Jason Corbett of ACTORS, in full

0:00my uh Leather Boy cap at that show. I was going full hardcore. Yeah, that was that that show I look back on very fondly. It was really uh it was like a perfect lineup at the time for for us and just with really good people and it was a really special night. I think it makes a huge difference when um I'm not sure. Were you touring with everybody at the time or was it just Boo Blacks and Actors did a lot of touring around that time together? Um, crew lies and actors had done a few shows together and and then we did a couple shows with

0:42Twin Tribes as well. I remember we played in San Diego with them as well and uh just everyone got along really well. So there was a lot of camaraderie there which was nice. Yeah, I think it makes a huge difference when you um get to like travel with your friends and you know, you make the music and you make the stories and it is very hard to let go of at the end, but it's so beautiful in the moment. I'm so glad I got to witness that Oh, nice. Yeah, it was a good Was that your Was that your first time um with this particular lineup or had

1:16you all done tours before that? Um, actors started touring in 2018. Um, with uh with the release of It Will I was kind of in a place where I was like I toured extensively, not extensively compared to what Actors does, but with my other bands, I toured, you know, in the US before, um, across Canada, but you like just west coast US. So by the time you saw us in 2019, in 2019 I think in 18 months we had done 150 shows. So it was like pretty and that was like that like that was a lot. Yeah. By the end of it I was like

2:04wow that's too much you know. It was tiring. Yeah. And then the pandemic hit and it's like it was like an imposed time away from the road for like quite some time. So, it all worked out. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's it's interesting because I feel like um I I have I've I've I've seen this interview with Death Cab for Cutie where they talked about um like when they're on the road, they miss being home, but when they're home, they miss being on the road. Um, but especially when you're touring extensively, it's just it's it is definitely like a marathon. I think for sure. It really can be. Sometimes if you're

2:48playing too many shows back to back, I find you just like, "Oh my god, I just need a good night's sleep." Um, because you're in a different bed every night. Um, the good thing about our tours is, you know, luckily we're at a level where it's not crashing on people's couches or sleeping on the floor anywhere. Like we like kind of the modus operand or my uh my motto from the beginning with the band was like, you know, we're never going to sleep on the floor or, you know, we're always going to have a hotel. So, at least we try and get the rest we can, but it's a lot of energy to

3:24expend, you know. Yeah, absolutely. At at the end of the day, it's worth it. Like I think before actors, Kendall had never toured, so she wasn't sure what to expect. Adam has toured. Um Shannon had done some like touring with the with actors. Um but after the pandemic, that's when Kendall joined and um joined us on the road after being with us through the pandemic. But you kind of get your tour tour legs, your sea legs, and then when you come home, you realize like, oh, being on the road is actually really great. It's like a this beautiful adventure. And even though it's tiring and you could be

4:06like, "Oh, sometimes I hate it." But like it there's it's kind of like I think your day-to-day um your dayto-day things that you have to worry about when you're at home, your day-to-day schedule, your routine, all that stuff, you can kind of throw that out the window and just live in the moment on the road and all those other worries kind of fall away, you know? yeah. Yeah, it's And then and then when you're when you're on the road, you do you like, "Oh, I miss my pets. I miss my bed." But then, you know, you're home, it's like as soon as you're home after a

4:41week, you feel like you've never toured in your life. You're like, man, like are we going to go on tour again? You know, like we've played hundreds of shows and I feel like a rookie every time. So, it's it's a weird lifestyle. Yeah, absolutely is. Do you find that um there's like a certain length of tour that's a sweet spot for you where you're like, "Okay, this felt like a good amount of time to go out." I seem to get sick after about two weeks. And and I think because I'm because I'm singing and my vocal cords, when you're singing, you get like little tears on

5:23your vocal cords and your throat. And I'm very I spend a lot of time with uh people after the show at the merch booth and you know I'm exposed to a lot of whatever's in the air. I tend to get sick after about two weeks and then I need a few days to bounce back and I've had to cancel shows and the first time I had to cancel shows I was really really upset about it and then you realize it's kind of part for the course. So I feel like last time we went out for 3 weeks and it was like I wish we could stay out

5:56longer, you know? Um and then sometimes like after the first week then you're in a in a spot where it's like okay let's just keep going. But you have to make sure not to overextend yourself. Like even just signing autographs after a show. I can see now why bands that have, you know, are bigger and bigger, they they do less and less of that because it's just it takes a inherent amount of energy out of you. Yeah, absolutely. And especially um you know watching your performance I see like how much you give um and like you were saying like even after the shows wanting to connect with people um I I

6:41was I was curious like how how do you refill the well or recharge your batteries like not only on tour but like when right when you get back because it feels like it you know there are definitely ways that you have to kind of pace yourself. I don't know. When we're on the road, well, we're really lucky on the road because we really enjoy each other's company. Um, so we love like choosing what kind of food we're going to eat, you know, like are we going to do, you know, Italian tonight or are we going to do, you know, sushi? Are we going to do uh ramen? You

7:20know, like so that we kind of have fun. Like when I look back on the tours now over the years I get more and more kind of comfortable and relaxed because you know you go to a new city and you're like oh where am I and like it's kind of like this state of anxiety almost and that kind of dissipates and you can relax enjoy the time there and like finding a cool restaurant or whatever that really kind of helps the tour while you're on tour. Um, you know, Kendall and Adam, they hit the gym every day. Like every morning they'll go to the gym, unless we've had like a really

7:56long travel day or something. And we always, if we can, if we have a day off, try and stay somewhere where it's like an Airbnb or something where there's like an animal farm or something. Like Shannon's really good at finding places where it's like, oh, there's these like miniature donkeys that we spent the day with or these chickens and like uh she we try and do little things like that. When we come home, it's like everyone's just like boom, right back. Like I was in the studio the next day after coming back from tour and I know everyone in the band very much, you know, cuz you

8:29spend so much time away, you have to really get back on the horse. Sometimes, you know, especially coming back from Europe, like you think, "Oh, I'm back in the swing of things." And then four or five days later, it kind of hits and you you can get hit with like this real sense of depletion and like almost depression because you're not hitting those real highs every day and like that excitement, you know? like everywhere you play, you know, there's someone that's really complimentary and like excited to see you and you feed off that energy too because ultimately like for me the touring is I want to connect

9:07with the audiences. It's uh not an it's not ego driven. It's just I really felt comforted by music growing up and I like to share in that experience. So, I think that's where where I've really learned to thrive in that atmosphere, which took me years and years. yeah, it's like I think everyone finds a different way of navigating the touring. Some people drink a lot. I think with the type of schedule that we keep, if we did drink, we would we wouldn't make it. Like I just couldn't we just couldn't keep it up. Actually, that answers a question um from the Burning Sage who asked um how

9:52much you drink when you're on tour because you guys always seem on point and not faded. Nothing. Um Shannon, Kendall, myself, we all don't drink at all. Um Adam will have like every once in a while like a light beer after the show if we're like chilling and like somewhere nice. Um, so I think that lends itself to us being like in a more consistent mood. No one's ever hung over. Um, so you know, we joke around a lot. We laugh a lot. No drinking. And, you know, we're play to a click. There's been times where bands have asked me like, "How are you guys

10:31like so consistent who have seen us and and um may have noticed like, you know, we don't kind of veer off the path." And it's really like, you know, Adam plays to a click, we play to Adam, and we're sober. And I think the more I see bands that operate at the higher levels, you can't you can't keep drinking and doing drugs and expecting to play a good show every night. I just don't unless it's like a, you know, you're an Irish band and it's, you know, Robbie Burns day or something. I don't know if like unless it's kind of built into the culture of

11:08the music you play. like for for us, I just I just couldn't do it. Yeah. Yeah. But anyone else want like I don't uh I don't hold it against anybody however they want to choose to spend their time on the road or you know party or whatever. Like obviously that's that was a big part of my life for years. But now I'm just really focused on the art of what we do and the connection and I can't do either of those as well Yeah, I can definitely relate. I'm I'm sober myself. So, um it's my I have a caffeine problem, but that's a different beast.

