NEIL YOUNG - WTF Podcast with Marc Maron #717

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let's do the show
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all right let's do this how are you what
01:17
the fuck is what the fuck buddy is what
01:18
the fuck stirs what the fuck Adele --ax
01:21
I'm Marc Maron this is WTF this is my
01:23
podcast welcome to the show
01:25
how's it going everybody doing alright
01:28
post Father's Day did you call the old
01:31
man if he's alive did you call him did
01:34
you bury the hatchet for 15 minutes I
01:36
did I called my dad and it was okay it
01:42
was pretty good he was in a pretty good
01:44
space by the way Neil Young is on the
01:46
show today I should I should get I
01:49
should tell you that right now it was a
01:52
pretty exciting day is a very nervous
01:55
day for me you know Neil's one of those
01:57
guys man he he was a giant
01:59
he walked the earth when Giants were
02:02
walked the earth and he's still a giant
02:04
but he's an older Giant but he's Neil
02:07
Young and I was uh I was a little
02:10
nervous I'll tell you about it in a sec
02:12
I'll tell you more about that in a
02:13
second but I want to stay in this dad
02:15
thing why while I've got the emotions
02:18
that are still kind of hot I am
02:21
recording this in the afternoon on
02:23
Father's Day and I had done something
02:28
I'd done something a couple weeks ago my
02:30
it wasn't even a couple of weeks ago my
02:32
dad wrote me an email that was a fairly
02:35
concerned but overly wrought somewhat
02:38
paranoid and quite projecting email in
02:43
the in response to the tragedies of the
02:47
the last couple weeks the shootings and
02:51
whatnot in any I guess it was concerned
02:54
but for some reason I I misread it as a
02:56
kind of feeding on the sadness and
03:00
negative energy and projecting it onto
03:02
me and I were yeah I just reacted I was
03:04
feeling horrible that day like everybody
03:06
else and and I just shot back at him and
03:09
I you know I just I reacted in anger I
03:12
sent him some shitty emails and then a
03:15
few days went by and I just couldn't
03:17
live with it and I felt bad and I email
03:20
I apologized I emailed an apology and he
03:23
said thank you I love you
03:24
all right a lot of times when we get
03:28
caught up in in our own bullshit with
03:32
our parents they cease to have a life
03:35
outside of that they you know I don't
03:38
know how empathetic I am with my father
03:40
or my mother on a day-to-day basis
03:42
because is that my job I mean where we
03:45
it's hard to be empathetic with you know
03:47
to your parents situation sometimes
03:50
maybe that's just me and sometimes it's
03:52
hard for me to acknowledge you know that
03:54
my father may have been out in the world
03:57
doing doing good things or having an
04:00
impact on other people's lives in a
04:02
positive way and because you get so
04:04
caught up with your own relationship so
04:06
I didn't know where I get this email the
04:09
subject line is Father's Day and it just
04:14
says mark I'm not certain this email
04:17
will ever get to you but I've been
04:19
wanting to send a few sentiments your
04:21
way and as we are coming up on Father's
04:23
Day I thought it especially appropriate
04:26
to do so some 18 years ago my son
04:29
Nathaniel broke his leg in a high school
04:31
football game in western New York he was
04:34
taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital
04:36
in some forsaken little backwoods town
04:38
it became quickly evident that his
04:41
injury was more severe than initially
04:43
thought
04:43
in fact he suffered from what is termed
04:45
compartment syndrome which often results
04:48
in the loss of a limb because the
04:50
swelling constricts the blood flow and
04:52
amputation is often the only way to save
04:54
a life we had this doctor appear who was
04:57
sarcastic sardonic funny and absolutely
05:00
wonderful without going into unnecessary
05:02
details his actions saved my son's leg
05:05
and maybe his life now 18 years later my
05:12
son is 36 and has just become a father
05:15
for the second time this past week after
05:17
a very long recovery he completed
05:19
college started a very rewarding career
05:21
and has become most importantly a
05:23
wonderful father and husband as you
05:28
probably know that doctor who saved my
05:31
son
05:31
was your father I never assumed anything
05:35
about anyone else's relationships life
05:37
is to you
05:38
life is far too complicated to think
05:40
that my experience mirrors anyone else's
05:42
but I wanted you to know that your
05:44
father's actions on behalf of my son
05:47
helped to turn what could have been a
05:50
tragic situation into something very
05:52
positive I'm aware through the power of
05:56
Google that your dad has ended his
05:57
career and what appears to be a rather
05:59
sour situation I feel badly for that all
06:03
I know is that your dad did all he could
06:04
to help my son during a critical
06:06
situation and without his help I'm not
06:08
sure my son's life would have worked out
06:10
the same I would appreciate you letting
06:13
him know that we think the world of dr.
06:14
Marin and we are fortunate that fate had
06:17
us cross paths with him in that warsaw
06:19
hospital that fall football Saturday
06:22
finally I do want you to know that I
06:25
remember dr. Marin mentioning to me that
06:27
his son worked in comedy and thought it
06:29
took exceptional courage to enter that
06:31
line of work when I first saw you
06:33
perform on TV I immediately made the
06:35
connection I'm not sure if you are a
06:37
father or not mark but as a dad I know
06:39
your father made a difference to my
06:40
family and I will never forget that
06:42
thanks Paul
06:44
and Connexus New York well thank you
06:50
Paul because sometimes you know I forget
06:56
that my dad did good things and it's
07:00
good to hear that and as I get older and
07:03
I get more emotional about things and a
07:06
little more willing to let things go
07:08
you know that email choked me up but
07:11
choked me up again here and I do want to
07:14
uh to send some love out to all the
07:18
father's that are truly doing the best
07:20
they can and that might not be enough
07:23
for a while at some point it's going to
07:25
come back and bite you in the ass
07:27
hey I'm not a father but I knew that I
07:30
bit my father in the ass and I continued
07:34
to occasionally when I called up to wish
07:36
him a happy Father's Day and we talked a
07:39
little bit about the series of emails I
07:41
sent that were nothing short of just
07:45
snotty abusive fucking angry child crap
07:51
I told him I said I don't know is a hard
07:53
day was a bad day and I lashed out he
07:57
goes yeah that's what I thought I'd go
07:58
yeah I imagine you would think that
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because you do that too and we're both
08:02
crazy and he laughed and I told him I
08:04
loved him and I hope he had a good day a
08:08
lot of small businesses get stuck doing
08:10
things the old way people just out of
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habit tell me about it there probably
08:14
dozens of better ways for me to record
08:16
the show in here but I just keep doing
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it the way I first did
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it's like mailing and shipping you
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probably just take all your packages to
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the post office because that's how
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you've always done it but with stamps
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calm you don't have to do your mailing
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calm and before you do anything else
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click on the microphone at the top of
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the homepage and type in WTF that's
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stamps comm enter WTF I before I space
09:22
it out I think it's important that I do
09:23
this I have a show I have a platform I
09:26
should promote myself I am going to be
09:29
doing dates here and there alright I'll
09:31
be at the ice house here in Pasadena on
09:33
July 3rd I'm going to be up in Spokane
09:35
July 7th 8th and 9th I'll be I'll be at
09:40
wise guys in Utah July 14 through 16
09:44
I'll be at the comedy attic in
09:47
Bloomington Indiana July 28th through
09:50
30th and I will be at stand-up live in
09:53
Phoenix August 18th through the 20th
09:57
I'll be doing one night at the
09:59
Albuquerque Journal Theatre in
10:00
Albuquerque New Mexico September 3rd
10:02
I'll be at the comedy club in Rochester
10:04
New York September 9th through a ninth
10:07
and 10th so those are the dates that are
10:09
up there now you can go to WTF podcast
10:12
or for links to tickets here's what I
10:15
want to tell you about though then this
10:16
sort of a weird thing
10:18
it's a Emmy nomination time and um look
10:26
I I'm not hung up on awards certainly I
10:29
would love to be thought of for for an
10:34
award of some kind say a Peabody Award
10:37
or or an Emmy award sure I I I would
10:40
like to be I would like to win one I
10:42
don't think about it too often it would
10:43
be nice to be recognized it would be
10:45
nice to be to be considered for one of
10:50
these things he obviously be nice to win
10:52
everybody likes a prize but here's a I
10:55
guess I what I'm doing is I'm reaching
10:57
out to the people who might be voting
10:59
members of the Academy of Television to
11:03
let them know that that Marin is being
11:07
submitted for a for Outstanding Comedy
11:11
Series I'm being submitted for Lead
11:14
Actor in a comedy series and writing is
11:16
being submitted as well for the race
11:18
gate episode by Dave Anthony and step
11:20
one by Seibert glare um and Michael
11:22
jamon and yeah I'd like to submit us for
11:27
your consideration if you are in the
11:29
Academy that's all I can really do I'm
11:31
not telling you to do anything but but
11:33
know this because a lot of networks what
11:35
they do is they they send out links to
11:38
the episodes they send out packages the
11:40
Academy members are you like that for
11:43
your consideration here's the show you
11:45
know looking and it's sort of a
11:46
necessary thing I have si did none of
11:48
that I don't know why doesn't matter I
11:54
just want to let you know that we are
11:56
submitted for your consideration also AM
11:59
or later my comedy special is also for
12:04
your consideration outstanding writing
12:06
for a variety special also for Bobcat
12:08
Goldthwait's directing and Jerrod hopes
12:12
is editing and the a you know this is
12:14
show business stuff but if I ate
12:16
parently if I'm not going to do it no
12:17
one's going
12:18
it the ball was dropped by the studio
12:21
and the network so it's sort of on me
12:23
again not important but I would like to
12:25
to be in the game is that okay is that
12:29
all right
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alright well look here's the deal with
13:42
Neil yeah you know I love Neil Young and
13:46
and there's a about a 10 or so records
13:49
of his that I just you know they're
13:51
fucking amazing and he's done a lot more
13:54
records he's done you know like 50
13:56
records a lot of records Neil Young is
13:59
the amazing thing about new young is
14:00
that it never really gets old it always
14:03
is very transcendent he's true genius of
14:06
the song and he's a is it kind of an
14:09
intimidating character and I know he's
14:12
not easy necessarily to talk to I didn't
14:15
know how it was going to go but it was
14:17
one of those days where you know Neil
14:19
Young's coming over to the house I'm
14:20
gonna do the best I can
14:22
I'm excited to meet him I was I just I
14:25
just didn't know if they if he was gonna
14:27
like me which you know I don't know how
14:30
long you been listening to this show but
14:31
that it's
14:32
better if they if they like me and I
14:34
didn't know how we go and I was nervous
14:37
and he came over and he had a little
14:40
posse of 70 year old dudes or so little
14:43
white haired posse his manager Eliot and
14:45
a couple other cats and it was one of
