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- [00:03]
Tom
You don't wake up dreaming of McDonald's fries.
- [00:07]
Megan
You wake up dreaming of McDonald's hash browns.
- [00:10]
Tom
McDonald's breakfast comes first.
- [00:13]
Alex
Ba ba ba ba ba.
- [00:16]
Megan
Your data is like gold to hackers.
- [00:18]
Ray Pachkowski
And they'll sell it to the highest bidder.
- [00:20]
Tom
Are you protected? McAfee helps shield you blocking suspicious texts.
- [00:24]
Ray Pachkowski
Malicious emails and fraudulent websites.
- [00:27]
Megan
McAfee Secure VPN lets you browse safely.
- [00:30]
Ray Pachkowski
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- [00:33]
Megan
You'll also get up to $2 million.
- [00:35]
Ray Pachkowski
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- [00:41]
Tom
Visit McAfee.com, cancel anytime terms apply.
- [00:48]
Megan
Osiris.
- [01:07]
Tom
Hey guys. This is the Helping Friendly podcast. We are live. It's just me and Megan today. Our. Our colleague Brian is. His whereabouts are unknown, but we do have some clues about where he might be, which we're gonna. But we do have a special guest today, Ray Pachkowski, who we're gonna bring in moment. How are you, Megan?
- [01:27]
Brian
I'm good. I'm on spring break. So, you know, all smiles for me.
- [01:32]
Tom
So great. So happy for you.
- [01:34]
Brian
So nice. I know, I feel good, thanks.
- [01:36]
Tom
The spring is happening. We're going to talk to Ray about that. We're going to talk to Ray about a lot of stuff. But. But we did. Tomorrow's Brian's birthday, so we wanted to, to wish Brian an early, early happy birthday. But we also got some clues about where he might be. So let me just, let me just play this voicemail real quick and see if we can find out where Brian might be.
- [01:57]
Alex
Hey, this is Alex in Missoula, Montana, and this inquiry might be more appropriate for Craigslist missed connections. But I'm wondering, I know that Brian went to school here in Missoula and I'm wondering if it's possible that I saw him this morning leaving Bernice's bakery with his daughter. If not, please disregard this message. If it was Brian, then I regret not saying hello or introducing myself and letting you know how much I love the show.
- [02:41]
Megan
And.
- [02:44]
Alex
Yeah, since you were someone that lived in Missoula. I'm also kind of curious to know if you ever think that Fish will return to Montana. I think the last show here was fall 95 at the Adams Center. Trey has been here a couple of times, I think 2017 and maybe 2022. And yeah, I think there were some rumors whirling maybe like three or four years ago about the possibility of a Montana show that never came to fruition. We have Big artists playing now at the. At the football stadium on campus. I believe Shania Twain is coming this summer.
- [03:36]
Tom
Whoa.
- [03:37]
Alex
Played there last summer. It would be amazing to get a fish show in Montana again. Could you imagine Brian walking to Charlie B's for a beer after seeing fish in the downtown area of Missoula? And what a. What a great time. What a rager that would be. But anyways, yeah. Just wanted to send my love and let you guys know. Love the show. Keep doing what you're doing, and I appreciate it a lot. All right, bye.
- [04:14]
Tom
Okay, so Brian, I think was. Was in Missoula, Montana. That's where he is. We have people on the ground who've seen him. So, Megan, I think I'm gonna bring. I want to bring Ray on because I want to ask Ray if he remembers being in Montana recently. Let's see if.
- [04:27]
Brian
Let's do it.
- [04:29]
Tom
Hey, Ray. How are you?
- [04:31]
Megan
I'm good. Sorry about the dogs.
- [04:34]
Brian
Don't worry. My dog is always barking in the show, so you're gonna fit right in.
- [04:39]
Megan
All right. They'll quiet down in a second.
- [04:43]
Tom
Do you have any recollection of Montana recently?
