Norah Jones Is Playing Along
Original podcast
Dave Grohl and Norah hang out in Foo Fighters' studio to play through some choice songs from his epic career.
14,701 words · 7 speakers
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If you love music and great artist interviews, check out Before the Moment, hosted by Nile Rodgers. This new series follows Nile as he travels across the country, talking with some of today's most fascinating artists about the moments that shaped their lives and careers. From hitmakers like Miguel to rising stars like Alex Warren, Nile explores the stories behind the careers, the songs, and the moments that changed everything. Because every musician remembers the point where everything changed, and this podcast tells the stories that came before it. Listen to Before the Moment, a Lincoln Original Series on iHeartRadio app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Norah Jones, and today I'm reliving Playing Along with Dave Grohl. I'm just playing along with you.
Hi, I'm Nora and with me is Sarah.
Hi, how are you?
I'm good, how are you?
I am good. Today, we're revisiting one of our favorite episodes from the archive. Our episode with the one and only Dave Grohl. Of course, he's been a legend in rock history from his time with Nirvana to Foo Fighters. And I love this episode because I feel like you just see a different side of him.
Yes, this was a fun one to record. I love playing with Dave, have known him for a long time. And it's a good time to revisit this episode because Foo Fighters have a new album coming out.
That's right. It's coming out April 24th. It's called Your Favorite Toy and the title track is out now, so be sure to check that out.
Yay.
So if you missed it the first time, or if you just want to hear it again, here's our episode with Dave Grohl.
Hope you enjoy this episode.
The funniest part of that whole Kennedy Center experience was hanging out with Steven Tyler.
Oh, he was a hoot.
He was amazing, but I got stuck behind him at a metal detector.
Oh, no.
And it was like a good 20 minutes of my life.
Why? Is he made out of metal?
It was a ring, ring, ring, ring, necklace, necklace, necklace, necklace. It was just like...
That's hilarious.
I know. I felt like I was at Tiffany's. It was completely insane. But yeah, what a crazy experience. You know, one of the coolest things about that, that weekend was...
There was that rehearsal stage, it was off to the side. First of all, I grew up in DC. I grew up outside of DC. Oh, that's right. Where, what town? In Alexandria, Virginia. Okay. Just outside. And so, you know, as a kid, we would go to the Kennedy Center on like field trips. Or sometimes like there'd be a show and the family would go. I saw Beatlemania there when I was a little kid. And so the Kennedy Center was always this really, really special place. Even just to go, you know, it seemed like one of the museums, almost like a museum of music. You had the Smithsonian. But then to go to the Kennedy Center was such a huge deal. And then to be invited to it, to play. And so I was, I was freaking out.
Like, I'm like, oh my God, this is the coolest thing I've ever done in my life. That was the first time you'd been invited to do something there? No. Okay. I went once when they were honoring The Who. Ah. And it was during, you guys can come in, it's fine.
It was during the George W. Bush administration. So you felt conflict? Well, yes. I didn't necessarily agree with a lot of the politics. Yeah. At the time. But one of the things that was really cool about those Kennedy Center events was that people could kind of put aside their differences and just be there for the music. Yeah. And, you know, you'd go to those receptions and you would meet people from both sides of the aisle. And having grown up outside of DC, the reason why my family moved to DC was because my father was a journalist. He was a writer. Okay. And he was a conservative Republican.
My mother was a public school teacher and she was much more a liberal Democrat. So I kind of grew up in this world.
Yeah.
Where both of those things can coexist. They divorced, but whatever. Like, I was kind of in the middle of those two things.
They found a common thing.
So, you know, I could hang out with my father's friends on the weekend when I was a kid and we'd go to Georgetown and, you know, they'd sit at this bar and have cocktails and talk politics and not really everybody agreed on everything, but they could at least like sit and have a cocktail and talk politics without like a brawl.
That's kind of what we're missing these days.
Totally.
That old environment, that fun, like, all the president's men like VW bugs and corduroys and cigarettes in the elevator and Scotch on the weekends or whatever. That's how I remember Washington DC, much different than it is now, but anyway. But being at those events, getting to really sit and talk to different people. At that one with George Bush, W, you know, they do the medal ceremony in the East Room of the White House. And afterwards, it was around Christmas and afterwards they said, hey, do you want to get your picture taken with the president?
And there was that part of me that was like really kind of politically conflicted. But then I decided, well, we're here and we're here to be a part of this event and you're here to honor the musicians, whatever. So I, my wife and I walked into the room next to the Christmas tree to get our picture taken and I greeted the first lady and then I said hello to him. And I mean, I look like this, right? I don't look like a Marine or a Republican or a politician or anything. And he looks at me and he goes, really loud, he goes, where are you from?
And I was like, uh, just right over the bridge over there. We're facing like the South Lawn. I'm like, what, just over in Virginia? He's like, oh, what are you doing here? I said, I'm, I'm doing a song with the, for the Who. He's like, oh, cool. And, um, we get our picture taken and then I go downstairs. At the time, Jordan, my wife was pregnant and we, she had left her coat in the coat room. And I was going to try to find it before we went down to the Kennedy Center. So I was downstairs looking for the coat room and, um, was lost in the White House. And all of a sudden, these Secret Service people come through the hallway and they're like, they're like, everybody step aside, the president's coming through.
And I kind of like hugged the wall and here he comes and he's walking and he looks me dead in the eyes and he goes, I'll see you down there, dude. And I was like, oh my God, I want to get wasted with this guy. Like, I want to totally hang and have cocktails and stuff.
That was the thing, right?
That was the thing. Oh, but the one, the one for Paul that was so cool.
There was that rehearsal space that was sort of on the side of the main stage. And, um, I was sitting there waiting. I think Steven Tyler was performing, rehearsing his thing. And, um, I looked and I saw, there's a house band and I saw one of the horn players was Blue Lou Marini from the Blues Brothers Band.
Wow.
And when I was a kid, I was obsessed, fucking obsessed with, I had Beatles records, Steve Martin records and the Blues Brothers record. And that was like, that's my musical foundation. Like Steve Martin and the Beatles, that's it.
That's perfect.
But then to see Blue Lou and he was kind of sitting by himself in the corner. And I walked up, I starfucked him so hard. I was just like, Mr. Marini? He's like, yeah? I'm like, oh my God, I freaked out so bad on him.
That's so fun.
I, I mean, yeah, meeting people like that, you probably made his day too. He was probably stoked.
I just, I still honestly feel like that, um,
First of all, like, meeting those heroes, like, it's never lost on me.
I never go, hey, what's up?
It doesn't seem like it is, yeah.
It doesn't feel like that at all.
It's that first moment of feeling like, oh my god, that person's real. This is like 3D, this is actually happening right now.
Yes.
But then, over time, you start to realize, like, oh, it's kind of just like this community of people that like to play music.
Yeah, it is.
Like, it's, it can be as simple as that. Or you could flip out and, you know, meet one of your big heroes and lose your mind. But I do that, you know, there's, there are also times where I get more nervous to meet people who are relatively unknown, like punk rock heroes.
