The Ryen Russillo Podcast - The Five Best NBA Teams for a GM, Plus Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and Mailbag Life Advice | The Ryen Russillo Podcast

Episode Date: April 9, 2020

Russillo runs through which NBA teams he thinks are really destination jobs for a GM (3:45), before talking with world-renowned jazz trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah about the New Orleans jazz community, touring as a teenager, pushing musical boundaries, and much more (14:30). Finally, Russillo answers some mailbag questions (56:58). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

all right let's do this the ryan rossillo podcast on the ringer network today's episode is brought to you by state farm just like sports the game of life is unpredictable talk to a state farm agent and get a teammate who can help you navigate the unexpected. Hmm. What happened that was unexpected in sports? Oh, it appears that players, baseball players with families, don't want to leave their families for four months. So that was one of the proposals that came out. And a bunch of players were like, hey, you know what? I actually kind of like my kids.

I like my wife. I think there's some players that were like sign me up sweet um i hope i wouldn't be one of those players feeling is i probably would be but um whatever that version of that solution was um that was that was not unexpected to see you guys go i don't think i want to do that one and we're still all trying to figure this. And I'm not going to spend any more time on it. Get a teammate who can help you navigate the unexpected. Talk to a State Farm agent today.

If you're listening to this podcast, which you are, you're probably like, man, Russillo sounds a little excited. Giddy almost. Really? This guy's doing great

in the quarantine. I am excited. Christian Atunde Ajoie. Christian Scott is also a name that he is known by. I think he is the best thing in jazz. He's unbelievable live. His collection, his catalog is incredible. And if you're going, who is that? You're going to learn about him today. We're going to sit down for like 40 minutes and I'm going to ask him about growing up in New Orleans, 9th Ward, playing the trumpet and ultimately defining what he's trying to do because this guy's brilliant. He's so much fun. And I think what you should do, if you've never been to a jazz concert or something like that, maybe if you go, I'm not even sure if I would like that challenge yourself, like a new

food, try something different. And I promise you'll, you'll at least enjoy the live experience whenever we can get this thing going again. Cause hopefully'll be uh soon well soon's probably you know what i'm trying to say here so i i've seen him twice i loved it and uh i'm fired up because i got to meet him shout out to chris fun his bass player baltimore guy and he was uh he came up to me after a show in boston where i went to it i kind of lingered a little bit because i was trying to meet him but i didn't want to do that thing where it's like you're blatantly lingering but i I was lingering. And then his bass player was like, he goes, you look like Ryan Russillo. I was like, yeah, that's convenient because that's me. And we got a picture, met Christian, and now we've been in touch and he's

coming on. So we're going to talk a lot about that. The whole New Orleans thing, traveling, becoming famous, being on the cover of Billboard once you're in college, and you're going to learn about a guy that maybe a lot of you didn't know a ton about. All right, so that's the plan. Now, we also have something we're going to do a little bit later, a new installment. This isn't brand new. I'm not claiming I invented the mailbag. In case you're a really insecure podcaster somewhere else, it's going to freak out. I just feel like we should have done this a long time ago. So he has some mailbag questions that Kyle's forwarded to me,

but we haven't had really a lot of time to go through this because we just launched it. But it's lifeadvicerr at Gmail if you want to go ahead and hit us up as a life advice submission. So we're going to start bringing back life advice. I'm going to have select life advice, submission. So we're going to start bringing back life advice. I'm going to have select life advice, non-certified life advice coaches joining us. I think Long's going to want to do it. I have a buddy named Mark. We call him Hedge Fund Mark. And I really want him to come on and do it, but I think he's afraid to, even though he'd be better at this than I think anybody else. So that's what we're going to do at the end. But before we do that, and before we hear from Christian, what I want to do is the five NBA destination jobs for a general manager. The Bulls just hired a new GM and I was on in Chicago and the guys, Waddle and

Sylvie asked me, they said, what do you think people think of the job to be the GM of the Chicago Bulls? I go, look, I get in Chicago, like you look at it as one of the five best franchises in the NBA. And it is one of the five best franchises. Like there's no disputing. I really, I really don't think there is as far as like, which franchises do you think of when you think of the NBA, you think of Celtics, you think of Lakers. I think you go to go Bulls there. I mean, anybody that keeps saying the Knicks, like wake up. I mean, that is like, you know, that's weekend at Bernie's type stuff, man. I'm just going to walk around with a corpse and keep talking about how great of a time we're having.

Yeah, I really don't. I don't I don't even want to get into the extra stuff here because I know this isn't going to go over well. But what I decided, because a lot of times in college football, college basketball, college football, we'd say, all right, what are the five destination jobs in college football? And you're definitely going to be really worried about the people out there that are in the prison of the moment stuff where they'll go, oh, you know, it's not Texas. I'm like, well, it still kind of is Texas. Is USC a destination job?

The Pac-12 is going to figure some things out here, but it definitely was not that long ago. Would Florida State be considered one? Yeah, at times it felt like, hey, there aren't five better jobs in Florida State, but would you say it right now? Right now, it feels like Ohio State, Alabama, LSU still from just a talent standpoint, although George has been in that mix, and then with what Clemson's done, but the idea that you would ever label Clemson a destination job pre this Dabo run, you would never say that. So you have to kind of do a bigger picture deal

where for at least college, because college basketball, you would have said Indiana, you would have said UCLA. A lot of that stuff comes down to facilities. How helpful are the boosters? What's the admission situation like? I think we know it's Duke.

We know it's North Carolina and it's Kansas. And it was Gonzaga, really a destination job. But for the NBA GM, it's different. It's not your recruiting base. It's not what are the boosters going to do. It's not going to be your facilities. If you were to ask me, what's the most important things, the criteria that I used here for the five destination jobs

for an NBA general manager, it would be, who's your owner? What's the roster right now? So it's a little different than the college basketball or college football history of a place. It's who's on the roster right now? What's the roster makeup in the future? Contracts, all that kind of stuff. One team in particular, Oklahoma City, you could factor in some of the draft pick equity that they have coming their way. So owner, current roster. And I think there's also an element to the city. Is this a desirable place? Now, it isn't just, hey, let's go to the Miami Heat because it's warm in Miami. Wade was already in place. Wade and LeBron wanted to play together,

and he wanted to get out of Cleveland. That story could have gone a bunch of different ways if Wade was like, actually, I don't really like the management structure down here, and I'll go with you somewhere else. I mean, that could have happened, but I don't really like the management structure down here, and I'll go with you somewhere else. I mean, that could have happened, but I don't know that it was Pat Riley as much as it was LeBron. Well, you know what? I do know that. It wasn't Riley as much as it was LeBron and Wade going, all right, we're going to do this. And Bosh was like, I'm in too.

