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00:00Have the guys from Motley Crue ever contacted you about your name?
00:03There is a picture of Tommy Lee that he posted on his boat.
00:07He's wearing one of the Yachtley Crue shirts.
00:08So we took that as an endorsement.
00:10As long as he wasn't honking his horn.
00:12Wait, how do you know about that?
00:14Wait, how do I know about that?
00:16Rock, metal, frog, and everything in between.
00:20Welcome to this episode of Talkin' Rock with Meltdown.
00:24Don't forget to follow the audio-only Talkin' Rock podcast on all podcast platforms.
00:28And now, it's time for today's conversation.
00:31Here's Meltdown.
00:33Tommy, great to see you.
00:35Hey, great to be here. Thanks for having me.
00:37Yeah, no doubt. I have to admit, I normally don't interview guys of your ilk, of your genre.
00:43Oh, really? You're not into the Yacht Rock normally? Or is this a new thing for you?
00:47No, actually, I am into the Yacht Rock very much.
00:49But, you know, I play metal, I play rock, I do all that kind of stuff.
00:52But I know you guys have a huge following.
00:55And you guys are like the Steel Panther of the Yacht Rock world.
01:00Yeah, absolutely.
01:01And you know what, though?
01:02Like, we're all rockers, too, in our band.
01:04You know, and we've all been musicians for our whole career.
01:07So, like, you know, we love all types of genres.
01:10And you kind of have to to play Yacht Rock, right?
01:12Because it's like kind of a mix of rock and jazz and pop.
01:15And sometimes heavier guitars.
01:17You know, I'm a guitar player.
01:18So, sometimes I'll sneak in some harmonizing guitar solos that you'll hear on our new album that comes out Friday, for sure.
01:24Okay, yeah.
01:25Tell me about this new record.
01:26I don't really know about this.
01:27So, go ahead.
01:27I purposely kind of avoided some of this stuff so I could let you explain everything.
01:32Okay, cool.
01:33It's called Seize the Night.
01:34It's out this Friday with Earache Records.
01:38They're helping us put it out.
01:39And basically, it's about 10 songs from the 70s and 80s, you know, the Yacht Rock genres.
01:46Stuff like I'm Still Standing by Elton John, Reeling in the Years by Steely Dan.
01:53We've got Lowdown by Boz Skaggs.
01:56You know, all these kinds of songs that are, you know, timeless.
02:00And you know all the words to them.
02:02Even if you didn't know, they were called Yacht Rock songs.
02:04You know what I mean?
02:05And so, we also have our single right now that is out, our original single, which was
02:12written for us by the great Diane Warren.
02:14So, for those that don't know, Diane wrote, Don't Want to Miss a Thing for Aerosmith.
02:18She wrote, If I Could Turn Back Time for Cher.
02:22And if you look at her Wikipedia page, man, it's just like a list of hit song after hit song.
02:28So, she got in touch.
02:30Her and our manager have gone back for many years.
02:32And she said to our manager, Hey, I've got the perfect song for Yachtley Crew.
02:36And so, she sent it to us.
02:37And, of course, we weren't going to say no.
02:39So, that's the song that's out now.
02:41And it's in the top 20 of the Billboard charts called Pain of Losing Him.
02:44Oh, nice.
02:45Listen, as long as you guys don't wear the same outfit Cher did in that video.
02:49Yeah, well, nobody wants to see that.
02:53From us, anyway.
02:54Right, right.
02:54I saw a Sharon concert one time.
02:56And that's a whole other story for another time.
02:58It's the only time.
02:59It's the only concert I've ever been to in 35 years of this business where I got into a fight with someone.
03:04Well, what happened?
03:06Well, the girls in front of me wouldn't sit down.
03:08Long story short, I thought if I just say something powerful enough and on point enough, they would sit down.
03:13Well, that turned into a whole big thing.
03:15Oh, boy.
03:15And I didn't even care.
03:16I was doing it for the people around me.
03:17You know.
03:18Yeah, yeah.
03:18Long story.
