worst time in the world to freeze. Oh, you're back. Okay, okay. Did you guys hear me? No.

SPEAKER_02 48:01

No, no.

SPEAKER_06 48:03

I told you, man. It's the MSA. It was like, it was like somebody was like, nope, nope, nope. Nope.

SPEAKER_04 48:11

The FBI said, absolutely not.

SPEAKER_03 48:13

Do what you want in your yard, but don't go to your friend's yard and shit in it.

SPEAKER_00 48:17

Yeah, you know what I mean. Like without approval.

SPEAKER_06 48:20

I do get it.

SPEAKER_00 48:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_06 48:22

I do completely understand. Chris and I have talked about that. I I do understand. That's the that's the only shitty thing in this entire situation. Yeah, no, is that Macklemore made somebody else who didn't want to take a stand take a stand. That's literally the only bad thing.

SPEAKER_04 48:38

And that's pushing someone into a corner, and I don't love that at all. That that's my only biggest gripe with this.

SPEAKER_03 48:45

I I it wouldn't have mattered what McLemore said, honestly. However, though if he could have said anything, I stand with his right to say so.

SPEAKER_06 48:53

Correct. Yes. However, though, hear me out. It wasn't just Ed Sheeran's platform, it is also Macklemore's platform. Just because it's Ed Sheeran's tour, just because but yes, think about it this way is it Ed Sheeran's tour? It was all of their tour, they all agreed to tour together. Ed Sheeran also captured McIlmore's audience.

SPEAKER_03 49:25

To this, yeah, that would be like no.

SPEAKER_06 49:31

That's crazy. We can't do that. We can't do that.

SPEAKER_04 49:34

But do you know what I mean? Like, it is Ed Sheeran's tour.

SPEAKER_06 49:37

Yeah, yeah, but she chose, but McLamore also has been able to sell out stadiums. Macklemore could do his own tour, which is fantastic.

SPEAKER_04 49:46

Which is fun.

SPEAKER_06 49:47

And that's that's what I'm what I I guess what I'm trying to get at. I guess what I'm trying to get at is it is also McIlmore's platform. It's it's Ed Sheeran's platform, it's Macklemore's platform, it's Pink's platform. They share that stage.

SPEAKER_04 50:03

Yes, and and I get that, I do get that, but it's like and it was his time on that stage.

SPEAKER_06 50:10

That's his time, that's his audience, that's his engagement with the crowd. So I I I understand and I agree with both of you that it sucks, and he shouldn't have done that, but I also do understand that like that was his right and prerogative and audience.

SPEAKER_03 50:29

Yes, but at that point, don't complain when you're not getting gigs later on when no one else is asking you because of the controversy.

SPEAKER_06 50:38

But but he did it, some people will, yeah, yeah. But think about it though. Think of Macklemore's statements through this entire thing. He has said, I respect the decisions. No, yeah, people have been great.

SPEAKER_04 50:48

Like the thing, and and I get that, and I love that he's taking accountability for that, but he is now also forcing somebody else. Like, people bought, and here's my thing people bought Ed Sheeran tickets, they bought tickets to see Ed Sheeran, they got Malcolmore as a plus. They're like, Oh, I get to see Ed Sheeran, and Malcolmore's gonna be there. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_06 51:09

But but hear me out, but hear me out. Look at me. If you presented me with Ed Sheeran tickets and you were like, Hey, do you want to go see Ed Sheeran? My my let's just ballpark it and say $200. That's an average price on a concert ticket these days, right? You want to go see Ed Sheeran, $200. I would look at you and say, Who else is playing? Because that will be my determining factor. You throw in Mackelmore with Ed Sheeran. I'm interested. But if you presented me Ed Sheeran, but if you present me just Ed Sheeran, I would be like, not really, not for 200 bucks.

SPEAKER_03 51:43

Wait, we are talking about Ed Sheeran, the guy, the guy from Game of Thrones, right?

SPEAKER_06 51:47

Yes. Okay, okay. But my if you get my point, like for example, I just went to that stained, I just went to that stained show. I would have seen stained no matter who was playing with them. But if you reverse that and say, Hey, do you want to go see Caether? I would say it depends on who's playing with them.

SPEAKER_04 52:06

But and that's fine, but you just said you would reverse it. So, how many of those people bought tickets and were like, hey, we're gonna go see Ed Sheeran? That's awesome that Malcolmore's going. Like, that's my passion.

SPEAKER_06 52:18

But how many people bought those tickets that said, Oh, I get to see Macklemore? That's awesome. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 52:25

It's one of those things that can never be proved. Correct. You're not listening you're picking me up and we're car pulling, right? Uh-huh. And then I just start wiping my mouth with greasy fucking breakfast tacos all over your seat. Dude, that's my car. That's our car.

