We had the opportunity to interview 8mm. Meet the Artists Juliette & Sean “Massive Attack meet June and Johnny Cash at a rave with David Lynch.” Founded by Grammy-nominated producer/mixer multi-instrumentalist Sean Beavan (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, No Doubt, A Perfect Circle) and his multi-talented wife, Juliette Beavan, 8mm (pron. “eight millimeter”), were one of the first bands to embrace DIY and strategic licensing. They quickly became championed by luminaries such as Nic Harcourt, Geoff Boucher, Kevin Bronson, Jason Pettigrew and Antiquiet. One of the most licensed bands in the industry (“Underworld: Awakening”, “Dirty Little Liars”, “Mistresses”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Nip Tuck”, “Nikita”, “One Tree Hill”, “Shark”, “Cold Case”, “Moonlight”, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” etc.), their powerful live performances and intriguing videos have earned them an ever-increasing hardcore following. Together, 8MM, have licensed 80% of their catalog to film and television including: I, Frankenstein, The Flash, Grey's Anatomy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith Soundtrack, Kings, You're The Worst, Being Human, One Tree Hill, Lost Girl, Underworld:Awakening Soundtrack, Pretty Little Liars, and so many more. As a music composition team, Juliette Beavan and Sean Beavan, credits include: JUNE - horror, feature DEATH VALLEY - thriller, feature Lion's Den - thriller, short The Cleansing Hour - horror, short SIX - horror, short Don't Kill It - horror, feature It Girl - documentary, feature and the list continues... We want to hear from you! Please email Tera@BringinitBackwards.com www.BringinitBackwards.com www.americansongwriter.com/american-songwriter-podcast-network/bringin-it-backwards-podcast/
We had the opportunity to interview 8mm.
Meet the Artists Juliette & Sean
“Massive Attack meet June and Johnny Cash at a rave with David Lynch.”
Founded by Grammy-nominated producer/mixer multi-instrumentalist Sean Beavan (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, No Doubt, A Perfect Circle) and his multi-talented wife, Juliette Beavan, 8mm (pron. “eight millimeter”), were one of the first bands to embrace DIY and strategic licensing. They quickly became championed by luminaries such as Nic Harcourt, Geoff Boucher, Kevin Bronson, Jason Pettigrew and Antiquiet. One of the most licensed bands in the industry (“Underworld: Awakening”, “Dirty Little Liars”, “Mistresses”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Nip Tuck”, “Nikita”, “One Tree Hill”, “Shark”, “Cold Case”, “Moonlight”, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” etc.), their powerful live performances and intriguing videos have earned them an ever-increasing hardcore following.
Together, 8MM, have licensed 80% of their catalog to film and television including: I, Frankenstein, The Flash, Grey's Anatomy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith Soundtrack, Kings, You're The Worst, Being Human, One Tree Hill, Lost Girl, Underworld:Awakening Soundtrack, Pretty Little Liars, and so many more.
As a music composition team, Juliette Beavan and Sean Beavan, credits include:
We want to hear from you! Please email Tera@BringinitBackwards.com
www.BringinitBackwards.com
www.americansongwriter.com/american-songwriter-podcast-network/bringin-it-backwards-podcast/
0 (25s):
Episode
1 (25s):
42 this was Sean and Juliette of the band eight millimeter. We are very grateful as they invited us to interview them at their home studio. Make sure to check us out on YouTube and Facebook bringing it backwards and on Instagram and Twitter at bringing it back. Pod. Thank you so much Heather over at Raby and we're bringing it backwards with eight millimeter.
2 (47s):
So they would get up in the morning, just go to dog beach and there's like Don beach. I don't know how it would be fun and it's pretty good. Have some more hair color, huh?
1 (1m 4s):
All right. I think we're good. Yeah. Cool. Cool. Cool. Well thank you guys for doing this and inviting us to your house. Like this is really, really awesome. We appreciate it. Um, well we'll start off and just like, how did you guys meet originally? Oh geez. Um, you want to start, that kind of starts with you there. It actually kind of starts with you. Well it does. It does. Okay. I'll start with a little swap off cause I mean it's, cause we were together for seven years before we became a band. Um, and we met in new Orleans, which is where I'm from. And um, I was friends with the drummer for nine shells at the time, Chris friend a.
1 (1m 45s):
And he was like, Hey, come to this surprise show. And I was like, I managed restaurants. I worked like 14 hours a day. I'm like, dude, I don't know. So he's like, no, it's a surprise show. You're on the list, blah, blah, blah. I mean, I was so new Orleans, I didn't know what on the list meant that my best friend was like, I'm your plus one and let's go. I was like, all right, so we go get there. And they, it was like a thing where they played this little 200 Cedar, you know, and it's after downward spiral, so it's there. Massive yeah. So it was a big deal. And so when we get there, it's just, there's masses of people on the street and we go in and you know, hanging out before they kind of opened doors and I see this guy running around and I was like, he kind of looked like Michael Hutchens from NXS, you know, and he's got his shirt off and around, I could tell and I'm like, Oh he's cute.
1 (2m 30s):
A he thinks he's going to get something cause he's with the band, not going to happen. I'm like, mom might happen. So we kind of made eyes a whole night, you know, and, and we never really got a chance to do the like, Hey, what's your name or high and anything. Anytime we would get close enough to make that just a simple hello, either the crowd would push us apart or someone would, he would have to go, he was running front of house and he, he would have to go to work or some, one of my friends to come and be like, Hey, have you
3 (3m 0s):
seen Deon? You know, cause I knew all of her friends. I like, I just never seen her before. I was just like, who, like, who is she? You know, and so flash to the end of the night, you know, and it's crazy. I'm like, well, I gotta go, you know, and I just, I'm leaving and I kind of go to the back alley and I see Chris I wave and he's like, yeah, talk to you tomorrow. He's like, Oh, full block away. We're like, bye. And I see Sean and we both kind of looked at each other and just shrugged. Well, you know, I guess that didn't, didn't work out. You know what I, and we did left it at that. So, so a couple of days later we're just, we're leaving the neck like in a couple of days for CMJ to do like some shows there with us.
3 (3m 43s):
And uh, um, some friends came over to my house from the guys on the tour and they were like, Hey, we're all going to, you know, down into the quarter, you know, to hang out, you know, you should come with it. I was like, God, I don't want to go tired. I don't want to go. And I was just all kind of depressed and stuff. So they were like, come on, come on, come on. And they dragged me out. So we're sitting at Molly's on Decatur, which is this little bar that I love and a I drinking my beer and I'm talking to them and I'm looking out the window and I see Juliette cross past the window and I grabbed my beer and ran out because you can in new Orleans, you can drink out on the streets and a and they're in and she wasn't there, but one of the friends, Linda was there and I saw her and I feel like, Hey Linda, how's it going?
3 (4m 29s):
I figured Juliette would come back and she did, she rounded the corner and then I said, Hey, you know, dah dah dah. And we started talking and I thought, where's the farthest away bar that we can walk to? And I'm like, ah, I have, my friends are thinking about going to our bar, so you know, if you'd like to come along it'd be great, you know? And she was like, yeah, okay. And so I ran to go, come on guys, we're going to hour you know, and from then on it was, I think we've talked every day since. So wow. I think I dropped everybody off at 8:00 AM the next day. Wow. And were you guys, were you on tour with nine in sales at that time or were you know, we were, we are living in new Orleans because we had the studio in new Orleans. I had just finished mixing the Manson record, um, antichrist superstar.
