Podcast:
A.D. Adams

00:00:00.320 Welcome to cross-examine with the
00:00:01.920 Gerbers. We have Megan Gerber here, Ken
00:00:04.799 Gerber, and drum roll please. Adams,
00:00:11.840 >> get that. Get that drum roll.
00:00:14.400 >> You literally get it.
00:00:15.759 >> Here we go. How are you?
00:00:17.760 >> Yeah, good. Good. Welcome to the
00:00:19.439 podcast.
00:00:20.000 >> Oh, thanks for having me. This Look, you
00:00:22.240 guys, this is nice here. Thank you.
00:00:24.320 >> What’s going on around here?
00:00:25.519 >> I know. And even the table leg, which
00:00:27.760 you can’t pro Oh, you can probably see.
00:00:29.439 That’s leather. Did you know that?
00:00:31.199 >> Is it? Did you know I’m not wearing
00:00:33.280 pants?
00:00:36.239 >> And we’re off.
00:00:38.640 >> So anyway, I don’t know what most people
00:00:41.840 think when they hear the term hardest
00:00:43.680 working man in show business. My
00:00:45.360 personal opinion, that’s you.
00:00:47.280 >> Yes. Or the heart. You have You know
00:00:49.360 what? I’ve asked you this before. You
00:00:50.879 have the most muscular hands. Probably
00:00:52.879 being a drummer.
00:00:53.760 >> I can open any jar. I’m sure
00:00:56.000 >> I was kind of the utility guy when we
00:00:57.840 were growing up. Mom would go, I need
00:00:59.520 those pickles open. So, you know,
00:01:02.079 drummer hands and go open that pickle
00:01:03.920 jar.
00:01:04.239 >> Ask AD.
00:01:05.600 >> So, let’s get a little background of us
00:01:08.880 knowing each other and our relationship.
00:01:10.799 >> Oh, wow. Okay. Great story.
00:01:13.600 >> Yeah. You’re you’re Jack’s drummer with
00:01:16.479 Three Heart Cross.
00:01:17.680 >> Yes.
00:01:18.080 >> But let’s go back to how we even got in
00:01:20.080 touch. I think it was the two of you,
00:01:21.439 right? Well, it was a mutual friend, Ken
00:01:24.799 Howie,
00:01:26.400 >> who is a heavy metal uh guitar player
00:01:29.200 here in town, plays with a band called
00:01:30.560 Empire of Desire. Great band. You should
00:01:32.400 check them out. Gave me a call and said,
00:01:36.320 "All right, you need to sit down. I’m
00:01:37.920 going to try to explain something to
00:01:39.280 you." And uh I might have a gig that you
00:01:43.040 might be interested. So he went ahead
00:01:45.520 and told me how there were castles in
00:01:48.240 Poland that were inherited and all this
00:01:50.479 crazy and woman wakes up and she’s a
00:01:53.600 princess and there’s a Polish tour and
00:01:55.840 do you want to go call this number? So I
00:01:58.320 I called the number and it was
00:02:00.560 >> call this 1800 number.
00:02:02.719 >> It was Megan and I’m going okay I hear
00:02:05.439 there’s a princess and some castles in
00:02:07.439 Poland and there’s a gig. And she went
00:02:10.720 on to explain, you know, what was going
00:02:12.720 on with the mission and everything. And
00:02:14.400 I went, "Ah, that sounds like a great
00:02:16.400 >> great thing, you know." And she’s like,
00:02:17.920 "Well, would you be interested in
00:02:19.120 going?" I’m like, "Yeah, I mean, it
00:02:20.959 sounds fun." And I had no idea what I
00:02:23.599 was getting into. None. None. In my
00:02:26.400 brain, I’m going, "This is not a typical
00:02:28.879 fly into the city, the tour bus picks
00:02:30.800 you up, and you do your thing, and then
00:02:32.319 you go home." home. I I had no idea what
00:02:34.560 was going to happen in between arrival
00:02:37.840 in Poland and when we leave Pol. I
00:02:40.480 didn’t know what what the days were
00:02:42.080 going to be like, you know, tours that
00:02:45.040 I’ve been on for my whole life. It’s
00:02:46.640 just you’re in your hotel if you want to
00:02:48.480 go get room, you know, get room service
00:02:50.080 or go downstairs and grab something to
00:02:51.680 eat or walk around the town, you play
00:02:53.680 your gig at night, and then you shove
00:02:55.120 off to the next town. So, I didn’t know,
00:02:57.599 but it turned out to be an amazing
00:03:00.160 mission. Yeah.
00:03:01.280 >> Uh the friends that we I mean obviously
00:03:03.440 made some great friends along the way.
00:03:05.120 And then uh to be able to play Jack’s
00:03:07.040 music and help him along and kind of
00:03:09.120 mentor him in the industry and and all
00:03:11.920 the you know the pitfalls and all the
00:03:14.400 stuff that there is along the way. It
00:03:15.920 was just quite an honor. And then here
00:03:17.680 we are.
00:03:18.239 >> And I have to say something that was
00:03:19.680 very humbling cuz he is so humble. We’re
00:03:22.400 literally all day long and we’re going
00:03:25.599 all day and then when we get back to the
00:03:27.680 hotel, this is the first tour. We sit
00:03:30.080 down to have a drink and I said, "Add, I
00:03:34.239 saw on Facebook it’s your birthday today
00:03:35.760 and you’ve not said one thing all day
00:03:37.920 long." That’s right. Are you kidding me?
00:03:40.080 >> You kept it secret from us. Megan
00:03:42.000 figured it out.
00:03:42.879 >> Yeah.
00:03:43.360 >> You didn’t say a word and here we are
00:03:45.120 walking around.
00:03:46.159 >> Yeah. Two years ago
00:03:46.720 >> and it was his birthday. He was birthed
00:03:49.120 that day. We had no idea.
00:03:52.000 >> No, it you know it’s you get my age and
00:03:55.040 birthdays just become a thing. You go,
00:03:56.879 "Oh no, no, not another one." and you
00:03:58.959 start doing that.
00:04:00.000 >> Not when you’re around Megan. You don’t
00:04:02.400 you don’t get to just slide through a
00:04:04.159 birthday without it being a big deal.
00:04:06.480 >> I found that out. I was fortunate enough
00:04:08.720 to to accompany you all on uh on two
00:04:10.879 trips now to to Poland and everything.
00:04:12.959 And both both years were uh were my
00:04:15.439 birthday. So, it’s just the way it
00:04:17.440 happens to fall. Um
00:04:19.199 >> so, it was cool. It was really cool.
00:04:20.798 It’s like it’s my birthday.
00:04:21.519 >> We keep you captive every year for your
00:04:22.960 birthday. Yay.
00:04:23.759 >> I don’t mind that at all. I can be
00:04:25.600 kidnapped easily. and and we’ve
00:04:28.400 developed this I don’t know very dear
00:04:31.440 friendship as well and you truly are
00:04:34.400 pouring into Jack and mentoring him and
00:04:37.280 just taking him under your wing which we
00:04:39.440 are eternally grateful for and I think
00:04:41.919 >> Jack’s a better person and a better
00:04:44.080 musician for it as well. And you’ve also
00:04:48.160 got the studio and recorded his new
00:04:51.040 release in your studio. Well, it’s, you
00:04:53.600 know, it’s it’s it’s when you’re a guy
00:04:55.520 like me, I’m I’m kind of a mercenary.
00:04:57.040 I’m I’m an independent artist. I’m I’m,
00:04:59.840 you know, I I I work like this year
00:05:01.840 alone, I’ve worked with 12 acts already
00:05:04.240 and done touring and and and you know,
00:05:07.039 fly gigs and things like that. And uh
00:05:09.759 the opportunity to do something new for
00:05:12.160 for somebody like me is always fun. It’s
00:05:14.800 just always like I’ve done this this
00:05:16.560 this this.
00:05:18.639 You always look for something new. And
00:05:20.240 then Jack is such a a unique, beautiful
00:05:23.680 soul, you know, he’s just a good guy.
00:05:25.759 He’s a good kid. He’s a and he’s
00:05:28.639 >> ridiculously talented and and I’m
00:05:31.199 sitting kind of there just from taking
00:05:33.039 the the taking the gig, so to speak, and
00:05:36.080 I’m sitting there right in the middle of
00:05:37.199 it going, you know, this guy could
00:05:39.360 really do something, you know, and and
00:05:41.039 just a little guidance here and there.
00:05:43.120 >> He’s got the raw talent, and if if I I’m
00:05:45.600 here, well, just give him any advice I
00:05:47.840 can give him. And then and then the
00:05:50.400 subject of him recording came up and I’m
00:05:52.400 like, well, I got a studio and we’re
00:05:55.199 doing this anyway and I’m playing drums.
00:05:57.520 It’s just like So I called an old uh my
00:06:01.280 old musical partner, my my musical wife,
00:06:04.240 if you will,
00:06:06.639 saying when are we going to have him on?
