PipemanRadio Interviews Steve Ramone

0:04 Hey, you love them too? Sure, come from f C why for why up of America. It's time for the Adventures of pipe Man on W fourcy dot com. West poon Beats his number one internet radio station. Here's your host, the White Man ro then still, it's the pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four c Y Radio. And I'm here with an an amazing artist that has some killer music out of actually one of my favorite cities. And he didn't even know this yet. We were talking before in the interview. But I'll actually explain to him why if he wants to know. But he's out of Chicago and I love love Chicago. In fact, you know, as you know, the Pipe Man will be doing radio coverage once again at Riot Fests this year and one of my favorite festivals too.

1:26 So let's welcome to his show. Steve Ramone, how are you? I'm doing well? Is the Is it the pizza? Maybe? No? Yeah, come on, you know I'm from New York. That would never happen. You just wanted to piss me off, Yes I did. I had to get Oh yeah, I know because I gat to these arguments with people all the time, and like my answer strictly to them is, yeah, how many places do you go, even outside the country that like to Chicago style pizza outside of Chicago? So you know there's my argument. Yeah, well that's because they can't make it anywhere but here. So well, you know they can't like the New York I don't want to get turned this into a Midwest I know, right, Oh my god, it's like it's like chicagoans argue about um, the Cubs and Socks. You know, if you're I tell you man. I tell people all the time. Anybody comes up to me and says they like both teams, I say, check your pockets, all right, because you're either one of the other around this place, no doubt, Like they same in New York. Listen, either you're a Yankees fans or Mets fan. Either you're a Devil's fan, Rangers fans, or Islanders fan like I could. Well, you're either you're a Giants or Jets fan. The funniest thing about that, as they were they're both in New Jersey or not even New York teams for most of my lifetime.

2:53 But I mean, hell, you can make may as well be a Dodgers fan for that case. I know right that was it the Brooklyn Dodgers. Absolutely, So you know why I love Chicago. Besides, you know, great artists like you. Um, But I used I used to be in the investment business, and my main part of my business was commodity, So I used to come to Chicago all the time because that's where the main exchanges are. You know, the New York exchanges mean nothing in that investment you know. So oh yeah, Like I've been on the floor plenty of times, you know. And uh, the only thing I don't like about your city. What I loved about your city is I remember being there and like, oh, this is New York twenty years ago, meaning I could walk at night down the street even the bums were clean. It was like, the city is so clean. I don't know about it as much today as that when I'm talking about but man, I was like, now this is the way should be. But one of the reasons I can never live in Chicago is one year I was at a commodity conference or something in Chicago June.

4:13 I remember very specifically. It was June nineteenth, beautiful out seventy some odd degrees, had shorts on, so nice. The next day I'm walking at a hotel with my shorts on, and I was like, oh shit and ran back inside because it was twenty and any place that drops from seventy to twenty at the end of June, I can't live. I remember the day you were talking about. I remember that specifically. And you know, the old saying in Chicago is if hey, you know, come to Chicago you don't like the weather, stick around ten minutes. It'll change, right, And that is exactly the case. Some people think that's where that whole windy city thing came from. It's a whole different story. I digressed, but absolutely the weather is the one thing. And I absolutely love Chicago, board and raised on the South Side. I'm a huge fan, you know.

5:08 And and the one thing that that I talk about all the time is the only thing to get me to leave is the weather because it is so brutal here in the wintertime. And actually it's not even the Christmas time stuff. It's when you get into January early February in Chicago. My good sweet lord, you have to we have we're tough around here because you have to be just to survive the winter man, no doubt. And listen, you know, if I'm living in a place as a winter climate, I'm cool with it during the winter, but when it's summer at summer, like it never gets twenty in Jersey or New York during June. Yeah, no, it's crazy at it. We got that big gigantic lake, you know, that freshwater lake, and yep, you have Canada right above us. So all kinds of stuff. Like yesterday, for instance, we were we had the worst we had the worst air quality in the entire world of everybody that measures air quality because of the because of all the wind and stuff that that brought all the Canadian wildfires over to us. So it's crazy. It's a it's place. The weatherman here is never as accurate as he is everywhere else because it's just it's scary. Well, don't feel bad. The weatherman can never be accurate in Florida because you can literally be standing on one side of the street and it's sunny and beautiful. On the other side of the street, it's a torrential downpour. I've seen that in Florida. Isn't it crazy?

