Best of Matt Connarton Unleashed volume 42

From the studios of w m n H ninety five point three FM in downtown

Manchester, New Hampshire. You are tuned in to the best of Matt Connerton

Unleashed and on the couch we have Conrad. How do you say your last

name? Is it? Where war? Like? In Second World War War?

Conrad War from the band Bees Deluxe. How are you welcome? Very

well, thanks for having me. Yeah, yeah, we've been playing some

of your your stuff on the show. And now you're not from these parts

originally, are you? I consider myself from Brooklyn, but I'm actually from

London. Okay, Now why do you consider yourself from Brooklyn to live there

for a while. If you brought up in England, everything is easy.

You know. People go to sleep in the middle of the day. They

don't work, they don't do anything. They just crown people. Oh.

But then when you moved to America, suddenly you find you've actually got to

work and meet people and find things and do jobs. And so I moved

to Brooklyn and New York and I found it was a baptism of fire.

Yeah, so immediately it was like being in New York for six months was

like six years in university in England. Wow, it's much much harder.

So are you so the lyrics to hang Fire by the Rolling Stones, that's

actually accurate, pretty fair, Yes, I'll be down. When did you

are so? When did you come to the United States? So? I

was in New York in the early eighties. Okay, I put an ad

in the Village Voice, and I got a drummer at a bass player and

I auditioned for Hilly at CBGB's on a Monday night and he said, you

guys are all right, come back tomorrow. And then after that he says,

you guys all come back on a Wednesday. So and after six months

we worked our way up to playing on Saturday night, two sets in between

the headlining band. Oh wow. Yeah. We opened for Dogs of War,

which was the name of Living Color in those days. Oh no kidding,

Yeah, fantastic band. Oh wow. And hr from Bad Brains.

Oh wow. So we missed the early section with the Ramones and Talking Heads,

but we got in like the second wave when bands were still really interesting

but didn't quite go billboard. Okay, Oh wow, that must have been

a great time to be there. It was awesome. Wow, that's that's

amazing. Well night, we were playing with Jonathan Gregg and the Lonesome Debonairs,

and I don't know if you remember CBS, but the stage was to

the side of the walk through to the bathroom. So we're playing. Jonathan

greg and his band are all at the bar drinking. They come back.

All their guitars have gone out in the back door. Oh my god,

you had to nail things down and hold them in your hands. Yeah.

Yeah, Oh jeez, So you were there when did you say? So?

Early eighties? Early eighties? Okay. Then my girl got a job

in Boston, so I went, all right, I'll move up to Boston,

and then started all over again. Yeah, and then we had a

couple of kids and I had to stay at home make sure they didn't put

forks in the electricity, and then started up again. So I put together

Bees Deluxe here in Boston. Okay, Um, what was the what was

the band called when you were in New York? That band was called Invisible

House. What's the cool name? I like that? Now? Where does

the name bees DeLux come from? What does that mean? It's a combination

of a pub in London and an amplifier that I used to this day.

Oh no kidding. Oh cool. Well I had to come up with a

name very very fast because I was in a bar with a friend of Michael

Maurice and he said you should play here, and I went, I don't

have a band. He says, well, I'm going to book you.

What's the name of the band? Yeah, so we played the next Friday.

Oh, there you go, there you go. Yeah. I have

a friend Mike Laughlin, who used to be in a band called simply called

something because he was he was on the spot, he was he was supposed

to play somewhere and they didn't have a name for the band yet and he's

called it something and and actually stuck with it for a while. So so

listeners should be where Because I have a neighbor in Jamaica Plane who started a

band and he called it hot Dog, And I went, you an idiot.

If people go on Google and search for hot Dog, they're never gonna

find you, right, So you've got to do something that's yes, off

center, Oh yeah, oh absolutely, And and and also too, something

that you can be reasonably sure that somebody doesn't already have, right, Um,

yeah, so that makes sense. Um, I mean, did you

how quick did you have to come up with that, Like, did you

do a search online to make sure there wasn't already a band somewhere called we

were in the rehearsal studio, Yeah, the phone booking. Yeah. Yeah,

so that's it. That's great, that's great, that's very rock and

roll. Um cool sou What was what was it like, you know,

starting in the music scene in Boston in contrast to New York? Was it?

Was? It drastically different in some ways The scenes are were and still

are very different. Yeah. In New York, many of the clubs are

four bands to night, back line provided bring one hundred and fifty people or

we'll never book here again. And they're like sausage factories. Yeah, they

just churn you in and churn you out yea. And some are better than

others. Some have actual people who care about music. Boston, we tend

to play gigs where we played for three hours. So we're playing in a

room where the management and the bartenders like us. They'll tell their friends and

once the customers have seen us, once they come back for the next one.

Yeah, you know. So we play anywhere from dive bars like Vincent's

in Worcester. I mean if there's forty five people in there, it's packed.

Yeah, Yeah, it's great dive bar. And then we'll play Boston

City Winery Haymarket Lounge where they're very tony, you know when they serve meals

and people sit down. Yeah, So there's a range, but we'd like

to play it on our own, because that's that's why you want to play.

Is you want to play as much as possible. So you'll do a

three hour Yeah, take a break in the middle and run out for a

cigarette or something. But if you're only playing for forty minutes, you've barely

got the plane off the ground, right, right, m You've got obviously

you've got a lot of originals, and we've been playing some of them today,

but you also have quite a few covers, I would imagine, right.

So our philosophy is to play covers that aren't played by everybody else,

Yeah, and reverse engineer them so they're different. Okay, So we'll take

a song like Damn Your Eyes by Edna James, and we'll play it in

a different key and a different tempo and a different field, and then move

get rid of one chorus and put a break in there instead. Oh,

and then and then stretch. So a lot of what we do is improvisational.

We don't really know where we're going to go until we've hit it.

Yeah, do you do you run into it where someone will Has anyone ever

come up here and said, hey, I really like that song, a

certain song and they assumed it was one of yours, but it was actually

a song that you There was a cover that you took in reverse engineered exactly

that we played the two hours at the House of Blues when it was at

Harvard Square and Cambridge. Yeah, and the couple came up to me at

the end and he said, you guys are really good. You should play

some covers and we've been playing easy tup Jimmy Hendrix edit, James Freddie King,

Albert Kane, you know. And they liked the tunes. Yeah,

but they didn't know that they'd heard them before. That's funny, Yeah,

yeah, because you know, subconsciously they there's something in the you know,

in the backs of their minds that's going to connect with that because they have

heard it before, but they don't know what it is because they don't recognize

it. That's interesting, that's really cool. Um our friend DJ Steve is

in the chat room. Rondo Favero says, Living Color excellent band. Yeah,

yeah, that's cool. You said we were they called Dogs of War

before they were living that was the sort of a hidden name. Oh okay,

you know, like Wind the Stones played their Morgan's Cove. I don't

know what they called themselves, but they played to fifty people there. Yeah.

Yeah, you said you live in Jamaica plane. Yeah, you ever

played the Midway Cafe? Yes, as much as possible really, ye.

Yeah. And they've opened up. They've got the room next door as well.

So now now there's a horseshoe bone. You can get behind it and

in front of it. Oh okay. They got double the space than when

I used to play in a long, long time ago. Oh okay,

I used to do back when I did a lot of promoting. I used

to do shows. They're like for a while, it was like once a

month at the Midway, but it was but they didn't have that other space,

so it was small. It was cool. It was a lot of

fun. Yeah, it's still going strong. It was a long time ago.

It's probably not even the same same owners now, but I think it's

Jay Balona and Dave quit. They were two brothers. Oh, I'll be

damn. So Dave is still I remember Dave. Jay is the serious one

and Dave was the nut jube. He and I would go up from the

roof and throw was it cast going part? Oh my god? Yeah,

Dave is the one I would deal with there, I remember Dame. So

he's still there. No, Davis Davis vanished? But Jay is still Oh

Dave? Okay? So yeah, yeah, I don't think I ever dealt

with Jay. I don't think I ever met Jay. I think it was

all Dave Davis van What do you mean he's vanished. I haven't seen him

for a while. Oh okay, but he's not actually missing, is he?

No? But I don't think he's working that run. Oh okay,

Okay. I was afraid something had happened because I have good I have good

memories with Dave, and it sounds like you have some good memories with him

as well. Definitely, although not necessarily the best thing to be doing.

