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Nicky P: I rarely give my consent to anything, so that's surprising. Welcome, everyone, to another episode of We Came From Celluloid. I am Nicky P., here as always with Mr. Prichard. We have with us our tour mate, a guest of the extraordinary variety, Mr. Joe Petrich. How are we doing there, Joe?

Joe Petrich: I'm doing all right. How you guys doing?

Nicky P: Both busy as hell is all I know.

Joe Petrich: Fantastic. Got a lot going on. I'm excited. Excited to have you.

Nicky P: I, I was excited that I finally got to download those tracks you sent me some point in time in the past. And then I wa- and then I actually sat down and watched the video for Me, Myself & I. Like, man, Joe just looks so sinister.

Like, he's, like, he's, he's a little, a little scary. And I know you, you're a nice guy, but it's like in the video you certainly, you're putting off a vibe.

Joe Petrich: Yeah. Well, that whole song is just about, you know, in, inner negative self-talk. Self, negative self-thought. I don't know why that was so hard to get out of my tongue.

But, so, you know, I, I... The, the whole idea was that is, is that we can be pretty sinister to ourselves, and we generally are probably, or at least I find I w- from my experience, a lot of other people I've talked to, way worse on ourselves than we are to, other, other people which- You know? Well,

Nicky P: Honestly, most people are too self-absorbed to give a shit, so No, I, I don't,

Joe Petrich: I, I actually, I, I have a prevailing theory that, that some of the people that are even more self-absorbed, it's just like you really don't know what's g- rattling around in that noggin of theirs.

I, I think a lot of times people are, are just, are, are thrown off a vibe, and a lot of that is to... I- it, it's, it, it's kinda, kinda like puffing out your chest or something, just to push people away and like, "Leave me alone," you know? But, uh- Well,

Nicky P: I wasn't, I wasn't even meaning it from a derogatory sense. It's just like we are all the leader of our own story, and just generally aren't paying attention to other people's stuff like, other than we need to.

It's like everyone... It's the one thing, like when I've done a little coaching with people with stage fright and stuff, and one of the things they tell me was like... I, I got this great piece of advice once. I don't remember where I heard it, but they said, "There's, there's four people on the planet that can dance.

One of them is Michael Jackson, and you'll never meet the other three."

Joe Petrich: Yeah. "

Nicky P: So just have fun."

Joe Petrich: Yeah. "

Nicky P: Just, just do your thing."

Joe Petrich: Exactly.

Nicky P: You know? The, the, the bottom line is nob- no one goes to a show to like see somebody suck. They are hoping they're gonna watch something awesome. Like, that's, that's their goal, so you're just trying to help them do what they want.

A- and, and insofar as like you suck, they're probably just gonna talk to the people at the table and ignore you. Like, it's v- I... Out of the 20-some years that I've been performing, I can't think of any time that anyone's ever genuinely harassed or heckled me on stage for anything.

Joe Petrich: Exact- well-

Nicky P: Like...

Joe Petrich: I have, but it, to-

Nicky P: O- other than when I've asked for it, and I do that fairly often too, so

Joe Petrich: Yeah.

And, and to me, the, uh- Probably the worst thing, I, I, I realized this early on, the, the worst thing you could do is give no reaction to somebody. Because who are the, the two types of bands that you're always gonna remember? The really good ones that were just amazing performers, and the really awful ones that were just awful performers.

So I, I, I think it, I, I, I'd rather have somebody go away saying, "Wow, that band was absolutely atrocious." I mean, of course I don't want that, but I would rather them be so put off by what they're hearing, and get a visceral reaction that way than them just being like, "Meh, whatever." You know? Just I, I...

Being forgettable, I think a lot of people don't realize that. It's just like, "Well, I don't wanna embarrass myself." Okay, well then don't worry about it, then nobody's ever... You're never gonna stand out. Nobody's ever gonna pay attention, and if you're comfortable with that, then yeah, you, you, you can be the mediocre band forever, you know?

So, you know Aggravate people one way or the other, you know?

Nicky P: Well, it's, it's, so it's, one of the things that, and the, this has been a change for me. Like, so I'm, I'm a big guy right now. I've been a big guy for a number of years, and that's not been the norm for most of my life. But one of the things I've had to deal with is like when you're a big guy, you kinda wanna blend into the background.

You don't want people to notice you. Now, that's not how you have to be on stage. And so there's a certain degree to which I've had to get comfortable in my head with, like, well, I'm here. They're gonna notice it one way or the other. So what ways can I play with this and have fun with it? And so, like, there's, that's definitely been the genesis of, our one song, Ray Ray's, Full Service.

It's, it's based on, I don't know if you've ever seen the movie, A Dirty Shame by John Waters where Johnny Knoxville plays a sex apostle.

Joe Petrich: I, I, no, I, I, I'm not familiar with that one. I'm, I generally, am always intrigued by John Waters.

Nicky P: It's one of my personal favorites. It's got Chris Isaac and Johnny Knoxville in it.

And just Johnny Knoxville, he's the, p- plays a sex apostle. And the whole song is just all overt, lurid, sexual stuff. So it's like the only thing I knew is that my fat ass needs to jiggle the fuck all over stage, uh- Yeah.... During that song, if nothing else. Like, that's the one thing I have to do-

Joe Petrich: Yeah...

Nicky P: Be as weird- weirdly, off-puttingly sexual as I can be.

Joe Petrich: Well, I know, I know, John Waters changed, that bird, bird, bird. I know bird is a word. He totally changed that for me in, in Pink Flamingos, so I'll never, I'll never, I'll never see that song the same ever again, so. Thank you, sir, for ruining that.

