The Ben Maynard Program
Adam Holland's "Rapture," Classic Rock Reminiscing, and Musical Journeys
What if a global pandemic sparked your most creative work? Adam Holland, lead guitarist and vocalist for the Steve Augeri Band, shares how the lockdowns turned his Instagram snippets into "Rapture," a solo instrumental album that showcases a diverse range of musical styles. Adam reveals the behind-the-scenes process, from the first note to the album's release, and how it aims to be a versatile listening experience.
Music lovers, prepare for a trip down memory lane. We talk about the moments that ignited our passion for music—waking up to Steve Miller and Led Zeppelin, the first time seeing Jackson Brown live, and the unforgettable guitar solos of the '70s. The episode also dives into the influence of ZO2's classic rock sound and how early concerts left an indelible mark on our musical journeys.
From the Long Island music scene of the late '80s to the evolution of the band Valentine into Open Skyz, we explore band dynamics, industry challenges, and the enduring friendships that have shaped our lives. We reflect on working with figures like Richie Zito and Rob Jacobs, the significance of early band experiences, and the transformative journey of creating timeless music. Don't miss our heartfelt conversation, rich with nostalgia and inspiration, as we celebrate decades of musical influence and the creative freedom of today.#tellyourstory #familymatters #thebenmaynardprogram #classicrock #valentinetheband #openskyz #rapture #steveaugeriband #sevenwaystilsunday
Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram: benmaynardprogram
and subscribe to my YouTube channel: THE BEN MAYNARD PROGRAM
I also welcome your comments. email: pl8blocker@aol.com
What if a global pandemic sparked your most creative work? Adam Holland, lead guitarist and vocalist for the Steve Augeri Band, shares how the lockdowns turned his Instagram snippets into "Rapture," a solo instrumental album that showcases a diverse range of musical styles. Adam reveals the behind-the-scenes process, from the first note to the album's release, and how it aims to be a versatile listening experience.
Music lovers, prepare for a trip down memory lane. We talk about the moments that ignited our passion for music—waking up to Steve Miller and Led Zeppelin, the first time seeing Jackson Brown live, and the unforgettable guitar solos of the '70s. The episode also dives into the influence of ZO2's classic rock sound and how early concerts left an indelible mark on our musical journeys.
From the Long Island music scene of the late '80s to the evolution of the band Valentine into Open Skyz, we explore band dynamics, industry challenges, and the enduring friendships that have shaped our lives. We reflect on working with figures like Richie Zito and Rob Jacobs, the significance of early band experiences, and the transformative journey of creating timeless music. Don't miss our heartfelt conversation, rich with nostalgia and inspiration, as we celebrate decades of musical influence and the creative freedom of today.#tellyourstory #familymatters #thebenmaynardprogram #classicrock #valentinetheband #openskyz #rapture #steveaugeriband #sevenwaystilsunday
Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram: benmaynardprogram
and subscribe to my YouTube channel: THE BEN MAYNARD PROGRAM
I also welcome your comments. email: pl8blocker@aol.com
Hey there, welcome in to the Ben Maynard Program. Thanks for being here. Before we get started, a little bit of housekeeping to take care of. As a reminder, this program is available on multiple podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts, amazon Music and Spotify. Or if you just search the Ben Maynard program, you'll have many options to choose from. Just pick your option. Or if you can't resist going to Buzzsprout where I want to steer everyone that's where my website is then give it a go. But if you can't resist all this right here and maybe a little bit of that over there or right there, we go yeah.
Speaker 1:And you're watching on YouTube, then I ask that you please subscribe to the channel. I don't know anything about a notification bell, but if you have to hit the notification bell, do that, give me a thumbs up and leave a comment. You know I read your comments. You know that I reply to your comments, so those are all very greatly appreciated. Last but not least, follow me on Instagram. Ben Maynard Program. All one word. With that, there are plenty of ways to take in this show for your dancing and listening pleasure and, without further ado, you can see. Right next to me, if you're watching on YouTube, is the great Adam Hall. Yeah, yeah, wait, wait, this way, this way, here we go, is the great Adam Holland, and, yes, great with a capital G. For those of you who may not be familiar, he is the lead guitarist and vocals for the Steve Agere band. So, adam, I can't thank you enough for doing this. This is just. This is yeah. You made my last couple of weeks.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Well, thank you so much. It's been nice talking to you leading up to this as well, getting to know you, so I'm glad we're here. Finally we figured it out and I realized that I was what time zone I was in and what time zone you were in, so we finally got it together. So thank you for your patience, oh no.
Speaker 1:Yeah. No, that's great, I was able to work it out. You know I always get worried about trying to book guests, especially that are outside of the time zone, because of my work schedule. And to try to explain my work schedule, it's just. Yeah, it doesn't really do any good, it's all good, listen, it all worked out.
Speaker 2:The only thing was I didn't think that we weren't in the same time zone, so once we figured that out, it became a lot easier. So, yeah, all good, here we are. We made it, we did it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, this is. This is great. Um I um, you know it just came about. Through what? Was it? A podcast guest? I just clicked on music category wanted to see what musicians I had an opportunity to invite. You were the only one, but. I'm scrolling down the page and I saw your picture and I was like wait a second, I know this guy, I know who this is.
Speaker 2:That's so cool. That's been a great service. I must say. I've done a lot of cool things. It's really. I took a chance with that and it really has been great. So that's awesome and the people who I've spoken to are really have been fans and it's been really cool.
Speaker 1:So that's great. You know, I look, I, you have a great story, and that's what this show is all about is people telling their stories, and I just really want to dig into that. But here's where I want to start, because everyone out there, Adam, is an accomplished musician, been doing this for a long time and he just released in March I, I believe it was- just released his first month.
Speaker 2:Yeah, something like that, yeah his first solo album.
Speaker 1:Correct, it's an all instrumental.
Speaker 2:It's called rapture yes, thank you, yeah, no that's it.
Speaker 1:It just you know. First off, I I'm going to um, uh, I just I just want to tell you that I really, really enjoy it a lot, and, in fact, not to suck up, but I was listening to it before you came into studio just to kind of get myself in the mood, and that's the kind of album it is. It's something that you can put on when you're. I was thinking about this If I'm outside doing yard work, I can listen to Rapture. I can listen to it front to back. I can do it just sitting here in the studio doing nothing, whatever. I can listen to it at any time of day or night, and it's just a beautiful piece of music. So talk about it a little bit.
Speaker 2:Thank you First of all, thank you very much. I appreciate that. And as a songwriter, as a pop songwriter, I never really did or wanted to do an instrumental record like a guitar shred, no, or guitar record. So during COVID, when we had all this time, I started to do these Instagram one minute little songs, just literally we're all having a good time doing stuff. The Steve-O jury record came from that.
Speaker 2:This came that time all of us writing and then a bunch of those songs ended up becoming real songs, which is, you know, I'd say, probably half of Rapt. And then Gerard and I started to trade a million songs. Craig and I, you know, we just had songs flying around that were songs. So instead of putting lyrics and vocals, they're like three-minute songs, still with like a chorus and a bridge, but instead of having lyrics they have guitar solos.
Speaker 2:So I also tried to show a spectrum of music, not just all hard rock. I I kind of wanted to show my uh skills that maybe soundtrack and TV and things of that. So just to show a little diverse spectrum of what Adam can do. It's not all. Just, you know, balls to the wall, heavy stuff. So and back to the comment that a lot of times when I'm doing something around the house whether it's cleaning, cooking, it is I put on instrumental music. Like I love guitar players like Andy Woods, andy Timmons, like Steve Vai, satriani, all those great, you know guys who put on instrumental records, john Pasrucci and I kind of wanted to do something in that world. I'm like, wow, this is really really good music. So that's how it all came together.
Speaker 2:All these New York guys you're bringing up Exactly Well, I think they are New York guys, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think most of them are.
Speaker 2:Not on purpose, but yes.
Speaker 1:You know what I really like about it besides the fact, like I said, just no matter what you're doing, you can put it on and just really enjoy it, just dig into it is a lot of instrumentals, especially, especially, uh, guitar-based instrumental albums that come out, whether it's, you know, back in the 80s. I'll stay for the exception of, to my ears anyway, the untrained musician that I am, uh, with the exception of satriani, right, his, his songs are songs minus the lyrics right, he correct and, and that's what I get from yours, but what I it just I love your guitar tone.
Speaker 1:The tone is is I just I love it and I like the fact that there is no shredding going on. You're not trying to play a million notes at a time, it's just what each individual note is saying and that's what really just hits me right here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like I said, thank you so much and, like I said, I'm a pop songwriter and these are sort of pop songs, but just with the melody being played on guitar as opposed to being sung with a vocal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'm sorry, I'll tell my audience, sorry if you think I'm going fanboy and I'm really not trying to, but I think in you know, from my side of it, or for any fan other than saying oh, I love you, I love you, I love you. Most people don't have an opportunity to compliment a musician, a singer, a performer you know, face to face and really tell them how they feel about their work Other than you know. I mean, this is the closest you know. We're coming to it right now.
