This Is a Band

What’s newDelta bombers showAlex’s BarprogressCajonLive setup for 2-pieceWhat configuration?What instruments?Who’s on what?BuskingSpiritualizedSing while drummingDemo instrumentation vs. liveBacking tracksBusking vs. stageVideo backing w/ projectorMidi drums vs. real drumsThe shedMalted milk blues band - live video Living in the dormsDorm reunionMMBB reunion showsReal drum backing tracksVideo mixerB-roll Luke plays “Cannonball” snippet Backing tracks for Ryan songsLuke documents stuff all the timeNeed a new shoeboxStarting it’s the funnest partWorkflow to finish Luke songsRyan hasn’t been spending much time on musicJammingRyan finds song thru recordingLuke finds song thru jammingRyan to work on backing tracks for Luke songsLuke would rather play drums than bassRecording real drums is a hurdleMIDI drums more accessibleComposing drums with MIDI vs. playing4 Luke songs ready for backing trackshttps://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousandhttps://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks

Ruminating, muscle memory, and mediocrity. Pick something. Good for him, though. Bass vs. guitar. "Rent Free" and "Crushed Again."https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousandhttps://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks210827 - ep 118

Wrestling with our demons past and present. Early version of "Crushed Again." Thoughts on Long Beach, Rage Against the Machine vs. Nirvana, Modest Mouse. Columbia memories. Bass part for "Rent Free." https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210822 - ep 117

The Long Beach Strut, Time and Trouble, Rent Free, A Dull Ache, Fuckin Durrrrty, Lucky https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210815 - ep 116

https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210801 - ep 115

Ryan recaps his summer trip to Pennsylvania and Missouri. Talk of old friends from Columbia days. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210725 - ep 114

Quick catch up while Ryan is in Erie, Pennsylvania. Luke "Road Song" update & performance. Luke finds his lane. Plan next meet up. Ryan wants to record. Maintenance. Luke's tapes to be digitized. Ryan's Video8 stash. Cassette to digital workflow. Plan LA trip. Wrap up. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210718 - ep 113

Recap and reactions to Luke's visit to Washington and our first in-person practice. Moving on. Discuss "Strand Life," "Easy For You," "Rent Free." Busking ideas. Side-by-side one-man bands? Ryan showed up a year early to a Ween show. Backing tracks. Traditional grip. "Strand Life" performance. Americana / Indie / genres / labels. Luke's songwriting strategy. "How To Be A Cowboy" performance. Next steps. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210705 - ep 112

Planning for our first in-person practice. Includes bits of "Snow Route," "A Dull Ache." https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210620 - ep 111

Ryan gets a mini acoustic bass. Luke finds a guitar in his closet. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210612 - ep 110

Hello. Luke is feeling down. Old journals. “Rent free” demo update. Rehearsal space plan. Play a show by the end of the year. Quarterly meet ups. To demo or not to demo. Plan for jamming. Plan for booking shows. Ryan anxiety re: performing as a singer. Ryan wishes he could play piano and bass. What’s holding us back? From what? Ryan’s number 1 goal. Ryan drums plan. Luke “rent free” bass part update. Schnitzel cameo. “Rent free” build up. Nailing the composition. “Rent free” v4 demo reaction + discussion. Luke GarageBand next steps. Luke’s goal as a guitar player. Keyboard parts. Backing track. Rehearsal space details. Gear rental / travel / purchase discussion. You wanna just drink a beer and hang out for a second. Breeders show. Radiohead show. Missing photo / luke’s photo drawer. Schnitzel panting. Age and the quest to not settle. Do you feel tired. Podcasts, headphones, audiobooks, reading. “Rent Free” ooh ahhh part, theramin. Ben Folds Five. Ryan’s old releases. Luke’s CD wallets. How long since we jammed. Garageband plan. Timelessness. the world can watch me develop. Fresh ideas. fireworks. 1 fan who kept showing up. A new world. Ernie beans cameo. Two piece. Real fuckin’ live drums. The 4 hour mark. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210530 - ep 109

