This interview first aired on March 9, 2026.
Rare Earth: You’re tuned into the Rare Earth show here on University of California’s KALX Berkeley. Returning once again with a new album as Damaged Bug, we’ve got John Dwyer. So thank you so much for coming back. It’s always a pleasure talking to you. Uh, obviously I’m a huge fan, and I’m excited for a new album.
John Dwyer: Well, thank you for having me, and I appreciate that. It’s nice to be back.
Rare Earth: Yeah. So I guess one of the first questions I really have is just why now? I read in previous interviews just, like, your mentioning of having a backlog of music ideas.
John Dwyer: Well, um, I don’t know. This one was a rare one where it just took a lot longer than usual, which is very rare for me. I, uh, keep things really uniform and, you know, start to finish. This one just sat unfinished, and then I would kinda start another batch of songs with a different drummer and, you know, just kinda was a little bit of a mess. And I wasn’t– it wasn’t that I wasn’t inspired, it was just that I didn’t– It was mostly the vocals. I was just having a hard time writing lyrics for this particular project, not Osees necessarily. But I sort of found my inspiration this year with everything being as [bleeped] as it is. Um, it just sorta came to me suddenly, and I was able to dig through 40 or so songs and find about 15 of them that I felt like were appropriate to put together to orchestrate a full album, and then that ended up being, I think, 10 or 11. Maybe 12, I can’t remember. But I found the uniform songs in there, even though they’re wildly different, and, uh, I found the common thread between them and was able to find vocal melodies and lyrics, and it just sort of fell into place, you know, and– But it was just– there’s still more songs sitting out there, so who knows. But I– It was in the back of my mind the whole time. I kept putting it aside, being like, “I’ll work on this other project that’ll inspire me to do this”, and frankly, it was just current affairs and the way things are now that just pushed me through.
Rare Earth: No, I couldn’t agree more. You actually touched on a bunch of questions that I kind of wanted to, like, go on different tangents for.
John Dwyer: Right.
Rare Earth: So I’m gonna try and keep things a little more concise since I tend to ramble.
John Dwyer: Um- You found your match. I’ll ramble as much as you can.
Rare Earth: [Laughing.] Cool. But yeah, whittling down from 40 songs is pretty crazy. But you mentioned something about finding a common thread. And I guess I’ve picked up on some political bits on ZUZAX, the new album. And also on a few of the more recent Osees’ albums. But like, we already know that the world is kind of [bleeped] right now, and I wanna just ask you about other inspiration. Like, have you been watching films or going to museums? Books, you know, music, anything that, like, really drew inspiration for this album, ZUZAX.
John Dwyer: Absolutely. Uh, every day, I mean, I read before I go to bed every single night, and I watch films. I mean, right now I’m working on a painting show for November, and I’m– I usually would just listen to records while I do that because, you know, you’re focused on a painting, so it’s like this visual aspect is sort of consumed. But for some reason, [chuckling] I’ve been just watching films in the background this whole time. Um, I just went through the entire back catalog of Nightmare on Elm Street. There’s been a lot of creature comforts for me this year because, um, all my work sort of hearkens back to this sort of, uh, golden era of my life and, like, romanticizing my childhood and stuff. Essentially, the gist of it is that there was a bit of bliss in finding pleasure in the simple things as a child. It’s as simple as, like, even, like, the concept of, uh, Rosebud from Citizen Kane, you know? It’s that dumb.
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: But the reality is, is a lot of my art and a lot of my music is this escapist thing and, and the, the ZUZAX records kinda came together with this sorta pop-y thing, and it was basically packaging– uh, the dreariness of right now, but also hope in these weird little pop packages on this record. So it was sort of like, the record is relatively pop-y, I would say. There’s definitely some noisier stuff on it. There’s definitely a bunch of mellower pieces on the second side. But it definitely had this thread. I don’t– it doesn’t really– I can’t put it into words to make sense of the orchestration of the album itself, like the alignment of the songs. But they were just the ones that worked out and fell into place, ’cause there was a bunch of other stuff that I’d finished, but it didn’t seem to fit on this. But, um, you know, everything that I consume, whether it be a painting or a movie or somebody, another contemporary band, an old band, even walking around taking photographs of, uh, nature, you know, on hikes for my painting show, everything sort of culminates into the final output, especially with music.