Speaker 1:I appreciate it Until you guys come out here on the West coast, and then I get taken.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure if we'll be out there this year, but maybe.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's. That's been very irritating as a fan.
Speaker 2:I think we were out there last year. I don't I? Yeah, that's been very irritating as a fan. I think we were out there last year. I know we're going to get to South Dakota this year, so North Dakota that's not.
Speaker 1:Clark, so okay. So back to Backrafter Now. It's not available in physical form, but it's available on all the streaming services, right?
Speaker 2:Correct. Yes, we just went streaming. I was going to do a CD, but I don't know if the demand really called for it, so I just wanted to have it out in the world. I wanted it to be out there for my personal you know guitar playing, to have it out there for the songwriting and just to have something cool expressive thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. And yeah, I mean to put out physical stuff. I'm assuming that you and I are very close in age. I'm going to be 59 in stuff. I'm assuming that you and I are very close in age. I'm going to be 59 in August.
Speaker 2:I am 59. So there you go.
Speaker 1:Well, there you go, then we are. So you know we're used to sitting on the floor in our bedroom. Put the album on the stereo, you drop the needle and you sit there and you stare at the album cover. You read the liner notes. You open the gatefold, or if it's a Kiss album, you turn it over and shake it out to see what kind of goodies come out of it Absolutely.
Speaker 2:I'm from that generation. I loved that time in my life. It was great.
Speaker 1:There's just something about it, I don't know.
Speaker 2:I think the most excited I ever got from a physical. I don't know, I remember this one. I mean all of them, but the Kiss records. But fair warning Van Halen, I don't know why. I remember that Like I couldn't wait to get that record, like I just sat with I just that was one of those records I couldn't wait to get. I went home by myself, I'm like, put it on, took out the line of notes what's that, what's this, what's happening that? I remember those days.
Speaker 1:It's great and that's, but that's. That's what geeks like us did and and still do. I still love musical in a physical form. Um, it's unfortunate that most vehicles now don't have even have a cd player, and then, which really is terrible, which is wild.
Speaker 2:but I'll tell you the only the difference now, which is I don't know better or worse or different, but but social media, you can literally see this person that you never would have any contact with. You can hear them talking. You're in their kitchen. All of a sudden it's like in the studio. That's pretty wild man, to take a ride with an artist that you like. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know, for some reason. I'm totally intrigued by two things. I'm a big fan of a guy named Jason Hook. He was in an awesome five finger death punch.
Speaker 1:Yes, right, right Right.
Speaker 2:His new band, flat black. He's done the great like Instagram type of thing where he's bringing you, brings you into, like the rehearsals. It's just like you see him in the studio and it's great. So it's cool. I'm a fan, so for me that's like wow, I love it. I'm also enjoying the Smashing Pumpkins had a new guitar player and Kiki Wong, who's a great choice and like her, like she's a big Instagrammer, so seeing her in this new place and her just getting to see it is like unbelievable. You see the rehearsals, you see the stage, you see the gear, so I think that's the new liner. No, that's my point of this is that's like that's the geek and it's like you can see it in real time. It's pretty wild.
Speaker 1:But for us it's just not physical though. That's the thing, you know, you know the you know. The cool thing about obviously having something physical is they can't. They can never take it away from you. That's true where you know.
Speaker 2:Sometimes an artist will have a deal with the streaming service or whatever it goes up, they take it down, whatever it might be, so physical it's just, it's always there and also back to that point when you took, when you did play the record, whether it was if you came back to that record months later, those same, like you, went back to the line of note. So you did it always. You're right, it always lived there. I have well, hold on, wait, do you see? I'm trying to point to my, to my. I have some Valentine vinyl behind me.
Speaker 2:I love it, I love it and we're getting into that Someone told me that I don't know whether that came from Europe somewhere, but it's pretty cool. It has liners. There you go.
Speaker 1:Nice, so okay. So back to Rapture. Everybody out there, it's available on all the streaming services. Check it out. It really really is good. If you like tasty guitar work, if you like something, that's that just I don't know. For me, like I said, it just it gets me right here and that's you know. I love any kind of music. When it just it hits me right there, I know I know it's good. Thank you, um. So anybody I mean anyone and everyone check it out. It's me right there, I know, I know it's good. Thank you, um, so anybody I mean anyone and everyone check it out. It's called rapture. It's on all the streaming services. How long, how long did it take you to get it all together? You said you started in talk about a year to really like.
Speaker 2:Once I started to hone in because I got I had these songs in smaller pieces. Then I'm like, okay, let's really focus. And then, like I said, gerard started doing all kinds of cool things with some like loop based recordings and I don't know. I was really intrigued by that. And then, uh, so about a year then, then I had, you know, then I really mixed it and really, you know, went in and really honed. It was just kind of quick stuff off the Instagram, stuff was just kind of quick, you know, throw it together and play a lot. I played along to like a track. So they took those actions. We did them and made them into real things, some of them Okay, okay.
Speaker 1:So how long have you been playing guitar?
Speaker 2:A long time. Like we already mentioned our age, so it's out of the bag, so I've been playing since I'm about 11 years old.
Speaker 1:Since about 11 years old, and I like to ask I like to ask a lot of people that come on the program, but especially for a musician can you think back to a time or a place, an event, where you heard something? Whether it was on the radio, your parents were playing it, whatever it might be, but you heard something and that was it. The music grabbed you right there and you were just hooked.
Speaker 2:Definitely. It was probably three separate things. So first of all, my older sister, a couple of years older than me and she would play every morning in the house. She would put on some record loud Like it was like the whole house would wake up. It was kind of cool. So I remember she would play like Jungle Love, steve Miller, she'd play Frampton Cubs Alive, foreigner, boston Fog Hat Live, which I remember full opening.
Speaker 2:I'm like holy shit, like wow, those feedback in guitars, even Hall Oates, but like you know what else. Bad Company, a lot of Bad Company. But like Fleetwood Mac. And then of course Led Zeppelin. That was like holy shit. And then I heard a song by the Orleans still the one, a huge 70s genre, the guitar solo. I'm like holy shit. I still to this day it's one of my favorite guitar solos.
Speaker 2:And then I think somehow we were up in the Berkshires and we went to see Jackson Brown outside. I guess it was a show where a family could go and I saw Jackson Brown play live and that was like the first, I think seventh grade, I was young, the first concert I ever went to. And you know that band I guess I forgot the name of the band, but leland sclar, all these famous musicians who I learned later. But they were like so good. I'm like holy shit. And not that I was even a jackson brown fan. I barely knew who the guy was as a little kid, but right, so all those. Then, of course, I went on on to start going to see all the concerts at the time. But that's the initial, those three things that I initial. What got me to like, wow, this is it, this is you know. I was like holy crap. Then of course, kiss and Helen, and then it's ACDC gets downhill from there. I was sucked in of sucked in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, I, I, I. I hate to tell my story because I've mentioned it several times on this show and I only have, I only have 50 episodes. My audience has probably already heard it five times, but but I like sharing it, especially with someone who is. You know, we are the same age and we were growing up at the same time listening to a lot of the same music, and for me it was about 70, it was about 72, 73. And in the house and you definitely will relate to this stereos were big, giant pieces of furniture they were in the room right made of real wood.
Speaker 1:They always had. They always had about 12 inch speakers in them and right there was no blessing, oh, they were. Just there were no joke, and and so we had one in the house, in our family room, and my, my mother, had the 45 for the Beatles' Let it Be.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, and she would put the needle on the 45, and she sat on the floor in the family room in front of a typewriter and as it played, she typed the lyrics to the song as it's playing and of course, every once in a while she'd stop down and start it again or whatever but typed out those lyrics. And I still remember they were on golden rod paper and I took those lyrics and I would play that 45 over and over and over again and I would, I would pretend that I was performing in the family in front of nobody, right, you know, and sing and let it be, and that was that was where you know it's.
Speaker 1:You know just, I think, let it be, and that was that was where you know it's, you know just, I think that's just where it. Just that was it, I was done now, yeah, the stereos.
Speaker 2:Well, like I said, my sister would put this on. It was like loud, the speakers were big. Yeah, like it wasn't like a little bluetooth, it was like bumping, like fucking drums it was great.
Speaker 1:I was like everything in the house would shake that was.
Speaker 2:it was back. It was great. I was like that was like the house alarm clock. It was like I remember again jungle love starts with all those bells. I never forget it. I'm like holy shit, ding, ding, ding. I'm like it was like the craziest alarm clock. It was like you know, back to the future.
Speaker 1:I'm like all those great guitar tones from the from the late 70s just stuck in my head. So, yeah, there's something to be said for that and I think that's. And you, you brought him up. Uh, you said we would talk about him, so I wrote down z02, but that's the one thing that I appreciate and I told, I told the guys this way back when I had the fortunate opportunity to run into them when they were on their first tour opening for Kiss back in 2004.
