Chewing the Gristle with Greg Koch
Chris Duarte
Strap in for a musical odyssey with Texas guitar virtuoso Chris Duarte. This episode is a treasure trove of candid tales and wisdom from the road, offering a glimpse behind the curtain of a touring musician's life. From the logistical ballet of organizing a band to the financial tightrope walk of keeping the music playing. We revel in the memories of our early days, when young ambition and raw talent propelled us from eager protégés to masters of our art.
Gearheads and aspiring musicians alike will be engrossed by our deep dive into the tools of our trade. We also reflect on the digital revolution's impact on music, from the ease of distribution to the importance of preserving live show excitement. Join us for an episode that not only celebrates musical passion but also serves as a guiding beacon for navigating the modern industry's waters.
Dedicated to helping musicians achieve the truest sound possible whenever they plug-in.
Wildwood Guitars
One of the world’s premier retailers of exceptional electric and acoustic guitars.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Strap in for a musical odyssey with Texas guitar virtuoso Chris Duarte. This episode is a treasure trove of candid tales and wisdom from the road, offering a glimpse behind the curtain of a touring musician's life. From the logistical ballet of organizing a band to the financial tightrope walk of keeping the music playing. We revel in the memories of our early days, when young ambition and raw talent propelled us from eager protégés to masters of our art.
Gearheads and aspiring musicians alike will be engrossed by our deep dive into the tools of our trade. We also reflect on the digital revolution's impact on music, from the ease of distribution to the importance of preserving live show excitement. Join us for an episode that not only celebrates musical passion but also serves as a guiding beacon for navigating the modern industry's waters.
Dedicated to helping musicians achieve the truest sound possible whenever they plug-in.
Wildwood Guitars
One of the world’s premier retailers of exceptional electric and acoustic guitars.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Lo and behold, ladies and gentlemen, season five of Chewing the Gristle is upon us. It's been a little while, folks, but it's going to be worth the wait. We're going to be featuring a lot of convivial conversations with various musical potentates, most of which you've heard of. Some are going to be some new discoveries. That's why I'm here to bring forth the chewable gristle matter to you via the Information Superhighway, brought to you of course, by our friends at Wildwood Guitars in beautiful Louisville, colorado, and our friends at Fishman Transducers of beautiful Andover, massachusetts. Both I've had great longstanding relationships with, and continue to do so, and we're very grateful for their continued support in this endeavor of giving you the highest quality and chewable gristle possible. Now, without any further ado, folks, let's get down and dirty with some Chewing the Gristle Season 5. Buckle up.
Speaker 1:This week on Chewing the Gristle, we got mighty Texas guitar phenom, chris Duarte. I've known Chris since the early 90s. We did a show together and I've always been in awe of his guitar prowess. Hell of a nice guy as well. This week, chewin' the Gristle with Chris Duarte. Come on y'all. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to yet another installment in Chewing the Gristle with yours truly Gregory Cock, I'm here with guitar legend strap manipulator extraordinaire. And Texan Chris Duarte Chris, how the hell are you? It's been a while. And Texan Chris Duarte Chris, how the hell are you? It's been a while.
Speaker 2:I'm doing so great, gregory. It's been a while, yes, I know, and it's so great to see you Likewise.
Speaker 1:You know, I think we first ran across each other in the early 90s at Shank Hall. I remember the gig and we opened up for you and you put on an incendiary show. And then over the years I would I would hear your playing in in Klaus's van when I'd be over there in in Europe and there's Chris Duarte. He could tell you from the second you start playing and always been a big fan of your musical activities. And now you've got my buddy, tommy Brecklein, playing in your van, which is just so awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Tom is like. It's like skating on his ice. His meter is so good. That's what I love playing with and his swing is great.
Speaker 1:Yes, he's a swinging fool and he's a funny son of a bitch.
Speaker 2:He is funny. Yeah, he's funny in all the stories that he has.
Speaker 1:I just love listening to him just talk. Yeah, he's definitely got some good tales. My nickname for him was Long Island Fury because he had this thing to him when something rubbed him the wrong way. His Long Island accents gets more pronounced and the vernacular gets more filthy and I remember being with him in Europe at one point and he's kind of sleeping in the back. You know those sprinter vans. You've got a couple people and you're wedged in between them and he's wedged between two people and he's just kind of sleeping sitting straight up and his eyes are closed. And Klaus had to do some kind of quick maneuver with the vehicle and it kind of moved him around a little bit and all Tom did, without even waking up, goes I son of a bitch, hilarious, and it was classic, thomas, absolutely. So tell me where you're at right now You're in your vehicle, where are you headed? You guys, are that one day where I saw you had two gigs in a day? You were playing Dallas and you were going down to Houston. I know you keep yourself busy.
Speaker 2:What's been happening? Yeah, I mean, when the album came out last year, the record company was influential in getting me signed on to another agency out of LA Artists Worldwide Chuck Bernal so they've been booking me up a lot. So right now I'm here in Albany, new York, because we had a long drive from Nashville to here and we're actually going to Boston to play tomorrow night in Boston Some small private function, what we're going to do, and then we go down New Jersey. But yeah, we're out for a month on this one, mainly the East New England, a little bit in the Midwest, then come back out to New England to finish up the tour.
Speaker 1:Nice, and do you use different squads for these various tours?
Speaker 2:Lately I've had the same bass player. He seems to do really well out on the road. He doesn't have a day gig in Austin so he's able to go out and play with me and just, you know, just pull up his hooks and come out with me. Drummers. I've got a new drummer out of Houston, a guy named Brandon McLeod that I played a gig with. Really good drummer, nice young kid. So I like the way he's playing playing. So yeah, usually it always changes up who's available at the time well, that's the thing, isn't it?
Speaker 1:you're going on the road, who's available, who can do it, who's not going to cost a fortune every day, and who's who's, who's a little, who's a little bit more understanding of listen? I don't know how much money we're making on this thing. Are you cool with being at the end and we're at least going to make this amount? And sometimes the answer is yeah, no problem, other than hell. No, I need to make X amount and so yeah, I get it.
Speaker 2:That is true. I mean, what's always the biggest cost when it comes to doing my taxes is the labor. You know, that's my biggest cost. Yes, and I mean, and yeah, you got to find a cat that sort of gets in, you know, just gels with everybody, cause I'll, I'll take somebody that can get along with everybody fine, instead of a player that's a curmudgeon and he plays fabulous. You know, I mean I, I just I've got to have that easy chemistry going, because I, I just want to get out here and play music and play to the best of my ability, and I can't do it if I'm having strife and stuff in my life, absolutely.
Speaker 1:You need low maintenance. But you know, the other thing I've noticed and I'm sure you can speak to this with great aplomb is the idea of having to manage the doggone merch. And you're ordering the merch oh, I'm almost out of this, can you get me some there? And then, watching your PayPal balance, go oh man, we've made a lot of money, yeah, but now I've got to buy more merch. Goes right back down again.
