Empty Netters Podcast - O.A.R. On Their Capitals Obsession and Dispatch Rivalry + Summer Horror Blockbusters | EP.215

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

In an iconic moment in Empty Netters history, the band O.A.R. joins the show to talk about their Washington Capitals fandom and their newly found beer league obsession! And of course, they dig into the music. You will not believe how the Dispatch rivalry started. Or some of the song inspirations the reveal. Plus, horror legend Kury Sayenga joins the show to discuss some all time 90s slasher movies. Finally, see if you can solve the “what’s the connection” game that DP rattled. NEW EPISODES EVERY TUESDAY & THURSDAY! PRESENTED by BetMGM. Download the BETMGM app and use code “NETTERS” and enjoy up to $1500 in bonus bets if you lose your first wager! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS: STATE AND LIBERTY. Premium menswear crafted from performance stretch fabrics and cut with our signature modern tailored athletic fit. USE CODE "EMPTY10" at https://stateandliberty.com/ 00:00 INTRO 03:25 O.A.R INTERVIEW 48:37 90'S HORROR MOVIES 1:19:34 NHL TRIVIA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nothing else matters to me now. All I care about is, am I going to be late for pickup at noon? Ice is ready, and we are back with another episode of the Empty Netters podcast, brought to you by BetMGM. I am your host, Dan Powers. And along with me is a man who up until last year did not know that you could trim your eyebrows and nose hair, and thus things got a little out of control. Christopher Powers. As always. dude did they did those hairs not grow as fast when you're younger because it's not a problem

I don't think so for the for the youths yeah it ain't a youths problem it ain't a youth problem it's just it's once you get older you are past your prime things start getting that's how you know once you can't see anymore dude that's how you know you're a bomb that's how you know it's curtains that's how you know it's curtains on your life on your career whatever it is yeah I do remember distinctly the first time I went to to get my haircut and the barber took out the little comb and, like, ran it through my eyebrows and trim. I was like, ooh, like fancy treatment here. And then I asked, he was like, no, it's necessary. And shout out Erica. Um, Erica was like, no, idiot. Your eyebrows are just like out of control. And I was like,

oh, I'm embarrassed. Amazing. Yeah. Well, you know what else is absolutely out of control? Tell the interview that we are about to drop on people. I said this. I think we weren't recording, unfortunately, but I told our next guess. that we have had the joy of meeting so many people in the hockey world. This is by far the most starstruck I have ever been in an interview during the Empty Netters podcast. Oh, true story. He was out of control. And also, man, if you are not aware, I'm going to tell them right now, we've got a band.

We've got a band interview. Massive hockey fans, hockey players. Players are. Oh, yeah. OAR of a revolution joins the podcast. We're talking caps. We're talking Rangers. We're talking beer league.

But also, if you are unaware of this band, of this absolutely electric jam band, I'm so pumped that we're now putting you on. You are going to immediately go to Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your music, YouTube, and you're going to look up OAR and find their fucking bangers. And I can't wait for you to hear their blind ranking of their song so you know which ones they love and thus we love. This is just so exciting. We just got to interview O-A-R

fucking platinum-s A childhood artist. And shout out Yans, by the way, because he hooked this all up. Mark met Jans, they became boys. Huge shout-out Yans, but I literally, Dan,

I can barely sleep since this interview because I'm like, I can't believe that I did that. I can't believe that actually happened. It was so crazy. Like, hearing Mark's voice answering questions, I was like,

Yeah. Are you shitting me, dude? Is this, is Mark from O-A-R talking to you right now? And the crossover. The crossover that we're getting lately, we got a lot of, we got a lot of great episodes and guests coming up recently where we have hockey meets entertainment, hockey meets music, hockey meets movies. And fuck me, man. It's the best.

Yep. Dude, I can't wait. Let's kick. I can't wait. So let's not wait. I can't wait. Let's not wait. We're going to kick it to this OAR interview right now.

Please enjoy. We are joined today by. I would say a band that says they were born in Maryland but raised in Ohio. I don't think I have that right. They have released 10 studio albums, five live albums. Their single Shattered appeared on the Billboard Top 100 and a certified platinum with over 1 million units sold. Their album King debuted at number 12. They've sold out Madison Square Garden.

They've sold out the Red Rocks. They are guest Washington Capitals fans, I think all of them. At least one of them is a beer league addict. and most importantly, they are the band we have seen live most times in our entire lives. And for now, Mark, Richie, Chris, welcome to the Empty Netters podcast. Thank you. You forgot to mention we were the eighth grade talent show, runner up. Wow, I didn't know it was runner up.

Well, actually, see, I did. I didn't want to bring it up because I thought that might be something that's just you carry with you at all times. I thought it was and everyone wins. Yeah, yeah. Hey, if you had done it these days, you would. of. That's what happened if it was 2025. Guys, the first thing that I need to know, so I need everyone listening to know that you are literally in Iowa right now. You just did sound check. You're about to do a whole show tonight

and you're popping on here. One of the coolest things of all time. What are some of the cities or states that you've performed in that people wouldn't realize are just an absolute blast? That's a great question. And no one's ever asked that question because I think there are so many hidden gems in in American Canada. In Canada, we went to a place called Club Soda. And that was a really fun time. In the U.S., there are some hidden gems like tonight. We're at a very special place, right? Yeah. We are in Cedar Lake, Iowa, and there's a venue here called the Surf Ballroom. and the story behind this place is the day the music died. I don't know if you know that story,

Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, Richie Valens. This is the venue that they played before the plane crash. Oh, shit. Wow. That's why it's crazy. But because of that, it is super legendary. Yeah, no doubt. I mean, that's amazing.

You know what? Our producer is actually from Iowa, and like he is going to be geeking out this entire time, the fact that you guys are there, because he definitely knows that spot. Yeah, it's crazy. There are some ones, you know, in New Hampshire, a place called Casino Ballroom, and it's like the same floor on the stage that Led Zeppelin played on. Dude, we've been there. We actually saw the Beach Boys there. We grew up in Maine, so that was like a spot. We went all the time. That was our first concert ever. Yeah.

Get out. Yeah. That's so amazing. Legendary. Fun fact. So for guys like, us, you know, those are the things you really do remember, you know, in Tulsa, there's Keynes Ballroom where, you know, you hear Johnny Cash played. And, you know, you start to really, as the years go on, you respect the history of touring music. Because like, we make recorded music, too, but what we really enjoy is the touring aspect of music. And we really think there's legends out there that started it for us. And so when you're chasing, you're chasing. them around the country at these venues and they'll say, oh, Prince, you know, did this here. Then, you know, you really start to have an appreciation for it. So great question. There's a lot

of gems out there. You know, you love red rocks. You love the garden. You love all those things. But the country's full of amazing venues. And that's why I think live music will never die. Yeah. I mean, it's the best. I do want to ask you guys a quick hockey question because obviously we are primarily a hockey podcast. We got... connected with you through hockey connections, which, I mean, it's just the best thing in the world. Mark, I know you had capital season tickets growing up, but have become a bit of a Rangers fan. I think the coolest fun fact in your hockey sphere is the fact that you have Ally Afraidy's record-breaking shot stick, which is such a fun. It's incredible, too.

It's amazing. I want to know where that is. And then also, I know maybe you start to like the Rangers a little bit, but was it electric for you, all of you guys? watching the caps win the cup in 18 and then OV chasing down the record? Like, are you still dialed into watching the game and watching the caps? So I'll answer first, and each one of us has so many stories involving hockey. So that's amazing that you know that because, yes, I was on the blast of the company. My dad worked for head tickets.

So he would take me on Tuesday nights. Main games normally on Tuesdays and other nights. But Tuesday was like when, you know, it's a school night. And my dad would say, let's go to a game. If I got in trouble, if I got in a fight at school, like, my dad would, like, take me to a game. Like, what, like... What a way to incentivize you to keep breaking the rules at school? Yeah, it's so great.

So, my memories of Cap Center, but I had this one night. I was there, Ally Frady, man, 98 mile an hour slap shot, which at the time was the record. And it broke the stick, and I'm waiting on the... It comes right off the ice and fucking hands it right to me. And I'll never forget it because as I'm walking in the parking lot to my dad's car after the night was over, I'm holding the stick and I hit it down on the ground, the butt of the stick, and my hand slid up in the fiberglass, like into my hand. But I didn't care. I was so fired up about it. I'm bleeding.

