Country Fried Rock 1220: Joey Kneiser of Glossary on the Underdog's Guide to Making Music That Matters
Summary
A NOTE FROM SLOANE SPENCER: If there was one band I could get back together from the entire history of Country Fried Rock, it would be Glossary. I am also indebted to Kneiser for suggesting I buy a left-handed guitar, instead of trying to play right-handed or upside-down, as I had been.
From 2012: Joey Kneiser from the band Glossary rolls into the podcast to dish about the wild ride of crafting music outside the mainstream bubble. He kicks things off by reminiscing about his early days, realizing that making a living as a musician didn’t have to mean selling out; who knew underground vibes could be so liberating? With a smorgasbord of influences from the Replacements to gospel tunes, he shares how these eclectic sounds shaped his songwriting journey, making it all about the groove and storytelling. As they riff about the challenges of being a small band in a content-saturated world, Joey reflects on the importance of connection and creativity, proving that sometimes, it’s about the journey, not the destination. Stick around as they dive into the nitty-gritty of what keeps the band moving forward despite the odds, and how they keep the magic alive in their music-making process.
Links
- REMINDER: IGNORE ALL LINKS OR EVENTS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE FROM 2012
- Toss a few in our Tip Jar!
- Glossary
- Glossary on Bandcamp
- Joey Kneiser on Bandcamp
- You may also enjoy this conversation from 2015 with Folk Family Revival
Show Notes
In this laid-back conversation on Country Fried Rock, Joey Kneiser, frontman of Glossary, takes us on a journey through his musical evolution and the underground scene that shaped his artistic identity. Here's what you'll find in this episode:
- Joey's Musical Genesis: From discovering The Replacements and Fugazi to jamming out to Michael Jackson and early hip-hop, Joey reflects on how these influences sparked his desire to make music that’s real and relatable.
- Formation of Glossary: Hear how Glossary came together in the late '90s, driven by a shared love for indie rock and the spirit of the underground scene. Joey shares the story of how the band formed and what kept them going through the years.
- Songwriting & Collaboration: Joey dives into the nuances of songwriting, highlighting how the band's creative process thrives on collaboration and mutual respect, helping to create their unique sound.
- New Album Talk: Get a peek into the band's latest album, where they blend rock, R&B, and gospel to create something fresh yet deeply rooted in their musical influences.
- The Struggles of Small Bands Today: Joey talks candidly about the challenges of being a small band in a crowded music landscape, securing booking agents, staying visible, and cutting through the noise.
- The Joy of Music: Despite the struggles, Joey’s passion and optimism shine through as he talks about the pure joy of making music with friends and connecting with their fans.
Tune in for a conversation that’s not just about music, but about staying true to your art, no matter how big or small your platform might be.
Chapters
- 00:12 - Introduction to Joey Kneiser and Glossary
- 00:16 - The Journey into Underground Music
- 12:48 - Exploring New Musical Influences
- 17:42 - Transitioning to Solo Projects
- 22:28 - The Challenges of Touring as a Small Band
- 24:23 - The Impact of Touring and Collaborations on Band Growth
Takeaways
- Joey Kneiser's journey into music began with discovering underground bands that inspired his songwriting journey beyond mainstream success.
- The evolution of Joey's musical style reflects a deeper understanding of songwriting, emphasizing chord complexity and narrative depth.
- In today's saturated music scene, finding a unique voice is crucial as every artist competes for listener attention in a digital landscape.
- Collaboration and community have been essential for Joey's band, as they rely on connections with other musicians to expand their audience.
- The shift from physical mixtapes to digital streaming has changed how fans discover music, impacting the band’s reach and growth.
- Joey's creative process involves writing songs on piano, which has introduced new musical elements that diversify their sound and keep it fresh.
Mentioned in this Episode
- Glossary
- Replacements
- Fugazi
- De La Soul
- Iron Maiden
- Run DMC
- NWA
- Jawbreaker
- fIREHOSE
- Minutemen
- Black Flag
- Lucero
- Patterson Hood
- Two Cow Garage
- Slobberbone
- The Drams
- Centro-Matic
Recommended If You Like
podcast about musicians, Country Fried Rock podcast, Joey Kneiser interview, Glossary band, underground music influence, songwriting process, indie rock history, 90s music scene, cult band following, music creativity, influences on songwriting, artist interviews, live music experiences, recording process, music industry challenges, music genres exploration, songwriting techniques, DIY music production, music collaboration, alternative rock insights
Transcript
Speaker A
Welcome to Country Fried Rock where we talk with musicians to find out what inspires their creativity. Country Fried Rock Music Uncovered Today my guest is Joey Kneiser from the band Glossary. Thanks so much for being with us on Country Fried Rock.
Speaker B
I'm glad to be here.
Speaker A
Appreciate you being here. When did you start playing?
Speaker B
I mean, I guess I've just been playing music kind of my whole life, just making up songs. When I was younger, when I was probably about 16, was when I first heard like underground music was a huge epiphany to me.
I didn't realize that you could play music it not be on the radio like that you could have a career, you know, that wasn't like a mainstream career.
I'd first heard like Replacement Fugazi and bands like that who were not getting played really on the radio, but were actually, you know, living off of playing in a band. And I think that's when I kind of decided that that's what I would pursue and that I would pursue that actual trying to learn how to write songs.
And that way that someday, you know, well, I'd the band, you know, I wouldn't have to worry about if I played guitar. I'd have to find a band or if I played drums or something, I'd always have to find a band.
