Dead Stages George Fontes on Surviving the Shutdown and Changes S3-EP13

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you probably met a lot of artists in your career, I'm sure.

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Yeah.

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And I've always heard the saying, don't ever meet your heroes.

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Not that I want to place those people as heroes,

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but is there any truth to that?

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It depends.

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I was lucky enough to meet Ronnie James Dio,

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who was always one of my favorite singers when it came to metal and rock.

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And he is what you would want someone to be, basically.

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He was really cool.

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You know, very cool.

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Misfits was not like

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they were always on my radar because of other band members

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like when I was playing bands

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but it wasn't like a go-to band but I'll tell you this

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about Jerry

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that one gig I'm just

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this one guy these guys come and go

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All right, everybody.

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Welcome back to another episode of the Space Tomatoes podcast.

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Today we've got a special guest with us,

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George Fonts of World Ablaze with George Fonts.

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Welcome to the show, George.

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Thank you, Havoc.

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Alex?

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All right, man.

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And so, you know, looking at some of what, you know, you were, you know, kind of going through, I think there's some really interesting stuff I'd like to dig into.

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So you were a small business owner.

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Are you still on that business?

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I still do.

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Yes.

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Okay.

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And going through COVID, I know, oh, man, I just that just decimated so many small businesses, you know, and I think that's a big part of your story, right?

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is that whole fiasco really torched your business.

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And maybe give us a rundown of what that looked like and what was going on.

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Yeah, the that whole COVID pandemic thing was definitely a change for America, a change for business owners, more specifically small business owners.

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You know, a lot of people lost their legacies, nothing their families that can handle, you know, they can't handle over anymore because they became of no value.

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just because at the same time costs were rising, you know, for whatever reason.

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It's almost as if the system was just taking advantage of us.

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It's like, hey, now that they're down and they're locked up,

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let's go ahead and raise the cost of doing business or, you know,

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purchasing a house, everything else.

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But to get to your question, my particular business was in the entertainment industry

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or in the events industry, so we were not allowed to do anything.

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We were the one industry that was shut down completely.

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So there's no gatherings, concerts, weddings, corporate events.

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Everyone tried to go to remote.

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And that was kind of a thing for a while.

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That was interesting, you know, trying to do these large corporate events remotely.

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And all of a sudden, everybody was a Teams and Zoom professional, you know.

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They were doing things that normally wasn't within their wheelhouse.

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It's something that you'd sit at a desk and do.

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And now you had to do it on a large scale and make sure that you could, you know, transmit this basically like a meeting to millions of people at once.

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So it was something that I think kind of really pushed live stream in general after that because live stream was always around and that's technically what it was, but it wasn't as popular as it is, I think, after the pandemic.

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I think that's what really pushed it.

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And I think a lot of people that were behind it wasn't really the influencers, the podcast.

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It was really the event people because we had to figure that out.

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And when you have a large corporation like Samsung, let's say the 49ers, you know, whatever it is, and they're having this large event that they got to reach.

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all other investors and stakeholders across the world, you're on the spot. You don't really get a

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chance to mess up and figure it out. It's like, it's either going to happen or it's not. So with

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that, it was very limiting. And, you know, I had a payroll of about 32 people at the time in that

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events business. And it's been, she's 27 years now, but that time period was literally just

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trying to hustle to save something you weren't really sure was worth saving anymore.

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And what I mean by that is you're bleeding money.

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You can't afford to keep it alive.

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You're forced to turn people to 1099.

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It's like, I can't afford to keep you anymore,

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but I want to keep you on the list and basically gig work.

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And that's usually how the art industry works a lot anyway.

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It's really just hiring people like day rates, etc.,

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depending on your technical skills.

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And so that's what it had become.

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the only thing that kind of saved it was an influx of installs because now the government's

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just handing out money to houses of worship and schools, et cetera. And they're like, well,

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now we can upgrade or add this stuff in house because we're going to save money and not rent

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what we need from people So the other thing it did to our industry is it literally cut off a large portion of the equipment rental side Because now houses of worship churches were installing their own massive LED walls

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And they're buying like these expensive wireless mics.

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And you name it, it was crazy.

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We did an install for a church that was about 375,000 or whatever.

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And all it was, was a giant LED wall.

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That was it.

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And then we did some lighting and stage lighting and whatnot later.

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but the installs kind of kept most of the

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businesses like mine alive

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that's how we made our money

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and then you know as soon as

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the pandemic was kind of over

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and opened up then that fell

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off because everyone who had the money to spend

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on it that's done

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so it was really tough because

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you had to watch

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politicians say you can't do this

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stop the spread etc while they're

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eating that French laundry and you know

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it's kind of a jab but we don't have to go too deep

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It's a valid one, but I mean, I also imagine it kind of, you know, so once people invest capital expenditures, right, they're actually putting money out for hard physical equipment.

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So this is the difference between OPEX and CAPEX.

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Operational expenditures, that's your subscriptions, that's your managed services, et cetera.

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But once you put hard cash into like 300, you know, some odd thousand dollars for an LED wall, the next thing you know, you're looking for five years of use out of that.

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You're not looking to go higher.

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If not more.

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Yeah.

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You're not looking to go hire an event coordinator or an event planner, et cetera.

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You're looking to in-house as much as you can.

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Right.

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So imagine that took a big chunk out of things, too.

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No, absolutely.

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That was understandable.

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And, you know, that also happened with performing arts theaters because, you know, when they had that, what was it called?

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It wasn't, I want to call it Save Act.

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It wasn't Save Act.

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It was called Save Something.

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But that funding went to all these performing arts theaters and they started doing the same thing, upgrading.

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Now, I get it.

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You're going to make an investment.

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You're going to save your money.

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You're going to make more profit later over time.

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But it really just wiped out a lot of the businesses like mine that were doing, like renting equipment, you know,

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providing services with, you know, sound lighting engineers, technicians, the whole bit. And so for

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a while, it was a bit of a struggle. Now, when the event started opening back up, you know,

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and I barely saved it. I thought many times, I was like, why am I doing this? You know, because,

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you know, we had the crash in 2008. And then we had, what was the other thing that happened?

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Anyway, you know, it's like I had to try to reboot or keep things going multiple times. And after

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this. It was like, why keep pushing? But then again, you're kind of stuck because when you've

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invested millions of dollars into equipment, like literally, and people don't understand how much it

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costs to run something like what we do. And I'm not like the giant, but I wasn't small. I was

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pretty well known in my industry, at least in my area. And so the thing is you invest millions of

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dollars over time. And the other thing that a lot of people don't see on our side is, you know,

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it's not like a DJ where you can just go to, I'll just say that it's a guitar center, for example,

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A lot of people recognize that, so that's why I use that.

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But you can't just go there and buy a light and a little mixing board,

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and then suddenly you're doing this giant corporate gig.

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It doesn't work that way.

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And the same thing with a concert.

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So when you get a concert, I get a tour writer.

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I get a writer from their manager.

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It could be like Chris Stapleton, for example.

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I'll get a writer for them, and it says exactly what it is

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that I need to provide in order for them to perform.

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And it's everything down to which console the engineer wants to use,

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if they need backline, like whatever, what instruments,

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what brand, you know, et cetera, the whole thing. And so in order to meet those demands,

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you have to buy stuff that is either closely related or acceptable. So if they want a Martin

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Viper light, for example, and I don't have that, I can say, well, I have an Alation Proteus. I'm

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just throwing these names out. And the lighting guy, you're like, yeah, okay, fine. I have a

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profile for it. I'll use it. And then I could just, you know, I can make it work. And so sometimes

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that happens on the audio side, although, you know, a lot of artists get more picky about some

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things, but you know, you have, you don't have a choice. It's either you have to invest to be in

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the game or you're just not in it. Um, there's a lot more leniency, obviously, like when you said

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event planner, like if I was doing a party, for example, or a special event that featured, you

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know, um, a speaker, like a guest speaker, way more leniency at that point, they're pretty much

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trusting you because you have a reputation and all they know is, do you have what it takes to

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let this person be heard in 2,000 seats? Yes. Okay. Lighting looks great. Cool. Is the video

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going to drop out anywhere? Are we going to have any glitches? No. Okay. And then, so that's more

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reputational. It has gotten to the point now though, like let's say if a Microsoft goes ahead

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or Apple says we're doing this, and Google does a lot. If you want to do this corporate event,

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they literally have another person now. They sourced out, but they are now giving you a rider.

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It has to be this specific mic, and it's gotten to that point even in corporate sense now.

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For just a speech right A TED Talk type of a thing That seems odd Like I can see that from a vocalist right Like you said Stapleton right I can see that right I need this mic I need this

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you know, mixer. I need this profile. This is my sound. You're, you're, you're literally

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monkeying with my sound and, and, you know, you know, you change one little piece and it just

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doesn't it doesn't hit the same way no it and it's it's not even just the the mic like we're

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just talking about mics offline like you know each one has a certain tonality and a certain

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certain character it'll um lend to your voice for example but it when we're talking about the

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other equipment having like when we're talking about like a mixer that a lot of times comes down

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to i want this specific one because it meets a certain quality standard and it might be all the

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engineer knows how to use. And we ran into situations where they'll ask for like a Digico

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SD7. And it's like, we're talking about a half million dollar console, for example.

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And we got to rent that because I don't buy one. I haven't bought one. So I'll sub rent that. We'll

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bring it in. And then your own engineer doesn't even know how to use it. And they're like bugging

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my tech. Like, hey, can you show me how it's like, why are you? Why do you have the job? But anyway,

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that's another frustration. But, you know, back to the pandemic issue. Actually, before I deal,

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let me address what you said about the corporate thing.

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Like it's,

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it sounds crazy to do that for a speaker,

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for example,

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but not really because what you got to understand,

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like this is their chance to get their message across.

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And a lot of these are really just giant sales events.

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Yeah.

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And they're trying to sell their services and their technologies.

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You know,

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they're trying to present opportunities to people and network.

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So I get why they have these certain standards,

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but does it need to be at the level of a touring musician?

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No,

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it doesn't.

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I mean,

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I could see the standards being like, hey, at least this class or this grade or something like that for a speaker.

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But spoken voice is a completely different thing from needing a tonal quality that is on point every time, right?

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Yeah, it is.

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And it's not just tonal quality.

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It also comes down to what becomes very, very important there.

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And I might start to get a little tiny bit technical, but not too much.

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well what it becomes about then is not so much like whether the person is singing now we got to

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get that voice amplified evenly throughout the venue which equates to now we're talking about

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coverage patterns we're talking about speakers and you got to look at that system because if

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you ever seen the the the sorry right here the row speakers hanging oh yeah at a concert on either

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side you don't curved ones yes yeah you don't just connect those okay and and a lot of people

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don't realize what goes into that. There's a lot of physics. There's a lot of measurements.

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And thankfully, the manufacturers figured all that out for all of us. We don't have to really do that

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anymore with like, you know, we're up there with dials and whatnot.

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But now what you do is you do have to measure the venue. So you've got to measure your

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distance with, you can actually model in a software that'll give you like an overall

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like a rendering of the venue. And then by entering

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those things in, and then you say, okay, here's a distance to the first listener,

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second listener third listener and if there's a slope on the ground for example or rise i mean

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then you got to enter that rise um and if it's like a balcony you know you put all this in the

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software and then you tell it okay i'm using this system if it's like a jbl or or a db dnb system or

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my or whatever it is and then and then that manufacturer has all of their everything that

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they need about their speaker system within their software so now that when you put that in

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this is going to say, okay, which model speaker you're using, type that in. It's going to ask you

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how many you're hanging. Okay. Because that's also very important. If you're doing an arena,

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I can't just put like four boxes in the air. It's just not going to have the acoustic output

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and more to the point, not the coverage because coverage is more important. So, so now I put the

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information and then it's going to spit out. Okay. Based on 12 boxes at a pick point also, by the

218
00:14:24,499 --> 00:14:27,539
way, so it's going to calculate pick point, basically how high in the area you need to hang

219
00:14:27,539 --> 00:14:33,079
this thing. It'll calculate the splay angle of the speaker. So like if it does occur, sometimes it

220
00:14:33,079 --> 00:14:38,359
doesn't. Sometimes it can be straight. The angle of the frame, like, you know, the tilt aft, all that.

221
00:14:39,199 --> 00:14:43,259
That's how technical it gets. And then you have to make sure that you reproduce that. And then

222
00:14:43,259 --> 00:14:48,799
after that, also in the software, it'll have a predetermined EQ setting for all those boxes to

223
00:14:48,799 --> 00:14:53,879
sound coherent. You still have to tweak it. After that, they have a program called SMART, which

224
00:14:53,879 --> 00:14:55,999
measures the room. So now you're acoustically

225
00:14:55,999 --> 00:14:57,499
measuring the room using all these

226
00:14:57,499 --> 00:14:59,939
like pink noise

227
00:14:59,939 --> 00:15:01,959
or white noise, etc. Taking that

228
00:15:01,959 --> 00:15:03,839
and measuring it, putting it against

229
00:15:03,839 --> 00:15:05,979
the measured response of the room and then you're

230
00:15:05,979 --> 00:15:07,859
applying your own EQ curve depending on

231
00:15:07,859 --> 00:15:09,999
the curve that you want to hit in the room with your

232
00:15:09,999 --> 00:15:11,879
ear. And so

233
00:15:11,879 --> 00:15:14,019
it does get technical. It's not a run

234
00:15:14,019 --> 00:15:16,079
in, throw it up and it's done. Now in a corporate event

235
00:15:16,079 --> 00:15:17,899
that's where that becomes important

236
00:15:17,899 --> 00:15:19,999
is you want intelligibility

237
00:15:19,999 --> 00:15:21,139
and you want coverage.

238
00:15:21,999 --> 00:15:23,739
Unless you're motorhead

239
00:15:23,739 --> 00:15:28,299
and then you just build a three-story wall of Marshall stacks

240
00:15:28,299 --> 00:15:30,699
and go just pump it to 11.

241
00:15:30,979 --> 00:15:31,239
Go.

242
00:15:32,239 --> 00:15:45,519
The only thing is those are fake man Those are fake But okay side story here side story And I know I didn really directly answer your question yet but I getting there So side story here So we did sound for the Misfits one time

243
00:15:46,179 --> 00:15:50,699
And those guys, this was about, I want to say,

244
00:15:50,739 --> 00:15:51,459
it wasn't a huge room.

245
00:15:51,519 --> 00:15:53,959
It was like 1,500 person capacity, right?

246
00:15:54,579 --> 00:15:56,099
But still, you know, decent sized building, right?

247
00:15:57,179 --> 00:16:00,439
And I was talking to Jerry Olien base,

248
00:16:00,879 --> 00:16:02,119
and we're up there like, well,

249
00:16:02,119 --> 00:16:04,139
usually would, you know, tie them into the system.

250
00:16:04,579 --> 00:16:07,319
And his drum ring, you don't need to put them in.

251
00:16:07,379 --> 00:16:09,779
I'm like looking behind me going, I was kind of, you know,

252
00:16:09,879 --> 00:16:10,879
let's get everybody in here.

253
00:16:11,299 --> 00:16:12,559
Well, lo and behold, no, you didn't.

254
00:16:12,719 --> 00:16:14,819
So I was told, and I don't know if this is true,

255
00:16:14,879 --> 00:16:17,839
but they told me that he kind of builds his own cabinet,

256
00:16:17,899 --> 00:16:19,199
like they do their own custom stuff.

257
00:16:19,739 --> 00:16:21,859
And the base cabinet was like that.

258
00:16:22,419 --> 00:16:23,159
Let's say about that.

259
00:16:23,179 --> 00:16:24,199
It was not very deep.

260
00:16:24,279 --> 00:16:25,139
It wasn't a deep cab.

261
00:16:25,419 --> 00:16:26,059
It was a trip.

