Protomen: Music that defines Rock Opera, Rebellion, and Rhythm

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Tony Mantor’s Almost Live... Nashville

Episode Title: Protomen: Music that defines Rock Opera, Rebellion, and Rhythm
Date: March 17, 2026
Host: Tony Mantor
Guests: The Protomen (Commander B. Hawkins, Panther, Murphy)

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Episode Overview

Tony Mantor hosts Nashville’s rock opera trailblazers The Protomen, delving into their unique brand of concept-driven, theatrical rock, their journey through the music industry, and the worlds (both musical and narrative) they've built over the last two decades. The episode explores their story-led songwriting, cult following, club and festival experiences, creative aspirations, and the personal philosophies that underpin their art and live performances.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining The Protomen Sound and Ethos

[05:09]

• The band describes their style as a “jumble of musical and film references”;
  • Commander B. Hawkins: “If Queen and Rush got drunk listening to Devo...”
• Early on self-defined as “rock opera,” but they’ve morphed into “concept rock” or “story rock.”
  • Panther: “It's sort of like listening to a film.”

2. Origin and Evolution: Narrative as Core

[07:34-09:17]

• The journey began over 20 years ago with a single song inspired by Mega Man, evolving into an elaborate multi-act narrative:
  • Panther: “We started more than 20 years ago with a song... and it’s just sort of grown exponentially from there.”
  • Act 1 (2005): Post-apocalyptic, grungy.
  • Act 2 (2009): The prequel, a cleaner sound representing a better world.
  • Act 3: A middle ground musically and narratively.

3. Interplay of Story, Rebellion, and Audience

[09:17-12:43]

• Protomen’s dystopian world is a commentary on current realities.
  • Commander B. Hawkins: “It’s very depressing when the storyline you’ve been building for 20 years has become so obscenely real...” [09:46]
• The band uses character names (Murphy, Commander B. Hawkins, Panther), each meaningful in the story and to the person.
  • Panther: “The name finds you, I think.” [10:41]

4. Songwriting: Story First, Music as Character

[11:15-12:43]

• The creative process starts with skeleton outlines of story; music is crafted to fit character perspectives and narrative needs.
  • Commander B. Hawkins: “It’s like somebody gave us a film and said, all right, write the music for it.”

5. Dealing with Thematic Evolution and Legacy

[14:06-15:48]

• On themes of rebellion and societal failure:
  • Commander B. Hawkins: “I didn't know that I could get more jaded with society in 2005... society has proven itself to be embarrassing... but people are still inherently individually good.”
• Hope remains a through-line despite growing cynicism.
  • Panther: “We do try to keep hope alive. Even if it perhaps gets more and more difficult to do it, it's still there.”

6. Emotional Center: Memorable Lyrics and Live Rediscovery

[15:59-17:45]

• Revisiting emotional material in live settings leads to rediscovery.
  • Panther: “There’s a lot of rediscovering lyrics... there’s a lot of really emotional grief that sits in the middle of that record... a little too heavy for just like a bar show.”
• “The Stand” and “State vs. Thomas Light” noted as powerful, crowd-favorite moments.

7. Live Shows: The Club Experience and Audience

[17:52-20:11]

• The band thrives in intimate club settings; their fans are deeply invested and tend to be highly dedicated.
  • Commander B. Hawkins: “We don’t have random people show up to our shows... If they walked through, they would never leave.”
• Larger shows have a different, less intense dynamic. Clubs allow for powerful energy exchange.

8. Entry Song Recommendations & Bucket List

[20:23-21:42]

• For new listeners: “Light Up the Night” is the go-to introduction, also “The Stand,” “Hope Rides Along.”
• Aspirational goals: Play in Japan, Broadway adaptation, video game, animated/live-action series.
  • Murphy: “I want to make a Broadway play of this thing.”
  • Commander B. Hawkins: “Anything you can think of, we want to do it. It’s just, do we have the money... or the backing?”

9. Looking Forward: Legacy and Fan Inspiration

[23:07-23:49]

• What should Protomen’s legacy be in 20 years?
  • Panther: “Hope... I really love people that come up to us and give us something that they’ve done... your band caused me to want to produce something of my own.”
  • Commander B. Hawkins: “Other really weird bands. Yes.”

