Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (3:53)

And the music's loud, Makes no difference to us if there's a crowd. Don't give your name, don't stand in line, don't believe the fuss Cause we don't have the time we just breeze on in the door. No reservations, say no more cause there's no need where we are in our seats at the bar. Saddle up and look around. You and I are the skyline of the sky town. The fancy cars bar at Two tops topping off their tanks Wish I nerve to you know where they can stick their labels? 86 the cloth and the table Cuz there's no need. Where we are in our seats at the bar. No I don't care where we are. Cause it's always been you and me Feeling free, knee to knee, heart to heart Bittersweet in mason jars in our seats at the bow. Is it where we met not long ago that we're obsessed? For reasons I don't know Just tell me anytime till we depart Any midway between forever and the star Maybe won't you meet me? We'll try for a corner I don't need any fire warning. There's no need where we are in our seats at the bar. No I don't care where we are. Cause it's always been you and me Feeling free knee to knee, Heart the heart Bittersweet in mason jars in our seats at the bar. Now give me those seats at the bar. Seats at the bar. Seats at the bar.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (7:32)

Wow. That was Lake Street Dive live in Studio 5 here at WNYC with a performance of their brand new song, Seats at the Bar. Their new album, good Together is out today. So, Mike, that was the song you wrote, right?

Lake Street Dive Drummer (Mike Calabrese) (7:47)

Correct.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (7:48)

Yeah. And where did the inspiration for the song come from?

Lake Street Dive Drummer (Mike Calabrese) (7:52)

Well, my wife used to work in the on premise wine and spirits business and she would always be pre kids, you know, driving me around Boston where we lived at the time, and being like, oh, can we go to this account? Oh, can we go to this account and we would always, you know, just find two seats at the bar to, you know, get a drink, maybe get dinner at the place. And I thought it would be a cool, like, you know, paradigm for a love song.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (8:19)

Oh, wow. And, you know, thinking about the paradigm of the whole album, you've all said that this album was born out of, quote, like a joyful rebellion. Rachel, can you tell me what. What you mean by that?

Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (8:29)

I think that we were searching for a way to write about all the things that we wanted to write about, which is includes things that are painful and things that are hard, but do them in a way that was joyful and. And have a positive spin on. On those subjects. And so that's where joyful rebellion began.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (8:50)

And Bridget, why did it feel important to prioritize joy at this particular moment for you?

Lake Street Dive Bassist (Bridget Carney) (8:57)

Well, for me, it all stemmed from a cover that we were. We had been doing. We'd been covering the song I'm Just Another Soldier in the army of Love. It's a staple singer song which we learned for Mavis Staples 80th birthday party. And we had put it into our set and realized that, like, from the way it made us feel on stage and also sort of the reaction that the crowd was getting from it, it was just creating this different kind of spirit that we hadn't really had in our shows before and so wanted to, I guess, like aspire towards writing something of that level of just love. I mean, and the moral of that song is like, I'm just another soldier in the army of love. Love is my only weapon, you know? Yes, there are these things that are challenging. Make me sad, make me angry, make me scared. But if love is your reaction to it, then how can you lose?

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (9:53)

How can you lose? And it's funny you say lose because I'm thinking about playing a game. And the way that you guys wrote this song I thought was super interesting. I mean, Aki, you wrote these songs with the help of a 20 sided die, right? How did that process work?

Lake Street Dive Keyboardist (Aki Burmese) (10:07)

So glad you asked. Yeah, some of us, namely Bridget and myself, play D and D on a regular basis. We were in a room trying to come up with songs and we were all kind of staring at each other like, what do you want to write about? And we decided we could use this 20 sided die to create a sort of a sense of chance and chaos to the offing. So we like rolled it four times to find out what chords you would get. You rolled it another time to find out what tempo you'd be playing at and rolled it once more time to find out, like, what time signature you'd be in. And then each person that rolled was in charge of their song, sort of like creating a demo. And then we all had, like, 30 minutes to go away and write to this. Sometimes it was beautiful, sometimes it was a monstrosity. And then come back and share what we had written to those songs. And several of them did not make the record. Some of them are too strange. But a few did make it on the record.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (11:00)

So between you and Bridget, who's the dungeon master there?