Brian Pritchard: You know, he came up in conversation the other day too, just as far as the notion of, like, storytellers that have, sensitivity and, and affinity for weirdos.

J- John Waters is a, a delightful outlier in that, in that respect. But no, one, one thing I just wanted to, to add as far as the, like, the sinister, vibe and stage presence is that, you, you absolutely lean into that in a fun and playful way, almost any time I've ever seen you perform, right? That, that you are ab- you're, you're known to arch an eyebrow, is what I'm trying to say, right?

That, when, when I, when I picture you at the microphone, I feel like you are pulling faces. You know what I'm saying? Like, you're, you're doing things in terms of your, like mime work. To your, your guitar and vocal work, you're doing some mime work on stage, so don't be coy about the mime work, I guess, I'm trying to say.

Joe Petrich: No, it's, you know, I, again, it's, it's stage presence. You know, if you're so fearful that you don't move, like no, like nobody's gonna complain about that. Like, nobody's gonna... Most people are, it's not like they're gonna throw vegetables at you, but, like, it, it's loosen up, have fun- That's what's gonna pull the rest of the crowd in- into it.

When, when you're in a band, I, I, I learned it's just like you're bringing the entertainment, so, you know, you have to... If, if I'm writing a song and I perform it live and I wrote it and I don't express it through, besides the instrument itself, but some sort of body language that, that shows that like I, I wrote it, like, it, it could be perceived by the audience that, "Wow, he wrote this and he doesn't even seem impressed or enjoying it at all."

You know, you know, so it, it's-

Brian Pritchard: Well, it, the, the opposite of that, you're right. Like, even with bands I love, there's been songs, right, within their catalog that I don't dig, and then, and then seeing them perform it and, and catching some sense, you know, even if it's performative, of being like, "Oh, they love this song."

Like, you're sort of going, "Maybe I'm, maybe I'm missing something here." You know what I mean? It can be really captivating.

Joe Petrich: Yeah. And, and recordings don't always capture what a song is like live. You know, I've, I've got, I've got friends that I've known for years that, their albums technically production-wise are very good, but when I listen to them I'm just like, "Er" You still gotta like see this guy to really understand.

If all you were listening to was the recording, you're not really completely capturing what they are as a live performer. And, I- it's got, I- it's happened to me so many times that, like a, a lot of bands anymore, it's just like I kinda don't want to lis- listen to your Spotify page until after I've seen you live.

I, it doesn't always happen. But it, if I'm going to a show and I'm just like, "Huh, I'm not familiar with the, the openers," I, I don't research into it. I'm like, "You know what? Show me what you got. If you're a live band, show me what you got," and then I'll go back and listen to your catalog 'cause then I'll, I, I feel I have a better understanding and I'll have a picture in my mind of what that, that band is, and it just has a lot more meaning and, and understanding of the whole thing, you know?

And, and again, it just very well be I go back to their recordings and be like, "Man, I'll go see that band live again," but I am not listening to this album again, because it just doesn't capture it. It's hard. It's really hard.

Nicky P: I tend to be an album guy. Like, that's just what I gravitate towards. Like, don't get me wrong, I love live music, but like I'm a, I'm a sucker for something that's well-produced and like put together.

That being said, I don't think, I don't think, I think you could possibly ever capture what Type O Negative was in anything that wasn't live. Because just like- Dude's presence i- is ridiculous. It's like it's, it's just seeing him doing the, what he does is so ridiculous and it's like, yeah, it's, okay, it's a cool, it's a deep voice on the record.

But then, like, when you, that's taking away the fact that he looks like Frankenstein on stage, just massive.

Joe Petrich: Yeah.

Brian Pritchard: Well, and I, I remember Fantômas being a, a, a band where I, I was into Mike Patton stuff, right? And, and, and I'm, I would listen to, you know, something like the Suspended Animation album, and, and just be like, "I don't know, dude.

This, this is a fucking mess of a record to me," right? And then I remember, picking up a, a DVD of theirs that was released and watching the, the, like, live performance and, and I, and being really struck by the fact that they were able to replicate that stuff on li- like, on stage at all i- is going, "Oh."

Joe Petrich: Yeah. I saw that tour.

Brian Pritchard: This is organized chaos at, at a level that I didn't even comprehend, like, that it's like it's, it's, it, it didn't make me necessarily wanna put the album on as a listener any more often than I, than I did before. But, but it totally, totally changed my understanding and appreciation for it, you know?

And me just sit there and be like, "Oh, seeing you, like, pull that off, that's a game changer." You, you say you saw that live?

Joe Petrich: Yeah, I saw that live. When was that? Like, geez, that was like 2003 or something. I mean, it's like time flies. It was a year, so long ago. But, yeah, that was, that was the one that was like it's all the days in April or something, right?

And or something. And yeah, 'cause it, it's like each song was a different day and, and it is. It's just like when, when I saw them, like you said, recreate that whole album in order live, I'm just like, "Wow, that's impressive." 'Cause when you listen to it, you're, you could very easily be like, "Oh, just a bunch of studio trickery going on here.

And just, you're just taking me on a wacky Mike Patton adventure." And it's like, no, no, they, they performed that. Yes, exactly.

Brian Pritchard: It's meticulously designed, yeah. So I'm, I'm curious for you, like, was, I, I know some of the, the discography sort of steps along the way. I never got to see Happy Rainbow Death perform.

I've heard the material, and it's, it's an act that like looms large in my mind as part of your origin story. Was that, in fact, your first band?