14:48
those times where yeah this happens very
14:50
rarely but it happens where you know
14:52
Neil walks in looks in my living room
14:54
sees my Gibson 335 walks right over to
14:58
it picks it up sits on the couch fucks
15:01
around with the guitar a little bit
15:02
looks at my stereo system sees my
15:05
records he's saying like nice guitar and
15:07
and on the table that his uh that his
15:11
new pono music a system that the little
15:15
box that you can listen to pono with is
15:17
sitting there and I was passed had it
15:19
all packed up to give it back to the guy
15:21
because they told me I had to return it
15:23
and I told him I said well I got a you
15:25
guys can take that I guess and Neil said
15:27
no I'll let him keep it man I like them
15:29
let him keep it that's what he said
15:31
before we walked out to the grudge let
15:33
him keep the pono I like this guy and
15:35
I'm like okay that's good sign that's a
15:37
good sign but his new album Earth comes
15:43
out on Friday and you can get that
15:44
wherever you get music but you can also
15:46
you know get in that high-resolution
15:48
audio through the pono music store you
15:50
can also get it on tidal but the the
15:53
pono is pretty fascinating it's a pretty
15:55
amazing thing and the new records pretty
15:57
interesting there's a lot of it D like a
15:58
lot of things going on I'll talk to him
16:00
about it so enjoy this this this
16:04
conversation that I had with Neil Young
16:14
you want to wear cans or no I'll try it
16:18
house that was my changed my whole
16:20
personality you're a different guy now
16:22
is that easy I did a show once where the
16:27
DJ was talking to me yeah and and we
16:32
were doing I was doing this show and
16:34
this is like in his sixties yeah thing
16:36
and he's talking to me you know in the
16:38
show hasn't started yet yeah and then
16:40
just as it starts he puts on his phone
16:42
yeah and his voice changed completely
16:45
yeah and I said to him right away I said
16:48
you're like a completely different
16:49
person
16:51
when you put on those phones it doesn't
16:53
even sound like the guy I was talking to
16:55
a minute ago it's true right yeah
16:57
but then but that blue is mine did I
16:58
said that on the air and he quit he quit
17:01
right there
17:02
black no he did it yeah he did and then
17:04
Elliot and I were the only ones in the
17:06
studio we displayed records for about 45
17:09
minutes for somebody else showed up it
17:11
was yeah so the guy freaked out yeah you
17:13
freaked out left it was in the 60s yeah
17:16
so so he's probably high and he was like
17:19
it wasn't ready it was right it was me
17:21
at some point in time were that was you
17:23
know it made him feel you know anyway
17:25
you just you tapped right in you saw his
17:28
soul and he ran out last day of work for
17:31
that guy so uh oh yeah but by the
17:34
experience with the PO know like we
17:36
might as well start with exciti
17:37
interesting thing happened you know when
17:39
I to interview somebody like you was a
17:42
to me I you know I freaked out for about
17:45
a day or two and before it only because
17:49
you know you have such a massive amount
17:51
of productive work out there in the
17:55
world so I'm loading my head and I just
17:57
I thought it was interesting today and
17:59
within the last few days so many new
18:02
things happened that I wouldn't have
18:04
that would never have happen I'm not
18:05
much time you spend on the computer but
18:07
like just because of the world we live
18:09
in you know like for instance like I
18:10
wissen to expecting to fly for the first
18:14
time this morning and I mean I'm a Neil
18:18
Young fan but I didn't know that song I
18:20
didn't I didn't have that in my head
18:23
that's early right it's Buffalo
18:24
Springfield and I listen to the pono to
18:27
the new record for the first time all
18:29
the way through last night so I got
18:30
bookends yeah the experience both of
18:34
them slightly psychedelic experiences
18:36
yeah Jack Nietzsche and I made expecting
18:39
to fly that took like about 30 days for
18:42
us to complete it with Bruce Botnick to
18:44
the engineer we had a fantastic time a
18:47
lot of time mixing it with these old two
18:49
boards in there yeah yeah so it Jack
18:52
Nietzsche did a couple stones song he
18:53
did he
18:54
- Specter stuff you can't always get
18:57
what you want
18:58
that's Nietzsche now when you do
19:00
something like that when you work with a
19:01
guy like that how clear is that memory
19:02
for you now very clear yeah clear as you
19:05
right there that's it I said that is
19:07
right here yeah and when you when you
19:09
when you were setting out to do that
19:11
what would because you were creating a
19:13
new sound what was a collaboration like
19:16
how do you start to go to that place
19:18
well you know it was very young
19:20
yeah and I think it was like even was
19:24
only the second Buffalo Springfield
19:28
album yeah I think the Atwood that
19:29
expecting the fly was on and you know he
19:34
he had just started talking to me about
19:36
doing things myself and being young a
19:39
solo artist so you know I I just
19:46
listened to him it's like a mentor yeah
19:49
genius yeah yeah yeah and you use that
19:51
going in he didn't cry oh yeah whoo I
19:53
know everything he'd done all of his
19:55
soul
19:56
yeah charts that he'd written for
19:57
various things specters and stuff that
20:00
were just insane crazy yeah that whole
20:03
crew back then wasn't like nut you know
20:05
well he was the architect behind the
20:07
Wallace house parts yeah yeah but in all
20:10
that Wrecking Crew together
20:11
well I guess you all probably Specter
20:13
got the musicians and Jack and then Jack
20:16
wrote down all that stuff and then I
20:18
think it was Jack said well we should
20:20
have three guitars playing the same
20:23
thing instead of one oh really
20:25
yeah and then it's you can hardly hear
20:27
it on the record but it's three of them
20:28
and that's just this massive wall I mean
20:30
it's true this is sonic blast yeah
20:33
mono yeah yeah get exactly we modified
20:37
like the mono kind of flattened sink
20:39
like it's interesting that the
20:40
difference is mono is actually better
20:42
because it all is coming at you in the
20:43
same time mono is the ultimate big why
20:46
is that well because it's deep yeah
20:49
stereos distractingly wide right and
20:53
right HUS with that you don't focus on
20:55
the depth right right it's is a little
20:57
bit false stereo right because like when
21:00
you listen to mono on the good system
21:02
you know like it just floats in the
21:03
middle yeah and if you are listening in
21:05
any room your stereo is your own you
21:08
bouncing off of the walls and yeah but
21:11
it's someone source like you know yeah
21:13
and then the other thing I was doing
21:15
when I was going to talk to you is I
21:16
started sort of compressing people in
21:18
mind the other thing I listen to I
21:19
listen to Burt chance for the first time
21:21
oh this morning his knee great it's
21:22
great yes then I like it's an amazing
21:25
world we live in that I can just
21:26
discover that cuz the kid who I know
21:28
Matt Sweeney from super wolf he says
21:31
that you listen to Burt chance so I
21:33
listen to Burt chance then I start
21:35
thinking about you as a kid in Canada I
21:37
started thinking about Burt chance
21:38
I think in about link wray I'm thinking
21:40
about Roy Orbison I'm trying to put my
21:42
head together like a wrap my head around
21:44
you know what
21:45
galvanized your head do you have an idea
21:49
of that well those guys are pretty
21:51
popular yeah you know and I you know
21:54
link wray and Roy Orbison all those
21:57
people I mean it was great it was great
21:59
music yeah I could you could really hear
22:01
it and feel it and link was just broke
22:03
that guitar sound wasn't broken up man
22:05
did you love that yeah yeah and Roy
22:08
rumble Rumble right and then in in
22:11
Orbison kind of had that sort of
22:13
heartbroken ethereal falsetto but what a
22:16
great range oh my god right in where'd
22:20
you grow up all over Canada in Winnipeg
22:23
a lot in Winnipeg Toronto oh me me
22:28
Jackson's point do you spend a lot of
22:30
time up there still oh no not as much as
22:33
I as I used to I don't know what the
22:35
future holds though oh yeah in terms of
22:37
Canada's a cool place it is man I've
22:40
done some time in Winnipeg is it when it
22:43
pays very flat intense yes it is it's
22:45
it's it's a little harsh in the middle
22:47
of everything that's that's missing yeah
22:53
it seems a little beaten up it's got a
22:57
lot of soul it does it does have a lot
22:59
of soul and when you started like
23:01
playing guitar what you know what was it
23:04
who was around I mean what were the what
23:07
were the bands that you were you're
23:08
playing with in local local guys
23:10
Canadian guys Randy Bachman you like
23:13
that guy right Randy's cool guess who
23:15
yeah
23:16
that drives Cole
23:18
Allen and the silver tones they were
23:20
called when when we first listened and
23:22
he was always a pretty monster guitar
23:24
player monster exactly had his own sound
23:26
had a thing going on had a had a tape
23:29
deck up there and he had tape repeat
23:31
coming off the tape deck back then yeah
23:33
back then live on the stage just
23:35
incredible sounding so he was a sort of
23:38
wizard up there yeah and he was just a
23:40
kid yeah he was just a young guy like me
23:42
a little couple of years older and did
23:44
you I did you have how many brothers and
23:47
sisters you get one brother to and one
23:49
sister yeah and you just grew up there
23:52
why'd you move around so much oh well my
23:55
dad moved around a lot
23:56
yeah really a lot because he was a
23:58
writer and he just kept moving and and
24:01
then when my mom and dad broke up I
24:03
moved again with my mom
24:05
yeah and that was Winnipeg and then I
24:07
started the band and started playing
24:09
how would you when that happened 13 or
24:13
four oh yeah but you stayed in touch
24:14
with your old man right yeah yeah what
24:16
kind of writer everything sports
24:20
human-interest the out of fiction did it
24:23
inspire you to hear old hockey books
24:25
yeah about hockey players in high
24:27
schools yeah like it was pretty cool
24:29
were you a sports guy no not at all
24:32
right if you know either a quick sinner
24:34
doesn't right I didn't click in for me
24:37
nah me neither I don't know what the
24:38
hell I'm talking about hey there's
24:40
enough of them doing it already they
24:42
don't need a tie they don't need us so
24:46
you got to go where you're needed that's
24:48
right that's it they don't need me at
24:49
the arena they seem all filled up what
24:52
guys were paying their face funny colors
24:54
I'm good but music was it then what's
24:58
for me yeah and what was the what was
25:00
the first break you got for my for my
25:05
guitar yeah yeah I had a ham a harmony
25:08
sovereign that was a how about you
25:11
Halliwell de monterrey
25:13
harmony mas I think a harmony Monterrey
25:16
I think it was yeah and it was like a
25:19
flat it was out like a when you call an
25:24
F hole guitar right yeah yeah I had a
25:26
sliding dearmond pickup on a thing that
25:29
I might ride back and for
25:30
around all right yeah yeah and I plugged
25:32
it into our Seabreeze stereo system it
25:37
blew out those speakers it was pretty
25:39
harsh it distorted quite a lot of course
25:42
there's that that was it oh gosh
25:46
and who were you like playing along with
25:48
it that time
25:49
where were you learning oh I I didn't
25:52
really play along things yeah I I really
25:55
listened a lot too I was a couple of key
25:58
things hideaway oh yeah it was it cool
26:01
track the Freddie King yeah yeah but
26:04
then I really got into Jimmy Reed oh
26:06
yeah through I really liked yeah he
26:09
leaves that open none when you go the
26:10
turnaround was great yeah yeah I talked
26:12
to uh Keith Richards about him I've
26:15
talked to a couple people about him yeah
26:17
about Jimmy Reed yeah yeah he has sweet
26:19
voice and that great guitar sound
26:21
harmonica and you couldn't really tell
26:23
who was playing what on those records
26:25
right yeah yeah like yeah is a buddy
26:28
Taylor ah this is a guitar player on