Lake Street Dive Keyboardist (Aki Burmese) (11:04)

I'm the dungeon master.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (11:05)

You are. Okay, take that up. So that's a wonderful point. And you mentioned there are some songs that didn't make the record, but of the songs that did, James, I'm wondering for you, what's a song on this record that you don't think would have existed if you hadn't gone through this, like, unconventional writing process?

Lake Street Dive Drummer (Mike Calabrese) (11:23)

Well, Good Together would be an example of that being a tune in seven.

Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (11:31)

That's true. The die rolled seven. We had to do it.

Lake Street Dive Drummer (Mike Calabrese) (11:34)

Yeah, yeah. The die actually rolled.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (11:36)

Obey the die.

Lake Street Dive Drummer (Mike Calabrese) (11:37)

A meter, an odd meter, and.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (11:41)

Yeah.

Lake Street Dive Drummer (Mike Calabrese) (11:41)

Launched us into a pop tune.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (11:43)

So in that case, when you were trying to pick the rhythm, was each number of the die, that rhythm? So if you rolled a four, it would be in four. Do you remember what each one stood for?

Lake Street Dive Bassist (Bridget Carney) (11:53)

Mike was kind of the rhythm master, as he usually is.

Lake Street Dive Drummer (Mike Calabrese) (11:58)

There was a good amount of arbitrary decision making. If the die rol nine, you'd be like, okay, you have nine beats to work with. How do you want to do it? Is it a measure of three with a triplet feel? Ah, that's a nice cheat. Or is it like a bar five and a bar four? Whatever, you know?

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (12:13)

Got it.

Lake Street Dive Drummer (Mike Calabrese) (12:14)

Dealer's choice.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (12:15)

Dealer's choice.

Lake Street Dive Keyboardist (Aki Burmese) (12:17)

Really easy. Write your own song today.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (12:20)

The 20 step guide to Writing a Song by Luxury Time. So the next song we're going to hear is called 25. It's a breakup song classic for Lake Street Dive to have a great breakup song. You know, Bridget, I know that it was an idea that Rachel had that you took and ran with it. And you guys have written a lot of breakup songs before. How did you want this breakup track to feel different from the ones you have on other records?

Lake Street Dive Bassist (Bridget Carney) (12:44)

I think we wanted this one to really be a celebration of the moment that that relationship existed in. And, you know, not everything that's wonderful is permanent. There are so many things in life that only last for, you know, you go on A great trip to Brazil or something. And then you leave Brazil. And it's not like, oh, I hate Brazil now because I'm no longer in Brazil. It's like, no, that was amazing. I had a great time. This experience was valuable, and I can have it sort of forever, even though it didn't last.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (13:18)

Yeah. All right. Well, let's hear it. Here is Lake Street Dive with a live performance of their new song 25, take it away.

Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (13:42)

There was a time when I imagined us forever. I can't quite remember how I thought we'd work it out. I guess I would move to California or you to Boston, and I'd learn to like to stay at home. Or you'd learn to like going out. And although the stories that I tell myself about us now don't take me to the grave I'll be an old woman with somebody else by my side But I will always be in love with you and my memories when we were 25 I always think of you when I drink affogatos. Cause that summer we would have them every afternoon the hot and cold were such a cold perfect combination Melt all together Bittersweet and creamy and always gone too soon but all the joy we had in love we gave away back then well, it never went to waste I'll be an old woman with somebody else by my side But I will always be in love with how you loved me when we were 25 oh.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (16:25)

Beautiful. That was Lake Street Dive with a live performance of their new song 25. Their new album, good Together, is out today, and they're going to be playing at Madison Square Garden on September 14th. And Rachel, you know, I'm sitting here, lucky enough to get to listen to the song in real time right here, and you can really feel the emotion in that song. And even if it's not a song that you wrote or is drawn from your own life, how do you bring that emotion forward in your own performance?

Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (16:57)

Well, it helps that I get to sing a perfect song. I think that that's always the pleasure of getting to sing in Lake Street Dive is that all of these songs are so amazing. So I don't find them too hard to pull off. I just have to embody the character. And honestly, I draw a lot from my own experiences with everyone's songs. I think about how I can relate to it, and I think about those things.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (17:22)

Yeah. You know, John, this is your eighth full length album. How do you think you've all grown as a band from that first record to this one?

Lake Street Dive Drummer (Mike Calabrese) (17:31)

James.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (17:32)

James. Sorry. Sorry.

Lake Street Dive Drummer (Mike Calabrese) (17:35)

Oh, man. Well, I have been with Lake street for three years now, but have been a fan of the bands for probably close to 15 years or something. I first heard Lake Street Dive when I was in college and can remember where I was listening to their first couple records. So if I had to comment on the band's growth. Well, I think that the band has continued to push the identity of the songwriting a whole lot. I think those first records are really fun. Largely love centric records, and we all love those. And I think in these more recent records, they've really pushed their content to explore other identities and genres and subject matter beyond. Beyond just the love life songs that we all cover.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (18:52)

Right? Yeah. Aki, you guys are known for this big retro sound, but I've noticed you started bringing in more electronic sounds into your music these days. How do you think the old and new meld well on this record? How do you think that you bring those two things together?

Lake Street Dive Keyboardist (Aki Burmese) (19:08)

Well, we should give major props to our producer, Mike Elizondo, for helping us do that.

Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (19:14)

We.

Lake Street Dive Keyboardist (Aki Burmese) (19:15)

He is another one who sort of like, pushes the boundaries in terms of, like, you should use this sound or this keyboard or this plugin or this pedal to I guess, call them futuristic sounds. Although a lot of these Synthesizers are from 40 years ago. So I think there is already a bit of a blend of old and new. And I think the strength of this band is that Having played for 20 years, there's always a bit of. It's like, oh, gosh, I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but it's like when you're making your own bread and you have a yeast that you use as a starter, the band is always pulling from that original starter to make whatever new bread they have. So there's like, legacy of the old bread in the new loaf.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (19:58)

Wow.

Lake Street Dive Keyboardist (Aki Burmese) (19:59)

Hello.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (19:59)

Hello. I'll see myself out. Bridget, I'll talk to you for a second about the track Party on the Roof. It's a perfect track for summer here in New York City. It's about having a party on the roof here in New York. And I know that you wrote that one. Do you live here in New York?

Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (20:16)

I do.

Lake Street Dive Bassist (Bridget Carney) (20:16)

I live in Brooklyn.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (20:17)

Oh, great. What do you love most about the summer in the city, and what do you want to capture in that track?

Lake Street Dive Bassist (Bridget Carney) (20:22)

Well, I've lived in New York for 14 years now, I think, and I moved here from Iowa, and so there was definitely a sort of adaptation to the closeness of everything. But it comes with so many pros, one among them being the diversity that exists in New York City. And so I just wanted to like, write a song that would kind of celebrate all the folks that are in each other's business here together. And yeah, there was like so many songs on this record. There exists some tension in it in that the first line says, summer in the city getting hotter every year, which we're all experiencing right now. We'll have to throw a party when the smoke clears. Like, this was kind of written last summer when there was like this crazy orange light in the air. And it's like, stuff is hard, but here we are all together and let's find a way to, you know, have a good time.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (21:20)

Yeah, absolutely. And having a good time. You're playing at Madison Square Garden pretty soon. Rachel, I'm wondering for you, what does it mean to you all to be able to headline at Madison Square Garden?

Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (21:32)

It means so much to us, I think, I think we were all super giddy when the idea of it was, was thrown out to us. You know, would you guys want to.

