Interview with Dead Tired

Hello is Adam. Welcome back to bringing it backwards. A podcast where both legendary and rising artists tell their own personal stories of how they achieve stardom. On this episode, we had the opportunity to hang out with France Stefanik from the band, dead tired over zoom video. You might recognize the name France Stefanik from tattooing. Yes, same France. He's an extremely successful tattoo artist, but he's also an incredible guitar player. So he tells us about his journey in music, a little bit about tattooing, but a lot about his musical career. He started it off on piano at a very early age. His dad was a piano player. He moved from piano onto saxophone, did that for a few years and actually played in AKA band. 4 (2m 10s): He was a saxophone player in sky band in high school is when he started playing guitar, joined a couple bands in high school. He talked about talent show that his high school band played and they got the, the power pulled in like 30 seconds. He said they just came out, started like breaking stuff, just getting super aggressive. The vocalist started screaming and the school's like, Nope. And they just pulled the plug on him when he finished high school is when he really started to get into tattooing. He had a tattoo apprenticeship and that career path really took off for him. So he had to kind of put music on the side years later, he was in another band. They had some success, they would do quite a bit of touring and play a bunch of shows in Canada, recorded some music, but never released it. 4 (2m 53s): It wasn't until the idea of dead tired formed when he decided to really get back into guitar. I guess they were at a party George of Alexis on fire is the singer of dead tired. He was there and a couple other guys, and they were like, you know, you play guitar, you sing, you play drums, let's start a band. And that's how dead tired formed. Their first record was kind of written on the fly like that. France tells us where he was at when the pandemic hit and how that allowed time to really start to focus on this new record from dead tired, which is called Satan will follow you home. And on the title track to the new record, there's actually a saxophone on the album. 4 (3m 33s): So we talk about how that kind of really brought him back to elementary school and playing saxophone and that sky band he was in. They're playing the anti Fest in December with Anti-Flag. We talk a little bit about that and about their appearance in the show, the boys, you can watch our interview with friends on our Facebook page and YouTube channel at bringing it backwards. It'd be awesome if you subscribe to our channel like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at bringing back pod. And if you're listening to this on Spotify or apple music, Google podcasts, it would be amazing if you follow us there as well, and hook us up with a five star review. 5 (4m 12s): We'd appreciate your support. If you follow and subscribe to our podcasts, wherever you listen to podcasts, 4 (4m 18s): We're bringing it backwards with dead tired. Hey, Hey, what's up France. 6 (4m 23s): Hey, how's it going? 4 (4m 25s): I'm doing well. I'm doing well. How are you? 6 (4m 27s): Oh, pretty good. 4 (4m 28s): I appreciate you doing this. Thank you so much. No problem. My name's Adam, and this is about you and really your journey in music. Obviously you have a huge career in tattooing, but I wanna talk to you about your music career. 6 (4m 40s): Totally 4 (4m 41s): Cool. Awesome. So I guess first off, where were you born and raised? 6 (4m 46s): I was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and then shortly after I think maybe like grade one or so my parents moved to like Ridgeway for Erie, Ontario area, which is about an hour from Hamilton. 4 (4m 57s): Okay. I was gonna ask you how the distance from there about an hour you say? 6 (5m 0s): Yeah, it's about an hour. 4 (5m 2s): Okay. And what about music? Did you come from musical household at all? 6 (5m 6s): My dad played the piano when I was younger. And like, it was one of those things that we not had to do, but it was, I don't know, kind of like when I was younger, took piano lessons that turned to saxophone and then once I got to like, you know, high school, I was just like, I just won't play guitar. Sure. Yeah. So it kind of elevated, you know, and then going back, I wish I kind of stuck with piano a little longer, but it was still nice to have that in the, in the roster a little bit. 4 (5m 30s): Oh yeah. Definitely. That's funny. I don't really play any music at all. I mean, I can poorly play guitar, but that's one thing is like my dad and my sister can play piano really well. And I'm always like so jealous. They can just sit down and like play. I'm like, God, that sounds good. 6 (5m 43s): Yeah. That's what my dad was always just like sitting by the piano. He never took lessons. He could play by ear, you know, hear a song and then just like play it. It was pretty cool. 4 (5m 51s): That is awesome. So cool. What about, like you said saxophone was something you did was that, that like in the school band or just in what dreams? 