But if I really just focused on trying to write songs, I'd always be the band and me.
Speaker A
Before you discovered the underground music stuff, what were you doing as a kid? Like, what spoke to you musically? Because not every kid does that.
Speaker B
I mean, when I was a kid, I was like. Probably most kids that like, you know, grew up. I'm 37 years old, so I, you know, I grew up. Most of my youth was in the 80s.
So I mean, I grew up listening to what was on the radio. Obviously I love Michael Jackson, you know, things like that.
I was also, as a kid of that era got into like the early days of like hip hop and stuff, really into some more weirder hip hop bands. Like I really like De La Soul and later 80s. I remember being extremely obsessed with De La Soul's 3ft high and Rising.
I used to come home from school, from middle school and it was back when El MTV Raps was on.
And I'd like every day when I got home from school and you know, then I'd watch Headbangers Ball on Saturday nights and all was younger and then 120 minutes on Sunday night. I had an older brother, so he was listening to a lot of metal.
Like my older brother, you Know, he listened to like lots, lots and lots of metal like Iron Maiden or something like that. But then he'd listen to like Run dmc, you know, or like NWA or, you know, I was listening to a.
Speaker A
Lot of different stuff when you finally discovered Replacements, which got you into that first.
Speaker B
When I first heard it, I felt like it was probably the same as the people that were a couple years younger than me. Like when they first heard Nirvana. I first heard the placement.
I had heard like, you know, I remember one time, like listening to college radio, hearing left of the dial and then realizing what the song meant.
Like listening to it left of the dial and understanding like, oh, you know, the song is talking about all that music that's on these little college radio stations, you know, the stations that are under 100, you know. And I remember it being like just kind of my introduction into an underground world. And you know, I had. I started skateboarding around 1987.
I skateboarded for about 15 years. And that was like my other, you know, it was so attached to underground music. Like the first time I ever heard like Fire Hose.
Speaker A
Yeah.
Speaker B
Or like, you know, the Minutemen or like Black Flag and stuff like that was in that skate video. So that was kind of like an introduction also to me to that kind of counterculture.
I would definitely say that Let It Be and Tim were the two records that like, then I went out and nowadays when I think about that, I think about how young those guys are on that record. Like you listen to like Let It Be and you think. I think Paul worshippers like maybe 21 or 22 on that record. Crazy how those songs so well written.
Blows me away like 21 year old. Look at.
Speaker A
It's a little different now. But did you get into like bootleg records and stuff back then?
Speaker B
Oh yeah. I mean, that was still the era of like, you know, pre digital world. So like it was still the mixtape era and like when everybody was just, you know.
I remember the first time I heard punk rock band Jawbreaker, which I was really obsessed with at the time. I had a tape that had like two of the records on it and I listened to that tape like until it wore out.
You know, it given me just like back in the tape swapping days where people were just giving each other tape. I mean, so that, that's really how I got. Everything was just somebody recording a tape for me or making a mixtape for me.
And then I find out a band do that and you know, it was, you know, it was still when bandzings were really, how you kept connected to bands because nobody had a website and so you actually had to go physically go to a record store. And then all the people that were into the, you know, the weird underground music that you were into, that's where they all were.
Speaker A
Yeah, there was a human interaction element to that, to like finding out the stuff and hanging out at the record store and that sort of thing.
Speaker B
For sure. I mean, you had to actually go to the place, you know, where, you know, all the, you know, people that listen to the same kind of things you do.
Now it's so anonymous and I mean, it brings everybody close together in the digital age. But then you never really get to meet face to face or, you know, like, I mean, you could find everybody who's into the same thing.
You can, but you're still anonymous.
Speaker A
You all, as a band, have continued to have that sort of following though, as well.
Speaker B
Yeah, I mean, I think we're such a tiny band, you know, we became like, over time. Like, you know, it's just.
Music is just different right now because, you know, we live in like, just a content saturated environment where everybody's a content provider. I mean, everybody has a phone in their pocket, so everybody's a photographer or making videos and just so much content.
So nowadays the struggle for anybody is how to rise to the top, you know, how to get more and more people to know anything. You know, being a photographer or anything.
It's just now that it's made it easy for anybody to do, which is awesome because it gives anybody who had an unattainable dream, like, access to it, put so much content out there.
So it's hard sometimes for like, you know, even though it's easy now for a band to be a band and you got a straight shot to your fans, it's to find those bands. Absolutely, is the hard part. So, you know, we're still like a small band, and I mean, we've just become more so of like maybe like a cult band.
Speaker A
Right.
Speaker B
Just the people who know about us, love us, but, you know, it's still a small group of people. Hey, this is Joey Knyser from the rock band Velocity, and you're listening to Country Fried Rock.
Speaker A
Let's fill some of those gaps then. From you figuring out about this whole underground music scene and kind of how that worked at the time to how did it go into you writing songs?
Speaker B
I realized at an early age that, like, the only way to make a. I thought, you know, when I was like 16, that the easiest way for me to Pursue music for the rest of my life would be to write songs and that I'd have to try to figure out how to write songs because it seemed like if you could write songs, it was like a huge. It was like, had some kind of, like, power to it.
One of the things that was, you know, I still kind of feel in the music, you know, playing music, it's like one of the hardest things is to just create something out of nothing, you know, it's like. And to do it for a long time and try to do it consistently is even harder.
So I just decided that I was going to try to pursue, you know, my life in music would be pursuing the actual writing side of it. I just over time, try to get better at it and find people that wanted to like what I was doing writing the song.
