Josh-Manhattan dweller…
Don-I know, right? I can’t relate to this shit. Actually, I worked here tonight and I got a little loopy and then I went to the city I did my fucking standup and then, it would have been really easy to go home get in bed, but I came back out…
Josh-It’s hard getting out here, man, fuck that shit.
Don-Yeah, It’s well, I dunno, man, I tell you, this is like good living, good living out here.
Josh-I got a nice place.
Don-yeah, you got a good spot going on, man.
Josh-It’s allright. I want to hear about your stand-up.
Don-It’s good man! It’s good. So far so good.
Josh-I’m not surprised.
Don-I did yesterday and I did today and it’s gone really, really well, I got…
Josh-both days were good?
Don-Yeah! Like, I did last night and things went well. But then tonight was a kind of a challenge where I had to follow that up so I went home and wrote a bunch more shit and went out and did it and I dunno, I was, I don’t want to sound like… cocky… but I kind of killed it both nights.
Josh-I believe you.
Don- I feel good, I’m going to go with it, I’m going to write some shit.
Josh-Awesome.
Don-But you, man! you’re on some shit right now, you are a… busy dude!
Josh-I am a busy dude…
Don-You’re back from Japan…
Josh-Back from Japan.
Don-You’re playing, or you played… last night. Did you play last night?
Josh-Yeah.
Don-Was that, that was the Webster Hall show?
Josh-Yes.
Don-How’d it go?
Josh-It was nice. I actually really liked that gig. It was like a really mellow one for us, but it was very satisfying, it felt very therapeutic. It was fun.
Don-You mentioned that you guys have never really done media stuff before, always shied away from interviews and now you are in the thick of it. You’re on the front page of the fucking art section of the New York Times today, beautiful photograph, you all look great, so you’re back into it, man, this is what a lot of bands aim for right?
Josh-I guess. I guess so. I dunno, I just want to be able to make music so, I’m assuming, or not assuming but, hopefully all this ‘banter’… it’s going to make it easier for us.
Don-Yeah, well, you know it’s… more people hear about you, the more people see you. but so now you’ve done the record, the record’s out, it’s been like three years in the making…
Josh-Yeah.

Don-Do you feel like you’re already done with that or, you said you were going to record again soon?
Josh-We’re recording in January. Going to Joshua Tree, out in the desert, to a friend’s house.
Don-Is that? Is it Bono’s house?
Josh-Uh, No. It’s not Bono. And the Edge won’t be there either.
Don-Fuck! That would be… that would be so fucking good. Man! If you guys have like the Edge playing on your record, man, that would be… something else.
Josh-It would be sweet but I’d be out of a job, he’s too good.
Don-well, no, seriously, I think you’re better than the edge, you’re better than the Edge.
Josh-Thank you.
Don-I think, you’re the hidden ingredient of that band. I think, you know… Degraw… you know, he gets a lot of the attention but you’re sort of the hidden one. Because, I remember listening to you guys over the years and I’d be like, “I didn’t hear any guitar”, but then I’d actually see it live and I’d see you playing and I’d go, ‘Oh, Josh is actually making all these sounds happen.’
Josh-Half the time when we play, we get these reviews, Central Park Summer Stage was the most recent, after we did that, I read a couple of reviews online where people were like, the guitarist was strumming furiously and no sound was coming out. (laughs) Like they think I’m not doing anything, which is funny.
Don-No… well, on the new record I feel like the guitar is more apparent, It’s really good.
Josh-It’s more ’straight guitar’.

Don-You said, you’re getting a new guitar? You have one in mind over at Main Drag? Did you pick that guitar up you were talking about?
Josh-Yeah, Bruno [mutual pal] helped, I came home from tour with five dollars or whatever and I just traded all this stuff and then Bruno leant me the rest of the money to get this guitar because…
Don-did you get it?
Josh-Yeah I did, but it still needs to be set up for synth stuff. It’s just, like, I take equipment on the road, and we’ve traveled so much, that shit just gets beaten up and you know I’ve played the same guitar for years in the band and it just gets totally destroyed. It’s a mess.
Don-So, what made this new guitar stand out to you, like why did you want to get this guitar.
Josh-I dunno, you’ve probably had that experience, you play guitar.
Don-Yeah, you see a guitar and you’re like, ‘this is the one. I need to have this guitar.’
Josh-I think I’m attracted to strange, lost, instruments, or something like that, outsider instruments, the one that doesn’t get invited to the party.
Don-The loner guitar.
Josh-The loner.
Don-So you have it now?
Josh-yeah, I have it, it’s nice. I’m getting it set up tomorrow and then hopefully I will be able to make some money at some point and I can afford to put the…
Don-you guys aren’t making money yet? I mean, you guys are on top of the world, right? New York Times! You guys you’re fucking doing it, this is like, people form bands and their dream is to get to the point that you’re at right now you’re at that point.
Josh-I’m working at Daddy’s right now. (laughter)
Don-(Laughter)

Josh-yeah, man, I mean, I don’t know, I mean, we kind of like, I am fortunate because we’ve made some money over the years.
Don-You did that um, Boadrum thing, which is amazing.
Josh-Yeah, it’s just like, sometimes we’ll get something that pays, but, it’s real up and down, I mean, I did come home from tour and I had five dollars and, It doesn’t feel so good.
Don-Yeah.
Josh-Like, I’d been living on my change jar until the show last night.
Don-So that’s the lesson. If you form a band, you’re not going to make any money at all and you’ll realize your dream and you’re still not going to make anything at all.
Josh-It ain’t about the money until you have as many grey hairs as I do and then you have to worry about money.
Don-you have… about thirty-four grey hairs.
Josh-Maybe thirty-Five.
Don-Well, I just got the record, I got the record yesterday, or two days ago and, and I’ve really gotten to listen to it and it sounds, obviously, really fucking solid, it’s really good um…
Josh-Thanks, Don, you’re a sweetheart.
Don-Well, you know, I’m just sayin, I’m just sayin…¦
Josh-Worth the buck. But…
Don-But you know, a little more work and maybe you’ve got something… seriously, you guys could try a little harder next time.
Josh-Yeah, I love you Don.
Don-Alright. That’s that, Gang Gang, oh shit.

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Don Stahl is a comedian and writer. He dwells in Manhattan. See more here