Derek Trucks w/ Mark Normand & Sam Morril - We Might Be Drunk Podcast

Summary

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We Might Be Drunk – Derek Trucks w/ Mark Normand & Sam Morril

Release Date: April 6, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, comedians Mark Normand and Sam Morril welcome guitar prodigy Derek Trucks for a lively discussion at the height of his sold-out New York Beacon Theater run. The conversation blends the worlds of standup comedy and music, exploring creative process, touring, road stories, influences, collaboration with Susan Tedeschi and legends like the Allman Brothers, and the endurance required for long careers in the arts. The episode is punctuated with classic jokes, movie recommendations, and an impromptu live performance from Trucks.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Trending Specials, Online Hate & The Comedy Grind

• Opening Banter

  • Mark and Sam riff on recent internet backlash from Swifties over body joke comments, reflecting on the nature and absurdity of online hate.
    • "They're bots. They went after my wife. Then they body shamed her." – Mark (00:21)
    • "I hope you fucking die. I'm going to slit your throat. And it's like a 12 year old girl." – Sam (00:30)
  • Discussion on how social media "hate trains" can ironically give comedians' specials a boost.

• Comedy Special Reflections

  • Mark discusses his experience with LA podcast marathons, name-dropping Rich Eisen, Bobby Lee, and more.
    • "I did five in a day... Rich Eisen, Harlan, Bobby Lee, Santino, Glassman." – Mark (01:45)
  • Both reflect on their popular YouTube specials (“Out to Lunch”, “I Got This”), why those feel rawer/hungrier, and the creative process of developing a new hour.
    • "We were so hungry and so fucking annoyed. And we're like, no one will give us shit." – Sam (10:55)
  • They share a mutual desire to take more time working on new material and the fun in bombing with new ideas.
    • "After you've been doing well for a while... You get off stage killing, you're like, I'm a fucking hack. Who gives a shit?" – Sam (12:24)
    • "One line is worth the whole night." – Mark (12:55)

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Movie Recommendations and Emotional Impact

• Cinematic Tearjerkers (15:20–24:00)
  • The hosts swap classic movie recommendations:
    • Sam: "400 Blows," "Cinema Paradiso," "Life Is Beautiful," "Kramer vs. Kramer," "War Horse"
    • Mark: "The Bicycle Thief," "Up," "Forrest Gump"
    • Both agree: stories involving children universally evoke strong emotions.
  • Analysis on why Disney repeatedly uses parent-death to emotionally grip young audiences.
    • "Disney said, if you watch every big movie on Disney, it's all... A parent dies and the kid has to grow up." – Mark (22:35)
  • Laughs about emotional manipulation—kids' movies, Pixar, war movies.
    • "Kids' biggest fear is abandoned. So there you go. That's how you start it." – Mark (23:53)

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Derek Trucks Joins the Table (31:41)

Whiskey, The Beacon, and Creative Collaboration (32:07–35:11)

• Trucks brings his Ass Pocket whiskey for the hosts to sample.
  • "This is a 20 year. It's a tasty sucker." – Derek (32:44)
• The group discusses the thrill and logistics of playing 10 nights at the Beacon Theater.
  • "It's a heavy lift with band and crew. We're 25, 30 people on the road." – Derek (35:03)
• Insights into working creatively (and successfully) with his wife, Susan Tedeschi, for over 15 years:
  • "We didn't jump in right away, but it's been an amazing run. We're better now than when we started the band." – Derek (34:39)

Life on the Road – Stories & Bonding (36:09–40:13)

• Derek shares tales of traveling with a road crew, including war vet truck drivers and legendary Allman Brothers roadies like Red Dog.
  • "He was an army ranger. A prisoner of war for a while... He's got it all recon." – Derek (36:27)
  • "Red Dog wrote a self-published book called The Book of Tales... It's just Red Dog chasing the ladies. It is high comedy." – Derek (39:14)
• Talks about post-show hangouts: jam sessions, dive bars, and the importance of group chemistry.
  • "I've been in bands where you get off stage and everyone just heads their separate ways... Luckily this is not that group." – Derek (40:23)

Early Stardom & Artistic Development (41:01–45:09)

• Stories and vintage footage of Derek playing on the road as young as age 9.
  • "I was on the road at nine years old." – Derek (41:24)
• Schoolteachers watching Trucks perform—while still failing him for attendance.
  • "A few of my high school teachers [were] out front at shows while they were failing me." – Derek (42:50)
• Mark asks if social media and AI threaten the tradition of learning by failing:
  • "I could cut my teeth in bars every night without it being posted... I'm glad I was ahead of the technological curve." – Derek (43:36)

Artistic Anonymity, Inspiration, and Prodigy Trajectories

• Discussion of the critical importance of being allowed to fail in public before visibility; relating musical development (Pryor, Coltrane, Miles Davis) to standup.
  • "There's something about paying your dues and actually putting work in that... I feel lucky that I was able to." – Derek (44:47)
  • "Even [Richard Pryor] had to cut his teeth. You hear early Charlie Parker or Coltrane... he wasn't that guy yet." – Derek (45:11)
  • "It takes you a long time to sound like yourself." – Sam (45:22)

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Legendary Musical Figures & Comedy Parallels

• Riffs on Miles Davis’ blunt teaching style, Norm Macdonald as a judge, and the value in bombing on stage (“all timers” of Bill Hicks).
  • "Just take the fucking horn out of your mouth. That's advice for a lot of things." – Derek (45:33)
  • "Norm was incredible. Bill Hicks and Norm. You got good taste." – Mark & Derek (46:44–46:52)
• Anecdote: Derek plays Bill Hicks material for Willie Nelson in Willie’s house.
  • "Willie was so high, he's doing Taco Bell commercials. [Bill Hicks] just goes in so hard on Willie." – Derek (48:14)
• Mark & Sam play classic comedy meltdowns for Derek and laugh at Hicks’s infamous "flush America down the toilet" rant (49:20).

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Guitar Legends, Priceless Instruments, & Artifacts (50:05–53:19)

• Trucks describes playing Jerry Garcia’s $12 million guitar, auction tales, and rare access to musical artifacts.

  • "Never played a guitar like that... it's much more precision, but by the second night, I felt like I could really get inside of it." – Derek (51:55)

• On why comics don’t care about mics (vs. musicians with instruments), but joke books like Carlin’s or Dangerfield’s notes are treasured.

  • "Like Carlin's notebook, that would be cool." – Sam (53:16)

• Quick Carlin hotel story—catching him living large even late in life.

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The Essence of Performance & Artistic Longevity (54:31–75:56)

• The "reformed partyer" phase of older rock legends; Derek shares the evolution from wild days to Law & Order on the bus.
  • "They were all reformed... watching Matlock in the back of the bus." – Derek (54:48)
• Deep dive on influences:
  • Musical families, New Orleans/Jacksonville scene, Ace Moreland, B.B. King, Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers — and the feeling of playing with (and for) one’s heroes.
  • "Playing the Beacon with the Allman Brothers, Leavon Helm and Taj Mahal came out, we did 'The Weight.' It was a heavy evening." – Derek (69:16)
• Artistic process:
  • The importance of never “hanging it up”—you must love, even need, creating.
  • "You have to love it... You have to be a little crazy. You got to be a little competitive, just like, I ain't done." – Derek (73:54)
  • "When you stop trying, you can totally tell." – Derek (73:48)
  • "With music (and comedy), there's no shelf life like athletes: you get to hone your craft your whole life." – Derek (72:36, 73:01)
• The studio at home in Jacksonville; comfort zones for capturing magic, and the importance of artistic risk.
  • "You want to be set up and ready to capture it when the band gets it for the first time." – Derek (75:17)

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Rapid-Fire: Cities, Legends, and Live Favorites (76:07–79:48)

• Favorite cities for gigs: New Orleans, the Beacon, and others.
• "Saw Stevie Wonder about 10 years ago. It was pretty life changing. Ray Charles when I was young. B.B. King. Never got to see Leonard Cohen, but onstage with Greg Allman was like that." – Derek (77:12–78:24)
• Mark describes being moved to tears by Jon Batiste at Jazz Fest.

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Final Segment: Derek Plays Them Out (80:51–83:51)

• Mark and Sam invite Derek to play guitar live (despite it being out of tune). He picks up their Epiphone, tunes by ear, and riffs a soulful closing.
  • "That's when you know you got a problem. That's awesome. 12 million buck guitar, who needs it?" – Mark (82:05)
• Derek celebrates Warren Haynes's cameo at the Beacon, the deep appreciation among diehard fans, and the lifetime groove of "Blue Sky."
  • "Blue Sky is probably my favorite track of theirs... Dwayne Almond and Dickie at their best." – Derek (83:44)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Anonymous Development:
  "I'm glad I was ahead of the technological curve... I could pretty much cut my teeth in bars every night without it being posted the next day."
  – Derek Trucks (43:36)

• On Long-term Collaboration:
  "You got to make sure everybody's role is defined... we're better now than we were when we started the band."
  – Derek Trucks (34:46)

• On Loving the Craft:
  "Getting good at something is pretty easy... those last 2, 3, 4, 5%: that's where everyone taps out."
  – Derek Trucks (73:16)

• On Kids in Tearjerker Movies:
  "All five movies you've spoken about so far, kids are in it. That's the through line for you guys."
  – Derek Trucks (20:01)

• On Musical Heroes:
  "When [Greg Allman] would pin it, you could just feel everybody's hair in the room stand up."
  – Derek Trucks (78:24)

• On Not Naming Names:
  Mark: “Any artist you hate, real quick before we go.”
  Derek: “There's quite a few, but I should probably not name them at this point.” (83:56)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |:---------:|----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00–02:00 | Mark & Sam on Swiftie hate & recent Netflix special aftermath | | 06:32–11:18 | Reflection on writing together, favorite lines, and the “YouTube special era” | | 15:20–24:00 | Movie recommendations & why certain films make us cry | | 31:41 | Derek Trucks joins the podcast | | 34:24–36:07| On collaborating with spouse Susan Tedeschi and running a 12-piece band | | 41:01–44:00| Childhood prodigy stories, learning in bars, and importance of anonymity | | 45:22–46:38| Creative growth, Miles Davis anecdotes, and Norm/comedian comparisons | | 50:05–53:19| Playing historic guitars & why comics don’t care about mics | | 72:29–73:54| The relentless drive to keep improving | | 80:51–83:51| Derek’s impromptu live guitar performance and discussion of “Blue Sky” |

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Tone & Atmosphere

• Fast-paced, irreverent, insightful — the hosts’ banter is loose yet deep, always circling back to craft, process, and comedy/music parallels.
• Derek is humble, funny, and forthcoming — sharing personal anecdotes, technical details, and road wisdom with warmth.
• Frequent blend of laughs and heart, especially when talking about what it takes to "make it" and how the best artists never really rest.

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For Listeners

This episode is a must-listen for fans of stand-up, blues, jam band lore, and anyone interested in the intersection of comedy and music. It is equally rich in shop talk, road stories, artistic philosophy, and good old-fashioned ball-busting. Derek Trucks demonstrates why he's a modern guitar legend, both in words, in wisdom, and with his guitar—right in the living room.

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Transcript

[Mark Normand]

Foreign. Hey, we're here, we're queer. We're back, baby. Still trending. Still trending. Yes. We're at number eight right now. Who knows when this.

[Sam Morril]

And on tmz. I mean, holy.

[Mark Normand]

I know. The Swifties attacked.

[Sam Morril]

I got some mess. I got some messages on your behalf.

[Mark Normand]

They're bots. They hate me. They hate. They went after my wife. They went after me for body shaming. Then they body shamed her.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

What is that?

[Sam Morril]

No, that makes no sense.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, but they're crazy.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah, you're getting like, I hope you fucking die. I'm going to slit your throat. And like it's like a 12 year old girl.

[Mark Normand]

It's all bots or whatever the hell.

[Sam Morril]

So if you get killed by a. If you get killed by a Swifty, I'm going have to speak at your funeral. And it's going to. I'm going to have to speak and like mom. And I'd be like, he can shake it off.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. What happened there are worse than they, like Hezbollah. I mean, they're like.

[Sam Morril]

It is crazy.

[Mark Normand]

Crazy.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah, it's like, it's. It's a bit much.

[Mark Normand]

It's.

[Sam Morril]

I'm sure, I'm sure she's. Could you dial it back a little?

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, yeah. I would imagine.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Swifty, tell your minions they're scary.

[Sam Morril]

She's got to put out like one track where. Where there's like a breakup song where she's like, no, we're good now.

[Mark Normand]

Right?

[Sam Morril]

And then they're gonna be like, oh, yeah, we should chill out a little, right? I don't know.

[Mark Normand]

That's a good idea.

[Sam Morril]

I don't know.

[Mark Normand]

That's not Women's specialty, is toning it down, letting go. Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah. Well, I mean, crazy. I mean, it's all good for the special, you know?

[Mark Normand]

I guess so. I guess I assume people are downvoting the out of it on Netflix or

[Sam Morril]

whatever, but is that a thing still?

[Mark Normand]

Is that.

[Sam Morril]

I think they outlawed the down low.

[Mark Normand]

Great.

[Sam Morril]

I mean, maybe not. I don't know.

[Mark Normand]

He's on the down low. Either way.

[Sam Morril]

They outlaw the stars. They used to have the stars.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, the stars were bad.

[Sam Morril]

What about you were in la. Give me the pod rundown. Oh, you did like six in a day.