Joe Petrich: Yeah. I, I would say so. I mean, you know, I had, I had the high school death metal band called Carnage, which I mean, we, I think we recorded like one or two songs.

I don't even know where those lie anymore. You know, I wasn't even the primary writer of that. So, so me and my brother just tinkering around. It actually started on just an acoustic guitar and us just goofing on songs and almost Weird Al Yanke- Yankovicking stuff and, and everything. So it started with, a lot of humor, a lot of tongue in cheek.

And, and, when we really started to get an actual band together, that was, we were very heavily into GWAR and, and early Marilyn Manson, which, a lot of people don't know about, you know, the, the early years of, of Manson and the, the Spooky Kids as they were originally called. And, and it was all just, it was all shock rock stuff, you know?

And, um- so there was an element of that. Plus, it was just a myriad of, of influences. We had a, a trombone player at one point in time, and, and he, he played on a bunch of songs and, and performed with us live. And, probably the, the show that always sticks out for us, just recently, a fellow metalhead that I've known for years, this guy Paul, he, he, posted up a flyer of HRD when we opened up for, Cannibal Corpse with, Cryptkicker back in the day.

So it was like us, Cryptkicker. There was another band on there, and it was just like, we did not make any sense on that bill, and, we brought our own crowd. And, and it, it, it was a real division in there because there was, there was the staunch metalhead death metal crowd, and then there was us. And we appreciated death metal, so we were happy to play with, you know, you know, one of Florida's finest death metal acts at the time.

And, and, but, yeah, those that came for a death metal show, they were not up for the buffoonery that was, was HRD because we just... It just, it was a Mr. Bungle was a really good influence of ours as well on that, because it didn't matter what we were, we just threw any genre into the soup and it, it didn't really m- matter, you know?

And, the performance was also just a, it, it, it, it was, it was weird. So, but we had a lot of fun with it.

Brian Pritchard: Well, y- you guys ended up really opening up... You, you opened up a whole world of music for me, is, is one thing I, I wanna articulate is, is that seeing you guys perform as a local act was, the most exciting music and performance, right?

It's like, you know, whether anywhere along the spectrum of local act to arena act, I fucking loved The Family Riot from m- minute one, right? That I'm, I'm, I'm locked in and going, "This is unlike anything I've ever heard," and this is, this is, I, I'm on a resonant frequency that, like, I didn't even know existed.

You know what I'm saying? So it was unlocking this whole other genre style of music. It, on a real surface level, there's this sense of blending melody with heaviness, right? That to me, is just reflective of the world. I think that that's the balance, the dark, the light, right? It's like, so you guys, you guys had that thing where you've got, you've got hooks and melodies and things that anybody can connect to, but you're also, like, playing the guitar one-handed while hitting the xylophone, and you know what I'm saying?

It was like the, the dual vocals, all of it. And, and to the extent that there were influences, 'cause I remember having those conversations when meeting you as being like, "What do you listen to," right? "That, like, inspires you," you know? And, and so whether it's in, in terms of the music that I consumed as a result of those conversations, the The degree to which I've seen your bands perform and have your albums in my shuffle, soundtracking my life and my world at any given time, I'm, I'm, I'm just genuinely a fan of your shit, dude.

And I'm glad that you make music. There's that

Joe Petrich: Ho- honestly, Brian, what, what you saw of The Family Riot was, was w- probably r- really in all, all respects just the next level, a little bit more matured of Happy Rainbow Death. You know, just kinda just different players. So a slightly different angle, but it, it, it grew out of that tree.

'Cause I mean, HRD, when we played back in the day, would play these shows with, this band from Ashtabula called Mosquito Bitten Bastards, and that, that's how we met Todd. You know, so that all tied in there. Yeah, a guy in that band. So he

Nicky P: Already...

Joe Petrich: Yeah, they, he knew, he was very well aware of what we were into, and he was into that stuff too.

That's why we all became friends. That's why we shared bills together so much and, and my brother was in Mosquito Bitten Bastards. I filled in on guitar a couple times when they were short a guitar player and stuff like that. So, there was a, it, it just, I don't think you missed a lot. You know what I mean?

Yeah, I, if anything, I think me and my brother, I, I can safely- I, I

Brian Pritchard: Joined the, the, the train at the perfect moment. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Joe Petrich: Yeah, you, you actually, we kinda refined what we were doing a, a little bit better, during that time. I, I really loved that band too, but you know, it just wasn't meant to last, so.

Brian Pritchard: And that happens and it, and it's funny 'cause there's a similar enough trajectory in that you never got to see Nosferatu or Drop, which were bands of mine in high school that featured Max, that featured Brian Noel on vocals. You know what I mean? Like, they, they were our same, rough draft versions. But the other thing that was always funny to me when I found out you guys lived in Eastlake, and that between your band and, like, Farley and those guys, like, there was this whole Eastside crew and, and we're all from, like, West- you know, Bay Village, right?

And, and Westlake, and it was like, it was like this, I, it was fascinating to, to realize, 'cause I, it, it to me felt special growing up in a town where g- in, in high school, like, have you met Dan Peterson and Keith Gayton, those, guys that are in, like, The A10s? And they, they still play out and do stuff, but, they were in a bunch of punk bands over the years But like, like, I mean, my, my, my only point is that there, there were probably like, you know, five to 10 different, like, active bands coming out of Bay High School that were all playing shows at the same time.

And, and learning that there was also this, like, mirror scene going on in Eastlake, you know, was just kind of fascinating to me.

Joe Petrich: Cleveland's always been separated by the east and the west, right? And so there's, and then, you know, if you wanna go south to Akron, there's an- an- another pocket of stuff going down there.

