Nest Sessions: The Format on Fan Clubs & Being Birthed

Summary

Flightless Bird: "Nest Sessions: The Format on Fan Clubs & Being Birthed"

Date: March 5, 2026
Host: David Farrier (with Rob, regular cohost)
Guests: Nate Ruess and Sam Means (The Format), Interviewer, and additional guest

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Episode Overview

In this introspective and entertaining episode, David Farrier welcomes Nate Ruess and Sam Means of The Format for a wide-ranging conversation spanning fan club culture, the early days of the internet, friendship, the American desert, homeschooling, bizarre childhood animal companions, memorable (and surprising) early memories—including literal birth—and the realities of reuniting as a band after decades apart. The recurring theme: how shared roots and quirks forge enduring friendships, and how formative experiences shape creative identities.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Format’s Origin Story and Fan Club Beginnings

[00:43–06:06]

• First Meeting at Weezer’s Pinkerton Tour (1996):
  • Sam & Nate reminisce about their first encounter at a Weezer show.
    • Sam: “There was a Weezer show on the Pinkerton tour, December of 1996." [01:10]
    • Mutual friends connected them at the show.
• Running the Weezer Fan Club Website:
  • Sam, homeschooled and internet-savvy, reached out to fan club leaders and became webmaster at age 16.
    • Sam: “My dad had a computer… I was in the fan club. It was 10 bucks. They'd send you a zine every quarter and a little merch item… I made a Weezer website, and I was like, hey, you guys don't have a website for your... like a fan site? Like an official fan site?” [02:09]
  • He received tour dates via fax from management. Early hacker-ish skills let him infiltrate music industry circles.
  • Press passes were forged:
    • Sam: “We started making these like fake press passes… and started going to shows and just walking in.” [03:28]

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2. The Power and Purity of Early Internet Culture

[04:00–05:23]

• Late ‘90s/early 2000s message boards created a unique, direct fan culture.
  • Interviewer: “The Internet was so pure back then. My God, if only we could go back to that time.” [04:48]
  • Sam: “I loved that version of the internet. It's kind of where it died for me.” [04:52]
• Sam and Nate both credit early online spaces for building lasting friendships and even marriages.
  • Sam: “I met my wife on that message board…” [05:11]
  • Their modding/web skills got them real world jobs at venues.

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3. Adolescence, Homeschooling, and 90s Desert Life

[07:21–11:55]

• Arizona Scene:
  • The Format’s early band evolution: from pop punk to emo to the Format, with the same core friends recurring in each.
    • Nate: “Just different iterations, really. Just like the same people, too.” [05:52]
  • Nate: “Whatever we had in Phoenix ... have found a way to stay together in one way.” [06:24]
• Homeschooling:
  • Sam pulled out of third grade, initially struggled with the social scene, but a best friend ("the conduit") facilitated access to the broader world.
    • Sam: “She just had some issue with the school… it was super weird at first… But then I had a friend… moved in across the street… and all his friends I started hanging out with.” [08:32, 09:39]
• Adolescent Independence:
  • Early road trips to LA for shows—a freedom unimaginable now for their teenage children.
    • Sam: “As soon as I had a car, I was just like... we're going to shows.” [10:01]
    • Nate: “We were still in high school, driving up to LA from Phoenix.” [10:25]

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4. Americana, Goats, and Childhood Memories

[11:00–12:49]

• Pet Goats and Rural Life:
  • Farrier shares wildlife stories—pet goats, hunting, growing up rural in New Zealand—prompting a hilarious series of animal anecdotes.
  • Nate: “My earliest memories was the goat would just not get off the fucking car so we could leave.” [11:27]
• Extraordinary Early Memory (Being Born):
  • Nate claims to remember his own birth:
    • Nate: “I remember being born. I remember the lights turning on.” [12:11]
    • Interviewer: “Are you serious?” [12:14]
    • Nate: “Yeah, I remember just like screaming. And then it kind of went dark again.” [12:25]
    • This builds into a recurring motif throughout the episode.

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5. Phoenix, Fame, Food, & Geography

[14:04–20:18]

• Phoenix Desert Sprawl:
  • Reflections on growing up in Phoenix’s endless suburbs, its transformation, and the quirky amalgamation of Chicago transplants, deep-dish pizza opinions, and local landmarks.
    • Sam: “Phoenix is kind of depressing because it was like a stamp and repeat of like a mall…” [19:09]
  • Discussion of sprawl into California:
    • Nate: “The houses would just get closer and closer to California… Now it's in.” [19:34]
    • Sam: “California’s doing the same thing. So they will eventually meet.” [20:07]
    • Nate: “They'll kiss like the lady and the Tramp.” [20:10]
• Iconically American Taste Tests:
  • Peanut butter lattes introduced as an “American” treat:
    • Sam: “It's an iced latte with, like, peanut butter, like, actual peanut butter in it... It's my favorite treat.” [20:46]
    • Nate: “There's not enough peanut butter for me.” [22:02]

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6. Friendship Longevity & Reuniting as a Band

[22:15–26:35]

• Sustaining Friendship:
  • Will their bond last another 30 years?
    • Nate: “The hope is that we're still alive.” [22:19]
    • Nate: “We're not dramatic people… we're just so low drama… it's just a cool thing.” [22:27]
  • On growing up and now having families that intermingle.
• Returning to Music:
  • Guitar lessons and organic inspiration led Nate back:
    • Nate: “I was very comfortably retired for about eight years… I started writing a whole bunch of music with no intention. I was just like, okay, well this will just be for me. And then I started to be like, I actually kind of like this stuff…” [24:06]
  • Sam: reuniting musically “felt easy,” like “no time passed at all.”
    • Sam: “20 years has passed, but in a lot of ways it feels like no time has passed at all. Almost like a parallel universe situation.” [25:23]

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7. The Realities of Musical Fame & Industry Critique

[30:09–32:59]

• Leaving Success Behind:
  • Nate discusses burnout from mainstream success, not wanting to be defined by fame.
    • Nate: “I'm into something and then I'm off of it. And I hate the idea of being defined by one thing ... I had no choice but to spend every waking second thinking about [music] ... This sucks and I don't even love it … I'm out.” [30:09–30:54]
• Ethics of Touring & Merchandise:
  • The Format now keep prices accessible, prioritizing break-even tours.
    • Nate: “We live to break even… you just watch how much people get ripped off by musicians … if you are privileged enough, hardworking people are paying money... and you're taking everything they have so they can watch you live." [31:36]

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8. Website Evolution & Digital Gimmicks

[33:01–34:28]

• Conversation about websites moving from ambitious, interactive Flash games to simple link pages.
  • Sam: “What even is a website?... It's all modular stuff.” [33:33]
• Stories of a custom video-game-themed Format website from 2006.
  • Sam: “It was a full video game website ... these little stops where you could get tour dates and whatever.” [34:10]

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9. On Songwriting, Protest, and Direct Action

[34:35–40:46]

