Dexter & The Moonrocks: Western Space Grunge

[00:00:08] Just called you and your bio on your Instagram is leave me alone I love my wife. Yes and it's so funny and that's my bio on Instagram not because I'm getting hella bitches because that's not the case at all but it pisses her off that that's my bio. Why? Well I did it as a bit because she's very like, I'll be like oh my god you're super pretty and she'll be like shut up. And I'm like no. So it's like very funny to me where it's like I love my wife leave me alone in my bio because

[00:00:38] she's like that's kind of embarrassing and I'm like that's why it's in there it's very funny to me. So. And it looks like you get hella bitches too. Well that but that and that's not hey don't DM me I won't respond. Thank you. Well I feel like that's a great way to start out the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast. We're sitting with Fox the drummer from Dexter and the Moon Rocks. Thank you for being here today. We've already laughed I think you know for a minute straight so that's a good start to the podcast but thanks for being here today. Yeah I'm so stoked big fan of y'all stuff.

[00:01:07] I've been following the Whiskey Riff because this podcast just started recently though right like kind of but. So it was around for like five years. And then. It got a revamp. Yes. Okay. Decided to take a step back and then we took a step forward. Fire. Yeah. Okay. That's very cool. So yeah I've been familiar with the Whiskey Riffs and the of the world. It's very cool to. It's very cool to do this. Yeah.

[00:01:34] And you are the marketing genius behind Dexter and the Moonrocks. Genius is a stretch. I appreciate that though. Yes. I do. I think. I do a lot of the leg work when it comes to a lot of our like digital. I think most people on a label have a team where it's like they will have a content strategist and a marketer and like I am. I just I just am that for Dexter.

[00:01:59] But I think the boys do a lot of work as well behind the scenes that maybe doesn't get seen on camera as much. And they're also not super fond of being on camera. But they over the last four years have given me a lot of trust that I can kind of go out and you know just say stupid shit on the internet and everybody's okay with that. And they're like yeah we you're not gonna do anything stupid. Go for it.

[00:02:28] And that's been an honor that I take very seriously as like the like I am the you know I am the PR person of the band I guess you know so it's very interesting and I like it. You're obviously extroverted outgoing it seems like. So I guess that makes a lot of sense for you to be kind of that face of Dexter and the Moonrocks. Was that something that you wanted to step into or did it just kind of naturally happen?

[00:02:56] Well I think like I think face is interesting because I think now I think we're I think the industry has changed so much and we're now not in like the 90s and the 2000s where it's like you know really only you know it's like Maroon 5 and only anyone ever knows like Adam Levine or is it Lambert? I always get those two. They're totally different people but whenever I say the name I'm always like but you know

[00:03:22] it's like oh he's the hot dreamy one and that's the only one anyone ever care like Brendan Urie or I couldn't name you a single person in panic at the disco besides Brendan Urie. And I think we've kind of changed because now people are so like you would only see bands in big time music videos and it was like okay well the focus is on the singer because they're saying all the words and I think now you can get an equal share of each band member because the music video now is Instagram and TikTok and that's happening daily as opposed to you know maybe twice an album cycle.

[00:03:53] And so I never like wanted to be the face and I think we've made a really cognizant effort over the last year and a half to make James the like you know because he's the fucking singer. So you need to like you need to look at it because like it would piss me off a little bit that people would be like you're the drummer. And I'm like where have you been? I talk about that all the time. So it would be like okay James is our lead singer. This is like this is you know we're all the brand we're all Dexter and the Moon rocks.

[00:04:21] And so I think it's something that changes but like online I guess you know you do see my face when it is like the PSAs and the more talking head stuff. And I think that's just like something that I've always been good at and I've always loved doing. So I've been like I will happily do it and I think the boys are like we will happily let you do it because they're like we don't want to be famous. And I'm like funny. I would like that.

[00:04:50] So I'm like I'm good at doing it. What you're doing is a lot of work too. I think a lot of people just assume that you can just turn the camera on and start talking and something happens. It's like what you have to do might not be necessarily planned out every single time but it's every day you're having to come up with content. Right? Yeah and I think that's one thing that this is now we're going to get it and you're going to get me monologuing. Yeah that's fine.

[00:05:14] I think like it is a lot of work and I think a lot of people don't think it is work because a lot of people will look at like a excuse me I think a lot of people don't think it's a lot of work because they will look at like a Gigi Perez or a Noah Kahn kind of in a vacuum or like a Chapel Rhone. And it's kind of that saying of like oh my gosh they blew up overnight but it's like an overnight success 10 years in the making.

[00:05:38] And so people will immediately go well you know Gigi Perez posted Sailor Song and the first time she posted it it got 7 million views and you know now she's opening for Hozier and Noah Kahn and doing all these things. Gigi Perez is awesome. She's fantastic.

[00:05:55] But and so they're like well that should be happening to me and it's like okay well odds are you're not going to be like that's the 1% of people that just like caught a moment got lucky were really talented and then also got lucky. And but they've worked super hard and so I think a lot of people miss that and they don't realize that it is like hey if you want to do it you got to wake up and you got to post you know a bunch and you got to figure out how to make videos and how to

[00:06:24] promote yourself and I also this is a beef that I'm going to pick right now. I really don't like the people who are like artists should just be focused on making art and shouldn't be focused on being influencers and that I think is bullshit because I think in a way tick tock and Instagram and reels that is art and back in the ye olden days you would have Barry Gordy sitting in the back of a fucking bar being like oh you're cool.

[00:06:49] Let me sign you to the worst record deal of all time and I'm going to make a bunch of money off of you and you're going to have no say in it. And now with the internet you can be you can be Treaty Oak revival and be fully independent and own all of your stuff and you have that in like in like the power of that in your pocket and people do not take advantage of that and it pisses me off. Yeah.

[00:07:12] I always find it interesting because it's just like it's just a whole new way to get discovered and like a lot of times music can speak for itself but it's just like the music speaks for itself and there's other things like sure George Strait's music you know spoke for itself but like he was also really good looking and that definitely helped him. Like there's always other factors that play into it. It is that one percent where like the music speaks for itself alone.

[00:07:34] And I think there and that's what sucks is like there are so many artists who are so underrated who like make phenomenal music and you would be like like there are millions of songs that have gone triple platinum in my car but they have you know three million streams on Spotify.

[00:07:54] And it's like okay this shouldn't be the case and it like we've now entered an era where making good music is the bare minimum and you actually have to put in effort into making like promoting yourself and making content and stuff like that. And it doesn't have to be the super lame TikToks of like can you guess which one of us is the drummer or any of that bullshit like you can do fun creative things.

[00:08:20] And I think bands or artists don't want to do that and it almost feels like sometimes they're like well that's beneath me. It's like okay cool then you're going to keep playing for $200 at bars and like you have to get into that because I think like if you just brute force it enough you will figure out a way to do it. Like we I used to post four videos a day every day including Saturdays and Sundays for like two and a half years straight I think.

[00:08:49] Like and we didn't get our first we didn't get our first like video that got over 50,000 likes until like 10 months in. And so it took me probably like a thousand videos to figure out how to actually make TikToks correctly. And it's the old Thomas Edison quote where it's like I didn't fail 208 times to make a light bulb. I figured out 208 ways not to make a light bulb. And I think people don't have that time.

[00:09:16] And I was just like I'm going to die before this band fails. So I'm either going to figure it out or I'm genuinely going to grind myself into the ground and die trying. Yeah. And it's going to work. And here we are. And I think and I think the thing that you know sets you all apart with your social media is it it's genuine. Like you just said genuinely that made me think your guys's stuff is genuine.