Speaker 2:Exactly. And then you know you don't have enough room to have a whole big assortment of merchandise, so it's always just some t-shirts and some CDs, you know. And then you always got to get out there and set up the merchandise and then even after the gig, even though you might have a terrible night, you still got to go out there on that table and put on that shine, you know, and give the people. Yeah, Give them just a few minutes of your time. You know every time you make that transaction.
Speaker 1:Yes, I know, absolutely I. You know. People say, you know I. As soon as I I worked the table before we go on and I worked the table after we go on and people are like you're doing your own merch.
Speaker 2:I'm like, yeah, we'll sell 10 times as much stuff if I'm working the merch table. Exactly, that's, yeah, it's the way it is. I mean because people, they'll get that chance, get an opportunity to talk with you, and they get an autograph too, or a picture or whatever. Yeah, you're right.
Speaker 1:When you're out there doing it, the merchandise sales go up Exactly, and there's times where it's like, oh, it wasn't the greatest night for people showing up, but by God, we made almost twice as much at the merch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, I mean, there's some nice, there's some cities like Phoenix is one of those towns that you know I sell a ton of merchandise. Buffalo is one of these strange towns. They buy a lot of CDs in Buffalo, you know. Great for me, man. And people and usually I've got albums too. I have LPs, and a lot of times the LPs will outsell the CDs. A bunch of nights.
Speaker 1:Well, I think the reason for that is is that, I mean, there are a lot of people who are listening to records again, but it's just something that people might even not listen to but they just want to have. And then you sign it and they have this big, you know more substantial item to remember the evening with and a little CD which they might lose, and you know, on the way home, yeah, the vinyl is an interesting thing. People are always like, hey, you got vinyl and now we've got vinyl and it's interesting. People will come up and just give me the record and you're like awesome. So yeah, it's just one of those things where I've noticed that I've got this Gristle King pedal that my buddy of mine invented or designed years ago and Fishman's actually making for me now, so I can get them in quantity.
Speaker 1:And having bigger ticket items on the merch table, man, it helps. It's interesting because you'll find some musicians that will find that whole aspect of it kind of gross. You know what I mean. You're like listen, if the merch means I can go out and play the music I want to play to the people that show up solely to hear me play it, then let the good times roll than you know, playing at venues where, oh look, there's a band here and they're going to play shit. That is lowest common denominator. I'd rather just say, yeah, you know what? I am working in the merch table and I'm selling a bunch of different shit because that allows me to play whatever the fuck I want to play.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, that's. That's where I feel I've been lucky to you and I have that in common. We've been doing our own thing for over 30 years, you know, and we've been able to make a living at doing it, putting our kids through college. You know, I feel myself very fortunate that I haven't had to play brown eyed girl, you know, a thousand times in my life, you know exactly. And then also and then I will sell whatever I want at my merch table.
Speaker 2:This is what gets me down the road to seeing the people, is the merchandise you know and also it helps, you know, it helps, uh, uh, you know, bolsters my bank account, you know, so I can pay my musicians, so I can keep my van fixed, you know. And now, you know, it gets to the point. Now I have to rent a van because my van that I've got over 800,000 miles on it, I don't trust it to go out in a 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 mile tour. You know because I'm just going to be stressing the whole time When's it going to break? When's it going to break? Right, exactly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just, I just uh purchased a vehicle for for touring Uh. Prior to that, my uh our keyboard player, Toby, had a uh had a Tahoe on a trailer that we would use and once we tipped over 200 and some odd thousand miles with that thing, he's like man. If we could use something else, that would be awesome, because he just started. You know, different lights were starting to come on and you know we were just getting scared here and there. So I ended up getting a Ford Transit which we put a bulkhead in and a second row of seats, but you know it's already's, already. I mean I got it, we took our first trip with it. It wasn't ready to go and for our tour, so they had to give us a rental in January, but then we went out February, march. I mean I've already got 10,000 miles on that thing and it's oh yeah, man it's like mean to your.
Speaker 1:I could see 800,000 miles. What is that? Two years?
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly. I mean, I'm not even a week into this tour and I've already put on 2000 miles, you know.
Speaker 1:So it's crazy, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, that's when I know, when I, when I could look at a tour and I could say, oh, this tour is going to be somewhere around seven to 8,000 miles, which is actually a pretty long tour. You start talking that many miles, that's a long tour, man Right. Especially within a month, yeah, and then, especially when you go out the West Coast, those are long stretches between the cities and stuff. Absolutely, you get up to Washington State. My God, I mean I love the scenery up there, but man, yeah, there's some ball halls up there, but man yeah, there's some ball halls.
Speaker 2:I mean keeping your head about you being the leader of the group, trying to keep the machine rolling down the tracks, keeping everybody in a good mood, taking care of everybody, because I actually pride myself in how I take care of my guys. I always tell the wives when we're leaving the house I'll get your man home safe. That's one thing about me. I want to get my guys home safe. I want them to be comfortable out on the road. When I check into hotels I'll check their rooms first. I'll get them in the rooms. I've heard so many horror stories about band leaders out there. I don't want to also realize. The reason sometimes I might make a little bit more money than you is because I've got all this responsibility to do and plus it's my name. That's why the people are coming. I mean, that's just the basic brass tacks to it, you know.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry, totally, absolutely Well, I find interesting too is, you might find you know we're about the same age and sometimes you run across people that you went to school with or whatnot, and they go. Do you ever get tired of being on the road? And I'd say listen, you know when you get to wake up, really whenever you want to wake up. You know there's always a little buffer. Sometimes there's days where you got to do an all-day drive or so on and so forth. But you know you have your own itinerary. You can choose. Well, maybe I'll drive a few hours after the gig or maybe I'll wait till tomorrow morning.
Speaker 1:You stay where you want to stay. You eat where you want to eat. You show up at a venue and the only reason why people are coming there is to hear you do your thing. And you get to set up, you're with your guys, you get to play your music and usually you start early because they're showcase gigs. So you're starting at like eight, you know maybe nine at the latest, but usually eight o'clock, and then you're. You know you're back in your hotel by 1030, if you want to go out and do something, or whatever the case may be, and then the next morning you repeat I'm like there's really I mean other than being away from your loved ones. But if you juggle that in a way where it's not you know totally one side or the other, it's fucking awesome, am I right?
Speaker 2:I actually love the road, I love being on it. I love getting in the pattern of what I do. I mean, I've done this for a long time. I've I've stopped all the partying and doing all that stuff. All I do is I save all my energy for the gig. You know, that's where, that's where everything matters to me. I, those few hours to create, you know, and be myself and be, be be what you know, practice my craft. You know, all the other stuff is like that's, that's just sort of the periphery stuff. You know, setting up the merch, doing all doing the drives and all that. Yes, it's, it's all for the gig for me. But I love it, you know.