10. Fan Connections & Most Meaningful Interactions

[23:49-24:18]

• Emotional connections around loss, memory, and companionship through music are especially meaningful.
  • Murphy: “When someone talks about, oh, you know, I'll listen to you with my family member who's now not with me anymore...”

11. Rapid-Fire "Between the Beats" Segment

[24:48-29:58]

• First albums bought: “Thriller,” “Beastie Boys – License to Ill,” “Use Your Illusion,” Alan Jackson.
• Favorite Protomen song to play live: “Light’s Last Stand” (Act 3), despite being complex and even causing injuries on stage.
  • Commander B. Hawkins: “I broke my knee during it.” [27:00]
• Dream cities to play: New York, Chicago, Louisiana, London, Vancouver (“the wildest for some reason”).
• Strangest tour moments: RV breakdown and sneaking in the back during tow jobs across the Continental Divide.
• Alternate career choices: Mechanic, accountant, hot sauce maker, marine biologist, boat mechanic.

12. Dream Collaborations

[30:03-31:21]

• Near-misses: Jim Steinman declined, Dennis DeYoung almost sang on their album.
• “Obvious” choices: David Bowie, Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy).

13. Final Message to Fans

[31:32-32:38]

• Deep gratitude for continued support and for embracing their evolving narrative and musical journeys.
  • Commander B. Hawkins: “Thank you. That’s really... Thank you.”
  • Panther: “Thank you for being a friend. Thank you for continuing to support and ramping up your support.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On their sound:
  “If Queen and Rush got drunk listening to Devo...”
  – Commander B. Hawkins [05:09]

• On narrative approach:
  “It's sort of like listening to a film.”
  – Panther [06:07]

• On legacy and society:
  “I didn’t know that I could get more jaded with Society in 2005... Society has proven itself to be embarrassing.”
  – Commander B. Hawkins [14:21]

• On hope:
  “We do try to keep hope alive. Even if it perhaps gets more and more difficult to do it, it’s still there.”
  – Panther [15:33]

• On live performances:
  “If [randoms] walked through, they would never leave. And they would come back every time.”
  – Commander B. Hawkins [18:40]

• On future ambitions:
  “Anything you can think of, we want to do it. It's just... do we have the money to do it or the backing, the funding?”
  – Commander B. Hawkins [21:42]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [05:09] – Describing the band's unique sound and its ‘rock opera’ tag
• [07:34] – Outlining the concept albums and their evolution (Act 1, 2, 3)
• [09:46] – Reflections on the band’s dystopian story becoming disturbingly real
• [14:21] – Deepening perspective on society, hope, and the band’s message
• [15:59] – Re-discovering emotional moments in their catalog playing full albums live
• [18:15] – Building a cult following and club show dynamics
• [20:23] – Recommended entry songs and the aspirational wish list
• [23:07] – On legacy, hope, and influencing new generations of artists
• [24:55] – Lightning-round “Between the Beats” rapid-fire questions
• [30:03] – Dream collaborations, reality and fantasy
• [31:32] – Heartfelt thanks and the news of charting on Billboard

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Conclusion

This episode of Almost Live... Nashville with The Protomen offers a rich, candid lens into the artistry, humor, and heart behind one of Nashville's most original rock acts. It’s a celebration of community, storytelling, rebellion, and undying hope—both in music and in connection with fans.

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Transcript

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[Commander B. Hawkins]

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[Tony Mantour]

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[Panther]

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[Panther]

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[Commander B. Hawkins]

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[Commander B. Hawkins]

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[Tony Mantour]

My career in the entertainment industry has enabled me to work with a diverse range of talent. Through my years of experience, I've recognized two essential aspects. Industry professionals, whether famous stars or behind the scenes staff, have fascinating stories to tell. Secondly, audiences are eager to listen to these stories which offer a glimpse into their lives and the evolution of their life stories. This podcast aims to share these narratives, providing information on how they evolved into their chosen career. We will delve into their journey to stardom, discuss their struggles and successes, and hear from people who help them achieve their goals. Get ready for intriguing behind the scenes stories and insights into the fascinating world of entertainment. Hi, I'm Tony Mantour. Welcome to Almost Live Nashville. Joining us today is the members of the Proto Man, a band that doesn't just write songs, they build worlds straight out of Nashville. These guys have carved out a sound that blends rock, opera, sci fi, storytelling and pure raw energy into something completely their own. Their albums feel cinematic, their live shows are full on experiences, and their music hits like a rebellion. You can feel they're bold, unapologetic and unlike anything else out there, I'm beyond excited to welcome them on today. So before we dive into our episode, we'll be back with an uninterrupted show right after a word from our sponsors.

