Bardo: Beauty School Dropout, Passion, Producing, and How to Cope With OCD Anxiety & Depression.

I've been looking forward to releasing this episode for a while now! One of my good buddies and closest collaborators, Bardo, from the band Beauty School Dropout is on this week. We journey through Bardo's ascent from a music-crazed youth in San Luis Obispo to his present day self touring with Blink 182 and getting ready to drop their monster single "beautiful waste" this Friday 8/4/23 with Colie, Beepus, and Hot Mike.

In this episode we unravel the captivating lifestyle of his band, their dream come true tour with Blink 182, and how his experiences as an executive producer on Lauren Gray's album have cemented our bond as collaborators. Bardo's story does not shy away from the hard truths of his personal life, including his battles with OCD, anxiety, and depression. How does he conquer these demons, especially while on the road? We dive deep into this question with a kismet story of how he met an "angel" of sorts on tour, his new mantra, "Your energy makes your day." We also talk thoughts on the future of the Grounds for Success podcast, which I left in there because I feel like it's manifesting the dream (for any of you out there who see the vision and want to get involved, reach out to me on socials!)

Our conversation wraps with a glimpse into Bardo's aspirations. Bardo's ambitions reach far beyond his band, from a desire to executive produce to a passion to be in film or TV as a villain. He wants to explore being able to channel his emotions through another form of art.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/wLcmUKJGexA

SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2199346/supporters/new

GROUNDS FOR SUCCESS LINKS
All Links Here: https://linktr.ee/groundsforsuccess

AUSTIN SELTZER LINKS
All Links Here: https://linktr.ee/Austinseltzer

BARDO/BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT LINKS
Here: https://bsd.komi.io/

Transcript

Austin Seltzer: 0:01

Welcome to the Grounds for Success podcast. I'm your host, austin Siltzer. Together we'll unveil the keys to success in the music industry. Join me as I explore my guest's life stories and experiences to uncover practical insights to help you align with your goals more effectively. Hey Copy Drinkers, welcome to the Grounds for Success podcast.

Austin Seltzer: 0:32

Today on the episode I have one of my closest collaborators and a great friend, bardo. Bardo is in the band Beauty School Dropout and if you haven't listened to their music, you really really need to. I love it. I get to mix and master everything that's coming out now, and I have been for a little while now. I love these guys to death.

Austin Seltzer: 0:53

Today's conversation, you will see, is hilarious at times and incredibly insightful at others. Bardo's a hilarious dude and our chemistry on camera and mic was fun to listen back to to make this intro. So I can't wait for you to hear that At a young age, bardo was already into music production. I think he said either from three or four years old. He was sitting with a laptop and it could have been a little bit later, but he was producing in the back of a classroom while his mom taught at Cal Poly and, like you know, I mean he was just put into music from such a young age, like this is what he wanted to do, so his skills obviously are ridiculous by this point in his life. We are going to talk about how beauty school dropout has had such a meteoric rise in such a short amount of time, kind of like all of the intricacies of the members and you know how they cultivated their talents and their network and whenever they came together as a band. It took two years to get to this point and before this interview they hadn't gone out on tour and before this interview they hadn't gone out on tour with Blink 182 and Turnstile. And at this point they have but two years it took to get to that and that's it. I think it was a perfect culmination of so many different things. That really just didn't include luck. It included all of the hard work that they put in before meeting each other and then, of course, after, we're going to talk about beauty school dropouts brand and how the fans resonate with this band because of the message they give off. I think that's so important to how big they have gotten.

Austin Seltzer: 2:39

We are going to talk about a really great story on how your energy makes sure day and how that came into Bardo's life and how he uses it now daily. We're going to talk about a funny story about how Bardo almost got kicked out of Belmont University in Nashville and we are going to talk about how OCD, anxiety and depression are something that Bardo deals with, but especially out on the road whenever they're on tour. It just amplifies those feelings and how he deals with that. It kind of goes hand in hand with how energy makes your day. We're going to talk about Lauren Gray and how he met her and how he was the EP on her album that I got to mix and master with him.

Austin Seltzer: 3:23

Obviously, it brought us much closer as collaborators and just really knowing what each other is looking for and what they do, and I think it really cemented our relationship because it's just so many tracks after another and it wasn't something that was from his band. So I mean, it's just a different angle, a different lens, and I love that album. And we're also going to talk about the success or grounds for success, future, like what it could look like, and he just spit balls of ideas and I thought it was really fun, so we included that. All right, let's get caffeinated. Bardo, super awesome to have you here.

Bardo: 4:07

Hey, thanks. Thanks for having me. Of course you're my best man, that's right, I might be the best man in your wedding. You don't have to answer that.

Austin Seltzer: 4:17

Look, here's my actual philosophy on that. It's fucked up to choose a best man or a best two ever Like is there, do you actually have a best friend? It's a lot of pressure.

Bardo: 4:28

No, I don't actually thought about this. Recently, I think I randomly had this thought I don't know why I was in Texas, that we were playing a show in Texas, and I was like, had this thought, I'm like I want my manager, alex, to be the best man in my wedding and I'm like I told him, like hey, I had this thought I'm not getting married, like I'm not, like there's no like I don't know.

Bardo: 4:52

I think it was more just the vibe. I was, like you know, daydreaming about shit Like Dan he would be. I was really he'd be a good best man, because he's so good at like orchestrating shenanigans and like the day and the best man. That's like their responsibility is like being the orchestrator of the day and like the vibes. You know what I mean. That's kind of part of it and I feel like he would just be really good at that.

Austin Seltzer: 5:13

That's actually so interesting. Like I've never thought of it that way, I've always thought of it as the best friend. Damn, I've been in a box this whole time.

Bardo: 5:21

Leave it to me think about, logistically, who would conquer the duties the best. But, I mean also, alex is one of my best friends in like an entire world, like, so he's definitely I would probably. I thought about that and also I feel like that's an easy cop out. The easiest cop out is like I'm gonna choose my dad, or like my brother's a family member and I could see choosing my dad. I'm gonna have multiple best man's. That was my philosophy. I was like do I have?

Austin Seltzer: 5:46

to choose one, why can't all of them be my best men Best?

Bardo: 5:50

men, yes, Well, you kind of have your panel, you get your like your board of directors up there with you, but also like why can't I have some women up there Like if I have some best women friends, True? I don't understand yeah we gotta call someone about this. Okay, let's get coffee.

Austin Seltzer: 6:07

Okay first sip, first sip reaction. So I made Bardo basically my I'm just gonna laugh and call it famous black coffee mixed with unsweetened oat milk that I whipped, you know I thought you whipped it, I whipped it, I whipped it into shape.

Bardo: 6:27

Okay, and how you? You asked me. You said hey, bardo, do you like your coffee for the utility or do you like your coffee for the taste? What did I say?

Austin Seltzer: 6:38

Well, you said that you don't like the taste of black coffee, but you love the utility, so it's like this but I like the taste of coffee when it's paired with a creamy substance. Oh yeah, that's true.

Bardo: 6:53

And it becomes nutty to me.

Austin Seltzer: 6:55

Yeah.

Bardo: 6:56

Nice and nutty and a little like chocolatey.

Austin Seltzer: 6:58

I felt like you had options as to what creamer to put in there.

Bardo: 7:02

Yeah, this is wow, this is busting, busting as a seams. This is really good this is a really good coffee. I wish you could try this. Well, maybe one day. Grounds for success Busting.

Austin Seltzer: 7:22

Damn, I'm going to take that clip, that's for sure.

Bardo: 7:27

Insert zipper.

Austin Seltzer: 7:29

Busting. Wow, damn, I need to have you as my marketing director for Grounds for Success.

Bardo: 7:36

To be honest, yes, you do, and I would love to be that. I would love to fill that role and that hole for you.

Austin Seltzer: 7:41

So yeah, is everything in the innuendo, or am I just fucked up in the head?

Bardo: 7:46

Pretty much that's me. I can't take anything seriously, but that's also why I think I'd be probably a good marketing director, because I think you got to be a little fucking weird to have everyone wants crazy ideas and you got to be a little bit crazy to give crazy ideas.

Austin Seltzer: 8:01

I think to be an artist too.

Bardo: 8:03

Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's really it. To be honest, that's a cognate quote, but I stole it, you know.

Austin Seltzer: 8:12

Yeah, he's the kind of crazy that I don't know we need. Yeah, he's a little off the rocker.

Bardo: 8:17

He's a little canceled right now, but it's okay yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 8:22

So, to rewind all the way back, let's go all the way back. Okay, how was life growing up?

Bardo: 8:31

You grew up in slow. Yes, I grew up in San Luis Obispo, california. If you don't know what that is, it's not St Louis. I'm not saying St Louis, I'm saying San Luis Obispo, and it's three hours north of LA, up the coast, basically Central Coast of California. If you look at a map of California, it's right in the. Have you been there?

Austin Seltzer: 8:53

No, I've always wanted to.

Bardo: 8:54

It's basically right in the if you're driving to San Francisco, you drive through it. Okay, it's basically how to describe it. It's imagine Santa Barbara. You've been to Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, which is the MILF capital of the world, second to well, san Diego, different type of MILFs in San Diego. What's the difference?

Austin Seltzer: 9:14

San.

Bardo: 9:14

Diego MILFs, I would say, are a little more beachy. I would say there's possibly more. It's like more rich MILF vibes in San Diego In kind of like almost Trump MILF vibes, but like low key, like low key and they all. It's just it's a vibe. It's a kind of a vibe. You see, it's like rich surfer dad works for Rip Curl or some shit, and then that little prodigy son who's kind of a little fucking douchebag, who's like seven and is really good at surfing, and you kind of want to kick him in the nuts but you can't because he's seven, but he's kind of a cock and he bullies you and you're an adult.

Austin Seltzer: 9:54

Why do I have an exact image Right?

Bardo: 9:56

Super right.

Austin Seltzer: 9:58

Right.

Bardo: 9:58

And he's like and he's tan. And then there's the mom with a nice trucker hat, super milfy, big old mom car Did they vote for?

Austin Seltzer: 10:09

Trump? We don't know. Does she bedazzle her Von Dutch hat?

Bardo: 10:12

Yeah, there's no, these are more like like cash, like, oh, just grab my quick little like fucking Roxy hat you know, out for the day to get coffee with the gals. You know that's gonna I'm stereotyping so hard, but that's San Diego milfs. I would say Santa Barbara milfs are a little more, I would say a little more like yoga. I think as you go north in California, the spectrum of hippie becomes a lot more prominent. It's like, it's like the, the California, you know, liberal spectrum.

Bardo: 10:46

It's like I feel like Southern California is actually a lot more Republican than it's weird. Which is you think, oh, beachy Southern California, carefree, you know rock and roll, but it's like there's actually a lot of Trump supporters. Oh yeah, like that's kind of weird. And then you go up north and then all of a sudden there's hippies. And then that's where I land in the hippie realm. Are you a hot?

Austin Seltzer: 11:11

I'm a milf. Yoga, I am a milf.

Bardo: 11:12

Yeah, a lot of people don't know that, but I actually am a milf, that's what I identify as.

Austin Seltzer: 11:18

Yeah, I saw you on the brochure for a yoga place, a facility up there. I just yeah, it wasn't.

Bardo: 11:24

You really looked into the work that's actually. I was really proud of that one, yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 11:29

Dude you're. You were bar none like the best stretching milf.

Bardo: 11:33

Thank you, I really appreciate that. Thank you, yeah, the lesser known aspect of my career but, you know, important nonetheless. But anyways, I divulge I'm from San Luis, california. That whole thing, holy shit. Oh my God, this podcast is going to be wild. I'm from San Luis, california and it's it's kind of Santa Barbara and it's like Santa Barbara, but it's a college town. I'm just going to fucking plow through the rest of this.

Bardo: 12:05

My life growing up was not a very big music scene in San Luis, but there was a creative scene on the list, but it's a small town. There were like 20,000 people ish, and a lot of those people are college kids. There was a college that we think has like a 20,000 person attendance. I could be massively misquoting these numbers. If I am, I'm sorry, fake news, but anyways, the point is it's like the, the scene that I grew up in was pretty small and like it was me and like my handful of friends that I kind of were like the music scene in our in our high school, and so it was kind of weird thing to go from that and like you're like the big fish and a really small pond of like yeah, like I'm doing music, whatever. And then I moved to Nashville for college. I went to Belmont University, a small private Christian university which I'm kind of the anti-Christ so like me showing up there was like awesome, and I only got kicked out of school. I had to like fucking work my way back in. We got to cover that at some point. We'll get in there, we'll get there. Yeah, stupid shit, nothing bad. Like just just me vibing, I mean just the anti-Christ doing his thing, and then they weren't super into that, and then yeah, and then I ended up dropping out and moved to LA. But like going from Nashville, from San Luis Obispo, was like a crazy jump because it just was like oh shit, there's more than like 12 kids doing music and like all of a sudden you're thrown in this world of competing with everyone for something.

Bardo: 13:39

And I think that was the first time I learned like okay, cool, like I'm looking around me and there's peers I have to, like it's not just like I make a beat for and like try to impress a cute girl, like at school or like whatever. It's like oh shit, no, I'm like this is like career shit and this is like I'm. You know, if I don't crush this, there's three other people who were in the same classes or doing the same shit, going to the same parties that are going to crush it, and I'm pretty competitive in that sense. But I'm not competitive. But I am competitive. I just love to like do the best work I can. I love to like, I love to crush opportunities. You know what I mean.

Bardo: 14:21

And I think that just I kind of flipped a switch and I was like, okay, cool, and it was a great, like kind of stomping ground for then LA, we moved out here. I was like and I honestly kind of built a network somewhat of like I learned the like, the logistics and like I've had to do sessions and run sessions and how to, like, you know, navigate someone in the music industry. So when I came out to LA, I was like, okay, a little more easeful, I'm still navigating, still learning how to do things. I'm still figuring out how the fucking, how the hell, to make songs. You know what I mean. I think that's the beauty of music is, like we don't ever stop learning. We're always figuring out new ways to do it Absolutely yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 15:01

So to go back and talk about your, your family life growing up, how did your mom and dad and maybe the music that they listened to and just like things that you were subjected to early in life- Good question yeah, how have they kind of like continued to, I don't know, make Bart a who he is?