00:06:08.000 >> Yeah. Ryan McKay and uh you know, who’s
00:06:10.400 who’s been a musical partner of mine for
00:06:12.160 20 odd or more years and we’ve made so
00:06:15.440 many records together and and it just
00:06:17.280 made sense. It’s like, well, if I’m
00:06:18.479 going to do this with Jack, I want to
00:06:19.919 get Ryan involved because Ryan is just
00:06:22.000 so technically proficient and and uh
00:06:25.039 knows his theory and I know that he’s
00:06:27.039 going to be able to help Jack in ways
00:06:29.120 that I can’t like, hey, that that chord
00:06:31.360 doesn’t fit or, you know, when when it
00:06:33.280 comes down to the music theory thing.
00:06:34.960 And Ryan is also an amazing uh engineer,
00:06:38.720 audio engineer. So, you know, with me
00:06:41.440 producing, Ryan co-producing and
00:06:43.440 engineering, it’s like this is going to
00:06:45.360 be a breeze. And it’s also going to be a
00:06:47.759 lot of fun. And and I figured if we’re
00:06:49.360 gonna bring Jack in
00:06:50.960 >> and and record his stuff, let’s make it
00:06:52.800 fun. Let’s make it loose. Let’s not have
00:06:55.280 this this strict, tense um got to get it
00:06:59.120 right kind of attitude thing.
00:07:01.599 >> It’s my studio. The clock isn’t running.
00:07:04.000 The clock is not ticking. We can do
00:07:05.759 whatever we want a thousand times and
00:07:08.960 then erase it and start again if we want
00:07:11.039 to because there’s no
00:07:13.120 >> there’s no studio cost involved, right?
00:07:15.520 So, we can do whatever we want, whenever
00:07:17.520 we want, however we want.
00:07:18.800 >> Right. And what I love about you guys is
00:07:21.840 Jack’s not afraid to say, "You know
00:07:23.599 what? I I think I want to try this." And
00:07:25.680 you’re not afraid. And he You guys all
00:07:28.160 take each other’s um suggestions and
00:07:31.759 opinions to heart. I mean, in a nice
00:07:34.560 way, but then also like, "No, I don’t
00:07:36.880 think that’ll work." Or you’re saying,
00:07:38.160 "I want this." And Ryan’s like, "Uh-uh,
00:07:39.919 we’re not doing that." And Jack’s like,
00:07:41.199 "But what about this?" Well, and you
00:07:43.520 guys really work well together and
00:07:45.199 nobody’s really afraid of saying
00:07:46.639 anything. At least it doesn’t seem that
00:07:48.400 way when we’ve been there.
00:07:49.520 >> You know, the I’ve I’ve been in
00:07:51.039 situations musically where the where the
00:07:52.800 producers are are so strict and so
00:07:55.199 demanding and no, I’m I’m the boss. I’m
00:07:57.840 the Because when when you’re in a studio
00:07:59.520 with a producer, it’s his word. The
00:08:01.840 producer gets his way. You know, I don’t
00:08:03.840 care if you’re the artist and and have
00:08:07.280 have been doing it for years. when when
00:08:09.280 the producer is in there, the record
00:08:10.720 label or whoever has paid that producer,
00:08:13.520 he makes that final decision. He or she
00:08:15.360 makes that final decision,
00:08:17.680 I don’t like those. I you know, the
00:08:19.680 artist has something to say, obviously,
00:08:22.000 or he wouldn’t have written the song.
00:08:23.599 >> True.
00:08:24.160 >> So, I want to hear his vision all the
00:08:27.280 way through. I want to weigh it out. I’m
00:08:29.759 going to use logic. We we refer to the
00:08:31.919 book a lot. It’s the book of rock, which
00:08:34.159 really doesn’t exist. I think we’re
00:08:35.839 continuing to write it every day, but
00:08:37.679 but rock logic says that if we do this,
00:08:40.799 it’s going to turn out okay, you know.
00:08:42.958 So Jack is slowly learning the book and
00:08:46.640 um and he gets what we say. So we refer
00:08:48.640 to that jokingly and and you know this
00:08:50.720 mythical book that doesn’t exist, but
00:08:53.920 there is certain logic. There is certain
00:08:55.760 things along the way that in my you know
00:08:57.920 50 odd years in this business, I’ve seen
00:09:00.320 that this is the way to do it
00:09:01.760 consistently works. Don’t mess with it.
00:09:04.320 you know. So, but but yeah, the the push
00:09:07.200 and pull uh between Ryan and Jack and I
00:09:10.720 sometimes and then that it’s not just
00:09:12.480 this idea against this. There could be
00:09:14.480 five or six ideas on the table.
00:09:16.240 >> Oh, well, that’s that’s the part that’s
00:09:18.080 really really amusing because Megan and
00:09:20.640 I get so amused with it that we don’t
00:09:22.959 like to miss those recording sessions.
00:09:24.720 And it’s really just about the seeing
00:09:26.640 the three of you together just bouncing
00:09:28.800 off of each other. And it’s not just,
00:09:30.480 you’re right, this idea or this idea.
00:09:32.480 It’s you guys will start down a tangent
00:09:34.480 and you’ll end up a hundred miles away
00:09:36.720 and just laughing the whole Let’s put a
00:09:38.640 goat sound in.
00:09:39.600 >> Yeah. Mic up to mic up the billy goat.
00:09:42.320 >> And here’s Jack 19. And sometimes he’ll
00:09:44.800 be like, "Uh-oh." He’ll look at us. I
00:09:47.760 think I might want AD to redo that one.
00:09:50.080 And here, you know, he has so much
00:09:51.600 respect for you and so he doesn’t ever.
00:09:54.080 And you can tell. You’re like, "Jack,
00:09:56.800 >> say it. chat and say that’s what that’s
00:09:59.360 the thing you know we try to tell them
00:10:01.200 it’s like none of this is personal none
00:10:03.760 of this is personal you just want to
00:10:05.360 make a good record and we want to turn
00:10:06.880 your song we’re not just recording your
00:10:09.120 song we’re making a record
00:10:10.880 >> and there’s a difference between
00:10:12.000 recording a song and making a record
00:10:14.240 >> and how it’s how it’s done and when
00:10:16.640 you’re meticulous with it and and all
00:10:18.560 the things that go into it and and
00:10:22.000 I guess the the one thing that I think
00:10:24.320 is has hopefully been a really big
00:10:26.560 lesson for Jack and and that a lot of us
00:10:28.720 old veterans kind of know is that you’re
00:10:31.760 never ever going to be 100% happy
00:10:36.480 >> with the record the minute it’s okay
00:10:38.480 it’s finished it’s like doing a Mona
00:10:40.399 Lisa and you go I need to put one more
00:10:42.480 strand of hair in there it’s like when’s
00:10:44.240 it done
00:10:44.959 >> right
00:10:45.360 >> or or man this this one part’s bothering
00:10:47.440 me and you can redo it 20 times and for
00:10:50.160 some reason it’s still driving you nuts
00:10:51.920 it’s like stop it’ll drive you nuts
00:10:54.399 forever deal with it Yeah,
00:10:56.480 >> you know, it’s not wrong. It’s just it’s
00:10:58.720 bugging you. And and that’s that’s a big
00:11:01.440 lesson that we’ve all learned along the
00:11:03.120 way if you’ve done enough recording is
00:11:05.440 this you do the record, don’t look back,
00:11:09.279 >> right?
00:11:09.760 >> Get get the next one done. Start working
00:11:11.279 on the next.
00:11:11.680 >> Well, he’ll do that. He’ll come to us
00:11:13.120 with a song and he’ll say he’ll play it
00:11:15.040 for us and say, "Do you hear that?"
00:11:17.120 >> And we say, "No,
00:11:19.600 >> I hear a great song, Jack." "No, no, do
00:11:21.519 you hear this?" "Doo, do in there." And
00:11:23.120 I’m like,
00:11:23.440 >> he’ll literally play it for those 10
00:11:24.880 seconds. Jack, I don’t even hear that in
00:11:26.720 the song.
00:11:27.760 >> Now, I have to ask you, you did have
00:11:30.640 something personally affect you when you
00:11:33.040 were younger.
00:11:33.920 >> Yes.
00:11:34.640 >> With Chuck Barry, could you could you
00:11:37.279 enlighten us with this story?
00:11:39.040 >> Yeah. Talking about not being personal,
00:11:41.360 Chuck forgot. Mr. Barry must have
00:11:43.440 forgotten that role. I was pro Oh, God.
00:11:46.160 We I was probably 19 years old and uh my
00:11:49.440 first band, my my my older brother, he’s
00:11:51.600 a year year older than me. And uh we
00:11:55.519 formed a little band in our basement,
00:11:58.079 you know, bedroom when we were 10 and 11
00:12:00.640 years old. And that band was my only
00:12:02.959 band up until I was 27 years old. And we
00:12:05.839 we toured and we traveled. We
00:12:07.360 >> You guys were pretty accomplished in
00:12:08.560 that short period of time.