Ryan baseball injuries + PT. Luke’s trip to Hawaii. Ryan music progress update - “Rent Free” slower, demo doubt. Luke teases progress on “Work Harder”. We could video chat during home recording sessions. Luke has another 4 songs that he’s working on and other bits and pieces. Luke using google drive to catalog songs in development. Luke’s GarageBand progress. Ryan should play more drums. We should jam. Find rehearsal place to rent when luke is in town. Memory of swapping acoustic guitars at ryan’s old apartment. Luke has started practicing his songs, new ideas, Travis picking. Having a routine. Ryan’s been writing about 2001-02. Ryan’s story of seeing luke in LA traffic during commute. Luke scary asthma story. Luke reaction to his 1998 journal. In middle school Luke won a writing award and met Roald Dahl. Ryan reacts to his audio journals from 98-99. Ryan archiving family photos/footage/recordings etc. Ryan’s poetry book For You, luke says it should be published. Luke is paranoid. Memories from two LA trips 2002. 2000 rift when we were roommates. Luke - 1995 journals about starting 1st band. “Rent free” slower tempo listen + discuss. Luke performs early partial “Work Harder” vox + guitar + discuss, compare to “School.” Luke - “ready whenever” concept. Using sound bites. Wish we could jam in same room. Get together once a quarter, to jam + eventually play shows. Play a show before end of 2021. Luke has shed out back that could be a band room. Ryan plans to get pre-made shed. In the meantime, rent “a lockout” by the day. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210516 - ep 108

Work talk. Not using good mics today. Demo talk. How to practice/play more during these meet ups. Luke debuts “Work harder,” discussion. Ryan - Playing with a pick vs. fingers. Luke - GarageBand is like a whole other instrument. Ryan - these aren’t demos, these are the real thing in progress. Luke - studios have the gear to get the sounds. Ryan - release 1 song at a time. Luke - release singles ahead of an album. Not gonna release shit that sounds amateur. Go live on these meetings so people can follow along. Artists always want to release shit right now instead of setting it up. We gotta be patient, this is our 4 month anniversary as a band. Where can we go to find listeners. Ryan’s been off social media for years. Ryan’s a videographer. Luke’s down to leverage his skills + network. Be everywhere all the time. We’re doing this backwards, lots of strategy talk, demos instead of jamming. How many songs do we have - 23 works in progress, 10 far along. How hard should we be working on demos in GarageBand. Business formation discussion. Luke Jams. A label manager and a videographer. Luke wants to pay homage to our roots. Indie Radio. Luke’s rise in Columbia music scene. The Echo. Work with people + venues that we like + want to spend time with. Old songs that were never finished. Collaborating on parts in garageband. Band name discussion. Luke guitar improv, “Work Harder.” Vaccine update. Ryan performs “Rent Free” - guitar + vox, then discussion. Ryan’s writing group performs material out loud as a group, instead of reading privately. Luke: “I don’t really like to be organized in art.” Luke performs “Ambra Cadabra” then discussion. Ryan performs “Lady Luck,” Luke shows lead guitar idea. Uploading voice memos. Luke performs 12 string song ideas + discussion. Getting together every few months, vaccines. Listen to voice memo - “Sweet sliding blues fill on 12 string” + discuss. Ryan plays a little bit of “Walk Right In” on guitar. Ryan performs “Dark Night” on guitar + vox, Luke shows idea for bass part, discuss. Upcoming schedule. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210501 - ep 107

