Ear Biscuits with Rhett & Link - Link’s Highs And Lows As Elkhound (Snugglebaby) | Ear Biscuits Ep. 359

Episode Date: November 21, 2022

You’ve heard of Deadmau5 and Marshmello, but have you heard of the hottest new DJ in the game? That’s right! In this episode, Link shares all about the birth of Elkhound (Snugglebaby) and his first two gigs as a DJ. How did he prepare for this debut at Mythicon? What did he wear? And where can you catch him next? Want to hear your voice on Ear Biscuits? Call 1-888-EAR-POD1 and we might just play your call on an upcoming episode! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This, this, this, this is mythical. Your teen requested a ride, but this time, not from you. It's through their Uber Teen account. It's an Uber account that allows your teen to request a ride under your supervision with live trip tracking and highly rated drivers. Add your teen to your Uber account today. account today. Welcome to Ear Biscuits, the podcast where two lifelong friends talk about life for a long time. I'm Rhett.

And I'm Elkhound Snuggle Baby. What? I'm Link. This week on the round table of dim lighting. On or at? On it. We're throwing down the story. Is that a DJ pun? Yep, yep, yep. I speak differently. On the table?

I speak differently as a DJ. This week we're throwing down the knowledge, tossing down the knowledge. I am regaling the development, the highs, and let me tell you, the lows of becoming a DJ and developing and revealing my persona to the world. Are you sure you don't want to just make this into a book? Like right now, this is your last chance.

Cause we have things. The highs and lows of Elkhound Snuggle Baby? If you think about the hierarchy or the way that we do our lives, we've got stories that begin and then stop because they need to be reserved for the podcast. But we might be in a stories that need to be reserved for your memoir.

And so, you know. But I need to be recording those. I would do, I'm gonna do it on this podcast. You can do both of them? You think you can do that? Oh yeah, I can do both. Okay, you know. But I need to be recording those. I would do, I'm gonna do it on this podcast. You can do both of them? You think you can do that? Oh yeah, I can do both. Okay, all right. This could be in the book.

It's like I can have two DJ names that are one. I can do both. Right, it's true. So, I'm- Is this Elkhound speaking now or Snuggle Baby? This is Elkhound Snuggle Baby speaking to you. Okay, all right. So when you say it, you just say it like that Elkhound Snuggle Baby speaking to you. Okay, all right. So when you say it, you just say it

like that Elkhound Snuggle Baby. You don't say Elkhound Snuggle Baby. I have not put the pause, no. Okay. But I'm glad you're so interested in the details because I'm gonna have to get into all those. Yeah, a lot of people are asking how I came up with a name. You know, there's the whole look,

my getup that I debuted at Mythicon on the last night at the dance party. And I'm really curious, as I talked to you about last week, of just like, we haven't talked about your perspective on all of it. There was a lot of it that I was developing independently. And, phew, you know, there's another layer to this, which is just like the creative journey

of developing something new that in some ways, in many ways, maybe in all the ways, you experienced with James and the shame that I think is kind of a, I'll call it a B story here today. So if you don't like DJing, if you're not into persona development, and- Who is that? Who isn't? I don't know what your problem is, but-

I mean, DJing, but if you're not into persona development- Right, then who are you? Is there anyone who was ever like on a dating profile, specifically not into persona development? Not anyone then who are you? Is there anyone who was ever like on a dating profile, specifically not into persona development? Not anyone I've dated. Conceptually. Not anyone I've swiped in the direction that means I am interested.

I don't know which direction that is. I never swiped either way. But yeah, there's that B story of stepping out of your comfort zone, taking a creative risk and then seeing what happens. Definitely my DJ launch experience and some of the stuff I'll tell you about afterward, it definitely has been uncomfortable at times.

And I think it's been very good. It's been very edifying. You know, I'm just trying to take in all parts of this experience and just milk the teat for all it's worth. Just I'm milking the teat DJ teat dry. And it turns out I'm rapidly experiencing just a full range of emotions associated with it.

So that's kind of what's going on here too. Should we just get into it? I mean, why am I calling myself as a DJ, Elkhound Snuggle Baby, but do not put DJ in front of it. And do put- Yeah, people have been trying to do that. Don't do that. And do put Snuggle Baby in parentheses.

Elkhound, one word, space, open parentheses, parenthesis? Parenthesis. Parenthesis. Yeah, Jen and I worked on this. Snuggle Baby, all one word, closed parenthesis. The only thing I'll say at this moment is that I feel like I've had some independent parallel experiences that will inform,

are informing my perspective as we get to those places where you tell those parts of the story. But I mean, I feel like just last night, and I'll keep this very brief, I had an experience, a DJ witnessing experience. Not like I tried to share the Lord with a DJ. You witnessed a DJ? I witnessed a DJ. Okay.

One of my kind. I got to go to the Orville Peck concert and Orville invited me to the, this is the final- Orville invited me. This was the final show of the tour in LA, invited me to the after party. And Jesse and I went, we showed up and there was a DJ. It was like kind of a house that's also a club in Hollywood.

And there was a woman who was DJing and- Women can DJ. Keeping it pretty, I wasn't saying anything, I was just specifying, so that felt inappropriate. But she was kind of just kind of keeping it kind of chill. And then a dude came in and Jessie leans over to me and she's like, why is that guy like leaning in and seeming to begin to kind of like intrude

on this woman's DJ space? And I looked up and I said, because that's Diplo. So at that point, Well I'll be dagged. I, which I would say, We're cut from the same L, so as a Diplo. As a DJ, this guy's what, top, you know, well he's in the top, he's cream of the crop DJ, right? Yeah. So I was like, having witnessed the birth

of L Count Snuggle Baby and his first adventure, I haven't really watched a DJ before until I watched L Count Snuggle Baby. And so now I've got a parallel experience to sort of, when we get to that, I'll just give you some of my notes that I was able to take. Yeah, I definitely want to be compared to Diplo at this point in my career. Like, that is exactly.

It was just an interesting juxtaposition that I was like, I feel like the universe is giving me a vantage point. I don't know what you're saying. No, I'm saying that I. Don't clarify. I'm saying anything I learn about DJing is now I have a vessel that I can send it to.

Okay, good. If I learned something about DJing in my everyday life, I give it to Elk Hound Snuggle Baby. That's my mission. I did tell Diplo that if he wants to show up at any of my sets, he can lean in and give a little scratchy scratch. He will, he'll lean in,

and eventually he'll take over completely. What does a DJ name his child? This is a joke that Lando told me this morning because he now talks to me as if I'm Elk House Nuggle Baby. Dee Jr.? No, a DJ names his child Eric. Oh, that's much better. Yeah, that's good.

Yeah. What is a DJ order at an Italian restaurant? Forget it. No? Marinara, marinara. Okay, yeah. Marinara. Some words work better than others. Yeah.

Eric, marinara. Just marinara, that's an odd order. Just saying. I mean, let's see, okay, so how did I come up with the name? Well, you know, you were encouraging me. You were like, I know you said you're gonna do this DJ set. You need to go, like, you need to go all the way.

Like, don't just half-ass it. Like, you need to make all the way. Like don't just half-ass it. Like you need to make this a moment, you know? To your credit, you gave me the encouragement I needed at just the right time. Like a month ahead of Mythicon probably. I'd been thinking about my set, I'd been working on it. I'll talk about that a little bit. But well, I'll just say that like,

I was pretty nervous about it. And so I didn't, at the point that we had that conversation, I didn't have a lot of confidence. Now I'm implying I got a lot of confidence later. Maybe I did, I don't know. And you had that conversation with me and I was talking about how I'm practicing and how I'm kind of nervous about it.

And that's when you gave me the input of like, well, you need to make it a moment, it's the end of mythicon, you need to make a big reveal about, I mean, you're saying what your name is, but you need to have a look to go along with it. And I was like, I had thought about it, but I just wasn't, I don't know. I think I was so nervous about it and I was like, I had thought about it, but I just wasn't, I don't know.

