Prospect Hill: Rise, Fall, and Return

What's up, everybody? Welcome to the Make Our Music podcast. And today we're going to go over the hero's journey, the come up, and we're going to talk to Prospect Hill and how they went about getting to the level they got to in the process. That happens. We have Johnny Roberge and Mark Roberge. What's up, guys? Yeah. So, guys, tell me. I know you guys are cousins, but when you were younger, you know, what was the relationship like? Was there music involved when you were younger? How did this even happen?

You know, we.

We were pretty close, I mean, definitely. And I know, like, when I was a kid, his dad played drums, my dad played guitar. So I remember, I feel like when I was a kid, I played in the school band, fourth grade, right? And I remember going over Mark's house and I don't think you were into the drums just yet, but your dad had a drum set. And I think, like, even just like me, you know, I probably had like sticks and pads, was interested in your dad's drum set. And then whatever happened to you? Just like you started playing drums and I'm like, okay, yeah. And then music wise, I remember you came to me or whatever, we went on a fishing trip and you're like, dude, I'm starting a band. He's like, and I think it'd be sweet if you played bass. So I was like, all right. And I feel like you always knew I, like, was into music kind of because I tried to, like, do things with Brian and Paul, our other cousins. They had like, I don't know, their dad had a drum set or whatever, so. And I had like gotten a Toys R Us guitar when I was like 10 or something. Had a built in amplifier. It was pretty cool. But my dad wouldn't teach me. Like, he'd try to show me how to play something and then it just kind of get aggravated. No patience. So, yeah, so Mark told me to get a bass and I was like, all right. And I, you know, got some money together, got a couple. I got a bass and a little amp. And then we started jamming. Mark was jamming with other people too, though. And I feel like there was like, after a year, I was like, I want to play guitar. And then it kind of from there, like, we made a definitive thing, like, all right, we're going to start a band. And like, be instead of playing around with all different people. And like, we were like, all right, we're going to actually start a band.

And Mark, how old were you then?

We, we were probably 14.

15. Yeah. 14 years old. Yeah, yeah. And simultaneously, like, we're, you know, Johnny. I was like. He's saying, I was like, jam with these. All these other guys that I met through, like, other friends that played, you know, either guitar or bass, which were all kids. Like, Johnny knew, too, because he went to school with them when he was younger. Which is funny. It was just like kind of a small world there. And I was just kind of like, trying to, like, put together a band, like, whoever I could, you know, ultimately, you know, like, my father came home with a Godsmack CD when I was like, 12, 13 years old, threw it on the bed and was like, hey, I went to high school with this guy. And that kind of like, that's what the thing that triggered me, John. It was like realizing, like, wait a minute, this guy from my area could do this and create this music. Because I was like, wow. Blown away was amazing. And so it made it super attainable. It was like, right there. So I, you know, I. I started playing drums because they were. They were in the basement. I mean, if he had a guitar, I would have started playing guitar. But there was a drum set, so I started smashing that. And. And then, you know, I remember I. You know, I met Derek. He was a new kid in school in, like, seventh grade. They put him right next to me. It's funny, you know, because, like, we were. It was like, super, like, Dominican, Puerto Rican, where we're from. Like, so I was only a couple, like, white kids. And so they naturally stuck Derek next to me. And I remember, like, not liking him at first because he was, like, stuck up, like, kind of like, oh, this place sucks compared to where I came from. And I'm like, dude, you have a stained T shirt. Your shirt has a stain on it. Like, shut up. You know what I mean? Like, not a stained T shirt. Like, like, you know, it's like, oh, where I come from, so much better. And I was like, shut up. And then at first, I was like, this kid sucks. And then he flipped over his notebook. I remember the moment. And it had a corn sticker on it. And so, like, me being like, you know who I was at school, like, grew up with all these kids, but, like, none of them were into rock music. And so I was like, whoa, like, you like corn? Because I, like, fucking love corn. And he was like, yeah, I've seen him like, five billion times. Like, whatever he said. And I was like, oh, my God. I was like, he's like. I was like, that's awesome. I'm Like, I play drums and I'm starting a man. He's like, oh, really? I'm. I'm a. I'm a singer. And he was like, I'm looking to be in a band. And I was like, sweet. I was like, you want to try out for my band? And I probably hit up. Johnny was like, hey, I got some kid that wants.

