wellRED podcast - #84 - Taco Infidelity or (Burn Down a Bank)

Episode Date: September 19, 2018

Trae and Drew Talk to their Better-Halves, Katie and Andi about being pissed off because of a dream, burning down banks, and Crunchwraps. Andi treats us to some original music. The CHO gets drunk at a casino and does not hit. wellREDcomedy.com for tickets smokeyboysgrilling.com

And we thank them for sponsoring the show. Well, no, I'll just go ahead. I mean, look, I'm money dumb. Y'all know that. I've been money dumb ever, since ever, my whole life. And the modern world makes it even harder to not be money dumb, in my opinion. Because used to, you, like, had to write down everything you spent or you wouldn't know nothing. But now you got apps and stuff on your phone.

It's just like you can just, it makes it easier to lose count of, well, your count, the count every month, how much you're spending. A lot of people don't even know how much they spend on a per month basis. I'm not going to lie, I can be one of those people. Like, let me ask you right now, skewers out, whatnot, sorry, well-read people, people across the skew universe, I should say. Do you even know how many subscriptions that you actively pay for every month or every year? Do you even know? Do you know how much you spend on takeout or delivery,

getting a paid chauffeur for your chicken low mane? Because that's a thing that we do in this society. Do you know how much you spend on that? It's probably more than you think. But now there's an app designed to help you manage your money better, and it's called Rocket Money. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions,

monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Rocket Money shows all your expenses in one place, including subscriptions you already forgot about. If you see a subscription, you don't want anymore, Rocket Money will help you cancel it. Their dashboard lays out your whole financial picture, including the due dates for all your bills and the pay days.

In a way that's easier for you to digest, you can even automatically create, custom budgets based on your past spending. Rocket Money's 5 million members have saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscription with members saving up to $740 a year when they use all of the apps. Premium features. I used Rocket Money and realized that I had apparently been paying for two different language learning services that I just wasn't using.

So I was like, I should know Spanish. I'll learn Spanish. and I've just been paying to learn Spanish without practicing any Spanish for, you know, pertinent two years now or something like that. Also, a fun one, I'd said it before, but I got an app, lovely little app where you could, you know,

put your friend's faces onto funny reaction gifts and stuff like that. So obviously I got it so I could put Corey's face on those two, those two like twins from the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland movies. You know, those weren't a little like the Q-ball-looking twin fellas. Yeah. So that was money. What was that a reply gift for?

Just when I did something stupid. Something fat, I think, and stupid. Something both fat and stupid. But anyway, that was money well spent at first. But then I quit using it and was still paying for it and forgotten. If it wasn't for Rocket Money, I never would have even figured it out. So shout out to them. They help.

If you're money dumb like me, Rocket Money can help. So cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney. dot com slash well read today that's rocket money.com slash well r e d rocketmoney.com slash well read and we thank them for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. They're the. Hey everybody. It's your boy the show. As you know, well read comedy.com.

W-E-L-L-R-E-D comedy.com. That's where you can find tour dates. So you can get our tickets, and you can go and grab our book, The Liberal Redneck Manifesto, Dragon Dixie out of the dark. You can also sign up for our newsletter so that you will be the first to know when we're coming to your city or a city near you. And, yeah, you won't miss out. You can also grab some sweet merch. We got T-shirts. We got hats.

And yeah. Anyways, well-wrot comedy.com. W-E-L-R-D Comedy.com. We're about to be this weekend in Boise, Idaho. and then we're going to be in, oh shit, Tucson, Arizona. Then we're off to the Carolinas. We've got a lot of stuff going on. Just go to Wellredcomcom, check out our schedule, grab tickets,

and we'll see you out there on the road. As always, this portion of the podcast brought to you by smokyboysgrilling.com. Go to Smokey Boys Grilling, get all the rubs for all you meets, and tell the guys that we said hello. They're in barbecue competitions all across the country this year, doing big things. We're very proud to have them as a sponsor. This podcast is going to be two separate conversations, one between our very own angry ginger beard, Drew Morgan, and his wife, Andy, and also between the godfather, the Don Dada himself, the Liberal Redneck Trey Cowell, excuse me, Trey Crowder,

the liberal redneck, Trey Crowder, our buddy, friend of the podcast. And his, his wife, super big friend of the podcast, Katie Crowder. So enjoy this episode. I'm sorry I'm not on it. I don't hit. I've been doing college shows, and I'm at a casino right now. So I'm going to go back downstairs and see if I can't lose a house payment on the roulette table. Maybe I'll come back and fill you in on what happened.

Anyways, I don't hit, but y'all do, and we love you. Ski. Well, well, well. Okay, so why are you mad at me? Are we going to talk about that? I thought you wanted to talk about that. I didn't want to talk about that. No, I want to talk about that.

That's right. Either way, why are you mad at me? Because I had a dream the other night that you cheated on me. You had a dream the other night. Yeah. That I cheated on you. So not even last night. No, it was a couple of nights ago.

Uh-huh. But I thought it was. about it again today. Yeah. Why did you think about it again today? Because I excitedly read off a poster in the Taco Bell window

that you thought I was reading off of the horror van. Which made no sense because I said, I was like, hmm, Triple Decker Crunch Wrap. But you were moving straight in that van. I was like, no, I was pointing straight at the Taco Bell directly behind that van.

Well? Yeah, but again, I said crunch rap, triple decker crunch rap. And I was like, I was like, ooh, I'm listening, triple decker crunch rap. And you were like, very funny or whatever. What? Because, in LA, they have these pink and black vans. Most of them are for maids, yeah. Topless maids. Topless maids.

They've got them for dudes, too. I've seen at least one that's like beef cake, clean your house service. I know that there's one parked in a specific place. It's always there. But they're all over L.A., but this one in particular, which I've seen in that spot multiple times, it's by the Taco Bell in Burbank, isn't for maids. It's for like, I mean, I don't remember exactly what it says, but, I mean, escort. Escort service.

So, yeah, the whore van. It's parked in front of the Taco Bell, and I was reading off the Taco Bell signage, because I'm fat and excited and love Taco Bell. And I said it lustily, because I was, in fact, lusting after a crunch rap. I just heard triple deck. I thought I was talking about the whore van.

Yeah, I did. And then you were like, I'm still mad at you about that. I'm still mad at you and you're like, what, what? And I was like, yeah, because you cheated on me in my dream the other night. I'm still mad. Yeah, but to be clear, you're not actually mad though. You're just being funny. No, but I mean, I did have that dream.

So I am a little bit mad at you, but I realize how ridiculous that is. So. Right. So I acknowledge that I'm going to. I mean, I've done that too, but yeah, I don't. I'm not, I wouldn't say I'm mad. Like, yeah, yes, I feel mad at you, but yeah, I mean, like you just said, I also, I realize it's stupid and doesn't make sense, so it's okay. So I'm not actually mad at you.

Yeah, no. My recurring dream about you in that way is not usually that you're straight up cheating on me. I've had dreams you cheat on me before, but like, typically you're just walking around naked. everywhere. Like in front of, like, friends, family or, like, you know, whatever. Like, I'll have a dream that, you know, Tom Hanks comes to visit or something. Not, I haven't had that specific dream, but, you know, that, like, people come over to the house. I'm just walking my name.

And you just, like, walk out naked and just stay naked the whole time, and I can't get you to not be naked. Nah. You're the one that went to the nudist resort? Sort of sort? Yeah. Not me. I mean, yeah, I know. I never said that.

