Episode 86 features Brian Sutich, the driving force behind Chasing Sound a hub for guitar players and those who want to immerse themselves in the world of guitar.
We discuss his six-string origins, take a tour through his musical and technical journey, geek out about some old technology, and much much more.
Throughout the conversation, we discuss:
- First guitars
- Starting on piano
- Musical influences
- Metalheads
- Metallica
- A trip through our band histories
- Fiddling with recording equipment
- A van tour across the country
- Audio engineering
- Tascam Portastudios
- The School of Audio Engineering
- Physical Tape and Digital Tools
- Rediscovering music
- Maintaining playing chops
- On teaching guitar
- The patience to teach
- A Musician’s collection
- And much more
Mentioned and Helpful Links from This Episode
Music created and provided by Henno Heitur of Monkey Tongue Productions.
–End Show Notes Transmission–
–Begin Transcription–
00:00:00:01 – 00:00:24:54
Agent Palmer
Previously on Agent Palmer dot com. Track by track an in-depth look at Aerosmith’s Nine Lives celebrating the world’s greatest intellectual meshugenah Mel Brooks. And yes, I very much wanted to get my hands on some of that maple syrup. David is farming. This is The Palmer Files, episode 86 with Brian Sutich, the driving force behind Chasing Sound. A hub for guitar players and those who want to immerse themselves in the world of guitar.
00:00:25:03 – 00:01:06:14
Agent Palmer
We discuss his six string origins, take a tour through his musical and technical journeys. Geek out about some old technology and much, much more. Are you ready? Let’s do the show.
00:01:06:19 – 00:01:31:40
Agent Palmer
Hello, and welcome to the Palmer Files. I’m your host, Jason Stershic, also known as Agent Palmer. And on this 86th episode is Brian Sutich. He is many things, but on this episode, you’ll hear us focus on his passion for chasing sound, which is his site and a central hub for all things guitar. We discuss our own playing origins, as well as our transition into the technology of recording from our youth and what we’re doing now.
00:01:31:53 – 00:01:56:35
Agent Palmer
We also cover rediscovering music, audio engineering, being metalheads, a musician’s personal collection of instruments, and more. Plus, having the patience to teach touring across the country in a van. And of course, all of that and a whole lot more is headed your way shortly. But first, you can find all you need to know and sign up for Brian’s newsletter on Chasing sound.com again, that’s chasing sound.com.
00:01:56:45 – 00:02:16:01
Agent Palmer
Don’t forget that all of the other relevant links can be found in the show notes, and you can see all of my writings and rantings on Agent palmer.com. And of course, email can be sent to the Palmer files at gmail.com. So without further ado, let’s tune up.
00:02:16:06 – 00:02:29:39
Agent Palmer
Brian, you teach guitar to the world at large. For those that are interested. But. And we’ll and we may get to that. But my first question for you is simple. What was your first guitar?
00:02:29:43 – 00:02:40:08
Brian Sutich
Well, my first guitar is, was a Squier Strat. So, like the sub brand, what color? It’s in sunburst.
00:02:40:13 – 00:02:51:37
Agent Palmer
Okay. Mine was black, by the way. Oh, nice. Mine was a Squire Strat black, but it wasn’t my first, actually, that was my first guitar. But before that, I actually had a bass.
00:02:51:41 – 00:02:53:53
Brian Sutich
Okay. And you still play?
00:02:53:58 – 00:03:17:43
Agent Palmer
Oh, yeah. Okay. So. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. I still consider myself a player. Right? But I don’t. I don’t practice enough. I think part of it is just because, like, I want to pick up the bass, but then, like, during the height of the pandemic, I got into this big acoustic run. So I was playing my acoustic.
00:03:17:48 – 00:03:26:37
Agent Palmer
I looked like like most players, I collect a lot of things, so I have a few guitars to choose from and I don’t play any of them nearly enough.
00:03:26:42 – 00:03:28:07
Brian Sutich
Fair enough.
00:03:28:12 – 00:03:37:37
Agent Palmer
So anyway, you started with a Squier Strat. I think that’s got to be like the one of the defacto starter kits for you’re going to play guitar.
00:03:37:42 – 00:03:57:01
Brian Sutich
I mean, it probably was. I remember what happened. I was playing piano for a long time, and I just said, you know, to my parents at the time, I’m like, we got to sell this and I want to go to my local Sam Ash and, you know, buy that and an amp, maybe a guitar pedal, because I thought guitar pedals were cool.
00:03:57:01 – 00:04:15:32
Brian Sutich
I still think they’re cool. And, and it’s so funny because that guitar was maybe 200 bucks, you know, maybe with the amp alongside of it and now the neck on it, just because it was played so much when I was a kid is like one of the best necks I’ve ever played. So.
00:04:15:36 – 00:04:19:00
Agent Palmer
Yeah. What kind of piano were you playing?
00:04:19:05 – 00:04:31:35
Brian Sutich
It was up. It was just a little upright piano that we got from a family friend. I don’t even think we ever paid somebody to tune it. It was just something that I had to, you know, kind of warm up and practice on before I took my lessons.
00:04:31:40 – 00:04:36:20
Agent Palmer
Gotcha. Yeah. Do you. Can you still play the piano?
00:04:36:24 – 00:04:40:45
Brian Sutich
I mean, a little bit. It’s not. It’s not as much.
00:04:40:52 – 00:05:11:45
Agent Palmer
It’s the one instrument that I’ve noodled around on that I wish I could actually play. Like. Yeah. It’s good. I, I’m, I like to I’m a good. I think I’m a decent bassist. I’m a I’m a passable rhythm guitarist. I can’t play lead to save my life. And if you get me in the height of, like, been playing acoustic for the last two months, I’m a fairly good acoustic guitarist.
00:05:11:46 – 00:05:29:27
Agent Palmer
My my picking is pretty crap, but rhythm wise, and I, you know, and, you know, high school I started on, like, tenor saxophone and stuff, but. Oh, nice. And I can, I can keep a beat with drums. Right? So, I mean, I’m all over the place, but I look at piano is like the one that got away.
00:05:29:27 – 00:05:32:36
Agent Palmer
I never started it early enough.
00:05:32:41 – 00:05:53:19
Brian Sutich
I find a lot of people that I respect nowadays, like even other teachers who teach guitar, go back to piano to kind of fill in some of the gaps because there’s so many things that are the same about piano and guitar. Like, you know, if you can read guitar clef, you know, you can read the piano for the most, for the most part and so on.
00:05:53:27 – 00:05:59:54
Brian Sutich
Yeah. So yeah, I think it’s something to like kind of go back to every once in a while just to, you know, freshen up on things.
00:06:00:03 – 00:06:09:38
Agent Palmer
So was there a was there a moment where you’re like, all right, I’m, I’m done with the piano. I want to pick up a guitar. Was it was there like a band, like was there.
00:06:09:39 – 00:06:32:10
Brian Sutich
Yeah. There’s always a band. Right? I feel like, you know, I mean, I heard so many different things from my parents growing up, but really, it was Metallica, which, I mean, like, that could be anybody, right? You could be interviewing 100 guys and it would be Metallica. But, it was definitely Kirk Hammett from the band Metallica, because I thought he was such a weird, eccentric guy.
00:06:32:11 – 00:06:45:18
Brian Sutich
He is. And, you know, I just always liked the sound of his guitar. So that’s actually how I started to learn guitar too, is I just tried to learn his riffs. Okay. And, so, yeah, Metallica.
00:06:45:33 – 00:07:15:41
Agent Palmer
I so I, I, I want to get into your band ology because I’m sure you’ve got one. Right. But I, I will quickly state that, the first band I was ever in was I played bass in a classic rock cover band. But the second band I was ever in was a metal band, and that is a band that I, we never played a gig to save our lives, really, ever unlike the classic rock cover band.
00:07:15:45 – 00:07:40:57
Agent Palmer
But the metal band, like kind of endured because a couple of us went to the same college. So like, we endured through that, and it was a group of us kind of around that that were like, quote unquote metalheads. And now I there were a couple of us in the group that were, I don’t want to offend any metalheads out there, but there were a few of us that at the time, as 15, 16 year old, were more well-rounded.
