Song Confessional

Walker Lukens: Hey, this is Walker Lukens, and you are listening to Song Confessional, the only podcast that turns your stories into new, original songs, your anonymous stories. Let me explain what we do here at Song Confessional. So we travel all around the world collecting anonymous stories, right? We choose our favorite ones.

We, we call these confessions. We give these confessions to songwriters who write and record an original song based on your story. Normally on this podcast you would hear, uh, that anonymous confession. You’d hear the song it inspired, and you’d hear an interview with the songwriter. But what you’re listening to right now is confession response number six.

Uh, we already released a confession. It was out in the ether for three weeks. We got 31 responses, and, uh, we chose some winners, and they actually performed live at our confession response show at Hole in the Wall. So what you’re about to hear is actually that live show with our six winners. Uh, I’m not gonna give it all away, but in this episode you’ll hear, you’ll hear their performances.

You’ll hear them talking about the songs they wrote, talking with me and Zach. It was seriously such a beautiful, special evening. I, I edited out, you know, some of the, the human show stuff, the, the cables coming in and out of guitars, mics getting bumped, but, you know, I left it in here because it was such a rapt audience, and everyone was just so happy to be there.

And I, I loved the feeling. I think we all did. It was a special night. Uh, all of the songs that were submitted are available on a Samply playlist, which is in these show notes. So listen to this episode, and then you can go check out all those songs. Okay. Well, here we are, live from Hole in the Wall

Hello, everybody Hello. Hey. Hey. Uh, my name is Walker Lukens and, uh-

Zac Catanzaro: I’m, I’m Zach Catanzaro

Walker Lukens: We’ll earn more applause, it’s fine. Uh, it’s nice to be here with you. We’ve never done a live event like this before, so, uh, first and foremost, thank you to the songwriters who submitted songs. Per usual, we got way more songs than we could easily feature on the podcast. Uh, how many submissions did we get?

Zac Catanzaro: I think we got 31 this time.

Walker Lukens: Yeah, 31 songs.

Zac Catanzaro: And we also admittedly did a worse job of promoting, ’cause Walker is a dad, and I now work a full-time job, and we didn’t do that last time.

Walker Lukens: Yeah.

Zac Catanzaro: I- So we were very happy with 31.

Walker Lukens: It’s true. It, it did feel like a win to get 31, um, which I give all credit to KUTX for, for making that possible.

Zac Catanzaro: Always.

Walker Lukens: Yeah.

Zac Catanzaro: Shout out to Elizabeth McQueen, our wonderful producer on the podcast

Walker Lukens: I thought, um, maybe this would be a nice moment to, to remind everyone how this works. So we put a confession out into the universe, and then you guys can submit a song that’s inspired by it. And because we get so many songs, we have to be a little ruthless with the judging process.

So some people submitted songs, and they may or may not have been great, but they didn’t share the file with us, and even when I followed up and said, “Hey, man, your file’s on private. Make it so I can listen to it,” and they didn’t do it. S- I mean, I sent you an email. So those, there, I, I gotta be honest with you, there’s probably 15 songs- There’s,

Zac Catanzaro: there’s more than you’d think, that’s for sure.

Walker Lukens: Just- There, there’s more than you’d think … just in 2026 of people who submitted songs, and I sent an email and said, “Hey, I need access to this file.” Or they used a… One person this time, and if they’re here, you, you have my full permission to come slap me. But they submitted it with some file service I’d never heard of, and I said, “Hey, I can’t download your file.

Uh, can you send this another way? I, I don’t know what this is. I, I need to be able to download it so I can share it with everyone.” And they said, “Sounds like a you problem.”

So they didn’t make it into the… No one heard their song- Wow … which is a bummer. Um, other, other folks submit songs and, and I applaud you for this, you sneaky people, but you wrote it before about something else- … and you just submit it, and you’re like-

Zac Catanzaro: Which is actually kind of fun for us- Yeah … ’cause we’re like, “Oh, this song sounds great,” and then you start listening and you’re like, “These lyrics don’t make sense.”

Walker Lukens: Yeah.

Zac Catanzaro: It’s like they’re- they make sense with each other-

Walker Lukens: Yes …

Zac Catanzaro: but they don’t make sense with the prompt.

Walker Lukens: Yes. And

Zac Catanzaro: we’re like, “It’s also really good and sounds mixed and mastered.”

Walker Lukens: Yep. We, we had one song this time that was fantastic. Actually, Elizabeth said it was her favorite song.

Zac Catanzaro: It was genuinely very good

but,

Walker Lukens: but clearly just wasn’t about our confessor- … whatsoever, so we couldn’t, we couldn’t give that… Clearly that couldn’t be our winner, you know? And then the last reason, which is sort of a, a newer, more 2026 problem, is AI. And, uh, did we get any AI songs this time?

Zac Catanzaro: Not this time, but there was one last round-

Walker Lukens: Oh, yeah.

Oh,

Zac Catanzaro: definitely … that we were like, “This is…” Which was also kind of right on the cusp where you almost couldn’t tell. Which now I’m, like, nervous. Yeah. I’m like, I don’t know. Can we tell? Can we not tell?

Walker Lukens: Yeah. I’m,

Zac Catanzaro: like, questioning myself every day. Last time was right on the cusp. Yeah. We’re like, “This one’s definitely AI.

Maybe we did this time.” I-

Walker Lukens: I- It’s weird because when people make pop songs, pop song just meaning verse, chorus, verse, chorus, maybe a bridge or something, it kinda, no matter what, sounds like a modern country song to me. I don’t know what that is about how AI is scrubbing, scrubbing the internet for, for music, but yeah, that song, w- I mean, we, we all kinda loved it, but it was like-

it’s just-

Zac Catanzaro: Yeah, it’s really good. …

Walker Lukens: clearly either this guy owns Ocean Way Studios in Nashville or this is AI. Anyway, all that being said, we had, uh, we had over 30 submissions this time. We, I, I… We had 25 after file issues, AI, and the catty dude. Um- … and we narrowed it down to about 10 That everyone was like, “Damn, these are great songs.”