Speaker 2:And every day it may seem the same, but no, every day is different. Right, you get to see different people, and you're right, you see people you've gone, you've known for years out on the road, and people you've seen their kids grow up. Now they're in their mid twenties and they were just kids, five and six years old, when they came to see you. So I mean, and they're still coming to see? Yes, I love being on the road, even when I'm around the house for like a month or two. You know, it's like I just start ants getting antsy. It's like it's time for me to get out on the road.
Speaker 1:I gotta get out on the road and just the playing part alone is like god, you, just you just miss it yeah, that's what makes it all worth it.
Speaker 2:It's just playing. I get to try new stuff out and and you know, I might tell different. I mean the same sort of storylines in some in some songs. But still, I try to get out there and try to be, be creative and try new stuff and if I crash on some of this, I'm fine with me. But then there are those special nights where there's like one and few and far between where everything you do kind of works out and you're just playing. You're playing uninhibited and everything's working it. Those are like the really magical nights and that's what I strive for every night.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Now, do you like to kind of shoot from the hip in terms of the set list, or are you pretty consistent, or how rigid are you with that kind of an approach?
Speaker 2:I used to be a shoot from the hip guy for the longest time, but as the older I've gotten. My brain just doesn't work as quick as it used to. So now I have to start writing set lists and stuff. So I'm not up there plinking around going what am I going to play? What am I going to play, you know, because normally I can, I can sort of gauge, you know, by the audio.
Speaker 2:I look at the audience and if they're a dancing audience, I start thinking, okay, I'm going to play more dance stuff. Uh, if there's sort of a listening audience, I'll sort of. Okay, what goes good after this song. And I'm thinking that while I'm playing is I'm trying to do all this complicated stuff in the guitar. I'm actually thinking about when I'm going to play next. But I mean, if, if I have a set list, that makes it go a lot quicker and more efficient, you know. But I mean, yeah, I, I, I like being shoot from the hip guy, especially when it comes to solos and stuff. Sure, totally.
Speaker 1:Now, when you go on the road, what? What do you take Like are you? Do you, do you use backline if you can, or do you always have your stuff? And I'm always curious because you know, I usually bring an amp and then a spare, and sometimes I'll bring two spares just in case, cause with tube tube amps you never know what's going to happen. So I'm always curious as to what other people do I, I drag my own.
Speaker 2:I just, you know, I used to grab a spare. Uh, I have my vibra king. I've been taking out for a long time, right, and it works. It's just a beast, you know. It just takes it on the road. I have everything in road cases, so that helps out a lot too, because I could just roll around, it could take a little bit of a beating. Um, it's all padded and stuff there. In fact, everything that I have is in rope cases, except my guitar. That's like in a gig bag, right. But I mean, yeah, I just take just the bare minimum of stuff I'll. I'll use back line if they absolutely want me to do it. You know I can make anything work.
Speaker 2:I've always said the tone is in the hands, right, but I mean, yeah, mean yeah, I mean I'll make anything work, but I'd much rather prefer to have my tone. You know my amp and stuff.
Speaker 1:And what's that gold Strat you've been playing?
Speaker 2:That's an exotic, it's made by Exotic. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know those guys and they've been endorsing me for a long time. You know, like the old sixties fenders. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, and so they've been doing fine. I mean, I still have my 63, it's sitting in the closet, you know, it's still there. That's that's going to go to my daughter when I shuffle off this mortal coil.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that gold one is a. It's a glorious specimen. I dig it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like it. Yeah, I like it. Nice and sparkly and stuff, and I've always loved the gold strats, you know, back from the day. So that's why I told them to make me a sparkly gold one.
Speaker 1:Yes, so tell us a little bit about how you got started in this crazy pursuit and what was your first impetus to wanting to start to play guitar to begin with.
Speaker 2:Oh man, it's the fiddler on the roof. You know when? Fiddler on the roof. You know when?
Speaker 1:the fiddler on the roof did it's the network debut.
Speaker 2:I guess If I was a rich man.
Speaker 2:And it starts off with that guy. You know that fiddler on the roof. He saws out that little line in it, the way he's silhouetted. I just thought that was so cool. And I was like in third grade at the time. And so I went to school wanting to play violin and they were like no, we got too many violin players, how about a clarinet? So I went home to my mom how about clarinet? My mom's like no, you're not playing clarinet. That was the impetus that had been planted.
Speaker 2:And so later on, when my older brother got a guitar probably when I was probably around 15, I ended up getting a guitar because I was constantly picking up his guitar. He had like a Takamine classical guitar back in the day got it. So then I got like a Takamine f-140, kind of a dreadnought one. It was stolen later on but still, I mean that was back when Takamenes were kind of popular back in the mid to late 70s. Yep, absolutely, I remember that. And so that was it and I used to put electric strings on it so I could play like solos and stuff, because I didn't want to put acoustic strings on it, they were just a little too rough. And then I was off to the races and got some Beatle books and I learned I could read the music really well because the chords were right over the words and it just seemed to come so naturally to me. And so then I realized when I try to teach people music, they couldn't get it as fast as me. I just sort of realized, oh well, maybe I have something here, maybe I have something, I have a natural ability for this, and so that's when I started working on it.
Speaker 2:And then I was always good in school but I always got bored so I was skipping school and then eventually I just moved to Austin. I quit school in my junior year and I moved to Austin when I was 16 because I'd heard Austin was a music town. And I moved there and started working with this bass player. We lived together in an efficiency apartment just working on stuff. I was like a big prog rock guy back in the day, learning all the yes songs and stuff. I was learning all that stuff.
Speaker 2:I was like a big prog rock guy back in the day, learning all the yes songs and stuff. I was learning all that stuff. And then I was starting to learn to read music back then. And then I got in a jazz band when I was about 17, but I couldn't play jazz saved my life. But I could read the real book, I could read the charts and all that stuff, and so that's just kind of what took it and I just kept working with people and working with people. Then I got in my first blues band at the age of 17 and started touring around Texas. And that was it. You know it was. You know the ball got rolling.
Speaker 1:Yes indeed. Now how were your parents with you going into musical activity? I always get a kick out of asking that question Because for some people, I mean because my parents, my parents, were very supportive, uh, but yet they were horrified that I wanted to pursue it as a living.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I think, yeah, they were supportive at first, but I just think in the back of their mind they thought it was a phase I was going through and sooner or later, you know, especially when I dropped out of school, that was like, oh okay, you know he's really taking the dive, we'll see. But you know he's really taking the dive, we'll see. But you know, as I just I just kept my nose to the grindstone and kept working at it and get playing and practicing and asking questions. You know a lot of cats, you know, you know ask what are you doing here, how are you doing this? You know, to older musicians and stuff. I was constantly, always with older musicians. I mean, I wasn't, it wasn't until I was probably in my forties when I was like the old guy in the band. I was usually always the youngest guy in the band.
