Susto's Justin Osborne - Susto String Band
Soulful Reckoning
Ever wondered how a band can bridge the gap between rock and roll energy and old-time Appalachian soul?
Justin Osborne, the driving force behind Susto, is doing just that. But there's a twist – a journey of self-discovery, a departure from the familiar, and a dive into the heart of Americana.
His story is one of transformation and a constant search for meaning.
From a background steeped in religion to finding a new spiritual connection through music, his path is both compelling and deeply human.
It's about navigating the complexities of faith, the pain of soul-searching, and the joy of finding your voice in a new community.
This interview peels back the layers of an artist who isn't afraid to explore his past while forging a new sound.
You'll Also Discover:
How a chance meeting can spark a musical revolution.
A surprising take on finding community outside of traditional structures.
The key to re-imagining your own work with fresh energy.
Why "confessional" songwriting can be both a burden and a release.
A blueprint for blending genres without losing your roots.
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Transcript
Hey there everybody.
Speaker A:Welcome back to Americana Curious.
Speaker A:Today we are thrilled to host Justin Osborne, the visionary leader behind the Charleston Asheville Austin bass indie rock band Susto.
Speaker A:Yes, that Susto.
Speaker A: Since its inception in: Speaker A: n the sun and their latest in: Speaker A:Plus some live albums that are pretty darn awesome.
Speaker A:And the band's evolution showcases a compelling and inspired blend of rock, folk and psychedelia with a vivid storytelling that resonates so deeply within the Americana community especially, and a very serendipitous twist which we're going to get into today.
Speaker A:Justin's latest venture, Susto String Band emerges as a collaboration with Asheville's Holler Choir, known for their distinctly Appalachian old time sounds.
Speaker A:Their debut album, Volume one is out now and this nine track collection reimagines Sisto's favorites with Bluegrass Fair, featuring his poignant ballots and Confessions.
Speaker A:And in such a refreshing new light you're going to love.
Speaker A:The collaboration has already generates generated so much buzz with the release of their bluegrass renditions of Friends, Lovers, Ex Lovers, Whatever and Never Losing Me, offering fans a taste of this innovative fusion.
Speaker A:And additionally, you got to check this out.
Speaker A: eville Music hall in December: Speaker A:You can see that on yout.
Speaker A:And let's Get Curious now with Justin Osborne and delve into the journey of Susto and the creation of Susto String Band.
Speaker A:Justin, welcome to Americana Curious.
Speaker B:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker A:So I got.
Speaker A:I gotta bring this back.
Speaker A:Talked about the new stuff, but back years ago 16, someone sent me a really cool YouTube video that I watched probably five or six times.
Speaker A:Chilling on the beach with my best friend Jesus Christ.
Speaker A: that song mean to you back in: Speaker A:And what in the world, y'all, if you haven't seen this video, go check it out.
Speaker A:It's got Jesus drinking Bud Light keg stands, helping people dunk basketballs, ducking basketballs himself.
Speaker A:And I believe it's Folly Beach.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, there's.
Speaker B:Well, actually I think we shot that on Sullivan's, but it's definitely Charleston area.
Speaker B:Yeah, that you got to read the comments on on that video because I've everybody's told me which different parts of hell I'm gonna end up in for suggesting that Jesus prefers Bud Light to.
Speaker B:To water.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But, yeah, I'm glad that you.
Speaker B:You bring that one up.
Speaker B:That one's sort of like a.
Speaker B:At this point, it's sort of a deep cut in the Sisto catalog.
Speaker B:Although we do still pull it out.
Speaker B:We have a rule live that if someone yells Chilling on the beach and it's a Sunday show, that, like, we have to stop whatever we're doing and play it.
Speaker B:Like, we will stop mid song and play chilling.
Speaker B:So anybody who plays with the band has to have it sort of in their back pocket.
Speaker B:We haven't done that with the string band yet, but with the rock band, it's like.
Speaker B:It's just.
Speaker B:It's just there coming out anytime.
Speaker A:So reaching back, what was the concept of this song and your background?
Speaker A:You know, fast forwarding and thinking about Double Rainbow and some of these ideas?
Speaker A:There's a lot of, like, religious symbolism in general.
Speaker A:That one pushes the envelope.
Speaker A:And they sent me that.
Speaker A:I was like, where is this band from?
Speaker A:Like, oh, my God, they're in Charleston and they're doing this.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I mean, I.
Speaker B:I think especially early on with Susto, there was a lot.
Speaker B:I mean, Susto has always been sort of a confessional project.
Speaker B:It's a lot of me sort of working through my own experiences and trying to make sense of my life and all the different sort of aspects of it.
Speaker B:And that's continued, like, throughout the Sisto catalog.
Speaker B:It's something I feel like is sort of at the core of my ethos in terms of when I'm writing for Susto.
Speaker B:But specifically that tune, like, I think we put that out right after our first record had come out.
Speaker B:We were sort of working on our second album, but wanted to put something.
Speaker B:Something out to sort of keep people interested.
Speaker B:We had just started to sort of garner a buzz.
Speaker B:We're like, oh, this will be interesting, for sure.
Speaker B:But it's actually like a chorus, the.
Speaker B:The Chilling on the beach chorus.
Speaker B:I was in another band before Susto.
Speaker B:It was called Sequoia Prep School.
Speaker B:It was very independent, started in high school, and sort of played shows regionally for about 10 years.
Speaker B:And one of our, like, practice, like, sound check songs was this, like, kooky chorus that our bass player wrote.
Speaker B:Chilling on the beach with my best friend Jesus Christ Drinking Bud Light.
Speaker B:I think I added the Bud Light.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So, you know, once I had sort of breached the conversation from a writing standpoint of my religious background because, like, the first Sister record definitely navigates some of that stuff too, in a little bit less of a charismatic way.
Speaker B:But I felt like, okay, well, maybe we follow up with this, like, very overtly, like, this is about Christianity and growing up around Christianity.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:The video is one thing, right?
Speaker B:The, the song, I sort of actually meant to be like, this bridge between myself and my family members and friends who were still, you know, actively involved in Christianity.
Speaker B:Because whenever I left that whole worldview, it was somewhere in my mid-20s, like, left this sort of hole in my life.
Speaker B:Because I grew up in a very religious household.
Speaker B:I mean, my parents weren't ministers or anything like that, but my mom was raised Pentecostal, my dad was raised Southern Methodist.
