In this episode of "Seeing Them Live," Charles and Doug host members of the New York City band Mad Meg—vocalist Ilya Popenko, Dan Vexler, Jason Laney, and Igor Reznik. The discussion delves into the band's origins within New York's Russian-speaking community and their diverse musical influences. They share stories about their concert experiences, notably a unique performance at a women's correctional facility in Lithuania, and highlight the energy of their live shows. Additionally, they explore Ilya's filmmaking ventures, including his animated music videos and a documentary on the antifolk scene in New York. The episode provides an in-depth look at Mad Meg's creative process and the synergy between their music and visual artistry.
In this episode of Seeing Them Live, Charles and Doug welcome members of the eclectic New York City band Mad Meg: Ilya Popenko, Dan Vexler, Jason Laney, and Igor Reznik. The conversation starts with an introduction to Mad Meg’s unique sound, characterized by a blend of various music genres and fronted by Ilya's distinct vocals. The band members recount their formation story within the Russian-speaking community of New York City, with Jason humorously describing his determined efforts to join the band despite not speaking Russian.
The discussion then shifts to the band’s concert experiences, highlighting an unusual and memorable performance at a women's correctional facility in Lithuania. Charles praises the energy of the live recording from this concert, drawing a comparison to Johnny Cash's iconic Folsom Prison performance. The band members reflect on the spontaneous nature of the prison show, which was organized in just a few days due to a canceled gig, and the exceptional audio quality captured by their sound engineer, Augustine.
The episode also delves into the band's live performance history in New York City, specifically their residency at New Blue 151, where they have built a strong local following. They talk about their 2022 album, Who Deserves Balloons and Medals, which was notable for having videos accompanying many of the songs. Ilya shares insights into the creative process behind these videos, emphasizing the importance of maintaining artistic control and integrating visual elements to expand the dimensions of their music.
The band’s creative versatility extends beyond their music to filmmaking. Ilya, a skilled filmmaker, directed several of Mad Meg’s music videos and completed a feature-length documentary about Jeffrey Lewis and the antifolk scene in New York. This film, which premiered at SlamDance Film Festival and was nominated for Best Documentary, showcases Ilya's multifaceted talents and the band's commitment to creative storytelling across different mediums.
Throughout the episode, the members of Mad Meg share anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories, offering listeners a deep dive into their artistic journey and the dynamic synergy that fuels their innovative work. This conversation not only highlights the band's musical achievements but also their ability to merge music with compelling visual narratives, making for an engaging and multifaceted artistic experience.
BANDS MENTIONED: Adrian Baloo, Blonde Redhead, Frank Zappa, Genesis, Iron Maiden, Johnny Cash, King Crimson, Kino, Lounge Lizards, Mad Meg, Nine Inch Nails, Rolling Stones, Social Distortion, The Bears
VENUES MENTIONED: 930 Club (Washington, D.C.), Gramercy Theatre (New York City), Happy Ending (Lower East Side, New York City), New Blue 151 (New York City), Penevėžys Women's Correctional Facility (Lithuania)
[00:00:00] Charles: Mad Meg is a New York City band that, to my ears, draws on a wide variety of music genres, puts them in a blender, and then pours their unique sound over the one-of-a-kind vocals of Ilya Popenko. The result is captivating and something you've not heard before, and makes you want to explore Mad Meg's music even more. Today's guests include Ilya Popenko, Dan Vexler, Jason Laney, and Igor Reznik, and also, I'm joined by my producer and co host Doug Florzak. Gentlemen, welcome to Seeing Them Live.
[00:00:38] Jason: Thanks for having us.
[00:00:40] Igor: Thank you guys.
[00:00:40] Charles: Yeah. I thought we could introduce, uh, you guys as the band and how you met and everything, and then, talk about some of your concert experiences, which is what we do here at Seeing Them Live. And then get into this live show that I think our listeners would be interested in, uh, at this women's correctional facility. Talk about your album, Who Deserves Balloons and Metals, and then maybe, explore some, uh, Ilya, some of your work with, your new, song and video, the Horse is Not Mine. And, uh, some of your film work and stuff.