Bardo: 15:23

To me. I owe so much my success. To my parents, I would say, because I think early on music was never seen as this thing, that like, oh, like, are you sure you want to do music? It was always just like yeah, of course you're doing music. When I was one, my dad might have told you the story already, because you've met him and he loves the story.

Austin Seltzer: 15:45

Oh, I already know the one yeah.

Bardo: 15:46

Yeah, it's when I was one I got a neighbor, came over and just like gave me a ukulele randomly.

Bardo: 15:53

He's like, wait, hold on, I have a gift. And he just came over randomly and gave me a ukulele and I held it properly and started jamming on it and I think I just was kind of always fixated on music and rhythms and sounds and like creating sounds and like like just enthralled, like how the fuck do you make these things come to life and then become songs? You know, and obviously when I was one I don't like remember this entirely, but I do remember and I remember always being around music and like rhythms and whatnot. And my parents will tell me it's like I would just kind of write these songs. I could barely speak, but I'd come up. I had a song called 98. 98. 98. And I would just like yell words but strum this thing and like, and I just like the words that I fucked with. I would just kind of like strum and sing, but like from a very young age and then as I got older, I just it never really went away. It was always just like, yeah, I wanted to do music and like, and then I think, just I I distinctly remember hearing the song called he War by Cat Power.

Bardo: 17:00

If you know Cat Power, I don't Kind of a how do you describe Cat Power? They're like it's one woman I think she believes she identifies as a woman but and it's kind of full key but like grungy but in just very like beautiful music. But I think early on, I believe like her first whole album was made like on GarageBand with GarageBand loops and actually the song I think it actually the riff in the song actually literally was a GarageBand loop, because when I was a little kid I would fuck her on GarageBand. I'm like, wait, I know that loop from GarageBand that's awesome.

Bardo: 17:32

But it was like I remember hearing this song when I was like I don't know four or five or something like that and for some reason I have this memory of just like hearing this thing and be like God, it literally is a drug, music is a fucking drug and I just like you just get this feeling of like fuck this. You know you hear that song that you sound so good in the right moment and everything lines up and you just it hits so perfectly and because sometimes it doesn't always hit, you have a song that you could love and you hear it again in a different context and it doesn't hit the same. When it all lines up and hits the same, it's just like the best feeling and I remember having that. And then I was like I need to do this, I need to like, I need to figure out how I need to be a rock star.

Austin Seltzer: 18:17

I need to like.

Bardo: 18:19

I need to, I want to make music like this, Like I just I have to like this whole fucking vibe. It just like opened up and I just, like always, was like obsessed with it, like obsessed with music and like fat, like how to create, recreate the sounds I was hearing, and I didn't know what the fuck I was doing. I never like. But I had a garage band from a young age, so like literally from like five onward, like I would literally my mom's an architect. I'd go with her to. She was a professor of architecture at Cal Poly in Sloan and I would go with her to class at a really young age, like four or five, and I would sit there and she's like okay, and her students would like, oh, look at this little fucking goober running around, and they would sit and I'm like I want to make music and they're like cool, and they put me on a little like Mac with garage band. I'd sit there and just like fuck around with loops, amazing. Well, like she was teaching and shit like that, and it was like that was like my daycare and I just so that is a big thing, the fact that, like they just prompted it was always creative.

Bardo: 19:14

I was surrounded by creative people. My mom's an architect, like very one of those creative people I've known. She's very much like me. She's always thinking of things and like designing things and I also was exposed to a lot of music. Like that's how I found he wore by cat power.

Bardo: 19:27

She was my mom and her business partner at the time would make each other these like CD mixed tapes and they would like work. They'd like do, like let's have a work meeting or like drafting session on the fucking designing buildings and shit. They'd come over and they would just like sit there and play the strokes Orcade fire, death cab for cutie, all that shit. So I grew up on like alt rock and just like that's how I found all the stuff. And then my dad is a fucking wild character and he's like me just on fucking crack and just like he's always taking me to music festivals. We're going up and just always in throw you know dance sessions and just like whatever. And just like I was always exposed to just avant-garde, different shit. I think from a young age it was very like not a cookie cutter childhood and I just kind of so I'm fucking ranting, I talk so much.

Austin Seltzer: 20:12

No, I mean, this is, this is all the juice that I know that people want to hear.

Bardo: 20:16

Even just the mechanics of learning to use a computer. There's some people I have friends now who are just like, bro, how the fuck do you even use a computer? And I'm like teaching them. I'm like, what like? What do you mean? But I'm like, oh yeah, I've literally spent probably a majority of my life on a computer, you know.

Bardo: 20:34

And if it wasn't producing music, I was like learning about. I love technology. I'm super into like technology. I love like the whole fucking tech world. Like my whole newsfeed is just like AI, shit tech stuff. I love like staying on top of all that stuff.

Bardo: 20:48

So when I wasn't doing music shit, I was also like researching like tech stuff, about like different processors and computers, how to like optimize speed on shit. Like I remember I was like got really into PCs and was like building my own PC, like when I was like 10 or something like that, and I was like figuring out like what I need and like bootstrapping at all and yeah, but even that like I was just tinkering with that shit. The access, which I feel very grateful that I had access to, that I was lucky to have my mom even the fact that she was on a Mac even because if she was on a PC, literally if she was an accountant, she probably wouldn't be on a Mac, she, like, would be on a PC. But she was an architect and they use Macs in her classrooms. So I was go to her classrooms when she didn't have daycare and I would just fuck around on Macs and learn how to do shit. Yeah, that deepens the outlier.

Austin Seltzer: 21:36

It's crazy actually to think about that Literally mom, it's my mom you know, yeah, your dad, pj, told me a story about how, whenever you were basically a baby, he would rhythmically bounce to the music and that he imparted the rhythm into you from his bouncing. So whenever he watches this, shout out, pj.

Bardo: 21:56

No, I got a lot of that too from him. Yeah, like he took me to things that were like very esoteric. I got all my esotericness from my dad. For sure. It just like the wacky stuff my dad has taught me always how to look at life differently when I was younger. Sometimes it was even embarrassing or like scary, like I see all my friends doing normal shit. I'm like dad, why are we going to a nudist bath house on the cliffs of Big Sur when I'm seven years old, dream by the way, yeah right, I'm like I want to go out and be doing what the normal kids are doing.

Bardo: 22:36

Why am I going out to this fucking spot? Or like doing these breathing rituals and like dance interpretive dance sessions. I'm like I don't want to be here and it was scary when I was growing up. But then, like, as I get older, I'm like realizing then you come to and you're like, oh, that actually was so fucking lit. And then like looking, I'm like even now thankfully, I didn't like repress it and like even now, I'm like I love that shit. I go to these things on my own volition. You know I'm in. And I'm like cool, I want to do weird shit. And like push the envelope. You know that's cool.

Austin Seltzer: 23:13

I mean we'll get into this later, but that's very much from my angle kind of the DNA of beauty school dropout is that vulnerability and doing things that I guess were against social norm but now are just really cohesive and the way that at least people and the I don't remember the sliding scale that you talked about of California- what is BSD to you?

Bardo: 23:40

I'm always curious. People like, because it's so funny. People like, like, like. What is it to other people? You know what I mean. Like what would you see BSD?

Austin Seltzer: 23:51

For those listening BSD beauty school dropout. Yes, Bartos the guitarist, producer, writer, Blonde, Blonde. I'm the resident blonde boy. Yeah, but now we got Beapus, but he's not a natural blonde.

Bardo: 24:05

Oh, sorry to expose Beapus, he also shaved his head. He did so, but he's blonde. I mean, come on.

Austin Seltzer: 24:14

What is beauty school dropout? That's a very deep question, because you guys aren't just a band, that's for sure. It's a lifestyle. I mean you're laughing, but it kind of is.

Bardo: 24:27

Is it not? It's like a live.

Austin Seltzer: 24:30

Be the person that you're supposed to be. Yeah, Meant to be the person that you feel that you are. Be that person unapologetically. But you guys are into fashion. You're into the web three stuff which we can talk about, but also it's a different world now. Yeah, you guys are about to go out on tour with Blink. So you're people who are living your dream because that has to be a dream and turn style. You guys are.

Bardo: 24:55

It's a wet dream.

Austin Seltzer: 24:56

Yeah, that's insane, it's crazy. There's no way of that, five year old you smacking on a computer.

Bardo: 25:06

Dude, I feel so grateful that we get to do this. It's like it hits me in waves, it's like we're talking about it, and then I think I'm like, oh my God, we get to do this thing. How many bands there are on the world? There's like at least like 40 bands and there's they're probably want to do this tour. At least 40 bands, maybe millions maybe 45, 45 bands.

Austin Seltzer: 25:29

There's probably like 45 bands and, I think, millions, millions of bands.

Bardo: 25:34

Really yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 25:39

Look, I think that you guys are a safe place for get out of here. You guys are a safe place for fans to be themselves and you are the conduit for those fans to feel like they can tap into whoever they are. You guys are idols to people who want to be unapologetically themselves.

Bardo: 26:02

Yeah, I love that. That's cool. I love that. Hearing that makes me feel like we're doing something right, because that was always the vision how to be. It's weird because it's this weird thing of like.

Bardo: 26:16

I think in our day and time or day and age, there's so many different, almost like there's a rule book for how to be different, how to stand up for something, and it's like okay, be gay and be loud and be I don't know Like, dye your hair, I mean, do all these things. It's like a rule book of like okay, here's how you be different and stand up. And it's been this weird thing for us because we're just like Sometimes I'll find myself and be like am I weird enough? Am I gay enough? Am I funny enough? Am I doing weird shit with my hair enough? Am I like should I be wearing more makeup or like going over the top on shit? And then I realized I'm like no, because my only job is just to be myself, like that's the goal Is just to literally be myself and be confident in that, like leading by example, basically. And it's like whoever you are is fine. If you're straight, you're gay. If you're, I can want to dye your hair blue or pink or a fucking just be natural your hair or shave it or a fucking. Whatever you want to do, whatever you do with your life, how you spend your time, it's just like it's fine. It's just really a rule book, and I think I'm learning that more and more of just truly just being who I am and just leading by example inspires others, and I think that's cool. So it makes me really happy to hear that that's kind of what you get the vibe, because, I mean, that's always been our goal with the whole thing.

Bardo: 27:46

It's like, yeah, and I think honestly I'm so grateful for the dropouts, because that's what we call our community of supporters, because a lot of them have really become friends to me and, especially as we're touring more, it truly it makes me realize we do more of this. It's not for me anymore, it's so not for me, it's for everybody else, and it's like I'm going to start crying, thinking about it, actually. But it's this crazy thing when you start to meet the people that resonate with this art that you create and it's like they come up to you and you're like, yo, you guys are my favorite band, or you guys have helped me through this thing, things that I could never have thought of these moments, specifically when you're creating the music and then someone resonates with it so much and then you meet these people and it's just like this song brought us together. You guys are here at the show, we're all hanging out and it's just like I don't know. That, to me, is the most rewarding thing of all this and it's like getting to connect with people and even something for us as we do, as we grow and do more like our own headline stuff and step in the world, meet and greet and everything.

Bardo: 29:05

I just want to always be doing things differently and I don't want to do the standard, just meet and greet shit. I want it to be a culture and fuck the whole step and repeat photo line. I hate that shit. I actually get so bummed when we do it at our shows Because on the opening tour we go out and we meet everyone at the merch booth after and it's a bummed me out, but it doesn't bum me out because I have to meet everyone. It bums me out because of how I have to create a new care, like a new, okay, cool, refresh. New person, hey hello. New person, hey hello. And it's like I'd rather just be in a room with everyone and get to talk. And I really love after the shows, when we go out to the or like leaving, we go to the bus and everything and like there's people waiting for us and we're like yo, what's up? Yeah, it's a Santa Ana show, dude.

Austin Seltzer: 29:56

I mean because I got to see that one Holy hell there were a lot of people waiting, yeah.

Bardo: 30:01

And a lot of them are there for Jaden too, but then you know, there's our people there for us too. And like and getting to talking to everyone in a more candid way and like we did that, we were played. I think it was Oklahoma, where was it? I don't know if I can remember what show it was, but I think it was Oklahoma and just getting to like talk to everyone and we Like literally for two hours I stayed outside and just talked to a bunch of people and just like that shit to me is so fun.

Bardo: 30:26

And what we want to do with our meet and greets, where our headline stuff is just like create an environment where it's that it's like, even if it's less people, like 20 people in it, but we like it's in an environment where it's like hey, let's have food, let's have drinks, let's like connect with each other and talk about things and like we're all people. That's the thing. It's like we are all people and I just want to be like level of playing field a little bit and it's like I don't feel like I'm like. I don't feel like I'm more important than like someone who's there. You know, like it's like hey, we're like, it's cool, it's a cool feeling to have someone like you're my idol. It's like I love that, I appreciate that, and also it's like I wouldn't be here without you, so like I respect you.

Austin Seltzer: 31:07

And then you know, same way, I think that that mentality right there is the modern day rock star. It really is In my mind. It's not about I'm going to put myself on a pedestal and you can't really talk to me or socialize with me, because that was what a rock star used to be. I think that being vulnerable and allowing people into your life and treating them just like you would another human, another bandmate, your dad, whoever it is, I mean that's a rock star. That's like actually changing somebody's life.

Bardo: 31:43

Yeah, totally yeah, I think about that meeting someone and you're not a douchebag to them, you know that goes a long way. And of course, there's times too where I'm just like, you know, I've deal with my own mental shit and like I've had times, as last tour, like I just had to like step away from like the meet and greets or whatever. I'm just like yo, I just have to like get away, just dealing with my own stuff. I think that's also fine too, but just like being say hey, guys, I got to step out for a second because I'm also human and it's not even like a thing of like I'm holier than thou or like it's just like, you know, respecting yourself.

Bardo: 32:16

I think that's also everyone needs to. Just, you know, hey, self care mode, you know, no doubt Is that something that's also kind of tricky too is like as you grow, it's like as we grow, there's more Everyone wants like a hey, hey, hey, you know they want to talk and you know whatever, and it's like I love that and that's there's. Sometimes I'm like yo, I just need to like pause, deep breath, you know, and then to get ready to go in and like do it again, you know so Absolutely.

