It’s About GD Time Show
Carlos Bocanegra: Big Dookie’s Musical Rides and Monstercade
Join the laughter and nostalgia train as we sit down with Carlos Bocanegra—better known as Big Dookie—for a rollercoaster ride through Winston Salem's musical landscape. Picture this: gritty neighborhoods, the ghost of Mad Dog 2020, and the pulsating beat of an underground music scene that refuses to fade. From the iconic stages of the '90s to the innovative vibes of our beloved Monstercade, we traverse history, art, and the quirkiest of local lore. Carlos brings the heat with tales that are bound to keep you hooked, and our shared memories might just have you reaching for that vinyl collection or, dare we say, a retro bottle of Ripple.
Ever wondered why R&B and hip-hop talents from Winston don't hit the mainstream like their folk and jazz counterparts? We don't just ask; we explore the undercurrents of a scene rich with unsung heroes and venues that dare to defy norms. Tia Corine's leap from our stage to the grand platforms of Coachella exemplifies the dreams and drive that pulse through our city's veins. Meanwhile, the conversation takes a turn through the intersection of art and community values, where a local muralist's brush with city censorship paints a vivid picture of the shifting perspectives on artistic expression as we mature.
Pour yourself a tropical drink and bask in the anticipation of a Mesoamerican Tiki bar experience like no other, set to charm Winston Salem in 2024. But before you get too comfortable, heed our words of wisdom about the fiery flash cubes of yesteryear's Polaroid cameras—a cautionary tale amidst a jovial chat on the evolution of technology. As we bid farewell to Carlos Bocanaga, it's not just the music that leaves its mark, but the camaraderie and the groovy essence of a conversation that dances between hearty guffaws and profound revelations.
Join the laughter and nostalgia train as we sit down with Carlos Bocanegra—better known as Big Dookie—for a rollercoaster ride through Winston Salem's musical landscape. Picture this: gritty neighborhoods, the ghost of Mad Dog 2020, and the pulsating beat of an underground music scene that refuses to fade. From the iconic stages of the '90s to the innovative vibes of our beloved Monstercade, we traverse history, art, and the quirkiest of local lore. Carlos brings the heat with tales that are bound to keep you hooked, and our shared memories might just have you reaching for that vinyl collection or, dare we say, a retro bottle of Ripple.
Ever wondered why R&B and hip-hop talents from Winston don't hit the mainstream like their folk and jazz counterparts? We don't just ask; we explore the undercurrents of a scene rich with unsung heroes and venues that dare to defy norms. Tia Corine's leap from our stage to the grand platforms of Coachella exemplifies the dreams and drive that pulse through our city's veins. Meanwhile, the conversation takes a turn through the intersection of art and community values, where a local muralist's brush with city censorship paints a vivid picture of the shifting perspectives on artistic expression as we mature.
Pour yourself a tropical drink and bask in the anticipation of a Mesoamerican Tiki bar experience like no other, set to charm Winston Salem in 2024. But before you get too comfortable, heed our words of wisdom about the fiery flash cubes of yesteryear's Polaroid cameras—a cautionary tale amidst a jovial chat on the evolution of technology. As we bid farewell to Carlos Bocanaga, it's not just the music that leaves its mark, but the camaraderie and the groovy essence of a conversation that dances between hearty guffaws and profound revelations.
You ready? I'm ready, oh yeah, hey everybody, it's about GD Time Show. It is February 27, 2024. How you doing? Gc? I'm good, my brother. How are you? I'm doing great man Good good, good.
Speaker 2:You know, this is strange, this new setup. I like it.
Speaker 1:You like it. You like it. Yeah switch around the table man. We're farther away from each other.
Speaker 2:I know, man, I miss you, do you really? Yeah, come on man.
Speaker 1:Don't talk about smack already.
Speaker 3:Really hey you excited about today. It's too early, yeah, too early in the morning, okay.
Speaker 1:I mean tomorrow it'll be too early in the morning. We'll be, over listening. So hey, everybody, we got a great show for you today. Oh shit, here we have in the studio the guest that we did. Did we actually leak what we were? No, we just had a special guest.
Speaker 2:No, I leaked it Because we didn't know if he was coming Right Like. I know this guy. I know this guy, Sadie was coming, but do you know he's coming. I know him like an old smell. That's what she said, yeah.
Speaker 1:Anyway, I'm gonna let you introduce him Go ahead.
Speaker 2:Listen everybody. Hey, you guys are in for a treat tonight because I got my guy, my brother, my main man, the big dukey, my guy, big dukey, little brother, ladies and gentlemen, mr Carlos Poconecura what the hell man, I know, right, look it's about GD time.
Speaker 3:I've been on this show the fifth episode or something. You wait all this time, please. This is our fifth season. This is your fifth season. Oh man, look, hold on. Just like before we start, let me go ahead and say this Steve, that's the thing is that no one, if anybody's, like watching us or hearing us. I just picked up my. I needed to lock my car.
Speaker 3:Look, you don't know where we're at. Seriously, no joke. Like there was a homeless man that came up to me. Look, you don't even have homeless people here, you got bums. There's unhoused. Look at these, they are unhomeless. And then down here they got bums, this is the dungeon, baby.
Speaker 2:What?
Speaker 1:do you?
Speaker 2:think you were coming.
Speaker 1:That was my brother.
Speaker 2:That was your brother.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Nice to meet you. He's here every Monday.
Speaker 2:About my family.
Speaker 3:Yeah, look well. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Hey man, thank you for coming, Let me tell you about this setup.
Speaker 3:Look, my neck is going to be hurting because we got the guest in the middle where I have to look at both of you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, look, that is because we had another guest. That was like hey, well, there's only one other guest and he's like why am I not in the middle?
Speaker 3:Like I'm the guest.
Speaker 1:I'm the focal point.
Speaker 3:So I'm like you know what kind of stuff you got going on over here. I don't want you to think of me as the host.
Speaker 1:I'm not the host man, I'm just the sound guy the camera guy, the lighting guy, the mostly most of the time alcohol guy not tonight alcohol guy the fire guy. I got the girlfriend who's the bookcase girl.
Speaker 3:Anyway, the point is you can talk to GC next time, because it is kind of like whiplash, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean that's you're always looking at the camera man.
Speaker 2:Don't look at us, just look straight ahead.
Speaker 3:These are the people that matter.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, yeah, no, so yeah.
Speaker 3:And they gave me, like a what is this? This is like. Was it cognac? This is a. What is this Right Pour that shit back in the bottle. I know I'll put it back in the bottle. Here you go.
Speaker 1:Wait a second, he's not even messing around, he's like this.
Speaker 3:Shit is like maple syrup. This is bullshit. No, this is all right. You know, this is this. Ain't Club Shayshae like grade.
Speaker 1:Oh no, look, he's like this is like wild Irish Rose.
Speaker 3:I know exactly what you got Mad Dog 2020, that you know what.
Speaker 2:There used to be dead flies in the empty bottles in my neighborhood in Mad Dog 22 and wild Irish Rose. There were dead flies in there, so that tells you that the flies can't even dream it yet, and you know what they play in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, that stuff's like what was it like? Rotted cherries fermented in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, roses, and it's like uh 450 proof, something like that. Yeah, something like that.
Speaker 1:I drank that one time, one time.
Speaker 2:But if you mix it with Kool-Aid, taste what taste. It's amazing. And Thunderbird, what if I said, wait, wait, look, look. Okay, all right, you know what?
Speaker 3:I wasn't able to have back in the day. Now, hold on. I know that you're gonna say something important, but I got something really stupid to say Obviously so were you around when Ripple was around? Cause I've always wanted to try Ripple, ripple.
Speaker 1:Yes, ripple, that's what I got it from, from Sanford and Son.
Speaker 3:I was a massive Sanford and Son fan when I was growing up. And he always talked about Ripple and Mint Chipple and whatever. I was like man. I got to try this when I get older and then it was gone. Yes, but you're from the Ripple age. I am from the Ripple age Ripple. Thunderbird.
Speaker 2:Mad Dog 2020.
Speaker 3:Yes, so what was Ripple like what? Who's the man?
Speaker 2:Who's the host? Like yeah, that was one of the bottles I used to see on the ground walking through the neighborhood with the dead flies in it. So I'm good, I'm good, I had my brother.
Speaker 3:Man, it must have been good if he got dead. Flies in it.