[00:09:41] It's so easy to tell when someone an artist puts out something and it's like oh you know that clearly yeah there was like direction here. What you guys are doing is like you're having fun with it and then your fans are able to get in on the fun rather than it just be like you're talking with your fans not at your fans through social media. Absolutely. Are you familiar with Bill Murray.

[00:10:03] Do you know that is that man has a song called absolutely cranking my motherfucking hog and just sold out a giant venue in Chicago like he is doing just stupid things that work but it's genuine. And I will say this I have to preface you have to make good music. The music has to be good. You can't be good at social media and have your music be ass like that doesn't work. Like the music has to be good and you have to be genuine.

[00:10:32] And I think there are a lot of people that are like well this trend worked for this artist so I have to do it. And it's like well maybe that artist does EDM or disco pop or like they do a different brand of country music or they're more like Morgan Wallen and you're more like Tyler Childers. And it's like okay you can't market those two things the same. So you just have to be yourself because also if you're going to be posting every day and people are going to be following along you like they're going to be able to figure out that like you're kind of full of shit. And you have to not do that.

[00:11:02] And well we kind of just brought up genres so I kind of want to dive in there because I always say you know I love pop music. I don't really like country pop music. However I never really had an issue with like country music being southern rock because I feel like there was really no more rock label until the last couple of years. Yeah it's it's so interesting. And I've said this before on another podcast and I got absolutely flamed for it. But I'm going to double down because I'm right.

[00:11:31] But I think there's like the industry if vacation of music has led to like these cycles and I think naturally like if you listen to grunge and if you listen to country they talk about the same things. They talk about addiction. They talk about mental health. They talk about love and loss. And like I think nutshell by Alice in Chains is a country song. I'll die on that hill. I really will.

[00:12:00] And I know that they like Jerry Cantrell was very heavily influenced by country music. And I think very vice versa. We're like and hurt by Johnny Cash is an excellent example of this. We're like that was a nine inch nails. That was a heavy song. And he turned it into probably one of the best country ballads ever. And so I think this like the genres are only labels. And I think they're labels because of what the industry does.

[00:12:26] And so I think you kind of have this like you know you had like 90s country with Toby Keith and it was very very successful. And the industry went the industry went wow this is super successful. We need to make money off of this. And so they're like great. How do we just make whatever. And then you get kind of that like 2005 arena country kind of like people bro country where it's kind of like okay this is this is fun. But it kind of doesn't like evoke any emotion.

[00:12:54] And so then but the industry is like well we have to make money off of it. And people get tired of that and then you have like the the genre of like rock and roll in the 2000s where you get like kings of Leon and you get Arctic monkeys and you get all that and they come up. It's like oh this is genuine. This feels authentic. And then you get to the end of that and they're like the industry is like well rock music is hot. How do we make money off of this. And then you get centuries by fallout boy. You get imagine dragons. You get whatever Maroon 5 has been doing some songs about Jane.

[00:13:23] And all of those which like are great songs they're multi platinum hits but they're like very obvious like we're trying to make money off of this. And so then I think we went to that same thing where people are like well we don't like this for rock music. And then you get like Zach Bryan Tyler Childers Colter Wall come along and it's like well now country music is a genuine again. And I think we're getting to that like tail end of the cycle where now you're getting people are like like Chapel Rhone did a country song. I fucking love Chapel Rhone.

[00:13:48] But it's like you know Sabrina Carpenter and Dolly Parton and I think it's beautiful that they're paying homage to that. But everyone's like well we need to country is the biggest thing. We need to make money off of that. And so I think now that's given the leeway for like people aren't putting that pressure on rock music right now. They're not like you have to make money off of rock because we have to pay the bills. And so it's letting like the people who are doing it with authenticity authenticity. Oh my gosh come through.

[00:14:14] And that's why you're seeing like Treaty Oak Revival I think is one of the biggest bands in the world right now. You're seeing us come up and do it correctly not do it correctly but like do it successfully. You're seeing like bands like Cigarettes at Sunset, High June, you know Cole Barnhill. I could name a million people and I'm going to get flamed in the comments because people are going to be like you didn't name my favorite band. I'm not going to say you have to name 40 bands. But you like you get them. You get Fox and Veed.

[00:14:42] You get like all of these great people that are coming up and it's like okay this feels like a real movement. I'm just yapping so much. That's what you're supposed to be doing. Okay cool. So no problem at all. All the music is very I feel like nostalgic in a way too because I imagine you grew up on like Paramore. That kind of yeah that kind of music and still like Warped Tour era. Yeah. So like that is kind of what it feels like everyone who grew up on that is liking that again.

[00:15:07] And it's like it all just kind of comes back around except now it's not whatever it was labeled then and whatever it's labeled now. It's just kind of more of the same whatever labels on it. Yeah. And it's just good. It's good and it's real and it makes people feel things. And if that's the case then that's all that matters. And I think it's you know I think it's too like our my generation was you know raised by with like raised with like I love Toby Keith and I love Shania Twain.

[00:15:35] And I like love Turnpike and all of the red dirt from Texas and we were raised on that. But we were also you know banging disdained and like all of those dad rock bands and Creed and Alice in Chains and all of that. And it's like okay well you know now we're old and we can spend our own money so why not have both. Yeah. And I think with Dexter and the Moon Rocks which I do have to ask a question about the name of the band here in a little bit. But I think it's like the first time that I heard you guys was Sad in Carolina.

[00:16:03] And I think it was it was a feeling of this sounds familiar but at the same time I haven't heard something like this in a while maybe. Which which feeling would you rather have a listener kind of experience whenever they hear one of your old songs for the first time? I actually think it's really cool when people like would listen to like Freaking Out or Bleach or like Sad in Carolina. And they'd be like dog I thought this song was from like 97.

[00:16:30] And I'm like yeah dude that's awesome. Where it's like because like they're like dude I thought this was like another like I thought this was a deep cut from you know insert super big 90s band. B-side. Yeah I thought this was like you know like the same way that Nobody Knew Something in the Way by Nirvana and then the Batman comes along and people are like and then it's the biggest song in the world. So I take a lot of pride in that because those people are heroes to me and that's where I get so much like that's where I get so much of my influence.

[00:16:59] I know that's where the band gets so much of their influence and I think that that's super like cool that people are saying that. And then I also love that people are like it it's weird because it feels like I've listened to the song a thousand times but also never heard it before in the first place. And I think that means we're doing something correctly. Yeah. Which is very cool. Definitely. And I guess I'll just go and ask about the band now.

[00:17:25] Well if my research serves me right no one in the band's named Dexter. No. So we can check that off. It was just kind of a feeling that this name matches the vibe that we're going with. Is that right? Yeah. So funny enough the band and I the boys don't like when I tell this and I don't care because I think it's fun. But before so we've been Dexter and the Moon Rocks for a little over four years.

[00:17:51] The boys have been grinding as a band for almost eight years I think. And so they dropped out of college and then I was in college while they were a country band called James Tufts and the Southern Trouble. There are two songs available that you can listen to by James Tufts and the Southern Trouble. One is called Sunday Dress. One is called Love Memory. They're both bangers I think.

[00:18:17] Like if you ever want to hear what we would sound like as just a hick ass fucking band. Those are the two songs. And they changed in August of 21. And that's when I got politely asked by my baseball coaches at the college I was at to never step foot on a field ever again because I was really bad at baseball. I said don't do that again. And I was like so sorry. Shouldn't have disrespected your time. And I was like I need something to do.

