S1: E1: Paul Hartwell - The Other Half of H2

Hey it's Randy Hulsey here with backstage pass radio and i'm joined by special guest today and we go way back to the The school days together we've played shows over the years together. He's a successful business person. Father husband a recording artists. Who has a cd available for download. Called joy in the storm will talk about that a little bit during the show. He's a local musician. And one dares longtime friends. And we'll jump into a chat with paul hartwell so stay tuned. This is backstage. Pass radio the podcast. That's designed for the music junkie with a thirst for musical knowledge. Hi this is Adam Gordon i wanna thank you all for joining us today. Make sure you like subscribe and turn alerts on for this and all upcoming podcasts. And now here's your host backstage. Pass radio randy through.

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everyone i am here with my buddy. Paul hartwell paul welcome to the show. Glad to be here. Glad to be here lead. You could make it across town. I guess you came in from conroe rice. Yes how was that. Track over here was pretty pretty smooth. Actually what did you take ninety nine over two ninety nine and it was. It was smooth sailing. So let's go back to the school days. We'll talk a little bit about the coming up. And paul the youngster and how music develop for you over time so myself. I went to you. Know i was a pearl hall guy. South houston intermediate went onto south houston. High school what schools did you come up through what i went Jessup until fifth grade and then we moved and went to johnson. Elementary from there went to miller and then went to south Houston also. well we. We met dark. i mean year. Yeah yeah i think so. Probably doing things. We weren't supposed to be doing all right. That's another podcast. Tell me a little bit about what was your involvement in high school. You know i think for for me. I was the choir guy you know. I spent a lot of years in the choir. So that was kind of my my staple and high school. What were you involved in back then but in high school really. I was more involved in golf on the golf team. All four years in one of my biggest regrets will as not being in choir or band. I think that our loved it. I don't know never had to. God is to go in it. I mean my brother never was in it and my mom and dad they didn't you know really encouraging but they they're big time music lovers. Yeah my love of music came from a mom and dad absolutely john denver. Merle haggard willie nelson was always planning. Yes all sure. Yeah gal i go back to sixth grade. I joined the choir. Maybe because i was too small to play sports so so i gravitated to the choir. And i found that. I'm still dumb as a musician but it gave me a really good foundation of theory that most people don't have i think a lot of musicians today are just i play by ear. I don't know what a quarter note is. i don't know what a a dotted half note is they don't know those things and i think the clar gave you a good appreciation for proper singing techniques and also time to to seeing into your part and to have that good rhythm right so i think there was some good things that were picked up from the choir. Oh absolutely absolutely so you talk a little bit about musical influences so back in those days like the junior high days. I think were very impressionable as it relates to music. You know that's when we're we're really getting into you know we're we're hitting the teenage years and were listening to what. What do you remember being the music of choice or the band of choice back then. What kind of shaped you to move forward in your life and then we'll talk about. Maybe some influences today right has grown adult started. You know rock and roll with with kiss of course but my brother and my cousin darrell. They were big. Acdc fans and this was before. The the breakout. How would hells. We're talking about how voltage Let there be rock. You won't blood. You got it. And i just grew in appreciation. Love those songs. I mean it just just it. Just something always gravitated to him by Thirteenth birthday september twentieth nineteen seventy-nine. My brother bought me a ticket. And we saw ac dc at the musical with bon scott original singer. It was a hollywood hill to her and Molly hatchet open forum. So while i still remember that wild curly krill. Yeah that's really cool. Yeah and then So molly hatchet opened opened up for them and that was where you said in dallas. No no that was a musical allows us a call. Oh yeah yeah well you need was what five months later Bon scott passed away so it was a. I was really fortunate to be able to him though. He was a fantastic performer. I mean just to the great rock and roll singer but on always always influences of like i said mom so Ahead the the the the country folk that already had appreciation and love for and then rock and roll came along. I think music is always been such a driving force in my life. It comforts me heels. Me it takes me places it a such appreciation for music general. I know that you and i have played taken guitars out on the patio and other places in the house. And i've known that about your mom and dad as they always sat and were attentive to the song they were inside the song there so many people that are not inside the song these days they hear it. They hear it for the music they here. They know the lyrics but they they don't hear it. You know what i'm saying like they don't. There's a three and a half minutes