And then from there, there was some infighting, there was some drinks thrown, uh, and then we selected five. So to- tonight you’re gonna hear, or tonight, is it night? This evening.

Zac Catanzaro: Yeah, close enough.

Walker Lukens: You’re gonna hear five people, and at the end we’re gonna pass out some paper and you can vote on the one that you like the best.

But all the songs will be featured on this, which is this episode, which is being recorded live. So, so, so everyone wins in that way. But before we get going, we wanted to start by, uh, having, uh, last Confession Calls winner, uh, the band Other Vessels, AKA in this case just Miranda, uh, come perform her winning song.

So Miranda, come, come join us here on stage

So what’s the name of the song you wrote?

Miranda Haney: Oh, yeah. It’s called Good Advice. Good Ad- Thanks for having me, guys.

Walker Lukens: Yeah. Yeah,

Zac Catanzaro: thanks for being here.

Miranda Haney: My pleasure.

Walker Lukens: Miranda, how long have you been doing this project?

Miranda Haney: Oh, um, Other Vessels I guess, like, formally started in 2019. Um, completely different band than what it is now, but I’ve been writing so- In a way, it started when I was in eighth grade.

You know what I mean? Yeah. ‘Cause it’s still my songs, and it just has different people helping me out and making them sound better. So. Well said. Yeah. Well said.

Walker Lukens: The… So, so we, we put this confession out into the universe. What was the confession about?

Miranda Haney: Oh, yeah. So the confession last time was about this guy, um, who his father was, like, passing away in a really beautiful way insofar as he knew what was happening, and he had the capacity to communicate with his son about basically how to handle this great loss that was about to happen.

And it was about the dad kind of giving advice to the son and then promising that he would see him in his dreams once he actually did leave this realm. And the son was very flippant and like, “Well, probably not,” but then that did actually happen, and that’s what the confession was about.

Zac Catanzaro: And, like, made him a believer that throughout the rest of his life, any time he was in a scenario, his dad would show up and guide him through it.

Miranda Haney: Precisely. It was like- Yeah …

Zac Catanzaro: very interesting switch from where he started.

Miranda Haney: Yeah.

Zac Catanzaro: But yeah, the song that you wrote, we definitely fell in love with. Uh-

Miranda Haney: Oh, thanks … w- It,

Walker Lukens: it, it’s the only song I’ve ever heard that uses, well, that has Obi-Wan Kenobi in a

Miranda Haney: lyric. Yeah, the first line.

Walker Lukens: And is good.

Miranda Haney: Thank you. Yeah.

That’s very flattering. Thank you.

Walker Lukens: I’m gonna turn the reverb off our vocals, and then will you play us this song?

Miranda Haney: Certainly.

Walker Lukens: Okay. Give me 10 seconds.

Miranda Haney: Okay.

Is it off? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay, ready?

Walker Lukens: Yeah, go for it.

Miranda Haney: In my dreams you’re like Obi-Wan Kenobi. Nobody’s gonna know me like you did. Force of nature, I can’t believe you did it. You’re

backwards, kinda cryptic, but you’re my own man. When I don’t have a plan. Head in my hands I know you’d understand. Is it bad shit to try to see you tonight? ‘Cause I need your good advice

No surprise you were fighting till the last frame. I owe it to my last name that I dove head first. Rest assured I’m still your favorite delinquent even when I’m doing business, even when I’m hurt. Sure, some people cried, others denied

You cross the other side. But I got all I need when I go to sleep. I see you in my dreams Is that crazy? Just some chemistry in my lonely mind. Or maybe you found the key. For the rest of my life, I’m getting your good advice

Zac Catanzaro: Other Vessels, AKA Miranda Thank you again for being a part of this. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, real quick question for you-

Miranda Haney: Oh, yeah …

Zac Catanzaro: before you run away.

Miranda Haney: Okay.

Zac Catanzaro: What, what was it about that confession that you connected with that made you want to translate, you know, your own experience into a song? And by your experience, I mean maybe it’s your personal experience or maybe your experience with the story and your relationship to the story when you heard it.

Miranda Haney: Sure. I mean, I think we all have, like, loss and grief in our lives, and it’s a pretty easy emotion to tap into because it’s so prevalent, I think. Um, but this specific confession, to me, as a songwriter, was just, like, there were so many gifts that he gave in that confession of, like, um, of beautiful ways of, of phrasing things that felt like they just were like, scoop ’em out, put ’em on a thing of ice cream, you know?

Yeah. It’s like, that’s a beautiful pop song.

Zac Catanzaro: I love that. Yeah. So it’s kind of like the poetic nature that he, that he told- Yeah … the s- story in a way. I, yes. He did have the, these little moments of the way he strung words together.

Miranda Haney: Yes.

Zac Catanzaro: Uh, yeah, very captivating.

Miranda Haney: Yeah. And if you really, like, listen to the confession and li- listen to this song, I just like, shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop, like puzzle.

That’s my favorite game.

Zac Catanzaro: Well, you did a great job at that game. Thank you. You’re good at that game.

Miranda Haney: Thank you.

Zac Catanzaro: All right, one more time for Other Vessels, Miranda.

Walker Lukens: Um, well now, uh, now for confession call number six confession. Um, if you haven’t already heard it, it- there’s a lot of gems in there, and if you’ve ever written a song, uh, or been in bands, I think you’ll deeply relate to our confessor. Um, a young singer-songwriter who is very ambitious, is making at least one album in the course of this story they lay out, and who just kind of can’t stop getting into romantic entanglements.

Zac Catanzaro: Yeah, am- ambitious and starry-eyed.