Speaker A
So where did that road take you early on?
Speaker B
Well, I mean, it took me through, like, I think anybody who's young and getting into music and just likes music in general. I mean, it took me, like, through every little genre and subculture of, like, indie rock.
You know, our band technically started in, like, 97, you know, obviously in that time, you know, when I was, like, in college.
And so I still, like, obsessed with bands at the time when I first come into my own writing, you know, I was obsessed with, like, Pavement, Archers of Bow, Pixies, and like, bigger, like, kind of influential, like, 90s bands and indie rock. 90s bands. So, I mean, that's how our band started was out of, like, an indie rock. The 90s indie rock. That's kind of what we were all into.
And then I think once I graduated college, you know, I started listening to more and more, like, troubadour kind of songwriters. You know, I think I heard like, Townes for the first time. And then I heard like, Clark, those kind of writers.
And I got really into, like, Tom Wait, you know, and obviously like Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and people like that.
And I was, you know, we started getting really into, like, Randy Newman, getting into actual just, like, people who were really good songsmiths and like, narrative songwriters, more and more understanding the art of writing a song.
Because I think before, when I came out of that 90s kind of rock world, like, you could be just obscure and you could just write words that sounded clever together and like, you know, maybe the meaning of the song was left up to the interpreter of it, you know, listener.
But then when I heard these songs that were linear or straight or about something and how powerful it is, when you hear a song, you, like, Know what the song is about. Really well written. And I was just like.
It kind of just brought me back to those original days when I first heard Replacement, because that's how their songs were. Like, I listen to songs and then you knew.
You know, I always say that, like, whenever I first heard Satisfied, it was like, probably when kids first heard like, you know, that Teen Spirit. It's still to this day I hear that song and I'm just. It makes me feel like I'm like 17.
Speaker A
So there have definitely been huge stylistic influences that have changed what comes out in your sound.
Speaker B
Yeah, for sure. I mean, the band has definitely been trying to figure out what we want to do and what. What we can do, like what our abilities are.
I mean, definitely over like the last record, you know, I was listening to like a lot more of R B ish and gospel kind of music and, you know, so it has a little bit of those kind of elements to it. You know, we like rock, you know, music, you know, rock music is really like our, you know, 4K, just good rock, you know, pop song.
So, you know, I mean, we all love like Gooseberries and artists like that that are writing songs but have a big kind of rock and roll sound. And also having rhythm has become more and more important to us.
Things kind of having groove and, I don't know, you know, I mean, rock and roll kind of started like 60 years ago and wrapped around it was the idea of dancing, I think. And a lot of that has been kind of taken out of rock and roll and put up maybe in other kinds of genres of music.
That's about moving in rock and roll. So we were, you know, always kind of attracted to having rhythm and swinging a little bit and like. But still having other kinds of songs.
You know, we...
Transcript
Welcome to Country Fried Rock where we talk with musicians to find out what inspires their creativity.
Speaker A:Country Fried Rock Music Uncovered Today my guest is Joey Kneiser from the band Glossary.
Speaker A:Thanks so much for being with us on Country Fried Rock.
Speaker B:I'm glad to be here.
Speaker A:Appreciate you being here.
Speaker A:When did you start playing?
Speaker B:I mean, I guess I've just been playing music kind of my whole life, just making up songs.
Speaker B:When I was younger, when I was probably about 16, was when I first heard like underground music was a huge epiphany to me.
Speaker B:I didn't realize that you could play music it not be on the radio like that you could have a career, you know, that wasn't like a mainstream career.
Speaker B:I'd first heard like Replacement Fugazi and bands like that who were not getting played really on the radio, but were actually, you know, living off of playing in a band.
Speaker B:And I think that's when I kind of decided that that's what I would pursue and that I would pursue that actual trying to learn how to write songs.
Speaker B:And that way that someday, you know, well, I'd the band, you know, I wouldn't have to worry about if I played guitar.
Speaker B:I'd have to find a band or if I played drums or something, I'd always have to find a band.
Speaker B:But if I really just focused on trying to write songs, I'd always be the band and me.
Speaker A:Before you discovered the underground music stuff, what were you doing as a kid?
Speaker A:Like, what spoke to you musically?
Speaker A:Because not every kid does that.
Speaker B:I mean, when I was a kid, I was like.
Speaker B:Probably most kids that like, you know, grew up.
Speaker B:I'm 37 years old, so I, you know, I grew up.
Speaker B:Most of my youth was in the 80s.
Speaker B:So I mean, I grew up listening to what was on the radio.
Speaker B:Obviously I love Michael Jackson, you know, things like that.
Speaker B:I was also, as a kid of that era got into like the early days of like hip hop and stuff, really into some more weirder hip hop bands.
Speaker B:Like I really like De La Soul and later 80s.
Speaker B:I remember being extremely obsessed with De La Soul's 3ft high and Rising.
Speaker B:I used to come home from school, from middle school and it was back when El MTV Raps was on.
Speaker B:And I'd like every day when I got home from school and you know, then I'd watch Headbangers Ball on Saturday nights and all was younger and then 120 minutes on Sunday night.
Speaker B:I had an older brother, so he was listening to a lot of metal.
Speaker B:Like my older brother, you Know, he listened to like lots, lots and lots of metal like Iron Maiden or something like that.
Speaker B:But then he'd listen to like Run dmc, you know, or like NWA or, you know, I was listening to a.
Speaker A:Lot of different stuff when you finally discovered Replacements, which got you into that first.