Is that when you started having it? No. I've been having those dreams for forever. It's probably because when we first got together, like, you barely wore clothes. Your butt cheeks hung out of every dress you had. That's not true. Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

No. You were ahead of your time. You were like an Instagram thought before anybody even knew what those were. You were just one of those in real life. Just. walking around looking and acting like that. It's not. You got tramp sap says otherwise.

God damn. That sucks. You probably don't made us some money. No. Yeah. However, Instagram people make money. They do like ads, right? I don't know.

It's something like that. That's how you get paid for having a butt on Instagram. I don't understand. I think. I mean, I don't either, but. but it's a yeah it's something like that yes you absolutely did not yeah you did no I didn't I was in workout clothes like 95% of the time no no so this week on some bitch on Facebook with Katie Crowder you ain't got nothing

nothing I can't believe that nothing good An old lady wouldn't let you cut in front of her in line the other day, so you wanted her to get hit by a bus. I don't bitch at the bargain grocery store. It's funny because people listen are like, wait, an old lady wouldn't let her cut in line. So fuck the old lady. It sounds bad.

Okay. I mean, I know what. I'll make this short and sweet. story. I was, I, we were running late for the boys soccer game. It will be neither. I was in charge of snacks and I had already got everything except for I needed apples and some cuties and that was literally it and I told the boys we will grab those at the store on the way to the soccer game. And there's like a bargain grocery store just a few blocks down that's between here and the soccer fields. So the boys

are dressed in their soccer uniforms. We run in and I'm like, this is going to be quick. We run in, I grab a bag of cuties and a bag of apples. I go up to the front and both of the lines have a few people in them and both people that are in line, like at the

end of the line, have shopping carts full of stuff. And they're next. So I get behind the older woman that looks like she might let me go in front of me. Because like I always let people go in front of me. I don't care at what age they are. If I have an entire cart full of stuff, I'll be like, oh, you only have two things. Here, you go ahead. And the other lady had a shopping cart full of stuff, but she also had two small

children that she was trying to wrangle. And I didn't get behind her because I thought she's not even going to notice me. She's paying attention to her kids. So I get behind the old lady. And, And she steps up to the, so she doesn't offer to let me go. And I'm standing there and I'm thinking, please let this be fast. Please let this be fast. Then there are like five people behind me and five people behind the other person. And she has a return for something that was like $2. And that's taking forever.

And then she has to ask about some little lunchbox. The zipper was kind of sticking. and she wanted to get a discount on that. She wanted to buy it, but she wanted a discount. And I was just like, suck me. We've got a soccer game in five minutes. That's what old people in a grocery store do. I know.

Like you made a serious tactical error by getting behind the old, you never get behind an old person in line. It was a bad decision. That's such a rookie move. I don't care if you're in the grocery store or the airport, it don't matter. you never get behind an old person in line. It's always a mistake. And it just kept going up every time that I heard her say, like, oh, I also wanted this.

In fact, if there's two lines open and one of them has three people in it, one of them only has one person in it, but the three people are like my age or younger or, you know, 40s or something. And the one person is an 82-year-old lady. I'm getting behind the three people every time. Yeah. But so, anyway, no, you don't. Yeah, I would. You would not. It depends on how old and old ladyish, the old lady is.

If it's a super old old lady, then hell yeah, I would. They take forever. Okay, fine. Hey, would you rather take a head butt to your back full force by Corey and his gigantic head? Or get run over by a mail truck. Did they just text you or something? No, no, I just wanted to make fun of Corey's gigantic head. Oh.

That's all. Let me ask you this, hypothetically. If you were 85 years old and, you had time. Would I let someone in front of me at the grocery store? Yes. If you had time between all the trips to the grocery store, that would take you forever because you'd be an old lady, and old ladies take forever in the grocery. grocery store.

Yeah, yeah. If you wanted to, do you think, do you think you could get away with literal murder? And if so, how many people do you think you could kill in one day and get away with it as an 85-year-old person? I mean, that happened in that nursing home. Remember that story about the old lady that, like, smothered her roommate in the nursing home? Okay. She said, because that bitch kept moving shit around and I was bumping into it. So I smoked.

It was one person? Yeah. And they found out because you read this story. Because she was an old lady and crazy. So they were just like, oh, you don't have to go to jail. I remember that story. I probably read that like 10 years ago. But it happened.

I swear that happened. Because, okay. but could you do it? I'm not asking if you would, like, morally. I mean, if you wanted to and you were 85, do you think you could do it? And not an even older, feebler person, a regular person, 50-year-old person, whatever. No? Just a general person.

No. Why not? Why would I want to do that? No, I forget whether you want to or not. Hypothetically, if you did want to, do you think you could. I mean, I guess you could. How many? I don't know.

Okay. I'm not good at this game. We recently revisited an argument between us on the podcast where, you know, Corey, papaw Batman, right? I don't listen to the podcast. I know. I know you don't. But we've talked about it in front of you, though. Papaw Batman? I don't really listen to all when y'all talk here at the house.

Corey says when he's 85 Yeah he like jokingly reference he said when he gets to be 85 he's going to become like a vigilante basically made in like

child molesters child molesters and stuff he's going to take them all take them get them off the streets by murdering them when he's 85 and I said

you know I was like oh it's funny hilarious you know I mean obviously you couldn't do that but that's fine and then he was like well you mean I couldn't do that and then next thing you know it's 13 hours later 13 hours later and we're having a massive day long argument

about him. I'm like he can't just walk in and shoot him he would have to be some sort of poison or something doesn't that require getting to know them like getting to know them making it a whole thing like really spending the time to murder somebody that's never what he literally said

I wouldn't need a fucking fruit basket from a random person that showed up on our, even if it's especially a random old man, I don't know. What? Who said that it would say like from your secret admirer? Yeah, that's even worse. But that type of shit is never what Corey was saying. He literally said, walk up to their house, shoot them in the head and leave. And he would get away with it because no one would ever suspect.

the pap hall. Well, my thing the whole time was like, you couldn't, how were you going to walk up somebody's front door, shoot him in the head, and get away as an 85-year-old man? Everybody here has those cameras on their doorbells. That too. That also got brought up. Because this isn't even today.

This is Corey's 30. This is in 55 years. They'll have him on camera. Exactly. I know. That argument. But fuck that. Even if it was tomorrow.

I mean, cameras too. but aside from just that, there's no way. You couldn't do it. No, no, of course not. He said he could do 10 in one day. That's what he says. Oh, let him say whatever he wants. What?

This is how Corey gets to be Corey. That's what everybody is like. It's like, oh, let him just let him back. Let him say what it is. That's what people say. Corrie's probably matter. hell right now. He would be if he would actually listen to this, but he won't. But if

he does listen to it... He'll listen to it. No. I think so. He usually does when it's situations like this, when you record something, because he wants to know if I say shit about him in it, which is, you know, I always do. Which is why he listens to it.

But right now, he's like, well, you got to bring up old shit. He's mad. I was listening. Something reminded me at that episode of the podcast today, and I had to go back and listen to court's argument again and so i got fired up about it all the king of sailors anyway so if you were an old murderous lady you would employ poison yeah of course that's how they do it in all the yeah that's how old ladies kill people for sure yep okay but how are you going to do that

i don't know i've got a long time to figure that out i think the fruit basket's going to need Plains in the little Poison apples. That's how they did it in Snow White. Yep. That's why I watched Disney movies to get ideas on how to... Murder people. Murder people.

Ringing endorsement for Disney. Really? Because that's not what we're going for. Speaking of murdering. You want to talk about... Murder? Like actual murder, not hyperactual murder. hypothetical stupid person-based murder. Should I say why we're having to murder things in the house?

Oh. Because Trey. So. Whoa. Because Trey, what? Bought that bougie-ass cheese from Whole Foods. You really think that we have a rat problem because I bought Harmajanon. They're not rats.

