Above the bridge
Above the bridge
Episode 132 ERICK REICHARD (LIVEWIRE)
Join me as I reconnect with Eric from Live Wire Eric shares the joys and challenges of balancing dad life while rekindling his passion for DJing, offering a glimpse into his performances alongside big name edm DJs and putting on events here in Hawaii.
We take a nostalgic stroll down memory lane to the early 2000s, reliving the raw energy of local raves at Kakaako Beach and Magic Island. The conversation shifts to examining the transformation brought about by major festivals like EDC, their impact on electronic music's growing popularity, and the shift from frenetic chaos to organized grandeur. Alongside these reflections, we explore the vibrant underground scene, with its logistical challenges and creative solutions that make every show unforgettable.
The episode takes an intriguing turn as we explore the pandemonium of the card market during the COVID-19 pandemic, discovering the resurgence of a nostalgic hobby amid the chaos. We also touch upon the evolution of DJing technology and the balancing act of business and parenthood. As we wrap up, there's a heartfelt exchange of respect and appreciation, celebrating the essence of friendship, shared passions, and the love for music. With warm shoutouts and a spirit of camaraderie, this episode promises rich stories and profound insights.
All right, welcome to another edition of the Above the Bridge podcast. I'm your host, thaddeus Park. For everybody watching listening, click on the follow share. Give me a comment. It helps. Share. Give me a comment, it helps. Go. Check it out on YouTube Above the Bridge Podcast, on all podcast platforms and atbpodcom.
Speaker 1:This week we're having some technical difficulties so that's why my background is all kind of different, but trying to make do last minute. But we got it going, so it's all good. First thing I want to do is shout out our sponsors. Defend Hawaii has been with me from the beginning. Go check them out for Christmas. They have a store in Winter Mall called no One. If not, go to defendhawaiicom. Promo code ATBPODUPON, check out and you'll get 15% off your entire purchase order. Next, we have IREP Detail Supply and they're your one-stop shop superstore for everything you need to detail your car. They have a store in Temple Valley Shopping Center as well as one in Las Vegas. If not, go to their website irepdetailsupplycom. Promo code ATBPOD upon checkout and you'll get 15% off your entire purchase order.
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Speaker 2:What's up, man? It's been a minute, although I just seen you today. That's how the world works.
Speaker 1:What's up, brother? How you been. It's so random to see you today.
Speaker 2:I guarantee, I wasn't expecting to see you at my work, exactly, and I've been there a couple of times and I never saw you. So yeah it was so funny.
Speaker 1:I just was walking, I was like, oh, have a good day. I look, I was like, oh shit, I know this dude, that's kind of early too.
Speaker 2:I was like, oh wait, oh yeah, that is that that's funny, but um, so what you been up to?
Speaker 1:man, I know I haven't talked to you for a while and yeah, yeah, you I last time I saw or talked to you you were two high guys running your um weed paraphernalia shop in the smoke shop.
Speaker 2:Bro, what are you talking about?
Speaker 1:oh okay, oh good so yeah, that was fun.
Speaker 2:That was fun run, that was a good covid happened and just all kind of timing it was was cool, though it worked out. It was fine. I had my sports card stuff. It was all G. That's cool Dad life mostly. Now I know it Creeping back into the club life a tad, just a little bit Hawaiian. Brian, we've done some, some stuff. I've been playing over there a few times. The setup and everything is legit. Man, yeah, yeah, they've got it down. Proper sounds, legit visuals is on point. Um, yeah, it's a nice, nice spot to have to do some constant stuff. They're banging it, they're doing shows every weekend. So, yeah, you got something cracking yeah, I was.
Speaker 1:I was fortunate enough to go at hoppa boy. He was invited to do um hosie, so it was over. There was some bay area djs putting it on and yeah, I was impressed for one. They had it packed. I didn't. I was surprised that it was awesome videos of that.
Speaker 2:I was like, oh mean, some other stuff. I was like that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was, that was hopper boy or his friends yeah, and they invited him to do a set and it was packed and you're right, the sound and lighting is spot on. Like hawaii needs a good good yeah, no, it's super proper.
Speaker 2:Maybe like nine months ago, maybe about a year ago, I went to go see, just to go to a show, because a couple DJs that we had, we know, and brought down, they were playing over there and I went and I was like, oh, mean, this is like yeah, everything is like okay, okay, this, this is what's up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it looks good, sounds good, proper, yeah, nice well, before we get into your upcoming event, I want to talk to you a little bit and, honestly, bro, I was thinking about this today and I want to hear this story and what. How it all went down like. How did you even start live wire and how did? It come about and you djing and stuff. I I never asked you this question.
Speaker 2:I've known you for almost over a decade yeah, um, yeah, a lot of things fell into place, um, uh, yeah, well, I was just at v, I was working at venus at the time, I was after ocean club, um. So I was, and you know, I met. I wasn't djing at all really at that point, but uh, looking at, looking at that guy in the dj booth over there, ocean club was like what is that guy? He does pretty good shit, that's. Uh, you know I got paul brandon and uh, I was like check him out.
Speaker 2:I was like oh, he's decent, pretty good. I was just like listening following, but who else was there? A dj, edit and goodbye actually was still still there at the time too. And just like listening following who else was there? Dj Ed and Good Vibe actually was still there at the time too. And just like, yeah, just started, just like just bugging them, hanging around asking for music, asking for whatever, asking for tips, it's kind of how it started. But I got into the music wise. But at Venus there was Richie Aki.