11:51Well, that's one thing. I know I'm kind of notorious for drinking sugar-free Red Bulls on stage. Sometimes I can drink four or five of them during an hour show. And I think that's probably why I jump around and get a little excited. I have to kind of temper that energy sometimes. But it's amazing how much of that caffeine you burn through on the show. Like if when I'm at home, if I had three red sugar-free Red Bulls, I'd be like messed up. But on the road when you're doing the shows, it the caffeine hits different. And also, I'm not a fan of sugar-free Red Bull. It's just what

12:26all the clubs have, you know, like I prefer, you know, uh drinking, you know, a little more natural kind of, you know, I like Americanos or like uh like the C4 drinks like they're really strong, but I feel like the ingredients are a little bit better than sugar-free Red Bull, you know, like But yeah, the caffeine's a bad one. We do a lot of Coke Zero, too. Like at dinners, like let's all have Coke Zero, you know? So yeah, caffeine. Serious. And And I'm I'm sensitive to caffeine, so I get silly. Like I think people who meet me for the first time can be a little bit like, "Oh, wow. This

13:11guy's really a bit extra, you know?" So I just decided not to hide it. Like I'm like, I'm not some goth dude. Like I I I like to laugh and joke around and life's too short to put on some sort of facade. Absolutely. Absolutely. I think that's like um like really embracing the humanness I think is what people can really find uh connection in. Um yeah. Yeah. Um uh Burning Sage actually also asked um what was your favorite show this spring? Was it Canal 10 in Yeah, that was good. Um, Canal Tan in Belgium. I think some of the members of the band enjoyed that

14:01evening more than others. Um, but we had a blast. It was great. And we were playing with our pals uh in Sopane and that was great. Um, it was kind of like the end of the tour. So, and um, yeah, it was great. It was really fun. We weren't too sure what to expect. It was kind of like this odd venue. But we we like being sober, I feel like I always say we don't ever have a bad show unless there's some sort of mechanical disaster, but like I never even if I feel like something's gone a little bit haywire, once the dust is settled and I look back like, "Oh, last

14:40night's show was really great." You know, obviously we try and always be better. I'm not saying like we're we don't play. I just feel like I feel like it's not like oh we never play bad, which I don't think we do, but we try and have the best experience for the people who are in the room with us every I think that's really important. You know, I learned uh really late in playing, but right when Actors was first starting, um we had a show and I was sitting with a couple of my friends who I'd known since like junior high school and I was looking around. I was like,

15:20man, like nobody showed up. Like I was expecting it to be really busy. And then my friend was like, well, I'm here. I'm not nobody. And then that kind of you're playing for the people who are there, not for the people who aren't there. And even if there's five people there, you really don't know who's there. And there's been numerous times over the years where like I'll find out later like, oh, I booked you or suggested you for this cuz I saw you on that night and like no one was there and the show was awesome. And so it's like you you can't let those

15:57cloud your thinking or make you feel like like it's not worth it. Like even those empty shows. Our first show in Seattle was to like eight people and then we came back there uh you know we just played the crocodile there and it was pretty much a sellout. us headlining on uh you know it's like 500 people that like how do we go from eight people to to that many people like you know there's a pandemic in the middle it's just it's been really it's been really nice and you know then once you have the 500 then you're like I want to play the thousand capacity club you

16:32know or I see like twin tribes just crushing it and their shows get bigger and bigger like this is amazing. Yeah. And you know to a certain level that's happened for us too but we're I feel like we're kind of behind them still. So it's like you know we went from 100 capacity to 300 to 500 and we're kind of like just you know next year with the next album I suspect you know we're going to be doing the 500 plus and that's a fun those are fun goals to try and attain because you want to reach as many people as possible so you can sustain a career and keep

17:04connecting with people. See caffeine I'm rambling so this is good for an interview. Me too. Me too. Yeah. Good. Um, we're getting a question um from Chris Hansen. Um, I've seen actors in me in many countries. Where haven't you played that you're looking forward to? I I feel like Japan and Brazil. I feel like Japan because it's so culturally different. I would really like to go for the culture shock of it. Um, and then Brazil because I know there's a lot of passionate people who love music and you know, I've recently um I I recently befriended a couple that moved up here from Brazil and he's like, you know, I think you

18:00have fans down there. You'd be surprised. And it got me thinking more about it. You know, you see a lot of bands that play Brazil. It's like all the big bands. It looks like that's the biggest shows of their career. It's like they go down to Brazil and play to like, you know, rocking in Rio to five billion people. Like, so I think that would be fun, too. Those two countries kind of And Russia one day. We were going to play Moscow, but then there was a war. So, yeah. Yeah. It happens. Yeah. Yes. Well, um I know you you've played so many places. Um you know, in your

18:37travels, are are there times where like you were mentioning like the the big cultural difference where you know, you step into um the the the place that you're going to play and you're like, whoa, okay, we really have to adjust whether it's equipment wise or, you know, culturally speaking, like and and how do you navigate that? Uh, I feel like I feel like I haven't really experienced anywhere where I'm just like, whoa. Mhm. Yeah. I'm I'm more surprised at how similar everything is. I'm more I'm more uh comforted by the warmth of our audiences and the passion that people have for music and the positivity.

19:30Um I feel like we're we're more alike than we are different in terms of like uh you know we're there for the music. Like that's one thing that actors doesn't do is I I I don't weigh in on anything political. And it's not that I don't have my opinions. It's that I I'm very much about what we do as an escape and a connection to a certain thing like uh to a certain feeling that you know helps you escape the doldrums of whatever the bad stuff's happening. So yeah, I think going to Poland, I felt like, okay, this is a little different. Like the architecture

20:16felt a little different, the people felt a little different. It felt and Poland's very very warm to us. Like our shows are great there, but it does feel like like cold war eastern block kind of remnants of of that somehow. you know, it's just a feeling I get when I'm there. But it, you know, it could it could be the weather sometimes. Like we were in Bucharest and when we got there it was sunny and then when we left it was cold and uh you know overcast and there was a mist in the air and it felt like two different places. So I think and and you could return to

21:00places that that you've experienced a certain area and then you know the next time you say you play a club in a different part of town and you're like oh there there's the gap and uh Starbucks right over there. It's like, you know, it's like when you're we played a Athens, Greece, you know, when you're by the uh Cropolis or whatever those places are, you're like, "Wa, this place is crazy." And like there's all this old architecture and like and all these little trinket shops. And then you kind of go a little bit this way and I'm at H&M buying a t-shirt. So, it really depends where you spend your

21:36time, too, I guess. But uh it's been I I suffered from really bad anxiety most of my life. Started in childhood, got really bad towards the end of high school and I drank to cope with that. And I used to tour and drink and it was a it was a bad it was a bad bad for me. And then right when actors got signed to Artifact Records right before that, I was working at my studio and I had broken away from my day job to start being musician and being in my studio full-time like a dream I never thought I would fulfill. And then I started my anxiety attack

22:20started getting so bad I couldn't even come to the studio to work with the artist I was working with cuz I'd be like freaking out. So, I went to the doctor and I said, "Please, like, give me I'm willing to try anything. I'm at my wit's end." And so, he prescribed me something called a fexer and it started working almost immediately and completely turned my life around. I would not I would not be able to get on a plane without it because I couldn't um I couldn't be in a a a van with people. I couldn't even pick up Shannon to go to a rehearsal cuz if she was in

23:00the car with me, I'd have a panic attack. That's how bad it was. And I lived like that for years. So once these kind of once I quit drinking, I started to kind of stabilize. I used to get so nervous before shows and then when I stopped drinking, it was even worse. And I thought, well, maybe this isn't for me after all. And then once I started to stabilize on the drugs and kind of like rewire how I respond to certain situations, like exposure therapy, it got better and better and better. Sometimes I still have like a bad day where I'm super overt tired and you

23:36know, we're in a congested airport somewhere and we're in a line and I'll like be like, "Ah." But I think anyone Yeah. But it it really um it really opened the world to me and like I never thought I would ever see New York City. I was just like I had accepted my fate being like well I'm just going to be in Vancouver. Um and then here all of a sudden ironically I'm this world and I don't take it for granted. I cherish it. I want to do more and more of it because I'm not in my 20s. You know I'm a little bit older. I feel

24:14young like I feel awesome and I want to go out and do this as much as I can. Um because so much of my time I felt really confined to like geographically being in such a small space. So everything just started aligning and I just if I'm afraid to do something now I just do it. Like oh I don't want to go to Mexico City. I heard it's really congested. I was terrified of going to Mexico City. I was waiting for the right promoter and the right offer and and then we went and I was like that wasn't that was awesome. I loved it. The food was good too, you

24:53So there's my huge answer to that to the to the initial question from Chris Hansen who we love and we see we've seen all over the world. He's amazing. He's a friend of ours. He's uh he's a huge fan of music and that's someone I wouldn't even know if I wasn't playing music. So there. Next question. That's amazing. Yes. No, it's such an inspiration. Um well, first of all, for you to have this sort of um I guess self-awareness and the the the ability um and courage to say like, "Hey, I I need to get some help um for something that I, you know, so there's

25:32all these things that I want to experience um and if I get help, I'll be able to do that, I know there's a huge stigma against big pharma and and I was against I'm against anything that like dictates to me like oh you need that you know like you need to you need that in your life or you're not going to be happy like from a corporation standpoint like oh you know if you don't smoke you're going to be grumpy so keep smoking cigarettes. That's how I quit smoking cigarettes years ago was like really like I'm not going to let a tobacco company dictate to me what my happiness is based on

26:09whether I have their product or not. So I was I was against drugs taking a prescription for my anxiety. But then I started looking at as well something's so why not use technology to rebalance it? And that's what it's done. And I like to bring it up. I like to talk about it because it literally changed my life for the better in all the best ways. So, why wouldn't I want to share that? Like, there's a lot of people who suffer silently with that. Um, when I first started getting anxiety attacks and and when I was in high school, when it got really bad towards

26:53like grade 12 before I graduated, you just you didn't even know what it was. I thought I was going crazy. Like people were like, "Oh, anxiety attacks." Now it's like everyone's got them. Like the world seems to be moving so fast. I hear it every day like, "Oh my god, I had to panic attack. I couldn't breathe or I was hyperventilating." It's so common. And um you don't have to suffer. You know, you can try you can try things to hopefully find your way out of that and let your body readjust to living in a state of calm instead of panic and fear. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah.

