Welcome And Band Milestones

George Blitch 0:00

Hello, gentlemen. Welcome to the Sun of a Blitz podcast. How are you doing today? Good, doing great, man. Thanks for having us. I'm excited to have you here. JD Andrew, Bob Thornton. Guys are going to be talking about your band, the Boxmasters. You guys have been together for 20 plus years. This is, I think, your 21st or 22nd album here. I mean, you guys have been putting them out and uh touring for quite a while. Why don't you uh tell me a little bit about the new album in the Bay? It dropped a couple weeks ago, and you guys are doing the Moral Rock tour. I know you're kind of just in the beginning stages of and you got something like 60 shows in 70 days.

Heat, Tuning, And Bus Trouble

George Blitch 0:33

So tell me just so far, how's the tour going?

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Been great so far. Uh you know, the only one we had that was uh a little difficult was uh the first show in Vegas because uh it was outdoors, and when we went on stage at 9.45 at night, it was 112 or something like that. And uh that was that was uh it seemed like a five-hour show, and it was only like you know, hour and twenty minutes or something. But uh, I mean the show was fine, it was nothing wrong with it, it was just that it was really, really hot out.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

It was hot, and our guitars had been inside, and so first chord of the song first song, you know, they're completely out of tune. So it was it was difficult dealing with that. And then uh we had a little bus trouble after that show, so we sat in the desert for a little while and got another ride back to uh Agora Hills where the next show was. And uh thankfully, after we got through those first two days, we had a couple of days off and everything got fixed. Bus is running better than it ever has. It's uh it's knock on wood, it's been pretty great so far. And we've had great shows and uh really good crowds, and uh it's been a pretty darn great start to the tour.

George Blitch 1:54

Yeah, it's good to hear, and it's it's nice that you got some of the issues out of the way, and then they don't have to come back anymore, right?

When A Venue Changes Everything

George Blitch 2:00

We hope so.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Uh but yeah, we've had amazing shows, great audiences, uh you know, in Agora Hills and uh uh Tracy, California, Reno. Uh where else was Jackson Hill.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

Jackson Hall we sold out. Uh Denver. Uh oh, Denver was amazing. We've we've never had a great show in Denver. Usually it's you know, people are too busy doing their recreational activities that they like to do there in the Mile High City. They should be together. They don't make it out. Yeah, I that's I mean, we do play songs that fit with that kind of lifestyle. So it hasn't made sense why we never really had a great show in Denver until this year. And it was a place we'd never played before called the Gothic Theater. And I think that was the reason.

SPEAKER_02 2:47

I I think I think mostly over the years when we played Denver, which is not very often, but uh we were more we were playing in more sterile environments. I mean, it was like suburb kind of places that we were in these sort of really clean performing art centers, so the clientele is a little too fancy for us, you know what I mean? And uh this time the gothic theater, it's a rock and roll theater, you know, old rock and roll place. I mean, there was nobody but rock and roll fans.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Yeah, it was and it's it's a one of those theaters where they took the seats out years ago, and so everybody has to stand, they have a great bar. I it was awesome, it was a really, really great night, and we were really surprised. And and when we came out to the stage expecting another less enthusiastic, less filled up crowd. We walked out and the place was packed. And it's like all right. Here we go, Denver. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Last night, last night we were in Draper, Utah at an amphitheater. And um it was a city own a city-owned amphitheater. It's really, really good and great, great crowd and everything. So no complaints so far, but we can always screw it up tomorrow night, you know. You never know. But

Writing "In The Bay"

SPEAKER_02 4:06

yeah, we're touring with the 21st album and uh in the bay, and that was uh uh, you know, my daughter goes to school Cal Poly up in San Luis Obispo there, and uh we get a place up there in Morrow Bay, and uh uh which is 12 minutes from her campus. And when she's in school, I didn't have anything to do but stare at the bay. So really the initial inspiration for the record, you know, came from there. But then I got home uh back to Aurora Hills and uh JD and I sat down and uh started putting these songs together, you know, which were just ideas and some lyrics and melodies. And we finally, you know, we got them all together and then realized a few songs in that we were being heavily influenced by uh uh Brian Wilson. And uh so then we leaned into it, you know, and said, okay, well, this is what we're doing. Let's structure these songs in a way that we may not normally. And uh and it's kind of like our, you know, when you say this, people are always like, oh, really? You'll never be Brian Wilson. It's like we're not we're not saying that. We just like him a lot. We just like him a lot, and it's like when we made the record Pepper Tree Hill, our last album, it was um really heavily influenced by the Beatles. We're not the Beatles, that's not Abbey Road, we're not near as good as those guys, and we never will be. Uh nobody will. But it's it's a tribute to those guys that they continue to influence people, you know, and uh and that's the same thing here to Brian Wilson. And uh so, like I said, we leaned into it, and uh so now we've got our aversion and our small way of the Abbey Road and uh and uh of pet sounds, and uh you know we we love it.

