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A Chat with Cousin Curtiss & Harrison B
Episode 251st June 2024 • Curious Goldfish • Jason English
00:00:00 00:47:34

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From Teaching to Touring: The Musical Journey of Cousin Curtiss and Harrison B

In this episode of Curious Goldfish, hosted by Jason English, Cousin Curtiss and Harrison B discuss their transition from stable careers to full-time musicians. They share insights on their nationwide tour, from their unique sound blending rock, Americana, and high-energy performances to the inspiration behind their songs, like 'Little Change.' The episode also explores their songwriting process, life on the road, and the impact of their backgrounds and geographical locations on their music careers. The episode concludes with a live performance of "Little Change" and a cover of "Midnight Rider."


00:00 The Leap from Teaching to Music: A Personal Journey

00:52 Introducing Curious Goldfish: A Musical Podcast Adventure

01:32 Discovering Musical Gems: The Rise of Cousin Curtiss and Harrison B.

03:23 On the Road: Touring Life and Musical Collaborations

05:17 Crafting a Unique Sound: The Art of Being a Duo

07:28 Defining a Genre: Rockin' Americana with a Twist

11:34 The Songwriting Process: Collaboration and Creativity on the Road

14:38 Life on Tour: Golf, Silence, and Creative Musings

17:17 Individual Paths to a Shared Musical Journey

18:53 Discovering a Passion for Music

19:51 The Journey from Music Festivals to Professional Musician

20:13 Evolving Through Musical Eras: College to Telluride

21:10 Navigating a Music Career from Colorado

21:42 Balancing Home Life and Road Life

23:53 Exploring Personal and Musical Growth

24:52 The Shift from Teaching to Full-Time Music

26:42 Reflecting on Musical Influences and Career Choices

28:43 The Impact of Location on a Music Career

31:22 Songwriting Insights: 'Little Change'

33:30 Looking Ahead: Plans and Curiosities

36:04 Closing Thoughts and Musical Performance

Transcripts

Cousin Curtiss:

I think one of the biggest turning points for me was leaving.

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A teaching career,

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to

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be a full time musician.

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And that was, that was eye opening.

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And I was like, okay, cool.

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Well, now you're living your dreams

and you're doing this, but like, how,

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like, what are you going to write about?

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And then it was being on the road and.

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Knowing that there was a greener pasture

quote unquote to like go back to to go

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back to teaching I could always do that.

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I like got my license I could do that

but purposefully not because this

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thing felt more important It felt

more impactful um, and it was so hard

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Jason English (Host): Welcome to

curious goldfish, a podcast community

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where music and curiosity come together

through interesting conversations

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with the music makers of our world.

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I'm your host, Jason English.

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You can find curious goldfish and all the

major podcast and social media platforms.

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And of course, we have all of

our content on our website.

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Curious goldfish.

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com.

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Imagine being in the audience

for one of Billy strings.

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First performances.

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Imagine being a student at the

university of Virginia in Charlottesville

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in the mid 1990s to witness

some of Dave Matthews for shows.

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I'm sure there was a sense of both wonder

and curiosity during those early days,

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wonder at their raw talent and curiosity,

but just how far they might get to go.

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Well, that's the sentiment felt by my

friends and me when we first saw Cousin

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Curtiss at a music festival in early 2024.

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The talent was obvious, the joy was

contagious, and with each performance

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we witnessed, we left longing for more.

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Cousin Curtiss and his musical

collaborator Harrison B.

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are touring the United States in 2024.

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from Colorado to New England, Georgia to

Indiana, Back to Colorado and then again,

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the Southeast, They are crisscrossing

the country, hoping to spread the

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gospel of a unique musical blend

infused with happiness and gratefulness.

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You can sense they're about to

bust a wide open with opportunities

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to open for Blackberry Smoke

and Los Lobos on the horizon.

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Cousin Curtiss and Harrison B are one

of those acts that will undoubtedly

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leave people wanting to see them again.

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Maybe even more so than the

bands they are opening for.

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Their music is unique as is their story,

both hailing from the American West.

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They connected in Alaska of all places.

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I was fortunate to connect with them

while they came through Atlanta.

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I got to spend an afternoon with

them on the golf course with

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my good friend, Jeremy Fort.

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And we later hosted the duo for a

special backyard show at Jeremy's house.

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A couple of songs from that

performance round out this episode.

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And I caught up with cousin

Curtiss and Harrison B in between

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golf and the red stool session.

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You'll soon be able to watch

the entire performance from

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Roswell, Georgia on YouTube.

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It's quite the setting and it

was another standout performance.

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So here's Harrison B

from Seattle, Washington.

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And from Montrose, Colorado,

here's cousin Curtiss.

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Let's dive in.

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What's up fellas?

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Cousin Curtiss: are we doing today?

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Jason English (Host):

Welcome to Roswell, Georgia.

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It's good to

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Cousin Curtiss: It's good to be here.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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Jason English (Host): You guys are

in the middle of a crazy First off,

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it's Cousin Curtiss and Harrison B.

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Live in the, uh, in preparation

for a show here in Atlanta.

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But, uh, yeah, you guys are

in the middle of a crazy tour.

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Is this like the biggest

tour you guys have done

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Harrison B: It's

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Cousin Curtiss: One of the longer ones

consecutively tour you guys have done?

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You're based in Colorado, Curtiss,

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Harrison B: But this is, this

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Cousin Curtiss: And

Harrison, you're based in

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Jason English (Host): you're, you're,

you're based in Colorado Curtiss, right?

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And then, uh, Harrison,

you're based in Seattle.

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So you guys.

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Packed up and drove this like

a road trip for you guys.

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It's basically up and

down the eastern seaboard,

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Cousin Curtiss: Pretty much, yeah.