00:12:09.440 >> We were we did a lot of stuff in in that
00:12:12.240 amount of time. But uh one of the things
00:12:13.760 we did, we we played down in uh Orlando,
00:12:16.480 Florida. Uh and we played on a Friday
00:12:19.120 and Saturday night. It was this huge
00:12:20.880 club, 1500 seat, just enormous club. And
00:12:25.839 I think our booking agent perhaps forgot
00:12:29.360 to give us the memo because we played
00:12:31.360 Friday, Saturday. We finished Friday
00:12:34.720 night and as we’re walking out the door
00:12:36.560 to go to our hotel, the club owner
00:12:39.440 stopped us and handed us a cassette
00:12:41.279 tape. Chuck Barry’s greatest hits. And
00:12:44.880 he’s like, "Well, you better bone up on
00:12:46.639 this because then we’re like, what?
00:12:48.079 What’s going on?" He goes, "Well, you’re
00:12:49.279 gonna be Chuck Barry’s band tomorrow
00:12:51.040 night." I’m like, "Oh, man." Like,
00:12:54.639 that’s no pressure. Who told us? Now, my
00:12:56.959 brother and I, we grew up playing, you
00:12:59.360 know, learning all the standard rock
00:13:00.560 stuff, so we pretty much knew most of
00:13:02.000 the Chuck Barry stuff. Um, but so it was
00:13:04.800 going to be my brother on guitar, myself
00:13:06.399 on drums, our bass player, and uh and
00:13:10.399 Chuck Barry, one of our guitar players,
00:13:12.560 had to sit out unfortunately. But so we
00:13:15.360 get, I don’t know, four or five songs
00:13:17.279 in, and we had already played Rollover
00:13:19.519 Beethoven. And uh we’re in the middle of
00:13:21.680 playing Naen. Honey, is that you? Oh,
00:13:24.399 Naen. And Chuck, you know, the audience
00:13:27.200 is loving it. Chuck’s doing his duck
00:13:28.959 walk and all the cool guitar tricks and
00:13:31.279 stuff. And I’m just thinking, this is
00:13:32.880 the greatest, you know, doo back there
00:13:36.000 and my brother’s up there rocking. I’m
00:13:37.600 looking at him like, dude, we’re playing
00:13:38.720 with Chuck Barry. And uh Chuck, he goes
00:13:42.079 to the mic and after his big solo,
00:13:45.120 he starts, you know, I can only see the
00:13:47.360 back of him, you know, cuz he’s facing
00:13:49.360 the audience as am I. So he’s turning
00:13:51.200 around. He’s turning around and going,
00:13:53.200 "What was I yelling at me and I’m like,
00:13:55.760 I don’t know what he’s saying, right?"
00:13:57.199 >> So I’m playing and you could tell there
00:13:58.720 was a lot of stress. Okay, here it
00:14:00.240 comes. was like, "What’s going on?" And
00:14:01.519 he’s notorious for
00:14:03.360 >> losing his temper on people. So I
00:14:05.279 thought, "Oh god, this is not going to
00:14:06.639 be one of these, is it?"
00:14:08.160 >> And uh he turns around again, starts
00:14:10.720 yelling, and I I don’t know what he’s
00:14:12.000 saying. I’m like, "So finally he spins,
00:14:14.959 walks toward me like with daggers in his
00:14:17.199 eyes, and he’s going, "What song was I
00:14:19.680 singing?" I’m going, "Naen, Chuck, Naen,
00:14:22.480 Duke, Duke." You know, right? And uh
00:14:25.440 he’s just looking at me like daggers.
00:14:28.240 And and so uh he goes back to the mic
00:14:30.160 and then he he didn’t register. He
00:14:32.320 starts scatting
00:14:34.639 blah blah blah. And I’m going, "Oh no,
00:14:36.240 oh no." and he stops
00:14:39.279 and he turns around and looks at me and
00:14:41.040 then he says to the audience and I can’t
00:14:42.720 say it here because it’s probably I
00:14:45.360 don’t want to make this rated but he
00:14:46.800 said a few things about me to the
00:14:48.720 audience about um this just how terrible
00:14:52.639 the drummer was and it just says it was
00:14:55.839 >> I I can’t quote him but it was the worst
00:14:59.279 I mean I’m 19 years old I’m I’m as high
00:15:02.880 as I can be because I’m playing with
00:15:04.320 Chuck Barry this is like what an amazing
00:15:07.600 >> and one minute you’re feeling that high
00:15:09.519 like literally you’re like look at us
00:15:11.199 this is fantastic and then he just you
00:15:13.839 know tears started rolling out of my
00:15:15.360 eyes and just I’m like up on stage and I
00:15:17.920 felt like I just was shrinking and I
00:15:20.000 just wanted to shrink into a little blob
00:15:22.000 on my seat and just crawl away but I
00:15:24.480 couldn’t. I had to finish the set and it
00:15:26.160 was just
00:15:26.959 >> I was in tears and it’s just it was
00:15:29.120 horrific. So, you know, we I used to do
00:15:31.839 a podcast. Ryan Ryan McCann used to do a
00:15:34.079 podcast called The Shabby Road Record
00:15:35.680 Show and it’s still out there. It’s a
00:15:37.040 music podcast and we did an episode.
00:15:40.000 What was your favorite gig ever that
00:15:43.199 you’ve done? Of course, it’s I play I
00:15:44.880 played with Chuck Barry. What was And
00:15:47.519 then we did another episode. What was
00:15:49.040 the most embarrassing worst EP uh uh gig
00:15:51.920 you’ve ever had? It’s like I play with
00:15:54.000 Chuck Barry.
00:15:56.560 It was uh it was a long night, man.
00:15:59.360 Well, can you find any positive in your
00:16:02.720 life and in your career that came from
00:16:04.399 that?
00:16:04.880 >> Yes. As a matter of fact, it’s it’s
00:16:07.360 don’t let the bastards get you down.
00:16:09.360 Yeah.
00:16:09.680 >> You know, I had to finish the gig. I
00:16:11.519 couldn’t walk off that stage. I I didn’t
00:16:13.839 have time to to to tissue up and and and
00:16:17.440 get my crap back together. I was in the
00:16:19.120 middle of a song and I got work to do.
00:16:22.079 >> Yeah. And I I think at that point in
00:16:24.720 time, I learned that, man, this is a
00:16:26.880 tough business and if you want to do
00:16:28.880 this, you better grow a spine and some
00:16:31.040 really thick skin. And I learned that
00:16:33.279 from that. And here was Chuck Barry’s
00:16:35.360 still my hero, you know. I I had a
00:16:38.399 similar encounter with with the great
00:16:40.240 Buddy Rich, you know, and and I was a
00:16:42.959 kid. And uh you know, when you I guess
00:16:46.160 when you meet your heroes
00:16:47.839 >> Yeah.
00:16:48.240 >> you have to understand that they’re
00:16:51.120 Yeah. They’re people. They’re they’re
00:16:52.639 they’re human beings and they are
00:16:54.880 >> quirky and they are,
00:16:56.639 >> you know, some of them are in powerful
00:16:58.240 powerful positions and
00:17:00.720 >> some aren’t that nice and and so I
00:17:02.800 learned a lot of that. Just h have some
00:17:04.640 thick skin. Um
00:17:06.720 >> but it also didn’t ruin your career.
00:17:08.480 Look at you. You’re on Alice Cooper’s
00:17:10.240 latest record. You’ve been signed by
00:17:11.919 major labels before
00:17:13.679 >> and here you are. I’m not going to say
00:17:15.679 your age. Maybe
00:17:17.119 >> 40 years later,
00:17:18.319 >> 66.
00:17:20.559 and you are a thriving musician. And so
00:17:23.760 what would you that advice for other
00:17:25.599 19-year-olds, Jack’s 19, other kids
00:17:28.079 where people are like you suck, you’ll
00:17:30.720 never be anything. Look at you today.
00:17:32.799 That was actually not the case.
00:17:34.880 >> Yeah. You know, it’s it’s it’s a matter
00:17:36.480 of see to me
00:17:38.799 it’s a matter of it’s a matter of what
00:17:41.440 you think you’re worth. I I I I believe
00:17:43.520 that. I I what other people think I’m
00:17:46.000 worth is is irrelevant. They’re not
00:17:47.919 paying my bills. They’re not the ones,
00:17:50.000 you know,
00:17:50.799 >> when when the electric bill comes or or
00:17:52.799 or you know, rent is due.
