The Touring Fan Live Hitchhiker Stories From The Road Ryan Blackwell
energy is yours everything is coming that's just something. and welcome to Hitchhiker Stories ton Road and welcome to this new episode where tonight, we get to talk to a fan, Learn why they love music, what makes them tick, what music do they love, and what makes them sick. I just Doctor Seuss that **** But tonight, I get to introduce someone who welcomed me so generously, not that long ago to his house and introduced me to the city I'll be moving to and tonight, I get to talk to Ryan Blackwell. Now, first of all, you're probably saying, how do I know this guy and why does he look familiar? Well, real simple. During the pandemic, Ryan shared with his passion of music and his love for Pearl Jam covers across many of the platforms that we love on Facebook. His music and
his inspirations behind Pearl Jam and his covers were so delightful. It kind of got us through that pandemic. It kind of for a couple of minutes listening to him, It was kind of like, hey, everything's going to be cool. So, tonight, Ryan's on the show. We're going to talk to him for a little bit, get to know him a little bit more, and then hopefully, get a more of appreciation of who Ryan is. So, before we get jump dive into this, let's get into a simple question. Kill the
music? Ryan, how's it going, brother? Doing good, man. How you doing, Anthony? I am good. I'm glad October's over. Into November. Right. Next month, let's do this, right? That ain't that the damn truth and you know, it is a special day.
It's a tenth every month, the tenth comes out. We get some new Pearl Jam merch to purchase or some news to come through. So, tenth is always a good day to kind of hang around the old Email. Right? So, what did you what did you end up getting? Anything Um. Anything new? So, I'm going to tell you this. My
wife. Alright. Hopefully, is not paying attention. Um. Oh, I'm sure she's not listening. No, she isn't. She can give two **** about what I'm doing. Um so, I got, I just purchased the new GoPro 10 today with like a million accessories. Gonna cost
me a lot of money and I I saw the hoodie and I saw the sweatshirt and I got this sweatshirt but I almost got the hoodie then I found it was a woman's hoodie and I like the hoodie better than like the sweatshirt but I only buy it because I buy every like merchandise that program puts out because I'm just a sucker for merch but Yeah. I I didn't get the the vault vinyl which you know, I'll post that, you know, I'll post that up real quick. There's the vault vinyl got released today that you know, vault number one came out. You know, during Pearl Jam twenty on CD. So, if you're
lucky enough to get that back then, you got it. If you didn't, well, this was your opportunity to get it on vinyl and then, you know, then, of course, they had the sweatshirt and hoodie but You know, and they're cool. I kind of dig the hoodie more than the sweatshirt but I guess it's women only. So, I got knocked out, knocked out of that. What colors did it come in? Well, the the sweatshirt's black and then the woman's is like that teal color but it's women's sizes. My
look, I'll get it and then it's just going to be, you know, I'm losing weight but I mean, I don't know if I'm going to fit into a woman's extra large. Right. Well, yeah, I don't know, man. I. Not sure what to tell you on that one but. Yes, sir. So, maybe that'll just give you some more inspiration to lose a couple more pounds, you know. That's right. I, I
am, I am digging hard for that woman's extra large. That's goal. You can make it to a women's extra large. You've accomplished something. You've done, you you could be done. Well, you know, it's it's interesting. We're talking
about sizes. Not to totally get off topic but so, I've been since I lost weight, I've been going into like my Pearl Gym closet because I have, you know, hundreds of Pearl Jam shirts and there's one Pearl Jam shirt I've had. I've never been aware. It's like this like it's the Pearl Jam Blue Avocado from the 2006 tour. Yeah. And it's a double XL but damn, if that's thing still doesn't fit me like a medium, like, it is, it is like, I don't know what they were what T shirt sizes back then. Everything was like
totally off. So, I don't know if I'll ever be able to fit in that shirt. I mean, it was like, it looks like I painted the damn shirt on me. It was terrible. I think I think most
of those concert shirts then were 300% cotton and you know, you watched them once and you better, you better stay thin, right? Ain't that the damn truth? I mean, that avocado, it stretched so much like scrambled eggs on my chest. It was, it was not, it was not a good look for me. So, I was like, yeah, guess this one's never going to happen. I might have at the crash just to make me a hoodie. But Oh man. Yeah. But no, yeah, merchandise, Pearl Jam stuff. Yeah, that I'm
a sucker for it. As you can tell by the Funko Pops or the Mike and Pretty Bobblehead or every or the even the Save the Wolves from the 2013 tour. I just, I'm a sucker for it.