SPEAKER_04 52:41

It's our car.

SPEAKER_03 52:42

It's not true. Nah, that's not our car. That's not our car.

SPEAKER_04 52:45

It is because that's a bad analogy. I don't think it's a few. Whose label is funded show? No, that's what I'm saying. Like, his label is who is funding it.

SPEAKER_06 52:55

That's also not true.

SPEAKER_04 52:57

Maybe not label, but like, you know, like it's oh, you guys are both frozen.

SPEAKER_06 53:01

It it's on your end, buddy. We're good over here.

SPEAKER_04 53:03

Can you uh you guys are so frozen, dude?

SPEAKER_06 53:06

Taylor's got bad energy.

SPEAKER_04 53:08

Yeah, it's hurricane season in Florida.

SPEAKER_06 53:10

But on this long, but also what I'm saying is that's also not true. That's not how tours work. No, I don't know how tours work, but but I'm saying, like so each artist has to pay into that tour. It's it's not like Ed Sheeran.

SPEAKER_04 53:26

Are they paying equal amounts?

SPEAKER_06 53:28

Well, no, they're paying based off of lineup because that all because that's also how much time they get to play.

SPEAKER_03 53:33

Okay, so Ed Sheeran is the top dog.

SPEAKER_06 53:40

He's the headliner, but it is a tour in conjunction with the other two artists that he paid to be there.

SPEAKER_04 53:45

But my point is he's the headliner. So, like, and also if he would have just brought it up to both of them and said, Hey, I want to do this, either way, they're blindsided. That's my point. Either way, like it was a blind side move to me. Like, that's how I feel. However, uh, back to back to what I was saying. I do get it.

SPEAKER_06 54:01

I do get it.

SPEAKER_04 54:02

Back to what I was saying. Yeah, I will say I do agree more with you that I think it's wild Ed Shearn had the like this was a turning point for him in his career. And instead of taking a stance, it didn't truly, and it didn't matter if it was one way or the other. I think people are more upset that he is now staying neutral and in that in that time wasn't able to choose a side. And that I now agree with too, where like you are put in that corner, then you stand 10 toes down on what you believe in. Because now everyone has left his tour.

SPEAKER_06 54:37

Yeah, and and that sucks, you know what I mean? Because like that sucks for Ed Sheeran. No, and I I agree, but he should have been put in that corner. No, that's what I'm saying. He should Yeah, but I I agree with you, but we can't change what happened. That's exactly what I said to you. Yes, you can't change that it happened.

SPEAKER_04 54:53

So you are also saying you have to say but you are you're also saying, yes, I feel bad for Ed Sheeran, he shouldn't have been put there, but also you're not putting the blame on Malcolmore, who is the one who put him in that position. Like, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_06 55:06

Oh, no, no, 100%. Blame on Malcolmore. No, no, like that's crazy.

SPEAKER_04 55:10

Not that either one is wrong. And I think it's great that Malcolmore stood up for what he believes in. And I do think that Ed Sheeran should have chosen some sort of something to say.

SPEAKER_03 55:21

I don't know. I I kind of liked his statement of staying neutral a little bit. That hey, I you know, I'm I'm here to entertain. Yes. Uh I've said that a dozen times on the show before. Now, I respect that. I also respect Macmore. In the there's a time and place they're both they're both in the right, is I guess what I'm getting at. That's their personal decisions, yes, and everyone's got to live with them now. Unfortunately, other people are affected by other people's decisions. It is what it is. I can I can respect both. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 55:55

Yeah, my I think we're all in agreement, is all I'm trying to get at. We we are, and I was just saying, like, I now see your side more of it. We're like, yeah, no, I see where he should have taken a stance. Like, he he had the moment he did my autism point.

SPEAKER_06 56:10

I think what I was telling you, Taylor, when we were having that conversation, is like he had the perfect PR moment that he could have tripled his fan base in 24 hours if he had sided with McLamore. Not not in the Palestinian side, not not he could have still stayed neutral means sticking up for McLamore's right to say whatever he wants. Correct. He could have stayed neutral, I see what you're saying. Okay, and then went to went to the social media and said, Hey, by the way, we're not playing the stadiums that Robert Kraft owns. Instead, we are going to offer a one-time refund on all of your tickets with a replacement ticket of small bars in that city. We're gonna play seven shows that day in local bars, bring in the tourism for the actual local community instead of Robert Kraft, who doesn't deserve a dime, anyways. Yeah, so you're now supporting the local community, you're playing a more intimate show, and you get nothing but positive PR at that point. That you're staying neutral and you're sticking it to the billionaires. You're like, you know what? Fuck you. You don't control my tour. I do.

