All right. I interrupt this broadcast to bring you a personal message of importance. It goes like this in 1988. I met this dude for the first time. He yelled at me in concrete jungle the skate shop in San Francisco. He was working at who's going to straighten out those shirts now he growled as I skim through the shirt selection fast-forward to 1999 the same guy approach.Me after our dear friend Phil show had passed away and said you're coming to work for the mag. You ready man. The stories in the miles are endless countless drunken night flapping in the hotel room after some of the most amazing skateboarding had gone down are so Priceless and the privilege no matter how annoying or been he was was always mine. Jake Phelps will only be missed but he will never be replaced in our skateboarding culture that has benefited from his passion and ways that words cannot explain. I'm super lost at the moment and scared of the future. I'm scared of the goons. They'll take advantage of his absence and scared of the softer side of skateboarding overshadowing What drew me to this lifestyle in the first place? But it's up to us who were influenced by Jake to carry the torch to keep it. Lit, keep it raw and to continue to call people out when they blow it. They say these things happen in threes. 2017 Preston 2018 Hubbard and March 14th in the year of Our Lord 2019. We lost the editor Thrasher magazine the height man the mentor the beautiful mind and my bro, mr. Jake Phelps. Oops. He said it wouldn't fill died. So I think it's appropriate to quote a CDC again here and now my friends are gonna be there too. Right on Fell per ride on its Kate and Destroy por Vida baby. And as a tribute to the old man, this goes out to all you that have badmouth didn't wish Jake be terminated from the mag for years, but now our eulogizing And then some heartfelt way to make yourself matter. This one's called your feelings. It's kind of sarcastic, right? But it's your fucking feelings. I fucking care. Fucking dog is why you write your fucking Felix your fucking feelings your fucking feelings. I fucking care. I'm glad your ball you stick spray paint cans where you tag your cars. I gotta hydrate her cycle that way. What I'm writing up your fucking Ho Chi Minh trail. Ha ha I got one thing on my mind that I know it's true. I care about Trixie and Timber to and Reggie what we're doing this to you because you are just he's a fucking way my friend you're in the way and it's all because you know what your feelings the fucking feelings. Okay, so you're a Google is right. You got a window table you get to see everything on be straight who's fucking real motherfucker cheeseburger. Okay, it's going to matter when you get to hell, right and one more time. I'm talking about your feelings. I'm talking about your feelings your fucking feelings chippy sarcasm. Yeah, I'm talking feelings. It's a little bit of us. And now on with the show we on schmidty schmidty. What do you think? Maybe rolodexes from me. Are you ready? The most read the first time that I met my next guest I was mesmerised bottom of the hill about 2005 up on stage. I've seen them play plenty of times. I use this damn for Thrasher videos and that's no lie. Check it out. We got Eric Shay here baby. That's right. I think the very first time hot. Hot lunch was on a skate video. It was a Thrasher video that you and P Stone. Was it under the bridge? Probably it was under the bridge. Okay. And remember the next day. I was in Potrero getting my little backside carve grinds in the in the pool and there is Preston flipping hamburgers treating everybody to hamburgers making us wait because he, you know had a very special technique like no not ready yet. It's got a gotta get a little No more time on the ground. Oh, yeah, and he was like, hey nice song and I was like, thanks man. I wish we had a given you a better version of it because we've since redone the vocals and he's like sometimes the first takes the best. Yeah. What was that? Handy Danny or no? No, I think it was she wants more. Oh it was okay sake for my first seven inch rad. That's so cool. I want to go back a little bit true or false you were born. In and raised in San Jose. Yeah. Well, I mean pretty much I was born in Mountain View but raised in the South Bay Campbell San Jose Los Gatos Saratoga kind of all over where'd you go to like grammar and high school? I was a Catholic school kid until seventh grade. Oh, then my parents moved us to North Tahoe to Tahoe City. Well, I did Junior High and Tahoe City where I discovered mile-high ramp nestled. Woods what? Yeah, I was pedaling my Mongoose dirt bike to 7-Eleven to buy some beef jerky. No way and there's this giant wooden Behemoth middle of the fucking woods and these guys, you know, just ruling it and I like totally skidded my Mongoose to a stop and just looked at this giant wooden you in the middle of you know, these yeah freeze fuck and just mouth open. I just kind of looked at my bike and I felt stupid so I'd put my bag down and walked over and just sat on one of the benches there and watch people skate until the sun went down and then I pedaled back to our house and I don't even get any beef jerky. So that was like you were 12 or 13 or 12 and 13. Yeah. And then did you live there for a few years? Yeah, like almost two years like that wasn't the time of the contest was it? Yes. It was the contest. Yes, the mile-high Munoz territory Terror Tahoe, right Lance Mountain burned his board on fire. Yeah, and somebody threw a cat into the audience. It was it was a sticker Throne. There was a cat through lucky. That's sick to be there. Just total super iconic fucking content life-changing experience. But then we move back to the South Bay. I went back to eighth grade and finished up Catholic school and my parents wanted me to go to a Catholic. High school that I didn't want to go to because it was all dudes fellerman. Yes betterment. So I failed the entrance exam on Turf are I'm purpose, you know, you had to take the entrance exam. Yeah, I misplaced a bunch of Scantron dots so that I'd fail and I still got a few right? I guess I got to go to a public school, but then they were like, well, if you're not going to go to Belgium when you have to go to Saratoga because it's an affluent school, but those kids just could afford to get into trouble. Yeah, I lived in Saratoga with the first four years of my life. No way. Yeah, we're from when you were wonderful forth. See ya te maybe 1 to 5. Wow. Yeah are like zero to five out of the as born in Redwood City and then they just took me straight to Saratoga and then I think around five we moved to San Carlos. It's a weird little town but you know, we had some good skaters though. Nice now it is I mean Mountain Winery saw the birds do the reunions sweetheart of the rodeo there. It's rich people be yeah totally but back then, you know, we had some good skaters. We had Doug Smith, right Brad Boardman Kevin K on some guys. I'm forgetting that spine ramp right that Doug Smith skated a lot Congress Springs. Yeah. Is that what it was? I remember I want to say pal video or some he had like a little section there. That's right. Yeah that room didn't last long but it was a lot of fun. Yeah. So when did you get into skateboarding? What was