HighWay – Last Call For Rock n’ Roll (2026) - PipemanRadio Interview

0:04 Hi, you love done to censure fore wow, pray you. I want a big house podcast on the Flowing swimming Pool. Let you read tamal rings but you already one of the lanky science show I want to see. This is the pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four c Y Radio. And we have our next guest coming on that has some badass music and so let's welcome to the show, Ben from Highway. How are you? Yeah?

0:44 Good? Thank you the pipe Man. So happy to be here with you today. Yes, and I love your background. Yours is more real than mine. Like mine's cool because it's your band, but yours is real, like and I dig it. How many guitars do you have? Yeah? I got to sg here get some a g two of their les pool and acoustics, or four here and two six six electric guitars yet nice? Yeah, I love that. It's too much, but. It becomes like an addiction, right, you know, once you become like a musician and you just have to have It's like going to a toy store when you go into.

1:33 Exactly exactly and we can stop, we can stop buying some ship and traying some ants, pedals, guitars and. Somebody. I'm not even good at it. I suck, and I still buy lots of toys because I just I got. I took my grandson recently to Guitar Center, you know, because he plays guitar, and you know, you want to look at drums. And the last time I was there, I got them a keyboard. And then I'm in there and I'm like, you know, I played drums for nine years when I was young, but I sucked. But then I saw these electric drums there and at first I'm like sitting down and I'm like, oh, this would be like playing on the practice pads. That's why I hated the drums. But then I put the headphones on and I was like, oh my god, it's like playing a real drum set. I need to buy this so I can play it in my place and nobody will ever complain because I'll never hear it. Yeah. Sure, what started you out in the beginning of your musical journey? What was it that got you hooked on music?

2:44 Oh, twas my brother Roman, who is the drummer steal the drummer in the highway. It's my big brother. And it listened to a lot of music by the time, Hazy, DC, Anton Roses, all the big bands at that time, and so I loved that music too. I was eighteen eighties, a eight eight or nine years old at that time, and I said, all right, let's start a band together because we love that music. It's a part of our life.

3:25 We can live without music, so let's play together. So Highway started when I started playing guitar with my brother and Roma at the drums, you know. So the story began a long time ago, twenty twenty five years ago when I started playing guitar with my brother. This is what the big name in rock and roll? So a CDC and Aerosmith and all this, all this big name. You know. I gotta tell you too, I was listening to your new music. Okay, we got a last call for rock and roll. I love the name of that.

4:13 But you guys like you took me back to like the eighties. So I was a teenager in the eighties on the Sunset Strip, oh yeah, and so it took me back to that because you guys are just like so much fun. Yeah, we love, we are well full off good vibes and uh we are optimistic, we are uh we want we want that all music sounds fresh, sounds fun. The word is dark and it's darker darker every day. So for us music ken's rocking and rock and roll can save the word and and bring some good vibe and fun to people. Yeah, and every everyone in the world needs good vibes. Yeah, so I don't I can't understand bands playing depressive music or but it's not us, it's not us. We are fun. We we love to have fun and our music is fun too, you know, so so but it's it's even if we are not in the eighties anymore. But I think nowadays we need funny music and uh just want to to to head bang and uh put your heads up and have fun.

5:42 So more than ever, more than ever, like oh my god, if we can. If there wasn't ever time in history we need music, it's now. And like there is enough depressing crap out in the world we don't need we don't need it necessarily. Yeah, music can can help us to escape this this this world. Yeah exactly. You know, when I'm at a concert or music festival, I don't give a crap what's going on in politics or what's going on with a the news crap like and that's what it's there for. It's so therapy to get away from all that crap.

6:22 Exactly. It can help, it can heal, it can everything. So we don't want to sing about the politics or all that craps. Oh you mean you don't want to sing about the politics between the US and Canada right now, that's so stupid. It's so. Our music won't tell about that. But right like, I don't even get it. Canadians are like some of the nicest people in the world, you know. I'm sure, but you know, as I said, we love all the the American culture. We love, uh, the culture of music, movies, liv in France. I'm French guy, and and uh, since my my young age job, I always dream loved this American culture.

