Episode 002: Beyond The Barricade Introduction Episode

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Madi: Welcome to the first episode of Beyond The Barricade, our little side project to Backing The Barricade.

Lor: Is it a side project?

Madi: Not a side project, our extension of Backing The Barricade.

Lor: It’s our new little addition, our new little flavor. And it’s not separate. We’re not abandoning Backing The Barricade. It’s just an enhancement.

Madi: We’re telling the whole story.

Lor: So, for those of you who don’t know, Backing The Barricade is all about you guys. It’s all about the fans. But how did we get there?

Madi: Yeah I don’t even know if we’ve explained the back story behind Backing The Barricade and why we started it…

Lor: So tell that story a little bit.

The story behind Backing The Barricade:

Madi: Yeah, so before we kind of tell you about the podcast, we will rewind a little bit and tell you about Backing The Barricade. First of all, if you don’t know or haven’t heard the story, basically, this is an idea of mine that I have been sitting on for four years. And it took meeting Loreal to actually make it come to life. But the idea basically came from me, obviously, being a big music fan and an avid concert attendee, a concert goer, if you will.

Lor: Concert connoisseur.

Madi: Yep. I’ve spent the better part of the last ten years going to as many shows as I can. I eventually became a concert photographer, basically so I could attend more shows without having to spend my entire life savings on tickets. And from that, one of the things that I really, really value about concerts is the community aspect of it.

I was really inspired by all of the stories that I’ve heard over the years and the people that I’ve met just attending so many shows. And it’s one of my favorite things when, either waiting in line for doors to open at a venue or waiting in between artists at a show, you kind of naturally talk to and interact with the people around you.

And from just the many shows that I’ve been to over the years and just so many people that I’ve met that way so organically, I’ve gotten to hear so many cool stories because obviously, everyone there kind of talks about how long they’ve been a fan and, like, their connection to the artists that we’re all there to see. So I’ve gotten to hear so many cool stories about people meeting their now spouses or meeting their best friend or traveling around the US, traveling around the world to go see their favorite artists or just, like, crazy stories that they have around concerts that they attend and things that happen at them.

I remember so distinctly when I was in college, I was very fortunate, kind of. I went to Texas A&M, which is in College Station, Texas, which is not a concert hotspot. However, it is situated nicely in between Austin and Houston.

Lor: So geographically, it’s a nice spot to be in for that reason.

Madi: Yes, if you don’t mind a little hour… I don’t even remember how long it is. Hour and a half drive. I don’t know. Anyway, I was situated to where I was kind of evenly in between Houston and Austin. And so a lot of times when artists announced tours and they had shows in both cities…

Lor: Oh, you could go to both.

Madi: I would go to both. And people that I would tell that to, or, you know, just when it would kind of come up in conversation, people were like, why would you do that? Like, isn’t it the same show? And I was like, no, because of the crowd, it’s different. It’s the audience that makes it different., and the people who you’re around the whole time. It’s how the artist interacts with the crowd.

All Time Low is one of my favorite bands that this is, like, a prime example of. They’re so good at crowd work and so good at interacting with people. So especially when like, them or bands that are really good about interacting with fans would come around, every show is so different. And that’s why I would go to multiple dates, and people would think that’s crazy if you’re not, like, a big concert goer, but it’s the audience that makes it worth doing that.

Lor: There’s also a little, I feel like, beef with major Texas cities where they always try to outdo each other. And so I know bands do it all the time where they’re like, Houston was last night, let’s see how much better you. And it’s kind of, like, cheesy. But also, people here take that so seriously.

Madi: Oh, so seriously.

Lor: They’re like, fuck Houston. We’re going to be better in Dallas and vice versa. So I feel like that definitely… You just see all of it.

Madi: Oh, yeah. And artists will egg them on, be like, well, Houston was doing a lot better last night…

Lor: Yeah, it’s great.

Madi: So, yeah, it kind of stemmed from that, where I felt like there were so many stories that were happening on that side of the barricade that no one was paying attention to, no one was sharing. And I just thought, it’s such a big piece of the night and the story that’s happening and the experience that everyone is having that I wanted a space for that to be told.