But, yeah, it, it's just, it's interesting how You know, I look at when I was a, a kid coming out of high school and whatnot, the world just like, it was a big world being going to the west side and playing a show over there, you know, and stuff like that. And as time went on, like, the world got bigger. Then it was like a big deal that we played a show down in Columbus or up in Detroit.

And then, you know, time went on and just you go further, and you go further, and you go further. This is

Nicky P: All hilarious to me, who grew up in a town where, like, my graduating class was 86 kids and needed to drive two hours across my district to get them.

Brian Pritchard: Yeah, and we've got, like, rival tribes, you know what I mean, of, of, high school bands.

Yeah. Yeah.

Nicky P: I, so I grew up in, like, a, a cow town in Upstate New York.

Joe Petrich: Oh.

Nicky P: So-

Joe Petrich: Gotcha...

Nicky P: So like m- like I'm kind of right on the Pennsylvan- just, just off the Pennsylvania-New York State border. Like, I don't know if you know Route 80- Route 86, 17, whatever you call it when you're out there, the Southern Tier Expressway, whatever.

But like, you know where Jamestown is?

Joe Petrich: So, like near, like... Yeah. Yeah. Actually, um-

Nicky P: Keep, keep, keep going more into the sticks past Jamestown for an hour, then you'll find where I grew up.

Joe Petrich: Gotcha. So you're, like, beyond Chautauqua and the Finger Lakes, or like-

Nicky P: Yep.

Joe Petrich: All right. Keep

Nicky P: Going deeper. I got

Joe Petrich: You. So there, there is a band that just, just got back up and running, from, near that area.

Why can't I think of, the to- Olean. Olean, New York. So you're probably familiar with Olean.

Nicky P: Yeah. I, I'm t- 12 miles away. I've played many shows in Olean.

Joe Petrich: They are called the Dreadnecks, and they just finally got back up.

Nicky P: Hey, my buddy, my buddy Grant. Grant and Snitty.

Joe Petrich: Okay, so you know Grant. Yep, they're back up and running again.

And I t- ooh. All right, we got, we... Nick, you gotta work with me and we gotta get Grant and the crew down here to Cleveland. That's gotta happen. I love that band. Absolute, absolutely love them. Now, there you go. That is a performer. That, Grant is the performer.

Nicky P: Grant, Grant is a professional wrestler kinda guy, so, like, he's always been hanging off of whatever he can get his ass up to.

Joe Petrich: Exactly. And he's just, he's fantastic, and he always finds, like, the, the sickest guitar players, man. So yeah, he's, it doesn't matter who he's... I'm like, "What is going on in the water up here?" Because, everybody's chicken pickin' and flyin' on the, on the sixth string or seventh string up

Nicky P: There. Dude, you, you, you honestly wanna know what it is?

It's 'cause, if, if, if you ever watched the movie Mystery Alaska?

Joe Petrich: There's,

Nicky P: There's a line in that movie and, and it's gonna be... The similar thing is, you'll get this. So in the movie the guy goes, "Look, I play hockey and have sex 'cause it's the two funnest things to do in cold weather." Well, when you live out where we live, the only options are to play guitar and fuck.

So if you don't knock anybody up and deal with teen pregnancy, you're playing guitar.

Joe Petrich: So, so that's, it, that's pretty consistent to what he said. Maybe not exactly that, but that's, when I asked Grant that I'm just like, "What's in the water up here?" He's like, "There's nothing better to do is to, like, play a guitar or drums."

What else are you

Nicky P: Gonna

Joe Petrich: Do? Pretty much. Yeah.

Nicky P: Go hang out with the cows.

Joe Petrich: I guess.

Brian Pritchard: Well, and that's a funny, segue to me too, because I, I was thinking about Joe, how you, you also met me at a time where on the one hand the band had a, a, a trajectory of a sort, my group Dome at the time, right? As, as we're trying to, you know, come up in the scene.

I also, you know, I'll tell people about the moment where my band played the main stage at House of Blues, and I remember just sort of realizing, like, man, I just kind of, I miss my kids, my family, like, you know. I'm not sure I'm working towards this goal that's gonna take me away from, being a homebody and doing this thing.

And, and, and I, I feel like at one point in, in talking somewhere along those lines with you, I, I really got the sense that you were all in on music, right? That, that, that, like, talking to you in, in terms of, of even broaching that possibility of being like, "Yeah, do you wanna settle down and have a family?"

You're just like, "No, dude, I wanna play guitar and I wanna go out there and I wanna do music stuff." And, and so y- you know, I, I think of, of people that are lifers, and I'll, I'll use that term in, in the music space because it's been fascinating to, to say that, talent ultimately wasn't a determining factor is what I've, observed to be true in who sticks around and who doesn't.

You know what I mean? Like, I've met a lot of talented people and talented bands that kinda came and went. And, and you sort of go, like, my mind ends up being blown at different people that I'm like, man, h- how do you spend that much time perfecting your craft and then walk away like it was nothing, you know?

Like, I, I literally cannot wrap my head around that shit. And, so, so you just ha- have, have always stood out as somebody who is uniquely determined to, to live the life and do the thing. And, and whether it's Trans-Siberian Orchestra or the Acid Bath tour stuff, I mean, it's, it's one of the reasons why, again, as I told you when we were first even planning this tour that's coming up, I'm like, "I need to talk to Joe.

I need, I need so- I need a fucking captain in the boat that, that knows what he's doing." And, yeah, I mean, a- above and beyond the friendship and, and respect for the music, there's this, this notion that like, you're all in, dude. Like, you're serious about this shit, you know?

