We had the pleasure of interviewing Emma Zander over the phone! Please share while we are #togetherathome 🏠 Emma’s an incredible alt-pop singer/songwriter, actress, and activist who's been featured on MTV, Entertainment Tonight and Refinery 29. On June 25th, she's released her new single "America's Favorite Tranquilizer". "America’s Favorite Tranquilizer" is a bold, quirky anthem for the disillusioned. The song is a tale about everything we use to numb ourselves: from Netflix, to weed, to social media, to binge eating, to sex. Left to our own devices and quarantined with our own thoughts and vices, we’ve leaned on our “tranquilizers” now more than ever. Emma finished recording the song in her bathroom after the LA lockdown was put in place, and the corresponding video was filmed completely in quarantine, using dollar store props. It even features a surprise "cameo" from Harry Styles. Emma Zander sings about what it means to be a twenty-something right now. Born & raised in NY, Zander moved to the West Coast to pursue music after graduating NYU Tisch for Musical Theatre. Her introspective songwriting & ethereal vocals have garnered major attention in the EDM world, as she performed at and even wrote the theme song for Electric Daisy Carnival Vegas. Zander’s music has also been featured on MTV, USA, Entertainment Tonight, & Refinery29. As a featured vocalist and top-line writer, Zander has appeared on the Corporate Slackers’ Wasted Love (Tiesto’s Musical Freedom), & Bryce Vine’s rap track, Bella, hailing over 15 million streams & counting. But it’s her own edgy pop records & self-produced videos that truly solidify her identity as an artist -- and a powerful female voice of her generation. https://www.facebook.com/EmmaZanderMusic https://www.instagram.com/emmazander https://twitter.com/emmazandermusic We want to hear from you! Please email Tera@BringinitBackwards.com www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #foryou #foryoupage #stayhome #togetherathome #zoom #aspn #americansongwriter
We had the pleasure of interviewing Emma Zander over the phone!
Please share while we are #togetherathome 🏠
Emma’s an incredible alt-pop singer/songwriter, actress, and activist who's been featured on MTV, Entertainment Tonight and Refinery 29. On June 25th, she's released her new single "America's Favorite Tranquilizer".
"America’s Favorite Tranquilizer" is a bold, quirky anthem for the disillusioned. The song is a tale about everything we use to numb ourselves: from Netflix, to weed, to social media, to binge eating, to sex. Left to our own devices and quarantined with our own thoughts and vices, we’ve leaned on our “tranquilizers” now more than ever. Emma finished recording the song in her bathroom after the LA lockdown was put in place, and the corresponding video was filmed completely in quarantine, using dollar store props. It even features a surprise "cameo" from Harry Styles.
Emma Zander sings about what it means to be a twenty-something right now. Born & raised in NY, Zander moved to the West Coast to pursue music after graduating NYU Tisch for Musical Theatre. Her introspective songwriting & ethereal vocals have garnered major attention in the EDM world, as she performed at and even wrote the theme song for Electric Daisy Carnival Vegas. Zander’s music has also been featured on MTV, USA, Entertainment Tonight, & Refinery29. As a featured vocalist and top-line writer, Zander has appeared on the Corporate Slackers’ Wasted Love (Tiesto’s Musical Freedom), & Bryce Vine’s rap track, Bella, hailing over 15 million streams & counting. But it’s her own edgy pop records & self-produced videos that truly solidify her identity as an artist -- and a powerful female voice of her generation.
We want to hear from you! Please email Tera@BringinitBackwards.com
www.BringinitBackwards.com
#podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #foryou #foryoupage #stayhome #togetherathome #zoom #aspn #americansongwriter
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Together with American song writer. We had the opportunity to talk to Emma Zander.
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Adam was able to talk to Emma over the phone, check out her new single America's favorite tranquilizer. She shot the music video in quarantine, and it's really funny.
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Make sure to check out our YouTube channel and Facebook page at bringing it backwards and follow us on Instagram and Twitter at bringing back pod.
0 (51s):
We'd appreciate your support. If you follow and subscribe to our podcasts
1 (56s):
Podcasts, we're bringing it backwards with Emma Zander. Hi Emma, how are you?
0 (1m 3s):
Good. How's it going
1 (1m 6s):
Pretty well, thank you so much for doing this. I really appreciate it.
