Interview with MILES

Hello! It 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 hung out with miles over zoom video. Myles was born and raised in St. Louis Missouri talks about how he got into music, actually kind of named after miles Davis. His dad was a, or is a huge miles Davis fan. He started singing from a very early age and was the kid in music class that needed to be heard, was always singing belting and music class started free-styling when he got into middle school, he talked about this, a Christmas record. He pressed a hundred copies of when he was in middle school and high school. 7 (2m 8s): He started to record his own songs. He talked about the success he had on one of those songs that he put up on SoundCloud. He was also, or is a great football player. So he was being courted at different colleges to go play football there. So when he'd go to that college or meet with his team, he'd be like, oh yeah, check out my music. So he was almost, you know, pitching his music as he was going to different colleges. He ends up going to Dartmouth college on a football scholarship. He tells us a story about how he got hurt and where that kind of led to this miserable time in his life, really. But that all changed when he moved to Los Angeles, took like a break from college, which ended up turning into never returning to college during the quarantine lockdown. 7 (2m 51s): He had a huge viral moment with the song. What in tarnation, on Tik TOK, we hear about that. Moving back to Los Angeles, recording the song desperadoes, and when you're sober, which when your silver will be on or is on the new EAP that we talk about. But from those, he ended up signing a record deal with a lecture records. He tells us that story. We hear all about his new EAP called never have I ever getting Travis Barker to play live trumps on the title, track to the EAP and all about this tour. He has coming up as well. You can watch our interview with miles on our Facebook page and YouTube channel at bringing it backwards. It would be awesome if you subscribe to our channel like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Tech-Talk at bringing back pod. 7 (3m 37s): And if you're listening to this on Spotify, apple music, Google podcasts, it would be awesome if you follow us there as well, and hook us up with a five-star review. 8 (3m 46s): We'd appreciate your support. If you follow and subscribe to our podcasts, wherever you listen to podcasts, 7 (3m 52s): We're bringing it backwards with miles. Yeah, there we go. How's it going? 9 (3m 57s): It's going good, man. How are you? 7 (3m 58s): I'm doing great. I appreciate your time today. Thank you so much. Of 9 (4m 2s): Course. Happy to be here, man. Thanks for having me. 7 (4m 4s): Yeah. I'm Adam. And this podcast is about you and your journey in music. And we'll talk about the EAP that you have coming out next Friday, right? 9 (4m 13s): Yes. Next Friday. 7 (4m 15s): Awesome. Awesome. 9 (4m 16s): Thursday at nine. 7 (4m 18s): Okay. Next Thursday at nine midnight Eastern time, I worked on the radio for a long time, like 17 years and I was on the west coast. So records would come out at nine, our time and midnight east coast. So we always had the availability to play it before anyone else. It was pretty rad. 9 (4m 38s): That's awesome. 7 (4m 39s): Yeah. Well man. So, so nice to meet you. And I appreciate, like I said, you doing this today. Yeah. So I guess first off, talk to me about you're born and raised in St. Louis. Is that what I saw? 9 (4m 53s): Yes. Born and raised in St. Louis. I moved out to LA in 2018. St. Louis was dealt, man. I, I say dope. It was, it was, it was a good place to grow up. Like definitely. You know, I, I played football, did like, did a bunch of stuff growing up, like wanting to try everything and just be involved in as many pockets as I could. And, you know, so went to, went to high school, there really got into football, then, you know, I was freestyling. I was, you know, I started making music on a cracked version of logic pro like straight out on SoundCloud. 9 (5m 36s): So that was, that was like my roots of getting into that. But nah, it was, it was a, it was a cool place St. Louis. 7 (5m 44s): That's awesome. I did. I read that you're named after miles Davis, 9 (5m 48s): Slightly, slightly. It's like one of, one of the, one of the namesakes. 7 (5m 54s): One of the factors in the name. 9 (5m 56s): Yeah, definitely. My listened to a lot of jazz music. They loved jazz music. And my dad, honestly, he listened to every single thing under the sun. Like I got in the car one time and he was playing poker music. It was on like, he was listening to that, like, you know, public radio where you could just every, 7 (6m 19s): Yeah. It's like supported by listeners. That's cool, man. So you obviously grew up with music or parents that were fans of music, anyone, a musician in your family? 