00:17:56.160 >> My name’s on that check. I got to sign
00:17:58.080 that check. So, I can’t depend on on
00:18:01.520 anybody else to do that. And and it’s
00:18:03.440 the old, you know, I’m a big fan of the
00:18:05.840 Rocky Horror Picture Show. And there’s a
00:18:08.799 scene in there where, you know, if you
00:18:11.600 if you’re not familiar with the movie,
00:18:13.120 it it’s basically Yeah. It’s kind of a a
00:18:16.400 modernized version of Frankenstein, you
00:18:19.039 know, where where this Dr. Frankenferter
00:18:21.200 creates a man for himself. And and when
00:18:24.480 the creature comes to life, he’s running
00:18:27.280 around and you know, and Tim Curry, who
00:18:29.919 plays the part, he’s like, "Oh, he’s
00:18:31.360 beautiful. He’s beautiful." And one of
00:18:33.760 his friends goes, "He’s okay."
00:18:36.960 And Frankenferter says, and I always
00:18:38.960 take it, he goes, "I didn’t make him for
00:18:40.559 you.
00:18:42.160 >> I didn’t make him for you. I’m not doing
00:18:44.799 this for you. I’m doing this
00:18:47.520 >> I hate to say it, but I’m doing this for
00:18:49.360 me. It’s my life. I have to live it the
00:18:51.120 way I want, you know, and I have to call
00:18:53.120 my own shots and I have to not be
00:18:54.880 bothered. And if somebody wants to kind
00:18:56.960 of keep me down or push me around or I’m
00:18:59.760 going to make my own mind up and that’s
00:19:01.120 part of being an independent artist, you
00:19:03.280 know, as a mercenary. So, I’ll take a
00:19:05.600 gig on on a number of of reasons like,
00:19:08.400 okay, the money’s great. I need the
00:19:10.559 money. I’ll go do the gig. It’s a good
00:19:12.559 friend, but it doesn’t pay. He’s a good
00:19:14.960 friend. I’ll go give you the gig. You
00:19:16.640 know, it’s it’s it doesn’t pay. You
00:19:18.559 don’t know anybody, but it’s going to be
00:19:20.240 good for your career. Okay, I’ll take
00:19:21.600 the gig. So, I have this list of
00:19:23.039 criteria and the reasons why I do
00:19:25.280 things, but but the whole thing point is
00:19:28.480 again that nobody makes those decisions.
00:19:30.720 I have to as an independent artist, as
00:19:33.520 an independent because I’m not
00:19:35.120 contracted to anyone or any label at
00:19:38.240 this point, which
00:19:39.280 >> which you appreciate. I am so free and I
00:19:42.080 so love it and I’ve been tied down,
00:19:44.240 contracted and and basically handcuffed.
00:19:48.240 >> Yeah, you’ve given us some insight about
00:19:49.760 that in in the music world for Jack and
00:19:53.120 it’s been very very helpful to us to
00:19:55.039 understand that
00:19:55.760 >> and it enlightened him that one time you
00:19:57.360 were telling us how a lot of people just
00:20:00.799 they are tied to that. They can’t go to
00:20:02.320 funerals. They can’t go to birthday
00:20:03.520 parties. they can’t go to their child
00:20:05.200 being, you know, their birth of their
00:20:06.799 own child because the record company
00:20:08.880 owns you. And, you know, Jack said he
00:20:10.960 got teareyed when you were explaining
00:20:12.320 all that because he’s he loves music,
00:20:14.480 but he’s also grateful he’s getting his
00:20:16.160 degree, so he has options as well.
00:20:18.720 >> Well, that’s what you have to understand
00:20:19.919 is that you do have options and and and
00:20:21.919 a lot of people don’t think that. They
00:20:23.360 think that if I don’t do this,
00:20:25.760 >> then my career is over. And again, back
00:20:28.559 to the Rocky Horror Picture Show, I
00:20:30.240 didn’t I didn’t make him for you. You
00:20:32.640 didn’t make me, therefore, you can’t
00:20:34.640 break me. You You didn’t put me in the
00:20:36.640 game,
00:20:37.200 >> right?
00:20:37.600 >> You can’t take me out of the game. If
00:20:39.760 this isn’t working, if this particular
00:20:41.679 project isn’t working, I’ll just go to
00:20:44.080 another project. You know, I’m not going
00:20:46.320 to destroy this one. I’m just going to
00:20:47.919 simply walk. It’s not working out. The
00:20:49.919 chemistry doesn’t feel right um for
00:20:52.640 whatever reason. And and so when you’re
00:20:55.200 an independent artist, you have to pick
00:20:56.799 and choose your battles. But, you know,
00:20:59.360 be be professional. You know, don’t
00:21:00.960 leave anybody hang. And even if it’s a
00:21:02.640 an uncomfortable situation, don’t walk
00:21:04.880 away from it with business unfinished,
00:21:07.840 right?
00:21:08.159 >> Or that’s on you. And so your reputation
00:21:10.880 follows you everywhere. You have to be
00:21:12.640 very careful about maintaining your
00:21:15.760 quality of work. Your reputation is
00:21:19.600 important. So it kind of goes back to
00:21:21.760 you didn’t make me, but you can’t break
00:21:23.039 me. That’s really up to me. You know, if
00:21:25.840 I’m if I’m leaving a sour taste
00:21:27.760 everywhere I go, that’s on me. Yeah. you
00:21:30.400 know that and and I’ve destroyed my own
00:21:32.320 career. I prepare, you know, I I do an
00:21:36.640 incredible amount of prep work. I I try
00:21:39.200 to stay versatile. Um so that um as an
00:21:42.559 instrumentalist,
00:21:44.080 if somebody calls me with a jazz gig, I
00:21:47.039 can take the jazz gig, I can take the
00:21:49.520 rock gig, I can take the metal gig, I
00:21:51.840 can take the reggae gig because I’m
00:21:53.919 versed in all these
00:21:56.000 >> styles. It’s much like an actor like a
00:21:58.080 Dairo can can do a southern accent or a
00:22:01.280 German accent or or you know a Chicago
00:22:04.480 accent or Whoops. Sorry. So a good a
00:22:07.840 good actor with their chops can play any
00:22:10.400 role and and becomes believable,
00:22:12.559 >> right?
00:22:13.120 >> And not just believable but actual and
00:22:15.600 genuine. So that if you don’t want to
00:22:18.159 hear a jazz artist trying to play rock
00:22:21.679 or you don’t want to hear a rock guy
00:22:23.440 trying to play reggae because it becomes
00:22:25.600 obvious. But true dialect and and
00:22:29.120 understanding these these dialects and
00:22:31.440 learning the language and understanding
00:22:32.960 how it works language of music I should
00:22:35.120 say will keep you working and and if you
00:22:38.080 focus on your own craft all the
00:22:40.480 peripheral and there’s a lot of
00:22:41.840 peripheral
00:22:43.280 >> noise
00:22:44.080 >> noise well said I was
00:22:46.240 >> use the other phrase
00:22:47.840 >> but and there’s a lot of people trying
00:22:49.280 to compete because I know that there’s
00:22:51.120 kids that have you know pushed Jack
00:22:53.280 aside and you know there’s other and you
00:22:55.440 feel like
00:22:56.559 There’s enough room for everybody. There
00:22:58.240 >> there is.
00:22:58.720 >> You don’t have to cut somebody down next
00:23:02.240 to you to have you have the limelight.
00:23:04.960 There’s enough room for you to be good,
00:23:07.440 that person to be good. And that’s where
00:23:10.159 it gets to people’s heads, I think, that
00:23:12.240 they have to step on someone else for
00:23:14.880 them to look better. Yeah. And you’re
00:23:16.880 not like that at all.
00:23:18.000 >> No. No. I’m I’m matter of fact, I’m the
00:23:19.840 victim of that. I always tell people
00:23:21.360 because I I do a lot of like I said
00:23:23.520 mercenary work where you know I’ll get a
00:23:26.799 call on a Friday morning and say we need
00:23:28.880 a drummer tonight or drummer some
00:23:31.360 something happened and so I’ll like send
00:23:33.679 me your set list. So, I’ll get 40 songs
00:23:36.000 and I’ll start charting them and I’ll
00:23:37.679 show up that night and I’ll, you know,
00:23:39.760 having never met anybody in the band,
00:23:41.440 shake their hands, nice to meet you,
00:23:43.280 let’s get to work, let’s do this, you
00:23:44.960 know. So, you know, that that kind of
00:23:48.000 thing. I just focus on me. A lot of,
00:23:50.000 like you saying, a lot of other people
00:23:51.520 focus on other people. When I first got
00:23:53.919 the I play with for the last 15 years
00:23:56.159 and still continuing to do so, playing
00:23:58.880 with uh Louis Prima Jr., who was the son
00:24:02.159 of the great Louis Prima from Jungle
00:24:04.720 Book, Disney’s Jungle Book. he was King
00:24:07.120 Louie and uh Sing Sing and all these
00:24:09.760 great jazz uh standards, Sunday Kind of
00:24:12.240 Love and and I first got that gig and uh
00:24:15.600 that was 2010 and um I’m sitting in a
00:24:21.279 mastering studio um getting an album
00:24:24.400 that I was working on mastered. And of
00:24:26.559 course, we’re supposed to have our
00:24:27.600 phones off. So, we took a break and I
00:24:30.640 checked my messages and it was a slew of
00:24:32.799 messages and I had just gotten this
00:24:34.320 Louis Prima gig and he says, "Call me
00:24:37.919 immediately." And I called and I said,
00:24:40.080 "You know what’s going on?" You know,
00:24:41.440 and I literally had just I don’t even
00:24:43.440 know if we’d played a gig yet. I don’t
00:24:44.960 even think we’d played a show. And he
00:24:47.279 sent me a few texts from this person
00:24:50.880 who was a drummer and apparently wanted
00:24:53.520 that gig and was ripping me to shreds.