Luke’s set up. Luke added to drive. “My Dude Leo” discussion. “I’m Set” discussion. Sound bites. Metro psycho. Whatchu drankin’. Luke’s 10 day cleanse. 1st vaccine shots. Beans got stuck in a tree. Remote control car. Mid-life crisis. Disposable son. Our wildest dreams. “Take it” - song title. Idea board update. How to write a song together. Cannabis. Google drive update. Album brainstorm. Luke is developing a sound. Threading songs together like recurring characters or themes. Closing the book on something - 95%. “Fuckin’ durrrty” for example. Ready to walk away from some songs, some are living documents. “La cienega” + “exactly” are done, “rent free” is WIP. “Marbles” update. EP, album discussion. Search for meaning as an obstacle. Strategy, mission, goals. Luke’s POV on what we’re doing. music goals. 10 ways to be miserable as an artist. Finding an audience. Luke will create a record label. Luke’s Spotify playlists. Little Dragon. Finding people who share our tastes. How do i get interested in things. People who we wanna fuck with, like Terry Gross + Rick Rubin. Steve Albini. The Bootlegger audience, creating with audience in mind. Luke wants to make this a career. Luke talks Dim Mak, Steve, “the new noise.” Luke deflates. Steering committee, target demo. The audience is younger than the artist. We lived thru the 90s. Pop music discussion, cut thru the zeitgeist. “Fuckin’ durrrty” discussion. There is a need. The zeitgeist. Indie rock is independent again. Luke’s answer is to get an acoustic guitar and beat the hell out of it. How luke wrote in alison poole vs. now. Timeless artists like springsteen, tweedy, malkmus. I need to be creating. We’re in a band. How far to take the demos? Billie Eilish documentary - home recording. Whitney houston, Bruce springsteen. Luke + ryan music history together. Luke reveals that he moved to columbia to be in a band with Ryan. Luke’s early days in columbia, Steak N Shake, Jesse, Mike. Ryan wasn’t doing music at the time, not on the same page. Ryan was just writing about that time period. Viletto comes along, luke felt that ryan ignored him. Luke was trying. Delusions, freaking out. Ryan doesn’t remember talking about being in a band in columbia. Took for granted that luke was in columbia.Ryan recalls luke in columbia, no AC. We didn’t hang out that much, Luke was lonely. Luke’s back story of moving to columbia, why he stayed. Washing dishes, going to back to college. Back into music business, intern at blue note + dim mak. Luke’s last semester in columbia. Uncle tupelo, Pixies, Strokes, White Stripes. Arcade Fire at Mojos - best show he’s ever seen. “Create music that opens people’s minds to music.” Closeness now vs. when we lived close by. ryan/eli similar to luke/ryan - move to columbia then abandoned. Mike watt’s house in pedro, similar to luke’s bungalow. Luke’s old friend who played 90s covers. how/why luke formed his first band. Creative energy is fundamental to who we are. The healthiest coping mechanism. Ryan’s 10,000 hours: drums, video, baseball. Ryan is a terrible fisherman. Find the things that are you and lean into them. As opposed to being a blank canvas for girls to paint on. Luke put in 10,000 hours chasing girls. “The john coltrane of hitting on girls at bars.” Concept album / songs about our shared experiences. Song about our summer living together on W. Washington St. Ryan has been writing about college years Ryan called luke “naive” in ‘98-’99. Interrupted by neighbor’s mariachi band. How we treat roommates. 20 years, little fights. Packing the car. Different memories. Remembering exact quotes. luke called BS on ryan lowering his sights. Chasing for the ideal vs. finding happiness / home life. Separate memories. U-Club. Ryan’s song “Bread and Pepper.” Ryan added old songs to the Drive. Schnitzel afraid of mariachi band. “thick skin” discussion. Recap. this is a band. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210418 - ep 105

What’s up dude. Luke workin’ on his setup. Direct monitor. “Cookin’ with gas.” “Columbia rap.” Luke songwriting update. Using google drive. Ryan hosted in-laws. Ryan demo update - “rent free” probably. Luke “fuckin’ durrrty” update. Luke jammed at Larry’s b-day. South Bay music scene. we WILL jam. Washington trip plan. Bill’s generosity. Backpacking talk. Luke is going to Hawaii. Waiting for vaccines, eligibility. First quarter over. Luke real estate job. Unemployment. Today’s agenda. Ryan songwriting update. “Rent free” demo debut + discussion. Bumble Bees vocal comparison. Vocal effects / filters. Influences. Folk playlist. Power chords. Nirvana. “Rent Free” discussion. Ex old lady trauma. Luke recalls paranoia freakout. Ryan sits on emails to savor them. Sensitivity to how folks react to things we make. Musicians we know we were paralyzed by criticism (from self and others). “Every new idea has to be completely original in your mind.” In Alison Poole, Luke was the same way. Our current band is liberating. Alison Poole on archive . org, should mine it. Luke’s morning routine. This is liberating. We are on the same page. Starting back at zero. Work By Referral book on sales. Find people i like and build with them. Mikey J writes sad folk songs. If we were ready for shows, who would we reach out to? Easy to get a show in the South Bay. Pauline from Anchors is still active, Timberspace. Andrew from Anchors, Traps PS, The Smell. Washington state connections. Goal for 2021: play one show. Play a new year’s party. As a two-piece. Show logistics - driving / gear? Luke recalls LA to Portland show. Harvey still works for Alaska. “Ambra Cadabra” performance (Luke guitar) + discussion. Mic switch. Unknown song for Erika performance (Luke guitar) + discussion. “Fuckin’ Durrrty” new lyrics performance (Luke guitar + vox) + discussion. Ryan Dm 10-second thingy + discussion. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210411 - ep 104

