Rob Kassees, co-host of '1001 Album Complaints' podcast and Musician.
Host Matt Miller talks with Rob Kassees, one of the hosts of the 'Thousand and One Album Complaints' podcast. We get into Rob’s background in music and the creation of the podcast. The conversation also covers his early music experiences, the albums he loves, and what he’s doing in music today. We cover a wide range of music-related topics, including childhood music influences, favorite albums, the podcast's review process, and the host's personal music projects. We also get into Rob’s band, The Chop.
Transcript
welcome to the podcast. Everyone I'm talking with Rob Casiz. He is one of the hosts of a thousand and one album complaints podcast. Rob and his friends get together each week to talk trash or talk hype about an album. I really think that's such a great idea, Rob. Thanks for coming on the show.
Rob @:Thanks so much for having me, man.
Matt Miller (:Rob and I are going to be talking about a few of our favorite albums. but what I, Rob, one thing I like to do is, when I research before a podcast, I usually just do a general Google search of someone. And, you know, some people have, you know, a big digital footprint and then sometimes I have to really hunt. but it's, it's interesting to see, other people with the same name and, and how they come up. So.
Rob @:Sure.
Matt Miller (:I've got your name came up a little bit. I'm going to see if you're one of the following people. You ready? All right. did you play defensive back for college in Ohio? the Kenyan owls.
Rob @:No, sadly I did not do that.
Matt Miller (:That's not, I was wondering, I was like, I don't think the time fits, but there you go. Second one is on a Google search of your name. I came across a podcast called this must be the place. And some what he was talking about the talking heads and MTV back in the day. Was that you?
Rob @:Geez, that must have been me because I'm a huge Talking Heads fan. I gotta be honest, I've been on, I've guested on a lot of podcasts. I don't, that name isn't like ringing a, I feel like I would know it if that was the name because that's probably my favorite Talking Heads album, or sorry, song, but yeah, it had to have been me. Had to have been.
Matt Miller (:I'm going to go ahead and close the video.
Right? I was thinking, I think that...
Matt Miller (:I could, right. I could not. Yeah. I could not, get a year for when that podcast was placed. I couldn't see that anywhere, but I thought that was kind of cool. and then I sure hope this is you, cause it sure sounds like you, on a LinkedIn, I found that there was a Rob Casise, who is a Duke university, MBA graduate scientific author.
with high level management strategy experience is building intuitive product solutions for real estate is also a world traveler and proficient in Chinese. Is that you? my sweet. if you can, there it's great corporate speak, man. if you can see I'm a big Duke fan. I've got a, I always show that up there for the, for the tar.
Rob @:Yeah, that is me. Yeah, you're embarrassing me. But yes, yeah, that's nice. Some nice corporate speak I wrote there.
Rob @:shit. Yeah. Awesome. Go Blue Devils. I know. I always when I wear a Duke t -shirt out in the world, you know, even outside of America, I get the most comments on that. People have a real strong opinion about that team around the world. Yeah, definitely. Yeah.
Matt Miller (:the tar heel fans if I ever get to talk to any of those. That's right.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
really? Yeah. Duke really is a world brand. Isn't it? it'd be interesting. Yeah. I don't know if I've worn any Duke gear outside of North Carolina, but, I should try that the next time I'm out. so, well, I'm in North Carolina, so I'm about, I'm about an hour South of Durham, but, yeah. Yeah. so,
Rob @:And are you based in Durham?
Okay, cool. Yeah. Nice. Yeah, beautiful. Stay it.
Matt Miller (:Maybe you can indulge me. According to my software analytics, I've had two people in China listen to the podcast. So that would be, it would be wonderful in Chinese if you could say thank you for listening to the, you're still doing that podcast.
Rob @:I gotta look up the word podcast, Matt. You're really putting me on the spot here.
Matt Miller (:I don't. I don't know. Is there I guess there's a Chinese word for podcast. Radio show.
Rob @:You're still doing that podcast.
Matt Miller (:That's awesome, man. I was sure hoping that was you on that LinkedIn search. Because I was like, my goodness.
Rob @:Yeah, it's a for a Western white guy to learn Chinese. It's enough, you know, to live in Asia, as I've done periodically and to learn Chinese is a constant uphill battle and a struggle of people laughing at you. But it's it's been a fun experience.
