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This podcast is being brought to you by WXA V88.3 FM, NWXA V dot com, WXA V bringing the best podcast to you. I can jump into a couple questions about this hotly and highly anticipated album which is coming out January 26th. I know typically your music is a blend of styles from punk to folk, Americana roots, lots of different kind of descriptors for all of those as well. But can you tell us a little bit sonically what we can expect from this upcoming album?
Yeah. I recorded it with my cousin at a studio called Flat Black Studios which I've recorded all my albums at. And so, I always have fun coming up with different ways to record things and what will be the sound of this one. Now that they never deviate that much, I don't, it's not Sergeant Pepper's, it's not the WYG album or something.
My cousin and I, we take the time to figure out new ways to get a good banjo sound or guitar sound or what's a different way to set up a little, not a drum set but like different percussion. What's a way to do that? So, we're always kind of thinking of different ways to make it sound a little different. And so, this one, it's mostly me.
I did have a bass player and percussionist on a couple of songs and a stand up bass player, a dog house bass player, a piano, a couple songs and I've never done much of that really. And so, it's, you know, you're always thinking like, what friends can I bother to come help me in the studio? You know, again, I'm never, you're never gonna hear a record of mine. It's so far left to feel like, whoa, this is like, we read metal machine music or something.
It's just like an angle grinder on a piece of metal for 20 minutes. I appreciate stuff like that so much. My stuff, it's all in the same world. You know, so I can't say this one, the average listener won't hear it and go, wow, this, you know, sonically it sticks out in only ways.
But it just sounds really good. It just, it sounds organic. Like it was my friends and I playing in the room together on the song where I had people. So, I wanted to just sound really organic.
And it's just fun to have your friends on the studio. And so, so, to me, that comes out in the recording. And yeah, but without overdoing it, I don't know. I like, I want the songs to stay on their own.
I want the songs to feel like if you just play them on any of these, if you just play them on a guitar or a banjo, like it still, it still works. I don't want to rely on too much studio trickery or I don't know, it's easy to get caught in the trap of like, okay, let's get a horn section here and I don't want to get a horn section. I mean, nothing wrong with that or anything. I just, I don't want to wrench it.
I don't want to wrench it and everything. It's really, it's almost like a drug. People get addicted to that in the studio. Like, what else do we slap on those things?
Where I die almost approach it like a bond I treat you where you have it and you trim away, you trim away, you take away and okay, what get down to the very essence of what this has got to be. And so, sonically, I think that comes through. I just want to be always very vocal forward. Like, I'm so proud of my lyrics.
So I want those to shine right through, you know, things like that, where like, I just, I want the lyrics to be really heard. And then, I mean, it's a matter of like, putting what frosting you want to put on the cake after that, you know, but not too much. A cake made totally frosting in a good either. Mm-hmm.
Wise words, yes. You know, you think it would be, but then it's really about the balance. There's nothing, there's nothing to ground it. You know, without the cake to actually brown the whole thing.
So that's what I would think like, and live, I don't bring anyone on tour. Like, it's just me. So it's, I need these songs to be able to, yeah, just be played with just me when you come to the place. It's just me.
So I want, I keep that in mind a little bit to you. But yeah, I think sonically that all comes through. Yeah, absolutely. I know now I'm the Bond-Sightree reference that are metaphor.
I love that. We're, that's gonna be in the clip before this interview is recorded and we'll play that. I love that. You're talking a little bit about kind of like the lyrics for your songs and really wanting to make sure those can shine through and you have your new single Break Even is Out, which is part of this upcoming album.
And it'll be the first album you've released in about like four years. So given, a lot has happened in the past four years, both globally, from you know, COVID, you know, within the US like politically. And of course we have all of our own personal stories unfolding as well. You became a dad, congrats.
So this one a lot. I was just curious, as I was kind of listening to that single, if all of that, if some of that has kind of made it into the song and this album. Yeah, I'm always soaking up. Like anyone, I mean, like you do probably or anybody, you're always soaking up.
Then you lie throughout your life, whether you, whether registers or not, you're always soaking these things up, right? And no matter what creative field you're in or even anybody, you know, you're kind of soaking these things up and you're being affected by things without even realizing it. Things, yeah, from major, major global events to just daily, daily obstacles, beginning to overcome and things like that. And beautiful things too.