262
00:16:26,379 --> 00:16:29,899
But his tone was more like mid-range distortion, et cetera.

263
00:16:29,899 --> 00:16:35,899
so anyway once they started playing it wasn't in our system he he refused he turned it up i couldn't

264
00:16:35,899 --> 00:16:40,099
imagine being on stage with his bass rig he turned it up so damn loud you could hear it out the door

265
00:16:40,099 --> 00:16:45,339
and it wasn't like bone shattering but it was like it wasn't you could hear it it was there

266
00:16:45,339 --> 00:16:50,079
you know what i mean so i was like okay that was that one time him and the other guy would be like

267
00:16:50,079 --> 00:16:54,359
um if you guys know like ronnie montrose he was kind of the same type of type of thing you know

268
00:16:54,359 --> 00:16:58,939
he was just like we turn it up robin trower same type of thing he turns it up to 11 you let it go

269
00:16:58,939 --> 00:17:02,019
like you don't mess with them. So there are some guys who do that,

270
00:17:02,039 --> 00:17:04,379
but when you're in arena, that trick doesn't quite work.

271
00:17:04,379 --> 00:17:06,759
But if you're doing like a theater you know,

272
00:17:06,779 --> 00:17:09,839
you can definitely get away with it if you have the right rig for sure. Yeah.

273
00:17:09,899 --> 00:17:14,759
So back to the pandemic thing. Sorry, I think I'll try to circle back.

274
00:17:14,759 --> 00:17:19,519
So back to the pandemic thing, it was, it was hard. It, it did get saved.

275
00:17:19,999 --> 00:17:21,539
What I find harder though,

276
00:17:22,059 --> 00:17:25,079
wasn't the hustle trying to save the business then what I find harder is

277
00:17:25,079 --> 00:17:27,919
trying to survive it after six, seven years later.

278
00:17:27,919 --> 00:17:33,399
the economy, the economic effects of what happened finally cut up. And people don't have

279
00:17:33,399 --> 00:17:37,219
that free money anymore. They don't have that disposable income. So what we're finding is

280
00:17:37,219 --> 00:17:43,719
cost of business, again, went up, but clients' budgets went down. And it's really getting hard.

281
00:17:43,799 --> 00:17:49,639
And a lot of festivals have been canceled. A lot of corporate events have been put on the back

282
00:17:49,639 --> 00:17:52,919
burner or they're like, well, maybe next year, which, and it could be something they've done

283
00:17:52,919 --> 00:17:53,899
for 20 years in a row.

284
00:17:54,459 --> 00:17:55,559
Suddenly they're not doing.

285
00:17:56,239 --> 00:17:57,979
And so we're facing that right now.

286
00:17:58,619 --> 00:18:00,159
And so there's a lot of businesses like mine,

287
00:18:00,399 --> 00:18:04,159
like in 2026, that are either selling stuff,

288
00:18:04,559 --> 00:18:05,659
you're seeing them getting gobbled up

289
00:18:05,659 --> 00:18:07,499
and bought up by bigger companies.

290
00:18:08,719 --> 00:18:10,379
It's just a weird time right now.

291
00:18:11,079 --> 00:18:13,019
So that's where we're at at the moment.

292
00:18:13,019 --> 00:18:15,999
Another real interesting phenomenon going on

293
00:18:15,999 --> 00:18:17,519
that's touching a lot of areas,

294
00:18:17,639 --> 00:18:19,759
and it's really kind of pissing me off,

295
00:18:19,759 --> 00:18:24,259
is all the VC firms buying up, you know, service industry.

296
00:18:24,799 --> 00:18:33,179
So you've seen most of the veterinarian clinics go to these large conglomerate, you know, VC ventures.

297
00:18:34,039 --> 00:18:34,619
You've seen-

298
00:18:34,619 --> 00:18:35,199
Dentist office too.

299
00:18:35,719 --> 00:18:36,019
Yeah.

300
00:18:36,159 --> 00:18:36,419
Really?

301
00:18:36,879 --> 00:18:37,199
I don't know.

302
00:18:37,639 --> 00:18:39,319
You've seen a lot of that.

303
00:18:39,319 --> 00:18:46,319
And so what you end up with is what looks like a mom and pop shop, but what you're dealing with is a conglomerate.

304
00:18:46,319 --> 00:18:51,199
and you get treated exactly like you would if you were dealing with something like that.

305
00:18:51,279 --> 00:18:56,419
And it's, it's really kind of unfortunate, but you know, again, I think a lot of people got

306
00:18:56,419 --> 00:19:03,499
forced into that and economic conditions changed. Uh, you know, prices have just like, I don't,

307
00:19:03,539 --> 00:19:10,719
you know, I don't care who you, you talk to that's living real life, right? Like if,

308
00:19:10,719 --> 00:19:16,159
if you own a yacht, shut up, you know, you don't get to talk here. Um, but people that are living

309
00:19:16,159 --> 00:19:20,979
real life are going to the grocery store and going, man, I can't afford a steak.

310
00:19:22,799 --> 00:19:24,319
That's a real statement, man.

311
00:19:24,339 --> 00:19:25,099
That's a real thing.

312
00:19:25,459 --> 00:19:33,539
I was talking to someone on my show the other day, and it was, you know, it was a current

313
00:19:33,539 --> 00:19:37,939
event political, so I'm not going to get into that too much with you guys, but I will just

314
00:19:37,939 --> 00:19:40,239
say he was on one side, I'm on the other.

315
00:19:40,319 --> 00:19:44,379
But we're not so far to either side, you know, so we're able to have a nice conversation

316
00:19:44,379 --> 00:19:46,299
and sit in the center on things.

317
00:19:46,439 --> 00:19:49,139
But I made the statement very similar to yours,

318
00:19:49,219 --> 00:19:53,459
which is it doesn't matter your political leanings in this case.

319
00:19:53,759 --> 00:19:55,479
I pay the same price for gas you do.

320
00:19:55,659 --> 00:19:57,519
I pay the same price for food that you do.

321
00:19:57,999 --> 00:20:00,819
It's like you said, people living in the real world,

322
00:20:00,819 --> 00:20:02,659
I mean, a lot of that fringe stuff,

323
00:20:02,819 --> 00:20:06,039
those topics that they want to use to rage bait you doesn't even matter

324
00:20:06,039 --> 00:20:07,779
because we're all still dealing with it.

325
00:20:07,839 --> 00:20:10,239
So we can take the 10% we don't agree on and just throw it out there

326
00:20:10,239 --> 00:20:14,619
and try to take that 90% that we all have to deal with

327
00:20:14,619 --> 00:20:16,059
and figure out how to make that work.

328
00:20:16,839 --> 00:20:19,439
And I think that a lot more people need to realize

329
00:20:19,439 --> 00:20:22,799
we're dealing with more of the same similar issues

330
00:20:22,799 --> 00:20:23,979
day to day than we realize.

331
00:20:24,639 --> 00:20:27,559
I think some people are just too far gone

332
00:20:27,559 --> 00:20:29,079
in terms of their ideologies

333
00:20:29,079 --> 00:20:32,239
or where they want to lean to actually see that

334
00:20:32,239 --> 00:20:36,299
and then just look at this person over here as the enemy.

335
00:20:36,939 --> 00:20:39,699
And so what you said is very, very true and accurate and correct.

336
00:20:39,699 --> 00:20:40,719
Like we're all dealing with it.

337
00:20:40,979 --> 00:20:49,239
It's just, you know, and what I hate is how it's being swept under the rug as if economically right now, everything's so great when it's not.

338
00:20:49,319 --> 00:20:49,959
And I don't understand.

339
00:20:50,011 --> 00:20:55,191
how that's happening because as you said every time i go out everything's more expensive like

340
00:20:55,191 --> 00:21:01,071
why are my why did i why can i fill up two carts of groceries back in the day for between 100 to

341
00:21:01,071 --> 00:21:06,711
200 but now i get two bags for 100 yep makes no sense to me well you know obviously you're looking

342
00:21:06,711 --> 00:21:12,271
at it all wrong you you know the stock market's up so aren't you heavily invested you know you've

343
00:21:12,271 --> 00:21:17,271
got a few million in the markets you're doing well right that's that's really the the thing

344
00:21:17,271 --> 00:21:35,271
The markets, for good or bad, and that's obviously a point that can be argued easily, that's what drives what certain portions of society see as economic conditions.

345
00:21:35,731 --> 00:21:42,131
And it has nothing to do with the real world for 95% of the populace.

346
00:21:42,571 --> 00:21:44,731
So yeah, and it is expensive.

347
00:21:44,731 --> 00:21:45,931
And it's not just groceries.

348
00:21:45,931 --> 00:21:47,751
It's your utility bills.

349
00:21:47,891 --> 00:21:51,631
If you haven't gotten a rate increase, I'd be amazed.

350
00:21:51,771 --> 00:21:57,951
Property taxes, your, you know, freaking everything, your gas costs to get to work, right?

351
00:21:57,991 --> 00:22:00,031
Or get to a gig, get to a job.

352
00:22:00,551 --> 00:22:04,371
You know, everything has just gone up.

353
00:22:04,511 --> 00:22:07,551
And, you know, it's tough.

354
00:22:07,791 --> 00:22:08,791
I was shocked the other week.

355
00:22:08,811 --> 00:22:14,231
I was talking to you, Havoc, about we put some cameras around our house last year, exactly one year ago.

356
00:22:14,231 --> 00:22:22,631
and they take micro sd cards and we bought a 256 card for 17 bucks uh we wanted to add another

357
00:22:22,631 --> 00:22:29,551
card on the patio to watch the cat back there 56 dollars for the same exact micro sd card that we

358
00:22:29,551 --> 00:22:36,271
bought for 17 bucks last year it it blew my mind it's real the the camera is less expensive than

359
00:22:36,271 --> 00:22:42,831
the memory card to go in it it's crazy yeah at the same time an sm57 still like 100 bucks

360
00:22:42,831 --> 00:22:46,851
how do they always be a hundred bucks they've been a hundred bucks for like 50 years this is

361
00:22:46,851 --> 00:22:52,371
true i don't get it it's because they've been around for 50 years technically 109 i believe

362
00:22:52,371 --> 00:22:58,551
exactly 109 bucks yeah they're always 109 bucks i don't i don't yeah there's some things we can't

363
00:22:58,551 --> 00:23:02,171
explain um but you know what you said about the market's interesting because it's like

364
00:23:02,171 --> 00:23:07,731
sure if i was insider trading if it's on that five percent you know that belong to that club

365
00:23:07,731 --> 00:23:08,371
I'd be great.

366
00:23:08,951 --> 00:23:10,751
You know, but most of us aren't.

367
00:23:11,771 --> 00:23:13,151
You know, that's just the reality.

368
00:23:13,931 --> 00:23:17,151
So it's insane to me.

369
00:23:17,371 --> 00:23:20,351
The cost of life is, it is what it is.

370
00:23:20,511 --> 00:23:21,711
I mean, we can whine about it.

371
00:23:21,911 --> 00:23:24,271
The problem is, is how do we get people together

372
00:23:24,271 --> 00:23:26,131
to come up with an actual solution to move forward?

373
00:23:26,471 --> 00:23:28,671
And that's what we keep missing.

374
00:23:28,811 --> 00:23:32,651
I think a lot of us complain, myself included, because it sucks.

375
00:23:32,711 --> 00:23:35,971
I don't like to work myself to the bone to like have nothing

376
00:23:35,971 --> 00:23:36,731
or not enjoy anything.

377
00:23:36,731 --> 00:23:38,591
Like, you know, I had to cut down my cigar habit.

378
00:23:38,711 --> 00:23:41,011
I mean, come on, you know, I can't, I can't.

379
00:23:41,231 --> 00:23:43,831
Now they're buying the drones and everything I like all the time.

380
00:23:43,831 --> 00:23:47,331
Now, you know, I had to find something good within a certain price range, which is, it

381
00:23:47,331 --> 00:23:48,091
doesn't matter.

382
00:23:48,191 --> 00:23:49,511
You know, I'm not an elitist by the way, guys.

383
00:23:49,511 --> 00:23:51,571
It's just, I work hard and I like what I like.

384
00:23:51,591 --> 00:23:53,451
So I want to enjoy what I can when I can.

385
00:23:53,531 --> 00:23:58,471
And it's not an everyday thing for me, but you know, we all have to dial back a bit.

386
00:23:58,571 --> 00:24:01,191
I have, you know, some people are in different positions, but I've noticed it.

387
00:24:01,191 --> 00:24:05,291
And as a, as a business owner, when you're seeing more going out and coming in and opportunities

388
00:24:05,291 --> 00:24:08,691
being lost to guys working out of their garage

389
00:24:08,691 --> 00:24:09,691
that don't have the real experience,

390
00:24:09,811 --> 00:24:11,571
but then you realize the client doesn't care anymore.

391
00:24:11,931 --> 00:24:13,171
They're just looking at their bottom line

392
00:24:13,171 --> 00:24:15,151
because they've got to save money for their boss.

393
00:24:16,191 --> 00:24:17,791
It's just where we're at.

394
00:24:18,031 --> 00:24:18,911
It's just where we're at.

395
00:24:19,231 --> 00:24:22,931
So I hope I see an improvement on the horizon soon.

396
00:24:23,151 --> 00:24:25,471
But until then, yeah, just keep pushing, I guess.

397
00:24:25,511 --> 00:24:26,031
Keep hustling.

398
00:24:26,891 --> 00:24:27,531
What would you say?

399
00:24:28,051 --> 00:24:29,091
Oh, go ahead, Alex.

400
00:24:29,531 --> 00:24:32,111
No, I was just thinking when the pandemic started

401
00:24:32,111 --> 00:24:35,151
kind of rolling down to slow down a little bit

402
00:24:35,151 --> 00:24:36,551
and they started opening up these venues.

403
00:24:36,791 --> 00:24:39,731
Did they hit you guys with any of that, you can work here,

404
00:24:39,791 --> 00:24:43,011
but you got to show your membership card to get in kind of nonsense?

405
00:24:43,451 --> 00:24:45,211
I mean, not to get too political.

406
00:24:45,391 --> 00:24:46,111
I'm just kind of curious.

407
00:24:46,351 --> 00:24:47,571
I handled that.

408
00:24:48,391 --> 00:24:49,851
Well, Alex, I mean, look, here's the deal.

409
00:24:50,111 --> 00:24:50,671
I'm in California.

410
00:24:51,951 --> 00:24:52,691
Oh, okay.

411
00:24:54,151 --> 00:24:55,691
We know the answer to that.

412
00:24:55,931 --> 00:24:56,131
Yeah.

413
00:24:56,431 --> 00:24:57,351
But I was defiant.

414
00:24:57,451 --> 00:24:58,191
I didn't comply.

415
00:24:58,291 --> 00:24:58,731
I can care less.

416
00:24:59,011 --> 00:25:04,171
And so I was also in a situation where with certain clients I had

417
00:25:04,171 --> 00:25:07,071
and my reputation that I can get away with it.

418
00:25:07,611 --> 00:25:10,471
And I never got the card, didn't care.

419
00:25:11,531 --> 00:25:14,631
I wore the mask respectfully because I had respect for others.

420
00:25:14,691 --> 00:25:15,251
I get it.

421
00:25:15,471 --> 00:25:16,371
Did I like it?

422
00:25:16,431 --> 00:25:16,631
No.

423
00:25:17,171 --> 00:25:18,791
But, you know, you got to pick and choose your battles.

424
00:25:19,151 --> 00:25:21,651
And at that time, the battle was paying the bills

425
00:25:21,651 --> 00:25:22,691
and keeping the guys working.

426
00:25:23,071 --> 00:25:24,531
And that's just where it's at.

427
00:25:24,831 --> 00:25:27,451
But no, I never did the card, never did the ID thing.