3 (5m 13s):
Okay. At the time. And I was going to be going off with a Manson, you know, um, in, in a few weeks, you know, doing there. So it was that we had two weeks together then he went on tour for two years, pretty much it was the saddest day when she's walking out the door with like her two pairs of go-go boots. It's pretty like immediate, you know, and then he was like, do you want to move in? Like as he's leaving meet my roommate and share my place. I'm like most places better than mine, so I was like perfect. Okay. And so I live with Danny loaner for two years and saw him. Never. Wow. But it was, um, but it was funny.
3 (5m 53s):
It was actually pretty good because we just decided that, you know, the way this, the tour, it was such a big tour
1 (5m 58s):
that, you know, whenever he had like two or three days off, I would fly to wherever that was. So like once a month, that's nice when we get together. I really didn't, it wasn't, we didn't spend more than four weeks I think. Yeah. No, at the most five maybe, but which is kinda good cause you can kinda just put your head down and work until then. Then you've got like great weekend. Yeah. Something to look forward to. So it was actually really fun. That's awesome. And you grew up in new Orleans? Yeah. Across the Lake from new Orleans. So Covington and proper for anybody who's keeping score. When did you start getting into music? Um, I wasn't actually, I mean, um, dabbles as a kid, but I thought singers were kind of obnoxious.
1 (6m 39s):
I grew up around a lot of music. I mean, when you grow up in the area, music is everywhere all the time and it's, it's part of your life. But pursuing, it wasn't really a thing I was into.
3 (6m 50s):
Yeah. She was, she was managing a restaurant in town in Covington and I came to visit her one time and, and it was, it was funny walking into the place with her where like as soon as she walked in, everyone was just like, Juliette Juliette Juliette like, how do you do this? What do you do? They you know, it was like, it was like, wow, she's like the total boss, you know, like, yeah. You know, it's pretty cool. Told you and you, and you grew up in Cleveland. Yeah. It's funny, my parents both grew up in Cleveland too. When my mom was pregnant with me, they moved to San Diego. Oh, wow. What Pardot, what part, what part of Cleveland are you with the snowy part?
3 (7m 32s):
The part where you're always shoveling snow? Um, no, he's a West side. A North homestead is where I'm from. Okay. Yeah. Very West side. Yeah. My family's from, um, Elyria area. Yeah. And, um, Amherst. Yeah. Yeah, that's West side as far West side. And Lorraine is where my grandfather grew up. So yeah, that's, that's really close to North homestead. North homestead is just closer into town. But yeah, I've heard that name, like being out there. My, my uncle, one of my uncles still is like the baseball coach for Elyria Catholic high school and like he'll bring that like, Oh, we're playing, you know, Northern, I'm set. I'm like, all right. He'll tell let's say these towns. And I'm like, Oh, I don't know where that is.
3 (8m 12s):
But yeah, I heard the name. Yeah, no, that's very West side. You know, it's all that like kind of the middle middle-class, you know? Yeah. Kind of part of town or whatever. So your dad saved you from shoveling? A lot of snow. I mean, we'd go back there, um, once a year or sometimes twice a year, but usually like once a year, usually in the summertime and go to like Cedar point. Go on Lake Erie. My couple of my uncles had boats and fishing. Yeah. For like, um, what are the, the, the fish and the people hike or no hurts. Yeah. It gets good tasting fish. Yeah. Yeah. It's great. Yeah. So yeah, we do, we do that whole thing, but come back in, in, in Christmas time sometimes and you know, to experience beautiful.
3 (8m 59s):
Yeah. That's the thing. Going for Christmas is amazing cause it's kind of always snows on Christmas day and it's kind of perfect had it really is. And then my parents always were like, yeah, I'm glad we're not, you know, we don't have three more months in this. Yeah. You can leave it. And you're like, Oh, Christmas by. Yeah. I did two years of college at Cleveland state university and, and it was, it's, it's right on the Lake in Cleveland and it I mean, literally it snows sideways, you know what I mean? Like it's just the wind blows right in your face and sleet and you know, cause it blows off the leg. Yeah. That's kinda how it forms and the Lake, we'll freeze. It gets pretty crazy.
3 (9m 38s):
Hardcore. And how will, how did you start getting into music then? Um, I started, or like, as a little kid, I remember probably around probably eight or nine years old, I would listen to this little am radio I had, you know, and, and I found a little tape recorder and my parents, um, like a Hutch that was down to basement. So this little woolen SAC reel to reel. And I just started recording songs off the radio and uh, you know, and, and so I started paying attention to music, like, like, and I started getting into producers, you know, like bands finding out, you know, cause of course the Beatles were, were big and everyone talks about George Martin.
3 (10m 22s):
And I became a big Alice Cooper fan. You know, the first record I ever bought was a dark side of the moon. Oh wow. You know what I mean? And I learned the bass part, you know, so the first song I ever learned was since seven, eight. But it's like that thing of, you know, I just became obsessed with it, you know what I mean? So it literally has been like, since I was like nine years old, like they being a producer and you know, was the goal and a there was always a thing of then how do you get there? And part of the path I seem to relate to the most was like Bob Ezrin his path, you know, the producer for the wall and Alice Cooper, he's like a really good musician who helped other musicians to his thing, you know, and at the same time as a big Todd Rundgren fan, and that's what Todd Rundgren did.
3 (11m 10s):
So I was just like, I'm going to do it that way. I'm going to become a musician, I'm going to get play with people and, and help other musicians, you know, make their music and stuff. So you want to literally from nine years old, so you didn't want to actually like, like write the songs, be in the band, you know, I wanted to do all that, but I wanted to, I've just wanted to make music. So it's like, like I wrote my, like I wrote my own songs. I did, I did all the things that you would do at as as a musician. It was kind of like the Todd Rundgren career path where you write your own songs, you do your own stuff and you also help with all kinds of bands, you know, and, and, and it's not like I want to help out with other bands just to get myself up there, whatever it was.
3 (11m 50s):
The goal was always to work on records. Those records to mix them to like, I love sounds, I love all that stuff. It was more, and I love performing too, but it was not necessarily so I'd be a superstar. It was more so I could make music. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like that. That's all I really care about. Like yeah,
1 (12m 9s):
to be fair, my, and my older brother did prepare me for living with an engineer. He, my brother's 10 years older than me and he ran like front of house for local bands. So again, each, so when I was like five or six and he, you know, was, it was the eighties so he has set up the high fi in the living room with like the giant speakers. So he's like, if you're going to touch this and you are, yeah. I had to learn how to set it up where the wires went, how to do it and how to set the EEQ cause he'd come in and get mags was different, you know, cause we play with it. And so it's like, there was a lot of that that it was like I was prepared for someone who's persnickety. I really, we spent a lot of time listening to records and so we spent a lot of time listening to music and that kind of thing and listening to stuff.
3 (12m 55s):
But I'm sure that, I mean obviously that had to help nowadays. You know, having the ear for it and knowing what to listen for that I'm sure he helped you out quite a bit with that for sure. I didn't do it. Yeah, that's, that's really awesome. Cognizance. Yeah. Yeah. Not the touchy cues. It's like, you know, I taught my daughter, like which fader or she could touch on the console. You know, when you come in here, you could do anything you want through these phases. I don't like that. So this is no fun anymore. That's mostly Juliette cause it was fun before. It's not fun now. He's like, it's, that's important. You know, as an engineer you're screwing around with something and you don't realize you just made it not fun any more or, you know what I mean?
