← Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
Singer Songwriter Jim Keller on Music, Creativity and Life
00:29:48
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- [00:01]
Commercial Announcer
Taking a walk.
- [00:01]
Jim Keller
My great aunt was a music teacher in Upper Montclair, New Jersey and she built her own little studio and I have some incredible photographs. She had every instrument in the world in it. So for me, being musical from the get go, going to her studio where there were four pianos and xylophones and drums and Clarence and just everything you could imagine was like heaven.
- [00:24]
Buzz Knight
I'm Buzz Knight and welcome to the Taking a Walk podcast.
- [00:27]
Podcast Host
Now today we are joined by quite a figure.
- [00:30]
Buzz Knight
His name is Jim Keller.
- [00:32]
Podcast Host
He's an American musician whose four decade.
- [00:34]
Buzz Knight
Career spans an incredible range of musical territories.
- [00:38]
Podcast Host
He co founded Tommy 2 Tone remember 867-530-9 Jenny that was embedded in our.
- [00:45]
Buzz Knight
Brain and still is for many years. Since 1992, he's worked closely with the.
- [00:50]
Podcast Host
Renowned composer Philip Glass. He founded Saint Rose Music, a publishing.
- [00:56]
Buzz Knight
And management company representing quite a roster.
- [01:00]
Podcast Host
Including Tom Waits and Ravi Shankar among.
- [01:04]
Buzz Knight
And today we're excited to talk about his forthcoming album and his remarkable journey.
- [01:09]
Podcast Host
Through the music business.
- [01:13]
Sponsor Voice
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [01:17]
Buzz Knight
Every music lover has that moment you hear or read something that stops you in your tracks. A forgotten B side, an offhand comment in an interview, a connection nobody else noticed. That curiosity that that's where Claude comes in.
- [01:32]
Sponsor Voice
Claod is AI for people who don't.
- [01:34]
Buzz Knight
Stop at the surface. It helps you explore the real stories behind the music, not with quick answers, but by working through the discovery with you, matching your level of curiosity. Try Claude for free at Claude AI.
- [01:47]
Sponsor Voice
Buzz Lexus believes in the importance of standards. One of my standards I never want to be late. I always want to show up on time. For Lexus, the standard is simple experience. Amazing. Their benchmarks aren't stats or specs, they're feelings. Exhilaration, joy. That sense your car was designed just for you. Machines built to make you feel more human. Because a car that doesn't make you feel something is a car that stops short of amazing experience. Amazing at your Lexus dealer.
- [02:24]
Buzz Knight
This episode is brought to you by 20th Century Studios New film Springsteen Deliver Me from Nowhere don't miss the movie critics are raving is the real deal. An intelligent, deliberate paced journey into the soul of an artist. Scott Cooper, director of the Academy Award winning Crazy Heart, brings you the story of the most pivotal chapter in the life of an icon. Springsteen Deliver Me from Nowhere Near. Now playing only in theaters, this episode of Taking a Walk is brought to you by Chase Sapphire Reserve. Whether I'm booking my next vacation or going to a concert, Chase Sapphire Reserve is my gateway to the world's most captivating destinations. When I use my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, I get eight times points on all the purchases I make through Chase Travel and even access to one of a kind experiences like music festivals and sports events. And that's not even mentioning how the card gets me into the Sapphire Lounge by the club at select airports nationwide. No matter where I'm walking, travel is more rewarding with Chase Sapphire Reserve. Discover more@chase.com Sapphire Reserve cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank NA member FDIC subject to credit approval terms apply.
- [03:50]
Commercial Announcer
And Doug, here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
- [04:05]
Jim Keller
Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.
- [04:08]
Commercial Announcer
Cut the camera.
- [04:09]
Buzz Knight
They see us.
- [04:09]
Jim Keller
Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty.
- [04:12]
Sponsor Voice
Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates excludes Massachusetts.
- [04:18]
Podcast Host
Taking a walk I am so honored to have Jim Keller on the Taking a Walk podcast.
- [04:23]
Buzz Knight
Welcome Jim.
- [04:25]
Jim Keller
Nice to be here.
- [04:26]
Podcast Host
How's that cup of joe?
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Jim Keller
First of all, it's good. It's not, it's a little tepid. It's been sitting out here for a little while but, but it still tastes good.
- [04:34]
Podcast Host
What's your flavor of choice?
- [04:37]
Jim Keller
Well, I'm a, I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to caffeine, so I drink just a tiny bit of real coffee and then decaf. So. And I have a local guy who for years has been grinding it for me in Brooklyn. So that's where I go.
