DJ My Boy Elroy

Episode 1
Matt interviews DJ My Boy Elroy a Chicago-based beat boxer, drummer, music director, producer, breakdancer and actor.

www.whatcanyoutellme.com
instagram @whatcanyoutellme
facebook @whatcanyoutellme
twitter @whatcanutellme

Sound Cloud https://soundcloud.com/myboyelroy
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/myboyelroymusic/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/myboyelroy/
Liquid Soul http://www.liquidsoul.com/
Midnight Circus https://www.midnightcircus.net/
My Boy Elroy and Frankie B
Songs-
Mismo
Paper Planes- https://open.spotify.com/track/6d0zf8UQFCSChvEgl5TlLj
Beat Box Car Alarm- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4nOPSbtTH4
Scary Face Surgery
Broccoli Cheese Tacos with Mayo
Lagunitas Hop Water- https://www.lagunitas.com/story/hoppy-refresher
In Elroy's playlist right now-
Alina Baraz & Galimatias
FKJ- French Kiwi Juice
POMO
Disclosure
Music by My Boy Elroy
Logo by Lisa Larson

Transcript

spk_0:   0:04
welcome, everybody. To what can you tell me? The podcast. My name's Matt Road. And I'm gonna be the host of this podcast where you get to eavesdrop on conversations with people who are experts in their field of knowledge, sharing their stories of how they arrived at this point of their journey, surprising facts about their life and where they might be headed next. Hopefully, you hear something from some of

spk_1:   0:22
that excites or inspires you. There are billions of people doing millions of things on this planet. I

spk_0:   0:26
want to learn about all of them. Hey, everybody. Welcome to what can you tell me the podcast today? On what can you tell me? I interview my boy, Elroy,

spk_1:   0:34
Who's gonna share with you some of his incredible skills, Like beatboxing

spk_0:   0:43
sitting in on him? No, no, no. No one in the booth and an amazing

spk_1:   0:49
story about how he had his face taken off. Keep listening. Ladies and gentlemen. My boy. Elroy.

spk_0:   0:57
Howdy. What's up, Elroy? Hi.

spk_1:   0:59
How are you? I'm doing great. Fantastic. Ah, where? What can you tell me where we are

spk_0:   1:04
right now? We are actually, um, in my home studio here in Ukrainian village. Chicago U S A. U s a great place.

spk_1:   1:13
It is. And you're home studio. So that means you are a

spk_0:   1:17
ah, producer. A producer. Yeah. What else? And I am a deejay. And what else? A music director and break dancer and beat boxer and actor and drummer. Oh, my God. Is there anything you don't do? Cry a lot.

spk_1:   1:34
I know that. Well, that's good. I wouldn't imagine you cry a lot, actually.

spk_0:   1:37
Cur on babe. Crying is usually something that I save when it's something's really, really like Good, yeah. Yeah, when something's really good. I actually cried Awesome. Really? Like just lt's like a damn good video game for

spk_1:   1:53
me. It's commercial, man, like, literally, like commercials will get me. It's terrible, absolutely terrible. But

spk_0:   1:57
yeah, So cool. Well, yeah. I want to

spk_1:   2:00
talk to you about being a deejay and all the things you do and how we met and what your background is and I want the whole story. So where do we begin? What was your

spk_0:   2:09
Tell me about

spk_1:   2:09
your childhood, my friend. What got you to this point?

spk_0:   2:12
And you know, I grew up with a musical family. My mom and my Dad were both musical. My mom plays guitar and piano, and my dad played flute and saxophone. So they had kind of this thing going on, um, on both Spectrum's. But I kind of came out doing the drumming thing. Okay, I'm I didn't really think I was a drummer. Tells about nine, and that's when I proposed to my mom like, I think I want some drums. But before that, I had been beatboxing most of my whole life. I thought it was, you know, maybe five or six and my sisters like, yeah, right. You're, like, two or three, making just like a little bit bad about that. And I was, like, Cool So that that was English. Got the got the rhythm out of the deal.

spk_1:   2:47
I like it. Yeah, I like it. That's just growing up. Very

spk_0:   2:49
musical, you know, like there's a lot of music in my family. So

spk_1:   2:52
is that what brought your parents together? Like, did they meet doing music or did you just have coincidentally, they

spk_0:   2:57
know? Yeah, it was No, not not music related at all. They just so happen to be musical people, so it's kind of a blessing just getting that. Have parents that already have that rhythm in their blood, for sure? Yeah. Just

spk_1:   3:08
like, Hey, they're gonna completely make sure that if that's something you're into, that they support it, you know? Why wouldn't they? They have to. It's in their genes. It's in their genes. Beautiful. Beautiful. And you grew up where

spk_0:   3:19
I grew up in San Diego. Awesome. Gala. Delores Coast in action. Yeah, that's probably why I sound like a California. Yeah, Northern California, like in the Bay Area in the b r yang

spk_1:   3:32
a Iranian. Is that how it works? So Okay, so San Diego so pretty, pretty amazing weather, like low of 68. High of 72 right? Yeah.

spk_0:   3:39
That's when that's when in San Diego is nice with, you know, growing up in the eighties and nineties. Now it's just kind of weird. Everybody has got these. Everybody's got these droughts and fires and, you know, Callie doesn't have, like what it used tohave. Everything's just extreme now, but anyway, that's Ah, that's a whole nother

spk_1:   3:59
story. All different California. And then where'd you go from? California. What? You know what? Did you stay there? When did you come to Chicago. Like what got you from California toe to here.

spk_0:   4:09
Oh, I was there for most of my young life until I was about 18. And then my mom, ah, kind of fell in love with a place in Colorado from her boyfriend. Kind of taking her out there. The area called Grand County, which is about an hour and 1/2 northwest of Denver, over the Continental divide. Nice. Um, and, um, Continental, right?

spk_1:   4:32
I'm pretty sure I wanted to make some educated comment about it, but I don't

spk_0:   4:36
have Yeah, yeah, that's right. I'm like, Am I getting Thio? Yeah, it's just over over the I 70. You go

spk_1:   4:44
much further than the core's factory. Is it?

spk_0:   4:46
Oh, well, court that the courts factories in golden, but that's like kind of that's kind of a little Northwest. But then there's the whole There's a whole mountain, you know where you know the Rocky Mountains in the Rocky Melons, eh? So when you go in when you go up by 70 west and there's a ah highway, I think it's eye for its, like its 40. Um, it's therefore don't believe you, but it goes up in the mountains that goes to the tip top of the mountain and goes back down. And then there's this beautiful area called Grand County, where UM Winter Park and Mary Jane. They're all very famous ski resorts in the world. I think when a park is the most popular or just got voted like the most popular ski resort in In in the States,

spk_1:   5:27
that's funny. Just Mary Jane is the most popular plants in that state. It is

spk_0:   5:32
also that area is very, very big for skiers and snowboarders. So it's kind of that era is that is that county that we moved from San Diego? It's amazing. That was right before I turned 18 and my mom was like, I'm in love. I'm tired of my job here. She was looking for the school Board of Education at the time, and she just wanted to go to a new, a new place all together. So we ended up going there, and, uh, yeah, so I went to Colorado. But then I still wanted to pursue music, Tom, But all my musical stuff was kind of buried still in San Diego, so I went back to San Diego. Okay, then I moved to San Francisco. I was Ah, Was there, like, three times for, like, three months each. Working for my brother's company, selling cell phones in a kiosk. Nice. I did a lot of sale. What year was that? Like ish. That was 2002 0 man.

spk_1:   6:20
We would've totally overlapped. I literally I was really? I was back in the Bay area from, like, 2000 to 2003 right before I moved to

spk_0:   6:25
Chicago. And how funny. Oh, that's crazy. How cool. I know you get smaller. Every damn day doesn't show. Does so Yeah, That's kind of where the San Diego went to Colorado. But then I came back and the nice and then I loved I just love San Francisco. If it was not for Chicago, I swear I had my eye on San Francisco for the real nous. The rawness. And you

spk_1:   6:47
say you left your heart in San Francisco? Yeah. Okay. Heart always light here. I just never really knew it. San Francisco, Colorado. Kind of bouncing back and forth.

spk_0:   6:57
Yeah, I did three places a few times.

spk_1:   6:59
How'd you make that jump to Chicago or what happened?