27:37Yeah. And I think the fact that um that you are able to bring that up and voice that I think you know I mean I I'm sure that inspires other people to be like hey actually it's okay to seek help and to you know and to seek out like you know professional help that maybe is beyond what I could do on my own you right yeah like yeah I tried like you know I do transcendental meditation I'm I'm a huge believer in that I think it's a fantastic thing to do for your for your well-being and your mental health and also your body gets rest from

28:14it. Um that in conjunction with you know that and exercise and you know everything you can do naturally to supplement but sometimes doing just the natural side of things sometimes that's not always enough because you just need that you need you need some sort of correction in your system chemically. Yeah. And I mean it's it's so amazing because you know you were you were sharing that there's all these things that you've been able to experience and share and connect and I imagine change many lives um in your own ripples um as a result. So, right, you know. Yeah. I hope I hope so. Like I've seen so many of the artists that I

29:00was inspired by and followed through my childhood and being an adult that have passed away. And it it's becoming increasingly more uh common of an occurrence. And you what I realized was like it doesn't matter like how famous you are or how much you contributed to the world. Yeah. Once you die it's like you you kind of go away like I remember when Frank Sinatra died. Before that I I I felt like I heard his music quite a bit. Like I worked in a restaurant and you know they'd play Frank Frank Sinatra a little bit and after he died I heard a bunch of his

29:44music and then kind of like it comes a point like oh you really don't hear him anymore or like Elvis Presley like when's the last time you heard Elvis Presley song come on somewhere it's like but like 20 30 years ago he was still very much a part of the fabric of society I feel like and someone like David Bowie or David Lynch two people who are like two of my biggest inspirations are both dead now. And so I look at that, I'm like, okay, these people changed the world. They were colossal figures in in what in what they did and contributed and and how they

30:20lived their lives and and inspired people. I don't have any delusion that I'm ever going to achieve that type of um influence on society. And to me now that they're gone, it's kind of like they're slowly receding into the distance like I don't even like I don't feel the same way about them even now. It's like you kind of move on. It's like and so I don't feel that anything that I'm doing is touring or releasing music. I It's not about legacy. It's like oh well I'm when I'm dead I want to everyone listening to my music and this I don't care. I'm going to be dead. I want to live in the

31:03moment, enjoy that moment, share those experiences together. And that's really hard to do because so much of, you know, you're always striving to do more and you're always worried about like tomorrow or am I going to get this done, that done. It's like, oh, wait a second. Right now is awesome. And sometimes you have to just stop and soak that in because that's all you have, right? You can't live in the past or the Yeah. So really, it's about just tapping into that artistic flow and like being in the moment when you're touring and not worried about being at home. Like yeah, enjoy Bucharest, enjoy Athens,

31:41Greece, and you know, do all these fun things and at whatever level you're touring at or experiencing it at. try be present and enjoy and not expect or put parameters on your success or your financial success or whatever. Um, you'll enjoy it more, I think. that's my TED talk. I love it. Thank you for the TED talk. Yeah, I have I might have a few more. So no, I I absolutely, you know, really see that like when you are like in the moment and you um I mean I feel like it's an eb and flow, but like when you are in the moment and present, um just

32:32how much easier it is to truly be able to enjoy that. Absolutely. Uh um we're getting a So Club Vibe official um says that um they have a picture of you opening a sugar-free Red Bull on soundcheck from Dark Force Fest in 2023. Um one of the things that I heard about even before I listened to actors was their relationship with their fans. I've witnessed all of the members speaking with the fans at the merch booth. It's that type of connection that brings the passion for their band. Um Jason, how far back did this start? I think once once I I I feel like I built up a

33:19with actors when I was drinking and playing music. At a certain point, I'd feel almost combative with the audience. My perception of what was happening out in the audience wasn't maybe really what was happening. So, you know, it's like when you're drunk and you're like, "What's that guy looking at?" It's like it was a bit of that and like inse it was I think it just stem from insecurity. Um, but what I started to see with actors when I was releasing singles and then once artifact records came along and signed us and the records started receiving positive reviews and started to sell and we started being asked to go

34:02to show uh to to play shows at different festivals. It gave me it gave me the assurance like be like, "Oh, no. You we want you here." Like, "We like the music. We want you here." And I made a strong effort to embrace that. Cuz I thought, how many time like how many times do you meet someone who you admire and maybe it's disappointing because they're a little aloof or, you know, maybe they're uncomfortable even? I don't know. But to me, acknowledging people spend their hard-earned money like to come to your show, to buy a shirt, to download your music, or just to even spend time streaming your music.

34:49So, I want to I I really believe that I needed to honor that and grow that family and that connection outwards from what we're doing. Um but it you know it's it can it can be also expending that emotion can be tiring because it is legitimate like it is real like I really try not to just go through the motions you know you want to engage with people and create relationships but as you grow as a band sometimes that also gets harder And the busier you are as a band, the more you have on your plate to do at any given time. And it's um I'm still learning how to

35:38navigate that. But it's something that's important to me. Yeah. Absolutely. Um uh the burning sage actually was saying, "Learning to be okay, feeling safe can be a challenge." The song slaves was super relatable in the recovery journey and actors music has been there for me. That's amazing. I just love to hear something like that because these these songs like they're all loosely on some level. And I think that's why I'm not super Uh, I I I have to the songs have to come from somewhere real or tap into some sort of emotion that feels true to me. And I really believe that's why these songs can connect with people

36:34because it there's there's no like pretense of like jumping on a bandwagon to try and like sell records or like I need to come up with the latest Tik Tok hit or like oh that song was good for us. Let's cop let's just do another version of that. Or this band's doing really well with this sound. Let's copy that. Actors would be doing the kind of music they are in or out of any scene. We just happen to fall into a certain scene that accepts us. And I love the scene for that. Um, but the fact that it does connect with people however far and wide,

37:11every time I hear that, like it's just it's just like, okay, I'm on the right path. And it it gives me gives me like uh the power to keep moving on, you know. It's it's special for us too. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I feel like that really brings uh meaning. It's like it brings things to life uh when other people translate it in their own ways. Absolutely. You know, I can be, you know, my, like I said earlier, my sense of humor is silly. You know, I'll say something silly on stage and make a joke or whatever, but when it comes to the music itself, I'm I'm dead serious

37:56about it. And I think that's apparent when we're playing. Like, I'm not making jokes while we're playing. It's like it the music is very serious to me. And and so when when we do get to connect live like we do or you know or I get a message from someone or someone shares like when people tag us in in uh on social media like I'll reshare that because to me it's like I want to put a little bit of the shine back on them too, you know? Like I I would be stoked if like you know I I posted something about the band I real

38:34like you know like and like you know do like Duran Durant or something and like they repost it I'd be like yeah that's so cool you know and believe me I don't think we're like I don't think I'm not waxing poetic about actors and I don't think we're this wildly successful band that everyone loves or anything. I I know like we have a niche audience that continues to grow. It's very grassroots and I'm just I'm just so thankful for that, especially later in life than what I had thought would happen for me with music at certain times or certain levels of success. It's just been a really

39:13awesome journey and so yeah, just try and let those that positive energy Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Um there's a lot of uh people sharing how much they appreciate like how real you are. Um there's a question from Andy Dofford um saying, "Hello, big fan of your work and how real you guys are. Um what is the best and worst experience you've had during a concert?" The best and worst. I don't know if you want to know. Um h um the best and worst experience. I will be I'll be honest. Most of the shows are I couldn't like people sometimes say like oh what's the best city or what's the where's your favorite

40:11place to play? So many of the shows like you just walk off stage you're like that was so cool. I can't believe that was like amazing. um bad experiences. Okay, I'm just going to say the first thing that comes to mind. We were in and uh it's not even bad. It was more embarrassing. We were in Montreal and I was on stage at the end of our set and I was joking around about like pretending to throw my guitar into the stage like right before I was going to turn around and like walk off the stage, but my front toe my toe was like right up

