Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Hey, Jessica, Hey, how are you? I couldn't be better.
It's a Friday, it's beautiful weather. You can't ready?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yeah, I'm ready to It's it's a beautiful Hey. Happy
belated birthday.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Oh thank you. I'm still kind of in the birthday bubble.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Yeah me too. I'm in October fourth.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Oh. So we're Libras.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Oh my god, we're the best, aren't we?
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Oh my gosh, if everybody we don't want everybody to
be a libra because then we wouldn't be special. But
we are special.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
We are literally the best. Well, Kevin, it is so
great to talk to you. We're looking forward to this
big show that's coming up like less than a month away. First,
I want to ask about the band promo photo that's
on the website. Are you guys all white belts in karate?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Well, I'm a brown belt because I put the hours
in and we didn't. I didn't want to show up
the guys in the in the photo, so I just
I wited it down. They are beginners. I'm kind of
their since on this journey of martial arts.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
You're fantastic, you know what I mean? More power to you.
I love that picture.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
All right, So it's absolute best photo ever.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
It's so funny, like you guys just are having a
really good time and that's just what I expect with
this super group. This is what this is, Ezra Rayhart.
I mean, like I get chills thinking about all of
your songs between all of you guys, Like this should
have happened way sooner. Can you walk me through how
this came about?
Speaker 1 (01:31):
You know, about six years ago, Ezra better than Ezra
and Sugar Ray we were doing a tour together, was
a summer tour and I think I think we had
Uncle Cracker out with us, and just one night on
the bus after show Mark was on, I was like, man,
we need to form what happened to the golden era
of supergroups like Asia and Mister Big. And we were
(01:56):
just laughing and we're like, we need to combine our
forces for good. And we first thought of like we're
like Uncle Ezra, like Uncle Cracker because he was on
tour this and then then you know, like a lot
of ideas, it just kind of fell apart. And then
we were out with a tonic and the three of us,
Mark Emerson and I are just buddies and we're like
(02:16):
as a ray Hart as a ray Hart. That's it
in the room, Like when we said it all together,
we all said it at the same time, the lights
exploded in the room, just because you know those moments
whence magic happens and it's more than just incandescent lights
can handle. And they exploded, and we were like in
the dark, We're like, that's that's the forces of nature
(02:38):
telling us we need to do this. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I love that you all looked at each other at
the same time and said the same thing. That is
so awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yes, that's how you know, and that's how you know.
And so look, it's so much fun. It's the three
of us. You've got all the hits of Better than Azra,
all the many hits of Sugar Ray, all the hits
of Tonic, and it's us on stage. And then we
throw in a lot of our favorite nineties cover so
it's a deep dive into the nineties and beyond.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Dude, Yes, that's what I'm I was gonna say. What's
been like the coolest thing about jamming with Margan Emerson,
anything that sticks.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Out to you what's fun for all of us is
is that you know, the three of us are are
all frontmen of our respective band, so we're used to
kind of carrying that load. So it's silly as that sounds,
but you know, when we're playing with Ezra Heart, I
get to I get to be a lead guitarist, you know,
and I get to watch Mark do his thing on
the Sugar Ray songs, and then I get to play,
(03:33):
you know, my songs, and they get to be kind
of the sidemen, and that's really really fun to do.
And then, just just like every great band, it just
starts to get its own personality, and certainly that's the
way it is as a ray Hart. So you get three,
you get three frontmen in one band. We're kind of
like a modern brat pack. I was gonna ask you, no,
(03:55):
let's let's let's make a class here. We're a modern
rat pack.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yeah, you're modern fact dude. That's that's what I was
gonna say. You're all frontman, How do you decide the
order of like the setlist or you're like, no, dudes,
we're closing out with a better than Ezra song. Do
you guys like playing like You're like, no, we're closing
out with me.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
How do you do that? You know, it's funny. We
mix it all up, but all of us, all of
us don't want to be the last song. We kind
of want to list to other ones like McGrath is,
you know, and maybe Sugar Ray probably had more number
ones than any of our three bands. But Mark is
always like no, no, no, no no. We end with an Azra
so and we end with the tonic song. But a
lot of times we force them to do Sugar right,
(04:33):
or we do some kind of cover. Lately we've been
covering Tubb Something, which is we we like covering songs
by bands that don't want to play their hit anything
that dub something.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh that's so great. Yeah, I mean, you got platinum records,
number one songs, tens of millions of albums sold, there's
Grammy nominations. See, it's nuts. It seems like a no brainer.