[00:18:43] And so they switched in August of 21 and released Couch and then they're like we need a drummer. And so then they picked me up. And so they had already been named Dexter and the Moon Rocks. And the first thing I said in practice was like hey y'all are cool the music's fun. The name's kind of shit though. And I was like we should change it. And they're like shut the fuck up. And that's the name we kept. And it's a great name and I love it. But yeah nobody's named Dexter and then Moon Rocks is just marijuana. Okay. It's just like a name.

[00:19:14] It's just a certain type of weed. And it's so whenever I was kind of looking into it it's somewhat of a hootie in the blowfish situation. Yes 100% is a hootie. No one's hootie. No one's really the blowfish. That's just the name. It's just like a nonsense name. And then you get drunk people. And then drunk people call me Dexter. Which I'm like if anybody's going to be Dexter why would it not be the lead singer. It's not me. Don't call me that. And I'm like stop. Well can you lead into the lore with the Cheez-Its. Because that was a big I feel like last part of what year two years.

[00:19:44] That was all over social media. So I love the whole story of how that even began. Yeah I think again it's have bits that you enjoy. I think we're at the end of that bit. Respectfully. But it basically started with we played one of our first ticketed show ever was at a place called The Backyard in Waco. And how long ago was that? In 2023. Okay. We sold 500 tickets. It was crazy.

[00:20:14] We were like we're the biggest band in the world. We made it. We made it. We were all still working jobs. So like Ty drove in from like the oil field. James had just gotten off his shift at like being a fry cook. And then Ryan probably had stained a couple. He was a concrete surface decorator so he would like stain and decorate concrete. And so we got there and a very nice girl gave us like a snack bag like in a basket. And we didn't eat any of it. And we were like well this will be funny. Let's just put it on stage. And one of them was like a can of Pringles.

[00:20:44] And you can find this video on the internet. And a girl held up like a Snapchat sign that said can I have a Pringle. And so we gave her a Pringle and we were like oh this is funny. And then as we went on our first tour like two months later they were like hey we put Cheez-Its on your rider. And we were like we don't know what the fuck a rider is but okay. And so then there would just be a box of Cheez-Its that would just sit in the green room just unopened. Because we got so tired of eating them that we were like well let's just give them to the crowd.

[00:21:08] And so then it became a bit it became like a deep lore of like people would like people would like save their Cheez-Its and put it in a shadow box from the show that they got and stuff like that. And it was very weird or they would like put it in a little baggie and like tape it next to the set list or whatever. And so we tried for two and a half years to get Cheez-Its to sponsor us. And they basically came back and they said I believe your brand is not conducive to what Cheez-Its is trying to accomplish.

[00:21:36] To which I was like you literally did a deal with Barstool which isn't any shade against Barstool. It's just like kind of similar if you think about like demographic. And what like Cheez-Its isn't trying to make people happy? Yeah. They don't like rock music? You know what I mean? Like and it's like same vibe. Yeah. Like we're just trying to bro out and it's like you know that's weird.

[00:22:04] So then we just said okay cool I'm better at the internet than you are. Let's start a war. And then we went to the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando and took spray chalk and which is on December 31st which is the day we released Donkey Flats. We went to the Cheez-It Bowl and we spray chalked not spray painted. That's a very important thing to this story. We spray chalked Cheez-It sucks.

[00:22:31] Go stream Donkey Flats by Dexter and the Moon Rocks on every like other sidewalk square around the entire Cheez-It Bowl that Cheez-It's paid 15 million dollars to sponsor. And then we flew a prop plane around the stadium with a banner that just says Cheez-It sucks. And we were going to do a lot more things but then we got threatened by the cops because they were like did you do this? And we were like we don't know what you're talking about.

[00:23:00] Meanwhile it says Dexter and the Moon Rocks and my face is fucking everywhere on the internet. So we're like did you do this? And we're like I don't know. And they're like well damage of property is like you'd go to jail and like this is you know you permanently damaged property. And I was like first off it's spray chalk. It's chalk. It's chalk. It's chalk. So we did that and then it rained two days later and all the chalk disappeared and I was like genius. Thank God. But we did that and then it was kind of like alright we're on to the next. Cheez-It sucks.

[00:23:29] And so now all of our fan base is just like hey fuck Cheez-Its. What could have been? But I think you guys did the best. I know. I can't. And we didn't even want money. We weren't like give us a bag. It was just like I want to be able to have the bit to just be like we're sponsored by fucking Cheez-Its. And they were like no. And I was like that's hilarious. I'm going to bury you. OG fans will know forever now. Yeah exactly. And now what's going to be the next the next sponsor that you're aiming for. I don't know. Besides the cameras.

[00:23:59] Dude Liquid Death would be pretty cool. Smith and Wesson if you want to just give me a gun. That'd be awesome. Any guitar any instruments also would be sick. I'd love like Dove 4-in-1 shampoo. I think that would just be clutch to just have. It's good for my head. Makes my skin feel soft. That's a great ad for them. Dude. Dove. Hey men. Hey.

[00:24:28] Rock stars use Dove. Right there. Book it. Call me. Have my people hit your people. Or have whatever. That's good PR for them because girls hate Dove 4-in-1. I don't know if you've seen that on the internet. I have. I have. I have a 3-in-1 and my wife hates it. Yeah. She hates it. But it's definitely interesting and I find very fascinating to see the band's sense of humor come through so easily in everything that you all do.

[00:24:53] And one of my favorite things that you guys did with Freakin' Out is the Oops All Drop version of Freakin' Out. If you're listening to this podcast and you haven't checked that out, I guess maybe you could describe what that is and maybe even how it came to be because it's hilarious. Let me, hang on. I'm not pulling up my phone to be disrespectful because I really want to get the information correct. There were people like, let me see. Oh, it won't load.

[00:25:23] Oh, okay. So there were people like Dylan. And Dylan was a person on TikTok that left a comment that said, it's a shame that this song only has 15 seconds of it that are good. And I thought in my head, that's cool, Dylan. How about you suck a dick? And so we said, wouldn't it just be funny if we took the 15 seconds that was trending on TikTok that has turned it into the biggest rock song of all time? Again, Dylan, suck a dick.

[00:25:50] And we were like, what if we just looped that for just hours and then just released it? Um, because we were also trying, like, admittedly, we were trying to play the billboard game a little bit because we were like, okay, this is the first like rock song that's been in the top 40 that really feel that like feels like a rock song. Let's see how high we can get it. And we needed to sell physical copies. And so we're like, well, I don't want to just put freaking out on a CD and just sell it. And so we're like, okay, let's make Oops All Drop. We'll put it on streaming.

[00:26:19] I wanted to put it on streaming for 10 hours. And our label was like, you can't fucking do that. I was like, why not? And they're like, it will mess with the algorithm and you can't do it. So it's on YouTube for three hours. It's like three minutes and 50 seconds on streaming. And then we put it on a CD. Um, uh, and the CD is 90 minutes. And I think it's like three minutes and 30 seconds of actual freaking out. And then the rest is just freaking out. Oops, I'll drop.

[00:26:47] Cause we were like, okay, we need to sell physical to try and get up the billboard charts, but we don't want to do the whole slow down and sped up and let's make 30 versions of it and whatever. Um, so we're like, let's put it out. And then we basically sold the CDs at cost cause we were like, okay, we don't really want to make money off of this. This is purely just a, like an ego play. Like it's a good bit. It's, it's also like to get up billboard. So we were, we made like a big PSA where it was like, Hey, we're doing this. We're selling it at cost.

