XByrdX on Reimagining Old Songs, Staying Creative, and Embracing Authenticity

0:07 This is the Pipe Man here on the Adventures of Pipe Man W4CY radio and I'm excited about our next guest because boy like one of the busiest artists I ever saw at releasing music like Had a new album this year, new song in July, and now another album coming out in September. So let's welcome to the show, Bird. How are you? Good. How are you? Thanks for having me. Hey, my pleasure. First of all, I just want to say I love your background.

0:50 Well, this is my man-boy cave. I love it. And I love the icons you have up there, too. To me, it's like a good mix. You know, we live in a world that like a lot of times in music, you're supposed to only like this one genre. And I love looking at something like that where, you know what? It's just good artists. That's all. It's just like a reflection of everything in here is kind of a reflection of every type of music or artists that I've ever seen. listened to or had some sort of influence on me in some sort of way in regards to making my music and something that they did that, like I said, touched me in some way.

1:44 They all make it up on the wall. Nice. Somewhere. That's the way it should be. Now, I have a question up there. I can never tell with the mirror thing. left, right, probably your right shoulder. Is that Blackie Lawless up there. On the wall? That is not. Okay, then it is. I know Blackie. Okay, so it's hard for me to see that far that I thought it was either him or like somebody in the crew or something like that. That's Susanna Hoffs. See, I couldn't even tell from you. That's terrible of me. No, that's all right.

2:26 It was a promotional poster for a Rickenbacker model guitar that she played. But when it came out, I was in my teens and I liked the guitar and I liked her as well. Yeah, now I feel like totally bad there, but I don't know if that's bad towards Blackie or towards her. Yeah. But so 10. Years ago, 10 years ago, you released this album, Postcards Summer Nights, and now you're doing the reimagined version, Postcards 10, the 10-year remix.

3:10 Right. This September 25th. First, I want to know, what was the prompting motivation of that? Well, we did it a long time ago, and I had a different band at that point in time, and we went under a different name. We were Birdhouse Sound at that. Point, and. We went in to do. An album with this set of songs that we had that we'd been playing for a while. And when we did the recording, it was one of the first or second albums I think it was probably the second album that I had ever went into.

3:51 The studio along with the other guys to do. And, you know, we were, anything that came out of that session, we thought it was the greatest, you know, thing ever and the greatest sounding song ever and the, you know, greatest mix and master and all that stuff. And then, you know, down the line when, the excitement from just having that experience died down and I started listening to it. I was, you know, I was always kind of like, uh, there were things that could have just been better, you know, from at the, at the time. And, uh, you know, we, we like the certain mixes on guitars or, uh, you know, the bass and guitar. And there were just little things that we always wanted to fix, you know, once we had heard it and, uh, And then a few months back, I was thinking about, you know, I had released Anthems for the End Times this year, and I'm going to go work on the next album here in the next six months. But I really wanted something out there in the meantime. And, you know, I just started looking at the album, and it just so happened to be it was around 10 years.

5:13 Since we had done that recording. And I thought, well, let's go back in and see what we can make different, different editing choices, different mixing choices, and see if we can make it better. And we did. And so I thought, well, okay, I'll put this out then in a new way. And like you said, we put it under a different title, Postcards. 10 or. The X is, you know, post postcard X, but the tens of Roman, obviously X is a Roman numeral for 10. So that kind of worked out and. We decided to make some, you know, new art for it and kind of re-release it as it's as a new kind of as its new identity, you know, like some of the songs, some of the songs, you know, we had like intros and outros that were longer and, you know, we had, fourth, fifth choruses. And so we went back in, just kind of tried to find the core of the song and, and get to that place.

6:22 And so they are different songs in the long run. Well, what I love about everything you said, there's a few things that I honed in on is first of all, the last thing you said, like songwriting is different now. Okay. And, Whether we like it or not, we have to appeal to that differences. So like when you're talking about the intros and stuff like that, it's like I've talked to songwriters. And I remember when I learned how to write songs back in the 80s, you know, there was a certain format that doesn't even apply today because, you know, not really supposed to have intros, not really supposed to have this and that, like just get to the meat of it.