• Song "Bar Sets Low":
  • Song about immigration, direct action, and injustice—timely to events in Minneapolis.
    • Nate: “The whole song is about just immigration and the way that we treat our immigrant population … it just seemed very fitting to play it that day.” [35:24]
  • Band donated proceeds from Bandcamp to organizations.
    • Sam: “We released it on the first [Bandcamp Friday] this year… donating all that money to a basket of organizations that we think are pretty cool.” [36:54]
• Activism & Social Change:
  • Both guests emphasize the need for direct action over passive charity.
    • Nate: “I think we’re hopefully coming to a point where direct action is just much more... the time of charity-based type stuff... is not enough.” [40:02]
    • Sam: “It's horrible that seeing things like this have to happen in order to, like, wake up people... but I do feel like even some people in my family... are even starting to kind of wake up and be like, okay, this is actually very fucked up.” [40:14]

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10. The Birth Memory—An Encore

[41:04–43:45]

• Nate's vivid birth memory:
  • A rare “scene” involving a surge of light, crying, sensory impressions—no words, just the emotional feeling: “It’s go time.”
    • Nate: “The light is on… the thought in my brain was, here we go… All I know is I’m crying… I feel like it’s all foggy. It’s probably the placenta.” [41:26–42:10]
    • Nate: “The feeling of it’s go time suddenly was just like, all right, it’s on… Maybe it’s my second time, maybe it’s my third time, you know, I don’t know.” [43:12, 43:17]
  • Farrier reacts in awe—“the most remarkable thing I’ve heard”—and others revisit their earliest memories.

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11. In-Studio Performances—Setlist & Social Context

[44:31–53:30] Three songs played live:

• "Bar Sets Low"
• "Back to Life"
• "Depressed"
  • Each song is introduced briefly, with context connected to biographical and social themes discussed earlier.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On fan club access:

"We started making these like fake press passes… started going to shows and just walking in."
—Sam [03:28]

On the internet’s early spirit:

"Message boards… was like peak internet for me."
—Interviewer [04:55]
"I met my wife on that message board through him."
—Sam [05:11]

On lasting friendship:

“…Just different iterations really. Just like the same people, too.”
—Nate [05:52]

On desert adolescence:

"We were still in high school, like, going, driving up to LA from Phoenix."
—Nate [10:25]

On extraordinary memory:

"I remember being born. I remember the lights turning on."
—Nate [12:11]
"That is amazing."
—Interviewer [12:38]

On musical ethics:

"We live to break even. Like, that's all we can ask for in this situation doing this… because you just watch how much people just get ripped off by musicians… when we were kids, it was an outlet. Going to concerts was an outlet. Now people have to take out a fucking mortgage just to go see a show.”
—Nate [31:36]

On coming back together:

"Twenty years has passed, but in a lot of ways it feels like no time has passed at all. Almost like a parallel universe situation."
—Sam [25:23]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Meeting at Weezer show, Fan Club, Coding – [00:43–03:28]
• Early Internet & Message Boards – [04:00–05:23]
• Arizona/Phoenix Music Scene – [06:24–07:46]
• Homeschooling & Friendship – [08:18–10:10]
• Goat Stories & Early Memory – [11:00–12:49], [41:04–43:45] (Return)
• Phoenix Character and Urban Sprawl – [14:04–20:18]
• Peanut Butter Latte Taste Test – [20:46–22:10]
• Band Reunion & Evolving Friendship – [22:15–26:35]
• Industry Critique & Band Philosophy – [30:09–32:59]
• Songwriting & Protest – [34:35–40:46]
• In-Studio Performance – [44:31–53:30]

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Conclusion

This “Nest Session” of Flightless Bird is both whimsical and honest—a testament to long friendships, creative partnership, and the strangeness and wonder of American life, from message board fandom to peanut butter lattes, from birth memories to band reunions. Through banter and musical performances, the episode fuses personal nostalgia with present-day reflection and social consciousness, ultimately inviting listeners to appreciate the beauty (and absurdity) of real connection.

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Transcript

[Sam]

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[Nate]

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[Sam]

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[Nate]

Let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push, and go explore the new peloton cross training tread [e-mail]. I'm Nate and I sing Sam and I play guitar.

[Interviewer]

I feel like you've known each other for a while now.

[Sam]

30 years.

[Nate]

This.

[Interviewer]

This.

[Sam]

Later. Later this year.

[Nate]

Wait, you've keeping track of the official, like, amount of years.

[Sam]

I mean, it's December. If it was like.

[Nate]

If it was like, you got the month too.

[Sam]

Well, I know this because it was a. There was a show. It's a very, you know, prominent show in our life, or at least in mine. I mean, I met you there, and it's a great show.

[Nate]

Yeah, but. But I still don't remember when that was.

[Sam]

I know the day.

[Interviewer]

Like, wait, so what show?

[Sam]

There's a Weezer show on the Pinkerton tour, December of 1996. Wow.

[Interviewer]

And you sort of. Do you remember what were your first impressions of each other? You, obviously, it's a very memorable.

[Sam]

It was brief. I mean, it was brief because we just were both there and I went with, um, we have mutual friends.

[Nate]

We had mutual friend.

[Sam]

So he was there with. With one friend. I was there with a couple friends. And then at some point in time, there was just like a, oh, hey, what's up? You know, what's going on? Kind of a situation.

[Nate]

But, well, Sam. Sam ran the official Weezer fan club website.

[Interviewer]

Oh, okay.

[Nate]

And so he got to go backstage. So I was just like, I was

[Sam]

coding in 96, you know, so I was.

[Nate]

So I was just like, walking by, just being like, what the fuck? How did he get to do, like,

[Interviewer]

wait, I love this. So wait, how did that work? You're a kid, you're obviously good on the Internet.

[Sam]

Yeah, my dad had a computer, so I just.

[Nate]

You were homeschooled as well?

[Sam]

I was homeschooled, which helped, but.

[Guest]

How old are you in 96? 16. 16. Okay.

[Interviewer]

Did they. Did you reach out to them or do they find you?

[Sam]

I reached out to them. So I like, I. When the first Weezer album came out in 94, I just was, like, obsessed with it, as I think a lot of us were in that time. And I really started getting into computers and I started just trying to discover More music. So I started finding all these music sites, and then I realized you could just look at the source of it, and you could literally just take, like, a block of the code and put it in a text editor and then just like, change stuff from there, you know? It was, like, pretty basic at that point. So I just started making websites. So I made a Weezer website, and I was like, hey, you guys don't have a website for your. I was in the fan club. It was 10 bucks, which was awesome. They'd send you a zine every quarter and, like, a little merch item. And I love merch. So I was psyched, and I was like, hey, do you guys need, like, a. Like a fan site? Like an official fan site? And these two girls, Michael and Carly, ran it, and they're like, yes, that would be awesome. We don't know how to do this. We'll. We'll just send you stuff. We'll send you. My mom or my. Yeah, my mom had a fax machine for some reason, so they would, like, fax me tour dates from the management. And, like, they just sent. I was just, like, running a little Webster, like, little website guy.

[Interviewer]

As a. As a fan, I mean, Weezer's amazing, but as a fan at that age, what was that like? Were you. Was it just very normal and fine, or were you sort of going, oh, my God, this is crazy?

[Sam]

No, I just. I was just. I was more interested in being able to do it than I was in the fandom part. Like, I learned a lot, I think, at that time. Just sort of how that was my. My entry to sort of how accessible the music industry could be. Because you realized, like, oh, I'm just, like, communicating with the manager. And so then I started. Friend of mine. We started making these, like, fake press passes because I saw what they looked like, and I was like, we could just make these and, like, go to show. I started going to shows and, like, just walking in and being like, oh, we're with, you know, whatever. And they'd be like, okay, cool.