Speaker 2:Oh man, yeah, but the bums wouldn't be dead.
Speaker 3:I know exactly the bums yeah, yeah so hey, once again, thank you for being here tonight, thank you, guys for having me, thank you, thank you. This is, yeah, this is. It's a. It's a treat because you know, I've never heard of you guys, I haven't watched any of your shows, so it's a treat so far. God man, it's getting worse.
Speaker 1:He doesn't like he doesn't like the fricking liquor man Like. I'm saying here, starts asking, you starts saying hey, hey, old man hey old man, what's that Ripple taste? Like that ancient liquor. And he's like hey, this is a treat. I've never heard of you fucking Joe Bios. By the way, everybody come to my famous bar in town See you next Saturday.
Speaker 2:And so basically, hey, david, it was basically like you know, kill yourself.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I mean I got the rafters up, up here.
Speaker 3:Thank you for inviting me to your little show.
Speaker 1:No, so, carlos, yeah, yeah, gc would like to ask you a question this is like an interview. I totally forgot what I was going to say.
Speaker 2:I had a good one a minute ago, so anyway, anyway but you know, what people may not know about this cat sitting to my left is that he's not only a stoop businessman, but he's an amazing.
Speaker 3:A stoop.
Speaker 2:A schnook. All right, go ahead. Yeah, he's a. He's a damn good musician on top of that. Yeah, and so what he does, what I wanted to ask him, since he you know, this guy plays all over the world, so and with his band, so he we wanted to bring him here to talk about the state of music in Winston Saling, locally. How do you feel about it? Is it improving? Do we got you know? Why can't we get Dave Matthews here? All that good stuff?
Speaker 3:So I can tell you about the Dave Matthews thing. The reason why we haven't had him is because Winston Saling has good taste. And so you know that dude, you know that dude you know that dude took a dump on a bunch of people.
Speaker 2:He did, and in Chicago and it went into the river.
Speaker 1:Did you hear about this? No, no, yeah. You talking about actual dump oh absolutely. So like they unloaded.
Speaker 3:He unloaded his bus, his tour bus, unloaded all of the what is it? The tank? The septic tank that they had there into the Chicago river and there were people sightseeing on a boat and it just dumped all over them. They got Dave Matthews shit all over them.
Speaker 1:Did he like time this shit so that like?
Speaker 3:I don't know. I'm sure he did.
Speaker 2:But here's the thing you tell that Now. You've been saying that for years and it's true. Oh, I know it's true, and he, you know he paid restitution for you know whatever, but I don't see what the problem is.
Speaker 3:Oh, what's the restitution for getting shit on? How much is that? What's the?
Speaker 2:problem.
Speaker 3:I mean, I don't know what you're doing next Saturday or what you do with your Saturday nights, where, just like, what's the problem?
Speaker 2:I mean it's Dave Matthews. If it was me, you and you know David there'd probably be an issue.
Speaker 3:Oh, so you're saying that, for look, my is worth money too, okay.
Speaker 2:Please, all right, so getting back to anyway the state of music.
Speaker 1:So we can't get Dave Matthews because there's a risk. There's a risk that he's going to shit on people in the muddy river.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you what. There are worse things those people could have been subjected to his music yeah. You know, here's the thing about Dave Matthews. Here's the thing about Dave Matthews. Either you love that guy or you hate him.
Speaker 1:I don't know if that's totally true.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:A lot of people who are indifferent, and indifferent is way worse than hate man. It is, it's anything like when somebody comes onto your show and they're like I never fucking heard of your show.
Speaker 3:Look, don't make me turn them. Turn my seat around. We got this.
Speaker 1:I got to invest in some better fucking arms, man, because look at this thing, this thing is like right in between us, man, I mean but hey, because I'm like, I'm reaching around.
Speaker 2:Did the homeless man outside tell you this? All right, dog. Anyway, tell us about it, man. And you know, here's the thing it used to be years ago that you can go to just about any night spot downtown Winston and just see this. You know these live ass bands.
Speaker 3:So yeah, that's the thing is. Is that? So Winston Salem has gone through a lot of cultural changes, especially when it comes to downtown. When you're talking about downtown, yeah.
Speaker 3:So you know we're really Monstercade, my club, which is on the south side of town. We're not in downtown, we're about, you know what, two minutes away from downtown, right, we're a product of all of those clubs that you're talking about and that music scene that used to be downtown back in the 90s, because, remember, back in the 80s there used to be like block parties and stuff like that, carolina Fest. Carolina Fest back in the day.
Speaker 3:And I was a young kid so I don't remember a lot of that, unless my mom brought me there. You probably remember more than I do, yes, so I know my Winston-Stay-Long history.
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 3:I know so back when I was growing up in the 90s. Of course there was places like Ziggy's and Beatty's and Helen Box and all those places right, but also downtown you had a lot of the other punk clubs that were a lot more underground, because downtown in the 90s, early 90s, late ages- that was.
Speaker 1:It was scary. It was Traits, traits for you men, traits. Yeah. You both said yeah, traits man.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no joke, pablo's and stuff like that, those clubs, dude, I knew Pablo. Yeah, well, you knew Frank and Pablo.
Speaker 1:Well, whoever yeah, I don't know where Pablo is nowadays Some other state man, Some of the state? Yeah, there was a whole thing. Yeah, he has a crazy, crazy different scene. So what's different now?
Speaker 3:Well, that's the thing is, is that. And then Cranky's kids came in, right, and so we're pretty much a direct I don't want to say direct because I wasn't part of that crew, but I really admired them right, because the Cranky's crew came in, they bought that building that is now Cranky's and they basically lived in an artist commune.
Speaker 3:That dilapidated building in a bad part of town. They even bought a bus, converted it into an oil, an oil based bus. So, like it, go on tour with vegetable oil. Right, and they did. They made a short documentary. It's on YouTube, it's pretty crazy.
Speaker 1:Well, I know what I'm watching tonight.
Speaker 3:It was pretty wild, so like they would bring in shows from like these bands that were super underground and we would go to these shows back when like my first years in college and stuff like that, and this is right when they were just getting into the coffee scene. So we kind of took up that mantle and then there was a couple of little things that happened. Cranky's, of course, had shows then, and then that whole block. There was a record store called Reanimator, which my friend Anthony ran, and then there was a vampire right where Fair Witnesses, there was a vampire club. It was just basically a bar called.
Speaker 2:The Black Lodge.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:A vampire club.
Speaker 3:It was Black Lodge and what you would do? You get tipped in like drugs. That's basically. It was just a drug done. Sorry guys, it's gone, it's out of it's gone now.
Speaker 2:What? But I love it, damn damn damn yeah, it was no joke.
Speaker 3:Cause like that's how I cut my teeth, is that like if you could make it in that bar, if you could like bartend there or work there and like not get completely screwed up and cause I mean everybody, there was no joke.
Speaker 1:No joke.
Speaker 3:All the drug dealers would hang out there, you would hang out, you would shut the blinds at 2am and there would be parties that went on all night.
Speaker 2:Until yeah.
Speaker 3:Until like 6am 7am in the morning. People would OD there. You would throw them. No joke, people would throw OD there and you would take them out of the bathroom and put them on the street corner and shut the doors and like just leave and leave them on street corners to call the cops.
Speaker 1:What is this Winston Salem man? Oh, dude, that's I could open the burbs man.
Speaker 3:Nah man, this is Winston Salem, this is OG Winston Salem. I'm telling like the stories right now, but like people know it.
Speaker 2:So it was like worse than Helen Bot.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, yeah, no joke.
Speaker 2:You remember that, right yeah absolutely Helen Bot's.
Speaker 3:That was on. That was in the Coliseum.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So this is back in like the 90s, like you grew up around at the same time as me.
Speaker 3:No, I'm talking about Black Lodge was seven years ago, Seven eight years ago.
Speaker 1:I could have gotten the good shit seven years ago.
Speaker 3:Well, it's fair. Fair witness, now fair witness, and like, took over that the guys that run it.
Speaker 1:Blake and Tim are great guys. They're awesome. Actually, I've been to Fair Witness. They got good drinks.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they got good drinks, good dudes, but no, that's. They can tell you stories too if you go over and ask them stuff, but like, so that's where I cut my teeth, because again, if you, it's kind of like New York City or LA, if you can make it there, if you can make it at the Black Lodge and like, make money and like, because again it was just wild. The owner was kind of just he wasn't around, you just got to fend for yourself. It was wild.
