Pete Evick (Bret Michaels Band)

Pete Evick has been the guitar player for the Bret Michaels solo band for the last 19 years.  He recently released two new solo songs- a cover of" 99 Red Balloons"  & an original song titled "My Best Days."  In this episode we discuss working with Bret Michaels, the solo songs, nuclear war, Ford Motors, Van Halen, Pete almost joining Buckcherry and more!  Fun episode! 

0:00:00 -Intro
0:00:56 - Stevie Rachelle of Metal Sludge & Tuff 
0:02:29 - "My Best Days"' Single 
0:06:22 - "99 Red Balloons" Cover & Fear of Nuclear War 
0:13:36 - Media, Fear & Putin 
0:17:17 - Bret Michaels, Arizona & Bomb Shelters 
0:20:57 - Flying in a Private Jet 
0:23:45 - Ford Bronco & Ford Mustangs 
0:28:35 - Trying to Get in To Poison 
0:30:45 - Poison Albums 
0:32:15 - Hootie & the Blowfish  
0:33:50 - Stephen King, Joe Rogan & David Lee Roth 
0:36:58 - Aerosmith Show
0:38:22 - Bret Michaels & Sammy Hagar In Contention Same Job 
0:40:40 - Warrant, Winger & Skid Row 
0:43:35 - Solos Vs Songwriting 
0:45:20 - Van Halen 
0:49:40 - Musical Influences & Musical Fan
0:52:43 - Secret to Longevity with Bret 
0:55:15 - Offer from Buckcherry 
1:00:32 - Joining Bret Michaels 
1:04:25 - Shining Sol Candle Company 
1:08:23 - Charities 
1:12:45 - Scottsdale, Jalapeño Inferno & Arizona 
1:18:02 - Seattle & Homeless 
1:21:01 - Pete's New Songs 

Pete Evick 99 Red Balloons Music Video:
https://youtu.be/TX_BHkFz9xI

Bret Michaels website:
https://www.bretmichaels.com

Shining Sol Candle website:
https://www.shiningsol.com

Mission 22 website:
https://mission22.com

Australian Cattle Dog Association website:
https://www.acdra.org

Chuck Shute website:
http://chuckshute.com

Transcript

Chuck Shute: 0:00

Hey, welcome back to the show if you're returning viewer or listener and if you're new to the show, thank you for checking us out. Coming up, we have a great interview with Pete evac from Michael's solo ban. And we discussed so much cool stuff. In this interview, we talked about Bret Michaels and his Malibu and Arizona homes and his private plane. And also Pete tells me a cool story about Brett turning down an offer to join one of the biggest rock bands of all time. Plus, we're gonna talk about Van Halen, nucular war, and of course, Pete's two new solo songs, my best days and his cover of 99 Red Balloons. This is a great episode, we talked about a lot more so don't go anywhere. This is a campus interview we started with that, like that was a that's an interesting, what do you what did Stevie say I think was the thing when he I think I read it. He said, Nice guy. What do you what do you call the title something about nothing. But uh, but a nice guy or something like that.

Pete Evick: 1:06

Right? He just sent back the message back is the Armstrong in love and fire? Yeah, yeah, I'd sent him that there's a handful of people in the industry that I send things before I send anybody. My friendship was Stevie is that he's, he's so straight up honest about everything. You know, even though the even though the metal sludge site has a history of kind of slagging people, and the jokes and the, and the, you know, the bashing everything, he did more to revive that genre than almost anybody, just by creating that site, you know, people were talking, and, but he's always honest, good or bad when you when you get to meet him and know him as a person. And so he's usually one of the first people I bounce an idea off of, I probably shouldn't be talking about them publicly, or whatever, I don't know. But I sent him the song, knowing that if it was terrible, he'd be the first to just tell me it was terrible, you know, and he really took a liking to it. And, and, and said some nice things about it. On his page. I was I was grateful. It was awesome to see that. Now, that's super cool. Yeah, because you have two new songs out, you have the cover of the 99, left balloons, and then also an original, that I didn't even hear of until today called my best days, which is a great song. It came out two weeks ago, but it came out early. We were scheduled to come out last weekend, it came out the week before that, and it caught us off guard, the label and the band and everybody, we for some reason Apple pushed it through a week early. So we had this whole marketing plan. And it just, it just fell through

Chuck Shute: 2:49

interest. What was the marketing plan,

Pete Evick: 2:51

what just as far as announcing the release of the song and press request and all this different stuff? That was you know, supposed to happen with the song and, and then it was just out floating out there. And we all kind of panic to try to raise awareness. Like instantly.

Chuck Shute: 3:06

Yeah, cuz it's like one of those things where you want, like, all the publicity at the same time. So it's like this rush at this, right.

Pete Evick: 3:15

So, but anyway, so that's the start of an interview completely different than it was probably gonna go.

Chuck Shute: 3:21

No, that's a lot. So I want to start with, you know, the two new socks. So the, the my best days, talk about what that was about, because it sounds interesting. It's written as an inspiration to those who feel they've already lived past their prime. That sounds like That sounds familiar to maybe me or a lot of people wonder can relate,

Pete Evick: 3:39

you know? So, I am a fan, myself of, there's an enormous amount of whether it's country music or rock music or anything. There's the lyrical concept of talking about when you grew up tons of songs about that, and all those songs, and I love nostalgia and I love thinking about back in the day, and I love the reminiscing and all that. But there's a whole lot of to the point where and especially once COVID came there's a whole lot of this kind of my best days have already happened. There's there was like a doom and gloom attitude that came about everyone wished it was 20 years ago, everyone wish this were everyone wish that. And I just, you know, I just kept thinking to myself, does anyone think that maybe the future might be brighter than then the past? You know, there's any one thing that I started getting kind of like, Man, I don't want to if my best days were the 80s 30 years ago, then what am I living for? And you know, there's so many songs that just kind of kind of go, Oh, I wish we were back together. Or I wish it was me and my buddies in the back in the day and all this stuff and, and I just wanted to and I've written those myself, you know, and I just want to write something that maybe was a little more uplifting especially I wrote it During COVID, when it was just kind of a call to Hey, make the best out of life tomorrow can be better than yesterday. And so that my best days ain't behind me yet. Just kind of came out.

Chuck Shute: 5:11

Yeah, well, I think that one good thing about getting older is like you have more wisdom. And you know, more and more knowledge and things where, you know, it's like, what what's the song? Like? I wish I knew now what i What's probably,

Pete Evick: 5:23

I'm gonna believe in he says that in something leaving. Yeah,

Chuck Shute: 5:25

it's like, that's an image songs to like, where are you? You if you knew what you know, now, when you're younger, you could have taken advantage a lot better. But that's one thing about getting older is like the future is like you're gonna learn more and have more wisdom, and hopefully able to share that with other people. Absolutely, absolutely. It's just Yeah, it's a physical thing that sucks about getting older.

Pete Evick: 5:45

Sure, sure. I was at the doctor this morning. I used to, I like probably 20 years went by that I didn't even go to a doctor. And now I get calls. Like, it's time for you to come in again. I'm like, Oh, what is going on?

Chuck Shute: 5:56

Well, yeah, you should go at least once a year just to have your annual checkup or whatever. Get your blood work and all that crap.

Pete Evick: 6:02

Yeah, no, not not, not when you're on the road and rock and roll. You just pretend you're gonna live forever. And you go, and you go and you go.

Chuck Shute: 6:08

That's dangerous. We don't we don't want that. That's why I've seen too many of these rock stars die. I don't like that. I want people take care of themselves. I gotcha. I gotcha. Well, yeah, and so then your other song. The cover is I didn't know it was about the Ukraine thing. And that's kind of what inspired that.

Pete Evick: 6:25

In spite. Well. Yeah. So, you know, in 1984 when that song 99, Red Balloons came out, I was in sixth grade. And I was already consumed with hard rock I was already consumed with Kiss and Van Halen, and twist SR and quiet riot and Def Leppard. And I was, you know, I, that's all I wanted to hear. I wasn't a pop guy. I wasn't at that point in my life. I wasn't listening to Duran Duran records or, you know, now I love them, to be honest with you, when now I think Duran Duran is amazing. But you know, and but this song, let me let me backtrack. I was one of those people that were consumed and petrified by the fear of nuclear war in the late 70s, early 80s. My parents, I had great parents, and but they had no rules. I had no rules, I had no nothing. They were great parents, but they didn't shelter me from anything. And because of that, I will see movies or watch news that a lot of kids, other parents would keep them from. And I developed this fear of nuclear war that was crippling to me. And that song was about was an anti protest song. And I remember hearing it and thinking, wow, someone feels like I feel like the words spoke to me. And I took it personally, I thought that, you know, it turns out that Nana didn't write it herself, I guess. But I thought she had written it. And she had felt exactly how I felt that I wasn't alone. You know, so I've carried that song with me, for a lot of my life. And it was not, to be completely honest with you is crazy. It sounds it wasn't till about, it wasn't till 2012 that I was actually able to kind of shed my end of the world fear. Because, you know, it started with the threat of nuclear war when I was a kid, but then I was consumed by all the prophecies and all the different things that happened, all the books and all the writings and and so when 2012 came and the Mayan prophecy didn't come through in the end of the world didn't happen. Like I was, I was lifted. You know, it was like, Oh, well, I can start living my life now without this fear. So here it is. 2012 And, and so I get you know, now it's 2022. So I get like, 10 solid years of my life of not feeling this fear. You know, that you wait, did

Chuck Shute: 8:54

you have a during the COVID? Because that seemed like the end of the world for a lot of people.