Matt Miller (:I bet, I bet you do get laughed at quite a bit. That's a whole nother podcast of living in foreign countries. All right, Rob. So, so we're going to get into some albums, but let's start at the beginning. where were you born and where did you grow up?
Rob @:Sure, that's the game.
Rob @:Yep.
I am from Wilmington, Delaware. It's kind of a, almost a suburb of Philadelphia, quite a small place. But, so I grew up there, went to high school. I went to university of Delaware for undergrad. And I think in part, because I didn't go away for college, I just said, I got to get out of here. And right after college, I drove all the way across the country to San Francisco. And I've been in California and abroad ever since.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Matt Miller (:Nice.
Matt Miller (:Right. Well, California is where I was born, LA County. so quite a bit south, quite a bit south of you guys, but that's, that's where I spent the first, decade of my life was out there. All right, man. so, so let's talk about your, how do you got into music? what got you into music when you were younger?
Rob @:okay, cool.
Sure.
Rob @:Yeah, nice.
Rob @:Yeah.
You know, my parents were big music fans growing up. So I really was raised on the classics. There was always music playing in the home. My mother had a guitar. She wasn't a proficient player, but she had played at some point and you know, so there was a piano in the house, things like that. So they weren't really actively playing musicians, but they loved music. And I grew up on the Beatles and Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix and combine that with the rise of MTV. You know, by the time I was eight, nine, 10.
Matt Miller (:Right, right, right. Yeah.
Rob @:I was just watching MTV all day, every day, taking it all in and.
Matt Miller (:yeah. I was trying to think of how old I was when I first saw MTV and that was probably about that. My babysitter had MTV and so she would watch it. So I had to get to watch it when I was over there during the summertime. what were, go ahead, sir. so I was going to say, did you play any instruments growing up in school?
Rob @:Yeah.
Rob @:So I just, God, no, please.
Rob @:I went to a very small school that didn't have a music program, so the answer is no. But yes, but I picked up guitar when I was 16 and have been playing since then.
Matt Miller (:That is small school.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, as is the story for a lot of great musicians. They just pick it up. What was your major in college?
Rob @:I majored in biology.
Matt Miller (:Biology. That's a far away from music there. did you, did you get the, were you in any bands or play any gigs as you were growing up?
Rob @:Yeah.
It is, yeah.
Rob @:Yeah, of course. Well, you know, I had this experience where I was the last of my small friend group to pick up the guitar. So even though I was only maybe a year behind, I just felt like I was perilously late and behind the curve all the time. And so I didn't, I think I was a little scared to get out there and play, even though I was playing and learning really fast in my teenage years. So I didn't have my first proper band until I was in my twenties.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Gotcha.
Rob @:when I moved to San Francisco and part of what ultimately led me back to business school, believe it or not, away from my science career was running that band and feeling like that was my real skillset, even though it was just a weekend warrior thing, you know, that kind of leadership and writing on the whiteboard and organizing and you're booking for the band and you're managing people's expectations and.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yep.
Rob @:You're, you know, the band doesn't make any money, so there's no incentive system and they're your friends. So you can't fire them. So it's like a weird version of trying to get a team to coalesce.
Matt Miller (:right yep
Matt Miller (:Yeah, you're right. There is a whole other side to that than just playing your instrument. Who are some of your early music influences? Who are you listening to growing up?
Rob @:Well, I mentioned the classics like the Beatles and Bob Dylan, who were really I inherited from my parents. So love both of them. But I would say some of the first people I discovered on my own were David Bowie, the kind of weird equals cool aesthetic, because I was a nerdy kid. That was really important to me. And then in terms of the slightly more modern stuff, they might be giants was a huge one for me. Again, very strange off kilter rock and roll.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Yep. They're a little, they're a little off center. Yep.
Rob @:really spoke to me when I was 12, 13, 14. That was the first concert I ever went to. So bands like that kind of laid down the template, but you know, also things like Nirvana, I was the perfect age when Nevermind came out. I think I was 12 and I bought that on cassette tape. And so I was engaging with the modern stuff too, but I would say, yeah, the ones I mentioned before were my big loves.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah. Let's talk about your podcast, man. thousand and one album complaints. whose idea was that? How did he get started?
Rob @:Yeah.
Rob @:Yeah, so this is a group of very old friends all from Wilmington, Delaware. We all grew up together and have played in various bands together. And so it started as a texturing during the pandemic where we were missing, hanging out with each other. And we were at that point a little bit geographically dispersed anyway. We'd lived, you know, we were living in different parts of the country.