[Guest]

We had a very similar teenage. Yeah, I was making websites and T shirt design and doing, like, MySpace coding.

[Sam]

Yeah, there you go.

[Guest]

Bands.

[Sam]

Yeah, I was. I was always.

[Interviewer]

That was, like, a leveler, wasn't it? Between, like, the people and these, like, inaccessible bands.

[Sam]

You think that bands are some. You, you know, put them on, like, a huge pedestal, but then you realize they're just. I mean, some people, I guess, are probably living, like, crazy bougie lives, but most people are just like, we go to Punk shows. And we'd see these bands that we loved. And I. And in my mind, I would even at that time, would think, like, oh, they're probably, like, rich and whatever. And then they'd roll up in, like, the shittiest van imaginable. And you could just tell, like, oh, these guys are just scarfing down the Fazoli's because they haven't eaten all day because they're broke, so.

[Interviewer]

The Internet was so pure back then. My God, if only we could go back to that time.

[Sam]

I loved that version of the Internet. It's kind of where it died for me.

[Interviewer]

No, I love message boards. Like, late 90s, early 2000s message boards was like peak Internet for me.

[Nate]

That was our jam for sure. The local punk rock club had message board, and that's where we. Like, we lived on that message board. Yeah. You met your wife.

[Sam]

I met my wife on that message board through him.

[Interviewer]

Like, amazing.

[Sam]

Yeah. I was the moderator, of course, because I got a job.

[Nate]

You were absolutely mod. I didn't even remember that you got

[Sam]

a job at the venue. Because I knew how to make websites.

[Nate]

Yeah.

[Sam]

Big mod energy. I was modding hard, for sure.

[Interviewer]

So you guys end up meeting at the Weezer show. How soon was it till you were sort of making music together? How did that work?

[Nate]

Probably like a year.

[Sam]

Like, it was about a year. Yeah. I think the next time we, like, I went to your house and played basketball in your driveway with. And then I discovered that you had. You were just starting attempting to start a band.

[Nate]

Yeah, yeah. At that point. Guitar.

[Sam]

Yeah.

[Guest]

The format at that time.

[Nate]

No, this was. We had a couple of. We had, like a pop punk band. Then we had kind of like a emo type of band. And then we had the format. Yeah. Just different iterations, really. Just like the same people, too.

[Sam]

Yeah, really.

[Nate]

Really. Just like recycled and still even 20 years later.

[Sam]

Yeah. Marco in our band was in all three of those bands. As.

[Interviewer]

And did you have any idea at that moment you'd still be friends and still making music together 30 years on? I mean, obviously there's been all sorts of morphing and changing, but here you both are. I mean, most people don't have friendships that last that long.

[Nate]

Whatever we had in Phoenix, including, like, Marco, just that old group of friends have found a way to kind of stay together in one way. I mean, even one of our other friends had just sent us photos from our guitarist Marco's wedding, like, 10 years ago. So, yeah, I mean. And there was no talk of the format reuniting or anything like that at that time. So, yeah, we've all just found a way to stay in each other's lives for better or for worse.

[Guest]

What was that? Arizona music scene? Cause I grew up in Chicago around, like, the rise of Fall Out Boy and all those bands of that era.

[Nate]

The Metro was the place to be.

[Guest]

Metro, Knights of Columbus and Arlington Heights.

[Nate]

What was.

[Guest]

Because you guys had Pedro the Lion around.

[Nate]

We had Jimmy Eat World.

[Guest]

Jimmy Eat World.

[Nate]

Okay, we had Jimmy World, and before that, we had the Gin Blossoms. But we were. I think Jimmy World came for us just a little bit later.

[Sam]

We.

[Nate]

We. Right after Weezer, we really got into, like, punk and. And like, pop punk. And we had a friend who started. He dropped out of high school to start booking all the punk shows at, like, 16, like, all the major shows, like, you know, thousand 2000 seaters and stuff like that. And Sam being the homeschooled kid was a. Like, Just ended up getting a job and doing all the graphics and running the door and stuff like that.

[Sam]

Yeah, I was working, like, 80 hours a week. I'd get there at 10. I'd make every flyer, every poster, modding the web, like, doing the website, and then I would work the door and. And then sometimes work, like, goth night afterwards.

[Interviewer]

I was working.

[Nate]

I, like, begged for a job, and I got hired to pass out flyers, but I just kept them in the

[Guest]

trunk of my car and no one would show up.

[Interviewer]

Like Newman and Seinfeld, just never delivering.

[Nate]

That's exactly what I did.

[Interviewer]

Wait, so I just. I don't want to skip over this. The homeschooling thing, because I was homeschooled till I was about 12.

[Sam]

Oh, really?

[Interviewer]

It's a trip. You know, I think there's really amazing aspects to it and sort of quite weird aspects when you look back. Yeah, but how was it for you? And were you. Where did you go to school?

[Nate]

I was public school.

[Interviewer]

You were public school. Okay. So quite a separate kind of.

[Sam]

Yeah, I. My mom pulled me out of school in third grade.

[Interviewer]

What was racing for?

[Sam]

I actually don't remember. I think it was. She just had some issue with the school, like, some personal issue and, I

[Guest]

don't know, like, some beef with the principal.

[Sam]

Some. Yeah, some. Some sort of beef that I never even bothered because I don't even care. Didn't even bother to ask. But it was super weird at first. When I was really young, I did not like it at all. If you'd have to do the basic testing and they would. We'd all go to this school And I was just like, these are not. There's a lot of like very super religious, like post hippie kids and stuff. And it just didn't. Was not my scene. I did not like engage with. I couldn't. I couldn't figure out how to connect with anybody in that world. But then I had a. The kind of. The thing that made it great for me was a friend of ours, another Nate in our life, moved in across the street from me and became my best friend. And he. What do you like, play tennis with you or something? How did he know? How did he.

[Nate]

We just went to school.

[Sam]

Went to school together. But didn't you do something? Like, what was the. What was your connection?

[Nate]

He was into music. We. I think we. I think we like played tennis and stuff like that as like an aside.

[Sam]

Okay.

[Nate]

Like that was later on.

[Sam]

But so I just, I mean he was my best friend. So then all of his friends that he was meeting at school, I just started hanging out with.

[Interviewer]

He was like the conduit in.

[Sam]

He was definitely like.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. I had Sam Darling. He was my one friend, lived up the road and he was like my conduit into the rest of the world.

[Nate]

Right? Yeah. Because otherwise. Yeah.

[Sam]

You're like.

[Interviewer]

But if you. Goes to you and mommy.

[Sam]

Yeah, yeah.

[Guest]

Do you call your mom mommy? Like he does?

[Interviewer]

No, I don't.

[Sam]

But yeah. And also I was a little bit older, so I got the car first and just started driving everybody to all the shows. As soon as I had a car I was just like, I'm dry. We're like, we're going to shows. We weren't.

[Nate]

Yeah, we went, we went everywhere. We really went to Jack in the Box a lot.

[Sam]

Yeah. And Taco Bell and, and record stores.