00:07:40:58 – 00:08:03:14
Agent Palmer
You know, we would listen to R.E.M. and U2 and Aerosmith and not just Metallica and like, not just the big four. All right? And but but when you hang out with metalheads, you get to that point where you’re like, well, let’s just put on a year and a half in the life of Metallica, which we have memorized and just keep watching the same documentary over and over again.
00:08:03:14 – 00:08:03:23
Agent Palmer
Right?
00:08:03:23 – 00:08:07:43
Brian Sutich
So like I wore those tapes out, I wore those VHS tapes out.
00:08:07:43 – 00:08:40:01
Agent Palmer
Yes. And when, when, when we first got the DVD version, we were so excited. Right. Because it was like, all right, well, we don’t have to worry about this anymore. But it sounds like you and I had a very similar. Upbringing in, in that regard. Because the one thing I will say for metalheads as and having been around the different bands metalheads are, are they care about the music a little bit more like they read the articles at the time they were reading the magazines, right.
00:08:40:02 – 00:08:42:41
Agent Palmer
It’s it means a little bit more.
00:08:42:46 – 00:09:10:10
Brian Sutich
Your Metal Hammer isn’t everything. No, we’re totally on the same page. And I would listen to them. Yeah, the Metallica, the Megadeth’s all that, but yeah, you know, I always was the type of kid growing up to kind of bounce around to different groups. So I’d be listening to Doctor Dre and all different things. And now, that’s still held on, you know, as an adult, where I’ll listen to I’ll try to find the good in everything, whether that be country, rock, metal, blues, anything.
00:09:10:14 – 00:09:14:42
Brian Sutich
So and I’m happy I did, because it leads to cool things on an instrument.
00:09:14:57 – 00:09:33:41
Agent Palmer
No, that’s fair to do. You. So let’s let’s do the band, band, band, band stuff first. I’m going to go. I’m just going to go one for one with you. Right. So my first band was the classic rock cover band. And I played bass in it. So what was your first band?
00:09:33:46 – 00:09:59:42
Brian Sutich
I mean, there’s there was a lot of bands that I was like, in and out of, okay, as a kid. But my first real band that did anything or like, actually went on a tour was a band called Fake Knife. Okay. It was a it was a punk band in the vein of Fat record style bands, which are, you know, like a West Coast punk label, like No Effects Strung Out.
00:09:59:42 – 00:10:12:31
Brian Sutich
Yeah, those type of punk bands. Lag Wagon, so yeah, that was my real first band, where we ran across across the country a couple times as kids. We like, got kicked out of states. Okay.
00:10:12:37 – 00:10:42:28
Agent Palmer
I’m sorry. No, my, my my classic rock cover band. I don’t think I ever left within a 30 minute drive. The metal band only ever played at the college. I was in a, I don’t know what you’d call it. I was in a two man cover band. But it was the two Jasons. So I was playing lead guitar on my aforementioned Squier Strat, and my roommate at the time, also named Jason, played drums.
00:10:42:33 – 00:10:51:46
Agent Palmer
And we would play whatever we could make sound decent on campus with just a guitar and drums.
00:10:51:50 – 00:10:54:14
Brian Sutich
It’s like, the early White Stripes.
00:10:54:14 – 00:11:12:53
Agent Palmer
Some of that. But we also did some, you know, like some Green Day stuff, where if you, if, if, if you, if you look back then I could hold a note. I don’t think I can anymore, but like, if you can sing, you can make people forget that the thickness that would be Trey on bass is gone.
00:11:12:53 – 00:11:48:40
Agent Palmer
Right. And, you know, some Ramones stuff and that kind of stuff. I mean, the best thing we did, because I can say this, the best thing we did was my drummer could do the worst, best British accent you’ve ever heard. And he sang, God Save the Queen. And I just played it, and it’s so good. It’s not just because I only had to play it like he just, he it like the song itself is a caricature and he could embody that caricature on such a level.
00:11:48:47 – 00:11:50:00
Agent Palmer
It was wonderful.
00:11:50:04 – 00:11:52:08
Brian Sutich
That sounds awesome. That’s very cool.
00:11:52:14 – 00:12:14:53
Agent Palmer
But I was never at a at that point in my quote unquote musical journey. I was fiddling more with mixers and like recording, and I had gotten away from the writing end and I was just like, look, I never used any of those skills till I started the podcast, by the way. Like, those skills were very wasted on me back then.
00:12:14:53 – 00:12:27:36
Agent Palmer
But like, I, I realized that I had reached my limit. And when I say that I played a lot over the last bit, like I still know what my high end is, right?
00:12:27:50 – 00:12:30:09
Brian Sutich
Sure.
00:12:30:14 – 00:12:44:50
Agent Palmer
When you are touring around, are you, you know, writing or you get, you know, you’re like, you know, you’re living the lifestyle. You’re this is the lifestyle we all envisioned when we first pick up the guitar, whether we get there or not.
00:12:44:55 – 00:13:06:05
Brian Sutich
Yeah. I mean, with that first band, really, it was we we started with a van that we bought at some used place. And I mean, it was a lot of nights in the van. And, I mean, I could tell you, I could we can be on a whole podcast just about that band alone where, one of the one of the other bands, it was two bands in the same van.
00:13:06:10 – 00:13:07:54
Brian Sutich
So. And all our gear.
00:13:07:58 – 00:13:11:07
Agent Palmer
Are they are really are they both three pieces?
00:13:11:12 – 00:13:30:05
Brian Sutich
They’re ones a four piece and one, two, three. Yeah, I can imagine. Yeah. One of the guys, I think, you know, used to work. It used to be a sales guy for Bally’s, the gym. So we would get a nice shower every once in a while. But there was lots of times where we’d be, like, sleeping in the van or, you know, sleeping on a basement at somebody’s house.
00:13:30:05 – 00:13:37:22
Brian Sutich
And, you know, looking back, though, I wouldn’t have treated that like, I would love to go back to that as an adult. It was fun.
00:13:37:27 – 00:13:58:42
Agent Palmer
Yeah. No, I, I, I’ve talked to a few people that like, occasional will be like, okay, I went on tour in my teens or my early 20s and you’re like, I nobody ever wants to like as as bad as it always looks in hindsight. The basements, the sleeping in the van, the not having a play, you know, where, you know, to quote the Metallica sort of the ham sandwiches, right?
00:13:58:53 – 00:14:04:06
Agent Palmer
Yeah. Ham on your, you know, the like no one ever wants to trade that.
00:14:04:06 – 00:14:24:29
Brian Sutich
No. It was a blast. And we’ll have stories forever. And, you know, a lot of the shows were like, just to get the gas money to get to the next state. We got kicked out of Las Vegas at one point, had to drive overnight to California. There was it was it was a wild time. But it’s funny that you say, about all the recording stuff too, because.
00:14:24:29 – 00:14:41:50
Brian Sutich
Yeah, I mean, I have a lot of stories there too, where it seems like our paths crossed a lot. You know, I’ve played a lot of music, but then at some point, no one in the band was recording us, and I was like, man, that I’m always a computer guy. So I geeked out about that a lot, and I became a recording engineer as well.
00:14:41:55 – 00:14:48:43
Agent Palmer
What was the did you have, do you have like a first memory of, like your first, like, tech piece geeking out?
00:14:48:43 – 00:14:55:23
Brian Sutich
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I can think of I think the first thing I had was probably like a little Tascam Porta studio. Yeah.
00:14:55:23 – 00:15:23:51
Agent Palmer
And then how many tracks? Maybe four, because I had two of them. Right? I had the super tiny one that was the four track. And then I had the eight track one, which was still kind of like, like in in, in the world in which you and I podcast. Right, and put out, you know, videos and all that stuff where we’re working with GarageBand or audition or even audacity, where we can deal with multiple tracks.
00:15:23:51 – 00:15:36:35
Agent Palmer
Right. The Porta studio, whether it was the four track or the eight track, you had that many tracks, and then if you wanted more, you had to move them all down and condense them into one and nothing could get changed again.
