High June Rocks Rocklahoma: A Band’s Journey from College Bars to Festival Stages

0:04 Hi, you're listening to The Adventure and I'm Pudlin on W4CY Radio. This is the Pipe Man here on The Adventure's Pipe Man W4CY Radio and I'm here with. Hi, June. Nice, here at Rock, Oklahoma, man. Yes, sir. How did that happen? Dude, we are just a couple guys from North Carolina, and we were lucky enough to get chosen to get on this bill, and I cannot tell you how happy we are to be on it. Man, this was a killer, killer, killer time. First time at Rock, Oklahoma, and, yeah, we'll be back for sure.

0:46 Yeah, and tell me how your experience has been at Rock, Oklahoma so far. So far, I mean, the crowd has been much crazier than we expected. You know, we were one of the first bands playing today, so the fact that we walked out and saw people crowd surfing and doing mosh pits and going nuts, that was beautiful to see. That was crazy. It's been pretty hot, too, but it's fun. It's fun. It's hot as hell. It is. I live in Florida, and I think it's hot as hell, okay? We have two seasons, hot and hotter. But I mean, the crew overall, man, everybody's just been so, I guess, hospitable. I mean, it's been great. You wouldn't even know that we were the first band.

1:27 Of the day. You know, they're treating us like we're the headliners, and that's really awesome to see. It's a good environment. I love hearing that, because that's the way it should be. It's a great environment to be around. It's been fucking awesome. How about you guys? It's been great. We just got some drinks over at the radio station. Behind us so. How good that'll make this a better interview. Yeah, I mean just to reiterate what everyone said I mean we haven't done a lot of festivals this far in our career and everyone's been nice and welcoming and We had a great turnout for being the first band of the day, and I don't think we could ask for. More exactly and you know it's not always easy as a festival for bands you know and The sound, the load in, the load out. So when I hear stuff like this, it makes me happy because there are festivals that do it right, and Rock, Lahoma's one of them.

2:20 Yes, sir. Yeah, it's been amazing so far. Where in North Carolina are you guys from? We're all from different parts, but we all met at East Carolina University. Nice. And ECU. And we started playing the bar scene there, and it just grew from that. But pretty much born all over. We have Charlotte. We have. Raleigh, Greensboro, kind of all over the state. Nice. I have two kids, three kids that live in Fayette-Nam. Fayette-Nam. I'm sorry. I know, right? We did play in Fayette-Nam. Actually, our first ever festival was, in quotation marks, was at Fayette-Nam. We were the first of the day over like a three-day event. Was it multiple days or was it one day? It was supposed to be this huge thing. Yeah, and it wasn't much other than street vendors and, you know, people playing music. But, like, we're grateful because now we see the come up between doing that, loving life last year, and then now this. We actually are grateful for stepping on, like, a huge stage like that.

3:22 There you go. I love it. And something else I love I read in your guys' bio is... That you guys don't put a label on what type of music you are. I fucking hate that shit. Like, why do artists need to be boxed into a label? I think labels in general are stupid. 100% anything nothing's black and white it's. All gray I'm always about that that's how everything. Is and even music is the biggest spectrum ever but like you hear all these people that say you can't fit us into a box I think we have a box it's just not as direct as others it's your box like Jack will say it's just rock like from rock you'll have ballads you'll have hard hitters and then you'll have anything in between and I feel like that's the vibe it's like whatever sounds good to us is just the best thing ever and like we're five dudes from five different backgrounds so that's where it comes from really.

4:17 That's cool and yeah it definitely is where it is just all rock okay a lot of bands i talk to they say the same thing but everybody wants to put you into this like micro genre that's so finite you know You are an artist. You should be able to express yourself any way you want, you know? We also, we never wanted to be one of those bands where you listen to one song and then you've heard the entire catalog already. No doubt. Every song to be its own thing. Exactly. It tells its own story. And also as you grow as an artist, you don't want to stay in the same thing and not evolve and not expand or not get better, you know? And I think that's what's important, that you just play what you want to play and you'll attract your tribe. So now how are you going to top Rock, Oklahoma? How are you going to top Rock, Oklahoma now?

