How the hell are you?
I'm doing great! Thanks for asking!
After playing a great show like today, how do you feel?
I normally feel good after playing a good show but today I feel extra good because it's my birthday! I'm with my friends in Vegas and seeing all these great bands and the situation and environment is just high energy and it's as cool a situation as I can ask.
How old are you today?
42!
How does it feel to be 42 in a rock and roll band?
I don't feel that old. I know that the guys in some of these bands are way older than me. I feel like I'm 30, I'm never like “Oh God, I feel 42” I don't know what 42 feels like. I liked my thirties and this just feels like that. You know what sucks about turning 40 though? You get pains that don't make any sense. You wake up in the morning and your right shoulder is just numb. Or you wake up and you are limping. Your friends see you and ask “Why are you limping?” and you just don't know! It's the random pains. Other than that it's cool. After the tour I need a few more days to get back to normal. IT used to be one day and now its 2-3 days.
I'm doing great! Thanks for asking!
After playing a great show like today, how do you feel?
I normally feel good after playing a good show but today I feel extra good because it's my birthday! I'm with my friends in Vegas and seeing all these great bands and the situation and environment is just high energy and it's as cool a situation as I can ask.
How old are you today?
42!
How does it feel to be 42 in a rock and roll band?
I don't feel that old. I know that the guys in some of these bands are way older than me. I feel like I'm 30, I'm never like “Oh God, I feel 42” I don't know what 42 feels like. I liked my thirties and this just feels like that. You know what sucks about turning 40 though? You get pains that don't make any sense. You wake up in the morning and your right shoulder is just numb. Or you wake up and you are limping. Your friends see you and ask “Why are you limping?” and you just don't know! It's the random pains. Other than that it's cool. After the tour I need a few more days to get back to normal. IT used to be one day and now its 2-3 days.
How do you readjust after tour?
I drink a lot of water and orange juice and lay off the booze. Wednesday nights I normally have a jam session at a bar I go to, so when I come off tour I usually get home Sunday and don't drink. Then I don't drink Monday and Tuesday so I can go back to it on Wednesday.
How did you come up with that system?
Well when you wake up and feel like shit the last thing you want is a glass of booze. That normally lasts about two or thee days I just feel the need to reserve everything – get my shit back to square one.
Is Budos Band your full time thing?
No, I'm a school teacher! I teach drawing and I love it. Budos Band is normally reserved for weekends, summertime, and school breaks which we can do runs around.
How old are you students?
High school! The freshmen are like 14-15 and the oldest are like 18.
Do they know about what you do?
Some of them do. But they are inner city kids so they don't get it. They're just like “Cool bro you play shows” I let them call me bro. They don't listen to the Beatles, they don't get what we are part of. They just think we are an old wacko heavy metal group. They're kids on Snapchat listening to Kanye West. It's a different world.
I drink a lot of water and orange juice and lay off the booze. Wednesday nights I normally have a jam session at a bar I go to, so when I come off tour I usually get home Sunday and don't drink. Then I don't drink Monday and Tuesday so I can go back to it on Wednesday.
How did you come up with that system?
Well when you wake up and feel like shit the last thing you want is a glass of booze. That normally lasts about two or thee days I just feel the need to reserve everything – get my shit back to square one.
Is Budos Band your full time thing?
No, I'm a school teacher! I teach drawing and I love it. Budos Band is normally reserved for weekends, summertime, and school breaks which we can do runs around.
How old are you students?
High school! The freshmen are like 14-15 and the oldest are like 18.
Do they know about what you do?
Some of them do. But they are inner city kids so they don't get it. They're just like “Cool bro you play shows” I let them call me bro. They don't listen to the Beatles, they don't get what we are part of. They just think we are an old wacko heavy metal group. They're kids on Snapchat listening to Kanye West. It's a different world.
How does it feel being a part of these two different worlds?
I like it. They are so young and energetic and psyched for shit that it keeps me young. They keep me up to date with all the shit that people think is cool. I like being part of this world too – drinking beer with fans. That's my favorite shit but I like seeing kids in school.
Do your kids know you smoke weed and drink beer?
They know I drink beers. I'm pretty open about that. I actually don't really smoke weed – very rarely. They probably think I do because I have a beard, but I don't. They know – it's cool. I don't tell them crazy stories though.
Who is your least favorite student?
(Laughter) The kids who don't do any work are the worst. It's an art class – it's an easy class to pass. They aren't worth my time. It's the kids who don't even try. I 'd rather see kids trying and drawing like shit and watching them do whacked out amateur scrawlings rather than just someone who doesn't pick up the pencil. Every once in a while there are guys who are tired and stoned or whatever and they are just too cool for school. I'm just like, “What are you doing?” those kids who just don't create – the non-creatives we call them, that's what gets me.
