#286 - Marcel Fairbairn

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OK, so episode 286 in the books
and this was an interesting 1.

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I had no idea what was coming so
joined the podcast thinking I

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was having another podcast with
the crew, my friends, the group

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that we went through COVID
together with and it became

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Marcel.
This is your life.

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And so I hope you enjoy it.
You'll find out.

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My life was probably pretty
boring, but they cornered me and

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said they wanted to do a podcast
about me.

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And it was, it was hilarious.
It was good fun, good friends,

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and I truly hope you like it.
Thank you for joining me today

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for Geysers of Gear special New
Year's Eve podcast episode #286

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00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,920
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today.
Music episode 286.

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So today is a fun one.
They all are, of course, but

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today's an extra special fun
one.

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It has been one heck of a year,
you know, where do you start?

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I mean, the politics of it all,
of course, but our industry

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alone has just been, you know,
it's been a bit of a bat shit

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crazy here this year in in 2024.
So yeah, I mean, I for one enjoy

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every year, so I'm glad I went
through it.

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I'm I don't see it as having
been a terrible year by any

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stretch.
Was it perfect?

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No.
Were there challenges?

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Yes.
But isn't that what life is kind

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of about, isn't it?
Isn't it the journey, not the

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destination?
That's how I believe anyways.

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And, and you know, unless you
know, every day is paradise, I

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guess that's how we have to look
at it, right?

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Every, every day is, is part of
the journey, whether it's a

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challenge or you know, something
just fell in your lap or

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whatever it is, but it's worth
living.

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It's worth going through those
challenges.

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It's a lot of fun finding the
solutions and getting through

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the other end of them, etcetera.
So I, for one, really enjoyed

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2024.
Did I make as much money as I

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would have liked?
Hell no.

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You know, did did everyone I
know survive 2024?

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No, I lost a lot of friends this
year.

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And that, that's tragic.
I hate it.

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And guess what?
I'm probably going to lose a lot

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more in 2025.
I hope I'm not one of them.

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So yeah, you know, that's just
life.

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And so for me, 2024 was a great
year.

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I'm really super looking forward
to next year.

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I think it's going to be amazing
for our industry.

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I think it's been going to be
good for the world.

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I firmly believe some of the
problems that we've been dealing

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with are going to resolve
themselves.

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And so I'm hopeful, you know,
and one thing I want to mention

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is, is last night, you know, I
was watching, I think I was

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watching the Canada, Germany
hockey game.

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If you don't watch junior hockey
every year at this time, what's

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wrong with you?
It's one of the things that I so

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look forward to for this week
between Christmas and New Year's

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is the junior championship that
happens every year.

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And it's just incredible hockey.
Like a lot of these players who

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are playing, especially on some
of the main teams, you know,

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Canada, US, Sweden, Finland, but
now even like Latvia and used to

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be Russia, of course, right now
that's a bit of a problem.

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Czech is usually pretty good,
but a lot of these players, like

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in the next year or two are
going to be making $20 million a

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year or more.
And it's really cool to see them

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in this junior championship
because they are working their

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butts off.
And it's not for money, It's not

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necessarily for fame.
It's because they want to win on

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behalf of their country.
You know, it's similar to the

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Olympics, but in a little sort
of mini cosm.

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So anyways, I was sitting
watching that and of course

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scrolling through social media
and a message came in from

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someone on Geez of gear who was
reaching out to me.

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Just basically first of all, he
brought to me an AI thing that

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was an interesting AI app.
Actually, it wasn't that

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interesting to me, but because
it was basically just a guy

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standing there saying, OK,
channel 7 through 9 add, you

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00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:07,000
know, 5DB and you'd see the
faders go up.

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Well, to me that's just voice to
text basically.

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Like that's nothing too
revolutionary.

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If if he said make the room
warmer, you know, make this room

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sound like, you know,
Hammersmith Odeon Ballroom in,

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in London, that would be
impressive.

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And that's coming, I believe
that's coming fairly soon.

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But just to say Channel 7, you
know, up by 5 DB or whatever,

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that to me isn't that
impressive.

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But anyways, we got into a
little conversation and he was a

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young guy, works for a sound
company, was actually out with

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Elton John on this last tour and
was so incredibly grateful to me

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and to Sarah and to Keys of Gear
just for what we've created and

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what we're doing, in his words,
for the young people in the

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industry.
And please keep up the great

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work.
I listen to it on the train

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every day on my way to the shop.
And so, yeah, loved hearing it.

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Thank you for sending that
message.

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It really made my night.
And then, of course, Canada 1,

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which further made my night,
which, you know, was the big one

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actually.
But this message in this

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conversation with this young
gentleman was was amazing.

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And, and I love it.
I love to hear that we've made a

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difference, even a tiny little
difference in somebody's life.

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Because at the end of the day,
we're not doing this to get

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rich, obviously, we're doing it
because we love doing it and we

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love helping to share these
stories and bring these stories

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from these incredible people to
you.

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00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:44,280
So today's podcast, you know,
having said that, it's been a

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00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:46,240
heck of a year.
Why not end the year with with

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00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:49,840
some of my favorite humans.
This is a group of guys that I

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00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,720
used to call the COVID crew.
And now let's just call them the

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00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,360
crew.
And unfortunately, one of them

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is missing this year.
So it's 4/5 of what used to be

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the COVID crew and is now going
to be called the crew, I guess.

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00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:06,920
So this is a very special New
Year's episode with my good

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00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:11,640
friends John Featherstone, John
Wiseman, Eric Loader.

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00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,880
And we will be missing Ben
Saltzman, who is on a beach in

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the Caribbean right now.
So I don't know who's making

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better choices, me or him.
I think him.

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00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,920
We've recorded a bunch of
podcasts over the years, me and

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00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,600
these gentlemen, plus Ben, of
course.

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00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:31,960
And you know, Sarah, our
producer, thought it would be a

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00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,720
great idea to kind of catch up
and, and do a New Year's special

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and just talk about sort of
what's behind us, what's ahead

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of us, what everyone thinks
about where we're at right now.

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And of course, we're going to be
missing Ben there.

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I am mentioning him for the 4th
time already.

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00:12:48,560 --> 00:12:51,200
But I'm looking forward to this.
I'm looking forward to recapping

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on what I thought was a pretty
decent 2024, but what the

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00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:58,120
industry I think it has mixed
opinions on and I'm looking

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forward to hearing those.
And also just really what are

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some plans and thoughts and and
what do you think 2025?

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I want to hear some predictions
from these guys as well.

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00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,000
I'm going to hold their feet to
the fire and ask him some tough

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00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:16,240
questions.
So yeah, anyways, looking

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forward to it.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I

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00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:22,120
intend to enjoy the next hour
and a half probably.

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00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:27,280
And here they are, the crew,
John, you and I don't have the

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cool.
Like, what's that MSNBC woman

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that Mark Cuban copied her
glasses?

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00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,960
Rachel Maddow glasses?
Yeah, Oh, the MSNBC girl.

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00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:41,920
That's that's Mark Cuban.
We're we'll, we'll get you all

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set up with glasses, Marcel.
Starting with a thud I had.

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00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:50,480
I had a pair with the black rims
that were what's the fancy LA

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00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,520
brand crum hearts.
I still have them, it's just

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00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:57,280
they're three prescriptions ago.
It is truly astonishing how much

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you can spend on a pair of
glasses.

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So the worst one I ever did,
Well, it's not the worst one,

227
00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:07,880
but I bought a pair of Prada
prescription sunglasses, so

228
00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:13,000
imagine what those cost.
And so I don't know, 15-17

229
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:14,840
hundred dollars something like
that, right.

230
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,040
They were sitting in my driveway
at my old house in in my truck

231
00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:24,960
that doesn't start well, sitting
in my driveway in my truck.

232
00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:29,800
And so I go outside to find
something in my truck.

233
00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,280
I think this is was a while ago.
So it was like my iPod or

234
00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:37,320
something that I tried to find
in my truck and I couldn't find

235
00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:38,480
it.
And I'm like, what the hell is

236
00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:40,560
the deal here?
Did you just hit record, Eric?

237
00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:42,840
Yeah.
Are you recording a secondary

238
00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:44,880
podcast here?
Yeah, because I know your

239
00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:48,120
podcasts don't hold up so.
No, they crash a lot.

240
00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:50,280
Well.
Those are fibing words.

241
00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:51,040
They crash a.
Lot.

242
00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:55,440
Crash a lot so so I'm like what
the hell and then I'm like I

243
00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:58,480
wonder if somebody broke into my
truck so I go and I watch the

244
00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:03,360
security video sure enough three
kids go into the driveway and it

245
00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,000
was like Christmas time so they
tried all the cars in the

246
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,480
driveway.
My in laws my in laws car was

247
00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:10,680
locked.
My ex wife's car was locked,

248
00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:15,200
mine have of course was unlocked
and so all they took was my iPod

249
00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:19,600
and these you know 16 or $1700.
Which they got sunglasses.

250
00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:22,760
That were worth like 50 bucks to
them if anything right?

251
00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:24,080
Like they were worth nothing to
them.

252
00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:25,760
They probably.
Throw more hands in right so

253
00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:28,000
they're not worth nothing.
Yeah, so they probably put mine

254
00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:30,080
they suck and threw them out.
They'd be.

255
00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:32,400
Easy to find, you just look for
the kids that are wearing

256
00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,560
glasses that look lost.
Bumping into the walls and

257
00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:36,560
stuff, yeah.
Anything.

258
00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:38,600
Yeah, well, I can't see
anything.

259
00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:43,040
Well, so I was at a Christmas
party, like the next day or two

260
00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,600
days later or something, and I
said, yeah, somebody frigging

261
00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:47,320
broke into my car and stole
shit.

262
00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:50,040
And somebody goes, oh, yeah, I
was just talking to Bob.

263
00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,160
Hang on, Bob, come here.
Oh, yeah, me too.

264
00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:54,840
So we figured out which
direction they went from my

265
00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:57,880
security camera to his security
camera to the next security

266
00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:00,040
camera.
Like we knew exactly every house

267
00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:01,400
they hit.
Oh, I thought you were going to

268
00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,040
say they introduced you to
somebody at the party and they

269
00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:04,280
were wearing you, wearing your
glasses.

270
00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:08,360
That's a way better story.
Unfortunately my stories never

271
00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:10,360
end like that.
Where I get my glasses back,

272
00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,160
like, you know, usually they
were on the hood of my car and I

273
00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,880
stopped at a red light and they
flew off and then got run over.

274
00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:18,920
Like that's how my.
Story is usually ending right?

275
00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,560
So I have to announce that
Mister Saltzman is not with us

276
00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:25,320
because he's on a beach in
Aruba.

277
00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:28,480
Good for him, but good so how?
Bad do all of us feel.

278
00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:30,480
No, but.
Happy for him.

279
00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:32,200
Yeah, I'm happy for him too.
He deserves it.

280
00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:35,040
He's had to gear.
One of us is making good

281
00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,120
decisions, yes.
The rest of us shame.

282
00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:41,800
Shame on us, A.
Fun fun fact.

283
00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:45,400
So if you leave these in your
car in Vegas, these meta glasses

284
00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,680
at 120° they won't survive just.
So you.

285
00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,360
Is that the voice of experience?
Yes, what is this called?

286
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,360
Meta glasses.
The Meta glasses, these are the

287
00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:56,760
Zuckerberg, the Ray Band, the
Ray bands, but they have the

288
00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:59,680
camera and they have the
speakers and the frames, which

289
00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:01,240
you can listen to music and
stuff.

290
00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:03,440
It was kind of cool.
I use a lot for that, but.

291
00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:06,800
So you're being specially
tracked by Facebook.

292
00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:10,440
And yeah.
I got nothing to hide.

293
00:17:10,839 --> 00:17:14,079
Do you mind?
Do you mind if I ask why the

294
00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:17,920
fuck would you have those on?
How did I know that question was

295
00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,280
coming?
Oh God.

296
00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:22,000
It's a long story.
It's a.

297
00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:25,000
Little good.
Because you're being tricked.

298
00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:28,440
Right.
Yeah, well, actually I just

299
00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,920
read, you know, because you guys
know I'm an idiot and I read AI

300
00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:34,840
stuff constantly.
But I read this morning that

301
00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:41,360
Meta are introducing AI bots to
have conversations with people

302
00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:45,560
on Facebook and Instagram to
increase the engagement and

303
00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:47,640
increase the ad value and all of
this stuff.

304
00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,320
So they're going to basically
make all of us have these stupid

305
00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,720
conversations with these.
Nobody.

306
00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,520
And I mean, the next step of
course is going to make the bot

307
00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,120
a hot chick so that we'll.
I think they're doing that

308
00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:04,440
already, you know, I mean, I
think they're, you know, they're

309
00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:06,520
these virtual companions.
I mean she.

310
00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:10,400
Doesn't really love me.
You mean you mean that's not who

311
00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:14,160
I'm talking to?
She lied to me.

312
00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:18,400
She said she liked me.
Well, that will not even go

313
00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:19,840
there.
Yeah, yeah.

314
00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:21,840
All right, let's kick this thing
off.

315
00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:23,240
We did.
Is this it?

316
00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:24,040
We.
Did is it?

317
00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:29,440
It doesn't get any better, John.
The rest is all up to you.

318
00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,960
Oh, Marcel, it's going to get.
Better do some big.

319
00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:36,760
Formal introduction, Marcel.
Oh, well, to my immediate left,

320
00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:40,400
which is probably you're up
above or something, That's John

321
00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,400
Wiseman right there.
And then down there is John

322
00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,600
Featherstone, and down there is
Eric Loader.

323
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,000
And Ben Saltzman is on a beach
in Aruba.

324
00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,200
OK, introductions done.
We're missing him.

325
00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:52,080
Yeah.
I think everyone by this time

326
00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:56,600
kind of knows who you guys are
and I don't know that many

327
00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:58,520
introductions sadly.
Yes.

328
00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:01,640
By the way, Wiseman, before I
forget to ask you this, and it's

329
00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:04,560
a terrible, terrible question.
And depending on how the answer

330
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:08,840
goes, we might edit it out.
But Pat Morrow, is he OK?

331
00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:10,840
Oh yeah, he's doing great.
Talked to him the other day.

332
00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:12,440
Yeah.
I've reached out to him a couple

333
00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,600
times because I've got a guy
desperately reaching out to try

334
00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,760
and get in contact with him and
it's like a childhood friend.

335
00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,360
I checked him out.
He's not send send the guy to

336
00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,520
send the guy to me.
I engaged with Pat on a on a on

337
00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,360
a pretty regular basis.
Yeah, he, he is.

338
00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:31,560
He's not tied to his phones like
we are.

339
00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:34,880
Yeah, no, but he emailed me all
the time.

340
00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,280
He used to go, Oh yeah, I
remembered another story and

341
00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,320
he'd send me an e-mail and he
was very engaged on e-mail.

342
00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,600
Now he's not anymore.
So yeah, he's, I talked to Pat a

343
00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:46,400
couple times a month, you know.
Yeah.

344
00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:51,800
He was, he was, you know, he, he
was absolutely instrumental in

345
00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:55,880
the, in the early stages of my
career and the the, the early

346
00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,400
traction and successes that I
was able to have completely

347
00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:00,600
randomly.
He was.

348
00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:03,600
He was there, yeah.
Yeah, I mean, I did.

349
00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,320
I did 2 podcasts with him.
It was actually one, but it just

350
00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:10,200
got so long and there was so
much going on that it became 2,

351
00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:12,840
you know, because I could hear
Eric Loader in my ear going.

352
00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:17,000
It's too long, Marcel.
You know my my special meta

353
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,280
glasses only have.
You got a little count back.

354
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:26,880
Well, Pat, you know, Pat started
out Pat has a degree in

355
00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:31,440
sculpture from some like I think
it's NYU.

356
00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:34,360
So he's he's a truly an artist,
right?

357
00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:39,760
And his father was Rock was
Nelson Rockefeller's chief of

358
00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,280
staff.
Jesus.

359
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,800
Wow, that's a cool job.
Well, Pat.

360
00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:51,120
Grew up in like, you know, when
the, when the governor's license

361
00:20:51,120 --> 00:20:55,600
plate says #1 and the Lieutenant
governor's license plate says #2

362
00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,560
and your dad says #3 and you
could park that car anywhere you

363
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:01,800
want, New York and nobody.
That's wild.

364
00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:02,720
He.
Grew up with that.

365
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,920
Yeah.
So Pat and, you know, and then

366
00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:06,840
Pat's, Pat's brother went on to
be.

367
00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,840
And they get Pat's brother was
the just retired, I think this

368
00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:12,080
week.
He was the editor of Time

369
00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,200
magazine.
You know, his sister is like a

370
00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:18,360
brain surgeon, you know, Pat.
And then Pat ends up sweeping

371
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:25,560
the rehearsal studio in San Sir,
San Francisco and meets Carlos

372
00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:30,920
Santana and and, you know, Neil
shown and Herbie Herbert and

373
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:33,440
Segway.
You know, was lured in.

374
00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:36,120
Yeah, exactly.
Pulled into this business

375
00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:39,880
kicking and screaming, Yeah.
Hey, so Marcel, we, we're, I

376
00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:41,360
have a question for you.
Yes, Sir.

377
00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:45,680
How do you How do you pick who
you have as your featured person

378
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:49,600
on Jesus?
How do you curate who it is?

379
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:51,400
Well, a lot of times they come
to us.

380
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,920
So usually it's someone comes to
us and then we just, we have a

381
00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:58,240
bit of a vetting that goes on
that really it's a pretty low

382
00:21:58,240 --> 00:21:59,560
bar.
Are you interesting?

383
00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,080
You know, are you interesting?
Hence your ground today.

384
00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:04,600
Yeah, exactly.
I was going to say present.

