Greg Amici: Losing Your Voice And Finding Your Sound

Welcome And Wild Origin Story

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Today we are joined by an extremely special guest who had one of the craziest journeys in music history from a medical procedure that transcended into his now blossoming career. Let's talk about it.

SPEAKER_03 0:18

Now bring the hook and breach podcasts.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

I fucking love ketchup. I don't work for it to have a podcast. I think well.

SPEAKER_03 0:39

Oh my god, I lost three days.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

What is going on, everybody? Welcome back to the show. I am your host, Harley, joined by my co host today, Chris, and our extremely special guest, like I teased a second ago.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

That's it. We got the pronunciation of that right.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Yeah, I've been nervous about it for the last hour.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Thank you for checking.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

So, yeah, like we teased, you have had one of the wildest stories in music history, in my opinion. There's only one other person who I know in the industry who has had something similar happen to them. And oddly enough, you guys kind of look alike. David Draymond from the band Disturbed. So he also had a vocal cord polyp and it completely diminished his ability to sing a lot of their music. But we're gonna dive into all of that. I I I kind of gave a little bit of it away, but it's such a fascinating thing that you were able to over not only overcome, but also your new stuff is fantastic, and you have such a wonderful way of singing, even given that situation. So let's dive into a little bit of your history.

Early Band Days In New York

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Tell me about the early days in New York.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

Okay, well, I'm from New Jersey, which is where I'm back again in New Jersey after this long journey. And I uh was in bands and primarily in a band called Big Honey in New York in the 90s and early 2000s. And right around the early 2000s, we were starting to move, getting some attention. And then I was doing this, what was big at the time was the CMJ College Music Journal Music Festival. That at the time, at the turn of the century, was like the big to-do. That was like all the independent. I mean, I remember seeing Fiona Apple's first uh recording was on there. That was that's why I first heard of her. They knew her before anybody else did, and they also had shows, and it was a great opportunity. And so I was playing before Ted Leo, who was also really great, and it was a thrill. And then somewhere in the middle of the set, I started croaking on some of the lower notes I was singing.

The Vocal Polyp Scare

SPEAKER_00 3:10

So I sang over it, I was okay, I didn't think much of it, but then it wouldn't stop like for a week or two after. I'm still like at one point, it's just like, oh man, I was fortunate. I was friends with uh Bernadette Peters, the uh Broadway singer, and so she connected me with her guy, her ENT, and I was shocked when he told me, Well, you've got a polyp on your vocal cord, and you uh really it's not if it were a nodule, you know, you could remove that. Polyps real tough to move, remove. So you're either gonna have to change the way you talk and talk around it and sing over it, or you're gonna have to get it removed. Right at that time was when Julie Andrews had the same situation, and Julie Andrews of all people, and she had her polyp removed and she could never sing again after it. So I was freaking out. I was like, that's that's uh you know, this is right in the peak of my life, you know, everything's going great. And uh, and I was like, I can't take a chance like that. I don't know what I'm gonna do. So he said, Well, you might try silence, that might help. So, so for like four months, I didn't say a word. I had a palim cest with me, and I wrote down things like that my girl living girlfriend, you know, hi how it was not easy. And and and I went to another doctor who was a little bit more proactive, and he had me try different things, and then finally, his name was Peak Wu, he's one of the greats. He said, you know, why not take it off? You should be fine. I give up at this point. Okay, take it off. Like the next day, if I wanted to, I could have sung for two hours. All that time spent worrying about it, and it turned out to be uh nothing. But meanwhile, six months, seven months, eight months later, whatever it was, no more band. So everything, you know, was kind of like right at the peak of what we and who knows what would have happened after that. I'm not saying anything definitely was gonna happen big, but you never know. We were right at the we were grooving, and that was the end of the band. And it was just too tough to start up again, so I had to change paths in life. I could have, you know, I had gone through so many years of trying to put together a band where they were good guys and great players, and I had a very difficult time with that, especially since at that time I didn't have money to hire guys. I needed bands, guys who wanted to play because they wanted to play and take a chance. Yeah, well, I wasn't gonna look through that again and go through that misery again.

Surgery Success Then Life Detours

SPEAKER_00 5:45

So, and I also had an opportunity to go to Hollywood to write some screenplays, which it was to get into that world anyway, and so I did that for a bit and came back in 2008 because of the financial crisis. I lost my day job. I mostly bounced out there, but uh, but I did have a day job writing for copy for Dr. Phil, uh, which lasted a couple weeks and then the crash happened, and that was the end of that. So I came back east. Also, my parents were ailing, and I wanted to keep an eye on them and got my master's in English from Brooklyn Brooklyn College because I just love to read. And I got back into this because I still dabbled in acting and writing, which is you know, that was done both of those things. And I acted in a movie in 2019, and the guy knew me as a writer, that's how he gave me the audition as an actor. And I said, Hey, you know, I also read music. He said, Well, go for it, you know. So I wrote a song and I covered a song I always wanted to cover that I thought were good for the movie. They didn't make it, but that just got me where I was realized that this is what why have I done anything else besides this? I can write a song, I can record a song. Now I have the money to pay great musicians, I can get everything done the right way. This is what I gotta do until I croak, which hopefully it'll be a little bit longer. That's my story.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

So lots of questions. First one, the band Big Honey was the band. Tell me a little bit about those guys and and that music, and and because that was the peak of the 90s, man. Like, yeah, what what was what was that music like for you? Did you write at that time?

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Oh, yeah, I that's I I started writing seriously in the late 80s. Before that, I had always been the lyricist melody writer with another partner, and I had to at one point just take it on myself to write everything. So I was doing that, doing a writer's workshop, songwriter workshop, and the guy in the in the thing thought I was really good, and he was a really good musician and singer. So we worked together first as a duo. His name's Joe Gentilli, love the guy, and then we added another friend of a friend named Don Spangler, who was a really good guitar player, and we were, you know, it was that ultimate thing where we were really good friends, and uh, we meshed well musically, and we hired. I used to usually had a higher bass and drums that never seemed to last very long, whoever we got for that. But I would describe us as I mean, we were kind of able to go into some jamming. I had a couple of songs that were good for that, but for the most part, it it's always been like, you know, three-minute, four-minute, maximum five-minute songs that were in that they're rock, you know. That's even today, people ask me what well, what is it? It's it's it's they vary, you know, some become are could be considered more alt, some would be considered more classic rock, some would be even have elements of ska and a lot of different things, but the stew still really comes out of the stuff that I always listened to, grew up on, which was classic rock, and and then 80s and 90s rock. So or not 80s anyway, and then by 90s, I kind of kind of think I found my groove, and these guys just fit me perfectly.