SPEAKER_03 57:21

Yeah, and I'm gonna play in your city and you can't do shit about it. No, I think that should have been the response. I think that would have been a good call, but I mean what do they call it? Monday or Tuesday night quarterbacks or whatever. I don't watch football.

SPEAKER_06 57:34

I'm sure there's a lot of like political industries people that probably are like, hey, I'm sure there's a lot of people smarter and know the financials.

SPEAKER_04 57:44

I literally was just about to say, like, it's easy for us to say, but like exactly, exactly in that position, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 57:50

And and the other thing, too, that I just want to bring up because it is a it is an intense subject, and I know that it can upset a lot of people. I I want people to understand how much goes into these shows, and you have to understand the amount of people who get paid. It isn't just the artists going up there and performing. You have to understand that there is an entire crew and staff that are reliant on this tour. There are people that are traveling behind those tour buses that handle all of the equipment, that handle the logistics, that handle security and backstage passes and handle pyrotechnics and everything else. You know what I mean? There are a lot of people involved. Pyromaniac that that I think people, when we start talking about these things, stop understanding that like it's not like five or ten people, we're talking hundreds of jobs that are based on this tour. So, like, we can't just ultimately say, like, no, fuck this, we're not going to the show. Like, that's not fair either, because like those people didn't do anything wrong. I know, and that's not fair to them and their livelihood and their families, you know? Like, but then again, I know that the other other side argument is gonna be, well, they chose that position, they chose that career path, they're part of the entertainment industry, and it is what it is. Like, I I get that, but like I just I'm such a people-friendly person, and I want the best for all people. Yes. That like I don't think that innocent people in this should be hurt just because they're doing their job.

SPEAKER_04 59:27

When unfortunately, they're just pawns.

SPEAKER_06 59:30

Cogs in the machine, man. Like, we all are.

SPEAKER_04 59:33

Aren't we? All what was that some song Sabrina Carpenter had? Thumbs? You guys should go listen to that. That song is so it's right. It's true.

SPEAKER_06 59:42

I have I have something I want to say, Chris. You know exactly what I want to say because I've been telling it to you for like four days now. I want to say it. No, no, no, it's it's it's it's about my stance on on the wealthy, and I want to keep the rich. I'm not going to. I'm not going to. I know this is not that show. This is a music show. I'm very happy that that we talked with Jake. I think he was very, very cool, very nice.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:12

He's a big cat.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:13

Very open-minded.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:15

And I think I love the fact that he said what was on his heart. I like that.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:20

Yeah, I think this was a very good right on that left ventricle. Do you guys want to talk about some other stuff so that we don't leave on a super crazy note? Yes, Taylor?

SPEAKER_04 1:00:31

I have big news.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:33

Listen, I'm listening.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:35

I'm pretty sure I got accepted into PTA school.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:38

I thought you were pregnant.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:41

No, it would that be using a lot of peas.

Big Personal News And Life Plans

SPEAKER_03 1:00:44

You're a lot of using a lot of peas there.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:47

You're like, I'm pretty sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:49

I'm pretty sure, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:53

I gotta fill out the application, but I called the guy today, so we'll see. We'll see if I do it.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:59

You're gonna be further in the medical field.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:02

Oh fuck.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:03

Yeah, she's gonna be like a doctor or something.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:05

No, no, we're not going that road. I'll be a physical therapy assistant.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:09

And then if I decide if I love it, I almost said something crazy, Chris. I almost said something crazy. Whoo! Just just everyone listening, if you're a man, know that I had a fantastic joke I was about to say.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:22

Text it to me.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:25

I'll text it in the group chat later.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:28

Do it now so I can say it live.

unknown 1:01:31

No way.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:32

It's super funny, Taylor. You're gonna laugh. I know that we're talking about a joke around a joke, and that is now the joke, and the audience is like, please just fucking say it. But like, you're gonna think it's hilarious. It was a solid joke that I was gonna say just now. Just know that, everyone. Very funny.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:49

But yeah, we can we can leave on that note. We'll see where it goes. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see what happens.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:53

But that's awesome. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:57

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:57

When do you when do you start?