story that's being told and music and you either get it or you don't and that's how i listened to music. I know that's how you listen to it. And i could tell from those times that we play together and have a beer on the patio kind of thing that they were genuinely into the music and love to hear what you were delivering or we were delivering or whoever was there playing. Yeah that's cool but then but your mom and dad were not musicians. They were not formally trained in anything. It was just the playing of the radio and albums and stuff growing up so that that's cool. He always had. He always had a willard smartphone maker around the organ and he'd had the oregon eddie played all the time he had the easy note chord charts and and basically playing the melody with the right hand. You cheat and dig it and and it but that helped me to you know and and i played a little bit of that but it wasn't until nineteen ninety one a graduate college. I was in oklahoma city. I said you know by me. Guitar was twenty four years old as a learned plays guitar. And just you know. Keep his love music going. And who's the best decision remains. That's interesting because there's telepathy here. That i was going to ask you and of course i know the answer to that but i gonna ask you where you and instrumentalist you know as a young kid or did that come later later on so it sounded like it come later on you know in the day so the age again was how old i was. Twenty four okay. So you were. You were well out of college. And and okay gotcha. Yeah and it. just I took a few lessons and it wasn't a to came back to houston shoot. August was nineteen ninety-one and started playing with dave goodwin. We such accomplished guitar player. And we really helped me along and got me going so we played together couple years. Yeah and show me alone the guitar. that's cool. I think we all have that mentor right. The person that inspires us to even pick up the guitar to begin with you know mine was mark. You know over the years and day for you and that's really cool so the guitars the instruments choice for you. A with without a doubt right. I mean you're you're solo artists plan with josh. We'll talk a little bit about How that's going josh here shortly. But why do you think it was at the guitar. And not the organ you know. There was the the world sir organ you. you spoke of. Why not the blues harp. Why not something else. Vile handwrite. I'd have to say just a rock and roll. In general you know as far as angus young and and jimi hendrix and eddie van halen was come on the scene came

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on the scene and and just a loved it i loved. Where would what that music did to me. Yeah and how that guitar just riff would just drive is driving. It goes right to the left to the bones. Yeah absolutely absolutely. I agree and you know this is certainly a podcast to learn more about you and you know where you've been your upcoming what you have going on miza sim- similar story. That mind started with a classical piano teacher. So i was a pianist at first but then i got to that age that teenage age. Where you're like. Who wants to listen to classical music. Not not that. There's anything wrong with that but you're you're a teenager you know you're getting into the girls you know you are listening to. Yep this musical here did you. Don't buy yeah exactly so so at some point in time i cut ties with that classical piano teacher. I still continue to play the piano. But that's when. I picked up the guitar and change teachers. And you know i started learning things like sticks paradise theatre record and that's when everything changed for me so did you. Did you have any guitar. Heroes growing up. You know you're guitarist. Was there any body. That really influenced the guitar for you. I know there's a lot of artists that you probably like but was there one or two guitarist. That just did it. For you i know you spoke of angus young but was there any others. That might have really drove you to be a a better guitarist or want to learn to play. You know randy. Rhoads play with ozzy that digital itchy blew me away because he had such a classical training and in the way he played the electric. And you've never heard it like that before you know. But personally i mean i would say also besides dave goodwin. A troy melville troy was accomplished guitar player. Also a local just watching troy play in how he played it was. It just inspired me. Don marquel jasmine's brother get used to sit there and watch him him brought proctor in the living room. And just did you. Blew me away watching him play the electric guitar or they're the bass guitar can't now of course i knew desmond i knew dom you domin. I played onstage at fitzgerald's together. That was my first meeting with dom and he passed some years after that. I didn't know that don went back to tied back with brought proctor. And i remember brought proctor from high school bass player. And i think he's with. Jj donna might now or or or was associated. I don't know much about the band. Or what not but. It seems like his name was tied to jj dynamite. Yeah yeah now he's with. JJ Dynamite might now was a great hat Brock. I'm sure that the musical taste has probably changed somewhat over time. You know the ac dc's back in the day to to the man you are now the stuff you're playing on stage. How do you see. Has there been genre switch like have you said well i used to be a rock guy but now i'm a this guy or i mean how do you think that