Above the bridge
Above the bridge
Episode 145 FLASH ( Hawaii Radio Jock )
Remember when nightlife was about being present instead of posting about it? Flash and Thaddeus Park take us on a nostalgic journey through Hawaii's golden era of clubbing, when every night of the week featured packed venues and genuine human connections.
This conversation reveals how nightlife promotion evolved from guerrilla marketing tactics (running from security while distributing flyers in parking lots) to today's digital-first approach. Flash explains how successful promoters developed exceptional social skills by learning to connect with strangers face-to-face—a stark contrast to today's social media marketing. Both hosts lament how smartphone culture has fundamentally changed the clubgoing experience, with patrons more focused on documenting moments than living them.
The evolution of DJing provides another fascinating lens, from DJs lugging crates of vinyl to today's digital setups. Flash recounts witnessing 8-Track demonstrate one of the first Pioneer CDJs—a revolutionary moment when digital began replacing analog. They discuss how veteran DJs like Taco, Compose, and Technique developed skills that some modern performers bypass entirely.
Between sharing celebrity encounters and concert memories, the conversation turns heartfelt when discussing Super C-Dub's lasting legacy through the Aloha Cancer Project. Her remarkable ability to find the best in everyone exemplifies the authentic connection that defined Hawaii's nightlife at its peak.
Ready for a dose of nostalgia that might just inspire you to put your phone down next time you're out? This episode reminds us what we've gained in convenience—and what we've lost in authentic connection—as technology has transformed how we experience nightlife and music.
okay, welcome to another edition of the above the bridge podcast. I'm your host, thaddeus park. If this is your first time checking out our podcast, you can find us on any platform platform iheart radio, spotify, pandora, apple podcast, um, also our youtube, as well as atbpodcom. Please like, subscribe, leave a comment. It matters, so I appreciate the support. Uh, first I think I want to do is shout out our sponsor, um, all our sponsors. Defend hawaii has been our first sponsor since the beginning and they got some new stuff right now for uh spring. Go check them out. At winward mall they have a store called no one. Also, if you go to their website, defend hawaiicom, check out what they have. They had a whole bunch of crazy stuff, some nice drops, some new and old stuff that I rock all the time. But go check them out defendhawaiicom. If you use promo code ATBPOTAPON check out, you'll get 15% off your entire purchase order, so go check them out.
Speaker 2:Next, we have IREP Detail Supply and they're your one-stop shop superstore for everything you need to detail your vehicle. Go check them out in temple valley shopping center. They also have a store in las vegas, but go check them out irepdetailsupplycom. If you use promo code adb pot. Upon check out, you'll get 15 off um your entire purchase. Go check them out. They got waxes, polishes, soaps, everything you need to detail your car, make it look nice. Go check them out irep detail supply.
Speaker 2:Last but not least, we have our medicinal mushroom company and they're a locally based medicinal mushroom company, med mushroom, hawaii. If you check them out on their website, med mushroom high, they have four uh tinctures of extracted mushrooms. They have lion's mane, chaga, turkey tail and red reishi and on their website explains each and everything that these mushrooms do for health benefits. I take them religiously. I take the first three in the morning, I take the red ratio at night to help me sleep good. But go check them out. Medmushroomhighcom promo code ATBPOTUPON Check out all capitals and you'll get 45% off your first tincture of mushrooms, whatever one you want. So go check them out. Aloha, okay, this week my guest is someone I've known in the nightlife industry for since I've started, someone that I really enjoy his uh conversations, his company and somebody I thought was always cool in the nightlife industry that's crazy that we've been in part of. He's all now a radio host, a dish jockey Is that what they call them now, dish jockeys?
Speaker 1:I don't know, I don't know. They DJ, but like to you and me, a DJ is something different. Right, I, I, I call. I call them jocks, or I call myself on the air a jock, I call myself on the air a jock. But that's just what I do at iHeartRadio. But yeah, okay, I'm not like Compose.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're not on the ones and twos.
Speaker 1:Spinning records Jesus.
Speaker 2:So his name is Flash, and welcome to my show. I'm so stoked that you're here. You're like one of the people I've been wanting to have on and, yeah, it just worked out. This was the best timing.
Speaker 1:You know, every podcast needs their token, holly, so I'm happy to jump on board, Brad.
Speaker 2:the biggest question I had when I told people you're come on is ask him if that's his real name, and I know the answer. But you can answer that for me.
Speaker 1:Of course it's not my real name. My real name is Robert. It's no secret. But you know, nobody ever calls me that.
Speaker 2:So that's cool. That's my middle name, by the way, really. Yeah, thaddeus Robert. Yeah, after my grandfather. Yeah, so we're both Bobs.
Speaker 1:If anyone ever calls me Bob, I will never talk to them again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you and me both, bro, I've been going down memory lane with Taco. I had Ronnie on Peter people we all know Kind of. When we met. Well, I got to talk to you and your friends at Becky mitts going away party. We kind of went down memory lane of all the nightclub stuff back in the day and you were a huge, huge part of the Hawaii nightlife scene and you and flash. But I remember meeting you at the wave.
Speaker 1:You mean me and Maddie boy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, maddie.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yep Pussy cat lounge.
Speaker 1:Was it yeah?
Speaker 2:And I think that was the first time I met you and that that party was amazing. It was a Tuesday, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was a. That was back in the days when every single night, there was at least one place somewhere that was as busy as any nightclub could be and there was at least one spot literally seven days a week. In fact, tuesday there was three different events on Tuesdays. It's crazy to think that how that business was sustainable for this town back then, where you had Ocean Club, they were packed every Tuesday, rick Rock had Pipeline every Tuesday and I had Pussycat Lounge every Tuesday at the Wave, so it was like the slowest night of the week. What, in theory, should be the slowest night of the week was like the best industry night in town because there was you know three different events that were you know doing the sales of you know a Saturday night. And it's it's. It's crazy, it used to be that way. It was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:I get choked up about that kind of stuff and pussycat lounge you. That way, it was a lot of fun. I get choked up about that kind of stuff. And Pussycat Lounge? You're right, it was a Tuesday and because most of the other industry venues are closed, it was, like you said, an industry event. I like the Wave and I'm going to tell you why. And it's probably not the best moral, ethical thing, but the wave was till 4 and if you didn't, I could go out through the whole night and if you didn't pull a chick by 2 o'clock you could go to the wave and the percentage goes up. I had like a 90% success rate at the wave good for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, wave and the maze was like the guarantees. I had like a 90% success rate at the wave. Good for you, good for you. It was wave and the maze was like the guarantees back in the day.
Speaker 1:Ah, the maze man. I haven't heard that club name in a long time.
Speaker 2:I just see Gale recently. He came to the district maybe a few months ago with his daughters yeah, His daughters were at Republic for some emo thing and he came down and asked if he could show them into district. They were like 19. And I made it cool. Of course they couldn't drink or anything, but I brought KO and his daughter into the district and it was just.
Speaker 1:It was cool, KO's the same right and I'm sure you've known that guy for a while, but yeah, I I haven't seen him in a while, but every time I run into him it's, it's just good to catch up. We, we always had a good relationship but, um, yeah, it's, you know, those are good days. I feel like everyone that was sort of involved in the scene back then even though I guess technically we were all competitors, but everyone sort of had their own lane and that made for everybody being pretty friendly with each other and that was cool and I feel like everyone has sort of, you know, stayed at least friendly, if not actual friends you know throughout least friendly if not actual friends you know throughout through through all these years.
Speaker 2:it's really cool to see actually, yeah, I was just talking to um hansen about it. It was we could shout out level h yeah, shout out to level h. Like we could actually go to four different promoters events and, like you said, there it was cool, it was fun like I. I became friends with you guys, like with architects, vertical junkies. It wasn't like, oh, there are competitors, like fuck them or whatever. It was like, oh no, come have a drink, and it was all aloha. And, like you said, there were so many different venues and the piece of the pie was so huge. It wasn't like, oh, if it flashes during an event, we're screwed, because then nobody's going to come to our spot. We had our own genres and going around to everybody else's stuff was one of my funnest things and I remember your Hanohano room was what did you guys call it? Skyline or something like that.