Like, they get me every time. Well, you told me when we had a visit a few weeks ago that the first thing you do whenever you go to any show, as soon as they open up that merch table, walk right up, give me one of everything, slap the card down. Oh, oh, dude. I, it's, it's I just go like this and I said, I don't even want to know. One of
everything. I'm a double XL and they look at me like, what? It is. What? Yeah. I'm like, I'm like, listen, I I will if I don't buy one thing from here, if I just skip out on one thing, I will regret it for the rest of my life And I just, yeah. I just, one of everything, please. Yeah. Slap
the card down and then, I just, I deal with all the aftermath for my wife later on and then, I, I tell him, like, listen, the first show is always the worst. After that, it's just a slow, I just get a post for a show. Everything else, we're good. Yeah, it's just, yeah, it's just a new poster every show and that's all you have to do, right? Unless it was 2013 where they made a T shirt, a sticker, and a poster for every show and that that got expensive that tour. Um. Yeah,
that's kid might not go to college. Why do you think we're moving to Kansas City? I can't afford it. Yeah. He's gotta get a he's gotta get something. You need, you need to get to the Midwest. It's a little less expensive. Oh, god. Yeah. Ain't
that the damn truth? So, hey, listen. Let's let's get into this. So, we got to know you this during the pandemic because you started going live and covering some Pearl Jam songs. Um that's all I got today. That's how we got to get
formulated through the channels of that. Um before we get into why you love music and stuff, I want to know what made you decide during the pandemic to jump on and start covering Pearl Jam songs? You know, it's it's kind of funny. I I had never done anything like that before and to be honest with you, I it's big of a a Pearl Jam fan as I am. I never never had been on even a Facebook Pearl Jam page, anything. I don't know. I probably just didn't want to be on Facebook that much and as we got closer to so they were supposed to play in Kansas City or I'm sorry in Saint Louis which we were going to me and a good friend of mine were going to who I've seen a lot of shows with we're going to drive to Saint Louis, see the show, and I believe it was on April 4th last year and as we got closer, you know, into March, they started talking about cancelling these tours and everything like that and that's kind of why I got on Facebook, started looking at some different pages just so I kind of keep up with that stuff and I also had tickets to Rage Against the Machine for for May. So, it's kind of keeping
an eye on both of those things and to be honest, I think the very first time I ever posted anything was, I believe it was on April 4th. I I I'd have to go back and look for sure but it was right either that or right when I found out that they weren't going to be playing and it was just sort a whim deal and I thought, you know what? I'm just going to play a song, throw it out there. I don't, I didn't really even know why. Maybe I was just kind of bummed out and and thought, whatever, you know, and I did it and I was shocked. People literally, Australia, Europe, everywhere around the world. All of a sudden, I'm
just like getting these personal messages for about a week and I'm I put up a few songs and people are like, hey, can you play this? Can you do that? And and I kind of thought, you know, I always sort of is kind of a I don't want to say cocky thing but like a thing where, you know, if you're showing everybody you can play this song, it's sort of like, hey, look at me and I and I'm not really like that. You know, that's not my, not my style but I was totally shocked how many people were saying, wow, thanks for taking me out of the funk for five minutes and playing a song and you know, our friends that we used to hang out with two miles away, we can't hang out with them right now because we're on lockdown and that's my that plays guitar and we usually sit around and we listen to exactly what you've been doing and and I it sort of hit me. I was like, wow, this is this is pretty neat. You know, I didn't ever think of it like that but if I can pull you, pull somebody else out of the same funk that I'm in for not getting to go see live music or go to see, you know, my favorite bands than then, I'll do that, you know. So, I I did
a bunch of songs and just sort of would get a message once while, hey, do you know this one and I thought, oh, whatever. You know, it took me four minutes to something, record it, and post it on Facebook or Instagram or whatever and people just seem like they really enjoyed that and appreciate it. It was really nice some of the the messages and and compliments that I got for Arian thanking me for for doing that. Um so that was kind of the idea. I
just I I thought you know what if if it makes 50 or 100 or five people happy that weren't happy 10 minutes ago until they watched this for just a minute then it's worth it. So you know why not? It's crazy to think that during the pandemic, when everything was affecting our lives and everything was falling apart around us, it was pop culture and music and movies and things that that kept us sane. Like, if you, I mean, like, you know, we we, I mean, as as individuals, we communicated through social media and our telephone. So, the only way that we were able to function as people were with through those devices and have the ability to, you know, meet people that we never met before through music and and outlets like that. It was pretty impressive show like the positive side of social media for once, right? Like, the, the, yes. You know, because there's a lot of negativity that comes with social media but for one time, for about a year, we had it where a lot of positive and there were still negative things around it but that was a lot of positive things where people were able to communicate, you know, in a different outlet to express themselves that also made people feel comfortable around it and I think, you know, seeing all these people, you know, play live music and and just come out of the woodwork and you know, that was special and and inspiring in its own time to show like, hey, the arts are special. Like, you
know, let's stop **** on 'em a little bit like when it comes to schooling and stuff like that like, you know, let's stop cutting that out because that shows you how that can help a mental state in people. Absolutely and and you know, I've been doing it for a minute. So, I, you know, I I you know, when people say, oh, you're really good. Well, I I kind of should be. I've been doing this for like, you know 30 years. So, I should be, I should be okay at playing or maybe I find a different hobby or or something but what I would impress me the most were the people that, I mean, I'll just say it and and it's it's not a big deal. People that
weren't as good players or or couldn't sing real well or you couldn't even play real well but they just were trying. You know, they just they just put it out there and That was big. You know, I never really seen much of that before. Um so, it was, yeah, it was a really positive thing and and I've met people, you know, I I've never stretched out to any other musicians like in any other countries or anything like that and I feel like, you know, I've got friends now. I
call em friends, you know, Facebook, social media, music friends that are, you know, in the UK, Europe, and you know, South America, you know, halfway or even Australia, you know, one guy in New Zealand said, come to New Zealand. Well, you can stay here and we'll just play guitars for a week and I'm I'm thinking, right. That sounds pretty good. You know, it it was just, it was a real positive thing and I think for, especially people that love music as much as like you and I do, it was a good, a good outlet and a good way just to communicate when we couldn't go out and see live music or or sit with our friends and jam and you know, play in our bands or go to a place and play music for people. It was just a good way for us to get that out a little bit. Yeah, it it is thing. You know, even like, you know, even during the pandemic, how we could revisit music we hadn't heard in a long time.