SPEAKER_01 8:57

Did did any of the big honey songs come with your solo career?

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Yeah, all of them. It's like I for the album, I I mentioned that I I when I started was because up again, it was because I had been in the movie and then I wrote a song for it and I covered this other song, but everything else was stuff I've been doing since I you know I really started writing by myself. Even I did one with my partner from the 80s. So everything was pretty much other than that, one was done by like well, one other one was done more recently, but other than that, everything was pretty much done by 2004. Uh when I finally just put it on such a back burner that I really, you know, didn't have time to singe my fingers.

Hollywood Work And Dr. Phil Copywriting

SPEAKER_01 9:42

You mentioned doing some screenwriting and working with the one and only doctor, Phil.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

No, I didn't. I mean this this this lasted like three weeks, this job, and there I was, I was, you know, the guy who was doing it filtered, he you know, basically needed someone because he had so much to do. He gave me work with him, and he's a great guy. And he was like, You're doing fantastic. And then three weeks later, he said, Hey, listen, I've got a job yet, but I can't keep you if I'm gonna keep this job because now I gotta do everything or I'm gonna lose a job. I totally got it. Yeah, it wasn't my cup of tea either. I mean, I've never been a guy who's able to last long on stuff that's really not my cup of tea. Nothing, I mean, it was it was interesting to especially have that show The Doctors. I did some work on that. It was mainly like you know, commercials, getting the commercials right and doing copy for that, but it wasn't a fun thing to do for three weeks. I don't think I could have done it much longer either. Although the money was pretty good. I mean, that was guess another reason I got rid of me. It was uh money was pretty good. Um, so so that was my experience. No, I did not meet the uh great Dr. Phil.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

Have you ever had the urge to be more involved in like screenwriting over the years?

SPEAKER_00 11:51

Well, yeah, what happened was I got a friend of mine, he sponsored me sort of to go out to LA

Screenwriting Dreams And Industry Reality

SPEAKER_00 11:58

because I'd written something for him. And uh he was a wealthy guy. He was actually married to Benita Peters, a guy named Mike Wittenberg. And Mike installed me in LA, and uh, you know, he said, You've got to go out there, we're gonna hook you up with people, and you just gotta you gotta make it happen. Easier said than done. I did wind up doing interim contests, and and I took some work, did some work at UCLA, and they really hooked me up with a lot of managers and agents, and I was wined and dined. And oh God, you know, do you want? I was told at one point for a TV show I'd written, I was called when I was visiting my homeland in Italy, and they said, the guy said, My agent said, Listen, looks like we got a deal. Is 10 grand enough for you a week? I said, Well, 10 grand a week, a lot of weeks, you know. I'm like, yeah, I'm I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna like bargain on that. No, I think 10 grand a week is just fine since I don't know what the fuck you're even talking about with this stuff. It's uh I'm going with it. So that that was a a kind of disappointment because when you find out then that the last guy who was about to you're about to actually get this thing green lighted, and then the last guy said, I don't know, it's a little bit profane for Fox. I don't think it's gonna work out, it's a little bit too much. And I can't even say it was heartbroken because this shit happened non-stop. I mean, I I was I did it was like you know the Seinfeld stuff with uh George that was my life, everything, and they tell you it was just like those three douchebags sitting there telling you you're the great, this is fantastic. We haven't heard something like this, and then they tell my agent that was the worst fucking pitch I ever heard in my life. So that was my experience in Hollywood. I that said, I did love writing. I mean, it was very much a part of what kept me going creatively was the ability to channel my creative urges into something else. The sad thing is, you know, and I had one thing option that I thought was it was most important to me because it was really from the heart, it was a screenplay, and it became one of these things. This is another thing that happens in Hollywood. You get like top top producers, top directors, all that, and then you know, there are four people giving me notes on what I should do, and after a while it's taking you away from your screenplay, and you're like, Yeah, it's it's no longer even the product that you wanted. Yeah, yeah, and the worst thing is they don't pay you, you know what I'm saying? It's like it's like they expect, and and I had this experience where I was an again a big company, major company, nice guy, sat me down and said, Hey, we got a screenplay for you to write. I said, Oh great. And he said, He's it's a basketball story, and you know, this happens, that happens, and I'm gonna give you the outline. You can take it and run with it from there. I'm sure you'll write something great. I said, It wasn't like I this is something I had very foreign to what I would be into. It was like some kind of comedy. I I don't know what it was. But I said, Oh, you know, this is gonna be cool. I don't know, man. What's the deal with it exactly? The deal. Yeah, what what else? Should I talk to my agent? You're not gonna talk to your agent. You just you know, here's the here's this here's the story. What about money? Money? Wait a second, you guys just produced a hundred million dollar movie. Well, but we don't know, they don't, you're not a known guy yet. I mean, this is how you gotta start. You gotta do this for us, and then if it works out, and I'm like, you know, man, he said, listen, I understand you're better than than the type of people you're usually gonna get for this, but I got 250 kids with film degrees behind you that are ready to take the job if you don't want it. And I said, you know what? God bless them, let them have it. And and you know, he's a very nice guy. I had nothing, no, because he was blunt about it. I appreciate that. And but that's how it is out there. Then and and saps are willing to do that, take this stuff along. And I'm out of money, money is not my thing, but it's a matter of respect at some point, you know.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

It's your time, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:03

Time and it's your passion. And if they're gonna tell you to change everything, I don't know if this one wasn't that case. I certainly would have told me to change everything because I couldn't take what I first saw there. Uh so you know, it's just it was it was unpleasant from that perspective. But I had my jujitsu buddies out there, I had a core of people, the weather was great. I like drinking it uh between jujitsu classes. I enjoyed uh Barney's Beanery, that was a blast for me. So I had a lot of my bouncing, I had a lot of fun experiences, a couple bad ones, but a lot of fun experiences. So it was a good life for me for like six years, and I never want to go there again unless it's just for a short vacation, a short to do some business or something, which I would still.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

I I've never been to the west coast. I would love to go visit at least once, but I've never been out of the east coast.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