00:15:36:35 – 00:16:04:08
Brian Sutich
Be sure. Yeah, sure. You were happy. I mean, yeah, it’s so funny. I kind of I remember going from that to, to Roland VST eight 80s, which were like the digital version of that. Yeah. Get getting like eight tracks. And then everyone started to get into this machine called the eight at which like, if you, you know, even if you’re not a musician, looked like a VCR record on VCR style tapes and it was, you know, equally as crazy as, as you can imagine.
00:16:04:08 – 00:16:06:49
Brian Sutich
But yeah, wild stuff, man, I.
00:16:06:54 – 00:16:26:47
Agent Palmer
I, I will admit, I think there in my house there might be 1 or 2 old un unmasked with like, Tascam tapes, like, I don’t know what happened to the actual hardware, but I’m pretty sure I could get a cassette player, put it into this and speed it up to the whatever it needs to and hear what’s on there.
00:16:26:47 – 00:16:30:41
Agent Palmer
But there’s also a part of me there’s like, leave it on the cassette. I don’t the.
00:16:30:41 – 00:16:31:30
Brian Sutich
Archives.
00:16:31:35 – 00:16:58:10
Agent Palmer
It’s just it’s just like, so, I, I battled with it, right? Like, I, my life took a lot of turns, but there was a point early in high school where it was like, I was seriously talking to my then music teacher about where he went to college, because I was going to go into higher education for sound engineering.
00:16:58:21 – 00:17:23:08
Agent Palmer
Now, didn’t actually go that way. A lot of things happened in between those conversations. And when I went to college, but like, that was, I don’t know, I made a decision. 14 year, 15 year old me made a decision that, like, I’m going to keep playing in bands, but if I’m going to do the rock star thing, I’m clearly going to be on the other side of the glass, as it were.
00:17:23:13 – 00:17:36:28
Agent Palmer
Where are you in this journey? Right. Like you’re playing in bands. You’ve played in bands. You were geeking out over technology. Was there like, did you hold out hope that you were going to be able to make it on the band side? Was there?
00:17:36:33 – 00:18:09:03
Brian Sutich
Yeah, there was one other band, I mean, probably one other bigger band, that we did, which was like a pop rock band with one of the other guys from from Fake Knife and, two other guys. And the funny thing is, the singer of that band was the son of Scott, the engineer from Howard Stern. Okay. So we got to, go at go to serious and record a little bit and kind of head into Howard Studio and everything on the weekend while he wasn’t there.
00:18:09:15 – 00:18:28:19
Brian Sutich
Check everything out. And, and that was really good. It was a really fun pop rock band, you know, we had a lot of fun, played a couple shows, didn’t really tour, but, yeah, at that point things just got so crazy because, like, you know, you like, see a little bit of, like, maybe what could be at that level because you start to get a connection here.
00:18:28:19 – 00:18:48:31
Brian Sutich
Like, that was a nice connection to have. Yeah. But then, it just got so there was so much politics at the end that I kind of, for a while, kind of just got fed up with music as a whole. Like, I wasn’t happy doing music anymore, which kind of like led me to go back to recording.
00:18:48:31 – 00:19:10:04
Brian Sutich
And I did go to I did go end up going to school for it. I went to, the School of Audio Engineering, which is used to be across the street from the Port Authority in New York City. And, and yeah, it was it was a blast. I mean, recording on tape, recording on Pro Tools, and it there’s a lot of stories that came from that, too.
00:19:10:09 – 00:19:21:45
Brian Sutich
A lot of, studios and in and around the city that I got to intern at after the fact, like, for real bands, you know, finally. Yeah. Yeah, it was it was a lot of fun.
00:19:21:59 – 00:19:32:59
Agent Palmer
Do you? A lot of fun. So you would have been the last generation to to to kind of learn about the physical and the digital tools. Right.
00:19:32:59 – 00:19:51:49
Brian Sutich
Like I have to imagine I because I remember we started off real easy, like before we even got into Pro Tools, the recording software, they did have us with a couple of reel to reel cutting tape with a razor blade, and taping it together to really edit it, and I don’t I can’t imagine they do that anymore.
00:19:51:49 – 00:19:54:18
Brian Sutich
I can’t imagine they would I, I mean.
00:19:54:23 – 00:20:28:05
Agent Palmer
Yeah, it it, I mean, I, I think it’s, like, I like to think of it as, like, I never got to do that myself, but I, I, I have a story with, you know, when I went to camp, right. Or like in middle school where, like, if you were one of the photography kids, you learned how to actually develop film and and you put it in, you know, and like, I still probably can smell what those chemicals are even, like so many years down the road.
00:20:28:10 – 00:20:49:00
Agent Palmer
None of that’s relevant anymore. I can’t imagine there’s photographers out there outside of ones that want to do it. The old way that get taught like this is how you develop it and expose it the proper way. But there’s something to be said for having that knowledge, right? Because you know, I, I don’t take any of this stuff for granted.
00:20:49:00 – 00:20:49:21
Agent Palmer
Right.
00:20:49:21 – 00:20:50:02
Brian Sutich
Like, yeah.
00:20:50:10 – 00:21:01:35
Agent Palmer
Even just my experience with the Tascam and cassettes makes me so happy that there’s an undo button right?
00:21:01:40 – 00:21:20:50
Brian Sutich
Now, I mean, it’s it’s wild. And, even with the guitar stuff, you know, I, I run a little discord where we kind of, like, geek out every day about guitar stuff, and it’s so funny, like, we’re always posting videos in there. I remember, I’m not sure if you know the podcaster Dan Benjamin. He’s run, he runs the five by five Podcast Network.
00:21:20:55 – 00:21:35:11
Brian Sutich
He, I was talking to him one time about guitar and I said, hey, I put out a weekly newsletter about guitar. And he’s like, is there that much to talk about? And it’s like, there actually is. I mean, you’d be surprised how many people come out with those types of videos every week and how many posts are.
00:21:35:11 – 00:21:40:40
Brian Sutich
So if I had that growing up, I mean, I would have been in my glory, you know, with that type of stuff. Yeah.
00:21:40:40 – 00:22:08:32
Agent Palmer
It feels like, as much as the world got smaller, we’re we’re all just as connected as we were back then. And I think for some of us, it just, it maintained right. The magazines have given way to newsletters and blogs and the internet at large. But, you know, we’re still connected with, oh, like what? What’s so and so like so-and-so has got a new album out.
00:22:08:32 – 00:22:36:03
Agent Palmer
What are what are they using on it? Right. Like what pedals, what new amps, what new guitars are they using? What old guitars are they using? Right. Like there’s all this stuff. And to me, I think the high point was, and I’ve fallen out of music. I’ll, I’ll admit that I’ve doubled down on what I grew up with, I guess, over the last decade.
00:22:36:03 – 00:23:03:08
Agent Palmer
So, most of my music knowledge stops in the early aughts. For better or worse. You know, that’s that’s where it kind of started. You know, it’s fine. I mean, some there’s some newer stuff to tweaked in, but, but I remember, Saint Anger, Oh, yeah. Because for me, look, I, I’m a if Metallica is up there for me.
00:23:03:08 – 00:23:33:12
Agent Palmer
Sure. But I think growing up and in hindsight, the two big bands for me were guns N Roses and Aerosmith. Well, guns N roses is it was no more by the time I was in my formative years. Right. And Aerosmith has has always done stuff, but they’ve never done it the way that when Saint Anger came out, the internet existed and we were hearing like, things getting leaked, whether they were on purpose or not.
00:23:33:12 – 00:23:49:38
Agent Palmer
And like we were, we we got sneak peeks of certain things. Right? And, the just the pulling back the curtain, even for a guy that watched those documentaries about the making of the The Black Album, like it was so weird to see it in real time.
00:23:49:43 – 00:24:25:47
Brian Sutich
Yeah, I think that’s, you know, that’s one of the craziest things about bands right now is that, like, it seems like so many, so much power has been given back to the artists. And I just I’m interested to see where that goes with, you know, with a lot of these bands because, you know, whether it be TikTok or whether it be somebody just, you know, putting up their songs on Bandcamp, you know, I’m even a fan of, I don’t if you ever heard this band Wolfpack, they have, the kind of like a, like a funky, funky jazz sort of band that’s that’s came out of, over the last couple
00:24:25:47 – 00:24:38:34
Brian Sutich
of years. This is a band that, like, you know, had no real label promotions, kind of doing everything on their own. Played Madison Square Garden like a year or two ago. It was, you know, it’s wild. So yeah, it’s exciting times for that.
