Catching up post-tour and getting back to normal [00:00:00]

Brian Pritchard: Celluloid. And we're turning it into music and podcast for you

Nicky P: Welcome everyone to another episode of Be Careful With Celluloid. I am Nicky P., here as always with Mr. Brian Pritchard. How are we doing today, Mr. Brian?

Brian Pritchard: Good, man. I, I feel like I'm, starting to resemble myself again. It was, last, w- last week was fucking weird as hell and, and... But I'm feeling good. I feel good today.

Thank you for asking.

Nicky P: That's, that's, that is good. I guess since, if I were to give myself one characteristic that- I think like, just a, a ball of ambition might be a good way of putting it. And in that I'm, I'm definitely already back to normal. We came back, I'm interrupting you on our Sunday, or on your Sunday to, g- talk about all the crazy ideas I'm having for the future of the band, and things I wanna do and whatnot.

Why the band is finally moving toward live video accompaniment [00:01:00]

So at least that part of the world is all, all well and right.

Brian Pritchard: No, those are the best calls to get. I mean, I, people being enthusiastic, my creative partners like yourself being enthusiastic enough to, to call is the furthest thing from an interruption. You know what I mean? Like, that's the best phone call in the world, you know?

That's shit that can't wait. Love it.

Nicky P: Well, it certainly felt that way to me. And, it, what's funny is you, you mes- messaged me, you, you, you read the bio that's up on the band page, and like, as you're like, you're like, "Well, that's gonna be changing soon, because I gotta fit in all this new lore that goes with the band and, like, the church and everything."

And so it's like the whole thing is gonna be, it's gonna be the same, a lot more And I like the idea of it.

The Second Half / Jurassic Park comparison for on-stage video [00:02:00]

Brian Pritchard: Yep, and, and what we were talking about as far as, mo- moving towards the enhanced, live presentation, the, the having video going while we play is one of those things that for as long as it's been something that I've sort of been like, "Oh, we should be doing that," like, I really have no excuse.

I, you know, I, I, I remember seeing bands do what we're talking about doing as far as just having, like, just basic, you know, interesting imagery going on behind them, like local bands at The Fantasy and stuff would do that, all the way to, one of the most sophisticated versions I remember seeing, but it was, even this was 15, 16 years ago at, on the local level.

There was a band called Second Half where the guitar player/singer Ed did all the instruments except drums on, on the recordings. And so he would accompany himself live on video, right? So, like, you'd be watching Ed, you know, play guitar and sing, but then, like, a guitar solo or, like, harmonies or something would pop up and the video screen Ed would, like, be...

It was like fucking, Hammond in Jurassic Park where he's like, "Hello, John. Hello, John. Hello, John." yeah, so I don't know what our excuse is. Like, we're a fucking movie band. Of course we should have movie shit going on behind us.

Nicky P: Oh, oh, the, the excuse is I didn't want any more things on my plate for the, for the setup of the show.

That's all that is.

Brian Pritchard: That's true. But, no, it's, that, that, that to me is a, a worthy, a worthy endeavor. So I'm, I'm looking forward to, like, all the gear is still disassembled. Took last Friday off. You know, we, we got back on Monday from this run. Didn't do anything on Friday. Um- Levante and Noel are back.

Getting Max acclimated ahead of December [00:04:00]

You know, part of them being back to normal is being, you know, hard to pin down sometimes as far as getting everybody in the room together. You know, people just, they have busy lives, and some of our band mates are in, at, at a different place in terms of where their families are at, and, and the degree to which that, responsibility and, and opportunity to be present, just feels a little different.

So yeah, anyway, all, all that to say I'm, I'm looking forward to... I think it's gonna be me, Connor, and, and, Jimmy B at least, this Friday at least reassembling my drum kit and, you know what I mean, making some noise. So yeah, be good.

Nicky P: Well, I mean, that seems like as good a time as any to, since we're s- since he's gonna be playing with us in December to, start getting Max on board and a little bit more detailed.