Pete Evick: 8:59

I wasn't, there wasn't there wasn't frightening to me. It was very apocalyptic. You know what I mean? But it was it didn't feel like the it wasn't like the bombs were dropping, you know. But so anyway, I've had 10 years of not feeling like the end of the worlds coming in this apocalyptic disaster. And then I wake up, and I go, I scroll through all the news channels. I'm not one or the other. I go through everything and even the even the international channels and everything. And I woke up one morning and the news crawls on all the channels. Were saying different things but said nuclear and Russian nuclear threat nuclear war, this that and we're using the terms you kept saying Russian because the war in the Ukraine had started, right. And all that childhood fear came back. Like in an incident I freaked out. I was for the first two weeks of it. I was intolerable. No one could stand Meet my business partner, Darren, I'd walk in and you could, you could see there was he was looking for reasons to leave the office. And so my girlfriend didn't want to talk to me Brett wouldn't you didn't want anything to do with me on the phone. And, you know, but Brett was sincere Brett, Brett actually called every member of our band, and, and our crew and actually told them all, Pete is going through a really, really, really, really rough time, because we were out doing shows during all this. It was it was neat. He didn't laugh at me. He was like, he didn't agree with it. He thought I was crazy. But he he told everyone Pete's going through a really strange rough time. So be cool to him out there if he's acting funky. But um, but I was intolerable because I was consumed. Like, like, for instance, right up until if we had a show that day, I would literally be staring at the news crawls on my phone from behind my amplifier while the intro tape was rolling. And as soon as we were finishing encore, I came right back. And I was just consumed with the fact that in 2022, the news crawls were using the term nuclear as if it was a real possible threat again, I'd put it all behind me, you know, and, and you know what I look back now. How how strangely selfish and self consumed I was, because those people over there really dying. And I'm over here, acting like this in the United States, playing shows in front of sold out crowds of 1000s 1000s of people and living my life. And I'm acting like something terrible is happening to me. But what's going on over there is disastrous, you know what I mean? And so I was able to subdue it a little bit, actually, till yesterday. And then yes. And then I hadn't been watching the news or paying much attention anything. And then yesterday, I went home. And I was doing a couple of interviews. And I put the put the news on for just a second. And there it was, again, the crawl was back to Putin making some kind of nuclear threat. And I was just like, oh, man, I. So the point of that was, no one could tolerate me for a while. So I retreated to my studio. And at first, I just started playing the song as therapy, just like I used it in 1984. I was just playing the song as therapy. And then I thought about recording it. And I started recording it step by step. And then by the time it was done it, it sounded pretty cool. So I let a couple of people hear it. And they thought it was worthy of release. So I took their word for it and went with it.

Chuck Shute: 12:31

Who played the saxophone was that the guy in the video playing that it was like?

Pete Evick: 12:35

No, that's not what a young Devereaux his name is. Young Devereaux. Okay. I've known him for a long, long time when we were kids. We used to teach music at the same music store. I would teach piano vocal and guitar and he would teach saxophone, and I think some other brass. And he's, I gotta tell you, he's a tremendous musician. A lot of times, you know, I've done this acoustic gig called this, that and the other with Eric Brittingham, from Cinderella. And we will play basically a bunch of 80s ROCK COVERS, but play them acoustically, you know, like round and round, or we'll do the Cinderella songs and, and the poison songs, and we'll do quiet riot and, and Warren will do all this stuff. And but I'll invite young out when he's near us, the saxophone player, and he'll play all of those ad solos on his saxophone. Oh, that's awesome. That sounds amazing. It's awesome to see. Yeah, it's cool.

Chuck Shute: 13:29

Oh, totally see that? Okay, wait. So back to the news thing, though, like, so where are you now? Do you feel like, it's gonna be okay, because I feel like a lot of those news things. They're just trying to get ratings and they want to scare you. They want to freak you out. So you keep watching to see what the next thing is? Because, I mean, they've been saying that for how many weeks or months now, like new killer threatened to happen. I mean,

Pete Evick: 13:53

right? Well, I, first of all, I never really thought in my brain, I thought there's no way he would do that, because what Putin wants is the land. Right? Well, he dropped that bomb and the lands useless. Right? So part of me believed that he would fire a missile our direction, knowing that we would shoot it down knowing that it would never reach us, but that he would that he would be able to say he did it. Kind of be, you know, he'd be able to say to China, and and all of our, all the other people that don't really love, you know, us, he would be able to say I was the one that had the nerve to do that. You know, it was in my head. I don't think at this point in my life, I think anything is possible. bad and good, right. My fear with him now is he's he's an Eagle Man. maniac. And you know, and I say that I'm a Leo, and I'm a rock and roll guitar player. So I'm an egomaniac to just me saying that and acting like I'm comparing myself to a world leader shows how big my ego is, but I'm not comparing myself to Putin, you only see. But what I'm saying is, I

Chuck Shute: 15:18

don't want to hurt people. I know that much, you know,

Pete Evick: 15:20

I that I do not want to do, but I also don't know that he wants to hurt people. I think that, you know, I've always said this very unpopular opinion. And I don't know that I've ever said this publicly in a podcast, but you know, Hitler, and Saddam Hussein, they thought they were right.

Chuck Shute: 15:35

Yeah, and, and all the people that follow them. Yeah. And that they're doing the people. I mean, to a lesser degree, you could say the people storming the capitol in America, they thought they were doing the right thing. They thought they were saving the country or whatever.

Pete Evick: 15:48

Right. And so perspective is everything. So, you know, what might knowing the Battle of a fragile and large ego? My fear with Putin is that he, he's embarrassed now that he couldn't crush this small country in 24 hours. So, so I know what it's like when I feel like I'm being laughed at or what someone, or if someone thinks that I didn't achieve my goal. Like, I know what that feels like just being a guitar player. Or being a world leader. That's supposed to be the, you know, second or third biggest, most powerful big, bad country in the world. His fragile ego is going to be the worst thing that ever could happen to any of us. I think,

Chuck Shute: 16:32

well, now I think he's getting surgery or something for was it cancer or something?

Pete Evick: 16:38

My business partner told me yesterday, I think that he signed over. Second command is in charge right now.

Chuck Shute: 16:45

Yeah. And they say that guy's crazier than Putin. He's, uh, he's more vicious or something is a boy. Yeah. Great. No, but ultimately, like, it's one of those things where there's literally nothing you can do you have we have zero control over that. Right. So like, I mean, that's where it's like, I think, like we're Brett saying, he's going through a strange time, because it's probably Brett's like, well, there's nothing I can do about this. So that's where he probably doesn't worry about it. But the reason you're focused on this and like, freaked out.

Pete Evick: 17:17

It's funny you say that, because Brett has a habit of it all cost trying to help anybody anytime. If he, if he's talking to somebody and they say, Oh, I'm having trouble getting new tires on my car, he'll just go give that money to whoever it is. And, or, or he's he, he always, even if it's something he knows nothing about. He'll try to offer some advice and some help. It's he likes to write.

Chuck Shute: 17:48

So for say there was like a struggling podcaster that wanted him to do my show. Like I could just reach out and be like, Hey, you want to help me out and

Pete Evick: 17:56

do my show? You can get directly to him. That's the

Chuck Shute: 18:00

Bravo. I know where he lives. He lives like a few like a like 10 ma 2020 30 miles from me. I'm in Arizona. I've been to his house. I mean, I've stalked him I've driven by I haven't. I don't go in a driveway or whatever. He's got a big

Pete Evick: 18:11

gate. But yeah, I'm very aware of that gate. I've spent an enormous amount of my life behind it.

Chuck Shute: 18:17

Okay, you're on the good side. Yeah.

Pete Evick: 18:20

Actually, he sold that house during Cody. He's gone. Yeah. Which is terrifying to me. Because Scottsdale is my favorite place in the United States.

Chuck Shute: 18:28

Hey, come crash with me. It's not as nice as Brett's ranch but got a nice warm couch or a blow up bed for you.

Pete Evick: 18:35

But back to my point. Yeah. Is that when the software's went down? I was talking to Brett and he got real silent and he goes, Well, I can't help you. It was the first time in our 20 year relationship, that friendship that he'd said anything like that at all. He I stumped him with with my fear of all this. He couldn't help me. It was it was interesting. Yeah. You know, Robert Mason lives out there, too. That's

Chuck Shute: 19:01

right. Yeah. And Marcus Scott from trickster and Dave Ellefson, from formerly of magazines

Pete Evick: 19:07

out there a long, long time and yeah, and Lita Ford is in Arizona now too. Is she?

Chuck Shute: 19:13

You? Yeah, I don't know. I would love to get her on the show. That'd be amazing. She's over

Pete Evick: 19:17

on the Apache Junction side, but I don't think she's in Apache Junction, but she's over there somewhere.