7:07 And that's it. So I give you kudos for being smart enough to make it modern for today, number one. But what I really loved is, so yeah. In the beginning, when you're making these songs and you are playing them a lot, you're not really the musician you end up being down the. Road because you. Learn your craft, you evolve. And so now you look back at it with a little different vision than you did then. And sometimes even more control. Like, it reminded me of listening to Hetfield talk about Kill Em All. And, you know, they had played all those songs a bunch of times. And when it went to going to recording, they weren't even allowed in the mix.

8:03 And like, so... I can imagine an artist like these are your, your babies, especially in the beginning. Yeah. And you're not even allowed to determine what it's supposed to sound like. So I think. It's cool when artists revisit it later to create what, you know, maybe they would have done with it then, or what they would have done with it, with the knowledge that they have now that they didn't have then. Yeah. Hindsight. Definitely. Uh, definitely is a helpful tool when you're going, you know, and looking at something you've done. And I know for a lot of artists, you know, they.

8:47 Hear things and then they're stuck with those, you know, be it a mistake or, you know, they slather too much effects on something or, and then they're just stuck with it, you know, for the rest of their career. And this was kind of our opportunity to kind of go back and, like I said, like you said, make it. A little more modern. Um, and you know, my tastes have changed as far as, you know, how songs should be written and structures and all of that, uh, all those type of, you know, paradigms. But, uh, so it, it did make it, uh, you know, a fun experience to kind of get to go back and, um, you know, fix those things that were kind of nagging me. And, um, turn everything into, you know, kind of a new version, almost a new song of what it used.

9:42 To be, you know. Yeah, exactly. A hundred percent. And I have total respect when artists do that because, you know, like the nostalgia people, the fans from back then, they don't want to let go of those times or the garage times, you know, but when you're an artist, you kind of do because you know so much more and you're so much better at your craft down the road. And like you said, your taste can change a bit. And, you know, it's kind of like when artists that don't put out new music, their kind of viewpoint is, well, that music that I did back then, I was a teenager. And who wants to see somebody at my stage? And I've had artists say this to me, write teenage music.

10:30 So it's kind of cool. I like the idea of it. And I just want to know, I'm super impressed at a time when I don't know. A lot of artists that have been around for a while, they release an album, maybe if you're lucky, every three years. And yet this year you've put out an album, a new. Single, and now another album. And like, you got to be like one of the hardest working musicians in 2026, because that's a lot of work. Yeah. I don't know if it's the hardest or the most desperate. I don't know. Desperation, you know, is a good motivator. But, yeah, we put together, you know, for the anthems for the End Times album, there has been four videos. And, you know, we released the singles. And I'm still going to do one more just because, you know, I just want to do it.

11:29 I have an idea for the video. I don't know if anybody will see it or hear it, but I just want to do it. That's the only way it should be, though. If you're an artist, you should just do things because you want to do them, and then you'll attract your tribe. Yeah. Like I said, with the 10-year anniversary of Postcards... it wasn't like, you know, nothing really necessary and it doesn't really reflect, um, you know, the type of songwriting I do now or, or the things I'm interested in now, but I, I still felt like it was, uh, you know, good music and, uh, it could be, like I said, made better if we just did some things. And so that, you know, that was, uh, a kind of a happy accident, uh, to decide to go back and do that. And then the next album will probably be, you know, even different from anthems. You know, I wrote some of those songs during the time I was, we were recording the anthems album.

12:34 And so, you know, they already have kind of their flavor and there's going to be a few more. Songs that I wrote after that. So, you know, everything is going to be of, Kind of of its time and of its moment where a lot of stuff I used to write about was more narrative stories of things in the past or more of a nostalgic look back on things. Keeps you busy. And kind of like that makes me think of James at 16 and a quote. That I saw that you said about. like you removed King Arthur Lancelot and Guinevere out of Camelot and dropped them as teenagers in the 1980s suburbs.

