Josh Klinghoffer | Interview with Lyndsey Parker (LPTV)

Hey everybody, this is Lindseay Parker for LPTV. I have to look at this because you have so many credits. Josh, I want to welcome to our studio. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist.

That's probably at the bottom of the list.

No, this at the top because especially with what you're doing now, rock and roll hall of famer, Josh Clinghoffer. People may know you from I'm going to do my Tory Mccclure voice. People may know you from your work with Pearl Jam, Elton John and Brandy Carlile last year, Jane's Addiction, Red Cross, Sparks, Narles Barkley, The Bicycle Thief for Going Way Back, and of course the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But singularly, you are known as the oneman show Plural One

and there's a new album by Plural One coming out on June 12th, a drop in the ocean where I'm very excited to have you because we're here in the valley and you are LA royalty and sort of valley adjacent royalty, right? Yeah. I Well, I thought you were going to say Valley Royalty.

Are you Valley Royalty? I don't I think you grew up in Santa Monica according to my Wikipedia.

Born there.

Okay.

At St. John's Hospital, but I grew up here.

You grew up in the valley?

Yeah. North of here. Like, uh I always used to think that because Ventur was and then on the other side of the hill was, you know, Hollywood and everything over the hill would be north

because you're going up in the world. But I'm from the north.

North Hollywood.

Nope. North Ridge.

North Ridge. All right. Very cool. Oh, I did not know that cuz I don't know if you ever knew that I grew up in Tarzana.

No, I didn't.

So, we did grow I don't

So, you were you were in my mind you were up there up there, but you're actually down you're south

south of the boulevard. There was a thing there was a de a line of demarcation then but it was all about going over the hill over Laurel Canyon which is real close to here. That was like the the you know the

that was the gateway

that was the journey to paradise is you went over the hill over Laurel and then all the clubs where you got your start with the Bicycle Thief and all the other bands you played in that was all in Hollywood.

Yes, it was.

Yeah. So you are proper valley royalty.

Yeah. Well, that's amazing. Yeah.

So that's really cool.

I'm done.

Did you I It's funny. I wonder if you feel this way. When I grew up in the valley where I'm talking about like going over the hill in Hollywood, I did not think the valley was cool. I did not have valley pride. I thought the I liked the movie, but I thought the song was dumb. And no offense, I like it now. Moons out, but like now I have a bit of Valley pride. When I meet someone like you from the Valley, I talk about it here at the store. I'm like, Valley, you feel the same way.

Exactly the same way. Yeah. Yeah. Certainly didn't think it was cool growing up there. But mostly just because it was far, you know, like there was nothing going on. So,

how did you used to get over the hill to play your gigs or shop on Melrose or do all the other Hollywood fun stuff? That's such a I mean I I got my driver's license the very first second I was legally allowed to do that. So um

which kids don't do now these days.

So I hear which is nuts. But I I did on my 16th birthday the minute the DMV opened and um and then made it home in time on that you know whatever that October morning to see the OJ verdict read. That was my birthday 16th birthday.

Oh wow. You could have been with your new license been on the same freeway next to that white Bronco. Oh no. I guess that was a couple months before. the before.

Wow, what a strange day. I remember I had the the day he was on uh on that freeway being chased by the police. I had a gig at Mancinis. Do you remember Mancinis? It there was Deep Valley like I want to say

way like

Sherman Way and way out there like

vaguely.

Yeah. It was I mean by that time it was kind of like oh hard rock club but me and my my two friends who were very much not that type of music uh were playing there and I was late. I was like who cares? Something in me told myself like this doesn't matter. This I got to watch this. This is

the whole world was watching that. But if you were in LA and you were watching it was 405 freeway, right? You were watch like it was where

we we knew where it was happening.

Yeah. Yeah. It was hit different

south of us. I don't think he made it up this far, right?

I don't know where he was going. Was he trying to go to Mexico or

I don't know. I don't know if he knew.

Well, that's for another time.

All the drive.

That's for another time. But yes, so you grew up in the valley and obviously I want I was planning to just dive right into the new album, but since we're starting here, you had Deep Roots. I mentioned The Bicycle Thief. You were like 15. That was a band with uh Bob Forest from The Lonius Monster, but was that your first band or did it start even before that?

No, I mean I had I had a band or two with with friends like in school or whatever, but uh that they don't really count. um by bicycle I'd say was actually um yeah before that I my first music that I played outside of um the valley going into Hollywood was uh I played with um Shepherd from Pygmy Love Circus.

I remember Pygmy Love Circus. Didn't they become orgy?

Uh

or am I confusing them with another band that had a similar like there were a lot of bands in those early 90s that had like three names

like the the the Pygmy Love.

Yeah. I don't know if there was there could have been um there was Danny from Tulle played drums in Pygmy Love Circus, Green Jelly and Tulle at the time. So I

through a friend of mine who was a bit older than me. Uh he went to Sea Sun film school with Shephard and he said there's this guy Shep. He's I think Shepard was like you know his late 30s at the time. I was 15. That was that was 15. I think I started playing with Bob when I was 17.

Okay.

The right old age. The Wikipedia page, I believe, is wrong.

Oh, really? I see. If I was on tour, I would spend the entire night trying to get that changed.

That's all right. I mean, I don't really need we don't need necessarily talk very much about the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but what I remember is when bands like Py Love Circus and a lot of other bands whose names I don't remember started to become big in LA, I kind of saw that as that effect. like all the bands that had been uh kind of dressed hair medally were starting to wear shorts and like no shirt, you know, they were starting to look a little more broy and I remember being like they're all trying to be like the Peppers. But

yeah, I um I think there was like a

there may have been like I don't know if it was one one-sided or not, but there was like a there there was maybe a little animosity between those two bands anyway. So

really

Yeah, I think

there was a feud there. There there was a there was a rude song written.

But in general, not even just about the Peppers, but you've played in Jane's Addiction before uh you know, you filled in for Dave Navar recently when uh before all the crazy stuff happened with them when he was dealing with long co and that was a time in LA. There was Loneliest Monster. There was Jane's Addiction. There was Red Hot Chili Peppers. There was Fishbone, Mary's Danish. Some other bands that maybe didn't get signed or people watching this might not know, but there was a kind of changing of the guard in general happening. I've I've named some of the big fishes in the pond, but like something was happening. People a lot of times talk about Nirvana as being like the bands that like made the hair metal go away, but in LA it was the bands I just mentioned. Do you remember that time? And did you feel like, oh, like all the Poison bands, Tough, all those Rainbow Parking Lot bands were going away and there's like this new thing happening?

Well, I was a little young to watch it happen firsthand. Like I I was I was going to shows at that time, but I watched it happen on MTV and I watched it happen on the radio. Uh cuz I was sort of, you know, when I was younger, I was into some of those bands. Guns and Roses being an LA band, you know, I was really into them. And then suddenly there was a cultural shift and you know Molly Crew was an LA band and you know and suddenly started wearing shorts they were gone. Yeah, they sort of

I start wearing shorts.

But yeah, I mean I saw it happen just like everyone sort of overnight. But uh yeah, I mean I I I missed all the amazing stuff that was going on here by a couple years. But I've been so lucky in my life to be able to jump on and somehow

latch on to the, you know, a few coattails and and and to the point where you're calling me royalty. Thank you.