They're just mice. Harmigiano Reggiano. or how far you fuck you say it. We didn't have no mice in the kitchen until you bought that shit. And then they came out and ate it. And so now we have an exterminator that's been over here a few times and is still trying to get the mice out of the attic. I'm not going to name the exterminator because, like, I don't want,

because I'm about to bitch about it a little bit. No, don't do that. Well, not bitch. I don't understand. What? I'm not naming them. Don't do it. I'm not because it remains to be.

saying it's just not working the way I expect. I don't know what I expected, but like dude, I could have set traps. Yeah, they just set traps. I mean, I had been setting traps. We just ran out of traps. But they came or like they covered up all the holes

around the house. See, that part, yeah. I don't know how, I don't know how to do that. But like, what so that just keeps more from getting in the future. But like the ones we already got. That's what they got the traps for to catch them. Yeah, I don't know.

I thought it would be a more sophisticated operation than that. I don't know. But anyway, the other night, Trey saw one run across the kitchen floor. Shut up. And jumped. That didn't let a damn mouse to me. And then I walked in there.

That was a big ass mouse. And he tried to like shake the stove because he thought it, you thought it was behind the stove. Didn't I turn the light off? And I jumped. Yeah. Yes. I jumped up on the counter.

And I shook the stove to like that. the rat to run out and turn the light off and ran in the bedroom. And left me in the kitchen. Yeah, it's hilarious. But no, I saw it. You didn't. I know a minute ago. You said, no, it ain't rats.

It was just mice. That was... I mean, they are big mice, but they're not. Okay. Well, that was a big-ass mouse that I saw the other night. Yeah, these are like city mice. Yeah, I mean, I don't know if you're about city mice. Have you not ever watched Bible?

God damn, what's a city rat there? A rat? Even in the backyard, the ones we've seen in the backyard up on the power lines and stuff, those are city mice. Because if that ain't a goddamn rat, I want to know what a city rat looks like because them motherfuckers, they're huge. That's how they were getting into our house. Those are mice. Those are city mice, is what you're telling me. Yeah, they're just a mouse.

He said it was just a mouse. Holy shit. Because he said that the droppings would have. been bigger for a rat. Well, again, if those are just my, I do not want to see the rats around this motherfucker. Yeah, so that's what we've been dealing with this past week. Yeah. So that's fun.

Yeah. So anyway, if this is the last you hear from us, sorry. The rats won. Because they got boarded up in our house with nowhere to go and no food date and just got desperate, chewed their way through the walls. and burned our house down. What about Benton telling them the exterminator that I heard them having a mice meeting? Remember he was like, he was like that? He heard him having a mice and mouse meeting.

Bishop was saying it, wasn't it? And then, wait a minute, do you know what they said outside? So he was opening the crawl space to put a new trap down there in the crawl space. and Bishop and Benton were standing outside and they were asking a bunch of questions and they were like, oh, what's that? Oh, what's that? Oh, what's that? You know, and there was a, oh, Bishop was trying to ask

why that fountain in the backyard. Bishop was like, can't you turn it on? And I was like, no, honey, it weighs like a thousand pounds. Like, you can't just, it's broken. It doesn't work. He's like, Daddy can't. fix it. And I was like, no, he can't. I was like, we would have to, like, plum it. And Bishop was like, what? I don't know what that means. And Benton said, you know what a plumber is. And Bishop was like,

what? And Benton said, we play it on the prison game. You were the plumber on the prison game. and we're standing out there with the exterminator, and I was just like, ah, God, Trey, what are you letting them play on this video game? Yeah, remember when he talked about putting the soap in the sock to make the prison mace? Yes, he said, you got to put the soap in the sock. And I was like, for what? And Bishop was like, to swing it around and hit people.

God. Raising them around. It's a super, it's a super cartoony little game. It's not realistic at all. It looks like an old like Sega Genesis game. That's a puzzle game. And the puzzle, the puzzle is escaping from prison. Yeah.

But it's like, and I mean, yeah, you put, you know, you can make prison maces in it. And you can, like, flood the toilet on purpose to distract a guard so you can cut through a fence. I mean, it's like, you know, yeah, it's, it's, uh, mature content, I guess, but like, I don't know. It's just funny. It's not like Grand Theft Auto or something. They're not in here like shanking people or whatever, you know, it's real, it's real, like I said, cartoony. Like, it ain't no worse for them than like watching Looney Tunes or something, which I never bought into that band.

Because I know some stupid people did say that, but those people don't hit. Anyway, all right. Nah, love you. Bye. Listen next time. Oh, yeah. Yep. Bye.

Excuse. It's not off. It's not off. I can't turn it off. Oh, good job, you dummies. Damn it. Hit the fucking off button. It's not that hard.

I'm kidding. I'm just upset because, as I told you, I would come back in here and let you know. I just lost everything that I'd made at the roulette table. I don't hit. nothing hits but here is now Andy and Drew for the last portion of the podcast

thank you so much well-readcom W-R-E-D-comody.com I don't Hello everyone welcome back to the second edition of Andy and Drew on the well-red podcast

literally as soon as we sat down to start recording Andy had to go poop. And as you guys know, here on the Well Red Cut podcast, we're very poop positive. So rather than, you know, be embarrassed about it, we're going to be very pro.

I'm meeting an okra right now, which is appropriate. I know we said we're not going to eat on the podcast anymore because it bothers you guys, but in a bit of a crunch today. I thought about doing this episode as a pilot for a podcast I want to do next year caught into the abisket

and make it about food and existential crisis but I haven't really discussed that with Andy so I'm not sure if she wants to go that deep today there she is I told me her pooping don't know about it. Yeah

Andy's wearing a hat I got her in LA that I really like it's a trucker hat in spite of my protest to calling them that with no doubt on it. Actually do you know the history of that trucker hats because I'm an insane person

No what's the history The reason they're called out is That style of hat It's first made big When a bunch of feed stores And co-op We'll give them out for free To farmers

And truck drivers Who are the only people They're ever at feed stores So feed stores were a much bigger deal In the South back in the day And the reason I know that That's how Jerry Clower The comedian didn't go to start

He was at feed sales husband, and he'd go around to these farmer co-ops, and all the farmers would come in to buy his feed. But the reason that he was so successful is because instead of going there and talking about the feed, he'd just tell stories about growing up and playing football in college and all that stuff. He got so good at it that, like, they'd sell tickets. And then he realized he could make more money doing that and then the feed, so he became a comedian. Well, anyway, during that time, everybody at the feed store was a farmer or a trucker, and one of the things, speed companies would do would give out hats with their logo on them,

which is a pretty standard corporate move these days. And that style with the netting in the back so your head can break. Got to be called trucker hats because so many truckers wore them. So I have a joke about how it's done on trucker hats.

Yeah. Because it has no idea to drive on a truck, but there's actually a reason that it's called trucker hats. But no one's ever called me on it. That's interesting. No, it wasn't. It was a terrible story.

It is kind of cool that Jerry Clower is like the Hank Williams of feed stores. I don't know what you mean. Explain that. I don't know. I'm just assuming that Hank Williams started playing and like... You're just disappointed me more

than you've ever disappointed me as my wife. Why? I thought you about to tell this amazing story. I didn't know about how Hank Williams used to drive around the farms and play music or something. Well, he probably did.

And you were just like, I don't know, maybe. That's right. Okay, maybe he's like the Johnny Cash of feed stories. You still have to give me a story. Okay, well, I mean, I was just assuming that these, you know, the OG country stars. I think Gunny Kats got discovered by the Sun Records guy and discovered Elvis.