Speaker 2:Well, let me ask you this then Since, supposedly, city was supposed to be the city of the arts, right? Why don't they promote that more like live bands? I know they do like the outside thing on Thursday afternoon, but that's jazz Now. That has you know. Sarah and I happened to when we were living downtown at the lofts. We happened to visit that one night and it was a good you know crowd. But I'm just talking about these up and coming musicians.
Speaker 3:This is not so that's what I'm going to go to Like. So we had all of that. We had all of these, these great venues that would take chances and bring in these acts, and we're talking about acts that, like, were nobody's and they had to start someplace right and they were a little bit off the beaten path.
Speaker 3:They were a little bit strange, but Cranky's Reanimator especially, and there would be shows that Black Lodge too would take in a lot of these more avant-garde acts. And then when everything kind of changed, when Cranky's went to become a restaurant and they took out the stage and everything, which I understand, because I mean, like you know who is going to want to listen to a noise artist at 9 pm?
Speaker 2:Oh wait a minute. You're my man of shit. You took me too. Which one, which one?
Speaker 3:Did the girl wear?
Speaker 2:the. Yeah, she would wear the football helmet and beating on the trash can. Oh, I probably did I probably, we probably went to the. So.
Speaker 3:He took me to. So if for anybody that hasn't heard already, I don't think we've even gone this. Me and Gary have known each other for like 20 years. We've known each other. We've been like BFFs since probably a long time. Yes yes, so yeah, I've taken him like a lot of crazy places that I've throughout the years but yeah, oh no, that stuff, that stuff went down.
Speaker 3:So anyway, when all of those places closed, then they're in line the opportunity to kind of fill that vacuum. So Monstercade came along, and we're in our seventh year now.
Speaker 1:So we've been around for a while. Good deal, there's the plug, there's the plug and that's the plug. Finally, I know, get into it, we're getting to it. There we go, we circle around.
Speaker 3:I've given everybody props, I've given the circle jerk, and now it's my turn it's basically how this runs. So, look, I know how business is, business is business. They're gonna be like oh, thank you for giving me a shout out. I'm like got you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, got you. Was she wearing a bra?
Speaker 3:So, yeah, mk does more shows, monstercade does more shows in the triad than any other club. No joke, we are 15 to 20 musical dates a month. That is three bands a night, three band bills a night, 15 to 20 times. That doesn't even count our comedy nights. Our comedy nights happen every Monday, which are extremely popular to happen right now. It's guaranteed pack room and so it's just nuts. So, like we do more shows than anybody except for we're comparable to, like, the milestone in Charlotte and some other places in Raleigh. But dude, we're trying.
Speaker 2:The Orange Peele.
Speaker 3:Well, the Orange Peele doesn't even do as much as we do.
Speaker 2:Oh really, Good deal man. Well, it's a lot of work.
Speaker 3:It's a lot of work.
Speaker 3:But, it's great because that shows that the scene still it still can support itself. Like there is a scene here. After COVID we were super worried because a lot of the old guard including my bands right, they kind of fell off. Because we all reassessed our lives after COVID, trying to figure out what it was that we wanted to do with our lives, how, what was worth it and what wasn't anymore. A lot of people, music doesn't pay the bills. Music is kind of a drag, but you got to love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you really have to, yeah.
Speaker 1:So I looked you up, yeah yeah, because I had never heard of you before.
Speaker 3:Never heard of me before you got to like yeah, I was like who the fuck is that this guy Come? On.
Speaker 1:Who's on my show? I've had five episodes. Drink him my fucking liquor. Tell me, it tastes like ripple.
Speaker 3:In my basement, please In my basement, yeah.
Speaker 1:No, so I did look you up and so it looked like the last album or the last official music video on Bokeh Neger Music, youtubecom. Check it out Bokeh Neger Music.
Speaker 3:See what I did for you right there. There we go. So there you go. This is why I like being on the show. I'll be here next week, is that it so?
Speaker 1:I'm listening to it and well, first thing I noticed was the date. So I guess that's like. So it's hard to keep pumping out new music and new music videos. By the way, the music videos are pretty badass, especially in 2013.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, thanks. Yeah. No, there was a pro shot in Peru. So you kind of touched on this. And that's interesting that we're talking about Bokeh Neger, because Bokeh Neger was inactive from 2014. We had, like a blowout on stage. It was a whole rock and roll type thing. We've done a lot of rock and roll stuff.
Speaker 1:A blowout, Did you like? Did you take the drums?
Speaker 3:Yep exactly. No come on. You said about my Eagles, and there were like when Glenn Fry and the guy playing the guitar.
Speaker 2:He talked shit about him and then he ran off stage and was it like that dramatic?
Speaker 3:Yeah, there was attorneys involved. Like seriously, no joke. Our band was at that point where we were all about to see each other Because, seriously, it was a bad tour we had packed out and that year, 2014, we did a theater tour and each one of the shows had sold out and we still weren't making any money. I was still going in the whole thousands of dollars. And the reason why is that the guarantees that they knew Booker, who was somebody's cousin, and we agreed to do in this they booked like shows and our guarantees were way too low for our production costs. So I was losing thousands of dollars each night, even though we were selling out every one of them. It was ridiculous. And so we did. We had a breaking point and we did a final show.
Speaker 3:Can't tell the story, but we did a final show. It was in a plaza that had a ton of it was like an outdoor mall, right. And so our management was like, hey, let's do this one show that is going to be a thank you to everybody. It's just a free show. So we were like, okay, well, we'll do it, and like 3000. Yeah, it was like a thank you, whatever, and like they were trying to kind of you know, I guess, make us feel better or something does to have a big crowd, another big crowd come out. I don't understand it, but I'm sure they convinced us somehow, and so it was like 3000 people that show up, right, and the drummer had been missing cues every single night. And God bless him because I love him.
Speaker 3:Hossue is amazing, he's an amazing drummer, but he was about to have his first kid and so he was on tour with us and like, obviously his headspace is not there, he's in, his brain is just someplace else. He's missing cues all the time. After every show, me and the basses are bringing him to the side and like, dude, you miss this song, you miss this song, you miss this cue. And he's like I know, I'm sorry, and what do you need to help with? I need more practice.
Speaker 3:Okay, that night we have more practice, and you miss the cues again, I'm sorry, I just couldn't hear my monitors. Okay, turn the monitors up. Next night, same thing, just always something. And at the very night that last night, again, it's like 3000, 4000 people, which is a good size crowd, but for us it was kind of a smaller crowd at that time. So we did this show and I remember he missed a couple cues and there used to be video of this online where I just like, after about three songs, I'm like, oh, that's it, you missed a cue, I'm out. Bye, have a good night.
Speaker 1:And just take off, try to get off.
Speaker 3:And then you see people come back and like, hey, come on, you got to play this show. Like you know, this is. You got to just do another song, it's cool. So the bassist like comes over and is like, yeah, this is fine, we'll just do it, man Come on. All right, cool, we do it. He misses another cue. By that time the bassist is like pissed. So he he like starts toppling over things. He's going over and like he just taken his bass and like just the drummer is still playing and he's like you know.
Speaker 3:The symbols are like going all over the place, kicking in the sink. He still plays, though, and we just throw everything over, just like. All right, good night, you know and discuss.
Speaker 1:So one time the drummer decided that he was going to keep playing, and he kept playing.
Speaker 3:He totally did. We walk off stage, go backstage and this is great. So, like he I just told this story recently, this is crazy, I'm telling it again but like um, so we go backstage and, of course, like there's a yelling match and like I'm never playing with you guys again and everybody's screaming at each other Like this tour sucked and we're never doing this again because we'd been on road. We'd be on the road for, like you know, it'd be easy to do two months on, then like two weeks off, then another two months on, two weeks off, and for a small, a newish band, that that's a lot. That's a lot to kind of like take in, and you're doing it for years on end. So we're screaming at each other. Meanwhile you hear the applause of like the crowd turn into booze really quickly, and so the manager was really scared that like there was going to be a riot and they were like, oh, you're going to be financially responsible for all this damage that's outside, because this is like in an outdoor mall, this is like a high end outdoor mall. And so I've seen, I saw this once in my life, I've seen it, I saw I didn't believe that this, this, this trope, was true, but it is.