Speaker B:When I first heard it, I felt like it was probably the same as the people that were a couple years younger than me.
Speaker B:Like when they first heard Nirvana.
Speaker B:I first heard the placement.
Speaker B:I had heard like, you know, I remember one time, like listening to college radio, hearing left of the dial and then realizing what the song meant.
Speaker B:Like listening to it left of the dial and understanding like, oh, you know, the song is talking about all that music that's on these little college radio stations, you know, the stations that are under 100, you know.
Speaker B:And I remember it being like just kind of my introduction into an underground world.
Speaker B:And you know, I had.
Speaker B: started skateboarding around: Speaker B:I skateboarded for about 15 years.
Speaker B:And that was like my other, you know, it was so attached to underground music.
Speaker B:Like the first time I ever heard like Fire Hose.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Or like, you know, the Minutemen or like Black Flag and stuff like that was in that skate video.
Speaker B:So that was kind of like an introduction also to me to that kind of counterculture.
Speaker B:I would definitely say that Let It Be and Tim were the two records that like, then I went out and nowadays when I think about that, I think about how young those guys are on that record.
Speaker B:Like you listen to like Let It Be and you think.
Speaker B:I think Paul worshippers like maybe 21 or 22 on that record.
Speaker B:Crazy how those songs so well written.
Speaker B:Blows me away like 21 year old.
Speaker B:Look at.
Speaker A:It's a little different now.
Speaker A:But did you get into like bootleg records and stuff back then?
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, that was still the era of like, you know, pre digital world.
Speaker B:So like it was still the mixtape era and like when everybody was just, you know.
Speaker B:I remember the first time I heard punk rock band Jawbreaker, which I was really obsessed with at the time.
Speaker B:I had a tape that had like two of the records on it and I listened to that tape like until it wore out.
Speaker B:You know, it given me just like back in the tape swapping days where people were just giving each other tape.
Speaker B:I mean, so that, that's really how I got.
Speaker B:Everything was just somebody recording a tape for me or making a mixtape for me.
Speaker B:And then I find out a band do that and you know, it was, you know, it was still when bandzings were really, how you kept connected to bands because nobody had a website and so you actually had to go physically go to a record store.
Speaker B:And then all the people that were into the, you know, the weird underground music that you were into, that's where they all were.
Speaker A:Yeah, there was a human interaction element to that, to like finding out the stuff and hanging out at the record store and that sort of thing.
Speaker B:For sure.
Speaker B:I mean, you had to actually go to the place, you know, where, you know, all the, you know, people that listen to the same kind of things you do.
Speaker B:Now it's so anonymous and I mean, it brings everybody close together in the digital age.
Speaker B:But then you never really get to meet face to face or, you know, like, I mean, you could find everybody who's into the same thing.
Speaker B:You can, but you're still anonymous.
Speaker A:You all, as a band, have continued to have that sort of following though, as well.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, I think we're such a tiny band, you know, we became like, over time.
Speaker B:Like, you know, it's just.
Speaker B:Music is just different right now because, you know, we live in like, just a content saturated environment where everybody's a content provider.
Speaker B:I mean, everybody has a phone in their pocket, so everybody's a photographer or making videos and just so much content.
Speaker B:So nowadays the struggle for anybody is how to rise to the top, you know, how to get more and more people to know anything.
Speaker B:You know, being a photographer or anything.
Speaker B:It's just now that it's made it easy for anybody to do, which is awesome because it gives anybody who had an unattainable dream, like, access to it, put so much content out there.
Speaker B:So it's hard sometimes for like, you know, even though it's easy now for a band to be a band and you got a straight shot to your fans, it's to find those bands.
Speaker B:Absolutely, is the hard part.
Speaker B:So, you know, we're still like a small band, and I mean, we've just become more so of like maybe like a cult band.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Just the people who know about us, love us, but, you know, it's still a small group of people.
Speaker B:Hey, this is Joey Knyser from the rock band Velocity, and you're listening to Country Fried Rock.
Speaker A:Let's fill some of those gaps then.
Speaker A:From you figuring out about this whole underground music scene and kind of how that worked at the time to how did it go into you writing songs?
Speaker B:I realized at an early age that, like, the only way to make a. I thought, you know, when I was like 16, that the easiest way for me to Pursue music for the rest of my life would be to write songs and that I'd have to try to figure out how to write songs because it seemed like if you could write songs, it was like a huge.
Speaker B:It was like, had some kind of, like, power to it.
Speaker B:One of the things that was, you know, I still kind of feel in the music, you know, playing music, it's like one of the hardest things is to just create something out of nothing, you know, it's like.
Speaker B:And to do it for a long time and try to do it consistently is even harder.
Speaker B:So I just decided that I was going to try to pursue, you know, my life in music would be pursuing the actual writing side of it.
Speaker B:I just over time, try to get better at it and find people that wanted to like what I was doing writing the song.
Speaker A:So where did that road take you early on?
Speaker B:Well, I mean, it took me through, like, I think anybody who's young and getting into music and just likes music in general.
Speaker B:I mean, it took me, like, through every little genre and subculture of, like, indie rock.
Speaker B:You know, our band technically started in, like, 97, you know, obviously in that time, you know, when I was, like, in college.
Speaker B:And so I still, like, obsessed with bands at the time when I first come into my own writing, you know, I was obsessed with, like, Pavement, Archers of Bow, Pixies, and like, bigger, like, kind of influential, like, 90s bands and indie rock.
Speaker B:90s bands.
Speaker B:So, I mean, that's how our band started was out of, like, an indie rock.