I know he started out on Sun Records. Okay, well, we're just going to stick with Hank. How was he discovered? That might be it. I don't know. Yeah, I think the story was that he used to play at feed stores. You know what I've heard that? Yeah.

He used to drive around the co-ops. Yeah. Give out picks. Trucker picks, I think they're called. All that's silly. So I was telling them I'm eating an op-or in steak Because I have to go

I don't hear you chomp on here Maybe I heard the podcast I could tell you're eating Recently Was it when we were fine about religion? Yeah, I think maybe We told them

We were like We were drunk We were high It's funny I'm not gonna pretend Like we don't get drunk And we're high too much I don't really

I hardly ever anymore Because I always Make the void Yeah. But what am I trying to say? Oh, I'm not going to pretend like we don't drink too much. But we almost always are drunk the day before or the day of the podcast. And so I realize that the way people kind of, I don't know, I don't know, consume us is the right word.

But they interact with us through the podcast. They listen to us. Yeah, so they think y'all are drunk. Every day. And it might be true, but I don't know. be true well I was thinking about that I think you ever read the medical definition of alcoholic yeah it's like haunting pretty it's pretty loose yeah it's like I think it's like more than five a week or something I'm like you mean nights more than five nights a week drinks that might not be so we all are so low even really for that yeah let's be real here I mean we all pretty much are these days

What are you mean? I don't know. Like there's teetotlers and there's drunks. There's very few people in between. Yeah. Maybe not. Maybe we just have a bunch of degenerate friends. Well, I think about that a lot too because when I was a lawyer, other than Jimmy,

I was probably the wildest of all my friends and the most degenerate, you know. Yeah. Well, I mean, like, even my parents who have their shit together, they have a drink every night. Right. But now that I'm a comedian, things out with other comedians and, you know, musicians and whoever else. I'm fucking more responsible one half the time. You're a irresponsible person.

I'm not denying that. It's just like a very different change. Yeah. I don't know. I fucking public offenders were drunk. Yeah. Yeah. Y'all are.

Or am. I don't know. Let me have an okra. Place. Oprah boy. Okra boy. Mm-hmm. You didn't cook them enough

Yeah, I know, but we had to start the podcast And I like them raw Yeah, they're pretty much Drew's just here eating raw okra Okra boy in the house I have no palergues to make Or embarrassment to feel for this Okay, you do you boo

You've been saying that a lot more lately No, I like to rhyme You want to be a rapper? No, I suck it rapping You have me writing a lot more music. I'm going to make you put a song in here. On this episode? Yeah, I think I want the, I don't know what it's called.

I don't want to sing on there. Lysenda's song? Am I allowed to play that? Oh, I didn't realize that was a Senda song. I thought I asked you one time. Is that your song? You were like, yeah. No.

I wish. I wish it was my song. Well, you have a bluesy song. Yeah. What's it? The one about moving west? Yeah. Yeah.

not cool or if you'll play the river song but I know that one's harder yeah well I'll play you one play that one we'll figure it out the river song yes thank you glad we agreed we'll record maybe too we'll see how they sound

no and also this is bad radio you're just supposed to it's like improv you just say yes yes and yes and then you try to take improv once and you hated it um yeah I took it from up Citizens Brigade, which is like the fucking place. But, um, God, they pissed me off.

So, I was taking like a night class. Well, I guess they're all kind of at night, but we can go about why they pissed you off and I'm into that. But what happened in the class? Y'all said you didn't like the class, did you? Well, no, I didn't mind the class. It was fun. She ain't in the class. It was fun.

It's just like, so it was like level one. And there were a lot of people in there who weren't performers, which is great. There was a lot of like people who were just taking that for fun, which is awesome. People who work in a 9 to 5 and they just want to do something fun. Right?

So there were a lot of people who like they left work and then they went and did that. But like I was pretty much the only I was the only actor in there. Like the rule is like if you miss three classes I think then you can't perform in the showcase at the end of your class. But what I didn't realize was also what the role is

is if you miss three classes, you just can't go to class anymore, which I thought was fucking bullshit. So I missed three classes because I had acting work. I had acting jobs that came up. And so I go to class after resigning my third one, and I'm like, you can take makeup classes.

So I thought, like, my acting class was run. So, oh, I miss this one, I can just take a makeup class somewhere else, like on another day. So I go, and this dude who is, the teacher and he was such an asshole. He was like, you can't be in class anymore.

And I was like, I paid for this class. And he was like, yeah, but you missed three. So you can't be here anymore. I'm like, okay, so I can't even come to class. I don't care about the showcase. He's like, no, you can't even be here. And on my way out, I was like, this is a fucking racket. This is bullshit. And he was like, this is not a racket.

It's a total rack. And he said, he goes, well, any acting class you're going to take it's not going to let you miss classes. I was like, I'm in an acting class, and they reward you for booking work. And they let you make it up. And he was like, well, wow, any acting class I've ever taken. I'm like, oh, really, dude. How many acting classes have you fucking taken?

Well, clearly what was happening is he was taking those acting classes and not booking auditions. So he had to become a teacher. Yeah. But we can be spiteful about that guy. His name is Joe. I'm kidding. I don't know his name. James.

All right. There are. Andy putting it down. Let's put it down. Well, Red podcast, endorses. fuck you see me. Amy Poler, you're garbage. She's not even... Oh, no, I love it.

Amy Poller, but... We were trying to do a hot tape, man. It's good radio. Okay. I'm kidding. I love Amy Poewell. I yelled at everybody on my way out of there, so I'm not welcomed anymore. Everybody? I know I yelled at him. There's like some dude over by the door.

He's like in the middle of a scene. You're like, fuck you! And he's like, yes, and fuck me. Well, I yelled at the guy who's my teacher, and then I yelled at the person at the front desk. I was like, this is bull. shit. You're never getting my business again. And they were like, we don't care. Well, it was some like 21 year old who was probably an intern.

Who works for free? I mean, that's the, that's the rail on UCV. They do stuff like that. They get a bunch of people working for them for free. And by the way, as far as I know, I'm impolar, like, sold or share or something like that. Probably because they're all assholes. Yeah, I think you're giving too much credit. I think it was just why I'm being involved in this

anymore. I'm too busy. Right. But I don't want to drag her. And then look, you know, it's hard to fucking build something and blah, blah, blah. But I think that in New York, the sort of, I don't know, claim is they make you pay a lot same way like Scientology does. You can't get to the higher levels until you've paid a shitload. And then they have a bunch of people working for them for free, basically.

And then yet they can't, this is how ridiculously expensive New York is. They just lost one of their most famous locations. they couldn't afford to renew the lease. It's by the fact that they have... UCB? Yeah. In spite of the fact that they have so few paid employees. Yeah, that's crazy to me.

Yeah. Well, and look, this is all people talking. There's the argument out of there. It's like, oh, it's people who failed or whatever. You know what I mean? Like, because you look at somebody like Taryn Kill them, I think that they moved him to the top class. That's the story, like, pretty quickly because he was so talented, you know?

Mm-hmm. And I don't know. Like, it's easy for them to spin it at, as like, you're just bitter or these people are just bitter or this intern who's working for free, you know, that's an invaluable internship or whatever. I just hate the idea of them paid internships, honestly. Yeah, yeah, agreed, especially when they're making, they're easily making lots of money. Do you miss New York?