9 (6m 35s): Nope. Nope. I was the only one, man. I, yeah. Cause I remember it was, I mean, my mom would like, she would sing to me sometimes. And then my dad, when we go to karaoke, he bought, he pulled out the Frank Sinatra and be like, hold on. I think I got a little bit of this from you, but no, like no musicians, musicians in the family. 7 (6m 59s): Okay. But when, when would you go to karaoke? How old were you when you'd go? You'd go as a family to, to sing karaoke. That's amazing. 9 (7m 7s): Yeah, there, it was always like, it was never like, Hey tonight, we're going to go do some karaoke was just some random thing that would happen. Like I think it was, we were at this place called Vivianos and it's like a, it's just like an Italian restaurant, bombings, tortellini and Chesterfield, Missouri, by the way. But yeah, he, they were just having random karaoke and he was taking Frank Sinatra. I got up there. My go-to karaoke song is Bohemian Rhapsody. 7 (7m 44s): Wow. That's a, that's a difficult one. I'm just gonna go with some queen, like the hardest songs to sing 9 (7m 57s): And at long song with like 14 different parts. That's what I rock when I go to 7 (8m 6s): That's awesome. That's so cool that your dad would get up and do it. Like my parents would, you could not pay them to get up and sing a song. Karaoke. I think that's rad. 9 (8m 15s): Yeah. My dad was like the most extroverted human being. I know still, maybe. 7 (8m 22s): Okay. So you have that personality though, too. So I could see that. 9 (8m 27s): Yeah. I get a lot of that from him for sure. 7 (8m 30s): Awesome. So when did you start? Like, did you take piano lessons as a kid or anything like that? 9 (8m 36s): I took guitar lessons 7 (8m 37s): For 9 (8m 39s): Probably a month. Not very long, but I was, I was always on the, on the singing thing. 7 (8m 47s): I 9 (8m 47s): Love to sing so much. I'd be singing on random ship. The second I got my computer, like I was on photo booth, just like recording videos of myself, singing, just, I don't know what it was at that time. Like, and then, you know, I would, I remember a music class, like an elementary school. I actually liked to do it. Like I was belting that shit out while everybody else was like upset that they had to be there. I was making my voice heard. I love that. And then, you know, started freestyling and that was going well. And I was like, damn, what if I, what if I wrote this down, like actually gave myself a second to think about what I'm going to say before I say it. 9 (9m 33s): And that's really what got me into start, like writing music. 7 (9m 36s): And was that where you're still in high school or did that come later? 9 (9m 39s): Yeah, this was like, I was probably 15 at this point. Yeah. Cause I was freestyling like in middle school with my little group of homeys and then like, you know, high school and then sorry, smoking a little weed. And then it, the creativity really Circles. 7 (10m 4s): And that's 9 (10m 4s): When that was, that was high school. And that's when I was like, yo, what if I just like started putting some of that shit out? Like, you know, it got to a point where like felt good enough to me. I liked it enough. And like people were like, yo, this is like kind of hard to where I was like, fuck it. Let's put it out. And we can. 7 (10m 22s): And you were doing that on SoundCloud when you were in high school still? Oh yeah. That's awesome. 9 (10m 26s): That's when SoundCloud was, I got into SoundCloud at like the peak SoundCloud time. This was like probably 20, 20, 15, 20 16. And it was perfect because I, I put out, I think this was senior year and I put out a remix of a Maria I'm drunk, Travis Scott song. And it blew up on SoundCloud, blew up. This was like promoting sounds, era promoting sounds, put it on their page. I, I met my manager from that song cause it was like going around like St. Louis, like wildfire. 9 (11m 7s): Like, and every time I would go anywhere. Cause at that, at that point as well, I was, wow. I'm covering all the topics here. Hold on. 7 (11m 13s): This is amazing. This is what I want. 9 (11m 17s): So I was getting recruited for football at the time, you know, for going to camps and everything. And these were, you know, around Missouri and Iowa and all over like Purdue, Illinois. So like everywhere, like close to Missouri enough to drive. And so every time I'd go to one of these, I would like play my music or like freestyle for everybody. And I'd be like, yeah, take, take that home with you. And you know, he'd go. And like when we'd go on spring break, I'd freestyle, you know, in Florida. And there's people from everywhere. It's not, I really started off on like the word of mouth shit. Like 7 (11m 58s): You were like touring, but doing it through like the college that we're, you know, that we're talking to you about going