As you say, I became a dad in 2020, March of 2020. And so I put out a record that year called I'm with you. And so yeah, that was, you know, four years ago sometimes. And so with this one, you know, I had a whole bunch of sort of like kid related songs that I was working on, like while I was home, I was talking to you, but that all got canceled.
And I was working on all these, I was like, I'm gonna do like a straight up shit, and then I kind of like, and I know some of those things might seem light a day, but I kind of thought I sort of came, I came with that pandemic, it was that that I don't know, everyone was learning how to do these different things and just trying to make it through however they could. There's a haze to that. There's like a, you know, I kind of woke up from that dream and went, maybe not a kid's album. I kind of thought better of it, although maybe I would love to hear that.
But because I was like, I want to make a, you know, and everyone's made one and there's a million of them, but there's some really good ones. So I kind of put that aside and started writing songs about, oh, just people's everyday struggles. It just seems like everyone always having mental health struggles and that's been since the beginning of time. It's not new or anything, but it just that's really been prevalent the last few years.
So just thinking about people's everyday struggles, what happens when you think you can't go anymore when you think you've been pushed to your limit, but you do keep going, you know, you didn't have your limit. You thought it was, but it's not. What happened then, you know, you're maybe stronger than you thought you were and you maybe can take a little more than you thought you were and thought you could and things like that. So I started writing songs about that.
And that's what a lot of this album has to do with and I thought, you know, like the song, Breaking Even, it's a little more lighthearted version of that where, you know, you just can't get ahead, you know, who can't relate to that? Where you just be like, I mean, I had some panties saved and then there they go. It's like trying to hold water in your hands, like trying to cut water in your hand and it just flows out. So that was like a lighthearted, more like a traditional take on that.
And then there's their songs on here that are a little bit heavier about a little, you know, people I know that passed away and drew different circumstances. And sometimes that is your limit. Sometimes you're pushed to the limit and that is, that's it. So that's a thing too.
So it's not about, I went from having this lighthearted jig album to totally doing a 180 and kind of waiting about some more heavy stuff. So none of this album is a none of it's about my daughter, none of it's really about, you know, I write a lot of times about like my farm, my place, this really isn't about that either. So I can't deviate from some things that I normally would approach. But yes, there's more people in their struggles and how do you make it through and it's more about that.
Looking forward to hearing all these new songs and kind of speaking of the passage of time, hymns for the hopeless, the day the end finally came, even ashes to dust are now turning maybe like 20, 21 years old. They're basically legal drinking age, which is exciting. Well, back when you were getting started, did you imagine you would be making music and releasing albums and going on tour 20 years later? That's an interesting thing to think about.
You know, last year I was thinking about that because it pops up a lot. You'll hear a band like, oh, they're doing their 20th anniversary of such and such album. And then they go around and play the album straight through and stuff and or whatever. And I thought about doing that with him for the hopeless, yeah, it came out in 2003, the last year was its 20 year anniversary.
And this year, as you say, now that album can have a whiskey. It's 21. And so, and I just didn't get to it. It was looking back in a way that I wasn't quite ready to do.
And I mean, actually, those songs live. I'm definitely not an artist that like doesn't look back. I mean, I actually think every album all the time, I love that stuff. But to answer your question more specifically, on one hand, I definitely did not expect to even it sounds good.
But like, do you think like in 20 years, like you can be alive, like, it's not realistic. It's not like, oh, die young or whatever. It's just like, I don't know, 20 years, I can't even picture 20 years. Especially when at that time I was 25, when that album came out, got first album was 25.
And yeah, picture being 45. I couldn't picture that. It's one way it was like, who even knows? I'll just be, if I can just make one album, I'll be glad.
If I can write one song and record it, I'll be glad. If I can make one album, well, how that'd be amazing. And so, there's that. As with anything, on the other hand, it is like, oh, I'm not doing this to 100.
I can't stop. And so, there was that too of like, no, I'm not just doing this forever. I'm just going to do it forever. Yeah, that's what we all want to, we want to, or people pivot and they do something else and things change stuff.