0 (1m 9s):
Thank you for having me. I've been listening to your podcast last few days and I love all the interviews you've done.
1 (1m 17s):
Thank you so much. That really means a lot. I appreciate
0 (1m 20s):
I'm a fan of the rack.
1 (1m 22s):
Oh yeah. They're a great band.
0 (1m 25s):
Yeah. And I discovered the new ones.
1 (1m 28s):
Awesome. Well, that's awesome. Thank you so much. So yeah. So the podcast is about your journey in music and, and how you got to where you are today.
0 (1m 38s):
Cool. Let's dive in
1 (1m 41s):
Right on. I believe I read that you grew up in New York. Is that true?
0 (1m 44s):
I did. I grew up in the suburbs of New York. You want to tell me a little bit about that? It was interesting. Cause I did live in a pretty small town. I was 45 minutes from New York city. So I was able to go from a pretty young age and start doing theater. Like I did my first off Broadway show when I was 15 and I would just take my mom and go to rehearsal.
1 (2m 15s):
That's awesome. So you, you were in musical theater. That was your thing.
0 (2m 20s):
That was my thing. I actually went to school for musical theater conservatory in New York. And that was the path that I was on for the first 20 years of my life
1 (2m 36s):
Was the first instrument you learned. Do you play anything other than saying? Yes,
0 (2m 45s):
That's something I've been into since high school, but really mostly focused on singing.
1 (2m 50s):
Cool. Cool. Did you take like voice lessons and stuff as a kid?
0 (2m 55s):
Oh yeah, I actually, I trained in opera from the time I was 12 to really when I went off to college. Wow. Yeah. So it was really cool to get that training. Cause I think once you have that foundation, it's like, everything else becomes a little easier.
1 (3m 17s):
Did you have to learn how to sing in like different languages and stuff?
0 (3m 21s):
Yeah, I had to do, I actually, I auditioned for the, the Juilliard opera program didn't get in, but for that one I had to prepare an Italian opera, French opera, German opera. So it was really, really interesting and it was such a cool learning experience for me. It was it hard to
1 (3m 43s):
Get your voice to sing and you know, different inflections and different, you know, words that you haven't, you don't say on a normal basis? I guess.
0 (3m 53s):
No, I feel like it's surprisingly easier with singing versus speaking for me, but yeah, I did have to learn what all the words meant, so I couldn't figure out what emotion was supposed to be behind them. But yeah, I actually learned from this, these like older Italian ladies in the Bronx, so my mom would drive and I'd go to their apartments and they were like, they were legit, really intense old school Papa. So yeah, that was, that was definitely a big part of growing up. Yeah.
1 (4m 30s):
What was the first performance you did? Was it a musical theater? Like performance.
0 (4m 38s):
Oh yeah. Seven bridges. Middle-school baby. I think, yeah. I auditioned for my first play and at 12 years old. And then ever since I was like, this is what I want to do. I'm going to city, I'm getting an agent and I'm going to figure this out. So it was like love at first sight.
1 (5m 3s):
And then from there, you just, you said you did different plays and stuff, but you went to school for musical theater or just for theater in general.
0 (5m 12s):
Yeah. I went to NYU Tisch program for musical theater. Wow. Which was really intense and crazy. It was like, you know, going into that environment with so many just challenging, you know, triple threat singers. I mean, these people could like belt their faces off and, you know, kick their faces with their leg. They were so good at dancing. And I think that just being around that level of competition was really, really eye opening for me, the level of commitment and discipline and how seriously everyone in that world takes their craft was, you know, a huge learning experience for me because I just, ultimately when I didn't end up doing musical theater, but the discipline and the lessons that I learned about you have to really want, this are still instilled to me and to this day.
0 (6m 17s):
Sure.
1 (6m 18s):
Yeah. Did you have to like audition to get into NYU as far as like the, into the musical theater program?
0 (6m 26s):
Oh yeah. You do a singing audition, you do an acting audition and you do a dance audition. Wow. Intense. Yeah. It was one of the scarier days of my life. I'm not the best dancer. So the dance audition was really what I was most nervous for. I had like the cute little damn clothes, but you know, you had to go in, learn a dance and then, you know, get up and do it in front of everyone. And that was really what scared me the most. But apparently I don't know. I got in. So currently. Yeah.