and playing football there that's so 9 (12m 9s): I think at that point, like I already was so in love with music, like I didn't even really want to go to college, but yeah. 7 (12m 18s): Yeah. But I mean to you obviously really good at football too, to be at that level for, for colleges to want you to come play for them. I mean, how do you juggle football practice, which I'm sure was insane. Like in training all the time, even through high school, I remember seeing the guys that played high school football and our team sucked. I think we lost every year or every game, but to like be at that level and then also working on music, you must have been like, so burned out 9 (12m 45s): And low key. I don't know how I got good grades. I don't really remember because I was like, you know, it was football practice. I get home from football practice. I don't know. I think what I have like so many things that I need to do in a short amount of time they get done. And then like when I have all the time in the world, like less gets done, I guess I work 7 (13m 12s): Good under pressure, 9 (13m 14s): But no, it was, it was, it was a lot for sure. But man, it was just like so important to me that it matter, you know? 7 (13m 25s): Did I see that you put out like a Christmas record or something like that when you were younger? 9 (13m 35s): Yeah, man, I put out a put out, I burned like a hundred CDs of, I think I sang like, and this is on like straight garage band with like a, with a Bluetooth mic. It might not even, nah, I think I had the Bluetooth mic at that point or sorry, Bluetooth 7 (13m 56s): USB mic. 9 (13m 59s): So I like, I sung like I think eight songs, like the classic Christmas songs burned, burned a CD, took a picture in a, in a sweater in front of the Christmas tree that was like used an iPhone app to like put Merry Christmas, like Myles Christmas album or something. It's somewhere. I have it, it exists. I don't know where it is. I can find it. But yeah, that was, I think that was that might've been the peak of my career actually. 7 (14m 34s): Where are you handing them out to get the school? Like you got a hundred copies of it and then where are these going to? Where they Christmas presents family Christmas presents. 9 (14m 41s): So this was like right before this was cause it was this middle school. Yeah. This was middle school right before like Christmas break. And so I went back to school and handed out all my copies to the teachers, I guess it's definitely out in the world, back in Chesterfield, Missouri, 7 (15m 4s): That's going to be like an eBay item here pretty quickly. So. Okay. So you ended up going to college for football. You went to Dartmouth college for football and, but you had this buzz around you and these managers and or people reaching out to you on the music end. Like, was that something you said you just went to college cause you decided to go, music was already at that point. That's what you were aiming towards. 9 (15m 34s): Yeah. I went to college more for appeasement purpose, share parental appeasement purposes and like, you know, just cause they, they convinced me so hard. They were like, please, please, please. It's an Ivy league school, like anything. And like when I went to, for my visit, they knew I did music at that point too. So they were showing me like they had these studios and they're like, oh you can get these studios anytime we got this, like, dude that works. He's a, he's a mastering engineer and blah, blah, blah. And so it was like all this like music central stuff, they get they're like, we can get you blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, okay, hold on, hold on. 9 (16m 15s): All right. And then, you know, it's just like, just try it one year, just go one year and try it. And if it's not it all right. And so I ended up going and none of that music stuff happens. 7 (16m 29s): And of course that once you, once they get you in there, like, okay, you got practice at this time. 9 (16m 35s): It was, it was one of the rougher periods of my life. Cause I, I actually messed up my ankle before I went like a summer leading into going to Dartmouth. And so I ended up the team manager, which I was just filming practice. 7 (16m 54s): You still had to go and take part in all of this stuff, but you were, 9 (16m 58s): Oh, take part in everything, film, every practice, every game, go to meetings to watch the film that I had just filmed the day before I was literally, I was falling asleep in all the meetings and getting yelled at, I showed up like five minutes late to being 15 minutes early one time. And then I had to go to like morning conditioning at like five 30. And I was just like, yeah. 7 (17m 26s): And do what, like film the other guy. 9 (17m 31s): I said that point, like I'd healed up enough. I was in the weight room now and I was doing the conditioning and shit. You know, all the worst parts of football with like none of the like actual fun. Like I was filming up in like a 25 foot scissor lift by myself, like in the coal man rain and the wind. Like, I mean, cause you know, it leads into winter and it's fucking New Hampshire. It's freezing outside. It was yeah, it was fuck that. That's it. That shit sucks. And I was like, you know, in this sterile ass dorm room and just sad and all my managers, everybody, I do music with her in LA it's like 80 degrees and I can music and they're all smiling. 