the taste has changed over the years you know. I think it's just become more inclusive. It's it's the songs touch me to songs that move me. That can move other people. I want people to come in. Take a ride with me ride. Just does this have a blast together and listen this place a music sing along with me let it move hewlett move me and and that's what i searched for Could be it could be rocked. Could be country could be folk all all different genres. And i don't think a lot of people understand the feeling that you get from delivering a song to somebody. That is is attentive to the song and that's really there to listen to the song. There is no greater gift to give than the gift of song. And i know that you concur with that because it it can change you yell i. It's powerful me. Music itself. I mean from the bible i mean. The the whole book of psalms is song and that that always resonated chirp. That's a great segue into your cd project that you had some years back. I don't. I'm horrible with dates and timelines for whatever reason i'm great remembering names faces and musical trivia but for some reason the dates don't stick in my brain for some reason but let's talk about the joy in the storm project. Probably gonna bro some cobwebs off your brain a little bit there. How did that come about wind. Did you wake up one day and say man. I wanna do a cd. And i know that it's more along the religious gospel lines so so talk me through that. Where did the idea come from. And what was on your mind at the time. Well it at the time was In the worship team at sanderson a baptist. Church deer park. I started writing songs. I started writing songs. That i would get up in the morning during reading bible scripture and whatever and nasa you don't wanna own take this making a song and maybe touched somebody that didn't read it that way or don't don't ever read the bible and so i ended up writing wrote a number songs but we use eleven of on the on the cd muddy. Jim finley Who are started working with. At and t. It was starting to become a producer himself and he had all the equipment in his house and we ended up. We hammered out all those songs and seabrook and jim thome Get weird studio. We got put these down. And so we want to sound studios. Were to brian baker we recorded and it's it's just recently. I got it put on all the streams out there which is You know spotify amazon. You name it. Yeah i'm very proud of it and as a side note. We just lost a jim's dad recently and he was on that saw he was on the song. Join a stormy singing the base on it. You know how funny how ironic even that. You mentioned that because yesterday i queued up and listen to the entirety. The whole cd from start to finish. And i remember listening to in the storm and i said who's who's the oak ridge boys doing the base part right. I heard the base. The base kind of it just stuck out for some reason and i'm like I guess it was one of the studio musicians that they use to. To lay down vocal tracks. Right so i had no idea that that was jim's dad and Sorry to hear about the passing of this father. I didn't know gem that well I remember seeing him. If my memory serves me correctly he was in a band called hollister fractious as back in the day and the dude didn't wear no shoes did he. No he never wore shoes. I loved yet. So i i remember jim back from those days but jim is out. He's a producer in l. a. Now and he has a production company of course but he also does Finley audio machines correct and this is i think guitar and drums samples that he records produces and then he sells those two people. I is that what you understand. The business to be a belief so any still produces different Musical acts and so forth but I oh so much. The gm a main gym never took one penny for any of the producing the hammering. No songs out anything. He did it as a labor of love. And i just wanna give a shout out the gm in a love you and appreciate you and in 'em and we did play join the storm at his dad's funeral okay. It was the last song. Yeah so it was. that's appropriate. Yeah well that's cool. And i'm a firm believer that friends don't take from friends either so that probably gave him more enjoyment to to give you his professional gift than anything that he could have charged you by by way of hourly rate. Just if you guys are looking for audio tracks like a drum tracks and guitar tracks make sure you check out gyms at make music better dot com a little shameless plug their for jam. I know that he's living the dream out there in los angeles. I same

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I same this bike on the beach beach while while you and i well you don't go to work anymore. But that's that's neither here nor there. But i still get up and go to work and i wanna get to that point where i get to ride my bike on the beach produce music. I would be really cool so we're jealous. I'm jealous jam. What was the name of the studio that the effort was written in yes sound art studios and that was what part of town. It's over off. it's in the afc. I say bory town. Brian baker still the manager. There does a fantastic job. Yes the last short of my recording studio and the other part of my house. The last studio that i was in with studio b in nashville and that was really really cool to be inside that studio. Where some of the great said recorded like elvis in the everley brothers and whatnot looking back. Is there anything you would change about that effort. The song choice Would you add more songs taken