Austin Seltzer: 32:43

I think that this is where the the main question of the podcast kind of comes in, and we'll we'll get to explore this, but for you, for Bardo, what does success mean?

Bardo: 32:59

For me, success okay, this is, it's a journey. First of all, success is a journey. In a nutshell, if I was just reading the back of the book on success, flip it over. What it says is success is not a destination, it's a journey. And I think you know our world. We love to create success, the idea of success, as, hey, when I am successful, like when I get there, like, oh man, when I'm successful, all this is going to be different and, like you know, I've I've owe this to my dad for helping me reframe this idea. I'm still reframing this myself and, like, still practicing this, trying to get better, reminding myself of this. But success is not a destination. It really is a journey.

Bardo: 33:47

We are succeeding, not like, oh, I want to be successful. It's like no, we're succeeding right now. The fact that we're doing this right now is succeeding because we could not be doing this. You know what I mean. You could not. I mean, look at what you built here. This is a beautiful podcast. Last time I was here, this wasn't here, and it's like you could have the mindset of like, oh man, when this podcast is successful, like you know, it's like no, no, bro, it's successful right now. Look at what you're doing and I struggle with the band. It's like, oh, when the band is this, when the band is that, you know, when we're doing that, it's like what the fuck am I talking about? Literally, at the end of May I'm playing Madison Square Garden and it's like unreal and it's that is succeeding. And you can still have goals beyond that. It's just easy to get sucked into the idea of, like when we're there, but there's, that carrot is never going to go away. There's always going to be another carrot. We're going to sell out Madison Square Garden one day as a headline show and then we're still going to be like, hmm, okay, now what do we do? There's always going to be another thing.

Bardo: 34:50

And I think enjoying that journey, enjoying the moments where, like hey, I get to hang out with my friend and talk about shit like this, that is success. You know, getting to have that weird rainy day in Chicago, you know before your show and fucking be drenched in the rain and you're kind of bummed about it, but it's like that's success because you're in Chicago doing shit and it's just like enjoying those little highs and lows and like the journey of everything. So I think that's what success is Honestly like if you can have fun doing what you're doing, you're successful. I don't care what you're doing, you can be a mailman. And if you're like I'm loving what I'm doing and I'm happy, but you're so successful, I know so many people that are crushing it and fucking sad. There's been times where I'm like crushing and people like, oh my God, congrats, congrats. And I'm still sad about something. But it's not like it's just my own head, it's a fight. It's like your success lies within. Truly, I think.

Austin Seltzer: 35:52

Yeah, I mean, that's perfect and I feel like you're telling me that. I know that people are listening to this, but that's really advice that I need to just somehow instill in myself. Like, I do remind myself of that, but I oftentimes find myself chasing a carrot.

Bardo: 36:15

Yeah, we all do.

Austin Seltzer: 36:16

Yeah, but then at that moment.

Bardo: 36:18

I like what you're doing. You know, look at this. I was amazed when I walked in here, like how the fuck did you have the time to do this, bro? This is like one of the craziest setups I've ever seen, thank you, and the fact that you've just been building this silently behind the curtain Like last time I was here this was not here and I'm like so impressed. That is success. There's so many people say, oh, I want to do this, and they just don't do it. And you're doing it, thank you, so cool.

Austin Seltzer: 36:45

I, whenever I have. I'll have a moment every now and then where I'm like, oh, why didn't I? Like I'll see somebody mixed a track and I'll be like, how did I not get that? I know everybody on this project. That's like totally my sound. I would have loved to have gotten that. I quickly remind myself. Like, dude, one year ago, if you would be looking at yourself today you'd be like holy fuck, what? What did wait? What do I have to do to get there? It's just like just realizing like damn, one year ago you guys were in such a different place.

Bardo: 37:22

Yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 37:23

There's no way. One year ago, you guys thought that you were going to go into our turnstile and blink, when it too.

Bardo: 37:27

A month ago I didn't think we were. Yeah, I truly did not think we were. Every people I mean, cause, obviously, for those who don't know where we were signed to label, called verse wire, that Mark Hoppus is a part of. So Mark is technically our A&R and he's just been an amazing mentor and just guiding light in our world and just you know, friend, honestly, and even though we have like our connection, people would ask like hey, are you guys going to be touring with blink? And I'm like dude, I was like no, I don't think we're big enough. Like we got to, like we still have growing to do which we do, we still have growing to do. And I just so, I did not think it was even on the radar for, like you know, it was a possibility, vague possibility. I mean, okay, yeah, but like I'm not going to like count on it by any means. I just was like yeah, it's fine, we'll get there eventually. And then we're sitting at a KOA which is like a little campground, like RV park thing, when we went on tour.

Bardo: 38:30

Yeah, cause we would like on our off days, we'd like take the whole touring rig there and we'd like post up and grill out and whatever it was a vibe. And we're sitting there and it's like 11 PM we were like fucking Virginia or some shit. And Alex, our one of our managers, comes in the RV and he's like yo, mark is pissed at you guys. We're like what. And we just had an eight hour call with him that day and he was like telling us he was very proud of us and really stoked at what we're doing. He's like yo, mark is pissed and we're like what, what do we do? And Cole's high and he's just like oh shit the paranoia.

Bardo: 39:06

And we're like, okay, and he's like you guys, we got to hop into zoom right now with the label. And it's like 11 PM, our time, like night, like our labels, and fucking stay up for shit. Like this. Like, oh, this is serious. I'm like, okay, let's hop on zoom. I'm like, fuck, what could we have done that? Pissed off, mark Hoppus, we're grilling out in fucking Virginia in the forest, like, oh God, okay. And we're like hop on zoom and the whole labels on there. And they're like guys, this is really bad. And we're like what is happening?

Bardo: 39:40

And then Nick or other manager, he's like Sherry, who's the CEO of the label. And he's like Sherry, do you want to tell him? And Sherry's like, yeah, she's like well, boys, mark is pretty mad because you guys are going on tour with blink 182. And it's like lose it. Like just start screaming. We all started crying and just like, and then I just it was just a crazy dream come true. And I just so did not expect it. And just like, yeah, it was just amazing moment. I still it doesn't even feel real.

Bardo: 40:11

And I just feel so grateful and just like, like I was saying earlier, think how many bands are in the world that would just love to be doing what we're doing and it's kind of ties back into what we're talking about and it's like, even in those moments, like and even now, I can still find myself getting caught up and like, well, I could be doing this. I would like. What am I, bro? Like life is okay or it's good, like, as you, we're all riding this wave together and certain points you got to let go and just lean into it and it is coming at you and just let it happen.

Bardo: 40:46

You know, and it's like I just feel so lucky and so grateful and just that we get to do this, and like, truly, it is a dream come true and I'm just so thankful for the journey and like, eventually, we're going to be selling at Madison Square Garden and it's a journey. It's actually talking to MGK. The other day he was out at the last show of our, of our tour with Jaden, because him and Jaden are really tight, and I walked off stage and you know he was there and we'd, you know, have to have each other up to hello and he's like hey dude, congrats on the tour, the blink tour and I'm like dude, thank you.

Bardo: 41:17

And I just talked to him a little bit about like yeah, dude, it's crazy. Like you know, I'm super, super grateful, but I also am very much ready, like we have a lot more work to do and I'm ready for it. And he's like dude, it's like he's like it took me 11 years to get to the point where I was selling out Madison Square Garden and it's crazy. You think about 11 years, a long fucking time. And then, but it got me excited, it didn't get scared me, like fuck, I have a lot of work to do. It's like, actually, I'm like, oh my God, I get to do that. If our first show was two years ago, we get nine more years to fucking have fun and do this shit and, honestly, maybe sooner, maybe in three years, we'll be selling on Madison Square Garden. But it's like, whatever it is, I'm like that excites me. I'm like, oh my God, that's fucking cool that we get to do this for more time.

Bardo: 42:03

And I think that's if you do something you love, you get excited for it. And I just want to make the note. Sorry, I'm ranting again. I want to make the note. You can chop any of this if you want, Fucking, just you know.

Bardo: 42:14

Whatever, I'll chop everything that you've set out, be sipping coffee, zipper and an ant. Another thing I want to add, which is very important, and I want to because Comparison is the thief of joy and it isn't always fun. Just let that be known that like, even though our lives and like things we do and people's life, whoever you look up to, it could be us, it could be someone else, whoever, it's not always fun and games Like even I see you, I'm like damn, you seem so content, you're like crushing it. Like sometimes I even find this. I'm like, oh God, like what a fucking legend that guy. He's probably so stoked. But like even you just expressed to me like, oh, you compare yourself to someone else. You see that they got a mix that you wanted. And it's like comparison is the thief of joy.

Bardo: 43:00

Everyone deals with that. I deal with that on a daily basis. I see something else that someone else did. I'm like God damn it. And as easy as it is for me to say like, oh, yeah, we're just here, and it's like, as long as you love what you're doing, you're, you know, like you're gonna have fun, it's like, yeah, that's so true. But like the challenge is loving what you're doing and even if we're, I literally get to make music and create with my friends and but like there's logistics to that and like, okay, figuring out like rehearsal times, figuring out like, oh, weird, awkward label calls where, like, they want to go one direction, you want to go a different direction?

Bardo: 43:33

Oh, that was weird. We have to this photo shoot, but we don't like the photos. Okay, we have to edit them. Oh, we have to pay this fee for this thing and all these like other things and like band disagreements. We fight. We fight like fucking brothers you know what I mean. And it's like there's it's not just all fun and games, and it's like that's something I want to really reiterate is like, but like it isn't always fun, but making it, having fun in those shitty moments and like turning it around. And that brings me to a quote God, I'm a fucking psychopath. I feel like I'm on a TED talk. I'm literally like. It's like giving me a clap. We're getting a. Just cut me off whenever you want.

Austin Seltzer: 44:08

No, we're getting a little little the ounce of what the mind of Bart, it looks like I just think like this all the time.

Bardo: 44:14

I just go just constant stream. My next point here is your energy makes your day. Can I go pee?

Austin Seltzer: 44:22

We're back, Bart.

Bardo: 44:24

Austin.

Austin Seltzer: 44:24

Explain your. It's cool because it's like mirrored and somehow the shadow is casting perfectly on your sign, yes, so that it's like yin and yang.

Bardo: 44:36

I think the funny thing is, I think the the light is shining on those parts. That's upside down, but okay.

Austin Seltzer: 44:43

There's light in the darkest places.

Bardo: 44:44

That's right. So here's my little thing that wrote down. I wrote your energy makes your day, and I love that you do this. By the way, this is really cool, like to have it's cool little segue. Great, this is a genius. Austin is a genius. Your energy makes your day. I met a woman in Cincinnati and randomly at a taco restaurant, as you meet people, her name is Q and she's this great. She was just like mid forties. She was just there and just I was ordering and she just recommended me something and she just kind of had a good vibe and she, you know, she was like, oh, you got to get this, you got this, I'm like okay, cool. And then I got, you know, a side of guac and she's like, oh, like I want a side of guac and I'm like I got you.

Austin Seltzer: 45:39

And.

Bardo: 45:39

I just got her side of guac and then we continued talking and then she's like oh, you got to try this other thing and she buys me this other thing that she like wanted me to try with me or drummer Mike, and she just exuded this such great energy and vibe to us that just felt so welcoming. She was there alone, we were in Cincinnati, we were on tour, and it just kind of like shifted my energy so much where, like before, I was like hungry and kind of like, oh, like, what am I doing? And then just had this kind of great interaction with a stranger and she stops for a second and looks at me and she's like, am I making you happy? I'm like yeah.

Bardo: 46:21

I'm like you are, like it's just like good, Like she's like you know, it's like your energy makes your day and I'm like, damn, that's crazy. And it's this thing like you've heard this a million times like choose happy. You know you get to decide how you affect others, like treat others how you want to be treated, but just the way she said it just kind of struck home for me and it's like your energy makes your day as a mantra. And after that, on tour, because this past tour I've honestly one of the more strenuous on me for my mental health and like my OCD I struggled with like really gnarly OCD and anxiety and it brings up a lot of issues like with depression and stuff like that in me and for whatever reason on tour that gets like amplified because there's a lot of highs and lows and like just crazy shit happening all the time. And some days I just like wake up. I'm just like so not having it, and that as a mantra for me has been really amazing. To just wake up and first thing I say to myself like your energy makes your day and I think practically how to apply this is. It truly is just as simple as like if I come into a space and just first interaction with you I mean you and I if I show you love and show you like, hey, I'm gonna give you good energy right now, it just hits me right back and it just reflects right back onto me and it's just like how can I do that in more ways in life, like carrying that into the studio, you know, and like there was an artist? How can I like create the energy where, like, my own energy truly makes my day, you know, and it ideally is gonna exude out and affect others that way? But it's like if I just exude good energy and even in gnarly moments of just like, okay, I can choose to be operating a higher frequency right now, even if shit is all hitting the fan, I can choose, like you know what, we're gonna be positive, we're gonna exude higher energy, and sometimes it's just fucking hard.

Bardo: 48:30

It just shifts things, you know, and it's just like that as a mantra and as a little reminder. It just is rad and I've just been saying that to myself and it really has been awesome. And then you know, like a month later in the tour, she calls me randomly, like I gave her my number and she's like she calls me. She's like hey, just was thinking about you, Just wanted to like check in and like see how you're doing. And I'm like what the fuck? This is so dope. And she's like oh cool, all right, I'll talk to you later. Bye, I'm like shit like that. I'm like fuck, that is so cool. It just felt like kind of like an angel experience. Like you meet someone that just like drops some you know knowledge bombs on you.

Bardo: 49:11

And it's like not even that profound of a thing, like choose happy, be happy, like yeah, no shit, sherlock. But it's like it's just like with energy, and I'm a big believer in energy and frequencies, and like truly, that is, everything Is frequencies, like music is all frequencies, and it's just like how I show up in every room if it's for different frequencies, you know, and I think we are attracted to other people who operate on a similar frequency. So I just want to try to operate on a has high of a frequency as I can. That's why I, like you know, big part of it is I don't drink and smoke and party and like I, just I want it to be on a different frequency and I, you know, find myself gravitating towards others who are also on that frequency.

Austin Seltzer: 49:52

So yeah, I love that that she's. She sounds very special, like, honestly you'll. I'm certain that this won't be the last time you'll get a call from her, and it'll probably be in the perfect moment when you needed it most.