I afraid he's blood, you know. And so that stick remains in my house. Incredible. Oh, going on, I don't even know, 40 years, I don't know how long ago that was, 30 years, 35 years. So Caps fan for Life celebrated the win because of how they celebrated the win. I think they just inspired all hockey fans to celebrate with them because they appreciated it so much, which is like in music and television and art and forms, sometimes you see people winning. And it's almost as if they don't give a shit.

And it's like, well, I don't give a shit if you don't give a shit. but they were so just amazing in their celebration we were all in on especially us yeah i love that my story in new york was when i went to new york moved there 20 something years ago the the garden embraced us in such a nice way with oar treated us so well with our story at the garden we became so close with msg and the garden of dreams foundation that they run that the relationship was so much deeper than hockey that my friends are on the team and I'm that squad nasher yandle glasser all like that team I mean ridiculous amazing team so I was just all in and continue to be because of the relationship with msg and and honestly just the Rangers as they're just I have so many great friends there yeah I

think that story is a perfect example of how hockey people are just the best like they can make you start rooting for a team that's a divisional rival of the team you grew up with. And it's like, we feel the same way. Like once you get buddies in the league, teams kind of don't matter as much. It's really fun. Yes. Right. You cheer for your friends, right?

Exactly. Absolutely. Exactly. And are you, you too? Are you guys, Caps, guys too? Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, when I was a kid, I'd go to Caps games with Mark.

My uncle was a seasonal ticket holder, a big story in our family. He got hit by like an errant pocket. had to go to the hospital for like three days. And then I lived in Chicago for about 10 years. And I mean, I think the Hawks won three cups during that period. Oh, wow. Yeah. To like get just so hooked and excited by that.

And then I live in Nashville now. And I've been there for like, I don't know, 12 years. And when I first went to a. Fred's game, I went as a hawks fan to a game. And literally, more people at the time were wearing the opponent's, you know, team, like jerseys and stuff like that. So it's just been wild to see how much Nashville has embraced the predators. It's become such a great hockey town. I mean, it's just really fun to see it just night and day become like, you know, one of the big hockey, you know, cities.

Man, we've said there might not be a better barn in the league because when you go to those games and then just step out the door onto Broadway, you're like, oh, I guess we'll just keep ripping here. This is fantastic. It's like, it's really hard to beat. It's incredible. Yeah. It's amazing. Yeah, Ed, you know, I went to Caps games when I was younger, but I didn't really start really loving the sport until my kids started playing hockey. Yeah. And once they started playing. I became a huge fan because of them, was able to understand the game more, and then was lucky enough to have some buddies on the team that played and always invited us out to come to games. So, like, for me, the memories were later in my experience with hockey, but, like, it's now, I love it more than anything. Yeah.

Well, you guys should just, it's a bug. You get infected. Yeah, you should just feel lucky that Mark hasn't dragged you into. beer league life yet because that's that's when it really has a script on oh okay it's too late for everybody then we started playing beer league because of my kids i was like i should try to figure this out and i already knew how to skate a little bit just from being a rollerblade nerd um but i didn't know how to play hockey so i took a learn to play adult hockey thing just with the rest of the dads and started playing the d league and i was the second worst player in the team so well listen it fires a

up so much that you guys found hockey whenever it happened and listen i hate mark i hate to do this to you but i have to reveal this publicly for the entire world now we have a text a direct text from you that says and i quote music means nothing to me now noon pickup hockey is who i am i just said that on the sound check i just told them well i told them a friend who uh who was here visiting he's um was that he's a hockey guy worked we did the crazy game of poker together and I said to him, nothing else matters to me now.

Yeah. Nothing. You could tell me anything and I'm like, all I care about is, am I going to be late for pickup at noon? Man, it's so funny, Mark, all of our friends, like all the wives and girlfriends

of our beer league team, they refuse to go out to dinner with all of us or hang out because they're like, we just, we sit there and you idiots just talk about your beer league game for three hours

and the sick behind the back pass, through when you all look like old idiots out there. I'm like, yeah, sorry. It's a lifestyle. And then you pull out some live barn footage and you're like, I don't know. Do I move this slow? The angles are so absurd. Awesome.

But there's one barn in New York that has like a lower angle and you look like you're flying. I only watch that one. Yeah, yeah. It's like the equivalent of, you know, special mirrors and gyms. Like, I need a camera in the Beer League Live Barnes that just make me look faster, stronger, my shots way harder. That's what we all need for sure. If you want to come home and just be like, oh, my God, can you, let me tell you, my beautiful wife, how good I was. In the D-League.

There's not one second of that story. They're listening. It's going, sure. Yep. With you guys having a show tonight, I do want to get into the humble beginnings of the OAR days. And, you know, you mentioned it in the beginning. You guys started playing together in eighth grade in a talent show. You know, you played in your local school cafeteria.

And then even as you grew when you got to Ohio State and you became, started to become a real legit, you know, record selling rock band, you kind of still kept that roots, those roots that made you who you are where you would play anywhere, anytime for anything. walk us through the thought process of spending $1,000 on 1,000 CDs just hoping it would catch on. And have you lost that spirit in any way or is that still truly the core of who you guys are? Yeah, I mean, we started the band in my mom's basement. That's so sick. We got this kind of band from the basement mentality. We kind of like we were friends before we were in the band. So we've got to kind of ethos.

We call it like we're the Goonies. of rock and roll you know we just kind of have this spirit a do it yourself thing um and you know it just kind of the the thing about making CDs was also like a big stretch we were making cassette tapes when you would like high speed dove from like yeah yeah yeah the other wow you have you know be drawing you know what the album cover was because we you didn't you couldn't go and print out these things so we would sell tapes for like five bucks and then I think we pressed the first batch of CDs more so because, well, the technology was going there, but also, again, with this DIY thing, we were getting ready to leave high school and all of our

friends were going to different colleges. And we basically was a way to like give our friends like, hey, here's 20 CDs, take them with you, try to sell them, but basically put them on at parties. And if you meet somebody who works for like the college radio station, you know, let's just get the music out there. So that was the idea really behind it, but no one could have predicted, you know, this thing called Napster that came along right as we were freshmen in, in college. And every college kid started sharing music, you know, online. And our music, you know, that age, that time, the, you know, just it just resonated and it started spreading. And, you know, because of that, we were able to get our music way out there without us being on a major label, you know, without us having our. CDs and stores like, you know, back in the day, Blockbuster and, you know, Best Buy and a Blockbuster, Tower Records, and Best Buy.

Yeah, yeah. You know, you see where my head is at right now. I'd rather talk about Blockbuster right now. That would be cool. Yeah, we never put our music out on VHS. But I wouldn't be surprised if that comes back. Honestly, if there's a Blockbuster still open, it might be in Iowa. So you're in, yeah, yeah, you can find it.

No, but my follow-up was going to be, you know, the street. remember, you guys were one of the OG Napster blowups. And do you ever think to yourselves? I mean, this idiot here has a Napster T-shirt from like 2005 that he still wears. Do you guys ever stop and think about those days and like, holy shit? Like, what would it be like if not for something like Napster? So I think it answers your other question, too, is that we had guidance at the time from someone who was completely on the DIY train as well. Our manager, who was also my brother, who was like,

when the Napster thing really started to kick in and we're realizing, you know, there's only certain groups that are really popping off. Something's going on. And then the lawsuit started to happen

and they wanted you to choose sides and either be on the side of these bands going in there, testifying that Napster's the worst thing in the world or leave it alone because it's great for us. And he said, stay out of it. Yeah.

of it. Enjoy the ride. Like, this is the best thing that's ever happened to you guys. And whenever we had bumpers like that, people along the way who could understand what we were. It was like an arts and crafts band

that needed to stay an arts and crafts band. Without those sort of bumpers, we would have gone off into other areas. Who knows, right? Because our interests are so varied. We're so interested in anything from a jam band to go-go bands from D.C. to hip hop to this, to that, to the other.

So I think having other people keep you in your lane and stick to your ethics and morals and all these things is like so necessary for a very, very long career, just like in hockey and any other sport. If you don't have this system around you, you know, you're probably not the smartest person in the room. And if you are, that's a problem, right?