[Nate]

Somehow my parents and your parents let us go to LA to go see shows.

[Sam]

Yeah, we started coming out here really early.

[Interviewer]

Amazing stuff.

[Sam]

It was. Yeah.

[Nate]

Yeah. We were still in high school, like going. Driving up to LA from Phoenix.

[Sam]

Yeah. I have a 16 year old daughter right now and the thought of just letting her get in a car and drive out to Anaheim is. Is not what I like to think about.

[Interviewer]

I guess different time. But also it is kind of outrageous. Anyway.

[Sam]

Yeah.

[Guest]

Yeah, my parents. Yeah. I was 16, driving into the city to the Metro and like Fireside bowl and. Yeah,

[Sam]

that was awesome. A lot of cool shows there.

[Interviewer]

I'm sure I wasn't allowed. I was like. I had like. I couldn't go anywhere. I had a pet goat called Frisky. I'd go hunting on the weekends with my dad. Very different existence.

[Sam]

You brought the goat.

[Interviewer]

Hunting the goat was actually my dad shot its mother, which was so sad and awful. Didn't realize there was a kid there. And we bought the goat home. And then I had a pet goat.

[Sam]

Wow.

[Interviewer]

So it was, like, quite a sad origin.

[Nate]

Yeah.

[Guest]

It was a revenge.

[Interviewer]

And then we ate Frisky. No, we didn't eat Frisky.

[Nate]

I had a goat growing up.

[Interviewer]

Get out. They're the best. They're so loyal and so fun hard.

[Guest]

Disagree.

[Nate]

Before we moved to Arizona, my family's from Iowa, and we had a farm. And my earliest memories was the goat would just not get off the fucking car so we could leave.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. They love climbing. They want to be on things.

[Nate]

They're awful. They make crazy noises.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. They eat everything. They tear shit up.

[Nate]

My least favorite animal. If it weren't for their. If it weren't for their milk or their cheese.

[Interviewer]

That's so funny.

[Nate]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

No, I love my little. It was just my best friend. Homeschooled. So, like, Frisky was my friend. It was friendship.

[Nate]

Applesauce was not. Was not full sauce. Applesauce was evil. And I'm talking, like, this is probably, like, weirdly. I remember being born.

[Interviewer]

Sorry, we're going back.

[Guest]

Like, the coming out. Yeah.

[Nate]

Yeah. I remember being born. I remember the lights turning on.

[Interviewer]

Are you serious? Yeah.

[Nate]

And being like, time to go.

[Interviewer]

This is blowing my mind because my memory's so bad.

[Nate]

My memory's awful, too.

[Interviewer]

The lights are on and then do you remember, like, people looking down at you and, like, whacking your ass, basically.

[Nate]

And I remember just, like, screaming. And then it kind of went dark again. And then the lights came back on when the fucking goat wouldn't get off the.

[Sam]

Those are your two.

[Nate]

Four.

[Sam]

Yes.

[Nate]

That is amazing.

[Interviewer]

That's amazing.

[Nate]

Yes. Like, if you were to see it from. As a scene, you'd like it blurry and you'd see, like, a doctor. I just remember it unconsolably. It was just, like, bawling. That's all I remember.

[Interviewer]

That's extraordinary because we obviously all have that in us, but we don't remember it, I assume because it's too traumatic. Because it's too right. You're in this beautiful womb, and then you're. Fuck, you're out. Awful.

[Nate]

I looked it up on the Internet and there are. Yeah, there are a few people who have very similar, like, stories.

[Interviewer]

Do you want me to find a message board and talk about.

[Nate]

That's how I met my wife, too. She also remembers being birthed. Yeah. But then the goat applesauce was my next big memory.

[Interviewer]

I don't know what to do with that. Were you joking before Your wife also remembers her birth or. Are you serious? She goes, okay, I'm just checking. Rob's always doing a deadpan, and I can't understand him.

[Nate]

No, no, I'm not. I'm not that good.

[Interviewer]

Wait, so wait, so what was the memory after the goat that just continued then? The memory was from goat onwards, or did you blink out again for a while?

[Nate]

I feel like it blinked out again and then it started. Then that's when it was like the

[Guest]

Weezer show where you meet.

[Nate]

No, then it was like, probably. It was probably like a year later. And then. And then it was like a month later, and then it was, you know. And then it just became whatever we have now.

[Interviewer]

I don't know where to go from there. Phoenix, maybe Back to Phoenix? Because I'm going to Phoenix for the first time to see a 9 inch now show this Friday. It's my first time in Phoenix. What is Phoenix?

[Sam]

It's time to go.

[Nate]

Oh, and what do I mean? My dad threw away our Nine Inch Nails ticket senior year of high school. I was like, it was Nine Inch Nails, Perfect Circle. Me and Mike Lentz. Shout out Mike Lentz. We're gonna go. Also still a friend. We're gonna go. And I was like, I had the tickets. I put them in my dad's drawer, thinking that that would be the safest place.

[Interviewer]

Safe. Yeah.

[Nate]

And my dad threw them out.

[Interviewer]

That's horrific.

[Nate]

No.

[Guest]

Okay.

[Nate]

I don't know how any of this happened. The story blows my mind. And he will. And Mike will not forgive me, like, to this day.

[Sam]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer]

And then you find out, like, the

[Nate]

day of, the day of. And. And. And I have a friend. One time we were talking. He's like, the best show I ever saw was Nine Inch Nails and Perfect Circle.

[Sam]

I was like, way to go, lj.

[Nate]

Yeah, way to go, lj. So, yeah, so congratulations on being the

[Interviewer]

youngest person to go to my dad's drawer. So I'm just gonna check those tickets.

[Nate]

Wait, you better be careful with those tickets in Phoenix.

[Guest]

No, I think growing up in, like, a desert town is maybe a little bit interesting for you, too, because. Yeah, New Zealand, right?

[Interviewer]

We don't really do deserts. No.

[Nate]

I didn't appreciate it until now.

[Sam]

I didn't appreciate the desert either, actually. Yeah.

[Nate]

I thought it was, like, when people talked about. I was like, what's so cool about having dirt and, like, having a yard that's Just dirt. Like, even growing up in it is like, this is so, like, disgusting.

[Sam]

Yeah. I didn't appreciate a lot about it until one time these kids I was working with these kids from Philadelphia, and they're just like, it's so awesome out here. And everything is just like.

[Nate]

What do you call.

[Sam]

They're like, touching my house and like. What do you call this? I'm, like, stuck. Like, all of our houses are like bricks and old and, like, everything here is just, like, new. And I was just like, okay.

[Interviewer]

Huh.

[Guest]

I do. My best friend in first grade moved to Scottsdale from Chicago, and I remember coming out to visit him, and Scottsdale's

[Sam]

a very different place.

[Guest]

What is that?

[Sam]

That's like another world from where we grew up, for sure.

[Nate]

We also have a lot of Chicago transplant. It's a big, like, I'm from. I. It's a weird midwestern hub.

[Guest]

Well, you got Portillo and Luminatis there, right?

[Nate]

We do.

[Guest]

I think. I pretty sure just clo.

[Sam]

The. The. The, like, bump in one.

[Interviewer]

Just.

[Sam]

The Luman Al is just closed. But there's a.

[Nate]

Is there a Portillo there?