Speaker 1:Yes, I do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, richie was in charge over there um at the time and uh he had brought, but I was uh still had. I guess connor stood at the same time, kind of right. But yeah, I guess he was on his way out and he left. Um, so then he, uh richie, brought in, uh richard wong oh yeah, I'm super close with his brother, mark Mark.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, yeah, that's right yeah.
Speaker 2:Clothing line and stuff, yeah, so that's awesome and he brought in. He brought in Richard. Rest in peace, mr Wong. All right. Pete and Richie and Richard were both DJs with each other back in the day and they were, they were. They were they're older already, but they were party goers in their in day right but so yeah uh, richard was still kind of into it.
Speaker 2:I guess, uh, richie was maybe more getting uh, you know, family life or whatever, but richard uh still party, he wanted to go, he was still into it. Um, who was, who was with us at the time? Uh, as far as, like, younger guys, j girl, dj, technique, dj shift, uh, dj tide were all there from the beginning. Um, and uh, yeah, he was into that kind of music. He wanted to just like change, have not just straight hip-hop in the in the club, which was, I mean, they did play in late, late night, but he wanted it more versatile, I guess, and just like so he gave us a night. He gave us, uh, I don't remember if he gave us thursdays, I think at first, or uh, or, or even I think the first one was a Thursday and then we got stuck with Mondays, just like whatever day we could get, it didn't matter, right, it was like it didn't matter.
Speaker 2:Just he opened the club. It wasn't that busy at first, obviously, but yeah, just the word got around and then we just invite whoever to DJ and stuff like that and just try to expand the scene there. But there was some things going on at the time. I mean there was already. There was already. I mean Paul Brandon already had what V1 and V2 parties or whatever.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's right.
Speaker 2:Before we started Livewire there was there was some of that going on. But yeah, yeahard just gave us the opportunity. He just he was like, yeah, go for it. It's like nothing's going on, anyway, just go and uh, there just went from a monthly um, and then I think we did some stuff on the lounge side even on another day as well too.
Speaker 2:So we had like two days going to two a month or whatever, and then eventually had a weekly on the lounge side. Uh right, ryan chang was on that side, oh yeah, yeah, island fire.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I went fine, he let us.
Speaker 2:He let us go. Yeah, richard gave us the the opportunity on that side and yeah, it was. Uh, it was pretty cool. It was just growing after. Uh, then we did, I think like there was like the first two or three years was kind of just exclusively there, and then Zylo opened up.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then we was doing stuff back and forth on on both clubs down there, so that was uh kind of helped it grow as well. Yeah, it was. It was started from nothing, man, but it's still to this day. There's still some of the guys, the first guys who ever came to some of the first live bars.
Speaker 1:they still come and shit they're still here on the island, yeah, but along the years.
Speaker 2:I mean people come and go, they move and and whatnot, but yeah, it's cool when they come back, though, they come back to find us and visit.
Speaker 1:It's a long lost family reunited yeah, and you, your guys, you guys had a close um knit of of people and followers and people that supported you guys. Had a close knit of people and followers and people that supported you guys.
Speaker 2:It was super cool to see we expanded to some good stuff. Pipeline Aloha Tower was some good parties.
Speaker 1:I love to miss that place. You guys have been everywhere. I remember going 99 Ranch for once. I was just like you guys are nuts.
Speaker 2:That was the last effort to venues.
Speaker 1:This didn't work out and I was like, yeah, 99 sounds great, let's do it one of my favorite ones I went to was like at aloha stadium, but it was in between um, I don't even know what it was, what the door like.
Speaker 2:Yeah, corners of the four. You got the four little breaks right in the stadium so it's down in that. I don't even know what it was, what the thing? Yeah, you got the four little breaks right in the stadium so it was down in that little corridor down there, actually both sides, so two stages in the corridors. But that was the Gareth Emery show. That was one of the biggest shows we've done and most nerve-wracking as well, of course.
Speaker 1:That was one of the funnest ones I've been to, and I just remember you could stand up and look down, and then we were like oh, we got to get down there. We went down there. You guys always took care of us. I mean, it was always cool, but, um, those old venus days, was that like the start. I don't even know if it was edm or what was it called back then.
Speaker 2:Like oh yeah no, I mean it was before. They called it edm right, it was just like electronic music, but mostly everybody was playing. There was house music um breaks was popular, um breakbeats yeah and drum and bass was popular back then as well too, but it wasn't as uh, you know, there was no, there was no dubstep and, yeah, trapping that stuff they got now. So shit has evolved. Uh, bass music is crazy. The shows go nuts yeah, I don't.
Speaker 1:I. I think the first type of electronic music I've experienced was back in the pipeline days when artist group network was promoting at pipeline and they this was before I even was a part of them they had to give up their Friday night because some dude named Paul Oakenfo came down and I guess he had priority, and I'm just like did you bring them at the time?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was G-Spot, yeah, and I remember just seeing like just so confused like they're, they're gonna take your guys night away because of a dj like you guys yeah, it was just one night though. Yeah, it was just yeah, and it was something booked prior to them being a part of it. Whatever it was, I was confused but we went and they had that place jumping and and it was like all electronic music and it was like it's not um music that I'm gravitating to, because I like rock.
Speaker 1:I don't even like hip-hop as much, but it was the vibe there was just jumping and they had like a huge crowd and everybody knew who he was it was that.
Speaker 2:I mean, what year was that, was it?
Speaker 1:I would say 2003 around no around there. 2003, 4, I guess wrong. It was a long time ago yeah, no, that doesn't make sense.