Yeah, absolutely are. Absolutely are. Um, I'm going to get into the record now and also I do want to kind of maybe at the end of this lightning round some of the other people you've played it, but since you mentioned Guns and Roses, am I recalling correctly? This must have been a cool moment for you. You got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I've just been corrected by you. At the time, you had the record for being the person who was the youngest inductee at the time of induction. You've since been usurped

usurped and found out about it in a situation much like this. So it you got usurped by um

Elon Rubin from 9in nails

from 9inch nails now now foo fighter

how many um it's crazy it's all connected. How many um uh months or years did he beat you?

Uh not much. I think I think he was 31 or something when he w he's a he was cuz he's a bit younger than me in general but it happened several years apart. So yeah he was 31 when he got in. I think I was 32.

Okay. So but Guns and Roses I think were at the same I mean they didn't play. It was before help froze over and they got back together. But because it did happen in this play, but they they were there was something if if I if my memory serves they were they did they play maybe with Slash's singer like there was some music played and and or

I'll have to review the tapes.

They

Axel wasn't there, right?

He wasn't. But I think there was talk. They didn't know if Axel was going to show right until the last minute. So, I remember being at a venue, the House of Blues or Chili Peppers played there the day after the ceremony, but somewhere in Cleveland. I went to a theater and watched or they didn't want anybody watching, but we listened to G&R practice because either they had another singer for a couple songs or they thought Axel was going to show up. So, the whole band was ready to go, you know, and they were rehearsing and we were me and Chad and I I know I remember there we're listening. They should have just done it because they eventually did it. That's why I just I'm going off on a tangent, but I I recently interviewed Peter Hook and he has basically made it clear that don't expect a New Order reunion and I'm just like just do it.

I think I thought I just read that he he he wouldn't rule it out. He wasn't like totally against it. Did I I told

saw that somewhere.

He said no. I'll have to I'll have to look at that later. But

like it it was sort of like a It wasn't like a I'm I'm in. It was more like a

He told me no. It was unforgivable what they did to

maybe I maybe I read that wrong.

You know, you know, your your from all the bands you've been in, you know, whether it's the Peppers, whether it's sort of being on the sidelines for James, you know, even, you know, your work with Red Cross and knowing how brothers can sometimes not get along, you know, that ban situations can be fraught. So, it must be uh I don't know if the words relief, but must be kind of nice in some way to do things on your own with Plural One and just be like a oneman band.

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, I I I definitely have the tendency sometimes to argue with myself and be indecisive and then um even rude to myself and abusive, but uh

but not on yourself. I know, you know, but people are, you know, Yeah. And they're just they're just completely ridiculous and unreasonable sometimes. But yeah, no, it is uh it's fun to it's fun to sort of

like uh at the end of the day like just have something to show for you know like my choices. I'm hungry. I haven't eaten today. That's very long.

We'll get you some food afterwards.

Um so the first time I interviewed you was when the first Plural One record came out and I'm uh I don't remember what it was called. I'm sorry. What was it called? I I didn't remember what it was called the other day either. It was I think it was called to be one with you. Yeah. Yeah. So that was and that was right before It was an interesting time. It was like right before CO happened. It was very shortly after you had left the Chili Peppers, but you had joined Pearl Jam were supposed to go on tour with them, but then co happened and Pearl Jam to their credit were one of the first bands to realize that touring was not a good idea, right?

And then you, you know, were in lockdown for a while and then you did I don't feel well and that came out I believe during co This is your fourth album now. There's been different circumstances and

and do we speak I can't remember do we speak cuz the record that record um came out

on November 22nd and I

of 198 and I but I was still in the band for another 3 weeks. So, do we was this

No, it was afterwards because I remember I was asking you a bunch of questions about it on live radio and you're like, "Thanks, Lindsay." But you get, you know, you were you know, you had already spoken about it on a couple other things. But on the positive side, you were like, "Hey, I just joined Pearl Jam, my favorite band from childhood." So, like, it's all good.

Oh, yeah. And that, but that was sort of un that was a secret still.

You gave me a scoop then that day.

No, but did I give the whole world a scoop?

It was on the radio out there. All right.

But then, you know, you ended up having this um unexpected downtime and you made another record. And so, everyone has been different. And I did read in the press release for A Drop in the Ocean. Uh you know, I imagine like your second and third records were at least partially made during lockdown. And so, like what was basically going on in the background for this current one? You know, lockdown's over. You have toured and play with a bunch of cool people since. We could talk about that. But, you know, you've talked about how you made this record during what seemed like a hopeful time and now maybe it's

less than

less hopeful. So, what yeah, what was going on in your life and the world while you were making this fourth record? Because every circumstance has been different. this one. A lot of these songs were born or written or begun

during that sort of bright time and the be towards you know like the like right where we are now like April spring of 2021 when we were sort of opening again and we thought maybe the pandemic it was like pre uh

omccron you know like

what was the other one delta

yeah yeah there I think I think we got up pretty high in that alphabet But there was this

kind of sunny period where I mean I know I went to New York some of the stuff was overwritten there um cuz it was like you know we're opening again and uh I drove across country and

we're all vaccinated and the vaccination totally will work.

Yeah. And that's that that was definitely around that time cuz I couldn't I remember not being able to leave town until I got my second vaccination. But uh yeah so there was a there was a bit of a hopeful kind of feeling in the air. Uh, and then so that was 2021 and then I did a I play and then I flew back from that New York trip to play with Eddie at the Sof at the Vax Live show.

I remember that.

Yeah. Uh,

was that like Dodger st?

No, it was a Sofi.

Oh, were the Foo Fighters also at?

Yes, with uh Brian Johnson. it. Yeah, it was like that was the like opening of SoFi and I think one of the first like really big shows at least in LA

after all stuff we'd been through it first live show at Sofi.

Yes, it was. Yes.

Which which Yeah.

And you were there?

Yes.

Oh, I didn't realize you played that. How cool. Yeah, it was myself um and Eddie and these great brothers uh and uh

it was like a you know last last minute like I I think I knew about it like a week before and I flew out and it was great.

Was it weird to be back on stage in a huge arena or stadium like that after I assume pretty much being in your house for like a year?

Yes. Yes. you know, and everything was still a little funny, you know, like there was still some probably some testing and some masks and whatever. Uh

I can't remember now uh how long after that it it kind of shut down again. I feel like that was then that autumn it got really it got really intense again.

It was like, "Yay, never mind. Yay." It was a weird time.

It was a weird So, a lot of these songs for A Drop in the Ocean actually predate songs that came out on like your third or second album then.

Uh,

if I'm doing the chronology right, like they're older songs you

uh No. Well, these would be I think just after some some of those cuz cuz this one like if I had put out a record in 1920 21, this would have been the one that was supposed to come out in 22. But having written them and um I I started recording them in 22 and then but I was also doing a fair amount of touring with Pearl Jam that year. So I just never finished them and that was fine. I'll just you know get to them when I'm done with this tour. And then I started recording some more songs in 2023 and kept working on these and then then I had too much to finish. Nothing ever got done. more touring and then we found ourselves in 2025 last year and I finally had some time to like, you know, really focus and finish. So that's what this album's a little late.

Better late than never.

