Brad and Barry introduce this week's High Five Clip, part 2 of their interview with Paul Janeway from 2018. In this excerpt, Paul talks about how St. Paul and The Broken Bones was propelled a higher level of fame following an electrifying performance on David Letterman. It's a great story about how one show or one moment can change everything for a band. Listen to the original interview here.
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It's another What Podcast. Hi, five. I'm Brad. That's Barry. Here we go. Here we go. Nice. Last week we did a high five with Paul Janeway from St. Paul and the Broken Bones telling the story about the time a man peed on him at Bonnaroo. I love that story. I tell that story to damn near every person who knows St. Paul and the Broken Bones. Guys, guys, guess what? This one time Paul Janeway told me a story about how he got peed on at Jay-Z. I had forgotten his reaction, which they, hey, what's happening here? Hey, man. What's going on? So adorable. It's so much fun. It is. So if you want to go back and listen to that high five, you're more than welcome to, or you can see the whole interview at the whatpodcast.com or on the Consequence Podcast Network. It's such a fun double episode and not because of us, but because Paul is just such a fantastic storyteller. He's so funny. He's so endearing. I just don't know how anybody doesn't fall in love with him immediately. Even seeing him, that's how people fall in love with him. As soon as they lay eyes on him, they're like, oh yeah, this is the guy down the street. Yeah, exactly. I love this. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. So tell me about today's high five. Well this clip, first of all, it features a hero of yours or a story about a hero of yours. It's a great example of how a band can catch lightning in a bottle and go from this level to this level with one gig, one show, one endorsement or whatever. And that's exactly what happened. You know how Carson had the touch of gold when it came to comics? I feel like Letterman had that with bands, especially in the late night days. If you got on Letterman at 12.35, it was a big moment for you because you were hitting the target audience that you wanted so easily. And then even in the CBS days, even later in the day, he kept finding these artists that he really, really loved and he would give them a platform. Hence, first television appearance ever by Lizzo. I mean, Dave had Lizzo on when she was just doing club gigs in Minneapolis, right? So this was one of those moments where you didn't know who they were. Maybe you heard a song a couple of times, but then when you saw them and the explosion on the screen of what you were seeing was just, this is unbelievable what I'm watching. And even into the days like late night TV's popularity is waning, you still could have a life changing moment on Letterman like St. Paul did. Well, and if the music alone, the performance didn't get you, which I can't imagine that it didn't, Letterman's reaction. His reaction. Oh my God, his reaction. Is worth making you go back and watch it over and over and over again. That was one of the most sincere, gushing reactions that I've ever seen. I don't need to tell you this. Dave Letterman is my hero, so I know a thing or two about him. He can't fake it. No, no. He just cannot fake it. So if he is like billowing love for you, he really, really means it because he doesn't like a lot of things. No, no. And he doesn't suffer. You're exactly right. He can't fake it at all. All right. So this is the Paul Jane away from St. Paul and the Broken Bones talking about his first appearance on Letterman. So what podcast high five. I have to say, I'm surprised that we've gone this far and Brad has not mentioned David Letterman. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Brad is talk about fanboy. Well, he's my hero in life. If not for Dave Letterman, I would not be doing anything that I'm doing or the person that I am today. He is my absolute hero in every regard and every piece of entertainment. He's the guy that changed not only comedy, but he changed television. He changed entertainment. The fact that you guys got such a big break from Letterman. I mean, I wasn't going to bring it up, Barry, but if you really want to talk about Dave, I can talk about Dave. I'm wondering if I'm going to get to speak during this whole conversation. That was pretty remarkable because they had told us that he was a fan of ours and I just kind of shrugged it off his lip service. You know what I mean? Because like, oh, such a big fan. Yeah. Says that to everybody, right? Yeah, exactly. Says that to everybody. And then they were like, look, he is a really big fan. He could ask for an encore. He rarely does, but it is possible. Would y'all be OK with that? We were like, of course. So then he goes into that long rant before the show, before our performance. And I was just like, surely they're going to cut this out. Surely and they didn't. And it became a thing. And we, you know, it was it was really quite remarkable. For people out there listening who haven't seen it, Google it. It's one of the most remarkable late night television moments I've ever seen. I went 20 some odd years without missing an episode of Dave. I watched him every single night for 20 some. It's a real sickness. I know it's pretty crazy. But I'll tell you, the only time I ever remember him doing something like that was back in the late night days with James Brown. And James Brown did late night. That was the only time I remember him saying to somebody, I need you to keep going. Do it again. Keep going. It was it was it was it was one of those things where our career was doing pretty good. I mean, but the record cycle, as you know, kind of winding down. We were like, OK, we were getting ready to start to write the next record. And then that happened. And it like took us another level. We were like, it did. It changed our career. There's something about and I hope that I can talk to you maybe as somebody who maybe little out of body experience with you for a second. But it's like Paul on stage is a different is a different human being. And it's ironic that you are such a fan of pro wrestling because it is almost like a character that you're doing on stage that is just infectious. Yeah. I mean, it's it's when you hit the zone. You know what I mean? It's a different animal. My eyes. I like to say it's my hour and a half of therapy. Another successful five minutes down memory lane with the What Podcast. Barry Courter Brad Steiner, another high five next week. But if you want to go check out the whole Paul Janeway interview, it's available to what podcast dot com. Be sure to rate review. Send us your love and cash available anytime on Venom. So I can pay for Lord Russ Jackson's big Christmas presents Christmas presents coming up. Yeah, we need that quickly. Don't forget. You can also hear these on the consequence network. So far I have accumulated twenty two dollars. Twenty two dollars. So you're to the good Russ Christmas fund. Just in time. Mr. Lord Taco. Yes. There he is. Morning. We're having a little scratchy this morning. So I just was filling Barry in. I have accumulated twenty two dollars in the Russ Jackson Christmas fund for your big Christmas presents. Twenty two dollars. Wow. Yeah, we're getting there. My man, we're getting there. You're right in time for us to say good night to podcast high fives and we'll get to another one next week. You got anything before we go there or taco? How's everybody doing? My man. He's a national treasure. I'll talk to you next week. Bye.