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doing today?
Speaker 2: Good? How you doing doing?
Speaker 1: Absolutely fantastic, Very excited to talk to you about at
the exit.
Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks, Erah, I appreciate the time.
Speaker 1: Man. You guys are really in a position right now
because there's such a rock movement that's happening right now.
This is this is exactly what is going on for
what is what is going to become the summer of
twenty twenty six.
Speaker 3: I certainly hope so. I mean, I feel like we've
fought against some of the grain. When we first started
coming out twenty eighteen, it was a little bit of
a different sound. But I feel like it's coming back
some so and the single's got a great response, so
we're pretty psyched on it.
Speaker 1: I can't be the only one that's sitting here thinking about,
oh my god, where on the playlist is this going
to go? And so inside my imagination, I said, it's
going to be the song right before the encore because
at the exit has that energy that says, oh my god,
and then you go to the OnCore and say, oh,
I got to come back another night. I got I
gotta keep coming back.
Speaker 3: Hey, you're reading our mind. It is the second to
last song basically. So I mean, if it's a headlining show, yeah,
it's right before the encore. If it's you know, we're
supporting a national artist, it's a second to last song.
So yeah, you're right on that one.
Speaker 1: So what is it like though, when you are supporting
the national act and it's like the opening act, You
guys are the ones that are like you created that
wave of energy or is it one of those where
you go, well, that's our job. We have to do
that for them.
Speaker 2: It's a little bit of both.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's exciting because you get to play in
front of some people that probably wouldn't see you, especially locally.
You know, we have a pretty good reach locally, but
there's still people that are going to come out for
a national that might not come out for like a.
Speaker 2: Locals or regional type show.
Speaker 3: So it's exciting to get to play in front of
maybe some people that wouldn't normally come see you, but
then also your fans and your friends and family come out,
and so's it's exciting to open. It's usually a little
bit bigger crowd, so we appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Well, you make that video very authentic in the way
that we all want to be backstage, and even if
we get that backstage pass, we don't get that experience
that your video gives us where you're physically walking through things.
I love that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, our video crew did an amazing job.
Speaker 3: It was kind of took a vision I had of
coming to a defiant headlining show and kind of living
the whole day with us. It's crazy because that was
an eleven hour day for us and it fits in
what three and a half minutes for a music video.
Speaker 1: But see, that's a good time period, because what are
they doing. They say that we only have the attention
span of us for about fifteen to thirty seconds, and
so but I mean when a song is that short,
to me, that feeds right into that what I call
the repeat. In other words, I'm just gonna hit repeat.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Yeah, it's what's just saying, don't bor us get
to the chorus, Like, just just hit us with it
and then make us want to hear it again.
Speaker 1: How did you build the light show around this song?
Because see, they won't let us in there to see
you guys practicing that light show, but except that to
me is so much a part of that live presentation.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean the venue we were at, Excel Live in
Harrisburg has just an amazing sounding light cruise, and we've
played there enough times. I think that they know our
energy and give it what the best lighting setup for
us is because we have a lot of energy, a
lot of strobing, likes a little bit of chaos, you know,
So we trust them totally to come up with what
they think is best because we've we've played there several times.
Speaker 1: Man, I'm so glad that you brought up that energy
because right away I'm going this band. I mean, instead
of going to a gym to work out, just become
a member of this band. Even if it's a roady
you're gonna get a workout in.
Speaker 3: Yeah, because we still lug around the big old amps
like that. So if you're gonna road roady for us,
you better get a workout in. But yeah, we don't wanna.
We don't want to stare at our shoes and boy
you we're gonna move around. We're gonna try to get
you involved. So I always say you're gonna bang your
head and shake your butt if you comes a defiant show.
Speaker 1: So, oh my god, I laugh when you say bringing
those big old amps, because we're all groaning, those of
us that have had to load up and put on
that stage and then take it down and put it
in the truck.
Speaker 2: It's like, oh my god, yeah we are so.
Speaker 3: I mean, I we play with so many bands locally
and around the country, and you know, some still do
what we do with so many of such a small
footprint anymore on stage.
Speaker 2: Which you know is great for them.
Speaker 3: But we still like the sound and the feel of
pushing air through amps and just that natural raw sounds,
so we're gonna stick with it.
Speaker 1: Well, those they were built for sound, it's not you know,
because I use the bow's l ones. And the thing
is is that you know, it sounds good, it's very big.
But the thing is, though it still doesn't have that
thump that that you know that the old ones had.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like I said, I I need it for me personally.
Speaker 3: On stage it's like I know people that play with
in ears and it's almost like a silent stage, and
I can't do that. I need I feed off the
energy of the other instruments of the crowd. So I
definitely need that experience for me personally.
Speaker 1: Dead zones will silent me and that screws with my head.
I can't do it, dude, I really can't. I've got
to have full sound.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm right there with your air.
Speaker 1: Well, so how are you keeping those vocals really fine tuned?