[00:01:17] So, from what I understand, you guys met in a Russian-speaking community in New York city and formed in like 2011. And I know, Dan and Ruslan were already in a band. But could you, you guys speak to like how that all kind of gelled together and you formed Mad Meg?
[00:01:36] Dan: It was really, it was really Igor and Ruslan that were already in a band. I just knew Ruslan where we briefly, we were briefly in another band together, but very, very briefly, I mean, I don't know if it even counts.
[00:01:48] Igor: I mean, me and Ruslan have been kind of going from band to band, but Ilya has been writing songs, I mean, way before we joined and actually in the beginning it wasn't even me, it was Ruslan, another gentleman, Daniel, and Ilya. And then the band as an organism kind of evolved throughout the years, and this is kind of the last lineup.
[00:02:09] Charles: Okay.
[00:02:10] Jason: I didn't actually come from the Russian-speaking community. I speak very, very, very, very little Russian and only what I've picked up utilitarian, in our travels through Russia. When I first moved to New York, through a friend of a friend, I ended up being roommates with a friend of Ilya's. And I was desperately just looking for music to play in New York City. I had just gotten there. And basically, just begged Ilya to let me be in his band. I had a little show at a bar called Happy Ending, on the Lower East Side. And what I would do is if I found out somebody had a band, I'd be like, Oh, you can come to the show and play a set, and I'll record you.
[00:02:53] And hey, you know what? I'm gonna be there with my keyboard anyway. If you wanted to maybe do a couple songs with me, ah, that'd be pretty cool too. And then Ilya was just never able to get rid of me.
[00:03:03] Charles: Does that, does that sound about right, Ilya?
[00:03:06] Ilya: Jason is being a little self-deprecating, but, chronologically, it seems, you know, add up.
[00:03:13] Igor: I mean, the last addition to the band, he's not here right now, but, with Sasha on the saxophone, who also did some throat singing, and I guess, he's the last part of the lineup.
[00:03:25] Dan: He's a baritone saxophonist, which is a big difference.
[00:03:28] Igor: Right, that is, that is correct. I mean, speaking for, you know, about live music experience, actually, Sasha is like the only member of the band who actually I went to his show before, like 20 years ago or something. I saw him perform live with his old and 20 years later we up playing in a band.
[00:03:48] Jason: You know, all these timelines are really making a sound old. I had no idea that we started in 2011. That was 13 years ago, guys. That's, uh, that's crazy.
[00:03:59] Charles: You had put that down on our, our guest, list that, you know, we ask people their best concerts and, and such, and your most surprising one, Igor was, uh, seeing the sax player, when he was in the band Water Walls, I think you'd mentioned. That, was, I guess, one of your, your most, kind of surprising musical experiences.
[00:04:20] Jason, I was going to ask you, you, uh, also filled out the form and said that, uh, you have a backstage pass collection and I was just kind of curious what bands you've been backstage to, and, uh, if there were any stories there.
[00:04:35] Jason: It's the backstage passes from like shows that we played. Like anytime that we played like a, a particularly cool venue, like Gramercy theater, uh, some of the big clubs that we played in, uh, Russia the 930 club and stuff like that. I just anything that they give me that has documentation, I, I keep it as a reminder that oh, yeah, I did do some cool things in my youth.
[00:05:00] Charles: Yeah, you said you don't really keep your ticket stubs, which that's my thing. I, I kind of keep, uh, all of my ticket stubs and I have one pass. I met a band Iron Maiden once backstage, which was kind of interesting.
[00:05:16] Jason: That's pretty cool.
[00:05:17] Charles: What was interesting is your Rolling Stones story was similar to mine, you, you couldn't go because, uh, this was in 1997. You had the flu and your parents wouldn't let you go. Right.
[00:05:28] Dan: Yeah.