Matt Miller (:Yep.
Rob @:And it just started by chatting about a song that somebody heard on the radio, probably the grocery store. And like, what's going on with this? What's going with this? So somebody suggested, we should do this as a podcast. And the premise should be based on the Robert Dymory book, 1001 albums you must hear before you die. That'll give it a format. We'll pick albums from that book. We'll talk about them and we'll try to recreate.
Matt Miller (:Yes.
Rob @:the conversations that musicians have in the van after the gig or at the bar. Because these are the conversations I've been having my entire life over a beer. Something comes on the jukebox and whether you love it, hate it, whether you put it on or someone else, it doesn't matter. There's always something to talk about, something to nitpick.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Right.
Matt Miller (:So, my understanding is you guys have a thousand and one podcast episodes. Almost there, but she got your albums picked for you.
Rob @:Not quite there yet. We'll be old, wizened and gray. Yes. Yeah. And you know, the list itself is a funny thing because it's gone through multiple iterations. It was a book that was published, I think, initially in the nineties. It's had some updates since then. So things have fallen off. Things have been added. There's probably going to be another update at some point. So there's actually...
Matt Miller (:Yep.
Matt Miller (:Yes. I'm sure.
Rob @:So yes, we're trying our best to hew as closely as possible to the list, but for instance, the paper copy I have only goes up to 2004. And so we have to consult internet lists at times to do more modern stuff, but there's plenty of material safe to say.
Matt Miller (:Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
it sounds like it, man. How often do you guys put out a podcast?
Rob @:Every single week we've been going strong for about three years now, so we've published around 160 episodes.
Matt Miller (:That is, is definitely going strong, man. That, the math, the math, the math is right there. you guys are doing great to keep it up, for three years straight. How often do you do? I'm sure you get people that like, I can't make it today or, and things like that.
Rob @:Yeah.
Rob @:Well, this was all baked into the strategy, Matt. And like I said, I'm kind of a organized personality, a strategic thinker. And I like, I didn't really even want to do the podcast unless I knew we were going to do at least a hundred episodes. You know, I wanted something that could really be lasting and that we could do consistently. And as you know, one of the hard parts is producing something consistently.
Matt Miller (:Right.
Matt Miller (:Yes. Yep.
Rob @:And that can be a challenge at times. And so we mitigate that in a few ways, but one other thing I want to mention is that, you know, not only do we just kind of gab about these records and joke about them, which we definitely do, but we really try to do a lot of research and tell the story behind them. And part of that is just cause I, we all love doing that. And I find that learning more about the background of the record, how it was made, what the artist was doing at that time, it always gives me more appreciation for the art. Regardless of, you know, my ultimate verdict.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yes, for sure.
Rob @:But we have structured it purposefully in such a way. We tape every single week, more or less, without break. But we have a rotating group of co -hosts that can kind of share the work. So that makes it much easier to do that research every week and to kind of... So every week there's one host who's leading things, leading the research, telling the story. Other people just have to kind of listen, take notes, and their job is a little lesson, and then we rotate that.
Matt Miller (:Gotcha.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Matt Miller (:Gotcha, so it's not just you hosting each week, it'll be someone else. And then.
Rob @:That's correct. Pretty much every week we do a switch and I'd say approximately there are four of us that host and there are two other guys, all close friends, all musicians that join in as commentators and occasionally we have guest tube and they kind of just join in with our format. We don't really do an interview thing with guests.
Matt Miller (:I love the format. That is great. Who picks the album? How do you guys decide which album you're going to do?
Rob @:Well, you know, to the wider world out there, we have a machine called the Albinator that no one's ever seen that spins kind of like the price is white right wheel. No, but you know, in reality it is, it's just us each selecting what we want to dive into next and research because the person who picks, so in other words, we each pick our own albums from the list without a lot of rules or caveats, but.
Matt Miller (:Yeah. Albinator. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, yeah.
Rob @:I should say that part of our goal is to discover new music ourselves, kind of stay in touch with that part of ourselves. As you get older, that becomes less of a priority in life. And so this has just been a cool way to like continue hearing new things. So interestingly, although it does appear often as very random, and that's what we say on the show oftentimes, that's just the randomness of us actually selecting what we think is interesting.