Rare Earth: Mm-hmm.
John Dwyer: I’m hugely inspired by visual stuff for music all the time, colors and, you know– Like I said, my whole childhood was, like, playing Dungeons & Dragons and these, like– I have a fascination with toys still, all this dumb [bleeped] from when I was a kid that sort of hearkens back to what I remember as a happier time, because I didn’t know what was going on out there. And now, there’s no time for toys now, obviously. [Laughing.]
Rare Earth: Yeah. No, I mean, I think that’s really important, like, finding comforts that you can rely on because, you know, you wanna be informed with current affairs and you wanna do your part, but at the same time, it’s easy to burn out. Um, so–
John Dwyer: Yeah. Escapism is a huge part of this. It’s, it gives– Honestly, for me, the creative process is a huge breath of fresh air, and it gives me time to focus on making something rather than consuming something. And it also is just, like– and I feel this way about any art out there, even stuff that isn’t necessarily my cup of tea, is that somebody’s adding something to the space of beauty. So this is, like, a little slice of escapism, but obviously with a message intact. It’s just the reality of art is there’s a message in there always. You know, even if it’s improvisation–
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: –Your true intent is gonna shine through, you know?
Rare Earth: I mean, jazz is improvisation, and that’s, like, a really great example of having really deep meaning to it.
John Dwyer: Like, one of those, like, it’s one of those elevated musics, even. I always felt that way about spontaneous music, whether it be jazz or even, like, improv noise or whatever is–
Rare Earth: Mm-hmm.
John Dwyer: –That’s this very spontaneous thing that captures the moment. These, like, momentary affairs that are just there specifically to have them and be done with it, and to–
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: –It’s like expunging it from your soul, you know?
Rare Earth: That’s something that I’m trying to do myself, too. And you can listen to these sorts of, uh, spontaneous recordings, and it does evoke so much emotion. Like–
John Dwyer: Yeah. It’s definitely– evokes memory–
Rare Earth: I guess that’s, like, sort of the thread that we’re talking about, that, like, no matter what sort of creative outlet you’re into or you’re consuming, there is a thread that is moving everyone. Like every individual that interacts with it, which–
John Dwyer: Certainly, it’s a, you know, a moment in time recorded. It’s gonna evoke the feeling from that time, you know? I would say it’s especially true with jazz, is, like, no other real– no music really is like that. Jazz and classical, I would say, like, these really– Just capture a period that we don’t really have necessarily anymore too, you know? [Chuckling.] So it’s like when I get burned out on rock after a tour of, with Osees, for instance, I will definitely dip mostly back into jazz. There was like a period there sort of towards the end of COVID where I just listened to jazz for like two years straight [chuckling] ’cause I was like, “I can’t handle any more guitar necessarily,” you know?
Rare Earth: A little stressful. Um, you know, I don’t wanna put too much pressure on, but are you able to think of, say, one album, one movie, or one piece of art or book that has really moved you?
John Dwyer: Yeah. Sure, sure. There were two films over the past couple years. There was one called The Beasts from Spain, I think it was 2023. That’s just like a thriller, but it was this really subtle, fantastic film with a great soundtrack that was totally inspiring for me. And the music is nothing like the music I make, but it was just that, uh, sort of thing where, like, when you hear something you’re like, “I wanna make something now,” you know?
Rare Earth: Mm-hmm.
John Dwyer: Like, it gives you the drive to create your own thing. Same thing with Sirat, which I really liked this year. I think that’s also a Spanish film that happens in Morocco maybe, about a guy searching for his daughter at these big desert techno parties. It’s [bleeped] great. Great film. Great soundtrack as well. We’ve just been– We have movie nights at my house a lot with a lot of friends, especially people that are suffering from burnout.
Rare Earth: Cool.
John Dwyer: Um, as far as books go, I’ve just been– For a few years now I’ve been just on a horror tip, and like it’s funny ’cause that’s mostly what I watch as well.
Rare Earth: Mm-hmm.