00:24:56.320 So, this Oh, yeah. And like this guy,
00:24:58.559 you have no idea how unreliable he is.
00:25:01.760 He’s an alcoholic. He’s a drug addict.
00:25:03.919 And
00:25:04.559 >> what?
00:25:04.960 >> Like I was
00:25:07.840 >> 20 years ago, but you know, it was like,
00:25:10.880 you know, and and this guy was
00:25:13.679 intentionally writing to Louis to
00:25:16.080 sabotage my gig, to grab that gig. So
00:25:18.080 that’s just one instance of of of a
00:25:22.000 million that I could cite. People want
00:25:24.000 your gig. You know, they don’t want to
00:25:25.520 work for it. They want to take it from
00:25:26.960 you. You know, this how about you do the
00:25:29.120 homework,
00:25:29.840 >> right?
00:25:30.480 >> Sit down in woodshed, get a get a few
00:25:32.400 blisters going and go get that kid. Come
00:25:35.039 take it from me. I encourage you.
00:25:37.360 >> I encourage you to take it from me, but
00:25:39.440 you’re not going to take it like that.
00:25:40.640 >> Oh, no. Absolutely not.
00:25:41.840 >> Yeah. When we first got to meet you and
00:25:44.159 got to know you, I was so surprised and
00:25:48.240 and taken aback by the preparation that
00:25:50.799 you put in
00:25:51.919 >> for, you know, any song that you’re
00:25:54.159 doing. I mean, literally sitting down
00:25:56.480 with pen and paper and writing notes
00:25:59.039 about it and charting the whole song out
00:26:00.799 and you won’t play a song unless you’ve
00:26:03.039 done that.
00:26:03.679 >> I need to know the song. A lot of people
00:26:05.200 want to learn the drum parts, but I want
00:26:06.880 I want to know the song. I want to know
00:26:08.320 what the bass player’s doing.
00:26:09.919 >> I want to know what’s inside the song. I
00:26:12.480 want to know what the lyrics are. If the
00:26:14.559 lyrics are, you know, a a a sad,
00:26:17.919 sensitive
00:26:19.760 love song, I’m not gonna be just bashing
00:26:22.960 my my brains out.
00:26:24.880 >> I’m going to be serving the lyrics. So,
00:26:27.279 it’s important to to to do your
00:26:29.039 homework. Know the song. Don’t just
00:26:30.640 recite the drum parts because that I
00:26:32.320 don’t think that serves anybody well.
00:26:35.120 >> Yeah.
00:26:35.440 >> So, I I I I try to take as many notes as
00:26:38.400 I can and try to serve it as well. Can
00:26:40.240 you So, can you kiss and tell and tell
00:26:42.080 us who’s been in Shabby Roading
00:26:44.799 studio there?
00:26:45.919 >> I know people love to hear.
00:26:47.760 >> Well, we’ve had Black Sabbath who’s been
00:26:49.600 in there. Um, we’ve had Ted Nent in
00:26:52.880 there.
00:26:53.760 >> Ted was there for five days. That was
00:26:57.279 ins. So,
00:26:59.600 Jack Jack, we we keep saying Jack, your
00:27:02.640 son, Jack,
00:27:04.080 >> and uh we’re doing Channel 3 coming up
00:27:06.880 to to promote the new single. Um, it was
00:27:09.520 about the third day that Ted Nent was at
00:27:11.840 the studio and I’m outside and we’re
00:27:14.240 just taking a break and Ted’s out there
00:27:16.799 and uh uh the great uh Tommy Aldridge,
00:27:20.000 one of my drum heroes, was playing for
00:27:21.919 him. So, we’re out there hanging out
00:27:23.760 outside and uh the Channel 3 uh SUV
00:27:27.919 drives up to the studio and the woman
00:27:30.000 says, "Is this where Ted Nent’s
00:27:32.159 pregnant?" Yeah. Yeah, Ted’s here. And
00:27:33.840 we we didn’t really say anything because
00:27:35.279 we weren’t supposed to say
00:27:36.799 >> that he’s there.
00:27:37.600 >> But so I was like, "Yeah, he’s here."
00:27:38.799 Cuz it was Channel 3. And uh he had just
00:27:41.360 done their show that morning and he
00:27:43.760 forgot something. He left something at
00:27:45.200 the studio. So the woman goes to the
00:27:46.960 back of her the channel 3 car and pulls
00:27:50.000 out this arm full of arrows. What? Yeah.
00:27:53.600 What? And Ted’s like, "Oh, yeah. Sorry
00:27:56.720 about Thanks, man.
00:27:58.159 >> It’s not like I left."
00:27:59.360 >> Yeah. Like Yeah. Like Yeah. You forget
00:28:01.440 your phone or whatever. I forgot a
00:28:03.279 quiver of arrows. Like you go to the
00:28:06.559 library. Oh, where are my arrows?
00:28:09.520 It was crazy. But we’ve had uh we’ve had
00:28:12.000 uh the incredible Dick Wagner in there.
00:28:14.480 Now, a lot of people don’t know that
00:28:15.760 name, but you know his work. He is is uh
00:28:20.000 one of the most prolific utility players
00:28:23.279 of all time in rock and roll. He, you
00:28:25.440 know, when you hear Aerosmith’s Train
00:28:27.039 Kept a Rolling, right,
00:28:28.320 >> that’s Dick Wagner playing guitar.
00:28:30.240 That’s not Joe Perry. Okay.
00:28:32.320 >> When you hear uh some Air Supply or
00:28:34.559 Ambrosia Yeah,
00:28:35.760 >> that’s it. Welcome to My Nightmare,
00:28:37.600 Alice Cooper. Yeah.
00:28:38.960 >> record and and so many subsequent
00:28:40.799 records. Uh he’s worked with uh with uh
00:28:43.760 Lou Reed on the Rock and Roll Animal. So
00:28:47.200 that’s great live version of Sweet Jane.
00:28:49.679 That’s Dick Wagner. So uh Ryan McKay and
00:28:52.159 I had a band called Crash Street Kids.
00:28:54.399 And uh Dick Wagner
00:28:56.720 wanted us to be his band. So, we did a
00:28:59.120 show with Dick and we’re going to
00:29:01.120 continue to be his his touring act. And,
00:29:04.880 you know, our band’s got five records
00:29:06.320 out as it is, but he loved the band and
00:29:08.880 he and Ryan had a nice uh nice
00:29:11.200 relationship, so we were going to do
00:29:12.880 more, but unfortunately Dick passed
00:29:14.480 away.
00:29:15.520 >> Yeah. So, we’ve had oh gosh, we’ve had
00:29:17.760 >> You had Jack I think one of your I don’t
00:29:20.960 know what they are from
00:29:23.360 >> Guns and Roses. He had some You had some
00:29:27.200 speaker or something.
00:29:29.679 >> Well, I’ve worked the names of these
00:29:31.360 days.
00:29:31.520 >> I’ve worked with Gilby Clark from Guns
00:29:33.440 and Roses. Um, Michael Bruce from the
00:29:35.360 Alice Cooper group. And of course,
00:29:36.720 Michael’s responsible for me being on
00:29:38.880 the new Alice Cooper record, which is
00:29:41.360 Yeah, I can’t even tell you.
00:29:42.880 >> And he played for President Trump.
00:29:44.480 >> Played for President Trump.
00:29:46.000 >> We got to hear that. We got to hear that
00:29:47.679 story.
00:29:47.919 >> Tell us a sad story. What was he like?
00:29:50.000 What was he like in person?
00:29:51.520 >> Victor Orban was there. Melania was
00:29:53.520 there. So it was, you know, a command
00:29:55.679 performance for the president, his wife
00:29:57.919 and Victor Orban and in Mara Lago in his
00:30:00.799 ballroom. And uh we played the gig and
00:30:03.520 afterwards you know uh the there was
00:30:05.679 front five seats in the front row. They
00:30:08.159 all stood was Melania uh the president,
00:30:11.039 Victor Orban, his looked like his
00:30:12.799 daughter and then Melania had a guest
00:30:14.640 and they all stood up and they walked to
00:30:16.880 the front of the stage and we just sat
00:30:19.679 down on the stage, you know, and had a
00:30:21.520 little pow-wow for good five minutes, 10
00:30:24.080 minutes. Amazing. Melania, oh, you play
00:30:26.240 the drums so well. And I’m like, oh,
00:30:28.960 >> she just so gosh, a good-look lady.