3 (13m 39s):
Right, right. So it, it's really helpful. What was the, what was the first, um, record that you produce then? Hmm, wow. Going back, I mean, probably the, I think the first record I produced besides my own stuff was a band called slam bamboo in Cleveland back in like 1986 maybe. Yeah, let's like, it was
1 (14m 4s):
they well under age at that point. I think it was maybe a year and a half
3 (14m 8s):
before I mixed Trent's a.
2 (14m 12s):
um,
3 (14m 14s):
like pretty hate machine demos. Yeah. Like around that same time. But yeah, probably a year and a half before that. Like the first time I ever got the,
2 (14m 23s):
okay.
3 (14m 23s):
You're the producer on shirt. Before that I'd been an engineer for several years, you know. Where are you working in a studio at that point? Yeah, I've worked at two different studios and Cleveland, a great tracks was the first one that gave me my initial gig when I got out of college. Beachwood studios had given me a gig while I was in college, like as an intern and so I trained under Dale Peters, who is the bass player for the James gang. So he, he taught me some great stuff and a. I mean there are some great people there, but then I, as soon as I got out of college, I got the job at great tracks and a there's a place called the right track and Cleveland, which is where I worked when I met Trent. Okay. And what did you go to?
3 (15m 4s):
You went to school for production. Sound production and I did a like two years at Cleveland state where I was a psychology major and then transfer, like went left for two years to work. I worked in a mental health field and then saved up my money and went back to school for audio production. Cool. Cool, cool. And then, yeah, then you met Trent and worked on his records and yeah. And boop, boo. You guys met in new Orleans and we met. And how'd you get Juliette in the studio to yeah, that was, you know, she, because she's from new Orleans, you know, like we I'd work a lot where I'd, I'd bring bands into studios and then we come back to my house to do vocals or something, you know, because a studio at the house too, but it was too small to do drums and stuff.
3 (15m 51s):
And uh, so Juliette was kind of always there and always the, you know, she's from new Orleans, so it's like hospitality, you know what I mean? Like, you know, everybody just felt at home there and stuff. So when I was working on a kill HANA record, like the last day of production, the A&R guy, John Ruby Lee came in and was like, I really want, you know, female vocals on these two singles. And I was like, okay. Was the last day, but you know, I'm like going through the Rolodex, trying to find, you know, someone to come in and sing and no one was available. And she walked in because we were all gonna go have lunch together like the last day, you know, good stuff. And I just looked at her, I went, uh, come here for a second, kidnapped and said, you know, Hey, why don't you try singing this?
3 (16m 36s):
I had no idea if she could sing even cause I we I'd never really paid attention to that, you know what I mean? I mean, I figured she's from new Orleans, you gotta have some musical ability. And she started singing in the engineer and I were both like, Whoa. And I said, we've got to write some music. So, you know, we started,
1 (16m 53s):
I was like, you know, he came in and sang to me. He said, you know, sing this part. And I was like, okay, I can do that. And did it and thought, Oh that was really fun. That didn't suck, you know? And he was like, cool, let's keep going. And then I went on, you kind of did all the stuff they needed and did some sound replacement. And um, then that night he was like, do you wanna try writing together? And I was like, well, if we hate it, we can stop. Right? And he goes, yeah. I'm like, okay. So then we wrote a never enough there for style and we're like, that was fun.
3 (17m 20s):
So your first real time in the studio was recording on the kill now album. Yeah. That's pretty crazy. And she ended up doing five songs I think, or five or six. Yeah, yeah. She's saying like saying on the two songs and then replaced all the vocal samples that were, they had like a Marilyn row sample and there's a couple of just like other things here and there that it just, yeah, we've done quite a few voiceover samples. Like we did a bunch on a three teeth and we did, we did, uh, was it the Hill the coast. That one was fun.
1 (17m 50s):
We did, they had like a sort of a, a bridge interlude section where they took a, a scene from an old Twilight zone. And they're just a male and a female character talking. So we had to do the replacement on that cause we can use the real thing. So we had to act that one out and it's like a day and that kind of 1960s like kind of very acting. But it was really sad. It was really scary. Sad Sean too. So that one was really fun. It was really fun. It's kinda like an old radio play. So that was fun. That's awesome. Is that what got you out of the restaurant worlds? Los Angeles got me out of the restroom. I moved here and um, I worked at uh, Rita flora, which isn't there anymore on sixth and LaBrea and it was cool.
1 (18m 36s):
But from what I'd seen, especially at that point in LA now I have like the disclaimer is like now restaurants in Los Angeles are excellent. But when I first moved here, it was just horrible. It was, it was unbelievable. Like you'd go to this sort of high end dinner meeting with all these record execs and they're super proud of this like expensive restaurant in Beverly Hills. And it was just less than dog food on the plate was so bad and so overpriced. I was like, you would die in wa in new Orleans. Like there's no way this would be open if this is unacceptable. Like everything about the restaurant culture in Los Angeles was unacceptable. Like it was just going to go to they from new Orleans and so bad.
1 (19m 19s):
And I, when I worked at Rita floor and I was talking to the manager and she was like, yeah, it's not like that here. They just don't care. Like no one cares about food and they don't get the balance. The sort of chemistry of atmosphere, quality menu I what a menu is. You know, how to balance it, how to design it. You know, I like everything about it. You know, they just don't care. It's a place to meet the top business, you know? It's like the booze used to be good. The cocktails don't need to be good. Yeah. It was like everything was just kind of perfunctory and there was, there was that culture of food that you get like in New York or Paris or London, you know, even London, London is getting better too, but you know, they're, sorry they're British and they boil the chicken grey you know.
1 (20m 7s):
But um, there wasn't that sort of cosmopolitan like San Francisco does food. Well, sure. So I mean, honestly Los Angeles the first broke me of that because it just, it just wasn't here. So I was like flourish. She worked there with Troy van Leeuwen. Yeah. And they were the only two that were like, this place is just crap worked in delivery. And we just like, Hey, you want to take my, he's like, no, you know, we just both for like, I don't know how people do it, you know.
3 (20m 38s):
How did you guys get out to Los Angeles was me. I was working here so much that you know, cause we lived in new Orleans and I'd, you know, fly there and stuff and I was living at the time we'd finish the ne, the antichrist tour and we were working on downward or an a on mechanical animals and I'd been here for several months, like living with Manson and, and Twiggy up in Laurel Canyon. And I just was like, you know, we just, let's just move here.
1 (21m 9s):
It was just two months. He made it two months. He's like, do you want to move here? It was about two months, two months. And I was like, yeah, you know, yeah, let's move. Like I didn't really, it's Louisiana, I love you, but come on, it's time to go. And you know, it's like we were in back then, we were madly in love. Now, I don't know. I'm kidding. I'm going to keep him for, I always tell them there's one way out of this marriage. It's in a pine box. Yeah, you can feel it. Not even splurging for mahogany. It's just warm food. Come on, not doing it. I'll get you a nice urn.
1 (21m 49s):
That's all I carry around and be a creepy old lady, period. Like the ashes around her. Be nice. You can have one of those planning. All my weird old lady quirks. That could be one. It could put you in like this weird big purse. Carry around, talk to it. Oh, grandma's in a cardboard box in the closet. Oh, that's, that's true story. I didn't do it. My mom did it. My daughter and my, when my mom was moving, I think it was after Katrina and my daughter nephew were there kind of helping as much as they help it, you know, 10 years old and they're going through stuff and they've see a box in the clot. And my mother's closet, and this is my mom's a nurse, she's very pragmatic and practical and there's not much to do about anything.