Chuck Shute: 19:23

Okay, yeah, there's a beautiful Lost Dutchman. That's mountains. And if you know that, like the legend of that there's a cool ghost town like a really cool mountain. It's amazing. Beautiful stuff. So yeah, I mean, the only thing you could do is like, I guess you could buy a bomb shelter

Pete Evick: 19:38

is I thought about that a lot of times. Yeah. Because that was a big

Chuck Shute: 19:41

thing in the 60s and stuff when there was like threats of

Pete Evick: 19:44

now. Have you done the research? It's huge now. Well, yeah, well, they

Chuck Shute: 19:48

have all those TV shows, like, what are they called, like disaster planning or whatever? The prepper people preppers you know, the doomsday preppers.

Pete Evick: 19:56

But if you do some research, there's millionaires and billionaires. That Have bomb shelters now that yeah, why wouldn't you? But they're like, mansions underground. It's you can type it in research. It's unbelievable. Oh, I'm

Chuck Shute: 20:09

sure. Oh, that'd be so cool. Yeah, so Brett doesn't have one of those that he could let you come crash at that. Dammit. See, that's what he needs to do. I mean, he's got the private jet, he needs the bomb shelter.

Pete Evick: 20:20

He would be more, he would be more apt to get in the plane and just fly around the earth until it all settled down. Instead of going underground. He's a he's claustrophobic. He likes it. He likes his space in his outdoor and putting him on the ground would kill him faster than the bomb itself.

Chuck Shute: 20:40

Kind of that would be that'd be not a bad way to spend the time either though, just flying around. So then see, because I'm not really that. I mean, I guess it's cool to see like fancy resorts and fancy homes and fancy cars. But to me, I tell people I'm like, Ah, that stuff doesn't really motivate me now. I hate flying commercial, though. So you flown in his private jet. What is that? Like? That's gotta be that's gonna ruin you for commercial flying.

Pete Evick: 21:04

It does not. I actually make a joke all the time. It's like pulling teeth to get me on that thing. Really? Yeah, I always tell his pilot every time I get up in that plane. I say don't make me famous today. Because that's where guitar players die are on those. That was Randy Rhoads was was a Buddy Holly or not Buddy Holly. But um yeah, yeah. No

Chuck Shute: 21:31

party Holly Richie Valens in the Big Bopper.

Pete Evick: 21:34

Yeah, so, you know, guitar players, dinos things.

Chuck Shute: 21:38

Not not as recently though, it's the I think they've gotten better at, I hope.

Pete Evick: 21:43

Sure. Yeah. All jokes aside, the planes cool. Yeah, it's on the idea of driving your car, right up to the plane, not going through security. And just walking up to it. You know, not, you know, there's all the luxury of, you know, getting up there. And whatever food you want is up there. And there's just two people on this planet. All that stuff is just rich people stuff. That doesn't matter at all to me. But I hate airports. And I hate me too. So. So the idea of just driving up and stepping on the plane while someone else parked your car

Chuck Shute: 22:23

is so amazing. I'm so jealous of that. That is, I mean, I'm jealous. A lot of stuff you get to play with Brett and hang out. But that is one of the coolest, the private jet thing would be such a great perk.

Pete Evick: 22:34

Yeah. And that jet actually helps our band because we can get places that we can do a gig in one place another gig completely somewhere else that sometimes we can't do if we had to fly commercially, just because of layovers and different things like that. You know, we did this. We there was one point where we went from Canada to Mexico back to Canada. And it would not have been able to happen without that plane. So that's awesome. Yeah, it's cool. It's super cool. Without a doubt,

Chuck Shute: 23:10

ya know, I always feel like because I always get stuck to like either a screaming baby or like someone that's like really large and like taking up two seats. Or you know, somebody like who smells bad. Like I always get stuck next to these like crazy people. And then just going through security. It's so annoying.

Pete Evick: 23:27

It's, I have gotten to the point where if a show is eight hours or less from me, I'll just drive it.

Chuck Shute: 23:36

I love driving. I love road trips. It's so fun. So relax and turn on my own music. I got a space out.

Pete Evick: 23:43

I have one of those brand new 2021 Ford Broncos. Oh, you got one of those. Wow. And I got it in July. And I just yesterday put for it's a very good 40,000 miles.

Chuck Shute: 23:59

Holy shit. Yeah,

Pete Evick: 24:01

I drive it everywhere. Yeah, see,

Chuck Shute: 24:02

I'm not much of a Ford guy. But those things look really cool. I gotta say like, those like that was like when the Mustangs when they brought the Mustangs back and I was like, I'm not a Ford guy, but those Mustangs are badass.

Pete Evick: 24:13

So interestingly enough, the I got one of those most things when they first came out to for that exact reason. My father worked for Ford his whole life. And he was auto mechanic and he brought me home a 67 Mustang on my 16th birthday

Chuck Shute: 24:29

to see him, and but

Pete Evick: 24:31

I didn't want it back then. It was it was an old old car. And to him it was a project that me and him were going to do together. And that was you know, in 1986 or 87. And I just wanted a car that I didn't want to project I want to you know what I mean? All my friends at that day and age things were different. The world wasn't rich and people weren't getting super nice cars, but everybody got a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic or a That's it. That's what you got in my world when you're 16. And I wanted something similar to what my friends were getting. So then I had that car for about three months, and I finally explained it to him. And then I was able to get a Mustang of that current Mustang.

Chuck Shute: 25:18

You know what I mean? Because those 80s Mustangs are terrible. That was the worst

Pete Evick: 25:22

era. It was terrible, but a

Chuck Shute: 25:25

Camaro or something that would have been cool. Now Iraq,

Pete Evick: 25:29

yeah, right. Right. Right. So So anyway, when the I had just joined Brett's band for the first year, when that when that Mustang came out, and we were we were driving around, we were riding the bus all the time. And I kept seeing him on the roads. And I kept staring at him staring at him staring at him. And I just loved it. I was I told that story about, you know, my, my childhood, and my dad and the Mustang and all this stuff. And so when that tour ended, he gave me a check. And it wasn't it wasn't for the full amount, but it was, he said to me, next time I see you, I want you to have one of those Mustangs, if you don't want this check back.

Chuck Shute: 26:17

Down. Yeah. So it's like a bonus check or whatever. Yeah,

Pete Evick: 26:21

yeah. So that so I went and got one. So yeah, I'm a Ford guy. And the same the soldier came back to me when the Broncos came out. And I thought it for a while, you could you could ask my girlfriend or my son or Darrin, my business partner, or even Brett, I was silent about it, and quiet and didn't think much about it, putting it behind me because I really wasn't in a position to, to, I didn't need to or ready to buy a new vehicle. And then something happened. And I drove by the dealership that my father used to work at. And they had one sitting there. And, and then I just went nuts. And all sudden i That day I had to have. And so I went and talked to the dealership. And at this time, I didn't realize how hard they were to get. I didn't understand the demand for the thing. So I didn't want the one they had on the lot. I wanted, I wanted a very specific one is called area 51. Blue is the color they that it is. And it was the Outer Banks package. There's all these. So I happen to know someone really high up in the Ford organization because Brett want to read songs that I had produced and CO written called driven was used in a Ford commercial a couple years ago. And so we got to know all the people real tight. We've played private parties for the Ford organization, and everything. And so I called my friend that is basically a second seat to Bill Ford and company. And I said, I need this car today. I have to have this one. And they helped me look all over the country. And there wasn't there wasn't any available in the whole country right then. But it turned out that that exact model was on order to be sent to the Ford dealership that my dad had worked at that I was at. So

Chuck Shute: 28:11

wow, synchronicity. They call that it was weird. So

Pete Evick: 28:15

they sped up the delivery to it and got it there. And I picked it up a couple days later.

Chuck Shute: 28:21

That's awesome. Yeah. So you like it?

Pete Evick: 28:24

Favorite car I've ever owned. It's cool. It's without that cool.

Chuck Shute: 28:28

Yeah, that's really neat. So when you it's interesting, like I was going through your history, like I know you've been in Brett's band for what? 17 years? 1919. Okay.

Pete Evick: 28:39

Partially might be 19 today, or 19. Tomorrow, I think is my Yeah, some some some the first week of May is 19 years.

Chuck Shute: 28:47

But I didn't know you actually too. You also tried to audition when CC left in 9192. And you sent the band to tape and they respond. I know if the band was put the management or somebody responded to you, right?

Pete Evick: 28:59

Yeah. Well, you know, I was much younger, but I was enormous, poisoned fan, me and me and my drummer Chuck. We I have videos of us playing cry tough, and I'm just getting up and nothing but a good team in high school talent shows. And so I a friend of mine, a local musician. His name was Michael Fath, who was one of those Guitar Hero guys had gotten a lot of tension. He'd been on the cover of Guitar World magazine. He had a few records up but he was an Instrumental Guitar Player just like vai or Sachi, any of those guys. He was in that world when he lived here in Virginia. He had done the audition. And they told him though, and he gave me all the information. He goes, I know you love this band, give it a shot yourself. And so I did. And it was just I thought I had a shoo in because I was from the mid atlantic where they were from, you know, And the their label and and you know whether they were truly looking for it or not in that era and time it was crucial for them to get a Guitar Hero

Chuck Shute: 30:14

right they had they have a guy with a name that with recognition point right especially because the 90s was happening is like the you know, they really needed to like get the biggest name that they could they I think they because they really narrowed it down to Richie Kotzen and blues. So

Pete Evick: 30:28

they had both of them eventually. Yeah, right. Was that the next record? Yeah. Richie is such an amazing player in that record is still amazing. I know it doesn't sound like a poison record to a lot of people. But what amazing songs they are.