- [04:45]
Megan
I remember it was. We played at. I think it was a brewery there. Yeah, that was it. That was the last time I was there. I was actually. My brother went to school in Missoula back in the. Way back.
- [05:00]
Tom
Okay.
- [05:01]
Megan
You know, I remember the old. The old town there.
- [05:05]
Tom
Yeah. That's awesome. Well, we're gonna have to get Brian's take on whether fish will ever go back to Montana. But today we're here talking with you, Ray, about Lamp. You guys have a new album coming out. There's a bunch of shows, and we want to talk about the music and get into some stuff first. I want to just run down where you all will be just so people can find you. I. I do. Well, I'll just say that you can find LAMP online. Is it. Is it. Is it still. I like Lamp.
- [05:34]
Megan
I think it is. Yes. Yeah.
- [05:36]
Tom
So I like Lamp.
- [05:37]
Megan
That's how I find out where I'm going.
- [05:41]
Tom
All right, so I love. I love that. That URL. I like Lamp.com. okay, so today's the 18th of March on Tuesday. So, Ray, you'll be in New York on Thursday, the 20th, D.C. on the 21st, and then Kingston, New York, on the 22nd. Then you guys go to the new. The new Garcias in Chicago on April 4th and 5th. Festival down in Florida, the. The 10th to 12th. You're going to be at Asbury park later in May. Ardmore which is about two minutes from my house. I'm hoping to, to be at that show. And then you're playing a bunch of festivals, High Sierra Northlands, the Jeezum Crow Festival, which I just saw some info about Floyd Fest, and then the Annapolis Bay Grass Festival. So that's a lot of dates, especially for you guys who are already, you know, playing in a bunch of, bunch of bands. And I guess that leads me to my first question, which is listening to this, this album, One of Us, which is really great. It feels like so much more. It feels there sounds a lot more intentional. Like it feels like it's, it's got these songs that you guys were all like really putting a lot of, of effort and intention into. Whereas I think the first, the first album was a little more groove based. It was a little more like fun. It felt like kind of like a party vibe. And this felt like you guys were like going in to really like do, you know, do some different kinds of songs. I know in the, in the release that that was out there, you said the goal was to get a fire going. So I guess I was. Maybe that's what I'm hearing. But tell us a little bit about this album and, and what your intention was kind of coming into creating new music with Lamp.
- [07:15]
Megan
Well, we, after the, the, the first record, then Covid hit and everything sort of stopped. And then, then when things started up again, we went out and just playing those tunes and figuring out what this band really was was just an eye opener. And I think when we went in to do this album, we definitely had, I don't know, more of a process than the first one was. Kind of like people brought ideas, we got, went in the studio and that's what it was. And this one I think was more. We were sharing a lot of files, ideas, and you know, Russell send a drum groove. I'd figure out a melody or Scott would figure out a melody or a feel. It just kept sort of the, I don't know, the interaction even, you know, in sharing files sort of gave the music more of an intention because I think we knew, we kind of knew what the band could do and the direction it was kind of going. So that, that definitely focused it so that, you know, when we were in the studio we, you know, we did a couple of rehearsals even imagine that that was new and that just kind of crystallized it. And there were, there were a lot more songs actually and ideas, but these were the ones that we decided to focus on.
- [08:42]
Brian
Yeah, it's really Exciting. You can hear there's a really nice mix to the songs there. There's some that are really tight and energetic, kind of that funk groove that you expect from you guys. But then there's also a lot of, like, melody. And you've got some really nice, like, textured and psychedelic stuff, too. It sounds awesome. It's mixed really, really well.
- [08:59]
Megan
Yeah, that was Chris Connor. He's great.