Leaning Into Classic Influences

SPEAKER_01 5:55

We've got another record. So in a few years ago, we did a record called Love and Hate with in Desperate Places, and we had Kirk and Raymond, our live guitar player and bass player. Who I mean call they're not just our live live players, they're you know, they're our band. But most of the time Billy and I make the records ourselves because we live in California, they live in Florida, so it's kind of hard for them to come over quite as often as we record. And so we made that record, it's more of a rock record, it sounds more like what we do live. And so we decided to do another one of those, and uh it'll be released sometime next year, but it's to me, it's more of our dark side of the moon type record. And I that's like the first time I I've you know thought about that. It's like well, it is more we do have some more Pink Floyd influence songs on this record, and uh but also at the same time, it's more of a just a straight-ahead rock and roll record and all that.

SPEAKER_02 7:02

Yeah, yeah, it's great.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

But we play one of the songs in the set called Where Did the Fun Go. It'll be the title of the record if it's up to me. Which most of the time it is. That's a good

Opening For The Who

SPEAKER_01 7:12

title.

George Blitch 7:12

Well, you guys have you guys have had uh, you know, and I know you guys toured with the Hugh the with the Who, and you know, you had obviously the the Beatles, you know, homage album, and now Beach Boys. And I've heard you say this, Billy, before about the Who is one of the top three bands of all time. And I'm not sure if that's on your list too, JD, but I'd love to ask you both that. What are the other two?

SPEAKER_02 7:38

Well, what it'd be the I would say uh the Stones and the Beatles. I mean, in terms of, and maybe that's not everybody's cup of tea, even back then. Some people may have liked the animals better than the stones, but just in terms of an iconic band who uh I I think everybody in the world would say, yeah, it's the Stones, the Beatles, and the Who. Those were the three, you know, and uh uh when we got to open for them, it was I mean, uh sometimes I still pinch myself, you know. And we've opened for a lot of big names, and not to knock them. I mean, you know, Z Top and uh Steve Miller, a lot, you know, uh a lot of people uh over the years, and uh uh and we've had people open for us who were heroes of ours. Ray Wiley Hubbard, uh uh Los Lobos. Well, that was a co-headlining bill. But uh one way or the other. I mean, the Who, this is you go in the Enormo Dome on stage, you know, we don't know who's about to come out there. That's pretty daunting. So it was just a huge honor for us. And the thing is, I think what the greatest thing about it was is that uh we got standing ovations in both places with you know 25,000, 27,000 people, whatever. And uh it that was I mean, we're blown away. I mean, you're talking about being proud of you and your guys, you it's just uh, you know, because we fit with them. I think that's why it happened. We weren't, you know, uh we have enough of the old school thing in us uh that I think the audience there connected with our music and thought, well, that fits. These guys opening for them works, you know.

Dream Venues And Crowd Chemistry

George Blitch 9:26

Well, and you guys there was another thing too, when when you were touring, I know you talked about this, I think it was like in 2023. You guys played it's like a lifelong dream to play in uh the Cavern Club, was it in Liverpool? Yeah. I was curious if there's other places that you're like, man, I really want to play at that spot, you know. Is there any that are kind of historical to you guys that uh you maybe have gone to or you've always thought, man, I'd love for us to come and and cross the stage?

SPEAKER_02 9:51

I think we played them here.

SPEAKER_01 9:53

Um we yeah, we played so many places that we're like, holy cow, we're here.