That's exactly what I thought. But how does it feel to um I guess revisit songs that you might have made or or written during a um a time when you were feeling hopeful or you were feeling like the world was a compassionate place and now you're releasing them in 2026 where we got other problems now. Co is not our problem so much anymore, but we got other problems. Well, luckily um I I always leave a bit sort of undone and or unfinished until I really commit to it until I put the vocal down or you know like so I'm sure I tweaked a little bit of the writing and I sort of adapted them to whatever the world feels like now. But yeah, I don't know. I think um

the the fact that there's a hopefulness to these songs or um I actually don't know if it sounds like that to people cuz someone told me after I played it to them recently, they're like Jesus like they so I don't know if it actually sounds hopeful but it was a hopeful time that a lot of the songs were uh born. So maybe uh maybe I tailored it a bit. Um look at that segue. Maybe I maybe I kind of, you know, dressed it up in 2026 clothing and uh and to to the to me it

has the over my my sort of overarching

dichotomy which is you know I think we're this is a [ __ ] show that we're living amongst. But somehow I there's a hopefulness I guess because if not you know you can't get out of bed really.

Yeah. I mean we all could use a little hope. I don't think I thought the record sounded hopeless. I mean, there's a melancholy to it.

Yeah. I mean, it's a bit more direct. It's a lot of acoustic songs. It's it's hard to um I think it's just overall hard for me to sound happy and and and hopeful really. But, but there's, you know, I think there's a there's a maybe a sweetness to some of it.

I assume you're I I don't know if I've ever asked you this. I assume you're like a big Elliot Smith fan, right? Yeah.

Cuz I hear

you. Yeah. Yeah, I hear that.

That's that's very apparent on this. Sometimes I can't even listen to him because

like I'll have to go through long periods of not even putting him on

Elliot, you mean?

Yeah. Because it'll just come out in my, you know, every I'm like everything I'm playing sounds like him. Everything I every chord change I think sounds cool for a second. I'm just like

Did you know him cuz he lived in LA for a while?

He did. Uh and I met him once very very briefly. And when I say briefly, I mean we just shook hands. Um cuz I have a friend called Aaron Embry who's another amazing uh LA musician and singer songwriter. Um he was in his band for a bit back around figure 8. So, uh, Elliot and the the band at the time was, uh, Sam Kums and, uh, uh, Scott McFersonson

and Aaron Embry, and they were amazing band, and they played at Irving Plaza in New York, and I weasled my way into the room, and Elliot was kind of warming up, and Aaron just said, "Oh, this is my friend Josh." And and I when I I kind of at a certain point, a long time ago, I went off meeting people. I never wanted to be in other people's I never wanted to get in the Anyway, like I felt I felt like what what is it going to do me? And I feel like if they were if if if Elliot Smith looked at him and said, "Oh my god, we should be friends. I I I I don't know why I feel this way." Like I didn't think that was going to happen. So

was that a like never meet your hero thing? Cuz you've worked with so many heroes at this point.

And in all those situations, it's kind of like there's a reason I'm there, so I meet them and it's great.

Um just sort of like, "Hey, this is my friend Josh." Well, when I make the Elliot comparisons, and I'm not saying in a way like you're ripping him off or anything, just like I hear that. Have you ever been told that you your vocals sound like Mark Bolan?

Oh, no.

Like in his Tyrannosaurus Rex folky era.

No, but that's that's lovely. But you you know, I think if and if you don't have one, I I should get you one. But you know, Chad and I made a a T-Rex cover 7 in where we did

Jeepster. Yeah. For record. Yeah. Yeah.

I've heard about it. I would love to. I've never heard it.

You've got one coming your way. Yeah. So,

so you are a fan?

I am a fan.

Yeah. But has anyone ever told you? I never noticed it until this record for some reason. Not on every song. I I wish I could, but certain songs it's like maybe the trelininess of it or

uh that Well, I I love that you that you caught that. So, um yeah, I I I love him and I love his singing. So, I'm always uh I I like I when we did that cover 7 in I I was actually like like free to completely impersonate him.

So, you know, I like I I've always had a hard time with my voice. I there's a lot of a lot of the times I can't stand it, but I have a good ear and I'm a good mimic. So, I can sound like lots of different people, but when it comes to sounding like myself, maybe this is a deeper personal philosophical

kind of uh gap that I have, but sounding like myself sometimes is hard or and especially then liking what I hear back. Um, but I just sang karaoke the other night with with some friends at at at a friend's house. And I was uh I went from Ghetto Boys to Nick Cave to Radio Head

to you know something else. Beasty Boys I think like and I'm just doing impressions of all these people and you know it's bit of a jump all this.

Not to name drop because I did not know Elliot at all. I wish I had never even interviewed him

but I did meet him once and it's tied to you. I had a karaoke birthday party many years ago and one of the people No, wait. Steve McDonald came to the party with Anna, his wife, and they brought Elliot Smith. I don't know why. I think Elliot might have even played that night or I don't know. They brought him and he did Wild Horses at Brass Monkey.

Oh my goodness. Really? and I really wanted to that would have been the time to meet him and go up to him and be like excellent cover, great songress, but I was too intimidated and he wasn't like really at my party. It was like a bar and he happened to just be there. Um, and I wish that people had it was like kind of before people had iPhones, so I do not have any video. I swear it happened. But that's pretty funny. But

my friend, my friend did wild horses the other night, but um the Sunday's version.

Oh, nice. Nice.

That's funny though. I you know now that I think of it I I unless my this was very a very Guinness heavy time for me but um I think I played drums once at Largo John Brian I used to sort of weasle my way into his live shows uh once in a while and I think Elliot was on stage with us once and I was playing drums.

Did I make that up? But we didn't. It's kind of cool when you've had such a storyried career that like you would not that would be like almost other people if they were on stage with Elliot Smith it would have been like the biggest highlight of their entire life but for you it's just another night in LA. I don't mean that because I'm actually it's funny cuz I unless I just made it up and that he was up there sure he was there.

I choose to believe it. But to go back to what you said, why don't you like your voice? Why do you have issues?

I don't know. It's just always been the case. I don't know. Is that why you normally like aren't the front man?

No. Uh I think that's just how that's just maybe. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, yeah, probably. So going back to this record, I talked about how they were all made in different circumstances, precoid, midco, postcoid, and in the press release for a drop in the ocean, you said that for the first time in your life, you feel like you don't have all the time in the world to make a record or I don't know, that's a direct quote

to be alive.

I don't know. It's a direct quote. And that was like the sense of urgency I guess you had while making this record.

And of course that that sentence popped out at me like why you feel that way and why you didn't feel that way before but do now.

Oh, I think I'm referring to the fact that I'm now closer to 50 than I ever have been and I you know that's shocking to me. I mean I still look like a child a lot of the time. So I do I and I still live very much like a child. Um,

I relate

and I'm,

you know, so for the first time I'm sort of like thinking about how many how many more records or how many more songs I get to record and release and how much

how much more of this I get to do, you know, which is it's not like I'm saying I'm uh like I feel like it's fine, but it's the first time I ever thought of that.

That affect the lyrics of specific songs or in general? Um gosh, I can't remember. Well, I there's there's one song where I'm talking about uh there's very nostalgic lyrical uh content. The the I don't want to let you go song. I think it's called I don't want to let you go. It was and there's many things that I don't want to let go. Um so last last time I think we spoke unless I'm confusing this uh because we run into each other all the time. Um, they very rarely leave the house, but when you do, you tend to run into me.

And yes, it was at the Gorilla Show.

At Gorillas? Yeah. Yeah. And I And I had heard their they played their full record that night. I think I told you like, "Oh, yeah. I don't know. I've only listened to the record a couple times. I wasn't I did a complete 180 on that record." And and it was from that show. How much I love that show

that whole album's about like loss and death.