Joe Petrich: Yeah, I, I just, I, I, listen, there was, there was a moment, we were in between drummers, during Something Involving a Monkey.

We had three drummers during that time. You know, of course the, the f- the first one was, was, was a tragedy losing Todd. But, w- you know, our buddy, it just happened to work out our buddy Nick was coming back to Cleveland from, he was living in New York City at the time, and he's like, "I gotta go back home anyways."

And we're like, "Well, you play drums and you're the personality for this," you know? So that worked out but, you know, things happen and, and, and Nick had to, had to move on. And, so we, me and Beezo were looking for a drummer and we didn't pl- I didn't play out. I didn't do... I, I was, I was messing around with you guys with, Cul-de-Sac Jones, but for the most part, I, it was the first time in l- my life I really had shelled any writing.

'Cause I, I was really just, I, doing a little bit of writing with, with you guys, but for the most part it, it, it was, it, it was fun, but I, I, I liked kinda just, I likened to my time with Cul-de-Sac Jones like my time is now with Ten Thousand Rambos. It, I, I loved the music and the players that were within it a- and th- all my buddies and, and it, it w- it was cool to, like, be a part of that music, but I, I really wasn't, I wasn't creating what I totally like to create.

And, and f- and at that time, for the first time, I was just like, "Yeah, maybe I should just like, you know, temper this back or, or just what am I doing?" Like, you know. And I gotta be honest, I was absolutely miserable. I was truly, truly miserable. And, it was one, at, truly one of the lowest points of my life.

And I realized it's just like, nope, this is just part of my DNA. This is just- I, you know, I, I, I've got the job. It c- it, it, they, I do all right with it. I'm in a, a career I don't mind and, and whatnot, and it found me. I didn't find it, you know, kinda stuff. But, if I didn't e- still have the m- the music to play and, and write and create and like, like that, I couldn't just do that job.

That wouldn't give me enough d- eh, satisfaction in life, you know? Um-

Nicky P: Well, with, with music it's, it's too easy to come across heartbreak, you know, with projects. It's like y- you dive all in and like you reach to the point where f- for some reason it's, the project has to come to an end. And like, well, that sucks.

And, you know, what's, how do I move on from like this thing that I've been pouring my life into? And sometimes you just don't have an answer and you're like, maybe, maybe this is the moment I do what everyone wants you and tells you to do, be respectable, be an adult. And like you said, the thing is, is w- with, with heartbreak like that, the, the only thing to do is to like get back up on the horse in some form or fashion.

'Cause it's, it's just, as, as, as much as you hate your hate, like you hate how that, that f- that felt, you know, you gotta be happy that you could feel it or whatever thing there is.

Joe Petrich: Mm. Yeah. Well, it, it is true. You know, I, I definitely, I mean, I was not happy when the, The Family Riot came to an end. You know, e- each one has its, its own story.

I, I think, HRD, we were, we kinda saw the writing on the wall, but that helped spawn The Family Riot to become what it was. I thought it was a bit of an abrupt end, but we were able to at least finish those last songs and, Brian even helped us with a, a last performance and whatnot, which was, that was great.

I really appreciate that, dude. That was, that was, that was really cool. Yeah. And, but, but, you know, there's other ones where, you know, like I, you could say, yeah, Monkey ran its course for, something involving Monkey ran its course for 12 years. But at the same token, like we, we had put a lot of time in that and, and everything and, and i- if I would've just like left there and not, like y- you said, Nick, gotten on the horse and started w- writing other stuff, me and Scott, like I, I know I'd be just like absolutely miserable, be horrible.

And, um-

Nicky P: I've, I've t- I've tried to quit a couple times in my life. Like, you know what? Okay, s- I'm, I'm, I've had enough of this. I'm gonna move on. I'm gonna do adult shit now, and I'm miserable every time. I always find my way back. It's...

Joe Petrich: I lo- love the guys that post on social media, right? Just, "I, it's, I, this is gonna be my last show. I'm breaking up the band, and I'm gonna retire from this music stuff." It's like, fuck you, you'll be back. We'll see you. I'll call you, and I'll call you out on it, too.

Brian Pritchard: I've never considered walking away at all. I'm always sad. Yeah. Anytime any- anything has come to an end, I've been bummed out about it. I, I, I want everything to go on forever and stay exactly... Not, not stay how it is in terms of not evolving, right? But like, I, I, I, you know... It's, it's funny to even to, to...

This is another scenario where I, I sort of recognize that we're using the language of romantic relationships, right? While talking about this creative unit. And, and it's like, yeah, like, people talk about breakups. Like- 'Cause

Nicky P: There's nothing about being in a band-

Joe Petrich: Well-

Nicky P: There is nothing about being in a band that isn't analogous.

I'm sorry.

Joe Petrich: Yeah. Yeah. It is. It's

Nicky P: Weird- You gonna tell me that being on stage isn't akin to sex?

Joe Petrich: Yeah, the, the, the only part is keeping your pants on the whole time, right? At least for most bands. It's a

Nicky P: Very masturbatory exercise.

Brian Pritchard: But no, just being able to bounce back from that and, and, I don't know, like, like, the i- the idea of, of reaching a point in my life where I, don't have interest or desire in creative expression, yeah, I, I don't, I don't have any...

I, I hope that never comes to pass. In, in, in fact, if anything of late, I've been trying to lean into the idea... And Cul-de-Sac Jones, that band we played in, was- An interesting light bulb moment for me, o- obviously super fun to collaborate with you, but the other reason that came about is that Levante, who was our main guy, l- left the country, right?