Lor: Nobody was talking about it. Those stories were just dying at the venue.

Madi: Yeah. And we can kind of dive into it, but both of us are concert photographers now, and I always felt like I was only able to tell half the story by having photos of the artist because I was like, this is cool, and this is the show. But, like, you didn’t see all of the crazy stage divers or, like, the pit that opened up, or you don’t see…

Lor: That fan crying, but you’re like, why are they crying so much? And it’s like, we know the story because we talk to them…

Madi: Yeah! I think that’s what makes live music so powerful, and it’s why we don’t just sit at home and listen to records and just let that be it. Like, there’s just an extra element to live music.

Lor: So you identified that, and you were like, these stories – I want to tell them.

Madi: Yeah I was really inspired by that, and I just had always thought in my head that it would be so cool. My original idea, which is kind of what we’re doing now, was I wanted basically a Humans of New York…

Lor: If you’re familiar with that account on the Internet.

Madi: Yes. If you’ve ever seen that, which I’m sure is everyone. If you haven’t, look it up. Brandon Stanton, I think is his name. He’s fantastic. Anyway, I basically wanted to do the Humans of New York, but for concerts. I wanted the Humans of Concerts… That doesn’t have the right ring to it, Backing The Barricade sounds better. That’s why we went with that. But I basically wanted to do that. I wanted to go, and I wanted to interview people, and I wanted to talk about their connection with the artists that we were all there to see and share the stories.

Lor: And you had that idea for how long?

Madi: And I had that idea for a good four years. But Madison is a little chicken, and she was never going to go up to strangers by herself and ask for interviews. And so in walks Loreal into my life. And literally everything changed.

Lor: This is where I interned the conversation.

Madi: Do you want to tell the story of how we actually started things to you?

How Loreal and Madison met and started Backing The Barricade

Lor: Yeah. So, fun fact, Madison and I, our paths have crossed many of times. We discovered after both being concert photographers, we were in the same pit for a few concerts here and we just never knew. And that kind of happens. But one day, we. Well, we followed each other on Instagram…

Madi: We’re also both wedding photographers, which I feel like was a thing that tied us together because there’s not many.

Lor: Yeah, there’s not many wedding photographers who are also concert photographers. It’s very niche, very kind of very hard to find both things like that. And so one day, I realized we both followed each other on Instagram, and I was like, you know what? I’ve never personally found a way to merge what I’m doing, but also go back to music photography. Because music photography is what I started out in before I even got into weddings.

I didn’t do weddings until I moved out to Texas to find somebody who is doing both of them and doing them both so well. I was like, holy shit. Okay. It’s not just, like, a random thing that I thought I maybe could do.

I realized I followed Madison on Instagram, and she had followed me. And I randomly DM-ed you one day, and I was like, do you want to get coffee? I don’t know, shoot my shot. And you were like, yeah! And I was like, okay, cool, I can make friends. So we got coffee, and we spent, like, 3 hours at this coffee shop, and she told me about this idea, like, after we had realized that we were in the same pit for a lot of things, I think the first one…

Madi: We were at the State Champs and Simple Plan show together.

Lor: Yeah. We had a photo that was almost, like, identical to one another. And I was like, okay, cool. We love doing this. And we have, like, the similar style or whatever. And you told me about this idea about, you know, like, people meeting each other in line, and you had this idea. It’s called Backing The Barricade. You’ve had the Instagram handle for, like, three years.

Madi: I didn’t have much, but I had the name!

Lor: You had the name. And you had the website. You had the domain.

Madi: I bought it, like, three years ago, and it sat and did nothing.

Lor: And then I was like, perfect, let’s do it. And you’re like…

Madi: I was like, oh… We can just do it.

Lor: And I was like, yeah, why not? Because I personally, I love just interviewing people. I love talking to people. And if you get people to talk about something that they love, they’ll talk for hours about it. And I was like, people who wait in line for concerts will talk to you.