But um so, so when did you when did you uh end up in

Boston? That have been late eighties or yeah, late eighties, early nineties.

I got what happened was I got a job because my my then girlfriend

got a job as a night science fellow at MIT. She was a science

journalist. Okay, I got a job. I was in design. I

got a job, but Raychodiscus production manager. So I went to Salem every

day on Pickering Wharf and I dealt with Frank Zappa and his wife Gail,

David Bowie Yoko Ono. All the releases that we put on Raycordists were repackaged

artists who were fed up with their major labels. Yes, yes, yeah,

yeah, very familiar with Racodesk care. Oh wow, that's cool.

Yeah. How long how long did you do that? Um? I'm guessing

four or five years? Okay. I sort of quit because I got fed

up with the fact that they didn't an R or anything. Everything was recataloging.

Yeah. And the final straw for me was that there was a bank

called Gallant Drunk. Gallant Drunk were Morrissey's boyfriend and his pals, and Siah

Records convinced my boss that we should put out two albums by Gallon Drunk because

they were going to tour opening for Morrissey and we were going to sell fifty

thousand copies of each album, and that Conrad had to put them out in

five days, meaning me. Yeah. So I mean I didn't kill myself

because I'm still alive today to tell the story. Yeah, but I put

out these albums and they were horrible, very horrible. We killed us of

doing it. So I went to the bus and I go, I can't

do this anymore. You know, it's like operating on a corpse. Yeah.

I was gonna say, I've not even heard of gallant drunk, right,

be thankful? Yeah, Wow, that wasn't been a great experience.

It was. It was a lot of fun, really fast moving, and

a lot of great artists and yeah, and very nice to do things that

were good for the industry. So, for instance, we started Banned the

Box. You're probably too young to remember this, but when they switched from

vinyl to CD, everything came in twelve inch long boxes. Yes, I

do remember that. Actually, voice of cardboard printing and money. So we

started this movement called Banned the Box. Oh, and we got that kicked

out. And then I was working with Phillips du Pumpt Optical in Minneapolis,

and together with them, I invented, First of all, I invented see

through jewel cases. Kid and then I invented the green dye that we put

in Rychodisc. Okay, So when you looked at the disc, you knew

it was the Rycho Disc album because it was green, okay, lime green.

Oh wow. And as soon as we came out with the first releases

like that, you know, everybody from the country was calling me, how

did you do that? Where did you get that done? Yeah? You

know, like Geff and Ricos were mad that they hadn't come up with it.

Really, Oh wow, did you did you? Did you sell them

the technology recipe? If you're just joining us, we're talking with Conrad war

from the band Be's Deluxe. But he's also been pretty well steeped in the

music industry in other ways too. This is this This is a cool surprise

because I love talking about this stuff. So where did you go? So

after you left Rico Disc, where did you go? Then? Well,

what happened immediately after that was the Internet came out. Yeah, Raycho Disc

went under and they got picked up by Island Palm Palm Records, Ireland and

they drove it into the ground. And now it's moved to Rhino on the

West Coast and Rhino managed it as a back catalog. I don't think it's

an active label. But I went and I was designing books and magazines and

CDs and posters, and the Internet came out and the editor gave me a

little floppy disc said you'll like this, Conrad. It's something called Mosaic,

and I put it into a computer and I went, I can see the

code. This is desktop publishing, but from computer to computer. So then

I stayed awake for two weeks learning how to how to write code and how

to write director and flash. When it came out, yeah, oh wow.

So I was doing that during the day and then playing at night.

Yeah, oh no, kidding. Hum. Yeah, So you've you've lived

through all the all the changes um in and the one that's coming up now

is AI. We're all going to live through that. Yeah. Any any

predictions on that, because I know, I know some people are concerned that

musicians are going to go away. I'm not scared of that, but we

are in a point. If you remember when cars were first invented, somebody

had to walk in front of them with a red red flag. No.

Yeah, when people first had cars, I didn't know that you had to

have like a servant walk thirty feet in front of you with a red flag.

Oh wow, watch out, there's a car coming. Oh no,

I didn't know that we're at that stage with AI because when I talked to

AI like chat CHPT, I'll ask you some questions and look, I'm sorry,

my database stops two years ago. Yeah, or I'm sorry that's an

invasion of privacy. I can't tell you that, or I'm sorry, we

don't know. So it's it's early stages. My son was talking about this

with me earlier actually, and he's in favor of a lot to pass that

if you're interacted with an AI, it has to be known to you that

it's an AI. Yeah. So it is already doing good things. So,

for instance, doctors who are too much overworked with paperwork, they can

say I've diagnosed my patient with X, and they'll write to the AI engine.

They'll say, give me three different treatment plans for a patient with X

who's thirty two years old, you know, a white male, and the

AI engine will come back with three reputable treatment plans and the doctor would be

able to choose from that, and that saved them I don't know, two

hours in books. Yeah, yeah, because they can't remember all of that

stuff, but AI not only remembers it, but is learning it and teaching

itself that. Okay, are you concerned though about it going too far?

Like I mean people are. Like what my son was talking about is he's

tried to interact with some of the AIS that people are talking about. I

think there's one that's on TikTok maybe and that he found it concerning how they

could take become one side or another likes. He said he interacted with one

that was uber uber left liberal, and then there was another one that was

uber uber right conservative, and he's worried about AI in those worlds. It's

just like the Internet, it'll give you back what you put into it.

So that now there's a new class of jobs called the job is called a

prompt engineer. That's somebody who knows how to talk to AI. Okay,

there's a new job, trumpt engineer. And the point of that is the

AI itself doesn't care if you're a Republican a Democrat. Right, It's going

to answer the question pending how you ask it, So you just have to

be It's like being scared of guns. Guns are dangerous, but it is

possible to handle one without it going off. Yeah, and AI is dangerous,

but it's possible to handle it without it going off. Yeah, there

was this story I think I think it might have been a Facebook or meta

whatever you call it. Now. Did you see listen, We've talked about

it on the show. These these two AI bots or computers, they were

talking to each other. Did you know the story I'm talking about. They

were talking to each other, and they came up with their own language to

communicate with each other, and they ended up getting disconnected because people were like,

we don't know what they're saying to each other. They seem to have

their own language, and for all we know, they could be saying,

you know, let's kill all the humans and take over. So that's just

like what my parents used to say, is go upstairs, find out what

the kids are doing, and tell him to stop it. Right. Our

friend Mike Doyle is on the line him, Mike, any man, are

you doing good? How are you very good? Thanks? Jenny, nice

to hear from you. Nice here, And I apologize I just turned you

on and I heard the discussion about AI, and I didn't catch the gentleman's

name. Yeah, This is a Conrad War he's from the band Blue and

we've really been talk been talking about music and the music industry and so forth.

But we we took a little bit of a side street because h AI.

A big subject right now is how is AI already beginning to affect the

music industry? Okay, what do you think? Yeah, I apologize about

because I thought you were simply discussing AI, and I understand now you have

it, you know, with music and everything. My only question was I

heard a great discussion about a week ago, and it was about the many,

many, many positive things that can come out of AI, like you

were just like you were just mentioning about the doctor and the how many different

you know, remedies for what your ailment is, et cetera, et cetera,

and hours it could save and all this, But then they went to

the discussion about the negative part of it, and then how horrible the negative

part could be, um in in cloning people, making people guilty of crime

they didn't commit, um, you know, things like that. Um.

And it was a really good discussion that and the experts were saying that,

yeah, there's a really really dock side to it, and there's a really

good upside, which is why everybody has a little bit of trepidation right now,

is to sure, you know, we want we want the good,

but how do we stop the bad? Right right? Exactly? Yeah,

it's it's uh and it's it's a subject will be uh discussing for many years

to come. Obviously, as it continues to advance, it seems like it's

it's definitely here. It's like the moment came. You know, we've been

hearing about it for so long and now it's like, oh, it's it's

here. We've got the chat. And I know you don't like, I

don't believe you like musk. But when a guy who when a guy who

had his hand in the start of somewhat creating it, um says hey we

should pause here for a moment um, that worries me, you know what

I mean, I say, holy cop, he's worried. Sure, um,

oh yeah, there's a lot of people, a lot of people will

break note. Oh yeah, absolutely, yeah, it's something we want to

proceed with caution with certainly. Yeah, all right, well I'm sorry.

