[Transcript is the direct interview with Willow Brazuk and JR, not the episode script!]

[Source note: Farewell show recording used in episode: bearvsshaan on youtube, snowing final show - Sam Rudich]

Absent Sounds: I think a good place to start is- this summer you guys are playing a few shows that have "friends" in the title. Best Friends Forever Festival, New Friends Fest. So what is the role of friendship in the band Snowing? In the way that it existed in the past and the way that it exists now?

Willow Brazuk: Right. I mean, that's the basis of the band. That's the only thing. And I'm glad to be in it. JR and I, we've known each other since we were five.

JR: Willow is my longest running friend of all time.

Willow Brazuk: We were all friends before we were a band. We all played in other bands and went to each other's shows, grew up in the same scene. It was just natural when we became a band. John and I were in a band together before Snowing, and when we formed Snowing, it was like, we should get JR. Yeah. And that was it. That's a pretty boring story. It's just like, we started a band.

Absent Sounds: Sometimes it's kind of fun to think about the roles of friendships and friend groups. I mean, the different roles of people. So like, one's a funny friend, one's a mom friend. What would you say is your role in your group of friends?

Willow Brazuk: Oh yeah. I'm mom, I suppose.

JR: I feel like I can be dad.

Willow Brazuk: You're dad too. We're band married. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. But not in the eyes of the government or anything. Yeah, no, definitely not.

JR: It depends on the circle of friends too, right? In Snowing it's a different context, so you assume a different role.

Willow Brazuk: Yeah, we're all the funny one really. We're all very funny. Have you seen our merch? I don't think nothing would make sense to anyone, because we are jokes maniacs and it's inside jokes. I mean, yeah, that's mostly this band—all inside jokes. The song titles, everything. It's like nothing is serious outside of the content of the lyrics.

Absent Sounds: No, I was gonna say, there's such a weird—maybe it's a lot of dissonance, but it's kind of funny. It's all kind of a joke, but at the same time, a lot of the lyrics, when you go with them, you're like, this is kind of intense. And I don't wanna spend too much time on it yet or ask about it. But I was curious, how was it to exist in a joking manner but also deal with some of the serious stuff you guys are talking about? Is there a weird line you have to cross?

Willow Brazuk: I wish John was here for this, 'cause John writes all of the lyrics, but I think it's sort of like a coping mechanism. You just have to laugh at it. You can't be serious a hundred percent through. That's no fun. I still wanna have fun, but we can talk about very serious stuff, especially the stuff John has been through in his life. It's dark, but we're zero serious outside of that, I would think.

Absent Sounds: I guess that brings me to the idea of the album titles, but also, I guess this is sort of a tangent, but along the same lines—one of my favorite titles of an episode of a podcast was "I Can Quit You," by a Sub Pop records podcast where they're talking to Carissa's Wierd, Jenn Champion, about quitting the band, but also quitting music and quitting life at the same time. I always like that, just the title, "I can quit." It always sticks with me. So with Snowing, you guys have—well, not quit, but disbanded for a while and then came back together. Is music one of those things that you just can't let go of? Or is it something that has its hook in you?

JR: You go first. I've been talking a lot. Yeah. I would say absolutely. During the pandemic was the longest period where I did not play music. I moved from California back to Pennsylvania. I was in a band out there and lost touch with all of that. Came back to PA and had to reconnect with people during a global pandemic. And so for me, it affected me emotionally, like not being able to play music and being around friends. So yeah, it definitely sucked me back in.

Willow Brazuk: Yeah. I mean, after Snowing, I didn't play music for a while. Like seriously. John and I actually started something with John and it just fizzled out. We wrote three or four songs, but it wasn't time, I guess. I just started, tried to start stuff and I was like, I guess I just have to be a person with a job now and just be a normal person. I thought that was me for a while, but eventually you just get drawn back into it. It's tough to stay away from it 'cause it feels good. It's community, and being out of your community is awful, especially when it's self-imposed. But it's great. It's so nice to be back. So glad we can still do this, like pushing 40, which is crazy to think about.

JR: I know.

Willow Brazuk: Here I said pushing 40. I'm three months older than you.

Absent Sounds: There's something about what you said that brought back some of the questions we wanted to ask about the infamous album. Like the title, "I Could Do Whatever I Wanted If I Wanted To." I've had a philosophical dilemma with the title for a while and I wanted to get it cleared up. I could do whatever I wanted, but can you really do whatever you want? How much free will do you actually have? Are you actually able to do what you want? And if so, did you want to keep making music but you weren't able to? Is that like a—did you wake up one day and you're like, I actually can't do it? Where does that line—I keep asking where the line is, but you know what I'm saying?