9 (18m 17s): And I'm like, damn, how does happen? I was supposed to, I was supposed to be over I'm on the wrong coast. 7 (18m 24s): And then obviously you get to LA, was it the, did you do that one year? And we're like, okay. 9 (18m 30s): Oh man, I made it four months. Four months. Yeah. Cause it's a, so they're on the quarter system. And so you go, I went for the first quarter and it was, it was just hell, it was like the worst three months of my life. And so then go back and I'm just completely burned, you know, from football, from like trying to be creative at all under all of that. And then, you know, school and like I ended up like dropping a class first term, I got two BS. Let's go. Cause you only take three classes, a term. So came back second term, didn't go to class. 9 (19m 11s): Didn't go to class, didn't do anything. But they had a mountain and there was a shuttle that picked you up at the library. And I went snowboarding every day. Oh 7 (19m 22s): That's cool. 9 (19m 23s): I didn't go to a single class. Did not show up once and didn't do anything other than snowboard for that month that I was there. I ended up taking a personal term, which is like every person at Dartmouth gets one and it like wipes, the slate clean. Or so my counselor told me, so then I dip out to LA for the 7 (19m 41s): Rest that was during the personal term, I 9 (19m 43s): Was there in the personal terms. Smart. So I'm like, I mean, shit, this would be like a cool little, little taste. So I stayed in LA with the homeys for like a month and a half to end off that term. And then like by the time it was time to turn in the paperwork. She was like, oh yeah. So due to all the, your grades and your absences and everything, you'd be avoiding a suspension if you took this personal term. So you can't come back for three terms. Oh 7 (20m 10s): Wow. 9 (20m 11s): Oh yeah. You ain't want to mention that in like the first meeting that we had about this magical thing that wipes the slate clean. So I ended up, I couldn't go back for three terms. My mom wanted me to fight it, write appeal letters and all this shit. And I'm like, I've done. Like, this is like, this is the nail in the coffin. I'd never wanted to do this in the first place. Like 7 (20m 35s): Right. It was almost like a blessing. And you're like, okay, well now I'm in LA. 9 (20m 39s): It was hardcore blessing. It was so awesome. So I got done with LA, went back home for a little bit, drove, oh God, what was it? I think it was 18 hours there. And back with my very upset father to go grab my stuff from college and came back home. And you know, I told him what I wanted. I was like it, like, I know what I wanted. I want to go out to LA. I want to do this shit. Like, I don't know how I'm going to get a job. I'm going to get a job. I worked at a cupcake shop. I was a front facing cupcake expert and these cupcakes were like fat and good and one cupcake wars twice. 9 (21m 24s): So like it wasn't no like little small operation. Like we were really slang and company 7 (21m 32s): Early slang. 9 (21m 36s): So I did that for a while. And then, 7 (21m 39s): Well, real quick. Was your dad aware of the success you had on SoundCloud and on it? Were your, was your, is that something that was talked about? Like 9 (21m 47s): Yeah, for sure. I mean there was success on south and then I even had, I had some songs doing, doing pretty well on Spotify at that point. 7 (21m 56s): So your put songs out when you were in LA during that period of time, 9 (22m 0s): I was splitting songs out before I left for college. I, I did some in high school and then I had like, I think I had one song come out while I was at Dartmouth. Actually it's called a whole lot of gang shit. 7 (22m 18s): Oh yeah. I heard that one. It's like hashtag whole lot of gang shit. 9 (22m 24s): I would still all my Spotify that will never, that will never go anywhere. Yeah. It's a, I mean, it's just an ode to like, you know, where I started and you know what I sounded like when I, when I first started this shit. 7 (22m 38s): Yeah. Your cha your sound is evolved so much. And I love what you're doing. Like right now, the, the like guitars in hip hop, you know, combined is so cool. 9 (22m 51s): Thank you, man. I, yeah, it's been, I've tried everything just because I, you know, I feel like I'm decent enough at everything to