[Mark Normand]

I did five in a day.

[Sam Morril]

Okay.

[Mark Normand]

I did Rich Traffic.

[Sam Morril]

That's insane.

[Mark Normand]

That was the hard part. And I Ubered the whole thing.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Rich Eisen, Rich Eisenhower, Harlan Bobby Lee Santino Glassman.

[Sam Morril]

Red Eye Home, I think went on the Fox News Show. Damn, dude, that's crazy.

[Mark Normand]

You know, it's funny. You've done Rich Eisen.

[Sam Morril]

He's the man.

[Mark Normand]

He's the man.

[Sam Morril]

Like, he is, like, one of the coolest sports guys ever. Like, back to SportsCenter.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

I grew up on him and Stu

[Mark Normand]

Scott, like, oh, yeah.

[Sam Morril]

That was, like, I was emotional when Stu Scott died.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, yeah. He was all over the tv. Like, we grew up with the guy.

[Sam Morril]

He's so good at big moments. Like, he says the right thing in the right way. Every time I feel like. Like, he's. Without being, like, annoyingly preachy. He's just as, like, a. Has, like, a dignified manner.

[Mark Normand]

Yes, yes, he's very.

[Sam Morril]

But he. All those sports guys, like, have a little bit of, like, Letterman influence of that era. You can kind of feel it.

[Mark Normand]

Totally.

[Sam Morril]

You know?

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, yeah. Cool dude. But Rich Eisen, you know, he's war. He's so warm.

[Sam Morril]

He's such a cool guy.

[Mark Normand]

He gives you, like, a hug and everything. Sweet dude.

[Sam Morril]

Well, he did stand up for a few years.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, really?

[Sam Morril]

A lot of those SportsCenter guys, like, started as stand up center. Like, I'm a sports guy. But, yeah, I lunched with him once. We both did a cameo in Billions, and he was like, let's get lunch, and went to a Chinese restaurant, and he told me the story about how he got SportsCenter. It was crazy.

[Mark Normand]

Really serious.

[Sam Morril]

Well, they just. He was just. He would watch it religiously and be like, oh, this is what I would have said. Because, you know, they would make jokes back in the day. Be like, it must be a homer, because the picture just said dope K Pop Demon hunters.

[Derek Trucks]

Haja Boy's breakfast meal and Hunt Tricks

[Sam Morril]

meal have just dropped at McDonald's. Their calling this a battle for the fans. What do you say to that, Rumi? It's not a battle. So glad the Saja boys could take

[Derek Trucks]

breakfast and give our meal the rest of the day.

[Sam Morril]

It is an honor to share.

[Mark Normand]

No, it's our honor.

[Sam Morril]

It is our larger honor.

[Mark Normand]

No, really, stop.

[Sam Morril]

You can really feel the respect in this battle. Pick a meal to pick a side.

[Derek Trucks]

Ba da ba ba ba.

[Sam Morril]

I participate in McDonald's while supplies last. Oh, like, shit like that. So they would have lines for that. And he was like, I'm gonna come up with lines for the. For this episode. And he do it every night. And then the night he did it, he did the night before. And that was the test that was like, let's see what you can do for this. And he just had him locked and loaded.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[Sam Morril]

He looked Awesome. I was like, what? Shows hard work, man. You put in the work.

[Mark Normand]

There you go. Wow. Good for him. But, yeah, he's quick. He had a couple moments with me. I was like, damn, that was fast.

[Sam Morril]

He's good. Interviews online, like, the Larry David interview is great.

[Mark Normand]

Seinfeld stuff, all that. He has a great one. Jeff Daniels.

[Sam Morril]

Whoa. But, oh, yeah, I've seen that. The clip with Nicholson. The story.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I go in there. It's at 11am I go in there. It's all the way by the airport. It's a whole thing. I get in there. There's hair, makeup. And I was like, so how long do I do? Like, an hour, hour and a half? They're like six minutes. Like, six minutes.

[Sam Morril]

Really?

[Mark Normand]

It's like morning radio. We ended up doing about 15 because it was cooking. Yeah, but this is crazy. Six is crazy. Like, what is this, Good Morning America? Like, give me a second.

[Sam Morril]

Also, he's good. Like, it's always the ones you want to talk to. Yeah, that cut down.

[Mark Normand]

So true. Yeah. Yeah. I did a Fox 5 with whatever her name is, and I was like, geez, are we done yet? Yeah, but, yeah, Eisen was. We went about 15 or 12, but that was crazy. I was like, six minutes. Yeah, we're doing all this for six minutes. Like, haircut. You give me a haircut and touch me up.

[Sam Morril]

It's old school.

[Mark Normand]

It is. Yeah. And the photos on the wall, it's like, him with Obama, him with Bruce Springsteen, him with Jack Bin Laden.

[Sam Morril]

How did he. When did he do the show?

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, they were in a cave. I don't know how they got service,

[Sam Morril]

but, yeah, Milan only got eight minutes. I heard crazy.

[Mark Normand]

I already got nine to 11 all. But, yeah. So then I went. Ran out of there, and then Harlow Williams is. How I walk into Harlow Williams. He's like, oh, you just missed Will Ferrell. My go la.

[Sam Morril]

He did the pot, or they're just hanging.

[Mark Normand]

He did the pod.

[Sam Morril]

Wow, that's a big one.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. So, like, L. A is such a magical play. I'm looking at the Hollywood Hills. I just missed Will Ferrell.

[Sam Morril]

I was in a hotel once, and. And they gave you, like. They didn't have a gym, but they give you access to the Equinox across the street. And I. And I saw Will Ferrell in there. I was like, that's fucking wild. Just working out with, like, literally hundreds of people around him.

[Mark Normand]

That's crazy.

[Sam Morril]

No one bothered him.

[Mark Normand]

It's la. Yeah, I guess. So does he work out funny Is he like

[Sam Morril]

in Toledo, Idaho? You can't do that.

[Mark Normand]

No. God, no. You get swarmed, but they're just like.

[Sam Morril]

They're like, I'm over it.

[Mark Normand]

Right, right.

[Sam Morril]

Although, you know, a couple people are like, dude, I did a self tape for this movie.

[Mark Normand]

That's true. That's a good point.

[Sam Morril]

But yeah, that's good. And then what else? Bobby Santino.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Bobby's such a pro. To Bobby. It was so fun.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah. It's easy lifting.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Santino's the man. And then I. By the time I got to Glassman, it was like 7pm and you're like loopy and delirious and like uninhibited. So that one got really weird. So look out for that.

[Sam Morril]

Said the N word.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we got into it. Yeah, it was fun.

[Sam Morril]

Damn.

[Mark Normand]

And then I flew home on a red eye, took a Xanax and slept the whole way. I pulled a salad cues.

[Sam Morril]

The sleep back is tough because it's really like five hours.

[Mark Normand]

I know exactly there.

[Sam Morril]

You get six. Six. I could do six. Five is where you get into dangerous territory.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. I landed, got home on like with one eye open and then just went into bed and slept for like four more hours.

[Sam Morril]

But you got a baby, so I guess it's like. It's always.

[Mark Normand]

You're on.

[Sam Morril]

It's never good. Slave.

[Mark Normand]

No, Never. Never. So. But I'm back. That was yesterday. I was a little wonky. But I'm. I'm back, baby. And I got it all in one weekend. Rogan, all that shit. And I'm done. And I'm home.

[Sam Morril]

Damn. That. That is the way to do it. Just fucking suffer for a week.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[Sam Morril]

Like fly, not suffer. But it's a lot of flights, a lot of being on. Look at that.

[Mark Normand]

Dude, we kept it at 8.

[Sam Morril]

Suck on that, Bridgerton.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, you do. Mark Robers, Whoever. Crunchables.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

We're coming for you. Dinosaurs.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. You're extinct. All right. How about that? So.

[Sam Morril]

I love it, man. That's amazing.

[Mark Normand]

Nice to be in the 10 for a while. But you get. You get some hate too. Get a lot of hate.

[Sam Morril]

People are making that Twin Towers jokes are. God damn.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, thanks.

[Sam Morril]

I heard a lot of them because I see. I still. I'll still see you on shows and I'll peek in, I'll watch. But like, it's fun to see the finished product. And you're just like the. The God. I wrote down a few.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, the threesome. Nine, eleven. Is that what. The one you're talking about? Yeah, yeah.

[Sam Morril]

We crumbled under pressure.

[Mark Normand]

Yes, yes.

[Sam Morril]

Fuck. There was a bush and it was an inside job.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah.

[Sam Morril]

WNBA joke you told me before, but I love fucking. You've told me a bunch of these. So I know you ran the Delta Gimp one by me, I think in a text.

[Mark Normand]

Yes. And I was like, that was your line. Delta Gimp.

[Sam Morril]

I said Delta Gimp.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

God damn. No wonder I love that. I'm confident. I'm like, that was a great line. That's a good writer. Here's my favorite part when I went, no, I love. I love the. But it's your. It's your thing. I mean, it's your premise. And there's like. The idea is so fucking funny.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, but no one's put those two words together, Delta and gimp. So that's. That's gold.

[Sam Morril]

It's so. It's so. It's a funny visual. It's hard to do a funny visual.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Like, you know, it's like, that's that funny because you picture it. You see a guy and everyone fucking has been there. Guy. I wrote down a bunch.

[Mark Normand]

Well, we used to write so often together that when you did your Comedy Central hour. Yeah, I went with. I brought May. That's all. What? It was a brand new. It was like a hot date made

[Sam Morril]

in my Comedy Central hour.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Because I want to be like, hey, I know this guy was tv. I was trying to get late.

[Sam Morril]

I remember your. I remember being at your Comedy Central hours probably like a few months before mine or something.

[Mark Normand]

I think you brought Leonard. Oots. Did I really? Well, he was.

[Sam Morril]

We were dating.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Did he fucked him? I remember. I remember you in that church in the Lower East.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Sam Morril]

That was. It was a synagogue. Really? It was amazing. It was beautiful.

[Mark Normand]

But yeah, I brought her. We used to write so much. I was like, that was my tag.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

She was like, shut up. Try to watch. I was like, oh, sorry.

[Sam Morril]

So I didn't. I don't remember at the point Now I don't even remember what I do, but love Leonard. I love that guy. But dude. Yes. So many joke. I mean, fuck, there's another one. A QR code on the clam.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, thanks.

[Sam Morril]

Because I was like, you're like, you know, I'm so. I'm so desensitized to comedy that I'm like, I'm like, you're, like, trying to figure out where. Where's it going?

[Mark Normand]

Right.

[Sam Morril]

It's hard for me to just watch it, enjoy comics, of course. But unless it's like, something so different.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

You know, But I'm like, oh, fog. I was like, where's it going? All the groups that hate each other look the same.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, thanks, thanks. A lot of those bombed in New York.

[Sam Morril]

But that's also one where you're like, that's a great observation. Now where are you going to take it? And the turn, the last line. Women.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, you make everything's a two. Two, two, then a one.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah, yeah. So I was like, in the pause. Women. So it's like, oh, I was like, that one. I was like. I was like, walking on the street watching that one. I was like, oh, oh, on the street.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[Sam Morril]

Well, because sometimes I like to. Yeah. Comedy better than watching. But I was able to get a look too. But yeah, comic. Like Mark or like. I mean, the set's beautiful, so it's wasted on me.

[Mark Normand]

They killed it.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah, it's beautiful. God, the colors are nice.

[Mark Normand]

That's New Orleans.

[Sam Morril]

That's your nicest looking special by far.

[Mark Normand]

I took your advice. You're like, spend some money. The last one, I said, forever.

[Sam Morril]

They're forever.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

We shot that skin on some, too. Although we were talking the other day, we're like, are we ever gonna top our YouTube specials?

[Mark Normand]

Right? Right.

[Sam Morril]

Like, I mean, out to lunch and I got this. Or like, I think there are tops. Probably because we were so hungry and so fucking annoyed. And we're like, no one will give us shit.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Like, I remember. Like, I remember everyone passing on us. And I should feel like, what else we're killing? It was that Bill Burr quote. We were like, we're killing obscurity.

[Mark Normand]

Yes, we're killing obscurity.

[Sam Morril]

What's happening?

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. I would go to clubs and they'd be like, same hour, huh? I'm like, this is all I got. Like, no one's gonna buy it, so I'm not gonna really work on. Yeah. Because I was. That's why mine was so good for me, because I was running it for years. Because you had nothing else. I was like, why not just do it again? No one's filming it.

[Sam Morril]

It's also tough because we were in a lot of papered rooms, which.

[Mark Normand]

True.

[Sam Morril]

Just for those of you don't know the term, it just means a lot of free tickets. Which people. If you. If you don't pay for something, you don't respect it.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, that's true.

[Sam Morril]

I mean, if you give money to it, it's more of like going to the theater to see a movie.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

It's way better than if you Just throw something on Netflix.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, well, that doesn't bode well for hookers versus.

[Sam Morril]

No, we don't respect the hooker.

[Mark Normand]

But you pay.

[Sam Morril]

You pay.

[Mark Normand]

So you.

[Sam Morril]

But your sex doesn't count sex, you know? Yeah, all right, fine. So I'm wrong about that.

[Mark Normand]

Okay, okay.

[Sam Morril]

You found one hole in it.

[Mark Normand]

All right?

[Sam Morril]

And I use that term loosely, but. So you both express some interest separately about wanting to take more time till your next special.