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Yeah, that and like the heartland of

America and then going back out west.

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Jason English (Host):

Yeah, no, that's exciting.

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Have you do you typically tour

when you tour is it typically?

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Yeah, it's a good question.

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It's all over

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Cousin Curtiss: it's a good question.

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It's all over the place.

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So it's, um, we go as far as Alaska,

Maine, California, the pack Northwest,

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all the way down to florida.

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It's just kind of how best to do it.

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Um, you know,

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Harrison B: cohesively

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Cousin Curtiss: And then a lot of

this, uh, this, this whole tour has

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been kind of, I don't know, there's,

there were the landmarks that were the

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cornerstones of the shows and then, um,

filling in the blanks here and there have

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happened a little bit, uh, last minute

more so than some of the other tours,

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but in like the best way imaginable.

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And

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Jason English (Host): you're, you're able

to like fill in spots that are kind of on

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Cousin Curtiss: that's right.

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Yeah, absolutely.

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Yep.

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Jason English (Host): No, that's great.

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So, uh, I'm going to, I want to ask

about your backgrounds individually,

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but let's start with like the,

like you guys coming together.

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When did that happen

and how did that happen?

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Cousin Curtiss: That

happened many years ago.

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Um, probably like five, six years ago.

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We met for the first time in Alaska.

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We both have ties up there.

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Um, and, uh, went to a show that

Harrison B was playing with his bands.

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And just fell in love with the

sound, the style, the music.

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And then we continued to be in the

same scene together, meet up at

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festivals, started playing together.

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And then it just kind of took off.

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We had some really great opportunities.

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We kept chasing it and now it's full

time and we're four feet apart from one

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another for a 90 percent of the year,

every year for the last three years.

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Harrison B: Amen to that

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Jason English (Host): Yeah.

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So it's been about three years then.

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All right.

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That's interesting.

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So it was Alaska, right?

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Um,

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Harrison B: You

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Jason English (Host): were you guys,

so you, were you in a band Harrison?

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Harrison B: Yeah, I was just frontin

the Power Trio that I did for a

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number of years, kinda me and Curtiss

really started runnin real hard.

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Jason English (Host): Yeah.

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Okay.

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Um, so it's, you know, you guys

both play guitar, then you have

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a kick drum and a harmonica.

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Cousin Curtiss: Nice.

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Jason English (Host): I've seen you a

couple of times at the 30th festival.

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You guys sound like

you're like a five piece,

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Cousin Curtiss: five piece.

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Thanks, man.

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Jason English (Host): I bet

that's intentional, right?

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Cousin Curtiss: is, yeah.

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Yeah.

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And we've, we've been very, uh,

deliberate about how do we do this?

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How can we cover all of the, like, the

spectrums dynamic wise of the EQ, you

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know, from the low end of kick drum,

bass guitar, all the way up to the highs

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of acoustic harmonica, vocals, etc.

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And it's been a journey.

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It didn't start like that.

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So it's been fun to, like,

get done playing the show and

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being like, There's room here.

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We can, we can fill something here.

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How do we do that?

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And going so far as to

like nerd out on ways.

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And I feel like you should take over on

this part, especially with the electric

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guitar, but like finding ways to do

something that we, we are not seeing other

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people do, and that doesn't mean that it's

not happening, but it's fun to believe

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in the pioneership, if that's a word of,

of what we're doing as a two piece band,

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Jason English (Host): Right.

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If someone was to ask, cause I, you know,

when you guys are coming to town, people

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are like, well, what kind of music is it?

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And I, I kind of struggled there.

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Describe it.

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Cause I don't know if there's a,

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Cousin Curtiss: Ha ha

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Jason English (Host): yeah, I don't know

if there's a good description, right?

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I was like, he's kind of rock.

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It's kind of country.

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I don't know.

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It's like jam country.

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I don't know.

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Cousin Curtiss: it used to be like

the tagline phrase was like blues

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at bluegrass speeds, and now it's

really, uh, gravitated towards

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more of like a rock Americana.

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High energy vibe.

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I don't know if, yeah, there's been

some other words that like people

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have, you know, taking creative

license with a bio that we send them

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and then they doctor it up some way

and it's like, Hey, that's not bad.

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That's a good way to put it.

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Um, yeah, yeah.

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It's been fun.

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Harrison B: fun.

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Yeah, I would say, you know, in

terms of standard words, rockin

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Americana, get thrown out there a lot.

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But ultimately, you know, everything

that either you or Curtiss or

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anyone else is using to describe it,

probably accurate, because it's so

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many different things kind of blended

up into a sound that, um, you know,

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depending on what song it is, it's what

influences we're actually chasing, so.

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Jason English (Host): Yeah, that's neat.

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So I mentioned the 38 singer

songwriter festival and you guys are

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playing a bunch of festivals, but

also back to Opelika, which is, uh,

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also a singer songwriter festival.

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Do you consider yourself

a singer songwriter?

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Cousin Curtiss: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I think it's, it's, I think it's, it might

be a little bit different in some people's

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eyes cause they might hear us and be

like, well, that's not singer songwriter,

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but it's like, well, we are singers

and we are songwriters by definition.

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So it is, it just might

be a little bit different.

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Um, and that's not, it's

neither good nor bad.

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It's just that we are doing that job.

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Um, So to speak, and it's just happens

to be in a very high energy and we kind

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of in your face way of like presence.

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Yeah.

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Harrison B: because

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Jason English (Host): Well, cause

I think most, you know, the, I love

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singer songwriters, but you know,

sometimes you want to go jump off a

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bridge, you know, after listening,

like for you guys, it is the opposite.

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I mean, I, I think the, the big thing

with you, uh, with you all, when we

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saw you, me and my friends saw you in

January, and I think I told you this

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when I saw you, there's so much joy.