Max's new house and future home studio [00:05:00]

Brian Pritchard: Ma- Max is getting his, keys to his house this week, but no, that- that's been on my mind certainly too. We'll, we'll, we'll pivot to getting him acclimated, but yeah, th- this, this Friday wasn't the right, starting point. But I'm, I'm... That those pieces are falling into place is, of course, not to make it about, about our band that my buddy's getting a new house, but, like, there is an, a detail of that which is, you know, the, the, the enhanced, home recording studio setup that, that he's talked about.

And, indeed that- that's something that, having even proximity to, I don't know, is very exciting to me. I, I know I've mentioned to you, if not here certainly elsewhere, that, those series of Wednesday hangouts that I was doing and that I'd, I'd love to get back to carving out some time with... You know, the, again, the new work thing has this noon to 8:00, block of time that, that's claimed at least while I'm in, like, major training and onboarding mode.

Processing the tour footage for the first time [00:06:00]

But all of this stuff is important to me and, and, and that's where I say starting to feel, like, more like myself is, you know, continuing to show up every day and do the thing. This new, new work thing is getting easier and, I, I, I'd mentioned to you, you know, when, when, when we talked last Wednesday, it was less than 48 hours, less than 48 hours from, from getting back, and it was like, I, I, I haven't even processed all this.

Sat- Saturday morning, after getting through that, like, coming back work week and stuff, Saturday morning I, I started going through the footage, and- I'm still blown away after now having gone through, I, I think, I think I still need to watch the Denver Puma set from start to finish is maybe the last show I haven't watched.

The New Haven show: "lightning in a bottle [00:07:00]

But that, that, that's its own different perspective is, is to sit there and go like, "What did, what did we actually accomplish on the field of battle?", so to speak, you know? And, we came away with, some great content that, that, that New Haven show in particular I was just blown away. And that sounds so goofy to say as a participating member but I'm sitting there just going like, "Holy shit, this is an exciting band."

You know? Like, who are these guys, you know? And part of it too, I think was that they had like, part of the lighting scheme they had was like electric, you know what I mean? But like it did, it just, the performance was so good. And I was thinking about like when we were talking and like, by, by the end of the trip I'd almost forgotten about that first day, you know?

And not only was the, the, the drive short, like us arriving at the Airbnb in Indiana, it sounds so goofy because it was ultimately such a short trip, but it was like we were still so like bright-eyed and bushy-tailed that day, you know what I mean? Like the, the, the hangout in New Haven was like, I, I, thinking back on it, I was like, oh yeah, that was such like we had, we had stars in our eyes, you know what I mean?

Like, we hadn't had a single thing go awry and, I, I think that excitement of playing our first out-of-state show, like whatever that, that perfect synergy was, lightning in a bottle got captured. That New Haven show, I'm so glad to have, have, And there's portions of it, I don't know if you went and watched it, but like the framing.

Be- Ben, Ben started it in one place and I, was occasionally visible and then at some point you see he goes over and he must have peeked at what he was seeing through the frame, and he moves everything up like two feet. And for that then chunk of things, like there's big, big portions of the video where all five of us are vid- are, are in frame and visible, like fucking rocking out.

How the documentary's framing shifted mid-show [00:09:00]

I'm like, "Got it. This is really good footage of a really good performance." And then at some point somebody must have bumped the tripod or whatever where it slides over a little bit and, me and Levante are then gone, and it's, it's, y- you, Noel, and Connor for like those remaining songs, which again, it's like, it's, it's not the end of the world other than...

I, I, I don't mean that in terms of being like, "Hey, what, how come I'm not in there?" I just thought like it's obviously, th- there's at least a song or two that we could extract, a full music video where it's like, fuck, there's all five of us crushing that song on stage and, and that made me happy. Did you watch the documentary yet?

Reviewing the rough cut of the tour documentary [00:10:00]

Did you watch the rough cut?

Nicky P: I did watch the documentary.