Speaker 2:Cool, you saw them.
Speaker 1:That's great yeah, and they were. They were standing outside the merch stand and I went, bought the cd and then, hey, you know, can you guys sign it? And they were, yeah, but listening to them, I, I didn't even know who these guys were. I took my, my son, who was 16 at the time, and we were just digging on ZO2.
Speaker 2:And he sounds like classic rock.
Speaker 1:That's why I know that was what I told you, I told Polly. I said at the time, I said you know, I said you guys have this, this 70 sound, that you kind of just put a little tiny modern twist on it.
Speaker 2:They absolutely do, which is why it's so good. Paulie guys, first of all, great player, what a great vocalist. The whole band, I mean really. I really, really am a fan of those guys.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, me too. They really are. They're great, and one of these days I'll get Joey on here.
Speaker 2:He'll do it, he'll do it. He's not, he'll talk to you. Trust me. Joey's a good friend and his for a while. He was briefly in the Steve Augeri band Long story, but he was from, so we became friends then.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And I took a deep dive, I don't know. I was on a plane ride, I wrote a book. I'm like give me the book. So I read the whole book and I was like I became a deep dive, and then I'm like holy shit, I have to go.
Speaker 2:I watched, like plowed through two seasons of of you know, z rock, which is z rock. It was so great then I went, then I did a deep dive into all his records. There was like a couple of months. I was like fully immersed in, like the world of z02. Joey casada, paulie so either way, I'm well, well, well, well versed in the world of ZO2,. Joey Quesada, pauly so either way, I'm well, well, well, well versed in the world of those guys. It's a good world. But my point is the music, like Pauly has a great guitar sound, good, old fashioned. Les Paul, drew Marshall yeah, he's that kind of seventies, you're right, his vocal is like.
Speaker 1:I the singer's name. I'm good, it's not, I should know this, but like um humble pie, what's that? What's that guy?
Speaker 2:oh uh steve marriott yeah, he has. He reminds you a little bit of that, really like that 70s kind of thing which, yeah, you get with a modern tay tape.
Speaker 1:I agree with you. Yeah, just great stuff. And those guys, they're like they're like a legendary in the tri-state area.
Speaker 2:No, it's great. They're good dudes and talented, very talented.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, let me get my glasses on here.
Speaker 2:Well, I'll put mine on too.
Speaker 1:They're coming on and off because they're just readers and I can't see without them and I can barely see with them.
Speaker 2:On the Steve Augeri stage like these things. So we buy these on Amazon in a box and they just flooded around the stage because God knows who needs them at some points. That's old old man. Rock Craig and I have like just really keep a box. He's like somebody grabs them. Someone always needs them so I'm like I lose it.
Speaker 1:So tell me, tell me about some of me, about some of the guitarists that inspired you early on.
Speaker 2:That's a great question. Jimmy Page obviously was the first like, and Fram did those again the 70s, the people I just mentioned. Right, I had Steve Miller, really, like you know, fly like an eagle, I'm like man, what the hell. And that great sound, steve Miller's amazing. And'm like man, what the hell, that great sound, steve Miller's amazing. My sister again, it would be so loud, it's loud like stereo. So it wasn't like just I hear it, it was like I fucking heard it, it was like woo. So like Led Zeppelin, jimmy Page, frampton, I mean, do you feel like we did that solo? I must have listened to that a thousand times. But the Foghat guys, I'll tell you, I was the first like distortion guitar, tom Schultz, all those guys were my first influences. I loved Ace Frehley. Then I heard Kiss. I loved, oh my God, I loved Ace Frehley. And then, like every other human who played guitar in 1978, when Eddie Van Halen came out, it was like that was it.
Speaker 2:However, I also loved the same time as I loved Ben Helen and the flash, and I loved Angus Young and that just good old fashioned like chunky. You know black and black, you know just like you said it's.
Speaker 1:It's that chunky blues based hard rock.
Speaker 2:I think so. Yeah, those are the guys, gary Moore, I always exactly right. And I, I think so. Yeah, those are the guys, gary Moore, I always exactly right. Then I became a fan of Slash because he was like the next. He carried the torch of that bluesy, that bluesy which I always liked, gary Moore. I loved John Sykes as well, you know those something with a bluesy. I always liked the little Flash with a little bluesy swagger. Warren Demartini was that way, so was George Lynch. They all had a little bit of blues in them which really wasn't just full-on speed. It was always some swagger in there, which is cool.
Speaker 1:Right, and those guys could do that, but they could also just bend the notes, that's exactly right.
Speaker 2:Sometimes what you can do with one note is more important than what you can do with a thousand notes.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, yeah, definitely. What you can do with one note is more important than what you can do with like a thousand notes. Absolutely, absolutely, um, yeah, definitely. So there's no reason for me to ask you about your favorite bands, because you're talking about all the guitarists that influenced you, and and that that says enough. Right there, let's, let's, go way back, okay, into your basement and tell, tell us about the first band, your very first band it's my first in my basement, by the way, and I don't know how I think gerard.
Speaker 2:I've been playing with gerard since I'm 14, so I'm almost every band I'm getting to that too.
Speaker 2:And so somehow we painted the. I'll send you a picture, I have it somewhere. We painted the I'll send you a picture, I have it somewhere. We painted the walls of the basement like Van Halen stripes. Oh man.
Speaker 2:Then one wall, I had a guitar. My first good guitar was a Charvel and it had these like black and yellow, like looked like a highway sign stripes. Yeah, it was cool. So we had one wall painted that way, but I had it, this guitar. I had it pre-striper, by the way. So then when striper came out, I'm like, oh my god, I can't play this guitar because I'm like people like are you like a striper? I'm like, holy shit, I had no idea either way.
Speaker 2:So the point is, in my basement my first band I mean that was really like one of my was gerard, yeah, a couple of high school guys and we played. We played at our high school. We used to play, like you know, whatever the cover is, we played by helen, we played saxon, we played some judas priest, what else we played, maybe some foreigner, but you know, like it was all it was a little definitely towards the heavier side. It probably was horrible, but that was sort of like the. Uh, that was, that was. But Gerard's been there since, like the nonsensical days of foolishness of high school.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you said about 14, and we're going to get into a little bit more, but Gerard's still around to this day.
Speaker 2:I know Gerard and Craig were still there.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, yes, that's awesome, it is, it's great. It is it. Yes, that's awesome, it is, it's great. It is, it's great, and I think it is just so healthy to be able to, at our age, still have friendships and deep relationships with people that we grew up with as kids.
Speaker 2:My crew of people. Those guys included obviously the band, but my high school buddies are still my buddies.
Speaker 1:I'm the same way. I've got friends that I've known since I was 10 years old.
Speaker 2:I thought that was a New York thing, but I guess that's not. It's cool. Yeah, how many people have all that? I don't think.
Speaker 1:Right, right, it's not a yeah, it's not. I I don't want to say it's, it's abnormal, but it's just, it's not a normal thing and and that's why I think, when you have something like that man, you just you hang on to it so how I met gerard?
Speaker 2:all right, I went to it's a local, another family who's friends. I went to camp with this guy. He's one of my best friends. I had known him since an eight years old. We went to, you know, we in summer camp. Like hey, our parents showed this. In this camp we became friends. So that's how I met gerard. He went to school with gerard. We all lived in the same town, so, either way, crazy stuff, good time, good times and it still carries on.
Speaker 2:I just think that's great this all still my buds to this day.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you got married to your wife, paula, in 2011. Yes, did these guys bury you with childhood stories? Did they go and tell Paula all these crazy stories about growing up and then just kind of throw you under the bus?
Speaker 2:No, that's a good question. They definitely did. I think she knew what she was buying. There's no question about it. Okay, but yeah, of course.
Speaker 1:That's great, that is that is just. I love it. That is awesome.
Speaker 2:My daughter. I don't want to get into my whole life here, but I have some adult children and I have a young daughter. Um, she's wait, wait wait, wait.
Speaker 1:Let's just change the name of the program.
Speaker 2:This is your life no, we'll just adam holland. The point of the point of this whole thing is that she had an 80s themed party. So I'm like, oh, you need 80s stuff. I'm like I got the legit stuff, so I pulled out some crazy, stupid 80s clothes for this party that.
Speaker 1:Hey, you know that I don't know. There was something about growing up in the 80s. I, I I like to say that our generation, we were right in the wheelhouse. We grew up at the right time. We were, you know when we're old enough to start taking in music. Unfortunately, the beatles were done by 70, but there's I mean, come on 60 years later, they're still relevant I know it's wow and and and and you had all those bands from the british invasion.
Speaker 1:you had all this stuff coming up in the 70s, stuff that we could start to grab a hold of, and all this just great music through the 70s, the 80s, and there was some just I mean, to me anyway, there's just some tremendous stuff that comes out of the 80s as well, and I know it's towards the back half of the decade. You know the bands take a lot of heat and I don't think it's justified.