Speaker 2:I I was, uh, I was not very much actually into the scene then I was just like just starting listening to that stuff in oh four, yeah four, oh five. Well, three oh four, I guess, yeah, yeah really. But uh, yeah, I didn't. I'm not, I didn't know who paul confod was when at that time I didn't go to that show.
Speaker 1:I didn't go to that, but I was just starting, like I think that was around the time, yeah, probably a little bit after that.
Speaker 2:It's probably like I don't go to that, but I was just starting like I think that was around the time, yeah, probably a little bit after that. It's probably like I don't remember my first, my first, I don't remember my first show. It was in vegas, actually. It's kind of how I got hooked from my brother's friend, but, yeah, that was, that was a wild one.
Speaker 1:They had these raves at like kakaako beach or like that. Was that you guys?
Speaker 2:I remember exactly, a lot of people did them like a lot of the asylum guys yeah they were always doing stuff over there. We did some too marvin guys and g and nikki um, they still we still be doing beach party at uh at kakaako last sunday of every month. Um, they're in reset sundays, it's chill. Just go out there barbecue or not really barbecue potluck, more like potluck drinks chill, yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Sometimes I can't even make it to that where's, where's that at you guys do it every sunday at kakako beach park, like in the last sunday, last sunday of every month, at uh, this magic island side, yeah, oh, I see actually one is not kakako anymore. Yeah, yeah, magic island okay, I wonder if um you guys were there when we were doing um when yeah, so I had it did.
Speaker 2:They were they were there, they were all there. Did you not see, you guys? By the bathroom.
Speaker 1:There was like a little incident too. One of the guys from over there came and yeah, I think he was a promoter kind of guy with dreads, a black guy, and yeah, yeah, I don't know. He came to our spot. So one of his friends came to our spot and then he's saying that he's with you guys and then, I don't know, he got into it. He almost got his ass kicked and then we we calmed it down and then I didn't know that, was you guys doing that stuff?
Speaker 2:yeah, so that was. They were all there, I wasn't. I wasn't there that day, I had to be outside, uh the fam. So so I missed it. I know, and you guys had this stuff same time, so I was thinking, oh man, that's going to be good. And then I had to go have it and I was like not good, well, that would be first yeah yeah, yeah, no doubt that's the thing it's like. Yeah, I want to go to the shows right and stuff so yeah I did go.
Speaker 2:Uh, they just had a show. They just had a show at uh, at brian's I went this past weekend. They also had a huge water park party too. That was they smashed it.
Speaker 1:They did good oh really, who was playing? Yeah?
Speaker 2:so, uh, this was uh seven lions and jason ross okay that pretty much looks sold out. That thing was major, yeah, so they're doing that over there too, waikai and and over there, and hopefully we can maybe're doing that over there too, waikai and over there. Hopefully we can maybe do some stuff over there too. It looks good.
Speaker 1:Nice, when you guys started, edm wasn't as popular as it was With EDC and pretty much Vegas kind of put it more mainstream. Not everybody's into it. How did you see the progression, bro, of electronic music?
Speaker 2:crazy if you uh, edc was in la before that and the coliseum and those, those I've been, I've been to the last, like went to the last two, I guess in la, I guess probably the last two in la, and then I went to the first three in vegas, um and uh, yeah, definitely completely different. Uh, on pricing on everything and the first three years of vegas is a shit show. It's probably way better now.
Speaker 2:I actually haven't been since the third year in vegas but logistics and like traffic and all that shit was nonsense for the first, oh yeah, three years. So I hope for everyone's sake it's better. I will never attempt to find out yeah, we're too old for that nonsense yeah, exactly yeah, but uh, it was, it was good while lasted, but yeah, um different, different, yeah, for sure not everybody's. Uh, it's like I don't know Different vibe I guess to it in LA than it is in Vegas. Yeah, it was, I don't know. I don't know how to describe it, but I think LA was the best.
Speaker 1:I feel like, too, the EDM scene, like with those big shows, it's not even about people that's connected to the music it shows. It's not even about people that's connected to the music, it's just they're going for the festival party.
Speaker 2:The cloud of, yeah, the cloud of. It also expands it and gets people. Everybody gotta start somewhere, right, I went to this whatever it was, blah, blah, blah. And I seen some dj, I got a cd. I don't know what they pass out nowadays thumb drives, whatever qr codes but yeah, you know. And then you just become a fan of it. So, yeah, maybe they're not there for the for the first time, for the music, but eventually you know, yeah, yeah, yeah um that's kind of cool yeah, you never know in hawaii.
Speaker 1:The bigger shows I remember was you guys. Then they had G was his love fest and that was always big and they did a lot of pipeline parties and all kinds of stuff and Chinatown and stuff.
Speaker 2:They were banging for a minute. Scene was banging, but shit takes ups and downs and COVID came, but it's rejuvenating for sure. Oh man, scene looks pretty healthy here for sure. Damn, a lot of young guys are going out yep and it's, yes, it.
Speaker 1:I definitely catch that vibe is starting up. I remember um love fest was the big one and then um wonderland started to kind of pick up some steam and of course you guys were always doing stuff yeah, they brought down different artists than us.
Speaker 2:They liked some more of the bass, heavy stuff, um, and a house and and electro and stuff like that. That was cool. Just diversification, give stuff to everybody nowadays. I mean, this past weekend bro had that jason ross show at the water park, had like a little wayne republic had a banging show that was packed and sold out like some trance or beast, whatever it was banging. And then even he has some stuff and I was like, oh yeah, okay, yeah, if the city can handle it, do it okay, that's nuts well, who is some of the bigger artists that you guys brought down.