26:31
those records oh really
26:32
so I don't know if he's the one one of
26:35
them's playing right like that yeah and
26:39
the other ones you know doing the lick
26:42
senator right oh yeah yeah yeah yeah
26:46
yeah that's honky right yeah that was
26:49
usually was three guitars there's three
26:51
guitars one of them tuned down playing
26:53
the bass so no but one of them I think
26:55
uh I I don't know whether Jimmy was
26:59
playing the trouble guitar yeah or
27:01
playing the boogie guitar right yeah and
27:04
if no one had an upbeat to that
27:07
happiness if you listen to it there's
27:08
three guitar players I think his wife
27:10
used to sit there in the room with him
27:11
too
27:12
yeah you could hear her singing before
27:14
him right so he get the words he pray
27:17
yes she had a primum right I think it
27:18
was a some issue with his sight I can't
27:20
work really well together it was a
27:22
beautiful thing yeah so when did when
27:26
did you meet stills when did Springfield
27:29
start how that happened do you mind
27:30
going through this stuff is you guys
27:33
don't know it must be oh yeah yeah you
27:35
guys are good oh we're great I never
27:37
know how are you guys
27:38
no I'm getting along great okay um you
27:41
know I don't have any enemies
27:42
oh that's no I know um we all want to
27:48
assume you guys get along okay I think
27:50
you should assume anything you want to
27:51
assume ah cuz that's what I do and you
27:54
know like how that works you know I got
27:57
like there's a you know I kind of like I
27:59
come into this you know not being quite
28:01
as old as you but you know like
28:03
reviewing certain people and certain
28:04
groups of people and like in my mind
28:07
it's hard when people fight but I you
28:09
know have you got for fun you guys have
28:11
lives that's not fun I mean you have
28:13
relationships with these guys for what
28:14
50 years yeah kind of all stills is
28:18
longer than that oh yeah
28:19
stills goes back to like I think it's 63
28:22
or 64 I'm not sure when you were kids
28:24
yeah I guess we were kids and yeah and
28:27
you've met before Springfield right oh
28:29
yeah
28:30
at least a year before Springfield
28:32
started and who you guys playing
28:34
together then a little bit yeah you just
28:36
kind of hanging around yeah what do you
28:37
got well fun yeah yeah admiration for
28:41
each other what for you're doing you
28:43
sang so great great voice wonderful yeah
28:46
you guys have such a different perfect
28:48
voices well it they've been described in
28:52
different ways I I know that stills
28:54
voices is a great voice right Crosby -
28:57
right yeah he's got always a great
28:59
singer yeah it's weird cuz this voice
29:01
doesn't seem to ever change like you all
29:04
you guys I don't know how you how'd you
29:05
keep your chords so nice man is that a
29:07
is that you on top of them enough to
29:10
check yourself out a real if your
29:12
analysis of the situation extra I'll do
29:15
it yeah I I hear this record you sound
29:18
good yeah but do you have a is there
29:21
things you have to do to take care of
29:22
that thing or do you think about it nope
29:24
just let it go I think it's about sure
29:28
you know being healthy yeah try to be in
29:30
good shape stay strong yeah now in that
29:34
just happens naturally well you got to
29:36
work at it but what do you do what do
29:38
you do take care of yourself oh well you
29:41
know like this morning I got up and I
29:42
walked I walked on the beach for three
29:45
miles
29:45
oh yeah and I uh you know a lot of times
29:48
like five times a week I got
29:51
lottie's do you yeah I do you get us
29:54
thing I ever do do you get on the
29:55
machine or just do the laying flat I do
29:58
all the thing whatever they say tightens
30:01
you up it's great it makes you feel your
30:03
body then more Audi starts to move and
30:06
you can use it yeah yeah it's really
30:08
good for you I need you I enjoyed it you
30:10
have a trainer that does it comes in or
30:13
several of them I mean yeah keep coming
30:15
and you've got off the booze too huh
30:17
booze yeah no I'm still drink when I go
30:20
like oh good yeah everything in
30:23
moderation
30:24
oh you in moderation should be taken in
30:26
Marla I want you to figure out the
30:28
moderation trick I still haven't got it
30:30
yet I don't have it all right how are
30:33
you yeah I mean you're doing okay
30:35
I'm off I don't do nothing about coffee
30:38
coffee a lot of coffee and I do these
30:41
nicotine lozenges oh that what do they
30:43
do
30:43
they're basically nicotine candy also
30:45
instead of smoking yeah Gilly did you do
30:48
that to stop smoking I don't know like I
30:50
think that might have been the intention
30:51
but then I just decided well these are
30:53
pretty good are they they and really get
30:55
what are they doing they getting a
30:56
little bit Jack yeah yeah yeah they did
30:58
they do the same thing as nicotine does
30:59
you know if you hit it just right it's
31:01
not act if you buy too much you down no
31:03
you're in trouble but it doesn't hurt
31:05
your lungs no does nothing to your lungs
31:06
I don't know what's doing to the other
31:08
words how many of these need to take a
31:09
day only I don't keep track how many
31:12
packages do you go through no these are
31:14
these are less me couple weeks I get
31:15
from under us now that they go through
31:17
you get three tubes yeah last you a
31:19
couple of week but no one is towing that
31:21
they're bad from no no wait a minute how
31:22
many - how many are in each - 24 and I
31:25
split get Matthew break I break him in
31:27
half that's I got 52 doses and here's
31:29
1588 in each of the eight me 28 and
31:32
there's three of them there's that's 150
31:35
approximately you know I break one in
31:36
half and then I do it and that yeah I
31:40
said here is 150 halves so my dad so
31:43
maybe 140 twice oh right yeah that's
31:46
cool yeah I just right let's see three
31:49
weeks yeah
31:50
III digit I get happy if I go into a
31:54
certain place I had to do the math where
31:56
you break it down yeah I just don't I
31:57
don't stop don't finished you got a ride
31:59
the equation all the way all the way but
32:02
I think we're dropped we can drop that
32:04
one all right people that were
32:05
interested they can figure out where
32:07
it'll go
32:07
sure yeah I'll get tweets people going
32:09
like I know the number why don't you
32:11
talk about other things were you talking
32:13
about math who Neil Young's or do you
32:16
have a place down here yeah you know a
32:18
I'm here you know you would permanently
32:20
down there I do we still have the ranch
32:22
right no that's gone no it's it's still
32:25
there I think I'm out there oh when did
32:26
that happen a couple of years ago do you
32:29
miss it
32:30
uh no I really don't I I was there for a
32:33
long time and it was great and was
32:35
always a wonderful beautiful place yeah
32:37
but the planet is so huge and or so many
32:40
beautiful places you really deprived
32:42
yourself if you stay get yourself in one
32:43
place and go this is mine I have to stay
32:46
here and take care of it right oh
32:47
there's more to it than that I think so
32:49
wait where you dear so you down here
32:51
like I by the beach then
32:52
no you're around I'm around I get it I
32:56
come in the hills okay back in the hills
32:58
yeah you've returned you've come full
33:00
circle yes I am so when you so you did
33:03
the it's hard to do like obviously a
33:06
whole history but I like to get a sense
33:08
of like when you first came to Los
33:10
Angeles you know what was in the late
33:13
60s right 66
33:15
April Fool's Day within that was with
33:18
Springfield
33:18
no that was did for Springfield oh yeah
33:21
I was with Bruce Palmer the bass player
33:24
in the minor birds that Rick James his
33:27
bands yeah yeah when we broke up and
33:29
Ricky went to jail and you know we we
33:34
broke up and then Bruce and I decided to
33:36
take a shot at La to see if we could get
33:38
it banned going down here so that was
33:40
our be that you were playing everybody
33:42
that yeah sort of kind of funky thing
33:45
but we a little bit stones Rolling
33:47
Stones he had a few those songs it and I
33:49
was writing a little with Ricky and you
33:51
know and so what's a one of the other
33:55
guys in the band was writing to so we
33:57
had a good time a great band he had a
33:59
good band and then that's when you moved
34:01
down to a Topanga
34:02
was later that was later we yeah moved
34:05
right down here that I think we great
34:06
Kim came right to Silverlake Oh what was
34:09
that like then I'm just different but it
34:11
was the same yeah
34:12
still pretty it's a great place it is a
34:14
great place yeah and what was the scene
34:16
like I mean what was it like how
34:18
competitive were you what were you
34:19
looking to do know just start a band and
34:21
write songs and play songs yeah you know
34:23
rock star thing I don't so sure about
34:26
that baby what do play music oh hell
34:28
yeah we wanted to be in the best band in
34:30
the world you know yeah get something
34:32
going yeah and and who were the people
34:34
that you were meeting at that time maybe
34:36
we were looking for stills yeah
34:38
and yo you knew he was down here and we
34:39
got to track him down yeah
34:41
and you found him you know we did yeah
34:43
and then and then that became Buffalo
34:45
Springs I found us actually we were
34:47
leaving we were going to San Francisco
34:50
and on the hearse that I had and yeah
34:52
and we were heading out of town had
34:54
Ontario plates and when you saw me when
34:57
we met you a couple years before I had a
34:59
hearse with Ontario place it was a
35:01
different one
35:02
yeah but you just you know you don't see
35:04
that that often DUP no not that then so
35:07
they caught up with me yeah a couple of
35:09
guys in the car they actually tracked
35:11
you down in the car yeah they stopped us
35:13
right on sons how many leisure Hearst
35:15
are there with Canadian plates it's
35:17
gotta be uh gotta get rewrite yeah gotta
35:20
be new and that guy that's right so he
35:22
tracks you down and then you guys you
35:24
you you start by blowing field yep and
35:28
then you knock out a couple of great
35:30
records yeah and then you meet Jack
35:33
Nietzsche and you start doing you start
35:35
thinking about solo yeah I know czar yep
35:38
I was already I didn't got dropped out
35:40
on the band already once yeah that's
35:43
when Jack and I started hanging up then
35:44
I went back with the with the band for a
35:46
while until finally the band kind of
35:49
broke up how does that happen with bands
35:50
is it is it an aggressive thing is
35:52
they're just sort of a go your own way
35:53
thing he always liked one 20 something
35:56
years old a very young guy I had a idea
35:58
what I was doing
35:59
yeah I can't be responsible for them
36:01
more what no one has no idea no one's
36:05
blaming you know but I just did what I
36:07
felt like doing you know right and at
36:09
that time did you find that you know
36:11
we're
36:12
what is usually a musical issue like you
36:14
know I I have a I want to go this way
36:16
you guys want to go that way no not at
36:18
all
36:19
I just think that it was one of the
36:23
things I didn't like and got into quite
36:25
a deal about was the what's like to
36:29
Johnny Carson via yeah those like that
36:32
right they wanted to do them yeah and I
36:35
I didn't really like that I didn't like
36:36
playing on TV and uh did they make you
36:39
live saying like it yeah yeah at first
36:42
we did we did a couple like the ad and
36:43
finally fucking it yeah they're much
36:46
yeah it was it just the expectation or
36:49
the showbiz element or the selling
36:51
element or what what is it just exactly
36:53
about all those yet oh maybe you mention
36:57
those three things yeah because that is
37:03
because that's something that you've
37:04
kept with you that is something that you
37:07
know that belief system is you know I
37:09
always feel better when I don't do that
37:11
when I don't wanna you know when you
37:13
don't feel like you're I just don't want
37:15
in it so I really don't like you know I
37:18
don't know I'd rather play for people
37:21
live yeah place that was for music yeah
37:23
where he could really play loud right