Speaker 2:I think that it's just you know the side, every decade. Now, looking back, the 80s, look at the 90s, I mean then you had that ended and you went into the 2000s. You know, then I'm not really sure what happened in the 2010s. But my point is, each decade has its sort of sound. You know, as you get further away from it, the 80s now is nostalgic. You know, during the 90s it was like you couldn't even talk about the 80s. But looking back on the 90s, I mean holy crap, what phenomenal. So I'm adding to what you're saying, I'm agreeing with you. Yes, and to even go further, like, like now that we're a couple of decades away from the 90s, look at pearl jam is still like one of the biggest stream bands at pearl jam, nirvana we haven't put out a record decades in 35 years right.
Speaker 2:So they're still one of the biggest stream bands, so they're still relevant. Pearl jam is still touring like crazy. All these wonderful you know bands. It's the pumpkins, like I mentioned. I have a huge smashing pumpkins band right. Um, they're just still like selling out stadium, you know, it's wild. So then, like I said, my, my older kids were growing up in that 2000s right, so I would listen to all their bands, like paramore, fallout boy, the killers. I still like, no doubt I still love. That to me has some nostalgia because it reminds you of that period of time and those bands are still huge. So my point is it's it's amazing that once you get some distance from each thing, like how each decade has its like cool mark on music and but, like I said, you and I grew up in the 80s it's always going to be our, our baby that 80s well, well, tell me what you think of this, though.
Speaker 1:You know, and, yeah, the 90s, it gets their fair share of crap as well, but the 60s never gets it, the 70s never gets it. I mean, those are, but you know, I mean, that's just the way I feel about. I've never heard anybody say, oh, that music from the 70s sucked.
Speaker 2:And no way rock I still. I can listen to yacht rock Rock all day long absolutely, absolutely for me.
Speaker 1:I like a lot of different genres and I like the 80's hard rock, I like the classic rock from the 60's and 70's and I like new wave. I really enjoy like top 40 music from the early 80s, late 70s, early 80s and I guess because I listened to I had listened to a lot of top 40 radio in high school and it was so different than where you would hear a rock song, a disco song a country song understand. You know adult contemporary song.
Speaker 2:You'd hear all of it, so you got exposed to so much of it and I think, um, yeah, it's a good, it's I, yes, I think you're right with I forgot what's gonna say it, so I lost my train of thought. I thought I mentioned country. I also really like they call it that modern country. You know late 90s to the 2000s, right, keith Urban, rascal Flatts era. You know Tim McGraw like Faith Hill. You know Jody Messina. I was like, wow, I love that era of country.
Speaker 2:I was actually, if you know, I was a Nashville writer for five years, it's all right here in my notes it was cool, though, though at that time, like the nashville community, I guess I don't know the publishers were like well, let's, let's mix in some of that 80s rock stuff. Not, they're like don't come here and be a country writer, we have plenty of that. We have the best of the best, but maybe come, bring some of your pop rock riffs and see if they can combine with the country. So that was a cool chapter in my life. I still love that. I listen to that music all the time. I love Keith Aragorn, I love Rascal Flatts, I love all that era of country music, love it.
Speaker 1:Well, since we're talking about the time when you were writing in Nashville, what are some of the artists that you were working with?
Speaker 2:Interesting enough, I didn't have anything recorded. I had a lot of things on hold. I had something on hold with Sarah Evans. Who else? A couple of different things. There was a guy named Philip White who at the time had written the big single for Rascal Flat. So he was like come on, we got to get my publisher, was like right with this guy, everything up tempo you could possibly think of. We wrote a lot of songs geared towards them. There was an artist called Amber White. We wrote a bunch of things for her. She was on Hollywood Records. Her record never came out and, believe it or not, in the same time I was in a place called Murrah Music. They had this new guy named Luke Bryan who obviously went on to become pretty successful.
Speaker 1:He was always a talented guy A little successful, anyway Slightly successful. He was always a talented guy A little successful anyway Slightly successful.
Speaker 2:My partner used to write with him before he was huge. I always loved his own sort of songs. He wrote for other people a little more. I loved his pop stuff he did himself, but he's a really deep, talented writer. So that was the world I was in. It was a great, great time and I have fond memories of those times.
Speaker 1:That's great. That's great. Okay, we're going to back up again.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I took a couple of decades forward, sorry.
Speaker 1:No, that's okay though. That's all right.
Speaker 2:I don't mind jumping around, I just want to get back to where I was. You said country. It triggered the whole thing.
Speaker 1:No, that's great, that's great. So the band Valentine yes, is that your first big band where you had a recording contract and a record deal and all that? Yes, okay, okay. And then how did that come about? Obviously, you had Gerard and you had Craig.
Speaker 2:I started with Gerard, then we met Neil and then by the time we were, we had another singer, this guy I don't know Jeff Rex, I'm not sure if that was his real last name, but he was great. That band was almost slightly rock, but like almost more like missing persons. It was almost slightly rock, but almost more like missing persons. It was a little rock, new, oh wow, which was cool. So we were playing and writing and did some coverage, some originals on the Long Island world. It was like a nice club circuit in Long Island. And then another band called Equinox, a pretty popular Long Island band, got their equipment stolen. I don't know how it happened. They're like listen, if you let us use your equipment, you can play every gig with us. So meanwhile I'm in high school. I'm like holy shit, well like sure, why not? So three nights a week and they were all weeknights. It was rough. We played like Sunday, wednesday and Thursday and I'd get home at like 6 in the morning and go to school like I couldn't even see. But we did that for like six months. It was unbelievable. I was really like some boot camp. And then we met. So we were pretty well versed in the Long Island music scene and then we knew of Hugo. Hugo was playing in a Rush band. He was great drummer. Hugo oh, okay, neil. So neil knew a lot of people. Neil was like the sort of knew everybody in the long island circuit and that's how we met craig. And then we got convinced hugo, we loved his voice, he and we.
Speaker 2:When I met craig, that's when we started to really write like these kind of songs. That became the Valentine first record, like right away. Most of the first record I shouldn't say most of it we wrote like right when we met, like Naughty Girl Someday Once in a Lifetime Maybe I'm going to figure out, maybe Too Much is Never Enough. We wrote those like right away, like right when Craig and I met. And then, right when Hugo came in, we really gelled and wrote those songs. We demoed them and things just started to.
Speaker 2:You know, we were in the right place and we went to California for a moment just thinking we should like the Sunset Strip is the place to get a deal. We went there for a moment. We realized this is the stupidest thing in the world because, you know, we have to focus on living as opposed to focus on being a band. So we took in what they were doing out there. We came back to new york and really, you know, got. We focused on our look, our sounds and the demos and the whole thing. And uh, that's when you know that that was all of a sudden, it was a really quick.
Speaker 2:Once we came, things started to really jelf and then we got signed to. I have to give the ultimate credit I always give it to JJ French Twisted Sister. Oh, no way, because we rehearsed at a place with some friends in the industry and we got to rehearse at a place called Nino's Studio. So Joan Jett rehearsed there, friends in the industry and we. We got to rehearse at a place called nino's studio, so joan jett rehearsed there. The stray cats, twisted sister, maybe some other, not even sure what, some other long island taylor dane, like these pretty famous folks and us. I don't know how we even let us in there, but so, however, the time twisted was huge and they started to do these they were working with, started to work with other bands. I think Dee Snider signed some people in production and JJ and Mark were like listen, we hear you guys playing. We want to develop you and help you go forward, and we started to work with them, and I'll try and make this short. It's a long winded story.
Speaker 1:It's okay, it's all right. I don't have any place to be story. It's okay, it's all right.
Speaker 2:I don't have any place to be. Gerard and I decided we were interning a record company. We first started at Columbia and we ended up at Polygram, so we knew people and all of a sudden we needed a lawyer because we had to do some paperwork. We asked somebody around. We got this lawyer who was an entertainment lawyer and to his credit, he's like listen, this is not that it's a bad thing, he goes. But before you sign anything, can you give me five minutes to see? Can we shop this? Or just before you commit to something on paper? Okay, and then another good friend of ours, scott bernstein. He was I don't know his, he knew everybody. He knew like the steve lieber krebs worlds we'd already met lewis at that point and um, sbk, you know, the, the publishing company, decided they were opening a label, a management company and new publishing company and they needed fans. So, arma, and in he got our demo.
Speaker 2:This guy, scott bernstein, a friend of ours, he's like before you sign again, everyone was like before you sign this, give me three days. Everyone and SBK signed us. So that was like a really big management company and they God bless them to this day. They helped us to really develop. They're like listen, you know, we're going to write and record as much as you can, we'll fund the demos. And so we started to really write and write and make the demos.