Brian Pritchard: I-

Nicky P: It's, it's what it is, you know? It's, I, I have my questions, but I'm not the director, so it was an, it, it was an interesting, it was certainly an interesting, exercise to see someone else's vision of the trip. And that's the other thing is, like, when I'm watching, I got, I kind of have to remind myself that, like, we, we are not the subject of the movie really, for as much as, like, we're a part of it.

You know, it's, it's definitely a trip, a documentary of that trip. You know, so there's a lot of other things go- going on, certainly emotionally with Ben that, you know, we've gotta be cognizant of. So I'm watching this thing, I was like, "Okay, yeah, yeah, this, this does make sense. W- w- okay. W- w- we're good."

Brian Pritchard: Well, no, to your point, right, like, there, there's a world in which, a... Like, I, I think I had even talked to you or, or Ben or whoever, like, about, the Pantera home video releases that would come out where they'd release an album, they'd go on tour, they'd be, you know, capturing footage throughout the tour, and then they'd release the follow-up to that that would have all the music videos and all this stuff, you know, in there.

Being the first-person subject of someone else's film [00:11:00]

And so yeah, it's like the, the, the there's a, a, a version of this that, you know, has more performance footage edited and, and stuff like that. But, abo- above and beyond him being, you know, my son and, and having that bias or aF- you know, affinity obviously for my child, I, I, I was sort of just intrigued to see- It is ultimately, a first person perspective documentary from his perspective.

You know what I mean? And it's like, "Oh, that's cool." The, and, and, and there's moments in there that made me uncomfortable as the on-screen subject, where I'm sitting there going like, "Ugh." Th- it, it makes me cringe a little bit to hear myself talk about myself and about my band, so seriously. Even though, like, that's literally what we do here every week, too.

Like But, but, but I, I wasn't about to sit there and, like, censor him and be like, "Yeah, that whole speech where I'm talking about us being, like, a metal jazz band," and like, it's like, "That's way too lofty and I sound like an asshole. Please get rid of it." But, I, I, I, I sort of figure one way or the other, whether I'm being self-conscious and it's, it, and, and you disagree or not, like, the, the, the, the overlay is just whatever got captured is real.

And so I, I was thinking about the other side of that, of going like, "Gee, I, I wonder if Levante's gonna watch this and be like, like, 'How come I'm just talking about rim jobs the whole time?'" And it's like, well, because that's what you do. You know what I mean? Like, right? Like, so the fact that There we go.

But anyway, yeah, like, the, the idea of me sitting there being like, "Gee, do I really come across this way, and does that make me uncomfortable?" It's like, it, you know, I, I, I am who I am. I'm passionate about these, these topics. But I, I catch other artists, doing that on interviews and, I don't, I don't know how much of it's just trying to be humble and self-deprecating or, or how much of it's, you know, honest.

But there is, I think, a, a sense in the world... There's this weird line to walk sometimes in terms of manners, whether you're talking about the self-promotion side or the degree to which you start crawling up your own ass a- as far as the art, the art of it all. But I'm somebody who likes that shit as a fan, I really do.

And, and I do think about our work, seriously, and so, you know, forgive me if I, I get too lofty.

Nicky's "enigmatic" role in the documentary [00:14:00]

Nicky P: The, the thing that I will, I, I guess I'm happy that came across is the, is the, my, my very enigmatic nature as far as the band goes and that how little I am actually in the documentary. So I, I was excited about that.

I was like, ooh.

Brian Pritchard: You stay mysterious? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Like,

Nicky P: I- I- I'm, I'm, yes, I'm there on stage at all of the gigs, but, like, past the first day I don't think you see me hardly at all in the thing. Like, it's, it's kind of I'm not around much.

Brian Pritchard: Well, no, to your point, like, I, I remember Ben talking about at one point afterwards being like, "You know, I'd, I'd had a goal of grabbing, like, first-person interviews with every member and stuff like that," but it was like, yeah, at a certain point you, you, you have the, the material that you got.

The final slow-motion shot: 2025 to 2005 [00:15:00]

Nicky P: You know?

Brian Pritchard: Yeah. I liked, there was a, at least one, I think it was with Snow Falls, where he was editing, this... Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There, there was another version. Yeah. Yeah, but at least the one of it, like, for my, my ears in terms of going like, ooh, that was, like, edited, like, perfectly where, you know what I mean?