00:24:38:39 – 00:24:58:28
Agent Palmer
I pay attention enough, I think, to kind of keep an eye on things, but I’m just, I, I rely on friends to tell me, you need to listen to this at this point. Like I’m not a person. That and some of those friends are people that listen to what’s new on Spotify every week. You know, and those are good friends to have.
00:24:58:33 – 00:25:16:57
Agent Palmer
But for me, I still listen to, like, the old stuff and the stuff I grew up with, mainly because, well, know some of that stuff I still want to play and you forget about it, and then you’re like, oh, maybe I should pick up that. I, you know, I haven’t picked up my acoustic guitar in like a month, so maybe I should or like, oh no, I haven’t picked up my bass in a while.
00:25:16:57 – 00:25:54:02
Agent Palmer
Like, maybe it’s time to, And usually it’s because I’m listening to that older stuff that’s like, oh, shit. Like the number one thing for me that will always remind me about my bass playing. And it’s hard to like. I still consider myself a bass player first, but if if I hear Grand Funk American band, if I hear cars down on the corner, or or even Fortunate Son or, skinheads, Sweet Home Alabama, these are those songs that I played at that first gig, right?
00:25:54:02 – 00:26:13:50
Agent Palmer
Like that first where? In front of people and I. I cannot be removed from my bass for that long because I just listed songs that I will never go more than a month without hearing. Right. And I hear them and I go, yeah, I haven’t picked up my bass in a couple of weeks, like, what am I like?
00:26:14:03 – 00:26:30:38
Agent Palmer
Let’s get back to that. That’s fun. But I will admit, there have been years where it just sat collecting dust. And the same goes for most of my quote unquote, collection of instruments. How have you maintained, playing status? Throughout the years?
00:26:30:43 – 00:26:51:37
Brian Sutich
You know, like after that one band, I kind of stopped for a little while and like I said, I went I went over to the recording side and then, somewhere in the middle of that, I started working at a music store just selling recording gear. Okay. And then, you know, then I started to get kind of turned off by all the gear because it’s like seeing it every day.
00:26:51:41 – 00:27:11:07
Brian Sutich
But I did still want to get back to playing, and I did. And now now, because I do so much teaching, both online and like with students, I feel like I’m always learning all the time. So, yeah, I try, I try to practice as much as possible, you know, throughout the week. So, yeah, it’s it’s gotten easier for me.
00:27:11:16 – 00:27:33:18
Brian Sutich
I do have a question for you, though, because, you know, you kind of reminded me about getting back to all the old songs. You know, I’m kind of doing it with an app right now. Just recently in the last couple of months called Music Box, where you can, like, you know, filter stuff, filter albums and tag them with, like, you know, I have to get back to this or this is something somebody recommended to me.
00:27:33:23 – 00:27:40:13
Brian Sutich
You have any sort of system for like getting back to, you know, rediscovering music that you haven’t listened to in a while.
00:27:40:18 – 00:28:10:06
Agent Palmer
I mean, so, I mean, it’s it’s for me, it’s really three, probably four fold. If I’m interested, actively interested in learning or busting up the chops again, I do have downloaded guitar tabs from the last couple decades. And so that’s an easy place to go, right? Because I’m looking through and most of the ones I saved were ones that I learned.
00:28:10:11 – 00:28:44:32
Agent Palmer
Right. And they’re just refreshers, like, oh, I forgot what key this was in or what have you. So that’s one. But the other three are my actual personal library. Look, I’ll come clean, all right? The statute’s up. I was part of the LimeWire, Kazaa, Napster generation. So I have a digital library that I have kept for decades now, and that has some of that stuff.
00:28:44:32 – 00:29:02:24
Agent Palmer
And it you know, most of it’s still organized as it would have been back in the Kazaa LimeWire days. But I do have a folder called like guitar and bass, where it’s like, this is just the stuff I was either playing along to or learning or exercises or what. And so those are the two like nostalgic ways to do it.
00:29:02:29 – 00:29:37:42
Agent Palmer
But I also have Spotify and Amazon Prime Music, where I have playlists on both. And for me, really, it’s it’s a it’s almost like a, a club with a doorman. Right. Like I have a list that’s like, maybe. And then I have a list that’s like, oh, if you want to just pick up the bass or guitar and jam out, you put on this one because you know most of it, right?
00:29:37:42 – 00:29:57:25
Agent Palmer
And you, in order to get in the door, like, if I hear a song that I’m like, I think I want to learn to play that awesome. It goes on the it stands in line with the door man. It doesn’t get passed. And, and and in that regard, I have, you know, a playlist for bass, two playlist for guitar, one for electric, one for acoustic.
00:29:57:25 – 00:30:15:17
Agent Palmer
And I have a drums playlist. Because what look, in my heyday of the recording back as a 14 year old or whatever with the Tascam Porta Studios, I had a drum set in my house. I’m not a drummer, but I had a drum set in my house and I could I could layer things myself, and that went away.
00:30:15:17 – 00:30:35:11
Agent Palmer
And then a few years ago, I bought myself a cheap like electric kit just because I wanted to see if I could still keep a beat. Right? Like it’s something fun. So I have all these playlists and and really, I think the algorithms are good enough that all of those playlists have a start radio based on the playlist option.
00:30:35:23 – 00:30:58:48
Agent Palmer
So you know, if I’m doing yard work and I plan on playing guitar later, I will literally go, all right, I’m playing. I’m picking up my acoustic after this afternoon, I’m going to hit radio on the acoustic playlist of what I know and see what pops up. And some of it’s crazy. And on unrelated or at least above my skill level or whatever.
00:30:58:48 – 00:31:24:56
Agent Palmer
And some of it’s just like, oh, that goes in line, right? And that’s that’s kind of how I do it. It’s this isn’t like the nicest thing to admit. It’s helped that I’ve stopped listening to podcasts because it means I’m listening to more music. I can’t you can’t do both. Yeah. And so, the more music I listen to, the more I want to pick up those instruments around me.
00:31:24:56 – 00:31:47:53
Agent Palmer
And I look back, at least in the last decade of, like, when I was farthest away from the fretboard. And it was when I was listening to the podcast all the time. Right? I just wasn’t hearing music. But those are my ways. I mean, I’ve got the actual tabs, the the, the quote unquote physical music I’ve got on hard drives laying around my house and then the, the, the playlists on the various, platforms.
00:31:47:53 – 00:32:15:31
Agent Palmer
That’s kind of how it goes. And then, you know, I think I’m always attuned to it. Like, I think I’m always listening for it. As an example, I was, co-host on our liner notes for a very long time, which is a music show that discusses albums, and the main host there, Chris Meyer, introduced me to, like, probably one of the best Canadian bands of all time, The Tragically Hip and I.
00:32:15:31 – 00:32:47:37
Agent Palmer
Yeah, I fell in love with the hip and I, you know, if that’s an example. I mean, look, the music’s older, so I can’t say like, my music knowledge really still stops in the early aughts because some of the stuff I loved of theirs is like their older stuff. But I have found newer bands. Right. And so they there were some songs that just immediately I went, I really want to learn how to play that onto the playlist, you know, into the waiting list it goes, so I can learn it and put it on so if you’re listening to music, I think it’s always out there.
00:32:47:37 – 00:33:07:28
Agent Palmer
But, you know, it’s either collecting the tabs because you can physically see where you’re at, or it’s the playlists and stuff. And I like I said, I think the algorithms are really good. Like these are the five, you know, it always starts small when you you’re on these services. But like, here’s ten songs I can play on bass.
00:33:07:33 – 00:33:37:21
Agent Palmer
Yeah. You know, hit the thing you know, obviously not all of the bass playing is not always what will connect in the algorithm. But but you’ll still hear that stuff. Right. So it’s I don’t know. It’s it’s kind of there that it, that it is, but it’s, it’s, it’s tough I’ll admit it’s tough. And and the other part is, a couple of years ago, for my buddy’s birthday, he was, streaming on Twitch a lot more then than he is now.