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When, when, when you're performing,

I mean, it's actually like you exude

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it at the beginning, the middle

and the end, you know, and, and

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everyone can't help but feel joyful

when you, when they listen to you.

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So it's, it's kind of like the opposite

of, you know, traditional singer

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Harrison B: sing a song right now.

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Right on

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Cousin Curtiss: Yeah, well, thank you.

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Yeah.

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Appreciate

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Jason English (Host): Yeah.

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Cousin Curtiss: Um, I think there's,

there's elements there where if you dig

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into the lyrics, uh, and if it were played

in a certain way, then, you know, you

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would have that, um, that internal look

of what you're listening to and where did

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the song come and the stories behind it.

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But I think for us, it's just

so much fun to just, uh, I

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don't know, go hard, I guess.

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guess.

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Yeah.

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You know,

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Jason English (Host): way I

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Cousin Curtiss: kind of see it, um,

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Harrison B: You can only get

so far with an acoustic guitar.

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And so at the core of it,

everything that we do on that stage,

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everything that we play could be

easily represented with just such.

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But kind of what we bring to the table is,

you know, more of a fleshing out of that.

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And with just two dudes, you know,

it's, it can fit into some of these

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festivals that otherwise a band

might not be able to come into.

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But we've got a footprint that

is consistent with a singer

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songwriter for the most part.

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So, uh, it just kind of seems to work.

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Yeah.

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Jason English (Host): That's really good.

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Where the joy comes from?

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It's genuine.

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It's, it's truly fun.

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Cousin Curtiss: no, there's

like, it's not faked.

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It's genuine.

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It's, it's truly fun.

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And at the beginning of every show,

like this is kind of like a peek into

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my brain, but like I'm looking around at

where we are and trying to take it in.

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Are we outside?

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Are we inside?

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Are there lights?

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Is there haze?

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Are people here?

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Are they not here?

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Does it matter?

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Who cares?

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And I'm trying to just enjoy the room and

it's, and that's, that's where I start.

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And then from there, the

rest of the night is gone.

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It's great because now we're

just, we're just playing music

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and we're doing what we love.

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Um, and yeah, some nights are harder,

some nights we're tired or whatever, but

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in that moment that, that is pure joy.

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And so it's fun to be able to share that.

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Jason English (Host): Yeah, no,

it's it completely comes across.

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So do you, do you all both write songs?

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Yeah.

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Okay.

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I think you mentioned before we

started, uh, started the show that

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you're working on a studio album.

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Is that, is that something where you're

both going to have songs that you've

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co written or each written separately?

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Or is it mostly Curtiss

or is mostly Harrison?

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Uh,

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Cousin Curtiss: hoping for

the best of both worlds.

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I feel like we both have backgrounds

that, um, started in something

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similar, but we've lived completely

different lives and playing to each

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other's strengths is really what we're

working towards and leaning on one

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another to be like, what do you think?

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And, and trusting one another and

having, you know, that safety net.

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Um, During the creative writing process,

because I like, I don't, I don't know

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before we started playing together,

um, what your background was with like

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co writing, but I did not have one.

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And so it's very scary and very vulnerable

to be like, I have an idea and it

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wouldn't be with just anybody where I'd

be like, I have a, I have a loose idea.

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What do you think of these things so far?

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I wouldn't even share that with like

my family or like, you know, dear

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friends from childhood, but we sit

down and I'm like, I got like 18 words.

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Cool.

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What do you think about the kid?

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Take a listen to this

ham fisted guitar part.

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What do you think?

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Harrison B: You know, it's,

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is?

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Defining what objectively that looks

like in terms of a co writing experience

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kind of moving forward really getting

it streamlined But what I think Curtiss

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is really really good at is just pumping

out cool songs and he's really good at

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you know, he's he's either hook laden and

He's very lyrically driven and oriented.

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So it's all gonna be together

kind of what I'm excited about

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is, you know, bringing in

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uh, uh,

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Repetition format Uh, the ability to

just give him a bird's eye perspective

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on some ideas he already has and help

chop it down into kind of digestible

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chunks that are single songs.

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And sometimes, uh, it just

takes a second set of eyes and

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ears to get the wrap around it.

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And that's kind of what I'm hoping

to bring to the table for the most

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part, man, because he's, he knows

exactly what he wants to hear.

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I think that's cool.

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So just help him in when I can.

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Jason English (Host): so you mentioned

you are spending every sleeping

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waking moment together does the

songwriting happen on the road?

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when you guys are driving along or do

you save that for a different time?

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Harrison B: It, yeah.

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For the most

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Cousin Curtiss: for the real

like getting down to it.

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Here's an idea.

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Let's flesh it out and see what happens.

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Yeah, on like the day to day

basis on the road, like constantly

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making notes and writing things.

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Some of it is probably trash

and some of it could be good.

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Harrison B: Don't judge, bud,

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Cousin Curtiss: I know.

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Harrison B: Um,

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Cousin Curtiss: So yeah, that's, there's

like every night so far last, I think

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like four or five nights I'm writing

something and then I don't look at it

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until there's enough time to look at it

with like fresh eyes to see what's there.

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Um, and, and, and go from there or

be like, no, this was at two o'clock

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in the morning and you don't remember

writing it, like throw it away.

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Yeah.

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Jason English (Host): Well, how

do you guys kill time on the road?

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What do you listen to?

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Harrison B: Well,

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Cousin Curtiss: Well, two different

questions, I think, there.

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Yeah.

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Jason English (Host): right.

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Well, yeah.

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All right.

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You can answer them separately.

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right.

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Cool.