13:20 Yeah. Yeah. That was kind of the, you know, the, the classic love triangle, you know, type of thing. And you had to, you know, the two male characters are kind of like, you know, your two, two alphas that are, you know, friends and, and, but, you know, there's some, competition uh between the two at the same time so this uh kind of girl falls into the mix and you know it's really a song about um not just the little love triangle but the the brotherhood uh those two have and kind of what you know uh what happens after this uh this love interest comes into the story and how that affects how it affects uh their relationship.

14:11 Yeah. It's, it's pretty cool. Like everything you're doing and everything you're saying, I love a lot because to me, that's what an artist is being, not being in a box and just kind of doing your thing and what you feel and what your vibe is at the time. I think we all have different vibes and different feelings at different points. It doesn't even need to be in major points of life. It could be today and tomorrow, you know, and something comes to you and I think art should never be put in a box. If something comes to you and you feel it, I think it should be put out there. Yeah, that as a, oh, I would say as a artist, I haven't called myself an artist up until.

14:57 Probably a year ago. When I realized that the only way to be satisfied. With making art or music. Would be to use the things that are particular to myself and my interests and my character versus trying to be, you know, like this guy up here, the next, you know, the next Springsteen or the, you know, getting locked into, and it happens without you even realizing it. You get locked into being uh, you know, this Americana band, or you get locked into being a punk band. And, um, then you start, you know, playing just with those people who are also in that genre. And, um, you, you, you know, it's almost like you are, uh, part of a club and you're wearing a club uniform and, uh, you know, and you, you've been initiated and, um, at some point you might realize this doesn't really feel like me, you know, anymore. And, uh, you know, I kind of, with the anthems album, that's kind of the point where I got, where I felt like the things that I realized, the things that are particular to me and my interests and my own life will be the things that, uh, people will, uh, relate to or have interest in, or, um,

16:27 you know, see as something, uh, different from than what everybody else is, you know, writing about or putting out at the time. So, so I've kind of, you know, I, speaking of artists, I was, when I was younger, I, you know, I thought I was going to be a comic book artist. I thought I was going to be, you know, a stage actor. And so with this anthems, I've kind of done all that. We started a comic book based on the album and, With the videos, we've even had some. Videos based on just political.

17:11 Topics. I was putting out every few weeks a video meeting, and I was playing this. Character and talking about, you know, being in the future and talking about what, you know, the 2025, 2026 had led. To, you know, and kind of. Creating a story and a character that we could use to kind of talk about things that are relevant, you know, today, but also connected to the music and the album. And, and so it's, it's kind of, like I said, trying to become an artist versus a musician or, you know, a piano player, a guitar player, trying to incorporate all of that into, you know, one vision has been kind of what I'm looking at now as, as, as I make more music and make the next album.

18:13 See, I love that too, because to me, it's all encompassing. Like music is much more than just the music as far as the art is concerned. And, you know, It's interesting. Like you're talking about how you change and we all do. It kind of just blew my mind recently. And when I watched the Billy Joel documentary to find out his first band was a metal band, I'm a metal head. And I did not know that. Yeah. Him and one other guy. And it was some, what was it like Odin or that wasn't the name, but. Yeah, I forget his name. It was his really good friend. And then, he ended up falling in love with the dude's wife.

18:54 Yeah. Yeah. And they had long hair and they had like, uh, uh, they had like, uh, bearskins or hanging off of them. And yeah, it was so funny. And he talks about like, that was the worst heavy metal band in history. Yeah. Well, that's, you know, you just never know where you're going to end. Up, you know? Totally. Like, just like talk about Springsteen. I'm a Jersey boy. I lived right by him in Jersey. Now I live right by him in Florida, like where my studio was for 20 years. He's like right across the street, nicest guy in the world. But you talk about somebody that did get kind of, they tried to pigeonhole him to be one way, you know? And, uh, you know, I think as you do grow as an artist, sometimes you need to expand beyond that one way. And, That's why I love what you're doing Cause I think you're just, you're doing it for yourself and then everybody else will love it.