1 (7m 6s):
And I'm seeing and stuff as a kid or did you just kind of Oh, you did. Okay.
0 (7m 12s):
Yeah. I took dancing. I mean, yeah. It never came naturally. I'm still taking dancing to this day trying to figure it all out and just keep in my body. I think it's so important.
1 (7m 24s):
Yeah. I mean, I've seen some of your videos. You do a little bit dancing in those, like when you, when you performed you yeah. Kind of bust out some moves or what,
0 (7m 37s):
You know, I, I don't have any, like I haven't gotten to the point. I don't really have any choreographed dances that I'm doing. I don't have any backup dancers yet, but it's definitely, I think movement is such a big part of being comfortable on stage. And if we all practice it regularly, then you know, what's going to happen when you get up there in front of people and you're nervous and your body is death and you're like, you know, your heart's beating out of his it. So it's definitely something that I just have to commit to practicing so that I feel as comfortable. Yeah.
1 (8m 17s):
When did you decide, you're say you're going to NYU. When did you decide to transfer or like kind of take your focus from musical theater to more just music?
0 (8m 29s):
It was definitely a very organic thing because even when I auditioned for the musical theater program, I sang a pop song. I was so into pop music and that was just more of my sensibility and where my heart was. So for me, when I moved to LA, it was pretty much like, okay, I'm not going to have a career in theater in Los Angeles. I didn't know what exactly I was going to do. I happened to really stumble upon an opportunity with a producer and I just started doing writing sessions and I realized like, wow, this is it.
0 (9m 10s):
This is what I want to be doing. So it just kind of organically.
1 (9m 14s):
Wow. So from Anne, did you finish school at NYU then moved to LA? Or did you just decided I need to get out of here. I need to go to LA. Like what took you to Los Angeles?
0 (9m 24s):
I was kind of done with school early. I was just over it and I, I graduated early. Wow. So I graduated a year early and my parents had moved to Los Angeles. My dad he's in commercial production. So they had moved to Los Angeles and I came out to visit them. And I just never went back to New York. So meant to be here. I was like willing to tan and happy and whatever to be in Maine. So LA that's awesome. So you're in LA now? Yes. I live in LA. Where are you guys based?
1 (10m 4s):
San Diego. So just South of you. Yeah, yeah.
0 (10m 13s):
And the LA game, you know?
1 (10m 15s):
Yeah. Well, I did see that you've got a, you've done. I mean, you've been booked a lot in, in the acting world as well. How did that all kind of come together for you or were you doing acting in New York aside and you know, along with the musical theater or is that something else you kind of took on when you moved to Los Angeles?
0 (10m 36s):
I mean, yeah. I've been acting as, you know, such a big part of musical theater. So I was constantly in acting class my whole life. So when I moved to LA, I knew that I was gonna, you know, try to get representation as master and I even bought that. Maybe that was mainly what I wanted to do before I started songwriting. So yeah. I just, you know, I've, I'm at auditions, I'm at, you know, acting class and improv class and doing the whole access thing as well. It's, it's really fun for me.
1 (11m 10s):
Very cool. Yeah. I saw that you were in 13 reasons why, and then I, I just finished the most recent season the other night and then I saw the clip and I'm like, Oh, I remember that part. Yeah. You're the girl on the stairs. And then like clay follows you into the room and then the boyfriend like freaks out.
0 (11m 32s):
Yeah. That was so much fun. I don't know if you saw on Instagram, my trailer said drunk girl.
1 (11m 38s):
Oh, dad, I didn't see that. That's funny.
0 (11m 42s):
Oh yeah. My manager tried to get them to change the name. Like, can we do party girls? Can we do, you know, can we just give her a name? And they were like, no, she's dropped all. So that's what my I'm now kind of my claims.
1 (11m 60s):
Well, I mean, that shows massive. That's so awesome that you had a chance to, to be in it.
0 (12m 6s):
It was honestly such a fun experience. And there was that whole scene where I'm like laying down in the bed and the guys are having an argument and they did a lot of takes of that scene. And I legit fell asleep on that bed.
1 (12m 25s):
That's funny. That's, must've been crazy because you're like in the scene. Yeah. With, with the main guy in the show, that's pretty rad. It wasn't like the scene where no one is there, you know, you're like in pretty of like the whole episode is kind of focused around that.