40:46against the monitor. And once I pretended to throw my guitar, I kind of like lost my balance forward and then realized I couldn't correct myself and I fell headirst like launched myself off the stage. and this is a true story. uh a friend of mine, Jared Kiso. He's the creator and lead actor of a of the TV show Letter Kenny uh which is it's now done its run, but it's a it's a very successful comedy show. And he uh and he lives out there and he caught me. He's he's a pretty big dude, like strong. I went flying off the stage head first and he was like right

41:30there like whoosh and he caught me. I was like and I like looked around. I was like, "Yeah." And then I like ran downstairs into the green room and I I hid in the green room until everyone left cuz like I'm like I almost died. It was so And it was really embarrassing. But then people were like, "Oh, I thought you jumped off the stage." I was like, "No, I 100% fell off the stage." So yeah, it was pretty embarrassing. It was uh it was meant to be that you were caught. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's a good guy. Um so, uh Ken, I want to give a shout

42:14out to Ken from um Amaranth and Sounds of Shadows. Um Um Ken is asking, um what is something you had happen to you when you started touring that shapes how you treat other bands that open for you now? Oh, I'm super I'm super nice to opening man, there's the one thing that really there was certain bands that I was I really admired that kind of weren't super cool about a couple things just as us as openers just like a little too rigid about certain things or, you know, maybe not as nice as you had hoped because you were really excited to meet them and I

43:04Some of those interactions, most are amazing, but there's been a couple over the years where I'm kind of like, ah, that's too bad. But also, you know, you don't know, people could be on tour and exhausted, you know, and that does happen. So for me like the one thing that I really try and I try and make time for is no matter how tired I am, I try to like, you know, introduce myself to the opening band, ask them, you know, if they need anything and if there's anything that make, you know, making sure they're comfortable and like they're they have a good time, too. Um,

43:44you know, I just try and be friendly and let let people know that, you know, I don't think we're better than anybody. Like, at any given time, that band that's opening up for you could be, you know, headlining and you're opening up for them. I think being nice on your way you know, dictates like e like because careers are up and down, right? Sometimes you're a real hot band and then sometimes you're not. And as you're going down, if you're an well, those people are not going to be nice to you on your way down either, even if they're nice to you on your way up. So, I just try and be real

44:21with everybody and and, you know, just take the time to acknowledge them as people and as bands. And I think that's a really important thing to do. Yeah, absolutely. But that being said, one thing I do want to say and clear the air about, I don't watch all the bands who play with us because I usually like driving when we're on tour. Um, we travel a lot. Usually we're in town for like 12 hours per town. Um, so my energy, my sleep, after soundcheck, I usually like, "Okay, let's get back to the hotel. We need to eat dinner. We need to rest, get ready so we can come out and give the best

45:05show possible. I wish I could see every band. I wish I could be that supportive like that because I, you know, you want the shows to go well and, you know, cheer cheer every band on, but I just have learned that I can't do that. Sometimes I can, but most of the time I can't. Doesn't mean I don't like the band or or the artists, you know. It's always an honor to have people come out and play on the shows with us. Yeah, it's understandable and and I mean I think it's one of those things where you do you do your absolute best and I

45:37think I'm sure that people who are familiar with you know that um that you are doing your best and especially if you are touring um yeah I mean it's it's it's already a lot to go from place to place and various time zones and and all the things. So, um, yeah, I think I I love live music myself. Obviously, I'm very passionate about it, but, um, yeah, like it I think you can only do your best and I don't know, eating and sleeping and mortal things are pretty important when you're on the road. So, right. Yeah. Yes, definitely. Definitely. Um, we had actually a question from uh

46:17Denise. Um Denise was um asking um uh about the academy and um uh let's see how did you phrase this? I would like to know about the birth of the academy and how Kim Pop has enrich enriched your fan base. Kim Pop is a part of another group. Um, I can't remember the full name of it. Uh, scent of clovers or cloves or however it's called. I should know. I'm just having a total brain fart. But what happened was we were on tour and she started telling people that belong to this face group, the Facebook group, hey, go see actors play. said we'd be playing in these other cities and people

47:10like hey Kim Pop sent me. I was like what? I'm like who who the hell is Kim Pop, you know, and then they're like we'd be somewhere else in another city. Uh I just wanted to come up and tell you Kim Pop sent me. She told me to tell you that. And so I I was like and then I realized Kim was from Vancouver and then we had met Kim. She's a huge music fan. I was like Kim like you you're amazing at rallying the troops. I'm like, I wish we had I wish we had some sort of Facebook page that you did. And I think it was a it was a little ways

47:46after cuz at first she didn't seem to like be interested. And then later she's like, "Yeah, I think I'd like to do that. If I'm remembering correctly, Kim Pop, please correct me." So Kim Pop started this Facebook page group called the Academy. And it's been really amazing like to see people who are, you know, just mutual fans of the band become friends and come out to like multiple shows together. And we try and have like an academy photograph at the end of the shows where people we all get together at the front of the stage and do a photo together. And I've made like just a lot of really cool friends like

48:23like Denise even asking the question like um how would I have met Denise? I I don't know. like and like you know where we we we get to visit albeit short whenever we're in New York. Um but like these relationships mean a lot to me um knowing that um we're bringing some shred of happiness to people and friendship and it it's uh it's really awesome and Kim pop helps facilitate that in a really aggressive way. It's Oh, I see. I'm down for it. The scent of cloves cigarettes. And it's so cool. We're seeing multiple people that are mentioning I know to see it, but I've never

49:12Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's like um I'm used to seeing the name of it, but I don't think I've actually said it out loud ever, so I'm like, "Oh, yeah. That's that's how it sounds." Yes. Yes. I totally understand. Yes, that's Yeah, I think that the communities that um are you're either adjacent to or are surrounding you are definite um reminders of ways that I think we're we're supported, you know. Mhm. And I think it's amazing like online communities especially are a really big part I think of of what makes the live music community possible. Like finding out about you know music that you might not otherwise.

49:53Yeah. I feel like I feel like almost every every person I end up talking to, it's like they've heard about us from a friend or the other one is also Spotify suggestions. I hate to say cuz everyone hates Spotify, especially right now with what what the CEO is doing and stuff or the owner or whatever the guy. But um yeah, it's word of mouth and that kind of family incentive of, you know, being together to enjoy music and art and everything. That's that's really special. Really special to me and the whole band. Yeah. Yeah. I think that um you know, it's like well, like you were saying,

50:43you were like, I wouldn't know this person otherwise. Um, and I think that's always amazing when you get to meet people like for the first time, but there are but you've already been interacting. Um, yeah, There's people like, man, there's like we we first time we went to the UK, like I met this I met a couple people who are like, oh, I'm so and so from like Facebook. And I'd be like, oh my god, like we've been friends since 2007 on Facebook and I'm standing in front of you here. You know, it's it's pretty cool and it's really neat. Like when I like first being on like

51:28Facebook, you know, you're friends with a lot of, you know, your friends from high school or whatever and your co-workers or now it's like thousands of the people who are my friends on Facebook. It's all musicians and people from other countries and cities. It's really neat. And you know, it's the music that brings everyone together. Yeah, absolutely. You were you were mentioning earlier about um traveling to different countries and experiencing different cultures and that um but you've been met with warmth and I do feel like it is the universal language, the the music that brings us all Yeah. like it it sound it s like it

52:11almost sounds cliche but it's just it really is universal language for sure you know we have great shows in Spain, Italy, Bucharest was great uh Germany you know Mexico everywhere we go it's I'm reminded of like you know and we're lucky enough where we go to all these places we're not playing we're not playing to people who don't know we are who we who we are. So it we always feel very welcomed. So it's it's a very it's an addictive experience too. like you're like going around and like seeing people and who are really touched by the music and um it makes it it makes it worth it, you

52:56know, because up until just up until the last couple of tours, which might be surprising for some people, but up until the last couple of tours, like the last couple of shorter tours, you know, we were losing money hand over fist on some of these tours cuz there's the flights, there's the visas to get into the states. There's vehicle rentals. There's just the logistics of it. And then when you start adding that all up, all it takes is is like, you know, for me to get sick and like have to cancel the last seven dates of a tour or like I got pneumonia in in Europe and had to

53:35come home or like or have a couple bad shows like in terms of like not bad but like uh poorly attended shows and you're in the red like you're you've lost money and you need so much money up front just to get on the road. Like you have to have a reserve because you need to put stuff on a credit card for a rental and then you need emergency like and then everything always costs more than you think. So, it's only recently where we've been like just getting past that threat. Like we were losing money, losing money, losing. Then it's like, okay, now we're breaking even. And the last couple