[00:27:16] I think we made 74 cents in profit, but we've donated all of that to charity. So, um, I just, I love anything for the bit and I think people respect the bit. And so it was just like, yeah, let's do this. This is funny because this is the first big song that like, you know, global song that we've had. So let's just turn it into a funny little bit and drop. I'll drop. And my favorite type of comedy is a bit that is really funny at first and then it goes on a little too long. And then it's like, Oh, I don't know about this. It's kind of cringy.

[00:27:45] And then it gets at the end is funny again. Yeah. I think I know that you're saying three and a three minutes and 50 seconds isn't long enough, but I feel like that does give you that experience where it's like, this is really funny. This is all just drops. And it's like, wait a second. This is all just drops. And then by the end of it, you're just laughing because that's all it is. Oh my God. And it's so funny too, because like we've been, we've been promoting this song for, I don't fucking know, 12 weeks. And I've been like, I've like been multiple times. I've been like, guys, I'm so sorry.

[00:28:14] But this like, we have a bus now because of this song. We're not done. And like our fan base has been so nice because they're like, no, keep doing it. We love you. And so like, it's fun to lean into bits like that. Like this won't, this will be out by the time I've posted this, but like, I'm going to get our guitarist and I'm going to sit him down this week or not our guitarist, our singer. And I'm going to sit him down this week and he's going to do like a, okay guys, just wrote a brand new song. I'm going to play it for you. And then as he goes to strum the first chord, it's just going to be like zoomed in of my face and it's just going to say, nope, still freaking out.

[00:28:44] And it's just going to be free. It's like, this is, we can have fun with this. Like it's a whole, um, it's a bit that like I enjoy, I enjoy shit posting and fucking with people. And like, I think our fans enjoy it too because it's real and it just feels like we're in a fun little group chat together, but it's a group chat of, you know, a million people. So why not? Why not? Now, did you guys know that freaking out was going to be the song that did it for you when you guys wrote it or you put it out? Or did that just kind of a surprise to you guys?

[00:29:13] I think it's very interesting. Um, where you like in my head, I was always like, we're going to be a massive band with platinum songs. Right. And I always knew that from day one. And I always, I always believed that. And I was like, you know, we just have to get the right people to listen to our music. But it's one thing to like dream that it's another thing thing to like experience it in real time.

[00:29:41] And I don't think like me and James, like when we got the first mix back from our producer Taylor Kimball, I was like, this song is going to be massive. I was driving down I-35, um, in Texas and I was breaking every speed law possible. And I listened, I think I listened to it 19 times in a row on full blast. Like I damn near blew my speakers out. I was like, this song is going to be massive. Did I think like that massive song also comes with being, you know, the biggest song, the

[00:30:10] biggest rock song on the billboard, all genre charts and being number one on Apple music for like nine weeks in a row now or whatever. And, you know, um, selling out every show that we have and, you know, getting to do this podcast and like all of those things. And it's like, I didn't think that. And I, and I think there's still so much like it had, it did its best day ever Friday. So like, literally. Yeah. So it's like, it was like, oh, it's still, it's still going.

[00:30:38] So you didn't even know what you could possibly dream of. Yeah. Cause now it's like you're entering, like we're entering the conversations of like Olivia Rodrigo, Noah Kahn, Taylor Swift. Like, and it's like, oh, we've branched out of like indie Southern rock kind of the alternative, whatever to like, oh, we are a like global rock band now, which is crazy to say. And we have so much work we have to do still. Does that change the outlook of Dexter and the Moon Rocks at all?

[00:31:07] Or is it just the fact like, Hey, all right, we know what people like. We'll keep, we'll keep this in mind, but we're still going to continue to do the things that just naturally come out of the band, the band, I guess. I think it freaked, it freaked me out for a week where it was, fuck pun not intended. Holy shit. Oh, dear God. Yeah. It, yeah, it freaked me out for like a week. Cause it was like, oh my God. Cause we were in, it couldn't have come at a worse time.

[00:31:36] Cause it, we released it in the middle of being in the studio. So it was like, it was like, oh, it's the best release we've ever done. Oh, it's the best song we ever, oh, it's outperforming everything. Everything. Yeah. And it is so, and then, and then you're, and then you're in the studio trying to make more music and you're second guessing everything. And so I think for a week I was like super domed up in my head. And I think some of the guys were too. And we went and we recorded some songs and I think we're going to end up like re-recording two of them.

[00:32:06] And like, it was a good process. Cause now we're like, okay. And I think now we've kind of been like, okay, all the pressures off. Like we're big sports guys. And our lead singer was like, dude, if you think about it, so many people write an album and then they hope for a hit. We surprise are working on an album right now. Um, but like we have, we have the hit. So now all we have to do is not fuck up the album. Like we just have to make good music.

[00:32:34] And I think we don't write with like hits in mind. Cause I think that's super lame and corny, but I think that has taken off the pressure of like, we have to repeat freaking out. It's like, no, we don't. Um, our lead singer, um, like the sports analogy that he used, um, he basically said, we are up by three. We are at the free throw line and there is three seconds left in the game. All we have to do is not miss a free throw. Like that's, that is it.

[00:33:02] And I think that's so true of just, we don't have to, we don't have to repeat it. We don't have to do anything like that. We don't have to worry about like, oh, is this song, do we need to add something to this to make it appeal to the country audience more? Do we need to do the, or is this? No, it's just, let's go do what Dexter and the Moon Rocks has always done and just have it be successful and just be us. And I think that's very relaxing to have because you're like, you know, you don't want this,

[00:33:30] you don't want this to end because it's just, even though it's just started, but you're like, what's next? What's next? What's next? And you're beating me to a lot of my questions, but I was looking at, you know, your guys' music and it's just like EP, single, single, single, you know? And so now an album's coming. Yes. Any timeline you can share? There is in my head, but I don't, I love reading and I have learned from authors that if you give a timeline and you don't meet your timeline, your fan base is going to be pissed. Yes.

[00:33:59] I will say the goal is this year. Okay. Because of just the success of Freaking Out and we want to be able to build on that. And we're, that's why we're here right now. We're writing, we're working with our producer. There's a lot of like really cool stuff that's already happened and is happening and like potentially some really cool features and like artists that we're talking with that we really fuck with that we're trying to work with. And, um, uh, but there isn't, there isn't a timeline.

[00:34:28] So we're trying to figure that out, but we don't even know what it's going to be called. But Freaking Out will be on there. Freaking Out will be on there. We've got a, um, when does this do, is there, when does this come out? Actually, it won't come out till July. So we already do know about the Treaty Oak. Treaty Oak. Oh, cool. Hey guys, what's up? When you're watching this, we have a fucking song with Treaty Oak. And hopefully if you're watching this in July, we have two songs on the Billboard Hot 100. One is Freaking Out. One is the, um, uh, 12 Steps with Treaty Oak Revival.

[00:34:56] And you're going to go listen to it right now. Okay. Fast forward. Cool. And then, and then obviously come back to the Wizards Podcast. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, so that was one of the things that I was wondering is like, whenever you're going in and making out an album, is it, and this is your all's first album? Yes. Um, and that was intentional by the way too, which like kind of to your question, sorry to cut you off. No, no, no. That was very intentional where we like, when we release our debut album, we want it to be a motherfucker. And we want it to be like, we are here, this is the band, this is what's up.

[00:35:25] So that's why we've always done EPs. Sorry. Sorry if this is like a, too much of a, I don't know how to describe this question, but like, are you going to let the album name itself? Or do you guys have some ideas that you're throwing around? There's like, we've, we've thrown around some ideas that I would like, I don't, I genuinely don't care, but I don't want to like say them right now and then have them or like, it's not like the song that we're thinking of didn't make the album or something like that.