[Sam]

I think so.

[Guest]

There is, yeah. Yeah. We went during COVID and got a bunch of Portillo.

[Nate]

I can't believe I moved.

[Sam]

I don't know how you're. I don't like a deep dish pizza. I don't not. It's not for me.

[Guest]

You're having the wrong kind.

[Sam]

Like a bread. It's a bread bowl.

[Nate]

It's not good.

[Interviewer]

It's a lot.

[Sam]

It's a bread bowl.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sam]

It's a soup. It's basically soup.

[Nate]

I used to. I used to think that it was my favorite until I tried it.

[Sam]

The idea of it was really phenomenal.

[Guest]

Well, where. What deep dish have you had in Chicago?

[Nate]

I want to say probably Luminardi's and we went to.

[Sam]

Was there like Grimaldi's or something?

[Nate]

Yeah, like, you know, I think.

[Guest]

Okay. Representations. You got to do, like, PE Quads.

[Nate]

I'm not doing any of them.

[Sam]

Yeah, sorry.

[Nate]

Those are the two strikes.

[Interviewer]

I like.

[Sam]

The thinnest of thin crust pizzas you can get. That's my jam.

[Nate]

Yeah. Well, Chicago food is. And I do love Chicago food. Rick Bayless is my favorite person of all time. So I'm really looking forward to going to Chicago and going to a bunch of Rick Bayless restaurants, which is funny because being from Phoenix, where the Mexican food is amazing, But I've just gone on an Internet trip of looking at Rick Bayless stuff.

[Interviewer]

Wait, so what did Phoenix give Us. Like, what are Phoenix's things? Because my brain is completely empty.

[Guest]

Desert, Jimmy, Desert.

[Nate]

But the fact that it's taking. It's taken.

[Interviewer]

That wasn't. That would sound like an aggressive question, like, what did it give us? But, like, what is Phoenix is a weird place.

[Nate]

We got the big Charlie Kirk funeral.

[Sam]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Oh, God. We got the Charlie Kirk freeway.

[Sam]

Yeah. We got Turning Point usa. That's our big win.

[Interviewer]

Oh, is.

[Nate]

Is TP usa.

[Sam]

It's in Phoenix.

[Nate]

Toilet paper usa.

[Sam]

Is Phoenix in Phoenix also?

[Interviewer]

It is Big Christian. Yeah.

[Sam]

It's a very rural suburban sprawl. Lots. We have. We have a lot of, like, mega churches in the, like, East Valley, West Valley.

[Nate]

It's turned. But it's also turned fairly progressive since

[Sam]

we've been in the center. Yeah, like the. We do have. We now have a pretty good sort of central, like, downtown core. When we were kids, the downtown area was just, like, abysmal. Everything would close at, you know, five. And there's one venue down there that we would go to. We actually saw someone get murdered at. Across the street.

[Interviewer]

You saw it happen?

[Nate]

Yes, yes.

[Interviewer]

Sorry. Horrible.

[Sam]

It was like a beating with a brick.

[Nate]

I watched someone get hit with a brick. But we're not going to describe this, are we?

[Sam]

We didn't know what was happening. It seemed like it was very strange. It seemed like they were friends.

[Nate]

They were.

[Sam]

It was strange. We didn't get it until, weirdly, Marco,

[Nate]

who we've mentioned a few times the other day, he explained. He told the whole story because I have, like, blocked it out of my mind.

[Interviewer]

Right? You've got your birth and the goat.

[Nate]

Yes.

[Sam]

Yeah. But we had that venue down there. But other than that, it was like, downtown was terrible. But it's recently, like, we moved down there. You like. You were the first one to move down there in like 2006 or something. That's when it started kind of becoming a place where you could escape the sprawl and all of that stuff, like the rural life of whatever. It's just like Phoenix is kind of depressing because it was like a stamp and repeat of like a. Like a mall, you know, a target. It's like the same, Right. Again repeated this. This a neighborhood. And then once the next one's built, no one wants to live in this one anymore. So people move into that one and then this one just gets kind of abandoned and they just keep doing that until you get to California, you know, at this point.

[Nate]

And really, like, it's crazy how much it stretches out. Even I hadn't Driven from. We used to make that drive when we were kids all the time. Or even early format days, living in Phoenix, driving to California to make a record or whatever it was. And yeah, the houses would just get closer and closer to California. Like, you'd be driving in from California and being like, wait a second, like, I was just here two months ago, and it seems like we're like three miles ahead. Three, like three extra miles of houses have just, like, has just sprawled out. Now it's in.

[Sam]

And California's doing the same thing. So they will eventually meet.

[Nate]

They'll kiss like the lady and the Tramp.

[Sam]

Yeah, exactly.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Sam]

It's one giant spaghetti noodle.

[Interviewer]

There's no sane segue into this, but these coffees are sitting here. And in every episode, I encourage guests to bring in something sort of iconically American that I perhaps have not partaken in.

[Nate]

Is this iconically? It's about to be.

[Sam]

It's about to be.

[Nate]

There's some finger on the pulse type of stuff.

[Interviewer]

I have been staring at these for a while, and. And I'm curious what these are exactly.

[Guest]

I think it is a Japanese coffee shop, but in America.

[Sam]

Yeah, I'm.

[Interviewer]

I'm.

[Sam]

I mean, I heard.

[Interviewer]

And I thought that sounds fucking American.

[Sam]

Yeah. This is an iced latte with, like, peanut butter, like, actual peanut butter in it that has been kind of like liquefied and squirted into the coffee.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Sam]

And then stirred. It's very delicious.

[Interviewer]

Is this a recent discovery of yours?

[Sam]

This is in the last year. I discovered this. And I've been trying to turn everybody I know onto the peanut butter latte. It's my favorite treat.

[Interviewer]

Okay. I'm gonna have a. You guys have one. Yeah. Rob and I get to share this.

[Nate]

I think you tried to turn me onto this about a few months ago or something. Few months ago, yeah.

[Sam]

Give it a stir.

[Interviewer]

Oh, yeah, that's peanutty.

[Guest]

Peanut butter on the bottom, I think.

[Nate]

Oh, yeah. We need to get that peanut butter up.

[Guest]

Really settle down there.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. These have been sitting for about an hour now.

[Sam]

Yeah, I get a lot of these. So this is not. This is not new to me.

[Interviewer]

Oh, delicious.

[Sam]

It's great, right?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I love peanut butter. Big fan.

[Guest]

In about 15 years.

[Sam]

15 years.

[Nate]

Oh, my God.

[Interviewer]

You've been up for a long time. Can you. It's probably.

[Sam]

Are you recovering coffee junkie?

[Interviewer]

Are you? No,

[Guest]

I'm always a tea guy.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. So it's not the caffeine so much.

[Guest]

It's the matcha's got a lot of caffeine.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's good.

[Guest]

You know, that has got a lot

[Interviewer]

of peanut flavor aspect is a great. Yeah, great flavor. I'm into this.

[Nate]

Yeah, I'm into it too. There's not enough peanut butter for me.

[Interviewer]

You want more?

[Sam]

It's a bit watered down.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. The ice has melted because it has been sitting here for a little bit,

[Nate]

but anything worth doing is worth overdoing, so. Yeah, but. But it is still absolutely delicious.