Speaker 1:Skyline.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was the best. It was like a a different crowd than what we were used to, but when we got there it was just the same. Aloha, vibe and man, you guys had that place jumping yeah it was, uh, it was good times.
Speaker 1:We I mean, you know, obviously, maddie and I, being like we were the only Howley promoters outside- of. G-spot who was throwing raves Right?
Speaker 1:But, we really had a lane all to ourselves and we were purposely going for something a little different than than everybody else, but it was, you're right, bouncing around between everyone else's parties, especially when your own party was happening. Yes, sneak out and just like, go, do like one shot at every everyone else's spot, and it was cool to see that. You know, everyone else could be busy. We could all be busy at the same time, with all vastly different crowds and different music and different vibes. But all good and yeah, it was just, it was. It was super fun. It was a really cool scene to be a part of. I feel lucky and fortunate to be a part of it.
Speaker 1:And you know, it's so different than how it is now it's sort of hard to explain to people how different it is and how. You know the that like nightlife industry, isn't it? It doesn't really exist like it used to, right? So, um, that's a shame to see. You know, other things have cropped up, more of the restaurant bar scene. But you know, as far as a straight up nightlife scene, it's just. You know there is no promoters anymore, right? And you know, back in the day after a while it was a running joke. Everyone was either a promoter or a DJ and a girl was a go-go or a bottle service it was great to see that that industry could thrive in that way.
Speaker 1:But it is cool to see how people have changed and evolved over the years and, you know, stayed relevant as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like you just touched on so many different things that got me smiling. I would me and Peter would have this thing and what you said, like our events going on and we'd be like ninja, we would tell each other, ninja and me and peter would just dig out and go jump two different spots and come back and ronnie'd be like where are you? Guys, where are you? Our events going on?
Speaker 2:it was like oh, we're just well, that's kind of a good ron impression right there yeah, hey, flashy flashy, flashy, come do shop with me yo and you guys are super cool, because I remember you had it was ravi drums, I think his name was rose oh, robbie drums robbie drums. And then you guys did the twisted cuts where the girls would come in the adam sacks yeah, cut up the shirts.
Speaker 1:Yeah, those guys. I'm still friends with those guys to this day. We all stay in touch.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's super cool. Yeah, and it was a different vibe to the club scene that I was used to and, like you said, everybody had their own lane and it was cool to experience. I am disappointed how the club scene is now not for me personally, but for the younger generation. They don't get to experience what we experience and I don't know at some points I think that it's because I'm old and it's like you don't know how good it was or whatever but I feel like they really don't because they really don't have those opportunities. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:They don't have the opportunities. You know, I mean, they don't have the opportunities. Number one, number two this changed everything, exactly. Yeah, so you know we're talking about a time when people were going out. You know there was no smartphones.
Speaker 1:Um, in fact, I could remember even when texting came into play as a promoter oh yeah, and being able to take advantage of texting to help promote your events. So you had to be present and when you went out, you had to actually interact with people and, like talk to people, and you know you aren't worried about posting anything or looking cool or any of you know the, the things that come along. Um, you know, with social media, I'm sure, as a promoter, you know, from a marketing standpoint, there's a lot of pluses to it, but I'm just going in and be able to experience an event. Um, most of social media is, is, is is a detriment to it gets in the way of just having fun and enjoying the party and, quite frankly, three quarters of the things that went on at the wave after two o'clock you couldn't even do today because of, you know, cameras, and so it's just. You know there's different times.
Speaker 2:I didn't even think of that. Yeah, there'll be a lot more evidence and we'd be a lot more incriminating ourselves back then. But I agree with you and it hurts me a little bit to see that's the direction that the youth is going to. It's not about being in the moment, it's being about showing people the moment you're in and nobody really cares. It took a lot of balls. When you're, nobody cares yeah, nobody cares nobody cares, especially nobody gives a shit what you're eating for dinner. That drives me nuts.
Speaker 2:Nobody cares that you're having some stew plate from some. Yeah, nobody cares but um, to be, to be present and in the moment where we would have to go and actually, as promoters, go up to people and Ronnie would call these things bullets and it was a VIP pass to our event and I would have to go up to a girl somewhere someplace and be like hi, I'm Thad, we're doing an event over here. I want to invite you.
Speaker 2:Oh, poor Thad, I'm sure that was so hard for you well, it's a lot more risky than fucking text, like going on social media and just sending a message where I don't have to take the risk of being rejected and, as a club goer, as a patron, I don't have to go up to a bunch of girls and be like, hey, can I get you a drink? And like risking rejection, like you could do that on your couch and hopefully they'll respond. If they don't on social media, then hey, I just delete you and it never happened and I don't save, I don't lose face, and I'm sure you've done it before. Where went up to a bunch of girls at a club and, hey, I'm flash, this is my band, thank you for coming, can I get you a drink? And they just like shut you down or whatever. And then it's like okay, I'm walking how dare you that never happened?
Speaker 1:what happened to me no, that was you know it.
Speaker 1:It takes a um, I mean, I didn't never really thought about it, but it takes a certain kind of personality to be a promoter to begin with.
Speaker 1:But then when you, when you're, when you actually start doing it and you're doing it for a while and you know people like you and me were doing it for years, it really does sort of hone your social skills, where you have to learn, at least if you're going to be successful, how to talk to anybody Right, how to walk up to strangers guys, girls're going to be successful, how to talk to anybody right, how to walk up to strangers guys, girls, whatever. You know any kind of person. You know any type of age range, any type of demo. You know rich, poor, whatever, and you have to be able to go up and connect with them, and connect with them quickly and also win them over to your side to get them to want to come to your event. Right, and it does. It takes a special skill set to do that, but also, after you do it for a while, you're obviously only going to get better and better at that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think you know, promoters these days they're not doing that and that is in part why parties today I don't think are as successful, because you don't have that personal connection to the people putting on the event, like yeah, I follow them on socials or this or that or whatever, but it's not the same as, like yo, my boy is DJing tonight, oh my God. Like my best friend is bartending tonight, whatever. Like I love that girl behind the bar. She's the best you know there. There's just so. It's just. It makes for, um, a different type of party. I think because of that, and I think that is in part why clubs and promoters as a whole sort of went on the decline is because they relied too much on their phones and not the old school way of doing things, you know.
Speaker 1:And you know it sucks flyering, parking lots and stuff, but there's, there's, it makes you a better person and I just feel like it's just different, you know.
Speaker 2:I agree. I'm honestly stoked to hear your insight on that. Speaking about flying parking lots, man, what was the craziest I've rolled up to people who feed in their car? I stepped in puke like we were running them parking lots hard and half the time they just throw those flyers away.
Speaker 1:I think the craziest thing and Maddie boy and I used to do it all the time and sometimes you're doing it while you're also going out, doing shots, bouncing around to all your other friends, parties, like literally in the middle of that. So you're dressed to go out, like you know, to go out, go out and then, but you're also flyering the parking lot, flyering the parking lot, flyering chinatown, um, but usually I mean, the craziest stuff for us was when we were on a night when you weren't going out and you were like dressed to go flyer and it's like, okay, we're, like, we're gonna, we're literally gonna fly, sent like put out 5 000 flyers tonight here's half stack for you, half stack for me and inevitably on those nights you're gonna get chased by security um. And getting chased by security um is something that happens often and it's never not scary, it's fun though it's fun.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course it's fun Cause you never get caught. Yeah, I never got caught, or we never got caught and I don't really. I can't really remember anybody that we, that any of us knew like really getting caught. Yeah, I'm sure in hindsight now it doesn't seem like you would have gotten in all that much trouble. They just would have you know, said, don't do that anymore.
