On this week's episode of "Who's Your Band?," Jeffrey Paul and Sean Morton welcome onto the show the talented singer-songwriter Lisa Bouchelle! We dive into Lisa's recent performances, including her opening act for Bachman-Turner Overdrive. We find out what its like performing with Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen, the challenges of being an opening act and the dynamic of connecting with a crowd, Lisa's musical journey, insights into the hustle of the music industry and her creative process, Steely Dan, the midnight special, and so much more!
Who's Your Band?
Jump In! Singer-Songwriter Lisa Bouchelle Talks Music, Mishaps, and More! "Who's Your Band?" Episode 155
(upbeat music) - Okay, welcome everybody to Who's your Band. I am Jeffy Paul. I am joined by my very funny talented co-host, Mr. Sean Morton. How are you Sean? - You can give me more than just funny and talented. I'll take anything you can really give me today. - You didn't pay me enough to give you more. - That's true too. I'm back in my studio. I'm back in my studio. I've left my dining room table finally. - And now you're back in your boy cave. - I ditched cable. I cut the cord with cable finally. Everybody is doing that. - Cut the cord with cable. My cable would not, the internet would not make my office. This office has like $100,000 worth of stuff. - Not here and I can't enjoy it. I can't do anything down here. I got all my guitars, my bass, and all this shit. I can't use any of it, you know, there's no internet, whatever. So now I switch, I go to T-Mobile, right? I go to T-Mobile. Oh, let me tell you, I got a little mesh. I got a little mesh unit right here. Here's my mesh unit. And I got perfect internet down here. So you know what, fuck up. That's what I'm saying, basically. - That's what I say too. Fuck 'em, fuck 'em, Henry. Listen, man, let's get started with this, okay? Enough of this dopey preamble because I'm, as I say this a lot, I really do. I'm excited about this guest, okay? I'm really excited about this guest. I met her about a week or so ago on 101.5 FM. And then as fate would have it, I went to go see the BTO show, Bachmann Turner Overdrive, over at the St. George Theatre. And guess who was the opening act? Here's our guest. She's a singer, she's a songwriter. She has performed with Bruce Springsteen, John Bon Jovi, and we will get into all of that. But it's our pleasure to welcome to the show, Lisa Buchill. - Hi, thank you for having me. You know, it's funny because when we met, you had asked if I was going to be opening at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island. And at that point I was just opening a Carterette that week. And then I got a call to open that one too. So I was very happy to run and see you there. - So how does that work? How does that happen? You know, first, how do you get the gig at Carterette? And was it after the Carterette show that they asked you to perform at St. George? And I wanted to talk a little bit about that as well. - No, I got offered to do the show at Carterette through my management company. I guess someone who works at the theater that I had performed there before on another bill. And they asked me to perform. And oddly enough, they didn't see me and that asked me. They, another person from Live Nation who had worked with me before who already knew what I did. They called me and asked me to open in Staten Island as well. But before I played at the Carterette right after I met you, that's when I don't know why they just did. - So, let's talk a little bit. So, sure, I go to see Boc McTurner over there. I used to love this band growing up, okay? But so, Lisa opens the show. It's a couple of minutes. Sure and a lot of both comedians, we've opened up for some big comics. It's a tough gig. It really is a tough gig being the opening act. When people are coming to see the headliner and you've got to warm them up. But you, man, I gotta say, you had it. I thought it was tough, a tough gig in this regard. Okay, they make a general announcement over the loudspeaker, okay? They lower the lights. No introduction. - Oh, yeah. - Okay? No introduction. Like stupid Ken Deshaal was there, okay? Just to make a, you know, he said something in between that no one gave his shit about. You couldn't come out stupid and introduced the opening act. No, she just walks out on stage, you know? But very likable, very charming. Before she starts playing, you know, introduces herself, you know, says a couple of gracious words and starts playing. And that's what's really cool is because I think, I don't know what your opening song was, okay? But whatever it was, you got the crowd. I mean, you got a voice, you really do. Me and my wife were sitting there. I think by the second or third song, we were like, she reminds us of somebody. And we were thinking, you know, Melissa Etheridge, but not quite as raspy, Cheryl Crow, and then I was thinking Jewel, okay? - Yes. - That's who you, but the thing is this little blonde comes out and showing, I'm telling you, a powerful voice. And I'm not just saying it because Lisa's on the show. You know, I never heard these songs. She did a great job with them. A couple of songs that stood out to me was love is for the making. - Yes. - And was jumping kind of like a country song? Was that either country song that you put the hat on? - No, that was the only the tequila talking, but I kept the hat on for Jump On. - Okay, yeah, 'cause it did have kind of like a, like a very, like a country pop sound to me. And then you did say I thought something that was very interesting. And I think this is a smart thing to do. So nobody there really gonna know you. They're going to see BTL. You open up with a couple of your own songs, which are good, okay? Nothing extremely long. So everything very catchy, grave opening voice. And then you do a cover. And you know, you got a nice reaction when you, when you said I'm gonna do the song by Gordon Lightfoot and then you introduce the song and now people were vested. And then you got them the rest of the way. Did you feel the same way? - Yes. But one interesting thing is I did do, I did record that Gordon Lightfoot song on one of my records and I did a video for it. So yes, it is a cover, but it's kind of reimagined. But I thought that it was great for that crowd because of the era and the genre. And I thought that people would probably be familiar with that song, whereas when I found it, I found it driving late at night on deep tracks. But I knew that the people in that audience, the demographic would probably know that song. And so I thought it would be a good one to do, yes. - That's what I liked about the show. I liked that, you know, you were very engaging with the audience. I liked that BTO was also, I mean, Randy Bachman was telling some great stories. - Great stories. Yeah. - And then, so we really did like, and we really did listen. This is how you know that the opener did a great job. You're not looking at your watch. (laughing) - Thank you. - And I mean that sincerely. But this is what pissed me off. (laughing) - Hey, show on. Hey, thank you. Thank you, Lisa Buchal. No one from BTO can come and help you unplug, wrap a wire, help you put your guitar. I mean, you were your own road crew, your own person, it's like you walk on, do you, like, man, they can help you out a little bit. And then a couple of guys from BTO come out, you know, they're a road crew, to move a stool. They're like, no one can help you without. - The day before my manager came, my main lead manager came up and I didn't know he was gonna come help me. So I was getting ready to get my little crates to call this stuff in there, right? And all the sudden he showed up, he's like, can I help you? Like, yes, it was like an angel to send it on this thing. 