1 (22m 35s):
And they see a box, Martin grandma, and they thought, Oh, it's gonna be a bunch of grandma's stuff. And they're super stoked. And they pull it down like, wow, it's kind of heavy. They opened it. They were like, grandma. Oh, it was like, yeah, put it back. It's just so Myrna. The kids were like, she has grandma laid a box. Have you met your now? That's pretty good. Do you haven't cut your arm off? It's two Advil and you know, you'll be fine. Like I don't know, rub dirt in it. Yeah, you're fine. You're fine. Walk it off. When did you guys start playing in a millimeter then?
1 (23m 15s):
Right after the kill HANA gig? I mean, can we wrote the EEP?
3 (23m 20s):
Yeah, we wrote the EEP and I think the EAP came out in 2004 and then we rehearsed cause she'd never sung live or anything or, okay. So we rehearsed in our managers basement for about two one basement. It's LA, so it's just the lowest floor, the lower floor, um, on this Hill. So it kind of felt like a basement, but we rehearsed there for about two months just to kind get, get it together. And it was like she had a big mirror, you know what I mean? So it's like you could kind of, she could kind of start looking at how, what it looked like and it was a really great way to do it. And then we started planning like 2005, I think it was a yeah.
3 (24m 1s):
What was your guys' first show? As a millimeter?
1 (24m 3s):
It was at the knitting factory in Hollywood. Um, and in the little this is the alternate loans? Yeah, the alternate lounge. That was it. And so it was like this little side room they had and it was like super cool at a bar and great thing it was.
3 (24m 18s):
And we brought in, we brought in lighting. We had a lighting designer. The guy that was the lighting designer, William McLaughlin was lighting designer for nine inch nails and a perfect circle came in and did our lighting for us. It was amazing. Looked amazing. And our friend critter, who is the engineer that was engineering kill Hannah record when Juliette and I sang, he came in and did, um, real still like photography on film. So we had beautiful photographs and yeah, it was really, it was a really fun game
1 (24m 47s):
packed. It was really, it was fun. So it ended up being, were you nervous singing live for the first time? Not terribly. Not terribly. I don't, um, I mean I don't know if I, should I tell the freestyle? Yeah, I think cause I don't, I, I process nerves differently where I don't registered it as being nervous. But I'm sure there's part of me that is, you know what I mean? But I don't think like, Oh my God, I'm so nervous that doesn't happen. You know, it's, but I'm sure it's in there somewhere, but I wasn't too worried about it. We'd rehearsed. I knew, you know, I almost forget to Lear, I don't, my brain doesn't work that way, but if there was anything going on, it was probably completely derailed by freedom.
1 (25m 28s):
Maine is a dear friend of ours and she comes right before we go on and she walks up to me and you know, she's singer for Kenny they. He was like smoking hot just comes up right next to me and she's little and she's like, you look so great. I want to fuck you so bad right now. I was like, okay, it's kind of a great, like just zero in my brain down to like, well all I can do is be present. Cause I can't, you can't worry when your brain just gets completely sidetracked. I can probably thank her for her. Never really getting is she set the standard for not being nervous about it.
3 (26m 7s):
Yeah. So from that a knitting factory show, when did you decide to like go okay we're going to tour and we're going gonna really go for this. Like when you were rehearsing and stuff, was it like, yeah, cause we were rehearsing a new door is go time and you're really going to yeah, cause we were planning on going to, we went to England and so, and the idea with a do a couple of shows and then go over to England and do several shows and uh, so we ended up free to shush, you know who that is. Yeah. Um, but so, so we were, we had
1 (26m 44s):
that idea in mind, so, and, and it was like you were had record labels who were supposed to meet and do like we had a bunch of things to do in England, you know. And part part of the idea was, let's take this to England and see what, you know, what happens with, you know, record labels. And we've been contacted by a friend in one of his old friends in Santiago, Chile to come down and do like four shows there and, and they, and that was incredible because they flew us down and they had him slated to do like a, a masterclass at the university, kind of do a big lecture that was sold out for like immediately when they announced it. When we got there, the promoter was said, um, okay, first I want to show you something.
1 (27m 26s):
See you. And they have a beautiful Metro. They're like, when you go into their subway, it's gorgeous. There's art installations everywhere, but we go down and there's this giant like 20 foot by 10 foot, you know, billboard in the subway and it's the cover of the opener, EEP. And it's, but as me and my underwear, so I'm just like, I don't know. You're going to blow it up. I think as we got to kind of go around town, right, hit a couple of bars. I mean, we'd been traveling for 14 hours and we're like, really? And he goes, you have to do it because tickets won't really sell until they see you. Well, I'm five, eight and then add the heels and the platinum blonde hair in Santiago chili. I stood out. So we'd kinda den yeah, we kind of do some bar hop bang.
1 (28m 6s):
And the next morning when he picked us up to do the first round of interviews and kind of radio stops, um, he goes, well the tickets sold out. I told you. And it's like, cause we went to two places, the two places, two first places we were playing, we went and just had a drink. They said, okay, that's enough. Let's go to the next one. Did the same thing there and then had another just popular clubs and did that. And he goes, yeah, because it's a, it's a, it's a cosmopolitan town. It's very much kind of like all the iron work is, I fell practicing, you know, before, you know, so it's all like really beautiful and everyone's very cool and chic. So everything's open till three, four in the morning. Watch, like every time we got onto a subway train, it was, the train is just littered with people and all the little ones were were opener where the picture and I'm on the subway, like, Oh my God, people are like staring at bam, which is cool.
1 (28m 59s):
But just like, I don't know if I'd pick the underwear picture do and like taking pictures and all that. Well they were doing the like, like, you know, but it was, that was pretty crazy. It was like, it was almost like being like super celebrities for really no reason at that point. Yeah. Wait, it was the first thing we'd put out in our first time there. But, you know, it was, it was a very cool yeah. And people were great. It was awesome. I love San Diego. Yes. Great. The people there are amazing and so cosmopolitan and so, so that was like our shows. Like we did there, we did chili and then we did England.
1 (29m 40s):
And then we did, we went, we did sort of a
3 (29m 42s):
South tour, cause we went to South by Southwest like 2006. Yeah, I think so. And, uh, kinda hopped about. Yeah. And then every, every time we've released a record we, you know, do like a U S thing. Yeah. You know, usually us and we've gone back to, to lay, you know, um, yeah, it's, it's, it's been fun, but we've always had other lives, you know what I mean? Like, like our, you know, we it's like, I've always had my day gig, you know, working with bands and things, so we it's like, it's never been the total concentration, you know what I mean? In, in, in a where we go, we just kind of take time. And luckily we're, we've been so lucky with all the bands I've worked with and stuff.
3 (30m 24s):
We have a network of really great musicians to kind of work, you know, work with and they all, like, everybody seems to want to play with us, so we, you know, it's like whenever we're going to go on the road, it's like we call up, some of our friends would say, Hey, do you want to do this? And they're like, yes. You know? And so we just always tour with people we love. You know what I mean? That we've known for years, you know? Yeah. That must be a pretty. Yeah, it's pretty awesome using situation to be in where you can just say, Hey a can we help you know for you guys or can we go on the road with you guys? And yeah, it's pretty cool. Yeah. I mean we I mean, we love it. You know, it's like this, this latest record we, uh, wrote for the first time with someone else actually with, with, with Johnny Radke. It was been a friend of ours since the kill HANA record.