- [09:05]
Tom
So, Ray, when you guys are. I know you said that you're sharing a lot. Sharing a lot of files back and forth. I know on that first track, there's a lot of kind of Scott's, you know, riff over that. That first. The first track on. On One of Us, which. It's called Cosmo, I think. But then there's some where you're kind of, you know, you have the. The. The riff of the song or the melody. And how did you guys. Is it like, kind of whoever. Whoever feels the inspiration and jumps in with an idea and, like, respond? Like, how do you. How do you sort that out and make it so evenly, like, even sounding throughout all the tracks?
- [09:39]
Megan
Well, it's. It varies from song to song. Like, that first song, Cosmo, was a piece of music that Russ and I had been sort of messing around with when Lamp wasn't. When Solomon was just going out. And that melody is. Is. It's a clavinet melody, and that's kind of the basis of the tune. And then when Scott got a hold of it, he. You know, just that whole section in the. In the middle. Well, once people listen to it, you'll know what I'm talking about. But he just. He just sort of comes up with these things, and, you know, some. Some of them stick, some of them don't. He'll try different things till he gets something that he. He's very intentional about it. It's really great. And a lot of those melodies on that record are his that he came up with. And it's just. I. I still don't know them. They're just very interesting.
- [10:33]
Tom
Like, you and Russ, I think you have this long history together, and you've played with. You've played with Scott a bunch. I feel like the. Like the groove and the kind of psychedelic grooves that we. That we're used to hearing. Um, you hear a lot here, but there's also some songs that are, like, a little more like, hard edged. There's a little more, like, edge to some of these songs. Was that. Was that part intentional, or is that just kind of what you all were contributing at the Time.
- [10:58]
Megan
I think it's a lot of that is. Is Scott and Russ. I think some Scott, he'll go. He has such a large dynamic range. You know, he's just interested in every kind of music and. And style and so a lot of the. The sort of harder ones that's. That's sort of guitar driven stuff. Like he'll come up with this chordal sort of idea and that will inform how we're going to do the tune, you know, because Russ will have the groove that he wants to. To work with and Scott will say here, let's try this. And then I'll figure out a baseline or Scott will figure out a baseline and. And feed it to me and then I'll screw it up and it will become something. But yeah, it's all very organic and it's just kind of three people getting together in the garage basically and saying this sounds good to me. And we're all sort of like minded in that way. It's really kind of a lucky coincidence.
- [12:02]
Brian
I think you can really hear that when you play live. Like it sounds. It's very communicative and it just feels very tight between the three of you. It's really exciting to be in the room with you. I wanted to ask you about the song, the River Jordan. That song. I just. I think it's so interesting. It sounds different than a lot of the other songs in the album. It has this really warm softer tone in the beginning over kind of Russ's rolling drums. And when you come in, in the organ, it just like swells so beautifully and the song kind of opens into this really lush embrace. Is that a song that came from one of these shared files or is that something you wrote like together when you were in a room together?
- [12:38]
Megan
That started out as just a chord pattern and with a sort of payoff section that I brought into the band. And then Russ sort of grabbed a hold of it and he really liked it and he had this idea what you hear on the record. And then Scott was like, oh, let's. You know. We tried different things with it, but it's definitely a studio tune in the sense of there's all kinds of overdubs and stuff. It was really fun to do. But that.
- [13:10]
Brian
Oh, that's interesting. So it'll sound different when you play it live?
- [13:13]
Megan
I think so, yeah. We've only tried it a couple times, but we'll see. We'll see what happens. I love playing the tune. I mean it's all. The whole song is sort of about drama.
- [13:24]
Brian
I Think, Yeah, you can hear that. It's beautiful.
- [13:30]
Tom
Ray, what do you guys. When you get on stage? Because I know, you know, I've seen you, Megan, seen you. I'm sure a lot of people listening have seen you. What's it like playing with. With the two of these guys? You know, given how much you've played with. With Tab and with Russ and with so many other bands. Like, what is it? How does it feel getting on stage with Lamp and what is that experience? Like?