'Cause I have to get out to merch. Like you figure, when I come in, I set up all my stuff at the merch booth. I put my stuff up in the green room. I come in on my roady clothes. I go up and I do my sound check. I set up all my harmonizer, paddle, everything like that. So after I get finished, I have to sweep that to the side of the stage, leave it there and book it out to merchandise 'cause I sell my own merch. So I get out to merchandise and that what I get finished with that, I am signing all the autographs, meeting all the great people and selling my merch. Then I go in and I usually pack everything up, get it out to the car, watch BTO or watch whoever. If I'm opening for someone and then go back out and sell afterwards again at merch. So it's like a lot to get done. When I'm getting off stage, I have to get it off of there in about two minutes so I can get right out to merchandise. It's a lot. - Yeah, you really are a hustler, Sean. She really is a hustler. I mean, we're gonna talk about what stuff she's done, but I'm just kind of curious about, 'cause, you know, as comedians, Sean and I both know, you know, we will sell our merch at a show. What was the response to the people? Like when you were at Carter at, when you do open up for some of these bigger acts, 'cause you've poured, she's worked with the wallflowers, train, blues traveler, Don Felda, Glen Tilbrook from Squeeze, one of my favorite old-time bands. And I'm leaving out people too, okay? What's it like to be the opener for that? And especially 'cause the show at St. George, do people, are people nice? Are they gracious? Do they come and support? What happens with that? - Well, firstly, the last two shows that, since they just happened this week, I'll answer that question first. I had a spectacular reaction with the audience. It was synergistic, and as you guys know, it's not just like, to me, I don't know, it's not just an ego thing. It's like, it's worth sharing the music. They got what I did, and they liked BTO, and I liked BTO, and it was very magical. I mean, I really had a good time at both of those shows, and it was reflected in my, you know, I sold a lot too. Sometimes they'll wave if you owe a percentage for a hard merchandise, it might be like 15%, for like your T-shirts and stuff like that, might be like 10% at the end of the night. If you're the opening acting, you only sell a few, like five CDs, they're not probably going, they're gonna wave that fake. So I had talked to the person I worked for, but at the end, he came up, and I was like, selling things off the right side and everything. I was like, ready to sell blankets or shirts out of my car. Like, I was selling everything but the kitchen sink. And so he's like, okay, they'll go over the percentage. - I guess that kind of a good thing, because you were selling. - It was a good thing, so that's the price of success right then I did that. But I have had such a great time touring everywhere and playing theaters, and I played arenas too. We had opened up for some really big bands where we're playing, like my whole band was there, we're playing like 12,000 people arena. And I love that, but my all-time favorite is that theater, because the, like that size theater. - Well, no, I just, any theater that size, like where it was an old movie theater, I think St. George was built in like 1929, and they refurbished in the sound. Honestly, it's just like this Jeff, that sound in there is singing, it's wonderful. It's marvelous, I mean, there's just nothing. When you're a singer, a songwriter, and you're not just, you know, rocking, you're also telling a story through your music. There's nothing like a theater like that with good acoustics. - That's the theater that if you ever saw the movie, School of Rock, the big scene at the end, that's where they filmed it. - I didn't see the movie, but I didn't know that so I'll go watch it. - Oh yeah, a bunch of music videos have been shot there. My wife and I were big supporters of it. Before the show, we were talking to the owner of the theater, and we got a preview of what's coming up. They're so gracious, it is a great, great, great theater. I don't know anyone who's ever gone there and said, "No, this isn't for me." Do you wanna have you ever been to St. George? - I have, I've actually played there, and I wanna ask a question because I've done the music thing too. And, you know, when you're talking about all the bands that you opened up for, and then you hear a great fit and stuff like that, I wanna hear about the gig that you get up there and you open, and you are not the correct opener for the band that you're opening for. - Well, it didn't happen to me really at all, except for one time that I went to, and it was just a nightmare. The first tour I went on, I was opening for Blues Traveler, and I didn't have the band, that was a solo tour. And I didn't have much, I didn't have a bus, I didn't have any budget, it's gotten better, but I was sticking canned goods in my trunk, and I actually wrote a song called "Hold on a Highway" about it. - You want the tour? - I was traveling in my own car, and I opened up for eight weeks for them all over. They were great. People ended up making friends forever with some of those Bammies, John Popert at Friends Forever. It toured all over and-- - You had to drive yourself to the shelves. - I drove 12,000 miles in that car in eight weeks. That was my first tour, and things have gotten better, but I do hustle, but there was one time, I went on that tour and I had scheduled a TV show, appearance in Boston, and I left for the tour to go to New Orleans, and I found out like three days before I was leaving, I had to go. So I get down to New Orleans, I had to leave my band there and fly up to Boston, right? And I left my, 'cause I, oh no, wait, the band was playing with me somehow in New Orleans, and then they weren't on the rest of the tour. Anyway, I get on the plane, and I fly up, and I leave my car there in the airport in Georgia, and I get, oh, I know what happened, New Orleans, then we traveled to Georgia. Oh God, it's so confusing. And we performed, I left my, yeah, because we must have been in Atlanta. I left my car at the airport. I flew up to Boston, I did the show, the TV show. When I came back, my luggage wasn't, it was missing, and I had all this stuff I needed in it. I got in the car, and I drove to Athens, and that was where the horrible show happened. So I drive to Athens, and I'm getting ready in some parking lot to go to CVS to buy makeup. Everything was missing 'cause my luggage got lost. So I get to the show, and I get on stage. I think it was like a college type crowd at that one city, and it stayed in my mind 'cause I don't have many flops. They were just like, look, and I feel like, what the hell? I