Death and Yeah. And I uh

The mountain

the mountain. And I I went I listened to it non-stop for a a couple weeks after that. Um, but uh why why did I bring this up? Uh, we were talking about

mortality and the lyrics. I asked if there were songs on a drop in the ocean.

Well, I think it was I've watched a bunch of press that Damon and Jamie have done and they were talking about being anti- nostalgists

or something like that and uh I can't help a lot of time be nostalgic for a

different time when life was less [ __ ]

or you know and I mean I don't mean I mean that generally just like I'm you know when there was less social media and less uh distance, you know, between people. I think

I think it's okay to be nostalgic as long as it doesn't get to the extremes of like a lot of older people with a boomer mentality, whether they're actual boomers or they're Gen Xers or millennials. But if you get into that mindset that like everything sucks more now, like music was better then, everything was better then, like,

which I'm guilty of very much.

We're all guilty of it. But if you like if your nostalgia to the point where you're not enjoying now, then that's or you wish you could get in a time machine and go back. I've had that conversation with people. I'll ask you actually. I wasn't planning to ask you this. If you could go back in a time machine to any year or age you were, any point in time within your lifetime. Don't like say I would go back to Studio 54 or whatever.

Although that would be awesome, but you know what I mean?

In my lifetime.

Yeah, that is that would have been like two or something.

Yeah. No. Yeah.

Um

Yeah. If you could go back to any point in your life in a time machine and freeze yourself in that year, that age, is there is there one that you would do?

Well, I guess the only thing I could say, and it's only because I generally wouldn't say that there was one, but

Right. Exactly. That's if you think that way, then your nostalgia's gone too far. But is there is there one like Houseian if you could go back?

Well, it's not even Hian. It's just that there is a period where I just stop uh like I just stopped playing with Bob and I there something something happened where I was able to I record basically an album's worth of stuff uninterrupted. So I have this record this that I made on my eight track and with that music I think I was planning on starting a whole new life and it didn't happen. And so I

like why because I started going on tour with people which was an amazing experience. So I can't say that I something that I would have preferred to have done. But if I to answer your question, if I could go back in time now that I've experienced everything I experienced, I would perhaps go back to that moment and maybe just whisper into the ear of younger me like or you know something. I don't know. Or maybe I would just watch and and get a real complete understanding of exactly why I didn't pursue that

harder maybe.

But you have a band or a solo. You have your own thing now. So you got to do it eventually.

Yes. And one of the songs on this album, the song Give, dates back to kind of that era. Like basically that I mean it's so old. Like on every record I've made, I've always snuck one song on that's just ancient for me that just has all stuck around, you know, like that I can't get out of my system. And this one was a a a funny one because it it I recorded it four or five times in different situ, you know, like just made different demos of it, sung it with different lyrics and just, you know, finally it it exists.

Is that eight track stuff from that time machine thing? Uh, do you still have those recordings? Yeah. Why don't you just put them out? Like even quietly drop them somewhere

uh on Band Camp or something?

They are. Well, um, they're a little underconfident

that when I hear them, I hear the potential and I hear but like especially vocally I was really sort of like, you know, just being very, you know, very uh

unannuniative, if that's a word. And uh

yeah, addiction issues

just no just confidence. It just sounds very underconfident like you know that this is suddenly

you were like 20 or something right? How old were you?

Yeah, it was it was August of 2001

that I think I recorded this stuff. It was right before 911 cuz I had some lyric on there that was the the lyric was like the towers you built knocked over

something like that with with pride or something. And I remember like a couple months after that I was like, "Whoa, I heard it." And

Good thing you didn't put that out cuz then people would be mad about it.

Yeah. Well, I could have

even though it was a coincidence cuz there were some things that happened in 911 like that. There were songs or videos

that even though they were made before 911,

they were, you know, they'd have a plane crash in it or some kind of imagery and then it would all get yanked off the radio or TV.

Was that band Burning Burning? Was there like a

Burning Airlines? Yeah. Yeah. They probably had to change.

They had trouble. There was another what were they called?

Didn't the Strokes have some sort of trouble?

The the Strokes on their uh original debut album and this version still came out in in the UK. I believe they had a song called New York City Cops. It said New York City Cops, they ain't too smart. And then uh and I think that record came out in like

right after 911, like November

uh of 2009.

I saw them at the Trouador like right around then. and and I think bought their CD at Virgin Mega Store because some I was like, "Oh, I like that. That was a good show."

Did I have was it the one with the butt?

Okay. Because that one

was the import CD. I had to go to Virgin Mega.

So, you probably have the one with New York City Cops because everyone was like understandably like, "Hey, New York cops, first responders and stuff." It was not the time to have a song that said that. So, they replaced it with something else. I think Meet Me in the bathroom. But, yes, there were some other ones. There was I can't remember.

Meet me in the bathroom. New York City cops. I cannot remember. There was like a rap duo that had like a picture of like the the twin tow was like blowing up on their album cover

and it was like not the album wasn't out yet, but it was going to come out that month completely coincidental and they were like stop the press. So yeah.

Anyway,

see if I would have released my song in August of 2001 with that lyric, I would have seen like a poetic genius. I would have seen like

or conspiracy theorists might have had their way with you. Who knows? I think it's curious though that you know when you say that maybe if you when when I asked the time machine question that there was this whole sliding door thing like maybe you could have had a different life because since you didn't do that you went on to have all these amazing adventures playing with not just the Chili Peppers but Pearl Jam Elton John I mean the list sparks we'll talk about all this stuff if you want but like Azie Osborne like you've played with the biggest of the big and you've gotten to do things like get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame play like the world's biggest stages, you know, like basically rockstar [ __ ]

Yeah.

So, it's interesting me that when I asked that question, that was your answer because if none of that would have happened.

No. And and it's only because of that because you know when when one looks at their life and wonders if anything was

uh or if anything could have been different or anything like that. Um, I I sort of pinpointed it to that moment because I still have those recordings and a friend of mine uh, you know, would

he and I would put them on or or he, you know, talk about him over the years and like so at one point I thought like, yeah, that that that was the real that was sort of the real uh fork in the road for me, you know, like that that that moment was such a um, none of the things you just mentioned had had transpired. I was still just like some kid, you know.

So, is this album um a drop in the ocean? Is it like is there any kind of return? Cuz you you know now that you make music, you don't always make it at home. Sometimes you go to studios, but you make music on your own. Uh and like you said, there's that song give that's from that era. Like is there any recapture recapturing of your youth even though you are still

I think which because a lot of this stuff is fairly simple uh instrument the instrumentation is fairly simple it's a lot of acoustic guitar it's lot not a lot of overdubs uh smaller sounding recordings which would be yeah more similar to how I used to make stuff at home yeah

um we were talking about the mountain the gorillas album and how a lot of that album's about loss death, you know, and in like a nice way like it's that Indian they made the album celebratory way.

Yeah. And there's a song you mentioned the Foo Fighters and playing with them at Sofi on like the opening day of the semi the soft opening of the world and there's a song on this album uh your new album that's about Taylor Hawkins. I know that Chad was very good friends with Taylor. I assume you knew him well.