Bardo: 50:06

Your energy makes your day, I love that.

Austin Seltzer: 50:10

I think the next thing that we should dive into is kind of figuring out maybe influences, but kind of how you really got into music production. I think we should talk about you dropping out of Belmont and also almost getting kicked out.

Bardo: 50:28

Kicked out, yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 50:30

I'm sure that those kind of go hand in hand with production. But yeah, I'd love to hear some early influences, I guess, on you and how you decided what first. Did you decide to be an artist first or a producer, and we can go from there.

Bardo: 50:48

Both I think Well, where do we begin? I think I always wanted to be an artist and I think, as I'm evolving, I'm realizing I'm an artist of life in a way. I don't know. I always wanted to be growing up. I was a singer in all the bands.

Austin Seltzer: 51:11

I had no idea you could sing.

Bardo: 51:13

I mean I could do it. I'm not an amazing singer, but like I love that. I think it was more. I was the leader and I was leading the charge for the bands I was in and I was like that's why I kind of became a singer. I was like, cool, this is what we're gonna do. And then I realized I didn't need a bunch of people to make music, I could just produce myself and I'm like cool, love that I can do that. And then I was like I'm just gonna be a producer, that's what I wanna do. I wanna bring ideas to life for other people.

Bardo: 51:38

And then when I met the boys and they wanna do a music dropout, at first I was like, nah, I'm not down, I don't know if that's what I wanna do. And then I realized that was a massive gift for me, getting to do it with them and like and just being thrown into the whole situation, cause it's like I didn't realize that's I was missing that. Like the artist side of things, like being my own entity, is like beyond just a producer. I think that's also this kind of interesting thing too with our band is like it's very boy bandy. You know what I mean. We each have our own. Like we're very, have our own personalities and like the dropouts can, like gravitate, they're a fave, you know what I mean I got the Bardhose, shout out the Bardhose.

Austin Seltzer: 52:19

Yeah, yeah.

Bardo: 52:20

And I think the-.

Austin Seltzer: 52:22

Also Bardhose, I saw it with and Bardhose, yes, yeah, that's right.

Bardo: 52:25

Okay, we do, like the Bardhose, enjoy a lot of feet content. So you know I try to give them what they want. Yeah, yeah, and do you have great feet? Your vibes, your energy is making my day.

Austin Seltzer: 52:37

My caffeinated energy, yes, so really okay, I'll ask one pointed question what is the story of how you almost got kicked out of Belmont?

Bardo: 52:47

One time I changed a construction sign to say caution, dildos ahead. That was the goaded moment. That was the best it made the next the news the next morning oh yeah, the news the next morning.

Bardo: 52:59

That was fucking ideal. We need to put that in the show notes or something. Yeah, remind me, I'll find it Beautiful, beautiful photo. I like was drunk and we tried to do it. And we're like walking to Taco Bell and I'm like, fuck, it's locked. And we're like this is a password.

Bardo: 53:12

I looked up a PDF of the manual and, on my walk to Taco Bell, learned how to operate this thing and figured out the fucking override password through the manual I found online. So when we walked back, I'm like, guys, I got it and went in and typed the password and it worked. We got to the admin override and it changed the thing to caution dildos ahead. Oh my God, I'm pretty sure the password is just password. So if you ever see one of these things, that is incredible, it was crazy. And yeah, and we changed the caution dildos ahead. It was perfect because it was like on the way, like a very busy street in my hometown, this high school shit, you know what I mean. And like the next one, everyone's like going to work and doing their fucking thing and just like it made the local news because it said and you remember the chive, oh yeah, and it was like this big thing and like literally, it was like construction science says gosh and dildos ahead, like what the fuck.

Bardo: 54:05

That was the most 17 year old shit ever you know. But honestly, classic, long story short. That was high school. Then go to I was doing shit like that, taking that mindset into a small private Christian university basically, and it just didn't mesh. I got in trouble for like had a girl in my room, passed a certain hour and like kids would tell on me and shit like that. I got in trouble for drinking. So I was already like kind of on. Like you know, I had like a couple of strikes or whatever. Then somehow they picked me as a welcome week leader. Like I kind of was like as a meme. I was like I'm gonna like try out to be a welcome week leader. Me and all my friends did it. I am so confused why you were the pick for this. We had like five of us all go out for it. They only picked me and I'm like what the fuck?

Austin Seltzer: 54:56

They were trying their best to get you roped back in to being a good boy.

Bardo: 54:59

And I'm like what the fuck? Like they just vibe with me. I'm probably cause I'm like charismatic and like I mean I'm a leader, like I love leading people. I love that. I love like taking people down, you know, you know, showing them paths and whatever. I just had a different set of objectives with my leadership. You know what I mean. And so they picked me as a welcome week leader and they gave me a bunch of new fucking kids to romp around with and I just told them straight I'm like, look guys, here's what this school is like, here's what it's like. I just was real. I'm not trying to fucking sugarcoat it for you. And they fucked with that cause I was real with them.

Bardo: 55:30

And then we're like I was like they wanted to go party. I'm like, okay, if you guys want to party, you guys can come over to my. We had at that point I had like apartment style housing, whatever on campus and we're using come over and like we can drink before whatever, cause they don't really know what to do. I'm like, let's do it, safe environment, we'll hang out, I'll monitor everyone, you know, cool. And then, and I was like some of the welcome week kids over where I was like, yeah, like just hanging out. They were going to go walk to a party.

Bardo: 55:57

I was just going to, like, you know, be the big bro. Nothing like crazy. I'm not like doing drugs with these fucking kids, or like I mean basic college shit, basic college shit. Like actually being more responsible, like I'm not going to let people binge drink or like get fucked up beyond, like, or like I'm like I'm the guy, I'm like, hey, I'm going to make sure, if you guys are going to do it, I'd rather you guys do it with me. You're not alone in your dorms drinking alcohol.

Bardo: 56:18

Like let me like be a guide or like, or just be like I don't know a friend to you, an older kid being a friend, and then I don't know, oh, I think when the kids came in, they had like check in at the fucking thing and like they smelled alcohol and they were some shit and like. Then they came in and rolled all of us and I was like that and at that point I was just like that was my last strike, essentially, and I had to go to see the executioner, where they were like yo, are you a fucking dickhead? And then, like I basically had to present my case, like look, I'm not a bad kid, like at all. I'm just doing normal kids shit. I'm 19,. Just hanging out doing normal college shit and, like you know here, we are.

Austin Seltzer: 57:01

And I think- I'm going to a university that specializes in music. Yeah, do you think that we're all sober Like or Exactly, I mean like we drink.

Bardo: 57:11

Exactly just life shit. I'm like, look, I'm learning, I'm doing my thing, I'm not a bad kid, I'm just like doing my thing. And so after that happened, she's like, look, I'm going to put you on probation for the school and if you do anything else you're gone, like you're out of. Like I had to. Like if I had presented a bad case she could have just kicked me out of school right there. But I like petitioned for myself. And then she's like you're good, you can stay.

Bardo: 57:37

And I after that point I was like, cool, I'm moving off campus, just moved off campus and continued the shenanigans. But then shortly after that, I actually stopped drinking and like I just realized, like I just don't really care to party anymore and just like I just wanted to focus on more music shit and like you know. So I didn't really learn shit from Belmont in terms of like well, I did take a class on compression. That was A class, literally entire class on compression and gain staging. That actually was the biggest thing I learned. Wow, gain staging, which is so important, totally important.

Austin Seltzer: 58:10

Gain staging is massively important, very interesting that there's the whole class on that, when now we can watch YouTube video.

Bardo: 58:16

Yeah, I could have also watched YouTube video on it before. I just wasn't even aware of like that and that would really open up a lot to me. It's like the gain, staging, compression they could honestly like changed my world after like that class. But that was really cool. But other than that, all the other classes like I wasn't really learning shit in them, other than just like busy work and whatever. I was like, okay, cool, here's fucking. And my education came from outside of the classroom. Yeah, Just being around other kids doing shit in the music industry and like learning how to finesse and just that was the real education.

Austin Seltzer: 58:52

So For sure. Yeah, I ended up. I didn't go to Belmont, I ended up going to the Blackbird Academy Six month kind of intensive program at Blackbird.

Bardo: 59:02

Which is also Nashville. Yeah, for those who don't know, Exactly, it's a six month program.

Austin Seltzer: 59:09

I lived there for a year and it was just in studio basically all day, every day recording. But it is completely what you do outside of that.

Bardo: 59:19

Oh, totally, of where you learn. That's the thing. We put this massive emphasis on education in America, where it's like but our education is shit. I feel like I hate our education system. It's trash, it doesn't make any sense and it frustrates me Because I think there's certain areas of it Like yeah, you want to be an accountant or a doctor? Okay, cool, go to fucking school, get your fucking education.

Bardo: 59:41

I don't care, whatever, do the thing, creative shit and like honestly leaving a lot of other things Like why the fuck are you paying for school, for this shit, when you can just go learn it on YouTube or like just learn it by doing it? Like an internship is so much more valuable. But the problem is it's a scam and it's like fucking gateway. It's like, hey, you need to pay this fee to get your foot in the doors, then you can go be taken seriously at an internship. It's like, oh, as you're saying, literally the only reason you're gonna take me seriously is because I fucking paid $50,000 a year just to get my foot in the door. No doubt it's so fucked and it's like that is America in a nutshell.

Austin Seltzer: 1:00:17

I fucking hate that so much Same. Yeah, I really think I'm not gonna like put my foot down on it like 100%. But any creative field, I think that if you have to go to school to learn, you probably aren't going to have the tenacity to make it in that field.

Bardo: 1:00:36

Oh yeah, because it always rely on you. Yeah, you put the autopilot on and you're like. And you're like, oh yeah, I'm here. It's easy to get. Like oh, I'm in school learning. It's like, well, are you doing anything with this? Right, I know kids who like got out of school and they're like what the fuck am I even doing with this? Or like I don't even know if I wanna do this thing that I just spent four years figuring out and career change and shit. And it's just like the fact that we put an emphasis on like yo, you're 17, pick your fucking career now. Versus like hey, why don't you just go vibe out for a while and figure out what you wanna do? What do you like to do?

Austin Seltzer: 1:01:11

For sure, Crazy, yeah, but Well. So to pivot away from this but kind of stay on the same thing is the other question that I asked is like whenever production? I think that you you're probably making your living early on or within the last couple of years, probably on production.

Bardo: 1:01:32

Yeah, production is definitely like the main source of sauce, for me for sure.

Austin Seltzer: 1:01:37

Yeah, and so how did you pivot to that becoming your main income? Cause I'm sure that people listening there are probably tons of people who want to make a living producing music. So how does it go from a hobby to being an income, to being a real career?

Bardo: 1:01:56

It's time and like and passion. And when I moved out to LA. So I was when I was okay. I was when I was in Nashville working for Red Bull. So I had a different job. I was, like you know, I was a fucking Red Bull girl when I was in Nashville.

Austin Seltzer: 1:02:11

Yeah, I had a bunch of friends who were kind of the college rep. Is that what you did? Yeah, yeah, it's a sweet gig. We probably knew a lot of the same people maybe, I'm sure. Yeah, great networking.

Bardo: 1:02:23

Yeah, oh great, learn how to. Actually that was amazing because I learned the nuances of big corporate businesses and Red Bull actually gives you a lot of freedom, Like they were, cause I wanted to throw parties and shows and shit like that. And like they were. Like they literally let us play in events and fly Red Bull Records artists out to throw these events that we were hosting, cause they knew we had ins at the school and we could basically promote these events within the college campus and we do the collab events with Red Bull. So I learned all how to navigate all these scenes and get brand sponsorships and shit like that. And like that was amazing experience for me to just like do that. Red Bull is fucking awesome. Like Ron is a really cool company.

Austin Seltzer: 1:03:07

A lot of very successful people I know in the creative field have a tie to Red Bull. Red Bull does an incredible job at like chipping away, like making an art piece out of just a piece of marble, like I'm sure that really helped.

Bardo: 1:03:21

Yeah Well, I think they also do a great job of like hiring up. They love to like, if you start from college, like there was always an emphasis of like, hey, you could start here and I could end up like a marketing high up executive from a passing out Red Bull in college, they love to hire up, like from within the company and they building up people, versus like, oh, we're gonna hire this guy from Pepsi or we're gonna hire this guy from fucking you know whatever, and like they love to just like build you up. And there was always this emphasis of like, hey, if you can lead and thrive, do it. And I just I loved that environment and I was like so I'm cool, I'm gonna lead, you know, and just like, let's do stuff, let's fucking crush it. So, anyways, so that's how I was making money. Nashville Moved out to LA, I moved out to LA, we had a why did you move to LA for Nashville?

Bardo: 1:04:13

Because me and my roommates in Nashville were just like we need to go and just next step. We were just all kind of like two of my other roommates had also dropped out and it was me and there was one two of us in school, two of us out of school and we're like fuck it, let's just dip. And we dropped out and moved out and we just knew LA was like where shit was happening, you know, and we just like we're ready for the next step. I'm like what, we could stay in Nashville and stay in this bubble or go and push ourselves and like we were ready for something scarier. You know what I mean? What year was this?

Austin Seltzer: 1:04:46

by the way, in Nashville 2018, may of 2018. Okay, yeah, little after my time.

Bardo: 1:04:52

Yeah. So we packed up and drove out and it was a little easier, obviously because I'm from California. So I kind of had like the I understood the California lifestyle and like but LA is a whole different world too, and like it was scary and like we just needed to be in an environment that was a little more uncomfortable. I'm like having flashbacks to think about my God. Honestly it was really scary and like crazy, and I understand how daunting that can be, and but it's like taking jumps, like that is that's the first step If you're a producer and you're like yo, I want to do this, like just take those steps, like do those giant steps, like get out there and do it. And also, la is like not that much scary, like it's just like you go to Chicago and do shit, or you'd be in LA and do shit. It's like it's not like unheard of you know to just come out to LA. Yeah, it's expensive, but like there's they pay more for minimum wage here, like they'll pay you more to do shit because they know you need to pay for stuff, and it's like, yes, it is expensive, but it's like that's just kind of part of the whole thing.