really dip my toe into every, every possible pocket. And when I started doing this, I was like, I don't want to have a genre. I don't want to pick a lane. I want to do everything. And like kind of narrowed that down a little bit and honed it into this, like, you know, hip hop, pop, rock feud thing that I got going on. And I feel like it's the perfect pocket for me because it allows for so much freedom within it. You know, I get to, I get to take the coolest parts of everything that I like in every genre and like bring it into my sound, which I think is so dope. 9 (23m 35s): And, you know, I went, when I first started, I wanted to be a rapper so badly, like full on Migos, Wiz. Like I was like, I want to be a rapper. And my name was mixed millennial at the time and 7 (23m 49s): My good name. 9 (23m 50s): It was a great name, but unfortunately I'm not actually technically on most websites, a millennial, the cutoff is like a year before I was born. That was, that was like a little 7 (24m 3s): Tough little controversy there. 9 (24m 5s): That's what I was like, damn people are gonna find out that I'm not, and then it's going to go off. And then next news story, like he's not actually 7 (24m 13s): Fraud. 9 (24m 15s): I was like, that's going to be great for my career. But yeah. So then I, you know, cause it was, it was, it was really a lot of the environment just as in St. Louis man, it was trap heavy, super, super trap in St. Louis. And like, you got, you put on some pop music, man, you were getting clowned. So, but you know, I had to listen to it in secret, you know, because I still fucked with that shit super heavy. And then I came out to LA, so this is post cup or no, this is like when I was visiting LA and it was like, holy shit, people like listen to pop music and they love it and they fuck with it out here. So do I, I love that shit. 9 (24m 56s): And so, so went like from full rap all the way bubblegum pop. And then like, I think over like this next, you know, those next two, three years was really finding that balance between that hip hop and that pop, you know, because I just love to sing so much. 7 (25m 15s): I was going to say your voice is so good. And, and that's why, because you can sing and you can rap. So it's like when you have that grittier voice. So it works really, really well with the pop rock rap thing you have going on now. But even like you had those like a what in tarnation like that it works really well with kind of like that out loud hip hop sound to 9 (25m 39s): Shout out what in tarnation man. That was the, that was the quarantine, the quarantine Anthem. 7 (25m 49s): Does that when you wrote that? 9 (25m 50s): Yeah. So, 7 (25m 51s): Okay. Well tell me where, where, so 2019 into 2020, what did you have, like, were you back in LA at this point? Were you still in St. Louis? 9 (26m 1s): So I, so I did my cupcake thing and I said, I'm going to be out in LA by, by, by September and August 21st, 2018. I moved out to LA. I lived with a couple of homeys, shared a room, like a full like base LA start, like over by USC is where I 7 (26m 25s): Right 9 (26m 25s): Here. And, you know, I was putting out music live with a homie who had a blog. He was putting it in the blog. So that was giving it traction. It was cool. It was cool. And then, you know, it was just, it was a, it was going, nothing was going crazy, but you know, it was going and put out some more songs, put out some more songs and fast forward to COVID. Then I go home for two months to St. Louis. And I was like, I hadn't started Tik TOK yet. Cause I didn't, I was one of the skeptics. I was like, I don't want to be on Tik TOK doing no dances, being like goofy and corny to me. 9 (27m 8s): And then I was like, then I was home. I did my like two weeks of doing nothing at the beginning of quarantine. Cause that's like the only time you're ever going to get you up there that, and your lifestyle is like playing video games around, fuck this. And then after two weeks I was like, I, I physically can't do this. Like I'm not meant to be doing nothing. So I was like, what would be, what would be funny for Tik TOK? Let's let's, let's start doing Tik TOK, see if we can figure this out. And so I made what in tarnation, it was a verse and a hook because I had freestyled in some of the blogs that I was in and people on a country beats Loved it over country beats. 9 (27m 49s): And so I was like, let's rock it. So made it in my childhood bedroom, on my shirt and my Apollo. And it blew up on Tik TOK. I think I got like a hundred thousand followers like overnight. 7 (28m 3s): Oh wow. So that's where it started really was out of that video. 9 (28m 7s): Well, and tarnation really, really was the start. I would say that. 7 (28m 12s): Yeah. It's funny that you didn't want to get involved in Tik TOK, be just for me hearing your story, because you said that you like went right on to photo booth when you got a computer and you were singing into the camera on there. Like that to me is like 10 years ago. 9 (28m 28s): I don't think I was thinking of it in the music sense. 