Matt Miller (:Right. Yep.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah. But it's a good way to keep your friendship going too. And keeping in touch. If you don't have some sort of vehicle, then you can lose touch with folks. For sure.
Rob @:Absolutely.
Rob @:Absolutely, absolutely. That's a huge part of it as well. And we're all just such, we're such a tight knit group from, we went to high school and college together and spent time in bands after college. And now everyone's got jobs and families and lives in different parts of the country. So this is a great way to stay in touch.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Yep.
Yeah. It, yeah, the job and family sure get in the way of podcasting. all right. So let's talk a few albums and let's see, let's see what you say about some of mine. what, what was the first album or artists that you remember listening to and loving?
Rob @:Yeah, they get away with everything, Matt, actually.
Rob @:Sure.
Rob @:So I'm gonna say...
Man, that's a tough one. I already cited they might be giants. I think of that as the first.
Matt Miller (:Like you're like, I'm talking about like your earliest memory of, of you're like, I really liked that. Like that band or that artist.
Rob @:earliest
Rob @:I can remember my father playing the Beatles and not just the record. I remember him having friends over and then getting together on some acoustic guitars. I think my father played harmonica and doing, I've just seen a face and I have a real strong sense of memory of that from when I was real young. And that's, that must have happened a few times, I would guess. Stuff maybe, yeah, good.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:right. I have, yeah, I've got, my earliest ones is Elvis Presley. My mother was a huge Elvis Presley fan and even told me the story of getting grounded because her parents caught her with an Elvis Presley record in a room when she was a teenager. And that, and that was a, you can't have that in there.
Rob @:Yeah, scandalous.
Matt Miller (:Scandal. So I remembered sneaking onto my brother's stereo system and putting in jailhouse rock was when I was early. I heard a lot of the bangles in the car growing up and my mother was also big Karen Carpenter fan. So I heard quite a lot of that growing up. What was the first album you ever remember?
Rob @:Nice, wow.
Rob @:Okay.
Rob @:yeah.
All great.
Matt Miller (:having either as a present or something like that was the first album you ever remember having.
Rob @:So this is a little embarrassing, but I'm happy to share it. I went to the record store for the first time when I was 10, maybe, and I purchased Dr. Feel Good by Motley Crue. And I believe in the same trip I purchased Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul. Now both were being, you know, marketed to me via MTV at the time.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Nice. I love it.
I love it. Yes, they were. They both would have been on there. I've got a buddy who, who'd smile. He heard the motley crew, man. that's great.
Rob @:Yeah, so I love that stuff at the time. I like to think about that as the time before I really developed my own taste. It really was just what MTV was telling me to like, which, and by the way, those records are still pretty good. You know, they're fine.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yep. No, definitely the Motley crew. I was deep diving in into them for awhile last summer. the first album I ever got, my parents got me the coasters, old screw fifties group. Cause that's all that played in the car when I was in there. That's all that was allowed to be played was oldies.
Rob @:Well.
You know...
Rob @:Your answer is because I mean, I don't know exactly how old you are, but we look pretty similar in age. You're, you're doing some throwback picks here. Yeah. I'm only, I'm three years younger than you, but you're doing some real throwbacks.
Matt Miller (:yeah, I'm 47. Yep. I'm 47. Yep. Elvis Presley. the first album, I bought two albums when I got a CD player. I had a CD player tape deck combo, and, I guess it was about 93, 94, or maybe 92. I think it's gotta be 92 because I bought two albums the very first day I went to the record store.
I was trying to remember the name of that store. It was in the mall. And the first album I got was for my girlfriend at the time to listen to together. And it was Yanni. if you can believe it. And then the other album I got was boys to men, Cooley high harmony. That was my other one.
Rob @:nice, well I mean I grew up outside of Philadelphia so I'm very attached to boys than men.
Matt Miller (:Yes. Yes. so, yeah, I was a very big R and B guy through high school. I don't know. I guess he'll know what it is, but even now I'm like, I'm a huge funk and soul listener. Those seem to be my go -to choices when I'm searching for music. what were you, what were some of your favorite albums in your college day?
Rob @:Nice.
Rob @:College to me was about getting into the jazzier side of things. So listen to a lot of Steely Dan, listen to Mideski, Martin and Wood, the records they were putting out at the time, the one they had with John Scofield, A Go Go, I remember listening to quite a lot. Steely Dan, my favorite is Royal Scam, although they're all great. Maybe Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, Herbie Hancock. Now I listened to that as a music major. There were certain, you know, certain people and albums that that came our way. And Herbie Hancock was one of those that going through.