Speaker B:And like, I was in church every Sunday that I can remember my entire childhood and adolescence and even into young adulthood.
Speaker B:And that's all also Wednesdays.
Speaker B:I mean, I went to Christian schools, I went to Christian summer camps.
Speaker B:Like, it was just the world I lived in.
Speaker B:It was very much baked into all the conversations I have with my family or anything.
Speaker B:It's always like, oh, this is going on with me.
Speaker B:It was like, well, I'll be praying for you.
Speaker B:You know, it's like that.
Speaker B:It was just like a.
Speaker B:A conversational aspect of, like, my relationships to people from my life that I felt like had just disappeared once they all.
Speaker B:Once I became sort of publicly like, non religious and saying, hey, I'm sort of want to turn away from this.
Speaker B:And so the.
Speaker B:The song was originally meant to be this sort of like, hey, yeah, I don't necessarily believe that the Bible is all true, but, like, the concept of this guy Jesus is something I can get behind.
Speaker B:And, you know, like, yeah, you know, I feel like I could have a beer with this guy.
Speaker B:And I feel like the song lyrically is pretty tame.
Speaker B:I mean, I think it also shows that I grew up in it because it's all accurate in terms of biblical representations of what the relationship to God and Christ is and these sort of pulls from these different stories in the Bible.
Speaker B:But then when we made the video, we were like, okay, we're going to have fun with this Johnny Delaware.
Speaker B:We dressed him up as Jesus.
Speaker B:He's always getting called Jesus anyway.
Speaker B:And, you know, he's doing keg stands.
Speaker B:And I would.
Speaker B:I sort of played the role of the pastor.
Speaker B:And I grew up going to some very charismatic churches.
Speaker B:So it was a role that I was surprised how easily it came to me.
Speaker A:But you seem to be enjoying it in the video.
Speaker B:Yeah, it was fun.
Speaker B:I mean, also the Video shoot was a keg party.
Speaker B:We were like, okay, well, we, the song's about drinking Bud Light, so we need to have at least two kegs of Bud Light.
Speaker B:So anybody who's on set for the video just gets to have a cup.
Speaker B:And by the end of the day, when we got to the keg stand shots and everything, everybody was lit, including me.
Speaker B:So, yeah, it was fun.
Speaker A:You know what?
Speaker A:When I saw that I'm a practicing Episcopalian and I loved being a piss, I loved Christianity even more after seeing that video because I'm like, that's it.
Speaker A:In terms of.
Speaker B:This is, this is why I love Episcopalians, because that's like, that's the Episcopalian response, right?
Speaker B:Like, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm Episcopalian curious, I guess I would say, at this point in my life.
Speaker B:Hey, my, my church with me, man, I would love to.
Speaker B:Actually, I've had the opportunity to chat with some Episcopal ministers in the last few years.
Speaker B:I actually ran a songwriting camp at a multi generational Episcopal family retreat in North Carolina last summer as well.
Speaker B:And my daughter goes to Episcopal school.
Speaker B:Like, I'm, I'm not.
Speaker B:I used to be sort of militantly.
Speaker B:Not militantly, but like, very actively anti religion because I felt like whenever I came away from it, I felt like I had been sort of held in this bubble for my whole life, and I was angry about that.
Speaker B:And it took me a while to realize that no one was trying to do anything wrong by me by like, you know, keeping me in a worldview that I later decided I couldn't fully participate in.
Speaker B:You know, like, I, my parents, my family, like, I'm very grateful to have grown up in a religious household and like, you know, even going to the small religious schools, it was cool to have a class of like 15 people because I got to be really close with everybody in my class.
Speaker B:That's how I learned to play music, you know.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I think early on in the band, you can hear in some of the songs me sort of reckoning with.
Speaker B:I mean, there's also a legacy of, of discrimination in the church as well, especially in the South.
Speaker B:So, like, that was something that I had to sort of reckon with.
Speaker B:But, you know, as I've moved on in my life and, you know, had a lot of these conversations, because when you put songs out there like that, like, you're going to have conversations with people about it from all sides, you know, and trust me, I've had online conversations.
Speaker B:Like I mentioned in the comment section of the video, And I've also had lots of in person conversations with fans and also members of clergy and things like that.
Speaker B:And I'm very open to that because I don't claim to know what is correct and what's real about the universe.
Speaker B:I'm just a spirit floating in it along with everybody else.
Speaker B:And I'm just always grateful to have meaningful conversations with folks about spirituality, about growing up religious, especially in the south, and sort of what that means culturally.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I mean, I think if you.
Speaker B:Susto has been a band for like 10 plus years now.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So if you, if you go back to the beginnings, I mean, the name Susto even is a direct nod to my sort of like leaving Christianity behind.
Speaker B:Because the name Susto, it's Spanish and it sort of colloquially means fear or fright.
Speaker B:But also like the literal meaning is soul loss.
Speaker B:So like, you know, it's sort of used to describe PTSD in Latin America too.
Speaker B:It's like in a spiritual context, it's like when something traumatic happens to you, your soul jumps out of your body and you have to go through these different rituals to sort of coax it back in.
Speaker B:But for me, I sort of latched on to the literal meaning of the word because I felt like, okay, well, this first record is sort of, you know, like I said, I'd been in bands before, but net.
Speaker B:But you know, this sort of transformation of my spirituality was marked with the beginning of Sisto.
Speaker B:And so like, it felt like an appropriate name.
Speaker B:It sets, you know, like I've.
Speaker B:I still touch on a lot of religious topics in the songs and.
Speaker B:And now with the Sisto String Band, I'm sort of leaning into singing a lot of these old gospel tunes that I grew up hearing.
Speaker B:And yeah, because it still speaks to me a lot, you know, and it's my.
Speaker B:Honestly, my favorite songs to perform and play are old time gospel tunes.
Speaker B:And so it's a complicated topic with me, I guess, but not one that says charged as it might have been if you spoke to me about it 10 years ago.
Speaker C:Yeah, well, let's, let's dive into a little bit of the Susto String Band because you had a significant life change that led you to doing open mics in Asheville.
Speaker C:And something happened where there's this group called the Holler Choir and we started jamming and now we have this album coming out of your songs.
Speaker C:But what was the change that you knew that this wasn't just a jam session and this was going to be something more?
Speaker B:Well, I, I've always had an Affinity for old time music and bluegrass music.
Speaker B:I, you know, I've.
Speaker B:For, you know, for whatever reason circumstances I always found myself in more of like an indie rock scene.