John Dwyer: It’s like this weird cathartic thing of like watching all this awful, scary [bleeped] somehow makes me sort of free of it in, in real life a little bit, you know? So I’ve been reading a lot of Dan Simmons’ Song of Kali, which was fantastic. Um, he’s not a great person anymore in real life, but this book was from the ’90s before, uh– I think he sort of flipped his lid around 9/11.
Rare Earth: I see.
John Dwyer: And you can guess where that went from there. But also, uh, before that I was reading, uh, Christopher Buehlman and Laird Barron’s new short story collection. Just really weird, like, cosmic horror stuff. You know, I went through a few years of just sci-fi only. Like, I’m deeply embedded in this nerd culture, like, things like gaming and stuff. You know, I’m a big fan of all of that. Because of that escape that you mentioned earlier, it’s like real life is enough of a fist to the face, so these other things are sort of the opposite of that to me, you know?
Rare Earth: Yeah. I totally get that. And yeah, I think all fans of John Dwyer, Osees, everything related knows about the D&D ties and the sci-fi and all that.
John Dwyer: Yeah. I think we have a lot of nerds in tow. [Laughs.] It’s okay to be different people.
[Music plays.]
Rare Earth: I appreciate how you are so, like, interdisciplinary. You have art, you have music, you’ve got, uh, books you’ve gotten out of your photography and things like that. And, like, I’ve got the soundtrack back here to, uh– [indecipherable]
John Dwyer: Oh, yeah
Rare Earth: –I thought was, like, incredible. That was so cool. The stop motion is really, really fun. Um, but I do wanna get back to, back to ZUZAX because I personally–
John Dwyer: That was a– Talk about a job, though, doing that animation. Like, I was so relieved when that was done because it was my first foray into that, and as I’m sure anybody that’s ever done any animation will tell you, it’s like you don’t really realize what’s in tow until you’re, like, deep in it, and then you’re like, “Jesus, have I overdone it?” You know? Like, it’s– That’s a big job. I have so much respect– And mine was so amateurish, but it was really fun. But that is one of those things where I took over a million photographs, and it was just like– I mean, the original film was 45 minutes long. It had to get edited down to make it even palatable to anybody but myself.
Rare Earth: I totally get the editing part. It’s rough. It’s hard.
John Dwyer: I had to have– A friend edited it for me because I was watching it with him. He’s like, “This is insane, dude. You have to–” [Rare Earth laughs.] He’s like, “You need to say goodbye to a lot of this.” And I was like, “You’re right.”
Rare Earth: No, thank you for putting that one out there. It was, uh, really exciting to see that drop. But like I said, back to ZUZAX, because I’m a huge fan. And we’ve been waiting, I believe it’s been, what, like seven years since–
John Dwyer: Yeah.
Rare Earth: –the last Bug On Yonkers cover album, which was, like, a Michael Yonkers cover record.
John Dwyer: Yeah.
Rare Earth: And ZUZAX definitely feels very different. It feels like a culmination of Osees and Damaged Bug with a little bit of the sort of improvisational records you’ve been releasing. But one thing I did notice with the lead single that you released was that you credited also Dolas and Brigid Dawson. So I always imagined Damaged Bug as a solo project of yours.
John Dwyer: It varies. I always had, uh– After the first record, I would play drums a little bit, but mostly it was other drummers. Like, I would say Cold Hot Plumbs was probably, like, a third me and probably two-thirds Chris Woodhouse playing drums. Paul Quattrone plays a lot of– He plays drums on that single.
Rare Earth: Uh-huh.
John Dwyer: He should be credited in the record anyway. Um, Brigid sings on it. I think Tom does the keyboard solos on that song. But it definitely– You know, I have to bring in other players mostly so I’m not just bored of myself. And having Brigid sing with me is always something just magical about her.
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: I feel like she elevates me, you know? And it was really fun getting her to sing on that one, too, ’cause it was kind of out of her comfort zone, which is very rare. But I think even Nick Murray plays some drums on this one, my old drummer from Mutilator Defeated At Last in Osees.
Rare Earth: Nice.
John Dwyer: You know, I’m surrounded by all these people who are great players, so there’s no reason to not take advantage of that, you know?