00:33:37:25 – 00:34:00:20
Agent Palmer
And he’s like, dude, I want to do a concert for my birthday on Twitch. And I was like, it’s a month away. But, I mean, if you give me a list of songs, I will, I will, I will give you a list I can play and I will try. And so we had a concert on Twitch and, and that that was a way to like for me, he’s like, I want to play these songs.
00:34:00:20 – 00:34:00:46
Agent Palmer
So I was like, all.
00:34:00:46 – 00:34:01:44
Brian Sutich
Right, well.
00:34:01:49 – 00:34:23:08
Agent Palmer
Some of these I can play some of these, I can’t. But it’s like, all right, fair enough. And we used to play in the dorm room. That was just kind of like blowing off steam and stuff. So some of that is like friends forcing you into it, even though it’s not really like a it’s not even like a side hustle, like we’re not playing at the bar or anything, but like as a one time thing, I know he’ll I know if he streams again, he’ll want to do this again.
00:34:23:08 – 00:34:41:38
Agent Palmer
So I’m sure there’ll be another list. But, I think that’s the that’s how I do it, you know, like, it’s not not really great. It’s kind of all over the place. But then again, I just listed a few instruments. I’m not exactly together when it comes to that.
00:34:41:43 – 00:35:10:14
Brian Sutich
Yeah. I there’s there’s so much there I think with older music I’m still pretty set because I remember playing those songs growing up and I there’s there’ll be something I’ll be in the mood for. Yeah. So I’ve been doing it through there and then, there’s, there’s just so much new music coming out that it’s hard to keep up sometimes because I’ll, I’ll put I’ll put some albums in this, this app of mine and I’m like, okay, you know, I only have so much time.
00:35:10:14 – 00:35:25:28
Brian Sutich
And I do like you said, I do have to kind of wait it between am I going to listen to some podcast this week? Am I going to listen to like, I’m almost listening to some podcasts at like speed and a half just to get through some of them because like, I want to I want to get back some of my time, but but yeah, it’s it’s kind of tough.
00:35:25:28 – 00:35:27:30
Brian Sutich
It’s kind of tough. There’s a lot of good music out right now.
00:35:27:30 – 00:35:47:55
Agent Palmer
And I got to tell you, as a as a teacher of guitar, you will appreciate this. I had some fun picking up my acoustic and just noodling around for a while, and there was a point where for like 4 or 5 months, I would just pick up my acoustic, right? That was it. That was the only thing I was picking up.
00:35:48:07 – 00:36:14:21
Agent Palmer
And, somewhere in there I went, oh, it’s time to challenge myself. And and so you go, all right, well, what’s what’s the next step for wherever I happened to be, right. And we’re all at different levels, and I don’t claim to be an expert player. But for me, the next level, I thought was, of challenge was Dylan.
00:36:14:26 – 00:36:38:30
Agent Palmer
Because I can play the chords, I can I can play the chords, but getting the rhythm down is so hard. And I got to a point where maybe a month in, I could play like five Dylan songs in rhythm, but then, you know, it’s like, I haven’t picked up my bass in a while. I moved to bass. But, fast forward a month later, right?
00:36:38:30 – 00:36:57:23
Agent Palmer
I haven’t picked up my my acoustic in a month, and I pick up these songs that I, I had known how to play in Rhythm a month ago, and I went, I just can’t find the beat anymore. Yeah. And and I, I don’t know. And this is where I, I almost feel like, okay, you’re a teacher of of instruments.
00:36:57:23 – 00:37:15:53
Agent Palmer
Like, is it like, do I need I don’t I look I don’t want to say like, more, structure, but do I need more structure? Like, do I need to be like, all right. No. Like, don’t go a month without picking up the acoustic, like, pick it up, you know, pick it up more. Because that’s the thing.
00:37:15:53 – 00:37:22:40
Agent Palmer
Like when I jump around from instruments, that’s when I get the rusty iest on whatever I’m leaving behind.
00:37:22:44 – 00:37:43:36
Brian Sutich
I think. Yeah, I mean, I that’s what I find with a lot of students is that they’ll do one of two things. They leave their practice a bunch and then put it up, put it down for even like a week or two. They won’t practice or they’ll save all their practice to, like, Sunday. And I’m like, you know, rather than having practiced even, like, 30 minutes a day, right?
00:37:43:43 – 00:38:05:41
Brian Sutich
You know, and, I think that’s that’s one of the best things I’ve done throughout my whole teaching career is just teach from songs. You know, I’ll always try to get, like, a good, good idea of what, the student really likes. You know, what bands they like and like any songs or chords that have caught their ear and then just teach them the technique through that.
00:38:05:41 – 00:38:23:20
Brian Sutich
Because I grew up learning through so many different books that were, you know, kind of boring. Yeah, to say the least. So, so, you know, that’s why I think I kind of moved to Metallica so early because I was like, man, I really want to get this. And even if I can’t play it great right away, at least I’m learning something that I want to listen to.
00:38:23:20 – 00:38:46:33
Brian Sutich
So what I would suggest is, and when I tell a lot of students is try to learn a couple things a day, like if, if you’re going to work on like, technique, like hammer ons and pull offs and, you know, alternate picking and then work on, like, learning songs and then work on maybe sight reading, then the next day, you know, shake it up a little bit, but never go.
00:38:46:38 – 00:39:08:59
Brian Sutich
Try not to go two days without, try not to go two days with repeating the same thing. Or like always, always have something back in the mix. Like, you know, I’m not a weightlifter by it, as you can see on video here, but I’m not a weightlifter by anything. But you have to, like, kind of train your muscles to, you have to, outsmart your muscles, in regards to music, to always keep it fresh and, and exciting.
00:39:08:59 – 00:39:11:41
Brian Sutich
And I think that’s how you save your progress, so to speak.
00:39:11:41 – 00:39:38:20
Agent Palmer
Yeah, I, I, I think for me, the biggest one and this is very snobbish. Okay. And I’ll admit it. Right. And I think part of it is because, well, while guns N roses was one of those bands that really, like, spoke to me, it was Aerosmith and Metallica first. So I picked up the bass with fingers.
00:39:38:25 – 00:40:05:58
Agent Palmer
Right. And I can play with a pick when I need to, and there’s some guns N roses stuff that Duff does that doesn’t sound right. Like one of my favorite bass riffs of all time is rocket Queen. Off of appetite? You need a pick for that. You can’t play that with fingers, but if I go any more than two weeks, my calluses go away and I pick it up like nothing and I go, all right, it’s time to play again.
00:40:06:03 – 00:40:18:49
Agent Palmer
And like 15 minutes later, oh, my finger hurts again. And I, I know that’s on me like that again. It’s what you’re saying like don’t go too long. Don’t wait too long.
00:40:18:54 – 00:40:38:39
Brian Sutich
I’ve, I’ve, you know, it was a little scary. I’m getting older now. I’m 40 now, but I, I, you know, remember coming back from vacation last year and then wanting to get back to guitar so bad because I didn’t bring one with me and like, for the longest tour, like a month, my pinky it just injuring my pinky, just being just playing, you know.
00:40:38:39 – 00:40:48:06
Brian Sutich
And like every time I would press down with it, it gave like a little like electric shock. And I was like, oh boy, is this the end of my playing? And then it finally sorted itself out. But it was a scary time for me.
00:40:48:13 – 00:41:13:29
Agent Palmer
All right. So I have to ask you this. And as a teacher, you’ll hate this. Okay, but I was a cell, I was. Look, I’m a self-taught guy, all right? So I don’t. My my pinky is on my fret hand is the worst thing ever, right? I don’t use it pretty much. That’s basically what I’ll tell you.
00:41:13:29 – 00:41:40:58
Agent Palmer
I don’t use it when I play bass. I sometimes use it, but when it comes to guitar, I just don’t use my pinky. And, it’s weird because I don’t really have prop. There are certain chords that I just always have to cheese. All right, B7 as a guy who never uses his pinky is a chord. I always play as a B, just that’s I’ve come to terms with that.