I knew I I wouldn't even say well. I mean I knew him. I just know realized when he left us that I had known him for a long time because I met him in 2000 and um he I was playing in The Bicycle

Thief and then the Foo Fighters were next and then the Chili Peppers and I did you know three weeks of touring like that. So Taylor um I was just around him every day on that tour and we were just always talk in the hall and stuff like that. Um and uh but then as the years went on um and in particular the last

couple of weeks before I died um Eddie

Veter's band the Earthlings were on tour. So, I was with Chad, Andrew Watt,

Chris Cheney, and I'd say those three guys were three of Taylor's best friends. And I certainly I knew him and loved him, but I wasn't as close as those three with him. But he was, you know, the last show of our tour with Eddie um in San Diego, Taylor was on FaceTime in the backstage, you know, kind of like laughing and joking with everybody. And that was not very long before that happens. So I, you know, and yeah, I had a couple of long phone conversations with him. Um, and you know, in the year or two before and yeah, once he was gone, I I just saw

a lot of kind of weird uh stuff floating around, just like lots of accusations or um darkness around something that was already, you know, kind of heartbreaking. And

mean like speculation like that Rolling Stone article. Yeah, that Rolling Stone article, which I didn't read, but I just remember that there was some retractions, you know, and some

some uh

actually Chad spoke out about it because he'd been interviewed for that article and he was not happy about how his words were twisted to make there were I mean, I don't know. I I don't I don't know the situation, but it it was a very slanted article in a way that seemed kind of weird.

Yeah, there I didn't read it. I just I mean just the the whole the whole thing the there was just a cloud around the whole thing that I just you know it kept the it kept amplifying the sadness around it you know and um throughout obvious obviously when someone you know has such a such an ending you know

I just can't help wonder or you know hope beyond hope that they that they knew how much they were loved. So I was sitting with the guitar one day and I you know it's not like me to write a song so specifically about a person uh or you know about a topical

thing that's just happened. Actually that's not true. Never mind. Scratch that. But I mean at the it felt like writing a song about a person that just died. I felt kind of like new territory for me. So, I kept on with it and those lyrics kind of came pretty quickly and that was definitely uh What year was that? Was that 22?

Early 22, like January, I'm going to say it was March March 22.

Yeah, March 25th. I know that cuz um uh

yeah. So, that that song came, you know, from I'd say a month or two after that.

So, the title is um I hope you knew. So,

it's like I hope you knew you were loved is what you're saying. Yeah,

I think he knew.

I hope so.

I mean, anytime.

It's more It's more for just that idea. Like I just, you know, I hope everybody knows that they're loved in general, you know, cuz most likely they are by someone.

Yeah.

And um if you're not, then I guess there's nothing for you to know. But

I I hope he knew. But more uh you know, broadly, I hope everyone

I hope everyone knows that they're loved by someone. And uh and if they're not or if they don't know, they either learn that they are or find love, you know.

I mean, it's a great it's a lovely sentiment cuz um you know, just take it off topic of of Taylor specifically for a minute. I don't know if you knew the musician Greg Foreman because I feel like everyone knew him.

No, I'm one of the people that didn't. Although,

but you were one degree of separation.

I probably I probably am. We could probably trace it right now. Like cuz I was just told about this and the person that told me followed up with, "I can't believe you don't know."

Everybody, I mean, not everybody, but so many people in LA knew him that um even people I didn't know. Like basically my social media at the time that we're doing this interview, my social media is basically just been Greg for like a solid week. And I went to his memorial a couple days ago actually. And I remember afterwards talking with some people and there were people at that memorial. I'm like, "Oh, you knew Greg, too. I didn't even know you knew him." You know, and I was like, you know, um I would hope that when I go, whenever that is, hopefully not soon. Um if I got even a fraction of the outpouring of people just saying such lovely things and and you know, I mean, it was just like the entire community. I'm like, he he knows he knows. That is my

my that was my hope with the song, you know, like

no matter how much you might be told that you are or experience

warmth and love in your daytoday, you may forget it briefly. Do you

believe in the afterlife or some kind of afterlife whether it's heaven or reincarnation or

No, I would say probably not because uh I feel like at the end of the day we're once our brain shuts off we have the rest the whole system shuts down but at the same time we our body and and the impact that we've

left on other people and perhaps the impact act we've um or or the the the

work we've left behind or the music or anything uh that lives on. And so yeah, I mean I I'm

not sure if the dead uh live on in any way or come back in any

way. If they did, I would love it or something. But I I have no idea. I mean, leaving it in this realm that I'm that I've experienced, I don't. But but again, like there's, you know, people people really leave their mark on the people around them.

Absolutely. And so have you. So to pivot back to you and be a little more cheerful, I feel I mean, you know, I love No, I love that we're talking about this stuff actually. Um, no, you want to talk more about death and loss and the afterlife. Um, but I feel, you know, you were talking about feeling like you don't have all the time in the world, and I feel like you've been on a a real, I don't know if it was coincidental, but you've been on a real creative terror since, you know, it's been more than it's been six years now since you left Red Hot Chili Peppers. You've put out four Laura One albums, or you're about to put out a fourth. You have played with so many people, and I want to kind of lightening around that. you've played with the biggest of the big and um yeah I guess I'm asking if like have you been feeling like a real creative artistic

resurgence now that you know you're kind of a free agent you can play by yourself you can play with whoever you want you know and it seems like there's a huge demand for your talents you know

I wonder I

I mean you're part of the wrecking crew there's a new wrecking crew you y'all it's you Chad your buddy Chad Smith

Dolph McGo from Guns and Roses and Andrew Watt and you play with Iggy Pop. You play with I want to ask about all this

that year. The year a lot of this stuff was written was that year that we were really that we were really on fire.

So like do you feel like you're having a creative artistic m musical rebirth in general?

I feel well I feel like my life has always just been one upward kind of slant toward creative mania. like I you know like I I sort of I beat myself up constantly about not getting enough done or not doing enough or not focusing enough on you know one thing and sort of diversifying my attention. So, I feel like it's just I I'm trying to focus and hone myself. Uh, you know, and so I'm hoping it's just going up and up and up and I'm not having a sort of I I hope I haven't experienced a dip like I uh

I don't think you are.

Okay, good. Um, yeah. So, so like I'm Yeah. Yeah. I I I'm try I trying I'm trying to just do it non-stop. That's all I do.

All right. All right. Well, now I'm going to go to the lightning round of the So, the wrecking crew. I mean, it's not officially called that, but you've been dubbed like a new LA Wrecking Crew. Like you said, it's Chad, who obviously you've continued to work with and be friends with outside of your band you used to be together. It's Duff, a band you used to see as a kid and Guns and Roses. Uh, Andrew Watt and yourself, Hallowed Group, and here are some of this probably not all of them, but this wrecking crew you played on the last two Aussie Osborne records, right?

Yeah. And I actually think that I'm not sure if I made it on the helmet, but I definitely did some recording that was in and around it. Those guys definitely have.

But what I mean, I want to know your experience cuz again, I guess now we're getting into more of it stuff again. But when Aussie, you know, passed last year, obviously it was devastate. We all were devastated, but I was like, what a way to go cuz that guy, unlike most rock stars, got his flowers. He got to perform for beloved fans. I know Chad was there. I think Duff was there. um in his hometown in Birmingham. He got to sing one last time two weeks 17 days before he died. I see that song that I kind of wrote for Taylor like I I I would say that um I wouldn't necessarily write that song for Aussie because I like I I really he strikes me as someone who knew that he

he knew he definitely knew which I wasn't but you know I just like

Aussie for sure definitely knew

he was celebrated so much right yeah and I wish all rock stars or not just rockstar people as you say could have that but what was it like in your you know what was it like uh playing with Aussie Those were like comeback records for him.