Chuck Shute: 30:45

Yeah, that was when I was first starting to get into music and I loved the whole record like every song on the record to me it was like I would listen to that in high school just like on repeat just over and over and over. I was like oh so that's such a cool record. I was actually probably my favorite poison record at the time.

Pete Evick: 31:03

Sure. I went back and forth some of that is my favorite music of all time. I hold cat dragged in a heart close to my heart because cried tough is is still one of my favorite songs. Um, but I would I would say my favorite records open up and say off with back to the rocking horse and nothing but a good time. I like that. And I like the sound of that record. It was I loved it.

Chuck Shute: 31:26

Ya know, especially those first two are the first three or so they're huge albums. But I go back now I think I think now we just did a another podcast or I we we did a ranking of poison albums. And I think I can't remember what I said now but I think I said the first one might be my favorite because I go back and I go I just the energy on that. It's just so raw. And just like I kind of like the first Motley Crue record too fast for love, or it's just a

Pete Evick: 31:49

shame story that no one really was interested in us.

Chuck Shute: 31:55

Yeah, and it just sounds like you but you feel that there's like, we're going to take on the fucking world and like they just come in balls out and just play and it's like, Oh, okay. And then obviously, the musician and the production gets better over the years. But there's something special about those first albums that were just like they've been saving it up.

Pete Evick: 32:12

I say that all the time when I talk to people. What you just said is exactly right. The biggest example in music history to me, of of that first album is the Hootie and the Blowfish record, right.

Chuck Shute: 32:25

That's not what I was expecting you to say they're gonna say Appetite for Destruction or something.

Pete Evick: 32:29

No, but let me let me tell you why is take yourself out of being a rocker and just talk about the music business. The Hootie and blowfish record blew up. I mean, if you remember, yeah. Unstoppable. I think it was the first record to break all of DEF leopards numbers as far as album sales and single singles off a one record and all that kind of stuff. You know what I mean? And it was an it was an unstoppable force, you could not go anywhere without being faced with hearing hooting the blowfish at that time. Right. And that second record, I bet you don't even know there was a second record. Was it that bad? It was terrible. It was terrible. And I've credit that's what you just said. You have your entire life to write your first record. And then obviously, you have a bunch of money and a bunch of people breathing down your throat, trying to tell you to write that second record in under a year. That's hard, man. You know, so anyone that has a second record, that's any good poison, motley crew, you know, Bon Jovi? Anyone it gets to that second record, and it's better than the first? That's, that's an undeniably amazing thing to have.

Chuck Shute: 33:44

No, it is. And I think it's the hunger and I mean, there could be so many factors to but I don't know if you're Joe Rogan fan, but I was listening to this interview the other day, he was talking and he was telling the story about like Stephen King, and how he wrote like, the first few books that he wrote, he was like, coked out and like, just all these drugs and shit. He was writing like the shining and carry and Kouji like all these like really dark stuff. But then when he got cleaned up, like he was still a good writer, but it just didn't have that like, crazy viciousness of those first books that he because he was all fucking nuts.

Pete Evick: 34:17

Yeah, right. You know, it's funny. I am a Joe Rogan fan. And and for during COVID He got me and my girlfriend through it. I think I think we spent most of COVID just binging Joe Rogan stuff all the time. He's fascinating. I was always a fan of him even from fear factor. I thought he was cool guy and I all the different things he's done. But uh, I to be honest with you. I found the show because of David Lee Roth being on it.

Chuck Shute: 34:46

Oh, really? The most recent time he was on it? No. The first time. Okay. Yes, most recent time he was on it. I couldn't get through that episode. I think halfway through I was like, I This is weird. I gotta bail.

Pete Evick: 34:58

What did you see where At some point in the second episode, Dave gets up and goes to the bathroom. And the cameras are all on. And Joe goes, that dudes out there it was funny to me, I don't, you know, I live and die for Van Halen they are. Yeah, they are that and I'm a Hagar fan from,

Chuck Shute: 35:20

ya know, you have some cool stories about him, and he's given you props. And that's awesome.

Pete Evick: 35:25

Yeah, that's funny that you know, you know that stuff. But uh, but watch those Roth interviews. It's just amazing, man. It's, it's, it's, you know, part of me thinks he's the biggest clown in the music industry. And part of me knows that. He actually knows stuff. We just don't know he's on a different plane, and having a hard time to communicate it. You know, I go back and forth with what do I really think about it? You ever

Chuck Shute: 35:51

see that video of him and I think it's in Vegas hotel. And he hears like the early Van Halen record plane, and then they go and knock on the door. And the guys have no idea who he is. It's the most awkward thing. But funny at the same time.

Pete Evick: 36:06

Yeah. No, but have you seen somebody did a mash up? They take Joe Rogan out of it. And they put David Lee Roth and Steven Tyler's interviews with Joe Rogan together. Makes it look like they're talking to each other. Have you not seen that? No, that sounds hilarious. Dude, as soon as this is over, you have to look that up.

Chuck Shute: 36:26

Okay, I will definitely do that. Yeah, cuz I don't even think I saw Stephen Taylor. Steven Tyler was on Rogen

Pete Evick: 36:32

years ago. Okay, it was a while ago. Yeah, it's the most amazing thing because Tyler much like Roth doesn't make a lot of sense, except for in his own head when he's talking. And they just go back and forth. You just can't explain it yet to watch it.

Chuck Shute: 36:44

That's interesting. Yeah, no, they're both both of those guys that are such legends. I mean, they could do whatever the hell they want. And yeah, hey, I'm fine with it. Because you frickin made some of the best music of all time.

Pete Evick: 36:55

Yeah, it's funny. Me and Brett went to see Aerosmith one night. And that's one of Brett's favorite bands. And, you know, I've been fortunate enough to know that I know a lot of people I've gotten to do a lot of things and live out super dreams with with. But the Aerosmith guys are somewhat untouchable. You don't you don't hear about guys hanging out with those guys a lot. You know what I mean? And so we we show up. We have a night off and we take Brett's plane to somewhere in Michigan. And we go, and we're coming to back door and we're walking down. And Steven walks by. And hey, Brad, how you doing? And it was, it was just neat to see. You know, I see people excited to see Brett as a fan. But knowing that Brett loves Aerosmith so much seeing someone that was an idol to him embrace that he was there. It was neat to see from that perspective that and then we saw Joe later and Joe was very excited to Joe played on one of me and Brett's records actually, the general friends record. But But Stephen What a legend. What a legend. He He's kept it together where a lot of people haven't. You know?

Chuck Shute: 38:13

Yeah, I haven't seen them. I've never actually seen them live. But I've heard that they still sound great like Stephens voice is still he can still do the screams and stuff.

Pete Evick: 38:23

I remember a couple years ago, maybe it's 10 years now what there was a there was talk that they were going to Steve Steven was going to leave Aerosmith or something was he was going to leave but it was temporary. There was something similar to the Guns and Roses situation. Maybe it was because he was gonna do that solo record and the band wanted to still tour whatever. Anyway, they're managed by the same company. As Brett each game management at the time. And HK management had approached both Brett and Sam Hagar. And God knows who else about filling in. Right. And I was privy to both Sandy's response and Brett's response. And both were you know, Brett was just simply I can't do that. There's i The idea of trying to fill Stephens shoes is the fact that you made this calls amazing, but You're ridiculous. Let's end this conversation.

Chuck Shute: 39:21

He's such a different style of singer. He can't scream highlight that.

Pete Evick: 39:25

He can do it. Kenny. Oh, yeah. When you when you get Brett in the right mood, he'll give you his Steven Tyler impersonation and it's he's influenced by him a lot. Let's just say that he can do really? Yeah. But Hagar his response was I'm just saying thing. I'm such I'm honored that someone who asked me that. But if I did that, I would suddenly just be the guy that replaces other legends.

Chuck Shute: 39:51

Yeah, I didn't know that is it so that they were officially offered or they were just offered like audition or something or

Pete Evick: 39:57

what no auditions it was. Hey, Steven is going to take break from the band and we need to, we want to keep the band on the road. Do you want to do this?

Chuck Shute: 40:05

Or just fill in temporarily? Yeah. Okay. And they and they both said no. So then we're those only two choices because I never happened.

Pete Evick: 40:13

Like I said, I told me because I know those situations. I don't know who else they called or what happened. I don't know. Okay. Well, I

Chuck Shute: 40:20

hope I didn't get you in trouble by talking about it.

Pete Evick: 40:22

I think I brought it up. I don't Yeah, I know. There's I know that there's webcast somewhere where Sammy is talking about it.

Chuck Shute: 40:30

Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay. Well, one other dirt. Do you have? Like the stuff inside information?

Pete Evick: 40:36

I don't know if that's really dirt or not, but tell me tell me about that autograph warrant? poster. Yeah, back there.

Chuck Shute: 40:42

Oh, no, I just, I bought that as at a show I don't normally have it. Or they were just here in Arizona. It was like warrant Skid Row. And winger and I never seen Winger. And Winger was like they open the show. But they were really good. And

Pete Evick: 40:56

red. Red has played with me and Eric and our acoustic band a couple of times. And it's hard to sit by that guy and think of yourself as a good guitar player, because he's a lot better.

Chuck Shute: 41:08

Oh, he's insane. Yeah, I've been trying to get him on the show for years. I finally just had Paul Taylor their keyboard player. And he's, he's awesome, too.