Bardo: 1:05:49

Anyways, when we moved out here and took that just kind of like that jump. We had this idea for this company where basically it was like taking beats, where the kind of the Netflix model for like for artists, for, like you know, if you're like I want to watch a movie, I could go rent something from Blockbuster or I could go to a library of digital stuff and I could like download a beat and then use it or splice. A good example they had a network of samples or like a whole library of samples. We wanted to make a library of actual built out beats that you could use Because it was a beat star. You could pay like 80 bucks for a beat or 300 bucks to exclusive license, whatever. Why?

Austin Seltzer: 1:06:35

not pay or the YouTube type beats yeah exactly.

Bardo: 1:06:37

But why not just pay a subscription to get access to all the beats? And we're like no one's doing this Still to this day, no one is doing this. And so we started doing it and it was started to work. And then we just we're doing that for a while, and so that was kind of the first thing. We kind of like ventured into like I don't know a bunch of other little elements of it, and then out of a while it just kind of like I think that we like kind of lost the drive for it. It was requiring like we're all also doing other stuff at the time too, and like I was also like my own production stuff. I was also making all the beats for this thing and then like also producing for like other people, like getting my like that was the always wanted to be a producer. I wanted to like I didn't just want to do this, I wanted to like produce big artists too and you know, do a thing. And it just kind of like we kind of found ourselves like drifting apart and this kind of like whole things we kind of put on hiatus and then like all right, it didn't really kind of come back to it. But, with that being said, I just kind of like I don't know, like I found myself making it work and there's been totally been hard times were like what the fuck am I going to do? Like oh my God. And luckily I've just made it work and just like I feel very blessed that I get to do what I do. And production is weird Cause like you like won't get paid for like months, and then you could do one thing that pays out a lot and you know, cool, okay, great, and then now you're good for like the next couple of months and then you like, okay, got a next thing and like I don't know, and I think just everything you do builds up your price tag. You know what I mean and I think, yeah, so I guess it advice for like a young producer just like get out there and do it and just like network and talk, to just say, say yes to stuff and also say no to stuff If you like, truly you don't want to do it, don't do it. But also you never know what you're going to get like for sure. Because as much as I want to say like be wary of saying yes, follow your gut, but also like be open.

Bardo: 1:08:35

Like that's how I met literally how I met Cole. I went to a event that my friend she was like her friend was playing or something, and I went with her downtown at the row and after I was like cool, I'm about to go home. I'm just like you know whatever. And she's like no, like come on, there's a rooftop thing after hours thing. Come with me to this like sunset rooftop event. It's a private event, my friends are playing. I was like I want to go home and she's like come on, just stay for like 20 minutes, whatever. All right, fuck it, go up there. First person I meet is Cole and he's like talking about music. He's like I'm going to come over the next day and write. I'm like cool, and he comes over and brought Beepis with him and here we are. So for those, who don't know?

Bardo: 1:09:16

Cole is the singer of Beepis is the bass player and we have our drummer, mike Michael Rose, and insane drummer. Yes, we're the best to ever do it. And yeah, I just like so. In that moment I'm like I didn't want to do it but I did and I'm now here we are. You know, we're like so. Yeah you never know, you just.

Austin Seltzer: 1:09:42

You're so right about you never know. And honestly, in the beginning you should really not think about no, unless it is giving you the like that pit in the stomach, Like I should not do this.

Bardo: 1:09:53

Follow your gut. If there's nothing saying don't do this. If something is saying yo don't do this, this is sketchy, don't do it, like I've learned that. But if there's something, if nothing's saying no, and you're just like, oh I'm tired, like you know what, you never know who you're going to meet, you know what I mean, and just like be kind to people, be kind and just like you never like it just goes, it's time. It's like literally like you got to be a cockroach and just like not give up and just keep fucking going.

Austin Seltzer: 1:10:22

That's a great analogy. You know, yeah, and show up.

Bardo: 1:10:26

Yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:10:27

I think that the LA scene in particular because I can't really talk about others, it's so based on people recurring, seeing you like over and over, and they're like dude, I see this guy everywhere. I got to talk to him. Yeah, hey, dude, what's your name? Some you know something like that. If they see you out, maybe you don't even have an interaction, but they feel that you are a part of the culture. Yeah, culture.

Bardo: 1:10:54

And also remember everyone is just as scared as you are.

Austin Seltzer: 1:10:57

That's the best thing to do, yeah.

Bardo: 1:10:59

Like everyone wants to be the cool guy and like in LA, everyone walks in a room like, okay, he's a fucking cool guy, everyone. But it's like, dude, everyone is just as scared as the next person. And like the best thing you can do is just talk to someone, be friendly and say, hey, dude, like I love your jacket, love your outfit. And like watch their energy shift from like oh my God, thank you, because I bet they were fucking self conscious about that jacket before the left Like oh, this doesn't look good, or whatever.

Bardo: 1:11:24

Everyone deals with that shit, every fucking person, and I think that's like a big thing to remember is just like be kind and just genuine with people and, you know, be human.

Austin Seltzer: 1:11:36

Yeah, so whenever you you had this business, this rent beat business, you said that you are working on your own productions.

Bardo: 1:11:45

Yeah, I was all like doing sessions and stuff like that.

Austin Seltzer: 1:11:47

Yeah, how, the whole while and how were those coming in? How, and I'm sure it's just meeting people?

Bardo: 1:11:51

Yeah, just for through friends and just like I don't know just and a lot. Like I wasn't really making a bunch of money on the, I'd make, you know, a little production fee here and there. Like you know also knowing your worth too, Like cool, like doing sessions, but also be like hey, like if we use this song, like I want to get paid for and like being up front, being up front and communicating that, you know, and like I had to learn how to do that shit, you know.

Austin Seltzer: 1:12:14

like I think that's one thing that most producers that I know, and that some of those people are very big have a very, very, very hard time saying, like I have a production fee, it will be so, and so they wait until the very last minute, whenever the artist and team are now scrambling to get the song mixed and they're like, hey, by the way, this is my production fee, and at that point I personally think that's a little too late. Oh yeah.

Bardo: 1:12:42

Yeah, you definitely got to go into it. I've started now like I have a manager. Now I don't like to talk money with artists Same and thankfully I have manager. We have managers that do this, which is great, so we get to vibe and talk to each other. I love that our managers just talk money and stuff. It's beautiful.

Austin Seltzer: 1:12:57

Yeah, I linked Alex the other day up with Spencer. So, Alex and Spencer is my manager and I said I'm just linking you two daddies up and text to talk numbers.

Bardo: 1:13:07

And then I was like and I think that's just such a better way to do it. And so I will say, like sometimes we'll have the conversation like hey, listen, like, because sometimes they're friends that hit me up Like, hey, what do you charge for? Like you know, like this and this and whatever. And I'm like, look, I'm changing to do the thing this to you honestly, as a friend, like this is what I would normally charge someone, like maybe I would like to hook you up. I'm also like you know, if I'm putting it working to something, the same way that if I reached out to the you and said, hey, I wouldn't want to make sure you get paid for something too. You know what I mean. So, and then from there I'll just like pass it on to our managers to figure out, and you know, and just like they can talk about everything. So I like this degree of separation. I think it's also really important to be upfront and like hey, this is what we're working with here, because you're right, it's too late. If you like, go through the whole thing. And then it's like okay, cool, not even figured the fee. And sometimes it just is like that, Like different artists carry different, like stipulations, like major label artists, like everyone knows there's good, yeah, there's going to be a fee, and like I think you can discuss that feel later on.

Bardo: 1:14:13

But I think also behooves the producer to discuss it in advance to low key. Because I've also found like if you wait too long to discuss the fee, even with a major label artist where everyone knows there's going to be a fee involved, you get there and then they're like it's even, it's so late in the game. It's easier for the label to be like hmm, actually we're kind of like going lower on the budget on this one, we're going to pay you, you know, half what you normally would expect. Or if you go in saying, hey, fyi, I'm worth this much, like this is what I normally charge, just so you guys know it, like it behooves you, the producer, to be more upfront because they're like okay, cool, this is what we know we're getting.

Austin Seltzer: 1:14:49

Yeah, I resonate with that way, more Like, of course I'm not the label with the budget, but as a mixer, just like how it goes is if a mix comes to us, we immediately say it will cost X, it will cost this much.

Bardo: 1:15:06

Yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:15:06

And if you want to move forward, that's what it is.

Bardo: 1:15:08

And music just started to cut you off. Music is a weird thing to actually. You fish your thought. Then I have a little thing to add.

Austin Seltzer: 1:15:15

I mean that's the thought on the mixer and with a producer, especially if it's with a label, if you throw out the number that you would charge. So they come to you and they're like this is the artist and we're, you know, we want to get you guys into session. So it's like awesome, Would love to do that. This is Bartos rate for a production right now and these are the points like, for those of you don't know, points on the master. So Bart would make a royalty on songs that he has produced.

Austin Seltzer: 1:15:44

Just saying that up front and they're like damn for this song. We have a little bit less than that, is that okay? Yeah?

Bardo: 1:15:51

And you figure out, you can kind of talk numbers in advance and that means that they are interested in still moving forward.

Austin Seltzer: 1:15:56

But if they're like wow, that is so far out of our price range, Well, yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:16:00

Didn't you know it's not worth your time or then you are like you know what I really want to work with this artist? We're down to go that low. But then at least you have an option and there's not this weird moment where you're like, oh, oh shit, are we going to be able to finish this track at the final? You know the finish line. And then now you've put in all this time and love and effort into a track and now if they're like, oh man, we don't nearly have that money. Now you're left with a sour taste in your mouth. You're like, fuck, I put so much time and effort and love into the song and now I feel like I'm being strong armed. But if you say it in the beginning, you actually have a choice. That's so true, yeah.

Bardo: 1:16:38

And music is also weird too, because the way you get paid. It's like if I was an architect and someone came to me and was like hey, can you design a building for me? Draftups my ideas for this design, you know. And I'm like cool, yeah, I draft up a bunch of ideas. Even if they don't use those ideas, I would still be sending an invoice for giving them my ideas and my time. But music is not that way. We could go and have a whole session and write a song and then at the end of the day, like, cool, I don't want to use this. You're like okay, that's fine. And of course, as you get bigger, like as you grow, like it doesn't mean a certain point where, like I'm going to just be like, hey, you know I'm, you just need to pay me. I have my day rate of just like, you just got to pay me just to be there.

Austin Seltzer: 1:17:26

You know what I mean.

Bardo: 1:17:28

But it's this weird thing of like like you have to earn that. You know what I mean. But it's such a weird thing where it's like you put a lot of time into like ideas that so a lot of them don't come out. You know what I mean. So that's also the thing with producers too. I think this is another piece of advice, and something I'm actually even getting better at is like recycling ideas, because remember that like I mean I was going to my fucking my laptop today and just looking at all these ideas that I have in there, because I was actually I got hit up to do to send in some pitch for an artist and he's like yo, like can you send beats for this artist?

Bardo: 1:18:03

Like I'm in studio with him right now and I'm like, yeah, cool, and I was going through my, my whole like production world, like looking for shit I have that could fit this realm, and I ended up going through like session songs that I did with other artists. That just didn't happen like two years ago, that we just had ideas and I was like, cool, I'm taking this and I would just go in the, take their vocal out, send the beat to someone else and like, let's say this new artist then say I love this, I want this, I want this little idea of it Cool. Then we can figure the splits of the whole thing after a little cut that other artists and say, hey, you get pub on this now, but like that's also part of the production is like recycling and recycling ideas and stealing from your own shit you know what I mean. And like using those assets to like work for you because just just because it doesn't mean it's dead, because it didn't come out it's, you can still repurpose it. You know what I mean.

Bardo: 1:18:56

And like turn into something else, and you know I think that's really important to do. And like steal from yourself. You know that's a good little nuance.

Austin Seltzer: 1:19:04

Yeah, while you were giving the analogy of the architect earlier it another analogy hit me which I hope. Hope it sounds good coming out of my mouth as it does in my head, but I think it might resonate with people. The analogy is what if you go and hire a contractor to build a house for you and you know they draw out the?

Austin Seltzer: 1:19:29

plans and now it's your breaking ground. You're starting to build this house. At the time of building that house, you owe money. You owe the money that the contractor is building this house with. They're not just like fronting all of the money to build this house. Yeah, you owe 30, 40, 50% of whatever the building cost is going to be. You get it from the bank, but there's money due at the time of building. If you're a producer, you are building a house, but then this is how far this analogy can go. Now the house is done and livable, but you, you are the label or the artist and you're like, yeah, I don't think I'm going to live there.

Bardo: 1:20:21

Yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:20:21

And you just walk away and you don't pay for it. Yep, that is how it is. Whenever you have fully fleshed out a track and it is ready to go, it is a perfect house, and then it's not paid for.

Bardo: 1:20:34

Yeah, I've had times sessions, multiple sessions to finish a song, hours and hours and just like stressful moments to finish a song that they're like didn't even come out, and it's like, wow, that's crazy. But that's also kind of art too. You can like, you need to like see an idea through, but I think it's, it's weird, like why do we do that? And then to take it one step further, that's just producers. Songwriters don't even get paid a fee. Yes, now I will say producers, in my opinion, are doing a lot more of the heavy lifting, especially producer songwriters like myself, like I actively participate in a songwriting of a song and also bringing that song to life and making it a thing. There's a lot more heavy lifting in that than what a songwriter is doing. But a songwriter the song wouldn't be a thing without a songwriter, for sure. And I think it's fucked that the producer is the only one that gets a fee. And I really think there should be a songwriting fee and I think with bigger writers there are. But it should be more standard to say, hey, listen, guys, if we have you know, you're a small artist and you have $1,000 to pay a producer I think there should be $1,000 to pay a songwriter and let's say that's the pool. You know, we have a $2,000 budget, half for songwriter, half for production, and there's two producers in the song and three songwriters. Great, split that up A thousand for the producers, a thousand songwriters, or they can decide amongst themselves how they want to do it.

Bardo: 1:22:08

I just think there should be a fee associated with songwriting, because it's kind of the weird thing. What's his name? Oak Felder, or is it Oak Felder? Yeah, oak Felder. He heard this thing when he like I think it was him who made this analogy. He kind of used the house analogy but he was like imagine, as a songwriter, you only get paid for that house if it's an award-winning house and very famous house, because that's how songwriters litigate, paid only on royalties, right? So they're like yeah, you could write this, you could have, like you could build a hundred houses, but the only one that like really caches you out is like oh, yeah, I have this one famous house that everyone knows about, so now I get paid for that one.