0 (12m 42s):
I know. And I didn't know until I showed up cause that, that day, so that was really cool.
1 (12m 46s):
That's awesome. Sorry. That was kind of off topic, but I just saw that and I was like, I need to ask her about that because that's pretty amazing that you're on there.
0 (12m 56s):
No, it was so much fun. So great.
1 (12m 58s):
So cool. Well, when did you write your first song?
0 (13m 1s):
Oh, I think I did write a couple songs in college. I had a vocal teacher who played piano, so we would like mess around together and write stuff. And I remember it's so funny looking back now, cause I would have done it so differently, but I remember I got like a little band together. I got like a live, a live drummer, a live piano player, alive guitar player to do like a studio to record the song. And they were amazing. But you know, knowing now I probably could have just had, you know, electronic drums and someone laid down a track, but I was extravagant and committed.
0 (13m 52s):
So yeah, New York, I had that experience. I did like a little, a few little demos just on my own and it was fun, but I don't know. I don't think I really created anything. I was super proud of until I got to LA and started working with songwriters and producers here.
1 (14m 13s):
So those downloads you made in New York, you didn't end up like putting out or anything?
0 (14m 18s):
No, sadly they're not out in the world, but you know, we're always learning,
1 (14m 25s):
You perform out at all. Aside from like being on stage for musical theater groups or theater stuff while you're in New York, did you ever perform like an open mic or anything like that?
0 (14m 37s):
Oh yeah. I did stuff like that, but I was really mostly focused on theater and you know, mandatorily, we had to be in like, you know, a show a semester. So I would always be in rehearsal for those and doing those. And it just took up a lot of energy. Yeah. But LA has been a great place to play around and you know,
1 (15m 1s):
Nice. Yeah. So, so you moved to LA and then you said you met a producer. Tell me, tell me about meeting the producer and then getting into those writing sessions.
0 (15m 10s):
Yeah. So I, I had wanted to start taking singing lessons with this like really famous vocal coach, but he was so expensive and I was like, do I want to spend this money to go take a singing lesson or do I want to eat this month? And so I ended up, you know, going to the lesson with this coach, his name's Dave Strout, he's amazing. And we have this great singing lesson. And then the next day he calls me like, Hey, I'm off. Someone needs a, a demo singer, you know, and their new song, are you interested?
0 (15m 53s):
I said, Oh my God. Yes, of course. So I come in to do a demo vocals for this producer and he was like, do you want to write something? And like, sure. And I'd never been in a legit writing session before and yeah, just hearing my first song recorded was the moment for me where I was like, Oh my God. Yes. I can't write, I can't sing other people's songs. I have to sing my own words.
1 (16m 25s):
And what song was that one that you, that you ended up writing?
0 (16m 29s):
You know, none of those songs from that first year actually ended up seeing light of day. So yeah, I think I recorded yeah, like 14 songs that year that never ended up going, but it was such an education for the writing process, the recording process laying down harmonies, the mixing process and, you know, figuring all that stuff out, shooting videos, shooting album covers, even though none of the stuff, you know, really came to anything. I just learned so much and I was able to take that knowledge and go out and meet other producers and, you know, just work with as many people as I could having that foundation.
1 (17m 17s):
What was the first song that you ended up officially releasing? Was that pioneers?
0 (17m 23s):
Yeah. Pioneers. I have such a soft spot for that song. It's still like my favorite. It's funny. Cause it's the oldest one and usually I get sick and I just haven't gotten sick of it yet.
1 (17m 36s):
Tell me about writing that song. And was it scary, like finally putting something out online that's like living there now.
0 (17m 44s):
Oh, it was so exciting. I was so excited that people could just like play on Spotify first video. I produced really? Yeah. I think writing, it was just a great process. I wrote it with this producer, Danny Brito. He actually, he has a project called Spang, which is an awesome, like dark cool DJ project, but he is an incredible pop producer and this song was like three family personal.
0 (18m 25s):
And right now, as in I wrote it, you know, about a boy problem. I was having that week and yeah, it just felt so right. It just felt so good. And it felt like a new sound that I hadn't explored myself. And I hadn't really heard before, like couldn't pinpoint it.