And because what you guys are doing with your vocals,
I mean you're shifting, you're rising, you're grinding, You're going
in every single direction, and to me, it's one of
those where you just sit there with your mouth wide open,
going okay, how the hell they do that?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: I mean Al's are vocalists, and he he gets a
lot out of his voice. That's he's got a lot
of different ranges and styles that he can do. Very growllyn,
you can sing clean, He's got a great you know,
yell and everything. So I know that he's always doing uh,
you know, the last probably twenty thirty minutes before we
hit stage, he kind of goes into his little zone yep,
makes all sorts of crazy noises that I don't know
what's coming out.
Speaker 2: Of his body. But he hits the chords ready to
do all that. So he's a great He's a great front.
Speaker 3: Man to have.
Speaker 1: I just saw a video over the weekend on how
Eddie Van Halen would go in and do six or
seven different different cuts with that guitar, and then he
would go back and listen to it, and that's how
he would create his live guitar solo. Is that a
normal thing because I've never heard of that before.
Speaker 3: Uh, it's a I think everyone works a little bit differently.
So Al and I both play guitar in the band,
and we, you know, change off who's going to do
a solo, Who's going to do a lead based on
the song and the feel. So he's a little bit
different than he has a whole solo written pretty early
in the songwriting process. When he does it, I I
feel it out for a while.
Speaker 2: I'll go several rehearsals.
Speaker 3: Where we're doing it and try different things, and sometimes
I'm still in the studio right before I have to record,
and and I'm trying a couple different things, so everybody's different,
but yeah, you definitely try some different things out and
feel what fits the song the best. And so because
it's almost like a vocal melody of its own, like
you know great guitar solos, you can almost hum.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a vocal I was.
Speaker 1: Gonna ask you that, how many of these songs actually
start as a hum? Damn dude, you were like right
there in my notes.
Speaker 3: I get a lot of when I'm songwriting, I am
thinking in my head as I'm driving. Driving is a
big thing for me listening to other music for and
also sometimes I just drive in silence to kind of
hear what goes on.
Speaker 2: Inside my head.
Speaker 3: Whether I'm physically humming out loud. You'll probably have to
sit next to me to tell me if I am
or if I'm not.
Speaker 1: Please do not move. There's more with Joe Defiant from
Defiant coming up next. You got to check out the
new song. It's called at the Exit. You can get
it on YouTube, you can get it on Spotify. iHeart Everywhere.
We're back with Joe Defiant from Defiant. Are you guys
marketing that phrase be defiant in your merchandise, because I
mean that just seems like something that you could sell
nationwide or even globally. Just be defiant.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we use be defiant and stay defiant oh a lot. Yeah,
because a lot of it's in our social media posts.
You will end with stay defiant a lot just because.
Speaker 2: We're not the band.
Speaker 3: While we're somewhat political in nature, we're not telling you
to pick a side because we don't really think either
side's out for the little man. So we're just saying
question everything, be defiant and stay defiant and don't settle.
Speaker 1: Well, you're pretty much saying boldly resist authority, which I'm
sitting here going, that's my kind of rock band. Where
were you back in the nineteen seventies when I was
growing up, dude, that's my kind of act right there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, sometimes I feel like we're in the same place
at the wrong time.
Speaker 2: But but I don't know.
Speaker 3: In this day and age, I think they try to
divide us so much. I think we need to unite
and be defiant to it all. So that's kind of
how we try to create a community around our band.
Speaker 1: Almost with so many cities I mean it's big, large,
small in the middle. Everywhere everybody seems to have a
festival going on. Are you guys getting hooked up to
that vibe?
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're hitting some of the smaller than medium sized festivals.
Like there's one coming up in June that's called Rock
the River out in Oklahoma. There's rock They're all something
Rock on the Hill and Handover Pencil in June.
Speaker 2: And there's a couple other InCD in Amp.
Speaker 3: It's like a tattoo in uh band Festival in York, PA.
So like, yeah, we're hitting some of those small to
medium sized festivals and just kind of trying to build
this thing from the ground up.
Speaker 1: But isn't that business wise a great place to shake
hands and kiss babies with other bands so that you
can work together.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and especially when we play out of town, because
you meet other bands, you can bring them to your
town first show, they'll maybe bring you back to their town.
So playing playing those festivals, you get to meet a
lot of people, and you're right, you get to network
all day long with a lot of different people.
Speaker 1: That's what I loved about the Warpfest is the fact
that even as fans, we got to go in there
and we got to work it and to sit and
well even radio people, I'm not gonna lie to you,
we would sneak into that and get some of those
new songs and do whatever we could to help promote
those bands, and then you know put you know, create
shows on the radio just so we could feature it.
And then people on the in the big companies wouldn't
go Now we didn't approve that, Well you did too,
because this is a new new show for a new music.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean we got especially in this day and age,
we all got to work together to rise up, whether
it's bands, photographers, podcasters, radio stations.
Speaker 2: Online radio, you know, like I welcome it all.
Speaker 3: Let's all work together and find a way to help
each other out.
Speaker 1: What is that one thing that you take on stage
with you that has got to be there no matter what,
Because I mean there's certain I have, I have certain
objects even in this studio, if they're not here, I'm
I'm not as comfortable as I want to be. I
got to have my stuff.
Speaker 2: I usually wear most of it. I have a lot
of like good luck charms.