He wasn't around.

A

Yeah. Well, like he, you know, he uh we did the work that whatever little bit of work I did on one of those records, which I'm again not sure even made it on the record. Um he wasn't present for. I had the funniest experience once where I was shopping for records in Cuba in a in a courtyard out in front of my hotel room and I was sort of like and then I saw the faces on everyone that I was with change and I was like What? And there he was and he and Aussie and and and another person were right behind me and then kind of walking away and I thought that was the strangest. I would never have dreamed of that.

What a life you've had. So you weren't in the room when um Elton John and Aussie did Ordinary Man, which was definitely a song about mortality.

And that was uh

that was on um I believe it was on or it was on Ordinary Man. Okay. Is that the first or the second one? Andrew did.

It's the first one.

First one. Yeah. So,

that's the one that like Chad and Duff and I believe Andrew like they basically wrote that whole album for him.

And that was the one that I was still in the Chili Peppers for. Chad was always bringing

he always just had new recordings from those sessions and he would sort of play them and uh it's it all seemed very excited and that was when I was just getting to know Andrew and I was just really excited for all those guys. It just seemed before I was sort of a part of that group. I was just really excited for them because there seemed to be a real energy to what they were doing. And then 2021 rolls around and uh you know, I'm sure we could talk about it a little bit, but as you as you well know, the world hasn't heard the Morrisy album that we did together.

It's on the list. Okay, let's let's jump ahead to that. I have other things I want to

Okay, that that was the first that was the first thing that I did with Andrew and Chad full record. Okay, so for people watching this who don't know, Morsy had a record that still hasn't come out. It's called Bonfire of Teenagers. I have the notes. Okay, so basically he actually we had a listening party for here at Lucish Pizza. He went straight to Makeup Is a Lie. That's the record that just came out and did not put out Bonfire of Teenagers, but there was a lot of hype about this Bonfire record because it had you on it, had Flea, it had Chad, so it was a little bit of a chili pepper thing. It had Miley Cyrus on it, it had Iggy Pop on it, someone else you played with. We can talk about that. And um I don't know if I should I've heard a little bit of it.

I've not heard the whole thing.

I heard snippets of it. And what I heard it was like a really good. It was very rocking. More rocking than you would expect from Morsey is probably because the muscularity mus mus the muscle of the band behind it.

What happened? Tell me all about what it was like, what you're willing to tell me. And is it ever going to come out? Cuz I think you know people have their tins of Morsy. I got my own conflicted opinions about them. It was a really what I heard sounded solid.

Well, you know the way the world is now.

I don't know if I'm allowed to say anything, but you know, uh, he has just

begun a relationship with Sire Records and put out the Makeup Ise album. And

it's, you know, since he has a label now, I don't, you know, we'll see him. Well,

what was it like working with him? Were you in the studio with him at any point?

He would come in at the end of the night. It was, it was incredible. for for all of us. It was an incredible process because we were sort of given Cart Blanch to do with his songs whatever we wanted. He he had demo versions and he because that was sort of during co still no one was traveling to studios or you know flying in band members or whatever. So, it was this weird moment where he him and Andrew sort of got together and and uh said, you know, he said, "Okay, well, you know, just see see what you can do or whatever, you know, and basically we started one by one recording these songs that he had demoed and he would show up at sort of dinner time or, you know, 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. and he would for the first time hear his songs."

Wow.

Kind of a different way than he had left them or whatever. You know, he he had a demo and we would sort of make the song. I'm surprised. I would pic I would imagine him I've never met him or anything, but I imagine him to be like a kind of a control freak.

Well, he may very well be and I'm not sure, but because of how odd the world was at this time, it and because of how fast we or Andrew particularly works, this was the way this album happened. And and because he liked the results, it just carried on happening like that day after day. And I remember January 6th, and we all know what happened that day.

Um, that was the day that we did the title track and I remember doing the piano to that song and you know someone coming down the stairs saying, "Sorry, you guys got to see what's going on upstairs. This is insane."

It's very interesting me. Sorry to interrupt you, but you keep bringing up my mind works the same way. Like

you're like, "Oh, that happened the day of the OJ Bronco chase. That happened right around 911. That hap like January." Like it's interesting how you associate things in your career with [ __ ] shows that were going on in the world.

Well, [ __ ] Yeah. I mean, I'm I'm kind of dy I'm good with dates. I kind and

it's probably just from that like sort of oh like I remember that there was a relationship between that moment in time and this thing and then yeah I mean I think you know uh I freaked the Pearl Jam guys out a little bit because they'll say they'll they'll start talking about something or mention a gig or a story and because when I was a kid I memorized their tour dates I'd be like oh well that was June 24th 1995

and they're like all right sim it down

they're like can you

that's Can we Yeah, but I think they're a little worried.

Well, they've kept you around. So, I guess they've gotten over that. But, so the Morsy album, Bonfire of Teenagers, that was the first time that your wrecking crew, so to speak, worked together. And um I guess Morrisy liked what he heard cuz like you made a whole album. You made a whole album.

Oh. Yeah. Made a whole album. And and uh it was only after the album was finished that it was sort of,

you know, it just never he was just between labels at that point. So that was the reason it never came out cuz he he just had a hard time securing a deal.

Yeah. I mean I it probably be boring to talk about. I guess I assume whatever label he was on when that was being I think it was Capital or

No, I think No, that was before Capital. He he was he was labelless.

Then why doesn't he own the record and he I would assume it was like whatever label he was on was like we own this and we don't want to release it. No,

we don't want to release it to another label to put out.

Are you asking why he didn't put it out himself?

Yeah,

that's a good question.

Do you know?

I don't know. Well, no, I think you

I mean, like I said, I've only heard snippets of it, but I was like, this is a surprising record from him because with this wrecking crew behind him, it was I mean, it wasn't like a metal record or hard rock record by any means. It still sounded like Morsy because it's his voice, but there was like a oomph to it.

Yeah. Well, and there was also an oomph to it because we literally were doing a song a day and we were like, let's just throw it down, get it. I mean, working with Andrew, especially at that time, in his in the studio he had at the time, which is the basement to a house in, you know, Benedict Canyon. Uh, I was for a couple of those songs in particular, I played bass on one. I remembering I was this far from the drums. I was this far from Chad, you know, like I I would I would feel the the wind of the symbol. So that was among many things one of the greatest things about working with Andrew is that he really

prizes live playing and especially since I have such a relationship with Chad. I mean it was like so um second nature for me to be right there. I mean I think my hearing has suffered from standing so close to Chad Smith um and just because I can't it's almost like I can't get close enough because he's so much fun to play with. And on stage we had like a, you know, like such a jovial kind of uh smiley relationship cuz every time he did something cuz Chad always Chad never plays the same thing twice. There's always a new accent or a fill and I I'm a I started as a drummer. So I I can't stop looking at him going giving him winks and smiles.

I'm glad that the two of you have kept up not just your friend. I mean I guess you've kept up your friendship. there's no animosity with you and your former bandmates, but I'm glad that you've not only just kept up your friendship, but that you've kept up your working relationship because you've had some great adventures doing that and that, you know, uh was Morsy nice, by the way.

Oh, yeah. He was great. He was fantastic. Yeah. I mean, he would he would just come in and again like to be to he's such a he has always been such a hero of mine. So at first I would just kind of hang in the back and then you know there there was a few times where he came like he came in one time I was in the vocal booth doing an acoustic guitar part so we needed isolation. So I'm in there and I and I heard I from the vantage point I had I could see that there was a new entry and I kind of knew what like to the room and I knew what time it was. I [ __ ] I'm not done yet.