Well, I I think I I I love sightseeing and shit like that. So I I I know California, everything except the real Northern California. I know I got my I got in everything, got my licks on everything, saw everything I wanted to see, which is was an important part of things to me. But I highly recog recommend checking out California, it's got a lot of cool stuff. But try not be there during an earthquake and make sure you got gas when you go someplace because you'll wind up in the desert and going for like a hundred miles and there's nothing there. So I you know, it's it's but it's a beautiful place, the most beautiful place I've ever been. But it's um sadly, it's not it's not for me. I like permanence, you know, it's impermanent. One thing I was writing, I was writing a book and I was like I writing a story, and I was like, one guy doesn't want to be buried in in LA because he's you know, he's like, I don't want to eventually just fall into the Pacific Ocean, which metaphorically he would be.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

So right, right. Yeah, I mean you you are quite the jack of all trades, dare I say, especially creatively. Tell me a little bit about going back and getting your degree, because that that in itself is also amazing.

Getting A Master’s And Reading Habits

SPEAKER_01 18:05

You go through this this this major life change where you you have this medical thing going on, and and you you know the band breaks up, and you you leave, you go to Los Angeles, I believe you said, right? Los Angeles. So and then you decide you're gonna go to school and get a it's a literature degree, right?

SPEAKER_00 18:28

Yeah, an English lit degree. I majored in that as an undergrad, and I used to go back to my alma mater in New York, and I used to take alumni classes, and just because I like the structure of being, you know, because I I read like 600 books at a time, 10 pages of a book. So I need for my ADD, I need some structure. And uh, you know, so so if I wanted to get done with uh uh Dostoevsky, I could actually do it because I hadn't, you know, I didn't want to be an idiot in the class not knowing what they were talking about. So I used to do that, and then finally an offer to go to Brooklyn College to get a master's, and I was like, why not? I do this stuff for fun, why not get a master's? Just so I can say I got a master's. I really had no intention of doing anything with it, but it was fun for me, and it was it's a lot of things, and I can link this into sort of like people ask me all the time, well, what keeps you going? Well, goals sometimes keep you going, and I wanted the degree just to see that I could get the degree. Not that I, you know, I had a tremendous goal about using it. I'm what am I gonna use it for? I didn't want to teach, I never particularly enjoyed teaching, even though I've done it over my life. I've never been my bag.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Doc learning so as somebody who who struggles reading, specifically books, I can I can read he's from Ohio, so yeah, that's that's a big part of it. That is a big part of it. Uh our history books still stop at like Bill Clinton. Um but realistically though, like uh I can read from a page. If if I'm doing the show, I can I can read from from a script, I can I can give articulation where it's needed, but when it comes to sitting down and reading a book, I can't do it. I have been trying to read Jurassic Park for five years now. I can't get past page 40 uh every time. So do you have any advice for somebody who would like to be more bet more well read? More better gooder. More better gooder read.

SPEAKER_00 20:37

The advice is it's so it's not like you're dyslexic or anything. You're just it's just no, it's just it's like uh yeah, I get bored. Take an adult course, take an adult course where you're gonna feel like an idiot if you know if everybody's talking about the book. You paid $300 for the course, you go there and do uh what what part of Ohio are you in?

SPEAKER_01 20:57

Uh I'm in Virginia now, but I used to live in Ohio. I was I was born and raised Ohio.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

Where in Virginia?

SPEAKER_01 21:03

I'm in Hampton, Virginia.

SPEAKER_00 21:05

What's that nearest?

SPEAKER_01 21:06

What's there I guess that would be like ODU, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:10

It doesn't matter where, actually. I don't know why I brought that up. Just find a college that has a good uh has a course that's has books you're interested in. Take the course, give yourself uh, you know, the the the two-month course, do what you can with it, and just try to, you know, that's that's really my advice. That's how I get through. I mean, same thing I've never with martial arts. If I didn't have a structure I could like lifting weights, I have to have a coach work with me. I I can't lift weights by myself. I just it's it's I have that issue. I can't, I'm not motivated unless there's an agenda and there's a goal. You know, if you're gonna have an MMA fight and you're worried about having your, you know, if you're being humiliated in front of people, which I had that that opportunity twice, then you make sure that you're in fantastic shape and you have other people help you, and then you help yourself. If you don't have the it's just like it's like right, you know, years after I didn't do competing anymore, it's sort of like, yeah, I go there and I have some fun and all that, but that's the new that's the way I do it for in because of injuries and all that stuff. But it's much more and you your concentration lasts a lot more when you realize if you don't concentrate, you're gonna feel like an idiot.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

So no, that's that's great advice. That because actually, the more I think about it, like when it comes to things for my work and doing things as far as like reading business things, because I'm I'm in sales, so I I do comprehend and read a lot of things about that and the economy and things like that. But it it has that end goal of well, I'm doing this to gain the knowledge to make more money.

SPEAKER_00 22:43

That's there you go, that's there's an end goal.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

And I think, you know, end games are vital if you want to get to the next, you know, to the next, if you want to progress. I'm not saying anything that any other person hasn't ever said, but it's true. Goals are important in terms of keeping your interest maintained, unless you're just that kind of person who's so interested that you don't need any motivation. I admire people like that. People who can get up at two o'clock in the morning and and start lifting and then go back to

Why People Quit On Dreams

SPEAKER_00 24:06

some. I know people that do that. I'm like, I get past dinner time. I and that's the thing, even like with the martial arts thing. I that class is at nine o'clock. I mean, if I do that, then I'll be up the rest of the night. And nah, I do it when I can do it. I have it has to be scheduled. I can't do it otherwise. It's or I can, I shouldn't say I can't, but I don't want to.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

Yeah. Um, so we're gonna dive into your new music here in a moment, but I I have one particular question that I want to ask before we jump into that. Do you think that most people give up on their dreams because life forces them to, or because eventually they convince themselves that it's easier to stop trying?