6:35 It is, It's so crazy. It's like here, I'll step over to the sunlight. Here, I'll step over to the rain learn. I mean, I forgot what city we're in, but we were opening for Sly and the Family Stone and and literally the crowd was getting rained on, and you know, and we were not. It was it was. It is the craziest thing I've ever seen. But yeah, yeah, there you go. So I think, though the weather you have in Chicago, there is why so many great musical artists like yourself come out of Chicago, because listen, when it's time to make music, you're there hibernating. You're not like, oh, it's so nice out. I was wish I was down at the shore or some crap like that. Yeah. Man, it's a musical kind of place. I absolutely love it. And I've always said it takes nothing makes a good song like some like some good old pain and misery and discomfort, and you got yourself a song. That's why. Okay, and tell me if this is applied to you. But that's why I think with everything that's gone on in the past few years, we're gonna have some of the best music come out ever because there's so much to write about Number one, number two during that lockdown. The way I look at it as artists, I've been saying this all the time. They finally got a chance to jump off to hamster wheel and create instead of you know, you're on the

8:07 road all the time, you're writing an album between shows and the record label as a deadline, so whether you're finished or not, here you go. Whereas COVID gave you the time like the old days, where you could just sit down and really evaluate where what you want your music to sound like. Well, I agree, I do, I do agree with you. I agree that that's the outcome. M Having gone through in it myself from a from a musical standpoint, I can tell you that it's it's a bit more existential, existential than that. Yeah, the the I okay, so first of all, we're wired for this, right, We're wired to play. So yeah, well we'll be on tour you know, all year, and you know we have deadlines and stuff like that. But you're absolutely right in that, you know, making music during the pandemic was more a labor of love than it was a function of work. And because of that, yes, we you know a lot of people took chances with music that they might not have taken. Um. The other thing is collaborations were huge. You know, I've got uh, you know some of the cats that we're that we're able to play on Chasing Daylight is uh, you know, it's crazy.

9:18 Dax Nielsen from Cheap Trick played on Uh you know, he played drums on three of the songs. I had Dan Dan McGinnis from Credence clear Water or Visited come in and sing harmonies on a few of the songs. I had Joel from White Snake come in and he I actually grew up around, grew up with him in the in the Chicago land area. Joel Hookstra from White Snake and um and not Luminari. I forgot what the other what's what's that Christmas band that goes around rock in the world. Uh, Trans Siberian Orchestra. Yeah, yeah, he plays for them as well Monstrous Players. So he played on a lot of stuff. Vinny from Sponge is going to do some stuff with us, uh, and then um Todd Zuckerman from Sticks you know, and and all these cats were available during the pandemic because nobody was touring, so so right, so we all, you know, we all get together and we all know each other. Obviously, Chips Enough produced and played bass on the record. Um from enops and enough dany v from enoughs and up saying on a lot of it. But but the thing was that, um, aside from realizing that we have the ability to to communicate and work together in different ways, what we what we did realize is is the fragility of our place in the world. Uh, you know, we weren't considered h what were they what were they calling essential? We weren't considered essential workers? Right, So so I mean there, there you have it.

10:41 I think it's essentially have music and entertainment when things are at their absolute worse. But um, the point being that we weren't out there saving lives the way other people were, and and really live entertainment got put in the backs, you know, on the back burner. So from a from a personal standpoint, you're looking at it going where is my place in the world And how is this huge title wave of change affecting what it is that I that I was born to do? You know. So there's a lot of thinking going on in there, and what you get is the and wait where it all comes and I know there's a long lining role get into this. My description of this is that I better be thankful for this and get up off my ass and do some playing, and do some and and do it in a manner that scratches that itch inside me as well as as you know, put food on the table. You know, I have to find a way to to sell my to sell my art, not to sell the art that people that is selling. You know, So yes, your answer is.

11:43 The answer is absolutely resoundingly yes. And there's all kinds of crazy things that went through musicians minds during this pandemic. You know, I have two things I want to focus on what you said too, Like the last thing of what you said, I think it's so app Poe because how many artists before the pandemic, we're taking the whole biz for granted, hate and even people attending concerts and festivals, like the complaining that would go on. I just remember, like seeing all these things at festivals. If a band dropped out, oh that's the only reason I went blah blah blah blah blah and just pitching up a storm about this music festival because there were fifty nine other bands, but their one band didn't play. And it's like I just remember, during the pandemic, my feeling was if some kid got up on stage with the recorder and played live. I'm there because I didn't give a shit.