6 (5m 59s): Yeah, like when I was in public school, it was like a program that offered and we were allowed to leave class. So I was just like, all right, I'll do that. And then I ended up picking it up pretty well and then kind of played in more of like an orchestra band through that. And then we played a couple, like, you know, they did like the concert recitals and stuff. And then I played in like a punk SC band when I was really oh, 4 (6m 26s): Really? And you played SS, 6 (6m 28s): I played SS in it. And then that's cool. That quickly turned to guitar cuz I was seeing everyone else have fun with guitar. I was like, man, I just wanna do that. 4 (6m 38s): Yeah. 6 (6m 39s): Hung up the old sax 4 (6m 40s): Hung. Do you feel like you can like keep some of those scale, like remember those scales and stuff from the saxophone and, and translate 'em onto guitar at all? 6 (6m 49s): It's been years since I picked up a saxophone actually there's saxophone on our new record. 4 (6m 54s): I was gonna say, I, I think I, I did read that you had had it on, was it kinda pulled from there? 6 (7m 0s): It was common in hot. Like if I were to go purchase a saxophone and play or like we just got a friend who already had a saxophone and like he ended up doing and it was nice to have him involved with it anyways. But yeah. I don't know. Like I don't know how quick it would come cause I, I did play for a bunch of years. I can read music through piano and saxophone and guitar was the one that actually did everything by ear. And I didn't take any lessons or anything like that. 4 (7m 24s): Oh amazing. I'm I'm actually curious to hear how the saxophone fits onto the new record. It's not on any the songs that you've put out so far, has it? 6 (7m 31s): No, it's on the title track. So Satan will fall you home. It's loud and chaotic and nails on a chalkboard kinda saxophone. 4 (7m 40s): It's not just like a, it's trying to figure out how it fits in there because it's your music obviously so heavy. So I'm like, 6 (7m 46s): Yeah, it's definitely not, not a pretty saxophone, but sounds chaotic and like tortured animals or screaming. It's it's entirely 4 (7m 56s): That's right. So when you play or when you started guitar, you said that was, you were already in the sky band playing, playing saxophone first. And then you started guitar. Is that what you said? Okay. 6 (8m 8s): Yeah. And then I was just like, I know I just wanna play guitar and then I got a guitar and then quickly joined a band. 4 (8m 16s): Okay. What was that band like? Tell me about that band or is it just friends from high school? Yeah, 6 (8m 20s): It was just like a high school band. Like, you know, like get together, jam, play, like the high school, talent show and kind of stuff like that. 4 (8m 28s): Okay. What did you guys do? Originals? 6 (8m 31s): We tried. 4 (8m 32s): Okay. Like your, the talent show, for example, like what did you what'd you play? Do you remember? 6 (8m 38s): We got maybe 30 or 40 seconds into it. We got unplugged. 4 (8m 42s): Oh really? 6 (8m 43s): Oh yeah. Yeah. 4 (8m 44s): What were, was it just too heavy or 6 (8m 46s): Was, yeah, it was like we had, we had a, a friend from another school who like screamed in like the first like note that came out of his mouth. Like first, first note we did, we tried to break everything like chaotically, like just like, oh, well all bands go crazy. You see bands likeer and like everyone goes nuts. So it's like let's yeah, it was just immediate power. And 7 (9m 11s): Whether taking a road trip to the beach, heading to the mountains or driving to the city, summer adventures are nonstop, fun in a new Honda, but let's face it. Summer trips can really add up. That's why I love the fuel efficiency of Honda. With Honda, you can save your money for other things like that. Awesome key chain at the convenience store, that brand new album you wanted or whatever else, your heart desires, new Hondas are arriving daily. See your local Honda dealer and start your summer adventures today. 1 (9m 41s): 1, 2, 3, 2 (9m 44s): There are 8,760 hours in a year, 1 (9m 48s): Six, seven. 2 (9m 49s): It only takes a couple eight to protect your family's help. Start by scheduling an appointment with a valley health family medicine provider for wellness checks, immunizations, physicals, and more request an appointment today for your family's yearly vaccinations@valleyhealthlink.com slash vaccinate funded by the us health resources and services administration 8 (10m 10s): Money is the number one cause of stress and the number two cause of divorce. Make your money go further and work harder with a certified financial planner from facet wealth, financial planning used to focus on retirement, but facet helps you with today. You get a dedicated financial planner that guides you through every financial decision inflation interest rates, stock market changes, home prices. How do you figure it all out? Well, every advisor at facet is a certified financial planner and fiduciary. That's just a fancy way to say they have the best training and they're legally bound to do what's in your best interest. This isn't just about investments. It's about taking care of your money. So you can start living a better life. Today. Facet has a simple flat fee, no hidden charges and with nothing to sell, there are no commissions visit. 8 (10m 56s): Try facet, wealth.com for two months free off your first year of financial planning. That's T Y F a C E T wealth.com. Facet wealth is an S EEC registered investment advisor. This is not an offer to buy or sell securities, nor is it investment legal or tax advice. 