Speaker 1:Like you take them all off well, that would really suck, yeah, but but yeah it was. It was never fun running away from security in the moment, but it was like as soon as it was over and you made it, you're like, oh my god, that was so exciting, now let's go to the bar and have a shot. It was always fun after, but that was, I think, the most. The craziest stuff we ever did was run away from security and at times in a multi-level parking lot, like like the UH parking lot right across from Stan Sheriff, where you're on multiple levels and then you have to go down multiple levels and you're evading multiple security on multiple levels at the same time.
Speaker 1:Um, and again, this is pre-airpods, pre-smartphone so it was like harder to communicate with each other and your team as you're doing it and um yeah, I don't mean days, but they were very fun we had next tail.
Speaker 2:Now that you remember next tail, the walkie. Talkies. That's how we would do it, and we I remember Zanzibar Parking lot was multi-tiered and Peter be like hey, they're coming after Us on this floor and then we're just Running around.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was, it was good, that lot was tricky because that lot was so small yeah and it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was hard to get around that one and like we we've Done, stand sheriff that Parking lot. Yeah, it was hard to get around that one and like we we've done, stand sheriff that parking lot. Yeah, it was good times and the people don't even fly her anymore.
Speaker 1:I don't even remember the last time I've even seen a club flyer yeah, and they should, because people, because everyone is like you have to zag when everyone else is zigging. Right, if you want to stand out as a promoter and if I was going to like throw parties again, like for real, for real, I would do a lot of tactile, like tangible, in real life stuff. Right, that people can touch, can feel, because you're just way too inundated on your phone but you would have a flyer lane or whatever. All to yourself, right.
Speaker 2:And so you would really a flyer lane or whatever, all to yourself, right, and so you would really really stand out. Yep, and it's guerrilla marketing. Uh, for our event that we're doing now. We actually printed, uh, vip passes and I've been passing them out and the reaction I've been getting is oh, what is this? Or it's the vip pass, just bring this to the club. It gave value to the card that I'm giving them, because if you bring it and, yeah, it's old school guerrilla marketing and that's the funnest, I always enjoy that but at the clubs now I noticed that the people there are, like I said, too, in tune to being on social media to show people what they're doing.
Speaker 2:They don't have a um engagement and it's, they stay in their own clique. It's all about look at me, we're in the vip taking shots and it bums me out. I was at a third eye blind concert years ago and I always tell this story because it it mattered to me that the lead singer like throughout the concert they're singing and every concert everybody's filming with their phones, and he stopped the concert. He said for this one song everybody, put your phones away, don't put out your phone. Let's all be in the moment together and enjoy this song together, as a band and as a crowd.
Speaker 1:Let's be in this moment, not behind a screen, and I'm standing there like fuck, this is how life is supposed to be, like this is and and for certain moments, yeah, and it does totally change what your experience of going to a nightclub is, or what your experience of going to a concert is, or what your experience of just going to an event is. It changes, right, and it's like you're not actually having fun, you're pretending to have fun or you're you're sort of showcasing that you're having fun and it's. It's like you said, everyone it's all about themselves and really, if everyone is posting with that in mind, then no one is going to watch anyone else's shit. They're just going to be like paying attention to their own stuff. You know, I remember, you know good DJs especially when you know I was would be flying DJs out, like there would be people standing around the DJ booth just wanting to watch what the DJ was doing, how they were mixing, what songs they were playing, how they were beat matching and what they were doing.
Speaker 1:And now it's like no, like no one is that present anymore, right, and it's like even for that same thing, you would get up and you're going to Shazam the song or you're going to film them or you can go watch their YouTube tutorial later, whatever, as opposed to just really being in that moment going, wow, this DJ is so incredible and you've just done nothing but focus all your attention on watching that guy mix for the last, or girl mix for the last, like 15 minutes or 30 minutes or whatever. And you know, especially like when it comes to dancing. You know everybody dances now, like everyone else is watching them and as, as opposed to like, especially at the wave, like people did not give a fuck zero. The wave, from day one, was a zero fucks given, you know, safe space for anybody to do anything, and that's what made the wave so great, and it's like you just wouldn't see something like that anymore. Even if you're like that, someone else will film you acting like a fool and then you're gonna get put on blast and go viral for all the wrong reasons you know, for looking like an idiot on the dance floor or whatever and you're just out there having fun being yourself, and that's
Speaker 2:that's what this, this society, is missing right now. Like you said, everybody's too scared to get caught on film doing something that they love because it might make them look awkward or whatever. Like right, right, I see some crazy shit at the wave and some crazy dance moves and people having fun, bro, and honestly, that's what life's about. You mentioned like the DJs and stuff and just the evolution of DJs. I remember when they had to bring their milk crates full of vinyl, so now they bring a thumb drive.
Speaker 1:It's fucking wild. I was, um, I was actually just thinking about this the other night, um, and this is really gonna date myself, but some of the you know, some people will remember I remember we had um kid cuddy I think it was kid cuddy dj at the wave and he brought, obviously, like we had to pay for this right Shipping 18 milk crates of records, 18 milk crates that he put up on the stage behind him and it's like you know, you think about that, that's what's on your thumb drive now or in your laptop. Like, essentially, those 18 crates was not his whole record collection, that was just his traveling touring collection, right, and that was his database for the night. But he actually had to thumb through and just watch. He could. He could thumb through albums so fast and you know, I don't know how he had him like set up and categorized right, but obviously there was some sort of system. I remember at a DMC it was a DMC semifinal of the Pacific that we did it at the wave with G-Spot and A-Track was the DMC champion at the time.
Speaker 1:So he did a demo after the local contest. He did a demo after after the local contest and he was the first person. He had a beta version of a pioneer CDJ and no one had ever heard, even heard of this, let alone seen it. It wasn't bait, it was still in beta and a track at the time 16 years old and it was like blew the entire room away that this kid was djing with.
Speaker 1:Like where is all those milk crates, right? Where are all the like? What do you mean? It's all like in the thing and, um, it's crazy to think that, um, number one, I'm that old and I've seen that evolution come out to now. That's like industry standard, right. And now to the point of where you get someone that literally just presses play on a pre-mix and then pretends to DJ, even if they are DJ. It's pretty, it's pretty mind blowing to think of the transformation of club DJs and just nightlife DJs in general and and a lot of it is for the worst, obviously, compared to the old school guys that really had to learn, you know, in a with a different skillset. Um, and there is obviously all of your favorite DJs, anyone watching this, pretty much any of your favorite DJs that are still out there in clubland in Hawaii. Are those guys, right? You know Taco and Compose and Technique and you know, there's Mass Funk is another one.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of guys that have just been around forever, and I'm forgetting a million people right now, but in some of the especially hip hop, guys-hop, guys, sub-zero still doing it drama still doing it, yeah but you can tell the difference between I mean it if if you are a discerning nightlife person, or especially if you're in the industry, you can tell someone that that has the proper foundation and skillet as a DJ and learned the right way, instead of someone I don't know how to DJ at all but I could go download a YouTube mix and get my laptop out, press play at a nightclub tomorrow and look like I was the best DJ ever, right, like I'll just go take an old AM mix or a four-color Zach mix and then be like, oh my God, look at that guy take an old am mix or a four color zach mix and then be like, oh my god, that guy it's
Speaker 1:just everybody or do whatever and jump up and down on the dj rig and uh, you know, when I was at the republic and you know, you get all these edm acts, really big edm acts, coming through and we're, you know, we're spending a ton of money, there's a ton of production into it and it's just like this guy's literally just pressing play and then just jumping around and dancing and acting like like an idiot and people are going, people are going crazy for it. But it's like I'm not saying that guy, guys like that or girls like that aren't good DJs. It's just when they're touring you, not mixing it's easy to take the easy way out, right, it's.
Speaker 1:It's a much easier to press, play and then just jump around and have fun instead of like I really need to focus on my craft right now. Yeah, um, it's just wild. How, how different that is. Maddie boy and I used to joke all the time. It's like, you know, we really missed the boat and we should have become DJs, because that's where the real money ended up being and there's just all these stupid silly gimmicks and it's just like half the DJs you know aren't even really spinning records properly or, you know, or mixing properly anymore. It's just like we're always like. If we could, just if that would be, the one thing we would change is we would have been, you know, put on our masks and be the next daft punk or whatever and just and throw cake.