[00:35:50] But I think it's like, I think it truly is just going to be a, let's figure out what's on the album. And then just. Because you guys haven't done this before. No. You guys haven't. So this is like a new experience for you guys. Yeah. We've, we've never done it. So I think it's something. And we're really leaning on like the people in our scene that have kind of done it before that have been successful. And I think it's very cool to like talk to the people that we admire now, like treaty

[00:36:19] oak and be able to go to them and be like, Hey, you've done it. You're selling out arenas. You've gone from that. Like you've, you have three albums out that are all bangers. And it also helps that their producer is our producer. And like, we're just, and so it's just like, what does this look like? How does this feel? What do you, you know, what do you think of? And they've been nothing but the best people in the world. And that's just been really cool. Cause I feel like sometimes it feels like it's like treaty oak is like rock country. Yeah. And then it's kind of us.

[00:36:49] And that's kind of like it sometimes. And then everyone else feels like either really country or really heavy. And it's like, we feel like the two, I feel like we're the two bands that like blend it and all of that. And I am very happy because people are starting to recognize that. And for four years I would like, I would do stuff that would be like the sad cowboy music or Western space grunge or everything like that. And all the little fucking country. Not you guys. Love you guys.

[00:37:16] All the little country accounts would like steal all of that content, but wouldn't credit us or wouldn't talk about anything that we would ever do. And I was just like, all right, well, this is some bullshit. And now it's kind of like, Hey, you have to pay attention to us now, which is cool. Not saying that's what you guys are doing. You've been on us since messed up kid from like last year. So I, you guys have always been lovely. And to be fair, I reached out to get you guys on the podcast before the new year. So before freaking out. Exactly. There we go. Hey, that's what's up.

[00:37:44] But when you guys write songs, I was looking and it looks like all, all four of you band members are on at least the big ones. Is that going to be the case for all the music? That it doesn't matter. You're so like, um, yes, on every song it doesn't. So like I wrote like James. So we call it, we call it like, um, rollers rights, which is like, usually if you are the one that rolls the blunt, you get to hit it first. Cool. Okay, great. Some people aren't stoners, whatever. Um, neither am I.

[00:38:13] I just have been into the culture. Yeah. Um, so a lot of times, like I have, I've written, like I wrote, like she likes girls and I wrote, uh, like birds and the bees and I wrote the song like, uh, 12 steps with, uh, with that we're doing with treaty oak. However, I suck at the car and I can't sing. So like James and Ryan and like, I wrote it just as equally as like everyone else did.

[00:38:39] And even though like I did the main inception of the song, we split everything four ways. So it doesn't matter if like James came up with something on his own. Ryan wrote like you, like you, James wrote Ritalin. Like it doesn't matter. Everybody splits it four ways. We are a band and that's how we always will be. Um, just because I think like we're all working hard and we, I don't want us to be the Eagles either where it's like now we're fighting and who cares? Like there's enough money to go around. There is enough credit.

[00:39:09] We all work hard. Why not just split everything four ways and it doesn't matter just because like we can and it's the good thing. And like, how much money do you really need? You know, and like stuff like that. So I think we've always been a like very tight family unit that way. And I don't think a lot of like bands do that. I was going to say that seems like the ideal way to handle it. Uh, and it's, I guess it's kind of strange to see bands not do it like that. So good on you guys for just saying, Hey, all of us are going to be a part of it.

[00:39:38] And with the album, I mean, you guys have released EPs and, and, uh, singles, but I'm assuming that this is the first time where it's like, you guys have been all together writing all these songs and it's a, it was at an extended period of time. You guys just kind of worked on this or was it? I think we've always done like one-offs where like we, we write together a lot. We do write together a lot, but then it's just like, Hey, I fucked off for 50 minutes and came up with the song and then everyone's like, cool. Um, and so I think with this, you know, again, we've never done it.

[00:40:06] So we don't really know the process of like whatever. And we've been having conversations because, you know, like I'm here doing this podcast and the guys are also writing and they're right there and they're like, well, you know, are you going to be upset if we write without you? And I, and this is the reason that I'm happy that we have the structure that we have because it's like, well, I don't really care who comes up with the song. I want to be in the room. I want to contribute.

[00:40:33] I know when we record it, I'm going to contribute, but I just want good music. I don't really care where it comes from. I just want us to be able to make like a bang and out, but like rising tide lifts all boats. And so it's kind of just like, Hey, whatever. Um, let's all, so like we're figuring it out together and we're also like leaning on co-writes a little more. We've still been like, you get in the Nashville scene and everyone's like, well, this person has 17 writers that they do songs with.

[00:41:02] And you're like, okay, sure. Yeah. We'll try it. But every big song we have hasn't been a co-write. But so like Ritalin was all us. Freakin' Out was all us. She Likes Girls was all us. Sad in Carolina was all us. I think the only co-write in our top 10 is Serotonin and that is it. So it's kind of like we've tried them and, but we've also tried them with like maybe like very Nashville people, except a few who know who they are because we love them.

[00:41:31] Um, and I think we're going more to like actual artists we like and being like, do you want to write a song with us? Instead of being like, let's go have the label find a Nashville songwriter that has 300 credits on a bunch of like songs and artists that we don't really fuck with. And it's kind of like, we don't want to do that formulaic thing, but we're not opposed to it because we're like, let's just make good music. And sorry, I'm going to ask you in kind of another short question, not really give you a chance to bring.

[00:41:59] No, no, no, dude, I'm, I can yap for so long. I'm so sorry to anyone listening to this. It's just my voice. No, sometimes we're in here and we're like, we didn't say a word. That was perfect because it's just like people listen to hear the artist on. So, um, but how did recording, uh, Kate McKinnon and messed up kid come about? Oh, so that's so interesting. Okay. So, um, little bit of lore for everybody too. Let me just lore drop cause I haven't talked enough. Um, uh, okay.

[00:42:28] So when we started recording, we were recording out of a double wide trailer in the, like in a tiny, tiny town of like 500 people. Um, and we were recording on an electric drum. We were recording through like this thing called, um, a, oh my God, I'm totally blanking. It looks like an Amazon Alexa. Um, I cannot remember the name of it, but it, it's like a little Amazon Alexa pod and you run it off your phone and you can only have eight tracks on it.

[00:42:55] And so you would like, we would take an electric drum kit, plug it straight in with a quarter inch and we wouldn't mix the drums at all. There would just be one master. And so that's how we did couch. Um, like that's how the guys did couch. I wasn't around for that. But like the drums on that are MIDI piano drums. They are not real drums. That's crazy. Song has 20 million streams. Crazy. Um, like we did the original, she likes girls that way. We did the original autopilot that way we did sectional and we did Kate McKinnon.

[00:43:23] And I think, um, I joined the band in November of 21 and I was like, boys, is it cool if I make a tick tock and a social media? And, um, they're like, yeah, whatever. It's not going to work. And I was like, cool. I'm going to make it anyway. And so I was kind of getting on the internet and I discovered like the alternative niche on the internet. And I was like, this is, this is exactly what we are. We're four hicks playing rock music. This is, this is what we're doing.

[00:43:50] Um, and I discovered Colter Wall and I was like, we should cover a country song and we should make it super our own. Um, and there wasn't like, let's make it grungy or whatever, but we're like, let's cover a country song and let's put it out. And we put it out and it was the biggest song we put out and it kind of got us some internet clout a little bit. And we were like, okay, this is cool. Cause this feels like it's to our roots. And then we did the same thing with like devil like me by rainbow kitten surprise. And we've always loved doing covers and taking songs that sound one way and making them sound a completely different way.