6 (11m 10s): Yeah, maybe got 30 and 40 seconds into it. And then that was, that was the end of that band. 4 (11m 15s): Were you? And this was like in front of the whole school. 6 (11m 18s): Yeah. 4 (11m 19s): That's so awesome though. I'm sure that that must have been spoke about quite, you know, totally. I think we all, 6 (11m 25s): We all had like pink dress shirts with black ties or something, you know, nice in front of our eyes. 4 (11m 33s): Sure, sure. That's amazing. Did you start another band after that one? 6 (11m 40s): Yeah, like just jammed periodically in high school. And then I played in a band later in high school and we played like the odd local show and stuff like that. And then I fell into tattooing really early. So once I kind of hit that stride, I was just like, alright, I wanna focus on doing this. 4 (11m 59s): Sure. I was gonna ask about that. So have you always, you've always, I'm sure. Been really good at drawing and some capacity and 6 (12m 7s): Yeah, I was always like, you know, in high school was drawn on stuff and like people wanted like an album art on a hat. It's like, I could just draw it with a Sharpie on it. You know what I mean? And then yeah, I got into tattooing really, really young. So I think I just kind of put all my eggs in one basket at that point. 4 (12m 24s): Yeah. With, with, with tattooing, I interviewed, I like I interviewed KA Von D and she had, has an album out. So we talked about a lot about that, but I was curious, like she kind of how she kind of cut into it was just like apprenticeships and all, you know, tattooing at an early, early age. Like probably, I mean, illegally at some capacity. Was that similar story for you? Like getting in, like how'd you get into it? 6 (12m 48s): I was, I started hanging out at the tattoo shop when I was really young and that kind of migrated into an apprenticeship and like I'm only 34 and I've been tattooing yeah. Like 14 years full time. 4 (13m 2s): Oh, wow. 6 (13m 4s): So yeah, I don't know. It was just one of those things that came naturally and like, it wasn't until a handful of years ago I started dipping back into playing music again. Cause that was also something that was important too, 4 (13m 15s): So sure, sure. With, with like, I, I'm just curious on the tattoo thing, cuz it's fascinating to me with like, what was the, were you like, how did you like was the first one you did on somebody or did you practice? 6 (13m 30s): First one I did was on myself. 4 (13m 32s): Oh, okay. I've heard to send that before people before. 6 (13m 36s): So I was in a room and set up a machine and like, you know, six hours later had something sort of a tattoo on my leg, you know? 4 (13m 44s): Okay. You did on your leg. 6 (13m 46s): Yeah. And then, you know, the next one I was on like a close friend and then it kind like you kind of build it up from there. 4 (13m 53s): Okay. That's so cool. And then what made you go back to music? Just your love for it. 6 (14m 0s): Yeah, just like the, the need of playing and like getting together with friends. And when I got into tattooing, I kind of like, I broke up with my, in the relationship I was in, I quit the band that I was playing in and I was just like, I just wanted do this one thing. And then I felt like there was part of me that, you know, music is a big part of my life, so I needed to fulfill that bit of it and I didn't wanna deny it anymore. So before this current band I was playing in another band that we kind of had like a short run and then started playing in, in this band. 4 (14m 37s): So you're in another band prior then to get retired. Okay. Yeah. And you, you said you had a short run. Was that something that you were doing like touring and, and everything else? 6 (14m 45s): We did a handful of shows with. There was like a, I think it was the chariot cancer backs and like vicious cycle from oh Ontario. And then I dunno, we gotta play a bunch of shows with like living with lions and then we recorded some music, but never really fully pull it, put it out. 4 (15m 6s): Oh, is that right? Okay. Yeah. 6 (15m 8s): So I have somewhere on an iPod, like, 4 (15m 11s): Oh, that's 6 (15m 11s): Awesome. Maybe one day they'll see the light a day or maybe they'll 4 (15m 14s): I dunno. Yeah, sure. And between the bands or even prior to that band that you were just discussing, were you still going home and playing guitar at all? 6 (15m 23s): Yeah, I was, I was playing guitar, but not like actively as much as I do now, I'd go like the early days of tattooing, it was a lot of drawing and it was just a lot of like, you know, I gotta figure this thing out and I, you know, I still always picked up my guitar, but like I sold most of my stuff. I was broke like apping. Isn't very like lavish lifestyle, you know? It's like, if you're not getting paid, you know, you gotta kind of just got rid of everything. So I could just do the tattooing thing. And then I kept one guitar. I wish I didn't sell a bunch of stuff, but you know, 4 (15m 59s): Yeah. Yeah. You gotta do what you gotta do. I mean, it sounds 6 (16m 3s): Similar saxophone. 