Austin Seltzer: 1:22:47

Yeah.

Bardo: 1:22:47

It's like but all these other ones, like all these other ones, don't get paid for it. It's like oh yeah, well, whatever.

Austin Seltzer: 1:22:53

Yeah, it's like a churning bird.

Bardo: 1:22:54

It may make four dollars a year because of fucking shit-ass royalty rate and it's just like what? Like I don't know, it's weird, it's. The music industry is kind of fucked in that sense, and especially now, like there's so much more money being made, like this whole thing, like, oh, like guys, pirating isn't an issue anymore. The music industry is back. The music industry is making more money than ever has before. Absolutely, we can pay people, it's okay.

Austin Seltzer: 1:23:21

Yeah, I mean the majors are making like there's significant billions, there's budgets for this believe it or not, just fucking pay people.

Bardo: 1:23:30

You know what I mean and it's just like I don't know. There's definitely I know there's a shift in that. You know what I mean. Like people like standing up for this shit while I'm on my rant and on my soapbox. We need more women producing. 4% of producers are women but, like, majority of them are songwriters. Even if you think just on a structure basis, if 96% of producers are men and majority of songwriters are women, who gets paid the fee? Yeah, wow.

Austin Seltzer: 1:24:02

What a yeah, what a gender shift there with money. I didn't even, I didn't even think about that. Think about that Great point Right.

Bardo: 1:24:08

Just inherently the way this business is built. Producer men are getting paid when women aren't getting paid because of their job title, and it's like why. You know what I mean. And it's this kind of weird thing too for me, cause like I feel guilty, sometimes even taking a fee, because it's like it's as weird as a dance too, because it's like the songwriter could literally be there for a day or for three hours and they write the song, cool as done. They leave, they get to go home. I have to finish the song that night. I have to do, you know, four to five rounds of notes, different sessions with the artist to get the song over the top. Export stems with the files is a lot of other shit that I'm doing on top of it to make it over the top. So I think a fee is valid.

Bardo: 1:24:58

I think there's a lot of shit that a producer does beyond that validates them getting paid a fee. And I think there should totally be like some some saying thing like hey, if this song comes out, even if it's like 150 bucks, hey, you were there that day writing the song. Here's $150 for the three hours you were there, for sure, like. Or $1,000 because it's like you know, whatever it scaled up with the budget of the artists, like I think that should totally be a thing and it's just weird thing. Like should it come out of the producer budget? No, I don't think it should come out of the producer budget. I think it should come out of the label budgets. Like open up more money, it's okay. Like that's a part, that's a team member you know.

Austin Seltzer: 1:25:41

so I think that's a perfect point and I really hope that anybody listening to this understands a little bit more deeply kind of the grand scope of making a track and what goes into it behind the scenes.

Bardo: 1:25:55

So that's my little soapbox rant on the music industry and the shit.

Austin Seltzer: 1:26:01

that's unfair, you know so I'm curious to know, kind of the do you have a track that you worked on Maybe it wasn't even one that came out and had success that way, but a track in mind that you worked on that felt like a seismic shift in hobby career?

Bardo: 1:26:25

Hmm, um, you, you, you End Very, hmm, not really Well, kind of actually, actually. Well, I think there was a time, more of an era. I remember I was doing some production work on the Trevor Daniel album and then I also were on the same time the Lauren Sanderson album and I just remember like those like me and Coley were doing a bunch of stuff with them and I just remember just kind of like noticing myself level up in like like vibe selections and like just I don't like you know sound selection and just kind of like I don't know the sonic aesthetic of things and just getting better at that kind of vibe and just operating a session and stuff like that and like I don't know, like I think it's just also, at the time I was just doing it a lot. I was like the pace at which I was operating was just faster. You know what I mean. I was just kind of like getting after it and I think that was just kind of a shift. But yeah, I don't know, I'm still learning, I'm still figuring out how to do it. My big thing now is like I'm actually I feel like I'm going through that right now with operating more on feeling than I am thinking and this is a practice, but this is something I urge producers and any creatives really to do is like, don't think about what you're doing and just feel it a lot more than thinking.

Bardo: 1:28:01

Even like the song we just worked on I probably sound like a fucking psychopath, calling you and giving you notes, like I'm like listen, I know this is incorrect and this song is too loud and it's distorting, but I love it because it feels better to me and I don't want to think about it too much. And like we literally for reference, I, we had Austin makes our last record and like he did his first initial mix on it and I call him like go back to the demo and just elevate it. And he did and he crushed it and but because I love, I didn't want to lose that initial feeling that it gave me and I just realized like chasing the feelings far more important than chasing, like the idea or like the like the technical aspect of something. And yeah, and even like just it's hard and it's hard, but you're looking at a screen and there's so many colors and things to look at knobs and graphs and and like buttons and you're like, okay, there's so many things.

Bardo: 1:28:55

You're like I could change this, but like do I need to? Like, does it? What does it feel like? And closing your eyes and just like okay, like how does this feel to me right now? And checking in on yourself, that's a big thing. And like throughout the session is like, how does this melody feel? How does this core progression feel? How does the tempo feel? And just like little things like that and like I've just kind of been diving into that and even when I'm making instrumentals and beats and shit like that, like God chasing that fucking high of a good feeling song, so good.

Austin Seltzer: 1:29:26

Yeah, I mean, you really said it. We're referring to your next single. That already has a date and I'm not sure when this episode is going to come out.

Bardo: 1:29:35

Yeah, we were announced. May 19th is the next song. Well, yeah, yeah, this is a episode could come out after dying to be you if it's out or hasn't come out yet.

Austin Seltzer: 1:29:43

Yes, yes and fucking amazing track, thank you. But yeah, whenever I, whenever I heard it, I already knew you had told me we literally made this.

Bardo: 1:29:53

Wait, you are listening to basically a day one, with a couple changes because, like you guys, nailed the vibe, yeah literally just yeah, it was the project I sent you was the day one project Like just this is what it is, this is the one we've been listening to and generally, like you go through the fucking like 40 different versions of a song, like little edits, and I'm just this way Like no, keep it, yeah. And then we just we changed a lyric. We just literally actually eliminated a lyric and made it even simpler. It just had a lyric repeat twice and we just doubled the vocals. Yeah, that's like okay, cool, but the song was like we just didn't change it. They didn't touch the mix on. My end is like this is what it is. And then I want to send it to you. We just like I want it to be this, just elevate it, just clean it up slightly. Yeah, you know. So.

Austin Seltzer: 1:30:42

And that's. That's the way it ended up. It's just cleaned up slightly. And then we went through some fun revisions on like vocal timing and tuning, which just elevated the record. But my first like instinct was I want this bass to be cleaner so that we can make it just louder and bigger. But the fucked up distorted low end, that stereo. The cacophony yeah it.

Bardo: 1:31:11

It is the rawness that you're looking for, and sometimes the fucked up accidents are the things that make the song Literally the best moments I've ever had in like production, I feel like are always the moments where I'm like I did not mean to do that, there's so not what I was trying to do, but that sounds fucking ridiculous. We're keeping it. It's crazy and that's the beauty of it Not thinking about it, just doing it and feeling that felt amazing. Keep it. You know yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:31:41

Without a doubt. So now I want to, I want to figure out, because we just basically did an entire record together UEP, the Lauren Gray album. Yep, you produced all the tracks with basically a core group of friends.

Bardo: 1:31:57

Yes, I got to pink slip Inverness Beapus, coley Dasha, amelia.

Austin Seltzer: 1:32:05

Amelia.

Bardo: 1:32:06

Moore, Mckay, Stevens, McGregor, Leo, Josh Golden. Fuck, I feel like I'm forgetting Lauren Gray obviously you. I feel like I'm forgetting some of this. So many fucking people. There's like two, two different writing camps with so many different people coming through.

Austin Seltzer: 1:32:28

Yeah, yeah, I'm curious. So two questions here, like first of all oh J-Bock, oh, of course J-Bock. Yes, sorry, buddy, how did you meet Lauren?

Bardo: 1:32:43

Just, we'll start with that, met Lauren. She came how do we I've got set up somehow just a manager shit. I think like, hey, you know, she was looking for different producers and got thrown in with me and then me and Coley just did a session with her. So the song Let Down was the first song we ever made together Really, which made the record.

Bardo: 1:33:04

And yeah, and I think what Lauren how Lauren and I hit it off is I just listened to her and she was coming out of a situation where, like she was kind of forced to do a bunch of stuff she didn't want to do, like genre wise with her old label, and I think she she literally told me she's like you're the first producer that listens to what I want to do. But I'm like that sounds, that's crazy. What are you talking about? Like that's the fucking job, literally listening to the artist's vibe and just adding my sauce to it through their vibe to elevate their vision, and like I think it's just this.

Bardo: 1:33:48

Yeah, and I think she's just fucked with the fact that I listened to her and I, like you know, could have kind of like a big brother relationship with her. You know what I mean? I grew up with two little sisters too. So it's like I've always connected with girls very easily, like find myself like befriending girls Sometimes easier than guys. Like I just vibe with, like, I just feel like at home, it's like okay, cool, like you're like a sister kind of vibe, like it's easy for me to just get along with it.

Austin Seltzer: 1:34:12

That actually you know you saying that I actually think that I get along with women much better. And I've always been curious about that and I wonder if it's because I do have a younger sister. Yeah, I'm going to be honest, we're, yeah, you're tight. Well we're tight, but we smack heads, oh really. But I think that builds character.

Bardo: 1:34:30

Like you understand that, like I didn't have a brother to my reference, I never, like it, had to deal with that shit. But I like I don't know it was always around women and like, just like, okay, I just kind of understand the vibe and it's easy for me to relate to them and like show up in a way that, like you know, and just respect women and like you guys are like I don't know, there's never like the toxic. I just try to like, really try hopefully I'm not this way but like really try to not have the toxic masculinity aspects of things and just like I really value women, I think like the world doesn't value them enough. I think a big part of that is because I grew up with that. I'm like it's been an integral part of my life. My mom is an integral part of me being here as we discussed you know what I mean.

Bardo: 1:35:15

And it's just like so I don't know Long story short with Lauren. I'm like why would I not listen to you with the fuck you talking about? This is your vision, you know, and I respect your opinion, and I think she just liked that and we just hit it off and yeah, here we are.

Austin Seltzer: 1:35:29

So, yeah, I have to say that I think of all the albums like from start to finish I've worked on, I think that those tracks are the best, and what I mean by best. But let me thank you.

Austin Seltzer: 1:35:43

Let me do it. I mean it's amazing working with you and now, like I think, as the album went on, like we have absolutely locked in on how we work together, figuring out just if I get your project like it's so simple, it saves you time, it saves me time but then I really understand the fundamentals of what's going into the track. It's much more simple, but what I mean by best is just like sound selection, the track selection, the overall sonics, the way that each track makes you feel I mean cohesively. Really, I think it's the best thing that I've ever worked on. Hell, yeah, I think I really appreciate that.

Bardo: 1:36:31

Yeah, it's kind of a hodgepodge of a record.

Bardo: 1:36:33

There's like moments of like black eyed peas kind of vibe, like pop songs, then like idiom moments and then like straight just like folk songs, yeah, which I think is really cool.

Bardo: 1:36:45

But I love the fact that it all blends together and, yeah, honestly, really proud of that record, like it's one of those songs, one of those records where it's like I worked on things and I'm like cool, I'm down to working on this, like I don't necessarily feel like this is something I would listen to all the time, like it just because sometimes it's just like the artist wants it a different way and you're like, okay, cool, let's go that way and I just have a different opinion about things and whatever, and that's fine, like we can, but I still want to see their vision through and I just thought something I would always listen to all the time but I'm like still proud to have worked on it.

Bardo: 1:37:19

You know what I mean. But then this record is something I'm like, I genuinely like I like added, I'm like cool, I'm excited this is out so I can add these songs to my playlist, so I can listen to these songs, because I like I feel like it was like I was making these songs for myself. In a way, I'm like this is what I want, this is what I want to hear, you know so.

Austin Seltzer: 1:37:39

Yeah, I mean. So we went to her birthday album release party thing and the tracks played from start to finish, yeah, and that was so cool to hear that legitimately. I was like fuck.

Bardo: 1:37:50

I love it. I love all these songs. What's your favorite? One or two? You can pick two.

Austin Seltzer: 1:37:56

Yeah, I think the let down for sure, but I'm trying to remember the one song named the.

Bardo: 1:38:04

Tele freezes over.

Austin Seltzer: 1:38:05

Yes.

Bardo: 1:38:06

Yes, I think until hell freezes over is also definitely one of my favorites Dude. That's a banger. So good and enough for you, great song. How much of me is enough for you that's like, oh my God, that's that one. And predictable, also predictable.

Austin Seltzer: 1:38:25

So you like this is, this is the thing. They're all there. Really. It's a really great out. It's so everybody goes and listens. And now that, now that you've heard from Bartow- that was actually one of the first steps.

Bardo: 1:38:37

I'm like, oh, I love the executive production role. That's eventually what I want to like really step into is like I want to find my own like a little prodigy Bartow, like my guy that just can do a lot of like the heavy lifting stuff. But I like want to be more of like hey, let's like I want to oversee this, especially because I get busy with touring and like I mean already now I'm like we're literally just got off a two month tour and we're about to leave in like four days for another two month tour.

Austin Seltzer: 1:39:01

With many other stacked behind it.

Bardo: 1:39:03

Yeah, yeah, exactly yeah. Other shit lined up. You know what I mean. So it's like festivals.

Austin Seltzer: 1:39:08

And getting like yeah, maggie Lindemann, yeah, exactly. Or Stan Atlantic, stan Atlantic. What did I say? Wow, I'm sorry. Yeah, stan Atlantic, yeah yeah.