Like, you know, because in our lives, you know, you work a lot, I work a lot, we don't have the time to dig into albums and music as much as we'd like to because our time is limited. We both have kids. So, we know what it's like and our kids are of the same age. Our time is limited to what we can do, you know, in the car, when we're at home a little bit. So, you know, during that during the pandemic, you were able to dig into some stuff too which was kind of neat like going back and really diving into some music. So, it is interesting and I love the fact that like, you know, I think like even the pandemic like brought you and me together in its own sense where you message me like, hey, you're coming to Kansas City. Hey, I'll cook you
some food. You know, and he kept texting me. What do you want to drink? What do you want this? I'm like, this **** and I told my son, I'm like, I don't, he's like, how many times you meet this guy? I'm like, Brady, I've never met this guy in my life. Brady's like, wait, we're going, we're going to some guy's house. We never met. I
said, Brady, I don't know who the **** this guy is. We're just going to his house. He's like, that's why. I know. I know. It was, it was kind of I I think you know, that was through I'm sorry, I don't remember exactly what the event was but I know, I know what it was about but anyway, you know, forty people on this call and and I'm sort of just hanging back and I think I had my Kansas City Royals hat on and something that you know, Randy had put together and I just heard you say, yeah, I'm going to be in Kansas City the next few days and I I I remember just kind of hit me and I thought, well, who the heck's this guy? And I think, I sent him a message and said, what's is guy live in Kansas City. Now, you know, he kind of
told me your story and that you were probably going to move here. So, I thought, what the heck, man? I'll just reach out. Um you know, he's he's going to be moving somewhere where he doesn't know anybody. So, why not just introduce myself and yeah, you know, it it's probably a little strange. I mean, I'm sure you're probably driving in the driveway going is this going. You know. You're
glad to see the front porch light was on but. Uh I'm a little more open to things like that. My kid, I think up until because he kept asking those questions to get to the house and then I just like, the, what do you mean we you don't know who this guy is. I'm like, yeah, whatever. He's cooking
food for us. We'll figure it out. You know, it's That's right. Well, you know, it is, it is. But but, you know, but I think our love for music, I think we all have those memories, right? Like, when we fell in love with music, like, what? Yeah. What, like, what brings us to this point? You know, whether you and, you know, I have memories in my head and I've talked about them a bunch but like, the reason I did one of these shows is because I always want to, I, I love finding out about people, like what makes them tick, I love the process of all that stuff. So, when you think back
to music and how it started for you, like, what is your first memory of like you falling in love with music? I was thinking About that a lot today. I mean, I was really really young. okay? So, I've got a few years on you. You know, I was I I was a little a little guy in the late 70s, you know. So, I
kind of got a I got a pretty good few generations of music, you know, to hear. Um as I was growing up and but I can remember being in the car with my with my mom or my dad when I was four or five years old and and something, you know, they both like different kinds of music. You know, dad was a little more of a rocker. Mom,
mom was listening to kind of the the easier more mellow kind of rock stuff. More like the Chicago's and you know Toto's and things like that. And dad was more of a Led Zeppelin and I remember a lot of Ted Nugent when I was a kid. I I remember like one of my first memories where I heard a song that I really liked it. I remember I was riding in a car with him and if you're familiar with the band Super Tramp, I mean, I remember like that. Oh my god. Love Super Tramp. Okay. So,
like that Breakfast in America, we probably had it on eight track at that time to be honest with you. It might have been an eight track. It might have been a cassette but he had that in there and I just remember, you know, hearing those songs like Goodbye Stranger. Oh, Goodbye Stranger. Goodbye Stranger. That's it. yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, god, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that and you know, some of those songs and even like I don't know, Led Zeppelin stuff. I mean, I, I, I, I heard and enjoyed by probably six or seven years old. I mean, if I heard Stairway to Heaven, I knew what song that was, you know, and so, there was something really early on that caught my year with different songs that I, I liked and it wasn't my parents going, oh, you should like this, you should like that. It
was just what was on, I heard it, and and I got real interested in and as I got, you know, 10, 11 years old, that was, that was around the time that like the you know, Michael Jackson thriller was out and, and some of those early 80s poppy kind of things were, were happening, and, and I just started kind of gravitating towards that, and finding, finding what I liked, and that would be the early memories for sure. It's, you know, I think in life, and the more I've talked to people, like, I think as a guy, like, you can remember your first kiss, you can remember like your first concert, remember your first date, like your first album, like, I just, those are things that like I think are important to like, people in life that are like similar to us like there's I think music was important to us. Like I think like the generation before us if you talk to them for the most part, like the people that grew up in the maybe 50s or maybe the early 60s like music wasn't as vividly important to them as it was for us because I feel like music really especially in the late 60s was was vital to the era that it came out to. How it impact
packed the news and or impactful from the news. I was impacted by like what was going on around the world or what was going on in people's life, people's lives and how those songs were generated that way. You know, a lot of times like if you look at listen to music in the fifties, it was, it was all like dancing music. It was dancing music or music about being in love. Even if the original Beatles music, I mean, if you listen to that, that was love music and then, as they got further along, it it became more generational. I think the
Beatles were the the band that really started getting that generational gap of like this music is bigger than what we're utilizing it for but no, I think it's great because I think even now there's always this blocks of like what music was and how important it was to those times and it's kind of cool to like it's almost like it's own version of history that we can look back at those things in time as it is history to us personally. We can look back at music and how that affect our lives at certain times. Um. It's a it's a it's a time stamp. I mean it really
for me it is. Uh I think that's how I people remember, you know, when you when you talk to you know, the ninety-year-old guy. Well, I remember in the Korean War in 1957 on you know, I mean, they, you know, they can sorry and if the Korean War was in 1957.
You know, it's it's amazing something at that time was impacting them from day to day to remember, make them remember those dates as clear as they could and for me, both as a time stamp, you know, physically, mentally, and emotionally, I I mean, that's how, I mean, I can remember very specific dates on when albums come out even as, you know, in the 60s and 70s. One, I used to just really get into that even at a very young age looking at the record albums and reading them and you know, it was interest to me. It was a piece, that was my piece of art. I'm not a big art guy. I don't go to art museums. I
don't, I appreciate it. Don't really understand it but music and album art and stuff like that, that was the thing that really dragged me in. You know, I I really I mean, I I can remember specific places I was, you know, 5678 years old where I heard a song and perked up and you know, like who was around me and stuff and and I think pretty common for people that really love music. I just heard Dave Grill just didn't did an interview and I I think you and I had a similar conversation like this a few weeks ago where I was talking about that but just a couple days ago, I watched an interview with Dave Gurland. He was talking about sort of the same thing about I can I can remember exactly where I was when the song came out and it just, it all sounded very familiar, you know? Um that's but I think you're right. I think it's it is history and it it marks a specific spot and it does go in like little waves and chunks. I
mean, I used to think you gotta be kidding me. Alright, we are having some technical difficulties here. Um Ryan should be jumping on back here in a second. Let's see.