Speaker 1:Yeah, half of these djs don't even use headphones, man, like this, they're just line matching like, yeah, if, if a dj doesn't have on, that is like close to red flag number one right there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly it's crazy In your opinion. How do you like the music nowadays, Like you're in the radio industry and kind of somewhat in the nightlife.
Speaker 1:But I'm disappointed. I mean, obviously radio music and radio artists is going to be different to some degree and you're not getting the remix of different to some degree and you're not getting the remix of the songs right. You're not getting the club mixes yeah um.
Speaker 1:So the stuff that's that's on the radio, I don't think is um, and certainly the stuff on the station I'm on or stations I'm on, um. But behind the scenes, regardless of what genre of music you're in now, a lot of people are using the same producers, a lot of people are using the same songwriters, and so the music is and ends up it's. I feel like at least popular music is getting a lot more homogenized because you're getting the same five producers that are producing everybody. You're getting the same like five guys making beats for everybody, um. And then you're getting like you know, oh, country's the hot genre right now. So now you know, you've got, you know, everyone doing the country version of their songs, or everyone doing a country album. Or it's like oh, I, I'm a rapper, but I'll get a big country artist to do a verse on my song, and vice versa, because everyone wants to like, I'm going to cross my fans with your fans and then I can, in theory, get new, new fans out of that. So you're getting so much cross pollination in music. It makes for a bunch of interesting stuff, for sure. But it's like like, oh, k-pop's big right now, so bruno does a k-pop collab, you know. It's just like oh, country's big right now. So beyonce is gonna, you know, release a country album. Um, because everyone wants to like oh, where's the? The potential revenue that I haven't tapped into yet, right? So part of it is greed and part of it is just, for whatever reason.
Speaker 1:Again, the homogenization in. But some of it's good because, or some of people are, some people are coming from the right place and they they just. The internet means that people are not a fan of just one genre anymore, right. The access to all music anywhere in the world all the time means, because you're exposed to so much more music, now you can be a fan of a lot more music. So then you get someone like post malone, who's like I became successful as a rapper but I grew up on nirvana, so I want to do some music that's like that, and now I'm so successful that I have the window to do that. He, like, he's doing it in in like a true organic way. That's, that's cool to see. But other people are doing it for a money, grab, um, or their producers or agents or managers are telling them to do that because they could make more money. So for all those different reasons.
Speaker 1:Again, for better or worse, a lot of music is just sounds like a lot more homogenized now and you know you're getting artists from every genre that there is going to Nashville to use the Nashville songwriters because those guys are the best at writing songs, even though they've only wrote country songs, you know, up until lately. Now those guys are being, you know, hired to write songs for every genre possible. I mean, sooner or later, if everyone's just using the same behind the scenes people for anything, you know, whether it's TV, movies, music, whatever, there's going to be um, a homogenization, and it's sort of a um, everybody going towards like the lowest common denominator um, that is not good, um, and that causes everything to sound alike, look alike, um, and that's not as interesting, obviously yeah, that's good to get your insight on that.
Speaker 2:I trip up because a lot of the younger generation listens to music that I grew up Like my daughter. We were at the gym and she's like hey, dad, you want one of my AirPods. So I put in her AirPod and I listened. She's like I have a Spotify playlist and she had like Tupac, she had Biggie, she had like old school stuff and I'm thinking like, how do you even know this song Like you weren't even close to being born when this came out and it just made me think like she was more attracted to the music I grew up in versus the music that she's living now.
Speaker 2:And for me it was never like that. I didn't like my dad's shit and he was always like oh, your stuff's so junk, it's the new stuff, there's no soul or anything. And now I feel like I'm saying that about the new music. We grew up on Tupac and that kind of stuff where it was poetry. And I listen to some of the stuff now and it's just garbage and I could be like could be the fact that I'm older or whatever, but the fact that my daughter was drawn to my generation's music blew me away and I didn't force it on her, she she seeked it out and gravitated towards it and then became a fan of it, and I was blown away by her Spotify playlist.
Speaker 1:Granted, she has some.
Speaker 2:SZA and stuff like that on there, but yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, did you ask her what attracted her to that music in the first place?
Speaker 2:Yes, and she said it sounds better and it means more. That's what she said it means more. And I'm like oh shit, I, I did a good job there's.
Speaker 1:I mean, there still is really good music out there but, it's not, it's you know you have to seek it out, right, like the most popular music that's out there in any genre isn't doing anybody any favors, but you could probably say that across all time and every generation has shit on the generation. You know, before them and after them's music, right, every generation thinks their generation's music is the best.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was unlike you in that, like, I loved a lot of my parents' music. But you know my parents were listening to C&K and Kalapana and Stevie Wonder and Led Zeppelin and the Doors, and so you know that for certain types of music you know the 60s, 70s and 80s that was a golden era of a certain kind of music. Obviously, for hip hop, nothing's going to be better than the 90s, right?
Speaker 2:I mean, that was that, is the, that is the go-to for for sure yeah, the same, like I didn't like my parents music, but I did like past music at the time and I know you were surprised when I brought it up when we're at becky miss thing, but I'm a rocker. My, yeah, I love rock.
Speaker 1:I, that's my yeah, I've known you a long time.
Speaker 2:I had no idea yeah, and that's my go-to, like I, I like rock more than any other music, but I have metallica tattoos, like I I that's my shit.
Speaker 1:Tell everyone. I don't know if you've talked about this on your show before, but tell everyone how many times you've seen Metallica and how you're you're. You're you like fly. Metallica is one of my favorite bands. I think I've seen them live. I think five or six times. But I mean you, you have me beat. You're the guy jumping on a plane every tour to go and see them. How many times have you seen them?
Speaker 2:live. I don't even know. I've seen them every time they came to Hawaii, but every night, like if they came to Hawaii and did a three-show. I went all three nights.
Speaker 1:I went, yeah, I went to… and then you were deaf afterwards for a month, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:I have a scar on my calf from like moshing and like getting tossed into the chairs. We are actually going to Levi's Stadium in June, right, because Metallica has a. This is going to blow me away. Two-night set, two separate, totally different sets. Yeah, so it's a Wednesday and a Friday. They give you a break in between and I'm so excited for that.
Speaker 1:That's smart for them. So, from the business standpoint standpoint, they do that because if, as a fan, then you buy tickets to both shows, right, instead of I just need to go one night. No, now I have to go both nights my sister saw them at oracle park when it was at&t park, which, for those that don't know metallica, is from the bay area right, right there San.
Speaker 1:Francisco band so playing in Oracle park. You know the giant stadium is like ground zero for them, and Levi's stadium too, although you know Santa Clara is like an hour away but still that's home of the night, but uh, yeah, that's uh, that's crazy. I can't remember Did I tell you this, but you know Kirk Hammett right, he lives in Hawaii and his wife is my high school classmate lonnie.
Speaker 2:Oh, I didn't know that yeah, so, uh, it's.
Speaker 2:It's awesome to think that metallica has like really serious um hawaii ties yeah, it's funny because my sister was buying a christmas tree by rock bottom a bunch of years ago and she hits me up and she's like, um, yeah, kirk hammett's here. I'm like don't fuck around, I'm coming, like of course, I mean I didn't go but I was just like she's, he's here, and I'm thinking like kirk hammett's buying a christmas tree and I I I'd probably be ashamed of myself, what I would do. I probably fan girl out like I've been. You're in the radio industry. What celebrities have you met? And I always ask this question and I know a lot of people feel the same it's like they they are let down or they're blown away like what were some of the ones that you were super stoked to meet?
