We were. Already talking about Oh right right right right the weather the weather we were talking about the weather and we talk about the weather when we can't think of anything else to talk about but what if we can't think of anything else to talk about because weather is so interesting. And of course now it's it's scary interesting much of the time but even when it's being it's good old pretty fossil fuels self it's it's pretty riveting it's pretty riveting ask any songwriter poet or person born in San Diego like I don't know me. Maybe I'm talking about the weather right now because I was born in San Diego where there is no weather. There is no weather. I mean that's whether it's quote unquote good weather that's all which might account for my obsession with the seasons in New York San Diego has one season and it's called may. Which admittedly sounds pretty good right now right and I love may but I want months like August and Brewery. To remind me how awesome a is. Which also reminds me of one of the best slash worst pranks to which I have ever been subjected it happened shortly after I moved to New York 14 years ago things were looking up things were looking up I found an apartment in the East Village formed a band called Punch Brothers started Q. Started dating a classical violinist fancy. Got a new flip phone to pray fer c. . A little too fancy turns out for those were the days of customizable ring back tone. Do you remember those. So not what you hear when someone calls you but what they hear before you pick up or goes to voice mail the default should be. RINGBACK RINGBACK RINGBACK RINGBACK But for some godforsaken reason my fancy new flip phone came with a customizable ring back tone and that default ring back tone was. Now I love spring from of all these 4 seasons as much as the next guy. But you'll recall I just started dating a classical violinist and if there's one piece of music a classical violinist doesn't need to hear more than she already does it's. It's the same as if I called her and what I heard was. When I got to band practice. That day I asked the most technologically savvy punch brother who goes by the unlikely name of pickles for help he messed with the phone for 30 seconds and handed it back saying he'd restored it to its factory settings never have or trust a banjo player. The adored violinist called me later that day and when I picked up she would think she was laughing what's up I asked and she replied Well I guess it's better than the Vivaldi. Going to call you right back. Critter. Can you call me why you are standing right next to me. I think pickles just ruined my life again. Just call me. 3 5 3 1 and what. 2 5 4 do you suppose critter and I heard coming through the speaker on his flip phone as we waited for me to pick up. Something. I. See it all comes back to the weather. Which leads us. To this week's brand new song about 2 high profile strangers offering from insomnia who meet on their respective ends of the telegraph wire late at night during the civil war. Desperate to forge a connection but neither is quite sure how they could talk about the weather well. Reason to. Know the sleepless night but how best to set the hook how. Want to send. Not. Rendering this another on clean slate and cover. Stamps in the air the fire of this rift between Americans won't help me make a friend what to say. What to send what are the chances of this meeting I'll let you get away. With me through the dead of night to the bank of your father. Father tell me what to say to make a. Loser. Thank you so much. How did the weather where you was. Oh yes I have probably heard so much kind of a welcome or that if I didn't see all the way I need to feel to Chris Sullivan from the phone we improvised the Broadway phenomenon freestyle love supreme group. Thank you so very much what an honor to be here this evening we are freestyle love supre. And we do a completely improvised freestyle rap show every night on Broadway. And yeah so naturally we were brought here to talk about the weather which you might be thinking what's the connection here and if there is a correlation is it spurious at best thank you for asking no one what we would like to answer is that there is sometimes movements inside of your brain there are these clouds sometimes that will affect us in our creativity and that actually can be traced to a very specific part of your brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex it's almost like that dark cloud that follows you around and says Why did you wear that shirt so many flowers. Or I bet you they're spinach in your teeth they had. Team he downstairs why would you eat that so that cloud sometimes can really get in our way and what we do is we try to activate a different part of our brain where there might be a couple more Sundogs that beam through those. Called the medial lateral prefrontal cortex it gets really activated when you do this stuff when you make up things on the spot and that's exactly what we are about to do and we need your help to do it because one of the most important parts of that is a beat. It's . Where you are be boxer. And so we're going to ask you to do right now let's go on a bit of a deep boxing's journey with shockwave which she's going to do something we think will hopefully send you out with a new skills. That you can take home tonight it's it's it's it's it's cuts boots cuts it's not easy right so everybody here repeat after me the word boots. Now say the word cuts now take the word boot and instead of saying the word say more of the sounds of it kept that close of book to the boom and then that deep for the boots and that ts and at the end is actually the 2nd sound you can make in which that high hat sound so everybody say boots again now let's say more with that percussive be that deep and that percussive at the end so ready 123. Now the word cuts is the same kind of idea that heart our hearts the sound is the really percussive part we're getting the snare drum so you want to hit that sound that's really hard to do that right now. Yeah and that get that really that deep that grunt sound. That's the size of the drum right there and that yes we've already done it so we've already mastered it so now I'm the kind of 3 everybody say the word cuts 123 it's awesome now I would say both those words one after another