Then, there was once when we played a music cares thing and we were doing a song for Neil Diamond. I didn't grow up listening to Neil Diamond. I did it for this friend of mine who passed away. His mom was a huge Neil Diamond fan. So I flew her out from Virginia because I thought, oh shit, if we do this, she'll get to meet Neil Diamond, this'll be huge, after losing her son, like, this'll be huge. But I never listened to Neil Diamond. So when I met him, it was just like, oh yeah, he's just like this cool dude. Like, I didn't freak out at all. But then, like, the first time I met the singer of, like, the Jesus Lizard or the Dead Kennedys, I'm just like, oh my god, you know? Completely lose my mind.
When I met you, I, I felt really, like, a stone. Like, I don't know what your memory of it is, but when I came in to sing Virginia Moon.
I was like, so excited to meet you, but I, I don't know how to show it sometimes. And it gets inward and then I look like I'm a stone. There's something I do that's weird like that. Because I grew up air drumming to you.
Oh, really?
Oh, shit.
I, I have this vivid memory of listening to Nevermind in my aunt and uncle's.
Bedroom, spare room and just like air drumming the shit out of it.
Are you a drummer?
I'm a drummer on the inside, waiting to come out.
What are you waiting for?
No, but I would just like go nuts and I don't know. So I was excited to meet you.
Wow, that's so weird.
But I was so stoked.
Well, I was nervous to meet you because you're an actual musician. And there's not too many of those around here.
Yeah, well.
In our world, it's just a bunch of people that like.
I feel like we all are though, I mean, you know.
Actual musicians?
We are all actual musicians.
That makes me feel so much better.
You're an actual musician, I'm an actual musician.
You are an actual musician.
Sometimes I don't feel like doing this. I'm like, what the fuck am I doing? How do I play this song?
Really?
And usually when I get in the room with the person and then we're doing it together, it's like, oh yeah, I do know how to do this. But, I don't know, sometimes it's like, you go in a room with someone and you overthink the moment. And then the moment is just an easy moment. And then if you overthink it, it becomes difficult.
Well, there's also like, I'm sure at this point, you feel like with your voice. Your voice sounds so beautiful and so natural that I can't imagine you have to think much about singing. And that's kind of the way I am with drums.
Like I don't really have to think about what I'm going to do next. And there's sort of this, and not that I'm the best drummer in the world, but it's like there's this.
I don't know, you're coming out there.
There's this, there's this disconnect from like, or maybe it's a connection from my head to my hands.
And my body will just do the thing that fits with the music, you know?
So whenever I sit down
and play the drums, it's like I feel totally at home. I feel totally comfortable and just like, ah, good, okay, well, this is like, it's relaxing to me, even if it's like beating the fucking shit out of the drums. To me, it makes me feel really, really happy because I just get to let loose and not think about stuff.
But that's the best.
It's the best, whereas everything else I do, like in Foo Fighters.
You've made it hard on yourself.
Why?
I mean, I honestly think like,
after Nirvana ended, I had the opportunity to go keep playing the drums for other people. But I kind of knew that I could do it. And then there was this other weird thing that I had just experimented with in the studio where I was playing guitar and I was singing and stuff. I was unsure if I could do that. And that was really a big part, like, okay, I did that. I know I can do that. So I'm gonna try doing this other thing. And the intention really was like, basically just to keep playing music, but also to do something that I didn't really know that I could do it. And that was sort of the excitement of doing it.
I think the challenge is exciting, right?
Without question.
It's, it's, um, and then once you do it, it's like, yes.
Yeah, like if you really nail something.
I was explaining this to someone recently that we were talking about my daughter Violet, who has this fucking beautiful voice. She's amazing. She's got this great voice. And, um, she's just like intrinsically musical and can figure out instruments really quickly. And she's got amazing pitch and this really soulful voice. And she has it. She's the real deal. And, um,
She sings with this confidence, which is
kind of beyond her years. It's almost like she's been doing it her whole life, which she has. But when she gets out to play live and someone said, um, God, she's so confident. Does she get nervous? I'm like, oh, absolutely. But we were talking about those like 30 steps from the side of the stage to the microphone. And the courage that it takes just to go from here to there and then go do it. That that those 30 steps, that's 99% of it. Just to like run out there and have the courage to bare your soul to a bunch of people or, you know.
What she does, it, it, she's such a sensitive, beautiful, brilliant person. But like most artists, she has this real vulnerability for her to like, just stand out there and do it. And then to do it the way she does it is like, wow.
Yeah, it's a thing. She's got a beautiful voice. I agree.
Voice.
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But in this series, he's hitting the road to sit down with some of today's most fascinating artists. From hitmakers like Miguel to rising stars like Alex Warren, Niall explores the stories behind the careers, the songs, and the moments that changed everything. Because every artist can point to that turning point, the moment before the breakthrough, before the success, before everything changed. Through candid conversations and personal stories, you'll hear what happened before the moment that made them who they are today. Listen to Before the Moment, a Lincoln original series, on the iHeartRadio app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
You want to try statues?
Yeah, let me see what this guitar does.
This is you on piano on the recording.
It is. Oh, my God, this is so dumb.
It sounds great.
OK, so,
this is a long time ago. This is, I don't know, 15 years ago or something, 14 years ago. My birthday was coming up. And my dream car was like an old Dodge Hemi. I think it's a car from Blue Velvet. I can't remember if it's a Challenger or Charger, but like a really badass like 70s. It's like muscle car.
And I'd been talking about it a lot with my wife,
kind of hinting, but not obnoxiously. And my birthday was coming up and she's like, she's like, wait till you see what I got you for your birthday. And I'm like, OK. She goes, you need to be here on Tuesday. It's arriving. And I'm like, she got me the fucking car. I was so fucking psyched. And we have this long driveway that comes up to the house. And she's like, OK, it's here. And we were standing at the front door. I'm like, I'm going to hear a muscle car coming up the driveway. It's going to be fucking amazing. And I'm sitting there waiting, waiting. And all of a sudden, I look and there's two guys pushing a fucking piano up my driveway. I had never played piano before.
Never?
No, ever. And it was like, oh.
Thank you. Thank you. And so, so eventually I started sitting down at it and just figuring it out. And you know, it was really cool because having done this my whole life, this is guitar's my first instrument and having done that, just like having this new like template or palette and the notes are kind of funny and then your hands are doing these weird things. It was really like, I felt like a kid. I felt like I was just starting over with this thing and I started writing a bunch of piano songs and um, yeah, this is maybe like 16 years ago.
And um, and this is one of the songs and one of the things that I loved about um, about the piano was that it kind of opened up my love of AM gold radio like from the seventies. That's the shit I grew up on like Jerry Rafferty and Andrew Gold and Phoebe Snow and Helen Reddy and Carly Simon shit like that. That's the kind of stuff I listened to when I was a little kid driving around in the car with my mom. So I still have this love of kind of really gentle melancholy, pretty melody and harmony. And um, the guitar line in this is totally Baker Street by Jerry Rafferty. Okay.
It's exactly what it is. I have to see if I really remember it.
I'm totally just trying to remember it.
Okay.
I think that's cool, though, because I think, like, when I started playing guitar, I wrote a bunch of songs that were totally different from anything I would have ever written on the piano. Because I was limited to certain chords that were just different than what I would normally play, and I think that's the best.
Well, also, and I'll explain it in maybe some of the other songs that we do, I really only took a couple guitar lessons when I was young, and then I just started to kind of figure it out. But I kind of look at the guitar as a drum set in a weird way. So a lot of the stuff that I do is sort of percussive, and they're all kind of syncopated drum patterns, like, um, a song like Everlong, like that.