He's going to be here when I'm throwing this down. And it was like it was just an amazing moment to to to be, you know, working with him like that.

So I mentioned Elton John and one of my favorite records and it really surprised me last year was the record he did with Brandy Carlau who believes in angels. It was a very funky scrunky like the opening like kind of glam rock like it very much hearkened back to maybe what people think of as classic 70s Elton. It had a had a lot of oomph to it. It was very

Yeah. And that intro, the intro of the album is supposed to be kind of funeral for a friendy like the beginning of Goodbye Elbert Road. It's supposed to be like a you know these days that that's quite a long intro but this was you know for a modern record this was like nearly a minute of that was you on the keys right?

Yeah. Yeah. Uh and you know I was given the task to like you know make an intro. We you know and I originally had composed something. I took a couple days and I was really like trying to work and I wrote something that was like five minutes long and the first and then suddenly out of blue Andrew said, "Oh, we're coming over. Everyone wants to hear what you're doing." And I was like, "It's not done. It's not done." And we listened to it and then he walked out and he told Andrew, "It's great, but it's too long." Which is, you know, of course, but um uh I was given the assignment to do like a funeral for the friend. A funeral for my friend thing. Funeral for a friend.

Yeah, it's hard to say. And uh yeah, no, I mean that that experience doing that record with them, which again was like sort of a last minute thing. Like Andrew said, "Hey, come down, bring your stuff, bring your your synth stuff." And uh

you know, little did I know that I'd be doing it for a month or however long we worked on it. And it was such a incredible experience. And if I'm not mistaken, because Elton retired from touring in like 200, like touring touring in like 22, he played in London doing that thing that I actually saw you in London that time. Uh a TV special

and you were there. You played that and you also did Saturday Night Live with him a week or two later. Are those the last times he's performed like a full show? Well, the the one in London feel like that might have been his last.

He doesn't perform much anymore because of his health.

Yeah. And I had thought that he cuz I read somewhere that he was going to go to South America cuz I guess he skipped it or didn't get a chance to go down there because of the the the time that his farewell tour was going on. So either he h has just done that or he's about to do that. So yeah, it might be what you said might be true.

Was in general I mean he's like he put a documentary around the time that record came out or that shows that he he'll be the first to admit it. He can be a difficult person to work with. He can have a temper, but he's Elton and we all love him. What was your experience working with him?

Uh, well, I just I kind of at the beginning of the record, it was a crazy experience for me because I was set up in a different room than the rest of the band and they would sort of send over what they had done the previous day for me to kind of sprinkle myself on top of and, you know, do little synthesizer treatments or or keyboards. Like I've basically done um all the keyboards on that album. I had done. So, uh, my time with Elton was less than the rest of the band, but toward the end of the project when he started hearing what I was doing in the other room cuz it was now being introduced and all the mixes he was hearing, he he was he was uh he was happy with what I was doing, which was amazing. So, I had more to do with him at the end. But, so any of the stuff in the documentary about him um any difficulty at the beginning of the record, like I I didn't really experience I I would only hear about it.

I

and I'm not asking you to [ __ ] talk him cuz he'll [ __ ] talk himself put out in more than one documentary. Look at me having a tantrum like tantrums are, you know, I mean I I I give anyone uh

I support anyone feeling, you know, being themselves enough to have a tantrum. I I'm always too I I concerned with other people's feelings too much. I think

you have tantrums with yourself.

Exactly. Well, I I I should have the tantrum or some adult version of a tantrum and instead I you know my steering wheel gets it or something.

So, um let's talk about the ageless Iggy Pop. I have I could talk to you all day and I we kind of already have, but I just have a couple other people that you

I have a couple other people that you've worked with. And with this wrecking crew, you were on uh Every Loser uh which is the I guess it was maybe 22 or 23. I don't remember what year it was, but an Iggy Pop record you guys did together.

Yeah. I don't know when it came out, but it was done directly after the Morsey record. And

I mean, God, you were just checking off the list of all the icons.

And that happened because I I can't remember whose idea it was, but I know that I helped get Iggy's contact info through a friend of mine who had worked with him. Um, but the the idea came up to have Iggy's voice on a song or at the end of a song and it was and it worked out perfectly. But in doing that, so Andrew and Iggy developed a quick friendship over the phone and and then he sent him some music and then like before you know it, we were doing a Iggy record or Andrew's doing one and like I cuz I he he Taylor's on that record with Eric Avery and like the cast of characters was a little uh uh varied. It was like with the Morsy record, it was basically just Andrew, Chad, and myself. Jesse Tobias came in and played Flee on the trumpet came in later like on the Mory on the Mory on the Mory. Flee came in like a couple months after it was done. Um,

but this uh Iggy record was, you know, a kind of a few groups of people like I I played on a song or I can't remember actually. It didn't make it. Uh cuz I

You've done so much with your life that you can't remember what you're doing.

Like it was you know a lot of it was it was all done here and then Andrew went and worked with Iggy in Florida in my

So you didn't get to meet

No, I didn't I didn't get to meet Iggy until

What an inspiration he is when it Oh, you did get

Well, we played uh they did they did a little tour. They did like four or five shows and I was working with Pearl Jam so I couldn't do the tour but I was able to do the Jimmy Kimmel and then we had a dinner like a sort of celebratory dinner about the album is out now because I think we may have done Kimmel the day the record came out

the dinner

at Andrew's house

and so

was was Iggy wearing a shirt

you know I don't remember um but he was certainly not wearing a shirt when he came barreling onto the stage for the Jimmy Kimmel performance and he was like [ __ ] Oh, you know, like he psyches everyone out before the song is counted off. And it was like incredible. But I I like I snuck a I like gave his manager a note. I said, "Could you give this to me?" And I wrote him like a real sweet note cuz he's the hero of mine. And I you know I didn't get a ton of time with him cuz I couldn't do the tour and I felt badly that I couldn't do the tour.

I don't even know if he knows who I am or if he gives a [ __ ] but um

he gives a [ __ ]

Well, I'm like a nice guy.

No, he to I totally is. But I wasn't sure if he knew like I don't know if he knew like oh that the guitar player over there can't do it. But uh I I was sort of I wrote a note. I was really like it it was heartbreaking to me that I couldn't do the tour.

Um I have to ask what the note said.

I well I could actually pull up I I you know take like a carbon copy. I could read it to you. I'm sure I could find it in my phone. But uh it just basically said you're it's beyond an honor to be

involved in this record. And uh luckily I've gotten to play with you today cuz I was a day game on the record but and I'm so sorry I can't tour. Um you mean a lot to me and

a dot dot dot

that's very wholesome. He's very sweet.

No, he he he and and he that day and the previous night at dinner he was just so uh genuinely sweet and kind of uh open like he he he

seems like a real special person.

Yeah. which you always can kind like you know like he's he's has a very hard past you know and like but I think like a lot of people that I am drawn to you can really tell that there's a a really big heart there and like a really deep sort of human uh

feeling

so he is I think setting an amazing template for aging in rock aging gracefully or ungracefully. Proudly ungracefully. And then you've worked with Sparks who are on the New Gorillas record and they're like in their 80s and haven't actually went kind of the biggest moment of their career since probably the 1980s.

And um you played with them for a couple years.