37:25
and there wasn't people in front of you
37:27
and right right moving around going we
37:29
stop can we stop stop the song yeah and
37:32
I think up back then a lot of them lip
37:33
sync dint they I mean yeah yeah and all
37:35
their stoop they gotta lip sync copies
37:37
of me doing things is it yeah how do you
37:41
feel about those in retrospect er you
37:42
said that they're out there or they're
37:44
funny if you get a kick very funny and
37:47
only that guy is but he was okay yeah
37:50
but that that idea of you know having a
37:54
space where music is supposed to be
37:55
played the I only can relate to it
37:57
similarly in in stand-up that you know
37:59
there's places where stand-ups not
38:01
supposed to be done you know you do it
38:03
where you're supposed to do it where
38:04
it's best received where it's the you
38:07
have yeah control the environment yes
38:09
yeah well there's there's all these
38:12
different interesting you know sort of
38:14
you know waves of what you're doing in
38:17
like you know I was when I first listen
38:19
to the new one with the mixes you got a
38:21
live concert and then you integrate
38:23
these animal know
38:24
is in at first I'm like what's happening
38:26
but then like it sort of started to you
38:29
know level out and you know and I was
38:31
surprised that initially I thought well
38:33
is this going to be hokey but then I was
38:34
so like no this makes complete sense
38:36
that you know like the bees when it said
38:39
that when you hear bees you on either
38:41
side of this anti Monsanto song it's
38:44
sort of heartbreaking well you realize
38:46
it always lost 30% of the bees last
38:48
Christmas so last last winter percent
38:52
decline in bee population here and bees
38:54
really hold everything together you know
38:56
we are very important so in conceiving a
38:58
record like that which I guess you know
39:00
would be something experimental I mean
39:03
was this whose idea what's it think on
39:05
that it just wasn't no think it was just
39:07
don't know I we had I had a meeting with
39:10
my co-producer Joe Hamlin who's my
39:13
engineer yeah I recorded a lot of the
39:15
stuff and I said listen I just want to
39:18
do an album it's going to be a studio
39:20
album we're going to be full-on in
39:23
production which I haven't done in years
39:24
and years and years I haven't made a
39:27
real record in many years I only make
39:29
records of performances of the ride in
39:31
the studio we have and but this is a
39:35
real record where anything we want to do
39:37
we can do where I do anything make any
39:39
trick any or nothing is too cheap for us
39:42
where I do anything and there can't be
39:44
rules about it what's alive recordings
39:46
right you want to do this you want to be
39:48
honest about right no yeah so we started
39:52
like that and then and then we put the
39:56
songs together and they started talking
39:57
to me like these songs I can hear
40:01
animals and I can hear like in your
40:03
things in the audience yeah and I could
40:06
hear and I've heard it before you know
40:07
I've heard these sounds before yeah you
40:10
know just in my head listening to live
40:12
tapes that I've made over the years and
40:14
I gone god that sounds like a dog
40:16
barking in the background or it sounds
40:17
like you know wolves or something yeah
40:19
yeah and it's actually people yelping
40:21
and carrying right right right so I
40:23
added those in just to see what would
40:24
happen and I went
40:26
I really like that it's like they're all
40:28
here yeah yeah so I created this picture
40:31
it's an audio it's an ear movie yeah
40:33
right it's in write a movie you close
40:35
your eyes and you can go away for 98
40:38
minutes it never stops right it's
40:40
something as continuous it is not music
40:42
there's there there's a sounds of
40:44
audience integrated with animals and
40:46
it's all and also you have the freedom
40:48
of this this new band with this new file
40:50
this new range was part of the impulse
40:53
for this right yeah well you know we
40:55
have we created you know the work that
40:58
we created we captured at its highest
40:59
level the way it was in the 60s and 70s
41:02
and early 80s and the 50s even that kind
41:05
of audiophile quality there everyone
41:07
heard right that's the way we recorded
41:09
it and in and that's so we were able to
41:13
capture the whole thing and the only
41:15
thing that we did that we couldn't do
41:16
then was it's long and it's like a movie
41:19
but you don't have to stop yeah you know
41:21
on the master file you listen all the
41:24
way through and the only the CD has got
41:26
only one break I'm just two desks and it
41:28
stops in one place and you got to put on
41:30
the other disc right and this is the
41:31
idea that of the pono voted to sort of
41:34
engage that the the depth of that sound
41:37
that we the idea of pono is to give you
41:40
exactly what was created yeah without
41:42
putting anybody's intellectual property
41:45
device on it like mp3 right right the
41:48
new mp3 whatever it is yeah encoding
41:51
high-res impressions right yeah encoding
41:53
and compression we don't have any of
41:55
that yeah and we just have a excellent
41:57
playback system in the player yeah you
42:01
can listen to it on other players but
42:03
our player was voted best in the world
42:04
by stereo file yeah like we got a great
42:07
sounding player and it's made by a
42:09
genius guy really hears and you know we
42:12
found him and he made the player for us
42:14
and it's so great long time in the
42:17
making yeah yeah so it all sounds really
42:19
good if you really like good pure files
42:21
of the music you love whether it's old
42:24
or new that's uh that's what we sell at
42:26
pono music calm and what about this with
42:28
the band the promise of the real there's
42:31
a new band for you right last few years
42:32
yeah you didn't notice Willie Nelson's
42:34
kids are in that one
42:36
a couple of them are in there yeah so
42:38
the pedigree of the band is really great
42:40
and everybody's sensitive to the music
42:44
they respected it's been their whole
42:46
life are there any old guys everybody is
42:48
me yeah and but you know I feel really
42:51
good in there I feel like um safe and
42:55
also no fear yeah and they have no fear
42:58
yes the key ingredient in love yeah no
43:02
fear well that was the interesting thing
43:04
in in them in the movie it not in the
43:06
movie see now you got me Collin in a
43:07
movie well you know what is a movie if
43:09
you close your eyes you went to a lot of
43:11
places I did remember Bram Stoker's
43:13
Dracula did you ever see that one with
43:15
the Coppola film yeah yeah remember when
43:17
the bat was flying down the street and
43:19
it was like some old yeah yeah yeah and
43:22
you saw like it's a the image of what
43:25
the bat was seen yeah yeah yeah that
43:27
can't see right
43:28
right thank you as well what's
43:29
interesting so that was the impetus for
43:32
doing this record was you're hearing
43:34
things and you can't see them and you're
43:37
going from place to place I mean you're
43:39
plugging all over the world I mean you
43:40
go in the bottom of the ocean downtown
43:42
New York you're not in prayer easier
43:45
that's right yes you're you're in
43:46
barnyards or you're everywhere right you
43:49
know everywhere around Earth
43:51
yeah during the record and the music is
43:53
like a break from the traveling right
43:56
and so you just get meditative kind of
44:00
in there trippy man yeah it is yeah it's
44:03
far out yeah man but the interesting
44:08
thing is like fearlessness is is the
44:10
core of look yeah
44:11
being open and like if there was if
44:14
there is this there's two songs on there
44:16
the the hippie song the hippie dream
44:19
which is is is sort of like you know
44:22
drawing a line between the hippies that
44:25
are still fighting and the hippies that
44:27
have given up in a way or surrender to
44:30
comfort or whatever it is that they
44:33
surrender to right but the dream of you
44:38
know change and love is still real and
44:41
still something has before so that's
44:42
that's one of those Neil Young songs
44:44
were you you're sort of like you
44:46
now you fuckers quit right somebody did
44:52
but not you apparently not right and
44:56
then there's the idea that you know this
44:58
idea that that love like the because
45:02
like there's something about that hippie
45:04
ideal that was a fashion that that you
45:08
you know because there's another song on
45:10
there that that is basically a somewhat
45:12
of a direct or satiric attack on people
45:15
that just want music about love yeah and
45:18
and and here we're saying that love is
45:20
really what can conquer and what can win
45:22
fearlessness and that's a love that's
45:25
got a little fight to it yet the sort of
45:28
trite love of love songs or generally I
45:32
imagine you're talking about pop music
45:34
in a way I'm just talking about people
45:37
who don't want to hear yeah
45:40
confrontational message they don't want
45:42
to hear a no fear yeah they don't want
45:47
to hear about certain things yeah I just
45:49
want to hear about love that's what they
45:51
want to hear about that will relax them
45:52
because pretty soon you know like they
45:55
really need to get away I mean you know
45:56
that's they put on the radio they don't
45:58
need to be attacked right guys are
46:00
they're feeling that way because the
46:01
rest of the world is not really uh you
46:04
know maybe they don't feel great about
46:06
the world so they want to get out of the
46:08
world and just go to any state but you
46:10
know unfortunately living in that
46:12
musical space is people like me I mean
46:14
I'm there and there's a lot of people
46:15
like me they want to sing about things
46:17
that that they care about and so the
46:21
song started from from you know I was
46:23
playing my songs from about
46:25
anti-corporate yeah songs and all these
46:28
things and and somebody just you know I
46:31
got the message you know yeah people
46:33
want your about love that's what they
46:34
want to hear you know I'm gone I don't
46:37
give it yeah I care you know I I'm
46:40
saying about love already the only love
46:42
I break your heart yeah ah you know I I
46:44
sang about all the many aspects of love
46:47
and quite recently I did an album called
46:49
story tone yeah it's all about love yeah
46:52
and you know that was only a couple
46:54
albums ago and I'm going with does this
46:56
mean that I have to only do that
46:58
right and you know and you know I can't
47:01
talk about things like you know the
47:05
dangers of different things and yeah and
47:08
incongruous things that are happening or
47:10
yeah or in pollution rubble mining
47:14
corporate government yeah you know ya
47:16
know those things I I just that I think
47:19
they're interesting but you still you
47:21
still have people that have those that
47:22
confronts you with that stuff like they
47:24
come up to you and go like where's the
47:25
old Neil it's like everyone you talking
47:28
about really yeah you know where's the
47:29
old Neil but that's one of the things
47:31
about this record that'll let any when
47:33
they go to earth and they and they want
47:35
to take that trip through there yeah the
47:37
oldest song on there is a forty five
47:39
years old from a which one would travel
47:42
to the goal yeah so even in the middle
47:44
of that song even though it's a live
47:46
version with but it's live in a
47:48
different way it's a living version
47:50
right uh it has a the original French
47:57
horn that was on the real record from
47:59
nineteen you pull whatever from the tape
48:01
I took the whole master and I just I
48:03
just dropped it into this live one how
48:06
it's just seamless and covered it with a
48:08
few things so that people could feel the
48:10
space and traveling and that's what the
48:13
whole records about so that's a little
48:14
disorienting when you hear that and you
48:16
hear these these beautiful voices the
48:18
corporate harmony singing along with
48:19
after the gold rush it's like there's
48:21
something a little edgy about it in a
48:23
way that it's it's so sweet right that's
48:26
just so nice and but it's but it's not
48:29
wait a minute it underneath there this
48:31
that's a meal young-shin it so instead