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Um, time,

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Cousin Curtiss: Time killing time on

the road and I, well, we had a very

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unique experience today and it's going

to timestamp today, but we like to golf.

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Yeah.

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And there's other things

that we enjoy doing.

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Um, you know, uh, enjoying the local

foods or wherever we're at trying

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to find downtime and quiet spaces,

but yeah, golf's a great time.

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Um, cause you can make it wherever you

want to make it and, uh, Today it was

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great to be able to go out and just

shoot a good scratch round of golf

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at, uh, Atlanta National Golf Club.

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Um, and, uh, you know, get pretty

close to the course record.

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That was nice.

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Jason English (Host): The rumor has

it someone chipped in on 18 for a par.

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Harrison B: part, you know, for for

one of the scarcest parts of the day.

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But yeah, you did.

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I'm gonna take that.

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My man, it happened.

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It happened.

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Cousin Curtiss: they CCTV.

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I

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Harrison B: Oh, I hope they do.

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Cousin Curtiss: now.

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Jason English (Host): Do you guys?

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I think one, you know, there was

a, I was part of the foursome.

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I think one guy actually

had a birdie today.

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Do you guys remember who that

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Cousin Curtiss: There was, yeah, there was

a, yeah, yeah, there was a birdie today.

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Jason English (Host): Not to, you

know, not to, not to rub it in,

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Cousin Curtiss: no.

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Jason English (Host): fine.

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Harrison B: I did.

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Jason English (Host): Um, no, but like,

who do you all listen to, uh, on the road?

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Do you listen to music?

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:

Cousin Curtiss: We do occasionally,

but for the most part, it's silence.

375

:

Jason English (Host): really?

376

:

Yeah.

377

:

Cousin Curtiss: yeah, and that's, and that

is, I don't know, shockingly comfortable,

378

:

and, and sometimes weirds people out,

um, but it's great for us because

379

:

there's usually a lot of noise that's

always surrounding what we're doing.

380

:

Um, there's some sort

of stimulus that's, uh,

381

:

Harrison B: van and

382

:

Cousin Curtiss: So then we get in

the van and we drive and, I mean, we

383

:

had a five and a half hour drive from

where we were in Florida to get to

384

:

Atlanta and the radio never came on

until like maybe the last 15 minutes

385

:

Jason English (Host): alright.

386

:

Oh,

387

:

Cousin Curtiss: it was like a

funny song that was stuck in our

388

:

heads that we couldn't get out.

389

:

So it was like, all right, no, we

have to play Rich Girl by Hall Oates.

390

:

We just have to do this right now.

391

:

Jason English (Host): that's good.

392

:

Yeah.

393

:

That's good.

394

:

Uh, what are you guys thinking

about then when it's silent?

395

:

Because that would drive me crazy.

396

:

Yeah.

397

:

Cousin Curtiss: Man, I don't, I mean,

398

:

a

399

:

lot.

400

:

Yeah, like it's,

401

:

Jason English (Host): Yeah.

402

:

Harrison B: think about anything

sometimes, you know, on purpose.

403

:

Yeah,

404

:

Cousin Curtiss: Keeping it between

the mayo and the mustard and

405

:

just driving a straight line.

406

:

And, and sometimes it's thoughts about it.

407

:

Like, okay, well, you know, the, in my,

my mind is like logistically where we're

408

:

going, what time do we have to be there

loading in, like getting the details

409

:

oriented, advancing the next few shows.

410

:

And then, you know, it's, you

know, random things, you know,

411

:

Jason English (Host): It's hard

412

:

Cousin Curtiss: It's hard to explain.

413

:

I don't know.

414

:

I feel like I'm giving a terrible answer.

415

:

Yeah.

416

:

We'll

417

:

Harrison B: Yeah, like we'll,

we'll go through all that email

418

:

stuff, kind of at interval

419

:

Jason English (Host): So if I

could talk or ask you about kind

420

:

of your backgrounds individually.

421

:

So you live in Montrose, Colorado.

422

:

Is that right?

423

:

Harrison B: live in Montrose now.

424

:

Yeah.

425

:

Jason English (Host): Are

you from Colorado originally?

426

:

Michigan.

427

:

Okay.

428

:

How long have

429

:

Cousin Curtiss: been in Colorado?

430

:

Okay.

431

:

Jason English (Host): took you out there?

432

:

Long story short.

433

:

Cousin Curtiss: so long story short,

left Alaska, traveled around the

434

:

country for a year, playing music

full time to see if I could do it.

435

:

Ended up in Denver, Colorado.

436

:

Wasn't a huge fan of that.

437

:

Went on a tour out to California

and back playing shows and ended up

438

:

passing through Telluride, Colorado.

439

:

Harrison B: And, uh,

440

:

Cousin Curtiss: Played a show where

there wasn't a lot of people there,

441

:

but the ones that were there were very

helpful And in a spot where they could

442

:

offer up a residency playing music at

Telluride ski resort So no, it was great.

443

:

Yeah.

444

:

I was terrible at bargaining.

445

:

And so when they were like,

Hey, do you want to play music

446

:

here during the wintertime?

447

:

We've got two different venues, one's

on the mountain, one's down here.

448

:

And I was like, Oh

yeah, that sounds great.

449

:

Um, can I have a ski pass?

450

:

Like, I just

451

:

and they were like, Well, you

452

:

And they were like, Yeah.

453

:

And they were like, well, you

got to ride the chairlift up

454

:

to get to one of the venues.

455

:

So yeah, you're going to need a pass.

456

:

And I was like, I'm in.

457

:

So at that point in time, I'd, I'd had

that, that current winter coming up

458

:

was already booked out on the road.

459

:

Um, and, uh, so then afterwards I

came back and I played there for

460

:

four, um, winters and it was, you

know, 18 to 20 weeks straight,

461

:

uh, five to seven shows a week.