[00:44:19] And we were just looking for songs to fill our live set. And we used to play lady may and shake the frost all the time. And we'd play like a rocked out version of shake the frost. Um, and so we're like, okay, shake the frost is getting kind of old. And our lead singer was like, well, I like this song, which is messed up kid. And we recorded it at a show at a sold out show in Fort Worth. Um, and it was kind of just as an afterthought because we were really hunting, uh, Western space grunge had just come out.

[00:44:45] So we were recording songs from Western space grunge that night to release videos to, which are out on the internet. They're done by my good buddy, Michael Herrick. Um, and we had messed up kid and we got to like November and we were like, well, we don't have any fucking songs coming out. Let's just release messed up kid. Cause like, why not? And then it turned into the biggest song we had for a year. Um, and it was just more of just like love and affinity for country and Western music and

[00:45:11] just being like, cool, let's make it what, you know, let's make it a Dexter version instead of, um, you know, this version and just see if people like it. And we've always, always loved covering songs. And like, we have, we've talked about doing like, um, uh, bad idea by girl in red and, um, like there's a bunch of like an Oliver tree song or like death cap for cutie or, you know, I've always wanted to take, like, I, we, I wanted to do a chapel Rhone song, but her vocal

[00:45:40] range is like crazy and we couldn't figure out a key that worked and just, so just different like we've just, I've always loved doing it because I don't, again, I don't care who wrote the song. If it's a good song, let's play it. If it's like, we're here to entertain. So let's entertain. And I'm assuming that by doing all that, um, kind of coming up and doing those covers and picking, uh, from all these different genre baskets, if you will, I know where you're going with this. Your fans are diverse. Oh yeah. A hundred percent. Yeah.

[00:46:07] Um, if you come to a Dexter and it's my favorite thing, I love it so much. We will get as many people in Pearl snaps and just like, um, just cowboy hats, crowd surfing and mosh pitting as much as we will, um, chicks and Doc Martens with fishnets or guys with like a chain wallet. Like it's the, it's fucking hilarious to go look at our line and you're looking at the most George straight looking motherfucker of all time standing next to a girl and a guy in

[00:46:35] full white and black goth, like face makeup and like with, you know, long sleeve t-shirt and just like platform boots. And it's so cool. Like you will see it's, it's so cool. And if someone walks by the Dexter and the moon rocks line, they're probably like, what the hell is going on? It's the most whiplash. It's so funny. Yeah. Um, and yeah, I absolutely love it.

[00:47:00] And I think it's so fun because I feel like there's so many people who are like, feel like they might be trapped by the environment that they're in. And it's like, Hey, you know, we, we came up with this tag that I really liked, but it was like, it doesn't matter if you think a pair of boots means cowboy or combat, you're welcome at a Dexter and the moon rock show. And I think that's really cool because I feel like there's so many things in the South where like, you know, if you see a, uh, fucking guy in a pickup truck and a girl was, you know,

[00:47:28] split dyed hair and tattoos, you're going to think like, Oh, they probably hate each other. Or if you think, you know, um, like a chick that looks like a barrel racer and, uh, you know, a guy with spiked out hair, you're going to be like, well, they hate each other. And it's like, well, not at a Dexter and the moon rocks concert. It's like everybody gets to be here. And I think that's really cool. And I think that's cool because we're from the South. And like, I think so many people have this stereotype of like what the South is and what it means. And I think there's a lot of negative things that have come with that, but I think it's

[00:47:55] cool that we can be positive stewards of like the culture and the South and what that actually means and bring it to the alternative space that does have its drawbacks. Cowboys don't know how to crowd surf. It's a fucking problem. Uh, it's, Oh my God. Cause it's so funny. Cause you'll see like the hardcore kids will show up and they'll be like, Oh, this is an easy show for us. Cause they're hardcore metal heads. And you can like see it in their eyes that they want to start a pit, but then they see

[00:48:25] all of like the dudes who look super scary. Like they beat them up in cowboy boots. And they're like, well, I don't want to start a fight. It's like, okay, guys, we gotta, we gotta learn how to open a pit, how to like hold somebody up when they're crowd surfing, make sure they get to the front. Like you need the rules before the concert and I'm, I'm straight up. I'm going to do like a very official PSA of like, so you've never crowd surfed before. Here's what you need to know. Cause so many people are just, I think COVID fucked it up too.

[00:48:51] Cause like we didn't get the, like the elder, like Gen Z and like millennial cause of COVID. Like the 24 year olds didn't pass down to the 20 year olds, like how to crowd surf. Now the 24 year olds are like 28 and they're like, I'm not fucking crowd surfing. And the, now the 20, like the now 24 year olds are like, we never knew how to do this, but we're just going to throw people in the air. It's like, don't do that. Yeah. So. And you guys have kind of made your name from a lot of your live shows and just hit in the road hard.

[00:49:20] What is tour life like? Um, I think it's, it's super cool for me. I'm very fortunate enough that, um, my, um, dad made good enough money, um, from his job that he can retire. And he's kind of just been like, I'm using my retirement to come on the road. And I've just been like, that's crazy, but you do you. So like my dad gets to come with me, which is really, really awesome. Um, but I think tour is super fun. We've had amazing opening acts bands.

[00:49:49] Uh, we've had cigarettes at sunset, Fox and Veed, high June, um, uh, Keaton Adams, just like Mitchell Ferguson, people that are just homies that we really enjoy. And it, you really do build a family out on the road. It sucks too. Cause you're like, I miss my wife and I want to be home. Um, and you know, you miss birthdays and you miss anniversaries and all of that stuff. But it has all accumulated to what's happening right now, which is like every show we have is sold out and they're sold out months in advance.

[00:50:19] And then we're having to add, you know, other nights and those other nights are selling out and we're getting more opportunities. And it's, it's very cool. And you guys have gotten to be openers as well. I know you guys open for Turnpike. Oh, we're opening for Turnpike. Opening for Turnpike. Haven't done that, which is a dream. Seven and I got a seven and seven tattoo. I love Turnpike being from like red dirt and growing up on them. So that's a dream come true, but sorry to cut you off. No, no, no. I'm glad that you corrected me. Cause I, I, uh, not sure where I saw that, but I guess I saw the announcement

[00:50:48] that you guys were, uh, going with, uh, on the road with Turnpike. Like, is it a situation because I'm just sitting here, like obviously you're on the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast, you know, we're more country music based, but we, we kind of branch out in certain areas as well. So, uh, it's a good fit to have you guys here, but a blind test of someone just sat down, put a pair of headphones on, they wouldn't necessarily say, oh, what I just listened to was country music. But then you guys are opening for a band like, like Turnpike. So like OG country. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:51:17] And I think that's like, that's such a, so we also, so we, I can give you a better example because we haven't opened for Turnpike yet, but we did open for red clay strays and we did, we did three shows with them and we opened for whiskey Myers, but, um, they were the nicest guys ever. And we went in and we were like, okay, we're going to start a mosh pit. And they're like, what? And we're like, we're going to start a mosh pit. And they're like, hang on. And, um, they were like, cause they'd never seen our show and they thought we were just being fucking assholes.