Pete Evick: 41:16

What a calm and cool guy. Paul's super, super cool.

Chuck Shute: 41:19

Yeah. And he like he co wrote that if you're the new skid row song, The gang's all here. Yeah, he co wrote that. And I was like, I love that. That's one of the best songs I've heard of any band in the last like 20 years, in my opinion. Like, it's so good.

Pete Evick: 41:32

It certainly sounds. So I was not an enormous fan of slave to the grind. But I was an enormous fan of the first Skid Row record. And so hearing that song, I was really happy to hear that song because that sounds like this. What I want it the next Skid Row record sound like when I was Yeah, sounds like right after the first album sounds like where it should have gone.

Chuck Shute: 41:56

Yeah, it sounds like it's me. It was in 1990. Like they wrote it right after the first record. And that was like in between, because it's a little heavier than the first record but not to the point of slave to the grind.

Pete Evick: 42:07

Yeah, there was when we when we were doing that the acoustic gig and we it's kind of just a free for all jam session not really rehearsed. And I would you know, I'd be playing and singing a song and I look over to read and I'd be like, Alright, do the solo. And he got no, you do the solo. I'm like, What do you mean, me do the soil? You like, I'm not playing nothing. I'll play chords in front of you. But the year that, you know, I'm not playing solos in front of Red Beach. But he every time he's like, No, you go out and do it. I'm like, that's all you

Chuck Shute: 42:35

know, you must be I mean, you play you play CC solos, those gotta be hard to replicate, I would think.

Pete Evick: 42:42

But, you know, I was a huge CC Deville fan, I was very influenced by cc. So, but he's very unique style. And not everybody can can fill the shoes to, to anyone can play the stuff. But to do it justice, and make the fans feel like, you know, I try every night to over and over 20 years, 19 years now. I've evolved the solos into a lot of my own personal feel. But I still remain really true to you know, like every night when we do every rose when it's over. Right because Peter like note for note, you know, see, see, you know, I say this a lot when when we were all growing up on that music. CC and McMorris weren't rated as guitar heroes. Right? They weren't. They weren't momsteam. And they weren't Steve Vai. And they weren't Edward Van Halen. But here we are, all these years later. And those are the two guys that are still here. Those are the two guys that are still relevant people coming to see them play in arenas, you know, Doc and opens up for voice and now you notice that? You know, and and so and I credit that to the fact that that you can hum every note to the fallen angel solo like it's a vocal melody and you can hum hum every note to every Rose has its Thorn. I can't harm you in any way. momsteam song saved my life.

Chuck Shute: 44:17

Well, no. And that's interesting that you I heard you say that when you were learning guitar, you learned the solos, but you paid more attention to the song structure than the solos that was more where you listen to which I was like, oh, that's actually really smart as a guitar player, because like you said, anyone can play the solos. No, not anyone but a lot of guitar players. But writing a good song is like way more and that's probably why people are going to see poison. And Motley Crue is because of the songs they're not going to you know, I mean, they maybe they're not as technically crazy as Malmsteen stuff, but not as many people want to see that.

Pete Evick: 44:48

Right? It's true. It's pretty important. It 25 years old, I became a singer instead of a guitar player and a guitar player. And once you become a singer and start focusing on that part You realize what the real important role of a guitar is in a rock song and you know, a good solos good solo and anyone wants to see talent I mean look at the Van Halen stuff. But songwriting is the Solo was just the hood ornament on a nice car.

Chuck Shute: 45:19

Right. Van Halen I think had both and that's what people tell me when I talk about bass guitar players about their like, well it was the songs more so than the solos the solos to Yes, but like you said it's like the hood ornament.

Pete Evick: 45:32

I was I was having a discussion with my son, just last week. The Van Halen thing was a perfect storm. I mean, I understand I'm an enormous fan. I'm enormous fan. But it's it's never in history. Is there that moment where there's pop sensibility and lightning, like energy and good songs with with incredible talent, because, you know, let's, Eddie's great, but so was Alex. Alex was every single bit a unique and strange drummer as Neil Peart. They're on par with each other with that talent. You know, Alex did some incredibly strange things and different things at different time signatures and even that beginning to Panama, that everyone hums and plays and every Caribbean and world plays it if you really listen to what's happening and that second second turnaround comes in on on the an or the II have and right before that note, it's the music the musical talent that was in Van Halen. You don't see that in pop success. You don't right. You know, I mean, it was it was a perfect storm. And and you know, you can credit that to David Lee Ross. Good looks you can create you know, there's no Guitar Hero that isn't famous because there's singer Yeah, every every truly famous guitar hero has charismatic singer that got him there. I hate to say

Chuck Shute: 47:03

no one I love you know, it's called love an alien. It's like there's it's such a variety like the song when I think one of my favorite songs if not the number one favorite Van Halen song for me, it was hot for teacher. And I just love the intro. It starts off with the drums and it's just total drums. There's nothing else and then it kicks into the guitars. And I'm like, that's it's like a badass way to begin that song.

Pete Evick: 47:22

And you know, those guys, if you know enough about their history, they probably just walked in the studio and one of them started playing and the other side playing and it was probably never even meant to be anything but a warm up. And then it becomes a song, you know?

Chuck Shute: 47:34

Yeah, that was sort of the eruption. He was just warming up and Templeton's, like, hey, let's turn that on. Let's make that a song.

Pete Evick: 47:41

Yeah, you know, I was very fortunate to see Van Halen rehearse the night before. In Charlotte, North Carolina the night before their debut show with the Roth as the comeback. The tour kicked off in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I was invited down to the day before to watch rehearsals. And Dave didn't show

Chuck Shute: 48:00

up. Right. There's this one Wolfie saying or something.

Pete Evick: 48:03

Yeah, I've told this story a lot of times. It will. He was singing. That's why I got real defensive when the tour started. And everyone start talking about the tracks they were playing to. And I wanted to be a one man army to say, Man, I fucking saw it with my own eyes. I watched this kid sing the lead vocals. And I watched him. They took a break and came back and did a couple of Sammy riffs and songs for a couple of minutes. And he was singing it. And but my point was, I watched for three hours, the three Van Halen's play. And Michael's a friend of mine, and Michael's a tremendous bass player. But I watched the three of them play. And the best thing I could describe, it was like, we're always told a hive is like a bee company or an ant company. It was they were it wasn't like unison, like we think of unison as music. They were working like a hive. They those three guys playing together. It is embedded in my school, I will never forget seeing it without Dave and just watching them play music together for three hours. And they were breathing together in time. They were blinking their eyes together in time. It was it was just the most insane, magical thing I've ever seen in my life.

Chuck Shute: 49:14

Oh, that must have been amazing. And too, like you're getting like a private show, basically.

Pete Evick: 49:18

Oh, yeah, there was in that entire empty arena. But other than Van Halen in the crew, it was Valerie Burton, Ellie, and her new husband at the time. And me and my ex wife. There was only four people in the whole place. It was unbelievable.

Chuck Shute: 49:32

That's insane. Wow. Yeah. You have a lot of stories like that, where you're seeing these, like, private kind of rehearsals and things and

Pete Evick: 49:41

my perspective is different. You know, I'm a little bit younger than most of the guys that do what I do. And so, you know, for instance, I'll give you example, Eric Brittingham, Cinderella, bass, bass player, Cinderella, who was in our band for quite a few years. Um, you know, he's he's 61 or 62 years old now, right? So when and I think you're good, but younger than me, how old are you?

Chuck Shute: 50:08

44

Pete Evick: 50:09

So you're 44 I'm 49 we're about the same age. Oftentimes you and me maybe think that and maybe I'm wrong, but we think you know, all the members in motley crew must love rat and all the numbers a rat must love poison and all the members of poison must love Motley Crue and rat because they were all growing up playing that music together. But the truth of the matter is, they were influenced by the 70s music Breton doesn't love that music. But by the time you are successful musician, your influences are something of the past Brett's influences were Van Halen kiss Aerosmith. And Leonard Skinner. You don't you don't say Eric's influences were 70s Rock stuff. So sometimes it's hard when I'm talking to these guys that are my friends appears now. And I'm like, Man, I love this band. I love that band. And sometimes they don't even know that band. Not in a mean layer to this. Don't tell him. Yeah. And I can relate that to him. I got my first record deal. In the middle of that 91 In the late 90s 98. And my record, my first record had a very 90 sound we had very, like Bush meets Matchbox 20 There was pop sensibility with with the sound of the grunge era,

Chuck Shute: 51:21

for some odd reason is that what's going

Pete Evick: 51:23

on one reason, and but we would be out there, and I'd be doing interviews and stuff and people would say, What do you think of this band? That would be another current band? And I didn't know who they were. Because my influences were the ad stuff. You know, so my point to that is all of these all these guys that are now you know, the guys in firehouse for some some of my best buddies, the guys aren't weren't are like brothers to me, but I still have to fight the FANBOY in me. So I get real excited to go up and watch them soundcheck still, you know, 20 years veteran into this with Brett, most people don't last that long in this kind of situation. You know, like Lando been in Vince McMahon for I guess that long too. But um, you know, most people get a couple of years and and something goes wrong or they get out. And so I'm jaded. And I'm bitter, and all those things that come with being in the rock'n'roll business your whole life. But I still get, you know, real excited to see some of my heroes bands at the soundtracks and I enjoy the stories I get to tell and the things that I've gotten to see that a lot of people can see. But just perspective that through my eyes being a, you know, professional, but still being a fan? is a it's an interesting perspective, I've gotten to have without a doubt,

Chuck Shute: 52:41

no, absolutely. So why do you think that is that you've been able to last so long in a solo gig because you're right, a lot of the solo musicians, they just go through band members, for whatever reason, I don't know, maybe they just get sick of veal or bored or they just want to mix it up. But you've been able to stick with Brett so long?