Speaker 3:They went up to these kids and these kids had they had a new band and they really were. They had begged to open a show for Bokeh Negra and they were like huge fans of ours and all this other stuff. And this was the one time that we signed off on it because it was a free show. We were like, ok, it's a free show, this is your hometown. Cool, yeah, you guys can open the show. They were like seriously, 19 years old. The management goes up to them and they're sitting on a couch and they're just watching everything. Like melt, you know, they're one of their favorite band, as they said, like we're, we're fighting and screaming at each other and saying we're going to sue you. Like that's it. Like how dare you? Almost killed me with a symbol.
Speaker 3:You know, and yeah, we're being world rock and rollers, right. And the management goes up and is like you got to get back on stage. And these kids are like they're like what? We already played the set and like, listen to me, if you don't get back on that stage and right now I swear this band is through and any of your other bands that you tried to start is done I will make sure you never play again.
Speaker 3:And like yeah, they took it and I was. I was mortified, but still at the same time I'm yelling at my bandmates. So I had other problems. But I saw the kids and they were just like OK, and like they go back up on stage and you hear people to even boo louder Like I'm out. I got a taxi, I was out of there and like oh, you left. Yeah, I left.
Speaker 1:Everybody left, we all got out of our taxes and we were out. So the first time they get to open the show, they get to close the show, they got to look, they got an education in rock and roll. That was.
Speaker 3:That was rock, and roll education and if you cut your teeth on that stuff. Dude, seriously you're, you're cut out for it. So yeah, so we didn't do it from 2014.
Speaker 1:That was basically I was going to say yes, so apparently that's why there are no music videos after. That was a really good long answer.
Speaker 3:Well, yeah.
Speaker 1:And from the two guys who said I want a 30 minute show, I get the text. That was a 17 minute answer.
Speaker 3:I told you. I told you, that's it Like. I'm giving you gold here, would you like it?
Speaker 1:Would you like some more ripple? That's what we're serving here and that's how we get them to talk. I know that was a good answer. It's interesting.
Speaker 3:Well, no, that's the thing is is we didn't break up. What we did is my, my guitarist at the time, our touring guitarist, yeddo smart guy, he's brilliant and in fact he's a psychologist. So he got management together and stated hey, because management, of course, was trying to hold this thing together Like my drummer got an attorney, everything like we were ready to go, like we didn't talk to each other for like a week or two, they kind of left us alone, but he did get an attorney. He was ready to do it Like get for royalties, because we were making money. We were making a pretty good amount of money off stuff. I mean we were on MTV like we had charted. We had four top 40 singles in Peru.
Speaker 1:So yeah, we were doing this. It was right before streaming. Why are you here doing our?
Speaker 3:show.
Speaker 1:Well, I'll get into it, I'll get into it.
Speaker 3:So that's the thing is is that he was smart because, like, he basically went to the gym, went to our management and stated if you guys, if you guys can get them in a room and just with a counselor, I think, if we do, we can do a mediation with them. And so he was real cool. He was like super hippie as well as like a psychologist, and he talked to each one of us and was like hey, man, just just chill. Man, it's cool, like let's just go on and talk. So that movie, that movie, the Metallica, some kind of monster dude, that thing If you've never seen it, it's great because it truly is what being in a working band is like, because they go through mediation and you learn a lot about, like, how that process is, because you think about it, you are married to this person. Like seriously, these guys like are, they're your troops, they're your comrades, oh yeah.
Speaker 3:And just like you guys, have this, this cool artistic thing that's going on right now.
Speaker 1:Just before the divorce, just before you're here, you said we're done with this shit.
Speaker 3:No, but think about it Like if this thing grows. If this thing grows to like a point where obviously you not only do it because it's fun but also it's financially beneficial, then you are locked into something that you may not like, Gary, sometimes and believe me, I know there's a lot not to like there.
Speaker 1:Oh, tell me more. No, kidding, keep.
Speaker 3:So. But that's the thing is that you're married to him because you're, you're locked into contracts as well as like it's beneficial to you in a different way. So you may come to a point where you may have to get a counselor, you may have to get somebody to help you mediate through some of these issues, so that way the machine can continue to move.
Speaker 2:Let me ask you this question why is it that you don't see a lot of R&B artists coming out of Winston like hip hop, r&b, this is the trade. Yeah, that's you know what I'm saying. Why are we not seeing that? Why, you know, you see a lot of folk music, jazz.
Speaker 3:Yeah and that that goes to all right. So Monster K does do a good amount of hip hop shows especially. So my heart's in this like not to put that story aside. But obviously we didn't break up. That can put the bookmark in that. We didn't break up. We just we did a mediation session session decided not to like continue on for a while, that we were just going to kind of take a break. That break turned into years. We are just now starting back up. A bookmark just started up like maybe two months ago with some new members and I was improved just talking to old members I was I was.
Speaker 1:I was, I guess, confused because I saw on Facebook posts it's brand new. Ok, yeah, it's brand new.
Speaker 3:So, like Monster, we were playing a show on April 15th. There's my plug. We're doing a show at April 15th. It's been great and we were doing new material and we're all extremely happy. So, all right, bookmark mark on to Bokeh Nagra. So to your question about R&B and hip hop stuff. There is a good, vibrant scene and it is underground and you're seeing it more at house shows. So in order for it to get to the point where the mainstream kind of is familiar with it and a lot of these artists are becoming household names, obviously clubs like my own will have to start taking some chances and booking these people and booking them, maybe with, as booking goes, with a, an artist that may be a little bit more recognizable.
Speaker 2:Sure To bring them in before you bring in the acts that people are not more familiar with.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and so there is. I was just happy about this. I went to go see a band called Twin Temple in Charlotte at the Fillmore or the underground, Fillmore Underground, and it was wild because I was at the urinal and I'm looking at as one does whatever flyers right in front of your face.
Speaker 2:Chris Cornell didn't wash his hands.
Speaker 3:Oh, I got to get started with that. So, and there on that on that flyer of upcoming events, is Tia Karen. Tia Karen got her started at Monstercade like she was underground and one of her first shows like out and in doing a real club was at Monstercade. And now she's killing it. She was on Coachella.
Speaker 2:She was on stage in Coachella, wow Like she's no joke going to make it.
Speaker 3:She's right there at that cost and she's a hip hop artist. That is just incredible. If you've never heard her, she's really good, but she just and she shot her music video at Monstercade during the pandemic, for a song, I think Avril Lavigne, but yeah, so there it is. There the underground hip hop community, as well as the what?
Speaker 2:why is it the underground hip hop community? Why is it not just the hip hop community? Like you know, you have artists like oh my God, yeba. You know what I mean. You have these. I don't know if you're familiar with her. She's a R&B artist, a white female out of Arkansas, and she is amazing and you know she's not getting a lot of play. So you know, I'm thinking we may have the next Yeba, or you know that the artist you just mentioned, here yeah. But they're just not getting the.
Speaker 3:So there are, and I'm telling you, like in the R&B world and the hip hop community they are their insular right, as I've noticed, but they are super active. There is a troop. They basically will unite with each other a lot of times, like if they're part of that genre, for instance, steady hyperactive. They're a troop that like have evolving members or a revolving door of members better said, evolving and revolving but like they play Monster Kade all the time with like new artists that they bring in. They're really really good. Steady hyperactive in Winston Salem and I want to give a shout out also to Wally C, ocean Green and Ghostie. Both of them they've started their own troop too. And there's another hip hop artist out of Charlotte that's killing it, austin Royale, who has teamed up with like a punk band.
Speaker 3:And so he's doing like a punk or hip hop fusion super cool. Also there's another band, lucid Amethyst, out of Greensboro, that are kind of melding hip hop and or R&B with, like dream pop and shoegaze, which is a new type of genre. It's not a new type of genre, but for this area it kind of is other than like the belt, shout out to the belt all of those guys, but yeah, so anyway, there is, it's vibrant and it is. It is there, but it's going to take clubs that aren't just it's weird because they'll play places. A lot of hip hop artists in R&B places will play like a hookah bar and that's where they can get booked. And that's kind of sad because I think that they get a bad rap with a lot of the major clubs because they don't wanna deal with riffraff or people that like there may be some stigma that they have in their brains about like, oh, there's gonna be graffiti or there's gonna be underage the bullshit that comes with it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, there's gonna be gun violence or something like that which. I think is antiquated in a lot of sense because like. I know these people personally and like, obviously they're all super, not only super talented artists, but they're also really genuinely really good people and we haven't had any problems with them. So like we're doing our part on the South side, Exactly, but the city needs to do more.