Hopefully, he gets back on. Where did Ryan go? I don't know what happened. Let me text Ryan real quick and see where he went. Messenger. Ryan. Well, this makes for interesting. Uh
the chat and join back. Um I am thinking that I'm going to have to get a new dongle. I think it's a dongle. I'm just
going to blame the dongle. Alright, let's see if he comes back here in a second. Apologize as we were getting into a good part of the conversation with myself and Ryan talking about how music influences us and it can time stamp parts of our lives and how important that is for us. Um in a sense, while we getting that, let me get into this real quick. Let me do a commercial. Ryan tries to get back in on his end. Let me do this And join room. Oh, there he is.
Alright, I see you. Sorry. Alright. Alright, hold on a second. Can you hear me, right?
Yeah, I can hear just fine. I don't know what happened. I don't know. It's it's storming
pretty good here. So, I I relocated. Oh, okay. It may it may be in my internet connection. Okay. Okay. It got
like, it got crazy on my end too. Like, it all froze up. I'm like, oh no, what the hell happened here? So. Alright. right. Alright. We're we are we are back. Alright, good. Sounds good. You're still frozen but.
I'm frozen? Yeah. On my screen, I'm I'm moving. Hmm. I'm moving. You're, I can see you.
You're moving. You're good. So, alright. I'm just going to I'll just roll with it, buddy. We'll
roll with it. So, this is why they make post production. See, live isn't so easy. No kidding. Oh. Um. Sorry about that. No, no, no, no. So, let's go right in. So, we were talking about
how music is a time stamper in a life and how we can utilize listening to music and visualize the music app and time stamp things. Um so, let's go right to this. Let's go jump right into. So, we talked about
how music was important. When because the reason most of us are here and the reason why we became friends is through the band Pearl Jam. When was the first time you heard Pearl Jam? Uh? first time I heard them would have been I would say Let's see. The album Ten dropped in what? Was it October of ninety-one? I believe. So, Maybe even September. But anyhow, I heard
them first probably I think it was through a friend of mine's brother who had both bad motorfinger Soundgarden and Pearl Jam ten. They were both very new and I didn't know anything about it other than I thought that the names were really weird. I mean, if you really think about Soundgarden, you know, at the time, it was you know, all the bands like White Snake and you know, you had to kind of sound tough or cool or. That's right. Yeah. Something like that. So, I
didn't, you know, I remember just hearing the band names and thinking this okay, whatever but the the guy sort of forced that me. I mean, he like made me listen to both albums all the way through. Honestly, I remember thinking, okay, yeah, that's fine. It was a little
different but right away, it didn't necessarily catch my ear but I ended up about two weeks later at a at a music store and there was a kid working that I said, hey, listen. I, you know, I want to hear something new. I I know there's, you know, what what would you suggest? And he hands me this big, that was when the CDs used to come in the big cardboard box. Yup. He
has me this big pink cardboard box and I look at it and I was like, great. Pearl Jam. You. know, we have a video. I think I heard this already but when I went home and put the headphones on and I listened to it and and my environment versus somebody like making me listen to it with a whole bunch of people around all that. I remember real quick recognizing a lot of familiar things how they were playing like I, you know, I I started playing music let's see what else. I think
fourteen I bought my first electric guitar and and kind of self-taught myself how to play some stuff and I was sort of, you know, it was before YouTube when you could take lessons on YouTube. So, I was sort of terrible at it for like three years and I remember really though getting in like Jimi Hendrix and I wasn't a huge Kiss fan but I did have like a couple of their cassettes. So, I was familiar with their songs. Um led Zeppelin of course was always a big a big one in my life and there's kind of that blues rock thing going on with those bands that I recognized. I couldn't really
play it yet but I I could hear it and I knew what I was supposed to be doing playing it but I remember like I think the first one that really caught my ear was black at the beginning that intro that you know, stone playing those those seventh chords and I'm going, this kind of sounds like a Hendrixy thing. You know, I mean, I I could hear it and then, You know, Mike does kind of the Stevie Ray Vonish, Hendrix kind of thing over the top of Stone playing these chords and I remember that really, that really caught my ear and I I recognized it but it was also kind of a three-cord song. So, it was really cool to me that I could maybe play this thing and did figure it out but anyhow, that was that was sort of my first taste of the band and and it didn't take long for, you know, them and every other Seattle band that take off like gangbusters in the early, you know, that that year. Um So you know. You you brought up a
funny thing. I haven't thought about it in a long time. Why the **** do they put the CDs in those like those cardboard things back in the day? It was such a waste. The CDs on top.