So whenever I think about free agents and whether or not they want to go to a city, it isn't really the market. It isn't really all of that stuff the way it used to be. It usually was who else was on the roster. So these roster changeover things could happen pretty quickly. So I'm going to go through all 30 teams, rapid fire. Let's do the no's first. It's not Minnesota. It's the owner's a problem and your current one and two on the roster, Towns and Russell. I think you're just going to lose a lot of games. Phoenix owner, end of discussion over. San Antonio is actually a no now.

I like the owner. The city is not a destination city. I don't think San Antonio paid no state taxes in Texas. I don't know if you guys have ever heard that before. Popovich, I don't know how much longer he's going to be around. And your two best players are LaMarcus Aldridge, who's mid-30s, and DeRozan, who nobody else wants to pay.

Sacramento owner out Cleveland roster owner out Atlanta ownership. Eh, I don't know. They feel like they've done some weird things there over the years. And you know, the roster is still too young Detroit. Um, I guess the owner is sort of a neutral there, but Blake Griffin's owed a sweet $75 million. So out. And it's not a destination city. Pacers, a nice little story.

Nice little roster. It's a no. And we're talking about rapid fire. Which of these teams are even in the running to be a top five destination for an NBA general manager? So this isn't dumping on your team or your roster, all that stuff. It's just, let's get the no's out of the way.

Chicago's a no right now. Chicago's not top five. Boston, great ownership, really good coach, a bunch of pieces that I like the roster, but there's no way the city itself is attractive enough to put it in the top five. Knicks, no. Wizards, no. And that's more about the contracts that are on there than ownership. Charlotte, no. Orlando. Orlando's not a hard no. It's just sort of a no. So relax. New Orleans is a maybe. It's not the city.

It's not ownership. It's Zion in particular. But is it going to be good enough to get in the top five? So I put them in the no slash maybe. Portland, it's not bad. It's just not top five. Memphis roster, kind of like it. City, owner.

You know what? Memphis roster kind of like it city owner you know what I feel like I've heard less about their ownership issues and just the the drama of it then you know maybe that's a little bit of new owner syndrome there where it was a younger owner all of a sudden you were hearing all this stuff and now you just don't really hear that much stuff out of it and when I say city don't take it personally as I don't like your city just Just understand that as far as NBA destinations go, Memphis is not near the top of the list. I think we'd all agree with that. Houston, is it more attractive as a city? But that was always the case with Dallas, right? Wasn't Dallas always attractive as a city and they couldn't really bring in any free agents? So that was

always kind of weird, right? So is Houston, Houston's more of a positive as an NBA city destination than it is a negative. But I don't know. Sometimes I think we can overrate that. And again, I think it has more to do with who's already there, who wants to go with me. But the city's a positive. Owner is still kind of in that newer area. And then the roster, I think you're just going to have problems figuring out what you're going to do there with Harden-Westbrook in the future. Oklahoma City, the argument for is, it's not the roster.

I mean, Shea Gills or Alexander, we can all like him, but it's that they have 11, maybe 13 first-round picks coming in the next seven years, but that's still not enough to put them in the top five when you combine it with the city factor. Toronto, there's a lot of things I like there. I like the roster. I love the coach.

I love the city itself. I just don't think a Canadian city would ever land as a top five. If you could be a GM of any of the 30 teams, Toronto probably wouldn't be in your five. And let's not canal this thing where we change all the rules and we just turn it into like, where can I golf and what's a good summer place? So even though we like Toronto as a city, Utah is a good pick here too. Next to Park City, I like the roster. I don't think the city is a destination. I think Denver would be more of a destination city for NBA players. Kind of the same as Utah. Some pieces on that roster that I do like. People like the coach. But it's not going to make it into my top five.

Milwaukee's where it starts getting a little interesting. You've got one of the two, three best players in the world, and he'll be the undisputed guy if you were to get to the finals. Not a destination city. Ownership, I'm fine with. Love their coach. I just like the roster, even though I don't love their number two guy. But you'd think if you just aren't too impatient or you don't screw this up,

there could be a chance if you start moving some things around. Well, that would have to be like, how much do other people like Middleton? I don't want to do a full Milwaukee Bucks on the fly roster breakdown two years from now. But Milwaukee, at least because of Giannis, is in the running. But because of Milwaukee, I just don't think I can put it in the top five. Philly and Miami are the other two knocking at the door.

Philly and Miami are the other two knocking at the door Philly roster as much as we can complain and be disappointed by it and want to break everybody up there there's assets the coach is at best a neutral ownership is solid but Philly is more of a roster thing here passionate Passionate, passionate fan base. Just one of those North Atlantic cities where you know it matters. So they're outside of the five looking in, but they got consideration. And then I think Miami's the other one. Owner, terrific. Coach, maybe the best. City, destination, roster, good, not great. And that's what kept Miami outside of my top five. I would allow Miami. I would allow Philly.

I would allow Milwaukee. After that, I don't really know. So here are my five, the five destination jobs. If you were a GM, call his shot. Clippers, great ownership. Hell, they'll hire everybody for that staff. And they have an amazing staff. I don't mean that as a knock.

I mean, as a compliment, because they don't say no to very much stuff if they think it's going to help them win. Yes, there's a version of this where in two years, it's a disaster, but you still have Ballmer. You still have Doc. You still have an LA location. And I really think the Clippers are in this group of five. Dallas, it's not about location as much as its owner

who's figured it out after 20 years, a terrific coach. And you might have a top five player in Doncic in only his second season. Here you go. Hey, Ry, how come you haven't mentioned Golden State? Golden State, best backcourt in the league. They're going to get their guys back. Brand new arena, great coach, great ownership.

Let's not sleep on what Golden State may be after this disastrous year, which could be a blessing in disguise between rest and whatever they get in the draft, but it is a bad draft. Okay, so that leaves two other teams. Are you seriously going to put the Brooklyn Nets in there over other teams?

I am. It's a cooler location than people realize. It is better ownership than it was in the past. And you have Durant. And you can trade Kyrie to somebody else. So there you go, asset. And then I put the Lakers fifth. Ownership situation there is weird

because after Dr. Buss' passing, it was like, oh, what's going on? But now that Genie's calling shots, it's perceived to be way better ownership than it was before. But I think you'd get Anthony. It's really what it came down to for me on this was Anthony Davis in Los Angeles versus Giannis in Milwaukee. And I think Davis will be easier to add to

because of the allure of the Lakers. So two LA teams in New York team, Golden State and Dallas. Those are my top five. Feel free to hit me up with all of your kind feedback at Ryan Aversillo. Okay. I'm excited about this. He's really probably one of my favorite musicians going right now, Christian Atunde-Ajoie. For everybody listening, I want to give a little background before our guest joins us. But I didn't grow up playing music. Piano lessons, like everybody else's parents make you take piano lessons.

I sang in the choir. I did like that. I could read music a little bit. But then I worked in a music store. I was in high school in a CD shop, and I was surrounded by all these musicians. And on Sundays, I'd work in the store by myself. It was dead in the winter. And I just started loving music, you know?