Speaker 1:Do you mean my city taxes should do more.
Speaker 3:Oh shit. Well, when you say the city, I never know what the fuck you're talking about.
Speaker 1:Cause? Is it the arts council you mean? Do you mean the mayor join should do more for R&B hip hop artists.
Speaker 2:Do you?
Speaker 1:mean that monstercade person. You know private business owners need to do more.
Speaker 2:Like, what do you mean by the city? I think it's a combination of all of those factors that comes in If you hold yourself out to be the city of the arts. Right?
Speaker 1:Which is about pottery from Moravian's. Come again, pottery, pottery, moravian's. They're the ones that got that name. We just kept it.
Speaker 2:Right. But you see what I'm saying. Now in your genre. You do the theater right oh watch it you do theater, watch it, don't. You say it, man you do theater, don't you say it. But I'm talking about outside hands music. Oh, I was gonna go there. My choir board music, you did it. Yeah, well, I just got the text.
Speaker 1:From whom? From Sarah, your wife. From Sarah, your wife, jazz hands. That was accusing me of doing jazz hands. I did one freaking show with him where. I had to end a move like this and they said I was doing jazz hands.
Speaker 2:And that wasn't a problem. But anyway.
Speaker 1:The point is, what do you mean by that? Because you asked him a very specific question and he says look, my business is doing a lot, we're gonna be doing this.
Speaker 2:But I'm talking about the city of Winston-Selton.
Speaker 1:But who do you mean? The city, what is the city?
Speaker 2:to you, the city as far as business owners, you're talking about city government that promotes the fact that we are the city of the arts. Okay, when they proclaim themselves to be the city of the arts, what's the first thing they do? They moved a little theater out because they couldn't get the funds.
Speaker 1:That was the arts council.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 3:So I have an? Yeah, I'll tell you. I got an answer for you. It's the arts council, you're exactly right, which you just hit. But the arts council has been expanding a lot because, I've noticed now, this was one of my major complaints when Monster Kade first started Because, again, we pride ourselves on being ground zero for anything that's artistic or anything that's off the beaten path definitely happens at Monster Kade. Anything that was interesting in the city for a long period of time happened at MK. That was it. No one could dispute that right. But the arts council has been spending money and were taking chances with a lot of newer generation. The newer generation and some of their ideas. There's a new place called the Dose Collective the Dose Collective and then they've actually got a brick and mortar place downtown on Trade Street where they have allowed artists of all genres to kind of come together and jam together A lot of hip hop artists and R&B artists are starting to go there.
Speaker 3:But before you're exactly right, 100%. The arts council. One thing that really made me so angry is the arts council, or whoever came up with arts. For arts sake, like I wanted to strangle whoever, would it take you five minutes to come up with that slogan? That slogan's terrible For somebody that's, or a city that's supposedly writing on the back of art we should be expanding minds. We should be breaking barriers and things of this sort.
Speaker 1:But they allowed a mural to be painted on the side of the street, I mean in Prod Street. Does that not make it a new art, Do you?
Speaker 3:remember that whole debacle. We took that, that mural when they took the mural down by. Remember that whole thing, that whole Wait which one the wine. The Wake Forest one with the Mount Money bags. It was done by Nico. That's a shout out to him because he's a great artist too. But he did a mural for the arts council, or not for arts council, I think it was for. I can't remember if it was arts council actually was.
Speaker 1:Are they sitting?
Speaker 3:It was a city, it was somebody that was involved in it, but he did a representation of what he saw the city, how the city was going. He drew a demon deacon with the money bags looking evil because it was a statement against Wake Forest buying a lot of low income properties and displacing people. So whoever was running that mural got pissed and it was a massive debacle. It was all in the newspapers and everything in the store. This was about like two years ago, three years ago.
Speaker 3:No, that was recent and they made him paint over it. They made him go out there. The city of the arts made an artist that would paint over something that was not lewd. It was not lewd, it was a statement against like what he saw as sprawl right, and by a big corporation, because Wake Forest is a corporation all these things. So that's the thing is is that, and we took that artist and brought him to Monster Cade, and now that mural that he had to paint over now is on the side of our building.
Speaker 1:It's all connected in the dots now, yeah, cause absolutely.
Speaker 3:So there was for art's sake is AFAS, and so that's their abbreviations, or whatever Abbreviations or whatever. And so we held a giant rally with it wasn't with housing, it was housing for better neighborhoods. It was one of those organizations I can't remember really, or at the top of my head, but we called it AFFS for art, for fuck's sake and did a massive campaign and stuff like that, cause we're so mad at the city for doing it, because that's the thing is, it's infuriating to live in the city of the arts when they and again it wasn't lewd.
Speaker 2:That's what I've been saying. It was not lewd and artists.
Speaker 3:That's what artistry is about. Artistry art, to me, is it's not a brass chicken that somebody came up with that they're selling on Trade Street right. Art is supposed to make you feel. It's supposed to make you think, it's supposed to make you understand the world in a different way. That is what true art and effective art does. There is a reason why in your dentist office, in your doctor's office, that they put up Ansel Adams pictures. I love Ansel Adams. Ansel Adams is an amazing photographer right. But it is so overused that it makes you feel nothing.
Speaker 3:There is a reason why there are paintings of ducks up there. Now, is that art? I would say that that's craft. There are some artists, things in there but that's craft. Now are we the arts of crafts? I mean the city of crafts or the city of the arts, because art is supposed to make you think.
Speaker 2:Well, it's funny that you say it. Yeah, but is everybody? Interpretation of art is different. It is Because you can't just hold it, go to a gallery, fart in a fan and think that's art, that's not art, that is art, but it could be to somebody, but I think that there's a universal thing.
Speaker 3:I think that there probably is a universal understanding of what the difference between art and craft is, because you can be and I would say that great art sometimes is a mix between the two. It doesn't have to be completely artistic. Where it's difficult to understand, art and craft kind of go together. But for me personally I like that intersection between the two because if it's too artistic it's too difficult to understand. For instance, like a noise album, like the girl with the football helmet that we were talking about, that I took you to. You don't understand that. That's hard for me to understand.
Speaker 2:I don't understand it. Did you understand?
Speaker 3:No, I didn't understand. That's what I'm saying. The artistic side is too much, it's too difficult for the audience to understand. There may be some people that get it, obviously, but then the same thing with the craft side is just too. That's when you start getting brass chickens and like, oh, that would look good with my knickknacks.
Speaker 1:Okay, no one's looking at your knickknacks, my DuFlochies.
Speaker 3:Yeah, your my DuFlochies, and is that art?
Speaker 1:Nah.
Speaker 2:Nah.
Speaker 3:It's good to feel space. It's good to feel space.
Speaker 2:But do we sound like old? Okay, let me pose this question to you guys, David and Carlos. Do we sound like old guys now? Because we're like what's art and what's not? Because a lot of people, when NWA, for example, came out and they were saying these new things on the radio, a lot of people say, well, that's not art, that's just a bunch of dudes cursing on us.
Speaker 1:They were saying it's pretty crafty the way they use those words.
Speaker 2:And then here's the thing that Dr Dre said you know they were taking a. You remember what was going on in the 90s when they were steamrolling their CD cases? And and no, well easy. He said I'm sorry he said it, you know they were steamrolling the NWA CDs and he said I don't care, they had to buy them. You know they bought those to do that. So are we, the old guys, now to say, well, you know this type of music, or is not really music, or this type of art.
Speaker 3:That isn't being a gatekeeper. It's not being a gatekeeper because I can't tell you what you feel when you look at this painting, and I can only I can express what I feel when I look at this painting or when I hear that song. Right, I can try and and if you're close to me, believe me, you'll know that like, if I get really excited about something. You got to hear this, you got to hear this.
Speaker 3:It's like oh, my God it's so good, it's like, amazing, like, and you know I'll get excited about it. But I can only go so far about telling you my experience. You have to experience it for yourself. So I can't be a gatekeeper, but there will be times where I'm like you don't like that song, You're stupid, you don't understand.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what he'll do. That's what Gary said to me when I said I didn't like Dave Matthews band.
Speaker 3:Oh no, that's not stupid, that's not, that's not craft or art, that's crap.
Speaker 2:And well, see he get just like. I don't like Elvis, you don't like Elvis at all.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he did take a lot from from black culture. Uh-oh, no, I ain't going. I love, I love Elvis. Are you an Elvis impersonator?