Michael's Party Announcer (21:40)

Play a place like Madison Square Garden?

Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (21:41)

We said, yeah, but like, are you asking us for real? Like, could it, could it even happen for us? Could, could we sell the tickets? And. And when it became a reality, I think it's just, it feels, it feels really good and it feels like a, like an achievable milestone for us. You know, I think had you asked us many years ago, we would have said no, we can't put on a show at Madison Square Garden. We don't know how to do that. And now of our summer touring about to begin and having a new show and all of these new songs to play, I think we're just like, yeah, we're gonna frickin rock Madison Square Garden.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (22:16)

Yeah, that's wonderful. And you know, we're gonna go out with one last new song, which is Dance with a Stranger. We're gonna ask some questions about it before we dive in. Bridget, you wrote that song and it's almost like an old fashioned dance party song that comes on with the instructions built into the lyrics. Tell us a little bit about that. What inspired the track?

Lake Street Dive Bassist (Bridget Carney) (22:35)

I've been to a number of square dances in my life and I actually, I kind of have a phobia of like social dancing when there's no rules, like wedding style dancing. I like leave when the dance starts because I'm scared. But when there's like a little instruction, like at a square dance, I love it. Just dancing in a group, like everybody moving to the left, then moving to the Right at the same time is so fun.

Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (23:02)

And.

Lake Street Dive Bassist (Bridget Carney) (23:02)

And this specifically was inspired by a honky tonk that I attended in Kingston, New York. And again, it was just like a beautiful community event. There was young people, old people, people from the city, people from the country. And like it's totally normalized to just walk up to a stranger and say, nice to meet you. Would you like to hug me for three minutes? And spin around the room? And then you do that and you make a human connection. So that's what this is about.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (23:33)

I love that. And do you hope that people at the shows will follow those instructions?

Lake Street Dive Bassist (Bridget Carney) (23:37)

We're gonna try to get them to, that's for sure.

Host / Interviewer (Kusha Navadar) (23:41)

Well, all right, let's hear it. I've been speaking with the band Lake Street Dive about their new album. It's called Good Together. It's out today. They're gonna be performing at Madison Square Garden on September 14th, and they're going to play us out now. First, before you start, I just want to say thank you all so much for coming down and hanging out with us. It's been such a pleasure to get to talk to you and to get to hear from you all. Their brand new song, dance with a Stranger. Take it away.

Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (24:27)

Find somebody new and then take them by the hand and say you understand look around the room find someone's eyes that are new to you Might be a child or a grandfather anyone will do Go say hello, how do you do? Listen to their answer commiserate say I feel that way sometimes too and would you like to dance? And if they say no that's okay but if they say yes take their hands lead them out on the dance floor listen to the music play open up your heart and dance dance with a stranger to it Not a stranger anymore you just dance dance with a stranger till they're not a stranger not a stranger anymore side fun side find somebody new and then take them by the hand and say you understand there are so many people here like you People who came here to be together and dance it all the way. Who wanna be good and love one another and have big dreams and hard times with like a dance look around the room find somebody you've never seen before and lift them out to the dance floor. Dance, dance with a stranger till they're not a stranger anymore. Future sing, dance, dance with a stranger to the not a stranger, not a stranger anymore. Find somebody new and then take them by the hand and say you understand. Dance with a stranger not a stranger anymore you just dance, dance with a stranger till they? Not a stranger, not a stranger anymore? Come by the hand and say you understand.

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Casual Speaker / Nephew (28:12)

I'm gonna put you on, Nephew.

Lake Street Dive Keyboardist (Aki Burmese) (28:13)

All right, Unc.

Lake Street Dive Vocalist (Rachel Price) (28:14)

Welcome to McDonald' Can I take your order, miss?

Casual Speaker / Nephew (28:16)

I've been hitting up McDonald's for years. Now it's back. We need snack wraps. What's a snack wrap? It's the return of something great. Snack wrap is back.