54:13tours, like, okay, now we're starting to sell enough merch and kind of hit this critical mass with where it's like, okay, maybe we can continue to do this because I don't want to stop doing this because it does it brings joy to us and and the people we get to visit. I want to continue to do that. And so naturally, you know, you have to have the the commerce part of it dialed in. And you know, I have no delusion of like getting rich off playing music. And it's never been financially motivated, but there is um an essential amount of success that you need to procure to

54:53continue to thrive at what you're doing as an artist. And so far, you know, it's just like baby steps and then you look back 5 years ago like, "Oh, we've come this far." What an amazing journey. Cuz sometimes you don't even realize where you are. You know, so true. Because there's always bands that have something you don't want or something that you do want. Sorry. I was talking with uh Yasic from our label at Artifact Records and I was like, you know, how do we get our Spotify numbers up or how do we do this or he's like, you know, band A wants the Spotify

55:32numbers that band B has. Band B wants the vinyl sales that band C has, you know, or like no one band has everything just firing on all cylinders, you know, like once you get past once you get more successful and your crew gets bigger and then the venues are larger and then the venues they're union and then the venues are 10 times the amount to to rent and like all of these things. You're just constantly navigating this and trying to figure it all out. And amongst all that, you're trying to be true to yourself as an artist and keep that connection thriving. But I'm not

56:07complaining. It's just it's a it's a it's pretty wild. Yeah, absolutely. There's there are so many costs um to going on the road. Um you know, and it's it's a lot more than I think a lot of people realize like when you think about the little logistics that go behind that. For sure. Yep. just for us to cross the border, play in the US. So to get a P2 visa, this last P2 visa cost us $7,500 just so we could play. So we can that that helped us we could do a whole year in the US. But still, like, so if you're an entry-level band and you're like,

56:48"Well, we want to go down to our, you know, you're lucky if you're making $500 a show." If people don't know who you are, sometimes you're just working. You're make you're playing shows for pizza like how we did in Seattle for the first time. We never paid like in pizza. It was not making any money. There was a couple shows where nobody showed up. um is really really really hard and any band any musicians who are willing to sacrifice their energy, their time, their money to follow their dreams, you have to respect that. If it's a genre I don't like or if it's like a character I

57:31don't like or a album I don't none of that matters. If if they're putting their money where their mouth is and they're willing to do that, they have my respect, you know? Um, we had a question of, "Do you think getting signed to Artifact records helped actors um on your trajectory towards touring internationally?" Um, I I was releasing I was releasing singles and then Artifact Records reached out to me and said, "Well, we want to release a full length record with you." And so once that record came out, it I think it was enough of um it was enough of a brand awareness that people

58:24people heard it. Um so I think it very much helped the trajectory. I would have had a really hard time navigating. I may not have even have done a full- length record without Artifact. So, I feel like I feel like I owe them a lot for for believing in us and I'm really proud of signing with Artifact. I think that's awesome. I mean, you know, there's there's so many different options for artists right now, like whether you are completely independent or various labels and it's amazing when you find that right relationship, you know. Mhm. Yeah. It's um they've given us our our artistic autonomy to do whatever we want

59:10they're honest and supportive and you know they're not like a major label that have really deep pockets and can just throw money at things and but also you know they work as hard as you do as an artist. I feel like whatever you put into your music, they kind of rise to that challenge and do their best to do good by you, too. So, yeah. And everyone's path is different. Like, I was certain that I was just going to release singles and be a producer, but it got to the point where actors kind of took over and it made more sense for me to do actors and I was it was like a

59:52roundabout way of of having more success with music by being a producer first. So now I find I have less and less time to actually produce other artists. Still do a lot of mastering. So if you need mastering, hit me up. I still do a lot of mastering. Uh a little bit of mixing, but um but to go back to the question about about Artifact, yeah, I definitely think I think they were a huge positive impact and you know, we've got a really great friendship as well. So I feel really lucky to have that. Yeah, I think that's awesome. I mean, you know, as you were mentioning that um

1:00:30you know, they don't have like the deep pockets that a major label has, but um it's absolutely possible to work with um smaller labels and still have a really positive experience for sure. Yeah. I know I know talking I I've gotten the sense you can bring it it doesn't matter like I feel like some people's experiences will differ. Some people might blame the label they're on for the lack of success they have or you know or oh well the I thought the label was going to do this this and this for me and they didn't. Some people have a kind of like a mis misconception of what a label actually

1:01:18does and or can do for you. And so at the end of the day as a band like Shannon, myself who are the nucleus of, you know, the the logistics and the administration of the it's a full full full-time job. like we don't come home and be like, "Oh, okay. We're gonna go off and do this and chill." It's like I'm I'm the the long the long game schemer and then Shannon is like all all the details in between. So, we work very well together. So, having building your team up like and and having someone who complements your skill set is going to help you immensely

1:02:03with your touring. Uh it's going to help you immensely with like everything you do. and learning how to do as much as you can on your own. Whether it's your graphics, it's whether it's, you know, your production, whether it's booking your own tours. People say like, "Oh, well, I we really wish we had a booking agent." It's just so hard. It's like, "Guess what? Remember I said earlier in the interview, in 18 months, we played 150 shows." I booked those. I did all the rooting, the routing of it. Um, I talked to all the promoters. I booked. I negotiated those fees. And then Shannon like she booked hotels, booked the van

1:02:40rental, booked the the drum rental, uh booked the flights, got the P2 visa, all of these things. this any any sense that you have of like you're owed something, you're crazy. You're owed nothing. Just because you make music, anyone can make music. The hard part of it is what comes after. And that is a colossal job. And if you're not in it because you love it to death, then I would I wouldn't even suggest going on tour. Like maybe for an experience here or there, but like it's it's hard hard work, but it is so rewarding. And you know, once you start seeing the benefits of that hard work,

1:03:30uh the the residual positivities of it, it's it's it's pretty awesome. Absolutely. I I'm I'm I'm the one that does all the booking for for us. And um I will tell you that when you I do I do that's me. I'm I'm the the booker logistics person um in Alice. But, you know, I think it's one of those things that when you when you feel like um the rewards um when you're like, "Oh my gosh, this show was amazing. This tour was amazing." Like, it's so rewarding. Um and but you have a a really deep appreciation for for that because you know all the things that

1:04:08went behind being able to do what you Yeah. It's um it's you know sometimes you can see artists who have um more financial backing or you know maybe they come from a more privileged background and can tour more and not have to worry about finances more. But at the end of the day it's like people have to connect with your music and your art. And there's rich people who do well and there's rich people who do poorly and there's poor people who do well and poorly. You know, it's like at the end of the day, we're out there just trying to be heard and have our music heard and connecting

1:04:55with our fans, right? And um I think at any level, no matter how much support you have, I think it's I think it's I think it's hard work, but rewarding work because you're working for your own you're a business, right? you're a you're a family-owned and operated business and you it's uh it's uh it it's a lot of little details that you always have to be thinking about to keep moving and flourishing as an artist. Yeah, absolutely. Um and and as you mentioned earlier about getting sick on the road, um it's not like you can call in sick and have like somebody sub for like you're the you are Yeah. There's

1:05:43there is no substitute for you. So yes. It's it's it's a lot. Um yeah, we have actually a question from um Marvelite 15. Um uh what would be the least challenging part of starting a music career? The least challenging part career. Wow. Well, okay. That's a I started playing shows when I was 14, 15. That's a month without playing a show. Like, and if I did, like I made up for it by playing more shows. And then there was times I went on tour. I went on tour in the mid '9s. I went on tour in the early 2000s. I went on tour like um I didn't get a I didn't get a record

1:06:36deal until I signed with Artifact. I could I could like feel like yeah, music's been a career for me for the past few years, but the easiest thing is wow, there's nothing easy about it. whether you're in the studio writing whether you're making that decision to sacrifice like having kids, having a a career, if you want to do music, I think I think it's important. The easiest thing to do is to I feel like you don't have a choice. If you really want to do it, it picks you. You don't have a choice and the easiest thing you can do is to to believe in yourself because it starts

1:07:35with that and you have to believe in yourself and you have to tap into that honesty before anyone else will get on board. But um I think with anything that's that's worth it, it it's not it it's not So, that's that's a question I've never been asked before. And I'm trying I'm trying to think of like what's the workound here and it's just there there's just nothing easy about it. It's there's so many moving parts. But the good thing is is that it's all so rewarding. Whether it's a great rehearsal or you wrote a song that you're happy about or you booked your first show. Um,

1:08:21I remember thinking like there was like a show I did in Vancouver. I said when I was like 19, I'm like, "When I play that place, I'm going to get a tattoo. That's going to be like my big celebration cuz it's going to be like, oh, I actually played this place." And then in retrospect, I'm like, "Wow, that it wasn't what a small skill that was." But at the time, it's all this perspective. The easiest thing to do maybe would be to enjoy the journey if you just allow yourself to enjoy that journey because at the end of the day hopefully everything's going to be all right.

