This Podcast Is... Uncalled For - Brian Boye 3-peat (Fringe Show)

Episode Date: August 23, 2024

Brian Boye joins the podcast for the third time during the 2024 KC Fringe Festival - thus making him a member of the Three Timers Club.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. 204 fringe is here, every voice we want to hear. Stage is set the lights are bright. Bring your art into the night. Casey's heart, it beats so loud, every artist in the crowd. crowd voices rise and colors blend create a world that won't end welcome to fringe the place is calling lights are flashing hearts are falling join the wave come feel the motion dive into this All right.

All right. Good evening, everybody. Welcome to this podcast is uncalled for live at KC Friends 2020. I'm your host, Mike Cherenewski. I am your co-host, Heather Marie. And let's bring out tonight's guests. Officially now a member of our three-timers club. Yes, sir. Three appearances on the podcast, local filmmaker,

and one of my best friends in the film community, please welcome to the podcast, Mr. Brian Boy. I'll high-five, please. Oh, we got a... Ah! Ooh! Ooh! I feel so.

I mean, do I get, like, a discount at anything, or... Is that a... It's just a thing I came up with, you know, so... Is it, like, a hashtag, or is it? internet flare or we're working on it we're gonna make it yeah okay all right it's a special it's a work in progress okay okay all right feeling it okay yeah so brian since you were here last time uh what are you up to um i'm a parent of uh two late teenagers and it's the worst um don't don't have kids mike explains a lot actually yeah yeah okay good um yeah you were talking no like

teenagers, 19-year-olds, the problem with, I mean, they're great, they're awesome, they're super cool people, but they're at the stage now to where they will argue with you when you're trying to parent them, and their arguments are more sound and logical. So then sometimes you have to drop the, like, because I said so, and they're like, well, you're contradicting yourself, or you just said this, or did it, yes, I know. Sometimes I just have to be, I'm dad, and I get to pull rank because I pay for all your shit. And if you would like to pay for your shit, feel free to. I don't think you're like 15 hour a week job at Andy's Frozen Custer.

It's enough to give you room and board and shelter and video games. So, yeah, it's a challenge, Michael. I bet. I'll have to take away for it because, again, I don't have kids. Well, how are your nieces now? My oldest niece is now 12. Okay, the storm is coming. Yeah, yeah.

I'm like, you're approaching. Yeah. And five and nine and six are the other two. Okay, those are still adorable and precocious. And nine is the nephew. They will, like my nieces and nephews, so my sister has five kids, she has twins and twins and one that were all born within about six or seven years of each other. So my sister was either pregnant or breastfeeding and had a baby in diapers, nonstop, about eight years. So she had a set of twins. She had a set of twins. And then she had another

set of twins. And then she had one. Okay. So, um, was probably on the verge of, uh, having a divorce. And I think the last one might have been a one last time for old time's sake. And now they have Vinnie. And, um, still together. Like, they did have a baby to save a marriage, apparently. But, um, yeah. She had five babies in seven years. Yeah. That's all, okay. So, and then now they're at the age where they're like... She deserves a medal. Uncle Bubba, you're old. You have wrinkles.

Why is your hair? You look like Santa Claus. And I'm like, it's Christmas. Why are you picking on me? Like, this is not fun. I'm trending right now. Leave me alone. Yeah, stop.

I'm very cool for my age. You have wrinkles. I was like, you know what? Go to your room. Of course, in my defense, it is hard to have kids when the few women that you've dated will dump you after the first or second date.

I don't know. I haven't been dumped ever in my whole life. time so I mean lucky you I had two girlfriends and I married one of them so I guess so that means you dumped her the first one though I did yeah I did I was the dump of reasoning yeah was it brutal no it was we were in high school and she was 16 and her daddy wouldn't let her go out on dates so you were like deuces yeah yeah I was a senior baby I'm a hot property I was not nearly as cool as I am now that's the weird thing too is like I try to tell my kids like you're weird right

My kids are weird because they're my kids, but I was like, embrace your weirdness. I, so I was selected to be a judge at the Belton High School, Mr. BHS, right? And so they come out and they're doing the, they're doing, you know, it's like a Mr. BHS show. Anyways, we have to write a little introduction of ourselves. And mine opened up with, I am the weirdest person I know. Because you do have to celebrate your weirdness and you do have to be able to make it a safe space to be weird. within, you know, that doesn't mean you have the right to violate other people's comfort levels, but, you know, we should all be able to be ourselves openly, and as weird as that is,

just do it. I try to tell my kids, though, like, this is the mature, refined, like, calm version of me. Like, the asshole that your mom married 28 years ago, way different than the delightful package and artiste that I am now. So you've been married 20 years? I will be married. Let's see. 28 years.

I got married the day after I turned 22. Wow. So I always remember my anniversary. Yeah, that's smart, actually. I did learn, though. So the not smart thing is when your birthday is on one day and your wedding anniversary is the next day. So I turned 21 in college.

That was a typical 21st birthday. I turned 22 the next year and I was getting married the next day. So I was very responsible in front of my future in-laws. very nice young man the next year uh we turned 23 and my wife worked like a very early job that was like 30 to 45 minutes away so like we went out to dinner and the guys took brian out for the rest of the night um at a certain point i forget things that happened i do recall specifically though that was the night that princess diana was tragically killed and that is the only thing i remember from that night.

