With two previously released works out to their credit, Ojai and Crane Point Lodge, Clark and Nathan had to make a choice. Sh*t or get off the pot as the expression goes. (Which I never really understood, I mean, what pot are we getting off exactly, but that's for another article.) As the dreaded fortieth birthday approached them both, they decided it was time to either lay with other musician corpses or throw caution to the wind and go for it. Not ready to relinquish their musical souls they quit their day jobs, one of which involved developing a black lung, (fact or fiction?)and headed off to tour the country in their RV while they created not only their album, Don't Quit Your Daydream, but a documentary of the experience itself.

If that isn't enough, what makes them cooler? Well, for starters, Adrian Grenier, yes, that cool dude from Entourage whose character gets with all the fly ladies, happens to have been one of the duo's roommate. And he collaborated and played on one of the songs from their album. Nathan and Clark have too much class to exploit Adrian's name, but we don't. Check out the interview with antiMusic and see what they had to say about RV's, recordings, and ladies in bright red reap cases.

antiMusic: What's the story behind the name the Good Listeners?

Nathan: Our friend Miranda was asked to listen to us (in headphones) rehearse our original two man looped set and write down anything that came to mind. This was one of her names. I think we responded to it because it made us seem like ideal boyfriend material. She probably wrote it down because of our intense practice faces. Either way, we thought it was great.

antiMusic: What were your day jobs?

Nathan: Clark can design a wicked webpage and I (Nathan) fabricate things like miniatures and Props for movies.

antiMusic: What was the worst job you ever held?

Nathan: working in a steel mill for two summers grinding imperfections out of missile tubes. Horrible. Got the black lung.

Clark: I joined absinthe.

antiMusic: What was it like to travel the states in an RV and just playing wherever would have you?

Nathan: We enjoyed it a lot though it was exhausting. Like anything else that's strenuous, you develop a stride and a method of setting up and getting the game that gets so much smoother towards the end of the trip. At the start, it really seemed daunting.

antiMusic: What is the best story you have from being on the road?

Nathan: I kind of like the night we spent in terror in a cabin on the bayou, mortified of this horrible dinosaur sound bellowing from the swamp only to find the next day that it was a peacock. We are geniuses.

antiMusic: What city is the best to play live in? Why?

Nathan: Well, we didn't really do any shows as it was a recording trip, but I really like San Francisco a lot. Definitely some good venues there.

antiMusic: Was it hard finding venues to play and shoot in?

Nathan: Yeah, it was tough to explain what we were doing and also hard to maintain an acceptable amount of background noise. We wanted our environments to be active and not sterile but when you're essentially invading other people's living rooms, you don't want to necessarily be seen as taking over so finding quiet-ish moments and the best acoustic spot to place drums seemed to be some of the bigger concerns.

antiMusic: Have to ask, how did the collaboration happen with Entourage star Adrian Grenier? Did he just stalk you out and ask to play on a song?

Nathan: Clark and Adrian are old room mates. As we were attempting to pull musicians from all walks of life, Adrian's name came about as someone willing and interested and plus he came from a different angle than the other collaborators.

antiMusic: What was it like recording with Adrian Grenier?

Nathan: Adrian is really good and intuitive. In all honesty, we were looking more for interesting players with open minds and less for virtuosos and he fit right into our process. Initially I was dead against his involvement, on the grounds that cynics like myself would think we were cheating in some way by having him onboard but he was really easy to work with and humble in the midst of our writing/recording environment. I think his perspective proved unique enough to warrant his involvement.

antiMusic: So it's obvious you won't exploit him but I will. Talk about the best and funniest experience you had while recording with him.

Nathan: Probably his overzealous security guard he arrived with. This guy was like Deniro in taxi driver before the Mohawk. This may be too hard to describe, but Adrian arrived hours late due to a storm and we had hidden in this barn and were going to jump out and scare him but when he showed up with this guy, we kind of all bailed probably out of fear.

antiMusic: You are listed as being produced in association with Adrian's company, Reckless Productions. How far are you willing to exploit his name to get what you want?