Rare Earth: No, yeah. It’s, it’s, it’s a really great album. I’m really honored to be able to have heard it already. One of my favorite Damaged Bug songs already is, uh, Overexposed. Like–
John Dwyer: Oh, thank you. Yeah. That’s the next single, so–
Rare Earth: Oh.
John Dwyer: That’s one of the crooner– the ballads on the record, yeah.
Rare Earth: Yeah, yeah. When you, when you get on that mic, I definitely just like, oof. Um, so I’ve been playing the album–
John Dwyer: You know, the older I get, the older I get, the more I can sing like that and the less I can sing high, which I think is pretty standard for most people. But that was a good four-year stretch there where every tour was just, like, screaming all night to the point where I’d be, like, sweating from singing, which is, like, a crazy–
Rare Earth: Believe me, I’ve been there. I’ve seen you do it–
John Dwyer: Yeah, it’s just like, it’s like you’re really–
Rare Earth: And I don’t know how you guys do it–
John Dwyer: It’s funny. It’s like, I can only equate singing live like that, like being really aggressive, with like if you’ve ever been a runner. Like, I used to run a lot more, but when I was a runner, me and my ex-girlfriend would go for runs together, and she loved to talk while running. [Both laugh.] And we would be, like, at mile four, and I would be like, “Would you please shut up?” [Rare Earth laughs.] ‘Cause like– it requires a response, you know? And nothing is worse than running and talking. Or like, you know, like, you’re running and you’re fine, but the second you start talking while you’re running, you realize, you’re like, “I’m exhausted.” Like, this is, you know– that oxygen is going for running. So it’s like, it’s the same thing. Like, if you’re moving around and singing live and playing a guitar and, like, screaming at the top of your lungs like that, you know, there’s definitely moments on stage with that stuff where I’d be like, “Ooh, I feel faint.” You know? [Chuckling.] Like, “I feel like I need to take a breath of air.”
Rare Earth: I’m surprised we can even have a conversation right now because the way you’re wailing on the stage, you’re, like, swallowing the mic. It’s insane. So, just considering your output, again, thank you so much for all the music because we are loving it.
John Dwyer: Right.
Rare Earth: Um, and speaking of live, is there any plans or ideas to potentially bring Bug out?
John Dwyer: It’s been getting– Yeah, it’s been getting talked about a little bit. I’ve been talking with Tom about it. Um, I could pull together a good band. The reality is just– it depends on how fast this painting show goes that I’m working on. I wanna have 10 paintings done for November, and they’re all big. And they take about a month each. So I’m hoping to, like, cram them all in with the tours and everything. If that goes on schedule, I might be able to try and do a show this year for Damaged Bug, which I’ve never done before, but I would like to.
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: We definitely have the players and people ready to do it. It’s just a matter of, you know, doing it and rehearsing. It’s like, I would love to, but OSees has, you know, it’s such a machine that it’s been taking up all my time. Uh, bringing Brigid on definitely made it so we had to rehearse less ’cause we’re not working on a new record. We’re doing more older material with this, so it’s been, like, all middle era, like the In the Red Records.
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: She– I’m doing really good with her. I’m really excited to, like, come around with it.
Rare Earth: I’ll definitely be catching you at the Chapel with OSees.
John Dwyer: Yeah. She’ll be there.
Rare Earth: Um, yeah, yeah. So–
John Dwyer: Doing every show with us. Every show this year is with her, even the festivals, we decided. We’re just bringing her on the whole shebang, so.
Rare Earth: Yeah. I’m totally down for that ’cause I love that era of OSees. It really sound– It’s like, everything’s coming round again, you know? And it’s good to feel–
John Dwyer: I literally– I’m always going on a whim, and this was just, we were putting together that six-show residency here in LA, and I was like, “I don’t wanna do the whole set the whole time.” But, you know, I wanted to make it interesting, and I was like, you know what? There’s this whole swath of stuff we do from, you know, Floating Coffin, Help, all that [bleeped]–
Rare Earth: Mm-hmm
John Dwyer: –Uh, that we don’t do songs from. And I was like, you know, if we bring Brigid on board, we can totally do all that stuff. And that material, frankly, is a little simpler than a lot of the newer material. It’s less aggressive and, you know, there’s the whole prog era we were doing that’s, like, really more technical or whatever per se. And this stuff allows for a lot more open swim sort of improvisation and fun and, like, more like punk garage, you know? So it’s been, it’s been real fun.
