[Music] What is up good people of the Hard Rock Lunchbox? Of course, viewers of the top 20. How is everybody doing today? It is a very moist and rainy August 8th, 2024 year of our Lord, according to Louis C.K. I am happy to be here with you. I am also a little surprised to be here with you. It was definitely a part of me. I wasn't entirely sure I was going to make it. I had a very late night last night. So, if the show seems any worse, I would like to blame that, even though I think we all know which fault it is that the show is worse than normal. Because you guys know how very little I bring to the table, like in general, when it comes to the show. I don't even bring the table, so good job everybody. Also, I feel like my voice is fading fast. I was hanging out last night with a dear, dear friend for a long time and just talked and talked and talked. What is great about that and the particular relationship is that it is one of those things where it is like you are talking and really not even remotely running out of stuff, but you are talking and it is like, oh cool, midnight. And then you are talking and it is like, you are sure it has been like a 45 minutes and then it is 3.47 minutes. And then the thought pops in like, I sure hope it is still like Wednesday, Thursday because it is possible. Maybe we have done a cycle, but I could not recommend that more. Like, peer support, like when those things happen, you kind of realize why people sat around the fire in ancient time. Well, not even ancient, like way earlier, like in tribal times, like just swapping manly stories and in the morning, I am making waffles and a donkey coming in clutch and as always is correct. So I am feeling it in my voice that my voice box, such as it is, is like, hey man, didn't we call on this tool enough already? You are going to really try and talk for 2 hours and I am like, oh man, no, I am going to talk for 20 minutes. It is going to feel like 30, but it is going to talk for 20. I think I have figured out a solution to that particular problem and that was not preparing anything for today's show. So again, but I am going to apologize because I know how annoying it is to listen to this sound ready and I slit because you are going to be hearing a lot of that. Like, I don't think there is nothing wrong with me, although I am feeling a little congested, thank you for asking, but I am just noticing that now. So it is too late for me to do anything about it because we are full steam ahead in the top 20, so let's get to work, shall we? This is the, of course, we are going to do some White Housekeeping. The new episode of the top 20 is out today. It is DJ's anti-trust paradox. It is basically where I spent a lot of time talking about Lina Khan, and it was the head of the FTC in the paper she wrote in 2017 about Amazon and how they really had an anti-trust problem and basically nobody was paying attention to it and now we have a huge Amazon anti-trust problem. Which is interesting because if you are following any of the news, I mean, obviously there is a lot going on in the news to follow, but if you are dodging a lot of politics in the Olympics, then, you know, you might have heard that Google has just ruled a monopoly in a very important court case. That is a big deal and that has had some real tech ramifications because while that stuff happens in Europe all the time, the EU is a lot less corporate friendly, I guess, with businesses that are doing, you know, engaging in monopolistic practices, the U.S. tends to not be. And I was even, you know, saying that even Obama's head of the FTC was like, "No, let's not take on business because we want businesses to succeed." And Lina Khan's whole thing is like, "Yeah, of course we want businesses to succeed." But we want other businesses to succeed too, not just five. And, you know, we want it to be a thriving economy where workers have to say and all that other stuff. But I did, I managed to link to the, it was the more perfect union was the site and I watched that a lot, but I, oh, excuse me. I want to say, could I be any grocer, but I think we all know. I think we all know that I could be grocer. But I did link to the more perfect union video where he interviews Lina Khan. There's also a daily show interview that I might link to that, but I think the one in more perfect union was good because he gives a whole lot of intro to it. And then if you watch that and then you watch the top 20, you'll see what I'm talking about in that, in that paper. I think I also linked to the paper. Did I do that? I might not have done that, but if you look up Lina Khan, K-H-N-A, K-H-N, and Amazon Antichrist Paradox, you'll get to that. Anyway, I think it was good. I was also talking about my cool brace because I was wearing that shoulder mappad, which, you know, I was dealing with. By the way, medical update. So while I still have the small tear in my rotator cup, I think it's pretty much all but healed at this point. I have now, ready for it? Wait, hold on. I have now dislocated my AC joint. Apparently, my chiropractor got to pop it in place