ON CHRISTMAS RECORDS, Christmas in Tahoe & “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”:

“I’ve wanted to make a Christmas record for years, but you don’t really know what kind of record to make, and then when Michael Bublé comes out and has such mad success, but it’s SO…horns and Sinatra and big band, and Martina, it sounds so big and beautiful and pro… but that’s not really what we were shooting for, that’s not  who we are. We’re more of a "sit around in a hotel room” kind of band anyway. And so that vibe - REALLY picking songs was a big part of it. So we tried to stay away from songs that typically - the songs that Martina and Michael Bublé really crushed and did such amazing jobs with. But this was one that was hard to keep away from. I think it’s my best vocal on the record. And so we wanted to play an acoustic version of it. Are you ready for this Jerry?

- Pat Monahan talking to Jerry Becker on the Patcast Podcast about to perform their acoustic version of “have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

ON MAKING “Christmas in Tahoe” :

We recorded the whole thing very fast.

It was three days. I think you guys recorded it in three days.

Well, it was a little bit more like five. We did a few a day, didn’t we?

Right. And then you had to do overdubs.

We did overdubs in like two days, but the whole thing…we were in Seattle..

5-10 days? And then it probably took four days to sing it.

But Goodmanson, this guy, I don’t know if you guys - do some research on John. I mean, his records, the Nada Surf stuff, all the Sleater-Kinney, he’s the most unlikely guy we could have called to make this record.  

Well, Cody Votolato had just made a record with him, with his band - he was like “Hey man,” because I was like “I’m trying to find someone to produce the Christmas record,” he was like “let me think about that.” And I would have not thought Cody was going to think so deep in the indie vibe of Seattle, but man, John was the perfect guy, the vibe was great…thanks everybody for making the record a success. Thank you for the incredible Fillmore sellout. Very touching. We’re going to make sure we have some special moments we can all remember. I think the Fillmore show, even if you don’t have tickets, it’s going to stream on Amazon so people can be a part of it at home. And we’ll make a big deal of it.

Anyway, thanks for two and a half great years of the Patcast, and listening.

- Pat Monahan talking to Jerry Becker on episode 116 of the Patcast Podcast

ON THE ORIGIN OF 311

Before it was cool to, like, mix different genres of music together, to go do a tour, like Wiz Khalifa and Fallout Boy, you did a tour with Snoop, right?

Yeah.

And you guys played amphitheaters all over the country. Did it work?

Absolutely. It worked great. Our crowd loves all kinds of different music. And his people seemed to like us. But in 1995, we went straight from the H.O.R.D.E. tour, which was the hippie tour with Blues Traveler and everybody, to the Cypress Hill Temples of Boom Tour, to the Warped Tour. So it was from hippie jam, to rap, to punk.

But it somehow fits…because you guys fit in all of that stuff. I think if you guys listen to radio hits of 311, but you’d be surprised - your music’s pretty hard. A lot of it is. Is that your guitar playing?

Yeah, I play guitar, and Tim’s our lead guitarist. I do a lot of writing, and I guess I’m always wanting to keep it kind of balanced with more chill vibes, but the hard stuff is great live, and that’s what our core loves.

It’s true- you have a lot of guy followers, right? It’s like sports, man. It’s the way to go. Girls are more into Train. And then they force their boyfriends and shit to come to the shows. But my friends in high school were huge 311 fans. And I think it’s because you stuck to the rock. As much as there’s reggae and jazz aspects of what you guys do. So 1988 is when you guys started?

Technically 1989. A show on June 10th. We opened for Fugazi.

Wow. You opened for who?

A great launch, to play for a packed…

Where was that? LA?

Omaha. We’re from Omaha. I moved to LA before then, and floundered a bit. I worked at the Guitar Center on Sunset, together with the type of people that were hanging out there, and it just wasn’t really happening. I realized that the best people I could form a band with were my high school buddies.

Were you the typical Guitar Center Employee?

No…I mean, it was still the time of hair metal, but there was this new scene, of Jane’s Addiction and Chili Peppers and Fishbone, so that’s what I was into.

And you were into that new thing that was coming?

Yeah. So it didn’t really work there for me. So I moved back to Omaha and started 311.

- Nick Hexum of 311 talks to Pat Monahan of Train on the Patcast Podcast.

ON SONGWRITING

It’s such a bizarre thing, being a songwriter. Like, I always feel bad for most of them, because very few can go the distance. But then you don’t feel bad for Max Martin, because he’s got a whole garage filled with 18-year-old guys that have the greatest hooks in the world.

- Pat Monahan of Train talking to Nick Hexum on the Patcast Podcast.

Supermarket sheet cake with frosting flowers versus Ketel One and soda: Sean Nelson and John Goodmanson on this week’s episode. 