4 (16m 4s): Oh my God. Yeah. I mean, it sounds similar to like, even if you were in a band starting, starting off, like, okay, we're just gonna sell everything. We're gonna try to, to do this. It's I mean, a lot of creative, like career paths or endeavors like that, you have to just, you're not gonna be making anything and just hope that you, 6 (16m 23s): You gotta believe in whatever you're doing that eventually it'll pay off either financially or just like emotionally, like, you know, it's worth it. 4 (16m 31s): Sure, sure. When, so did you like, was there a moment that you realized like, oh, I'm like, like really, really obviously great at this tattoo thing. Like you knew to draw, you knew you could do it, but like was there like at one point, is, are there more and more people coming in being like, oh, you know, I want France to do blah, blah, blah. 6 (16m 49s): Yeah. Over the years you definitely saw the progression of like, you know, from doing one thing that you're into a month to like once a week to like two times a week. And then all of a sudden now you're like booked up with things that you enjoy doing every day. But like I'm my own worst critic. So that's like, I'm still never satisfied. Like I always, I don't know, just I'm, I'm proud of what I do, but I'm always searching for trying to do something more. 4 (17m 14s): Yeah. And did you, I, I like, I I've spoke, I have a tattoo or a sleeve and the guy that did my arm was telling me that he would to around quite a bit, even like he would go to different conventions or like, oh yeah. You know, you meet people in different cities and then it's like, oh, they want to finish there the leg piece. And then you gotta like fly to Boston or like where you having to do that even as a tattoo artist. 6 (17m 35s): Yeah. I did the convention circuit and I did guest spots. I was over in like went to the UK and throughout the states and even some parts of Canada, like mostly like Montreal and area. And you know, you did the rounds and like playing music, it's exhausting, like 4 (17m 50s): Right. 6 (17m 51s): You know, you're sleeping in the same couple hotels. All the cities look the same, cuz you're working. If you're working at convention, you're just in like a hotel conference center. So it's same within a band. Like, you know, you're playing either these venues that you've played before, you maybe have a couple hours to go grab something, usually whatever is quick is probably like some shitty chains. You know what I mean? So it's like, 4 (18m 14s): Yeah, exactly. 6 (18m 15s): The two lifestyles are like very, very similar and it is a grind like even early into tattoo and you'll, you'll fly to go do this convention and you're sitting twiddling your thumbs, hoping someone will get tattoo. 4 (18m 27s): Yeah. 6 (18m 28s): So it's like same in a band. You, you know, you travel all this way, you pay the money in gas and you know, you're playing to the sound guy and the other band, but then all of a sudden that turns to 10 people and you know, then, then all like, you just are there one, one day and now you gotta, 4 (18m 45s): So it's kind getting at, I mean it's similar, very similar path to a, to a musician in this, in the sense that you are going around trying to just scrape by. And yeah. Eventually 10 people that get tattoos turned into 50 turns into a hundred. And like you said, you you're now you're, you know, booked up. 6 (19m 2s): Yeah. And same with music. It's like the right person hears your song that can snowball into like hundreds of people. And same with that. You do a tattoo on someone for them, but the right person, you can tattoo. That can be like the flip of the coin too. So it's the same, same with music. It's like, you're writing a song for whoever someone listening to in their basement or whatever. But if there's a bigger reach, you never, it can happen in a couple days. It could happen weeks or months, but you just keep on putting the grind and that's not the main focus of it anyways. 4 (19m 36s): Right. Totally. Totally. Yeah. So when no, I think that's so fascinating and it's such a cool thing. I mean, tattooing is, I think is so, so rad and just the fact that you can do it. My wife's really good friend, her, I guess he's her, they're not married, but there's essentially, they're married. He's the tattoo of artist. And just like, I'm just a like jealous of what he can do. And like the fact you can just sit down and sketch something out that looks so beautiful and amazing. I'm like, oh man, I wish I could do 7 (20m 2s): That. Whether taking a road trip to the beach, heading to the mountains or driving to the city summer adventures are nonstop, fun in a new Honda, but let's face it. Summer trips can really add up. That's why I love the fuel efficiency of Honda. With Honda, you can save your money for other things like that. Awesome key chain at the convenience store, that brand new album you wanted or whatever else, your hard desires, new Hondas are arriving daily. See your local Honda dealer and start your summer adventures today. 