And people love music. I get it. But I then was like, I don't know anything about jazz. So every Sunday, I made it a routine for like two years I was in high school. Every Sunday, I'd open up another jazz CD, and I would just start teaching myself. And the first time, I'm like, look, the early Miles stuff is great, Bird and pushing the limits and Coltrane joining Miles and him doing his whole thing, like none of this is new.

When I heard Monk's music the first time I was like, okay, it's so simple, this is perfect. But when I heard In a Silent Way from Miles and the Jack Johnson, In a Bitch's Brew, it blew me away. And it made me feel about music in a way that I hadn't felt until I listened to Christian that in the edge Rob joins us now and when I first is I'm late to the game on you Christian but when I first heard your stuff a few years ago it was the first time again that I was like okay this is different than everything else so thanks for joining us today and I just wanted to know kind of where I was coming from

oh no thanks I appreciate that so that you know, I grew up listening to those recordings as well. And, you know, I'll never forget the first time that I heard Bitches Brew, you know, because for a lot of musicians, they, what's weird is for most people that play the music, they have, it grows on them over time. So like every single person I went to like conservatory with or grew up playing in bands with, the first time they heard that specific record, didn't like it. Right. But but I'm going to give some context, because when you learn to play this music, you're you're sort of indoctrinated to a very specific canon. And that stuff is kind of the end of the arc. Right. So like in New Orleans, where I'm from, you start with like Joe Oliver and Louis Armstrong

and the early stuff, right? Kid Ory, these sort of bands, Jelly Roll Mark. So this is a very specific sonic environment palette, obviously because of the time, like 1920s, you know, no one's plugging in an electric anything, right? So it's a very specific set of sounds. But once you get to that space, or I think for folks like us, I'm born in 83.

And so I grew up listening to Prince's music and all of this stuff that's also plugged in. So those recordings, in a silent way, I think it's kind of marked as the first fusion recording. Even though this jazz as a form is always, most American music is always on one level or another has been fusion. Right. But this is one of the first times where it's really marked in terms of the sonic architectural aspects of it. In other words, the the the how the compositions are being built, but the things that you are using sonically to pull from other cultures. Right. So you may play something that sounds like something sonically to pull from other cultures, right? So you may play something that sounds like something from the blues or from rock and roll music, but if it's not on an instrument that sounds like those cultures of music,

it doesn't read. So for our generation, I feel like part of the reason people really get down with those records as well is because those are the first records that actually meet them halfway sonically right it's no it's it's perfectly said yeah when you hear you hear jocko and john mclaughlin and you're like okay and the beauty of the whole history of it is that you know everything's very regimented in the beginning at least you know where miles is coming up and then bird starts pushing all these boundaries and then everybody's pissed the whole jazz. It'd be like rappers going acapella. They're like, what are you guys doing?

Like, I want, I want, you know, Corgi and Bess. I want this stuff. I don't want any of this. And,

you know, some have argued and miles even admits like commercially, he was always trying to say like, well, what's, what's this funk music? Well, I can do this.

I can do it better than this. And when it in a silent way came out as much as I love it. And today it's my favorite thing I've ever heard. I, he got dumped on people. oh man they were like what are you doing so right no completely upset and you know I think it kind of harkens to so part of the original point that I was making too is that like for purists or people that have accepted that this music should only sound one way when you have someone that kind of for a period you know in jazz we have these things where you have like

sort of these like messiah figures that come like every decade or so right so when you have someone like miles i think no one should have been shocked at that because he had already changed the music like three times before that you know exactly but it was such a far cry in terms of what textures and sounds you were hearing you know it's like when people talk about like the first time anyone heard the right of spring everyone rioted and tore the city up right you know just couldn't handle it but uh you know thank god he did what he did uh because you wouldn't music would not sound the way it sounds today if he hadn't done that in the time period that he did. Right. And so I always learn that there's, you know, some people say there's two types of music, good music and bad music. I think that's like a famous quote from Duke Ellington about it.

You know, it don't mean a thing if it doesn't swing. I don't really subscribe to that sort of notion of philosophy. I think that if you're going to break music into a binary, to me, it's usually, I see it as you have music that is expansive, and then you have music that is not, right? And I don't mean that in a pejorative or belittling sense. I just mean that some music is looking to access as much as it can access. And other forms of music are also okay being settled for what they are, in what they are. when they were saying what it was they were they were saying because you know he's the person that's ahead if he doesn't if he doesn't get bloodied by doing that then the music he knows that the music will never change it sound the way it sounds now right exactly right no so i commend him for his his bravery you know we talked before you had spoken a little bit about like inspiration you know and like uh for me this guy is really the pinnacle

of that because of how valiant he was and because he just wasn't afraid to create courage and other artists you know which which is i think really um it's actually very rare so you have to commend the guy for that he's killing let's um let's go back because i know you've been asked about you know growing up in new orleans ninth ward i know you've been asked about, you know, growing up in New Orleans, the Ninth Ward. I know you've been asked it a bunch. I've spent a lot of time in New Orleans and, you know, getting to know some of the surrounding areas, spending time with some people from down there.

But it sounds like whenever I hear the story of, hey, I started playing at 11 and here you are, you know, I think the best thing going in jazz when it comes to folk, look, I just think you're the best, and you're the best trumpet player. But you go from picking up a trumpet at 11, and then you're touring at 13. Is this this kind of community where it's just iron sharpens iron, where even though you're picking it up later,

it's just a whole different deal down there? Well, the kids used to make fun of me. They used to say, you'll never be able to play because you're too late. Eleven feels right. Yeah, eleven is too late. You know, in New Orleans, it's the type of environment where some people may get a cornet or a trumpet when they're six or seven years old. As long as you're big enough to hold it. You know, there's videos and photographs of Trombone Shorty when he's three years old, you know, he can't even get to seventh position, but he has it. Right. And so, you know,

I think it's definitely an exposure thing. I think it's definitely an iron sharpens iron thing, but I, but I, but, but I'm just going to reframe that just a little bit based on what I experienced. reframe that just a little bit based on what I experienced. It's not so much iron, I wouldn't use that metaphor, as it is really the elders just being interested in you and the way that you learn depending on which, you know, stable you're in or which camp you're coming out. The way that I learned was filled with so much love and compassion and interest in me. So it wasn't so much like you better practice six hours a day. Like when you're around these people and they're disseminating this information to you in a way that has so much love and they want to understand what you think about and feel like, they don't have to force you to practice. You want to practice, right? So also the system and how you live it. Like, I always liken it to,

I had some students a few years ago, and they were asking me like what my experience was growing up when learning the music. And I likened it to a Karate Kid movie, like the latest one with Jaden Smith, because they were small. They were maybe like at that time, they were maybe like 13 or 14. They had just seen the movie and I saw with my little cousin and there was a moment in the movie where after i don't want to spoil it for anyone at home that's okay i think we understand the karate okay right yeah that's right yeah i think we'll be okay so but jackie chan's basically he he um jayden smith's character finds out that jackie chan's uh son and wife have died. And he's imparting to him some of these lessons.