think they looked clueless, and I just felt mortified. And after my luggage, it was a horrible, horrible night. So that was my bad story, but there was nothing really monumental about it. It was just awful, and it was like my second show of the tour, and the rest of the tour went wonderfully. - I know like when you're a comic, right? And like, maybe you look like a clean comic, or you're with someone who has like a nature point of view, and you're the complete wrong act for it. - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. - That is brutal. - Please, it was less week, that was less Friday night than Staten Island. - What was that gig? Like, one plays a lot of the big rooms. You played, I believe, a Mexican cantina. - Yeah, so this is what I actually said to them. I said, you know, the best thing about meeting people in comedy, 16 years, you meet good friends. And my friend booked me on this show. I said, but he's not the only comic that I'm really good friends with. In fact, my friend Sebastian Maniscalco called me at 430, and said, hey, listen, I don't know if you're free. My opener got COVID, I'm doing MSG tonight. I can pay you 10 grand for opening the show. So I said to him, hey, listen, I don't know if you heard, but do you hear the Mexican cantina on Victory Boulevard in Staten Island? Can't top that one, buddy. Yeah, I should not have left my house. - Oh. - And the scary thing is, I've done that Mexican cantina more than once. - Yeah, I got there, and I thought it was a different place, which I thought had this huge bathroom, which I had been, and then I walked in and, yeah, the two by four that I was performing on was literally right in the front, alongside the stage. And it was, I was not happy. - No, it's comedy, music, it is tough, but the thing is, there's some good times, too. And so you did get to sing with Springsteen and John Bon Jovi. Let me start with John Bon Jovi first, because I actually got to see the video clip of that. And again, that was really, really good. I mean, they were doing, "You Can't Go Back." You know that song? - It says, "You Can't Go Home." - It says, "You Can't Go Home." Good song. Yeah, and they did it as a duet, and it was great. It was great. How did that come about? And do you have any future plans on working with John? - I don't have any future plans at this very moment. I've worked with this producer a couple of times, because I recorded one of my very first CD up at his home studio that he had when he was in Rumson. And I got to be friends with the engineer, and he's done some work for us in current albums. But with John directly, I don't have a current plan, but you never know. That was a cool thing. I sang with them a couple of times, and that particular time we were doing a benefit concert that his wife, Charity, that she was very involved in. And so we just had a charity show, and "Rock and Soul" review, Bobby Bandiera, was pretty much responsible for putting all the musicians together locally to be part of it. And John asked that we all do one song of his, and that was the theme, and then one of his other favorite songs. So he assigned me a song that I don't like as the other song, and it was a song that I don't like so much, that all my friends knew of it. And when they heard that I was decided they laughed a lot, I said, "Just let me sing it." I actually had an okay time singing it, but I don't want everyone to get mad at me that loves the song, but I just personally don't like it. There's nothing wrong with it. Build me a Buttercup, it's not my jam. But I didn't do it. - Oh, I love that song. - I know, so don't get mad at me, but it's that song, it's subjective, I don't like the song. It's okay, I sang the song. - I knew it was a bit more, it's a horrible song. It's a terrible song. - Yeah, I love it. - That terrible song. - I feel like if someone called me Buttercup, I would just be like, we're breaking up right now. I think that might be like a top five work song ever, actually. - Are you out of your mind? - It's a fucking horrible song. - That's a great summer bar song going down to the Jersey show. - Yes, if I ever came to your house in the summer and you invited me over for a barbecue and we're hanging out and you put on Build Me a Buttercup, I'm drowning you in your pool. I'm telling you right now, I could hold you down and I could end your life in your pool if you played that song around me. - The next show that you and I do together, that we're coming out to walk up music, that's what I'm walking up to. - I'm coming to speak to that. (laughs) Oh my God. So then after that, the other song that I got to pick would be one of John's and everybody else like, oh, I think he assigned it to us, yeah, like that. So he assigned everyone one of his songs and he asked me to do that one with him. So I was like, that'll be awesome. And we did, and it was great. (laughs) - Did you speak to him afterwards? I was kind of curious to what, what he said to you after you said before. - No, but we have been rehearsals all week and I've worked with them other times. We know each other, you know. - Okay, 'cause that was really, really good. And I could definitely see something coming out of that from in the future. How long ago was that, by the way? - I'm very bad with time and as if I wasn't, pandemic may be completely confused. So I'm not even gonna, I don't even know if I'm horrible. - Did you see the video with John Bon Jovi from last week, what happened? - Yeah, we were on the air when it happened. - That's right, that's right. That's right, the night that Lisa came on the radio with us. - The upload was amazing on that though, really was. - You think the guy asked for an autograph after? - Oh, he should, he's got the picture. - That's what I was doing. - I would want to know a picture in an autograph. Like, yo, I won't jump, you gotta give me a signed guitar and take it to the next show. I just keep asking for shit, yeah. - Yeah, I would. I not, what are you gonna look like with your life? - I mean, yeah, exactly. - Yeah, making you look good here, John. How did you wind up getting together with Springsteen? - It all came through the whole Jersey Shore scene, my management and Bobby Bandiara and rock and soul review that happens at the Count Basie Theater and some of the charity work and that was, I believe that was a different concert we put on called the Hope Concert. I think that was at the Basie that I did backups for him. - And that was incredible. Watching him lead a band is like incredible. I mean, 'cause you know how when we're all, when like unit guys know, when you're by yourself, you can kind of change things up and go a different direction according to what's happening and come feed it back from the audience or just anything. You're instinct, you're vibe, right? I can change what song I'm doing. I can make a song shorter or longer. I had to do that at the St. George Theater 'cause I looked and I was running out of time. So I had to abbreviate the last few songs on like a Peyton Manning mentality, right? You guys are probably the same. But when you have like a whole band, you really have to be a hell of a band leader to be able to turn around to them and just, you know, and get everyone on the same board when you're about to change lanes, you