Speaker 1:Yes, Wait, no, no, don't. Why'd we say that online?
Speaker 3:Because I just figured out who you are. No, you didn't, yeah, I did.
Speaker 1:What are you talking?
Speaker 3:about. I know, you know, you know Monster Kate is like hold on. So you look, I've.
Speaker 1:I don't want to steal anymore from black culture than has already been stolen, so we should stop this right here.
Speaker 3:Believe me, I, I, I can. I can fully attest to the fact that you were not stealing anything from black culture. I'm looking at you right now, you good.
Speaker 1:But I don't know what the hell that meant. Man, what the fuck, what does that mean? Hey, pass me the ripple, pass me the ripple, I will steal from black.
Speaker 2:Give me the ripple.
Speaker 1:Give me the ripple.
Speaker 2:Right now, somebody get that man a bottle of ripple.
Speaker 3:Well, this is the thing is. Have you ever heard of Ren Elvis?
Speaker 1:Uh, yes, yes, yes, I have so.
Speaker 3:Ren Elvis. So when Monster Kate first opened up after the yeah, I'm going to tell you right quick Ren Elvis, ren, from when Monster Kate first opened up after the pandemic, we were so happy that we had to have a special guest. We had to have the first person to inaugurate that night our stage, to welcome us back into like having shows again indoors. Ren Elvis is a is a four foot nine Filipino man who looks nothing like Elvis, can barely speak Well. He speaks English. He sings pretty well but speaks pretty well, but he has extremely thick accent and he sings off key with a disc man Like no, no, no no, this sounds amazing man.
Speaker 3:Oh, it was amazing. So we I had heard rumors about this guy. I didn't know he existed, but he's in Charlotte. I got him to come from Charlotte to inaugurate our stage. We have a bathroom right next to our stage. We put in smoke machines and strobes and we had the bathroom door fly open during. You know, elvis is like yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, 2001. Yeah, rock, zero, thruster, yeah oh 2001 space Space Odyssey.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm not such an urge, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm also a film geek.
Speaker 3:So go ahead. So like, yeah, exactly Like the Ric Flair anthem or whatever. He opens up the door and like there's smoke, and like there's a four foot nine Filipino overweight man. He's old as hell and he went up on stage and played. It was the most amazing thing. We just had a conversation about in August having an Elvis fest for his death.
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 3:What? What? Elvis is dead. I thought you were gonna say rest in peace, right?
Speaker 1:Not Renelvis, no, not Renelvis no. He's got an Instagram page, right, renelvis yeah.
Speaker 3:If he doesn't look him up. Are you and Elvis? It is amazing.
Speaker 2:He sent me a message the day. I'm not an Elvis fan, but I respect him more than that shit.
Speaker 3:You got to come to that show. You would love it, because I know you like little people.
Speaker 1:He does always talk about how, hey, does he play a little guitar too? Does Prince play a little guitar?
Speaker 3:Not because we don't play a little guitar, he is. We always had the run in joke that it's not a party unless a little person, the donkey and clown, show up.
Speaker 1:Damn. You tell him the same jokes 20 years later 20 years later.
Speaker 2:Look, you know what we're going to do, you know. Just want to say this we are going to be we just talked about it off air and Carlos and I and David, we talked about we're going to do a live show at Mastercade.
Speaker 3:All right, oh, you put me on that You're going to put this on the air as a live you know what we also said just before the show, carlos said yeah, yeah, I don't believe it until I see it.
Speaker 1:Like I'm not going to tell my people I'm on the show until the show actually goes up. This show still has an air, so we'll wait. Well, by the time the people are listening to it tomorrow, I gave the date. That's why I give the date.
Speaker 3:So you put your pressure on yourself? Yeah, that's a good way to work Every Tuesday.
Speaker 1:Well, that's why we still meet up. It's not because we want to.
Speaker 3:You want to hang out. I mean we got to do this. I mean, why would you come in this basement otherwise? Oh, I love this basement, Damn the hits just keep on coming.
Speaker 2:We love this basement.
Speaker 3:It is. This is a great basement.
Speaker 1:No, I'm just Look, it's not bad, it used to be better. You just have a ceiling, it's fine. Yeah, it did it did. It had carpet, it had carpet.
Speaker 2:This is the dungeon and we are the dungeon, philosophers, and thank you for being with us, brother.
Speaker 3:Was this the wrap up? Yeah, wait, wait, wait, just before we go, because I guess yeah we did.
Speaker 1:We've already run at 50, unless I edit. Which way, might you know? I don't know. You guys See, everybody comes on to like I'm staying in tight. Guys, I got a bitch waiting on me, I got 20 minutes, I got to get outside and then you start talking on the mic and you start telling your stories and then all of a sudden, you know it's great.
Speaker 3:And that's what people want to hear.
Speaker 1:Local people telling their great stories I had never heard of you before you came into my basement, and now you're telling me stories about Ren Elvis. We talked about you two, you know. Did you say you knew Bono?
Speaker 3:I don't know, Bono. I have friends that yeah.
Speaker 1:Right. Then you find out I have Bono's jacket. Then you find out, allegedly that I had done Elvis. Then you know, ren Elvis, look.
Speaker 3:I love the fact that like you just threw in that whole Bono jacket thing. We haven't talked about any of that. Like you just throw it out.
Speaker 1:Oh shit, no, I don't want anybody to know that I own.
Speaker 3:You know what I?
Speaker 1:own upstairs.
Speaker 3:Oh, Bono's jacket.
Speaker 1:I want everybody to know. Yeah, but I also told you I was too fat to fit in it, man, because he's too tiny.
Speaker 3:I can't fit his jacket.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and he said does he play a tiny guitar too? Because I love.
Speaker 2:Oh, oh, be recapping. That's what we're doing. Okay, I love Tiny.
Speaker 1:Man with their tiny guitars. Hey am I mine that you love Tiny man with tiny guitars? No, you're not lying. I don't know about all that.
Speaker 2:I'm talking about.
Speaker 3:I'm just gonna feed her for a little bit.
Speaker 2:He's a little dude. Right, he's a little dude, but what a dude. He got a little guitar right.
Speaker 1:Stop playing, man Don't do me like that Normal size, playing that diggly, that dude's Irish. All right, so we are at. I got one thing. One last thing. I got to ask you, though, because I want to know what happened. All I've been hearing about for I don't know like a year was your, your Tiki bar that was gonna open up, and then I'm like hey, where's that? Well, we have mutual friends and and it was kind of going around town. There's a Tiki bar opening up.
Speaker 3:There's a Tiki bar opening up and then I heard it didn't open up so well that's the thing is is that I was we look me and a wonderful team of extremely talented friends. We're definitely working on that an immersive Tiki bar. That was been a couple of times where Monster Kade has almost expanded into different locations. Right before the pandemic we were super close, we were this close to opening up a Greensboro location. It was going to be huge, but it fell through. Of course, pandemic happened. Like I was, I had to walk away from it. But there's been other things that have come up on my radar that I've had to like focus my attention on. But now that things are kind of going back to like normal you know my band reformed and plus on top of that, like Monster Kade is doing extremely well I'm able to refocus on that. So I just did a lecture at the First South County Library.
Speaker 2:I heard that John told me Last week A mutual friend John. I was like well, why?
Speaker 3:I know that's my question too why in the world they want me to do anything?
Speaker 2:No, it's for it was for.
Speaker 3:So there's like a my friend, david J Brown, and his community called Dent of. It's like of creatives they do like a TED Talks and so they did a TED Talks at the First South County Library and I was part of that doing a lecture on Exotica and Exotica music and spy music, which is another one of my loves. I absolutely love this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think you told me that, but yeah, it's it's it's closely linked to, to Tiki Bar culture. So, yes, it is going to happen. You heard it here. There we do have like a couple of locations that we are dead set on trying to get, but it has to be right because, again, this I'm not gonna. I'm gonna trash our Tiki Bar that we have downtown, which is a completely mud and crap and terrible.
Speaker 1:But um I know here we go.
Speaker 3:I love, I love Tiki Bars. I think Tiki Bars are really, especially the more immersive that they are. We're not talking about like the Myrtle Beach ones that just like have a couple of grass, grass huts. I'm talking about like fully immersive stuff that they have on the West Coast that are amazing, right. So there's nothing like that that we know of in the state of North Carolina. I know there's nothing except for I'm sorry, I have to, I have to. I have to edit that because there just was a new one that opened up in Wilmington. It was done by some of the designers that worked for Disney. It is incredible. It was an old theater that they they redid into a Tiki um, a Tiki Bar.