It just, it felt so, so seamless flowing from one to the next. And I think I'd, I'd mentioned even in the text, you know, I, I don't mind being a, an old softie, and I'm sure it hit me differently because, you know, as much as this has been a chunk of your life, it was an even larger chunk of mine, right? That, that, that, that ending shot where- It was, it was a, a shot that was actually being reused.

The, the ending slow motion montage that he did, I don't know that there were any shots in there that I hadn't necessarily seen. Maybe there was like a hug or two, that, that, that was uniquely put in there. But literally that final slow motion shot where it was panning over to, the television and it's me and Levante back at our first show in 2005.

And the moment on stage that you see is sort of he's bouncing and he's turning to look at me, and you see me all intense like swinging at that little jerk cymbal. And something about just that, you know, millisecond, you know what I mean, in slow motion captured, of the connection between Levante and I, of the reminder of just how long, I've been going out on stage with that try hard fucking attitude, you know?

I've been showing up hoping that people give a shit for a long time, you know what I mean? And, I don't know, there was something emotional about, about even that reminder of like, yeah, God, we've been all getting together and doing this, this fucking thing, you know what I mean? Like, I don't know, it's just, it's been such a special huge part of my life, so yeah.

Nicky's perspective as the relative outsider on twenty years of friendship [00:17:00]

Nicky P: Well, and, and definitely the documentary, like there's a lot of that... I mean, even, was it in Chicago the one day, you know, we're watching videos of you and Max and like, I mean, there's video of Connor. I mean, that's not Connor. Connor, this doesn't look like Connor. Connor hasn't ever looked like that that I can imagine.

You know, or, "Wow, look at, look at that part in Noel's hair. What year is this, '99? Oh my God." And it, and it, and it's, it's more funny 'cause it's like- I, nobody here probably has more of a sense of this than me being the, like, the outsider to the group, 'cause you guys have been around each other for forever.

Like, I'm wa- I'm watching those videos, once again, as an outsider thinking, "Where was I at in 1999?" You know? I'm a little punk rock kid listening to Blink-182 and a bunch of bands that you've never heard of, in a town in a different state playing a taco shop for gigs and punk houses. And the number of lives that I will have lived by the time you and me ever even cross paths is so like, all the changes that happen.

So, like, I'm watching, I'm, I'm watching this I guess there's a, a stability in your life that, like, feels weird to me that, like, you've had the same people around you helping you for a really long time. And w- and by the way, like, when I think about my tenure with the band and, like, working with you guys, it feels like a long time to me.

And then to stretch that out, it's, like, three times as long for you at least. Like, just the performing side of things. It's- there certainly was an emotional element t- to that for me. You know? Like, it's like, wow, k- it's, it's awesome that you guys have had this thing your whole life. And, you know, all the same dudes are still around.

I have never had anybody in my life that's not, like, my brother or sister or parents that's been in my life for that long, that long a period of time. Honestly, aside from, like, maybe our, our mutual buddy Luke, who I met in the podcasting world, I don't know anyone that's been in my life that long. Most of my college friends moved on.

Most of my high school friends stopped talking to me for political reasons. It's like... So it's, certainly a, a different perspective when we look at, like, the world and performing stuff. And it's funny, it's like, I think you and me end up arriving at very similar places by the time we kinda n- met each other.

Jay Bombalicki, the Denver host, and thirty-year friendships [00:20:00]

But, like, the very divergent paths that put us together is, is certainly interesting.

Brian Pritchard: Dude, even, even Jay Bombalicki, okay, is, is somebody that I've known since, since, you know, for 30 years, right? The guy that hosted us in Denver. Jay, Jay was a, a driver before any of us. He somehow had a trunk full of fucking cartons of cigarettes.