SPEAKER_02 9:58

Maybe maybe the beacon in New York. Yeah, that might be cool. Uh, but I think for me it's like the English play, the London places, like like if we ever got to play the O2 opening for somebody, or uh or Royal Alba Royal Album Hall, you know, that that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

It's like that, or you know. Just because I was thinking about it, because we're playing a place uh called the Pana Vidra concert hall that we played before, but they did a remodel, and it's supposed to be one of the most beautiful, most the greatest music venues in the country. And it's one of the best in the world behind the Sydney Opera House, and it's like, holy cow! So we're excited about that. But also, you know, if you're gonna pick places, it's like Sydney Opera House would be pretty awesome to at least walk across the stage. Yeah, exactly. Stuff like that, you know, that's um just the places that you see uh your heroes playing, and it's like, oh yeah, they they played there in whatever year it was, and uh you know, but we have had the fortunate uh opportunity to play a lot of these historic venues that we love. And this year we're we get to we've Billy and I've done we did a song with Levon Helm at the Ryman for his Ramble at the Ryman I don't know, 15 years ago, I guess it was. And so we're excited to be able to play the Ryman as the box masters this time. It's that's one of the more uh iconic places that we've never done as a band that we're gonna get to do this year. But there's some places like Kane's Ballroom in Tulsa, um Green Hall, Green Hall in Texas, yeah, in New Broncos, Texas. Um Knuckleheads in Kansas City, Billy Bobs. We're playing Billy Bobs again this year. So it's like those are legendary venues here in the U.S. And we're fortunate, you know, that we get to play them. And they're every time it's it's just an awesome feeling. It's like this is such a great place, and the audiences are always really, really excited to be there and then to see us. And it's you you can't ask for anything more than that because it's like we feed off of the audience, and sure, hopefully they're feeding off of us. And so the more they get into the show, the more we do too. So those places definitely bring that.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

It's the places that sell out the first day they go on sale, you know, like Knuckleheads and Green Hall, and places like that. And when you go there, you're you're not going there wondering how it's gonna be. You know, it's like it's your audience coming to see you. It's the places where you do feel like the Beatles, you know. It's like uh uh, you know, sometimes you'll go and you'll play a theater in a town you've never been to, and you're backstage. Yeah, and you know, because a lot of times in the theater environment, they think they're supposed to be polite and stuff like that, you know, and you know, the lights go down and you can hear a pin drop, and I'll look at the guys and say, boy, we're gonna have to pull teeth tonight, guys. And so those are the shows where you have to you have to bring them along. And we always get them toward you know at least the second half of the show, and sometimes immediately, you just never know. But uh uh you also have to realize that not everywhere you go is coming there knowing that much about you. You know, even though you you may have played the area before, if you're in a brand new place and they haven't heard you live before, then uh it's kind of not well. I always figure you ought to listen to people before you go sing along.

George Blitch 13:53

It's usually a good idea.

unknown 13:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Casino crowds are a little bit yeah, casino crowds are the the most um notorious for not having any idea what we're doing because a lot of the time they're guests of the casino and they're coming to see us not having any interest in what we do musically. But um, you know, some of the time we win them over, other times we're not their cup of tea. But it's like we know we're not for everybody because we're not trying to do that. We're we make music for ourselves, and people that remember that era and that got kind of rock and roll, they can uh they can get along with it. But uh sometimes, you know, if rock and roll's not your thing, then you know they'll uh go hit the nickel machines and uh keep on with their uh their night.

July 4 At Knuckleheads

George Blitch 14:53

Well, you know, you guys I heard you really mention knuckleheads, and you guys are actually playing there on July 4th, which obviously is a big deal uh as far as you know the 20 250th uh you know uh anniversary here of the U.S. I was curious what's that show gonna be like? Is it gonna you guys do anything? Uh you guys pulling out any any tricks and and uh fun things, any odes, any any special songs? Is there something that is going to be special about that night for you guys, other than just the night it is and the fact you guys have a good following there at Knuckleheads?

SPEAKER_02 15:24

Yeah, well that's uh uh we do. I mean, we're playing there the third and fourth. It's two nights, and uh I think that audience knows us so well that uh we don't really need to pull out any tricks, but um I'm I think mostly it's just gonna be the feeling of you know, it is that that anniversary, and here we are with an audience we love and love us. And uh it'll probably be spoken more than it will be gadgets, I'll put it that way. We're probably not gonna shoot any fireworks off, or we should have Raymond wear Uncle an Uncle Sam outfit though. And Raymond's about you know that tall, so put him on some stilts, maybe dress him up. But um yeah, I mean I I don't think it's not really the kind of place where where you need a lot to of that. Um I think it'll just be that sort of communal feeling we have with that audience and then talking about it, you know. And knuckleheads are so wild that you might you may not get a word in edgewise with them.