Yeah, I remember the weekend. Yeah, he came over that weekend. And I think you had written spent already. You had, like, your dad's guitar, too. You did that little rift of bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, bom. It was simple, but it was cool. And then I don't know if you wrote lyrics or if he wrote lyrics, something.

I just started screaming.

And we were like, whoa, this kid screams fucking sick.

No, no, that was the second time. So the first time he showed up to my house with Derek Powell, right? This is his best. Like, one of his best friends from back in the day. And they showed up to my basement, and he sang. He screamed Counterfeit by Lint Biscuit. And he was just going nuts in my basement. I was like, oh, wow, that's awesome. Like, all right, you're in. And then hit Johnny up. And then we went to his house. I think it was his house where we were in his basement. And then I had those lyrics written for that. That song Spent. And that little riff. And then he went nuts, and he. We were jamming in his basement. I remember jamming it there. Right. I think that's where it was.

I remember being in your room for this instance. But, yeah, either way. Yeah, we definitely jammed at his house, too. Yeah, two houses were the spot.

And so, like, then we started, you know, building the band from there, or. Yeah, we brought in, like, it was like every friend we had was, like, in the band for a minute just to kind of, like, we were just weeding through who was in it, who could be in it, you know? And then we did. We did a talent show. But you weren't involved in that, Johnny.

Yeah, I think that was before we were gonna actually establish a band. Band. Yeah, we did, like, second stuff. So that. I think that's, like, in the time frame when, like. I don't know.

But yeah. Yeah, it gets a little murky. There's so much. And then I know that eventually, you know, the band settled and the band ended up becoming Panacea, which is basically Prospectil with a different lead singer. At the time. It was, you know, Derek playing guitar, Johnny playing guitar, Edgar playing bass. I'm Playing drums and we had a kid named Tom Madden singing. And we were like crushing it with like the hall shows. Right. We were selling out hall shows in Methuen and local. Right.

It was like you were still here then. You guys were still kids.

High school would be there and it was just like, I have. We have video of it. It's so badass. And. And we put out like a, you know, a demo, which was like considered. We considered a release. But looking back, it's like a shitty ass demo and. But people loved it. It was so bad. It was like. But it's. It's still. It's like, I listen back, I'm like, that's pretty cool. Some of that shit was pretty cool.

It had a vibe.

It had a vibe. Yeah. And it was, you know. And so then it just kind of like kept going from there where, you know, eventually we swapped out singers and then Johnny actually left the band because.

Yeah, I left before.

Before Chris.

Right, yeah. Yep.

Yeah.

I lived in Manchester, so I was like half an hour away, 35 minutes away. And then just. Life just wasn't doing great in school. You guys were all my friends. You guys were at a completely different school and just life things. And then I remember it was like MapQuest days and we had a show at like, I don't know, one of the halls, like the VFW or whatever. And I like mapquested the wrong place. And I was at like the Sons of Italy or something. Like completely different place. Not even close. And I'm like. And I was late. And then it was like, all right. And then, I don't know, I think I didn't show up for like the next practice. And then I was like, all right.

Well, I think your mom was like pressuring you too. She didn't want you to be in it. Yeah, your grades were bad and she thought it was like a bad influence and it was a waste of your focus.

And she was right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. She probably. She was definitely. And then. So he ended up taking a hiatus pretty much for years. But he was still kind of like always around involved. He played in another band.

Yeah, you'd always. Every time you guys were doing something, go to gyms or whatever or a show, I'd tag along. I was still definitely involved in like just being there.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah.

Andy took my spot at the time. Andy.

Andy filled in. And then, you know, obviously from there the band continued to go out. We had multiple releases, started touring. And then there was that moment in time. When Andy had to step aside and we brought Johnny back in. And then Johnny's been. Been back ever since. Which was around, like, what, 2010?