7:15 But but maybe today I'm not very problem. I'm not very proud of American I dream right now, you. Know, right, maybe not today, maybe neither. I like to escape a. Lot, like I'm looking for one of the next chapter. Uh, And I can go back to America, you. Know, And I like like I go on tour, and I do music festivals all over the US, UK and Europe, and I love doing hellfest in France. My god, that's the most amazing festival ever. And the first year I did it, this French girl walked up to me. She didn't speak munch English at all, but she said, she said, French women love sex. So I was sold on. I was sold on France.

8:07 Yes, yes, but there's different kind of girls in French too. Yeah. Well, it's like anywhere, right, you know, a good choice, right, it's like anyone. I think it's perception too, like everybody's perception. That's why I think the whole world should travel to other cultures and see what it's like outside their bubble, because you know, wherever you are, you're in this bubble. You don't realize, you hear what it may be like somewhere else, but until you experience it. And I do remember the first time I went to France, Paris, specifically, all the Americans they always like, oh the Parisians are so rude, blah blah blah. And I didn't have that experience.

8:56 And I'll tell you why I didn't have that experience because I took like a two way in two week blitz course before I went in French, so I could butcher the language, but at least attempt it. And so I was doing that, and then I was talking to one server at a restaurant who basically I just asked him, like, you know, I heard all this thing that Parisians are rude. I haven't been experiencing at all. Why is that? And he said to me straight out, because you're not acting like an Aragan American, like you're you're you're speaking friends and you're trying to speak French. You're butchering it, but at least you're attempting, like a lot of the Americans they come over here and they assume we all speak English, and like, I totally get that, Like, but that is how it is when you grow up in another country, like you grow up in the United States, you seem to think everybody in the world speaks English, you know, and it just doesn't work that way. So, you know, I think that would solve a lot of world's problems if you if it was like a requirement to travel and experience other cultures, because then we can understand each other instead of what we think or what the media feeds us or or whatever it is. Because people are just people. There's assholes in every right, there's assholes in every country. There's nice people in every country. You can't

10:26 judge by where it is, you know, and listen, when you have a festival like health Fest, to me, that's. Like, it's a beautiful festival. Oh my god. Yeah, it's insane. It's not only music, it's an experience. Like it's ever since I've gone that first year, Like, and it's funny too. I hope the other one don't hear. But every year, you know, Graspop and health Fest are at the same weekend, and except for a couple of years ago, and so every year I would pick Hellfest because I went there, I loved it, I knew where it was ray and then you know, so one year, a couple of years ago, they were on separate weekends, and so I decided to apply for media credential for grass Pop. Now I can check it out and I can tell you after that, like grass Pop was a great festival, but hell Fest just takes it to a whole other level compared to any festival I've ever been at anywhere in the world. It's like, yeah, great, Like you said, it's an experience. We're lucky, We're lucky to have this festival in friends and the food like there ain't I tell you, food is normally crap at US festivals. Okay, it's like going to the fair, but but you go to hellfest and it's like, oh my god, like this is like gourmet food here.

11:51 You know, friends and food are so I'll very get a closing importance. No doubt, no doubt that. So how how do you perceive how the world sees your music? How would you perceive it that? How how do you think other people perceive it around the world? With this new record, particularly Highway, it's it's rock. It's rock rock music. But it's not seem just a rock band. You know, it's not an Australian rock band. It's not a Brittonic rock band. It's not a California rock and roll. It's it's rock and roll in this fullest, you know, with a lot of influences. You can hear some queen inside airs me says. This is some fresh music. There is some pop harmony, There is a lot of stuff inside of music, and there is a lot of fun.