03:19But anyways, hey, have the guys from Motley Crue ever contacted you about your name?
03:25We, no, but we have, there is a picture of Tommy Lee that he posted on his boat or on a boat.
03:33And he's wearing a Yachty.
03:35He's wearing one of the Yachty Crue shirts.
03:36So we took that as an endorsement.
03:38You know what I mean?
03:39And really, it's just a nod to them.
03:40We love that band.
03:42And obviously, we're not doing anything like that.
03:44I mean, you know, we're just, we all, I guess we're saying we're taking Yacht Rock songs and we rock them a little bit harder.
03:49And we modernize it a little bit.
03:50You know, the guitars are a little heavier and the drums are hitting a little bit harder.
03:54But, you know, that's about as far, as close to Motley Crue as we get, you know.
03:59As long as he wasn't honking his horn.
04:02Yeah.
04:04Wait, how do you know about that?
04:07How do I know about that?
04:08Yeah, right.
04:10Did you ever think of taking some of these songs?
04:12Like, I was just watching a video the other day.
04:15I saw my friend Chris.
04:16He was, he used to be in the band Slipknot.
04:17And I don't know if you saw his video.
04:18There's a video out there of somebody doing a slower version of one of their songs, Slipknot, Duality, on like a keyboard.
04:27Did you guys ever do anything like that as far as like maybe kickstart your heart like in Yacht Rock formation or anything like that?
04:33That's not a bad suggestion.
04:34So, you know, maybe we'll get a little girls, girls, girls on a boat.
04:37You know what I mean?
04:38Or something like that.
04:39You know, we could do something like that for sure.
04:41Maybe in the future.
04:42But we haven't done it yet for sure.
04:44You know, we're kind of sticking to the doing the 70s and 80s soft stuff right now.
04:52I can't be the only person that's ever brought that up to you.
04:54You're not.
04:55But that doesn't mean that it's a bad suggestion.
04:58Okay.
04:59We'll see.
04:59You know, we'll see.
05:00No, I got you.
05:01No, I'm a Yacht Rock guy.
05:02As a matter of fact, on one of my bios, it does say, you know, likes to slip in a Yacht Rock here and there.
05:07So, what would you say is the definition of Yacht Rock in your mind?
05:13And this is kind of something that came around in the last, like, decade, right?
05:16I mean, I never heard of Yacht Rock when I was a kid.
05:18Yeah.
05:18So, the story is there was a YouTube series in 2005 that kind of coined the term.
05:23And it was like a comedy series basically saying, like, this is the type of music you would play on your boat.
05:28So, then there was the SiriusXM channel.
05:32So, you know, that's how.
05:34Then we came along.
05:35We're like, well, there should be a band, you know?
05:36So, that's how we kind of started.
05:39But, yeah, as far as the definition, we are kind of, like, looser with the definition than some people.
05:44Like, some people online are very strict about what is and what isn't Yacht Rock.
05:48And you guys are playing this song and it's not Yacht Rock.
05:51And we're kind of like, well, we kind of just, like, let the fans tell it.
05:54We'll try stuff out live and let the fans, if the fans are going crazy, then it's like, guess what?
05:59They want to hear that song.
06:00You know what I mean?
06:01Like, we play Hall & Oates songs.
06:03Some people would argue that Hall & Oates is in Yacht Rock.
06:06And it's Soul or, you know, whatever they want to call it.
06:09But the reality is we play it live at a soft rock, Yacht Rock concert.
06:14And people love it.
06:15So, you know, we're kind of just going, like, it's a feeling for us.
06:20If you feel like you would put it on the boat while watching the sunset, then, hey, you know, maybe that's Yacht Rock.
06:26Well, I completely agree that Hall & Oates is Yacht Rock.
06:30I mean, you know.
06:32Yeah, I mean.
06:33I was just telling you about my friend from Slipknot.
06:36And true story, in 2017, I was sitting at a car dealership and this phone number came up on my phone.
06:43I'm like, well, I should answer this.