Some ways I do. I miss my acting class real bad, and my acting coach, Anthony Aveson, who is brilliant and amazing. And I loved that class And I loved the community I had Based around that class That's probably what I miss the most And surprisingly I miss in-person auditions

Why does it surprise you? I don't know I just never really thought about that Being something I would miss But you know, here I think you had just gotten great at it too I think that might be part of it I just pretty much stressed you used to get before them

And then I felt like the last year It was less so Yeah Yeah for sure I mean, because here everything's on tape in the south. You have to put all your auditions on, you have to tape on yourself and then submit them. And I just, it's just not the same, you know.

It's so much better when you can perform in front of people and they can see what you're doing and feel it. Do you miss anything not acting related to that New York? Yeah. I miss, like, having the ability to do whatever you want, at any time, you know? You mean the opportunity, like, it's not you're not allowed to. You're like, there's things that you can't do here because it's not available.

Like here, when we come home from a bar or whatever, there's like nowhere to get food. You've got to go to Taco Bell, you know. In New York, on your way home, you can get sushi or good food, you know, on your way home at any hour of the night. You're here first. The thing, Andy Mara misses most about the cultural center that is New York City is eating sushi drunk it through the morning. That's great.

I agree with you. Yeah, it hits. It does it. And I do like the, I do miss the attitude in some way. Like the, the way that people are just like, I don't care, that's weird,

but whatever, they're not phased by things. You can be, and be overwhelmed. Yeah, in the South, you know, and also I feel like it's a little behind in terms of like progressive cities in the South. like it's still a little uptight about things that are maybe outside of the norm. And compared to what other cities?

Asheville, Nashville, Nashville, Atlanta. I don't know a ton about Atlanta, but, you know, like, even, like, something that's, like, even slightly weird here is, like, people are like, whoo-hoo, makes them nervous. I don't. But in New York, like, you literally see somebody with, like, I don't know, the weirdest clothes or doing like the weirdest things and people just

are like, eh, it's another day. Yeah, you're just taking the shit by the side way. And I like how people don't. You miss that? That's what you miss. No, no. I don't miss that. Of course I don't miss that. And I miss how I miss how people I'm not pissing a cup like a motherfucker

Oh my God. That's my favorite New York story ever. When we was our first year in New York, we lived in Harlem. Yeah. And I was a going to get on the train to go to work and I'm standing on the subway platform. It's probably like nine in the morning.

And there's this homeless guy who looked like the most stereotypical like if I asked you to draw a picture of a crazy person, this is the person you would draw. He looked like a cartoon of a crazy person.

What do you mean? He was like probably a 50 year old black guy. He had white hair that was sticking straight up on his head like he'd been electrocuted. and he had a white beard that was also sticking straight out. Like, he looked like he'd been shocked. And he was wearing, like, these ratty white clothes that were, like, writs. And he was talking to himself, like, cussing.

Well, he was cussing at someone who was not there. He was having a, he was real pissed at his imaginary friend. And he was over there, like, fucking, goddamn, piece of shit, motherfucker, fucking fuck. And I'm just like, he wasn't having a bad day. So then I'm like standing about a decade to be crazy. For real, yeah. So I'm standing there, you know, waiting on the train. This guy's over here ranting at no one.

And then all of a sudden I hear, and I look over and he's leaned up against the subway pole. And he's peeing. Like, it looks like he's peeing on the floor. But he's actually peeing into a cup. And I'm like, okay, this guy's peeing. I'm going to like turn around. So I turn like, my head. away. And then all of a sudden

I hear, and I turn around and he's holding his cup of pee in his hand and he goes, fucker. And I was like, that's probably the sameest thing you said in like five years. It was like a moment of

realization for him, I guess. And then I was like, yep, you do. And I'm going to go over here before you throw it. So I went to the other side of the platform. But it was just funny that he was like, in this other world, ranting at someone who wasn't there,

and then all of a sudden he had this, like, moment of clarity. I feel like in his head he was just like, what the fuck am I doing? You got your fucking piss in the cup again, Gerald. I mean, I took it as a celebration. Yeah, I might have been a celebration. We have seen food that I don't want to give our dog, and I'm having to try and get him,

but he's resting his head. Hey, oh, father, DGi-I, Dmit, Pup. meat Jagger and I was like someone just foot the taste We're sitting here saying that this dude was talking to people with his imaginary friend and then we immediately would do Our dog voice

Well I mean I don't feel like you're trying to make fun of him or anything It was just that line is so Fun I mean Undeniable funny I got my piss in a cup like a motherfucker Yeah That's New York That same year

This is my favorite New York story I think I don't know if I'm I'm sitting on this stude or walking Mick or just walking home I'm almost our apartment one this dude is like walking by me and I notice him because he's really pale like I don't think he was like you know

albino that term's not wrong anymore that's not we haven't changed that I don't think so okay but he was super pale really light eyes almost white hair I mean, he might have been. I'll find him. He's walking by, and he was real metal, like leather, spikes, black t-shirt.

As he came by me, he had his headphones in. It was so loud I could hear the thrash music, you know what ever. He had his keys on a, what you call it? I call it. I want to say canteen, carabiner. Carabiner, yeah. And it fell off, and he didn't know it because his music was so loud. So I grab him

And he's walking pretty fast I have to turn around and then catch up to him And I'm like, hey man And I wave, hey man, wave Hey man And he starts walking faster And I realize He thinks I'm gonna fuck with him

Or he just doesn't want to talk to me But like in the music sign He's like starting to grunt Right And it's like this really pale dude And all leather He's like a fucking punk He's got tattoos everywhere

Now he's like grunt and I have this moment of like, he might punch me if I touch him, but I don't really know what to do. Like, and I think, fuck it. I guess I'll just throw the keys on the ground right here. I'm not getting hit over trying, but I like trying to be a decent person. And I'm like, well, just show him the keys, you idiot.

So I just lift him up. Hey, and I kind of get him in front of his face. But at this point, I'm basically running to try and get in front of him. So it looks like I'm chasing him. He's like, and he takes his headphones out of his ears and he's like he's like I kind of spitting at it out of his mouth

like this like a movie I'm like I'm about to die or something and he turns to me like with his hate in his eyes and he looks and he sees that they're his keys and he goes oh my god thank you so much and his key and I just stood there stunned like there's no voice that could have surprised me more than that yeah none

well he wore it seems like he wore that metal look as a protection in a way like if he is a gay man who's albino you know why you assuming he's gay Andy

okay well maybe he's not I mean I guess I hear you I don't know I mean I think you're saying about New York though like people do put on but I think they put on in a way it's like what they want I mean, I think he's just into that.

Right. But who knows? He's a fucking stranger. We're going to have to pause, and I want you to play your song. Right now? Yeah. He is here now. Thank you for playing that song.

You're welcome. That'll be on our new album. I'm kidding this time. It should be. So, um, we are. He, like, wasn't talking this much. Like, right after, right when he got her. He's a performance.

He's a morose. He's a friend of Drew. He doesn't say. He doesn't say. He knows his. Dad. He's called me daddy before, like, when he first sees me because of the beard. Oh.

Right, anyway, right before we started, you asked me to get you something out of your purse, and I went to do it, and then I found this in your purse. Well, yeah, I ate a sandwich earlier. And you didn't want to do you word by, okay. Yeah. I didn't, so this, the sandwich has a rapper from our favorite, a rapper. The wrap, it's from a market, and that's where we get cheese. I thought you just had an empty

I thought you'd just been eating cheese. Like, yeah, I thought you'd just been eating cheese. I know. I know. You stay having an organic beef turkey. Should you give it? Should I give any context to that song? I was one to do, yeah.

Because I just played it and then we're just like, and now we have a bag. With context to that, he was dropped off. We didn't. The song wasn't so incredible that I'm pregnant at Andy. In an hour. Yeah, so just quick contact. because I feel like, you know, just... Well, I don't want to talk about this with you anyway, so go ahead.