1 (18m 47s):
And then you said you produced the video as well.
0 (18m 50s):
I did actually produce all my videos.
1 (18m 54s):
I watched that one. It's pretty rather than like the diff the different cuts. And you're like in a field at one point and running around and it's a rad video. I like the different like filters and stuff that you guys used on some of the footage.
0 (19m 12s):
Yeah. We worked with some really talented people. The director was amazing and yeah, it was just so I just remember shooting that video and, and looking around and being like, Oh my God, all these people are here for my video. I can't believe it. And it was this moment.
1 (19m 33s):
Are you signed to a record label right now or no,
0 (19m 36s):
I'm totally independent. Wow.
1 (19m 39s):
So you put together that video, like these music videos kind of on your own, like finding people to shoot and all that stuff you had to kind of get all those people together by yourself.
0 (19m 51s):
Yeah. I mean, LA is such a cool place in the sense that there's just so many people who are creative and willing to collaborate and, you know, want to get together to make something cool, having a really strong vision and you need to fill in the pieces, you just start calling in those favors. Yeah. So that's really how it was for me. And I learned so much producing those videos and I obviously just directed this one. That's coming out. Yeah.
1 (20m 30s):
The new one. The quarantine video, right?
0 (20m 35s):
Yes. America's favorite tranquilizer.
1 (20m 38s):
Love it. Tell me about that song.
0 (20m 41s):
Thank you. Yeah, that song was that the last session I had right. Stay at home mortars got really crazy. It was just one dude. And I, and I remember I had gone to, I'd gone to the supermarket that day and it was like the first time I had been the supermarket since all the COVID stuff started happening. And I was like, Oh my God, the world is ending. I guess. So I was in like this weird post apocalyptic Headspace, and I was working with John Lundeen's, who's an incredible alternative producer.
0 (21m 28s):
He has a ton of stuff in like the all rock world. We didn't really know what we would create together, you know, our first meeting. And he was just so receptive to all my weird ideas and I just felt totally safe to say whatever I wanted. And that's really how that song came to be. It's like about vices. It's about our numbing devices. American's favorite tranquilizer could be anything from weed to Netflix, to Instagram, to can be to whatever we use to, you know, tranquilize ourselves, numb ourselves.
1 (22m 11s):
Yeah. I love the video too. And that comes out and I don't know if you're willing to talk about it yet, but I got like a sneak peek of it and it's, it's really funny.
0 (22m 23s):
Thank you. Yeah. I really wanted to do something silly.
1 (22m 28s):
I think you succeeded. Did you shoot that all yourself or did you have somebody come in and film?
0 (22m 34s):
So I had a DP and yeah, it was really last minute. Like we prepped for it, you know, a few days and yeah, I, I had a DP, we shot it at my friend's house. I had a three person crew, obviously this was like in fifth of quarantine, right, April. So we, you know, had to be super resourceful with whatever we had. So he had great equipment, my friend, Matt and his girlfriend came to see me, and then I had a headache Sparta, and we did it at an apartment and just create, you know, made our apartment into this weird quarantine world.
0 (23m 23s):
And I really just wanted to challenge the notion of like, are we really safer at home? Are we safe at home, stuck with our thoughts and ourselves and having to deal with the shit that we haven't been dealing with, keeping ourselves just, you know, moving on to so busy all the time. So I really just wanted a girl completely her shit in quarantine.
1 (23m 48s):
I think you succeeded. I love it. Yeah. With the Harry styles thing and then the no place like home, like it's, it's definitely a very, very, very creative video.
0 (24m 2s):
Thank you so much. We are directed at the dollar store.
1 (24m 7s):
I was wondering like how you got some of those problems, like the, the little candies of like the French fries and stuff,
0 (24m 15s):
99 cents store business.
1 (24m 17s):
Wow. That's funny. I love the vibe of the song too. Yeah, just, yeah, just the, the sonically it's, it's a really, really cool song as well.
0 (24m 29s):
Thank you. Yeah. I mean that John is just so talented and he is so quick. Like we met, you know, that one day I've only met him once that one day we wrote and recorded this song. Wow. So literally how you hear it now is it was 99% that on day one. Cause he's just like a prodigy.