[00:05:29] Charles: Yeah. And, I had a similar experience, but I have a happier, ending to the story. In '81, over about a week's time, I was in high school and, I'd seen Genesis on their Abacab tour a few days later and I was getting, I was getting sick and a few days later I saw Frank Zappa and by the time I saw Frank Zappa, I was, I had full blown pneumonia and I'd then gone to the doctor and my buddy had won Rolling Stones tickets, off the radio station here in Chicago. And I was supposed to go with them, but I was, I was deathly ill and I didn't think my parents were going to let me go.
[00:06:10] So my mom said, against my better judgment, I'm going to let you see these guys, cause who knows when they'll ever be back again. And of course, 43 years later, uh, they're playing Chicago here, uh, over the summer. So, I got to see The Stones and, I thought, yeah, that was kind of an interesting, story that, that you, uh, weren't able to go.
[00:06:31] Dan: Yeah, I was, I ended up seeing them 10 years later in 2007. And now that that was also a million years ago. Ah, what was Zappa doing in '81? I'm not even sure what he was doing then.
[00:06:41] Charles: Yeah, I looked into that. He had this album called Crush All Boxes. Which he didn't release. He had recorded it and then he didn't release it from what I understand. And then it became available. Yeah, that's about all I know.
[00:06:54] Dan: Was he with Adrian Baloo?
[00:06:57] Charles: You know, I'm not sure. I'm not sure. That's a good question.
[00:07:01] Dan: I saw, actually, I forgot to mention, I also had an accidental, another kind of accidental concert attendance when I saw King Crimson in '96.
[00:07:11] Charles: Okay.
[00:07:12] Dan: With, their most amazing lineup, you know, with Adrian Baloo and Tony Levin and, uh, the two drummers, whatever their names are. That was also amazing. They played Red and all those kinds of things.
[00:07:23] Charles: I saw, I saw Adrian Baloo at a small club down in, uh, Champaign, Urbana, downstate Illinois. I was going to school down there. Uh, yeah, and he was, he was fantastic. That was with his band, The Bears, I believe, that he put together. I didn't know, uh, Ilya, if you had any concert stories you wanted to share or, uh, anything in particular?
[00:07:46] Ilya: The majority of concerts that I've been to, I went to accidentally, so I never, like, seek out live shows because I'm a little bit afraid of large crowds.
[00:07:57] Charles: Ok.
[00:07:57] Ilya: But whenever, like, I get free tickets, it's like, I can't really turn them down, so my selection of concerts is kind of, it doesn't have like a rhyme or reason like I've been to like a Social Distortion concert. I've been to like Lounge Lizards, tribute concerts. Uh, Blonde Redhead, just because my friend was, like, selling beer at the concert, and he kind of, like, opened the fence for me to sneak in.
[00:08:29] Charles: Mmmm.
[00:08:31] Ilya: And then when I had just come to the United States, I would go to a lot of, like, Russian shows because I really missed, you know, my homeland, so I would attend a lot of those.
[00:08:42] Igor: King Crimson, I saw this amazing show at 930 Club, where they, I'm sorry, I don't know the guy's name, I never did. Is it Robert Schripp or whatever, the dude's voice was completely out. So they improvised a two hours or two and a half hour show of just like complete just psychedelia, which was amazing.
[00:09:03] Dan: They're a pretty wild band. They're capable of a lot of stuff.
[00:09:07] Igor: The, the value of that show in particular because it was like it was the only one that happened in that particular way. There was no one like, it.
[00:09:16] Charles: Thanks for sharing those guys. I'd like to move now to a live show that you guys did at a women's correctional facility in Lithuania. And I know you've, you've talked at length about this in a previous interview. So, if anybody wants to check that out, they just search up Mad Meg and Lithuanian prison, and it'll pop right up.
[00:09:37] From listening to that interview, that Prison only, it holds like 300 people and, and you guys said it was like the size of a, an elementary school gym where you performed. Yeah, I wanted to talk about that a little bit, that experience, but in particular, the recording I thought was fantastic.