12:48 As you said, our music is optimistic, positive and just if you if you won't have a good time, you can listen to this new album. So it's it's like a rock and roll rainbow. You know, there's a lot of stuff inside. Yeah, totally. I feel that too. From listening to it, it was like it's just so and watching I was watching videos here, so I'm like, man, they just look like they're having so much fun, and I think that's. Yeah, weird. Yeah, it's so important. Like I see bands sometimes at shows and they just look like they're not having a good time at all. And if you're not having a good time in music, it's the wrong industry, okay, exactly, Like a lot of the industry sucks, so the good time should be on stage exactly.

13:41 It's it's it's more of the music industry, if it exists anymore, it's not fun and it's very tough, very rough, very harsh. So we play music because we love that, because we need to play music. We need to share of patient and of fun to people. Because when when I play guitar on stage, it's it's my favorite moments. It's I love that. I love this, and uh, I will always love that. I play guitars in a band for twenty years now and I still love that. I still love that. And even if there is a one hundred person in the audience. It's my dream, you know, it's I love that. I love that.

14:34 So you can tell even by the background I have here of your band, like you can just tell by the picture you guys are fun. Yeah, we have fact that's us exactly. That says it all. That picture says it all right there, yeah exactly. So tell us a little bit about what really this newest album. How is it the same as previous music you've done? How is it different? That's still us, It's still our voice, still are it's still are all our influences, our way way to to view, visualize of music. But it's it's the level up in terms of production, in terms of songwriting, in terms of vocal harmonies. We worked a lot on on all these aspects of our music, and particularly the melodies and the vocals harmonies. We we listened to a lot of Queen and Dath Report and actually new bands in rock. I think the the the vocal lines and harmonies it's missing in new rock now. So we we wanted to uh to uh have a different aspects of of our rock

16:04 and roll adding this all these vocal harmonies. Yeah, so I think it's new for us, and I think it's what's this what can be recognized able to sound and our bands. You know, we worked a lot with our producer who his name is Brett Caldaslima. He's a well known French producer in rock and metal music, and we we worked a lot on on the sound and uh, I think it's it's a very very good sounding album because of its work with with with Brett caldas Lima. Yeah.

16:46 Nice. And and you got this this track that I that was. I loved the video for Bang Bang Bang Bank. Yeah, a lot of that time too. It's funny, it's so much it was, it's very groovy, it's uh the video is going. It's a funny song because it's uh, you talk about the cliche of of rock star, of the the the the life that we can fantasize of rock star, and uh it's a song about the dubbed it's a song about the inner conflicts of choice in life.

17:28 But it's very cynically and humorously uh vision of that. So it's a it's a funny song, but it's uh vision of this rock star cliche. You know. Yeah, and rocks don't really exist anymore like that whole thing doesn't really exist and now the previous century. Exactly so, but it's it's so the video was so much fun to to shot. Yeah, we had a lot of a lot of fun shooting this video. Yeah, so if you don't have seen, uh, Bank Bank is a good one.

18:18 There you go. Is there anything else you want to share with our listeners about you guys and your new your new album that we. Have, Yeah, Lasco for rock and roll. It's twelve brand new tracks, very different and with a lot of a lot of moods and a lot of influences that but at the end, it's only good vibe rock and roll and please listen to it, buy it, share it because rocket the world needs good vibe rock and roll, you know. Yeah, and that is that is my favorite part, is the fact that you know, you have continue to do something that kind of has disappeared, and that is just good old rock and roll. Forget all the sub genres, micro genres, bullshit division labeling. It's just good rock and roll.

19:15 Yeah, and I don't I don't like this all this sub germal level. It's just rock and uh it's rock with good melody and good vibe. So it's it's simple. It's simple to have a good time. Yeah, but but it's uh, it still sounds fresh, and it's not it's not eighties music. It's rock from from now but totally exactly so it's not nostilegic music. It's just good rock and roll. So that's it. That's it. That's what. We're on the highway to good rock and roll. We're no longer on the highway to Hell, now in the Highway to good rock and roll.

20:02 Exactly. Well, that's where we are. Well, thanks a lot for being here and giving us great music, and thanks for being on the Adventures of pipe Man. Yeah, thank you so much, Thank you so much. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of pipe Man on w for CUI Radio.