19:56 Yeah. That's, that's the, that's the only way that I can be, you know, fully satisfied with what I'm making is if I'm making it for myself, you know, and then, Then if other people find something that they can relate to within it, that's just the cherry on top. In the past, there's been times as a musician, there's always times where you find yourself trying to follow a trend or. Trying to be. In this group or make music in this way so you can get this audience.

20:37 You end up. I, for me anyway, you just end up something that, uh, there's always a, a, uh, like a twinge in your side that says, yeah, there's something that's just not right about this. And, uh, usually people can tell. Yeah. And usually it's something you, you don't continue to play or carry with you as you, you know, as your career goes along, it's basically, it's a song you keep in a certain, a certain place in time and you don't ever find yourself playing it again. And, So hopefully it's, you know, the. Songs that you keep wanting to play as you continue on, you know, are the ones that generally are you, you.

21:19 Know, the most. No doubt. Yeah. So is there anything else you want to let the listeners know we haven't covered already that you have coming up? And also, like, tell them how to reach out to you on socials, on the web. Check out the new music when it comes out, when it drops on the 25th. Yep. And, uh, check out everything else you got. Yeah, it's, it's all out there on the interwebs. Uh, X bird X is, uh, kind of my identity, uh, on this project. Um, and, uh, Instagram, Spotify, um, you know, Facebook, uh, Apple music, it's all on there. And, you know, X bird X is, um, It's a name that doesn't really get confused. So if you just Google that, you'll find me.

22:14 And I'll just mention one thing we're getting ready to do is have a show at the Indiana State Sanatorium, which is kind of a closed sanatorium that was around from the late 1800s till like the 1980s. Wow. we, we went out there and made a couple of videos, um, at the site and I just, I've liked it so much that I thought, man, wouldn't it be, wouldn't it be interesting or wouldn't it be different to, instead of go play a music venue or a bar, uh, create an experience for the audience, uh, to, to, to come to be part of. And so we're going to, have the show in the, uh, sanatorium. Um, you know, no, there's no power on the place. So we're doing kind of an all acoustic show where we're bringing out our generators and, uh, and we're, we're kind of making it into a, you know, kind of a thematic experience. So it's just not, you know, four people up there just playing acoustic guitars. So we're, we're leaning into the, the insane, uh, part of it and the ghosts that are in the spirits that are there. And, uh, So to try to make it something people will go and, you know, will be like, oh, my God, this was, you know, a cool way to hear music that I've never heard before.

23:44 That is so cool. Like, I do festivals all over the U.S., U.K., Europe, Canada. And one of my favorites to do was just in July called Incarceration. And it's at Shawshank Prison. Oh, wow. Yeah. And that prison really is haunted. The real prison that's shut down now. And, and then they have like this haunted house in the basement of the prison. So like, you don't even know if it's the characters haunting you or the real ghosts there. And it's like, it is cool to have those guys like to do a show like unique, like that in the venue, that's unique like that.

24:24 Cause it's just adds another layer to the artistry in my opinion. Yeah, it gives me something else to, you. Know, use my creativity towards of making, you know, instead of going out and, you know, playing with three other bands and maybe, you know, maybe there's 10 people there for you and the rest of them are waiting for the last band or the second, you know, the second to last band of the night. Why not play for a kind of a smaller, you know, curated audience and uh make it something different that they've ever you know been been a part of and uh again maybe they'll go and talk to somebody about yeah i just went to the show and not only was the music great you know this is a a great idea and and uh to you know get fans or people interested in in in the music that way as.

25:22 Well totally i agree well You're a badass artist. Thanks for being around so long and being creative still. And thanks for being on the adventures of pipe man. Hey, I thank you, Dean. I appreciate it. I have no other choice, but to, to, I finally come to that conclusion. I have no other choice. To do what I do. So there you go. I'll keep going. If nobody's listening. There it is. Well, that's what being an artist is. It's about you. And then you will attract those people that will listen. Yeah. I appreciate being on the show. Well, I appreciate you being here. Rock on. Thanks, Dean.

26:02 Thank you for listening to The Adventures of Pikeman on W4CY Radio.