Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Hi, this is Michael G. Ronstep from the Nathans and Roncast. This week, we're featuring a very special artist named Josh Heisel. In a way, Josh is the reason that I ended up meeting Aaron Nathans and the reason we ended up recording so many albums and the reason we created this podcast, the Nathans and Roncast. It all goes back to my family group, Ronstadt Generations. Before that, I was touring with Josh Heisel in a group called Lost in Holland, and we were a duo on Neil Young's record label. The reason we happened to be on Neil Young's record label was because Josh Heisel was in a film called CsNY Deja Vu. It was a film about Crosby, stills, Nash, and Young going on tour and coming back together. And in that film, they featured a marine musician who had been heard on a talent show video from Iraq before they invaded Iraq in 2001. Josh is a Fox 25 Marine. He is an amazing person. He also speaks the truth in every word that he writes. We were in a duo that toured from 2007 to 2012 called Lost in Holland, and we toured all over the country. We built a network of venues and people that we love, all through the east coast and into the midwest and all the way down to Tucson, Arizona. On one of our tours in Tucson, Arizona, my dad, my brother, Josh Heisel and I were sitting in the living room on Thanksgiving, and we had a jam session that kept going, and we started rehearsing on accident. That's what musicians do when they're really enjoying the time together. So we practiced our harmonies, all this stuff. It turned into a group called Ronstadt Generations. And it's the family music that my dad would sing with me and Petey under the Mike Ronstadt trio, but rebranded as Ronstadt generations. It really, really took, and we toured all over. So when we were doing one of those tours, we played at the Barrington coffee house in Barrington, New Jersey. Trif Trifoletti booked us, and he happened to have Aaron Nathan's open up for us. And on that concert, Aaron said, hey, could you sit in with me on my song? Same old you? I remember it because it was an A minor, but he had capo one, so it was in b flat minor. If you're a musician and you play with no fret, you know exactly what I mean. But I made it through. I really enjoyed playing that song. And after that, since I lived in the east coast and my family lived in Tucson, Arizona, and Josh lived in Ohio, I started asking Aaron if he wanted to do some performances together, we just started trading songs, and it turned into songwriting together and a really amazing musical partnership going back to Josh Heisel and lost in Holland. We recorded our first album, called the last great Loss, in 2009 in Cincinnati, Ohio. And we toured all over for years on this album, on Neil Young's record label. We booked all our shows, and we were broke all the time. I don't know how we made it. We may not have technically, but we tried our best, but that led to a great friendship. And when that group wasn't performing anymore and when Ronstadt Generations had different members and Josh was doing some other stuff, I still kept in touch with Josh. And last year, we started talking about recording a new album in 2023. It happens to be 2023. And if you look up the album, the next great loss, you'll find this ep that Josh and I recorded at my very own recording space. I mixed and mastered it in the studio space here. So it's a really special album. It's got four tracks, and two of them are penned by Josh Heisel. One of them is a co write, and one of them is one of my originals. This song, son of a roofer, really moves me so much, it's almost autobiographical. And whatever he writes is so filled with truth and poignancy that I think it forces every listener to listen and take note. So, without any further delay, here is son of a roofer, performed by lost in Holland, live in Cincinnati, Ohio. On the album, the next great loss.
[00:04:35] Speaker B: You tell you a little story about where I'm from I'm a lonely man, yeah, my son of a gun alone since I decided to run from home I went off to fight another rich man's war and I killed about a dozen of the stone cold poor and I wore on my collar like a goddamn whore I'm sorry.
Came home a crying in a way I went if I could play a little music, I could pay the rent but it never really happened like I said, it went in a miss I don't really need your money anyway and I never really listened to words you'd say but I wrote it all down like the CIA I know that I'm supposed to be a peaceful man but I know I've been trying hard but, baby, lately I got killing on my mind naming on a ladder, man, you bound slip and you spend a million dollars on a rocket ship but you die on that stage under vinyl whip and you know I think all the freedom that they say I want, I want to give it to my daughter and my loving son but there's nothing in the bunker but another gun and it's coming got a little order and it's hard to flex I'm just a hillbilly riding on DMX and the sticks in my spokes of my own regrets and I'm praying but now they're saying Jesus is a brand new man he wants to cover up your mama like a Taliban building up a wall around the promised land and he hates you I know that I'm supposed to be a peaceful man but I know I've been trying hard but, baby, lately I got killing on my mind me shallow with a loaded gun singing here like a killer and a roofer son who ain't never good for nothing but little fun and loves you.
[00:08:03] Speaker A: Thank you so much for listening to the Nathan's and Ron cast and do look up Josh Heisel's music, look up lost in Holland and the next great loss on iTunes and all that good stuff. So have a great day and we'll see you next week.