Speaker 1:Isn't that funny. I was the same way.
Speaker 2:I was always the youngest guy until, you know, I started to have my own bands and then, even then, I was the youngest guy for a while but yeah, I mean, things just started moving and I just, you know, then I started getting out on the road and started playing more and you know, then the word started to spread and then you know, this is pre-internet days and social media days, and then some record guy came out and saw me and then signed me. You know, after the gig they signed me and then two months later I was in the studio doing Texas Sugar. Then things really blew up because even though it didn't get super big, but it was quite a ride, I got to admit that Texas Sugar was a ride.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I still remember that gig. When you opened up you were this tall guy and you had this Buddy Holly, look with those big, thick black glasses and you were doing this stuff and the delay thing. And I was like who is this guy? He is doing some really good stuff. You were like the most, by far the most unique guy I had seen ever opening up for me in all my time. Man, it was just tremendous.
Speaker 1:Oh, thank you, I remember. I remember that that was good times and you guys just rocked the joint afterward. That was awesome. You know the early nineties there was, you know there were some things happening, you know, in terms of there was still.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't want to sound like kids these days, but it is interesting these days, would you not say that the Internet has made things in some ways so awesome because you've you're able to kind of bypass the middleman and just go directly to the peeps and, and it's great for you know, promoting gigs.
Speaker 1:It's great to learn, because Lord knows there's so much stuff online now that back in the day we would have to just sit by record players and figure all that shit out. And or you know, occasionally the you know or the older brother of somebody you knew down the street knew some shit. But now you can go online and basically find anybody, uh, the original artist playing and maybe even at some point giving you actual instructional stuff, all that other kind of stuff, uh, but at the same point it's almost, as it's like, lost its magic in some ways, as far as you know, what we construed as music back in the day as being magical, I think there's so much of it now that it's it's not, as I don't know, quasi metaphysical as it was, would you not agree in some way? I mean not to sound like kids these days, but no, I think I know what you're getting at.
Speaker 2:I mean the way we kind of learned music back in the day. I remember when I had to, you know, before things we could slow things down and keep it in the same pitch. I mean whoa, you know. But I mean, yeah, how we'd have to really pick up that needle on the record and keep putting it back when you're like learning that Jeff Beck songs or right, learning all that other stuff you just have to. And it was the. It was the dedication that you had to your craft and and you, the hunger you had to learn it and what you had to go through to learn it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know this is a golden time that people can get on the internet and learn how to do stuff. I I mean it hasn't lowered the bar. That would be cynical, me saying it's lowered the bar. It hasn't lowered the bar. It's made the equality of access to music to all people. I know what the internet's done for people and I really appreciate that. But I know what it means when you're sitting there and you've gone through all that work to learn your craft and how we did it and how we came upon it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a certain amount of pride that us older musicians have at the way we came about doing it. You really had to do it. They do the same thing in the NBA. The older vets are complaining about the kids these days. They don't work on the basics. Right, it's the fundamentals and that's where we really came up with it. It was just practicing on your craft and you didn't have all this other stuff to what am I saying To sort of take your attention away from Right. You had to really stay focused on getting it, and I know what you mean, man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a crazy thing, and I know what you mean, man. Yeah, it's a crazy thing. I mean, and especially you know and I applaud people that are able to, you know, especially the younger cats who have a much better understanding of editing video and adding in all the watermarks and all that other kind of stuff, of putting together content in such a way that, you know, it goes more viral and they have, you know, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of followers and can make a nice living from just doing that. I think that's all cool in the gang, um, but I like to say to people, it's like as much as the internet was key for me to be able to make a living, because it has been. I mean through the Wildwood videos and and all the other content stuff, definitely during COVID. You know all the live streams I did during that. That's one of the main reasons that a lot of people are coming to gigs now and we go on the road. Hey, we watched you all the time during COVID. You know, when you do those live stream, I get all that.
Speaker 1:But there there's something about, um, the internet's not real. There's something about the internet's not real. You know what I mean, well, it's a dose of reality. But as far as like music, activity, arts, you got to be in the room because that's where the magic happens. Now you can create a two-dimensional thing that's impressive and sounds great and there is value to that, without question. But is it the same as being in the room with people and getting that interaction between crowd and musician and all the magic that happens as a result of that symbiosis and so on and so forth? The answer is hell, no, and and it's just I just hope that people realize uh, what's what's real in that regard and what's a little more contrived? Does that make sense without sounding too cynical?
Speaker 2:No, it does make sense. I mean, I see a lot of cats that they can play a lot of terrific stuff, but can they put it to a song? Can they make it sound musical? And that's when you get with other players and you start playing with other people. And that's when you get with other players and you start playing with other people you start to learn how to to communicate with all of them. There's a language being spoken in there. I know, yeah, like you said, that you can do the jam sessions online.
Speaker 2:Everybody could be like on every looking at everybody, but something about being at the organic feeling of everybody being together and working off each other hearing, hearing that sound, hearing the different things you know there's. I mean, when I'm playing, I'm listening to everything that's going on all the time. I may not be looking at them, but I'm hearing everything and I'll go along when the drummer's doing something. I'll go along with them on this. I can hear when the bass player does something. I mean people just don't realize it, but I know my musicians know I'm hearing everything.
Speaker 2:I'm listening to everything and that's how I have to play my best, because when I play with everybody, because it's like a sort of quasi jazz thing that I'm doing, even though it doesn't sound like jazz, it's sort of a quasi jazz thing that I'm doing. The communication going.
Speaker 1:No doubt.
Speaker 2:I don't think people really realize what it's like getting there and learning another musician. And when you get with another cat and they speak that same language and there's that instant connection, you know, with the person, it's like, wow, you know, that's, that's really something and that that that comes after years of playing and being with people. You know it just. And I see, but I've seen a lot of cats that learn stuff off the internet and they can do stuff really fast. But when it comes time to apply things and be musical about it, it's not right, quite there. It's just not quite there. They just have to work on it. And I don't know, some cats have it and some cats don't.
Speaker 2:There's that movie called the Gig that I tell everybody about. It's a really cute movie that was made, I think, back in the early eighties, late seventies, uh, but yeah, this you know. The cat even tells this one guy that thinks he's got it. He goes. It takes more than practice. Man, you know you've got to have this like you got to have this innate thing, you know.
Speaker 2:and that's what it is and and somebody can learn a bunch of things off the internet which is cool and they could be real. Like you said, they could be very savvy on the internet and learn to do these buzz things that catches the eyes and they can make money and, like I said, I'm all good with that too, and maybe that's sometimes, you know, maybe that's why I don't have a huge bank account, because I haven't been that great at social media, cause I'm I'm bank account, because I haven't been that great at social media, cause I'm, I'm, I'm pretty much a private guy is what I am and I've been private. But uh, yeah, I mean I. I really think that people don't realize the organic thing that we got going when we're playing and in all the older cats, all of us know about that, but some of the newer cats you know right, well, you can tell to your point.
