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Segment 3 - "Shattered"

Old songs I think we would love to hear one and I think we need to play the song that kind of was certainly something that sets you on a different path in terms of your popularity. It was a big, big record for you. Uh, let's talk a little bit about shattered and what a song like that does to a band good and bad. Yeah, good and that, I mean, our trajectory had been going at a rate, um, where none of us had could pay attention to it. We were so wrapped up in touring, all we ever did was tor you around, and our popularity was was growing, and, well, we just thought, that's, how bands that's what happens when you're a man and you tore a lot? Next thing you know, we're at madison square garden and were looking around going, damn, we don't even have a hit song, and this is crazy. New york times writes an article when these guys have a hit song got a, uh and then you said we're in the new york times that way in the new york times, you know, this is like, you know, we're just building a group ...

of guys we want to play this michael paris, by the way, was joining us for that, and so then shattered comes and atlantic records puts it out and it's a hit song and you start seeing it as like nine o two on those theme song and I'm like, ok that's awesome blackberry commercial like what the hell is going on right now? This is not something we were used to and then you see the divide start to happen you never asked for you didn't even know that this was gonna happen but you always heard that this happens with man, so we're going through the band's trajectory of you tour a lot you get bigger eventually one day you get to the big zone and your super happy what happens next making its song and then half your fans are going to be upset with the fact that you have a song on tv they don't care if the song is good or not, but they're upset that it's on tv because they're your band I feel that way about a lot of bands there my band I don't want anyone like him but you know so I got it it was not a surprise to me it was not it was ok it was totally cool um I found joy in that because this is also a job this is something you love to do but it's something that provides for your family and things so when you see a song of yours having great success. Uh, you feel pride. So a lot of that, that negative stuff that comes is not on your part of the field. You know, you don't feel all you do is you feel that's presence on the other side of the field, and all you can really do is take their opinion with a grain of salt, but also take it for what it is and say, all right, how can we make this ah friendly battle here? We're going because we're going to do it. We're going to do because this is our art either you're in or you're out that's totally cool to I respect that, um, but it exists and that's, another test, you just got to be able to handle that stuff, and you just got to go with the flow and just understand that people just, uh, have opinions and that's totally fine. So you face that you see it, you have a hit song, a lot of new faces in the audience, which is something that is so cool because you're doing it for years to see new faces is amazing. And then you see the folks that come back around in a couple of years and say, you know, we're still with you, and nothing feels better than that, people who stick by you threw up stand on sideways, maybe it's not their cup of tea, but they still want to hear this and that that's just something that makes you feel as if you've done the right thing because listen, I don't want to please everybody all the time, you know, I like to ruffle a little bit some feathers out there and just to see what can happen, but we still just need to be us and having hit song changed our lives in so many different ways, but what it really did was it bought us time. It allowed us to continue doing what we set out to do in the first place and that's where I think the fans, if they know that they'll understand that we just love to do this as much as you love to hear it and there's certain things that he long gate, that experience and one of those things is having a hit song and it's a positive thing and you could always skip over it on your play list, right? But it's, part of us it's our dna and we love it. We're not skipping over anything, you know, except they like the dog, so check it out this one's called shattered, and I think when you hear it in an acoustic setting, you understand how it was written and it's a proper song we really just kind of like we love it the lyric I remember I was walking my dogs and I saw this guy drive off in a huff from his house and uh I just kind of it came to me in two seconds it was the easiest lyric I ever wrote and it goes like this way change from this burnt out scene tithe way had tonight don't take so damn long girl took it out on your street the race way many times great line can't fine by ways so wait wait we're gonna look for questions from you guys is anybody have a question they want to ask the bend all right awesome and we go into the audio what's your name where you're from what's your question to a question that was born in ohio and actually grew up in maryland um so what is your favorite place to play in in maryland and then your favorite place at ohio? I think we're going to go down the line. My place my favorite place in maryland's nine thirty club uh my favorite place in ohio um I mean, I have to do I mean, the newport musical holds a special place for me but it's not like my favorite place to perform in a sense I don't know I mean I liked whenever we're there it's so just kind of like charged it's more of like I'm I'm out there like in a boxing match like I'm just going for it so I have fun everywhere is just this energy so they're all good yeah I mean nine thirty in d c s I mean I don't know how you beat that to be honest with you as far