Yeah, 2010. Maybe 2011. It was right before the release, I think it was actually 2011. Yeah.

Yeah.

That year.

Yeah.

You know what's interesting about these. These, like. These stories, especially when you're in that first, like, two or three years and tell me if I'm wrong, because this is me. You completely suck. But in your mind, you're unbelievable. You're the greatest. And then years later, when you actually become good, you're like, you know, Were you guys experiencing any of that?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. I remember thinking, like, we were, like. Because, you know, when you're at that age in. In that pool of, like, other bands, you're just comparing yourselves to all the other shitty high school bands. So in that moment, we thought we were the best high school band. We were killing everybody else, right? And there was almost like this, like, little weird, like, war competition of, like, the other high school bands, right? And so it's like. It's funny because, like, I still know some of these guys, and one of them is, you know, he's always been like that, like, little critical asshole. And it's funny because, like, we'll still go to war with him on the comments. But it's kind of like a funny thing now. It's become, like, it's our own thing. And it's just funny how that, like, worked out, right? It's like you have, like, all these other guys that play around you, and then it's like, everybody's bad. Like, we were all bad. Like, no, everybody's.

We were the best out of the bad.

Worst.

We were the best shittiest band in the area, right?

So when we had that Palladium battle. Battle of the bands thing that we played at the Palladium, and we ended up winning that. So that kind of solidifies it, too. Even though we were bad, were number.

One or something we wanted two years in a row, actually.

Yeah.

That's super cool. In these periods when things are so exciting and you think you're so goddamn good, what. What challenges happen? Like, how do you even. How do you overcome challenges? What do you ignore them? Like, what. What's going on? Like, how do you get to the next level and kind of wake up from the fog of thinking you're good to actually become better?

Well, it's funny. I actually just had this conversation recently with somebody where, you know, the drummer of Red Crown, who we work with. He was like, hey, when did you start playing to a cl? And I said, oh, I got a good start on that. Like, I went in and started working with Anthony Resta because I remember going into the studio with you, Jim, for our. For that first record out of the Ashes. And we tried with like me playing to a click at first, and then you're like, fuck it, scrap it. Like, because I couldn't do it. Like, I just, I never played to a click. So I, like, I just wasn't there. And so we scrapped it. And that whole album's not to a click and you can tell. And then we ended up going in with Anthony Resta for a single and he forced me to do it and I, I sucked. I was. It was trash. And that was like that pivotal moment where I was like, I got forced into doing it and I was like, okay, you know, I got to either elevate or, or fucking step, step aside. And so that was, that was the mentality on it. And I ended up elevating and obviously working with, you know, like someone from you then to Anthony Rusta. And that's where things started changing. We started working with people that were more experienced writers and producers to then help elevate us and get us to be better players, better songwriters, and just better overall, you know, like producers, ourselves. And so that was a big wake up call. And that was a pivotal moment for me personally and for the band because then we had to elevate as a collective. And, you know, that song definitely did some, some work for us. It changed. It changed our. Our perception of, like, what level we were at pretty much overnight once we released it. And a lot of there was, you know, massive, like fan attention from it, but then also industry attention. And we were starting to get picked up by radio stations and getting put on full rotation and getting offered bigger shows. So that was a big pivotal moment, I'd say, always working and elevating with somebody that's better than you are, you know, for sure.

Honestly, over the years, I mean, I produced a lot of records and anytime a band decides to start using a click and it's always a moment where it's kind of like a growth moment where they're like, sometimes a drummer or anybody in the band will be like, no, we don't do that. We like to keep it real. No, you don't. You just don't have the skills. And when they finally, like, relent to doing that, I've seen so many bands level up at that point. It's Actually, it's kind of a common story. It's funny, a lot of these things are completely common stories that happen all the time. And you know, a lot of the bands have the same stories, which is really interesting. But you mentioned radio, like, so you're a few years into it. You guys are actually touring and playing everywhere at this point. As far as like radio is concerned, was it local radio or did you guys get picked up initially for some of the.

The.

The wider stuff that ended up happening for the band? Like, how did that begin, the radio thing?