know? And he just has that ability. He can bring it up, bring it down, change directions. And he's just in the moment and he's just a great band leader. - But that band also been together for 40 years. - Or not. We told him last week in Asbury Park and I think the greatest thing that came out of that concert is that he didn't do night shifts by the Commodore's. Every concert I've seen him do over the past three years, he's played that dumb song. This guy's got 200 amazing original songs that he keeps doing the fucking night shift cover by the Commodore's. I can't stand it. But let me tell you, Jeff, we're gonna cover. It's a great cover. - I love night shift. - Yeah, I know, it's a great song, but now you're gonna do "Prove It All Night" or you're gonna do "Night Shift". You're gonna do "Night Shift". - There you go, my favorite song. So yeah, of course you have to do "Prove It All Night". Let me tell you, I don't know if you saw the setlist for the Asbury Park. - I did. - I did. - I did. - I mean, listen, I've seen "Birth It Doesn't Times" and this was without a doubt the greatest setlist I've ever seen in before. It was, he changed, he changed up the setlist to really make it an Asbury Park 1974 concert. - Oh, that's awesome. - He did a lot of stuff from greetings. He did stuff from, you know, the first three record, it was just "Unreal", what a great, great show, but 35,000 people on "The Beach" and "Asbury Park". - Overhead pictures of that are insane. You know what, on this tour, you know what song I really love by "Spring" is kind of just discovered over the summer? I really love the song "Living In The Future". Do you guys know that song? - I don't even know it. - "Off of Magic". - Yeah, "Magic" is a very underrated record. - Really great album, yeah. I do do a lot of the newest stuff. A lot of it, when you say newest stuff in place in 2010, really good stuff, man. - I still say this last album is one of his best records in 20 years that led us to you record. And when you look at it and you realize that three songs in that record were written in 1971 or '72, and he just recorded them for the first time. And they still sound just as fresh 50 years later, it's unbelievable. - They're just as fresh? - They're just as fresh as they are. - Oh, fucking mo. - I'm almost as fresh. - I'm gonna go kill myself, can you find my ticket stub? - Yeah, I like ticket stubs. (laughing) Lee's in "Luchelle". Also, these are what people don't know. Two, two, top, adult contemporary, two top 25 singles, adult contemporary job. - Yes, and the song you mentioned, "Love Is For The Making", that, well, freak me out. We ended up on the, in the top 20 for 10 weeks of the adult contemporary billboard chart this past year. It was crazy. - Yeah. - 10 weeks. - Now, these albums that, you know, see these that you put out. Are you signed on a label, or are you putting them out on your own? And how do you get distributed? I mean, I've spoke about this before, my first job at a college, I worked for a major label. I worked for Columbia with CBS Records, I worked with Columbia, Epic, all the associated labels. The record business has changed completely since those days, okay? Not as many artists are signed, distribute, you know, the amount of records sold isn't written nearly. So, are you putting out a CD just to put it out there so you can tour? And who distributes your stuff? - Well, we were sort of like a subsidiary of with Sony Records. Right now, we've done, we used to work with Universal and then we've done a lot, you know, on our trash can dreams label without any extra distribution. But this current one, we get distribution and stuff we work with Sony. It's definitely like you said, a different business. I do still sell CDs and I also have it on all the streaming platforms. And it's harder, but I think it's more like you say, it's, you have to think outside the box. I think everybody does. I mean, I have my TV show and I kind of use that to feed you. I just have to look at what each person kind of has, people say to me, how do I do it? These musicians just look at what you have and try to think outside the box to capitalize on whatever's unique about you, you know? And it's kind of like, I've managed to get some assistance that way so we do have the distribution. But it is definitely a different business. And for me, touring is always my favorite. So if I put out the music and it does well, and then we get better tours, that to me is what I want. So I guess that's kind of the answer. But it's hard to say, Jeff. I mean, honestly, like we all know, it's hard to say what my plan is because I don't know what opportunity I'm gonna be presented with, that I have to weigh out and how I'm gonna go about it, you know? So I just have to put myself out there and see what I'm offered and then try to make the most intelligent decision that I can moving forward. Forward motion, as long as I'm getting farther, I'm good to go. - Well, that's the thing, the thing is to always keep moving forward. But you're out there, I mean, you'll play the St. George Theater one night and you'll play someone's living room the next night. - Well, yeah, house concerts are awesome, but let's make it bar when I have to go to bars, which is this weekend, which is fine, but it's a little different. - Ethics is, we're in the same situation, you know? - I know. - In the same situation, I'll never forget, did a week at the Borgata, you know, every night was anywhere from seven to 1,100 people every single night. And then the next week, my gig was five people in a basement sea caucus. You know? - Yeah. - It's, you can never tell. And you guys need to go with the bed with it though. But I got a question, rock star kitchen. I want to know about this because I was a rock star. I'm still a rock star comedian and I could fucking cook. So I want to know about that. - Well, rock star kitchen is right now repeats because we're going with another network soon. So then I could let you know what's going on. But right now it's the repeats. We have a great show concept, apparently it went really well. I came up with this idea to do like cooking and have someone bring like famous people come on, but bring like a recipe that's near and dear to their heart. Like say they're like vegetarian, or say they picked it up on tour in New Orleans, or say they're really famous. And you want to hear about their grandmother's goulash or something, you know, we recreate that or we try to do whatever recipes are our favorite. And then we, while it's cooking in the oven, we usually do one song that's one of their classics and one new song that they have. And we do them very acoustic. 