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Celebrity Jobber Podcast with Jeff Zito
Celebrity Jobber with Jeff Zito - The “Takin A Walk” Podcast with Buzz Knight
00:29:58
Raine Maida: The Voice and Vision of Our Lady Peace
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Raine Maida
Foreign.
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Jeff Zito
Hey, it's Jeff Zito. And thank you for listening to the Celebrity Jobber podcast, currently number three on the Apple Podcast music interviews chart. Please subscribe. We'd love a five star rating and please leave a review. Past guests and episodes are online@celebrityjobber.com and sometimes I want to introduce similar podcasts which I think you might enjoy listening to as well. And this podcast is called Taking a Walk. And the host is my good friend Buzz Knight. And in this episode, he speaks with our Lady Peace frontman, Rain Maida, which I really liked and wanted to share with you. So check it out. It's Taking a Walk with my good friend Buzz Knight.
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Buzz Knight
Taking a Walk.
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Raine Maida
Like music saved me as a, you know, a kid, parents divorced at 14, shipped to a school two hours away from home when I was young and, and feeling really isolated. And music was the one thing that made me feel, you know, connected. Kind of like what religion does for a lot of people.
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Buzz Knight
Welcome to another episode of Taking a Walk. I'm your host, Buzz Knight. This is the show where we get into deep conversations. We stroll through decades of music meaning and reinvention with Rain, mega frontman of the legendary Our Lady Peace. From the echoing chords of Clumsy to trailblazing new musical frontiers with technology, Rain's journey is anything but ordinary. What keeps an alt rock icon curious after three decades? And in a world changing faster than ever, how does he keep his creative spirit freshly tuned? Let's clear our minds, find out after some words from our sponsors. And next with Rain Taking a Walk. Hey, Rain, thanks for being on Taking a Walk.
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Raine Maida
Love it. Very excited to be here.
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Buzz Knight
So we call it Taking a Walk and we like talking about music history. If you could take a walk with somebody in music history, living or dead, who would you like to take a walk with? And maybe where would you take that walk?
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Raine Maida
You know, we're so today we're at Jones beach just outside of Manhattan. And I was always enamored with Jeff Buckley playing shows at Shanae in Manhattan, you know, and that whole journey of him working in originals but always playing a lot of covers and, and just how that, that time and, and his kind of transcendence, I would have loved to, to been a part of, you know, that early journey of Jeff. I mean, it didn't last very long, obviously, and it's not because there, there's a documentary or a film coming out, but it's really just my admiration for that kind of grind and putting in the work early on, you know, that's so critical to musicians. Career, and I feel like that doesn't happen as much anymore. It's just a different business.
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Buzz Knight
Yeah, that's a good one. That's. That's. That's one that we'll never forget. Who's got such a legacy and such a story and such a, you know, commitment to his. His craft.
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Raine Maida
Yeah, Yeah. I mean, I saw a thing. I. I mean, Chris Cornell's gone as well, which is terrifying. But it was Chris talking about how great a guitar player Jeff was. I mean, he was an exquisite singer, but his. His. The chord structures he chose and the notes and his guitar playing, really, he was. He was a master.
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Buzz Knight
Congrats on 30 years of our Lady Peace. Can you believe it? Where has the time gone?
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Raine Maida
It's really scary. I mean, was talking to someone the other day. I remember we opened for the Ramones in Jersey. Background, just starting in, like, 96. And gosh, like, that seems like it wasn't even that long ago, but it was. It was 30 years ago.
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Buzz Knight
So after more than 30 years, what keeps the creative fires burning for you, personally, when you step onto a stage or you go into the studio?
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Raine Maida
I mean, we're always creating new music, and I think that's the one, like, thread that keeps this thing together, I think. I know there's some bands that are able just to kind of, like, rest on their laurels and legacy and can do that really well and tour and all that stuff. I. I think without new music. Not sure if I'm doing this, to be honest. I think it really has to come to. With the thought of, like, there. There was new music released and we want to showcase that, or there's new music coming, and there's ideas that I have and I'm writing, and I know that that's forthcoming, so that's the driver. But I think, yeah, the ability to stay creative. Is it the idea of being more of a robot, just playing stuff that you used to play, and that's kind of where it starts and ends? Doesn't really work for me.
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Buzz Knight
Well, I've heard you say that you're always focused on tomorrow, to your point, instead of nostalgia and. But is there a time where you allow yourself to sort of look back and really contemplate the band's legacy?
