Ep. 13: Coffee Nerding, Classic Hip-Hop, Songwriting, and Producing Beats: A Conversation with Flatline

Brews, Beards, & Shipwrecks

MPWALKER aka Michael Walker aka Flatline

What are you up to?

Coffee making

Nashville songwriting at Starbucks, and all walks of life in Starbucks.

On celebrities at Starbucks. BEN FOLDS!

A Ben Folds meet-up?

“Arrive at Something” (original version) by Royal Ruckus

Meeting Moonhooch, clip from Number 9. Clip from “The Waitress Song” by Royal Ruckus.

How Ben Folds inspired some of our songs.

One of Chunjay’s favorite songwriters is Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie or The Postal Service.

Flatline on producing beats: “We don’t sound like hard-hitting gangster, New York rap, by our beat standards, but having that inspiration…okay, this really changes everything.”

“You have to prove you’re a creative person in the hip-hop scene because there is so much biting going on.”

On natural talent in music. On our history together and training in music.

Flatline: “There’s only so much mumble rap I can get with before I can be like, ‘I don’t have enough cough syrup to drink to keep up with you bro.’”

What are we drinking? Flatline discusses Wild Gift Coffee in Austin, TX. On Mexican Coffee.

Memory lane: coffee tasting like wine tasting.

Extended discussion of how to enjoy coffee.

French press. Hand pour. V-60?

Flatline loves Indonesian and Mexican coffees. He explains why.

“Indonesian coffee tends to be earthy, mushroomy, musty, moist smelling. It doesn’t smell sweet, usually.”

“Gimme Dat” by Cookbook and Flynn Adam from the Best in Class EP.

On organic coffee and fair trade designations. More about coffee. Coffee, coffee, coffee.

Sam Adams Pumpkin ale. Guinness and other ales.

Chunjay on Saltwater Brewery in Delray Beach. Both gentlemen discuss Guinness beer and other drinks.

“Cafe Marata” by Royal Ruckus. Shouts to Mase and Alice Cooper. Shout to Sphereofhiphop.com

Flatline’s favorite taco: Al Pastor. On breakfast tacos. On Chunjay gaining weight in Austin eating tacos, drinking beer and liquor, and working on the album. Chunjay on the origins of Al Pastor: Lebanese immigrants brought the style to Mexico. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_pastor

On beat production and dope hip-hop.

Flatline and Chunjay growing up together.

Pete Rock beat instrumental inspiration. Remix of Juicy by Notorious BIG. Flatline shows his cards.

“Behind the Scenes” by Royal Ruckus from Pocket Lint and Spare Change (Deluxe Edition).

On making beats together, and writing to other people’s music.

On Flatline’s beats vs. buying beats online.

How Royal Ruckus makes music together. On solo projects together. On Shadow of the Locust and other side groups.

On hatred of phone calls.

Chunjay: “Only sociopaths make phone calls without texting first, unless you’re a telemarketer. What do you want?”

Royal Ruckus anniversaries: 1 year for Summer of the Cicadas, 15 years for Self-Titled, 20 years for the group.

On The Royal Ruckus and booking shows.

Closing song: “The Chicken-Filled Donut Caper” by Royal Ruckus from Pocket Lint and Spare Change (Deluxe Edition).

Background beats by Flatline, Cookbook, Ben Folds, Moonhooch, Pete Rock, Panos Kiamos.

Extra Shout-Outs: Taboo Tales Podcast, Steven Curtis Chapman, Bill Gaither, Jimmy Wayne, Lance Bass from N*Sync, Pattie Griffin, RZA from Wu-Tang, Beastie Boys, Herb Alpert, Flatline’s dad, Delinquent Habits, Cypress Hill, House of Pain, Soul Assassins, DJ Muggs, DJ Lethal, Funkdoobiest, Wu-Tang, UMC’s, Liquid Swords by GZA, Groovebox drum machine, Panos Kiamos, Tom Green’s “Undercutters,” Dr. Laura Schlessinger, The Royal Ruckus, AudioFeed Festival, The Giant and the Tailor.