[Mark Normand]

Yes. Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Oh, this time. How did that come about at the same exact time in your career at the same moment? Because we're both burnt out.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

And, like, I just tape one, too, and I'm in the mode. Or I took a couple weeks off, and now I'm like, I'm throwing the wall, and it's kind of fun. It's. That's funny. Someone was watching me bomb, and they were like, you don't really seem like it bothers you. I'm like, it's fun. Yeah, it's fun. After you've been doing well for a while. Like, you run in an hour. It's tight, it's good, and it's for your people on the road. You're spoiled, so you're just like. You get off stage killing. You're like, I'm a fucking hack. Who gives a shit?

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, I know this works.

[Sam Morril]

I'm just cutting fat. But then you go with new shit. You're like, if I get one line, I'm like, oh, all right, cool.

[Mark Normand]

Yes. One line is worth the whole night.

[Sam Morril]

You slave over all these jokes, and then you're like, oh, man, what do I have? And you look at. You're like, was 20 seconds, I guess. Easily 20 seconds. Shit. It's like, you know, you just.

[Mark Normand]

What do they say? Building an hour is like trying to make a mountain out of paint.

[Sam Morril]

It's like when you put spinach in a pan and you're like, that's all I got.

[Mark Normand]

Hey, that's good.

[Sam Morril]

Like, fucking. That's it.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

But no, it's fun, man. It's fun.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Damn. Yeah, I wrote a few more down.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, it's fine.

[Sam Morril]

You hate this. This is hell for marketing. Now I find one more, though. I've heard this too, but I. From you because I loved it, but the RFK feels like family.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, thanks.

[Sam Morril]

Like, fuck.

[Mark Normand]

I was proud of that one.

[Sam Morril]

Well, there's a few. Like, where is this? I just enjoy. There aren't a lot of comics from, like, all right, where's this going? Yeah, I don't watch that many comedy specials because I don't want to bite on people.

[Mark Normand]

Shit. Sure.

[Sam Morril]

But, like, you got to watch your friends.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[Sam Morril]

You got to, you know. So, like, you list. There's like a few people I'll watch, but it's hard. It's hard for me to. I should watch more.

[Mark Normand]

Well, like. Like Summer. Like, I watch Chris Fleming because he's so different.

[Sam Morril]

I started it and I was into it and I gotta go back.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

So I was with a girl who wasn't as into it, and I think she might have been if we gave it more. It takes time.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

It's also like an hour 15.

[Mark Normand]

Sure.

[Sam Morril]

Which I'm like, that's a bold move.

[Mark Normand]

I know. For your opening special.

[Sam Morril]

It's his first special.

[Mark Normand]

I might have done a YouTube.

[Sam Morril]

No, I think he's done stuff.

[Mark Normand]

Okay, maybe you're right.

[Sam Morril]

But I was like, I gotta. I could tell it's good, so I want to go back to it.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, I will. But. Yeah. So I try to watch a little and I listen to a lot and I do the serious comedy.

[Sam Morril]

I love listening I. For something because I. Yeah. I don't know. It feels almost like it's better. We're old school. It's like. It's like when you meet a guy who's like, I only listen to baseball games. You're like, what are you crazy?

[Mark Normand]

Oh, that's wild.

[Derek Trucks]

But.

[Sam Morril]

But I've met people like that with like, you got to listen to a game.

[Mark Normand]

I only listen to porn.

[Sam Morril]

I like the conversation. Yeah, it's really interesting.

[Mark Normand]

Some people are into that ASMR that gets them off that weird noises and

[Sam Morril]

all the people that listen to this to fall asleep.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Yeah. But, you know, it's weird. This is most consumed by YouTube is this. Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Really? Do we do way better on YouTube than audio? Ah, you just made that up.

[Mark Normand]

I thought I heard that podcasts are mostly YouTube. I thought I heard that.

[Sam Morril]

Really?

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Just because people put it on, they eat dinner. It's just in the background. Like, I listen to music off YouTube.

[Sam Morril]

Really?

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, because it's mostly Spotify. Okay, dude, I got it.

[Sam Morril]

Can I give a movie wreck? Yeah, because I watch. Like, I. I still buy DVDs. Like, I'll still buy them. I. It is what I was saying earlier. It's like, kind of feels more like an event to put a disc in. The quality is better. And I don't know, there's something about it that you're like, all right, I got to pay attention.

[Mark Normand]

I like this.

[Sam Morril]

So 400 blows by true.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, classic.

[Sam Morril]

I'D never seen that. I love that you've seen everything. It's fucking great.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah.

[Sam Morril]

I didn't realize it was about his childhood till I started reading about it afterwards. This kid is this kid in France who's kind of street tough. Street tough, but deeply misunderstood.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

It's. His mom is raising him and she just, like, hates him.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

And then the dad is a stepdad. It's not a dad who really. He's, like, fine. He's not, like an awful guy, but he doesn't seem to love him.

[Mark Normand]

Right.

[Sam Morril]

And he's just like, there. And it's just like, what can happen on and on. You end up in a bad place when you don't have a good. But it's just fucking beautiful. It's like. I remember the ending just hit. I was like, oh, my God, it's great.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. And it's such a big influence on so many movies.

[Sam Morril]

Totally.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Have you seen the Bicycle Thief? Oh, if you haven't seen that, don't

[Sam Morril]

do that one to me. Because it's like, there's, like, certain movies that will make you tear up. That kid in that movie.

[Mark Normand]

I know.

[Sam Morril]

He's so cute.

[Mark Normand]

He's great.

[Sam Morril]

He's so.

[Mark Normand]

He's great.

[Sam Morril]

He wouldn't last a second around Spacey.

[Mark Normand]

That's true. And I grew up in a black neighborhood, so this movie hit home for me.

[Sam Morril]

This is my whole job except your movie. Just, like, you guys can have it.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, that's true.

[Sam Morril]

There's a lot of that.

[Mark Normand]

I've heard that story about your story about your nanny.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah. That's amazing.

[Mark Normand]

And one more. Cinema Paradiso.

[Sam Morril]

That is like, if you don't cry during Cinema Paradiso. I don't know, if you're like. You must be, like, made of stone.

[Mark Normand]

Exactly.

[Sam Morril]

I think that's like, the ultimate you cry movie.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Yeah. I think you're right.

[Sam Morril]

I avoid a lot of those movies because I don't want to just let. But like, Cinema Paradiso just. It's brutal. It's so good. It's beautiful, but incredible. Can we play this one scene? We don't know. We don't know shit about copyright law. Okay. You're going to read what he's saying, Mark. Don't look back. Don't give a nostalgia. Forget about us. This is the old pause for a sec. So you play. You're playing. I love this. Interesting. No contact, no context. It's foreign. And we just found out a bunch of our listeners are mostly audio. Yeah. They'll Figure out Italian. It's a kid who grows up in a. Playing films in a projector, and he falls in love with. And this old man is like his mentor, and he's a really sweet guy. And there's a fire in the cinema, and the old man saves the kid, but he becomes blind from the injuries and the kid ends up becoming this big director.

[Mark Normand]

Yep.

[Sam Morril]

And he comes back for the old man's funeral. It's a beautiful story, and it's brutal and heartbreaking, but also just like. So this is the old man saying, don't give into nostalgia. Don't forget about us. No, he's saying, forget about us. Oh, forget about us. Sorry, I missed the point of the movie. No, he said, don't give an Nostalgia. Forget about us. Yeah, like, go on with your life, he said. Chills. Brutal. Yeah, you can't forget your child. That's like, those formative movies are the ones that fuck you up. Like that last line of Stand By Me. Like the thing about. I never had friends like that.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Again, I'm butchering it. But like, but who does? And you're like, ah, geez.

[Mark Normand]

I know.

[Sam Morril]

He just like, casually says that River Phoenix got his throat slit.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

He just kind of like, oh, yeah, he got his throat slit later in a.

[Mark Normand]

And like a bar fight.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah. And. Yeah. I don't know.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, man. Yeah. That's heavy stuff. It's also crazy, that movie. They're all kids, they're best friends, whatever. And then they all go different ways and never talk to each other again, which is such a true thing in life.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, you want to cry? Watch Train Dreams.

[Derek Trucks]

Really?

[Mark Normand]

Oh, this is the best movie of 2026. I'm calling it. Right.

[Sam Morril]

Okay, I gotta watch it, man. I'm gonna watch it this week.

[Mark Normand]

Deep, heavy, introspective. I watch it with May. She's on the couch weeping. She's like. Like, what is this movie? I've never even heard of this.

[Sam Morril]

And it's beautiful. Beautiful.

[Mark Normand]

It's pretty. He's great. He carries the whole thing. There's like 10 seconds of dialogue. You don't even need it.

[Sam Morril]

What. What's like an ultimate tear jerker movie for you? Like, what gets you every time.

[Mark Normand]

That's what I call a bad hand job.

[Sam Morril]

I got one during Schindler's List. It broke me.

[Mark Normand]

Ultimate tear jerker. Well, like, let's see. Oh, oh, I got it. What's that? You want to talk Schindler's List?

[Sam Morril]

Life is beautiful.

[Mark Normand]

Life is beautiful.

[Sam Morril]

I was gonna say that. Too. Every time. Benini. God damn. Staying funny in the fucking tragedy.

[Mark Normand]

Unbelievable.

[Sam Morril]

Oh, the walk.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, yeah. Heavy.

[Sam Morril]

What do you got? All five of the movies you've spoken about so far. Kids are in it. That's the through line for you guys.

[Mark Normand]

Interesting.

[Sam Morril]

You know what I was gonna say another with kids always gets me. No. Kramer versus Kramer. Oh, making the French toast in the end every time. Because it's like not trying to get you. It's a subtle. We have this routine now and you're like. And they have the fight earlier. I love God. God does.

[Derek Trucks]

It's.

[Sam Morril]

It is funny how they just were like, we'll make the mom awful. Yeah, that's totally a movie for men. Like, the mom's a piece of. We're like, dustin Hoffman's doing his best, but Meryl Streep. I. I think she still won the Oscar for it.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, there you go.

[Sam Morril]

It's a. That's a great movie.

[Mark Normand]

They should remake it with Michael Richards versus Kramer.

[Sam Morril]

It's like, club.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Buildings are exploding. He's like, it was you. It was you. Who's you? Who said the N word at the club?

[Mark Normand]

Oh, wait. What's another way? I had one Tear jerker.

[Sam Morril]

War movies will get me too.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, war movie. Yeah. All on Quiet on the Western Front.

[Sam Morril]

I got. That's another one I gotta watch. I've been on a war kick too. Cuz I just like.

[Mark Normand]

Well, we're in a war, so it's timely. Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Deer Hunter will get you heavy. It's just brutal.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. I had it again and I lost it again. I'll get it back. Whatever. I thought.

[Sam Morril]

I've never seen Terms of Endearment. I'm intimidated because everyone's like, you're gonna cry when someone opens with that. I'm like, I. But I feel like I gotta see it. Yeah. Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

That's how I felt. With a bridge over what? What is that? A wall? With Redford

[Sam Morril]

bridges over Madison County.

[Mark Normand]

Yes. Yeah. When that came out, I was. Everybody's like, it's so sad. You're gonna cry. I never watched it, if that's the pitch. Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

You gotta start with it. So great.

[Mark Normand]

Right? Right.

[Sam Morril]

You say you're gonna cry. No. Dude is like, oh, sweet. Let me clear my Saturday. No, you're like, you know. But I hear it some. It's James L. Brooks, too. We should see it.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, that's true. He's great.

[Sam Morril]

And Nicholson.

[Mark Normand]

I know.

[Sam Morril]

And Shirley McClain.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, she's good. Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

I'm thinking, are there any other like that? Always get you. I mean, I cry at the end of E.T. yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Kids.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, kids again. Oh, I thought what I was gonna say the beginning.

[Sam Morril]

You up.

[Mark Normand]

Unreal.

[Sam Morril]

That opening. I'm like, this is. You're opening it.

[Mark Normand]

I know. And it's a kids thing. Pixar. I got it. Disney. I learned this the other day because I follow a bunch of movie accounts.

[Sam Morril]

Same. That's like my whole for you thing. If I get in the Doom scroll thing, it's like movie. Or like NBA war stories.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Scorsese.

[Mark Normand]

So Disney said, if you watch every big movie on Disney, it's all. A parent dies and the kid has to grow up and become a. An adult.

[Sam Morril]

And grow up quickly.

[Mark Normand]

And grow up quickly. Lion King, Bambi. There's another one. There's a couple of them. But first of all, Walt Disney's parents died young, when he was young. And that him up. But he also realized if the parent dies in a kid movie, the kid is immediately gripped. Then the kid has to grow up. Simba grows up. Scar.

[Sam Morril]

Because that doesn't work.

[Mark Normand]

The kid's like, I can do that. And so it's emotionally gripping. You'll love it. You'll love every movie.

[Sam Morril]

His mom is killed in the first scene.

[Mark Normand]

Exactly. Yeah. So now you're invested. You're like, oh, how's he gonna get out of this one? I'm a kid.

[Sam Morril]

It's crazy to show a kid that stuff. I mean, it's like, yeah, you're probably working stuff out. You're like, all right, let me start with the parents getting raped. And they're like, too far. Let me reel it back in. Yeah. They didn't respond to that. Right, the gimp scene.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, the kid. Kid's biggest fear is abandoned.

[Sam Morril]

Abandoned. Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

So there you go. That's how you started.

[Sam Morril]

No, I mean, it's. I'm trying to think there's any others that kill me. War movies do always get you.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Forrest Gump got me in the. I saw it in the theater with the Bubba. When Bubba died, I wept like a.