I think I was so nervous about it that I was scared that if I fully committed in my mind to making it a thing, especially publicly that like people could take pictures of me and it will be worth sharing because of the way I looked and that then, that I would be building it up too much. That I'm just starting out DJing and it would seem like I thought I was the shit

when really I'm just a fledgling DJ person, you know? And so I was wrestling with that, but I was like, you know what? He's right, I gotta go for it. And so I started throwing out some of my thoughts, which were, yeah, I do need to have a get up. But I don't wanna wear a helmet. You know, all of these DJs wear helmets.

The Daft Punks of the world, the Dead Mouses of the world, the marshmallows and et cetera. I don't wanna cover this face because anybody who wants, they wanna know it's me, any mythical beast who's showing up at this particular show. Right. And I was thinking more about the first show than like, my long career into the distant future as a DJ,

which may happen, hopefully it will. So I was like, I don't wanna cover, people wanna, you know, people wanna see my face cause they came to see me DJ. Yeah. And I also don't want to mess with my hair. My hair, it's attached to my face at the top and it's something, I really like my hair.

It's part of my signature. Right. So then I'm like, well, what could I do? And then like, I was thinking antlers. I think you were part of this conversation. You might've thrown on antlers too, but I was definitely thinking that.

I was like, yes, it's a mythical tie-in, but like not, like the antlers need to be big. So then it was, it got to elk pretty quick. There was like a moose thought, and then it was like, you know what? Moose antlers are like, they're real, like big hands. Satellite dishes almost. Yeah, they're like satellite dishes.

That could definitely work. It's definitely big. And I was like, but I knew that elk have these magnificent antlers that are more deer-like that seem pretty cool. So I'm like, I bet you I could do something like that. And then instead of it attaching to my head, I was like-

Because that would be uncomfortable. What if there was some sort of like shoulder mount that then the antlers would come up and they will be behind my head. Came up with all this before really coming up with a DJ name, the look. And then that's what led to, all right, elk. You know, we're talking about elk antlers. That's what led to, all right, elk.

You know, we're talking about elk antlers. And then I remembered my mom had a dog that was a Norwegian Elkhound. Actually, it was before I was born, when my mom and dad were together, they had a dog that was a Norwegian Elkhound named Sam. A Norwegian Elkhound is a beautiful dog that according to some tweets, after I put my moniker out there,

people were telling me like, these dogs, I guess they herd elk and they will run between the legs of galloping elk. Of course, my mom and dad, my dad was a farmer at the time, and my mom worked at like a medical facility and there were no elk anywhere in the region. That dog is very disappointed.

But the dog would run all over the farm and just come back at the end of the day. It was just like, I have pictures. What happened to this dog and the divorce? You know what, I need to ask mom. They just set it free? I think the dog stayed on the farm. I can't quite remember, but the dog was special to mom

and beautiful black and white fur, kind of husky like. So I was like, Elkhound, I like that name for a DJ better than just like elk. That just seems like, that's just a word. And then I'm like, so Elkhound, yeah, that's good. That's it, that could be it. But that's not enough. And then I'm like-

I need four more syllables. That's not enough. It wasn't enough, because then I was concerned that if I call myself Elkhound, then people might think that that's just cool. That's a cool name for a DJ. That DJ better be good. It's kind of what I was thinking at the time.

But really just that DJ, that's a cool name. Maybe it sounds like this person who calls himself that is taking himself too seriously. I wanna add something to it that presents a different side because elk hound is like, it's elk hound, it's percussive. It could almost be abrasive. It could almost be kind of emphatic in your face. Like that's what that word feels like, Elkhound.

It's like, it hits hard. So then I want something to soften the edges. I want something that gives a different but complimentary energy. And I also want something that when people have to say it, because when you come up with a name, you basically, there's a lot of power in a name. You know, when people name kids, happens a lot.

Every time someone has one, they seem to name it. That's a lot of power. It's becoming less common though. You're becoming less common. Names. You're dictating what will flow from the lips of everyone that interacts with this person. And so it's wielding some sort of power over them.

I recognize that. And I wanted to use that power for smiles. So I decided that I wanted to add, the first thing that came to my mind when I put all this criteria together. Oh, that was the first one. Was Snuggle Baby. Because, and I liked the idea of people

having to call me Snuggle Baby and try to do it with a straight face. It just seemed very link to do this. That's for sure. And like unexpected. I think we're all in agreement on that. And then when you put that together, it's a combination of words that doesn't exist.

So when you're talking about buying a website domain or like trying to get the TikTok moniker, whatever it's called, the username on Twitter and Instagram, Twitter and Instagram- I don't know if you can fit Elkhound Snug. It's Elkhound Snug. Okay, yeah.

But on TikTok, it's Elkhound Snuggle Baby. But are you gonna actually use those? I don't know yet. Use those? Feel free to follow them. Because I created them for James and the Shame and then I was like, am I gonna do- I just wanna own them, which I do.

Yeah, having them parked is a good idea. So it's like, because Elkhound, that's already been taken, it's a freaking dog. It's just a dog's account. I could've just been Snuggle Baby. I think I did find one account that was like a foot fetish account that nobody followed. It's called Snuggle Baby?

Yeah. Thank you for pointing that out. Well, if you search for it, if you find the foot fetish Snuggle Baby, that's not me. But, and I kind of, I was like, I feel good about this. And then I believe you were the first person I told. Cause weren't we at the creative house when I told you? Because you were the one who was like,

well, you gotta put Snuggle Baby in parentheses. And I'm like- And I stand by this. I'm like, well, I don't have to put it in parentheses. It's like- But you agreed. The first thing that I liked about the suggestion was it's kind of like,

if you're a true hip hop fan, you know that MF Doom has to always be presented in all caps. And so I like that kind of test. And that's why I had to like go on record on Twitter and like be very adamant about how it was spelled because, hey, there it is. If you know, you know. I'm not gonna keep,

and I reiterated at the beginning of this, but you know what? I'm not gonna do that anymore. I'm not gonna do that anymore. At one point, I was thinking I was never going to write it at all. And people were just gonna have to say, open parentheses, close parentheses.

But that was stupid. But I did like that idea of it being like, if you know, you know how to spell it. But you also seem to- And it was just weird. But you also seem to embrace the fact, because basically, the reason I suggested that is because when you described it,

because you basically gave, you gave your reasoning that you just gave me, which is like, Yeah. There's elk hound, but, and that might just be cool, exactly what you just said. And so to me, it kind of sounded like there is this sort of exterior shell that people may interact with, which is elk hound.

And then there is this, if you know, you know, the sort of the interior snuggle baby. And it's like, for me, this gives you this flexibility. So you're saying that the parentheses become like a womb? I wasn't suggesting or picturing a womb. You can do that if you want. All I'm saying is that, because you seem to embrace this,

I'm not gonna give it away because I want to hear what your process was. Even during your set. Yeah, well that came to light later. Which I think that was, I thought that was a really good application of it because in my mind it could be like, at this party, elk hound's showing up

and that's all you got. To me it was like, it's two people in one. One's a little bit more if you know you know, but it just gives you this flexibility. And also, yeah, it's kind of weird and funny. I definitely have developed it as more of like a Jekyll and Hyde, two sides of a coin persona, two for the price of one, birds in the hand.

And maybe at some point as you evolve, cause you are an animal and animals undergo evolution and so do people, cause people are animals, you could actually update your suit so that when you, there's actually a transformation that takes place during a show. I mean, it's just like, I just feel like there's so many possibilities here.

There's so many possibilities. Yeah. It kind of hinges on becoming a good DJ. That is probably paramount, yeah. Which I am excited about, but I will tell you, it ain't easy. Just some words about my costume. Elise, who's a friend of Mark Byers,

who produced a lot of our music. Actually, Mike Paisley introduced me to her because he was so busy and Jesse was so busy building all the stuff for Mythicon that they didn't have any capacity to build my DJ outfit. So I got Elise in on the action. So she designed it for me. We went with like a Viking motif that was like a rugged,

it's less of I'm an animal and more of like, it's kind of like- You killed an animal. Viking garb type thing with the way, the stuff that's on the, wrapped around the antlers. There's like some flare on it. And then there's like a shoulder draped cape, like a fur drape.