Speaker 2:We brought in our manager, louis Levin, to the Arma Anden and co-manage it with Louis Levin. Louis Levin managed this great producer, neil Kernan, who did all the Dokken records. He did all the romantics, he did all the Notes. We were huge fans of his. He was like listen, I'll make your record, let's start with the demos. So here we were, like our heads were exploding, working with our most favorite producer. So there was a great momentum. And then, you know, so the labels knew who we were and then we were playing the club circuit all around. It was just a great momentum, building time. Think this was mid 87, you know, 88, early 87, 86 even. And then we showcased for columbia and they said we want you. And then, you know, a little bit of twist in that little little fork in the road, at the the same time the 90s were approaching, a new record company, president, came into Columbia.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Said you know, I'm getting rid of some old stuff, I want some new stuff. The good news is that the guy who signed us, john Mervos, also got kicked off the label, but he took us with him to Warner Brothers giant records, which is, you know, warner Brothers reprise records, okay, and so the whole thing went over there. So it was a little bit of momentum, you know, slowing down, but we still did it. We still took the whole record and the whole package over there so the album actually never came out under columbia no, it was recorded for columbia and sold to one of brothers gotcha.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, because didn't it. Wasn't it released in like 89? It was released in 90, 90, early 90, like right, okay, yeah and I, uh, we, we talked, uh we were talking last week about it. I like the album, I like the music on it, I just like everything about it. As I'm listening to it, I'm saying I see, when it was released, I kind of maybe understand why it didn't.
Speaker 2:It didn't do bigger well, there's no question about it, but, but I was thinking.
Speaker 1:Well, I was thinking, if this thing had bon jovi on the album cover, forget it, I mean it, it's it would, it would have killed.
Speaker 2:Also. But I think so for my thank you for that, but so for our perspective. So if we hadn't gotten, we always say if we hadn't been dropped we would have been in the same machine and as the Columbia machine which was warrant firehouse.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You know, we used to go to all these events with them. And then, by the way, our band and Heaven's Edge didn't make it into the machine quite in time, we didn't make it into the shoot to get the promotion of that machine, because once you're in that machine, the video, the promotion, those bands sold millions. So I think we would have if we were to come out a little earlier. And, by the way, who knew that things were going to change? Like Neil. And by the way, who knew that things were going to change? Neil Kernan, the producer, he had a back injury. We're like, oh, no problem, we'll wait for you. We didn't even think that time would be an issue. But listen, I can't go backwards, I can only go forwards and I can't look back with regret. So it was what it was.
Speaker 2:We were proud of the record. We really loved working with Neil Kernan. We definitely wanted to make a record that was like in the vein of queens, like rage for order and like pyromania. We really wanted like that real mechanical kind of sounding thing. We would go. We went for that sound.
Speaker 1:not, we didn't go for the loose live thing, we went for the real tight type of def leperty thing and, and it is very tight and um it, I mean, yes, it is very, it is very much of the time right, musically, totally. But, but not only, not only the whole bon jovi thing, but if, if that album comes out three, four years earlier, again with the name valentine, forget about it, forget about it it's gonna kill like never said it, you know, would be easy.
Speaker 2:People still love that song, even though it never even came out as a single, but got voted. All these awards and all these magazines loved it. So, listen, we did the best we could for what we for the time. We couldn't, we can't change what happened. So we had a lot of love, we had a lot of support. Yeah, even with the like changing tides.
Speaker 2:we had a lot of love. We had a lot of support, even with the changing tides. We had a lot of people in our court who were pushing for us. So that was then the miracle of all miracles. Our manager stayed with us after they got dropped from Warner and we got another record deal, which was talk about crazy. That was one of the greatest miracles of my life.
Speaker 1:Especially in the early 90s. Correct, Because now was there a reason and this takes me to the next one. Sure, Was there a reason why there was a rebranding of the band, going from Valentine to Open Skies.
Speaker 2:Yes, so a couple of things happened. It wasn't like an initial we're going to sign you but change the name, right? No one even didn't come up until the album was about to come out. We again. We're talking about a great chapter in my life. So we got signed. Richie Zito, tremendous producer, songwriter, player.
Speaker 1:Eddie Money.
Speaker 2:Right, oh, my God, cheap trick the flame you could share. I mean, you go on his. And he played guitar with john. The guy's incredible, yeah, real song guy. He. He's like I, I let's, let's, let me work with you guys. Just because his whole thing was like forget everything you know and just trust me. And we're like okay. And then we brought in a guy named rob jacobs. Rob had got, he did all his don henley records. He mixed all the don henley stuff. He was working on that eagles hell freezes over album at the time he had done he mixed rattle and hum and the guy was like we were like holy shit. So their whole thing was like so they don't think. So I'm getting to the answer to the question, I promise no, no, it's okay, this is this.
Speaker 1:Look, this is the great stuff here. This is the storytelling, and I love it.
Speaker 2:This is how it happens. People think well, what did you just try and pretend you were a different band? No, so their whole thing was write with different people than you ever wrote with before. Work with outside people. They're like literally get some new guitars. I mean, I swear to God. They were like use different instruments, do different everything you thought of before. Don't do that, not in a negative way, but just something might influence you differently. And their thing was like we don't want you to not rock, but they're like don't rock like Winger, rock like Lenny Kravitz. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:Well, there's a definite difference in the sound of the Open Skies album than Valentine. There's not the big guitar distortion, it's none of that stuff.
Speaker 2:It's there, but it's really like a Marshall Les Paul in a Marshall. It's really straight ahead, rock and roll.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:A little mellower. Yeah, different vibes, different instruments, different, a whole different thing. So we wrote with all these different great writers, and one of them was glenn burtnick, who was in sticks for a while yeah, yeah yeah, huge artist on his own right yeah super talented guy and we wrote a bunch of songs with him and one of them was the title track open skies.
Speaker 2:And one of them was the title track Open Skies and somehow I don't know, it was like a new. We had changed drummers. It was a different chapter in the band's history. So somehow I'm like wow, everyone sort of unanimously was like is it Valentine anymore? And I don't think it is. And we felt this optimistic here we got a new record. What do people believe? We were so grateful and the song open skies had this really like open skies, but the future is. It was an optimistic message and, uh, we just all gravitated towards that and that we like I don't know, just like wow, this is a new chapter.
Speaker 2:And the label to their credit. They were like listen, you didn't sell enough records where anybody's like no one's waiting for the next Valentine record. I don't mean to be negative. They're like you're big enough that you got this new record deal, but yet you weren't big enough that anybody is going to care if it's not called Valentine and, by the way, I don't, we didn't. It wasn't a valentine record, so, either way, that's how. That's how it came to be.
Speaker 1:That song triggered the name open skies even though it was the same band minus the drummer right, it was the same, right, it was a different chapter, I mean.
Speaker 2:But so, yeah, listen, we also. The label was that they were.
Speaker 1:Everyone was involved the management, the label, the band, we were all behind it and, like I said and it's a really good record, I told you that last week as well. It's a really good record. It's just it's it's not quite 180 from from valentine, it's maybe about 90 degrees from Valentine.
Speaker 2:And then, what's so bizarre, the single that came out every day of your life was a real up-tempo rocker. And at that time I'll tell you who was out. When we came out, brother Kane was out on rock radio.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Collective Soul had come out on rock radio. Who else can I think of? I don't even know? Tonic, it was sort of like that real had come out on rock radio. Who else can I think? I don't even know tonic. There was, like you know, sort of like that real, just like guitar, you know, real simple stuff.
Speaker 2:So yeah those are the guys we were out doing all this promotion with and every day it's so funny. There wasn't much guitar jamming on that record, but the one song that every day, my life album, right now, every life has a crazy, you know some great guitar. Either way, it became a nice single for us. We were able to tour on that single and it worked out.
Speaker 1:So a few years later, now you're without a band right.
Speaker 2:Right, correct, once that. You know 96. We I think that went up to the end of 95. Once again, the label was like we don't, I don't know who knows, you know the politics of the labels. We're like what can't, let's do another record. What wasn't, I don't know. We always thought we should have done another open skies record, but we didn't have that opportunity. So we were just deflated.
Speaker 2:At that point we were just like exhausted. It'd been a, you know, even though it only been about a decade. It was just, you know, about 30 years of life. In a roller coaster ride of the music business. We were just like holy, we were no one, but we didn't like fight. It wasn't like the band broke up, it was like there was never a that. It was just like we were just like emotionally exhausted and like I don't want to even see anybody Not, you know, like I said, not in a brotherly, like friendship way, but just like we were PTSD.
Speaker 2:We were just like holy shit, man. So we all had kids and just sort of lived some sort of civilian life for a couple years and uh, but we all listened, we always got together, we saw each other and we played and we wrote. You know I did. I did a little thing with tom the drummer and then then later on, you know, hugo got the itch to play again. He's like he did. He got. He was one of the first guys to do a tribute band. He was like that was right when it was and there was never even a thing called the tribute band right you know he's got his balls busted because he looked like steve perry blessing and a curse.