Walker Lukens: Yes, and horny. Uh-

Zac Catanzaro: Also horny.

Walker Lukens: They, they starts with they’re in a relationship with their fiddle player, turns out they’re… And they go home to visit their fiddle player’s family, and it turns out his, his ex is not an ex, really. The ex is living in the house of this guy’s parents.

Zac Catanzaro: In his childhood bedroom.

Walker Lukens: In his childhood bedroom. So our confessor is like, “Gotta get out of that situation.” Then she’s already started making a record with this guy. She’s having trouble getting the files and whatnot, and then here comes Romeo number two, a sound guy. They have a tryst, and my favorite part was they broke up, but the little fucker was like, “Hey, I’d still make your record if you want.”

Just str- strongly 20 years, in your 20s coded behavior.

Zac Catanzaro: Um- But you’re there for the relationship and the paycheck.

Walker Lukens: And the paycheck.

Zac Catanzaro: You know? So if one doesn’t work out, you still wanna try to get the other one.

Walker Lukens: And maybe you’re addicted to feeling like shit. I don’t know. But it’s a great confession. I, if you haven’t listened to it already, it’s its own episode, and it’s worth listening to.

Zac Catanzaro: It’ll make you feel young again, for sure.

Walker Lukens: Definitely, and maybe a little horny. Anyway, why don’t I bring our first songwriter up? Where’s Alex Hartley? Alex, get up here.

I love this musical chairs hosting shuffling situation we’re doing here on this stage. Uh, hey man, what’s the name of your song?

Alex Hartley: It’s called Not Ready.

Walker Lukens: And c- can you tell us real briefly before you play it for us, uh, what, what, what kind of part, what aspect of the confession did you conf- did you connect with, were you inspired by?

Alex Hartley: Well, I mean, I, I thought the story of the girlfriend living in the parents’ bedroom was just too novel not to write about. So I wrote from the perspective of what if you were that girlfriend hanging out in the parents’ bedroom or in, in the, your boyfriend’s bedroom in their childhood home waiting for him to come home, so.

Walker Lukens: Will, will you play us, uh, will you play us your tune?

Alex Hartley: Yes.

Walker Lukens: Thank you, sir.

Alex Hartley: hanging the ceiling from the sag in your twin bed. Laying underneath your poster of Johnny Gimble’s head. I rifled through your yearbooks since there’s nothing much to read. This room, it lost its luster until I found your stash of weed. Now I’m cruising round your hometown on your rusted one-speed bike.

The maple trees are barren, the roads are slicked with ice. Your ex is bagging groceries at the local Hannaford. She smiles when she sees me like she knows how much I hurt. Your promises have all run dry, and now I’m stuck here with your parents watching Ken Burns getting high. Uh, the seasons change without your call.

And, oh my gosh, my lyrics are invading my head. It’s a safe space. That’s why I got here. Yeah. Your promises have all run dry, and now I’m stuck here with your parents watching Ken Burns getting high. The seasons change without your call. I’ve felt this patience turn to rage to not feeling much at all. And if there’s someone new, I’m just not ready for the truth

Took the train to Boston for a change of scenery. Stared out at the charros sailing over just like me. Same Adams at the cantab to watch the pickers play. And, oh my gosh. Same Adams at the cantab to watch the pickers crew. Wipe the slate from second fiddle that I seem to play with you. Your promises have all run dry.

And now I’m stuck here with your parents watching Bob Ross gettin’ high. The seasons change without your call. I felt this patience turn to rage to not feeling much at all. And if there’s someone new, I’m just not ready for the truth

Wrote thirteen drafts in my legal pad

A page I neatly scratched. A thank you note to your sweet folks for the tiny room and keeping hope

Zac Catanzaro: Just for the record, if you are watching Bob Ross high- … with your romantic partner’s parents, major green flag.

Alex Hartley: Yeah.

Zac Catanzaro: Like, the greenest of flags I’ve ever heard in my life.

Alex Hartley: I was just picturing, like, they were in the small home without any internet. They only had, like, you know, public acc- like, PBS was the only channel that came- Yeah

through the TV, so- What

Zac Catanzaro: else do you need,

Alex Hartley: man? It was Ken Burns or Bob Ross.

Zac Catanzaro: What, what was it that made you want to write from her perspective? I lo- I love that you tapped into that because we got a whole story and character out of this person that’s, like, it, it’s almost… And she’s an anecdote in the story.

She’s not even an, I mean- Yeah, she’s not even a phantom … she’s not even, like, she’s not even a tertiary character, you know?

Alex Hartley: I’ll be honest, I just didn’t know where to start. There was, like, too many pieces of the main story to, like, write one narrative, in my opinion, that I was like, “Here’s something I can latch onto.

I can, I can write this story,” and it’s, like, kind of depressing but kinda goofy, you know?

Walker Lukens: Well, you captured that very well in your song. Give it up one more time for Alex Harley. Woo.

Alex Hartley: Thank you so much.

Walker Lukens: Let’s just roll with it up here. I feel like with my mic stand like this, I feel like Axl Rose singing a ballad. Um-

Zac Catanzaro: Rip those sleeves off.

Walker Lukens: Yeah. Not a cool version of Axl Rose. Just Axl Rose with the mic stand.

Zac Catanzaro: A, a fully sleeved Axl Rose.

Walker Lukens: Hey, we got a musical chair again because our next, uh, our next performer’s coming up here.

Is your last name Albert?

Okay, guys, let’s give it up for Arlen Albert, who came all the way from Portland to be here. Woo! Yeah, how fucking cool is that? How far have you been today? Four miles from your house? He’s been further Yeah. Maine or Oregon? Oregon. Oregon. Oregon. Okay.

Zac Catanzaro: Almost, almost equidistant to Austin. It’s like

Walker Lukens: I, by a show of hands, which will not translate on this, uh, audit- audio medium that we work in here, raise your hand if you prefer Portland, Oregon versus Portland, Maine.