- [13:51]
Megan
It's. It's like getting into a down comforter. It's on a cold day. I don't know. It's so. It's so effortless. Like it just playing with those guys, they're so good and they listen so hard that, like I said, it's almost effortless. I feel like I could play anything or nothing and it would just sound great. Like either one of them could just play by themselves for an hour and I would be entranced.
- [14:21]
Brian
Totally. You can definitely hear that. I think the effortlessness is really something that comes across. And you also look like you're having a ton of fun. I'm curious about how that happened. I know in 2018 you played at Nectar's. How did that first gig kind of come about between the three of you?
- [14:37]
Megan
That. Actually, the reason I came about is Russ and I was Solomon to have our booking agent, Pat May. And Scott was working with him as well for something. I forget what it was. Might have been Wolf or something like that. And Pat had been talking about Sky. I didn't really know Sky. I knew his music. And Pat had been talking about Scott for a long time. To us, it's like, you should get together with this guy and see what happens. And he finally got tired of us saying, oh, yeah, it was one of these days. And he just did it. He's like, I got this gig for you and Scott's on it. I think maybe he was playing in town or something. But any. It worked out. But that was all Pat May sort of machinating or whatever the word might be. And we just instantly hit it off. It was. It was just completely easy. We played a bunch of Solomon songs, Wolf songs. I don't even remember what else, but. And we improvised some things. And it's just his playing is so. Just so completely fit in with what Russ and I were doing at the.
- [15:47]
Tom
Time.
- [15:50]
Megan
Because it wasn't so much like a lot of chords and filling in the space. He just left all the open space and he's playing these sort of. I wouldn't call them simple, but simple in the sense of not that much harmony in the lines. So he's playing more melodically. And it just instantly was. I had never heard anything quite like it. And I still feel that way with this band. Like, every time I hear us playing. Like, I've never quite heard something like this. Like, I don't know why that is or what it is, but. And that, for a musician, is incredibly exciting.
- [16:26]
Brian
Yeah, it's exciting for an audience, too. Every time I've seen you play with Lamp, everybody walks out, just really excited about what they've heard and ready to come back again. And you can see that with how much you're being called a book. Which must be hard because you all have a lot of other bands that you work with. But I'm glad you're making time for Lamp.
- [16:43]
Megan
Oh, yeah. No, we all love doing it and we feel the same way at the end of the night as the people walking out. I guess if what you say is true, which I hope it is, like, boy, that was great. Like, I can't wait to do this again, you know? Yeah. Even if there were five people there, it still would be just as fun. I mean, it wouldn't be as fun, but.
- [17:03]
Tom
Yeah.
- [17:03]
Brian
Yeah. Well, I don't think you have to worry about that.
- [17:05]
Megan
Yeah, well, right now we don't. Which is. It's just amazing.
- [17:10]
Tom
I know you guys played just a couple days ago at Dharma Bums in New Hope, which is near here. I know, like, small, small room. It seemed like that was. That was a lot of energy. And it's, It's. It's a lot of, you know, you guys have a lot of gigs coming up, but you have, like, you know, clubs and then festivals and. And theater. Like, it's. It's all a big range of venues that you're playing. Do you. Do you guys adjust to that at all? I mean, sound wise, you do, but, like, in terms of how you approach, or do you just go out at every show and kind of think about it the same way?
- [17:40]
Megan
We think about it the same way. I mean, we're trying to. We have a goal, we. Which is to make this music, whatever that is, and. But we all have big ears, so whatever. Whatever the sound is, like that, we're going to play to that, if that makes sense. So, like. Like that New Hope gay. It's got low ceilings. It's a small room. So it just was sort of down and dirty, like bass, drums and had that, you know, because I'm playing the. The Hammond Bass, it's a room like that is. It's just made for that instrument kind of deep thing. So. Yeah. And then on a festival stage you're relying on, you know, the monitors and we don't use in ear monitors, so you're in just a big room of air, you know, so it's different. But I don't know. So far we haven't done a whole lot of festival gigs, but I love doing them. And it's those gigs like that, it's more. You get up and go, you know, get, get the stuff together and like, okay, time's up, go. Whereas like, you know, smaller gigs, club gigs, there's a lot of time to talk about the music and what we're going to do and you know, just sort of get the vibe. You get a sound check, you can kind of know what it's going to be like. So yeah, there's definitely differences, but I think musically, just depending on what, what we're all hearing, that's what we're going to play.