Speaker 2:You know, listen, it was a. It was a blessing and a curse, he's not. No, no way around it. So he was like fuck that, I'm this. Here we are, let's, let's go play. If that's what I look like and we could play gigs, let let's do it. So he asked me to do it. I'm like oh my God, can I even be sure? Either way? That's when we started to play together and Gerard became our manager and it all turned into. You know, we started playing again. Then, all of a sudden, once we started doing that in the late, was it mid-2000s, then like the 80s started to have a nostalgic comeback, a whole big giant revival Right, and that's when we got invited, because people saw us.
Speaker 2:Well, you guys are playing together. Cut the shit, get Valentine and come play at this festival. We did. Then we made Soul Salvation. We made another record. We made a whole other record.
Speaker 1:Under the Valentine name. Yeah, it's called Soul Salvation. We made another record. We made a whole other record Under the Valentine name.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's called Soul Salvation. I don't know if it's on streaming. If not, I'll send you one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I haven't found that one, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Again. But that's like people were like wait, what's this? It was like a 2010 version of Valentine. It wasn't quite 80s, it was a little different, but I'll get you that oh that would be good. Then one thing led to the other, and then we ended up working with Steve. Some of us, hugo kept this thing going and some of us went with Steve. So it's been never-ending.
Speaker 1:Well, okay, before I move into where I'm going, sorry, no, no no, no, no the question.
Speaker 2:I went on a complete ramble.
Speaker 1:Oh, no, no, this is all great because it's leading into everything that I wanted to kind of cover too. But, in all transparency, I'm going to see Hugo tomorrow night.
Speaker 2:Listen, Hugo, the band Voyage. Yes, and, by the way, Robbie Hoffman, the guitar player and manager, one of my dearest another guy, that's a whole nother podcast, One of my dearest friends right, Literally he has taken that. Hugo is Hugo. He has taken them to such a great level. They're so good. If you're going to see a Journey band, I mean, there's like seriously unbelievable. So they're fantastic.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, it's just kind of funny because, um, you know, my wife and I we were talking, um, this was after you and I had begun trying to work this out here and and we were talking, oh, last week, maybe two weeks ago, whatever it was and, um, I don't remember how it came up, but but, um, I started mentioning that you and hugo were in the same band, and valentine and and open skies and this, and I, I just went and I found a voyage video on youtube. We're, we were driving, so I'm holding, I'm holding my ipad, she, I let her drive and so I pop it open. I don't remember what song it was, but we played this journey song and she says, oh, my god, he sounds great no, he does, he says guys unbelievable.
Speaker 1:He says where we need to go see them. Okay, fine, went right in the website. I was like son of a gun.
Speaker 2:They're actually gonna be here on the west coast, so so yeah, yeah, I think on the west coast tonight was that playing they've got a show tonight but but I'm going tomorrow night.
Speaker 1:I have to drive a little further tomorrow night, but I'm going tomorrow night, so I took the day off of work.
Speaker 2:So, listen, I will make sure that you get to meet them. After this, I'll text Robbie and get you.
Speaker 1:Well, we're going to be sitting like fourth row on the left side of the stage.
Speaker 2:I will connect, I'll connect everybody.
Speaker 1:Oh, that Like you know all those guys that would Well, thank you. Thank you, I greatly appreciate it. Now I'm getting embarrassed here.
Speaker 2:No, all good Okay so now.
Speaker 1:So this is what's really close to what I was telling you about last week the little minutiae here that the audience needs to know. Okay, so you were in two bands with a guy who is now in a Journey tribute band singing Steve Perry stuff, and now you are in a band with the guy who's the former lead singer of Journey, the Steve and Jerry band and I think that is so awesome.
Speaker 2:That is correct. Robbie Hoffman and I will joke about this all the time, but our six degrees separation to Journey. Let me say first of all that I absolutely respect and I'm so lucky that I get to play this catalog of Journey songs. I always like to say that, holy shit, I'm so grateful that I get to play these songs because Journey songs. I always like to say that, holy shit, I'm so grateful that I get to play these songs because of Steve. That's first of all, and I didn't really plan this. I don't know how it really happened, but what you just said is pretty interesting. I went from a Journey tribute band with the closest guy to Steve Perry ever to be who's not Steve Perry, which is Hugo to playing with Steve O'Gerry, who replaced Steve Perry. It's like what? Yeah, yeah, I'm not really sure how to answer that question. No, no.
Speaker 2:Neil Sean how lucky am? I Listen? I hope I haven't. I've never met Neil Sean and I know obviously Steve and all those guys know him well and I always just like to say that if I ever did meet him, I thank you for this incredible body of work and I hope I do justice to his. You know his guitar solos. I try, I try and do justice, I try and make them my own but yet do service to his, his, his, you know, foundation that he laid.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I. I like I said you guys need to get out here to Southern California so I can take in a show.
Speaker 2:We will be out there. I think we were out there last year, so I would you know. Every year different places.
Speaker 1:I think it was somewhere in Northern California.
Speaker 2:It was yes, we went to Muir Woods, you're right, yeah, yeah, see.
Speaker 1:I keep track, keep track. I'm no phony baloney here.
Speaker 2:So here's a funny thing, just a little backtrack with Steve Argyri. So when Open Skies toured with Mr Big in the early 90s, the other band they toured like this long tour and Open Skies and Tall Stories flip-flopped on this tour. I'm like who's Tall Stories? And I'm like I heard the record. I'm like this guy's fucking great. And they were like Tall Stories, another one of those bands. They were not really an 80s band, they were more like a Candlebox, they were way more 90s. But they got totally caught in the like. They weren't 90s enough. I don't know why that record didn't do.
Speaker 2:It was so great that's right, they were not 90s enough, they weren't grungy enough you know, they didn't want to look at their shoes, they were more like stp and like again, candlebox was huge. I'm like how did this record not like? They're not. They weren't an 80s band but they got sort of glumped into the they had. They got clumped into an 80s band because they were also on epic. Pearl jam came out. I mean, it's typical label kind of stuff. I don't know how to say it, but they didn't get their dude, they didn't get their due they. What a great record. So we knew of steve jerry before he was in journey because we had this shared. You know we never toured at the same time.
Speaker 2:We had the shared mr big tour so that's the same stage though how we first knew of tall Stories and Steve O'Gerry, then the Journey gig. We're like holy shit, he was the perfect guy. We all loved that 2001 CD. They made a DVD. I think we all loved it.
Speaker 1:The Arrival album. What a tremendous album.
Speaker 2:Oh my God. So when we Hugo and I, hugo had the vision of this journey, but you know, we literally did all the arrangements from the Steve O'Gerry DVD Okay, you with me. So I'm like I had that thing embedded in my brain. So it just gets crazier. Then the Journey Tribute Band, evolution with Hugo. We did a lot of, we did all kinds of, we traveled. We were huge, it was a really big band. We opened, we did the opening night for the show Rock of Ages, the Broadway show yeah, yeah yeah, and then we would do these monthly cast parties across the street.
Speaker 2:So if you had a ticket to the show, you can get into this, get this gig at the China Club, and then the cast members would be there and there was always some guest singer. Like you know, you're with me sometimes twisters, sister guys would show up, you know yeah, yeah so one night, steve or jerry signed with us.
Speaker 2:Oh so that's how it all I don't know it just naturally evolved into like he's looking for a band and we're like, wow, we'd love to do it. So it wasn't like any, it just wasn't. It wasn't, it was all just like this natural path. So then robbie, who was my sub before all that, in inevitably right with me, yeah, he became that. That band went on that way, we went on this way.
Speaker 1:So I, I will see. You had to go through all the, the, the, the crap with valentine and open skies to get you to this moment here you know, it's all it all.
Speaker 2:You know. When you like anything in life, looking back, you know what's that say, it's a rascal flat song. God bless the broken road that. You know. I can't complain, I can't, I can't, I have. I'm a grateful guy. I say it every time someone asks me about an interview. I'm always so grateful that I'm at this age and to play and do what I love to do.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, you know you get. I mean, you're a touring musician, Are you kidding me? Come on.
Speaker 2:You're right. I remind myself every day I'm like thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we did talk about it and I want to touch on this because I know you're very proud of it and I absolutely love it, and that's this thing right here oh yes seven ways till sunday. And this was. This was steve's first solo album, right uh?
Speaker 2:well, he's got a bunch of singles through the years yes, yeah, we and some of of those. We worked on them and you know this one was his first real like making an entire record, every demo he ever had or any of us ever had. We like brought it out. We had time. For the first time in all our lives we had a lot of time on our hands. So it's mostly Steve that is Steve's baby, and I performed on most of it and wrote I don't know you got four you have four co-writes on it exactly.
Speaker 2:I don't even know how many right and craig, craig as well yeah and um, but I helped him with most of the record. We spent a great time working on it. It was uh, but steve, it's really his. That is his mastermind, it's his baby. He did a great job and I think I'm really proud of those songs. I really I love those. I really love the feel of the things I contributed to it. I love, I love the things he did. I'm like God unanswered prayers. I think it's one of my favorite songs.