Speaker B:And that is in Charleston.
Speaker B:And that was even before I lived in Charleston in my hometown of Florence.
Speaker B:Like I was.
Speaker B:I kind of came up in this sort of punk and then emo and then sort of indie scenes.
Speaker B:But I was always sort of at the Americana edge of that bringing this sort because I.
Speaker B:My family's all from an area called Puddin Swamp that is very rural part of South Carolina.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:Swamp baby, no G.
Speaker B:Well, in Sumter county they spell it with a G.
Speaker B:But the part of it that's in Clarendon county where my family's from is there's no G, just an apostrophe.
Speaker C:But oh gee.
Speaker B:But so like I, you know, I grew my family just sort of taste musically are very rootsy.
Speaker B:My grandma was always.
Speaker B:My family didn't play a lot of music, at least not like the generations before me.
Speaker B:Like my brothers played, but like.
Speaker B:But where I was listening a lot.
Speaker B:And a lot of it was focused around church.
Speaker B:So a lot of it was gospel.
Speaker B:And there would be these singings like on Sunday nights and stuff where these groups would come through and they were always bluegrass or like, sort of like that sort of vein.
Speaker B:And you know, and then in college and things like that, I got really into a few different bluegrass artists like Ralph Stanley and Bill Monroe and.
Speaker B:And thought I sort of understood it a little bit.
Speaker B:I definitely connected to it.
Speaker B:It sort of reminded me of my.
Speaker B:It was a way to sort of connect to my sort of cultural heritage as someone from the south, like multigenerational, you know, like honestly in a way that I lost whenever I sort of what I mentioned, like when I left the sort of religious aspects.
Speaker B:But I never was in a music scene where like there was a lot of folks playing old time or bluegrass music until I found myself in Asheville and you know, there.
Speaker B:And it's not to say that those pockets people weren't there.
Speaker B:Like there's definitely a pretty vibrant old time scene in Charleston.
Speaker B:And I lived in Charleston for 15 plus years, but just the crew that I was hanging out with, making records with sort of leaned Americana, but was definitely firmly in the indie world, you know.
Speaker B:And so when I got to Asheville I had played shows in Asheville over throughout my career.
Speaker B:So I was very familiar with the city and the venues.
Speaker B:But I'd never really didn't have a lot of friends in Asheville.
Speaker B:I found myself There I, you know, I was going through some big life changes, a divorce, and sort of needed to remove myself from Charleston.
Speaker B:But like I said, I got there, I was like, wow, I don't know anybody.
Speaker B:So there was.
Speaker B:And it sort of has transformed.
Speaker B:This sort of open mic is sort of a blanket term to use for it, but it's really like an elevated open mic that happens in Asheville.
Speaker B:And it was called Open Folk at the time.
Speaker B:I think it still exists, but now it's called Golden Folk.
Speaker B:But it's basically like a highly curated sort of open mic, and you can sign up for it in advance.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:But they are pretty picky about who they let in.
Speaker B:I mean, they, you know, but there.
Speaker B:There's a.
Speaker B:A very high density of quality musicians in the Asheville western North Carolina area.
Speaker B:So, you know, they're never short of great acts, and people come in regionally to do it as well.
Speaker B:But so I signed up for one of those thinking, you know, hey, I got to get out and meet some friends and I want to hear what's going on here.
Speaker B:And no one knew who I was.
Speaker B:Like, I mean, maybe they did, but, like, I didn't.
Speaker B:I didn't broadcast.
Speaker A:Did you go under Justin or Susto?
Speaker A:Did you.
Speaker B:I can't remember.
Speaker B:I think maybe I just did Justin Osborne, because I didn't want to be, like, walking into this thing too and be like.
Speaker B:Because it's not like I'm a huge artist, you know, but, like, I.
Speaker B:I do have, like, a career, and I didn't want to go in there being like, oh, I'm Sisto, you know, like, because I'm the new guy in town, right?
Speaker B:There's like all these incredibly talented people playing, and I was sort of sitting backstage before you played.
Speaker B:Everybody's shared backstage, and everybody sort of knew each other because there is obviously a music scene in Asheville.
Speaker B:They all knew each other, and I was just sort of in the corner, and my wife, we were like, man, these people are so good.
Speaker B:They're jamming backstage and.
Speaker B:And then I played a couple of my songs.
Speaker B:They were.
Speaker B:They were newer songs at the time, but they've since been released.
Speaker B:I think I played Tina and maybe one other one that eventually came out on My Entire Life, the most recent Full Band Susto record.
Speaker B:And it got a good response.
Speaker B:And then I was like, okay, well, now we're going to chill, let's get a drink, and we're going to watch the rest of these bands.
Speaker B:And there was a lot of great people that night.
Speaker B:I actually Made a lot of really cool contacts that, that I still in contact with.
Speaker B:But right after my set, Holler Choir hopped up and it was.
Speaker B:They were performing as a three piece.
Speaker B:It was Clint and Helena and Joey.
Speaker B:And they played two or three songs.
Speaker B:And me, Mike, my wife Caroline and I, we weren't married at the time, but we were like, we were both just floored.
Speaker B:Like Jaws, like on the floor.
Speaker B:Like, they are so good.
Speaker B:The harmonies were great.
Speaker B:The arrangement of the banjo and guitar and upright bass and the songs, we were just really stoked.
Speaker B:We became fans immediately first and then very quickly after that.
Speaker B:As soon as their set was over, we went up to them.
Speaker B:I was like, hey, I just want to introduce myself.
Speaker B:And it turned out that Clint was familiar with Susto.
Speaker B:He was like, wait, you're Susto?
Speaker B:And I was like, yeah.
Speaker B:And he was like, great to meet you.
Speaker B:And, and me and Clint.
Speaker B:Like, it's funny thinking about that first night when we met because I love him so much.
Speaker B:He has become one of my closest friends through this whole, you know, stream band process.
Speaker B:But so we, we exchanged contact and this must have been sometime close to like Thanksgiving because they had a friendsgiving event at their house.
Speaker B:It's sort of this like iconic to me house in, in.
Speaker B:In West Asheville where like he was living in some different bands and members of their bands were living.
Speaker B:It actually reminded me of the house that I sort of founded Sousteau in, in Charleston, 66 Line street where like there were just a bunch of musicians and always jamming and we had a studio in the storage unit that was a block away, you know.
Speaker B:But so anyway, like I get there and I'm immediately in love with this vibe because I'm like, you know, there this.