Yeah, Mark would have to speak more on that for the beginning. But what like AAF and stuff would play?

Yeah. Was it. Was it. Yeah, basically main.

There was a couple. Main. Network main, for sure. Yeah. Had picked it up and started putting like Breakdown on full rotation.

So it was Breakdown. Nothing. Nothing even local before Breakdown, which you did with Anthony Resta. That was kind of the catalyst, I.

Believe there might have been some local stuff. Like maybe when they had Jeremy singing. There might have been something. And that might have been like the Carmelita stuff or whatever, like the late night whatever. But yeah, I'm not entirely sure.

Yeah, well, I know that the serious radio picked up with Breakdown and that wasn't even in the backyard.

Serious Portland Octane was come alive, actually, that, that got on there and that was cool.

Can you guys hear me?

Yeah, yeah, we can hear you.

Yeah, my. My audio, I think it's swapped over just a heads up. So I think it's on my.

Yeah, it's on your. It sounds like it's on your laptop right now. But yeah, so I was, I was, I was saying like, what was the first bit of radio? Was it. Was it local radio? It was Octane. Like, how did. Was it Breakdown? Like, how did the radio thing begin for you guys?

So the first. Yeah, the first radio I think that we airplay that we received was believe it was with Breakdown. So we started getting picked up by local like spots on. On like the app, like he was saying, like the late night shows and. But then there was a station out of Maine that picked it up and put it in full rotation. No, it was WTOS up in Bangor, Maine. So program director Steve Smith found out about us, loved the song, started putting on full rotation and like. Like immediately we were being requested more CDs from Bull Moose Music, which is the retailer up there. CD retailer. And it went from like, hey, we need 10 CDs. So hey, we need 20 CDs. Hey, we need 50 CDs. Hey, send us a hundred of them. And it was like. It was going. It was going out of. Out of control. It was like. The sales were, like, skyrocketing. So we were being super, like, heavily received up there. Another station out of Iowa picked it up as well. So then that was taken off. And then we got invited. It's kind of crazy. We got invited to go perform at the Bangor State Fair because now, obviously, we were gaining popularity. And we went and played and we played in front of, like, 1500 people the first time we played up there. And it was like. I remember the moment, like, everybody was singing our lyrics back to us. Singing. Singing the songs, the whole crowd. And I remember the guys turn around and looking at me going like, what the hell? Holy shit. And there was like. That was like, that moment where we're like, wow, this is working. We ended up staying after for, like, three hours. We sold all of our merch. We signed everything, we met everybody, we hung out with everyone. And then that was on a Sunday. And then Monday, we find out that the radio station got sold and converted to classic rock. And our song got pulled off. We were like, are you fucking kidding me? Like, it was just like. We've had multiple of these moments where, like, the universe is, like, testing you and going, yeah, how bad do you want it? Let's see, you know? And so that was, like, one of the first ones. It was, like, pretty monumental where it was a big letdown. Program director, call us. He's like, sorry, guys, it's got sold. There's nothing I can do. You know, I think he even got. He got fired. I believe I got. He got forced to step down. And it was like, one of those moments. And then, you know, then we got another one of those moments. Down the road. We ended up releasing Roller Coaster, and a station out of Tupelo, Mississippi, picked it up. And he's playing the shit out of it. And on the way to south by Southwest, what I think was actually on the way back, you know, we got invited south by Southwest by High Times, because we won a High Times award. So we went there, performed, and then we ended up receiving our trophy, which was like this glass bong you could smoke out of, which is pretty badass. And then on the way back, it was like a Tuesday, we hit Tupelo, Mississippi, and it was like, it was sold out. This little club we were playing, it was like five, six hundred people there. And same thing, everyone's singing it. It's awesome because we were getting spun big time. The radio station was really behind Us and Dodson was the guy that was behind us there and he was the man. He loved us and we were taken care of there. It was great. Come home. And I think it was like a few weeks later, maybe not even a month total, that station gets sold and changed and converted into classic rock. It was like everything was just going down. Like active rock was like dying in that moment. Like we were being courted by Universal Records Republic. They were keeping an eye on us. They loved everything we were doing. And then all of a sudden, like, they just fired. Basically their whole staff had just kept like Godsmack and cut all the rest of their. That rock acts and like, move towards, like, focus on. On pop and alternative. But it was like, it was just. It was just bad timing for us. It was like, literally we were at the tail end of like the active rock, like. Like Smash. You were at the beginning of it, actually, to Jim, with your band.