Pete Evick: 52:57

Well, me and Brett hit it off right off the bat. There's a lot of similarities. And there's a lot of there's a brotherhood between me and him. That is important. Because I was the singer and songwriter of my own band. For many years, I'm able to understand and respect the wants and needs of a singer. A lot of times a hired gun guitar player never really understands perspective being a singer. So So I think that that's part of the relationship, we shared a lot of same business views, a lot of a lot of same things. But also, Brett's not a hired gun guy, he didn't go out to LA and pick any of the normal guys. He He's a homegrown guy, and was happy to have he was happy to have someone that wasn't on the scene looking for his next gig. If that makes sense. You know, hired guys get a gig. And then the first thing to do as soon as they get that gig is start wondering what their next gig is a lot of times, which is fine. That's the way it goes. That's that's that's how that business works. I wasn't looking for that I'd had several opportunities to do different things in my life and said no to all of them. A couple that could have been game changers for my financial situation, and my profile and rock and roll. But I wanted to do what I wanted to do. I didn't want to be jumped from band to band hired gun guy and recognize that me and we created a bong that's kept me there for 19 years.

Chuck Shute: 54:34

What were the things that you were offered that you turned down?

Pete Evick: 54:38

I you know, I had a chance one time to join the to be the music director to one of those Cirque de delay things. You know, the you know, the the Vegas shows? Yeah, but it was one of the traveling ones. It was going around the world okay. And the money was enormous and The profile would have been cool to get to do that on that level that is worldwide. Yeah, those shows. There was an opportunity early early on before Buckcherry was was signed to get into that camp. Wow, that would have been cool. Yeah.

Chuck Shute: 55:17

It's definitely for Bret Michaels. Way before way before. Okay, so wait, why did you turn that one down then?

Pete Evick: 55:24

So that's an that's an interesting story. It was the resurgence of 80s. Rock had not come yet. Yeah. And I was out on the road with my band, some odd reason. And that band was breaking up. And it was breaking up. And I was having a conversation with my lawyer. And my lawyer happened to know of a new band that was in development at the time. I think with Geffen Records, I think it was Geffen I can't remember the whole story. But there's a lot of details that that aren't my story to tell, to be honest with you. But the there was some imaging things going on and some different things that provided an opportunity for they needed another guitar player. And so the conversation I had with somebody was this is this is tricky, because I don't want to sound negative, I'm just telling you the story is how it sounded. The conversation I had was a description of our band kind of has that late. La sound like LA guns. The term I'll never forget, I was told la guns. And I remember being upset with my lawyer for leading me down that path at all. Because again, the 80s resurgence hadn't happened yet. And so I thought to myself, why would I want to join as much as I love the music? And that sounded cool. It sounds like a cool idea, personally to me. How was that going to move my career forward? Being in a band that is part of the past that no one wants to listen to? Right? Right, right. So

Chuck Shute: 57:27

it's more of a you're making a business decision, rather than making a decision with your heart, which is like your heart with might be like, Oh, that sounds amazing. But you're trying to make a career out of it.

Pete Evick: 57:37

So maybe a year and a half later, I'm out on the road with my band. And my singer at the time, knew this story. knew the story. And all of a sudden, we hear this song. We can't fucking believe it. The song called all lit up, you remember, right? Oh, yeah,

Chuck Shute: 57:57

I know the song.

Pete Evick: 57:59

And it sounds just like shock pay for kiss. It's an identical riff. Right? It was, it is the coolest thing I'd heard in 10 years. And that DJ goes, that's a brand new band called Bookshare. And my singer looks over at me. And I just at that time, I was probably playing some I think we were in Texas, and I was about to play for $200 You know, slepping it out trying to, you know, make your original music happen. And I just thought to myself, if that motherfucker would have said we sound like kiss instead of elegans, everything my entire life might have been different, you know?

Chuck Shute: 58:48

Yeah. So you would have joined if it was sounded like kiss but I would

Pete Evick: 58:52

have had a lot more interest because to me kiss was my first influence. And, and, and, and kiss was timeless. Yes, everybody put their makeup back on and was selling out arenas. And they weren't they weren't they were they were cool again.

Chuck Shute: 59:07

Yeah, I think they should have said it sounds like kiss meets la gun with a modern twist because I think that would be would have been a better description because it definitely there's a little bit of all that stuff in it but it's definitely not a rip a kiss rip off. It's not an LA guns rip off its or their own band. So

Pete Evick: 59:26

you know, and who knows if I ever would have made it. They might have met me and hated me. Yeah. Yeah. But but had had that been worded. You know, the moral of that story is from now on. At least hear it with your own ears. I didn't hear that. Right. So

Chuck Shute: 59:45

it's one of those kind of offers though, because like, you probably can't listen to everything right?

Pete Evick: 59:50

No, no, not that stuff doesn't come my way much anymore. But back then. I was looking for. I never wanted like i said i I never wanted to join another band. That wasn't my thing. But it was always looking for how to feed my children. Right, you know, and so there was there was opportunities that come through. I've forgotten more than I'll ever remember to be honest with you. You know, but that particular story and the story about the I can't ever say that circuit delay. I don't know.

Chuck Shute: 1:00:22

Yeah, no, that's, those are two amazing offers. Wow. Buckcherry would have been. So then how did you I don't know if I know the whole story about how you, you did end up joining Brett's band, I think was was even your band opening for him at some point. Is that how you got to know him?

Pete Evick: 1:00:38

Yeah, well, yes. We the first two solo tours he did, I opened up my band had done opening spots with him. And the guitar player at the end of the second tour wasn't going to come in on the third year. And him and Jana who works for Brett and think, John, all at all, we'd all develop relationships and friendships. And all three of them had told Brett that I was the guy that just made sense. And so prematurely. Brett got a gig in Detroit. I love the story. I told the story yesterday. He called me and he goes, Hey, I got this gig. And instead of playing instead of bringing my whole band from LA, and why don't we just bring your whole band together. And that way, you don't have to go rehearse with these new guys you can ever play with just bring your band. And we'll play. It's a little radio gang. He call it a little radio gig. And my idea of a little radio gig and his idea of a literary radio gig are two completely different things. So we get them we don't even rehearse with Brett. Brett just tells us what to do. And I show up that day. And it's 15,000 people. That's crazy. It's not little to me right now. That's huge. And it was terrible. It was a disaster. And then a couple days later, he called me on the phone. He goes, Well, what do you think? I said, Oh, it's awful. And he goes, Well, that's the good news. Because if he would have said it was good, we that then we'd have a problem. You know, and he goes, but he said, uh, he was I've watched your band for two years. I know how good you guys are. Maybe we we approach this wrong. He goes on to another show. I got a show in a couple of weeks in Nashville on Memorial Day weekend, in front of a sold out crowd 33,000 people opening for Leonard Skinner. But he gave me the information that time I understood what I was walking in. He says just come on down. And just be you don't worry about anything, just be you. And we played a gig and halfway through it, or at the end of nothing but a good time. He gave me a high five. And we smiled. And it's 19 years later.

Chuck Shute: 1:03:02

Wow. That's cool this, but he gave me a second chance. Yeah,

Pete Evick: 1:03:06

I gave him a second chance to.

Chuck Shute: 1:03:08

Yeah, well, so did he just because you didn't have enough time to rehearse? Is that what it was? Or you just weren't prepped for a big show? And he got nervous or what happened?

Pete Evick: 1:03:17

No, it was it was a combination of it's kind of hard to explain. But we knew all the poison songs. We've been playing them our whole life. Okay. So we played them correctly. And he asked us to learn the poison songs and we played them correctly. But what neither of us took into consideration that we both knew we were both smart enough to know is those songs in the Live Set have evolved over the 30 years. They are not played just like the record by any means. Right? Yeah. And that was that was pre social media. So there wasn't a go on YouTube and look at how we did it. You know, talking about there wasn't going to look at the live versions to fry. Okay, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, we got up and played great. We played the poison songs as if we were the best poison cover band in the world. But they weren't the way he was used to hearing them anyway.

Chuck Shute: 1:04:14

Okay. So just seen this communication more than anything? Yeah, yeah. Okay. Cool. Yeah. 19 years later, still there. And then yeah, you've got the solo songs out and then I guess I didn't know you had a book. I haven't read that yet. And then do you still have the sauce company? Is that sort of thing. The sauce base thing?

Pete Evick: 1:04:33

The answer that is technically yes. No, I've it's too much. I had too much. i The Candle Company. Shining. So it was taking off. And in my brain. It was starting to run function enough without me. But I said try to start something new. But then the company grew to the point where Uh, me and my partner Darren, still have to be hands on deck. Almost 24/7 So candle

Chuck Shute: 1:05:08

Shining Soul. Yeah. Okay. Wow.

Pete Evick: 1:05:11

That's I'm sitting here at the at our warehouse right now doing this interview.