And so I'll use, like, the lower strings as, like, kicks and snares. And then I'll use the higher strings as cymbals. And so, um, when a chorus comes around, I'll do more like...
And let those, sort of, those notes hang out like I was washing on a cymbal.
But yes, it was cool to figure out songs on the piano.
That's cool, the way you think about it.
Okay. Let's see, wait.
I like you use all these two chords.
I use what?
Two chords.
What's that?
Is that what that is?
Oh, my God, am I gonna learn about music today?
No, I'm not gonna teach you anything.
Oh, you know what's funny? Actually, there was once when, there was this, uh, we decided to take Violet, my daughter, when she was little, she was like four or five, to, um, to this class called Piano Play. And the, there was just these little kids, and the first thing they do is they try to teach you sound recognition. And you don't have a flight or something you have to get to. Okay, I talk a lot. I can't help it. So I have a book called The Storyteller. It's available on Day Street Books.
Where they sit down. The first thing they do is they do sound recognition. And they're like, they teach them the sound of like saxophone. And then the sound of like, you know, a cello and things like that. Just to attune their ear to whatever. And I would take her and we'd sit on the floor and it was really fun. They would do this thing with puppets where there was like, there was like, I think the lion and the mouse. And the lion was like the low notes and the mouse, I know it's whatever. And then one day she comes in and she puts a whiteboard down, like a dry erase board. And she goes, okay. And she draws a circle and she goes, this is a whole note.
And I was like, oh my God, I'm gonna learn how to fucking read music right now.
You finally will.
I was like, oh, yes.
That's hysterical.
Amazing.
All right, let's see if we can do this. One, two, three, four.
You and I were too old and tortured souls repaired by a love. Broken things.
In a life just some bodies growing old. No fear of the end of anything. We're just ordinary people. You and me.
Time will turn us into statues eventually.
We got by though we never needed much A sliver of hope And diamond rings We got high, it was heaven, it was hell Fly over them with broken wings
We're just ordinary people You and me
Time will turn us into statues Eventually
Oh Just two ordinary people You and me
Our bones forever in stone Mine, you've been so light
To dust as everything must We're fading away in time Oh
There's just ordinary people, you and me.
Oh, that's nice.
Wow, I haven't done that. I got choked up while I was saying that.
It's a, it's a heavy song. It's really, really beautiful. That was so pretty.
Holy moly.
Thanks for letting me play piano. You should have played it.
Are you fucking kidding me?
I don't know.
There is no way I would have been able to pull that off.
That was beautiful.
I don't even know the chords.
Well, there's a C sus and then there's a, that's the best one. It's like a B flat, but it's got all these extensions. It's got like a major seven and a nine. You know, I noticed learning these, it's like, uh, it's like numbers to say what, what note you're playing. Yeah, okay. Derp. Um, it's pretty, cause you do a lot of those.
Oh my God, I'm gonna learn how to read music right now.
You do a lot of like major seven chords in these songs.
Play what, play a major seven.
Wait, what was that?
It's the A, yeah.
Is that it?
I mean, it's funny because I literally don't know the names. I know like the cowboy chords, but I don't know. Which is kind of awesome because I don't ever know like if something's right or wrong. Like I don't, I don't have any version of right or wrong. It's like.
Cause there's, there is no right or wrong.
Well, yeah, but sometimes like, I would never encourage someone to not take lessons because I think it's great to like, you know, know your hands and the thing and where you're going or whatever. But I do like the mystery of really not knowing. Uh, you know, when I was writing the, I can't not play Virginia Moon. I totally forgot it, but.
Yeah, I know. We gotta do it.
I mean, it's a, it's like a jazz song.
Wait.
Shit.
What are those chords?
I don't know. Honestly, I had a hard time figuring them out.
Dun, da, da, da.
Right.
But I feel like you're going chromatic. Is that how you wrote it? You just kind of went chromatic and then use your ears?
But that's the way you have to do it, right?
Uh, okay, well, let's move on before we get to that, because who knows?
Um, anyway.
So.
Music's so rad.
Music's rad. I, I, I want to ask you, um. I was, I was at the Gordon show yesterday and I, I got to meet like Billie Eilish for a second.
And I was stone cold sober, like nothing, I, I, I'm a fan, like I love her. I think she's amazing.
For sure.
And I.
I just said the stupidest thing, you know? Like when you get to meet somebody that you like and you want to, you want them to think you're cool, but you also want them to know that you think they're cool and, um.
What do you think I've been doing this whole time, Nora?
So I, this is my question for you. How do you do what you do? I feel like everybody, as I've learned, everybody is just awkward and nervous all the time. I used to think it was just me, but it's everybody, but you don't seem like that.
Ugh.
Do you still have that stuff inside? Because you just seem like one of the least.
I'm a mess.
You seem the least like that of everyone I've ever met.
Well, I think maybe, um. I definitely get nervous when I meet people that I really admire or people that I've wanted to meet. But, um, no, you know, I think that it might be that both of my parents were very, uh.
Social.
Yeah, okay.
So my dad, working on Capitol Hill, or working in politics, it's like he dealt with people, right? And he, he could work a room, like, he, he could, he could hang with the jazz musicians and talk jazz. He was a classically trained flatus and a
super jazz nerd.
He could hang with the jazz musicians, or like Allen Ginsberg, and then go like, party with Bob Dole, or whatever.
That's you.
Like, he could really, exactly.
That's literally you.
So, he could do that. And my mother is a public school teacher, you know, well, both of them also were like in communications. I know that sounds so nerdy, but, you know, my father was really good at public speaking. He could write speeches, he wrote speeches. And he was like a PR guy. And then my mother, she taught public speaking. And she dealt with fucking teenagers.
You know, like, it's one of the reasons why I think I had such a great childhood, I really did, because, you know, being raised by a public school teacher, it's like she understood the mind of a child in, in all of its phases, and could really like,
sympathize or empathize, or whatever it is, like, the shit I was going through as a teenager, as like a rebellious punk rocker. It's like she dealt with that bullshit all day long. But I was her kid, so like, you know, there was real love.
But I don't know, I mean, I always think, like, imagine, you imagine a backstage, like, you're hosting your friends at a barbecue or something. And, you know, I like to make sure everyone's got a drink and everyone's happy.
You're hosting.
And, but then also, when you go out in front of a bunch of people to play music, I used to get, I used to get really fucking nervous, like nervous, nervous. I had an anxiety attack once onstage at a Nirvana gig, and this set off like a good 10 years of anxiety before every show.
Where it was before the record Nevermind came out and we were opening, or no, maybe it was our own show. I can't remember. We might have been opening for Dinosaur Jr., but it was at the Warfield and the curtain was closed. And we were, we were gonna, we were opening the set with the song Polly, which is just Kurt on guitar and me just sitting there singing backups.
Oh, yeah.
And then like hitting one cymbal. So no way to like exercise any weird nerves or anxiety.
It's like your hands are tied down a little bit.
It's terrible. And so you're like strapped into this ride. It's not moving. And so, um, the stagehand guy who was probably like wired on blow or whatever, he kept coming over like, "Two minutes. Are you ready? Two minutes."
Oh, my God.
And then he'd run away. I'm like, "No, I'm totally fine. Never been nervous before in my life." And then he's like, "One minute. You got one minute."