So Oregon go first. Okay. Wow. Now raise your hand if you prefer Portland, Maine. Okay, a lit- no, we have a lot of abstainers. Okay That’s what I took away from

Zac Catanzaro: that … if you prefer Portland, Maine, who’s actually been? Almost everybody that prefers it. I thought we’d have some, some liars in there, but, you know, very honest crowd.

Very honest crowd.

Arlen Albert: I’d probably prefer it too if I go . Yeah. That’s, that’s-

Walker Lukens: Arlen, how long have you lived in Portland, Oregon?

Arlen Albert: Uh, 20 years. I was raised in Oregon.

Walker Lukens: 20 years.

Arlen Albert: Yeah.

Walker Lukens: How did you hear about Song Confessional, my man?

Arlen Albert: I was playing, uh, KUTX in my coffee shop, and, uh, I heard it advertised. I think Confucius Jones, uh, mentioned something about it, and I thought I should throw something out there on that, so.

Walker Lukens: Man, that is very cool.

Zac Catanzaro: Awesome. Yeah. Love that.

Arlen Albert: Thanks for listening. Thank you.

Walker Lukens: So- That’s very polite … you’re up in Portland, Oregon, and, uh, we, we drop this, uh, this confession and, and you write this song and, and it was on all of our, our lists. We loved it. Can you… What’s the name of your song?

Arlen Albert: It’s called Green Mountain State.

Walker Lukens: And what is your song about?

Arlen Albert: Uh, well, I kind of pulled on the same thread that, uh, Alex did, and I honed in on the girlfriend in Vermont.

Walker Lukens: Damn.

Arlen Albert: And, uh, just started putting words down. I had a, um, melody front, back of my head that I wanted to use a while ago, and this helped it come to fruition, so.

Speaker 10: Guys,

Walker Lukens: you gotta have gills to live in Portland and Seattle. It’s beautiful when you can see it. You gotta have gills to live in Portland. Yes. Is that true?

Arlen Albert: He knows it’s

Speaker 10: true.

Arlen Albert: Uh, it, it gets a little wet. Yes.

Walker Lukens: It gets a little wet. Oh,

Arlen Albert: yeah. He knows

Walker Lukens: it. Now I get this. I thought this was a salmon joke. Um, can you, can you play us Green Mountain State?

Arlen Albert: Yeah, of

Walker Lukens: course. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Whenever you’re ready.

Zac Catanzaro: You mentioned that you had that melody kind of floating around and you were looking for an outlet, and that this kind of gave you an opportunity for that outlet. Um, y- what is your normal songwriting process like? Is it kind of like that where a melody kind of appears and then you’re looking for a connection, or sometimes it all is coming together at once?

Or what, what, what does that l- really look like for

Arlen Albert: you? It’s, yeah, it’s mostly s- throw shit at the wall and- Yeah … see what it turns into. Yeah. If I- And if I, I kinda have to sculpt the song around, I have to find a meaning for it. Come up with words and- Mm-hmm … find it and then it’s turns into something on its own.

Zac Catanzaro: And something about that melody felt, felt connected to the story too. Yeah. Yeah. You were like, “This, this can work.” Yeah. “This can work for me.”

Arlen Albert: Yes. It’s a good gift from you guys. Thank you.

Zac Catanzaro: Yeah. Cool.

Walker Lukens: Yeah. Well, uh, you mentioned y- you just finished a record.

Arlen Albert: I did, yeah.

Walker Lukens: Uh, when does your record come out?

Arlen Albert: Oh, I’ve, uh, we’re shooting for fall.

My producer just finished the final mix. Um, his name’s Brian O’Connor. He’s got a couple albums out himself under this, uh, same name. And, uh, yeah, we’re hoping this fall to get some pressings done and, and see where it goes.

Walker Lukens: Amazing, man. Thank you so much.

Arlen Albert: Hey, I appreciate it. Yeah. Thank you so much.

Walker Lukens: Well, our next, uh, our next, I mean, brother, we’re, it’s all wishing and hoping up here. I don’t know how to get off this stage either. Yeah. Uh, our next, our next singer-songwriter is a bit of an Austin staple. Uh, you probably know her from her band, Moving Panoramas. Could you give it up for Leslie Sisson? Are you still here?

Um, should I just embarrass her while she’s getting her guitar out? Yeah, embarrass her. Yes. Take the edge off. Um, take the edge off. See, for me, that would put the edge right back on. Oh, no. I need, I need that. Okay. Well, when did I hear of Moving Panoramas? I will be honest. I discovered your band on the cover of the Austin Chronicle.

Wow. Yes. Pretty damn cool. Yeah. That, that re- that was in 2016? ’15. ’15. Very close. I was

Zac Catanzaro: gonna say, I feel like we were releasing albums together around that time. We were. Yes.

Walker Lukens: Both on Modern Outsider.

Zac Catanzaro: Both on Modern Outsider, exactly. Oh

Walker Lukens: my God. They have a label name. Yep. Ah. Okay.

Leslie Sisson: Miss

Walker Lukens: them. I know.

Leslie Sisson: Oh, shoot. Oh, my God. I’m sorry.

Walker Lukens: Oh, you’re good.

No, I won’t be up here. I realized- Here, give, give, give Zachary- Actually, here. Yeah, there you go. This is, this guitar used to belong to Colin. Whoa. Yeah. You gotta double tap.

A little sneak preview Uh, that was awesome. Thank you. That, that was awesome. Leslie, we were, um You, you almost didn’t submit your song. Right. But what, what, what brought your song into this competition was Dolly Parton. That’s right. Because you texted me and you asked if I would wanna sing at this Dolly Parton show you’re putting together.

Alex Hartley: Yeah.