Willow Brazuk: Yeah. I mean, as far as the title goes, I think Nate came up with that. Nate, who's not in the band anymore. We're still friends, obviously. I bet it was another inside joke that felt more meaningful to other people. Maybe it took on meaning as we go, but it makes sense. I don't know.

JR: I think it was—

Absent Sounds: Okay. So it was bothering me for no reason. I'm really sorry.

JR: The lyrics have a truer deep meaning. They're usually just Arrested Development jokes or Simpsons jokes or inside jokes.

Willow Brazuk: Yeah, I think that was it. Nate said it and we're like, that's funny. Actually, that should be the title. Can I just say one funny story about a song title? This is my favorite one. "KJ Jamin" is named that because Nate had a dream that we wrote a song, and in the dream we titled it "KJ Jamin." So when we wrote the next song, it was like, we gotta use that. So it means nothing. It just was from a dream.

Absent Sounds: Okay. Well then in that case, I wanna know—I'm gonna go down through the list and I wanna know whatever you can recall.

Willow Brazuk: I think I can do it. You think you can? I think I can.

Absent Sounds: So we're gonna start off with track number one then. "I Think We're in Minsk." I keep saying Mitski. Sorry. Yeah. Minsk.

Willow Brazuk: That's from a BBC show called Black Books. It's just like a line. This will come back up again.

Absent Sounds: Number two, "Mark Z. Danielewski."

Willow Brazuk: Yeah, Mark wrote that book, House of Leaves, which John read and loved and I've read. I guess it's because we name drop House of Leaves, so I was like, let's name it after the author's.

Absent Sounds: Do you remember anything from the book or anything that sticks to you? I remember a lot.

Willow Brazuk: That book terrified me. I used to work in a furniture store in a warehouse, and I read most of it there. I can't get in trouble for that 15, 20 years later. But I felt like, I was like, wow, this is giving me existential dread. I feel like there are demons with me. And it's in a brightly lit warehouse. Yeah, it's—I love that book. I always try to reread it, but it's too much.

Absent Sounds: There was also a part where you guys talk about Boston in Canada because this is the first time you guys are playing in Canada, supposedly. What are your thoughts? Is it anything like Boston? Is it worse? Better? Oh, Toronto. Yeah.

Willow Brazuk: I famously don't really like Boston, so yes, anything is better. Also, anything is better than the United States of America in its current incarnation. So yes. Canada's a wonderful place. Everyone here is as nice as I want to be to other people, so I feel like people match my energy and I don't feel embarrassed for being too nice.

JR: Yeah, I just went to the grocery store and then I went to go pick up food and the two encounters I had at both of those places, everyone was so kind, like abnormally kind.

Willow Brazuk: I've talked to someone here, I turn to everyone. I'm like, they were so nice. Every time you realize that's just how people should be. I live in Philadelphia where people are cruel and mean.

Absent Sounds: So it's kind of funny 'cause when I think of Philadelphia, I'm always like, Philly seems nice. Or it's always funny.

Willow Brazuk: Philly is like jerks with hearts of gold. I feel like sometimes it gets a little tiresome. But I would rather everyone's just a little cooler to each other. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We come through when it matters.

Absent Sounds: Yeah. This reminded me to come back to one of the overarching questions you wanted to ask. Some of us were not fortunate enough to be born during the time when you guys were active.

Paul: Wow, this is—

Absent Sounds: What if we say we're probably 10 years old? Yeah. I think during the era of time, I know nowadays there's a weird shift of people from Toronto who are like, go to Montreal, but also Philadelphia for some reason. Everyone goes to Philadelphia, moves to Philly. Yeah. They wanna move to Philly. It's either Montreal or Philly. I just am curious what the scene was.

Paul: Yeah.

Absent Sounds: Or what the scene was at that time, if you could put your body back in that era.

JR: The scene was wonderful. When we were a band and active, it was like all of our friends were there. I had a house where we did shows and two blocks away, all the Algernon folks and their friends had a big giant warehouse. And they did shows there. And that felt like the pinnacle of the community. It felt very, very nice. Then people started to move away. But at the same time it felt like people were rotating in and there were a lot of people moving to Philly and participating in the scene. It was a really, really fun time.

Absent Sounds: I know we kind of love the metaphor of the emo house. 'Cause there's just such a—something about the scene. American Football house or just the house. It's just always houses. Yeah. What floor do you think—or where do you think the music that Snowing creates lives within a house? Is it in the den? Is it in the attic? The basement? Living room? Whoa.