Speaker 1:I remember doing going to one of your guys, I think was house of wax at a lower tower and um, yeah, we did that porter robinson, yeah, we did porter Porter Robinson over there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we did Andy Moore, Lange, all kinds of guys, norton Rad, cosmic Gate I almost forget who all the people we brought. This is so much, but, yeah, this next show we're doing another trans DJ, but a trans legend. He's got multiple tracks in the top 100 trans tracks of all time. Yeah, origin nielsen. Um, he's a viking. He's a viking straight from viking land, but, um, yeah, so we brought him in 2012, 2013. It's been a while 10, uh, 10 years but he's still banging out he's still banging out.
Speaker 2:He's still banging out tracks, he's still touring like crazy, just like I don't know how you do that for 15, 20 years For real huh, how, how, how do you book these DJs Like? You, you have a plug, or you. Just started from one and it kind of snowballs and you, you know, just they're like. I mean, first it was just like okay, you got one. And then everybody finds out he came here and like I want to go to Hawaii and play. You went there and played.
Speaker 2:Who the hell did you play for, tell me what. So yeah, I just started. And then that guy's got a record label as well. So Andy Moore was the first DJ we brought and then he has tons of artists on his record label and then so just from there, yeah, land and a bunch of others, and then just kind of snowballs, yeah, oh, that's super dope, it couldn't even. It was just non-stop.
Speaker 2:It actually, just like you have to, I have to reject, like you, just sometimes you can't afford it uh, yeah vegas pays a lot we got so it's just like the competitiveness was it got to a point where it's just like I can't even gareth emory show? You know that was the most the stadium one, and they're, just like you know, squeezing ass. You're like, can we afford this?
Speaker 1:I hated those bro yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:So it's like, and then after that I was like man, we can't, how much more can you pay for someone? I was like, just let let Vegas take it all. Just tell them it got hard, but prices and things have come back down a little bit more to reality, I guess. Hey, they got to get paid too. I get it. They don't make much from their music, they get paid touring and that is what it is. It's the game.
Speaker 1:It's understandable and even like just us booking club djs is yeah, we, that's our first disclaimer. You ain't gonna get what you're getting in vegas.
Speaker 2:Like that's just real like it is yeah, I cannot, so it's it just. Uh, it just made it difficult to book, but it just made may do it what I had. Everybody's like oh, bring this guy, bring this guy, bring this guy. I was like I'll try and trust you, I want him here too. Just the guy, if it works, he's going to make it work.
Speaker 1:What were some of the craziest writers tech or hospitality that you guys?
Speaker 2:got Gosh, oh geez. Yeah, there's specific foods or specific water bottles or nothing crazy. But some of these guys, most of these guys, are just like fucking fish man, vodka, vodka, vodka, vodka, vodka and just like, oh, you're not sick.
Speaker 1:And you do this every day of the week.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean not easy enough. For sure, yeah, not easy.
Speaker 1:no for sure, it's sure at some point they take a break. So you teamed up with paul brandon, and that guy for one is one of the most dangerous people to drink with in my experience in the nightlife industry bar none like I, the silent killer, the silent bro I underestimated him many times and he was probably one of the first people that got like sideward sidewards at rock bottom and I try to keep up with him I was like I'm gonna say we're working yeah, it's japanese guy.
Speaker 1:It was like. I was just like oh, whatever, bro, I'm gonna drink with you and oh man, yeah.
Speaker 2:But I don't drink. Yeah, he's too much. I just don't know, I just fuck off, I don't know.
Speaker 1:But he's, yeah, and he's one of the coolest people I've met in the nightlife industry and we met a lot of people is some good. Most, most are good. A lot of dirt bags, but you, you guys are always real. There's some good and some bad, for sure yeah.
Speaker 2:After about four or five years of we were doing our own thing, that we kind of teamed up with him and started doing just to do bigger stuff and it was just to get some better production going and pick up some better sound and some better stuff. And it was just get together and just do it together and it was just like, yeah, let's go. Okay, okay, let's go. The better, the more stressful, the more gray hairs you get, yeah, I remember seeing Paul like one.
Speaker 1:I mean I've watched him perform a lot, but I remember one show that got me like, oh, this guy is fucking the man. He was DJing for the Foxes at Republic yeah, the Pepsi show yeah, so he, he was, um, he was heard. He was heard DJing when she was singing her little thing and he was there and they had the light on him and you know how he looks when he's playing.
Speaker 1:He's not jumping around, he's just yeah, yeah, yeah, I just remember her singing in front of him and he was doing his. Thing. I'm like, oh, fucking Paul Brown, he's a cool motherfucker bro, that guy. He just looked cool that night. I was just like bro, that guy is the man.
Speaker 2:Did he have a leather jacket?
Speaker 1:No, his t-shirt and his glasses. I think he had earbuds on.
Speaker 2:It wasn't even the fucking oh yeah, he DJs with those little things. He had some folded stuff, those are good actually Good. I'm just at my club already.
Speaker 1:I need to wear all the time now but you and him were like the um house of wax guys and I know for both hansen and I, whenever you guys did that thing on um coming up, like this one coming up the wednesday before thanksgiving, we went to all of them like you guys always did. Like I said, we went to 99 ranch because you guys are doing it independence or independence.
Speaker 2:So fourth of july shows as well. We always have a pipeline, or uh. Aloha tower was also different. Can people do still things over there? Who got that, ray? I think?