Speaker 1:I mean far, far and away. I met I mean I've met some celebrities through radio, of course, through iHeartRadio, but far and away, when I worked with BAMP and you know, doing well over 100 concerts a year for years, I mean that's, that's when you meet the most celebrities, and not just celebrities that are performing on stage but depending on who the artist is and other celebrities want to come and see them. Right, and speaking of Kirk Hammett, if you ever see Maddie boy, maddie boy has a great Kirk Hammett story for you. But one of the cool things about Kirk living in Hawaii is there was a time with you know, any any big BAM rock show, kirk Hammett would want to come to the show and he would just hang out side stage because he could, because he could, he would just hang out side stage and watch the show and it's just like, even though it would never be planned like they, you know a tech would always have a guitar ready in case he wanted to come out and you know usually whether it was an encore or towards the end of the end of the concert. You know Kirk, you know you never know he might come out and jam and do a song with whoever the band is, and, and a lot of times he did, and that was really cool to see. You know, he's just such a huge fan of music, yeah.
Speaker 1:But I've yeah, I've had my fair share of encounters with musicians and artists, good and bad, and I think and this even goes back to I met a ton of celebrities at the Wave as well. At the wave as well, um, I, I think there's something in particular about Hawaii where, like, I'm pretty sure this person is an asshole Most of the time. I'm pretty sure they might be an asshole on most stops of the tour, but when celebrities come to Hawaii, whether it's for work or to play, it just puts them in a different headspace. This is just my own personal speculation and obviously I've had a lot of conversations with a lot of artists, in particular about a lot of people end their tours.
Speaker 1:The last stop of a tour or a big break in the middle of a tour is in hawaii.
Speaker 1:Um, maybe the north american side of the tour is done right and they're routing through asia or australia, but before they do that leg of the tour, they're like let's stop in hawaii for a week and we'll do one show, but then we'll just like decompress or whatever and rest up. So a lot of people there's, even though they're performing, they're sort of in vacation mode when they come here and they just seem to be a lot nicer. You know, it's just it's not going to be the same as playing like a gig in Tucson or whatever, right, yeah, yeah, it's just a different vibe and, and across the board, you know, everyone that you talk to does say, even behind the scenes um, is, everyone here is just so nice and it's, you know. You know they might not say this, but it really is like the Aloha spirit, right, so that's sort of like is is sort of forces them, I think, to be a little bit nicer.
Speaker 1:Um, I mean, I've definitely run into my fair share of assholes, for sure, and you know this, club nights like oh yeah, if you're a celebrity and bottle service is sold out and I can't do anything for you.
Speaker 1:Sorry, like, if you're, you know we would do theme parties and I'm sorry if you're a celebrity, but if you're not wearing all white we're not going to let you in, you know. So when you have to tell a celebrity, no is usually when you're going to see them at their worst, but that's when you tell any human no, that's usually when you see them at their worst, especially if they've had a few drinks. Um, cutting off celebrities is always, you know, interesting how you have to go about doing that. But I would say you know for the most. I know it's not like a fun answer, but for the most part everyone has been really nice. The people that have been true assholes I can't really talk about publicly. I'd be happy to tell you all the stories you want.
Speaker 2:Um, you know um off the air we'll do that at a bar one night, yeah, yeah yeah, really, for the most part, everybody is truly nice and people do say that.
Speaker 1:like you know, people here are nicer and they appreciate that and again, I think a lot of people just look at it as like an extended vacation, even though they're working. I know that's a boring answer, but that's so funny.
Speaker 2:I had to do that and, like everything you're talking about just triggers some memory and I literally had to tell Rampage Jackson, the MMA fighter.
Speaker 1:Good luck with that.
Speaker 2:He couldn't come into Oceans because he had a T-shirt on and I was just like, like, oh what? Like you tell him. And I was like fuck, okay, I'll tell him. And sorry, bro, like you can't come he. He was mad, but he was cool at the same time. But I just was thinking how am I gonna tell this guy he can't come in because he's wearing a t-shirt?
Speaker 1:he looks like king kong and fuck like, yeah, he used to come into apartment three all the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, when there was for when he I think he was here filming for something, that's the other thing is people coming through right, they're filming for a tv show or a movie and they're just here for um a short period of time. But I have way, way more stories of celebrities being super nice um than I do of being assholes, thank god. Oh yeah, I did have one celebrity, um, I won't say who it was a dj that was um. That uh, I I think como and I had flown about.
Speaker 2:Wow, I haven't heard that name in a while. That'll be, you know, rip.
Speaker 1:He was, in a lot of ways, the goat of like everything that Maddie and I were doing. Como had sort of done first that really like high-end, elevated, like I'm not trying to get everyone, I'm going to like charge the most cover, Like Maddie and I get a lot of credit for doing a lot of stuff. I think that Como did first and I mean he was, um, he's really missed. Um, you know Maddie and I talk about him often and and and really what could have been, and it's just a shame he's not here anymore and um, you know him and I were really close. He was my best friend before Maddie came along and um, that guy, just he had way more ideas than he ever know knew what to do with. But anyway, como and I are. So we had teamed up.
Speaker 1:We were flying out a dj to do some shows and I'd pick this guy up at the airport and, uh, the first thing he said was like take me to waikiki. I heard that's where all the hookers are. Like I want to get a hooker and like I want like a big bag of weed and like a big bag of blow, and I'm just like Jesus, like I've like you've been in my car for three minutes, like calm down, and this dude was so excited because he'd heard. He's like I've heard all about the hawaii hookers and I'm just he literally wanted me to like drive him into waikiki and like pick one off the street. Yeah, I'm like I am not putting a hooker in my car. You can do whatever you want on your own time, but, like, I'm taking you.
Speaker 1:So this is when soundcheck is and like, whatever you do, like don't get so fucked up that you're not only gonna soundcheck but then not, you know, do the gig. He crushed the show. It was a soul that I think he he's at two nights I can't remember, but I mean it was a sold-out show. Everyone was happy, but that was just one thing. I'm like god he was. He was an asshole and he was for the style of music he played. He was my all-time favorite in and it was just oh man yeah yeah, that's crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember those hookers in waikiki back in the day. It had the the clear heels. That's how you could tell they're hookers again different times.
Speaker 1:It was really. Life was a lot more fun back. Oh yeah, 100, all the way around?
Speaker 2:yeah, um, was there somebody you ever fanboyed over like, oh shit, like so stoked to meet kind or you don't get like that yeah, no, well it's.
Speaker 1:It's far and few between. Kirk Hammett was was a big one. I met the police are my favorite band of all time. Oh, and I actually met Stuart Copeland, the drummer, who is arguably one of the top five rock drummers of all time. One of the top five rock drummers of all time. Um, I met stewart copeland, um, like when I was a teenager and completely lost my shit and I think he was like he was the first celebrity that I met.
Speaker 1:Um, but if, but, if I ran into stewart copeland tomorrow, it would be the same thing. Um, I did get to meet sting um in a very personal, private setting, in in a um at the old k-boy. Oh, I actually like sat in a room with him while he did the whole interview and hung out with him for quite a bit of time. Um, that's cool. He showed up in studio for the interview that he could have done over the phone and he showed up 15 minutes early and I was there the whole time and we were hanging out just chatting. He could not have been fucking nicer I I just super cool I couldn't believe it.
Speaker 1:Um, he was so nice, um, and that was. You know, whatever your favorite band of all time is like, if I met James Hetfield or um, that I would. I did meet Lars. Um, lars Ulrich, the drummer of Metallica. He actually showed up to. We did a official Metallica after party at the wave and he actually showed up. Holy shit, and I was. I grew up a drummer, playing drums and at the time that was what tour was that for? And justice, no, and justice. I was still in high school.
Speaker 2:I did go to that show. I went to the show, yeah, both nights.
Speaker 1:That show, so that show, so that show. So the reason why the chairs at at the Blaisdell Arena now are all on the on the floor level are all bolted together. The reason why they do that now is because of the injustice for all stop of Metallica at the arena, because all the chairs back then were individual chairs and everyone on the floor picked up their chairs and threw them in a pile in the center of the arena so that they could make a giant pit.