You know what I mean? Where, like, Jay was a, a, a fun kid to go get in trouble with. And, ev- you know, so, so, so that side of seeing the life that, that he built for himself, In Denver and like he, he'd had a, a near-death experience at, at one point. He'd had like a, like a skin infection thing that, that had him hospitalized and, and had, had, you know, he'd been close to death, and, and had managed to recover.

And, you know, I, I said it the, that final night where I was, you know, giving a, a quick thank you speech where it was just like, yeah. The fact that Levante had preserved that relationship. You know, he, he's an interesting guy too in that he's got more than one of those circles, right? Because he's, he's been part of our musical life and he is part of our circle of friends, but-

Nicky P: But he's a beautiful snowflake that's part of a lot of circle of friends.

Brian Pritchard: Yes. And, and I think in part because he didn't, he didn't ever get into the, I guess to be blunt, the drugs as much as we did. You know what I mean? I think that part of our lifestyle turned him off.

Nicky P: It's funny you me- it's funny you mention that be- because, there was definitely a few moments where like, as I say, we had very divergent paths.

Like, there is a certain amount of, I definitely wouldn't have hung out with you guys in high school. Like, no, no chance of that. Like, the extent to which you guys apparently were involved in quote unquote the drug use was definitely more... Like, I met you guys all as like adults mostly with your shit together.

And so like the idea like, wow, that's, that's some pretty hard heavy drug use for like these guys I, I know.

Brian Pritchard: Yeah, I mean I, I, I dare say from, from certainly how it felt on the inside, I always had my shit together, only meaning, I was never really interested in, in destruction. As much as I've, I've had depressive moments, like I do value my life, you know what I mean?

A candid conversation about growing up in different worlds [00:23:00]

And, and, and it was always coming from a place of just having fun with my buddies. Like the, as much as like LSD, can, can be a scary thing for people and I've learned the hard way not to casually recommend it, like go ahead, give it a shot, you know what I mean? I've had incredible bonding experiences with those guys that I'll, I'll, I'll never forget, you know?

And, and there is this sense of amplification, at the risk of endorsing drug use, it's sort of like, you know, even something as simple as weed, that, that's, that's the joke that my friends, always have teased me about was that the Jon Stewart character from Half Baked is sitting there- in rehab and he's fascinated with how everything is cooler when you're high.

You know what I mean? It's like that you, you ever look at the back of a $1 bill? Pretty cool, right? You ever see it on weed? You know? Like, that's the big joke, right? And- Well,

Nicky P: And, and I don't wanna paint myself as a prude even though I really am in, in certain ways. It's just a, a lot of that stuff I didn't, I never did until I was, like, in my 30s and kind of, it was strictly from an experimental, like, "Hey, let's do it."

Very one-off, maybe twice sorta things. But one of the things I do th- i- as you mentioned, it's like, and it's maybe o- one of another reason why me and Levy have always kinda gravitated to each other in the band is just, like, you know, being slightly, different in that place. I'm gonna be honest and the one word that, like, was, was Max talking about math and I'm like, "Jesus Christ, math?"

Like, understanding from my world it's like, that's, that's one of those lines you just don't cross.

Brian Pritchard: Well, so, so even, y- you're right. You know, what, what, what's, what's weird about that stuff, when I think back on it, is the sort of odd circumstantial thing. So th- th- this is something, again, I don't say with like in any kind of bragging way, it's just my observation.

I grew up in an affluent town. And, and within that affluent town, our modest middle-class household didn't compare to the actual wealth that existed in the town of Bay Village. It's a very affluent town. And, it was interesting to see how that- carried over into the amount of hard drugs that, that were available.

And when I do talk to people that were from any other fucking city that they'll hear these stories and be like, "Really?" Yeah, but I'm sitting there going like, yeah, the, the, the number of... Like, heroin was, is one thing I w- I have never touched and never would. Not, not from some, like, high ground stance, but really because of the relationship I have with, addiction in its many forms, right?

When, when, when, if I watch a movie that feels good, if I eat a fucking dessert that tastes good, I'm, I'm not even finishing it before I'm thinking about how soon can I again, how soon can I be this again and again and again. And, and, but, but, like, there were, there were kids at Bay High that, that got sent away to rehab for heroin and, and whether it's that or the meth side, again, it's like, no, th- these are kids that are, are, are all coming from privilege that are just really fucking bored.