So. No, I was, no. So, um, so we stay out late. I am vomiting. It is not good. And so, uh, when, when you do get married, uh, podcast, atmosphere, uh, Casey Fringe, people that I can't see out there. When you get married, do not be hung over on your first anniversary. So I was literally laying in bed chugging gatorade, the entirety of my first anniversary while my wife was at work and she's like we had dinner reservations we had a hotel room booked with a jacuzzi tub and it was going to be sexy times and i am just trying to keep everything down we made it to i rallied i made it to dinner she's like let's get it in the hot tub i was like i don't know if this is going to be a good idea managed to survive that evening and i don't think i've been

hung over on my on my anniversary ever since so i did learn a lesson yeah that's good the ability to learn is i think the most important part it was a it was a it was a rough lesson that it was learned. So tell us about yourself. He kind of gave you a brief introduction, but I want to know. I mean, he said the local filmmaker. There's just a lot here and I would love for you to just start at the beginning because I want to know it all. Let's talk about me. I love this subject. Okay, so I'm from a small town in Nebraska called Gresham, Nebraska. It is literally classified as a village. It is population 252 people. It is a square mile big and you can drive around the outside of the city in about five minutes just kind of on a nice

idle cruise in your car. You've done that at least once or twice. I've done that numerous times. So I am from a very teeny tiny town. My graduating class in 1992 was like 42 people. So top half, hooray. Graduated, spent, got married right after college, started working in like a media of production. Now, my actual, my first gig out of college was I literally did training videos at a truck stop. So I would have to learn how to do the fuel island. I would learn how to do the parts department. I would learn how to be the dishwasher at Grandma Max's restaurant. I learned all these things and then shot them on the ricketyest like VHS camcorder with the like most cobbled together like video edit system because it was like 1996-97. Like you're the. And,

There was no MacBook Pro, like there was no, barely any non-linear editing. Final Cut Pro wasn't a thing. Avid was barely a thing and I didn't have money to buy a $30,000 edit rig. So it was literally like A to B like editing. So that was like my first gig. Then I got back into like creative services and doing commercials and things like that. And that's largely been what I've done ever since. So I've worked-

By creative services you mean? So what I do largely and what I do now is I'm a commercial producer currently for Spectrum cable. Okay. So when a mom and pop store here in Kansas City wants to advertise but does not have a commercial, if they're not a franchise, if they don't have somebody, I'm the guy that like writes and produces and directs that. And then I have another partner that I work with who's like my shooter slash editor. That's awesome. So it's great because I meet a lot of really cool people. So like when I when I need to like buy a car, I know like which people I can call that I can trust. when I need to get a new HVAC,

I know which people are nice and which people are jerks. When I shoot at a restaurant, I know what the back of their line looks like, so I know if I would ever eat there again. So it's really great. And honestly, like, humbly, I'm good at what I do.

But I... But I love it because when you've done this now for 20 plus years, especially when you've kind of done the same job, over and over and over. I've done thousands of commercials, right? I've been on lots of independent film shoots and things like that. You have to remember that when you're doing a commercial for a new business, it's probably their first time. And I love those people when they're like, I don't know if this is going to work. This is a lot of money for me. Okay, cool. You can't treat

that like it's just another shoot. It's a big deal for them. And so I want it to work for them because they're a small business. They're trying every little thing to succeed. I want to to do a good commercial for them so that their commercial is good for their business. And then they, in turn, go back to my sales team and want to spend more money and do more advertising with them. And then I get to do more cool stuff. And then they succeed for more. And it's like a triangle of like good vibes. Yeah. So you have to keep in mind that like these people, it's a big deal. It's not just another production for them. It's the production. Well, the fact that you're aware of that, we are all in the business of people. I know it's got brought up last night because

it's relevant really probably no matter what you're talking about. We are all in the business. of people, and for those of us that can be aware of that and really, really focus on that component of it, I mean, it's your inherent success, no sex, your inherent success rate will automatically go up and you're taking care of people, right? My inherent sex rate is way lower, so. I know that to me, yeah, but I mean, that's, that's really cool. They're very lucky to have you as somebody that's aware of that. It's, well, that's fun.

And, you know, I know which. like auto dealers are dicks and I know which ones are cool. You know, sometimes you're just doing like a boring, like let's spray some video in this business and do like a simple voiceover. And then every once in a while, like I've been trying to get a pool client on for forever because I have great ideas for like custom pools. So we finally got one of those this year. And I got to do some really fun stuff where we took a computer and like chucked it in the pool because they were like they were doing their work from home from the pool. So that was really fun. So we got to do some fun stuff every once in a while. So I'm, I'm a realtor.

and Realtor, Realtor, realtor, and... You don't even know, even you don't know how to say that word? I say it both ways. I'm, I'm, I mean, I say it's caramel, plaza, tomato, I don't know. Okay, all right. I really make it up. Okay, all right, even the people that should know, don't know. Okay, good, good know.

But we do, we'll do creative content and stuff like that, because it is the reach, right now we live in a world that everything is online. Like, if you don't have an online presence and a, like an attractive, engaging online presence, then people just aren't going to see you. And so that's, like you said, like having somebody that invest in creating something that brings that in. But it is, it's a lot of fun. And not everybody, it's, not everybody's as good at it. I'm just going to say it. Yeah. And so that's awesome. Well, and I think it's important for you to do like, it's important for you to figure out like what makes you stand apart, right? Because I've done dozens of HVAC places. I've done dozens of like

plumber places. Okay. What do you do different? What do you do? better well we do great customer service okay used auto dude like literally everybody says that what what does it mean to say yeah what does it mean well we have great uh we treat our people like family well okay not everybody's family get along but we'll just leave that alone but like but what does that mean that's a very good point actually but what does that mean like i i literally like the three guys i talked with last week all said the same damn thing what makes you different yeah oh we'll go to the extra mom i don't care what does that mean actually makes you different i just I just purchased a vehicle.