385
00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,160
Company included, yeah, yeah.
But really it's just are they

386
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,360
interesting?
Because I've actually had some

387
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:16,080
yes Sir, no Sir interviews that
were horribly wrong and I.

388
00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:18,000
Know that wasn't me.
I don't.

389
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,960
Yeah, No kidding.
Like I don't like doing

390
00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:23,880
interviews.
I like having conversations, you

391
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:28,960
know, And so I'll start the
interview asking some questions

392
00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:31,160
just to wind somebody up and get
them talking.

393
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:36,680
John That usually is a fairly
short process, but you know,

394
00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,840
then you kind of want them to
start bringing stories and

395
00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:41,440
stuff.
You don't want it to become a

396
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,800
question answer kind of I.
Was I was talking to my two good

397
00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:45,760
friends and we think you've
missed somebody really important

398
00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:48,360
in our industry.
Thousands of important Really,

399
00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:50,680
really, you know why not?
Because I've never toured.

400
00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:55,360
So I everybody comes to me by
referral because I don't know

401
00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:57,360
that many.
People by, by the way,

402
00:22:57,360 --> 00:22:59,400
housekeeping real quick before
you go on.

403
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,240
You can't call him John and me
John because I wonder who the

404
00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:04,200
fuck you're talking to.
Well, you, well, we'll both

405
00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:06,520
assume it's us wise because
that's how we're wired, of

406
00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,000
course.
Exactly 50% shot of.

407
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:10,520
Featherstone and Wiseman there
you.

408
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:12,400
Go, yes, yeah.
So.

409
00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:15,040
This is important, Marcel, shut
up.

410
00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:17,080
Yeah.
So we think you've missed

411
00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:19,480
somebody really important in the
industry that we that we want to

412
00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:24,560
shine a light on and it's you.
So do you think this is about

413
00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:26,880
interviewing us?
Oh, if this is a lynching, fuck.

414
00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:31,160
We just hijacking. 100% it's a
hijacking.

415
00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:32,800
It's a hijacking.
We we are three.

416
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:35,120
Pirates roast, roast lynching.
Here.

417
00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:38,000
Oh, forget how you like Sarah's
dead.

418
00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:40,640
No, no, we, we, no, please
don't, please don't.

419
00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,560
Because we, we, she was like,
Marcel's going to hate going to

420
00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,400
kill me.
But we, we think you've shone a

421
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,680
light on a ton of really
important people in this

422
00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:52,240
industry, Marcel.
And today we would love to

423
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,120
introduce people to a bit more
of you in your back story

424
00:23:55,120 --> 00:23:58,680
because you've got a hell of a
back story and you've continued

425
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:02,320
to give and give and give to
people time and time again.

426
00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:05,120
And, and we just wanted, the
three of us wanted to shine a

427
00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:06,880
light on you.
We were talking about doing it

428
00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,160
for the 300th episode, but we
figured you'd smell a rat.

429
00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:14,960
So, so this is the seemingly
random 286th episode.

430
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,600
And I'm going to tee you up in
the way that you usually TS up.

431
00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:21,520
So for anybody that doesn't know
Marcel, Marcel spent more than

432
00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:25,160
30 years in the event industry
and Marcel founded Gear Source

433
00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:29,560
in 2002 with a single goal to
make it safer and easier for

434
00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:32,160
businesses to buy and sell gear
globally.

435
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:36,880
Since its founding, Gear Sources
moved 1/4 of a billion dollars.

436
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:41,640
I'm going to say that again, 1/4
of a billion dollars in sound,

437
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:43,600
lighting, video and staging
equipment around the road.

438
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:45,720
Today.
Marcel along with his global

439
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:47,760
team are focused on ramping up
growth.

440
00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,440
Marcel says, I love this
industry and I'm focused on

441
00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:54,840
growing gear source to help even
more people while democratizing

442
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:59,240
access to gear for your markets
and markets for your gear.

443
00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:02,760
Marcel says he has this crazy
disease that he keeps getting

444
00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:06,080
these ideas he has a burning
desire to pursue and that keeps

445
00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:08,560
him busy and restless as well.
In a good way.

446
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,320
Marcel is a visionary
entrepreneur by every

447
00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,720
definition.
Several times in his life,

448
00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:17,680
Marcel has put everything on the
line to prove his methods.

449
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,200
With each business, he's
carefully surrounded himself

450
00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,960
with teams of great people and
LED them each day in new

451
00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:25,960
frontiers.
He continues growing and

452
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:28,520
welcomes new opportunities for
passion.

453
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,080
For six years, Marcel has been
the creative producer and host

454
00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:34,920
of Geezers and Gear, which is
now joined by its sister

455
00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:39,320
podcast, Leading Ladies.
Geezers was a literal lifeline

456
00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:42,760
for so many of us, me included,
and John and Eric, I know you as

457
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:45,800
well over the pandemic.
And so industry pioneers and

458
00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:47,840
friends get together once a week
for a happy hour.

459
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:52,160
That was so important.
There have been 285 episodes

460
00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:55,920
today, which is nearly two weeks
of content if you played it 24

461
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,160
hours a day, talking about
anything and everything with

462
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,160
incredible people.
Geezers of Gear is never boring,

463
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:04,080
and there are always surprises
as well.

464
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:09,200
Today's surprise is our guest is
Marcel Urban, my friend, my

465
00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,320
mentor, my ally and my advocate.
Marcel.

466
00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:16,480
Jesus, what you?
Guys, you've been, you've been

467
00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:21,840
kidnapped.
There's been a lot of, a lot of

468
00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:25,720
emails going back and forth
about this over the last, oh

469
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:30,920
gosh, couple of months now.
And and I'm, we, I'm, I'm, I'm

470
00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,000
shocked we were able to keep the
cat in the bag.

471
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:34,920
I almost blew it once.
I almost blew it once.

472
00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:39,400
Well, I can't remember what I
did this morning, so I I was in

473
00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,440
no danger of blowing it.
You guys are hilarious.

474
00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:47,040
So, so we're honoring you today,
Marcel, and we want, you know,

475
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:50,040
the, the you, you are an
interesting man.

476
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,920
And when you know, we, we have,
we have no doubt there will not

477
00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:55,360
be yes and no questions from
you.

478
00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:59,040
So, you know, we've got a little
bit of a format here laid out

479
00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:03,120
thanks to John Featherstone and
Eric Loader and Sarah, and we've

480
00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:05,640
got some old photos that we've
put together.

481
00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:10,480
And yeah, you're, you're, yeah.
You know what, Marcel?

482
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,000
Not, not to get all sentimental
or small, but you know, this is

483
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,720
a, this is a rough and tumble,
bare knuckle business.

484
00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:20,800
And, you know, it comes down to
a lot of tough stuff, but at the

485
00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,960
end of the day, it's an industry
of, of, you know, we're, we're

486
00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:26,680
misfits, but we're also
innovators.

487
00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:31,840
And you are absolutely firmly
ensconced in the leadership of

488
00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,080
this from a lot of different
angles.

489
00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,800
And we want everyone to get to
know you a little bit better.

490
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,800
So there you go, Jesus.
Nice.

491
00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:42,320
How did it?
How did it stop Marcel?

492
00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:42,880
What?
What was the?

493
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:44,680
What was the gear source or
like?

494
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:47,040
No, no, we, we got, we got way
back, brother.

495
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:50,440
How, how did you, how did you
get dragged into this business?

496
00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:52,040
How did you run away and join
the circus?

497
00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:54,520
How how did you get started?
I believe there was a Catholic

498
00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:58,200
priest involved.
There actually was a guy priest.

499
00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:00,240
Incredibly, I thought you were
joking.

500
00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:03,960
How you knew that one, but there
was a Catholic priest involved.

501
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,840
Not exactly how you might think.
I did not have that kind of a

502
00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:12,040
problem.
But yeah, you know, we went to a

503
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,360
church in Calgary, Canada,
called Holy Trinity Church.

504
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:21,200
And at this church one time, I
was 10 or 11 years old at the

505
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:23,520
time, there was an ad on the
board.

506
00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,240
And yes, I could read.
And I read that it said looking

507
00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:31,480
for a singer for a rock band.
And I had sang in church a

508
00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:34,480
couple times and sang in the
shower and stuff.

509
00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:38,200
And I said I could do that.
And so I said, I want to try

510
00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:39,960
out.
And they said, OK, well, your

511
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,120
try out is next Saturday morning
at 9:00 or whatever.

512
00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:47,080
And somehow I got the gig.
I, I became the singer for this

513
00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:52,520
band that was called Trail.
And so I was like 11 or 12 years

514
00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:55,200
old, probably 12 when I got the
gig, I guess.

515
00:28:55,200 --> 00:29:01,200
And I was getting notes from the
priest who was our manager.

516
00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:02,840
The priest was the manager of
the band.

517
00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:05,800
The priest would write a note
saying Marcel needs to leave

518
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,880
school early on Friday for sound
check.

519
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:12,200
So I'd be leaving at like 1:00
or whatever to go do sound

520
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,400
check.
And they'd send a car to pick me

521
00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:19,880
up at school And I'd go to the
gig and, and do my part for

522
00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,400
sound check and go home, have
dinner, get dressed and

523
00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:28,760
homework, do the gig that night.
And so, you know, just to widen

524
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:33,160
the story a little bit, this
this band practiced in the

525
00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:35,760
basement of a Catholic Church in
the basement of Holy Trinity

526
00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,760
Church.
And to pay for that rehearsal

527
00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:43,280
space, the, our manager, the
priest had us do a gig on

528
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:45,560
Saturday nights called the rock
Mass.

529
00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:50,400
And this rock Mass was his
assistant was a German lady and

530
00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:55,200
she translated, this was pre
striper, pre Petra, pre, all of

531
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:57,920
these rock, Christian rock
bands.

532
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:04,400
And she translated these German
rock or German religious rock

533
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:07,960
songs into English.
And we kind of changed them up a

534
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:09,800
little bit.
And those were the songs that we

535
00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:14,120
played during this rock mass.
So it wasn't like, you know, the

536
00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:16,920
hymns from.
So the so like the big churches

537
00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:21,080
now that we sold so much gear to
which was such a boon to our

538
00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:23,240
industry.
I know Eric and you and I,

539
00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,840
Marcel, were were, and John was
probably designing some of these

540
00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,680
like Calvary churches.
They put these big rock shows

541
00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:31,040
on.
I mean, the church I go to on

542
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:32,440
Sunday, there's a rock band,
right?

543
00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:34,720
Yeah, there's, I'm looking at
the technology in there.

544
00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:36,680
So you were way ahead of the
curve.

545
00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:38,920
But Wiseman, they still got you
looking up, so they got you

546
00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:40,160
looking in the right direction.
Yes, they do.

547
00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:41,920
Yeah, that stuff.
Didn't exist yet?

548
00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:43,440
Yeah, that stuff didn't exist
yet.

549
00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,520
And this, this was, it was very
bizarre.

550
00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:49,640
And by the way, we got shut down
by the the head priest for our

551
00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:53,120
area or whatever he was called,
but he shut us down because this

552
00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,120
was devil's music and blah blah
blah.

553
00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:58,160
That would be the cardinal.
There was a huge thing that went

554
00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:01,800
on where people signed this.
What do you call those things

555
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:02,960
where everybody.
Watch a petition.

556
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,240
Right.
Yeah, find a petition to keep us

557
00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:07,240
in.
And by that time we were like,

558
00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:10,200
we're over it anyways.
But it was cool because on

559
00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,360
Saturday nights, instead of the
church being relatively empty

560
00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:17,160
and just a bunch of old people,
it was stacked and it was

561
00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:18,800
standing room only and it was
young kids.

562
00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:20,480
Now why would they put a stop to
that?

563
00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:23,320
You're drawn in the stupid.
Just stupid, right?

564
00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:25,520
Just completely stupid.
It's funny, you're right though

565
00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:26,880
wise.
I mean, it's gone full circle.

566
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:28,280
Yeah.
Marcel.

567
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:29,600
Marcel was ahead of his time.
You.

568
00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:30,640
Know.
Yeah, absolutely.

569
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,320
Yeah, it was a priest.
Of faith using those kind of

570
00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:37,080
tools and techniques to attract
a younger audience to come

571
00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:39,720
together so.
Well, and shortly after we got

572
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:46,520
canned out of this gig, the our
priest manager, doctor, Father

573
00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:51,680
Brown, Father Michael Brown, he,
he left the priesthood, you

574
00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:55,880
know, and he's a ordained
Catholic priest and he just had

575
00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:59,040
enough and he went to run his
family construction company.

576
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:04,120
So, so yeah, that was how it got
started from there.

577
00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:09,280
You know, I had a very
understanding mother who kind of

578
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:11,720
let me do whatever I wanted to.
And I don't know that a lot of

579
00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:15,080
people know this, but I quit
school halfway through the 10th

580
00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:18,800
grade, actually 3/4 of the way
through the 10th grade.

581
00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:23,760
My, my birthday was on June 8th
and school in Canada went to the

582
00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:27,840
end of June and I quit June 8th
on my birthday, my 16th

583
00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:30,920
birthday, because I wanted to go
on the road with a band.

584
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:36,560
And so I got fake ID to clean
bars in Canada, went on the road

585
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:38,560
with a bunch of bands.
And I did that for a couple of

586
00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:42,320
years.
And I think I was probably the

587
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:46,280
ripe old age of 18 or 19.
And I said, you know, I really

588
00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:49,800
wanted a Corvette was really
what drove me to, to change my

589
00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:51,240
lifestyle.
I wanted a Corvette.

590
00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:53,520
That's fun and.
Kind of have goals.

591
00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,400
You know, I have goals.
I grew up sort of in the hood of

592
00:32:56,400 --> 00:33:00,240
Calgary and you know, which is a
nice neighborhood in most

593
00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:04,160
cities, I guess.
And you know when you saw a

594
00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:07,120
Corvette, you went, you know if.
Yeah, that's somebody that's

595
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:09,800
that's somebody that's made it.
Oh yeah, like that.

596
00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,160
I want to be that guy.
And it for me, it was always

597
00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:13,320
that.
It wasn't, look at that

598
00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:15,400
douchebag in the Corvette.
It was Oh my.

599
00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,440
God, it was aspirational.
What did he?

600
00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:22,360
Do I want to do what he does?
You know, So I, I, I got a gig

601
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:24,360
at a music store.
I got off the road with a band,

602
00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:28,800
got a gig at a music store in
Calgary and it was a funny music

603
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:32,440
store called Harmony Lane Music
where their big claim to fame

604
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:36,600
was they were the biggest
accordion dealer in Western

605
00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:39,200
Canada.
Electric accordions like these

606
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,600
things were $15,000 and.
You know, there's, there's an

607
00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:45,080
expression in England, Marcel,
that the definition of a

608
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,400
gentleman is somebody who knows
how to play the accordion but

609
00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:48,320
does not.
Yeah.

610
00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:51,160
I've heard true.
It's true.

611
00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,560
Oh, you know what?
You know the definition of an

612
00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:57,520
optimist, a studio trombone
player with a beeper.

613
00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:03,840
As Wiseman dates himself with a
beep with Joe Exactly.

614
00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:07,640
You all know what it was well
Speaking of.

615
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:09,360
Dates What?
What date was this?

616
00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:10,800
What?
What year was this when you were

617
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:14,560
at the music store?
Well, I'm 60, so I was 16, so

618
00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,239
that would have been, or I was.
By the time I was at the music

619
00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:19,480
store, I was 18.
So what's that?

620
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:21,520
Say 80.
Were you born?

621
00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:25,280
In what, 8582?
So you're born in like 6580?

622
00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:28,560
182, it's around there.
Yeah, I was born in 64 yeah.

623
00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:34,760
And so so anyways, this music
store with the guy who ran it

624
00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:37,600
was named Jim Jim Clip, Jim
Clippert.

625
00:34:38,159 --> 00:34:42,040
And he was a a fancy electronic
accordion player.

626
00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:45,320
And these were these Italian
accordions that were 1516 grand.

627
00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:47,320
Wow.
And he'd bring in farmers from

628
00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:51,239
farms far, far away who would
come in for special demos to run

629
00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:53,280
this thing, to show this thing
right.

630
00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:58,960
And so we, it was his, I think
50th birthday or something.

631
00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:05,040
And I pulled a fast one.
I I I hired a stripper and I

632
00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:07,400
told her.
But was she playing at a Todian

633
00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:08,840
that?
I told her to wear no.

634
00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:11,760
She came in for it.
She scheduled a demo for an

635
00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:12,920
accordion.
Oh God.

636
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:16,160
And so I think.
She's going to make the sale and

637
00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:17,600
she's going.
To she's wearing, he's wearing

638
00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:22,600
coveralls, wearing coveralls.
Got her her hair up in a knit

639
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:27,680
hat or something and I told her
here's your cue because this was

640
00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:31,160
always like the second or third
song that he played in his demo

641
00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:35,040
was tie a yellow ribbon.
I said when he starts playing

642
00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:38,800
Tie a yellow ribbon, I want you.
Oh my God, this song, Oh my.

643
00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:41,040
It makes me, it's making me
sweat.

644
00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:42,800
It's making me so hot and all
this stuff.

645
00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:46,880
And he just kept going like,
yes, little ribbon on his

646
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,360
accordion, right while she's
stripping in front of him.

647
00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:51,960
He has no idea.
He's just like, fuck it, I'm

648
00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:53,840
going to sell an accordion here,
you know?

649
00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:55,280
No, no, no.
He's.

650
00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,600
He's he's accordion.
I'm getting a hell of a show.

651
00:35:57,720 --> 00:35:59,680
No, he's also going.
I'm going to play the long

652
00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:02,320
version.
Oh yeah, I think I heard the

653
00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:05,440
chorus like about 47 times.
Extended version.

654
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:07,720
Oh my God, we were dying.
But anyway.