And that's its whole other tangent to go on in the world, 'cause even Bay Village wealth isn't real world wealth, where again, you sit there and go to a city like Manhattan and go, "Everything I gr- grew up on is dwarfed in comparison to how these people are living," right? Like- Yeah... But, but yeah, that, that's its own headline in the world, and that was just one of my early exposures to it is that, like, got it, like, there's a sort of weird insidious thing that happens when privileged people get bored.

Eh, that- that's where that idle hands becoming the devil's plaything, like, really plays out, right? Is, is going weal- wealthy people with too much time on their hands really get into some ugly shit, so.

Nicky P: Well, but it, it... While you say that, I'm like, don't, don't ever picture this. Like, I grew up in the poorest county in New York State.

Like, v- well known for teen pregnancy, things like, all of the things that poor people do. And along with that does go drugs, like, without question. It's just my parents did very well to, like, kind of- keep us away from like, drugs were never really taboo necessarily, and drinking and all that stuff. It was just be responsible was the only rule my parents had.

And so it took a lot of the let's go and be rebellious out of doing that kind of stuff. Now, mind you, I, I found out as I went off to college that my dad had been smoking weed with my friends for years behind my back. Like that, that kind. I also found out like that my dad's life was not so much different than your guys', as far as him and his friends went.

Like, I was very soft compared to like the, you'll say drug use my own par- my own parents had had when I was like, before me and after me and stuff. In part because, you know, what do, what do you do in a place where there's nothing? And certainly my parents grew up in a different age where it was like m- a lot of that stuff was less taboo, you know?

Brian Pritchard: In a way, like none of it even really appeals to me anymore. I, I had opportunities on this trip to take mushrooms again twice. And, and, and it was like I have no interest in, disassembling my brain. I remember the last time I ever took hallucinogens, that was the thing most on my mind, is going, "My God, I've been taking for granted all this time that I could take my brain apart and then reassemble it without like fucking something up whilst reassembling."

You know what I mean? And, and, and the coming back from it all, and I remember just thinking like, "Damn, I love my life." Like, and, and like I said, it did- it's not like I was consciously ever fleeing from it before, but I was just so struck by the notion of like how bummed out I would be to have that be the end of my story.

You know what I mean? Of, of being like, "Fuck, what a waste it would be to be like dead on the floor of this cabin. Like, I fucking love my life." You know what I mean? Like, why would I do anything, anything in the way of just being casual about, about that stuff. And, and, and ultimately that invulnerability, in its many ways shrinks over time where you sit there and go like, "No, I, I took it because I wasn't afraid of it."

You know what I mean? I, I didn't sit there... I w- I, if I watched, you know, this guy here next to me snort a line and all it does is make him more chatty, you know what I'm saying? Then it's like, cool. Like, so I, I, I guess, you know, the D.A.R.E program shit was a slight exaggeration. It's not like you do it once and you're hooked, or you do it once and you go to the hospital.

But like, but also that stuff does happen. And so I, I've never been the person that like, I don't like operating from a place of fear, but, but there's also, again, that sense of going, "At what point do I wanna be so, so casual with my one and only life?" You know what

Nicky P: I mean? Like, come on. There's fear and then there's r- there's fear and then there's respect, and it's always been a matter of like, there's certain drugs I've never touched because I, I, I understand and respect what they do to people, and just thought that those are probably not things that I needed in my life.

I've never had any interest in cocaine Because I'm too high-strung to begin with. The last thing in the world I need is anything that makes your heart race faster. Like, this would be a terrible

Brian Pritchard: Idea. Like, it's, sometimes I wanna find out for myself. I, I, I do definitely, back to that idea of the ennui of it all, there's that side too of going, I actually, in my natural state, I'm getting so much input and, and enjoyment from the world around me that the idea of putting different filters on that experience was certainly appealing, right?