We bought a used car for the 19-year-old yesterday, and the same problem still had. All the people were great. The process is terrible. It is. It's like, I want to buy this car. We test drove it for 30 minutes, and then it was three hours of just waiting and paperwork,

and the paperwork and the salespeople were cool, but it's just the process is long and terrible. So that's the problem. How are you going to fix it? And that's like commercial structure 101. That's kind of filmmaking 101, too. here's a problem it's more okay it's more commercial thing for me okay here's a problem here's how to solve it here's how to find us right your your air conditioner sucks

you should put in a new air conditioner where the air conditioner company come find us um you're hungry we have tacos come see our taco truck right it's like it's a three-act structure and it's i also come from like a news background too right so i've worked in two different broadcast stations. And so I still work at like this breakneck like newsy speed. So like I will write a script like that. To the point to where when I talk about the other people that I work with, they're like, oh, I worked on this for like two hours. And I was like, why? Like what? What did you do for two hours? Like how much did you slave over the syntax of your sentence? Like you, in a commercial, you've got eight seconds at the end to tell everybody where you are. This is our website.

we're on Southwest Traffic Way. The beginning is like an opening line or two, and you've got like three bullet points in the middle. Like it's half written before it's even written. It has to be concise to be able to get a clear message in a short period of time. Right, yeah. It's a 30-second short film multiple times a week.

Wow. So do you ever do any filmmaking on your own, like outside of these commercial spaces? Thank you for asking, Heather. That's a great segue. Anyway, yeah, I've been really involved with the Independent Filmmakers Coalition here in Kansas City, which is where I met Mike. 20 years ago now. I love it.

I love it. It's crazy. Yeah, like I said, I'm from a small town in Nebraska. I didn't even know people made short films. And so I had this degree in broadcasting. I had this set of skills. We moved down to Kansas City in 2002. And it's just struggling.

You're in your 20s. You're hustling. You're trying to find gigs. Somebody randomly, like I call the Kansas Films. office. I was like, I need a freelance gig. And they're like, you should go to this IFC meeting. So we went to the old IFC meeting which was still in the

Westport Coffee House. And I got there and I met these two guys who as it turned out where like one of them was the founder of the group and another one was like an old school guy who I still loved to this day. I was like, I write these scripts and they're like, fizzle out after five or six pages and they're like, turn it into

a short film. And I went, oh shit, that makes sense. I guess I'll do that now. And like, that's what I've done ever since then. Shout to Kirby Cobb was great. The other one was Bill Connolly. Shout to Bill Connolly. Both big fans. They texted me. They said, good luck. So I guess that's what I do now. So as I've gotten older, like I did a big feature-length project in, gosh, almost 10 years ago now.

And that kind of like, it was really kind of emotionally draining on that. So I haven't done as much. And then also that kind of corresponded with like my kids were becoming teenagers and involved in things. And so, like, I had to be dad. Yeah. And there's times where I, like, feel the pull to do, like, another documentary. And then I'm like, oh, man, like, what excites me? Or, like, we were talking, like, legit dream project.

I think I already did it. Yeah. And if I'm done, if I don't make another one, if I don't do another big thing, I'm cool with that. I just kind of have to wait for, like, inspiration to come. So what's the name of your dream project? So the big film project I did, debuted in Kansas City Film Fest in 2014, it's called Famous Last Words. Congratulations.

Thank you. It's a feature-link documentary that explores what happens when you talk with someone for the very last time. Whether they die or disappear or just are gone from your life, what was said, what was unsaid, what do you wish you could say? Because there's no takebacks in life. So not everybody gets an opportunity to reach, do it. Wow. So the origin of that is that I had a friend of mine named Bill Rundle, just like the best

dude. Like when you needed a truck to haul your stuff, that was Bill. Like, you know, Bill was the one that would always bring the, you know, the case of Coors Light or Bushlight. He was just that dude, right? And like he was in my wedding. I was in his. And just, he's that dude, right? so we went on this road trip from Omaha to Chicago I was in a men's music fraternity in college right so the chapter gets the chance to sing the national anthem at a Chicago White Tops game and like three or four of us alumni are like let's go do this let's go do this like all right let's want you get a chance to sing the national anthem so we drive up there all night drive to Chicago randomly run into my best friend and his wife who had also made the trip to do this but

like they were on vacation and we literally like turned a corner and walked into them unplanned just like the most like the best vibe it was a great road trip we sang the national anthem we stayed through like the seventh inning stretch and then we're like peace out we got to go we drove all night back to lincoln i drop off bill at his jeep i say but i haven't seen you in a while like this road trip was awesome i miss you i love you He said, I know, and we hugged, and we went her separate ways, and I never saw Bill Rundle alive again. So about two and a half months later, Bill and a friend of his had gone to pick up a set of keys at her parents' house. She called her fiancé on the way back and said, we're driving back to the bar, we'll be there around midnight, we'll see it a little bit.

And nobody ever saw Bill and Tracy alive again. So they went missing, and they were not found. And they were not found. and it was the biggest story in Nebraska for like that entire summer. Where did Bill and Tracy go? There was an episode of unsolved mysteries about where Bill Rundle and Tracy went.