I'll start boots cuts boots cuts gone now turn them into sounds it's. It's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's. Are your old enough to be foxes now as well because the clouds lifting inside of your brain wonderful and now we're going to take it the next step we're going to add in and am see so in order to do that we need to be inspired by you so we're going to get some words that are weather related so how about you shout out words when you hear the word Weather What does it make you think I just shout out where to start writing something down. Rainbows. Precipitation radar. Ok great hold on with saying I'm going to call for certain areas because I'm hearing a lot and I love it all but just give me one second Ok what do you say boxes those are some fancy seats give us some fancy words what you got what is it. Frost by nice one Ok rainbow radar press what else. Sleeps each is just. A what was that. Each day nice gap each day and then how about over in the front over here young person do you have something for us. Whether cumulonimbus. God. Oh yeah well I think we have a good smattering of words Yeah all right I'm going to throw a couple of these words to young niece who was on Mike too she would have to instantaneously these words over the beats provide a post shockwave young nice your 1st words is. All right. Take. Down one of the. Limitless that's right in the stratosphere just you're just. Going to whether you like it. Whether you like it or not it's not going to. Talk. To you. Thank you thank you very much thank you. Thank you which brings us to our local break and I'd like to take this opportunity to beam a sun drenched Oh I I to our friends and my family and listening on k p b s in San Diego where it is currently 63 degrees and get this raining. Fellow Instead the Eggins rejoice but remember you only get 12 inches of rain a year most so enjoy responsibly when I was little and my parents wanted to experience a little winter weather we would often drive about 45 minutes away to Julian California famous for apples and little dustings of snow very festive I was thinking about those trips when I wrote this next song which is actually the very 1st song I ever wrote specifically for the show quite a long time out ago it's about a kid from Julianne learning to are yearning to go to the Panama California exposition at beautiful bow bow a park in downtown San Diego circa 1915. Fact . Not her. Morning me. Listening to life for me. a segment we call oh. No my God. Thank you Chris I'm behalf of Live From here I continue my journey across the country shining a light on all the good people in America this week while I was making my way back home after Thanksgiving I ran smack into several snow storms after many days spent with a large family and very tight quarters I decided to follow the path of least resistance bailed on my plans and my family and headed off to sunny San Diego. If you are looking for a place with consistent weather that you can trust in the North Pole is in your style head to San Diego there's a great mix of people in this city which gives it enough spark and creativity to keep things exciting and while I enjoy the Gaslamp District in downtown my time was short so I bought some flip flops from c.v.s. Put on some shades and took my paste the white body to an ocean front bar in Coron Otto. The bartender was a dude named Daniel he retired from the military after a career at Camp Pendleton and never left if San Diego had a mascot it would be Daniel he smelled like the ocean had hand skin like an old baseball glove and sun bleached hair that look like dreadlocks made of seaweed. He mixed our drinks sufficiently but definitely on his own schedule. I ordered a pina colada but instead he gave me a signature rum drink served in a mug in the shape of a fish I didn't resist. He said in other parts of the country people have goals like money and careers but I don't get it I'm not going to spend all my days see. Even up money so I can give it to a nursing home my retirement plan is to surf until I eventually fall off my board and sink to the bottom of the sea like Sponge Bob drunk pants. Have you ever found yourself drinking a mystery drink out of a blowfish and started to think that maybe you've been living your life all wrong. I have. What is it about going on vacation the makes us want to turn our lives upside down a couple my ties in a lounge chair and you start wondering what it would cost to live there. I guess vacation represents a possible escape to a better life you no longer have responsibilities suddenly you're wearing a bathing suit is pants and all you have to worry about is getting another drink putting on some sun block and waddling into the pool you check into the hotel as an adult and instantly turn into a toddler with money. Daniel said the key to living in San Diego is to keep your expenses low and your stress level even lower stress is the great American killer he said no matter where you live I suggest you start by turning off the news if something is really important you'll hear about it. The rest is just propaganda wrapped in advertising the most patriotic thing you can do right now is to turn off your t.v. And get off Twitter. In his honor I ordered another drink in a basket of chicken fingers off the kid menu. Suddenly a woman with bright red lips matching glasses and a winter coat climbed on the stool next to me she ordered a hot black coffee plopped a giant purse on the bar and started rummaging through it like a frantic wreck Who'd. I need a cigarette she said I don't know how people live here all this sun in good times this is what vacation is for you're not supposed to live on vacation you go to vacation. And then you come back home where you're miserable and get back to work she was obviously from New York. Were her name was Gladys and she was from Queens where she has lived her entire life she was here for a sales conference and was over it if you ask me she said everybody out here seems like they're high. Daniel laughed That's because we are. She said she doesn't belong in a place like this she belongs in the city I'm like a pigeon she said no one wants to see a pigeon on a sailboat. Daniel asked What's a pigeon. Or a. She said it's like a rat with wings. Daniel laughed and said now who sounds high. Have you ever been