655
00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:12,880
Got a DaVita of?
So, so then then a really cool

656
00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:16,280
rock'n'roll shop called Mainly
Music opened up in town and they

657
00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:20,160
recruited me to come over there
and, and I ended up at this cool

658
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,960
rock'n'roll shop.
I ended up opening a location

659
00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:27,200
for them in Edmonton and became
more of an entrepreneur and and

660
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:30,320
also learned what it was like to
be a minority business owner

661
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:31,440
where you were going to get
screwed.

662
00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:36,160
And I got screwed.
And, and so ultimately I ended

663
00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:39,280
up working for a larger chain of
music stores in Canada called

664
00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:42,520
Axe Music and Eric, you might
know them.

665
00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:51,160
And for, for two brothers named
Holloway, Chuck, Darrell and,

666
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:56,480
and Brian Holloway Chuck.
And through them I got

667
00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:59,760
introduced to lighting and sound
as a business.

668
00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:02,800
And I just went, OK, so wait a
SEC.

669
00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:06,600
I sell a guitar for $1000.
I make X amount of dollars.

670
00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:09,160
I sell a sound system for
$100,000.

671
00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:12,600
I make X * 10.
You know, this is way better.

672
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:16,320
And so I got into selling sound
and lighting and, and they were

673
00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:19,400
the biggest Martin lighting
dealer in Canada.

674
00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:22,000
They were probably the only
Martin Lighting dealer in Canada

675
00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:25,680
and I just went, whoa, these
robo scan things, these are

676
00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:27,920
really cool.
This is going to be big.

677
00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:32,360
This was the earliest Martin
Robo Scan it it was like, other

678
00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:35,600
than the really expensive
Italian stuff, it was the first

679
00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:40,240
sort of available accessible
scanner for a, a small nightclub

680
00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:45,120
or whatever.
And so I became very efficient

681
00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:47,840
at selling these robo scans.
I sold tons of them and got to

682
00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:51,480
know Peter Johansson and Gerard
Cohen, who ran the North

683
00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:57,360
American distributor for Martin,
and a lot of things happened in

684
00:37:57,360 --> 00:38:00,080
the middle, but they ultimately
offered me a job to come work

685
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:03,880
for them in Miami and Calgary.
Boy, moving to Miami, you know

686
00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:05,960
how that might have gone, Yes.
So that's how you got to

687
00:38:05,960 --> 00:38:07,880
Florida.
That's how I got to Florida.

688
00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:09,920
That's that was a 19.
Chicago on the way.

689
00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:12,560
That's 90.
One that's 91.

690
00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:15,000
So what was the interview like
with Gerard?

691
00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:22,000
Weird.
Very, very, very unusual.

692
00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:24,640
I mean, I can't remember it
exactly, but it was Gerard and

693
00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:28,240
Michael Yaheskiel, if you
remember him, this crazy, crazy

694
00:38:28,240 --> 00:38:33,240
Israeli dude.
And it was just bizarre.

695
00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:36,120
Like it was bizarre.
And as you might expect, I kind

696
00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:38,360
of drove it.
So I kind of decided the

697
00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:42,640
direction it went and what kind
of money we were talking about

698
00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:45,200
and all kinds of, because they
were a little bit lost.

699
00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:48,240
They had never really hired
someone like me.

700
00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:51,080
I guess like at the time it was
the Russian guy, I forget what

701
00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:55,040
his Alex something or other that
was the only sales guy for

702
00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:57,200
Martin in in North America at
the time.

703
00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:01,000
And so, yeah, I mean, that was
that was my humble beginning.

704
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:01,640
That's.
Really.

705
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:04,040
So there was no Martin's sales
chain before then?

706
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:06,560
There was no, no regional guys,
no.

707
00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:11,600
No, no, there was like one guy
and Gerard and Gerard's wife

708
00:39:11,600 --> 00:39:16,160
worked with him not long after
his sons both started working

709
00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:20,760
with him as well.
And, and yeah, so I started and,

710
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:26,080
and I don't know how long in a
few years in I was at A at a

711
00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:30,440
NAMM show in LA and I remember
when they had moved the lighting

712
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:35,360
downstairs and ran into Eric,
who at the moment was, I think

713
00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:38,720
nearing his, his end of American
DJ.

714
00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:42,160
He was bored of selling, you
know, the, the stuff that they

715
00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:43,680
were selling at the time.
And he was.

716
00:39:43,720 --> 00:39:46,760
Mirror, mirror balls and mirror
balls and pin spots and.

717
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:47,800
Rope, lights and stuff.
Rope.

718
00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:48,840
Lights.
Yeah, well that.

719
00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:50,440
Was right when automated.
They were starting.

720
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:52,200
To do automated was breaking
open.

721
00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:54,800
They were starting to do some,
they were starting to do some

722
00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:57,760
basic intelligent lights.
But Martin was the brand up and

723
00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:00,600
coming brand back then.
And I remember, I remember us

724
00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,600
talking and.
What year was that, Eric?

725
00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:07,280
That's 94.
OK, so that that's that's the.

726
00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:10,160
Marcel hired me.
Marcel hired me to open an

727
00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:15,320
office in LA for Trackman.
Trackman, I remember that.

728
00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:18,320
And at the time, at the time,
you know, I was working in

729
00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:24,600
American DJ and I was, you know,
2223, you know, and it was a

730
00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:26,800
great opportunity for me.
I I didn't, you know, I was

731
00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:30,320
treated well there, but move up
in the industry, open a branch

732
00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:32,000
office, you know, it was a great
opportunity.

733
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:35,040
So yeah, Marcel and Gerard
trusted me.

734
00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:38,240
And you know, Tim Edwards was
the Rep back.

735
00:40:38,240 --> 00:40:40,200
Then moved to This is your life
Eric.

736
00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:43,880
No, not how's it.
Feel how's it feel, Marcel?

737
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:44,360
How's.
It.

738
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:46,960
Feel this is your life.
Yeah, it's true.

739
00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:48,960
And why is you were still a
then, right?

740
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:54,240
Let's see, I got no, I had I
left very light like the like,

741
00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:59,360
like the very end of 9293.
I'm, I'm moved to LA in 93 and

742
00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:04,240
that's, I had, I had gone out to
light and sound design for a

743
00:41:04,240 --> 00:41:12,400
short stint with those guys in
nine in 90, in 94, I think right

744
00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:17,600
when you guys were doing that, I
had bought the Komar

745
00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:19,440
distributorship for North
America.

746
00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:22,200
So I, it was in, down in San
Antonio.

747
00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:26,800
And so they, I, I, I, I looked
at the Komar thing as well.

748
00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:28,920
This is, this is very unique,
very special.

749
00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:31,120
It was pretty much the Nat light
was the only one I was

750
00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:33,160
interested in.
And I thought, Hey, you know

751
00:41:33,160 --> 00:41:35,160
what?
So that then I, I bought, I

752
00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:38,440
bought the, the San Antonio
distributorship and shut it down

753
00:41:38,440 --> 00:41:41,960
and moved it to LA and Tony
Magani and Mike Hanson came with

754
00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:44,360
me.
So that was right around 94,

755
00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:49,760
9094, early 95.
And then I decided to to, I sold

756
00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:52,800
all that to Obie and then I went
to high end after that, which is

757
00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:55,840
where Marcel and I really first
crossed path.

758
00:41:55,960 --> 00:42:00,360
I I knew who Marcel was like you
probably knew who I was and.

759
00:42:00,720 --> 00:42:03,880
Everybody knows who you are.
Yeah, sadly, you're notorious.

760
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:07,200
Yeah.
And yeah, that's so Marcel and

761
00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:12,600
I, you know, I'll wait till we
actually started high end on the

762
00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:15,000
same day.
I didn't know that he was

763
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,280
getting hired.
I don't think you knew I was.

764
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:19,880
No, I didn't know either.
No, we just both showed up on

765
00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:22,720
the same day and the whole
company knew neither of us was

766
00:42:22,720 --> 00:42:23,440
getting hired.
And they.

767
00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:26,160
And they were all really pissed.
Off.

768
00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:29,960
And we go into a sales meeting
the first day and they're all

769
00:42:29,960 --> 00:42:31,560
just looking at us like, are
these?

770
00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:33,720
Guys, when you want to
reorganize and shake up a

771
00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:36,040
company, that's who you hire.
Yeah, right.

772
00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:38,000
It was really funny because the
fucking.

773
00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:40,400
Daggers.
We go into this sales meeting

774
00:42:40,400 --> 00:42:43,120
and everybody's treating us
really weird at this point,

775
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:44,560
right?
Like we're, we're literally

776
00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:47,680
spies.
And you know, I don't know if it

777
00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:51,000
was Griff or or Lowell or
somebody made a big speech.

778
00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:55,280
And then Tony Magana stands up
and he goes, I don't know what

779
00:42:55,280 --> 00:42:57,880
the fuck you guys are talking
about, but we're guarding the

780
00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:01,240
wrong border.
Yeah, that's what he said.

781
00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:04,080
That's what he said.
Because I'm there, right?

782
00:43:04,080 --> 00:43:04,880
Canadian.
Right.

783
00:43:04,880 --> 00:43:06,320
Yeah, and he's.
Mexican.

784
00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:08,680
Yeah, no, that was, that was a
funny.

785
00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:12,240
So I'll tell you when that was
because it was the weekend.

786
00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:17,000
It was the Holyfield.
The Holyfield Tyson fight is 0.

787
00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:18,840
Because we were at that big
party.

788
00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:21,320
Yeah, we went to a park for a
barbecue and they remember that,

789
00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:23,760
this huge video screen with the
fight on.

790
00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:25,680
I wonder what I'm going to find
that day.

791
00:43:26,280 --> 00:43:29,360
Yeah, that was sometime in 95 I
think it was.

792
00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:34,880
No, it was 9797. 97.
Because I left Martin in 97.

793
00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:37,000
I've got to.
I didn't realize you 2 both

794
00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:38,320
worked at high end at the same
time.

795
00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:39,800
We did, yeah.
I did that.

796
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,880
That's where I met Marcel.
Yeah, we did.

797
00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:45,440
We did actually.
You met me before that, but you

798
00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:48,280
might not remember.
I apologize why?

799
00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:51,320
But you met me at the Obie
company.

800
00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:53,720
Oh, that's right.
Yeah, I met you at Obie's.

801
00:43:54,720 --> 00:43:57,600
Thanks to Marcel for leaving
Martin because I took his job.

802
00:43:57,960 --> 00:43:59,200
Yes, you did.
Yeah.

803
00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:02,840
But you know what though?
In your defense, you and trolls.

804
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:06,560
God rest his soul.
Trolls just passed.

805
00:44:06,720 --> 00:44:10,160
Away long ago.
Oh yeah, long time ago, yeah.

806
00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:15,440
But you you and trolls got hold
of that company at a very

807
00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:19,080
difficult time.
And you know, you had a lot of

808
00:44:19,080 --> 00:44:24,000
complications going on.
And so, you know, some people

809
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:28,120
blame it just on the Mac 2000
coming out that the company was

810
00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:31,200
so successful.
But you guys were were very good

811
00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:37,640
stewards of of the brand and of,
you know, burying the fact,

812
00:44:37,640 --> 00:44:40,400
hiding the fact that you were
still selling Mac 5 hundreds and

813
00:44:40,400 --> 00:44:42,600
six hundreds even though you
were legally not allowed to.

814
00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:46,960
Nobody knew.
June 28th.

815
00:44:46,960 --> 00:44:50,720
June 28th, 1997.
Was what that was.

816
00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:54,080
The Holyfield.
Funny, I think we were there the

817
00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:55,920
day.
Before, yeah, that was like our

818
00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:57,720
second day at high end or
something.

819
00:44:57,960 --> 00:45:01,600
There were some funny stories.
So first one, when I left

820
00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:04,720
Martin, it was, it was, you
know, as as pussy as this

821
00:45:04,720 --> 00:45:08,920
sounds, it was one of the
saddest days of, of my career

822
00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:13,080
because I get that I, I
genuinely loved that brand.

823
00:45:13,160 --> 00:45:18,000
Like I felt like I bled that
yellow check mark, like I lived

824
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:20,920
that brand.
It meant everything to me, but I

825
00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:25,040
literally was afraid that I was
going to go to jail because they

826
00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:28,520
were they were messing around.
Specifically, Peter Johansson

827
00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:31,320
was messing around with.
No.

828
00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:34,120
With some some Danish stock
market stuff.

829
00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:37,800
I remember that.
And, and I knew everything he

830
00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:40,600
was doing and I called him out
for it and he said basically

831
00:45:40,600 --> 00:45:42,440
shut the fuck up and do as I
tell you.

832
00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:46,680
He literally said that actually
in in we were in Italy at the

833
00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:49,480
Remini show and and he said,
Marcel, you work for me.

834
00:45:49,640 --> 00:45:52,560
You will do as I they say and
and you will say only what I

835
00:45:52,560 --> 00:45:55,560
tell you to and that's it.
Shut up and.

836
00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:57,520
That's not how it works.
That's not how it works in

837
00:45:57,520 --> 00:46:00,560
court.
Part of it was giving credit to

838
00:46:00,560 --> 00:46:03,800
people who shouldn't have had
credit, you know, like Albert

839
00:46:03,800 --> 00:46:06,680
Chan at the time, you know, he
was like you, you cut him off

840
00:46:06,680 --> 00:46:09,680
when I tell you to not until
then, you just keep giving him

841
00:46:09,680 --> 00:46:13,120
product because he was pumping
his numbers at the time, right?

842
00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:16,720
So, so you know, there was stuff
going on and because everyone

843
00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:20,720
else other than me at that point
was Danish, I felt like I was

844
00:46:20,720 --> 00:46:24,880
going to be the fall guy.
Like if there was an SEC thing

845
00:46:24,880 --> 00:46:26,400
on this company.
I will bug it off.

846
00:46:26,480 --> 00:46:29,120
They'd all bug it off back home
and you'd be left stuck either

847
00:46:29,120 --> 00:46:31,680
here or exactly.
Yeah, they come after you in

848
00:46:31,680 --> 00:46:33,840
Canada.
So I literally was afraid and,

849
00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:36,200
and I, you know, again, I'm
going to sound like a massive

850
00:46:36,200 --> 00:46:40,400
pussy, but I went into my office
at like 6:30 in the morning and

851
00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:43,200
sat there sort of with my head
and my hands going, what am I

852
00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:44,480
going to do?
What am I going to do?

853
00:46:44,880 --> 00:46:47,560
I knew I had to quit, but I
really didn't want to.

854
00:46:47,920 --> 00:46:52,600
And so I wrote a letter to Peter
Johansson and, and sent him a

855
00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:54,880
fax because that's how you did
it at the time.

856
00:46:55,640 --> 00:47:00,680
And I just said, you know, I, I,
I hate what you're doing to the

857
00:47:00,680 --> 00:47:03,000
company.
I hate, you know what, what's

858
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:06,200
going to happen as, as fallout
from all of this, But I can't be

859
00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:09,400
part of it because I'm afraid
for my family, basically.

860
00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:14,080
And I'm sorry, but you know I'm
leaving effective immediately

861
00:47:14,640 --> 00:47:17,280
and then like my.
I just got to say for a SEC,

862
00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:19,520
that's a million miles from
being a pussy brother.

863
00:47:19,760 --> 00:47:22,240
Exactly.
Acting in your with you, with

864
00:47:22,240 --> 00:47:25,240
your integrity and what you
believe is right and what you

865
00:47:25,240 --> 00:47:26,880
believe is morally appropriate.
That.

866
00:47:27,040 --> 00:47:30,000
That's not that.
Pussy though history doesn't

867
00:47:30,560 --> 00:47:33,560
lead and you don't believe in
regardless that's.

868
00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:35,840
That's that's called having
character in Backbone.

869
00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:38,640
Yeah, 100%.
But, you know, at a loss, you

870
00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:40,760
know, because it definitely cost
me to do that.

871
00:47:40,760 --> 00:47:42,960
I could have doubled that,
doubled down and it'll be in a

872
00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:44,320
pussy.
I could have made a lot more

873
00:47:44,320 --> 00:47:47,520
money, but how?
Funny you say about you had that

874
00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:50,480
loyalty to the to the, to the
yellow check or whatever, right.

875
00:47:50,680 --> 00:47:52,640
I know exactly.
You know what you feel.

876
00:47:52,640 --> 00:47:54,680
I went through a little bit of
that when I left very light and

877
00:47:54,680 --> 00:47:57,120
you know, it was like it was
part of your well, it becomes

878
00:47:57,120 --> 00:48:00,400
part of your, of who you are as
a man and who your personality,

879
00:48:00,400 --> 00:48:03,800
your DNA exactly right.
And then, you know, we learn as

880
00:48:03,800 --> 00:48:06,400
we go older.
And then when I was at XL video,

881
00:48:06,720 --> 00:48:08,360
I had the similar.
It's funny you say this because

882
00:48:08,360 --> 00:48:09,880
I just stopped on when I was at
XL Video.

883
00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:12,320
I had the similar situation
because I had all the Dutch

884
00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:14,560
we're we're we're running it,
right.

885
00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:18,000
And they were doing things that
were absolutely, 100% illegal.

886
00:48:18,200 --> 00:48:20,880
And I told them, I said, hey,
and this is right where you were

887
00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:23,160
at too.
I said, look, yeah, if somebody

888
00:48:23,160 --> 00:48:25,600
gets if if one of these guys,
you're sitting over here to work

889
00:48:25,600 --> 00:48:27,920
without a work visa and you're
having them come over saying

890
00:48:27,920 --> 00:48:30,640
they're on vacation, they're in
in my warehouse and get hit by

891
00:48:30,640 --> 00:48:33,840
a, by a, a forklift.
They're going to come take my

892
00:48:33,840 --> 00:48:37,880
house in Malibu.
Yeah, your house in lederhosen

893
00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:40,000
or wherever the fuck it is,
right and so?

894
00:48:40,080 --> 00:48:42,640
Let me tell you how weird it got
though, like in and Eric.