3 (31m 5s):
So you know, is kind of funny to have the first guy be the guy that was there the first time she's saying. Yeah. And the other stuff that you guys have put out, do you guys just record it? I mean, do, you could do it here like, yeah, we, we recorded the last record we recorded here, the records before that we recorded in Laurel Canyon at our old, our old house. Yeah. So you can just kinda hit the studio whenever you want. And, you know, that's what it sounds like in theory, but it's like, you know, I'm always in between working on like really like this, this happened because we've been trying to do it for like two years, you know, it's like, it just takes us forever to, and we're like trying to get it done, but there was so many things happening.
3 (31m 47s):
So we ended up, um, I was going to work on the three teeth record that just came out or is coming in July in July, but there are releasing sink singles for it now. And uh, it was that thing of, you know, waiting and then the record label like ends up pushing it back for a month. So now I've got a month to wait. I don't, and I, I was supposed to start in the gig and I was like, let's just do it now. Hold on the schedule. And I'm like, yeah, okay, let's now like she, she had finished one project that she was doing a film thing a does, she was doing it. So we were both like we, we've got a month work right now. Let's just do it. And so we'd literally just sat down and wrote a record in a month, you know, the only time we have so like, and we were doing vocals, like, you know what I mean?
3 (32m 31s):
Like it's like we'd write, we'd write a melody line, you know, like she'd write a melody line and then we'd be like, okay word, should we write down words and go sing it right now? You know, like would sing it and, and like, like literally like, you know, sing, it's like twice or whatever. And I was like, that's really cool. Let's try. Okay, let's go to the next line. And I mean like in right. And just like boom. And it was like, the song was done in a couple days, you know, like, and we'd, we'd always finish the melodies, at least for the verse and courses in a day, you know, like it was really fun and fast. You know, we work really fast on it. It wasn't any there before. We'd always written like the song on the piano and she'd sing the vocals and then we'd have kind of the song all written out and everything.
3 (33m 14s):
And then it's like, okay, let's, let's go into the studio. How do we, how do we want to, what do I have to sound like? I mean like it's like decide how the song, what the song's going to be like, is it going to be, you know, what I, you know, trip hop or whatever and, and how do we make it that stuff. It was like literally like we were writing on the computer, like the song was done when we'd finished.
1 (33m 33s):
Yeah. I mean, at the beginning of it, there's always the, okay, I'm going to walk away for about two hours while you decide on the tempo. 483 times and it's all like shifting it between, you know, three and four BPM faster and slower, faster, slower, I don't know. And then he just goes, rain man on me. And I'm like, all right, look, when you're happy, I'll come back because I'm not going to say fine. Fine. It's like inevitably like when I first write something, I'm, I make it a little slower than it should be because it's like playing, it's easier.
3 (34m 7s):
A does it should it really, it should be fashioned in this, like it should be faster. Yeah. So yeah. Did you have that a does that kind of happen a lot when you're working on other people's records and stuff like re listening to it and being like, okay, I want to tweak this. Like is it kind of gets to the point where you have to just like, how do you just get like, okay, this is it. Yeah. It's funny when you're working with someone else, at least you've got like, then you're, you're operating in a different place. Like you're not the, you're the sounding board, you know what I mean? You're the guy that they're relying on for the stuff that you've done before and that you like and they play you stuff that they're doing whatever. And it's usually, for me, it's immediate, like something needs to be three PPM for Aster and it stays there and there's no question in my mind, you know what I mean?
3 (34m 52s):
But when it's me,
1 (34m 54s):
yes to yourself for a lot easier than you questions and it's so it. So
3 (34m 59s):
it's a very, very different, you know, thing I kind of rely on Juliette that way. Like to be that arbiter or you know what I mean? She's kind of like our Rick Rubin, you know what I mean? I was like, I'm not playing high hat to it so it's not good enough.
1 (35m 13s):
I lot of times I'll leave with like, I like the faster one, but do your thing, you know, it becomes, you know, which makes him kind of like growl, you know, he'll go through and then I'll come back. He's like, well, and then explained to me everything he went through too, but ended up going with faster one that's pretty much exactly. It's like, it's, it's, it's funny cause it's like creative process,
3 (35m 38s):
right? Like every time I get a mix from someone that, you know, and I, I put the files up and I start listening to it and kind of throw a rough mix together or whatever and I and I just like, I'm sitting there going, why do I even think I can do this? Like I'm such a Charlotte, like, I'll never make this work, you know? And then at some point I'm going, I met genius. Like so, and that I, that's the normal creative process, I think. You know, it's like, yo, you always question yourself at the beginning and then you end up getting something great. Right. I yeah. That's the way it works.
1 (36m 13s):
Did you ever include your daughter and then any of the recordings there?
3 (36m 18s):
Actually a saying, um, she's sung in a couple of like kids' choir stuff that we've done.
1 (36m 24s):
Well, honestly, that was for Danny actually. Yeah. Like our Danny loaner would do remixes and he needed like gang kid vocals and we were his only friend with children. He was like, Juliette can you get girls? I need girl like teenage girl voices. And I was like, we did that with unwritten law and we did it. That's true. She did. She did it on fights all, yeah. So she's on that.
3 (36m 47s):
Yeah. Uh, there's a pod remix that we did. That's true. She's on that. Yeah. Um, and we've, we did, we were working on a musical and she's on one of those things. Wow. Yeah. But she's, she's, she's, she sings. So, um, but, you know, it's that thing of, she's always kinda talked to me about it, but she's never like really asked me to do something with her or whatever. She, she's always just asked for advice and I've always given her the advice, which is, you know, go to go to guitar center and pull the thing off the wall and say like, I want to sing for your band, you know? Yeah. You want to do it, you'll do it. You know what I mean? But she's always been more of a visual artist, you know, that that's always been her main concentration is like, kind of fine art drawing.
3 (37m 32s):
Oh wow. And so, you know, that's, so I have never really pushed her that much in music. But she did take violin lessons for awhile and she, um, took piano lessons for a while and she was actually really good at piano. Like, like she's, she's has a musical.
1 (37m 47s):
She does, you know, ed, but she's, she's, uh, kind of just an artist. Her basic being is an artists. So pretty much everything she touches and does takes on an emotional bend. It has on a. It has a character, it has a voice, which is kind of the most difficult thing to teach or to find. But we're got whatever she does, there's a very specific and very clear voice and vision to it. For her, it's just like anybody does deciding which is the voice she wants to use the most often. You know? And it seems to me that she's always visual,
3 (38m 22s):
the visual art and you know, it's like when she was a kid, it's like you couldn't leave a garbage can with her because all of a sudden it's, it's a, it's a flying pig, you know?
1 (38m 30s):
Yeah, no, it was like having, you know, you have to like lock trash away from animal, just like, like, Oh look, I've made this whole, it's a whole country of creatures. Okay, how do I get rid of this? What is this about? It's going to be interesting for it to her for a half an hour and then we're going to have it for three years. Zackly and it'd be like, what happened to that? The day you throw it out, you know? It was very good at that. She'll take a picture of it. Oh, and that's all I have the picture of it. That's great. Yeah. I think it all really good stuff. Yeah.