Chuck Shute: 1:05:16

So how does that work with like with the show's with Brett, just you make it all work together, though.

Pete Evick: 1:05:22

I have an incredible partner and an incredible team.

Chuck Shute: 1:05:26

All right, well, that's awesome.

Pete Evick: 1:05:30

What, but without a doubt, when I'm home and out on the road, I'm in this building. Usually lately at 730 in the morning, but no later than then 830. And I'm here till minimum 730, usually nine o'clock at night, every night, if, you know, there's a lot to do. And we're running. We've been incredibly fortunate to create what we've created. We have a manufacturing facility, and three retail stores across three different states, and 250 different stores around the United States that carry our products constantly. It became something on comprehendible to me,

Chuck Shute: 1:06:10

and you like it you love being in the business of candles and all that?

Pete Evick: 1:06:16

We like it Darren? I don't even know the answer.

Chuck Shute: 1:06:25

Well, yeah, what do you I mean, do you enjoy that your passion now as much as music? Or if you're spending that much time on it? I would think so.

Pete Evick: 1:06:33

Well, I'm very passionate about, I'm very passionate. In fact, sometimes that's a detriment to business is sometimes you have to remove your passion and make the right business decisions. And that time to time is hard for me. You know, making with me, the passion of the candle business is the creation of new products, coming up with a different fragrance or a different scent. It's just like writing a song. So making a new product, like making a new record to me. And it still feels very much like that. And maybe that's not how other companies do it. But in my brain, I treat it with the same process, I demo it. And then I make the real version of the final record. And then we make a release. And we press about and you know all that stuff. So yeah. But the shift changes once you. Once you have we have and we have 30 Some employees, all of a sudden, what's important is that your employees are getting a paycheck. All of a sudden, everything you think about just doesn't matter. What matters is that you're providing a living for adults, that count on that paycheck every single week. And that's what keeps you up at night. And that's what keeps you driving is solely to make sure that the people that come to work for you every day, get their paycheck.

Chuck Shute: 1:07:51

Well, that's not how everybody feels. Oh, so that's an admirable that you do though, that's good that you do that you have that kind of thought process. Some people might just be thinking about themselves and money for themselves and fuck everybody else. There's a lot of that going on in the world, too. Unfortunately,

Pete Evick: 1:08:05

you cannot do that, especially in this world right now. You You know, the entire workforce industry has changed. And if you aren't grateful for who you have, you're going to lose that.

Chuck Shute: 1:08:15

That's true. That's definitely true, too. Oh, yeah. I always end each episode with a charity. Is there a charity or nonprofit that you'd like to support?

Pete Evick: 1:08:23

I mean, there's so many things. For instance, if you go to shine sol.com We are we partner with mission 22 which is a a charity that helps with PSTD and suicide within soldiers in their communities. It's very important to me, and if you buy you have to find the link on the site. Okay. If you buy particular from that link 22% of all of our sales go to that charity. Oh, cool. We have a particular cancel, cancel candle called the fuck cancel. Fuck cancer candle, that 50% of that money goes to certain cancer charities. Oh, nice. And then we we did a charity. Just recently that's over now for Australian cattle dogs. I I own a relatively famous cattle dog. Yes. Over 15,000 fans on Instagram. More than me awesome. His name is Bobo the blue healer and he's my girlfriend service dog actually. But he's the first non human that's ever been invited to go to a NASA rocket launch. Wow. He was the animal ambassador for NASA. You can go their website and find all the pictures and all that stuff. He's been approached to be studied by three colleges because of how strangely intelligent he is. Really fascinating. Yeah. And and so he's an Australian cattle dog, which, by nature are incredibly intelligent breeds.

Chuck Shute: 1:09:56

Okay, I'll have to check that out. And also I got to watch the show. The Joe Rogan or Stephen Taylor and

Pete Evick: 1:10:04

so my point of that is, cattle dogs have an enormous amount of energy. And oftentimes, people will buy them. They can't handle them. Because of these little dogs and factories right here, boa, can everybody. I don't know if I can get them to jump up here. Okay, come on.

Chuck Shute: 1:10:22

Come on up.

Pete Evick: 1:10:23

Can you jump? Can you jump up? He's so calm right now. Yeah,

Chuck Shute: 1:10:27

I don't hear a dog barking or anything. No, no,

Pete Evick: 1:10:29

he's beautiful. He's stunning dog. And here he is. Baba. Come on. Come on. He's on my leg. But I can't get I'm sitting up high in a bars. Yeah. Okay. Oh, here he is. Oh, wow. Yeah. Beautiful dog would say hi to the camera. Say hi to the camera. Hi. So, but anyway, they're little dogs. So people buy these dogs. And and they're too much for him. Because they're their brother, I'm not lying to you do the research. They're like the raptors in Jurassic Park. Like, like that dog can open and close every door in my house. Wow. And, and he he knows every pair of shoes. If we say go get my vans. He'll get my vans. Not. Wow. And he'll bring them to you. So anyway, they, they require an enormous amount of attention. And a lot of people ended up ditching them. Or there's a whole charity for that. That's sad. And we raised an enormous amount of money at the beginning of the year for them. So awesome. Yeah. So if anyone's interested in that, check out the cattle dog Association. But as far as I get my hands on a lot of charity these days, and I tried to, because I've never been in a position in my life to be able to give back. Yeah. And I'm getting to the point in my life where I finally can. And I don't need an airplane and I don't need a mansion. I've lived this far without all that stuff. So. So I, you know, it's it's, it's important for me to do what I can do for other people. So I try to get my hands in. I don't have any particular charity, but I tried to help.

Chuck Shute: 1:12:19

No, that's awesome. You're doing a lot of great things. You have employees, you're helping the charities and you're making great music for the world and raising awareness about the Ukraine thing. So all sorts of good stuff that you're doing. Appreciate it.

Pete Evick: 1:12:30

Oh, hearing that back. I sound better than I am. Yeah, you

Chuck Shute: 1:12:33

took the time to do my stupid little podcast. So I appreciate that as well.

Pete Evick: 1:12:36

Thank you so much. That's all day long with that one poison thing behind? Yeah,

Chuck Shute: 1:12:40

dude, I can talk about stuff all the time. Let me know next time you're in Phoenix, Arizona. We'll go to a show.

Pete Evick: 1:12:44

Let me let me ask you. Yeah. Are you in Scottsdale or Phoenix?

Chuck Shute: 1:12:47

Scottsdale.

Pete Evick: 1:12:49

Have you ever eaten it jalapeno in Florida? Yes.

Chuck Shute: 1:12:53

Is that still there? It's like North Scottsdale, right? Yeah.

Pete Evick: 1:12:57

It's right down from where Brett's old house was? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I have flown all the way to Arizona just to eat dinner.

Chuck Shute: 1:13:06

That's awesome. Now I wonder I don't want somebody went when my buddy. And he was an older guy. But he liked he loved hot food. And they were like, they'll they come around, they have like this hot sauce. And she's like dumping the hot sauce. And he goes, he's looking at it like more. And she's like, this is really hot. He goes, I don't care. And she just so she dumped a bunch more. And he ate it. And he didn't freak out and pass out from from the spice. So

Pete Evick: 1:13:31

yeah, no, that's my my favorite restaurant in the whole world. Man. I love it. That was so depressed when Brett moved because that was where I would go when whenever we were working on making records there.

Chuck Shute: 1:13:42

Yeah. Why did he move like his kids went to school here and stuff, right?

Pete Evick: 1:13:45

The kids several years ago moved to Malibu.

Chuck Shute: 1:13:50

Oh, that's pretty nice, too, I guess.

Pete Evick: 1:13:53

The schools and the different things that were available for the careers they were getting to choose. Were there. So they went there and they had the house there. And then the house here. But during COVID he just decided to move on from the house and and do some different things.

Chuck Shute: 1:14:17

So he's got a house in Malibu, and is that the only zaev other houses?

Pete Evick: 1:14:22

No, yes, he has a handful of properties all over. But the new Malibu houses, it's it's truly standing on top of the world. Like, like when I go there, I can't even comprehend. You can see the mountains from his front yard. And you can see the ocean from the backyard. And it's like, why do we? Let's just stay here. Why do we have to go anywhere? Like yeah, you know, I've often said let's just stream our shows from your backyard. You know what I mean? It's but his house in Arizona was that way too. It was probably my favorite place I'd ever spend an enormous amount of time in my life it was, if you said you'd been driven up near it up a net called a sec. Yeah, it was very private. It was way out in the desert, there was only a couple of houses near me. It wasn't neighborhood by any means. And I remember we would be making the first couple records. And we'd built a studio in one of his guest houses, and I would leave the door open. And I'd look back behind me, and it just be a bobcat staring in the window or in the door, you know, or, or a coyote. I remember, his guest house was probably 100 yards from his actual home, down this hill. And some reason at night, I was watching North American 10 deadliest animals or something like that on TV, and you know, you live there. I saw seven of them myself that

Chuck Shute: 1:15:57

you know, my parents live up in north Scottsdale, so I'll go like one time remember when I was like, when I first before I even moved here. I think I went to visit them. And there was a dead tarantula on their porch like full on tarantula, I was like, those are here like in

Pete Evick: 1:16:11

the very first night and I'm telling you a lot of stories. I shouldn't tell anybody. Very first night when Brett first moved in that house wasn't 100% moved in yet. And we were eating dinner. And I looked up for some reason I looked up and sitting on the curtain was alive tarantula. Real thing, right? And you got scorpions, and the head Lena and the coyotes, the rattlesnakes, and the black widow spiders, and the bobcat. So that was seven. I'd seen all seven of those animals within 24 hours of watching that show on his property.