I didn't know. I didn't know he had crushed into music with it.

So here's an example, Mike. There was a record released on the streaming

networks by two artists that was created by AI and the two artists named in

it had nothing to do with it, and the record companies went ballistic because

it download. It got downloaded like half a million times in two weeks.

Yeah, and they had to shut it down. But the point was somebody

using AI had made a song that sounded like these two guys and it was

a hit. Yeah, two hip hop artists. Yeah, yeah, it's

pretty amazing. So think of it, think of the think of the lawsuits.

Well, yeah, the lawyers always win. We'll all be dead and

the lawyers will still be running around. They'll be AI lawyers probably. Yeah.

Yeah, we don't. All right, Well, good talking to you

guys, and Jenny if I don't see you, happy Happy Mother's Day.

Oh, thank you so much. That was nice. Alright, very nice.

Thanks for the call. Mike. Talking with Conrad war from the band

Bee's Deluxe and um yeah, so uh yeah, we are we are an

uncharted territory and this is so this is probably the next big the next big

transition in the music industry right like first was the Internet with Napster, and

everything, everything becoming digital and the effects that that had on the music industry

just really just changing it foundationally. This is this is the next big change

potentially right right, and it should be used creatively. So for instance,

Charlie Christian used to play guitar in an acoustic band and he had the idea

was sticking a gramophone needle into the body of his guitar like a hypo syringe.

Yeah, and that made the music come out of the l off his

gramophone and people were horrified. And then you know, the war pedal came

out and people were horrified. Ye. And then pro tools came out and

all these musicians are going, oh, it's sick. I prefer analog.

I want to be on two inch tape or the Beatles SiGe oft Pepper was

done on at a track. Why are you used in pro tools? Because

you can because you can move a beat or change its pitch this much.

And AI is going to be exactly the same thing. People are going to

be able to do things that we hadn't done before. And I've said years

ago, wouldn't it be great to have, for instance, another led Zeppelin

album when they've all passed away? Well, Hey, I will help us

do that interest. And I'm not talking about great Evan, let's just thinking

that. I was thinking the same thing. Don't we already have that?

And also you could get a movie. You could say, well, let's

have Bill Murray with Marilyn Monroe in a movie, right, because it's possible

now, right? Yeah, so you sound you sound a positive about it.

I think the technology moves forward, we have to keep up with it.

Right. My theories that um, government people and politicians don't know how

to regulate this stuff because they don't understand it. Right. If you remember

when Mark Zuckerberg was was in the Senate being at a committee meeting. I

talk about this on the show. As we're talking to him, they go,

how do you make money? Just like they don't understand anything about this.

Oh, Conrad, I've talked about that so many times on the show.

How I get I get so nervous when you know, when government tries

to interfere with technology or the Internet or anything. And I use that as

an example. Yeah. I tell people, I say, if you have

confidence in these people to actually regulate this stuff, I can I can fix

you. Uh, just go to go to YouTube and just look up either

yeah, Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey when he went and testified before a committee,

and just listen to the questions that these people ask and you begin to

realize they're they're going to be voting on things that they have no idea what

the hell even they're doing. They don't know. SAME's true Frank Zapp or

when he went to Washington. Oh what for the PMRC thing? Yeah,

yeah, yeah, yeah, they just don't get it, right, Yeah,

yeah, that is so true. Well we are let's um, let's

play something. Well, well, we've been playing some of your music.

We'll take a break and we'll play I'll let you pick the song. This

is the album Voice of Dog. Correct. This is the current album that

Ivan fy. That's an all originals album by Basta Luxe. Yes, and

I thought it was hilarious that we would stop the album with a song called

song number nine. Ah. Yes, and it tries people mad. I

go, that's the point. Did I What did I play at the beginning

of the show. I think I played that one already. You were playing

Flat Earth Conspiracy when I came in. When you came in, yeah,

at the beginning of the show. Though, at the top of the show.

I played something at two and I think it was out. I think

it was a song number nine. Um, let's see. Probably our biggest

hit live is a song called beer. Oh Beer, all right, let's

now is this about? Is this about any any particular person? Or is

it just about beer? Both? Okay? And only took three minutes to

write. Oh really, Who's who's it about? Or can you or can

you say? Is it a political person? No, it's a romantic person.

All right? We would you rather leave it at that As far as

the explanation, I think that's enough. All right, let's give this a

listen. So this is uh, this is a track called beer and this

is from the band Bees Deluxe. We have Conrad War in studio with us.

Uh, let's give this a spin and then we'll we'll continue our discussion.

Here we go. I'll want you, but I need a beer.

I need you, but I want a beer. It's cold outside, but

I need to be. I like you, but I need to be.

I remember you that I want a bear. It's dark outside, but I

need to be. I'm meaning you, I need is I am? And

I'm all? A tart is here and I don't even that's great. That

is beer from Be's Deluxe. What a cool song. Jenny is here at

the news desk, I am yeah yeah. And on the couch we have

Conrad War from Bee's Deluxe, and uh yeah, that's that's a great song.

Um now that's you on vocals, right, and guitar and guitar.

Very good, very good. Now who else is in the band? Carol

band plays keyboards, sings vocals, and plays harmonica. Okay. Paul Joviney

is druma and Jim Gilday is the bass player and he sings as well.

Oh okay, so it's a four piece with three vocals, gotcha, gotcha?

So you take turns on the lead vocals. It's mostly me because okay,

because I'm a whack joke and we took from Maine. We go to

Rockland, Maine, and go down to Miami and Florida. We go up

and down the East coast. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. I

was looking at your your tour dates online. Actually, um at beeslocks dot

com is this site? Right? Um? Yeah, I like the website.

Who does the website? Did you do that? Yeah? Do you

build up? Yeah? I'm kind of a website nerd. So I noticed,

Uh yeah, I like the designer, like the layout and um and

you also brought Jenny and I a couple of let's see, so there's UM.

So you're you're still putting things out on CD. Yeah obviously. Uh

so you brought us uh this single Nitro Uh and it's got Industrial Espionage,

the instrumental version. I shouldn't let me put it if you put the camera

on me. I've got them right up in front of my computer. Oh.

Perfect, Yeah, cameras nobody told me. Cool. Oh, Mike

Doyle, Mike is calling us back. Hey Mike, Hey, sorry,

say you know, I hate to call more than one. I had to

say. I had it on the station. I hadn't changed, and I

was sitting at the light listening to that song. And let me tell you

that was awesome that the instrumentals in that song are off the charts. Man.

I don't want him to get too big of a head. The singing

was good, but the instrumentals were off the charts. No, right there

with you under understood the start. That was excellent. That's all I wanted

to say. Very job, it was excellent. Thanks Mike, all right,

Thanks Mike all right, very good. Yeah. I was gonna ask

him if he if it made him want to have a beer, but it

sounded like he was in a hurry. But yeah, no, that great,

great song. Yeah. So now the artwork on these is really cool.

Actually, let me put the camera back on. People watching online can

see the artwork. I want to see my gorgeous who does who does this?

Uh? The artwork on these is really cool. Well, I think

they're awesome. We do the graphics, but we commissioned the art from people

that we like. So for instance, Nitro the Green Man, he's actually

called Anxious Man, is by this wonderful artist named Wendy Brusik b Areu s

I c K. Okay. So she found us playing in Cambridge and became

a fan and we looked at her artwork and we'd begged it to do that.

So she's done the artwork for our next album, which is still being

mixed. Okay. And the other one called Wherever You Hide It is an

EP and that's a photograph by my daughter Zoe. Oh wow, Zoe took

that photograph in a sculpture park somewhere. That is very cool. I like

it, isn't that nice? Yeah? That is. Yeah, and we'll

for people listening who obviously can't see, well, we'll take pictures of these

and put them up on social media so you can see exactly what we're We'll

do that after the show so you can see what we're talking about. But

yeah, that's that's very cool, very cool. Um, Now are you

are you putting out? Um? Are you doing anything on vinyl? I

noticed vinyl is, uh, well, it never went away. But now

I think, if I'm not mistaken, I think twenty twenty two might have

been the first year where vinyl actually outsold CDs. I wrote that too.