When John Goodmanson talks about crossing paths with Colin Meloy of The Decemberists on this week’s episode. 

ON THE SEATTLE SCENE:

How has the Seattle scene changed from when - we’re all similar ages, I’m 46, you’re 47, you’re 42 - and so we’re similar enough in age that there was a scene here, and what’s it like today, as opposed to what it was back then?

The main thing that’s changed about the Seattle scene is that we’re all in our forties now.

But is there still a bubbling new sound, or a new vibe, or what’s gonna come out of here that we don’t know about yet?

I don’t know. I think…that the bands that are coming up out of Seattle are - the thing is that bands and regions all have equal access to the world now. So it’s harder to have a sound.

Although when you go out to see music, and the music you have access to is local, then you can be influenced similarly by similar sounds, but you’re right, that is the only way.

Friend’s bands, it’s who you’re on the bill with that’s an influence, and it’s not necessarily musical. But actually, there’s a lot of pop-y punk bands in Seattle…right now it seems like the center of gravity has shifted to hip-hop in Seattle. There’s a lot of energy in that world, and people are starting to pay attention to it…but I don’t feel like an authority because I thought hip-hop was the greatest in like, 1987.

- Pat Monahan of Train talks to Sean Nelson of Harvey Danger and Seattle’s The Stranger on this week’s episode of the Patcast

ON THE SEATTLE SCENE

With Seattle, was it at the same time Nirvana was really just becoming the biggest thing in the world, but then there was like a new scene of music that was like “Oh, Nirvana’s whatever”?

It was like, “this is what’s new and cool now.” You know? This underground scene happening.

But what was it?

It was still connected with those guys! I went and saw the very first Foo Fighters show, you know? At a really small club I used to play at all the time called The Velvet Elvis. And that was just down near Pioneer Square.

I don’t know the Velvet Elvis.

Yeah, it’s been gone for a long time now…it was a landmark club.

How many people could fit there? As many as the Crocodile?

No, this place held like 100 people. It was tiny. And it was where all the bands that were starting out, and were kind of the hip and cool up-and-coming bands would go play, and so of course, that’s why Foo Fighters wanted to do their first show there.

And when you saw the Foo Fighters there, were you like “This shit’s special”?

Two of the members from Sunny Day Real Estate - which is another band that I saw at the Velvet Elvis, and I saw it before they got signed to Sub Pop, and before they became big and famous…they were a big influence on the Seattle underground scene back then, when I was just getting involved with things, so the drummer and the bass player from Sunny Day Real Estate were the original drummer and bass player for the Foo Fighters. William Goldsmith on drums, and Nate Mandel on bass. And then Nate is still in the Foo Fighters, William went back to Sunny Day, and he’s doing other projects now, but who plays drums for the Foo Fighters now?

Tyler, he’s like the best looking guy in the music business. He’s really a special drummer too.

I mean, you HAVE to be to play drums for Dave Grohl! And you know, I think Minus the Bear toured with Foo Fighters - did you recently get to do a hang out with those guys…those are funny guys, right?

- Rocky Votolato talks with Pat Monahan on this week’s episode 114 of the Patcast Podcast

ON FIRST GUITARS

My mom bought me a used acoustic in a pawnshop in Houston, Texas. And that’s where I first started playing guitar. My older brother, Sonny, played, I had some friends around in Houston that played, and David, my mom’s brother, used to come over to the house and play Beatles covers, and Dylan covers, on the acoustic guitar. So that’s how I was first exposed to live music, and I knew that it just looked cool, and it was something I was drawn to. But yeah, when I got my first guitar, I wanted to be cool like my older brother, then maybe girls will like me in high school.

- Rocky Votolato talks with Pat Monahan on this week’s episode 114 of the Patcast Podcast

ON FAMILY

Cody gave me a brief description of your family life in Texas…your father was the head of a biker gang?

That sounds correct!

I mean, that sounds like in the 80’s and 90’s, you’re messing with a bad cat, and then when you hang out with you and Cody, you’re like, such gentle spirits. You know? But knowing that your father was the head of a biker gang made me think maybe you guys are holding shivs, or you’re really nice, but at any moment you could get cut.

Yeah…it is kinda what’s going on! Hahaha! And everybody who’s been on tour with me long enough has seen some of that come out! And they’re always like “Wow, I can’t believe that, you’re such a nice guy, you seem like you’ve got it all together, but you’ve got a Texas Temper hidden underneath that…” for all of us. Like, all the Votolatos, we carry that.

Texas Temper, I like that. That would be a good band name!

I’ll use that for The Votolato family band! I’ve been wanting to start a band with the whole family for a while. I think it’s a great idea…

- Rocky Votolato talks with Pat Monahan about his family background on this week’s episode 114 of the Patcast Podcast