- 4/23/2025
Pierre sits down with The Record Company backstage at the MMRBQ 2018
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00:0093.3 WMMR, we are backstage at the MMR-BQ and joining us, a group we have not seen in a long, long time.
00:08I only wish that you guys would stay in better touch.
00:11It's Alex and it's Chris from The Record Company. Good day.
00:15Good day to you, sir. Good to be back.
00:17So when last we left you, you were playing the convention here in town, the non-com convention.
00:23Yes.
00:24Then you were jetting to Chicago to open a brand new room.
00:27Yeah, we did, right outside of Wrigley, they opened an outdoor open-air venue.
00:32Well, it's kind of a marketplace venue that has about a $3,500 cap, and we did that show.
00:38We headlined that last night with real estate.
00:41Got in bed about 2 in the morning, flew out here at 5 a.m.
00:44Oh, my God.
00:45It's rock and roll, baby.
00:46It is rock and roll, you know, and it's not for the lightweights.
00:51Nah, you know, if you wanted to live, you know, safe, you don't get into this business.
00:55You got to be willing to put in the time.
00:57Well, you know, you've said that in a number of ways about a number of the aspects of this life, because it is a life.
01:04You know, and I think when I was a kid, before I got into, you know, observing how things work in the world of music, you think, well, they just put out an album and they tour.
01:14But there's so much more involved in the business side of it.
01:17And then, you know, if you put something out, you've got to tell people that it's out there.
01:21Yeah, that's the whole thing.
01:23And that's the promotion part, which is very, you know, the non-com convention.
01:26You weren't doing a full set.
01:27It was like a half an hour set.
01:28Yep.
01:29You know, you're traveling around, you're going to radio stations, you're, you know, doing phone interviews.
01:33So it's really time intensive and it can be a bit laborious at times as well.
01:38But it's all part of that same package.
01:40It's a good problem to have if you want to call it a problem.
01:43You know, it's like you work so long to get some momentum going that if you start getting a little attention, some time from people giving you their time, it's really a blessing.
01:51You know, it's something you've got to, I think if you're a band, it's your responsibility to stand in that and help it move along or you're missing the point of it all.
02:02You know, then the opportunity is really wasted on you, isn't it?
02:05It's like you shouldn't, you've got to get in there and do the work.
02:08When you inspired me the other day, Pierre, when you said that you've had guys like Mick Jagger and Bono come to WMMR.
02:14And it just, it, it sends the message to us that this rock and roll and these, these people, they've been going to see you guys for a long time and we're no different.
02:23You know, we're just, we're entering the game.
02:25So it's cool to know that those greats, Keith Richards, you had a good Keith Richards story.
02:30You know, those are heroes of ours and we know that they, they put in the time and they, they love and appreciate the radio.
02:37So it's, it's cool.
02:38And they remember MMR for what MMR has done.
02:40Yeah.
02:41That's something else.
02:42I'd say 1968, you guys started.
02:44Yeah, we started in 68.
02:45That's a pretty, pretty legitimate run.
02:47I'd say, I don't think there are a lot that can say that these days.
02:50What we're kind of, you know, floored by is the fact that in this era of downloads and satellite and, you know, any number of services, Pandora, whatever you, you might have that are out there that, uh, in a relatively old fashioned sense, people listened to us and not just a few, but a lot.
03:07And we're blessed with this, you know, huge age group from guys that were in t-shirts and jeans when we started in 68 who have grandchildren now.
03:13Right.
03:14And have passed it down through the years.
03:16Ed Robert, my dad would never listen to a Beatles song.
03:20Sinatra or nothing.
03:21Sinatra or nothing.
03:22And I like Frank, so that's cool.
03:23Yeah.
03:24Yeah.
03:25No, I hear you.
03:26Were your parents all into music?
03:27I mean, into rock and roll music?
03:29My dad liked James Brown and the Beatles and all the Beatles records he had were extremely scratched.
03:35So when I went to college, I wanted to take his collection with me and they were pretty much all unplayable.
03:41I think he would, he told me that when he wanted to hear a song over and over, he just scraped the needle across it.
03:47You, that's what they looked like when you, when you busted out his meet the Beatles.
03:52And he actually, um, he liked the early stuff that was kind of like his upbringing.
03:56So when they started to grow the hair long, um, he was, he would tell me that that was the hippie period and he wasn't as into that.
04:03So, but it's great.
04:04I like, I like it all.
04:05Yeah.
04:06Dad was a big Stones guy.
04:07Uh, you know, Credence, ZZ Top, ACDC, The Who, Hendrix, you know, dad was a rocker.