Yeah. And there's literally nothing underneath it. It was like, it was stupid. I think the idea was because albums were such a big physical specimen. Yeah. To all of a sudden, go to those little tiny thing. You know, you felt like you were trying to force people into you know, the Jet or something. You know, like
future role and then so we still needed to have this physical thing that we could open up and and maybe that was it. I don't know. Um. It was so weird. It was, I just, I haven't thought about that in forever. I remember buying Pink
Floyd's what was it called? Um Eclipse, the album Eclipse. We had like the flashing red.on the side of it and came in this huge box but literally 90% it was trash. It was. silly. It
was silly. Got it. Yeah. I haven't thought about that forever. Yeah, you paid $3 for the paper and then and then you got to the plastic around the CD and yeah. Oh my god, it's
it's it's silliness, silliness. Um. Right. You know, it's it is interesting how how quickly ninety-one just blew up for so many bands out of Seattle and and how and how, I mean, you know, if you think back to, I mean, Pearl Gym being really the last heavy hitter besides like Mud Honey, you could, you know, Mud Honey is pretty popular. Sound Garden still is
a presence without Chris Cornell but I mean, for the most part, I mean, Pearl Jam is the heavy dog soul nowadays. I mean, you know, when it comes to ninety1, you know, that that scene that popped out and it's it's it's. Yeah, it is amazing. Thirty years later. It was crazy and like I I I don't know where I got cut off there but I was kind of talking about these these these windows of music. You know, I always say that three or four-year block and and I don't know if it's I I think a lot of it used to be that like, for instance, in the you know, The Beatles used to put out a new album every eight or nine months and Led Zeppelin did, you know, I mean, from Led Zeppelin to Led Zeppelin, houses of the holy. I mean,
they were dropping one every year, you know, and I think a lot of it was because without the internet, without radio and and and the corporate people having control of how that went. I mean, you could stretch an album out longer. You could you could you know, there might be, I don't know. I'll just
throw, I'll throw one out there. You know, maybe the album, Let It Be By The Beatles. You know, maybe they only drop the new single every two months. So, you could sort of even if you didn't like the two singles, maybe six months later, you would finally hear the one that you really liked and that would make you buy the album. So, it gave other bands maybe some time to overlap a little bit. Um if there was a
sound that people were liking that they could kind of, you know, overlap but then, I think just after three or four years, they're always kind of looking for something new. Um. True. And now, that's been cut so short just because you can, you know, the idea of you mentioned Pink Floyd. I'm a Pink Floyd fan too and you know, I was thinking about that today. The
idea of a accept the album, it'll never happen again. I mean, no, who, who doesn't, yeah. Just, that, that art's been lost, you know, and that was a lot of, I think, the, the reasons, some of those early albums were so good by some of those bands because they kind of went into it going, okay, we're going to do 12 songs, but they sort of have to have some continuity or a feel that connects them all together, and now it's just whatever song I like, I'm going to pay dollar$1. 99 on
iTunes, I'm going to grab it, you know, so you don't get that full effect and seems like it's getting chopped up a lot shorter in time periods now than it used to. Um the, you know, the, you look at the earliest, the late 60s, you know, there's a lot of Led Zeppelin, the who was out, you you get into the earlier seventies and you know, people were splitting off from bands, you know, like, Peter Frampton goes and does Frampton comes alive in the mid 70s and you know, he was with Humble Pie for a while but you know, there's that kind of that sound and in the late 70s, it sort of shuffled into Dare Isaiah Disco for, you know, that three-year span where you know, I guess some people liked it. We're still here. We're still here to some of those songs over the radio but I just, you know, I think that those those those those things were really important for the albums coming out. Pink Floyd, you know, Dark
Side of the Moon, The Wall. I mean, those those albums were really big to me. I think I had them both on cassette probably in my early teen years or maybe even a little bit before that but even then, I understood how the story was connected. Mm
hmm. You know, throughout the whole thing or I could I I got a pretty good taste of it and you bought something that had lyrics in it so you could actually read it. You're not just grabbing a song off iTunes because nothing against iTunes but you know, at is just one song that you like off of something. So. No, I, I, listen, I, I can't agree with you more. It is interesting.
The dynamic of how the, you know, previous to streaming digitally and stuff like that. It there was the albums, it was a true album, concept, or even flow, there was a lot more start to it. Now, it's it's very, you know, songs sometimes don't fit together on an album but it's just put there because it's this is, you know, it's, I don't think as much thought, I mean, there is still bands to do. I still think my morning jacket is a great example of album. Yeah. I think Band
horses. Another great example of it. Um my Manchester Manchester Orchestra. It's a newer band that someone got me into. I think their latest
album is very feel. I think Saint Vincent. Oh maybe I'm maybe I'm putting my foot in my mouth because now I'm thinking back to some albums that just recently came out and they are kind of album like. So. But for the most part for the most part it's not concept. It's no
concept behind it. Right. It's very much you know driven through so yeah it is kind of like Michelle said it's it's it's so pure. It's it's no it's not as pure with technology. It's just a different a different feel interesting. Very interesting. Well, and
then and then what I I think what bugs me more than anything about all that is just missing the missing the hidden gems, you know? I mean, let's use Pearl Jam as the example. Who would ever know the song Oceans unless they own ten? You know, I mean, but yet the fans all know it because they have the album. They had to go buy it, you know, or that or I mean, you know, they would have known four or five that got played on the radio but you know, Pink Floyd, another good example. There's some songs on the wall that I've, I don't think I've ever heard on the radio, but there's some of my favorite songs that Pink Floyd ever did. Um, but I wouldn't have known that if I didn't have to listen to those to get to the next song, you know. I think the greatest Pink Floyd song has never been played on the radio and that's dogs, because it's nine minutes long. Animals is
my when I was, when I was located downstairs, I had the I had animals on the wall. I think it's, it was behind me there, but maybe, maybe you couldn't see it, but yeah, Ant, dog dogs is actually like 18 minutes long. Yeah it's a lot It's a long **** song. But that song and yeah, I mean, that's that's a five-song album with two short songs at the beginning and two short songs at the end that are kind of the same song but all of it rolls together. That's a that's a
real good example. Well, thank you. Good pick. Thank you. You and you and Michelle both say, a great point. Alright, good.
I'm good with you. I'll take it. Um yes, you know, it's it is it is cool to think that. So now, with keeping up on the topic of Pearl Jam a little bit. Yeah. You know, what was your anticipation seeing them live first? With the idea of touring fan and the idea behind our concept of what the show is and our and our thoughts of what touring fan means is, you know, as people that actually follow bands and appreciate music and the love for it and you had the love for music and the appreciation for it prior to seeing Pearl Gem Live. So, previous to seeing them and and the build up and I know you're a you were a fan, you got into the music, you you felt it, you had an appreciation for the song Black like you discussed.