8 (20m 31s): Money is the number one cause of stress and the number two cause of divorce. Make your money go further and work harder with a certified financial planner from facet wealth, financial planning used to focus on retirement, but facet helps you with today. You get a dedicated financial planner that guides you through every financial decision inflation interest rates, stock market changes, home prices. How do you figure it all out? Well, every advisor at facet is a certified financial planner and fiduciary. That's just a fancy way to say they have the best training and they're legally bound to do what's in your best interest. This isn't just about investments. It's about taking care of your money so you can start living a better life. Today. Facet has a simple flat fee, no hidden charges and with nothing to sell, there are no commissions visit. 8 (21m 17s): Try facet, wealth.com for two months free off your first year of financial planning. That's tr Y F a C E T wealth.com. Facet wealth is an S E C registered investment advisor. This is not an offer to buy or sell securities, nor is it investment legal or tax advice. 9 (21m 31s): Mary redeemed, a $50,000 cash prize playing CBA casino online. 10 (21m 36s): I was only playing for fun. So winning was a dream come true. 9 (21m 40s): Chubba casino was America's favorite free online social casino. You too could have the chance to win life-changing cash prices. Absolutely. Anybody could be like Mary, be like Mary log on to CHBA casino.com and play for free. Now, no purchase necessary void prohibited by lock 18 plus terms and conditions applies. See website for details. The voice of the preceding commission was not the actual voice of the winner. 6 (22m 2s): You kind of forget about it sometimes. Like when you're used to doing it every day, it's like kind of forget that you kind of have this thing at your disposal. 4 (22m 10s): Right. Right. I know it's so cool. And I love, I saw something of just when I was researching you and I'm sure you've talked about it a million times, but like where you, you have that cool idea where you do little sketches and you put 'em in the, like the machine that you turn and whatever you get out, you get. 6 (22m 26s): Yeah. We did that a handful years ago at the previous shop that I used to work at. And it was just kind of like a fun, fun thing to do for regular clients. You know, people pay good money and getting tattoos and it's nice that they can get something fun for like, you know, a fraction of the cost. And it's just like a, a thoughtless, but cool thing. And those stuff that was in there was like, there's lots of funny stuff. And lot of pop culturey things like, you know, count CULA and APOP marshmallow man. Like, I don't know stuff that me, when I was a kid, I'd be like, man, I would get that tattooed. And I still get this tattooed. 4 (23m 0s): The one I think I saw was like on a Buzzfeed article, like you did like Drake in Barb bar. Yeah. That, that really good. 6 (23m 7s): No one really blew up. It's like the kind of kicker with all those things is like, I put so much time and work into doing these big elaborate, thoughtful tattoos. And like on my tombstone, I'm gonna be the Drake tattoo Simpsons guy. You know what I mean? It's like, 4 (23m 22s): But like I know it's like, 6 (23m 24s): That's the way that people consume stuff too. So. 4 (23m 26s): Sure. And in a similar way to, to music, did you have to move out of where you were living to, to, you know, pursue test doing? Or was there a pretty big scene or was there a shop that you could work at around your hometown? 6 (23m 42s): I was at like, I started out in, well in Ontario, which is small, small town, but like the Niagara music scene was great. And I was very fortunate enough to link up with lots of touring bands. Every time they came through the area, you know, I tattoo 'em, they wrap me up the show, they put me in their MySpace top 10, like, you know what I mean? Like stuff like that. Yeah. Was, it was really supportive. And like my parents let me live at home for free, which is like, they didn't have to do that. So sure. I was able to kind of hold the ground and like I did the baby steps of like workout small town. Then I kind of went, came back to my Hamilton roots and then I went and worked in Toronto for seven years. 6 (24m 22s): And then, you know, now I have my own shop back here in Hamilton and it's kinda nice just to go, come and go as I please, you know, at the shop. 4 (24m 31s): Yeah, definitely. And so tell me about starting dead tire. Cause you guys formed what 2015. Is that what I saw? 6 (24m 39s): Yeah. I mean, it was, we were, 4 (24m 41s): We put a record out around then. Yeah. 6 (24m 43s): So it was probably shortly before we were at a friend's birthday and there was a bunch of people, all us standing around like the original, dead tired lineup, because it's changed many times as the bands kind of progressed and everyone was like, oh, you played drums, you play guitar. Oh, you sing like, why don't we, this is start like a fun band. And the, the first dead tired record was just a group of us getting together. And like, we dinged that out within the month or something like, you know, it was just like fun jamming, like kinda then we went through some member changes and started being like, well, maybe we should treat this. Not as like a bunch of guys getting together and putting out a record. 6 (25m 25s): And we started to put more thought into stuff. And then, and me and George are like the only original too out of like the idea of dead tired. 