Well, the song is about... Long story short, it's based on, after I learned about the Tennessee Valley Authority and how they use eminent domain to still farmers' lands and basically flood entire towns. I learned about this family who really fought to save their community and their farm. They ultimately lost their elderly families. family. They ultimately lost their farm. The husband died right before they lost the land completely. And the wife had, you know, she was like in her late 80s and had to leave her land and they basically burn her house down in front of her. So they didn't basically, they literally burned her house.

They did. So it's a very interesting story. It's a lot of history. If anybody wants to go look it up, You can look up the Snelldarter trial. Tennessee Valley Authority Snelldarder trial. That'll kind of give you all the context for that particular story, which the song is about. It's just me thinking about them losing their house.

Well, I mean, there's no reason for us not to do the whole thing. It's a really almost Greek tragedy of a tale. So the TVA, Tennessee Valley Authority, was a creation of the New Deal in the 30s by FDR. The TBA's whole thing was bringing electricity to the south. It gave, it eventually did bring electricity to the south, it also gave a lot of men jobs, you know, working on dams. They've built dams.

Now they build nuclear plants and still build dams. And they were really, in the beginning, a big positive influence on the region. Their beginnings, in fact, are one of the prime examples that sort of modern democratic socialist of America and a lot of real, true, left-landing folks talk about as an example of, quote-unquote, big government working. One of my favorite, or not favorite,

but something I think is super interesting about it. There's this song by Jason Isbell who grew up in Alabama about the TVA. It's not anything about. And it's basically about them helping. It's about them providing a job and getting a family out of a situation. If you listen to song or the South by Alabama, which is probably their best song, maybe Dixie Land, the Light, got, they sold their farm.

or they lose it not because of TVA and they moved to town to work for TVA and buy a washing machine and a Chevrolet. That's the line. There's a lot of people in the South that have a lot of positive feelings for TVA because of all of that. They did do some good for sure in their early days. They literally brought electricity to the region. Those positive feelings are in direct conflict with some of the other people. And to me, this really, really gets at the heart of this thing in Appalachia where some people, and this surprises a lot of conservatives who aren't from here and a lot of liberals who aren't from here.

There's a lot of leftover pro-socialist culture. Or protesting, organizing. You look at what happens with coal mines throughout the history of the South and people organizing around those, entities and against coal mines, you know, here in Detroit kind of invented the American Union. And a lot of people want to skip that, and if you talk to them about it, they seem surprised that there's still a lot of that. There's still a lot of that culture. But then there's also this culture of not trust in the government at all, ever. They're liars, and they're full of shit, and it doesn't matter what they say, and then that sparks that independent, almost.

libertarian conservative side of the south that people are a lot more familiar with the sort of like I got my guns you're not taking my guns you're not taking my land in this case that you're talking about is a perfect example of that so fast forward from the 30s to the 70s TVA is now so big and so many people rely on it that even though it has done its initial duty which is to bring electricity to the south. I mean, this is a familiar refrain for anyone who followed the banking crisis. It was essentially too big to get rid of, or as they spun it in Wall Street, too big to fail. So they had to, they didn't have to, but they chose to keep it going and change its mission. Right.

When they did that, one of the things that they started doing was working on nuclear power and trying to make their mission not to just bring people electricity, but to make that electricity cleaner and greener, but they also continued to build dams. The Snelldarder case was a case that a law professor of mine worked on, and I know this is a little bit boring, but I think it's important to have the background before we talk about this family and what it meant to you, Andy.

The Snelldarder case was the case in which all these families were suing the government trying to stop them in that domain. TVA wanted to take a bunch of land outside of Maribald, Tennessee, near the Smokies, they were going to build a dam and it would have going to flood a lot of of this farmers' land. The farmers were saying this is the most fertile soil in the United States. It was the last free-flowing part of the Tennessee River, too. It was the Little Tea, which came off the Tennessee River.

So last free part of the Little Tea, it's also a sacred part of some of the Cherokee nations and burial grounds. And then these farmers are saying, they're saying two things. They're saying one, you're taking our livelihood, you're getting rid of some of the best farmland, literally in the world, probably the best in the United States. And this is where the real rub came in for, I think, a lot of people who followed the case. They were like, a lot of the farmers and the family you referred to, Asa and Nellie. What was that I saying? McCall.

Asa Nell and Nellie McCall. They were a part of a group of families who said, flood this region. but when you do it's not going to flood all of our land you can have whatever ends up being flooded but give us back the rest of it

just let us keep what you don't flood and the government said no we have to take it all and literally as soon as they ended up taking it they sold that land to private contractors who turned it into a lake community for fucking rich people not from here

which is what it is now yes Nellie and Aces land They did actually Only end up flooding like one or two acres Out of how many? I think it was like 20 maybe It was a lot of acreage

And they only ended up flooding like one to two acres And that's why they were like You can have this land You can just have that piece If you just let us keep the rest And they were like, nah Because what they didn't know at the time was that they were developing it for

lakefront property. They already had those plans in, and this is not speculation. I mean, I don't know, I take most of the people listen to this. They're pretty open to the idea that there's corruption in government, but this is not speculation. Right. So, in the middle of this case, a young law

professor at the University of the City, who ended up being one of my professors at Boston College, he gets on board. He's an environmental guy, and he's trying to find every way he can to fight in the whim for these farmers. and he knows he's going to lose. His name is Zygman Plotter, German descendant.

And so Zig knows he's going to lose. He knows he's morally correct. He's done everything he can. He tried to convince senators to change their plan and say, look, you don't need all the land. He's done everything he can. There's no court mechanism for which he can win. Right.

And then the Biobology Department of UT, who's doing work on the little tea, I think they put out a Was it something in a paper? I don't think they came right to Zigg. I don't think they knew at first that it was a big deal to Zigg. But the point of it is

is that the Snelldarder is a fish that was in danger. Literally a bottom feeder. So the senators should have more in common with it. This fish is endangered. And according to the Endangered Species Act, now they can't damn the river. So that goes all the way

Supreme Court, and they went. He's right on the law. Like, they cannot flood this with an endangered species there, and the farmers get to keep their land. But then... And then a senator from Andy's County named Howard Baker. I went to church with him.

He went to the church I grew up in. He was Reagan's right-hand man. Is that our Nixon? He served on the Nixon Watergate trial. He was like the head of the Watergate trial. You mean like he was the one going after Nixon? Yeah.

But then he was Reagan's right-hand man in the 80s. He's got the public policy building at UT named after him. He is super rich, which, I mean, you know. He's dead now. Well, he was super rich, yeah. May he rest in hell. He was super rich, which, as you guys know, when the senators make so much money, that makes sense.

This corrupt piece of shit changed the Endangered Species Act. He snuck it into a bill that pork barrel did. had nothing to do with the endangered species that he just said this is an exemption the Snelldarder is an exemption. He literally just made an exemption to the Endangered Species Act based upon the Snelldarder to get rid of the only problem

and then at that point it was too late. I mean the whole court case had rested on that one thing if that law is no longer law and the Supreme Court's response to that was this is a political question. We don't decide the law whether or not something follows the law. So then they all lost their land.

They all lost their land. TBA built a dam. The dam itself changed the, I'm going to say this poorly, because I'm not sure the verbiage, the correct words, but it added almost nothing to the grid, to the power grid. It didn't. It didn't. Absolutely zero.

I wasn't even for that. It wasn't for that. Well, it's what we were talking about, and it's something that conservatives do correctly point to when you have a bloated government. TVA was so big. They just had to do it. something or disappear. They didn't want him to disappear.