462

:

Um, And it was, it was

a cutting teeth moment.

463

:

Yeah.

464

:

It was one of those spots.

465

:

Jason English (Host): spots.

466

:

How early were, or how young were you

when, uh, you, you got into music?

467

:

Cousin Curtiss: Oh,

468

:

14

469

:

14 roughly.

470

:

I can't remember if I was 13 or 14,

but my parents took me to a music

471

:

festival in Marquette, Michigan

called Hiawatha music festival.

472

:

And, uh, they were super cool like that.

473

:

And I just fell in love with the late

night scene where, you know, in a kid's

474

:

eyes, imagine looking at a bonfire and.

475

:

There's complete strangers around it,

like let's say 15 folks or so, and

476

:

they're all playing the same song.

477

:

None of them hardly know anybody,

um, that they're playing the song

478

:

with, but they're all doing it.

479

:

And I just saw that and I was like, I

want in, I want to know how to do this.

480

:

Like I, even from that age,

I knew I wanted to travel.

481

:

I wanted to get around and, and

just see the world Then that seemed

482

:

like a pretty sweet way to like a

G chord to G chord, wherever you're

483

:

going, you know, go from there.

484

:

So I picked up the guitar, learned, um,

you know, a little bit there, put it back

485

:

down cause I was young and I wanted to

play football and all that kind of stuff.

486

:

And then picked it up about a year later

and haven't put it down since then.

487

:

Yeah, for sure.

488

:

There's probably like, yeah.

489

:

Harrison B: oh man,

490

:

Cousin Curtiss: Probably two

main, like, eras of doing that.

491

:

And one would have been in

college, and the other one

492

:

would have been in Telluride.

493

:

Um, playing that much,

and not having a choice.

494

:

Like, you don't get to play

30 minutes, it was four hours.

495

:

And that was like, Again, like

some days that we are some

496

:

weeks that was five days a week.

497

:

Um, and you know, if you were lucky

other days, it was three days a

498

:

Jason English (Host): a week.

499

:

And sometimes

500

:

Cousin Curtiss: you'd have

to fill in for somebody else.

501

:

And it was just like, okay, cool.

502

:

What do I do now?

503

:

Or do I just get really

hyper focused on it?

504

:

errorless playing

505

:

I've played this song a thousand times.

506

:

How do I do it without making

any mistakes whatsoever?

507

:

And then once you do that, all right,

now how do I make spontaneity fit in and

508

:

just continuing to try to stay engaged?

509

:

Um, but yeah, yeah, definitely.

510

:

That was, that was a good

spot to, to hone the craft.

511

:

Jason English (Host):

Yeah, that's awesome.

512

:

Um,

513

:

So

514

:

so being in Colorado and I'm sure you

have aspirations to take your talent

515

:

and your music to the next level.

516

:

To as many people that want

to hear it as possible, right?

517

:

Does being in Colorado, especially

like not just Denver, which is kind of

518

:

not isolated, but it's in the middle

of nowhere, you know, with Kansas

519

:

and Nebraska and Wyoming all around,

but Montrose is even more remote.

520

:

how have you thought through

that in terms of your career?

521

:

You know, do you think you'll be able to

do what you want to do based in Montrose?

522

:

Have you, or have you thought

about, you know, going to

523

:

Nashville or Austin or whatever?

524

:

Cousin Curtiss: I don't think I have at

this point in time, any desire to move.

525

:

I think there's some core principles.

526

:

core tenets of my happiness and

that's my home life and road life.

527

:

And I enjoy traveling.

528

:

I genuinely do.

529

:

And it's a lot, and there's a lot

of stressors that go along with

530

:

it, but I like being in Montrose.

531

:

Airports make it a little bit

easier to travel around if

532

:

we need to fly in, fly out.

533

:

Driving, you just kind of, you

get into that mind frame of like,

534

:

Okay, well, it's going to be a two

day drive before the tour starts.

535

:

Um, or you keep things local and you're

like, Well, we're going to hit Colorado

536

:

hard and then we're going to go to Utah.

537

:

And now our, our driving

radius is, 500 miles or less.

538

:

Um, there is sometimes like a little

bit of envy when I, like I'm following

539

:

bands on Instagram or whatever,

and I'm seeing their tour schedule

540

:

and they're based out of spots like

Atlanta, Nashville, like some of these

541

:

hubs where they can drive two hours.

542

:

Um, and they're never going to

oversaturate a market ever because

543

:

there's that many people, there's

that many towns and that many venues.

544

:

Yeah.

545

:

So there's, there's certainly.

546

:

certainly

547

:

situation with being in those areas.

548

:

con situation

549

:

Um, but yeah, I, I like my desert.

550

:

I like my mountains.

551

:

I like, yeah, my town.

552

:

It's, yeah, it's cool.

553

:

So

554

:

Jason English (Host): like,

I like, I like the mountains.

555

:

I like, yeah.

556

:

the most amazing In the country.

557

:

Right.

558

:

And then obviously the, I think Colorado

559

:

isn't, uh, okay.

560

:

Cousin Curtiss: You're doing great man.

561

:

You're doing great.

562

:

Harrison B: y'all didn't see was,

for the first half of this interview,

563

:

I've had a cat named Roxy in my lap.

564

:

She is, uh, she's the forbidden friend.

565

:

Uh, I love her so much,

but I'm very allergic.

566

:

So, I've been sneezing for

the last five minutes, folks.

567

:

But we're back, we're back in action.

568

:

Jason English (Host): Roxy.

569

:

All right.

570

:

All right.

571

:

Good, good segue.

572

:

No, but Colorado, the thing that people

don't understand about Colorado is

573

:

Colorado is Colorado in the summer.