Madi: I remember you telling me that, like, journalism was something that you semi wanted to pursue. And I was like, oh my God, she’s perfect. She’s exactly what I needed.

Lor: Journalism and documentary, like, photography. I remember right before I moved out to Texas, I was, like, talking to different media outlets to do journalism and, like, photojournalism work for them. And then I just came here and my life changed focus. So I was like, oh, yeah, we’re doing it. And then I think a few days later, we were like, hey, the 1975 is going to Miami…

Madi: Yeah, they came to Dallas, but I can’t remember why…

Lor: I went to Dallas.

Madi: I went, too. And I don’t know. There is a reason why we didn’t start it in Dallas, but I can’t remember.

Lor: Yeah…

Madi: Oh, I kind of remember I had bought tickets because I have a friend in Miami who is also a big concert person, and she was going as well. And I kind of bought them on a whim because they announced the Dallas date late… That’s why! Okay, so that’s what it was.

Lor: They were playing ACL. And so because of the whole, we can’t announce a whole tour date close to the festival, whether the festival was already announced, like, logistics side of it. So we didn’t know if they were having a Dallas date. So we had the Miami tickets secured, and we’re like, let’s go to Miami.

Madi: So then they announced Dallas, and we were like, okay, we’ll enjoy that show, and then Miami we’ll launch this thing.

A $30 Spirit Airline flight and a dream…

Lor: Yep. And we did. We bought, I remember I texted you, I bought a $30 plane ticket. I wonder if I have the text.

Madi: You probably do. So we found a $30 spirit flight from Dallas to Miami, and we hopped on a plane with our cameras, and… And that’s about it. And then we made our way to Miami to start this thing.

I feel like it was a good way to launch it because it felt exciting to us because we were in a new place, and, you know, we kind of traveled specifically for this, and so it felt like a big deal as opposed to just, like, going to a show in Dallas, I guess. So we kind of made the launch into a big deal to kind of, I feel, like, hype ourselves up.

So we went to Miami. It was a euphoric experience because we were so nervous. We were little babies and didn’t know what we were doing. We did not have any of the gear we have now. So the fact that we got usable content is just a miracle. But we showed up. There were fans in line early who had dressed up. And as soon as we made our first little, like, pitch to people, kind of explaining what we’re doing and why we wanted to interview them, everyone was like, oh, my gosh…

Lor: Yeah. And everyone just started talking. We got to talk to so many cool people and got really, really cool stories out of that and awesome content. People started showing us their tattoos and telling us stories about…

Madi: There were two girls who met in Dublin at their show because they had both gone by themselves to the show in Dublin and realized they were both american. And just….

Lor: It’s on the Instagram. You can see the whole thing.

Madi: Go look at it. There were so many cool stories. And I remember walking away from our interviews, and I was like, oh my God, this is gonna work.

Lor: I remember walking up to them, like, the first time, and we both kind of looked at each other, and we took a deep breath in, and we were like, all right, here we go. And then we were like, so you guys, like the 1975? And they were like, yeah. We’re like, how long have you been here? And honestly, then it just kind of, like, snowballed into x, y, and z, and it’s…

Madi: It’s to Lor’s point where she was like, it’s so easy to talk to people because you’re all there for a common interest and a common love. So once you get people talking about things that they’re passionate about….

Lor: It’s so easy to just keep going. And we left that show and, or not even the show, just the line. And we went back to the hotel and we were like, whoa. We did it. Like, people wanted to talk to us. I think that was, like, the big thing.

Madi: Yeah. People were, like, eager to talk to us and excited to talk to us. We got, like, 20 followers, and we were like, oh my God!

Lor: Yeah. We were like, wait, that was so good. And then we went to the show, and we had a great time, and we danced and we drank and…

Madi: Too much.

Lor: I was great. I was fine. I had lizard time. The next morning, Madison. Madison was hurting.

Madi: Madison was not in good shape the next day, but that’s okay. We had a great day.

Lor: We had a great day. And then we flew back home the next morning, and we were like, I remember waking up in, like, my bed, and I was like, that really happened. We really are doing this.