Speaker 1:so you know, we need to do a show on Aloha Tower Ray. What up, man you?
Speaker 2:guys should get there.
Speaker 1:I don't know. He's been doing things in the parking lot at.
Speaker 2:Aloha Stadium. That's just because I mean, obviously the crowd he's bringing is way bigger than what you fit in Alo lot already yeah, yeah I agree that shit like what you gonna do.
Speaker 1:I always wondered if he's selling the um. Artists like oh, you can play at a lower stadium and then they get there and realize they're in the fucking parking lot, I mean we didn't.
Speaker 2:Our show wasn't in the stadium either. It was it's close yeah, it was.
Speaker 1:It was halfway in the I don't know that was. That was so innovative in my opinion and I thought you guys would have done it again it was that spot was super dope and it was.
Speaker 2:It was a risk. We got some sound complaints too. We were pounding it. Obviously the dj needs the proper sound and whatnot, too right for the writers, so they just don't play on any rinky dinky shit. So yeah, uh, yeah, we that was, we just raised it as long as it got some noise complaints. But it's all good we don't get shut down, but uh, I don't think they want another one after that yeah, yeah, uh but because I don't know we were there. We were there pretty late.
Speaker 1:Red guys finished earlier yeah, I think, yeah, I think they go till maybe two, I don't know. I don't even know what time they stopped, but I remember you guys are late because we got fucked up that night. We were, we were lit and uh we went to two.
Speaker 2:I don't think red guys can go to two right now. I don't think they're that they don't stay that late, no ways yeah, probably not, maybe 10, I don't know, I have no idea. Probably I think it's earlier. I'm pretty sure it's earlier. I'm just not sure on the time. But yeah, I don't remember exactly what time we went to. It was kind of late. I think we might have pushed it later, but I don't know. I can't recall at this point yeah, the people that lived by were like what the fuck is going on?
Speaker 1:What is happening? The stadium is not even lit up. Yeah right.
Speaker 2:You lived on one side, you couldn't even tell there was a show. You lived on the other side, you could see it, yeah.
Speaker 1:How did 99 Ranch come about? That was super random.
Speaker 2:We were scrambling for a venue. Actually Our venue got canceled. We were scrambling for a venue. Actually Our venue got canceled. Whatever our venue was at the time I can't even recall which venue it was but the reason we had 99 was just scrambled to put this fucking show anywhere. No liquor license. We were serving kava, yeah.
Speaker 1:I remember that. I remember getting a text or something we don't have alcohol, bring your guys own. And we're like okay, yeah we're just pre-gaming on the way there I went barred on the road or something.
Speaker 2:They made choke money. That night I even went there for drinks. That's right, you guys had kava no, like I mean, maybe somebody snuck in some liquor but we weren't serving any whatever, so we just had kava. It was just like let's throw this party. That was cedric gavis. That was, uh, I think that was house of wax live wire show. Yeah, that was yeah, I was.
Speaker 1:I remember hansen was a fan of that dj and he was like, well, we gotta check them out.
Speaker 2:At least let's go yeah at one point, venues was tough, uh, just trying to find whatever we could. We did some stuff too. There was, uh, for a year, a couple years, there was a 805 alamuana warehouse oh yeah yeah, yeah, it was a little skate rink at one point or something, and then they're like can we throw a raven there?
Speaker 1:what was the craziest venue? You guys did.
Speaker 2:Uh, I mean no, no, oh, did that thing. Can you still see me? My phone, yeah, oh, okay, my laptop. Just some other shit came up, no, just that. 99 ranch. That was probably the weirdest.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I was there for that. Yeah, that was Nah just that 99 Ranch.
Speaker 2:That was probably the weirdest thing. So I was there for that. That was probably weird. We did some other things, we did some hotels, some things, but whatever Using whatever we could at that point Venues were tough.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so this show coming up? This is in celebration of your anniversary.
Speaker 2:Yeah, live with our 19 year anniversary man, oh great, mean venus night 19 years ago on a random last thursday, monday, uh, to some some bigger and better things, but yeah, at hawaiian bryans, or hb social as they're known for now. But uh, that man, it's proper, the venue is proper, it sounds super good. I'm excited. Last few shows I went to over there oh look, sounds good Feels good Shoot.
Speaker 1:I'm going to talk Hanson into going.
Speaker 2:Well, I don't think it's going to be hard.
Speaker 1:If he's on island, bro, I'll definitely bring him with me.
Speaker 2:We got gotta check that out. I got, you got a nice spot for you guys.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely all right. I'll definitely come check it out um I also wanted to talk to you because it was something I've did. I've done when I was a younger kid but your card collecting and how you turn it into a business and how's that been going. I know you had a shop, um kind of by university, but that's.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I had the same as my shop. Uh, I was kind of running myself thin but it was fun. It was what I love to do. Right, I did that. I've done that forever. Um, but uh, yeah, the cards, uh, it's, it's, it's a. You know cycles of stuff. It got crazy during covet. That was a thing. It was scary like. At first I was just I was holding a bunch of just I'm always I just have a lot of cards right, so a lot of cards and covet everything, market, stock market, tank, everything, tank and cards, all was tanking too.
Speaker 2:People were offing their cards, uh, like just for like whatever. It was like fire sale kind like, because like what the fuck is going on? Like? And people are like, oh, we're trying to go buy stocks because the stocks market crashed, right, so everybody's just like dumping their cards. You know, I was like seeing, holy fuck, I'm watching all this shit go down, like uh is my and I started liquidating or what I. I sold off some stuff just to have a little cushion and whatever. But yeah, I held on to a lot of stuff and turned out to be a smart move.