48:35
the corporate Harvey good buddy the
48:36
vanilla corporate is vanilla center
48:38
support Bernardo with but obviously
48:40
talented and in sound great but there
48:42
antastic but there is a joke to it well
48:45
you know there's just uh I motivated
48:48
them and I said listen you really gotta
48:50
sell us yeah this is great stuff right
48:53
now this uh you know you got to think
48:56
how cool some of these things are that
48:58
you're you know like how optimistic you
49:01
should sound when you sing exon right
49:03
it's really great yep it's it's it's
49:05
energy it's it but your people need it
49:09
have to have the same you know here we
49:10
are you directed them yeah I know sell
49:13
lists sell these concepts you know
49:15
Monsanto it's a reputable sounding name
49:18
right so it make it sound like a
49:20
beautiful day I'm right maybe right
49:22
sound you know so I
49:23
it's a satirical device done beautifully
49:26
well they're great uh commercial
49:28
background and commercial jingle singers
49:31
the best in LA but that's who you got
49:33
yeah are the best ones I mean you know I
49:37
know there's other ones that are really
49:38
good but these ones we got are yeah you
49:41
know the best that we could get together
49:42
right there I love it oh really
49:44
excellent
49:45
so they sing so perfectly and so in tune
49:47
and they're obviously so much more
49:49
accomplished technicians yeah so the
49:51
idea was to play them against the the
49:54
message of truth well you know the idea
49:56
was that they played against the promise
49:58
of the real mm-hmm and they're in the
50:00
image of the record there they're on
50:03
stage which with us we're playing and
50:05
the animals are cheering and yeah every
50:07
once in while the animals come onstage
50:09
and do a breakdown where there's just
50:11
the bass and drums and animals yeah you
50:13
know so it's like an and they're good
50:15
but they're good with the band they're
50:16
they're always right there you know you
50:18
never miss right so and they just show
50:21
up when they want to but floating in
50:23
among all of the image of the band
50:25
onstage and the animals in the audience
50:27
and sometimes on stage yeah is this
50:30
hologram of these vocalists yeah and
50:32
they're perfect and they're just so
50:35
great so this is a very this is is it's
50:38
almost like you know everything that
50:40
you've sort of been working towards and
50:42
playing with you know coming together in
50:44
one big fucking mix kind of yes
50:48
yeah and and I like when you were
50:50
talking about the French horn
50:51
there is one when you say traveling
50:53
there's a time travel element that the
50:56
one thing that music affords you outside
50:58
of any messaging is a really the only
51:00
time travel machine that we really have
51:02
readily reliable it's a good one
51:04
yeah and like you know that's what's
51:07
curious to me about this relationship
51:08
which is probably the longest in your
51:10
life you have with that guitar yeah
51:12
that's a good one it right but like you
51:15
know like you know I can tell then I'm
51:18
projecting it on to you but you you
51:20
respect
51:21
you know the history of things and you
51:26
you you understand the magic of things
51:28
and also the the the depth of what what
51:33
an object that that makes music can do
51:35
right because that organ what is that
51:37
organ on that record on Mother Earth the
51:39
organ is it's a pipe pump organ an old
51:42
one yeah you got a drunk shop and what's
51:44
that day you but you've used other
51:46
organs that are like old tiny ones right
51:48
mm-hmm but that one was that's as oldest
51:51
yeah I used to organ on country girl and
51:56
I've been waiting for you also a long
51:57
time ago with the dolls from I was in
52:00
Glendale a huge organ
52:01
yeah a church building you went to any
52:03
recorded in error ordered it there yeah
52:05
but this one is just a pump organ that
52:07
you I can play and sing it uh-huh
52:09
so that was live we did that and and the
52:12
in but the guitar II wait what is it the
52:15
people when you because that guitar is
52:17
gone through us shit yeah well yes
52:20
mm-hmm
52:22
and what you play a few guitars but
52:25
you're not a guy that's got 90 are you
52:27
well I got a lot of guitars when I you
52:29
know I just get guitars because I like
52:31
them you actually force for writing
52:32
right but when you go on stage it's only
52:34
a couple right yeah I played two or
52:36
three on stage you play that big Gretch
52:38
yes sometimes I'll play them in that
52:41
black white spot what is his story on
52:42
that les Parliament I got that guitar
52:45
from Jimmy Messina uh-huh he traded I
52:47
think it was a trade yeah
52:49
something to do with uh I'm not sure I
52:53
think was a trade it's kind of hazy yeah
52:55
uh yeah I got that from him and it was a
52:58
gold top that someone had shellacked
53:00
with black I was black and had a lot of
53:02
finished ivory put around it and you
53:04
know yeah all kinds stuff and they don't
53:06
have half falling off and yeah and I'm
53:09
still a couple of pieces of it left
53:12
yeah he just maintain it no no no I just
53:17
let it be what it was and Larry Craig my
53:21
guitar tech be attained it for me and
53:23
still does I mean he does the he does
53:25
the real lion's share of the work on it
53:27
but going back a little further into the
53:29
the time travel thing that thing you did
53:31
with Jack down and
53:32
Ashville in the story tone album yeah in
53:36
the machine that's literally a
53:38
time-travel machine oh that was yeah
53:40
that was what's that called though it's
53:43
a letter home oh yeah oh yeah and that's
53:45
yeah that was a voice of graph and you
53:48
just did that because you thought it
53:50
would be interesting to do it in the
53:51
voice Oh graph yes yeah it was kind of
53:55
it was all covers yeah some of them by
53:57
guys you knew yeah yeah I I wanted to
53:59
make a record that sounded as old as the
54:01
songs that I was singing yeah
54:03
and it really does sound like they were
54:05
you know in some cases you listen to it
54:07
and go well maybe that's like from
54:08
before when the record came out you know
54:11
it's so old sounding so it's it's unique
54:14
in that respect I thought it was a very
54:16
very rewarding project and he did to
54:19
Gordon Lightfoot songs yeah did you know
54:21
him coming up uh yeah I met him a few
54:23
times yeah he's an alien right real good
54:25
guy yeah he wrote some good songs huh
54:27
he's written some great songs so you
54:29
know the Dolan thinks he's gonna look
54:30
very best over so when you would like
54:33
you know when you starting because there
54:35
seems to me to be something that you
54:38
know like this how I work cuz I heard
54:40
about your issue with setlist this this
54:42
is this is what it looks like
54:44
of what I wanted to talk to you about
54:45
fucking mess of words now I'm going to
54:48
come at it like a collage like I wrote
54:52
here just I wrote the sadness and anger
54:54
that floats eternal mm-hmm anyway
54:57
because there's a quality to your music
55:00
that it doesn't ever date itself Neal
55:02
like it's better than time travel
55:05
because if you put on most of your
55:07
records you know outside of you know
55:10
some production elements later but if
55:13
there's no time to it it's timeless do
55:16
you feel that well I just I try to be
55:18
really into it right well I'm doing it
55:21
and you know then we like to let that
55:23
all happen you know whatever it is I
55:26
can't I don't think about it that way
55:28
I'd really think about each day and each
55:30
performance in each song as a unique
55:32
thing that that's where I put my energy
55:34
right how do you what's your writing
55:36
process there isn't one we just comes to
55:39
you sometimes sometimes I just get it
55:41
I'll put down anything to finish a song
55:43
or to do something if I haven't
55:45
yeah yeah whatever I'm doing will be
55:47
second so I always have learned that if
55:50
you're going to do something you know
55:52
and you have a musical gift it's like
55:54
you have to accept the gift it's not
55:57
like if I'm sitting there thinking of
55:58
what I'm going to do I'm fucked
56:00
yeah okay that's a that's not it right
56:02
right that's not it
56:04
you know you are if you get something
56:05
that comes to you that's it grab it
56:08
don't do anything else whatever you're
56:10
doing whatever you're doing stop and go
56:13
and and follow whatever that idea is
56:15
yeah and that's how I write something
56:17
that connects what your music is is is
56:19
is very is heavy hearted but I'm I'm a
56:23
happy guy really I'm not I'm not I'm not
56:26
an unhappy person no no why would you
56:29
look at me you can see that I'm here
56:31
yeah and I'm doing okay I know the thing
56:34
is that the world is not quite there
56:36
worst things going on in the world that
56:39
are that people don't see yeah and just
56:43
a lot of damage being done and we don't
56:45
see it and that so that that makes me a
56:47
little heavy hearted right that it did
56:50
it seems so hard to get the message out
56:53
and it's so hard to actually even with
56:56
the technology we have today it's so
56:59
hard to get through the murk of the
57:02
technology I mean that I know this is a
57:05
podcast yeah but you know for listening
57:08
to music it's it's very degraded it's
57:11
less than 5% of what we heard on the
57:14
pono Club but when you go but when you
57:16
do like um yes stuff from you know all
57:20
the way from the first record you know
57:22
through uh Zuma which is like for some
57:25
reason that's like out of all your
57:28
records I listen to zoom us a lot I was
57:30
walking on zoomin this morning you were
57:32
listenin to it no just a week
57:35
yeah listening to the ocean yeah yeah
57:38
yeah and the seagulls but did you feel
57:40
this pressing idea that there was
57:42
something some darkness afoot you know
57:45
all your life not depression but that
57:47
you know the tone of what is unknown
57:49
isn't is somewhat menacing it's there
57:52
always been you've got you know
57:54
recognized
57:55
I said ya can't ignore it steps you know
57:59
no fear
58:00
have no fear but did these fears I guess
58:03
what I'm trying to get at this the that
58:05
what people are afraid of you know that
58:07
what you've sort of been through you
58:09
know in your career you know that you
58:11
today
58:12
they were always sort of the same in the
58:14
60s you know now it's what they're not
58:16
afraid of that bothers me like what
58:18
well the what's going on in the climate
58:21
what's going on in the environment
58:23
that's all West we're doing yeah to the
58:27
world
58:27
grime out of animals sure living things
58:32
that are are just going away we are not
58:35
seeing what's going on the insects are
58:38
threatened they have ten percent of the
58:40
fish in the ocean that we had when I
58:42
wrote after the gold rush yeah I've lost
58:45
ninety percent its crazes three times
58:48
more of us than there were then so you
58:50
know you just got to look at it go
58:53
through the math we're doomed ugly we're
58:56
do so but no we really it's more than a
58:58
word it's more than something to say or
59:01
to make a quick joke about not that
59:03
you're joking about it but people do
59:05
yeah that's what they do when they hear
59:07
someone say something like this it's
59:09
like oh you know you got you know is
59:12
just you know he's out there is out
59:13
there yeah you want to see looking at
59:15
crazy oh hell I got this stuff oh yeah
59:18
you know I got this stuff's gonna make
59:19
everything okay so I say break it out
59:21
let's try it yeah yeah yeah break out
59:25
that stuff's that can make it all good
59:26
yeah this is urgency to it for you
59:29
yeah there is at least the past decade a
59:31
very specific urgency around war and
59:33
seeds and you know people and pollution
59:36
we just have to keep a keep a record of
59:39
a point of view you know that's that's
59:41
what I'm trying to do keep a record of a
59:44
point of view of what's going on because
59:45
this is the times these times in the
59:48
history of what's going on in the world
59:49
right now they're going to be looking
59:50
back at this hopefully as well that was
59:53