574

:

Yeah.

575

:

Right.

576

:

I mean, sure, skiing's

great, but I don't know.

577

:

You can't beat it in the summer.

578

:

Cousin Curtiss: can't

beat it in the summer.

579

:

So, uh, now I want to ask

Harrison about your background.

580

:

I've talked to

581

:

Jason English (Host): no, that's good.

582

:

Well, so, uh, then I'll, I want

to ask about Harrison, about your

583

:

background, but, um, you know, I've

talked to a few singer songwriters

584

:

in the last few months, they all,

585

:

all, but they all tend to have something,

whether it's their childhood, something

586

:

that happened when they were adult

heartbreak, grief, you know, uh,

587

:

addiction, whatever that really has sort

of been their turning point in their life.

588

:

That's really inspired their music.

589

:

Hey.

590

:

Do you have something like that, you know,

with, like, that's part of your story?

591

:

Or is it just about the joy of music

and songwriting and performing?

592

:

Cousin Curtiss: Yeah.

593

:

Um, I mean, it's, it's all those things.

594

:

Um, and it's over

different periods of life.

595

:

And, uh, I think one of the biggest

turning points for me was leaving.

596

:

A teaching career,

597

:

to

598

:

be a full time musician.

599

:

And that was, that was eye opening.

600

:

And I was like, okay, cool.

601

:

Well, now you're living your dreams

and you're doing this, but like, how,

602

:

like, what are you going to write about?

603

:

And then it was being on the road and.

604

:

Knowing that there was a greener pasture

quote unquote to like go back to to go

605

:

back to teaching I could always do that.

606

:

I like got my license I could do that

but purposefully not because this

607

:

thing felt more important It felt

more impactful um, and it was so hard

608

:

do that.

609

:

Yeah.

610

:

So there's.

611

:

Harrison B: that

612

:

Cousin Curtiss: yeah, so there's some of

the earlier songs are definitely about

613

:

that of like that constant struggle And

then everywhere and in between of those

614

:

things Those, um, you know, categories

of songwriting that you listed there

615

:

from, uh, you know, it's just all

616

:

Jason English (Host): that.

617

:

All of it's in there, yeah.

618

:

Well, that's a big, I mean, that's

a big deal for you to, to kind of

619

:

leave something that's safe behind,

620

:

Cousin Curtiss: right?

621

:

Yeah.

622

:

Like

623

:

Jason English (Host): A regular

paycheck, you know, all, all the, the

624

:

consistency of life, you know, for you

to, like, pursue what, what you want to

625

:

Cousin Curtiss: everything and just

going and trying and seeing what happened

626

:

and like, uh, yeah, like my friends and

family thought I was crazy and it took

627

:

them a little while, understandably

so to be like, what are you doing?

628

:

When are you going back to teaching?

629

:

Like, this is a joke, that kind of thing.

630

:

And, and there was, you know, little by

little there was more support and love and

631

:

encouragement and I'm so very thankful.

632

:

Jason English (Host): What did you teach?

633

:

Cousin Curtiss: Middle school,

high school, English language arts.

634

:

Jason English (Host): Oh, I

bet you were a good teacher.

635

:

Cousin Curtiss: Well, I

was, yeah, it was fun.

636

:

Yeah.

637

:

I had a good time.

638

:

I'd like to think I was an all

right teacher, but I think I was a

639

:

bit more stern and strict than life

640

:

Jason English (Host): So was that in

Alaska or did you teach in Colorado?

641

:

Harrison B: No,

642

:

Cousin Curtiss: Taught in Alaska.

643

:

Jason English (Host): Nice.

644

:

All

645

:

Cousin Curtiss: Yeah.

646

:

Jason English (Host): All right.

647

:

So Harrison, did you grow up in Seattle?

648

:

Harrison B: I grew up in

Murfeesboro, Tennessee.

649

:

Oh, yeah.

650

:

Last cast is to be very specific.

651

:

Okay.

652

:

Yeah.

653

:

Cousin Curtiss: That's

654

:

Jason English (Host): Is that

East Tennessee or is that West

655

:

Harrison B: Dead center middle.

656

:

Jason English (Host): Alright.

657

:

Are you a Vols fan?

658

:

Harrison B: Oh, at this point, no, I

mean, if I see him on the TV, I'm not

659

:

rooting against him, you know, but I

don't wear the paraphernalia and I don't

660

:

really attest to watching every week,

661

:

Jason English (Host): Yeah.

662

:

Harrison B: wish him well.

663

:

Jason English (Host): How

soon did you get into music?

664

:

How early?

665

:

Harrison B: Um, You know, from a

serious perspective, kind of chasing

666

:

down what we do now, not till later

in life, not till I was kind of

667

:

getting towards the end of college.

668

:

Um, I was in chorus from the time

I remember leading singing when I

669

:

was real little, that sort of thing.

670

:

But, you know, playing guitar

and singing, writing songs,

671

:

Jason English (Host): playing guitar

672

:

Harrison B: somewhere in

673

:

Jason English (Host): and writing songs.

674

:

It worked in some way.

675

:

Um, a little bit less so.

676

:

Played baseball

677

:

Harrison B: So, um, played baseball

through college, got done with that

678

:

and, uh, had a degree in marketing

and management knew I didn't

679

:

want to go straight into that.

680

:

Although I flirted with it for a

little bit, went to Alaska was a

681

:

zip line tour guide for six months.

682

:

Um, around that time I'd started

playing like singer songwriter style

683

:

stuff in Nashville in particular.

684

:

So I was doing like the country scene.

685

:

Um, just didn't feel like it was a real

good fit was going around doing all

686

:

the rounds, all that sort of thing.

687

:

Uh, knew I was wanting to do

something a little different.