Speaker B:The 90s indie rock.
Speaker B:That's kind of what we were all into.
Speaker B:And then I think once I graduated college, you know, I started listening to more and more, like, troubadour kind of songwriters.
Speaker B:You know, I think I heard like, Townes for the first time.
Speaker B:And then I heard like, Clark, those kind of writers.
Speaker B:And I got really into, like, Tom Wait, you know, and obviously like Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and people like that.
Speaker B:And I was, you know, we started getting really into, like, Randy Newman, getting into actual just, like, people who were really good songsmiths and like, narrative songwriters, more and more understanding the art of writing a song.
Speaker B:Because I think before, when I came out of that 90s kind of rock world, like, you could be just obscure and you could just write words that sounded clever together and like, you know, maybe the meaning of the song was left up to the interpreter of it, you know, listener.
Speaker B:But then when I heard these songs that were linear or straight or about something and how powerful it is, when you hear a song, you, like, Know what the song is about.
Speaker B:Really well written.
Speaker B:And I was just like.
Speaker B:It kind of just brought me back to those original days when I first heard Replacement, because that's how their songs were.
Speaker B:Like, I listen to songs and then you knew.
Speaker B:You know, I always say that, like, whenever I first heard Satisfied, it was like, probably when kids first heard like, you know, that Teen Spirit.
Speaker B:It's still to this day I hear that song and I'm just.
Speaker B:It makes me feel like I'm like 17.
Speaker A:So there have definitely been huge stylistic influences that have changed what comes out in your sound.
Speaker B:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker B:I mean, the band has definitely been trying to figure out what we want to do and what.
Speaker B:What we can do, like what our abilities are.
Speaker B:I mean, definitely over like the last record, you know, I was listening to like a lot more of R B ish and gospel kind of music and, you know, so it has a little bit of those kind of elements to it.
Speaker B:You know, we like rock, you know, music, you know, rock music is really like our, you know, 4K, just good rock, you know, pop song.
Speaker B:So, you know, I mean, we all love like Gooseberries and artists like that that are writing songs but have a big kind of rock and roll sound.
Speaker B:And also having rhythm has become more and more important to us.
Speaker B:Things kind of having groove and, I don't know, you know, I mean, rock and roll kind of started like 60 years ago and wrapped around it was the idea of dancing, I think.
Speaker B:And a lot of that has been kind of taken out of rock and roll and put up maybe in other kinds of genres of music.
Speaker B:That's about moving in rock and roll.
Speaker B:So we were, you know, always kind of attracted to having rhythm and swinging a little bit and like.
Speaker B:But still having other kinds of songs.
Speaker B:You know, we definitely have folky, ish.
Speaker A:Countryish type of things, particularly with this most recent record.
Speaker A:As you all were moving towards writing the songs for that.
Speaker A:What does that look like for you all when you've had a lot of time together and a lot of opportunity to refine what it is you're doing?
Speaker B:I mean, one, it's like you just play play when you play together for so long.
Speaker B:Me and Bingham, you know, who plays bass, have been playing together for like 15 or 16 years.
Speaker B:Yeah, so it's like when you've just been playing with somebody that long, you already kind of, you know what, you know, there's instinctive things I think that you just actually do because you kind of, you know, you know, the way everybody thinks, you're not really going to get too many curveballs as far as somebody playing something completely out of the ordinary for them or anything like that.
Speaker B:So I think that just as a band just trying to move forward is like rioting.
Speaker B:You know, I've been just constantly trying to write better songs and sing better and the band play better.
Speaker B:And I think this record we, you know, I wrote the song, I basically like, you know, did nothing but write the songs over maybe a three month period.
Speaker B:And then we rented a house for two months out in the country and then we would go out there and rehearse for the first four weeks or something when we could.
Speaker B:And then the second four weeks we actually, like set up a little studio in the house and then we just recorded the record.
Speaker B:It was almost like our little, like Big Pink or something.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it was a good creative time for sure.
Speaker A:Today my guest is Joey Knyser from the band Glossary.
Speaker A:Does doing something like that keep it fresh for you all working together?
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:Any way we can do things differently, you know, it's one of those things where, like, the band's trying constantly, you know, we're always thinking about trying to push the band and try to take it different places, you know, while we're in the middle of that and working.
Speaker B:I remember when we were working on rehearsing the new record, we were just like, man, this is going to be such a weird record for us.
Speaker B:And we would think that.
Speaker B:And then, like, we would record.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:Once we finished all the tracking and stuff and we listened to it, like, not that we thought, you know, there are definitely different things that we haven't done on other records and stuff, but it still sounds like us, just a different.
Speaker B:And that's the key, I think, for us is try to, I don't know, try to do something different.
Speaker B:I think that's probably the key in human beings in general moving forward, is.
Speaker A:Changing it up for people who are coming to your music now for the first time.
Speaker A:What specifically brought those changes?
Speaker A:You said a little bit that you've been listening to some R and B and some gospel and wanted to keep it moving or dancing or swinging.
Speaker A:How did that come into the process?
Speaker B:One big thing about it is, like, in the writing process of the song, like, I wrote a lot of it playing piano, which I kind of wanted a lot of the songs to have chords and stuff that I've never normally used.
Speaker B:Gospel music, you know, they use a lot of diminished chords and like minor nine chords and stuff, which I ever use.
Speaker B:So I had to kind Of I didn't really play piano very well.
Speaker B:I spent a couple months practicing for hours and hours and hours to where I could get myself to play like that.
