BiB: Zahna – From Kidney Failure to Korn’s Label: The Unbelievable Comeback Story

0:00 What is going on? It is Adam. Welcome back to Bringing It Backwards, a podcast where both legendary and rising artists tell their own personal stories of how they achieve stardom. On this episode, we had a chance to hang out with Zana over Zoom Video. Zana was born in Monterey, Mexico and then moved to the Cleveland, Ohio area when she was very young. Lived there for a little while, then moved to Texas. When her family moved to Texas, her dad wanted her to be more immersed in her culture and kind of remember where she grew up, where she came from, from. So she moved to Mexico and spent a year in Mexico. So she talked about that time in her life moving to then Houston area. That's where she started really getting into music and bands and playing in bands and doing battle of the bands. She talked about recording her first EP that ended up getting her a job singing for a band that already had some success. So she brought that EP to the band and she became their new singer and that was their new. Their new EP as well. We hear about that. We hear about her leaving that band, being diagnosed with a kidney disease that left her to have to get a transplant, and her mom was the donor for a transplant for her. And so she talks about that, what, what it was like going through all of that, putting out her first album under Zana totally independently, the success of that album. And we hear about how she recently signed to to Brian the Head Welch's label of corn and all about the new single,

1:32 which is called Pile of Pills. You can watch our interview with Zana on our Facebook page and YouTube channel at bringing it Backwards. It'd be amazing if you subscribe to our YouTube channel and like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram X and TikTok at bringing back pod. And if you're listening to this on Spotify or Apple Music Google Podcast, please rate and review the podcast there. It helps us out tremendously. We'd appreciate your support if you follow and subscribe to our podcast. Wherever you listen to podcasts, we're bringing. It backwards with Zana.

2:15 Bringing it backwards. Bringing it backwards. Bringing it backwards. Bringing it backwards. Bringing it backwards. Hey, Zana, how are you? Hey, how's it going? I love your microphone. That's awesome. Oh, yeah. Amazon is just $75. Really? Yeah. Lights up. Yeah, it's pretty cool. Like, I think it changes colors too. I forgot how to do it, but yeah, I hope it's not just a gamer. Yeah, they had white too, but I was like, keep it classy, keep it black. That's awesome.

2:58 Yeah, so you're Adam. I'm Adam. Very nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, too. Thank you so much for doing this. Oh, thank you for having me. This is a huge honor. I'm really excited. I'm excited to hear your story. Yeah. So this is just about you and your journey in music. And obviously, we'll talk about the. The new song that's out and everything else you have coming up and signing with Brian's label. That's amazing. Yeah. Thank you so much. I don't even know where to begin. There's just such a long backstory. So. Yeah, let me know where to start. I mean, I think about. Yeah, go ahead. I was just gonna say, how about with where. Where were you born and raised? I was born in Mexico. I am Mexican. I was born in Monterrey, and my father had a job transfer in the United States. So we all packed up. My. My mom had me, and I was still a baby. So, yeah, I grew up most of my life here, kind of from state to state just for my dad's work. But, yeah, US Citizen now. Very proud of that. And my whole life I've loved music. Just discovered it originally through musical theater. And then I started growing up and getting more involved in rock music and the rock community and touring, and that's kind of where I ended up, I guess, because I am not in musical theater anymore. Wow. Okay. So you born in Monterey and then you moved to where in the States? Like, where did you ever have, like, kind of a. More of a home base for a