688

:

So moved to Alaska, quit playing for

about six months, picked it back up

689

:

there towards the end and kind of had

discovered things about maybe the South

690

:

and Tennessee and all those sounds that

I liked and, uh, maybe some of the things

691

:

I wanted to do a little differently.

692

:

Um, that space was the first time I kind

of got out of that environment from where

693

:

you hear country and the gas station

and the grocery store and everywhere.

694

:

That's it.

695

:

That's it.

696

:

So, you know, just gave me a

little bit of a chance to see

697

:

what I was really in it for.

698

:

So,

699

:

Jason English (Host): Okay.

700

:

Well, when you were in the

other room, sneezing your head

701

:

Harrison B: off I don't know

what you're talking about, dude.

702

:

I handled it like a pro.

703

:

Jason English (Host): the

704

:

Cousin Curtiss: gonna we're

gonna cut through we can keep

705

:

it we can cut it we can do

706

:

Harrison B: it.

707

:

We can do

708

:

Jason English (Host): no, it's all good.

709

:

I asked, I asked Curtiss about,

you know, has he thought through

710

:

just the reality of being based.

711

:

In a remote part of Colorado, right?

712

:

As it relates to the career and

aspirations and exposure, right?

713

:

So you've You've actually been, you've

done the Nashville thing, right?

714

:

You know what that is, and you're, you

live in Seattle, which it's not that

715

:

remote, but it's, you know, it's, it's

not known as music city other than,

716

:

you know, grunge rock from the 90s.

717

:

But do you, do you see that as a,

like, what's your perspective on that?

718

:

Having been in Nashville and now live

in Seattle, do you think it matters?

719

:

Harrison B: Like what your hometown is?

720

:

Jason English (Host): Well, not with

the hometown, but, uh, just from terms

721

:

of, you know, Growing your visibility,

growing your presence, and getting more

722

:

ears and eyes on your art, you know?

723

:

Harrison B: well Yes, and no and it

kind of depends on where you're at.

724

:

I feel like Kind of at our juncture

like where we're talking to you today

725

:

in this game where we live isn't

as Much of consequence because the

726

:

majority of our exposure, visibility

and touring are done on the road.

727

:

So home is home, which

could be anywhere for me.

728

:

The reason, I mean, when I was local

in Seattle, I enjoyed, there's a deep

729

:

scene, they're still alive very much.

730

:

So KEXP is one of the largest independent

stations, you know, just shout out them.

731

:

Um, but beyond that, even

like there's a great airport

732

:

there and we can go anywhere.

733

:

And when we're touring the country at

this point, pretty legitimately, you know,

734

:

That's just factual what's happening.

735

:

So it's like, as long as we can fly

somewhere that makes sense, as long as

736

:

you can get into Denver, get in the van,

that sort of thing, if we're on the West,

737

:

you know, we could live where we need to,

you know, kind of be wherever you want,

738

:

Right.

739

:

that's kind of what it

feels like at this point.

740

:

Um, there definitely is some credence

to, you know, if you, if you're

741

:

trying to just get your feet on the

ground and make some connections,

742

:

that sort of thing, Nashville is a big

743

:

a big deal for you.

744

:

Um,

745

:

You know, with those increased

numbers come, uh, more of a wave of

746

:

talent you need to fight through.

747

:

Um, and, uh, you just got to remain

authentic through that whole deal.

748

:

Um, I think would be the key there.

749

:

But other than that, once you, you know,

kind of established your tour and you're

750

:

doing your thing, home should be home.

751

:

And when you're there, you shouldn't be

worried about seeing eyeballs, I think.

752

:

But that's just my take,

753

:

Jason English (Host): It goes back to

754

:

Cousin Curtiss: goes back to

what I was saying about Montrose.

755

:

It's like, it is what it

is and it's where it's at.

756

:

And I love it.

757

:

So it's, it's go home and it's like,

that's that, that big deep breath sigh.

758

:

Now I'm home.

759

:

I'm not this.

760

:

Like there is a clear distinction

between, you know, always being

761

:

on when you're on the road.

762

:

And when you go home, you're

like, no, I just get to exist.

763

:

I just get to be me.

764

:

Harrison B: Yeah.

765

:

Jason English (Host): that's great.

766

:

All right.

767

:

Um, so just a couple more questions.

768

:

Uh, I want to talk about one of the songs.

769

:

So one of my favorites is Little Change.

770

:

Was that written in a period of, you know,

talking about the change of the career?

771

:

What, what, what inspired that song?

772

:

Cousin Curtiss: inspired that song?

773

:

Realizing that playing shows that don't

make you happy, um, should not be a thing

774

:

there's, you know, you can't just cut

everything and play shows that make you

775

:

happy and then forget you got to still

pay bills, but there's a mental shift,

776

:

a paradigm shift, um, that happened when

that song came out to where I said no

777

:

to one thing that I knew could be safe

forever and it wasn't the teaching career.

778

:

It was just like a consistency, um,

that, you know, it was always going to be

779

:

there and it wasn't what the end result.

780

:

It wasn't what I wanted.

781

:

So it was like, cool.

782

:

Then scrub it.

783

:

Cut it out with scissors.

784

:

It's done.

785

:

Move on.

786

:

And see what happens next.

787

:

And that was a very scary leap.

788

:

And that song is based on that.

789

:

I

790

:

Jason English (Host): love it.

791

:

I've seen a performance of that

when it was you and someone

792

:

else from a few years ago

793

:

Cousin Curtiss: Sure.

794

:

Yeah,

795

:

Jason English (Host): what happens

796

:

Cousin Curtiss: sky bonus tracks.

797

:

You guys

798

:

Jason English (Host): You know, it's

799

:

very scary.