00:41:40:58 – 00:42:11:01
Agent Palmer
That’s fine. Right. But I’m also a self-taught guy. That was like jumping too deep in too fast. So I, I when I was picking up guitar at that time when like guns N roses is speaking to me. So I want to learn to play patience because it’s the only real acoustic song you can get away with playing. And so I know how to play a DF sharp, and, you know, in with like, all these other things, but like, ask me to play a B7 and I’m out, right?
00:42:11:01 – 00:42:28:50
Agent Palmer
Like, so it’s I, I, I’ve come to terms with that. I think I can play fairly well considering the handicap and I look I’ve tried. Right? I know the exercises, I know what I’m supposed to do, but then when I get in the groove, my pinky goes away immediately. Just like what.
00:42:28:55 – 00:42:43:13
Brian Sutich
I think I’m going to I’m going to give you. I’m not going to chastise you on this one. I’m going to give you a little bit of advice here on this one. Sure. That’s that’s going to be good. I, I’ve been, you know, over the last couple of years, I’ve been really getting into this guitar player called Ariel Posen.
00:42:43:13 – 00:43:15:58
Brian Sutich
He’s from Canada. Really incredible slide guitar player. He’s he’s amazing. Puts out a couple different albums that are all good. And I was taking one of his courses all about triads. And, you know, he made the case that playing these smaller chords higher up on the neck, you know, three note chords, maybe on the Gbbn strings are is so much more effective while in a band setting, while you got somebody playing bass and kind of filling that in.
00:43:15:58 – 00:43:39:00
Brian Sutich
And, you know, from a production standpoint, it’s true. I mean, it’s a much fuller sound because if you’re playing these big six string chords, whether that be B7, whether that be a just a regular bar chord, you kind of clashing sonically with the bass player and you know, it’s true. You know, if you got it, you got to make it as an engineer and even live, you gotta like make those holes for everybody to shine.
00:43:39:04 – 00:43:44:32
Brian Sutich
So yeah, I’m gonna say, you know, you can play your cards with just three fingers and it’s all right. Yeah.
00:43:44:46 – 00:44:05:47
Agent Palmer
All right, all right, I like it, I like, I mean, I, I feel like you probably deal with, how many people have, like, come to you as, I’m coming back to it. I mean, I’m sure you get, like, I want to learn guitar for the first time, but do you get a lot of people that are like, I’m picked it up in forever, and I want to.
00:44:05:52 – 00:44:37:58
Brian Sutich
There’s a lot of those guys. And I teach guitar and I teach recording stuff, so it’s a lot of guys getting there. Yeah, getting a guitar again in my in as a 40 year old or older or it’s a guy, you know, getting his first GarageBand rig, just wanting to record stuff. There’s so many different things. And I think that’s like one of the biggest things I’ve had to navigate in the last bunch of years is just understanding, you know, I love all sorts of, you know, instrumental rock, whether it be like Steve or Joe Satriani.
00:44:38:03 – 00:44:55:32
Brian Sutich
I love listening to that, but not everyone does. There’s so many people that are like, I want to sit around my couch, play songs on my acoustic because that makes me feel good. So I gotta always adjust, you know, my teaching style based on what they want to do and every, every effort is valid at that point.
00:44:55:35 – 00:45:23:58
Agent Palmer
So I want to ask you this, and I, I, I’m not asking for horror stories, but I do want to know where do you get the patience. Right. Because like I, I know that teaching anybody anything is not easy like period the end. But when it comes to instrumentation of any kind, whether it be the recording software or like an actual guitar, that’s not easy.
00:45:23:58 – 00:45:45:44
Brian Sutich
Yeah. I think, just because I’ve kind of been in some sort of customer service type of job my entire life for my, for my day job that I’ve kind of learn how to deal with. So many different personalities. And when it comes to guitar or recording, I just always try to put myself in their shoes and get excited like I’m.
00:45:45:50 – 00:46:08:03
Brian Sutich
I’m always the personality type to get excited to share something with somebody. Sure. You know, almost to a fault sometimes, but, but yeah, I get excited, like, you know, it’s so funny what people, like, lose their mind about, like, check out this cool delay or reverb I put on your drums and, like, people lose their mind. And it’s like I try to feed off that, you know, like the little wins here and there.
00:46:08:03 – 00:46:11:18
Brian Sutich
And I think that’s what’s kept me patient over the last bunch of years.
00:46:11:23 – 00:46:29:06
Agent Palmer
Now, you you I would be remiss if I didn’t ask about the website, because you’re also putting out articles and it’s not just the newsletter, and it’s like you’re creating content in addition to all of the teaching aspect of of chasing sound.
00:46:29:11 – 00:46:31:01
Brian Sutich
Yeah.
00:46:31:06 – 00:46:43:10
Agent Palmer
Have you I don’t know, is, is is the creation process, a struggle? Has it been, you know, fun? Has it been a balance of both?
00:46:43:14 – 00:47:06:23
Brian Sutich
I think the craziest thing, and I haven’t really said it anywhere, yet, was that the website has been tough over, like, the last bunch of years. The only thing that’s been a constant since maybe 2016. Now, has been the newsletter. It’s gone out every single Sunday for years. I just moved over to Substack, platform, which has been a blast.
00:47:06:23 – 00:47:30:34
Brian Sutich
It’s so good. But, you know, before that I was with a bunch of different email providers, the website, you know, I just had to stick to one thing because I have a day job, I have two kids. So it’s it’s tough. You know, it’s been tough. So over the last couple years I’ve been really trying to focus on getting the newsletter out every week and trying to do YouTube videos where I can because, like, that’s what I’ve been having the most fun with.
00:47:30:35 – 00:47:53:10
Brian Sutich
Sure. And I see, like, you know, I always try to see like where the community is. And for guitar players, you know, a lot of it’s on YouTube right now. And the creation side of it comes from what I’ve been teaching to my students, you know, if they keep, you know, reaching out to me over a certain topic, I’m like, well, you know, I gotta make a video on this.
00:47:53:11 – 00:47:58:52
Brian Sutich
Okay. So. So, yeah, that’s kind of where that’s come from. Over the last couple couple years.
00:47:58:57 – 00:48:26:10
Agent Palmer
Is there? I’ve, I feel like every, every musician period has this, I’m trying to think as I’m talking, I think there are seven guitars basses in my house right now. It’s really one bass, and I’ve downsized, and I regret giving up my first bass. And I’ve been looking to replace it because I have a five string bass.
00:48:26:15 – 00:48:44:41
Agent Palmer
I, I really want a four string because I, I miss play, I, I know I could do everything on a five, four, five thing that I could do out of forging, but it’s not the same in my hands. It’s just not. And I, I’ve, Every time I think I have the money for it, you know, I’m a homeowner, so something goes wrong.
00:48:44:41 – 00:48:46:14
Agent Palmer
I’m a car owner or something goes.
00:48:46:16 – 00:48:47:22
Brian Sutich
I’m with you there.
00:48:47:27 – 00:49:14:59
Agent Palmer
The bass that I want is, it it it’s not out of my grasp, but I, I, I can’t I, I need to be safer than I am. Right. But we all have a collection of these things, and, you know, the poor, the studios are gone. And I’ve got the, the electric drum kit now, and, you know, acoustics and electrics galore and the one bass, how is your collection doing?
00:49:15:00 – 00:49:33:48
Agent Palmer
Because obviously you’ve been at this almost as long as I have. And some of these, you know, the the, the five string is the second bass I ever owned. And I still have it. Right. Like, I, I still have the Squier Strat. Okay. I don’t play it. I don’t I think the electrics are shot, but I still have it.
00:49:33:55 – 00:49:42:03
Agent Palmer
Right. So what’s your collection like? Where are you at with it? And have you grown and downsized?
00:49:42:08 – 00:50:04:24
Brian Sutich
I’m one of those guys that maybe I have like ten instruments total. And, I mean, that’s that’s really pushing it. But there’s only 2 or 3 that I’m really playing each and every day now. Okay. And a lot of them are sitting in a Casey’s in a storage in my house. So, yeah, I, I have a Telecaster that I play a lot.
00:50:04:29 – 00:50:36:34
Brian Sutich
I have a Charvel kind of shredding guitar that I play a lot. And the last guitar I got was a prison John Mayer Silver Sky, which is also a Strat, but, it’s just, I mean, I’ve played the heck out of. It’s so good. It’s such a good guitar for the price. My recording collection has gone down dramatically over the years just because I have access to a couple different studios, whether that be something smaller or bigger, depending on what the artist wants.