spk_0:   7:02
Chicago was actually it came. It came into play very miraculously. In a way. I was involved in a band playing drums with some kids up in the mountains from And then we broke up and then they ended up kind of opening for some band in, um in, Um ah, Grand Lake, which was a tiny town in Grand County. Um, it's the largest. I believe that in our largest natural lake. Okay, in Colorado as well, Grand Lake, Colorado. It's a huge lake right next to the biggest man made lake, which is Granby Lake, Colorado. Also right there in Green County. They're kind of neighboring towns. So, um, after our band kind of split up, they joined another day That kind of a few of them had another band going. And they said, Hey, we're gonna go and we're gonna play a show on grand counting. If you want to come and support, we'd love to see you out. I'm like, of course you're my boys. Just go out and see the show. So I went on, I saw the show and they were opening for this band called Mama's Cooking Okay. And Mama's Cooking was from Ah ah Gunnison, Colorado a bunch of dudes from all four corners of the planet to which all just so happen to kind of go to school. Um, there and they came and they played in Grand County. Um, so my friends opened up for them and I went to go see the show, and I had no idea what was going to happen, that this was going to happen. But, you know, the singer of the band, mom's cooking said, Hey, you know, like, so s so yes, So we hear this is like this dope like beatbox air out there in the in the crowd Where are you, man? And I, like, looked around him like That's awesome. There's beatboxing here, e I think I like I did not know there's another beat boxer in this county like looking around and they look over me like Lou there, But that's not, you know, can't be. And I was like, You guys, you Are you serious? You're putting your thrown me in this like that? They were like, Yeah, it was like, Oh, my gosh blushes so hard. Okay, so I got you had

spk_1:   9:05
been beaten by It's not like this was your first for all I knew you were in on

spk_0:   9:09
it did not have stage fright. But when people put me on the spot right away, then I just not expecting a little tingling thing. Maybe Spotlight's kind of bright, you think Fade that a little. Just let me transition into my performance mode or sure, I was there, like enjoying music. Okay, so turns out I did a little feature with them and they loved it. And then we became friends that night. Me and this band, Mama's cooking. And then they said, Hey, we're coming back in a month from from today or whatever this week and we want to do this again with you. Do you want to do some stuff with us? Um, I was like, Absolutely You guys were amazing. I can't Can't wait to see you again. And here you there were such a great band funk and rock in and and hip hop and blues all together in one momma's cooking. If you could check Mama's cooking out on Spotify to

spk_1:   9:57
Yeah, well, I think in the show notes, man.

spk_0:   9:59
Yeah, they're awesome. So I fell in love with the the people That was mama's cooking as well as the band and ah, so then they came back and then they said, Hey, and ah, um, let's do this again. Ah, featured with him again. I brought my harmonica, harmonica, beatbox Let's do what you know what key is. And then we did it. Had a great time ended up. They ended up staying in Grand County that that night focus time. So I got him a bunch of beer. Andi, I went to the you know, the the liquor store and treated him and stuff like that. And trust me, I'm getting in the part where it kind of moved into Chicago. But there's this amazing, magical happening that was from me to get to Colorado to Chicago. It'll happen from this very miraculous moment where you're in the audience. Yeah, so, um, that night after we hung out, they said, Hey, we're gonna do two more shows in Boulder and Fort Collins. Do you want to come and be a part of that? You can help us sell some merch. Is something in future with us? Bubba, Bubba, I said, Sure, that'd be great. So those two shows turned into like eight shows that I was featuring with On the eighth show is when we played a show in Crested Butte, Colorado, which was the first annual music festival of them having it. And that was where Liquid Soul was the headlining band from here from Chicago Grammy nominated Liquid Soul. And they said, You know, Elroy, you're gonna love this band. They're so funky there. So sick horn band and blah blah blah You love them. And I was like, Oh, cool. So, you know, we played the festival, but they came later, you know? But they didn't hear us, so I heard the band fell in love with him. I was like, Oh, my God. Liquid souls to shit. Yeah, it was dancing like a fool in this field. Let me talk

spk_1:   11:35
a little bit because that's how we met, right? Like they were playing. Yeah. You guys were the man for the circus. The midnight circus? Yeah, we were doing

spk_0:   11:41
circles. Here's the thing is I'm just about there too. I'm almost there in the story. Where, where they way we literally were. Just unlike this is where, like, Chicago kind of came in the interview. Okay, I didn't have any connection to just to Chicago until they had come and played this festival, right? So when we did, when we did that festival, um, that night, uh, some of the members of Liquid Soul came and played with Mama's Cooking, to which I was doing another harmonica beatbox feature. And that's when Eddie Mills, the deejay and Mars Williams was there. A few others fill a Jerry Poo thehe bass player. They were like, Who is this dude? We need to get him out in Chicago to feature on our fifth album, 12 punch. And that's kind of how it happened and they reached out to reach out to me and they said, We need We need you to come out and be on this album that we're doing And so that's what happened. That was my first introduction of Chicago's. I came out and I checked it out for a week, and I I mean, I was here for like a week. I loved it. I fell in love so hard with Chicago, just everything about it. And then he went back to Colorado, and then they asked me to be on tour with them as a B boxer substituting for there for their D j like that's insane. Amazing. Yeah. So and then on that tour is when I said, hey, do you guys mind if I picked up my records and they were like, Oh, you d j And I'm like, Yeah, I d j You know, I've been detained since, like, 98. It's like vinyl only, you know, whatever. And I got my tables, everything when you pick up some records that look. All right. So I featured with them on this many tour of eight shows, and I started scratching and stuffing it like, Oh, it's crazy, you scratch? I was like, Yeah, you know. Okay, well, you know, noted they called me two weeks after that little tour and Mars Williams called. Means I got annoyed if you have any interest in this, But, you know, would you be interested in, like, moving to Chicago and being liquid souls new deejay? And I was like, Do you have a pair of shorts on a hand? You could instantly male todo, but, um yeah, and that's how I got to come to Chicago. And I knew that was about the time I was like, What am I gonna do with my life by going back to San Diego? Did the bubble. But, uh, you know, I wasn't a fan of moving to a foreign city with no connections. As I'm not that kind of a person. I have to have some kind of security. There is just No, I just don't want to be screwed for making a decision that is too out there. Of course, most people who make that choice in their lives to do something crazy are usually the ones that have the best stories to tell. Oh, sure, But come on. But you want to make sure that you're you know you're safe and you have you have something that's kind of rooted. So they said, We're gonna go on tour from this album and you'll be good And that's what happened Was I basically just, like, sold everything I owned? I moved to Chicago with two turntables and my mixer in a in a Rubbermaid. Been with my clothes that align. My mix are literally the only things that I packed here because I only had enough money after I sold my first drum set that I just had, like, three months was my first real drum set per seven piece export. Gorgeous. Like silver glitter sold. It ended up going to Chicago with two turntables on like Sorry. Drumming, turntables and a microphone. Exactly. I know it's like any any to turntable sentence. So that was how I came to Chicago. And now Now, when you're saying that's how we met? Yeah. Um, Mars, the sax player of Liquid Soul tells me, you know, we're involved in this project. Um, we're working with a circus that we've been with for a few years now when we think that your be boxing would be kind of a cool touch. We think there would be interesting to be in this theater show that we're doing called Stiletto Circus and soul. Um, and that is what brought me into the circus where you and I met. Yeah, and that's that was just the first feature of the beatbox stuff. But then they then they Then they said we want to do something else. Which was the circus in the parks tour thing?

spk_1:   15:26
Well, circus in the park, so yeah, I sauce Ah, stiletto circus and souls in the theater when you guys were all doing it. And that was when I had just moved to Chicago. Was like, Oh, my God, I have to be a part of this company. And then shortly after that, started working with them doing with us. You who? Whatever you wanna call it with the midnight circus and we were doing the Halloween shows were in Daley Plaza and doing some some circus for the for the people. And it was delightful. And then, yeah, the circus in the parks thing happened, and we got to play together in a booth a lot, didn't we? Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so you're here and you're playing Ah, you're playing with liquid soul. And then your Dejan tell me, Tell me about D. J. Because I think you know, some people think of like a deejay as the guy who's on the radio and, you know, putting the nowadays, that would be literally, I'm sure just playing an MP three player sort of thing. But tell me about what it is to be a deejay and kind of Ah, that world.