1 (24m 54s):
Yeah. That's cool. That's really cool. And is this going to be part of a, cause you just released another single, not too long ago, right? In like may or March.
0 (25m 5s):
Yeah. We're fighting on Austrian platforms.
1 (25m 12s):
I listened to the songs that you have on Spotify. And that's my, my favorite one. I think that's like, it's a really, really cool song. Thank you. You're welcome. Yeah. Is, is that the worst fight? So Zack, are these part of what will become like an EAP or something or are they just singles for now?
0 (25m 31s):
For now? I'm just doing little bite size releases. I would love to do an EAP or, I mean, definitely an album. I think I have enough music for it. I think it's more just like the technicality stuff of, you know, marketing it and figuring it out. So for me, it's just easy to go, like one by one and figure it out per song. I'm doing it all. Yeah.
1 (25m 58s):
Worst fight has almost 200,000 plays on, on Spotify. That's crazy.
0 (26m 3s):
Yeah. We're saying did really well on playlist.
1 (26m 7s):
Are you able to get it? Playlisted and stuff.
0 (26m 9s):
Yeah. And it's like a slower song. So I thought we have more trouble, but Spotify it's. Yeah. It's it ended up getting some buzz on Spotify. So that was really cool to see. And it was one of my first releases where I'm just had like organic numbers like that.
1 (26m 29s):
Yeah. It is a slower song. It, I don't know if this is gonna be offensive, but it kind of reminds me of Taylor Swift's transition from like that country sound into like the pop world that she lives in now. But it's like, she has that like, I don't know, like style or something song like that. Like it kinda reminds me of that.
0 (26m 50s):
Totally. And I love that you said that because I actually wrote and recorded that song in Nashville with a country writer. So
1 (27m 2s):
How funny? Cause I've listened to it. I'm like, wow, this really reminds me like, it's not like on the nose Taylor Swift, but it definitely the tone of the song. It definitely has that
0 (27m 13s):
Huge. She's a huge influence for me lyrically. I grew up on Taylor Swift. So that's a huge compliment for me. Thank you.
1 (27m 21s):
Oh, you're very welcome. I L I love Taylor Swift she's I think she's one of the greatest artists of our generation, but I don't know a lot of people have mixed feelings about her. So I didn't want to offend you by saying that your song reminded me of her.
0 (27m 37s):
You can't deny, you know, her lyrical and songwriting abilities. Yeah.
1 (27m 45s):
She's amazing. Have you been able to perform any of these songs live like a worst fight or the new one or are they just, you're just going to put them out and kind of see what happens from there?
0 (27m 56s):
Well, you know, COVID slow down, ah, live performances for everyone. Sure. Yeah. Yeah.
1 (28m 3s):
I have stuff scheduled that you're going to do or, or not really. Yeah,
0 (28m 7s):
I did. Yeah. It's okay. It will happen at the right time. I think that honestly, smaller shows will be the first ones to come back anyway, rather than like giant arena tours. So hopefully we'll be performing soon, but yeah, worst. I always make everyone cry. So that's definitely a good one to perform. Every time I perform it, you can hear like a pin drop in the audience. Cause people are like, Oh my God. So sad. But yeah, no, it's not. I'm the chance to play around town and just felt like working on my life, set up and every single show, just trying to figure out what I can do to improve it and streamline it and who my people are.
0 (28m 54s):
And, yeah. Awesome.
1 (28m 57s):
Have you tried to like, are you planning on like shopping around some of these songs to get a record label and like do like a big tour or you still like to stay independent?
0 (29m 8s):
Well, I actually just, I signed recently to UTA, so I'm really excited about that. Oh, wow. Yeah. So they're, they've been awesome. COVID so everything they had booked for me canceled or rescheduled, but they're awesome. So I'm really excited for, you know, the live opportunities that will come from them. And then I've definitely opened label for me. Just want to make sure that I find people who align with my vision.
0 (29m 49s):
Yeah.
1 (29m 50s):
Cool. Very cool. Well, thank you so much for, for chatting with me today. I'm I really appreciate it. And I wanted to know if you have any advice for aspiring artists.
0 (30m 0s):
Yeah. I would say that my advice is you don't need a ton of money to make something and put it out in 2020, which is what I think is so cool. Have your friends, you know, be creative, just keep putting stuff out there and eventually.