I like it. They are so young and energetic and psyched for shit that it keeps me young. They keep me up to date with all the shit that people think is cool. I like being part of this world too – drinking beer with fans. That's my favorite shit but I like seeing kids in school.
Do your kids know you smoke weed and drink beer?
They know I drink beers. I'm pretty open about that. I actually don't really smoke weed – very rarely. They probably think I do because I have a beard, but I don't. They know – it's cool. I don't tell them crazy stories though.
Who is your least favorite student?
(Laughter) The kids who don't do any work are the worst. It's an art class – it's an easy class to pass. They aren't worth my time. It's the kids who don't even try. I 'd rather see kids trying and drawing like shit and watching them do whacked out amateur scrawlings rather than just someone who doesn't pick up the pencil. Every once in a while there are guys who are tired and stoned or whatever and they are just too cool for school. I'm just like, “What are you doing?” those kids who just don't create – the non-creatives we call them, that's what gets me.
What is your relationship like with the other professors?
There's probably two hundred teachers in the building and I'm only friends with like 20 of them. I don't want to talk bad about anybody but I don't do the teacher talk. I don't do the teacher talk. I don't talk shit about my kids or complain about my job. I don't do the whole, “Oh my god these kids are terrible” and “I can't wait until summer!” stuff. I like my job. I'm not like counting down the days until summer. The only teachers I'm friends with are the ones who want to talk about ideas or how to make things better or what's going on outside of school. I don't like people who gripe about being a teacher. It's a great job.
Where do you teach? Have you ever taught anywhere else?
I teach in Staten Island. I used to teach at the same school that the Wu Tang Clan are from, that whacked out ghetto. I taught an elementary school for a year and Malibu high school. When I was teaching the ghetto school it was like a war. You're almost closer to a prison warden, you're really trying to stop the kids from killing each other.
Do you feel like your job is especially important because of that? Like you can give them an outlet...
When I was in the craziest schools it was a rough thing but to me it was just like, that's what it is. When I got to high school there was a different mindset. In high school the kids who don't want to be there just don't come to school. In middle school the kids kind of have to show up, all the crazies are there. In high school you have a little more dedication.
What do you love so much about teaching?
So my favorite shit in the world – I have them draw a self portrait on the first day of school. It's a portrait of them five to ten years in the future. Unless you draw and are an artist the average student creates something really rough. I look through them because it tells me a lot about the kids. If I see shading or any other technique that gives me something to work with. Most of them draw in a very rudimentary way. My favorite thing is sitting at the end of the year and looking at all of the artwork they did over the last ten months. When you draw every day for forty five minutes a day every day for ten months you're going to get good at it. I like watching them grow. They have this new sort of outlet that they didn't think they could have. It's just a matter of exercising that muscle.
There's probably two hundred teachers in the building and I'm only friends with like 20 of them. I don't want to talk bad about anybody but I don't do the teacher talk. I don't do the teacher talk. I don't talk shit about my kids or complain about my job. I don't do the whole, “Oh my god these kids are terrible” and “I can't wait until summer!” stuff. I like my job. I'm not like counting down the days until summer. The only teachers I'm friends with are the ones who want to talk about ideas or how to make things better or what's going on outside of school. I don't like people who gripe about being a teacher. It's a great job.
Where do you teach? Have you ever taught anywhere else?
I teach in Staten Island. I used to teach at the same school that the Wu Tang Clan are from, that whacked out ghetto. I taught an elementary school for a year and Malibu high school. When I was teaching the ghetto school it was like a war. You're almost closer to a prison warden, you're really trying to stop the kids from killing each other.
Do you feel like your job is especially important because of that? Like you can give them an outlet...
When I was in the craziest schools it was a rough thing but to me it was just like, that's what it is. When I got to high school there was a different mindset. In high school the kids who don't want to be there just don't come to school. In middle school the kids kind of have to show up, all the crazies are there. In high school you have a little more dedication.
What do you love so much about teaching?
So my favorite shit in the world – I have them draw a self portrait on the first day of school. It's a portrait of them five to ten years in the future. Unless you draw and are an artist the average student creates something really rough. I look through them because it tells me a lot about the kids. If I see shading or any other technique that gives me something to work with. Most of them draw in a very rudimentary way. My favorite thing is sitting at the end of the year and looking at all of the artwork they did over the last ten months. When you draw every day for forty five minutes a day every day for ten months you're going to get good at it. I like watching them grow. They have this new sort of outlet that they didn't think they could have. It's just a matter of exercising that muscle.