How has the response been, How how have the crowd's been.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
It's it's crazy. You know, the nineties never really went
away the music everyone, but but now, you know, more
than ever, there just seems to be. Look, I live
in Nashville and I'm riding with I'm not riding with
artists all the time, and they're and and then these
young bands are all wanting to have this ninety son
and I'm like, well, I can do that. I'm your man.
(05:24):
So so the response, you know, the band, kind of
the three of us, has been amazing, you know. And
a lot of times we go into some places we
have our fans, but then people just kind of wander
into a show like we'll do We'll do like a
casino or a club. We just said Irving Plaza in
New York and and and people didn't know what er
(05:46):
As ray Hart was and they just kind of came
in and we're just blown away. So we're actually getting
new fans, people who didn't really know our bands, and
in addition to all the people who've been supporters, it's
it's it's really been fun and kind of it's like
a whole new chapter for us career wise, and just
taking the songs that we love and everybody loves and
(06:08):
taking them and reinterpreting.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I mean, you guys just crushed that time period and
even now, it's unbelievable to think about all of the
songs that you guys have and I imagine it's a
massive sing along. Is there anything you want to tell
the people of the Greater Philadelphia area about what to
expect for this upcoming friends Giving show with Ezra ray Hart.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Well, first off, when we put the band together, we were like,
this is definitely a Thanksgiving time of year project because
you're bringing you're bringing you friends together, You're giving thanks,
You're giving thanks for the food, for help for family,
but also for some of your favorite songs of the
nineties by Better than Nazara, Sugar and Tonic. You're going
(06:49):
to hear our hits. You're going to hear the hits
of some of our friends from the nineties that you
haven't heard in a long time. We really just wanted
to just to to just bang people over the heads
with the music you know, of of the alternative music
in the nineties, and that's that's what it is. But
then also we'll probably we'll probably play that at Friendsgiving.
(07:14):
Is you know some there's a there's a couple of
new collaborations we've done with some one big country artist.
We've got a new song coming out, so I'll just
tell you I'm just giving you a sneak peek it's coming.
So so we've got a foot in the past for sure,
and then a foot looking towards the future.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
That is so cool. I was going to ask you
because it seems like you guys have like this amazing
vibe going, you're jamming, you're having a great time, which
is like what more can you ask for? And I
was going to say, are you thinking of doing any
you know, songs together, your own material, create your own stuff.
And now I know that's so exciting.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Now you know that the the the secret is out.
TMZ is TMZ right now. They're running through the presses
right now because they're listening in on this conversation as
they do, and so it's it's public. You've got it
here now, Jessica.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Oh my god, yes, breaking news. I got it. Oh
my gosh, Yo, Kevin, thank you so much. So this show,
it's coming up November fourteenth, all one of four to
five Friends Giving. And we love this show because you know,
we do it every year. It's our concert for a cause.
One proceeds go to benefit Morris Animal Refuge, who is
(08:29):
so near and dear to our hearts.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
And also we're huge.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I love that we're huge supporters of the ours and
then of shelters and adoptions for for animals. We're all
big pet owners. They are always out on the road
with us, so we could be more fired up to
see you guys.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yeah, you're gonna love this. Morri's Animal Refuge is actually
the oldest animal shelter in America.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
We love the amazing. Yes, it's called Morse Morse Animal.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Refuwe Morris m O R R I S. Check them out.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
I'm gonna look it up right now. I'm gonna do
my due diligence.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Do it, yo, Kevin, thank you so much for this.
So looking forward to seeing you guys next month.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
We are so fired up to see you guys. We
love Philly area at that time of year. We're going
to go watch the leads change and we're going to
rock you guys.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
All right, Kevin, thank you so much, and we'll see
us soon.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Thank you guys, seea bye.