00:50:36:39 – 00:50:56:35
Brian Sutich
So there’s only been so much of a need to have it at my own place. Funny though, is that I finally, over the pandemic, bought a house myself. And I finally have a loft over my garage and nothing’s in there. I’m using it for storage of old CDs, and, now I really want to build up a little mini studio again.
00:50:56:35 – 00:51:11:17
Brian Sutich
So. So that’s kind of where I’m at right now. Recording collection way down. Other than, like, an interface here and a good, good set of speakers, the guitar collection is, I’m one of those guys that’s. Use what you got, okay? You know, and and try to make the most of it.
00:51:11:17 – 00:51:35:34
Agent Palmer
I mean, look, the. So I said this Squier Strat was the first electric. The second electric was an Epiphone Explorer that I still play to this day. Right. That’s awesome. And that’s I bought it at a time when Metallica was like, I talk about guns N roses, Aerosmith, Metallica, and depending on when you talk to me, one of those is going to be near the top or at the top.
00:51:35:45 – 00:51:56:42
Agent Palmer
When I bought that explorer, guess which one was that? Top right? Like it’s not that hard to figure out, but like, it’s the acoustics that I pick up more and, I have a basement. I don’t, I don’t have a loft in my garage, but I do have a basement, so, and I can play and I have my amp set up down there and all that stuff.
00:51:56:42 – 00:52:19:19
Agent Palmer
But in my off my home office, I have a guitar stand, and now I have two because I’m like, one of the things I noticed was one of the reasons I wasn’t playing was because I didn’t want to go to that. Going down of the basement, but if I have ten minutes while I’m waiting for a phone call, I can go over to this, just pick up my bass and doodle around, or I can pick up the acoustic and noodle around.
00:52:19:30 – 00:52:27:40
Agent Palmer
So I’ve been keeping them where I am as opposed to going to them, and I noticed that I play more often.
00:52:27:45 – 00:52:43:45
Brian Sutich
Yeah, I mean, I, I don’t know who said it, but, same thing as, you know, the runner who doesn’t have their shoes by the door, you know, it’s it’s true. I mean, you’re not going to want to go for a run as often. And it’s same thing here. I always have a guitar somewhere around me that, that I want to play on.
00:52:43:45 – 00:52:48:38
Brian Sutich
Yeah, if I’m in between meetings or something in the day. Yeah. It’s the best, best sort of advice.
00:52:48:51 – 00:53:10:41
Agent Palmer
And I and I go back to, still probably going to be a bass player for the rest of my life. Me. Right. Rock star dreams. Look, I’m, I’m a I like a lot of things, okay? It’s going to come as no shock to anybody listening. For the most part, I like a lot of things, but I remember if you’re going to put the time in, you’re going to put the time in.
00:53:10:41 – 00:53:38:34
Agent Palmer
I want to watch some college football on a Saturday. So I’m sitting on my couch unplugged with my bass, just noodling away to build up the finger strength, right? Or just whatever it is. And that’s just I’ve gotten away from that. I feel like I need to get back to it. But, there’s just I, I but I always have something like, no matter how long I go, I always there’s never been like a week where I haven’t picked up an instrument.
00:53:38:39 – 00:53:41:50
Agent Palmer
And I think it’s just a part of who I am now.
00:53:41:55 – 00:54:00:32
Brian Sutich
I that’s, that’s something I sort of did last year. I kind of stopped, but I got what I needed out of the little experiment. I downloaded this app called Time Free and it was just to track time. And I’m like, I’m just going to commit to doing this for at least a year. And I did it and I saw that.
00:54:00:37 – 00:54:24:05
Brian Sutich
Yeah, I’m like laying down in bed at the end of the night, maybe swiping on Instagram or TikTok. I’m like, man, that’s two hours that I could have used here. And that’s all I needed to see. Not that I didn’t know it, but I even wanted to see it more. I wanted to get it more in my face, and it kind of did the trick because I find myself in the last year or so thinking a little bit more if I’m going to, you know, watch the latest episode of House of the Dragon or something.
00:54:24:05 – 00:54:42:46
Brian Sutich
I mean, spoilers, I will watch that episode, but I’m trying to make the time for it when I can, you know, and shake it up when, when it’s something that’s just. I’m not getting anything from. I’m like, I’m not producing. I’m trying to switch to that over the last bunch of years, just producing more than I’m consuming.
00:54:42:51 – 00:54:50:31
Agent Palmer
All right, I, I have to ask this question before I let you go. What is your favorite song to play on guitar through?
00:54:50:31 – 00:55:12:40
Brian Sutich
That’s tough man. I mean, I hate getting this question just because I can’t remember if I have a favorite song. I like so many genres. Yeah, but to play, to play. But but to play, yeah, there’s definitely songs that just feel good, like a metallica song or like an AcDc song. I mean, I don’t know, you know, it has to be something probably like Back in Black, okay?
00:55:12:43 – 00:55:15:29
Brian Sutich
Because it’s it’s just so fun physically to play, right?
00:55:15:29 – 00:55:41:16
Agent Palmer
Yeah. Oh, no. Trust me, I’m, it’s I rocket Queen. And like, the bassline to rocket Queen is so fun for me to play. And what’s weird is it’s not the easiest bassline, but it’s the one I never forget. Like, I will always be able to walk into a guitar center with the pick, pick up a four string bass and play at least the first half of rocket Queen.
00:55:41:21 – 00:55:59:58
Agent Palmer
So I feel like on bass, that’s my answer. I don’t know what it is on guitar, to be honest with you. I feel like on guitar I would be. I would be mentally arguing for the next hour in my head of whether to pick an acoustic or an electric, I mean, but twist my arm. I think something from bowling for soup would be.
00:56:00:03 – 00:56:00:57
Brian Sutich
Like nice.
00:56:00:57 – 00:56:13:14
Agent Palmer
Like because it’s just fun. Like the I, I know the pop and you played pop punk like, I know pop punk people sometimes look down on it, but like, it is fun to play it.
00:56:13:16 – 00:56:32:22
Brian Sutich
It’s so exciting. I mean, bands like, you know, you talk about bowling for soup, there’s a band. It’s kind of like a really fun pop punk band called For Your Strong. Oh, my God, it’s just kind of like blends that line between, like, metal, punk and pop. Okay? It’s just. It’s just feels good. Yeah. Physically feels good to play those songs.
00:56:32:22 – 00:56:42:26
Brian Sutich
So I’m with you. That.
00:56:42:31 – 00:57:06:50
Agent Palmer
Since the conversation you just heard was recorded, I did, in fact, by myself. A four string bass. No, not the one I’ve been dreaming about, but a much cheaper version that I can actually play with. And when I went to get it, I took along a friend who I somehow convinced to pick up a keyboard because he was curious about the instrument and, well, I’m not one to say learning a musical instrument is a waste of time or money.
00:57:06:55 – 00:57:35:54
Agent Palmer
And while he’s just learning things like twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, he’s getting it. He understands that playing the keyboard is just a good, healthy escape. And that’s why I got the new bass. And it’s why I will always want to play some type of musical instrument. I don’t have to play in front of a crowd or even anyone at all, because it’s in the act of playing that I feel relaxed and excited, and for a little while, the rest of the world fades away.
00:57:35:59 – 00:57:59:40
Agent Palmer
Isn’t that worth more than the cost of a new keyboard or guitar or bass? The thing is, it’s not exclusive to music, but music can also make you feel while you’re playing it, whether you’re creating it or like me, you just play along with the professionals. So perhaps now is as good a time as any to dust off any old instruments you have and pick them up again.
00:57:59:45 – 00:58:19:54
Agent Palmer
Or perhaps it’s the perfect time to get a starter kit and get moving on your own journey. So what instrument are you returning to or picking up, and what’s song or artist are you most interested in playing or playing along to? Let me know. You know how to get Ahold of me. Thanks for listening to The Palmer Files episode 86.