your first board in the Tahoe or was it before that or after that or was before that it was one of those I was just one of those kids who lived in California and we moved to a house and Campbell and there was a Hobie spoon in the garage that somebody left their no way Wheels, you know, yeah and so being a little kid my next door neighbor Donny forsman and his brother Doug. They had skateboards, but Donnie and I used to just push around on our knees, you know, like we didn't stand up on the Murray. Nothing and then his brother Doug was like only babies. Push on their knees and he had like a banana board with urethane Wheels as he stood on and went down the driveway and I was like, well clearly I'm no baby, you know five or six I'm going to stand to and you know Clay Wheels you had a little Pebble or a crack or an aunt and you just stop and fly off, right? So then my mom took me to the toy section of Mervyn's where they had yellow banana boards, and I got one of those Was you know better you could roll over cracks and and Pebbles and I think it got stolen. I think I left it in my front yard. What age was it's about this is about 7 or 800 and then Winchester skatepark wouldn't let you in if you had an aluminum board or a fiberglass board, so she took me to grimek skates in Los Gatos to get a real skateboard, and I think I got a grimek. Pegasus it's like a sup board then your tail. Yeah, I think it was supposed to look like a Chris triple board or like a you know, like a caster board from the 70s that was in Los Altos or San Jose Los Gatos last Gatos. Yeah, and it came with these like fake Sims Wheels. I think we called sent our wheels. So I had a grimek pegasus. I've sent our wheels and I could go skate Winchester because my dad and I, you know, he worked really close to Winchester skate park. In part of our quality time was he would take me there and we'd sit on the big wooden deck and watch people skate the washboard and the keyhole and that ad is amazing crazy weird halfpipe. I thought you were going to say part of your quality time was him dropping you off at the skate park. No, he was he was he was into hanging out and you know, he wasn't into skateboarding, but he yeah he knew that I was so so that's where the Milpitas Vans Park was replicated that washboard style. Yeah. Uh-huh. I never got to go to window. Sister, I never really got to skate it. Oh, I mean I tried but I was just this little uncoordinated kid. I remember I think it might have been the washboard like rolling into one bump and making it over that and then flying over the second one and like landing on my hip. Yeah, and at this point, my dad had just dropped me off and he said I'll come and pick you up in an hour. So I tried it again and I fell again and I was like, I'm just gonna go play Space Invaders, so I went inside the Caden just started playing Space Invaders and asteroids and Missile Command. Yeah, and then my dad shows up and he's like what the hell are you doing? I paid for a session or whatever is like sorry. I'll see you rip. Yeah, so I didn't learn how to skate transition at Winchester. I think it was I think it was mile-high ramp that that really taught me how to pump a transition. Oh you rode that ramp? Yeah. Fuck. Yeah when we move there the only place you could buy a skateboard in Tahoe unless you went to Reno. Was this weird little like plant store called the watermelon patch and it was in Grand lahmacun, and you can buy like your 10 inch wide Vera Flex boards. My friend Grant Sergeant gave me his old Maharaja 70 skateboard. It was like a water ski term into a skateboard, which is really nice of him, but I wanted a 10-inch wide board like like, you know, everybody else had so I think we went there. I think my first 10 inch wide or close to it was a yellow Santa Cruz Street skate, one of those ones that said now with concave with like ACS trucks and like yeah bones Wheels. Okay, so that was about 83 84. Yeah nice and then true or false in 1985 you were published in Thrasher magazine. Oh God that letter I wrote to A mail drop I didn't think they were going to print it. That was when we moved back to the South Bay and some friends had introduced me to Montague Banks. Yeah, and man it was on. You know, that shit was so fun. Yeah and everyone there a bunch we would take the bus all the way from the peninsula like for bus transfers to get there. Uh-huh. Yeah. It was mostly Friends older brothers with cars. I think we tried to take the bus there a couple times and didn't quite figure it out. It was I don't know how weeded and there was no iPhone or anything like that other spots you could you could take the bus to fish Banks and then like kind of Traverse over to Memorex Banks. Yeah. They were near. Yeah. And what's the one Billy is wall-to-wall? Yeah. That was fun. I look because you could skate dolls while in the rain. Yeah, but but Montague is on again. Thanks. Yeah, so see it was usually pretty mellow. Everybody was pretty cool. And then one time we should start getting vibed by this guy who like shows up. Let's start skating all around us real fast and calling us like grommets. Well, we were grommets. We were just, you know coox. We were little kids. Yeah, and I got pissed off and went home and wrote a letter like this guy came here and started, you know, vibing us and making fun of us and we're just trying to have fun man. Yeah. And I thought it was Corey O'Brien, but it wasn't it was some other guy that looked like Cory O'Brien - I think his name was Mark Farrington or oh you actually identify them later. Somebody else did something else wasn't that wasn't Cory O'Brien you idiot. Did you put it in the letter? It was Cory No, in fact, the letter was titled who made the cut because I was complaining that somebody was cutting us down. Yeah, but I didn't name names. Okay, it is so cool. But here I am. It's like 30 Something years later naming names how early did you get into music like playing with a band? What was your first band experience? I don't know if this counts but it might have been in third grade. Really? Yeah, like a fool like three piece or 4 piece. Just a two-piece. Oh, it was my friend Ben Harris on piano and me an electric guitar. I'd gotten my first electric guitar for Christmas. Okay had been taking third grade. Yeah because I started taking lessons in second grade from this cool nun named sister, June. She had like a beehive haircut. Yeah, the best story she was awesome sister June. I actually got in touch with her recently. She's still alive. She's like in her 80s living at some Convent no, and I was like, I don't know if you remember me, but you taught me how to play guitar and it changed my life and it's taken me to Europe and she said of course, I remember you. I'm so glad to hear that you stuck with it and that it's become part of your life. And I was like almost crying when I saw that she replied to my email. I hate to say this though. I've actually really turned satanic, but no she so got my first guitar and second grade my first electric turn third grade my friend Ben and I thought it'd be a fun idea to put on her first communion suits and little hats and glasses and call ourselves the blues buddies and wow, we put a set together. I think I just like Rift on like Smoke