Of, of sitting there and being like, "What does it feel like to listen to a song, to play a song, to watch a movie, to, to..." You know what I mean? To do all these different things. But for the most part, you know, it wasn't enhancing and, and I found that out quickly. My, my description of, of the cocaine experience is, the initial high and rush that you get in the forced, first, like, 30, 40 minutes of, like, I'm, like, coming up on the thing.

That is pretty awesome. The rest of the night is spent chasing that feeling unsuccessfully and spending shitloads of money. And, and as far as, again, things like the attention span and all of that stuff, like, suddenly not being able to watch a movie successfully. You know what I mean? And have it, like...

And, and lock in in the way that I enjoy. I'm going like, "Damn," like, "Th- th- this fucking drug isn't worth, like, cheapening the core experiences that I, seek out for myself." You know what I mean? In, in my life. So yeah, anything that didn't make the, like, great stuff way better, that was immediately out.

But The stuff that, that had potential to make it more interesting or bond with the friends. I mean, the, the, the, the, the real heady stuff like the hallucinogens, I mean, that, that, that created some close connections. Not that those couldn't exist otherwise, but, uh-

Nicky P: You know what's funny is you keep coming back to the ones, those are the ones that, like, I don't think twice about.

Like, oh yeah, man, I... Who doesn't love hallucinogens? Like, I, I remember the, I remember the first time I did acid, I'm like, "Oh, this is what I, I was always told drugs were supposed to do," and, like, something finally did it, and was very happy about that. Great 14-hour trip and, you know, I had a blast doing it.

It was very mentally freeing in a lot of ways. Like, I, I, but so it's fu- it's like, yeah, those hallucinogens are the things I'm thinking of. It's, you get the weird shit. Like, I guess things more expensive drugs. The stuff... I mean, dude, mushrooms grow in the ground same as weed. That's not a drug, that's, that's a, a recipe, you know?

Well,

Brian Pritchard: And, and, and I guess, you know, part of the affluent suburb of it all was just the availability. Like, like, maybe you were constantly around all of the above, maybe not. Maybe if you were... Yeah, fair enough. And, and, and, and to me it's like, it's, it's the, the, the... Fair enough. Yeah, and, and, and I never liked fucking with pills, but, but, like, to, to have buddies that I knew, liked, and trusted, and I, we, I had a very, very close friend who at a certain point was, I don't know, pretty serious about his selling drugs business and his cooking and making.

Like, guy, guy lived with chemists and, and was manufacturing all of this stuff, so, like, at least with the sense of going like, "Well, I know the source," I guess. And I like the guy, I trust the guy. But yeah, yeah. You know, it, it's, it's weird. I mean, people's like, that, that, that guy ended up in such a, a better and different place, too, you know what I mean?

So, I'm, I'm just glad that everybody walked away from it and, and that ends up being the freaky thing, you know? I, I'm so pleased to, to see that-

I, I don't feel like my son, I'm not in his mind, but he doesn't strike me as nearly as reckless and out of control as I was, which I appreciate. Even as a young man, he, he seemed to have a fairly healthy sense of caution, as it related to danger. And, yeah, so fingers crossed, right? We, we just, uh-

Nicky P: I'm, I mean, I'm just extrapolating, like, you as a parent and how that would, frame certain things in a child's life.

And I would imagine it's probably similar to where I came up with, like, well, it was, there was never rebellion in doing any of that stuff, so, like, you can look at it from a more, like, sober position. It's like, okay, well, if I don't get the, the rush of, you know, breaking the rules, then it's kinda just another thing and I can look at, okay, well this is what it's supposed to do, and it's, it becomes more medicative at that point perhaps

I don't know that this is the conversation I intended to have today, but it was definitely a an interesting conversation certainly.

Brian Pritchard: Well, three cheers to, staying alive, right?

Nicky P: Three cheers to having kids old enough to go out and put some things out in the world to you, buddy. Yeah, congratulations on that part.

Nothing else. To all of you folks out there, have a good one. See you next week. Let me tell you, Lloyd.

Brian Pritchard: And we're turning it into music and podcast for you