Speaker 1:You know within two seconds of playing with somebody if they're playing at you or playing with you.
Speaker 2:Right there you go that's a good way to put it. Yeah, cause I've, I've, I've been with some cats. It's like, okay, you know, do your thing, man, I'll be here supporting you, do your thing.
Speaker 1:I'll give you all the rope you need. Go right ahead. We interrupt this regularly scheduled gristle-infested conversation to give a special shout-out to our friends at Fishman Transducers, makers of the Greg Koch Signature Fluence Gristle Tone Pickup Set Can you dig that? And our friends at Wildwood Guitars of Louisville, colorado, bringing the heat in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. So when you were growing up, was there someone I mean in terms of influences, was there someone that's, or a group of people that stuck out more than anything as far as like influencing you and how you wanted to go forward? And has that always remained the same? Or have things adjusted? Or is there a few people that you look at as kind of your true north in terms of what you initially were inspired by, what continues to inspire as well, the one constant, you know, as I say, the constant Northern star in my constellations is probably cold train.
Speaker 2:That's still my main, my main man. But I mean after you know, I've got a bunch of his music learned. Some learned a lot of his solos and stuff. Um, just resurrected moments, notice, I've been. I used to play that song a lot back in the day. That used to be a regular.
Speaker 2:Yeah it's a great one, but, um, I mean over the years, I mean when, when I started playing, of course it was the Beatles and all that stuff and the Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter was the first guitar solo I ever learned off a record Um, but as when I got to Austin and I started going around and seeing some of the local players you know those guys I used to sit and just watch them. I mean, there's this guy, david Murray, that used to play around a bunch. I used to watch him. Denny O'Brien, I mean Derek O'Brien.
Speaker 1:I know both those guys yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, of course. I mean Stevie was playing in the clubs back then when I got to Austin but I didn't go see him that many Only saw him in the Continental Club once. That was the only time I saw him in a small club and it was just tremendous. I can remember that to this day. And then back in the day too, everybody had that In the Beginnings CD. That was like this bootleg tape that all the guitar players in Austin had because it was a live radio broadcast and everybody recorded that and so we all had that.
Speaker 2:We were all learning stuff from Stevie and listening to how he changed the tones and stuff with this pickup selector and that sort of helped me out and just the way Stevie would attack the songs and that's what I kind of started going for, the sort of Stevie thing. But then I was also like a huge John McLaughlin fan and Mike Stern and I was still hanging in with the Biles and Parker. I mean I just wanted to get all these influences I had in my head and try to do this soup, that I would come out and do my own thing and sort of rhythmic stuff too. I love playing rhythm and that's what sort of that sort of started me out, because when I go back and listen to Text to Sugar, I hear how much rhythm I'm playing on that. There's not a whole lot of solos on that, they're short little things, see. But rock is like this three-minute little song. I think we go through the form four or five times on the whole thing. I keep forgetting that.
Speaker 2:But that album really was special, you know. But there was Shiloh, of course, the long minor blues song that we just did one time in the studio and the, the, the producer like freaked out. Dennis Herring freaked out. He goes you're going to have to kill me if you want to keep that song off the record. That one's going on the record.
Speaker 2:But you know, and then how I've kind of gotten away from it. Now I'm like doing all these incendiary long runs and trying to stretch things out, and that was just me learning more and more. It's kind of evolved that way. But I know sometimes I need to. I know sometimes I need to get back to like you know the basics, or just playing like I did on Texas Sugar. You know, that kind of brought me to the dance. But you know I've evolved and that's what I've always preached. You know music's got to evolve and that's what I'm going to try to do. I don't know what I'm going to sound like, you know five years from now if I'll still be playing, but I'm sort of grateful that I'm here at 61, still playing out on the road.
Speaker 1:That's a glorious thing. So when you're recording, how extemporaneous do you like to be in terms of do you like to record solos live and get that kind of live vibe, or is it a little, is a balance of both, or what do you prefer?
Speaker 2:I've done both of them. I've done the traditional way where you go in and get the drum tracks and bass tracks and then you go do your rhythm, you do the scaffolding, you build up the scaffolding and then start to put the things around the outside Right. Texas Sugar was, in fact, even this last record, since it was Dennis Herring that we worked with on Ain't Giving Up. It was more live. In fact, I was so surprised when I came back to do the vocals I instinctively grabbed a guitar and when I got to the studio there was no amplifiers in the studio and I'm like we're going to do guitars right, and he's like, oh no, guitars are done.
Speaker 2:I was like what? I was just goofing around, but it worked out, everything worked out. It had that organic feel to it and I think that's really how I'm best represented, because that's what I love doing getting out and playing and having those magical moments of creating, and some of them can be really great and that's what I'm. I know I think I've sort of leaned towards the the organic way. But there's nothing wrong with building a solo. I mean, some cats are really really good at it, I think me. I think I just sound a little stale doing it, it sounds too contrived.
Speaker 1:I don't know about you, but I it's like even if I do multiple takes, I always end up using the first one. I mean I might fix something, but for the most part the first one's always got the right attitude.
Speaker 2:True, true that I mean, I've done that many times, I know. And then, god, I can't stand it when you're banging out on a song 35 takes, 37 takes, yeah, that's just your sanity goes. I mean, that just goes. That's just a testament to how we want to try to really get it right. You know, get that one part right. But, yeah, you're right, the first, probably the first takes, or the probably first five takes.
Speaker 1:It's probably in there. That's all you need. Exactly. How are you with? I mean, one of the things I really like about doing things more live either just live in the studio or doing a live recording and saying you know, we're done is that you know there might be those little hiccups here and there that only you really hear and no one else does, but it bugs the shit out of you. But then at one point you're just like yeah, it just it kind of is what it is, and it's not from a point of laziness, it's just kind of it's more important to keep that live moment true than the search of perfection. That being said, if there's something that's glaring and we can do some kind of minor little edit, like either paste something from before or or just mute it, you know I'll do it. But for the most part it's just kind of nice now to just to kind of go yeah, well, it is what it is and it's done.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean, yeah, there were some like little clams that were in the ain't giving up thing and you know some of them I can live with Some of them it's like no, I know what I was going for there and that's a true clam. Is there something you could do to really fix that? I know there's something you could do, but on the other times you're right, Just let it go, because it's the emotion of it and I think a lot of people can relate to that Also live too. I mean there's lots of times I'm taking chances and, yeah, I crash and burn, but I'm going to get it that next night or the night after that. I'm going to keep striving to do that because that's how I get better.