And I'm just like, "Okay, Jesus fucking Christ." And I wanted to make sure that my kick drum was in place. So I go, "Boosh," and hit it. And the P A. was on it. It was boom. And the audience goes, "Wah," right? As the curtains open and the Warfield, it's like, it's, it's like a wall of people, you know? It's really tall with a balcony. And I was just like, and I started having this, I almost fainted.
Whoa.
God, it was terrible. And every show from then on, I was fucking terrified.
Every show?
For ten Foo Fighters.
Whatever show.
Festivals.
That's crazy. It just set it off.
Dude, I couldn't get, I couldn't get rid of it. It was terrible.
It was that guy.
And then I don't remember why I changed. But now, when I walk out on stage, it's like I see people that I've seen for like thirty years almost. And like, that, the kid in the front row, who was always in the front row, is now an adult with a mustache and his kid is on his shoulders.
You, you remember these people in the front row?
I remember faces. I swear, you know? But that's the thing, because I also like engage with the audience. And I like to say like, "Hey, what's up? We're here," you know?
"Hi."
"Let's go for the next three hours or whatever." But to be able to like really, to feel comfortable in that sort of connection or communication where you're just like, you can really see the people in the nosebleeds.
And, um, I got way off track with that fucking question, but...
But no, it, it relates to everything. I mean, it's interesting, because... You know, you seem so good at being around people is basically the question.
I do, but I also like getting stuck in traffic sometimes.
You like getting stuck in traffic?
By myself.
So that you can like look at people next to you and?
I'm like here in my car.
Yeah, like I just get to go like.
Because you are you exhausted?
I'm so tired of being myself.
No, but like, yeah, I mean, it's hard to be alone. I mean, you also have a big family, you have.
I, yes.
A big band and it's probably rare to be alone, right?
Well, this is one of the reasons why, like, I'll wake up before the sun. Like, I wake up at fucking four thirty or five in the morning.
Oh, wow.
Just so I get a good two hours of like.
Quiet.
And then it's like.
But no, I mean, you know, I also love, I like to meet people.
Yeah, you, well, no, it seems like that. It is fucking cool.
You get to meet so many people doing this thing where it's like, I really do like meeting people and talking with them and. It's great, you know, in Virginia, growing up in Virginia, people talk to each other in Virginia.
That's true, it's a different thing.
You kind of like you're like you're at the subway sandwich place or whatever. And you wind up having a conversation for like seven minutes. Maybe this is why I talk too much.
I I talk a lot sometimes, like if somebody asks me directions in New York City. I'll go above and beyond and they're like walking away like, okay, dude, I'm.
Yeah, we're done.
No, but you gotta go left, but then there's that store, oh, and there's a coffee shop. I'll talk to strangers like that, but I won't, you know, I don't know how to talk to people that I'm meeting always.
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From hitmakers like Miguel to rising stars like Alex Warren, Nile explores the stories behind the careers, the songs, and the moments that changed everything. Because every artist can point to that turning point, the moment before the breakthrough, before the success, before everything changed. Through candid conversations and personal stories, you'll hear what happened before the moment that made them who they are today. Listen to Before the Moment, a Lincoln Original Series, on the iHeartRadio app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, I want to play drums.
I want you to play drums so bad. It's my favorite thing.
In my mind, I wanted, I was like, I just want him to play drums on something and maybe everything.
Do you want to do this song?
Fuck, yes, I want to do this song.
I'm so stoked you wanted to do this song because this is a good.
Shit, put on headphones, actually.
This is a good drummer song.
I am the runner, you are the chaser My twin in flames till we meet again I am the lost, you can't be found My twin flames lift me from the ground
You are the hider, I am the sucker My twin, I'm in flames, I'm moving by I have a name, you call me by mine My twin, I'm on fire, come put me out
As God is my witness, I try to be strong But my twin, I'm on fire, don't sting me I'll wake you from sleep, but you fall so hard My twin, we're in flames, we've run too far
My pockets are empty, your heart is stripped bare My twin in flames, when I even there
Can't see past the portal, all smoke, my twitting flames. Ooh, I'm sorry I walked in. The circle continues as plain as can be. My love had me broke, I should let him be.
You are the runner, I am the chaser. My twitting flames till we meet again.
Yes!
You just made my heart sing.
Give me in bloom.
Oh my god, I just died. I just died inside.
My sixth grade self just died.
That's the best way to end that song ever.
That was great. Thanks for that. Now I need a cigarette.
I am. I'll smoke it up.
When did you start singing?
It's like church choir, age five. But I always sang, I think. Yeah, I think singing is just in that.
When did you start writing?
Oh, like when I was 20. Yeah, I wrote a song in high school. I was in this like synth... I went to a performing arts high school, it was pretty great. And we had this like synthesis group, synth ensemble.
I know. Nerd alert. Actually, it was incredible. It was incredible. They're these three seniors that were my idols. And it was awesome, but the guy, the teacher, Ken Ellingson, had us write a song. And we all like played, you know, somebody would take the Moog bass and some... All these guys played drums too. They grew up in the church, playing everything. And my song, like I was so scared, you know, I had never written a song before. So I wrote this like, my teacher at the time had just told me how to like outline chords on the piano.
It was like...
It was very like smooth, sort of.
Right out of the gate.
I don't know, I mean, it was not, I don't know. And then the teacher had us put all these synth strings on it. He's like, "Yeah, let's build it up, like, the production will be like, super Yanni." And that just deflated everything for me. I was like, I came home crying.
You mean Yanni, or Ya-
I didn't think Yanni was cool then. Now I'm kind of into it, I gotta be honest, it's incredible. But like, at the time, that was not what I was going for. And so I came home crying, "Mommy, he said I sounded like Yanni." And then I clammed up after that and I didn't write another song. Until I moved to New York and I, you know, was playing jazz gigs and singing all these songs that were 80 years old. And then I went to this songwriter club and got hooked up with all these songwriters. I picked up a guitar and I learned four chords.
And I wrote, like, "Come Away With Me."
And it's kind of a country song, you know?
And it was, it was that simplified thing where it's just like, "Okay, now I'm inspired."
You know, that's kind of this, when I was a kid, so I took a couple guitar lessons. And then, um, it was like Mary had a little lamb shit. And then my mother bought me the complete Beatles anthology-
Oh, man.
-that just had the chord charts, right? And, um, and the silver tone guitar with the amp in the case. And I had the Beatles record, so I would just sit around and look at the chords and play along with the record, look at the chords. And, um, that's basically how I learned, uh, to play guitar. But also the idea of composition and arrangement and harmony and, you know, melody and whatever.
But you know, and then I was listening to Rush and things like that and starting to get interested in the drums, but I didn't have a drum set. So I had this weird like captain's bed. It was like this bed that had like drawers under it or whatever. And I would put on records. My mother would bring home, we didn't have a record player. So my mother would bring home those public school record players.
Where like you take the lid off and it like has a tiny speaker. And I would listen to records on that and I would set up, I had this chair that I would use as a hi hat. And then I put a pillow between my legs as a snare and then my bed would be the toms and the cymbals and stuff.
You had a pillow drum?
Yeah, that's how I learned how to play.
Holy crap.
So and then I would, I would do that all day long. And um.
And it didn't bother anybody?
No, because it was totally quiet. Like my mom's so lucky.