so drunk that you try to take a drink out of a blowfish mug and realize you're actually kissing a woman from Queens. I have. Gladys went outside for a smoke and when she came back she started to relax and enjoy yourself my army would have loved it here she said with a sigh we used to go to the Rockaways every weekend and stand on the piers and watch the fishing boats come in she said her husband eventually wanted to retire and live by the beach and she would protest and tell him that she wasn't into it but she didn't really mean it she said The truth is after 40 years of marriage I would have done anything for him what I really loved was getting an ice cream and sitting at the picnic table together like we were teenagers we were just 2 kids from Queens going through life together that's what love is someone who really knows you and sticks around anyways. But now that he's gone I feel like the world only knows me as the old lady who drinks black coffee in a bar. Daniel took her coffee away and gave her a blowfish. Nat King Cole's Christmas song came over the jukebox and everyone grew quiet as we looked out at the ocean and despite the waves in the palm trees a holiday spirit came over us the sun was setting and I Daniels orders everyone got a shot of tequila and headed up head held it up to the sun as it went down the air felt soft across our faces and the sky responded with a purple and red autograph as if it was saying goodnight a farewell or is Daniel said a later dude. For a moment everything was so quiet as if we were floating. Gladys turned looked at both of us and said Enough of this hippy crap I got to get back to New York. Daniel begged her to stay no way she said no need spread out here my grandmother always said Don't trust anyone who says no to bread. Have you ever watched a woman from Queens walk away on the sand and wonder if she really was a pigeon. Happy holidays to everyone until next time this is when Tom Papa. Thank you thank you talk to him on the program thank you why. Thank you later in the program we'll have another exciting edition of compose a text the segment where in the band and I improvise a song based on text messages that you breezily received I'm really nervous about compose a text tonight for some reason I can't think why we had some of the greatest improvisers in the world on the show that would be a bonus points by the way for any ridiculous weather references that you've received in the last week but anything ridiculous will do send us your attacks on Twitter at live from here 8 pm or in the youtube chat but now put your hands together unless you're driving for black bonus thank. Wait no no don't leave just yet because it's got more music from them in the 2nd half but but it's not every day that that I get to shoot the breeze with a band that is in. In mid meteoric rise I mean it's easy to see why this is happening but I mean let's see debut album and 1st Grammy nomination this year how you feel and you're doing your best you cook a good thing in America we have no idea what's going on. But we appreciate it thank you guys for coming to walk me so as someone who has never experienced a meteoric rise. Could you walk me through the feet I mean you. True that you were busking like 23 years ago is that that's a true thing. It is I studied a lot of theater and musical theater in high school and college which often leads to busking was this. Sometimes not as promising so I wanted to kind of reciprocate what I was feeling through the sound in the storytelling that I had at hand while playing guitar met a drink Assata 2017 August and we started recording. Together. Shared some songs we've had a good time and still having a good time everything else that's happening is kind of unprecedented we can feel it thank you very much thank you for your. Walk me through the walking through the genesis of that song because that is quite a song out of that come about I wrote that song on an rooftop in New Mexico during the sunset it was I was teaching myself to play guitar while through the songwriting process that was bringing about all my favorite colors in the spirit of togetherness and sense of foreverness as well you know just searching for the true meaning of love from how I was feeling it so I have no idea what that song means but it feels really good hey man black almost everyone thought there were things I mean for the 2nd half. Now how lucky are we it's time for some crooked still with each of them. With me don't always loved about Crooked Still so we go back a long ways I mean started playing in various jam sessions for things like that I don't know I mean for you. That's kind of where I was that with that. You guys play a mix of of traditional and original material what when you're when you're sitting around trying to figure out what songs you're going to bring back from relative obscurity like for instance that's a new one to me that's a that's a song from the great dark bugs Ah Cous Cous catalog is vast and should be checked out by everybody that's that's a tune called Calvary and there's something about the the weird haunting vibe of him playing it and we decided just to make it a little bit weirder and sound like we're playing it wrong in the wrong b. . Just to confuse ourselves and everybody else I love it classic rock at the last record so. That's the thing I'm very fond of about you know and this is this one another. Too and that's what. It's unsettling at times the thought of this next one yes it is unsettling I mean if you really pick close attention to the words you might. Be triggered in some way. It involves the federal folks just trigger warning there and it's it's a song also having to do with the weather which is the unofficial theme of the show and it requires audience participation you already know what's coming if you're listening want to the radio doesn't matter how to you are you're going to sound good it's going to sound great it's a song we got from a Jedi Secor version Bay stars and that's called wind and rain. They tune for more from our special guests black boomers crooked. Still Tom Papa and pick the employee is keep sending us your tax cuts on Twitter at live from here 8 pm or in the You Tube chats you're listening to Live from here at Town Hall in New York City. 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