In short
Eric Hutchinson discusses building a long-lasting music career outside the “big machine” path, songwriting evolution toward more up-tempo, and parenting in New York City—using live culture (jazz/ballet) to make life exciting for his daughter.
Guest backgrounds
Eric Hutchinson is a D.C.-area raised singer-songwriter and multi-style recording artist. He grew up in Tacoma Park, Maryland in a music-focused family (mother taught/quiz-style Beatles knowledge; grandmother was a professional violin/viola player). Dave Barnes and Jon McLaughlin host Dadville; they reference Eric’s prior interviews and music.
Key claims
Sounds Like This was his first official record and became a top independent iTunes charting album. His song “Rock and Roll” went gold and hit #1 in Australia. He made multiple self-funded albums before breaking through, learning studio work takes years. He credits a Maverick Records check (after a label contract fell apart) for funding his breakthrough, and used MySpace to assemble professional collaborators (mixer Neil Pogue). As a parent, he emphasizes exposing Zelda to culture and humanity, not replicating his own upbringing.
Notable examples
Color Me Bad opening for Paul Abdul; first stage singing “Johnny B. Goode”; Emerson College showcase with Justin Willman and Dan Levy; Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade float; Empire State Building; taking Zelda to a Monday jazz concert; subway encounter with a person smoking crack.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOWelcoming Eric Hutchinson
0:45 to 6:00
The hosts introduce Eric Hutchinson, discussing his career and music.
“Maybe one of our first guests to ever be early.”
Music Creativity and Challenges
6:00 to 12:00
Discussion on the challenges of evolving as an artist while staying true to oneself.
“Can I just say, Eric, I listened to your newest song, Anything You Need.”
Early Musical Influences
12:00 to 14:01
Eric shares his early musical influences and experiences growing up.
“You're like, he was, I think he's the goat of that.”
Childhood Musical Influences
14:01 to 18:15
Explore how parental musical preferences shape childhood interests.
“presidents, but I can tell you, everyone thinks this is John, but that's actually George singing it, and he did it on a day's rest.”
The Journey to Music Career
18:30 to 28:05
Discover Eric Hutchinson's path from childhood music to his first gigs.
“My brother went to jazz drumming school, and now he's an urban planner.”
Music Inspiration and Career Turning Points
28:05 to 29:35
Discover how Eric Hutchnison found inspiration in music and navigated early career challenges.
“And you did that record on your own, right?”
Recording Journey and Collaboration
29:35 to 32:00
Explore Eric's journey in creating his album and the collaboration process with industry professionals.
“Thank you for all the kind words there, Dave.”
Life in New York City as a Parent
32:00 to 33:55
Hear about the unique experiences of raising a child in New York City from Eric's perspective.
“been in new york for 19 years this month wow are you gonna do anything to celebrate 19, no, 20.”
Cultural Experiences with Kids
33:55 to 36:38
Learn about the cultural experiences Eric aims to share with his daughter in the city.
“And the only person on the entire tour who could wake him up for the show was his son, who was like, I don't know, 12 or something like that.”
Discussing Life Lessons and Humanity
36:38 to 39:28
Eric shares insights on the lessons of humanity found in urban life and its impact on children.
“And I was like, this is all I ever wanted from being a parent in New York is like getting access to that culture and to doing things.”
Show all 19 chapters
Music Education and Influences
39:28 to 42:02
Discover how Eric introduces music to his daughter and navigates her preferences and interests.
“And as we know, it's hard because you don't want to push too much.”
Summer Wardrobe Realizations
42:02 to 44:10
The hosts discuss how summer exposes wardrobe shortcomings and the need for better clothing choices.
“listening to k-pop demon hunters like the rest of us and uh you know apathe by rose and bruno mars and there's a lot of stuff I've learned to like through her loving it, you know?”
Summer Wardrobe Realizations
44:12 to 44:38
The hosts discuss how summer exposes wardrobe shortcomings and the need for better clothing choices.
The Artistic Community of Nashville
44:38 to 47:19
Eric shares insights about raising children in a creative environment filled with artists.
“But I've gotten to go to a lot of cool stuff.”
The Viability of Creative Careers
47:20 to 48:39
Discussion around the perception and encouragement of creative careers among children today.
Highs and Lows of Eric's Career
48:40 to 52:22
Eric recounts both the highs and lows of his music career, sharing a memorable performance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“So those are both the best and the worst.”
Live Performance Mishaps
52:23 to 55:58
Eric shares a humorous story about a major mishap during a live performance in Norway.
“The stakes are higher for TV, and they're recording it.”
Eric's Speed Round and Personal Insights
56:06 to 1:02:34
Eric shares his thoughts on memorable songs and experiences in his career.
“And she literally live was going, all right, three, two.”
Eric's Musical Journey and Podcast
1:02:34 to 1:04:24
Eric discusses his podcast 'Songversations' and the value of sharing music experiences.
“which you guys are going to be guests on, and I talk to people about their favorite music, and it's been a lot of fun to do and it's been taking up a lot of my creativity and my fun times, you know?”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Dadville.
0:05Jon McLaughlin:Hi, I'm Dave Barnes. And I'm Jon McLaughlin. And welcome to Dadville. Dadville is a podcast where we talk about life, love, and the pursuit of awesome dadding. It's funny thoughts and deep talks. So please, enjoy your time here in Dadville and enjoy this episode with Eric Hutchinson.
0:31Jon McLaughlin:That's the sound of zero sugar, 200 milligrams of caffeine, and the power to burn body fat. Storm, energy for life. Storm Energy Blend helps boost metabolism, which in combination with exercise and a healthy diet helps burn fat. This product alone does not produce weight loss. Individual results may vary. And you know what? Maybe one of our first guests to ever be early. Wow. Look at that. Because he is a professional. He's a man who's been in the biz for years. he knows what he's doing he knows what he's doing and he knows what you want him to be doing I'm loving this pod so far and he knows what he's done oh sorry Dave oh shoot scroll scroll scroll how are you guys with a career starting in the mid 1900s nope that's the wrong one too that's also the wrong one isn't that true how's it going guys Eric I feel like we need a little more juice on your mic.
1:30Jon McLaughlin:Do you feel that, Dave? More juice on the mic. One, I selfishly want it. Is that something I need to change? And then two, I know the people want it. You're saying that too well. I think we are as juiced as we can be on our side. Okay, let's try this. I think a little more juice I would give it to you. Am I maxing out too much, though? That's all right? No, no, no. You are right. Man, I heard your Andy Roddick interview, and I love John was just trying to play so cool just trying to play it so cool he was don't let him know how badly i want to be yeah you did not succeed at that he was great john would the ultimate end of that been uh him saying oh john by the way i'm gonna be in nashville for a couple days let me know if you want to hit around some i'm looking for somebody hit some balls with that would have been it look i did guys i don't i don't ever do this not not that i have like a chance every day to do something like this but you know he and i were emailing setting up the interview and i did when i sent the like hey that was so much fun man thanks so much for coming on i did say i was like hey next time you're in nashville and you need somebody some someone to hit with there you go what'd he say he wrote back and he was like how'd you get this email What podcast are you talking about?