And if you think that my shoulders look big under there, it's not because I'm wearing shoulder pads, it's just because I am that, I'm that buff. And there are shoulder pads under there. Oh, okay, thanks for clarifying. Well, it gets kind of hot, so I had to wear a tank top and shorts. I noticed.

So I ended my ensemble by wearing like some small corduroy shorts and then tennis shoes and crew socks. So it's kind of dad-ish on the bottom. I had that vantage point. Wherever you're going, you better believe American Express will be right there with you. Heading for adventure? We'll help you breeze through security. Meeting friends a world away? You can use your travel credit.

Squeezing every drop out of the last day? How about a 4 p.m. late checkout? Just need a nice place to settle in enjoy your room upgrade wherever you go we'll go together that's the powerful backing of american express visit amex.ca slash ymx benefits vary by card terms apply djing really suits me i think i've told you this before. I might've talked about it on the podcast, but like I bought a deck, like over the pandemic, I had signed up for Masterclass just so I could take Questlove's Masterclass on DJing,

which turned out to not be that technical, but it was more like an overview. So it was like a really cool primer to just start to understand the ins and outs of it. Yeah, and you know, I think, yeah, that happened before I was like stepped into the role of DJing the Christmas in July party here at Mythical, but I only had Spotify.

I didn't have any real means to actually DJ. And I learned so many things about it that I told you about that necessitated me buying a DJ deck. Like I bought a used one off eBay so that, it's interesting, my psychology along the way, it's good for me to notice this in myself because I don't, it's something to overcome

if someone's trying something creative kind of like me. But I would rationalize things like, I'm not gonna buy a deck new because then I'll feel bad when I don't follow through with this. So I'm gonna buy a used one off eBay so I won't feel as bad if I walk away from this. It's such an, you know, it was like,

I was giving myself out instead of like saying, you know what, I think I could be really into this, I'm going to go for it. Buy something so new and expensive that you'll feel guilty if you stop. That's what I would have done. You know, like guilt yourself into not stopping. Right, I kind of had this predisposition,

oh, this probably won't turn into anything. I'm gonna encounter something that's gonna be the reason that like, I just never follow through with it. And that's why I like, even when I was doing Mythicon, I was like, I'm not gonna make a big deal out of this. You know, it's not a healthy instinct. I think it's something that I've had to overcome and that's why I just, I'm going back

trying to acknowledge it, because I'm learning from it. But I just really started getting into, I love music, I love listening to music. Like, especially over the pandemic, I got really into it. So then like being able to manipulate music and turn knobs, there's like the editor in me, and I'm talking like video editor in me

that I don't do anymore. It's like that really came back to me, like using the deck. It's just a lot of fun. And you like making playlists for certain, to set vibes. Yeah, yeah. And greatest compliment you can give me is, can I have the playlist you were playing?

So as I started getting ready for Mythicon, I was like, I kept, I just didn't, there's two things. It's like working on what songs you're gonna play and then working on the skills of a DJ to be able to like operate the deck and transition between songs and put things in an order, kind of make it seamless. And once you start watching tutorials

and reading about stuff, it gets overwhelming really quickly. And at that point, Ben, here at work, our DP, director on a lot of stuff, he was like, you know, I gotta tell you, I got a DJ deck recently too. I was like, really? I was like, dude, we should get together

and like do some DJ stuff. Double DJ? So it was like three weeks before Mythicon that we finally were able to get together and Ben is very technical and so when he, he had all these things to show me that I had not figured out. And so over the course of a few hours

of him showing me some transitions and he had his own deck and he would show me stuff and then he would try to figure out how to do it on his deck, on my deck. How's his deck compared to yours? He got a bigger deck? His deck is not as good as mine. Oh, okay.

But he probably paid more because I got mine used. Okay, well, interesting. So he was teaching me things I didn't know, which is pretty much everything. And I just, I'll tell you, and I didn't know, which is pretty much everything. And I just, I'll tell you, and I don't know how much Ben, I don't know what his perspective on it was, but like when we parted ways that night,

I stayed there for another three hours freaking out and trying to practice, because I was like, oh my God, I didn't realize how much I didn't know, and now I'm gonna suck so bad! Well, had you been, like, before Ben showed up, were you, like, putting together a playlist and, like, practicing transitions and stuff?

Like, what was, like, because I know so little about how this works from a technical perspective. I don't know anything about it. I had to, you gotta pick a bunch of songs and from the reading I did, it was like, however long your set is, you need to have three times that amount of songs. So I'm like, I need to be ready to do two hours at Mythicon.

Now that reduced some, but two, so at the time I was thinking I need six hours of music if I'm transitioning. So explain that to people. Because when you play, when you're reading the room, you have to be able to go with the flow of what's happening. If you're not connecting with an audience, you've got to change it up.

You gotta be able to go in a different direction, like a different style. You have to like, and I have kind of an eclectic style. Like I like some pop stuff. Like I'm a fan of the Harry Styles album. I like to play some Dua Lipa, but then I'm a real hip hop guy. So I really like that.

And I like old school hip hop. And I like some, a lot of new hip hop. But if people aren't into that and they don't know the new stuff, then I've only got the old stuff and I can't keep going back and within any one song, if it gets a little boring, you kind of wanna transition to a new song. I mean, if the song is five minutes or four minutes,

in a certain, in a dance setting, yeah, I don't think you wanna, sometimes you just don't wanna play more than half of it. Yeah. You wanna keep things moving. Like the moment they start to get a little, okay, everybody's not loving this song, you gotta move on. And then you gotta figure out a way to do it

that is as seamless as possible. Right. So you move from one thing to the next. So I understand all these principles. Like I know how to read a room. I have my taste in music. I only wanna play things that I like that then also connect with people.

So I had all these exercises in my mind that was like, song selection matters so much. And then technique, like beat matching, where you have a song and then you cue up another song in your earphones and you match the beat. So like you move the tempo up or down to be in sync with the other song, and then you find a way to start playing it

and mixing the two together, and then subtly transitioning in a way that seems like you've done sort of a remix. And that's why DJ has like headphones that are like one ear on when they're off. You're listening to what the crowd's hearing, but then you're listening what you're queuing up and playing because like, you don't want this long intro.

Oh yeah, this is an album cut. And like the artist is talking or doing a skit or something. This is like, you're gonna kill the room if you got to start it at the right time. So all of these, and there's so much more that I still don't know. But in terms of being able to transition, I mean, and then you can do like key matching

because you don't want to be blending stuff that are in different keys. It'll be like dissonant and it doesn't, it just is like, eh. There's so much technique that goes into it that I'm just scratching the surface, but I made up my mind in the limited amount of time I had, I was like, I cannot.

And it was that night that I kind of decided I cannot put this much pressure on myself to like be a technically proficient DJ. I just, I'm not there yet. But I can't lose sight of some key realities. The first is, this is gonna be the most supportive, enthusiastic crowd to just, and a lot of them will know the story that I'm telling,

like that I'm just getting started with this. Right. And all they wanna do is just watch me try this new endeavor and support me through it. There probably won't be a gathering to watch. I'll just skip ahead and tell you. Based on my experience, there was not, I don't think there is a DJ whose first public set

was in such a supportive, enthusiastic environment ever. It may be the most supportive debut. It was the most awesome crowd for a DJ who was just getting started. crowd for a DJ who was just getting started. Shop Best Buy's ultimate smartphone sale today. Get a Best Buy gift card of up to $200 on select phone activations with major carriers. Visit your nearest Best Buy store today.