For me, it's like, I'm going to do some iteration of this forever. And now that it is 20 years later, now like with some time under your belt, now I can. I can picture 20, what it all, 20 years looks like. And think about 20 years from now, it'll be 65.
Will I still be writing anything that matters or doing anything that matters or whatever? Just having fun. I mean, just making music and having fun. Even if it doesn't matter.
I don't know what I've done. Has ever mattered. Does anything we do matter? Like in the cosmic sense of things, but I don't try to worry about that.
It might matter to one or two people and that's cool. But yeah, it's wild to think about that amount of time. And on one hand, I fully expected. And on another, it was like, shoot, might not even be alive.
Which is just a real valid question. I think all of us think about that. It's crazy. 20 years is a long time to think about it.
Start to think about the next year or two or five, let alone 20. But we're here. Yeah. Yeah.
Yep. We made it and we'll keep making it. We'll make it. We'll make it and things.
I often revisit this and songs. Like the idea of old devils or like, things like that. Like, it's just always in this way. So that's, for me, I take perspective on it.
Like, it was like this 2000 years ago. It was like this 10,000 years ago in a different way, of course. But so it helps me calm down and sort of get perspective, pull back the land, get perspective. I need to sort of do that to even just like function.
Just like, okay, these are trying times, but they've always happened. Even times people thought we're calm and nice. They weren't for everybody. People can look back at the 90s and go, they can go 90s when there wasn't nothing to worry about.
Well, who were you and where did you live and what were you doing? Because a lot of people had a lot to worry about. So for, gosh, yeah, taking us back to a greater time back to 50s. Yeah, always problems.
Just different problems. Who was that great for? Not a lot of people. No, anyway, without getting, you know, what I think about how it's been trying times.
And so this is more other than we'll just do our best to make positive positivity in the world. And yeah, that's all I want to do. But yeah, I think it just got me up on the page in about the past time. Yeah, I've pictured 20 years from now.
Like, right, it's really hard. But I think I can. I think I can picture it kind of. But in a way, I can't.
And now my daughter's three forward this year. So that everything's engaged by that. So 20 years will be 24. And what will you be doing?
You know, what were you going to be up to, like, you'd be playing problems with me on the road. That's why I like that. That could be fun. You do a Jeff Tweedy.
You know, get your get your boy. You know, you had that band Tweedy, that boy playing with that stuff like that. That's cool. And that your stun playing problems would be amazing.
So what does it talk like a little bit about Iowa and kind of where you're at and what you're doing on your farm? But did want to touch a little bit about your start and music. And as a disclaimer, I went to the University of Iowa. So I lived in Iowa City, Go Hawks.
I saw you perform, I think, for the first time at the Mission Creek Festival in maybe 2012. And I was there with the University of Iowa's College Radio Station, KRI. So big fan, kind of fun, full circle moment now that I'm talking to you here as part of WXAV. But obviously, you lived in Iowa City and you were kind of making your way on the scene touring with friends.
You were an opener. And I'm sure you talked to a lot of college radio stations and we're playing for local crowds. How did what you learned and experienced then inform how you interact with crowds today? Oh man, that's a great question.
Yeah, 2012 Mission Creek. Was that like the Ingrid? That was, I think that was our Blue Moose when Blue Moose was still around. Wow, yeah, I used to do Blue Moose a lot.
It's crazy when you live long enough and see these venues kind of come and go. And yeah, Blue Moose was awesome. When I was back, when I lived there, that was a pool hall called the Cute. And they'd go there and play pool and drink fish the beer.
And it became the Blue Moose later. And I played a bunch of shows there. But yeah, so when I kind of moved to Iowa City, it was 1998. 1998, before a lot of listeners were born.
And so that's when I fresh off the farm and came there and made a lot of interesting friends that are still some of my best friends today, you know, through the music scene and things. And so I started, I had played some shows around my hometown area before I could kind of play some of a birthday party or play. We used to play this karate studio where there was a dojo where kids went and he'd learn karate. That's amazing.
And my cousins went there and they became black belts and stuff. And they got ideas to like, maybe we could do a show here, you know, before I didn't know about like house shows and things like that. But it's like a DIY place to do a show and do like Johnny Cash Covers and Pearl Dan Covers and what happened to age 17. So I've done some of that.