Rob @:Sure. Guys had a hit in like three decades, three totally distinct genres, right? It's pretty wild. Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yes, that's for sure. I had, I have three groups came to mind. I try to remember my college days. My all time favorite is cake. And that first album fashion nugget was, that was a repeat for me quite a lot. And I loved Weezer through college. We'll still love Weezer too. And,
Rob @:Yeah. Well, you know...
Rob @:I dig Weezer too, but I was gonna say I'm sitting in Sacramento right now where cake is from, so.
Matt Miller (:Yeah. Nice. Yeah. Cake was like, I could just about listen to most every album and just let it roll. It's one of my favorite groups. And then for some reason, whenever I felt sad, I'd put on a jars of clay, which is like this rock. And I guess they're kind of Christian too. I don't know, but I don't know why.
Rob @:Okay.
Rob @:I remember the hit. I don't think I listened to the whole record.
Matt Miller (:I just will listen to that all the time when I write it feel good, but that was my three. As an adult, what have been some of your favorite albums?
Rob @:Nice.
Rob @:Yeah, one that I always go back to, I listened to it on a drive the other night. I've known about it for a long time, but it still sticks with me is the Paul Simon record, Graceland. That's a real all -timer for me. Very chill, always calms me down. The last couple years, I've been diving deeper into jazz because I've been learning piano.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, yeah.
Rob @:I'm still, I'm only about four years in, but I've been studying it fairly intensely. And so I've been listening to a lot of piano players, especially guys like Red Garland, Red Garland's piano, great record and Sonny Clark. So I'd say that's a lot of what I listen to in my pleasure listening these days.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Nice. one, so after college, I was married really quickly. Kids came really quickly. So I was trying to think of what some of my albums were when I wasn't consumed with job and family, but one that stuck out, this is going to make you laugh. It's an album I keep going back to in a group is tenacious D. yeah, that's been one,
Rob @:yeah, they're great. Hilarious.
Matt Miller (:Once a friend of mine turned me on to that, I was like blown away. I was like, who is this I'm listening to? And why have I not heard this before? And
Rob @:Totally, yeah, I remember they had their HBO show, I think when I was in college, it must have been, and we laughed so hard at that, and then their record came out a few years after that, and I ended up seeing them at some point in my 20s, I can't remember all the details, but yeah, they're great.
Matt Miller (:Yep.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, that was one of my favorite ones was Tenacious D. I loved it. Let's talk about some fun questions. What's been your one of your all time favorite albums to review on the podcast?
Rob @:Well, going into the big ones is always a lot of fun. So we did Abbey Road for our 150 and I gotta be honest, I've been listening to the album my whole life. I've been reading about the album my whole life, but I was still amazed at how much I learned by really diving deep. And everyone that's doing that is just so excited because we all feel like we have a strong amount of knowledge about what's being talked about. So those are always really fun, certainly.
Matt Miller (:Yeah. Right?
Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Rob @:And then the other ones that are really fun are the ones where we just crack jokes at the artists expense. I got to be honest. I don't I want to be and I'll cite an example in a second, but I want to be clear, like I don't really agree with Internet culture of just tearing things down. I think if you're going to say you don't like something, I think you need to have a underpinning for that. Why or why not? And similar for if you like it. That's what I would say the premise of the show is. And we try to do that.
Matt Miller (:Right.
Matt Miller (:Correct.
Matt Miller (:right.
Rob @:But that said, some stuff needs to be laughed out. So we did a Kid Rock album that is on the list and we had a great time with that. And yeah, there are a few other ones like that.
Matt Miller (:Hehehehehe
Matt Miller (:Ball with the ball, the bang, the bang, diggy dig. I don't think I've listened to his album. I mean, just like the radio hits.
Rob @:Yeah, it gets pretty rough in there, but we had a lot of fun at Kid Rock's expense.
Matt Miller (:He's got a couple of gems and then the rest is his gravel. Yeah.
Rob @:Sure. Yeah. Yeah. And so, yeah, so kind of one side of the coin or the other is fun, but you know, every week I learned something. So, yeah.
Matt Miller (:Right.
Matt Miller (:Yeah. That's, that's a ton of fun, man. so maybe you've already answered this question. What will album got the worst review from your group?