[00:09:57] Ilya, your voice, you could just feel, the energy and the band. You guys are on fire and, did you guys hear that? I mean, compared to like, you know, I've watched a bunch of your videos and such music videos, but that recording, I don't know. I just thought it was fantastic.
[00:10:16] Ilya: Thank you.
[00:10:17] Dan: I mean, we wouldn't have released those tracks if we didn't feel they were, you know, good.
[00:10:22] Ilya: But definitely the vibe was a little different than our regular shows. So, I definitely felt differently at that particular one.
[00:10:32] Charles: Yeah. Cause you guys, from what I was reading, you, rehearse or come up with a song and then play it out live and then, you know, depending on the reception or you guys tweak it, it gets put onto an album later. For anybody listening, I think you got to check out this recording.
[00:10:48] Douglas: I was kind of reminded of when Johnny Cash, you know, did the live recording at Folsom Prison. I wonder if any of you, maybe after the fact, thought about the parallels there because that was another great live recording at a prison.
[00:11:01] Jason: Yeah, of course. When the guy that we work with that books us in Lithuania, like, told us that this was an option, of course, immediately, we were like, It's just like Johnny Cash, we gotta do it, of course we're gonna do it. There's no version of the world where if this is a thing we can do, that it is a thing that, you know, we wouldn't do. And then, uh, I don't, what was the name of that guy that recorded for us? Cause he was great, and we, like, just found him in a random rehearsal studio, right? Augustine, maybe?
[00:11:28] Igor: Augustine, yeah. So, so the story is, is that, he, we didn't, we kind of thought it's, it's one of Jay's friends. And then he kind of came to record the sound and there was another dude that came to record the video.
[00:11:42] Dan: Jay is the promoter who put on the whole thing.
[00:11:45] Igor: Jay is this amazing Lithuanian promoter that, that we're friends with who has been bringing us there. And he kind of offered us the gig and he found a video and an audio guy for us in the video, I don't know. It didn't, the guy wasn't...
[00:11:59] Jason: There were complications as far as like, how much we could film the crowd and stuff, and so like, you know, a lot of the pictures and stuff, it just looks like we're on a stage at an elementary school, playing to who knows.
[00:12:16] Dan: Yeah, also he was tumbling around the stage at one point, he unplugged my whole rig in the middle of a song, the camera guy.
[00:12:22] Igor: I mean, it wasn't, but, but the out, the audio really came out great and, and you know, this kind of became, cause originally it was just a show. I mean, obviously Johnny Cash had put more planning into this than us. This actually came together in like three days, literally. One of the shows got cancelled. Jay, the promoter, he said, Hey, I run this thing at the Lithuanian female prison in a city called Penevesis.
[00:12:50] I'm, I'm not doing justice to the name. Would you like to play it? And we're like, yeah, let's play it. How about we make a recording and make a video? Sure. Let's make a video. So it kind of came together like that. And the recording actually came out really well. He ended up mixing it too and mastering it. So yeah, I'm trying to, I think that the dude's name is Augustine. I know he's one of my friends on social media.
[00:13:13] Charles: Yeah, I was looking at the, uh, the set list for that, show and I was half expecting to see a Johnny Cash song, you know, cover song that you guys would maybe do as a, you know, tribute.
[00:13:25] Jason: If we had any planning whatsoever, uh, I think we probably would have tried to do something like that. But like Igor said, it was, it was all very like, Oh, this is the thing that we can do. All right. Yeah. Let's go. I think it was like either the first or second show of that tour. So like, basically like we showed up, we rehearsed with the drummer and then drove out to this prison and played.
[00:13:49] Dan: Yeah, we were playing also not with Ruslan, but with another drummer that we found in Russia. So the drummer on that, on that album is, uh, not the usual drummer that we've played with until now.
[00:14:00] Ilya: And also I wanted to say that like the problem of covering Johnny Cash like we wouldn't normally do something like that because Johnny Cash is so good but there that there is no there's just no way of like topping that and in fact he, he's covered so many songs that are much better than the original like I've like a lot of those songs I thought that it was his they were his songs.