00:30:31.279 >> And you started wandering around Mara
00:30:32.880 Lago, didn’t you?
00:30:33.600 >> Yeah, I kind of got trouble.
00:30:34.799 >> I got a little trouble. I you know I
00:30:36.559 walked through a door and I guess I
00:30:38.000 wasn’t supposed to go through and
00:30:40.559 and uh but they were really cool. The
00:30:42.960 president was was absolutely charming.
00:30:45.520 he, you know, hey, we got to do this
00:30:47.039 again, you know, it’s like, all right,
00:30:48.720 you know, and uh the band had played
00:30:51.039 there once before, you know, with with
00:30:52.480 with the president. It’s, you know, if
00:30:54.480 something’s good, that’s good. There’s
00:30:56.640 always got to be something better,
00:30:58.080 right?
00:30:58.480 >> Yeah.
00:30:58.960 >> So, the lead singer of our band had been
00:31:01.120 there before, you know, and and you
00:31:03.039 know, Donald Trump. Oh, well. So, I look
00:31:05.279 out and we’re playing a certain song
00:31:07.520 >> and president starts airruming. He’s,
00:31:10.159 you know, 30 feet directly in front of
00:31:12.080 me, you know. So I look up, I see him
00:31:14.080 air drumming and I point at him like,
00:31:16.000 "Yeah." And so he says, he goes, "We had
00:31:18.480 a moment,
00:31:20.320 you know, like we did. We did." He goes,
00:31:22.720 he goes, "I love you." And he points to
00:31:24.640 our singer. He goes, "I love him the
00:31:26.399 best, but I love you." You know, you got
00:31:29.679 his auto. I didn’t I didn’t, you know,
00:31:33.279 it’s just
00:31:33.840 >> it’s just something you don’t want to
00:31:34.799 do. Like is that like a taboo thing? You
00:31:36.640 meet so many, you know, you meet so many
00:31:38.559 in my business, you meet so many people,
00:31:40.720 you know, it’s like, you know, you’re
00:31:42.720 back in the day you’re partying with
00:31:44.399 Aerosmith and you don’t go, "Oh, by the
00:31:46.159 way, wipe your nose and can you sign
00:31:48.080 this for me?" You know, I mean, it’s,
00:31:49.840 you know, it’s you kind of just didn’t
00:31:51.600 want to
00:31:52.320 >> and like be weird about it.
00:31:53.919 >> Yeah. You just didn’t want you kind of
00:31:55.360 wanted to be in the moment. It’s it’s
00:31:57.039 it’s hard to do sometimes because you do
00:31:58.799 want to get that, you know, that that
00:32:01.279 picture with President of the United
00:32:03.120 States.
00:32:03.519 >> Did he really party with Aerosmith?
00:32:05.600 Yeah. What?
00:32:09.120 It’s like he’s like a guilty kid that
00:32:12.399 answer. He just got busted. Was Yeah.
00:32:15.039 >> Tell us about that. I don’t think we’ve
00:32:17.039 heard that.
00:32:17.600 >> What’s interesting So my old band
00:32:19.600 Monarch, that was the band that I formed
00:32:21.360 with my brother back in the back in the
00:32:23.279 day. And uh we entered this battle of
00:32:27.519 the bands. I I did I it was $40 to
00:32:30.399 enter. And the guys, we were these rag
00:32:33.120 tag just scrappy little all these other
00:32:36.240 bands in the DC, Washington DC,
00:32:38.159 Baltimore, Eastern Seabboard, they were
00:32:40.320 these polished acts. And one of the
00:32:42.480 bands I think was Head East, you know,
00:32:44.720 save my life, I’m going down for the
00:32:46.960 last and they were battle of the band.
00:32:49.279 So you could sign up at this local uh
00:32:51.760 this local music store. So I put down 40
00:32:54.000 bucks, which back in the day was, you
00:32:55.679 know, 79 is a lot of money. And so the
00:32:59.679 guys are like, I don’t want to do that.
00:33:01.279 I’m like, well, I just spent 40 bucks,
00:33:02.960 so we’re doing not getting the money
00:33:04.399 back.
00:33:05.519 >> So we entered in this battle of the
00:33:07.200 bands. It was a huge club out there
00:33:09.039 called Louis Rock City, legendary rock
00:33:10.960 and roll club in in the DC area. And we
00:33:14.320 won. We won that thing. There was like
00:33:16.799 this $10,000 first prize and recording
00:33:20.320 st, you know, and this big concert
00:33:22.320 promoter from New England caught wind of
00:33:24.880 it.
00:33:25.600 >> He was a huge promoter. He he booked
00:33:28.480 Madison Square Garden. He booked Queen.
00:33:31.120 He booked Blowster Cult Heart and party
00:33:33.760 with them, you know, a lot cult those
00:33:36.480 bands and stuff. And so he was a big big
00:33:38.799 deal. He booked uh Nassau Coliseum. Uh
00:33:41.760 he booked all these these huge arenas
00:33:44.000 with the top name acts in the world. He
00:33:46.559 saw that we won this thing and he wanted
00:33:48.320 to sign us. So all of a sudden we’re his
00:33:50.880 band. He’s our manager and he’s we’re
00:33:53.440 going to Maine and Aerosmith’s playing.
00:33:55.519 You want to open up for them? Hey, cheap
00:33:57.200 tricks playing. You know, I got I got
00:33:59.360 Aerosmith down at Baltimore Civic
00:34:01.039 Center. I’ve got I got Queen uh in in uh
00:34:04.240 Madison Square Garden. I’ve got, you
00:34:06.320 know, Blue Boy Cult in in or I got
00:34:08.560 Frampton at at at uh Providence Civic
00:34:10.879 Center. And we were just tagging along,
00:34:13.280 you know, and sometimes we get on the
00:34:15.040 gig and sometimes we wouldn’t, but we’d
00:34:17.760 be hanging out there. So, you know, when
00:34:19.839 you were backstage before the show, our
00:34:21.760 our manager is the king of the place.
00:34:25.760 It’s his show. So Ann and Nancy Wilson
00:34:28.560 were hanging out and doing, you know,
00:34:31.440 things and
00:34:33.199 >> uh doing things.
00:34:34.159 >> We found out found ourselves in a lot of
00:34:36.159 pretty cool situations. So yeah,
00:34:38.719 >> you know, one situation you were at a
00:34:40.320 piano in your maybe your underwear.
00:34:43.679 >> There was no underwear involved in that.
00:34:47.760 Yeah.
00:34:48.639 >> What What was that story?
00:34:50.560 >> There was some dressing. So we had this
00:34:52.399 uh we were being put up. I was on tour
00:34:54.639 with Louis Prima Jr. and we were in
00:34:56.800 Seattle. And instead of hotel rooms,
00:34:59.280 they had a stack of apartments, like
00:35:01.680 four level apartments in three bedrooms
00:35:04.480 each. And each one when you walk in had
00:35:07.920 this gorgeous foyer with a baby grand
00:35:10.880 piano. And uh Ryan McKay and Mikey
00:35:14.880 Bones, our dear friend,
00:35:17.440 God, rest his soul. And uh we were all
00:35:19.920 sharing the same flat, you know, the
00:35:21.920 same floor. And so Ryan sits down at the
00:35:24.800 piano and it’s this gorgeous beautiful
00:35:26.960 floral thing with a bay window and it’s
00:35:29.119 just beautiful and he’s like get a
00:35:30.960 picture. So I you know got a picture say
00:35:33.440 get one of me. So he’s getting the
00:35:35.280 camera ready and I just dropped trow
00:35:37.760 turned around you know like the like
00:35:39.599 Monty Python if you’ve ever seen the
00:35:41.440 Monty Python like and now for something
00:35:43.920 completely different you know my butt
00:35:46.160 cheeks and I’m just like
00:35:47.440 >> oh my gosh
00:35:48.560 >> it’s horrible. Everybody in the world
00:35:50.240 has seen my butt. Oh my gosh. So
00:35:53.520 >> that’s so funny. Now, one question that
00:35:55.920 I ask everybody, and you’re not, you
00:35:57.920 probably are not prepared for this.
00:36:00.160 >> What’s your favorite sandwich, Ad?
00:36:03.119 >> What’s my favorite sandwich?
00:36:05.839 >> I would think maybe like a toasted
00:36:08.000 meatball sub.
00:36:09.200 >> Oh, yeah. With marinara and uh
00:36:12.240 >> green pepper and onion on that and some
00:36:13.920 cheese.
00:36:14.400 >> Sounds good. Ketchup or no ketchup on
00:36:16.640 hot? No, on hot dogs.
00:36:17.680 >> Oh, on hot dogs. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
00:36:19.280 >> Yeah. I love I’m from Chicago. They say
00:36:21.440 you’re not supposed to put ketchup on
00:36:22.720 hot dogs. I do.