Speaker B:And I definitely can't play.
Speaker B:I'm definitely not a gospel piano player or an R B piano player by any means.
Speaker B:But, like, you know, I just.
Speaker B:Just trying to understand a little bit of progressions and chords, that kind of music while making it in our weird indie rock, rock and roll vein, you know.
Speaker A:Where did that come from?
Speaker B:I think it just became.
Speaker B:We all listened to, like, a lot of that kind of just old R B, you know, coming from Tennessee.
Speaker B:I mean, we're not far from Memphis, and we're not far from Muscle Shoals in Murfreesboro, which is like two and a half hours from Muscle Shoals and maybe three hours from Memphis.
Speaker B:So we just all listened to, like, a lot of old R B and just, you know, a lot of.
Speaker B:Just music that has some kind of fire in it and, like, soul to it.
Speaker B:Just trying to figure out how to take the, you know, those ideas and, like, put it in, you know, mix it up with what we do.
Speaker B:Make it as an influence or something.
Speaker B:And not a throwback or anything like that.
Speaker B:Say, we'll make it, like a sparky record or anything like that, but just, you know, just use it in the same influence as, like, you know, tons of artists that everybody loves from, like, Dan Morrison and, like, Paul Simon or like, even, you know, you listen to those first.
Speaker B:The first couple Bruce Springsteen records of how much, like, R and B ish, jazzy, you know, influences on those, you know, I mean, I think that used to be a big part of music is people, you know, nowadays, since there is so many bands, like, more bands than ever, more records coming out than ever before, I think it's easy to get locked down in a specific genre.
Speaker B:Like, there are kids who are just like, I like garage rock, or I like, you know, rockabilly.
Speaker B:And you just stay kind of in your own little bubble.
Speaker B:But, you know, music used to be about.
Speaker B:You start a band and you just feel everything about everything.
Speaker B:You come across that you like, and you try to put it together, you know, and it would make a weird, maybe interesting band.
Speaker B:Because, you know, I think about growing up, I think about this a lot of times because I was like a MTV brat when I was a kid.
Speaker B:Like, I watched MTV all the time.
Speaker B:So I remember being just young and turning on the TV and seeing the Bastards of Young Video and then seeing, like, Phil Collins.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:And then after that, maybe Seeing like a White Snake video or something, like how eclectic it is, you know, like, yeah, now it seems like that eclectic has.
Speaker B:It's kind of disappeared a little bit.
Speaker B:And so when I come across bands I think that have that, like, for instance, like a modern band that I really love is Deer Tick.
Speaker B:They're trying to do that.
Speaker B:Trying to do different things.
Speaker B:Listening.
Speaker B:You can tell that they listen to a lot of different kinds of music.
Speaker B:And I try to put it all in there somehow and make something of your own out of it.
Speaker B:And I think that that's.
Speaker B:To me, when I hear bands like that, it's like, really refreshing.
Speaker B:And because it seems like you can get really trapped in aesthetic and you start hearing a lot of bands that, like, come out and they just kind of sound.
Speaker B:They have a sound and the sound is great, but it's.
Speaker B:It's reminiscent of a sound that already exists.
Speaker B:I really like that eclectic aspect.
Speaker B:And that's one thing that we tried.
Speaker A:To do, you know, you all also happen to play live a whole lot.
Speaker A:So at what point do you all take new songs out to people?
Speaker B:For the most part, a lot of the times those.
Speaker B:The new songs aren't going out until after we make the record.
Speaker B:For the most part.
Speaker B:For these philosophy records, especially the last three or four of them, I'm kind of batch writing them.
Speaker B:Like, write single songs throughout the year and then get 10 or 12 and then make a record.
Speaker B:I think about an idea.
Speaker B:I want thematically the album to kind of be about and a sensibility of it.
Speaker B:And then I stop everything and spend a couple months of just writing songs for it.
Speaker B:And then so then we just record, like, for instance, this record.
Speaker B:I think by the time the record was finished, we had only played one of the songs ever live.
Speaker B:We had to, like, actually learn how to play.
Speaker B:The first time that people in the band were hearing those records, the songs were when we were rehearsing them, right?
Speaker B:I'd come in and be like, okay, here's.
Speaker B:Here's a song.
Speaker B:Let's work on this one, you know, and then we work on it.
Speaker B:When I heard the record mixed and stuff for the first time, it was crazy because the songs were so new, so new, we hadn't even played them.
Speaker B:Hey, this is Joey from Glossary.
Speaker B:And check out the new Glossary record Long Live all of Us.
Speaker B:And get it at itunes and Amazon or at last chance records.com and you can stop by the Glossary website atglossary.us A bunch of free older records that you can download.
Speaker A:You've mentioned that that's how you approach writing a glossary record, but I know there's at least one other solo record out.
Speaker B:There's just that one.
Speaker B:There's just the one.
Speaker B:That's all my bedroom revival.
Speaker A:What does a solo record do for you creatively?
Speaker B:That solo record basically was in between, like, glossary records.
Speaker B:And then, you know, I just wanted to put something out and I just had some.
Speaker B:Had time where I was at home.
Speaker B:I was just like, you know, I'm going to write a bunch of songs and I'm just going to record them myself.
Speaker B:And so that's what I did.
Speaker B:And I did it really quickly.
Speaker B:I'd write a song and then, you know, I'd set up one mic and play guitar and sing into it at the same time.
Speaker B:And then I'd put a little, you know, instrumentation on top of it, mix it.
Speaker B:You know, I did that for like 10 songs.