[00:14:29] Charles: Right.
[00:14:30] Igor: The, the, the Nine Inch Nails thing, right. That, that's the one that, that, that, that broke, broke big.
[00:14:35] Dan: It was like, you know, they didn't have a kind of standard of playing your own songs necessarily. They all played other people's songs for the most part where he comes from.
[00:14:45] Igor: Yeah, usually when we do covers. We kind of end up making them very different from the origin. You know, I don't know if you've heard our Jolene version or...
[00:14:56] Charles: I saw that was on the, uh, most recent album, but I couldn't find a recording of it, but I did see that's like, was that song for something on the album?
[00:15:06] Dan: We also have a cover, an infamous cover in Russian that we, we were almost banned from Russia for doing just as a public outcry because we, we, uh, covered a very famous song by an extremely idolized, rockstar in Russia, the band Kino. And, our cover of that song is so vastly different from the original that, literally there was like this avalanche of displeasure.
[00:15:31] Igor: If you do listen to our cover of Jolene, it's, you'll hear a lot of throat singing and, some dubstep.
[00:15:39] Ilya: Well modest, modest amount of throat singing don't exaggerate it.
[00:15:45] Igor: Ah, but, but, there's, you know, at least 50% throat singing. It's not like, you know, there's not, I would, no less than 50%.
[00:15:53] Ilya: Your understanding of 50 percent is very different from my understanding of 50 percent
[00:15:58] Igor: I mean, there, there is, you know, there's throat singing in the, there's a lot of throat singing.
[00:16:03] Douglas: Gotta love throat singing, right?
[00:16:05] Dan: It's definitely, it's definitely singing that's coming from some part of the body.
[00:16:10] Charles: I wanted to talk about, you know, the, the energy from that live show, that recording. Are there any, um, clubs you guys play in New York City where the energy is particularly high or you kind of own the, the space?
[00:16:24] Jason: We had a residency at a place called, uh, New Blue, New Blue 151. Is that what it's called? That place is definitely a super cool vibe. And you know, the last couple of shows there, we managed to pack the place. We brought some amazing guests and, uh, yeah, those are just great times. Hopefully we will be back there sooner rather than later.
[00:16:43] Igor: You know, as soon as we're, we're able to come back there, I mean, the place is, I'm sure they're, you know, let us get our residency.
[00:16:50] Charles: That would be great. Yeah, I'd like to, I'd like to see that. What I read from your, uh, album, Who Deserves Balloons and Medals, which was released towards the end of 2022, that was the album of the week in Mexico and Germany. But that album had a lot of, uh, video attached to each of the songs. I was reading an article, which I thought was kind of cool.
[00:17:13] You did a progression through the album and, and most of the songs had video with them. I particularly liked the animation in, uh, that song, Waiters. And it's also the same woman, Katya...
[00:17:28] Ilya: Yeah, Katyah.... Yeah.
[00:17:32] Charles: Sorry, she also does the animation on your new, video, The Horse is Not Mine. And, I don't know if you wanted to talk about some of the video work. I always was kind of fascinated with, you know, that whole process, the song, and then the vision of the video. Cause you, I think you've done some video as well for Mad Meg, right, some of the songs, and then you also have other people direct and, and come up with the concepts.
[00:17:59] Dan: And Ilya also has made videos for other people as well, for example, for me.
[00:18:03] Charles: Okay. Yeah. And you're, you're a film guy too. So, I just, I kind of want to get your, your thoughts on that because it, you know, you're the musician and the band and, and, and you're also a filmmaker and just, I don't know, how does that, how do you see that unfolding when you're doing it.
[00:18:18] Ilya: Well, like I can, I kind of see the videos as continuation of the song, even though I work with other people, with other filmmakers on, on videos, it's still, I still have a lot of like, creative control and I make a lot of creative decisions. So, in that sense, it's not like we create a song and then somebody else, like a label, takes over and then hire, they hire a director, like here it's all, like, vertically integrated, and, uh, it's kind of like, video just opens another dimension for a song.