Walker Lukens: Because I had told a mutual friend, I was like, “Hey, if you do a Dolly thing, I’ll be somebody’s Kenny.” Yeah. “Just let me know.” And then you mentioned, you said, “Hey, I wrote this song, but I didn’t submit it ’cause I wasn’t sure about this, da, da, da.” Anyway, so then you submitted this song, and we all dug it, but then we were, we weren’t, you know, we weren’t sure.

We’re like, “Are the lyrics about this?” And then we read your, your explanation.

Leslie Sisson: Yep.

Walker Lukens: And I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit what, what your song is about, what inspired you exactly- Well- … from this confession? What did you draw from?

Leslie Sisson: Well, I was supposed to be rehearsing for a tribute show that my band was playing, and I have ADD really bad, so I was just like checking email, and I saw-

the email from KUTX and I was like, “Oh, I wanna hear…” And then I just listened to her story because I’m, I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’m a seasoned road dog in music, probably 30 years. Uh, and I’m like, “Oh, man, bless her heart. I’ve been there.” Not quite, like, you know, having somebody staying with someone’s parents-

Bryce Clifford: Yeah

Leslie Sisson: but I’ve definitely just shown up after not an, you know… Well, okay, speaking of Dolly, I thought about writing a country song.

Walker Lukens: Yeah.

Leslie Sisson: And because my… Can we curse on this?

Walker Lukens: Oh, yeah. ‘

Leslie Sisson: Cause my mama always said, “Don’t shit where you eat.” And I was like, “Oh, man, but I’ve-“

Walker Lukens: You’re

Leslie Sisson: like, “But Mom-” “… been there before. Been there.

Done that.” Bought the T-shirt.

Walker Lukens: Yeah.

Leslie Sisson: But I was just… But that’s… So I almost, I almost made it a country song and made, made it funny because that’s how I usually handle emotional things. But it actually really resonated with me in my experience as being a female in music and playing with guys that may or may not be worth your time.

Um, and I’ve been through a lot of, a lot of shit recently where I’ve just, like, given up on it, right? I went through cancer the past couple years, and it’s kinda screwed up my body, and I was like, “Oh, man, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to date again. Why bother?” So there’s these things resonating with me.

Yeah. And then as I’m, like, dipping my toes in it, I’m learning other people have stories like this, too. So it’s like, I, the only words that existed before I heard the podcast was consoling with a friend who kind of is in a similar-ish situation, but not… You know, they’re not a musician or anything. But it was like, I remember saying to them, you know, “You deserve more.

We deserve more.” Like, nobody should have to go through this. But it is, like, a 20-year-old story for sure, right? Yeah. Like, like, 20-year-old dudes in band stories. But I really like it I really like seeing things from the perspective of being on the couch with your… his parents, getting high, wa- watching Bob Ross.

Now I kinda wish I would’ve wrote the dirty song. But, um- But honestly though, I, I think that at the end of the day, I’m a sentimental musician and I write… So I feel a lot of personal advi- this is, this would be good old Leslie giving the person in the podcast just some con- consoling them and some advice and being like, you know.

I mean, it, in- initially the song, I’m like, “Yeah, let’s screw this,” but at the end it’s like, it’s kind of a don’t give up song, things get better. So, but, you know, it’s very, I write very vague lyrics, so I don’t know. I decided to go with the sad song instead of the funny song.

Walker Lukens: Well, we loved it. Will you, hit us with it.

Let the people hear it.

Leslie Sisson: Okay. All right. Woo. Okay. Yes, and I wrote this on the fly, by the way. I did. Like- Wow … that’s my newest challenge recently is, like, trying to write songs quickly, and, uh, I wrote it instead of rehearsing music for our last tribute show. Sorry, band mates. That’s why I was sloppy at practice.

But, um,

yeah. So yeah, it all just came through. It just kinda came to me. But I, yeah, I have my lyrics here because- It’s new … it’s brand new, and I may mess it up, so let’s see what happens. Okay. It’s called Why Bother, by the way. That’s the name of the song.

Speaker 13: Why bother?

When you deserve more We deserve more. Believe me, I’ve been there before. Why bother

When love is a chore,

why try

What are we in it for?

This game I don’t play

With no pain

Zac Catanzaro: Thank you. It’s a beautiful song.

Leslie Sisson: Thank you. Y-

Zac Catanzaro: you mentioned that, um, part of that is maybe kind of giving advice to this 20-year-old with all the experience that you’ve had in the industry as a woman in the industry. Um, would you say that maybe a little bit of it’s almost like giving yourself the advice you had wish you had gotten?

Leslie Sisson: Million percent.

Zac Catanzaro: Yeah. It-

Leslie Sisson: It was, it was… It’s a song for both of us.

Zac Catanzaro: It’s so

Leslie Sisson: i- Especially me right now.

Zac Catanzaro: It seems obvious how personal- Yeah … it is, the lyrics and the emotion that you deliver while singing it.

Leslie Sisson: Yeah.

Zac Catanzaro: It, it, it… You can tell it really resonates with you personally. Yeah. And, but it’s really, really special that you connected with it so deeply, so- Yeah

thank you for sharing and being vulnerable.

Leslie Sisson: Thanks for doing this.

Walker Lukens: Thank you.

Leslie Sisson: Thank you. Thank you all.

Zac Catanzaro: Leslie with Moving Panoramas.

Walker Lukens: Okay, well, we have a little announcement, and then two more performers, and then we’ll vote. The first one is that we have a permanent song confessional booth going in here at Hole in the Wall. Oh. It’s, it’s, it’s operational-ish. It’s right a- on the other side of this wall. But, you know, do a little drinking, a little thinking, and then if you got a story, we’re gonna do another confession call before the end of the year that’s all stories we get here from Hole in the Wall.

So just be thinking. It’s gonna be here permanently, so come up with something. It’s operational. It’s there. You can walk in there.