Yes. Uh, and that was that was an amazing experience like and that was sort of um Steve McDonald's fault like that he he pulled me into that and that was you know like the universe opening in this crazy way. They he had a guitar player Dean Mena do you know him? He played with Faith No More for a while.

He was the guitar player but they wanted a rhythm player and Steve said come on you don't have to learn you know it's just do the rhythm you know it's just you know it'll be easy for you. And I was like okay great. Uh

can't imagine playing any Spark songs are easy though.

No, not easy. But like I didn't have to like learn solos or learn, you know, it was just like the chords just be the you know and uh I I think I knew most of the songs already. So it was that's what I mean by easy like I didn't have to you know I wasn't um I didn't have a lot of responsibility. I was just

Why weren't you in their documentary? It had like a million people talking. It was like two hours of people talking about scheduling. That was like I I was back and forth with with Edgar's team about that a few times and it was just from my touring schedule and then you know they were obviously like sort of Londonbased and when they were here and then yeah I it was heartbreaking to me that I missed it. Well, we could maybe turn this black and white for a second because as you know, like if you haven't seen the Sparks Brothers people watching this, it's basically like every person in the world from Beck to Jen Antonov to Vince Clark to I mean the crazy world out Yankab all talking about how great Sparks are.

So if you had had your what would you have said?

The camera's on you. Edgar Wright asked you

about Sparks, what would you have said? They're the sort of epitome of of uh

creative dedication and non-stop

drive and sort of beautifully obsessive

uncompromising work ethic, you know, like and that is above all like to me that's just the greatest the greatest thing. the they clearly have they are clearly driven by a passion for what they do you know and you just can't say that about everybody and you know for for uh you know b I to say band but I mean for a group for people that you know the brothers and that's its own thing with the the love between brothers but I mean for people to do the amount of great work that they've done over the span of time that they've done it is just uh it's like, you know, unrivaled.

So, the last they're also brothers and we've talked about them already, but the last collab I'll ask about is Red Cross. They also had a great documentary that came out a year ago. You're at the end of it. Uh Build is like their 82nd drummer. I don't know,

some unrealistic number.

They've had a lot of drummers. You drumed on the Red Album. That's like it's called the tech it's unofficially called the Red Album, the double album they put out in 2024. And I believe you produced it as well. And you have a friendship that obviously goes way back particularly with Steve. But how did that come about?

That came about at a Sparks show actually. Well, that's what Steve says. And and I went with Steve to see Sparks

at Hollywood Bowl

with Giants opening up. Yeah, I saw like my entire like friend group there.

I'm sure I saw you there that night. Um, so we and Steve bought tickets uh because we were convinced their guest list would be nuts. It was LA. So we we just wanted to go and then somehow we were we were sat right behind their manager and you know their like close friends like so we were in a box right be so and obviously I know them from playing uh with them and so it was like this

very sweet loving familial experience and then Jeff came and I can't remember if Anna came but it was just like we were all sort of there together and Steve and I may have talked about doing some Red Cross or we had done the Born Innocence song already. I can't remember right now what the chronology is, but there was talk about doing it and then once we were there together and it was sort of me and the two and Jeff and Steve together in Steve's mind it was solidified and we began I actually had to push them back two weeks like any sought after producer would. Uh maybe joking completely joking but it was because of the Elton record. I literally went

It's a good excuse. Sorry, I got I got to work with

I had to I had to put um I I I didn't

trust anybody with all the synthesizer equipment I brought to that session. So, I was loading it, you know, let's say on a Tuesday. I spent the whole day moving out of Sunset Sound where we did that back to my space and we started on a Wednesday. like I I was like one literally the next day started uh with Red Cross and as I have said to them and to anyone who brings it up it's like it was the easiest production job I could ever you know I I probably on earth or in the history of music because the songs were so damn good. They

great record.

They Thank I mean like it's

you did a great job.

Thank you. And so did they. I mean, it's it was it was so much fun to do and it's just so easy to do. Just the the amount of uh I don't know the like the the the amount of brilliance in those songs I thought was just uh it was like unquestionable. You I didn't have to do anything. I just I mean I just learned them and play drums to them, but I didn't I didn't have to make any uh hard cuts or any you know,

nothing. They they did such a great job. They know they've been around for a bit.

Well, we've basically covered your whole life, uh, your whole resume, your whole Wikipedia page, but what would be your dream collab? Someone you haven't worked with yet who haven't that you would like to.

I don't know.

You worked with so many people already.

I know. Let's put it out there. Since we talked about him, uh,

I'd love to. Come on, Damon. Let's do this.

Damon El.

Yeah. I I went to I went to Ethiopia with him. He know he know him. You know

Damon?

Yeah, a little bit. I mean he, you know, cuz uh right when I joined the Chili Peppers, Flee was asked to go to Ethiopia cuz he had done one of their Africa Express trips already and Chad and Anthony like that, you know, they couldn't just drop everything on a d. They have kids and go, but I was like, let's go. So flee and I went and it was like I think you know like 3 days after he got the call we were on a plane to London to meet up with the Africa Express group which is an amazing thing that Damon and a couple other guys started and next thing you know we were in Addis Ababa and we basically were on like a sort of a musical field trip like we had a tour manager and a schedule and every day we had a new musical excursion like we saw some

some ac cappella, these amazing singers, these women uh sort of can't remember if it was in a church or not, but it was like every day there was a new musical experience, different kind of Ethiopian music, different kind of uh performance

or and then on the last night we all had a big jam at a bar. It was amazing. It was one of those

What a life. What a life. Well, I feel that I mean there's been some speculation given the nature of this Gorilla's record that it's their last album, but I don't think it will be. So Damon Alburn, if you are watching this, I'm sure he's watching this.

Please, you probably know we hit up hit him up that I feel like that's a doable because he works with so many different people like of so many much like Sparks like his he has like the roads that lead back to what he does are many roads.

I've just one of my greatest talents has been weasling my way into different things and for some reason I he hasn't taken the bait. He hasn't I have not successfully weasled.

Well, I'm glad you weasled your way into here. I mean, we've talked for like 8 hours, so I should probably let you go. But, um, the coffee helped for uh, but I was

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to like sort of

Oh, cuz the branding. Yeah. Yeah. That's all right. Uh, but in terms of Plural One and your whatever else you have planned for your career to sum up, is there what's next for you? You have this sense that you don't have all the time in the world. So, what do you want to do next?

I I started album number five last two weeks ago. last week cuz this one is uh

2022. Let's say all the stuff was started to record that in 2022. Then there was the pile from 2023. So I was trying to get them both out this year because I just need a I need to I need to, you know, kind of empty the the bin.

Will the new stuff you work on or or release be more uh reflective of the [ __ ] show of our dark time?

Yes.

All right. I just I just Yeah, absolutely. It's like uh it's about the it's it's mostly about the darkest of the dark.

Awesome. I like darkness as you know, the band as well as the thing. Um but there's been no dark this is I mean we got into some heavy stuff, but this has been so enjoyable. So I mean I can't thank you enough for giving me us giving licorice pizza and we run into each other all the time and we talk uh when we see each other for a while. So and and we didn't we didn't blow our conversational load. We we we we had stuff to talk about. I kind of feel like with your life there will always be things to talk about. So, you're obviously welcome back here anytime to talk about the next record. Okay, cool.

Same time tomorrow. In the meantime, thanks everybody for watching. This has been very epic. Josh, thank you so much.

No, thank you. Really, thank you.