12:45 It just had to be live music. Now, on the other thing that I wanted to focus on, I've always said music is the best therapy for both the artists and the listener. And I personally think, okay, So my business was considered a quote unquote essential business, but I think music artists were way more essential than I was, because we were at time where it was needed most. And I think that's why everybody was so pissed off and went so crazy because nobody had live music. Well, there's no doubt about that. Um, what's the uh, what's the old? Live music has charms? That sued the Savage Beast? Yes, yes, and got who said that? But somebody, somebody very I don't know, somebody very smart, uh said that. But and and it's true. I think you're one hundred percent right on all that stuff, man. And and you know I did the same thing. Uh. I went out and played as quickly as I could. Um. I had guys in my band wearing masks and stuff like that, and I didn't care. You know, you want to wear a mask, wear a mask, you know, Um, you know, I I didn't pass judgment on anybody regardless of where they landed in there, you know, in you know, their belief system landed them, and that whole in the whole COVID thing. Um My, My thing was that like, if we can play safely, let's do it and and and get

14:16 out there and just feel better. And I think that's what happened, you know. I think as soon as a couple of people stepped their toe over the water, all of a sudden, it was a floodgate that opened, and people just started playing all of a sudden. And my god, you were all right when you got out there and heard that bass thumping and heard and heard that that kick drum, you know, pounding in your chest a little bit. Uh, man, it's sure what it woke me up. I felt I felt happy, uh that first day that we were able to get out to play, and and it was actually in Florida at MR and I got to um, I got to play with man um who's the guy rock and roll? Who Chiku um Rick? Uh. I can't believe I'm drawn to blank too, because I know exactly who you're talking about. But yeah, yeah, yeah, now I'm gonna have to look it up, but but yeah, we opened for him, and it was just the coolest thing in the world. I'm like, hell, yeah, this is why we do this, you know. So I was happy. I was happy when it all, when it all came Rick Deringer, that's it. There you go. And you know, I had the same experience because, like you know, I went from doing like festivals every single weekend to nothing, just like an artist except they were doing every day. But you know, and then I remembered, I think a lot of people got institutionalized because I did too. I remembered the first show I did was at this little amphitheater near me in Jupiter, Florida, and it was it was who oh,

15:52 it was Sublime and Dirty Heads. And I was standing backstage looking out at this sweaty Florida the crowd that was like all squished together like sardines, and I remember saying myself, Man, that just looks like a Petrie dish. I'm not going out there, you know. And I'm usually to site that I'll be out in the crowd. Even though I could be backstage or I could be on stage, I'd rather be out in the crowd. You know, and and then it took a couple of gigs I got a little more comfortable, and then the first big festival that I was at, I was comfortable again. And I remember I was sitting in in the middle of like a hundred thousand people, and I remember it so clearly, and I'm like, oh my god, I feel alive for the first time in two years.

16:41 Oh yeah, I feel your brother and I it's just it's just amazing. Um. That's that's a funny story because I remember I played. I was playing. Um. We have this side project because we love Bowie so much. We have this project called Heroes UM and just a really cool band that does that does Bowie's stuff, you know. UM. And we were playing at a one of the big street fairs in Chicago. It was either I can't remember year before last actually, no, last year, and then um, year before last. Yeah, and then uh and it was humongous and I took a you know, we took one of those shots where where the band's looking, you know, with the back to the crowd, and you see the humongous crowd back behind us, and you know, just wall of people. And I loved it. I thought it was so awesome, and I posted it, you know, to social media, and to my surprise, half the people, you know, we're like, We're like cool, and then the other half were exactly what you said, yuck, And that exact same word petrie just came up, and you know, their term petrie just came up. I was shocked. I ended up taking the damn thing down because it was so polarizing. I'm like, shit, I was just having a fun time playing a show man. I didn't realize that I was, you know, I did. I was a vehicle for for social and political you know, instability and polarization. I don't think it matters what you say. Like nowadays, especially with social media, you could say an orange is orange and they're well, actually it depends there and it starts green