895
00:48:42,720 --> 00:48:45,440
Eric will know this because he
he was part of the company at

896
00:48:45,440 --> 00:48:47,600
the time.
But Peter came over, Peter

897
00:48:47,600 --> 00:48:54,200
Johansson came over in September
of 1996 might have been August

898
00:48:55,200 --> 00:49:00,280
and he said by October 1st, how
many pals do you think you could

899
00:49:00,280 --> 00:49:02,840
sell?
This was when the Pal was not a

900
00:49:02,840 --> 00:49:07,440
great light, but it had recently
just come out and we had not

901
00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:10,720
only a warehouse full of them
that nobody wanted, but we had a

902
00:49:10,720 --> 00:49:13,840
couple containers of them on
their way over from Denmark and

903
00:49:13,840 --> 00:49:15,960
he had more.
Sitting in the numbers.

904
00:49:15,960 --> 00:49:19,240
Sitting in his warehouse over
there as well.

905
00:49:19,520 --> 00:49:22,400
So he wanted me to basically use
this to pump the numbers because

906
00:49:22,400 --> 00:49:26,600
he was about to go public.
And how many can you sell?

907
00:49:26,600 --> 00:49:30,800
And I said. 6.
Maybe 40, you know, 40 with our

908
00:49:30,800 --> 00:49:33,280
whole sales team 55 minutes back
on it.

909
00:49:33,920 --> 00:49:35,000
Yeah.
And he said, well, what kind of

910
00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:37,160
an incentive would you need?
And I don't remember what it

911
00:49:37,160 --> 00:49:39,440
was, Eric, you might remember
better than I do, but it was

912
00:49:39,440 --> 00:49:41,880
like 100 bucks a pal or
something like that that we.

913
00:49:42,320 --> 00:49:44,320
Charged for the.
Staff.

914
00:49:45,280 --> 00:49:47,680
Yeah, the Smith, The Smith was
like 100 bucks a unit, but I

915
00:49:47,680 --> 00:49:49,680
think it was like a it was a two
year interest free 2.

916
00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:51,280
Year interest free loan.
Yeah.

917
00:49:51,520 --> 00:49:53,920
No questions asked on who got
the credit.

918
00:49:54,600 --> 00:49:59,120
This was basically with all of
this going on, you'll never

919
00:49:59,120 --> 00:50:03,160
guess what the CFO, who was a
Dane, you'll never get guess

920
00:50:03,160 --> 00:50:05,760
what his name was.
Ben.

921
00:50:06,680 --> 00:50:11,680
Ben, I kid you not.
BENTBENT Bent.

922
00:50:11,960 --> 00:50:14,320
You can't make good stuff.
Up one of the nicest guys you

923
00:50:14,320 --> 00:50:19,000
could ever meet but you know,
and I mean he was being told

924
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:22,720
what to do by Peter as well.
So you know with this so I wrote

925
00:50:22,720 --> 00:50:26,800
this letter I hit send on the
fax and I'm packing up whatever

926
00:50:26,800 --> 00:50:28,840
few items I had left in my
office.

927
00:50:29,040 --> 00:50:32,280
My secretary comes in she starts
crying what are you doing?

928
00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:36,280
No, you can't leave and then
Nick Freed comes in and he

929
00:50:36,280 --> 00:50:38,640
starts crying you can't leave
me.

930
00:50:38,640 --> 00:50:42,400
You know you've just trained me
and you know you're my mentor

931
00:50:42,400 --> 00:50:47,520
and all this stuff and we're
still good friends today but you

932
00:50:47,520 --> 00:50:52,960
know it it was a really sad time
for me so anyways, my my prize

933
00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:57,840
in selling those pals because he
said can you do 400 units and I

934
00:50:57,840 --> 00:51:02,480
think we did like 430 units by
October 1st right and this was a

935
00:51:02,480 --> 00:51:07,640
unit that we shouldn't have sold
any and my prize was that I got

936
00:51:08,440 --> 00:51:12,880
a an Acura NSX.
He bought me an Acura NSX brand

937
00:51:12,880 --> 00:51:17,960
new and in 97.
You know the cheesy old looking

938
00:51:18,320 --> 00:51:20,120
Acura NSX.
Those were kind of cool actually

939
00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:22,440
got it wasn't wasn't your
Corvette, but it was those were

940
00:51:22,440 --> 00:51:22,800
kind of.
Cool.

941
00:51:23,160 --> 00:51:24,600
I was gonna say for a second
there, I thought you were gonna

942
00:51:24,600 --> 00:51:26,200
close the loop on the Corvette.
Yeah, exactly.

943
00:51:26,480 --> 00:51:27,840
Me too.
The long story then.

944
00:51:27,920 --> 00:51:32,160
So I, I, I've had about 12
Corvettes, 12 Corvettes in my

945
00:51:32,160 --> 00:51:34,120
life.
I I bought 1 by the time to end

946
00:51:34,120 --> 00:51:36,560
that first story.
I bought 1 when I was 18, not

947
00:51:36,560 --> 00:51:41,440
long after I got a job at the
music store and you know, did me

948
00:51:41,440 --> 00:51:44,600
really well in the dating game.
Having a Corvette and long hair

949
00:51:44,600 --> 00:51:47,880
in Calgary, you know.
You did have quite the hair.

950
00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:50,360
So you know Sarah's going to
drop in the photos afterwards.

951
00:51:50,720 --> 00:51:52,400
Yeah, there's some photos and
some epic.

952
00:51:52,480 --> 00:51:54,920
Yeah, Marcel.
I I have threats on Sarah now.

953
00:51:55,360 --> 00:52:00,360
So in my in my NSX, I had one of
those phones in the center

954
00:52:00,360 --> 00:52:03,480
console, you know, because we
didn't have you were styling,

955
00:52:03,480 --> 00:52:04,440
bro.
Wow.

956
00:52:04,520 --> 00:52:06,400
Yeah, I know it was.
Yeah.

957
00:52:06,480 --> 00:52:08,680
You pick up the handle and it's
got the little curly cord.

958
00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:14,120
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And so it rings and it's a 512

959
00:52:14,120 --> 00:52:16,520
area code and I'm like Austin,
TX.

960
00:52:16,520 --> 00:52:19,120
I don't know.
OK, So I answered it and it's

961
00:52:19,120 --> 00:52:21,680
Lowell Fowler.
And he goes, hi Marcel, this is

962
00:52:21,680 --> 00:52:23,560
Lowell.
And I said that's a good low,

963
00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:24,560
how you doing?
And he goes.

964
00:52:24,560 --> 00:52:27,120
With his radio voice.
With his radio voice.

965
00:52:27,120 --> 00:52:28,480
Yeah, I'm, I'm doing good,
Marcel.

966
00:52:28,480 --> 00:52:32,960
So I understand you left the
company and I'm like like

967
00:52:33,160 --> 00:52:35,760
fucking 5 minutes ago.
You know, like.

968
00:52:36,440 --> 00:52:39,480
What the hell just happened?
There's no Internet.

969
00:52:39,480 --> 00:52:41,400
There's no.
I'm literally on my way home

970
00:52:41,400 --> 00:52:42,480
from the office.
Wow.

971
00:52:42,600 --> 00:52:44,160
In tears.
Practically right.

972
00:52:44,760 --> 00:52:47,160
And he says, well, you know, I
just want you to know we've

973
00:52:47,160 --> 00:52:49,720
always thought pretty highly of
you and we we'd love for you to

974
00:52:49,720 --> 00:52:51,240
come out and have a conversation
with us.

975
00:52:51,600 --> 00:52:54,880
And I said my mind is pretty
screwed up right now.

976
00:52:54,880 --> 00:52:58,200
Let me get home.
Let me, you know, hug my wife

977
00:52:58,200 --> 00:53:01,280
and, and tell her I just quit my
job and, you know, let me get

978
00:53:01,280 --> 00:53:03,440
through at least part of the day
and I'll call you back.

979
00:53:03,440 --> 00:53:05,520
And he says, well, we'd love you
to come out this weekend.

980
00:53:06,080 --> 00:53:08,520
And so I said I'll call you
back.

981
00:53:08,520 --> 00:53:11,880
And so I talked to her and I
said, hey, you know, work for an

982
00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:14,280
Austin company that I have a lot
of respect for.

983
00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:17,880
You know, they were the number
one and we were always #3 or 4

984
00:53:18,160 --> 00:53:20,600
looking up at #1.
I love those guys.

985
00:53:20,600 --> 00:53:22,960
Oh.
Yeah, Great guys, great guys.

986
00:53:23,560 --> 00:53:27,200
But so you know, Long story
short, I ended up calling him.

987
00:53:27,200 --> 00:53:32,280
He flew us to to Austin.
They picked us up at the airport

988
00:53:32,280 --> 00:53:34,320
in in the Humvee, the Hummer.
Oh.

989
00:53:34,320 --> 00:53:39,920
My God, the white one.
We go to Lake Austin and

990
00:53:40,080 --> 00:53:44,440
Bellevue picks us up in his go
fast boat at the dock and he he

991
00:53:44,440 --> 00:53:48,880
goes out to the middle of the
lake, shuts off the engines and

992
00:53:48,960 --> 00:53:51,520
all three owners just sit there
and turn around and look at me

993
00:53:51,520 --> 00:53:52,720
and go.
So what do you want?

994
00:53:53,440 --> 00:53:54,280
Yeah.
And I'm like.

995
00:53:54,760 --> 00:53:55,920
Life jacket, you did not throw
me.

996
00:53:55,920 --> 00:54:00,000
The life jacket, Life jacket,
like, I don't know, what do I

997
00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:02,000
want?
Any we'd like to have you join

998
00:54:02,000 --> 00:54:03,680
the team.
And I said, well, we haven't

999
00:54:03,680 --> 00:54:06,280
even really talked about it yet.
And they said, what do you want?

1000
00:54:07,480 --> 00:54:10,360
And you know, I just said three
or four different things.

1001
00:54:10,360 --> 00:54:13,280
And they went sure, Yep, Yep,
Yep, Yep, Yep.

1002
00:54:13,520 --> 00:54:16,600
And I went OK.
They're delightful guys.

1003
00:54:16,600 --> 00:54:19,760
That whole company, you know,
the company, as we all know, go

1004
00:54:19,880 --> 00:54:22,480
the the tones really set from
the top down.

1005
00:54:22,680 --> 00:54:25,280
That's the personality of of how
it drives a company.

1006
00:54:25,480 --> 00:54:28,320
And I have to tell you.
So you know what I we were we

1007
00:54:28,320 --> 00:54:31,840
were there start.
I you left before I did my, my,

1008
00:54:31,840 --> 00:54:37,240
my departure was was you're you
went off to do I think the the

1009
00:54:37,600 --> 00:54:39,320
start gear, the gear stuff,
right?

1010
00:54:41,120 --> 00:54:42,960
No, that was a while later.
Is that a?

1011
00:54:42,960 --> 00:54:44,640
While later was it Komar after
that?

1012
00:54:44,640 --> 00:54:47,360
Yeah, a full Oh, that's why type
3 Komar again.

1013
00:54:47,640 --> 00:54:51,880
So when I left, when I left high
end and you know, the reason I

1014
00:54:51,880 --> 00:54:54,880
left high end was a weird one.
It was because I always felt

1015
00:54:54,880 --> 00:54:57,320
like I was cheating on my my
wife.

1016
00:54:57,400 --> 00:55:00,760
You know, like it felt like if I
don't know what it feels like to

1017
00:55:00,760 --> 00:55:04,120
cheat on my wife, but if I were
to that's what it felt like.

1018
00:55:04,120 --> 00:55:06,080
Like it just felt like I was
doing something wrong.

1019
00:55:06,080 --> 00:55:10,200
I was always infiltrating the
wrong camp and and trying to do

1020
00:55:10,200 --> 00:55:14,800
harm on the one that I really
liked, you know, so, so as I was

1021
00:55:14,800 --> 00:55:19,360
getting ready to leave, I think
I ran into Gerard somewhere and

1022
00:55:19,440 --> 00:55:22,160
he said, so do you want to put
the team back together?

1023
00:55:23,840 --> 00:55:27,880
I said, you don't have a
product, you know, like what do

1024
00:55:27,880 --> 00:55:29,680
you want to do?
And he says you pick the

1025
00:55:29,680 --> 00:55:33,160
product, you pick the company.
I'm on my I'm heading over to

1026
00:55:33,360 --> 00:55:36,040
Plaza.
I think he was going to you tell

1027
00:55:36,040 --> 00:55:39,280
me which company you want and
I'll go get it.

1028
00:55:40,240 --> 00:55:44,040
And I said and then what?
And he said, I'll give you X

1029
00:55:44,040 --> 00:55:47,880
percent of the company and you
can run it yourself.

1030
00:55:47,880 --> 00:55:50,280
I don't want anything to do with
managing it or anything.

1031
00:55:50,640 --> 00:55:54,360
And I'll just put up the money
and reputation.

1032
00:55:54,360 --> 00:55:56,840
And who was warehousing and all
this, this Gerard Cohen.

1033
00:55:56,840 --> 00:55:59,040
He owned Trackman, he was the.
Founder of Trackman.

1034
00:55:59,160 --> 00:56:04,880
He's actually probably as as
important, I guess, in, in

1035
00:56:04,880 --> 00:56:08,400
Martin becoming a company as
Peter Johansson was.

1036
00:56:09,480 --> 00:56:14,080
Actually, you know, the Martin
name came from Gerard Cohen.

1037
00:56:14,080 --> 00:56:17,640
Gerard was distributing a line
of stereo speakers called

1038
00:56:17,640 --> 00:56:19,000
Martin.
Yeah.

1039
00:56:19,440 --> 00:56:25,680
From a guy in Ocala, FL or
Gainesville, FL and and so Peter

1040
00:56:25,680 --> 00:56:28,840
was selling these smoke machines
under what was it called, disco

1041
00:56:28,840 --> 00:56:32,040
something Eric, I forget what it
was called.

1042
00:56:32,320 --> 00:56:35,360
It was he was selling smoke
machines under a bullshit brand.

1043
00:56:35,720 --> 00:56:38,560
And Gerard said, do you mind if
I put my own brand on it?

1044
00:56:38,560 --> 00:56:41,000
Martin and Peter goes, I don't
give a shit.

1045
00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:46,000
How many do you need?
And and so Gerard puts a sticker

1046
00:56:46,000 --> 00:56:49,760
on it saying Martin professional
and shows it around to some

1047
00:56:49,760 --> 00:56:53,000
people and he calls Peter back
and says, OK, I need to make an

1048
00:56:53,000 --> 00:56:54,360
order.
And he goes, oh great, that's

1049
00:56:54,360 --> 00:56:56,400
fantastic.
What do you need 1/2?

1050
00:56:56,560 --> 00:57:00,360
And he goes, no, I need 50.
And he says I can't build 50.

1051
00:57:00,920 --> 00:57:02,160
You know what?
Are you crazy?

1052
00:57:02,680 --> 00:57:05,040
And, you know, that's really how
Martin got going.

1053
00:57:05,280 --> 00:57:07,760
Oh, that's fantastic.
Gerard being the master sales

1054
00:57:07,760 --> 00:57:09,760
guy that he had no idea.
I had no idea that.

1055
00:57:09,760 --> 00:57:11,840
Was the story.
In the room of the name, Yeah,

1056
00:57:12,120 --> 00:57:13,160
yeah.
Crazy, right?

1057
00:57:13,160 --> 00:57:15,080
Where did the name come?
From just something that sounded

1058
00:57:15,080 --> 00:57:18,720
American.
No, it was a it was a guy who

1059
00:57:18,720 --> 00:57:21,880
had a all the speaker Martin
professional speakers or

1060
00:57:21,880 --> 00:57:24,640
whatever and.
And you write professional on

1061
00:57:24,680 --> 00:57:25,800
it, you know it's going to be
good.

1062
00:57:26,200 --> 00:57:29,080
I mean I write right then and
then I mean the rest acquired

1063
00:57:29,400 --> 00:57:30,000
my.
Driver.

1064
00:57:30,680 --> 00:57:33,680
Well, although Griff Palmer used
to always have a saying that in

1065
00:57:33,680 --> 00:57:36,840
his sales meetings, anything
with professional in it usually

1066
00:57:36,840 --> 00:57:38,760
isn't.
Anything with international in

1067
00:57:38,760 --> 00:57:42,000
it usually isn't.
So I've always been careful not

1068
00:57:42,000 --> 00:57:44,120
to put professional or
international in any of my

1069
00:57:44,120 --> 00:57:44,640
brand.
Name.

1070
00:57:44,640 --> 00:57:46,320
Thank God it's not gear Source
professional.

1071
00:57:46,400 --> 00:57:50,280
No, I consider myself a
international professional.

1072
00:57:50,280 --> 00:57:54,920
So there you go.
Yeah, so anyways.

1073
00:57:56,440 --> 00:57:58,040
Well, that's that's that's
pretty.

1074
00:57:58,040 --> 00:58:00,840
That's pretty cool.
So, so you so you you left high

1075
00:58:00,840 --> 00:58:01,520
end.
Oh yeah.

1076
00:58:01,520 --> 00:58:02,920
How long?
How long were you there?

1077
00:58:04,880 --> 00:58:06,520
Not very long.
Less than two years.

1078
00:58:06,640 --> 00:58:09,000
Yeah, Yeah, less than two years.
So we.

1079
00:58:09,000 --> 00:58:11,800
Would cross paths at these, you
know, I call them Tupperware

1080
00:58:11,800 --> 00:58:15,360
parties, you know, the because
there wasn't really zoom calls.

1081
00:58:15,360 --> 00:58:18,440
Everybody would would come in
for meetings once a month or

1082
00:58:18,440 --> 00:58:21,400
something like that or would
meet, you know, pre LDI or

1083
00:58:21,400 --> 00:58:22,240
whatever.
Yeah.