Mm hmm. Going to that First show, was your end, did you have high expectations and were they met? Absolutely. I mean, I I so my first show one that a lot of people around here to talk about, and I don't, I think I was working nights at the time, so I can go, but they, KU had a big day on the hill show. And, the, the
university, you know, which is an hour away from here, and all my friends that went said that Pearl Jam just killed it. They knocked it out of the park and you know, Ed did his ed thing. He's climbing all over and you know, and everybody was blown away by their their energy and their performance. I didn't end up seeing them until so, let's see here. It would have been
93, the night before Thanksgiving, tickets went on sale a few months for that. I go or a few months before that for showing Wichita, Kansas and this is when the ticket stuff all started, right? When, you know, verses dropped. Um Pearl Jam was trying to kind of do this thing themselves and you know, Ticketmaster were the jerks. I mean, I think it was the beginning of that. So, they were kind of playing some oddball places but I think whenever they originally line this thing up, I mean, there's 3000 people and it was general admission and the tickets sold out. If I remember right in 32 minutes and somehow I called in. This is when you used to
call in on the telephone and you know, do that. Um I called in and got 4, four tickets. Um and you know, at that time or set list was probably, I don't know, 16, 17 songs long, you know, with everything they were playing. Um they were great. I mean, it was the sound wasn't fantastic. I remember that but just that feeling of of being in the same room with a band that I like that much and I mean, I I can remember I know a lot of people say this but I remember having the the ten, ten CD cassette. I probably have the CDM cassette knowing me at that time. And also the
verses CD or set. And just basically just flip flopping them. When when was over I put the other one in the car stereo. You know and and I I really got engaged in it. But I thought they were fantastic live. I thought the energy was
there. It was it was a little urge overkill open for him. Uh which that was kind of cool. They're they were good. Um I didn't know a lot of their songs but they probably played for 45 minutes and then I think Pearl Jam played for about an hour. But I was really impressed and the thing that I was more im us with anything.
You know, we didn't have, there was no YouTube in 1993, you know? Um so, you you didn't get that sneak peek of what was going to happen. I didn't know that Eddie Vetter played the guitar at all. I had no idea. So, you know, me, me being the guy that thunked around on the guitar, right? I remember they went off. I think they played like probably eleven songs and then, they came, Eddie just came back on the stage and he played and he had a guitar and I thought, huh, okay. Well, we'll see what happens here. I was thinking, I don't know what they're going to play but he ended up just by himself doing a cover of the Kids Are All Right by the Who. Now, I'm not
sure out of the 3000 people, 500 even knew the song. I about jumped over the railing. I mean, I was just like, holy, I mean, I couldn't believe that he was playing a who song and I loved the who at that point and didn't have any idea how much they loved or you know, Ed loved the who and and was a fan. So, it kind of blew my
mind. I'm not so sure that that wasn't my favorite thing that happened that night was just him playing that song. So, let me ask you this because this is a great transition to something I have in cube. I don't know if I was going to use tonight but it's in the board. Um Do you like seeing other bands cover other people's music? it it just depends. It sometimes. Um
I think Okay, I'll I'll get myself in a little trouble here but like. It's okay. Um we we were talking about, you know, seeing Pearl Jam shows and how many songs they play now and everything. It's sort of drives me nuts when they end with eight minutes of rocking in the free world. I mean, I'll just
say, I, you know, I I I like Neil. I love Neil Young, you know, and I like that song but I'd rather hear two more Pearl Jam songs than 8 minutes of everybody. Just jamming to jam and I I guess sort of my opinion but I bet there have been some there have been some really good cover songs. I mean, shoot, you know, Bob Dylan wrote all along the watchtower, wasn't Jimmy? You know, but who did who did it better? Yeah. I'm going to have to go with Jimmy on that one, you know? Um. So, I'm going to ask you this question. Did you
see yesterday that Band of Horses covered Pearl Jam I? did not. So, guess what? I have queued up Alright, and we're going to listen to it and watch it right now because hey, first of all, I wasn't going to do this but you, so elegantly came up with, with, just like, hey, talk about cuff. I think this is a great transition right in.
So, let's, this is from last night, Band of Band of Horses. Post this on his Instagram. I took it right off before I got removed and this is that video and I want your honest opinion of this. It's the whole song. So, let's listen and then I want your opinion afterwards. You ready? Alright, sounds great.
Nope. Was that it? Oh, **** I I didn't realize at the end of the day. Anyway, no. So, I was so into. Now, let me explain something to you. Before you get me into this, if you don't know who Band of Horses is, the way that band perform, that is their energy level. That's the
high energy level from band of horses. You're not going to get any more energy out of em than that. Um. Right. Ben who sings that is his voice. Um that that
is exact. Listen, I loved it. I'm a big band of horses fan. They're probably one of my top 20 favorite bands of all time. I've seen a bunch of times.
Love them. So, it was cool to see that but that is 100% a band of horses cover of a Pearl Jam song. Um So, with that being said, Ryan what are your thoughts? Cuz most of the people on here do not like it that are commenting right now. Yeah, I So, you're still frozen on my my monitor here but I pulled up my phone and I was looking at some of the comments. I saw, I saw my friend Sean said something there and I'll tell you more about Sean here in a few but I I think musically, they they nailed it pretty good. I I thought that they they did the the chord thing just right and they're, the tempo was good.
The the vocals were a little bit tough to hear. Because it was a little bit thick on the recording, but I think that, you know, I saw band of horses open for Pearl Jam and what was that? 2013 tour? Okay. Two thousand ten. Two thousand ten, okay. So, I didn't know much about them but I had a couple friends that were with me that really weren't even big Pearl Jam fans but they really wanted to see band of horses. So, they talked them up and I think I even bought whatever CD they had at that time or you know, maybe I did download it or something but I think it was, I think it was pretty good. I I,
you know, some I I think when you do a cover of a song, it has to go two ways. Either you make it your own, like, you know, like Jimmy Henders did with all along the watchtower a better pretty much nail it like the other band does it. Yeah. Um I think that there's not a lot in between. Um I think if
you're creative enough to to make it your own and put your own little twist on it but still keep the same the same feeling and and convey it the same way then that's great but I think when bands you know, try try to do a cover and maybe they didn't practice it enough and it sort of falls apart and then they try to bring it back together. It can almost make me twitch a little bit. It's like, you probably should just left that alone. And not even Right.