And what he's trying to get across is that Kung Fu is less a form of martial arts and more about how you cope in life. Right. And so the way that I learned is really more akin to that and that this musical expression is an extension of what you're living. And usually, if you haven't lived it, you can't play it very well. So, you know, something my mother says all the time, keep living, right? And so it's in that sort of vein that I learned. So it wasn't really, you definitely had folks that were teaching you in a way where it was like, yeah, their expectation was that you were going to practice six hours and that you were gonna understand everything there is to understand about Louis Armstrong's

playing and understand everything there is to understand about Monty Bertie or Vivaldi or Satya or Ravel any of these things it's a cultural space where refinement is the thing but the approach to that is always fascinated around who you are, what your experience has been, and what do you have to contribute, right? But that being rooted in you being valid, even if I don't agree with what you're contributing, right? So that being empowered like that as a younger person, especially being in an environment where, depending on where you're coming from culturally, what you look like, what's part of the space you're in, there is a lot of stuff in an environment like that you may not be eligible for, right? And so you couldn't tell

young black boys in New Orleans they couldn't be musicians or trumpeters because the fucking airport is named Louis Armstrong, right? So just for some context, right? So that was deeply empowering as a younger person to know that if I worked at something, that there was at least some space that I was eligible for, especially in an environment like that that's not really designed that way. So, you know, I can't say enough for my teachers and my Uncle Donald and my mother, you know, who gave me my first music lessons and started me at the late age of 11. So when did you know you're like, wait, I'm good? It's funny. You know, the funny thing is I've never been asked that.

You know, it's it's so there, there's multiple tiers to it, right? I think I always knew I could play. Once I could get a sound out, my curiosity led me to a lot of places. And, and part of what I found was that a lot of my peers weren't curious at all, right? So it's like, they're, they're told to do this one thing and then they it's like a you know the monkey with the symbols thing it's just you know it's just like one everyone is kind of doing that one thing but I kind of let my curiosity leave when I started to play the instrument and and I think a big part of it was also that like when I first started I had a dent in my horn like a big dent that kind of closed the bell. It was something I did.

The first week I got the horn, I went outside. I wanted to show my friends that I had a trumpet. I put a big dent in my horn. I grew up in the kind of familiar reality where it's like if you do something like that, you're going to understand why you have to protect your things. I had to play with this dent for months. Once the dent got taken out, my sound was massive because I had to play with this dent for months. And so once the dent got taken out, my sound was massive because I had been playing with all of this restriction for all that time.

So there was kind of a cheat in that part of the experience. But I think pretty much, you know, maybe six months to nine months into it, I knew that I had the potential to be really good. But once I started going on the road and we would go to cities, we'd play like Detroit, Chicago, these places with my Uncle Donald's band, Donald Harrison. And how old, are you 13 when you're doing this?

I'm like 15 or something when I start to really move. Really tour, okay, all right. But you were like 13 playing in New Orleans, right? Right, exactly. Playing at home. Yeah, exactly. You know, venues in New Orleans, Sweet and Rain, Snug Harbor, you know, venues in New Orleans and Sweet and

Rain and Snug Harbor, you know, jazz showcase, these sort of places. But I knew I had a thing when you start going on the road, what the old guys would do is if they bring up a younger guy in their band, all of the guys that play that instrument in the particular cities that they go to know that they're coming. So they show up to try and jump on the guy at the end of the guys that play that instrument in the particular cities that they go to know that they're coming So they show up to try and jump on the guy at the end of the set to see if he's really the guy that deserves To be in the band. So everywhere we went we go to like Detroit the Serengeti And they wait till you're worn out So it's like you play two sets like 90 minute sets full sets and on the last song and a second set

It's like seven trumpet players that have been waiting and chomping at the bit, come up there and jump up on you. And my uncle, you know, he comes, I use an apprentice of Miles Davis, play Art Blake and Jazz Messengers, you know, musical director for Lena Horne, all of these people. So he was brought up in that same guard. So he welcomed that. So my first two years of being on the road, pretty much every American city that had a large group of jazz musicians, you know, major cities, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philly, these places, any place I went, they would all jump up on me. And after a couple months of kind of figuring out how to pace myself to make sure that I didn't get beat, then like the hate started

happening. So I get to these places and be like 32 year old men would be mad, but it was because I figured out how to put meat to iron to make sure that they couldn't beat me. So this is, this is such a like samurai thing. It's like a Western. And I don't know that this is really understood. So you're 15 and these guys are like, screw this guy. So they're coming up. I don't know that this is really understood. So you're 15, and these guys are like, screw this guy. So they're coming up. Like, what's the moment?

Like, there has to be one particular time that you'll never – that stands out more than the others where you're just in this showdown against another guy playing who thinks he's going to take this teenager. Yeah, it was multiple guys. It was a club called the Funky Butt. We're playing, and, you know, my uncle, he also has his way of figuring out who's who as well. Like we used to play a song called Cherokee, which is like, or Donnelly, which are these songs are like the litmus test for,

for like the really advanced players. Right. One's written by Miles Davis, Donnelly and Charlie, or Charlie Parker is just some bickering about who wrote the song. And then the other one is written by Ray Noble, but they're very difficult and they're very fast. And my uncle is like, there's nothing he can't play. He's kind of like the language carrier for that generation. So what he does is when guys will come up,

he wants to play those songs, which are the most difficult ones in all 12 keys. So you have to go through the keys in the process to do it. So it also wasn't a scenario where they were able to just jump up on me in comfort. They also had to prove that they had the type of knowledge that I had. So usually we were good in one or two keys and it would be even, but once we went through the keys, I would walk, you know? So he, so I think that was part of how he set it up. But there was one night at the funky bar where it just seemed like I was surrounded, you know, it was like, it was one of those things where it was like,

it wasn't just like guys in their twenties or early thirties. It seemed like everybody came out to like lay into me. And there's one guy in particular really two cats but one of them you know is one of the guys name is Antoine he's a friend of mine now but at the time he decided that he was going to voice that he didn't think I should be in Doug's band because it was clearly nepotism because I was his nephew it couldn't be that I could play and that actually hurt me so what was fueling the playing was different, right? And so Donald called Cherokee at the end of the night,

and I had been pacing myself because I knew all these guys were there. And so everybody got up and started. We started trading courses, and everybody's doing their thing and everything. There were some things I had been practicing in terms of my range and stuff. And so I had been holding it. And so we're maybe course 16 guys are going back and forth and everything. And as what happens is usually trumpet players will hold a little bit before they go to the upper register, because that's usually the thing that the layman sees as being able to play better is the higher

the note, which is obviously not true, but this is the perception of it. So we're playing, we're playing, and now everybody starts to take their choruses up. Everybody's going up and up and up and up. And I'll never forget this moment because it was really the first time that I really split. Like every time I play my horn now, every time I play, I cut my lips up, right? But you learn that the better you get, the more trauma it is, right? So the harder passages to play, the more likely you're going to rip your mouth up, which is why you see guys that have trumpeters lips on, you know, you see these pictures of Louis Armstrong, it looks like his lip has been to war, but it's because it has. But this moment, I'll never forget saying