1084
00:58:22,600 --> 00:58:28,880
Yeah, yeah, and and you know, it
was a weird time at high end as

1085
00:58:28,880 --> 00:58:30,640
you.
But did you stay in rock bands

1086
00:58:30,640 --> 00:58:32,920
throughout the whole time?
I think you did, didn't you?

1087
00:58:32,920 --> 00:58:34,920
Did you ever play them in the
high In the high end?

1088
00:58:35,480 --> 00:58:41,360
One time, one time at the The
Joint in Vegas, I played one

1089
00:58:41,360 --> 00:58:44,640
song, which was the worst
possible song to play and I

1090
00:58:44,640 --> 00:58:46,480
hated it, but they made me do
it.

1091
00:58:47,480 --> 00:58:49,080
So all of this was going on
weird.

1092
00:58:49,120 --> 00:58:53,560
Did you did you get the sense
that you were tucking this away

1093
00:58:53,560 --> 00:58:56,560
in terms of because it felt like
some of some of the stories

1094
00:58:56,560 --> 00:58:59,280
you're telling seem to have a
real through line with the way

1095
00:58:59,280 --> 00:59:02,360
you are as a business owner and
the kind of business, the

1096
00:59:02,520 --> 00:59:05,560
erratic.
Were you kind of like going, all

1097
00:59:05,560 --> 00:59:08,480
right, well, smell like shit,
I'm not going to do that Or you

1098
00:59:08,480 --> 00:59:10,080
know, I mean, like you were
talking Wiseman.

1099
00:59:10,080 --> 00:59:12,680
I mean, I obviously never worked
for them, but I always had a ton

1100
00:59:12,880 --> 00:59:16,280
of time for the high end guys.
They were always super fair,

1101
00:59:16,280 --> 00:59:19,360
super direct, really honest,
good designers.

1102
00:59:19,360 --> 00:59:22,960
You know, they seem to run their
business with authenticity and

1103
00:59:22,960 --> 00:59:24,720
honesty.
I mean, it seems like you were

1104
00:59:24,720 --> 00:59:27,160
on a little bit of kind of like
a pendulum swing of all right.

1105
00:59:27,160 --> 00:59:29,520
There's a whole bunch of stuff
here that I'm learning that I'm

1106
00:59:29,520 --> 00:59:32,240
never going to do when if I have
my own business, there's a bunch

1107
00:59:32,240 --> 00:59:35,560
of stuff here that I'm going to
pick up all of this gold and,

1108
00:59:35,560 --> 00:59:38,400
and tuck this away because one
day I might need this for one

1109
00:59:38,400 --> 00:59:39,800
when I have my, my own
enterprise.

1110
00:59:39,800 --> 00:59:41,000
Yeah, I mean, it's a great
point.

1111
00:59:41,000 --> 00:59:46,960
I, you know, I would say that
most of my selling and business

1112
00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:49,600
skills probably came from Gerard
Cohen.

1113
00:59:49,960 --> 00:59:53,000
And some of it was how not to do
things, but some of it was

1114
00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:56,880
really just hustle, like how to
take a dollar and turn it into

1115
00:59:56,880 --> 01:00:00,160
two somehow, you know, just by
hustling and working your ass

1116
01:00:00,160 --> 01:00:03,000
off and making sure that you
count everything that's coming

1117
01:00:03,000 --> 01:00:06,080
in the door and stuff like that.
Some of it was like how not to

1118
01:00:06,080 --> 01:00:09,880
treat people And, and you know,
which is funny because now he's

1119
01:00:09,880 --> 01:00:12,520
in his 80s.
And he talks to me all the time

1120
01:00:12,520 --> 01:00:16,800
and confesses how badly he
treated people or how he wished

1121
01:00:16,800 --> 01:00:20,080
he could go back and change a
few things, and how people like

1122
01:00:20,080 --> 01:00:25,680
Eric and and myself were so
paramount to his success.

1123
01:00:25,680 --> 01:00:28,120
Like he never would have grown
the company to what he did

1124
01:00:28,120 --> 01:00:29,640
without us and that kind of
stuff.

1125
01:00:29,640 --> 01:00:32,200
Which is nice to hear.
Little late, but nice to hear.

1126
01:00:33,080 --> 01:00:35,000
Nice to be able to have that
reflection.

1127
01:00:35,160 --> 01:00:37,360
Yeah, high end.
Really it was more about how to

1128
01:00:37,360 --> 01:00:41,840
treat people right and, and how
to protect your brand and how to

1129
01:00:42,000 --> 01:00:45,480
make sure that customers were
entirely happy with the product.

1130
01:00:45,480 --> 01:00:49,400
And so, you know, you're
touching on something, which is,

1131
01:00:49,400 --> 01:00:52,280
is something that unfortunately
it took me almost 60 years to

1132
01:00:52,280 --> 01:00:55,000
figure out about myself, which
is that I'm incredibly

1133
01:00:55,000 --> 01:00:57,880
impatient.
I'm incredibly curious.

1134
01:00:58,280 --> 01:01:01,760
And so put those two things
together and you're constantly

1135
01:01:01,760 --> 01:01:04,720
jumping around looking for new
ways to do things, new

1136
01:01:04,720 --> 01:01:07,560
knowledge, new wrinkles, new
whatever.

1137
01:01:07,560 --> 01:01:10,640
It is something new ground that
that nobody's broken yet.

1138
01:01:11,080 --> 01:01:15,600
And the challenge there is when
you're running a business, and I

1139
01:01:15,600 --> 01:01:18,920
caution people on this all the
time because I do it constantly

1140
01:01:18,920 --> 01:01:23,720
and it's, it's just disruptive.
But you can't just flip the

1141
01:01:23,720 --> 01:01:27,440
world upside down once a week.
You can't just go now we're

1142
01:01:27,440 --> 01:01:30,400
gonna do it this way because I
just read a book that's from

1143
01:01:30,400 --> 01:01:33,440
this incredible guy and we need
to change everything again.

1144
01:01:33,720 --> 01:01:36,160
Well, didn't you just do that
like 3 weeks ago?

1145
01:01:36,160 --> 01:01:39,360
You know, so you're.
Supposed to lead A-Team and

1146
01:01:39,360 --> 01:01:42,440
that's a that's a hell yeah.
Being a part of a team.

1147
01:01:42,920 --> 01:01:44,280
He's a lot different than
leading the team.

1148
01:01:44,520 --> 01:01:48,080
And so we've all come from that,
all of us, you know, you know,

1149
01:01:48,080 --> 01:01:50,840
John, starting on the road back
in the day and Eric, you

1150
01:01:50,840 --> 01:01:53,400
probably first got started.
He's the same with me.

1151
01:01:53,400 --> 01:01:55,760
We, we worked for other people.
We had these mentors like you're

1152
01:01:55,760 --> 01:01:58,120
talking about.
But then when you make that step

1153
01:01:58,120 --> 01:02:01,960
and you just decide, OK, I think
I can, I can take what I've

1154
01:02:01,960 --> 01:02:05,200
learned here, here and here and
I, I, I have a vision.

1155
01:02:05,200 --> 01:02:07,800
I would take it over there.
Now it's on you now.

1156
01:02:07,800 --> 01:02:09,720
Now the people are looking to
you for the direction.

1157
01:02:09,720 --> 01:02:12,280
They want to know, hey, you
know, where are we going?

1158
01:02:12,960 --> 01:02:15,320
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
We're all in your.

1159
01:02:15,320 --> 01:02:17,840
Car now, yeah.
You know, where the hell are we

1160
01:02:17,840 --> 01:02:19,680
going?
And that's, and that's, you know

1161
01:02:19,680 --> 01:02:22,160
that that's what you do.
Well, we all sign up for, you

1162
01:02:22,160 --> 01:02:25,440
know, like, I mean, that's
honestly one of the things that

1163
01:02:25,440 --> 01:02:29,440
I love about my job is that it
does all rest on my head.

1164
01:02:29,440 --> 01:02:33,600
And you know, for the first time
in the history of of my life,

1165
01:02:33,960 --> 01:02:37,680
I'm actually looking at possibly
bringing a partner into my

1166
01:02:37,680 --> 01:02:41,400
company right now.
And it's for sort of the

1167
01:02:41,400 --> 01:02:44,440
opposite reason.
It's because I actually want to

1168
01:02:44,440 --> 01:02:47,560
share some of those decisions
with someone else who can sort

1169
01:02:47,560 --> 01:02:51,320
of balance me a little bit.
Marcel, I got to tell you, I've

1170
01:02:51,440 --> 01:02:53,640
always run my business, you
know, right back from when

1171
01:02:53,640 --> 01:02:55,880
Norman I founded Light Switch
with, with a partner.

1172
01:02:56,120 --> 01:02:59,880
Yeah, it's the best thing I ever
did having having somebody in

1173
01:02:59,880 --> 01:03:03,680
the trenches with you, frankly,
especially with tough decisions.

1174
01:03:03,840 --> 01:03:06,800
You know, we've all got, I mean,
the, the, the four of us often

1175
01:03:06,800 --> 01:03:09,440
talk to each other about this.
I I've sought the council of all

1176
01:03:09,440 --> 01:03:12,200
three of you about decisions.
But to have somebody that's

1177
01:03:12,400 --> 01:03:15,080
that's there with you, mate,
there's, there's, there's

1178
01:03:15,080 --> 01:03:16,840
nothing like it.
And and you know that that

1179
01:03:16,840 --> 01:03:19,880
little thing I read earlier on
you talked about about your

1180
01:03:19,880 --> 01:03:23,240
restless, the restlessness.
And I think that's a really

1181
01:03:23,240 --> 01:03:24,840
important part of being a leader
as well.

1182
01:03:25,160 --> 01:03:31,040
Is is to be constantly seeking,
to be constantly questioning, to

1183
01:03:31,040 --> 01:03:33,160
be constantly thinking about
where that next thing is.

1184
01:03:33,160 --> 01:03:34,240
Because there's two things you
can do.

1185
01:03:34,240 --> 01:03:37,480
You can either be progressing or
you're functionally regressing

1186
01:03:37,480 --> 01:03:38,800
because there's no standing
still.

1187
01:03:38,800 --> 01:03:41,200
You're either moving forward or
you're moving backwards because

1188
01:03:41,200 --> 01:03:42,480
everybody else is moving
forward.

1189
01:03:42,480 --> 01:03:46,240
But to have somebody that's part
of your business that you know

1190
01:03:46,240 --> 01:03:48,480
and, and John, you know.
That that I've.

1191
01:03:48,560 --> 01:03:50,440
Been very good friends with a
number of people who've been

1192
01:03:50,440 --> 01:03:53,640
your partners too and you've had
some amazing people as part of

1193
01:03:53,640 --> 01:03:55,920
part of part of your business
ventures too.

1194
01:03:55,920 --> 01:03:59,920
To have somebody that's with you
in the trenches there, Marcel,

1195
01:03:59,920 --> 01:04:04,320
that can, that can question, you
know, in the best possible way

1196
01:04:04,320 --> 01:04:08,200
what you're doing.
But why don't you just breathe

1197
01:04:08,200 --> 01:04:09,960
into that?
You better fucking do this right

1198
01:04:09,960 --> 01:04:12,040
now because this, this door is
going to close.

1199
01:04:12,320 --> 01:04:14,880
You're going to regret not doing
this.

1200
01:04:14,880 --> 01:04:19,840
Being the lone wolf has always
been something I, I, I strayed

1201
01:04:19,840 --> 01:04:24,800
away from.
And it was mostly because I, I,

1202
01:04:24,960 --> 01:04:27,360
I, it's your, your own
insecurities.

1203
01:04:27,360 --> 01:04:30,920
The one thing I'm sure of, I'm
sure that I'm not right.

1204
01:04:31,320 --> 01:04:33,680
OK, I have an idea and I want to
bounce it.

1205
01:04:33,680 --> 01:04:36,920
So that's why I like having a
Nick Jackson, you know?

1206
01:04:36,920 --> 01:04:39,000
Such a great example.
Well, you know, the when I

1207
01:04:39,000 --> 01:04:42,800
started Chaos, the first thing I
did is I go, OK, what have I

1208
01:04:42,800 --> 01:04:45,000
done?
And I need a balance here

1209
01:04:45,000 --> 01:04:48,080
because I'm over here and I need
someone that's.

1210
01:04:48,120 --> 01:04:50,280
And so I reached out to Nick
immediately.

1211
01:04:50,320 --> 01:04:53,400
And you know, so you're, you're,
you're kind of transition and

1212
01:04:53,400 --> 01:04:56,120
you've had, you've had partners,
partners, I think, Marcel, but

1213
01:04:56,120 --> 01:04:59,240
you've been, you've been, you've
been bootstrapping it and, and,

1214
01:04:59,320 --> 01:05:03,280
and you know, I really admire.
I appreciate.

1215
01:05:03,320 --> 01:05:05,640
Your your grit.
You really do, you know.

1216
01:05:05,960 --> 01:05:09,240
It's hard about about being
confident that you don't know

1217
01:05:09,240 --> 01:05:11,080
everything.
I mean, Marcel, you, you, you.

1218
01:05:11,120 --> 01:05:16,560
You're a man who is very
comfortable being very open when

1219
01:05:16,560 --> 01:05:18,720
you've made mistakes and when
they stop that you're like, hey,

1220
01:05:18,720 --> 01:05:21,320
I fucked this up.
I think that's a huge part of

1221
01:05:21,320 --> 01:05:23,360
leadership.
And, and I think it's certainly

1222
01:05:23,360 --> 01:05:25,240
for me, I think it's really
important I say this to people

1223
01:05:25,240 --> 01:05:27,520
that that work with us and I
hate the expression for.

1224
01:05:27,520 --> 01:05:32,160
Us, but they work with.
Us is is, hey, you don't hear me

1225
01:05:32,160 --> 01:05:35,440
getting yelled at, but rest
assured, I get yelled at.

1226
01:05:35,480 --> 01:05:38,320
You know, the clients are pissed
off, it's over budget, you know

1227
01:05:38,320 --> 01:05:39,440
it didn't work the way they
want.

1228
01:05:39,440 --> 01:05:42,240
Whatever this stuff, everybody
takes their share of lumps and

1229
01:05:42,240 --> 01:05:44,560
everybody needs to be prepared
to say, hey, I just didn't do a

1230
01:05:44,560 --> 01:05:48,560
great job of that.
And, and one thing that we tried

1231
01:05:48,560 --> 01:05:53,080
to be really clear on is
embracing room for failure.

1232
01:05:53,080 --> 01:05:55,440
And I think you do the same
thing because if they're in a

1233
01:05:55,440 --> 01:05:57,280
potential for failure, you're
never going to be brave.

1234
01:05:57,640 --> 01:05:59,480
Certainly with what we do
creatively.

1235
01:05:59,480 --> 01:06:02,280
If there isn't potential for
failure, you're never going to

1236
01:06:02,280 --> 01:06:04,280
do your best work.
If you're constantly being safe,

1237
01:06:04,280 --> 01:06:06,520
you, you all three of you have
never been particularly

1238
01:06:06,520 --> 01:06:09,160
interested in doing stuff
that's, that's like, this is

1239
01:06:09,200 --> 01:06:10,640
100% safe.
Yeah.

1240
01:06:10,640 --> 01:06:13,600
Because there's no, there's no,
there's no peril there.

1241
01:06:13,600 --> 01:06:14,840
There's no excitement.
There's no.

1242
01:06:14,840 --> 01:06:17,600
Here's, here's one of the
challenges in in our industry

1243
01:06:17,840 --> 01:06:22,560
and, and I take pride in being a
sounding board for a lot of

1244
01:06:22,560 --> 01:06:26,680
people like I have, I have a
friend that when I was going

1245
01:06:26,680 --> 01:06:30,600
through some marketplace
technology, massive failures a

1246
01:06:30,600 --> 01:06:33,120
couple of years ago that cost
me, almost cost me the whole

1247
01:06:33,120 --> 01:06:36,560
business.
There was another guy in a

1248
01:06:36,560 --> 01:06:39,440
marketplace business that
happened to be around bicycles,

1249
01:06:39,440 --> 01:06:42,320
but he was stuck on the same bad
technology I was.

1250
01:06:42,520 --> 01:06:46,680
And we just became like
commiserators, Co conspirators,

1251
01:06:46,680 --> 01:06:49,440
whatever you call it.
But we both survived it somehow.

1252
01:06:49,880 --> 01:06:54,360
And he's started another
business in the bicycle business

1253
01:06:54,360 --> 01:06:56,520
and he came to me over the
weekend and I ended up on the

1254
01:06:56,520 --> 01:06:59,800
phone with him for two hours.
And he loves my insight.

1255
01:06:59,800 --> 01:07:02,560
Not only because I'm super
curious and I'm constantly

1256
01:07:02,560 --> 01:07:05,680
looking at new AI tech and all
of that kind of stuff, but

1257
01:07:05,680 --> 01:07:08,680
because I'm in a similar
business but in a totally

1258
01:07:08,680 --> 01:07:11,920
different product area.
Like bicycles to sound and

1259
01:07:11,920 --> 01:07:14,520
lighting equipment.
Not quite the same, but there's

1260
01:07:14,520 --> 01:07:16,200
a lot of things there's.
A lot of.

1261
01:07:16,440 --> 01:07:19,080
That go through them and the
challenge that I think all of us

1262
01:07:19,080 --> 01:07:24,160
has when you are a producer in
this industry and I don't mean

1263
01:07:24,160 --> 01:07:28,800
producer by its biblical sense.
I mean, you're producing things.

1264
01:07:28,800 --> 01:07:31,440
You're you're creating, you're,
you're driven.

1265
01:07:31,920 --> 01:07:34,160
When you're that type of person
in this industry, there's not a

1266
01:07:34,160 --> 01:07:37,320
lot of people you can talk to
because people want to see you

1267
01:07:37,320 --> 01:07:41,720
fail.
People get average by watching

1268
01:07:41,720 --> 01:07:45,120
you fail and by watching you
miserable and things like that.