Like it was just bizarre a world. Two years later because of the drought in Nebraska, they found the Jeep. So it had run off the road and into one of those like runoff ponds by a cattle lot and had submerged. And they had just been there the whole time. there was like a crazy ex-girlfriend that was like planting his hat at weird gas stations and it was just it was bizarre

but we finally found their bodies and so I realized that I was really fortunate that the last thing I talked to him was a message of love and that's I try to live my life that way I don't ever like I really try not to like leave angry I really try to let the people that I know love them and I love them it's okay to say I love you friends it's fine like we we are in a I love you deficit in the world and I just feel like you can't um that's amazing because especially as

and I'm just I don't mean to interrupt and I want to hear but as an adult male you are opening a safe space that is so important and so valuable and I just really appreciate you please continue yeah no dudes dudes don't want to say stuff like that. It's a weird world. We don't really create. I have this is a soapbox for me, but men's mental health deserves a big platform and we don't often create safe spaces for men to be vulnerable that way. And I'm going to use since we can cuss. I'm going to

use the word bitch to create a really clear example. Okay. If somebody gave it to me and was like she's a bitch, it would be an empowering statement. Maybe not very nice, but it would be because I was strong or I was too loud or I was too much, I was more woman than they wanted at that moment. Whereas if somebody approached a man and called them a bitch, it's a demeaning statement. and it's minimizing them. It's diminishing them. And that is a double standard that we just have to get rid of.

So, yeah, go ahead. Francis has words. Yeah, Dave worked on you with you on that one. The David Berry, yes. The late David Barry. I'm thinking about the last time I saw Dave before he passed, and yeah, that's basically what I told him.

I love you, man. I said the same thing. I went and I visited it, and it was hard, man. It's hard when you see somebody on their deathbed. and they're not the same person. And they are in and out and they're skinny and they're gaunt. And they just, they don't look like the, I mean, Dave Barry, God rest his soul, man, was just like, I mean, he made me look calm. Like, he was that outrageous and that out there.

I was the responsible one when the two of us hung out. So that's how much it was. But a man, I wanted to make sure that I went in there and I saw him in that bed. And I was like, man, I love you. And he said, I love you too. and his frail kind of little voice and then that was the last thing I said to him I said the last thing I said to my father-in-law

before he passed was I'll take care of your girls right it's it's so hard for dudes to be emotionally there and I try to model that behavior where it's okay to be sensitive it's okay to cry it's okay to say I love you it's okay to hug it's okay to be a

father of a gay teenager you know my oldest came out in June during the pandemic like, Dad, I think I'm bisexual. Okay, and then like three, you know, great, have you told your mom? Like, cool, what do I need to do? You mean to support you? Great.

And then it was, oh, I think I'm really, I think I'm just a lesbian. Okay, cool. All right. Let me know if you need anything. Dad, I think I want to use they, them pronouns. Okay, cool. It will be an adjustment. Cool. Dad, I think I want to use a different name

than my born-with name. Okay, cool. Like, it's, it's, I've been so loudly, like, pro my kid. And especially because, like, okay, that's, that's great. You go to pride things. And we're in, like, an artist's community. And there's all sorts of artists and queer people. And everybody, like, in the LGBTQIA plus ABC, like the whole, the whole spectrum, right?

We're in that community. Yes, we are a part of it. But I also go to church every Sunday, right? And I don't believe that there is a problem with my faith, which is a very unique, very personal thing, and how I choose to be an advocate for people that are in these marginalized communities. I want to show that you can be a normal family that also just happens to have gay people in it. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal.

It's normal. Like that's, you know, like you're creating a... It should be no deal. So then that's really different. hardening my sister with her five kids and her little like 12 inch little um ally flag that she flies in the front yard of her in her house in lincoln these idiot kids keep coming and spray painting it or stealing it and i was like do you need me to buy you a larger flag like let's do these things it is okay to have a gay person podcast it's okay to be gay it's fine it's great i love you guys it's great

okay and it's okay to be a parent who is proud of that person who has chosen against all of the bullshit about people aren't going to like me. I'm going to get kicked out. Problem, problem, problem, problem. It's okay to be that person. Be yourself. Love who you want to love. Just be you, right? So then the other thing that I learned a couple of years ago, so as we were talking before the show, that wasn't even you, I don't think. It wasn't, I talked to a lot of people. I'm very, I'm a lot. I love this. So, so my oldest child, got the chance to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York City, right? So I was like, do you guys need chaperones?

Because I am a responsible adult. I'm noting this. I have a mental note. Do you need chaperones? Like, how can I go with you? Exactly. So, yeah. Yeah, absolutely, Brian, you can come along.

So then I accidentally let it slip that my child called me Swaggy B. That was like my street name was Swaggy B. So then I was like, so then I have like this group of teenagers. And I was like, you guys, if you get lost, here's my cell phone, just call Swaggy B. And they're like, wait, what? So then for like, for like an entire week, I'm walking through the streets of New York City, and I hear like, Swaggy, B! And I was like, okay, cool.

So there are kids there. You're going to have a disproportionate amount of gay and queer and questioning and bisexual and all these kids, like in a choir, right, in the theater. You know, it's just our people. And I tell these kids, if you need a safe place to stay, I have a stable home that is a safe and environment. I have two extra bedrooms right now. If you need a place to stay, you already have my number. You come stay with me. All right? So then my kid goes off to college. Their roommate, they think they're not going to get along, and then they turn out to get very much along and start dating each other. Which is great, and that's fine. The girl's quirky. That's fine. We can put up with

it. Is this the clingy one? Yes. Okay. Yeah. So the girlfriend is, She's weird even for me, but my child loves her. And so I, I, I've raised a child that underage on acceptance. So, they're in college and they're not doing well. College is not for everybody. And it's okay to admit that. If your circle of friends is not good in college, it's okay to exit them. And if it's just not for you, if your major is not what you want to do, like they were going to be a culinary student.

And then they're like, I don't want to cry in front of my chef. And I was like, I can promise you, people cry and food service all the time. But okay, all right. So, so then I was like, well, now I want to be early childhood education. Okay, all right, do that. Well, now I want to save the turtles. Okay, all right, let's do that. So college is not for everybody.