So, the story from that, from my understanding was, Ben is a big Pearl Pearl Grimp and I've actually talked to him about Pearl Gym. He's a huge fan. Uh very appreciative of Eddie and everything he did by letting Band of Horses go on tour with them. Um and Ben just, you know, he's, he just see X. Guys, like, hey, you know, do you want to try this? Let's just do, they didn't play it live. It was just a, it was just it was called like a sound check thing and Ben recorded it, put it on his Instagram and I mean, I, listen, I love Ben Band of Horses. So, having
those two X coming together. I can understand if you don't like his voice, get it? It's it's it is acquired taste. Um but I dug it. I dug it for sure. But let me ask you this. We're talking about memories and things that like really stand out especially in concerts and things we like. Yeah. What what memories do you
have, you know, from Pearl Jam like, going to see them live, is there something that like really stands out for you that like, like, god, that's a memory I'll never forget. Yeah, you know, I went to I was fortunate enough me and a friend of mine for the yield tour in 1998. Got tickets to see both shows at Madison Square Garden. it was fun. I mean, we, you know, couple twenty somethings going up to New York for a weekend and I'm not sure we had $10 in our pocket once we got there but we, you know, we made it and it was it it was cool. We so we went to first of all, Madison Square Garden. Um I had just
seen them. They actually, it was cool. They played on July 3rd, which is my birthday. Um that summer, it's about 500 degrees that day. It was an
outdoor show and and I thought they just absolutely knocked it out of the park of that show but then you know, a few months later, it was actually 10th and September 11th of 98. Went to New York and let's just say this, man. Uh East Coast people, they know their music and they know, they they aren't the ones that are just standing there going, where are they going to play alive? You know, they're they're they're they know the music. They know the
the the new albums and they pay attention to that and I I noticed that right away. Just that pushed the energy level somewhere else and I know so the first night, we were there. This is the one thing that jumps out of me, was there were some people in the front that I think had maybe seen them in New Jersey the night before, something like that, but they had, they had, they had signs that said, breath on them, you know, the sum of breath off the single soundtrack. Um, Can you still hear me? I hear you just fine. Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. And anyhow, I think Eddie said something the first night like, I see your signs, it ain't happening, you know, blah blah blah. You know, and
he sort of just bypassed it. Um maybe gave the short. We've already got the set list speech. You know, and and but these the the signs throughout the show, I kind of kept seeing these people holding them up.
Seemed like it was kind of growing across the front. We were we were sort of the front of the upper level a little bit off to Mike's side and a great seat but by night number two and Ben Harper opened which was really cool because I'd never seen or heard Ben Harper before and this is when he still sat down and played guitar. He put it on his lap and played it. It was he he played differently then but he night number two, he played Pearl Jam came out and within a few songs in, these these signs have like tripled. Everybody had one and I remember Ed just sort of like pointing at somebody and saying, alright. You know, you
guys, you guys have pushed it and pushed it and and and he even said maybe a couple things that work so nice but meaning it in a jokingly way, a joking way and and they ended up playing the song. Yeah. And Well, Ryan, funny thing. I have the video for that. Um. Really? Yeah. So, let's let's let's let's let's relive that moment from night two in Madison Square Garden in 1998 and let's see what exactly what was said and what it sound like and let's talk about on the other side. So, here we go.
**** cock sucker **** You know, we come up here as a collective band and we give and we give and you just **** want more and you know what? You deserve it. This is some kind of like organized religion here. Uh I've never seen Do you see what's happening? You see what's happening? for the third night in a row, right Well, **** you. We're going to
play. It sound like the it just I get the the YouTube version I got. I guess the video cuts in and out on it a couple times but that is. Yeah. Um you know, and it was crazy because Shannon brought it up a little while ago. The Breath Campaign, the Email chain worked at that time. You know, back then, that's how communication went in the ten club and that's what the form, the forms, the Email chains of getting things to work and You know, you know, it's interesting how that came about but it is but you know what drove me nuts about that and this is why I hate New York so much and and I'm sorry if I offend anybody but I'm not. Um
the amount of **** that was thrown on stage, I just. Yeah, right? I saw that too. I was like, I was laughing. I was like, I don't remember that even phasing them. Uh you know, I don't know. Maybe just a younger mind and didn't didn't care as much or something but it was but man, Madison Square Garden. It's kind of strange.
It to me is the most overrated venue in America. Like, I I do. Yeah. Oh god. Hate hate Madison Square Garden. The real gardens in Boston first of all. Um
second of all, you know. The the sound in Madison Square Garden is horrendous. It is a **** place. It is, it smells, it stink. I I just can't stand
New York. Me New York do not work well together. Yes, I had I've been to New York a few times. My my my grandmother was from New York and grew up in Manhattan til she was in her early 20s and then ended up moving to Saint Louis when she and then eventually bounced to Kansas City but that's met met my grandfather when he was stationed in New York and you know, one of those, one of those kind of stories but so we had been fortunate enough to get to she had taken me and my mom and sister to New York a few times. So, I was, I always
kind of liked New York Just because I knew that's where she was from and I don't know. Felt like there was some kind of connection there and I I I don't know. I just had an appreciation for it. I it's
it's funny that you say that. Yeah. I guess you're you're originally a Boston guy so the guard. Well I live so I lived on Long Island. I've lived in Boston. I lived in Maine. I just don't I am not I don't like I'm not a big fan of just I can't stay in New York. I
just I I just and it's not the people. There's some people that are great. There's a lot of people that I don't like. But for that I just not a fan. No. Right hey, you know what?
It's it's going to work for you. I I it's funny that when you played that, I mean, I'm sitting there going, that was 23 years ago and it really, as soon as he said, you know, bucket, we're going to play it, then, it seemed like, I mean, it just doesn't, I remember that as clear as day. Again, it's one of those timestamp things. You know, I mean, I just, I'll never forget a few a few of those things that happened during that show and. Sure. And what, whether it
smelled bad or not, the people were still, you know, really into the show and met some nice people. I know. I I guess I have kind of that Midwest accent. So, I remember these girls in front of me kept turning around going, you must be from Long Island or something and I don't know what that means for sure but I wasn't sure if that was an insult or what god. What that
meant but. Yeah, Long Island. They got that like that. I I I don't know how to do the accent. I don't, they, they got a weird accent out there. It's like an old. I didn't I didn't
I never got that out but I've always remembered that. They just kept saying, you sound like from Long Island. I'm like, I'm I'm from you know, Missouri. So, I don't know. insanity. So, Ryan, you know,
when was the last time you saw Pearl Jam? Oh, god. Well, it would have been the Lightning Bolt Tour. So, two thousand thirteen is that right? Wow.