it yeah well not in the too distant
59:56
future yeah but they'll be looking back
59:58
at this going wow you know during this
60:00
time so many things could have been done
60:03
to keep what it is that we now only have
60:05
pictures of right and
60:07
and what do we read about but you know
60:09
we'll see what happens so mother nature
60:11
is incredibly strong and yeah it'll
60:14
adapt we might not yeah exactly exactly
60:18
yeah we might not make it yet it might
60:20
initially line yeah actually I think
60:23
we're gonna make it I really do
60:24
no I don't feel like a dark I don't feel
60:27
dark I feel like Earth is just
60:29
mistreated and I think it's you know you
60:32
just have to keep pointing it out and
60:34
maybe people will want to make a change
60:36
you know want to eat food that they know
60:38
is cleaner and better for the earth we
60:40
have study the way things are done well
60:42
sadly with humans it seems it's
60:44
something fairly catastrophic and very
60:46
you know more more than just a gradual
60:49
erosion of climate or or that something
60:53
horrible has to happen that's tangible
60:56
to most people all at once yeah you
61:00
would think that something like
61:01
hurricane sandy would have been that mmm
61:03
not really wasn't big enough no no no it
61:06
was not as been easing the biggest thing
61:08
that happens yeah you know it's hard to
61:11
say you know climate change is one of
61:13
the great profit centers yeah and you
61:16
know that's what they a lot you look at
61:17
it like that's going to be some good
61:19
business coming up I think that's true
61:20
and I think that's disturbing is that
61:22
like you know the free market can absorb
61:23
and accommodate this and there's gonna
61:25
be a big business in these environments
61:27
that need to be created yeah where
61:29
people can breathe imagine is solar
61:32
power no don't be so good that so power
61:34
be easier to be would be easy but no but
61:37
that's not a biggest business as in
61:39
closed cities there's a big business
61:42
deal that would be when they want an air
61:44
conditioner that would out oh yeah yeah
61:46
alright well you know yeah I think it's
61:49
gonna work out one way or the other I do
61:51
too
61:51
can we talk a little more about the old
61:53
days sure whatever I'm okay I'm you're
61:55
alright I'm in your garage yeah this is
61:58
it let's let's do what you want to do in
62:00
here it's nice
62:01
thank you it's a nice place folks it's a
62:03
lot of clatters a lot of clutter in here
62:05
a lot of nice a lot of good books others
62:08
I see this something doctor in the
62:12
school doctrine by Naomi Klein right
62:14
there that if you read that no I
62:17
you know I'm not an avid reader at the
62:19
Shock Doctrine that was it a shot
62:21
yeah yeah that's right up your alley
62:23
actually uh well you know there's a lot
62:25
of interesting things in here but when
62:27
you did like when you did like and I
62:30
know you've gone over this stuff before
62:32
but to track what you're saying that you
62:33
know this history of consciousness when
62:36
you when you were able to turn around
62:37
the song Ohio to really actually you
62:40
know come out in a short enough time
62:42
that was relevant to the time that that
62:44
shit was happening there was an urgency
62:46
that you feel now that the same back
62:48
then you know there's no word if
62:50
something happened and we wrote a song
62:51
about it there's no way it would come
62:52
out right it just just nowhere to play
62:55
it we're now now right you'd play it
62:57
right if you heard it but that might not
63:00
know what happened right because he
63:02
never would be on the radio people
63:04
wouldn't be talking about it because a
63:06
radio and TV and all the media and
63:09
everything's all controlled by a certain
63:11
amount of people and corporations before
63:14
it used to be many many people doing
63:16
this but the Telecommunications Act in
63:18
1996 again made it possible for
63:20
corporations to own all the media so
63:23
it's six companies well but you know
63:24
it's also fragmented to divide and
63:26
conquer media landscape back then they
63:28
were corporate owned but there was only
63:29
five of them it was an intimate you know
63:32
it was always corporate owned but at
63:33
least like they were like a on the pulse
63:36
enough to go like well I think the kids
63:37
like this music and you know whenever
63:39
had people working for them that could
63:41
make their own minds up that's right I
63:42
was part of what the way they did it
63:44
those were the days when people can make
63:46
their own decisions in the studio about
63:48
what they were going to play now as a
63:49
format coming out of Philadelphia it's
63:52
coming out it gets all the stations get
63:54
it that subscribe to it it's like could
63:56
be like 300 stations all playing exactly
63:58
the same thing no idea it's hard you
64:00
know so that's its urine rotation on
64:02
this program yeah programming and I feel
64:05
dizzy already from the rotation but
64:10
there was it but at the time that you
64:12
know you did you did the stuff with
64:14
crosby Stills Nash and young and that
64:17
that there was a shifting of the guard
64:19
like I think that what what you speak to
64:21
and what I'm experiencing as well is
64:23
that nobody's on the same page really
64:25
everyone can
64:26
their own page it doesn't matter if the
64:28
page is bullshit or not but it seemed
64:30
that somehow or another you guys were
64:31
able to get through because the
64:33
corporations that were in charge of the
64:34
music business wanted to sell records
64:36
for kids and you guys got out what you
64:38
wanted to say
64:39
yeah because because kids were listening
64:41
to the radio station right and then and
64:44
then around the time of Woodstock
64:45
yeah Corp you know America sness
64:49
realized wow there's a whole generation
64:51
of people here the five hundred thousand
64:53
open came to listen these bands yeah we
64:55
got to start making commercials with
64:56
bands in right yeah you know and we got
64:58
to get ourselves involved in guys we
65:00
gotta sell out the sick so we gotta make
65:02
app to make this happen we can use this
65:04
energy and right so what happened and
65:06
and that's the that's the way it goes
65:08
you know but those records that you
65:10
continue to make that you know even
65:12
after after everyone knows there's no
65:14
where after the goal where it's harvest
65:16
time fades away that these these records
65:19
that happen that were intimate records
65:20
and that like later became you know
65:23
these revered classics you would already
65:26
pulled away from collective
65:28
consciousness in a way to do your own
65:29
thing right well you know I wasn't
65:31
thinking about it that way
65:32
we think that way now we want to do what
65:35
I did before yeah and I wanted to keep
65:37
changing and trying things and depicted
65:40
what they called who gave it the name
65:42
the the the ditch trilogy oh I don't
65:45
know somebody this is not me yeah I know
65:47
right
65:48
does that bother you no that you know
65:51
that's what it's for you you if I can
65:53
make things and put them out there yeah
65:56
then it's up to other people to decide
65:57
what they are that's not what I'm my job
65:59
is not to destroy you're the artist I
66:01
just want to create it and what do you
66:03
think that you know like a an album like
66:06
on the beach in tonight's a night or
66:08
tonight's a night that the the story
66:11
around that record was that it was it
66:14
was very um played all at once right you
66:20
didn't it wasn't a lot of time you spent
66:22
in the studio no and it was a direct
66:24
reaction to the loss of your friend
66:27
Danny right yeah Danny and Bruce both of
66:30
them two people and you know it was sort
66:32
of acting to realization culturally at
66:34
that time of the
66:35
how horrible heroin was as well well
66:38
yeah and and you know Danny and Bruce
66:40
were just two that I knew I mean sure
66:43
it's everybody it was and it and at that
66:46
time that it was it was really all over
66:48
the place right that was after the city
66:50
the crashing of the sixties it was a
66:51
crash going on and it works so uh you
66:56
know um yeah if it's just real feeling
67:00
so these people were friends of mine oh
67:02
yeah I worked with them and had great
67:03
times with them and admired them and in
67:05
there was nothing you could do to stop
67:07
that no that's the that's the most
67:09
fucked-up thing about things it's bad so
67:11
you know I reacted to it and just like
67:14
I'm reacting to things now it's just
67:15
certain thing the same guy the same MO
67:18
same damn thing yeah nothing
67:20
unpredictable about it at all it's the
67:23
same thing over and over and over again
67:25
right in your heart but like the only
67:27
thing it's unpredictable is how you're
67:28
going to handle it with your creativity
67:29
which is what you like to do that's
67:32
tough so I don't know that either right
67:33
you know yeah you know what am i just
67:36
got recently I picked up the the
67:38
rockabilly record oh ho that's a wild
67:40
record it is man I mean that was like
67:43
it's sort of an interesting time there
67:45
does I did record before that either I
67:47
don't know what it was what trans yeah
67:49
and I got from a record company said
67:51
Neil why don't you just play some rock
67:53
and roll man want to just get you know
67:55
just do your thing
67:56
that guy yeah you just did your thing I
68:00
can get murder here you go when you do
68:02
something like that that was sort of
68:03
like isn't that you paying somewhat of a
68:06
homage to what you know what you grew up
68:08
with I mean it isn't that isn't that
68:10
bear you're like kind own music
68:11
depolymerize yeah yeah you know it was a
68:14
culmination of things you know working
68:16
on that one yeah wait you wait like what
68:18
well I thought at that point on my life
68:20
that and I was still very young yeah I
68:23
was I said well here I'm walking down a
68:25
hallway now I am in my painting period
68:28
uh-huh and uh and I'm gonna do all these
68:30
different you know yeah gonna be
68:33
different times
68:35
aha different characters and different
68:37
pictures for like a few records you mean
68:39
while each record was a different one
68:41
and they just they're they're starting
68:43
at like reactor somewhere oh yeah
68:45
I don't know but you just said why not
68:46
just fucking explore it all and go a
68:48
different being I can do whatever I need
68:50
to do now because it doesn't you know I
68:52
there's no sense in doing things over
68:55
again
68:55
yeah I'd seen I saw a lot of people
68:58
doing things over and over again and it
68:59
didn't work for them
69:00
no no because a lot of them didn't even
69:02
live I mean they just data lost what it
69:04
was they had because a record company
69:07
pressured to repeat themselves whatever
69:08
I don't know the record company or their
69:11
own soul or their own manager or their
69:13
wife right here I have no idea sure and
69:16
it may be that they just wanted to stay
69:18
where they were because I succeeded any
69:21
number of reasons to repeat yourself and
69:23
you just never named want nothing to do
69:24
with that but like I said in my own way
69:26
I've been doing the same thing over and
69:27
over again for my whole life which is
69:29
just doing what I want to do right you
69:31
have a voice yeah and not the voice
69:33
voice but if you are as one of you yeah
69:36
have a point of view and it changes all
69:37
the time but it's mine
69:38
that's right but as I know it is a style
69:41
like you know there are there are
69:42
certain even if it's a note even if
69:45
you're doing something like if I listen
69:46
to trans there's a melody there that I
69:48
know is you know okay so you're a melody
69:52
what am i it's point of view but it's a
69:54
toned it's an ear so tears there's
69:56
something in there I can read I can
69:58
still remember doing the trans stuff and
70:00
having people boo me when I when I would
70:02
do that I put on the little microphone
70:03
and sing through the machine with the
70:05
vocoder and how do you be playing them
70:07
somebody playing the melody that I'm
70:08
singing and I'm enunciated the words and
70:10