on the Water and we like wrote a song together and we played it. No way. Yeah. It was at the school. Talent show that's awesome. We had his little brother CT come out with a sandwich board ringing a bell tolling introducing the blues buddies. Wow, it was pretty funny. Huh, but was like the first like legit band you were in that like maybe either recorded something or play Live or both or that was with Mike for Cinco back in 91. We started a band called Jose on I was young. Yeah, we were really into like so Slow dive and My Bloody Valentine and ride, you know Tony farmer kind of shit. Yeah, and we Spaceman three. Oh, yeah, Spacemen 3 spiritualize. Yeah, I do that was our shit to my senses because I mean grunge was everywhere. I was kind of tired of it. Mmm. I just wanted to like make my guitar make beautiful noises and find a female singer who could just coo those heavenly, you know vocals sure and it was hard to meet somebody in San Jose that was into that back. And you know, everybody was really into grunge and yeah punk and it was kind of a specific thing and I went to go see I think Lush and ride play a show and this guy Mark gave me a flyers that said looking for a guitarist into all these bands cocteau twins Chapter House call Marker Mike, so I called Mark and his girlfriend was like marks working. Try calling Mike. So I called Mike. And he's like, yeah, what kind of car do you play? I was like a Rickenbacker and he's like, I played a fender Jaguar come over like oh right on so I go over to his house and I why does this guy look familiar? He looks so familiar. Yeah because I used to see him at Hoagie Park, you know, like everybody bring their jump ramps to Hoagie Park. He was a guy that wouldn't like make a method are and be like fuck the throw his board at the ground or like kick the ramp patented San Jose style. Yeah typical pursuing go. Yeah. And so we're talking about music. We're talking about effect pedals. He's got his phone list on the wall. And I'm like, huh? Joe Conti Mikey occifer Steve Caballero salba. Oh shit. This is my purse. Anko, you know like ProStreet prover Prosecco. Yeah, and I really like to skateboarding. You know, I thought he was kind of like San Jose's version of Chris Miller, but he added his own kind of like Aggression to his skating. He definitely wanted I think he tried to be Chris like the style was definitely like replicated. It was very influenced by Chris Miller. Yeah, and so after like we jammed I was like, I think I remember you from Hoagie Park and he's like, yeah, I remember you you were that little Grom guy who always used to do stink bug errors, and I was like, all right. Well, let's make some fucking music. So we got this band together. We recorded a three song demo We gave a copy to slow dive. I think Rachel said that she was going to try to give a copy to Alan McGee from creation records and then the band just kind of fell apart before anything could really happen, but I found those tapes recently and long story short like somebody put them up on YouTube and they went viral. So I had these Indie labels kind of knocking saying would you be into putting this stuff from 1992-93 out only three songs. And it's not the best quality, but I said if you're into it, why not, you know people really seem to like it by reading the comments on YouTube. So we put it out and it's sold out recently like couple years ago. Oh, yeah, wow time for Cinco guy few extra pieces of cheese on this burger that month. It was such a limited run but it was good getting back in touch with Prosecco. He noticed he still lives in Los Angeles. Okay, because I seen him in SF a while ago. Like he was living in San Francisco for a minute, right? We were roommates for a very long time. So in SF, yeah, we stayed friends for for a long time. Okay. Yeah, he he still plays guitar. He still does graphic design. I don't think he still skates before he moved to LA though. And right after the Berkeley park opened I was able to get him out there and take a few runs or them nice and he just had that crazy fast style still he even well into his thirties. Uh-huh. Alright, so you've been in a lot of bands throughout the years. Right, like probably more than two handfuls. I don't know. I'm kind of a serial monogamist when it comes to bands. Yeah. Try to keep keep one together for as long as I can. Oh, let's see how long it could go for it doesn't always happen. Yeah, you know, okay when it's Sweet Chariot did that start before hot lunch or after just shortly right after right after? Yeah. Okay. That was I think at the time wrong from hot lunch our drummer, you know, he was talking about my band before hot lunch of my band before Parchman Farm was a band called mover. That was very kind of Neil Young's he see are the birds. Uh-huh Parsons kind of California country-rock. Yeah, and how fun it would be to do that stuff with me and sweet cherry just sort of evolved. I always wanted to play with that guitar player. Chris gutteridge used to be in a band called ride the blinds the kind of reminded me of cream and Peter Green Arrow Fleetwood Mac and it was just kind of an excuse to play with all these people that I wanted to play with and to keep the country rock thing kind of going. Yeah, but then it's since become like so not country rock like this new album that's coming out. It's really kind of like British pub Rock and power pop and there's hardly any twang on it except for some of Chris's leads. Just kind of evolved. Yeah, they're usually happens. Right? It's like why play the Same album again? Yeah. There's like just try something different and And how quickly after you got that band together. Did you guys start that annual trip tribute the sleepless nights that was actually going on or was that already started? Yeah. I started that in either 99 or 2000 before. Yeah before any of all like these meant that I'm in now and what is that about? That's a tribute to Gram Parsons from the Flying Burrito Brothers and the birds and his own solo stuff. He was also in a band called The International submarine band, but there was a Hang out in Joshua Tree called gram Fest and every year this guy Matt John McKinney would book all these bands to come and play Gram Parsons songs out where his body was stolen and burned out in Joshua Tree and I was trying to get ahold of him. I think back in the late 90s to see how we could possibly because we played a bunch of those songs my old man mover in the dark days of communication. It was just hard to get a hold of the guy. So my friend I Dean said you should just throw your own in San Francisco. Yeah, and I pitched Slim's about it and they were like sounds Good, you want to do it on a Saturday? And I said oh shit. Okay, let's do it. Wow, and we got like Beechwood Sparks and randomly Richards and all these bands to come and play it and it's been going on ever since. I don't think it's going to happen anymore. I just read that Golden Voice axed all over the old school staff of Great American Music Hall and Slims. Ooh. Yeah, Dark Days the guys name the owns that he was gay. Yeah. We call Boz Scaggs Dave. Yeah. Come on man. Keep it real. What the hell you guys have a really cool cover of skate and Destroy. Oh, yeah. I think we're going to listen to that right