Willow Brazuk: What a question.

JR: I mean, mine's the master bedroom because that's where we had all the Model Home shows.

Willow Brazuk: Okay.

JR: Go on.

Willow Brazuk: Carefully. No, no. I'll take that. We recorded—

JR: We recorded stuff in there too.

Willow Brazuk: We did a lot in a bedroom.

JR: Together, we practiced there. Played there.

Absent Sounds: Thank you for being specific.

JR: Yeah. We're the basement, I guess. The basement.

Willow Brazuk: Yeah. I mean, that's an easy answer though. That's an easy one. We just played in basements so many times. I think that was the unique thing about the Model Home.

JR: 'Cause it was like, it wasn't a basement, it was top floor, an apartment on a second floor, bedroom.

Willow Brazuk: And shows there always felt very illegal. Yeah. I mean they literally are. Pretty sure they are. But I was like, I don't know how the cops don't show up every time. Only once. Only once. Just one time.

Paul: Good magic.

Willow Brazuk: Yeah. Was that what we were playing when that happened? Maybe it was.

JR: Either us or Algernon. It was Algernon. Maybe 1994 or something like that. And then I just have a picture of a cop who couldn't get into the room because it was so packed, all the way down the hallway. It was just packed full of people and they literally couldn't get into the room. And so this cop's just standing outside. It was pretty great. Just join in.

Absent Sounds: There was another question I wanted to ask on the flip side, other than what it was like when it started, but kind of just also what it was like when it ended for you. This is another line that you guys talked about. Is it better to disintegrate in ashes and flames and have a big fight when things end? Yeah. Or is it better to just fade away? Which one is worse? I think it's worse to fade out because it's more painful.

Willow Brazuk: I agree. It just gets sadder and sadder and you slowly realize over time, it's like a professional athlete as they get older every year they're just like, well, I'm a little bit worse than last year. Eventually I can't do this anymore. I think that's what it ends up for a lot of bands. I didn't really wanna stop when we broke up, but I think we just had to. We went on a really long tour with too many people in one van. Things just got really not bad. It's just people spending too much time with each other when maybe they need a break. We didn't know how to tour yet. We didn't learn how to do that together effectively. So, yeah, but I agree. I think it was better to just cut it. Yeah. But it wasn't really because of—it wasn't we're done with songs, you know, it was just like, I don't wanna see any of you for a year or 15 years maybe. But yeah, it's much different now. We've learned how to do this right. This is my favorite era of the band. It's very, very nice.

Absent Sounds: That's interesting you mentioned that you guys didn't know how to tour yet because I was thinking about towards the end of the album, one of the lines you say, "but I'm always around probably dragging you down though. I do the best for you." What does doing your best look like when you're in your twenties or thirties versus when you're older? How does doing your best look like then versus now? And what does it look like as a band? You know, doing your best for your bandmates, or doing your best for yourself versus back then.

JR: You go first. I don't have a good one. I have to brainstorm.

Willow Brazuk: I think doing our best is very different now from back then. I think when we were younger, we were just having fun, not super thinking about other people necessarily. It was just like, we wanna go on tour, we wanna make friends, play cool shows. So I think we just wanted to do it and we drank a lot, way too much. And probably didn't always play the best. I think we had a reputation for—I think we played live well, but it was enjoyable, but I think it was real loose and real sloppy. Back then, I don't think that really mattered to us. We were playing drunk all the time. But now I'm very aware of, you know, we got more popular after we broke up. I always tell people I'm in a cult emo band. That's very accurate. But now I know there's bigger stakes. I just want people to hear us play well. Because maybe they've been waiting for a long time. It's not like an ego thing. I want to do well. I want people to come and not be angry that, oh, we spent X amount of dollars and they were dog shit.

JR: I don't know about the rest of the band, but I was afraid to take it too seriously at that time. It was like selling out, which is obviously not—I don't even know what we would've been selling out to, but it felt like it was bullshit if it was taken too seriously. I had some personal things where I feel like that's why I ended up not playing in the band. It was struggling with taking it seriously. Now at this point it's okay to take this seriously. People are coming out to these shows. Not take it seriously in a way, but take it seriously in a way that you care a little bit more for the music and the community. I feel like that's definitely a maturing aspect of this.

Absent Sounds: You know, it kind of reminds me of invalidating yourself. Because sometimes I don't wanna take myself seriously, but when I do it's because I'm caring forward of me. That's what I was thinking of.