Speaker 3: That so I have a lot on it. Like it
almost looks ridiculous. But like I have a raccoon town.
I have all sorts of like special like handkerchiefs and
whatever hanging off my you know, belt loop. And then
I always have a I usually have a truck or
hat strapped in my back. So because when I get
off stage, I want to put this mop under a
hat usually, so I have it.
Speaker 2: I have it at they're ready. Yeah.
Speaker 1: But but but you wear it well though, that mop,
as you would call it, that's what my mom would
call and I would say, because I wear my hair.
It's in the middle of my back. It's like, this
is my signature. And when I look at your videos
and I see you, I'm going, it's the same damn
thing you're you're wearing that you know, your image and
you know on that head.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I we're not a band that's gonna
wear costumes or everything like that. But I mean, if
you see me in public, I'm probably wearing black jeans
and a black cutoff T shirt, even to the grocery store,
you know what I mean. So I'm not that different
between states. But you definitely have to have that. I mean,
it's a visual thing live music, so you gotta people
want to see what you look like. And you know,
I imitate some of the people I grew up, you know.
Speaker 2: Watching and listening to.
Speaker 3: And I'm sure people you know will take something from me,
maybe someday.
Speaker 2: Who knows. I had to.
Speaker 1: I had to jump onto my book of Totem Animals here, dude,
and I looked up the raccoon and let's see if
this is you. You are goal oriented. It is a
time of indulging your curiosity with an open ended exp
is that you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, God, that does sound It's funny. I never looked
that up. That's the goal oriented part too.
Speaker 3: Like I mean I kind of act as the CLOSEI
manager of the band locally. I mean we have John
our manager from Curtain Call, but like locally, I I
usually am the one that kind of sets up the shows,
books of shows, yeah, ranges the recording. So I'm definitely
more the business school oriented person of the band.
Speaker 2: So that's funny that you look that.
Speaker 1: Up, Oh my god, because it goes on to say
that you know, it pays close attention to signs and omens.
That suggests that you're getting the message and you're connecting
to people. Oh my god, dude, You've got the right
thing on stage with you.
Speaker 2: That's so fun.
Speaker 3: Now I'm never taking it off arrow you just say, hey,
you hammered it home?
Speaker 2: Right there?
Speaker 1: Where can people go to find out more about you?
And are we going to see you here in the
South because we like to rock down here, dude.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Man.
Speaker 3: We were just in Greenville, South Carolina and North Carolina
just late last year. And I love the Carolinas, man,
I love. I mean, I vacation a lot down in
South Carolina, but I love going to the South.
Speaker 2: Really.
Speaker 3: The Virginia all the way down through Florida is just
a fun area. There's a lot of cool festivals. We
missed it this year. We were at Daytona Bike festal
last year. But the easiest, yeah, the easiest place to
find us is our website, which is defiantpa dot com.
Again Defiant Pa because there was another Defiant somewhere in Scandinavia,
I think at one point when we first started, so
we had to differentiate.
Speaker 2: But you can go there. You find links to all.
Speaker 3: Of our social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, all of
our streaming like Spotify, Apple Music. Everything can be found
right there. Music videos, anything you want to see is
right on our website.
Speaker 2: The store.
Speaker 1: Do you suggest that the fans create those playlists, because
even as a mobile entertainer, everybody's given me their their
their playlist, and it's like, and I always want to
make sure that I want to make sure that the
bands know that that, hey, we've just put you on
our pl Is that still a good thing, because I
know Spotify can be kind of itchy when it comes to,
you know, making sure you guys get your side of
the deal.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's not even so.
Speaker 3: I mean we all know what Spotify is, and the
financial end of it for bands is not great unless
you're up in the you know, slip knot, you know, stratosphere.
But like, uh, it's still important because I can go
on our artists side of it and see how many
people have a the exit on the on a playlist
right now, and how many people follow those playlists. So
it's like one of those things like in the old days,
we would like, you know, burn tapes and hand them
out to each other and like say share this with
your friend, go give a copy to them.
Speaker 2: Now it's like that's Spotify playlist.
Speaker 3: That's where you make your mixtapes and you and you
can share with a lot more people a lot faster.
So it's to get a name heard and a song heard,
and you know, when you're not a.
Speaker 2: Legacy act, I do think it's important.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, because I love that when Alexi will do that.
Alex will play a song for me and go, Alexa,
who is this and then she says it says the name,
and I'll go, shit, that's exactly who it is, my god. So,
I mean, I love it that you know that you're
part of that mix as well, when when you hit
a song and then all of a sudden, you guys
become part of that. You know, when you're looking listening
for metal or any type of energy that's gonna you know,
have that live vibe to it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean we can fit with a lot of
different bands, so I mean it's a good place to be.
Speaker 2: I mean, so add us to your playlists out there, please.
Speaker 1: Wow. Well, you got to come back to this show
anytime in the future, dude, you know this door is
going to be wide open for you.
Speaker 3: Did I appreciate this was a great interview. I really
enjoyed talking to you. And hey, we'll come back for
the next single.
Speaker 1: All right, man, Will you be brilliant today?
Speaker 2: Okay, all right, man, be safe out there.