So, and their mental health was struggling, and the girlfriend's mental health was struggling. It's like, Maris, just come home. Right, just come home. Don't worry about school. We'll figure out, like, college debt, whatever. Like, college may not be for you. so Mars moves home well then the girlfriend was really struggling with kind of some self-esteem issues and some mental health issues and I was like come come with us like just

because when they there there was drama at home right okay come with us so you come with us now so that's fine so then later this summer or this or late this spring another one of their friends who is a trans guy came out I don't know how early they'd come to their parents, but got in a big fight with their mom because he's a trans guy. Mom didn't understand what that was, didn't want him in their house, the whole thing, right? So then Mars goes,

you know, like, Dad, you always said, like, if I have a friend, if somebody needs a place to stay, they can come here, right? And it's like, absolutely, bring them. That turned into, like, a month and a half of stuff, and, like, that dude kind of wore out his welcome just because he was a bad roommate, not because

he was a bad gay roommate. So it was, it was a really challenging time, but the lesson that I learned is that doing the right thing is not always the easy thing. True. And at 49 years old, I learned that lesson to where, like, I know this is the right thing to do. I know giving a safe place for this person is the thing to do. Is it a challenge? Yes. Is it a financial extra cost?

Because dude wasn't working, right? Dude didn't, and he was like, oh, I have an application. it's on my bedstand. Okay, well, it doesn't do any good there. Well, I need gas. Okay, it's a mile away, like walk. So anyhow. So that was the big life lesson that I learned in the summer of 24 was like the right thing isn't always the easy thing.

It doesn't mean you shouldn't do it anymore. Correct. Correct. All right. Let's have some fun. So one thing I know about you, of course, is you're a big fan of the Food Fighters. I do have Dave Grohl's lyrics tattooed on my body. Yeah.

were you born to resist or be abused correct the next part of the line is i swear i'll never give in i refuse which would go on this arm if i weren't a pussy and no i just don't have time to get it so yes so a big big food fighter fan yeah uh respect for them uh counter protests in the westborough baptist bastards over its sprint center got to love it they don't take no shit yeah also also by the way if you didn't know. Dave were also a fanatical barbecuer and will feed the homeless people with his barbecue rig. Awesome.

Yeah, that is awesome. That's awesome. But that was kind of questionable recently at his concerts saying, well this is the Air Roars Tour and that's fine because we fuck up all the time.

Mm-hmm. It said across the, just on the Jubilee line from where Taylor Swift was performing and of course she's more or less become a local in recent

She's one of us, that's fine we've accepted her Yeah So thoughts on that I mean As the resident Swifty Okay I'll preface this with that

Taylor Swift is an incredible mind her business acumen her consistent kindness and her consistent representation of herself in all settings, the ability to be as big as she is and yet still somehow remain grounded, even just based off of accounts, she's an incredible human. So yes, I am absolutely a swifty. I've no more of her music now than I did prior to her becoming a Kansas City local. And I do enjoy her music.

I enjoy her lyrics. I enjoy the way that she shares language. But she has an ability to take music and preface this with that. The range of human experience is infinite, right? Like we all have infinite numbers of different experience. But the range of human emotion is relatively narrow. We all operate because we're all humans, right? And so we all just experience this range of emotions, even though those experiences are different.

And she has this ability to write music that touches on the range of human emotion. And we can all apply it to our experiences. in this way that's just really, really powerful. I was glad when the last record came out and it wasn't called 87 reasons why I broke up with Travis. I'm waiting for that. Actually, like, the girls in the office had a pool. Are they going to get married or break up for, like, and it was like, there's like hard money

going down. I was like, can't you just let these guys, like, enjoy each other? These two incredibly rich, good-looking, talented people, just let them bone. Let them bone! La them boom Let them boom Let them go Let them boom

Let them boom Let them boom Come on you guys Oh just let them make beautiful Just let them make beautiful babies together No I'm I love this By the way I learned through this whole thing

One of my chess co-workers happens to be neighbors with Travis Kelsey So the crazy thing is like Just like shortly after they had Gone Public Which was the beginning just this most recent football season, right? Yeah, in September, the Bears game is when they went public.

What, could you, why is your phone ringing? It's not, it's mine. Oh, my gosh. I'm going to get it. Oh, my gosh. I mean, I don't answer it. Only my daughter's ring three. Oh, my gosh.

Right. So rude. That ringtone is uncalled for. Unbelievable. You're recording live podcast and you are now interrupting. Yep. unbelievable Sydney says hi

hi she said she's sorry and she loves me very much I love you too baby I'll back you too okay bye I apologize

so as before we were interrupted rudely teenagers so together the worst I actually like when my teenager calls I have to be like first of all

is everybody safe because like it's always anytime they call it's just tears they're crying and sobbing or they want Chipotle so Chipotle or canes.

I was like, dude, you have DoorDash. Just order it to damn self. Okay. So anyhow, very shortly after Travis and Taylor came public, and they were in town for one of the early season football games. One of the guys that I go to church with, he's one of the drummers in our band. He also works in one of the local restaurants.

And he was working Sunday night, and Two Top came in late, and the manager's like, hey, I've got a late Two Top. Do you want to take it? He's like, I've already got these three tables. Just give it to the other dude. It was Travis and Taylor. He missed the opportunity to serve the most best-looking, powerful couple in modern pop era.

Right. And he just like, eh. He's like, I talked with her briefly. She said it was lovely. She thanked us and she went out of her way. And it was blinding by paparazzi in photos. That close to greatness. That's amazing, though.

So another thing that's come out of this is I've started listening to New Heights. The second most popular podcast on the internet after this one. Do they have more downloads than me? I think they have way more downloads than even our podcast. Okay, that's my new goal. Be more popular than New Heights. That's going to be a tough goal. That's a really tough goal.