[Interviewer]

Do you guys think you'll. You'll still be friends in another 30 years?

[Nate]

Well, the hope is that we're still alive. That's really just.

[Sam]

Yeah, I think as long as we're still kicking it. What is that? Was that going to be 75 for me?

[Nate]

I think so. We're not dramatic people, so I guess something crazy would have to happen, like, let's knock on wood, but. But it'd have to be like, I don't know, we're just so low drama that, like, I don't know how it wouldn't happen. How the 20 years that we were not a band. It's not like we talked every day or even every year, but we were always still close. But it's been really cool doing this again because now we both have families and our families are now more so intertwined, and it's just a cool thing.

[Interviewer]

What was that conversation that brought you guys back to make some more music? Because you're gonna play some songs soon for us? But what was that conversation, or thought?

[Sam]

He learned how to play guitar. That was probably the biggest conduit back to it. We'd been talking for years to reunite, to play. Just to play some shows. And those materialized kind of at right before COVID started. We had them booked and then they just went away. Obviously there's like March and April of 2020, so.

[Interviewer]

All right, so Covid really. Yeah, fucked that up.

[Sam]

Yeah, Covid really fucked that up, which was. Ended up, I think, being, you know, sort of good because did feel a bit more like an obligation at that point. Maybe, like, we wanted to do it, but it just was sort of like maybe we felt like we. We needed to do it just because so much time had passed and we didn't really have a good reason to not do it. You know, people wanted to see us play. So I will just go play some shows, I guess. But, yeah, he learned how to play guitar. I went out to. To visit him and heard some songs that he was working on and saw like, his little setup that he built in his basement. It's like, what are you doing with all this stuff? And at that. At that time, he said nothing.

[Nate]

Yeah, I was never. I was. I was very comfortably retired for about like eight years. Just being like, I don't need. I don't need. I have no desire, like, and didn't fortunately, didn't need to have to do anything. And so my kids started going to school and I was like, I need something to do during the day. I've always liked guitar. I might as well just learn to play a couple songs. And then as I did that, then suddenly the floodgates opened again and I just started writing a whole bunch of music with no intention. I was just like, okay, well this will just be for me. And then I started to be like, I actually kind of like this stuff and I wouldn't mind if people heard it.

[Guest]

How easily did you guys click back into.

[Sam]

Very easy. Yeah, very easy for me. I mean, I. Yeah, it was. Feel like I understood exactly what he was going for with. With this kind of had just the. I mean there were. There were like a batch of seven songs maybe that were in pretty good shape. You know, I could definitely tell what was going on and I was just very excited to. I mean, I hadn't made any music in a long time either, so it's excited to do that. And actually in 2020, I was pitching. I was like, we should just do like a song. I really wanted to.

[Nate]

Yeah. And I was like, I'm never doing a song again.

[Sam]

It'd be more fun if we have something new to play. You know, like we'll close with a new song or something. But anyway, so it ended up just being, I think better in the end. And it 20 years has passed, but in a lot of ways it feels like no time has passed at all. Almost like a parallel universe situation.

[Interviewer]

But that's the best kind of friendship that you can just like tap back in. And if you can do that music as well, it's great.

[Nate]

Tap back in with like. And it's just like the whole being born thing just to circle back around. It's like it went. It went dark.

[Sam]

Yeah.

[Nate]

And then it just like open it. The eyes open back up and Sam is there. Yeah.

[Sam]

I am the goat with his fake.

[Nate]

And like. But 20 years as better people too, I think is the. Is like the kind of. The best part about it is. Yeah. We're just, I think better versions of ourselves too. Not that we were bad versions earlier, but it's just so much. So much more enjoyable when you've figured out a lot of things. Nobody ever figures anything out truly. But I think we've just figured out a lot in our lives and being comfortable in our own skin and I think being more aware of the world around us, I think those type of things, it makes this much more enjoyable.

[Interviewer]

And you feel like having kids and stuff probably helps as well, right? Like your perspective on things.

[Nate]

Oh yeah, for sure. Everything changed. Like even just writing from a writing perspective, for me, I've always just been like, boohoo me. I got broken up with. Oh no.

[Guest]

And yeah, 20s to 40s is a different experience.

[Nate]

And I did well with that. Very, very well with that. And that's how that's who I was. Like, I could not imagine being anyone else other than some heartbroken like person. And once I had kids, it just like suddenly you're like, wait a second, there's a whole world out there and it's fucked up.

[Interviewer]

Stay tuned for more Flightless Bird. We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors. This episode of Flightless Bird is brought to you by Wild Grain. I am wild about wild grain. I love wild grain. I love bread. I love fresh bread in the house. Wild Grain is the first bake from frozen subscription box for sourdough breads, artisanal pastries and fresh pastas. Plus all items conveniently bake in 25 minutes or less. I got a big giant box of frozen Wild grain breads. My house is full of bread smells. My belly is full of delicious breads. I'm so happy with this product. And good God, if you love bread, Wild grain is the thing for you.

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[Interviewer]

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[Nate]

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[Sam]

What do I do?

[Nate]

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[Sam]

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[Nate]

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[Sam]

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[Interviewer]

You're excited about making music again now. What put you in that headspace of being like, fuck this, I'm done with music for now. Like, was it a specific thing or just bored over it?

[Nate]

Over it? I'm not the type. I'm a type of person who's like, I'm into something and then I'm off of it. And I hate the idea of being defined by one thing I don't like. Like, because that's not who I am. I'm not just a guy who makes music. I don't know what else I know how to do. I just know that that's just not who I am. I don't spend every waking breathing second thinking about music. And I had to. Things were going really well. I had no choice but to spend every waking second thinking about it and seeing it. Like, seeing it as from having the biggest songs in the world and all that type of stuff. Those things that you just never really dream about and getting there and just being like, this is fucking big beat. Like, this sucks.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Nate]

Like this sucks and I don't even love it.

[Interviewer]

That's not the be all end all.

[Nate]

Yeah. And I've. And I've. I've made more money than I could ever possibly be comfortable. Like, I never thought that it would do this. So like, why am I sticking around? This is Just stupid. And so. And so I was just like, all right, I'm out. Like, I'm done. And so it was cool that coming back to this, I feel like we've both been blessed in our lives, in the. In the 20 years apart, where we're not approaching this with any thought other than for us. We sell our tickets as low as possible. We sell our merchandise as low as possible.

[Interviewer]

Amazing. Great. Accessible.

[Nate]

Yeah, Like.

[Sam]

And, you know, like, we're enjoying this. We want people to be able to come and experience this with us now. We don't want to gouge those people. We want this.

[Nate]

We live, to break even. Like, that's all. Like, that's all we can ask for in this situation, doing this. And because you just watch how much people just get ripped off by, like, musicians and by, like, rich musicians. That's the other thing. Like, I understand, like, if you're a band and you're just trying, like, this is your living, because it's become harder and harder because the music industry has taken everything away from everybody. So it's hard for a band to make money. So I understand, you know, in some ways, but if you are privileged enough, like, hardworking people are paying money like these, like, and you're taking everything they have so that they can come watch you live. Like, when we were kids, it was an outlet. Going to concerts was an outlet. Now people have to take out a fucking mortgage just to go see a show that would not be enjoyable. For me to also have this feeling like, I just paid 80 bucks for a T shirt after a hard day's work. It's just awful the way that people treat how the music industry works, specifically from the top, which is like anything in life, but. But I just look at how much these artists just charge an arm and a leg for everything, and it's just so disappointing. So for us to. For us doing this, it's like, okay, we just. If we make anything extra, that's nice, but I can't imagine. Because we really just want to be able to pay the people that we work with.