JR: I wish I would've figured that out sooner, honestly. 'Cause I feel like it would've affected my time in the band when I was at that age.

Willow Brazuk: I'm sorry, go ahead. No, no. You're done. I think taking yourself seriously means you have to know yourself and see yourself for who you really are. But jokey stuff has always been a defense thing for us. Because I think it was like we couldn't commit to it a hundred percent. Part of this needs to be like, well, whatever. Leftover nineties slacker energy, I guess. I just listened to too much Pavement growing up, I guess. But yeah, it was like people who take their band seriously are lame. Look at your job. Are you doing a business? And I definitely remember looking down on people like that who were super talented. In retrospect I'm like, you were just trying to not have a day job and that is okay.

Paul: A dollar off.

Willow Brazuk: I would quit my job. I love my current job. Don't fire me if you hear this. I think I was gonna say if we could do this for a job, maybe that would make me hate it though, if it felt like an obligation. I think part of it, why it's so good right now is it's not an obligation. Yeah. I always joke we're on vacation when we're playing right now. Usually it's like to spend money on stupid stuff when I go. I'm on vacation, it's fine.

Absent Sounds: That's definitely how I feel about most of the stuff in my life. My degree is my backup plan, and I'm just gonna do fun stuff and figure out what I wanna do along the way. And everything is just for the moment. That's kind of the same vibe about what you're saying. But I guess the main thing that came outta that for me was when I saw a YouTube video and she was talking about how everybody kind of sells out. Whether you get a full-time job, whether you are just working in music full time, you're all gonna sell out and you all have to pay bills. It doesn't really matter what you do at the end of the day. Just pick whatever makes you happy at that rate.

Willow Brazuk: We cannot exist outside of capitalism. You have to play the game. It's not a game and I don't want to play it. It's awful. It actively encourages you not to make art in America. I know it's better in Canada, y'all give money to artists. I think in the US especially, they would probably rather you didn't make art or say anything that is meaningful or emotional or carries a message. It's getting worse. It's getting much more out in the open and intentional about it. And it's scary. You just have to have a job and pay your bills. So little time to pursue anything or participate in art. And that's sad, but we know you do your best.

Absent Sounds: (Signal to Paul and Zach) Do you guys have a question you wanna ask? Or any comments you wanna say?

Paul: Yeah. First of all, thank you for bringing this. Thank you. It's been really cool to observe this. This is cool for us as well. So thank you all. The first thing that came to mind was, there was a point in time where I started noticing you guys having more of an internet presence. It seemed like you had a mini revival or something. Was there a point in time when you felt that before you started to jump back online?

Willow Brazuk: Yeah. I noticed it too, like that wave of emo crested and there was another one. You know, everything's cyclical. Even the styles of emo and screamo within this scene are recycled, you know, just not in a bad way, but I think everything's cyclical like that. But I did notice people still listen to this. People still buy the records. We keep needing to press more of them. Whenever I would see Chris Reject at a show, I'd always be like, you're still selling—you did another box of that. I don't know how many pressings it's on, but it never died down completely. That's really special and crazy. It's not normal.

JR: I think too many of us have had other bands since then that have not had that long of a tail. It's one of those things that with time you realize, oh, this is something that is special in a way that is really difficult to cultivate with these other bands. And so, as you grow older and more mature, you're like, hey, this is maybe something that we could not take advantage of in a negative way, but, you know, just be able to do stuff like this. Not everybody—I've been in many bands that can't come to play a show like this and have people come out. It's really nice to have something that people care about. It means something.

Willow Brazuk: We're cashing it emotionally. Yes. Emotionally. That's why I wanna do it. We still make a little money from it. It's, we cover travel and stuff and you get a little bit of money. It's not like I'm paying my mortgage payments with this. I'm coming to have a nice time and hopefully make people happy. That's it right now.

Paul: And then when we were on the topic of the song titles and the jokingness of the band, I was wondering if you guys have heard of the meme and the fandom of, oh yeah, you guys are Melissa Core, or Melissa, and then the second part is who is Melissa? Do you wanna say anything about her?

Willow Brazuk: We need John for that and I cannot comment for her. It's a real person, obviously. That's for him. I also would a hundred percent know he would not tell you. So just gonna, yeah. It's kind of even better. Yeah. If I said, I think he'd be really mad at me and we maybe never play—

Absent Sounds: I won't do that. We'll cut the reunion short. Yeah.