- [04:49]
Podcast Host
Yeah, you got to be careful with the beans.
- [04:53]
Jim Keller
That's right.
- [04:54]
Podcast Host
Yeah. So we're going to get into talking about a lot of things, including the great new music end of the world. But I like to start off the podcast with this little ice breaking question. If, if you could take a walk with someone, Jim, living or dead, who would you take a walk with and where would you take that walk with them?
- [05:18]
Jim Keller
Well, my instant thought was my dad, who was a wonderful guy and it would be in Vermont, which is where we spent an awful lot of our time. And he built a house after the war and he was, you know, he had, he didn't go to college, but he had an incredible curiosity, read a ton and he just knew a lot about everything about nature and science and history. And so, you know, I was very fortunate to grow up with someone that had that well rounded, you know. And curiosity is such a key word, you know, as people that are really Curious. And so that would be my thought.
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Podcast Host
So did you get this incredible spirit of renaissance and reinvention from your dad?
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Jim Keller
Well, I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to, but reinvention of myself or.
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Podcast Host
I'd say so, yeah, for where your career has. Has taken us, we're going to talk about that. So I was just curious if you. If you had any insight where this.
- [06:23]
Buzz Knight
This came from.
- [06:25]
Jim Keller
Well, I mean, I think because I mentioned my father who did not go to college. I did not go to college. I didn't even apply to college. I graduated from high school in 1972, and there was a little blip in there because I was the first class that wasn't affected by the draft. If I was a year older, I would have gone to college. And so I kind of fell into this little spot in the late, kind of hippie thing, you know, counterculture period. But so, you know, he paved his own path. And I think to a certain extent, I was given the rope to make mistakes. And I think that's a lot of it, is that my dad gave me the rope to go off and go wherever I wanted to go and make the mistakes I made and have the successes I had. So I think that's probably, now that we say this, that's where a lot of it came from.
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Podcast Host
So the earliest impactful music in your life, what do you first remember that really, you know, set the tone for you?
- [07:29]
Jim Keller
Well, it's really clear to me there are a couple of very specific, kind of like markers on a timeline. And my great aunt was a music teacher in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, and she built her own little studio. And I have some incredible photographs. She had every instrument in the world in it. So for me, being musical from the get go, going to her studio where there were four pianos and xylophones and drums and Clarence, and just everything you could imagine was like heaven, you know, so. And she taught piano. So I took piano lessons from her when I was 5, 6, and 7, you know, so that was that marker. And then pretty shortly thereafter, we're going to get into February 9, 1964, when the Beatles run the Ed Sullivan Show. And, you know, that. That clearly was the next major. You know, I played cello for years and I always did a lot of stuff, but, you know, I knew the Beatles were coming. It wasn't like I saw them and thought about it. I knew they were coming from listening to my little Phillips radio. And yeah, that. That blew my socks off. And that was it. You know, when they showed up.
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Podcast Host
So I grew up in Stanford, Connecticut, and I had parents that were, you know, let's just say the. It wasn't really a tight leash in those days. I could take the train into New York City probably when I shouldn't have. But that had great impact in terms of some of the music that I saw. So did. Did you sneak into the city and. And go to the Village and see certain artists, your favorites?
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Jim Keller
Because I grew up in New Jersey and it was the area. Lackawanna to Hoboken and then the PATH train into the city. I would. So it was a combination of sneaking in to see concerts and. Or having somebody's parent who happened to live in the city kind of drop us off and pick us up. But there was a combination of both. And, you know, you. And I think I'm probably a little older than you, but whatever. You know, I grew up in that incredible period where you go to the Filmer east and see three ridiculous bands and. Which, of course, I didn't know at the time how crazy that was, you know, but there you are with the Jeff Beck group, with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood and Nicky Hopkins. And then there's Joe on the. Joe Cocker on the same bill with nrb. It's like to see that now, you'd, you know, it would blow your mind. I mean, I wish they had video of all those shows, but. Yeah, so I grew up going to a lot of those shows in the city, being very fortunate to be close enough to get to them.
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Podcast Host
Remember those light shows too, at the.
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Jim Keller
Fillmore, Joshua light show. Sure.
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Podcast Host
It was incredible. Yeah, it's so impactful, for sure. So let's go to Tommy 2 Tone that embedded in our brains to this day. 867-5309. Jenny. So you were part of that incredible experience. What was it like capturing lightning in a bottle with that band in that song?