Speaker B:I connect to this.
Speaker B:This reminds me of sort of like what I loved about creating music with friends and community.
Speaker B:Like when Sista was founded and you know, there was some eating going on because it was friendsgiving.
Speaker B:But pretty soon, I mean, these, this whole group, I mean the whole scene.
Speaker B:And I think this is probably.
Speaker B:I'm learning that this is just sort of part of the whole old time scene.
Speaker B:Generally jams always break out because you don't need drums, you don't need amplification.
Speaker B:Like you.
Speaker B:If you have a room big enough for like three or really two or more people to stand in a circle, then they're going to jam.
Speaker B:And they were just calling out all these old time tune names that I had never heard of and trading off like they would switch instruments like somebody who's Ripping a Dobro would pick up a violin and rip the fiddle.
Speaker B:And I was like, where am I and how do I stay here?
Speaker B:Like, And I caught.
Speaker B:I was very shy.
Speaker B:Like, I didn't even participate at all that night because I'm, I'm a songwriter, I'm confident as a vocalist, but, you know, and I can play guitar in a rock band.
Speaker B:But like, I, you know, I wasn't, I wasn't comfortable hopping in, but I was very stricken with this love for what was going on, and I caught the bug.
Speaker B:And it was a couple of months after that, and so I continued to sort of like get closer with that whole crew and, and with Clint and his sort of extended friend group.
Speaker B:And then, you know, I was still living in Asheville.
Speaker B:Travis Book, who play upright for the infamous String Dusters, he lives in Brevard and he does this happy hour once a week where he'll bring in a songwriter and then he sort of puts like an old time band together around it and you do like an old time show and he does a podcast for it.
Speaker B:And so he invited me and I was like, yes, I would love.
Speaker B:I've been sort of itching to do this.
Speaker B:And so I reached out to Clint and Helena to see if they wanted to sort of be a part of it.
Speaker B:So we, we did it.
Speaker B:And I don't even know if Travis ever released it because, like, honestly, that was when I learned, like, oh, just because you can play acoustic guitar in a rock band doesn't mean you can hop up and do it with.
Speaker B:Because all of a sudden you're the snare.
Speaker B:Like, you're, you're.
Speaker B:It's a completely different practice.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:And it was, but it was fun, though.
Speaker B:And I think, you know, we, we struggled through a few things, mostly because of me, but.
Speaker B:But there were a couple things that really hit and one of the live videos of it got back to our George Fontaine Jr.
Speaker B:With New west texted me, was like, man, this string band thing you did sounds really cool.
Speaker B:Like, we're gonna have a New West Christmas party at the Gray Eagle in Asheville this year.
Speaker B:Would you guys want to do that again for that?
Speaker B:Oh.
Speaker B:And that was.
Speaker B:I was like, sure.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And so I sort of asked Clint about it and they were really into it.
Speaker B:And so I was like, well, for doing it, let's put together some more shows and just sort of try and work up a set.
Speaker B:And so we put together a set.
Speaker B:And again, I had so much fun that first weekend, but it was, I mean, I'm still trying to keep up with these folks.
Speaker B:Like, I'm always learning, which is part of the fun for this experiment for me, like, is getting to sort of have.
Speaker B:It's refreshing to feel out of my element, you know?
Speaker B:But we did, like, a handful of shows in the Carolinas.
Speaker B:I think we did Charleston, Asheville, and Charlotte.
Speaker B:And then we opened for Big Something for their New Year's show at.
Speaker B:At Lincoln Theater in Raleigh.
Speaker C:Oh, we were just there.
Speaker B:Yeah, I love that place.
Speaker B:And so after that, we were like, wow, this is really fun.
Speaker B:And then so just after that run, we started getting a lot of offers for festivals and things like that.
Speaker B:For the string band, I was like, clint, I think this thing might have legs.
Speaker B:Dude, let's.
Speaker B:And so since George from New west has sort of been the first one to even propose it, I.
Speaker B:I asked George, I was like, do you guys want to fund, you know, a record of this?
Speaker B:And he was all about it.
Speaker B:So last summer, you know, shortly after that, my wife and I moved to Texas when we found out we were having our son, because she's from Austin and we want to be closer to her family since, you know, a touring dad is.
Speaker B:Is gone a lot.
Speaker B:So, like, you know, it's helpful for her to have her.
Speaker B:Her network, but it's hot as hell in Texas in the summer.
Speaker B:So we were like, we're definitely going back to Asheville for the summer.
Speaker B:And so we did.
Speaker B:And while we were there, I got back together with the Holler choir crew.
Speaker B:We tapped Ryan Stigman, who's sort of part of the Holler choir crew, but now he actually plays pedal steel for Zach Topp.
Speaker B:So he's.
Speaker B:He's very busy with that.
Speaker B:He produced it and did a great job.
Speaker B:He's just.
Speaker B:I loved working with Ryan as a producer.
Speaker B:I hope to get to work with him again, too.
Speaker B:And we got to make it at this really cool studio in Kirtland, Turnersville, North Carolina, called Fidelatorium, which Mitch Easter, who's done a lot, did a lot of the REM stuff, maybe all of it.
Speaker B:I think he produced and engineered.
Speaker B:It's his studio, and it's.
Speaker B:It wasn't on my radar, but it's sort of a pretty well renowned studio all over, but especially in the Triad Triangle area of North Carolina.
Speaker B:And it was just a jubilant experience, y'all.
Speaker B:Like, I've.
Speaker B:I've made, you know, a dozen or so records in my life, and, you know, it can be a lot of fun.
Speaker B:It can also be like pulling teeth sometimes.
Speaker B:But this Record like the.
Speaker B:That crew of musicians and sort of me getting to sort of walk in and they're not being a lot of background, you know, like everyone sort of knew the songs and it was just very fun and easy and light and we made the whole record in three days.
Speaker C:And let me, let me ask about the songs because they're, They're Susto songs.
Speaker C:So how did you pick which songs you would re.
Speaker C:Imagine if we will.
Speaker B:That also sort of took the pressure off too.
Speaker B:It's like, okay, well, some songs we know, like, you know, our fan base is going to be excited to hear them.
Speaker B:So like, you know, it takes some of the pressure off.
Speaker B:But it was, it was definitely a process in terms of picking the songs because at that point, like I'd already released my entire life.