428
00:25:27,671 --> 00:25:29,711
You know, half the time, you know, a business like mine,

429
00:25:29,771 --> 00:25:30,791
we show up before everyone's there,

430
00:25:30,871 --> 00:25:34,031
except for maybe the steward or the venue owner.

431
00:25:34,171 --> 00:25:37,311
and then they just kind of leave us alone.

432
00:25:38,671 --> 00:25:40,891
It's a little different once it gets crowded with,

433
00:25:41,251 --> 00:25:42,351
if you're doing a fundraiser,

434
00:25:42,671 --> 00:25:45,531
we did a few during the pandemic,

435
00:25:45,671 --> 00:25:48,631
we did the Cancer Society Discovery Gala.

436
00:25:49,191 --> 00:25:50,571
Okay, well, we're in here at the Ritz

437
00:25:50,571 --> 00:25:51,811
and all these people with their suits,

438
00:25:51,991 --> 00:25:55,231
then they're going to expect that when you see you, me,

439
00:25:55,651 --> 00:25:57,291
you're going to be wearing the mask and complying

440
00:25:57,291 --> 00:26:07,968
and doing all this stuff So I can be the rebel and all time 24 or I you know where it makes sense to fight and where it doesn because you got to balance you know

441
00:26:08,028 --> 00:26:13,208
paying the bills, you got to balance guys that relied on you for work. And even if they work

442
00:26:13,208 --> 00:26:17,168
for other companies doesn't matter. I mean, I was some of these guys, I was like three quarters of

443
00:26:17,168 --> 00:26:22,928
their fricking income at the end of the year. So I still had to figure out, you know, who I could

444
00:26:22,928 --> 00:26:27,528
keep working and keep throwing those guys at work you know so you have to make those tough decisions

445
00:26:27,528 --> 00:26:33,868
it's just what it is it really made my eyes roll and like i just couldn't believe some of these i

446
00:26:33,868 --> 00:26:38,388
don't know if it was the artist or their production companies that you know requiring that the uh

447
00:26:38,388 --> 00:26:43,968
concert goers were having their cards and stuff and a lot of them were you know punk rock or

448
00:26:43,968 --> 00:26:48,688
whatever you know like fight these system people that were buying completely into the system that

449
00:26:48,688 --> 00:26:53,228
was yeah i agree with you i didn't like it i'm gonna say i don't think that band's really

450
00:26:53,228 --> 00:26:58,508
qualifying as punk rock anymore i'm just gonna throw that one out there i know who you're talking

451
00:26:58,508 --> 00:27:03,488
about no that's not the one i was talking about at all okay i didn't want to throw any names out

452
00:27:03,488 --> 00:27:09,428
there but all right so what would you say in general like and this is a tough one right but

453
00:27:09,428 --> 00:27:15,948
what would you say is one positive that came from that whole thing like you know it doesn't have to

454
00:27:15,948 --> 00:27:22,008
be a business positive, but what is one thing that you see that gave you a positive outlook?

455
00:27:23,968 --> 00:27:29,928
You know, I want to be positive, but I'm going to say if anything, it revealed exactly what's

456
00:27:29,928 --> 00:27:35,408
important and what you really want in life. You know, I honestly now realize like all the time

457
00:27:35,408 --> 00:27:40,868
and money I put in this business, is it still worth it sort of deal? Because that industry,

458
00:27:41,048 --> 00:27:45,788
you don't get days off. Okay. The time someone's having fun, that's the time you're there working.

459
00:27:45,948 --> 00:27:51,848
holidays. Like every year I have a festival. My birthday is at the festival with me working.

460
00:27:52,408 --> 00:28:00,308
Like that's just how it is. And you know, you're there literally probably rolling in

461
00:28:00,308 --> 00:28:06,568
at 5 a.m., 6 a.m. and leaving at 4 in the morning. I mean, that's just the life. You know,

462
00:28:06,608 --> 00:28:11,348
you're working 16, 18-hour days, 20-hour days sometimes, and then you got to wake up at the

463
00:28:11,348 --> 00:28:17,048
next venue. And it's hard, you know, it's even when you're not on a tour, even regionally, if

464
00:28:17,048 --> 00:28:21,508
you're, if you're a busy company, your, your life is, that's what it is. And you know, you don't

465
00:28:21,508 --> 00:28:26,468
really connect with too many people outside of who is in the business, for example. And so I think

466
00:28:26,468 --> 00:28:31,948
if anything, it just, I think the pandemic for everybody and not just me, everybody, I think for

467
00:28:31,948 --> 00:28:36,728
the most part, uh, made them realize what was important, what they really want in life. I think

468
00:28:36,728 --> 00:28:40,788
a lot of people realize, look, I've been doing this for 30 years, 40 years, 15, whatever their

469
00:28:40,788 --> 00:28:47,168
business was work relationships and i think moving forward the positive would be you finally figured

470
00:28:47,168 --> 00:28:52,348
out what you might want for yourself and then you just realigned who you were and then just went

471
00:28:52,348 --> 00:28:57,048
after it at least that's what i'm trying to do again there's still obligations hanging over here

472
00:28:57,048 --> 00:29:01,628
that i gotta meet but you know for the most part i think that positive is just revealing that

473
00:29:01,628 --> 00:29:07,048
you know to me and maybe to many other people i think yeah for me i think you know honestly one

474
00:29:07,048 --> 00:29:13,488
of the most positive things out of the entire thing was that there still is a healthy population

475
00:29:13,488 --> 00:29:20,968
that will push back that will say no i'm not playing your your silly games and and you know

476
00:29:20,968 --> 00:29:27,268
that's that's a reassuring and comforting thing for me because sometimes you look around and you

477
00:29:27,268 --> 00:29:33,948
go yeah it's you know it's it's you know red team blue team and they hate each other and that's oh

478
00:29:33,948 --> 00:29:41,128
the end of it but when you see like a healthy portion of the population you know it probably

479
00:29:41,128 --> 00:29:46,728
10 20 percent but still you're still squirrelly in the minority there yeah but still 10 to 20

480
00:29:46,728 --> 00:29:55,268
percent is is still in that lane of like no this is ridiculous i'm not doing this and for me that i

481
00:29:55,268 --> 00:30:01,888
think that was a very positive thing that i i you know it warmed my heart um honestly it gave me

482
00:30:01,888 --> 00:30:04,148
kind of like, you know, that rah-rah moment.

483
00:30:04,768 --> 00:30:05,028
Right.

484
00:30:05,208 --> 00:30:06,408
You know, I don't know.

485
00:30:06,468 --> 00:30:08,568
I just thought that was neat to see.

486
00:30:08,768 --> 00:30:08,988
Yeah.

487
00:30:09,268 --> 00:30:13,108
I think from that perspective, you know,

488
00:30:13,108 --> 00:30:14,808
let's take my personal out of it.

489
00:30:14,968 --> 00:30:15,188
Yeah.

490
00:30:15,348 --> 00:30:17,248
If you're talking about the country and the population,

491
00:30:17,508 --> 00:30:20,968
you know, at large, it did test everyone as a whole,

492
00:30:21,328 --> 00:30:22,128
you know, as a community.

493
00:30:22,328 --> 00:30:25,848
And it was good to see some people actually question,

494
00:30:26,368 --> 00:30:29,368
actually not just fall in line, you know,

495
00:30:29,368 --> 00:30:33,448
and it's because the whole thing didn't make any sense, you know,

496
00:30:33,648 --> 00:30:34,988
how this came out of nowhere.

497
00:30:34,988 --> 00:30:38,268
And then we suddenly had a multiple vaccines that were ready to go within a

498
00:30:38,268 --> 00:30:41,908
few months. It's like, that's, I'm not really sure that's how this works,

499
00:30:41,908 --> 00:30:43,108
but you know,

500
00:30:43,148 --> 00:30:47,528
the total buy-in to being your being locked in and not being able to actually

501
00:30:47,528 --> 00:30:48,808
even spend time outside. I mean,

502
00:30:48,808 --> 00:30:50,548
people are getting arrested for just standing on the beach.

503
00:30:50,548 --> 00:30:55,368
We're talking about open air, you know? So, so I, I say, yeah, that, that,

504
00:30:55,368 --> 00:30:58,788
that right there, like knowing there was at least maybe 20%,

505
00:30:58,788 --> 00:31:04,048
I would say maybe 30% to be honest of the people that were willing to challenge that and say,

506
00:31:04,048 --> 00:31:09,508
no, this isn't right. This doesn't make sense whatsoever. And it was a worldwide phenomenon.

507
00:31:10,368 --> 00:31:23,544
And they really didn have answers for any of it No real answers you know and fast forward and we got Fauci pleading the fifth after he got a pardon with a 10 year swing I guess right

508
00:31:23,584 --> 00:31:27,124
Either way in either direction and where he wouldn't be held accountable for anything.

509
00:31:27,584 --> 00:31:28,904
And he's still pleading the fifth.

510
00:31:30,224 --> 00:31:32,044
So, you know, yeah.

511
00:31:32,644 --> 00:31:36,604
The accountability is, is a lost cause to be honest with you.

512
00:31:36,604 --> 00:31:50,184
I can't tell you how many congressional hearings I've seen go on and, you know, a lot of, you know, clips and, you know, rile the base up, you know, footage and audio and everything else.

513
00:31:50,304 --> 00:31:51,464
But that's it.

514
00:31:51,864 --> 00:31:52,264
That's it.

515
00:31:52,624 --> 00:31:53,284
We had a hearing.

516
00:31:53,424 --> 00:31:54,444
Oh, you were a bad boy.

517
00:31:54,584 --> 00:31:54,944
Sorry.

518
00:31:55,144 --> 00:31:55,444
Okay.

519
00:31:55,744 --> 00:31:56,144
Continue.

520
00:31:56,964 --> 00:31:57,344
That's true.

521
00:31:57,584 --> 00:31:57,904
Whatever you're doing.

522
00:31:58,524 --> 00:31:58,944
You're right.

523
00:31:59,204 --> 00:32:00,024
That's exactly what it was.

524
00:32:00,024 --> 00:32:04,444
I bet you were one of those guys that walked the wrong way down the one-way grocery store aisles, weren't you?

525
00:32:04,524 --> 00:32:05,344
Without a mask.

526
00:32:05,344 --> 00:32:05,764
I absolutely did.

527
00:32:05,764 --> 00:32:07,084
Just because you're contrary.

528
00:32:07,404 --> 00:32:08,624
I know the kind of guy you are.

529
00:32:08,704 --> 00:32:10,664
I actually live rural, right?

530
00:32:10,684 --> 00:32:13,924
So I'm in a rural location, but I used to live in California.

531
00:32:14,084 --> 00:32:17,044
And oh gosh, I'm glad I didn't live there during that time.

532
00:32:17,464 --> 00:32:19,084
We're probably glad you don't live there.

533
00:32:19,084 --> 00:32:25,284
But I, you know, I literally, I wore a mask two times only.

534
00:32:25,524 --> 00:32:33,364
And that was because I work for a corporation and I had to go to a customer site and be on site with them.

535
00:32:33,364 --> 00:32:36,384
and the customer site required this thing.

536
00:32:37,044 --> 00:32:37,884
So that was it.

537
00:32:38,444 --> 00:32:40,664
After that, it was a no for me.

538
00:32:40,804 --> 00:32:42,104
I go to the grocery stores.

539
00:32:42,284 --> 00:32:45,204
Oh, you know, mask, you know, here, you can have a mask.

540
00:32:45,324 --> 00:32:46,064
No, thanks.

541
00:32:46,584 --> 00:32:47,504
And I just keep walking.

542
00:32:47,884 --> 00:32:52,264
And then, yeah, I absolutely purposefully looked at the little stupid blue arrows

543
00:32:52,264 --> 00:32:53,584
and walked the opposite way.

544
00:32:53,584 --> 00:32:56,804
And people would look at me like, what are you doing?

545
00:32:56,964 --> 00:32:59,464
You know, and I, you know, all that stuff.

546
00:32:59,504 --> 00:33:01,744
And it was just like, whatever.

547
00:33:01,744 --> 00:33:23,584
I mean, honestly, apply a little bit of critical thinking. No vaccine has ever, ever, ever been released that quickly. Most of them have have, you know, a decade of trials. And a lot of that is iterative because these things aren't always great. Right. And this one, I think, showed its true stripes later on.

548
00:33:23,584 --> 00:33:30,724
You know, whether you choose to believe that or not is your your deal, not you specifically speaking to the audience.

549
00:33:31,184 --> 00:33:38,924
But, you know, honestly, it was kind of like, I know this is it's literally under, you know, emergency use authorization.

550
00:33:39,544 --> 00:33:42,704
It's not gone through trials.

551
00:33:42,844 --> 00:33:44,604
There is zero long term data.

552
00:33:44,604 --> 00:33:51,644
It's a brand new technology that has poor, poor lab outcomes previously.

553
00:33:51,644 --> 00:33:59,264
And, you know, at the end of the day, it didn't take me much to just go, yeah, I'm not I'm not putting that in my body.

554
00:33:59,324 --> 00:34:00,024
No way.

555
00:34:00,464 --> 00:34:02,324
You know, don't be like that, man.

556
00:34:02,384 --> 00:34:03,264
Just trust the science.

557
00:34:03,304 --> 00:34:09,404
Well, and then the masking, the masking thing for me was so stupid because, look, here's the deal with those masks.

558
00:34:09,404 --> 00:34:11,964
You put it on when you take it off.

559
00:34:11,964 --> 00:34:20,944
It needs to go into a trash can and people are holding it up, putting it in their pockets, pulling it out, putting it back on their face.

560
00:34:20,944 --> 00:34:30,584
You know, tucking it under their arm when they need to do something and whatever the case, pulling it down under your chin and all this stuff and then putting it back.

561
00:34:31,624 --> 00:34:32,984
What's the point at that point?

562
00:34:33,024 --> 00:34:38,304
You've literally taken a moist environment ripe for, you know, bacteria or viral infection.

563
00:34:38,624 --> 00:34:46,004
And you've touched other parts of you and then, you know, folded in your pocket, taking it back out, put it back on.

564
00:34:46,004 --> 00:34:53,664
you're you're any kind of efficacy that may have existed which debatable in the first place

565
00:34:53,664 --> 00:34:59,364
but anything that could have you've actually introduced probably more problems than you've

566
00:34:59,364 --> 00:35:06,824
solved right using the logic yeah it makes no sense don't do that i mean the biggest easiest

567
00:35:06,824 --> 00:35:11,824
tell for anybody if they were using the even if they had one hamster running on a wheel in their

568
00:35:11,824 --> 00:35:18,084
in their brain is how often you see a surgeon reuse their mask never it's no it's a disposable

569
00:35:18,084 --> 00:35:26,184
mask it is a surgical sterilized mask meant for a single use it comes off it goes in the trash and

570
00:35:26,184 --> 00:35:32,104
a new one goes on yeah and for something that was such a uh may have even been considered deadly

571
00:35:32,104 --> 00:35:37,284
we can classify it as a legit biohazard would you not want to dispose of or burn those masks

572
00:35:37,284 --> 00:35:38,524
or anything exposed to it.

573
00:35:39,744 --> 00:35:43,504
I mean, I don't understand.

574
00:35:43,504 --> 00:35:48,764
You know, it's the psychology of the people.

575
00:35:49,004 --> 00:35:49,844
I mean, we're talking about,

576
00:35:50,144 --> 00:35:51,204
when you're talking about a group of people

577
00:35:51,204 --> 00:35:53,444
versus an individual, you know,

578
00:35:53,524 --> 00:35:55,404
they just go with the herd.

579
00:35:55,484 --> 00:35:56,924
They just go with the group, you know,

580
00:35:56,944 --> 00:35:58,524
because it's what's accepted.