It's been a while. Yeah. It's been a minute. So, you know, just going back to what we're talking about at the beginning. I mean, you know, it was just life was a little crazy the last few years on some different other levels and.
Sure. And god, I was just was like, you know, and and not just their, you know, not just that band but other band, you know, I had like I said, I had the rage against the machine. Tickets for that May. I mean, I
sort of felt like I needed to hear and see some of those people I hadn't seen in a while. Um and you know, you just, people, some people, you know, crave the McRib when it's in McDonald's. I crave music. You know, really bad comparison but you know. Yeah, it's a little. I don't know if that's the greatest comparison in its own sense but I, you know, it's similar. But you know what I mean. It's just, you, you, you
have those, those things that you feel like you need just to take you away for a minute. I'm so excited about getting to see them again and you know, it just, I, I probably, I think I've seen, you know, I've seen that band, and I know there's probably people watching, I've seen him 75 times, I think you're one of them, but, you know, I've seen him 13 or 14 times, and it's usually their Kansas City, Saint Louis, I got to do the New York for the two nights but you know and of course the Wichita show that I I went to first but definitely something that I felt like I needed and all of a sudden, it just went away, you know, and that sort of sucked but it was you know, it's coming back around, right? I mean, we'll get to see him again sometime soon. I will tell you this than any other bands. I'm not, it ain't going to be, I'll, in a years time, I'll definitely be in Kansas City. So, it's not far off where I'll be living there and I'll be right in the corner from you. I'm not a good influence when it comes to seeing Pearl Jam. I have
convinced a lot of people to travel very far with me to go see the band. So, start saving your frequent flyer miles and get ready for Alright. some **** because I mean, you know, I, first of all, I learned one thing, Spirit Airlines which a lot of people don't like, they fly at from Kansas City to just about everywhere in the country that Pearl Gym is playing a show and a lot of those flights are like eighty9 dollars round trip. My **** don't need a pack much. I will go wherever the Pearl Jam wind takes me. So,
you won't go to Madison Square Garden. But you'll go on No. Well, the crazy thing is I am going to Madison Square Garden to see them. Um not that not of choice but of the fact that I just, I need to see them as many times as possible. Um. Right, right. You know, that's
just the the the desire and the goal. It's kind of addicting. But you know in the same sense tune, what's cool about the show and why I do this and the people that are tuning in and stuff, I like, you know, going to shows and meeting people and talking the stories like I'm talking to you about it to kind of catch up and learn about people. Um you know, because it it just makes things interesting. It just, it kind of makes what you do and what you love, you know, more comfortable because for most people that are listening right now, I'm pretty sure you have people in your life that don't understand why you continue to go see Pearl Jam or why you follow the band or why you get excited on the tenth to open a newsletter or why you're begging for more tour dates, why you see a more than once in a tour, people just understand that but when you can start finding like-minded people that completely understand that narrative and you can actually be there and have that like that commodity of someone that you've never met before like you and me in Kansas City sitting down on the table outside at some guy's house. Right. I've only known for five
minutes but opening up stories that's when you start realizing that the music behind Pearl Jam and what they're doing, it's bigger than that itself. It's a community built around these these guys that fell in love with music like we fell in love with with different artists that built this, that built more than just music, that built a community and a backbone that brought us all together so that we have these moments a quick example. Last month was one of the worst months of my life in a very long time. Just so much up and down. The amount of people that reached out to me, including yourself, Ryan, which I appreciate, you know, contact me saying, hey man, can you, if you want to talk, let's talk, or, you know, how many people I cried with on a phone because they understood what I was going through and you know, I talked to two people on the phone that I've never met in person, but we've talked, and we were, and they got me through a lot, and that's what music, and that's what this band represents, and that's why these stories, like your story at Madison Square Garden, or your story of getting the album for the first time and listening to it when the guy handed you in that box and you remember that. Those moments
are what important because it builds the character of the people that are in this community bring us together. Right. I I that's you're you're exactly right, man. I in this, first of all, hope things are better for you and I mean, everybody, that that is so cool that that many people reached out and you know, I think a lot of what I I learned like during the pandemic was just and I think I already knew this but maybe I just needed to be reminded of it. How just those
little touches here and there. How much that can mean to somebody and change their day and and You know, or or even if they're they have a a crappy day, if you can take em away from it for four or five minutes, you know, and just get their mind on something else to to help them process what's going on. Um it's so important and I do. Um I do recognize that and that's that's awesome that that many people have reached out to you and people you don't even know, you know, it's it's I think that's something we've learned in the last couple of years that we can do. You know, it's not maybe five years ago, it would have been weird for you to get some messages from people you didn't know. Say,
hey, sorry, you're going through this. You're like, who the hell is this? You know, but I think that's something we've sort of learned to do again. You know, being being stuck to say and not being able to go do what we want to do and be around, be around our, our, our buddies and pals that enjoy music as much as we do. Yeah, I
couldn't, I, I cannot agree with you more and that's what makes this idea special. Um you know, it is, you know, and that's, you know, when I first did Hitchhiker when, I started this thing, it was, and I kind of told you something, it's a natural conversation. There's really no topics. We go
places I get to learn about you, but we get to talk about things of this, and it's, it's this topic that always comes up that's so important because, you know, we were talked about before about, like, the, the idea of canceling, you know, pop culture and arts and stuff in schools, like, arts and music is what's, is kept sanity through the pandemic, where we talk about that, but there is like a push in, in the world right now to cut this **** out of like school systems and remove it from, and, you know, middle America where You know, unfortunately, like, I don't think people realize how much music saves lives and how much sanity that can bring and and it's just it's crazy. It's it's absolutely insane to me. You know, that's one reason why I fell in love with and I Michelle can vouch for this. You know, the project matters up in New Jersey. Like, there's people out there that are p
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