Speaker B:So there were five full length studio records to choose from, which sort of was paralyzing in some ways because there's a lot of tunes that we wanted to get to.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:We also didn't want to just pick the obvious ones, you know, like, because there are some songs like Hard Drugs or something.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, and Hard Drugs was.
Speaker B:Was right there in the mix and there, there we honestly were.
Speaker B:Had a list of 15, but you know, we only had a limited amount of time and we can only work so fast.
Speaker B:So we got nine songs done.
Speaker B:That's why it's a nine song record.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker B:But like, yeah, and that's why we decided to call it Volume one too.
Speaker B:Because we're like, okay, we definitely have more in the tank here.
Speaker B:But so I think we prioritized.
Speaker B:Like, we definitely wanted to revamp Friends.
Speaker B:I also felt like I wanted to construct a sort of narrative that sort of loosely told the story of what's happened in my.
Speaker B:Because going back to what I said, like there is like a confessional element to Susto that I wanted to maintain with Sisto String Band and narrative arc.
Speaker B:You know, Marshall, the drummer in Susto proper, like always gives me about my focus on the narrative arc.
Speaker B:He's like, it doesn't matter.
Speaker B:Just write good songs.
Speaker B:Like it does matter.
Speaker C:You know, I noticed it.
Speaker C:I feel like in the way you chose the song with whatever I've read about your significant life changes and stuff.
Speaker C:But like for acid boys, I texted Ben last night.
Speaker C:I go, I.
Speaker C:I love the way they redid that one.
Speaker C:And Homeboy, you know, we were texting back and forth.
Speaker B:Yeah, it was, it was cool to see how they came to life too because I mean we had, we had, like I said, we had played a Few shows as string band before.
Speaker B:So we had.
Speaker B:We had a chance to sort of explore a good bit of the catalog.
Speaker B:Some of the ones we chose for the record, we hadn't even done live like God of Death and Homeboy.
Speaker B:We sort of chose those because they seemed not obvious.
Speaker B:We're like, okay, we can.
Speaker B:And also, those were songs that we could really shift.
Speaker B:It's like, you know, if you listen to the original versions of those songs versus the string band version, there's a marked difference, right?
Speaker B:It gets really grassy, like, in some of the upbeat parts and.
Speaker B:But then songs like Acid Boys, I didn't really realize how different that was going to sound until Jackson, our mandolin player, came in with that.
Speaker B:That, like, opening sort of mandolin riff over the guitar.
Speaker B:And I was like, this is a vibe.
Speaker B:It sort of.
Speaker B:It just reminded me of some string man records that I've always loved.
Speaker B:And I know it might even be pretty.
Speaker B:Pretty, pretty reminiscent of, like, Old Crow, but, like, that's what it reminded me of.
Speaker B:And I was like, that's great.
Speaker B:Like, if that's what we're sounding like, then we're hitting the mark.
Speaker B:And why is it so important?
Speaker A:Like, you mentioned the word confessional a couple times, and that's.
Speaker A:That was important for you to maintain.
Speaker A:Like, when I heard the word confessional, it's like, you need to get something out, and there's, like, redemption on the other side of that.
Speaker A:Is that how you're thinking about confession?
Speaker A:Like.
Speaker A:Like your music being confessional, or is it a different.
Speaker B:I would definitely say that's an aspect of it.
Speaker B:I think there's a lot of times, like, I.
Speaker B:I have sort of refused to be one of these, like.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:I don't hate on it.
Speaker B:I respect it.
Speaker B:But, like, I'm not one of these people.
Speaker B:It's like, I'm gonna write a song every day just to, like, exercise the muscle, you know?
Speaker B:Like, for me, I've always felt like songwriting is a gift from the ether and.
Speaker B:And a way to sort of, like, distill meaning from mundane and.
Speaker B:And big experiences in my life.
Speaker B:And so, like, I.
Speaker B:I do feel like there's almost this sort of exorcism of a feeling or of, like, a weight when songs come out.
Speaker B:And so I call that confessional because it's sort of like.
Speaker B:It's a term I borrowed since the beginning of Susheto, because in the beginning, I was really inspired by sort of postmodern confessional poetry from, like, American poets like Robert Lowell and, you know, just, like, sort of like in the aftermath of World War II, like, these sort of, like, confessionalism in poetry at at whatever cost was, like, something that was really sort of appealing to me.
Speaker B:I've sort of wrestled with it, though, because just like someone like Robert Lowell, who I don't.
Speaker B:That's sort of probably like a obscure reference, but, like, homework in his career.
Speaker B:Like, he has a book of poetry called the Dolphin that he got criticized about a lot because he went through these pretty intense shifts in his life that actually mirror some things that I've experienced in my life.
Speaker B:And he was very open and honest about it, even though, like, other people's stories were involved with his story too, and he was criticized about that.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:I've definitely run into that myself where, like, I've talked about a story that wasn't all mine to tell, and I've learned to sort of be a bit more careful about it.
Speaker A:But how does that show up on the stage for you and your performances?
Speaker A:Because, I mean, you people can see on YouTube or at your live.
Speaker A:You're bringing a lot of heat.
Speaker A:You seem to be putting a lot of yourself into these songs or in the performances.
Speaker A:Is this.
Speaker A:Do you feel like exers.
Speaker A:We're getting into exorcism now to exercise after a show?
Speaker A:Like, what are you going through up there?
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, I definitely.
Speaker B:I mean, playing a set of songs that have all been written about real situations is cathartic.
Speaker B:And it's also tough at times, but it never feels bad after I get off stage.
Speaker B:Unless, like, I had terrible sound or like, I was sick or something, you know, like, it feels like this ritual that I'm, like, very committed to.
Speaker B:To practicing because, like, I.
Speaker B:The closest thing to, like, real religion that I think I've ever found in my life is the experience of.
Speaker B:Of, like, songwriting and how that allows you to sort of, like I said, distill experience in a way that can be translated and communicate to other people.
Speaker B:And when the other people.
Speaker B:And you can't always tell this from stage.
Speaker B:Like, you know, sometimes you'll play a song, you'll see someone crying in the front row, and you're like, okay, they can relate to what I'm talking about right now.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:But other times it's just, you know, it's revelry and everyone's having a good time.
Speaker B:But, like, you know, after the shows and in the comments and all this stuff, people will say, like, hey, this speaks to me.
Speaker B:And, like, thank you for saying this.
Speaker B:And, like, I can.
Speaker B:You know, and no one's Experiences are.
Speaker B:No two people's experiences are exactly the same.