Speaker 2:I'm trying new things here. I'm trying to get out of my box and playing the same old thing every night, because if I played unless I played in a cover band that paid me ridiculous amounts of money, if I had to play the same thing over and over again, I mean I still couldn't do that for very long because I'd go crazy. I've got to create, I've got to get out there and do something new. Um, but yeah, I'm, I'm all about just getting out there and doing it and being living in the moment and, you know, diving on my sword if I have to.
Speaker 1:Right as one does. So when you go out and you're and you're turning around and use a VibroKing, I mean a VibroKing is, you know, 60 Watts of delicious tube amplification glory. I, you always fight in the battle, as we are, but for the most part, I have to say, in the States, it isn't as big of an issue of the volume thing oh my God, can you turn down? And then we just usually just say you know what I could tell you, we'd turn down, but as soon as we start playing and there's people here, it's just going to be what it's going to be, as opposed to going to Europe where the Germans just lose their shit when you just turn on your amp. But uh, how, how have you been able to manage it over the years? And and have you finessed it? Or are you just like listen, don't talk to me.
Speaker 2:No, I've actually. I've actually gotten to the point over the years, because it was funny when Texas Sugar was doing good. When you have that power where you can bring the people in and you're breaking door guarantees and stuff like that, going to percentages, nobody's going to tell you jack about your volume. Right, You're here to break. But then once you start to wane a little bit, of course, now the power shifted.
Speaker 2:Now the club owner's got the power or the sound up sound and they're going to tell you to turn down. So over the years, after these years of waning, in my last couple years, I've learned how to get a decent volume at a lower. You know. I mean a decent tone at a lower volume, and I've learned to work with it pretty good, you know, and I could do it. I mean, I only have to get that vibra king up.
Speaker 2:Very rarely do I turn that thing over three, because after that the chords start getting dirty. I can't hear each string. So I keep, you know, two and a half is all I need on that thing, but I can. I can work at it too, you know, and maybe just a little before two, and lots of times I'll show them, I'll point to the amp and say, look how low I am. You know it's not even to two, but yeah, I mean, europe is funny. I played a gig in Sweden and they just freaked out on my volume and I mean we literally encased my amp in like rugs and boxes and stuff and you couldn't even hear it. I was like, really, this is what you want.
Speaker 1:Okay, fine with me.
Speaker 2:I'm going to do it. Okay, I can make it, because I'm like the guy that I don't. I don't want to give them strife, you know. I mean, I know they want to make me comfortable. I want to make them comfortable. I'm here to work with them. But if they're just going to be a stick about it, you know, it's like, okay, well, like you said, it's going to be what it is this what you're going to get. So if this is what you want, fine, you're going to pay me for this. Fine, with me, you know, and I'll make it work.
Speaker 2:I mean, take, but I'm not going to sit there and go okay, yeah, whatever, you know, I'm still going to be hitting those strings as hard as I can, trying to get what I can out of it. You know, because I do have my own standards. It's like, okay, this is what I got to work with, I'm going to do it. You know, I'm going to make it work, because I know a lot of musicians that would just give up and say, whatever, man, you know, let's just do it, because I, yeah, I know a lot of big bands that are like that. They go out and mow the lawn because I've seen get it. I'm still hungry. You know, I'm still hungry. I still want to do new things. You know, even at this advanced years in my age, I still want to do new things and and find new areas I can dig that now.
Speaker 1:what? What are you using these days to to boost the amp with uh, with the uh, the grit, as it were?
Speaker 2:What I have is what I've normally been using. My chain is starting from what's last in the chain. What I would consider what's first is what's like right down in front of me. I've got a boss CE five chorus that I use like a Leslie cabinet. I have a boss DD three delay. That's my short delay. I've got, um, when I do an Americana gig, my girlfriend Beth Lee. I use an EP booster and I play a different amp I play either I have an old 64 Princeton that I play or I have a Chicago Blues box it's like an old 50s bassman and I use an EP booster to get a little bit brighter or bigger tones. That's a great pedal. And then, yeah, I love those things and then I go to. I don't think people know that the EP is like Echoplex, it's a place where they mimic the tone of the Echoplex.
Speaker 2:And I've still got all my Echoplexes. I even have one of those real old ones. What are they called? The green old ones, where they called the green ones, the old army green ones, where you have to move the thing from the jack that turns it on and stuff. They had a name for it.
Speaker 1:I can't remember the serial number or whatever it's called, but I've got the real old one you know and I remember when we opened up for you, you had a vibe, you had a that was like the maestro ones.
Speaker 2:I had the black ones from the early seventies and stuff and stuff. I had those and I played with those things for years and years, but I just had to stop because they were temperamental. You never knew when they were going to break down, right, okay, anyway. So from that and then I go to my 809 pedals from Pedal Diggers from Japan, kobay-span, and the first one's a big booster, like vintage booster. Second one's crazier tone, it's a little smaller, smaller, and then the third one's the same ones.
Speaker 2:they're 819 pedals, that's what they're called, and yeah, and they go and graduated from size big to small, but it the tone it goes from, from just a nice little vintage vintage boost to like crazy distortion at the end and they were freaked out. They gave me three pedals and they didn't expect that I was going to use all three. But yeah, that's what I do. I stack them up and then after that I have a pedal from South Korea. They gave me Moolon M-O-O-L-L-O-N and it's this delay that mimics like an Echoplex. Even when you take off the delay it'll finish the pattern. It's got a modulation thing so you can get like the tape warble and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:I know there's a bunch of pedals out that can do the same thing, but I just love this Mulan pedal. It gives a nice warm tune, nice lower tone. And then after that I've got that Neutron Octave Divider. I have one of those. I only use that for one song really. Sometimes I'll use it for another song, but that's only for one song and then that's it. Then it goes to an ABY because I have the tuner out in another channel. Everybody says tone suckers. So I just gave in to peer pressure and put the tuner off on its own channel and then that's it.
Speaker 2:That's basically what it is. But back in the day I used to have like 14 or 15 pedals strung out. And the reason I still string them out like old school is because I had a pedal board right in the nascent days of pedal boards and one pedal went crazy at a gig and I could not take it out of the chain and I had like a rock star milk down there on stage that should have been filmed and studied and I was like I will never have that happen to me again. Milk down there on stage that should have been, should have been filmed and studied, you know. And I was like I will never have that happen to me again. So that's why I just string them out like the old days when I first started playing guitar, you know that's why you know he still does that too is robin trower does that.
Speaker 2:He's got them all just strung out yeah, man, I mean. I mean he's too old to do, you know. You know, change habits and stuff, why not? It's been working for them fine over the years, why not?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll tell you what. It is definitely one of those things where something goes south and you can't figure out which one it is. Oh Lord, yeah, I get it. I get the meltdown.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's nothing worse than an equipment failure. You try your best to make it look okay and let the audience know things are okay up here, I'm fine, but yeah, inside you're so frustrated and stuff and that's why we have to do sound checks to make sure everything works.