Madi: I keep just describing it like this, but it truly felt euphoric where I was like, oh my God, this is going to work. Like, this is a good idea.

Lor: We came back to Dallas. We came back home, and we were like, holy shit, this is working. When is the next show? What are we doing? Let’s figure out a plan. How do we want to do this? What do we want to do, exactly? And honestly, the biggest, I think thing that I’ve had to tell you, and even me, myself sometimes, it’s like, there are no rules to what we’re doing. It’s literally whatever we want it to be, and everything’s trial and error. Yeah. And so I kept that in mind when I pitched this idea to you.

Madi: I was about to say that’s how Beyond The Barricade was born. So here we are.

How Beyond The Barricade was born

Lor: Here we are. Madison was very clear about, in the beginning, wanting Backing The Barricade to be fan focused. And that will always be the heart of everything. And so that’s what I want to emphasize to everyone listening.

We won’t ever do anything that’s like, we don’t really want to get into, like, show promotion and, like, tour. This is always going to be about the fans and about the feelings and the experiences behind shows. We always want everything to be fan focused and fan centered, whether it be the fans before the shows or the idea that I had, which was artists and people in the industry….

I called Madison one day when I was driving home, and I was like, listen, people that are doing it now, like, as a job, as a profession… They were fans of music. They like music, I think, is what I said to you on the phone. I’m like, they like music, too!

Madi: It was a big epiphany. We were like, oh my God, they’re music fans…

Lor: Yes. Yeah. And so I was like, what if we do this thing kind of, like, Backing The Barricade? But it’s like different, it’s more in depth, and it’s going to be the artists, because I also wanted a way to talk to the people that fans are freaking out over. Because I’m like, they have a story, too. And I was like, why don’t we introduce the idea of, like, when they were a fan, what ignited something in them to be like, I want to do that. I want to pursue that, too.

Madi: And so that’s the idea behind Beyond The Barricade. We want to interview artists and people in the industry in any capacity, but from the standpoint of them being fans and kind of take it back to before they are wherever they are now, to when they were just a fan of music and what their life looked like back then and how that influenced, you know, literally making this their profession and turning this into their job and their life.

Lor: And we have already.

Madi: We have.

Lor: We already have a little arsenal. And so the first episode, if you haven’t already listened, you’re picking your order, which is great, because the first episode that is released is Max Bemis of Say Anything.

Madi: And he was a great one to start with.

Lor: His energy was so fun. So you can listen to just the audio, or you can watch the video as well.

Madi: Highly recommend the video.

Lor: Honestly, I listened to the podcast episode the other day just in my car, and I told Maddie, I felt like I was, like, following along to an interview, and I forgot it was me talking for a second. And then I had to remember, oh, wait, it’s me. And I’m not gonna say it now, but you can go watch it…

Madi: Honestly, I will selfishly say the lighting in the green room of the house of blues was not my friend. My hair looks whack. But it’s not about me. But also, that’s just a fun little thing for you to look for. So there you go.

Lor: Yeah, so our first episode is Max Bemis of Saying Anything. We’ve also interviewed tour managers. We have Gayle. We’ve interviewed…

Madi: We interviewed Shevy, who is a makeup artist. She wears many hats, but I personally think makeup artist is the coolest one. She was on tour with Black Veil Brides doing makeup. She’s so cool.

Lor: So we have many interviews, and we have a lot more coming, like, down the pipeline, too, that we’re really excited for in the fall to happen.

Madi: And the goal for it was to be pretty diverse as far as jobs go because we wanted a good mix of, obviously, artists that people are, like, excited to kind of know the backstory behind, but also just cool people that work in the industry. Like, I didn’t even know makeup artist was a job. Like a touring job title.

Lor: There’s a lot of people behind the scenes that don’t get the recognition that they deserve but also play such a huge role in the production of everything and making sure everything runs smoothly on stage for the hour and a half that you see. So we’re like, obviously, everybody has a story of how they got to where they are. We’re going to tell it.

Madi: Yep. And you can listen along…

Episode Show Notes

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