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[Tony Mantour]

Thanks for coming on.

[Panther]

Thanks for having us.

[Tony Mantour]

Oh, it's my pleasure. So tell me, anyone that's discovering the proto man for the very first time, what do you tell them about yourselves and what you do?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Interesting. Interestingly, we have no idea. So I think, honestly, my favorite thing that I've seen recently is what Metal Sucks magazine just described us as. And it was basically like if. If Queen and Rush got drunk listening to Devo and what was the rest of it? But basically it was like a big, long thing about combining all these Bands and. I don't know, it was good. So, yeah, a bunch of different musical references and film references and things like that all jumbled together to make whatever it is we are.

[Panther]

We've. We've long called ourselves rock opera, but I'd say that it's more. I mean, it's dory rock somehow. Or I mean, it's. I guess concept rock is.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

It's sort of like listening to a film.

[Tony Mantour]

Now, what I've read about you, you have this kind of rock opera concept. It mentions video games, music, and how you tie it all together. Maybe an Orwellian type style.

[Murphy]

Yeah.

[Panther]

Yep.

[Tony Mantour]

If you kind of tie all those three things together, how does the audience relate to the features and the different things that you're doing?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Well, one of the features in there we don't really do, like. We don't play music from the games or anything. There's no. It's just all original concept, all original music, you know, that sort of thing. So I think a lot of our

[Panther]

fans don't know that all of those pieces of the puzzle exist. I think we have fans that come and they say, hey, I really like Mega man, which is the video game that we referenced. And they show up dressed as characters. And then we have fans that are

[Commander B. Hawkins]

just pure rock and roll people.

[Panther]

Yeah. And they don't really. They walk in and they say, why is everybody dressed as Mega Man? But, you know, I think somehow in the midst of the, you know, floor that they're standing in, they find a way to coexist.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Now you have what you described as multiple acts, like an Act 1, an Act 2, and an Act 3. Can you give us a little information on what these acts are and how you put everything together as a show?

[Panther]

So we started more than 20 years ago with a song, and it sort of. We recorded it. We recorded another one. We played a show, and it's just sort of grown exponentially from there.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

After the first song we did, it was about Mega man, just by chance. And after the first one was done, then we're like, well, that was really fun. We should build a story around this and just expound on the whole situation and just make it as ridiculous as humanly possible. And so then we just started building it up and building it up, and we ended up with an album. And so we're like, okay, we've got an album. We released that album in 2005. It was act one. And so that was when it wasn't even called Act One at that point. Because we didn't have a full plan for Part two yet, other than a general story that it could do. And honestly, I knew more of what was going to happen in Act 3 at that point than I did what was going to happen in Act 2. And so Act 2 turned into the prequel. So Act 2 is the prequel to Act 1, and it came out in 2009 and it was a different kind of album. Whereas act one was very post apocalyptic, very dirty, grungy, just distorted sound. Act two being a prequel in storyline, it was a much nicer place. So the sound is a lot cleaner, a lot, you know, more pristine sounding, you know, polished. And so then time passed and time passed and now we're on act three and it's kind of a middle ground. We haven't really, you know, it's definitely not as distorted and, you know, mean sounding as act one for sure, though.

[Tony Mantour]

It's almost like you created this theater with a storyline where it's like this dystopian world. You've got fascists and other entities in there as well. So you see yourselves putting a statement out there of what you think and what you're putting across of what you think in the music. Do you think your audience is getting and grasping the show that you're trying to put across to them?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

I think they're getting it there.

[Murphy]

The statement's in there.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Like, you know, I think they're getting it. But yeah, it's. I guess as we were saying earlier today, it's very depressing when the storyline you've been building for 20 years has become so obscenely real that it's just.

[Tony Mantour]

You can barely handle it now, you mentioned the story. Can you elaborate on what the story is within your music?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Are you talking about, like, just basically that our storyline that we've been writing all these years is happening all around us now, and it's been happening all around us. And that's why we were kind of talked about it in the beginning, but it's just gotten far more intense.

[Tony Mantour]

So I think this is a great time for you to introduce yourselves. I know you have names that you go by in your music, so tell everybody who you are.

[Murphy]

My name is Murphy.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

My name is Commander B. Hawkins.