away. Some songs means there anything that you would hindsight twenty twenty. Yeah jim talked about that before you know and he said you know there's sometimes you just get to a point in time and you do your best you know and and you're satisfied with it. You know that that it's we're proud of it. Yeah and we are. I mean there's those saw of had so many people that reached out to me in how those songs at comforted them. Were touch them in a certain way. And it's like yeah. That's that's why they were done. Well that's good because that's your freshman effort and that's great. You don't look back and say well man. I should've done this. I regret that and we certainly look forward to more recordings. I don't know if there's any plans in the future. But certainly we in forward to some or josh ma. My son john hart who plays percussion with me. He's he's starting to record. And we're gonna we're gonna record some some songs now in noam us on just recorded one with him in on that right now so. Yeah so i'm looking forward to it right. Well let us know when that drops and we'll get the word out there. I think of all the songs on the cd. I'm there there's one that stuck out was my favorite. And i'd like to share that song with the listeners. Right now so cue. That up and again like paul said you can find these out on all the streaming. Media's the spotify i tunes check it out paul well joy in the storm and we'll go ahead and queue up a song called still counting at times. It's hard to say. It oldie. Considering where i have been water down a little fe. There's love and this great. He's there's lot of palm face and peace in my undeserving. Love is there when all this piece is their shoes mountain to a man blessing. You still can still take this time to raise by praise to you for all you brought me as live you've given me for all eternity your love. Is there when all this piece is there when prey on now to a man glistening still can stay That was still counting the joy in the storm. Cd a really liked that that tune. What was the was there. Certain inspiration behind that particular tune you can remember. I just I was just thinking the blessings. I had you know my family and job and so forth and knew we had health and our family and now just it's just a way of

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is hoping that resonate across other people for sure and i i think about the guitar that knows got now in austin a love the guitar which one which one is my first taylor. A three ten of the three ten. He's got it. I want it back. I was gonna say. Did you give it to immerse. He just borrow in sleight permanently. I gave it to him. But i don't wanna that that might have been a mistake there. I'm not giving anybody guitars. Not while i'm still here. And i wanted to go to kind of personal spot and and it's probably still attenders subject but you you lost your dad last year and i and i know that was hard on the family. How's how's your mom doing these days after the loss. Yes she she's doing good she's doing good and Spend as much time with her as can and You know we're we're getting through it. And i know it was hard on youtube because i know you loved it. Yeah i was. I was thinking about the other day. You know he was your dad. Of course he was. What twenty years my senior. But it was almost like he was a friend to me like you know. Everybody has that that older friends and he was part of the game. He was part of the game. You know we through washers together. We had a lot of good times. I tried to never turning down when he wanted to play golf. You know he. And i played out here at at black horse quite a few times and you know we. We always tried to get together and do that. But he's a he's definitely missed and will be missed for sure but i didn't. I didn't want that to go. Unnoticed know because i definitely Respected your dad and He he will be most he was. He was such a force of life he loved. He loved to make people laugh and laugh with people. It it's You know that. He had joy of living. And i wanna continue that. Yeah for sure and we we could tell lots of stories here on this podcast. we'll We'll save those for For round the campfire. Something like that. So let's go ahead and jump into a little bit about the music. Greg like i want to share what your setup is what you use on stage so talk to me about guitar of choice when you're playing your shows or multiple guitars whatever whatever those may be archetype choice actually is a fender telecaster. I love to play that thing. But playing what i play with just in an acoustic setting or just me and my son plan percussion. It doesn't lend itself very well. So bus. A stick with the taylor and i love it too. I just i just kinda love the feel the way that feels on me. Pa wise. I used the e thirty am now android issues. A foot pedal a A multi effects bill of the boss Immediate and it allows to loop lousy but some delay or you know lecture course here or an increased volume if i need to and and it served me well. Yeah i have a loop pedal on on my board as well. But i stay away from it. Because i'm i'm not that proficient with it so the things i don't know well. I tend to stray away from right especially during locked performance. I definitely want to fine tune that a little bit in the studio and then and then kind of carry it out to a live show. But i've also always had somebody mostly playing with me so we had our own songs that we did and i just never had a reason to really introduce the loop pedal but i see so many