spk_0:   16:18
Um, being a D. J is a is a lot of things. It's you know you're a curator. You're a You're You're a baker. You know, your ah, um you are a mixologist. Your mixologists. You're a conductor, You know, You're, um you're the one that sets the tone. You know, you're the one that reads, um, you're the one that reads the room. At least these are the things to me that I find valuable as being a deejay. Because everybody has a laptop and everybody can be a deejay now. Yeah, you know, But no, they can't. You know, I got a few friends. It's like I'm a deejay now. And I'm like, you are go. Uh ah. So, yeah, that's and that's there's a There's a few of them that, you know, we're all you know, but I am. I wrote a few blog's about this too. What's valuable? Ime is a deejay because I think the deejay Incan go a lot of different ways. Sure. You know, you can be a person who just play songs back to back, especially if you're playing like pop music and stuff like that. People don't care about blends. They don't care about mixing that they want to be consistently and and ah and like rapidly entertained by the next song. So that's like in the pop world. Being a D. J. I feel like, is a little less important as faras skills. Well, especially

spk_1:   17:30
because you look at the kind of overall recipe of pop music like theirs. I forget who does it D. J. Shadow or somebody. Somebody does something where he literally takes, like, seven of the most popular country songs from the year. And they'll do it with rock songs and pop songs and whatever and is able to overlay all seven of them so that it essentially sounds like one single tune. And you realize, man, this really, there's no the reason you, like all pop music, is because it's essentially the same song. It's the same formula. Yeah, and so I think that's where you can just go play to play to play. But what I love seeing DJs do and what I when I really got to, like, look over your shoulder or look over a deejay shoulder is seeing kind of the matching beats per minute, things like that that I think a lot of people aren't aware of. But that's one of those little subtleties that makes it where you're not just fading in and out your legitimately lining up thes two songs perfectly. And when you could see a d. J back in the day kind of running a record record backwards, it was to find that perfect spot, right? And that's something I'd rather have, you explained. But that's what I love seeing.

spk_0:   18:31
Yeah, um, I think it depends on the genre that you're playing. Um, it's it's ah, it's more of an opportunity to mix songs together when you're playing things that are not necessarily, um, like, comprise of, uh, like heavy vocals and heavy parts. You know what I mean? Like, house music is a lot easier, or techno was a lot easier to play two songs for awhile together and kind of have the two different things that might be in the same key. Even gonna play with the mixing and and make your own little song that way and then kind of blend one out. But when it comes to Popper, things happen real quick. You only have a quick eat bars, and it's and it's just like Dan Brown, and you're like, Okay, that's clearly wrote our

spk_1:   19:11
eyes now. Yeah, yeah, fill out.

spk_0:   19:13
So being a D J, as you were asking is, is a lot of different things, and it kind of that's It's Ah, it's Ah, it's a joy of mind to where so many different hats and have so many different audiences to play for. Um, the house music scene. I'm so in love with house and so in love with instrumental hip hop and like jazzy hip hop. But I also like playing pop stuff if it's gonna make people happy and you know they're being in a wedding I love. I never thought that I loved being a wedding deejay as much, but I really, really do like because you're you're there in the moment of, like, the biggest day of We have families lives and you get to compose and, like, just conduct their their whole evening of joy dancing together after the celebration. And it's amazing. Deejay is a lot of different things to a lot of people, but I feel really happy, too. Not be stuck in one particular area of being a deejay of being like that house deejay or being the Bar D. J.

spk_1:   20:07
Were solely doing weddings bar

spk_0:   20:09
mitzvahs. Weddings, Right, right, right, So being a DJ is a lot of fun, but I think it comes with a lot of responsibility, too. It's not just put up, you know, songs and blah, blah, blah. That's why I teach deejaying to There's a lot of there's a lot of things that I feel a responsibility that everybody needs to take when it comes to having a new equipment that you can, you can, you know, produce Ah, of a vibe or whatever with there comes a lot of responsibility and respect that I think that people, um well, appreciate music, even Maur when they see what not to d'oh just as much as what they think they should. D'oh! Well,

spk_1:   20:44
And then you also So my intro music, my outro music, all the music you're hearing on this fine find podcast is produced by

spk_0:   20:50
who? That is by yours truly. As that tipped. Yeah.

spk_1:   20:53
Oh, no. Totally. And I love it. And so getting to want you go through the process of creating from nothing, essentially an entire sound it There's so much as much as it's technical. It's 100% art, too. I mean, I don't know that you can't have 100% of this 100% of that. But I feel like it's both in amazing levels and you're adding drums in and you're adding different layers and changing one specific little kind of section of sound. I mean, it really is incredible to see it happened firsthand and go from what started as a single sound, too. This is an entire song now created from nothingness. Ah, and I've got to imagine that's a lot of fun to have. And I'm watching you do this. And it is I feel like I'm watching a magician kind of, ah, work things that I just have no idea how it really thinks that, I think yes, seriously. I mean, it's like, Oh, let me do this and I'm gonna justice. And now all of a sudden we've got a 30 45 2nd track. That is not what was there three minutes ago, five minutes ago.

spk_0:   21:52
So well, you know, that's just as much to offer for all the people who were kind of interested in in the musical world. And you know how people do what they do in the music to entertain the people that just don't really know how it's made. Yeah. Um, do you know being a producer just as much as being in T. J? I feel like, you know, just knowing what not to do is a huge thing. Pulling things out of pulling things out of thin air is easy. You can easily go on the Internet, just throw things in. But yeah, besides being a deejay, being being a producer is and has been for even more in my life, actually more of a, um, of a hobby. So doing what? What we did as, um, as the intro song and then the music for this podcast. It's ah, it was really fun because we were able to start, start with whatever we wanted, you know, and, um just add things along the way. But you have to have a communication with your computer, you know what I mean? Because if you don't own own a communication between you and the computer, then when you think something, this is what I want to happen and you don't know how to make that happen. That's where it can get a little like. I wish I had a nerd here in time to watch another YouTube tutorial. There's something but yeah, I love producing because we can literally create anything you want, you know, like pull something that you pull a sample if you want, you know, at a reverb and make that long Make that nice and and breathy. You know, it seems to transpose that note and to turn it up to the same key is the song. And then you know what I mean. You could There's so much you can do. And I think

spk_1:   23:22
that's where I've just the small amount of time I've watched you producing this stuff gained an extraordinary respect for when you hear somebody was the producer of this famous album. You don't realize just how much that person 100% influenced the sound that was ultimately what we all know and love in any album. It's one you know entirely upon that producer. And yes, the artist is of course, going to say I really like this, but it really is this imagination and ability of the producer. That's just unreal. So true. Yeah. Yeah. And you played me something from your you read remixed from your girlfriend. Tell me about that. Because that's a great piece.

spk_0:   24:03
Yes. So it's It's It's like a remix of an original or less. And, you know, we could feature you know, it is okay to feature some of that way.

spk_1:   24:12
Could totally play a clip in here like, Well, all right, we'll stop talking for a second. There be a clip going

spk_0:   24:16
and come back. All right. All right. So this is Ah, this is actually just a clip of a original song that I wrote with my girlfriend. Uh, who goes by Frankie Be, Um, she's an absolutely incredible singer songwriter. Um, plays piano guitar of, you know, just a few of many amazing musical talents that she has. Um, and

spk_1:   24:40
she's such a soulful voice, too. Like I really, I I've seen pictures of you guys and, like,

spk_0:   24:45
Oh, they're so cute together.

spk_1:   24:46
And then I hear the pipes coming out of her. I'm like,

spk_0:   24:48
Oh, my Yeah. I was blown away the first time I heard. I was like, Wait, hold on a first. Come on. This is really you. Yeah, She's got a very, very it's It's almost like I don't know if mature is the word for it, but very developed. Yeah. You know, um, for sure she has. She has the type of of sound that, um, that just kind of pierces through the room, you know? Yeah. And on. And

spk_1:   25:13
so on this track. What? You know who did what, As far as this track is concerned, who play what you mixed? What? How did that kind of go?

spk_0:   25:19
Well, okay, so this actually started as an original song that I produced, and I produced all the, you know, the drums and stuff like that, the whole song itself. And I gave it to her and I said, Hey, you know, you can you can you write some lyrics to this and she's like, Yeah, no problem. She's such a fast songwriter to which is, to me so hard, That's like one of my biggest weak points is making meaningful vocals. You know, I'm a big drummer on the big bass like base feeler, melodic, whatever. But like, I don't read music. She reads music. And she could also like, imagine not just what melodies would go, but she can pull meaningful lyrics out of the sky like so fast. She sent this back to me like an hour or so later. She liked you. Go. It was like finished. Oh, my gosh. And it's like, not only do these vocal sound amazing, but they are meaningful. Yeah, you know, And so the name of the song is mismo Okay, Um, we just spanish for ah, same the same, right. And so, um, it's Ah, it's kind of she goes in between, um no es lo mismo, which is it's not the same. And then she says, you know, in English as well. So it's kind of cool, too, that she mixed those without even, you know, I give no direction towards that. She came up with it, and then she writes her lyrics and stuff like that. So, um

spk_1:   26:35
so you created every instrumental sound on that, right? Brennan, She wrote the lyrics and saying she recorded

spk_0:   26:42
her house and then sent it back.