581
00:35:58,884 --> 00:36:00,024
And maybe they felt the pressure

582
00:36:00,024 --> 00:36:01,064
of not thinking for themselves.

583
00:36:01,204 --> 00:36:02,464
They just felt, you know,

584
00:36:02,484 --> 00:36:03,844
I'm doing this for everybody.

585
00:36:04,664 --> 00:36:07,204
But you can't, it's like,

586
00:36:07,284 --> 00:36:12,024
when you get that pamphlet, when you go on a plane, like specifically, you got to put your

587
00:36:12,024 --> 00:36:16,944
floating, flotation device or your air mask on yourself first before you can help others,

588
00:36:16,964 --> 00:36:21,624
because you literally can't help others if you can't help yourself. It's just fact. You know,

589
00:36:21,644 --> 00:36:32,220
if you not ready to go and you not protected and you not thinking critically how are you yourself going to be effective in helping anyone else And in this case it was like I think most of the world just failed

590
00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:33,540
They failed at it.

591
00:36:33,980 --> 00:36:35,220
Now, if we want to get conspiratorial,

592
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:37,420
I mean, we could also ask ourselves,

593
00:36:37,780 --> 00:36:40,120
because what you're saying is absolutely true.

594
00:36:40,220 --> 00:36:41,760
A vaccine, seven to 10 years, right?

595
00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:43,360
They got to go through trials, tribulations, et cetera.

596
00:36:43,460 --> 00:36:44,580
They got to be properly tested.

597
00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:49,140
But the only way I think they would have had a vaccine

598
00:36:49,140 --> 00:36:51,860
and they knew they had one is if this was planned.

599
00:36:52,500 --> 00:37:07,760
Well, so I don't know this. This leads me back to what I was thinking as you were talking. Right. So, you know, conspiratorial hat on there, but it's a reality. Right. I mean, this is an actual real thing.

600
00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:23,400
So there was a gentleman named Gustave Lebon who wrote a book called, I think it's in French, and it was Psychologie des Fouls, which translates loosely into Psychology of the Crowd, right?

601
00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:43,360
Uh, Edward Bernays tailed onto that work and wrote his books. Uh, and they were so good that I think Goebbels himself said that there is no better piece of work on controlling and manipulating crowds and ideas in society than this.

602
00:37:43,360 --> 00:38:00,140
So it's absolutely, you know, absolutely a thing that happens all day, every day. You can see it if you pay close enough attention when watching movies, TV shows, etc. What's called predictive programming, right?

603
00:38:00,140 --> 00:38:04,600
where they introduce an idea and people are shocked by it.

604
00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:06,720
But then by the third or fourth movie,

605
00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:10,040
couple of series out there kind of talking about this

606
00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:12,840
and kind of normalizing it in this fictional world,

607
00:38:13,240 --> 00:38:15,400
it softens the blow, right?

608
00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:17,100
And then when it comes out, you're like,

609
00:38:17,380 --> 00:38:18,720
oh yeah, you know, I've seen this.

610
00:38:18,780 --> 00:38:20,420
They did it and it worked out okay.

611
00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:21,860
Psychologically, right?

612
00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:24,220
You're not actually patterning that thought.

613
00:38:24,580 --> 00:38:26,540
But, you know, it's a reality.

614
00:38:26,820 --> 00:38:29,460
It's not a conspiracy.

615
00:38:29,460 --> 00:38:46,520
They use this. They have openly admitted that they use this. Bernays himself, you know, has admitted in multiple ways that he's used this to affect societal change when there really wasn't a huge desire for one in the first place.

616
00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:51,640
So, well, it's that how they get people to wear masks in their cars all by themselves.

617
00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:54,300
Absolutely. That's exactly what it is.

618
00:38:54,300 --> 00:38:59,560
So Bernays wrote the book and the methods.

619
00:39:00,260 --> 00:39:04,000
Goebbels applied it in a way that the world will hopefully never see again.

620
00:39:04,300 --> 00:39:07,180
But he was basically a standard of how to effectively.

621
00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:11,360
You could argue that we did see it, that the pandemic was that.

622
00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:12,800
Possibly.

623
00:39:14,020 --> 00:39:18,600
But it's basically, it was programming.

624
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:20,600
It was behavioral conditioning, for sure.

625
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:25,080
and the other people that adopted it to a very effective way

626
00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:29,440
in modern times to still use it is the Soviets or the Russians

627
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:33,380
specifically KGB so this is a real thing and it's been

628
00:39:33,380 --> 00:39:36,300
admitted by, I forgot his name, you guys may know

629
00:39:36,300 --> 00:39:41,400
he was a KGB operative and there's an old video where he admits on how

630
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:45,720
to basically topple society, you're shaking your head because I know you know what I'm talking about, I just can't remember the guy's name

631
00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:50,120
Was it Brzeznewski? No, it was

632
00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:51,660
I know exactly

633
00:39:51,660 --> 00:39:53,660
it's not coming to me right now

634
00:39:53,660 --> 00:39:55,780
it's not going to mind either but basically if anyone's

635
00:39:55,780 --> 00:39:57,420
watching just google KGB

636
00:39:57,420 --> 00:39:59,520
officer talks

637
00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:01,500
how to topple America for example

638
00:40:01,500 --> 00:40:03,160
I'm sure something related will come up

639
00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:04,700
but it is

640
00:40:04,700 --> 00:40:07,560
a slow drip method that starts all the way

641
00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:09,760
in K-12 education and beyond

642
00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:11,680
and it's all about the consistent

643
00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:12,840
messaging if you're curating

644
00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:15,620
the message controlling the narrative

645
00:40:15,620 --> 00:40:17,620
you are controlling and programming the people

646
00:40:17,620 --> 00:40:19,100
that's just what it is so

647
00:40:19,100 --> 00:40:24,000
society is going to get what you put into it. That's, that's where we're going to end up being

648
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:30,020
the product of what we're being taught to be. And that's why education is so important and teaching

649
00:40:30,020 --> 00:40:36,480
critical thinking is so important and not, you know, um, basically whitewashing history or I

650
00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:38,820
don't mean whitewashing in the way that some people are thinking, not in the woke way, but,

651
00:40:38,940 --> 00:40:42,700
you know, not, not trying to hide what really happened, whether it was good or bad. You're

652
00:40:42,700 --> 00:40:47,360
like, we need to know it all. You know, don't, don't try to direct people to believe it only

653
00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:53,700
happen this particular way because it fits you know the narrative of 2026 for example or 2030

654
00:40:53,700 --> 00:40:59,300
whenever they hear this it's like we need to preserve what did happen so that we learn from

655
00:40:59,300 --> 00:41:05,420
it and also record what is happening now but it's it is it's a real thing havoc i mean you're spot

656
00:41:05,420 --> 00:41:10,040
on a lot of people never even realize it's happening to them at all yeah and i think the

657
00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:15,740
pandemic was definitely a result of those just as you said and those techniques in practice for sure

658
00:41:15,740 --> 00:41:17,400
Without question.

659
00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:17,900
Yeah.

660
00:41:17,900 --> 00:41:18,820
On a global scale.

661
00:41:18,820 --> 00:41:19,580
And that's what's scary.

662
00:41:19,580 --> 00:41:25,620
It is, but you know, it's also, you know, we, we cross that, that threshold, right?

663
00:41:25,620 --> 00:41:30,200
We, we, we broke through it pretty quickly too, uh, with the internet.

664
00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:35,200
Once the internet's live, you've got global reach, you know, it's easy to coordinate that

665
00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:38,120
kind of stuff and, and really push it out there.

666
00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:39,960
And, and, you know, it.

667
00:41:39,997 --> 00:41:47,177
It's, yeah, my gosh, we are so lucky that they didn't have internet back then.

668
00:41:47,697 --> 00:41:55,137
Yeah, and it seems like social media is the tool that's being used, you know, to do this exactly.

669
00:41:55,137 --> 00:41:59,277
You know, it doesn't matter if you're using Facebook or X, whatever it is.

670
00:41:59,377 --> 00:42:02,437
Those two probably be the most prominent in terms of spread and propaganda, I think,

671
00:42:03,217 --> 00:42:06,837
because it's such a groupthink type application either way.

672
00:42:06,837 --> 00:42:10,997
and that it's been revealed

673
00:42:10,997 --> 00:42:12,697
as you know, like bots,

674
00:42:13,277 --> 00:42:14,957
there's literally been

675
00:42:14,957 --> 00:42:19,077
big Chinese bot farmers just busted

676
00:42:19,077 --> 00:42:21,377
for trying to spread a narrative

677
00:42:21,377 --> 00:42:22,977
about data centers, for example.

678
00:42:23,757 --> 00:42:25,757
Whether you believe in data centers or not

679
00:42:25,757 --> 00:42:28,737
is irrelevant. I just brought it up because it's an example

680
00:42:28,737 --> 00:42:32,137
that yes, there are concerted efforts to try to change

681
00:42:32,137 --> 00:42:35,197
and shape your opinion on social media

682
00:42:35,197 --> 00:42:36,917
and you're not even dealing with real people.

683
00:42:36,997 --> 00:42:38,997
You could be dealing with like 10 programmers out there

684
00:42:38,997 --> 00:42:40,797
writing scripts and messages

685
00:42:40,797 --> 00:42:43,997
and then just letting these bot accounts just go for it.

686
00:42:44,057 --> 00:42:46,677
And then they're the ones going and commenting on your posts.

687
00:42:46,797 --> 00:42:49,417
They're the ones that you're going to see showing up in your feeds.

688
00:42:49,917 --> 00:42:51,237
And it's just overwhelming.

689
00:42:51,617 --> 00:42:54,177
I mean, it's like, I think it was Goblez that did say this,

690
00:42:54,177 --> 00:42:57,077
if you tell a lie enough and consistently enough,

691
00:42:57,117 --> 00:42:58,937
it becomes a truth, paraphrasing.

692
00:42:59,517 --> 00:43:02,517
But that's basically what he said, and it's absolutely the truth.

693
00:43:02,657 --> 00:43:03,217
It's true.

694
00:43:03,217 --> 00:43:11,157
and it's sometimes hard to recognize yeah those in engagement firming you know bots is all of that

695
00:43:11,157 --> 00:43:17,297
is is you know definitely a piece of this right yeah definitely and and you know i mean on the

696
00:43:17,297 --> 00:43:26,617
data center topic i mean i i have my concerns over that but it's not so much that we have data centers

697
00:43:26,617 --> 00:43:29,217
we already have like

698
00:43:29,217 --> 00:43:30,517
I don't know

699
00:43:30,517 --> 00:43:33,517
orders of magnitude more than

700
00:43:33,517 --> 00:43:35,437
any other nation on the earth

701
00:43:35,437 --> 00:43:37,437
but I think

702
00:43:37,437 --> 00:43:39,377
the bigger piece is where

703
00:43:39,377 --> 00:43:41,497
they're putting them and the fact

704
00:43:41,497 --> 00:43:43,617
that they're not considering

705
00:43:43,617 --> 00:43:45,517
at this point

706
00:43:45,517 --> 00:43:46,937
you know it's

707
00:43:46,937 --> 00:43:49,337
just got to get them in just got to do it

708
00:43:49,337 --> 00:43:51,517
we don't have the power for it we don't have

709
00:43:51,517 --> 00:43:53,197
power generation well we'll just run

710
00:43:53,197 --> 00:43:55,077
you know 400 diesel

711
00:43:55,077 --> 00:44:02,757
generators uh what yeah you're gonna what and then they're like yeah you know you know we can

712
00:44:02,757 --> 00:44:09,137
use uh you know all the water we need you know and and here's the here's the big piece to that is

713
00:44:09,137 --> 00:44:15,177
there is a way there are technologies that allow you to run data centers with

714
00:44:15,177 --> 00:44:23,677
pretty close to closed loop water resources um but they're not using those okay the majority of

715
00:44:23,677 --> 00:44:29,037
them or not. Some are, and that's good. Okay. You should have a lot less concern about those

716
00:44:29,037 --> 00:44:34,657
closed loop things because they are truly closed loop. Yes, there's a pull in of, of liquid for a

717
00:44:34,657 --> 00:44:40,637
period of time, and then it stops. It's recirculated, filtered, et cetera. Uh, the problem is that even

718
00:44:40,637 --> 00:44:46,557
the big ones, right? The big manufacturer is putting out these H 100 systems, which is the

719
00:44:46,557 --> 00:44:56,037
high-end GPU of today, unless something changed since I checked earlier, they are all, all

720
00:44:56,037 --> 00:45:00,197
of them specced to evaporative cooling.

721
00:45:00,737 --> 00:45:06,917
And that's where you run into any data center running this massive of a loop workload with

722
00:45:06,917 --> 00:45:12,597
evaporative cooling is going to blow through water like nobody's business.

723
00:45:13,297 --> 00:45:16,437
And so that's one of the big issues, right?

724
00:45:16,557 --> 00:45:24,977
And then they're taking these things and putting them in places that are already constrained by power, have power outages, are in droughts.

725
00:45:25,717 --> 00:45:30,077
Arizona, where is the water coming from, dude?

726
00:45:30,557 --> 00:45:31,217
You know what I mean?

727
00:45:31,457 --> 00:45:33,097
So it's one of those things.

728
00:45:33,337 --> 00:45:34,857
Data centers aren't bad.

729
00:45:34,857 --> 00:45:56,057
There's nothing wrong with a well-planned, well-thought-out data center that has power generation that's, you know, able to meet the needs and that there's water that's free-flowing nearby that they can use that isn't going to detrimentally impact the populace in a, you know, 500 square mile radius.

730
00:45:56,357 --> 00:45:56,857
You know what I mean?

731
00:45:57,657 --> 00:45:58,897
Did Skynet pay you off?

732
00:45:59,917 --> 00:46:00,477
No.

733
00:46:00,757 --> 00:46:02,217
I mean, it's just the reality.

734
00:46:02,497 --> 00:46:02,557
Are you sure?

735
00:46:02,557 --> 00:46:30,837
And it all comes down to the cost, right? Those liquid cooled systems are not cheap. But the H100s are designed to make use of front to back airflow. And they have the option to go fully liquid. But, you know, people are not willing to pay the uplift to do that, right? So there are valid arguments out there. There are also valid counters to it, right?

736
00:46:30,837 --> 00:46:32,537
I

737
00:46:32,537 --> 00:46:34,057
that

738
00:46:34,057 --> 00:46:36,617
shoot we'll just get into it I guess

739
00:46:36,617 --> 00:46:37,217
so the

740
00:46:37,217 --> 00:46:39,937
now if you want the big problem here

741
00:46:39,937 --> 00:46:41,617
and nobody's paying attention to this one

742
00:46:41,617 --> 00:46:43,257
guys

743
00:46:43,257 --> 00:46:45,517
if you wanted to surveil

744
00:46:45,517 --> 00:46:58,033
the entire populace and keep that in a searchable and usable form you going to need really big data centers Yeah that true

745
00:46:58,733 --> 00:47:01,073
The data center thing is,

746
00:47:03,453 --> 00:47:06,373
it's, we can't ignore it because we need it

747
00:47:06,373 --> 00:47:07,793
because it's now become,

748
00:47:09,153 --> 00:47:11,073
people keep calling it an AI race.

749
00:47:11,193 --> 00:47:13,813
It's not, it's an AI war between countries

750
00:47:13,813 --> 00:47:15,513
and who's going to come up on top

751
00:47:15,513 --> 00:47:16,773
and who's going to be the leader.