18:17 and they're changed to orange. And I think it's the influence of society on the orange to have to live up to that thing of being called an orange. It's like, you just people come up with the stupid receive the effect of light on inanimate objects differently, So I don't think you can speak for all. Yeah, no, I hear you, man, right, And you know what if the orange identifies as an apple, right, what if they do What if oranges don't think their color is actually orange? What if they see it differently? Yeah? See yeah, oh my gosh, yeah it's possible. We're getting there and get Yeah, we're getting down both sides, my friend, from both sides. So I'm chasing some I'm chasing some daylight though. You know, I love that album name because I think it is apropos of everything that's going in society right now. We should be chasing daylight because we seem to be chasing the darkness instead. Wow, that is the absolute truth. And we're not just chasing the darkness. We're chasing um, We're we're we're racing the clock too, right, because eventually you know, the daylight and the sunsetting and it's all you know, it's all a metaphor for the arc of your life. And and I just so feel that I have songs left to right, I have you know, rooms left to rock and just play just things I want to do with the guitar in my

19:51 hands, you know. And um, and that song just came to me, um when I when I was really in a m and like an angsty kind of like anxiety written mood about how to get the band to the you know, to the next level. And uh, you know, because I just felt I was chasing something and I'm like, yeah, I'm chasing daylight here and I'm like, shit, there it is and there the rest of the time just flowed and and you know, it's it's it served as a good vehicle for the you know thematically, for everything going on in the record. I love it. And that's how it happens, isn't it. It's like you could work on making a song, making an album, but it's not the working on it. It just comes to you. Yeah, the Diane Warrens of the world, the ones that can you know, wake up in the morning and get my coffee, you know, go to the office and write a song or two for you know whatever. It's like the people that that can do that. And actually, you know, the Carol Kings, that Diane Warrens, the people like that at the Burt back racks.

20:53 Those are very very few and far between. Um So for me, it has to be inspiration. There has to be some there has to be some tribulation going on in order to in order to um, I don't know, I guess it just it just forces your body your brain into producing something that normally, under normal circumstances you wouldn't. You know, it's a diamond. You know. You you're through pressure, you get diamonds. And and that's basically what happens with me at least when it comes to right songs. Nice. So how do our people connect with you on socials, on the web, all that good stuff? Get the album, check out tour and yes, yes, yes, please get the album. Download the album. Man.

21:38 You know, it's like, uh, that's the that's the number one thing we support live at least. It's great to support live music, but it's even better to uh support it's uh, you know people with either some streaming or or download or even if you want to hit Amazon and buy the hard copy. But to answer your question, wherever it is you go to scratch your musical itch. If you pop in Steve ramone, Chasing Daylight will pop up there. So if your iTunes, if your Apple, you know, if you're Amazon, if you are Spotify, whatever, it's all there. Amazon, you can you can buy it, you can download it, you can stream it, you can go to Steve ramon dot com. Um people these days love to go to the Facebook page because I generally, UM, you know, interact there a little bit more. UM, but I've recently started posting a lot on on TikTok and UH and UH on Instagram.

22:27 I know my kid got me hooked on on TikTok because I'm a sucker for baby animal videos. Like you've got a baby anything and it's an animal, It's like I'm gonna stop and check it out for a minute. You know. It's like my wife is always like worried about me bringing home the next whatever animal it is that I that I happen to find or attaches to me. But anyway, I digress by the record and UH and I'll be on tour with Glenn Hughes and of Deep Purple and uh Ingavey Momstein uh in in UH late August and most of September all over California. I'll also be uh. UM. You know, we're we're in talks with a couple other things.

23:10 UH. I can't even say, can I say it? I don't know what we're talking. You know. There was there was talk of maybe going out opening for UH for Corey Feldman for UM for a week or two, but that's that's that's neither here nor there. But but if it happens, I kind of tell you I am so into it. I can't. I got eight million questions to ask, you know. So um but that's it, brother. You know, you get me on the web, you can get me, uh, you can get me uh you know, live and hit me up if you want me to play acoustic on some stuff or whatever. I love doing sessions for people nice. And you know, it's funny you mentioned Corey because so the person that runs my Louisiana studio, who's worked for me for like eleven years, she is like the biggest fan girl of Corey Felman. That's number one. Number two. You know, he's performing a riot fest. I believe, yes he is. I know, I know. So if if that's the case, then you know that would be absolutely one percent awesome man. So um, it would be it would be cool to do that show. But um but yeah, that's that's great man. I H I really appreciate you, uh you bringing me on and and pumping the record and letting people know. I appreciate what you do as well, just you know, just getting local, not local, but you know, getting original music out there and every all music is local to something, but you know, taking you know that music and putting it out there to the masses. Um, you're doing God's work, brother, So I really appreciate it. Well, thank you, And I only promote the stuff