Rob @:You know what? I wouldn't say it was kids rock. We in the, in the early day, the one that jumps out when you say that is an album by a woman called Nana Cherry. And the album is called raw like sushi. And we did this pretty early in the podcast run first 35 episodes probably. And so to be fair to anyone going to listen, it is definitely rougher around the edges. We've evolved a lot since then, but.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Rob @:I that stands out to me as the worst material that could have made this list. I do not understand at all.
Matt Miller (:Eh.
Alright, I'm gonna have to go listen now. For sure. So check it out. Because I know the name, but I can't get the music to pop in my head. But yeah.
Rob @:Just punish yourself.
Rob @:Yeah, her hit was called Buffalo Stance.
Matt Miller (:Buffalo stance. I'm going to go check that one out. so also looking at your group that runs the podcast, you guys also have a band called the chop.
Rob @:Yeah, the CHOP was our, initially it was our band in our twenties that we were all in together and we cared a heck of a lot about. And this is before a lot of adult responsibilities set in. We toured a bunch, all that stuff. And then we kind of split up to different parts of the country, continued living our lives. And so the CHOP became a creative collective and a record label.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Right, right, right.
Rob @:So we still occasionally get together and do one -off concept albums that we release through the shop. Like for instance, the recent release was a, an Arby's heavy metal concept album called Ghost Beef. And yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yep.
Matt Miller (:Yes, yes, I was listening to some of that. I was going to talk about a couple things.
Rob @:Yeah, totally. And we have, we have another one queued up for probably later this year that has a Ghostbusters theme, totally different genre. So, but, but in addition to that, we're just trying to build a brand that like supports, that's the production company's name that produces the podcast. It's also the record label where we print vinyl records from friends and acquaintances and other music we like and try to distribute that. And it's more of an ethos at this point, if you will, but yeah.
Matt Miller (:Nice.
Matt Miller (:Right. Yeah. I love it. yeah, definitely check out, at least I saw it through Spotify, but I guess it's other places too. the chop, there's some fun listening in there. and, most of it, well, a lot of it, the, your stuff is a little heavier, which I really liked, but there's a kind of a variety of stuff in there of rock stuff to listen to. So definitely check out the chop. It was fun.
Rob @:Sure, it's everywhere.
Rob @:Yeah.
We flip around because I've personally been in several bands with a few of the guys, you know, trading members occasionally. And we've now produced like six or seven records under different names. And so we, in the show notes of all our podcasts, we always publish a playlist that just has kind of our greatest hits on it of all the bands. So there are different genres of music in there, but they're all having something to do with us producing writing and producing them. So it's, it's been fun. For instance, my co -host Tom and I actually have another band called the Beverly crushers. That's sort of the other.
going concern that is a Star Trek the Next Generation tribute band yeah and
Matt Miller (:Yes. Yep. Long live Star Trek. Yep. Yep. I was listening to some of that too. That's great work.
Rob @:We actually just wrapped tracking for a follow -up to that record yesterday or Wednesday. And so I'm excited to issue a follow -up later this year, but you know, I think one of our, one of my big aesthetics is taking a silly concept and executing it with deadly seriousness. So that's kind of what these concept albums are about. Like, that's a kind of a silly concept. Then you listen, you're like, wait a minute, they took this like really seriously. So yeah, that's the goal.
Matt Miller (:Yes.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, man. it's really fun stuff. So definitely check them out. You can just type in the chop or you can put a thousand and one album complaints in there too. And all that stuff comes right up for you real easy. it's definitely, especially if you're a rock fan, it's good. It's good fun listening, man. I really liked it. so your band, are you guys still spread out or do you record, together or virtually? How does that work?
Rob @:We record together, even though we are spread out. So we'll tend to, I'm, there's two of us, myself and my cohost are based in California, pretty close by. So we see each other regularly and do stuff. But for instance, we might all get together for a weekend somewhere in the middle of the country, record a bunch of tracks and then kind of retire to our separate homes to fine tune them and, you know, add little bells and whistles and things like that. So.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Right.
Matt Miller (:Everybody better have their a game for that weekend. That's a, it takes a lot of work and planning to get everybody together.
Rob @:Well that's my job, I'm the Paul McCartney of the group I'd say. Which is to say I'm the boss and they get mad at me sometimes.