[Sam Morril]

He was so nice.

[Mark Normand]

I know.

[Sam Morril]

And Sinise loses the legs.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah. Brutal with those cunt strippers. You loser. You freak. When he's crawling and I'm like, God, you are cruel. He's handicapped.

[Sam Morril]

Love Sinise.

[Mark Normand]

He's so good.

[Sam Morril]

Well, apparently this makes people cry. I've never seen War Horse. Yeah. I think it's a scene. It looks like an AI movie.

[Mark Normand]

It does.

[Sam Morril]

Designed to make people cry. Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[Sam Morril]

About a man and his horse.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, who is it? Who's in it?

[Sam Morril]

I think it's the Spielberg movie. Is it Spielberg?

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Who's the star of it? I don't know. Let's look it up.

[Mark Normand]

They had a seabiscuit war horse. They had a couple of horses.

[Sam Morril]

Too many horses in a row. I think. I think I missed the whole horse epidemic there. Jeremy. Sorry. A young farm boy. It's a Spielberg film.

[Mark Normand]

7.2.

[Sam Morril]

Jeremy Irvin.

[Mark Normand]

Irvine.

[Sam Morril]

Irvine. Excuse me. Damn. All right. Is it Spielberg? Yeah. Damn.

[Derek Trucks]

This.

[Sam Morril]

This is our wreck. We should watch. We should all watch this and get. I want to watch. He's giving me two others.

[Mark Normand]

Train dreams is great.

[Sam Morril]

You haven't seen train dreams. We should watch it. Let's watch it. All right.

[Mark Normand]

Heavy. This will be our book club.

[Sam Morril]

Oh, yeah.

[Mark Normand]

We got a guest coming in.

[Sam Morril]

I'm excited about this one.

[Mark Normand]

Pull up the name because I don't want to get it wrong.

[Sam Morril]

Dirt trucks.

[Mark Normand]

Thank you. Oh, that's the easiest name on the planet.

[Sam Morril]

I don't want to mispronounce it.

[Mark Normand]

John Smith. Got it. Okay. These guys sold out 10 shows at the beacon. They play in New York all the time. They're maybe one of the best blues in Seoul. What? Okay.

[Sam Morril]

Yes.

[Mark Normand]

Hey. Hey, folks. Mars men. A lot of guys don't talk about this, but as you get older, things start to feel different. Your energy drops, workouts don't feel the same, Recovery takes longer, and your focus can dip throughout the day. What most people don't realize is that your body is still producing testosterone. But a lot of it gets bound up by a protein called shbg, which limits how your body can actually use, how much your body can use. So even if it looks normal, you might not feel it. Mars men is designed to help your body make better use of what it already produces by helping free up that lock, testosterone, so it can actually be used. It's made with eight natural, clinically dosed ingredients like tongkat, ali shilahajit, vitamin d, zinc and boron, all selected to support energy, strength, stamina and focus in a steady, consistent way. No injections, no synthetic hormones. It's made in The U. S. Third party tested, backed by a 90 day money back guarantee. So there's no downside to try it for a limited time. Our listeners get 50 off for life plus free shipping and three free gifts@ Mengotomars.com that's Mengotomars.com for 50 off and three free gifts when you check out. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about it and Please support the show and tell them we sent you. Thank you.

[Sam Morril]

If something's off in the bedroom, you're not the only one. A lot of guys deal with it at some point, and most wait longer than they should to actually do something about it. The good news is getting help is a lot easier now than it used to be. HIMSS connects you with licensed healthcare providers online so you can get access to to legitimate ED treatment without leaving your house. No awkward doctor visits, no sitting in the waiting room, and no pharmacy lines. You just complete a simple online intake. A provider reviews your information and if treatment is right for you, it ships directly to your door in discreet packaging. No one's going to see the HIM stuff. It's nice and discreet. That includes Slidenafil, which is the generic for Viagra. Glad I didn't know that yet, but no shame. Available through HIMS up to 95% less than the brand name version. And if that option isn't right for you, there are additional treatments available so you can find what actually works for your body. It's simple, straightforward and designed to make the whole process feel easy and private. To get simple online access to personalized affordable care for ED, hair loss and weight loss, and more, visit hims.com drunk that's hims.com drunk for your free online visit hims.com drunk prescription required. See website for details and important safety information. Sildenafil There you go. Is the generic version of Viagra. Viagra is a registered trademark of the Viatris specialty lc. HIMS is not affiliated with or endorsed by

[Mark Normand]

Nice. Whoa. If your business communication is all over the place, things start slipping through the cracks. Messages get missed, customers don't respond, and internally, people aren't always sure who's handling what. That's where quo comes in. Quo is a modern business phone system built for how teams actually work. Today, it's the number one rated business phone system on G2 with over 3,000 reviews, and more than 90,000 businesses rely on it to stay connected and organized. It works directly from an app on your phone or computer, and you can keep your existing number or add new ones in minutes as your team grows. The biggest difference is that the entire team can manage calls and texts from one shared number. Everyone sees the full conversation thread, so nothing gets lost and customers get faster, more consistent responses. On top of that, Quo includes built in AI tools that log calls, generate summaries, and highlight next steps so your team always knows what's happening and what needs to be done next. Everything lives in one Place which makes communication faster, clear and more reliable. Make this time where no opportunity and no customer slips away. Try quo for free plus for free plus get 20 off your first six months when you go to quo.comwmbd that's q u-comwmbd quo no missed calls, no missed customers.

[Sam Morril]

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[Mark Normand]

Nice. So, hey, come on in.

[Sam Morril]

What's up? How are you?

[Mark Normand]

Good to have you.

[Sam Morril]

Thanks for coming on.

[Mark Normand]

How many are we talking? Is this?

[Sam Morril]

Just Eric. Okay. Perfect. Yeah. So, bro.

[Mark Normand]

Derek.

[Derek Trucks]

Yes, sir.

[Mark Normand]

All right. Mark.

[Derek Trucks]

Nice to meet you.

[Mark Normand]

Nice to meet you.

[Sam Morril]

Nice to see you again.

[Derek Trucks]

Good to see you.

[Mark Normand]

Hey, hey. Oh, we got the. We got the pooch. Hell yeah.

[Sam Morril]

What else is this?

[Mark Normand]

Ass pocket, baby. Oh, whoa.

[Sam Morril]

Ass Pocket Whiskey. This is awesome. We got to step up our. Our swag you got.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, Good boxing, good delivery.

[Sam Morril]

Damn, look at this. Yeah, Pocket whiskey. You got that right there.

[Mark Normand]

Grab a wheel. That's ours. Bodega cat right there.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah, we got ours. We got. I mean, I'm coming off an ulcer, but I got. I gotta. Out of respect, give it a sip.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, same here. And it's fun to hit that flask.

[Derek Trucks]

Cool.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah. Oh, this is like a fun little bottle. Are they different? Are they different?

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, there's. We've done five releases.

[Mark Normand]

Give me one of those.

[Derek Trucks]

This is a 20 year.

[Mark Normand]

20 year.

[Derek Trucks]

It's a tasty sucker.

[Mark Normand]

It's almost illegal.

[Sam Morril]

This is 10. This is 10 years. These are 210.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

I want to try the 21st. Is that crazy?

[Mark Normand]

That's good. That's good.

[Derek Trucks]

It's hot one, too. 117, I think.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. We're like, hot ones for booze.

[Sam Morril]

Oh, my God. That's unbelievable.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, that tastes great. It's kind of creamy almost. It goes down easy.

[Derek Trucks]

We did a release of a 15 and a 9 in a box together. Those were pretty great, too.

[Mark Normand]

Give me another hit of that.

[Derek Trucks]

Maybe my favorite of the bunch.

[Sam Morril]

That is crazy. Are those bottles shaped like that? Because they could fit in your boot. Is that real?

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. Or your back pocket.

[Sam Morril]

Back pocket, ass pocket.

[Derek Trucks]

But if you wear boots, it definitely fits.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah. This is amazing.

[Mark Normand]

Good. You as a Vorinal.

[Sam Morril]

The doctor was. The doctor was literally like, no. He's like, brown liquor and coffee are the worst things for you right now.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, wow.

[Sam Morril]

I was like, my two favorite fucking things. I'm not throwing, like, pussy film noir and the Knicks.

[Mark Normand]

I'd actually ruined my life.

[Derek Trucks]

They always take the good stuff from you.

[Mark Normand]

My doctor said brown people, so, you know, you got a better doctor, dude.

[Sam Morril]

I mean, 10 nights at the Beacon is insane.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, it's been a trip.

[Sam Morril]

That's like the. That's. We say that's, like, the coolest theater in America.

[Derek Trucks]

We're on. What is tonight? Eight.

[Mark Normand]

Wow. What a run.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. So eight. Bunch of press. It's been good, though. It's been a good run.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah. I mean, that's. It's so cool, man. I get so many friends message me when we said you're coming on, like, oh, my God. Like, my friend Brian Koppelman was like, you gotta ask him, like, what it's like working with his wife. Like, creatively. How do you work with your wife? That's wild to us because we're comics. We're on our own up there.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Well, I mean, I met Susan on the road. She was opening for the Allman Brothers in 1999. We bought a house, had kids, got married. It's one of those orders. And then 10 years in, we're like, I think we could probably maybe play music together.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

We didn't jump in right away, but it's been an amazing run. We're 15, 16 years in.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[Derek Trucks]

And it's. But, yeah, I mean, you got to. It's got to be the right person, having a big band. You got to make sure that everybody's role is pretty defined. But it's been amazing. I mean, we've been really lucky. I mean, we're better now than we were when we started the band.

[Mark Normand]

Nice.

[Sam Morril]

Like. Like in terms of collaborating.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, that's rare. Usually it goes the other way.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. No, and if it does, I could see it going that way quick.

[Mark Normand]

Right, right.

[Derek Trucks]

So it's kind of like all or nothing, but it's been an amazing run and the band's in a healthy spot. I mean, it's. I never would have thought we'd be able to make it this long with a 12 piece band. It's a geez. Heavy lift with band and crew. We're 25, 30 people on the road, so.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[Sam Morril]

Days.

[Derek Trucks]

All for expensive.

[Sam Morril]

Are you on. On buses? How do you do it?

[Mark Normand]

12 piece.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, you know, the residencies are nice because you stay put for a minute. Yeah, but we don't. In the summer we're hitting the road hard and it's. You're on the bus. Three or four buses, depending on the tour, how much production. So It's. I mean, eight or 10 people on a bus, you're. You're on each other. You better like each other.

[Sam Morril]

I mean, that's so, so much harder than our. The way we literally show up with a mic.

[Mark Normand]

Exactly. And an opener, maybe.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, you know, I, I've. I've had a few friends along the way that are comics and then every once in a while one of them hits and all of a sudden you see them playing these arenas and things and they show up and they have a road manager, two of their friends. It's like four people traveling.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, right.

[Sam Morril]

That's exactly how we do it.

[Derek Trucks]

Holy cow. That's incredible.

[Sam Morril]

It's crazy.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, it's an amazing thing to see.

[Mark Normand]

Well, that's more than isis. I mean, that's crazy.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, you know, we can. We roll into a town, you feel pretty safe. Like we have a small army rolling.

[Mark Normand]

Hell yeah.

[Sam Morril]

That's awesome.

[Mark Normand]

If you're in a bar fight, you're good.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. There's a few guys in the band that you want to have them with you.

[Mark Normand]

Oh yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

A few foxhole guys. I mean, we have a few on our crew especially. There's a guy that drives a truck for us. He was driving with the Allman Brothers years ago and he was an army ranger. He was a prisoner of war for a while.

[Sam Morril]

Wow.

[Derek Trucks]

And when you show up at a festival, he's the first one on site. You roll in, he's got it all recon and he's like, buses are here, right? Yes, sir. I'm following you.

[Mark Normand]

Rick,

[Sam Morril]

you want to play Russian Roulette after the show? You're like, dude, please.

[Derek Trucks]

It's battle all the time with that dude.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, we need one or two of those guys. I had one of those guys in high school. He just went down. Yeah, he was ready.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah, I'm glad that guy's on our side.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, the. The Almond Brothers have this famous roadie named Red Dog, I think Almost famous. It was a character based on him, but he was in Vietnam, came back reenlisted because of the adrenaline rush. He's one of those guys. But when I joined the Allman Brothers Band, he had been there 30 something years. And he's one of those guys that would take a bullet for anyone in the band. He was hardcore and had the guy

[Sam Morril]

who wants to too badly. No one's got a gun. Settle.

[Derek Trucks]

You don't have to instigate this. But he was a legend, man. They don't make him like that anymore, man.

[Mark Normand]

I'm gluten free. He's got an ulcer.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, it's different now.

[Sam Morril]

Wow. Is that him playing with the Almond Brothers?

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, yeah, there he is.

[Mark Normand]

That's him. That's Red Dog on the right. Holy yelling. He's already yelling at the guy.

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, yeah. No, that's what he looked like when I joined the band too. He was quite something funny the other night. Susan has become friends with Cyndi Lauper, which is awesome. She is hilarious and incredible human. We went by her place for dinner the other night and she said, you know, I actually. I was in the Fillmore east the first time when I was 17 and the Allman Brothers were playing and Elvin Bishop. And I was there because I was into the fashion. The groupies had the best fashion. I didn't care about the other groupie shit, but I wanted to see what they were wearing. And so I was talking to them and they were like, yeah, we can just between bands, you just head backstage. And so I snuck backstage and I ran into Red Dog. He was this guy that was working with the Albin Brothers. So I was like, you met Red Dog.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[Derek Trucks]

And she thought she was a background singer and like, like put her on stage. Like, get out there. You're supposed to be. That was like, never, never imagined Cyndi Lauper and Red Dog having a.