Yeah, man, yeah. To answer all your questions, I feel like we just got, we had people in our world that allowed us to stay DIY. Even when we signed a major labels and major corporations and all this stuff, it was always kind of on our terms and they provided us with just help and backing. We really got lucky. All of our deals have been good. We've always had good guidance. It's really important to not try to be successful immediately. Yeah. Naps your thing happened. And if you want to be, be famous, like, good for you. Today, if you want to be famous, good for you. I want a job for 45

years. Yeah, right. Well, that's actually such a good segue, Mark, because you guys, all of you, the whole group has talked so passionately about loving music, you know, and your advice was, if you want to be famous, I can't help you. But if you love and you want to play music all the time, that I can get into, you actually told an epic story about when you guys got to play with Mike McCready and it was a rehearsal. And he's just soloing with his head back, like, in the hotel room. And you're like, it looked like he was in front of 50,000 people. And he was just sitting there, but that's what he loves to do, you know? So how have you guys been able to love your music and love touring so much for this long? I think it really comes down to just loving,

being around each other and playing music together, you know, and I think we're all so serious about our craft. And I think the longer that we've been doing is at least for me personally, where I've never been more interested in getting better at. And I, I think, the longer that we've been doing, and getting better at what I'm doing, you know? And I think that goes for all the guys. Like, we just really love and are really thankful for just being able to be musicians. And why not try to be the best you can possibly be, you know? And I think that drives all of us on stage, just accountability, you know,

like I want to be a great guitar player for the rest of the guys. And, you know, Chris wants to fucking play the shit out of the drums for everyone else in the band, you know? And so we're all just really, you know, doing it for each other. Yeah. I mean, it's so clear with your music and the way you guys carry yourselves, even just in a fun conversation like right now, that you've been able to maintain that. And I always wonder, when you look at the stretch and the arc of your careers,

and, you know, that stretch in the 2000s where you really took off and you're doing things like selling out MSG and playing at Red Rocks, how have you guys been able to sort of keep? that same just spirit and friendship throughout things like jamming in Ohio and then playing at one of the biggest arenas in the world? I think for us, a big part of that was, you know, in the years of like 2008, 9, 10, 11, we've got the most successful song we've ever had. We have the biggest numbers we've ever had. All these things are great. And then the world around us, all these really, really

tough things started to happen, one after another, real, real big boy stuff. And we were faced with moments where you're deciding whether we continue doing this or not. Of course, we continue doing it, but like would we be able to do it with heart and soul and passion and love and all the things that it requires to make music? Because I felt that the world was really testing us. We were able to overcome a lot of things, and that made us incredibly strong. When you have to make tough decisions and do them and not look back, and that is something that I think brings you closer. When you're scared of the tough decisions and you just kind of lollygaggag around and meander through this business, it'll eat you up, man. This thing is no joke. When you're 30, just like in

sports, man, when you're 30, they're like, thanks, see you later. Yeah. So, okay, what are you going to do? You're going to sit there and go, okay, bye. No, you're going to go skate. You're going to do the best you can. And so we just continue doing that for the next 15 years after that. We've had meetings with people who are like, hey, thanks for everything.

But we're going to go get these young bands. And you're like, cool, we're going to go get these young bands too. And we're going to go on tour with them. Yes, how you regenerate. Like, don't run away from the problems. we just like went right into them together. So that's how. It's like facing serious stuff,

dealing with it, putting your ego aside, just like in sports. Yeah, that's the best way to do it. When, you know, we keep referencing all of these unbelievable shows and the places that you've been in, for the three of you, do you have any stories that pop into mind of some of the craziest moments on the road?

And if, If one doesn't come right away, every one of you just smirked. So I know that there's something going on. If one doesn't come right away, you can tell the PG rolling ravioli story of the pasta in the van. Hmm. I mean, no, because like, honestly. No, sorry, none. Yeah, we're not going to talk about.

Pretty boring, actually. Honestly, what's crazy to us is the stuff of having these cool opportunities that you would never imagine. And we got to skate with some of the blue jackets, you know, like... Nice. Just stuff like that. Like, that's what jumps out to me. Like, who gets to do that? Yeah.

Well, how about this one? I'm going to help you. Okay. This guy, one day you're out of a hotel. You're doing a show. The guy who's doing the show with you was Richie Sambora. Oh, yeah. You're like, holy fucking hell, this is incredible.

The night goes on. And next thing you know, it's three in the morning. And Richard's in his room. and Richie opens up, I'll let you tell it. We were having a good time and the bar was shutting down. And I was talking with Richie about just his guitars and his legendary double neck ovation that he plays, right? Uh-huh. He goes, you want to see it?

Oh, my God. Are you kidding me? It's here? He's like, yeah, in my room. So we go to his room. He opens it up. I'm playing it. He asked me if I know how to play any Bon Jovi songs.

I'm like, yeah, of course. So I start playing Dead or Alive. And he's like, that's all wrong. Oh, my gosh. And he grabs the guitar and he literally in his room at 3 o'clock in the morning taught me how to play Dead or Alive on his double neck ovation. And that was that for me. Because good memory, Mark.

The legends. No, because the legends, that's what they do. Like, they care so much about music. And Richie Sanbor is a blues man. Like he knows everything about the blues. And then like McCready or with McCready and he's playing a solo in a room, no one's there. And he's playing like 50,000 people. The legends, man, Robert Revfer, we got to do something with him.

And it's like he told me the first time I ever heard the term, it's like herding cats. He said, dealing with musicians. It's like hurting cats because we couldn't stay in one room. And, you know, like moments like that with massive legends that. break it down with simple views of the same world we're living in gives you the surreal where you realize we're all going through this shit together yeah we're all dealing with the same stuff and when you catch a story from a legend like to chris's point those are the memories we've partied we've done all the things you're not supposed to do we've done all those things the year you know

it's like we took that and turned it into let's get as healthy as we possibly can and then let's you know we could tell you funny stories but it's like for us i feel like it's the memories of the get to like I can't believe we got to do that we were recording an album at the same studio that Metallica was recording an album oh come on outside parking lot and everyone's

standing around we were smoking a joint and Kirk Hammett walks up Richard's like hero I mean not that we all don't love Metallica but he walks up he says oh it's like what does it smells good can I hit that and Richie freeze

whoa And he came over and started hanging around and we're just in the circle, passing around and just talking to him like, it's nothing. And then he's like, all right, thanks. And he just kind of disappeared into the shadows. And then it was like gone. I was like, that really just happened or is this just like super strong? Dude, and on the bench, you cross the little parking lot on the bench is Rick Rubin just sitting on a bench. I thought he was a homeless guy.

Yeah, no, he is in the cell phone? What? Wait, wait, Richie, did you manage to say anything after the woe, or did you just stay frozen an entire time? You might have recovered, but we don't remember that part. Yeah, yeah. It doesn't matter. Oh, God.

It's hurt and, yeah. Incredible. Now, I have to ask because, you know, we keep talking about how dialed we were in all this, in this era of, you know, your come up. when you guys were absolutely exploding in the beginning. And I know it's all friendships now, but was there any sneaky competition with dispatch and Guster? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yes, yes. There you go. Yeah, we talked about it. We didn't hang, and we, by the way, we're all like best friends. Yeah, no, I know, I know, I know. But also like, fuck those guys, you know. Oh, we are like hugs and jumping and we play golf and hang. and play hockey again.

Yeah, do everything. But years ago, when we had our crews, we're all very competitive. Interesting. Sound check and where to put your drums and where to put your drums and where to put this. Yes, dude. A little bit of problems between the two worlds.

The bands had never even had one single run in. Not one negative experience, but this thing had happened, something with the crew. So then for 20 years, We didn't hang out, we didn't talk, we didn't do nothing. Then we were like, what are we doing? Why are we mad at each other? What happened?

Then we did a whole tour together, made songs together, hang out all the time. It's like one of the most pointless rifts in rock and roll, and it wasn't even us. It's never the band. It's never the band, yeah, yeah, right. No, did, like, did the story ever come out? Like, did you find the guys in the crew who actually started this rift, or is it just sent unknown stories? Yeah, exactly. We know who.

Yeah. And he'll admit to it too, but we'll let him, we'll let him speak for himself. That is so funny. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. We were not afraid of anything or anyone. And I think our management and everyone around us was like, all right, well, we'll be like that too.