yesterday. That was fun. He actually prefaced it by saying, yeah, do you ever watch Lethal Weapon? I was like, yeah. It was one of the greater movies of all time. He was like, you know how Mel Gibson used to slam his shoulder back in to put it in place? And I was like, yeah. And he was like, first of all, don't do that. I was like, I was in no danger of doing that. Like, if that's going to happen, like, call somebody because something bad just happened. That was an accident. I didn't mean to do that. And as somebody that walks in the doorways all the time, like, yeah, I mean, it definitely could happen. But he's like, he actually grabbed. He was behind me, which is always unnerving for a chiropractor because I know he could kill me if you wanted to, right? Like, it just, like, that's why I always go in there like, Hi. How are you doing? But, you know, he grabbed me here and he grabbed me there and he's like, he pulls it in really tight. And there's only one reason to do that because the next move is that one with, you know, 36 pounds per square inch of force and he popped my AC joint back in and then he was like, put some peas on it. I'm like, okay, that seems medically not sound advice. But there's something about frozen vegetables that are just like a really good temperature and kind of a good, you know, whatever. It doesn't matter. Nobody cares. Nobody asks. But I'm just letting you know that my shoulder is still bad. I'm not wearing my brace today because honestly, it doesn't do much for a AC joint. And what it does do well is actually holds ice in place. So, like, after the show when I'm icing it, we're vegetable-ing it, we're peeing it, not peeing on it. That's gross. Well, I mean, I'm not very gentle. That's what you're into, by all means. Do that. But it holds the ice in place. So, I'll be doing that later. Thank you for asking. So, I talk about that and then I talk about non-compete agreements and I talk about pickles for a dollar and Walmart and all those stuff. All good, all good things. Like, I couldn't recommend the show more. But in all fairness, I don't know that I could recommend the show less. So, I'll leave that up to you. But it's on screen to the TV as always, along with all the other good stuff going on is like what Bacon is my podcast. They have an interview. They talk to Paul from One True Sport. He's a, he's a repeat guest. Check that out. I do know from speaking to Jimmy that they just interviewed the guy from Issues. So, that's going to be, I don't know when that's coming in. I don't know when that's coming out, but I do have some issues for you today. So, I guess that's just going to be a little bit of a taste to kind of wet your whistle for some stuff. I have a bunch of good music, some old, some new. It's always funny when like, I want to add, I want to add a song to the playlist. And I was like, "Oh, I should play that in the box." And I went to, it's like, it's already in there. I'm like, "Oh, okay, cool." So, like, over the, what do we, you're, I don't even know. You're seven, like, ten? I don't even know, honestly, at this point, like, what, how many boxes we're at. I do know that we're, we're at the, this is the 188th episode of the top 20, which doesn't it seem like too much? Like, it seems like too much. And there's way more. We're in the 500th of the Hard Rock Lunchbox. So, it's, it's probably coming up on ten or eleven years. Anyway, my point is, there is enough time that has lapsed where I forget songs that I've played, especially, especially some of those older songs. Like, like, we were talking at rehearsal the other day about the offspring. And I think cat, it was either Caz or Nadal. I don't, I don't even remember which one, because honestly, they kind of blurred together some time. But I think it was Caz, it was like, we should cover an offspring. It was Caz, because I looked to my lefties. Like, we should cover an offspring song. And I just looked at them like, nope. Like, Dexter's voice is fantastic and wonderful. And about two to three octaves above mine at its rest. So, and unfortunately, like, those songs don't really translate really well. You know, like, far away, it's like, and it's, like, I can't do that, because when I'm doing it, it's like, and it seems, and it seems like heaven so far away. Like, you lose absolutely everything that he does. It's one of the reasons I don't, I don't really take on really high things. And I was saying, like, the only time I really ever did it, where I went for something like that is when I did "Rolling in the Deep" from Adele. And honestly, I'd like to revisit that, because I'd like to see, because that was 12 years ago, that we covered that. And at the time, it was, actually, the other song is when we did "Take on Me" from Aha, because I was able to pop my falsetto to get the high notes. And it just worked, because he was also popping his falsetto, so it kind of worked out. But anyway, when we were doing "Rolling in the Deep", which was, I was just relating this story last night, actually, was totally Matt's idea. We were taking a train into the