SPEAKER_00 24:53

Well, one leads to the other, for sure. And one is, I mean, look, I've had friends who have been immensely talented. And I mean, what do you I don't have kids of my own, you know, and old. I don't have kids of my own. And I my legacy then, and I'm only a child, I don't have like a nephews and nieces. My legacy, I mean, I have now stepchildren who are in their 20s and 30s, but it's it's my legacy is only can be thing I can say any legacy is if one of my songs was played in the strip club someday, then I have that's my legacy. I mean, I mean, I don't have kids that uh you know that will carry on the great name of Amichi. So I uh I I I and the problem is the flip side of that, though, is friends I've had that have, you know, they've sacrificed for family, you know, they have their own family, and they're not gonna have the same amount of time. Now, I do know some who've managed to do both because the family was on board with what they were doing, and they were good enough to make a living doing it, and they knew that, and they knew there was no other recourse but to make a living doing that, unless they wanted to do some boring shit that would pay well, but but it wasn't gonna, you know, there are those people you have to have that, you have to be indefatigable in the in the sense that you cannot, you gotta stay with that dream uh if but you have to commit to that dream, and if your circumstances are such that you're going to be held up because of family or because of other issues you have, or you have to. I I mean Billy Bob Thornton, I think he said he didn't eat for like you know a year or whatever it was, yeah. Instead, he but instead of getting some some shitty day job. I mean, I I've had bouncing was kind of it was also actually a networking thing, so that was all right in LA and in New York, but it it's it it if it had been a pain in the ass if I had to work a lot of hours, it wouldn't have been worth it at all. It was fortunate you get in there and do four or five hours, you know, a couple nights a week, keeps you going and you meet people, but it wasn't taking me away from writing during the day, you know.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

Right. So so speaking speaking of that journey, I want to talk to you about the new music because first off, the the album cover is fascinating. I

New Music And The Clown Cover

SPEAKER_01 27:13

I love the the clown motif in the black and white. Tell me a little bit about that choice first before we dive into the actual music.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

Well, the album was tragic comic, so I tragic comedy is in opera left and right, and you know, I wasn't thinking particularly of Paliacci, but I was thinking of some, you know, Comedia del Arte clowns and and things like that. And I thought that would be an interesting thing, as long as it didn't become my shtick where I have to like you know go out as a clown for the rest of my life, mainly because it's been done, I wouldn't mind doing it. But some guy, I I don't know his name, but I heard there's some guy who does that who's really good, and so I don't want to like be ripping off that guy's bit. So, but for that album, I thought that that really fit. And then I went to this guy, Mark Jaworski, who is photographer, who's done album covers and is just again, it was the perfect partner, which I've had in music now and for for doing videos and photography. And and there's a video for for one of the songs where he has me doing the clown thing, and it's I mean, he's really good. So I tell people, I have an album, you know, an album and a CD as well as being on you know, on everything else. I said, I'm not pushing you to buy album because you like my music, buy an album because it looks great, it's like an old time 70s, 1970s album. They had liner notes, everything he did was fantastic. Mark Jorsky, and so that was kind of where that came about, and I agree. I think that the it's a just a great looking album.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

Yeah, no, I love it. I love it. I I do want to talk about though. So you had a I believe 16-year difference between this one and the last one. Well, well, not this one, sorry. Your first one and your first solo and Big Honey.

SPEAKER_00 29:10

Uh Big Honey was actually we were on an album, I was on a compilation album in the 80s that you know, Matt Penfield, he used to be on MTV. Oh, yeah, great friend of mine, and he put us on a compilation album. That's the first time I was on an actual album when that you know was something to be on. And then after that, the next the next actual quality recordings I did were with Big Honey. And that was like '99, something like that. And that was an EP that we got out that got some nice buzz. And then that was the last time I did any. Well, I did more recordings after that, but as far as trying to like do something that I was gonna, you know, re reveal to the public at large. No, that that that wasn't until this one. And like I said, I just kind of went hog wild after I started writing these two songs. I said, This is you know, this is what I gotta be doing.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

I want to know sonically, because you you go from the peak of the grunge era and and the the alternative scene, and now you come into what I would say is the this the diminishment of rock music. You're like one of the few kind of out there trickling along, and I want to see a resurgence, so people like you are very important to me. But how how did you decide? Because there's there's gotta be a clean, clear difference between then and now, because there's no there's no similarities. How did you change your your sound?

SPEAKER_00 30:48

Well, I mean, first of all, I didn't get started on Nickelodeon dancing and you know, and and and playing the carpet. So I mean, I can only go with what I I know, and tap dancing isn't in the repertoire. So I I I was a rock guy, that's where all my influences are. I'm kind of like, and I, you know, I referred to this sometimes as being a Rip Van Winkle like experience because I didn't even know what the hell was going on until you know, it's only since I started doing the recording that I actually started listening to stuff from 2000 on. I mean, I yeah, kind of like when I stopped music, I stopped knowing much. It was also much more difficult because once you get into even the late 90s, there's no more like uh anything common on radio. I mean, there's no real top 40. When Casey Case and died, he took it with him. I mean, it's like there is no top 40, so it's like top 40 of this, top 40 of that. It's too much, too much for me to even worry about. So I'm like, I'm not gonna try to like cop some current stuff. I mean, I sometimes there are maybe elements of a production. I do listen for those things that might be interesting, but I mean, I'm that's not my world. It's gotta do what I know, which is you know, based off of my growing up with rock influences, rock and roll and rock and funk and some jazz to a certain extent, classical to a certain extent, but like pop of the, you know, and there, and don't get me wrong, there's a lot of good stuff that was done now that I've heard more of it, but it just doesn't. I like a song here or there, but I just I I don't know. It's it's a whole world of sort of, you know, now it's all about what the person has to say in their private life is as important as what they're producing. And I love doing these things because uh, you know, I'm a ham, I guess. I love to talk about my my you know, all these things that I find exciting. I like meeting other people doing that. That's the fun I have. It's like talking to you guys is fun. But the thought about actually sitting up here and shilling myself for, you know, and constantly saying, by the way, did you hear? I mean, I can't do that shit. It's just it's and I'm oh I don't care anymore. You know, when I was starting to stay out, I wanted to do everything right, you know, or or play the game. I don't give a five fuck, uh whatever, you know. Don't listen to the music, so just I'll get my money somewhere else. But it's nothing more pleasing than to me. We I did uh a gig recently, and a guy it was a tough situation because people weren't really there to listen to me. And so finally I called uh, you know, I called a verbal and I just I I switched to doing a cover of uh comfortably numb. So the guy goes up to my girlfriend afterwards, he's like 60, 70, something like that, and he says to my girlfriend, that's the best. I'm a pink Floyd nut. That's the best version of a solo job doing comfortably numb I've ever heard in my life. Thank you so much. That shit keeps me going for three weeks, maybe you know ride that high, ride that high. And you know, even today, uh, I had a music supervisor really give me some a lot of nice praise, and that that that that feeds my ego. I'm very happy again. If I really, if I really, I mean, a lot of people too, they have to like, you know, they they have to get on indie record labels that aren't gonna do that much for them, but they need the 10 grand that the guy's gonna give you that you're eventually gonna have to give all your masters up for and everything. This point in my life, keep it, you know, it's if there's no desperation, and that makes life so much more fun, and that makes all the creative process so much more fun.