- [10:37]
Jim Keller
Well, it's kind of, it's. It's what you would imagine really, if you sit around, think, God, what would it. What would it be like if I, you know, wrote a song without thinking twice about it being going anywhere, put it together with a band, put it on a record and then it blows up. And the fact that it's this many years later and it's still impactful is luck. You know, there's a lot of just not dumb luck, but just great fortune involved. And, you know, it was incredible because we were a bar band and we had had a hit on the first record there was a song called Angels say no, which made it in the top 40. So we had some success and we had. We were on the Petty tour for Refugee, and. But when 867 hit, you know, it was. It was a shared experience. That was the other thing that was great about it, is that. And this is not unusual, you know, you hear this from a lot of rock bands that, you know, when we were playing at that stage, when it was a hit, it was a shared experience with the audience. We were as. We were, you know, we were as blown away as the audience was with the song. I remember we used to play it twice on some gigs. It's because it was like, so much fun. And the audience, they were like, having fun too, you know, it was. Yeah, it was mind boggling. And how fortunate am I to have been a part of something that was like that, you know? I mean, it all starts with Alex Call, who was a songwriting partner of mine. He was in a band called Clover, which is where Huey Lewis and those guys came from. And this is all in Northern California. And he and I were writing together, and I showed up at this funky little writing studio that he had, and he had that basis of that song. And I went, what the hell is that? And then I finished it, I think virtually that day, essentially. And then the words were a little funky, but I took it into the band and instantly it was just fun to play. And without belaboring this too much, but we were really. When we recorded that, we were left to our own devices. Chuck Plotkin was technically the producer, but he wasn't really in the room. So Tommy and I basically played that with the band. And we arranged it in our own very personal fashion with very little influence from the outside. And you got to remember this is the early 80s, and this is where snare drums started going boosh. You know, everything was gated, there were synthesizers started showing up on everything. And we. That track is not like that. That track is a barbie and articulated one. But it's still. The sounds are very straightforward. So it has a timelessness that it's afforded itself that it doesn't sound. It still sounds like it's a bunch of guys banging out the song in a garage. It doesn't have any of the telltale kind of 80s sound that I can't stand. But again, that was just luck. I think at that point.
- [13:43]
Podcast Host
The next time I hear it, I'm going to think of it in a different way. After having talked to you and having you walk me through it, it's gonna. It's gonna feel differently to Me because knowing your incredible story, which then after losing the, the label deal and those things happen after success, you went through a period of, you know, I'm sure reflection and reinvention for a number of years, right?
- [14:13]
Jim Keller
Yeah, a long time. Reflection, that's a very, that's a very poetic word for being completely broke, not having a clue what to do. And that went on for a long time. I, you know, I moved back to the East Coast, I had bands, I played, you know, Alan Pepper at the Bottom Line was a big fan. So play that, you know, play there and various other places had production deals, but I wasn't, it wasn't happening, you know, but nobody kind of taps you on the shoulder and says, you know, Jim, this isn't really happening. You should like do something else. So I did that for a while when it wasn't happening. And you know, you, just because you write a song and record a song doesn't mean it justifies having the really the mojo of the energy that it deserves an audience in a way. But I did that for a long time and was broke and then ended up, I know we're going to the next chapter where I ended up starting to work with Philip Glass, which completely came out of nowhere.
- [15:08]
Podcast Host
Philip Glass, incredible, unique artist for sure. And then ultimately your world intersected with some other incredible artists including Tom Waits and Ravi Shankar. So talk about that experience, which must have been amazing.
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Jim Keller
Well, I think I started working with Philip and I didn't know anything about Philip or the music, but I worked really hard to try to figure it out because I was broke and I needed a career and I wanted health insurance and I wanted, you know, I got married, I had a kid and I learned that world, the arts publishing world. So I, I kind of self taught that that planet. And then met along the way I met Robbie, who needed someone to help him. So I had a separate company that I started with Philip. And so we took on Robby and worked with him as his publisher and then kind of co manager. Tom was also needed somebody to look after his music theater works. He has a bunch of music theater works he did with the director Robert Wilson, who just passed away. And so I started working with Tom, who became a very good friend. And then there were a handful of other people. Young composer Nico Muhleigh. I managed Rufus for a few years. You know, a lot of, A lot of really talented people. You know, I was very fortunate that almost everybody I worked with were just so talented that, you know, it, it made it. I'm not going to say it was easy, but it certainly, the gratification from it was pretty straightforward because, you know, I wasn't pushing a rock up a hill. You know, they were at the up, they were up the mountain, you know, all of those people.