2:52Jon McLaughlin:No, he was very kind. I mean, he's a super nice guy. He was very nice and very well-spoken and obviously a smart dude. Yeah. Can I tell you? I mean, Eric, you're a tennis fan. How does it make you feel when you hear him? The fact that you know he is friends with Roger Federer. I shared it with my wife, of course, that episode. I thought it was cool to hear him talk. kind of you know i feel like he was talking about the sport but you were getting you were getting the angles of like the real day-to-day life stuff as opposed to just hearing you know velocity and you know yeah that's i thought it was cool to i like a velocity is the number one we don't want to hear about one analytic we weren't getting into like sports yeah like the gut strings versus you know synthetic yeah yeah can i tell you what i want to hear about is about e hutch i thought I thought this was a recap episode of the Andy Roddick episode.
3:48What if, hold on, Eric, what if... That's actually kind of a... What if we started doing episodes where we would invite people on unbeknownst to them to recap the previous episode? I mean, I actually think this is a cool idea for a podcast. It's like a waterfall where each person, you interview the person about the last episode and you keep going. It's actually a great idea. I'm copywriting that one right here. It's an amazing idea that if it worked and you could convince people like, Hey, just so you know, when you come on, we're actually not going to talk about you. We're going to listen to the last one.
4:16We're going to talk about someone else. All three of us will be talking about someone else. Eric, I'm going to read your brag sheet here. So buckle up. Here we go. Today on Dadville, we've got our friend Eric Hutchinson with us. Eric's one of those artists who's had this really unique run. He's built a career in a way that wasn't the typical big machine path. His album sounds like this. I just want to small aside, say, one of the greatest records that came out in that decade. and I will stand by that. I've told you this before, Eric. It is a phenomenal one.
4:46Jon McLaughlin:Everybody make a note at the end of this episode. Start your journey with that record. Turn this off right now. Go listen to Sounds Like This. Eric, absolutely not. And now let's get back to Roddick. What I thought was funny. Okay, I've got to start that sentence over because I had a muddle tantrum about how much I love that record. His album, Sounds Like This, actually became one of the highest charting independent records on iTunes back when that really meant something. and not long after that, he had a little song called Rock and Roll that went on to gold, hit number one in Australia and basically still follows him around to this day in a good way.
5:21Since then, he's put out a ton of music across a bunch of different styles, toured all over the world, played all the late night shows and quietly built one of those careers that just lasts and as we know, is maybe the hardest thing to do. He's also found creative ways to keep things fresh, whether that's starting a podcast, creating a music-based card game, which I have right here. It's a great game. Song Versations. Oh, gosh. I just broke it, too. That was the last copy. We'll need a new one. We're just continuing to write and release new music, including his latest single, Anything You Need.
5:52And somewhere in the middle of all that, he's also a husband and a dad, which we're obviously going to get into because that tends to reframe everything. Eric, we are thrilled you're finally on, Dad. So happy to be here. Can I just say, Eric,
6:03Jon McLaughlin:I listened to your newest song, Anything You Need. It's awesome. Featuring Tess Henley. She's a great piano player. I was going to say, isn't that, yeah. And singer. Let me just say in general, too, to back up what John just said. Eric, I mean this, and I hope I texted you this before, but you're just a great writer and artist. Thank you. You've not texted me this enough, I don't think. Well, I will. I will. Just text it right now, Dave. I want to email Andy first. I appreciate it. You're making me feel great. And that was a great intro. You guys, what are you doing? Gemini, ChatGPT. What is that one from?
6:38Stop, stop. Don't do that. Don't do that. The thing that I appreciate you that I think is such a, I think it is the highest compliment I can give someone, I really do, is that you continue to make music that's just really good. And that sounds so simple. And it sounds like anybody listening that doesn't do what we do for a living, you think, well, yeah, that's what you guys do. But it's really hard to continue to make good music for 20, 30 years. I appreciate that. And I would tag on that I think the hard part is not only making music that I can live with, but also that's somehow different than the music I already made.
7:11And as both of you know, that becomes the challenge the older I get is, how do I make a song that doesn't sound like my other songs? That's right. But I think that's, and I wouldn't say this to many people, Eric, I think that is one of your superpowers. It is something that I love so much about music is when it comes up, because it always hits my release radar, it always hits any of my Discovery Weekly stuff. I'm always like yes it's like something a little different it's a little like each time it keeps me interested in ways that I'm like oh this is cool which is a tricky thing
7:49Jon McLaughlin:it's tricky because it's like the fans want not that we should not be going off of what anyone else wants us to be writing of course but it's like the fans love that first album great okay now you make another album and they're like well it's too different or it's too there's a handful of bands that have managed to make the same music over and over and nobody cares the coming to mind are ACDC yeah and Credence Clearwater Revival yeah ACDC puts out a new album and you're like it's not gonna I know exactly what it's gonna be there's not gonna be any surprises in here they're gonna sing about rocking and it's gonna be it's gonna be enrolling yeah I'm trying to think of any other bands like that or stuff because you've either got one or two sides you gotta shift and adapt you know like the greatest my favorite artists do or you gotta just find your lane and just triple down you know we don't have to talk about this but I just want to address this I'm on a text thread with a good friend who I won't name because I don't want to implicate him anyway but we kind of debate this and he's an artist We kind of debate this because he would say with his artistry, it is about drilling deep and singularly.
9:12And he does it to incredible ability. I would argue it's about being ADD and doing everything you can. So going as wide as you can. And we have this wonderful, and he makes amazing points about what he feels. And I feel like I try to debate well from my side. But I definitely feel like you do. I'm like, I'm way too ADD. I like way too much music. I've had some swing and misses that I do have shame around in songs I've released because I was like, I want to do something like that. And I didn't have enough people that love me around me going like, that's up. But that's cool. Like you made the record that was like, this is my Laurel Canyon record pretty much.
9:50Right. And stuff. And it's like, I find that stuff exciting. But I think a lot of artists would be. Yeah. Well, I just feel compelled by that. I feel like, and John, I feel like you're the same way. It's like, what are the things that are inspiring me now? How do I sort of write that music? And again, to bring it back to you, I think you've, I can tell you do that. And I love that about your music. That's something that always, if an album of yours pops up, I'm like, I want to hear that because I know it's going to be something that I'm like, I wonder what he's into and how that's being manifested in music as opposed to something that's like, it's going to be great.
10:22I kind of know what it is. Yeah. I mean, that really comes from all of my musical heroes, songwriting heroes, Stevie Wonder, the Beatles Paul Simon yeah and people can check him out they're up and comers but like those those are people that they would change their music but it was always still them you know and Stevie Wonder is like incredible at that he's like I'm gonna do a salsa song but it's still so Stevie Wonder I mean maybe better than anyone else yeah ever you know who okay then we're gonna get back to you Eric because this is you haven't even started this isn't your podcast yet oh got it sorry because this is what it's about but I will say I think the goats of that in my opinion and we're just this is gonna be a little pop out John what's the music what's the song we had yesterday
11:07Jon McLaughlin:I need to reference it I tried to make up a real time here we go something's coming yeah it was like that okay so here's gonna be the two minute version of that because I want to hear y 'alls I would say the goats of that are Stevie Paul Simon Billy Joel I almost said Billy Joel so thank you for saying it to me and I know I'm leaving some people out, but I think that would be on my Mount Rushmore for that skill set. Ace of bass. Ace of, thank you. The back half of ABBA. Credence's third record. No, but I think as solo artists, those are the guys that I think have, that just really did that well.