Bardo: 1:39:20

Really cool stuff, so thankful for it. And also like, how do I, how do you, how do you, balance being a producer and also like being an artist, you know, and anyways, yeah, I think that's really something I like I've been diving into is like, what does that look like for me in like the overall executive production role, where like could be thinking like hey, here's this idea that I have, it's a sample, it's a loop, and I put these elements on top of it. I want to give it to you and I want you to add your stuff, and I want to give it to you and you add your stuff and then bring it back and I'm going to then ship it off to this person to like seal the deal on it and it becomes something that it is. And like that fascinates me in like the slow burn on these things and the progress of things.

Bardo: 1:40:07

I've had songs that like were written for something totally different, that ended up with someone else, that like becomes something different, like those like maybe a two year long process of it shifting and evolving into something else. You know, I mean it's like it's how it goes. You know, yeah, swap the drums out, change the vibe, but like the core idea was there and becomes the other thing you know.

Austin Seltzer: 1:40:26

So yeah it's.

Bardo: 1:40:27

That's kind of what I'm stepping into now.

Austin Seltzer: 1:40:30

I love that, yeah, so. So let's, we're now we're going to fast forward. Okay, let's say that you have hit the ceiling as far as your music career can go, because, I mean, I totally think that you guys will sell out Madison.

Bardo: 1:40:48

What does that even mean, though I don't think there ever is a ceiling.

Austin Seltzer: 1:40:50

So I'll paint the ceiling for you. Okay, you sell out Madison Square Garden? Yeah, it really doesn't get much bigger than that, and there are ways that it can get bigger.

Bardo: 1:40:59

We're like post Malone, like level, like, just like we're like one of the notable artists, like top 100 artists, yeah, I mean, even if we talked about MGK, yeah, okay, yeah, let's just say as big as he is, which is tremendously big.

Austin Seltzer: 1:41:13

Yeah, you guys hit that, and you're also executive producing albums that are filling you.

Bardo: 1:41:20

Yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:41:22

What else is there? And what I'm kind of alluding to here is that we had this little joking moment, but kind of serious that we I threw out acting.

Bardo: 1:41:31

Yeah, I really want to act, really, really, really want to act. I want to act, but I really want to play the villain in things. I love that kind of like. I think it would be fun for my personality type because I'm sure you, I'm kind of an eccentric person and I get very passionate about things. And Captain Ramble yes, captain Ramble and I think it would be so fun to channel that energy into like just this like devious kind of like the Joker type personality characters, because I think for me is like it'd be so fun and like what a cool way to like I'm like, yeah, I'm, I'll do it, but I'm going to play the villain. Like I want to be the fucking bad guy in this, like I want to be the fucking over the top character.

Austin Seltzer: 1:42:17

Do you have a favorite Joker? I don't, I mean everybody. Hey, don't, don't look at, I'm not kidding, he's a little bit of a dut.

Bardo: 1:42:27

No, he's kidding me, he is the Joker, like that is like one of the best performances ever in my opinion of acting history and hate me if Joaquin is by far my favorite.

Austin Seltzer: 1:42:37

Really Absolutely no, dude, he's ledger is goaded. He is, and it was incredible. And then Joaquin.

Bardo: 1:42:45

Joaquin was good. He was really good. He was really good. But just something about the ledger's performance I just was so like, oh my God, like it was like, like soul-shaking, like that just is the Joker. It was inspiring for me. It's like I just wanna do some shit like that, where it's like, wow, this is just so. But Joaquin Phoenix like honestly, yeah, same kind of vibe, but just like it's just a different thing. Different. I just resonate with the alleged performance. More yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:43:11

I think that Joaquin his performance. There's so much empathy that that might be the wrong word here. I can actually put myself in that position and just see how this just came to this.

Bardo: 1:43:25

Yeah, it was a cool origin. It was a cool origin story of like, wow, honestly, great film, amazing film. But yeah, I just think it'd be fun like channeling that energy the insane, because I don't feel like I get to do that all the time. Like I feel like, in a way, you have to repress those crazy moments where, like if I just wanna scream or like you just wanna feel that energy and like let it go, and I feel like if I was playing the villain, I could just be that character that just fucking unleashes feelings and just opens the floodgates and like just go over the top. You know, yeah, without a doubt.

Austin Seltzer: 1:44:02

I think it'd be really fun.

Bardo: 1:44:03

So I actually talked to one of our, one of the agents on our team. He does like a lot of the crossover stuff for like music and then like film and TV and like I pitched him, I'm like I said what I wanna do, I planted the seed. So right now I'm obviously there's a lot on my plate. So it's not like the forefront of my mind, but something came up, fuck yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:44:21

So yeah, and I think that the world does open as you guys get more of a spotlight. Yeah absolutely. It's. Yeah, I mean we were. I brought up Jack Harlow. He seems to be like a very hot topic right now, but really I mean so you know now he's gonna be in this white boy can't jump show and crossing over from music to that, but it makes it much, I'm sure, more seamless. I don't know.

Bardo: 1:44:45

But more seamless once you have a platform. Yeah, definitely, and I think, further go into like the things I wanna do. I want to like I love food. I would love to like have a restaurant or like a something of a sort a compound I don't even know what the fuck or like we're talking about, like what that we want. You know what you're talking about. This could turn into. Yeah, I think that's stuff like this. It's kind of shit like that interests me, like ideas beyond music. I'm a producer of life. You know what I mean. It's more than just music and things I like. I love creating shit. That's why I love producing Like. I want to like create things. The passion is just.

Bardo: 1:45:27

It just yeah, like I don't care what the fuck it is Like, I just love ideas and seeing ideas come to life.

Austin Seltzer: 1:45:34

And yeah, just like I think this is honestly why I resonate with you so much, because that's me.

Bardo: 1:45:42

Yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:45:44

I used to produce, but I have moved on to other things because I felt that my gifts or whatever my passion is is aligned with other things. But I just want to create.

Bardo: 1:45:53

Yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:45:53

That's why we're here talking yeah, honestly, because I don't think that either of us know the waves that an episode like this can create.

Bardo: 1:46:02

Yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:46:03

Somebody, or tens or hundreds of people who watch and feel like they have to go and create.

Bardo: 1:46:09

Like Exactly. I also really good point to go over that. I heard this recently. Tyler creator had this like interview and he was like you'd never know, it's easy to get caught up. I'm like, oh yeah, I only has five views or whatever. But Tyler was making the point where he's found so many artists that way, where, like, he literally finds them and they have like a hundred views on a video. But Tyler the creator is one of those 100 views and he's like you never know who is watching and it's like it's not about the amount of views, it's like about the potency of those views.

Austin Seltzer: 1:46:39

I mean, I guess I'll say mine first so that you can kind of hear an example. But we were talking about this earlier and this has been a goal for a very long time. First of all, this podcast has been a goal for a very long time, but I personally felt like I needed to get my mixing career and life in a point where, financially, I'm like, okay, I'm ready to start something else, right yeah. Because I didn't.

Austin Seltzer: 1:47:06

The vision that I had was something more grandiose, like a room, like this but now that this is rolling the five year plan, I've always, always wanted to have a coffee and breakfast spot and really a hole in the wall. Grounds for success, grounds for success. And I have also wanted to have like a hole in the wall bar that serves like stellar fucking wings but not like ones with garnish on top, just a sloppy good ones, you know. Should we give them? Should?

Bardo: 1:47:36

we do the little brainstorm session we were just having when we were walking down here About the little, the grounds for success thing.

Austin Seltzer: 1:47:41

Yeah. So I'll throw out the idea that I had. And then how you used your marketing wild brain. So the idea for anybody who's listening that you know wants to make this a reality one day is I want to have a coffee shop that serves damn good breakfast, and when I mean that like so I saw Legit weird shit too.

Bardo: 1:48:03

Yeah, esoteric like why not, why just babel and cream cheese? Why not some wild shit on that bagel?

Austin Seltzer: 1:48:10

you know I'm done with that. I got to see you on tour in Austin, so we happened to be there at the same time and I'm from Dallas, austin.

Bardo: 1:48:19

So in Austin.

Austin Seltzer: 1:48:20

Exactly and dude some of the breakfasts that I had there was just insane.

Bardo: 1:48:25

It's insanely good.

Austin Seltzer: 1:48:26

Food is life changing. It is so some kind of like Southern breakfast food with like fun twists but very small menu.

Bardo: 1:48:36

So you know we do it right and then Can I pause for two seconds? I have to pee, so bad Again.

Austin Seltzer: 1:48:41

We're back, berta.

Bardo: 1:48:44

Such a cool vibe in here. It's like how cool that be to replicate this whole style. But I mean so much of like a cafe is like the network and like getting to hang out at a place with like other like-minded people and like I feel like if people in our circle were to open something like this, it would generate a vibe of like other music industry people and entertainment industry people circulating in that area. Like how cool would it be to like have a membership aspect to this thing, right when. But it's not like absurd. We even like 20 bucks a month or whatever it is or like, but just have. It's kind of like a workplace where you can go. It's a vibe, but cheap coffee.

Bardo: 1:49:26

Once you're in it's not like you know, soho house or like it's membership and also it's aggressively expensive. It's like it's just like no, it's like, hey, it was real like membership to get in, but then it's like really reasonable once you're in and then great food, great coffee, great vibes. I still like the ticketing thing for outside, like for, you know, guests can come in with tickets, memberships can just get in and really reserve the spot. You know that's fucking cool. But then also it was referral based, so you can't get in unless someone refers you.

Bardo: 1:50:02

I think that's really cool. I mean, granted, you already can do whatever you want with it. But I think that it's such a vibe where like creates a space, like, oh, I would pull up to this thing and like I would work here, I would exist here, I would, you know, work this into my schedule during the week to just stop at this place to just hang out and see who else I see, cause it's like there's a community aspect of it. The community aspect of stuff is, I think, the crucial and like business development especially now.

Austin Seltzer: 1:50:28

Yeah, I mean absolutely. There's so many, especially for a coffee shop. There are so many freaking options.

Bardo: 1:50:34

Oh yeah.

Austin Seltzer: 1:50:35

What makes you go to one place over another. Yeah, you know it's location, so it had to be a good location, but there has to be more. It can't just be great coffee, cause, let's be honest, I'm one of the probably only people who really gives a fuck about the notes of a coffee, or this or that you know, most people, I bet, are functional and they want it to not taste like shit.

Bardo: 1:50:57

Yeah, but what else?

Bardo: 1:50:59

Yeah you want the vibe you want, like okay, it's, you feel good, it's feeling Just like. Why do we listen to a song? Because it's feeling it feels good being there, existing at the coffee shop and like the transaction of everything feels good. That's why I love the idea of like the membership. It's like you're a part of this thing. You're like it feels good being a member and when you're there you're also not blowing your wallet on coffee. You're just like yeah, it's great food, great coffee at a really reasonable price, cause it's offset by members of cost. One of the best feelings is like is why I love going on tour cause you go and you experience great food, but it's not crazy expensive. Cause you're like in Milwaukee or something, or like some or Oklahoma, and like you just like hey, this is, you know, breakfast sandwich like seven to eight dollars and you're like wait what?

Bardo: 1:51:54

This is seven to eight dollars, Like for a really solid meal, where here it's like 15 to 16 dollars for the same thing and it's just like wait what Like, and it feels better when you know you're not overpaying for something. I mean where it's like creating this thing that's like has great value to it.

Austin Seltzer: 1:52:14

It's like oh, you're so right about the value comparison, because that's unfortunately. Whenever I go to a place I'm like hmm, you know what? This is a great burger, but for $22, and then I have to buy the fries. I mean, it doesn't really taste that good, exactly.

Bardo: 1:52:29

And people, I think, are getting smarter about stuff, and it's like. I would rather have a situation where it's like your value is so there. It's a high quality product that serves the customer more so than anything, cause you'll get more customers that way, and lifelong customers. Versus like yeah, we have a product, it's dope and it's also overpriced For us, like no, this is the correct pricing, it feels good from like, cause then it's like you don't feel guilty buying it. You want I'm going to come back and get this fucking burger, cause it's not overpriced. It's like Chipotle is like this yeah, great deal, great food. It's just great. It's just like. It's a great look how successful Chipotle is.

Austin Seltzer: 1:53:16

They used to have memberships. Really, I don't know if they still do, but you used to get a black card and if you came in you could.

Bardo: 1:53:21

Yeah, yeah, they would give it to certain people and like they could like Chipotle for life. I think Lauren actually has one.

Austin Seltzer: 1:53:26

Yeah, those should be an influencer type there.

Bardo: 1:53:28

Yeah, yeah, exactly, but yeah shit like that.

Austin Seltzer: 1:53:32

It's like I'm sorry, by the way, just being an influencer would not get a membership at this coffee place. Yes, yes, I mean, it's about vibe.

Bardo: 1:53:42

Yes.

Austin Seltzer: 1:53:43

Also, I would love to set up areas where producers felt like they could bring their laptop and headphones and work. Yeah it was sick. That'd be so cool Like I feel like this would be inspirational to a creator.

Bardo: 1:53:55

You can have a little room, like you could book it out like online, say a little production room or a mixing room or something Like I love spaces that are like multi-use. It's not just, it's just coffee and laptops, it's like coffee, laptops, podcast production room, mixing room, like you have a rooftop bar to just sunbathe, if you want I don't know. Just a little vibe Like I think that's so cool, I think that'd be a really, really cool spot, yeah it is really cool.

Austin Seltzer: 1:54:25

So for my last question, something I've been wondering I don't know how, I don't know this answer, but I think it's going to help other people who are wanting to break through as a band just get noticed, get any kind of forward momentum going. But how did beauty school drop out, start getting traction in LA? And before you answer that, for a while I had heard the band's name and there was a point where it was like barely brought up but I would hear it every now and then because I mean I am in like the old scene in LA. But then there was like a seismic shift, Like I don't remember the day but I do remember the day type thing, where it was just like everybody was talking about BSD. It was like yo, bsd is playing here, bsd is doing this, be it, you know. Like it just like became a thing, like it was synonymous with LA, like that culture, and I was like, oh fuck, okay, that's awesome.

Austin Seltzer: 1:55:24

And I still had not met you guys. I met Beapus at. I think it was Buzz's Michelle Buzz artist, buzz, fucking love her.

Bardo: 1:55:36

She actually just has a song. She had a. One of her songs came out in my Discover Weekly. That added my play Statues incredible song.

Austin Seltzer: 1:55:44

She produced the entire thing I can't remember the name of it.