Speaker B:But there is like a through line, I think, that we like that we're all sort of centered around and music at least, like this type of songs that I prefer to listen to and to write and to perform, like, sort of participate in that.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:So, you know, I think, you know, like I said, I.
Speaker B:I felt this hole in my life after I left to church, and I really feel like the community that's been built up around Susto has replaced that for me.
Speaker B:And so, like, I feel, you know, there's not like, ritual in the sense of, like, oh, we're going to say these exact words and do this exact thing every show, but, like, getting up and performing the show and letting it be cathartic and letting it all move through you and hopefully through the crowd.
Speaker B:Like, that's the ritual, you know, and like packing the van, getting up, going like, planning the.
Speaker B:Planning the route, all of it's part of it, you know, and I'm.
Speaker B:I'm very much committed to it.
Speaker B:It's a huge part of my identity at this point in my life.
Speaker B:What's that?
Speaker A:I said, I'm.
Speaker A:Stop talking to the listeners for a second.
Speaker A:He said, who out there wants to go to a Susto show?
Speaker A:Feel that energy and know, is there.
Speaker A:Is there one ritual that, like, you do every time before a show?
Speaker A:You're like, if it's a string band or two, sto solo, I'm doing this as my routine to get ready.
Speaker B:Honestly, there's.
Speaker B:There's not really there.
Speaker B:There.
Speaker B:There is like a sort of personal dealing with the sort of anxiousness that comes before a show.
Speaker B:And it's not necessarily negative.
Speaker B:I just know that the big thing is about to happen, right?
Speaker B:Like, and so it's just sort of.
Speaker B:It starts to feel like, like, like something building up inside of you.
Speaker B:But I don't really have a ritual for preparing for shows.
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker B:I don't even do vocal warmups or anything like that.
Speaker B:I definitely should, but like, with.
Speaker B:With the rock band and I probably need to bring this into the string band.
Speaker B:It just hasn't really occurred to me yet.
Speaker B:But like, with the rock band, we always put our hands in and we.
Speaker B:We do like a 3, 2, 1, artisanal rock.
Speaker B:Because Johnny Delaware, who's like, you know, co founder of Susto and.
Speaker B:And been sort of in and out of performing live with the project and always gained an active role in the recording of the.
Speaker B:Of the Sisto proper records.
Speaker A:He.
Speaker B:He has.
Speaker B:He had A band called the Artisanals that sort of.
Speaker B:He, he left Sisto for a while to pursue and.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And their thing is it was like their self described genre is like it's artisanal rock, you know, and, and I feel like we are very artisanal about the.
Speaker B:We make our records and approach what we do.
Speaker B:And so it started doing.
Speaker B:Because they would always do the chant like artisanal rock before their shows.
Speaker B:And so when he came back into the band a few.
Speaker B:We sort of forced him to bring it with, to bring that with him.
Speaker B:And then now even if he's not there, like we still put the hands in and we're like artisanal rock.
Speaker B:You know, that might have to be.
Speaker C:The, the name of this, this episode.
Speaker B:Yeah, I don't, I don't, I don't know how to apply it to the string band because it's not rock, you know.
Speaker C:Well, I'll tell you, listening to that, that new album, it's.
Speaker C:That is some musicianship there.
Speaker C:So I mean, as a guy who likes bluegrass, I was rocking to it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean I get down to some grass, man.
Speaker B:And I, you know, I also want to.
Speaker B:Before I get myself in trouble with the real like bluegrass heads, I want to be clear that we do not necessarily call ourselves or identify as a bluegrass man.
Speaker C:Newgrass.
Speaker B:Well, I think, you know, there's a lot of different terminology and this is another part of my ongoing education as I'm like sort of putting my feet in this world is like just because you're using like a, you know, a traditional bluegrass quintet with the mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, banjo and guitar, it's not bluegrass unless it's played a certain way, you know.
Speaker B:And like we don't have, you know, Helena, our banjo player, she plays claw hammer banjo, which is, which is more like of an old time way of playing banjo.
Speaker B:And even my vocals, like I.
Speaker B:There's sometimes where it gets sort of into that high lonesome.
Speaker B:But even some of my favorite bluegrass artists, like quote unquote, like Ralph Stanley, he never identified himself as bluegrass.
Speaker B:He always said it's like I refer to his old time music.
Speaker B:And I've sort of found that that's more of the acceptable blanket term because if you're not doing the really fast like three finger banjo and like certain like rhythms and stuff, then it's not technically bluegrass.
Speaker B:But I also love that like the term bluegrass is having a resurgence and sort of being applied to lots of sort of adjacent music.
Speaker B:Like that's sort of all within the Americana One corner of the Americana genre.
Speaker C:You know, let's just call it kick ass Americana.
Speaker C:How about that?
Speaker B:Let's call it that.
Speaker C:Yeah, I like that.
Speaker C:What was the most, like, surprising or rewarding thing that's come out of the string band?
Speaker C:Maybe a fan reaction or seeing what the fans think or.
Speaker C:What do you.
Speaker C:What would you say on that?
Speaker B:Well, definitely the response so far has been really cool because, like, you know, like, we.
Speaker B:We were lucky when the first sister record came out because I put five records out with my last band and nothing happened.
Speaker B:You know, like the first sister record came out.
Speaker B:It got in the right hands and the right ears, and with that release, we.
Speaker B:I got to sort of create a career in music.
Speaker B:But it still has been like a ten year, sort of, like, for lack of a better word, grind to like, to get to where we are today.
Speaker B:And there's been high points and low points, you know, and it's.
Speaker B:I've always been able to subsist just off the music since the first record came out.
Speaker B:But still, you know, it's been.
Speaker B:It's been work.
Speaker B:And not that this isn't work, but it's like, I know also we're sort of using the platform I created or, you know, I created with everyone else who's part of the Susto Collective.
Speaker B:But it's been really cool to see this project having such.
Speaker B:Such success early on.
Speaker B:Not, you know, it's not like we're in the top of the charts or anything like that.
Speaker B:Like, success to me is like, the fact that it's getting added to cool playlists.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:Like, people are coming to the shows, we're getting invited to to do cool stuff.
Speaker B:We're getting lots of opportunities that we're having to say no to a lot of stuff just because I'm like, I'm a dad now and like, damn, if I'd done this 10 years ago, yeah, I'd be out for two months with y'all.
Speaker B:But it's just cool seeing the sort of professional reaction to it.