artists use in it. And it's i mean there's some great youtube or artists that i stumbled across that it brings out another dimension of the music right you just being a solo artist. You can build a song Just a loop pedal. I don't really do that. I will loop a progression corporation as some of these songs may have the same progression throughout the whole song with verse chorus. And everything and you can loop at one time employee earl song built by some lead. And what have you. Josh will let me know if. I'm not proficient in for that do that. Luke needs to stop the kid. Tell his dad what what he can and can't do right. He's got a masters degree in percussion can't argue whether he go wrong out. Encourage anybody tar player out there. Get you a loop pedal heaven in your arse nor have it to practice with. I can't tell you how many times. I will just loop a two or three core progression and just play for thirty minutes on that progression. Try different stuff. Go up and nick try some stuff up here and scale appear maybe the middle neck or the or the bottom and just It's such a great practice tool sure and then that that can carry over into a really great live performance to hoping one day and So so you brought up josh. You brought up his education. You have josh play with you at. I think most all of your shows now. Right or josh. So how many shows are you playing with him. When did he get interested in play and like when did that all come about because he's always been a musician. I remember him as a young kid. Him and noah both has young kids and play drums and guitar like wind. Did all that. Come about that. You and josh would start playing together. Well you know him at him. Tell the story. I guess but i'm thinking back. When we were in church that he will play with Or or or watch jodi willis. Who was our drummer. And jodi would the few things you know. And he'd get up and you know he had an interest in drums. I went one day and bought a used drum set. You know nice drum said brought it home. My wife cheryl's like we doing if he let him try it. I always want to provide the tools for them musically if they don't use it also at all keep it myself but he took it up i mean he. He continued to play. We would even go an elementary school. At the talent show days. I would take off that day or half day. Take the kid up there in the morning. Let him play his talent show and then take it back home. You know and It just it stuck with him. He played he played in the In marching band or a biden band in junior high the marching band in high school Deer park high school. He played the marching band at Macneice state and in louisiana and then he went to grad school in. Unlv ain't got his master's degree and He was planning on plan the strip and gigging at least for a year but then when cove it hit discount of derailed everything you wrote but it was a benefit to me because then i get to play with the you know somebody rain me in a little bit. I know that my son and his fiancee were planning to get married in vegas around that time and cova derailed the wedding of course but we had hotels and everything setup through josh friend that worked for some of the properties out there and we were looking forward to getting out there and see and josh hopefully performed somewhere but it just it it never came about it just did just raucous pulled out from all those guys for sure. Josh is a podcast her and has a podcast called the root of mental podcast in. I'm going to assume that that's for percussionist. They're talking about percussionist things which i short of you know snare tom floor com hot. I know the names of all the all the pieces for the drums. But i don't. I'm not a player of the drum. So i bought his first drum kit and i was hoping i'd get on it but i haven't been on the as we'll see what happens. Yeah that's a. It's a tender subject. Isn't i said i said if he's like forty eight if he's already forty eight episodes into the podcast. There's a good chance that you're not gonna be on it. He probably doesn't want to retire. Hack on his drum podcast. I'm just thinking. I'm thinkin for josh right now and i'm sure he doesn't need me to do that a. Lovey josh. Yeah let's talk about places that you're currently play in. Have coming up by way of shows. Well every friday night. I play it Napoli's wine cafe which is in the heights on forty six hundred washington. Boulevard were forty six to one washington boulevard other nats. It's adding some some shows here and there are lay jackie's a brick house. This sunday. i played it The habanero in the end the wairoa of a mexican restaurant of last saturday so just kind of throwing a few more in now over in addition and apple. But it's been a good time it's been it's been a really A learning experience too. As far as playing napoli's every single friday the same place in in being able to