752
00:47:16,773 --> 00:47:19,813
and unfortunately my opinion by the way

753
00:47:19,813 --> 00:47:22,573
we've been in the digital age since the 90s

754
00:47:22,573 --> 00:47:26,613
and I think we've held off pulling the plug

755
00:47:26,613 --> 00:47:27,833
or flipped the switch

756
00:47:27,833 --> 00:47:31,893
to really pushing ourselves into that digital age

757
00:47:31,893 --> 00:47:34,493
and I think we're at that point where it has to happen

758
00:47:34,493 --> 00:47:37,813
because China's aggressively pursuing it for sure

759
00:47:37,813 --> 00:47:40,213
and they're just one of many countries that are pursuing it

760
00:47:40,213 --> 00:47:43,033
but it's really coming down to China and the USA

761
00:47:43,753 --> 00:47:47,453
Now, IBM has been ahead of this AI thing for many, many, many years.

762
00:47:47,533 --> 00:47:48,673
A lot of people don't even realize that.

763
00:47:49,233 --> 00:47:50,613
And so they are one of the big players.

764
00:47:51,073 --> 00:47:53,593
But when it comes to data centers, we've had them forever.

765
00:47:53,733 --> 00:47:58,553
I don't think people even realize what cloud server services really are, like AWS.

766
00:47:58,953 --> 00:48:00,113
They're giant data centers.

767
00:48:01,133 --> 00:48:02,693
Meta's had them for many, many years.

768
00:48:03,133 --> 00:48:03,913
They're all over.

769
00:48:03,913 --> 00:48:10,733
It's just a thing now because people are seeing it in the news and it's more prevalent.

770
00:48:10,733 --> 00:48:15,613
when we're talking about them, there's a few things that I have that I realize we need it.

771
00:48:15,853 --> 00:48:21,693
But at the same time, I have a few reservations. Now, Microsoft themselves, though, when you're

772
00:48:21,693 --> 00:48:26,773
talking about power and resources, Microsoft themselves, I think you may have to correct me

773
00:48:26,773 --> 00:48:31,793
if you know this, but I think they signed a 50 year deal with Chevron. It might be longer

774
00:48:31,793 --> 00:48:37,133
for gas and other resources for their plant they're trying to build in Texas.

775
00:48:37,133 --> 00:48:41,993
so some of the larger companies are already trying to be as self-sufficient as possible

776
00:48:41,993 --> 00:48:46,973
so they're not taxing the grid for example or taxing resources on surrounding towns and cities

777
00:48:46,973 --> 00:48:51,833
but there are others that are not taking that into account they're just rushing to get it done

778
00:48:51,833 --> 00:48:58,113
and those are the ones that are concerned what I don't want to see is this becomes such a thing

779
00:48:58,113 --> 00:49:03,813
that I'm no longer going to see like open fields of grass and trees because

780
00:49:03,813 --> 00:49:08,133
the government's going to say, well, we need to appropriate that to build data centers because

781
00:49:08,133 --> 00:49:12,013
we're in an AI war and we got to win it and we all got to push forward. And then we're just going to walk

782
00:49:12,013 --> 00:49:16,053
outside and everything's just going to be so urbanized and suburbanized. It's like, we're not

783
00:49:16,053 --> 00:49:20,273
going to have any semblance of individuality in any town,

784
00:49:20,733 --> 00:49:24,293
any city. I mean, we're already cookie cutter as it is. You see the same

785
00:49:24,293 --> 00:49:27,973
Home Depot, Lowe's and McDonald's in every dang town now. Like you don't see too much

786
00:49:27,973 --> 00:49:32,233
individual culture or unique culture anymore. We're turning into a giant monoculture.

787
00:49:32,233 --> 00:49:41,033
So I hope that the race to AI and data centers doesn't push us faster into that monoculture situation.

788
00:49:41,953 --> 00:49:54,473
But I don't want them, we need them, but I don't want them to be the priority to where we're living around a data center versus data centers, you know, going in for the benefit of us as humans.

789
00:49:55,273 --> 00:49:57,213
That's my reservation about it.

790
00:49:57,213 --> 00:50:00,073
And I think that's where the arguments are is like, how are we going to find that balance

791
00:50:00,073 --> 00:50:03,173
and where we're going to be able to draw the line and hold the line?

792
00:50:03,893 --> 00:50:04,033
Yeah.

793
00:50:04,193 --> 00:50:07,313
And then it's important to classify things, right?

794
00:50:07,973 --> 00:50:10,173
Data centers, nobody cares about them.

795
00:50:10,613 --> 00:50:13,233
Honestly, your standard typical data center, nobody cares.

796
00:50:13,233 --> 00:50:16,293
Nobody's going to have a problem with a standard data center.

797
00:50:17,653 --> 00:50:24,953
You know, the hyperscalers, the hyperscale data centers, those guys start to become like,

798
00:50:24,953 --> 00:50:31,973
wow, this is, you know, there's, there's resource problems, um, where it really comes in and really

799
00:50:31,973 --> 00:50:38,033
gets to people. And it makes sense. And there's a real valid reason here is these giga scale.

800
00:50:38,393 --> 00:50:44,513
And what you're talking about, I believe is their giga scale. And they're, they're,

801
00:50:44,633 --> 00:50:53,313
they're going to supplement 336 megawatt Watts, I believe, right out of the, uh, was it four,

802
00:50:53,313 --> 00:50:57,313
four or some number like four gigawatts.

803
00:50:58,153 --> 00:51:02,233
So it's neat that they're contracting and they're trying to offset that,

804
00:51:02,373 --> 00:51:07,893
but you're still eating up more power than most cities.

805
00:51:08,533 --> 00:51:08,813
Oh, yeah.

806
00:51:09,333 --> 00:51:14,073
And so I think it's important to look at that.

807
00:51:14,073 --> 00:51:19,073
And I think this is one area where maybe it's important to go back to the nuclear bodies

808
00:51:19,073 --> 00:51:21,493
and say, hey, yeah, you know what?

809
00:51:21,493 --> 00:51:26,873
I don't care about the rules and regulations now, but we really need to invest in thorium reactors.

810
00:51:27,373 --> 00:51:28,313
They're safe.

811
00:51:28,913 --> 00:51:35,733
We can use spent fuel rods and take them from a half-life of tens of thousands of years down to 300 years.

812
00:51:36,193 --> 00:51:40,893
In other words, we don't need a mountain to store them for the rest of the planetary life.

813
00:51:41,573 --> 00:51:48,893
And we can use the ones that are already being stored and reduce that and continue to use the output from the existing reactors.

814
00:51:48,893 --> 00:51:56,633
they don't require you know a you know staff of people right they are very very efficient they ramp

815
00:51:56,633 --> 00:52:13,409
up when when need goes up and they ramp down when need goes down and things like that that are you know regulatorily barred from investigation in certain areas You know I think it important at this point if you if you want to start using gigawatt

816
00:52:13,409 --> 00:52:19,269
plus power for a single building, you need to figure out how to power that building. And,

817
00:52:19,349 --> 00:52:23,929
and on the water side, you need to really figure this out because you can't put that stuff in a

818
00:52:23,929 --> 00:52:30,529
stage two drought location and then tap into an aquifer that, you know, 30% of the population is

819
00:52:30,529 --> 00:52:35,789
using for their actual drinking water and then go, yeah, well, so sad, too bad you don't have

820
00:52:35,789 --> 00:52:41,589
water anymore. Sucks to be you. Yeah. That's the point you brought up about the power is

821
00:52:41,589 --> 00:52:48,169
something I've never understood why we haven't been using nuclear. It's so advanced. You could

822
00:52:48,169 --> 00:52:53,609
use much smaller facilities now. And I don't understand this. Like as a man, we create our own,

823
00:52:53,609 --> 00:52:56,629
our own bullshit, our own hell. Like we're, we're basically stumbling on our own,

824
00:52:56,769 --> 00:53:03,549
our own feet here when we have the ability to basically take care of these issues,

825
00:53:03,549 --> 00:53:08,369
but we're choosing not to use them. And I don't even know how effective when it comes to water,

826
00:53:08,409 --> 00:53:13,629
like would desalination plants work? Like, could we basically just truck it from the ocean

827
00:53:13,629 --> 00:53:17,449
and how long before man empties the ocean? I know it looks like a lot of water, but

828
00:53:17,449 --> 00:53:22,149
water always returns. I mean, technically, right. You know, it goes in the atmosphere and come back

829
00:53:22,149 --> 00:53:26,129
down, but is it going to be usable water? You know, is it going to be tainted? There's the

830
00:53:26,129 --> 00:53:32,149
other question. So yeah, there are, there are actual real concerns, but it's either we give

831
00:53:32,149 --> 00:53:36,489
up on it or, or we find a way to adapt. I think humans are really good at adapting. It's just,

832
00:53:36,549 --> 00:53:39,929
we don't know what world we're going to wake up to one day, you know, and, and that adaption.

833
00:53:40,229 --> 00:53:45,069
So are we going to become like blade runner? Are we going to, how soon before we become that

834
00:53:45,069 --> 00:53:52,049
reality? Right? No, thanks. Who knows? I absolutely not. Nope. Not, not ever going to

835
00:53:52,049 --> 00:53:58,709
happen nope not even kicking and screaming that's that's the red line nope uh-uh i like

836
00:53:58,709 --> 00:54:05,489
i'm a little uh i'm a little curious and and nosy um sure you've probably met a lot of artists

837
00:54:05,489 --> 00:54:10,569
in your career i'm sure yeah and i i've always heard the saying don't ever meet your heroes

838
00:54:10,569 --> 00:54:14,669
and not that i want to place those people as heroes but is there any truth to that or

839
00:54:14,669 --> 00:54:16,649
it depends

840
00:54:16,649 --> 00:54:19,489
I was lucky enough to meet

841
00:54:19,489 --> 00:54:21,829
Ronnie James Dio who was always one of my

842
00:54:21,829 --> 00:54:23,809
favorite singers when it came to metal

843
00:54:23,809 --> 00:54:25,849
and rock and he is

844
00:54:25,849 --> 00:54:27,929
what you would want someone

845
00:54:27,929 --> 00:54:29,829
to be basically he was really cool

846
00:54:29,829 --> 00:54:30,869
you know very cool

847
00:54:30,869 --> 00:54:33,849
Misfits was not like

848
00:54:33,849 --> 00:54:35,969
they were always on my radar because of other band

849
00:54:35,969 --> 00:54:37,409
members like when I was playing bands

850
00:54:37,409 --> 00:54:39,889
but it wasn't like a go to band but I'll tell you

851
00:54:39,889 --> 00:54:41,249
this about Jerry

852
00:54:41,249 --> 00:54:43,449
that one gig I'm just

853
00:54:43,449 --> 00:54:45,089
I'm just this one guy.

854
00:54:45,429 --> 00:54:46,289
These guys come and go.

855
00:54:47,209 --> 00:54:50,589
And if you guys musicians, are you into music at all?

856
00:54:51,409 --> 00:54:51,689
I am.

857
00:54:51,809 --> 00:54:51,989
Into it.

858
00:54:52,049 --> 00:54:52,869
I'm not a musician.

859
00:54:53,169 --> 00:54:57,509
I like to, you know, used to play on my bass, but not a musician.

860
00:54:58,189 --> 00:54:59,889
So are you familiar with NAM then?

861
00:55:00,729 --> 00:55:04,869
National Association of Music Merchants, a big convention in Anaheim.

862
00:55:05,329 --> 00:55:05,609
All right.

863
00:55:05,629 --> 00:55:09,889
So I'm over there because there was also a time where I had a rep firm.

864
00:55:09,889 --> 00:55:14,509
So I actually was a manufacturer's rep for like orange amps and Spectre bases, all that stuff.

865
00:55:14,729 --> 00:55:20,589
I am familiar because I actually pulled a job when I was younger, uh, breaking down.

866
00:55:20,589 --> 00:55:28,169
Uh, so they, you know, the union will call in extra help to break down the arenas and box gear and, and move it out.

867
00:55:28,169 --> 00:55:30,529
And so, yeah, I, I did attend one.

868
00:55:30,589 --> 00:55:31,489
I'm like, I know that name.

869
00:55:31,489 --> 00:55:32,529
And then I was like, Oh yeah.

870
00:55:32,529 --> 00:55:33,529
Moving the crates.

871
00:55:34,429 --> 00:55:34,829
Yeah.

872
00:55:34,929 --> 00:55:36,089
I use a lot of these guys.

873
00:55:36,469 --> 00:55:38,549
I use a lot of people who did your work.

874
00:55:38,549 --> 00:55:46,889
um and and so anyway now i'm uh i'm walking across doing my thing and i hear yelling someone yelling

875
00:55:46,889 --> 00:55:53,009
my name and i'm like looking around like who the hell like i didn't see anybody and all the what

876
00:55:53,009 --> 00:55:58,429
was it was it um i forgot what he was using at that time anyway string manufacturer i don't

877
00:55:58,429 --> 00:56:06,949
remember which one it was but it's jerry yelling at me and i'm like i'm like i'm far away and i was

878
00:56:06,949 --> 00:56:12,009
like looking at him i was like i was like sure he's like dude get over here and i'm like so i

879
00:56:12,009 --> 00:56:16,269
walk over and he's taking pictures with people and i'm like do you even remember who i am he was yeah

880
00:56:16,269 --> 00:56:22,169
he said the town and everything i'm like oh damn this guy remember you know i was tripping out all

881
00:56:22,169 --> 00:56:26,209
that and he's just like all of a sudden i was with my dad he's like let's get over here he puts his

882
00:56:26,209 --> 00:56:30,929
arm out and he just like pulls us in and takes his picture and i was like damn that dude was a

883
00:56:30,929 --> 00:56:38,629
very legit like human being but you know yeah um it is and isn't okay to meet your your heroes i

884
00:56:38,629 --> 00:56:45,449
think or what might be considered your heroes i i i've always came into this business like i was

885
00:56:45,449 --> 00:56:50,349
never overwhelmed by a rock star or a movie star or anything like that personally i i just looked

886
00:56:50,349 --> 00:56:55,389
at them as people they're doing a job it was my job to make sure they can do their job basically

887
00:56:55,389 --> 00:56:58,269
and it's a reputational thing.

888
00:56:58,389 --> 00:57:01,589
So if I'm not focused and doing what I got to do,

889
00:57:01,769 --> 00:57:03,269
then I'm pretty much done.

890
00:57:03,809 --> 00:57:05,789
And at the same time, if they get embarrassed,

891
00:57:05,929 --> 00:57:07,789
look, as I say, shit rolls down hills.

892
00:57:07,789 --> 00:57:09,329
Like they're not going to be held accountable.

893
00:57:09,329 --> 00:57:11,369
Even if they mess up, they still point it at,

894
00:57:11,529 --> 00:57:12,249
oh, it was the sound guy's fault.

895
00:57:12,329 --> 00:57:23,266
He the reason I couldn sing or he was the reason that I missed the snow or I couldn hear that all the time You always the bad guy believe me And then so you start to know who is and

896
00:57:23,266 --> 00:57:30,626
isn't cool. I don't want to really name the names that I thought were jerks, but there are some that

897
00:57:30,626 --> 00:57:35,886
definitely were. I could probably tell you some of those offline if you want, but I have met a lot

898
00:57:35,886 --> 00:57:39,046
of people, especially when I was a rep, because I was also a rep for PV back in the day too.

899
00:57:39,046 --> 00:57:41,826
and so they used to have

900
00:57:41,826 --> 00:57:43,766
it's been so many years since I've gone on them

901
00:57:43,766 --> 00:57:45,506
but they had like a two story booth

902
00:57:45,506 --> 00:57:47,646
and so there you know I did get to meet

903
00:57:47,646 --> 00:57:48,666
like Rudy Sarzo

904
00:57:48,666 --> 00:57:51,666
I have another story

905
00:57:51,666 --> 00:57:53,626
related to this so like him

906
00:57:53,626 --> 00:57:55,306
Michael Anthony

907
00:57:55,306 --> 00:57:56,566
bass player

908
00:57:56,566 --> 00:57:58,706
just tons of people

909
00:57:58,706 --> 00:58:01,326
Mike Schaasho is a guitar player

910
00:58:01,326 --> 00:58:02,646
I don't know if you're not familiar with him

911
00:58:02,646 --> 00:58:05,686
I mean just tons of people

912
00:58:05,686 --> 00:58:07,566
bass player for

913
00:58:07,566 --> 00:58:09,786
David Ellison,

914
00:58:10,126 --> 00:58:11,646
base player for Megadeth at the time.