What is that? Oh, the amp is on. Ian is a rock star we have discovered because he just turned a guitar app on. It's just hilarious. And he's on our way back. So, to recap, TBA got sued by these farmers and these farmers said, you don't need our land, just let us have it. And the senators said, no, we need it all, which is a lie. And so then they sued. They sued and tried to find eminent domain. They knew they would lose that. It's almost impossible to win an imminent domain case against the governor. So they went with the Endangered Species Act. They won, and then the senators pulled the rope adobe and changed the Endangered Species Act. One senator did it. He got rich off the deal. He was set up for life. His name was Howard Baker,

and, you know, I'm not willing for shit on the dead, but fuck him. And then he spent his, after he retired from politics, he got into photography and then, like, took all these pictures of our mountains and people that like we're living in Appalachia. He has like all these famous, like not famous, but pictures that people hang up on their walls that he's taken of the scenery and of like mountain people up in their cabins. And I'm just like, are you fucking kidding me? Yeah, it's really a prime example. And what's interesting about it, you know, he's so beloved in your community because he would

he would help out your kid. he would try to get money pumped into your community when he was powerful. That's relative. Well, I mean, people would look at that and they would go, that's who he is. And it's like, well, no, it's not. And so I had the opportunity to meet,

I didn't meet her in person, but I had several phone calls with her. Nella, Meli and Aces's daughter, Barbara, who they were, you know, long dead by the time I found out about this. When I was in college, I got in touch with their daughter

and she was older then and she basically we talked for hours on the phone and she told me how devastating it was to her family and how hard it was and even in her later in her life she was you know still trying to make it right

you know trying to fight it trying to bring some justice to the situation and it was just a lifelong battle of basically nothing nothing turning out in their favor and she sent me a lot of news clippings

that I still have she made copies that she kept everything and she sent me a bunch of news clippings about the situation and there was a lot of news stories that were never

really made public very very public I'm sorry what does that mean well they weren't if it's news okay okay all right you're lawyering me I'm not lawyer you're asking you what you mean

so I mean like they never like they got stifled it was like oh here's a news story about how they burned Nellie's house down. It was in the local paper, but it didn't go any further than that. Yeah. It wasn't like made national news. Like when they burned Nellie's house down in front of her because

she wouldn't leave. Right. So yeah, so I was saying, pair that out of it. So she so they lose the case and then she has to leave and she just straight up refuses. And she's a almost 90 year old widow at this point. Her husband's just died, probably from the stress of

fighting this. Right. And she refuses to leave. She was one of the last people to leave. And first they came in and they tore up all the roads. First they came in and they tore up all the roads with bulldozers so that people couldn't drive in

and out. And then they basically burned her, though they did. They burned her house down with all of her possessions in it. So there's some pictures that I have of Nellie sifting through her burned down rubble of her house.

Her daughter told me how she thinks that that was like the beginning of the end for her. It was just like her whole life. We're in front of her. Just destroyed. Literally burned in front of her. And they barely paid them anything for their land. Well, that's the thing with Eminent Domain.

It's literally going to be a government-act appraiser low-balling you. And that's often been a problem. Another thing, the problem with Eminent Domain throughout history, last study in law school, was like, in places where, you know, more affluent and powerful people live who are farmers. They get a lot more on the dollar for their land because they have powerful senators

going to back for them instead of someone literally going behind everyone's back and changing a lot. I mean, him doing that disgusts me, like he could have literally given my mom and dad a million dollars and him doing that would disgust me so much that I just would have no anything, no love for that man. But you were talking about the songs and your song,

so the Isbel song, from the Alabama's perspective. In Alabama, as far as I know, nothing like that happens, and TVA has this history of sort of being almost a godsend. And then that's the music that sort of comes from that. Jason Isles from Alabama, and obviously the band Alabama, I assume, is from Alabama. And then here in East Tennessee, you wrote that song and The Everybody Fields, which is one of our favorite bands of all time.

Sam Quinn One of their Sam Quinn and Jill Andrews were co frontman and frontwoman Sam Quinn wrote a song called Damn That TVA That you guys can look up if you're interested in this And if you're just interested in great country music They're not together anymore But that whole album's incredible

And damn that TVA Yeah that song I mean I think you wanted award that year Yeah that song is honestly the best That's why I don't sing my song very much Because I feel like that song is like the best song about this situation Oh geez It's so good.

Everybody should go listen to it. Ian likes it too. Yeah, Ian likes it too. But this, you know, when I've learned about about the story when I was in college, it really, I mean, it changed my life really.

That's kind of one of the reasons I became an activist in regards to Appalachia and land conservation. That was that story. the way it affected me. Stories like that make you realize if you look at,

if you look at the history of how black Americans have been treated, if you look at the history about Native Americans have been treated, and if you look at the history of how poor, white Americans have been treated, but also just anyone who is any of those things or white but has done well for themselves and been able to pass land down to their family, you can see how much, right, across generations on whether or not you have land and or you're paid fair price for your land. I've talked to you about on my mom's side, the land that's close to Cates Coe, which is the most visited part of the second most visited national park in the world, the smokies.

Right up against it, we had. Our family had land. and they paid them pennies on the dollar for what now would be you know, worth billions. Now a huge difference there is I'm very happy and proud of what they did with it. The Smoky Mountains, I feel like,

is something that we can all be proud of in this region, whereas damning the little tea is a joke. Right. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. The inn has given me a hat. I'm going to put it on him. Good.

Yeah, I've got to say, good boy. I treat him like a dog, I don't have. There's a couple times when I almost went. Yeah, that's funny. Click at him. To me, you said it's what made you start becoming an activist. Talk more about that. I mean, the enemy there was the government.

Yeah. Do you still feel that way? That the government's our enemy? Or just like when it comes to land conservation, where do you fall now? I mean, I know you, well, here's what I'm trying to get you to talk about. I know you've done some work with some people who are against mountaintop removal. And there it's these coal companies. Yeah.

But it sure seems like the coal company and the government are the same. Yeah. I think capitalism is our enemy, and that's what runs our government. So, yeah, that's how I feel about it. I mean, I think that's a good answer. I think it is what makes the most sense to me. It's a paradox for me because stories like that is what has made me. look at the DSA, the Democratic Socialist of America more seriously, and made me push left,

you know, Democratic senators and leaders further left. Questioning them, why aren't we raising the minimum wage? Why aren't we making corporations pay their fair share of taxes? When I look at Amazon and they'll come into an area and their whole thing is, let us put a plant here and we won't pay any taxes, but what you get is all these jobs. And it's like 100 jobs. 100 jobs is not at all going to change an economy the way that the land taxes and them getting their fair share of the taxes from that business that's thriving there would. And I go, oh, that's corrupt and that reminds me of the TVA, but the fact of the TVA is the government, paradoxically, it's like, well, then I get that whole argument about not letting the government get too big.

obviously in both cases what they have in common is corruption and grief and if you let that dictate things you're fucked well how do you stop that without burning stuff down yourself I don't know I think you have to burn stuff down

that's where I am right now burn shit yeah I don't have much of a counter argument my only counter argument is when I look some of the DSA candidates that are doing well and some Democrats who are pushing for minimum wage and

all that, I hope that we can get to a point where our government has to have our back by default. I mean, one of the things that the DSA pushes is corporate ownership by the employees. It's like, well, in that instance,

if it's owned, it's a democratic process, period. But then I'm like, okay, but if a thousand people owned Amazon, or even more than that, if all the employees on Amazon, sure, they would vote to pay themselves more and give themselves a fair share of it, but would they vote to pay fair taxes? I don't know if they would. You know what I mean? Like, I'm not sure.