Speaker B:I think, like, the fan reaction is a little bit yet to be seen because while we have done some shows like it, we haven't done everything we're gonna do live yet, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:But I will say that I've started to see the payoff from that because we just had a really big week two weeks ago in Austin for South by Southwest, and I was committed.
Speaker B:I was like, I live in Austin now.
Speaker B:We're gonna go hard for South By.
Speaker B:We're gonna bring the whole band out.
Speaker B:We're gonna play everything we.
Speaker B:Having lived in Austin for a couple years now, I've also been able to sort of make a lot of really great relationships with different venues and players, but also with, like, brand partnerships.
Speaker B:And so we got to do a lot of really cool stuff that, like, really put spotlighted the band.
Speaker B:And the crowds were all new.
Speaker B:Like, nobody really knew.
Speaker B:They might have heard of Susto, but none of them had really heard much about or seen Susto String Band.
Speaker B:And the reactions were great.
Speaker B:And I feel like we really crushed it.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And first and foremost, it was so fun because, like, the more we do these shows, the more comfortable I'm getting.
Speaker B:And so the more I'm getting to just enjoy being a part of that jam.
Speaker B:That same thing that I.
Speaker B:That I witnessed, you know, that friends giving.
Speaker B:I'm a part of it now.
Speaker C:Kind of re.
Speaker C:Energizing a little bit of yourself for sure.
Speaker B:Because I'm like, I'm also.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's re.
Speaker B:It's reset my focus.
Speaker B:Like, I have to be focused when we do these shows.
Speaker B:And I enjoy the.
Speaker B:It more now, I think, because I still enjoy rocking, don't get me wrong.
Speaker B:And I'm doing a bunch of those shows this year too.
Speaker B:And I think I'm gonna carry this into that.
Speaker B:But, like, I.
Speaker B:Because I had to focus just to keep up and to be able to make sure I don't make the band sound bad.
Speaker B:Like, I'm just in it and I'm having a lot of fun.
Speaker B:And that's sort of.
Speaker C:People gotta check out this holler choir.
Speaker C:Because they can play.
Speaker B:Yeah, they can.
Speaker B:They can play.
Speaker B:For sure.
Speaker A:They're rolling.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Starting to wind up.
Speaker A:A couple more questions here in your live album Live from Codfish Hollow.
Speaker A:At the end of one of these songs, I think it's easy to miss it, but someone says, hey, it's time for the MTV Unplugged portion of the show.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And there's a little banter about that.
Speaker A:And then you listen to the.
Speaker A:And it's not.
Speaker A:You know, MTV Unplugged is not old time music, but it's like a stripped down version.
Speaker A:And I'm curious from your standpoint, because I grew up in MTV on Plug.
Speaker B:Me too.
Speaker A:Like, what was the.
Speaker A:Like, what's been the impact?
Speaker A:Maybe a couple of your favorites.
Speaker A:And how was that, you know, kind of woven its way into your.
Speaker A:Your inspiration for this?
Speaker B:Yeah, I think the.
Speaker B:The idea of doing the sort of stripped down part of the Susto set was something that we We.
Speaker B:We wanted to introduce, like, when.
Speaker B:When my entire life came out, because we wanted to just make our show more dynamic.
Speaker B:You know, we have, like, a part of it where things changed up and the vibe changed.
Speaker B:And we also grew up fans of, you know, MTV Unplugged, VH1 Storytellers, all this sort of like.
Speaker B:Sort of like, all right, let's.
Speaker B:Let's cool it down a notch, you know, And.
Speaker B:And also, like, Johnny Delaware is a phenomenal acoustic guitar player.
Speaker B:Like, I.
Speaker B:I was like, we gotta get.
Speaker B:We gotta showcase Johnny doing a solo on an acoustic guitar.
Speaker B:Because I love the tone of it, you know.
Speaker C:Makes a good Jesus.
Speaker B:Yeah, he's.
Speaker B:And he makes a great Jesus.
Speaker A:Eric Clapton.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So what were some of your favorites from that day that did the Unplugged genre that were influential for you?
Speaker B:So, I mean, obviously, the.
Speaker B:The Nirvana Unplugged was very, very big for me.
Speaker B:And then also the Clapton one, there was a dashboard confessional one, actually.
Speaker B:I mean, I.
Speaker B:I was definitely part of the emo crowd, you know, in high school, and.
Speaker B:And I'd say those three are sort of standouts.
Speaker B:I know there's more.
Speaker B:I would sort of have to do my homework a little bit because I haven't really gone back through.
Speaker B:Like, whenever we decide to do that element, we didn't sort of like, be like, okay, let's research this.
Speaker B:We just all were familiar with it, and we're like, yeah, let's go for that sort of vibe.
Speaker B:And it was really fun.
Speaker B:I'm really glad that we got to sort of capture that on the live record, because it's also like a version of Susto that happens live sometimes.
Speaker B:Sometimes we do shows that are more like that, and we have been doing it more in our full band sets.
Speaker B:And it was funny, whenever I sent my booking agent the string band record, he was like, oh, man.
Speaker B:I was already loving the Unplugged part of the live record.
Speaker B:Now you just took it a step further, and I'm like, yeah, that's what.
Speaker A:I thought when I heard it, too.
Speaker A:I was like, wow, this is great.
Speaker B:It wasn't an intentional through line, but I'm glad it sort of.
Speaker B:I guess it did sort of, like, prime the audience a little bit for it.
Speaker A:It's like a generational thing, too.
Speaker A:People that grew up watching that.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's impactful, certainly.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:I like.
Speaker C:I love that you kind of meld so many different.
Speaker C:I mean, Susto I've been a fan for.
Speaker C:Since the beginning, basically, but I love that you meld all the genres together.
Speaker C:And now we have this version, kick ass Americana as I like to call it, that we figured out five minutes ago.
Speaker C:No, but are we getting a Volume two or.
Speaker C:Yes, there's definitely tomorrow, if you don't mind.
Speaker C:Thanks.
Speaker B:We're gonna, we gotta find time in the calendar to make it.
Speaker B:But we're already making plans.
Speaker B:I mean, when we wrapped the first session, the re.
Speaker B:The reason we named the record Volume one is because there's been plans to follow it up.
Speaker B:And this, you know, like, this is sort of like a, it's a side project, but it's really just sort of an offshoot of Susto.
Speaker B:Like, but it's not like Susto the rock band is stopping.
Speaker B:Like, I'm definitely shifting my focus to the string band for a while right now to focus on the record being out and trying to get it on people's radar.