1:08:58I love that. I think that kind of goes back to what you were saying earlier about just kind of um allowing for the presence. Um I guess that's part of the journey, right? Is just kind of being in I hope that answers the some form of a Yeah, that's that's a really Yeah, it's a good question. Yeah, it's interesting. Um I think um when you really start diving into music as a as a pathway and a life, like you were saying, I I do see that it chooses you. Um you know, and you're like, well, this is the thing I do. My my dad used to ask me, I'd be on the

1:09:42phone with him all through my 20s and my 30s and he'd say like, "Well, how's music going? You think you're going to make it? You think you're going to make it?" And it used to drive me crazy. He'd say, "So, you're going to make it or what?" And I was like, "Make it. Make it." And then, so one day in my in my like late 30s, I just said, "Dad, I've already made it. I've made it. I play music. I've made it." And so he stopped asking me that. And then just last week he said to me, he goes, "I'm really proud of everything you've

1:10:20accomplished." He says, "You've done so much more with your life than I did." I almost started crying because I was like, "Wow, he's he's he's never quite acknowledged it quite like that." Um, and you know, like my dad's done a lot of different things and owned different businesses and stuff. And for him to look at it like that, like it uh it was really touching and to be acknowledged by my dad who seemed very very much like probably just concerned about my wellbeing and he didn't want me to be, you know, broke and like a lot of musicians. I feel like a lot of musicians um they

1:11:03very much can have their head in the clouds of like oh I I create art man I just do this and I do that but like there are steps you need to take and you have to be uh goal orientated otherwise you can really spin your tires for years and years and then some people just have that capacity for like hey I just want to play a band and do the weekend gigs and do a little tour once a year or a big tour once a year whatever And and that's totally cool, too. Like for me, like I just want to I just want to

1:11:36thrive as an artist and share that with my bandmates now. Like I want I want actors to get as successful as possible. Like I'd be like, imagine if everyone in the band like at the end of the day could buy a house. Could you imagine that? Like I remember hearing about M DeMarco and they were talking about um all his band members have bought a house because he splits all the show money. He keeps all the publishing and then they do the show money. They make so much money from the shows they got to such a high level um that they were all able to like have

1:12:18very continue now to have lucrative And I thought, man, could you imagine like nothing would make me happier than not only me being able to continue to play music and to grow and to thrive as an artist, but also have everyone in the band to be like cared for and financially secure and to continue on this journey with me because everyone in the band, whether it's Kendall, Shannon, Adam, um I couldn't do it without them. They're so much a part of actors and what we do. We're we truly are like family but in all the best ways. And that's another thing like, okay, I'm going to take a

1:13:00side note. If you're in a band with people that you don't love or want to spend time with, you need to change that I've seen so many bands implode or just whether you realize it or not, I feel like a crowd can even feel it that lack of harmony in the band. So, there's something spend time to get the right people to to be in your camp. It's worth Absolutely. It makes it makes a huge difference. Yeah. It really does. Yeah. I I mean I I really do look at band as family. Um you know, touring aside like it is it is people that you

1:13:45are dreaming with and creating and expressing with So yeah, makes a huge difference. Yeah. Yeah. Dreaming with Yeah, that's I think that's a nice way of of of looking at it. Absolutely. And I I think it's it's really it shows a lot about your heart. The fact that, you know, you're not just thinking about yourself, but you're thinking about your people where you're like, how amazing it would it be if everyone gets to thrive together, you Yeah. Yeah. That's to me that's kind of like a, you know, for us to come home from a tour and not be like, "Oh man, I'm flat broke." Like I don't want to I don't

1:14:28want to expect that from my bandmates, you know what I mean? Like I I want I want everyone involved to have a good time and thrive, you know? And also part of our team, Huda, who comes out with us. She's amazing. like um so selfless and just like supportive and and she's like the fifth member and we love her and like that's someone who became a part of our inner circle and that's something that I just don't openly allow because it's it's sacred. You know, everyone has to trust each other and and um you know be good for one another. And so that's another example of like that family, right?

1:15:16Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it's like if you're in a healthy situation that feels like where everybody feels excited and happy to be together. Um, like you said, versus the opposite, whatever that looks Um, it really does show and people do sense it. Yeah, I think so. It's like I'm not the perfect band leader, that's for sure. Like if I'm hungry, I get hangry. I can be a real Like my sense of humor goes out the window and I can get cutting and I can be rude and cut people off and mock them and like and then and then I have to check myself after I've

1:15:57had the Snickers bar, you know? So it's like I'm not sitting here like thinking like, oh, I'm just a joy all the time and everything's perfect. Like, you know, even like with Kendall and I, we'd be on the road. It's like we'd be on tour and we were getting to know each other and in a lot of ways we're alike and then, you know, we would come we would come to like butt heads on something and then it would just like fly fiery like we'd have this like intense argument and then like five minutes later it's like we're crying and like hugging each other. I love you. I

1:16:36love you. But it takes a long time to build up the trust, you know, and like she's someone who's a lot younger than me. She's the new person. She was the new person in the band. We're taking her out and like putting her into these experiences. And it takes a long time to build trust. Like with any one of us, it took time. It takes time to build trust and know that oh not only when things are good you can lean on this person but when things are bad or you know or things go sideways like uh you know someone gets sick or you know there's a problem like on the road

1:17:14somehow or unforeseen circumstance that you know we're all looking out for each other and that takes time to grow and to nurture as well. Yeah. But again, it boils down to like you you need to have good people in your camp. Whether that's like Xavier, our booking agent at Persona Grata, um Yasic at Artifact Records. Um Buddha who does our merch. Shannon who does all of our graphic work. Adam, he's the master van packer. Like he's just there like boom boom boom boom every time, you know? And everyone in the band just has their has their niche and it's uh you know you try and nurture that.

1:18:01Absolutely. I think when you figure out um like your own moving parts, it really helps because I think sometimes um I've seen within our group like if if somebody is trying to do something that isn't quite in their wheelhouse, it's not as effective as if they find a thing like we have our vanpacker which is Gordon um you know but um if I were to do that um I don't think everything would fit. So definitely not in my wheelhouse. Yes. Yes. Yeah. See, like I like Adam Adam's just he's got like this strength to him and I I'm a bigger guy. Like I'm tall and big,

1:18:45but like my center of gravity. Like it puts me in like prime like hurt my lower back. Like I'll be like, "Don't worry, I got this." And like time after time, like I get ambitious and like I'll swing a suitcase up or something and like bang, there goes my lower back. Great. Then I'm in pain for like a week. So Adam's like, "No, put that down. No, put it down." Cuz I I do I like I love the idea of like the Tetris of the of the of the vehicle, right? But uh see like he's looking out for me, too. Like doesn't want me to hurt my back. And he can hurt

1:19:19his back, too. like he's had back problems, but um but he's he's the man when it comes to that. Yeah. It's a special skill. It really Yeah. Yeah. So, um y'all are going out um in the fall again. Um I I believe starting September. Yeah. Yeah. September we fly out east and uh go to Brattleboro, Virginia. Is that what it is? Mhm. I think so. Um I I don't I don't know the states very well. It's all a blur. And then we play Brooklyn and then we're doing Cold Waves Festival. We're playing Absolution Festival in Tampa. Uh yeah, it's it's pretty kind of more east eastern

1:20:06ccentric and there's not a ton of dates, but um it's kind of like the last kind of like little bit of dates before we take uh kind of extended period of like tour time off. And um we're already booking uh 2026. We have a really great European tour September 2026 that's shaping up really nicely. and then after that we'll be into the states. But basically, I'm just like hard at work on the record. So, I'm really excited about the songs and how they're coming together. And um it's going to be so nice to have a new a new album out. I never thought, you know, I remember thinking like imagine

1:20:50having your music on vinyl and then all these years later now to have like, you know, this is going to be the fourth vinyl for actors because we did the reanimated pressing as well. And then we have the full length from leathers. And so it's like all these records that we're gonna be, you know, traveling with. And, you know, that'll be on the merch table. It feels like a real accomplishment. It's really fun. Absolutely. It's a huge accomplishment. Is the album going to be um out in the fall or will that be after to follow? It'll be after. Yeah, it'll be it'll be next year. I want to make sure that we

1:21:29release a couple more singles. Um we So the three songs that that came out last year, um Object Object of Desire, Dead Inside, and In Real Life, those three songs were always meant to be on the next record, but I was kind of like playing around and searching for what I really want to do with the other songs. And I've really kind of settled on the songs that I want to be on the record now. So, I'm taking my time with the vocals and exploring kind of sonically different things. So, in a lot of ways, it's going to be, you know, very much actors, but hopefully kind of just

1:22:03continuing to explore the sonic landscape of what that entails. That's exciting. I think that's really exciting because I I feel like after you know having your experiences um you know just this year um with touring and all the music that you've that that you've been um I guess creating um it'll be really cool to see the EV evolution like what what comes next. That's Yeah, I'm Yeah, I just I'm just really thankful that people are along for the ride, you know? Yeah. I look at the people who come to our shows and the growing audiences and I think like, oh my god, how many years

1:22:41has it been since we released a full and for them to come along with us and to still be discovering the band and it's exciting. Like Kendall's working on music of her own. Um Shannon's working on new Leather's music and then you know we've got the actor's music. So there's so much creativity that's coming out that's coming out of the people in the band. It's uh it's pretty cool. It's nice. And you know, Artifact Records has been super supportive. And so it feels like a really nice evolution of the band. And you know, I've been doing like remixes like I just did one for Modern English.