- [19:14]
Brian
You talked a little bit about your organ. What's the rest of your rig set up for? Lamp?
- [19:18]
Megan
I have a clavinet, which is my favorite instrument of all time, after the piano, I think, and Wurlitzer electric piano.
- [19:30]
Brian
Nice. How does that differ from your rig with Tab? You have a bigger rig with tab, right?
- [19:39]
Megan
Yeah, because we have a digital piano. Because it was too difficult to bring a real piano. We had a real piano for a while that was really fun. But I love playing the piano and a lot of the tunes that Tab was doing is just sort of wants that. So that's the only other addition besides the ham in the clav. In the world there's a piano.
- [20:08]
Tom
So I want to ask you when, when you bring Scott in, I mean, you and Russ basically are, you know, joined at the hip in some ways in all these different bands. Like, is it like when Scott comes in, are you letting him into your Solan world and your tab world? And I mean, does it feel like you guys are kind of filling him in on, on your musical conversations or how does that work to bring someone into a, a long term musical partnership?
- [20:32]
Megan
It's just like finding a new brother, you know, new family member. It's really, it's just wonderful. Scott is great. He's great person, totally humble guy, just like Russ and I, although maybe I'm not as humble, but no, it's just, it's. And you know, musicians are always swapping stories. So, you know, we get the JRAD gossip and, and yeah, the tab gossip, you know, and we're like old ladies drinking tea sometimes.
- [21:09]
Tom
Yeah. Well, those guys have a lot of fun. And they, you know, jrad. They're like, all over the place. And so many different interesting personalities in that band, so I'm sure there's. Yeah. Plenty of stories and. And fodder. One thing I was going to ask you, right. We. We were. Megan and I were both at Tom Marshall's 60th birthday party a year. I guess that was a year and a half ago now, but watching you guys play, you know, one set with Scott and then. And then it said with Trey, it was really interesting to see and hear. Hear the difference, but also the similarities, I guess. And. And I know you played with so many different people, but. And it might be hard to compare, but what. How would you. How do you think about that? Like, playing with Scott as a guitarist versus playing with Trey as a guitarist. What are their. What are those styles, like, totally different to adjust to or how do you think about that?
- [21:56]
Megan
The styles. Their styles are different. You know, they both have their own unique thing that they do. It's. The material is. Is different, I guess that this sort of raw material is. Is different, you know, And. And plus, there's no. There's no vocals, so there's no sort of verbal story.
- [22:17]
Tom
Yeah.
- [22:18]
Megan
Trey is a master of, you know, so this is like, how do you get it across just instrumentally, get a certain feeling or a vibe or an emotion, and that's. I love doing that, so I don't need it. Come on.
- [22:36]
Brian
I didn't really think about that, but that makes a lot of sense. It actually is much harder. Right. It's like when you have to paint a picture instead of writing a story. It's. It's. You have. You have less tools, and so you have to be more. Or creative, I guess. That's really interesting. When you're writing, is there something that inspires you or are you kind of, like, writing all the time, or are you one of those people who sits down really intentionally to write?
- [22:57]
Megan
Sort of both, I think. All three of us, we're always writing in our heads. You know, melody pops into your head, or you hear something like, we should do something with that. And I just. Hearing Russ play, like, even at soundcheck, he'll just play some random thing. I'll be like, whoa, what? Wait, what was that? He's like, what? I don't know. He's like, no, remember that? Because it. It. Hearing that rhythm inspires something. And I hear. I hear Something. It's like, oh, there's a melody in there that. So a lot of times that's. That's kind of how it works. I'm not sure I answered the question.