And for about six months, we didn't get along with it. And then that we get along with everyone. I mean, I get, that's music, right? Like, that's rock and roll. like having a rivalry with the other huge bands of the time. It's like you had to do it. Of course. And we didn't even know why.

Like they're the nicest people on Earth. The fact that they play hockey too is. Yeah, I did. So it's unbelievable. Oh my God. Bad guy. Jack can play. None of us really knew what we were doing.

He's the only one who knew how to play. And he stayed as far away from all of us as he could on the ice because he knew. We were nothing but danger. Yeah, he's going to get him hurt. He had a dispatcher or dispatch. Yeah, that dude can play. He's strong as hell too, man. And Brad is a ridiculous golfer.

He played college golf. Like, he's a great golfer. Oh, there we got. Yeah, that'll get me jealous right there. Okay, guys, we're going to play two super fast games and then get you out of here. The first game we play with every guest. It's called pass, shoot, score.

And we give you three things in a category, and you guys have to rank them, pass, shoot, and score. Score is your favorite because we all have score and goals. Shooting is your second favorite because we get eight puck's on net. And then passing is our least favorite because, you know,

whatever who wants to pass the puck. Okay. So your first category is OAR influences. So pass-shoot score, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and the Whalers, Pearl Jam. What? We're going to have to pass on one of those? Yeah, you've got to pass on one of them. Well, to be clear, pass is just third place.

So you're not kicking them to the curb. But yeah, you've got to put someone in third place. All right. So I'm going to go quick. I'll say score is Bob Marley and the Whalers. because of what they put off stage, stayed with me from my entire life. So they're the greatest live band sound ever.

Shoot, I would go with, oh, this is tough. Bob Dylan, because of his lyrics and just the simple, like, Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine, I'm on the pavement thinking about the government. It's like, okay, who can beat that? Yeah, yeah. Shoot.

I'm passing on Pearl Jam only because you named our three biggest fucking influences and I only passed on them because they're so amazing. Yeah. They deserve to score.

Do we each go? Hell yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You guys all have to go. So my score is Pearl Jam because that's what I saw them on Pearl Jam on MTV Unplogged and that's what inspired me to want to start a band.

Love that. But shoot would have to be Bob Marley because discovering the Babylon by Bus album that we've all listened to a million times. We've sort of based something as a band to find we're not a reggae band, but we do draw from a lot of that genre. But it's more that there's a pulse in the way the band is playing as a unit. There's a vibe that they're all playing together, this energy. And that to me is such a defining thing of the band. band sound. For me personally, pass would be Bob Dylan, which

is tough to say because he has such an influence on where we are coming from as a band through storytelling. But for me personally, that I have to go as a pass. Yeah, and my score is is it score or goal?

Score? Yeah, yeah. I would say it's Marley. Yeah. For all the same reasons that Chris said, shoot would be Pearl Jam and Dylan would be my past. Not that I don't love Dylan, but I didn't listen to him as much as the other two.

We're just mad because we opened for Dylan one time, but we played the side stage and they wouldn't let us backstage. So he's just mad at Bob. I mean, I do like that Pearl Jam and everyone got their love in that, so that was really good.

And I do want to give a shout out because Chris wrote this down. You guys have mentioned a lot shown a ton of love to Stephen Kellogg and we saw him open for you guys once so thank you for putting him on our radar because those guys rock

rock you got it it's all about quality with that dude the lyrics man lyrics crazy all right your next past shoot score we're going to kick it old school we're going to kick it to TV and we're going to do movies and TV dads so your past shoot score is Tim

the toolman Taylor Ray Romano and Clark Grisw I love this question. I'm based my whole life on sitcom dads. Wow, okay. Yeah, I would have to go with, you want to start? I'll go because I know it immediately.

Yeah, you knew immediately. That was quick. It's by far my score. Like, I could just watch that all day, every day. And I'm going to go watch that tonight after the show. Thank you for the recommendation. There we go. My shoot.

Yep. Yep, yep. I don't know. Well, it's because we go, it's because we always go out of order. Score. My shoot would be Tim Allen to the time. I mean, I just, that to me is so nostalgic and just reminds me of like coming home from like school and watching it like on TV while we're like having dinner and like getting ready for band practice or whatever we're doing. Right.

And then passes Ray Romano. Man, I'm sure people love them. But I just, it's not, not for me. I don't get the comedy. That's good. It makes it easy. Makes it easy. I'm the exact same order.

I love it. I love it. Same reason. Yeah. Well, I now need to know, do you yet have a Clark Griswold Hawks jersey? Because if you don't, I need one. I have looked online a few times. I know I should just buy it.

How could I not? I mean, that might be something we have to send you because this is like, it just makes too much sense. You spent 10 years in Chicago. Agreed. Griswold is your north star of movie guests. Like, come on. Yeah.

For me, I mean, yeah, I'm going to go with Tim the Toolman Taylor just because I base my whole life. on that shit. You know, like, I can't fix anything in the house, but I'm willing to try within six to 12 months. I just need a long, long runway. I love that. I love constantly fucking up.

I love him. And I love Clark Griswold for the same exact reasons. And then Ray Romano, I love because he was a sports writer, correct? Yes, yes. That's correct. Yeah. And so he really captured a lot of my sports writer type buddies. It really is very accurate to like a baseball fan.

Yeah. Hardcore baseball fan. So I'm going to pass on him only because he was, he seemed very specific to me. For those other dudes, it was more general, just dumbass dad, which is. Oh, I love it. CP, you're going to give him the next one? Or is he frozen on us right now? I think I froze, but I'm back if you can hear me.

But dude, just go to the blind ranking, Dan, so they can go. Yeah, yeah, you're back. You're back. Okay, yeah. All right, guys, we know you're going to bounce, so we're going to just hit you with the last one. So this one is what we do. It's called blind ranking.

So we basically, we're going to give you five of your own songs, but we're not going to tell you what's coming up, and you have to rank them blindly. So, like, don't necessarily give up one yet if you're not sure. So we're going to start you off. That episode from The Office. where the Robert California ranks, there's a right and a left column.

Yeah, it's brutal. That is such a good reference right, by the way. So it works the losers or not? We don't know. Exactly. All right, so one through five, we're going to start you off. First song, we're going to go with I Feel Home.

There's one. That's one. Already. If the topic is most O-A-R song, All in one meaning of everything that we've ever done in our whole entire career, I feel home would pretty much sum it up. Do you guys all agree? Wow, that fired me up so much.

Me too. We're going with that as being why we would say. Yeah. I mean, it's so rare to see a one out the gate, so I'm already pumped. So unbelievable stuff. All right, CP, give him the next one. Okay, your next one, and we're including this one because our boy from home, Johnny O, would never forgive us if we didn't.

favorite song of yours. Your next one is Black Rock. Three? Three. Three. Okay. All right. Three.

We got to leave. Yeah, you got to leave some space. Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. All right. Next one, shattered. Five, five, five. Whoa, okay. A quick five from the boys.

Look at that reaction. What does he know? We don't know. We'll find out. He was Chuck. He was just Chuck. Okay. When we write the five.

I was shocked that that's fine. You guys were all quickly on the same page going five there. That was impressive. Yeah, there's something about it. Okay. Okay, so what's left in? Two and four? Yeah, we've got two and four left.

Okay. We're possibly on the verge of one of the most perfect blind rankings of all time. You better say poker because number two is pointless. Two and four left. Your next song is, your next song is Crazy Game of Poker. Two. Two. Unbelievable. All right. So that means that number four is going to be Hey Girl. Yeah. Pretty good list, actually. Yeah. Do you guys feel good?

That could have gone three or four, but yeah, I mean, yeah. Okay. Unbelievable. That's, I mean, like I said, going one out the gate and then delivering one of the best blind rankings of all time. That's about as good of a shift as you will ever see. It makes sense. Do you guys have a personal favorite? Personal favorite? Yeah, if you do. About Mr. Brown is one that I get super nostalgic every time. It's like a time machine. That one for me.

I wish I was titled for me brings back a lot of memories of writing that song and just being in the dorms. That's definitely one of my favorite songs all time. I love that so much. Yeah. Do you know the song? Do you know the song? scenes from an Italian restaurant. Yeah.