What’s going on. Hosting. Dirty pens. Introducing “rent free.” Luke prolific weekend. Luke developing a sound. Ringo’s drum tech. Bloody Beetroots aka Bob. Nothing to lose. “We are we are” update. The rick rubin letter. About the podcast. Billie eilish documentary. The podcast. Luke songs update. Band name: Ryan and Luke. High fidelity: Vince and Neil. Rick rubin letter. Not responding. “We are we are” and “i’m set” update. “We are we are” performance - Luke guitar, Ryan vox. “We are we are” discussion. Tracy bonham song “mother mother.” Paying homage. Song Exploder podcast. How To Write One Song book. Writing lyrics. Beans medical emergency / urinary disease. Erika says hi. “Rent free” {world premiere} performance - ryan vox w/ backing track. “Rent free” discussion. Remembering Alison Poole. Follow up on “rent free.” Luke bought gear from friend. Luke’s friend likes the Beatles. Luke bought bass + bass amp. Luke might get rid of couch and set up gear for demos. Luke on his straps. Rock Band video game. “Ambra cadabra” performances + discussion - Luke guitar. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210401 - ep 103

new setup, cheers. Discuss episode 1, what to do with footage, edit talk. Luke’s prolific week. Drive. promotion. Gimlet. Heavyweight. Neil Young. Eric Clapton. Luke “Mr. Soul” cover fragment. “She said, she said.” How is this even one band? That’s what’s cool about it. The Voice. Popular music. Friends and family. Venn diagram. Covers list. Ryan thinks “the money will roll right in” is a Nirvana song. Fugazi “Target.” Luke’s influence on Ryan. Fugazi. Liam. Sonic Youth. Luke songwriting. Luke “Fuckin’ durrrty” talks n plays. This is a band. “La cienega” origin. Let’s play a cover. L+R “XYU” performance. Luke harmonics fragment. Luke “arpeggiator” fragment. When the bass became an instrument. Luke “lounge act” fragment. Kim Deal is the bass queen. Bullseye with Jesse Thorn. The Breeders came out of Ohio. Luke revisiting things to see what he missed. Ween. Limp dick mic. L+R "snow route" performance. Luke “fuckin’ durrrty” performance - lots of new lyrics. “I’m Set.” Sublime bootlegs. Luke “I’m Set” partial performance. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210326 - ep 102

What are we doing today. Erika cameo. Jon spencer blues explosion cover tidbit. Luke “I’m Set” performance + discussion. Luke “Fuckin’ durrrty” WIP performance. What ryan’s been workin’ on. Luke “Fuckin’ durrrty” WIP partial performance. Luke’s voice memo strategy, Ryan says add them to drive. Luke “Fuckin’ durrrty” WIP partial performance, brainstorm, discussion, ryan sings a bit. Ryan “messin’ with daphne” partial performance, trying to remember. Sub pop stuff. Luke’s cleanse. Harvey’s birthday coming up, plan for next meetup. Luke “fuckin’ durrrty” performance - lyrics debut + discussion. Ryan “la cienega” performance fragment. Deep cut covers to play. Luke “shit luck” partial performance. Ryan “lady luck” partial performance. L+R “toss your hair” attempt to play simultaneous, sync off. Luke “trip song” mention. Using Drive for voice memos. Luke jams on Carl. Luke “you and me and the street” title origin. What to do with this footage. Schnitzel cameo. bye. https://www.youtube.com/@RyanThousand https://www.instagram.com/ryan.thousand https://www.youtube.com/@TheStoicks https://www.instagram.com/thestoicks 210321 - ep 101