7 (28m 32s): Oh. Cause it was all dance challenges and stuff on beginning 9 (28m 36s): Challenges and little kids and like all that stuff. And that's when like, cause Tik TOK was, has been around for so long and the musically had been around. Yeah. 7 (28m 47s): Yeah. My, my son had musically and he was, and then he told me about the app and I, and I was like, oh, that's kinda cool that you can, that people are on it. And there wasn't a whole lot of people at all when it was on there. And so when it changed, she's like it's now tick talk. It was musically. I was like, oh wow, that's crazy. 9 (29m 5s): Yeah. And cause I remember on the app store, I didn't even have it, I think before, like I don't even remember what I got it, but all I know is that back then, like if you got a million likes on a video, like, or no, sorry. A million views. If you were getting a million views, like your video was viral. 7 (29m 25s): Oh yeah. 9 (29m 26s): Yeah. And so like one tarnation hit a million and fucking, 7 (29m 31s): It must have been wild though for you to see that. Just being like, wait, what? 9 (29m 35s): It was bit I could, well, cause you know, I, I have probably 300 followers at the time. I think that was like my second week of doing Tik TOK and I had 300 followers, like from a video had like a thousand, 2000 views, all like, oh, let's go. 7 (29m 54s): That's pretty good. Think about it with 300 followers. 9 (30m 0s): And then I posted the, I post the one tarnation thing, you know, forget about it, turn on my phone, whatever. And then my phone starts blowing up that night at like nine o'clock. And I look at the phone, I'm like, oh fuck, he's going on? Like something. And I go on the video and it's like 500,000 views. I'm like, what the fuck? It's been like three hours. It was crazy. It was crazy. 7 (30m 25s): I can imagine that being like, for me, it'd be like the lottery, just like, or like a slot machine. It's like, you got to keep going back and refresh like, oh shit. Now it's at 50 like 500,000. Now it's at like 700. I would get so addicted to it. 9 (30m 38s): Oh, I refresh that page. I'd never had a viral moment like that. I refresh that page for hours. I stayed up till like 4:00 AM that day. Just like what the fuck is going? Just basking in it, letting it wash over me. It was awesome, man. And you know, so I ended up mixing it myself, like in my, on my, on my Mac. Put it out on Spotify from there. I think we're, we're, we're using stamp or I think we just put it out on distro kid. 9 (31m 19s): We were like, we had, we've been working with some people for stem, but we put it on district kid. And that was that. And it like, it did numbers and it was cool. You know, at that point I'm independent. I never had like music. Wasn't making me too much money at that point. But like, you know, this, this song was actually getting plays, was getting stream. I was like bringing in checks at the every month that we were putting it back into the song and doing marketing and stuff like that. And it was awesome, but it opened up a lot of doors. It, you know, I got to work with these super dope producers, actually Danny Meyer and wizard, blood drew folk, actually they had another beat. 9 (32m 1s): They heard the song, they had this beat. They were like, Hey, it's kind of Westerny but it's like cooler. It's like more in my pocket. It's like way more like, you know, once our nasal was completely a joke, like it wasn't supposed to do like what it did, you know? It was just like, 7 (32m 18s): Yeah, 9 (32m 18s): That's happened. Which is awesome. But you know, I wanted to, okay. I don't want to be the country trap guy. Like I don't want that to be what we do here. So, so we had this beat for Desperados. It turns out and it's this more, you know, it's like, you know, grittier like kind of outlaw vibe instead of like this like country Twain, you know, joke. And so we, so we made, so we made Desperados, which was awesome. And then I worked with Danny Maya again on another song when you're sober and this was the, 7 (32m 53s): Oh, that was around that same time because that's a new one that you've put out. Right. 9 (32m 57s): This was in 2020. 7 (32m 59s): Wow. Okay. 9 (33m 1s): Yeah. So we made, when you're sober and drew folk, actually, he was like, yo, can I send a couple of these songs to an ANR homie of mine? Little did I know that was Johnny Minardi his manager also my ANR at Electra says it to Johnny. We ended up getting on. He loves it. We ended up getting on a call with everybody over the label. I think it was like three days later. It was a Thursday. Me and my homie cam were headed out to film the music video for Desperados to the desert. And we were, we left for that on Friday. We had the call on Thursday, the call, it goes awesome. 