Tour Lineup And Crew Culture

George Blitch 16:30

Well, you know, I was curious too, when you were talking about your band member there, like how what is the makeup of this tour? Because I I know that you guys are obviously the the two primary writers for the box masters, and but you have a lot of these guys you've been touring with for many years now. Uh why don't you lay out for for those who are you know curious as far as you know, who are the other the band members that are gonna be on this tour? What are they playing? What's the makeup on stage there?

SPEAKER_02 16:53

Well, Rayman Raymond Hardy is the bass player. Raymond was a guitar tech for us for years, and then uh we kept it like Spinal Tap, bass players kept blowing up. And uh so Raymond's an amazing bass player, and we were just like, well, he's already in the family, you know, and and plus he's one of our best friends in the world. So that's Raymond, uh, he's a Florida man. And uh Kirk McKim on Lee Guitar, who's an astoundingly great lead guitar player who's originally from Houston, Texas, and now lives in Orlando, Florida. There you go. And uh, yeah, me too. Uh well, second in Houston. But um and then uh it's funny because Kirk and I played the same places back in Houston. You know, we mentioned all the places we played back then, and every now and then we can't remember the name of one or something, you know. But you know, Rockefellers, Fitzgerald's, oh yeah, Cardi, Cardi's, rockers, all those places. Played it in two, yep. Conroe ballroom. Conroe ballroom. Uh but uh one way or the other, uh uh Kirk's just a great lead guitar player. And uh yeah, and it's his 11th year, I believe. Well, yeah, he started in 2015. Yeah, so he's he's awesome. The drummer is uh Nick Davidson, uh he's originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, uh lives in Nashville now. He's the kid in the band, he's only 31. And uh uh, you know, I play the drums on all the records, so we have to have somebody live. And uh so we've always had a drummer. We started out with a guy named Mike Bruce from Alabama who passed as one of our greatest friends, and and then in between that we just had a couple of guys after after Mike passed uh uh that just did one tour or you know, stuff like that, and then we got Nick uh through a friend, friend's recommendation. And uh and he's been great, he fits right in the band, and uh we have to spank him every now and then just because it's a kid. It's a youth. Uh and then uh our we've added another guitar player this year. Uh JD and I talked it over. It's like because it was a five-piece, you know, two guitars, and we and JD has a lot of keyboard stuff to do. We use a Mellotron and like, you know, a Vox organ that's you know uh essential to some of the more 60s sounding songs. And so we thought, well, you know, uh, if we just had somebody, so David White, our guitar tech, once again, it's the tech. And uh Dave's an incredible player.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

We've all been roadies at some point, yeah. So it's like Bud did it as a teenager. We've all been roadies. I did live sound for Dave Weckle, the jazz drummer, for a year. Thought I would never go on tour ever again because it was one of the hardest things I'd ever did in my life. But um but you know, Kirk and Raymond have all been uh touring tech, and so we all know what it's like. It's like there's nobody out here like, oh, I'm too good to push a case or anything, you know, help out. It's everybody is doing two or three jobs out here, and it is what we have to do, so it's it's i i everyone does it anyway. It's just Raymond and Raymond, especially, he can't help it. He has to be out on the stage setting up. He just yeah, he he's out there running the stage, like, okay, this is where this has to go. And they're all out there getting their stuff ready, and everybody just pitches in and gets the show going. And and we have a great bunch of crew guys. Um Jacob and Josh are in front of house and lighting guys, they've been with us now for four or five years. They're also the kids, and but they're the only they're the only reason we know how to work our telephones. Yeah, exactly. Anything, anything technologically related or computer related, it's like, Jacob, Josh, help us fix this. Because, you know, there's some things that just is innate to them that we don't understand. But it's all we're all on one bus. It's like all ten of us are on one bus. We're traveling around every day. And it's no joke when we say that we're a family. It's it's you know as soon as the tour's over, it's like everybody's on their group text going, Hey, how soon till we can get on bus again and and all that. It's like everybody misses it instantly after after we're done.