- [23:36]
Brian
Definitely.
- [23:37]
Tom
Yeah. And it also makes me think, like, you probably. In those soundtracks, you probably hear a lot of the, you know, drum beats and rhythms that. That you do recognize. So probably, like, catches you when you. When you hear something different or new.
- [23:49]
Megan
Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I was like. Like you said, we were just playing last weekend. I was on the road with Russ. We drive together in the van, and he. This old friend of his had sent him recording from. I think it was the Zebra days. I can't remember. Um, but it was this scratchy, like, recording. And. And Russ is playing, and Russ is like, oh, there it is. It's. It's. What was it? First tube. That was, like, the basis of, you know, and that was like 30 years ago, more so like it. I guess my point is that all the music that we're playing now is. It's just been evolving since we've just been playing music. You know, you hear something, it comes out a different way, and then it turns into this, turns into that. Something new gets added, but it's. You can trace all the stuff back to, like, long time ago now.
- [24:48]
Brian
It's so amazing to have a partnership like that, to have someone you've been playing music with for so long and to be a creative partner like, that must be so nice.
- [24:56]
Megan
And it's a gift.
- [24:58]
Brian
Yeah. Must be really fun. Do you ever, like, get to know each other outside of music? Do you ever, like, see each other's families and partners. Partners and hang out like that? Or is it something all the time?
- [25:08]
Megan
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Russ lives 10 minutes away from me, so that's amazing. Yeah.
- [25:17]
Tom
You guys have been in part of tab now for what, 25 years? Ish.
- [25:25]
Megan
I think so, yeah.
- [25:27]
Tom
I mean, that's a really long time for a. For a band. Obviously, there were breaks and, you know, all that, but. But, like, a continuous band like that, as a. As a project that's not full time is just. It's amazing to me. It's evolved so much with so many different players and so much different music. What do you. How do you. How do you look at that? Like, I mean, if you think about the whole arc of it at this point, I mean, what. Like, what. How do you explain it to people? Or maybe if you. If you meet someone who's like, oh, you're. You're a musician, what's your band like? I mean, how do you think about that with so much time and evolution?
- [26:03]
Megan
Yeah. I don't. I don't even know how to explain that band. Just the. The. I mean, I guess in some ways it's like fish, as far as the amount of material that. I mean, Trey is just prolific, so there's. It's constantly changing, constantly evolving. And I mean, to put it in perspective, my daughter is turning 26. So when I first started playing with that band, she had just been born.
- [26:33]
Brian
So it's like her whole life.
- [26:35]
Megan
Yeah, it's like. It's like those people are, to me, are like family. Absolutely. And it's. It's really. It's beautiful when we do get together and play. It's like no time has gone by. It's really wonderful thing.
- [26:50]
Tom
That's amazing.
- [26:51]
Brian
And you guys want some new tab dates, to be honest.
- [26:54]
Tom
I know, I know. Exactly. And you guys.
- [26:57]
Brian
Yeah.
- [26:59]
Tom
What's it for? You. Because you do play so much of the melody, but also the bass. I mean, you cover a large spectrum of the sound. What's it like with the horns? And how do you. Like, what are the. What are the kind of different things you have to keep in mind when you're playing with horns versus without horns?
- [27:17]
Megan
To be less. It's. Be more supportive, I guess, like, with the horns, because they're kind of carry. But it's not always the case that they're carrying it. Sometimes they're, like, in the same range as me, like, sort of. I'm sort of another horn in a way with that band. I mean. But some of the horn lines are these intricate, exotic, melodic things. Yeah. I'm just trying to stay out of their way. And that's sort of the focus of the tune at that point in the tune.
- [27:49]
Tom
Just stay out of the way.
- [27:50]
Megan
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Because I know if I get in their way, Gary will just turn me down. Like, no, enough of that.