Speaker 2:Yep, and I have a scar from one of those chairs from that concert is on on my calf. No joke. Yeah, oh, I believe it. I mean I was there I went.
Speaker 1:I think I went two of the three shows and and the same thing happened every night. Yeah, after that show was the impetus for them connecting all the chairs the way they do in Big Long Things. But meeting Lars was pretty cool Usually. It's funny because usually the people you fangirl over aren't like the people you would think Like. I was super stoked. I can't even remember his name. He was on that TV and mark duplass was on that show. Yeah, like all these guys became big after, but I was just so into this tv show and I like that show too, yeah steve razzanini, I think his name was.
Speaker 1:He was the redhead on the show the ginger oh, okay and I mean, and he did a show at the republic for like 200 people or something. I mean no one came to a show, nobody cared who it was, but I was like holy shit, you're on the league. Like I love that. That was, that was a cool one. Um, but most like really big artists, even as a, if you're like the promoter, you don't even have a chance to interact with them, Right, Um, but um, I wouldn't say a fangirled over him, but it was like it was really cool to meet boy george, oh shit, yeah, and he was super, super nice to me.
Speaker 1:I had interviewed him over the phone ahead of time, so when I ran into him backstage at the concert, at the arena, like he remembered me, um, and and he was just really nice. But you know, I it's just funny because usually who you're fangirling over isn't the people that people would think right yeah, yeah, it was, yeah, I was.
Speaker 2:I I never call in favors much because I know how it is, but I at one point um stone temple pilots.
Speaker 2:The lead singer passed away, obviously, and chester bennington yeah, chester bennington was the like, took over for spots and just so happened stone temple pilots was scheduled to be at the republic and when I found that out chester bennington was gonna headline a Stone Temple pilot show at the Republic. I called Rob immediately. I said Rob, I don't ask for anything. I'm always cool with you, always take care, but I don't ask for anything. This one I want all access in the green room downstairs. I want to meet Chester Bennington because Linkin Park is my second favorite band on in the green room downstairs. I wanted to meet chester bennington because, like lincoln park is my second favorite band.
Speaker 1:So I was like, and he was hooked it up and they never came because lincoln park started touring and chester, I remember, I remember those shows and I was um, I grew up like liking stp as well and then obviously I like Linkin Park, so to have like the combo of the two was like oh my god, this was gonna be so cool and I if I'm not mistaken those shows canceled pretty late in the game.
Speaker 1:Like, yes, I mean we were definitely up and on sale for a while and I think, right out of the gate, we had scheduled two shows. Um and I we may have even had a third in our back pocket, I can't remember but um, that just I mean to have Chester Bennington perform in a place the size of the Republic. Just ridiculous, um, truly.
Speaker 2:I was, I was, I have an autographed uh.
Speaker 1:Lincoln park autograph Lincoln park guitar hanging on the wall outside my office with chester's autograph on it, um I'm gonna have to get that from you.
Speaker 2:But yeah, that's like thanks to iheart radio kind of thing that wasn't anything that that I did, but um it is cool to look at that and think, wow, man, that's, that was chester.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I totally forgot about the those shows at the republic. That just would have been insane.
Speaker 2:It would have been and I don't know. Like, hey, this was my thing. Ryan Sean was our resident DJ back in the day and every single Artist Groove Network event and only me and him probably realized it because I told him to do it. But the last song of every night was Plush from Stone Temple and that's one of my favorite all time songs ever. And to hear, to be able to see chester bennington sing that song live, I might have just, I might have just earned in my pants like that would have been it. I would have been done I.
Speaker 1:I am surprised that, ronnie, let you play that song every night.
Speaker 2:He was all fucked up by that time, so he didn't even. He probably didn't even know.
Speaker 1:No, not Ronnie, get out of here.
Speaker 2:He wouldn't even know that it was happening. But every single night and you can ask Ryan, sean plush, that was our, that was our ending song, every single night.
Speaker 1:I love it. You know, that's another thing. That's the old school promoters. We could drink all like this whole new generation. We could drink, all those kids under the table I think we still can guarantee easily.
Speaker 1:There was a time when I was like drinking a bottle a night by myself and that was. I mean, that wasn't anything special, that that was just the norm. Yeah, and yeah, that was. You know we have. I can't believe we've gone this long without talking about Blaze. But Blaze and I did parties together after Matty Boy and I did when Matty Boy retired because he was over it, yeah, and he was big time with BAMP at that point. But Blaze could drink moreze could drink more than I think, more than anyone else I could know, which is really saying something. And he would would always just stay like this, like Japanese motherfucker, would just be so like I'm just going to be Asian the whole time and just be Japanese and I would be like you know, have my shirt off, doing the worm on the floor and jumping up on the bar and throwing napkins and it's like Blaze has drank just as much as me and he looks like how he did, you know when the night started.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he was. He was just like even Steven, all the time yeah, I always appreciate that about him. It's just like you know that it takes a that's, that's a that's a special skill set yeah, definitely, definitely one.
Speaker 2:I didn't have, but I never took my shirt off and did the worm more. I'm vomiting in the bathroom.
Speaker 1:That would be my yeah I never vomit till much later. I wish I would vomit sooner yeah, those are good times.
Speaker 2:I um to get back to the lincoln park thing. I got to see them live at least once in my life with chester and oh, with chester. I'm actually going in September to watch them play it in Sacramento in September, backtown With a girl. But we were at Hard Rock and Linkin Park played. It was the day before the VMAs and cool story, which Hard Rock, hard Rock in Vegas. They played in the parking lot. I still have the pick and I have, uh, the ticket stuff.
Speaker 2:But I have something super cool, the um and like this is like thad fanboy now. So I made my way to the front it was me and mark and I made my way to the front and at the end of the concert they, the drummers, throw out the drumstick right, and we went to catch it and it hit our hand and it fell on the other side of the barrier and I was telling the security hey, pass the drumstick. And he's like no, and he took the drumstick and he put it right underneath the stage and I'm thinking like fuck, just give us the drumstick. And he put it like right underneath the the stage and I'm thinking like fuck, just give us the drumstick man like you're not even a fan, or he just, he just wouldn't.
Speaker 2:And mike for him to do that yeah he wanted to be a dick yeah, and at the end of the concert the band jumped down and was shaking everybody's hand and mike shinoda came up to us and I shook his hand and we're like, hey, can you get us the drumstick? So mike shinoda crawled under the stage, got the drumstick and gave it to me I have it right here. I'll show you lincoln park drumstick man and nice it.
Speaker 2:It still has like the dings from the, the rim shots and all that. But this was handed to me from mike shinoda after he crawled under the stage to get it for me, so that's a cool story.
Speaker 1:For me it's like the biggest deal ever, but yeah you know that um joe hon. Actually he has a place in hawaii yeah, I know exactly where he lives. He lives next to one of our close friends okay, I was gonna say, I'm not gonna say where he lives. I met him there.
Speaker 2:actually he was working out and our friend brought me in there and I was like, oh my god, like yeah, it was pretty cool, he is super cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's super nice. I I've I've hung out with him a few times. He's good friends with uh DDK and I know Daniel a little bit. So, um, I've hung out with him a couple of times and I mean, you would never in a million years know that he's like in Lincoln park. He could not be more low key.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I mean he just he is happy to blend into the background and to just just chill and be like it's crazy. Um, just, I mean the fact that he's in Lincoln park and and how he acts is just it's, it's funny to me in the best possible way, like I mean he's just so cool and so down to earth and just really really nice.
Speaker 2:You know, me and our friend that lives in the same building as him tried to get him to DJ our one of our events because his birthday and my birthday, our friend's birthday and my birthday is pretty much within three or four days and that was our goal and he was down to do it. But he had a prior engagement in the mainland and I was like if Johan DJ'd my birthday party, that would have been next level fucking props. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1:What do you think of their new music?
Speaker 2:I oh, it's kind of rough. I I have my opinion is I like it. I like that.
Speaker 1:It's not a guy, because that guy would be scrutinized yeah, it was smart for them to go the other way completely. So, no one, you couldn't compare it right. It's apples and oranges.