1 (39m 9s):
Got, of course you've gotta have some little that little dude over there, he'd have to pick it up and show it to him later. But has she done any album covers or,
3 (39m 18s):
um, no,
1 (39m 21s):
no. She was working, she was working on a for a friend of hers in a band she was working on like a zene that would accompany the album. Kind of like a comic, like as kind of like a mini comic e-zine that illustrated each song. That's awesome. Then I think they got into a fight and they read the beginnings of it are really cool, you know?
3 (39m 43s):
Yeah. They you know, how'd you get into scoring film? Um, a F we DJ. Yeah. TJ are our friend T J Scott, who directs like Gotham and orphan black and
1 (39m 56s):
pick a bunch of friends of television television shows. I mean, he's got, he's been gone for 10 and a half months working on star Trek and, yeah. Wow. Oh yeah. Den a bunch of the new star Trek, you know, and just the brand new. Yeah,
3 (40m 9s):
yeah. And uh, so he's always doing that, but he, he was doing a film,
1 (40m 14s):
kind of an indie thing that he and his neighbor road, I've got an old friend of his and they were like, Hey, they want it to be a small kind of family crew. And um, and he goes, I want you guys to do the music. And we're like, okay. I think it was over tequila. He just pointed. And that's our whole, our whole lives are over tequila like that
3 (40m 33s):
because we had this thing called the Friday night tequila glove and we we every Friday night we'd all get together, drink margaritas and you know, just talk. And it was like mostly actors and directors and producers.
1 (40m 45s):
I mean, the core group was like five people, but everybody was like in the business, you know, sitting at somebody's house.
3 (40m 50s):
Oh, okay. Yeah, it's our friend George, like George pucker was like the, one of the first guys, one of the first, the key members of it. He was a producer at original productions. Like the deadliest catch and monster garage and we'll show wow. You know, and, and then, uh, TJ and Vicky and like we just like, it was a kind of group of creative people, but we at the time we weren't working that much. It was like, cause the writer's strike was happening at that point, you know, so it's just like kind of like a commiseration.
1 (41m 20s):
Yeah, totally. It was, it was cool, you know, but it's really fun and we had a great time together
3 (41m 24s):
and so he told us, you know, yeah, we want you to do this. And we were like, yeah, well that's a that sounds, sounds right up our alley. You know? And then he was like, Hey, could, could you do production sound for the movie to like, you know, like doing that stuff and you know, microphones and lavaliers and you know, and we're going to do it in the desert. Oh fuck that Valley and Juliette could you be in it and could you be scripted? Yeah,
1 (41m 49s):
too. Scripty yeah. That one was, I wasn't supposed to be script supervisor, but I was going to be the dead girl. But I had like, I had to get shot first, which I was like, cool, I want to do that. And uh, then his sister in law and Orain was supposed to be the script supervisor cause she's, um, massive script supervisor in town, like if she's a real, a real one. And she got a gig, like on a bigger movie and had to ditch our little thing and we're all sitting around having Margaret as and she just looks at me and she goes, you could do it. I was like, do what everybody else, TJ. And they all turned and they're like, Oh, of course you could do it. You could do that. And I'm like, what is it be the script?
1 (42m 30s):
And I'm like, I don't even know what that does, you know? And she's like, no, you're gonna come to my house three days, you'll be fine. It's a little movie. You can do this. It's like, okay. So then I looked it up and then it was like, Oh my God, and are you crazy? This is just you take, you know, you continuity, um, making sure like, and so the thing she was champagne bottles are going to be your death and it's like keeping track of like what hand the actor had it in, how many are in the frame, what cameras are and it just, so she did,
3 (42m 57s):
how crucial was it? How, yeah,
1 (42m 60s):
all that kind of stuff. Did the actor have, you know, the tie on tied or are tied or not wearing it? What Jack was the jacket open or close one button or two, you know, did they which way did they walk on that last take? And you have to kind of do, it's really, really, it's kind of fun cause you just kinda sit there with the headphones next to the director and the monitor and just like if you're lucky enough to have monitors, you know and follow and just completely zone into every little detail and kind of hold your breath through it. Go and don't miss anything. But you can, you only focus on that. But you know, it was in death Valley, three cameras and just 60 mile an hour winds.
1 (43m 42s):
And, but it was super fun so that I ended up getting kind of kidnapped into that. But that ended up being really fun. But I gained a lot of respect for that kind of an unsung hero of the curve.
3 (43m 55s):
Sure. Cause you'll see like, I mean I can't think of an example of top head, but I've seen it where you could find the continuity's off on something you knew. Oh how'd they miss that? But it's like how well it was the, it was the 32nd time they shot that is actually, yeah, it's pretty intense. I thought. I thought she's, she's doing a really good job. Cause was like the second day of shooting and uh, Jeremy Ratchford was one of the actors on and he was from coal case. Yeah. One of the a actors from cold Casey. He's got this great voice. He's talkative and the end of this, the end of the Sean happens and he walks, he walks out off the off-camera, you know, walks out out of the room and down the hall.
3 (44m 35s):
And I can still hear him one cause I've got the headphones on. It's still here. And he goes, well I hope that was okay with the continuity. But yeah,
1 (44m 44s):
we were buddies cause he knew it all here. He knew I could hear him. He said it into his mind because he kept walking in and he kept changing hands with this cut with the handcuffs. And I was just like left-hand Jeremy left hand. He's like, we had a blast. But that's how we got into, um, that was our first film composition gig.
3 (45m 7s):
You know, and, and I, I loved it because there were tons of scenes where like the, the actors would start really far away cause there's a huge, like some huge sweeping Vista kind of shots, you know, so they're walking through this big beautiful painted desert, you know, Sean and, and I'm holding the microphone up waiting for them to come into frame cause you want like kind of the footsteps to come closer. As I mean, so you want that sound or whatever. And I'm holding up there and I'm hearing all these cool, like I got the microphone's turned way up and hear all these sounds from the desert and I'm like, I gotta remember to make some of these sounds for the F, you know, have this kind of happen as part of the composition and stuff. You know, how lonely this sounds or how, you know, empty, you know what I mean?
3 (45m 48s):
And how, how sound can make something seem empty, you know? Yeah. It was pretty cool. Like I was a, it was a great inspiration. Really. Yeah. If you watch, it's, it's really interesting the, the sound design aspect of watching film or TV and stuff because like the sound effects, like everything makes such a difference. Like, you know, watch the raw footage or you know, just the Sean without it. It's like wow. Yeah. The steps of somebody and like the way that you can make it look like or sound like they're walking towards you and yeah, just the whole, the whole thing in the philosophies of it too. It's like, you know, you can, you can describe a scene where you know everything that happens in the Sean you make a sound for so that everything's there.
3 (46m 29s):
Or you can make it more metaphorical, like, like a John wick where he's walking down a hallway and you don't really hear anything except for maybe music. And then like he pulls a coin out and sticks it in a slot. And that's the only sound. Yeah, he opened something up. But you only hear it when he closes it. It's like, because it's speaking to what his mind is doing. And I mean, and I mean that's an amazing thing. It's why they call it sound design, right? Yeah. Not just sound, you know? Sure.