[Panther]

And I'm Panther.

[Tony Mantour]

Okay, that's great. Now tell us, how did you come up with these names?

[Panther]

The name finds you, I think.

[Murphy]

Yeah, everybody, every character in the band has. Something has happened with them.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah, it's. It's all very personal, I'll tell you that. In our storyline, Sophie B. Hawkins is my great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother.

[Panther]

Oh, how the. The lore. Yeah, yeah.

[Tony Mantour]

Okay. Your albums, your music, they come across more like epic films than just your typical musical CDs.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Thank you.

[Tony Mantour]

When you start a new project, what comes first? The storyline? The music, or just the raw emotion?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

It's. It's interesting musically. We always have, you know, storyline. We know where the outline, the skeleton is. And then you say, well, this character needs to speak. What. Who is that character? How do they speak? They speak with this type of rock and roll. This type of. This one. This person's kind of spaghetti Western. This person is kind of whatever. And so you build from that starting point of, well, we know we need a song that's like this. Let's build that song. And then occasionally you'll get into. We'll have just a random riff or something that we've come up with, and then it's like, well, that fits this character. So let's build around that and build that piece of the story. So it's. I'd say it. Honestly, it is very, very much. It's like somebody gave us a film and said, all right, write the music for it. Figure it out. And then we go, okay, we'll. We'll figure it out.

[Panther]

Yeah. I think definitely the story, you know, drives everything. I think we always have that vision in the back of our heads. Even if we're just toying with a riff that sounds cool or, you know, a certain lyric that. That seems to fit. We. You know, we're always cognizant that the story will come into play at some point.

[Murphy]

Definitely.

[Panther]

It has to fit.

[Murphy]

Yeah.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

And if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit.

[Tony Mantour]

Okay, that's great. Now, you've been doing this Mega man concept for a few years now. Did you have a concept where you kind of knew where it might end, or has the story grown alongside you as you have developed as a band?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

I knew where it would go. There are things where, you know, it's developed along the way. For sure. It's. Well, it's refined a lot along the way, but in terms of just knowing exactly where it's gone. No, it was. We had to figure it out. And honestly, it's a whole lot of plot hole plugging.

[Panther]

Oh, yeah, sure.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

That's really what it is. It's like, what if. What have we done? Our holes everywhere. Like, we have to fix these holes. But it's like, all right. But we. We've made the pieces. It's us understanding our own story. It's like us understanding, oh, we've created this hole, but we also created the plug for the hole years ago. We just have to put the piece in. In place. And it's that sort of thing.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah. Now your music dives deep into rebellion, sacrifice, and legacy. Looking back from your act one to now, how have your own perspective on these themes changed, if at all?

[Panther]

That's a good question.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

That's pretty deep. I might be deeper than my brain.

[Panther]

Like, as in, like, do we feel

[Murphy]

differently now or just.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah, yeah. How do you feel about it?

[Panther]

I don't know. I think I'm.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

I'd say.

[Murphy]

Oh, yeah.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

I'd say it's humans. As a human being in the year 2026, I didn't know that I could get more jaded with Society in 2005. That's really my thing, is that I didn't realize that I could hate people more. And. And so now, in 20 years later, it's like, oh, no, no. There's a whole. Whole ocean of hate to be ready. Ready for me to jump. So. No, no, it's. It's. Society has proven itself to be embarrassing. And that's really my. That's what I've taken from it. They're still good in people. I'm not saying that I'm just completely jaded.

[Panther]

Right.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

People are still inherently individually good people, but as a group, people are monsters.

[Panther]

But we also started out in 2005 from that perspective.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah.

[Panther]

Like, Right. We started out. Our first record is very much about the failure of mankind as a whole to, you know, to rise to heroism or the. To rise to the place that they needed to be.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

The lowest level of making an effort.

[Panther]

Yeah. Yeah. So we, you know.

[Lifelock Announcer]

Yeah.

[Panther]

We started out from that place, and I think as we'd gone through the actual. We do try to keep hope alive. Even if it perhaps gets more and more difficult to do it, it's still there.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

You have to search for the hope. That's really what it comes down to.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah, I get it. I get it. Is there a lyric or a moment in your catalog that still hits you emotionally, even after playing it a hundred times?

[Panther]

Man, that's a good question, too. So we are right now working on the. A couple of weeks ago, we played in D.C. we played all three acts. We started with act two, we went to act one, then we went to act three.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Across three nights.