SPEAKER_04 1:01:59

Theoretically, August, which is actually terrifying. We'll see. That's if I go, guys. I just got accepted. That doesn't mean I have to go. That's not what that means.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:07

I feel like it does.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:10

Well, I haven't even really honestly I prematurely said it. I let's cut this.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:16

Nope. Oh, sure. Harley will cut it.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:19

Wink. No, Taylor doesn't listen.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:23

Taylor, if you listen to the episodes, you you'll know that he's never cut shit ever.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:26

No, he's never cut anything ever.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:28

We had like 10 minutes a couple episodes ago of me just going, God damn it, fucking fur. It's so good though.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:35

It's so funny.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:36

Yeah, funny.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:40

That's one of my favorite intros to any show that we've ever done. Me too.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:44

I'm gonna screen record just so I can like listen to it all the time.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:51

Oh man. All right, guys. All right. It's that time. We do have a big show coming up that we need to announce real quick. October 17th. If you are in the Virginia

Hook And Bridge Showcase Announcement

SPEAKER_06 1:03:06

area and you've got time, October 17th, we have the first ever hook and bridge showcase in Hampton, Virginia at Frank's Monster Munchies in Hampton, Virginia. We will be selling tickets at the door. Tickets are $20. And Chris, do you want to go through the lineup or do you want me to do it? I don't want to hog the spotlight here.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:27

No, I'll be like, Chris and I are going to be there.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:31

We're going to be hosting the event. There's going to be merch tables, but the big news is this showcase is all about artists that have been on the show. We have Adolis from Virginia Beach coming back to play a show for us. You remember them, they're the heavy metal band from Virginia Beach, and they did that live set in our studio. We also have Dragton's coming back. Eric, he's going to be there. We have just happy to be here. Danny is coming back to Virginia. He's going to hang out with us. He's going to play the show. And we have the one and only pseudo cowboys coming for the first time ever to the Virginia market to play this show, man. It's going to be awesome. Adam's coming and he's going to be wearing his leather pants. He's going to be singing those awesome songs. We're going to have such a blast. It's it's going to be incredible. You're going to want to be there. The Hook and Bridge Showcase, $20, Hampton. I definitely Virginia.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:32

I definitely thought you meant like my nephew Adam. And I'm like, crazy, you're putting that baby in leather pants.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:37

No, Adam Pitts from just or from the pseudo cowboys is going to be there. The pseudo cowboys are going to be there, guys. Adam might also be there, my son. I don't know. We'll see. Did you just put sudo? Pseudo. Pseudo. Pseudo sudo pseudo.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:56

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:57

Gazoon type. Do you know what Gazun type means?

SPEAKER_03 1:05:02

I have no idea. It's probably it means good health. Good health. Do you know? I never you know I never looked this up, but you know the word picnic is actually a bad word.

Words Myths And Internet Fact Checks

SPEAKER_03 1:05:14

Like I'm going to have a picnic.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:18

Well now I gotta Google that. Is picnic offensive? The word picnic does not have racist or derogatory origins, despite a widely circulated internet myth claiming it stems from a racist lynching or racial slur.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:40

So Chris saw something on Facebook.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:42

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:44

My teenage daughter told me, and I was like, Wow, well, you should never believe a teenage daughter.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:49

I was excited, dude. Can I apologize to you, Chris? I'm sorry. I feel like I do that to you all the time, and I definitely don't mean to. Do what? Do what? Google something and then find out what you're saying isn't real. I feel like I do that constantly, and I feel horrible for it. I said I heard. Yeah, I know. I know, but it's just it's something that weighs on me from time to time. I well, I mean, we learn together, but like I don't know things, so then I Google them, and then I'm like, ah, I look like a dickhead.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:21

No, no, no, no. That's really important. I fact check you sometimes too.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:24

Good. That's what we're supposed to do. That's what we're supposed to do.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:27

Guys, I said hyperbole the other day, and the Oh, yes, the show is 21 and up.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:31

Thank you, Chris. Sorry, sorry, Taylor. The show is 21 and up. The Frank's Monster Munchie shows. That is important. Sorry. Continue. Sorry.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:39

Oh, I the word hype the word hyperbole is spelled hyperbole. And I was reading something.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:47

Is it hyper doesn't it have an A at the end? Hyperbolo?

SPEAKER_04 1:06:51

No. No, it's H-Y-P-E-R-B-O-L-E. Hyperbole.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:59

And it's pronouncing hyperbole. Isn't hyperbole also hyperbole?

SPEAKER_03 1:07:06

No, but that's not that's not bowl like mold.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:10

No, no, no. I'm saying like pronouncing it in itself, pronouncing it as hyperbole, is that not also a hyperbole?