Speaker 2:I can't take all credit. I was like it's probably smart to sell some shit, is what the smart thing was. But it wasn't smart to sell them. But hindsight is 20-20, right? Yeah, nobody's going to be perfect I definitely wasn't. But the car market boom. People were stuck at home looking through their old cards and uh, it boomed.
Speaker 2:The hobby, um, I don't know if for the better. I guess depends if you're holding a lot of cards. Yeah, you felt like the whole shit, all my cards were choked. Now, yeah, I don't know, am I gonna sell them or what the fuck am I gonna do with it? And then, if you want to keep ripping, uh, the products, all the products, all the new products got super expensive. So it was just like how are you gonna, are you gonna open new stuff if you don't sell anything? Right? So I guess eventually everybody started to sell their stuff to get the new stuff.
Speaker 2:And then market gets uh flooded with all the old stuff because everybody wants to buy the new stuff. And then kind of shit hit the fan and shouldn't win a tumbling down, um, but uh, I don't. I'm not so much. I was selling off my stuff for the last a couple years and, um, interestingly, I'm a more baseball guy than anything, but I've been buying hockey and some other marvel stuff and some other non-sports stuff more than actual baseball. The product fanatics came in. Uh, you know, they expand the hobby, they'll bring in more people and whatnot. But, yeah, you know, people get priced out and shit's. Uh, shit's crazy expensive, but it's fun. It's like the lottery, yeah, but it's big cards. It's like football, basketball, like you're just ripping. I mean what boxes? Maybe like four or five, six hundred dollars for a box of cards nowadays.
Speaker 1:Oh shit.
Speaker 2:But you can hit $10,000 card, $20,000 card. Oh, wow that much, oh yeah and more yeah. For sure. Just in a recent basketball card, somebody hit this LeBron James 101 autograph. They had Golden, auction it off and it was a hundred thousand dollar card or whatever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, bro, that's insane money game right now.
Speaker 2:I remember I'm gonna sit on the side for a little bit jeez.
Speaker 1:I remember I was when I was collecting. I was super young and I had tops. It was tops beer and and Don Ross.
Speaker 2:Those are like the three big ones yeah.
Speaker 1:That was the tops Always had the bubble gum, the stale piece of bubble go.
Speaker 2:Still get still. Yeah, man, they, they're tops. Well now, tops owns or fanatics, and tops they own the baseball rights. So they, they pretty much only license baseball cards. So Upper Deck, they don't make anymore. Upper Deck has hockey, that's all they can make. And Jordan, that's it. Tops coming in Scooping it all up. They signed LeBron Might sign Jordan.
Speaker 1:We'll see. They're signing individuals not even like sports yeah, yeah they.
Speaker 2:They want exclusives to like individuals. Yeah, and there's there's panini, the other side, they do that too. They play a game now. So, like there's, now they're trying to just like whenever they do football, top quarterback or whatever they're all trying to just outbid for exclusive or whatever's right, so only they can make their card or they can have their autograph or whatever. So yeah, big, big money thrown around on that front. But oh wow, it's different, it's a product more expensive when they're throwing out big monies to get these guys right.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah come to the consumer in the end.
Speaker 1:Yeah, jeez I, I, um, I honestly have some old baseball cards. I I never went and looked and priced them out, but I have the first two series of garbage pill kids hey, that's what's up is that worth anything? Or like how much is that condition that?
Speaker 2:uh, okay, first two or even the first four series. The first two are obviously the, or even the first four series. The first two are obviously the most expensive. The first four have value After that. Not so much. It's all about condition. I remember when I was ripping those packs with my brother back in 85 and 86. I was on Kona. I remember going to the supermarket. They were everywhere they were big time. You put them in your rubber band or whatever, right? So yeah, and it's all about grading now.
Speaker 1:So I think mine are in plastic I should go look for them, because not are the grading system right? You mail them somewhere and they can.
Speaker 2:They can grade the big bucks, the first, the first, first eight cards are the first important cards. Nasty Nick, in there is the first card and then Atom.
Speaker 1:Bomb.
Speaker 2:Those are the money cards.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:If they look nice, centering is good. Centering is a big issue back then and if you didn't rubber band them, then you can actually try to get a good thing. They have value. They make new. They make new garbage pill cards and they make like there's a huge community for that, like yeah, yeah, some of these guys have crazy collections, it's wild shoot.
Speaker 1:So what sport are you into?
Speaker 2:like you have a favorite, like team or like baseball is, uh, my favorite sport and that's most of the cards I would. I would buy and rip, um, I may get back into it or so, but I'm just like this price point is just not there. I don't know. So maybe I just buy six and whatnot, but, um, yeah, my, uh, my terrible yankees oh, yep, they almost had it. Yeah, we played. We played third grade defense. It's all good.
Speaker 1:When I was young back in the day, I was a huge Mets fan and my favorite guy unfortunately was Dwight Gooden.
Speaker 2:I was a big Dwight Gooden fan.
Speaker 1:And he decided to sniff the lines on the way to first base instead of. He's super such a letdown. But he meant Darryl Strawberry. I had to sniff the lines on the way to first base instead of he's such a letdown. I went to a lot of those games actually. Oh, no shit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my dad's a Mets fan and we went to a bunch of Mets games and Yankees games, so I left New York in 86.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:Moved to Kona so I was watching some of those games. I have some pictures. It was like with Gary Carter.