04:13So, um, I had got all that honest coming up.
04:17That's great.
04:18You know, we were, uh, we played when you were in the other day, we played new Speedway Boogie, which the band covers by the Grateful Dead, uh, the record company covers.
04:25And, um, I'm always fascinated to see what particular bands any group will take on, whether they're a veteran group or a younger band starting out.
04:34And somewhere we saw a thing and I had, I was looking to try to find the audio of it, of you guys doing Love Train, the great OJ song.
04:41Oh yeah.
04:42Yeah.
04:43What was that and, and where could one find it?
04:45I don't think you can find it.
04:46We did like, not that, it was just something we did and ended up getting on a beer commercial.
04:53And, uh, um, I don't even know if we have the audio for that ourselves anymore.
04:58We did it like one time, one day, sent it out.
05:01And then, uh, that was the end of that.
05:03We also have done, you know, everything from the Stooges, Beastie Boys.
05:07We, we used to do stuff like that when we first started out, just trying to learn how to be yourself.
05:11You know, um, when we cover a tune, we try to do it our own way.
05:15You know, you're not trying to, uh, uh, you're trying to be inspired by what happened with the track originally, but not imitate.
05:22You know, you, you have to be yourself.
05:24Uh, otherwise I think it's, it's, it's a tribute more, you're being a tribute band instead of a real band playing something in tribute to the artist.
05:33So, um, we try to take it on from our own angle.
05:36The, so Love Train is not findable first of all.
05:39I don't think so.
05:40No, I don't even know.
05:41Unless it was on YouTube or something.
05:42You did the whole song though?
05:43Not even the whole song.
05:44Oh, okay.
05:45Someone had asked us, um, for, it was for a beer commercial.
05:48They're looking for a gritty rock and roll version of this song and we were just starting out.
05:54So it's actually, I'm actually proud of it.
05:56It came out pretty cool and it sounds like us.
05:58We've never done anything.
05:59We didn't dig.
06:00We were like, we, we recorded it and we were like, that sounds like us.
06:04Sure.
06:05We'll send that out.
06:06And at the time we were flat broke.
06:08So when we landed that, that put us on the road for like six months.
06:11Really?
06:12Just that?
06:13Yeah.
06:14Got us health insurance.
06:15There you go.
06:16It was a whole deal, man.
06:17I could actually go to the doctor.
06:20We're speaking with Alex and Chris and, uh, they're the record company.
06:23They'll be on stage.
06:24The new record, All of This Life arrives June 22nd.
06:27We've been playing that first single, Life to Fix.
06:29And, um, one of the, uh, great things about this band is how many nice things.
06:34We talked about that the other day, but then I found that, uh, this little piece since then
06:38from Rolling Stone, uh, regarding just that song, Life to Fix.
06:41They write, Los Angeles blues trio, the record company will release their new album, All of
06:46This Life on June 22nd.
06:48Uh, on Friday, they shared the new single, Life to Fix, a rough and tumble ode to hitting
06:52rock bottom and building yourself up, back up, brick by brick.
06:56Fans of the band's rootsy take on rock and roll should dig the track, which isn't so much
07:01your return to form as it is taking that form to a big new level.
07:06What do you think of those words?
07:08Very nice to hear.
07:09I'm glad they're enjoying it.
07:10You know, you make, you make music, honest music as best you can.
07:13Um, and you try to enjoy it.
07:15You got to make sure you, you're digging what you're doing.
07:17Like you believe in it, you feel good about it.
07:19That doesn't necessarily mean that once you float that boat out into the open water and
07:23it's no longer yours, it's the public's.
07:25You don't know what that reaction is going to be.
07:27So it's always a relief.
07:28You know, if you do hear a positive feedback, it's like, all right.
07:31Um, glad somebody else is digging it too.
07:34You know, otherwise you run out of road pretty fast.
07:37Uh, a couple more things.
07:38Uh, we got to let you go.
07:39You got to get to the stage, but Alex, you produced the record.
07:42And after we left, I was thinking about what it'd be like to be a producer in general.
07:47And I would, uh, I would have such a tough time telling any musician, be they beginner
07:52or a veteran, you know, I don't think it quite got it there.
07:55Try it again.
07:56I'm wondering how you employed that process working with these guys, which are your friends,
08:00who you've known now for a number of years.
08:02Well, you know, honestly, at the end of the day, it's the three of us in a room.
08:07Um, and we all have to be happy with what the result is.
08:10So in my role as a producer, you know, it was a lot of just kind of time spent on, on
08:16behind the wheel, you know, of the computer or the recording machine, setting up some
08:21mics, helping out with some creative ideas and things like that.