spk_1:   26:43
And this is truly you two coming. Ah, this is I think the magic of of music is that you've literally come up with something out of thin air, for sure, you know, again.

spk_0:   26:53
And I mean, that's that's why I'm so happy to be able to work with somebody not only as talented as her, but it's just as passionate as a human being, you know, like we're both very much in love with creating music. So was awesome. When she sent it back to me, I was like, Bam, I put it into the session. I'm like, Holy crap, This is amazing. This is her old vocal stems that I threw into my new song. Yeah, so this is not me sme. Oh, the old song. This is a song that I wrote recently and she was like, Oh, my God, I could really hear me smoke over this. And I was like, Whoa, so we started singing it and I was like, Oh, my God.

spk_1:   27:25
So then you were able to literally extract the audio from the old one, and I overlay, It's right. Whatever the official term is, just like you're

spk_0:   27:33
saying point things. That thin air, whatever you can imagine, whatever you can imagine you can do with production. As long as you can speak the language with computer it Superfund. So, yes. So this is the clip of new mismo. That's a little clip there of the ah of the new stuff that we just worked on cool, but that's just kind of what's going on constantly

spk_1:   28:27
so that that's part of your day. Part of your day is I mean,

spk_0:   28:29
you know, talk me through a day

spk_1:   28:30
like, What's your What's What's a day, a week like and you know, and I'm sure they're all different. But what are one of the many hats you're wearing?

spk_0:   28:37
Many, many hats, mainly. Just teaching. I love to teach. Okay, I fell. I fell in love with teaching deejaying. They're more and more. The more I did it because, um, you know deejaying is fun. It's It could be a hobby. It could also be a way to make money. You know, everybody's different. The way they use it is different. And that's the thing is like it's like I said, it's like being a baker. You know your songs or your ingredients. The way that you mix and blend your tracks are how long they stay in the oven and you know how much sugar you put in each one and you know your e cues and you know you just in your e que knobs, the base, the mid and the trouble are how how you thin things out How you how you fattened things up and there's the, you know, the volume exchange like that, your cross fader and everything. There's always just like being a baker. You know, you're creating this, like, ongoing feast, so I really like deejaying, um, and teaching deejaying to people who were interested because it doesn't have to be something that you do to make money or be as good air quotes. Yeah, it does. The s o S o d j could be something really fun that you do in your living room. And I

spk_1:   29:39
could totally see it being a very Zen thing to do. Like, you just get into the music you love listening to and then figure out how to, in a sense, turn it into art. That has now got your little take on it. And I could see that being complete meditation.

spk_0:   29:56
It's so awesome. Playing drums is kind of like that, you know, like, if you feel like you descended from saying for all Yeah, I think you like it. And I'm just feeling, you know, something like

spk_1:   30:07
this. Exo. Yeah. This is the perfect lead into beatboxing. So some people know beatboxing. Not everyone does. But please do so So one of the things I love was the the video you had That was the car alarm beatbox on. We got to do a link to that in the show notes. I mean, talk about that because it's just so

spk_0:   30:28
ridiculous, man. Yeah. So this was It was like, it just this is this trip meal, and it tripped a lot of people out, But nobody really saw this. This occurrence to being a cz bigas it, Woz. And that was just a beat. It was just me taking a video beatboxing to somebody's car car alarm going off, and I was walking down the street. It was like, Dude, you this thing was going on for, like, three blocks. I could hear it. And I'm where I had to walk past this thing. I knew this was the street. Oh, my God. I gotta go past this. And it just had this. What? What? What? What? What? What? And I was like, Oh, I'm gonna have to I'm just gonna It's just gonna get louder. And there's nothing. There's no avoiding this. Yeah, you know, so How are we gonna deal with this? We're gonna throw in. I'm just gonna be box thing natural. But any beat boxers first intuition would be. So I started recording. It was on a Snapchat video, and I send it to my friend, and I kind of wanted to make it like a video that I acted surprised. And I was, like, things annoying somebody Face the recording was me walking by this recording, and then just looking at the came, like, Okay, you're smelling of bad, just like parties, like, excuse me. So that's when I kind of like a look at the camel God with Whip, whip, whip, and I just started. And that was the beat that I did. Yeah, hit at that. And then that was it. I sent it and she saved it. Whatever. Why not? Let's just save it. And so she she was like a You know, I hope you saved that video because you need to post this thing. So I ended up putting it on Facebook and just, like, does it, you know, So, uh, make people laugh. Coming? Sure. This guy I don't know, even found it. He he worked for the He works for the company Viral Hog, which is one of the one of the companies. You see the viral video companies, and he's like a A like Never met this guy. He's like, We search out viral videos and we found this video and he's like, This is hilarious. You want to buy the rights to this and we want to put it on our viral site that I would happen and literally, um so it didn't happen overnight. Actually sold him the rights to that video where they have to pay well dollars like it wasn't No, I think I don't even know if I sold it for a price. It was just like me. They just own the rights. They're like If we make money, it's usually because people want to buy it for, like, a commercial or something like God, you make money. Um, so I sold it to him, and then it was posted about 24 hours later, and within the next 24 to 48 hours, it had some crazy like, I'm trying to think it's a 2,000,004 million some views, and I'm like that many people actually video. Yeah, they sold that video to other viral companies because turns out, they're all in this kind of big, like viral orgy.

spk_1:   33:22
Yes. It's like a hand job in each other. Like, yeah.

spk_0:   33:25
Yeah, like that's a viral giving that viral video, you know? So then posting their own, they're each other's stuff, and then it just like that little one time, like, went crazy

spk_1:   33:39
that it's so funny. Here, there, there will definitely definitely have that link included on here. And then, uh, and then beatboxing What's I mean, what's what's the sea? Cause I I pretend to beatbox and I'm terrible at it. Like Like that's it. That's it. Yeah. Uh, thank you. But you know what is, you know, not give me a two minute master class on how to beat box, like what is? And I'm not gonna try and do it like, you know, explain the process of what it is. You know, I don't know how you just I don't know. That's why I would

spk_0:   34:08
be happy to Matt. Um, the first thing that I like to tell people is that beatboxing is from what I understand. It's an alien language that you learn to speak to yourself cool. And it is also something that you need to feel pleat lee ridiculous and happy about being ridiculous about. Um, the main thing is to understand that you are literally making gibberish. You're coming up with gibberish. Yeah, and you and your Ah, I think the things that define good beat boxers to people is the ability to make sounds with your mouth that have a certain tone ality that actually sounds like Like something else that you've heard that is like You can match up. Um, so being able to make sounds and being able to do them rhythmically, I would say, defines more or less what the concensus would call a good beat boxer. Now, personally, to me, the people that I that I beat box with or people that I grew up with who beat box, we all have our own different. Our mouths are different. Everybody's mouth is different. I'll certain people can do stuff with the amount that I would never be able to do it. I'm like, That's great. Like some be boxers can do this. I it sounds like you're hitting a rim shot of a snare and you're clapping by like five people clapping at the same time. So it's got this like it's like I can't do it, but it's so many be boxers do it and it's like images has. But it has, like a CZ. Well, so has the attack of a like a snare rim shop that has a like a clap. Okay, I'm like, That's amazing, you know? So that's that's, you know, certain people do different stuff, and that's why I try to try to encourage people toe, have fun with it because, you know, when somebody says I'll never be as whatever I wouldn't say Good is be Boxer. I've been doing it longer. Maybe then they have. But at the same time, like who knows? You might have had this hidden talent of being able to make some sick sounds with your mouth. And then sometimes these kids would be like, and they'll just do something real quick and take a little, and I'll be like What? You know. That's amazing. So I like to I like to say that beatboxing is something just like D. J could be super fun. In this case, it got me to a place where I'm able to make a living doing it in a certain in certain aspects. But dude like, have fun with it, You know, Don't compare yourself to other be boxers you're using.