1:23:21If someone told me, you know, as as a teenager that I'd be doing asked getting asked by Modern English to do a remix for them, like melt with you. When I saw that in uh Valley Girl when I was a little kid on VHS, I was just like that is the coolest song and the and the band is the coolest. And like that song is it's basically how I built my songwriting. It's like that kind of verse chorus structure with the melodic hook. And it was such an important song to me. It's one of my favorite songs of all time. And then to have them reach

1:23:58out and, you know, personally ask for me to do that remix. Sometimes you have to stop and just be like, "Okay, this is really cool. I need to enjoy this for like 14-year-old Jason, too, because it's not just something that you do and just, oh, yeah, it was cool. It's really special. So, I want to savor these moments, too." I was curious actually um that I mean I I think that's an amazing like dream moment. Are there any other ones that you can think of um where you're where you're sort of like, "Oh my gosh, I am I am in my dream." Um being asked to play Refuse like uh

1:24:43Vancouver show for their last tour ever. having them reach out and being like, "Hey, will you play opening for like Quicksand and Refused?" And I was like, "What the hell really?" you know, like amazing or like just finding out that certain people are a fan of the band. It's like you're like what? Like, you know, that person even knows who we are or like respects what we do. It's really hard to gauge from the inside like sometimes what you're what you're doing, you know? Yeah. And I also feel like, you know, so many bands are all we're all so busy in our own heads just trying to do what we

1:25:24do that, you know, you don't pay mind to kind of what other things are happening. And there's always bands more successful and doing things that you, you know, if you're feeling burnt out, like it's easy to like get envious of other people's opportunities, but those opportunities that other bands get don't take away from you. Like you can worry about yourself. Like, you know, I was jealous. I was like, "Oh man, I wish we could play something like Cruel World." You know, and then we got asked to play Cruel World. It's like it just sometimes what you wish for doesn't come exactly when you want it to, but sticking it out

1:26:02in the longevity and getting better at your craft and having some humility and trying to be the best you can be, I think goes a long way over the long Wow. I feel like I feel like I'm just like waxing poetic on like, oh, then this then that, but like I get really passionate about this stuff because it's like it's all I think about really. I mean, you're in good company here. We We're so grateful for everything that you're sharing. Oh, good. I'm being a real chatty Kathy. I love it. But it's fun. Yeah. Good. It makes your job easier, I hope. Yeah. I I feel like I don't know. Everything

1:26:45you've been saying, I I keep on seeing people that are chiming in and they're just so grateful for your sharing and you're so inspiring. Yeah. I I I have actually more more questions if you have some time. Um I I was wondering um like you you brought up the topic of burnout and in your moments if if if you've had those um like how how what does one do um or and what do you do in particular um when you're starting to feel that burnout? Well, um I I can feel it really heavily in the studio. There's a certain amount of brain power it takes and there's the craft of

1:27:30songwriting and production, but there's also like the the divinity, the divine part of it where you're kind of just receiving from the universe. And you you hear artists talk about that. And to tap into that, you have to show up. And then I always say like even if I'm working with another artist in a producer role, there's a a moment in time when you're working on something the music's not speaking to you anymore. Like I'll be I could work on a song for a couple days, you know, for hours and hours at a time, but it's important to recognize when the music's not speaking to you and you need to step away from

1:28:15it. So, a lot of times when I'm writing, I'll write I'll start a song and walk away from it and then come back to it and it's almost like I'm co-writing with myself because me from a week ago I listen like, "Oh, oh, I see what you were doing there." Now it becomes so evident and so you can keep pushing through all that and then you can really burn out where you're you've like your eyes are rolling into the back of your head when you're at home thinking like oh the vocal melody is this and is there enough syllables and blah blah if you're at

1:28:48that point go for a walk go touch grass go spend some time you you have to you have to live you have to experience experience things to really tap into the creative process. You have to show up and you have to do it and you have to write and you have to sit down at the typewriter and type, you know, like that that whole thing. It's real. But also, you have to recognize when you've pushed enough and you need to balance that with real life. And you know, for me, like what we'll do is like I'll grab Shannon. I'll be like, "That's it. I'm done in

1:29:36the studio. Let's go to the mall." Our therapy is going to the mall. We have some great malls here and just walk around the mall and like go look at clothes and like go touch fabric. That's what we joke around like, "Let's go touch fabric. We'll go to the food fair, have a little snack, walk around, and then like we'll go home, like walk the dog, you know, and make make a bite to eat or something. And then I go in the studio the next day and I'm like, you know, crack your knuckles like, "Yeah, let's go." You know, or you hear something like, "Oh, now I'm inspired by

1:30:11that in a different way." So the burnout, you just have to recognize when when to like step step away from it too because a lot of people are balancing like a life uh a work a work a life work balance. So like you've got like a day where you know sometimes you come home and you're just exhausted. So you know chip chipping away a little bit at something and then coming back to it. Just don't be a don't be in a rush but don't but you still have to show up. And then in terms of touring, that's a tough one because sometimes you could burn out

1:30:46half half way through a tour. In 2019, we were touring. We had gone out for 4 weeks, came home for eight days, and then we went out for another five weeks. And by the end of that fiveweek one, I was driving into Spain. And then I was like every morning I'd wake up I I felt good for about the first hour and then as I was driving I could not keep my eyes open. They were just shutting. And then Shannon would be like beside me like, "Hey, wake up. Wake up." You know, and it was like, "Oh yeah, I went I went too hard. Just went too far, too hard,

1:31:29too long. And I hit a wall." Like my body was just like, "No, you're going to sleep." like and um so kind of learning how far to take it and and how much to do and how and what not to do. That's always a balance. Staying as stressfree as possible. Some a lot of the things that you worry about, you don't have to worry about. The easier you are, better your body's working, better your mind's working, and the less energy you're burning, and the longer you can do what you like to do. It's really easy to get worked up in the studio and to be

1:32:07stressed out, you know, like, oh, are people going to like this record as much as the last one? And am I saying what I really want to say? Am I being true to this? Like, and you that's when you know, like go go go out, enjoy the weather, and come back, you know? So it's like it's taking that time to to recharge and and that means different activities for different people but taking a step back it's okay. Yeah absolutely. I think that um well maybe it's that incubation period that is where the magic happens you know maybe just that little pause that you need to take.

1:32:48I think so. I know um Kendall was saying like, "Oh, I want to do a lot of riding while I'm on the road." I said, "Well, that's what I used to think when I first started touring." Then I realized when I'm on the road, I need to suck up the experiences and the inspiration from all these different places that I'm at to stoke that fire. So when I go home, then I can uh get it out. because if I'm writing while I'm on the road, I'm interpreting something in real time that's like that um doesn't get to stew and resonate as deeply with me as

1:33:26possible. I think everyone's maybe a little different. Everyone's process is different. Some people are super prolific and kind of found their workflow. Um, for me it's always a challenge because I'm always I'm always trying to scratch claw a little deeper into those feelings, you know. And um I think uh I think just finding finding your workflow and your path and just being easy on yourself. Be easy on yourself. Don't beat yourself up cuz I'm saying that from experience. Like just the other day, I'm beating myself up. I'm thinking like, "Oh man, having a hard time making this work." And then like you come in the next day,

1:34:12you plug in your microphone, and you go, you know, there it is. That's the That's the melody. Holy How did I not not figure that out? You have to sometimes just wait and just just show up and keep trying. But if you're mad at yourself all the time, you can't. How do you work like under that pressure? It's like you can't work. You can't you can't properly in in that type of pressure situation. I don't Yeah, absolutely. I like to think of that inner voice sometimes as like would I say this to my best friend? Probably So, how can I how can I actually speak

1:34:57to myself as I would to a friend? And then it changes everything I think. Yeah. Even like I'm, you know, even producing other artists, I found like when you say like, "Oh, would I say this to a friend?" Like I was just talking with Shannon about it like yesterday, like there's been times in studio where like I'm really I was like really hard on her like no like this, like this, no, like that, you know? And I'm like, where is that coming from? And it's like this projection. I'm like I'm projecting things on her in the situation that really I feel myself and then you know

1:35:37I have to I have to really check myself and then like a apologize and then try and understand the situation for what it is and how I can nurture someone's creative process instead of stifling it. And really it's it's what I do to myself. And a lot of times when I've worked with other people, I feel like there's been like this kind of time crunch or like, "Oh, I have to get this done because I go on tour in two weeks." So, I'm like, "Come on, let's get this done." And it's it's it's led me at times to being a really shitty producer and someone not good to work with.