08:24But, um, you know, we hammered out and there's nothing stronger than when the three of us
08:30kind of make something.
08:31So one of us could have an idea, but we all kind of curated into something.
08:36You know, so, um, it was just a great experience making this record.
08:41We can't wait for people to hear it.
08:43There's, we just have shown some growth in the writing, the lyrics, sonically.
08:47Uh, if you were a fan of the first record, you're going to like this one too.
08:51And we hope to get some new fans as well.
08:54We're just can't wait.
08:55Well, and Alex and, and, and I and Mark have a deep respect for each other.
09:00So there's a lot of trust that, you know, um, when it comes to an album, it's gotta be a three votes.
09:06We all dig this track.
09:08We dig the way it sounds.
09:09There's no, you can, there is, anybody's got veto power at any time.
09:13So I think where Alex's strength as a producer really comes in is that he has a really good instinct
09:19for when something isn't quite right yet.
09:22Life to Fix would be a great example of that.
09:24We had that song done and I thought it was done.
09:27I was off on vacation with my parents.
09:29Uh, they had come up from Wisconsin.
09:31We were out in Palm Springs or somewhere like that.
09:34I think that's where we were on Thanksgiving.
09:37And, uh, Alex calls me up.
09:39He's like, the drums are all wrong.
09:41The groove is all incorrect.
09:43I've got an idea how to fix it.
09:46And, uh, when I came back, he had, uh, constructed this drum part and then we went back and we
09:52learned how to play it and played it over.
09:54And, um, he was right.
09:57And I would have, if he hadn't have done that, I would have been like, no, the song's done.
10:02And I don't think we'd be sitting here talking about that song right now.
10:04It wasn't ready.
10:05It wasn't right.
10:06So that groove flipped.
10:07It made it a little more interesting musically.
10:09So I think that was like, those are the kinds of things that as a producer, I, I, I,
10:13you know, he's, he's tough on it.
10:14He doesn't give himself enough credit.
10:16It that's where he really did the great work.
10:19You know, he, he really tended to the, um, to the final product, you know, made sure that
10:25the songs were done.
10:26There were a couple of songs where he, you know, he'd come up and sometimes you didn't
10:30want to hear it.
10:31He's like, you know, this song isn't done or it's the wrong groove.
10:33It's not feeling right.
10:34He's your band member too.
10:35So on our end too, you're kind of like, oh man, really?
10:38You're not feeling it.
10:39But you just learned to trust it, you know?
10:41And, uh, if we didn't agree, we would say it.
10:44And if we were Mark or I was had the better point, he'd be like, you know what?
10:47I think you're right.
10:48But that's why in the end we were like, when we got done with the record, this is the first
10:51time we've ever pointed out a single member of the group for doing a job.
10:54Uh, I just was like, you know, anybody else done the job you did, we would have called
10:58them the producer of this record.
10:59We got to do it that way.
11:00So Mark and I said to Alex, we want to credit you as the producer.
11:03Cool.
11:04He wasn't even going to take credit for it.
11:05Wow.
11:06He never asked.
11:07So we, we insisted.
11:08So.
11:09Thank you for that.
11:10That's very kind.
11:11Very cool.
11:12We cannot wait to have you back.
11:13Uh, and June 22nd is when the record comes out.
11:16And I do have also some very special breaking news, which we've held off until right now,
11:20but, uh, you're going to come back to Philly October 20th and you will play, uh, the great
11:25Fillmore music hall here.
11:26Uh, and, uh, as you continue your growth to larger and larger rooms in our town and around
11:31the country and around the world, uh, that goes on sale this coming Friday at 10 AM.
11:35So we look forward to the record company back and the album will be out and people
11:38have had a chance to digest it at that point.
11:40So.
11:41We can't wait.
11:42You guys on and thank you for playing our, uh, 50th anniversary show here.
11:45Our MMR BQ.
11:46Oh, we can't wait.
11:47Thank you very much, Pierre.
11:48Pierre.
11:49Thanks for the support.
11:50And thank you to the whole, uh, to Bill and the whole, uh, MMR staff for, uh, putting us on
11:54the air and giving us a shot and for giving new music an opportunity in this, uh, era
11:59where it seems to be getting tougher and tougher, but there are places where it's still friendly.
12:03People are still ready to play new music.
12:05So good up on you everybody for supporting this station and thank you to the station and
12:09to you, Pierre and Bill, uh, for, uh, for being so kind to us.
12:13We appreciate it.
12:14Pleasure.
12:15Cool.
12:16Thanks.
12:17Very nice.
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