Speaker 2:I, I like yeah, I like a few songs. I. I like that you can catch that lincoln park feel and I think the girl does a great job and I want to, I want to see her um live. I'm not gonna lie. When they announced it I was driving to the gym and they came out with a it was a um, on their website it was. They did a concert and I I pulled over and I watched it and I to hear them play like certain songs again as lincoln park like kind of kind of got me in the fields. You know what I mean and and I'm not going to say I cried, but I did fucking feel it. Yeah.
Speaker 1:They're supposedly they're recording new music again already. Even though their new album just came out, like six months ago, they're already recording new music. They didn't say when it's going to be coming out, but they're going to have a new album out sooner rather than later. I would say within the next year yeah, I think it's pretty incredible that's actually a good sign. That means that that they're, you know, behind the scenes.
Speaker 1:They're gelling right and they have good chemistry playing on the road and something you know, new music and new like the creative juices got going performing on the road together. So I think this album would probably be a better representation of the of the potential of the new lincoln park as opposed to the first album yeah, and they don't have to be that band.
Speaker 2:They can evolve into what it is now and I appreciate that and I'm excited to see them. I do like that. They do play the older songs too and I, I, yeah. I mean it is what it is like if you want to see lincoln park, this is lincoln park and there's no way you can bring that back, but you can move forward with it and I didn't know they were making new. But that also tells me that it's connecting with the fans and for me, linkin Park and Metallica connected dots in my life and moments and helped me through stuff and made me stronger because of the words and the lyrics that I'm connected to them. And it's like when you see this podcast, the beginning of my intro, hopper boy remix, nothing else matters, and that's from metallica, which is one of my all-time favorite songs and um, I know you're tripping boy yeah, yeah, dj hoppa boy.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I think music does something to you in that time of life that you can draw and remember.
Speaker 1:So of course I'm happy that's why people are so connected to the music of their youth, right? Because that's, like you know, the most formative years in your life. Yeah, are those years, and whatever music you were listening to at that time is going to have the biggest impact on you. When the police reunion tour came, when they had broken up and then they got back together after how many years, I flew to Seattle and actually G-Spot was with me. G-spot flew up with me too.
Speaker 2:Flew to.
Speaker 1:Seattle, saw them in Seattle and I got, I got emotional both nights Like I had a lump in my throat, tears in my eyes both nights. And then they came to the arena and they did three nights at the arena and I went, I went and this was at the other end of the tour, Um, so this was like a year later or whatever. Um, I went to all three nights and got emotional again and it's just like it's not just you know whoever the band is, or the music, or the songs, it's not just that, it's just that's reconnecting to that time in your life and there's such a nostalgia factor to that and that's something that's so powerful about music that it's really hard to um replicate with any other um like artistic form, I think yeah, and I feel it too.
Speaker 2:I we went to guns and roses at aloha stadium and at Aloha Stadium, and when we were kids yeah, when we were kids my sister and I you know Heidi, she, um, she and I love Guns N' Roses and she. We were in different places, but one of my favorite songs is Patience from Guns N' Roses, and when that song came, on.
Speaker 1:You like all the slow jams.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you like all the the ballads because I could play guitar, so I like that. Yeah, oh, metallica, my all-time favorite song is creeping death like that's my. I'll hear that and lose my shit. Yeah, but, um, when patience came on, my sister facetimed me while they're playing live, where both of us are in the stadium and fuck, that was that was one of the coolest moments. Like that was super cool for me.
Speaker 1:And yeah, his music does that and yeah it's cool to hear Enjoy Guns N' Roses live while you can. Cause Axl does not look right.
Speaker 2:He does not, bro, he's, he's got the situations going on here.
Speaker 1:I don't know he has so much work done.
Speaker 2:He's like a. He's a's got the situations going on here. I don't know, bro, he, he has so much work done. He's like a, he's a, he came big slash looks the same yeah duff looks cool, like yeah, but I met duff.
Speaker 1:I met duff, um, when I used to work at a strip club called, uh, pure platinum. He came in. In hindsight I should have been a lot more like, oh my god, um, but I but I wasn't for some reason. But in hindsight it's like, wow, you know, that was from guns and roses and that was like they were in their peak time oh yeah, this was like early 90s oh, they lose your illusion just came out kind of, or yeah, must have, and I.
Speaker 1:I guess they were here for I at that time. I was working all the time, I wasn't really going to shows, but they must have been here for shows and again, he was super nice that's super cool.
Speaker 2:I'm um, my daughter has a volleyball tournament next month in vegas and motley fucking crew has a residency that I'm gonna go see. That's gonna be like the fifth time I'm gonna see motley crew, but I got it speaking of lead singers that, uh, they oh yeah, vince, neal, he needs, he needs jesus or something he needs. I don't know. I say no to seconds bro that guy is.
Speaker 1:I actually really like their album with that other singer. I can't remember his name, I think it was the guy from the screaming trees, um, and it was so awesome to hear motley crew with like a singer who could actually really sing yeah but um, the last time I saw, whenever the last time motley played the arena, I think I went- I was there, yeah, and it's like it's carnivores oh.
Speaker 1:Mick, mick, mick's Mars back or Mick Mars back is all fucked up, right. So he's just kind of like leaning up against whatever he was leaning up against, cause he can barely move. Vince sounded like shit, but Nikki six and Tommy were just crushing it. Yeah, um, and it's just uh. I mean, you know mick mars has actual real health problems, right with this he's.
Speaker 2:He's not touring with him anymore.
Speaker 1:They got a yeah but um, and I know they're all pissed off at each other now, but it's just like vince was like vince. There's no excuse for vince to sound that shitty like he just needs to take care of himself and it's like dude. All you need to do is stay quasi healthy, Like that's pretty much his only job and he can't do it. It sucks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but yeah, I'm going to be there, I will see that. Yeah, guns N' Roses, I mean Motley Crue, was a fun band.
Speaker 1:What's your favorite Motley song?
Speaker 2:I don't even want to tell you, because it's going to be the same.
Speaker 1:Is it Home Sweet Home? Please don't tell me it's Home Sweet Home.
Speaker 2:I honestly like Kickstart my Heart because what I used to train that got me going. What is it, dr? Feel Good is pretty good. I like Girls um girls, girls, girls, wild side. Live wire is one of my favorites. I would say live wire um yeah, if they're girls don't go away mad that that might be just go away.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just go away. Yeah, that was uh. Yeah, see, that music was fun. I love all that shit. Plus, like you said, how songwriters and all that. One thing I loved about rock is they play their own instruments and they write their own music. I remember Kid Rock was being interviewed one time and they were talking about how MTV had that was had that show making the band, and he said, fuck all that, what I, what I'm used to, is making the band. That happens in your garage with a fucking case of beer, and that that's what I, why I love rock, you know, I mean yeah, and that's you know to.
Speaker 1:to your point about the making the band, that gets it back to like everyone's using the same producers and the same songwriters, so it all sounds the same.
Speaker 1:And you know, if you're, if you're, a band, you know everyone is writing the music to their own instrument, right, and so that that's no other band in the world is going to sound like your band. Because of that, no other band in the world is going to sound like your band because of that, right, like the signature sound that bands have, that that you can't really replicate, um, in these other types of music. But, um, yeah, I don't know, but it's, it's a shame that that music as a whole is sort of you know, popularity wise, it's just it's it. It doesn't sell a ton of tickets like it used to. You know, popularity wise, it's just it's it. It doesn't sell a ton of tickets like it used to. You know, lollapalooza just this morning announced um, announced their full lineup and for the first time ever, for the first time ever, lollapalooza, which was founded by Perry Farrell of Jane's, Addiction and he started that festival because bands like jane's addiction didn't have their own festival, so it was the.