city to do what would end up being this sort of, like, rock and real, or something, rock and wheel. I forget exactly what it was called, but our friend, Diane Dickson, was doing this thing at the Javits Center, because they had the car show, and she wanted to bring a band in to basically, like, interview people at the car show and stuff. And Matt and I went in, we had one of the greatest times I've ever had in a band-related capacity, where we weren't playing. We had such a good time, we ended up getting to take, like, a test drive in a Jeep, like, on an off-road thing that they had set up outside. We got to drive. I think it was a Chevy Volt, I think they were just coming out, like, the first Chevy electric car. We also got to sit in the actual DeLorean from back to the future, like, you know, being in a band opens doors for sure, like, 'cause you get to do really cool stuff, aside from just being in a band and being allowed to be on stage and, like, play music for people that, like, want to hear it. Like, and that's not a guarantee when you're in a band, right? Like, 'cause if you're in a band, like, you can go up on stage and play, and there's quite a few people that don't want to hear it. In fact, we've gone through that a lot, where we've played with other bands, and our fans are like, "Oh my God, are they done yet? Like, why are they still playing?" And also, who can give them some lessons on how to play their instruments and stuff like that? [applause] I know that, uh, Willie, Jimmy's mom, famously said of a band that she was watching while she was waiting for her beloved son band. And I still, like, as much as I love Willie, and I think she's just great, the bias that that woman has, like, towards for her son, like, as she told me, she was like, "You know, I think craving is just, like, the best band." And I was like, "Yeah, you know, I think you might be a little bias, Willie. I'm like, I happen to agree with you, but, like, also, I think the bias is just oozing out of you." But she had said of one of the other bands that was playing that night, something to the effect of, like, "I don't think they're all playing the same song, which I have definitely had that for a couple of times." [applause] Um, man. But, anyway, so, car show, me and that, uh, oh yeah, so we had taken the train in, uh, to the city, and we were looking for a song. We were in the break contest with, like, basically every other band along the island, and he was, like, he had suggested it, and he was, like, we should cover rolling in the deep, and I was, like, from Adele. Like, one of the arguably greatest singers of the day, like, and he was, like, yeah, he's, like, you totally could do that. And people pull that on me all the time, like, "Hey, you could totally do that." Like, yeah, no, I don't, I mean, I might be able to do it, but, like, the, uh, the totally modifier, like, hmm. So, I actually spent weeks learning and relearning rolling in the deep, because what I needed to do is play the song in a different tuning, where I could sing it, because it turns out, at the time, that's covering rolling in the deep, which I should see if I have a recording of it. I probably do. Um, it was my entire range. It's the only song to date that I've ever done, that really goes from the absolute bottom of my range to my absolute top of my range. And that's why I was just thinking, like, it might be interesting to revisit, because I have noticed, and it has been spoken unto me, sayeth the Lord, and also with you, and also with your spirit, by the way, which is a John Malaney reference, which if you don't get, you ought to, you ought to, you ought to look into some more of that, because I agree with John's assessment of it also with your spirit nonsense. But anyway, it has been spoken unto me that my voice has improved over the years, and that includes the last 12 years. So, I'm, I'd be curious to see how much easier that song is to sing, because I know, at the time, like, it was, like, a big deal, like, I didn't know that I could do it, and the plan was to do it one time, and it actually went, it came across so well that it was something that was being requested of us for, you know, a good couple of months after that, and we would keep doing it. We would actually go on to lose the break contest, because we were doing, or relatively lose, because we were doing, like, that was our cover, and we thought that was going to be a showstopper, and we played it, and then, like, a band later, like, Craving Did Devil Went Down to Georgia, and Matt and I were just like, oh, well, this is how you come in second. And then, it was, like, a week later where Mike from This Good Robot decided to do Bohemian Rhapsody, and do an absolute perfect recreation of it, and I was like, man, that's how you come in third. So, it's basically how that all went down. But I was saying something, probably not important. We were talking about it though, singing, and falsetto, and, you know what? I just don't remember, and that's kind of how it goes on this show. Don't let this fool you. I'm not in a very good