to myself, to fight them, you'll have to hurt yourself and literally that was the first time I ever really cut myself but it was the best feeling I ever had because it it also showed me something about life like to get to this space you're gonna have to endure something and so I think in that moment that's also partly one side of of what's going on in terms of the philosophy of the music really became bonded, you know? So, yeah, but it would have been that moment, and that would have probably been like 1998 or 1997 at the Funky Butt in New Orleans, which was the first jazz club in New Orleans, no longer there. But so it also happened in the room where other players like joe oliver and you know these these the fundamental players jelly roll these guys also played in that room so so

what a place to have it done too so that's kind of your your moment where it's it's you getting to another level both uh internally and then just people kind of understanding like hey you know we can't really mess with this guy do you have i like to do that yeah i like, Hey, you know, we can't really mess with this guy. Do you have, I like to do that. Yeah. I like to act like, you know, different athletes that we've had in studio over the years of doing the radio show. Um, I love talking to NBA guys where I'd say like,

what was your first moment lacing them up going out to the court? We were like, Whoa, this is real. So that's almost on a national stage. And you know, players, a lot of times a guy would say the first time you're backpedaling after the

tip and you realize you got Kobe, like that's when it's pretty fucking real you know like now this is did you have kind of a a moment you know just after the record deal this is after touring after some of the earlier albums did you have that moment you were like okay not only am i just good at this like i'm national and like i can really because i know you your aspirations will get some of that stuff but was there that kind of national moment for you where it was beyond just being in your own backyard? Yeah, but it didn't it had nothing to do with the plane. You know, I think I've always had a huge reverence and respect for people that do this because I know how much time it requires to be terrible at. Right. And so if I don't think it was never a moment like that. You know, the early stuff in terms of competitive thing,

that existed for a small period of time. But I think really it had more to do with like the press of it because this music in the last 40, 50 years hasn't enjoyed the same type of reverence that it enjoyed in the early part of, like obviously we refer to the 20s as the jazz age. That means a very, they don't call it that because it wasn't, right? So, so, so the music doesn't enjoy that sort of thing in the last four year moment, I think we're starting to get back to

that space. But when I put my first record out, before the record was out, I was on the cover of Billboard magazine twice in 2006. And it was like, you know, this is what you're going to be listening to for the next 40 years. You should catch up and jump on it now because he's a baby. And so that wasn't how I thought about myself, right? Like I thought about myself as- It's weird, right? Well, also just also another one of the guys, right? Because it's such a communal form. And it's like, just because I play trumpet, like I love trumpet players. Most trumpet players don't like each other, right? But I love every other trumpet player because I know how hard it is and

how much they're hurting themselves to do it so it's like it has to be respected but for me that it was the the moment was the Billboard magazine covers well it's just like all right well this because I'm still in college when this is happening right so it's like no girls like me and then after that like every day at my door so it's weird you know so there was something that was like okay well this is actually maybe this is real maybe as opposed to six hours maybe let's try and do eight hours the next couple years to see how real it really did so it also inspired me the perception of what it was that we were doing inspired me to also dig in harder yeah i don't know timeline

where to pick it up and going through your entire catalog. And what I love so much about your music is there's just there's almost like it's sometimes I'm not trying to be artsy here. But the entry points on some of the songs are almost like a dream where I'll be like, whoa, this thing already started. But I feel like now I'm just hearing the first note. Yeah, like this is and I'll have other moments where I go, if this song never ended, I'll be happy. Like there's just this groove that you're in and it's like I always kind of laugh I go man if I were ever a musician I would just find those moments and be like hey I would just look back at the drummer and be like just watch me because and then they'd be like hey are we ever gonna end are

we ever gonna end this you know and um when you talk about stretch music and the things like I think it would be I don't you to take this the wrong way. If you weren't so amazing, there might be some people be like, this guy's so full of shit. Just get out there and play. But you have installed so many different things. You can call your music almost like Rosetta Stone for music where it is.

It's accurate. It isn't, you aren't trying to sound profound. You are accurately describing what you were doing. So if you could try to explain that to everybody and even me, as I'm kind of at the intermediary area version of this. Yeah. Well, I think that the, the, for me, the easiest way to explain it is the way that we approach music in general is really rooted in the story, right?

And trying to tell a story and a narrative, right? So if the things that you're building have a specific arc, then people are probably going to gravitate to it because they can like, just like if we're having a conversation, I'm talking to you like this, and then I start to scream at you, there's tension there, right? So there's building intention there. Those things naturally exist in terms of how we interact with each other. So in terms of the earlier stuff that you're talking about, like maybe the palindromic things that we built that sort of trapped the listener in

that environment where they could stay all day, all of those things are devices that you learn and that you develop if you pay attention to how people communicate. Those aren't musical things. It's really more just how you and I are talking here, right? Stretch music as a concept, though, is really more rooted in our life philosophy more than it is just a musical thing as well. Stretch music is a byproduct of me growing up in an environment where, like, the elementary school that I went to was the first desegregated school in the country,

right, which means it was a white neighborhood, then blacks came there and crouched into the neighborhood, and then it was a mixed neighborhood, right? When I'm growing up, I'm seeing white people that have children that are being undereducated, I'm seeing black people that have children that are being undereducated. I'm seeing black people that have children that are being undereducated. I'm seeing people that, and actually the more accurate term to be honest with you when I'm talking about this stuff is I'm seeing people that believe they're white that are food insecure. I'm seeing people that believe they're black that are food insecure. All of these people are going through the same experience. They literally living in the same land,

going through the same experiences, but because of this topical bullshit, they can't see that they're actually kind of the same people. The only space that I saw them let go of that idea of them being nemesis and adversaries to each other was when music was punk. And so as a little kid, when I first started to play music, I realized the power that it had because it stopped people from fighting and bickering and actually allowed them to see their humanity, right? And so stretch music as a concept

really grows out of that. What can I do musically that grabs things that come from this culture and this culture? If I can take languages, vernacular music tropes that come from these sonic tropes, rhythms that come from these seemingly disparate cultural groups, and I marry them and I force them to coexist, but I make them sound in a way that says, well, no, these things should never have been separate. And they clearly started in the same space.