Zac: I have two questions for you guys. One has been on my mind since I became cognizant of your band. Are you aware of the band Camping in Alaska and their song, "Why Can't I Be Snowing?" And if you are aware of it, did you become aware of it way after the band dissolved or was it something that you were cognizant of around the time?

Willow Brazuk: I found out about that way after.

Zac: Yeah. I can—

Willow Brazuk: Definitely way after.

Zac: Yeah. What's that like finding that out for you?

Willow Brazuk: I mean, it's weird, but not in a bad way. Oh, yeah. It's very flattering, but it's also just like, I can't believe someone thought about that enough or cared enough to do that.

Paul: Yeah.

Willow Brazuk: Yeah, it's very flattering. I don't know them. I've never met them. I'm sure they're great. They must be great. But yeah, it's nice. It's flattering. It's nice to be thought of.

Zac: Sure.

Willow Brazuk: And I think it was a positive thing. Absolutely.

Zac: What bands inspired Snowing? Was it local bands in the Philly scene? Was it pulling from stuff that you heard from the nineties? What were some of those formative bands that propelled Snowing?

JR: Do you wanna go first. Okay.

Willow Brazuk: A few of us were in Street Smart Cyclist before Snowing, and that was straight up Cap'n Jazz worship. But nobody was doing that at the time. That band was supposed to be a summer, fun while home from college. Let's write some songs to play a few shows. But we wanted to keep going after that. That's still probably the original touch point, but we all listen to so much music that isn't emo. Whenever I tell people, oh, I don't listen to emo. It's not like I'm slamming it or anything. Yeah. I'll drop back in once in a while. I'm like, I don't want the Promise Ring. I'm gonna listen to Very Emergency today or Nothing Feels Good. But I don't know. It's great. Bear versus Shark was really big, so it was crazy just going on that tour with them and telling them like, yeah, we were writing the first few songs, it was like, these should sound like Bear versus Shark. I don't know if they believed us, but At the Drive-In was a really big one. Nirvana was a big one. I think there's a lot—

JR: Of hardcore post hardcore for myself, I will say on record, I don't think I had heard Cap'n Jazz when Snowing started. That was not the scene of music that I was listening to. So when people started comparing the band to Cap'n Jazz, I was like, what is a Cap'n Jazz?

Willow Brazuk: Cap'n Jazz? Cap'n Jazz? Who is that? You're not jazz. What are they talking about? My big emo touch point was Braid. That was my emo band. That was my favorite band for a very long time. I worshiped that band. I still love them. Got to see them play on a floor last year, in a fire hall situation. It was very, very nice and I was very weird to Bob Nanna being like, I love your band. Thank you. I'm in a band, but don't worry about it. It's nothing.

JR: Yeah, anything I will say going to local bands too, going to shows and just—I loved going to shows and watching other drummers play at that time. Dave Gatling who played drums in Street Smart Cyclist, I didn't play in Street Smart, they all did. But I would go and watch all these people play drums. Tom P from Slingshot. I'm like, oh my God, how do I do that thing with the itty bitty ting on the bell? I gotta go do this.

Willow Brazuk: I think hardcore bands were a big thing. The Lehigh Valley was a big hardcore scene. I always think we sound like a hardcore band.

JR: It's just loud.

Willow Brazuk: It doesn't sound anything heavy—bass going on. There's some hardcore parts. Yeah, for sure. Just ignorantly loud. We wanted to leave behind the—I don't wanna do this tinny, clean tone constantly. I want it to be loud. I think that's why it worked. It was different enough. As we went along, I think we developed our own style. A billion influences like nineties indie rock—Pavement, Archers of Loaf, you know, Superchunk. That's been my favorite band for the longest time. That's a huge influence on me.

Zac: Yeah. I guess a third question is, where did the band name come from?

Willow Brazuk: We actually got asked this yesterday. We gotta make sure our stories match.

Zac: Is it inside—

Willow Brazuk: I think we were really struggling to name the band. Which is weird because all the time when we're all playing shows, someone will say something and it's like, band name. You come up with a million when you're not thinking about it. So hard. They're so hard.

JR: Most band names are dumb. And they're all taken or dumb.

Willow Brazuk: I think John and I were at the point where we were really free associating, just pointing at things. I think it was winter and I think it was raining, snowing. It was like, that sounds pretty, but it was like, oh, that's a verb though. Can we name a band that? A lot of bands are named verbs now.