1 (46m 54s):
Yeah. And it's like, and it's, it's really interesting once you start watching different directors, cause like the directors, the arbiter of what happens, like of the creative vision. And there's a lot of different ones who are like, okay, Anton Fuqua is a big one with like a lot of the sound like crunching on gravel and like gunshots, impact hitting the wall. And it's a word dialog is almost secondary. But I think, you know, but, but the environment, you know, or going to, you know what they had to do with saving private Ryan where it's like that those big, which kind of really set the Mark on how to handle that kind of overwhelming violence. Do you know, in a battle we're almost, which go into what your brain does, you know, like it goes almost a little numb, a little doll.
1 (47m 39s):
Then you just get these, you know, and it's, but all that is just such a, it makes super personal to that is a gigantic battles Sean and all this mayhem is happening and you whittle it down to X only what the character, and that's a trend. I mean, as a director choice to work together and then all of a sudden, but what it does is it makes the picture make more sense to the viewer in the way that the director wants it to make sense. Because you can also make it overwhelming chaos. And that's your point, right? Do you know what I mean? But it's equally valid. And, and what's the, you know, it's, it's art. It's whatever they want. You know, it's, it's, there's a million ways to skin that cat. But I think what's funny about it for us is like it does make it look better.
1 (48m 21s):
Not to toot sounds horn, you know, both sound design and music and everything. Everything that goes into the post audio segment of film is like, you can, like you said, we get it and you look at it and it starts to look better the more as we start to build where like it's looking better and that's kind of how you're doing it, right? They think to the picture. If the picture does, is it looking better than you? No, you're not doing, all of a sudden there's a performance from an actor and you're going, now I'm crying and now I get what the actor was doing. And, and also, and not like they weren't doing it the whole time. It's almost like something happens and then you start to go, Oh, that was genius.
1 (49m 1s):
And you're like, they were really on to something. You couldn't see it dead before. It's like that, you know, like what they discovered during silent films where they had to have someone come in and play piano or organ, because people look, when they're looking at something without any sound, they don't know how to feel about it. You know, just show it a person walking down a hallway with no sense, not even footsteps with nothing. A tremolo string or something. Yes. Just give them context. But it's, and it's crazy that there was a thing a few years ago that Netflix found that, you know, if you're doing an independent film, say if you're going to go shoot something in your garage and you're going to do it on your iPhone, that doesn't matter.
1 (49m 42s):
That actually doesn't affect you as much if you, if your sound is horrible, people will only watch about three minutes of a movie. And it's, again, it's, there's some films like where they spent all this time and money on like they just blew their little indie budget on, you know, crazy special effects or, or doing something like getting all, spending all this money on stuff that it's on the, it's on in the frame. Right. And then completely went, I got five bucks for post audio and it shows and you know, the, the, the, the dialogue is bad. And then they just found that like, generally people will watch an awful movie with decent sound to the end and they go, Oh, I didn't like that.
1 (50m 24s):
But they will not sit through something and they don't even know why. Like probably not realizing that that's why, but it's, they've linked it to when the audio is bad or cheap, then you can't focus. It takes you out of it. It makes total sense though. If you're watching something in the sound is awful, you're like, Oh, I can't even, I can't look, you can't, you can't let your brain can't. It's just a, you don't even have to be like an audio person though. I mean I just know that me, I, Oh my, it was terrible. It's actually just a human reaction. It's just part of the alchemy of making a film or making anything in the visual medium is something's off. So the mix of sour and your brain just goes, I can't do this.
1 (51m 4s):
That's also psychologically like how humans, um, feel intimacy and stuff like the sound is really important. That's why there's like huge a like among deaf people, they're very promiscuous because to feel intimacy you have to use touch then cause cause you don't get it from they from seeing things, you know what I mean? You have to touch or you hear each other. You know what I mean? It's like speaking to sound design on that effect. Um, Marlee Matlin was in that show, the magicians, which actually love cause I like magical stuff and whatever and I think it's well done. And she shows up as sort of an ancillary character. And she comes at recurs every so often. And then one of the ones they did last seasons where she kind of has a more prominent, um, scenes like longer scenes they when you're in her perspective, they cut all the sound completely, you hear nothing and then you just have to, you're in her perspective.
1 (52m 1s):
So they just go completely dead silent. And it was so powerful. It was so, and it's, you know, it's a show about kids that have to college kids and I'm college magic school, you know, you'd think that'd be so, um, it sounds flippant, but it's really kind of great and they deal with some really dark stuff. But just artistically watching it, when it got to that, he and I were both like, that was brilliant. It was so effective because of that. It made you feel like you were intimately with her. You know what I mean? Like it, it, it was really cool that the contrast was her more. Yeah, it was weird. Cause she doesn't, she, she rarely speaks. It was all signing and, but you were thoroughly in that character's perspective and all of a sudden you thought like her, you felt, you know, the way you should when you shift.
1 (52m 44s):
And it was just great choice. It's
3 (52m 46s):
funny because that all relates to music. I mean, how, how you plan music, how, you know, how in pauses. Yeah. Well how do you plan pauses and like when you don't play something is, is important is when you do play something and yeah, so it's like this stuff's all related. So it makes it like, for us, like moving to the film world just made total sense. It's like we are already there. I mean, especially like when Juliette started writing lyrics for us, like she would always would tell me the story, like the movie that this song was, she always had this whole movie in her head, you know? And so it's, it's like that just, that is when people would listen to our stuff and they'd say, your songs are so cinematic stuff. And it's like, yeah, well Juliette always starts out with a.
3 (53m 28s):
Okay, so here's what's going on in the movie. You know, and yeah, it's really painting the picture. Yeah. They're always scenes. Yeah. Everything's a Sean. Yeah, yeah. That is, that is she like as a writer, she's a storyteller, not a confessional writer, you know, kind of like in the Bruce Springsteen, you know, thing of like you're telling that story. Right, right, right. And, and those stories to always come to her as scenes from movies or characters or, you know, but it's, yeah, I'm not autobiographical, but it's, um, Oh, that's just how my brain works. So moving to film was nice because you had half of it done for you and now it's just filling in and you know, you meet with the director and find out what their, what they think is going on.
3 (54m 13s):
Then you go into trying to emphasize what you also feel and see going on in the Sean and hope it all works. I mean, that it's just, there's, there's something cool about that collaboration between different arts and, and they're like an, and the synergy of that, you know? And, and it's like every time we do a movie, it's kind of like we're, we've joined a new band and the dialogue is our new singer, you know what I mean? And the, and the director is a, uh, a dude that like has all these ideas and you're helping them, you know, kind of put it together. And so it's kind of fun and you don't want the music to take a lead role except in places where it's supposed to take the leap role. You know what I mean? And so you, you find that you're like, I like supporting, I like listening to the dialogue and, and figuring out what key it's in or what the cadence is and then develop my, you know, song around that, you know, cadence or whatever, you know?
3 (55m 6s):
And so it's, it's just, it's fun. Yeah. Yeah. New collaborations. I think, you know, this, the score of a film can like totally chain. Like you listened to it and you're like, wow, that like, that made them movie so much better. And like the example I can think of off the top of my head, it would be like the social network, like Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross den. Like the way that he wrote those songs that fit the film, like it's perfect if he did something different, I don't think the movie would have been the same. Now there's kind of a genius to that. Like a, I've loved Alec Atticus's, um, book of Eli book of Eli and the way musically, the way he described the emptiness of the desert or the enemy, like it was just kind of incredible.