Zac Catanzaro: What do we got next?

Walker Lukens: What we got next is now that I have all this adrenaline, maybe I’ll be awake for 17 hours. It’s crazy, man. I don’t know what that is about performing. I don’t know if anyone can relate to that, but, like, it’s just the biggest shot in the arm.

It’s… Wakes me up so much, more than anything.

Zac Catanzaro: I, I started, like, a normal person’s job last year for the first time in my life. I’ve been a performer for a very long time. No, boo.

It’s great to see you. I know , but it took me, like, six months to not get antsy around 8:00 PM-

Alex Hartley: Mm …

Zac Catanzaro: because I got so used to expending so much energy and getting that late-night adrenaline high-

Alex Hartley: Yeah …

Zac Catanzaro: that I would just be, like… I’d be exhausted at 6:00 o’clock, but then at 8:00 o’clock, I would just start-

Alex Hartley: Wild

kind of-

Zac Catanzaro: Yeah … looking like this, and I’d forget to blink. I- And I would go- just kinda pace around my house. My wife was like, “What are you doing? Are you okay?” I’m like, “I’m supposed to drum. I, I don’t know.” “I was, like, supposed to play 90 minutes right now. I don’t know what to do with my life.”

Walker Lukens: Hey, man, at least you’re not hitting things.

Zac Catanzaro: Yeah, I don’t hit things anymore. Yeah. That’d be,

Walker Lukens: that’d be good. Okay. Where’s, where’s Bryce? Bryce? Oh, come here, Bryce.

Zac Catanzaro: There he is.

Walker Lukens: Oh. Well, very excited to bring our next songwriter up on stage. What… I’m gonna allow you to tell us the name of your full band. Y- in the mic. Yeah, yeah. No, you get, you can get up here and then

Bryce Clifford: you can- No, I didn’t do it this time.

I didn’t, you know.

Walker Lukens: Oh, it’s just a solo track.

Bryce Clifford: Yeah, this is my, this is my solo work this time. But it, it, uh- A few of my friends here know that I was very confused for many years. Bryce Clifford and Brother Superior.

Walker Lukens: Okay, yeah, Bryce Clifford and Brother Superior, y’all. They’re here.

Bryce Clifford: We are.

Walker Lukens: Bryce, get up here.

I contain multitudes. He contains multitudes. We,

Zac Catanzaro: we mentioned Bryce and Brother Superior on the last, uh, confession call- Yeah … because he also delivered a killer song. Oh. And one of our debates was, is this a band? Is this a guy? It was like, it was very Lynyrd Skynyrd vibes, you know?

Walker Lukens: We- We did, and Bryce also very sweetly submitted two versions of the track, which if you know anything about creativity, it doesn’t exist without deadlines, and if you know anything about deadlines, they don’t exist, so.

But I respected it- That’s relentless … because it did get better with your second submission. You’re, he was working on the mix. It was

Zac Catanzaro: better, eh? Okay.

Walker Lukens: The mix got better, dude. I will give you that. It really did.

Zac Catanzaro: Which is what you want, ’cause if you’re working on it and it’s not getting better, we’ve, we’ve been there, too.

You know? You just keep doing it, and then you go crazy.

Bryce Clifford: I loved your take on the entire thing. That’s why I, I did make an entire Instagram about it- … where I drove around Riverside, and I just play about you guys talking about me being really bad at deadlines. It’s great.

Walker Lukens: If I didn’t relate so hard, I wouldn’t have felt so comfortable dogging on you, my man.

Zac Catanzaro: That, that was literally what it was. Yeah. Walker was like, “I’m, I’m reading me right now.”

Walker Lukens: I am this guy.

Zac Catanzaro: Yeah, yeah. Okay.

Walker Lukens: Um.

All right, get this ready. Yeah, you’re good. So, so tell us the name of the song that you wrote.

Bryce Clifford: Uh, well, your confessor said entanglement somewhere there, in there, and, uh, so when I… I dig this ex- exercise so much. So the first time I listened to it, I just wrote down as much as I can, could, and one was, uh, entanglement, and I wrote down Vermont entanglement, and then I just stuck with that.

So that is the name of the song

Walker Lukens: Vermont Entanglement

We, we get a- You’re right …

Zac Catanzaro: we get a lot of entanglements in our confessions. I don’t know if that reflects on us or our-

Walker Lukens: But, but this one in particular, we got three songs with the name entanglement- That’s true … in the title, which is crazy. I didn’t even know what that word meant 10 years ago, and now it’s, like, a common phrase that songwriters use.

Zac Catanzaro: Yeah, I think it was, um, Jada Pinkett Smith put that one in the lexicon for all of us.

Walker Lukens: Can you t- for, for a cultural-

Zac Catanzaro: She knows

Walker Lukens: I don’t know. Can someone tell me what this means?

Zac Catanzaro: Okay. Jada Pinkett Smith was having an affair with her very famous husband, Will.

Walker Lukens: Wait,

Zac Catanzaro: no She went on a podcast called The Red Table.

Walker Lukens: She was cheating on him …

Zac Catanzaro: with her son’s friend.

Walker Lukens: Oh.

Zac Catanzaro: But she wasn’t cheating, she was having an entanglement There was not an affair. She was not cheating. It was an entanglement. For the record, she said it straight, and then Will hit Chris

Walker Lukens: Oh, wow

Zac Catanzaro: That’s how it all begins

Bryce Clifford: Okay, before we start, um, you know, I just, I constantly screw up, and I feel like, uh, it’s very early and, uh, I’ve never seen the hole-in-the-wall bathroom look better back there. It looks amazing. And I kind of wonder, is that because I’m here at 6:00 PM? Like- Yeah,

Zac Catanzaro: it’s still clean

Bryce Clifford: I’m usually here at midnight. Um, so I completely forgot to bring my lyric sheet, so I actually would need somebody to help me from the audience to, uh- Brother, I,

Walker Lukens: I got you, dude.