[Panther]

The chronological order. Yeah. Across three nights at this festival in D.C. called Magfest. So we basically played, for the first time ever, our entire catalog. And I'll say that there were songs. There's a lot of stuff that, when you're able to play the album in its entirety, a lot of stuff you haven't played in a long time. There was a lot of stuff from Act 2 that we just don't get to when we're playing just an hour and a half set in a club or a bar. So there was a lot of rediscovering lyrics. Yeah, there's. In the second act, sort of the protagonist's partner dies, and there's a lot of. There's a lot of really emotional grief that sits in the middle of that record that we don't really play because it's a little too heavy for just like a, you know, a bar show.

[Murphy]

So.

[Panther]

Yeah, there's a couple in the State versus Thomas Light.

[Murphy]

Yeah, there's some intense lyrics on that one.

[Bleacher Report Announcer]

Yeah.

[Murphy]

And there's, like, lyrics on. You know, the flip of that is like, we'll make stuff like, this is pretty good. And then we'll play a song we haven't played and five or eight years. And the kids, the fans lose it on, like, the Stand. Yeah, Stand is like, people's favorite song. But we, like, never play it.

[Panther]

Yeah.

[Murphy]

Just for whatever reason, because the way it fits in the set, we pull it out every once in a while and they lose it because the lyrics in that one are extra. And we wrote that 20 years ago, and it has a very, very strong message.

[Tony Mantour]

Now, you just mentioned playing in clubs. How do you fit in clubs

[Commander B. Hawkins]

on top of each other?

[Tony Mantour]

Well, why? I ask that. A lot of these clubs have a certain expectation when a band comes in, they expect certain songs. And here you come in with your own style that you have, which is completely different than anything they will have come in. So how does that work for you?

[Panther]

Our fans show up.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

We don't. We don't have random people show up to our shows. I wish we did, but there's never been a point in our entire history that a person, an individual that didn't know who we were, walked in the door and watched us.

[Panther]

Not once you get. You get people that are being dragged to the show by friends that are talking us up.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

The whole idea of street. What's it called when people, like. No, it's okay.

[Panther]

Like the locals.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

The locals or the bar, you're going to have walk up and it's going to be. It's like, no, no. We've never once had a single person walk up to the door that didn't know who we were. And Walk. Not once. If they walked through, they would never leave. And they would come back every time.

[Panther]

Except for maybe Warp Tour.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

That's true.

[Panther]

Well, we played Warp Tour, and there was a. There was a. A mass exodus when we started playing of. Of people who were there to see the typical.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

They didn't leave because of us. They left because they. They had already left by the time we started playing.

[Lifelock Announcer]

That's true.

[Panther]

But you would get those random people who are walking through looking, what is that? And we would catch their eye in the hot summer sun, melting makeup off of our faces.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah.

[Panther]

And, you know. But it was only like, six of them. Yeah, six people over seven weeks.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

But no, like. But generally, club shows for us are fantastic. Like, that's where. That's where we thrive the most. Because they're intimate, they're intense. They're way, way more intense. And so, like, we just played for a crowd of fourth, you know, 4,000 for three nights in a row the other night or, you know, a couple weekends ago. And that's a rare instance of 4,000 people being completely into it. Usually when you play a big show like that, it's kind of. I don't know, very odd.

[Panther]

But even then, there's a. There's a disconnect between a large crowd like that and between that and being in a club that has just few hundred people that are really packed in and really feeding off of each other's energy.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Generally, we end up playing, like, for those smaller club shows, we'll just play like a mix of our. Of whatever we're feeling like playing whatever works for the set. Not really, like, leaning into the storyline as much.

[Tony Mantour]

If someone hears Proto Men for the very first time, what is the song that you wish they hear first and why?

[Panther]

It's hard.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

It's a hard one for different reasons. Like, if you want somebody to go, like a. The rock and jam that everybody likes a lot, Light the Night's the one. Everybody seems to love that song, which is super grateful for it.

[Panther]

Yeah, that's the one. That's the one I always send people to.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah. Like, there's all kinds of stuff on the new album, though. Like, literally the whole new album is like, we go to that one, go to that one, go to that one. Like, keep quads red from Act 2. Act 1 will have one would be the way to go. Or the stand is fun. Hope rides along, explains the story.