3 (55m 52s):
Like the way the way those things worked, you know, and kind of like the roiling power behind a dialogue. So there's a lot to carry in the score. Yeah. And he didn't do it by making a bunch of notes in space, you know, it's like he created all these environments and atmospheres that were thoroughly and golfing. And I mean, I thought that was really awesome. And I mean, I just, you know, every composer has his own way of doing things, you know? Yeah. Like I said, um, monsters, John, Oh, John Hopkins.
1 (56m 24s):
John Hopkins is one of our favorites and just incredible like monsters is like an Indy, um, monster film that it was the one that Gareth Edwards did before the new Godzilla series. It was kind of like the one he did that everyone, Oh my God, he gets monsters. Like he really gets it. And if you were into Godzilla or any of those things, as a kid, you, you understood why someone who is just about a first time director, like pretty doesn't have a whole lot on his I MDB would get tapped to go up to something that big because it's on Netflix I think now or Hulu, one of those two. I saw it pop up. It's called monsters. It's beautiful. I bet John John Hopkins did the score for it and it's just, it's gorgeous and it's kind, kinda heartbreaking.
1 (57m 7s):
And you see the monsters, the music is so beautiful. It's such an amazing movies. Shows like kind of gorgeous they so I highly recommend it. Yeah, we're always looking for stuff to watch.
3 (57m 24s):
What's, what do you guys got going on right now with eight millimeter of the new EPA? Yeah,
1 (57m 28s):
we have a new app out called heart shape hell. So that's out on everything. iTunes, Spotify, all that business. And uh, we did a couple shows. We have a couple more coming up that I July 18th and August 24th, but I'll have to post those later. I I've told not to announce them. If I can tell you the dates and they're going to be in LA. Um, yeah, we are doing, they're going to be in LA. Um, there, uh, we're doing the strange eighties on charity bomb benefit on June 1st at the Fonda, which is with an, it's an ensemble raised doing covers for like, I think Gavin Rossdale is doing a song and uh, Adrian from no doubt like a bunch of people are doing and it all goes to a.
1 (58m 15s):
Was it three 20 for change? It's the Chester Bennington's for charity. So the kind of change, yeah, change the way we talk about mental health. So we're doing that on June 1st. That's really cool. Yeah, that one's going to be really fun. And yeah, he's voices carry in cities and dust. Yes. It'd be fun. And it's just a, a big party for a really good cause. Um, so that's going to be just all covers everybody in every does it kind of from the 80s, so. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Sounds amazing.
3 (58m 50s):
W hoping to get, get out on the road for, um, a larger U S thing sometime in the summer. Um, just getting our schedules together. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. And, uh, we have one more question for you guys. Yes. I want to hear from both of you guys differently, I guess. Um, do you have any advice for aspiring artists run?
1 (59m 12s):
No. No, that's, um, to me
3 (59m 17s):
it's kinda like, you know, you can look at the current scenario and think it's pretty daunting, you know, um, because, you know, it's like music, there's no record sales really anymore. There's, you know, all these kinds of things. But, um, the one thing you've got is there's kind of only a reason to do what you want to do. You know what I mean? And there's so few arbiters between you and releasing what you, you know, what you're making. You know, in, in the old days there was always at least, you know, five 55 year old men in between you and what you did, you know, and now like, you know, it's like, it's really not anybody that has a Mac with a garage band can make a professional sounding record, you know?
3 (1h 0m 5s):
I mean, as long as they work hard enough to become good at what they're doing. Sure. Um, so it's like the sky's the limit, you know what I mean? You can write a song in your bedroom and, and have it be all over the world and, and have it make a super impact on people, you know? Um, so it's like, there's never been a better time to be an artist, you know what I mean? There's never been a better time to do it. I just think that as a, as an artist now, it's like you can't be satisfied with just, just knowing how to play guitar, you know what I mean? Or just knowing how to play piano or just singing or, yeah. It's like you kinda gotta learn to do everything, you know, cause there's so and, and it's like, why not?
3 (1h 0m 49s):
Like, you know, it's like why only learned to draw when you can draw and paint and you know what, uh, you know, it's like all those things, but it's so important to do, you know, to learn all of it, you know, to be able to make, make your point, you know, and it's never, it's never been easier, you know what I mean? You know, it doesn't cost $250,000 to make a great record. Sure. Yeah. You can, I mean, yes, do it at your house. Yeah. For the most part. Yeah. It all, it's just all on how willing you are to, to work it. That's definitely, I think the key, you know?
1 (1h 1m 21s):
Yeah. I think I would just add, I kind of agree and add to that it's, it's the best time in that you can find, no matter what your talent is, you can find a way to convey it to someone else, whether it's opening your laptop and making YouTube videos and playing guitar and singing. You know, you can sort of get out there, maybe connect with someone who has a complimentary skill. If you're looking to form a band and you're in a place where it doesn't happen, like we're in LA or San Diego, you can go to guitar center and there's a bunch of people looking to form a band. Um, there's where there's a will. There's a way. Honestly, it's more true now than ever. Um, but it, it does boil down to how willing are you to put in the time and, and have people say, I don't like it and say, no.
1 (1h 2m 13s):
It's like a lot of being an artist is working through the sock and you will suck, you know, and there are going to be days where you, you suck a lot. And, and days when you're like, well that was really good. And people go, Hey, I kinda liked that. But the majority of it is getting through your doubts, everyone else's doubts. And that's hard and it can be painful. And if you can muscle through that, just keep going because the avenues are out there to try to reach hopefully your art, your audience, your eyes and ears that can relate to you. And that's really all you can ask for. So, um, put on your thick skin and go that working through the suck is the big one cause it doesn't matter.
1 (1h 2m 55s):
It doesn't matter how many successes you've had, how great people tell you you are. It's like every single time you sit down to work on a song, you know, the first bit of it is always, Oh my God, this sucks. And it sucks until you make it good. You know, everyone, everyone, no matter what stage of their career they're in, is afraid that like, Oh my God, this, that's the last cool thing I'm going to do when they start again. It's like, I don't know how to do any of this until you, you work through that. What we, what our brains do to ourselves. What our, what our insecurities due to us. You know, you have to push through it and try it because you can't ever get to the other side. You have to write the bad song to get to the good song.
1 (1h 3m 35s):
I called McCartney, he's like, you're right. 99 terrible songs to get to the hundredth good. One you know, all the companies says, yeah, I says you've got to write, you know, a ton of bad songs to get to the one good song. That's Paul McCartney who do you, who are, you don't be upset because you wrote a bad, you know, script. He wrote a bad song. You know that you're like, God that's terrible. I'm so embarrassed. So what? Keep going. Yeah. And it's like, you know, you're never going to write a great script. It's gonna move the world, you know, until you at least write something. You know what I mean? Cause if you write something and it's bad, you can work on it until it's good. If you know it's bad, that's half the battle.
1 (1h 4m 14s):
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's a huge deal. I mean, most like most songs, like literally come up with what you come up with a thing that you go like, that's pretty good. You know what I mean? And then you start working on it to make it into a whole song. It's like, how am I going to make this? How can I not ruin what I liked about that bunny? And you know, eventually you come up with something that you like, hopefully, you know? I mean, and if you don't, it's like, well, let's start again and do something else. I mean, that's your thing about digital. It's digital. It's not like we have film or tape. Yeah. That's the other thing. 1 million tries, delete file, throw it in the cloud and forget about it. You know, you might turn around in a year ago. Wait a minute. I know what that does now, but yeah, so that's mine.
1 (1h 4m 56s):
You know, push through this off and just do it.