mood. Like, I'm not in a very, like, you know, I'm not really happy, but I am approaching Mass Delirium. I am very tired, and I'm laughing at myself, and that's cool. I also feel like this huge, I don't even know. I guess it's like a huge dopamine hit from just, like, hanging out, like, very casually, and, like, you know, I don't need to give anything away of my personal life and stuff like that, even though obviously I would, but I can tell you that a dog and tacos were involved, and, like, I know half the audience right now is like, you had me a dog, but you also had me a tacos, and as I should, like, you know, dog and tacos, like, not dog tacos. I mean, I'm sure that might be a thing, like, I'm thinking Cambodia, maybe South Vietnam. I don't really know for sure. Not that I'm not saying South Vietnam, like, that's a place I'm saying, like, Southern Vietnam, like, please don't get offended, because I know if that clip happens to make it on the AI, people are like, you know, it's not a South Vietnam, maybe you're not, like, I don't care. It's not, like, South, you know, like, South Huntington, although South Huntington is an actual place, but, like, South, uh, you know what? I'm just not, how about that? What do you think about that? I'm just gonna not do that. I'm not going to engage in that material, because I feel like that's probably a good idea. So, um, so yeah, so I encourage all that. I encourage, um, I encourage good hangs, as dumb as that might sound, and as hard as it is, sometimes, sometimes, all the time for me to plan those things. Like, I really am grateful when I get those opportunities to do that, like, really good, like, long hangs, like, with some laughs, some, like, really, like, some thoughtful conversation, and, uh, like, I had a long talk about, uh, why I should trade my, um, so, 'cause so currently, like, on my, okay, so here's some insight. And some of you that were at the show, by the way, thank you everybody that came to the show on Friday, like, thank you everybody that, like, like, really super thank you for everybody that came out and, like, was there the whole night, and hanging with us and stuff, like, I really do appreciate it. And I know, you know, very well that, uh, Neon Skyline and Joey's band was playing over at Emmy Music Hall, and I am so grateful for all the people that kind of, that went there and then came over. I know how hard it is to do, like, a secondary location. I also know how dangerous that is. That's also a John Mulaney reference, so, like, you really should bone up on your, uh, on your Mulaney. That's probably phrasing, but regardless. Um, so I just appreciate that just so much, just, like, just having so many people in the room, like, supporting us, supporting me, but, like, also just wanting to be there and listening, and, uh, it was something, it was something that Jimmy and I had spoken about recently about, um, how very, like, town hall meeting it tends to be, like, whenever we put together, like, a sandbox show, and not that Friday was a sandbox show, like, it was a really, it was just a Rebel 9 show with some other bands and, like, I'm very happy to play with sandbox bands, the opportunities just are not as, as often as I would like, but, you know, like, I'll work on something for December because I always try and do some sort of Christmas show, but I'll obviously keep you posted on that, but we're talking about how funny it is, and amusing to a degree, like, when we all do get together because I am of the belief, and you can correct me if I'm wrong in the chat if you want, but I am of the belief that we are, we have reached the stage where you put at least two sandbox bands together, uh, for a show, those bands now become more of an afterthought and more of a soundtrack to the sort of town hall hangout meeting that is really going on because I believe that that is what is the attractive part of those shows, because people go to those shows to see each other and hang out because they know there's a really good likelihood that most of the people that they hang out with at shows are going to be at a show like that, and I just, I think that is so fantastic, especially when it comes to the point where it's, like, you know, even we as band members are hanging out and, like, talking to our friends and, like, doing all that other stuff and, like, you'll kind of, like, you'll be watching, like, ah, I'm sorry, I gotta go do this thing for, like, 40 minutes, but, like, I'll be right back, and it's, like, it becomes secondary to us, it's, like, the, almost the, the playing the show becomes interfering with what we're trying to do out, you know, and just hanging out and stuff like that, so I always, I always think that's funny, but, I was talking to Jimmy about the, so I have the Line 6, and you might have noticed this on Friday, like, I play with the Helix, I've played with the Helix for years, like, since pre-COVID, I believe, and, um, it's just a very big unit, and I have a very big box, no phrasing, that it sits in, and it's been vexing me for months, maybe even years at this