[Interviewer]

Are you running the website?

[Sam]

Sort of. Sort of.

[Interviewer]

Of course you are.

[Sam]

In many ways, I am.

[Nate]

Yes.

[Sam]

It's gotten. It's gotten much easier. No, we actually did get a little help. They asked me if I was running the website, and then it had to be kind of revamped for the new album, and I was like, I'll let somebody else do it.

[Guest]

What are you. What are you using for it?

[Sam]

We're using. Are you guys sponsored by Squarespace?

[Guest]

Sometimes.

[Sam]

Well, you are now.

[Nate]

Wait, we have a website?

[Sam]

Yeah. I mean, it's just. What is a. What even is a website?

[Interviewer]

What is a website?

[Sam]

Yeah, it's like. It's all. It's just like a. It's all like modular stuff.

[Guest]

It's.

[Nate]

It's just like a link me page.

[Sam]

I mean, most people's websites are just that now. It's like. It's just a place to. You have to have so many different. Yeah, that's.

[Interviewer]

So my friend's band just got a website and it's very funny. They made it, like, almost. You remember that game Myst? We like, dragging the mouse around in a room. The whole website. Like, you're in a room and you're sort of like dragging the mouse around to, like, find tour dates and stuff. The least user friendly website imaginable, but very fucking funny.

[Sam]

We had a video game.

[Nate]

We had a video game. Back in 2010, we had a video game website.

[Interviewer]

Oh, really?

[Nate]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Incredible.

[Sam]

Yeah, yeah.

[Nate]

2006.

[Sam]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Nate]

We already.

[Sam]

It was. It was a full video game website that you would just. You'd play the video game and then there would just be these little stops where you could get, like, tour dates and whatever. We all had little characters. It was really cool.

[Interviewer]

Oh, I love that. I feel like it's when, like. Was it like Flash became a big thing?

[Sam]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Suddenly, like, using that as much as

[Guest]

they possibly could, then mobile became a thing and then you couldn't use Flash on mobile.

[Sam]

I couldn't. I was not a flash. I could not. So I just kind of, like, peaked at HTML. I was not. Once Flash came into play, I was like, I am out. I'm out.

[Interviewer]

The songs you're about to play us in the studio, is there anything you want to say about them before you play them or just let them speak for themselves?

[Sam]

Well, I mean, one of them bar sets. Hello. We have that up on Bandcamp.

[Nate]

Oh, duh. Yeah.

[Sam]

And that's. That's a really important song for us. I mean, it was intended to be on Boycott Heaven. Actually, we recorded a version of it that just didn't. The way. The way it was recorded just didn't really. It didn't really work. But, yeah, we started playing it when our. The week our album came out. You know, things got pretty. Pretty hairy in Minneapolis. And we found out the morning that we were doing our show, like an in store in Phoenix, Alex Preddy got shot. And so Nate was like, hey, we should maybe, you know, break this song out and play it today.

[Interviewer]

Holy shit.

[Nate]

It was the day after, like, our album release, and we were in Phoenix. And I don't know, Phoenix people have just always been particularly amazing for us. And so we had this big, huge CD release for, like, a record store, a local record store, Stinkweeds, that people had to get tickets to. And. Yeah. And so we were gonna just play all new songs and that awful thing happened. And the whole song is about just immigration and the way that we treat our immigrant population. Legal or illegal. Illegal in this country. And so it just seemed very fitting to play it that day. And then I think people really appreciated it when you write a song like that. And having listened to a lot of Rage against the Machine too, lately, where you just realize that nothing changes. I'm listening to Rage nowadays, just being like, well, this could have been written. This was written 30 years ago. It's. It applies so perfectly today, and it probably applied so perfectly 30 years prior to when it was written. And so I feel like this is just one of those songs where we were like, okay, like, one day it's going to have to be released because it's just. I know nothing's going to change here. And so we decided to re record just an acoustic version that we put

[Sam]

up on on Bandcamp. Yeah. And then we're, you know, we released it. It was on. They do that Band Camp Friday thing where they take no fees. So we released it on the first one this year, and we had a, you know, great first day. Then we're donating all that money to a basket of organizations that we think are pretty cool. And. Yeah. So it's up there right now. And. And we've been. We've been. We play. We continue to play it. That. That whole run, the whole little string of shows that we did for the album release.

[Nate]

So. Yeah. So funny doing an album release and then closing it out with the song that did not make the album.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. For a very good reason.

[Sam]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, for sure.

[Nate]

But, like, you're like, I'm here to promote this album.

[Guest]

Everything's digital now. You just throw it at the end of the album.

[Nate]

You know, I thought about that, too. You just put in the bonus track. I've done that before, where you just put bonus track at the end of it. Just put in parentheses. But. But no, we just. We wanted to just give all the proceeds to. To causes that will benefit.

[Interviewer]

Gotta try. Right in the middle of all of this, you have to try. Things might never change, but you've got to try.

[Nate]

Yeah, that's the hard thing. Things might Change or you gotta just keep trying to find ways to energize people. I think we're hopefully coming to a point where direct action is just much more. You even just saw the amount of people that just went out in Minneapolis somehow the day before.

[Interviewer]

I was there the day before for the march to cover it. And then obviously that happened the next day. But that was a combination of a fucking horrific murder that happened. But the positive thing about that city is everyone is so down to help each other and for direct action and mutual aid is all across that city. That response was amazing to see.

[Nate]

That response was phenomenal to see. And I think unfortunately what happened to Alex Preddy was probably a big byproduct of that. These losers just have. Their egos were damaged. These are the biggest babies in the entire world. They hired the dumbest people just to do this shit. And their poor fragile egos didn't like being pushed back and yelled at 60,000 plus people. And you know, it's something that most of the country is in favor of. They didn't like that. Nobody likes them. And so they had to take it out on somebody as if what they're doing isn't enough 100%. So yeah, I did appreciate what happened the day before. And you just knew something bad was going to happen because they, that's what happens when you have just like crazy bootlickers who just don't, you know, they can't think for themselves. And so it was great to see that direct action. And I really just hope that there can be more direct action that people can see that. You know, I just feel like the time of charity based type of stuff, like not looking and just saying, okay, just take my money is not, it's just not enough.

[Interviewer]

Not enough. Completely have to actually like step up and do something.

[Nate]

It's like you can, I appreciate it obviously, like trying to do, trying to do good. But I think we're at a point now where, yeah, it's just, it's unavoidable.

[Sam]

I mean even I think people that. Yeah, I mean it's, it's horrible that seeing things like this happen. Like, things like this have to happen in order to like wake up people that, you know, maybe, maybe this is what it takes. You know, it's just. I don't know, it's. But I do feel like even some people, I won't name names, but people in my family who I would maybe not expect to be kind of outraged by what's happening are even starting to kind of wake up and Be like, okay, this is actually very fucked up, you know?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, it's like, smack them in the face.