And Levante would occasionally have rejected material, right? That I would bring stuff that I'd written to Dome and he'd, he'd basically just sit there and be like, "Yeah, I don't know. I'm not feeling it." And, and I would write enough volume of material that that was never really that big of a deal to me.

That there weren't really songs that I, I have a memory of, of, like, dying on that hill. It was like, if he's not feeling it, he's not into it, it's like whatever. Another one will, will come along. But I m- Cul-de-sac Jones started off really with just going, like, you know, there is a collection of material that was too heavy for Levante and so I kicked it off with that.

But, but I remember just finding it so freeing to, to write for, a project outside of my main band for the first time. And, and that, that opened up, like, little corners of the brain to just, not worry about a thing that was defined as whatever that identity was. Like, is this a Dome song? Is this a Puma song?

I, I, a, a couple places that I try to be at at this point in my life is, is one, I like the idea of intentionally creating something without any caring about how it fits into anything. And I guess what goes hand-in-hand with that is trying to wrap my head around what I, what I'll call, like, the ephemera of it all.

I've, I've been so fixated on everything being permanent and legacy and all of this stuff and, you know, Yeah, it's like, I don't, I don't know, not to get o- on, on some super tangent, but it, I, I'm trying to get comfortable with the idea of art for art's sake. You know? That, that, that to create something even in a void.

I, I like the idea that, that to try to explain the concept simply even if I was on a desert island with no fucking chance of ever interacting with another human being, but I still had a bunch of musical gear, I think I'd still wanna make shit. You know what I mean? Just because it's part of the joy of being alive is to have creative expression.

Joe Petrich: That, that, that would be your message in a bottle, Mr. Pritchard. That would be your message in a bottle. But, eh, I, I, I think the c- one of the core concepts of, of what s- me and Scott decided to do when going with Eyehategod kind of falls into what you were saying there is, is we really didn't know, we had no concept of what the band was gonna be.

We just started, I just started throwing riffs at him, and he started throwing concepts back at me, and he started, we just started having conversations and, and, you know, y- making arrangements. And a lot of it was, we're not gonna go with songs, we're not, that are epic or anything. We, we would spend so much time in, in Something involving a Monkey, and it worked.

It worked for that band. I'm not complaining. But we would s- we would spend so much time on these songs and refining them and going over and over again. And, and we were just like, "You know what? Let's be more instinctual in this, this band. And, and just throw a bunch of stuff out there and what sticks, stays, and what doesn't- Maybe it'll turn into songs one day or maybe it won't.

Who cares? You know? And, both the previous recording session and the recording session that we just recently did with this, there's leftover material. And to me that's, that's good. You know, we've got a song hanging out there. It's a concept that Scott put together and just like me and Dylan just didn't finish it, in, our, our parts in time for the, for the recording.

And, and I told S- Scott I think was a little, l- at first a little, little bummed. I'm like, "No, man. Look at what we did with..." There's, on this album coming out this summer, there's, there's a leftover from the first album, and e- I love the song. I absolutely... And, and what I love about it is we didn't push it, and we let it sit.

And Scott of all people ends up making absolutely perfect lyrics for it, perfect cadence for it, arranged the whole thing lyrically and vocally. And I'm just like, "See? If we j- we waited on this," and now, like, it's one of my favorite songs that we play, you know?

Nicky P: Just imagine feeling the pressure of having- I'm saying, just, you know what I mean?

You get-... This guy behind you who just will not stop writing songs. And, you know, you wanna- Fear the machine, man... You wanna take your time and, like, write lyrics that, like, are, hit all the b- points and then next thing you know, he's got three more tracks. Like, dude, I can only write so fast.

Joe Petrich: Sorry.

Nicky P: Well,

Joe Petrich: So actually I, I feel, I feel a little, little behind lately because, like, we've been so focused on, like, getting this recording together, the, you know, the tour that we're coming up and, getting the album out and the promotion and the da, da-da, da-da, ba-da.

I haven't been doing much writing lately. But that's kinda like, I've also learned that's kinda the push/pull. You write a bunch of stuff and you're just like, "I got all this new stuff. Like, I gotta get it out." And, you know, and with that there's just all the work that goes on with that. And it's just like, that's fine.

Put the writing at bay for a minute. And, and I found that, like, when I go back and start experimenting and r- and writing again, that, it's like I got a fresh brain. You know? It's, it's, I haven't done it. There's, there's nothing there. There's nothing hanging out that's like, like, you know, oh, I gotta finish this or I, I'm so close or I gotta do this or I gotta show Scott that or Dylan this or whatever.

It's just like, no, it's like the, the palette is clear. The canvas is clear. I can do whatever the heck I want. I- that's the best time, honestly, because it's, it's kinda exciting. It's see, like, eh, let's see what happens.

Nicky P: So, I'll, I wanna ask this question because, all of us are men of a certain age, we'll just say.

And one of the things that kinda weighs my mind is, like, I look back on, like, goals and, like, the, for me it's the, the types of things that I, I want to do and still haven't done. One of the, the, I'm gonna be honest, this tour is one of the big check boxes. It's one of the things that's lingered over my head forever, that I've never gone on tour.

I've never done that. Like, it's, like, one, one part of the whole musical, like, musician thing that I've never tackled. One of my other ones is, like, I, I want to be in a band with a full horn section. Like, I, I need to realize that. Like, I, I, I auditioned, I auditioned for one once and they, they went with a woman instead.

Actually, I take it back. I've just done it twice. I, I was accepted the once and immediately kicked out before the first practice for a woman. And then the second time I auditioned for, they just chose the woman instead the first time. But like, what, what, what kind of goals do you still have in music? Are you even, you know, is that a part of how you look at it still?