Yeah, well, I think a lot of bands have the same story because a lot of the. Our friends that came up in bands, we're all obviously in the same time frame of roughly a decade when music was peaking. Rock music anyways was peaking. And then it really just hit the gutter by what. What would you say was maybe 2012, 2015. Things really started to kind of fall apart.

Yeah. Yeah, it was like probably, you know, that's when kind of we took a hiatus actually. So in 2015, we. We stepped back and, you know, that's when I, you know, I joined forces with you. We started Red 13 Studios. But ultimately it's like Sean at the time too, who's our business partner place, and he's one of the hosts that you guys on the podcast as well. He sat out today, but he is in a band called Van Sound. So. And they. They're from Boston as well. So when we were coming up together, we were playing shows and they were touring nationally. We were touring nationally. They went overseas to play with, you know, uso. We went with Armed Forces Entertainment to go perform on martial arts. So like, we were kind of doing things like together and parallel, which was nice. They always had, like, bigger management, which was great. So they were getting like, bigger opportunities on the touring side and then. But like, we were, you know, we were basically like supporting each other and touring together and helping each other on the marketing level and helping elevate each other on multiple different, you know, industry initiatives. And then we both kind of came off the road at the same time. So it was. And then we started the company and now. Now here we are like, you know, obviously with a full infrastructure with the label that we have now with obviously everything we do with all these other artists. And now, you know, we've put Prospect Hill back together, obviously with the lineup change. Right. With Edgar singing now and Adam stepped away. And we have a new EP we put out in October, and now we got new releases on the horizon. And, you know, there's a nice little buzz about us right now. We're back and, you know, we're utilizing 2025 as the, you know, establishing point to hit some of the markets that, you know, I've been really craving listing to come back to. And so we just hit Maine recently, which was a very successful show. We're going to be announcing a Manchester show. We've got another Wally show, our hometown Wally shows booked. And then we're looking at it in Rhode island, in Connecticut, and like, really working on the Northeast around some of these releases. But, you know, there's. There's a. There's momentum again and it's. It's fun, you know, so we're back to having fun. It almost feels like how it felt when we were in high school.

Yeah, a hundred percent. It's awesome. It's a great vibe.

You know what's cool, obviously you guys decided to pick it back up and so did Lands down, and both are experiencing success right now. And I just think it's interesting. Like, I'll go back to one of my statements from earlier, like, when you know good. When you know good, you think you're amazing. And then when you start to develop an understanding and you get good, you kind of like, eh. And I think you guys and Lands down, both. Both at the same sort of times, just had these massive awakenings about your talent, how to really be yourselves, how to really write your songs and everything. And ironically, both bands were on hiatus, you know, but luckily for you, you kind of got to turn it around. Take some of this knowledge of what we've been doing for other bands and say, yeah, we're going to get this band back together. And in my opinion, definitely not blowing smoke up your ass. I literally think your music right now is the best you've ever written. And here we are, you know, like more than 10 years into the game for the band, and I think that's killer, you know?