24:42 that I actually like. I don't get pressed people how they can do an interview with stuff they don't like. And I think your music on this album is incredible. Everybody needs to check it out. I'm also big onto album artwork and I love yours, like that picture on there, and I say picture because to me, it's like a picture I would hang on my wall. I mean, that's the coolest, Like just the combination of the sky in the field and the sun and everything. I don't think you could have caught a better look for this album we got. We got really lucky with that one. And then you know, the hard the hard copy of the of the CD is is a big old six panel, um, you know, both sides, and actually the that that picture takes up the entire you know, three panel layout on one side of those things. So it's a it's a really cool thing that we did, and I love album art.

25:44 My friend, dude, how many times did you grab that album the coolest thing in the world was even if it wasn't a double album, just a single album, if they still had an open up, you know kind of album album cover. Oh, I loved it. I would lose hours in the day just like reading poor over every tiny little bit of credits and stuff like that. Oh, it was just the most wonderful experience when I was a kid growing up. That's what kids are missing nowadays, because to me, an album was an experience first of all, as you know, you bought an album because of how it looked, because you had no clue how it sounded, you know, especially if you listen to underground music like I used to buy albums like oh they look cool, you know type of thing, and and and then you just sat there and put I would I sat there and put my headphones on, and I just listen to that album from first last song without skipping, without tracking or anything, and just go through every part of that album cover and all the inserts and everything. It's just a full sensory experience instead of listening to a track in ten seconds later skipping to the next track, right, I mean, today people don't even listen to whole songs it's like, yeah, my thirteen year old is like, you know, I'm just flipping from one side of that because I'm like, hey, he was just getting to the hook there. Jesus steal that, you know, And I know it's crazy. You know what's a weird thing about that, though, dude, is that you know how many times you

27:14 know you have exactly that experience that you're talking to, You go grab the record, then you pop it on, you listen to it. Do you remember doing that? And then all of a sudden the song comes on You're like, oh, that song, that's them, And it was a song that you'd heard on the radio already, right. You know what's funny about that. I was just interviewing that Welcome to Rockville, Incubis and I said to him, you know, you guys, like almost everybody I know that thinks they don't know your music. If they're at your show, they're like, oh I know that song, Oh I know that one, and they're like, yeah, we're that band. Are that band? Right? Oh my god? That happens. That happens because there used to be a big machine in place that would make sure the songs you're here on the radio are the same song are the same albums you see at the end caps at the record store. And yeah, and you know, there was a local radio DJ pushing it. And I forgot what those guys call were called, um, the guys that would do radio or get go town to town to get people to play songs on the radio. But they had a name for him.

28:18 But yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah there was there was something like that. Yeah and um but but yeah there was a big old machine. Now we just now we have us, you know, now we have musicians, our girlfriends, our moms and um and and folks like you that are that are putting the word out there. So again, I'm I can't tell you how thankful I am. If i'm you know, you ever see me playing in Florida, I'm sure I'll reach out when I when I am, But man, you gotta know that there's always your there's always your name is always going to be on the guest list, brother nice, I'll be happy to be there one hundred percent for sure. And uh, you know, I hope everybody gets your album because it is just good musk period. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you to Mark Nowara and you know, Tim king um over at a pavement for taking a chance and on a on a not so heavy you know sounding artists, and because they loved the songs and they thought there was something there. And you know, I really appreciate that, um. And you know chupernalat artists worldwide for for you know, booking these monstrous tours that I'm on. That that that allowed me to get the songs out to the people. UM. And then being able to do press and stuff like this really helps. Man.

29:30 So I'm just psyched. I'm thankful. Um. I've taken stock in my life and realize how thankful I am, uh and lucky I am to do what I do. When I I'm standing up on their on stage and and you see people smiling and dancing and tapping their foot or just not in their head or keep closing their eyes or just really kitten into it. Good lord, I mean it for me, it doesn't get any better than that. So, UM, the more I get to do that, the better. And and doing stuff like this helps. Let's do that tremendously. So thank you again, and thank you for being on the Adventures of pipe Man. All right, brother, thank you for listening to the Adventures of pipe Man i'm W four CUI Radio