1:36:15So, I really have tried to connect with an artist on a way that even if even when I do slip into those bad habits, they know that, you know, I support them and and love and are try and I'm just really trying to make what they do the best they can be. And I want them to be happy and to be the best they can be. And sometimes that that means like, yeah, no, I'm not letting you off the hook. until you sing that as good as you can. And it's not and the good is not technical. The good is emotional. The good is connecting to a truth. And I

1:36:55think there's the best way to do that is through love and nurturing. And um that can be forgotten with yourself or with someone you're working with. And you know, life life is pretty high stakes. It's stressful at the best of times. The world's crazy, right? So, I think you have to take that breath and make the effort to better to yourself, to your bandmates, someone you might be producing, to your co-workers, your loved ones, you know, it's just trying to be a better person through through what you're doing. Yeah. I mean, I think that's really awesome that you have that level of self-awareness, too, to be able to kind

1:37:41of take a step back and be like, "Oh, you know, here here is an adjustment." But knowing ultimately that's what, you know, it's like having the higher vision in mind, you know. Because anything I work on, I want to be the best thing. Like any band I've worked with, all I've ever really wanted is for them to have like come out of the experience with like we crushed it. This exceeded my expectations of what I want to say, what I want to do, what makes this record really resonate with people. That's what I want. And it's led me to become overly passionate at times. And

1:38:26it and and what the point I'm trying to make is like I'm the same way to myself you have to learn to let that go and you have to learn to be easy. Shannon's really good at that with her artwork, with her design. She chips away at it and I'm always like, "Oh, it's going too slow." But then like at the end of the day, it's like, "Oh, no. It's exactly the pace it needed to be because the outcome was so brilliant, you know?" I love that you are Oh, sorry. Go ahead. No, no, go ahead. Oh, I I was just going to say that I

1:39:00just I love that it's it's that you've been learning from each other and it's like the experiences and the creativity you've been sharing. It seems like you guys have been able to really grow and learn a lot. I I've been trying to grow. Shannon already I when we first started like working together like I thought like oh I'm her mentor and like this is like going to be a one-way street. Uh it looks like we lost um Jason momentarily. Um thank you all so much for hanging out with us in the meantime. If you have any um more questions um uh we are here for it. Um thank you all so

1:39:48much right now for um sharing your incredible insights and your experiences as well with actors. Um I love that there are people in the chat that have seen um actors in multiple countries. I think that's amazing. um fellow artists as well um who are sharing their perspective of going through artists blocks. Um we'll see we'll we'll give it a couple and see if Jason's able to to jump back on. Okay, I'm back. Sorry about that. Someone Kendall was phoning me and then I was like ah go ahead. Oh. Uh, I think you were talking about um how you at first thought you were going to be mentoring

1:40:36Shannon and that's when you got cut off. Yeah. So, I thought oh like oh it's going to be a one-way street, you know, I'm going to be teaching her about how to do this and do this music and then really like I didn't realize how intelligent she was. Like she I feel like oh my god she's so much smarter than me. um like she's more patient and like kind of takes the proper steps where I'm very much more like just like jumping in and want to do it now, you know? And um so I I feel like really I've learned the most from working with Shannon. And and

1:41:13um I'm still like I'm like as you get older you realize like oh I actually don't know as much as I thought I did. I thought I knew it all in this. And the older I get the more kind of dumb I feel. I'm like oh yeah wild. I thought, you know, I thought I like knew how to handle everything, but I'm like, "Yeah, no, I was being a dick or like I like I got, you know, I yelled at that person." Like sometimes I don't know I raise my voice like I'm 6' three, you know, like and I'm a big dude and like I could be

1:41:46like no this this this listen to me and you know and then like the best way to disarm that someone could just be like oh I I see your point Jason and I'll be like yeah and then I'm like oh well what were you going to say you know but there's that combat of like I want to be heard and that's kind of seeped its way into what I do as a as a producer a little bit and it's embarrassing. So, I really try and be the best producer that I can and best bandmate and and also be better to myself, you know. So, it's always a

1:42:21uh there's a learning there's a growth and and learning that you continue as you as you experience all of it, you Sorry, I went on. um tangents are always welcome in this universe. So, thank you for tangenting. I know. I feel like I'm going to like watch this later and and be like, "Oh, no. I just wouldn't shut up and I'm rambling." It's like um I'm probably getting to the point where I'm like, "Oh, I'm probably like getting a little uh hungry." So, I'm like acting crazier. well, I just It's okay. I don't have to go yet. We can we can answer some questions. Well, um I first of all just want to

1:43:08tell you that um I this is again the inner voice, but you're you're sharing and your what you consider rambling. I can I'm just like I'm like yes and and we want to hear more. Um it's been awesome to hear your your perspective and your wisdom. I think it's amazing. Um, you know, I I I I've um I've been able to experience you um through your music, um through your social media, and having a chance to chat with you and really get to deep dive. Um it's it's a gift. Thank you so much for sharing who you are with us, Jason. Oh, I think we lost your audio. Um I'm

1:43:55not hearing you. Oh, can you hear me? I don't think uh say something real quick. Oh, yeah. You're uh we lost your Still still no. Oh, there you are. Okay. Yes. Yeah, we got you. Yes, I'll get it. Okay, I'm here. I'll figure it out. Yes. All right. Okay, good. Um it it's I was just going to say it's scary. like how much do you share? Uh how much do you share online? How much do you talk online? Like you know I can get like um sometimes I get embarrassed for certain artists that I'm feel like are oversharing or like saying things in earnest that maybe don't

1:44:40always come across as like sincere or something or like they think the audience wants to hear it. I'm like, "Oh my god, I hope I'm not doing that." You know? Um but I like for me what you see is what you get. like I'm like this in person. Um and I think like I just try and be honest on my online presence. You know, so I just Yeah. Sometimes I get scared like, "Oh no, did I overshare and I'm going to see this video and be like, "Oh, Jay, why do you talk about that?" Or, but I guess that's natural. I think everyone might feel those type of

1:45:18Oh, 100%. I completely relate. Um, yeah. You know, I'm a naturally shy person and I'm really introverted. So, sometimes like stepping out of the box for a second, I'm just like, "Was that was that okay to share that? Oh my gosh, I can't believe I just said that." And for other people, it's just normal. They're just like, "Oh, yeah. I totally relate." Um, yeah. Yeah. And so, like I just Well, you don't you do really good at this. You don't seem introverted. you're very well spoken and friendly and so this is good. You're it's nice. Thank you. I appreciate it very much. I um you know I I think for me it's

1:45:58because I I am truly truly passionate live music and um artists that I see just are like just beautiful artists putting out beautiful work in the world and um for me it's a gift to be able to interact in this way. So, um yeah, I really really appreciate the Yeah. Um so, to our friends online, um thank you so much again for for joining us. Oh, uh do you have time for uh one last question, Jason? Oh, are you there? Let's do it. Yeah, of course. Okay. Um how about those pickups on the Oh my god, the pickups. Yeah. Okay. So, I have to Who's asking?

1:46:46Um, this is uh the burning the burning Oh, the is he referring to the green pickups? My slime green pickups But I have so I'm endorsed by Seymour Duncan pickups which is awesome because there are like it's it's another one of those kind of pinch me moments like the people who are endorsed by like Slash from like Guns and Roses and like all these famous people and then it's like Jason Corbett from Actors like how cool is that? Um, so I had those green I had these crazy green like a slime neon green metal pickups um built and sent out for one of my guitars that I was on tour when I saw

1:47:35saw him um out in Europe. But like yeah, I've got I've got some version of that in different colors and like less flashy from Seboard Duncan that I use exclusively. So, it is a bit of a plug, but yes, those green pickups especially are super cool. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, my dear friends, um, thank you so much again for joining us. Um, and thank you to Jason. Um, any any parting words you would like to share with us? Thank you. Um, come out to the shows. We love to see you and like we do see you. People don't know that when I'm on stage, I can

1:48:14actually see everyone. So, if you don't show up, you're in trouble. Um, and uh, hang tight. I know I promised the record this year. It's coming and it's going to be worth it. So, it's going to be next year, but um, I'm hard at work. I'm in the studio right now. So, And thanks for spending time with us. Well, much love everyone. Happy Sunday. Hope you have a wonderful rest of your