Like I learned like, okay, here's how it can be in front of the crowd and all that. I've been moving to Iowa City and it was like, oh, this is where there's great, there's great artists around me. I knew about Greg Brown, Dave Zolo and you know, Bo Ramsey and a whole host of others that sort of paved the way. Dave Moore, they kind of, there was this sparkle of the mill.
And the mill was, yeah, our IP. Yeah, absolutely. Yep. We needed another high rise with a burrito place on the bottom floor.
I hope you can hear my eyes rolling through the microphone. I love burritos. We didn't need another high rise with the first floor's retail space. We didn't but there was a whole scene there.
I knew what I was giving to a little bit. But I started talking about these punk shows, always a band of punk rock and hardcore and weird. There was a lot of weird bands at that time. So I would, you know, make friends with folks and just sort of like get to talking to people and be like, hey, can I have a show for you guys?
Sure. You know, and they let me and so I was kind of my way in was just like, can I play through your horse long before your band plays, you know, and they'd let me and got to know some of the promoters and kind of work my way up like that. This was in like 1999, you know, 2000. And so I always had to, I was always by myself.
So in order to stick out, I had to really, you know, I want to say, I had a thing really loud. I had to be I had to be bigger than myself. That makes me think I had to like occupy more space than what you mean. And so I learned how to sort of give people's attention in a way and just really saying and very thing loudly and to even get people to be able to hear you in a loud club or whatever.
So a lot of that, I never let go almost to my detriment now. I'll be playing like a quiet seat or whatever, listen and it's seated. I'm still just screaming and I need to realize that I don't need to scream anymore. I they're listening now.
But some of that I need to probably let go but I can't help it. So a lot of that developed early where it was just like a case. I got a really like make an impression and stick out. So yeah, I know that was learned early.
I got my 10,000 hours like pretty early, but yeah, play a playing a lot. And yeah, I love Iowa City. As I've said many times before, at the nearest town to where I live, it felt like a big city. When I was a kid coming from the farm going up there, it felt like a big city, you know, it is, it's compared to where I am.
It is. And the university and everything, it's all meeting a lot of different kind of folks and folks of all colors and genders and sexual orientations, you know, all the whole spectrum of everybody, you know, getting different people. I'm so cool. And again, I still my friends, a lot of them are still on the best run today.
So that was a huge thing to just meet a bunch of different types of folks. So that I want to go to the world after that. But yeah, Iowa City definitely shaped a lot of what I still do today. I love it there.
That's where it definitely cut my teeth. A lot of places I played, aren't you in there anymore? So by 2012, yeah, I mean, I hadn't lived there for years by that time. But when I go there, it still feels like home.
It still feels like I'm doing a hometown show, you know, I live like an hour and a half south of it. Iowa City still feels like the hometown. Which is awesome. I love Iowa City.
It's a fun city. There's always like a lot going on for the universities there. Everybody's so nice, which I think is a hallmark of the Midwest and specifically the state of Iowa. I kind of with that being said, obviously the Midwest and Iowa specifically are a really important part of your life and has a large influence on your music today.
But a lot of people think Iowa is flat. It has a lot of corn and it's boring. I'll say one of those is true. It's the corn one.
What can you talk about something that's underrated in Iowa or maybe like doesn't get the credit it deserves? Oh, that's great. Yeah. So I hear this a lot from people and I get it.
Like we're saying that nobody thinks of, you know, we're a dark horse, you know, and there's lots of those. There's people from places that just don't get the headlines. People just don't think of us and I don't blame anyone. That's okay.
If you've driven through most people, so yeah, I drove through there. Okay. And what they mean is they drove through there on IAD going from New York City to LA or whatever. The South of the world is struck stop.
Yep. Yep. South of Walcott. Yep.
You know, there is a lot of corn. I have a lot of thoughts on how bad that is. You know, I wish it wasn't such a mono culture. I wish farming could be much more diversified.
Mm-hmm. Nature wants diversity. Everything you do does better with diversity. The corn and soybeans, it's too bad.
That's kind of that mono culture. But that is absolutely right. A lot of agriculture. But where I'm from, by the Mississippi here on the East Side, it's really hilly and there's beautiful bluffs and woods and streams and cricks and it's just a beautiful, you know, and there's a lot of parts of Iowa that are like that if you're looking for natural people.