Is there still things you want to accomplish?

Joe Petrich: That's a really good question. I guess I don't think about that. And, and, Yeah, I guess at, yeah, again, you know, men of a certain age, I, I just, I've kinda, any goals that I had in the past just, like, probably most of them weren't met. It, it's, it can get difficult.

I, I, you know, with a band for example, it's just like, well, we want to in X amount of years do this or do that. I, I know, like something involving Monkey, we had, we had tried to do that, but there were so many starts and stops, and it wasn't anything like anybody's fault or nothing, it was just like life things would happen, you know?

That, that band got off to one of the best starts I thought I ever had with any of my bands. We came out of the cannon, and then within one year, you know, Todd dies, you know? So that really changed the momentum of stuff and, and whatnot. So what I'm getting at is, is I've kinda abandoned that whole thing.

I, I, I, I think one of my, my main goals is just, just to keep doing this, you know? Maintaining m- my health so that I can keep doing this because, there's a lot changing in the world out there and, but the one thing that I'm noticing that, that, people are still want and crave no matter what age they are is, is like a true human experience.

And, that, live music, that is one of the w- that's one of the true human ex- experiences that you can have. Being in a room full of people experiencing the, the performance of musicians through loud instruments. It, it, you know, I guess it doesn't always have to be loud instruments, but for me that's one of my, my favorite ways of experiencing it.

And there's, there's so many varieties and flavors of that and it's, I, I wanna stay a part of that and, and that's, that's my, my biggest goal really, you know? And just keep doing it. And, and Scott, he's, he's even older than me and, and he's got the same mentality and, so we're just kinda like, I just don't care anymore, you know?

We don't, we don't, you know, I'm, I'm also thankfully in, in a position where it's just like I can- To just, like, take a week off and drive west and play a bunch of small little venues with some friends and probably not make a lot of money, but have a shit ton of fricking fun. So I don't care. I just, I wanna keep having those experiences because, you know, the money stuff, it's just like, you know, yeah, hey It's the necessary evils is the money.

But if I was doing this music thing for the money, especially in this day and age, I think it was, actually Dave Brockie some years ago said in an interview that, that like the way that music was heading, he was seeing, i- is that actually the true artists are gonna say it's gonna be good for the genre that, that, you know, music isn't as profitable as it used to be.

It's, you know, because, you know, pe- people were just making music because it was a business. And, now I think you're getting more to the what music always was. And that's, it's, I mean, back in the day it was minstrels just going from town to town. That's what we are. We're just the modern day minstrels going from town to town, and whoever can t- you know, come out and see us, and t- you know, throw some coins in the bucket, and we'll, we'll make it work, you know?

And I'd rather, I'd rather have that experience than sitting at home doom scrolling on my phone and just getting sucked into the, the, just the garbage. I'd just, I'd rather be outside. So there's my long-winded answer.

Nicky P: It's a, and that is a much... Now that's a much better, a much better outlook than like w- watching Rick Beato the other day, where he's like, "Well, basically the only people that get to make music now are all millionaires or people millionaire adjacent."

Joe Petrich: Yeah. I saw that. I, I, I, I like watching him, but at the same token, you know, he comes from an, from an era th- that is pining for that era to be again. And when the '90s were happening, I'm sure the guys from the '70s and '60s were pining for it to be like in their era, and pining it for it to be in the era before that.

It's just, you know, I, I, it kinda is what it, it is, you know. And, and it, that kind of also goes along with what you cons- consider success of music. I mean, most people think, "Wow, you can, you can be a big rock star and make millions and travel all over the world." I'm like, "Is it?"

Nicky P: I don't know. I've al- I've always liked the Mark Mothersbaugh, like, success where, yeah, you were, you had a o- one hit in a band that anyone cares about, and then you just work on TV and movie background music for four decades.

You know? Or the, the, the, the Da- the Danny Elfman.

Brian Pritchard: But even that's not connecting with people, right? That's not live performance. That's not- Yeah. Well, Danny Elfman at least goes out and performs. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Joe Petrich: You know? So but, I, I also, you know, I, I see, you know, I, I, I talk to a lot of bands, like way bigger bands that, that I know, and you'd be surprised how many of them have, that that band is not the primary income source.

Nicky P: Oh, no, no. Oh, okay. In fa- in fact, I think one of my favorite is almost all of them have tattoo shops one of the member owns. So somebody in the band owns a tattoo shop.

Joe Petrich: Yeah. Or the- or, or they're, they're teachers, or, they're, they're, you know, luthiers, or they're, they, they work in the service industry since they're in bars all the time, you know?

Or they just pick up random, gig work. I mean, there's so many ways that you, that you can support yourself, other ways that keep you flexible to be doing music. And, you know, and, and I, I guess that was the other thing that I always, I always felt, too, and that's why I, I've always liked about Brian is, is that, you know- Just because, you're not, quote-unquote, making it in music, it's just like you can still have a family, have a day job, and be a player on your local or regional scene, you know?

And s- and still be out there, like, doing music.

Brian Pritchard: Yeah, I never, I never liked the cop-out when, when, when I'd been already living that life. And I, I had a young family. Any times anybody would drop out of the scene, and there's been dozens, right, who dropped out of the scene where it was sort of like, "Well, you know, I'm, I'm starting a family, I gotta put away my toys."

It's like, "Go fuck yourself, dude," you

Joe Petrich: Know? Yeah, to me it's, we would still want that, you would still want that balance. But I never had kids, so, and it, it just, you know, that was, that was just a choice.