11:49It was like, they really kind of, every record you're like, oh, that's a little different than the last one. Obviously with Paul Simon in his kind of like other country music, you know? Like when he would, and then Billy was always like that. He was like, oh, you like Allentown? How about Uptown Girl? Are you like that? How about She's Always a Woman? How about New York State of Mind? How about Tell Her About It? You're like, he was, I think he's the goat of that. I think it's, yeah, it's like changing the radio dial in the same album though, and you're getting a little bit of everything. But, and actually Billy Joel is the person that I saw that.
12:20He's like, I always try and take different inspirations and I know it's going to still come out through my filter and it's going to sound like me. And that was, I've held on to that. So, so, so watch this. This is how watch, watch me podcast. Watch me name it. If you go back to Eric as a kid. So what get, what gets you walk us through? Like what gets you to like being that kid? Like what, what is it like growing? John was supposed to ask you this, but I was too impatient. I'm excited. I just had a Pepsi. It's all happening. But can you give the summary of your life? You're from D.C., we know. But what's the house like?
12:59What's the music you're listening to? When did you get into it? What makes, what's the little soup? I'm so sorry, John. I love you. I'm so sorry. I can't believe John didn't ask this question. It's kind of classic John. Yeah, I grew up in Tacoma Park, Maryland, which is like a little hippie town right on the side. like you could walk into Washington, D.C. It was like this little hippie. It was Bernie Bros before Bernie Bros was a thing. And so there was all this influence of the big city and the capital of the free world, Washington, D.C., but it was a very protected suburban thing. And my parents loved music, and my mom used to quiz me on which Beatle was singing which song.
13:41No way. Did you guys get something like that or no? I mean, I would love to get into this later, but how much music education are you doing with your kids, and where do you draw the line? Because my mom went too far. She made me into a freak that can name every singer of every Beatles song, and that's what I know. I don't know any U.S. presidents, but I can tell you, everyone thinks this is John, but that's actually George singing it, and he did it on a day's rest.
14:08Jon McLaughlin:So were you into it when you were a kid, when she's doing that? Well, I think... Or were you like, Mom, I want to listen to, you know, Color Me Bad? I did both. God, that was actually my first concert. Color Me Bad opening for Paul Abdul. Paul Abdul opening, yeah. Oh, Paul Abdul. So loved Color Me Bad. Two Ds in that. But I think I was interested, you know, I think when you're young enough, everything your parents are enthusiastic about seems interesting, you know? And so, like, my mom... Well, you're either interested or you're... repulse yes yeah repulse is maybe too hard of a word but you're you're either gonna be like ostensibly like i don't want to take a minute just john i want to i want to lean in there is everything everything okay at home is it it's fine i don't know i feel like i don't know i just want to tickle that a little bit right now no i mean i i agree like i think i can name i don't know anything i couldn't fix a car to save my life but i can name almost every single car really road tell you what model it is like a rain man type because because mike mclaughlin is in the cars and i think yeah subconsciously i was just like oh this okay so this is important this is my theory about parenting and that you know like uh i just think everything you're exposed to as a kid that your parents liked yes you don't like it at the time but it eventually becomes the things that you think of with your parents so i'm like all the music i'm playing in the house for my daughter i'm like you are saying you hate this now but one day i will die yeah and you will be like i love this color me bad record it reminds me of my dad oh my gosh i think there's a lot of that growing up i want to sex you up boy my dad just immediately or choice of words uh okay so mom was way into the and my dad and and uh dad as well my my Grandmother was a professional violin and viola player.
16:07And I didn't really think about this stuff, but my grandmother was like, I'll pay for piano lessons. And so I just grew up in a very art-interested house and family where songwriters were important. My mom knew who wrote the songs, you know? And that was pointed out early. And like, you know what? This is a Carole King song, actually, even though whoever's singing it. And so early on, I was like... Oh, man. Dave. Yeah. Hey. Yeah. Hey, just real quick. Okay. I'm not mad that when I wake up in my bedroom, you're here, but at some point, do you see an end to it?
16:45Jon McLaughlin:Can I not be excited about our friendship? Okay. No, that's fine. That's good. Jeez. When you say it that way, I feel like it. I've been waiting for two hours to ask you this. Okay. Do you know that feeling when you wake up at like 3 a.m. and your sheets are like a wetsuit? What? Look, I'm going to be honest with you, and she's not going to like this, but I've always blamed Annie. I blamed my mattress. I blamed global warming, John. All valid suspects. But you know what's funny? What? Turns out it was my bedding the whole time. Enter Bowling Branch. I knew it. God, we're such best friends. You know, their summer sheets are 100 % organic.
17:21Jon McLaughlin:100, John? Yeah, 100. Wow. Woven specifically for airflow, Dave. Okay, tell me more. Not that fake cooling technology that's just a marketing word on a polyester bag. Right. Bunch of liars. The cooling is structural, John. Structural. I don't even know if you know this. It's literally how the cotton is woven, which sounds like something a sleep scientist would say. And I'm not one. Right. But I respect that. I respect that. Yeah. You know, 94 % of customers say that the sheets actually get softer with every wash. Mine get crunchier, actually. Oh, okay. So this was a needed upgrade. Yeah, great.
17:55Jon McLaughlin:Crunchy sheets are not the best, John. Not the best. I'm not the smartest guy. No. You don't want them. So listen, sleep cooler this summer with Bowlin Branch during their annual summer event for a limited time. That means the time is limited. Yes. Get 20 % off site-wide at bowlinbranch.com slash dadville with the code dadville. Hurry up, guys. That's Bowlin Branch, B-O-L-L-A-N-D-B-R-A-N-C-H.com slash dadville. Code dadville to take 20 % off. I'm going to say it again. Say it again. Bowlinbranch.com slash dadville. Code dadville. Exclusions do apply. No more wetsuit sheets. Never again.
19:00It didn't stick to everybody. My brother went to jazz drumming school, and now he's an urban planner. He's not an urban planner. He gets mad when I say he's an urban planner. He's in planning urban things. Yeah.
19:15Jon McLaughlin:Careful there. Very, very busy. But, you know, it stuck to me. That is a group you don't want to get riled at. It stuck to me, and I just wanted to do music, and I was always interested. Oh, Cole Porter wrote this song, and that's what's exciting is, where did the song come from who thought of the idea yeah yeah wow yeah wow and but that was but that was a yeah that's what were they doing what do they do professionally my dad was um like a building contractor when i was growing up he was doing you know additions to houses or building houses or redoing kitchens and things like that so he had his own small business which i often think i kind of ended up emulating because there's a story of like i went to go visit him at work one day and you know he's kind of walking around the job site telling everyone what to do and I said dad you don't do anything you just tell everyone else what to do and there's times where I'm in the recording studio with a bunch of musicians or I'm like I have emulated this you know I don't do anything I just tell everyone else what to play and my mom was a was a teacher and taught at the elementary school that I went to and yeah you know it was we were living in DC and there was a lot of you know a lot of excitement about entertainment but it didn't feel like this is an avenue to explore as a profession you know I didn't I didn't know any people who were professional artists growing up there wasn't yeah so you didn't feel like your parents were like pushing you toward it as a profession.