spk_1:   36:23
My favorite thing about watching you is how much fun you are having when you're beat. But

spk_0:   36:28
you are so fun. And

spk_1:   36:29
because I know it from the circus aspect, it's just a part of the show. It is another act, in my opinion, that takes just a cz much talent as anybody doing handstands juggling in my case, acrobatic bicycle, whatever you're doing, that skill, you have it at such an exceptional level, and then to get to play with somebody and do both of them together. So beatboxing, along with one of the jugglers we had a couple of years ago, where it was the cigar boxes and you beat boxing and just so many different things. But you are. You're also like the sound effects with it, too, is it's not just simply making drum related music. It is also legitimately being a complete sound effects score for clown acts and whatever you might just be having fun with. So I I think. Could you do something for everybody? That kind of gives a sample of what? Different things. You sound like

spk_0:   37:21
a dude. Absolutely. Um that's in that. That that was that was the the last point that I was so funny. You totally just went right into that. The last thing that I think it's so important for people to know about when it comes to be boxing, the joy that is beatboxing is that its phonetic? Yeah, you know, it is It is so easy to do if you think about it phonetically, and I'll give you an example about this. So there's like a few. There's, like a few little things that I like to start with for beginners like the word Baca Baka right? You say baka it over and over again. You're nailing it. So do you see how easy it is when you say when you have an actual word that that enables your tongue in your mouth to flow back into the next thing? Sure. You say Baca, get a bucket, the bucket, the bucket, the bucket. You see how easy it is, And if you could just keep that bucket of a you know, like, get the book, the book of the book, the book like making more. So I kind of get the book. The book of the bigger bucket, the bucket, the bucket, the bucket. So that's that's, like an idea of being able to use phonetics. Um, another thing is, um, one of my favorite, like simple ones is using the term VIP a thumb. Right. So this is like one of my favorites to use for beginners is, um, you know, VIP with, um right lip with, um, you're just saying VIP a thumb. So you save ipath. Um And then imagine the word K s h using K s h. That's a clap Lippett thumb lip at the VIP with, um, that's a beat. You just be boxed. You're amazing. How easy was that? I

spk_1:   38:58
didn't beat box. You just beat box. I know what you're saying, but

spk_0:   39:02
ccn was saying and then you can have fun with those words live with, um with the victim. But the thing that was so easy, right? And you never thought of how easy it was because you couldn't think about it phonetically in your in your mind, you're thinking because I totaled the words to say, you know, look at the booth. Like those are just words, you know? It's like it really just alien language. And it's so much fun, You know? You have to find things that work for you that you're like, Oh, man, that's crazy. Oh, this I'll give you one last one that I'm super. I love you.

spk_1:   39:43
Can you give me that? And then, like, year a part of the world Beatbox championships and you've made it to the final round. What is gonna be the what? You gonna spit for the next 30 seconds? I want to record that so people can see that this is all just coming straight on out. Joe. Mile hole doesn't have to be the war. It's okay. You know, Chicago, it could be the local bars. But I just want to see something That's a an amazing example of why you should be the winner.

spk_0:   40:08
Oh, fun, everybody this. Like I said, everybody, everybody in them in their own right as a winner. And this is also another reason. No, it's really true. This really true to the point where I don't think that competitive beatboxing is my thing. So much people can do it. Like I said, they're everybody's different. Everybody has their own. I'm I'm getting nervous right now because you're gonna lose in this competition. And I didn't expect that. You're like, OK, let's just say let's just relax, okay? Now, do the buzzer. There's a really good doctor in this crowd. Me like, Yeah, that's awesome. Tiara, Who is this guy? Get up there. Where are you? Guide? Me? Uh, just anything. Just some fun. Yeah, Yeah. Um, Okay. Well, um gosh, I was gonna totally make I was gonna do a thing, and now I'm broke. You? Yeah. You don't broken, uh, made up. I have to come back a little bit so that Mike doesn't pick this up for sure. Um, I don't know. I like to do a lot of get get that using kind of before the front of the mouth. Get him with the ghetto drug coach. Sedative revealed that she had read that sitting in on a minimum number one number one eyes were like, Oh, I can do right now. I think I think the right right now. I'm just like yeah, exactly. We've both got something because that's one of those sounds You can have to be in the condition to be able to do it too. But it's a really cool trick. It's e I can't do it, you know, it's like, but if you go ah, you know, But I'm usually able to do a little sharper, but yeah, biology's air. Definitely fucking me up. Um, but yet that's, like, just an idea of a few different bags. You could D'oh! I

spk_1:   42:15
love it all, I hope because enjoyed that. Yeah, man. Oh, my God. I loved it. I'm not even worried If they loved it, I loved it. Thanks, man. I love you. Think fast. You're the best. Okay, so, So beatboxing. Deejaying producing you drum, too? I mean, we've been doing a lot of stuff on drums. Yeah, you still get to do a lot of drumming or just more. Is it more in your music, or do you ever get to perform it

spk_0:   42:37
much? Yeah. I don't know. I bought this sum and here that we have Ah, it's a little roll in V drum set, um, electric drum set. But I haven't had, you know, like in the beginning in this podcast when I told you I sold my first, Trump said. I started playing drums when I was around nine or 10 and I when I first bought that drum, said, It was like right before I got asked to move to Chicago. So it was like I didn't have a drum set Since then, I love jamming on him and stuff like that. But I'm like, Why don't I have a drum set? You know, I finally was able to muster up the cash to fight, and then they came out. Roland came out with this amazing simple, Um um, like, more condensed drum set, and it fits under here in my loft, So I bought it in. I incorporate that with some of the productions that we do. It's not really I don't go out drumming and stuff. It's more deejaying and and life reforming and stuff. But yeah, drumming is there's a lot off, a lot of fun. I think that anybody can have joy in drumming if you have a drum set. But this is the cool thing about these electric drum sets is you could change the tones and stuff you can make your own customize your own kind of little vibe. Yeah, you know, make make whatever you I

spk_1:   43:42
tried learning drumming years ago I auditioned for Blue Man Group a few man tie a few man blue times, Michael, I just blue myself Arrested development. So brilliant. So I I audition for

spk_0:   43:58
Blue Man

spk_1:   43:58
group a couple of times and they'd be like,

spk_0:   44:00
Yeah,

spk_1:   44:00
you're a great clown. You just need thio Take a year worth of drum lessons, and I'm like,

spk_0:   44:05
I'm not gonna spend a unless you're guaranteeing me a job. Oh, you know, I don't want to spend a

spk_1:   44:10
year learning to drum for you to go still not there, like just teach me how do

spk_0:   44:14
you know what That's one of those things that you could still learn a lot from. Oh, sure, you know, like doing doing of martial art is something that I think that would be cool for anybody you know, just to learn that your potential Oh, yeah, is more than one. And it's

spk_1:   44:27
a new vocabulary. I ju ju jitsu. And to me, it's a physical vocabulary. I describe it often as it's playing chess with your body as the peace And it's in the sense that in chess you're trying to set somebody up a few moves in advance, right, so you can ultimately take their king. That's the whole point. You wanna ultimately get to that king. So every move you make is with the intention of ultimately getting that king, which in the equivalent of ju jitsu world, would be getting somebody to tap out. Or, you know, basically saying you've got me in a spot that I cannot get out of. You're either going to put me to sleep by choking me or you're going to break my arm. My foot, my whatever. Now, in practice, you're not actually going that hard that you would do that. And the whole point is tap early, tap off and sort of thing like voting. But the idea is, as I'm starting to do a move on you, I get you to a position where you're so uncomfortable that you stop thinking about what you're gonna do to me. And now I'm the one in control and said, I already have the next move. I have the next movement, maybe three more after that brought out. So that's called What's that

spk_0:   45:26
called pan determinism. What have you heard about that? No. Um okay, Pan determinism is really It's when I first time I heard about the cells like that's really cool, like, Okay, Pan determinism is the ability to like and this is this is what most of the best chess players have is this exact ability. It's the ability to, um in the case of chest say right disability thio know what move you're gonna make and then know what impossible moves they can make for every move that you make. And then you know exactly what move you're going to make to that next to their next move. So you're basically a brain. I mean, you're saying it's really the same thing, is like, you know, you put their body in a position to only have a certain amount of moves so that when that move happens and that limit, you know where to go from. Exactly. So that's Pandit. When you're paying determined, you're a person who is like 33 steps ahead, determined. I love

spk_1:   46:20
it. I am totally paying. Determined? Yeah, totally. Yeah. Ah, that's fun. Okay, so so, so drumming. Anything else you do that I'm not aware of.

spk_0:   46:28
Um, I love giving massages. Um, I I love giving massages to my friends all the time. I don't know it. I feel I feel like I feel like everybody could use just a few seconds even beyond it goes so long, I think I think it's so important. I mean, I grew up is a touchy person. I'm just just a compassionate family, you know, Just hugs all the time and voicing how you know love for you're what you appreciate and everything. And so I just kind of been raised like that. So my dad got me into You want to make five books for, You know, half an hour's a moment. Just such a sick deal. And I'm just squeeze my shoulders, you know? My God, he No, he, like was like, stomp on my freakin spine. Yeah. What?