[Sam Morril]

That is crazy connection.

[Mark Normand]

I just saw her on TikTok, like she had a resurgence. She's doing great now.

[Sam Morril]

Chris DiStefano's our buddy. Chris the comic. She played his mom in his new show.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, is that right?

[Sam Morril]

That'd be awesome.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, she came out to the Beacon the other night and set in. It was pretty incredible.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. Pretty fun.

[Sam Morril]

Damn. She is. She's pretty damn cool.

[Mark Normand]

That's got to be the best. It's hearing those old stories. I mean, I can't even imagine.

[Derek Trucks]

Well, Red Dog wrote self published book called the Book of Tales and it's about what you think it is. It's just Red Dog chasing the ladies. It is high comedy.

[Mark Normand]

It's great.

[Derek Trucks]

Highly recommended if you can find it.

[Sam Morril]

Damn, we gotta get that book.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

What's the routine on the road like, what's a night like usually? Poke show.

[Derek Trucks]

How do you know if we're staying in a town? Our band likes to hang afterwards. So a lot of times you find half the band will end up at some point. Jazz club where everyone's sitting in. Horn section will roll in. We'll often end up there too. Or you just find a dive bar. Everybody enjoys hanging. Band and crew.

[Mark Normand]

Oh yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

So it's. It's a good group that way where we, I mean we, we know that we have to be up the next day and working. So we, you know, there's a, there's a line.

[Mark Normand]

Sure, sure.

[Derek Trucks]

If there's a day off, it's a little different. But we.

[Sam Morril]

The days off. There's a lot of lines.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, yeah. And it depends on how far you're traveling. You know, we, but we're, we're adults. It's an adult traveling band.

[Mark Normand]

Right.

[Derek Trucks]

It's definitely not a. It's not a choir rolling down the road, but yeah, it's a fun group. I mean, I've been in bands where you get off stage and everyone just heads their separate ways.

[Mark Normand]

Right.

[Derek Trucks]

You only see each other on the bus or on stage. And luckily this is not that group. So it's It. I think that stuff really matters, actually.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, I agree. Bonding and it's a middle ground. You don't want to go do heroin all night, but you don't also go sit at a different band. Yeah, but there's a great dive bar up by the Beacon with the harp on it.

[Derek Trucks]

The Dublin.

[Mark Normand]

The Dublin.

[Derek Trucks]

All there about three nights ago.

[Mark Normand]

Hell yeah. I love that bar.

[Sam Morril]

It's iconic, man.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. Oh man, I love that.

[Sam Morril]

The elevator and everything. All those iconic.

[Derek Trucks]

It's the best.

[Mark Normand]

There it is. Look at that big neon harp. You can't beat it.

[Derek Trucks]

There's a Banksy out front.

[Mark Normand]

That's right. That's right. Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

We saw the video of you playing a 13, obviously. Which is. I'm sure everyone brings that up to you. Is that just, like. How did that start circulating? Is that you posted that or someone else posted.

[Derek Trucks]

No, I didn't post that.

[Mark Normand]

What is this? Sorry.

[Derek Trucks]

It looks like I had an ass pocket on stage.

[Sam Morril]

This is crazy.

[Derek Trucks]

Wild.

[Sam Morril]

Is it just weird to see that now?

[Derek Trucks]

There's a lot of blackmail material. I was on the road at nine years old.

[Sam Morril]

Oh, my God. You're like Drew Barrymore. What the hell?

[Derek Trucks]

There was, like, this couple, this guy and his girl that would follow us to shows and film almost everything. So every once in a while, something pops up. The guitar player up front, Danny Roberts, he was in Mud Crutch. This is Petty's original band.

[Mark Normand]

Anyone else hard? Look how cute. See, if I was a woman, I would just see the fingering abilities here. This is so hot.

[Sam Morril]

Then you'd go to jail. He's 13.

[Derek Trucks]

Good point. And that guy, Rick Stott, he was driving tour buses a few years later, so we rented to him. My uncle's timpani's in the back.

[Sam Morril]

What shirt is that?

[Derek Trucks]

That's a Dwayne Amond shirt.

[Sam Morril]

That's killer. This is so cool. Being that good at something at that age. Does it kind of kill your social life?

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, yeah. Nobody in my school cared about that. That was not cool. When I was in middle school or

[Sam Morril]

whenever, when they're going to parties and stuff, you're like, I gotta practice. I'm so good at this.

[Derek Trucks]

I was on the road, man.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[Sam Morril]

At 13, you're just on the road. Yeah, you really were at 9 to 13.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

What do your parents say about this?

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, they were out with me. It was mainly weekends.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Miss a little bit. Teachers were good about giving you work

[Sam Morril]

in advance, but they could tell that you're legit at this.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. I mean, they knew something was up. So until high school, they kind of stopped caring in high school, they're like, you have to be there this many days or you're not gonna pass.

[Mark Normand]

Sure.

[Sam Morril]

You gotta finish your math homework. Did you just see that solo?

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. It's gonna be big. Even though I would notice a few of my high school teachers out front at shows while they were failing me.

[Sam Morril]

That is hilarious.

[Derek Trucks]

So I ended up homeschooling the last few years of high school. Took my SATs and all that stuff on the road after shows.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, my God.

[Derek Trucks]

Just to let my mom know I wasn't a total degenerate.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

But it was an amazing run. I mean, those were fun years.

[Mark Normand]

This Is a silly question, but do you worry that the youngsters now with the AI and all the shit, they're not gonna take the time to string away and fail and learn?

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, you do. I think in the arts in general, you kind of worry about that.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

But I think there's pockets of people that just enjoy doing things because you enjoy doing it.

[Mark Normand]

Sure.

[Derek Trucks]

And so I think that's probably safe. Those knees, incredible. But the thing that I feel lucky. I'm glad I was ahead of the technological curve, was I could pretty much cut my teeth in bars every night without it being posted the next day.

[Mark Normand]

Hear, hear. So true.

[Derek Trucks]

And I know. I'm sure in your world it's even more so when you're working out material.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[Derek Trucks]

You don't want people. But since I remember, in trouble for

[Sam Morril]

that, like, years ago, he had a sandy hook. It was like when people really had turned on Louie and he had a sandy hook bit. Yeah. Not the bit you want to be

[Derek Trucks]

captured, especially when it's not landing correctly.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah, exactly. I know, but. But he was like. I was like, dude, let it. Let it. Give him a minute.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

It's not a special. He's gonna figure it out.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

You know, so.

[Derek Trucks]

So I had many years of. We play every night. You're on to the next city. And even if people were recording, wasn't like the next city didn't know how bad you were before you got there or that you were working it out. So, yeah, I kind of worry about that for up and coming artists, it's like as soon as you learn something, you want to share it with people and you can, and maybe you shouldn't.

[Sam Morril]

I agree.

[Mark Normand]

Completely agree.

[Derek Trucks]

There's something about paying your dues and actually putting the work in that. I don't know. I feel lucky that I was able to.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Anonymity is a gift.

[Derek Trucks]

It is, man. It is. I remember listening to some early Richard Pryor, like, some bootlegs and going, wow, he wasn't that funny yet. Kind of like, it kind of gave me a lot of hope because you're

[Sam Morril]

like, he also might have been on

[Mark Normand]

a lot of drugs. Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

I think it was even before. It's like, he was such a master. And you're like, even he had to cut his teeth. Exactly where you hear, like, early Charlie Parker or Coltrane, you're like, wow, he wasn't that guy yet.

[Mark Normand]

That's crazy.

[Sam Morril]

Well, there's that famous Miles Davis quote. Right. It takes you a long time to sound like yourself.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sam Morril]

But for comedy you're like, it takes. You're a prodigy at 13. There's no great comic at 13.

[Mark Normand]

No.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, you're right. It's a, that's a different thing. Yeah. The other great Miles Davis quote, John Coltrane was going through this period where it was just sheets of sound. And he's like, man, I just, when I start playing a solo, I just, I don't know how to stop. I can't stop. And Miles goes, just take the fucking horn out of your mouth. That's actually good advice for a lot of things.

[Mark Normand]

He's a scary guy. You ever watch some of his interviews on YouTube? He was a wild man.

[Derek Trucks]

One floating around now of it was like some morning TV show that thought it'd be a good idea to have these upand cominging trumpet players on play and Miles judge them. It's like 12 year old kid gets done playing. It's like Miles, so what do you think of his sound? And he goes, he knows what he sounds like. It's just high school, man. And you can see this kid just. It's bad.

[Mark Normand]

Wow. Yeah. Norm.

[Derek Trucks]

Too hard.

[Mark Normand]

Norm MacDonald was the judge on Last Comic. You know, it's NBC, it's all nice and family and all this. And Norm be like, yeah, it's really bad. Flew there from Cleveland season. I wasn't on that.

[Sam Morril]

I was on that season.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, really?

[Sam Morril]

And I was like, Keenan dug me, but, but Roseanne and, and Norm complimented me. I was like, all right, I'll take it.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, that's, that's perfect, man.

[Derek Trucks]

Norm was incredible.

[Mark Normand]

The king.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, man. He is one of my favorites. Bill Hicks and Norm.

[Mark Normand]

Hell yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Hell yeah.

[Mark Normand]

You got good taste.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

You listen to Bill Hicks stuff now and you're like, I love the albums where he's bombing the, the flying saucer tool. He's just furious. The crowd.

[Derek Trucks]

There's a few Bill Hicks rants that are all timers and all timers.

[Mark Normand]

The screaming one where he screams at the lady.

[Sam Morril]

That's a bad moment though. That's like, that's like.

[Mark Normand]

But he was still articulate, like entertaining. Of course. Of course.

[Derek Trucks]

I had a, I had a Bill Hicks. I never got to see him, but Susan was friends with Willie Nelson and his wife and she surprised me in Hawaii. We were doing a tour in Japan, stopping in Hawaii for a few gigs and she and Susan's like, I'll meet you there, we'll go stay at a friend's house. And I was like, I'd really rather just go to a hotel, crash. She's like, trust me. So she picks me up, go to this house. They have this wing of the house. They just let me crash. Cause I'm, you know, jet lagged. And I wake up in the middle of the night, wander the kitchen. I didn't know whose house it was yet. And Willie Nelson wanders out like, hey, are you jet lagged? You hungry? I was like, I am, actually. So we ended up staying with Willie for a week. The most amazing human on earth. He had this gambling room. Django's Orchid Lounge. It was poker, it was chess. He's, like, sharp as a damn tack. But I was asking him about Bill Hicks because he lived in Austin, and I knew his politics would be the same as Willie's, and he didn't know about him. So we went to his living room. His family's there. And I was like, pull up. I forgot what record. Like, rant and E minor. Whichever one it was. And she just pops on this one that just says Willie. And right when it started, I was like, oh, shit. This is Bill Hicks going. Any artist that does an advertisement, you are off the artistic roll call forever. That goes for anybody except maybe Willie Nelson. And he was like, Willie was so high, he's doing Taco Bell commercials. And he just goes in so hard on Willie. And I was like, I just met this guy.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[Derek Trucks]

And I'm thinking, this is when we

[Sam Morril]

should go to a Shopify ad real quick.

[Derek Trucks]

I really thought he was just gonna be like, who is this asshole in my house, like, playing this? But then Willie laughs, and then a few days later, man, that Bill Hicks stuff was great.

[Mark Normand]

I was like, so he's a cool guy. He can joke. There it is. A Taco Bell ad. Half a bill for that or some.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, that was.

[Mark Normand]

That was a.

[Derek Trucks]

Back when he didn't pay his taxes.

[Mark Normand]

All right, let's see. Give me. Just give me a taste of this meltdown he has here on this lady.

[Sam Morril]

Get the out of here right now.

[Mark Normand]

Crowd's loving it.

[Sam Morril]

You're everything that America should be flushed

[Mark Normand]

down the toilet, you turds. You get out. Get out, you drunk.

[Derek Trucks]

Holy cow.

[Mark Normand]

Sounds like my dad talking to my mom.

[Sam Morril]

Go see Madonna, you idiot.

[Mark Normand]

Piece of.

[Derek Trucks]

That's incredible.

[Sam Morril]

I showed this Madonna recently.

[Mark Normand]

She was furious.

[Derek Trucks]

She was like, that was great. Holy cow. Yeah, Bill Hicks is. He was. He was one of a kind. He would have done well now.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah. Oh, a lot to talk about.

[Derek Trucks]

Holy cow.

[Mark Normand]

Fucking Iran. Can you believe this? Yeah, just go on.

[Sam Morril]

We got to bring up. I know probably a million people brought this up to you. But the. The guitar you're playing, the Jerry Garcia guitar, the twelve million dollar guitar.

[Derek Trucks]

That's wild.

[Sam Morril]

This is crazy.

[Derek Trucks]

It was wild. Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

How did. How did you get your hands on this? And how. Like, how did the auction thing.

[Mark Normand]

Sorry, that's my.

[Sam Morril]

It is Ass pocket whiskey. Holy. That's. Yeah. How'd you get your hands on this? And how'd the auction thing go?