4:31 bit of time, or were you moving pretty often? Yeah, my childhood was in Ohio, actually, and it was far up north there. So I just came from two different worlds. It's kind of weird, you know, have people ask me where I'm from, because I'm like, I'm from the north and the south. I don't know. Right, right. What part of Ohio? So Cleveland area? Yeah, it was really hard to find other Mexicans, you know? Yeah. My teachers didn't really believe I was Mexican either. They were like, oh, you're from New Mexico? And I'm like, no. You know, but it's okay. I just. I look very white, I guess. I guess I got a lot of the European genetics there. But, yeah, I moved down to Texas once my dad achieved citizenship. He was like, I'm getting out of the north. It's too cold. He moved to Texas to be closer to everybody there, and he actually. That was like when I was about to start middle school, and my dad was like, but I Have different plans for you, AKA me. And he was like, I'm going to go ahead and let you live with your aunt for like, one more year in Mexico so you can, like, remember all your language, want you to go to school, remember how to read and write and everything. So, yeah, in sixth grade, I actually spent it kind of as an exchange student in Mexico to relearn all my Spanish and everything and where I came from, which was a really pivotal year for me to kind of understand who I was and my culture because I had missed so much as a kid. So. Yeah. And after that kind of everything changed. I came back to Texas. I started getting really involved in church and school and created my own rock band in high school, like everybody does. And I was, you know, competing with all the boys

6:04 who talk crap and thought their band was better. And, you know, I'm just excited because I'm here with Brian Head Welch now, so they can't say anything. There you go. That's that. Okay, so you. Wait, what? I have my family. I have. My parents are both from the Cleveland area. I'm just curious what part. Oh, yeah. So Chesterland and Euclid, I think Euclid. We was first and then we moved into Chesterland and then, yeah, we moved to Texas for like, after like 10 years of there. Yeah, my family's like, more west of Cleveland, like Amherst, lyria, Lorraine area. I don't know if you. Okay. Yeah, I. I don't really remember. I didn't drive when I was there. Yeah, of course. Okay. And then Texas and then moved to Mexico, though. So you spent a year. You had been in the States. That's all you really probably knew or remembered right at that. Yeah, I had a rough time there in the beginning.

6:52 I mean, I understood Spanish, but my speaking was so limited. I think I, like, failed all my classes, obviously, except English rocked and Eng. Class, you know, Let me show you all something. Yeah. But by the end of the school year, I ended up starting to think in Spanish. You know, it just became too natural and I hadn't dreamed yet in Spanish because for so long my. My first language was. Was English. But, yeah, started finally getting better the second semester. Starting to be able to do homework and read and write better and speak way better. So really, you know, scary for a kid. But at the same time, I think I built a lot of independence in myself and, you know, just made me really, like, I guess independent in the sense that, like, I tour now, you know, like I'm somewhere every day is different. And I think that if you can handle that as a kid, you know, and you start to like it, it really brings a lot of nurture, nurturing into your adulthood. Keeps you independent and kind of self centered, or not self centered, but just you have equilibrium in yourself. You know who you are, you can handle yourself. And so it was a great. It was a great enrichment experience. And nothing like retaining your native language is so important for me. So. Yeah. Wish I could practice more now.

8:03 That's cool, though. So you. Yeah. Then you come back to Texas and you go to high school in Texas? Is that what you said? Yeah. Yeah. So I went to. I actually went to a lot of different schools because my family was kind of just getting started, like settling into Texas, I think. Like, I went to three different middle schools. Like, we were just trying to figure out where we wanted to live. My mom's job changes too, so working all that out. But in high school, yeah, I finally settled. We finally found a house we really liked when I started high school, so I got to go to one high school, thank God, and just kind of really start over again and meet all these people. And I ended up finding some other kids that really were good at music. And I was like, man, I hear all this music in my head all the time. Let's write it. Let's start a band. Let's, you know, they got battle the band. That's all we lived for, was battle the band at school every year. Just to like have the street cred of winning didn't mean anything. But it was a big deal in high school. And my band never won. We never won first. Sometimes we didn't even place. I think the only time I ever won was when I went, like, solo and I like, performed as an acoustic act. I think, like, I finally got second place one time, you know, it was. Such a band was holding you down, I guess. I guess. No, I'm just kidding.