That I didn't have a normal drum set. My room was so tiny too, but I didn't, I didn't learn to play on a drum set. So, but I was, you know, listening to rock songs and trying to figure out like guitar leads, but I wasn't really good. And like listening to, you know, Zeppelin and, but I wasn't any good. And then I saw a punk rock band, the first time I ever saw a band on stage was a punk rock band in Chicago and they, they were called Naked Raygun and they had, it was at this tiny little bar. There were maybe 40 or 50 people there, but they had four dudes in the band. There was a bass player, guitar player, singer drummer.
And they like, you know, they were an amazing band, but it was so simple. And that's what inspired me the most. Where I was just like, oh shit, that song is three chords.
It doesn't have to be, oh my God, you started playing, trying to play Rush.
I know, I was like, I'll never be a good drummer. And then I saw this guy, it was like, I was like, oh my God, I could do that. I could totally do that.
Totally. That makes sense. You start simple and just do it. That's the best.
Yeah, and I think for kids too, it's important to
to recognize the the simplicity and the relatability and that it's attainable, you know, like it's one of the things when you see stuff on TV where you know, you're seeing these singers with these like amazing voices, these really soulful, established like voices and then like this huge production. And you kind of forget that it's really as simple as like your dad's old guitar that's in the garage that he hasn't touched in 20 years like.
And I prefer it sometimes.
Pick it up and just start doing stuff and don't be, you know, don't be worried about sounding like that or something else, just like just kind of suck, you know, and then just keep sucking and then like get better and then have your friends come over. Like I do also think that it's important for for when you're young to play with people that you can relate to that are your age, your little tribe, you find your weird friends and you start doing weird shit and before you know it.
You know, you have a band.
So it's like the thrillingest thing, the most thrilling thing.
And also I think when kids or even adults, even me now, like taking a pottery class. You know, when you do something simple and you succeed at it, it makes you want to keep doing it. And when you do something hard and you suck at it, you don't want, you put it down. Like me, it's me at the wheel, basically.
I put that shit down and I make masks instead, you know.
Weird creepy masks.
You make creepy masks?
I do.
Cool.
Is it?
So the new album, you just announced it. This week, and I'm very, very excited. And I loved the songs I heard.
Thank you.
Because you sent me a couple.
I did.
And they're really, really great. They're beautiful and I love that one that your daughter Violet sings on.
Oh, jeez.
Show Me How.
Wow, she does have a super haunting voice, which is.
She has an amazing voice. And the cool thing, we've recorded some things together. She has amazing taste in music, by the way.
Of course.
I mean, she's, she's just as much about Joni Mitchell as she is like The Misfits or The Garden or.
That's cool.
Young punk rock shit or like Crazy Electronica or Billie Holiday. And, you know, she goes deep with stuff. So when she sings, she, she really sings with this beautiful, with soul, you know? But one of her favorite punk rock bands is the band X, which she loves so much. And years ago, we recorded an X song together, the song called Nausea. And, and we did a duet.
And it was really cool because she, when we sing together, we totally lock in together.
Like we're so, I mean, I taught her how to talk, you know?
Yeah, yeah.
So it's weird.
It's a thing with family.
It's a real thing.
It was really amazing. But yeah, that, that song in particular, I mean, the new record's really heavy.
It is.
There's a lot of emotional stuff on it. And so my mother passed away last year.
I know, God, it was so hard.
Sorry.
But while I was with her um, towards the end, I was sitting, I would just sit and play guitar for her every day, all day long.
Oh.
And I came up, I came up with this melody. And um,
it was really pretty. And I remember
at one point I'd been working on it for a while. And I said to her, I was like, hey, I've got this thing I've been working on. What do you think? And she kind of went, eh.
But that's why um, I, I turned it into the song Show Me How, which is basically about my mother and her passing. And Violet, um, I thought it would be very cool because in the song,
you know, I'm basically saying, um, like, don't worry, I'll take care of everything. And towards the end of the song, you have my daughter singing the same thing. So it's kind of this cycle of life trip.
I mean, you want to cry.
Oh, it's terrible.
No, it's beautiful though.
It's really beautiful. It is the most beautiful song on the entire record.
It's so beautiful. And the way she sings the melody.
Yeah, it's really special. And I mean, I, yeah, it's heavy, but that's, that's life. That's the shit that everybody, you know, deals with. And
It's so, you know, it's so raw and
and I think people, people feel the same, you know?
I know. I wish I remembered it.
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But in this series, he's hitting the road to sit down with some of today's most fascinating artists. From hipmakers like Miguel to rising stars like Alex Warren, Nile explores the stories behind the careers, the songs and the moments that changed everything. Because every artist can point to that turning point. The moment before the breakthrough, before the success, before everything changed. Through candid conversations and personal stories, you'll hear what happened before the moment that made them who they are today. Listen to Before the Moment, a Lincoln Original Series on the iHeart Radio app, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
Oh, I know one thing that's kind of cool that I was thinking could be sort of neato. I was talking about like how I played guitar like the drums. So at some point, I started getting really into this sort of like finger picky pull off sort of thing. And and just messing around with
with patterns of just like
things that I guess sound kind of like, I don't know, bluegrassy or country. I don't, I don't even know what it's called, but like.
There was once where, there was once years ago where someone from my record company called and they said,
they said, have you heard about this mine collapse in Australia? Place called Beaconsfield. They're like, there's, there's this mine collapse and there were two miners. I think there were three and maybe one didn't make it. But there were two miners that were stuck in this mine shaft for days.
And so the rescuer has drilled down, I guess, next to the mineshaft and contacted them. Two of them are still alive. And they asked them if they needed anything before they could like get them out of there. And they said they wanted water and an iPod with Foo Fighters music on it. Oh, my God. And so the people, our record company's like, are you aware of what's going on? We said, no. And so they told me, and so I sent them a message like, hey, fellas, I hope you're doing OK. We're all thinking about you. And when you come out, like, beer's on me. Like, let's go, let's do this. So, um.
So the next time we went down to Australia, we were actually doing a show at the Sydney Opera House. We were doing this acoustic thing. And I heard that Brant Webb, was his name, one of the miners, he was gonna come to the show. And so the night before, I thought I would write him a song and perform this song just for him at this Sydney Opera House thing. Wow. And I sat in bed.
And I kinda did that thing where it was like, sort of like a drum riff thing.
I call it the Ballad of the Becon Sealed Miners. It goes like this.
Oh my god. That is awesome. It was pretty cool. And then afterwards, we had beers. That must have been incredible. Bar at the hotel. And he was like, uh, we were about to make the same record that Virginia Moon is, is it on that one? And he said, uh, he goes, we're gonna put it on the record, right? And I'm like, yeah, totally. Totally forgot about it. Never thought of it. Until the last day of recording the record, I'm like, oh, fuck, I promised I'm minor, dude.
So was it on the record? Yeah. Yeah. It's called The Ballad of the Beacon Field Minors. I love it. And you said-
Said razor was hard. That looks much harder.
Razor's a weird one.
Razor is hard, though, but that looks harder to me as a layman.
It's sort of the same idea. I wrote it to, I wrote it for a gig.
There was a benefit gig here in Los Angeles and it was acoustic and I had to go up. I'm like, oh God, am I gonna do the same shit over and over again? I thought, you know, maybe I'll just write something cool.
That's always fun when it happens.
Yeah, it works.