Chuck Shute: 1:16:51

Ah, yeah, it's cool.

Pete Evick: 1:16:56

Yeah, yeah. It's funny because I'm a camping guy out here on the East Coast. And I always want to go camping out there and that desert but I think Man, I you know, I remember sitting in Brett's guest house and listen to those coyotes kill those rabbits and hearing the snake rattles and all of a sudden, like, I don't know if I could, if I could make it through the night in a tense of scary enough in a house, right?

Chuck Shute: 1:17:14

Yeah, no, it's certainly there's definitely some danger out there. I mean, we do a lot of hiking so we don't do as much camping in the Phoenix Scottsdale area like desert park because yeah, there's a lot of crazy shit there.

Pete Evick: 1:17:25

You go out to that Mount Pleasant area.

Chuck Shute: 1:17:29

Lake Pleasant. I mean, Lake Pleasant. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Pete Evick: 1:17:33

That's a lot of fun. I like that out there.

Chuck Shute: 1:17:35

Yeah. Have you ever been to Canyon Lake? I have not. Oh, that one's way better. It's like these giant canyons. It's totally like manmade. I mean, they've made the lake because it's these big canyons and then there's a lake it's it's bizarre like messes with your head almost. Because it's I don't think it's like natural to have water. But it's beautiful. I mean, this is beautiful lake and there's a cool like Marina restaurant bar, that you can just have this amazing

Pete Evick: 1:17:58

view. I would love to see it. from Arizona. No,

Chuck Shute: 1:18:02

I'm from Seattle, believe it or not.

Pete Evick: 1:18:04

Are you really we just played in Seattle a couple of weeks ago.

Chuck Shute: 1:18:06

Oh, did you the casino? Yes.

Pete Evick: 1:18:09

But it was a newer. It was a casino we'd never played before whatever

Chuck Shute: 1:18:12

snow call me or No, no, we

Pete Evick: 1:18:14

used to play that one all the time. And we used to play there was a there's a giant one that I can't remember we used to play with. It was like an indoor arena inside of it. But I'm just I can't remember name of what we played. But uh, the Seattle do you get back to Seattle much.

Chuck Shute: 1:18:29

It's not since a pandemic but I'm gonna be going again now that now that flying is like legal again, or whatever. It's like safer. I like I said, I hate flying commercial. And then when they had the mask thing, I was like, I don't want to sit on a plane for five hours with a mask. And

Pete Evick: 1:18:43

I'll share any air airport for two hours before that. It just made me crazy. I would be flying during the pandemic to bridge or to LA. And that's that becomes a nine or 10 hour day of that mask on your face.

Chuck Shute: 1:18:54

Yeah, it was. It was just too not pleasant for me. I mean, I would do road trips and stuff, but I didn't want to fly it was it was already annoying before that now at least they've taken the mask thing away for now. And so I'm going to try to fly back.

Pete Evick: 1:19:08

Seattle has seen a lot of change since the pandemic.

Chuck Shute: 1:19:12

Oh, great. Yeah, it's already gone downhill since since I left and I left in 2008 and moved here and I come back and I'd be like What the hell happened to my city? It's like

Pete Evick: 1:19:22

I hate to say it it was pretty unrecognizable from the last time I saw it. It's a lot you know what I'm saying? What's going on up there? A lot of

Chuck Shute: 1:19:29

Oh yeah, the homeless and there's a documentary it's like a mini thing on YouTube called Seattle is dying. And it's really sad it's like just because there was like all this the I don't know what it what the what the what happened. But all this homeless encampments, they just seem to encourage it or allow it or something and they don't they're not helping these people. And I don't know I don't seems inhumane to me, and I just feel bad for all the homeless people but

Pete Evick: 1:19:53

there's there's solutions that aren't being taken care of.

Chuck Shute: 1:19:56

No, exactly. You're exactly right. I I'm just worried that's going to come here. Are to Phoenix and Scottsdale seems like it's hitting a lot of big cities. It's this weird like technique where you just don't do anything and hope that it gets better. I don't really understand it. But

Pete Evick: 1:20:10

oh, put your head in the sand attitude.

Chuck Shute: 1:20:13

I guess so. Yeah, I've heard things have gotten a little bit. I thought I heard they were getting better. They're starting to clean up some of the in camp. I know LA because at the Super Bowl, so they had to clean up some of the homeless encampments and things but I don't know if that was just for the Super Bowl, and then they let it go back. I mean,

Pete Evick: 1:20:29

LA is LA. It's what it is. But you know, but the Seattle thing was just interesting to meet at our hotel. There was tons of homeless in tents and stuff outside of our really nice hotel and a really nice part of town. You know what I mean?

Chuck Shute: 1:20:42

Yeah, it's odd. My parents said they're from Seattle, they like lived there in the 70s. And they said, they told me there was no homeless people when they first moved there. There was like, there wasn't you didn't see that. So I don't

Pete Evick: 1:20:54

know. Interesting. So before you wrap up, I'm sorry to take up too much your time. I just want to make sure we circle back because the whole interview was supposed to be about promoting my best days.

Chuck Shute: 1:21:05

Yes. The two songs right. The best days and 99 left balloons cover. So the 99 song is not it's not on Spotify. I think it's the only YouTube

Pete Evick: 1:21:19

Hello, such some weird sound is happening. Are you there?

Chuck Shute: 1:21:22

Yeah. I'm here. Are you still there? I'm freezing up did it pause

Pete Evick: 1:21:34

Do you? I think I got you back.

Chuck Shute: 1:21:36

Okay. Yeah, no, so the two songs Yeah, but the best days I just listen now and right before the interview. Great song.

Pete Evick: 1:21:44

Did you like it? Yeah. What? What did it sound like to you?

Chuck Shute: 1:21:48

Um, now I'm trying to remember. It sounded like kind of want to say because I heard you like talking about the Bowling for Soup. It almost kind of reminded me of that. More of like, like a 90s kind of rock pop rock.

Pete Evick: 1:22:02

It's funny. You say that you're the second person that pull a Bowling for Soup. Reference out of that. And those guys are? Chair. It's one of my good buddies, too. Right. Yeah,

Chuck Shute: 1:22:10

I think that's maybe why I thought of that. But that's kind of like the when you say what I mean, cuz it's hard to describe. I'm so bad at describing music, but that it sounded more like of that era, kind of like a poppier. 90s kind of rock more than like an 80s kind of,

Pete Evick: 1:22:24

I produced it, if you go back and listen, I produced it intentionally, to sound like a Bon Jovi record.

Chuck Shute: 1:22:30

I can hear that, yeah, I can, I can hear that. It's definitely popular. It's melodic. I like that kind of stuff, whether it's Poppy and melodic, 70s 80s 90s, whatever you want to call that. But I like stuff with a hook. That's catchy. And it's not that. Well,

Pete Evick: 1:22:43

I just, I didn't mean to go back to it. I just wanted to make sure that we mentioned that the songs out and

Chuck Shute: 1:22:48

I'll put it in the notes, I'll put it when I post on social media, I'll say this my interview with Pete, he's got a new song out. So some people will probably won't even listen to the interview. But they'll see that you have a new song out. So that'll help you.

Pete Evick: 1:22:59

Just like we said at the beginning, it's a positive message in the song. And I think that there might be a few people that want to or need to hear it. So I was right,

Chuck Shute: 1:23:07

it said, there's always because we talked about how, you know, inspiration to those who feel that if they've already lived in their prime, no matter how old or what diversity, there's always something better on the way I like that message. I think that's great to be. So yeah, exactly. That's why we do everything. So that's why I started a podcast and everything. So I think we share the same philosophy on that. I love it

Pete Evick: 1:23:29

seems that way. Next time we do this, we'll do it in person it jalapenos will fly. I'll fly out there and we'll do a live podcast from the restaurant.

Chuck Shute: 1:23:36

Sounds good man. I'm in. Thanks so much.

Pete Evick: 1:23:39

I appreciate you having me on.

Chuck Shute: 1:23:40

I appreciate you coming on. Thanks so much. All right, buddy. All right. See you later. Bye. Bye. Thank you so much to Pete for coming on the show. Once again, make sure to check out his solo stuff. 99 Red Balloons is the cover. And my best days is the original song. And I just really listened to that song. And I'm totally hearing the Bon Jovi stuff. So I don't know why I missed that before maybe I was mixing it up with the other solo stuff that he had. But the vocals in the riff are a little bit more 90s. But the it's definitely got that guitar solo and the keyboards, which is more 80s Very cool. Check it out. And make sure to follow Pete on social media, you can follow me on there as well. I'm on everything. And if you want to support the show, you can subscribe wherever you watch or listen. And of course, your comments, likes and shares and all that good stuff helps a lot with the algorithm. So more people will see it on social media or YouTube. And if you're just listening on Apple podcasts or Spotify, or Google podcasts, I think you can do a rating or review and that will help out in the same way. So thank you so much for taking the time to listen all the way through to this episode. Have a great rest of your day and remember to shoot for the moon