9:16 No. There were just a lot of bands in competition, but for some reason. Yeah. Acoustic by myself, I placed. So that was frustrating. Sometimes I was like, but I want to be in a band. Yeah, yeah. No, for sure. With music. You said you were. You started off in musical theater. Yeah. So, like. Yeah. How did. How did you come. You know? Doesn't sound like you come from, like a music, you know, like, household in the sense of, like, parents that are doing that professionally. Not professionally. My dad and like, he. Man, they call it carne asadas, you know, where, like, everybody's on the Mexican barbecue and everyone's playing guitar and just singing and mariachi's like, he. He had a. He taught me guitar. He knew Spanish classical guitar. And, you know, Ye. Yeah, I don't know Spanish classical guitar. But he would be the worship leader at our church, and he would put a guitar on my hands. I start to learn chords, and I just. I guess I just clung to it a lot faster than anything else was guitar. My sisters were playing piano. But as for the musical theater side, like, my school put on really big productions.

10:19 They kind of took Broadway plays that were meant for kids, and then they used the whole school to cast. So when I was like, just starting in that school, I remember, like, being in second grade and like, doing the mass auditions, and usually the younger kids just didn't get any parts or just not good. But I remember I was like 7 years old, and then I was advancing to callbacks, and I'm like, I don't know what I did. And they didn't have a part for me, so they created a lead part because they really wanted to use me. So every year after that, in elementary school, I started to get bigger roles and stuff until I landed the lead role my last year, which was the Ugly Duckling. And so there was a lot of musical numbers in Is a Broadway play. They have one for kids, but, you know, the school, all the parents, the pta, they would put on this huge production, and I would have to memorize, like, the whole play and sing and do all the rehearsals. And so after that, when I moved to Mexico, I stopped doing that, But I still remember loving musical theater. I wanted to try Broadway, but then I just started to get. Listen to these rock bands that, like, my sister, her boyfriend at the time was listening to, and I was just hearing what they would listen to in the car, and I would get addicted to, like, these emo bands. And I'd be like, oh, my God. Something about the guitar is just so amazing. So then I started getting into the rock culture Warped Tour and everything and hearing songs in my head all the time that I wanted to hear back to myself.

11:48 So that's when I started to get with the band. When I left for college. I ended up getting a scholarship my last year, and my parents were like, okay, well, this money we were gonna give you for schooling, you know, you covered already with your scholarship. So here's the money. Go, go. Here's your graduation present. Go do something with it. And I was like, I want to go record an album. And it was only like $2,000. But I went and I recorded my first EP and the producer I was working with was like, are you gonna do anything with this? Because this is like, pretty good. And I was like, well, I don't have a band anymore. And I started, you know, I was finishing up my last semester of college and I was, I know this is good music, but I am just one person. I don't know what I'm doing in this musical world.

12:36 And so I started looking at other bands, kind of watching other bands that were already functioning, touring and in business. And one of the bands that I remember listening to as a teen, I looked at them because they used to be like an all girl rock band, screaming. And right when I was leaving high school, they were auditioning new singers. I was like, man, I wish I could do that, but my parents will never let me. Like, I know I have to go to college. So I didn't even try. And right when I looked them up again, as I was finishing my last semester of college, I found out they were auditioning a singer again. And I was like, you gotta be kidding me. So I kind of. It was kind of a joke. I, like, kind of like, just like submitted a video. I was like, they're not gonna pick me, but you know, I want to try. And they got back to me like, hey, we really want to meet you. Like, will you come meet us? And you know, kind of check out like what we do. And I was like, they didn't know that I had some recordings already made that I was looking for like a band to like, you know, get this show on the road. Let's like release this and tour off this. Let's do this. So when I met them, I showed them my recordings and they're like, this would actually put us ahead a lot because we lost a lot of time without a singer.

13:42 And so it was this marriage, just like this perfect fit where, like, I'll be your new singer. Here's our new ep. Let's you guys have everything I need. And I think literally that summer I was on the road with a new band, selling my new cd. Like, it was, it was, it was crazy. So that was three years, that EP. That you had recorded before you even went into college. Yeah. And. And you know, and they were, they were okay with it. They're like, it's just five songs, you know, it'll get us through. We'll learn this material. You learned some of our old material and I did. And we just, you know, did a mixed set like that with some of the new songs and some of their old songs that they, you know, that their fans really enjoyed and they're cool. With the fact you had already recorded everything. I mean, I think it was a move for them that they realized could save a lot of time to, you know, get 100%, get their foot out again that, you know, they had lost a singer right before that a couple years ago again too. So it was like, okay, we really need to make this thing work.