SPEAKER_01 34:10

Yeah, you're not you're not a slave to the to the industry at that point. You're not making decisions based off of monetary, you're making artistic decisions that matter.

SPEAKER_00 34:21

Yeah, because I mean money, making money in the music business.

SPEAKER_01 34:28

Now, speaking of artistic decisions that matter, you have one song on the new album that I want to talk about. Bear with me just a moment.

Breaking Down Spin That Ball

SPEAKER_01 34:42

Spin that ball. I love that song. I I I thought I was gonna love Pumpkin Man more. I I listened to like the first like 35 seconds of Pumpkin Man, and I was like, this sounds more like your single, you know, it sounds more like your your staple. And then I listened to Spin That Ball, and then No Fool is like the the second one for me. But as far as like an artistic decision, I think that Spin That Ball is the most experimental of the album.

SPEAKER_00 35:16

Interesting. Because that's the that was one of the that was written for that movie, which was actually it's called Blackjack the Jackie Ryan story, which was a basketball story. So I used some of the facts from that, and I also tried to use a lot of metaphor relating to that because and I'm just to write a sports song, it's kind of not not not thrilling either. So I really appreciate that because that's the most recent thing that on on that album. That's the newest piece. So I'm glad to hear that. No fool had been done more around 2004, something like that. Originally a demo of that. So I hey, I'm glad if you like any of it. And I I I I vary with which songs are my favorite songs on that. And I'm real excited because the next album will be coming out in the spring, and so that's kind of where I've been at and doing some cool covers of stuff recently for singles. So but thank you.

SPEAKER_01 36:09

No problem. Speaking of covers, you did a cover of Father Christmas that was so psychedelic compared to so a

Reimagining Father Christmas As Psychedelic

SPEAKER_01 36:23

band that I love, also from New Jersey called Just Happy to Be Here, did a cover of Father Christmas as well, and theirs is like a a pop punk like emo type version, and it's very, very upbeat, very hard, very heavy. And yours reminded me of like like a Pink Floyd type song, and I'm a diehard Pink Floyd fan, but it was this very psychedelic cover. How how did you decide to go that route with the song instead of like more of a traditional approach?

SPEAKER_00 36:54

Well, I I don't, it's kind of like I mean, I try not to there are a couple things. One is I try not to do covers like the original song because what's the point?

SPEAKER_03 37:04

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 37:05

And the King song I always loved, but theirs was a harder version of it. That was pretty hard rock song for them, actually, you know, uh, because they got into a lot of more folk-oriented, folk rock-oriented stuff. So I I love their version, but I decided I'm gonna do something. I done this years ago with my the guy who sings sings with me, Joe Gentili. I just we got in a little booth and we uh we got in a little studio situation there at his house, and we did, I said, I want to do this version of of Father Christmas acoustically, and we did it, and I always loved it. So I said, Jim Mastro, James Mastro is the guy who produced the album, and so much credit to him for stuff like that. This guy, you know, I had a cool approach to it. The chords I loved the way they were arranged and all that, but Jim took it to another level. So kudos to James Mastro and the musicians I had were great, and yeah, so it kind of takes on a life of its own. It's somewhere in like more like an REM-ish meets meets a pink Floyd kind of thing. If you want to think of Wish You Were Here or something like that, as that element of it, that instrumentation. So again, thanks. And and uh that's that's sort of where where it was at. I just wanted to do something different, but not really think about it that much either. I'm not like, oh, you know, it's it's like I gotta go with what your vibe is telling you. My vibe is telling me I got something here. Jim's gonna do something with it that's gonna make it better. And I was confident that would happen, and it did, I think. With all my modesty.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

I I want to get your take on this as well as Chris's. There's there's this thing that I wanted to talk about recently, and I haven't really had anybody to talk about this with. Canada offers a

Should Government Fund The Arts

SPEAKER_01 38:48

governmental arts program where artists, bands, musicians can go to the government and get grant money to continue as a musician. They they reinforce the arts in Canada heavily, and they're very, very big about backing that financially. How do you feel about that? And do you think that our government should implement something similar?

SPEAKER_00 39:21

Well, I'm gonna be looking for property in Toronto area very shortly, since that's the opportunity I'll have over there. But if I don't get accepted because I'm not a citizen, and it's funny, I have to mention this because I lost an acting job once because it was being filmed in Canada, and because I was an American, they said no, replaced him with a Canadian actor. And we go it was like a secondary part, and it was like they always stuck in my craw, but they take care of their own.

SPEAKER_02 39:50

But look, we accept them down here. Yeah, I mean all the great Canadians.

SPEAKER_01 39:55

I was gonna say Mike Myers, though, it's different.

SPEAKER_00 39:59

You know, it I'm joking, sort of, but the thing is, I wasn't thrilled about that. But the reality is that I don't know. I I would love to have the opportunity for a grant to do stuff, but who's gonna determine who gets the grants? You know, this shit always becomes like uh uh insider trading eventually, you know, it's sort of like insider trading crony capitalism. So I would be suspicious of it. Uh if if they you know, if I could get it, if they could finance me, then they're the greatest. However, if they ignore me and take a bunch of other jerk offs, then they suck and I'm not interested. So I'm trying not to be facetious about it, but I just I wish there was more patronage of artists by patrons and that there were rabbis out there for for people when they think they're good, they're like, I mean, you know, they do all the the the startup stuff, everything by yourself. I mean, to me, I can't I can't get out there and say, hey friends, can you contribute three bucks to the my next? I can't do it. I I mean God bless people who have that kind of hoodspud that can do it. God bless them, I can't. So I the only way I I would do it is if I had like in at one point in the and when I didn't have money in the 90s when we were gonna do a serious recording, I had an investor. And then something similar happened to what happened in LA, whereas she, you know, was everybody saying, Oh no, it's a great move, great move. Then one kid said to her, he's not that good, or something like that. And she like all of a sudden, you know, ghosted me. So I, you know, but that idea, the idea of getting, you know, and I tell one thing I say is you better if you're gonna be trying to make it music now, make it meaning you're gonna make any kind of living, if you're gonna do that now, you either either better be so aware of how to use your studio, how to play multi-multi-instrumentalist, how to have everything here that you know the technology now, technological knowledge you need to do it yourself, or you better get somebody who's gonna invest in you. Because I I mean, yeah, I'll take a government grant if they got it for me. But I don't see that happen in this country too easily. It's gonna, you know, and again, what whatever it's it's like, you know, what what would be considered it? Probably I would not be hip enough for any of those things. Anyways, they're not gonna be interested in genre stuff. They want to hear the next great thing, which is usually shit, but it's the next.