Speaker 1:That's a fact.
Speaker 2:There's still those gigs. When it starts off, it's like everything worked at sound check, but then all of a sudden something's not working. It's like ugh. But that's just part of being on the road. That's the things I love. That's why I tell everybody. After something like that, it's like yes, this is a live show. Things happen like that. That's the way it goes.
Speaker 1:I had a funny one this past. Oh, I'm trying to think when it was, I think it was last summer we it was right down the street from our house and we didn't have to be anywhere else for like another. At least we had a day between our next gig. So, anyways, we're down in Chicago. I brought two of my amps. They're set up, they're ready to go, I'm playing them and I usually bring a third amp as a spare, but this time I didn't. So I'm running my two amps and they both blow up.
Speaker 1:I'm like the second song and I'm like you gotta be kidding me, they're both not. I mean, one was completely not making any noise and the other one was just making a little bit of noise. I was like what the hell is this? Is it? Is it a pedal? Is the connection? So I had to do a quick. You know as we do. You know the rampage of trying to figure out what the problem was. Anyway, it turns out it's the amps. So some guy in the crowd's like I have a boss katana in the car, I go, can you get it? And I did the rest of the gig with a like 50 watt boss katana amplifier and you know what it sounded great.
Speaker 2:Man, we do what we got to do. You know, I've done the same thing and I've even had some gigs where it's like, okay, well, I'll plug straight into the PA, let's go, let's do this thing. You know, hit me with guitar in the monitors, I'll just make this work.
Speaker 2:You know, as best I can, right you know, yeah, I mean, we do what we do and sometimes it can be magical. Sometimes it's okay, I can get through this. I'll just do my best to get through this, you know Exactly. Yeah, I mean, that's that's how we are man. We will do what we do for the gig, for the music, to get it through, you know, and for the people too.
Speaker 1:Yes, indeed, so you know. I didn't ask you, where are you living these days?
Speaker 2:I moved back to Austin. I mean, I moved away from. I lived in Austin, then I went to Houston for about a year or so and then, well, I lived in New Hampshire for a little while too, but then I came back, lived in Houston my second wife and then I moved out to Atlanta in 2005 for a woman again for third wife, wrecked that marriage, moved back to Austin and now I've been living back in Austin since 2015. And it's mainly because my daughter she lives there in Austin. When she graduated from college, she graduated from Oregon State and she moved back to Austin. She was born in Austin. So you know, and the grandkids are there too, so I can go see them all the time. So I'm in Austin.
Speaker 1:I like Austin. Austin's still a good time. Go ahead. It's a little expensive, I reckon, at this day and age, but it's a little expensive, I reckon at this day and age, but it's cool.
Speaker 2:That's what I was going to say. Yes, it's expensive. I feel very fortunate for the rent that I'm paying and that I'm able to make rent. I mean I just can't believe I've been doing this for as long as I've been doing it. But I mean I love Austin. Austin's been a great town to me and I just got to get a little bit more. I just got to stop being lazy, because sometimes when I get off the road you know, when I go on the road when I lock my door before I get in the van, that's when I punch in the clock and then I punch out when I come back home and I go through the door of my house because I mean it's all work.
Speaker 2:I want people to know that People think we're out there having some long, continuous party out there. It's like this is work, people. This is how I work, this is how I make my living. But sometimes I just want to be, you know, just sit around and do nothing for a while and just chill. You know, watch some terrible movies on HBO or something like that. But I mean I just need to get out and play a little bit more around Austin, because really I don't play around Austin very much. I probably play, you know, maybe four or five times a month, you know, and plus Austin doesn't pay that much. So that's the way it goes. So but I mean, yeah, I love Austin, though I've been there for a long time.
Speaker 1:There's some good food to be had there, by God.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they do have good restaurants, I'll admit it. You know Atlanta had good restaurants too and yeah, there's good restaurants a lot of places. But yeah, Austin does have some good food, I'll admit it, it does.
Speaker 1:So how many, uh how many days on the road do you reckon you do a year, or has it been more in recent years, or what do you think?
Speaker 2:Uh, well, yeah it, it sort of goes up and down. I mean this year I might get about, maybe, maybe close to 100, you know uh. But I mean some some years back in the early days, you know, when texas sugar was out, you know a normal tour was eight weeks, ten weeks, you know. But, um, I mean uh, I mean I love doing this. You know it's getting expensive.
Speaker 2:Like I said, it's inexpensive to get good musicians, because I cannot pay to have lower musicians. I'll go crazy, you know just uh, cause I need to have a certain standard out there. But you know you gotta pay for a good musician. You know, I understand that. You know I would love to take Tom on the road. I can't afford Tom, what I think he should be making, you know, uh. But uh, god, you know. Know, I'm just, I'm just trying to eke out a living, you know, and I have to be more savvy with with uh, with the internet too, because I've just been a private guy for a long time and I don't put myself out there that much in the internet. I'll get on instagram when I'm starting to get on the road, but when I'm not on the road, I just think my life is boring. Who wants to hear about what I'm eating?
Speaker 2:today, you know just just I mean, but that's why I appreciate you. Every time I get an Instagram I'll see you're doing some like some nifty little video and stuff and it's like God damn it, I need to start doing stuff like that. You know I need to do it. So I really, you know, hats off to you, greg, for keeping all that stuff up and keeping keeping the connection going, man.
Speaker 1:Well, I do enjoy it. I mean, if I, if I didn't enjoy it, I, I, I wouldn't do it, because and I and I try to, I mean I do really try to in the morning, just turn the camera on and play whatever comes to mind and then just leave it and get out. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:And as opposed to. I mean, I I had no idea that this was a thing, but I had a buddy of mine call me up who's, uh, you know kind of a well-known you know guitar person and they're like do you know, so-and-so is miming his parts when he plays online. It's like I had no idea that that's even a thing. But apparently there's, you know, some of the big you know uh channels or uh or people that post on uh Instagram or whatever. They'll have some incendiary thing that they're doing with the band and they're miming it because they'll do it until they do it right and then they'll, they'll mime it, so it's perfect on the video. And I was like I didn't even know that that was uh, uh a thing. And then I'm thinking, well, hey, whatever people enjoy that, then let the good times roll. I think it's just great to do extemporaneous human shit and then put it online.
Speaker 2:Right, I mean, that's what it is. It's just straight from the heart, straight from what's. This is how I feel today. This is looking into my soul and this window today, and that's how I try to.