Hey, Hey, Jessica, Hey, how are you? I couldn't be better.
It's a Friday, it's beautiful weather. You can't ready?
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yeah, I'm ready to It's it's a beautiful Hey. Happy
belated birthday.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Oh thank you. I'm still kind of in the birthday bubble.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Yeah me too. I'm in October fourth.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Oh. So we're Libras.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Oh my god, we're the best, aren't we?
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Oh my gosh, if everybody we don't want everybody to
be a libra because then we wouldn't be special. But
we are special.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
We are literally the best. Well, Kevin, it is so
great to talk to you. We're looking forward to this
big show that's coming up like less than a month away. First,
I want to ask about the band promo photo that's
on the website. Are you guys all white belts in karate?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Well, I'm a brown belt because I put the hours
in and we didn't. I didn't want to show up
the guys in the in the photo, so I just
I wited it down. They are beginners. I'm kind of
their since on this journey of martial arts.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
You're fantastic, you know what I mean? More power to you.
I love that picture.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
All right, So it's absolute best photo ever.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
It's so funny, like you guys just are having a
really good time and that's just what I expect with
this super group. This is what this is, Ezra Rayhart.
I mean, like I get chills thinking about all of
your songs between all of you guys, Like this should
have happened way sooner. Can you walk me through how
this came about?
Speaker 1 (01:31):
You know, about six years ago, Ezra better than Ezra
and Sugar Ray we were doing a tour together, was
a summer tour and I think I think we had
Uncle Cracker out with us, and just one night on
the bus after show Mark was on, I was like, man,
we need to form what happened to the golden era
of supergroups like Asia and Mister Big. And we were
(01:56):
just laughing and we're like, we need to combine our
forces for good. And we first thought of like we're
like Uncle Ezra, like Uncle Cracker because he was on
tour this and then then you know, like a lot
of ideas, it just kind of fell apart. And then
we were out with a tonic and the three of us,
Mark Emerson and I are just buddies and we're like
(02:16):
as a ray Hart as a ray Hart. That's it
in the room, Like when we said it all together,
we all said it at the same time, the lights
exploded in the room, just because you know those moments
whence magic happens and it's more than just incandescent lights
can handle. And they exploded, and we were like in
the dark, We're like, that's that's the forces of nature
(02:38):
telling us we need to do this. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I love that you all looked at each other at
the same time and said the same thing. That is
so awesome.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yes, that's how you know, and that's how you know.
And so look, it's so much fun. It's the three
of us. You've got all the hits of Better than Azra,
all the many hits of Sugar Ray, all the hits
of Tonic, and it's us on stage. And then we
throw in a lot of our favorite nineties cover so
it's a deep dive into the nineties and beyond.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Dude, Yes, that's what I'm I was gonna say. What's
been like the coolest thing about jamming with Margan Emerson,
anything that sticks.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Out to you what's fun for all of us is
is that you know, the three of us are are
all frontmen of our respective band, so we're used to
kind of carrying that load. So it's silly as that sounds,
but you know, when we're playing with Ezra Heart, I
get to I get to be a lead guitarist, you know,
and I get to watch Mark do his thing on
the Sugar Ray songs, and then I get to play,
(03:33):
you know, my songs, and they get to be kind
of the sidemen, and that's really really fun to do.
And then, just just like every great band, it just
starts to get its own personality, and certainly that's the
way it is as a ray Hart. So you get three,
you get three frontmen in one band. We're kind of
like a modern brat pack. I was gonna ask you, no,
(03:55):
let's let's let's make a class here. We're a modern
rat pack.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yeah, you're modern fact dude. That's that's what I was
gonna say. You're all frontman, How do you decide the
order of like the setlist or you're like, no, dudes,
we're closing out with a better than Ezra song. Do
you guys like playing like You're like, no, we're closing
out with me.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
How do you do that? You know, it's funny. We
mix it all up, but all of us, all of
us don't want to be the last song. We kind
of want to list to other ones like McGrath is,
you know, and maybe Sugar Ray probably had more number
ones than any of our three bands. But Mark is
always like no, no, no, no no. We end with an Azra
so and we end with the tonic song. But a
lot of times we force them to do Sugar right,
(04:33):
or we do some kind of cover. Lately we've been
covering Tubb Something, which is we we like covering songs
by bands that don't want to play their hit anything
that dub something.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh that's so great. Yeah, I mean, you got platinum records,
number one songs, tens of millions of albums sold, there's
Grammy nominations. See, it's nuts. It seems like a no brainer.