I'm not sure I believe it really well. One reason I don't believe it

is because there's a vinyl shortage rule materials. I didn't know that. So

obviously there's a lobbyist or there's a there's a PR engine going behind it,

probably to build it up again. Yeah. So the cost per entry for

vinyl is hard because you've got to make a master, a master that you

cut, you know, so yeah, whereas a CD you can make fifty

right, right, and a cassette you can make ten, yeah, and

an E track you can't make. Yeah, cassettes. I was I was

shocked when jeez, must have been seven or eight years ago, now maybe

not that long. I was on bandcamp dot com and I realized that that

people were starting to put out cassettes again. I couldn't believe it. I

mean, you know, obviously just kind of as a novelty, I guess,

but I don't know. Maybe some people like the sound of tape hiss.

I don't know the cause. Yeah, a pencil on the tape,

just swinging it around, trying to get it thrown wind back up again.

I don't miss tapes, no, But I think I want a CD player

now, yeah, like I really think I want to have a CD player

again. Yeah, I know I have one. We actually have one here.

I think Rob as a Veto is the only one who uses it for

his show. But um, and my you know, I have a MacBook

that has a CD player on it. But um, but uh yeah,

I was amazed to see that cassettes sort of come back. And um,

I actually I used to work for a retail chain. I worked for Strawberries,

and then of course it got bought by a trans World and became fye.

But I remember, um cassettes, you know, one of the things

that's interesting, and you might agree with me, it's it's it's um interesting

to see over time what technology go away and what technologies stick around and to

try to predict it. And sometimes sometimes you know, people aren't always right.

And cassettes are an example of where I thought those were going to go

away at least five years sooner than they did, and we still had them

when I was working at that job. We had them much longer than I

thought and I thought we would have. But my theory at the time was

that it was because of the auto industry, because people still had cassette players

in their cars even though CDs had been the dominant medium for so long.

And then eventually cassettes went away, but cassettes stayed stayed around a lot longer

than I would have imagined. But well, it's immenseally portable. But the

two that you missed that went away like the dinosaurs were the mini disc Sony

Rye, which had a bubble memory so you could jug and it wouldn't skip.

Oh okay, you could record on it so you could record, you

know, speeches at college and go to sleep in them. Yeah, and

then Phillips came out with another one called digital compact cassette, which was essentially

a cassette sized DAT Oh, and that went down the toilet really fast because

they tried to gouge back more of the royalties from the artists. This is

Phillips really in Germany. Okay, So, and the artists said, no,

you can't have it. If you're going to take that much away from

me, we're not going to put our albums out on digital compact cassette.

But the idea was to have a cassette that had CD quality sound on it.

Okay, Um was that? Did that ever make it to the United

States? I had to make those damn things that rychould be no kidding,

yeah, because I don't even remember those. I remember the mini discs I

don't remember, but I don't remember those digital compact cassette that. Wow,

that burnt inflames really fast. Yeah yeah, huh interesting. I mean I

remember the old DAT recorders. Yeah, those were great because I remember you

could bring those to a concert and record and the quality would be amazing.

Right. But but indexing on that stuff, you know, oh yeah,

it was just it was for engineers, not people. Yeah yeah, yeah,

yeah, but yeah, and the other technology too that went away quickly.

From what I can recall is because we actually had these when I first

started at Strawberries, we had these, but it was it was at the

tail end, was laser discs. Oh yeah, you know, so you

got this this movie basically on Yeah. Yeah, they were huge, and

it was like it was cumbersome. And then you know, of course,

as soon as CDs, I mean, as soon as I DVDs rather started

coming out, laser discs went away pretty quickly. But I remember if people

would come in wanting to order them, and they would take forever to get

them, you know. And do you have little libraries on the street here

in Manchester. I don't know if any of them they maybe want in Manchester,

but they do have them around. So they're all over in Jamaica.

Plane And when I opened them up full of DVDs, Oh yeah, you're

talking about them up on the street and you put a book, can take

a book out? Yeah yeah. And in my neighborhood, people are getting

rid of the DVDs because of the streaming industry, because the Netflix and an

Apple and everything like that. Yeah. Yeah, Um, that's another thing

that's been in the news lately. Too, because of the writer's strike,

and you know these writers, uh, you know, streaming has really changed

a technology. It's as change as everything. Streaming has really changed the way

a lot of them get paid and so forth. Yeah, get ready to

be flooded with reality shows. Yeah, no, kiddy, that's what happens.

To take your clothes up, run out in the street, that's what

happens. Get a series. Yeah, so now Bees Delos. How long

is the because I assume the lineup has changed over the years, right,

because occasionally we lose and find a player. Yeah, how long has the

band existed? I mean it's been decades, right, I think we've I

think we put out something about eight years ago, the Demolition tapes. Okay,

Um, so, but is a current lineup hasn't been together for a

while? Is it pretty stable or yeah? This one three or four years

and we've we've done thousands of miles together. Yeah. So we take terms

driving, okay, And the mythology of this is that when I'm driving,

it rains. Yeah, when anybody else drives, it's fine, right,

Right, you're all pile into a van. Yeah. We we borrow either

borrow a VW bus or a Ford transit or rent a Ford transit. Yeah,

but COVID almost killed us on that. Yeah, because if you remember,

before COVID, you could rent a van for I don't know, one

hundred fifty two hundred bucks a day, do unlimited miles. So we'd be

cool. Yeah. Yeah, And then all the when COVID hit, people

like Enterprise said okay, let's sell our inventory and we'll buy it back when

it's finished. Of course when it finished, they couldn't buy the imagery back.

Ye. So now they're charging us four hundred bucks a day for a

Ford transit. Wow, so we're gonna have to do this on roller skates.

Yeah, yeah, that's a That's one of the things that I hear

the most now from from anybody who does any any level of touring. It's

so well they're actually. In fact, there's been national artists who have said,

no, we're not gonna We're not gonna tour anymore. It's gotten ut.

Steve Eis says, you weren't playing in Europe anymore? Really? Yeah,

it costs him too much money. Yeah. Yeah. The travel is

the travel, the truck, in the hotels, all the overhead is now

higher than the ticket. Yeah, and it always used to be that the

ticket price didn't get you your money back. Like when The Stones or the

Talking Heads played in New York, they would break even or lose on ticket

sales because Ron Delson would take it from them, but they would come back

into the black on T shirt sales. And I think like the Rolling Stones

played, they would make twenty five to fifty bucks ahead on merchandise, okay,

because people would go in and they'd buy the two hundred dollars leather jacket,

right right, yeah, and that's where they made their money back.

So, which is kind of unusually because you think rock and roll is in

the T shirt business, oh very much. So yeah, but they pretty

much are. And that's how indie bands survide now. Yeah. Yeah.

If you look at something like Bad Bad Hat, they when they go up

and down the country, they're selling T shirts to pay for gas and pizza.

Mmmmmm yeah, no doubt. Well, my my all time favorite band

is Kissed, and of course kiss happens to be the most heavily merchandise band

in history. You know, um, I'm not even sure. I think

the Beatles might be number two, but but kiss is the most heavily merchandise.

Then it's like, uh, you know they they actually um sold off

their publishing back before before a lot of artists were doing it back in the

Uh jeez. I think it must have been around nineteen ninety nineteen ninety one

because they cashed out on the on the publishing. Yeah. Um and uh

but you know they make you know, touring, they sell so much merch

you know, it's like, uh, that's where the money really is for

them. I have the worst example for you. Yeah. I used to

be friends with a band called the Soft Boys, which was Robin Hitchcock and

a great guitar player named Kimberly Rue. And the band split up. Robin

wanted to go solo and Kimberly started a band doing Bo Diddley songs. They

were in Greece. They got a deal. They cut a song called Walking

on Sunshine Katrina in the Waves. Yeah, that's that's Bo Diddley and Kimberly

Rue is playing. Oh no kidding. So he's in England. I'm still

slightly in touch with him. I walk into a store and I find a

toothbrush that when you press it plays walking on Sunshine. I'm going if that

isn't the lowest wow version of merchandising a rock and roll band in the universe.

I don't know what. Yeah, yeah, that song though kind of

transcends. It's a great song, you know, to be honest with you,

I never liked it, I remember, but I think part of it

was, you know, when I was a kid, you know, I

couldn't turn on MTV without seeing the video, right, like, oh you

can overexposure will kill you on anything? Yeah? Yeah, because that was

their only hit, right, Katrina on the Waves, I think, right,

I don't remember another. That's it. I don't remember another song.