SPEAKER_02 42:21

It's techno bongos, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 42:23

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 42:24

It's like, you know, I've heard that I've heard the people that that decided are are Celine Dion and Nickelback.

SPEAKER_00 42:31

Oh, I probably have a better chance with them than I would if it were I mean, I don't want to say the because there's some really good Canadian bands, but the ones that are they're hip bands, I might not have as much traction with the Celine Chris.

SPEAKER_01 42:47

I I know your your your take on a lot of things, but I I'm curious how would you feel about governmental money going towards supporting the arts in

SPEAKER_02 42:58

In that fashion? No. No. Like you said, you know, who who decides? And how much of it is we're just funneling money into someone who's like, yeah, I'm an artist.

SPEAKER_01 43:12

I I agree with you there.

SPEAKER_02 43:13

I also're garbage. It's like at some point, being an inventor, you know what I mean? Like, you've got to go do it.

SPEAKER_01 43:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:22

You can't just have someone go, hey, we're gonna we're gonna give anyone who wants to invent something ten thousand dollars. Well, I guess I should government tax.

SPEAKER_01 43:30

I guess I should specify like there's a there's a process. You have to like you have to show them like some of your work, you have to show that like they you have a a strict process to apply for the artist.

SPEAKER_00 43:44

You know, it's like yeah, it's I think that's garbage, but but you know, it's like again, I I don't trust the people who are going to the tastemakers of tomorrow. Right. Right. I don't trust them. I'm uh that I I don't I don't I like to be left to do to my own devices unless somebody can make some guarantees. And I don't like the idea of my money being funneled into careers I think suck.

SPEAKER_01 44:09

So so so I also I also think that we just have such a larger art scene here compared to Canada that it's probably a lot easier for them. Like they probably get like what, like five applications a year. You would have millions in this country, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:29

And it's it's interesting too because one of the again a music supervisor was saying to me, like, you should really consider Canada that you're like more geared for Canada than you are for the states. And I know what he meant by that because they still appreciate rock there. They do, they do, and you know, I today it's listen, I I love Canadians are always the coolest. Um hockey's my always been my favorite sport, so I mean Canadians are the coolest. I love them, so I I probably would do okay in a situation like that. Just don't want to pay the taxes. And I don't want to have to wait two years to get my uh my uh my uh my tubes tied or whatever I need.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

Yeah, Canada's music scene is still like I honestly the US too up that way. I've I've told this to Chris before. Most of Ohio is still in the 90s. Like the music scene there

Where Rock Scenes Still Survive

SPEAKER_01 45:20

is definitely heavily rock influenced. You still have some of your country, but most of the country music in Ohio, it's 90s country. It's still that slight rock based country. You're your Willie Nelson's, your Johnny Cash's, your Toby Keith, you know, there's still some rock influence. But like the Further south I go, the more the music scene just changes into so pop dominated. Everybody just loves pop music.

SPEAKER_02 45:51

Oh, I thought you were gonna say south.

SPEAKER_01 45:54

What's that?

SPEAKER_02 45:55

I thought you were gonna say deliverance. The further south I go, the more the more fan goes.

SPEAKER_00 46:01

By the way, did you ever see that kid from deliverance and like what he's like today? No, no, from deliverance, he yeah, he was like basically the kid from deliverance, but you know, he's an adult now, he's like 70 years old, and and he just I guess they saw him and said, This guy is so bizarre looking that we're gonna put him in the he didn't play the banjo, they have somebody else is playing the banjo, yeah. Yeah, they had yeah, but uh I just thought that was interesting to see that guy as an adult. I mean, that was thrilling. That was one of the more exciting things I've seen on TV. Uh but it doesn't look any different. No, it kind of doesn't. Kind of doesn't. It's it's very scary. But uh so when you say that though, the South, like like w where exactly in in Tub Allegheny, because like I I spend time in Florida, so I know if you go to Miami, that's what you're gonna get. But where are you talking about?

SPEAKER_01 46:53

Yeah, so uh for me, I've only I've only traveled from Ohio along the east coast. So I've only been through like Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, North South Carolina, and parts of Florida. But specifically here in Virginia, this is a very, very pop-dominated area. And it could just be that because of all of the military, so you have a were what do they call us? Uh transient area where nobody's technically from here, everybody just comes here. Right. So it might be a mixture of that being the problem, but like they we don't have like a a heavy influence of a specific genre. It's always just your your Taylor Swift's and your your Sabrina Carpenter's Olivia Rodrigo's. It's a lot, a lot of pop.

SPEAKER_00 47:42

God bless them. God bless. You know, I think it was not my mistake, and all three of them are good looking, so I guess that's they got that call.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

What's the scene in Florida though? Is there a decent like rock scene in Florida?

SPEAKER_00 47:56

I don't there wasn't the last time I was there for any length of time. We moved uh there, well, we moved there for part-time about four years ago, and hardly been down there because every time I go down there, something some tragedy happens. So in fact, the last one was I was getting ready to do a lot of playing out for this thing, and and I tore both my quads and it was a disaster. And so I for six, I'm still recovered. I'm not gonna be able to really jump around on stage, probably never, but at least not until the spring. I'm playing like mostly seated right now and everything. So I've had those kind of things happen every time I go to Florida, even though I love it down there. I get the impression, because Miami was never any kind of rock scene, but I get the impression it's getting a little bit more rock in that in general in Florida. And I know like North Florida is probably good for that, which I don't really know too well, the uh, you know, the right over the border. But I I think there's always, you know, there's always gonna be pockets where you're gonna be able to get uh in fact, I I mean I'm interested myself because I'm gonna start and I I do I started doing a lot of solo playing right now, which I've never done so much. I always like to be with a band, but I'm gonna be looking to see where I can, you know, what clubs I can play in Florida. Just get my guitar, go down there and play it. So I'll I'll let you know. Um I'm you know, I'm in South Florida, so it's probably not gonna be too many unless I add some marimbas or something. But uh it's I don't know how well I'll go over when they're looking for uh you know, they're looking for Gloria Stefan and I come out with my acoustic. So uh but uh who knows? I'm excited about checking it out because I just I love my Florida, so you know, I love that weather. I love I love jumping in the swimming pool every day.