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emit up the songs and read the crowds and we talked earlier before we started recording about set lists and and being that you play there every friday night. Do you change that settling up. Does it does it. D- va ties at the same. Want me through that. well there are some. I've been trying to do sparsely but derr there are some that i do every week. Just trying to into resonate with the crowd. It's it's an eclectic crowd. It can be young Elderly to you know just you name it. So it that challenge. I think really helped me as far as trying to please. Whoever comes in that door you know. Give them experience at that will remember. Well it's almost the old adage of for old saying adapt migrated. I mean you have to Adapt and not not be so rigid. And i guess we that conversation with with Terry was in here talking to us and and she told me. I was a little rigid about my sets because i like to make the sets and stick to them but hey it works for me right and i get out there and i play a lotta shows during the year and it's it's always work. I haven't been fired yet. So i i don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing but It's it's worked for militias. Put it that way from a booking of the shows. Are you your own agent. Do you have agency that that helps you book. I mean talk to me about that. Because i think that's you know for me. I was just book by an agency recently. But i've always booked my own stuff. I always tell people have the greatest agent in the world. And that's me of course but how does it work for you. Is it just word of mouth you have. Is it a first degree network connection that. Hey i know somebody that owns this place. Is that kinda how. Yeah i don't have a booking agent. But i have a lot of great loving friends that will look out for me. Sure about well check this out or or they'll give one of my cards to homer. Tell me about them. Introduce me to him and so forth in always appreciate that. Yeah for sure. The word of mouth thing is very powerful and i i was talking to somebody the other day about when i first started out i think in two thousand sixteen play out professionally again with page shows and whatnot and it was. It was tough. It was knocking knocking on doors and saying. Hey i'm a musician. And i'm sure there thought was yeah. You and seventy three million. Other people are musicians but as you establish your names out there you you. You work I don't know if you'd call it a a pedigree or just places that you played you the places that you're trying to get into say. Oh well he played this place that place this place that place and then it makes you a little more credible like oh he must be pretty decent you know. Let's bring in for tribe so it certainly a lot easier to get into places when you've already established yourself as a as a local musician or we're winding down a little bit on time. One thing. I did want to make sure that we shared with the listeners. Is where they can find you on social media like as far shows or whatever you can maybe share some information around that for them while i'm on facebook of course on. They got part well and then also got or music. Music page Also mon instagram and on twitter. I had a website years ago. And i'm in a process going in kicking that up again. And when i when i get that amount stat out. But they can they can. They can find me on social media. Yeah also so. I i'll end the The show here with some quickfire questions for you make you think a little bit if you can answer them with one word answer great if you if you if you want to Kind of expound upon fill free to do that to beatles or the stones outside and oranges level both yeah. That's not a definitive answer. That's like i'm sorry. Van halen or hendrix van. Halen summer winter wonder. Tv aradio radio. That's interesting and i say kinda tongue-in-cheek all the time and joke around a little bit about it. But i i'm so stuck in the music that i love and that i came up with that my joke is i stopped. I turned off the radio in nineteen eighty nine and i never listened to it again after that. That's not one hundred percent true. I'm not much of a tv. I myself so. I'd have to have to go with radio myself. Perfect vacation for you. Where where would it be. Oh man perfect vacation. I think colorado conceded some john denver country. Yeah live those songs. Because i i went to colorado before and and just all the john zones came to life to me. Yeah what a great artist but a great artist. I know you've always been heavily influenced by john denver and i know your mom and dad were huge lovers of of john. John denver one of the greatest singer songwriters of our time possibly four times in concert sowing the last time two weeks before he passed and i was at jones hall and he played with the houston symphony and he was atop his game. I mean it was the visuals. Everything hit every note. I was just. I was blown away in. It's amazing to think that he's been gone over twenty years now from from was a plane crash. The monterey peninsula right monterey bay Was experimental planes along easy. And it's one of those planes that You've got to change the or change the gas tanks. But you gotta reach behind you to taint the lever in change it over and i think what happened when you reach behind him. At it nose-dived. It was october twelfth. Nineteen ninety seven. That was a big loss there. Yeah i can still remember you. Were kind of the one that turned me onto john. Denver's greatest hits picture. I can still visualize it. Him on the on the cover is kind of green Kind of a greenish. The cassette the back. Your back pocket for awhile. Maybe so maybe so. Yeah but great songs on that officer. Yeah all right acoustic or electric apples and oranges. Yeah there's no right. There's no right or wrong answer. I'd have to say i acoustic for me like i. Just that's what i play so yeah stay in or go out. Stay in and play some music there. You go go rocker country rock early bird or night owl early bird every every for those listening out there. There's no more of early bird than this guy. Any wakes up ready to go and his dad was the same damn way i