Speaker B:And then I was like, I need.
Speaker B:I'm just going to put this out as a record.
Speaker B:Because it seemed like it was a record to me.
Speaker B:So I just put it out as a record and I was pretty overwhelmed with how people picked up on it.
Speaker B:And, you know, it became like its own.
Speaker B:Ask me about it all the time.
Speaker B:I mean, I could have easily made those glossary songs.
Speaker B:It was just like, we share Todd, who plays guitar and pedal steel.
Speaker B:He also tours with Lucero.
Speaker B:So, you know, he was just out on tour.
Speaker B:We had some downtime.
Speaker B:I weren't doing anything and, like, I have to be doing something at all times.
Speaker B:I have to have some kind of project.
Speaker B:So it was just one of those things where I just wrote some songs and, you know, I could write more just straight singer songwriter songs.
Speaker B:A lot of times when I'm thinking about glossary songs, we got this big rock band.
Speaker B:So, you know, I kind of want to have interesting things for everybody to do and stuff.
Speaker B:But so for me to just sit down and write songs, it's just like a voice and a guitar and a little instrumentation.
Speaker B:I think it could have easily been a weird glossary record if we recorded it ourselves.
Speaker B:Just did it.
Speaker B:It was kind of liberating for me because, like, I didn't have to worry about anything.
Speaker B:You know, if there was, like, mistakes trying to make it perfect.
Speaker B:I wanted that sound and I was going to give it away for free anyway.
Speaker B:So, you know, that record you can.
Speaker B:You can download on the glossary website.
Speaker A:When you go in and you batch write these songs and then y' all come in and you rehearse and Record.
Speaker A:What do you look for in that process with the band?
Speaker B:We just have a couple different people that we've used over the years.
Speaker B:Several of the records have been recorded and mixed by Matt Pants, drummer of Syndromatic.
Speaker B:This record with.
Speaker B:We brought our friend Mikey Allred.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I mean, we just have the.
Speaker B:I mean, we.
Speaker B:We're like, you know, we've done it so many times that, you know, we kind of just like to use the same people.
Speaker B:You know, our friend Drew Brinkley, who does our.
Speaker B:Most of the design stuff to Nike, or Matt Pence engineering and mixing records, and our friend John Baldwin masters them all.
Speaker B:Finance all of our records on our own.
Speaker B:So we worked with the same people.
Speaker B:You know, I mean, it's.
Speaker B:You know, in the modern world of like, being in a band is like, you know, since you can make a record out of your house, since you can mix and master records out of your house, like, there's so many people that are people that you like and they're in the same place that you are.
Speaker B:Like, they're trying to make a name for themselves in this or trying to get enough of a following in this that they can make a living off of it too.
Speaker B:So you kind of go into a mutual, you know, partnership, us and Mikey, who did our new record.
Speaker B:You know, it's like he should have charged us then.
Speaker B:You know, his abilities are way beyond what he makes.
Speaker B:But, you know, it's like trying to build up something, you know, get your name on some projects to get out there.
Speaker B:And if we went to some big producer who's already like super established and stuff, I mean, we would.
Speaker B:There's just no way we could afford it.
Speaker B:I mean, I think Foster has made every record that we've ever made, you know, reported mixed and mastered for like $5,000 or less.
Speaker B:Era of being able to do things out of your house.
Speaker B:You know, that's why we decided to buy some gear.
Speaker B:Throughout the year, we just.
Speaker B:What we did.
Speaker A:You know, you all really have that kind of down to a science of that synergy and the network of friends.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:I think that we're just lucky for people that have helped us out and stuff.
Speaker A:What changes as you take them on the road?
Speaker B:Especially the songs on this record hadn't been road tested yet.
Speaker B:So will change little things.
Speaker B:I mean, it's just one of those things that happen to a song once it's been played.
Speaker B:You know, after you've played it a whole bunch, right, you ease into it more.
Speaker B:You might have do something or think of Something you're like, oh, I wish I would have done that when I recorded it.
Speaker B:But that's just something you have to kind of let go of.
Speaker B:You record a record, I guess.
Speaker B:You know, really, it's just a record time.
Speaker B:So all you can really do is do what you can at the moment, and knowing that it's going to change and knowing that as time passes, you might look back and be like, oh, we should have done that.
Speaker B:But you have to think too hard about it and let that stuff go.
Speaker B:Songs definitely do become more rowdy and rock and roll and stuff when you plan them live.
Speaker A:So this project, on the one hand, is finished because it's been recorded, but the projects continue.
Speaker A:So where is that leading you?
Speaker B:Well, I mean, there's always a lot of stuff for Gloucester to be doing.
Speaker B:So, like, one, you know, we.
Speaker B:I mean, we're a really small band and we're like, have this, like, kind of cult following around us, but we've never been able to, like, you know, ever pursue it in the way that we wanted to pursue it.
Speaker B:Like, for instance, like, I think we've been trying to find a booking agent for 10 years or something, and we've never been able to get one.
Speaker B:I think we've been turned down by, like, every booking agency in America.
Speaker B:We've never been able to tour like we wanted to, or we've never been able to get out there as much as we want to because it isn't cost effective.
Speaker B:All the shows that we play are booked by us or just out of the kindness of our friend bands who take us out with them, like Lucero or the Truckers.
Speaker B:That's always a constant thing for us, is trying to play more our number one goal.
Speaker B:Always.
Speaker B:It's the hardest one for us because now, since bands only make money playing live, every band, you know, is on tour all the time.