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, it was kind of by chance. One of my friends was in town who's actually part of APW with us, and he was going down. Him and a few partners were going down to take a shot at that Garcia guitar. And so they. They. It's called family guitars. They collect guitars and get them out to musicians to play. And they, like, try to keep them in the. In the stream instead of. Of locked away. So I went down just to kind of watch the spectacle. They had a John Coltrane horn up for sale that was like, estimated at like 40k. And I was like, I'll take a run at that. It went for like, 400. I didn't take a very long run at it.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

I was there like, this will be fun. And then the David Gilmore guitar went for like 12, 14 million.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[Derek Trucks]

I was like, what is happening in here? There was a drumhead, the Beatles drum head from Ed Sullivan. I think it was like 2.8 million. Drum head.

[Sam Morril]

Who's buying this stuff?

[Derek Trucks]

Who knows, man? There was a lot of Internet bidding.

[Sam Morril]

It's all Elon Musk.

[Derek Trucks]

But my buddy ended up getting that guitar, the Garcia guitar, and they brought it out for the next few nights to the Beacon. You got to keep it in the dressing room.

[Sam Morril]

Was there, like, security detail with that guitar?

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, there's probably should have been. But once we got it to the Beacon, they let me just kind of keep track of it in the. Keep it in the dressing room. And it's fun to play it. I've never played a guitar like that. It's like 13 and a half pounds, like metal. Really unique instrument.

[Mark Normand]

Look at that beautiful thing.

[Derek Trucks]

The woodwork on that thing is wild. Super articulate sounding and playing. It's similar to the SG I play. I found out it has, like, a metal nut, metal bridge. So when I would really get on it, I think I broke two or three strings right off the top of it.

[Mark Normand]

Damn.

[Derek Trucks]

So you can't manhandle it the way you can. My guitar. It's much more precision instrument, but by the second night, I felt like I could really get inside of it. Figured out Some of the sounds. But it was. It was quite fun to play. It's not something you do every day.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Yeah. Wow.

[Derek Trucks]

The guy also brought out one of Frank Zappa's guitars. The Baby Snakes guitar. And that thing was wild. Probably the fastest guitar I've ever played. The way it was set up.

[Mark Normand]

Up. Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Cuz Frank Zappa, like Les Paul and those guys, they were. They would tinker with their instruments. They would. They would just modify them. I think it had like a fuzz face inside. So it was like a rocket ship. That thing. That was fun to play.

[Mark Normand]

Damn. Yeah. I have Bill Cosby's bed.

[Sam Morril]

That is the thing we don't have. We don't do that. We don't.

[Derek Trucks]

I've never.

[Sam Morril]

We don't buy like Jerry's mic.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, that's true. Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Like, dude, this is. This is Mort Saul's stool.

[Derek Trucks]

Like the long skinny microphone.

[Sam Morril]

Not this stool.

[Mark Normand]

That's true. What is that about comics?

[Sam Morril]

Because we don't. We don't care about the mic.

[Mark Normand]

Any mic.

[Derek Trucks]

But like Diary.

[Mark Normand]

There you go.

[Sam Morril]

That's true. Like, a notepad would be kind of cool.

[Mark Normand]

Notepad's good.

[Sam Morril]

Carlin's notebook. That would be cool.

[Mark Normand]

In Rogan's club. He's got Dangerfield's joke book and notes on the wall.

[Sam Morril]

I've seen. That's beautiful.

[Mark Normand]

Pretty cool.

[Derek Trucks]

We ran into George Carlin on the road earlier. Whoa. We were playing the same casino and I was like snuck into a show. And then after our gig was it. I think it was probably Vegas. I don't remember. We didn't do a lot of casino shows with the almonds, so I'm assuming. But I remember going to the elevator after our show and it's closing and Carlin walks in with two ladies. I was like, yes.

[Mark Normand]

Hell yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

That's incredible. I don't know if they worked with him or what the deal was, but he rolled in hard. Just. It was quite a moment.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. He partied till the end.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. He's a hero, man. His stuff holds up.

[Mark Normand]

Oh yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

He's like a Bill Hicks or those guys where you like just. It. It's never wrong.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. He's. He's one of those guys with the right and the left claim him. They're like, look. He calls everybody homos. He's like.

[Derek Trucks]

He's like, I hate all of you.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Abortion. Yeah. He's got every angle.

[Sam Morril]

I love the angle. The. The albums. Like Complaints and Grievances where every bit just starts like. Here's another group of people that Ought. Whose mother's plans ought to include an abortion. It starts every premise with Tell us

[Derek Trucks]

how you really feel.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Yeah. Holy cow, he's the man. That's crazy.

[Sam Morril]

Touring with the Almonds when you were that young has got to be insane. Is that just. Are you just.

[Derek Trucks]

It was pretty. I mean, I was 19 when I got the call, and I think I just turned 20 when I did the first gigs with him. And it was just. Hit the ground running.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, sorry. Anything you saw too young?

[Derek Trucks]

Actually, by the time I got there, they were all like, just reformed and toy poodles and watching, like, Matlock in the back of the bus or whatever it was. It was pretty mellow from the.

[Sam Morril]

It's going to be a party, though. Like, we gotta watch some Law and Order.

[Derek Trucks]

It was funny because when I met Susan, she had double trouble. Stevie Ray Vaughan's old band is her backup band.

[Mark Normand]

Damn.

[Derek Trucks]

And so it was the Allman Brothers and Susan and her band, and they knew Greg from the early hardcore partying days. And so they would not let Susan come on the bus. I was on Greg's bus, and they were just like, you're not going over there.

[Mark Normand]

Smart.

[Derek Trucks]

So I had to court her band to hang out with sue, but I appreciated that they were protective of her and they weren't gonna let her go, even though it was a boring ass bus we were on at that point.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Not a drop of alcohol.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

But, yeah, they. They were. I thought that was very sweet.

[Mark Normand]

Hey, for a White Russian. Almond milk. Like almond with this booze. Just say it. Okay. Put it.

[Sam Morril]

Put it.

[Mark Normand]

Back burner. Oh, you're right. Thought it was whiskey. Nah, my bad.

[Derek Trucks]

Swamp water.

[Mark Normand]

There you go.

[Sam Morril]

That's actually probably good on my ulcer right now. White Russian.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, there you go.

[Sam Morril]

I want to game the system, code it Pepto.

[Mark Normand]

We can make a Pepto Cockt. Maybe we should cut it back a little bit. Yeah, you're right.

[Sam Morril]

But damn, you should hang with the almonds. Are you just like. Are you just picking their brain at all times? Like, what are you trying to get out of them when you're that young?

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, you know, that was the first music I listened to, so it was. They were heroes. And, I mean, my uncle was in the band. I didn't see them a lot as a kid. We were. I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. My dad was a roofer. My mom worked at the elementary school, and so I heard stories about that stuff, but I wasn't around it. But yeah, they were kind of. Kind of mythological creatures. To me.

[Mark Normand]

Oh yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

So when I finally met him and well, I flew out 1314 and played in Greg's solo band for a while. Geez, that was pretty wild.

[Mark Normand]

Insane but.

[Sam Morril]

And your friends at school don't understand.

[Derek Trucks]

No, they didn't care less, man. They thought that was the lamest you

[Sam Morril]

could have listened to real music. Like Ace of bass, right?

[Derek Trucks]

100. That's what was going on.

[Mark Normand]

Janet Jackson.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean that was. I think it was middle school, maybe sixth grade. Entertainment Tonight did this piece on me and they followed me around school and that's back when it was like big cameras and shit and they're hiding spots and everyone's like, why are they following this nerd? Why are they other than two or three of my closest friends had no idea that I played.

[Sam Morril]

But your boys got it. Your close friends.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, but they kind of got it. But they didn't listen to real music at that point.

[Sam Morril]

Well, you're so advanced at that age, like your skill level that you're.

[Derek Trucks]

And no one's really listening to music. Music at that age, you know, like music music.

[Mark Normand]

Some people are, but it's like boy bands maybe, but.

[Derek Trucks]

But then they come around, you know, high school, college, then it becomes a thing.

[Sam Morril]

Wow,

[Mark Normand]

look how little. That's crazy.

[Sam Morril]

How old are you here, do you think?

[Derek Trucks]

What is that, 91, 11, 12.

[Sam Morril]

That is crazy, dude.

[Mark Normand]

That's wild.

[Derek Trucks]

What is that? Buzzy Meekin's on base. That's some Florida stuff.

[Sam Morril]

This is insane, dude.

[Mark Normand]

Wow, look at these haircuts.

[Derek Trucks]

He had the best hair.

[Mark Normand]

That's a beautiful mop.

[Derek Trucks]

This is great audio on this one.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

So that footage is from this club in South Florida called Tropics International. Right on the strip next to the Clevelander. And that's the first time I met the Allman Brothers was there. Greg and my uncle came out set in.

[Mark Normand]

Whoa.

[Derek Trucks]

I remember there was a picture of all of us on that stage and their liquor bottles in front of the stage. Because the stage was on top of the bar in my grandparents house. Super Southern Baptist. They had like piece of construction paper over the liquor bottles.

[Sam Morril]

That's pretty amazing. That's amazing.

[Derek Trucks]

Will Lee from Letterman's band.

[Mark Normand]

Look at that.

[Sam Morril]

Damn, this is so cool.

[Derek Trucks]

Rocking the shorts still. Long shorts.

[Mark Normand]

Hell yeah. That was a hyper color shirt. Those were big in the 90s.

[Derek Trucks]

That was a knockoff.

[Mark Normand]

Hypergolas ultra color. Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

And what are your parents saying when they see this?

[Derek Trucks]

Well, see, my dad and mom were huge music fans.

[Mark Normand]

All right.

[Derek Trucks]

They. Elliot Easton from the Cars. Is that right?

[Sam Morril]

Wow.

[Mark Normand]

Damn.

[Derek Trucks]

That was at. What was it? It's a big music store, Thoroughbred music down in Tampa. And they would throw a festival every year.

[Mark Normand]

Okay.

[Derek Trucks]

It was Letterman's band, Anton Fig and Will Lee. I forget who that was, but yeah, those weird memories. I haven't seen that in a bit.

[Mark Normand]

Wow. Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean my parents grew up. My dad went AWOL from military school to see the Fillmore, Allman Brothers shows. Like that stuff was like his. That was his stuff. He saw Hendrix a few times as kids. He would take us to the Jacksonville Jazz Festival to see Miles, to see. Geez, to see Ray Charles, to see. So music was, was important. He just didn't play it.

[Sam Morril]

I mean, but at what age do you see that you have this ability?

[Derek Trucks]

So I got a guitar at a garage sale at like I think nine years old. And my dad played a little bit, like enough to like woo my mom. Play like bread songs or. And so he figured out quick that I had taken to it. And he knew a guy that played with my uncle, a guy named Jim Graves. And he gave me a few lessons and asked me to come sit in at the local blues club. Like a. Oh, it's like an open mic thing. So I started playing with him and then another local blues band, Ace Moreland and the west side Story. And then we went to Toronto in 89 or 90 and then it was just kind of off to the races at that point. God, but Ace was incredible. He was a left handed guitar player. I think he was full blooded Cherokee. He was incredible. Like very few native American blues artists. It was like Jesse Ed Davis. But Ace Moreland was one of these guys and that dude could sing. He played slide. He'd play slide with a microphone stand. Like he had all the, all the drip and swagger, but he died way too young. But yeah, Ace was. Ace was quite something. Cancer got him. He lived in Oklahoma, but he was down in Jacksonville for a while. There was this weird pipeline between Tulsa and Florida. But Tulsa had Leon Russell had like the old Derek and the Dominoes, that Clapton band, Mad Dogs, an Englishman, that Joe Cocker band. There were all these Tulsa musicians. It was this amazing, amazing scene there. So he was kind of on the edge of that scene.

[Sam Morril]

There's that famous rock club in Tulsa.

[Derek Trucks]

You know the one Cane's Ballroom.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah, it's amazing. I've been there. And it's like they so badass. They brag, they brag about that. This is where the Sex Pistols punched a hole in the wall. Awesome.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, that's Phil Maurice photo you just had up. You gotta go back to that thing. Yeah, that. So that was taken for the Fillmore east show. And here, of course, in New York City. But the picture was taken in Macon, Georgia, downtown. Because we were. When we were at Greg's funeral, we were in the car with Dickey Betts there, and we drove by that wall and he's pointing out to his son, that's where we took the photo. But Jim Marshall took that photo. The great photographer.

[Sam Morril]

Do you know the story behind it?

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, yeah, please tell us. My uncle. Who's on the. On the. Right there.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

One leg out, grinning. He said Jim Marshall just treated him like just hick assholes. So the band's pissed. They're just like, we're gonna kill this guy. Like, it's not going well. And so. So Dwayne tells somebody, like, go get my buddy. And like, go score. Go score a bag. He comes back with a big old bag of drugs and flings it at Dwayne and he grabs it and he's holding it between his legs there. And the band's just finally. They like, laugh. Like, finally. It's like the one shot that I think the band finally scored the good side of drugs.

[Sam Morril]

Guys

[Derek Trucks]

tell a good story.

[Mark Normand]

Amazing. Where are you at on Link Ray? You know Link Ray.

[Derek Trucks]

I love him, man. Oh, dude, that's a guitar tone right there.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. I was trying to find music to open my special, and I was going through guitar licks. I wanted something without words.

[Derek Trucks]

Pretty badass.

[Mark Normand]

And I fell. It fell in love with this guy. I'd never heard of him.