If I can show that musically, then what am I saying about the people? Right? So the concept of music really came out of a need to try and create a musical reality that represented the type of environment that I would prefer to live in. Right? And so it really is a newer fusion. You could say fusion 2.0 or 70.0, right? But it's just a new approach to it that says that every form of music is valid because every person is. And that's because we also have this idea, you know, that sort of colonial idea about what is and is not valid in music. You know, like you said, you learned music, you took piano lessons, you played a little bit when you're growing up. When you learn music in

the West, you learn about the harmony and the melody predominant. I don't know anyone that has a high proficiency in music that's maybe played 15, 20 years that can remember ever sitting down in a class where you just dealt with rhythm. That's a very deep thing, right? Because some cultures are more rhythmic than others. The issue is when you place value distinctions on these differences. All of these different approaches are only, they're just information, right? But when you say, no, that information is not valid because that type of man makes it. That information is valid because this type of man makes it. That information is valid because this type of man makes it. That's very dangerous in general. It also means that every musician that you know

that's coming up, you know, there's a huge argument by a lot of people that play classical music or jazz music that go through a different type of refinement, that other cultures of music are less than because of these sort of pejorative ideas about and value distinctions that we place. So the concept of music, I know there's a very wordy way to go about it, but I wanted to explain it in multiple ways. But really, it just deals with how I want to see the world. You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't want to contribute to building a world where my child grows up when they get here and they're looking around and they don't understand why people treat them, you know, this way or that way, if there's something that I can do to fight

that. And so the music essentially becomes a love weapon, right? Like a weapon of love in this way, you know, Dizzy Gillespie would always say, we have the cool weapons and that's sort of what that is. But the music is rooted in that trying to get people to see each other's humanity you know what's amazing and listen to you your explanations are a lot like your music at times where i'm like where is this going and then it always comes back and i'm like oh now i get exactly what he was trying to do i've noticed that like the cyclical talk yeah right i was like oh all right i'm with. Yeah, right. And I was like, oh, all right, I'm with them. So what's up, I tell stories like, you know, whenever I hang out with like West African

musicians or jellies or griots, they're like that too. And so they're always like, you're a jelly, you're a griot. And I'm like, well, you know, I'm just telling my story. And they were just like, no, but it's how you do it is like you born in West Africa, you know? So I don't know,urally, I guess maybe there's some synergy. So two other things that I want to do. You know, you were in Boston when Katrina happened. Yeah. And I know that, you know, the place has never recovered.

It's weird how that's kind of been... I wouldn't say how it was covered in the news. It was just people moved on to the next story. But I thought that there was really something... It's upsetting, but it's also incredibly interesting, and it kind of puts a bigger responsibility on you and the generation of musicians that are down there, is that so many people had left

that there's almost this this elderly group that were part of the music community that now it's like a generation is skipped so so can you help explain exactly what's happened there what normally was going on and now what kind of role you're taking on probably at a much younger age than you thought you would yeah no this is that's completely accurate you know when when I'm small, you know, the mailman could play Donnalion trumpet. Like, you could pitch a rock and hit a good trumpet play. Like, my elementary school, I'd get there, there's 112 trumpeters auditioning.

Right, you're in, like, fifth grade. Right? So the guys that could really play, they would walk around the neighborhoods. That's like the Treme area. This is part of why it's so popular too when people talk about the stories, because the old men would walk around and they would, you know, catch the little guys playing or something and drop little things on them. And so I grew up in that, you know, going to Danny Barker's house and hearing these stories. You know, I got one of my first mouthpieces from the great Doc Cheatham, you know. So the elders who are also very old at this time, you know, these guys, some of them 70s, 80s, 90 year old men still made it a point to come be around and impart that information.

After the hurricane happened, a lot of times we don't talk about how many people were displaced, what happened with their property, why they didn't come back. You know, that area is very complicated in that New Orleans had the highest percentage of African descent homeowners outside of the continent. Right. That was what was going on. Obviously, we know about the free people of color and all of these different entry points into things like that that existed in New Orleans for a very long time. So so there's a lot of people there that have owned their homes for generations. After the storm happened, if you didn't have the money to be able to pay for whatever, because let's say you spent all your money getting out and surviving. Let's say you spend all your money getting out and surviving. And then you have a $3,000 property tax bill that if you don't clear in a year, the home ends up going to somebody else that could basically get it from a levy or any of these things. So a lot of the elderly didn't come back.

Some of them obviously died in the storm. to different cities, also had children, grandchildren, and say, well, I'm sending my kids to school today in Beaumont, Texas, but the kids also not going to school through fucking metal detectors. So just other levels of context, right? So a lot of people didn't come back. A lot of people didn't come back. So for the guys that were, we'll say in that moment, between 50 and 80 years old, hardly any of those guys came back. So you almost have like a 30-year period because the greater musicians also don't live there anymore like that. I think from the guys that cut their teeth in the 80s and became legendary players, the only one that I know spends a lot of time and lives in New Orleans is my Uncle Donald, but he's also the main teacher now that his predecessors no longer exist, right? So you have some like Kid Jordan is probably the last of the much older ones that are there, but between him and his sons and a guy like Kent Jordan, Marlon Jordan, my uncle Donald, there's like a 30, 35 year gap where all that information doesn't exist. So the younger musicians are there. But part of the issue is a lot of them never left the city to get other information.

So for my generation, guys like me or a guy like Trombone Shorty, guys like Big Sam Williams, these sort of players. Yeah, we live in other places, but always make sure that we have some sort of tap in New Orleans so that we can be there to impart that information in moments that we need. Even if it means you only come back home for a week for a summer camp, you make sure you're there for the camp so you can give all of the information, you know. But the roles of the elders have changed a lot, but it's mainly because they don't really exist like that. Whereas they used to be in all of the neighborhoods, all of the high school bands, all of this stuff. Now, when you look in New Orleans, the oldest ones that are teaching are kind of like my old Donald, those guys. And, you know, he's turning 60, right?

So you almost have a 30-, 35-year gap of information that is really kind of lost, you know. But the great thing is the ones that are encroaching 60 now, those players, that generation was the first guys after Louis Armstrong's generation to become masterful in the New Orleans inside, but to also go and become like some of the greatest players in the world and then come back.

So the information they're imparting is also more dense. So it's good. Okay. So look, anybody that does something that's in the performance part of it, like you have to have an ego to survive and, you know, look, hosting shows that's in the performance part of it, like you have to have an ego to survive. And, you know, look, hosting shows and doing all the stuff that I've done in the past, like I want to be the best.

And with that means fame. And, you know, if I see somebody who's doing better than me, I'm like, okay, well, why am I not as good as this person? Jazz sometimes feels like it has kind of this ceiling on it, though, for CrossFit. Like, what do you think? Like, what's the thing that you tell your buddies that you go, if I could really do this? And in some people it isn't as important to, but what would you love to accomplish with the rest of your

career? Well, I think the, the first thing, um, I think the first priority is to create a sound that allows everyone to communicate together, no matter where they're from, or what their walk is, you know, you know, what cultural space they're coming from, because music has a lot of self segregating in it, right? And usually the forms that require more time to refine are more segregated, are more segregated, right? So something that, as an example, a compositional space that may take 10, 15 minutes to create is usually more mixed because there's less discrimination about what you're building, right? Whereas if someone is building something that is a 20-minute long composition that has ones and all these things, someone comes in is playing a little bit differently, the composer is going to be like, ah, this is what I

hear. So that can be because of this specificness of it, it allows people to discriminate against each other. So I think the first thing that I would want to do is to create a form and a language and a vernacular that allows an entryway, no matter what your level is, that says that your cultural way of expressing yourself is valid. I think that's the first thing that I'd like to do. But the second thing in terms of the exposure and it being seen the way it was, I think a big part of that is also just the perception of music in general in America. In America, music is really more based in your people's knowing you is based in your status. Right. So you may have someone that has like as an example of this.