now. Okay. How did that come about how did you guys rework that song and I have no idea. I just came up with the chords and the harmonica part and I was looking for lyrics and I think I was talking about the faction with our bass player. Doron Shelly who used to be in the cramps believe it or not, and he's like I remember the faction. Who's that Pro Skater guy that was in it. I think it was like, oh, that's Steve Caballero. I think what was their hit song if they had, you know, the closest thing to it and I will skate and Destroy. Yeah, and then the lyrics came back in my head, you know, it's not a cause or political beliefs something in my thinking and the phrasing just fit the chords perfectly that I was strumming and I was like, holy shit do I do? This is Ray Stevens gonna kill me. Yeah, you know, maybe he'll be flattered. So we just did it and it worked. Did you hear from those guys? I think I played it for Ray and I think I shared it with Steve and there were kind of like right on. You know, I was like they I was a little scared that somebody else would so I just wanted to be like, oh here we did this in loving tribute. Yeah, and I think you know that it was cool. Yeah. I've known Ray forever. So yeah Ray seems so mellow he's the rat is he? Yeah, he's the one that gave me my nickname Che bones no way. Yeah. I think it was me and McGinley and Canada forget. I'm pretty sure it was McGinley. I don't know but we were at this hotel. It was Vancouver contest and everyone was skating at the park and we were like just coming in to check into the hotel and Ray comes running out. He's like, I'm gonna send over to the park. See you bros later and like for the rest of like that year. I think me and McKinley would just call. I don't know if we were texting back. But definitely like we're gonna Zen over was like our catchphrase for a while. Thanks to Ray. I love her. I love how he convinced his own words and his own slang. Yeah. See you later Buzz. Yeah. I don't know where it is. But I'm gonna Zen over so hot lunch that started in like oh 606. How did you guys get together? Was it from the parchment? It was right after parchment from dissolved and whenever a band breaks up. I always try to just start something. Lickety-split, like I'm going to keep keep the momentum going and keep the inertia and I'd always wanted to play with Aaron noodleman. He used to be in a band called The Men's Club, right and we were labelmates back when he was on Franco six label man's ruin records and Frank and put out my old man movers first record, and I sought men's club play and a backyard in San Francisco at a party in 1994-95 and they were like The Reincarnation of Grand Funk Railroad. I was just blown away. It was like, oh my God that guitar player. I've got to play with him. Sometimes I introduced myself and he was a little standoffish at first, but you know, we drink some beers and talk some more about music and we just became friends. He was, you know, getting into surfing and skateboarding and I remember saying, oh, let's go to Fort Miley sometime and you know skate around, you know, the sunset and hit those Slappy curbs, you know, if you go all the way to the top and then go down to the because you're standing down towards the beach you can hit. Driveways and for sure, I love all that and and so we had a really good day of skating and at the end I remember saying would you be in a maybe putting a band together, you know parchment firms. Dunzo. I'm going to do something new. He's like, yeah, man, that would be great. Who else do you think and you know getting to play in the band and I was thinking well Josh Smith from the fucking Champs, he'd be a great, you know on guitar or this guy Rob Alper from the SLA, you know, he plays guitar to and he's like, oh, I know Rob I play in another band with Rob. I'm sorry. Yeah, well you guys are already pretty tight my buddy Charlie plays bass. I don't know how good but he's just a great guy. And at this point I just wanted to play with guys that were really fun to be around you guys that you can spend a lot of time with and if they were good that was icing on the cake, but I just wanted like, you know a group of friends. I dreaded Rod at the Casanova. He said who do you have playing drums? And I said, well nobody yet. And he said I play drums that's like all you do. Is it oh, yeah, I'd love to play drums for something like this. Alright had no. Ian how well he played or that he played with a crazy kit. He was playing bass though. He was playing guitar in another band. Oh and then I saw Charlie skating over at Glen Park Station. I said you want to play bass in this thing. I'm doing with these two guys. He's like sure why not so it was born and just came together like pretty effortlessly. Is this the first band that Rob played drums in no, I think he played in a few different bands, but he don't he Such a talented guy he plays. Oh man, if you have not seen hot led to live you have to go and just keep your eyes on the drummer. He is a fucking spectacle. He's one of my favorite like maybe of all drummers but definitely San Francisco Bay Area like of my Bros friends bands. I like, you know, not to Fan out too hard, but we love you Rob seriously, man. Yeah, he hit some hard and he plays with fucking enthusiasm and looks like he's having a blast I call it lead. Drums. Yeah, he plays lead drums. It's so sick. Yeah easily my favorite drummer and then so how did you guys come up with the name? We had a show booked and we didn't have a name like what I'm going to call ourselves. I was eating at Tommy's joint and there was a sign that said hot lunch and the letters just popped off the sign looked really kind of just light striking when I was thinking about his drum kit, you know, he's got to kick drums. I thought we could put hot on one and lunch on the other. It would look kind of rad. Somehow the guys were into it. It's been one of those things that if I could go back and give us a different name. I probably would but it's Doug quick and easy. Yeah, either have like the five second discussion or the five-year discussion here exactly. Like you overanalyze it or you under analyze it right? Yeah, for sure. Yeah, and I we were dirty and the doughnuts. I don't know. That's a great name. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know what it was, but that's what We were leaving playing drums for a long time too. Nice don't play anymore. But that was fun. But yeah the first you mentioned the first song in a thresher video was the under the bridge video since then I want to say there might not be a hot lunch long. That hasn't been another Asher video. Thanks to you Schmidt. I think we do a pretty well job at staying in touch with you and the minute you released. Is that for like? All right cool, cuz we got four new projects and man. That's all that matters to me really is to give back to skateboarding in some way shape or form if I can create something. That's worthy of sound tracking somebody getting red when we got written up in Thrasher and interviewed by Steve from my honey. Yeah. I was almost like okay I could just quit right now. Like I've never learnt care about Rolling Stone. Yeah. Hereabouts been a kind of care about Mojo magazine. That's good magazine. Yeah, fuck Thrashers been with me longer than anything or anyone. You know what it's like to me. That was just it was how it was amazing. I didn't know that you and Steve were friends. And so when I was doing that interview, I was like do you think he would ask you the questions we could ask and then it was so cuz I'm a huge mudhoney fan. So yeah, so that was awesome Steve great. He I met him back when I used to do this thing called the Monday night who which was Like a folk night and I took it to Seattle and I think my friend Jesse Sykes or Barbara Mitchell. I can't remember one of those awesome women were like you should get Steve from mudhoney to play because he does this skate folk thing, and we just hit it off talking about skateboarding and pools and music and he told me all about the butter bowl and rad the whole Northwest scene. Well Steve if you and Mark want to come on talking Schmidt. I know you guys probably got tons of no time, but I'm always here for you guys. Eyes on me and I want to ask you what is monks on the moon really about because God damn it. I was that song a lot and I just need to hear this from you. You wrote it, right the song lyrics the lyrics. Yeah, I mean the band, you know, we all right everything the band usually writes the song and then I usually write the melody and the lyrics huh. I got the idea of a secret sect of Surfing monks that had to relocate to the Moon. Where they learned how to brew their own logger called lunar lager, Aha and they kind of this lager Bruton anti-gravity made them wise enough to warn us about, you know, the Earth's impending doom and it was just kind of a fun song. I think I was kind of inspired by all those weird cartoons at the end of like skateboard Madness. Yeah, you know, like just something that makes no sense. But once you put it out there, it's going to make sense. Somehow I will say this about that song. No, I've tried to write skate rock songs, like deliberate skate rock songs, uh-huh hot lunch has a song called China banks that thanks Chyna banks for all the years. It's been whoa, you know going over there. It's a bust or not. It's always been there. You know, when I thought that the EMB was to dividing you can just go to China Banks try to carve those benches teaching me commitment because that recorded. Yeah, it's on Sion EP. I need to get that one because I'm doing a China Banks documentary. Right now are you serious? Yeah, it's dude. Wow, you're gonna lose your shit. Yeah. I just interviewed Arco about him discovering it. No, I just went and interviewed Joe Valdez last week about all him behind the ball. Are you serious? Yeah a cardiologist down like yes, I'm really this is like one of my big projects for this year that I'm excited about Jesus. It would be an honor to be in such good company and you know to provide a song about the legendary spot, you know, so I noticed when I try to write a deliberate song like there there's a song called China Banks. There's a song called Slappy Sunday and they're good songs, but they don't resonate with skateboarders the way that monks on the moon hmm has resonated and I think it's because I tried too hard, you know, maybe like something about monks just came out so effortlessly and it was fun. Yeah, and I just wanted to capture like the driving Adrenaline Rush of fun good times beers Bros. Yeah, you know Thing that I was into and still am just came out and monks on the moon and I think because it's so untried and nonspecific that it kind of worked a little bit better to soundtrack footage. I love that beginning. Oh, it's hard to pull that off my missing all those vocals in the studio. So cool. Yeah. I love that one. We've used. I'd just those Snippets for like interview videos where it's like over and over on Loop. Have you had a chance to listen to any of these talking Schmidt episodes? Yeah, all of them. Oh, yeah. What do you what do you think? I love a man? Especially the farmer one got he's such a charismatic devil that County farmer. Yeah and good Storyteller really good Storyteller. I wish I was just as half as interesting or funny as he is and he kind of keeps you on your toes. He's lightning fast. It's like the anglophile comes out in his conversation because when you're that deep into British music and culture, you are always prepared for a battle of wits, you know, and he's always ready to fight with his intellect Trend. I love the Quarry 1/2 because Blue Plate is one of like my favorite restaurants just ever uh-huh. And Corey is one of my favorite dudes whenever we see each other we just talked about Old South Bay. A skate spots like mmm sounds like yeah, he's total South Bay guy. Yeah, you remember Jew Banks? Like oh Jesus there was a synagogue that all the local jerks called Jew Banks because there was this great L-shaped bank at the back of it that people put parking blocks up on and I think that's where I learned how to do, you know front side Slappy's uh-huh back on a mini Caballero was like tracker trucks and freestyle Wheels because raccoons weren't even out yet. Right and Cory remembers all those spots, you know, he was Yeah, cool. I'm Not Afraid what some constructive criticism hmm constructive criticism for talking Schmidt. I would say put some put some lemon in there. Yeah, I would love to Noel Noel. Oh my God. Yeah. I mean there's another amazing musician, you know actually tried to get her to call in for today. But she was a little last-minute. Oh, yeah. Yeah, the well would be great Tracy and Halsey would be great Katie Knox. If you can get a Lisa, right, that would be amazing. Yeah. All right, we're going to take a little break and hear from some of our friends and we'll be right back. Am I recording right now? You guys fitnah make your own podcast, but don't know where to start go to Anchor dot f m-- it's free and it's super easy. You can even record episodes right off your phone. The cool thing is that once you make your podcast anchor will distribute it. Rita iTunes Spotify Stitcher and all the major places people listen to podcast it's everything you need to make a podcast in one place. Every episode of toxin Schmidt has been used with anchor and I'm completely satisfied. So download the free anchor app or go to Anchor dot. F m-- and get your podcast started today. I even wrote a little jingle Forum wake up in the morning. You better not be drinking Sanka for the best. Podcast hosting, you know, you better use anchor it's like needing alone. You gotta get a good Banker. If you want to start a podcast you better use anchor anchor dot f m-- like my blah blah blah blah. Well, what's the worst you've been criticized? What's the worst you've been heckled or like throughout all your life, like which one moment the stems out where you've got heckled pretty hard or it's hard to remember a time where I took anything like that very personally. But it was it could have been. Back in the early 90s when I was in that band with Prosecco and somebody said you guys aren't even a real band. You're just living in for track City because we never played live and I was like, fuck you. Well speaking of heckling we're going to listen to a song that I really been enjoying lately called The Ballad of Heckle Hill drink What's this song all about? Is this all Teemo