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, it's so good. A lot of. It's like an old Fender Blackface amp with a bunch of reverbs from Pulp Fiction.

[Sam Morril]

This is great.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[Sam Morril]

This is the only instrumental ever to be be banned on radio.

[Derek Trucks]

It's so. Just seductive.

[Mark Normand]

It's so sexy.

[Sam Morril]

Well, it was called Rumble, so the powers of being. Like, get it off. We don't want kids acting up.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, that song will make crazy right there.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah.

[Sam Morril]

It's so cool, man.

[Mark Normand]

He. He opened the door. Look, we got a wet ass that's on the radio.

[Derek Trucks]

Look at us.

[Mark Normand]

Progress. Oh, sorry.

[Derek Trucks]

That and like Booker T. And the MGs. Yeah, I mean, the. Those. When you can make an instrumental that compelling.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah, totally.

[Mark Normand]

Totally. There's a guy in the Forest Onions. Forest Gump. That song. I can't think of the guy who sang it or who played it. It's incredible. It's in Forest Gump when he's running with the ball. He becomes a football star. He's being chased by the bullies and they're throwing rocks. Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Or something.

[Mark Normand]

What is it, Dick?

[Derek Trucks]

Dale?

[Mark Normand]

Maybe, maybe, maybe. Wait, wait. You got to go to the beginning. The beginning? The beginning, you retard.

[Sam Morril]

I ran to get well, Kept going further.

[Mark Normand]

That's it.

[Sam Morril]

I never thought it would help me anyway.

[Derek Trucks]

Maybe, maybe.

[Mark Normand]

That is not guitar. Sorry.

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, yeah, it is.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, it is. Okay. What is that? That's a lot of horns. Yeah. I don't know, but that's the motivation for my. My opening, my special. These songs, they all go unheard of. They're all amazing.

[Derek Trucks]

That's what we need. We need a song and a movie.

[Mark Normand]

Yes. I think you're doing fine.

[Sam Morril]

You must get hit up for that occasionally.

[Derek Trucks]

Not as much as I thought, because we did a lot of instrumental music in the early days. We were like, we just need. We need gas on this bus. Like, we need one song in a movie.

[Sam Morril]

Did you get any at first or.

[Derek Trucks]

No, no. We had a Levi's ad with my solo band that bought our Winnebago. I remember we got the Levi's check for, like, 38 grand, and we went to the. Bought a band Winnebago. So that was pretty sweet. And then recently there was a Chevy ad where they used the song. But it's funny. Early, early days back then, that was something you really thought about. You're like, do you. Do you want your music in an ad? It was a total different mindset.

[Mark Normand]

It was like.

[Derek Trucks]

It was like. I don't think I want it. Like.

[Sam Morril]

Well, they call some people sellouts when they do it. Now, what's your read on that? If. Like, if it's a big band and a.

[Derek Trucks]

You know, I feel like. I feel like there's a line like, what is it for? If you need it, then I get it. But it's a different day, man. You don't sell records anymore. There's music. It's like. It's kind of a losing proposition. So. I don't know. I don't judge people as harshly as I used to.

[Mark Normand]

No, go for it.

[Derek Trucks]

I feel like if you can get through the day, making music, do what you gotta do, as long as you. I mean, there's certain things I wouldn't want my music used for sure. Political rallies.

[Mark Normand]

J. They were strumming.

[Derek Trucks]

I don't want it to be the theme.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, but, I mean, George Clooney's doing coffee ads. Jimmy F's doing bank ads. I mean, it's all changed now.

[Derek Trucks]

Well, for a while, like, you would only notice that you go to Japan and, like, all your favorite stars are here. Check this out. You'd never do it in the States, but it's a different world now.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah. It's open game.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, it is open.

[Mark Normand]

Matthew McConaughey is a Lincoln car, whatever it is.

[Sam Morril]

But he made it look kind of cool.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, that's the. The trick, I guess. Yes.

[Derek Trucks]

It's weird for athletes. It's totally different. No one cares. No one even thinks, oh, if you're

[Sam Morril]

an athlete, you, like, made it. It's right.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, that's true.

[Sam Morril]

And a lot of it was, like, you got to get a signature shoe.

[Derek Trucks]

Otherwise you're a jump.

[Mark Normand]

Right.

[Derek Trucks]

You don't have a shoe.

[Sam Morril]

It's weird.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

But athletes judge differently in a lot of stuff, though, I think.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, but the whiskey's gonna. That's gonna put you on top.

[Derek Trucks]

Cause, well, that's a labor of love, actually. We're fans of that, me and my brother. For years. We go. You go look for Dusty's. Down in the Deep south, you go hit these old liquor stores. And 15, 20 years ago, you could find incredible stuff sitting back there. And we found, like, three packs of Pappy for retail spots.

[Mark Normand]

Wow.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. But, I mean, then once that bubble burst, it was over. You'd find stuff. They're like, it's $2,000. Well, you can keep it.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, right, right.

[Derek Trucks]

At first, you could really find things.

[Sam Morril]

You're a straight bourbon or rye guy or whatever.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, mainly. I like a good rum, too, though.

[Sam Morril]

Really? We are very unsophisticated rum drinkers.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. I mean, I'll drink bad rum, too.

[Mark Normand]

We all have.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Rum and Coke.

[Sam Morril]

The swizzle. The swizzle's their thing there, but. Yeah. I don't know anything about rum.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

What's a pachuga?

[Derek Trucks]

Pachouga is like a mezcal, where they put meat in the thumper. It's like an old, old style. Like, they'll hang like a turtle to make it smokier. It gives it a thing, man. It gives it a twang thing, man.

[Mark Normand]

Meeting the thumper sounds like gay code.

[Sam Morril]

I can't walk today beating a thumper for pachuga.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

But, yeah, you have to search one of those out. Let me know how it goes.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

It might be good for the stomach.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah. Yeah. A lot of doctors, like you have another ulcer.

[Derek Trucks]

They're postbiotics.

[Sam Morril]

Derek Trucks told me to keep drinking. I don't know.

[Mark Normand]

I do love a mezcal. Nothing.

[Sam Morril]

Mezcal Negroni. Dude, if you do one of those little.

[Mark Normand]

So good, good.

[Sam Morril]

It's fun.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. You'll like the Pachuga.

[Mark Normand]

So wait, if you're at a 12 piece band and you're at the Beacon, that little elevator that must be 16

[Derek Trucks]

rides going, a lot of people have to walk.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Depending on age, seniority in the band, how well they played that night, attitude. General attitude.

[Mark Normand]

And we need a doc about you guys because. Did you ever see the. The band, what is it? Last Waltz.

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, man.

[Mark Normand]

Incredible Love. Leavon Helm.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. Levon was the best.

[Mark Normand]

He's the best.

[Derek Trucks]

We got to spend some time with Levon, really. He was one of those guys that if you were in the room with him, you just felt better for it. That dude would leave and everyone's just kind of like, shit, what a good human being. He was special.

[Mark Normand]

He's a hero, for sure.

[Derek Trucks]

There was a producer I worked with, and he had just done a track with Levon and he said he's the only guy that could just play 2 and 4 and make you cry. Levon's groove was so simple, but it was just like. No one can do it that way.

[Mark Normand]

Nobody.

[Derek Trucks]

It had a lope to it. That was just when you could play something that simple and just stand out from everybody. It's a wild thing. That was his humanity. He was that person. And then he'd get on a tractor and go plow a field.

[Mark Normand]

Exactly, exactly. He would drum and sing incredibly well, which has got to be. It's so hard.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, one of the highlights I remember of playing the Beacon with the Allman Brothers, I think it was the 40th anniversary, called a lot of old friends of the band. And one night Levon came out and Taj Mahal, and we did the wait. And Levon wanted his kit set up with my uncle and jmo. So it was three kits on stage. It was Levon on the side, Otile me. And Levon's just looking across the stage singing, playing the weight. Taj Mahal sings a verse, Greg sings a verse, you're just like, holy shit. It was a heavy evening.

[Mark Normand]

Damn.

[Derek Trucks]

Those were quite fun.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. Levon was amazing. He was. There's. I think there's a drum instructional of him and just some of the best. He's like. And if you're Tom, Tom's ringing. You just put some tape on it. Tape on it. You're like, that's actually good advice.

[Mark Normand]

Elton John said nobody should drum and sing except Lev.

[Derek Trucks]

I think he's right. Levon was something. Our studio in Jacksonville was based on his barn up on his property.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, shit.

[Derek Trucks]

Because I remember I went up there with the same producer that was talking about his drumming. He brought me up there for this session with the band. It was with Rick Danko was still alive and Garth Hudson, and I was 15 or 16. I knew the band were, but not really. And I remember walking into that place and you just felt like, oh, this is entirely different than anything I've been around. When I left that. That day, that session, I ended up playing on the tune. It really changed the way I thought about music. Rick Danko, actually, no one had ever, like, produced a solo of mine I was playing. He's like, just pretend that you're breathing through it. Like, don't. Don't fill all the space. And it like, really made me, like, step back and think about it as like a songwriter or singer instead of just go.

[Sam Morril]

It's so similar to comedy too, where, like, if you. If you're coming off too with too much energy. Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Like you want to be off putting.

[Mark Normand]

Right.

[Sam Morril]

Seeing Leonard Cohen once at the Garden and seeing that energy in a. In a room that.

[Derek Trucks]

I've chills thinking about Leonard.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah. But he just could control a room with just this low energy. And I'm like, that is.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, that's master. Master.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

I think Leonard Cohen was about as good as it got.

[Mark Normand]

Totally. Yeah. Look at that.

[Sam Morril]

Love him.

[Derek Trucks]

I think he's top tier. I have a friend that has been at every show I've ever played at the Beacon, which is like up in the mid-200s now.

[Sam Morril]

Damn, that is crazy.

[Derek Trucks]

Pretty wild. But my friend went and saw Leonard Cohen twice on that last tour, and he called me after each show and he was like, I think that's the single greatest show I've ever seen. He was like about an hour or two in, just the air shifted and he just like. You just wouldn't expect it because he's not a great singer, but he just draws you in and it's the greatest songs. And I mean, Suzanne is one of the greatest songs ever written. The Nina Simone version of Suzanne.

[Sam Morril]

I don't know that I gotta listen to that.

[Derek Trucks]

There's two of them, but there's one with a full band. That's just. It's one of my favorite recorded.

[Sam Morril]

Put that as a wreck down.

[Derek Trucks]

It's so badass, dude.

[Sam Morril]

There's a straight story of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan talking, I read about. And Leonard Cohen's like, oh, I love this song of yours. How long did it take you to write that? And BOB Dylan goes, 15 minutes.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

And he goes, I love Hallelujah. And he goes, yeah. That took me five years.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, he wrote like 100 verses or what? I mean, he's got pages of verses that just didn't make the cut. Leonard Cohen would work on a tune forever.

[Sam Morril]

Do you feel that way with like, even like when you're playing guitar? You're like, is it never kind of done? Are you always kind of like, I have a new angle here, I have a new tag?

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, yeah. I mean, I mean, I think that's the beauty of music is you. Same with what you guys do is you never have to hang it up. It's not like an athlete where there's a shelf life, you know? I feel bad for guys that put that much energy into something and then like 31, you're like, you're a little long on the tooth. Yeah, I mean, we're like kind of just getting going. I mean, I like feel, feel. I'm 46 now and I feel like we're just kind of getting into the thick of it in a way.

[Sam Morril]

You're 46 and you've been playing since you were nine. That's crazy.

[Derek Trucks]

A lot of years on the road, man. Yeah, a lot of road years.

[Mark Normand]

Damn, that's awesome.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. I feel lucky that we get to. You get to hone your craft. I remember watching that Jiro Dreams of Sushi documentary.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

And he was just talking about getting good at something is pretty easy. Like that first 90%, that next 5%, it gets a lot harder. Those last 2, 3, 4, 5, that's where everyone taps out.

[Mark Normand]

That's true.

[Derek Trucks]

You can even get great at something pretty easily. But it's that Leonard Cohen shit or that next level where most people are just. They're like, I did it, I made it, I'm done. They kind of stop and you can tell. You can totally tell. No matter how good somebody gets, you can tell when they've stopped trying or carrying.

[Mark Normand]

That's true.

[Derek Trucks]

Because you are gonna drift back backwards.

[Sam Morril]

You just have to like, love it or like, you have.

[Derek Trucks]

You have to love it.

[Mark Normand]

You have to be.

[Sam Morril]

Need it.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, agreed. You have to be a little crazy. You got to be a little competitive of just like, I ain't done.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

Do you see other people you see out there? You're like, I gotta step it up. Oh, yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

All the time.

[Sam Morril]

Like, who's someone?

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, that's one of the reasons we have our 12 piece band. Is cuz there's guys on stage that are kicking your ass every night.

[Mark Normand]

Right.

[Derek Trucks]

And you like, you want to. You don't want to be the one left behind, you know, you don't want to be the guy on the team that's lagging or weighing the thing down. So that's part of it. But yeah, I mean you try to surround yourself with the best you can find or go see the best you can see. And yeah, it's a beautiful thing. You definitely find times where you're like, oh, this part's really easy. But then maybe some things you thought you had in the bag get a little loose on. On you. You got to go shed that kind of a whack a mole in a way.

[Mark Normand]

And then you got to see what you're not great at and lean into it.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Which is very hard.

[Derek Trucks]

And a lot of times it's trimming away the fat. It's. It's realizing that you don't have to do all of it and sure, finding, finding the good stuff and tough to

[Sam Morril]

listen to yourself though.