'Cause I'm like a folky kind of chick. Even my band is all based around the acoustic. So we sit around the kitchen table and just do like acoustic versions of songs that people have usually only heard like fully produced. And the great thing about having them bring something that's near and dear to them is that you open them up and they start to talk about their childhood, their touring things that you normally wouldn't hear about while we're rolling dough and flour, you know. - It was, that's, that was great, you know, because I like the cooking segment. I mean, you got some great guests, man, but the best part really was like you're singing with the singer from Tonic. Yeah, that sounded really, really good. You're saying, you had not only Kelly Handsby, you had Jeff Filson. I love both those guys. - Oh, you do, we do. - From Farne, yeah, I thought that was great. You're getting some, you had great guests on that show. Yeah, you had bowling for soup. I thought that was kind of like a fun episode. I mean, really like, yeah, but really like, like a different type of guy, the guy's had Jack Blades from a, from a night ranger. It's a great idea for sure. I'm a little shocked that it hasn't been picked up and has been at least syndicated in major markets, right? - Yeah, that's where we're going right now. We're in talks about that. Because when we first got, I came up with the idea. It took us literally like a year and a half to get it onto the network. Now it's like, it's, it was our top rated original content show on that network. Meanwhile, it takes a year and a half. Everyone says, you know guys know, the two of you know better, I'm preaching the choir. Oh, you just, it's such a great idea. It did so well, it must have been, it didn't. We had to fight to get, get any placement at all. So it's like, now it's doing well. So now, you know, other people are interested. So hopefully, you know, we get farther along with that too. - What's your, no, let me ask you a quick question. Are you married, Lisa? Are you in relationship? - Oh, well, I'm seeing somebody. - Okay, so here's my question. Now that you're a cook, what is your go-to dish? The first dinner that you have to make somebody, you're trying to impress them, what's your go-to dish? - Well, if I'm in, if we're, if we're doing an indoor and dinner, I'll probably go a pork chops creole. And if I was outdoors, we'll probably go with salmon on the grill, that type of thing. Salmon salad, some roasted vegetables on the grill and stuff like that, but inside. - I'm giving her my signature dish. I want her to make it and I want her to make it her own. - Yeah, that's what she's going to do. She's going to sit there and cook for you all day. - Well, I'm telling you, but this is a good idea. I'm going to do a meal, Jeffrey. - I want to hear. - I'll make it for you too. It's a very simple pasta dish. So I like to make my own pasta. And then what I will do is I'll take cherry tomatoes, cut them up into quarters, and then I will take olives that have Mento inside the olive as well, chop them up, feeny, feeny, right? Tons of garlic, when it says two cloves of garlic, let's just be honest, we use 12 anyway, right? Nobody uses two cloves of garlic, okay. Tons of fresh basil. It's an olive oil-based sauce, so it's very heavy. But layer on olive oil, and I sauté the tomatoes and the olives all the way down. Throw in hot red pepper flakes afterwards. Throw that in there too. Very end, throw all that tons of garlic in there. More olive oil makes it into a sauce. Put your fresh pasta in, twirl it around. Pecorino Romano. Could it just be more complicated? That's a mic drop right there. That sounds good, right? Yes, God. Don't encourage him, Lisa, please. Just make me hungry. Yeah, we had it on here tonight, Jeff. You learn a more about me? Yeah, I know I feel much a great cook I was too. Yeah, we have a mic out, let's do you in the kitchen. We had a show with a chef on, and he's going on and on about this dumb pasta dish that he made. You put macaroni in a bowl, in a pot. That's what you did, stop it. No, it sounds really... Make your own pasta, Jeff. Mm-hmm. Or at least, where are you from? Born in Trenton. Oh, you're a Jersey girl, okay. Yeah. Did you spend time in the South? I did, in New Orleans. Yeah, that's a great thing. Yeah, out West and Mesa, which is outside of Phoenix. So I traveled a bit, you know, coming up. And now I'm still in Jersey now, so I like it a lot. Writing a joke could be, you could have weeks, sometimes, months, you know, even years where things come to you. You know, like you'll be driving, you'll have clarity in your head, and you're able to write. And you just got to be able to get it on paper as fast as you can think it. When it comes to you when you're songwriting, how do you go about doing a song, do you do lyrics first? Does the music come to you, or do you work in a collaboration with your band? I write, and usually, sometimes I co-write, but mostly I write solo. And I bring it to the band. But I have different ways I write. Sometimes I'll pick up the guitar and like you get, like you say, you're in a move where you're tuned into that frequency, somehow it feels like it comes through you. Like maybe you didn't even write, even though you did. It's almost like you're channeling it. You're tuned into that frequency of the muses, right? And this goes on for, it can go on for weeks or months. And I can always write something. I could write something right now, but the really good stuff, it's like when you're in one of those, you know, like modes where you're writing. So it can either be where, if I'm in that mode and I pick up the guitar, I'm probably going to come up with something. Be it a verse, and then I write the chorus, be it a verse, and I go fish through my lyric scraps that I write down when I have an idea and I grab a chorus from it. Oh, that'll match like an outfit or whether I write the poetry first. Like I have a song I called I Believe, and I wrote it as a poem kind of, and it sat there for like a couple of months because I couldn't figure out what kind of music I must have changed it 10 times. And then finally it ended up being four chords, the whole song. So, you know, sometimes it happens in pieces, but yeah. There's no rhyme or reason to it, because again, again, right, I have a book over here that probably has 350 songs that are written and they're already two. But, you know, Jeff, it's not like the only one you can describe it to is with us. Like if you wrote a joke, you know, 10 years ago, you know, the joke that you do about the didgeridoo is, you know, I make fun of it, but just say you did that, right? And then, you know, that came to you in what, 10 minutes, maybe? 15 minutes. So, yeah, that came pretty quick. Yeah, that came quick. You know, I have half written songs from literally 20 years ago that I don't know what direction I would ever go into with it. And I have lyrics that I wrote in 45 seconds, where I've written three verses, choruses, bridges, everything like that. There's no, it's just, it's very strange, you know, like, I can remember hearing a slaughter, the people in the slaughter wrote the song up all night and they wrote everything and they had, he had all the lyrics and his head getting nothing to write it down on. He wrote it down on the back of the dominoes pizza box. Yeah. They wrote a higher song in 30 minutes, you know, the similar story to Cherry Pie. Exactly. The Warren song, you know, when we had Bobby Brown on the show, and she tells the story of how Jenny wrote that one. You're inspired, who, growing up, Lisa, who did you listen to? I was really weird. I listened to classic rock and like whaling, Jenny's like outlaw country for a while. And then I got into like some pop stuff, but I honestly was like always into like the older stuff. Like I still have my parents have passed away. I still have their vinyl and I listened