14:37 Let's just, yeah, you had some leverage. You're like, okay, here we go. I did give you this ep and. I'll say they had a tour bus and I was like, let's go. So it was a very strange marriage of two separate projects that kind of just became one. So I kind of just like took this huge shortcut that, you know, later I realized how, how political it is to be in a band. So I'll tell you that story here in a bit. But I, I got my feet wet in a touring artist as a touring band and, you know, got on my first three month tour. It was like, okay, everything that I had played around with in high school, it's, it's real life now. You gotta actually go do this. This is your job. And so, yeah, just being in a band and traveling the country and meeting all these other bands and just like getting in the network was really, really a huge time saver. So I was, I was 21 when that happened. Actually this year I'm gonna be 32. So now it's a decade of actually being in the industry for about 10 years, putting in the work, you know.

15:39 And unfortunately my band did end up breaking up kind of. I think they mutinied me. I don't know what happened. There's a big, big story about that that was really seeing kind of the ugly side of the music industry. And I've talked a lot about it in other interviews and, you know, not trying to make a bad, bad blood. Either way, it all worked out. I ended up going solo. I've been Zana for seven since 2017. And I put out one record. I got, I got picked up like after one song. So I was like, oh, okay, I don't feel bad anymore. But my band, I'm still doing it here. So a label picked me up on my debut record for Zana and I was like, okay, this is, this is weird. I keep getting these shortcuts.

16:24 I keep, you know, doing well. I keep kind of like going into these new circles every time something bad happen, happen. So, you know, let's just keep going. And then my first debut album as Ana was released in 2018. And in 2016, I found out that I had a genetic disease. It was around the time my band broke up, too, and found out I was going through kidney failure and that my kidneys were failing and I was 24 years old. And, yeah, that was huge. That was. That was like. Okay. Yeah. So I guess I. Well, not I guess, I suppose I've been born with this disease that I didn't know I had. And what it is, it's called medullary kidney disease. It's genetic. It's basically a misprint in your DNA that doesn't produce a certain protein that your kidneys need to break down toxins. So over time, the toxins just build up and they keep scarring your kidneys and damaging them. And your kidneys are really resilient organs. So, like, you. You don't really feel sick until, like, they're really, really, really bad. Yeah. My best friend is going through dialysis right now. Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. I was really fortunate not to have to go through dialysis because we caught it in time. But. Yeah. So in 2016, my band, they broke. It was like, really right before our first international debut in Germany. It was, like, such a mess. I think they thought they were going to fire me and just, like, take another singer.

17:56 That didn't happen. They didn't do that than. But, yeah, it all kind of fell apart due to some management we were working with. And. Yeah. So that year 2016, I also met my now husband. Part of the band was mad because I was finally seriously dating and they didn't like that. And so that's kind of why it's such a juicy mess, I guess. But, yeah, that happened. So a lot happened. In 2016, I found out that my band was gonna let me go. I found the man of my dreams, and I also was gonna die. So it's a lot. Yeah. So at that point, I was like, okay, I'm just so mad right now. I'm just gonna, like, write a revenge album. Wrote that album, got picked up immediately by a new record label. I had all this fire.