If we can put a hundred thousand dollar marketing campaign behind this artist and put their face everywhere, then yeah, you're probably more likely to know about them than Yo-Yo Ma, right? A Yo-Yo Ma reference, I don't know. Right, but my point is, because we accept that if I've heard your name multiple times on a loud form, then it means you're the best as opposed to actually going and doing some. Like you said, you sat down every Sunday and dug into the records. Most people are not going to do that. They want to be fed the music, which we understand. But to be honest with you, that's the largest discrepancy in terms of popularity exists because the status and the brands of the jazz musicians is not to the same level and in other words i'm gonna give you a long answer i'm sorry i'm no no i love it no no man you just do your thing because jazz labels the record labels are

are the the design is that they're catalog labels so what they'll do is they'll find a young artist they'll make a minimal investment in the person, get the first 10 records, and then when that person becomes a legend in 30, 40 years because of how the music is, then that catalog is worth millions of dollars. They're not designed in a way where they're going to say, we're going to make a record to compete with the other records now. So the record may be as amazing as the Migos record, right? But one of them may have $100,000 marketing budget. And the other one, they may spend almost as much money, but they're not going to spend it marketing it. They're going to spend it making sure that at some point, those coffers are going to get filled later. So it's a longer game. So systemically, there are

also other things that exist in our environment in terms of how the music is disseminated to people that make it more difficult for the artist to become a household name. Right. Because the marketing and branding isn't as important. But to me, part of the way that you get around that, part of the way we've been able to get around that, you see similar artists like Thundercat or Robert Glasper, these sort of artists, is also by making sure that when people engage with our music or us at live shows, that they can see that our actual character is as dynamic as any other artist that they're engaging with. So as opposed to just making it about music and what the status is and all of these things,

when you come to a show and you came to listen, but you can't stop laughing, or you're dying, all of these things. And when you come to a show and you came to listen, but you can't stop laughing or you're dying or whatever these things are, you're dying laughing or, or you're at a show and you realize that you're seeing something was like, wow, like the intellectual vigor that's requisite to frame this music in this way is real. There are other ways to make the audience captive,

right? In a positive way that, that engenders you to them in a way where they come back, right? So our generation realizes it's the character of the actual artist in the music that builds the audience as opposed to just relying on what the notes are saying because that doesn't matter if no one hears them right it's it's it's

actually a perfect explanation now seeing you a couple times you know i brought a buddy who was it was big in a rap and we were in boston that night we met and i i said just trust me on this sit down and you're going to enjoy it and and after you guys just were right in with like a stand i think it was an older standard um and and oh yeah yeah mccoy tyner he had just passed right right equinox so um i turned to look at my friend like 10 minutes in because you guys just went for it like you just you just started right up and his jaw was wide right his jaw was wide open and he looks at me and he's like you know he's from boston he's like are you fucking kidding me and i go. He's like, are you fucking kidding me? And I go, yeah. I go, look.

I go, I wasn't fucking around, man. I was telling you. And there is this thing where you have this, you're saying this heavy, deep stuff. And, you know, when you were talking about the concept of stretch music as opposed to just the notes, like, and just getting people like that's, and then you'll have this unbelievable, like relatable moment where you go, oh yeah, I could hang out with this guy. So it's, it's a really awesome combination of yes this is the artist and he's saying these profound things but like oh wow he actually may be normal too which is which isn't always the case yeah um hey so look i can't thank you enough i took up a lot of your time here today

yes let me know if you need any gear yo my mother my mother just graduated from there uh this is no kidding three years ago i've been back and graduated yep yep yep i got a degree in history and so yes this is this is my family alma mater too perfect perfect yeah i've we didn't have a football team in my school. So I just, you know, at this point, I just. Where did you go? I went to University of Vermont up in Burlington. Yeah. So I don't know. Do you ever play up in Burlington? Burlington. Burlington's amazing, right?

This is like my favorite American city. It's unbelievable. Oh, more people need to go and check that out so they can see how the rest of the country should be set up. Yeah. Just just make sure you only go for like a four-month window. That's the reason why. That's why it's not as popular as maybe it should be. Christian, this means a lot to me, man, so I hope I can repay the favor.

The pleasure is truly mine. I appreciate it, and I'm very grateful. You can check out Christian Scott's stuff once people get back out on tour by going to christianscott.tv. Again, don't be confused by the Christian Scott, Attendee Ajoie or just the Attendee Ajoie on top of it. Same guy. And then Christian Scott official is Instagram. And you can see some of their videos. And I would just go through YouTube, peruse, stick your toes in there a little bit.

They know what you think. Are you ready for rapid fire mailbag? I promise we'll do more prep on the mailbags, but these are just flying in right now and Kyle sent me a few. So what do you think? You want to just do it? Yeah, long overdue. Long overdue. Okay. Let's see what Kyle has sent me here. Um, let's see what Kyle has sent me here. A little police siren in the back. We'll leave that in just for aesthetics. Is that cool?

Yeah, man. Okay, here we go. This is, this is one, this guy knew how to get Kyle's attention. This is where Matt says, Jim slash Pam like situation. So Matt says, so I was with this girl for about a month. It was great. Everything firing on all cylinders we're a great match both of us lost touch a bit because we were afraid of coming across as clingy we both acknowledged this and we didn't speak for a few months okay major red flags in those first few sentences randomly texted her and we spoke for like five

hours whoa and i find out she's about to move in with this dude. She's with, I'm assuming he texted with her for five hours, not on the phone. Got to be, but wait a minute. Boom. Find out.

She's about to move in with this dude. She's with quote. He'd been after me a long time and I just think it's time for us. And then Matt says, seem to me like she's settling. So the conversation eventually steers into about us. She acknowledges she was super into me. I asked her,

she still thinks about me and feels the same way. And she says, yes, she wants to be friends. But I told her, I think there is something real and could be really great between us. And I wouldn't say this if I didn't think you didn't feel it too. Cause think casino night episode. She's still with Roy. Is it worth going through no contact and just hoping she hits me back? Or should I hit her up in like a month? Don't want to bail on this girl, but should I? The first part of this, Kyle, that I don't understand is everything's going great. You dated for a month, but you both mutually decided that you didn't want to be too clingy.