9 (33m 42s): Cause I'm like, okay, it's another one of those label calls. Yeah. Oh we like your stuff, man. Like check up with us in like five to six years. Like, let's see. Let's just see. All right, cool. Yeah. So I'm like, okay. Another one of these bats, but it was not that it was the opposite of that. Like everybody was just like just felt the energy and it was, it was really crazy. So, and I ended the call thinking like, okay, cause they were talking about Desperado. So I'm like, all right, cool. We're going to single deal bet. And then I get off the call. My manager calls me. He's like, yo, we need to get some things like some ducks in a row here because you're about to get a record deal. 9 (34m 23s): Holy shit. And this is a right before we leave for the holidays, 2020 and the 2020. And so we go, so we go to film this music video in the desert. I'm on, I got my AirPods in and talking to my lawyer, going over these deal points we'll and a deal in the music video. It's awesome. It's just me and my homie cam with a generator in two quasars and his camera I'm on planes. It was fucking awesome, man. And so then we get back and we sign the deal Monday. 7 (34m 57s): Whoa, that's quick. 9 (34m 58s): This was like, this was less than a week long. This was like a weekend long process. It was crazy. 7 (35m 6s): Do you call your dad? And your mom are like, Hey, like I just signed to a major league like that. Must've been quite a phone call. 9 (35m 15s): No mom and dad relationship is great. And it's always been great after, you know, after the college thing, it was a little Rocky cause obviously it's they want, they want, they want 7 (35m 23s): The best for you 9 (35m 25s): Security. They want, they don't want me to starve and die. So I always got it, but I just knew that it was going to happen. You know, you can't explain that to you can't plan that out. I don't have the plan. Like I don't know how it's going to work. I just know it is. And so, you know, there was proof in the pudding like along the way I think, but you know the deal, it was just like guys, we, we did it. Yeah, it was, it was awesome, man. So got the deal then loving working with electro man. I mean shout-out to them, they got fucking Travis Barker on my title, track of my EPS. 7 (36m 7s): I know. I want to talk to you about the new EAP for sure. I'm just so just to touch on kind of this, this, you know, you changed sonically a little bit when it, when it came to you put mosh pit out, but you said when you're silver was written beforehand, so that sounds like, and that has that guitar sound. So was it like, oh, we should go this route. And then you started messing with that and went with mixtape or mosh pit as like the first in that style or 9 (36m 37s): Yeah, basically I made when you're sober. And then I brought, when you're sober in every single studio session that I did for like a year, I was like, this is the best song I've ever made. I want to make more of these and tried to like tried to do my best to replicate it. And, and just, just the feeling of the song, the song just feels good. You know, it's it's in your face, it feels like an Anthem. And then mosh pit was also a Danny Meyer been a really dope homie of mine. He's so, so far I love working with musicians, man. 9 (37m 19s): I cause there's beatmakers and there's musicians getting into a room with a musician has been an honestly, I ha I I'm, I'm a little jaded by it at this point, but I mean, when somebody can pop up from the chair, pop over to the Sith, pull up the bass, play the bass guitar, they rock it, like playing every instrument and then like getting back down and then producing it out. It's the craziest shit. I think, you know, the craziest shit ends up coming from that because you have so much freedom to move in these ways that you couldn't, if you're pulling up splice loops, you know what I'm saying? 7 (37m 59s): Yeah. Because they can go essentially help you create anything like, oh, I have this idea like, oh yeah, let me grab the base, whatever. Maybe. So with this, this new IEP, when do you start working on this? And you, obviously you get Travis Barker on the record. Who were you working with or are you working with the same people when you wrote this album or wrote the CP? 9 (38m 18s): Yeah, I was working how was working with everybody, man. And then especially like once I signed the deal, it was speed dating to the maximum sessions. I was in sessions. I was in a crazy amount of sessions and it was always with new people. So I think, I think what that did was really, really helped me like get the spiel down and like understand what I wanted to get across in the music that I wanted to make. I think, you know, this EAP is super dope and it's super dope how it came together because it was kind of retroactively, you know? I mean, when you're sober, like I said, that's a song for 2020, and then we have, you know, the internet, which we just finished, like, you know, right before it came out, honestly. 