John Papa Gros: The way I was taught from George Porter Jr. from the Meters when I was with his band is you start a song, and all of a sudden doors can always open and give you opportunities to go see what’s in another room, investigate what’s over here, investigate what’s over there. 

So we make sure we definitely have space in the set to do that because then that’s where the unexpected, that’s where the new energy is found. That’s what live music is all about. 

Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds: ​You have to get the feel. You have to have the sound. If you can't get the sound, there's no sense in even being up there. You can play all the licks that you want, but if you're not getting the sound, what good are they?

Daniel Glass: ​We are involved in a long game. As drummers, as musicians, as artists, for most people success is not going to happen overnight. And that's okay. That's absolutely okay. It's about those who are still standing at the end of the day. They are the ones who are going to succeed, if what they are doing has real value.

​John Papa Gros: I call my Hammond B3 organ “The Commitment.” I bought it about a year (maybe two years) after I bought my first brand new car, a Honda Civic Hatchback.  I could pack all my keyboards, speakers, really my entire rig in that car. My two daughters were young at the time and their car seats would also fit. It was the perfect car for me. 

And then, I made the leap of faith and bought a 1955 Hammond B3 organ. I had to sell this wonderful Honda Civic to buy a junky beat up used Ford Econoline van just to haul around the organ. If you don’t move it, you can’t play it. 

And so, the quality of life went down. But, I was able to move the organ around town and play it on gigs. That's what set me apart from a lot of the other guys at that time. I was willing to do the work to move it. 

I mean, it's 325 pounds! It's not easy. I can't or shouldn’t do it by myself. I need help. It really changed my lifestyle as a gigging, working musician. 

That's why I call it “The Commitment”, because I’m married to the whole process.

​Cris: On the silly side, how did you get the nickname "Plushie"? 

Greg Hanna of The Dickies: There's definitely a story on that. 

When I first got in The Dickies, things like MySpace, actual band web pages with message forums, that was still a thing. I remember going on tour and Leonard and I would be looking for the nearest Kinkos just so we could check our emails. 

I was doing the first tour with them. We were at a Kinkos and Leonard's on The Dickies message board. Under "subject" it said "Your new bass player." He goes, "We have to read this." He clicked on it and it said, "I love your new bass player. I want to have sex with him while he wears a bear costume and I wear a puppy costume." That's all it said. Leonard goes, "Oh my God, Greg, who do you know that knows how to sew?" 

My sister's amazing... She has worked in museums and such. Her woman cave is a sight to behold. She's got like 17 sewing machines. 

So she made this polka dot, Wonder bread, bear suit for me.

(read the full interview)

"The singing was the hardest part. Because it is hard to make background vocals sound great. In those days, we had to sing all of them. Nowadays, you do it once on your computer and you copy it. And there was no Auto-Tune back then. We were Auto-Tune. You have to get every guy's singing on pitch and in rhythm at the same time on tape without laughing or something. It was a challenge." - Chris Hayes of Huey Lewis & The News

"I can't sing a song that doesn't touch me in some way. It wouldn't have the same resonance. It wouldn't have the soul behind it. It wouldn't have that earthiness to it." - Laura Tate

"I found a Hammond B-3 for sale in a tiny music store in Memphis, Tennessee 30 years ago for practically nothing. As I wheeled it out, the owner said, "Just so you know historically speaking, that organ used to belong to Isaac Hayes." I believe I was meant to have that organ!" - Brian Mitchell of The Weight Band 

In this interview with Greg Hanna, formerly of The Dickies, we discussed: 

• The story behind the polka-dot bear outfit he wore on stage
• The appeal of punk music
• His involvement in a documentary about The Ramones
• And more