800

:

So, you know, one of my friends bought

one of your CDs, like it was like a

801

:

live CD in Florida and he, you know,

he, he's listened to it and he's like,

802

:

is it, was it the guy that we saw him?

803

:

It was at the two guys we saw in Florida.

804

:

And I'm like, I don't think so.

805

:

And then I sent him that video

and he's like, it's, that

806

:

sounds way better now, you

807

:

Cousin Curtiss: It's different.

808

:

Yeah.

809

:

Jason English (Host): Even

that song, it's different,

810

:

Cousin Curtiss: Yeah.

811

:

Jason English (Host): Seriously.

812

:

I'm not trying to, I'm not

trying to like, you know,

813

:

Harrison B: was a

814

:

Cousin Curtiss: was a fun video shoot.

815

:

Yeah.

816

:

It was wild.

817

:

Big, the folks that run big

sky bonus track shout out like

818

:

they, they do a great job.

819

:

They run a tight ship, but yeah, we

were on the inside of a barn, like

820

:

next to a highway behind a bar.

821

:

And they, they, they were

like, all right, cool.

822

:

This is the plan.

823

:

We're like, sick.

824

:

We're in, we'd been on the road

for a couple of weeks and we

825

:

had covered some serious ground.

826

:

And then we got there

and yeah, it was a trip.

827

:

Jason English (Host): Oh, that's good.

828

:

That's good.

829

:

What do you, uh, so after the

tour, what do you guys have planned

830

:

for the rest of 2024 in terms of

releases and things like that?

831

:

Cousin Curtiss: in terms of releases,

um, that's going to be a TB, a TBD.

832

:

Yeah.

833

:

It's one of those things where

like we're on the road right now.

834

:

So it's hard to think about getting

back into the studio and, um, you

835

:

know, hammering down on some new tunes.

836

:

Cause we like touring.

837

:

That's, that's what we do.

838

:

That's what we're good at.

839

:

And so we do that and we schedule

like we were getting phone calls

840

:

today about exciting opportunities

happening in the coming months.

841

:

And our summer is absolutely jam packed.

842

:

So we're looking at it now as Like

these are the exciting things this

843

:

summer is like striking while the

iron is hot Opening up and supporting

844

:

for other bands headlining things on

our own that you know We've either

845

:

done in the past or it's new to us.

846

:

We're really riding that wave and

enjoying every moment of it Um, and

847

:

then we'll figure out a time to get

back in the studio The material is there

848

:

Jason English (Host): Oh, yeah

849

:

Cousin Curtiss: continue coming.

850

:

Um, and so we just need

Dedicated time to hammer it out.

851

:

But for now, we're having

a blast with what we're

852

:

Jason English (Host): time to do that.

853

:

No, that's good.

854

:

Alright.

855

:

Well, question for each of

856

:

Cousin Curtiss: today?

857

:

Most curious about today,

like in life, like,

858

:

Jason English (Host): where,

yeah, in life, yeah, yeah.

859

:

Cousin Curtiss: You

got a hot take on that?

860

:

I think I

861

:

Harrison B: I do I think it's

uh You I'm curious what Pete

862

:

Dye, you know, who hurt him?

863

:

Jason English (Host): that.

864

:

Okay.

865

:

Harrison B: curious who hurt Pete

Dye to make him stick bunkers on

866

:

the sides of 40 foot vertical grass

walls and then another one halfway

867

:

up the thing as well, you know?

868

:

So I'd love to ask him that.

869

:

I'm curious.

870

:

Who hurt Pete Dye?

871

:

Cousin Curtiss: beat, Doc.

872

:

We're gonna bring that to the

people, um, and get it out there.

873

:

We need an answer ASAP, just

so we can understand it.

874

:

What am I curious about, you know?

875

:

Jason English (Host): Uh,

876

:

Cousin Curtiss: I guess it's, uh

877

:

Jason English (Host): lot of lip syncing.

878

:

Cousin Curtiss: the van doing?

879

:

Uh,

880

:

Harrison B: I

881

:

Cousin Curtiss: mean, there's a

lot of like simple curiosities.

882

:

Like, uh, yeah.

883

:

Jason English (Host): just life.

884

:

Getting through the,

getting through the day.

885

:

Cousin Curtiss: Yeah, can I

go to space at some point?

886

:

I have a really nice NASA shirt.

887

:

I've been wearing it a lot.

888

:

Um, you know.

889

:

There's some other things, but yeah, those

are probably two that are on the top.

890

:

Harrison B: my list.

891

:

Curtiss,

892

:

Jason English (Host): can I just

tell you, as a former teacher,

893

:

as a former teacher, I would have

expected, I would have expected more,

894

:

Cousin Curtiss: I know just,

just dropping the ball on the hot

895

:

take with the curious curiosity.

896

:

Yeah.

897

:

I mean, no, I don't know

what I would say otherwise.

898

:

Yeah.

899

:

Jason English (Host): All right.

900

:

Well, I, I enjoyed spending

the day with you today

901

:

Cousin Curtiss: Hey

902

:

Harrison B: spending the day with you,

903

:

Jason English (Host): and, uh,

thanks for being here and thanks

904

:

for, uh, thanks for your time.

905

:

I, uh, I would love if you

guys played some music for us.

906

:

Harrison B: Heck yeah,

907

:

Cousin Curtiss: we're

stoked to play for you.

908

:

Thanks for everything.

909

:

Jason English (Host): Bye.

910

:

Harrison B: you, bud.

911

:

Jason English (Host): Thanks so

much for joining us for another

912

:

episode of Curious Goldfish.

913

:

Please follow and subscribe to

the podcast and on social media.

914

:

Also tell your music loving

friends about us too.

915

:

Until next time, stay curious.

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