the melodies coming out of my mouth
70:11
through the machine kind of thing it was
70:13
like and I was all based on not being on
70:16
my son not being able to talk yeah yeah
70:18
okay I had a son who couldn't talk okay
70:21
he can't do anything can't move yeah you
70:23
know so yeah well you know I was trying
70:25
to get through to him how while I was
70:27
trying to represent what that must be
70:28
like right so I was trying to get
70:31
through to the audience in a way where
70:32
they knew that they couldn't understand
70:34
what I was doing just like my son trying
70:36
to talk to me yeah and do you like over
70:39
the years like I imagined you do you
70:42
have a way of communicating with him oh
70:43
yeah no we're very uh sir this just
70:47
comes in the eyes and see on some body
70:49
language in that Zeke no that's the band
70:51
band's been yeah it bends the one who's
70:54
uh bends a quadriplegic
70:56
yeah and you didn't he still travels
70:57
with you ever
70:58
yes he goes with me on the road as much
70:59
as you can yeah and it's sort of a like
71:03
it's he's your best audience item and
71:05
he's great great I just like to travel
71:07
with him he enjoys traveling yeah you
71:09
know he's in a moving vehicle yeah you
71:11
know he's always in a wheelchair you
71:13
know so just to be jostled around in a
71:15
moving vehicle and flying down the road
71:17
I mean for him let's say it's a great
71:19
experience
71:19
he loves it and trance was sort of a way
71:21
for you to try to understand a way for
71:24
me to emulate what it must be like to be
71:26
trying to talk and not have a voice and
71:29
be trying to communicate and not have
71:30
what it is that people expected you to
71:33
do mm-hmm and you're still trying to get
71:35
through and that's what all that record
71:36
is yeah yeah I'm in that machine yeah
71:39
yeah trying to get out of the machine to
71:41
get through and some people just were
71:43
going what the heck is going on on him
71:45
yeah yeah I'm going this is it yeah we
71:49
are
71:49
it's just good if you have two albums
71:53
later you do a country record you and I
71:55
work that shit out I like that I figured
71:58
that out and yeah I'm and now moving on
72:00
I've always I've always loved music and
72:03
I like all kinds of music and I have no
72:05
I'm not trying to be what do you call it
72:10
like somebody said to me when I did dad
72:12
then well you know people they don't
72:15
trust you because you know they think
72:17
you you change styles yeah it's like so
72:20
they can't believe you yeah yeah going
72:22
well you know that's that's okay yeah I
72:24
don't have to I'll get over it yeah
72:27
either that or they won't but yeah I
72:28
don't have to worry about it let them go
72:30
listen to the old records things they
72:31
wanna or maybe one three or four down
72:34
the line who knows what some real him is
72:36
sometimes found to connect up with them
72:38
again the experience of living with it
72:41
with a kid that had that difficulty like
72:44
I don't know the the pain or joy of that
72:47
but there-there must be not unlike your
72:50
your sort of open-mindedness around
72:52
engaging animals and engaging the world
72:54
and having fearlessness there must be a
72:57
some sort of understanding of Ben's joy
73:00
that is something that you couldn't even
73:03
access that you know what you feel
73:05
saying it's just a great human being and
73:07
I love them
73:08
he loves me and we enjoy a lot of things
73:10
together but he you know and he has so
73:14
many things that we would consider to be
73:15
hard things to deal with right but
73:18
that's the way he's always been so when
73:20
I see people complaining about
73:22
struggling to get something where they
73:24
can't get it I'm going oh man I I think
73:28
that you know I've seen people with yeah
73:30
a bigger problem in my fan yeah yeah I
73:33
think yeah you know I've seen this and
73:35
you know so I just have another
73:36
perspective and you're any of another
73:38
son that has some problems as well well
73:40
you know he's he's been he's got
73:42
cerebral palsy uh uh but he's a very uh
73:46
you know he gets around great yeah he's
73:49
a very smart very smart man uh-huh
73:52
and yeah he used to incredibly brilliant
73:55
at the things he does and you have a
73:57
daughter tooth that artists yeah she's
73:59
an artist she's great it's great yeah
74:01
couple other things i guy it's hard
74:04
because i know there's like so many huge
74:06
neil young nerds out there and like if I
74:08
don't cover it up you're never gonna do
74:11
that anyway you'll never satisfy
74:13
everybody that I know I can't know what
74:15
you want to do yourself you know that's
74:17
gonna well I'd like to know like a about
74:20
the film work as well that you know
74:21
working on dead man which is a fucking
74:23
masterpiece that not a great movie I'm
74:25
really moving moving I can't believe it
74:27
and the soundtracks amazing well thank
74:29
you I you know like I told Jim Jarmusch
74:32
I said Jim this this is a classic you
74:34
don't even need a soundtrack right this
74:36
could be a silent movie yeah and it's
74:38
still a classic you can't miss with this
74:40
movie this is a great movie yeah and he
74:43
said well I really want you to play on
74:44
it you know sorry I did but was what was
74:46
amazing about it was that you know the
74:48
instrument like to really hear you you
74:50
know like just space it out like that
74:52
but it was like it was like some it was
74:54
a way that I know I had not heard you
74:56
you know to where you're just you're
74:58
honoring or what's going on on screen
75:00
but it's so clearly your shit you know
75:02
what I mean but it wasn't you know all
75:04
about you know what you were doing I
75:06
stood in room about three times the size
75:08
of the head room with about 30
75:10
television sets and they were all
75:12
playing the movie and I had all my
75:14
instruments and now it's maybe five
75:15
times the size of this space but I had
75:18
all my instruments and I just watched
75:20
the movie we did two
75:22
yeah and I just played all that live
75:24
yeah we did it twice and we ended up
75:26
using the end of the first one the
75:28
beginning of the second one uh-huh up to
75:30
that and that was the soundtrack for the
75:32
whole thing and you've like you've done
75:34
other film work too I mean well I mean
75:35
Demi works with you over and over again
75:37
to do the concert movies yeah we did so
75:39
and you did did you do some with Dean
75:41
Stockwell too I did human Highway oh
75:44
yeah I didn't see that I check that one
75:46
out yeah yeah I recommend one yeah I did
75:49
wait what you'll enjoy that one you're
75:51
still friends with him right who Dean
75:53
yeah yeah yeah love Dean if he go you
75:56
guys go way back I love that you have
75:57
these relationship anga in the 60s but
76:01
now that really pretty distant back
76:02
there but he was he was already a big
76:04
success by the time I met him yeah he's
76:06
already
76:07
rock and rolling and what was his how
76:09
did you what's historian yeah after the
76:12
gold rush it was based on a screenplay
76:13
this young player he wrote with the
76:16
herbermann huh huh and you read it I
76:19
read it and I wrote all the songs and he
76:21
never got mad or never got made what and
76:24
here's another thing that I ended up
76:25
doing this morning was it I saw out of
76:27
the blue the Dennis Hopper film oh man
76:29
that's a fart dark film holy shit random
76:32
I saw when it came out when I was in
76:34
college in Boston and you idea today
76:36
asked did you screen that movie before
76:38
because they used the song and here no I
76:40
Dennis yeah whatever you want to do yeah
76:42
yeah you're friends with him - yeah he's
76:45
intense guy very real art so does a dark
76:48
film it's where I have not seen or heard
76:49
of it in a long time oh it's a big it's
76:52
it's classic it's a little yet it's a
76:54
rudl Anessa classic now what if I can
76:57
ask you your relationship with them with
76:59
Willie Nelson he's like you know he's a
77:02
real country dude and you guys are
77:04
obviously pretty good friends and you
77:06
know you have your hearts in a lot of
77:08
the same places now when you put
77:09
together Farm Aid when you got you and
77:11
Mellencamp and Willie Nelson that that
77:14
still goes on that that that yeah we're
77:16
continuing on yeah and in the fight now
77:19
is mostly against genetic engineering or
77:21
what is it like oh it's about educating
77:24
people about the food that they eat
77:25
mm-hmm and the choices that we have
77:29
yeah and the way that the earth is is
77:31
damaged by certain things you know this
77:34
industrial farming is very bad for the
77:36
for the earth yeah it's not like good
77:39
yes not what makes things go on forever
77:42
yeah not depleting it's very taxing on
77:45
the planet all of that stuff the way
77:47
they're doing it but they own it that
77:49
doesn't make more food that's a myth
77:51
yeah it's like well not we're not
77:54
feeding the world before with the world
77:55
is basically a lot of the world is
77:57
starving and we out feeding the world
77:58
with these chemicals what they are doing
78:00
is they're controlling things and
78:02
subsidies as well where you just like
78:03
get all this stuff if they're making cat
78:05
litter at a corn there's a problem if
78:07
there are people starving and they're
78:09
making cat litter out of corn can
78:10
somehow something's wrong there's a lot
78:12
of things there's a lot of things wrong
78:14
it but it's the way it goes and what in
78:17
what about performing like with there's
78:21
something about performing like you know
78:24
what people call GarageBand you like to
78:26
fucking play rock and roll and this and
78:29
you know the there's something about
78:32
performing live and performing as real
78:35
and in the moment as possible on records
78:37
that that is what it's really about that
78:39
was not what it's up that's always what
78:41
it's been about yeah Anissa and Earth is
78:43
a real representation of that yeah
78:46
record really is really good bands a
78:49
really good band playing together yeah
78:51
having a great time and improvising all
78:53
the way through it oh yeah yeah yeah and
78:55
what about what Pearl Jam did you like
78:57
playing with those playing with them it
78:58
was fun this is it's just like rock and
79:00
roll man right and your guitar sound
79:03
like how long did I miss it dumb geek
79:05
question but you know when did you
79:08
arrive on that man because that's
79:10
another thing that stays pretty
79:11
consistent when you're playing electric
79:13
guitar I know it's you 19 well you know
79:16
like the way it is now really started in
79:18
the mid 70s yeah but before that I just
79:20
had the same guitar in the same amp I
79:23
brought didn't put the gizmos in there
79:24
oh yeah yeah to break it up to make it
79:27
again I just didn't add the other things
79:28
to it and the motors and all that stuff
79:30
then you know yeah and it okay to other
79:33
records and we're done
79:34
yeah but all I got left two more Rona
79:39
I think you smell like it was that two
79:42
more records that you're done I should
79:44
have done that podcast shit who was that
79:48
put the hex on me put the curse on me no
79:51
but the the Greendale record dealing
79:54
with all these issues that you find
79:56
important but making almost a stage play
79:58
and building it around you know a family
80:01
and around the struggles of that and it
80:04
was that totally conceived it just it
80:06
was that a one thing that you were
80:08
thinking of well you know all these
80:10
projects going to go together yeah that
80:12
project is a lot like tonight's the
80:14
night law because it was the same kind
80:17
of a thing it's a story there's a thing
80:19
in there yeah and that that I'm talking
80:23
about all the way through it and in
80:25
Greendale I wrote in my car on the way
80:29
to the studio every day mm-hmm I'd be
80:31
what were you recording I was recording
80:33
the song Green a document so you're
80:36
writing so every day I go to the studio
80:38
I Drive across the ranch in my special
80:40
deluxe Plymouth yeah and I stopped and
80:43
I'd start writing the songs and then
80:46
when I couldn't think of anything more I
80:48