20:48No, I've always said my parents did the opposite. Like, they didn't push me towards anything. And it was fully like, I want to do this. And to the point of like, you know, sometimes I'd be like, you want to come to this thing? And then they'd be like, oh, I guess we could have come to that, I guess. I don't know. There was a lot of kids. I was the oldest of four. They were just trying to keep up with everything. But I think it made me really self-sufficient um and when i actually got into my career it was like i'm just gonna drive myself to this gig that's four hours away and i'm gonna see what happens there and there wasn't um there wasn't a lot of hand holding so it made me it made me just i was doing it because i wanted to do it
21:30Jon McLaughlin:yeah what was the first gig you remember your very first gig uh the first time i got on stage was uh I was at a family friend's 40th birthday party, and they had like a cover band. And I got up on stage and sang Johnny B. Good by Chuck Berry, who I loved and still love. Did you play the solo? No, I didn't play anything. I just stood there. I think I have a broken arm in the video, like a cast on. It's cool. It's cool. Super cool. You broke your arm before you got on stage. I was rocking out so hard. And then I had the cast put on during the solo. if you don't break a bone during that song you're not doing it um but yeah and then i started playing guitar later and my brother and i would do shows at this little uh pizza place that had like an open mic night and um i started just kind of getting into it and um but again it wasn't like i mean maybe the back of my head i was like sure i'm gonna be on the cover of rolling stone this is awesome but it just felt like such a wild far away thing to try to like make that your career and I'm assuming in DC there's not I mean was there much of a scene for that I mean did you have friends doing their bands that were around the time you're like okay yeah I mean something DC has a proud music tradition they were always uh defending but um no I mean there was there was music and stuff and we you know it was we got all the big tours and everything it was a bit it was a major place it didn't feel like we were missing out on stuff but but was there like a local scene at all like did you have friends a little bit in school i found it really hard to start a band though because in high school everyone's so bad that like you know like unquote myself included but it's really hard to find a decent drummer in high school you know and i was just like i think i'd rather just do this on my own for now until we can until everyone gets their chops up a little bit here yeah so I've so what was what was the first gig where it was like okay Eric this is an Eric Hutchinson set I play guitar I've written these songs what was what was that first set um probably I was going to Emerson College in Boston and I did like a show it was a kind of a showcase with me and a magician named Justin Willman and a comedian named Dan Levy and uh I got up there and was like my I had my 30 minutes of like I'm a I'm a songwriter and I'm gonna sing my songs, you know, and I just got really hooked.
24:03How did the gig go? Do you remember? I remember being cool work. I still have the poster so I don't want to totally forget about it But I remember being cool and it was like oh this is a it was kind of a variety show because you got some magic You got some comedy. You got whatever I was serving and But the main thing I remember is that back then my songs were very sad and a lot of kind of, I'm not going to say Elliott Smith, but they were sad, slow songs. And I remember early on being like, oh, it's not a lot of fun to play slow music live for me. And so I almost immediately started writing more peppy songs.
24:42Yeah. Well, I mean, so how long did it take to get to Sounds Like This? Because that wasn't your first record. Sounds like this was my first official record. So between that show I was just describing and my first album Sounds Like This, I probably made three or four albums that I dumped a lot of my own money into that for various reasons never materialized. And it's just, I always say that being in the recording studio is like, that's a musical instrument of its own, you know? And I didn't know that. I just thought you go into the studio, you record what you do, and you come out. But it takes years, obviously, you guys know this.
25:17It takes years of learning how to be comfortable in the studio and how to perform the same way you would if there was a lot of people there. And I didn't understand that. And so I kept making all these records that didn't work and were really frustrating. Yeah.
25:34Jon McLaughlin:Yeah, it's tough to get the essence of a live sound if that's what you're going for on a record. there's a couple bands i know of that have recorded albums with a live audience but nobody speaks or does anything so it's like they're using it as like a studio environment but you're playing off that that live energy which is an interesting idea yeah you know it's funny when i think of which makes so much sense what you said about experiencing you know the live thing and john i wonder if you felt this way but like one of the things that i really clocked early on when i was like um making my first couple records and then I would go play with people is sort of like the, the, um, up tempo-ness of their music.
26:22Because like, you know, you do, you do a couple of shows and realize like, oh man, like this stuff is cool on recordings, but it's not really rocking the mic. And so I, I mean, I have a lot of memories of this record actually, and doing shows, a couple of shows back then, but I do remember thinking like, man, this would be a fun record to play live. that your music was like. And I had friends that I kind of almost thought that way. I'd be like, God, he's got a record to be really fun. Man, she's got it in that band. That would be, because I was writing so many mids that I was like, God. And that's why my second record, I was like, this has to be almost exclusively up-tempo because I can't do another record.
27:01But it feels like, sounds like this is so like. That was the first two years of my career was what you're describing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I feel like that one I heard and was like,
27:10Jon McLaughlin:oh man he figured this out real quick he knew like okay i mean it's just so it's so fun thank you yeah it's it's a peppy it's a peppy thing um and so one last question about that i mean my memory of that record was that it sort of felt like it was like a missile it was like a rocket to the moon uh and and for very good reasons because it was just so unbelievably hooky um almost like you sold your soul kind of hooky i remember being like is it too well it just was again my context for so much of my music um and the friends that i was around is it was it i hope this makes sense it was like there wasn't as much of an eye on commerciality like my i feel like my peers the people i was kind of looking at at that time it was much more kind of like like heartfelt mid heavy kind of like love songy and and um and I just remember hearing the record and being like oh man this guy's doing something different than I'm doing it's much more singable immediately it's fun it's kind of festive it doesn't it's not super heavy-handed and it was and so it was really good for me because I think I heard that record and was like one you don't skip a song on the record which really annoyed me but two it was it just felt almost like the antithesis to what i was doing at the time in a really good way and like a really challenging like oh there's another way to think about this because again so many of my friends here in nashville that were coming up at that time there was this kind of like and i think some of it may have been because it was nashville and it's such a songwriter town it was like you wanted to be able to sort of play a song at the bluebird and sort of have people be like oh man just so you know oh that song crushed me it's crushed yeah it's just but but you realize those are great in moments but they don't it's tricky to build a career out of them and so i think you know that record i mean i can't tell you how many times i listened to it but it was such a fun thing for me to hear and be like oh yeah what does it look like to think a little more like singability still have really well crafted songs because the songs are incredible but they're just not that there's a easiness to them.
29:25You want to listen to it again. Hit it again. Let's listen to it again.