Speaker 1:I will tell you this Like I look, I told you before off air that this, that this was my, my album of the year last year, 2023. This is my album of the year. It's a rotation. I play it all the time. I mean, obviously I have the physical, but you know I stream it and I listened to stream. You know I stream music just for the convenience of it because I can listen to it anywhere.
Speaker 2:Correct.
Speaker 1:But if I really want to get down, then I'll go plug headphones into my CD player and go sit in my loft and then crank it up.
Speaker 2:By the way, the production Steve produced it he did a great job.
Speaker 1:It's absolutely phenomenal and I think my favorite song on it is one of your co-writes and that's beautiful.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's one of my favorite.
Speaker 1:That is just that is just such a killer song thank you it's, it's, it's look. Yes, top to bottom the whole album is great, but everyone's gonna have a favorite track or two, and man that one, I think from the very first time I heard that song. It just stuck with me all right, well, thank you.
Speaker 2:I I that. I'm very proud of that song and that was one of those songs that's like a classic Remember I mentioned Craig and I back in the day like when Craig and I get in a room together, a song happens. We can't help it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Two feet away. What are you playing? But what's cool now, with technology, craig, with Steve Orgeri too, and it happens with Gerard it's. So we do like either you're in a room together and you're writing that's the ultimate way to write a song, right, that's the classic. That's the classic way, yes. However, there's another thing we do like play like kickball. Well, someone will send a riff, like craig will send me that riff. I won't tell him, I won't even ask him, I'll just take it, I'll chop it up and redo it and send it back to him with me. I'm like he's like what? Like? What the fuck did you do to this? But he's like okay, then he'll take it blindly, without showing me, and do the same. So that's a classic example. Then we passed it to Steve O'Gerry. He's like okay, he took it and chopped it. So that was a classic, really.
Speaker 2:Like tech, I don't know what you call it file sharing, collaboration, so that's like all those songs that I'm mentioning that we wrote. We did that way. We kicked it around and Steve would record something, and it was a fun. It actually was a fun process because we weren't able to be near each other. We had it. We just took it literally how we're sitting on zoom right now. I mean I think we, like I, must've zoomed 600 hours with Steve and then the guitar soloist. 600 hours with Steve and then the guitar solos. I'd play a solo. He'd say, how about this? He'd take the solo and chop it up. I'd play it. So it was fun. We had a really good time in that wacky way of COVID and file sharing. We made the best of it.
Speaker 1:Because what a lot of people don't know is Steve is Steve's a pretty prolific guitar player himself, isn't he?
Speaker 2:Presley. He's a drummer, he plays piano. He played a lot of stuff. He's a great guitar player.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Great singer, great writer.
Speaker 1:And I wasn't aware. I mean I knew he could play bass from way back in his years with Journey. I saw him Special Night with Journey journey and there's two bass players on the stage him and ralph valerie had a little guitar, you know.
Speaker 1:So I knew, yeah, I knew that, but I I really had no idea until I don't know, it's probably um over a year ago I happened to find the singles that he had been releasing and I don't remember which service I was looking at, but it was actually breaking down right, the credits, the, the, you know who was playing and all, and I see steve and jerry guitar, this and that, and I was like holy cow, you know, because I guess usually you see a front man, you just figure, okay, this guy just sings, okay, he writes whatever. But he's.
Speaker 2:He's great. Going back to one of the first songs, so why do I dated breath, which I love? That song was one of the first songs. Bated Breath, which I love. That song was one of the first things we ever wrote together. 10 years ago I first met him. We wrote that, so that finally got it to do. That's been recorded a few times, but it wasn't right. This came out wonderful. There's a song, a single, he released years ago called Hours in the Day, which we worked on together. That's a great song. We almost put it on the record but it was already. You know we wanted to keep it in its own world. But that's. He's done some great work. Steve for the years.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm trying to say well, you guys, all of you, have just a ton to be proud of with this, with this record.
Speaker 2:It's thank you, I am absolutely dynamite.
Speaker 1:So all right. So let me ask you this now obviously the steve and jerry band goes out and I'm sure they're probably playing a lot of songs from the journey catalog and it. Do you guys put any focus on the steve and jerry years in journey, besides maybe doing higher place or all the way.
Speaker 2:Here's the thing thing. We've played them all. By the way, all the way, higher place, you know, meet again.
Speaker 1:We've played, god, you name it, oh my gosh till, we meet again.
Speaker 2:Oh, what a dynamite song. We played the one from I love the one from the big soundtrack. What's that song?
Speaker 1:Oh, remember me, I love that song.
Speaker 2:But here's the thing when we play in America, no one cares about those songs. I mean, people do want to hear some of them, yeah like me Right. When we go to Europe or we go to South America every year we'll play a lot of those. We play the deep, dark cuts.
Speaker 1:I love all the hits. That's great, but there's so many tremendous songs.
Speaker 2:They're, they're just rival is. The track arrival is like I mean seriously all the way is, I think, one of the best Journey songs. It's such a great song.
Speaker 1:It is a great song.
Speaker 2:Really incredible song.
Speaker 1:I saw Steve on every Journey tour. He was a part of.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And so you know I'm a tremendous fan and I think you know unfortunately I don't want to say he gets crap but he does and it's unjust because he was the guy that had to replace the absolute legend of all time.
Speaker 2:Here's what it is, and it's not any secret. And, by the way, talk about a thing we joke about with Hugo. This is another. Like you know, we all have these text groups going on, so people who, like Steve Perry, love Hugo about with Hugo.
Speaker 2:This is another. Like you know, we all have these text groups going on. I know what you're going to say. So people who, like Steve Perry, love Hugo because they're like, holy, she's a second coming of Steve Perry with me. So in New York I know this sounds silly we don't play New York. We let Voyage place 4,000 seats in New York. I'm serious, and God bless them.
Speaker 2:And they do, because Steve Perry fans are like to Steve Augeri, like how dare you? Who do you know? However, the other side of it is that Steve Augeri carried the torch for that decade to get them to Arnell. So, listen, steve Augeri has his fans. I'm not saying he doesn't get, but there's a lot of people who don't know who he is and they're like oh, the guy, yeah, you know. All they know is that he, you know, maybe had voice troubles and at the end, but then they don't know about the decade of his albums and stuff. So but here's the thing. The good news is there are enough people who do know that want to hear him play and we still keep playing.
Speaker 1:Now okay, so well, I'm going to ask you to slow down one second.
Speaker 2:I hope that came out positive. Do you know what I'm saying, though? Oh, yeah, no, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Now see here Let me add one more thing. I always joke. So I live in New York. People say what do you do? I'm like, I play with who? Do you play with? Steve or Jerry? People flat look. I'm like oh, we replace the guy. I'm like oh, okay, that's how I have to describe it. You go to like. So you step a little bit to the Midwest, you get off the plane. People know exactly who Steve is. Like oh my God, I saw you with the Civic Center 2001. Like oh my god, I saw you with the civic center 2001. Yeah, I get a picture. Okay, they love them. We play all over the midwest and it's great. You go to europe and they're showing up with every tall stories every valentine's day, every open guy's day. Okay, then we go to south america and they're waiting outside the fucking hotel for steve. So I'm like so it's like, it's pretty funny.
Speaker 1:So that's, that's great, see. And then that's because those people are so rabid. They just love the music and they appreciate what, they appreciate the bands that they, that they like, and they appreciate the job that Steve did for the. You know, nine, 10 years he was in the band, but the lost era of that band besides the, the, within the all three steve and jerry albums is, and my favorite is the ep red 13 right, and I saw them on that tour and I think steve was mad that night because he came out and I and I think he was probably, you know, rightfully so because Journey had been getting a little bit of heat and catching some crap.
Speaker 1:For you know what they were doing, you know reviving their careers and doing a tremendous job at it as well. I mean, here in Southern California they were playing the Glen Helen Amphitheater and still drawing 30,000 people outdoors. You know, amphitheater and still drawing 30 000 people right outdoors, you know. But but um, he comes out and he says journey is a rock and roll band and then they cut into the hardest song on on the red 13 let me tell you, jump right into it.
Speaker 2:Neil shun, his best guitar playing, I think, is on arrival in generations. My opinion, his tone, his, I mean higher place, I mean damn, he was fucking smart.
Speaker 1:Higher place is a tremendous song.
Speaker 2:The whole those two albums, both albums, the whole those two that era Well the three albums plus the EP.
Speaker 1:Yes, Great, great, great stuff it really is.
Speaker 2:But how guys play of this. Uh, we, we have played magic. We played. Uh, seven whistle sunday. Okay, I played beautiful, we played um, I'll look at my cellist.
Speaker 1:So we thought I was just going to ask you when, when you come to to southern california, make sure you're really close to where I live. Let me know and I'll put the set list together for you guys. How's that?
Speaker 2:we played a bunch of yeah, we have, we played them. You know, people, people. You know, once in a while we try and sneak it in because it's gonna be it's.