18:42 I was engaged now in 2018, was my wedding and my debut album release. A lot going on. So just. It felt like a movie. It was like, I'm gonna die, but not really. Like, I'm just living life. I'm kind of at the end of this, like, chick flick movie where she gets everything. She's in Rome with her honeymoon husband and beautiful ending of this movie after she just got Married. And then that was my first Germany show, was actually one of my first shows as a debut artist. So people had followed me in that band, and when I kind of announced I was going solo, they still picked me up. They were still giving me opportunities, so I didn't feel too bad about the band anymore. Unfortunately, though, everything changed in 2019, and my kidneys were like, okay, we're gonna die now. Bye. It was like I was really starting to feel very, very sick. So it was like, of honeymoon after 2018, getting married, playing my first international show. My new album is out. It's on a label, all this great stuff. And then it was like, everything from 2019 to, like, 2023 was just hell. It was just years of hell. So, yeah, just to quickly go over that. My. My kidney started failing in 2019.

19:55 Thank God my mom was a donor option for me. So it took took about six more months to really get the surgery going. I got my transplant in June 2019, and I didn't have a very good experience post transplant. I got really, really sick, like, multiple times, and a couple times I might have died if I didn't make it on time back to the hospital. So, yeah, if you get a transplant, they'll just absolutely kill your immune system so that the organ doesn't realize that it's foreign and the body doesn't attack it. So as a, you get sick from everything else because there's, like, no immune system really there to help you.

20:38 So I had a lot of emergency scares, a couple septic infection scares, and it was to the point where, like, I was so depressed because, like, I almost regretted the transplant. Like, I knew that, like, it was necessary to live, but I didn't feel alive. Like, in fact, I felt worse, like, way worse after the transplant than I did pre transplant. And I felt bad pre transplant. I was about functioning maybe, like, four hours out of the day and needing to, like, sleep and rest for all of the rest of the day because my kidneys were at, like, 10% function. They were. They're pretty close to dying. Yeah. And so after the transplant, it was even scarier because you're like, I just did everything I needed to do to live. And I feel disgusting. You know, I lost a lot of muscle mass. And then finally around 20, I was, like, starting to feel okay. The amusements, the huge immunosuppressants they IV'd me with the day of the transplant are, like, finally leaving. I'm, like, starting to feel somewhat normal.

21:40 I was back on the road in March of 2020 and trying to promote, and literally four days in, got the call that everything is shutting down. And I was like, you got to be kidding me. And now there's this crazy sickness in the world that's killing people, and I'm still an immunosuppressed individual. And I'm like, no, no. I just got over dying. Like, I cannot die again. I can't be, you know, thinking that I'm going to die from two more years. Like, it was. It was psychological torture. And then the music industry went down, and we. You know, the label deal fell apart. I've lost all my income. It was very, very scary times. And I had just put in, like, I had just gotten a new tour vehicle and trailer, and, like, I had. Had probably spent, like, 20 GS. I probably put 20 GS into my music at that time and was like, I can't even pay myself back. Like, what am I going to do? Like, I'm on the brink of, like, financial ruin here, and if I can't afford my medications or my health insurance premiums, like, I literally. I literally could die, dude.

22:47 You know, this is not a joke. And so the stress and, like, the turmoil and just this cycle of just, like. You know, I'm a newlywed, too. Like, I don't even know what I'm doing. I still have so much rage and anger from the music industry and things that people did to me, how they stabbed me in the back. Like, all this just pain, it was just gushing out, and a lot of just sadness because of, you know, mourning. Like, my organs were failing and just, like, you know, just these feelings of not being good enough. Like, my body's not even good enough to function, to be alive. And so it took a lot of psychological turmoil on top of everything that the world was going through, too, which, you know, I know so many people suffered during those times psychologically of just. Just the pandemic, the closures, the lockdowns, losing income, losing family, losing businesses. It's just so much destruction.

23:36 But I ended up being able to make an independent record called Stronger Than Death. And that was kind of just my whole album about, like, I don't care what it takes. I'm gonna live. And I can't believe we started tracking that in 2020 because of the pandemic. We really didn't get to put it out till 2023. And I was so scared because it was my first independent release, and I wanted to show up and show out, you know, and I really believed in these songs. Too. And to my surprise, it really kicked butt over everything else I ever did. Yeah. And I was like, you know what? I'm gonna be successful out of spite now because I'm just so angry. And.