Matt Miller (:Yes. Everybody needs a Paul McCartney. Yeah. Reminds me that quote from your podcast, I guess it was the Abbey road one where the said Paul McCartney and, John Lennon said that if George Harrison ever wrote a better song or than them, then that was going to be the end of the Beatles.
Rob @:Yeah, that was the pact, the secret pact they made at the beginning of the Beatles. Yeah, well. Yeah, there's.
Matt Miller (:That was a secret pack. No more Beatles if George Harrison wrote a better song than them. that would be funny if that was slightly true, or one of the reasons why they never came back together.
Rob @:Could be, could be. Or that or heroin, it's one of those.
Matt Miller (:Yeah. I vote on heroin. That's for sure. There was, there was a lot of that going on too. what is an album you guys are, or at least you are looking forward to reviewing that hasn't been done yet.
Rob @:Yeah.
Rob @:I'm gonna say... I don't know if that one's on there. I just put the call out for, as we're taping this, I put the call out for what we're calling a glaring omission, something that's not on the...
Matt Miller (:to HSD.
Matt Miller (:Yeah.
Rob @:list. But I threw a couple of my own personal picks out to the world and I'm asking some of the listeners in our Patreon community to vote on them. And so far, the album that's in the lead, which I'm very excited about researching and doing a podcast on is JC Superstar, the original concept album. Yeah.
Matt Miller (:Right? But should be.
Matt Miller (:Nice. I love it. That'd be great. All right. so Rob, we're getting towards the end here and I asked us, everybody the same little questions at the end of the podcast and it's cool to see what everyone says. what's your favorite smell?
Rob @:Sure.
Rob @:I'm gonna go grill cheese.
Matt Miller (:that's a good one. Well, what's your favorite sandwich?
Rob @:I like all, I'm from the sandwich belt of America, so I really have love for a lot of sandwiches, so I'll go cheese stick.
Matt Miller (:right?
Matt Miller (:That's a good one for where you were born. What's your favorite kind of drink?
Rob @:Sure.
I like coffee quite a bit.
Matt Miller (:Hmm. That's a staple here in the Miller house every morning. That's my job. First thing I do when I get out of the bedroom, make the coffee. if you, what, what does a dream vacation look like for you?
Rob @:Heck yeah.
Rob @:We go to a new city in the world that I haven't been to yet and I just, I don't have anything planned. I just get up in the morning and I go look for a place to have coffee and I just walk around and think my thoughts.
Matt Miller (:Ooh, that's a good, that's a good, good way of doing it. Go somewhere you've never been without a plan and just explore and, and soak it in. I love that idea. who is the most famous person you've ever met?
Rob @:Yeah.
Rob @:ran into Tom Waits at a bar in San Francisco at a show. He was there to see, I think his son's band or his son's friend's band. And I was there to see my friend's band. And we were up on the balcony of this tiny, tiny club in San Francisco called Hotel Utah. And he was up there and we talked very briefly.
Matt Miller (:Nice.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, yeah.
Matt Miller (:Sweet. That's a good, that's a good, that's a good person to meet there. what is one memory that will always stick with you forever?
Rob @:The first time my band in my twenties went out of town really early in our career, we did a road show. We went to Oregon and we played a great set or what we thought was a great set. I think we were great. People were into it. And then I remember the bartender or, you know, the door guy handed us, I don't know, $120.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, yeah.
Matt Miller (:Yeah, yeah.
Rob @:And this we put, you know, the dad closed the bar yet. I think we were the opening band. There's another band on, he hands me $120. The sign above the bar says $1 Jack Daniel shots. And I just go shots. I did 120 shots on this bar. Everyone in the bar is doing shots with us.
Matt Miller (:my god, I love it. As wanted as you're gonna say 120 shots later.
Rob @:It was a wild night. It was a fun night. Yeah. Exactly.
Matt Miller (:I don't remember much, but I know I got them all everybody shots. I love it. well, Rob, thanks for coming on the show, man. This has been great. everybody check out Rob's podcast, a thousand and one album complaints, drop them a message and let them know what album they should do. it's a lot of fun and, Rob, this has been wonderful. I appreciate you coming on, sir.
Rob @:Absolutely.
Rob @:Thanks so much for having me, Matt. Really appreciate it.
Matt Miller (:Remember folks, find what makes you happy and get to it. There's a lot of life out there to live, so make it a good one. Be kind, be nice, be good, and everybody have a good week.