915
00:58:12,246 --> 00:58:12,846
Him as well.

916
00:58:13,746 --> 00:58:15,726
And then some of these artists,

917
00:58:16,026 --> 00:58:17,446
what was cool is

918
00:58:17,446 --> 00:58:19,746
they had a contract

919
00:58:19,746 --> 00:58:21,426
when they were endorsed with Peavey, would have this

920
00:58:21,426 --> 00:58:22,566
ambassador program.

921
00:58:23,346 --> 00:58:25,306
And so it's like they worked with Peavey.

922
00:58:25,386 --> 00:58:27,246
It wasn't like they were on a salary,

923
00:58:27,546 --> 00:58:29,606
but it was kind of like the agreement was

924
00:58:29,606 --> 00:58:31,366
okay, and then you'll go out and

925
00:58:31,366 --> 00:58:32,866
help with whatever.

926
00:58:33,446 --> 00:58:35,626
Especially a new product. So I got to drive around with some of these guys

927
00:58:35,626 --> 00:58:37,546
in my territory, which was cool. So you do get to know

928
00:58:37,546 --> 00:58:41,446
them you know i've had their cell phone numbers for some of these guys for i mean i i don't even

929
00:58:41,446 --> 00:58:44,866
know if i still have them i was never that guy that just bugged you know coming over for the

930
00:58:44,866 --> 00:58:49,766
barbecue i mean that's not professional but i have met a lot of these guys now uh what is

931
00:58:49,766 --> 00:58:57,586
interesting is at nam out of nowhere one year at pb we're upstairs and upstairs is where they

932
00:58:57,586 --> 00:59:03,406
close the deals right with the artists and managers and they have this catering and i'm standing there

933
00:59:03,406 --> 00:59:06,766
talking to other reps and i'm and i'm actually literally having a conversation with rudi stars

934
00:59:06,766 --> 00:59:07,906
So we're talking about that.

935
00:59:07,986 --> 00:59:09,966
And he was, that is another legit cool guy.

936
00:59:10,386 --> 00:59:15,546
So I'm talking to him and I'm talking to Mike Scotia and all of a sudden out of nowhere,

937
00:59:16,226 --> 00:59:20,806
look behind Mike's like, he goes, that, what's he doing here?

938
00:59:20,866 --> 00:59:25,906
And we turn around and it's Ron Jeremy out of nowhere, just walking through the PV.

939
00:59:26,566 --> 00:59:29,086
And I'm like, what does he got to do with music?

940
00:59:29,086 --> 00:59:29,366
Right.

941
00:59:30,066 --> 00:59:31,346
And no one's stopping him.

942
00:59:31,346 --> 00:59:34,686
And he just walks upstairs and he goes, Hey guys, how are you doing?

943
00:59:34,686 --> 00:59:35,826
Cool party sort of thing.

944
00:59:35,826 --> 00:59:40,266
just like starts grabbing like appetizers and everyone's looking down.

945
00:59:40,366 --> 00:59:42,666
I'm not eating that now, you know, sort of thing.

946
00:59:43,626 --> 00:59:44,806
And I actually had a picture.

947
00:59:44,926 --> 00:59:45,846
You just act like you belong there.

948
00:59:45,946 --> 00:59:46,966
Nobody questions you, right?

949
00:59:47,086 --> 00:59:48,206
That's what he was doing.

950
00:59:48,266 --> 00:59:50,926
He was just acting as if, you know, it was like it was a trip.

951
00:59:51,006 --> 00:59:52,646
I actually had a picture with him on my old phone.

952
00:59:52,786 --> 00:59:54,086
I don't have any more though.

953
00:59:54,446 --> 00:59:57,626
I've always tried to find that picture just because sometimes people all prove it.

954
00:59:58,246 --> 00:59:59,446
Sorry, I lost the damn picture.

955
00:59:59,546 --> 01:00:01,666
But it happened and we just tripped out.

956
01:00:01,666 --> 01:00:02,366
I was like, this guy.

957
01:00:02,366 --> 01:00:05,206
it was such a weird

958
01:00:05,206 --> 01:00:07,106
thing because you know rock stars everywhere

959
01:00:07,106 --> 01:00:09,086
cool you get it but

960
01:00:09,086 --> 01:00:10,986
Ron Jeremy doesn't quite fit

961
01:00:10,986 --> 01:00:13,446
but okay there he was that was a trip

962
01:00:13,446 --> 01:00:15,206
who else

963
01:00:15,206 --> 01:00:16,386
Stevie Wonder

964
01:00:16,386 --> 01:00:19,006
many times never liked

965
01:00:19,006 --> 01:00:21,206
conversation but definitely ran into

966
01:00:21,206 --> 01:00:23,306
each other you know give the head nods

967
01:00:23,306 --> 01:00:24,026
shake hands whatever

968
01:00:24,026 --> 01:00:27,286
but we were never close I won't

969
01:00:27,286 --> 01:00:29,206
ever claim that but that was

970
01:00:29,206 --> 01:00:31,306
cool lots of different

971
01:00:31,306 --> 01:00:35,606
people, man. Lots of different people. I'm trying to think because there's been so many. I just,

972
01:00:35,606 --> 01:00:42,606
and then when you're doing sound and production, you know, like, are you guys country or rock guys?

973
01:00:43,566 --> 01:00:43,806
Yes.

974
01:00:44,686 --> 01:00:48,966
Rock. Cool. So I've done, I've done, I've done sound and production for Craig Morgan,

975
01:00:49,826 --> 01:00:55,946
Frankie Ballard. I've done Aaron Lewis. What else?

976
01:00:56,226 --> 01:00:58,626
What a shift. What a shift for that guy.

977
01:00:58,626 --> 01:01:00,706
Bootsy Collins. That was fun.

978
01:01:03,486 --> 01:01:06,126
I mean, I can't remember them all, but like Calexico,

979
01:01:06,406 --> 01:01:07,306
like there were so many.

980
01:01:07,446 --> 01:01:08,566
And then of course there was like Misfits.

981
01:01:08,666 --> 01:01:10,246
There was Chimera if you're into metal.

982
01:01:10,446 --> 01:01:12,186
Oh yeah, Chimera is awesome.

983
01:01:12,546 --> 01:01:14,946
Yep, we did two productions for Chimera.

984
01:01:16,506 --> 01:01:18,046
I want to say Black Delia Murder,

985
01:01:18,166 --> 01:01:19,906
but I might be wrong on that one.

986
01:01:20,126 --> 01:01:21,846
I think I was in a band where we opened for them

987
01:01:21,846 --> 01:01:22,446
is what happened.

988
01:01:22,806 --> 01:01:23,806
No, I didn't do production for them.

989
01:01:24,386 --> 01:01:25,666
And then what else?

990
01:01:25,666 --> 01:01:27,666
There was just so many.

991
01:01:27,906 --> 01:01:28,446
There really was.

992
01:01:28,446 --> 01:01:34,186
like after a while it was like i just look at the writer you know it's like whatever but you know

993
01:01:34,186 --> 01:01:37,986
chimera i'm a metal guy so chimera was cool like it was cool to work with the misfits you know it

994
01:01:37,986 --> 01:01:43,366
was um it's cool to work with some of these guys that that did stand out uh you know machine head

995
01:01:43,366 --> 01:01:49,766
uh and so there those were very cool gigs and then uh there were others where you were surprised

996
01:01:49,766 --> 01:01:54,446
like rappers for example you know when i worked with too short guy was super professional like

997
01:01:54,446 --> 01:01:56,006
you don't think rappers can be,

998
01:01:56,126 --> 01:01:57,766
cause we always see all the chaos,

999
01:01:57,966 --> 01:01:59,226
but some of these dudes,

1000
01:01:59,226 --> 01:02:01,806
they are on their shit to be quite honest.

1001
01:02:01,806 --> 01:02:03,006
So too short was great.

1002
01:02:03,106 --> 01:02:04,146
E 40 was great.

1003
01:02:04,886 --> 01:02:05,286
Um,

1004
01:02:05,806 --> 01:02:06,246
uh,

1005
01:02:06,246 --> 01:02:07,266
what was the other guy?

1006
01:02:07,266 --> 01:02:07,406
Uh,

1007
01:02:07,406 --> 01:02:09,526
I was going to come to me later,

1008
01:02:09,646 --> 01:02:11,766
but anyway,

1009
01:02:11,766 --> 01:02:13,966
I've worked with a few rappers that really knew what they were doing.

1010
01:02:14,006 --> 01:02:14,766
Like they came in,

1011
01:02:14,806 --> 01:02:15,826
they treated it professional.

1012
01:02:16,226 --> 01:02:16,506
Um,

1013
01:02:16,506 --> 01:02:18,106
they weren't yelling over each other.

1014
01:02:18,186 --> 01:02:19,206
Each person saying,

1015
01:02:19,326 --> 01:02:20,686
saying or wrap their lines,

1016
01:02:20,726 --> 01:02:21,546
they complimented,

1017
01:02:21,566 --> 01:02:22,246
they were even,

1018
01:02:22,326 --> 01:02:23,346
they knew how to use their voice.

1019
01:02:23,346 --> 01:02:25,226
They weren't just like squashing the microphone.

1020
01:02:25,646 --> 01:02:28,806
And then when you, when you actually get to work with those dudes, then you have an appreciation

1021
01:02:28,806 --> 01:02:29,946
for like, okay, I get it.

1022
01:02:29,982 --> 01:02:32,842
Now I see how it's supposed to be.

1023
01:02:33,502 --> 01:02:36,002
So yeah, I have a lot of other stories.

1024
01:02:36,282 --> 01:02:38,242
My recall right now, I can't.

1025
01:02:38,642 --> 01:02:39,842
I'm going to have to go back to my files.

1026
01:02:40,002 --> 01:02:42,562
But man, yeah, I do have some stories that will probably come to me later for sure.

1027
01:02:42,562 --> 01:02:45,842
So without throwing anybody under the bus, no names or anything,

1028
01:02:46,002 --> 01:02:53,162
how prevalent is pitch correction, backing tracks, all that kind of stuff in a live show these days?

1029
01:02:53,242 --> 01:02:55,462
These days, a lot.

1030
01:02:57,522 --> 01:02:59,162
I've experienced it more on the rap side.

1031
01:02:59,162 --> 01:03:02,222
because they all have like a backing track.

1032
01:03:02,542 --> 01:03:02,682
Okay.

1033
01:03:03,142 --> 01:03:05,802
And so for, who was the last artist I did?

1034
01:03:07,022 --> 01:03:07,422
Saweetie.

1035
01:03:07,682 --> 01:03:08,622
I forgot how you say it.

1036
01:03:09,082 --> 01:03:10,662
Saweetie, Saweetie, whatever.

1037
01:03:11,402 --> 01:03:12,482
But she was actually really good.

1038
01:03:12,802 --> 01:03:13,462
I'm going to give it to her.

1039
01:03:13,542 --> 01:03:15,282
She actually really knew what she was doing.

1040
01:03:15,682 --> 01:03:17,222
But she did have backing tracks.

1041
01:03:17,302 --> 01:03:18,262
There's vocals and things.

1042
01:03:18,262 --> 01:03:20,902
And sometimes they'll ask you, not her,

1043
01:03:21,062 --> 01:03:23,242
but sometimes the managers will ask you to like

1044
01:03:23,242 --> 01:03:26,222
lower their voice to where it's almost underneath the back track

1045
01:03:26,222 --> 01:03:28,702
because that is the polished track, right?

1046
01:03:29,162 --> 01:03:30,162
which is a trip.

1047
01:03:30,582 --> 01:03:31,782
So there is a lot of that.

1048
01:03:31,902 --> 01:03:34,042
There's a lot of that in worship music, by the way, guys.

1049
01:03:34,482 --> 01:03:35,182
Church bands.

1050
01:03:35,522 --> 01:03:40,042
Yeah, we did a few bands that were touring worship bands

1051
01:03:40,042 --> 01:03:43,482
from like Peru and the Dominican Republic.

1052
01:03:44,362 --> 01:03:48,342
And they literally would come in and their keyboardist

1053
01:03:48,342 --> 01:03:49,822
or even the drummer would have the machine

1054
01:03:49,822 --> 01:03:53,042
and like 16 to 20 channels of just backtracks and layers.

1055
01:03:54,122 --> 01:03:56,262
And then even the drummer, like everything they did,

1056
01:03:56,622 --> 01:03:58,222
they had to have a live acoustic kit,

1057
01:03:58,222 --> 01:04:01,162
but everything's triggered and it's all replaced by, you know,

1058
01:04:01,222 --> 01:04:04,122
different sound effects and whatnot by whatever software they're using.

1059
01:04:04,682 --> 01:04:09,342
Can I just say one thing that irks me beyond belief?

1060
01:04:09,982 --> 01:04:10,362
What's that?

1061
01:04:11,882 --> 01:04:17,082
Country musicians, I'm saying that exceedingly loosely,

1062
01:04:17,662 --> 01:04:19,642
and auto-tune.

1063
01:04:20,362 --> 01:04:21,442
Dude, stop.

1064
01:04:21,682 --> 01:04:22,442
No, stop.

1065
01:04:22,622 --> 01:04:27,742
Just, I'm sorry, but it just, like, if you want me to turn the station,

1066
01:04:27,742 --> 01:04:33,722
if you want your song to be turned off yeah i catch even oak inkling of that and i'm gone

1067
01:04:33,722 --> 01:04:38,602
you know who was um since we're talking country-ish the ones that stood out for me

1068
01:04:38,602 --> 01:04:44,982
and these are why i remember these guys live was craig morgan now you can you can nitpick his pitch

1069
01:04:44,982 --> 01:04:51,542
and tone but the guy was very even the the band was tight on time um aaron lewis was also very

1070
01:04:51,542 --> 01:04:57,422
good uh but the guy that was the best that i worked with well there was two but the one that

1071
01:04:57,422 --> 01:05:03,262
really, and I, and I worked with him, um, I would say four times, um, was, uh, Charlie Daniels.

1072
01:05:03,942 --> 01:05:10,522
And that guy and his band were amazing. Uh, the first time I worked with him was, um, I'll say

1073
01:05:10,522 --> 01:05:15,462
early two thousands, but I was working for another company. I was a modern engineer. So I was actually

1074
01:05:15,462 --> 01:05:19,582
the guy having to mix their mix on the side of the stage. And I was kind of, kind of one of my

1075
01:05:19,582 --> 01:05:23,802
first bigger gigs as far as that, like working with that type of artist. So I'll just say that

1076
01:05:23,802 --> 01:05:28,182
they uh they told me the stories and put the fear in me you know just to make me nervous that was

1077
01:05:28,182 --> 01:05:33,302
fun but um what was really cool is uh talking to the drummer and he's the one that got me into

1078
01:05:33,302 --> 01:05:38,222
gretch drums because i'm a drummer and so before then i never looked at them but man when i went

1079
01:05:38,222 --> 01:05:43,522
over to his drums they're like these usa custom drum things i was like these are amazing so him

1080
01:05:43,522 --> 01:05:48,762
the keyboard player had tails for and this was back then so he passed long before i worked with

1081
01:05:48,762 --> 01:05:52,942
charlie again i'm sure he passed but he was already well into his years and he he already did like

1082
01:05:52,942 --> 01:05:56,042
I guess he was with him with 30 years already

1083
01:05:56,042 --> 01:05:57,002
when I saw him then.