Yeah, yeah, but he was great in the Soft Boys. He played

like Hendrix. Yeah, listened to the really early stuff. So like I

want to Destroy you now with when you were at Rycodisc, was there any

merchandising going on there or or because they were no. But what we did,

and I think most labels do this is we would package in a way

that the super collectors would want, okay. So we had a release called

Yektodosa, which is by Zapper, and it's called it stands for you can't

do that on stage anymore, okay. So they'd be like five double albums

in a box hand painted. Yeah, so if you bought all five,

you got the box. So that's kind of merchandising, but it's really upselling.

Yeah to persuaye. People don't just buy volumes one through two, five

volumes one through five and you get this extra that makes sense, you know.

My favorite actually was not Odgun's Flake by the Small Faces, which came

in a circular tin like a tobacco tin. Yeah, way before Public Image,

because public Image did metal tin box as well. Okay, so so

it was really about that kind of packaging. On one spooth that I came

up with was we did an album with NRBQ called Honest Dollar. Yeah.

I got a thousand dollars from the bank and I send it to the band

and I said, I want you to sign every single dollar bill and then

send them back to me, and I'm going to put them into CDs.

Oh wow, and then shuffle them and distribute them. Yeah. So if

you're an NRBQ fan and you bought one of those, you might open it

up and find a dollar bill and they're signed by the band. Oh wow.

Oh that's pretty cool. Yeah yeah, um oh, well that is

that kind of the the most unique idea that you would So who would think

of that? I mean, that's that's I assume that was your idea came

up with? That? Is that? Is that the most unique idea that

you had come up with? I had had another one that it didn't quite

take off in the way I hoped. But um I introduced Bob Mole to

my boss and he Bob really hated Virgin Records because they had nothing but session

players working for him. And the session players. You've probably met session players,

but they're very serious and they're in there to make a dollar and get

out of you. Yeah. Yeah. So he's a good songwriter and a

great guitar player, and he just didn't like that. He wanted to be

in charge. Yeah, So he agreed to sign with Rycho Discuss an original

artist, and he formed a band called Sugar and the first album he did

was Copper Blue, which is to take on police. Yeah. So I

got with Phillips dupon an optical and we made a copper CD case okay,

and printed the name of the band on the copper on the outside. Oh

wow, So and that's like a super limited edition. Yeah, oh wow,

that's pretty cool. Wow do you are now do you do? Are

you involved in the in the industry side of things now or or you just

focused on the music. I just played a guitar. Yeah, yeah,

do you miss it? No? No, no. As I said,

you know, the more you get embedded in the record industry, the more

you feel like you need a shower. Really yeah, And I suppose it's

like that in the film industry and the advertising agency and publish. Yeah.

Interesting. Um, so, I mean, was there a specific thing that

I'm so curious? I mean, was there something specific that made you feel

that way or was it just kind of over time? I got two albums

I had cost my net and people knew who I was and they would send

me demos. Yeah. I got a tape from Robbie Krieger and my bus

wouldn't put it out. Really yeah, it was just it was an instrumental

album by by Robbi Kreeger with the doors if you don't recognize oh yeah,

yeah, but it was a great album. When they wouldn't do it,

they said, we can't sell that. I go, we can sell that.

They wouldn't know. And then I got another tape from a guy whose

name I can't quite remember yet. But he was He was a student of

Bill Brazil's in San Francisco, and he was playing world music really early before

world music really existed. Yeah, and I took it to my boss,

a very nice guy named Don Rose, and he had a desks the size

of yours, this deep in CDs and dat tapes and cassettes. So because

I worked there, I could get it to the front of the pile.

Yeah, And he listened to it, and he came down the next day

and he said, Conrad, this is awesome. This is the best I've

ever heard of this genre. And I said, great, let's put it

out and he said, no, nobody's heard of him. So my heart

kind of broke because I go, Okay, so here's the record industry executive

who has the power to introduce a new act, to put out original music

and chooses not to. Yeah. And I'm guessing it's like that everywhere.

Oh I'm sure, Yeah, I'm sure. And there's um yeah, And

you know, there's so many horror stories too about you know, like bands

they signed with orsol artists or whomever, they signed with a label, and

you know, and they signed whatever however many album deal. Then they record

something and hell, maybe it's even happened to you. I don't know.

And they record an album and then the label decides not to put it out

and they shelve it for whatever reason, and then the band is like,

and they don't even own the master recordings of what they just did, and

this label says, no, we're gonna shelve this for for which could be

for any number of reasons. Yeah, I've got tracks and warehouses in London

at E M I in places, no kidding. The one that comes to

mind, knows is there's a really good guitar player in New York called Binkie

Phillips. He was in a bank called The Planets. They headlined CBS.

Okay, they were huge, and he cut an album. They were one

of the first buy racial bands too. They had had a black guy in

the band and three white guys. Yea early rock days eighties. Yeah,

And the album was phenomenal and it went to the label and Ted Templeton said,

we've got Van Halen, we don't need the Planets, and it was

just like if he if he just got the Takes their six months earlier,

Yeah, and that that just blew him up. And why wouldn't you eat?

And yeah, you've got Van Halen, But so what why don't you

want another? You know what I mean? Why don't you want to know?

Because record companies can't market the same thing twice in one month. In

the book publishing industry, it's called review driven. A book company like Double

Day will have twenty books out a month. Yeah, they'll promote one of

them, okay, so why do they put the other nineteen out? They

go just in case. Yeah, and they say those books are going to

be what's called review driven, but they're not going to push it. So

it's up to the author to go out and find a public system and get

on Good Morning America. But in the record business, it's really specific.

It's like we and do one girl singer, one boy band, one heavy

rock band, one reggae band. That's it for the next two months.

Okay. I remember watching an interview with Tori Amos talking about that shoot the

difficulties. Well, we already have a female, right, Oh, we've

already got a piano player, you know, and just what they wouldn't put

her on it's insane. Yeah, yeah, that's why. And from the

artist perspective, it's it's bad luck or good luckpending on your timing. Yeah

right, seriously, I mean when you remember if you listen to Nora Jones,

now you go it's good. But her album came out when there was

nothing like it, right, the true Yeah oh yeah, yeah, so

the critics went, this is wonderful, right, it was like a dose

of fresh air. Yeah, yeah, that's interesting. Yeah, And I

remember that too because I was working for Strawberries when when Norah Jones I hit

big, And yeah, you're right, I remember that. And of course

now we you know, we live in a time where you can, you

know, you can put things out yourself on the release of yourself online,

and it's a it's a completely different world now. I mean, record labels

still exist obviously, but um uh yeah. But it's funny too. You

know, people there's still people who think that, you know, if if

I get signed to a record label, you know, all my problems will

be solved. And yeah, I remember meeting of bands that have been signed

in Utah and they came up to New York. They go to cheap apartment

of Staten Island for ten bucks a night and they're all working this way to

send Barbucks. Yeah. Yeah, a going you signed to a major labeler

says yeah, we got no money right right? Yeah, yeah, exactly,

Yeah it is. It can be a dirty business sets for sure.

Yeah, so I can I can see why you got disillusioned with it.

Um, listen, Oh, this has been a wonderful Conrad. We learned

a lot and we went in some directions I wasn't expecting, which is always

a nice surprise. Um. You know, I love talking about the music,

but other aspects of the music industry too, is great. Um,

But we do want to make sure people know where to find you online,

your your band, uh, Bees Delos and if you have any shows coming

up in the area that you want to you know, we have listeners online

from Oliver, but any any specific shows you want us to know about anything

at all, social media, whatever you can. You can find us on

Facebook as Bees Deluxe and you can find our website best Deluxe dot com.

And our next show is a No Carver show matinee at the Porch Southern the

Southern what's it called? Porch Southern Fair and Duke Joint in Medford, Okay.

And it's a matinee Okay. And we released a video of Jamie Lee

Curtis begging us to put out a matinee show. Really yeah, I'm kidding,

yeah wow. And we're on Instagram and Twitter and Masterdon and all those

things. So she was at she was at late the Grammys or something like

that, and she was begging Bruce Springsteen to stay on matinee. She goes

to bed at seven in the evening. Yeah yeah, So we cribbed the

video and put our name in there. It's brilliant. I love it.