It's a great song because it's kinda, it's kinda Indian-y.
Yeah, you mentioned that.
It really is, and I don't know if it was in my head because you sent me that story about going to the George Fest and seeing my dad and my sister and stuff, but something about it just, it's very droney and it's got like the sharp four.
What? Is that, Nora?
You do it a lot.
There's this, you know, as a kid, listening to a lot of Beatles and a lot of Zeppelin, you know, both of them really sort of did blend Eastern influence into a lot of their music, you know?
Whether it's, you know, Zeppelin and Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, you know, John Paul Jones is really like such an unsung hero. I got to play in that band, Them Crooked Vultures with them.
And I never for one second eased into the idea that John Paul Jones is a normal human being. I never, not once. Whenever we jammed, whenever we hung out, he's just such a phenomenal musician and such a huge part of Led Zeppelin. I really think that he's instrumental in making John Bonham sound even bigger, which is kind of this, it's hard to imagine.
But the way that John Paul Jones glues to and enhances the groove of whoever he's playing with, oh my God. Also, did you ever hear the Diana Gallas record? Do you know about her?
No.
Oh my God, wicked, crazy, amazing, sort of goth.
Legend.
Who made a record called The Sporting Life.
With John Paul Jones playing bass, Pete Thomas from The Attractions playing drums, and her singing. I have to play it for you.
You'll lose your mind. It's one of the coolest things in the world. But it also has sort of that sort of influence. God, this is gonna be hard. I don't know.
We don't have to do it.
No, I tried. I tried it this morning.
It's just a good song.
Okay. Let's see if I can figure it out.
Can I sing some harmonies on it?
Go do whatever you want to do. It's seriously been so long I can't even.
This is gonna be so good! I haven't done this in a really long time. Oh my God, I'm sweating. I'm sweating!
I've been sweating all day.
What are you talking about? All right, ready?
Razor, blade shine
Patience, my dear
We could spend a lifetime waiting here
Maybe, this time
I hope I get the chance to say goodbye
Sweet and divine
Razor, a mine
Day after day
Cutting away
But anyway
Wake up, it's time.
We need to find a better place to hide.
Make up your mind.
I need to know, I need to know tonight.
Sweet and divine.
Raising a mind.
Raising a shine.
Wasn't that pretty?
Wow. I haven't done that in 20 years.
Yeah, we did it a bunch. We did, it was for that, for that record, actually. We, um, went on tour where we like played a bunch of rock shows and then we did this acoustic tour thing.
Yeah, cuz wasn't it a double, was it a double album?
It was a double album. I remember we made a double album and I remember someone from the record company came to listen to it and first thing they said was, I think maybe before even hearing it, they're like, "So why'd you make a double record?"
Don't you love that?
Um, I don't know. No, that was really, that was really fun to be able to do that. I honestly think that the acoustic side of that album was better than the rock side.
Well, it seems like you wanted, maybe you wanted to make an acoustic. Album, but you didn't feel like you couldn't rock. Was that?
Maybe that's what it was.
That's a hindsight thing, probably.
Yeah. We don't know what we're doing ever.
Right, I know.
It's like.
Never.
I remember on the rock record, the song Best Of You is on that record. And we recorded it and we're like, you know what? That sucks. Fuck that. And we played it for John Silva, our manager.
And then a long time later, he was like, we played him a bunch of other stuff and he's like, what about that song that says best of you 100 times? I was like, oh, yeah. What happened to that? I'm like, I don't know. I guess it's kind of cool.
That's, it's funny how your perceptions of things.
Don't you do the same thing?
I mean, I don't have hits in the same way that you do.
Yeah, but you know when a song is a good song.
I think I do, but then sometimes I'll do stuff that I don't think is good. And then I feel like I get fed by, if, if other people end up, it's, it's one of their favorites.
I get fed by that and my brain thinks it's good then.
Is that a, is that a needy part of me, maybe?
Well, I mean, I think maybe as a performer, you want people to appreciate what you do.
It's maybe not first priority if you're a musician. Or, but if you're performing.
It's nice to play songs that people enjoy hearing.
Definitely is.
Fun.
Then they have fun. Exactly.
Um, rather than just go, I get it. Like, you know, there've been times where we'll record things that are, you know, very like inward or sort of self indulgent and, you know, things that might please us greatly, but won't necessarily translate to when we go out. Like, I really love going out and playing songs that, if it's a song they don't know, it has to be fucking amazing.
Yeah, I've learned that over the years.
It can't just be like, yeah.
So weird.
Yeah, it's more fun.
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If you're a music fan, I've got a new podcast you have to check out. It's called Before the Moment, a new series hosted by the legendary Nile Rodgers. You know him as the producer, songwriter, guitarist, and co-founder of Chic. But in this series, he's hitting the road to sit down with some of today's most fascinating artists. From hitmakers like Miguel to rising stars like Alex Warren, Nile explores the stories behind the careers, the songs, and the moments that changed everything. Because every artist can point to that turning point, the moment before the breakthrough, before the success, before everything changed. Through candid conversations and personal stories, you'll hear what happened before the moment that made them who they are today.
Listen to Before the Moment, a Lincoln Original Series, on the iHeartRadio app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Oh, you know what? We were talking about the new record thing.
Yeah, let's do a song from the new record.
OK, so.
I mean, "Rescued" is so screamy.
You don't want me fucking screaming "Rescued" at you.
You can.
You can come over next door and hear us rehearse it in a couple minutes.
You can do whatever you want. But I love "Rescued", and I could hear you doing it, you know, kind of the way you do, um...
Oh, like times like these?
Times like these, you know, I've heard you do it in so many different incarnations.
And then I went back to the record version. I was like, oh, yeah, it's like crazy, crazy different each time.
Well, you know what's crazy? It's this guitar that I've basically written all of our music for the last 30 years on this acoustic.
What is it?
I don't know. It's an old Gibson. It's a Gibson country western model. I know nothing about gear. Drums or guitar.
Me neither.
But yeah, pretty much everything from the first record to the Learned Flies and the Everlonges and all of that stuff was this thing. And that's what happens is I'll write a song and I'll come up with a melody before the lyrics or anything. And, and I'll sit on the, um, I'll sit on the couch and I'll be like, I'll be like, "Looking down the dada, baby."
And I'll like sing it sort of falsetto. And I'll get in the studio, I'll be like, and it just doesn't sound the same at all.
And then I realize like, oh shit, I had to scream that.
Like, I don't sit around the house going like...
Otherwise it sounds too like, yeah.
And then the first ti- the first time I sing any of our songs is always in front of the mic to record.
You don't play it for them before?
I'll play them sort of demos.
And even in the demos, I'm like, "Shy Ronnie."
You save it for the moment.
I save it for the moment.
And then in that moment, I'm like, "Oh, fuck." "God damn, I have to scream on this one."
Then you start screaming.
So I'm like,
and then to fucking sing that, scream that every night?
That's a lot.
You're up for it.
I'm up for it.
You're the man for the job.
I remember the reason why we first started doing acoustic versions of our songs was because we went on the Howard Stern Show.
Oh, boy.
And it was, whatever, like 7:00 in the morning. And he's like, "Hey, bring a guitar.
They might want you to play a song." And I don't know if we'd ever done an acoustic song or an acoustic version of a song.
Ah.