[00:18:51] And as far as Who Deserves Balloons and Medals, we had three video made. One of them, was directed by, uh, my friend, Mykola Metin. The other one is the animation, which I did not have anything to do with as far as, uh, I kind of talked to this friend of mine, Katya. About potentially doing a video for Mad Meg, and then I had forgotten about that conversation until she just sent me, like, the entire video completely, like, completed, and I was, like, blown away by, by what she did. And then the third one, I directed myself and kind of shot myself.
[00:19:34] Jason: For the record, if there are any labels listening and they do want to take any of our songs and just turn them into videos or whatever, we're fine with that too. That's totally fine.
[00:19:42] Charles: The animation in particular was really impressive, very interesting.
[00:19:49] Jason: I mean, it really is an amazing boon to have a lead singer songwriter who is also such an amazing visual artist. I can say for my part, all I've ever done for any of these videos is show up and, you know, have them do whatever they told me to do on film. You know, all of this comes from people much smarter and much more creatively minded. More creatively integrated into the visual medium and, I think that that's definitely a bonus that a lot of other bands don't necessarily have. That, you know, we have this very multi-talented guy that's kind of at the front that can, not only write a good song, but also come up with a great visual concept can also take a, you know, work with a photographer to make sure that, you know, like if, if we're getting shot by somebody else or he's taking shots that, you know, like we look as good as we possibly can. It's really great.
[00:20:42] Charles: Exactly. I, it's like you're, you're listening to the song and kind of, and watching a movie all, it's all blended together, in particular with Who Deserves Balloons and Medals.
[00:20:54] Ilya: And, recently I finished a feature-length documentary, and it's a music documentary about Jeffrey Lewis and the whole antifolk scene in New York in like late 90s, early 2000s. And that's a feature film that premiered at Slamdance film festival in Utah and, right now we're like shopping for distribution and also waiting for other festivals.
[00:21:20] Charles: That was nominated for best documentary. So, congratulations on that. So, when you say it needs to be shopped around, people outside of that Slamdance film festival have not, been able to view that. Is that correct?
[00:21:35] Ilya: Yeah, I cannot, uh show it publicly until it's done doing festivals and until I find distribution, because otherwise it would disqualify the film from both.
[00:21:47] Douglas: I have a question, Ilya, can you define, um, the term Antifolk? You say Jeffrey Lewis, I had never heard of him before, but after seeing the preview for your documentary, it looked really interesting. I wanted to know more about him. So, I was wondering if you could define that genre of music that he's, tapped into.
[00:22:07] Ilya: Yeah, well, Antifolk is not, I mean, you can call it a genre, but it's not exactly a genre. It's more of a theme that came out of SideWalk Café in, uh, late 90s, and, uh. Jeffrey Lewis is one of the most prominent figures that came out of there along with, Adam Green and the Moldy Peaches, and, also Regina Spector briefly was in that scene, and even Beck came through that scene at some point.
[00:22:36] But, stylistically, a lot of people refer to that as folk punk. So, it's, kind of incorporates a lot of, like, acoustic sounds, but, uh, usually it's very, fairly aggressive, and, uh, you know, the lyrics are kind of sarcastic and smart and not as romantic or serious as, like, traditional folk. And there's a lot of, like, DIY quality to it. I think that's the stylistic feature that kind of unites a lot of those artists.
[00:23:09] Charles: Yeah, I haven't heard that term or knew what it was. So, you have this new video out, Ilya, that is The Horse is Not Mine. That's just you, right? Or are there other members of Mad Meg?
[00:23:21] Ilya: No, it's just, just me recording at home.
[00:23:25] Jason: We weren't invited.
[00:23:26] Charles: That came out March 2nd, so check that out. The Horse is Not Mine. I did have one question. That horse, costume that you have, you're a pretty tall guy. Did you have to have that custom made, or were you able to find one, because it fits really well.