Nicky P: I think that it, I think those people are being stupid because then your kids can learn to quit, quit what they wanna do for stupid reasons, honestly.

I've, I've had a kid through lots and lots of performing, let's put it that way. I think the only, the only, the acquiescence I've ever made was, "Well, if I'm gonna play music I guess I'll have to take the profitable music," like doing the cover gigs more often than the original stuff just because I'm getting paid to do it, and I can use the money.

That's, that's the only acquiescence I've ever... I'm still gonna be out performing and playing one way or the other. It's just find a way to make it work.

Joe Petrich: Well, and, and it's not like you're denying your family. I mean, like, you know, people when they have families are still part of, softball leagues and, and, you know, i- it's pickleball or whatever the hell they're doing these days.

You know what I mean? So it's just like you're, you're just- You know.

Nicky P: We, we've always homeschooled my kids, so it's always been kind of the talk that, well, if worst comes to worst, we'll just buy a bus and then go touring with the family and whatnot, so.

Joe Petrich: There you go. But, but again, it's, it's like, it's you're gonna be doing something.

Brian Pritchard: Other, other people's choices though, like I, I, I ultimately don't wanna judge anybody else. Like, people are gonna naturally be drawn towards, to your point, spend- It, that's all it, all it ultimately reveals is it's clearly not a priority to you, right, in the way that it is to me, right? But I love that, like we are for sure three lifers.

You know what I mean? I know that to be true. That, that like, yeah. Like n- we all share that sentiment of, of, I don't know. I was thinking a few minutes ago, it's like, yeah, we ought, we ought to start the, retirement home for aging musicians. You know what I mean? Just so that we still have a, a place even, even in the assisted living days.

Like, we need practice rooms downstairs.

Joe Petrich: I, I, I told Rambos, I'm like, you know, sometimes like the age thing c- you know, two of the guys have crested the 50 mark and I'm, I'm right behind them. And and you know, they just, couple years ago released an EP called Old Men Dying. You know, I mean, I just lean into it.

I'm like, let's, let's just be the oldest grindcore band ever. You know, let's outlive Napalm Death. You know? It's just, like just go for it. Hell with it, you know? We'll, we'll be the grindcore band where the drummer and the bassist and guitar player and the vocalist will all be in a wheelchair still performing.

Like, we'll just, we'll just keep it going. We'll get up, up on there on walkers. I don't care

Nicky P: What's, what's really funny is like, 'cause I've leaned into the, the i- the idea of dad rock, 'cause me and Brian are both dads, Noel's a dad. Like, we got a bunch of dads in the band. And what's really funny to me is like when I say, but I think like, "God, man, do you remember what dad rock was like 20 years ago?"

And like now that we're dads, like the dad rock is My Chemical Romance and fricking like, you know, all the shit from when I was a teenager, in my 20s and shit. And you're like... And now, now what, what, what's, what's my kid's dad rock gonna be?

Joe Petrich: Yeah. My girlfriend's, one kid, Sal, every one day I was driving, he, he was driving and I'm like, "Oh, man," you know, like System of a Down song comes on, and a Puddle of Mudd song comes on, and then a Korn song comes on.

And I, I was just like, "Yeah, so you're listening to this stuff." He's like, "Well, yeah. I mean, you're probably not gonna like the title, but I call it my, you know, dad list." It's basically him, when he was growing up, it was his dad's music, you know? And that's the stuff that his dad was listening to.

And so it- which is good. He, he likes it, but the reality is he knows exactly where it came from. It didn't come from his generation.

Nicky P: I have a terrible, I have a terrible joke for that, just because you said, you said puddle of mud, and I'm like, "Oh, well that explains why dad's not in the picture anymore."

Joe Petrich: Oh, oh, ow, ow.

Ow. Ow. And he's still around. I'm su- Give the guy a break...

Nicky P: I'm sure Puddle of Mudd doesn't like

Joe Petrich: That. Ouch.

Brian Pritchard: Well, I, I can't wait to have, daily conversations on the road when we're out together, crossing the, the United States. And I, I hope it proves to be the first of many collaborative, ventures, you know?

And, yeah. No, I'm, I'm, I'm grateful for the decades of collaboration thus far, and the decades of collaboration ahead. And, I'm grateful for your time today, Joe. I really appreciate it, man.

Joe Petrich: Yeah. Thanks for having me, and it made me realize all the things that I've been involved in, and, and always w- always crisscrossing across that path is Mr.

Pritchard. There's never, never too, never too long of a, of a, a stretch of road where you don't, like, y- cross, cross Mr. Pritchard. It sh- Nick, have you ever heard the, the Mr. Pritchard song? The Family Riot song called Mr. Pritchard?

Nicky P: No. I, I, I'm u- unaware of the Family Riot, so.

Joe Petrich: Yeah. I, yeah, I gotta send it to you.

It's, it, it is literally a song all about Bryan. And it's, and it, I love that song, too. It was a heavy song.

Nicky P: So what are we gonna pl- what are we gonna play the audience out with today?

Joe Petrich: What were we gonna play out with?

Nicky P: Yeah, what are we gonna, what are we gonna send them out with? What song do you w- you want us to run at the end?

Brian Pritchard: Yeah, what song of yours do you want, them to hear as we're ending the episode? Yeah.

Joe Petrich: I, I, I wanna go with the new stuff. The new stuff. Somehow.

Brian Pritchard: All right. Yeah. Great.

Someone somewhere fucked up something somehow. Somehow. Somehow. Somehow. Somehow. Somehow. Somehow. Somehow. Somehow. Somehow. Somehow. Somehow.