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Raine Maida
Yeah, I mean, to me, it's just more of just gratitude, you know, trying to wake up with gratitude every day that we still get to do this and have fans and have new fans come out. We had. We played in. In Maine last night, and we had a bunch of fans in the first row with, like, you know, one girl wearing R. Another person wearing lady and then someone else piece and then a bunch of other fans. And they were young, and I was like, this is. This is. This is the great thing about the paradigm shifts in the music business where anyone can find you now. And I think that's. That's. That's. That's probably a bit of another driver knowing that there's new fans out there that would probably never see us. I. I mean, we keep hearing that. I see that in DMs every day. It's like, wow, you know, someone introduced you to. I've never had the chance to see you. I just saw you last night. It was amazing. So that's. That. That keeps us going too, for sure.
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Buzz Knight
So you can reflect on classic albums like. Like Clumsy and Spiritual Machines. And then now you see this new generation of fans connecting with this music. And then when you go out, in particular out on the road, you see this, and it really must be just, you know, heartwarming.
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Raine Maida
Yeah, it's amazing. And I see. I see, you know, I have three boys, teenage boys, and. And like, my youngest. One day we get in the car and he obviously takes control of, like, the music. He puts a Deftone song on. I'm like, whoa. Like, before that, it was like, always, you know, not Deftones. And I was like, sal, like, where did you. Where did you hear the Debt? Like, one of my favorite bands of all time. And, you know, it was TikTok or whatever, which is fine, but it's that ability for music to just hit people on all these different levels now. And I really. I'm appreciative of it.
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Buzz Knight
So what inspires you lyrically these days and how has your approach to songwriting differed at all? If it's different now compared to the 90s and early 2000s, I mean, I.
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Raine Maida
Think songwriting, I've kind of gone back to more. Gone through the. Like, I have a studio at my home in Los Angeles tricked out with everything you can want. But the idea of sitting with an acoustic guitar, and I have an old, like, triple odd 1923 Martin. Picking that up in the morning with a. With a glass of, you know, a cup of coffee or. Or tea like, that, to me is probably the most pure relationship I have with music on a very. Just visceral level. Like, if I'm stroning some chords and start singing and something comes out that's evocative to me, an idea starting there is the most pure. So I try to really stick to that. And I like it. I've come full circle because I used to. I've done it everywhere. I've written songs in multitude of kind of experimental fashions and starting with beats and different things, but the idea of just acoustic and piano as well. We have an old upright in the. In the control room that I use a lot as well, and that's just like, so tangible because if it works like that, if it makes you feel something just like that, then it's probably worth pursuing as. As a. As an actual song.
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Buzz Knight
And finishing our lady piece known for these, I would say, deeper, more poetic lyrics. Who are the folks over your life that have had an impact and an influence in terms of the way you communicate as a songwriter?
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Raine Maida
Yeah, I mean, you know, I've always. I've always loved poetry, so I. I kind of grew up with the B poets from Ferlinghetti to. To, you know, all the. All the more famous ones. But the idea of condensing even from what I think the beat poets were great at, at grabbing your attention with phrases. Music has to go a step further where it's more condensed. You know, you only have so many lines and. And. And syllables within to grab someone's attention or evoke a thought or an emotion. So I always saw it as a challenge like that. And. And, you know, Leonard Cohen was a big influence to me. Bands like R.E.M. for sure, Neil Young, you know, they were able to say things in these little blurbs that just were like movies, even though it was just a sentence or two, you know, in some sort of prose or something. So that's. I've always looked at it. It's like, how do you create a movie for someone in three minutes?
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Buzz Knight
Can you walk us through the making of a recent song? Maybe that in the end result, it surprised you where it went and where the message went and how the output finally concluded.