1084
01:05:57,862 --> 01:06:00,182
So he had a lot of tales about the big man

1085
01:06:00,182 --> 01:06:00,782
they'd call him.

1086
01:06:01,902 --> 01:06:03,662
But Charlie Daniels was awesome.

1087
01:06:03,902 --> 01:06:04,422
Really was.

1088
01:06:05,582 --> 01:06:07,302
And Oak Ridge Boys was actually really good.

1089
01:06:08,202 --> 01:06:09,222
So they were really tight.

1090
01:06:09,782 --> 01:06:11,842
You know, not quite my

1091
01:06:11,842 --> 01:06:14,082
style or taste, but

1092
01:06:14,082 --> 01:06:16,282
they were on it.

1093
01:06:16,482 --> 01:06:18,102
Definitely. They were polished.

1094
01:06:18,222 --> 01:06:19,962
They had it. But point being

1095
01:06:19,962 --> 01:06:22,122
is these were people that weren't auto-tuned.

1096
01:06:22,122 --> 01:06:25,722
They were old school musicians that learned that you had to know how to sing and play.

1097
01:06:25,982 --> 01:06:27,142
And this is what it was.

1098
01:06:27,222 --> 01:06:28,562
And you either can do it or you can't.

1099
01:06:28,682 --> 01:06:29,662
You know, so.

1100
01:06:30,242 --> 01:06:30,642
Yeah.

1101
01:06:30,682 --> 01:06:31,122
It was really cool.

1102
01:06:31,422 --> 01:06:35,502
Do you ever record the feed off the soundboard and make your own little bootlegs for your own personal use?

1103
01:06:35,822 --> 01:06:36,782
I never did.

1104
01:06:37,342 --> 01:06:43,142
And the only reason is because a reality is like on these bigger artists, they have their own sound engineer.

1105
01:06:43,862 --> 01:06:44,742
Out front, at least.

1106
01:06:45,062 --> 01:06:47,942
Now, there are often times where they don't have the guy on the side.

1107
01:06:48,022 --> 01:06:49,122
And that's where I would come in.

1108
01:06:49,122 --> 01:06:52,322
and it'd be like, well, we're traveling with our sound engineer

1109
01:06:52,322 --> 01:06:55,602
who's mixing for the crowd and making sure the crowd gets what they're paying for,

1110
01:06:55,642 --> 01:06:58,122
and then they don't always have a monitor engineer.

1111
01:06:58,242 --> 01:07:01,622
So a lot of times I would be on monitors, and I'd be mixing,

1112
01:07:01,842 --> 01:07:05,482
which is crazy because if you think about it, that is the more critical position.

1113
01:07:06,102 --> 01:07:09,862
That is also the most intense because you're balancing everything.

1114
01:07:09,862 --> 01:07:13,302
You're not just sitting out front and turning things up and going,

1115
01:07:13,422 --> 01:07:14,422
oh, does it sound good in the room?

1116
01:07:14,462 --> 01:07:16,122
I should turn this lead guitar up a little more, whatever.

1117
01:07:16,122 --> 01:07:22,542
No, you have five, six, sometimes 10, 20 people who all want to hear something different in their monitor.

1118
01:07:22,962 --> 01:07:24,802
Some of them have in-ears, some of them don't.

1119
01:07:25,442 --> 01:07:31,222
And the ones that don't have in-ears, it's just a plethora of just sound everywhere.

1120
01:07:31,882 --> 01:07:36,482
And you're fighting, like each mix is fighting for that one person to hear exactly.

1121
01:07:36,562 --> 01:07:50,125
Like that guitar player has a monitor in front of him on the floor He wants to hear exactly what he hearing But like four or five feet away the singer needs to hear something a certain way so then you always fighting for like how do i make this clear but then balance the volume so i not pissing the singer off

1122
01:07:50,125 --> 01:07:54,745
but yet the guitar player is not throwing his his guitar at me right so it was it was kind of like

1123
01:07:54,745 --> 01:07:59,785
this this crazy thing and uh that's why i love in-ears because a lot of musicians eventually

1124
01:07:59,785 --> 01:08:03,685
started going that way it just cleans up the stage you get to mix exactly what they want and

1125
01:08:03,685 --> 01:08:08,045
it's like not all over the place. Um, but you still have to have like what they call side fills

1126
01:08:08,045 --> 01:08:11,005
and stuff for just in case something happens or they want to pull it out, they can still hear.

1127
01:08:11,645 --> 01:08:15,625
But anyway, I always got thrust in the monitor land. And I think what saved me was being a

1128
01:08:15,625 --> 01:08:19,925
musician because I knew how things were supposed to sound. Like I knew how to balance how a band

1129
01:08:19,925 --> 01:08:24,205
is supposed to sound. I knew what I wanted in my monitors. And as a drummer, I mean,

1130
01:08:24,205 --> 01:08:28,305
you definitely are competing with a loud instrument and, and learning how to like,

1131
01:08:28,645 --> 01:08:32,385
what do you need to hear versus what the rest of the band needs to hear so that I can get along.

1132
01:08:32,385 --> 01:08:34,925
so I think that helped me a lot

1133
01:08:34,925 --> 01:08:35,685
to be quite honest

1134
01:08:35,685 --> 01:08:37,465
being a drummer in an actual band

1135
01:08:37,465 --> 01:08:39,485
that really did perform live in big places

1136
01:08:39,485 --> 01:08:40,585
and it was like that was cool

1137
01:08:40,585 --> 01:08:42,465
because that translated to me

1138
01:08:42,465 --> 01:08:43,585
being a good monitor engineer

1139
01:08:43,585 --> 01:08:45,265
but we do everything

1140
01:08:45,265 --> 01:08:46,825
we're not just mixing the monitors

1141
01:08:46,825 --> 01:08:49,045
we're not making 5 to 20 musicians happy

1142
01:08:49,045 --> 01:08:51,465
we're also balancing the wireless mics

1143
01:08:51,465 --> 01:08:52,945
and it's not like you just turn them on

1144
01:08:52,945 --> 01:08:54,205
you've got to scan the room

1145
01:08:54,205 --> 01:08:55,425
you've got to do the RF coordinating

1146
01:08:55,425 --> 01:08:56,225
you've got to make sure

1147
01:08:56,225 --> 01:08:57,505
you don't have interference

1148
01:08:57,505 --> 01:08:58,545
and then while the concert's going

1149
01:08:58,545 --> 01:09:00,145
you're the one constantly monitoring that

1150
01:09:00,145 --> 01:09:03,405
and then your monitor, their RF feeds to their in-ears,

1151
01:09:03,505 --> 01:09:04,165
which is important.

1152
01:09:04,885 --> 01:09:07,085
And sometimes you're running back and forth

1153
01:09:07,085 --> 01:09:07,985
in case something happens.

1154
01:09:08,165 --> 01:09:09,585
You don't always have extra help,

1155
01:09:09,665 --> 01:09:11,645
so now you're also the guy that's patching all the cables.

1156
01:09:12,485 --> 01:09:14,425
It's a pretty involved position for sure,

1157
01:09:14,905 --> 01:09:18,305
but you definitely, I think it's underappreciated.

1158
01:09:18,445 --> 01:09:19,365
It's like you always see the guy out front,

1159
01:09:19,425 --> 01:09:19,985
they get all the credit,

1160
01:09:19,985 --> 01:09:24,805
but it's like the guy on the side is doing 20 times more work for sure.

1161
01:09:25,465 --> 01:09:27,325
It has a huge responsibility as the artist.

1162
01:09:27,325 --> 01:09:38,465
So what would you say, what has been your favorite experience so far in doing your work?

1163
01:09:39,485 --> 01:09:40,625
Which work though?

1164
01:09:41,105 --> 01:09:45,385
Yeah, well, the sound engineering, the event coordination, et cetera.

1165
01:09:46,065 --> 01:09:46,345
Yeah.

1166
01:09:46,865 --> 01:09:54,745
If you had to pick like this particular one, you don't have to name the person, but what was it that made it good?

1167
01:09:54,865 --> 01:09:56,145
Why was it so awesome?

1168
01:09:56,145 --> 01:10:03,005
what made it memorable um as far as working with an artist or or what do i actually enjoy

1169
01:10:03,005 --> 01:10:10,385
um yeah i i would say you know working with with artists of some form whether that's a spoken word

1170
01:10:10,385 --> 01:10:20,465
or it's a musician or you know whatever the case may be a vocalist just you know i i'm not sure

1171
01:10:20,465 --> 01:10:25,545
i have one that i'm not gonna lie to you i don't know if i have one that stands out because

1172
01:10:25,545 --> 01:10:32,585
you're so focused on your job that a lot of times you don't get to really take it in yeah to be

1173
01:10:32,585 --> 01:10:38,465
quite honest i because for for me especially as a you know half the time being on the monitors

1174
01:10:38,465 --> 01:10:43,945
um a good job is one they didn't complain about or their manager goes oh that was awesome you know

1175
01:10:43,945 --> 01:10:49,085
sort of thing it's you don't i'm not always able to go out front and really take in the

1176
01:10:49,085 --> 01:10:55,345
the actual performance um i i can say like again there were rappers that stood out like um

1177
01:10:55,345 --> 01:10:57,585
like tech nine, for example, I don't know if you know who he is.

1178
01:10:58,325 --> 01:11:00,305
One of the most talented rappers out there.

1179
01:11:00,305 --> 01:11:05,105
And when I saw him on the angelic tour, um, I was,

1180
01:11:05,185 --> 01:11:08,825
I was providing the equipment, but at that time I was the guy, just,

1181
01:11:08,925 --> 01:11:11,565
I was just the vendor. So I got to actually, you know, check it out.

1182
01:11:12,345 --> 01:11:17,205
And everything they did vocally was just perfectly layered on time.

1183
01:11:17,205 --> 01:11:20,005
And they were actually really using their mics. Uh,

1184
01:11:20,405 --> 01:11:23,805
wasn't so many backing tracks as it was just like sound effects and things,

1185
01:11:23,805 --> 01:11:25,305
you know, and, and of course the music,

1186
01:11:25,345 --> 01:11:27,925
It wasn't really like other vocals on top of what they were doing.

1187
01:11:28,405 --> 01:11:30,185
So that guy stood out again,

1188
01:11:30,305 --> 01:11:31,065
too short stood out.

1189
01:11:31,125 --> 01:11:31,945
E40 had,

1190
01:11:32,025 --> 01:11:32,585
had it down.

1191
01:11:33,345 --> 01:11:33,745
Um,

1192
01:11:34,545 --> 01:11:35,685
and then again,

1193
01:11:35,685 --> 01:11:36,585
like Charlie Daniels.

1194
01:11:36,845 --> 01:11:37,245
Awesome.

1195
01:11:37,605 --> 01:11:38,005
Uh,

1196
01:11:38,325 --> 01:11:38,685
you know,

1197
01:11:38,705 --> 01:11:39,685
stuff like that,

1198
01:11:39,685 --> 01:11:43,145
where you know that these guys really took their craft serious and then it

1199
01:11:43,145 --> 01:11:44,185
really translated.

1200
01:11:44,565 --> 01:11:45,565
And I'll be honest.

1201
01:11:45,625 --> 01:11:46,005
I mean,

1202
01:11:46,005 --> 01:11:46,945
you may not believe it,

1203
01:11:46,965 --> 01:11:49,185
but there's some EDM artists I work with where like,

1204
01:11:49,205 --> 01:11:51,845
it makes you appreciate what a D and a real DJ does,

1205
01:11:51,865 --> 01:11:52,425
but that way.

1206
01:11:52,505 --> 01:11:53,025
Oh yeah.

1207
01:11:53,025 --> 01:11:53,705
And it's like,

1208
01:11:54,025 --> 01:11:54,325
okay.

1209
01:11:54,325 --> 01:12:00,025
like there is an art to mixing music and keeping it timed correctly and

1210
01:12:00,025 --> 01:12:02,825
transitioning. And so when we work with cash, cash,

1211
01:12:02,905 --> 01:12:04,865
they were a big EDM artists. That was really cool.

1212
01:12:04,945 --> 01:12:07,765
Really cool concert event. Those guys really gave their all.

1213
01:12:08,365 --> 01:12:10,845
So I can't say there was one, like there's,

1214
01:12:10,845 --> 01:12:15,065
there's like glimpses and glimmers of this stood out for a certain reason,

1215
01:12:15,125 --> 01:12:18,905
for example, but I couldn't say there was one. It was just like,

1216
01:12:18,905 --> 01:12:21,325
there was just moments, right. Collectively.

1217
01:12:21,325 --> 01:12:29,285
yeah i got to uh go see randy travis in concert when i was younger and we were in laughlin

1218
01:12:29,285 --> 01:12:35,445
and we were we stayed there for i don't know three nights or something whatever but

1219
01:12:35,445 --> 01:12:40,425
uh was walking out of the hotel and you know walking down this path and i hear music and i'm

1220
01:12:40,425 --> 01:12:45,865
like hey wait a second here and i walked up and like right there is randy travis doing sound check

1221
01:12:45,865 --> 01:13:02,288
and uh i don know if you familiar with it but there a song called horse called music and the vocals on it are insane to me anyway I think they they beautiful Uh but you know he he belted this out and then he stopped and he was like huh I know

1222
01:13:02,288 --> 01:13:08,088
it's in there somewhere. I could not for the life of me have picked out where it wasn't

1223
01:13:08,088 --> 01:13:16,268
right. But to see an artist go, that wasn't right from his own vocals and then repeat

1224
01:13:16,268 --> 01:13:22,988
until, you know, I think he did one or two more times was to me like, holy mackerel, that's,

1225
01:13:22,988 --> 01:13:28,148
that's amazing to have that kind of an ear. You know what, you know, who was actually,

1226
01:13:28,248 --> 01:13:32,728
you know, who was a standout and my wife is mad because this was one of her favorites.

1227
01:13:32,848 --> 01:13:37,128
And at the time I wasn't really into him and she kicked herself because she could have went.

1228
01:13:37,628 --> 01:13:40,768
It was, it was, it was a corporate event. So it was like a fundraiser, but they hired Michael

1229
01:13:40,768 --> 01:13:46,248
McDonald. And so we got to provide production. So we provided the lighting and the video stuff.

1230
01:13:46,268 --> 01:13:51,388
um actually no we did yeah they had a different audio company but we did all the video in lighting

1231
01:13:51,388 --> 01:13:58,268
form and so i told her she can go and she's like i don't want to get your job you know you'll never

1232
01:13:58,268 --> 01:14:02,728
be able to see you and this and that and so she kind of brushed it off and then i brought it back

1233
01:14:02,728 --> 01:14:06,288
videos because i got to walk backstage and i'm on the side because i didn't have to be at a console

1234
01:14:06,288 --> 01:14:16,148
and uh that guy is it was even at his age and this was um when was this was was right

1235
01:14:16,148 --> 01:14:21,788
about this is somewhere during the pandemic so it wasn't that that long ago and he was doing this

1236
01:14:21,788 --> 01:14:27,688
and he was just so effortless man like you know the whole band was just on it his vocals you know

1237
01:14:27,688 --> 01:14:33,308
he had that that tone that's undeniable right and it's like he wasn't even trying it was a trip it

1238
01:14:33,308 --> 01:14:37,408
really was it was just like he wasn't even trying and then all of a sudden I had appreciation for

1239
01:14:37,408 --> 01:14:41,428
Michael McDonald so now I like him but you know it never really was my thing in terms of music

1240
01:14:41,428 --> 01:14:46,028
before but now I'm like okay I you know like I said some things you have to experience to get it

1241
01:14:46,028 --> 01:14:47,368
It can't just hear it on the radio.

1242
01:14:47,848 --> 01:14:49,988
You got to see them perform and what they're doing.

1243
01:14:50,548 --> 01:14:54,728
So I would say he would be one guy that would definitely be a standout.