spk_1:   47:13
Oh, yeah. I have an amazing massage therapist in Chicago, and she has, like, parallel bars above the table that she will seriously hold on to so she can, like, climb around on me. That's awesome. She does this thing with her elbow in my I don't even know what the muscles or tendons are but that completely connect from your hip bone all the way down to your leg and will put it. The pressure she does is unreal. It makes you almost want to throw up as it's happening. But when you're done, you're you. The greatest sigh of relief and satisfaction and emits from your body. Believe

spk_0:   47:48
that's take on a whole nother level. I'm just giving a little rub. So I got you know, I'm not, like, a weird way way that what I think that's one of the things that you don't even know like you asked. And I was just like, I know how could this go? Awkward guys blows up, and I'm right now. It's cool. I'm like I give massages. You could see me

spk_1:   48:09
winking right now, but you can. Is that your hand on my

spk_0:   48:12
thigh? Turn it off. Uh, okay. Massages. Oh, I remember

spk_1:   48:16
what I was going to have you talk about, Um, you had some crazy health scare a few years ago. Can you talk us through

spk_0:   48:24
that? Yes. Um, I started to lose my my hearing about three mother three years ago, maybe a little less than three years ago. I started lose my hearing and and, um, in my left ear. I didn't really I didn't really know what to make of it, but I figured, you know, maybe there's wax buildup because I've had I've had my ears clean before after, like, the first time after cleaning. And this this girl, I mean, she she, uh, she liked does hearing tests and stuff, too. So when I got my ears cleaned and she took a ton of earwax out like that's insane because I couldn't hear anything in my slept on my ear, it was like it was like it just muffled like a cork. God put me here. So I thought for sure this was just some earwax little waxy buildup. They went in. And I got my years clean And then, like, there's not that much wax in here. I went to this really awful spot. Um, this is a hell of a story, but I went to the first person that I thought I could get a good deal from. That was kind of like an e n t. That was gonna help me, you know? So this'll girl worked for him, and she's like, I got the guy. Whatever. And I went in There is a ton of clocks all over, like literally clocks. Like covering the entire place was already a weird place to be in bed. I'm like, I'm gonna get It was really weird. It was really weird. He looked like, you know, you look like a some kind of like he looked like some kind of, um, above Looks like an Einstein, you know? I mean, he just looked like like it was like, Oh, come on into my office would always make me really late. So anyway, you know, he would always be really late, so that just that the whole the whole thing of figuring out what was going on with my hearing was completely uncomfortable. He did all these things. You put me on prescription prescription drugs, and he shot a laser beam into my ear thinking that there was some fluid in there. Nothing was there, um, like God, man. Months later, I was going to this guy and just a ton off waste of time and money. And, you know, he told me that you wouldn't think that it might be like a mass in there. And I'm like, 03 months later, You know, I'm, like, lost a lot of hearing since then even started. So I was like, Okay, a mass. What does that mean, All Maybe we'll do stick you in a You should go with Thio, a northwestern to the knife on. Go under the knife. It's a radio radio like the, um um it's like they they send radio ablation, radio ablation think so. It's like, yeah, they, like, put your head in a cage and they shoot this part. They shoot this like they should These lasers, basically a radioactive from car beams into a certain focal point that they wanna, like, blast this quote mass, right? And I'm like, Okay, whatever. My mom, I was like, I don't want to do this. It's a super scary. They're telling me all these like side, you know, things that could happen if you do it. So I talked to my friend. He goes, you should go to rush and get a second opinion on this before you do this. And I'm like, Yeah, I'll do it. And I went to Russian, this guy or you know, this guy, Dr Wyatt is his name. He's the miracle of my life that looked immediately into my ear and said, Dude, there's a tumor in your head and he's like, um, yeah, you know what? I'm gonna, you know, get the CT scan. Whatever. Boom. Yeah. Oh, that's a tumor. You've had a tumor in your head, like for the past 10. Need has been growing for the past 10 years. Over one. Yeah, one by one centimeter. Like or something. Every year. It was like two by two centimeters or not. One centimeter. One like, You know, milady Millimeter, I think. But it's been

spk_1:   51:48
going for Tenney. Amount of millimeters is too many. Many millimeters. So

spk_0:   51:52
this thing is based in it's kind of like a just off. Um, it's like a blood. It's like we're parts of the blood, kind of like, just like the elements. The blood may be changed, and there's like not enough iron in this area. Whatever. Some things start to clean and molecule started, um, clinging to each other and form just new little things and whatever. So that's how it started. It just was like a growth. Yeah, and then just started happening. So this thing was getting big enough at the base of my skull to start crushing my co Cleo. And that is how my hearing started going away, which is what brought me to go. Oh, shit. Maybe I should go and get this checked and then turns out there's this thing. So it was a huge scare, Especially since music is like my livelihood and, you know,

spk_1:   52:36
everything I kind of need to be able to hear. Unless you want Beethoven. The deejay.

spk_0:   52:39
Yeah. I mean, and I knew that if it was just gonna come down 11 you don't hear that would super suck. But, like, at least I got another one. Look at. You think it's all the money you save on headphones? Yeah, seriously. Half his money, right? Maybe I'll just get a monocle. Just a hearing. Monocle. Right. Anyway, long story short. I went, I went to the doctor Wyatt at Russian. Turns out he said, you know, you have two choices, you conduce Oh, our version of the knife and we can zap this thing with radiation. Or you could just cut your skull wide open and will rip your face off. Will cut this thing off and put it on the bus. No, literally. That's what he said. He's like the only other way is to peel your face off your skull, sawed off, or drill off the corner of your skull and go into the back of your skull and cut this thing out

spk_1:   53:26
of your pretty sure you're just stealing the plot line from an epic John Travolta Nic Cage movie. So that's what I did. It was

spk_0:   53:34
an eight hour surgery with four surgeons and band, and they cut

spk_1:   53:39
you off your face off. They

spk_0:   53:40
literally cut from the top of my left ear down my neck to nearly the front center of my neck. And my face was at one point hanging out from, you know, food. Yeah, and then they just then so they had to amble eyes. At first, they had to, like, symbolized the actual tumor. By putting me under. First, I had to go under twice where they shot something into this huge vein. Could have a huge artery in your leg. Yeah, they put like this ink or something that allows them to see that, like the x ray of like where, like a contrast I sure? Exactly. Exactly. So then they were able to find where it was coming from there, like, Oh, my God, this is actually a lot more dangerous than we thought. Because it was kind of like a spiderweb effect. It wasn't even just like one thing. They're like, Look at all these, like webs that this thing is getting fed by multiple sources like this is really Oh, my God. So it was a lot of risk. Yeah, but they did it. They said, you know what we think we can do? It's still so they ended up going in, They cut this thing out. They they stop pulled some. I'm sorry for anybody. If this is so cool, I hope you're not eating breakfast. Yeah, seriously, man. But this is life, man three biggest. This is the biggest, biggest, biggest thing, Especially for somebody who, you know, knows how important music is to a musician like, you know, this was like I felt like the best way to do it. Otherwise, I was gonna have, like, things like seizures, and, you know, like this thing could explode in your head because the radiation doesn't do well with tumors. and then all of a sudden it's like just awful toxic food, and you don't say those words out. Yeah, So it was a huge one. This was about two years ago, um, February of 2018. And, yeah, like they cut straight through a cranial nerve on my six or seven cranial nerves that controls the functionality of the left side of my face. So I wasn't able to really smile. What? That side. I wasn't ableto like, do anything, you know, like learning, learning how to do everything over again. I had to learn at a walk again to like I was completely off like everything was all make everything had to hell again. So it was a real trip to go from, like being a baby again. Thio, like being a person who can actually, like, make music again. And they were able to save, like, 20% of my hearing before it was done. You know what was done was done, but

spk_1:   55:45
meaning you got 20% back Or were you? What would you say? You're at right? Cochlear going. It would've crushed it enough. Okay

spk_0:   55:52
to not have any hearing And what are

spk_1:   55:54
you? I mean, are you at 80% hearing Still

spk_0:   55:56
I have. No, I have a run. Probably, I would say 2020% left, left in my left. Oh, man s So it's it's really it's crazy. Um, too toe live your life with without the stereo effect. Because essentially, what that does is it makes it harder for you to locate. Thing's for sure. Veteran your environment. You know, like, if something happens like if I if I want to find my phone for my watch, it's got that little ding feature which I super love. Oh, where's my phone being?