Now, where that interstate is, of course, something that's where they put their states. It's where it's massive black. That's what you need to build. That's why the interstate there.
If you get off that a little bit, like anywhere, like any state, you start to see some color and some more interesting things. And there's a lot of music and there's always been a lot of, you know, a lot of music happening. Like Des Moines is a great music city, Iowa City, Ames, Dubuque, Iowa, like Quad Cities, you know, Davenport. You know, so it's always been like panorrhythmic pans and art and music, great museums.
Yeah, things like that that people might not think of. And then again, Iowa is not special in that way. Like, anywhere you can think of has cool stuff that you, the people might not think of, I'm about to do a tour. I'm about to go on tour.
I've been here in forever, but I'm going on tour to Florida and here in February and I played all over Florida. I've done it a lot of times and it's just been a lot of years and again, it's easy to go Florida. I know better. I'm still like, I don't want to go Florida.
This is an example. I'm not going to do it. I'm about to actually compliment Florida. There's cool people there.
Cool music and cool stuff. Yes, the headlines say a lot of wildlife about Florida, of course, and that's all true too. Very nuanced, but there's great people and great food and great culture there too. You know, of course, so I would take for someone to think of Iowa and go, oh, it's just red tape.
You know, you could read headlines and think a lot about what I want must be like and say, no, this whole diverse cast of us. So I want people to remember that too. I mean, Illinois, yes, anyway, you could be mistaken thinking Illinois is just Chicago, but you know, you drive outside of Chicago a couple hours and it's farm time. I'm always interested in how places defy expectation.
And so I think Iowa does that once you get under the surface a little bit. I mean, that's, I think those of us that live here know that and I think it's just like living anywhere else. But sometimes it maybe doesn't get the full, you know, props that it deserves. So I always like to ask, especially from an Iowa native.
Yeah, okay. So you're born, you were born in Iowa? So I'm born kind of outside of Chicago in Illinois and then I went to a University of Iowa for undergrad. So I've, you know, made a tour of the Midwest and love it all.
Gotcha. Gotcha. Yup. Yup.
No, I love Chicago. One always awesome to you. But no, that's awesome. And yeah, that's why I want to write songs that say Iowa in them, you know, there's not enough songs about Iowa.
And so I wanted to sort of add to that and, you know, think to create a little bit and fully recognizing all the bad stuff to be like anywhere. There's no way on earth that's perfect. And all the people are perfect that exists. So I get that Iowa is complicated.
Kind of as you were talking about all these cool things that are in Iowa, I know you, of course, in addition to being a musician, you're working on your farm and from kind of what I can see, even on like social media or in your newest music video for break even, I don't know if you would call yourself a woodworker or a craftsman or a builder, but is that a stress reliever? Is it a hobby? Or is it necessity for fixing things around your property? Oh, that's great.
Oh, I love this. I love making stuff. I've always loved making things. And my father-in-law is a craftsman.
He worked in the Americana colony in Iowa, which is like a historical colony. You know, that was just settled by German, you know, a couple hundred years ago or whatever. And if it's a real hotbed of like, you go there and get your handmade tables and cabinets and furniture and things. And my father-in-law worked there as a furniture maker for, for, for, for, yeah, decades.
And what I started getting into it when my wife, you know, like 17 years ago, you know, her dad was like, oh, he's like, he can actually make a beautiful furniture. I've always liked like making stuff. Like, I don't know how to make a dovetail joint, how to actually, you know, I screw stuff together and whatever. And so he used to taught me how to get into the real joinery, like real woodworking.
And so over the years, I've been working on that. And it really is a stress reliever, sort of a flow stage. Like, music is like that for me too. But sometimes I need something different.
The music I need another thing. So I go up to my woodshop. It was my dad's old garage when I was growing up. He worked on cars and stuff in there.