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Raine Maida
Yeah, I mean, we just. We just recorded a bunch of new music with a producer named Nick Raskulinis, who's. Deftones, Foo Fighters. In Nashville. There was a song called I want to be your drug that I've had for probably 10 years. And the lyric to. To it really meant something to me. It was. It was not flushed out, but we demoed it up eight or nine years ago. Really didn't work out. I always liked my first. Just the demo that I did by myself. But it's funny, when we got into the room and Nick, he was like, there's something here. I not. I'm not sure I like how you guys are Presenting it. But he said the same thing. He's like, there's something in the lyric, I want to be your drug I want to be the air you breathe. And all these different. Like you said, like, it's. I think he actually said this. It's like. It's like it's creating a movie. But I don't know the way we've arranged the music that it's supporting that film in my head. And so we kind of broke that song down to where it was. It was more of an upbeat song, kind of like a Springsteen, like Born to Run. But then we broke it down into a halftime thing. So all of a sudden, the lyrics were much more upfront because the band, it wasn't fighting with the music or it wasn't part of the music. And I think the first. First few lines. And this is, to me, always the kind of indicator. I got a feeling you lost your faith in me Take your pound of flesh it's all that I got left I hope you find relief. That first stanza of lyrics was like, this has to be a song that I get to sing somewhere, because it's so meaningful to me, the idea of taking a pound of flesh and trying to give someone else some relief from a sacrifice that you make. It's just. I was just like, you know, I don't get to say things like that too often. So we stuck with it, and now we're performing live and ended up being a really powerful song. So you have to believe in the fact that I think as a lyricist, you're not giving. You're not given, like, thousands of great lyrics. It's. It's very sporadic, and once you hit on something that means something, you've got to mine it until it finds its way to a song that everyone can. Can hear.
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Buzz Knight
I think there's another theme, I think you would agree. Perseverance in. In the writing. Both for, you know, the band, certainly in the writing, but also in life. Perseverance. Is there one challenge that. That you can relate, that pushed you to your. That limits? And what did it teach you?
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Raine Maida
Song quality was one of those songs. It went through multiple iter. We probably recorded that song six times in six different versions of that song. And it. It got so frustrating to where I was ready to give up on it. Like, I knew there was stuff there, and I. And. But you just. At some point, you're like, man, how far do you go with something? You know, how. How much do you commit to an idea where it's just not revealing itself? To be something good or even close to great. And we were really close to bailing on that song. I'm glad we didn't. Somehow we, we stuck it out and it ended up being, you know, an important song for us. But yeah, that was one of those. When I look back on it literally could have gone. It was fifth, like flip of a coin. We're done with this thing or we're going to take another stab at it. And that last effort was what clumsy became.
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Buzz Knight
We'll be back with more of the Taking a Walk podcast in a bit. Now, if you're looking for a rock and roll oriented podcast, we invite you to check out the Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll. The history's fascinating. There's so much to uncover. The Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll explores moments in time, albums, songs, events, and people who had an impact on the history of rock and roll. They keep rock and roll fun. The Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll. Find it wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast. Tell me how it felt when you brought Mike Turner back for the Spiritual Machines tour and what did it reveal about the band's chemistry and the overall spirit of collaboration?
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Raine Maida
That's a great question. I, I think it's what the latter, what you just said. The idea of collaboration is so key and I think you have to always pay homage to that. And Mike was key in bringing that book, the Age of Spiritual Machines by Kurzweil, into that Spiritual machine, you know, recording session for that album. And I just, I was, I was blown away by the conceptual nature of Kurzweil making all these predictions that maybe even back then we thought were a little far fetched. But obviously he was, you know, 93% right. From like cochlear implants to the idea of driverless vehicles, which we obviously talking about AI, like that was something that was so in the front forefront for Ray back then and the band and that record. But no one would talk about AI. So just by virtue of Mike bringing that in and being a part of that record to do Spiritual Machines too, and move that chapter two decades forward and look at Kurzweil's next set of predictions. It wouldn't have seemed right to play those shows without Mike there. It was just, you know, he was, he's just intrinsically tied to that. I mean, he's tied to the band forever as well. But the idea of, of his, like you said, collaboration on that record specifically and with Ray's book was was pretty critical. So it was amazing to have him on stage for those shows.
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Buzz Knight
You know, one of the core principles of. Of you and, and the band are your, Your social activism and your. Your philanthropic approach to the, to the world as. As an activist, I think that's fair to say. Has it shaped the music in a certain way as well?
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Raine Maida
Yeah, I think it puts a weight on it just in terms of not. I would never call music important. Understanding what it does for other people, like music saved me as a, you know, a kid, parents divorced at 14, shipped off to a school, two hours away from home when I was young and, and feeling really isolated. And music was the one thing that made me feel, you know, connected, kind of like what religion does for a lot of people. And so understanding that, I think is, is part of it. And I think your experience as a human, like getting outside of your community, outside of your state or country or province, like being able to travel with war child to, you know, whether it was like Iraq or Darfur or other places in Africa, I think you start to understand, like, Sudan. It's like, man, there's a much bigger world. And to feel like a global citizen and start to understand that concept from like a 30,000 foot view is so key in terms of what we bring back to our songs and making sure that, I don't know, we're just. I think we see ourselves as global citizens, as artists as well. And that's, that's really key in terms of how it drives the music and some of the message. That makes sense.