1244
01:14:55,688 --> 01:14:58,628
And if we're talking about concerts, I didn't get to work these.

1245
01:14:58,628 --> 01:15:04,888
But as far as what I saw, I met Dia once, but I actually got to see him too in Black Sabbath

1246
01:15:04,888 --> 01:15:08,088
when he got back together in the 90s, the 92 Dehumanizer tour.

1247
01:15:08,228 --> 01:15:09,008
So I got to see that.

1248
01:15:09,088 --> 01:15:09,888
That was really cool.

1249
01:15:10,628 --> 01:15:15,388
And then I got to see Sabbath with Ozzy when they did that reunion and they had Pantera open.

1250
01:15:15,388 --> 01:15:16,988
And that was really cool as well.

1251
01:15:17,468 --> 01:15:20,808
So, you know, that, and then when I saw Dream Theater Live,

1252
01:15:21,288 --> 01:15:22,948
that was great, you know?

1253
01:15:23,408 --> 01:15:25,908
And so it's, there are certain bands that stood out

1254
01:15:25,908 --> 01:15:29,268
for what they offered in terms of what they stood for

1255
01:15:29,268 --> 01:15:30,528
and their musicianship.

1256
01:15:30,768 --> 01:15:32,808
And then there was others that was just a presence

1257
01:15:32,808 --> 01:15:34,108
you had to experience, you know?

1258
01:15:35,168 --> 01:15:37,988
Yeah, I actually got to meet Dio as well.

1259
01:15:38,108 --> 01:15:40,048
And I'll mirror exactly what you said.

1260
01:15:40,868 --> 01:15:43,708
We actually drove up to KNAC,

1261
01:15:43,708 --> 01:15:47,708
where he was doing an interview and we hung out and he came out.

1262
01:15:47,808 --> 01:15:51,048
There was not that many people, believe it or not, which was weird.

1263
01:15:51,488 --> 01:15:55,428
But he came out and just hung out with us for probably a good 15 minutes,

1264
01:15:55,428 --> 01:15:59,648
just talking to people and was just genuine and just a real human.

1265
01:15:59,648 --> 01:16:02,368
And I was like, that's pretty cool.

1266
01:16:02,688 --> 01:16:04,008
He was just a cool guy.

1267
01:16:04,008 --> 01:16:05,848
And again, I didn't get close to him.

1268
01:16:05,908 --> 01:16:09,408
It was just, it was just what the encounter I had was just a very,

1269
01:16:09,548 --> 01:16:10,328
very cool encounter.

1270
01:16:10,328 --> 01:16:13,548
And for me, him being my favorite metal singer,

1271
01:16:13,548 --> 01:16:16,408
and, you know, it was just one of those things where it was like,

1272
01:16:16,468 --> 01:16:18,008
oh, wow, okay, guy's not a jerk.

1273
01:16:18,228 --> 01:16:20,368
He's like, you hear the stories of how cool he was,

1274
01:16:20,388 --> 01:16:21,308
and he really was that.

1275
01:16:21,968 --> 01:16:24,428
Now, the guy that was a trip was Carmine Apice.

1276
01:16:24,688 --> 01:16:25,808
I don't know if you know who he is.

1277
01:16:26,568 --> 01:16:30,048
Okay, he did play for Ozzy before.

1278
01:16:30,348 --> 01:16:34,008
He was in, what was that other one?

1279
01:16:34,488 --> 01:16:35,288
Vanilla Fudge.

1280
01:16:36,728 --> 01:16:39,248
His brother's Vinnie Apsey, who's the other drummer

1281
01:16:39,248 --> 01:16:41,788
that played in Sabbath and with Dio.

1282
01:16:42,508 --> 01:16:45,188
But that guy at NAMM one time, this was this one.

1283
01:16:45,908 --> 01:16:48,688
So this is at the time where I was actually starting to get endorsements.

1284
01:16:48,848 --> 01:16:50,868
Not big, but there was some smaller companies

1285
01:16:50,868 --> 01:16:52,648
that were starting to give me stuff, which was cool.

1286
01:16:53,568 --> 01:16:54,688
And so I was at this booth.

1287
01:16:55,048 --> 01:16:55,648
What were they called?

1288
01:16:55,728 --> 01:16:58,608
They were called, not Metalworks, something else.

1289
01:16:58,648 --> 01:17:00,988
But anyway, they made like these, they weren't quite cymbals.

1290
01:17:01,108 --> 01:17:02,768
They're like almost like noisemakers you hear with a stick.

1291
01:17:02,828 --> 01:17:03,988
They were like crosses and stuff.

1292
01:17:04,348 --> 01:17:05,988
So it was like stacked metal and different things.

1293
01:17:05,988 --> 01:17:08,748
and it had really, really little cool, like punchy,

1294
01:17:08,748 --> 01:17:10,128
like in and out tones you could use,

1295
01:17:10,188 --> 01:17:11,908
like especially when you're playing with like rock or metal.

1296
01:17:12,328 --> 01:17:16,288
So I'm over here and they're working something out with me

1297
01:17:16,288 --> 01:17:17,088
and it was really cool.

1298
01:17:17,588 --> 01:17:19,568
And then he comes up behind me, right?

1299
01:17:19,988 --> 01:17:22,408
And his attitude, man, he was just like standing there.

1300
01:17:22,468 --> 01:17:25,268
He had the glasses on and he had like the,

1301
01:17:25,348 --> 01:17:27,088
I think the hair was poking out, you know what I'm saying?

1302
01:17:27,268 --> 01:17:28,688
Out the shirt and he had the butterfly

1303
01:17:28,688 --> 01:17:30,248
and the whole thing with the jacket.

1304
01:17:30,788 --> 01:17:32,128
He's just sitting there with a gold chain.

1305
01:17:32,228 --> 01:17:33,368
He's like chewing his gum.

1306
01:17:33,368 --> 01:17:38,788
and then he's like the owner of the company is right here and he sees them and they're like oh

1307
01:17:38,788 --> 01:17:43,408
man okay and they're trying to be respectful to me but at the same time i get it i was like well

1308
01:17:43,408 --> 01:17:47,788
i mean you go talk to him talk to him right and then i was like dude it's cool he's like okay

1309
01:17:47,788 --> 01:17:52,188
sorry i was like nope take care of him and then he goes there and the whole time the owner's

1310
01:17:52,188 --> 01:17:57,248
trying to talk to him carmen's just doing this looking up looking up and the guy's trying to

1311
01:17:57,248 --> 01:18:02,048
tell him oh yeah we'd be willing to work with you and offering some percentage thing and he looks

1312
01:18:02,048 --> 01:18:16,131
down takes a glass he goes just looks at him And then the owner just looks looks away and he looks back at him he goes okay here here you go just just just take it it was like i not gonna argue with him just

1313
01:18:16,131 --> 01:18:21,451
take the stuff and use it whatever that's cool that was something you had to see it was it was

1314
01:18:21,451 --> 01:18:27,131
it was like out of a 90s mob movie or something it was weird you know i think that's really

1315
01:18:27,131 --> 01:18:31,891
wonderful well i think we're probably getting close to a good place to wrap it up this has

1316
01:18:31,891 --> 01:18:37,831
been a wonderful conversation. I really have enjoyed it. Um, one of the questions we, one of

1317
01:18:37,831 --> 01:18:42,171
the things we like to do is give our guests the opportunity to give a shout out and a way of giving

1318
01:18:42,171 --> 01:18:48,291
back. And, you know, basically throughout our lives, there's someone that has had a massive

1319
01:18:48,291 --> 01:18:55,371
and lasting impact on our lives. It could be a historical figure and author, sixth grade science

1320
01:18:55,371 --> 01:19:02,151
teacher could be mom who would you like to shout out um i think there'd be like two people

1321
01:19:02,151 --> 01:19:09,851
honestly because it's there was one my third grade teacher uh i'm sure she's been she's passed away

1322
01:19:09,851 --> 01:19:14,491
a long time ago i'm sure uh her name was uh i didn't forget her first name but miss mizzanti

1323
01:19:14,491 --> 01:19:22,031
and uh she was my third grade teacher and i was not an easy one and she was one of those

1324
01:19:22,031 --> 01:19:30,531
I take no shit type of people and constantly was challenging, you know, and she talks straight.

1325
01:19:30,791 --> 01:19:35,531
Not, not what you get from teachers today. She was a straightforward, straight shooter type of

1326
01:19:35,531 --> 01:19:41,831
person. And, you know, whether I liked her or not, it did make me go, oh, fine, you know, sure. I'll,

1327
01:19:41,831 --> 01:19:46,271
I'll go do it sort of thing. And, and just the way that she handled that and handled me was really

1328
01:19:46,271 --> 01:19:51,971
Nicole. And then my dad actually shaped a lot of, you know, not, not that I'm not going to shout

1329
01:19:51,971 --> 01:19:58,171
out to my mom either, but you know, my dad was also a musician and you know, basically that's

1330
01:19:58,171 --> 01:20:04,351
kind of what got me into music obviously. But, and he was a man who had opportunity twice to sign

1331
01:20:04,351 --> 01:20:08,991
record deals, to go on tour and everything. And he chose not to because of his family, you know,

1332
01:20:08,991 --> 01:20:14,691
raising the kids and all that. And yeah, you know, he's, he, he, he's one of those people that,

1333
01:20:14,691 --> 01:20:18,531
you know when I was about to be born turn his life around to just make sure that he could be

1334
01:20:18,531 --> 01:20:23,811
the father he needed to be sort of thing so yeah miss Mazzani and my dad for sure and of course my

1335
01:20:23,811 --> 01:20:29,831
mother I mean you can never not shout out your mom I mean come on but yeah that's I think that's

1336
01:20:29,831 --> 01:20:35,251
where I'll I'll leave it is there well that's awesome so what do you got going on what are you

1337
01:20:35,251 --> 01:20:41,711
working on where can people find you um what I got working on is slightly different than what we

1338
01:20:41,711 --> 01:20:47,071
just had in terms of conversation. So my actual podcast is politics. It's the current events,

1339
01:20:47,151 --> 01:20:52,311
politics and geopolitics. And I try not to get trapped into the rage bait things,

1340
01:20:52,311 --> 01:20:59,031
but, uh, I, I do some deep dive research. So I, I will, I will present facts and data,

1341
01:20:59,031 --> 01:21:03,691
whether you want to believe or not, it's well-researched stuff. Okay. And I, I'm not

1342
01:21:03,691 --> 01:21:08,971
one of those people just talk out of my ass, so to speak, to be quite honest. And so that is what

1343
01:21:08,971 --> 01:21:10,891
I do. And I've had many guests. I've had

1344
01:21:10,891 --> 01:21:12,951
intelligence professionals, like

1345
01:21:12,951 --> 01:21:15,051
actual people still working in Intel. We're offering

1346
01:21:15,051 --> 01:21:16,551
it through a private sector

1347
01:21:16,551 --> 01:21:18,331
and have contracts with government.

1348
01:21:18,871 --> 01:21:20,851
I've interviewed many people that were

1349
01:21:20,851 --> 01:21:22,891
special ops, special forces type people,

1350
01:21:23,191 --> 01:21:24,871
politicians, Emmy award winning

1351
01:21:24,871 --> 01:21:26,831
journalists, you name it. And what's

1352
01:21:26,831 --> 01:21:28,791
cool about it, what's cool about it is

1353
01:21:28,791 --> 01:21:30,731
I get to learn from these people, right? So

1354
01:21:30,731 --> 01:21:32,931
aside from doing research, I'm also getting first-hand knowledge

1355
01:21:32,931 --> 01:21:34,911
from them. The one thing I'll say

1356
01:21:34,911 --> 01:21:36,871
about the podcast is this. I am definitely more

1357
01:21:36,871 --> 01:21:37,251
conservative.

1358
01:21:37,251 --> 01:21:40,791
and there are some episodes where I get,

1359
01:21:41,051 --> 01:21:43,091
I don't hold my tongue when it comes to certain language.

1360
01:21:43,371 --> 01:21:45,611
So if anybody wants to check that out,

1361
01:21:45,691 --> 01:21:47,251
just be forewarned.

1362
01:21:47,731 --> 01:21:51,031
And that podcast is World of Blaze with George Fonson.

1363
01:21:51,251 --> 01:21:53,711
I mean, you can find it at worldofblazepodcast.com.

1364
01:21:53,791 --> 01:21:55,031
That's probably where you'll find a lot of links

1365
01:21:55,031 --> 01:21:57,691
like the socials and everything and check out episodes.

1366
01:21:58,691 --> 01:22:00,231
And so that's the current thing.

1367
01:22:00,711 --> 01:22:02,731
Outside of that, I don't know where I'm going to go with business.

1368
01:22:03,011 --> 01:22:04,731
I'm thinking about getting out of the current one I have

1369
01:22:04,731 --> 01:22:06,431
and going into something else

1370
01:22:06,431 --> 01:22:07,951
because I've been doing it for 27 years.

1371
01:22:08,771 --> 01:22:11,691
But outside of that, yeah, just focusing on the podcast,

1372
01:22:11,971 --> 01:22:13,411
just talking to people like you,

1373
01:22:13,731 --> 01:22:17,871
talking to subject matter experts, guests, historians,

1374
01:22:17,991 --> 01:22:18,891
anybody that I can learn from,

1375
01:22:19,051 --> 01:22:21,871
and anything that's along the veins of politics and current events.

1376
01:22:22,091 --> 01:22:25,411
And definitely hope that what I do and through conversations,

1377
01:22:25,411 --> 01:22:26,931
we can keep America on track.

1378
01:22:27,091 --> 01:22:28,791
And I don't know how you feel about that,

1379
01:22:28,831 --> 01:22:30,611
but that's pretty much my goal at this point.

1380
01:22:31,891 --> 01:22:32,711
Sounds awesome.

1381
01:22:33,331 --> 01:22:34,331
Well, you heard the man.

1382
01:22:34,571 --> 01:22:35,311
Go check him out.

1383
01:22:35,311 --> 01:22:37,991
World Ablaze with George Fonts.

1384
01:22:39,811 --> 01:22:42,031
Thank you very much for giving us some of your time.

1385
01:22:42,131 --> 01:22:43,551
It's our most precious commodity.

1386
01:22:44,431 --> 01:22:47,551
And thank you for giving us some of your time.

1387
01:22:48,351 --> 01:22:49,631
You know where you can find us?

1388
01:22:49,711 --> 01:22:51,151
We're everywhere podcasts play.

1389
01:22:51,471 --> 01:22:55,251
YouTube, X, Telegram, Nostra as well.

1390
01:22:55,471 --> 01:22:56,491
Go check out Nostra.

1391
01:22:56,571 --> 01:22:57,131
It's pretty cool.

1392
01:22:57,331 --> 01:22:59,251
The anti-censorship platform.

1393
01:22:59,251 --> 01:23:00,311
There's no owner.

1394
01:23:00,631 --> 01:23:01,691
You can't be banned.

1395
01:23:02,171 --> 01:23:02,571
You cannot.

1396
01:23:02,851 --> 01:23:03,731
It's not possible.

1397
01:23:03,731 --> 01:23:05,791
so give it a shot

1398
01:23:05,791 --> 01:23:08,191
and remember

1399
01:23:08,191 --> 01:23:10,151
wherever you are

1400
01:23:10,151 --> 01:23:12,291
whenever you're watching this

1401
01:23:12,291 --> 01:23:14,511
have an amazing day

1402
01:23:14,511 --> 01:23:16,851
thank you for stopping by George

1403
01:23:16,851 --> 01:23:17,451
see you everybody

1404
01:23:17,451 --> 01:23:18,291
thank you

1405
01:23:18,291 --> 01:23:19,071
bye guys

1406
01:23:19,993 --> 01:23:41,133
Thank you.