I love it all right, very good. On the website, of course,

is Bislux dot com. And uh, Conrad, this has been wonderful.

Thank you again so much, my friend for coming in. This is

thank thanks for having me absolutely from the studios of w m n H ninety

five point three FM in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire. You are tuned in

to the best of Matt Connerton unleashed and we have a very special guest with

us. Let me bring that mic up, so Zach from Abner the second

this year. Hello, sir, Hi, how are you now? Good?

Good good? And uh he's gonna play live for us and let me

bring up them the other Uh, we're kind of gonna live sound check on

the air. Here, how's that sound, little Moriam? Perfect? Thank

you? Okay? Cool? Cool? All right? So, uh,

he's gonna play live for us. I'm gonna do some songs and then afterward

we'll we'll chat a little bit and get to know him. But this is

really cool. Uh, this is uh a very Let me put the wide

shot on there so you can see the full set up. He's got his

pedals and his viola. Am I saying that correctly? Yea? So this

is uh, this is awesome. So I will I will go ahead and

give you the floor if you want to. You can introduce the songs or

however you want to do it. And I just can't wait to hear you.

Very cool. This song is called Dover. You don't think that it's

scudding easier, but if funny thing, we would say it's cutting better.

And I wrote a song about you and learn the age old lesson. Think

of it singing tune and we harp. The co host is good for you

and just snow snow think of you, and how I wanna thank you for

teaching me the age old lesson. Think of them singing the mic and singing

tune. You don't think it's getting easier. Body funny thing we would say

it's getting better. And I wrote a song about you and learn the age

old lessons our kids singing tune. We hope the coast is good for you.

Still think of you you, let's think of it. Sing tune we

have if you're just joining us. Zach from Abner the second is here with

us in studio and he's got a whole he's got a whole set up here.

Well, we'll talk to him about it afterwards. Very interested to learn

more and how we uh we figured how we figured out how to do all

this. It's it's remarkable. Different pedals. Yeah, oh yeah, yeah,

yeah. It's very kind of you saying thank you again for having me.

I'm very very happy and I listen to your show of you now and

again it's very nice of you to a very nice of you to uh here,

very cool. Alrighty. So these next two songs they go back to

back um. They're called Fireplace and Keep Closed and they actually the opening two

songs off of the album that I have coming out called The Audrey Burns,

which is out May fifteenth. If you go to uh Instagram dot com slash

abner underscore II. There's a pre sidelink there, so make sure you do

that anyway. All right, here's a couple more. I've been running off

the fumes. Help you, and I just came wander and I thank you

less. How y'all live in before you boy, spring time boon? And

when is screening, you're all worry eating. You know she's southside for you.

I guess, face down on the bird glasses in one hand, in

your eyes in the other. It's the small comes in through a window.

The shoes said, we should keep closed. Shake the thoughts is shaving my

head in painting the ceiling with thoughts of you and I have bird existing because

it's a man. It better of meaning because it's so good. I man

it better of meaning because I had nothing works right in in your head.

You've been left out, so I bother. Let the fog rolling through a

window. The church says, you should keep close, You should keep close,

You should keep closed, You should keep close. Shait the thoughts is

shaving my head and painting the ceiling with thoughts of you and I ever existing.

He says, ah many better of meaning. He says, oh good

on that it's better meaning no hope, no hope, thank you. Wow,

beautiful, beautiful, gorgeous. You know I always enjoyed rainy days really

thinking about that. You know, as I was playing, I was like,

this is just fitting. Rainy days make me drowsy day and mondays always

get me down. Yeah, I like the sunshine. If you're just joining

us. We have Zach from Abner the Second here in studio and uh,

this is uh, this is great. Really enjoying this a lot. You

have such an incredible setup he has for for for our listeners out there is

this beautiful viola, electric viola plugged into about six different petals into an amp,

and I'm just fascinated watching him work these petals and and different switches and

dials, and it's just amazing what you're able to produce all by yourself.

It sounds like there's a lot more going on. It's just one person.

It's absolutely awesome, awesome, very kind to you to say, thank you,

absolutely, thank you again for having me. Yeah. Yeah, so

I have a I have a few more twos. Okay, yeah. My

instrument they stopped developing it in the like thirteen hundreds, so it doesn't respond

well to anything such as a room or someone breathing. Though we're doing all

the things a lot of tuning. All right, This is the title track

off of my album The Audrea Burns. The song is called The Audrea Burns.

All right, you're ruler now and you know that this is probably won't

and well the audea of losing it in the concept you're gonna quit again,

it's the forest and nicotine, a haunted house of and pheto means and they

deal your quote alone you're alone. You're alone and on your own. You

could tell me shut my poormout when I'm talking to somebody other than me.

Alone, we go to bed and most nights angry or at least an now

the version something other than I'll be you're alone alone, But I guess you

know this so well well in the eye losing sleep, in the concept you

want to leave, we don't have it, and if we did, we'd

break it again. We don't have it, and if we did, we'd

break it again. You long for a place you don't know, and the

time that doesn't exist, with thoughts that you won't grow. When you were

a salon, The Archery Burns, The Archery Burns the Archery Burns off,

the Archery Burns. All right, thank you, very cool. That's the

h So that's also the title of the album that's coming out, Yeah,

Adrea Burns. Yeah, coming out fifteenth acorded here in Manchester excellent, excellent.

Where where did you record it? I recorded it at a Blastulus studios

in Manchester, New Hampshire. Okay, yep, which was which is very

nice. Yeah, my friend Evinrma did it. Oh, very good.

Yeah. The studio tracks we've been playing sound great. Yeah, thank you

so much. Kind of you just say thank you for playing them. Absolutely.

We have a we have a name in the chart room I haven't seen

before. I wonder if it's a fan of yours. Larry Thomas. Larry

Thomas. Not familiar, No, not familiar, but I'm really terrible with

me. Well, hello, Larry faces welcome Larry. All right, if

you're just joining us, We have Zach from Abner the second here in studio.

Alrighty So, speaking of Yarmo, this next song is actually called Yarmo.

Excellent. Again, to tell you we you'll see every night for sleep.

Just speak just speak to me, just speak to me, please,

there's no shame in locking doors, blocking numbers, and none wanting more.

Your face through and this your goldears slithout, you face through something other than

Hippy's something other than happy, something other than happy, something other than happy,

something other than m Wow, it's beautiful. That was awesome, Thank

you, thank you very much. Just fascinated getting to watch you play is

just amazing. I'm just fascinated watching you strum the viola and yeah yeah,

I mean wow, are you using a pick? No? Just is the

way you were holding your fingers it almost looked like they were like a pick.

Yeah, yeah, no, just just the old the old finger,

very small hands. That doesn't reflect my masculinity, right, it's gonna gonna

clarify that. Yes, yes, strong masculine side. Oh yeah, that's

right, that's it. I have mistaken. Very cool. All right,

So I have a couple more tunes. These two go back to back as

well. Okay, yeah, so's the last two songs off the album.

It's called a Alien seven all right. This is Abner the second with us

in studio over the bridging con again, while the other it's of Toowntown Street

from When My Heart to Live. I hope the comfort don't kill what it

is that you said you believed in. I'm in the alli for you because

what else can I do? I think I'm freaking out again. But this

is my It s where I talk to myself. Mister Green, would you

ask these spidy folks? It's to leave, grow up and let them win.

It's a tale told t why he's written down and then forgot it again.

I'm sorry mom for the life about it. I'm living all right.

You some happy songs, you'll love them, but this is one. It's

where I talk to my self, this screen to side to leave. There

you go again, acting like the top of man. You know you're not

nothing set in. Just give it time and you'll be back on your knees

again and I'll love it. There you go again, acting like the top

man. You know you're not enough things said, Just give it time and

you'll be back on your knees again and they'll love it. But Sun smit

Chili, thank you, Wow wowst two songs off the album Yeah okay,

yeah, going out, try to go out with the bag. Those are

two of the Those are two of the earlier songs I wrote, you know,

and I'm not sure if either of you are news buffs or not.

But oh, yes, everybody the past couple of years spent a lot of

time inside. Yes that was you know, I was amazing, but yeah,

that was Those are those are the last two songs on the album,

but they were like the first two I wrote you know, a while ago

and went in that direction. So, oh fantastic. What you just well,

just a curiosity question what you just said. Was it during the pandemic

that you learned to do this or was this something you were already doing?