29:27Jon McLaughlin:And you did that record on your own, right? And then a label came along and like licensed it. Yes, that's right. Thank you for all the kind words there, Dave. I appreciate that. Yeah, I made that record as kind of a last ditch effort of being a musician. And I'd been signed to a record label that fell apart. And like I said, I kept trying to make these albums and it was not happening. and I got this check from Maverick Records, which was at one point owned by Madonna. They pretty much said, well, we realize we have to pay you to cancel your contract. So I got a little bit of money, and I was thinking, all right, I can maybe, you know, I'm 25.
Read the full transcript
30:07I had my shot at the label. It didn't happen. Maybe I should take this, put a down payment on a house, and, you know, move on to whatever's next. But I just, at that point, had been doing music really my whole life, and I had still never managed to create an album, any proof of what I had done, really, you know? And I just felt like I couldn't go to the next phase without trying it one more time. And so, yeah, I found some professional folks via MySpace back then and convinced them to work with me and made this record.
30:41Jon McLaughlin:Like you would have records that you liked and you would just look up, like, who played bass on this? Some of that stuff. And you'd reach out to them on MySpace. Some of that, yeah, it was the beginning of that world where you could actually just slide up in the DMs and connect to people. Right, right. And one of the guys that said yes to that was this mixer named Neil Pogue, who at the time was incredible and actually has just continued to be incredible. But he, at the time, he'd mixed like Outkast and he'd done TLC and Citizen Cope and a bunch of stuff that I really liked. And I convinced him.
31:12Citizen Cope. And it was fun actually because I showed up. He's like, I need the money in cash. he's like I don't have cash I was like but I'll give you a check he goes okay and then I sat there with him in the studio his wife took the check to the bank and we just waited and then he got a phone call that the check cleared he goes turns around alright let's start mixing this thing and I was like wow this guy's been on the wrong side of a couple mixing sessions here so I was just so excited that this professional was willing to do it but then since then he does Tyler the creator and uh he just did the new olivia rodrigo song and he does so much stuff and so i'm always proud to be one tiny little yeah dot in that yeah well because it made me feel like oh this is real i'm a real musician yeah right yeah all right well so now you live in new york city you've been in new york for 19 years this month wow are you gonna do anything to celebrate
32:15Jon McLaughlin:19, no, 20. I'm going to go to the top of the Empire State Building. Empire State Building, of course. Free show. As all the locals do on the morning. Just wait, just wait, keep waiting. But you're also, you and your wife, Jill, you have a daughter, Zelda, who is... Seven and a half. Do you have a nickname for her? No, actually. I'm not really a nickname guy, and I've tried a feud on her, and she's like, no. just so like some of our family friends will call her that and she's like okay with it but yeah like I don't I don't really have a nickname that I like yeah it's just Zelda I was like we okay has she played the game she's sort of familiar with it there's a movie version coming out so I don't know what's gonna happen but um okay we'll see but uh I don't know we like the name I am fascinated and I mean you know I'm from Indiana Dave's from Mississippi like you're fascinated how cars work city right walk us through that you and the stoplights so is electricity gas now
33:26Jon McLaughlin:i mean as i say it i'm like i i know this sounds this sounds puzzlingly makes me sound like a simpleton but but i've always felt this way i'm like whenever i'm in in manhattan and i'm like it's the morning and I'm walking to get my coffee and you know I've done my two-hour prayer time and my run and you know Central Park and I see kids with their backpacks walking to school with their parents I'm just fascinated by it and I feel the same way when we have been down in Australia and in the morning you know we're jet lagged and we're walking in the morning and there there are kids who have they've just been surfing for an hour and a half and now they're they're putting their backpacks on about to go to school it's like this is so foreign to me raising kids growing up in manhattan like what is that like what has that been like for the past seven and a half years raising a child well i get up we both do a line of coke me and my daughter yeah okay here we usually am already pretty hungover from studio 54 the night before No, but honestly, this is what we all assume This is such a common question to me It's from everybody It's people who are like, how do you live in New York City?
34:42And I never thought I would live here I was like, New York's cool, but like It's kind of crazy, and like, you don't live there You go there for like 24 hours to see a Broadway show And then you get out of there and stay in Jersey somewhere So I'm surprised to be here I never expected to have a child here But I would say yeah I mean everything feels normal to you but I think also my wife and I are very interested in like there's no right way to grow up and there's interesting I mean this is a tough one guys I don't know how you this is a person that's stuck in my head but it's probably not a great person to want to raise your child but I read Keith Richards book and he's talking about how his son would come on tour with him but Keith was so out of his mind that he would just like fall asleep or pass out or whatever or take his big nap.
35:29And the only person on the entire tour who could wake him up for the show was his son, who was like, I don't know, 12 or something like that. And I'm like, that sounds like a lot of life to live for that kid. That sounds kind of cool and interesting and different. I mean, I'd have to talk to him. I'm ready to read his son's book. Yeah, I mean, his son's book, right? Yeah, Keith Richards. Yeah, yeah, waking up dad. So I've been interested from the beginning of like, what are things that we can do to make life exciting and different for our daughter? And I think a lot of people want to raise their kid exactly how they were raised, which I think is kind of impossible to begin with.
36:11It's like my parents were from a different time. I'm from a different time. Lots of the world has changed. So I think kind of early on I was like, it doesn't have to look like what I did. but I'm really into like what did I think it would look like to have a kid here so like just recently we took Zelda to a jazz show which was like as soon as I found out we were having a kid I was like this is what I want to do why else stay in New York City and spend all of your money if it's not to take the kid to a jazz concert you know so we went there was a 6pm show such a common line of thinking it was a 6pm show and I was like I was so happy You know, we took her and she had a ginger ale and we listened to this jazz concert on a Monday night.
36:58And I was like, this is all I ever wanted from being a parent in New York is like getting access to that culture and to doing things. And I was like, you can go in tomorrow's elder. We're going to go in late. And you can say I went to a jazz concert. And she's like, do I have to say that? Did she love it? She was into it. What if I don't want to tell you? I mean, I love, I mean, it's really wild to see, to hear how music is played one way for your whole life. And then to go see somebody make jazz music is insane. Yeah. Insane. Like first note, you looked at me like, I think you brought us to the wrong place.
37:37But I love that idea of like how broad the rules can be, you know?
37:45Jon McLaughlin:And any given night where you guys live, you could walk to an amazing performance of whatever, fill in the blank. If you want to go see some ballet, you could walk to go see some ballet. We're literally going to a ballet show this Saturday that I got. It's a family matinee show, and I got tickets for it. I'm excited for that one, and I think it'll be a little shorter, a little more family-friendly. But I really enjoy that kind of stuff. I did a fair amount of it growing up in D.C., going to the Smithsonian or different places like that. My grandparents and my parents took me to a lot of cultural things.