George Blitch 21:44

So

Staying Ahead With New Records

George Blitch 21:46

Well and you guys are like writing a lot of times kind of one album ahead. Like I've heard you talk about this, JD, like you're y'all are staying ahead so that you have that next uh you know tour to come up to, right? Yeah, you have to.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

It's you have to be ready at least a year in advance. You know, the label always wants six months of lead time to get everything in line. And we have an amazing label. We're on 30 Tigers in Nashville, and they're all completely artist focused, and they forget that we're insane and we don't sell, you know, we don't sell a billion records, but you know, we sell enough. And our ideas about what we do are, you know, sometimes, well, most times, not exactly what is uh current or hip or mainstream. It's like we do what we do and we always have. And so people are catching up to what we're doing versus us trying to chase something. And uh but you do have to have everything kind of in advance, and for us that's not a problem because we are always writing and we've always got things finished that we're sitting on like that we aren't sure what we're gonna do with it. And so we do really we have two records out right now because we have a record called Better Velvet that we did with our friend Brad Davis, who's been in and out of the band at various times. He's a he lives in Commerce, Texas, and has a studio there, and he's constantly recording other artists and writing, and he's one of the best well for sure, bluegrass acoustic guitar players, but just acoustic guitar, electric guitar. I mean, he's one of the best guitar players you can ever see. He's brilliant and humble and uh and a goofball, and we love him to death. But we made this record Better Velvet with Brad. He came out and wrote with us, and uh we wrote the songs for that. But it was the case of look, we like to put a record out on our website, and so we put Better Velvet out. It didn't quite show up in time for it to be released when uh when we had hoped to earlier in the year. So now we've got it out on the road. It's like a special turquoise heavyweight vinyl. You know, it's a limited edition, it's only 250 copies, and we all sign it and hand number it and make it something extra special for people that uh like those kind of things. So uh I'm very proud of it. It's a really good record, but it's more in the Americana vein, just because whatever whenever Brad joins us, that's what he brings. He brings his sound, and you know, we lean into that, and so it's uh a little more singer-songwritery and it's called a box master's record, but it's really kind of not.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

You know, yeah. I mean, we we almost didn't call it a boxmaster's record. We almost just did it. What started it was gonna be a solo record for me, which I don't like. You know, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 24:53

I can't try to talk him into doing a solo record because we haven't done one in 20 years over 20 years now.

George Blitch 24:58

That's how you guys first kind of got together, too, right?

SPEAKER_01 25:01

Yeah, exactly. But I'm like, I want to sell two records at the same time or four records a year versus just two, you know, but Billy doesn't want to leave the band, and uh I don't want to either, so I'm not doing any side projects either. So it's like uh it's fine, it's like we have our brand, the Boxmasters is different on every single record. So why do we need to rebrand it as something else when nobody knows what to expect from us from record to record, anyway? So it's like let's just keep that going.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

Oh, and just so you know, I have severe OCD, so when I haven't finished a thought, it drives me crazy until I do, even if it's tomorrow. But I I'm sitting here feeling guilty. We never finished saying Dave White, our tech, is in the band. Sorry, sorry. Yeah, he's uh Dave White is now an extra guitar player, and he's an awesome guitar player. Not extra. I mean, he's another guitar player now in the band, you know. And uh once again, we've within the family, it's still, you know, that's the band. I mean, we didn't have to go, you know, audition guys from wherever, you know. It was like, well, Dave's right here, and he's amazing. He's gonna be on the road with us anyway, and he's still teching too. He did this guy is so hardworking and he's a great guy. And so it filled out the sound live where it sounds more like it does on the records, because then it allows JD to play more keyboards, you know, because some of the times we couldn't even, it was just JD and Kirk on guitar, so we couldn't have keyboards on songs that have them. And it actually caused us to leave some songs we wanted to do out of the set list because you know it's just impossible to do them live. So now we can, which is a great, great new addition. Yeah.

George Blitch 26:48

Well, it's great. And I know on the new album, too, you've got uh really good songs too, with with some keys, piano, organ. I mean, that there's some really great tunes there uh that incorporate that. So it's cool that you guys can bring that back around live. And

Setlist Craft And Audience Energy

George Blitch 27:02

I was curious too, with with your live shows, what is kind of the breakdown of, I mean, you guys have uh such a huge discography to choose from. I mean, 21 albums. Um, and I know that there's some favorites you guys may be pulling from, but I was curious, like, what's that mix? Is it really heavy on those two albums that you're talking about? And then some of your favorite throwbacks? Are you guys kind of challenging yourselves, like, hey, let's play that one song we haven't played in years? Like, what does that look like when you're coming up with it with the set list? And also, what is the set look like? How many hours are you guys playing? Uh, does that kind of change from night to night? What does that look like for this tour? Not much.