1269
01:07:45,200 --> 01:07:48,680
But that's what's driven us.
If you tell them nobody the

1270
01:07:48,680 --> 01:07:49,880
fuck.
Is win right?

1271
01:07:50,360 --> 01:07:52,600
Exactly.
People that if I tell them my

1272
01:07:52,600 --> 01:07:56,400
deepest, darkest secrets or a
problem I'm having, they're

1273
01:07:56,400 --> 01:07:58,680
going to use that as a weapon
against me, which we don't do

1274
01:07:58,680 --> 01:08:02,440
and which we don't do like I've
confided with each one of you

1275
01:08:02,440 --> 01:08:07,560
guys and most recently with you
Wiseman, you know, and told you

1276
01:08:07,560 --> 01:08:10,840
things that I wouldn't tell you
know, some of my family members,

1277
01:08:10,920 --> 01:08:13,280
you know, so.
Well, you know what I mean,

1278
01:08:13,280 --> 01:08:16,439
genuinely.
And I and I, it's not just the,

1279
01:08:16,600 --> 01:08:18,720
the three of us or four of us on
here with you.

1280
01:08:19,840 --> 01:08:23,640
You know, I, I think over time
period, you know, we, we all

1281
01:08:23,640 --> 01:08:28,520
deal with, with people and
filling needs and finding out

1282
01:08:28,520 --> 01:08:31,479
what the need is and what, how
do we fill that need the best.

1283
01:08:31,479 --> 01:08:33,640
And, you know, maybe there's
something they don't understand

1284
01:08:33,640 --> 01:08:35,319
that they might need.
So you got to bring that

1285
01:08:35,319 --> 01:08:37,399
information to them.
So there's a lot of different

1286
01:08:37,399 --> 01:08:38,720
lanes that you try to drive
down.

1287
01:08:38,720 --> 01:08:41,240
There's a lot of personalities
in this business, like any

1288
01:08:41,240 --> 01:08:43,279
business.
I think there's probably, we're

1289
01:08:43,279 --> 01:08:45,880
probably weighted them more
towards personalities, right?

1290
01:08:46,359 --> 01:08:50,600
And but you know, the, the, the
beauty of it here is that I

1291
01:08:50,600 --> 01:08:55,279
genuinely, even my fiercest
competitors who have, who have

1292
01:08:55,279 --> 01:08:59,800
all probably worked for me at
some time and worked with me at

1293
01:08:59,800 --> 01:09:02,680
some time or know how we work
against, we're all friends.

1294
01:09:03,200 --> 01:09:06,399
And I want, I say I want
everyone to win.

1295
01:09:06,920 --> 01:09:12,680
I want some people not to win as
much, but I don't.

1296
01:09:12,680 --> 01:09:16,160
My, my, my.
The younger John wanted total

1297
01:09:16,160 --> 01:09:18,880
domination and scorched the
earth behind me.

1298
01:09:19,160 --> 01:09:22,720
And it's like #1 that doesn't
happen.

1299
01:09:23,240 --> 01:09:27,279
You know, I think it's a God
thing and #2 is that that's the

1300
01:09:27,279 --> 01:09:31,319
wrong way to look at things.
But also #3 I think, and I think

1301
01:09:31,319 --> 01:09:33,240
you guys might share this.
If I've come to a point in my

1302
01:09:33,240 --> 01:09:34,479
life where it's like, look, I
don't.

1303
01:09:34,680 --> 01:09:38,279
I had to win every deal for a
long time and now it's like,

1304
01:09:39,399 --> 01:09:43,080
hey, the world didn't end when I
thought it was going to end.

1305
01:09:43,080 --> 01:09:46,880
That was going on between my two
ears and that's that was insane

1306
01:09:46,880 --> 01:09:50,479
thinking that if I didn't get
that deal, you know that that

1307
01:09:50,479 --> 01:09:53,439
that all hell broke loose and
everyone's going going to go

1308
01:09:53,439 --> 01:09:54,880
home when.
You know, it's funny, John, I

1309
01:09:54,880 --> 01:09:56,440
have a really good memory of
that.

1310
01:09:56,440 --> 01:10:03,400
So when I left High End and and
I went and got Komar and I stole

1311
01:10:03,400 --> 01:10:09,000
a deal from you and and you
called me and what an ass.

1312
01:10:09,000 --> 01:10:12,760
And you said you said you took
that deal.

1313
01:10:13,000 --> 01:10:16,440
And I said Yep.
And you said, you know, do you

1314
01:10:16,440 --> 01:10:19,800
think that's OK?
And I said, John, I've known the

1315
01:10:19,800 --> 01:10:23,840
guy for 10 years as well.
And you said, listen, Marcel,

1316
01:10:24,400 --> 01:10:29,120
fuck, you lose my number.
And yeah, we hung up the phone

1317
01:10:29,120 --> 01:10:30,640
and I just kind of laughed,
right?

1318
01:10:30,760 --> 01:10:33,240
Yeah.
And I think I waited about maybe

1319
01:10:33,240 --> 01:10:35,560
two weeks, 3 weeks.
And I called you and I said,

1320
01:10:35,560 --> 01:10:37,040
hey, John, how you doing?
I'm good.

1321
01:10:37,040 --> 01:10:39,760
How are you?
I mean, it was just like it

1322
01:10:39,760 --> 01:10:43,080
never happened at all, right?
Well, you know, I mean, look,

1323
01:10:43,400 --> 01:10:46,560
something I've learned through
personal, I hate the word

1324
01:10:46,560 --> 01:10:49,920
journey, so I'm not going to use
a personal experience over time

1325
01:10:50,520 --> 01:10:55,200
Is, is that, you know, as human
beings, we are fear based

1326
01:10:55,200 --> 01:10:58,600
individuals.
It's in our DNA that if we

1327
01:10:58,600 --> 01:11:04,400
don't, if we don't get our meal
for the day, that we're fucked.

1328
01:11:05,040 --> 01:11:07,440
And it's absolute bullshit,
Right.

1329
01:11:07,480 --> 01:11:09,960
Well, and and you know.
That's one of the things I like

1330
01:11:09,960 --> 01:11:12,280
about you guys is, is you're all
winners.

1331
01:11:12,280 --> 01:11:17,240
You're all like accomplishers.
You're all guys who go after the

1332
01:11:17,240 --> 01:11:19,680
big prize.
And I love that.

1333
01:11:19,680 --> 01:11:23,600
Like I I don't like people who
just take whatever lands in

1334
01:11:23,600 --> 01:11:26,160
their plate, but there's a
balance.

1335
01:11:26,680 --> 01:11:29,040
I'm a I'm a big fan of quotes.
One of my favorites.

1336
01:11:29,040 --> 01:11:30,880
I've been up on the wall bumped
by my my desk.

1337
01:11:30,880 --> 01:11:34,760
Here is is there's there's
actually two of them.

1338
01:11:34,880 --> 01:11:36,600
One one of them, we're talking
about this failure thing.

1339
01:11:36,600 --> 01:11:40,240
If you remove the risk of being
wrong, you remove the thrill of

1340
01:11:40,240 --> 01:11:43,280
being right.
And another one is embrace the

1341
01:11:43,280 --> 01:11:46,280
narcotic allure of the near
impossible task.

1342
01:11:46,720 --> 01:11:48,160
And I think we, I think we all
do that.

1343
01:11:48,160 --> 01:11:49,560
It's like, why?
Why?

1344
01:11:49,640 --> 01:11:51,720
Why even get out of bed if it's
if you're not going to have an

1345
01:11:51,720 --> 01:11:53,120
adventure, it's going to be
easy.

1346
01:11:53,120 --> 01:11:55,360
Hell yeah, you know.
There's no win there.

1347
01:11:55,360 --> 01:11:58,920
There's no like, Oh, my God,
that was never going to go our

1348
01:11:58,920 --> 01:12:01,960
way.
And then we made it go our way

1349
01:12:01,960 --> 01:12:05,840
just by presence of will.
And frankly, I increasingly

1350
01:12:05,840 --> 01:12:08,840
believe just by being good
people and showing up and doing

1351
01:12:08,840 --> 01:12:11,520
what you say you're going to do.
And it astonishes me the number

1352
01:12:11,520 --> 01:12:13,880
of clients who are like, you
guys did exactly what you said

1353
01:12:13,880 --> 01:12:14,960
you were going to do.
Yeah.

1354
01:12:15,160 --> 01:12:16,960
Yeah.
And then you did it on time.

1355
01:12:17,240 --> 01:12:18,920
Yeah.
And then you did it on budget.

1356
01:12:18,920 --> 01:12:21,120
Yeah.
Is that because we said we did

1357
01:12:21,120 --> 01:12:23,520
it and that means something.
And it's the same for only all

1358
01:12:23,520 --> 01:12:26,120
three of you when you say you're
going to do it, it's.

1359
01:12:26,120 --> 01:12:28,360
It's done.
I mean, all three of you have

1360
01:12:28,360 --> 01:12:30,920
said stuff to me.
And I'm like, OK, hey, but it's

1361
01:12:31,040 --> 01:12:32,920
it's dumb.
You know, and the other, the

1362
01:12:32,920 --> 01:12:36,120
other part of that too, that I,
that I think I, we all, we all

1363
01:12:36,120 --> 01:12:39,800
share is that, you know, we all
mentoring people now and you

1364
01:12:39,800 --> 01:12:42,880
know, we learn a lot from them
as with that, they don't even

1365
01:12:42,880 --> 01:12:45,200
know we're learning from them as
much as they're learning from

1366
01:12:45,200 --> 01:12:49,720
us, if not more.
And one of the things I tell

1367
01:12:49,720 --> 01:12:54,120
people is like, look, nobody's
going to die if this doesn't

1368
01:12:54,120 --> 01:12:56,080
happen exactly the way that
we're going to happen.

1369
01:12:56,080 --> 01:12:59,680
So when you, you know, the very
light thing was classic.

1370
01:12:59,680 --> 01:13:01,880
I had the guys that very light
around and every, everyone's a

1371
01:13:01,880 --> 01:13:04,840
living and dying by these deals.
And they're, they're spending so

1372
01:13:04,840 --> 01:13:07,680
much time working with like the
LD or the producer, the

1373
01:13:07,680 --> 01:13:10,480
production explaining our
process and how we're better and

1374
01:13:10,480 --> 01:13:13,040
stuff.
And I said, guys, stop that.

1375
01:13:13,240 --> 01:13:18,680
OK, We are a line item on a
spreadsheet somewhere between

1376
01:13:18,680 --> 01:13:22,200
barricades and porta potties
that the that they want to check

1377
01:13:22,200 --> 01:13:25,720
off the list and know that we
have their back, OK, and know

1378
01:13:25,720 --> 01:13:28,560
that we'll do what we get.
So do what you say you're going

1379
01:13:28,560 --> 01:13:30,640
to do really is what this is all
about.

1380
01:13:30,640 --> 01:13:34,000
Oh hell yeah.
Way more important than that is

1381
01:13:34,000 --> 01:13:38,320
that if you have promised
something and in your heart you

1382
01:13:38,760 --> 01:13:41,360
felt that was absolute reality,
right?

1383
01:13:41,600 --> 01:13:46,440
And then you found out it's not
immediately raise your hand to

1384
01:13:46,440 --> 01:13:47,360
go.
You know what?

1385
01:13:47,520 --> 01:13:50,360
I fucked up, but here's my way
out of this.

1386
01:13:50,360 --> 01:13:53,840
OK, here's how we're going to
get to the golden, the Golden

1387
01:13:54,480 --> 01:13:57,120
Valley over here.
But we're going to have to shift

1388
01:13:57,240 --> 01:14:01,760
and, and, and never, ever
conceal anything like that.

1389
01:14:01,880 --> 01:14:04,240
And I've man, I tell you, I was
in a couple situations.

1390
01:14:04,240 --> 01:14:07,440
I know we all been in them,
where the best thing I did was

1391
01:14:07,440 --> 01:14:09,680
raise my hand and go, OK, here's
what we're going to do.

1392
01:14:09,880 --> 01:14:15,040
And then at the end of it, that
guy, that client either hates

1393
01:14:15,040 --> 01:14:18,520
you even more or will never go
anywhere without you.

1394
01:14:18,760 --> 01:14:21,880
Because, and usually the latter
exactly because usually the

1395
01:14:21,880 --> 01:14:25,440
latter because you, you didn't
just fucking disappear.

1396
01:14:25,600 --> 01:14:27,840
And I've seen guys just
disappear.

1397
01:14:28,080 --> 01:14:31,680
And my, when I see someone just
disappear and take off, I'm

1398
01:14:31,680 --> 01:14:35,440
like, thank God, yeah.
Because because that was going

1399
01:14:35,440 --> 01:14:36,640
to happen sooner or later
anyway.

1400
01:14:36,640 --> 01:14:39,160
And now, now, you know, you've
eliminated that.

1401
01:14:39,160 --> 01:14:41,360
Yeah.
Yeah, because I don't let me

1402
01:14:41,360 --> 01:14:43,680
finish this.
Let me finish This is Your Life

1403
01:14:43,680 --> 01:14:46,400
because I want to get onto
something more interesting

1404
01:14:46,400 --> 01:14:50,720
before we run out of time.
So Komar went through that

1405
01:14:50,720 --> 01:14:53,200
experience.
It was it went from really good

1406
01:14:53,840 --> 01:14:57,200
to really bad.
And that just really was based

1407
01:14:57,200 --> 01:15:01,520
on greed of not just Mr. Cohen,
who I happen to have a lot of

1408
01:15:01,520 --> 01:15:03,400
respect for.
So I'm not just talking shit

1409
01:15:03,680 --> 01:15:10,320
about Gerard going, but he he
just saw bright flashing things

1410
01:15:10,320 --> 01:15:13,280
and said, oh, you know, I'm
going to bring in as much money

1411
01:15:13,280 --> 01:15:16,280
as I possibly can and get this.
He brought in some mezzanine

1412
01:15:16,280 --> 01:15:20,360
capital and blah, blah, blah.
And my ownership of Komar went

1413
01:15:20,360 --> 01:15:23,240
from this much to like this much
liquid.

1414
01:15:23,520 --> 01:15:28,560
Yeah, this much ownership in
called Stanton Group.

1415
01:15:28,920 --> 01:15:32,240
And Stanton, I remember that was
Stanton Magnetics.

1416
01:15:32,240 --> 01:15:35,200
Like turntable needles.
Yeah, yeah, needles and.

1417
01:15:35,200 --> 01:15:38,680
And DJ electronics and stuff.
And there were just some really

1418
01:15:38,680 --> 01:15:40,800
bad things that happened.
They moved us into the same

1419
01:15:40,800 --> 01:15:42,960
building.
And I remember Steve Cohen

1420
01:15:42,960 --> 01:15:46,400
yelling at me, I need Bart's
tomorrow in Italy for Madonna or

1421
01:15:46,400 --> 01:15:47,880
whatever it was.
I don't even remember.

1422
01:15:48,280 --> 01:15:52,880
And we hadn't gotten back to him
because now our shipping

1423
01:15:52,880 --> 01:15:55,320
department was part of this
Stanton Magnetics thing.

1424
01:15:55,600 --> 01:15:58,760
So I go, I go to go into the
warehouse to talk to the

1425
01:15:58,760 --> 01:16:02,440
warehouse guy and get him parts.
And I literally tripped over a

1426
01:16:02,440 --> 01:16:05,040
box and fell because the lights
were off in the warehouse.

1427
01:16:05,480 --> 01:16:08,520
And I go back inside and I'm
like, did we lose electricity or

1428
01:16:08,520 --> 01:16:09,360
something?
No, no, no.

1429
01:16:09,440 --> 01:16:13,360
If they they close shipping by
2:00 in the afternoon and I'm

1430
01:16:13,360 --> 01:16:16,360
like, I got to get some parts to
frig in Italy by tomorrow

1431
01:16:16,360 --> 01:16:18,280
morning, you know, like what the
hell?

1432
01:16:18,280 --> 01:16:19,880
So.
I literally so there's no such

1433
01:16:19,880 --> 01:16:22,600
thing as a needle emergency.
Exactly.

1434
01:16:22,640 --> 01:16:24,720
I took a flashlight, but a
different kind of needle.

1435
01:16:24,720 --> 01:16:26,480
Emergency Wiseman.
Yeah, exactly.

1436
01:16:26,720 --> 01:16:29,040
I'm going through the warehouse
with a flashlight, looking at

1437
01:16:29,040 --> 01:16:32,520
part numbers and stuff, trying
to find these power supply cards

1438
01:16:32,520 --> 01:16:34,800
or whatever it was that I needed
to send overnight.

1439
01:16:35,080 --> 01:16:36,920
And then I had to drive them to
the airport.

1440
01:16:36,920 --> 01:16:39,960
And I took so much shit for
doing this because I'm taking

1441
01:16:39,960 --> 01:16:41,920
care of a customer and I knew
that was the beginning of the

1442
01:16:41,920 --> 01:16:44,400
end.
So left there how?

1443
01:16:44,400 --> 01:16:46,680
Dare you take care of that
customer now?

1444
01:16:46,920 --> 01:16:48,880
Yeah, what a ridiculous notion,
Marcel.

1445
01:16:48,880 --> 01:16:51,120
I I left there.
Well, and really what it was.

1446
01:16:51,120 --> 01:16:54,760
It was my first bumping heads
with a board of directors too.

1447
01:16:54,760 --> 01:16:57,960
So I remember making a
presentation at a board meeting

1448
01:16:57,960 --> 01:17:01,200
with this new board of mezzanine
people and stuff.

1449
01:17:01,720 --> 01:17:05,160
And I'm talking and did you guys
ever see that movie Airheads?