And they, so my folks passed away a long time ago, but it's in the process, the last couple decades of turning it into my woodshop. And so I think I'll collect these old hang tools, specifically hand tools, because I mean, I like table saws and circular saws and when I need to build a dog house or whatever, I'm gonna get out the electric saw, you know, but for actually building furniture and building things like that, I didn't really know the hang tool thing. And part of that was when my daughter was born, I could bring me when she was really little, just a baby and she'd be sleeping like a bring her out in her career for in her little carrier and I could bring her out to the shop. And so I, you know, you can't have anything too loud.
I was already in the hang tools, but that time really made me get into just working with silent, beautiful hand tools and no, no ear protection needed, no desk mask needed. You know, you're just, it's so calm and nice and meditative and she could just sleep in her little carrier. And you know, and I could, you know, feel the way and make things. And I made so many like decorative boxes and school like, I'm striving to get better and better.
But so partly it was, yeah, my father-in-law and then having my daughter and not needing the loud noises and my fingers, I mean, I'm thinking like the table saw. I mean, how many days do I got before a table saw? I can't even play, so how many hand tools are doing when it was time to, I really like those YouTube videos where it's like almost ASMR or something building something and it makes something from nothing. And I was like, oh, I want to make a feel like that, you know, enough to song.
And so we had this big women's doing last summer and knocked over a bunch of trees. And so in the beginning of that video, I took the walnut tree that's knocked sideways and, you know, I'm like, oh, I can all saw it and I'll make a stool from this walnut tree for the way of taking the lemons and making lemonade, so to speak. So that was, that was the idea. And so the woodworking has been a real, a real savior.
I really love it. And finding old, wealthy tools and garage sales and stuff and fixing them up and using them. I've got tools that were my dads, you know, and my tools that were my grandpas that were rusty and I cleaned them up. And so I'm using a tool that's like 150 years old that my grandpa used.
And there's something beautiful about that, you know, from a tree that's from my yard. And it's just, it just makes me so happy. So that video, I wanted to kind of capture that in that video. But the working, you know, this music goes sideways.
Maybe I can do that. I'd have to charge about $1,000 for every stool I make because it's like hours. That's the con of using hands tools. It takes a little longer, but you know, and the product is pretty cool.
Not, not for a business, but anyway, yeah. So that's, it's been a real fun, uh, fun hobby. I think it's, people need some hobbies, man. And make, make stuff with your hands is a good place to start.
And like Nick Offerman said, if I'm no annoying, I'm no annoying, but the great Nick Offerman always said like that's growing up on the farm. He had to learn how to fix stuff. And I had to watch my dad like, no, I can't go by this. I need to just fix this.
And so you did, there was an aspect of it like that too, right? You got to learn to kind of be a little handy. And he says it's called just being a midwesterner. Yep.
That's, that's it. That's not mine. We just called it being a midwestern. You learn how to fix stuff and do stuff.
So there was always that too. But as far as making like a beautiful piece of furniture, that, that's recent in my life. I can make something kind of elegant and kind of nice, you know. So it's a never any journey.
You never quite get there, but you're always striving. Yeah, which is good. We're here for the journey, right? The end destination is great, but it's all about the process.
Yeah. Yeah. I'm like butcher this, but there's an old Chinese, I think Chinese, a proverb and I'm all butcherate maybe, but my uncle's a fan of saying this house, house done, man die. I mean, you think you're done.
You've been fixing up your house and you think it's all done. That's when you're going to die. You know, like you need to always be thinking, what else can I do? Can I prove it this way?
Like you could be in craft, it could be anything. You're working on yourself. You can think, I'm done. I've learned everything.
I'm perfect. I wake up every day and I'm just like, nope, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, so you can always be working, whether it's on your house or yourself or a new song or a painting or an essay or anything, always be working. And that's nothing new. We know that, right?
But I'm just a mind to myself and remind everyone, always be shot and always be working. Because when you think you're done, that's death. Well, I'm excited maybe for this potential. William Elliott, what more would working ASMR album followed closely by the children's album?
So can't we? Yeah, yeah. I'm still waiting in the works. I still got them.
I still got them. I never throw a song away. I got it. So it might be a kid's album still.
It wasn't the right time before, but maybe now it is. Okay. All right. We got the scoop.
I love this. But I got one more question for you. Thinking about like your music, being a fusion of various styles, like your background, your hobbies are a blend of like a variety of things. And your personal style, I think, is also a mixture.