Speaker 2:I'm extremely excited about it. I'm sure it was the theater that I used to go to when I was a kid. It might be On Front Street.
Speaker 3:It might be, it's the one that has a stage in the middle and then there's like a balcony and like in the middle, that's it, say they redid that into a Tiki.
Speaker 3:Bar and restaurant. It's really so. I've only seen like TikTok videos and stuff and it looks really cool, um, but we're going to be the first of it, our kind, um, because the thing is is that Tiki culture is just made up. It doesn't exist. In fact, polynesian culture as we know it as well as Polynesians know it, it kind of doesn't. It's not true to its real form, because what happened was how much more time do we have?
Speaker 1:Well, it's as much time as you want, because I can edit this down.
Speaker 3:Edit it down.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm going to cut all of it, but me talking, so it's going to be like it's going to be great, it's going to be awesome.
Speaker 2:Don't worry, I'll just say what you talking. Yeah, just you talking Screw it.
Speaker 1:I'll have you guys laughing when I what?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, no, that's. The thing is that Tiki culture doesn't truly exist in a real form. It's kind of a bastardization of what South Pacific, the actual culture. The actual culture is a bastardization of that Right. So I'm not from the South Pacific, I don't have any roots there, my background is Peruvian and so what I do know is Mesoamerican type cultures, incan culture especially, from my culture.
Speaker 3:And as well as you have the Aztecs, you have the Mayans, you have all of these rich cultures from back in the day, from Mesoamerica, and so we're going to start the first Mesoamerican Tiki bar.
Speaker 1:That's going to be awesome.
Speaker 3:It's awesome, fully immersive. We've already. Again, I'm working with a very talented group of people and, yeah, it's going to happen in 2024. We're hoping that that like will come to fruition because again, it's been in the planning stages, as well as design stages for like two years.
Speaker 1:Well there, have been a lot of people waiting to go.
Speaker 3:It's going to be and we will not disappoint. If you've never been to Monstercade, we don't disappoint there either, like it's fully immersive too, if you've never been to MKed. But if you can imagine MKed's larger sister or larger sister, older sister that has gone to art school and is a little bit more mature, that's going to be, that's going to be like the Intiki.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, yeah, I got to get by Monstercade.
Speaker 3:Monstercade, monstercade.
Speaker 1:I was getting intimidated man. Well, that's the thing is.
Speaker 3:Look, dude, that is something that we hear all the time that people are intimidated to go. I guarantee you and you can read all of our reviews online. Whatever, I guarantee you that, no matter how you look, however you feel about yourself, you will be welcome at MKed because-.
Speaker 1:So when I have my pocket protector and my nerd glasses, absolutely, let me tell you something I was there at Monstercade.
Speaker 2:I mean, somebody walked up off the street and you had a runny nose and you remember that cat. Which one was that the brother that came up with that did fire.
Speaker 3:Were you there that night that he spit fire outside?
Speaker 2:No, I wasn't there that night. It was Sarah and we was sitting outside and his nose was running.
Speaker 3:Oh I know who you're talking about. Yeah, I know who you're talking about. I think he was doing some things and there was a reason why his nose was running. Yeah, exactly, he came up with his cell phone and he was trying. I was like man, this guy's coked out of his brain. Yeah exactly, yeah, no but this is back to what you're saying.
Speaker 2:So you will fit right in. You'll fit right in.
Speaker 3:Your nose can be runny, we'll know exactly what's going on. But you can come in a business suit or a bare costume and people will not battle lash.
Speaker 1:Guaranteed.
Speaker 3:That sounds like a good place to go in town. It's the place to go in town All right, that's my invitation.
Speaker 1:Now I go. Do I get to sing? You do something.
Speaker 3:Oh, that was-. I'm not trying to plug myself, I just put my-. No, of course, I just put my Elvis Fest. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Elvis Fest. You got to come up on stage on Elvis.
Speaker 1:Fest. No, I'm retired man.
Speaker 3:No man.
Speaker 1:Elvis can't leave the building yet. Elvis, I always said since the cast out of bag when I was young. Well, you know our mutual friend, she'll tell you I was great. I don't know that's like any art, that is she did.
Speaker 3:She talked very highly of you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you know, everybody's got their own tape, have you not heard?
Speaker 3:him sing. Let's see him, let's see him he didn't know who the hell, I was until-.
Speaker 1:Well, you can't-.
Speaker 2:He didn't know who. There was 15 months. Give me a little more warble.
Speaker 1:I need a little more warble man, A little more warble.
Speaker 3:Go ahead sing it. No, no, no, I'm not saying it.
Speaker 1:But I appreciate the plug there, the butt plug that you just shoved in my ass, thank you so much guys.
Speaker 2:No, I was just saying that I great you were. You need to see this cat perform live man.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, no, anyway, let's not Jazz hands, jazz hands. Let's stop sucking that white dude, can jazz hand the hell out of you on stage? And I can. I put on the white glove?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you left out the most important part of the whole thing. What's that? You in a Santa Claus suit.
Speaker 1:Were you singing Santa. Claus, I mean, it was called White Christmas.
Speaker 2:Oh, they had that right. It's amazing yeah.
Speaker 1:You know what that was well done. I'm going to give it that that was well done. He called that race.
Speaker 3:Look, we got two minorities. That's the last time you had two minorities on this thing.
Speaker 1:How many times I got to say on the show I'm Sicilian man. That's a minority.
Speaker 2:That's a minority. Yeah, they all those black. Okay, good enough.
Speaker 3:You've been oppressed as a Sicilian, yes sir, for a long time. Exactly. I've had a steady job as a Sicilian.
Speaker 1:Man, you guys got better jobs than me. I'm taking the whole beat for the, for the oppressive white race.
Speaker 2:I dig it, I dig it. You know what it's about time?
Speaker 1:It's about time that you make one man the representative for all the whole race of people, the whole race of people. I'm just like Donald Trump, I'm just like him, I'm just like every rich, I knew this.
Speaker 2:Have you seen my basement?
Speaker 1:This says white privilege.
Speaker 2:All over the place.
Speaker 1:I mean apparently my, my house has a homeless guy waiting out on the front.
Speaker 3:He said he was going to be there until 10.
Speaker 1:So we got to like a few more minutes.
Speaker 2:If you mess around here, stoop you. Yeah, there you go All right.
Speaker 1:So let's let's recap, since, since I am in control of the time here. So we're, we're one hour, just in case you were wondering. Okay, but so recap real quick. Well, what would you like to say? One, come to monstercade. Even though that's the last thing we said, hey, why, why don't we make it the first thing we say again?
Speaker 3:That's right, that is good. Yeah, end it right there.
Speaker 1:Okay, but what's coming up soon?
Speaker 3:So what is coming up soon? We have? Well, if you hear this right off the bat, like on Wednesday, we have a freak show. The cut fruit, cut throat freak show is happening on the 28th, which is going to be wild. We've got a bunch of clowns that have no joke like that?
Speaker 1:Why is it always the clowns?
Speaker 3:Look, I told you, it's not just, it's a party when a clown, a little person and a goat shows up Sand in the clowns. See, there we go. There he is.
Speaker 2:That's it. He said a little person, a goat.
Speaker 3:A little person in a clown. That's a real party.
Speaker 1:So we got a monster, we got clown show coming up. No amazing cut throat.
Speaker 3:So, yes, also there's a ton of stuff. So if you go to, if it follows on Instagram, monstercade underscore bar, that's where we're really active on on Instagram Facebook to monstercade bar. Or you can follow me at Bokeh Negra music, because Bokeh Negra did re also my exotica band, my old exotica band, which plays Tiki type stuff. It looks like it's coming back into play pretty soon here, los Sanacondas de la Mord. But you can all find that on Bokeh Negra music on and on Instagram bunch of stuff. So you have to have me back.
Speaker 1:Obviously so you're expression when you open this full immersive Polynesian Tiki bar. No, not Polynesian.
Speaker 3:That's right. I put my wife's band on it.
Speaker 1:Mesoamerican Tiki bar. That's it Right? Sorry, I was active listening earlier.
Speaker 3:It's been a long day. It's been a long day Just through.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, we want to be there open at night.