can remember at one of our reunions We we probably didn't get into four o'clock in the morning and at four zero one. There was somebody banging on the window with chick-fil-a is ready to go. And it's like we've had one minute asleep you need to get. You need to leave dude. But i've i've always associated the early birds with with the heart. Wells right yes. let's see. You can plead the fifth on this one but favorite place to play. Oh and that can be for any reason rhino as good. That's a good question favorite play. You know of my favorite place to play is around campfire. There you go. That's that's a great answer for. There's no better. There's no bet setting. I don't play around the campfire friends. The last one i played was. I think it was leah's house Leeann vince calloway. The every year the Some of the guys that we graduated from high school with would would do a river trip and just just play in play around by the river. You know that's kind of the epitome of of what music should be. You know some some friends close friends with some drinks and an acoustic guitar. You can't beat that for sure. You have a favorite song to play live. Is there one that sticks out in your brain

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wants good question. You know right now. I think it changes you know changes But right now. It's the boxer by paul simon. It we we talked about that that it was redone by mumford and sons. But i've always loved the song. No the song but i never never played salter. Sure that's definitely a great song. I stumbled across a youtube video of a father and a son. And i think the son had to have probably been eight years old nine years old but his dad was playing. The boxer and the kid was singing in harmonies on. That and it sounded fantastic. I think that that was probably my first exposure to that song. And i mentioned to you before the before the show Went on the air that you guys did that really. Well a sounded good. And and josh lent a real nice percussion to to that song. It all fit together really wealth of vocals and and the drum parts. Thank you very much. Yeah number one influential musician or band. that's a tough one. 'cause they're different facets yeah. There's so many too. But i think. Sometimes that that david gilmour on the guitar he never played fast ever never played fast but he is not so memorable yeah his benz. His is the way he took those notes and and just took you somewhere in that song it out. He was not a flashy player by any stretch but the he could deliver. I mean some of the greatest. Solos that i can think of just like now that you're mentioning that just right off the top of my head you know you got comfortably numb you got you know another brick in the wall. I mean it's just like oh my gosh you know that guy was just like the tone the tonality of peace and again. It wasn't a speed thing it was just it was melodic and it is work. I heard david crosby said that Fender bender should have a statue of david gilmour further for their company. That would be fitting for sure for sure formal training or play by ear Kind of Kind of a little bit of both. I mean i do play by ear. But but youtube is is got an internet itself but youtube has got such a wealth of information to learn from if you wanna learn to play guitar piano whatever you want to learn a sing better. Go to youtube input in guitar lessons or vocal lessons and look what comes up. It's amazing you know. I was telling somebody that back when we were coming up. As as new guitarist there was no such thing as youtube. There was no such thing as tablets or you. You you literally took your your cassette or your cd or whatever. It was at the time. And you pop it in and you listened and you listened. And you hit stop and rewind. Stop rewind rewind until you hurt every note in that song and then you went back and tried to mimic it and it could take you weeks to learn that song. Now you got you got people going out in their learning songs and an hour yet. But like i always said like with with my son brandon. He's become a fabulous player. He's not formally trained so if if he's sitting in i'm not downing him when i say this is just. It's a matter of fact but if you're in a band set you gotta drummer. You gotta keyboard player. You got all these guys and somebody says twelve bar blues and the key of b or the key in they break off you know it could be a struggle for somebody that doesn't understand. Port chord progressions and the theory behind that right. So that's why. I've always said it's important to know a little bit about the theory because then it all makes sense but back to the tablets piece if you don't if you just look at tablets and you don't know the song. There's no way that you're in rhythm because tablets doesn't teach you rhythm right it's just you're playing something note for note but the rhythm is like all off. You have to know that part of it too for sure you know in you'll have you could h and h in by the you know the The the song songbooks. Or what have you. But they're going to be in in the key. Probably it was it was written. And what have you but the key. You need to sing it. In different it can be different. Yeah are you gonna find your wheelhouse and you bring that song in your wheelhouse. You got to learn to be able to go between keys. Go up or go down and that's hit bring your will and you see that a lot with musicians where you're like okay. Let's see if they're gonna hit this high note and they don't and it's because they haven't