Bardo: 1:55:47

That is yeah, I can't remember the name of the song. It's like there's no drums, it's like vocals. It kind of remind me of like Imogen Heat. That sounds like Liberation. Yes, Liberation. That's the song. Amazing and same song. Amazing song. You fucking crushed it. She produced that one too.

Austin Seltzer: 1:56:01

Yeah, I don't know if it's her and Lance. Oh yeah, but amazing so good.

Austin Seltzer: 1:56:07

I love Buzz, but I think it was her misfit release party and Beepus and Royal and the Serpent Royal I'm just gonna say Royal now, but Royal was there and I just remember you guys had some Web 3 stuff moving and I went up to Beepus and at that time he was just going by, brent, and we talked Web 3, not about music really, just like about ideas in the future, and we had this heart to heart moment and that is how I came into y'all's world. I then sat down and went to Dune with him and we ate and we talked again.

Bardo: 1:56:45

Dune, the restaurant. Yes, I'm gonna go there after this, I think.

Austin Seltzer: 1:56:49

No way.

Bardo: 1:56:50

I was like that oh and out water.

Austin Seltzer: 1:56:51

There's one down the street, there's one downtown.

Bardo: 1:56:53

Metatrainian food right.

Austin Seltzer: 1:56:54

Yes, yeah, there's one right in downtown.

Bardo: 1:56:56

There's one downtown.

Austin Seltzer: 1:56:57

Love it. That's where we went, and we again just like so good their beach sandwich.

Bardo: 1:57:01

My dad randomly met the owner of Dune backstage at Coachella. No way and like he brought me there, he's like I've wanted to. Just my friend at this restaurant that I met backstage at Coachella. I'm like so random but okay.

Austin Seltzer: 1:57:13

He's a rockstar. To me, dune is insanely good, oh so good. Oh my God, yeah, anyways, continue. So we just had a heart to heart there and I said, hey, man, I don't ever ask people for mixing work like to the artist, it's just like sometimes I do, but not really. I was like, dude, what you guys are doing is so awesome and I really love that music. I just mixed Maggie Lindemann's album so I can dance in that world If there's ever an opportunity, just remember. And like an entire year later, we made plans and God laughed, was ready to mix and I had you guys over and I took a stab at it and luckily you guys dug it and now we're here. But I want to know how that seismic shift of barely hearing about BSD to one day I just could not not hear BSD. What the hell happened? That's great.

Bardo: 1:58:14

I mean also, that's also so cool for me to hear that that's the word on the street, that like it's synonymous in the culture, like that's cool that's. I just got giddy thinking about that Because I think when you're so close to the flame, you constantly are feeling like am I even doing the right thing? Am I good enough? And like, is anything we're doing actually hitting people? You know what I mean. So it's really cool to hear that and thank you for saying that. I appreciate that. Yeah, that's really cool to hear and makes me really excited.

Austin Seltzer: 1:58:43

So I really think that that's true, and especially whenever Royal became in your circle, you guys together is I mean.

Bardo: 1:58:52

that is kind of it's a crew, yeah, a family, the OK. So there's a couple layers to this. A less is more and like scarcity is like actually a really powerful tool and I think for us what we did a good job at around this is really props to Koli, our vocalist. He is has been very connected in like different scenes in LA and he's like a very social butterfly, the kind of cupid character connecting people and he's really good at like he understands the less is more mentality. And early on the shows like our first show ever two years ago in May, like literally almost to the date, like this next month like is our first show two years ago.

Bardo: 1:59:42

Holy shit Was at the like after hours show was like mid COVID After hours show at this vintage shop called Haven House on La Brea and our friends owned it and they were throwing these kind of like underground like punk shows after hours and just they would invite their friends open bar, whatever, just kind of like a vibe, like it was mid COVID. So we use that as an opportunity like look, people are going to want to do something. We also knew that there was kind of a built in audience from them doing these shows here, but we knew how to like game it. We're it's like we could. We didn't want to do the traditional route of like we're showing a show, showcase or fucking whatever. It's like. No, like we're going to do this underground shit. That felt raw and fun and it was packed the fuck out and even if, like truthfully at the time, even if 20% of the people in that room were there for us and everyone else was there for the, just the party and like because a friend invited them, or like their friends of the store owners or whatever, it was packed and it was a vibe and it was something to do and we gamed it where it's like. We then gave us that roomful of people and we delivered a fucking performance for them and everyone left been like, oh, that was cool, and then they talked about it.

Bardo: 2:01:02

So the next show we did Harvard and Stone same thing. We, we ran the show. It was like we had the control over it because our good friend, mark Houston, who owns, like Harvard and Stone no vacancy, good time. David Wayne's like those bars, like just the fun, just like dope bars in LA, him and his brother, they, you know good friend of our management team, and he's like, just do something and he's a big fan of the band. He's like just have fun, throw your own shit. And we like took control and throw our own shit. We took like we curated the evening. We didn't have any openers, it was just us. First two shows, no openers, just us. It's curated BSD. And we again divided everyone.

Bardo: 2:01:46

At that point I think there was a little bit of hype of like oh, the last show is dank, don't miss this one. People came out and then like we delivered a great performance. Even those free shows we weren't charging for tickets. It was like we did it for the culture, for the community, and delivered on that and that was two shows in. And then we then we did another one that was like a homies birthday party who's very connected in the scene and like he's like we I want you guys to play my birthday party and we're like down and I think there was like lines out the door to get into this event but like people couldn't even get in. There's people who like showed up and waited all night and still didn't even get in. But the beauty of that was like, even though it wasn't even our event, the word was like oh, that was a beauty school dropout show, and you couldn't get into the beauty school dropout show because the line was too long, and so it kind of became this thing of like oh, it's hard to get into these things.

Bardo: 2:02:42

So we provided these events and these experiences for free for the culture, but very periodically. It wasn't like we're playing a show every weekend and like I think there's a power in like less is more and like it's the in and out method versus McDonald's, you know, and like our menu has four things on it and that's what it is, and we it's so and they are $8. And we it's a and they are $8 versus $4 for a burger, but it's a really good burger and I mean it's reasonable, but it's like you know, it's like it's four and it's it's. This is our culture and we've built this culture when, like, we own it, we're not selling it off to people like this is our culture and we've always had that mindset.

Bardo: 2:03:23

Early on, that was always the thesis and we stuck to our guns with it and and yeah, I think. And then we with we got the, the, the blessing of getting to go on tour with Royal as her band on her tour, and she was gracious enough to let us play Starfucker in the set because we had a song together and it was. We were the opening bands band on that tour and even now at our shows on tour, we still have people come out to us like I found you guys through that, through being the opening bands band, which is crazy. It's like wow, okay, that's cool. And so really props to Royal. She put us on early on, really believed in us early on, when she didn't need to, but she did. She saw something and she believed in us and I mean, and she continuously plays Starfucker with you guys.

Bardo: 2:04:17

Yeah, so that's yeah, and.

Austin Seltzer: 2:04:18

Starfucker is a banging song. It is, and everybody sings along. But the coolest thing is, every time that I hear her get on the mic after that track or after a show like I'll just say the Grammy party she will say you guys are some lucky motherfuckers to see these guys in a small venue because they're going to be world fucking famous one day. Just remember that. And every time I hear her say that it's pretty fucking cool because somebody who's played really, really big shows like Rockin' Rio with me Like holy hell, yeah, massive shows.

Bardo: 2:04:54

She played Coachella. Like Coachella, I mean, you know, like big, big shit. Royal is an icon and I'm so thankful that she believes in us the way she does, and I believe in her. She's truly one of the coolest artists out there, doing it Absolutely. And like it's so cool DJ, I just feel blessed, I don't know. So back to the you know the playbook.

Bardo: 2:05:16

I guess I think that, and it less is more, value yourself and like do good art and art is God. And like don't sacrifice good art. It has to be good music, it has to be good art and be a good person and to be kind of people. That's something we've always been really like keen on is like we want to be the biggest band in the world and, at the same time, be a band that, even if we're like selling out Madison Square Garden, everyone, down to the catering person, is like they are truly kind people and like they give a shit, like I don't want to lose that. I really fucking hope we don't lose that.

Bardo: 2:06:02

And like I just want to be kind to people and like you know, and be great. You know, show gratitude and like gracious and it goes a long way and there's really like being a real person to others and like, yeah, it shows up even and also then also divulge. Or I digress into another thing that we have early on is Coley and I were doing a lot of writing for other artists when we were building the band. We actually use that as kind of like a little alley-oop. We'd like we started using like a beauty school dropout as a production, like credit on song that we produced.

Austin Seltzer: 2:06:42

So we'd be like hey, if like me and Coley produced the song.

Bardo: 2:06:44

Be like me, Bartow and Coley and then and beauty school dropout on the song as producers and even just getting the foot in the door and like it was always like another thing, or even finessing a feature on something like early on, and just I don't know being a part of it and just like adding value to things and I just, yeah, I don't know Believing in ourselves. Also, like we're just like always believing in ourselves, Just like, yeah, that we are going to be the biggest band in the world, and it's like, yeah, why can't we? You know, and we're still working at it and we're still on our way and I'm so confident in what we're doing, you know, and very thankful that we get to do it. Yeah, man, I am, I'm thankful to be a part of it.

Austin Seltzer: 2:07:25

I certainly believe that you guys will be that and I'm just, I'm glad to be able to watch you guys do it. Oh, thank you, thank you for watching and thank you for being a part of it, truly, absolutely it is.

Bardo: 2:07:38

It's a dream.

Austin Seltzer: 2:07:39

Dude, thank you so much for being here, having a freaking awesome conversation about so many different things and unzipping and zipping zippers and, you know, throwing around ideas and letting us see a little snapshot into your rambling mind, captain Ramble, which I love, all of the rambles.

Bardo: 2:08:00

It's pretty cut the rambles, but you know, yeah, that's me, dude, it's been a pleasure, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. Seriously, this is a lot of fun.

Austin Seltzer: 2:08:14

Okay, so now that you've listened to this episode, I'm sure that there's like so many funny moments and awesome key takeaways, but ultimately I hope you understand that more about who Beauty School Dropout is, what they stand for, how they came together and all had unique networks and skills, and how it's just like the perfect culmination of people to be in a band to attract the eyes of First Wire like Sherry and Mark Hoppus, pete Wintz, all these people who believe in this band, and how it's really taken them to where they are today. Some of the key takeaways I would love to talk about the your Energy Makes your Day story. Bardo was talking to a woman while they were on tour, just waiting for some food, and she asked him if he was happy and she basically went into the story about how your energy creates your life, your day, and what he took away from it is, whatever room or opportunity or anything that he walks into, he wants to bring the best energy possible, like happy, passionate, stoked on life, energy, and he believes that, and I believe too that you will feel better, but also it will make those around you feel better. If they're down, it will lift them up. I just I thought that the story about how this came to his life was so awesome and I hope you do too. I loved that.

Austin Seltzer: 2:09:54

He says success is not a destination, it's the journey, and I feel like that's what this podcast is really about. It's about highlighting the journey is to success. It's not so much about the success itself, and me personally, I am on that journey. I have had some success and I'm able to pay for my life and music, but I'm on the road and I'm trying my best to enjoy every step and sometimes that's difficult and I think this podcast is a way to reflect, through others, that journey.

Austin Seltzer: 2:10:25

I loved this line. He said everything you do builds up your price tag, and that really resonated with me, because we have to choose, as creators or as a mixer and master, which projects we take on at a certain point. Work comes in very quickly sometimes and you only have so much time. You have to choose the projects that resonate with you, the ones that will move your career forward, the ones that build a better relationship, and I do think that everything that we work on builds our price tag or it lowers your price tag and you just have to be selective and you need to know your worth, but you also need to know what can help you out.

Austin Seltzer: 2:11:12

I love this line be a cockroach and keep going. That was his line on how to continue forward through difficult things. I thought that was hilarious. But ultimately, whenever you listen or watch this episode, I think that the biggest thing about Bardo is his passion. Like dude, exudes passion all the time and I feel like he doesn't talk about shit he doesn't care about. He is just bouncing, like in this video. You should watch it. He's just bouncing around and using his hands like crazy because he's so passionate about the things he's talking about.

Austin Seltzer: 2:11:49

And I think that, above all else, passion will take you far in life. It will just magnetically bring people into your life that resonate with what you're talking about, or somebody that you're talking to and you're just exuding passion about it. That person will. They won't be able to help, but think about the people they know that they could connect you with that maybe you will have an equal passion about. I really think that most everything in my life has happened because I talk passionately about the things I care about. I unapologetically talk about the things I love at a heightened level, because it just gets me so excited to talk about it that I think it's magnetically pulled people into my life and I really I felt like Bardo is the same person as me in that. So I wanted to highlight that.

Austin Seltzer: 2:12:45

And, lastly, always believe in yourself. Believe in yourself above all else, in the things that you are passionate and the things that you do. And this goes hand in hand with the last point is like, if you do not believe in yourself wholeheartedly, in what you are doing, how can somebody else there was a great thing that happened or great thing that Middy said in his podcast about some particular person telling talent, who do you want to be? And that person paused and did not have an answer. They hadn't figured it out yet. And the person who asked that question was like stop, don't worry, I'm not going to sign you today. You may have all this passion and this and that about what you're doing, but you don't believe in it yet and that's okay. But go and find that and come back. And what I'm saying here is that if you don't believe in yourself so wholeheartedly that the person across from you completely understands and has confidence in you, you're hindering your ability to move forward. So have that confidence and be able to back it up. Of course, but you've got to believe in yourself, and I know Bardo does, and I know BSD does, and I know that that's why they're having the success that they're having.

Austin Seltzer: 2:14:09

So thanks for listening to this episode. I hope you took so much away from it. Catch you on the next one. Thanks for listening to the Grounds for Success podcast. I want to thank all of the people who work on this podcast and help me out. My team is everything to me, and without them, I couldn't bring these to you every single week. I couldn't post on social media, you know, with all the clips that we have, and so I thank you guys so much. I want to also thank all of my clients on the Mixing and Mastering side, because without you, I could not have Grounds for Success. So thank you so much. If you're enjoying the Grounds for Success podcast, please follow, like and subscribe on whichever platform you're listening or watching on. It helps us out a ton and I want to keep getting this content to you in whichever way you listen or watch.