Nathan: About twelve more feet. Adrian is a celebrity and we're quite aware of the pros and cons of media fixation. That said, he's been an ally and supporter of ours from the start, so as long as he's willing to help, we're willing to reap the female benefits of his stardom.

antiMusic: Did you get to reap the (female) benefits of Adrian's stardom?

Nathan: No, Adrian keeps all the ladies untouched in a bright red reap case.

antiMusic: Talk a little about making your documentary. What were the hardest and most challenging moments? The most rewarding?

Nathan: Mainly it was a challenge to do our song a day with a new person after driving a day and then spending the morning setting up. By the time we actually met them the clock was ticking. So actual true collaboration was really the hardest challenge. It seemed like if we had an extra day to hang with the person, it would've been easier to cross pollinate. When that was felt, though it certainly was the most rewarding of moments. We played on the grounds of Ohio state with these twins as collaborators (which didn't make it into the doc) and there was this really cool, quiet guy just hanging around because he wanted to play the keyboard. We kind of almost dismissed him and then he started to play on our track and his solo was absolutely brilliant! That was one of those unexpected amazing moments, like when the drunkard turned up for us in New Mexico. Gifts from baby Jesus!

antiMusic: Would you do it all over again? Differently? How?

Nathan: In a heartbeat. I love the adventure and I love the work. If we were to do it again, I suppose we could've planned the back half of the trip better, but hindsight is just that. I think the next thing we do will probably be more sedentary. The trip was exhausting and then the edit took a really long time. We're both anxious to start recording new material again, it's definitely time.

antiMusic: Any self-revelatory moments you experienced during your cross country traveling experience?

Nathan: The realization that when backed up against the wall, we are Butch and Sundance and that art and struggle has made us who we are.

antiMusic: Traveling together opens up a whole new perspective about a friendship. What did you learn about each other that you hadn't previously known?

Nathan: I hadn't known that Clark thought that highly of my abilities. And it became apparent that historically I didn't let him know how appreciated he was. And that's helpful to know, if not a little disconcerting.

antiMusic: How did you manage tight corners and creative differences? Needing personal space? Making out?

Nathan: Making out in tight corners? It was a bit like the movie Alien, we tried to go into deep hibernation whenever not needed. Clark and I rarely have musical blowouts, I think we had a brief battle early on in the trip regarding a box not being packed right, but otherwise we got along well. And the crew that came along were pretty reliable and funny. Maybe a little too funny at times, but they were spirited.

antiMusic: Even though the title, "Don't Quit your Daydream" is fairly self-explanatory, can you give me more backstory?

Nathan: Our first collaborator, Bingo gifted us with the title as it had been an album of his. Well, I think this industry is built on somewhat inflatable balloons that we all care either entirely too much about or are indifferent to. Without security, why ride around on them at all? We all know they pop at some point. We have managed to keep the faith and we wanted to make a film exploring the notion of why we and so many others continue to defy logic and gravity.

antiMusic: How did you guys meet? What prompted you to quit everything in your normal life and pursue your dreams? What gave you the confidence that you would succeed?

Nathan: We have a ton of tenacity and an unfailing faith in each others talents. We both met in bands after high school. We bad a double bill at a club, my band played and he approached me about producing that outfit. Many years and a several mutations later, here we are! We both still do work to survive when the music isn't paying off. That's just a reality of life right now.

antiMusic: Your song, "Time Will Tell", made it in the Devil Wears Prada movie in 2006. What are your most recent mainstream success?

Nathan: That has pretty much been the largest one to date. A few other film soundtracks of lesser fame.

antiMusic: Talk a little about the making of your music video for "Insect Losing Balance."

Nathan: We are keeping this one a secret.

antiMusic: Any words of wisdom for newbies?

Nathan: Don't listen to negative douchebags. If you build it, they will come.

Amen.