SPEAKER_01 49:39

You're right.

SPEAKER_00 49:41

It's like yeah, I just love it. So it's it's for somebody who grew up in the well, you guys grew up in the cold, I guess. I mean, you know, yeah. This is I I you know I've had I had it many years ago, and uh so when I had the opportunity to get this place, pretty good deal on it. I was like, I I gotta, you know, I gotta be in warm weather almost all year round. So hopefully the warm weather uh will be concurrently with um places to play will be with the future. And I guarantee you I'm gonna take notes and I will let you know if there's a rock scene down there.

SPEAKER_01 50:14

And uh yeah, I'll uh if there's not, I say we build one here in Virginia.

SPEAKER_00 50:21

Oh well, I love Virginia, it's for lovers, exactly anyway. But yeah, I mean Virginia is a very cool place. I mean, why not? Why not in Virginia? You know, right. I'm sure there are I know there are definitely pockets down there that are like for sure.

SPEAKER_01 50:39

Like like Richmond, Richmond has a good scene going. That's pretty much it. Richmond's got a good scene. But I again I don't know a lot of the state. I only know you know along the coast. So I'm I there might be a great scene inward. I I've never been. Chris, you live a little more inward. Is there any like rock scene up with the hillbillies there?

SPEAKER_02 51:02

Not that I know of. I don't go bar hopping.

SPEAKER_01 51:05

Ah, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:07

Um, I don't leave the house actually. Like I go to work and I come home.

SPEAKER_00 51:12

That's the best way to live, I think. I I mean, like I said, I like sightseeing and stuff like that. But boy, uh my everyday thing, I don't want to be in bars. Well, like I said, I bounce for years. I ever want to be in a bar again if I can avoid it. And I guess I can. If I can't, she'll keep my you know, the chain around me to not let me in them. But you know, you can you can I think you I think different communities can develop anywhere if you've got the passion to do it. And and I I I think Virginia is an exciting place, so why not? It's it's just gonna be rock is rock's it's a genre now. It is a genre, but boy, those who are committed to the genre, and a lot of kids are because their parents were into rock. So I mean, I think in that sense, it's better than when I grew up, a genre like Guy Lombardo. I mean, you know, the parents like Guy Lombardo. I don't know any kid that wanted to dance around a guy lombardo or Lawrence Well. I don't know if those names can spell, but uh you know, nobody my age just that wasn't carrying over into our generation, that's for sure. Whereas rock, you know, it's still it's it's always have some element of it. But even I mean, like hip hop uses rock, everything uses rock. I mean, that hip hop people are in the rock hall of fame, so there always be uh aspects of rock that are you know there.

SPEAKER_01 52:27

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I and I think that I think that the the generation coming up in my time, our generation revitalized the 70s music. There was a portion

Rock Revivals Boy Bands And Aging Icons

SPEAKER_01 52:41

of my like high school years where artists were reinvigorating 70s styles, even in the more modern version, but like just to kind of give like an example, but like like Lil John, for example, was a big rapper when I was in high school, but he was clearly bringing forward like the southern uh disco scene, it was all just disco with a new new swing on it, right? So I think that my sister's generation and she's Gen Z, they kind of had like the 80s resurgence. So I'm hoping that the next generation, which is gonna be me in my 40s, is gonna be a resurgence of the 90s because I loved the 90s, so yeah, yeah, it did hey uh it was still rock, you know.

SPEAKER_00 53:29

Yeah, like whatever year it was like 98 or 97, where the bands, the boys came into town, and yeah, yeah, they escaped a whole lot of money and a lot of fame and a lot of women, and the uh rock guys are just sitting there like how much is my flannel shirt worth? And I got Kirk Cobain's sweat on it once. So how can I uh monetize that? Because that was that was gone. So you always hope that even if it's a revival, because set in the 90s, Nirvana was iggy pop uh in revival, you know. I mean, it's really there's things, and and that's the idea, is you you you have your progenitors and you respect what they did and you try to build on it, they're your father figures, you know, and you try to build on it and make something that you think they'd like because they're uh you know, it's I guess a little esoteric, but the uh as the uh offspring of them creatively, you hope they would they they would like it, whereas they're probably not gonna like the boy band so much unless it's you know, some early sixties guys that were boy bands themselves back then.

SPEAKER_01 54:35

Yeah, if you think about it, the the boy band craze was just a revitalization of the 60s, it was just the British invasion, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:44

Even more for that, like the um sort of the early 60s, the Frankie Avalon, um like uh even my Dion Animals, yeah, and and well, Dion, I think of like the fifth the late 50s, early 60s guys, Paula Anka. I work with Dion's keyboardist, and I love Dion, but Dion originally before he became more of a of a player, he was like in in kind of that uh doo-op situation. That was that was also kind of and that was very big around 59 to till the Beatles came in and the whole British invasion. I think that that you know that kind of is where the boy bands have their progenitors, and I think the progenitors are much better, but but you know, I love that. I love that early six stuff. Frankie Valley in the four seasons. I love that stuff. So that's that's what these guys became, and not quite as fun for me. Yeah, it's the dance, you know what it is, man? It's the dancing. Like I, you know, I who am I to say anything about anybody who does anything in the creatively, but I can't stand the like formulae dancing shit. That once that started, and that started with Michael Jackson, frankly. I mean, once that shit started, it's like something that that was cool to me was no longer uh cool, just left town around 84. And I mean there's a lot of good stuff that came in between everything, but the choreograph dancing shit, it's always maybe I should do it. Maybe it's maybe I'm jealous because I haven't done it. Uh I could get wheeled around to a special thing, you know. And then of course I get criticized because they'd say I'm acting like I need a wheelchair and I get all kinds of trouble, but I kind of do need one if I'm gonna do the any kind of dancing.