9 (39m 9s): So it's, it's been all over the place. And I think, you know, it's kinda cool just to have those songs from over these, you know, two year span of random places of where I was. And I'm just, I'm just super stoked. It came together the way it did because the songs sounded great together. You know, the Travis fee job, so blessed to have, you know, the fun legend on my song. 7 (39m 35s): How did that, did you have the song done and sent it over to him? And he just says thing. 9 (39m 40s): Yeah, man, we were, we were sitting in, we were listening to the, all the tracks in a row with Johnny and we, we heard never have I ever heard, like, it's missing something. I don't know what it is, but it's missing something. I think it's missing, it's just missing the feeling of this song. And so, and he was like, yeah, we should have some like live instruments on it. Like drums. I was like, yeah, that's what it is. And he was like, who's you get Travis Barker? And we were all like, yeah. And then like a week later he was like, all right, bet. We got Travis Barker. I was like, oh, that man is a fucking mover and a shaker. 9 (40m 24s): He he's the goat, 7 (40m 27s): But he also could find, he knows talent. Right. And like, he, he works with a lot of people, but he works with, he works with people that he knows are, you know, as like worthy of his surface type deal, you know, you're you, you're not going to just ha he's not going to just get hired out to anything cause he doesn't have to. So the fact that he goes, yeah, man, this, this guy is sick. I want to play on his, on his song. Like that's insane. 9 (40m 54s): Yeah. I'm I'm, I'm honored. Honestly. I really am. It's it's gonna, it's going to be dope, man. I'm so excited for this to come out next week. 7 (41m 2s): How many songs are on the EAP? Cause those miss internet or Ms. Independent the internet and when you're sober all on the record or the 9 (41m 10s): Yep. And then we got, we got two new ones coming out. 7 (41m 13s): Okay. So never have I ever, and then another new one. Yep. Cool. I'm excited, man. I can't 9 (41m 19s): Well we'll we'll say, we'll say the title. Fine. Yeah. We got Hollywood. 7 (41m 24s): I'll put it out after I'll we'll put out the conversation after his daughter around the town. Yeah. So tell me about what's the other one I want to hear about this song. 9 (41m 32s): Hollywood Hollywood phone, man. It kind of prompted, I know we're talking about this first DP, but it really prompted this kind of move into this really honed in sound that I have. We actually just got out of a writing camp two days ago, five days, 20 sessions. And I think we ended up with 37 songs. It was five days from noon to 1:00 AM and man, it was two rooms. It was fucking insane. And the songs and that we came out with. 9 (42m 15s): Woo I'm excited. But yeah, Hollywood's a dope one because you know, I got to, it's got substance to it and it's it's about, you know, the, the, the ups and downs, the, you know, coming out to LA to a big city from Chesterfield, Missouri, everything's so much different, you know, the feelings that you have as artists and, you know, navigating that. And I really liked what that was talking about. And I liked the sound of the, of the song. And I was like, this, this is, this is it. This is fired. I want to do more of this. And so, you know, that prompted what's next, 7 (42m 55s): It's coming next. So Hollywood will set the tone for the newer new stuff coming out with, with you. 9 (43m 3s): Yes, it will 7 (43m 3s): Exciting, exciting. I love it, man. Well, I can't wait to hear the rest of the EAP. What, and like I said, I love what you're doing now in the, in the sound that you have with the, the pop punk kind of rock guitars and, and your voice over it. It sounds so good. 9 (43m 18s): Thank you so much, man. 7 (43m 20s): Are you playing any shows? Are you doing anything to support the EAP? 9 (43m 24s): So I actually, I'm going on tour with Peachtree Rascals in October and that will be my first tour ever. I'm so, so excited about that. I think, I think we're getting some, some, some smaller shows together for the CP, but they're going to be dope. Yeah. 7 (43m 42s): That's awesome, man. Well, congratulations. And thank you so much for taking time to, to hang out with me today. I appreciate it. 9 (43m 50s): Thank you for having me. Yeah. 7 (43m 52s): I have one more quick question for you miles before I let you go. I want to know if you have any advice for aspiring artists. 9 (43m 59s): Yeah. Do that shit every day. Do that shit every day. Don't get too precious and put it out. What's the worst that's going to happen?