Bryce Clifford: Would you?

Walker Lukens: Yeah, just give me the

Bryce Clifford: nod and I’ll change it right- Okay. I had to, I had to write these out. I got four pages. Oh, there you go.

No, but somebody’s gonna have to kind of do the, the- Oh, fuck … like a piano music sheet kind of thing. Okay.

Walker Lukens: I’m your Huckleberry.

Bryce Clifford: Oh my God, my favorite movie of all time. Okay. Tombstone. It’s gonna take me a little while to tune here because I also did a bit of a Keith Richards thing and I tuned down to A flat.

Sorry guys. All right

Hey. Hey. Hey. I did wanna mention, like, I kinda took the take that Leslie took as well, and everybody tonight has been so awesome. I love all these songs. But I took the, the side of, when I heard this confession, I d- actually didn’t know how to get into it, because I thought it, it doesn’t really sound that bad to me.

Like, I don’t get it There’s actually a lot of people out there who are lonely, you know? That’s a problem. When you got, you know, many suitors, what the fuck’s the problem here? So I really did have a difficult time getting into it, and then I came up with this line about this back alley bookie. And then I thought, “Well, that’s fucking stupid,” but it kept occurring to me.

And then I came up with this word sinewy. He looks sinewy. And then I thought, “Well, maybe he looks like Iggy Pop.” And then when I hit that, I was like, “Okay, so what I’ll do is I’ll be the older version of me as Iggy Pop, and the younger version of me as her,” because I literally live that life where I’m always looking for a muse, and I get into these, these relationships.

I’m already talking too much, but like four of my friends here know that I had this, like, crazy breakup in 2019 that I thought was, like, the end of the world. And I went up to Canada, and I wrote a 12-song album about it. And I’m actually pretty embarrassed about it because- Aw. No, ’cause it’s like when people start complaining about their relationships, it’s like, man, you’re just lucky to be alive, and you’re lucky to not, not be lonely.

And sure, it hurts when people, like, um, you know, lie to you and and do stuff behind your back. But especially if you’re in your 20s, I mean … And I liked what, what Walker said, uh, right after her thing was, “Well, you shouldn’t be with either of these guys, obviously.” So I kind of took that, and that’s, like, Iggy Pop talking to her.

It’s still gonna take me a second or two. On Sunday morning, I had this progression in my head, and I thought, “You know, this, this melody is dumb.” But then I picked up another guitar that was tuned down to A flat, and it’s kind of a Keith Richards thing, which I’ve never done before. And I thought, “Oh, that sounds cool.

All right, now it’s cool.”

A young girl asks him for some wisdom, for his professional opinion. He says, she says, “My love has taken advantage of me

A real two-timer, dating a moocher, and my other relationship dissolving like a suture

When can my soul stop paying rent?

I’m disappointed, man

Don’t think you understand where you stand. If you ask me

Fatal attraction

I hear increment by increment It’s your attraction to Vermont entanglement

Questions burn. You see, that should have been me in that 20, 20-foot house, the one I dreamt about. Driving out to places with French names like Montpelier and Lake Champlain Iggy says fair but take a wide swath Vermont knockoff

Your sympathy or Canada tragedy

your seduction. Stay free long as you can. Stay under construction

Sure was sinewy, and he seemed to know a lot. Our Iggy Pop, who lives above the mom-and-pop skate shop. He says, “Better to have loved and lost You have been all stolen the boat and thrown over the side with your feet in cement

Than to have never danced a dance

Zac Catanzaro: Bryce Clifford

Walker Lukens: Bryce Clifford, everybody

Hey man, I don’t think you need the Brother Superior. Is that what they were called? Yeah. Fuck ’em. We, we like you solo, and I’ll be, I’ll be your lyric man anytime.

Bryce Clifford: Oh man, thank

Walker Lukens: you. You did a good job of balancing singing, telling me off mic it was time to stay or turn. Not on mic. Honestly, it was really impressive.

Zac Catanzaro: True performance.

Walker Lukens: Yeah.

Zac Catanzaro: True performance.

Bryce Clifford: Okay. Awesome.

Zac Catanzaro: Thank you guys. Thanks, Bryce.

Walker Lukens: Yeah. Whatever. Thank you.

Zac Catanzaro: Choose your own adventure.

Walker Lukens: All right. Well, we, we’ve heard from, we’ve heard from Alex Hartley, we’ve heard from Arlen Albert, we’ve heard from Leslie Sisson. Now we’ve heard from Bryce Clifford without his Superior Brothers.

Is that, like, offensive to call them that?

Arlen Albert: No, that’s what I call ’em.

Walker Lukens: You call them that. Okay, cool. That’s what

I call ’em. Um, we’ve got one more, one more performer. Uh, they perform as Steel Gemini. Are they here? Yeah. Yep. Get up here, Steel Gemini. Woo-hoo. Um, this … We’re almost done playing musical chairs here. Do you guys use your real names, like, or should I just call you Steel and Gemini? Okay. It’s really hard. Okay, you’re the Steel Gemini.

Get up there.

Steel Gemini: Um,

audience: that was supposed to be

Walker Lukens: funny. It’s okay, they couldn’t hear you.

Steel Gemini: Hello, my name’s Joy, and this is my emotional support bass player, Bill.

Walker Lukens: Your emotional support dog, Bill. Um. Now, now Joy, uh, I wanted just to share this story. Joy has submitted before to Song Confessional, uh, a, a, a couple years ago, and we ended up…

She wanted to ask me a question about some music stuff, so I gave her my phone number. So when we got this song in, I was like, “Oh shit, I have her number. I’ll just text her.” And I was like, “What the fuck? We love this song.” And her response was, “Are you sure you have the right number?” Which was just the most perfect response to a random text after several years of not talking to someone.