Speaker 1:I could do a complete set list of all steve and jerry stuff happy to do this because you know, and probably uh, six or seven of those tunes would be off of this so I love, I love seven ways till sunday really to me I just love that song.
Speaker 1:It is no craig, you know, that's a real craig piano song really did a great job there, man I don't know if the lyrics on the entire album were or were collaboration, or if one guy wrote more than the other guy. Whatever it was, but the lyrical content on this album, song after song after song, is just mostly most of the lyrics are really steve's emotional stuff.
Speaker 2:That's his stuff. Magic, now, interesting, I wrote the first draft of lyrics to magic because so let me, let's give a comment to steve. Yes, the lyrics you talked about are steve. Those beautiful lyrics are Steve. Okay, the only lyric I contributed were magic, where the song had almost a poison kind of Foo Fighters feel to it, right. So we had a funny working title and I don't know why somehow, by the way, one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen records is his magic record, which is his least popular record. It's so phenomenal. I don't know why I like it, but I just that period of my life I love that record. So there's a song Magic. So when I heard that song, I don't know I had the title, I just put the title Magic in there and then I wrote the lyrics and Steve took them and rehashed them. So that was my only lyrical contribution, steve did a wonderful, wonderful job on the whole record.
Speaker 1:Look, I've just whatever top to bottom, it's just a great album and you guys really just I mean you guys knocked it out of the park when you put this album together and I know what really sucks is that you know the state of the music climate. This stuff doesn't sell. People just aren't out there buying it and it really really stinks.
Speaker 2:But here's the thing the opposite side of that in this climate is artists can be creative and put out records, no label breathing over their shoulder. It doesn't matter if it's going to sell. It can be a creative outlet. And I think it's a little more true and authentic because you're not worried about am I going to have a radio single? No, you know you're not going to have one. So you put out an authentic record and you know what the fans who want to hear it will seek it out and hear it. Yeah, it's my feeling on it.
Speaker 1:Well and and obviously there's a ton of truth to what you just said but, just like with my little tiny podcast, here I have my niche audience, but I would love to be able to grow it, reach more people that aren't aware of what I do. Look, I I'm not ever looking to make money on this. That's not why I do it.
Speaker 1:I do it just for the pure enjoyment right uh, that I get from doing this and get from having guests on my show, people like you, because this has been absolutely wonderful, adam, and I've taken up so much of your time it's all good.
Speaker 2:These are like a therapy session. When I do these podcasts, I feel like I should pay you for therapy sessions, hey look.
Speaker 1:I like to think that I kind of do things a little bit differently than the average person that wants to have an interview, because this isn't an interview. This is two guys talking.
Speaker 2:You know, what's great about this is that you really are a fan and you know the deep tracks and you know the players. You know Hugo, you know Steve, you know all the guys in the band, so it's an easy conversation.
Speaker 1:Well, I appreciate that. Well, it's no BS, because you go to a radio station and you've got an eight-minute interview with the jock there on the morning show or whatever, and they know that it's X band that's coming in, right. They've never heard your music, right? They play it on their way in the studio, they play it on your way out of the studio, and that's the end of it.
Speaker 2:Understood.
Speaker 1:We've all done that.
Speaker 2:Listen, we've all done it. And back to the comment you made about as a creative person, so here is your podcast. I'm a songwriter, performer. Getting back to the Valentine days, the open sky days, you always wish, as a creative person, that one of your creations, your song, become a hit song. The dream is to play in a place and have people sing back your song. That is always the ultimate really thing.
Speaker 2:So I know you're saying it would have been great if you know, in a time where there would be a legitimate single, like a video, like back in the mtv days when, like, yeah, steve would have a single or you have a video, so that it's a different time now. But the other, the other side of it, the social media and the fact that we can all keep playing. You know it's a what's different, like what we do. We play all year long because we just we go on the weekends, we come home, as opposed to a two-month tour that we don't play for 10 months. But you know we get to play all year long.
Speaker 2:I think it's better. I I love it. You know, it's kind of like the nashville model. The nashville guys go out, there's a friday, saturday, come home and do it all year long, right. So we're, we're, we're kind of really like the weekend warrior fly day thing. You really become used to it, we love it and uh, and the same is back to the guys in voyage. They do the same, they go out, they go out a couple of days and so it's really a good time for you know, I don't know, being in a.
Speaker 1:I don't know, maybe we're older, wiser, I don't know what it is, but well, there's just something about live music and I I love to see live music and I love to see it performed by the, the bands and artists that I admire. And I've seen bands that I like on off nights and I've seen them when they are just absolutely on fire and, man, they just tear the place down no, we, I think you.
Speaker 2:For us it always happens. We've always traveled some distance. That's part of the process. Then, by the time you get there, you're like you know what, if there's 10 people at 10,000, we're going to give it 120%.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's kind of like that Joe DiMaggio thing where he always gave his all, no matter who was there, because he didn't know who was seeing him play for the first time. Hey, who?
Speaker 2:is this guy. That's exactly right. Also, I look at it like this and I feel this way that for me and the audience, the world is a crazy place in 2024, right, it always has been, but it seems extra crazy these days.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I will agree.
Speaker 2:Whatever, I'm not sure, whatever it seems extra crazy these days. Yeah, I will agree. Whatever, I'm not sure, whatever it is, there's a lot going on. Am I right? Good and bad and crazy. So for the hour and a half that we play, you go see a band not just us. But if you go to a concert, the band and the audience suspends all the shit going on and for a brief moment you can have a shared moment of happiness, and I take that for granted and I see the audience. So if we can bring an hour and a half of relief to the shit that's going on in the world, then I can do that.
Speaker 1:That's sort of I'm going, I'm going, I'm, I'm going to, I'm going to start wrapping this up here because, like I said, you've been so very generous with your time. Yeah, this has been absolutely wonderful. Are are. Are there any plans for you know? Are you guys talking about doing another album or anything?
Speaker 2:Not yet. I mean, we're always writing. I've already started plotting ahead the next instrumental record. I'm always keeping track of songs. You know I start to make a little file catalog, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And myself, gerard and Craig, are doing a little project with another singer, just a fun recording. This guy named Matthew Shad is a great singer. He's in a band called Shad. He's's a great guy. We know him through the years a totally different voice. We wrote a bunch of songs with him. So okay, just again. We all love the creative outlet. So it's like you live in a time where you can record something professionally and put it out.
Speaker 1:So we, whatever kind of happens, we go, you know, it just hit me, but I like, see, I like your approach to it. There's, you know, there's. There's a lot of not a lot, there's, there's. There's a bunch, though, of bands that are, you know, the the ones that we grew up with, been around for years legendary bands, and at some point they just stopped putting out music right and became more of a nostalgic act, you know, and that saddens me, but but it's, you know. You hear different excuses. Uh well, nobody wants to buy it, blah, blah, blah, that kind of thing. And then you have some artists that say I don't care if no one buys it. This is what I do.
Speaker 2:Pearl Jam, metallica. They still put out music all the time, but they don't give a shit. But they have such a hardcore fan base that their fans love it. But they're like listen, we're in a band, we make music.
Speaker 1:This is my job. This is what I do.
Speaker 2:And that's what I do. I'm a songwriter. I enjoy the process of writing songs and having them heard. I write songs for hire for some other people. I've done some commercials. I write all kinds of stuff Actually on just it's writing songs and recording. I I love the producing part. I love. I really, really love that part too. So that's great. That's great um, okay so after I close.
Speaker 1:After I close up the show just stay with me, okay, just stay with me. Once I hit, stop you gotta. You gotta stick with me, um, so I want to finish. We opened up and I want to finish with the new album rapture. Yes, thank you all. Instrumental eight tracks and if you're worried about people, if you're worried about it being too long, it's like 25 minutes. Okay, right, eight tracks, 25 minutes I did on purpose.
Speaker 2:I want I almost went old school. Like you know, a vinyl record back in the day wasn't very long 33 minutes. You know what? I obviously did that I wasn't trying to go. Cds were like 60 hours. It was too long. Yeah, you had to fill up the space, so I went I went old school vinyl.
Speaker 1:Well, that it's. It's just great and it's so tasty people and it's so has so much soul in it and and adam's guitar tone is so it's just so good.
Speaker 2:Thank you so?
Speaker 1:so just check it out. It's on all the streaming services. Uh, check it out again. It's called rapture um, and I'm gonna wrap it here, people. So let me close it by saying that this program is available on multiple podcast platforms like oh I don't know apple podcast, amazon music and spotify, or just search the ben maynard program, choose your option and go with it, but if you're having a great time, like we're having, and you want to see all this instead of listen to it and you're watching on youtube, then please subscribe to the channel, give me a thumbs up and leave a comment. Last but not least, follow me on Instagram. Ben Maynard Program. We are done, people. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you, adam as well. Greatly, greatly appreciate it. This is the Ben Maynard Program. Tell a friend.