Yeah, no, I agree too. It's just, you know, there's. We're back to, like, you know, just writing what we want, but obviously now we have an understanding of how to, like, properly write a song and Structure and produce it properly. So, you know, we're writing and producing all our own stuff. But obviously, you know, Sean's a big factor into that as well. He's on the team. And we also have another writer with us too, who's, you know, he's kind of been like a. Of our roadies forever, but he's in a fan for us roadie. And then he's integrated himself into our production and is, you know, allowed him to come into the writing pool across me, which is Zach. So, you know, shout out to Zach, too. He's. He's great. And so like, the team that we have right now for, you know, how we ran produce and I mean, obviously too, Jim, you. You've been in the writing room too, for some of the. Some of the stuff we've been doing on the. Obviously on the last batch of brilliances. So it's. It's. It's good. It's like, you know, we have a great team here and we have the ability to, like, really scale it now, knowing everything that we know. And now we're just, like, writing music that we love that we're like, okay, this is dope, and it's cool. And it just falls into, like, the structure of how you should write a song. Just because that's what we. That's how we. That's what we know now, you know, and. But we're not, like, writing for anything in particular, you know, we're not going. Okay, we're going to write for radio. We're going to write for, you know, to pitch it to this label. We're just, like, writing and we're writing. And that's. And I think that's where. That's where the best stuff comes out. And we're doing that.

Your guitar player, Derek, said something awesome like. Like three months ago when as the World Turns came out. It was a good vibe because the song's killer. But your guitar player was like, yeah, we don't give a fuck. Like, I want to write music that makes me feel like I felt like when I heard corn back in the day or whatever, you know, that. And I thought that was. That's a smart statement because if you're making music for any other reason, your music stinks. And I don't care how good it is, it still stinks. It's not real. It's not from the heart. And I just thought that was a. You should write songs for that reason, you know, for me, anyways.

Yeah. Yeah. Derek's. You know, Derek's crushing It Derek's, you know, the big driving force behind all the music that comes out of Prosper Dillon. He's always been realistically right. It's like the kid. It's funny because, like, when he was younger, he learned how to play guitar by writing songs. Like, he never was like one of those flashy guitar players. He didn't learn how to play, like, oh, I want to learn that. Like Randy Rhodes solo. I want to like. He didn't learn to play guitar to be a guitar player. He learned to play guitar to be a songwriter. And that's like always been his thing. Right?

It's funny, dude, hold on one second. I literally was on YouTube this morning at like 7 in the morning with my guitar and. And I was relearning Crazy Train, the Randy Rhodes solo. And the fact that you just said that is blowing my mind. That's kind of weird.

That's funny.

That's funny.

But I'm. I was the same way. It is nasty. But I was writing songs because it helped me play guitar. Like, I've never been a guitar player to be like, oh, I'm gonna go play. I don't know. Honestly, I just write songs and then I play my songs really good, but I don't play much else really good because that's not my style. And Derek is definitely the same way. He's more of a creative than he is some kind of like super talent guitar player. No disrespect. Yeah, I'm the exact same way, you know?

Yeah, it's funny. Well, he's like, he's tight. He's tight at what he plays.

Like, he's.

He's like foolproof. He's bulletproof on what he plays. Like, whatever. But he's not the flashy. Like, I'm going to rip a solo right now. Right. You know, so it's like, it's a. It's a. It's a different element. But his leads are influenced by obviously the new metal where they're like very, you know, creative and unique. And so that's what he's always. It's kind of funny. Like, I always think of this though. But he like learned how to play. I actually showed him his. I showed him how to play his first song, guitar. Like, I couldn't play guitar, but I showed him like, come as you are. And then he went from there and just took it. And then by Nirvana. And then one of the things that he used to like, learn guitar to like know the frets and just like.

Memorize that, like, the phone book or something.

Drop. He would. He dropped. You know, dropped E Tuning and then would just borrow everybody he knew's phone numbers, and he would play the phone number seven, eight, six. Eight what? Yeah. And that's how he would know where all the goat.

That's crazy.

That's how he did it, because he had everybody's phone numbers in his head. So he would utilize to remember that he would just play everybody's phone number, and then he knew where 6 was.

On the front porch.

He knew where 9 was.

I would never have heard this.

Yeah, it's a. I. Yeah, it's funny. It's. It was. It's kind of a unique thing because, like, I've never heard anybody else say that story. And I. And I was like, that's funny that he did that.

That's crazy, dude. All right, let's switch gears a little, because I want to know, like, at one point, you had a lot of fans, like, considering MySpace and some of the old Socials, and, you know, you guys were relentless at touring. How do you keep those fans engaged even through hiatus? How do you reawaken them now that you're putting new music out? Like, how. How are you doing that?