5:17 Well, we're very excited. We're leaving tomorrow, and we'll be heading down to Dallas-Fort Worth. We're going to be playing a show down there, which we're pumped for. We're going to be playing with Cole Barnhill. But after that, you know, for the rest of the year, we've got a headlining tour set up in October where we're going to be playing a little bit closer to home. And then for the rest of the year, we're on tour with a band called Dexter Moonrocks. We'll be rocking out with them until the end of the year, so. A lot of exciting stuff coming up. Nice. And they're playing at Rock, Oklahoma, too. Yeah, they're about to go back on. There you go. And so, like, you guys all went to school together. So how did the band thing come to be? How did you guys meet? How did it all work? put the puzzle together.

6:02 So freshman year, it was me, Will, Hayden, and Ryan that started the band in the college freshman dorms. It was really a cover band at first. We just wanted to play as much as we could, and we didn't really think about writing songs. Once we started to get more serious, luckily we found these two guys, James and Jack, that really solidified what the group is now, and we've just been writing and releasing music ever since. Nice. And so what do you think it is that made all of you gel together as a band? Because sometimes personalities don't get together and it doesn't last. I really think our differences is what gelled us together and being able to compromise with what we all like.

6:46 And also just being brothers at the end of the day. We can go and hang out and be friends and not just musicians. You know? Yeah. And, you know, we practice together. Sometimes six days a week for six hours a day. Nice. And this is recent, within the last year. And then we were practicing even more before that, learning three-hour-long sets just full of covers. And so by the end of that, you just really learn what the other guy is going to play. So it's really easy to write to Will because I can sit there and look at him and go, okay, I know this is what. He would want to hear if he were playing it. Let me try to match that and then just do what serves the song from there. And. I don't know, we all just really know each other's music preferences, and the chemistry is really, really there, and you can see it on stage, you can see it during practice, and it's just, we're all just brothers, like he said, you know?

7:39 It's key, too. I also have another answer, but my perspective on this as well. I think we all, like you said, some about personalities, and they might clash sometimes. I think we all came from similar backgrounds, but different enough to learn from each other. And that's a huge thing. But also, our passion for music runs deep in every single one of us. And that was the first thing that I noticed about us three. And bringing on two other guys was such a hard thing because I wanted that passion that I knew these guys had. And since we were young kids, we were thinking about hopping on stage, doing this one day. And it was just something that you had to find in somebody. And the passion, if you have that passion, you're a friend, you're a bandmate, and we're also roommates. So, like, there's three different personalities within this. And you just learn to adapt. And the biggest thing is that, like, we love each other. Like, that's the bottom line.

8:34 That's key. We're here for a common goal, you know. I love it. I think y'all covered that. My Lord. All right. So we can start with you for my next one. All righty. What was it? What was that moment in time in your life that you knew music was what you wanted to do? I mean, kind of going back to what Ryan just said, we all wanted to do it as a kid. I think I had a blind confidence from the first backyard show we played where I told my dad that I didn't care much about my assignments in college because we just played for 30 people. And then I think all of that really started coming into fruition about a year and a half ago when we started seeing an actual fan base culminate online, a very small one, but like a real one. People who cared about our day-to-day life and the music we were talking about putting out. So it's always been there, and I think it's just grown stronger as we've seen people get as into our music as we are into our music.

9:40 So that's really all I have to say to that. I would say it started for me when I had my stepdad's two daughters, they were twins, they were showing me music videos and we watched Nirvana Unplugged and the way that they were so infatuated by his person it blew my mind I hadn't seen that from anybody I was around before and to have. That persona or just. Create in the most raw form as unplugged and then people love that that was just otherworldly to me.

10:20 I don't know. I had a little band in high school called sick at the zoo. Shout out. That's a pretty cool name actually. But it was just me and my three best friends, man. And, uh, I've known all those guys since I was like six years old. And we would spend every day during like the COVID year and in high school, just making music all day. And, uh, and even beyond that, it was, I'm playing my guitar all the time. I just go down to the basement and play guitar after dinner. I'm playing guitar before bed. I'm playing guitar. Um, Learning a new riff every single night, just trying to teach myself how to play. And I don't know, listening to music is a big part of that too. I love to just dissect music and just listen and be present in it. Imagine myself playing it. It's just, I don't know, music is everything. It's obviously my whole life right now, but it's been a massive part of my life for the last 24 years.

11:12 I love it. Can't really do anything about that. For me, it was my parents that got me into music. My dad, when he dropped me off at elementary school, Guns N' Roses was always playing. And I didn't really understand what it was, but I liked it. And at the time, my parents wanted me to do sports. I didn't have a care in the world for that. So they're like, you got to do something. They bought me a guitar. It was inseparable at that point. I was always playing it. And then going back and listening to those rock bands with my dad, I'm like, holy shit, I want to play what that is. That's so cool. Like, Nice. That, for me, is it. My parents. And you know what? It's funny. You mentioned Nirvana and what you just said. So I used to play Nirvana in the car with my kids in the car when they were really young. And they used to always ask me. There were two songs they asked me about.