SPEAKER_02 27:36

We're we're a band who likes to rehearse and be at our best all the time. Well, and pretty much I don't think anybody in this band likes to sit in. Yeah, like you will go to somebody's show, and why don't you come out and do Mustang Sally with us? I mean, it's like, no. I mean, we we like to present a rock show like you would go to when we we were kids, where you go see Credence Clearwater Revival or whoever it is, and it's that. And you know, and they start with Green River, and you know at some point, you know, Born on the Bayou is coming, or whatever, you know what I mean? Sure. So we kind of we kind of pattern ourselves over Coliseum rock shows or or arena rock shows, you know. Um, even though they're in theaters and amphitheaters and clubs, it's like we want to present it that way. So our set list is pretty set, and what we do, we play as the years go on, a song or two will drop here and there until all of a sudden you realize you're mainly playing stuff from the last three or four years. We've got we always start to show the same. The first five songs are the same, uh, because we don't stop. We just play them one through five without saying anything to the audience. And and they're pretty, you know, blistering songs, you know, and though those have been there for a long time. Then we go into some of the newer songs. I think we're only playing one song off of uh uh uh In the Bay, and uh we got a couple of songs off the new stuff with that Raymond and Kirk did with us for the new record, and uh and we pulled out a couple from uh a while back that we weren't able to play. We're doing a song called uh Sounds About Right and a song called Clear Enough, which we're there they've got the keyboards and everything, so we you know now we're playing those. Uh we end the same way uh the last three or four songs, uh although we uh we have a new song called Feels Like Peace from a couple of records ago, that's a big audience favorite already. You can always tell if you play a song and it's like they never heard it and live, that's their you know, that's when they come alive, you know. It's like uh it's like they're hearing our stairway to heaven or something. Yeah, it's like, well, wait a minute, they didn't even know this until we got here. Uh so that's been great. Uh it's uh all original songs except our encore song, which is by the Kinks. And uh uh than that, it's just also set lists have a rhythm to them, as you know. I mean, you know, when you're when you rehearse, you rehearse new stuff, and you know pretty much that it's not gonna work, you know, or it is gonna work. So we had two songs in the set list this year that I was feeling because I'm the one who has to communicate with the audience and stuff and sort of feel the time and the how much I can interact and how much we need to get to business with the song. And there are two songs that we love. Maybe my two favorite songs in the set list. Uh, you know, they're a little more mid-tempo, more Americana. And what about two shows ago we dropped them. And I because I just went to JD, I said, dude, this is I said it it breaks this thing, it breaks the the the the rhythm of the show. And you have to dump some things you love sometimes. And now we've got the show. It's about an hour and 20 minutes if we just play what we're doing now, and uh it's pretty seamless. And uh so that's that's how we developed the set list. As we go along, we go, you know what, it's not working. This this is that's when there's a lull and people go pee, let's get rid of that.

George Blitch 31:27

Well, and you know, I was curious as far as like what when you were mentioning earlier the types of places you're playing, because I I know when you guys are coming in Texas and like Tomball, um, that's a a theater where the seats are already there. And you mentioned the one you guys played there where the seats are gone. Uh, I would imagine uh that you guys would like to have it to where maybe people are all standing up and getting that energy because that's something that when you're sitting down, it's just a different dynamic of getting people into it. I feel like you're moving, especially the songs you guys play. I mean, you it drives you to want to move. So I was curious, kind of like what that what is is there any challenges with kind of great bringing that audience in on those kinds of shows where they're still for sure.

SPEAKER_02 32:07

I mean, you know, we play a few places that are great places, but you know, they're white tablecloths, and people just finish the steak when you come out there. And that's that's work. Those are the nights when it's a job, and we would prefer every venue, except for you know at amphitheaters, they got the you know, rows of seats up the hill and stuff, which is fine, but uh we always get them up. We don't care if there's seats or not, and we just have them get up because we would if we would prefer to have no seats in any venue, we do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:37

But at the end of the show, the last three or four songs, Billy's like, All right, everybody you gotta work the kinks out. Stand up, come on, come up to the front, and we uh it is it finishes up at a as a big rock show, and you can see everybody kind of their faces you know lighten up because it's like they've been given the permission permission, yeah, to get a little more crazy and or be you know a little more involved in the show. And it's uh it's a really great feeling watching everybody like, oh, okay, now we can be part of it.