Befrior to it? Um So I play um, I play strings in a

band called A Happy Just to see you. That's like my like main project

that like I really spent a lot of time on and you know, creatively

where I try to spend a lot of time with you know, cello,

violand viola. And then um, what ended up happening was his my front

man got hit by a car and he was just kind of laid up in

bed for a year. So then I was kind of left to my own

devices, and that's when I started to kind of do this and you know,

and then it just kind of spiraled off into me you know, doing

this and then I bring what I do here into Happy just to see you

and yeah, so that's how I started to do it. Yeah, yeah,

so it's amazing, Zach. Did you want to get did you want

to have a seat and get comfortable? Yea, very cool. Yeah,

we have my back to you. Well that's okay. Yeah, well,

uh we we'll talk for a few minutes. We were actually, um,

yeah, we got about ten minutes left in the show. But I do

uh, like I said, you know, very interested in what you're doing

at such a unique project. And yeah, you can just go ahead and

here, I'll meet the mic while you while you adjust. Absolutely, and

for people that are interested, you can definitely find Abner the Second on Instagram.

That is a B N E R underscore I I and I am dropping

those links into the chat room. Excellent, excellent. Yeah, where does

the name come from? Abner the Second? Um, it's a homage to

uh uh there's a cartoon called Hey Arnold. Oh yeah, he had a

pig name Abner. I thought a pet pig was really cool. Yeah,

so then I was just gonna be Abner. And then I thought, oh,

you know Abnor the Second, you know, yeah, pet pig.

Yeah yeah, so so tell me a little bit about it. I mean

to learn to to do this. The way you're doing it is it.

Um. And I've seen other artists who looping and stuff, but I mean

it looks so somebody like me, like, I'm a simple bass player.

I you know, I used to playing the rock. Well I appreciate that,

but I mean, so to me, what you're doing looks incredibly overwhelming.

Oh yeah, it's um, it's uh. It was baby steps,

you know, to to kind of sort of learn to do everything. Yeah,

it was um for for for the album that I just did like everything

I tried to make it so I kept like the organic relationship with the instrument

and then bring kind of parts I wrote you know at home or laying in

bed or whatever it is, into in front of technology and stuff along those

lines. So it was all about kind of piecing it together. Yeah,

baby steps though, Yeah, one looper at a time. Yeah. Um.

And when you when you play out live, are you um do you

well? Do you do a lot of shows? Are you playing out a

lot? Yeah? I try to play out as much as I can.

Um. Yeah, I've had a handful of shows. Most of them have

been like basement venues. Yeah, you know their locations are. But yeah,

right, yeah, I know. But the um, yeah, it's

I try to play out, you know, as much as I can.

Um. And like ever since COVID my uh you know, for lack of

better words, like Little Black Book of like promoters and stuff to reach out

too, it's kind of dried up. Everybody kind of changed and something else.

So I'm trying to figure out who to contact for shows and stuff.

And um, the album came out later than I wanted to, so I

didn't really have a whole lot to send to promoters, gotcha. But but

I do. I do enjoy playing out live. Yeah yeah, and I

do this and I have a keys player and a drummer and stuff along those

lines that I use. Oh cool yeah, oh okay, yeah. But

it's cool that you have the option to do it by yourself if you have

to, you know. Yeah, that's pretty cool. Yeah, it's very

nice. Yeah yeah what what what? What band do you play in?

Oh? I don't play in any bands anymore. I used to. I

used to be in a million different bands. Yeah yeah bass cool though,

yeah yeah, um, And the album is out theft yeah May fifteenth,

yeah, yeah, May fifteenth. Yeah, it's gonna be out, very

excited, you know, put a lot of work into it, you know,

yeah, scheme of things. Now, is it just you on the

album or do you have other musics? No, I have I have multiple

other musicians or yeah, I have um Evan ben Wall he did some guitar

and vocals for me. He's also in the band Happy just to see you.

And then Evan Yarmo he was my you know, quasi writing partner is

the best way to describe it. You know, all the extra the bells

and the synths and all the extra instrumentation, a lot of it went to

him. Yeah. And then I had my friend Ty who's in the band

five Feet. He did drums for me at um Black Lodge Audio. I

think that's what they call you, a Black Lodge Audio candya okay, where

we recorded drums with a man named I Andrew Johnson. So yeah, now

I was happy just to see you still active as well? Oh yeah,

yeah, just to see us. Yeah, yeah, we're still kicking.

Yeah, they're both. Yeah, both are it's apples and oranges. I

hold both very close, you know, near and dear to my heart.

So yeah, and we have an album coming out too. You know,

we have a we have a call. I think somebody has a might have

a question of some feedback for you. Hello, welcome to the show.

Who's this, Hey, Maddie, It's Gary. Hey Gary. We're almost

out of time, so we gotta be playing any Hey, sweetie, what's

up? Gary? Hey? Um? The music that you were playing your

your abner too? Um? Do you play like Ashley McIsaac. Actually,

actually you know who Ashley? Oh no, no, I have no idea.

He was um. Um he plays he plays violin and he plays really

um what people would call odd things like what you do. He's very good

and I've known him when when I was younger, and his stuff is really

good, very cool and just like Jacques Lupante. Uh. He's in another

violinist and they were playing you know, they play rock music and they play

things like that. But Ashley McIsaac is very good. His aren't is um

she's um, she did another she's a violinists um who plays all over the

place and but um, Ashley McIsaac is really he's amazing awesome. Yeah,

I'll have to have to check him out. He's a Canadian. Oh,

spook him up. He's really his stuff is really really good. He had

one song. I have a couple of his CDs and it's um, good

day, how are you or whatever. It is one of the songs and

he's been playing since he was a young kid. He's probably old now,

but um, yeah, the stuff that you're playing is just like what he

plays. Nice, what he played, very cool and it's amazing. Yeah,

it's it's just really great stuff, you know, and a right,

Gret. I love I love the diversity and music like that, and I

love what people can do with um with the soma of you know, people

will say, oh, why you pay you play fiddle. It's like,

no, I don't play fiddle. I'm not a country I'm not a country

tiddler. All right. You know I'm playing. I'm playing like a like

a classical rock type what you're playing, and it's it's excellent. I enjoyed

it. Cool, cool, all right. Gary. We are short on

time, my friends, but I appreciate the call. I know you're running

out of time, Maddie. All right, Garrett, I love you both,

and I just want to tell you I'm celebrating a an anniversary one month

in my new palatial apartment here, so congratulations, I congratulate. Yeah,

I've been listening and the music is fantastic and just yeah, keep it up.

I love it all right, all right, yeah check out Ashley Kaisac

can really enjoy the stuff. So all right, than man, love you

guys, night by bye, all right, bye bye, all right,

very good. Um, before we run out of time, Zach, where

should people go online to keep up with everything that you're doing as far as

shows and the new album and every Yeah, definitely. Yeah. So Instagram

right now is kind of the main vein. I don't really have much on

Facebook, so that's just abner A, B N E R, Underscore II

and I think Jim put in the chat yes, yep, yeah, And

if you follow me there there's a pre save link. Right now, the

only link I have is for Spotify for it's a there's a little bit of

a delayed fuse with putting up tunes in the world of you know, pre

safe stuff. So hopefully i'm more presaved links later. But yeah, May

fifteenth, it'll be out, Okay, very excited, excellent, excellent.

How many songs on it? There's nine songs? Ok? You got cut?

Oh really? Yeah? Three cut cut yeah, yeah, so nine

songs, you know, yeah, which is nice. Well, why why

did you cut the three? Um? They just weren't coming together because when

it came down to recording this, it was it was very labor intensive just

recording each individual loop and yeah, trying to make stuff work, and just

three couldn't come together, you know. And I don't like long songs either,

yeah, yeah, personally I don't, and some like I cut one

that was five minutes, like yeah, noh, no kidding, I'm not

a five minute guy. Yeah, I don't like five minute guys. Yeah,

can't you five minute songs? There you go, there you go.

Well, we're really glad you came in today. Thank you so much.

Yeah, it means the world. Thank you for thank you for having me.