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Buzz Knight
Yeah, totally makes sense. We also produce this other podcast called Music Save Me coincidentally. So we, we focus on that core aspect of, you know, what it does for the world, what it does for the artist, obviously, what it does for human connection. So it's a. It's a critical force in our life. I mean, it really is.
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Raine Maida
Yeah. I mean, and it was funny. Like, this is on a music level. But the first time I really understood that, like, the cliche of music is universal. Like, we've all heard that, but it truly is. I remember the first time you played in France at this little, little club outside of Paris, and people were singing clumsy. Then I would go to talk to them afterwards and they couldn't speak English at all, you know, and that just all of a sudden, like, wow, okay. The universality of music is very real. And then, like I said, traveling to, you know, places like Darfur and talking to people there, and he's like, you know, and people are displaced, like, unspeakable. Sadness, but it was like a little boombox God, like sometimes it was Lionel Richie they were playing and it didn't matter. It was just the spirit of music that lifted their souls in these incredibly difficult and treacherous times. That without music it's a different scenario, it's a different outcome, maybe even in.
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Buzz Knight
Today'S rapidly changing landscape. You mentioned AI earlier. Technology, social justice. How do you see the role of musicians and artists evolving?
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Raine Maida
I, I actually see it. I see a, a real strong component of music going back to basics, where the craft, the artistry, the wood shedding it takes to become a master at your instrument, be it piano, vocals, drums, tuba, whatever that is. I feel like there's a new appreciation for that. And then there's also going to be this other wave of AI produced music. And the divergence I think will help you appreciate one or the other, if that's what you're looking for, is just something to numb you. And it could be anything. And maybe you don't even want an artist attached with it because that always has a different level of commitment when you know it's this person that was from here or whatever. Maybe AI music serves that value. But I do think there's this reality craft of musicianship coming back and I'm seeing it, you know, kind of, I don't hate sounds stupid like on the streets of la, but I do see it with a lot of young musicians that are so talented and have really put in the time at an early age, whether you believe in like 10,000 hours, whatever the concept might be. But these kids are working at their craft and they don't actually care about social media. They're not buying into all the other stuff, the tick tock things and trying to, you know, blow up a career from something like that. They are, they're concerned about being great at their instrument and that's inspiring.
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Buzz Knight
I'm fascinated with the various projects that have been sort of partnerships that you've been involved with that are new tech relationships. Maybe talk a little bit about that. The NFTs and some of the other projects that have, I would say changed, enhanced your relationship with your fans and the industry as a whole.
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Raine Maida
Yeah, I mean I, from the, from the beginning, you know, I remember we're making a record with Bob Rock in Maui and the whole thing with Napster and obviously Metallica was a big deal. So you start talking about that kind of stuff and it just felt like, okay, there's a shift happening here. Like, you know, we were paying for music on Apple, but like an Absolute thing was happening and okay, where do we fit in? What does that do to us as you know, recording touring musicians? And I just felt the idea of like supporting the independent musicians because I really felt like there was going to be this movement towards independence because we could own our stuff again, which is great. But what I. What, you know, Fast forward like 15 years I've been doing tech. The key component for an artist these days is to have that direct relationship with your fan. The idea of building on, building fan relationships on third party platforms is very volatile. Happened with MySpace. We all were psyched about, wow, we can talk to fans, we can see, hey, there is 192 people in St. Louis that want our lady Peace to come play there. This is like early data, you know, in the sense of, oh God, like this is cool. I can, I'm, I'm, I'm really close to these people now and then my space goes away. So do all those relationships. But we've continued to like bet on all these, whether it's Facebook or Instagram or any other platform which are great for marketing. But if you can't connect directly to your fans, you're in trouble moving forward. I truly believe that and I feel like that there's enough information out there. It's, I look at it basically the, you know, my company Fan Drop right now, which makes that connection at a live setting because that's where you have your audience. My thing is our ethos and mantra at Fan Drop is if they came to see you, do not let them leave. Anonymous Everybody else has their data, whether it's a ticketing company or promoter or if it's a merge company or everyone else is grabbing data. But as an artist we've always just felt like, oh, it's amazing to play and that's all we need to do. It's not true anymore. You need to create that direct connection. So fandrop makes that super simple. And that's really the mantra is to help artists build their communities. How you communicate and what you do afterwards is really up to the artists. We try not to involve ourselves with that because that's a very personal a relationship. But the hardest thing is is just getting that first connection. So fandrop does that. We use geolocation and some really cool rewards kind of features and components within our tech. But yeah, just don't let them leave a show. Anonymous.