point, because, as we play smaller and smaller places, the stages, the stage room gets smaller, and then I have this big, I think it's, like, a 36-inch case, which is, you know, a lot, plus I have a reference monitor, so I have this huge footprint, and I'm just constantly aware of how much, how too much space it's taking up, so, over the past, whatever, and really ramped up after the nostalgia show, I've been looking for a way to sort of have this smaller footprint. I toyed with the idea of getting in-ear monitors, and they even joke with the band, like, I don't even want to give up my monitor, because I've really, kind of, come into my own with my Bruce Dickinson foot on the monitor, and, like, that's part of, like, how I play, like, I rehearse that way, because it's comfortable, like, sometimes having my foot up, it changes the way the guitar sits, and, like, I can play things differently and stuff like that, so, I don't think I'm going to give up the reference monitor, and I can always curve that inside if I don't have enough room, because I can angle that, but my pedal board, there's only so much I can do with it, and it's not like I can fold it over, it's solid wood, so, I've really been, like, looking at ways to make this smaller, and I was thinking, like, getting one of the other helix models, but it's just not going to work, it doesn't have the processing power, it doesn't have enough buttons, and, yeah, that sounds stupid, that doesn't have enough buttons, it doesn't have enough gumdrop buttons, so, that's for sure, but I've been toying with that, but, you know, then I was like, maybe I'll just get the case that really just minimizes how much space there is for the, that's on the floor, and, like, I'll just go deeper, because I usually have room like that, but, now, I've got to tell you, like, I'm really, like, I'm being sold pretty hard by, like, people whose thoughts on the matter, I really trust, like, Jimmy and Joey, who are gearheads, they really understand gear, and, you know, those are the two, like, Jimmy is the one that got me into the helix, it was funny, because he was, he had talked me into the helix, and I just, I wasn't ready to pull the trigger on that, and then, you know, but I was talking about it so much, the chaz ended up getting helix, and I was able to see, like, how well it worked, and stuff like that, I was like, okay, cool, this is, this is good, because I was tired of doing, like, my anthem cabinet, and my pedalboard, which, I had no problem, I love my M3 boss pedalboard, it was great, but, this was just such a step in the right direction, but now, I'm getting a lot of, I want to say pressure, but that's not, it's not the right word, but, like, I'm craning my own pressure, because I'm getting a lot of influenced thoughts on getting the neural cortex, which is basically a line six for those of you that aren't gearheads, it does the same thing as the helix, right, but it does it so much better, it is such a much better machine, it's also like, a third of the size, and it's like, this is going to solve every single problem I'm currently having, having with my floor space, because, and my footprint on the floor, because it is so much smaller, it also does way more, and if I decide to not go with the wireless and not go with, like, all my DIs and stuff like that, like, I don't really need it, it also, and this is getting too technical, it does a lot of parallel processing, which means I can run my microphone through it, and add some of the vocal effects that I used to use when I was using my TC to do, to do, like, distorted vocals when I need them, delays, like, I used to have this delay and distorted effect when we would sing a wake that would mimic the record, if you ever go back and listen to the reality crush and listen to the beginning of the wake, it's pretty integral in that song, and I just, you know, since I stopped using it, I wasn't able to recreate that live and all that other stuff, but the problem is, is that the cortex is, you know, $1,700, and it's like, yeah, I can go to Sweetwater, I can pay for it over the next, I think it's like, 75 years, no interest, whatever it is, and, you know that thing, like, you'll see, like, posts every now and then they always make me laugh, or it's like, oh, I just looked up all the symptoms I'm having, all the problems I'm having, and it turns out I just need more money, well, that's basically, so it's like, like, if I had infinite money, like, I would have had it already just even try the damn thing, you know, you know, the other part is, like, time, like, do I really want to learn this thing, but I also know, like, I can go over to Joey's or Jimmy's and be like, could you show me how to use this thing I just bought, like, it would be like buying, if I bought, like, I know how to drive a standard transmission, but imagine if you didn't, right, and you just bought, like, say, like, I was going to get, before I got my Subaru, I really wanted to get a Jeep, I wanted to get a manual transmission, and, like, but I didn't want to buy it because Jeeps are, like, hot garbage