00:58:20:08 – 00:58:41:46
Agent Palmer
As a reminder, all links are available in the show notes. And now for the official business. The Palmer Files releases every two weeks on Tuesdays. If you’re still listening, I encourage you to join the discussion. You can find all of the related ways to contact myself or my guest, Brian Sutich, in the show notes for this episode, you can find out more about Brian and sign up for his newsletter on Chasing sound.com.
00:58:41:46 – 00:59:02:42
Agent Palmer
Again, that’s chasing sound.com email can be sent to this show at the Palmer Files at gmail.com. And remember, you’re home for all things. Agent Palmer is Agent palmer.com.
00:59:02:47 – 00:59:10:39
Agent Palmer
You.
00:59:10:44 – 00:59:38:06
Agent Palmer
Be.
00:59:38:10 – 00:59:40:27
Agent Palmer
All right. Brian, do you have one final question for me?
00:59:40:29 – 01:00:16:12
Brian Sutich
Yeah. So for for me, it’s, you know, there’s only so many things that kind of supersede music. Every once in a while. One of them is video games where, you know, for better or for worse, I’ll, you know, get, like, stuck in a trance and want to play for hours. And then, you know, it’s 2 a.m. all of a sudden is there anything other than music that kind of transports you to, a space that’s safe like that or that you can kind of, like, veg out and, you know, whether that be TV or like a certain series or, you know, like, what’s one of your favorite nonmusical worlds that you’ve enjoyed?
01:00:16:12 – 01:00:29:16
Brian Sutich
Like, if you liked hanging out, that could be something like, I, I, you know, people do this with the office like, I always want to watch The Office because I love this the, the, the the whole scene of the office. So it could be something like that too. Yeah.
01:00:29:16 – 01:00:49:54
Agent Palmer
I so I, I’ve, I read a lot, but I don’t consider that a thing because I try and when I read I try and challenge myself. So I, I’m reading authors, but I also try and challenge myself to read stuff I wouldn’t normally read. So like that, that does transport me. But I to specifically for what you’re asking.
01:00:49:59 – 01:01:10:59
Agent Palmer
And I’m trying to buy myself time. Yeah. So it, I think video games is one of them. I think it would definitely be one of them, because for me, while my music may have stopped in the early aughts, my video games really stopped then as well. So the games that I love the most are like Gamecube games, right?
01:01:10:59 – 01:01:39:24
Agent Palmer
Like when when, things like Wind Waker or like, Oh, yeah. When, when when Nintendo redid skies of Arcadia as skies of Arcadia. Legends like that. Those two things I could like, in fact, the last day job I had where I worked in an office and it was really rough and I knew I was getting fired. I would calm myself down by putting on a playthrough of Skies of Arcadia on one of my screens, just because it was like, it’s a safe space, I think because it’s it’s an intense game.
01:01:39:24 – 01:02:02:09
Agent Palmer
It’s not like it’s not intense in terms of like a struggle, but like it’s a long game. There’s an investment there I don’t always have. So that’s part of it, I think. But you know, the other thing is my the other video games I play that aren’t, you know, console or like I go back to the original quake and like Warcraft two Tides of Darkness and like those kind of things, which I still do.
01:02:02:09 – 01:02:31:13
Agent Palmer
I have an old PC collection, so it’s just so I can keep those games, play. But I think the the real answer to go with here is magic together, because as much as the game has changed in the last 30 years, I started playing it in 1995, and I have some friends that started playing it in like 2005, which still boggles the mind.
01:02:31:13 – 01:02:58:50
Agent Palmer
Right? But it it immediately just if I, if when I draw seven cards, I’m immediately sent back to middle school. Me playing the game and I don’t know. Yeah, there’s digital versions of it, but when I’m physically playing that game, I’m immediately middle school me again. Like, give it. That’s the one. We don’t do it very often. I’d say maybe four times a year at that.
01:02:58:55 – 01:03:13:33
Agent Palmer
Which is weird because I probably shouldn’t have as many cards as I still do for somebody who plays four times a year. But that’s the one. Like when we have time, when we can shuffle up the decks and deal, I’m immediately like 16 again.
01:03:13:38 – 01:03:15:24
Brian Sutich
I love it, I love it.
01:03:15:29 – 01:03:52:54
Agent Palmer
I, and I can still see. Here’s the thing though. It’s funny because like, we all have that soundtrack of of our own lives, right? And I remember, I remember the last what was then Pro Tour qualifier I went to as a 14 year old or 15 year old with the with the gaming store I worked at. And I remember the week before setting up my deck to I believe.
01:03:52:59 – 01:04:03:25
Agent Palmer
So the stereo in my in my high school bedroom had it. It was one of those like bookshelf stereo systems and it had the three CD changer.
01:04:03:30 – 01:04:04:09
Brian Sutich
Oh yeah.
01:04:04:09 – 01:04:32:04
Agent Palmer
Okay, so it’s not. So when I tell you what was in these three. So this is why I’m trying to figure out this because like I know I’m sitting on my bed trying to build this deck and I’m listening to, what would have been they might be giant flood, I think, spin doctors pocket full of Kryptonite.
01:04:32:09 – 01:04:41:04
Agent Palmer
And I believe the third album that particular week was, the the the mighty, Mighty Boss Stones.
01:04:41:08 – 01:04:42:19
Brian Sutich
Come on, man. Awesome.
01:04:42:19 – 01:05:12:03
Agent Palmer
I think those were the three. And I had it on the way where that it was. Look, it was the 90s, okay? Like, I had it on, like, CD shuffle. So, like, you’d hear a song and then it would stop and you’d hear it spin, and it’s not like instant like we do now, right? But those were the three soundtracks to that particular song for that particular week, and I, I that, that that’s the memory.
01:05:12:08 – 01:05:19:52
Agent Palmer
Like that’s the memory. I can’t and I feel like for all of us, we have those, those songs or those moments where we go, like, I know what I was listening to.
01:05:19:52 – 01:05:39:24
Brian Sutich
Then I have it with Weezer saying, so, I’ll remember just, you know, growing up and my uncle was a huge Weezer fan. He still is, and just kind of trying to learn that riff and like that band in the chorus. And it was always so tough. But I ended up learning it eventually, you know? And, yeah, such a such a good time, man.
01:05:39:24 – 01:05:39:52
Brian Sutich
I mean, what a.
01:05:39:53 – 01:05:55:23
Agent Palmer
Time when you talk about I, we talked about being Metallica fans. I learned the in I don’t know what you would call it. Right. So amnesia pulling teeth.
01:05:55:28 – 01:05:56:38
Brian Sutich
Oh, yeah. And I, I.
01:05:56:38 – 01:06:12:46
Agent Palmer
Learned up to the, the when the drum kicks in up to when it gets fast. I learned, but I played it just that first half at a talent show and finished like second. Right. Because even just that first half is not that easy.
01:06:12:51 – 01:06:13:50
Brian Sutich
Yeah that’s impressive.
01:06:13:50 – 01:06:43:21
Agent Palmer
And the reason I never got the second half is I just there were parts of what Cliff does. I just could that I, I look I spent so much time learning the first half and I and it wasn’t like oh I, I did the first. Like it’s a long song. You can’t just learn the whole thing. Right? So I learned the first half with every intention of getting the second half, and you just get so frustrated when you’re just not like, I that’s my limit.
01:06:43:21 – 01:06:48:22
Agent Palmer
I can’t, I, I cannot play when the drums kick in. That’s I’m done.
01:06:48:27 – 01:06:54:38
Brian Sutich
I’m going to be thinking about this. Chris, I have to ask you right now. Yeah. Do you remember who won first?
01:06:54:43 – 01:07:18:31
Agent Palmer
Oh, no. No, but I believe it was somebody playing. I believe it was a I’m. I believe it was like a female singing something along the lines of Joni Mitchell, where she was playing and singing. I was just playing. So I, I believe it was a Joni Mitchell type act that that that beat me.
01:07:18:36 – 01:07:23:14
Brian Sutich
I can’t fault her for that. That’s good.
01:07:23:19 – 01:07:26:11
Brian Sutich
You should have got together and made a supergroup. You know, maybe.
–End Transcription–
This transcription was processed by PalmerTech 3.1 and may contain errors for HUMINT (human intelligence).