38:23So I think that's the biggest plus to being here. Yeah. But also, you know, true story. We were on the subway the other day with a person smoking crack. That was not a high point of New York. we in his defense the car was supposed to get to the station and it got delayed for a minute so he was planning to get right off and start smoking the crack but he had to wait and he's like guys I hate to do this yeah but I know there's a couple others on here too and let's just do it I know you've been waiting ma 'am you look like let's just do it and so everyone's looking over at this guy this is for the table and that's the kind of stuff where people are like oh my god you're crazy to have your child there but i look at it as there's a lot of humanity and there's a lot of lessons to be learned and you know there's a especially since the pandemic there's people that live on the streets near us that we see going about our business and my daughter my daughter and i have had a lot of conversations about i think i say you know like think how that would feel to not sleep in your bed but to sleep on the on the ground over there um and i think you know we've we've tried to talk about the the vast amount of humanity there is because i think that's what new york has to offer the most is there's nowhere to hide and when you're when you're everywhere else in the world you can get in your car you can get in your house you can go in the backyard but like in new york if you're on the street and you have to pee you're just suddenly peeing on the street because there's nowhere else to do it yeah so come to new york everybody all that to say book your flight
40:07Jon McLaughlin:now what's what do you feel like is your i mean maybe maybe it's what you just said you're taking zelda to all these different shows and um but do you feel like you have your version of like your mom was showing you like the beatles and like this is george is singing this one right now you Paul's playing bass. What is your version of that? So much. I'm starting to make some headway. And as we know, it's hard because you don't want to push too much. Because she knows the Beatles, but she despises them to spite me. Right? So I have to. You should tell them they suck. Yeah, I did that once, actually.
40:42And she actually didn't like it. She was like, no, Daddy, you like the Beatles. It was like, yeah, she was like, it kind of flipped her world upside down. I was like, you know what? You're kind of right. They're kind of boring. Kind of old sounding. but I try to play a lot of stuff she's really interested on her own even of like can I see a picture of this person like we spend a lot of time talking about it and then like for whatever reason Van Morrison is really stuck in her head I casually mentioned that she was like we looked at a picture of him and then she's like I was like he's actually kind of not supposed to be very nice and she was really like which is this is something I'm interested to teach her is because I definitely grew up idolizing every artist and musician being like they're all the best they're the best people yeah yeah right and that kind of really stuck with her right away that like van morrison's not nice that's what she really remembers and then she'll be like is he nice to kids and i'm like he might be nice to kids i don't know he's just you're like are you planning a meeting well she's like well if i met him would he be nice you know because people are usually nice to kids um and so we spend a lot of time she'll be like i want to see this person and then it's also visual now she'll be like i want to see this person can i see a picture of them when they were younger can i see a picture of when they were older is this person still alive or not because i play a lot of old music and it's shocking how many of the people are not alive anymore which is a bummer yeah but that being said we're mainly listening to k-pop demon hunters like the rest of us and uh you know apathe by rose and bruno mars and there's a lot of stuff I've learned to like through her loving it, you know?
42:23Yeah, isn't that funny how that works? Hey, Dave. Hey, I know you guys are eating. I just want to, can I sing a quick chorus, a chorus idea for you? Okay. Well, no, actually, I won't. You want to wait? Yeah.
42:36Jon McLaughlin:Yeah, you got stage fright all the time. Yeah, no, shoot. Okay, listen, in the meantime, in the meantime, can we talk about how summer reveals everything about a man's wardrobe? Oh, great subject change. That is brutal. You know, you open the closet and it's just sad, wrinkled stuff, which we're all heading that way, John, me and you. At some point, we will be sad, wrinkled stuff. But right now, what you don't want is sad, wrinkled stuff. And a shirt you've had since 2014. I know. Back when we had bootcut jeans. Oh, gross. Look, that's why we've been wearing quints. European linen pants and shirts.
43:08Jon McLaughlin:Breathable. Comfortable. Yes. The kind of thing that you throw on and immediately feel like you have your life together. I have clothes on, John. I actively forget. I will think, am I, as the Lord made me, in the middle of this Kroger, just to look down and realize that's just how comfortable I am? Okay? I can't help that. I can't. And I'm not going to apologize. Okay. Well, listen, starting at$34. No. That's right. $34. And their tees are soft enough to wear all day, plus lightweight cotton sweaters for when the summer nights actually cool down. which in Nashville means like $3.19 maybe$3.19 yeah but still still worth it everything at Quince is priced 50 to 80 % less than similar brands because they work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middleman yeah get out of here middleman yeah you're paying for the quality not the logo you know words of affirmation are my love language but you know the other thing that is that's my love language that's your love language yeah so make your summer wardrobe easier Dave and everyone listening go to Quince.com slash dadville for free shipping on your order and 365 day return john can i interrupt please is it available in canada i was just about to say that it's available in canada north that's so great that's q u i n c e.com slash dadville for free shipping and 365 day returns that's almost every day of the year john quince.com slash dadville
44:38Jon McLaughlin:well and then you you've got uh chill works at saturday night live yeah yeah and so you know when whoever you know when bruno mars comes in and plays saturday night live are you guys like well we could get zelda in there see some of her yeah we haven't she hasn't gone she's been at the set before but i think you have to be 16 or something to be at the at the tapings so you do Oh, you do? That's interesting, yeah. But I've gotten to go to a lot of cool stuff. I mean, that's another thing I talked to Zelda about. I'm like, it's kind of crazy. It's like me and Mommy are both artists, and it's really hard to do that, both of us be professionals.
45:19Yeah. And we just do a lot of work, and we love what we do. And, you know, the older I get, the less I take that for granted and just feel I think earlier in my life I was like, I'm doing well because I'm working hard and I'm talented. And now I think the total opposite. I'm like, I just got, I mean, I stuck around long enough, but I got some incredible breaks. And I sometimes have to really, it's harder and harder for me to make sense of it as I get older. You know, one of the things that, John and I talk about this a good bit, but one of the things that I love about being in Nashville, which isn't New York, obviously, but it's just the artist community that our kids, I really think it's of all the things that I'm proud of giving them and me parenting them is that they are so exposed to artists and creative people on such a highly, on such a regular basis.
46:19There's just a high frequency of people that they see me interacting with, that they interact with, that are artists, that are creatives. You know, I've got friends who are photographers, so it's not just, you know, relegated to music, but I love that for them. I just, and I look at y 'all's life and I'm like, you know, Zelda someday to be able to go, man, that's a trip now that I can actually clock what was going on there. Like dad was making music and he was around this and I got to see him play. Mom was working on the set designing, you know, working with clothes and outfits and wardrobe and she interacted with all these.