24:17 Yeah, so we actually put. We actually recorded that in 2020. Put it out. Stronger Than Death is by far my best release, and it's a whole album, and I own it, and it feels amazing. And so not even a year out of that album, I think it was December, this last December of 2023. I got a friend telling me and my husband Patrick, who's also signed to the label. They just announced him two days ago. I'm very proud of him. Oh, that's your husband? That's my husband, yeah. No way. Okay. So he's also in a band. Yeah, he's also a frontman now. He actually drums for me. That's how we met, but. Oh, no way. He actually has his own project, so. Yeah, check him out.

24:59 He. His. His album's coming out in January. I was a co writer on that. Yeah, he has a song called the Hill, Right? Yeah. I love that song. Yeah, it's a great song. So, yeah, he. He and I, man, we. We've been through so much together. But, yeah, he. We're all. We're all just coming out of the top of it now. But, yeah, so Brian and his team reached out back in December, and they're like, hey, originally, they were going to be like, hey, well, we want to relicense your album and, you know, maybe add a couple songs and just, like, you know, pick it up on our label. And unfortunately, my husband's father passed away and we missed a lot of deadlines. Yeah, it's been nothing but pain. Actually. I saw a quick clip of him talking about that. I think that's part of his song. He talks a little bit about that with the Hill, I think.

25:40 Right. Yeah, it's really, really sad because, like, the night that we had the meeting with them that they all wanted to proceed was two days before his dad passed away. And one of the last conversations we got to tell him was like, we're gonna side with Brian Hudd Welch. And he was so proud of us. And then just like. Like, life is. Life is a cruel joke, man. Sometimes I tell you what, it'll. It'll just give you a crown and then kick you in the stomach at the same time. So, yeah, that caused a lot of delays, unfortunately. So by the time that everybody reconvened, they were just like, okay, we missed these deadlines to be able to put this album out. And I was like, why don't we just do a new album? And they were like, like, yeah, let's do a new album. So I was like, wow, that was really, really, really easy.

26:32 Yeah. So now I just finished tracking all the vocals for my next album coming out next year in 2025. And we've got, you know, Brian and the team backing it. So we're really busy right now. But I had the standalone single called Pile of Pills, which I wrote in 2021. And that was, you know, I kind of had to give you the whole scoop to really get you to understand why that's so. I love that. I love that. I love. Thank you for telling me. I mean, thank you for being so vulnerable and talking. Yeah, it was literally just the pinnacle of just my anger because I was like, dude, I have all these financial problems, I have all these health problems. I have so much rage inside of me. I. I just feel like I'm working to live and living to work. There's nothing outside of that, you know, And I'm working like whatever jobs I can like just get these crumbs from basically just to like get the bare minimum. And working like 12, 15 hour shifts just with like no muscle mass. After my surgery, like just in tears in the back room because I'm in so much pain and my body is like physically building itself back up and I'm trying to do like heavy work just to like make rent, you know. So really, really scary, turbulent time. So, you know, Pile of Pills. Brian heard it and he's like, he had no idea either of all the backstory behind it until I kind of told him, like, hey, this isn't really about like, like, you know, like those kind of drugs. These are about like life saving medication that it's. They're supposed to keep you alive, but they hurt you too.

28:05 And it's like that cycle of just being trapped that like, no matter what I do, it's never going to work. And death is always there. He's always knocking on my door telling me time's. Time's limited. It's coming up. What are you going to do now? So Brian heard that song, really loved it and you know, we have a music video coming out for it on September 13th, so I hope that it describes a little bit more what was in my, in my mind when writing that song. So, yeah, we just got a lot going on. Just really excited to be with the label team though. And I think that these new songs, people aren't, aren't even ready because they haven't heard anything current that I have done yet. They just heard a song that I tracked in 2021 and. Right. Yeah. Because people wouldn't come along.