and, like, really, like, dumpster fires, so I was going to lease it, but I really wanted a standard transmission because it's been years since I've driven with a clutch, and I just, I miss it, honestly. Not always, like, not on rolling back hills, but I do miss it, but it'd be, like, buying a standard transmission and then showing up at somebody's house because you don't know how to drive it, and be like, can you show me how to do this? Like, so, and they're fine, because they're gearheads, like, I think they would really like, okay, you can do this, like, I know Joey would be like, oh, you can do this, and you can do this other thing, like, I wouldn't, I wouldn't catch any of it, I'm just, like, I'm going to leave this here, do you want anything from Starbucks, when I come back, did you make this sound like a Marshall, and I think he would probably do that for me. So, like, as with Jimmy, and Jimmy, like, was telling me, like, you can just download stuff from the sky, I mean from the cloud, but also the sky, and just, it just downloads, and all of a sudden your sounds are just there, which to me is, like, just bananas, because I feel like, we're, we're just, you know, months away from being like, yo, cortex, can you make it sound like anything from bare tooth, and it'll be like, yes, dude, right, I will do it, you know, like, maybe that's coming, like, I don't know where we are with AI and the neural cortex, but like, it sounds super attractive to me, so. Anyway, so I'm totally now leaning that way instead of going the case, so it was going to be a $200 case solution, now I'm thinking it's going to be a $1,700 processing solution, and then I got to figure out what to do with Helix, because I just traditionally do not get rid of gear, but I feel like, that might be something I would have to sell off, because it's just, there's just too much, like, that is just too expensive, and I don't know what I'm going to do, so. If you're wondering what I'm going to be obsessing over the next week to two weeks to three years, it's probably going to be whether or not to pull the trigger on this thing that's, you know, going to make my life way better and make it way easier and, like, only cost me, like, $53 a month from Sweetwater, so. Anyway, that's what's going on in my head. The other thing that's going on in my head, and I will end the top 29 right now, is that, fear the masses who are one of my favorite local bands and have been for a long time, they're based out of Connecticut, they came down, they did a new to you, we used to play with them all the time. They, we played with them at the Cherry Street Station show that I've talked about several times here on the show, one of the greater Rebel Nine adventures ever. It was the one where it's such a metal club that we had, we were going to start with San Jose, and Kaz kind of looked around and saw that even the women in the room were all wearing, like, death shirts and countable corups, and he kind of like leans into me, is like, maybe we shouldn't start with San Jose, and I made an on-the-fly, like, oh, okay, I guess so, but we ended up playing a short set because of it, and to be fair, the only reason I could pull that off is because we were the opening band and very few people were there to see us anyway, so, like, it didn't really matter, like, nobody knew who we were, but we just didn't want the first impression to be San Jose, which is like, started with a kid, although I do think we might have closed with it. I think I probably, I don't think I cut it as much as I just moved it, but I don't fully remember that, but I do remember Kaz being like, maybe, maybe that's not the song, and he was probably right, so, but yeah, I do, I do seem to remember that we just moved it to the end of the set, because by that time we were going to win over anybody, we were going to win over, and also, I don't know what you know about Rebel Nine, but we are not a metal band, no matter how you do the set, so, that was kind of an issue, so, or in the kind of an experience, but anyway, that's fear of the masses, and we've known it for a long time. Doug and Joshua are the ones, the main players in it, but they have finally dropped a new record called Regime Change, and they've been dribbling out some singles over the years and stuff like that, but the record is out, I highly recommend it on Spotify. I didn't even know what song I wanted to pick for today, because there are just so many options, but I decided to go with Life Sentence, because there's something super catchy about it for me, I hope you guys like it, but if you don't, that's fine. It's a full-length record, so go check it out on Spotify now, and you can see fear of the masses anywhere in Connecticut, and maybe if we have another opportunity to afford to bring bands down here, maybe we'll bring them back down here, and we'll just play them for you that way, but in the meantime, I am very happy to give you a brand new song. To start off the Hard Rock Lunchbox with, it's a brand new fear of the masses, it's Life Sentence, and it's on the box. [Music]