to that all the time. What made you want to be a singer song right now? When did you know? I was four years older and I went to a talent show at a picnic and my parents and grandparents were there. I was only a child and they were fighting all the time. And I went signed up for the talent show. We knew a little bit ahead of time. So my grandmother made me this patriotic outfit and I was going to get up and sing America the Beautiful. And I still remember memorizing America the Beautiful. Like literally like Purple Mountains Majesty as like a child. But remember the words, I still can remember that. And I got up to sing and they stood me on a picnic table because I was the smallest contestant. And I was like a contest. And I thought, oh, they gave me a stage. So there I sing in my little patriotic outfit. Everyone clapped. The family got along the rest of the day and talked about what a great day it was. And I decided right then and that's what I wanted to do. And I never looked back. - Do you practice every day playing guitar? - Guitar, I have to because I have stuff to do. But I know I can tell you that I'm not sure that I would do that for fun. Because I remember when I first started playing guitar, I would practice my singing lesson every day. I love to sing like a bird. And my guitar, I had to actually like be disciplined. But now I have so much I have to work on and record and play that I have to play pretty much every day. Yeah, I like it. I like it better now that I got better at it. - A song like "Love Is For The Making." Okay? Can you play a little bit of that so Sean knows what we're talking about here. And I want to hear the difference between "Love Is For The Making" and "Jump In." - Okay. Now "Love Is For The Making" sounds a lot better with the little harmonizer pedal 'cause it gets every level. - Yeah, that was another thing. I was gonna ask you, that's what you had. You did have a little harmonizer thing when you were singing that sound. - I don't pre-record, I sing through it. I put the guitar, Sean, you'll know. You put the guitar and you put the vocal mic through it and it calculates. It's like a millisecond behind. You can't tell. It's like a fifth or a third below. And then when I want to have a harmony to show everyone, okay, you haven't heard the song. Here's the chorus. Hit that and everyone just automatically knows. It gives the song a little bit more dynamics live. - Editing. - Yeah, let our audience get a sense of what you sound like. - Okay, so "Love Is For The Making." Let me do that one. (upbeat music) ♪ Love, love, love, love ♪ ♪ Love, love, love, love ♪ ♪ Love, love, love ♪ ♪ Love, love, love ♪ ♪ Love is still the answer ♪ ♪ It's still the truth ♪ ♪ That I'm still the black ♪ ♪ Don't close your fast around it ♪ ♪ Let it flourish in your eyes ♪ ♪ Against this ball ♪ ♪ When I give up ♪ ♪ I'll show you this ball ♪ ♪ The same girl ♪ ♪ Like this ball ♪ ♪ The living ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Love is for the making ♪ ♪ Love, love, love, love, love ♪ ♪ Love is for the making ♪ ♪ Love is for the making ♪ ♪ Love is for the making ♪ - All right. - That. - That's a great job. Now, was that the sing-along song? - That was sing-along song. - Yeah, 'cause there was a song you asked everybody to kind of like sing. - I did, I did. I think they were sing on the lot of part. - Yes. - And I jump in, I have them all clapped too. That's a good one for clap, getting them to clap. I'm trying to find my tuner on this particular guitar 'cause it obviously needs it. 'Cause you did get the crowd into that as well. - Yeah, yeah, the jump in was, I'll do a piece of that. - I think it was a little piece of that. - I just got to tune this up. - Sean, do you know how to tune a guitar? - I tune for a year, buddy. - Do you know how to tune a fish? - Ah! - I'm not high enough, I'm not a fucking humor, Jeff. (laughing) - Give it time, right? The note is young. (laughing) Okay, so jump. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ You live too long ♪ ♪ Jump in ♪ ♪ Jump in ♪ ♪ Yeah, you're gonna jump in ♪ ♪ Got a jump in ♪ ♪ And I think swimmer from jump in ♪ ♪ And I'll wear my coat on a wristband ♪ ♪ I'll start to catch my breath ♪ ♪ I just wanna dance ♪ ♪ And I'll start to dance ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ I'm gonna fly along ♪ (laughing) ♪ Jump in ♪ ♪ Jump in ♪ ♪ Jump in ♪ ♪ Jump in ♪ ♪ Do your good to have us in the water ♪ ♪ Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump ♪ ♪ Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump ♪ ♪ Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump ♪ ♪ Up, up, up, jump ♪ ♪ Jump in ♪ ♪ Watch me jump in ♪ ♪ I gotta jump in ♪ ♪ I'll fly ♪ ♪ Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump ♪ ♪ Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump ♪ ♪ Jump, jump, jump, jump ♪ - Yeah, there we go. Little jump in. - Nice. - You see now, you need to do this live, bring Sean with you. - Yes. - And he can come out to the side, and he can jump like that, like it was arm like-- - Oh, how about every time she says the word jump, I just take a hit. (laughing) - I think you should have to play a song for us now, Sean. (laughing) - I don't have any acoustics down here. I have an acoustic bass down here. But I have three electrics. I don't have the, my acoustics are theirs. - Cool. - So, Lisa, the name of our show is called "To Jibend." Right? - Mm-hmm. - And, you know, and this is really one of the rare shows lately that we've been talking a lot of music. And your band, when we spoke off air, you said you're a big, Steely Dan fan, and we haven't had that. - Albums already here, a couple of them. (laughing) My favorites. - I kind of say, I never was a big Steely Dan fan. Until recently, and then I became, you know, as Sean would say, obsessed, 'cause Sean likes to overuse that word. But I became obsessed with Steely Dan. Love the band, really started to preach, like the songs they didn't like. I didn't like it, the song "PEG" growing up. - Really? - Yeah, yeah. I thought that music was too sophisticated. And I think over my head, and over the last few years, now I really started to get into it and appreciate it a lot more. Then I got to see them open up for the Eagles. And I thought they were fantastic. - Oh, my friend, that show, yeah. - Yeah, that was great. - Yeah, I got to tell you, I'm not well-versed in that kind of band, like I'm not really big with them. And like Bachman Turner overdrive, like that whole '70s kind of arena rock. I get a genre, I guess you wanna call it. I'm not familiar with that all. Do be brothers, I know a little bit, but I couldn't tell you one Steely Dan song. - They're great. Do it again, it has to be one of the best songs recorded. - I think Donald Fagen is really a musical genius. - Yes. - He really is, he overcame this like rippling, shyness. I don't know if you ever saw the video do it again. Steely Dan was really one of the ugliest bands in creation. And you know, he wouldn't like on the Midnight Special, he was too shy to actually sing the song. So they get this guy to come out and sing. And he sings it great. Doesn't sound like Donald Fagen, he does a great job. A more ugly human being, okay? Like Donald Fagen is on a scale of one to 10, he's a minus two, okay? They wound up