28:50 Stronger Than Death was a record that, that was, you know, an album that was two, three years old. Right. Yeah, yeah. And it wasn't. It was actually from 2020. Yeah. And then this last song, 21. So now this year, this is from 2024. That's coming out next year. And man, it's just so, So I, I, I just, you know, I, I've gotten just so much more into my craft of singing and screaming, so I'm really excited to showcase more of what I've done in the new record. So. Yeah, it's even heavier than Pile of. Pills, would you say? Or does it sound similar at all, or. No, there's gonna be a shock when people are like, oh, damn. Like, this is. There's a couple songs that are shock value. Yeah, I think so. There's. But like, there. I want to say that this new album is like a very happy medium between Pills and Stronger Than Death because we still have those really melodic, beautiful songs. We have a couple ballads on the new one, and then we have those really, really, really rock ragers that are just more screamy, more metalcore influenced. But most of them are there and in between. So not all the songs have screaming on them. Some of them, the majority are screaming and, yeah, everything in between that. Wow. Did you. Oh, I'm curious. How did you end up getting reached out to by Brian? Yeah. So another band on the label called Spoken Matt, that their singer, Spoken.

30:13 We, We've done a lot of tours and stuff with him, some opening show, and he's very good friends with Brian. And I think a lot of him was advocating for us to be looked at by him because he had follow our careers for so long. Kind of saw the quality we were putting out versus the opportunities we were getting. And he was like, dude, you need to get these two people. I was already out there operating, but NESM was like my husband's project that we had this album that we'd been waiting to release for the right time and the right opportunity. And it finally was done around the time too, that Brian was talking about. And Matt is a huge friend of my husband and he has always been such a huge fan of my voice or his voice.

30:57 And he told Pat, he's like, why aren't you singing more, dude? Like, you, you play drums great, but, like, you know, they don't let you sing in your old band and he's like, you need to like, do a solo project. You need to be a singer. So Matt has always been kind of our friend in the, in the corner, just rooting us on and then, you know, helping us to succeed. So it's, it's, we're really grateful for him. Yeah. That's so cool. That is so cool. Are you, so you're going to do a tour coming up or wait before the album? I think we're just waiting right now. We've got a lot of releases, so Nezdem's is first in the canon. His is coming out in January. And then as for mine, we're doing drum tracking here in like two weeks. So album's going to get turned in by January and then we're just going to go from there. So I'm not really worried about touring just yet until we can really make the numbers show that, yeah, people want to hear this album live. So. Yeah, I think we're just waiting for that. That is so awesome. Well, I love what you're doing. You have such a, a story. Oh, my gosh.

31:58 Yeah, it takes a while to tell people too. It's like, no, that's, and I just, to give you like the easy rundown. It's, it's. Give me the Cliff Notes. Yeah, the Cliff Notes. But still, I mean, to, to go through all that with this band and then get, you know, know, you kind of see the writing on the wall that you're going to kick you out or whatever and then you leave and get signed right away to a label. I, I, I have a couple follow up questions because we kind of sped over some of stuff like with that. Okay. So I don't, I know the band that you're in. If people want to figure it out, they can look it up because, you know, I'd rather promote you and your stuff. So you, that, that, that band, you, you leave this band and then you said you got signed right away on that first album that you put out. Out. Yeah, tell me about that.

32:43 Like how, how did, how did the label find you? Did they just know that you were from this other band and then look you up and go, okay, Oh, I like what, I like what this is. Yeah. Yeah. So the first tour I did with my first band had a band that was always talking about starting a label. They always wanted to do that and they really, really kind of liked the way I performed. They, they knew that, you know, most of the songs that I had, I, I Wrote most of them. So they. They. They saw kind of like where. How. How this band was getting their revitalization there was just. I'm trying to recall. Yeah. So they saw me there. They decided to make a new label.