Drive another hundred yards and stop
80:50
again new location new new information
80:53
yeah yeah so I was pretty sure that
80:55
where I was on the planet made a big
80:57
difference to what I was getting yeah
81:00
so I tried to see well help how far do I
81:02
have to go really very far or is it you
81:04
know like miles or is it two feet you
81:08
know I have my writing tablet and that's
81:10
how I wrote every song on that on that
81:11
album uh-huh I would get up in the
81:13
morning and play a few chords and that
81:15
would be the basis of the song the first
81:17
things that I played yeah I wouldn't
81:19
think about I just pick it up and
81:21
whatever happened I just go okay I'm
81:23
going to do that over and over again
81:24
that's the song then I'd write the words
81:26
on the way over and then we developed
81:27
the song in the studio and finish it
81:30
that night that's how I did Greendale
81:31
yeah and then the stage play was created
81:34
was he was great his story is told in
81:37
the song right and Prairie wind was a
81:40
sort of a eulogy record was it Merritt
81:44
Prairie wind was a unique record because
81:48
it was when I found out I was in New
81:50
York and we were doing something I think
81:52
I was
81:52
supposed to go into the Pieta Hall of
81:54
Fame in Canada or Seattle and I'm
81:57
sitting in the hotel and I had a couple
81:59
of incidents with my vision yeah and
82:02
then I went to a doctor and they found a
82:04
brain aneurysm yeah and then they
82:06
decided that well I'm going to have to
82:08
have this taken out and I said well okay
82:11
they have an operation on my brain and
82:13
they said yeah we're going to do that I
82:14
said well you know we got a really good
82:17
guide you do this yeah when could we get
82:19
in and do it you know so it was like
82:21
eight or nine days away yeah so I went
82:23
to Nashville yeah I took started taking
82:26
the drugs that they gave me which are
82:28
like sloping wait yeah I went to
82:30
Nashville and recorded wrote and
82:34
recorded Prairie wind in Nashville
82:35
during those eight days so that was it
82:38
was like adjusting feel like a eulogy
82:40
but it just felt like I like to say a
82:43
few things in this encase yeah one never
82:47
knows do one had your dad passed with a
82:50
lung around that time as well yeah yeah
82:52
so it was a lot going on yeah mortality
82:54
right yeah yeah that was but that was it
82:56
it just it was a passing study of it
82:58
yeah yeah the Justin case record yeah
83:01
kind of what you know it's better late
83:03
than never come to write and they ended
83:05
right but not at all so yeah really I
83:09
mean oh I'm so far late is working for
83:13
me yeah I keep it late yeah yeah do you
83:17
I did how how outside of the songs and
83:21
outside of working this stuff out you
83:23
know the processing these emotions and
83:24
music you know do you do you occupy
83:27
yourself with that with much of that
83:29
mortality thought not really I mean you
83:31
know creeps in every once in a while
83:33
yeah I mean I'm 70 yeah so it's bound to
83:36
creep in yeah after a while she will
83:38
deliver a light around my field of
83:40
vision true yeah who's there
83:44
I'm not ready I'm not going to get out
83:47
of here I'm recording it get back in
83:50
your box
83:50
exactly there you keep working really
83:53
you can't do it at work I'm working look
83:55
I'm looking at all your little gizmos on
83:57
the floor don't I get it
83:58
guitar playing gizmos they given to me I
84:00
don't know those plugins some what they
84:03
are no their guitar plugins yeah those
84:05
are you know effects boxes in earthquake
84:08
or sends them to me and I don't know
84:09
what to do with them I don't know what
84:10
they are they're really the new digital
84:13
version the outfit of the kind of shit
84:16
that I had in my and I got all that
84:18
stuff that I got I got old I analog
84:20
against fuzz pedals and yeah yeah even
84:23
you know older like all original fuzz
84:26
tones yeah that don't have a pedal but
84:29
you know it's just the sound yeah yeah
84:31
and so I'm wired in and out of them and
84:33
I get it all wired into that thing I'm
84:35
Mike yeah that Mike I can hit with my
84:37
feet I got a whole bunch of selections
84:39
but I'm the only one who knows what they
84:41
are yeah not labeled and they're not
84:42
they're not digital no none of them are
84:44
they're all early yeah yeah these are
84:48
all new things that they send me and I
84:49
like I'm just a bedroom guitar player
84:51
that is their hobby I mean there's
84:53
there's echo in there there's a repeat
84:55
there's you know I got I guess analog
84:57
tape machines running inside a box under
85:00
my amp and you do shit yeah it's always
85:02
blowing up and they bring out another
85:03
one and fix the tape and everything it's
85:05
great yeah it's a constant battle Tim
85:07
just to get through the show and how the
85:09
amp hang in there it's so fantastic I
85:12
mean what a great relation Betts the
85:14
excitement of are we gonna make it or
85:16
not
85:17
yeah or is the whole thing going is this
85:19
the night it's going to like explode and
85:20
catch on fire my amp goes to 12 yeah
85:24
you guys it's not it's a it's a regular
85:26
production amp I don't know how it
85:28
happened
85:29
right you know spinal tap the joke is
85:31
the joke oh yeah yeah I got my amp says
85:34
12 yeah yeah it's not like I'm not even
85:36
saying anything so that well that that
85:39
locks into it right there that the way
85:42
you approach life is exactly that where
85:44
it's sort of like I don't know if it's
85:46
gonna make it through but I'm not sure
85:49
yeah you know I've heard these cars are
85:51
great just before they blow up exactly
85:55
it's some motor sounds great it's never
85:57
ran so good yeah and then it's bio boom
85:59
yeah but that but that's the edge man
86:02
that's the edge right it's wise to live
86:04
there that's where this feels a lot I
86:06
hope I hope that you know two long crews
86:08
yeah it's going well so what if we
86:11
but what what is the commitment to
86:13
analog in the machinery I mean I'm with
86:15
you on man just the phone oppression
86:18
it's real mm-hmm it's real it's the real
86:21
deal
86:21
and if your relations I grew up with
86:23
that right the relationship with the
86:25
equipment not the illusion of the chip a
86:28
chip Azuri is a replacement mm-hmm it's
86:31
the simulation mm-hmm everything
86:33
simulated copied mm-hmm and you know the
86:37
original stuff is still rocks yeah it's
86:39
the fucking bit yeah it is and that's
86:41
why you know the old the vinyl of the
86:43
earth sounds like God it's amazing but
86:46
so does the high-res phono version
86:48
yeah the CD sounds pretty good but other
86:51
than that I can't I don't sell it yeah
86:54
and I will say to your listeners here
86:56
this isn't a podcast yeah if you want to
86:58
get it you know if they if they I think
87:01
they play the whole album on title in a
87:03
couple of weeks yeah go on the title and
87:05
just record it off a title sure it's
87:07
gonna be 44 one yeah said only everybody
87:10
can get it ready because I'm not selling
87:12
that I'm not selling the industry
87:14
already we're gonna do it I got one more
87:16
question like that my manager shows up
87:18
he's nervous yeah yes they don't give it
87:20
away wait a minute yeah no we want
87:23
everybody to have it I don't give a shit
87:25
I'm yeah it's like Oh Elliott I can't
87:29
sell like crap how are you also has to
87:30
did you go make it yourself and take it
87:32
home 50 years 50 years with that guy you
87:38
know it's not easy for him either so I
87:41
guess that in closing Neil I do I got
87:44
your spiritual man do you consider
87:46
yourself then I must be I'm uh maybe a
87:49
pagan though sure that's alright and
87:51
that's it yeah it's pretty good I mean
87:52
III got nothing against God or anything
87:55
yeah I prefer to think of God as the
87:58
Great Spirit yeah because I just don't
88:01
like the I don't like the pictures I
88:03
don't like the pictures and the stories
88:05
yeah I don't subscribe to any to that to
88:08
this but I I recognize everyone has a
88:10
right to have a story yeah that they can
88:14
believe in that kind of organizes things
88:15
for them gives them something to relate
88:17
to uh-huh but I don't think people
88:19
should profit off
88:20
I'm sure it should be just something
88:22
that you have I'll keep to yourself
88:25
yeah yeah yeah right you can do it
88:27
yourself but that's just my view all
88:28
right well I guess that's that's good
88:31
you feel all right about it I feel good
88:33
ah did do all right
88:35
I think it did great that list you got
88:37
over there I think you've covered you
88:39
know at least three or four of the
88:41
things on the list the Last Waltz well
88:43
that you did that that was fine right
88:45
yeah yeah as far as I remember it was
88:48
great that I was up for 48 hours when I
88:51
did that one I was like I got a little
88:53
out of control I started that death that
88:56
day in Atlanta Georgia yeah and I did
88:59
two shows right then I stayed up all
89:01
night and then I flew doing the drugs
89:03
yeah yes pretty shaky yeah and then I
89:07
got all you know that was probably one
89:08
of the low points of the high points
89:10
yeah yeah I know people say that you're
89:12
pretty fucked up you look like you're
89:14
having a good time I was doing all right
89:15
and kind of grinding my jo a little bit
89:17
yeah it's kind of like ah nice it was
89:21
not good and captured for posterity Yeah
89:23
right why not there it is that's what it
89:25
looks like uh will you live man buddy
89:29
it's like it's great that I as I didn't
89:31
continue doing that but yeah that made a
89:33
difference to the living yeah yeah yes
89:36
sure yeah definitely well you know the
89:38
guys that you know like you and Clapton
89:41
and Crosby and and fucking Stills and
89:43
yeah a lot of the real warriors and
89:45
great artists are still around I know a
89:47
lot of them are gone but you guys all
89:49
went pretty hard yeah and you did music
89:51
is good for you
89:52
thanks for talking to all right
89:59
Wow yeah so that was uh that was me and
90:03
Neil Young it was it was it was it was
90:08
one of those interviews where it happens
90:10
a lot with with the with the Giants the
90:14
music the heroes where I you know I get
90:17
I get a little like honey oh my god I'm
90:19
talking to Neil Young and yeah I was I
90:22
was nervous about it and I you know and
90:25
that happens to me after I after the
90:26
interview I was like huh that Oh was
90:29
that okay and and a friend of mine I'll
90:32
just share the story of a buddy of mine
90:33
was at a family get-together and he was
90:35
talking to someone who was on set for a
90:39
Dan Rather interview that happened in
90:41
Neil Young's house the afternoon of the
90:44
day that he came to my house and
90:47
apparently they were like setting up
90:49
lights and stuff when Neil got there and
90:51
Dan Rather was just you know trying to
90:53
make small talk with him to pass the
90:55
time and he asked him what he'd been
90:56
doing today and I guess Neil said I just
90:59
had this great interview some guy named
91:01
Mark we did it in his garage and
91:03
apparently Dan Rather asked him what
91:05
made it great and Neil said he was
91:08
fearless he wasn't afraid to fail he
91:10
didn't need to know all the answers and
91:12
so we we actually had a conversation I
91:15
wouldn't even call it an interview Neil
91:18
Young said that and I gotta be honest
91:20
like you know it's the best praise I
91:22
could get because I barely call myself
91:26
an interview I call them talks I hope
91:33
you like that don't forget about the
91:35
blue Cash preferred card from American
91:36
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91:39
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91:41
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91:45
suckered into buying because they had a
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91:49
earning cash back at MX blue cash calm
91:53
terms apply go to WTF TOCOM for all the
91:58
WTF pod stuff you can go to WTF pod comm
92:02
slash tour for my dates that are coming
92:05
up what else let's play some guitar a
92:09
little bit
92:10
for Neil
92:57
boomer lives
93:07
you