getting a minus eight to do this, all right? But it's all about the music, it's all about the sound and the perfection and like on the classic albums. They would change like Asia, they would change up the musicians or song to fit the song. And the only ones who would really kind of be the constants with Donald Fagen and Walt the Becker. And yeah. - You're really drunk or really, really high in like three o'clock in the morning and buy something that you have no intentions of ever buying in your life. I did that one time. I was watching one of those time life best of the 70s things. I was really, really hungover. - Oh, on the T, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - I bought the entire Midnight Special series. - I came into my house like eight days later, I had no idea when I bought this shit. - Adam, Adam, are you there? Okay, do me a favor. Before we end this, can you find Neil Sedaka singing "Bad Blood" on the Midnight Special? Can you just bring that up? (laughing) Okay. - Ah, okay. (laughing) - One of those sounds very razzle. - You have no idea what I'm about to show you. Okay. The Midnight, I would buy that box set but what we're about to see. - Oh, I can just go upstairs and give it to you. (laughing) - You never want to listen to it or watching it? - I never watched it. I did that another time too. I was really hungover after a show, right? And I dozed off and like I was watching "Walking Dead." I never forget this. I was watching "Walking Dead" and I dozed off. And then after "Walking Dead" there's a show called "The Cutlery Corner." Did you ever see that at three o'clock in the morning? - Yeah. - On like a Sunday? - Yeah, they sell knives and shit. So I dozed off watching "The Walking Dead" and I woke up like they're a groggy and then I hear them say, "Do you want to survive the zombie apocalypse?" And I was like, "Yeah, yeah, I do." Like, I didn't realize where I was. And I ordered apparently this fucking zombie machete. It's this big. And it came with a little zombie knife. And it came like, again, like two weeks later I had no idea when I bought this, I had to go back and figure out like, you know, what time and what day and show I'd been. It's upstairs too, Jeff. All my band purchases are upstairs. - How many band purchases do you have? - I'm trying to call in Yoast Daka. - Yeah, come on, I'm fine. This is not hard to find. Okay, pull this up. - Let's see this. - I don't know if you, I'm sure you guys have never seen this. I've watched it. If there's a thousand views on this or a million views on it, 9 million more in mind. Okay, all right, play a little bit of it. (clippers buzzing) Watch when they zoom in. First, this is his outfit. Look at what he's wearing. How awful is Lisa, how bad is his dancing? Oh, God. Look at him, look at him. Look at he's wearing. - It looks like Locker, a paxie. - Look at him. Adam, where's the sound? Oh, look at his pants. - Well, you don't have the sound or? - No, there was the sound. Come on, get the sound. - Hold on, give me one second. - You've honed it, Adam. - I know, I thought I had it. All right, hold on a second. - What are you doing? Come on, Adam. - All right, here, try this one. Let me know if this has sound. - Okay, here we go. Play it. (upbeat music) All right, here we go. (upbeat music) - Look at how bad it looks, his dancing gets worse, by the way. (laughs) That outfit, his hair, his face is already singing. (upbeat music) Also, when they show the crowd shots, he gets nothing from the audience. They just look at Adam, look at his pants. These are mom jeans. (upbeat music) - Oh, you look, you see where he's moving his hips? (laughs) - Oh, this reminds me of, he's like the kind of guy that like when you get his knock on your floor and you open and you go, "Hi, my name is Dan, "we're a little seven, by core order. "I have to come here and tell you where I'm at." - Sure, look at his pants. He's doing this thing with him. Look at that, he's holding up the microphone. Look at this guy right here. The guy sitting there, he has his hand on his face, nothing. Getting nothing from the crowd. He's doing a little tee-pah move. This damn thing is sick. (upbeat music) He moves his hips, this is gross. (laughs) (upbeat music) Now, in this real song, in the record version, it's Elton John doing the pack of vocals. Ah! (upbeat music) What, he's gonna put there, he's gonna say bad. Nothing, nothing from the audience. It's dancing as he's insane. He's kicking his new kicking legs, finger snaps. - I'd wear that outfit. - You will never, you wouldn't never wear this outfit. - I would wear it, I would wear it. - Sure, the day you wear this outfit, if you wear those pants, you stop being friends. - I couldn't wear this outfit. - No, no, no, no, now he's sexy. - With the hot checks. - If you wear their pants, then the jacket's gonna play buttercup. - I'll play, look at, look at this. How awkward is this? What do you do if you want to say me nails back? - I just get a lot, I don't know. - You really can. - I like your jacket. - It's so cringe. - Hey, what? - If there's anything you ever go me a buttercup. - It's not better than Bill, me a buttercup. - Oh, look at, look at now! Look at, he's doing like an Irish jig. (upbeat music) - I'm standing, I'm standing, I'm standing. - I'm out of heat, stop it. - And please stop it before I come over there and play out of your hand. - Okay, I'll bet it was a song. - Thank you for sharing that with us. Thank you for sharing. - The song is okay. - Yes. - They're dancing the performance. - They're dancing in the-- - I'm seeing worse, I'm seeing worse. - He's not the best answer, he's not the best. Squire video of "Rock Me Tonight" is worse. But that's, but we were just watching the live version. I like when he's like, he's going to go in bed, he wants to go in bed, and like, there's nothing. He gets nothing, it's like a comic that goes on stage, not a left, and it's like, but anyway. - Like, yeah. - And just, and just has to just plow for real. - Thank you. - Oh, okay. - That was, there's nothing worse than getting no reaction from an audio. Like, probably he's very different. Okay, comedy's very different because, you know, you could say a joke bad, you know, we've all done it, you know what I mean? We don't get the reaction, but if you know you're playing a song right, and you're not getting any reaction for it, that's a fucking hard nut to take. One time we were doing a show at LaMoor in Brooklyn, and I got booked to open for this band. There was a very, there were a heavy band. And they were really, really popular at the time. And we were not a heavy band. We were all hard rock bands. When I go guys, we got to open up with the heavier song we have, and we went, and we dropped it down. We went and dropped down as daily. We went a whole step down, like even just to make it as heavy or as we possibly could, you know? I'm going really deep with the vocal. I'm really getting into it, and you literally heard. - It would help us by the microphone doing that. - Hard breaking, it was hard breaking, 'cause we were like, well, that was the best we got. So now the rest is all fucking downhill. But I remember even the guy, the singer from the band that we opened for, he came up to me, he goes, "Yo man, good set, wrong