33:25 I think maybe it took time for them to set that up, though. So they didn't follow up for, like, three years until after that. So they had known me, they'd seen me, but they hadn't made the label to, like, three years later. And by that point, my band had just broken up. So they're like, okay, let's talk about it. So I had. I think what happened, I'm trying to recall, left the band, or they. They. They left me. I don't even know what to call it. And I was like, all right, I'm going to studio in a month. I was so mad. I was like, I'm ready to say some stuff. So it took 2017 to set up my LLC, set up everything, start to go to the studio and track, But I only had, like, one song to put out because I. I just. I couldn't afford to put the whole thing out, you know, on my own. It's like, nobody talks about solo artists.

34:09 Like, yeah, you need to also come up with all the investment, too, if you don't have to be able to help. So it took 2017, like, a whole year to write my new album. And then I put out one song, I think, six months into that process, even though the rest wasn't done yet. And I did just the campaign that I could afford and took another six months for them to be like, okay, we have. Have a label we're starting. We want you. And my. The rest of my album hadn't come out yet. And they're like, oh, perfect. We won't put your whole album out. We haven't. We haven't heard. But we know by this song that it's gonna be great. That's gonna be good. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. And so they did, and it was like, man, that's. That's pretty cool. And. And sometimes I get down about, you know, the pandemic and how it just stalled me for years, but I realize now that, like, if it's. If. If you're waiting to put out an album, maybe there's a reason. Maybe things just aren't in place yet, and it's better to wait. And so even with Stronger Than Death, I remember how discouraged I was because I was like, you know, what label is going to pick me up in a pandemic? No one's Going to take risks. No one's going to invest in me. The economy is destroyed. And I was like, all right, well, I'll work three jobs for three years straight and make the money myself to do it.

35:24 And, yeah, it ended up working the best without anybody. So I was like, I guess I just needed to do this by myself the whole time. Exactly. Oh, man. But then now you actually. I mean, you have a label, obviously, and it. And you have a team behind you, and. And to have a label that's own, you know, run by somebody that's such a legend and such a legend. Such a legend. So, yeah, I'm definitely. I'm really grateful, though, for the independent lesson, because I really learned on my own and did it with my own hands, and now I can replicate that with a bigger budget. You know, there's nothing better than, like, being a good steward of a smaller one, kicking butt with it and just getting more. And you're like, oh, I know what to do now. And it's going to be even better because I have bigger budget. So. Right. You already had the validation that, like, you're like, oh, I'm going to do this on my own. We'll see what happens. And then it becomes the biggest release that you had. Yeah. And like, I told Huge. Yeah. I tell people all the time. I'm like, dude, like, the whole time you had to do it on your own because nobody was going to invest in you if you. If they. If they couldn't. Yeah. Know, prove that you had what it takes to generate numbers, you know, And I. I still feel we have a long way to go, but, yeah. In the middle of pandemic. And that's. That's some cool points.

36:38 I'm proud of myself, even though I wanted to die because I was so overworked. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. But, yeah. Well, I love what you're doing. Again, thank you so much on. For doing this. This has been awesome. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much. I'm sorry for just word vomiting. I had to go fast. No, no, no, no. That's what this is all about. About. This is all about. I have one more question for you, though. I want to know if you have any advice for aspiring artists. Yeah, I think a lot of what I've said. Do you just do it on your own? Like, I will say that, like, talent is very important, but it's not everything. Like, if you become teachable and you work with people that, you know are very talented and you, you know, know, crush with them and make friends, and you are a good team player. Like, you know, things could really change for your career. So don't be afraid to let go a little bit and also trust yourself, trust your message, and make the whole thing. Like. One of the best things about being a solo artist is that it feels pure. The art feels pure. It feels like what you really want to say. And, you know, if you are struggling in a band, you know, consider maybe being on your own. Maybe it would be a better thing. It's gonna be a lot more work. It's gonna be a lot more investment, but maybe you can do it and reap the rewards after that. So just don't give up and be competitive and stand up for yourself, too. I definitely had times where people were trying to pressure me to do things I just didn't want to do, and I'm. I never regretted saying no, that's for sure.

38:17 Bring it backwards, Bring it backwards. Bring it backwards. Bringing it backward, Bringing it backward, Bringing it backwards.