Speaker B:But at the same time, we have, you know, shows throughout the summer with the full band and I'm sort of just keeping a lot on my plate, which is sort of my mo.
Speaker B:You ask my wife, she'd be like, oh yeah, his plate's always way too full.
Speaker B:And he does it to himself.
Speaker B:But it's because my job is fun, you know, Like, I, I can't, I can't help it because, you know, yes, I'm doing the string band stuff, but also there's a couple of other things I'm leaning into as well.
Speaker B:I just made like a, a collaborative record with Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit and Jordan Kaiola from Moloud and the Humble.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker B:And, and so that's like a buddy record that we just finished in Austin a couple months ago.
Speaker C:And I love Matt.
Speaker B:I do too.
Speaker B:He's great.
Speaker B:And, and, and so like, and that' like a, it doesn't sound like Susto or Suso string band.
Speaker B:It sounds like the three of us made a record together, honestly.
Speaker B:And I'm really excited about that.
Speaker B:That's probably going to be a while before that comes out.
Speaker B:I think we're aiming it sometime middle to late next year.
Speaker B:But like, and also like I've been our drummer, Marshall Big Deadhead and I am sort of, I, I, I, I'm not as big as him, but I'm a lover of Grateful Dead songs.
Speaker B:And we've sort of started this other offshoot called Susto Es Muerto.
Speaker B:It's like where we do this oh my God Dead tribute sets.
Speaker B:And you should go on the, the archive.org there's two of our sets with the, with Sisto es muerto that you should check out because I'm pretty proud.
Speaker B:That's also a stellar band.
Speaker B:We basically put together a super group of players from Charleston with Marshall and I being involved with being the sisto aspect of it.
Speaker B:And so I'm also.
Speaker B:We're cooking up some stuff with that.
Speaker B:We're gonna be doing some more of that live and also releasing some of that stuff too.
Speaker B:So it's like, you know, my wife's right.
Speaker B:Like, I keep it pretty full, but it's.
Speaker C:You're busy.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:But it's fun, you know, like, all those things are fun.
Speaker B:The buddy record with Matt and Jordan is really fun.
Speaker B:The doing the Dead stuff's really fun.
Speaker B:Doing this.
Speaker B:This old time stuff is really fun as well.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And I always love coming home to the Susto Rock Band sets.
Speaker B:It's like, it always feels like, you know, I've just.
Speaker B:It's just.
Speaker B:It's definitely where I'm the most comfortable and it's, you know, what we've sort of built in the last 10 years.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But I love.
Speaker B:I'm loving being a part of my life, a time in my life and career where I can sort of branch out and have fun.
Speaker B:It's like we got five records out.
Speaker B:I can take a little while and, you know, explore these other things.
Speaker B:At the same time, I.
Speaker B:Right before I called you guys, I was on the phone with Wolfgang, who, you know, produces the.
Speaker B:The Susto proper records.
Speaker B:And we're.
Speaker B:We're planning for the next one of those too.
Speaker A:So it's like, it's an exciting time.
Speaker B:I don't mean to overwhelm.
Speaker B:I feel like I should stick to one thing to promote.
Speaker C:No multiple reasons to get you on in the future.
Speaker B:Yeah, bring me back.
Speaker B:Bring me back.
Speaker A:I think we love that we have proven this and you have proven this that Americana encompasses a lot of sounds, a lot of people, a lot of creativity.
Speaker A:The one thing that always comes back in every episode is definitely the.
Speaker A:The aspect of community.
Speaker A:And you.
Speaker A:You shared that from the very beginning of Susto to what you're doing in Ashe filled your collaborations in Austin now, I mean, it's just like right on, you guys are getting together, making beautiful music, and what.
Speaker A:What can.
Speaker A:What can we as fans do to support what you're doing, all of your bands, your music, and your creative energy?
Speaker B:I think, you know, well, for one, you guys created a platform for people to come and talk about the music and for fans to sort of like find these sorts of conversations.
Speaker B:I Think that's huge, you know, like, creating, like, these sort of conversations where, like, you know, because I can't sit down and have a conversation with everybody about.
Speaker B:I mean, trust me, I'm a.
Speaker B:I'm a jabbermouth.
Speaker B:So I will go on and on, as you guys know.
Speaker B:But, like, it's great to be able to sort of, like, talk about it and sort of explain where I'm coming from and how I view it, because I feel like that sort of.
Speaker B:That gives people something to latch onto.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:I think in terms of fans, like, I'm just grateful for what fans do now.
Speaker B:Like, listen to it, right?
Speaker B:Share it with your friends.
Speaker B:Like, if you can make it to a show, go to a show.
Speaker B:If you can buy a T shirt, do that too.
Speaker B:But, like, you know, it's.
Speaker B:It's really just about, for me, like, being able to create music because I've always been a lover of music, and music has consoled me and gotten me through so much in my life, like, from before I became a musician and to this day, you know, like.
Speaker B:And so just interacting with this practice that we do as humans, that is music.
Speaker B:Like, that's.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker B:That's all you really got to do.
Speaker B:And you can.
Speaker B:You know, you can if you.
Speaker B:Like I said, if you want to come to a show and buy some merch, definitely suggest doing that.
Speaker B:If you want to, like, you know, really follow a band and dive in, I think that can be really beneficial for both sides because you get to know a project better, and the project sort of gets to sort of feed off your energy, too.
Speaker B:But I think just keep listening, you know, I think that's the main thing.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And go back to Ben's comment about sense of community.
Speaker C:I mean, we were talking with the boys from Fancy Gap, and when we got off, they were like, you gotta have this one on, and you gotta have this one.
Speaker C:And I mean, I'm so glad that they connected us.
Speaker B:And I just saw you guys did a podcast with Hunter from.
Speaker B:She Returns from War this week.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:Hunter is like family to me.
Speaker B:She's like.
Speaker B:She's definitely part of the Sisto family, and I love to see that.
Speaker B:I haven't got to listen to the whole thing yet because I just saw it last night, but I love the clips, and I'm like, you know, I love what you guys are doing with this platform, and I'm glad that we got connected and we're able to find some time to make it happen, too.
Speaker B:So thanks for letting me run my mouth about my shit, you know?
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:Come on again.
Speaker A:Come on again and join us again.
Speaker A:Justin, it was a lot of fun today.
Speaker B:I'd love to.
Speaker B:Thank you guys so much for having me.