And the night before, I was in the hotel room. I'm just like, "Oh, my God, what are we gonna, like, what can we play?"
At the time, I think we were only on our second record. But that song had, I mean, that record had like "My Hero" and "Everlong" and stuff like that. Then I thought, "Wow, 'Everlong' is probably the easiest to sing at 7:00 in the morning with an acoustic guitar." And we did it. And it kind of opened up this whole new dynamic and this whole new world for us to try some of our songs on acoustic guitars.
It felt exciting.
It felt fun and like exciting.
Yeah, it was just nice to be, we actually, we did it on the radio, on his radio show. And then they kept playing it. And Silva was like, "Oh, my God, we need to record a version of it."
And then that wound up on the radio.
And since then, at least once or twice a year, people will come up to me and be like,
"That was our song at our wedding."
The acoustic version.
Yeah, but that's, also, I feel like when you strip a song back from whatever it becomes production-wise or full band-wise, and it still works, I mean, it's just a great song. So it's, it's, it's if it didn't sound good acoustic, you'd be exposed. But because they're great songs, they work, you know?
I know.
So lucky you.
We're gonna do "Everlong" right now.
I don't know that one as well.
Nora?
Damn it.
We're gonna do it.
What's this chord? You know what? Let's go to music school.
Let me pick it out. Let's go to music school.
It's a D major seven with a major seven.
Okay, then.
This is a B minor with a minor seven and a nine.
Then a...
Then back up to the...
Yeah. Yeah, it goes... Okay, I get it. I mean, I know the song, too.
I'm just asking you what the chords are.
I need you to know that I do know the song.
Tell me this chord one more time. What's this?
D major seven.
B minor seven with a nine. B minor seven, nine.
It's G2, omit the three.
Shut the fuck up right now.
I'm sorry, but it is. I am serious.
Okay. Ready? Let's try it.
Hello, I've waited here for you
Ever long
To
Your face
Out of the red, out of the head she say
Come down and waste away with me
Down with me
Slow out, you wanted it to be It's on my head, out of my head Yeah, cause the bread, the bread
And I wonder
When I sing along with you
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again
The only thing I'll ever ask of you Got a promise I'm torturing you Do you not?
Breathe out So I can breathe you in
Hold you in
And now I know you've always been Out of your head, out of my head, I said
Anything could ever be this good again
The only thing I'll ever ask of you Got a promise not to stop when I say
She said
It's all you right now.
when I sing along with you.
If everything could ever feel this real for a while.
If anything could ever be this good again.
Only thing I'll ever ask of you. Got to promise not to stop when I say when. She said.
Fuck, yes.
I feel like I'm not wearing any pants.
That's a lot to ask. You to play a song that you've never played before and you just did it.
I loved it.
Me too.
I was slightly unprepared, but I enjoyed every second.
Great.
That's a great one. It also does that droney thing that you do. You like, you do that a lot. I love it.
The Indian in me loves it.
What is that?
I don't know, but I like it. I write songs like that too sometimes. I just like, there's something about like the pedal and the drone of it not changing keys or like almost never going to the five. I know it went to the five chord a couple of times in the, that bridgey bit, but.
There's something circular about it that gets sort of like haunting and under your skin, I feel like, songs like that.
You know, a lot of the droning, well, it comes from two different people.
Zeppelin, there's this one song called In the Light, off of Physical Graffiti. There's this one, like, whatever note it is, that hangs out over the whole riff. And it just lends to this, like, beautiful, sort of spacey, trippy drone thing. But then, there's this punk rock band called Husker Du, who I loved so much when I was young. And the guitar player, singer, Bob Mold, the way that he played guitar, he always had these, like, these notes that would ring out over the riff or chord structure, that just sort of sustained notes. I don't even know what I'm talking about. How, what do you call them? But it's always cool just to have that weird sort of droney thing.
But then also that, whatever that is. What do you call that, Nora?
Major seven.
Ba-ba, yeah.
So I'm still on the D?
Yeah, you're playing.
You're doing, and it's got the dissonance.
Yeah, I love that.
I feel like I just went to fucking music school.
This is the, uh, the learner episode.
Professor Jones.
I feel like when I came in to sing Virginia Moon, you guys thought I was a nerd that day, too. I don't remember.
Um, I don't know if you remember coming in and me showing you the song and you were like, "Oh, I kind of was hoping we were gonna do a rock song." Do you remember that?
Well, I think I said that.
You did say that.
I, didn't you, you had already sent me the song, though, right? Didn't I already know?
No, I feel like you fucking figured it out.
Oh, yeah, because when I got the call to do it, I was so excited and confused why you would call me. Also, because you're a fucking rock band, you know?
And so I get there, and it's a bossa nova. And it's beautiful. And I was like, I thought I was gonna get to rock.
Well, whenever you wanna make a rock record.
I do, actually.
Wait, didn't you have another, you had a band? Didn't you, were you were in a like a rock band thing, weren't you?
Yeah, I had this band called El Madmo, and we were kind of, kind of, it was kind of a rock band.
Was it back then?
It was back then, and it was around then, actually, right after then, and I had started playing guitar. That's how I was, I was learning how to play guitar on that. That was pretty fun. But I came in to do Virginia Moon. Did I deflate the moment by saying that?
No, you just scared me.
Did I?
More, as if I weren't nervous enough.
I felt like.
Then I'm like, oh, great, I'm already disappointing her.
I'm sorry.
We haven't even played a song yet.
I was so young and confused by everything at that time. I was like, who am I?
God damn, that was like 20 years ago.
That was 20 years ago.
And I had just become successful, and I was just like, what the fuck is happening?
And, and you had me come in and do this song, and I loved it. It was beautiful. I just was so confused because, because you're you.
You're so full of fucking shit right now.
No, it was amazing. And then, and then I loved that song forever. And we've never sang it together after that.
No, and we never will, because now I know how much you didn't wanna do it.
No, I did wanna do it. I just didn't know what I was doing.
Whatever.
Stop it. Are we in a fight?
We just did.
Question. Why did you call me? Because you thought it would be nice?
Well, you know, one of the things that we were doing on that record is we were asking people to come guest with us.
Ah, okay.
John Paul Jones is on that record.
That's right, he was.
Oh, God, John Paul Jones, you, Khaki King, do you remember Khaki King?
She played on the song Razor with me, I think, either Razor or Beaconsfield Miners. It's actually how we got Rami, our keyboard player, to join the band. He came and played all over it.
God, I don't remember who else. But yeah, we were having a bunch of people come guest on the record. And I came up with that melody, and having heard your voice, I'm like, oh, my God, this'll be beautiful. This'll be perfect.
I totally agree. It makes sense.
Like, I get, I got why you called me after I heard the song. But
Ever dude.
I thought I was gonna get to like air drum with you. No, I knew it.
I know you can air drum, but can you play drums?
I can play backbeat, yeah. But I'm not great. I mean, I play in this band, Puss in Boots, I play some drums on a few songs.
I fill too much. I like get too excited. Like I try to do fills because I'm so excited to be behind the drums and then I I lose everything.
The best drum lesson I ever, I only took two drum lessons. One from this crazy jazz drummer in DC.
Who?
My mom, his name is Lenny Robinson. He might be in New York now, but um. My mom used to take me to this jazz club on Sundays outside of Georgetown in DC. It's called One Step Down.