SPEAKER_01 56:28

So I agree though, I hate choreographed dancing. I absolutely can't stand it.

SPEAKER_00 56:32

It's not rock and roll, man. It's not rock and roll, and we're rock and roll all of a sudden. Another thing I don't get is like when you see like rock gods, like all of a sudden playing, you know, doing duets with some geek. I mean, it's like uh where's your sense of cool? There's something that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 56:52

Uh there is like an age limit too, right? Like Metallica, I still think Metallica is cool, but like they now look like I don't know, my grandfathers. You know what I mean? There's there's like an age limit of like coolness, like Steven Tyler.

SPEAKER_02 57:09

Steven Tyler is the perfect example. Wheel them out. I want to see them.

SPEAKER_00 57:14

You know what? I'm glad you said that because I'm in that category, I'm in the wheel out category. I I want those guys to go on until they're like Commander Pike on Star Trek with their heads in like uh in a big uh whatever that was, a big uh iron lung. That's uh that's that's what I want to do. Put my head on a pogo stick and pull me out there. I don't care. I just want to be able to play until I die.

SPEAKER_02 57:37

Thank you for the Star Trek reference. I love Star Trek. I'm 34. I love it. Oh god.

SPEAKER_00 57:44

The original was great. The original was great.

SPEAKER_01 57:46

Steven Tyler played himself into another gender, he turned into somebody's grandma.

SPEAKER_00 57:54

Steven, God bless him. He's you know, the fact that he can that he can put out that that that vocal keeps going. I mean, you see all these old.

SPEAKER_01 58:02

Yeah, his voice sounds great.

SPEAKER_00 58:03

Yeah, you see all these older guys, and a lot of them, you know, it's tough to keep going on, but that cat man, he's still, I mean, unless he's using something, you know, technologically. I whenever I hear him, he just he'll just all of a sudden break into song on something like the guy still sounds great. Oh no, yeah, he sounds better than back then because back then he's so fucked up after time he, you know, it's now right, right.

SPEAKER_01 58:25

He just did that Aussie tribute and and sounded amazing at that. So yeah. No, he's he sounds incredible. He just when you look at him, he looks like that that crazy professor from the Harry Potter movie with the big glasses. You know what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_00 58:41

See, I don't I don't I guess it's because I don't watch much. So I I I don't only think I watch are like shows on Netflix, so I don't even see any music things anymore. I wouldn't even know what he looked like, except that I I I saw him like oh god, now it's going back. I saw him like 20 years ago and he looked good, but that was 20 years ago. Yeah, 20 years ago.

SPEAKER_01 58:57

I mean, I would yeah, that would have been when I saw him and he looked like that. Maybe they should do it.

SPEAKER_00 59:01

That lady with the the the girl was big for a couple years, she had like a curtain covering her head.

SPEAKER_01 59:06

Remember see ya, see ya, yeah. Yeah, he should do that.

SPEAKER_00 59:09

Yeah, he should he should wear uh these guys are offending people with their looks, just wear a curtain on your head.

SPEAKER_01 59:14

Like he should wear a lampshade at all times. Oh man. Greg, I can't thank you enough for being on the show, man. This has been an absolute blast.

SPEAKER_00 59:26

Oh, yes, I'm I've had a blast. I had a blast. Forgive the fact that I'm missing some teeth. I have to say that because I just watch it myself now, I'm missing some teeth. I'm not generally a toothless

Where To Find Greg And Giveaways

SPEAKER_00 59:36

kind of guy, but uh man, that's another thing. It's things I've run into recently where just all of a sudden uh a bridge falls out, and then the teeth next to the tooth next to the bridge falls apart. So now I can put the bridge back in, but it'll fall out because it's got nothing to hang on to.

SPEAKER_01 59:53

You gotta stop going to Florida. Was that you gotta stop going to Florida?

SPEAKER_00 59:58

I know. It seems like every time I'm there, I'm falling down staircases, I'm uh breaking teeth. It's so I guess it's it's a long recovery for for people as you get up there in the years. Everything goes wrong, and don't kid yourself, that's what you gotta deal with. You can still be as good looking as I am and deal with it.

unknown 1:00:15

No kidding.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:18

Well, Greg, tell tell everyone where they can find you, sir.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:23

Uh well, it it's Greg Amichi, A-M-I-C-I, and Gregamici.com has my link tree to everything. And yeah, you can get merch, you can you know get all the information on where my latest appearance will be. And seems like I'm gonna be going to Canada soon. So you know, I'll have to get uh as many Canadian fans checking that out as possible. Hopefully, you guys got a lot of them. Uh, but uh, no, it that's the the easiest way. And I'm all over YouTube. Just look up Gregami on YouTube. I I I highly recommend the video for Girl Next Door. The guy Mark Jaworski did a fantastic job on that. I tell people like what the album I said, check that out just to see what a beautiful video job can be done in this day and age with not that big a budget. So that's it.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:09

You do have your album on vinyl, correct?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:12

Correct, it's on vinyl, on CD, it's available anywhere on Spotify, all the internet uh things. But uh, yeah, you know, go to Gregamichi.com and if you take a look at the album, you think, wow, I'd like to have this piece of art then next to my father's mother's anniversary picture, then uh by all means come to the right spot. So most appreciated.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:38

I'm ordering the album right now. Oh, yeah, because I love the artwork and I didn't know you had it on vinyl. I'm a big vinyl guy, so I'm ordering it right now, and I'll order two copies. We'll give one away on the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:51

All right.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:52

So you know what?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:53

I'll throw in, I'll throw in t-shirts for you to give away, too. Three t-shirts. I'll give you three t-shirts. Hey, there we go. Oh give them that first girl that comes in that looks halfway decent. That's that's what I would do. I'll give it to my wife. There you go. That's a good idea. That's a very good way of putting it. Yeah, that's a good, good thing. But uh thank you, fellas. I had a blast. Time, great time. Yeah, thank you. Maybe when the next album comes out, you'll have me back.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:27

Of course, you're welcome back anytime you want. You got an open invitation.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:31

Oh, you're right. You're right on, right on righteous guys. Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:36

Thanks, man. Have a great night.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:38

All right, all the best, you guys too. Take care.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:41

Good meeting you, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:42

Great to meet you. Bye bye.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:44

Bye.