spk_1:   56:22
But you left here isn't telling you when it

spk_0:   56:25
dings. I'm like, Is that under my ass, or is that across the room? It's always under your ass. It's like a snake. I,

spk_1:   56:32
uh Yeah, I've had tonight. It's in my ears, not years here. My right here for the last four years Just started one day randomly and I was like, Oh, huh, that's weird. He still had Oh, dude, The worst part is when you don't know the let me re rewind that, you know it's there when you're hearing it, and so then you're focused on it. You forget that you have it when you're not hearing it, and you forget to appreciate the fact that you're not hearing a constant ringing in one of your ears. So it's one of those things really up there it is, Right? Uh um, and you just don't have the wherewithal, Or I guess your brain is saying everything's good, So why would you Why would you focus on the bad? That's not there? Well, yeah, we

spk_0:   57:16
quiet. Only that's like the thing that subtle, but yeah, you know what? Crazy That's That's one of the things I didn't get to add to what I was getting the gnarliest tonight us before I got the surgery done. If you can imagine, this is the craziest sound I've ever heard. Imagine a tiny, tiny, tiny elf playing a like like almost like a um, a recorder. Like a

spk_1:   57:40
Casio. Ah, super simplified 19 eighties Casio sounding keyboard totally is what one of the tone sounds like

spk_0:   57:47
totally spontaneous notes bouncing everywhere. It was in my head for a solid three months, heavily

spk_1:   57:53
as I've looked into like yours, for which there don't really seem to be any. Try acupuncture, try this. There's so many. Nothing seems to actually work with anybody knows. One. Please let me know. But some people hear what sounds like muted big band jazz going on in the years, and some people hear what sounds like bagpipes, which, as a person who plays bagpipes, I don't know that I'd want to hear that in my ear all the time. So, yeah, you'd have a better chance of enjoying it, right? Suppose I had a friend one time I said something about learning. I'm learning 88 tunes right now for bagpipes and like what? Like I'm learning these eight tunes for bagpipes so I can pass my my my funeral addition. And he said, Hold on. You guys played different songs. I was like, What do you mean? He's like, I just thought it was like one song you played. I'm like, Wait, you're kidding, right? He's like, No, I just assumed there's like, one thing you play on bagpipes been that I'm not just a wedding bagpipe TJ Funeral back exactly. Hand of marching Thought it was so funny that he didn't really bar mitzvah played. That would be amazing. Actually, you could play have a deal on the bagpipes, which is pretty epic. Um wow. So then So Okay, so the surgeries is healed, is it's gonna be 20% in your left ear relative 100% in your right.

spk_0:   59:07
Yeah, we're almost kind of done. The whole idea was to be able to get a hearing aid because of the hearing aid. I'll be able to get a much closer to Syria back, aren't you? But when they essentially put my face back on my head, there was a part of my there was. Sorry, I'm still just like, isn't that crazy? Wow, Face off, there's a There's a there's a part of the bone in my ear that's sticking out. And this is something I've been trying to kind of hell over. They can't legally give me a hearing aid, and here we are. Two years later, I keep up into going, and we'll just hope that this just the skin just keels over this bone. It's poking out of your ear and is the session after session after session than cleaning the ears and the baba ba Um, I'm the whole folk. The whole focal point of this is to essentially get an ear, an ear

spk_1:   59:54
cochlear implant. A hearing is just a hearing it, but

spk_0:   59:57
they can't because it could get infected blah, blah, blah. So we're still kind of on the mend. But, you know, um, very blessed and very, very happy to be making music now. And you know what? Here we are making music for this wonderful podcast. Yeah, man. And

spk_1:   1:0:09
I love it. I love the sound like a soon as I heard it coming together, it just put a smile on my face. That's awesome. Did I love when things work out? There's just so much like there's this fun whimsy to it. And I feel like there's a cz much of of your personality. Think it's like we made a baby together? All right, all right. Questions and answers. What was one of your favorite foods You ate growing out like, you know, talk to me about that moment. Anything. Any

spk_0:   1:0:37
favor? My mom's my mom's broccoli cheese tacos, broccoli juice does with the jam. Okay, it was really interesting because he would never imagine how good they are. But it was It was broccoli with ah, broccoli. What? We're talking steam Brok right with corn tortillas and should put like a tiny, tiny bit of Manny's on on the tortilla. Just a little bit. Just like a little bid Sick, please. Just to give it that flavor. Yes, on dhe, then is amazing. I'm like, people don't understand mayonnaise. I'm just I feel sorry. It's, you know, and oil like, why wouldn't you like it? I mean, I'm teach their own. I'm kidding. I don't generally

spk_1:   1:1:15
my wife, Emily, like that. She was kind of hit or miss with it for quite a while. And I think just, you know, being forced to deal with me like the mayonnaise lover. So great nannies with serial give

spk_0:   1:1:25
it a whirl. But you know, when we're out of milk and you're in a bind way, man. Broccoli, broccoli with, um, issues. Usually it was anywhere from, like mozzarella, sometimes even Swiss, but rarely which he used, like the American. I mean, I mean, no, no, America would be American cheese, Or it would be like some mozzarella. Gotcha. I'm like, shredded. Okay, but I Really Oh, my God. I don't know what it was, man, but these tacos, it was so simple. Broccoli and cheese in a tortilla with a little tiny, tiny bit of Manny's. And it was the a member of the Uh huh that's remember that odd sauce that was like, Ah, la Victoria, What are we talking? Good? Yeah, I think that actually could be it. But, you know, that's also it's a certain kind that's been made forever. It's more. It's more of like a thick red tacos. Uh, no, it's, uh you know what? It's really I actually have a bottle of it in my fridge, but anyway, it's a really it's a It's like a hot. It's just it's just the kind of hot sauce. And it's not like you can just use any tape of hot sauce because that's the thing that more or less puts everything together. You know what? I should probably find out what it is, though, because if somebody wants to try this, we should have the right hot. So

spk_1:   1:2:44
we need to get the recipe and Jesus,

spk_0:   1:2:46
no, not right now.

spk_1:   1:2:48
We'll include in the show notes. Oh, yeah, I know. That's hey was about to run into his kitchen,

spk_0:   1:2:52
which is right back where we could use a nice musical interlude. If only I had a deejay who could get Look way just be

spk_1:   1:3:07
fox to get welcome back, All right? Okay. So okay with that?

spk_0:   1:3:11
Oh, yeah. And it's an interesting thing that I many people try, but, you know, if you want to try something completely new and you're just like, Oh, my God,

spk_1:   1:3:17
I don't have anything in my kitchen and some of them directly we just not we just We've had an air fire now for, like, the last year or two and you want to talk about the greatest cooking gadget on the face of the planet. It's the air fryer and the instant pot hands down loving both theeighty, Friar, I The other day we were making some cauliflower, and I cut off all the little florets from the head. And then there was the star of the head, you know, And then there was the stock left, and I'm like, one would normally just think, like, what am I gonna do with this thing? Well, I shopped it into, like, chicken nugget sized chunks, you know, like McDonald's size chicken McNugget chunks, um, large fat coins. And I breaded it like did the whole egg with flour and ah, and bread crumbs and some seasoning. And I threw it in the air fryer. And that, I think, would be an amazing addition to said, like broccoli cheese tacos? Yes. Oh, and that thing is like, it's delightful. You've got to get yourself in here for if you don't have one. Yeah, I really shouldn't sell them. I should say even air. Fry wants to sponsor the show because I love it, man. Okay. And then what about beverages? What's your favorite beverage? Anything?

spk_0:   1:4:17
Uh, when I'm angry, I like to drink. Bev rages. You have little daddy there, but enter into a Bev rage. Favorite drinks, man. I am, h you know, uh oh, Duels. Uh oh. It's hilarious when I type o dual somehow the d in the f Irst so close together that it comes out as though fouls

spk_1:   1:4:50
Clearly what people don't know about you

spk_0:   1:4:52
is you don't drink. It is not my favorite thing to drink, but it's my favorite kind of pastime during cause I stopped drinking about almost two years. Okay? So I really I liked I liked drink. I like to drink beer. Yeah, I like to taste the beer. I like having different types of beer, but when it comes to like something really tasty yeah, um I mean, smoothies are always good, but, you know, I mean, there's, like,

spk_1:   1:5:14
Dude down the street from you. Um, what's the Mexican place on just east of Szabo's? Is that it? On grander Chicago? They make these strawberry shakes that air the greatest on grand. It's grand and Western. Basically, it's like Szabo's original.

spk_0:   1:5:34
Oh, and that's they call it the L

spk_1:   1:5:36
L original. There, yeah, have smooth, thes strawberry shakes that

spk_0:   1:5:40
are to be, Oh, well, anybody who's in Chicago has been in this place. You got to know this place. It's right grand and Western, like you're saying Unbelievable. They're open like 24 hours, Joe, they have some. Just watch out for that walk. They throw like an entire onion.