Rare Earth: I dig that. I’m excited–
John Dwyer: Yeah.
Rare Earth: –for all, any live Osees, Damaged Bug, anything you can come up with.
John Dwyer: Brigid has been kicking ass too. She’s doing a really good job, so–
Rare Earth: Yeah. Absolutely.
John Dwyer: So as to what the future holds, who knows? ‘Cause again, I always sort of flip around, but this feels like the right move, and it seems to be making people psyched live. The crowds have been great, so.
Rare Earth: Yeah. And if you were to announce a Damaged Bug live show, I think we would sell it out instantly, so.
John Dwyer: I’m working on it, man. I’m trying my best.
Rare Earth: [Laughing.] Just putting it out there.
John Dwyer: I’m all about it. I feel like it’s finally come time. It’s ridiculous. I have plenty of material to do a really strong set, I feel like, and definitely the players. It’s just a matter of finding the time to do it, you know? Like, I feel like if I did everything I wanted to do, I wouldn’t be able to sleep, so I have to, you have to take naps here and there.
Rare Earth: Yeah. Get some rest. You– it’s well deserved.
John Dwyer: Yeah. I like sitting down now.
[Music plays.]
Rare Earth: Any specific moment on this new album, ZUZAX, that you would say moved you the most?
John Dwyer: Yeah. I think for me, the, the biggest part was just finding the songs in there, you know? Like, I had all these riffs and stuff recorded, and it was such a relief to find the inspiration to get through it because it was a real stumbling block for me for some reason. But now I feel like because I’ve done this, it maybe opens up the door for all the other songs. And really it’s just, you know, the unfortunate reality was the inspiration came from darkness, but, you know, you have to take what you’re given and make light, you know? So this is where we’re at, is that, um, you know, I can write a pop song about being exhausted of the culture war, you know?
Rare Earth: Mm-hmm.
John Dwyer: Like just this [bleeped] of like, you know, fake religious outrage and all this stuff. Eh, all this stuff leads me down these paths to writing a song that’s sort of, you know, like, End Of The War, if you read the lyrics, it’s, I think it’s pretty– I don’t know about satirical, but it’s definitely making fun of the fact that we have, you know– what’s going on right now is, for lack of a better way to word it, like right-wing outrage that’s pretty hilarious to me because it’s just so hyperbolic and, uh, it’s horse[bleeped], you know? [Laughs.] And I know this because I have people in my family who, like, equate themselves to this side of the fence, and I’m like, “What are you talking about?” I don’t have time to argue anymore. These people are lost to me, essentially. But that being said–
Rare Earth: Mm-hmm.
John Dwyer: I think it’s, you know, things like The Daily Show and Jon Stewart are still out there holding the torch to sort of make— if you can’t laugh sometimes at the horror, uh, then it overpowers you. You know what I mean? So I feel like having a realistic view on all this stuff is important in that people like Iannucci, too, another writer that was doing, you know, he wrote Veep, but he also did In The Loop. He did The Death of Stalin more recently. Like, fantastic political stuff that shows how asinine these establishments are, you know? Like, I felt like Veep-– watching that, you’re like, “God, I’m sure that this is exactly how it is, is these [bleeped] are swearing a lot behind the scenes, and they’re just generally kinda bad people.” Like, I feel like– in order to be a politician now yeah, well, you’d have to be crazy, you know? Like, to, like, to wanna be president, you’d be like, “Dude, like what is wrong with you?” I don’t even understand why somebody would wanna be a cop, nevermind– uh, an ICE agent or, you know. Well, I know why people wanna be ICE agents now, because they’re daft racists, and yeah. These– this is where all our Proud Boys are now. Now they’re just masked up and they get to wear all their Weekend Warrior [bleeped] and [Rare Earth laughs] harass people. But it’s just, this is inspiring because this is how it was during the Reagan years a little bit, and during George W. Bush. You know, this is– my music comes from the left-wing side. This is where I was brought up, on the East Coast, and then in San Francisco, and these are sort of my understandings of what justice is or whatever, you know. Um, it is a little bit more literal for me these days than it was before. And now it’s like saying, like- “Jeez, I hope this guy dies of cancer,” you know? [Rare Earth laughs.] But like sort of a laugh, you know, like a laugh being like, “Wouldn’t that be a drag?” But whatever. It’s– read the lyrics, you can make what you want of it.