4 (25m 34s): Oh really? And were you writing music before you guys got to? I mean, it sounds like you were there like, oh yeah, you play drums or whatever, but like, did you have like guitar riffs or, 6 (25m 44s): Or songs? We did everything on the fly for that. 4 (25m 49s): Oh, wow. 6 (25m 50s): First, first record. It was like, we were, we were jamming at like a, a small room in like a cooking warehouse where they sold like kitchen supply stuff and you know, we'd get together a couple times a week and like someone would have a idea and by the end of the practice we'd have a song and then we set up time to record it. Even without like, you know, we probably should have been a little bit more practiced going into recording, but that's the vibe we're going for on the first one was like, 4 (26m 17s): Say it's cool. Like kind of messy 6 (26m 19s): To it. 4 (26m 20s): Yeah. 6 (26m 20s): Messy eighties kind of hardcore record, you know, like little to no thought put in it, but still intentional. Yeah. 4 (26m 28s): Yeah. Yeah. Well, how did you know how'd you meet George through tattooing? 6 (26m 33s): I met, like, I knew some of the other dudes in Alexis prior to really meeting George. Okay. But George, he was always here in Hamilton and like, I, my feet had been firmly placed in Hamilton for a while. So he was always DJing at different bars and like, you know, we'd go hang out. And like I knew him through mutual friends and like we'd kind of have casual Hangouts and stuff like that. And then yeah, once we started like doing this, it was nice to kind of blossomed even more of a, like a closer friendship. 4 (27m 5s): And then so yeah, you're just hanging out and he was like, oh yeah. You know, like you said, let's just kind of jam out something and then it became what became dead tired. 6 (27m 13s): Yeah. Well originally George was gonna play singing and play guitar. 4 (27m 17s): Oh, interesting. 6 (27m 18s): And then I think some of the D some of the original lineup dudes, they had one jam before, and then I, I played guitar cuz George just wanted to focus on doing one thing. 4 (27m 31s): Yeah, yeah. 6 (27m 31s): Yeah. It's hard to sing him. Yeah, 4 (27m 34s): Yeah, yeah. Totally. And he's so energetic. It's like, cuz even in Alexis he just sings. Yeah. Right. I mean he's, he's 6 (27m 40s): A good guitar player. He's he's got some riffs. 4 (27m 43s): That's cool. I didn't realize that. But 6 (27m 44s): Even on our new record, there's a song that we kind of blossom it out of like a George RIF. So, so like for the longest time the working title was Griff, it was just George RIF. So 4 (27m 57s): That's a rad Griff. Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. I've never met him. I've I've interviewed Wade of the band and he he's such a cool, such a cool guy. So I only imagine how cool George must be as well. But so with this new record, when do you guys start putting it together? Cuz if you put the first album out a handful of years ago, I mean, what was going on in between then just you then, you know, they he's got other projects. You were probably focusing on tattooing, maybe opening up your store and yeah. Or shopping everything else. 6 (28m 28s): I mean, it was nice cuz like we put out the first record and then we had a bunch like we'd still get together and jam every once in a while. And then we put out a series of different seven inches that turned into like one record and that was on like full volume. So the one that was previous. 4 (28m 45s): Oh sure, sure. Okay. Yeah. Cuz that was a collection of a bunch of those songs. Right. 6 (28m 49s): And then, then kind of everyone got busy. It's like Alexa started playing shows again. I wanted to focus on opening the tattoo shop. So we kind of agreed. We played some song or some shows like in 2019, then the September I opened the shop and I was like, yo guys, I gotta do this. And then Christmas hit, which normally Christmas, we always just chill and then Alexis had some stuff and then we had a bunch of stuff booked from March onward. Oh really? That pandemic hit. So it really wasn't an, it was like an unintentional hiatus of the band. So we ended up just not doing anything from September, 2019 till 4 (29m 34s): Now, now wow. Unintentionally. 6 (29m 37s): We're like, oh yeah, we'll I'll do the tattoo thing then Christmas and Alexis does their thing. And then, then yeah, March, we already had, we were doing a run of shows with like cancer bats. We had a few other things in the pocket and like that all got canceled. So it was, yeah, just one of those things where like, oh, well we haven't done anything in a while. So 4 (29m 56s): Yeah. With the, with the, was the record already being written or is that something that picked up during the pandemic? 6 (30m 2s): I mean we would get together and jam cuz like even in our jam space it's like sometimes we'll set up proper jam nights and it just turns into hanging out like, so we, we try and do that at least once a week, whether it's playing music or just getting together and through that, there was song ideas that kind of blossomed. And when the pandemic hit, like I was off work and I was just like, well I just, I'm just gonna go to the, our studio every day and play guitar. And then we had a handful of stuff ready to go. So that's when we kind of decided maybe we'll try and record a record. 