Yeah. No, what you do is remarkable and uh and unique and

it's uh, you know, it's uh no disrespect to any any of the

great artists that we have on obviously, but it's cool to see somebody doing

something as interesting as what you're doing. And that's very kind of you to

say yeah and and thank you. I showed up and just kind of plopped

having to d I everything right on. So you took it like a Champce,

so thank you for that. Thank you. Oh you were awesome,

Yeah, awesome, happy to be happy to do it. Very good,

very good. Well, we are just about out of time, Jenny,

did you want to plug your your website? Absolutely can always check me out

at Jencoffee dot com j E. N N C O F Fey dot com.

And I do have more writings coming out on the mining and I will

be giving an update on the national health campaign. Very good, very good.

And that's gonna do it for us for now. Zach from Abner of

the second, thank you again so much. My friend is this has been

absolutely absolutely happy to do it, and that's gonna do it for us for

now. I will talk at you all a little bit later. Bye everybody,

Bye bye Fay. Sound of the glasses in one hand, in your

eyes in the other, this is smoke comes through window side. We should

keep clothes seek the thoughts is shaving my head in painting ceiling with thoughts of

you and I everisca sis, God, damn it a heaninging. This is

so good. God damn it her a meaning nothing. We're trying in your

use in lifetimes to my bother with the rolling through window it s says,

used to keep clothes, you should keep closing, used to keep cool,

used to keep close and shouts shutting me father, and painting the ceiling without

some human dis he says god temn meaning he says so God tem n meaning

no, no, no not. From the studios of w m n H

ninety five point three FM in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, you are tuned

in to the best of Matt Connerton Unleashed and we have with us returning to

the program. Mister Shane Ballen is here. Hello, Hello, it's great

to be back. Yeah, scaded to be back. Thanks Matt. Yeah,

absolutely, it's good to see you and looking forward to hearing some tunes.

And uh yeah, me too, me too. I got a we

had a couple of guitars here, I got a little Martin here. We

just got so, I got some I got a couple of covers I wanted

to play, and but I want to play some songs off the EP that

I just put out. Oh yeah, and my good friend and producer missed

the goodbars, Timothy Thorpe Toy Box Studios in nashvill Um did a great job

helping me out with that and looking forward to working with him again. Yeah,

so excellent, excellent. Yeah, and is the So the EP is

it out now? Yeah, it takes a few days. It takes like

a week or how many days it is. But it's all set up with

on destro Kid. Excellent. Yeah, so it's out there on all the

platforms. Oh, very good, very good. Yeah, I don't know

how I guess it will be a little while. Yeah yeah, yeah,

Well congratulations on that. Thanks, and they just keep writing. You know,

I have a bunch of songs, so I have another another whole whole

EP, I would say right now, so excellent, goa just gotta work

on it. Yeah yeah, all right, Well, whenever you're ready,

I'm dying to hear whatever you're gonna play for us. Yeah. I wanted

to play a couple of the songs I was thinking about playing, um,

you know, Charlie and I want to play Daddy's Truck. I want to

play spring Pain Projection. You know. I have a new song that called

a Note that that I just wrote. Okay, somebody they can get that

in. Yeah, yeah, we have plenty of time, all right,

great and uh yeah, so I'd like to start it off here. Let's

get warmed up with little Stapleton. All right, it sounds good. I've

seen my share broken halo folded ways that used to fly. If I got

rather there, he go rocking halos and huge fly angels come down round the

heathline, came to hell bows came highway first the tea chests. They an

leave gona fine, no soul save. I've seen my share broken halo folded

away. They used to fly. He fuck where every day go broken halo

stay, used to fly, broken hands and he used to shine. Don't

go login for the reason. Don't go asking Jesus why we're not mentor now

on, he answered. They belong to the bye by, evelong to the

bye by. I've seen my share of broken halo holding ff I come by

loan, Who's that used shine? Broken? Has broken hans and to fly

well. Stapleton, Ah, it's beautiful, beautiful. I love it.

But I was gonna say, by the way, Sarah. Lorraine Prince is

in the Facebook live chat and says, excited to hear you perform the song

you wrote with my mom. All right, that's right, I think I

remember you. Uh oh and uh iris Ivas and Lamire is in the chatterman

says cool Shane Balen, all right, let's do Daddy's Truck right now.

All right, this this is the song that Sarah was talking about. Yeah,

cool, cool, all right, awesome, all right, and uh

yeah, here we go. This song is uh. I wrote with a

friend of mine passed away, Janine McGrath, and she wrote this song and

I said, spoke about it once and it reminded her of her dad when

I started playing a certain chord progression and she wrote a song about an old

Dodge truck and it had the smells, you know, reminiscence of her father.

Um, so she would keep it around and then she had to go

to the junkyard one day. And this is the story of Daddy's truck.

I can stee you smell back. Oh, when I climbed, said,

my dad struck real dream at his need. He taught me how to travel

down and hold road, lucky strikes and no spice out two smells that with

my heart. Now that a more memories in his own. Dad struck her

birth more than the morning that you pay me. If I wasn't so down

on my hands, Look right now, I can't drunk hanging on to my

daddy, unruly child and running wild. It didn't know how to thank me.

Daddy's girl, and I was his world, all his love that he

gave me. I didn't get her rights, wanting to grow up and be

free memoriason as the old time strucking worth more than money that you will if

I wasn't so down on my loved right now back trucking mind, I hang

on to my daddy as I take that gun rack down now my heart break,

who with every painful turn of the screw let me view window now has

a very clear and painful you. Please fix her up the trucker. Don't

turn my daddy to the mantle kill memories in his old datched recouverth more than

the money that you ever got, pay me memories and datch trucker with money.

M Wow, that's that's uh. Yeah, you played that last time

too. It's just amazing. Um, thank you. Our friend Ronda Ferverro

from California and the chat room says, uh, having just lost my beautiful

husband, this song is so resonating with me. Thank you. Wow,

You're welcome. I'm it helped. Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry to hear

that, Ronda. Wow. Sorry absolutely. Sometimes music can bring out the

pain and make you, you know, reminisce, but in a in a

way that heals you in a sense. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And

Sarah said, thank you, Shane, You're welcome. Yeah yeah, thanks

And um Yardbird Blue Sky says hashtag Shane Balen. We say, awesome song.

Um, very nice, very nice. Um and uh oh and I

see another name in there too. I've iris of a sudden lamier who I

assume as that's my mom? Oh that's your mom? Excellent, okay,

very nice, very nice. That's good. All right, Well you want

to keep going him? Yeah? Cool cool. I'm not gonna do that

one though, I was gonna say that sounds familiar with Oh yeah, yeah,

I would like to do another cover cover though, us goes out to

my dad and uh um down in Florida. Oh yeah, so uh The

song right here is uh by Luke Holmbs. It's called even though I'm leaving?

Are you doing Dad? Love you Daddy? Am free? Won't you

stay in a little while? Look me safe because there's monsters right outside Latty,

Please don't go. I don't want to be alone. Girls. The

second that you'll God, they're gonna know and before he left, he grab

my handing say, even though I'm leaving, dom me, I won't be

right by her side when you need me and you can't save me in the

middle. Love, ex close your eyes isn't a safe prayer. It's okay.

I know you're scared when I'm not here, but a long always be

right there. Even though I'm lady, ain't nowhere, Bob balance like downing

tough the sky. I know there we're gonna be laid. I'm Sam.

Don't like the way you got a big old pain gonna take me far away.

I don't know why I acted. There's a churney in mygat because I

just can't call you out. Things differ and my daddy tuned and he grabbed

my nickins. Even though you'll leave, you don't mean I won't be had

by your side when you need me and he can't see me in the middle.

Love, and now, just close your eyes and say prayer. It's

okay, boy. I know you're scared when I'm my, but I homes

be right. Even know I'm leaving, I angle nowhere that he am afraid.

Won't you stay a little while? I never thought I had seen that

I had to say goodbye that he please don't go. I can't do this

on my old There's no way that I can want all this cruel along.

And Daddy turned and grabbed my hand on the last time. Even though I'm

may you don't mean I won't be even right by yourself when you can't see

me in the middle love and night. Just close your eyes, say a

prayer. It's okay. I know you're scared. I'm right here. Can

I'll al whisper right here even know I'm leaving. I ain't going nowhere.

It's beautiful, that's really beautiful. Thanks