Friend of Renetti with a popular steady in the summer of 75. Oh, yeah. So she takes it deep to the heart and right from the stars. Oh, yeah. Wow. But now and again, she's more than friend. Just throw me a line. Never knew that.

Never knew that. Everyone said I was crazy. Na-na-na-na-na-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-a-n-n-n-n. So it's like I heard that rhythm and I was like, just put words to that rhythm. and then had the words and then Richard came with the chords and we were like, oh, that's cool, that works and that's how that was written.

The fact that you guys so epic. That is so epic. This is all time. There's another all time moment on this show. He said, I remember when it was written, I'm like, and it just smacked me in the face. That's how I'm kind of blown right now because I can, I hear it.

Unbelievable. Crazy Gamer poker is my favorite all time because you would think everyone says, oh, aren't you sick of it or da-da-da-da, and I feel like you know, that song, came so naturally and all the things, and we play it and it makes me happy and it makes the crowd so happy. So that's like my favorite. Oh, so beautiful. Yeah, it fires us out. I mean, you talk about a time machine. That's the one for us. Like whenever you have gone. Like I'm like

right back in our parents den, like sitting on the couch with the boys drinking bud lights. It's unbelievable. And that's all we wanted. You know what we'd go into one of our friends' minivans. they pull out all the seats we put a pony keg or a keg in there and a tank or whatever and we'd go to Nissan Pavilion and see Dave Matthews band

and we would say those guys from Virginia and we were from Maryland and it was like you could hear them in the neighborhood over and we'd go and we go man those are the boys from Virginia we want to be the boys from Maryland

yeah you did it yeah we want to do this and have people get cars and come party and hang with their friends and you know what I mean like get a hammock and laying in the hand it was just like backyards front yards like that's what it was about for us so it comes from just going to shows and wanting to do it and so when you say hanging with the boys that's all we ever wanted yeah well man I can tell you you officially did it you officially delivered maybe the greatest blind ranking in the history of the empty netters podcast we can't thank you

guys enough for popping on. We know you have a show to get to. But before we let you go, is there anything you guys want to shout out? Anything you guys want to plug? We are celebrating that next year, 26, we're going on a big, big, big tour to celebrate our 30th anniversary from the release of Crazy Game of Poker and all those songs. I know that's crazy, right? That is unbelievable. What an awesome. Yeah, so we're going to be doing every and anything and We're going to be out there to celebrate with you guys for about a year. New music. New album along with that.

Unbelievable. We'll be there. Make sure to let us know when that is, where those shows are. Obviously, we'll find out. But we will be there for sure. Make sure to everyone get that new album. But, guys, you are the best for popping on, especially before a show. I can't.

Yeah, thank you so much. We'll skate. We'll come skate. Yeah, yeah. No doubt. That's on the agenda as well, for sure. But, again, OAR, the boys, you're the best for popping on. Can't thank you enough.

Crush it tonight, guys. Thanks for having us. Thank you, boys. Massive, massive, massive thank you to the entire crew, the entire band, OAR. Massive thank you to Keith Yandel for setting that up. But what a chat with the boys. So many amazing war stories, tour stories, hockey stories. Just guys that you would just love to hang with.

And we just got to. They had a show that night. They had a show. I'll never get over that, CP. I'll never get over that. Oh, dude. Incredible, man. Forever in their debt for that, dude.

And I can't wait to see them for their huge tour next year. God, dude, it's going to be so sick. So sick. What an experience. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I hope you guys loved it. Let's take a quick break here from our sponsors and we'll be back. We are rocking with BetMGM.

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90s, early 2000s horror movies that shaped our childhood. So I shot a text to my old buddy and horror expert, horror legend. Kurt Syanga, he has a million credits that I will not bore you with, to name a few, writer and director of horror's greatest, writer and director of the 101 scariest horror movie moments of all time, writer and director and showrunner of Eli Roth's history of horror, which I was an exec on at AMC. We go way back. There is no one better to talk horror movies than this man.

Kurt, welcome to the show. Thanks for doing it. Thanks for having me. Kurt, Master of Horror is such an amazing title. And without the right context, people could take that the wrong way. And I love that you carry that with you proudly. Yeah, I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of that one.

Yeah, absolutely. So, Kurt, we were saying we had been texting a little bit, but being two kids born in the late 80s, it was kind of like those, you know, mid to late 90s movies really hit for a scream, especially, being one that just jumped off the page and kind of redefined the genre a little bit. Talk to us about your expertise in what happened to the horror culture when scream dropped for the first time when West Craven hit everybody with that. Sure. Sure. Well, let's see. You know, there's the big slasher boom of the early 80s and then that pretty much got squelched by, you know, the public and congressional hearings and people freaking out over the violence and whatever else. So then you saw them kind of suppressed basically or people pulling back on. them. So you would have things like, you know, April Fool's Day or whatever where, you know, it's like, oh, actually nobody was killed, you know, which is, where's the fun in that, you know. So, so then, like, Kevin Williamson, the guy who wrote Scream and also, I know what you did last summer.

Yeah. He, you know, he teamed up with West Craven who directed Scream and Scream basically reinvented the slasher genre by making itself. aware, just like very 90s, very 90s thing to do. And scream of the two movies, I would say, though those two movies really pivotal in kind of bringing back or, you know, legitimizing slasher's again. But I know what you did last summer is kind of a more serious, you know, it's more of a regular kind of slasher structure. It's also a Mount Rushmore of 90s culture.

And you've got Sarah Michelle Geller, Jennifer Love Uitt, Ryan Felipe, Freddie Prince Jr. With a cameo parents by Anne Hesch. You know, it doesn't get much more 90s than that, along with the soundtrack, which is like, you know, there's like a sledge metal cover of Seals and Croft's summer breeze to begin the movie. You know, it's got that whole. So it does have kind of a camp, a little bit of a camp element to it. But it's nowhere near as kind of sharp and, you know, constantly commenting on the action as scream is. And so that that really kind of juiced things up for American horror films for a while.

And then as these things always happen with horror cycles, everybody eventually got, you know, kind of a little tired of that. And then the Japanese came in with, you know, the ring and Ju-on and all of that and essentially brought the supernatural back into the genre plus tons of violence. So real. Yeah. Yeah, which really changed things. That was crazy. Like that, that, I honestly, I might have just blocked the ring out of my mind for the

for self-preservation purposes because that, I think that was as influential on our generation as Scream. And I know what you did last summer were for a totally different reason. But what do you think it was, Kurt, about movies like, you know, scream. I know what you did last summer, these like 90s slashers. I love that you just use the word camp because they were totally campy. And I think I was saying to Chris earlier, it's like they added an element of sexiness into them too. Like yes, you mentioned the cast. It's like, all these beautiful people. Beautiful people dying. It's like, I don't know what it is

about hot young people dying that people just loved in the 90s, but like those movies took off. Well, if you really want to, you know, I mean, there are many ways to look at it. One way to look at it is just a Freudian thing of essentially, you know, you want to confront death by having it faced by the most vital alive people you have, then to crush them, smash them out. Just so we can come to terms with our eventual fate, you know. Whereas now, like in the kind of the reboots you see, we're coming to terms of our eventual fate of more like why. watching, you know, oh, it's Neff Campbell, 25 years later, you know. Such a good point. Jennifer Love you, that many years later.

So, and so now you can just look at it and go like, oh, we're all going to die, you know. But back then, you know, when you're in your 20s and something is seeing this or you teens, you know, it's still more of an abstract concept that you're trying to wrap your head around mortality. And so, you know, one response to that is fear. and the other response is to kind of laugh at it, you know, because it's the human condition. And so I think that's part of the appeal of it. And part of it is also that kind of 90s stark thing of just sort of like, you know, you're in that 10 years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and, you know, September 11th happening. And everybody's kind of like, you know, everything's cool, you know, I'm worried about serial killers now, you know, just.