00:36:24.079 >> Ketchup and mustard. Chicago and hot
00:36:25.839 dogs. You can get in a lot of You can
00:36:27.280 get in a scrap about that. They’re
00:36:28.880 pretty serious about it.
00:36:29.680 >> I love Chicago hot dogs cuz I’m from
00:36:31.680 Chicago.
00:36:32.320 >> You go to Portillos’s, right?
00:36:33.760 >> I But I have a gluten allergy so I can’t
00:36:35.680 have their buns.
00:36:37.040 >> I know. It’s awful. But so so yeah.
00:36:41.280 Meatball. Meatball is so We just
00:36:43.119 ordered. So, there’s this place online
00:36:45.359 called Gold Belly, and you can order
00:36:47.760 from different restaurants around the
00:36:49.359 country, and I ordered gluten-free
00:36:52.640 meatballs from this place in Chicago. I
00:36:55.280 don’t remember the name,
00:36:56.400 >> fertilinis or something along the lines.
00:36:58.720 >> Delicious.
00:36:59.520 >> So, they just what do they on ice and
00:37:02.720 dry ice?
00:37:03.359 >> Dry ice. And they send it out. So, we
00:37:05.359 had a cake that we got we got brownies
00:37:08.000 when Pat McMahon was here for his
00:37:10.079 birthday cuz he requested brownies. But
00:37:12.640 it’s this cool thing online that you can
00:37:15.280 order from all over the country. The
00:37:17.040 famous restaurants, you know what I
00:37:18.560 mean? The ones that people say, "Oh,
00:37:20.240 yeah. If you go there, you got to visit
00:37:21.680 this."
00:37:22.160 >> Oh, there’s a lobster roll shack outside
00:37:24.400 of Brunswick, Maine. I’d like one of
00:37:26.000 those right now.
00:37:26.720 >> Oh, I could go for a lobster roll. Those
00:37:29.839 I may have to amend my my meatball sub
00:37:32.320 there.
00:37:32.960 >> Right. Right. So, we only have about
00:37:35.680 five minutes left, but I’d like to ask
00:37:37.119 you since this is cross-examined and how
00:37:39.359 you can relate this with maybe your
00:37:42.640 relationship with prayer and God and do
00:37:45.040 you do you pray about certain situations
00:37:47.680 and how how would you say this has
00:37:49.920 brought you maybe closer to the Lord?
00:37:51.680 >> Well, honestly, you know, when we were
00:37:53.920 kids growing up, we went to church every
00:37:55.520 Sunday and mom was uh raised Catholic
00:37:57.760 and then switched to Methodist when she
00:38:00.640 married my father. So, we went to church
00:38:03.200 every Sunday and uh I didn’t understand
00:38:06.400 it because they really didn’t have a
00:38:07.599 Sunday school where we were going to
00:38:09.280 church. So, we would sit in the pews and
00:38:11.359 as an eight-year-old
00:38:13.920 quotes from the Bible, I just didn’t
00:38:15.520 even understand thou and thee and thus
00:38:18.079 and and I just it it was to me it was
00:38:20.400 horrific. And then Jesus Christ
00:38:22.880 Superstar came along.
00:38:24.160 >> Yes. You told Yeah.
00:38:25.280 >> and hit me right in my musical jaw. Just
00:38:27.839 >> bring it right back to music. Yeah. And
00:38:30.240 and so
00:38:32.640 before it became famous, before it went
00:38:35.359 on Broadway, they did a a trial run in a
00:38:38.079 little town in Maryland called
00:38:39.280 Gaithersburg. And they had a little
00:38:41.359 dinner theater called Diadem Restaurant.
00:38:43.119 And we went to see it, mom and dad, like
00:38:45.680 I was probably 10. I think my brother
00:38:47.440 was 11, sister, you know, younger
00:38:49.359 brother and sister. But they took us
00:38:51.839 older kids to to my brother and I to see
00:38:53.839 it. Put your put your clip on ties on
00:38:56.000 and and we’re going to go see this play.
00:38:57.760 And I’m like, ah, you know, what’s it
00:38:59.680 called? Jesus Christ Superstar.
00:39:02.320 It was I left in tears. I left
00:39:04.640 completely changed. I’ve always been
00:39:06.800 spiritual. Incredibly spiritual. And
00:39:08.560 matter of fact, that my whole career has
00:39:10.560 been built on, you know, you you always
00:39:12.800 hear about going to the crossroads and
00:39:14.640 making a deal with the devil. Sure.
00:39:16.480 >> You know, I kind of made a little deal.
00:39:17.839 I I remember dropping my knees one time
00:39:19.680 when I was a young kid and just saying,
00:39:21.200 listen, you know, this is what I really
00:39:22.720 want to do. This is what I want to do
00:39:24.720 the rest of my life.
00:39:25.680 >> It wasn’t to the devil. It was to God.
00:39:27.040 Oh, it was it was
00:39:29.040 >> Yeah,
00:39:29.280 >> I made I dialed the right number up for
00:39:31.520 sure.
00:39:32.400 >> And uh I said, "Listen, you know, I I
00:39:35.040 I’m not asking you for anything ever,
00:39:37.280 but if it’s possible, if if you just
00:39:39.280 maybe can steer me away from the
00:39:41.440 obstacles. I’d like to be able to do
00:39:43.520 this for the rest of my life. I’m not
00:39:44.720 asking you to be I’m not asking you to
00:39:46.560 make me rich. I’m not asking you to make
00:39:48.800 me famous. I just think I just want to
00:39:51.359 do this. I don’t I I know that I
00:39:53.599 wouldn’t last in the corporate world. I
00:39:55.520 I saw my father come home from work too
00:39:58.240 many times, loosening his tie the first
00:40:00.400 thing before he even says hello, kiss
00:40:02.400 his mom, you know, for the evening.
00:40:05.200 >> And your dad though was uh a big deal.
00:40:07.359 >> My Well, the dad was a television guy
00:40:09.440 and but he would come home with the
00:40:11.680 bromo seltzer and you could tell he’s
00:40:13.280 had a rough day and I could see it’s
00:40:14.640 like I just can’t fall into that. Just
00:40:17.280 it was killing me
00:40:18.800 >> watching. He was working hard, you know,
00:40:20.800 and and
00:40:21.599 >> and I was like why do you have to do
00:40:23.200 that? Why do you have to kill yourself
00:40:24.640 to to? And I get it now. I was young. I
00:40:27.040 didn’t understand it. But I just
00:40:28.320 thought, man, if I can make music, if I
00:40:30.079 can just keep doing this, I’ll be okay.
00:40:32.480 I don’t need to stack up a bunch of gold
00:40:35.040 bricks and I don’t have to live in a
00:40:36.480 fancy house. I just want to make music
00:40:38.720 because I I’m socially awkward. It’s the
00:40:41.359 only thing. It’s like my only skill that
00:40:43.520 I really I can’t fix your carburetor,
00:40:45.839 you know? I can’t I can’t re reshingle
00:40:47.760 your roof. So, I’ve got a skill. It
00:40:50.480 makes people happy. It makes me happy.
00:40:52.400 I’m I’m socially awkward, so I swear
00:40:55.760 he’s shy.
00:40:57.599 >> I get shy, too.
00:40:59.200 >> It is. I get
00:41:00.160 >> the two of you are getting I get shy.
00:41:03.440 >> But I get in a group situation.
00:41:06.640 >> He knows me.
00:41:08.240 >> He’s so shy. He dropped his pants for a
00:41:10.240 picture at the piano.
00:41:11.280 >> Yeah. Well, that’s compensation. That’s
00:41:13.200 that’s overcompensation. That’s what
00:41:14.880 that is. you know, it’s just like so so
00:41:17.359 I just, you know, and and somebody asked
00:41:20.880 me recently, do you do you feel you’re
00:41:23.040 successful? And I’m like, well, I’m
00:41:24.800 certainly not the wealthiest man in any
00:41:26.400 room I ever walk into,
00:41:28.960 but and and I my car is the most likely
00:41:31.119 to break down in the parking lot, but
00:41:33.839 I’m probably the happiest soul in the
00:41:35.599 room because I’ve, you know, my friends
00:41:38.480 along the way, I’ve got a lot of
00:41:39.680 rockstar friends, and some of them are
00:41:41.280 dead. Quite a few of them are dead.
00:41:43.119 Others are broke and they’ve they’ve
00:41:44.960 lived the dream. You you have their you
00:41:46.880 hear their music on the radio every day
00:41:49.520 and they’re broke. Now, I’m not saying
00:41:52.079 I’m stacking up gold bricks, but I’m
00:41:54.560 alive and I’m working and I’m 66 years
00:41:57.040 old and and so if somebody said, "Well,
00:41:59.119 are do you feel you’re successful?" I
00:42:01.040 would say absolutely.