06:44Well, he had changed his number and he didn't tell me.
06:47And I get on the phone with him and he starts screaming, you've lost this loving feeling.
06:52You know, the song.
06:53Yeah, which Hall & Oates covered that, right?
06:55Yeah.
06:56Yeah, well, he asked me if he could get Hall & Oates tickets for him.
06:59And I'm like, oh, for someone in your family.
07:00He goes, no, dude, I'm a huge Hall & Oates fan.
07:02And he's in Slipknot.
07:04Exactly.
07:05Dude, that's the crazy thing, man.
07:07Sebastian Bach came up and did Hotel California with us in Vegas.
07:12We have a residency at the Palms in Las Vegas.
07:14And so we see that Sebastian's in the crowd.
07:17And so we go over our tour manager.
07:19Go talk to him.
07:20See if he wants to come up on stage.
07:21And so he's like, okay.
07:23He looked at the set list and he's like, oh, we were going to do Hotel California that night.
07:26Which, again, isn't really like strictly a Yacht Rock song.
07:30But we kind of do that as a closer sometimes.
07:32You get the crowd, you know, you get the crowd really into it.
07:34And so he saw that.
07:35He said, I'll come up and do Hotel.
07:37So he came up.
07:38And, man, that guy can still sing for sure.
07:40And he's a cool guy, too.
07:42We were partying with him afterwards.
07:43And he's just like, nicest guy.
07:45And, again, he was at a Yacht Rock show because he loves it.
07:48You know, and it's like, even the band Skid Row, we're like, what is going on?
07:51But I guess they're like us.
07:53You know, like, I grew up listening to Metallica, you know, and learning Kirk Hammett solo.
07:57So, like, now here I am in a Yacht Rock band, you know, because I love this music, too.
08:02You know, the Yacht Rock for me, I think I'm older than you, but the Yacht Rock for me was all about, like, kind of hearing songs I heard as a kid.
08:09Like, in my dad's car as I was driving around.
08:12That's the thing.
08:12It's the nostalgia factor, you know what I mean?
08:15It's the, oh, yeah, this reminds me of that time I was on a date with a girl and we started making out and Paul and Oates was on.
08:22Or, you know, Kenny Loggins was playing and that kind of thing.
08:26You know, I think we all have a story with these songs or where it brings us back to.
08:31And it's really, like, has a place in people's hearts.
08:33And so now we're just putting a whole big rock and roll show behind it, you know.
08:38And, you know, you mentioned Sebastian.
08:39He's a big Kiss fan.
08:40I don't know if you guys do it or not, but I Was Made For Loving You might fit in the ear.
08:45Well, it's, you know, our bass player, Baba Booey, he is, like, the number one Kiss fan.
08:50You go into his room and he's got Kiss hats and Kiss posters and all that kind of stuff.
08:55And he, you know, was one of the ones that early on in our band were, like, we're going to be, that's kind of been our mission.
09:03It's, like, we want to be the Kiss of soft rock.
09:05And we want to bring this kind of high-energy show where, like, yeah, any musicians, there's a lot of great musicians out there, right, that can play this music.
09:14If you go on YouTube, you'll find a hundred of them.
09:16But, like, we're coming at it from the angle of, like, we're going to entertain people.
09:21We're going to be on stage.
09:22We're going to do choreography.
09:24We're going to go out into the audience and interact with the audience.
09:28We're going to have banter.
09:29We're going to have crazy lights.
09:30Our drummer is doing, he's a big Tommy Lee fan, and he's doing all the Tommy Lee tricks and all that kind of stuff like that.
09:37So, like, you're really coming to see a rock and roll show when you come to a Yachty Creek show.
09:41Well, I was going to say, you pull celebrity singers out of the crowd, you know, your drummers into Tommy Lee.
09:47You guys do banter between the songs.
09:49You truly are the Steel Panther of soft rock.
09:52Hey, man, that's a compliment.
09:54Steel Panther is awesome in there.
09:55It's funny as hell, too.
09:57I love those guys.