So. It's very, very true. God. It's also funny. Yeah, the 90s are epic. And those movies specifically launched the, like, the parody movies, right? Like that scary movie and like, that's a genre of its own. Which is, well, they're more like slapstick, you know? Like scream is more like wit. And, yeah, and scary movies is more kind of an obvious, you know, yeah, like the three stooges basically. Yes. Yeah, it's like naked gun, but make it kind of more. It's interesting. Yes. But I do, I'm curious what you have to say on. you know, it has been cool as someone who really loves horror movies. And obviously, I'm going to call you a horror scholar. It is, it's interesting to look at the horror movies from, you know, the 80s, things like we just, we mentioned before we started recording the thing, aliens, stuff like that. A lot of movies that have that body horror aspect. Then you get the 90s slasher's film. And, you know, in the last 10 or so years, I feel like horror has really boomed. And in an era where remakes, reboots are everything, we've seen. a lot of movies like Talk to Me, 824 film, like Smile, these movies that are actually

box office smashes because they're made for, you know, five to 10 mil, and then they rake in 80 million, and that's a huge win. What is it about the fact that horror is really kind of, it feels like it's having a moment, but there's still the market for remakes and reboots of these 90s classics like we've seen with Scream. Like they rebooted Scream, and now we've got just like the first wave, we've got, about like five more coming. And now here we are with,

I know what you did last summer. It's like, and final destination, Dan. Yeah, true. It's like, why do you think right now

there's a window for, for those remakes to still be coming out? Well, the remakes work if they're pulled off well. Like, final destination bloodlines was really good. And basically almost as good as like the first two final destination ones. So those are great.

Whereas the Exorcist reboot kind of sucked. So, you know, although Mike Flanagan's doing, the next one, so it will probably be great. But that's kind of the difference. You know, you need to get people who actually really like horror movies to make these things because otherwise the studio kind of see them as an easy way to, you know, they're

cost effective. And if you get a horror movie that hits, then, yeah, you're into tons of profit. The cool thing about that is, though, horror may be one of the last sectors of film where you can still have original concepts coming in. plus, you know, tried and true concepts. Unlike, you know, the bigger films where you have like hundreds of millions of dollars riding on it, it has to, at least the studios convince themselves. It has to be an established brand. Otherwise, they don't want to take the risk, you know, so it has to be Superman.

I'm not knocking it because I actually really like that less the new Superman movie, but still, you know, yeah. But it's still like it's a known quantity so there's less risk. Whereas, you know, if you're spending less money in a genre that always usually winds up making money if it hits, if it's done well, then, you know, that's a risk they're willing to take. So then you get things like hereditary or get out and, you know, like Stone Classics, you know, emerging because there's so much being made. So your odds of there being really great stuff coming out of this, you know, hundreds of films are a lot higher. And it's cool, too, that there's, and we talked about this on the show at times, but. Sometimes the lower budgets on the horror movie are almost helpful to it because it's like you want it to be in the mixer and have it look raw and unfiltered. That's like that thing that, you know, Jack White of the White Stripes always says is, you know, you need limits.

You know, there's a reason why he'll use this three colors, you know. So I did. And he decides, okay, I'm going to do this just with, you know, a two piece band or four piece band. So, yeah, limitations can help if there's still some. sense of struggle. And that's harder, the more successful you get to keep yourself, you know, struggling because suddenly people want to give you more money and you can do more stuff. But as a horror guy, do you like it that we're revisiting some of these classics? Like, you know, we talked about like the thing might be your favorite of all time. I think it is mine. Or if not,

it's on my Mount Rushmore. And when they remade that, it was a disaster. And yeah, I'm not, I'm not, I'm, you know, not a big fan of remakes, basically. I like continuations of things. I like things that, like, take an idea and make something new of it. And you talk about the thing. Well, the thing was technically a remake of the 1951 film, the thing from another world. Yet it's a completely different movie. Yeah.

You know? So, and they're both movies. They both stand up. They're great. And that's the kind of thing I like where somebody actually takes something. something and makes it their own, you know, and reshapes it, as opposed to like, you know, Friday the, the endless Friday the 13th where it was, you know, the exact same template. And they're just like, do it again and again and again and again and just, you know, change the characters. So that's

drag. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And or we'll kill him and then he'll come back because, you know, you still, you still may be able to squeeze a little more juice out of the lemon, you know. Yeah. So. And, and. But, you know, if it's done well, It's cool. Like final destination bloodlines. That was worth doing. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. And we had talked on text about what, which ones you like and which ones you don't like. And is it, you would said earlier that it's just finding people that like it and actually care. Is that the big difference? Do you think? Well, you know, there's so many, you know, I know so many people that make these things. And you never know like what if film's going to work or not. because there's so many different factors going on there. So sometimes, you know, that's not enough.

But I think it helps if you at the very least go in with people who really, who love the genre or understand why the genre works. And, you know, and, you know, it's like anything. You know, if somebody's doing it just as a job, I think it shows, you know. And there's certain films or if somebody's doing it who actually really, you know, semi-secretely is looking down in the genre, that shows. Like the remake of Susperia, to me, I watched that and I go, like, this is not a guy who likes horror films. This is not a fair, you know.

When you mentioned April Fool's Day earlier and that 80s wave where the kind of blood and slasher vibe wasn't really well received, can you really pinpoint a moment where it felt like that was well received? because, I mean, I know, it was never well received by the, you know, it was never well received by the establishment. It was received well by the audience. Yes. The audience was not, you know, people, other than like a few like parental groups or, you know, religious groups or whatever, like the people who are protesting, you know, some of the bloodier slasher's or whatever, the people who like rose up in arms against Sam Ramey's original evil dead, you know. that you know people the audiences love that and that i think scared the authorities essentially and so there's kind of a pushback which is why like sam ramey's you know evil dead two turned into horror comedy and he instead of having red blood he had green juices and all of that stuff to get around

all the restrictions to try not to get the things slapped with the next rating yeah it's just like i think it's so crazy that we went from that era to, you know, these 90 slashes where people were like, okay, you know, it's maybe not that gory, but there's a ton of blood. And then we went to Saw and Hostel. And then you went to SOTEL. Well, you know, again, and Saw and Hostel are all post-9-11. That's all like dealing with trauma. Like, suddenly you've got a bunch, you know, suddenly you're playing to an audience that's suddenly very aware that death is around the corner, you know, and is random and unexpected.

So, you know, and also wants revenge. And you can't really take revenge on it. And so, therefore, you know, you're kind of acting out. And at the same time, the people are tortured and saw are usually the Americans. So it's sort of like there's certain, there's very suspicious. There's a lot of guilt going back and forth. Well, I'm actually thinking more of hostile. I'm thinking of Eli's film Hostel, which is classically, you know, very consciously about that.

So we're, you know, saw is more like a bloodier version of the usual. suspects in some ways. Wow. So true. I mean, I go all the time. Saw and Saw 2. I mean, there are multiple good ones, but Saw and Saw 2 are brilliant movies. I mean, like the plot is just like really, really smart. Well, that's the one where Lee Wan and James Wan are still involved in it.

So which, again, is a case of getting the guys who actually like and understand horror, you know, versus, you know, people coming in here just looking for a way to worb their way. into directing a Marvel movie. You know what? I'm glad you just said that. I was actually going to bring up. I think it's so, there's two things that are so funny. One you've been alluding to is when a not horror guy or gal gets a job and directs a horror project

and you can clearly tell and feel like that there isn't that connection to horror. But I think the funnier is when a horror person goes and direct something not horror. All of the San Ramey Marvel projects are just like, oh, that's it. If you will go back and watch Spider-Man and Spider-Man and Spider- Man 2. There are such clear horror shots in those movies that you're like, what is happening right now? And that's that, Sam. I love, I love Sam Ramey's stuff. And Darkman was kind of his dry run for that stuff, you know. Yeah. And even the much malign, probably deservedly so, Dr. Strange in the multiverse of madness, it still has monsters in it where you could see like, oh, this is

a sand at Ramey's chance to do like a full lovecraft, you know? So he's going. for it. So that's worth it. Yeah. Oh, no, it is. Absolutely. And Kurt, how come, or at least maybe I'm biased because of the era we grew up in, but it seems to me that the movies that are getting mega sequaled and continued and rebooted are from that like 95-205 run. And maybe eventually the original movies coming out now, we're going to have it two later. But is that true or am I just focused on the ones I grew up with? I think you might be because I think some of the ones that they're, you know, I mean, alien, you know, that was 1970. Oh, true.

Right. Yeah. So, you know. Although you could argue that like, you know, the core. I mean, there's a big gap between alien and aliens. Wasn't like aliens 86. So that's a big, you know, it's actually a pretty big gap. And aliens is much more the 80s film, you know.