JR: Part of the Snowing name story was we practiced at the time at Nate's mom's house, and for whatever reason, Nate's very French grandmother was over at the house. She came downstairs right after we had named the band, and she was like, what's the name of the band? I'm not gonna do the French. She's like, what's the name of the band? We're like, Snowing. And she's like, oh, like cocaine? And we're like, no, no, no.

Paul: No.

JR: No cocaine.

Paul: No.

Absent Sounds: No cocaine.

Paul: Does the name mean more to you in retrospect or how do you feel about it?

Willow Brazuk: I never had a big attachment to it. I think it's just the name, you gotta name it something.

JR: Obviously in the winter time, I don't know, there's something warm, cozy, put your big jacket on and go trudge out to a cold show and play a cold basement show in Philly. It's got that kind of vibe I guess, which is totally in retrospect, not a moment thing. Yeah. Yeah. Emo's a fall winter for me. Totally agree. It's not a summer thing. Even—it can be a summer thing. Summers for—

Absent Sounds: The punks. True, true. I think there is a weird wave now that's more, feels more like summer emo, I guess. Which, that's the fifth wave. Fifth wave, yeah. Maybe that's the—

Willow Brazuk: We go through seasonal cycles over decades.

Absent Sounds: The final question I'll ask is, the year is 2050. It is snowing. You think of the band, what do you wanna remember from it or from this moment today here at New Friends Fest? What would you like to remember? I'll be alive then.

Willow Brazuk: I think—

Absent Sounds: 2050.

JR: The world will be—after. We'll see. I feel like good memories with friends. Looking back on it and getting to do this is not something everybody gets to do. It's very special. It's a very fond memory. I get to reflect on and think about all the different shows we played. It's a really great feeling when you're up there and everybody's singing along. Just getting to spend that time with friends in a really positive way.

Willow Brazuk: Yeah. Same for me. I think we're just making memories now. That's usually what we agree to when someone asks us to do something, it's just like, is that gonna be a cool, fun thing that we're gonna remember or is that gonna feel like a slog and an obligation? We're pretty picky right now and we don't wanna overdo it. I want this to always feel good in retrospect and while we're doing it.

JR: I think we all have just pretty standard, normal go to work—I have a family now and my kids and everything and there's a routine with all that. So this breaks that up and it's really special.

Willow Brazuk: Works real hard the day after you get to have punk time.

JR: I just had this at work—we did this whole, hey, tell us about your life and a little bit of who you are. So, you know, 'cause we all work together all the time, all day long. And I went recently and I had to put this 30 minute presentation together about my life. Reflecting on my life was like, whoa, okay, this is deep. And a huge chunk of it obviously was my family and stuff, but it was music and what I get to do outside of it. 'Cause that's not something that a lot of people that I work with are doing with their paid time off, you know?

Willow Brazuk: Yeah. It's cool. This is the most important, coolest thing any of us have done. And on the grand scale of things, it's not like we cured a disease or invented anything. It's just, you know what—

Absent Sounds: Sometimes I think maybe there's a doctor in here that needed time to relax and just came to the show. There we go.

Willow Brazuk: That's curative. We helped. Don't give us big heads.

Zac: You allegedly had invented Melissa Core too. More of a discovery than an invention.

Willow Brazuk: Melissa Core.

JR: Are there other bands Melissa Core?

Willow Brazuk: Oh yeah. If I go on Last.fm and type in Melissa Core—

Paul: I think you guys are the tried and true. Okay.

Willow Brazuk: One of one baby. Yeah. Woo.

JR: Maybe Street Smart. I mean that definitely is Melissa Core.

Paul: No, no.

Absent Sounds: But yeah, we're so excited to see you guys perform. We're so excited to play. Hope we do good.

JR: This is the point in the night where I'm like, do I remember?

Willow Brazuk: I think if someone writes a book about us ever, it needs to be called "I Hope We Do Good: The Snowing Story." We're Canadian. We'll be nice to you guys either way. Do you really mean that?

Paul: Was it awful?

Willow Brazuk: You can't tell me.

Paul: Yeah. From the clips I've seen on Instagram of some of the DIY shows that you guys have put on recently, you guys sounded really great. So—

Willow Brazuk: Thank you. Yeah. This is the best way we've ever sounded. We've definitely practiced a lot. We care about it more. This show we practiced once for this show. Yeah. But it's muscle memory from that tour. We're better musicians. I learned how to play guitar a little bit better, not just bullshitting through alternate tunings.

Paul: Good.

Willow Brazuk: I want to be proud of how we sound. I want people to really think it sounded good. That's the goal.

Absent Sounds: Thank you. Oh, thank you so much. Fade to black.