[00:23:42] Ilya: Amazon baby.
[00:23:43] Jason: The cause of and solution to all life's problems.
[00:23:49] Charles: Yeah, you have to go to the, uh, the big and tall, uh, costume shop, maybe, right?
[00:23:54] Ilya: If you look at the video, you can see my socks and, and all, in all of those shots.
[00:24:00] Charles: Yeah, no, it's a great video and a really cool song. I encourage people to check it out. Is there any, uh, thing you guys want to mention that, you know, we didn't, haven't covered so far as we kind of wrap up here.
[00:24:12] Igor: I do wanna mention, Dan, he had a, recent album. just came out, I'm Him, which I guess is a sequel to his previous album, Northern Atlantic. Kind of a cool, uh, semi acoustic, album. I especially, uh, listen for the song about potatoes.
[00:24:29] Charles: You can do a lot with a potato, you know, there's, there's a lot of variations.
[00:24:33] Igor: There, there's a lot. I mean, you can put salt on a pepper and sour cream.
[00:24:37] Charles: Double baked mashed.
[00:24:40] Ilya: It reminds me of that scene from Everything is Illuminated where Elijah would, like he's vegetarian and that cafe that he goes to, they don't have anything besides the potato. So, they bring just like a boiled potato on a plate.
[00:24:54] Charles: That's funny. I just finished reading, Geezer Butler's book. He is the bass player from Black Sabbath, it's called Into the Void, and he was a vegetarian early on, and sometimes when they were touring for weeks on end, all is he could find, were potatoes to eat. It's a common, common thing, I guess.
[00:25:14] Ilya: Yeah. Once, once you get outside of New York or like a big city, it's like your healthy food habits are out of the window immediately.
[00:25:22] Jason: I will never forget that Mr. Potato place. We're on tour in Russia, just finished a gig at the train station, getting ready to go to the next town that we're performing at. And, so we're all starving, and like, the place that we find that is open is called Mr. Potato. And, just the selection of unidentifiable slimes that they were like, Yes, put this on your potato, it's delicious. Fortunately, I found a Kentucky Fried Chicken upstairs. Like a, like a real American.
[00:25:56] Charles: Nice.
[00:25:57] Igor: I think it's a, it's a, it's like a franchise. There are two franchises. There's like Mr. Potatoes and like the little potato. They're competing franchises. I guess they're, there's more of them now.
[00:26:08] Jason: There's so much demand. Mr. Potato could not satisfy.
[00:26:12] Charles: You don't want to get in on a potato war, right? I mean, that's, that's a tough market. I'm sure. Guys, as we wrap up, I was just going to ask like, where can people find you or the best spot to, uh, kind of listen to your music, see these videos and such, what, what would you recommend?
[00:26:31] Ilya: Well, I mean, we're, we're on everything. On Spotify, iTunes, and the band is called Mad Meg, obviously. And my solo stuff is Ilya Popenko. And all of our, both my stuff and Mad Meg's stuff is all on YouTube, on Mad Meg's account. And we're like on the Instagrams, on the Facebookies, on all of those things.
[00:27:00] Charles: Listening to you guys, and your music, I really think there's something there, and that more people should, check you guys out, especially the saxophone introduction and you guys singing back up to Ilya on some of these songs is really adds a whole nother dimension to it. I really do feel, again, that you guys are onto something and people need to check you guys out.
[00:27:25] Jason: Well, thank you so much. We're, I mean, the pandemic was a setback for a lot of people, but you know, our last album was, I think the best work that we've done so far and, I think you're, you're going to see, you're going to see some stuff from Mad Meg in the next year or two.
[00:27:43] Charles: Yeah, we'll look, forward to it. Well, um, guys, thanks again for taking the time to be on Seeing Them Live. I really appreciate it.
[00:27:50] Igor: Thank you. This was a lot of fun. It's very cool when we get together and just shoot the shit about, this sort of stuff.
[00:27:55]
Ilya:
Thank you very much for having us.