[00:51:47] And so as we got to know them, they surprised us on our last show in Austin and they're like, Hey, start the mosh pit, get everybody going. And we're like, okay, cool. We started it. They came out with like pool floaties and threw them on everybody. And it was so kind of them. Yeah. And I think, I think so many people have like an idea of what the genre has to be and it doesn't have to be that. And I think like that from the red clay strays is such a like heartwarming thing that they

[00:52:16] did for us. And they took such good care of us. Um, because also, you know, they were like, we don't know who you are and please don't fuck up our, you know, our show. And we're like, we promise we won't. Um, and it's so heartwarming because it's like, I think people want to have fun and people like the, the world sucks right now. And I think people want to have fun and they're angry and they want to laugh and they want to cry and they want to jump around. And I think it doesn't really like, I think you can do that equally to, um, before the devil knows we're dead as you can to, um, freaking out.

[00:52:45] And I think you can do it as equally to the winding stair mountain blues by turnpike. And as the same thing with, um, like, um, people hating by red clay strays and all of that as you can to any Dexter song. And I think the people love the genre more than, you know, and I think like the, the welder in Texas is listening to us the same amount that they are listening to a Zach top and a turnpike and a muscadine bloodline. Clear by your show. Yeah.

[00:53:15] And, and I think it's like, because we have that now because it used to be, you didn't have streaming. So you just turned on the radio and you listened to the radio all the way through and that's it. But now that you have streaming and you, you can go from Alice in Chains to Tyler, um, uh, Childers to turnpike to us to Creed. I mean, Creed fucking, I think Creed played stagecoach. I think in Bush. Yeah. They're like in country festivals all the time. Like that.

[00:53:42] That's what, and so that's where, um, that, that's where I look at it. Like, I think it's so many people now, like you don't have to be genre-ed in and you can enjoy good music. And I think that's really cool. And I'm really, really happy with like the opportunities that a band like Red Clay gave us and, um, like Turnpike is giving us and Whiskey Myers gave us because we also, wouldn't be here without their influence.

[00:54:10] Um, and what they have done. I mean, God, you, you, I've said this all the time. Turnpike, Turnpike should be the biggest band in the fucking world. I, they should be, they like, I love Zach Bryan. I love, um, uh, George Strait. Like they're fantastic, um, uh, artists, but I like Turnpike should be the one selling a hundred thousand tickets in, in a stadium like there. And they did with the boys from Oklahoma, but like they should have been doing it.

[00:54:36] They've been doing it for years because they are so, so good. And, um, like when you grow up in Texas, you, you think every Turnpike song is a multi-platinum hit and I don't think they have a song over a hundred million streams. And it's like, that's a disservice to everything. And so I, I think it's just, it's so cool to have been raised by that and have like Evan Felker's reached out to us and been like, y'all's music is really cool. And I'm like, I, I love you.

[00:55:06] I was listening to, I was 11 crying to Diamonds and Gasoline. Yeah. Like this is awesome. Again, beating me to my questions. Are you like thinking about what you're going to ask him when you do eventually get to meet him in person? Dude, I, so I have, I actually have a, um, uh, I, I have some questions just about like lyrical choices and just like, cause he's, he is, you can book this right now. The greatest songwriter ever. I don't care.

[00:55:33] Anyone, I'll, I'll run these ones with anyone who disagrees with me. Evan Felker's the greatest songwriter of all time. Um, and I think his command of lyrics and melody and the whole Lori situation and what that looks like. And, um, I just, I just want to talk to him and I just want to talk to him near a guitar and just be like, Oh, that's crazy. Evan, what if we just sat here and wrote it on? What is this guitar doing? What is this guitar? You mean I have half a verse and a chorus? That's so weird.

[00:56:01] What if we just, what if we just finished it? Evan, do you like rock music? What if we, well, that's crazy. Come be on an album with us. What? So I don't know if that's going to happen, but the dream scenario would be that. Yeah. And I, I can't help but, uh, like listen to you guys's music and it's not like you guys could be influenced by this artist because he's, you know, kind of been on the up and up along with you guys. Steven Wilson Jr. Have you heard from him or anything like that?

[00:56:27] So funny enough, we actually got, um, there was like a brief conversation where like, I think it never made, then this is also, this is what I hate sometimes. Like there was a conversation that from his team to like our team, or it was like his A&R to our A&R of like maybe doing something together possibly. And I think we were supposed to write a song with him and then, but it was right as he was blowing up and he was like, I have to cancel. I have to add more dates or whatever.

[00:56:53] And then we just haven't, and not for a lack of trying, but we just haven't reconnected. But I think he's so fantastic. Did you know he invented the, the, the, the, crazy. Yeah. Um, and he's, uh, sorry. Just a great fun fact. Great fun fact. He invented the sticks that clean dog's teeth. Um, but I think he's so fricking cool. And I think he also loves, like he covered hunger strike and did a whole thing of covers

[00:57:23] and he had the, um, uh, he did something in the way. Yeah, he did. Oh my God. And it's so good. And he's just, he's got a, such a unique voice. And I think that's another, that's another example of like, that is a guy that was, that grew up in the nineties and loved the nineties music, but his way of expressing it is through, um, an acoustic guitar and country. And I think we're the opposite where it's like, we grew up loving Turnpike and our way of expressing that is by kicking you in the mouth. Yeah.

[00:57:49] And, and I feel like that's why it just feels like you guys should at some point, you're saying that, you know, not for lack of trying, but I feel like maybe, maybe whenever it's supposed to happen, it will. And it'll be just like the, one of the greatest things that's ever happened. I can't wait to see what happens for you guys next. After the album comes out, like rocket ship to the moon. I, I, that's what I hope. I don't know if that's the case just cause like, I hope we don't turn into one of those bands where it's like, oh my God, they have 12 million monthly listeners and they can't

[00:58:19] sell out a high school gymnasium. Like that's kind of my biggest fear right now is like, we're having conversations where they're like, cool, we're going to go play a 3600 person amphitheater. And I'm like, Hey buddy, 3600 people don't even live in the County we're from. Like what the fuck are you talking about? Um, so. When's the last time you guys played in Nashville? Um, we played the, we sold out the Brooklyn bowl. Okay. Um, shout out.

[00:58:44] Um, in July of 2025 is the last time we played Nashville. Funny enough, it was, um, they, I think the employee at the Brooklyn bowl almost shot me in the chest with a gun cause, um, we told them, so we told them, it was like, Hey, this is a big show for us during the, like when we come out for the encore, Fox is going to stone cold Steve Austin, two beers and pour that for anyone who doesn't know what that is.

[00:59:13] It's where you take two open beers, you smash them together very violently and then you pour it on yourself and you get none of it in your mouth. That makes me feel old that we're even imagining that some people might not know. I guess that's true. Yeah. Um, so, and I told them that, well, I left the two beers open side stage and there were two beers and then there was a 40 next to it.

[00:59:38] Um, and an employee stole my two beers and so I had to do two forties instead of two 12s. And so I stone cold Steve Austin like two forties and, um, it got all over their front PA and they, and like the sound guy was like, ah, you suck. I was like, well, don't you, your employee stole my beers. Don't. This isn't my fault. This wasn't supposed to be that messy. I told you I was doing it. Yeah. Um, yeah.

[01:00:05] And then like Taylor Swift the next night played like a surprise show at the Brooklyn Bowl with like Travis Kelsey or whatever. And I was like, I stone cold Steve Austin, two beers. Yeah. That's right. Now Taylor Swift is right there. That's kind of funny. Love it. And I know, uh, you guys are touring in Australia, right? Yes, we are touring. Also, I feel bad for correcting you because probably by the time this is out, we will have played shows with Turnpike. Well, so that's on me. You were future telling. I would, I'm, I would just say that we're both in the clear and it's all good, but I

[01:00:32] know that that's going to be your first time out of the country, right? We played in Canada, but like fuck off. We literally, we stayed in Buffalo, drove to Canada, played the show, drove back and went to sleep. And so I don't, that was a field trip. Yeah, that was a field trip. Um, but yeah, first time out of country. Um, I hope Australian people don't hate us. Um, I don't. I've heard Australians love country music in general and they love the environment of the concerts.