- [17:01]
Podcast Host
So I had Ed Begley Jr. On a couple of times who is friendly with Tom Waits. So he gave me some of his perspective, you know, of. Of Tom. But what can you share as somebody who was closer, is close with Tom? What's the secret to Tom Waits's brilliance?
- [17:25]
Jim Keller
He's really. Can we use the F word on this show?
- [17:28]
Podcast Host
Sure.
- [17:28]
Jim Keller
He's really smart. And, you know, this was true with Philip, this was true with Robbie, that, you know, it's not an accident if we just look at those three individuals, they're all really smart. And, you know, when I sit and I spend a lot of time with Tom and, you know, we can sit around and joke and all that stuff, but when it comes right down to it, he's just really smart. I know he kind of plays it down, you know, with his character, but the same was true with Ravi and with Philip. You sit in a room with those guys, and if they start talking, I end up listening, you know, and I let them because there's undoubtedly they're going to say something that's put together in a way that I never would have thought of.
- [18:12]
Commercial Announcer
We'll be right back with more of the Taking a Walk podcast.
- [18:17]
Buzz Knight
Every music story has layers most people never discover. The session musician who created that signature lick, the studio accident that became a classic sound.
- [18:27]
Sponsor Voice
The cultural moment that made a song possible.
- [18:31]
Buzz Knight
That's when you need Claude AI Built for minds that can't stop at the first answer. Comb through interviews, biographies, recording session notes. Claude analyzes up to 200 pages instantly and can reveal connections across decades of music history. Need to verify claims about music legends? Claude searches the web and cross references sources with citations you can check. But here's what's different. Claude doesn't just give you quick facts. It works through the problem with you, step by step. It's built for people who know that understanding music means understanding the culture, technology, and human stories behind the sounds. Whether you're researching your favorite artist, exploring genre evolution, or discovering untold music history, Claude matches your curiosity about what really happened. See why the world's best problem solvers choose Claude as their thinking partner and try for free at Claude AI Buzz. This episode of Taking a Walk is.
- [19:36]
Sponsor Voice
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- [19:38]
Buzz Knight
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- [19:48]
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- [21:27]
Sponsor Voice
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- [22:03]
Buzz Knight
Is brought to you by 20th Century Studios New film Springsteen Deliver Me From Nowhere don't miss the movie critics are raving is the real deal. An intelligent, deliberate paced journey into the soul of an artist. Scott Cooper, director of the Academy Award winning Crazy Heart, brings you the story of the most pivotal chapter in the life of an icon. Springsteen Deliver Me From Nowhere now playing only in theaters.
- [22:35]
Commercial Announcer
Welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast.
- [22:39]
Podcast Host
So after all those years behind the scenes and publishing and management, then you step back into the spotlight as a recording artist. So what inspired you? What was the itch that was calling?
- [22:52]
Jim Keller
Well, I only. I stopped for about 10 years when I first started working with Philip when I was 40. For 10 years, I didn't play the guitar virtually. And that was when I got this job. I got married, I had a kid, which I was really involved in raising my daughter. And then I hit 50, and it was like it wasn't working anymore because essentially I'd given up one of the most important things in my life. So I really started again some years ago and was writing for that whole period of time. And my writing partner is a guy named Byron Isaacs, who is in the Lumineers, but he was in a band called Lola Bell, and he was leaving Helms, bass player for years. He lives down the street. And so we would write together. We were doing that for 25 years virtually. You know, I don't see him so much anymore. But I was involved. The big difference is that when I stopped, I kind of retired from the business world. And as I like to say, I got my old job back of being an unemployed musician. And funny enough, it was still available. And the reality is, it's a lot more fun than working. But I played a lot all the time through those years. I have a jam session I do at least once a week that I've been doing for over 20 years, where I just say, who wants to play? And whoever's in town can come in the room. And literally Every week for 20 years, I've been doing this. I mean, I'm doing it twice this week, you know, with characters I'm sure, you know, Tony Leone from Little Feet. Who else is in the. Andy Hess from the, you know, Black Crows or whatever the hell, you know, I mean, guys that are. They're just around. And so I was always doing that in writing and then doing some recording. But I think what's happened now is a couple things. One, I have the time, and the other thing is I'm 71, and it's like, I, you know, if I'm not going to put this stuff down now, it's. When am I going to do it? What else would I want to do? And there's definitely, you know, you get to. You get older, and there's this a sense of. It's not desperation, but it's a sense of like, okay, this is a limited. I have a limited time in front of me, and I want to milk as much out of it as I can. And that means I Want to play as much music as I can and travel as much as I can. So the songs has always been a pride, a part of what I'm doing, songwriting, and that's always the core of everything. And if the songs are there, then. Then we'll go record them.