And um. And uh. They, on Sundays, they'd have this jazz workshop where the house band, it was this dude named Lawrence Wheatley. And then Lenny played drums and.
Dune Maurice. Played sax, I think. I can't remember. Anyway.
But seeing him play the drums and seeing a jazz drummer, it was just like, oh, I was so used to punk rock drummers.
I was like, I need to learn how to do that. And um.
I think I was like fifteen or sixteen. I went up to him like, excuse me, Mr. Robinson. Do you give lessons? He was like, yeah, sure. It was like thirty bucks an hour. For him to come in and tell me like, um, you're holding your sticks backwards. I was like, what? And so then I was just on a pad going like, bap, bap, bap, bap, for thirty dollars. I had to mow like six lawns.
Oh my god.
To get the money. But then the, and then I just kind of learned on the pillows, but then the. The best lesson I ever got was. I joined this local punk rock band in DC called Scream and they were all older than me. I was eighteen. And they like toured and stuff. They toured Europe and toured America. And that was my dream. To like get in a van with a bunch of dudes and play punk rock shows. And so. But I was such an incredibly busy, hyperactive, over the top drummer. The same, where I just, just throwing stuff in everywhere, too much.
And there was once where I went over to the bass player's house. Or he said like, once I joined the band, he's like, let's jam. And he's like, we're gonna smoke a huge joint. And we're gonna sit down and play, and we're gonna play the same riff for half an hour, and you're not gonna do a drum roll.
And I was like, okay. And so we smoked a huge spliff and I sat down. And it was Skeeter, and he was, he was really like a groovy, laid back bass player. And so I don't even remember what we played, but it was like, probably like something like, like the song that I just played with you. And like 30 seconds go by and I'm like, and he would look at me and he broke me like a horse.
Yeah. Oh, my God.
I swear it worked. It was the best lesson I ever had in my entire life.
That is interesting. And I just wish I had a video of it.
Yeah, it was in a bedroom.
There was a drum set in there. It was gross.
Oh, my God. That's true. It's the best lesson.
Maybe I'll do that.
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If you're a music fan, I've got a new podcast you have to check out. It's called Before the Moment, a new series hosted by the legendary Nile Rodgers. You know him as the producer, songwriter, guitarist, and co-founder of Chic. But in this series, he's hitting the road to sit down with some of today's most fascinating artists. From hitmakers like Miguel to rising stars like Alex Warren, Nile explores the stories behind the careers, the songs, and the moments that changed everything. Because every artist can point to that turning point. The moment before the breakthrough, before the success, before everything changed. Through candid conversations and personal stories, you'll hear what happened before the moment that made them who they are today.
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Well, should we try "Virginia Moon"? Or is it too much? Uh, yeah, let's try it. Okay. I mean, if we can't get it, it's fine. All right.
My god, these lyrics. I'm trying to be all fucking... What? Romantic and... They are romantic. Honestly, this is really sweet. These lyrics are, um... I don't even feel like they're romantic. I almost feel like it's a, like a prayer, like a morning... You know what I mean? Constant... Damn, Sam. All right, ready? It's hard! It fucking is. It's a hard song! Oh my god, no wonder we haven't done it in 20 years. I know. Did you ever play this live when you did that tour? Never. I would never do this without you. Aww. Violet would sound pretty on this, actually. Yeah.
All right, ready? We've got this. Please. We totally have it. We have it. It's in us. It's happening.
Ready? Mm-hmm. One, two, three, four.
Dearest constellation, heaven surrounding you.
Stay there, soft and blue. Virginia moon, I'll wait for you tonight.
Sweetest invitation, breaking the day in two.
Feeling like I do. Virginia moon, I'll wait for you tonight. And now our shades become shadows in your light.
In the morning when we're through And tomorrow rescues you I will say goodnight
A secret fascination Whisper a quiet tune
Hear me calling you Virgin your moon I'll wait for you tonight
And now our shades become Shadows in your light
Virgin your moon I'll wait for you tonight
I will say goodnight
I will say good
We did it!
Oh my gosh!
It was pretty!
I know!
God, I haven't done it in so long!
I'm glad we did it, cuz we had to do it. We did it.
We did it, Nora, we did it!
We did...
Remember that thing you were talking about? That feeling you get when you do something you don't know if you can do? And then you do it, and then the reward is like, "Yeah!"
It's great. Thank you. Thanks for doing this with me. We did, we did several of the 20 songs we talked about doing.
No, I just wanna say something. You? Thank you.
Thanks, Nora.
I love you so much, and this was so fun for me. Thanks for doing music with me.
You're welcome.
Do you wanna hear what I said to Billie Eilish?
What?
I said, "I'm just, I'm so happy that, I'm so happy that you're, that people love you because I love you." It was hysterical.
That's a nice thing to say.
It was super awkward, though. And I don't think it came out what I meant to say in the right words. But it was...
I get it.
It was funny. And I feel the same about you, Dave. That's what I'm trying to say.
Okay, now it's weird.
Damn, Sam, that was fun!
Hey, will you do a rock song with me one day?
Yeah, fuck yeah.
Oh, that was so fun. Thanks for listening, everyone.
That was great. I'm so impressed by his unjadedness. You know, like in conversation, but also like musically, it's like, it's like, he's achieved so much in his career and yet it's like he's nervous every time and still can get as excited as ever afterwards, like, wow, we did it, you know? I love that.
He's definitely got a childlike wonder with music in a way that I hope he never loses. And I hope I never lose. I don't always have it, but it's the best when you do.
Yeah. Please never change.
I hope you enjoyed the episode. If you want to know what songs we played, the first song was "Statues" from Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, the 2007 Foo Fighters album. The second song we played was "Flame Twin", which was one of mine from "Pick Me Up Off The Floor" in 2020. The acoustic guitar number was "Ballad" of the Beaconsfield Miners, and it's on the album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace also. We did "Razor" from "In Your Honor", the 2005 Foo Fighters album. "Ever Long" from The Color and the Shape, 1997 album from the Foo Fighters. And "Virginia Moon" from "In Your Honor" in 2005.
Thanks again to Dave Grohl for joining us and letting us rerun him. We'll be back next week with Lady Ray.
Today's episode was recorded at Studio 607 in Los Angeles, California. Recorded by Oliver Roman. Assisted by Jared Polachi. Studio manager, Ally Christie. Mixed by Jamie Landry. Edited by Sarah Oda. Audio post-production and mastering by Greg Tobler. Additional engineering by Pete Rem. Artwork by Eliza Fry. Photography by Shirvin Lannaz. Coordinating producer, Rachel Ward.
Executive producers, Erin Wong Kaufman and Jordan Runthog. And marketing lead, Allison Cantor-Graeber.
Produced by Norah Jones and Sarah Oda. Yay.
If you love music and great artist interviews, check out Before the Moment, hosted by Nile Rodgers. This new series follows Nile as he travels across the country talking with some of today's most fascinating artists about the moments that shaped their lives and careers. From hitmakers like Miguel to rising stars like Alex Warren, Nile explores the stories behind the careers, the songs, and the moments that changed everything. Because every musician remembers the point where everything changed, and this podcast tells the stories that came before it. Listen to Before the Moment, a Lincoln original series on iHeart Radio app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. With ChatGPT, you can do more than get answers. You can get things done. Whether you're leading a big project, planning an elaborate trip, or trying to balance work and life, ChatGPT can help.
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