46:52It's such a cool, I just think that's such a gift. and like I said, when I was growing up, I didn't know any professional artists, you know, I just knew, I mean, to me, they were all just moms and dads. I didn't know what they did. But I wasn't watching someone and being like, oh, that's a path. That's a thing. And Jill and I do talk about that a lot of modeling your passion and how do you approach stuff. Well, that it makes it doable, I think, is what's so fascinating. And again, that's probably what I think the biggest gift to them is, is not just that it's a normal thing, not just that they see like you know when john comes over and everything and he'll sit in our front room play piano and he owes me money uh and you know but they'll go oh john's in there playing so that's normal to them which is such a gift i think i love that so much but also and maybe maybe as much as that that they go hey a very viable thing to do in your life is to create and as you're saying this i'm thinking about you know there's a lot of people talking about the nepo babies out there you know children of successful people that get a leg up but i think one of the biggest things they get is what you're saying is that they see it and they're like that is viable like it is possible to do this like i'm seeing my parent do this or my you know yeah uncle or whoever it is that you're like i can actually do this because i think most of what i got when i started trying to do this was this is not going to work eric you're not going to be a professional musician and we're trying to protect you from that so like why don't you go get a job at the Discovery Channel that was the real one Discovery Channel opened I did not see that coming as the option that they were about to say it's a great option people love disco people on the inside really watch a lot of it yeah that's insider baseball there
48:47Jon McLaughlin:so you say you know you've had a lot of great breaks and opportunities and all that i i would love to hear because you have had such a long career i'd love to hear like what what is a a high high moment and then i would love to hear like a disastrous awesome like my favorite thing is like sure stay on stage disasters that make for great well you know john and i've been doing some shows the last couple years together. Oh, boy, you just got luped in. So those are both the best and the worst. No, we've been doing a lot of shows, and I've been saying just like I feel like we lived incredibly parallel careers.
49:31Like the points are just the same. We kind of approached it the same way, and there's these high moments, and there's these embarrassing moments, and everything in between. But what should I do first, the worst moment or the best moment? let's start with the best all right um i don't i mean they get that question a lot of like when did you know you made it which you're always kind of looking over your shoulder being like still still kind of waiting for that moment yeah yeah but i got to play in the macy's thanksgiving day parade and wow that was a which has to be so fun when you live in new york it was yeah because for us you know it's a whole thing it's like a pilgrimage but you're like yeah it was like One of the only times I've stayed in New York for Thanksgiving.
50:18I'm usually traveling to family and stuff. So we stayed. And then, no joke, the end of the night, we went to the top of the Empire State Building because there was no line or anything. We were like, let's just do it. So we had a very New York day. But yes, it was a thing that I just was really aware in the moment. Like, how did I get here? What's happening? Why is this happening? Which is also the question that everyone was yelling at me. I was the very first float. I was on the huge turkey. And I was the very first float, and it had like someone was carrying my name with a banner on it, and everyone was just yelling, who are you?
50:53Why are you first? And also on the same float was celebrity chef Alton Brown, and people were, I've been around a fair amount of celebrities. I've never seen somebody, people more excited than talking to celebrity chef Alton Brown on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone's just yelling at him like, what's on the menu tonight? You making gravy? Oh, my gosh. Yeah, exactly. But just being in there was really, it was a very cool thing. And, yes, as a person who lives in New York, there's a moment where, like, they bring the whole parade through Times Square, but there's no people in the Times Square part. And then it makes a left, I think, or a right onto 6th Avenue, and that's where you see all the people.
51:38So it was kind of, we had a moment where I was just on this huge turkey going through the middle of empty Times Square. It was the opposite of like the New Year's Eve ball drop or something. I was like, I get this thing just to myself for one minute. And that was pretty cool. That's unique. Which feels like a theater. Yeah, it was weird. And that's kind of the career, right? You're like, when I get there, I bet I'm riding on a huge turkey.
52:05Jon McLaughlin:Riding on a turkey through deserted Times Square. And then the next day you're on a flight to Poughkeepsie. But yeah, that just felt like, huh, this is a moment. This is something I grew up watching, and what am I doing here?
52:22One of my worst moments was also a TV event. The stakes are higher for TV, and they're recording it. Yeah, it's nerve-wracking. My song Rock and Roll actually went number one in Norway. Yeah. Big, yeah, Norway. So I got a call and the record label that I didn't even know I had, Norway, Warner Brothers called me and said, hey, this song is like heating up. We need you over here right away. We've lined up a bunch of stuff. And I was like, great. So I flew over there. I get there and they're like, we're putting you on this TV show. that's like a live show at night. Everybody watches it. I'm like, it sounds like The Tonight Show.
53:11They're like, it's nothing like The Tonight Show. It's more like the... Already, I'm already getting like, I'm a little clenched in my body as you're going, this is what's happening. Everybody does this. Everybody does this. It's the best. It's massive. It was pretty much like The Today Show. It was like people in chairs talking about the events of the day, but it's live, but it was during prime time. and just like a crazy amount of Norwegians would watch it. And so I get there and I'm just by myself and I'm going to play the song Solo Acoustic and I get up there, the mic and the camera, they're on.
53:49I look in the camera. I just look at all those Norwegians watching at home and I just crush my solo acoustic version of rock and roll. Yes, yes. and then I'm packing up the guitar afterwards and the producer comes over and she says we are so sorry Eric and I'm like what do you mean so sorry you're like no it's pronounced yeah exactly and she's like oh you sounded great but we did just realize we forgot to plug your guitar in while you were playing so um you just did like acapella version to Norwegians everywhere and I was thinking about this because john you wouldn't have this problem like you'd know if the piano was being heard or not you know you wouldn't you wouldn't be like i guess you could actually it could not happen somehow you could have some headphones on with a keyboard or something and so yeah i'd played this song to all these people and just really embarrassed myself and um the next day i had a bunch of interviews lined up and everybody was just like dude what what's your problem why you can't play the guitar are you an idiot you know and and or cut to the kid that's in line at the records like no it was just him and he was just seeing this the vocals there was no that would be a cool story if it was like and then it went viral and it was like my uh yeah tom's diner you know and that's what everybody wanted your tom's diner but it was just a humbling moment but then they felt really bad and so they actually invited me back the next night and i played the song again and they plugged me in so i actually got not oh my god it wasn't double exposure but it was like one and a half but we forgot about but we're just gonna put them together and that's a good idea no but that's cool that they invited never happen in america though you know if it happened on tonight show they'd be like sorry we we got stuff booked for like six months here we're not gonna be able to fit it back in yeah yeah yeah um but yeah they invited me back and and uh but it was uh it's just one that sticks out it wasn't like i was being embarrassed in front of people it was more like embarrassed yeah yeah yeah a retroactive right yeah i had a um uh i had i i mean we all have terrible my version of that with a live show was that a woman was reading my bio from wikipedia and one of my friends Oh, wow.
56:12And she literally live was going, all right, three, two. She's like, hey, welcome. We're here with Dave Barnes, who, amongst other things, was the lead singer of Chicago for his spiel. And I was like, no, that's not. She's like, oh, okay. Toured with Van Halen. I was like, nope, didn't do that. And she just literally chucked the card and was like, well, Dave, tell us about you. I was like, oh, my gosh. Yeah, that's one of the things about Wikipedia. If it's in there, it's fact. Yeah, of course it is. it is. Yeah. Eric, it's time for the speed round. And I know everything has been building toward this.
56:46You have been sitting there thinking. I've been thinking, let's speed it up. You've been nimble. Your brain has been nimble. And now we ask that it's nimble for four more questions. Number one, if you could play one song of yours for the whole world, one song, everybody's like, you got four minutes. What are you going to sing? But it's just the vocals. No good job. Yeah. I'm gonna have to do a double sound check. One of my songs, that's a good question, because I've spent a lot of time, I'm unspeeding it up, but I've spent a lot of time being like, what am I putting out into the world? If someone hears my music, what is the point of this?