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Buzz Knight
I have to think there's some kind of real surprise and delight theory here that you're as well, right?
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Raine Maida
Yeah, we have some cool stuff. We have like A digital scratch and win. So, you know, on the Canadian tour that we did, we were giving away, you know, we're in these big arenas. I get it. There's like American Express platinum seats that some people can afford, but then there's the ones for like $85. And the nosebleeds that, you know, people just can't get close. So the idea of democratizing a space, I think, is really powerful. So that's what Fandrop did. Type in fandrop.com, you go straight to the OLP. It was called Encore Experience. So 10 people every night, no matter where you're sitting, one chance to be on stage with us for the encore and feel what it felt like to be, you know, literally right on stage with and look at it to the fans and stuff. So there was that there. You know, we do. We do. There's tons of different things. The scratch and win is cool. We also let people vote on the encore songs in real time. So you can see those boats go up and down. We were selling, you know, like limited edition hoodies and T shirts just to the people because it was. It was almost like saying, my. My view is like, if you're coming to an early DP show, at this point, I consider you a super fan. It's my responsibility to make you feel that way. And fan drop really helps do that.
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Buzz Knight
That's awesome. That's so cool. So let's lay out the rest of 2025. It's not going to be a slow rest of the year. I could certainly tell you got a lot of dates that you guys are out. Out on the road with and tell me what else is going to be going on this.
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Raine Maida
We finish up in Vegas on August 31st. And then I have actually have a book and an album coming out with my wife. We have a project together. She's an artist, songwriter as well. Going to be finishing the OLP album in the fall as well. And then, yeah, looking, looking. I can't believe it, but looking towards a big 20, 26. When this. When this year's already felt like a whirlwind. So just keep that train in the tracks, I guess. So to speak.
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Buzz Knight
Oh, I love it. Well, in closing, back to the Taking a Walk theme. So if you could take a walk with your younger self from 1992, as you're just starting the band, what advice would you give to him?
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Raine Maida
Actually just wrote this chapter in this book that my wife are doing, and it's really about being in the moment. I think I was so Focused on what's next. It's like, you know, you get a call to open up for the Ramones in Poughkeepsie, and it was incredible, but I don't remember it. Like, I was so like, okay, that's amazing. What are we doing next? Like, what's. What's the next show? And so I remember standing next to. Next to the guys, you know, in the Ramones, like, Joey even, and, man, it just didn't. I didn't take it in. I remember when Robert Plant, you know, heard our song Starseed in his limo in New York, and all of a sudden we were touring. We were in, like, Boston, playing, like, the Middle East, a little club, and our tour manager runs in. He's like, we're tearing down. We're not playing the show tonight. We have to drive to Indianapolis to open up for, you know, the first Paging Plan reunion didn't take it in. Like, Robert Plan came up to me and was telling me how much he loved that first record, Naveed, and he was like, I really relate to the lyrics and the sounds. And I was like, some. But I didn't take it in. I did. I wasn't in. I wasn't present. So that would be. If I could be walking with my. My, you know, younger self, I'd be like, man, just stop. Take this moment in. You know, listen to Robert, listen to what he's saying, ask him questions. You know, I missed some of those opportunities, unfortunately.
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Buzz Knight
Oh, I got chills. I. I've missed so many myself.
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Raine Maida
Right. I know. That's life. Yeah, I know.
- [27:33]
Buzz Knight
But I mean, I. And then when I think about what I'm doing now and being able to talk to folks like you on the podcast, I go, man, I'm pretty. Pretty damn lucky.
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Raine Maida
So, yeah, these are the moments. I think we all can appreciate it more and getting. Do something more. Long form like this is so key. Right?
- [27:51]
Buzz Knight
That's wonderful, Rain. Thank you so much, man. I'm honored to have you on. This was a blast, man.
- [27:57]
Raine Maida
Love it, Love it. Thank you so much.
- [27:59]
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- [28:27]
Buzz Knight
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