SPEAKER_02 33:18

And well, actually those chairs have held them back, like they're like sometimes I'll actually say to the audience, uh, you know, I know it's a theater and it's really fancy and stuff like that, but we're not doing Peter Pan. This is a rock show.

George Blitch 33:33

Can you guys get when you when you allow that and you offer that and you bring that in and that energy, like you were talking about too, that interplay with the audience, too. When you build out with them and then they bring it back to you, you feel that, and then you give out more. It's something that just continues to evolve through the night, I always feel like you need you need that audience.

SPEAKER_02 33:51

Uh the audience doesn't realize sometimes how much a part of the show they are. I mean, they're this is a 50-50 deal. It's uh us and them, and we should be one. You know, that's the way ideally a a show should go.

George Blitch 34:06

Well, I was curious too, just you know, with you guys being now 20 years you've been playing together, 21 albums, is there something that that feels uh is there something that's super special about that idea and that or is it just kind of like another year to you guys? I was curious, like what what's special about the Morrill Rock tour to to both of you? And is there something about this that you know it's it's kind of a a big year and I the way I look at that?

SPEAKER_02 34:30

Yeah, it it it is special to us. And um I mean, what would you say, JD, is the special thing about this tour? I mean well the ban I think the band being settled on this idea with Dave and all that, yeah, where it's like we know that's we're we're complete now. That's that's been very special. And I think we have more confidence this year than we ever have. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 34:54

I I would say that as well, that we do we really do feel confident, and we feel very confident that it's like everybody is hearing the music and they know more what they're coming for, and they're there for a rock and roll show. They're not coming for um something else, or to you know they think something else is gonna happen. It's like it's a it's a rock and roll band putting on a rock and roll show, and like Billy said, we treat it like an arena rock show, no matter where we are. It's like we can scale down our our our fear on stage, we can scale up to where if we're playing a giant room with a computer giant stage, we can fill it up and it feels great. But yeah, we just also are like, you know, it's it's like we're gonna do our show whether people like it or not. It's like we're gonna go in there and we're gonna give them hell, and we're gonna put on our rock show, and we're not gonna tone it down if it's a restaurant or a or a punk bar or a beautiful theater. We're gonna go in there and blow the cobwebs out of every place that we play.

SPEAKER_02 36:19

We also do the same show for two or three hundred people that we do for 25,000. Yeah. I mean, you owe you owe whatever audience is there your full show. You know, in other words, you can't go out there and get all down and be pissed off that, oh, there's only, you know, we're in a place that only seats 350 people, so you know. You you owe them maybe even more than you owe the 25,000 people, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:45

Yeah, absolutely. And uh I gotta go with P, George.

George Blitch 36:49

Yeah, do you think? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:51

And uh sadly, I mean, we might have to do a part two here pretty soon, but uh, we do have to jump on another call here in uh in a couple of minutes.

George Blitch 36:59

So yeah, no, I totally understand.

SPEAKER_01 37:01

But uh I feel like we barely scratched the surface.

George Blitch 37:04

So it's like no, I don't have to trust me. I'd love to chat with you guys as as long as we can someday, you know, or you know, whatever you're I know there's time constraints, but um let me uh let's see, when are we uh you are look at this schedule we're doing our podcast, and I just told the guy we know I missed Texas.

SPEAKER_01 37:24

I said maybe we could do another um another session on Tuesday if uh if you're available. Oh, he's talking in Albuquerque. So we're driving from Phoenix to Norman, Oklahoma. And so we'll be sitting in Albuquerque for the day while Cricket gets to sleep anyways during the day. And uh she's our bus driver, and uh bus driver slash bus mom slash you know band protector, everything else. And uh but we could uh probably do another you know, another full round on Tuesday. That'd be great.

George Blitch 38:03

I will be around. Um let's see what time uh I mean I guess things are kind of just different with you guys on on day to day.

SPEAKER_01 38:13

I uh yeah, I have to check with Lucina to see what else she has booked. And but uh but yeah, I'll I'll I'll send her a note as soon as we get off here and say, hey, let's do another round. Yeah. And uh however you want to you can make it uh make it all one episode or or however you want to. We're gonna come up to next couple. I'm sorry.

George Blitch 38:32

Well, we got the same. I'll be at my ranch for um on Tuesday. So I'll just look at the time on that. But if if if that doesn't work, I can send you some other dates to kind of just do it for the second part too. Because I'd I'd like to talk about some of like the kind of the sound of what goes into the studio side of things too. You know, because I'm sure with you guys, you're not bringing out all your vintage gear on the stage touring, right?