- [25:32]
Podcast Host
And those sessions that you talk about, the jam sessions, they're pretty much. They're not recorded or videotaped or anything like that, right?
- [25:40]
Jim Keller
No. I kind of have a rule from the very beginning. There's no recording equipment. It's not a recording studio, there's no video gear. Whatever happens in that room is what happens, and it's ephemeral, and then it's gone. And I think the. The people that come into that room, they appreciate the fact that it's. That's what it is. It's not for any other purpose than whatever happens in that room. And invariably every session, something happens that everyone in the room knows. Okay, that was. That was happening right there. You don't have to discuss it. Everyone knows it when it happens. And in very. I think out of 20 odd years, maybe there's been two sessions where I kind of walked home, went, woof, Wow. I. What happened. But almost always there's stuff that happens. And, you know, I'm just so fortunate that there are so many great players that want to do that. And it's. Having songs is really important too, because I. I do play my songs and I workshop songs and then we just take off from there. But I've done it. I used to have a set of gear in la, so I would do it when I was in Los Angeles at a studio out there, and the pandemic happened. That kind of changed things. But so. And, you know, I go to San Francisco and I find a rehearsal studio and some players and who wants to play. So it's. It's, you know, it's pretty great way to make music.
- [27:05]
Podcast Host
Oh, man, it sounds like therapy, really. It's. It sounds. It sounds wonderful.
- [27:11]
Buzz Knight
Were you ever able to make it.
- [27:13]
Podcast Host
You mentioned indirectly, Levon Helm. Were you ever make. Ever able to make it to Levon's jam sessions that he used to do that years ago?
- [27:24]
Jim Keller
No. No. I mean, I've been to the barn, I've been to concerts, but I've never. I mean, I know all those people up there, but I've never been a part of that now.
- [27:34]
Podcast Host
So. Fast forward now to the end of the world. Congratulations on. On that work. I know you're proud of that work. Kind of take us through the creative process of That I know you probably workshop some of it in those sessions, as you indicated, but talk about your. Your creative process, your songwriting process for that project, or in general, all your work.
- [27:58]
Jim Keller
Well, I. I never sit down and say I'm going to write a song about something. So I never sit down and say, okay, I'm going to write a group of songs about this. The song dictates where it's going to go, and whatever I'm thinking of or going through at that time will steer that. But I'm not dictating it. So, you know, on this record, there's just no question that a lot of the stuff on there is a reflection. And in my mind, it's a serious reflection, but I do it in a somewhat sarcastic, lighthearted way often on the songs. But it's a reflection on the political environment that we're in right now and the technological environment that we're in and how I feel about that stuff and how overwhelming it all is. So there's more than a. There's a handful of songs that are clearly, that's what's happening. And then other songs, I'm writing about whatever comes out that day. And whether it's a personal story or just a pop song, it's again, that, you know, when you have the guitar in your hands, that tells you where that leads you, where you're going. In a way, I know that's a little vague, but. So it's a group of songs that in some way have to be a reflection of who I am right now. But I. It's not like I. I tell you why or dictate that. It's just kind of what happens. And this is what came out at this moment, this group of songs.
- [29:34]
Podcast Host
Are you envisioning these songs at the point of creation, on how they will play out in a live environment?
- [29:43]
Jim Keller
Initially, no, because I'm literally sitting. Almost everything I write is. And it's acoustic guitar, and I use my thumb and, you know, I literally am plucking away quietly. So initially, it's really about, you know, rhythm, melody, chord changes, and lyric. And then I think when I go into a room, you bring the rhythm section in, then that changes instantly. And then I play around with it. You know, if I'm playing stuff at a jam session, what I do all the time, it's like whoever the guys in that room are, that's what that song is that day. And I don't really rarely do I tell them somebody where to go, because I kind of want to hear what they're going to do. And when you play with great players, invariably they're going to take you somewhere interesting. Now, it may not be where the song ends up, but you're going to have a nice ride along the way before you figure that out. And then the studio process is different. And in this case, Adam Minkoff, who's a brilliant musician, arranger, composer, who I've worked with, this is the second record I've done with Adam. He and I spent a lot of time together and I'll send him a little acoustic thing and then he'll send back a blown up arrangement with some interesting ideas, and then we'll decide, okay, how do we want to cut this in the studio?