Speaker 1:Yep Lenny Dykstra, sid Fernandez, keith Hernandez. Yep, those are my, that was my that game, six bro against the Red Sox in the World Series. I don't know if you remember Mookie Wilson hit the ground there. Mookie Wilson hit the ground there and yeah, that was that was my favorite, favorite team and yeah, then I was so let down when all that that's a tough one. Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. I got I probably got a ton of those guys cards because I was a huge fan.
Speaker 2:But oh nice, I have. Yeah, I have a bunch of autographed baseballs from that time, so I have. Oh wow, I got strawberry. For sure, bo jackson, I don't have, do I? Good, I got a strawberry baseball, so that's pretty dope. Yeah, all kind of random shit, that's good shit, it's fun. What?
Speaker 1:is like your most valuable, like card or something that you have. That's super nostalgic.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I always had dreams to get at first. I had to work my way up to it. Of course. You just wanted nice rookies of the ones that you collected when you were a kid, right? So like Griffies and stuff like that was my main thing to get nice at first. And then I went back in time and then I was like like, let me go try to find some older cards and whatever. And then I was like, oh, let me get some of the greats. So you try to. You know, I picked up a hank aaron rookie. Oh wow, mickey mannell rookie, um, stuff like that yeah I went up to the national convention in Chicago.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, you can find anything there. It's a crazy show. Five-day show Takes you all five days to see everything. Oh, wow.
Speaker 1:You might as well drop some cash.
Speaker 2:I'm a peanut over there, bro. People walking around with armed arm security and stuff like boots, have like some arm guards kind of too, and then like, yeah, you know, you got when you got your own personal security, you, you got, you got. Yeah, that's a different level.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely not there.
Speaker 2:Just walking around buying and I need security. That's somebody, that that guy is the next level, yeah, but yeah, anything you could possibly imagine is there. I ended up doing a bunch of deals, trading for a low-level mantle, and then I used that with some Jordan stuff to pick up a medium-grade mantle and kind of had that for a while, but actually I sold it all. I don't even have it anymore. I don't have it. I obtained them, the goal was accomplished and then I moved on. It's it gets like that right. You know, I just have a challenge.
Speaker 1:That's the yeah, it's the conducting challenge.
Speaker 2:Put the set together or something like that, and then I mean not everybody has unlimited funds to like. Okay, funds to like, okay, let me just make the next set. He's like no, I gotta fucking sell that set, right, yeah like so. Yeah, set building is fun. I've done some, some some good master sets, some big sets, and then I was on a big jordan trip before I did all the mantles. Um, you know wheel and deal trade. You look back and you're just like, oh, how much is that worth.
Speaker 2:Now you're like, oh, how much is that worth now, but then every every move that you made with said card to upgrade to another card or whatever, and every other deal after that. You can't really look back and regret, oh, I shouldn't have traded that card or whatever. I would never get any sleep exactly. But yeah, or whatever I would, I would never. I'll never. I'll never get any sleep exactly. But, yeah, fun to wheel and deal and, uh, a bit on a break, but I'm going to the national convention next year. I'll go back. Oh, where's that gonna?
Speaker 2:be at gonna be back in chicago. It kind of moves atlantic city, sometimes cleveland, sometimes in chicago, it rotates.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's cool, yeah that's well, it seems to be that's your passion, you know, I mean that's fun, but sometimes you get kind of wiped out from your path.
Speaker 2:I needed a break. I got. I got exhausted from it. So oh like anything. I took a break from it. Then I was like, let me go back, you know, back to some music. Let me heal my soul.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's always a good healer. He does that right.
Speaker 2:Then I was like, yeah, let's do that. I went to a couple of shows. Then they asked me to play. Then I was like, yeah, let's do a show. Nice, we're back, we're doing a show. We'll probably do a couple next year too, live at our beach party in the club. Oh, um, so probably do that next year. Hopefully get that scored away there for spring break or summer, yeah, and then, uh, then the following year we got the 20th anniversary, uh, so you're, you're, you're like back-back, then You're like oh we're here, let's go.
Speaker 1:Nice, that's fucking cool. So yeah, if you guys are back-back, then that'll just revive Paul to get back out there and start doing it again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I called him. When I called him, he's like no, you're fucked, you're kidding. I was like no, I we're doing, we're doing, we're doing day before thanksgiving, motherfucker that's what we do exactly save some turkeys.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's see what. Oh I, I wanted to talk to you about, um, of course, being a father and being that you have a daughter. I relate to that and how has that been and changed your life, because I know the person you are and I know, prior to you having a kid, the person you'd be as a dad, because I'm pretty much the same and it becomes something way different. How have you enjoyed being a father?
Speaker 2:crazy how your life changes. Uh, it's, it was. Yeah, uh, I had to. Every point has a different. I had to get out the nightlife. Then I wanted to do the do the shop the daytime thing because I was like, okay, enough nightlife, let's uh chill out, let's get the shop daytime thing. Then have the child. And I was like, okay, maybe I don't know if I can have this shop if I have a child, right, yeah, those kind of thoughts going on too, like, oh man, how I gotta play this out, uh. And I was like, yeah, I can do the sports court thing, whatever. But yeah, I mean, I had to close both during covid anyway. So it's a is what it is, uh, but it's cool, got to focus on dad life, uh, and so that's, that's been pretty fun, interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you watch them do little things you used to do or whatever things you used to do, or whatever it's like, hey, kind of crazy, but she's, she's, uh, she's almost eight and your daughter's 14, 15, so yeah, 14 yeah I'm not ready for that bro, I wasn't ready, it's just I didn't believe she was that old like I had a.