Like your style, your fashion is just cool. Like your vibe is cool. You're cool. Like we love it.
You're cool. I often find that people with a cool style are just earnestly, authentically themselves. They're not putting up a facade. They're open to risk.
They're trying new things, but they're mostly just living their truth. So since it's January, maybe if there's somebody out there that has a 2024 resolution to be more authentic to where would they want to wear, to learn what they want to learn, to play the music they want to play. What advice would you have for someone like that? Oh, I love this.
I love this. You know, whenever I'm asked anything similar to this, I always think like I need to be taking advice from other people. I shouldn't be giving it. I should be asking advice and I do.
But if I had to give some, I mean, you said it absolutely. Do your best to be your authentic self. I mean, now more than ever, it doesn't matter. Like just everything gets so homogenized again, not a new observation.
But it gets all blend together. Now you could just put on the costume and be whatever but I think that the best stuff is when you mix it all up, you mix up your influences and you make it your own. And it's so trite and it's been said a million times, but I just think it's so true. If you're a kid that likes golf music and farming and knitting and you know, I'm trying to think of just a bunch of seemingly different stuff.
Like then that's you. Like that's everything. You don't have to be one thing and the cool thing is, I think I say kids that you know, people under 30 or whatever. I think you know that now more than ever.
I think I think so that gives me some hope. So that's why I say I should be asking them for advice. They could probably teach me a few things, you know, but but in this year, this year of our Lord 2024, you know, strive to be yourself and make your make your imprint on this world. Ring your bell, you know, your bell has a certain frequency, your little bell, each other little bell and you ring it and you just ring it and that frequency that sticks out.
People eventually go, well, I want the sound of that bell and or they don't or it doesn't job now or it does or whatever, but it doesn't doesn't matter if people like whatever, if you're in the creative field, so just do your thing and you have to you have to because as we talked about earlier, time goes by and you have to just do that stuff now, just do what makes you feel good and unless what makes you feel good is crummy and like crappy. Yeah, it makes you feel good is like hurting people or something. Don't you that. Yeah.
But I mean, you know, be yourself, do your thing and and help people. It does help people. You might be ringing a little bell and not like just the frequency someone needs to hear. Now, now I'm sort of thinking in terms of like social media, a kid making a little video of them of them crocheting a sweater.
I don't know. I don't know what to do. Or anything like if you making a positive, my cousin's son, he's like 11 or 12 and he's super to cooking. He plays piano and he plays music and he does all this stuff.
But his latest thing is he's super cooking and like, plating up beautiful plates of food. He's like 11 or 12. He makes little videos about it. I'm just like that, that kid.
That's amazing. Like I just I'm into like, you know, making a beautiful steak and cutting it open and then plating it up really beautifully and taking a picture of it and then making a YouTube video about it. Like, there you go. That's the thing.
Whatever your thing is, just do it and have fun. Even if you're not filming it, now I'm taking it off social media, whatever. Don't worry about that. Just bring your bell.
Oh, I love that. I think that's so true. It's like, I'm an artist. So I think it's so important for creators for non-creatives.
But I think everybody is really creative because when you're making things when you're trying things, you are adding to the world and I think we all we all need it. Yeah. And yeah, then exactly. I think we're all creative just in different ways.
Everyone's creative. If you think you're not, it's not, it's not some magic thing. I'm not creative because I don't paint beautiful pictures or whatever. Like, it's now, we're all creative.
We're all creating something. You might just be creating a vibe. Which is so important. The vibe is not a big idea.
As a kid, you should be using a vibe. But, you know, just energy, just goodness. It is in the world. You're creating that.
So like, create it well. So it's not some magic thing. It's not some of us do it and others don't or whatever. There's just different ways to do it.
So whatever your thing is, just do it well. Well, I love that is the perfect. I don't even have much more to say because that is the perfect way to kind of wrap up our time together. But I want to say a huge thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me.
Such a fan, such a listener. So this has been so lovely to get to talk with you. And I know we're all super excited for the upcoming album. Thank you, Ellen.
Indeed. I appreciate it greatly. Thank you very much for listening to this WXAV 88.3 FM podcast. Be sure to visit our website wxav.com for more information on your escape from ordinary radio.