[Sam]

Yeah. It's like. It's just getting too apparent. It's like, you can't. You just cannot ignore this. Like, you absolutely cannot ignore it at all. So, yeah, it's like. I mean, hoping something beautiful can come out of this total nightmare that we're living in. If history repeats itself, I think it will.

[Interviewer]

Well, fuck. Thanks for coming in and playing these songs. I don't know. I don't want to go back to this again, but maybe we can cut this in earlier. This birth situation, I don't want to skip over that. I just.

[Nate]

It's good to circle back to it.

[Interviewer]

Just.

[Nate]

Okay.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. I just want to know the memory, you know, that memory.

[Nate]

Like, do you want the whole scene?

[Interviewer]

I want the scene.

[Nate]

I want the smell. I'm giving you this scene. The smells, they were not there. The. The. It honestly was like, the light is on there. The thought in my brain was, here we go. I swear on, like, everything. Like, I don't think I've ever literally told people this story, and people. I've never heard this, and people don't believe it. And that's what I find so strange. I'm like, wait, that didn't happen to you as well.

[Interviewer]

Like, it happened to all of us, didn't it? That's the thing. We don't remember. You do.

[Nate]

It's like stock footage of like a. Like a wait. Like in a waiting room. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm just seeing.

[Interviewer]

I don't know what you're saying.

[Nate]

I'm just crying. All I know as I'm crying, I feel like it's all foggy. It's probably the placenta.

[Guest]

The eyes aren't working for a little while.

[Nate]

I just remembered. It's like, it's go time.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Nate]

And then it was like.

[Sam]

Like, just as you see your dad light up a cigarette.

[Nate]

Yeah, sure.

[Interviewer]

My dad.

[Nate]

I'm sure my dad was in that. It was in the delivery room just smoking up a storm.

[Interviewer]

Do you remember shapes or noises or is just too. Too much placenta over your little. It was just like, light.

[Nate]

It was just like, light. Like, suddenly there was light and it was time.

[Guest]

Time.

[Interviewer]

Let's go.

[Nate]

Action.

[Interviewer]

Thank you for expanding. I'm just. I've never. It's blowing my mind.

[Sam]

What's your earliest memory? What's your mind?

[Interviewer]

Taps and I feel like age. I'm late. I'm like five or six.

[Sam]

Okay.

[Interviewer]

And that's why I'm blown away by this. Like, what a remarkable thing. And I know we all experience it, so we all have that in us, but for whatever reason, we don't remember. You do. That's incredible.

[Nate]

It's really weird. I'm not a religious person or spir. Spiritual, for that matter.

[Sam]

These.

[Nate]

The feeling of it's go time.

[Interviewer]

I can't deal with that. Seriously.

[Nate]

The feeling of it's go time suddenly was just like, all right, it's on.

[Sam]

Let's roll.

[Nate]

Like, here's life again. Maybe it's my second time. Maybe it's my third time, you know, I don't know.

[Interviewer]

But that. It wasn't words. You weren't thinking. It's go time. That was the emotion. Or was it, like, if you spoke. What did you say? Like, it's go time.

[Nate]

No, no, it was. Was a feeling.

[Interviewer]

Okay, Just checking. The fuck is good. Something very motivational about that. Like, it's such a great impetus to have. It's go time. I'm gonna take that with me.

[Nate]

I love that you're. That you have latched onto this so much because.

[Interviewer]

Oh, it's the most remarkable thing I've heard.

[Nate]

I sound like. Now you're making me feel like I'm a crazy person.

[Interviewer]

No, the thing is, I believe you. I don't think you're crazy. I believe you've got that feeling in memory, and I'm just in awe of that.

[Nate]

No, I. I. And I also. I do. I appreciate. I appreciate that. Thank you.

[Sam]

You.

[Interviewer]

And then Buttercup, Whatever you fucking go.

[Nate]

No, it was applesauce. Applesauce.

[Sam]

Buttercup.

[Nate]

Oh, God. Yeah.

[Sam]

Buttercup was your horse.

[Nate]

I did not have a horse named Buttercup.

[Interviewer]

You guys are amazing. We covered so much Americana in there, and you were fucking wonderful. So thank you. What a place. Yeah. Well, it is a weird country. It's a really weird country.

[Sam]

It definitely is. Bar said solo

[Band Member / Singer]

I was taken from my mother's arms? And caught it off carted blocks? What would I do for a slave wage? And some hard problems? Out of pocket, out of context?

[Interviewer]

Clue.

[Band Member / Singer]

Get away, get away, get away?

[Nate]

Cause the fear has gotten whole?

[Band Member / Singer]

And I'm struggling? It's a shame, it's a shame, it's a shame that the bar is set so low? I'm caught on. They're awake before the rising sun? So card them up, Card them up? What will that do? Save a space to make zeros and wands? A bigger briefcase for our boys in blue? Get away, get away, get away? Cause the fear has gotten Home and I'm struggling It's a shame, it's a shame It's a shame that the bar is set so low I'm caught under it I'm long lost I was born in this cage I wash colors, swap but still nothing changes on lead the light God it's getting harder to pray hey God once heard a wise friend say in life there is one goal. For all of our brothers. We must light him the lo. Now I'm on my way to Mexico. We pardon the criminals put them in suzoyo Ambastara de la nacion podrida. May you do to me what we done to you. Get away, get away, get away. Cause the fear has gotten home and I'm struggling It's a shame, it's a shame, it's a shame that the forest says so low I'm caught under it.

[Sam]

The song's called Back to Life.

[Band Member / Singer]

Been gone for way too long Got lost inside the storm I never meant to say goodbye I I didn't mean to make you cry I'm only here to steal your love tonight

[Nate]

so get

[Band Member / Singer]

dressed and try you right I'm coming back to life I. I'm here to reclaim what is mine I. I'm here to wrestle these demons down to die I'm only here to feel your love tonight I'm back to life. I'm back to life I'm back to life.

[Interviewer]

You.

[Band Member / Singer]

We may need another tourniquet. I can't fight all these demons alone. Once was buried in the back Started rumbling and now it's burning down the desert Lighting up the sky Swear to

[Nate]

God it's always something with the the

[Interviewer]

sky

[Band Member / Singer]

I'm back to life I said I Back to life well I Back to life. Hey. Well I back to life I said I back to life. I back to life hey I said I.

[Nate]

This song's called Depressed

[Band Member / Singer]

did you wait for blood? Did you throw away the bottle cap? Did you clean up the mess by the stairs? There's a place that I love But I swallow all my cigarettes It's a shame what we lost in the flood Sometimes I get a little bit depressed Sometimes I get whoa. Sometimes I get a little bit depress. I was caught up in a craze Shedding fabric Holding doors open for demons just to make it to the stage Till I got knocked straight in the head Singing hallelujah this was never the bed I intended to make. Every handshake's worth the play

[Nate]

if I

[Band Member / Singer]

want I could just walk away All I gotta do is pay every handshake's worth the play All I gotta do is pay Every handshake's worth the play Sometimes I get a little bit depressed Sometimes I get Whoa. Sometimes I get a little bit depressed. Sometimes I get a little bit depressed Sometimes I get wow. Sometimes I get a little bit depressed.

[Sam]

Sam.