Speaker 1:Honestly, I had to like draw the line in the sand and realize that, okay, she's not my little girl anymore but she's this person and I had to yeah, I, I, I really had to consciously let that go and realize where she's at now, because I was treating her like how I would a little kid and that it was rough, oh yeah, oh yeah, dang all too fast all way too fast.
Speaker 2:But uh, yeah, that's cool, she sees me. Uh, she sees me, like you know, practicing or playing some music at home. She's like what are you doing? You're a dj, you're not a dj she has no idea what that is or does yeah, right, sure, some videos later and just uh, but I mean she'll eventually come to some yeah, that was sick right. 30th anniversary she'll be djing it you can bring your daughter to the 25th yeah, I don't that's not good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're not on the 25th, and then I bring her to the 30th it'll be all good.
Speaker 2:But yeah, she envisions a troll party for now. Right, trolling, trolls djing and the trolls party, but that's kind of what we do sure I showed her some show, some videos and stuff she'll get into it, man. She's in her dna I'll let her mess with it, she's not going to break it. A little older.
Speaker 1:Give her one of them. Numark controllers. Yeah, I was looking at some.
Speaker 2:Actually, I looked at a couple of new ones. We had one, but it broke her. Those things break fast, yeah.
Speaker 1:Speaking of which, you've experienced the evolution of DJing from the vinyl to what it is now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I learned on vinyl because that's what Richard and everybody had to the milk crates, yeah, but I mean on doing gigs. Luckily, you know, I didn't have to bring really records. Uh, most of the gigs my first gigs were all cds or cdjs, yeah yeah, cdjs, yeah, um, but I mean house and trance records. I have maybe like 20 records, 25 records only at this point. Half of them are autographs, so I can't even play them oh, yeah, that's cool.
Speaker 1:Those probably could sell. Yeah, I probably could, but there's no reason to yeah, just take that with me forever hell, yeah, yeah. But like these younger djs always say god it made man, you just bring a thumb yeah, I mean, oh yeah, right on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, bro, I went to brian's for my gig, showed up with this that's crazy, yeah but most, most in in Venus is doing a lot of CDs, and then back to Vino with Serato.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Mostly using the turntables over there. So back and forth between CDs and that and man, that first CD player, venus. I don't know if anybody ever picks on one of those. I remember that. Yeah, the CD decks, those are. Those are interesting.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, geniuses Nice. I remember the dressing room behind the DJ booth that no one knew about, unless you were, unless you knew about it. Yeah, if you were there, you knew about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah if you're there on saturdays, that's yeah crazy. Now, yeah, it's like even there's even they haven't had new cdj's at the show I never even seen before it's bad this weekend I was like, oh, new cdj's. I was like, oh fuck, I don't know anything about that. All right, cool, let me see if this shit works oh, so what?
Speaker 1:you just bring your um hard drive, or you have your computer and all that.
Speaker 2:I don't even need computers my thumb drive, plug into the cdj, that's it oh, it's for real. You just have your thumb drive literally my thumb drive on my headphones. That's it. That's all I need for a gig nowadays.
Speaker 1:Yeah, crazy well, I guess that's the perks. Now you guys kind of worked your way up. Yeah, I wonder how it's going to be like in 10 years from now what do you? Just plug it into your ears let's get that neural link.
Speaker 2:I need that. I need that external hard drive. I need that. I can't fucking remember everything between music and cards and everything it. It was like I got no more fucking storage already. Ask me some useless facts.
Speaker 1:Got to put some in the cloud.
Speaker 2:Some shit about 1990 tops. I'll tell you, but useless, I'm ready for a link.
Speaker 1:That'd be cool. I'd be down. Yep, put some more memory in there.
Speaker 2:Things are going to happen. I think so.
Speaker 1:Guarantee Shoot. Well, we've been going for a while. Man try hit one more time about your show coming up and then give me your um, how people can get tickets and stuff. And then your social media.
Speaker 2:Yeah, day before Thanksgiving, hawaiian Brian's live one anniversary 19 years. Regular show time 9 to 2. Tickets are available at wearemetacom, I believe. Yeah, that's what it is. You can find links on either my Instagram or Audiophile or Hawaiian Brian's Instagram. They'll have ticket links on there. And, yeah, pretty stoked for this. I don't know, might be hurting on Thanksgiving, but it's all good memories of that.
Speaker 1:I've been hurt on Thanksgiving because of you and Paul.
Speaker 2:Let's do it again. I'll see you on Wednesday.
Speaker 1:I'll see you Wednesday. I'll come, bro, I'll come check it out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, please, I got you. I'll try to bring him in.
Speaker 1:If he's not on the island, I'll bring somebody else. Just for nostalgia fact, I would want to cook yeah, let's go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, just, uh, just just follow me, man, I got you right on. Well, I appreciate you taking time out um this is fun uh yeah good to see you and thanks for having me on yeah, most random shit today, man it always. That's how the world works. It always happens that way?
Speaker 1:Right on, bro. I appreciate you, man, and you've always been a real one. You've always been super solid, not just as a business person and in the industry, but as a friend. So I appreciate you and I have always had a lot of respect for you, and so does my fiance I told her you was coming on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she was pretty stoked. Awesome.
Speaker 1:Right on, brother, yeah, maybe. Well, have a great week and I will see you in a few days, man, yes, sir, right on bro Shaka's for the cameras. Aloha, we're out. Shout out to the artists. Thanks for watching.