4 (30m 40s): Okay. And when do, when do you start recording the record? Cause I know Alexis recorded a record too. So was that like, did you have to juggle with what George was doing on that side too? 6 (30m 48s): Yeah, like we started in March of last year. 4 (30m 53s): Okay. 6 (30m 55s): And Alexis was recording kind of similar time, but it didn't really matter cuz like the, with the unknowns of whatever was happening, it was just like 4 (31m 6s): You had limitless time. Yeah. 6 (31m 8s): So it's like, it didn't matter. Like when, what the progress on their record or ours was and like our record, we did all ourselves, the other guitar player, Marco, he has a studio called, we call it like dead quarter. And so we recorded all our stuff. So there was no set timeline. Like we could record once a week or twice a week, but me and mark were there almost every day. Cuz that's all we were like wanting to focus on. 4 (31m 37s): And because you were probably not allowed of tattoo, right? 6 (31m 41s): No, I was off. I mean even at one point there was a gray area of like, should we even be hanging out? And me and the other guitar player were just like, well I don't know. We haven't, it's just the two of us. So like 4 (31m 56s): We'll go to, yeah, haven't seen anyone anyway. Probably 6 (31m 58s): We'll go to the studio and like, it felt weird. It felt like you were doing something wrong, but like playing music felt really good at the time. So I was like, I don't know. I'm not like one, you know, I was like, I was like, well I just wanna do this. Like 4 (32m 11s): It's almost like back to like a teenage sense of like, I don't know if I should be doing, we probably shouldn't be doing this, but that kind of makes it cool that we are doing this. Yeah. You know what I mean? 6 (32m 21s): We'd be unlocking our studio and just be like looking around. You're like, no, one's like watching us. But like it, I think it without doing that, I don't know. It was, it was weird. 4 (32m 31s): Yeah. So 6 (32m 33s): It was worth, worth the trade off. 4 (32m 35s): Sure, sure. And then you got amazing record out of it. I love the songs that you've put out so far. I, I was listening to them earlier today. Yeah. And you have a couple videos too that you've put together. Yeah, 6 (32m 45s): Yeah. Video. And then there's another video that's gonna be coming out with the release in a couple weeks too. 4 (32m 52s): Very cool. And I saw, it's funny you guys were in that you guys were in a show, right? 6 (32m 58s): Yeah. The, the boys, 4 (32m 60s): The boys. And what's really bizarre about that is I have a 14 year old and he was watching that show last night. Like he, he was, he has just kind of he's in season two now. I think that's when you guys are in it. Right. Season two. And I, we, we were at like the pool for our neighborhood and my neighbor was talking about the show and I'm like, oh my God. Like, yeah, my son is watching that. Like he was watching it when I left and I had never, I never heard of it. And he's like, yeah, it's like the superhero and like show blah, blah, blah. And I was like, oh yeah, I think Robert was watching that. And then I, I was reading about you guys and then you were on the show. It was like such this weird, like 6 (33m 35s): Yeah. Full connection. 4 (33m 36s): Yeah. Between like literally yesterday and today. Like I've heard about the show three times, so now I have to go watch it. That's great. Tell, yeah. Tell me about being in that. 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And I guess he heard about us via someone and they were looking for like a crazy energetic band to like do the scene. So he came to basically scout us out to see us. And it was a wild show. Like show is packed, like fun, sweaty. We finished playing off the stage and he came up to me and he is like, Hey man. So, and so I'd really like you to be on, on my show. And then I was just like, ah, cool, man, like just gimme a sec. Here's my phone number? Text me in a couple days. Yeah, sure enough. 6 (36m 42s): Like he bought, he bought a record from us. He bought a shirt and then couple days later I get this text and yeah. Then I was just like, oh shit, this is, yeah, this is way cooler than I like, this is gonna be wild. It's gonna be fun. So just kind. 4 (36m 55s): Did you know what show did he tell you? Like what show it was? And did you have any idea what he's talking about or you like this guy? Not, not at first. Yeah. 6 (37m 2s): And then, yeah, I got a text, a couple, you know, my phone lit up and it's like an unknown number and looked him up and then I was like, oh yeah, cool. And then in the October is when we recorded it. 4 (37m 13s): That's a rad and you guys did, did you play your own song on there? Yeah. Or like how did yeah, so I don't, I don't know what, what, I haven't seen the scene, but now I know what episode and everything from what I was reading. So I have to go back and watch it today with my, my son, if he's, if he's that far into season two yet. 6 (37m 30s): Yeah. That was another thing. It was like, it was cool that it's not like they just wanted us to be a band on, you know, a show and like air guitar to stuff. Like they wanted to use their song. We sent them a couple songs and then they picked the one that they wanted. And then rather than using like the one that was on the record, cause it's from the first record we recorded like a live version of it. So then that way it's a different, more organic version of it. And it sounds like a live performance rather than like, you know, you're shooting a music video. You're you're playing along to recorded tracks. 