SPEAKER_04 1:07:20

I mean, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:21

Like it fits the description of a hyperbole, hyperbole.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:23

Yeah, a hyperbole, I'm pretty sure is an exaggeration of something.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:26

Guys, I'm too dumb for this conversation.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:29

Anyway, the point is I look like an idiot.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:34

I love dude, I love that's my favorite kind type of pasta.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:39

I love a linguistics.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:44

That's funny.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:46

Bibby bobbinity. Bobbity boobity bobbity bibbity.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:49

We we in our office were talking about like words that are not spelled properly. And we had a patient, and her mom was in the waiting room, and she finally got up and goes, What are you guys talking about? Chris, oh, I guess this is for Harley too. We have like an open concept, right? Like our waiting room is also like where all the expressions are. Like it was crazy. And then we got into the word lasagna.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:13

Make me a lagazana. Lagazan. Bologna.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:20

Blogna.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:21

Blogna. I say blogna. Well, like the American language is crazy.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:27

In the words of our PT, a true G is like lasagna. Silent.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:33

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:37

That was a bar.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:38

That was a bar.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:39

He'd be spitting bars.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:43

I'm sure you guys have to go. Wait, didn't little Wayne say that? Maybe. Maybe. It sounded it sounded like something somebody else said.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:51

I also I also work with people who only talk in songbooks. Guys, there's a mosquito, and I keep trying to kill it, and I can't get it.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:57

Can I tell my can I tell my my Hitler quote story on here, or is that too much? Um I think that's too much. That's too much. Well, I'm gonna say it anyways. So I was at work and somebody commented on my board at work with a quote that I had on the board.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:18

Be the thermostat.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:19

That says be the thermostat. And I told him the story on how Chris and I talked and he came up with it on ChatGPT, blah blah blah. Right. So then I fast forward through that conversation to go, yeah, what should I do next? And somebody says, you know, it would be really funny is if you put Hitler quotes up there, but don't tell people that they're Hitler quotes.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:41

No, put put like Oprah, you know?

SPEAKER_06 1:09:43

No, no, just put the quote with no name. And then people are like, Oh, that's super inspirational. And you go, that's Hitler.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:51

No, what you do is you write Martha Stewart below it. So then they're like, Man, Martha Stewart said that? That is good. Wrong again.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:58

But that was that was what somebody told me that I should do. And then also, Chris, before we get off here, I told Taylor, I have this really funny idea. I don't have anybody to do it to, but I know you do. I think it would be really funny to sign people up for things and not

Prank Ideas And Final Wrap

SPEAKER_06 1:10:15

tell them, and then like just go into work and be like, hey, by the way, I signed you up for dance classes, it's on Tuesday at seven. Because then, because then like so here's the thing you can sign people up for stuff. No, I looked it up. You can sign people up for things. You're you're just an asshole, though. But imagine this, because he I know you're a good guy. If I came to you and I was like, hey, I called and signed you up for dance classes. If you don't go, they're gonna know because your name's on the paper, and then you look like a dick because you don't show up, you're going to dance classes.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:56

Okay, so does that also work in the medical field? Like, like so, like if I signed Harley up to go to a sperm bank, like made it up.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:03

No, I I don't think you can do that because they asked for like identification and stuff, but like the random but if you have the identification, you can. That is if you have his if you have his date of birth, he lives he leaves his wallet on the desk. I do, I do.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:17

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:18

I still walk in my car, and I leave it there and I go and do other stuff.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:25

Well, don't go in there when you're not there anymore.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:27

But listen, listen, like the random stuff, like like I don't know, like clogging classes, fencing, fencing, yes, portrait, stand-up, stand-up comics, improv classes. You can sign somebody up for improv classes, and then if they don't show up, their name's on the paper, and then the teacher thinks they're the worst.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:48

So you need to take one person and sign them up for all this stuff, yes, and then they and then they have to live with that on their conscience.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:56

No, because they're constantly signed up for things and they don't go.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:59

What if what if it's such a niche thing and only one person signs up, and then the person who's doing it goes because one dude, no, that's awful. I actually hate that because then I feel bad for that other person. They're like, Why am I such a loser that no one wants to join my class? Scratch it.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:15

Thanks, Chris. Uh Taylor Taylor made it sad. I thought it was really funny.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:20

Harley, you should sign me up for this stuff. I but you would go because you're a nice guy. Well, I want to go because I want to learn to clog and fence. Pet a horsey.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:35

Anyways, I thought it was a very funny concept to be like, I I also thought it was funny until I thought about the logistics.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:41

It's such an inconvenience on that person to hand them a thing and be like, You I signed you up for this, and then you're like, Oh, cool, you're going too. No, no, this is just a good thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:50

No, I signed you up.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:55

Don't be late, it starts at six. Oh man, anyway, anyway, all right, all right, guys.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:01

I gotta get off here.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:02

Yep, yep, it's been real. We'll talk to you here soon. Okay, audios. Peace.