1450
01:17:05,520 --> 01:17:07,080
Oh yeah.
With the radio DJ?

1451
01:17:07,080 --> 01:17:08,320
Yeah.
And do you remember the part

1452
01:17:08,320 --> 01:17:11,640
where they're saying and you're
a douchebag and sphincter says

1453
01:17:11,640 --> 01:17:12,760
what?
And all this stuff, Right.

1454
01:17:12,760 --> 01:17:13,480
And he's going.
Huh.

1455
01:17:13,560 --> 01:17:15,960
Yeah.
Because he's not listening to

1456
01:17:15,960 --> 01:17:18,520
them at all.
That's what I was talking to in

1457
01:17:18,520 --> 01:17:20,680
this room.
Like, I could literally see the

1458
01:17:20,680 --> 01:17:24,840
guy on his BlackBerry making a
golf tee tee time and the other

1459
01:17:24,840 --> 01:17:28,240
guy on his BlackBerry book in
the steakhouse for tonight or

1460
01:17:28,240 --> 01:17:30,040
whatever.
And I'm showing them a

1461
01:17:30,040 --> 01:17:32,840
presentation that's telling them
they're fucking business is on

1462
01:17:32,840 --> 01:17:36,240
fire, It's in flames and it's
burning to the ground if you

1463
01:17:36,240 --> 01:17:40,840
don't change something now.
And so their HR director comes

1464
01:17:40,840 --> 01:17:44,000
in and goes, Marcel, you know, I
know you're an owner in the

1465
01:17:44,000 --> 01:17:46,800
company and you're the president
and all this stuff, but you

1466
01:17:46,800 --> 01:17:48,680
know, either you're going to
have to go or the CEO is going

1467
01:17:48,680 --> 01:17:51,200
to have to go.
And I'm like, I'm making your

1468
01:17:51,200 --> 01:17:53,200
job easy.
Look, that box over there, my

1469
01:17:53,200 --> 01:17:54,560
shit's already packed.
I'm leaving.

1470
01:17:54,880 --> 01:17:57,720
I dropped the bomb in the
conference room and I'm out of

1471
01:17:57,720 --> 01:18:00,240
here.
I'm leaving so went home for a

1472
01:18:00,240 --> 01:18:03,520
couple of months sitting out by
my pool coming up with ideas and

1473
01:18:03,800 --> 01:18:06,720
and I came up with this concept
for gear source and it was based

1474
01:18:06,720 --> 01:18:11,040
around manufacturers and really
around my own experience, which

1475
01:18:11,040 --> 01:18:14,240
was we're starting to come out
with new models a little bit

1476
01:18:14,240 --> 01:18:16,720
faster.
Like this is post in Tela Beam

1477
01:18:16,720 --> 01:18:21,480
post Cyber Light where things
were lasting 1215 years before

1478
01:18:21,480 --> 01:18:24,120
you had to come out with a new
model and.

1479
01:18:25,120 --> 01:18:27,240
The cycle now is so quick.
It was quick.

1480
01:18:27,280 --> 01:18:28,240
Ridiculous.
Yeah.

1481
01:18:28,320 --> 01:18:31,080
And yet we weren't very
efficient with inventory.

1482
01:18:31,080 --> 01:18:33,960
So I was seeing things get
pushed further back on the shelf

1483
01:18:34,080 --> 01:18:36,080
while the new models were coming
in front of it.

1484
01:18:36,480 --> 01:18:38,600
And so who's dealing with that
older stuff?

1485
01:18:38,600 --> 01:18:41,400
So my original model was getting
rid of B.

1486
01:18:41,400 --> 01:18:44,120
Stocks excess, excess.
Excess inventory for

1487
01:18:44,120 --> 01:18:47,000
manufacturers.
And so that's how it started a

1488
01:18:47,000 --> 01:18:49,600
couple months later.
It never ends where you start.

1489
01:18:50,360 --> 01:18:52,960
It's I get a call a couple
months later from Huddleston

1490
01:18:52,960 --> 01:18:56,320
going, hey, can you do this for
a rental company too?

1491
01:18:56,480 --> 01:18:59,680
And I said, yeah, I guess so.
And he goes, great, I'm going to

1492
01:18:59,680 --> 01:19:01,600
send you a list of inventory we
need to get rid of.

1493
01:19:02,120 --> 01:19:05,920
And so that was it.
And you know, rental companies

1494
01:19:05,920 --> 01:19:10,680
obviously are our biggest buyer
and seller today.

1495
01:19:10,920 --> 01:19:14,800
And so that company evolved from
this little idea of, you know,

1496
01:19:14,800 --> 01:19:19,160
we're all, we've all got this
fire starting in our warehouses

1497
01:19:19,160 --> 01:19:22,960
on the manufacturing side that
nobody's paying attention to.

1498
01:19:22,960 --> 01:19:24,960
And I just want to take that off
people's board.

1499
01:19:24,960 --> 01:19:29,080
I want, I want to take all of
this bee stock and, and

1500
01:19:29,160 --> 01:19:32,320
discontinued inventory.
I'll focus on that because sales

1501
01:19:32,320 --> 01:19:36,120
teams like to focus, as Eric
will confirm on the new feature,

1502
01:19:36,120 --> 01:19:40,080
the hot new thing, it's easy to
call a customer and go, I've got

1503
01:19:40,080 --> 01:19:43,280
one more gobo than our
competitor does, but it's hard

1504
01:19:43,280 --> 01:19:44,840
to call and go, I got this old
shit.

1505
01:19:44,840 --> 01:19:47,800
Do you want any of it?
You know, that's a much tougher

1506
01:19:47,800 --> 01:19:49,640
sale.
So I decided to focus on the

1507
01:19:49,640 --> 01:19:50,840
tougher sale.
You know what?

1508
01:19:50,840 --> 01:19:52,480
It's not sexy?
Selling pencils.

1509
01:19:52,480 --> 01:19:54,920
But if you're selling a
bazillion pencils.

1510
01:19:55,720 --> 01:19:56,480
Exactly.
Sexy.

1511
01:19:56,480 --> 01:19:57,680
Really fast.
Yeah, yeah.

1512
01:19:57,800 --> 01:20:01,520
Well, and it seems like all the
really rich guys get very rich

1513
01:20:01,520 --> 01:20:04,560
on selling unsexy things.
Oh yeah, you.

1514
01:20:04,720 --> 01:20:08,440
Know no the the sexy stuff is
less profitable than the unsexy.

1515
01:20:08,440 --> 01:20:12,040
Well, and it and you never you
find out shit that wasn't sexy

1516
01:20:12,040 --> 01:20:13,760
after all.
Yeah, yeah.

1517
01:20:14,320 --> 01:20:15,840
So can we talk about other stuff
yet?

1518
01:20:16,360 --> 01:20:19,800
Well, no, no, no 'cause I.
Think, I think we got to talk

1519
01:20:19,800 --> 01:20:23,080
about about this about about
where did the idea come from for

1520
01:20:23,080 --> 01:20:28,800
geezers again, you know, because
because I I got to tell you I

1521
01:20:28,800 --> 01:20:32,120
mean, and one of the reasons why
we thought it was important to

1522
01:20:32,120 --> 01:20:35,200
do this is there are a lot of
people who go oh, Marcel, oh,

1523
01:20:35,200 --> 01:20:38,520
the geez is a gear guy and it's
like, yeah, but there's a lot

1524
01:20:38,520 --> 01:20:41,680
more, you know the reason why
Marcel, why you are so much

1525
01:20:41,880 --> 01:20:45,400
deeper It rise deeper Marcel,
you have a deeper story.

1526
01:20:45,400 --> 01:20:48,240
We're going to go below the
surface here, but but because

1527
01:20:48,240 --> 01:20:50,680
you, because you've been around
the block a bunch of times and

1528
01:20:50,680 --> 01:20:53,480
you've done a lot of stuff, but
also because you're a decent

1529
01:20:54,000 --> 01:20:57,480
human being, you know, and, and,
and every time I have a

1530
01:20:57,480 --> 01:21:02,480
conversation with somebody
about, geez, as a gear, the way

1531
01:21:02,480 --> 01:21:05,640
geezers was so important over
the pandemic always comes up

1532
01:21:05,640 --> 01:21:08,160
without exception.
People like, Oh my God, that was

1533
01:21:08,160 --> 01:21:10,840
great over the pandemic, You
know, and, and, and I think

1534
01:21:10,840 --> 01:21:14,320
about the thing that Strickland
still says all the time, and

1535
01:21:14,320 --> 01:21:19,080
he's right is he's like over the
pandemic, it really showed some

1536
01:21:20,200 --> 01:21:22,120
flaws in the way our industry
works.

1537
01:21:22,400 --> 01:21:24,400
You know, Michael says all the
time, you know, the reason why

1538
01:21:24,400 --> 01:21:30,080
the airlines and the, and the
hospitality industry got help is

1539
01:21:30,080 --> 01:21:32,600
they showed up at Congress with
an aircraft aircraft carrier.

1540
01:21:32,920 --> 01:21:35,200
You know, the entertainment
production showed up at Congress

1541
01:21:35,200 --> 01:21:39,840
in 1000 canoes.
But one of for me, two of the

1542
01:21:40,040 --> 01:21:44,080
the the things that were really
rewarding over the pandemic was

1543
01:21:44,520 --> 01:21:49,600
the red light alert and people
pulling together and you know,

1544
01:21:49,600 --> 01:21:51,960
we we we did a bunch of them.
We were really instrumental in

1545
01:21:51,960 --> 01:21:54,640
the one in Chicago out of the
out of the United Center and to

1546
01:21:54,640 --> 01:21:59,040
see with the union stage hands
working with people from

1547
01:21:59,040 --> 01:22:02,320
upstaging and people from ILC
and all of these everybody just

1548
01:22:02,600 --> 01:22:04,360
unified.
But geez is a gear did that

1549
01:22:04,360 --> 01:22:05,040
every week.
Well, it.

1550
01:22:05,040 --> 01:22:08,160
Created a created a community
that was there but didn't know

1551
01:22:08,280 --> 01:22:10,560
that we all, you know, we're in
the same boat.

1552
01:22:10,600 --> 01:22:13,360
Henry's idea.
Really was just incredibly

1553
01:22:13,360 --> 01:22:17,600
organic at the time.
Henry Konez worked for me and I

1554
01:22:17,600 --> 01:22:20,560
just was on a call with Henry
one day and I said, you know,

1555
01:22:20,840 --> 01:22:23,160
this podcasting thing is really
taking off.

1556
01:22:23,160 --> 01:22:26,200
I'm starting to really like
listening to podcasts myself.

1557
01:22:26,600 --> 01:22:32,720
I think we should do one and and
you know, you and I like to talk

1558
01:22:32,720 --> 01:22:35,160
about equipment.
So why don't we just call it

1559
01:22:35,160 --> 01:22:37,320
Geezers of Gear?
We're going to be the geezers

1560
01:22:37,440 --> 01:22:38,760
and we're going to talk about
gear.

1561
01:22:39,160 --> 01:22:41,520
And we did that for like one or
two episodes.

1562
01:22:41,520 --> 01:22:44,360
And then someone called me up
and said, hey, I want to be on

1563
01:22:44,360 --> 01:22:48,760
your podcast.
I said, oh, OK, so now I don't

1564
01:22:48,760 --> 01:22:50,960
have a podcast.
Yeah, that's a good idea.

1565
01:22:51,280 --> 01:22:53,880
We're going to make it about.
Other people that the podcast

1566
01:22:53,880 --> 01:22:57,120
and so the geezer.
Shifted from being me to being

1567
01:22:57,120 --> 01:23:00,400
the guest, and even though a lot
of our guests have.

1568
01:23:00,400 --> 01:23:02,880
Been young women.
Young men, etcetera.

1569
01:23:02,880 --> 01:23:06,640
Not necessarily geezers, but but
you know, the brand.

1570
01:23:06,640 --> 01:23:08,760
We're all geezer.
We're stuck with the branding

1571
01:23:08,760 --> 01:23:10,680
whether we like it or not.
So.

1572
01:23:10,760 --> 01:23:12,560
You know, it was very, very
organic.

1573
01:23:13,040 --> 01:23:15,080
I had no idea how to create a
podcast.

1574
01:23:15,080 --> 01:23:18,000
Learned very quickly.
Since that time, I've probably

1575
01:23:18,000 --> 01:23:21,280
taught 30 people how to do a
podcast, including this guy over

1576
01:23:21,280 --> 01:23:23,040
the weekend who's starting a
podcast.

1577
01:23:23,520 --> 01:23:29,000
And and so, yeah, I mean, and
it's honestly, it's probably one

1578
01:23:29,000 --> 01:23:31,760
of the coolest, most fun and
rewarding things that I've ever

1579
01:23:31,760 --> 01:23:34,800
done, you know, because it gave
me the opportunity to be a part

1580
01:23:34,800 --> 01:23:39,960
of that We make events thing.
And you know, it gave me the

1581
01:23:39,960 --> 01:23:43,960
platform to create the weekly
Zoom call with lots of people

1582
01:23:43,960 --> 01:23:47,920
who I admire and respect.
And you know, like half the Zoom

1583
01:23:47,920 --> 01:23:49,640
calls for me were pinch me
moments.

1584
01:23:49,640 --> 01:23:52,680
Like if I could get all these CE
OS and all these sliding

1585
01:23:52,680 --> 01:23:55,960
designers and these production
managers and these four guys

1586
01:23:55,960 --> 01:23:59,760
here, if I could get them on the
phone 10 years ago, I would have

1587
01:23:59,760 --> 01:24:01,800
been like, no way.
I can't believe that.

1588
01:24:02,280 --> 01:24:04,400
And here I've got them all on at
the same time.

1589
01:24:04,400 --> 01:24:08,800
So, you know, honestly, like I
remember saying to my girlfriend

1590
01:24:08,800 --> 01:24:12,760
when the we make events thing
happened, I just said, I don't

1591
01:24:12,760 --> 01:24:15,320
know what just happened.
Like when it was over, it was

1592
01:24:15,320 --> 01:24:17,840
like 2:00 in the morning or
something and I just said, I'm

1593
01:24:17,840 --> 01:24:20,280
exhausted.
But I got to tell you, I feel

1594
01:24:20,280 --> 01:24:22,200
like I was just a part of
something.

1595
01:24:22,200 --> 01:24:25,240
That was one of the coolest
things I've ever been a part of

1596
01:24:25,320 --> 01:24:27,840
by far.
Like just an incredible moment.

1597
01:24:28,160 --> 01:24:33,520
I was a part of it and I'm, I'm
grateful, you know, I tell you

1598
01:24:33,800 --> 01:24:35,120
that That's cool.
I can go to bed.

1599
01:24:35,520 --> 01:24:38,600
And for, for, I'll say for me.
Personally, because I think.

1600
01:24:38,600 --> 01:24:44,200
One of the first ones or second
or third ones was I was in, I

1601
01:24:44,200 --> 01:24:48,080
was, I was in Palm Desert and it
was March 15th, 2020.

1602
01:24:48,080 --> 01:24:51,720
And, and at the hotel I was in
was a mob scene.

1603
01:24:52,320 --> 01:24:58,320
And then that pandemic, pandemic
hit that day and the 16th, they

1604
01:24:58,320 --> 01:25:01,320
told me we're closing the hotel
and everybody was gone.

1605
01:25:01,480 --> 01:25:03,520
And I said, no, I just paid for
two weeks.

1606
01:25:03,960 --> 01:25:07,680
Get a chef in here, have him on.
And some guy behind me at the

1607
01:25:07,680 --> 01:25:09,960
checkout thing goes, yeah, me
and my wife are staying, too.

1608
01:25:09,960 --> 01:25:12,520
So six of us took over the
hotel.

1609
01:25:12,960 --> 01:25:14,120
Oh, wow.
Yeah.

1610
01:25:14,840 --> 01:25:19,040
And I have a chef here at, at,
at for breakfast and for lunch.

1611
01:25:19,360 --> 01:25:22,280
And we'll, we'll figure out
dinner and, you know, have the

1612
01:25:22,280 --> 01:25:24,000
janitor bring us drinks at the
pool.

1613
01:25:24,320 --> 01:25:27,360
And we're not leaving, right?
And then I think like the second

1614
01:25:27,360 --> 01:25:31,560
day, I want to say like March
16th or 17th, we did the podcast

1615
01:25:31,560 --> 01:25:35,120
about the pandemic and I
remember vividly saying, oh,

1616
01:25:35,120 --> 01:25:37,640
this is bullshit.
There's the two week, there's

1617
01:25:37,640 --> 01:25:39,920
all these tours booked for the
summer.

1618
01:25:40,160 --> 01:25:42,000
There's this.
There's no fucking way that the

1619
01:25:42,000 --> 01:25:45,880
summer tours that there's no way
that Billy Joel and Mötley Crüe

1620
01:25:45,880 --> 01:25:48,520
and yeah, XY and Z are not going
to go out.

1621
01:25:48,600 --> 01:25:52,040
They got sold out stadiums.
And I just never just completely

1622
01:25:52,360 --> 01:25:54,800
well, we all made some dumb
predictions.

1623
01:25:54,840 --> 01:25:56,440
Well, I got to tell you.
Well, we all.

1624
01:25:56,440 --> 01:25:58,040
Made the bunch of us together
well.

1625
01:25:58,040 --> 01:25:59,720
Along with Ben I.
Remember some of those early

1626
01:25:59,720 --> 01:26:02,520
things we did, Wiseman?
We were like, do you remember

1627
01:26:02,520 --> 01:26:07,640
the three weeks, 4 weeks, 5
weeks flat, Max Max Max Yeah.

1628
01:26:07,640 --> 01:26:10,480
Or because my my infamous day
91.

1629
01:26:10,600 --> 01:26:13,560
Yeah, it was so.
But you know what?

1630
01:26:14,800 --> 01:26:16,320
I, I I don't want to do that by
my.