or is this a collective effort of dudes on the hill at Potrero? Oh, yeah, just all the ghosts of heckle. He'll show up in this song. You Know Timmy Jack? Oh, yeah that weird old guy Mike that used to bring his dog. All right God who else your team? Oh that guy's name that continues to be tough. I forget his name. New city. Yeah, God just all the lurkers all the hecklers. I just spent so much time aperture. Oh and when it first came to us, you know, you just get to know these characters and some other end up in your songs whether you like it or not. It's really cool. And oh God, who was who was the one this older kind of younger guy? He ran with that kind of 70s sfq like Joe Fang. Oh, okay, I think eBay. Yeah. He showed up at Thrasher with a baseball bat one morning. Are you serious? That is a true story. So yeah, like all those dudes, you know, like all the characters of Potrero and the hill that they heck one. What's the proudest Music Moment? You've had. Wow other than being interviewed by Steve Turner and Thrasher. I was thinking more along The lines of the Z-Boys bet that that definitely I mean to have guys who you pinned pictures up on your wall and taped pictures in your locker and you'd open skateboarder magazines and see like shogo Kubo. Yeah, Tony Alva Jay Adams Marty Grimes. Yeah. No, I when I heard that Z Flex was interested in putting us in a documentary about their team. I was Just floored when I heard they just wanted us and no other band. I was confused, but I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Uh-huh. I mean part of me wanted to be like, well, you should get the Shrine in there. I mean, they're from Venice fucking beat. Yeah, and I think I did it was like everybody else going to be in this like the shrine or zigzags and they're like, no they kind of want to keep keep it, you know consistent. Is that cool? I was like, oh God. Yeah, that's cool and saying they'd sent us like a box of like so what like one of the guys Heard you guys into was like oh this will be perfect for the movie or was it more than that? I think it was Tim from Australia whose tight with that crew and he's an old-school or guy. He's got an amazing guitar shop. He's put out like an earth list pedal before for Isaiah. And every time I think Earth list goes to Australia. They play at Tim's shop sick. Yeah. He's just an amazing wonderful human being so he's He's at home watching under the bridge and all the sudden hot lunch comes up on the screen and he's like wait a minute, maybe something like that. I can't remember who turned them into our music and Mario and Mike, huh? But I mean, I remember just learning that he was putting us in touch with his e Flex guys and they were into it and I was just I couldn't believe it so can't believe it so you but you didn't write any music for that. It was already written in they took your already written songs. Yeah, right. Yeah. It was just ready. It okay and it fit perfect God that is an amazing and then you got to be an extra in the movie as well. Right and the Lords of Lords of Dogtown that was because a friend of mine who work in Central Casting, you know back in the early 2000s. I was really into just I found out that there was this thing called eBay and you could find old skateboards on it. And so I would like get like old Logan Earth keys and put them together and learn how to like ride like my hero. I wanted to learn how to ride like my heroes, you know, and so she she said hey you you skate like old 70s boards and pools. You should come to this casting call and I'll say alright, it's in Los Angeles and I went and I skated for them. I said, all right. We want you to skate in the movie. Where's Your Screen Actors Guild credentials and I was like my wet now. No, I don't worry. It'll just cost you 2 Grand to join the thing. I don't have to grin. Yeah, they're like, well, we got the look. You got the style. We like you. Why don't you just be an extra will pay you like three or four hundred dollars a day to pump a keg full of fake beer and smoke fake weed in the surf shop and dance to tvi with the nuge and you don't need the Actors Guild for that now because I know have any speaking lines and I wasn't going to be actually performing Athletics. I would have said front me the guild card and then I need ten Grand on top of that and then we good, but I got to meet the new judge from that. Yeah, he's sick. He's such a red guy and I got to skate with ta at Pedro. How did you mess with him? He just showed up. I saw this he talked to you at all or yeah, we hung out. Uh-huh. He showed up in a SUV with an Alva sticker. On it and I was like, oh fuck. This is either going to be rad or it's going to suck. Don't meet your Heroes exactly. What are the Mantra that was playing in my head? I was trying not to think about it, but I'm fucking glad I met him because when we talked and we skated and he was so cool. My Tony Alva experience is a little different. What was that? Somebody actually McKenney actually hit me up. He's like you and that Tony Alva got beef and I was like no what happened was we were at the Vans Park series. Antonio is there skating and I am filming the whole thing and I come up to him as a hey cool. If I get a photo like I asked first and he's like no and he drops him somehow. I think it got word. Tuna Rocco and then Naraku came over and interviewed me was like, so what's up? I heard Tony frosted you or something and they made it like kind of a big deal where I think it aired on the TV because they were and so people start be like whoa, Smitty and T A and B. You've got that was a pretty funny one, but I thought amazingly I went to a Guns N'Roses reunions tour at AT&T got the Hook-Up and we had really close to eat and fucking Axel came out with an Alva shirt on and everyone was kind of like not like you said not knowing how to feel about it. And I was like fuck that's rad news. Yeah. I mean how many people are going to be like, what's that all about? Yeah gonna look up Alva and be like, holy shit. Yeah, I should buy a shirt and axles in it. Notorious for like NWA all these cool shirts like throughout his whole career the Charles Manson. All right. Look how often you get that too often man. Yeah. It's a weird thing I either get Jesus Christ or Charles Manson. Oh when I tell people well, that's the Specter of Jesus Christ wasn't white they get really mad. And then when I tell people well Charles Manson was actually a pretty good singer songwriter. They get really mad, but he had a tattoo on his forehead. You don't have that. I don't I have put that X on my forehead on Halloween because it's just so easy to put on bell bottoms and put an x on your head and you are Charlie Manson, uh-huh and like fine that's easy, you know, right and people seem to lose their shit, but I stopped doing that because I realized you know, what too many people like Charlie Manson fuck that. How am I supposed to be scary this costume supposed to scare people? Yeah. I don't want people coming up and taking selfies with me. Yeah. I don't like being Charlie Manson. I'm not going to be Charlie Manson. And yeah, the thing about Charles Manson is he died? Died. Yeah, and no City would let them bury him there good. Yeah, so that I think they had to cremate them and