12:03 One was Jane's Addiction. One was Nirvana. They used to say, can you play Rave Me? And I didn't correct them because I didn't want them to know what it was really saying. And they always used to say, can you play dog singing? So now, trivia question, who knows which song that is by Jane's Addiction? They used to say dogs. They called it dog singing. That's what they called the name of the song. My kids. I mean, is it. I only know the one song by them, their main song.

12:45 No, Jane's Addiction. Jane's Addiction. It wouldn't be Jane Says, is it? Nope. That's the only song I know. It is one of their most popular songs. Yeah. And I'll give you a hint. It's how the song starts. Yep. Been caught stealing okay yes so yeah you're right on the money like because at the beginning of the song it's dogs barking so they looked at that as dogs singing. There you go and then jack oh yeah um. I don't know i mean i when i was really young before i could like read and write i would like sing songs and my mom would write it down for me um So, yeah, I don't know. I think I got into it at a young age. I don't know what really got me into it. But ever since, I think I've tried my whole life to convince myself I want to do anything but music because I know the path.

13:40 I know how it is. All my friends are in business or sitting at desks. And I was like, all right. And at every crossroad of my life, I spent more time doing music than I did, whether it was school or hanging out with friends or going out. I just wanted to be at home and write music. That's all I ever cared about. And that's what is going to make you guys be here for the long haul, because I think that is the difference. Like, I was always totally into music, and I played instruments, but I never dedicated time to those instruments. Now, I remember, like, Randy Rhoads was, like, my idol. And I found out he practiced eight hours a day. I'm like, I don't even have eight hours a day. How am I going to play like him? And so, like, I love hearing from all of you the dedication, because... That is really what it takes.

14:28 You've got to put those 10,000 hours in. No doubt. Those virtuosos are killer at everything. They're so technical. But one thing about music is, and bringing it back to Nirvana, is I think that if you have the passion, you can create. And you don't have to be the craziest Randy Rhoads or Billy Strings or whoever it might be. And... As long as you are putting in the effort and you have the mindset of doing it all, I think you can truly do it. And especially today, like, it's so easy to create. And it's also so hard to get noticed because it's so creative. Yeah. Like, so easy to create.

15:09 And, I don't know, I think Nirvana kind of showed us that kind of not perfect music is beautiful in itself. I even look at, like, the fact that Dave Grohl was a drummer. And then when he started Foo Fighters, he went as a front man and playing guitar. Yeah. You know? He's a musician. Exactly. He wasn't just a drummer. Like, he was doing it. Exactly. That's my point. Like, I think that's what happens with a lot of true musicians is they can pivot. Absolutely, yeah. And add to it as well. So. What are you going to do? So tell everybody how they reach out to you on socials, on the web, buy your merch. They can't listen to my show unless they buy your merch.

15:53 Yeah, you can find us on TikTok or Instagram at HiJuneBand. We are on all streaming platforms, our music, YouTube, Spotify, whatever you want to use. And what else? Catch us at a city near you. Catch us at a city near you. HiJuneMusic.com for tickets. We're headlining in October on the East Coast, and we're playing over 20 dates with Dexter and the Moonrocks for the rest of the year. Nice. Dream band that you want to tour with? Oh, this might be different for everyone. It probably will be. I would love like a 2000s post-grunge dad rock type band, Creed or Nickelback or someone like that, I think.

16:36 I'm going to kick it to this festival we're at. Dude, I love Stone Temple Pilots. I would love to open for them. Nice. I'm going to have to go with Pearl Jam. I think Pearl Jam would be fucking sick. I think Highly Suspect we'd fit in very well with. I'm going to say Fuel. Nice. Those are all great choices. Yeah, Treaty Oak, too. I would love to play with them, but, yeah, I mean, that would be fucking sick. But, yeah. Same thing. Well, you can always say you were playing with Slayer because they're here at Rock, Oklahoma. Hey, whatever it takes. You were on the bill with Slayer. There we go. Hey, well, thank you. So much for having us on.

17:17 I really appreciate it. Hey, my pleasure. Thank you guys for bringing us music to Rock, Oklahoma, and thanks for being on the Adventures of Pipe Man. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipe Man on W4CY Radio. Thank you.