Yeah. What is, uh, it's so, my God, Ian is trying to hand me something that he's just found while walking around, and it is a, what do you call those? Um, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's, Like a crochet. Yeah. Like a crocheted piece of art. That's your family's therapy.

They're called sewing circles, right? Yeah. And this one she made for me and says eat the rich. So he literally during this segment where we're talking about how are we going to fix the idea of greedy corruption, Ian delivered me the answer. Or he's just hungry. I don't know. The mouths of babes.

Put rich people in the mouths of babes. I wish your family would listen to this and they would hate it, but they're not. going to say that up. Do you, is that how you write songs? Or make movies or do anything like that? Is it something that out in the world that sort of sparks your interest and you care about and then you craft the story from it? Yeah, I mean, kind of, I mean, for the most part, yeah.

Stories come to me based on things that I've, you know, thank you. about a lot or feel passionate about, which I think is where good art comes from in general. But, I mean, I've definitely written songs that, no, I guess all my songs come from some kind of story that's been sparked in me, whether it's like a personal story or something that I've learned about. Have you ever had one where it's not, it's, is this something from like a character in your head just, I don't know. I'm trying to...

What are you saying bye-bye? You want to leave? He's like, look, I've got to get out of here, man. I've got to go tell other people the solution. I've done when I came here. I've come here to do. I'm wondering, I guess you've heard of answer. You said there's not.

Where you just think of a story that didn't happen to you and that you didn't necessarily see, but it's interesting. Because I do feel like you've done that with scripts before. Yeah. Like a million who doesn't read, which I don't know if you don't. That's fine. Yeah. But, I mean, you don't know anyone who's dealt with that particular issue, Abby?

No, definitely not. I mean, that one's more of a kind of a culmination of a lot of different people in a small town, like, where I grew up, you know, just dealing with the socioeconomics of living in Appalachia. I mean, I've written, like, the song about my grandma, I didn't experience any of her life. things that I've to experience those stories. Right. I love that song.

Maybe we shouldn't make you play that at the end here. It's like two really sad songs. Yeah, why not? I said at the beginning of this, you were booping that this is, I was thinking about considering this like a pilot rum for my end of the abyskit podcast I want to do next year, which is going to be about food and existential crises. Yeah. Well, speaking of so, let's get into the existential crises or a potential one.

It's something that. I bat around or is related to a thought that bats around my head a lot he's trying to feed me foam this is how he feels about egg and essential angs coming from a you know relatively successful straight white males and stuff that's foam in your mouth um here they were like trying to record a podcast with a baby in our apartment yeah this is a good form of birth control

yeah um we and make both just one want in this room, they're not allowed. I read this interview with Boots Riley, who did that, what's that movie called that you guys coming out? I always forget the name of it. Forget it, too. People can look it up if they want.

The movie is about people who work in a call center where they're trying to sell things, but it's also, he has said, sort of a comment on late capitalism or modern capitalism. And he was talking about in these interviews about how he used to be a rapper. He did that for a while. I was a filmmaker and a writer. How you make... Sorry, the baby's been really distracting. Three good for him.

Boos? You're open up our booze cabinet? I mean, I think that will work, but I don't think it's a good idea, Andy. I'm saying with this. She got him a box. Something nice and quiet. He's talking about how you... can make art about the things

that are important to you but that's very much not enough. That's very much not going to lead to change and in fact if it's all you do it might get in the way of progress because it becomes a catharsis for people who are interested

in the same things that you're interested in it sort of serves as a substitute for actual protest or organizing. So this fear is or his fear he said as a young man and it's still haunts him. I think so he was getting at. Yeah, he can make stuff

as an artist about the things that he cares about, but that's not going to change anything. And in fact, it might make stuff worse because it gives people a past. They listen to my music or they consume my comedy or your films or your music and

they feel like they've done something. I mean, I think about it with social media all the time, like I post something, people who already felt that way, click like, they share it, and then what? I think making people really stop and think is a great first step towards action and feel at a deep level, you know, empathize with a character. I mean, that's what I want with any art that I make.

I want people to, I want it to linger on after they've listened to or consumed it. and for them to really for the story to stick with them because that's how people start becoming more actively involved when it sticks with them and they just can't shake it because something doesn't feel right about it. I don't disagree with that at all, but I have been, I'm barring a word from my very Christian upbringing,

I have been feeling convicted lately about like how I need to do more and not more like I don't work enough, but like a shift in that. Like if I am, worried that Donald Trump is fucking crashing our country into the ground at a nightmarish rate. Why am I not

trying to do more to get people elected and volunteer more? And then I look at the time, I'm like, do I have time? I don't know if I have time. Or could I make time? I need to be making time. I have volunteered to do an organized like a fundraiser show for a candidate I really like here in Tennessee. Hope that that works out. And it, of this is, I'm not like, oh, I'm doing

this, I'm great now, it's not that. I'm just saying like, I've been thinking a lot about that, about how I don't know, I don't want the artist, I love to stop making art and just organize protest. That's, first of all, it's boring. And second of all, you're going to lose a lot of your reach, I think,

that way. Like, there's people who should be organizing, you know what I mean? Yeah, everybody kind of plays a different role. But I think we need to be, here's what I have come as to the conclusion. If I need to be talking of those people, It's not my role to be a senator in Tennessee, but there's this guy Edward Nelson that I really like. I went and heard him talk to see if he was legit. He was super legit.

And now I'm going to help him. You know what I mean? It's like it's connecting. It's organizing. Yeah. It's all part of a bigger picture. What do you mean by that? I mean, like, you know, people get discouraged about our political climate, especially.

It's all, you can't change the big picture. You have to start small. I feel like everybody has a part to play in that. I hope we can change the big picture. We can if everybody starts changing this. Their own small picture. I'm trying to think of something that's not cheesy to say about like a collage and how we're all corned. But it's all corny.

So it's actually, I put on tour the other day, I put a song of Lee Banks from that live album you just put out. I was like Sometimes your workout song is two flames And you're trying to Now you just want to burn a bank down And then he was like Hey bud Can I borrow a light

Like that was his response Like you know joking back Yeah And then I was like I'm trying to think of something clever To say About the light inside of all of us But I can't

So here's an old big I think I want to add like On my head attack Like here's an old big So try to go burn banks down Andy I don't think I'm going to go with you I'm just like fat and drunk But here's a big

Here's an old bitch We're at an hour How long are we going? I was going to say that's a good place to end Like right there I mean here's an old big And there's an old big You look good with a baby here

Yeah you brought that up before I tried to do the joke about it on stage I think it creep people out The joke was just about me It's about me like trying to sex with my wife I'm on the road And it's like sending her pictures of my dick

She knows what my dick looks like also who wants to see that? You know, it's not... Then the other day, I sent her a picture of me with my friend's baby, and she got a super horny. And the women got it, and we're like, hi, and a few of the men, and maybe some of them were like, what?

A baby? What is it? What? Those are young women who didn't get it. Well, we just didn't think, like, what you hear is a baby made her horny. Right. That's a gross sentence. Me with a baby turns on your biological clock.

Right. So, first episode of Into the Obisket, where do we have a kid, Andy? Let's see how the day goes with Ian. Maybe that'll answer it. Well, we've had him for like 35 minutes and we're driving him to your mom, so I think it already answers our question. You're like, it's been 45 minutes and you're like, I don't know, man, I'll see.

That's true. All right, well, let's go burn things down with bigwriters. We should definitely have kids. Thank you all for listening to the well-read show We'd love to stick around longer But we got to go Tune in next week if you got nothing to do Thank you God bless you good night and skew