Rare Earth: Right. Yeah.
John Dwyer: But, you know, it’s just like we need a break right now, in between throwing punches. It’s, like, exhausting, so this is, like, Escapism 101 for me is, like, I get it myself making the music. I have a moment of creativity, which is like a dopamine rush and, like, a very basic thing that I find joy in, and then finishing the product and being done with it and having it, you know, jettisoned from me, and I don’t have to think about it anymore, and then hopefully somebody else can enjoy it and find inspiration in there, and make their own something good rather than adding to the pile of [bleeped] that we’re served every day. You know what I mean?
Rare Earth: Yeah, it’s funny because you’re saying, like– I’m taking it as, um, ZUZAX was a reaction to the world abroad, and it’s meant to be a form of escapism, and I was asking for the specific moment that moved you the most, but it’s the entire project is what moved you—
John Dwyer: –Well, it was—
Rare Earth: –Because you’re trying to get away from–
John Dwyer: –Like, all of this- It was a– But at the same time–
Rare Earth: –You’re addressing it directly. Yeah.
John Dwyer: For me, it’s always– and I’ve said this a million times in interviews, it’s always about the next thing. So that’s where my moment of joy is, is hoping that down the road there is a path forward to make more art, and I find inspiration. And hopefully it’s– I mean, you know, I also kinda feel like good art, and this is just speaking subjectively for myself, good art comes from bad times. So, like, I have friends that I think are great artists, and when they’re really happy they write kind of a weak record. But when they’re miserable, I was like, “[Bleeped], that’s a really good album, dude.”
Rare Earth: [Indecipherable] how come you get that?
John Dwyer: –Like suffering– And I’m saying this, I live in a first-world country, I’m a middle-aged white man, so I’m saying suffering from my perspective of, you know, whether that be depression or just being overwhelmed or whatever, you know? Like, simple first-world problems. But, like, I feel like some of the best art in the world has come from truly– people who are struggling, you know? Like, I was in Cuba a few years ago, and I got to go to the museum there and see all the revolutionary artworks hanging in the museum there, and I was completely blown away. You know, that made me wanna come home and paint.
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: And I can’t relate to where this came from because I’ve never lived through it.
Rare Earth: No.
John Dwyer: But it’s like–
Rare Earth: I couldn’t agree more. You know? I couldn’t agree more. I know it is subjective, but, like, I got to see, in Madrid, Guernica this year. And just, like, I’ve seen the image, you know. But when you’re, like, right in front of it and it’s this massive thing, I can’t even fathom–
John Dwyer: And that’s what it’s all about to me is, like, having those moments, you know? I’m so lazy about going to museums these days. But our– my friend Delaney, who’s on the road with us a lot now, is young, and he’s always like, “Yeah, let’s go to a museum.” And we’ll go, and then somebody else will be like, “What did you do today?” I’m like, “Dude, I had my ass handed to me in a museum.” And that inspires me. It’s all about finding your inspiration and doing something you love, and I’m very fortunate to be there, you know?
Rare Earth: Yeah. And we’re fortunate to be the audience to it all because for the last– I’d say, more than a decade, I’ve been following your work, and I genuinely love it. I think you’re my most collected section on my Discogs, all my, like Sword & Sandals–
John Dwyer: I apologize! [Laughs.]
Rare Earth: –Damaged Bug, uh, Coachwhips. I’ve got it all.
John Dwyer: I feel like Discogs is gonna write me and they’ll be like, “Dude, slow down.” Like–
Rare Earth: [Laughs.] Yeah.
John Dwyer: “Hey, guys, there’s a dude here has to type all this out, you know?”
Rare Earth: [Still laughing.] Yeah. Um, I do wanna start wrapping things up ’cause we’re running out of time. So I guess I’ll ask one final question. Is there any sort of message that you hope your listeners will take away? Or is there something you just wanna tell people right now that we’ve got this audience and we’ll be hearing you?