show." - Yeah, yeah. - And I was like, I took that. I was happy with that, I accepted that. But man, let me tell you, I'll take bombing with a joke any day over not getting a reaction with a song, any day. - At least with a joke, you can move on to the next thing. You can bail out of your material and do crowd work to try and save the day, okay? A song, you got to plow through and just... Have you ever opened up for someone, Lisa? And it just is just not your night. I mean, I'm not talking about logistics and travel, I'm just talking about the audience is just not feeling it. - Oh, yeah, well, that was the time after all that logistics and traveling. That was the time that the audience was just like... - Yeah, that makes it. When everything else sucks, and then you're hoping the show's gonna bail you out, and that sucks too. - I also got stage fright one time, that was a... That was, oh my God, it was horrible. I guess I was just tired, and when I went out on tour, it was my first night out on tour in 2019. And I just 'cause I was exhausted from getting ready to go, I don't get stage fright. I got such debilitating stage fright. I don't think I totally bombed, but I knew I wasn't that good as, you know, and I was like shaking, and I couldn't get over it. I didn't understand what happened. That never happened again either, but that was a horrible night. - I remember one time. - I had stage fright one time, and Jeffery's involved indirectly, he doesn't even realize this. A million years ago, Jeff says, "Hey, do you want to do the ring announcing "for an independent wrestling event?" 'Cause he knows I love wrestling. Now, of course, we get a little nerves on stage like this. I was fucking terrified. - What is going on there? - The reason why, as I was terrified of going into the ring and tripping and falling in the ring, right? So every time I'm walking in so gingerly and making sure my feet don't clip the ropes, right? It was so bad, and then the last match, the last match I walk into the ring and my toe clips the middle rope, and my watch hit the rope, and my watch smashes and it explodes all over the ring. And all you hear is the crowd going, "You fucked up, you fucked up, you fucked up." - It's a soul-crushing feeling when that happens. It really is. - No, I remember, I drove out, I took Michael Cole with me on to this show, right? I was co-headlining the show out in South Hampton. So it's about a two and a half hour drive. Me and him drive out there, we bring this guy, Freddy G, with us, right? And three comics go up before me and this other guy are gonna close the show. And he's a long island guy. So I was like, you can close it, but I'll just go on before you. The three other comics, there was this guy in the audience and this table that the second they went on just starts hammering people, just interrupting, I said, heckling, and I tell Mike before he goes on. Or before they're about to introduce Michael, this guy starts with me. I go, "I am the waste and no time going right after him." 12 seconds in, this guy starts. And now for me, and I'm supposed to be doing, since I'm co-headlining, I think I was only doing 25 minutes, all right? I stopped going after this guy. And for the next, maybe 10 to 12 minutes, I'm going after this guy. And it ends with me telling him to go fuck his mother. Okay? - Oh my God. - I mean, it gets awkward, it gets weird. Okay? Him and his table get up and leave, all right? Now the audience is, it's really uncomfortable in there. And there's a guy sitting there and I'm folded in the first row. And like, you know, listen, I can't go right into material. I got to address what's going on in the room. So I start doing a little crowd work. And I go, and I go, "Sir, what do you do for a living?" The guy gives me nothing, he goes, "Move on." I go, "No, I'm not moving on." I go, "What do you do for a living?" Move on, I go, "Sir, this will be the show." This is just me asking you what you do now. The audience starts to come back on my side. And I'm able to salvage the set. You know, the last 10 minutes, I'm able to get them. And I get up, but I'm pissed off. I drove two and a half hours. I spent more than half my set fighting with this asshole in the crowd and his table and this guy in the front row. I walk out, and I walk out of the showroom and to the right of me is the bar where I left my book, my comedy book where you write your jokes, okay? And I have to go get it. And who's at the bar, the guy, and his friends? I have to walk to them, okay? And I'm thinking to myself, 'cause I see as I'm walking the going, that's the guy, that's the guy, okay? And I'm thinking to myself, if these guys are gonna start anything, the first guy, I'll take out the guy who's a troublemaker, his friends could fuck me up, but I will get my pound of flesh on this one guy. And I have hostility in me. And he goes, I walk up there, he goes, "Were you the guy on stage?" I'm like, "You know exactly who I am, okay?" And now I'm ready for it. And he's like, "I just want to apologize, I'm embarrassed." I thought it was helping the show kind of buy you a drink. Like he sincerely thought he was helping the show. But for us, we wanna get our jokes, the craft that we wanna put them out there to an audience that hasn't seen us before. And I have this fucking asshole that I have to sit there and contend with. It's very, there are a lot of similarities, I think, between being a comic and being a musician and even being a wrestler, doing this and doing this, like, you know, we're grinding and we're taking gigs in big arenas open if a major acts and we're doing it in cantinas and, you know, bar shows. - Yep, that's very true. - Yeah, at least-- - We're proud of us though. - Yes, but Lisa, I wanna thank you so much for coming out and doing the show. We really do appreciate it. - Thank you for having me on, you guys are a lot of fun. - Thank you, and tell us how people could find you, support you, tell us where you're gonna be. - And they can look up lisabouchell.com, L-I-S-A-B-O-U-C-H-E-L-L-E, lisabouchell.com. And then if they do that, then all the social media links from there. But the website's really groovy too. We have, like, all the latest videos and mailing lists sign up and all the merch and the swag and everything. And, you know, it's a fun website. So I would suggest you that when they also, all the shows are on there, it'll stay shows. So that'll be any tours when my new record is about to drop, but we're probably gonna hold it till January, rather than, you know, 'cause we're mixing it right now. So when that drops, that'll be on there as well as any tour dates that I'm doing to promote that. And all of the local shows, while I'm recording, I'll be local, so thank you. - Let us know when the album comes out so we can help you push it. - Awesome, thank you so much. You know, we want to listen to support. We have good followers, and they'll do stuff like that for us. So, hey, listen, again, thank you so much. - Thank you so much. - Oh, a pleasure. Like I said, we have great shows coming up. Folks, please continue to subscribe. Give us some likes, share. Means the world to us. Lisa Buschill, thank you so much. We'll catch you next time on Who's your Band. Thank you, everybody. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)