[Derek Trucks]

Oh man. And it's tough to know the off ramp like when you're making a record of like when, when can you. You can't over produce a thing. You can overthink a bit or anything. Anything. There's a. There's a sweet spot where it's like, where it sings and it.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[Derek Trucks]

There's a time where you can just beat it to death.

[Mark Normand]

That's true.

[Derek Trucks]

So like when you're recording with a full band, you kind of, you kind of think of these things ahead of time. You don't want the band over rehearsed. Like you want to have the song idea and then you want to be set up and ready to capture it when the band gets it for the first time. Like you play it two or three times, you want to get it on the second or third take. You don't want to get it on the 10th take because then everyone, everyone's trying to recreate something they. A little magic they had made earlier. It's nice when you can capture it when it's peaking.

[Sam Morril]

So is there a place you feel like you capture it best? Is it like a venue or a city where you're like, this is.

[Derek Trucks]

We built a studio at home about I guess, 2006.

[Mark Normand]

Wait, where's home?

[Derek Trucks]

Jacksonville, Florida.

[Mark Normand]

Okay, got it.

[Derek Trucks]

So down in the swamp we have this great room that the band formed in and everyone feels really comfortable there. And we've just. Every record we've kind of of added to it and tweaked it so that place feels comfortable.

[Sam Morril]

But what about like a live. Like a live.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, the Beacon is one of them. That's why we keep coming back, is it's kind of where we check in every year, see if we made any progress or.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Or lost. Lost some ground. And when you do 10 nights, we. We try to not repeat that many tunes. So you'll do. We'll do 100 and 100 plus different songs over the 10 nights.

[Mark Normand]

So do you get the nerds that do the skill? You know, they got the Fish guys who go out and see fish. The setup was different. The lineup was different. Do you guys do all that?

[Derek Trucks]

People pay attention. That keeps us on our toes, which is nice. We keep a rehearsal room set up on the seventh floor. So we do sound check and then we go rehearse the band after that before the show. So we keep it moving.

[Mark Normand]

Wow. Now, you mentioned Leonard Cohen. Your friend said, best show. What's the best show you've ever seen?

[Derek Trucks]

I don't know. I've seen a few Ray Charles when I was really young.

[Mark Normand]

Wow, that's crazy.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, getting to be on tour with BB King and those guys.

[Sam Morril]

I saw the video of you with B.B. king. You're playing for B.B. king. I think John Mayer's there too.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, that was an epic.

[Sam Morril]

And they're both just clearly praising you.

[Derek Trucks]

BB Was so sweet.

[Mark Normand]

I mean, wow.

[Derek Trucks]

I saw Stevie Wonder about 10 years ago.

[Mark Normand]

Damn.

[Derek Trucks]

It was pretty life changing.

[Mark Normand]

He didn't see you?

[Derek Trucks]

We don't know.

[Mark Normand]

Actually. He caught a mic stand once.

[Sam Morril]

I saw him drive in. It was weird.

[Mark Normand]

We did a show over a BB Nutanyahu, and that was. We bombed, but I got some dome after.

[Sam Morril]

What?

[Mark Normand]

Just kidding.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah. That's so Ray Charles. That's. That's insane to see him live. And that's B.B. king.

[Derek Trucks]

Yep.

[Mark Normand]

Stevie Wonder. Give me a whitey. Just throw one white in. Just for the hell of it. Come on.

[Derek Trucks]

I never got to see Litter going, All right.

[Sam Morril]

I saw him a couple of times and it was towards the end.

[Derek Trucks]

And I mean, to be honest, there were nights standing next to Greg Allman on stage with the Allman Brothers, where he would belt something out and you would just go, oh, there he is. There's that thing, like every once in a while, man, there was a song that we would open the show with. Sometimes it's an instrumental, Don't Want yout no More, and it goes into. It's Not My Cross to Bear. There's this pregnant pause And Greg would come in with the first line. It'd be the first vocal of the night, and you could just feel everybody's hair in the room stand up. When he would pin it, it was. It was special.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

And Greg could be all over the map. You know, he'd be sick or he'd be on his substance or whatever, and then he'd be clean, and you never knew what you were going to get. But when it was on, he was different.

[Sam Morril]

What was your relationship? I mean, what's your relationship like with him?

[Derek Trucks]

Man, he was super sweet to me from a young age. I mean, he took me under his wing, and he was always a gentleman, and, I mean, he changed my life.

[Sam Morril]

So.

[Derek Trucks]

Wow. Wow.

[Mark Normand]

I. Crazy show I ever saw. And I never was even familiar with the band. I took a little bit of shrooms. New Orleans Jazz Fest. John Baptiste.

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, yeah. Batiste is great.

[Mark Normand]

He is unreal. It was like a spiritual. Like, I was moved. I mean, again, I was on drugs.

[Derek Trucks]

But when he was maybe 18 or so, he was playing in Wynton Marsalis's band at of the. What is it, the Rose center down there. And we played a show show. Me and sue played with Winton's orchestra, and Batiste was the piano player. And you could tell then you're like, oh, that dude's a freak.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, really?

[Derek Trucks]

Dude's a badass.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah. He's the best trumpet player on earth, I guess.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah, he's one of them.

[Mark Normand]

One of them.

[Derek Trucks]

He was great.

[Mark Normand]

From New Orleans.

[Derek Trucks]

Yep. A lot of great guys from New Orleans.

[Sam Morril]

Are there any cities you love going to again and again?

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, New Orleans is one of them.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. Our drummer is from Tullahoma, Tennessee.

[Mark Normand]

Really?

[Derek Trucks]

He lives down in New Orleans. Orleans.

[Mark Normand]

Hey, Jamo.

[Derek Trucks]

The only original surviving Almond Brothers member is from down in Gulfport, so he grew up playing with all those New Orleans cats, so.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, yeah, we got Randy Newman, what's his name? Jimmy Buffett cut his teeth there, apparently. Dr. John.

[Derek Trucks]

A lot of the great drummers, like a guy named James Black, Ed Blackwell, Zigaboo from the Meters, like those guys. And then Alan Toussaint.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, of course.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. And JMO knew all those guys. So when we would put. You'd see him sidestage, you're like. You see somebody just dressed to the nines, you're like, that's Alan Tucson.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. And Harry Connick had a similar childhood thing. You playing early and you know the

[Derek Trucks]

Marsalises and the Batiste family, like, so. John Batiste comes from a very Long line of incredible musicians down there. There's like, there's a few families of music down there that are just. It's thick.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

They've been doing it since the 40s and they're. They. Some of them are professors at the colleges, some of them are just playing in the clubs. But they're all equally just freakish musically. It's. Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, we also got Louis Prima and Louis Armstrong. Just saying. Oh, yeah, sorry.

[Derek Trucks]

It's a long list.

[Mark Normand]

I'm claiming my hometown. What do you got here? So we only have four minutes left to go.

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, Jesus.

[Sam Morril]

I want to know if you could bless us with something. We have brought a guitar just to play us out.

[Mark Normand]

It's not tuned though. It might be. Might be tuned. Take a look there, see what I can do. You know your stuff. Dare. Give that a. Give that a. Just caress it like a. Like a pre teen.

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, my God. I'm playing an open tuning.

[Mark Normand]

Okay.

[Sam Morril]

I think it might be open tuned. I strummed it. I think it's.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Sam Morril]

So you had it prepared for you.

[Mark Normand]

Woo. All right, let's see if he can get us to come in. Four minutes or less.

[Derek Trucks]

Let's see.

[Mark Normand]

By ear. Oh, there it is.

[Derek Trucks]

I like this. What is it? Epiphone.

[Mark Normand]

You don't know.

[Derek Trucks]

You can play slide with a. Oh, hell yeah.

[Mark Normand]

That's when you know you got a problem. That's awesome. 12 million buck guitar. Who needs it? Yeah, that's a piece of junk.

[Derek Trucks]

You know, it'd be better if I

[Mark Normand]

could tune it, but sure, sure.

[Derek Trucks]

Job.

[Mark Normand]

All right. We threw it on you last minute, but look how natural you just. You fall right on that thing.

[Derek Trucks]

Do you play?

[Sam Morril]

No, no, I can't.

[Mark Normand]

I'm a piano man.

[Sam Morril]

Not at all. That's crazy. Wow, that was awesome.

[Derek Trucks]

That's fun.

[Sam Morril]

Well, dude, congrats on all these nights of the Beacon. It's amazing. And congrats on all the successes.

[Derek Trucks]

It's pretty fun, man. The Beacon Ride are something else. So we've had some friends in the neighborhood. Warren Haynes, who I played for 15 years, the Allman Brothers showed up the other night and it was awesome to see the crowd response when he walked out. There's a lot of appreciation for the time he's put in there. So it's a really educated audience for our type of music at our Beacon shows. They know the history, they know all the backstories. So when we finished the other night and he walked off, it was an awesome ovation. It's nice to see. See one of your One of your musical compadres. Just get it when people give it up properly.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Like, you know, in church, you get house.

[Mark Normand]

Right, right.

[Derek Trucks]

He got house. It was good.

[Mark Normand]

I'm such a dork. I only learned about him from Dave Matthews.

[Derek Trucks]

Oh, yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Back in college, I had a friend

[Sam Morril]

who was really into the Allman Brothers back in the day, so that was like. You know, when you're drinking in a bar jukebox, you just play a bunch of almonds. Blue Sky.

[Mark Normand]

Nothing better.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah.

[Mark Normand]

Great music.

[Derek Trucks]

Yeah. Blue sky is probably my favorite track of theirs.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah. Yeah. That's the best.

[Derek Trucks]

Dwayne Almond and Dickie at their best.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah.

[Derek Trucks]

Such a groove. Pretty incredible.

[Mark Normand]

Oh, it's so good. Any. Any artist you hate. Real quick before we go.

[Derek Trucks]

I mean, there's quite a few, but I should probably not name them at this point.

[Mark Normand]

All right, I understand. Take that, Marcus King. No, I'm just kidding. No, we like Marcus. No, but thank you. The man. You're a legend. And get some goddamn ass pocket.

[Sam Morril]

Some ass pocket.

[Derek Trucks]

Whiskey.

[Sam Morril]

Awesome.

[Derek Trucks]

Thank you, guys.

[Mark Normand]

Thank you. Wow. Hey, boy. That was a great combo. That was fun, man.

[Sam Morril]

He was awesome.

[Mark Normand]

He is so good. He can talk. I guess when you're on a Tour bus for 30 years with those freaks, you got to be able to since you're nine.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah, I didn't know. Since I knew. He's a prodigy. I know. He was on the road since he was nine.

[Mark Normand]

I didn't either.

[Sam Morril]

That is wild. Yeah. Amazing.

[Mark Normand]

He was shredding. That was so cool.

[Sam Morril]

If he played for us, too. That was incredible. Clip that.

[Mark Normand]

Good. Good thinking, Sally.

[Sam Morril]

So we got some dates. Mark, when you are.

[Mark Normand]

Yeah, come on out. Working on a new hour. It's. It's rusty, it's clunky, it's sweaty, but it's fun. Then I'm in Chattanooga at the Walker Theater, Raleigh at Good Nights. Haven't been there in years. Love that. Club LA for the Netflix Fest specials. Cooking. Then I'm in Ontario, Nuvo, Brunswick, Spokane and Philly and Milwaukee and Irvine, California, at the Improv. And Tempe, Arizona, Royal Oak, Michigan, Cleveland and Tampa. That's the way it's Seattle. Seattle as well. All right. San Francisco at Cobs. Can't wait to get back to sf. All right, come on by. Where you at, Samuel?

[Sam Morril]

I'm trying to find. Updated. Yeah, Netflix. What else? We have. Oh, yeah, Verona.

[Mark Normand]

New.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah, that's May 7th at the United Theater on Broadway. I'm with Jordan Jensen, Joe Liston, Rachel Feinstein. It's gonna be super fun. We got Verona, New York. Turning Stone Casino. June 6, Lisbon, Portugal. And then I'm adding a bunch of shit all over Europe. It should be out by now. It should be on the site. Punchup Live. Samuel. Lisbon, Portugal. I believe we have Athens, Greece. Budapest, Croatia, Vienna.

[Mark Normand]

Wow, that's fun.

[Sam Morril]

Yeah. Warsaw, Poland. Helsinki, Finland. Stockholm, Sweden. And Copenhagen, so. And I'll add some more. Yeah. Follow us. And all that junk.

[Mark Normand]

That was the last one. That was it.

[Sam Morril]

You guys are the best. Great app. See you guys soon. Buy some Bodega Cat whiskey.

[Mark Normand]

Yes.

[Sam Morril]

Sunday's the day for my next bender.

[Mark Normand]

A bit of peck. You know that they're juice. Close. I've had a little.

[Derek Trucks]

A little too much burping.

[Mark Normand]

And Norman's talking shit about the fucking Pope. And I get down in the same way.

[Sam Morril]

Up on the roof like a.

[Mark Normand]

Cops coming. And naked.

[Derek Trucks]

Samuel is feeling dangerous. I'm out to lunch here in New Orleans.

[Mark Normand]

This woman doesn't look like I remember her.

[Derek Trucks]

And I get down in the same way.

[Mark Normand]

We might be.

[Derek Trucks]

The wrongs we must right. The fights we must win. The future we must secure together for our nation. This is what's in front of us. This determines what's next for all of us. We are marines. We were made for this.