[01:01:00] Any artist that we ever talked to really that goes outside of the United States is just like floored by the fandom that is, uh, in, you know, places like Europe and Australia. Yeah, not even just Australia, Europe too. So I can't wait to see. Some people are even bigger there than they are here. Mm-hmm. That's cool. That's very cool. Yeah. I'm, I'm excited. I'm not loving the 15 hour time difference of like trying to be able to call my wife, but. Does she come on the road with you ever? No, no, no, no.

[01:01:26] She's, um, she's in the Navy and the U.S. government owns her for about like six more months. Um, so she, she's kind of like, ah, they'll put me in jail if I leave. Um, so she can get leave sometimes and come to shows, but nobody's wives really travel with, well, and also we haven't had the fucking money to have that happen. Cause it's like, we're in a shitty van. So now we're in a bus. Hopefully. Yes. Yeah. Hopefully. Yes. So we'll see.

[01:01:52] Well, I usually love to end the conversation by asking what else are you like super into? Obviously music, but anything else, TV shows, books, sports, you mentioned, and I'm looking at your shirt, anything else that like you're fixated on right now? Yeah. My wife and I are watching the rookie with Nathan Fillion. So we're doing that a lot. Which has gone on for like nine seasons. I haven't ever watched it, but just outside looking in, it's like. I'm catching up right now. Yeah.

[01:02:17] My wife, my wife loves that, like TV shows that kind of don't have a plot, but do. Um, uh, and I'm like, okay, okay, I'll watch whatever. Um, uh, very into, I love reading. I'm a big nerd. So I love like, there's a, um, there's a series called Dungeon Master or Dungeon Crawler Carl. Um, it's, uh, like a, it's called a lit RPG, which is basically like you're, you're reading

[01:02:45] someone play a real game of Dungeons and Dragons kind of. Um, it's really good. You saw me shake my head because I had never heard of it until like two days ago. And my buddy was, it was on his coffee table and I was like, what is this? Did he explain it to you? Uh, he did explain it to me and he did a good job. It's so good. And it's, and it's like, what are the odds that I've never heard of it? And then, you know, I read, I read all the books, the new, Oh, the new one's out. I think it comes out on Friday. How many books are there? There's, he's planning on doing like 12. Oh wow.

[01:03:14] And book eight comes out Friday. Um, it's basically like the earth is, you can cut this out for time. Um, it's basically like the earth, um, is a small planet and a giant kind of like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and like a giant world. And someone, uh, government comes to harvest the earth. And as they harvest the earth, they do a game show where all the surviving humans have the

[01:03:39] option to go into a dungeon, which is like a real world, like, um, like 17 floor dungeon. And you have to like basically play Dungeons and Dragons to get down to the next floor, except you're actually fighting like real dragons and shit and like having to kill monsters and people. And there's like real world consequences. And it's, um, it's very good. So I'm into that. I'm into a book called Red Rising, um, which is like that new one's supposed to come out soon.

[01:04:06] Um, and then music wise, um, gosh, what am I listening to? I'd have to look at my, I want to, I want to plug some, I want to just be like, this is what I'm listening to. Are you an Apple music or a Spotify person? Hey, I'm a, whoever wants to pay me the most money. Smart answer. No, I ask that because, uh, whenever I have to go look to see what I'm listening to right now, it's cause I'm an Apple music person. Oh, real, real. Um, okay. What do I have? Um, Ooh, um, a lot of Anna Avery.

[01:04:37] She's fantastic. Or Avery Anna. Not Avery Anna. Jesus. I was confused. Hey, I'm so sorry that I just did that. Sorry. Uh, yes. A lot of Avery Anna. She's fantastic. She is good. Um, she introduced me to a band called the Cruz brothers, which is pretty cool. There's a song called POS by a guy named Noah Brigden, which is a country grunge kind of song. Like a band called the Gringos, which is cool.

[01:05:00] There's like a grunge song by a really cool artist out of the Netherlands called S2S, um, which I've been banging recently. Um, love Buffalo Traffic Jam. Oh yeah. I think they're fantastic. Um, and then I listened to like a lot of like Queens of Stone Age and, um, I love Midwest emo. So there, wait, there's another band. There's another like emo Midwest, whatever.

[01:05:24] They're called Cold Weather Venture and they have a song called Uh, Ah, Fuck and it's a banger. So that's kind of everything that I'm into basically. I'm going to put that on and my boyfriend's going to be like, what are you listening to? Uh, Ah, Fuck. Recommendation. Whatever. Sports wise, you guys are all from Texas. So all Texas teams or? Uh, yes. So the boys are Cowboys and Mavs. They don't really watch baseball. They don't really watch, um, hockey.

[01:05:53] I, I have, I'm teamless. I truly like the whole, like, I just want both teams to have fun. And I love watching sports cause I love like legacies and I love what it means. And so I, like, I will obviously root for the Mavs and the Rangers. I'm a big baseball guy. If they're doing like, if they're in the playoffs or like, if there's a stretch or like, I always root for them. Not like if they're doing well, I don't want to sound like a bitch. Um, but, uh, bandwagon's a nicer word, but. Fairweather.

[01:06:23] Fairweather fan. Fairweather fan. It'd be cool if he won a ring or like, man, I'd really love the pirates to be good. Cause Paul skeins and they've got a young core and like, I just kind of want what's best for the game. So like, I was like, Oh, I really want Anthony Edwards to win a chip right now. Cause like he's a dog and I think that's cool. Um, so that's the sports vibe, but I played baseball. I played baseball for a school called Abilene Christian university.

[01:06:53] Yeah. So I was a D one athlete, never saw the field, but I do get to say I was a D one athlete. And they said you couldn't come back. Yeah. And they said, they said, get the fuck out of here. You suck at baseball. But they can't take away the fact that you're a D one athlete. That I was a division one athlete. And I mean, not to, not to plug myself. I'm a D one, a former D one athlete. I played golf. I played golf. That. Yeah. That counts. Yeah. Yeah. That's D one. You can leave the athlete, you know, off to the side. It's there. It's there. That's what's up. Technically I was a D one athlete too. Yeah. Cheerleader. That counts. That counts.

[01:07:22] Hey, cheerleading is a sport. There's a lot of stuff that has like cheerleading and dance and like all of that. I had a, um, I had an ex who was like a professional ballerina and it was like, yeah, yo, that's crazy. So. Okay. Well, I know what I'm titling the episode. D one athletes. Yeah. D one athletes. Hey, that's what's up. Book it. Yeah. Okay. Well, thank you so much for being here. Thank you. If you want to end the episode on another, you know, cameo to the camera, go for it. Hey, what's up? Hey guys, we're Dexter and the Moon Rocks.

[01:07:50] You can find all of our music anywhere you stream music on places like YouTube, MySpace, Google Drive, Roblox, soon to be in Fortnite, I think, whatever. You can find us on DexterandtheMoonRocks.com, at the underscore moon rocks, anywhere you listen or anywhere you scroll on TikTok or Instagram or whatever that, if you are someone who can sponsor us and wants to give us money, that's super cool. Also, please come see us on the road so we can pay our mortgage. Love ya. Bye.

[01:08:20] There we go. You're too good at that. I've been trained. Thank you so much. Thanks, Fox. So much.