spk_1:   1:5:52
I'm actually allergic to guacamole. Thio avocado. I like it immediately causes me to have, like, violent stomach pains. And I'm just thinking, Oh, no, no, no avocado for myself. I've accepted that. You know what? You should try a few. You're doing oh, duels because you miss the beers log. Anita's makes this amazing beverage called hop water, essentially carbonated water with hops in it, and it gives you that kind of I p A flavor. It doesn't have the sweetness of a beer or, you know, I don't like secrets. So then, yeah, you might actually love this if you're just looking for, Ah, if you're looking for that ha Penis and that kind of beer flavor because it's not,

spk_0:   1:6:30
that's what I find. Ah,

spk_1:   1:6:31
Couple of times I would try and drink nonalcoholic beers, and they're just so overly sweet. I'm like I can't do this. It's just all I tasted the sweetness that is because that's part of the process of brewing. The yeast that creates the alcohol is eating those sugars, but those sugars aren't going away. So I don't really understand how they make ah, non alcoholic beer other than just like force carbonate ing some sweet syrupy, which is what it really ultimately tastes like to me is just too sweet. So yeah, lugging this hot water gotta try it, man. It's delightful. It's crystal clear. You're not going to see like any beer color to it, but it is delightful comes in a bottle to try them doing it. It's amazing. Okay, All non alcoholic drinkers. This is your we have it and log it in the water. Let's do this together. This episode brought to you by log Anita, stop! Water. Top water. Get into it. Hop water. Better than a duel. Suck it down fast. Not a duel.

spk_0:   1:7:21
Just why does this always have to do? It gets weird. Just a couple of very comfortable. What? Okay, it's something I love doing. Uh, hoping

spk_1:   1:7:33
assuming. Do karaoke. You have any favorite karaoke? ITunes? What? You do you? Not true. You're on your own karaoke machine. Actually, one day I'm gonna bring you to a bar with me, and you're gonna be my karaoke machine. And I'm just gonna sing over you, like with you, not over you, like we're going to do it together. You're gonna be my entire orchestra. Then we're just gonna do that, is that it feels

spk_0:   1:7:55
like, uh, yeah, this next one is Ah, five minutes alone by Pantera. The blacker, blacker, blacker jack, Dating and burning. And you know that I mean that.

spk_1:   1:8:08
And then I'll be singing.

spk_0:   1:8:09
Yeah, exactly what you'll be doing the singing, but, uh okay. okay. And then, Ah,

spk_1:   1:8:16
what are some things you would recommend for people to listen to That kind of like, what's in your playlist right now? Like what? What can you share with the world? That is ah, is making your gears turn. And, like, uh, what's what's feeding your soul musically or otherwise?

spk_0:   1:8:29
Um, well, you know, um, the deep, deep, funky, sexy kind of stuff is usually where my heart lies. Things that have elements of making you feel

spk_1:   1:8:39
in what, like you're talking like house or what? Sort of?

spk_0:   1:8:41
Well, a few different things, actually, if you're different genres. But one thing that kind of just always makes me happy is the element of making you feel three different ways. And it is, um, fun, sexy and badass, all right. And I like music that has that feeling. All those those feelings. And, you know, a lot of like a lot of house does have that in the more they what they call like the bass house area. That's more like the, you know, with, like, some quirky, like main demands, a bad name, you know, it was like some past, you know, or something like that. so it has all these things. But then there's also just that, like sexy, funky Maybe I'm just coming up with. But that's kind of like any What what artists s Oh, um, somebody that I just cannot ever get enough of is I call him Gala Mattias, but it's everybody called calls him something different. Um, gala me, Shias, um, Gala May schist or something. I think the show. So you know he's the composer or the producer. I mean, I would call him a composer because of how in depth his his his music is. But he's responsible for creating the music for the artists that most people know. Alina bras, Who does the you know? You know what, then? Me. You know, um, that's

spk_1:   1:10:11
one of her, like a very I don't know, actually. Did Elina Barrage. We'll listen to

spk_0:   1:10:16
um um So he's, uh, he's my one of my favorites because he has this amazing warmth about his music. It's kind of a mix between R and B and hip hop, but it's got these six sick tones that are so warm and deep and just like it just is a feast for your ears. Um so I really, really enjoy listening. Thio Artists who not only air just producers, but people who know how to how who no sound

spk_1:   1:10:42
design Create a feast for your years.

spk_0:   1:10:45
You know f k j a cz. One of them French kiwi juice. Natural incentive is amazing. Look, I love him. Um,

spk_1:   1:10:52
I'm gonna I'm gonna task you with giving me a couple of these. We'll give you something. So we have these links.

spk_0:   1:10:57
I really love poem. Oh, Um, he does. He does an amazing job at remixing as well as original stuff. Disclosure is one of my favorite favorite artists. Um, you know, we'll put a ton of links of some. Some

spk_1:   1:11:11
stand my musical library or vocabulary edge. Don't we? Never. We never had

spk_0:   1:11:16
expanded enough. Yeah, I feel like just learning learning. That's

spk_1:   1:11:20
exciting. I'm gonna get some new music to listen to me. Oh, drop it like it's hot. We could drop it like it's hot. And because I'm a person who loves ride me some bicycles. Do you ride a bike? Do you drive or you a public transportation kind of guy?

spk_0:   1:11:32
I am 30 almost 36 years old in April. I've never owned a car. I've never gone into the D M v to get my license. No, really. Have never owned a car. So do you know how to drive? At least, though I love to drive. I drive all the time. Effect. No, I don't drive. You don't drive. I just don't dry. All right. So, Barnes, I can drive stick. I love even driving stick. I drove three wheelers quite a bit, which is a huge part of just getting the whole clutch thing there. And then I kind of, like, fucked around in some parking lots and be, like, up in the mountains, Dona. Maybe when we're Yeah, we'll be out in, like, you know, Glamis or some Gordon's. Well, um, then Callie, you know, which is It's just just a great place to just drive into the dunes forever. But anyway, I don't drive. I've never been a fan of having a car. I've always been kind of scared. I don't know. There's this level of fear that I've always had this underlying fear of going to crash. And I don't trust

spk_1:   1:12:30
some other random toe. You have your You

spk_0:   1:12:33
know what I do? I actually I just I just don't like I just don't like having to be in the chaos from and just constantly wearing, and I don't feel like it's very It's a very stressful thing, especially when in the city, and you

spk_1:   1:12:45
certainly can't if you're if you're the passenger and you're not paying attention, you could just not pay attention to anything

spk_0:   1:12:51
bad. A bad passenger passenger driver Sometimes drivers air just like it's like I don't understand the logic behind with some people do. And you know, sometimes if you're in the car of the guy who while you're driving is the other guy who's like, Why the fuck would you do that? You know, it's like I could maybe be the person that's like, Hey, don't make that decision to be a little bit of hole like a common sense, I think, But I really try not to. I really try not to be in. My girlfriend would probably say otherwise, but, you know, sometimes I feel like I have a good idea. Efforts, right? Perfect. Uh, yeah, but I don't drive. I love riding my bike. I group skateboarding and rollerblading. Or, as they say in mining, bro,

spk_1:   1:13:31
Oh, no. Roller blading, Roller blading. Nobody. But later in line skate.

spk_0:   1:13:36
No one know Ugo. No. In liners, you only call it in lining. If you're a person that the street skating, that's what in lining is it's like a few new tricks. Your roller blade. Er, you're a person who has no idea of the actual sport of it. You just you just put him on and you get one

spk_1:   1:13:51
of my favorite first things I ever had was the original Rollerblade Lightning's. They were awesome.

spk_0:   1:13:56
Oh, the light. I had lightning's do. Those were my 1st 1

spk_1:   1:14:00
lives in him lived in him Those air I love roller blading. Oh, man, all this has been so exciting. Dude. Man, it's been a really thank you. Thank you. It's

spk_0:   1:14:07
been an honor to be a part of this. No, no. I mean, I'm so

spk_1:   1:14:09
happy to bring you. As soon as I thought about doing this, you were one of the first guests I thought of having. And then you were which you're my first guest. I mean, for for all intents and purposes, you're not only like one of the first people I thought of interviewing, but You're also my first guest. And you're the one who helped turn this into something so much more than just me and a microphone and downloading some royalty free music. And it just feels so much more personal. And ultimately, I just wanna have interesting fun conversations and and get to know the world better. And you're you're one of those people were happy to be a part of this. Thanks, brother, for a share. All right? Love you, man.

spk_0:   1:14:40
Well, thank you. I hope you guys enjoy the music. And thanks for having me on awesome by love.

spk_1:   1:14:46
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