maybe he's in a I don't know where he is. But I know that the city he's from the city. He was in jail. Every city said nah. Nah. Nah, we don't want his people coming here. There's a great podcast called you must remember this and they do a Charlie Manson episode that talks about everything orbiting around the murder around his cult and at the end of the day my big takeaway. That guy was just another cuckoo. Wanted to be a rock star. He never killed anyone. Well, no, he actually I think he shot some somebody. Oh he did. Yeah, it goes into that. I'm fascinated. Like if it's a fucking whatever murder mr. What are they called True Crime? Yeah plug me in I'll binge-watch the fuck out of it the Bundy tapes. Yeah mind Hunter all those think I am fascinated listen to this then because I think it will dispel. The mythology and mystery around the impetus of the Manson family the Manson motive in the Manson murder. Uh-huh. He just wanted to be a rock star. Yeah be a famous rock star that deal fell through so he was going to go get revenge on the people in the music industry that couldn't make him a big famous rock star and he got the wrong people. Well be out there sculptor. Yeah. That's right. Some people consider that the very first heavy metal song. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. Wow, and if you think about like the difference between a hard rock and heavy metal is going to get a little geeky here. Now. I like it my friend Diego and I were talking about how hard rock can be classified as something that still rooted in the Blues. Sure blue cheer. Okay, heavy metal is still loud and hard and driving but no Blues. So Helter Skelter arguably could be the first heavy metal song because it's a heavy hard driving loud song that doesn't have It's not rooted in the Blues in a very obvious way like Summertime Blues by blue cheer. I was always told that heavy metal started because plaques are ya Black Sabbath guitarist had metal fingers. I've heard that too because Tony Iommi sliced off his two middle fingers. Uh-huh, and I had to wear like these Thimbles, right? And then those two strings those fingers touch with in and it made that sound and that was Heavy Metal. I like I think everybody has you know, Yeah, Mark Gonzalez versus not as we don't know who did the first handrail really doing enough with the hard claims. Yeah, you know, but speaking of music. I forgot is a great question here and we tie it in with our past guest. Mr. Farmer. He's really adamant about this Aerosmith being the best American band of all time. I had that and there's you know, there's some stipulations. It can't be Jimi Hendrix. It can't be Bob Dylan. It has to be a band name, right? So those people People are out but you know, I was wondering your take on this I see I can see why he would say that Aerosmith her an incredible band, especially the early stuff. Hell, I'll even play some stuff from honkin on Bobo and that's the worst thing. You could ever name an album honkin on Bobo what the fuck? You know, those guys were called like the American Stones. Yeah bit hyperbolic, but you know, I love Aerosmith, but I beg to differ I think the best American band For me would be a three-way tie between the birds Grand Funk Railroad and MC5 you guys kind of use MC5 as an influence heavy, right? Oh for sure. Yeah FC 5 tattooed on my arm. Yeah. They're no joke. I love MC5 sure, but I don't know this whole and living music and working in music. I've kind of gotten over the whole like the best this or the best that yeah. I don't know who said that comparison is the thief Thief of Joy, but that seems to resonate with me a lot more of these days. Yeah, that is interesting because toad was all about Van Halen and then he named his daughter Halen and then he had a son and I was like, you named it what it should have been Vanda now, that would have been perfect. Yeah, and I think he was on board, but maybe I don't know. Alright, let's get to 2019 some serious shit here. Okay. What the fuck is up with? Sarin Cisco and what can we do about this God? I don't. Man, you know do we like these motorized scooters in the unicycle guys flying around everywhere. There's motorized skateboards lion up spills going 40 miles an hour, but we can't push down the street safely. I don't understand I would I'm just gonna go on record to say I would rather see motorized scooters than motorized skateboards. Yeah, you know, I think so too. It makes more sense. Anyway, I hate the briefcase helmet and remote control. Finger guy looking at me while I'm driving my car because I'm like, I just want to say du/dy. I need glasses and I can't see that well, and I'm sorry. I ran you over like it just wasn't my fault. You know, God damn it. We built this city on rock and roll is the worst though out of all the you got the you know wheel guy which is that guy comes out of our elevator in the morning and I really love my coffee. I dude this shit's it can ruin your whole day man. Really? Yeah, but we got the you We'll go we got motorized scooter motorized skateboard. I think those are top three words dude right now. And as a skateboarder, it's hard not to take this shit personally. Yeah, it just it just is no matter how good you are or like me how bad you are if you belong to skateboarding, you know, it's easy to take that shit personally and to think like these fuckers are trolling us, you know, but they're just doing their thing. I get it, you know, not everybody can get it tuned in and but it's just it's sad. It might be a straw on the camel's back. You know that. Yeah, it's like okay, we got Rising rents. We got evictions. We got homeless and we got these guys. I think the challenge now is to like find the the cool pockets of San Francisco that still exist and make them your home. It's getting trickier the Avenue seem like they're kind of a little bit of a magnet for that one other guy that pisses me off. We're getting we're pissed off right now Are We Wrong? Coffee and we're happy actually, but how about the guy this like I want to move to San Francisco. Fuck the missions cool. What if I move next door to the make-out room? Okay, I'm gonna buy that place. Hey, it's kind of loud. I want the make-out room not to have night shows anymore. Let's put the bottom of the hill out of business. Like why the fuck did you move into that neighborhood? It's like moving next to a hospital and saying, The sirens are bugging you. I mean, come on. That's the irony. It's like why did you want to move to San Francisco in the first place? You wanted to be cool you wanted to be cool. You wanted to be around culture you want to be around art and wanted to be around music and now you're taking all of that away from the city. This is our first segment of this type. I don't usually do this often, but I think you can appreciate where I'm coming from. Yeah, man. I moved to the city in 94. I've been coming up here all my life. I'm a California boy. I've born and raised in In the Bay area and I'm trying to make my peace with it and some regards in other regards, you know, maybe it's just time to move on. Yeah, and at the same time I'm reminded of those lyrics and Tom Sawyer by Rush where he says he knows changes aren't permanent but change is changes permanent and his mind is not for rent. So remember that You moved to Oakland though. And I was like, what is that now five six five years. I think it's been like 7 or 8 years. Whoa, and now you're heading out to the Falcon land of Athens, Georgia, Athens, Georgia. Wow, that's REM, right REM B-52s Livia Tremor control drive-by truckers. Oh, wow of Montreal if you see Michael Stipe, just tell him. How you doing? Yeah, actually my uncle's friend was in rem as a backup guitarist Peter holds Apple now. His name is Scott McCoy. Oh really in the young fresh fellows. No way. That's wow small world. Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, you know, I mean, I'm going to be back so much. Nobody's going to recognize or realize that I've I've moved. Yeah, I was going to ask. How is that going to affect the band and stuff long-distance relationship. I'll probably be back one once every month. At least 2019 and most of 2020. Can we come we look forward to some East Coast tours then I think so. I'd like to finally do that. We've played Europe and we've never played the East Coast really complete Europe twice never played the east coast once yeah, like I was telling you this gate Rock trip, we flew into Atlanta. The first night was Athens, then we went to North Carolina went up the coast and ended in New York. Yeah. It's a great one. I mean you hit New York Philly Baltimore. There's some epic cities and what we didn't do which you could is keep In into Providence hit Rhode Island and that low area. I've never even been to that so on but that's definitely next on my list. But it's a really cool tour. Oh, yeah, it's closed circuit is the best I did it with parchment Farm in the fucking Champs back in the early 2000s and everything. So close to each other and the pulled pork sandwiches are the best. So what are you gonna do? What are your future goals? You're going to stick your working for Pandora? Yes, and you're going to transfer out there and continue to work for Pandora. Yeah. We have an office in it. Anna and I'm going to make my new home in Athens, oh and work in that Atlanta. Yeah go back and forth to the Atlanta office maybe work from home once or twice a week, you know, just try that kind of maybe this is my version of a midlife crisis, you know, I'll be 50 in a couple of years five of those. I've had a quarter life crisis. I mean just this week, but like, I don't know. I just want to try something new I want to uproot It myself more power to you. If you if you like an opportunity like I gotta try make sure that you have a lot of water because you're going to take showers a lot more often. They're the humidity will get you. Oh, yeah. Yeah, not the heat of the humanity. Yeah, exactly. Oh shit, but Atlanta's kind of like the new Hollywood. They're filming like all this stuff down there nowadays. Like that's where they do at all. Yeah. Well, that's cool. I'm super stoked that we finally our paths. It's been a minute since I've seen you and you are one of the first people I thought of when I started on this Venture people may think differently, but I'm not really comfortable socializing too much and this is good for that. And then I also get to have an excuse to say. Hey, let's spend an hour together and talk. Oh, no, not only that but it kind of extends epically try it in a different way, you know, like listening to your podcast. Yes. I'm getting so nostalgic for trife life, which wasn't that That far away but then it kind of is you know, you've always been so supportive with this that stuff and were you at the trife party which one it was the first anniversary. We did at the Parkside and me and your whole bowl and Preston and I think Becker made a what do you call it a wheel of Misfortune that sounds kinda Massac and Hightower plate. Yeah. I think that was the first time I saw domestic. Okay, because that was I mean if I'm At myself on the shoulder ever. I might have to do it there that party went off and people still talk about was so sick tamasic came out into the snow. It was snowing there flights were delayed Logan's calling me from Boston like we're gonna make it don't worry like and I'd never even met him yet. And then they were just the raddest dudes ever like Bros for life, like instantly. Yeah. I've never really had that before and I really do mean it with those guys that like because we had So many friends of friends, I think the comfort zone but we really were like hugging why this high-fiving Logan like before we even said hi for the first time which was really cool. But the wheel of Misfortune. Yeah, we put like jagerbomb fucking like just the five shots of stupid or whatever and then you put five dollars down and spit it in the movie like, oh no. Oh my God those days. I just remember like At some you know, some good party when Tracy ends up on the floor usually straddling Katie Knox. Yeah or wrestling Halsey. Yeah. It's like, okay. This is this is happening. Yeah, this is this is Tracy life. They really love that fun and Halsey. I miss so much because she was my she was basically the one person I could count on that was like Hey this band playing and she was down. Oh, yeah, and she actually would would say it more times to me than I'd say it to her because she knew more about music which was rad because I got to you know experience some new bands and stuff and then meet people and that was a really special time. Josie was killing it with like black and white photos really contrast. No my favorite photographers man. She's got the eye. Yeah, just a man measure hobo and I and and and McGinley and and Becker weren't real good pile out. Arm I stopped drinking, but I feel like I drink a lot back then I drank more than most people. Yeah, I mean not like like like quantity, but you lived more than one furnaces. You live more than most people. Yeah. It was wild my current girlfriend. She just like always because now I fall asleep at 10, so it's interesting but enough about that really good catching up with your clay and I just want to say you're all all right. Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode and if you did, please subscribe now on anchor iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts and if you liked this show one of the best ways to show some love is to write up a review. I always appreciate to hear your thoughts and detailed reviews are the best way for people to discover us also a big shout-out to our executive director Cheryl camisa, shoutout.
I've known Eric Shea for quite some time and to be honest I've heard a lot more from him then he's heard from me. You see he is the singer of one of the best Bay Area bands out there, Hot Lunch. I recently drove over to the East Bay to meet him after work in his office at Pandora and catch up. We talked about growing up in SJ, living in Tahoe during the Mile High vert contest, playing music and living with Mike Prosenko, being in the Dogtown movie,  current SF fails, and much much more... If you like what you hear, please HIT SUBSCRIBE and also, Im gonna be giving out some gifts to the best REVIEWS that you leave for me in the iTunes store. 5 stars is much appreciated and really helps spread the word. Feel free to hit me up with questions or suggestions at epiclytrife@yahoo.com and thanks so much for the support. 