4 (38m 4s): Oh wow. So when did you do the live version of the song? 6 (38m 8s): Quickly after they asked us, like we, we recorded a version of dead tired, which is like the track of the first dead tire record and then punks at the gym. And that's the one that they ended up picking. So we gave 'em the two options and we have those recordings somewhere. They're pretty cool. Like I actually enjoy those two recordings of those songs better than the recording on the record, 4 (38m 32s): The original. Wow. And you haven't released them though? Or do you, you 6 (38m 36s): Mouses put 'em up on like bank app or something? 4 (38m 38s): Yeah, that's cool. And you have a handful of shows coming up, right. You're doing a tour and then you're also playing the anti Fest. 6 (38m 45s): Yeah. We're doing the anti Fest. It's hard right now with like George's Alexa schedule. 4 (38m 50s): Oh sure. Cuz they're doing a big tour right now. Yeah. 6 (38m 53s): So what, what I did is I ordered literally a six foot long dry erase calendar for our studio and we've all like blocked off our availability and you know, we're, we're gonna get together and go in and pick some, some days to do some fun stuff both locally and then do some fun, cool things. You know, some small shows, maybe some pop shows and realistically I'd love to play like some sort of free all ages show. It'd be cool. But 4 (39m 21s): Yeah, for sure. 6 (39m 22s): Yeah. We'll find the pocket cuz everyone's between work and Alexis tours and, and life it's like it's, it's hard. Five adults life to find time. 4 (39m 33s): Yeah. And five working adult. I mean, as far as like what you've got going on, what he's got going, you know, there's just a lot of things. A lot of moving pieces probably to put together to carve out some time. 6 (39m 44s): Totally. 4 (39m 46s): But the, an the, the anti Fest will be a lot of fun. That's coming up. Yeah. 6 (39m 49s): That that's one that's, it's nice to have that in the pocket where it's like, okay, this is like something for people to look forward to. It's definitely not gonna be the first show back that we're playing. 4 (39m 58s): Oh, it's not. Okay. I was gonna ask about that too. 6 (40m 0s): It's not, it's not until December, so 4 (40m 3s): Oh yeah. The tickets go on sale today. I believe a presale today. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I was getting the dates all confused. I know that it, that, yeah. Anyway, sorry. So the show is until December. Yeah. Okay. So 6 (40m 16s): We're gonna do some, you know, we'll figure out some fun stuff. It's nice. We have the option of like, I don't know, you can just find a venue pick in the week later, you can be like, Hey, we're playing here. It's nice to have that option too, where you don't have to make these big elaborate plans. Like we can get friends bands to play. It's usually what I I'll usually throw the local hometown shows. Like I put 'em on and then I get friends bands to play. And they're always a great night. It's like playing is, is always fun, but it's like not the focus of the evening. It's just like hanging with friends, hanging 4 (40m 50s): With your friends. Yeah. 6 (40m 52s): Yeah. 4 (40m 52s): That's so cool. And I appreciate your time today, friends. This has been awesome. Thank you so much. 6 (40m 57s): Yeah. Thank you so much for chatting. 4 (40m 59s): Yeah. I love the record. Like I said, I can't wait to hear this song that has the saxophone in it. Man 6 (41m 4s): Gets, it gets pretty weird. It's like we kinda put out some songs that were a little bit more familiar to the dead tired ear. And then the domestic is a little bit of a curve ball, like on it. And then the rest of the record's got, it's got some surprises on it. 4 (41m 18s): Yeah. I can't wait to hear it, man. That's such a, when I was reading about it, I'm like, I need to ask him that doesn't make sense that there's a, there's a sax on this album. Oh yeah. That's killer. Well, I have one last question for you. I wanna know if you have any advice for aspiring artists, whether that be, you know, artistic as far as drawing and maybe tattooing or, or musician or, or how that, like, if you just have any advice at all, 6 (41m 44s): I mean, we're all guilty of it. When you start a band or you start becoming an artist, you pick people that you're so fixated on and who you, who you would like to be. You're like, I wanna be like that guy. I want tattoo like that person. Or I wanna draw like that person, or I wanna sound like that band. And then the more you let go is when you start finding a, a better curve for you. And that's immediately when I started finding success is when I stopped fixating on what I wanted to be and just kind of, it was like, well, I'm just gonna do what I I do and what comes natural. And like whether it's drawing or tattooing or, you know, if you're writing a guitar riff and that's how you kind of start sculpting your look in art and your sound and music. 6 (42m 28s): And it's a constant, like way of learning, how to like, just let, go and do what comes natural. And I think the more that you do the better you'll do it.