09:58Hey, real fast, you guys just, you play Bourbon and Beyond this weekend, right?
10:03Dude, I'm like, just, I still have the bracelets on, look.
10:06That's crazy.
10:08I met Steve Lukather this weekend, which, you know, the guitar player from Toto, for those that don't know.
10:15And finally, I met him because, you know, he's just a legend and played on Michael Jackson's Thriller and a million other songs.
10:24So, and he was just the nicest guy.
10:26And it was really, it was really cool to chat with him.
10:29And he was actually giving me a hard time.
10:31He's like, because we're on the same bill.
10:33He's playing with Ringo.
10:34And he was like, what songs of mine did you already do?
10:37And I was like, we only did Africa.
10:38We only did Africa.
10:39So, he came out and he did Hold the Line and Rosanna with Ringo, which was great.
10:44And also, I just want to say, I walked by Ringo and said, peace and love.
10:49And he said, all right.
10:50So, I have officially talked to a Beatle.
10:52Thank you very much.
10:54Man.
10:54I'm going to put that on my gravestone or something.
10:56So, once said, peace and love to Ringo, here lies Tommy Bowie.
11:01I love it, man.
11:02That's great.
11:02I remember texting my friend one time in 2009.
11:04I was in the room with Paul McCartney at the Grammys.
11:07So, so is 20 other thousand people.
11:09Right, yeah, yeah.
11:10In the room with the Beatle.
11:11Hey, last thing for you.
11:13You mentioned the Beatles and you mentioned Elton John earlier.
11:16Have you seen the new Spinal Tap movie?
11:18Not yet.
11:19In fact, we were at Bourbon and Beyond all weekend.
11:21I think it came out this weekend, right?
11:23But once we have a day off, the band has all said, we're all going.
11:27Because it's like every tour, at least once, we're putting Spinal Tap on the tour bus TV and watching it.
11:33You know what I mean?
11:34So, we're diehard Spinal Tap fans, so we can't wait to see this one.
11:37Have you seen it already?
11:39Yeah, so Paul and Elton play a pretty good-sized role.
11:42I mean, they're not just...
11:43Oh, okay.
11:44And I will tell you this much, without giving anything away, that there's a huge gag that comes up at the end of the movie that revolves around the first movie.
11:52And I was in tears.
11:55Oh, my God.
11:56I can't wait.
11:57I was laughing so hard.
11:58The movie's like...
11:59It's crazy when you are actually in a touring band.
12:03Like, you see that movie and you're like, oh, you know, we all think it's funny.
12:07And then you're in a touring band and everything in that movie actually happens.
12:11It's like, I don't know how they figure that out.
12:13Literally, the where's the stage thing, that happens to us all the time.
12:16Where we're like, we're literally like, which way to the stage?
12:20So we always are busting that joke out.
12:23Or then you get the catering with the small little bread.
12:26You're like, what am I supposed to do with this?
12:27So we start going.
12:28We're like, don't worry.
12:29We'll rise above it.
12:30We're professional.
12:31Well, I will tell you this.
12:32David St. Hubbin says something to Paul McCartney that is just outstanding.
12:37So, anyways.
12:39I can't wait.
12:39Well, I guess, I think we have, we're in Chattanooga, Tennessee tonight and Memphis tomorrow.
12:45And then I think we have Wednesday off.
12:46So maybe Wednesday, I'll go see it.
12:48Well, I'll tell you what.
12:49I'm going to see you guys next time you come through Detroit.
12:51Good luck with the album.
12:52Yes.
12:52Actually, we'll be there on Halloween at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts.
12:57Okay.
12:57All right.
12:57Well, I guess I'll have to, I'll dress up as you.
13:01Yeah.
13:01Yeah.
13:01Come on.
13:02Listen, that's the whole thing.
13:03It's Halloween.
13:04You might as well dress up like a sailor.
13:05And then I'll also just say our, again, our record comes out this Friday, September 19th.
13:10You can go to yachtlycrew.com for tickets or to pre-order the album.
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