[Tony Mantour]

What's in your bucket list? What are you hoping that you can do for the future?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Money.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah, I get it.

[Murphy]

There's Money in the bucket.

[Panther]

We. We've never played Japan.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

We've loved to play Japan.

[Panther]

Yeah.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

We have to have people buy our things from Japan, though. So if anybody knows anything about Japan and. Or how to get us into Japan or get people to listen to us in Japan so that we can tour there.

[Murphy]

Yeah, we go to other. We've been to Europe, Australia and get around everywhere else things. But that's one country.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

So there's all kinds of things. I mean.

[Murphy]

I mean, I want to make a Broadway play of this thing.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yes, That's. There's all the things. Anything you can think of, we want to do it. It's just. Do we have the money to do it or the backing, the funding? Any kind of like that? Like we need to do it. Make a video game. We need to make a series of animated movies or live action movies.

[Panther]

And the expertise. We don't have the expertise.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah, we have no expertise.

[Panther]

We're pretty good at audio.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah.

[Murphy]

Yeah.

[Panther]

We're not great at everything else, so.

[Murphy]

Yeah, we're all audio engineers from here, so.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah. Yeah, I get that. Join the crowd. That's me, too.

[Panther]

Yeah.

[Murphy]

Yeah.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

If anybody out there does animation, get in touch with us. We've got all kinds of things we want.

[Tony Mantour]

Animation would be great. A lot of great things come from that. So what's coming up next? You just mentioned several different things. Without giving too much away, what can your fans and the listeners expect from you in the future?

[Murphy]

We've got the June. The June. June 18th through 20th. We're doing the Nashville release show. Like the big celebrated release show for the new record. An album a day, you know, three albums over three days, like we did two weeks ago.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah. This one would be a bit more. More of a production.

[Murphy]

More. Yeah, yeah. Because we'll be in our home turf and have more time.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

But that's already sold out, so. Yeah, but it's sold out every week.

[Murphy]

It's sold out so fast.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

So it's awesome. It's marathon music works.

[Panther]

Yeah.

[Murphy]

My marathon was about 17, 1800. So that'll be. That'll be the biggest shows we've ever done in Nashville, literally. And then three days of it.

[Tony Mantour]

Let's look in the Future. Right now, 15, 20 years from now, someone's looking back on the proto man. What are you hoping that they say your music gave to them? Hope.

[Panther]

Yeah. I also really. I really love people that come up to us and give us something that they've done. Art or music or, you know.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah. Inspiration.

[Murphy]

Yeah, that.

[Panther]

And they say your band Caused me to want to produce something of my own. That's always really cool.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah.

[Panther]

I hope we're spawning a lot of, you know, people making their art.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Other really weird bands.

[Panther]

Other really weird bands. Yes.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah. Now, speaking of fans, what is the most meaningful thing a fan has said to you?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

There's so many, and they're all very, like a bunch. Very personal.

[Murphy]

Yeah. A lot of them. It's. I think that one is not one particular. But when someone talks about, oh, you know, I'll listen to you with my family member who's now not with me anymore. And I listen to this and think of that and, you know, if that.

[Panther]

That.

[Murphy]

I don't know what you call that. There's a term for that.

[Panther]

It has to do with memories.

[Murphy]

I can't think. I'm. I'm losing the words. But those are always appreciated, you know, when those are happening.

[Tony Mantour]

How do people find you?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Do you mean how should they look for us?

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Protuman.com is a good way to get to us. That kind of leads everywhere. We're on all the streaming things. Just Proto Men Act 3, the city made us, the new album, and then we're on YouTube. You can find us on that. It's pretty much anywhere you can find us. We're out there, so just search our name.

[Tony Mantour]

Here's a part I call between the Beats. We do quick questions. No right or wrong answers. Just something for the fun of it.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Oh, I can say. I can make it wrong.

[Murphy]

Don't do challenge. Challenge.

[Tony Mantour]

What is the first album you ever owned?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Album like owned or bought with your own money?

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah, bought with your own money. You owned it.

[Murphy]

Oh, bought with your own money.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

I think I know mine. Palooza.

[Tony Mantour]

Okay.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

The CD. No, use your illusion.

[Panther]

One November.

[Murphy]

That's one. Yes, that's one. 1991.

[Panther]

Yeah, it might have been. It might have been Thriller.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

That's pretty good.

[Murphy]

When it was new.