You see if your goals don't scare you that they're not making that. That's right, yeah. Reach for the stars, and if you don't make it, you accidentally and unintentionally. contributed to New Heights, believe or not. I've heard a little bit of this story, but I don't know the whole gist. It's something sandwich-related. Is that right?

Okay, explain that. Okay, so we're talking to November here. I'm actually doing a favor for the chess club, right? Pick up another friend of the podcast, Conrado, who lives in Edwardsville. Okay. And

it's a little early still, so I stopped by this diner, Grill 32. So the name's because K-32 is right there. And I walk in, I order a fish sandwich because I'm trying to eat healthier. A fried fish sandwich, sure. Yeah. That's healthy-esque.

Like a taco salad is healthy because it says salad in the name. Right. I see on the menu, they have the New Heights Club, which is a triple-decker sandwich. The top portion is basically a fill of the cheese steak. Okay. For Jason. Right. And the bottom half.

Brisket? Brisket? not briskets turkey or ham with a BLT and barbecue sauce okay all right and a little bit now

which comes into play a little later in the story and I saw this is this have anything to do with the podcast yeah we kind of made it in honor of the podcast and okay

and take a follow of this I'm going to post it to the new Heights Reddit page and then not even a week later Travis Kelsey is reading my Reddit post verbatim on

the podcast butchering my username of course I've known you for 20 years that I can barely say your name Michael he has it he helps us out with it now his button helps us pronounce his last name I thought it was Archiletta to the circumstances of all you have an archela

and touchelemy. But yeah you said Mick USC Right And then just Ready verbatim And then they get to the

The photo of the menu item Bring all the ingredients Because they're Listed in the menu And

And we hear Jason saying Well Other than the mayo And I personally Like the mail But Travis here He doesn't like

Mayo I'm not very fair On mail Oh nice Seaping through Jason's horse right now, look his face, and I just heard just somebody

whipping it. So I am responsible for Travis Kelsey doing unholy whipping noises on his podcast. I think that's something that you should put on your tombstone. Travis Kelsey once butchered my name

after a Reddit post. Yeah. Now you, at a couple of weeks later, I'm back at Girl 32. This time I'm picking someone up at the airport. and stopped by and I tell them, yeah, the guy that made the ripos, they gave me the new height sandwich for free. Oh, that's awesome.

Oh, look at that. So how is it? It's, well, it's that big. It is that big. Do you have to do the Guy Fierry haunch? Fortunately, they cut it in half. So that helps. Yeah, but that does, if they cut it in half, it's still tall.

It's just in triangle shape. like that's it's that doesn't have no otherwise it's too otherwise it's a fill a cheese steak and a turkey sandwich if you've got it in half that way yeah yeah they couldn't have yeah that's still it's still tall Mike it's this big if I cut this no see that yeah yeah so okay so all right so is it good it's very good yeah okay you got it with no mayonnaise I got mine with mayonnaise and you liked it with mayonnaise and the mayonnaise is very subtle. So, Travis Kelsey, if you're hearing this,

don't fear the mail. Travis Kelsey, a huge uncalled-for fan. As he should be. He should be. He should be. So, yeah, a short list of celebrities I'd love to get on this podcast, but we'll see. Travis Kelsey's on there, along with a couple of my fellow West Vikings.

Okay. I think you know who I speak of. I do want to. to get back to a thing, because I believe I missed a thing. Was it about your show, your movie? No. It was about T. Swift. Okay. Oh, yeah. Because we were talking Dave

and then we went on a tangent. Yeah. Dave Grohl made the joke about it being the Air Roars tour, and like all the Swifties are coming after Dave Grohl. First of all, as one who has seen the food fighters

perform nine times, Dave makes jokes. Yeah. He's a jovial fellow. Second of all, Dave might have one of the preeminent Taylor Swift stories to where he was at some party, and McCartney is there, and he's playing with Paul and Taylor Swift, and they ended up doing like Blackbird or maybe I'm amazed.

Like Dave Girl and Paul McCarty and Taylor Swift, like in a jam, like, Wow. That's where I want to be. Especially if they play Blackbird. I want to find that. I have to search that. Dave also, okay, so if you haven't read the Dave Girl book as well, it's amazing. It's great.

I read it in like two days over Christmas break, and it was like having Dave in my brain, and that was very cozy for me. Is it an autobiography? Yeah, it's like, here's life story about how he grew up in Virginia, and the first time he saw a band was at the Cubby Bear in Chicago and all these different things. Okay. And it was like having Dave in my brain. And it's not that I want to, like, physically make love with Dave Grohl because we're both married men, okay? And there would be a lot of beard going on, okay?

Um, I just want to have coffee with Dave Grohl for like an hour once a week for all of eternity. That's all I'm asking is just an hour a week for eternity to just be like, do you remember that time when you played on Saturday Night Live? And Chris Nova Sellers threw his base up in the air and tried to catch it and hit him on the brain and it nearly knocked him out. Can you tell me about the time that you told the way? I would just like, and I have never had the chance to meet Dave. I can't decide if I would completely fan girl it or like just play it completely cool. Like, hey man, really appreciate your music. Thanks for all you got.

I have your lyrics on my body. And then that would be weird too. And then I would panic and then I would have to run away. So it's probably best that we don't. Right. I just. and to be fair to Taylor I believe she responded by saying yeah this is my backup band right here they play life to every single night of the tour and I've been known to fuck up myself so

it's weird so like I just learned uh I learned a new instrument in the last two years so I was the worst guitar player just terrible I'm very right-handed right so like power chords like A and E and C and G and E minor and D, like all the big ones, right? I'm fine. Like I can kind of clunk my way through a bare naked lady's song, right? If I need to do a bar chord and this is not for me. Like my pinky doesn't do the thing. It's not, it doesn't work, right?

