Mm-hmm.

And, um, you know, uh, while I was going through that I woke up one morning with this chorus in my head, and with the words love rehab, and I just sat on it for, you know, a year or two, and I eventually finished the song.

And I kinda turned it from this really depressing song into something of a song of hope where, you know, I kind of, uh, got it together and realized, hey, I, I wanna live and, uh, I, I've got more to give.

And so it, you know, probably my favorite ballad I've ever written.

And, uh, yeah, uh, my fiance's daughter played the cello on that.

What brings you back to Galactic Cowboys, where you don't control everything? Y- y- you know what I mean?

Yeah, I think, I think for me, this band, it just, it's where I belong.

You know, I tried doing some solo albums, and I, I'm proud of those, but, you know, this is just...

So why don't we start there, man? How do we come back and what brings you back into it?

Well, two years ago, the band started talking and we're like, you know, why don't we do a Kickstarter thing? Why don't we try it? And our drummer at the time, who had been with us for like 25, 30 years, he was like, no one's going to want to do that.

and we were like well we're gonna try and so we threw it out there and lo and behold uh you know people did it they they funded the album and uh at that point he quit the drummer quit and so uh we had to find a new drummer at that point but uh yeah we uh we started making a new album and two years ago okay and uh man we've run into some all kinds of different uh problems and setbacks and including the guy that played on the drummer passed away after he laid his tracks which was quite a shock and so uh You know, we just kept plowing ahead, though.

And finally, we got it all recorded, mixed, mastered.

And we've got it now.

And we're getting it out to our fans right now.

And basically, we've become our own label.

is that kind of where you guys all are now or was there a conscious effort to be a little more fierce on the comeback or what

Mm-hmm

... like that.

But, you know, a, a lot of people, you know, knew we were Christians.

And then, uh, as I talked about on the podcast, you know, the older I got, you know, I got into my 50s and just started, you know, doubting everything, uh, about my life and, um, you know, Christianity and everything, and I really just left it for years.

And, uh, you know, so, uh, during COVID and, and through all that, I kind of saw that, you know, I'd just really become a really horrible person, [laughs] and, uh, and I just, you know, I felt like I needed to, uh, regain my faith in God.

And, um, you know, I just kinda went back to, uh, believing again.

And, um, but we're still kind of the same way.

Okay.

Mm

... like that.

But, you know, a, a lot of people, you know, knew we were Christians.

And then, uh, as I talked about on the podcast, you know, the older I got, you know, I got into my 50s and just started, you know, doubting everything, uh, about my life and, um, you know, Christianity and everything.

And I really just left it for years.

And, uh, you know, so, uh, during COVID and, and through all that, I kind of saw that, you know, I'd just really become a really horrible person.

[laughs] And, and I just, you know, I felt like I needed to, uh, regain my faith in God and, um, you know, I just kind of went back to, uh, believing again.

Right.

Well, now that it's progressing to the nineties and two thousands era bands and Your band is primed to be one of those bands, but do you want to be one of those bands? Do you want to have to go out there and chill and play and, you know, play Joe's shit shack before you play a festival the next day? Or is that just not where you're at now?

Well, I think the days of touring for months are way over.

But we would love to play as many shows as we can.

And festivals and stuff like that, we would love to do.

And if we could get on some of these cruises or festivals or whatever, that would really be kind of... you know, perfect for us.

Uh, we mainly made this album just for the love of it, you know, just the pure love of making a new album of writing new songs and just putting it out for people to hear.

And if our fans were the only people to hear it, then, you know, that's just the way it goes.

you know attach yourself to because like I said I don't want to talk too much about because I know you do a great job explaining all that in the podcast itself but talk a little bit about that when you saw that happen was that something that you guys were kind of like man like we were just right there and then all of a sudden this thing takes off by the time we are taking this long break

Was that something that you guys were kinda like, "Man," like, "we were just right there, and then all of a sudden this thing takes off by the time we are taking this long break."

Yeah.

Well, we, you know, when we started the band, uh, we didn't wanna be classified as a Christian band or a Christian metal band, and it wasn't because, you know, we hated Christians or anything like that.

We just, we just wanted to be taken, uh, legitimately as a, you know, just a band that was out there in the world, you know, going against the big boys.

And, uh, you know, so we didn't even think about being on a Christian label or anything like that, and we never really, uh, we never really tried to focus on that as any kind of marketing thing or anything-

Mm-hmm

... like that.

But, you know, a, a lot of people, you know, knew we were Christians.

So you, last time we talked to you, you were, I believe you said you were writing songs, but how did you get from that point, kind of point A to point B of, okay, I'm writing some songs, but no, we're actually getting the band back together and we're going to record.

You know, we've been talking about it since the last time we played, which was 2019.

That was the last show that we did.

And then we went our separate ways and just, you know, we kept wanting to.

And it just wasn't happening.

And so finally, I think it was probably Ben.

was like, hey, why don't we try a Kickstarter? Well, actually, Alex, my fiance, she kept telling me, you guys should do a Kickstarter.

were the main songwriters on this is this you and ben or is this just you

But you guys were always... writing non-religious music.

Yeah, I think we were always, you know, we were Christians, but we didn't focus on that being necessarily the theme of, you know, who we were as, you know, a musical entity.

We just wrote songs.

about life experiences about you name it you know and so from the very beginning we could just write about anything it didn't have to be of a spiritual nature but if we wanted to that was cool too And that's kind of the same way it is now where I think, uh, you know, a lot of our songs on this album are, you know, a little more political in some ways, uh, or they're just making statements about how we feel about the world right now.

But we're not, you know, we're not really preaching to anybody about our, uh, you know, spiritual beliefs or whatever.

It's just, you know, who we are, what we want to write about, and more than anything, it's just, we're just trying to make great music.

What is your relationship to AI, Monty?

Very little.