John Dwyer: It’s– you know, I want people to keep hope and I want them to, um– I feel like I don’t even need to tell people this message because I feel like it’s in the world right now, and I’m just thrilled that it seems like people are sort of turning a page in a way, like that I see more hope, and I see people not, uh, not falling for social media and just, like I see a wave of change coming, slow as it is, because it always feels like the worst of things is much faster and much stronger and louder. But there is– in Minneapolis right now, these people coming together to support their own neighborhoods and their neighbors is really inspiring to me. And people standing up against, not even– you don’t have to be righteous or annoying about it, but I’m just saying, like, I’m just impressed that people are showing empathy and manners with each other again a little bit, and it’s like—
Rare Earth: Mm-hmm.
John Dwyer: –Certainly very one-sided what I’m talking about right now, but there is hope. I have hope in my heart, which I feel like I kinda haven’t for a while. I think things had to get this bad. Sometimes people need to be pushed to the brink before they see what they’re made of, you know?
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: But I think, I just want people to stay strong and stay focused and not be distracted by the [bleeped] out there.
Rare Earth: Mm-hmm.
John Dwyer: There’s obviously a lot of distraction flying around right now. Our current administration is like masters of the smoke and mirrors. I feel like a lot of this is because they simply don’t wanna release the Epstein files so like–
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: –Declaring war on Greenland, you know? Which, I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Greenland, but it’s a lovely place full of lovely people that are probably like, “What is going– why?” You know?
Rare Earth: I mean, why, yeah. The headlines these days are crazy.
John Dwyer: And it’s hard to encompass it into like one statement because it’s so much, but I just think it boils down to like– People know what they have to do right now, and I feel like they need to support each other and be there for their neighbor, you know?
Rare Earth: Mm-hmm.
John Dwyer: It’s extremely hard for everybody. I put myself in other people’s shoes right now in a way where, ’cause I know how I am, when I see somebody basically being a [bleeped] for lack of a better word, I’m all like, “Okay, what has this person gone through when I wasn’t around?” Because I know very resilient people right now that are worn thin, you know what I mean?
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: So it’s just like, it’s everybody– and I feel like we are all suffering from the same reality right now.
Rare Earth: Mm-hmm.
John Dwyer: So I think people just need to stay strong, and I feel like they’re showing a lot of spine right now, and that’s great.
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: Because I think that’s a misconception that people are weak right now. I feel like people are strong. They’ve just been distracted and maybe under a haze for a while. But certainly things changed during COVID too. People had a little too much time alone, and, you know, the internet is moving really quickly.
Rare Earth: Yeah.
John Dwyer: Soon we’ll have AI overlords that we can fight, you know, rather than the injustice of the current administration.
Rare Earth: Maybe that’ll bring us all together.
John Dwyer: That’s what we need. Like- It has to be not human. We’re like, “Oh my God, finally.”
Rare Earth: That is the message there.
John Dwyer: We need a Terminator.
Rare Earth: Terminator. Yeah.
John Dwyer: Yeah. I’d fight a robot with a guy I didn’t get along with necessarily. Sure. Why not?
Rare Earth: Yeah. Yeah. You know? Totally. Absolutely.
John Dwyer: I don’t even feel that strongly about the human race, frankly. I’m like– I don’t know. Well, I don’t know. I guess I would have, you’d have to, right? It’s like that or death, so you gotta–
Rare Earth: Yeah. Yeah. No, I get, I get the sentiment though. Um, well, again, thank you John Dwyer.
John Dwyer: Pleasure.
Rare Earth: Damaged Bug is finally back. We have a brand new album coming out. I believe it’s on March 20th.
John Dwyer: Yep.
Rare Earth: I’ve got it on pre-order. I’ll be playing it on the air very, very, very soon. And again, thank you so much. This is the Rare Earth Show. You’re listening to KALX. We had Damaged Bug today. Go listen to the record when it’s out. And again, thank you so much. I’m a huge fan.
John Dwyer: Yeah. Pleasure, man. Thank you very much. Thank you, KALX.
Rare Earth: Bye bye. Have a good one.
John Dwyer: You too, buddy. Bye.
Rare Earth: Bye.