Speaker A:All the time?
Speaker B:Yeah, all the time.
Speaker B:And so it's like, you know, 10 years ago, a band that you loved and it would come through your town maybe once a year or something.
Speaker B:Now they're coming through your town like three times a year.
Speaker B:When you're a small band like us, nobody's really going to take a risk on you because there's so many other bands on tour they can be booking that are actually making them money.
Speaker B:From an industry standpoint, I mean, I completely understand.
Speaker B:I mean, I actually went to school for me and Bingham actually have music business degrees.
Speaker B:You know, I think about things in terms of that.
Speaker B:It's always our biggest goal.
Speaker B:It really comes down to your popularity is just exposure.
Speaker B:I mean, right?
Speaker B:The more more people see you, the more people know about you.
Speaker B:I mean, it's one of those things that, like, we get new fans that find us out, and I guess I can't believe they never knew of us.
Speaker B:And then they look and they see how much stuff we have, and they're like, where's this band been?
Speaker B:I can't believe this, man been out there doing this the whole time and somehow been under my radar.
Speaker B:You can keep track of us at facebook, @facebook.com glossary or on Twitter.
Speaker B:And our Twitter handle is GlossaryTN.
Speaker B:To be able to go out and, like, on tour with Lucero, I mean, I think Lucero has done more for us than, like, any anybody has probably ever done.
Speaker B:I mean, they put out Feral Fire.
Speaker B:You know, they've taken us out on several tours, opening up.
Speaker B:We played their family picnic that they have every year, which we're planning in this year.
Speaker B:I mean, been a huge purveyor of our band.
Speaker B:Always drops our name in interviews and stuff.
Speaker B:Been really trying to get more people to know who we are.
Speaker B:That is kind of the way we ended up, you know, getting more people knowing about us is kind of this weird way through other bands or like, the truckers taking us out in Patterson, talking about us in interviews.
Speaker B:That's been our saving grace.
Speaker B:Actually, most of our fans have come from the connection with those bands.
Speaker B:Without that, like, I don't know what would.
Speaker B:I don't know what we do.
Speaker B:We're extremely thankful for.
Speaker B:For that.
Speaker A:The line that I heard from someone, this is the band that your favorite band listens to.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, that.
Speaker B:Stuff like that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, we became like a band band.
Speaker B:Most of our.
Speaker B:I think most of our fan base has been from being spread by other bands.
Speaker B:Like, telling people, like, you know, this.
Speaker A:Band, you know, is there anything else that you would want to bring to your team that just really jumps at you as being something that would benefit?
Speaker B:I think that, like, the downfall of the major label system and labels in general just, like, have little importance anymore.
Speaker B:Really, the only thing that a band needs, you know, to get out there and build a following is have a good booking agent and a good publicity agent.
Speaker B:Like, the two main things.
Speaker B:Make sure that you've got good shows and you're playing good bills, and then make sure people know that those shows exist.
Speaker B:Make sure your records are getting reviewed and make sure you're getting interviews.
Speaker B:And it's a sea of just tons and tons of content.
Speaker B:I Mean, it's just the more you're out there, your fans are out there.
Speaker B:I mean, they're out there, right?
Speaker B:They just don't know you exist yet.
Speaker B:They just have to find you.
Speaker B:That's just the hard part because it's this endless sea and, you know, you're just floating around in it, hoping to try to bump into people.
Speaker B:I mean, we've been lucky to just kind of take, you know, little steps here and there.
Speaker B:And I mean, our focus has always been like, just keep focusing on the records, keep focusing on being a better band, writing good songs, and just keep putting out the best records we can.
Speaker B:And then eventually, like, things will just, you know, when you're just a small band, like, all you can do is get bigger if you keep doing it.
Speaker B:I mean, it might be just like a little drizzle, but it's still moving forward, you know, I think in the end, human beings are never really content.
Speaker B:Even if you were feeling the 500 seat room, like a year from now, you'd be like, man, I wish we were filling the thousand seat room down the road.
Speaker B:You know, like, when it comes down to it, you're hanging out with your friends, you're making something that only you can make together.
Speaker B:You're like making something out of nothing with, like, people that you love.
Speaker B:You know, in the end, like, you win regardless.
Speaker B:Like, I have no.
Speaker B:I don't even know where.
Speaker B:Where the destination is.
Speaker B:Like, where do you want to be?
Speaker B:The act of it is just doing it.
Speaker B:That's the great part about it.
Speaker A:If you could put together a bill of other bands that you're friends with, who would you want to make that happen with?
Speaker B:The bill for like, the new Lucero Family picnic is one of those kind of bills.
Speaker B:It's like Lucero and Glossary and then Aust Lucas and I think John Paul, Keith, maybe Shooter Jennings is on that bill.
Speaker B:That sounds like a good time, fun time.
Speaker B:I mean, you know, obviously, like our kind of sister bands are like Lucero and Austin Lucas and like two Cow Garage and like the Truckers and, you know, we used to play with Slobber Bone and the Drams, you know, Central Matic, you know, bands like that.
Speaker B:Anytime we play with any of those where I think we're pretty content.
Speaker A:Appreciate it.
Speaker A:Have a great week.
Speaker B:Hey, you too.
Speaker A:Country Fried Rock.
Speaker A:Find the full playlist from this episode on countryfriedrock.org check us out on itunes.
Speaker A:No music, just talk.
Speaker A:Our theme music is from the Full Tones.
Speaker A:Our Country Fried Rock stinger is from Steve Soto in the twisted hearts.
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