Alien, the original has that. the 70s darkness, we're all screwed vibe to it. And, you know, and aliens is like, you know, well, if we have enough guns. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Like alien almost has like a 2001, a space odyssey vibe. There's like a psychological element to it. And then aliens is James Cameron. Like it is. It's a game's camera. Exactly. Roller coaster.

And I've worked with him a couple of times. So, and, uh, an interesting guy. and despite the fact that in some ways he's sort of a, you know, has kind of a hippie, you know, sense. He really gets into designing the guns and stuff. Like, he's really into the weaponry. So the one thing about those avatar movies, if you watch him, be like, you know, somebody put a lot of thought into the weaponry in this movie. Yeah, he doesn't play around, man. That guy is hardcore.

core. I want to know, you know, because we've touched on a bunch of different errors here, and obviously the catalyst of this discussion is this, you know, I know what you did last summer reboot here. What is your, if you can think of it, your Mount Rushmore of horror films? Oh. Well, you know, again, I've seen a lot of stuff. So it's very hard for me to like boil things down to a few things. But I would say the thing. John Carpenter's the thing. Takashi Miki's audition for sure. And that's a fun one. I recommend it to parents ditches to sit down to watch audition.

Sicko. Yeah. Then they'll be in therapy for the rest of their lives. But let's see. Jeez. You know, I really like hereditary. Again, I think as a

modern film that really kicks ass, it's hereditary. I don't know if I'm allowed to say that on your podcast. Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay, yeah. And also get out as a modern film, I think. Yeah, but, you know, but there is no

like, you know, top. I'm actually going through my sleeve here for the 90s films. So, actually, I think in some ways, I've got to give some props to seven, David Fentcher's seven,

just for what it rate. I mean, if we're, if we can call that horror, it's got to be up there. I mean, you can't because also like when we're talking about the 90s, what was happening in a parallel track, you know,

there's, there's these films like scream that are, you know, making fun of the slasher genre. But at the same time, the one thing that the 90s did really well was digging into the Silence of the Lamb, seven kind of,

you know, grim, grisly, you know, kind of heightened reality of, you know, man's in humanity to man. Yeah. One that kind of walks that line. Another Frencher one is Zodiac that I love. Like that's... Zodiac's terrific.

And yeah. And that's a very also depressing movie with no resolution. But, but, but yeah, it's one, that's a movie that'll make you, you know, like put triple locks in your doors and right yeah you know even then to uh to sort of close the loop on on on the genres we're talking about here i actually i love that question that chris asked of of you know like are we focused on the movies that we grew up with and it c p i actually did just kind of laugh at myself thinking like i think we're just old now and like we are the perfect age where the movies we grew up with are being remade but do you think in particularly with

with horror occur, do you think that this genre, the sort of like sexy teen slasher genre, is one of the better sort of micro genres of horror that are good to remake, reboot, or continue? Or do you think, like you said earlier, it

really is all about who's making it? So about who's making it. And also, I'm, I'm not sure how much legs they actually will have these days. Because I think I think of anything, if to make a prediction.

Actually, it said like about six months ago in some podcast that I really thought, well, we'll start being popular again or vampire movies. And then sinners hit, and I felt vindicated. I was about to say, oh, shit, you sniping that one. Yeah.

I think that's kind of more where things are going, films where people feel like they're just left no control over their destiny. That's kind of why Final Destination Blood Lines, I think, also hit big because it's sort of. of there's this feeling that we're being just sort of we're in the middle of a pissing contest between billionaires and governments and, you know, for all these social forces. So seeing attractive young teens slaughtered, I think, may be more something that's reflective of a culture that really doesn't have that much to worry about. But we'll see. I love that. I love that.

That's actually a good one because, Kurt, I was going to do. just end us with um and dan i'm kind of directing it's at you too uh anyone's recently that you've totally loved and you actually listed to a modern films card in rushmore which i was surprised about but like i i know i didn't see long legs yet damn but i know you like that i liked barbarian i thought that was fucking nuts but any any any any any horror fans listening that you that you've come out recently that you'd recommend oh well if you want a slasher that's fun there's a movie called Clown in a Cornfield. I just saw that pop up.

And I, okay, go on, go on. You should check out Clown and a Corfield. It's done by the guy who did Tucker and Dale versus Evil, which is another really fun movie that is not afraid to be gory as hell, like splattery, but is also really amusing because it's just sort of much like scream, it's like it turns all the genre tropes inside out. It takes these two guys who you think. who are mistaken for hillbilly serial killers are actually like really nice guys, but they have a way of somehow getting everybody horribly murdered who comes into contact

with them. So that's a great movie. And clown in the cornfield has sort of a similar aesthetic in that, you know, it's got the kind of a girl who moves into a town which has kind of a weird annual ritual. And it just kind of keeps. doubling down and escalating on its wacky premise. And it's also has tons of, you know, if you're into kills and all of that. But, yeah, it's got a lot of really good ones.

So I'd recommend that. Yeah, we're watching this weekend. Have you seen the terror fire movies? Yeah. I've seen, I've fast-forwarded and through. Holy moly. A couple of them. That's not really my bag.

Yeah. I won't lie to you, Kurt. I'm a little skeptical of clowning a cornfield because of Terrifier, but with your vote of confidence, maybe I'll give it a shot. So that's- No, the Terrifier films, at least my, you know, how they struck me is they seem more sadistic than, you know, fun. Yes.

And clown in the cornfield is actually, you know, actually kind of fun. And the more it goes long, the less seriously you have to take it, I would say. Yeah. Okay. I love that. Um, CP for me, uh, if I can give a, uh, a nod to a movie that's on my Mount Rushmore 28 days later. I loved 28 years. I thought 28 years was awesome. And then, um, I really liked Heretic with Hugh Grant. Oh, yeah. Oh, that was for. Tick's got a really good script. Yeah.

I yeah, a great script. And then I actually just watched like two nights ago, 824's newer one, bring her back. And that was really, freaky. So people are looking at you have kids? I don't. I don't. And I'm going to say it might have just a couple more years. If you have kids, that's one that maybe

it's, you know, you may wind up, yeah, heading to the kitchen, just to wander away from that one. Yeah, I think that's correct. That's amazing. Well, Kurt, this was awesome. I've had such a blast.

Before we let you go, please tell everyone what you're working on now. If you want to plug anything, shout out on anything. Yeah, let it rip. Gosh, let's see. Well, to be perfectly honest, as you may have noticed,

the industry is in a bit of a down period. Don't we know it? So I am simply, you know, working on many development projects. Actually, I was actually working on a big hill history project, American history project of all things. But I am trying to get two other horror projects off the ground. So, you know, it should be TV projects.

And I'm also probably going to start doing a, oh, I do have a site called the Horror Express on Substack, which has a bunch of interviews I've done with people where we talk about, you know, different big deal horror films. And we're doing a series of the thing right now. Well, I mean, I'll be checking that out. immediately. So fantastic. That's huge. Awesome stuff. Thanks for asking.

Oh, of course. Of course. This was unreal. Thank you so much for sharing your extensive horror knowledge with us and the fans. This is going to be awesome. And we really appreciate it, man. Thanks, guys. Thanks for having me on. Absolutely. Huge thank you to my boy, Kurt Sayanga. That was sick, dude. And he, Dan, he's dialed. He is a horror god. He's a horror god, which is like such a crazy title. But it's like the second you experience it, you're like, oh, yeah, you are a horror god. And he looks the part, eh? You know, you're like, you're like, you're like, you know horror. Yeah. Yeah.

I was like, like, I saw him and I was like, oh, I'm about to get taken to school, dude, to the school. Yes. Unbelievable stuff. Such a blast. I'm loving this stuff. Let's, let's quickly check in with the sponsors and we'll be right back. Quick intermission to talk to you, babes about state and liberty. fellas stop right now and listen don't fast forward this i'm telling you i'm about to hook you up

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favorite parts of the episode. And this is my favorite trivia game. It's called What's the Connection? I ask, and for new listeners, I ask Dan 10 trivia questions. The first nine have answers, and the 10th question is what is the connection to all of the previous nine answers. In the past, Dan has given me comic book character names, Lois, you know, Lois, Clark, I can't remember what else. I'm stuck in a Superman loop. That was crazy what just happened. You forgot all comic book characters right there.