Terms and conditions apply. It was amazing. I was actually watching I was right about that. the DJ who started the night. Yeah. And I was like

He's good. I was like trying to get his his read on things. I actually he was playing it really close to the vest. I couldn't

get much of a read but I could On what? On like On his read of the crowd or on the crowd's read of him? On the fact that like, cause he was kind of down there in the back, kind of hanging out in the back.

Oh, while I was up there. While you were up there, and I'm like, here's this guy that's been playing for the crowd, and the crowd is really into it already. Right. I mean, I'm sure he had been educated on like, you know- I was really self-conscious. Who was coming up to do this.

Yeah, there was a DJ who played and warmed up the crowd because when our when our stage show ended, everybody made their way to the tent. And the DJ started playing the dance party started and then after like 45 minutes is when I came on and took over. And well, and like literally I walked on and then he walked off. And specifically.

And then he watched and I was really self-conscious. Well let's get into the details of like how you actually started the set, like what that involved because that was what was a trip to A, to be there, to witness. So yeah. But also to then like turn and watch this guy because like you didn't have a-

This is what I wanna know. It wasn't a typical introduction on any level. Nope. But just to finish my thought though, the second point was, they're gonna be supportive was the first point. Second point that I wanted to keep in the forefront of my mind is that like,

I'm not gonna focus on technique, I'm just gonna focus on song selection. If at the end of the day, I play a song all the way through and then I play the next song all the way through, I can just do that and it will be okay. Song selection is so much more important than any technique at this point in the game for me. So I spent a lot of time amassing private playlists

that got me to six hours of music. And then I just started working on putting that playlist together in an order and saying, you set cue points. So if you need to skip forward in a song, you can skip forward on beat, and it won't feel like I'm just guessing at when I transition to the next song. If you can skip to the, kind of the outro of the song, and then transition, it becomes a little easier.

And then, but, so that was my focus. And then once I got my set list down, then I did start just trying to get proficient at going from song to song. It sounds simple, but I was just like, I just have to keep it simple. But then I also wanted, I was like, well, I have to reveal my DJ name.

The first time anyone's gonna hear it is gonna be from stage. And well, I'm like, see DJs, I know they can talk, but like in the purest form, in my opinion, a DJ doesn't talk, but I need to talk because I need to say what my DJ name is. So I said, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm going to record little sounds. I'm gonna record little moments that announce my DJ name.

So, I actually got Mark over and he recorded me and then we like put some effects on some stuff that like then I could load it on my deck and like hit buttons and start playing stuff that would reveal my DJ name. So like this. Elkhound Sn snuggle baby.

That's my voice. I remember hearing that. Elkhound, snuggle baby. Now in a large tent with a lot of people making a lot of noise, there was a lot of this. As this began to happen, this is my vantage point. Well hold on, and let me tell you how it happened. Okay.

So I said, well I'm just not gonna get up there and start playing these sound effects. I've got, I need an intro track, so I had like music that I came out to like a wrestler, instrumental, kinda like Viking with a big beat music. And then when that was over, I did just, I hit him with an elk hound. Elk hound.

And then I hit him with a snuggle baby. Snuggle baby. And I knew at this point that people were gonna be like, what? Yeah. What? Lots of leaning over. First of all, a lot of cheering. I mean, ear chattering. Oh my gosh. Deafening cheering.

Because they were reacting to my antlers and my friggin' fur cape. But then a lot of people were like, Greg, who at that point was getting ready for the inaugural tweet, Elkhound. He leans over to me and he's like, how do you, what is it, Elk, Eltron?

Eltron. Eltrain, I heard L-train from people. And I was like Elkhound. And I wanna take full responsibility for not including the parentheses in the Mythical, because he was like, how do you spell that? And I was like, it's Elkhound and the Snuggle Baby and obviously I was team parentheses,

but I think it created a great way for you to clarify it. I got up there and then I hit him with the elk hound and the snuggle baby. And then I had recorded, I was like, I don't wanna give a speech, but I just felt like I needed to give a speech, but I didn't wanna give a speech, but I just felt like, I felt like I needed to give a speech, but I didn't wanna give a speech, so I called Jenna and I said, I need you to come over here for,

I'm recording some stuff, I need your voice because I know you were the voice of an alien in Independence Day. She's the voice of the orb. Yeah, same, it was an alien. I thought it was AI, but she explained to me it was an alien. It's like a singularity of the orb. Yeah. Well, it's- It was an alien. I thought it was AI, but she explained to me it was an alien. It's like a singularity of a whole.

In Independence Day 2? Yes. Oh, Independence Day 2. Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah. Okay, you told me all this when we were recording. I did. Because I was wrong about it.

I thought you were AI, you're an alien singularity. You recorded the scratch track because you worked for the director. And then they loved it so much that they just kept you in the movie. They did, yeah. They did not recast from your scratch track. So I was like, I need your voice.

So I had her come in and record. Ad-lib speech now. Wow. Ad-lib speech now. I've never heard you make that effect. Ad-lib speech now. Ad-lib speech now. See, I'm doing a little DJing. Let's ad-lib speech now. Let's ad-lib speech now. See, I'm doing a little DJing right now.

Ad-lib speech now. Yeah, and then I, in there, Jenna was sitting over there, Mark was recording me, I ad-libbed his speech. Yeah, that was evident. And so then I said, well, I'm just gonna play the speech for people and I'm going, I recorded it. It was two minutes and 41 seconds long.

And I decided it would be hilarious if I play the speech and then I start gesturing as if I'm actually giving the speech. Like I'm an animatronic version of a DJ and like the hall of presidents at Disney. Yeah. I just thought that would be awesome. Yeah.

So I started the speech and then after a while I stopped pantomiming and I started, I faded in a beat underneath it to make it seem cooler. Right. Even though- So that was on the fly decision? No, I'd plan to do it, but it Right. Even though- So that was an on the fly decision? No, I'd plan to do it, but it wasn't in a track. It seemed natural.

I had to do it, I had to fade it up, so like this like, scissor, I faded in some scissor. Yeah, that's always a good idea. I'm not gonna play the whole speech for you, but I'll play a little bit. So Elkhound Snuggle Baby. That's my DJ name. This is me. Yo. I'm not, well, I don't think I'm, I'm not really gonna say yo.

I don't, I think I'm just gonna say things that I would normally say in like my normal life. But this is, this is kind of, this is, but I could go go in full persona and I guess as a DJ, you know what? Let's meet halfway. Just call me Elkhound Snuggle Baby. You know? Then I know that we'll be on the same page. That was playing. That was like 30, you know, 20 seconds of the, there's still two minutes of the speech left. But there's music, I put music underneath. So it was like, everyone was just kinda like understanding

this is the most awkward speech that is completely ad-libbed like it's not edited in any way. This is exactly what I- Really? I did an ad-lib speech and then I didn't like it. Oh, this is take two? This is take two. But it's totally different than take one. Really?

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Rum 40% alcohol pay volume. So yeah, I recorded this ad lib speech, didn't edit any of it, threw some effects on it, and then I was like, I'll just bring some, some SZA underneath it, you know? And yeah, so there's two minutes left. You want me to keep playing the whole thing? It's awkward. I mean, you can. It's, you know, I wanted, so there's two minutes left. You want me to keep playing the whole thing? It's awkward.

I mean, you can. You're the DJ. I wanted to capture the awkwardity of the moment. Like just this thing that's like, I'm calling myself this, you know, if you are willing to call me Elkhound Snuggle Baby that says something about our relationship. Because if you're willing to call me Elk Count Snuggle Baby, that says something about our relationship. Because if you're willing to call me that, that says something about our relationship.

Oh yeah, so you're saying that. I just don't think anybody off the street would be comfortable looking me in the eyes and calling me Elk Count Snuggle Baby. It's just such a, it's the thing that normal people wouldn't do. Right. Like if somebody asked me to do that,

look them in the eyes and call them Elkhound Snuggle Baby, I would be like, I'm gonna order coffee from somewhere else, you know? And Jenna, you're sitting there while this is happening? Yes, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah, because later on, you know,

she had to be the one to record. Elkhound mode. Yeah, that was one of my favorite parts. Yeah, and then of course she also recorded. Snuggle baby mode. Yeah, and then she also recorded. Elkhound doing business as Snuggle Baby. Yeah.

That's pretty good. You're welcome. I like that. That's pretty good. You're welcome. I like that. That's my favorite one. Elkhound doing business as Snuggle Baby. Yeah, because I determined that like Elkhound mode was like, we're going for it, we're getting down, and then Snuggle Baby mode is more of like, oh man, I'm kinda having some feelings to go along with it.

I was trying to figure out. And the tempo goes more like to like 90. You were trying to figure out the difference? It wasn't immediately obvious to me. It's more, Snuggle Baby's more laid back. And in other, I couldn't go in, honestly, I never went into full Snuggle Baby mode, which would be more of-

Slow jams? Not too sexy, but just very laid back. Like almost like lounge bob your head kind of a thing. Maybe stroke something. Could be a pet. Okay, all right. And then elk hound mode, you're like gonna be sore the next day.

If there's moshing that's gonna happen, it's gonna be with elk hound. Right, the one that I never got to play because I didn't have enough pads. Elk hound Right. The one that I never got to play cause I didn't have enough pads. Elkound Snuggle Baby. E-L-K-H-O-U-N-D. Open parenthesis, S-N-U-G-G-L-E-B-A-B-Y, close parenthesis.

Yeah, that's probably a good choice that you. I chose. You didn't like that one? It gave the proper spelling. I liked your delivery. It was a little overbearing. I'm questioning my entire life. That's the one I used.

That was, and I'm glad you used that. I'm questioning my entire life right now. And you used that pretty liberally. That is, when I first started recording. That was an honest reaction. This was honestly one of the first things that I said when recording. I'm questioning my entire life right now.

So now that's part of my tag, that's a signature tag for Elkhorn's. Well, okay, so let me interject at this point. These are all my sound ups, you're good to go. I feel like what this represents at this point, including that one that you just said, and I think that last one, I'm questioning my entire life right now,

really illustrates this. And I think it is, it also speaks to the fact, to the environment in which you did this. And that is, and I think this is a beautiful thing. So your apprehensiveness associated with this endeavor, and you're questioning yourself. I'm questioning my entire life right now. It is, it's a part of the introduction.

Yes. You know what I'm saying? So it's just like, and that- I wanted to bring my honest self to it. And I think you succeed, well, you succeed. Like you got all of me. And I think that's, you know, first of all, it's an overused term that we are,

that authenticity is valued in entertainment. And I think that's, you know, first of all, it's an overused term that we are, that authenticity is valued in entertainment. And I think that the internet and specifically social media and social media entertainment like YouTube, et cetera, has, it's the reason, honestly, it's the reason that we do this podcast now in the way that we do it. It's the reason that we shared our deconstruction stories, which is the reason that I made the album

about deconstruction. Real, man. There's a- The real. Leaning into the like, I could put on airs and try to appear to be something or whatever, but this is actually my authentic self.

You wrapped that into the actual presentation itself. And made it performance art. So it was, that's when I started to really get excited, was I'm taking some risk in something that can't be compared to anything else. Like I'm doing something that I want people to scratch their heads, I want them to feel weird. But it's like people were so supportive.

I don't even think they felt those things. And that's the second part of that is you can only kind of do that in a really supportive place. It's almost like you created- No, I will do it anywhere. Well, but I'm saying for the first time. But yes. You created what you might call a director's commentary

that you would then see in the documentary about your DJ debut, but you folded it into the actual debut itself, if that makes sense. This is the director's commentary. You see me up there on stage, I was questioning my entire life, but no, you're just like, I'm questioning my entire life right now.

I don't know how many people, I think most people experienced it as, Link is very weird and very odd. And I'm not surprised because I know it. And that's everything that I expected. And so that kind of makes this fun and cool and enjoyable, which it did.

But I think probably some people were like, it is performance art, but it's honest performance art. When I went up there on that stage, I was not nervous. I went from three weeks earlier to being a complete wreck to determining that with my criteria and like, you know, that like, I wasn't gonna lose perspective

and I was not gonna let go of my insistence on having the time of my life. And I was not gonna let go of my insistence on having the time of my life. And I am so, I've never had anything that I felt so much pressure and then got past it so that when it happened, I could just be just there for it. And let me tell you, I actually, that was my experience. And we've done a lot of stuff that I wish I could go back

and be able to pull that mind trick. And, but something about the setting was so special that the safety net was so supportive that it's not, you know, it's unrealistic to expect that I could go back and apply it 100% to something in the past or even in the future for like our next demanding thing that like, because you know, there was also like, nothing really depends on this, you know?

It's like, if I fall flat on my face, I'm just gonna get up and keep going and make a joke. Because once we got past all of this stuff, like this opening part, I still didn't speak the entire set, I just started playing my set. And I had a decent number, I had a bunch of ideas for how I wanted to transition stuff. And I would say a third of the time,

I pretty much accomplished what I was going for, a third of the time. Okay. And I think that a lot of things like, you know, a lot of times I'd hit the button and I would say like elkkhound, Snuggle Baby. Well, over half the time that I played Elkhound, I was trying to cue the next song in my headphones.

Okay, it did often come at interesting times. Yeah, it was never- He's making some interesting choices here. Yeah, I was like, because I'll listen on my headphone and I'm cuing up the song and you can't hear that, but somehow the Elkhound still goes out there. Or Snuggle Baby.

Oh, I just said elk hound by accident. I better say Snuggle Baby now. And then I would hit Snuggle Baby and then I would queue up my thing. And it just got- And it got a cheer every time. It got a cheer every time. And it got to a point where I was like, oh, I'm screwing up.

And if I just act like I meant to do it, after that intro that I gave, they're gonna believe that I meant to do everything. Like even when I played the speech, like after like 45 seconds into the speech, I accidentally started the speech over. Yeah, I thought that was intentional. And I was like, oh, that's a, yeah, that's a weird choice.

I'm going on instinct now. I guess my body wanted that to be even weirder than it was. So I gave the speech twice, the first half of the speech twice. And then it was weird. Maybe I just got looser, I got some confidence, but there were a couple of points towards the end of the set.

Like I was gonna go from Michael McDonald, I keep forgetting, into Regulate by, you know, the G Funk classic, which samples it. And I could not get Regulate to play. I couldn't, I don't know, I still don't know. You don't know what happened? I couldn't transition to the next song. And that's why, like, I keep forgetting

it went away to nothing. People would always cheer, because they was like, oh, he's going to the next song. And that's why I keep forgetting it went away to nothing. People would always cheer, because they was like, oh, he's going to the next song. They're so gracious. And then I'm like struggling to figure out why this song's not playing. And then I ended up having to go back and just play more of Michael McDonald,

because I couldn't figure out how to get to it. And I was like, well, okay, I'll just move on. And then, and that was in the latter half of the set. And then the next, like, so, I just move on. And then, and that was in the latter half of the set. And then the next, like, so by the time we got to the ending, like I had, the other thing was things got squirrely because I had so much music, but I had, I had like an hour of music I wanted to play

and I had 15 minutes to play it. So I had to start making choices of what I was skipping and what I was playing. Because there's a noise ordinance that we had to abide by. Well, yeah, at a certain point, you just gotta wrap it up. It was, I mean, it was after midnight. And so I'm making all these choices on the fly

and then trying to figure out how I'm gonna transition from song to song. Between songs, I've never, it's never, I've never, I'm literally doing everything in the moment. And that's what got the best of me, that when like these fundamental mistakes, like, oh, this slider's over here, so this song is never, they're never gonna hear this song.

So the set kind of started to fall apart a little bit by the end. But, and then at the very end, I did get the microphone and I gave a speech and I was like, you know what? All good things must come to an end. Thanks for coming out to Mythicon. This has been amazing.

And then I pressed, I had it all queued up and I was pressing, I was gonna play the last song, Roll Out, so that everybody could leave by Ludacris. Wouldn't play. Yeah, I am. It would not play. Is that when you started saying, I can't get the last song to play?

Yeah, that's when I said, I would end this if I could get the last song to play? Yeah, that's when I said, I would end this if I could get the last song to play. The beautiful thing about your style is that anything could be intentional or unintentional and no one knows. Yes, except for now. Yeah, now they know. So now when people come to my sets,

they're gonna be like, oh, it must all be a mistake. But nope, I'm gonna get better, it's all gonna be intentional. And then I finally got rollout to play. And then when rollout was over, I had one more song queued up, like my walk-off song. And I pressed it, nothing happened. And I just walked off stage.

Yeah. And it was just like, I was like, this has been amazing. I'm not gonna let any of this get to me. And I was ecstatic, but there was some, in my mind, there was some huge fails. But the biggest thing about it was I was up there on stage and I was like, I was in this world of like, okay, I'm gonna get started.

I didn't have my headphones. So like right at the beginning, I'm like. Yeah, there's a lot of details. I lean over to, I lean over and like Jenna walks up and right, you walked up and Ben walked up. Well, I could see, I could tell by your body language that something was wrong. Right, I was like, I was looking down.

A DJ without his headphones. I was looking at the other DJ's headphones and his jacks were too big. Cause he's a big time DJ, he's got an eighth inch jack. I didn't wanna say how big his deck was, but his deck was- His deck was twice as big as my deck. Maybe four times.

Okay, yeah. And his jacks were twice as big as my jack. So I leaned over to Jenna and I was like, I need my headphones, they're in my computer bag in the other house, in the top. And then come to find out, Jenna sprints over there and I started the speech. So I'm doing the speech now.

And then Jenna, when you came back, you fell flat on your face. Oh I ate it, oh bad, yeah. I sprinted all the way to the house. I like, there were some crew members in there and I was like, emergency, out of the way. And I like grabbed your headphones, sprinted all the way back,

and then bound up the stairs, and I hit the last stair to the stage, and just bam! In front of everybody. In front of everybody, ate it, straight down. I did not see this. Elkhound Snuggle Baby was in his own world. About half the audience.

Because I was giving my speech. I was giving my speech, Jenna was falling on her face. Your headphones were like silver. They were just Christie's headphones from going on planes. How big were they? Oh, they were like Bo's headphones. Okay. They weren't too big. For some reason I can't picture them.

But then I'm looking around and the crew is on stage. Lily's on stage. Lincoln's on stage. My dad is on stage. They're all dancing. Christy's on stage. You know, Christy's not in the public eye. She made a choice that she was gonna be out there supporting me and it was just, it was so sweet.

It was beautiful. You were on stage. I was. David Hill was like my hype man over on the other side. David Hill has a gift. Oh my God, I can't go anywhere without that guy now. He is amazing. And like when I played New Light,

which is like me and Lilly and Lincoln's song, like they came over and I put my arms around them and we're dancing. That's also not something you typically see at a DJ set. Is it the DJ's kids come up. Come up and dance with him. But again, I was thinking that at the time, I was like, what an interesting, I was just, I've been thinking about this.

Tell me what you thought about the whole thing that you had said. Well, I was thinking the way that it was a great culmination to Mythicon in general, because I was like, what an interesting world that, you know, the two of us and our team and the Mythical Beasts have created in which this, what is happening right now is possible.

Like, your dad from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is up there like- Dancing to JID. Doing his dance. Dancing to, dancing to JID. Doing his dance. Dancing to JIG to JID. And you know, on the same stage where the night before Jessie and I had done this country music thing. Wild, man.

For the same, essentially the same group of people and then your kids are up there, Shepard's up there like, Shepard's up there. Shepherd's up there. Shepherd's trying to get a dance a little bit. It was awesome. You know, I was just like this, yeah, I was, so in terms of that, I was just like, what an incredible atmosphere

for this kind of thing to happen. And then, I mean, ultimately I was thinking, this is, I mean, I don't think anything that you did was surprising. I think that all of it was, I didn't know. None of it was expected. I've learned that. You couldn't have expected anything I did. If you had to ask me what mistakes did you make that I picked up on, I would be like,

well, obviously the end when he couldn't play that song. And maybe one other time when the songs, when it just kind of stopped and it didn't go into the next song. Right. And then I would have said that, I think for the most part, everything else was intentional,

which is again, which is why I'm saying that the style that you're embracing is kind of like, you can't really go wrong. That's right, baby. As long as something comes out. It was amazing. I had such a good time.

I'm not saying I did amazing. I'm saying it was an amazing experience. Like it was just like, just putting it out there and just the exuberance of the crowd. There wasn't enough room for me. Everybody was facing the stage and watching me and watching all of us on stage dance and kind of dancing in place.

But it was kind of like watching a concert, but it was just a DJ, you know? Which was cool. Yeah, which I've never, I guess that's what happens when people go to like DJ concerts, like that you're there for the DJ. Yeah, I guess so, I've never been there either. I'm not sure that's what happened.

That's the other thing is that like, I've never been to a club, like dancing. And here I am trying to be a DJ. I might need to start going to clubs, see what they do. But it's a different thing, like that's not the type of music I play. I think I'm more to be a DJ. I might need to start going to clubs, see what they do. But it's a different thing. Like that's not the type of music I play. I think I'm more of a barbecue DJ, honestly. Oh, wrong.

But I can, okay, you want me to sell it short? I guess what I'm thinking is that regardless of what you, because I know you want to talk about your other experience. I have to tell you about the other one. The next thing you did, but I know you wanna talk about your other experience. I have to tell you about the other one. The next thing you did, but, for better or for worse,

anything that we do for the rest of our lives, including your DJing, the majority of people who are gonna be there to see it, if they heard about it happening and they're showing up to see it, they're gonna be coming to it because of everything else that you have done up to that point, right? I mean, let's just face it, same goes for me and my music.

It's not like all of a sudden, regardless of how well either one of these endeavors would go, it's not like, unless you go to a festival where everybody's there for a bunch of other reasons. If people are like, Elkhound Snuggle Baby is doing a show tonight. The majority of people are gonna be there. I like Link.

I like Link and I also like to dance. That's the Venn diagram. And so I'm gonna be there. And so I think that ultimately that's a beautiful thing. And to me what that means is, is that with the exception of things like, hey, I'll DJ your party, people who I don't know. But if you're like, hey, I'm gonna just do this show,

virtually every time you step onto the stage, it's going to be people who are showing up because they want to see you DJ in the way that you DJ at whatever point in the process you're at. So it's like, okay, year two Snuggle Baby. I'm not stopping. Year two L Count Snuggle Baby is going to be 12 months more proficient at DJing than year one.

But the people, and that's gonna change the experience, but the people are there because they're just like, I just wanna be there to see year two of No Account Snuggle Baby, and vice versa. Allow me to illustrate how wrong you are. Well, they were so hyped, the crowd was, they were asking us. Oh, I'm not telling my dare. I'm talking about, I flew home on Sunday,

and then the next day, Monday was Halloween. And I had agreed to DJ Lando's friends Halloween party. But that's consistent with what I'm saying. Hold on. That's a different thing. Let me tell you about it. It was the most different thing. So it was Lando's 12 year old, like, you know, group of sixth grader friends,

and then their parents, which were all friends because of football. And then the house that it was at, Lando's friend has a younger sister. So all of her friends were there and some of those parents. So it was like- How big of a crowd? Two group, probably 50 people.

But then like how many middle schoolers there were? Probably 15. And they're all in costumes. Yeah, they're all in costumes because I'm gonna, there was like in the backyard, they had like one little speaker set up and then, but it was actually pretty loud, and a dance floor set up. Okay, got it.

And then a little fog machine thing, like Brian, the dad, who's a friend of mine, he like set all this stuff up, it was pretty cool. And then, so like they were gonna play music, I was gonna DJ a little bit, and then they were gonna trick or treat, and then they come back and I was gonna DJ some more. And the dads go trick or treating with the kids

while the moms hang out at the party. And I was like, yes, I'm gonna DJ this. I need to get some more experience. I bring my deck, I set everything up an hour ahead of time, I come back and then everybody starts showing up and I start playing. Well, hold on, are you in? In Elkhound garb? Yeah.

No, I was not planning on it, but I couldn't have anyway because it was on the truck coming back from Mythicon. Okay. So I wore my camo outfit that I actually had worn the day before, no, I had worn it two days before at the Mythicon brunch, like my camo outfit. But you're still Elkhound Snuggle Baby at this point. I still am. You're just Link Ne-Yo. No, no camo outfit. But you're still Elkhound Snuggle Baby at this point.

I still am. This isn't just Link Ne-Yo. No, no, no. Yeah, I was still Elkhound Snuggle Baby, but I just wasn't in my garb. Okay. Because I didn't have it. Right, right, right.

People did ask me who I was dressed up as, and I was like, I wore this two days ago. I said, okay, I'm a camouflaged giraffe if you want me to be. Because if you had your costume on, people would just think you had on a costume. Yep. That's an interesting thing

about going to a Halloween party. Which would have been cool, but I didn't have it. Okay. I decided I was going to play the music and I was going to dance and I was gonna like act like I was fully committed to it. Even if there wasn't any kids on the dance floor, and there weren't.

But then- Yeah, middle school, man. Middle school. Middle school in front of their parents. In front of their parents, it was like, the potentially most, it could have been very humiliating. And I tested that theory. Because they're up there,

I finally get them on the dance floor and they were, you know, they were, I didn't play my speech. How'd you get them on the dance floor? Waving? Directing them in? What was I playing? I think I played some Harry Styles, you know?

You play a little bit of late night talking, get them out there. And then I had a stack of Post-it notes and I said, hey guys, if you have any requests, write them down. And they got excited. So they started writing down stuff and then I'm looking at the Post-it notes and then it was like, baby shark.

I'm like, are you freaking kidding me? I could have told you that was gonna happen. I mean like, are you freaking kidding me? I could have told you that was gonna happen. I mean like Dancing Queen. I'm like, oh, okay. Yeah, man, you gave the control to a bunch of middle schoolers. Well, I didn't give them control. I said, I'm not playing any of the requests.

Yeah, you denied it all. And this one girl, and this is the younger girls, came up to me and she just kept saying, I told you to play Sexy and I Know It. When are you gonna play Sexy and I Know It? And I was like, I'll play it next. This is like, and then I played Sexy and I Know It and they loved it.

And then they were moving. And then I was like, okay, I gotta play by their rules. And I put on Dancing Queen and they were just, I don't know what it is about Dancing Queen, but they went nuts. They went middle school, they're going nuts over that. And I was like, yes, I have them. This was like my third or fourth song in a row

that I kept them on the dance floor. Baby Shark. And then I ain't doing no Baby Shark. And then all of a sudden they're like- Draw the lines over. They're all of a sudden they're like, they're like, draw the line somewhere. They're like having the time of their lives, singing along and then, and I'm just standing back there, just like saying, hey, this is working.

Yeah, I'm taking requests. I'm a little embarrassed, but it's working. And then all of a sudden the music stops. Like, and I looked down and like, my USB had been tweaked and it had come disconnected and there was no, because, you know, and then it had to reboot. So like, all these kids just like, turn and they're like, aww, I was aww'd by 17 middle schoolers.

And I was just like, all I could do was like, make a face and go, I, it wasn't me, something happened to my computer. Your computer died. And then, no, the USB came disconnected, so my deck disconnected, and then when you reconnect it, it has to, you have to restart the program. Oh. I mean, this is like a, you know, they were gone.

It was like they disappeared from the dance floor. You lost them. I lost them, I literally lost them. I couldn't even see them. Oh my God. We're the middle schoolers that I'm trying my best to please. What mode does Elkhound Snuggle Baby go into when that happens? There needs to be a third mode.

Defeated mode. I mean. Panic mode. Crap. Elkhound Snuggle Baby enters panic mode. No, no, no. I got this. Get Jenna to say that.

I was fully prepared. I'm questioning my entire life right now. Okay, yeah. You know? I was definitely prepared for that. And I made up my mind, I'm like, this could be soul crushingly humiliating. This could be the end of-

And I'm not gonna let that happen. We went trick or treating, had a good time, came back. I was like, I'm gonna redeem myself, I'm gonna play some music, got them back on the dance floor. And then like, they were running off other people. And then the parents, some of which are like good friends of mine got on the dance floor and they were like, all right, DJ, let's have this.

And then I was like, they put me on the spot and I'm like, well, I gotta play something. Now I gotta figure out how to make my friends dance. And I played a song and they didn't like it. Oh. These are my friends. They weren't even humoring me. And then I played another song and they didn't like it.

And then I like, I was like, all right, I just, I have to pander. I gotta play like Party in the USA. I just gotta go there. Well, you know, that was one of the- Such a huge song. One of the observations that I made, because I've never ever-

I like the song. I've never thought about a DJ before until you did it. Like, other than like, are they playing- God, it's hard. But one of the things that I was able to observe, even in a really supportive crowd, like all the Mythical Beasts, is that if you could put two songs, you know,

you could show me two songs, and BPM is the same, perceived like energy is the same. Yes. And I would be like, yeah, both of these are like crowd hype inducing songs. And then it turns out that for whatever intangible reason that is very difficult to anticipate, no, only one of them is what the crowd is gonna like. Right. And that to me

is what something clicked, that's when something clicked for me is like, oh, that's really the job of a DJ. They can't, you know, people- Is knowing what's gonna happen. Yeah, and they're not gonna, they don't wanna fake it, you know? Even my friends didn't wanna fake it

and they were just like, come on, play some, and I finally got them with that. And then I, so I played a couple of songs and I was like building momentum and everybody was having fun. And then all of a sudden, the same thing happened again. Foof, everything just died. Oh God, Link.

And a woman our age, or like she's in her thirties, that I did not know. Oh no. Like she, you know, she had an emotional reaction to the fact that when they were finally getting into it. Oh gosh, I'm getting, oh, my face is getting red. This woman that I did not know, like when the music just dies, just whips around

and looks at me and is like, dude, God, what, come on! She's like, and I'm like, I mean, it's like, it's one thing for like some middle school but like, and you know what? I forgive her. I lured her into a trance of enjoyment that then I snatched her out of it and all she could do was just emote.

At who? The DJ that she didn't know. For all she knew, it was the guy that was paid to be there and wear full camo. You certainly look like it. I didn't fit in with any of my many adults there. You know, so it's like, that hurt, man. Hold on, so what happened that time?

I said, I'm sorry, it's my computer. What happened? The USB disconnected. But how does that happen? Because I had to raise up my laptop by putting it on top of the suitcase that I brought my deck in and the suitcase was empty and it was a plastic shell suitcase and it sagged in such that when the laptop sagged in,

it disconnected the USB adapter to my deck. So it unplugged it. And it just slowly happens whenever like, if you bump the table or something. Doesn't like Questlove have like a branded like lock that you can put on your, the cable? Doesn't any DJ worth his salt have a setup where that doesn't happen?

I'm buying one today. Yeah. This ain't gonna happen again. Why didn't you buy one that night? Dude, I'm gonna tell you. I went from the best DJ experience that any DJ could ever have to one of the most humiliating.

Like, I mean, I might as well have been naked. How did you recover from that one? I didn't. Party over at that point? Well, I said, I apologize profusely, and then I was like, I had also hooked up my phone to the Bluetooth on speaker, and I just started playing music on my phone

and I shut my laptop. Oh gosh. I shut my laptop and I just started playing music from my phone. And I was so disappointed. Like I was just so, I wasn't mad. I wasn't, you know, I was just disappointed, you know? I wanted to be playing-

What was Christy saying at this point? Where was she? She was like, just play some stuff on your phone. And then like, when I started playing stuff on my phone, they kept dancing and it was okay. And then I tried to skip to the next song. They said, why did you skip that song? It's like, the people were not letting up.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They were like. You're also in Los Angeles. Like one of the things that I've learned multiple times is that so many people, whether they work in the entertainment industry or they are so close to the entertainment industry, that's why most acts don't like to perform in LA because it's the judgiest, even if they're your friends,

it's the judgiest crowd in the world because this is like the center of entertainment and so the standards and the way they look at everything, that puts you in a really tough position. I, yeah, I just, I mean, I literally, I had to shut down my system. I just, it failed. It literally failed.

And then I'm just a dude playing songs from his phone. But that did salvage it. I mean, I literally almost killed the party like those two times. And then there were two other times when I just bumped the USB and it just stopped for like a second. There's another way to see this that may be encouraging. I have another way.

I mean, I have some conclusions, but go ahead. Is that what you got was in this second party situation is you were tangibly appreciating the power that you hold as a DJ. Yeah, it was more power than I could wield. And it's this thing that- It's like a toddler wielding like a heavy steel sword. I think, you know, this is chapter two of your memoir.

You know, chapter one is your debut and it's wonderful. And right as soon as you get out of the gate, you- Fall flat on my face, just like Jenna. You run right off the track. With my headphones. But you're learning, but you're- It was tough, man. But one of the lessons is the potential, the power that you have, and it's just with great power

comes great responsibility, man. Like, you're a DJ now, there's no looking back. There's no looking back. I mean, Elkhound Snuggle Baby cannot be put back in the womb. No, he can't. And you know what? That's exactly, I was extremely disappointed

because I had things I wanted to do and I couldn't do them. But I apologized to the host and he didn't care at all. Like nobody really cared. Like after that moment. What about that woman? Even the woman, later I talked to her and she pieced it together that I was just another dad at the party who was not being paid

and she was like, you know, it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't, I played music from my phone for another hour just like I normally do at get togethers and it really was fine. I was just, you know, I did have a hard time that night and Christy helped me out. But you know what? I'm grateful for both experiences

and I'm grateful for them being so close together. Cause now it's kind of like, they kind of blended in a good way that's like, I can, I've had my highs, I've had my lows, you know? And now I'm just, I'm gonna pay my dues and I'm gonna work my way back up to the top, baby. Yeah, you're like three years old in DJ years. I am so grateful for both experiences.

I mean, the second one was just so, it was just such a learning experience. If I was a more diligent researcher and planner and stuff like that, and then I probably could have sidestepped some of it, but sometimes you just can't. You can't replace a good life lesson, you know? And I am really excited.

I mean, it's invigorating to put yourself out there and do something, especially when you have people who can celebrate it. And then, but even the other part, it's like putting yourself out there and saying, I'm learning something new. I am really into it. It's a really fun hobby that can,

you know, that taps into a lot of my passions and I can connect with people. And it's something that I can get better at, you know? And I can have this, I can just have another lane of creativity and growth that is, it's a different lane from what we do. And you know, I'm now experiencing through that, a lot of what we talked about that you also experienced

with James and the shame, and it's just, it is invigorating. And like the good, mad and the ugly of it, you know, and being able to express myself and say, the strange, very linkage ideas I have, I can just do it. Like, I don't, you know, I don't have to, I can be fully myself and there is a part of that that like, if we were doing this together,

wouldn't it, there would be some push and pull, right? Cause it's like- If a double DJ? Yeah, if we were doing double DJ. That's a little weird. Now I will say, I think I need to talk to Ben about being part of my Elkhound Snuggle Baby costume. Like I'm thinking about like, we talked about this, like putting him in a baby Bjorn in front of me

with like baby antlers. Yeah. And so then I can just like fist bump for the crowd and then he works the deck sometimes. Or whenever I can't figure out how to play the next song, why is it not playing? He just sticks his head and arms out of my kangaroo pouch and he does it for me and he goes back in.

I don't wanna do that. Nope. I don't think Ben could do that. Yeah, I'm gonna ask Ben if he wants to do that. Speaking of that, that is one thing that, in the bit that I watched Diplo last night, one of the things that you did that he wants to do that. Speaking of that, that is one thing that, in the bit that I watched Diplo last night, one of the things that you did that he didn't do is a lot of the fist pumping. I was dancing a lot.

Yeah, yeah, you're very active, it's very active DJing. Except for the times when I was totally bum-fuzzled. Like, you gave me notes at the Mythical Party about the look on my face. What did you think about my, the way that I held myself as a DJ on stage? I think you, yeah, I don't think you ever looked

like you were lost, even if you were, now that I know that you were at certain points. Yeah. But there were a couple of times when I can kind of see that there's this like, Link has a look on his face right now that is hiding something that's going on underneath. I didn't know it was that, oh, you were pressing a button

and something else was happening. I think it was more like you were like questioning your entire life right now. Yeah. But no, yeah, huge improvement from the Mythical Party. You know, the glasses help. Yeah, they do. You know, it's my wreck, I'm gonna leave you with a wreck.

Thank you for the love that you gave to Elkhound Snuggle Baby. Thank you for spelling it with the parentheses. Thank you for being here for it, even if you weren't there for it. And you know, there's gonna be more. There's gonna be more from Elkhound Snuggle Baby. He ain't going away.

Here's my rec. I gotta give you a song, song I'm into as of late. Which one am I going with? Freddie Gibbs, Feel No Pain featuring Anderson Paak. I'm a big Anderson Paak fan. And I like the Freddie Gibbs album, Soul Sold Separately. I don't know anything about him as a person,

but as a rapper, I'm a fan. And this is, that's an, it's an unexpected song that will take you by surprise. Didn't mean to start playing anything right now. Yeah, so feel no pain. There you have it, right there. Thanks for joining us. L-Count Snuggle Baby out.

Continue the conversation with us. Hashtag Ear Biscuits. And also remember, you can always call and be a part of the conversation. 1-888-EAR-POD-1. So I'm a Starbucks barista or a Starbucks partner. And we have a Reddit thread called Starbucks Partners. And it's so funny because I was going through our hottest posts, and one of them, like one of the most popular posts on that Reddit group is Link, a barista selfie with Link saying,

if anyone sees Link, get him a grande iced latte with oat milk. And I just think it's so funny and I wanted to share it because you guys need to know especially Link that Starbucks baristas love you there you go thank you guys have a great day hi Rhett and Link this is Courtney um I love listening to your podcast especially the awkward encounters Link has in his social situation but as I was laughing at the embarrassing things he does I realized that I am inclined to do similar things. The other day, I was at the store, and this mom was unloading her cart onto the conveyor belt. She's at the register, and her four-year-old daughter was crying and begging

for her mom to buy her this gum, and I don't know what inclined me to be so helpful, but when her mom was busy unloading, I made eye contact with the little kid, and I just shook my head quietly, hoping the little kid would get the message of, you know, don't be a brat, like your mom said no. And I was trying to help out the mom while she wasn't looking, but did this stop the little kid? No. It was just really awkward as we were looking at each other,

and I shook my head and I told my husband about this and he was like, why did you do that? So I don't know what this inclination is to do these awkward things, but I can relate. Love you guys. Hey, this is Brayden from Tacoma, Washington. Just wanted to call and say that I've been watching you guys since I was in elementary school. And it's really cool how much you guys have grown. And I just really appreciate that you guys are so open. The Ear Biscuits podcast is by far my favorite podcast. It's funny that you guys always touch on stuff that I'm going through

or dissecting in my own life around the time that I'm doing that. So it's like, I don't know, man, it feels special. I know it's not for me. It's for everyone, but it feels very, uh,

very targeted. Um, so you guys are doing a great job. Just want to say thank you again, Rhett and Link and all the team over at, uh, Good Mythical. Just keep it up.