as a venue uh I would say I liked playing we play nautica up in cleveland and I like nautica just because I used to go see bands there's a kid you know in that stage was massive that was a madison square garden wembley stadium or anything else you can think of for kid from youngstown, ohio so to go there consistently year after year and put on shows there is pretty cool um I like merryweather post civilian in maryland I mean I grew up going to see my favorite bands there now that we get to play on the same stage is pretty amazing and it's always a fun one because all of our families are out and you can literally see the entire family like everyone's mom and dad and uncles, cousins, friends we haven't all and it's just it's it's hilarious but it's also I mean they're like a ray that I remember that one year they put your folks like third row like right in front of you and they just stared at mark like the whole show and that was brutal hadn't removed yeah folks the booth I don't love my my parents they're awesome they made I mean they're very nice uh but my mom is a really good dancer and like I don't like that so I want her dancing over there not right here I mean you can imagine your mom like imagine if you're up here and do anything your mom's like I think we got some questions from twitter that bench is good at these yeah this one comes from game d n o and they say what would you do differently with your career if you could go back and do it all again I mean I think everything we've been able to do is really special we wouldn't change a thing I mean we're lucky to be here we're so happy to be here you know it's like eighteen years in the music industry the most turbulent years of it in the last you know eighty or whatever you know we're still kicking I wouldn't do anything different I want to actually follow up with that question because we were talking beforehand if if if somebody watching is in their basement with their buddies and they're getting ready to figure out figure out what college to go do so they can become a man what is this secret sauce what's the one thing looking back if you could have reached for earlier what would it have been a thing a person what is that wow that's really good question bruce really good at this I'd have to say gosh I mean I remember it I mean I remember it being in his basement I remember the week we went to my basement I remember where we did everything and it was always the same feeling of joy when we got to band practice I mean, we had our little fights and we have bad days and all that stuff but I mean really we just played music loudly and it was really fun but we always did have a goal you know? We had a vision I mean, the vision was that I didn't know many chords I didn't really what richard who's not with us right now but he taught me how to play for according to you know, all this box right here and like, I didn't really know how to play that well, so I kind of adjusted it to do it a lot oftime stuff so a lot of songs with this right then chris would play who's had a heavy foot, right? So he was beats is what we call him has always beat you know and like, you know, that that created this way had our own little sound and it was half by choice half by the fact that we couldn't really play much else but we always had a goal and we knew that we were gonna take this sound it was different it was revolutionary in our basement member knowns listening we're away are of a revolution because it's different for us it was a change for us, but we had a goal, we always had a goal. Our goal began as we're going to play every thursday night and on the maryland at the grand marquis cafe, we're going to do it and we're going to have parents there, we're gonna have counselors there, we're gonna play and I don't care if we sound good or bad, but we're going to do it and it grew and their next goal was man one day we're going, we're going toe make a cd when we made tapes me two tapes, one with five songs, one of four songs we had two days in the studio, our goal was to combine them, we sold taste for five bucks and local high school our next goal make a make a sales rep program because our friends and colleges were going away to school, we made see these with dis makers. Our goal was give me twenty five people by I'm great if they don't give him away, our goal was to give them way get rid of them put them in people's ears this thing grew because we had a goal, we always knew that we had our means, we were given what we were given but our goals are analysts you know we might have been boxed in by time and talent but then we could always work on that but goals are endless we could set goals we say we're going to go to ohio state visit of sixty thousand people we're going to play red rocks I don't care who says we can't play red rocks we're gonna do it seven times we'll do it again this summer we're gonna make a movie at red rock is like set goals if you're in a basement right now with your guys in a van have a pipe dream don't be scared of it don't just say all were no good get better work at it you can always get better and your goals can always be lofty you know it's like talking to your kids like dream big you can do it and that's what it is is a ban even in this messed up business they've figured it out now where I don't think they know it's messed up but that age they just know that they have access to all the social media and you do and make it great we're just trying to learn about it now, right? They know about it so set your goals high I mean that's what I would always say in practice practice practice do not stay stagnant just because you're a garage band you're going to keep it real we're gonna keep it really keep really boring for along. You know what I'm saying? And that's, kind of where we're at. We set goals. Even when we have setbacks, we set goals. We have goals today, you know, and that's what I would tell anybody.