Yep. Bruce, Bruce Wayne, things like that. The one I did for Dan most recently was Mario Kart, everything I had to do with Mario Kart. It was so good. Dan, are you, this one's the hardest one I've done for you, I think. But you always get them so fast, but this one's the hardest one, but I think you're going to love it. I did get Mario Kart fast, but all right. Even though that was so good.

It's like, God, damn. I tried to order these in the right way to make it like that you wouldn't figure it out. I actually might move one of these, but I'll figure that in a second. Okay, ready? Yes. Question number one. Okay. The Owens

I'm just Hey look Yeah don't be cheating I'm just writing I'm writing down what my answers are I think Owen sound became an OHL franchise

in 1989 when they were known as the Owen sound I think it's platers platers but in 2000 they changed their name to what it is now

the Owen sound blank okay I believe some I have hints for and I have a hint for this one if you need it. So don't, I'm not going to give it to you yet, but you can have it later. Bobby Ryan, Bobby Ryan played for the Owens. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm getting in my head because I know their mascot. And the mascot is deceiving, Dan, to be honest with you. That's what I'm saying. I believe

the answer is the attack. Go on to question two. Question two. Their mascot is a bear, though. Yeah, correct. The original Boston Garden, opened on November 17th, shout out Roy Gavin's birthday, in 1928. Had it opened merely nine years earlier, it would have been completely destroyed when a massive tank burst in the heart of Boston on January 5th, 1919, flooding the north end with blank and killing 21 people. It is probably the best smelling tragedy of all time. I think it's molasses, but I'm not sure.

So that's your placeholder? Yeah. I think it's molasses. Ready for the question three? Yes. At the 1993 All-Star game, this is very topical, considering the interview we've just done. At the 1993 All-Star game, Al-Iafrady broke his own record for the hardest shot with a 105.2 mile per hour clapper. Held the record till Big Z broke it years later.

The coolest part about I Afraidy's moment in NHL history has to do with his stick. It was wood. On game day, pain can hit hard and fast, like the headache you get when your favorite team and your fantasy team both lose. When pain comes to play, call an audible with Advil plus acetaminophen and get long-lasting dual-action pain relief for up to eight hours. Tackle your tough pain two ways with Advil plus acetaminopin. Advil, the official pain relief partner of the NFL. Ask your pharmacist at this product's rate for you. Always read and follow the label.

Okay. Or maybe it broke. Maybe that it broke. It was wood and it broke. And also, Mark got it. I know a lot about this stick. Write all that down, dude. Write all that down.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Question, I think four. Four, four. On the Spit and Chicklets podcast, Sidney Crosby told an incredible story

about his infamous spin doctor, an illegal club in his golf bag that could stop the ball on a dime no matter what your lie. What club is it? Oh, God. And you don't have to be as specific as maybe you're thinking.

Okay. Like, brand? No, no, like, it's not driving. but if it was driver, you would have just said driver. Oh, okay. All right. All right. Yeah.

I think it's a wedge is what my guess would be. Okay. So you're writing down wedge. I'm going to write down. You're making it sounds like that's fucking wrong now, though. But I'm going to say wedge. Yeah. The 2014 NHL Winter Classic featured the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings.

Due to a counting error, the game. Guinness Book of World Records refuses to make this official. But that game should have set the record for most blank sold. I don't know. Jerseys? I have a hint for that one, so you can come back to it. Okay. 2014 Winter Classic.

Leifes at Red Wings. Yeah, that was the big house, dude. That was a good hint. Seats? Let's say seats. Tickets. Okay. Tickets.

Oh, that sounds better than seats, but... Tickets. I don't think they sell the seats, Dad, but they do... I don't think they sell the seats. Tickets. Okay, all right. I want to say tickets. Okay.

Okay. Okay. All right. Okay. Okay. Okay. This versatile tool used in hockey training has been featured in many, many videos, including one of a young Connor McDavid during his junior hockey days.

it improves quick feet and agility. A hockey tool? Yeah. This versatile, I said this versatile, and I'll even add like exercise tool. Yeah. Maybe like a slideboard. Quick feet, quick feet and agility. Maybe a ladder.

A ladder? I'm not answering you. Agility ladder. Okay. I'm going to, I'm sorry. I'm just thinking out loud. Move on. Okay.

All right, we're going to go this one next. Leafs fans are notoriously hard on their hometown squad. They've run more than one superstar out of town. And when the boys aren't playing well, people are known to call the, the rink can get so quiet. People are known to call it the Scotia Bank Blank Library. Move on, okay? Question eight, eight.

This school has won 17 Hockey East Championships, three more than any other school. They also are tied for the most national championships of any team in their conference. You might not have guessed they'd have had all this success, considering their tiny, adorable mascot, which is... That is going to be tiny adorable mascot. It must be a terrier, Boston Terrier. So a terrier. Okay. Question nine. Ready?

Okay, yeah. While many professional sports involved trash talking, a recent poll showed that ice hockey is cited as having the most prevalent and entertaining trash talk. They even have their own term for it chirping, which is funny, considering a staggering 41% of the NHL is Canadian, a very mild-mannered and friendly nation. In fact, when imitating a Canadian, many people use this word. in their delightful accent. A. A? Okay.

So what do you think you have so far? I think I have attack, molasses, broken or wood, wedge, tickets, ladder, library, terrier, and A. Okay. Are all those right? I don't want to tell you yet.

The broken or wood bothers me. Like, I need to know which one that is. Okay, I'll tell you it is wood. Okay. Thank you. And I'll tell you you have one wrong. And it's latter? Nope, that's correct.

Oh. So it must be wedge. And the one you have wrong, your guess is excellent. So it's like, it's not your fault. You made a great guess. You can obviously get the connection without getting them all. You know, like you can figure it out. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

but maybe having them all will help a little bit. Oh, I got it. You have the connection? Yeah, and I got it because you gave me a good hint with my guest being excellent. So I imagine that it is A and that the correct word is sorry, which makes me think that the connection is like board games or something here. Dan, that is absolutely correct. Wow, okay. All right. Well, hold on. Let me see if I can...

Okay. So, sorry is... Sorry. ...is a board game. Terrier, I'm thinking, is Monopoly? Yep. Because of the little dog. Library's got to be my game clue. Yep. Ladder must be shoots and ladders.

Yep. Tickets is ticket to ride. Yep. Wow. Wedge, I'm going to come back to. Wood, I'm thinking, settlers. Yep. Melasses is Candyland?

Yes, Dad, the molasses swamp. That was the hardest one, I think. And then attack is obviously risk or like battleship, whatever. No, risk. Yep. And Wedge. One of the most famous four games of all time. Oh, God.

Wedge is obviously... I don't know. It's a race to six wedges. You need six wedges to fill... I think maybe five. Six or five wedges to fill your pie. I don't know. Trivial pursuit.

Trivial pursuit. Oh, cool. I didn't... You move around the board and every time you get one right, you get a little wedge. I think, like, a bitch, I've only played Trivial Pursuit on, like, PlayStation. like the digital game.

And I don't know if the wedges are... Wow, that was really good. The questions were hard. You went deep with the phrasing. Yeah, yeah. Well, it was hard to get a question to make those words. Like, I was really like,

I was like, how do I get to wedge? You know, like, how do I get to molasses? That sorry one was the longest question I've ever heard. I was like, what is happening? That was like Jeopardy or, you know, anything like that where I was like, okay, and the answer is, and I was like, oh, wait, no, it's still going. Oh, wait, it's still going. And then it was finally the question. Yeah. Wow. Board games, really, really good stuff. Great job, dude. Really great job. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. Great game CP. That is it for us today at the Empty Naders podcast. Hope you enjoyed that interview with OAR of a revolution. Go listen to their music right now if you aren't already. we have got an iconic guest coming next week on Tuesday. Truly, I'm not sure I've ever been more excited for anyone to hear an episode. I absolutely mean that immediately shot into my top three Empty Netters episodes of all time. You guys are going to love it. It's going to be so good. In the meantime, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube so you don't miss anything like that.

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Grab some merch. And enjoy your weekends. And until we see you for this amazing Tuesday episode. It's only one thing to do. Skate hard.