re keyed the song probably you should should've brought it down a half step or a whole step or whatever whatever. The case may be to fit the vocal. It doesn't have to be like the record and a lot of people believe that. Oh no it has to be has the sound. Just like the record and it doesn't. That's what a lot of people don't understand. These artists recorded an album thirty years ago. When you see them live now they're doing lower key Yeah yeah yeah yeah. They can't hit the high notes that they used to be able to hear. Your voice changes at ages for sure greatest song of all time ho. How do you even pick one right. How do you big going. You know you could say stairway to heaven. Then i think of andy hosie dissect it. I you know that. That's that's tough for me. I think a song this move me the most In general would be amazing. Grace just increasing just just just a song itself done by. Couldn't tell you who'd been done because so many different people but that song Very powerful yet. it's awful. Yeah yeah for sure. And i and. I'm not a listener of gospel or christian music. I know there's a lot of good stuff out there. But that's a staple song i mean. Everybody knows that song everybody. Everybody knows happy birthday and everybody knows amazing. Grace right very fortunate to be able to play that song at my grandmother's funeral. Louise marshall memo. Who's wonderful person mean. Just she was love. She'd hug you. She you know she. You went to see her with open arms. You brought a friend over. She loved him as much. She loved you. And i was just i so proud her her as my grandmother in in the legacy of love that she left for us. It's a measurable. And i was able to play that funerals. Those those with great. I think it takes I don't know if a special person is the right words. But i think because i like you get get in the middle of the music and get inside the music. I think if somebody asked me to play a song at a funeral it would be so emotional for me. Because i'm hourly emotional and especially with music if you tie the emotion of music and death together it's just it's it's overwhelming to me and some people can get through that some people don't bat an eye. I don't know that i could do it. And i know plenty of people do not play funerals and his nothing against the. It's nothing on the day. They don't play funerals because of that fact. They don't want to have to stop the song. But i tried to to know that i'm doing that song to comfort and of comforting to people there you know and it's comforting metoo and try to stay focused on that comfort rather than the loss and you have to keep that in the back of your mind when you're playing you can't lose sight of that. I remember seeing a video of vince. Gill singing at. I think it was george. Jones funeral widths. Patty was at patty. Loveless love using go rest high on that he couldn't get through it though she had to do with parts for him. How most and. When i looked at him they called. I think george jones called him sweet pea was his name right if i remember correctly but That would be me. I said that's randy if there if there's going to see randy look at that video and that's what i would be at a funeral. I just choked and he couldn't get through the songs. Yeah for

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Yeah for sure last question here. Greatest podcast on the internet. Oh yeah hands down. I thought you're gonna say. I thought you were going to say joe rogan's experience there for a second so anyway paul. Thanks for being on the show. I wanna thank all the listeners for tuning in if there's a guest that you'd like to have on the show email me at randy at randy. Halsey dot com. Let me know who that is. I got a lot of interesting people coming up. I've got local artists. I've got regional artists. I've got some folks out of nashville arizona. I got some louisiana folks And i'd just looking forward to hearing in the stories of a lot of the people. Paul included that that. I've grown up with that that i respect that i've grown to love for the listeners. Out there you can find the podcast on facebook at backstage. Pass radio podcast. My personal idea on facebook is randy holding music on instagram. It's backstage pass radio and then my personal is at randy holding music and then the the website is backstage pass. Radio dot com. If you don't want to download an app to listen to the podcast you rather just go to a browser you can go to that browser picked episode and play it there and then randy halsey dot com. We'll have all of my personal music schedule again. Make sure you like share. Subscribe to the podcast if you can write a review. I think that that's going to help. Set this show. Apart from the shows out there is by getting five star reviews so if you can take the time to do that you know i would gratefully appreciate that and paul again for being on the show and we'll see you guys next time right here on backstage pass radio. Thank you for having me. Thanks so much for joining us. We hope you enjoy today's episode of backstage pass. Radio make sure to follow randy on facebook and instagram at randy hosie music and on twitter at our palsy music. Also make sure to like subscribe and turn on alerts for upcoming podcasts. If you enjoyed the podcast make sure to share the link with a friend and tell them backstage pass. Radio is the best show on the web for everything music. We'll see you next time right here on backstage pass radio.

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