SPEAKER_01 38:54

No, it's that's yeah, no, we've uh we brosly bring the new stuff. Um yeah, pretty much everything is is new, but it's you know, it's A DC 30s, you know, they've been the same for 60 years. Uh we just started a deal with uh with uh endorsing Mozara guitars, which is a brand of guitar that our heroes like the ventures played, and uh as well as uh Johnny Ramon. Um so yeah, so it's like it's brands that our heroes played. Like I've got a couple of Rickenbackers um that I play. Dave does, he's got one of my Rickenbackers, Turks a 60s strat fanatic, and so everything is uh is that. And um so yeah, it is it's all new, newer versions of old stuff. But uh yeah, we're gonna we're gonna do a part two with George here uh next week so that we can actually dive into some of the more in-depth things that we want to talk about because we got a new at Dayton like Ludwig drums lead over. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 40:09

I said like Ludwig drums.

George Blitch 40:11

65 Blue Sparkle over here. There you go. I got an old 52 Slingerland. There's a few other uh some of the classics.

SPEAKER_01 40:20

So where is where are you at? Where's your ranch?

George Blitch 40:23

Currently, I'm uh right now I'm in Galveston, Texas. I'm here in the we're doing a little family vacation. We live right outside of Houston and Katy. And then uh I have two family ranches, one's in Dale, Texas that my wife owner operate that's uh just outside of Austin, kind of like Lockhart um backdrop area, and then one's in Southwest Texas, Carizo Springs. So normally behind me, I have like a huge display of all the arrowheads and all the Native American artifacts. Like you were mentioned, the ventures, uh, the guitarists that we met together at the Native American Music Awards and hand me some of his guitar picks and like all of his some some little things he had. And I I was I was hearing that sound in some of your tunes there, but yeah. Oh, probably Nokia Edwards, right? Yeah, Nokie, Nokie, yep.

SPEAKER_02 41:04

Yeah, yeah, I know I know yeah, I knew Nokie. Yeah, they're all gone except Leon Taylor, the drummer. Yeah, Leon came to our show last night in Utah. He lives up there.

George Blitch 41:14

No way.

SPEAKER_02 41:14

Oh, yeah, it's cool. I knew the ventures from way back. Yeah.

George Blitch 41:18

Uh no, Nokie, do you pre proposed to my my wife in front of his his lady uh on the he's like, Man, we were like we we met at the is this 2011 Native American Music Awards. I had I used to travel around and interviewing indigenous elders with a guy from National Geographic, and we put out a spoken word thing was uh on the the incident at Oglala. I don't know if you guys know about like with Leonard Peltier. Yeah, so I I've worked with Leonard, did some books with him, and actually it's crazy because today is the 50th anniversary of that shootout. Um my goodness.

SPEAKER_02 41:48

Wow. Wow. Yeah, Robert Robertson was heavily involved in that stuff.

George Blitch 41:52

Yep, yep. And uh and it's crazy because I was gonna talk to you about like the moral rock uh that as far as it being a sacred site and stuff, too. So we'll we'll we'll get on it more. I know you guys gotta go. Let's do all of it.

SPEAKER_01 42:02

Yeah, exactly. We'll we'll we'll if Tuesday doesn't work, then we'll do that. And you know, you'll have to come to the Tomball show, man.

George Blitch 42:09

Yeah, so I I I was you you were talking about how quick they sell out, those sold out super fast, but I'd love to to just swing by and say hi. I'd I had like a little gift I wanted to bring you guys if that's if available during the daytime.

SPEAKER_01 42:20

If you guys can um yeah, we're there the sixth and the seventh. So whichever day works better for you, just let me know. Yeah, and uh yeah, we'll put you down. Cool.

George Blitch 42:32

Yeah, I'd I'd just love to come by and say hi. I know that that venue is it's all seats, and they said they're already full up, so I was like, I'd love to come by and it's tables and eating and drinking.

SPEAKER_01 42:40

This is one of those talking about. But we have a good time. Yeah, Matt does a great job there, and uh yeah, we love it. So awesome.

George Blitch 42:52

All right, man. Sounds good. Well, gentlemen, thank you so much. Can't wait to chat with you guys again and we'll do part two then. Yeah, perfect, buddy. All right, thanks, George. Y'all have a good one. Take care. Cheers.