[Panther]

No, no, no. Like a cassette, you know, Bought it from, you know, Camelot or.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah, that's pretty cool.

[Panther]

Like the. I don't know. Maybe. I know. The first album that I ever possessed was the Alan Jackson record with Chad Hoochie on it.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

That'll do it.

[Panther]

That was like. That was like an uncle. And uncle was like, here, kid, this is what you need to be listening to. And I got a boom box for Christmas. One of those, like, CD boom boxes. When the speakers pop off and you can move them. You still have solid three feet away. You should still have. Man, I don't still have it.

[Murphy]

The first one I bought was I had a. My birthday and I was given a cassette player in like $20. Like that was the birthday. And I went down the road and bought Beastie Boys license. The ill set.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

That's what I was about to say is the. The first thing that I probably ever had was a copied version of that album owned cassette that my cousin from Memphis gave me or my brother and I met up with it.

[Tony Mantour]

What's your favorite Proto man to play live?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

I don't like any of them.

[Murphy]

They're all tortured, man.

[Panther]

So we've just started like literally at the Magfest thing that we played a couple of weeks ago. It was the first time we had played Most of Act 3 live. So I think my new favorite is Light's Last Stand. It's sort of at the end of Act 3. It was horrifying to try and pull off live. It's a lot of moving parts. There's saxophone solo.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

I broke my knee during it.

[Panther]

You broke your knee during it?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah, my ankle.

[Panther]

But it's. It is now my favorite.

[Tony Mantour]

What's your favorite tour city?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Oh, tour city. That's impossible. Like New York's always incredible.

[Panther]

Chicago,

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Louisiana is incredible. London is incredible.

[Murphy]

Major ones, but you know, the ones that are memorable on the search in the old days is like. Like Richmond or it's like North Carolina, British Columbia.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Spring. Springfield, North Carolina. What was the. Where's. What's.

[Murphy]

Or Springfield, Missouri.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

No, North Carolina. Greenville, North Carolina.

[Murphy]

That was a long time ago.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Those are now.

[Murphy]

Now those places don't exist anymore that we used to go play.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Like the whole towns don't exist.

[Murphy]

Yeah. Yeah. But there's like some surprising like small weird towns that you wouldn't think that are pretty.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Vancouver is always the wildest for some reason.

[Lifelock Announcer]

Yeah.

[Murphy]

Vancouver's.

[Lifelock Announcer]

Yeah.

[Tony Mantour]

Now.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah. I can't. There's no, there's no favorite. It's there's just so many good.

[Murphy]

Yeah.

[Tony Mantour]

What's the strangest thing that's ever happened to you on tour?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Oh. If also impossible.

[Tony Mantour]

One that just stands out in your mind that you probably will never forget.

[Murphy]

Those. Take those. That's like an hour long conversation. We did, we did, we did push our RV up the continental dividend.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah.

[Murphy]

A few years ago.

[Panther]

And that.

[Murphy]

That was. That was the day. And then, then the tow truck driver showed up and had to drag us up it illegally. That was a fun day.

[Panther]

He didn't know it was illegal.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah.

[Panther]

He didn't know we were all hiding in the rv. Oh, that was a different time. Oh, he knew that One. Another one where he didn't know.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

That is a good story. Every time a tow truck shows up and they're like, well, you're not supposed to have people in the back. So we. You just have to get out on the side of the road or you just hide. And then as you're riding down the interstate in the tow truck and everybody's sticking their heads up over the dashboard, it's fantastic.

[Panther]

We have lots of those stories.

[Tony Mantour]

Okay, if you were not musicians, what would you be doing today?

[Lifelock Announcer]

I don't even know.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

It's been so long.

[Panther]

I think I'd be a mechanic.

[Murphy]

Yeah, I'd definitely be somebody's accountant.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

I'd make hot sauce.

[Murphy]

I mean, I already am an accountant, but I would be even more an accountant.

[Panther]

You could be getting paid for it.

[Murphy]

Yes, I would get paid to be.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah. I almost went to school to be a marine biologist.

[Tony Mantour]

Wow.

[Murphy]

Oh, yeah. I went to school for history. Kevin didn't know computer science and history kind of initially. And then we were at mtsu and I was like, oh, I should do music stuff because I'm here and there's all this million dollars equipment. Oh, and then I met these fellows there.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

I would probably be working on a dive boat in the Caribbean somewhere. That's pretty much it.