57:27I mean, I have a song called Tell the World that is pretty straightforward, but it is just about possibility and connection. And I think if I got one shot, you know, they're putting me to close out the Olympics or something, you know, like, I think I got to go with that one. That's a good one. I love that. That's great.
57:47Jon McLaughlin:Okay. Next one is the old, if you could have dinner with four people, who would they be? Yeah. I think you're supposed to say famous people, but I'd be too nervous the whole time. And so, like, I think I'd just pick four of my really good friends, you know, like, I just want to like have the best time and you know that's one of the cool things about traveling around is we have friends all over the place but like I never get them all together so like it'd be great to just be like these are four people that I would just love to like really dig in with and because I'm going to be too nervous with Jerry Seinfeld you know it's not going to go how I wanted I'm going to feel badly afterwards so I'm going with uh four four good buddies.
58:32That's a great answer. Yeah. For non-blind. Yes, Linda Perry. Okay, so we'll put Linda Perry. I love that. We haven't had that as an answer yet. Let me ask, this is a small addendum, but you just made me think of this. Now, I know with Jill, this is a cheat, so you can't answer with the Saturday Night Live world, but like, on average, how many random famous people do you see in New York? Like, you're just grabbing a coffee. You said Seinfeld made me think of that. like a couple of year or is it like hey you know once a month there's somebody kind of on the sidewalk it's certainly it's on the street doing stuff pretty often there's a couple random people that you're like if you haven't seen alec baldwin walking around the east village do you even live in new york like that guy is he is there with his kids at gymnastics like everybody else wow so i feel like i see some people but yes i do live a kind of a weird life where we just end up in weird positions where you're like, oh, I've seen this person.
59:31And I'm still no better at talking to any of them than I was when I started. I'm just like, you make music good. We like music. Make music together. Okay, three. What's the most random story from the beginning of your career?
59:53I just think I played, like you guys, I played a lot of college shows. a lot of college shows which I was very lucky it was how I made my money they paid better than club gigs and stuff but they were really really hit or miss it was usually nine times out of ten soul crushing and I just think about so many places I ended up yeah NACA I just ended up in so many weird places early on playing my songs to nobody being like is this what it is like you know And this is one particular one I just think of so much where I was like playing like a, it was like a coffee shop on campus somewhere. And they just, their main thing was like they made smoothies though.
1:00:34And the smoothie machine was like right next to me on stage. And it was just. Outside there. It was just like constant. And I was like, this is not okay.
1:00:47Jon McLaughlin:Blending your soul with the smoothie. But I do think all that stuff I ended up using later on when I ended up in a random bad radio station playing my song for seven uninterested radio people. I was like, I know how to play for seven uninterested people. This is my specialty. There's no blender going. This is better. Except there's one guy over there just making the noise. Carl, it feels a little aggressive. A little aggressive. Okay. If you wrote a musical about being a dad, what would the title of the musical be? Really, I love this. I've never asked this question like this before. This is just for you.
1:01:26Jon McLaughlin:This is the final question, too, so it's really in big. Someone used this phrase recently, and I liked this one. I don't know who came up with this one, but long days, short years. I think for me, parenting is like I'm just always trying to get to the next part of like, okay, we're getting through this thing, and we've got to be there for that, and then dinner, and then we gotta get him to bed and we gotta get him up. That stuff is draining and silly. But then, I don't know if this thing's interesting for me. My daughter's starting to be old enough where she doesn't remember things that we did that we just very clearly remember doing with her and that's strange to be like, that just happened though.
1:02:08And then I see the picture and it's like, no, that was four years ago. So I think there's lots to be written about how we're all doing our best and it's just kind of flying by. Yeah. Yep. That's great. You're the man. Hey, anything you want to tell people about this coming up? I've got a podcast called Songversations. If you're like, boy, I loved listening to this interview and I wish this guy had something weekly that I could listen to, I've got a podcast called Songversations, which you guys are going to be guests on, and I talk to people about their favorite music, and it's been a lot of fun to do and it's been taking up a lot of my creativity and my fun times, you know?
1:02:49And I'm in awe of both of you. I've been hitting up John with like, how does it work? You know, when do you get the plaques in the room? Like, when do you get the plaques? Is it episode nine? Because that's where I'm at right now.
1:03:02Jon McLaughlin:We started with plaques. That's smart. Then we started. That's manifesting. I will say, I listened to your episode with, you mentioned them earlier, or is it Justin Willman? Yeah, Willman. It's great. I love, I mean, I love the card game. That's what we're calling it. Yeah, it started as a card game. It's just listening with, I just find there's so little time to listen with people anymore, you know? And I feel like growing up, it was like driving around in the car with my friend. And it wasn't just like, let's listen to this song. It was like, this part right here is so cool. And I feel like all the music I get recommended these days is like a Spotify link text or something, which is fine.
1:03:44It's like, I'll listen to it, but it's not like a person being like... It's almost impossible to have someone look you in the eye and tell you they love this song and explain why and then not feel closer to it. So it's a lot of fun. I just love talking music, and it's been a lot of fun to do. And then you just put a new song out. Got some new music coming out, and that'll be out later this year, the album. and, you know, I'm just plugging along, just trying to do things that feel fun and exciting.
1:04:18Jon McLaughlin:Like this podcast. Well, this was fun and exciting, Eric. Yeah, yeah. Thanks for coming on, man. Yeah, thanks so much. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Dead film.
1:04:33Yeah.
1:04:35Jon McLaughlin:Capture your favorite summer feeling with Pandora Jewelry. Discover a collection inspired by the sunshine, freedom, and moments that make the season unforgettable. From sun-kissed metals to personalized pieces, ready to be engraved with your summer mantra. Each design moves with you, from beach days to golden nights and every memory in between. Shop Pandora Jewelry's new summer collection in-store or online at pandora.net and let your summer unfold. Hi, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Are you looking for a beach read this summer? may I suggest your big wireless bill. It's got suspense, mystery, a slightly flat emotional arc, and a shocking twist where you realize you've been overpaying the entire time.
1:05:17Jon McLaughlin:Fortunately, though, Mint's story is better. Every plan,$15 a month, even unlimited. That's it. Happy ending. Zero tears. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms.
From the publisher
Musician Eric Hutchinson makes history on Dadville by doing the impossible: arriving early. From the massive independent success of his album Sounds Like This to the "soul-crushing" reality of playing early college gigs next to loud smoothie machines, Hutchinson joins Dave Barnes and Jon McLaughlin for a deep dive into a career built outside the typical "big machine" path.
Now a New York City dad, Eric discusses the "vast amount of humanity" found in raising his daughter, Zelda—navigating everything from sophisticated Monday night jazz shows to encounters with subway crack smokers. It is a candid conversation about the importance of modeling passion for your kids, the creative challenge of making music that stays fresh after twenty years, and the bittersweet reality of the fatherhood musical: "Long Days, Short Years."
All Things Eric Hutchinson: https://www.erichutchinson.com/
Join us: http://dadville.substack.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices