Ear Biscuits with Rhett & Link - Our Most Memorable Live Music Moments & Concert Etiquette | Ear Biscuits Ep.330

Episode Date: April 11, 2022

Should you ever stand in a concert or stay seated to not disturb the people behind you? Should you bother having conversations at a show that just result in you shouting in each other's ears? Should you tell your girlfriend you threw gum in her hair? These are just some of the concert-related debates that Rhett & Link tackle in this week's episode. They discuss their most unforgettable experiences watching music live, like a woman saying inappropriate things about John Mayer, Rhett and his dad slow dancing with some drunk middle-aged women, Link's friend getting crushed in a crowd of people, bugging Merle Haggard on his tour bus after a show, and much more. They also discuss getting used to the idea of attending concerts nowadays in the first place. Check out the Broken Record podcast here! For the month of April, Rick Rubin interviews different members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to detail their career and new album "Unlimited Love." 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. 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. Welcome to Ear Biscuits, the podcast where two lifelong friends talk about life for a long time. I'm Link. And I'm Rhett.

This week at the round table of dim lighting, we're gonna be talking about our concert experiences. Okay. This is pretty fresh. Yeah. Because one of the ways- So fresh, man. That I have been sort of experiencing the,

yeah, I know the pandemic- Unlocked out. Is not over, you know. Yeah. But in the way that it has affected us so much and keeping us from our normal social interaction, our normal social situations, the way I kind of have broken the seal on that is through concerts. Yeah, I mean of have broken the seal on that is through concerts.

Yeah, I mean, that's a big one. When you find yourself in a really large group of people and especially when, okay, now none of them are wearing masks and it's like, all right, this is a big moment. How did it, did you find yourself? What was the first concert? What was the first one you went to? Well, we went to that outdoor concert,

the Lord Huron concert. That was last year. That was last year. I think that was the- It was outdoors. Yeah. So it didn't register. And there weren't seats.

So you kind of had your own little zone. I mean, went to the John Mayer show at the Forum and then you went the next night. He was there three nights. I went the third night. You went the third night. I don't know if I went to any, no, I went to the A Dead & Company show, which was also outdoors. Outdoors.

So yeah, Britain took me to one of those. But before that, I think before the John Mayer concert, we went to a Clippers basketball game. I think the Clippers game- You call them basketball games a concert now? No, I'm just saying- It's like a sport concerto. Well, there was like a performance of the national anthem,

but I'm saying that for me was the first, I'm in an enclosed space with a lot of people. And that was basically, that was right after LA lifted the indoor mask mandate. And so, and pretty much, I would say 95% of people were like, thank God I'm not wearing my mask inside. There were still a few people,

but most people were like, let's just get on with this. I was definitely on team, let's just get on with this. I'm not wearing my mask inside this place. I'm happy to be in here with all these, seeing all these smiling faces. Right. I mean, we watched the national championship and I was talking to Christy about it.

And she was, I was like, look at all those people and nobody's wearing masks. And then they cut to a shot of Roy Williams. It was like, damn, Roy Williams is the only one wearing a mask in the whole place. No, Roy Williams has been wearing that same mask, that very like decorative like Caroline, it's like, you know, he's been wearing it the whole time.

Well, you know what, okay, good for him. I was like, yeah, okay. But yeah, concerts have definitely been a symbolic threshold that I've crossed to say, I'm getting back into things, like it's social on a whole new level. And so going back to concerts,

I've found myself having a new perspective on a concert experience, something that I did not appreciate before the pandemic. So it's, yeah, cause you, I mean, I'm so into music, but I've never really been a concert person. Like I would, when it comes to listening to music, I don't like listening to concert albums.

Like I've never gotten that. Live albums did not do it for me. I like the studio process. I like the refining and the perfectionism, even when it's like intentionally, even if it recorded live and it's, that's kind of the approach that they took in whatever album it is.

Okay, this is a band. You can tell that they're doing this live. It's still presented, you know, it's still groomed and manicured and it's not that intended. And there's people who will say, you don't really get so-and-so artists until you see them live. And I've just never been one of those people,

even though we can talk about all the concert experiences we have, I do feel like I'm turning over a new leaf in terms of really appreciating the communal experience of being at a concert. Everybody's there for the same reason, or there might be a couple of reasons people are there, but they're all positive, They're all celebratory.

And at least- Unless somebody lost a bet. Yeah. There may be some people who are there because they lost a bet. That would suck. I've never gone to a concert. In any given concert, there's probably one person there who lost a bet.

And there's definitely people who are like, I'm only here because my friend didn't want to come by themselves, but I don't even know who this artist is, kind of a thing. Yeah. But by and large, you've got this group of people that are into this artist, and with the type of artists that we are both into, it's a very, it's not like an angsty experience.

No, in fact, I was noticing, so in the course of two weeks, I went to the John Mayer show at the Forum and then the Bahamas show, which it was at a, I can't remember the theater. It's a cool theater in downtown, but much smaller venue. Yeah.

And I was just noticing, this is essentially the same crowd because- Well, even that shirt, you're wearing the Bahamas shirt and it's like got that 80s- Yeah, he's kind of doing like the John Mayer, Sawbrock kind of vibe. He does, it's much got that 80s. Yeah, he's kind of doing like the John Mayer, Sawbrock kind of vibe. He does, it's much more funk focused, but it's still sort of like middle-aged white dude

with electric guitar, like playing and kind of being in the groove. I would call it more groovy than funk, but. Yeah, yeah. So, but one of the things that I noticed, because I like to sit down at concerts. Let me just, and I'll get into that for a couple of reasons,

but I was just noticing that even at the most intense moments of a John Mayer concert and the most intense moments of a Bahamas concert, it's still a bunch of people kind of going like this. Just kind of nodding their head. Just moving their head. Just a little bob. There might be some person who's like really,

there was a guy right next to us in the balcony at the Bahamas concert. So we got into the balcony so we could sit down at like a table. I was literally sitting at a table and I was like, this is how I want all concerts to be, me at a table with my family and a waitress. Oh, you had a waitress?

Coming up and asking what you want to eat and drink. I like that speed, man, especially for that kind of show where it's like- We did that at the Kacey Musgraves show too, at the Greek, there's a little section where you can sit at a table and somebody will come and get your food orders. Yeah, you may know the Greek,

get me to the Greek. I'm so middle-aged, man. I haven't seen that movie, but it's a great venue right there in Los Feliz. Like just a few blocks from where we first lived in LA. Some of my favorite concerts. Outdoor amphitheater. I've seen there. That's a great spot.

It's a perfect venue. You know, at this point, I'm such on this concert wave that I'm like, maybe I'll buy like whatever the season pass to the Greek is. There's a lot of good people. I think this is a good idea because I've noticed it's a great night out.

It's for our family, we love to go and I think this is true for you. We'd love to go as a family because we tend to all like the same music. Like Locke went to John Mayer all three nights with different sets of people. And then last night happened to be me and Shepherd, right? And then all four of us went to Bahamas.

He went to the Dead and Company. Twice. At least twice, maybe three times. Cause that was last Halloween. And this is what he does. He goes with a different group of friends or a person each time he goes. And a lot of times he's drawing somebody in like,

kids, 18 year old kids don't like John Mayer, you know what I'm saying? Some do, but yeah, so he's like bringing his friends to John Mayer and they're like, I've never really even listened to anything that this guy does, this is old man music. And then they're like, but hey, it's pretty good. Cause when you see somebody in concert and you're like, well, I didn't know I could play the guitar like that.

Like that's pretty impressive. And it's so different. Oh, so you're doing the thing. Once you, you got to see him live to really get it. Well, I think one of the things, and we talked about this in a previous episode about the resurgence of the garage band. That's what we called it, right?

No, we talked about it in a carpool. Okay. On the Mythical Society. You gotta be a member of the society to hear those conversations. A car biscuits, we call it. It's like a 20 minute version of Ear Biscuits in a car. Yeah, so our prediction about the resurgence-

Every month. The resurgence of garage bands, almost as a rebellion to the idea of someone just kind of standing on a stage with a track going, which can be incredible and I respect and I am into on some level, but I don't go to those kinds of concerts. I don't go to hip hop concerts typically. And you do.

I went to, well, first of all, yeah, we as a family, all five of us, cause Lily came home early, came back from college early. She started her spring break a week early with so many classes still being online. She was able to justify coming home a week earlier. And it just so happens she comes to John Mayer's show. So like as a family, we were all into that.

So it is cool for, I agree, for us to go as a family and we had a great time, but I went with Lincoln and three of his friends to the Trippie Redd show. Different vibe. Yeah, it was at the YouTube theater, which is like attached to the SoFi Stadium, which is in the same parking lot as the Forum. So it's like all in the same place.

So this was like a smaller, a medium sized indoor venue. And yeah, we were wearing masks at that point and it felt a little weird, but that was, I'd never been to a hip hop show. And that was, I mean, the opening acts were kind of a joke, just people jumping around and not singing their own lyrics. Right. While the backing track just kind of,

and other people on stage kind of helped them out. Yeah. But I mean, Trippie Redd definitely commanded the stage and it was just him. I mean, there was no DJ on definitely commanded the stage and it was just him. I mean, there was no DJ on stage, there was nothing else, just a bunch of fog and like a constant drone of an 808 that like in between every single song.

And just keeps going? It would, this, the DJ who was like in the wings would just hit this this like low drone that shook all of your organs until the next song started. And so sometimes Trippie Redd would like walk around stage or like take his shoes off. He would just be like doing nothing on stage

and people were going nuts. And it was just as like, like a cut one note, just like a constant, it was like an earthquake. Yeah, that kind of like penetrates your soul. Yeah, so there was never a point where my ears got a rest and I'm like, should I have brought earplugs? Possibly.

They make those ones that you can wear, that you can still talk to people. I have a pair. I've never worn them to a concert because the concerts I go to, they're not needed. Oh yeah. You put them in. That's a good, I should have brought those.

Christy has some. Christy has the same friend. Because of her concussion. It like brings everything down to an acceptable decibel level, but yet you can have a conversation with the person next to you, it's magic. Here's the hot tip that I can't remember who told us this,

but if you don't take anything else from this episode of Ear Biscuits, you can remember this. If you're in like a super loud space, if you're in front of a speaker at a concert and you wanna talk to the person beside you and they're like yelling at the top of their lungs in your face, like getting that spit all over your face and in your ear.

Or getting right in your ear and yelling in your ear. Getting right in your ear and yelling. That's what most people do. Which can really damage your hearing even more. All you gotta do, I wish I knew who told us this trick. You just take your finger, don't put it in your ear. Take that little flap, that little flap on the front side of your ear hole

and push that in there and then just lean in and someone, and then you can tell the person, hey, talk to me at a normal volume. You don't have to yell. They have to get close to your ear. You gotta get close to the ear like you're whispering, just talking a normal volume. And it's like, it's like a miracle.

Yeah, it's somehow cut through the frequencies or something. I don't know how it works, but you have to get everyone in your group to agree to this. In fact, I suggest a training session before everybody goes into a concert. It's like, we're going into a very loud place. Dad mode activated. And this is how we're all going to,

we're gonna speak to each other as if we're hearing something in an earpiece. Cause if you don't tell them and they start yelling in your ear and you cover your ear, it's like, well, first of all, they do get the hint, oh, he doesn't want me to yell in his ear, but also maybe he doesn't wanna hear me cause he's stopping up his ear.

Right, yeah, you gotta preempt. This actually helps me hear you. Put this over, put your finger over your ear and speak in a normal voice. Okay. There's a couple of things that I've developed that I've realized that now that I'm going to concerts as an adult, there's a few things that have kind of changed

and things that I'm embracing in my middle age, but we'll talk about that in a second. And some things I wanna go back and talk about, like I've written down some concert memories. Yeah. And a lot of them we were both there for. So I'll see if you can remember some of these things. There's some pivotal experiences that we had at concerts.

Oh yeah. And it sounds like we're about to be concert daddies. Emphasis on the daddy. Hey, just see us at the Greek, you know? Or be there with our finger in our ear. Just the dad. Wherever you're going, you better believe American

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but I have become a buy the t-shirt guy. And wear it, look at you, you're wearing it. And you know, I'm wearing it as a visual aid. This is obviously the Bahamas concert one. What did you realize? Because I've had some thoughts about this too. Well, two things. What happened? Two things, kids, right?

Okay. So kids happen a while back, but you wanna, you know, you're the dad and you wanna get your kids something to remember the concert by. Yeah. This is gonna sound weird to you, but one of the things that has actually changed for me is the way that I am viewing T-shirts in general

on two levels. Stay with me here. Okay. One is very recently, but also very rapidly, my relationship with T-shirt fit has changed. And it's really just a response to the changing styles. Meaning that if you go back, if you go back like eight, nine years

and you look at Good Mythical Morning and you look at some of the stuff we shot, like our t-shirts were so fricking tight. I mean, you had some that were so tight that they were painted on and I was right behind you. Not quite as tight, but like we were wearing some tight t-shirts, right? Yeah, it made me feel secure.

I was wearing a medium as a short sleeve medium and you were wearing a short sleeve small. Yes. And then we transitioned to you were wearing a medium and I was wearing a large. Like if we were wearing our own merch, I was wearing a large. And then in the past few months,

I've just like quickly gone back to an XL, which is, it's really a response to the styles changing, right? So the effect that that had on me being able to buy a t-shirt at a venue is like, I can just pick the XL and it's gonna be a little bit bigger but like when you're wearing a shirt that has the fit tightly.

Yeah, yeah, there's no forgiveness. The fit has to work really well and it has to be long enough for me. But I'm just like, I'm gonna get the XL so I just walk up and I pick the design I want and I'm just say XL and I just walk out with it. You always wanted to get a shirt but you never felt eligible.

I don't like T-shirts. Like I don't like going to a site on the internet and picking T-shirts that have designs that I like. It's, I don't know why, it's kind of stressful. And I just, I don't wear that kind of t-shirt very often, but I like buying t-shirts that are connected to things that have happened. Yeah.

So like if Locke and I are on a road trip and we stop at a restaurant, they have a t-shirt, I'm gonna get that t-shirt because it's like a memory from that place, right? And obviously concerts are the perfect opportunity for this. It's a good souvenir. So I've changed my whole relationship with them. So now if we go to a concert,

even if I'm just going to concert with Jessie, I'm probably gonna get a t-shirt. XL, the one in the corner, XL. And if you see somebody on the street who went to the show and they see your shirt, they pretty much know that you were at the show because they'll sell, they don't usually sell that merch online.

You can only get it at the show. So it's this insider type thing that, yeah, I've also got to get to. You gotta have the tour exclusive stuff. Yeah. I'm feeling that. So that's a big change in my life is, A, buying t-shirts with stuff. Yeah. I'm feeling that. So that's a big change in my life is A, buying t-shirts with stuff on them.

I mean, I'm embracing that. But the- And B, buying concert t-shirts. The thing about buying tickets is that they're still really expensive. I mean, especially if you're taking your whole family, that's the thing that I'm still getting over. And then realizing where, like like there's all the, like getting used to the mad rush of getting a good ticket

when they first, you know, are released. Making sure you can like master the art of securing a ticket in the right spot. Cause I like more of a balcony where I can, well, I've never been down on the floor. Like, I don't think I'm ready for that. Now I know for you and your tallness and stuff there's, but for me, I'm just,

I like to have the option to sit down and I don't wanna be forced to stand the whole time. I mean, if it's a smaller venue and there's like, there's no seats down there in like the pit, it's like, that makes me, I don't know, that's a bit, that's a lot to be down there in that. I'm not to that point yet. I think I would- I'm more of a lay back

and enjoy it. I think I would be okay with standing, but from a very, like I'm saying, all of my adult life and definitely since high school, any type of crowd, it doesn't matter what's happening, but concerts apply. They fall under the umbrella of a crowd and people watching something. Being 6'7", every single decision that you make

about placement and posture is filtered through being that big of a person. And now being that big of a person with this much hair as well. Oh wow, they can't even look over your shoulder. So I am so conscious about this and it actually can ruin an experience for me if I get a bad seat and I'm in a place where,

oh, everybody's standing up now, I've gotta stand up. So what happened, obviously, what I'm saying is that if I stand up, whoever's behind me, I'm usually two rows behind me and like three people wide, they can't see anything. And I don't like being that guy, right? So at the John Mayer concert at the Forum, of course, there's the standing room down on the floor.

And then there's- Actually, they were seats. But they all stood up the whole time. But they all stood up the whole time. But then there's the balcony and we were on the second row. I wanted to get first row, but we got, it was a last minute decision.

So we got second row and I was like, dang it. Cause if you got first row, you could stay seated the whole time. Stay seated the whole time, regardless of what happens. Right. So we get there and then John comes out. Immediately two girls in front of us

stand up and so I hear the woman behind me, he was very vocal, said a lot of funny things about John Mayer and how sexy he was and what was happening to her body every time he picked up a new guitar. Oh really? Yeah, she'd be like, John Mayer, fuck me. Really?

Yeah, stuff like that, not asking him to do that, just like, oh John Mayer, you are so sexy. Like, it was- He's saying that stuff? And she was with a dude. Just like- Like her husband. Just like verbally processing her sexual frustration. She's like, oh no, now you've got the green guitar.

Oh, fuck John Mayer. Yeah, she was really into John Mayer. When he picked up that Dobro-like thing, that was, she lost it. She lost it? Yeah, she, oh, he's so fucking sexy, John Mayer. When he picked up that Dobro-like thing, that was, she lost it. She lost it? Yeah, she, oh, he's so fucking sexy, John Mayer. Yeah. Or water broke.

Well, some things happen. So, but she says, this is the first thing I heard out of her mouth the whole night, she says, "'Oh no, we're not standing up.'" That's what, as soon as these girls, because this is a bunch of middle-aged people and there's some like 20-year-old girls, stand up, oh no, we're not standing, oh not standing up.

Give me a break. How can you be that into somebody but then not want to stand up for them? Well, because the reverberation of the stand. I was on team, I wasn't gonna stand up. I didn't stand up. So, okay, I was that guy, but I made my son do it. We definitely stood up.

Well, here's what I said. We were a little further back than you. Nope, they were the only people that stood up and then there was a resistance to standing up. Oh. And then I leaned over to Locke and I said, Locke, tap on that girl's shoulder and ask her if you can sit down. Really? Yeah.

I was like, I'm just gonna try it. You're gonna get him to try it. I'm gonna get him to try it, yeah. Because like an 18 year old kid asking is different than a dad asking, right? And so, and he was fine with it because he was feeling the vibes and what people were saying behind us.

And he taps on her shoulder, she turns around and I guess I couldn't hear what he said, but she like looks at him and shakes her head and she keeps standing up. And I said, what did she say? She said, no. I was like, okay, all right. I'm on team keep standing.

Okay, so let me tell you what I did the whole concert. That's tough though. It is tough. They stayed standing, I stayed seated the entire concert until the last song. Yeah, cause you're different. Because I was like, and so I kind of like- You're so much taller.

Shepard got a little bit shafted because he was more blocked by them. And so Shepard and Lott would stand up quite a bit. They stood up the whole time. And then Shepard and Lott would stand up when everybody else stood up and I would never stand up because I'm almost standing up anyway, right? When I'm seated.

And then I would kind of lean around these girls and kind of, I could see half of the band, one whole half of the stage didn't see it the whole night until the end. Oh no. And then I could see the screens. The screens are great in the forum. Well, I guess-

But I can't do it. Maybe I'll backtrack a little bit. Because I don't want to do what that girl was doing to me to 15 people behind me. They bought a premium seat for sitting down. Right, switch seats with me for God's sake. I'll sit on the front row and sit down. It's no different to you.

Yeah, I don't know why. I mean, I know why they were standing because they're really into it and that's how they get into it. It's like saying, I guess in their minds, it's like going to a party and saying, don't dance at this party or don't listen to this music or don't have a good time.

If you're going to a John Mayer concert and you wanna stand, get the floor seats. That's all I'm saying. Well, I mean, they're expensive, but I think that getting the seat that needs to be, is for people who wanna sit. I think that's the complicating factor. I'm sensitive to the fact that people want to stand up

and enjoy a concert and kind of dance and whatever. But, you know, I guess my choices as a six, seven person become the back row of the top, which I'm not gonna do because I'm not gonna sit there, or the back row of the bottom. And it's like, that's- Did Jessie stand up? Because she's short, or-

She wasn't at John Mayer. It was just me and the boys. Okay. But did Shepherd stand up so that he could see? Yeah. Yeah. And Locke stood up. But he still blocked a little bit. And then the woman, the vocal woman behind you,

did she stand up? Very reluctantly a couple of times she'd be like, oh no, we're standing up. That's what she would say. The same woman that was just losing her shit at John Mayer's sexiness. That doesn't add up to me. I was like, oh no.

Unless there's some sort of condition or like reason that she can't stay standing. No, I think it's just because it's just like, hey, I'm enjoying this and I'm here and I'm in the moment. I don't have to stand up to it. You know what, I used to be that way. And now I'm like, you know what? Stand up, get your body moving, like really engage in it.

Like I was dancing, man. I was moving all over the place. I know your type. I'd see like one out of- I was loving it, man. I was moving all over the place. I know your type. I'd see like one out of- I was loving it, man. One out of like 40 people at a concert is your type. It's like that guy is either on drugs or just a certain type of personality.

I wasn't like moving like I was in another drug universe or something. No, the guy next to me at the Bahamas concert- I've seen that. Literally, he and his partner. Another dimension. They had a table with the waitress and everything. I was like, there's no need to stand up, brother.

But he was just, I mean, he was like, it was like, you might, you feel like you might get hit by him if you were close to him. Like, I was glad that I was like two seats away from him. It was like he was trying to shed his own skin, like a snake. Yeah, and I was just like, man, like, you're also with me here and you're making it a lot about you

and I'm trying to focus on this and it's like somebody is directing traffic in an alternate universe right next to me. Well, I mean, Dead & Company, you see it all. I mean, it's multi-generational, which is interesting. So is John Mayer, multi-generational, which is interesting. So is John Mayer, multi-generational, but like it's also multi like substance. Like, man, it's crazy.

Those people have a great excuse. Yeah, but I just don't, I mean, it is fun to like give yourself over to like, you know, dancing, but you are an exception because you know that you, but you are an exception because you know that you're inconveniencing people, you're blocking so many people. There are-

So you have to get that front row seat, man. If I go to a concert and everyone is standing, or if I'm like in a lawn situation- Do you hunch? No, where people are standing. I just, I'll, I just stand up and I'm like, some people are gonna deal with this and it'll be fine. People know it's not your fault you're that tall.

But I did see on like the Reddit forums, cause I was looking at what people were saying about the John Mayer show afterwards. You know, the most hardcore fans are the ones that are, you know, they give them the hardest time about like picking apart the set list and this night was better than that night and all that stuff.

But then people also posting, this was my view and it was just a tall person in front of them. So it's like very well could have been you if you stood. So you did the right thing, Stan Seedy. You took one for the team. Those girls in front of you didn't do that. I don't, yeah, I can't come down on one side or another. I think it's their right to stand, but not yours.

Every time I'm in a space like that, I feel like there's gotta be a different way to design spaces. I mean, what if you just stood up, but you know, in a lot of the photos that we take together, you'll stand up and then you'll just spread your feet apart. Yeah, but that's problematic too, because you got people and it's very small areas.

Yeah, but it's your family. So your family is basically standing in front of your thighs as you're like spreading for two hours. Yeah, I can't do an air chair for that long. Not an air, a spread is different than an air chair. I mean, but if I'm standing up, I am moving. Like I don't, I'm not like my, there's like, if I was inside of a cylinder, you know,

I don't know how big that cylinder would be. There's movement that happens within that cylinder, but like my hands and stuff don't escape. Oh, my hands, yeah. From the cylinder and stuff. Okay, yeah. When it comes to dancing, yeah, I agree with the cylinder. It's kinda like the beam me up pod on Star Trek. You gotta stay within that thing.

You stay inside that. That's your space. Yeah, I mean, this whole, I mean, listen, I mean. I keep my fist up by my collarbones. I don't even wanna get into the mosh pit thing. I keep my fist by my pits, you know? Yeah. One of these things. I've seen that move. But you wouldn? Yeah. One of these things.

I've seen that move. Cause it's like- But you wouldn't be into a mosh situation. Like that, the whole, the swinging- Too old for that, man. But at no point in my life, at no point in my life was I ever into the idea of like getting the arm in the face, you know, like I don't understand the

appeal. What was the last thing that filled you with wonder that took you away from your desk or your car in traffic? Well, for us, I'm going to guess for some of you, that thing is anime. Hi, I'm Nick Friedman. I'm Lee Alec Murray. And I'm Leahah president and welcome to crunchyroll presents the anime effect it's a weekly news show with the best celebrity guests

and hot takes galore so join us every friday wherever you get your podcasts and watch full video episodes on crunchyroll or on the crunchyroll youtube. I'll tell my experience with that. So this was senior year in high school, it had to be. So Kurt Cobain had passed away and then Dave Grohl started the Foo Fighters and then they released their album. So this is, you know, this is probably, I guess this is like 96 and maybe 97.

And they had a show at the, I think it was the Ritz in Raleigh. And the, let's see, I wasn't dating. Yeah, it was pretty early in senior year because I wasn't dating my girlfriend, who was my girlfriend for senior year and freshman year of college. But like this, the other girl that I,

another girl that I would take home from school, I took Candace home from school. And she was a sophomore. She was the same age as the girl that I was interested in who would later become my girlfriend. And then, and so I was talking to her about the show and like the Foo Fighters have a show and she was like, I wanna go.

I was like, okay, let's go to this show. And we were just friends. I don't know if she was interested in me, but she also knew that I was interested in her friend. And then whenever we decided to go, which is a strange thing, looking back on it, like the two of us were gonna go to this show, but very early on, I was like, I wanna invite so-and-so.

And maybe we had started dating or maybe we were about to start dating, but this was very early on. And so it was like, then this, it was basically Candace's idea to go to this show, but then it was my idea to bring, I'll just say she was my girlfriend. I can't remember the-

Can't remember her name. I can't remember the chronology of it, but it was basically like first, second or third date. I was like, oh, I wanna bring her. So it was the three of us who went and even though it was Candace's idea, she became the third wheel. Yeah, that's interesting.

And we go to this show and we go so early, and there's no seats in this place. It's one of those like black box theaters, and you cram in, like literally everybody crammed in. I don't remember there being an opening act, but it was, I mean, this is like, on the, you know, Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, on the heels of Nirvana's No More, this is all on the, you know, Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters on the heels of Nirvana's no more.

This is all we've got. This is the new version of Nirvana. And so we will show up and people just started packing in, packing in, packing in. And we were about four people back from the front of the stage. Just general admission. Yeah.

And we waited there for probably an hour and a half waiting for the show to start. And more people kept showing up and they kept packing us forward. And it was like, we started getting smushed, smush, smush, smushed. And it started getting hot. I hate this feeling.

And it was a type of thing where it was so tight that you couldn't, you were shoulder to shoulder, chest to back everywhere. And they started, like the security guards, after an hour of this, they started handing out water bottles. Sometimes they would just fling the water on everybody. It was like, it felt post-apocalyptic.

And then they would hand water bottles and people would be guzzling water bottles, just like just dying of thirst. And you would just hand it around. I was drinking water out of water bottles after somebody else drank half the bottle. Just to survive. I didn't even know who they were.

Like for me to do that, you know, we were desperate. But it was the 90s. And then- It was before germs. And then they, yeah, and then they, Foo Fighters came out and they started playing and then there was another press forward from like way in the back. Like everybody wanted to get to the front,

but there was no way to do that. And we were smushed so close, you couldn't breathe. And then I looked over there and Candace just, all of a sudden, just, I was looking at her and all of a sudden, boop, she dropped. She was gone. Oh no, this is dangerous, man. And since we were so close to the front,

you know, we and some other people like waved, said, hey, we need some help. And we like picked her up and like, she was, she wasn't unconscious, but she was like very woozy and like not with it. And we put her over the barricade and gave her to a security guy who then took her away.

There she goes. There she goes. There goes the third wheel. I'm like, well, yeah. She gets home. No more third wheel, I'm just here. And I was like, I mean, that was so, I'm so embarrassed that we did not follow her.

What are the ethical, It was just like, she was gone before we knew it. If a third wheel of a date drops and it is being taken care of by professionals. Can you just move on? I mean, I don't know if you should feel better. Was I supposed to jump over the barricade? If this person is a designated third wheel

and the third wheel, by definition, if you're riding a bicycle and the third wheel falls off, you can keep riding. I mean, that's why they call it a third wheel. Tricycle to a bicycle. It's unnecessary. You know what I'm saying? It's not that I was thinking that.

And if you feel like the third wheel is taken care of, you can keep riding. I mean, I did. And you did. You shouldn't feel bad about this. I'm sorry, Candace. I'm sorry for what we did. But you know, I didn't mind being pressed against my new girlfriend.

That was nice. Like that was nice. It's like, you know, it's like, okay, it's like we're kind of skipping the holding hands thing entirely because every part of my body's pressed up against the back of your body. Well, you had to make a choice though, because if you're side by side,

you're both pressing against strangers. So you got behind her. I got behind her. What, did you get in front of her? No, because once I got behind her, there was no getting in front. Once you were in a spot. Oh yeah, you were locked in.

You were locked in. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And yeah, so I was kind of protecting her from the crush. Right. I just think it happened so quickly, I wasn't making, you know, my brain wasn't fully formed. Right, yeah, until 26. And I was dehydrated and I'm not proud of it. She ended up being okay, you know, my brain wasn't fully formed. Right, yeah, until 26. And I was dehydrated and I'm not proud of it.

She ended up being okay, you know. But how much later did you convene? I believe it was after the show. When? So the entire show, she was kind of- Like where was she? She recovered and then she was kind of in the back. We didn't have cell phones.

Right. That's why they could just throw water all in the back. We didn't have cell phones. Right. That's why they could just throw water all over the crowd. No phones to worry about. I mean, my girlfriend was her friend. So it was just as much on her. It was up to her to take the call. We were just bewildered to know what to do. I hate that.

That was scary. I've never been, the closest I've ever been to that circumstance was actually when State beat Florida State and we all rushed the field. Oh yeah, you could- Chuck Amato's like first year and everybody was getting up on the goalposts to bring it down and I was in this crowd

and I was like, and first of all, as a tall guy, you actually have an advantage here. Like you don't feel like you're, you can see over everybody's head, but even then I was like, and first of all, as a tall guy, you actually have an advantage here. Like you don't feel like you're, you can see over everybody's head. But even then I was like, I just feel like I could fall and get trampled. And then the goalpost, whoever was on the goalpost, the lots of people, it comes down.

Wow. And this is back when they didn't make the breakaway goalposts. You know, this is before they started making the ones that they just collapsed at the end of the games or whatever, or like you can't bring them down. This giant goalpost comes down and literally, it's coming down, I've moved my,

I'm locked into position, but I moved my head out of the way and it bounces off my chest and then falls on the ground. Yeah. That's crazy. It was like, and then we just, then I just pick it up and we start carrying it to Hillsborough Street. But I felt so vulnerable in that. And so I've never, if I sensed that happening in a,

I don't know, the thing is, is I don't go to the types of shows where that is a phenomenon, because I'm a middle-aged dad. So, and like Locke goes to hip hop shows, but he just goes with his friends and I'm like, you just, you can do that. At Trippie Redd, there was an open mosh pit area

and people were trying to mosh, but they weren't good enough at it. And there wasn't quite enough people to form a tight enough space to then create these mosh pockets. And the Foo Fighters, it was so tight that people were trying to mosh, but it wouldn't happen. There was some crowd surfing. And then atoo Fighters, it was so tight that people were trying to match, but it wouldn't happen. There was some crowd surfing.

And then at the very end, they went into this whole like 10 minute feedback driven, start to destroy their equipment thing, which was pretty amazing to be a part of. Years, and a couple of years later, I saw 311 at the same place. It wasn't quite as crazy. We actually saw No Doubt.

I was there for the No Doubt show. Okay, we saw the No Doubt show. In the back. That was like Tragic Kingdom album, like their first album, and they were like huge. Still playing clubs, basically. Don't Speak, all of those, Spiderwebs. That was a fun show.

But I guess, yeah, with my girlfriend, we left, we made it out, Candace was okay. Hopefully she didn't tell her parents about how much of an a-hole I was. The companion story to that is the concert at Campbell University. Campbell University would have these like Christian bands come into D. Rich Auditorium,

and we would just show up and go to some of these shows. And a little bit later, as Wax Paper Dogs, we were performing at like one of the- Festivals. One of the Christian music festivals that was like smaller time. But I remember there was a group of people up there watching, I think it was Third Day.

Yeah, Third Day came to Camel Camel. And I don't know, I was in the back and I was chewing gum and my girlfriend was there and she was somewhere, but we weren't together at this point and I was kind of in the back, maybe you were there, do you remember this concert, Third Day? I was at a Third Day concert. Okay, we were there, we were probably hanging out

in the back where like, you could be in a seat, you could sit down, you weren't up front where there was like a lot of people pressing together. And I just, I don't know why I did this. Again, I guess I was an asshole. I didn't realize that this was the third day concert where you did this. I was done with my gum.

And instead of putting it behind my ear, swallowing it, or you know what? Putting it in a receptacle. Or just continuing to chew it. Or just chewing it until you see a trash can. I took it out of my mouth and I had the gum in my hand. And then I don't know, I didn't really think about things. I don't think that I had, it there was no, it wasn't an active decision besides just being an asshole, I guess.

And I took the gum and I just threw it towards the front into the crowd. I threw it into the crowd. I don't know, again, it's like, I'm, I have no defense for this. Like I was, I don't know. It was just like a teenager, like that's as bad as I got.

Like, Ooh, I'm so bad. Look at me. I'm throwing my gum at a bunch of Christians. And I'm also a Christian. So hey, we're in this together. And then a few minutes later or a while later, I did find my girlfriend and we were hanging out and she said,

you wouldn't believe what happened. Like somebody threw gum in my hair. Out of all the people up there at the crowd, I threw the gum in my own girlfriend's hair. And I did not tell her that I did. You never told her? I'm pretty sure I didn't, man. You never at any point in your relationship told her?

This is one of those stories that I've, I told this story eight years ago, six years ago. And I wonder if at that point I remembered more and I did tell her. But my recollection is that I never told her that I threw that gum in her hair, because if I'm an asshole enough to throw gum, I'm also an asshole enough to not own up to it

when it lands in my girlfriend's hair. Did you, was it currently in her hair or was she like, I got it out. This is what I've been doing for the past 20 minutes. You know what, I don't remember. I don't remember that part. I found some peanut butter at the convenience stand.

It might, I'd like to think that it wasn't in so deeply that it wasn't- It didn't work its way in. It wasn't like in a toddler's hair. What is that? It was like, oh gosh. And then- Yeah, and she pulled it out of like the five strands of hair on like the surface of her hair.

Whose gum is this? I apologize to her too. I don't know. It's like, so concerts brought out the worst in me. The thing is, is that by telling her, it probably would have made her feel better in one sense, because it's just like when you're grossed out by somebody's gum and their saliva,

to be like, oh, that's my boyfriend's saliva. I'm gonna get some of that later. And like, why did you do that? That's not a big deal. Who am I dating? No biggie. I definitely had to have a sense that like, this could make or break a relationship. Like, talk about showing your true colors.

Cause then you have to explain yourself. And there's no explanation. So that makes me think about the, we definitely went through, just because of the culture that we were in, we went to Christian music concerts and Christian music sort of festivals and stuff. Now we always had this,

we sat in judgment over Christian music even when we were in a Christian band. Because we had taste. Yeah, we thought that- By and large, it was like two bit rip offs of whatever was popular. It was rip offs of a lot of things. And- With like cringy Jesus lyrics.

I remember, so once we started the Wax Paper Dogs and we started getting, we were heavily influenced by 311 once we started trying to write our own music, right? We were bleaching our hair, we were wearing the big jeans. The most worthy of influences. And writing, I was writing riffs on the guitar that I thought were approximations of 311.

Yeah. They were very distant approximations of 311. And, but we were having a hell of a time. We were. And so we would go to these places and we went to one place not to play, but as fans, because Tooth and Nail Records was a thing. Remember that?

Tooth and Nail Records may still be a thing, but that was like- They had like alternative bands that- MXPX. That were pretty, they were more legitimate. MXPX was a punk band that was kind of like- Are they Christian? Are they not?

Well, NoFX was like a very well-known punk band that then, okay, so then it's okay. Let's do our Christian version of that MXPX instead of NoFX. But also, we also had a little bit of like a judgmental eye towards tooth and nail bands because the way that we would do our music is, it was pretty explicit. I mean, musically, it was all over the place.

Lyrically, it was also all over the place, but it was pretty explicitly Christian. And then we would do invitations at our concerts. Just, I know we talked about this before, but just to remind you, that's when at the end of your concert, you start getting very serious and the music gets very serious.

And then Link, in this case, who was the lead singer, would begin to spin. And just, you know this, man. And just think about giving like 17-year-old Link Neal, the one that was throwing gum in his girlfriend's hair, the responsibility of speaking off of the cuffs about Jesus and God and the plan of salvation and then offering an opportunity for people

to make a decision for Christ in the moment. I so wish we had videotape of this. Oh my gosh. But that's how we did our concerts, right? So I don't know why we looked down our nose at MXPX because they were legitimately talented. We looked down our nose at them, not musically, we looked down our nose at them a little bit

in like maybe side eye to be like, these guys like legit Christians or they just kind of like- California Christians. Yeah, like, I mean, how Christian are these guys? So what do you remember about the show? I remember going to the MXPX show and there was other bands that were playing.

Surprisingly, not a lot of people there. No. And then I just remember going to the bathroom. Okay, yeah, that's what I remember. And the lead singer was pissing at a urinal. And so were we. And so we did too. Do you remember saying something to him

while he was pissing? Because I don't think I would have done that. I've had people do that to me many times. I probably did, yeah. It was like, I don't know what I said. Hey man, love your music. Something, something nice. How's your wiener?

Something, something. You shaking it your wiener? Something, something- You shaking it? An insincere compliment. Yeah. That's all I remember about that, the tooth and nail of it all. I do remember going to Carowinds for the Christian Music Day

and Audio Adrenaline was headlining that festival. And I remember being really into the music that day because you're kind of like in this youth group setting. But boy- Yeah, they were good. It was pouring down rain. No, but it was covered. The venue at Carowinds was largely covered. So we got under that part.

I remember already being soaked. But don't you remember that song, Big Big House? Yeah, with lots and lots of room, a big, big table with lots and lots of food, a big, big yard where we can play football, a big, big house, it's my father's house. A song about heaven that seems like it's for preschoolers. But here's the thing.

I feel like I can stand up for them a little bit because you go back and listen to the song, it is like I can stand up for them a little bit because you go back and listen to the song, it is like the cheesiest song you can imagine and you can't imagine any teenagers ever being into it. However, so much of 90s music was like that. Even the non-Christian stuff. Musically, they had chops as far as I remember.

The lyrics in 90s music with a very few exceptions was just so like just, I wrote this on the back of a napkin three seconds ago. We didn't listen to Christian music, we listened to secular music. We listened to 311, we tried to like, we're gonna emulate them, but we're gonna do this legitimately

in a Christian band circle. But I remember going to freshman year in college, Incubus came. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. They were releasing their second album and I had discovered them the year before and we started emulating them in the band. And this was kind of weird because we were sort of peaking in our Christian, not peaking,

but we were getting to a very high level of sincere Christian commitment in that every area of our lives was affected by our sort of commitment to Jesus. Oh yeah, but I was a huge fan of Incubus. I knew that the- Which literally means the demon that comes and screws you when you're sleeping, right?

Yeah, but I knew that the man, this picture of the guy from the 70s on the cover of their albums was the lead singer Brandon's dad. Like I had done like my internet research. That's the only reason I use the internet was to look at bands' websites. Yeah.

I was like, man, they're coming- Band's dads. They're coming to Mission Valley, really small venue. And then I went there, we watched the show. This is Brandon still had dreads at the time. You went to the show with me, but then I was like, I'm gonna hang out, I wanna meet him. I wanna talk to him.

And so I waited a while. I remember this. I waited for a long time. And then actually, maybe I went early, cause I remember it being daylight. It had to have been daylight, had to have been early. So I go early and I'm like hanging around and then I see him walking around

and there's a laundromat on the other side of the venue and he's going to do his laundry from like the tour bus. And I like meet Brandon and I start talking to him. And I talked to him for a long time. And my goal was to talk about Jesus with him. Well, of course. I wanted to save the lead singer of Incubus' soul. Yeah, of course you did.

Because I was such a huge fan. Yeah. How wholesome is that? Does that make up for me being an asshole? No, actually that is sort of very asshole-ish in and of itself. Yeah, in a way it is. But I cared about him so much and I liked him so much. But I knew that the only way I could connect with him is if he thought I was cool.

So like, I didn't ever really talk about Jesus. I got this friend, man. I asked him about- He's got long hair and a beard. I asked him about his spiritual beliefs and he was very nice. He's kind of a hippie. And he talked to me for, you know, it could have been an hour, man.

I remember you telling me about this conversation because I was not present for, I went to the concert, but I didn't go to the conversation. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was awkward, man. It was awkward. It probably would have been shorter if I'd have been there. Hey, we got somewhere to be.

I think I got his email address. You still got the lead singer of Incubus' email address? Yeah, maybe. You should use it. I mean, I need to dig up my Hotmail account. Are they still an active band? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, they got much bigger after that with their like third or fourth album.

Well, speaking of bands' dads, just a little sidebar here, Post Malone's dad's, just a little sidebar here, Post Malone's dad tweeted, you know, like he was like, "'Here's a little something to brighten your day' and it was our GMM episode." Oh really? Yeah, so he's like,

That's hilarious. I just love the fact that he's- His dad tweets. Yeah, yeah, he's like, yeah, he doesn't have that many followers, but like he's very proud of his boy. And- I gotta look at that. But I was thinking about going even,

well, the first concert I remember is with my dad taking me to Beach Boys at Walnut Creek. So Walnut Creek ended up being, I think it kinda changed our lives in a lot of ways, right? Cause they built Walnut Creek. New venue, outdoor amphitheater on the edge of Raleigh. And now all these big bands had an excuse to come to Raleigh in a way that maybe they weren't coming before.

I don't know. Maybe they were just going to Dorton Arena in Fayetteville. There wasn't a place for people to play music that I remember. Unless it was like Carter-Finley Stadium, like huge. Oh yeah. But yeah, Dorton Arena, like back in the 70s and in Raleigh had like Led Zeppelin.

You know who else has played Dorton Arena? We have. Ren Link. And Merle Haggard, who we saw there twice. The Beach Boys were playing and of course. You were young. I was in seventh or eighth grade. Oh.

I went with my dad and John Stamos was the drummer. I don't know if you remember. Uncle Jesse. I don't know how long he did that gig, but he would drum for the Beach Boys. It was kind of like John Mayer playing, like being the lead of Dead & Co, but not really anything close to that.

Right. So. You thought it was awesome though. I anything close to that. But, so. Right. You thought it was awesome though. I thought, of course. This is Kokomo days. Cause like Full House was still happening. No, it wasn't. In 19, okay, when did Full House

had just gone off the air, 1991, 1990? 1990? I don't know, man. Did they play Kokomo? Of course they did. Yeah, that was, I mean, that was a big thing. I just remember, so the cool thing about Walnut Creek is the lawn, you know?

I never, I actually don't remember ever sitting in the seats. It was always the lawn seats, lawn. Because you could get a ticket for like $30. Yeah, and my dad and I are on the lawn and there are these two increasingly drunk middle-aged ladies next to us. And then I don't remember exactly how it happened, but my dad and I just ended up slow dancing

with both of them. What? Are you serious? Yeah, not like, just sort of just like having a good time. A robot Jamaica. Like, and not for that many songs, but it just was something that just happened Not like, just sort of just like having a good time. Aruba, Jamaica. And not for that many songs,

but it just was something that just happened. And it was, they were- And you never spoke of it again, kind of a thing? It was just like, hey, we're just kind of dancing. Did Diane hear about this? Of course she did. It wasn't like, it wasn't a scandalous thing. It was just like a kind of a fun thing.

It was kind of like the community square dance where everybody can dance together. Yeah, yeah. And you're gonna ride your own saddle back home. And it didn't get, you know, it never turned sexual even on any level. It was just very much just like, this is a bit crazy. But I know how you thought as a seventh and eighth grader.

Well, what do you mean? Yeah, but I wasn't thinking about middle-aged ladies at that point. You weren't. Okay, yeah. I'm talking, these ladies were in their 50s. Oh, okay, all right. I mean, I remember-

There's nothing wrong with that now, I'm 44. The first concert that- But I'm just saying, when I was 13. Right, first concert I remember going to was, my mom took me and you to see MC Hammer at the Dean Smith Center. Yeah, man, and that was huge. I was such a, I mean, this was like,

can't touch this, so, such a huge moment in pop music. And you know, I was a huge MC Hammer fan. You were, you liked him, but like, I had completely drunk the Kool-Aid. Something about, yeah, because- I didn't understand how much of a, how not good his music was compared to all the rest of the hip hop that was being made.

Well, yeah, because we were- I was just a little Southern white boy that didn't really understand it. Yeah, we were, you know, we were 13 years old. Yeah. And it, I mean, everybody loved MC Hammer. He was a pop icon. He wasn't a hip hop icon.

Yeah, it was a different thing. And yeah, like the hip hop community was coming after him. They were rapping about him and making fun of him. And I was like, why they don't like MC Hammer? Well, just another point of reference to kind of bring this into complete clarity. Vanilla Ice was touring with him. Yes.

So, I mean, there weren't many hip hop artists who were gonna let Vanilla Ice open for them. And in Vogue. Vanilla Ice did not show up that night. We found out when we got there and I was so upset. Yeah, well, I think we were more excited about Vanilla Ice to be honest with you at that time. Yeah. I mean, just think about with you, at that time. Yeah.

I mean, just think about it, it's in Vogue. Yeah. Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer. It's a big night. And then- And my mom. And your mom was there, Sue was there. My mom, and my mom was into it.

She was loving it. But Vanilla Ice didn't show up, but in Vogue really brought it. What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man. I remember feeling things while they were performing. I don't remember a lot about the show, but it was huge. It was like a big stage production. It was like the biggest thing I've ever seen.

Many years later, you and I went and saw the Stone Temple Pilots at the Dean Smith Center as like sophomores in college. And that was, that show, I remember that show sounding really good. Yeah, that music sounded great in that venue. For it to be four guys just like playing, I mean, like they were, it was really impressive.

And not just that, four guys and one of them was just singing. Yeah, one guitarist. The guitarist in that band doing a show like that, yeah, it's crazy impressive. Yeah, the guitarists and basses are brothers, like the DeLeo brothers or something. So like they were, yeah, they brought it, man.

I was, that's the first time I went to a show and I was like paying attention to the sound. Like this actually sounded good. And I remember our friend Josh wanted to go, but for some reason we didn't invite him. I don't know. Sorry, Josh. Still a little bit of an asshole.

Was it the Brooks and Dunn concert at Walnut Creek? So we saw a number of acts at Walnut Creek, including Van Halen, which we weren't even fans of. That wasn't our idea. We saw George Strait there and we all got in the, Joey Smith drove his dad's Suburban and it was like nine of us in the Suburban and we were in the very back and we were,

we were going to George Strait, so we were like cowboyed up. We might've been wearing cowboy hats. Maybe. Definitely cowboy shirts. And we were doing dip in the back. In the back of a Suburban, not a great idea. And I got so sick.

Yeah, you gotta wait to get to concert to dip. But was that the, which concert was it that somebody had tequila? That was it. It was Brooks and Dunn. So there was this huge tailgating thing happening in the parking lot. And we were just, you know, we were 16, 17 years old

and we'd never been to like parties where people were like drinking liquor and just raising hell, you know? And it's like, so we're walking around and I'm talking to people. I'm like, these rednecks at the tailgate, turning up tequila bottles. And I'm like, what's up guys, Brooks and Doug, woo!

You know, it's like, this is my, I'm like, woo! You would think that I was drunk when I hadn't had a drink. Yeah, yeah. And then once you start being friendly with these people, they're like, hey man, you want a shot of tequila? And I'm like, oh, you called my bluff. I'm like, nah. Yeah.

And then I don't remember how it happened, but it was like, but I'll eat the worm. Yeah, right. I think that was my response. It was like- I'll eat a worm though. I'm not gonna- I'm not approved. You're calling my bluff. I'm not actually going to drink, but I will eat the worm.

Because, and he was like, all right. And he got the- Give that boy the worm. He got the worm out of the bottom of the tequila bottle. And I ate it. When the first time you've eaten a worms anus. Yeah, it was the second. And it definitely wouldn't be the last. Who knew that I'd make an entire career out of it.

You didn't eat the worm. No, I actually don't believe that I was present for that moment because I remember hearing about it and feeling uneasy about it. You know, cause that was in that moment where our friends were beginning to kind of party and we were still a member of the group. And like, kind of like what you're saying,

we never had prudish personalities. Like if you talk to us and you hung out with us, you wouldn't be like, these guys are super straight edge. I had a raised hell personality. It's only when you put us against the wall. But like a fundamentalist mentality. Yeah, in terms of what we actually did and didn't do. A conservative Christian mentality.

And so when I heard that you drank, when you ate the tequila worm, there was a part of me that was like, is that drinking? I mean, there is some tequila in that. There was definitely this vibe of like, what is Link gonna do if I'm not around? Yeah, like I feel like I gotta be there

to keep him from falling. Yeah. But I just ate the worm. And it always starts with a worm, you know? Yeah. The first step is the worm. And it always starts with a worm, you know? Yeah. First step is the worm. Not typically. It did not taste good.

I mean, it probably tasted better than if it wasn't soaked in tequila for a few months or however long that happens. I think we saw Travis Tritt there at Walnut Creek. I went to Travis Tritt with my dad, actually. I have seen Travis Tritt in concert. And I have to assume that it was one of his. It was pretty good, I remember.

I remember we went into the Brooks and Dunn show and that's where I bought the license plate that I put on the front of my truck. And I bought it as a joke. I just want to go on record and say, buying a license plate that says Brooks and Dunn was a joke. It was irony and put it on the front of my truck. But it was also like, I don't know.

Not at the same time. Not. We lived like that in a lot of ways. And they had a karaoke booth out there where like all the tents were, where you could like get your food and your merch and stuff. They had a karaoke booth and I went up there and we both, didn't you sing too?

I sang Big City by Merle Haggard. And I remember people stopped and started watching me sing it because, oh, here's a 16 year old singing Merle Haggard. I like this guy. And it really fed into this redneck mentality. I just don't have, I don't remember. It was fun to be a part of. And I was a huge Brooks and Dunn fan.

The most memorable- Which is why we covered them. The most memorable concert experience though, I think has to be sort of the string of Merle Haggard experiences starting at 16 when we go down to see him. At the Alabama Theater in Myrtle Beach. In Myrtle Beach. And then-

I had to miss a soccer game. Is that, that's the night when we followed the tour bus. Yeah, I was a starter on the soccer team and we drove my Nissan pickup, probably with the Brooks and Dunn license plate on the front, all the way down there to Myrtle Beach to watch the show. And then we were just gonna drive back, I think,

cause I don't think we got a hotel room. No, of course not. But he was driving south after the show. And these stories, the kind of the string of Merle Haggard's stories are all told in detail in the book of mythicality in one of the chapters talking about being a fan. That's right.

Because it kind of came full circle. We followed him as a kid, saw him multiple times, including at Dorden Arena, and then. Always the youngest guys in the crowd. Yeah, it was these two teenage dudes who were not with their dads. Three decades, yeah. There were teenage dudes who were not with their dads. Three decades, yeah. You know, like there was some kids who were there with like grandparents or whatever, or dads, but not us.

We were just there completely sincerely into this thing. And then of course, as an adult, having the opportunity to meet him backstage in that weird, I'm not gonna tell the whole story, but we've told the story in detail on Good Mythical Morning and in the Book of Mythicality. Yeah, it's great. And then finally-

Meeting him at a point where we could see him. Getting on the tour bus with him and going to the back of the tour bus and having him kind of sit there with a towel around his neck. Clearly, a 70 something year old man exhausted from playing another night and these two super fans coming back there a 70 something year old man exhausted from playing another night

and these two super fans coming back there and just like not knowing what to say and being that moment where you're just like, we followed you, we followed, when we were kids, we followed you across the state line and it's just so cool to get to meet you and you've been so, you know, you just don't know what to say to somebody

who's been that influential. Right. And he was just kind of like, you could kind of see it on his eyes. I've heard this a million times. Right. All right. You got something for me to sign?

Yeah. Yeah, I'll sign this. I'll sign your albums. Yeah, we got the albums hanging up in our office right there that he signed. He misspelled your name, but then he corrected it. He corrected it, yeah. That was good.

So, I mean- It's easy to do. I'm glad that we're back on the concert train. And you know, it's about creating an experience, like bringing people with you and then having an experience with all the other people that you don't know. But I think, you know, it's also not all fun and games when you got people not wanting to sit down

and people not wanting to stand up. It ain't easy. There's lots of things that can happen. And I always forget about- Lots of worms to be eaten. I always forget about that element of you're preparing yourself for this night and then you're like, oh, well,

because the worst is when you're next to somebody who's just super drunk. Yeah. Super drunk and super loud. Spilling beer on you. And then you're just like, oh man, I can't, I'm not gonna be able to enjoy this. It's like going to a movie theater.

And in a movie theater, if somebody's being loud next to you, you can just tell them to shut up. Right. At a concert, I'm not gonna be the person that, I'm not gonna start a concert fight. That's why you invite more people and then you sit in the middle of all that. Okay, yeah, that's just right.

That's how you do it, yeah. Yeah, it might be a good idea to get that. The Greek? I don't know about getting a season pass as much as I'm just thinking like, between the Hollywood Bowl and the Greek Theater, all the venues downtown where the smaller bands come, you basically-

That's the great thing about being in LA. You could be- You know everybody's gonna come through. Every weekend, almost every night of the year, you could probably go and see somebody that you have some level of familiarity with. Yeah, including Paul McCartney. He's coming to SoFi.

We should go see him. I mean, but the reason why I brought that up is because that's my, I'm gonna give my rec. I gotta stay in the music zone. Another music documentary I watched on a plane. Coming back home. McCartney 321 is a mini series, three episodes on Hulu.

It's just Rick Rubin and Paul McCartney. At Rick Rubin's, I think it's at Rick Rubin's studio, but they're in like a couple, it's very intimate. Like the cameras are really far back and zoomed in. And like, they're just having this like very off the cuff conversation. Rick has his, if you don't know who Rick Rubin is, that's, I'd love to meet Rick Rubin.

I think I gotta put him on the list. Like that would be freaking awesome to meet him. Legendary producer. He has his like mixing table, soundboard, whatever you call it out there. And then he's playing Beatles tracks and some wings tracks and just getting, and then Paul is just talking about, and they're adjusting the levels and talking about it.

And so like to illustrate a point that like isolate the vocals. So he had like the stems for all of these Beatles and wing songs. And it's like, they're not too long. And I mean, it's the opposite of like the get back thing, if that's inaccessible to you, but you're like more of a casual Beatles fan. Like Paul talks about how he teaches people

to play the piano in one of them. So each one is kind of themed in a different way and it's just, it's very loose and- He teaches people who are gonna be playing like with him. No, like if he was teaching a kid how to play piano, like a beginner. Yeah, I was like, I mean, my kids can play piano, but I still thought about sending it to Lily who,

yeah, when we're talking about garage bands, you know, she's in a band, right? She just went back to school and I was like, you getting together with your band, you guys are playing? It's like, do you guys wanna play in places? And she's like, no, it's just for the fun of it. We might be putting together like a cover set list and maybe something will happen, but it's like,

it makes me so happy that she's in a band. But 321 McCartney on Hulu. Well, it's called McCartney 321. Check it out. And we will speak with you next week. I'll be telling you all about my recent road trip from Maine to Miami. For real, man, I've been waiting to hear about it.

A lot happens. You can't tell me yet. So next week. Ear biscuits. Hashtag ear biscuits.