- [31:06]
Podcast Host
I'm getting the sense that in these studio sessions, the environment is very relaxed and there can be a comedic undertone at any given time, but also serious.
- [31:19]
Buzz Knight
Commitment to the craft.
- [31:20]
Podcast Host
Is that a fair evaluation of the vibe of a session?
- [31:25]
Jim Keller
Yeah, totally, because all these guys are serious players and they're all serious about, you know, where. Where it is. You know, the groove, the part, the melody, whatever it is. And. But at the same time, it's completely loose. And, you know, we'll go off and on a. And I'm seriously, you know, we'll play it one chord for 10 minutes and everyone will just go around and solo on it, and then it'll come back to something else and I'll make something up, you know, so it. That's a pretty good description of the energy in the room.
- [32:03]
Podcast Host
Talk about some of your other favorites from End of the World, including all of them, if you'd like.
- [32:09]
Jim Keller
Oh, well, I mean, there's a song called Love One Another, which is the first track. And I. I mean, first off, I, you know, it's about something. You know, for me, it's about something. And I mean, I never like talking about what song my songs are about, because really what they're about is whatever the listener thinks. It's not what I think they're about that matters. And, you know, that, that groove, it's a great groove. There's a drummer named Tony Mason who's on that track, and it's brilliant. And Adam came up with some really great parts. The second song, which is Got no Time for that, which is actually came out of a jam from 20 years ago and I found on an old recorder, you know, it was before iPhones, I used to use this thing.
- [32:58]
Podcast Host
I remember one of those. I had one of those.
- [33:00]
Jim Keller
Yeah, it's like a voice recorder for office notes or something. Yeah. And I found this thing that I had done in a room with a guy named Scott Metzger was on it, who's a great guitar player. And I fished this thing out, and then I finished the song with Byron, you know, about what, a year ago or so. And, you know, that's. You know, that's just a great, fun rock pop song. But it's also about, you know, the fact that I'm 71 and I'm roadkill to the technology that we all have to deal with every day. Every time I want to make a reservation at a restaurant, I have to put my birth certificate number on it, you know, and then I get five notices back on, you know, how did you, like, you know, whatever. It's just all way too much and, you know, the. You know, it's my complaint about that. Everything else. Yeah.
- [33:54]
Podcast Host
Would you rather that you only had a landline rather than a cell phone?
- [33:58]
Jim Keller
Well, I wish the Internet didn't exist. You know, I. We all worked perfectly well before email and now with texting, where it's this constant, constant, constant barrage. There's no reflective time in your day. And at work, when I was still working, there was no reflective time. It was just reactive, which, you know, like a old man complaining. But, you know, that's. I. I have to say some of the other songs that I. I'm fond of are the ballads. I'm. I'm gonna put a. A compilation together of just the ballads because those are always impactful for me. And there's a couple on this record that I really like. There's. I think there's, like, three of them that are all impactful for me.
- [34:47]
Podcast Host
So in closing, I know I. I led with this, which I think is. Is I stand by it. You in terms of reinvention and always finding this. This rebirth and renaissance. What advice would you give to somebody listening, whether it's a musician or just someone at a phase of their life that's looking for a new chapter and something to be excited about? What advice would you give to them?
- [35:15]
Jim Keller
Well, I mean, that's pretty broad, but I think I'm asked often. Friends of mine send their kids to me, or they come to me, or they send their kids about what do I do? My son wants a music career. And what advice do you have? And I always say, you know, find the joy. You know, find something that you love doing and do it for that reason. And you have to, you know, that's the most important thing is that you have to, you know, find something that really gives you that satisfaction. And if you can take that and move forward with that, that's great. But the end result can't be big success. It's got to start with you being passionate about something and, you know, following that passion, whether it's professionally or as an amateur. And you know, a guy playing fiddle in a bar at a jam session, nobody can tell him that he's having any less fun than somebody that's playing at Madison Square Garden that night. You know, it's, it's all about, you know, this gratification that you get from music. In our case, that comes in every shape and form and there's no sell by date on it and there's no quantification on it, you know, so wherever it happens, however it can happen, that's that's where the important stuff is.
- [36:35]
Podcast Host
Drink that wine up, watch the river flow. Jim Keller Bravo on End of the World and it's so fantastic to have you on the Taking a Walk podcast.
- [36:46]
Jim Keller
Thanks thanks for having me.
- [36:49]
Commercial Announcer
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- [37:08]
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