“Are you sure this is the right number?”

Steel Gemini: Well, you know what? It said Walker, and you said, you know, 10… Not even 10. Six words.

Walker Lukens: Yeah.

Steel Gemini: And, and I was like, “You know what? Man, I need to confirm this is real before I start planning my wardrobe.”

Walker Lukens: Totally fair. Totally fair, and, and also scammers are getting real clever now.

So it could have been like, “Dude, what the fuck? I love your song,”

Steel Gemini: and just- That would’ve worked …

Walker Lukens: caveat. I’ve,

Zac Catanzaro: I’ve been out there posing as you for months.

Walker Lukens: Yeah.

Zac Catanzaro: You know?

Walker Lukens: Yeah. Well, um, what’s the name of your song?

Steel Gemini: Uh, the song is called Send ‘Em On Back. I was like Bryce when I heard this story. I was a little like, “This, this doesn’t sound like a huge problem to me.”

You know, I mean, first world problems are still problems, but, um, I was sort of like, okay, you’ve got all these guys that wanna work on your music with you. I mean, that’s a problem I would like to have. And when I listened to it again, I kinda thought, “You know, not only does this not sound like a problem, this sounds a little like a humble brag.”

You know?

Walker Lukens: Nice. Definitely.

Steel Gemini: And then, uh, I just happened to be listening to this artist that I’ve recently discovered who raps a lot, and I’ve been rap curious for years. And so I thought, “Wow, what better way to frame…” I mean, you just throw all kinds of shade when you… In a rap song, right?

Walker Lukens: Yeah. Well, listen, send ’em on back, okay?

Whenever you’re ready.

Steel Gemini: Okay. And also, this is, like, rap lite.

Walker Lukens: It can e- it can even be heavy rap. Where, where’s a

Steel Gemini: safe place for that? Oh, it’s spicy, but, um, my ear is trained on Southern talk, and talking really fast just turned out not to be, like, a thing I was able to do. Okay. Actually, we slowed it down to record it, which is making it even harder to sing it live.

Okay. You’re gonna kill it. Throw your hands up.

audience: First things I set the record straight. I was up to rehearse every single day. The melody was lit, the beat was mad legit. His fiddle, it was spit and I was into it. Only time he was playing me, had another girl waiting back in VT. In his baby bed wearing his favorite tee, having dinner every night with his mommy.

Boy, this is a big

problema. Think it’s time I take it solo. Sorry, I don’t need your stems, no. That track was just a demo. Send ’em on back, send ’em on back

Can get much worse. Hold up while I burn with your second verse. He sang a pretty tune, wanted to co-produce. He was in the groove and I was whoop-de-doo. But when I stepped up to the microphone, he couldn’t put enough volume up in my headphones. I like a big ass bass, not some tiny tone, and I had to ask, “Is this thing even on?”

This one ain’t just proves what he says. Mute the mic before I finish. Punch me in so I can confess. I don’t need a bro up in my business. Send him on back.

Send him on back

Zac Catanzaro: Give it up again for Steel Gemini. Rapping her ass off up here. Can I,

Walker Lukens: can I ask you one question, Joy, before we lose you?

Steel Gemini: Yes.

Walker Lukens: What lyric are you most proud of?

Steel Gemini: Well, as we’ve been rehearsing this, I discovered that kind of the last lyric in the song is, uh- I’ll have my happy ending and he’ll go back to the beginning.

And that does kind of sum it up. There’s nothing clever about that. But when we’ve been rehearsing it, when I get to that line, I’m like, “Phew, man. I’m done.” So I really like that line.

Walker Lukens: Uh, it’s a great, it’s a great song. I love this song. Thank you. Thank you.

Zac Catanzaro: Yeah. Thank you so much. All right, we’re gonna, we’re gonna pass out some papers and some pens for you guys to vote on your favorite.

Write down your favorite one.

Walker Lukens: I- I- so yeah, in review, we have Steel Gemini. Uh, we had before that Bryce Clifford and Leslie Sisson or Moving Panoramas, whatever you remember, uh, is easier. Then we had Alex Hartley, Arlen Albert. Five. Five. Yeah. Okay, five. So I, I am a free… If you h- if you don’t remember someone and you wanna ask, this is a safe place to come ask.

If you don’t really like, you can come describe it to me, but we’re passing out… This is where, this is where you really separate the podcast from the hosts. Podcast host versus real host is when you announce winners, ’cause it’d be really cool if we knew a way to do this that was, like, dramatic. We had, like, a timpani drum.

We were wearing bow ties. Damn. Yeah. Okay

In… Let’s not do places. Let’s just say the winner, right? Yeah. Okay, so I’m sorry. Will you do that one more time? That was way sick. Yeah, one more. One more sick.

By unanimous almost approval, our winner for this evening is Steel Gemini.

Tomorrow morning, yeah, still Gemini. And, uh, as your rewa- as your- What do I win? You win valor

Zac Catanzaro: The last sung confessional sticker. There- Oh … were thousands. Now there is one. I’ll take it. I’ll

Walker Lukens: tell it on Instagram later. Also- Over a year … okay, I love that. Uh, let’s give it one more time for Joy, y’all.

Zac Catanzaro: What?

Walker Lukens: Yeah.

Wow

Zac Catanzaro: Al- almost unanimous. Almost unanimous.

Walker Lukens: Uh, that was very, uh, magnanimous of you not to vote for yourself. Aw. It, it wasn’t unanimous. That was, that was … I didn’t use that word right. Not getting on that. Um, thank you so much for coming to this. I’m gonna buy an Adderall on the black market and edit this podcast episode together, and it will come out next week.

But we intend to keep doing this, so please keep coming. We’ve got a confessional, permanent confessional booth now outside of Hole in the Wall, so come tell us your stories