[Panther]

I would fix the mode. I think I would. I'd like to be a boat mechanic. There you go. I'd like to change answer when we go to.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

When we go to the Japan. Caribbean. No, we're gonna go to the Caribbean. I'm gonna. I'm gonna work on a dive boat.

[Panther]

Okay.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

And you're gonna be the mechanic for the boat. Let's start a band while we're down there.

[Tony Mantour]

Gotcha.

[Panther]

Get him now. Every time I think I'm out.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yep.

[Tony Mantour]

Dream collaboration. Alive or dead. Who would you like to work with?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

That's. That's intense.

[Panther]

We tried to work with Jim Steinman one time.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah.

[Panther]

He was not all about it.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

I'm gonna tell you. Yeah. I'll tell you who we did try to work with on this album, and he kind of ghosted us, but we still love him is Dennis DeYoung from Sticks. We tried to get him to sing our Wiley part for this album, and we were talking to him for a bit and chit chatting, and he ended up, I guess, just passing on it or something, so. But that would have been wonderful.

[Murphy]

Yeah. We said live or dead? It's like.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah.

[Murphy]

You know, you say obvious stuff like, I don't know, Bowie and things like that.

[Panther]

Well, no, Also Who's.

[Murphy]

Who's the underdog? That would. That would help us even more. What's his name?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

I can't. I can't get to his name.

[Panther]

Charades. Do charades. He has.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

He has hair.

[Murphy]

What color?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

See, I don't want Garfunkel. Art Garfunkel's got it. No, I hate myself for not getting to his name right now.

[Panther]

No, he's Bob Ross. Is he still alive?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

No, no, he's very dead. Died, unfortunately in like 1986.

[Murphy]

Oh.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

And something like that.

[Murphy]

And Randy Rhodes.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

No, no. Irishman. That's all you need.

[Murphy]

Oh, Phil Lyon.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah. Phil Line. It would be unbelievable.

[Murphy]

He said Irishman.

[Panther]

Y. You almost charaded it out.

[Tony Mantour]

Let's wrap this up with a nice message to your fans. What would you like to say to them?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Thank you. That's really.

[Panther]

It just.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Thank you.

[Panther]

We woke up a couple of days ago to the news that our newest record is charting on Billboard.

[Tony Mantour]

Nice.

[Murphy]

In the.

[Panther]

Bizarrely enough, in a couple of categories. But one of them is the. Is emerging artists, which is fantastic because we been emerging for a long time. But I think I would say that thank. Thank you for being a friend. The. Thank you for being a friend. Thank you for continuing to support and ramping up your support.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah.

[Panther]

With each new thing that we put

[Commander B. Hawkins]

out and this, especially this album, support has been unbelievable from our fans.

[Panther]

Yeah.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Just. They've all gotten so into it and it's been so wonderful. And we've. We dragged them along on this journey of releasing a song per week and they were all about it. Most of them were all about it. There were several that were just very crying the whole time. It was hilarious and sad for them, but it was something. So. Yeah. Like the fact that they've stuck with us this long and really, I don't know, it's huge. Thank you.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah. That's awesome. Well, this has been fun. Great information, great conversation. I really appreciate you taking the time to join us today.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Oh, yeah.

[Panther]

Thank you for having us. Yeah.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Thank you for being a friend.

[Panther]

Awesome.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Perfect.

[Murphy]

Good.

[Panther]

Great to meet you.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Yeah, it's awesome.

[Tony Mantour]

Yeah, it's been great. Thanks again. Thanks for joining us today. We hope you enjoyed the show. This has been a Tony Mantour production. For more information, contact medialatomusic.com.

[Bleacher Report Announcer]

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[Murphy]

Hey, Sal.

[Tony Mantour]

Hank.

[Panther]

What's going on?

[Murphy]

We haven't worked a case in years. I just bought my car at Carvana and It was so easy. 2 Think something's up?

[Commander B. Hawkins]

You tell me.

[Murphy]

They got thousands of options, found a great car at a great price, and

[Lifelock Announcer]

it got delivered the next day.

[Murphy]

It sounds like Carvana just makes it easy to buy your car, Hank.

[Lifelock Announcer]

Yeah, you're right.

[Murphy]

Case closed.

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[Lifelock Announcer]

If you like the show, please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow.

[Commander B. Hawkins]

Thank you for listening.