It's not easy is what you're saying. Well, it's not easy for me. And I don't really know a lot of music theory. So when it's like, I need a C diminished seven ad, I don't know what that means. Okay. So I just am this terrible guitar player with these guitars laying around my house. So in church, our praise band needed a bass player. I was like, I didn't figure that out.

And at age 48, I found my instrument, which is another thing I've learned. Like, it's never too late until, like, learn a new thing, to find a new passion. Now I want to buy all the bass guitars, and I don't have money to buy all the bass guitars. but it's the I've been thinking a lot about like what brings me joy lately right what brings me joy what brings me sorrow what are the things that I enjoy doing what are the things that I don't like doing

and how can I do more of the things I like doing and less of the things I don't like doing I'll be damned if like playing a bass guitar is not just one of the funnest things I've ever learned to do like as much as as fun as it is to like hang out on a set in a freezing graveyard for an overnight horror film Lovekin shoot

that I've done two nights in a row in a graveyard in effing February was not pleasant but it was a hoot. Like I love it so much. And do I just play a church? Yeah. Do I just play in my basement? Yeah.

Did I just buy a whole bunch of equipment so that I can record my really terrible guitar playing? Yes, I did. Will it ever? Stay tuned because that's why there's punk music. So that I can play punk music and nobody cares if it's terrible. As long as the message sticks it to the man,

I think you're okay. My mechanic, I have a very good mechanic. And in life, there are certain things that you are really lucky if you find. And one of them is a good, trustworthy mechanic. So you've got a guy. I do, yeah. His name is Dr. Corey.

And he, his name is Dr. Corey. Does he have a PhD? He does not. And it's funny because he likes the doctor portion on, like at one point in time. Somebody else, it wasn't me. but called him Corey, like in this face, and he goes, Dr. Corey. He corrected them.

So I just mentally noted that. Okay, all right. Well, let it slide. But I will tell you that if there was a PhD in being a good mechanic, he would have it. And certainly by the criteria of, like, X amount of years, he's definitely got a PhD. He's a good mechanic. Anyways, he has also picked, my mouth tonight. He has also picked up bass guitar.

And whenever I pulled up, my car broke down, I got my car back today. All right. Yeah, thank you. Monday or Tuesday is when I get my car back. Did you take your car, the doctor? No, I did not, because I don't live in Belton. She's got a guy. Well, he has a guy, too.

Like, he also has a good mechanic. Does your guy and her guy? Probably. I mean, it's a small, but he was playing the bass guitar, and when I pulled into the park into the driveway area to get where he's at, I could feel that bass guitar outside of the house. I could see where it would be very, very therapeutic to sit and just feel that rhythm all the way to your soul.

The fun part is that, so I started off with like this, $400 starter set with a Squire four string and this dinky little like 40 watt amp that just was it was a practice amp

at best and so like I got better I finally got a newer better guitar which I got on Facebook marketplace it's a Nate Mendel signature line

he's the bass player for the food fighters that's how obsessed I am so so anyhow I'm just trying to get I was like, oh, I should get the Fender Rumble 100. I was like, well, the 200 is, 200 is only like another 50 bucks. Like, maybe I get that.

So I find this dude who's got like a Fender 200 on Facebook Marketplace. I was like, hey, man, I want to buy this from you. He's like, cool. So we do like the quick exchange. He's like, oh, I've got a 500 that I play on at home, so I don't really need this one anymore. It's like, cool. We do the exchange, and I piece out, and I head back home. And I get home and I look at it, and I realize that he's given me the much larger Fender 500 amp.

And I'm like, do I keep my mouth shut and just enjoy this? Or do I want to live a life as a good person? Because I don't want karma to like... You do go to church every Sunday. I go to church. I try to be a good person, right? I wanted to be a bad person. And I decided to be a good person.

I texted him and I was like, hey, man, you gave me the wrong one. I was like, you gave me the 500, and I paid for the 200. And we can do it in exchange. He's like, I guess you got the better end of that deal. and it's like, hell yeah, right? So, comically, I'm good, and that thing is so damn loud at, like, 30% it rattles everything in my office. And I love it so much. And it's always my children, and it's even better than I are children.

And I just play foodfighter songs and punk songs and go-go songs. And, oh, it's such a good time. Good deal. How about my battlehawks? Your battlehawks are good. I'm a fan. I had to disown my Nebraska Cornhuskers last year. My beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers, I quit being a fan for them

because I was tired of having my heartbroken. And then once I quit cheering for them, they started winning, which again... Now you can't cheer for them anymore because you... I supported them from afar because my wife is a diehard fan, and I wanted her football team to win. So I would watch with her. And then she's like, we might make a bowl game. What happens if we make a bowl game?

And I have sworn them off for this year, and I will watch the game alongside as you can watch your football. And I will ask questions about this football team. Now that we have a good quarterback at Nebraska, I am 100% buying in on everything. And it's weird that I got the new college football game. I am terrible at it. I have realized that it's because I play defense, and if I don't play defense on PlayStation, I win more games. So, pro tip for you that are struggling with college football, for the gamers out there, just sim your defense, and you'll do a lot better. Yeah.

I know literally nothing. Wait, the Battlehawks, isn't there a Cornhusker on that team? Probably. Who's the quarterback? No, that was like. McCarran. A.J. McCarran's an Alabama guy. Who's the, but the guy that won that league was former cornhusker Adrian Martinez. Yep.