So you went from being worried about being too clingy to you went quarantined with no phones. That doesn't make any sense. Something had to have happened for you to not talk for months after you both felt like you hit it off perfectly. So I feel like there's some information that's missing in all this um i don't know it also sounds a little bit like you do like her but most guys get this weird thing i think all people could do this might not be gender specific i think guys are just worse with

this where you're sort of on the fence and then it's like wait a minute she's dating somebody now all right now i really like her you know that's that ever happened to you kyle no uh i think uh i don't know if i'm afraid of rejection i just rather not deal with it so if it feels like we're heading towards that road you know life's long i'd say back off buddy i'd say back off so you're treating dating like kind of your call of duty record where you don't want to take the L. I don't want that. You'll break up first. Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And I think it's a good skill to have. You know, I haven't been done. All right. There's definitely. Yeah. I'd rather still.

That's what I'm saying. I'm worried. I should probably get it done before I'm like, you know, 40 and have like a meltdown. But I just undefeated. Never lost. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I dated a girl once who was like, you know, I've never been dumped. I was like, is that a challenge? But what what are you saying to me? Everybody should get dumped and you should get a couple of them out of the way early. Yeah. You're almost like chicken pox. I'm worried about you. Yeah. You get out get at an adult exactly it's like a real problem walk away buddy yeah i don't ever know that i like

i've definitely been dumped but it it was coming like put, I put the things in motion that was forcing the other person to dump me. And it's funny. Cause like when you're younger, you're like, I don't want to get dumped. I'm never going to get dumped or I'm going to dump her first or whatever. And then you get a little bit older and you're like, I hope she dumps me. I hope this person dumps me. So, um, yeah, I didn't, I do. I never was younger going, I can't wait to get dumped. And you get older and you're like, ah, um, maybe that just means you're improving in life when you start going, I never was younger going, I can't wait to get dumped. And you get older and you're like, ah. Maybe that just means you're improving in life when you start going, I want the other person to dump me.

Okay, so Matt, I would say give it the old college try one more time because it sounds like this is going to break you up pretty bad here. And if she already moved in with a guy, you may want to ask yourself some questions like, wait a minute, so real hot and heavy with us, no talk for months. She goes and moves in with somebody else. If you're still sort of in that caring phase, sometimes you can't see as clear. And sometimes that might mean that, I don't know your deal, but maybe she is kind of a little flighty. Not to knock your future wife, but you know what I'm saying? Sometimes the other person is the one where you're like, oh, wait, why am I trying to figure out this person and adapt and do all these things to understand her better when she's telling me exactly what her deal is?

Okay, I haven't even read this one. Didn't even pre-read it. Just saw Denver, Colorado. This is from Grant. It says, I'm writing on behalf of my men's basketball rec team in Denver, Colorado. As a basketball player yourself and a veteran of pickup, we figured you were an authority on what we're looking to achieve. We want to win our league. Here's the Reader's Digest version. We're the oldest team in the league, mostly mid-30s, and one teammate in his early 40s, but frequently lose in the semis or championship game. None of

us are exceptional players and our experience level is limited to high school varsity basketball. We have no business competing with the younger teams. We have decent fundamentals and understand space and rotation for the most part. Typically, we end with a top three seed out of a 10-12 team league in the playoffs, but cannot win the whole thing. The championship game follows the semifinal game in the same night. If we do make it to the final, we look our age.

Oh, so you're going to play a doubleheader. Can we win this thing? Of course you can win this thing. He asked me if they should just accept that fate. Who are you talking to? I don't accept anything. We can drink more than any other teams. We're the only team taking advantage of the free vouchers, the local bar helping sponsor the league. So I guess that's some consolation. Do you have any hope? Yeah. I mean, look, if you can make it to the finals, unless there's just this guy that like played two years at UCLA

and then was supposed to walk on at Fresno state. And, you know, we don't know what his deal is. Like he had tattoos early. Uh, you know, there's always a guy like that. And some of the rec leagues you'll play and you just go, okay, I don't have, you know, this is, this is not fair guy. Kind of like in call of duty. When the guy turns into juggernaut, you're like, this is pointless, right? Kyle knows I'm speaking his language now.

You're hitting all the points today. Yeah. What's up. What's up Gen Z. So I, uh, I look, I don't't i wouldn't sit here and say it's impossible unless you know thanos is playing out there so let's just just i don't know what you guys need to do add another shooter add another shooter go out go to pickup games recruit add somebody bring in some bodies that's what i would do i mean it may screw up the friendship dynamic and you won't appreciate it as much, but at least you'll win with strangers.

Go ahead, Kyle. What if you you said you could they could drink better than anybody? Like, is this a friendly league? Could you maybe get that team to get some pregame drinks the night before and hope that you really

just turn up the heat on somebody? Yeah, you could do that. I remember I played in this charity thing at Chelsea Pier, and this is like early me and I hadn't been to the city, I think, ever in this set of circumstances, maybe once, and went out with all my boys. And we played in this three, because we just figured we could stay out all night and play in this game. And we did. And we won their first few games. But that was one of the times I was like, oh, maybe i can't stay out all night and then run full court all day the next day and i remember the guy that was guarding me was like yeah you guys are pretty good and i was like yeah and i was like i don't know what i was like yeah i was kind of like yeah i don't know man he goes yeah that or you're just breathing

on us and we're dying i was like okay we were like oh and then we went to the house like that guy's complaining the guy was like you know one of my teammates is like whatever you know like we ended up beating them then we got smoked like once we got to the higher tiers of it it was like okay you guys are you guys are toast so i wouldn't give up there might be a competitive advantage there yeah right breathing being so yeah maybe you do that be so hung over in your game but it's a night game my my i guess if it's a night game though and especially if they're younger they're not going to be hung over anymore at night oh this one's labeled divorce during coronavirus um he says don't use his last name i'm not even

going to use your first name we're just going to call this dude the K-Man. All right. Nice. My wife filed for divorce in February. The courts closed in March. So now our divorce is postponed and we have to live together until at least May. No sports on TV and I can't leave the house. So I'm stuck with my soon to be ex-wife for three more months. How am I supposed to pass the time? You pack a fucking bag and you get in the car and you find another place that will take you in there's no way no way i could do that although you know what would be great somebody should write this script little rom-com i can't wait to see what people do with this and try to write scripts based on the quarantine and the virus

like somebody might do a really good job with it there'll be plenty of others that don't um but that would be a good i could see that being like a little rom-com reboot where you're about to follow this guy the k-man just gave some great screenwriter out there an idea all you have to do is you know it's ashton kutcher it's you know this is vince vaughn whatever about to get divorced virus courts closed whole deal and now they're quarantined for three months you'd have a lot of zoom scenes a lot of facetime scenes where they just battle it out and like most rom-coms figure it out and live happily ever after virus free where you can go outside boom 90 minutes 80 pages i would say 90 pages but you're going to want some scenery in there i'd imagine at some point okay that is uh today's podcast that gm destination thing we're going to do that expand upon that

with bill because bill gave me his picks and i can't believe two of them wait until you hear that next on Get Up thanks for checking out the Ringer Podcast Network please subscribe to the Ryan Russo Podcast and everything that we do here and stay safe everybody Thank you.