Speaker 1:It was the first big alternative festival. For the first time ever, lala palooza doesn't have a rock headliner um, in this year's lineup. Really, the only one of the main bands is corn um, and it's just's just. It's. It's really telling that Lollapalooza doesn't even have a lot of alternative acts. Coachella used to have a lot more alternative and especially Indie acts and you know all that style of music is just. You know it's. It's not what the cool kids are listening to anymore. In a way, it's cool because it's like now, you know, not everyone likes to like what's super popular, right? So I feel like if you are a true rock fan, it's OK that this isn't like the big, massive thing, yeah, but on the downside, it like it doesn't get the respect and love that it deserves as a genre genre.
Speaker 2:Unfortunately, speaking of james addiction, I seen like a couple months ago perry farrell just lost it at a show.
Speaker 1:It hit, uh, dave navarro, yeah, punched him in the face. Yeah, I went on and found on youtube, um, and this tells you like I guess behind the scenes, like because this is be a really dick thing for a sound tech to do, but but the sound tech did it, which tells you how much the band and how much the the crew behind the scenes don't like Perry Farrell. Is the sound tech released the, the raw audio from the board, where you could hear exactly what Perry and Dave were saying to each other what Perry and Dave were saying to each other right, not the, not the viral video that went out, because that's the mix of all, all of the different channels and and plus the audience.
Speaker 1:This was just the recording of the two of them and you could really hear how fucked up Perry was and how just totally confused and taken aback Dave was. Like I've never seen or heard of uh, you know, a lead singer punching their guitarist. Yeah, I mean, that's something like punk rock bands would do, but that's on purpose, because that's part of what being punk rock is. Yeah but, this was something else and it was again like he needs help, like he needs oh, yeah, he needs a boy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, he needs jesus. Well, shoots flash. We've been going for over an hour and and if we go down this road up, this podcast is gonna be 19 hours long, because I um, I'm enjoying this, but before I we jump off, I wanted to um bring this up because it's very important. I know you're keeping um super c-dubs legacy alive and I see your post and reading some of the stuff just makes me remember how much of an awesome person she was and I feel like people need to know it and remember it, and I'm glad you're doing that on your social media and and I always do like a little bit of research when I'm doing these things and those ones with super c-dub um stuck out to me the most and I just wanted you to to be able to share a little bit about her, because it fucking matters, bro. She, she was such an awesome person.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and, and to be clear, I'm I'm not, I'm not keeping her memory alive because she touched so many people. Um, everybody is keeping her memory alive because, uh, she was just that awesome and you know a lot. Anyone is to keep the Aloha Cancer Project going, the foundation that Super CW started with Daniel Daniel Gray, who's also passed away from cancer. He was, you know, owner of Soho and they were great friends and actually met Daniel through Krista, um, but you know, krista's legacy I I think ultimately is just that of kindness and of just being like optimistic, and I mean talk about the ultimate. You know, always look at the glass half full person. Um, and she really did.
Speaker 1:You know, people want, people want to be around people like that right, like she was so positive all the time and just so happy all the time and she just had a really great ability. You could be the shittiest person, but she could find the one good thing about you and then, you know, talk about that one good thing about a shitty person and sing that from the rooftops and really she just did such a good job of finding the best in everybody and letting everyone else know about what those best qualities were about everybody and it's just. You know there's never really been anybody else like that and that I've been around and you know I would love to meet more people like that. Having people like that in your life is it's just so good for you, it's so healthy to be around people that are that positive and that uplift, uplifting all the time.
Speaker 1:I have her with me every day. I've got I don't know if you can see it my super CW hat. She used to come into my office at iHeartRadio all the time and we would have coffee together because she did a show here for a weekly show and when she would come in and record, she brought this coffee cup so that she could just we'd always have a couple coffees together and eventually she's like I'm just gonna like leave this coffee cup here, you know, be for you, and I'm just gonna leave in your office. She would like leave me post-it notes in my office all the time, even when I wasn't around.
Speaker 1:But that's super cool save this one thing of hers that I have in my office. I don't know if you can see that it says you're the shit.
Speaker 1:That's awesome Like you know, this just reminds me of Krista so much. She used to have this up at her desk and then at her house you're the shit that's. That's like Krista's. You know, that's what Krista thought about everyone. She thought everyone was the shit. She thought everyone was awesome and again, that's why so many people loved her. Like who doesn't want to be around, someone who just thinks you're awesome. Even even when you go and they know you're not, she's just going to be like you know what. Let's just focus on the awesome part of you and I think those are just great life lessons that that anybody would be, you know, would be smart for anyone to take a little bit of that with them.
Speaker 2:Definitely. And one thing I loved about her is anytime you ran into her and I wasn't as close, I just knew her through the industry, but anytime I talked to her she was engaged with me fully for that moment and that conversation it wasn't like like she actually cared and she actually was interested in in that conversation and and she always, like you said, you made you feel good. It's like aloha is uh, infectious and she had that infection everything she touched.
Speaker 1:And yeah, I I definitely didn't want to end this without bringing her up, because if I know how close you were and it matters, brah, people need to know and yeah, and yeah, um, she had a book or she had a share doc called the cancer plan of attack that she shared with anyone that wanted to know about cancer and about, not, how they could go about it. But she's like, hey, this is what worked for me. These are questions that I needed to get answered. These are questions that anyone is going to have, whether you have cancer or know someone close with cancer and you know, even when she was alive, the share doc like had over. You know well over 10,000 people were using the doc Um and Becker is actually taking her cancer plan of attack and making it into a book and getting it published.
Speaker 1:Um, pbs just did a um did a special where they they re-aired her. The documentary that we did on her, um, that you can go to the PBS website and see and you could obviously just go and find it on YouTubeaired. The documentary that we did on her that you can go to the PBS website and see and you could obviously just go and find it on YouTube. But the documentary that Gerald Elmore ended up finishing with Nella Media Group did fantastic work. If anyone wants to learn more, not just about Krista, but really just I. I mean she was just inspirational on how to live life, you know yeah, that's super cool.
Speaker 2:My uh friend's brother and his wife ended up uh taking her dog, so they have her dog. I don't I don't know how that's going, but I know they had he passed away boo oh yeah I got a text um that long ago, within the last year or so.
Speaker 1:It's like oh, just wanted to let you know that he passed away. I was like holy shit, that dog was still alive. Yeah, it's like oh.
Speaker 2:Yeah right, Exactly Right on flash.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, it was a lot of fun. Happy to do this anytime.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm going to definitely call you on it. And now you know I'm a rock fan, so if you're at a show and you see Curry having this thing, better fucking ring bro.
Speaker 2:But, yeah, I appreciate you and, like I said, I've been in this nightlife industry and you're one of the gems that I met and so, like you always had that same good vibe and aloha and smiles and shots, like when we went to Becky Mitz's thing. They're like where's Flash? And I'm like he's at the fucking bar, I guarantee it. And like we're going there. And then my I'm like he's at the fucking bar, I guarantee it, and like we're going there. And then my daughter was like flash from the radio. I go, yeah, you want to meet him. She goes, yeah, that's why I brought her, because she, she wanted to put the face to the voice, because I listened to star and she knew exactly who you are. And she's like you're for real his friend, like you guys are for real friends. I'm like, yes, you'd be surprised of the shit we've done. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:And for her. It was pretty cool. Go tell your daughter everything we've done, yeah.
Speaker 2:But I appreciate you. Flash, come on. Yeah, you're definitely somebody I looked up to and was stoked to call friend in this crazy life we've lived and, um it, you do meet a lot of great people in in this crazy industry and like real friends and um, I appreciate you from coming on this show and I appreciate you being able to have a a long conversation that's uninterrupted and brad it's the most sober I've ever been talking to you, to be honest.
Speaker 1:Right on man Well.
Speaker 2:social media where can people find you?
Speaker 1:At flashy 808 on everything.
Speaker 2:Right on, all right. And for us, as always, you can find us on above the bridge podcast, on instagram, our youtube channel above the bridge podcast. Our website is atbpodcom and my personal instagram is thaddydaddyhi. All right, well, shock us, for the cameras we're out. Shout out to the artist network aloha yeah, agn, thank you.