Shout to the Birmingham Stallions and Angel Martinez, who I believe, yeah, was mostly at Nebraska. Spent a year at K-State because he got tired of people yelling at him because he was garbage! No, he was not. Obviously not garbage because they won three titles in a row. He did. He's good. But, yeah, I think. fucking love the

UFO. It's good. Because you're not a cheese fan. No. And we don't talk about, we don't talk about

St. Louis. We don't talk about the team that formerly, we don't mention them. Hashtad Cronky App. For those of you that don't know

or for the live studio audience, Mike is very passionate about a few things. He hates the St. Louis Rams with a passion. Well,

it's like, well, if they were still in St. Louis, I would still be a fan, but... Are they? No. No, they are not. Because they lie to their way out of town. Uh-huh.

Okay. So, fuck Stan Cronky. So if he took the love I have for Dave Grohl, again, his lyrics emblazing on my body, Heather's love of Taylor Swift, uh, multiply that by,

I like a beggia. That's how much Mike hates the owner of the now Los Angeles Rams. Can you even say those words together, Los Angeles Rams? Will you utter those words? I'll order the Los Angeles. I'll cover all the professional liars. That's what I love about Mike because I've known him for so long. Or Cleveland Wanderers Football Club.

Right. I know exactly what buttons to push to absolutely trigger him. It's a delight. It's a delight to know you, Michael. And not just hated in St. Louis, all right. We did another episode. He's scheduled to be here on Wednesday night.

Stan Chronicky is going to be on your podcast? No. No, not to be it. I'm going to invite him. Heather, let's invite him. Stan, if you're listening, you're welcome to join us on the podcast. We will moderate. That was a perfectly time chip.

We did a follow-up to Cronky Out's Denver Edition, and the guy I did the Denver Edition with is going to be one of our two co-hosts, along with Heather, on Wednesday night. So come back Wednesday night. And let's get more of an audience for Wednesday nights. I mean, I can't see. I assume, with all the lights, I assume it's just a packed house. They're just very shocked at how good.

looking we are and it's also very much hated in north london okay you know so uh yeah yeah shout out to uh the arsenal fans out there cronky out i don't know if mike hates that dude as much as i hate nickleback and he hates nickleback all right he did a whole long i did do a short film about how nickelback writes music for strippers about strippers uh uh and it's one of my high achievements in filmmaking. Okay. Famous in Albany, New York. Yes to that.

Because, I mean, when you take a bunch of your cute lady friends and put them in tank tops and have them pretend to be strippers, magic ensues. Yeah. I would agree with that. I did hear that at least Nickelback regional management was aware of my little film. And people were like,

you secretly like Nickelback. If they invited you to the show, you would go. and I don't think so. Yeah, you wouldn't go? No. No, they can, they are mooted Canadian rockers who write the same song about dirty girls getting their knees dirty and how you look so much cuter with something in your mouth and look at this photograph and I know all these damn lyrics because it was a dark, dark time and I was subjected to these things.

But no, no nickelback. Nickelback out. Exactly. Nickelback. If nickelback and Stan Kroniki, Kroniki, Kronky, Kronky, Kronky, Kronky, Krasanti, if they collabed. We want Kronky out. Say we want Kronky out. He has soccer chance to get Kronky out now, too.

oh yeah that's an arsenal chain yeah so trying to think if I have anything that I'm like opposed enough against to say out I'm like I mean I can think of a lot of things I'm opposed to you're there are a couple of things

you can say uh racism yeah I was gonna say yeah I'm like racism you guys I can put up with racism I said there's a lot of things I was trying to come up with something that's like you know not really that big if you know there's really no reason for the hate

against nickel packets yeah I'm just saying like on a large scale right There is kind of this I don't know Unfortunately we only have a couple of minutes left I will not be acknowledging your co-hears for the rest of the show

It was nice It was nice Until she made an illusion That said that maybe A disillusion Maybe Nickelback was okay No it's not cool It's not cool

It was nice This was my third and final appearance This podcast is uncalled for Your co-hosts comments about Nickelback also uncalled for and not a fan Heather out

I love it I need a shirt I need a shirt that says Heather out I'm sorry I'm sorry I keep hearing a thing Is that a feedback

Is that a We're in a church Is that the Holy Spirit That's No No I mean that's pretty I just keep hearing this voice Hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit

You go to church on Sunday And you're And you're Your co-host Right, you go to church on Sunday. Did you go to church today? I did. I did.

I rocked it today. And you are in a holy space. I'm so sad to hear about the untimely disappearance of your co-host. I'm sorry that. He gets darker and dark. You go through co-host so much. Was the last co-host? Was it after his thing, the last co-host left?

Uh-huh. Maybe it's me. It's me. Hi. I'm the problem. It's me. Oh! I will unfortunately have to do it for this edition of the podcast.

So thank you, Brian, for your third time on the podcast. You are always welcome back. I can do the gritty with this now, and it means three. And, of course, thank you to Heather for continuing to be such great help. Thank you. And thank to all of you for showing up. Hundreds of people in the crowd. The hundreds of silent people

that appreciate getting the word out Sampan sign. Yeah! And we got fans! All right. All right. We would appreciate you guys

getting the word out for our next show which will be Wednesday night. 7.30 right here. Thank you. And good night. Good night. It was a nice meeting you,

but it was a pleasure, madam. Yeah. I'm sorry to hear that she died. I did not die. This podcast is Unpalled for is hosted, produced and edited by Mike Cherenafsky. Opening music for our Casey Fringe program is welcome to Fringe, courtesy of sueno.com. Outroom music for our Casey French program is Fantasia, Fantasia by Kevin McLeod at Incompetic.com.

Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 License, if you are in the United States or Canada, you can call us at 816-832-5160. Leave your message or question for us, and if we like it, we will play it on the podcast. Please support the podcast and purchase our exclusive on-called for merchandise, t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, stickers, and so much more. Go to Do www.cafepress.com slash uncalled for pod. Thank you so much for listening. We will see you next time. We still have no fucking clue where this guy is.