- [28:00]
Tom
It's a cool. I mean, it's amazing. And, you know, it's. At this point, you know, you. You go to a tab show and you can hear. I mean, it's. It's almost like you're listening to an album, you know, because you guys are all, like, so. So in sync with each other, and. And you've been playing these songs for so long, even new songs, they. They. They appear to be, like, so. So well synced. And I guess part of that's the arrangement, the arrangements of it, but you can just tell that you guys, like, are listening to each other. All the time.
- [28:27]
Megan
Yeah. Oh, definitely. And as far as the arrangement stuff goes, Trey is always trying to, you know, just streamline and make songs more focused. He's. What's his. He's always saying, yeah, you got to use the other. Other side of the pencil. So, like, anything you can take away and just make it get the. You know, the. The stuff that needs to be there, then it's going to. It's just going to focus everyone. And he's. He's absolutely correct, I think.
- [28:59]
Brian
Well, I always am amazed when I see a tab show because it's such a big sound, but like RJ saying, it's so compact and tight, and I always feel like I'm just on a train whenever I'm like, tabs there. You get on the train and you just go. Like, you guys all just have such a forward momentum, and it always just sounds so connected. It's. It's thrilling. I love when I get to see you play in smaller rooms. Like, you played Brooklyn Steel last year, and that was just so awesome to see you guys so close and just to feel that power, like, in such a small room. I remember a few years ago, Maybe in, like, 2019, it was a while ago you played Brooklyn bowl. And to be that close to that much power was really fun.
- [29:38]
Megan
Yeah, the train is a really good metaphor. I think about it the same way.
- [29:44]
Tom
A couple more tab questions, if you don't mind, and then we'll. We'll wrap up with. With more about Lamp, because our. Our. Our fish audience has. Has questions, so we have to. We have to ask you more questions about. About that band. When. When. When, sadly, when Tony passed away and then. And then Dezeron came on. I mean, Dezeron adds this, like, totally different, you know, sound, but. But the sound. The songs don't sound that different. You know, like after. When he. Once he got kind of integrated into the band. I'm just curious how that. What that transition was like for you all. Being, of course, losing a friend and then having to figure out how to bring someone new into that, like, critical role, especially in that band where the bass was just, you know, even more the foundation of the sound.
- [30:30]
Megan
Well, Des, he was. I remember after Tony passed, you know, there was discussion of, like, what are we going to do and what do we want to do? But Dez, I've known Dez for God since the 90s, and he and Jen went to school together, and that's kind of how I got to know him and Russ the same. So he's. He Was already like family because we've been playing together for a long time and at various things, and he's just a monstrous bass player. I mean, he's incredibly good. And you're right, his sound is different than Tony's, but he knew the music. He was. He was into it. And, you know, in rehearsals, when we were first trying it out, you know, Trey would be like, yeah, you make up your own. You don't have to play Tony's bass line. And he would often mostly say, why wouldn't I play Tony's bass line? It's perfect.
- [31:26]
Brian
I love that.
- [31:27]
Megan
Like, he did all the work. It's like, I wouldn't change his thing, you know, so. So there's a lot of respect there and. No. And he's just a beautiful guy and a great player, and it was kind of seamless, you know.
- [31:39]
Tom
That's amazing.
- [31:40]
Brian
It seemed like the way the chemistry between him and the rest of the band was really evident, like, right away, probably like what you said from knowing you and already and being so connected to everyone personally. But, yeah, it was exciting to see that first tour that he did and just see him engaging with Trey and with the whole band. It was. You could tell it was something that was going to work right away.
- [32:01]
Megan
Well, good. That's good to hear.
- [32:04]
Tom
We have a couple comments in the chat here. People are excited to see you out there. I know that I mentioned I did the kind of rundown of the dates earlier, but you all are going to be at the new Garcia's in Chicago for two nights, which is cool. And I know that they are getting a ton of good shows through there, so you're going to be on the road, at least on and off for the next several months. How do you like being on the road at this point in terms of touring, Are you happy to kind of get out there and see the. See the country?