Well, it was. It's. It's a good question, because what we did was obviously, you know, we've kind of gone through some changes, so we had to, like, basically shock the fans with saying, hey, Adam stepping down and Edgar stepping up, which had happened in the past. Right. And we didn't. It wasn't received very well because we actually almost like, completely changed the style of the band. So that was like a. It was like two shots.

Boom.

Like, right in a row. And so that didn't do too well. And then, you know, at the time, Edgar wasn't really in a good headspace to be like, hey, I'm the lead singer. He didn't really completely own it yet. And, you know, we. We were hoping, obviously, to give Adam his time back then, to kind of like, get back into, you know, into a healthy spot mentally, physically, and he did. So then we brought him back, and then we. But we didn't make it. We, like. We kept it. We kept prospect, like, alive by playing a couple local shows a year and putting out a couple releases over the span of, like, those, you know, five years. But it wasn't, like, full on, and we were. And so we kept it engaged enough that it was still alive and people would still, you know, we were still pulling, like, 500 people to a show, you know, locally. We Did a couple like, you know, fly outs and small stuff, but nothing crazy. And then once we made the announcement of, you know, that Edgar was the lead singer, that kind of reemerged and that brought some interest to everybody. Like, okay, now what's this going to look like? And then the first thing put out, you know, was, you know, some teasers are comfortable alone. And that was like people like, okay, this is dope, right? And. And then we dropped the EP Catalyst, which had obviously, as the World Turns, it's like the Focus single, you know, the music video we shot with you and we put that out and that, you know, really gained traction and the fans, like, really received what we were putting out. They loved the EP and they loved the video and they loved all the new branding and everything. But even, like, prior to that, what we did was we start priming. We started priming the email list. We started priming the Spotify listeners by utilizing Spotify showcase ads to make sure that we were getting back into people's playlists so that they were like, okay. And they were following us so that they would. We would get added into their release radar. So we did the same thing with the pre save on the ep. We made sure that everybody on our email and text message list and on our social medias, everybody was pre saving it. So when we did drop it, it was nice. We got actually added into an editorial as the World Turns got added into Spotify's hard rock or rock hard editorial, which was nice. So that was like, hey, we're back. And immediately song one, we're getting added to the, the, the editorial, which was awesome. And then, you know, we would play some shows and the shows were packed and Edgar, crush it live. And everybody was impressed. Like, everybody, you know, if they were there to see if he was going to, to take, he did it right. And if anybody was there to support him, they did. And it was like, it was great. He. He crushed it. And it was, it was that like, pivotal moment where everybody was like, okay, we fuck with this new, this new setup. And now we just did a domain again too. And everybody there was like blown away. Everybody was singing all the songs. So. And people are, you know, we're still performing the old songs. You know, those are songs we wrote. I mean, you know, Derek wrote, you know, pretty much all that music and 90% of them, I wrote the lyrics and melodies for those. So it's like, those are our songs regardless. Yeah, Adam's on those, but those are our songs, you know, and so.

Right.

And now they. They've taken a life of their own because the fans love him and they want to hear him, so. And Eggers crushing him. He sounds so good on him. And we, you know, made a, like, couple alterations just to bring the energy up on some of those songs. Ultimately, because he has the ability to do that. Obviously, there was some suppression in. In Adam's range that we always had to be focused of because he has such a. That, you know, that low tone. We don't really have to worry about that anymore. And Edgar can, you know, really bring that energy with his. With his range, which is. It's awesome. The new energy, that, like, vibe of the whole crew with all the new music and just the initiative and the focus around what we're doing right now is exciting, and that's resonating outward as well. You know, people really love the content we're putting out, the behind the scene stuff, the narrative stuff to tell the story about, you know, where we came from and all that. So all the stuff that I told you, we've been putting out, like, little narrative, like, reels about all that, which helps kind of ignite and go. People go, oh, wow. Yeah. They've been a band for, you know, a long time. They've done a lot of great things. And this band has had, you know, multiple singers, right? So it's like. But the lineup, the core lineup is still there. It's us.