Speaker 3:You got to be there Open at night. Now an Elvis impersonator there because, believe me, I'm well. I got the number for an Elvis, so we'll get in there. No, I'm talking about you. Look, I'm telling you, look, my, my dream, my dream is to end my career. Whatever crazy career I've had in music as a lounge singer, I totally am going to do. Oh yeah, that is one of the main reasons I want to start a Tiki bar is just to do lounge singer next.
Speaker 1:Well, now look, if you want to do a lot of singing, I'm in, because that's it.
Speaker 3:If you want to start doing it you can do it too, yeah.
Speaker 1:Because what I said was you'll never find another diggling like mine.
Speaker 2:So one go open you the way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's been 20 years, that's it, glad to bring you guys back together.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know it, not that you ever left.
Speaker 3:Let's make it another 20 years. Yeah, we want to All right so check out the Tiki bar Check out, check out, check out monstercade Tiki bar, sorry, sorry.
Speaker 1:Again active listening.
Speaker 3:I'm not. You're going to do it Under score bar yeah. See, I got it, that active listening.
Speaker 1:That's shit. Those skills come back in. Yes, sir, and then are we going to do it.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir, all right, You're going to do sing and dance.
Speaker 1:No, it's worse or better, it's better. It's time for our. Every week, we have a segment and Gary gives us a topic and unfortunately, you're at the end, so you have to be here. If you were to left, you'd skip it but you're here, that's all right.
Speaker 3:I got people waiting for me outside near my car, so that's all right. Yeah, my brother is keeping me safe.
Speaker 1:Are you ready? It's time for that dumb shit. Yeah, woo, are you okay, give it to us.
Speaker 2:Carlos, david, I just want you to know. This is a real problem and the issue is Polaroid cameras. Now you say see how you looking at me. What's the problem with Polaroid, with the flash? There's been a new study that's out that says that the flash on top of Polaroid cameras is dangerous, and the reason being I am a victim of this subject. So the vintage hold on, man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, every time it's an anecdotal story.
Speaker 2:that's a problem for all of America it is All right the vintage Polaroid cameras are coming back and I just want people I want to get a PSA out to people to let them know the cubes that sit on the flash, cubes that sit on top of these cameras, the Polaroids, are dangerous. Why? Because they create third degree burns. Why? Because when people put it against your skin and they hit the button to take the picture, the cube and the flash heats up.
Speaker 1:Well see, I don't understand why you didn't know not to touch it, Because remember when you were a kid with your ripple in one hand and you had the flame like bomb that goes off with the camera when you had to stand still for 30 seconds. You should be, used to not touching the flash.
Speaker 2:Well, see, here's the thing. I'm glad you brought that up, david, and I'm going to tell you why. Because I know a guy that burned me with one of these damn things, with the Polaroid recently.
Speaker 2:No it's 40 years ago, but it doesn't matter, wait a second, it doesn't matter, it's going to. Well, listen, let me tell you. Let's call this guy, oh shit, let's call him Jeff. Ok, so Jeff is sitting there hitting the Polaroid camera and the flash. He said, hey, come here, dude, let me put this against your skin. And he left a permanent mark on my hand which I still carry to this day. So I just wanted to know how high was this guy, jeff, to sit there to think about. Think about this you burned somebody with a Polaroid camera. How do you do that?
Speaker 1:Well, I had an uncle that burnt me with a cigarette. Well, then again, they did get rid of cigarettes manly. So let's do that.
Speaker 2:We talked about child abuse? We ain't talking about that shit.
Speaker 1:Well, I didn't say who said I was a child.
Speaker 2:That was last week man. Oh was it? Yeah, he didn't touch you too, did he? Why you gotta go into that.
Speaker 1:That's private matters. That has nothing to do with you. Did he touch you? Again, that has nothing to do with you. That's uncle Henry. That's uncle Henry you're talking about.
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm just what was he, uncle Henry how?
Speaker 1:high. Do you have to be uncle? Not very high. He doesn't smoke. I'm just saying I don't think, I don't. I don't know what you want me to say here. I don't want because one Polaroid flash bulbs, the little cubes they don't exist anymore.
Speaker 2:They do. They're coming back as a vintage. Yes, they are LED.
Speaker 1:LED. They're not going to have the same heat that they used to have.
Speaker 2:You know, they say those things get so hot that it can get hot as vegetable oil.
Speaker 1:What? What? A vegetable oil is not hot.
Speaker 3:You're ruining my interview, man, I know. I'm just saying I want to say hi, hi.
Speaker 2:Do you have to get to think about burning someone with a Polaroid camera? Well, hi, hi was Jeff at the time. I knew it Well, listen.
Speaker 1:No, it's easy question. How high was he at the time?
Speaker 2:I mean, maybe I may have been pretty high.
Speaker 1:Well, that's exactly what he would do with the West for Sife, you know that and why you got to bring up the album. I'm just saying. I'm just saying he was the only people that was, but I'm just saying the rentals.
Speaker 2:Everybody, everyone needs to be careful with these things, because they're coming out and people are using these things again. It's not the same flash, it's not. You don't think it is. It's not. No, I saw the picture, I think I used it and if you, it was on the Internet it was on the Internet.
Speaker 1:I got to be true, it was in the, it was on.
Speaker 2:Now, now see, I tried to make this a partnership.
Speaker 1:Okay, again about that. I'm glad that you gave me the advice, by the way, because you're like yeah no matter how well you guys like each other now, yeah, it's great You're having the show. When we first started this, he's like now, david, no contracts man, we're just shaking on it. I was like, yeah, I know what that means. That means when it makes profit.
Speaker 3:I'm getting sued.
Speaker 1:He knows he's got the lawyers. I don't have the lawyers. Who, who you Are you active, listening right now?
Speaker 3:No, I'm not. You should have made it Not the GD. It's about GD times. There'd have been DG time. Your name should have been first.
Speaker 1:Well, that that dog gone time that dog on time. There you go, that dog on time that dog that does sound more white. Yes, yes, it is, it's about dog on time Kids. Kids listen to our show. That frickin Get in.
Speaker 2:Bethia and tell her to put on the good draws. Oh Lord, you know why people don't use draws. Okay, that's why I don't use washcloths.
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 3:That's a thing Now that needs to be your next segment of like news of the world.
Speaker 1:Why do you need a washcloth? See, perfectly good, finger Boosh. Yeah, who is it? You know what I'm saying? Look.
Speaker 3:I told you, man, why folk don't use like washcloth. Oh, do you have any white washcloths upstairs? Do you want to go through my linen closet? No, you can bring one down though.
Speaker 1:Which I'm you. Look what happens when I bring you down a stack of them.
Speaker 3:Then you got, you got somebody in the house.
Speaker 1:Now I didn't say they've ever been used. I said, do I have a stack of washcloths?
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, well, hey, that's our show. Everybody. Thank you for coming to the dungeon and paying attention. Carlos Bocanaga, everybody.
Speaker 2:Thank you guys for having me yeah.
Speaker 1:Come back.
Speaker 3:Good job, good job. Yes, that was great. Come back again soon, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:When you watch all of our episodes all of our.
Speaker 3:You know what you're getting yourself into Now. I'm going to be really excited. I'm going to go home, and you know once he's on it.
Speaker 1:Once he's on it, it's like all right, now, listen. I'll listen to that one.
Speaker 3:So I was on one out. I'm going to go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, exactly God. I sound so good, that God that microphone what?
Speaker 3:the hell was that.
Speaker 1:That microphone was so soft.
Speaker 3:No, and it's true, I'm going to go home, listen to everything, go sleep. So there you go it sounds groovy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all right, well, we got to pump it out. We do us some music. I didn't pick just in case he doesn't like it, because I'm the white guy I'm getting up.
Speaker 3:No, you know what are you going to put on some day, matthews.
Speaker 2:No, yes, yes.
Speaker 1:We are not same as the intro music, but you got to, you got to sing along. It is. It is now tradition where you have to add a little beat, a little whatever you want to do, go ahead, man, you'll catch on. Beat them you ready, here we go. Stop Give it to me. Come on Carlos, come on Carlos. Yeah, there you go. You ain't so white.
Speaker 3:I was white.
Speaker 1:Hey, that was pretty good. That was awesome Once you got into it.
Speaker 3:I didn't know that was part of the show. I guess I should have watched the show before came.
Speaker 1:Dog on it.