- [32:34]
Megan
Yeah, I like. I like doing it. I like going to new places and. Or old. Old places and, you know, playing. Yeah, I'm definitely a homebody, though. Like, I love coming home, you know, so it works out perfectly for me. Like, if I was going out for two, three months at a time, that that would be difficult, I think. I like being home. We have lots of animals and little farm here, and so I like it both. I like being out on the road and I like coming home, so.
- [33:03]
Tom
Great. That's a great balance. The. The album does come out on Friday. I should have said that earlier. So people can check that out and you can order vinyl, of course. Which, which I'm going to get on that after this. You can pre order now and you can check out the. Everything at the. At the website. But I guess, Ray, do you anything else you want to say about this album that we haven't touched on? I feel like we, you know, touched on some of the main. Main elements or anything we haven't talked about, I guess.
- [33:36]
Megan
I don't know what I would say about it. This record, we're all really proud of it, how it came out, and I don't think we really knew what it was going to be till the songs really started becoming a concrete thing. Because, you know, a lot, a lot of them, most of them we had never played live before. So they were, you know, this unknown quantity, you know, blank slate, whatever, like uncongealed jello or something. And subject to change at any time while playing it live. Because we're not really. We don't really make ourselves. It has to go this way. You know, if something happens while we're playing it, it's like, well, let's go that way. I mean, it doesn't have to be. I mean, the, the songs on the record, I think, are little snapshots, little portraits of this piece of music. And then when we get a hold of them live, they become another animal in a way. And I think that's sort of one thing that the record was trying to do is just like, let's put a bunch of ideas on a record in a concise musical way and then go out on the road and play them and figure out how they actually go. You know, it was kind of like that. But I really love. I love the record.
- [35:01]
Brian
Yeah, it's one of those records that you play it and then you just press play again. You just want to hear it again. It's really, really nice. And did you, I believe you recorded your first album in Vermont. Did you record this one up up in Vermont as well?
- [35:13]
Megan
Yes, in Burlington at the Tank studio. Ben College.
- [35:17]
Brian
Nice. Drag Metzger out of the city, then up to Vermont.
- [35:23]
Megan
Yep.
- [35:26]
Tom
It's so cool. And I did the same thing that Megan described. I listened to it and then I listened to it immediately again. So I think a lot of people will feel that way. And like I said earlier, the tour dates and the album are@ilikelamp.com and Ray, it was fun catching up and really appreciate you being willing to sit down and chat with us in between tour dates.
- [35:48]
Megan
Yeah, absolutely. This has been really fun.
- [35:51]
Brian
Thank you so much, Ray.
- [35:52]
Megan
All right.
- [35:53]
Tom
And everyone else, we will be back. We're going to pick up our Mount Rushmore series next week. We're going to be talking about the song Light and we're going to get deep into Light, which you know, Ray, if you have thoughts about Light, please please share them with us. Otherwise, for the rest of you, all.
- [36:10]
Brian
3.0 love and light next week.
- [36:13]
Tom
Exactly. And happy birthday to Brian who's out there. Hopefully he'll listen. We'll have him back next week. But Ray, this was really fun. Thanks again.
- [36:20]
Megan
All right, thank you.
- [36:22]
Brian
Thanks everybody.
- [37:11]
Megan
Osiris.
- [37:15]
Ray Pachkowski
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- [38:13]
Tom
Hello, Tom May here, host of Future Friday. I've spent the last 15 years on the road with my band the Menzingers, where I've met all kinds of wild and fascinating people. So I started a podcast on Future Friday. I talked to fellow musicians about the moments that made them their passions outside of music, and the curiosities that tie us all together. I've also talked to the likes of UFO researchers, magicians, soldiers, and documentary filmmakers, and I'm constantly searching for folks that can shape and change our view of the world. You can check out Future Friday wherever you like.