Speaker 2:That's what I tried to do on the on the road. You know this is how I am tonight. You know you're going to get me like this tonight and that's why I have people that follow me like the dead. I'll have people come and see me if they're close in the area five, six, seven shows in a row, because they know what's he going to do this next night. I know he's going to do something different, right, exactly, and that's the thing it is. I just want to try to keep it fresh. But yeah, I mean, I just try to do that. But I know there's cats out there doing take after take to get it perfect instead of just letting it go. And that's you and I are just in the same agreement with. It should just be how it is, you know, right, I understand. You know they don't do that on TV. You know when they do a TV show, they got to have it right, exactly. If they have the technology to do the editing and stuff, fine with me, you know that's how it goes.
Speaker 1:Exactly what a world. It's crazy.
Speaker 2:I know, you know it's just. Things have moved along, it's. You know, we used to always laugh about going down the road and I was with my first bass player, john Jordan, who you saw me play with a long time ago, and we used to always think, man, if we just had this like information resource thing on the dashboard of the van, turns out that thing's in our pockets, it's the phone now and all the things you can do on the phone. You know it's just. Everything's just changed. You know it's just.
Speaker 1:I mean, do you remember going out and having to have like reams of paper of MapQuest that you did so you would know where you were going?
Speaker 2:no, we just, we would just go by the big laminated atlas and that's we have in the van all the time and I mean I have learned such so much minutiae because I used to sit there and study that map, because it was like you're bored, you're sitting in the passenger seat. Well, I'll just read the atlas for a while. Hey, did you know louisiana? The highest elevation louisiana is only 230 feet. Did you know Louisiana? The highest elevation in Louisiana is only 230 feet.
Speaker 1:Did you know that, but isn't that, I mean that used to be such a stressor, especially if you're going into a big city that you've never been to before, and especially when I was doing the clinic thing and it would just be me, you know, and I've got to get a rental car and I've got like a bunch of different things. Or I was like, well, I got to be in New York and then I'd be the sus, you know. Then I got to go up to here and I'm like I've never been to any of these places, I have no idea what's going on, and I would. I would print out the map, quest shit, and then I would. I would have to zero, okay, 11.4. Where's my turn? It was just now, of course. You just grab your phone and away you go, and it's like nothing.
Speaker 2:Right, I know the GPS and stuff. Yeah, back in the day, I mean I was never one to print up the stuff because I didn't have to do that. You know, get into the cities. But I remember one time we had this like best Western thing that had like maps of cities and we were getting into Philadelphia, we had a gig down on South street and we're like, oh well, it's down on South street. Well, let's just go down North street, cause we were looking at the you know the city map that had this best Western hotel guy and we thought, yeah, we'll just do North street till it turns to South street.
Speaker 2:And unbeknownst to us how North street in Philadelphia is a hard area. I mean a hard area. Yeah, we kind of freaked out when we're driving through that. You know, when you come to a stop sign, just like, okay, don't look at anybody, just look straight ahead. It's all good, you know, you just couldn't believe people. Actually, you know all the spray paint, graffiti and the garbage on the street. It was like, whoa, this was? It was shocking, it was shocking. Uh, I mean I don't want to sound like I'm some sort of uh, you know, uh, some, some taken care of, sort of like white guy in the street, but it was. It was an eye opener to see that type of urban, urban sort of setting.
Speaker 1:You know, no doubt you find yourself in certain situations and you're like, wow, they say that this is, uh, the richest country in the history of the world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know. And we had an african-american the band on the drummer and he was like hell, no, I'm not looking out there. You know, he didn't want to have any part of it, but yeah, I mean. But that was at the early days and we didn't have ways to get around. But yeah, that's I mean. But it's the old glorious days of heaven. You know, the big laminated map and stuff. That was our thing, you know. But yeah, gps is nice nowadays, I mean, it gets you right there, but it's, it's. You know, gosh, I don't know, it's just, my head still spins when I think about it.
Speaker 1:Right, well, let me ask you this what are your plans coming up here? What should we direct people to your website and stuff your tour schedule, all that kind of stuff, okay, you?
Speaker 2:can go find out everything about me on Duarterocks, the rocks domain. So Duarterocks Got a beautiful website. I've got my IT guy that did a really great job on that website. All my shows are on there. You can also find me I am Duarterocks on Instagram. I am Chris Duarte on Twitter, although I don't get on Twitter very much. I am also on Facebook, but I never get on Facebook. I'm sorry, people, I just never took to Facebook. I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:I understand, but it is there and people kind of run it for me. I do get messages and stuff. That's okay to contact me. You can contact me through dorterocks, but the dorterocks is all out there for you. You can get everything. I'm booked through Artists Worldwide out from LA. My record label is Provo Records under the umbrella of Mascot Records, so it's just easy to find me. Just push in Chris Duarte. And it's not the basketball player, I'm the guitar player, right.
Speaker 1:So does your booking agent out in LA? Does he handle domestic and international bookings?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we haven't gotten international yet. I think, you know, if the album did a little bit better, we probably would have gotten out there. I mean, it's just business, I understand it. But yes, he does handle all that stuff. And then what's also great too is he doesn't mind if there are like holes in the calendar or the itinerary. If I fill the hole here and there, they don't mind if I do that, you know, they won't even take a cut of the gig, which is what I think is really cool, Cause I've I've been with some agencies that are real sticklers about it, but you know, I don't mind it if they want to taste and I understand we have a business relationship I'll give it up.
Speaker 1:No, problem to me. Yeah, that's my motto too. It's like I'd rather. I'd rather keep the person happy is giving me the majority of the work than keep a commission on some rando gig.
Speaker 2:Right, exactly, and I mean I want to. You know, I don't mind having an oleacious agent, you know, a sort of an oily guy, you know, because those are the guys that gets those gigs. You know they can, they can book me on those Mondays and Tuesdays, when I never have gigs on Mondays and Tuesdays, right. But I mean, yeah, and I always keep the relationship good with those guys. I'm not going to lie to them, I'm not going to say, oh yeah, this promoter gave me $1,500 and then I report only $1,200. You know, that's just not the way to do business, right?
Speaker 2:Just keep it straight, man, and that keeps your core straight. That's what I say. If I keep, my music's going to come out much better.
Speaker 1:You are 100% correct. Well, listen, my friend. Thank you so much for taking some time on the road to converse with us about all things. Chris Duarte, I appreciate it. Great catching up with you. It was great to see you down in Dallas at the show and I hope that we cross paths again soon, my friend.
Speaker 2:I hope so too, gregory. It's so great to see you, man, and kudos to everything you've done in your life getting your kids out of college and stuff. It's just tremendous, man just kudos to you.
Speaker 1:Oh, thank you. I appreciate that, my friend. Well, take care of yourself and I hope to see you soon. You got it, man. Love you. Greg. Take it like, love you too. Travel safe. Got it, man, thanks. Bye-bye folks. Thanks so much for tuning in. We certainly do appreciate you stopping by and partaking in the most savory, chewable gristle this side of Cucamonga. Gregory Cock, looking forward to seeing you again next week, even though I won't actually see you, but I'll sense your presence.