How has the response been, How how have the crowd's been.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
It's it's crazy. You know, the nineties never really went
away the music everyone, but but now, you know, more
than ever, there just seems to be. Look, I live
in Nashville and I'm riding with I'm not riding with
artists all the time, and they're and and then these
young bands are all wanting to have this ninety son
and I'm like, well, I can do that. I'm your man.
(05:24):
So so the response, you know, the band, kind of
the three of us, has been amazing, you know. And
a lot of times we go into some places we
have our fans, but then people just kind of wander
into a show like we'll do We'll do like a
casino or a club. We just said Irving Plaza in
New York and and and people didn't know what er
(05:46):
As ray Hart was and they just kind of came
in and we're just blown away. So we're actually getting
new fans, people who didn't really know our bands, and
in addition to all the people who've been supporters, it's
it's it's really been fun and kind of it's like
a whole new chapter for us career wise, and just
taking the songs that we love and everybody loves and
(06:08):
taking them and reinterpreting.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I mean, you guys just crushed that time period and
even now, it's unbelievable to think about all of the
songs that you guys have and I imagine it's a
massive sing along. Is there anything you want to tell
the people of the Greater Philadelphia area about what to
expect for this upcoming friends Giving show with Ezra ray Hart.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Well, first off, when we put the band together, we were like,
this is definitely a Thanksgiving time of year project because
you're bringing you're bringing you friends together, You're giving thanks,
You're giving thanks for the food, for help for family,
but also for some of your favorite songs of the
nineties by Better than Nazara, Sugar and Tonic. You're going
(06:49):
to hear our hits. You're going to hear the hits
of some of our friends from the nineties that you
haven't heard in a long time. We really just wanted
to just to to just bang people over the heads
with the music you know, of of the alternative music
in the nineties, and that's that's what it is. But
then also we'll probably we'll probably play that at Friendsgiving.
(07:14):
Is you know some there's a there's a couple of
new collaborations we've done with some one big country artist.
We've got a new song coming out, so I'll just
tell you I'm just giving you a sneak peek it's coming.
So so we've got a foot in the past for sure,
and then a foot looking towards the future.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
That is so cool. I was going to ask you
because it seems like you guys have like this amazing
vibe going, you're jamming, you're having a great time, which
is like what more can you ask for? And I
was going to say, are you thinking of doing any
you know, songs together, your own material, create your own stuff.
And now I know that's so exciting.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Now you know that the the the secret is out.
TMZ is TMZ right now. They're running through the presses
right now because they're listening in on this conversation as
they do, and so it's it's public. You've got it
here now, Jessica.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Oh my god, yes, breaking news. I got it. Oh
my gosh, Yo, Kevin, thank you so much. So this show,
it's coming up November fourteenth, all one of four to
five Friends Giving. And we love this show because you know,
we do it every year. It's our concert for a cause.
One proceeds go to benefit Morris Animal Refuge, who is
(08:29):
so near and dear to our hearts.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
And also we're huge.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I love that we're huge supporters of the ours and
then of shelters and adoptions for for animals. We're all
big pet owners. They are always out on the road
with us, so we could be more fired up to
see you guys.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yeah, you're gonna love this. Morri's Animal Refuge is actually
the oldest animal shelter in America.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
We love the amazing. Yes, it's called Morse Morse Animal.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Refuwe Morris m O R R I S. Check them out.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
I'm gonna look it up right now. I'm gonna do
my due diligence.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Do it, yo, Kevin, thank you so much for this.
So looking forward to seeing you guys next month.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
We are so fired up to see you guys. We
love Philly area at that time of year. We're going
to go watch the leads change and we're going to
rock you guys.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
All right, Kevin, thank you so much, and we'll see
us soon.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Thank you guys, seea bye.
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