00:42:02.000 >> You’re still doing what you love to this
00:42:03.520 day.
00:42:03.920 >> I I dropped to my knees when I was 11
00:42:05.920 years old and said, "If we can make this
00:42:07.359 happen, I’d be forever grateful." And I
00:42:09.599 am. and you have your memories and you
00:42:11.920 might not have money, but would you
00:42:13.040 rather be rich without these memories or
00:42:15.200 who you are today?
00:42:16.079 >> As far as what’s in my soul, I’m loaded.
00:42:20.000 I’m as rich as anybody I know.
00:42:22.000 >> So, God answered my my call. He said,
00:42:25.119 "We can make that happen for you."
00:42:27.200 >> And I kept up my end of the bargain. I
00:42:29.920 said, "I promise you I’ll work hard. I’m
00:42:31.440 not going to take it for granted.
00:42:33.200 >> I’m going to be honest. I’m going to be
00:42:35.119 forthright. I’m not going to be one of
00:42:37.040 those showbiz punks that you we’ve
00:42:38.960 talked about earlier,
00:42:40.000 >> right?
00:42:40.480 >> I’m a terrible businessman. So, I the
00:42:42.880 fact that I’m in this business still is
00:42:44.960 amazing. I I I focus on one thing.
00:42:47.680 That’s my music
00:42:49.200 >> and nothing well and my and my family
00:42:51.839 obviously, but you know, my daughter and
00:42:53.520 and my granddaughters, but you know,
00:42:56.000 it’s it’s to me it’s a labor of love.
00:42:58.319 It’s what I do. It’s all I really want
00:43:00.800 to do. So, as far as my spirituality
00:43:03.920 goes, I’m deeply spiritual. Uh, if
00:43:06.400 you’ve noticed at at the recording
00:43:07.839 studio, there’s the two studio speakers,
00:43:09.680 and up there is a nice old guild uh gold
00:43:13.599 gilded leather bound Bible that I take
00:43:16.079 down all the time, and I and uh whenever
00:43:18.640 something happens, I look up at that
00:43:20.319 thing and like, yeah, you know, thank
00:43:22.400 you, Lord. Or
00:43:23.760 >> sometimes look at it, and go, what’s
00:43:25.440 going on? How do we fix this? You know,
00:43:26.880 it’s it’s my reference and it’s there. I
00:43:28.880 can touch it. I I read it. I’ve read the
00:43:31.119 Bible before, you know, but I I won’t
00:43:33.200 read it from front to back anymore. I’ll
00:43:35.040 pick I’ll like when things are going
00:43:37.040 wrong, I’ll just grab the book of Job
00:43:38.640 and go, "All right,
00:43:40.800 >> you got to go there."
00:43:42.240 >> Yeah. You know, I mean, that’s that’s a
00:43:43.680 go-to. You know, it’s kind of worn those
00:43:45.920 pages are worn out in my Bible, you
00:43:48.000 know, but it it’s been a very personal
00:43:50.000 relationship with with God with me. Just
00:43:52.240 like anything, I I’m an open book about
00:43:54.720 a lot of things, but I don’t talk much
00:43:56.560 about politics and religion and and my
00:43:59.119 family. Those are the things that that
00:44:01.520 everything else in my life is an open
00:44:03.440 book. God knows the picture of me on the
00:44:06.240 piano is out there. I mean, yeah.
00:44:07.920 Everything when I do interviews, things
00:44:09.440 like this, I’m an open book. I’ll tell
00:44:10.880 you anything you need to know and
00:44:12.400 everything you need to know.
00:44:14.079 >> But there are some things I just keep to
00:44:16.079 myself just because they’re they’re
00:44:17.680 private. But but God has been and my
00:44:21.040 religion and my my spirituality has been
00:44:24.160 in the forefront every day. and running
00:44:26.720 into you, meeting meeting you guys and
00:44:28.480 and the trips o abroad um and and and
00:44:33.119 hanging out at at the Tones and Bones
00:44:35.200 has been
00:44:37.119 really good way for me to plug back in
00:44:39.119 and get a little bit more active and and
00:44:40.720 and I’m getting a little older and a
00:44:42.720 little slower. So now I have a lot more
00:44:45.119 in introspection time and and so I’ve
00:44:47.280 been really uh embracing that
00:44:49.119 spirituality a lot more lately.
00:44:51.040 >> Beautiful.
00:44:51.680 >> And it’s it’s healthy. You know, people
00:44:53.760 like, uh, you know, you believe in a
00:44:55.119 myth or a fairy tale. It’s like, you
00:44:56.640 know what?
00:44:57.520 >> You got to believe in something
00:44:59.440 >> right
00:45:00.000 >> now. If people want to reach out to you
00:45:02.319 for gigs or you also offer drum lessons,
00:45:05.359 can you tell them how to contact you?
00:45:07.520 >> Yeah. You know, again, I’m a terrible
00:45:09.040 businessman. Um, I just just hit me up
00:45:11.920 on Facebook. That’s all. I don’t have an
00:45:13.520 Instagram. I don’t I don’t do anything.
00:45:15.599 >> AD Adams.
00:45:16.560 >> A period D periods. And, uh, yeah, I’m
00:45:19.119 available.
00:45:20.000 >> Where does the AD come from? cuz your
00:45:21.920 your first name’s Mark. My first name is
00:45:23.440 Mark. I want to know right now.
00:45:25.119 >> Oh, it’s it’s a I played ball. I was one
00:45:27.119 of the long-haired jocks in school, you
00:45:29.760 know, and so I, you know, I uh played
00:45:32.640 baseball and stuff and you know when
00:45:34.800 you’re a young jock, everybody’s hey uh
00:45:37.599 Thunder, you know, everybody’s got a
00:45:39.200 cool nickname, you know. So I was Adams,
00:45:41.839 you know, so it’s the hey, it’s the
00:45:43.200 adman. And then it got shortened to, you
00:45:45.440 know, like I had a buddy of mine, Robbie
00:45:47.200 Hinton. We called him Ton Hinton. Hey,
00:45:49.920 Ton, you know, just because we thought
00:45:51.599 we were cool.
00:45:52.560 >> And so the adman got shortened to AD,
00:45:56.160 >> you know, and Ton got shortened to Hey
00:45:58.240 T, what’s up? You know, so it was AD.
00:46:00.800 And then um I used Mark for a while, but
00:46:04.240 then my first band started getting
00:46:06.160 really popular and we started traveling
00:46:07.920 more and I had a girlfriend at the time
00:46:10.960 living back home. And so this Mark Adams
00:46:14.960 was listed in in the DC phone book. So
00:46:18.240 anybody could look it up. You had matter
00:46:20.079 of fact, you had to pay to keep your
00:46:21.359 name out of the phone book back then.
00:46:22.720 Right. Right.
00:46:23.359 >> And uh I had that kind of money. So,
00:46:27.040 so I was I’d be out on the road and you
00:46:29.760 know I’d call home, you know, to pay
00:46:32.160 phone. Oh, hi honey. How you been? I
00:46:33.839 miss you. Who’s Heather? And I’m like,
00:46:37.119 what do you mean who’s Heather? A girl
00:46:38.880 named Heather just called here last
00:46:40.240 night at 2 in the morning asking for
00:46:41.520 you. And I’m like, ah, geez. So, this AD
00:46:44.880 thing came in pretty handy. So,
00:46:48.480 >> so it’s just it at this point that’s how
00:46:50.240 I got the name and that’s why I kept it
00:46:53.040 and it’s it’s actually afforded me a lot
00:46:54.800 of privacy which is cool.
00:46:56.079 >> Nice.
00:46:57.200 >> That’s cool.
00:46:57.680 >> It’s protected me in my scallwag days
00:47:00.560 >> which are long over by the way.
00:47:02.400 >> Well, we are about times up. Would you
00:47:04.880 mind coming back here again sometime?
00:47:06.400 >> I would love to. Thank you for having
00:47:08.160 us.
00:47:08.319 >> Yeah, we can’t thank you enough. Ad love
00:47:10.240 your stories and I know you’ve got a ton
00:47:11.839 more. You’re going to have to come back
00:47:12.800 and share them. Some of them we I well
00:47:15.599 before we started it’s like okay here’s
00:47:17.440 the stories we can’t talk about. So
00:47:20.160 thank you for that because oh man that
00:47:22.079 would have been a disaster. Career over.
00:47:26.800 >> Well we love you. We appreciate you.
00:47:28.880 Thanks. All right.
00:47:30.319 >> Thank you so much.
00:47:31.440 >> Thank you sweetie.
00:47:32.880 >> Well thanks for joining us on
00:47:34.319 cross-examined with the Gerbers. Don’t
00:47:36.319 forget we also run Gerber Injury Law. We
00:47:39.119 are an injury law firm. So, if you, a
00:47:41.520 friend, family member, needs help with
00:47:43.119 an injury case, please get in touch with
00:47:45.520 us. Look us up on gerberinjurylaw.com.