1631
01:26:16,320 --> 01:26:17,800
I don't want to go through.
That by myself.

1632
01:26:18,400 --> 01:26:21,320
You know, I, I, I don't want to,
I don't want to be on an island

1633
01:26:21,560 --> 01:26:24,360
wondered fuck is it all?
Is everything over?

1634
01:26:24,760 --> 01:26:27,520
You know it.
The worst part is you won't die

1635
01:26:27,720 --> 01:26:33,120
and you'll just be broke.
Yeah, yeah, it's think worse

1636
01:26:33,120 --> 01:26:33,680
than.
That.

1637
01:26:33,880 --> 01:26:34,600
Yeah.
Yeah.

1638
01:26:34,720 --> 01:26:37,440
No kidding, you know, Yeah,
exactly.

1639
01:26:37,480 --> 01:26:38,160
Yeah.
So I mean.

1640
01:26:38,200 --> 01:26:40,800
It it really, I mean, it was it
was super.

1641
01:26:40,800 --> 01:26:43,160
I don't think you, I don't think
you really have an

1642
01:26:43,160 --> 01:26:44,840
understanding.
I think that's one of the things

1643
01:26:44,840 --> 01:26:47,880
that I that I want to tell you
of what that meant to me and

1644
01:26:47,880 --> 01:26:50,080
what that meant to me.
Being able to go back to the

1645
01:26:50,080 --> 01:26:53,080
skeleton staff that we had kept
and say, hey, look, I'm talking

1646
01:26:53,080 --> 01:26:54,760
to some really great industry
guys.

1647
01:26:55,040 --> 01:26:56,240
This is kind of what we're
thinking.

1648
01:26:56,240 --> 01:26:59,080
We don't we.
This is just like a thumbnail

1649
01:26:59,080 --> 01:27:01,080
sketch, the vibe and the feel
for today.

1650
01:27:01,320 --> 01:27:06,120
But being able to have that
rather than just be like, alone.

1651
01:27:06,600 --> 01:27:07,920
Yeah.
Yeah, it was great, man.

1652
01:27:07,920 --> 01:27:10,400
You know how many people told me
the opposite, though?

1653
01:27:10,400 --> 01:27:13,400
Like it?
Like the fact that you've given

1654
01:27:13,400 --> 01:27:17,480
me access to people like John
Wiseman and Featherstone and

1655
01:27:17,480 --> 01:27:21,520
Loader and Ben Saltzman and
Michael Strickland and stuff,

1656
01:27:21,520 --> 01:27:24,400
like for me to be able to get on
a call every Wednesday and

1657
01:27:24,400 --> 01:27:28,200
listen to this group of people
speak, it saved me.

1658
01:27:28,520 --> 01:27:30,320
This is all these wrong
predictions.

1659
01:27:30,320 --> 01:27:33,000
He's he's actually.
Complete nonsense.

1660
01:27:34,000 --> 01:27:36,640
How good did it make?
How good does it make a?

1661
01:27:36,640 --> 01:27:38,000
Knucklehead.
Feel.

1662
01:27:38,440 --> 01:27:41,920
To hear someone who's as
respected as any of you guys

1663
01:27:42,200 --> 01:27:44,760
make those predictions and and
you'd be wrong too.

1664
01:27:44,760 --> 01:27:47,200
Be wrong, you know, but but you
but you know what it is.

1665
01:27:47,200 --> 01:27:48,600
You know what it is.
But what?

1666
01:27:48,600 --> 01:27:51,480
We share in common is our
passion for this industry,

1667
01:27:51,760 --> 01:27:54,680
right?
And that's, and that's, that's

1668
01:27:54,680 --> 01:27:55,800
for humans.
I think.

1669
01:27:56,000 --> 01:27:58,040
You know, I think it's what it's
what drives.

1670
01:27:58,040 --> 01:28:01,680
Us to sell more drives us.
To do more shows, to help more

1671
01:28:01,680 --> 01:28:03,760
people.
And you know, it's, it's all

1672
01:28:03,760 --> 01:28:06,760
about customer service and it's
all about the relationships we

1673
01:28:06,760 --> 01:28:09,440
have and the gear, the gear may
change, right?

1674
01:28:09,440 --> 01:28:12,200
The gear changes.
And you know, we've, we've had a

1675
01:28:12,200 --> 01:28:15,120
few different jobs, but you
know, it's the, it's the people

1676
01:28:15,120 --> 01:28:17,320
that have stayed the same.
And that's what we all and and

1677
01:28:17,320 --> 01:28:19,840
I'll tell you I, I'll speak for
myself.

1678
01:28:20,200 --> 01:28:22,680
I've got to be going forward
towards a goal and that's what

1679
01:28:22,680 --> 01:28:24,360
we were talking about and all
those things.

1680
01:28:24,360 --> 01:28:25,880
That's what we talk about all
the time.

1681
01:28:26,640 --> 01:28:29,040
You know, when we have a call,
Marcel, I talked to, you know, I

1682
01:28:29,040 --> 01:28:32,040
talked to you, John or you
Eric's like a, you know, we got

1683
01:28:32,040 --> 01:28:33,720
a new light coming out.
What do you think about this?

1684
01:28:34,280 --> 01:28:37,400
Because if, if I don't have
those moments where I'm looking

1685
01:28:37,400 --> 01:28:43,600
forward to something to create
or close or change or whatever.

1686
01:28:44,120 --> 01:28:47,000
I've had the moments where I've
stopped and I've looked around

1687
01:28:47,000 --> 01:28:52,080
and thought, holy shit, I we're
writing 5000 paychecks every two

1688
01:28:52,080 --> 01:28:54,640
weeks.
I'm responsible for a portion of

1689
01:28:54,640 --> 01:28:56,360
this.
Are you fucking kidding me?

1690
01:28:56,640 --> 01:28:59,640
It's, it's a, it's a shocker
moment because all I wanted to

1691
01:28:59,640 --> 01:29:03,000
do as a kid was go to a rock
show, hang out, meet some girls,

1692
01:29:03,000 --> 01:29:04,720
drink some beer and make some
money.

1693
01:29:05,000 --> 01:29:07,160
I remember having some of those
calls with you, though.

1694
01:29:07,160 --> 01:29:08,280
Yeah.
When the pandemic.

1695
01:29:08,280 --> 01:29:11,120
First hit, I remember having
some of those real dark calls

1696
01:29:11,120 --> 01:29:14,080
with you where it was like, you
know, we're responsible for a

1697
01:29:14,080 --> 01:29:16,160
lot of people right now, and I
don't know what's going to

1698
01:29:16,160 --> 01:29:17,200
happen.
Yeah.

1699
01:29:17,720 --> 01:29:19,880
Yeah.
I mean, I remember you.

1700
01:29:19,960 --> 01:29:22,760
You were so afraid of the which?
Car show?

1701
01:29:22,760 --> 01:29:26,760
Was it the one of the the one in
Europe?

1702
01:29:27,280 --> 01:29:29,320
Oh yeah, the one in Europe.
Geneva.

1703
01:29:29,480 --> 01:29:30,800
Geneva.
Geneva, Yeah.

1704
01:29:31,240 --> 01:29:33,080
Yeah, the.
Geneva auto show you.

1705
01:29:33,080 --> 01:29:35,520
Were you were like if Geneva
auto show goes down, we're

1706
01:29:35,520 --> 01:29:37,000
doomed.
It's over fucked because they

1707
01:29:37,000 --> 01:29:38,840
got to do it.
That's an, that's the car

1708
01:29:38,840 --> 01:29:41,240
business they're.
Huge they they're powerful.

1709
01:29:41,240 --> 01:29:45,080
Well, no, none of us are It's
that's just, you know, the way

1710
01:29:45,080 --> 01:29:48,720
the way it is, but yeah and I
and I remember and it also look

1711
01:29:48,760 --> 01:29:52,720
good always comes out of bat no
matter what you know hell yeah.

1712
01:29:52,720 --> 01:29:54,680
It's it's so much good came out
of this.

1713
01:29:54,760 --> 01:29:57,360
It's.
Never the catastrophe that I

1714
01:29:57,360 --> 01:30:00,600
personally.
Go oh shit, you know, and it's

1715
01:30:00,600 --> 01:30:02,560
never as bad.
And I think it's good to be able

1716
01:30:02,560 --> 01:30:05,960
to share that with some of the,
the Co workers, the people we

1717
01:30:05,960 --> 01:30:08,560
work with, the people that we
work for.

1718
01:30:08,840 --> 01:30:11,960
And and you know, it, it, it
brings you a little bit closer

1719
01:30:11,960 --> 01:30:13,640
together.
But man, it's shocking to me how

1720
01:30:13,640 --> 01:30:15,680
many lives we're responsible
for.

1721
01:30:16,040 --> 01:30:19,280
You know, it's incredible.
Possible people, right?

1722
01:30:19,480 --> 01:30:23,840
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, you know, again, I mean,

1723
01:30:23,840 --> 01:30:27,320
I, I, I don't want to.
Downplay how big it was for

1724
01:30:27,320 --> 01:30:30,400
people to have access to people
like you guys on those Zoom

1725
01:30:30,400 --> 01:30:32,640
calls.
Like one of your warehouse guys

1726
01:30:32,800 --> 01:30:37,360
could come and listen to John
Wiseman and Michael Strickland

1727
01:30:37,360 --> 01:30:41,920
and Eric Loader and whoever
talking about this high level of

1728
01:30:41,920 --> 01:30:43,760
the business.
They couldn't hear that in

1729
01:30:43,760 --> 01:30:44,560
their.
Normal life.

1730
01:30:44,560 --> 01:30:46,640
So talk.
About a a good that came out of

1731
01:30:46,640 --> 01:30:50,640
COVID is, you know, I think we
kind of looped in everybody into

1732
01:30:50,640 --> 01:30:54,400
the exact same sort of bucket
like everybody was in the same

1733
01:30:54,400 --> 01:30:57,080
space all of a sudden, right.
Well, but you know, we're we're

1734
01:30:57,080 --> 01:30:59,240
all very accessible.
I know, I know all of.

1735
01:30:59,240 --> 01:31:02,640
Us are I mean, yeah, I still
suffer from the paranoia of all

1736
01:31:02,640 --> 01:31:06,280
I I answer every single phone
call when my phone call and I so

1737
01:31:06,280 --> 01:31:10,200
I talked to a lot of spam people
and because I'm afraid I'm going

1738
01:31:10,200 --> 01:31:12,520
to miss the next deal.
Right, it's just in.

1739
01:31:12,520 --> 01:31:14,480
My, my funny, paranoid.
Think like that.

1740
01:31:14,680 --> 01:31:17,160
Yeah, your career, you know, I
know, but it's, you know.

1741
01:31:17,480 --> 01:31:19,080
What it's like, Marcel, you call
Wiseman, I think.

1742
01:31:19,080 --> 01:31:21,280
Stuff like that, yeah.
Yeah, it's instant.

1743
01:31:21,480 --> 01:31:23,240
Well, and Marcel, you're the
same way.

1744
01:31:23,240 --> 01:31:24,680
You know we're texting each
other stupid.

1745
01:31:24,680 --> 01:31:26,040
Shit at 3:00 in the morning,
right?

1746
01:31:26,040 --> 01:31:28,840
Yeah, and so, but I don't answer
spam calls.

1747
01:31:29,840 --> 01:31:32,040
Well, it doesn't I.
Don't know it's a spam call till

1748
01:31:32,040 --> 01:31:34,000
I'm talking to them and.
I'm thinking, well, you don't

1749
01:31:34,000 --> 01:31:35,800
look, you don't, you don't look
at your caller ID.

1750
01:31:36,080 --> 01:31:38,760
I know you don't wise, but.
Now you're like, it's young,

1751
01:31:38,800 --> 01:31:41,400
what's up exactly And and, and
so.

1752
01:31:42,040 --> 01:31:45,600
You know, even this is, is, and
I remember being a being a

1753
01:31:45,600 --> 01:31:48,640
younger man and looking up at
like the Rusty Boucher's and,

1754
01:31:48,800 --> 01:31:52,000
and the Lowells and the, you
know, Richard Bellevue's and,

1755
01:31:52,240 --> 01:31:55,200
and, you know, Bill Kerbishly
and all the guys that we dealt

1756
01:31:55,200 --> 01:31:57,640
with, you know, they were all
accessible too.

1757
01:31:57,840 --> 01:32:02,840
But when we become accessible
through media is so powerful.

1758
01:32:03,400 --> 01:32:05,240
I was talking to somebody about
media.

1759
01:32:06,320 --> 01:32:10,480
I had a very strange experience
about how powerful media was,

1760
01:32:10,560 --> 01:32:13,920
which ties into the
accessibility of in anyone can

1761
01:32:13,920 --> 01:32:16,400
listen to this on anytime,
whatever they are, just it's

1762
01:32:16,400 --> 01:32:19,440
accessible.
I was when I really had a

1763
01:32:19,440 --> 01:32:26,000
shocker of how powerful media
was, was I was at, I was at

1764
01:32:26,000 --> 01:32:28,840
Madison Square Garden with
Michael Jackson and I had one of

1765
01:32:28,840 --> 01:32:32,640
those phones that had a strap
the bag phone.

1766
01:32:32,880 --> 01:32:35,440
Yeah, yeah.
We use it as a table to do bad

1767
01:32:35,440 --> 01:32:38,440
things on.
And, and, and I remember I, I

1768
01:32:38,440 --> 01:32:41,360
walked behind Michael.
I didn't know he was standing

1769
01:32:41,360 --> 01:32:42,080
there.
Michael Jackson.

1770
01:32:42,080 --> 01:32:44,600
I walked behind him and I was on
screen.

1771
01:32:44,600 --> 01:32:49,240
I was talking on my phone.
I was on screen on MTV probably

1772
01:32:49,360 --> 01:32:55,680
1/2 of one second and my phone
blew up really into Garden.

1773
01:32:55,960 --> 01:32:59,120
I'm like, yeah, you know, And
then like, like I probably got

1774
01:32:59,120 --> 01:33:05,240
50 calls in 50 seconds.
Jesus, just just to so that.

1775
01:33:05,480 --> 01:33:09,600
Power is what?
You've what you've grabbed here

1776
01:33:09,920 --> 01:33:11,400
and you're putting that
together.

1777
01:33:11,640 --> 01:33:15,200
And I love that someone might
get something that like there

1778
01:33:15,200 --> 01:33:19,000
might be some kid in Australia
who's listening to this who's 20

1779
01:33:19,000 --> 01:33:21,680
years old and wants to get in
and goes, hey, you know that

1780
01:33:21,680 --> 01:33:23,400
Eric Laurel seems like a pretty
good dude.

1781
01:33:24,360 --> 01:33:26,280
You know, Wiseman's always
talking over him, but maybe

1782
01:33:26,280 --> 01:33:29,160
he'll talk to me.
So Well, let me let me tell you.

1783
01:33:29,160 --> 01:33:30,600
Let me tell you a quick.
Story.

1784
01:33:30,640 --> 01:33:33,480
Let me tell you a quick.
Story so I I said this on the

1785
01:33:33,720 --> 01:33:39,360
the pre thing to to recording
this last night I was watching

1786
01:33:39,360 --> 01:33:42,720
the Canada versus Germany hockey
game like any good Canadian

1787
01:33:42,720 --> 01:33:45,520
should have been you have to
lose your hotspot right that's

1788
01:33:45,520 --> 01:33:47,600
right yeah to give you like a.
Secret code, yeah.

1789
01:33:48,480 --> 01:33:51,400
Yeah, so.
So I'm poking around social

1790
01:33:51,400 --> 01:33:53,000
media.
At the same time and a message

1791
01:33:53,000 --> 01:33:55,880
came into Geezers of Gear from
some dude that I didn't know,

1792
01:33:55,880 --> 01:33:58,160
and he followed us and
everything.

1793
01:33:58,160 --> 01:34:02,640
And the message was about AI.
And he had, he was telling me,

1794
01:34:02,640 --> 01:34:06,480
showing me a video of a guy who
created some AI technology,

1795
01:34:06,480 --> 01:34:08,160
which I thought was pretty
crappy actually.

1796
01:34:08,160 --> 01:34:11,320
It's just a guy talking to an
audio console and saying

1797
01:34:11,320 --> 01:34:15,240
channels 3 through 7 up five DB
or whatever.

1798
01:34:15,240 --> 01:34:18,600
And you'd see the faders move up
a little bit and woo, you know,

1799
01:34:18,600 --> 01:34:22,200
and that's just voice to text.
Like that's not really using AI

1800
01:34:22,200 --> 01:34:25,440
where you'd walk in and say,
make the room a little warmer

1801
01:34:25,440 --> 01:34:26,000
Sound.
Yeah.

1802
01:34:26,120 --> 01:34:29,120
Yeah.
Make it sound like, you know, a

1803
01:34:29,120 --> 01:34:33,160
theater or like a certain type.
Which theater, you know, exactly

1804
01:34:33,160 --> 01:34:34,720
called Bambi.
Yeah.

1805
01:34:37,080 --> 01:34:38,400
So.
Anyways, you know he just

1806
01:34:38,400 --> 01:34:40,240
started talking and.
Going off and saying, you know,

1807
01:34:40,240 --> 01:34:43,640
I listen to your podcast when
I'm riding the train into work,

1808
01:34:43,640 --> 01:34:44,680
into the shop.
Nice.

1809
01:34:44,760 --> 01:34:49,120
I was on Elton John on the last
tour and, you know, a third guy

1810
01:34:49,120 --> 01:34:54,200
on the audio crew or whatever
and love what you're doing, love

1811
01:34:54,200 --> 01:34:56,560
geezers of gear.
I'm so grateful for what you

1812
01:34:56,560 --> 01:34:58,960
guys do.
I'm so grateful for the access

1813
01:34:58,960 --> 01:35:01,800
that you give me to these
incredible people and these

1814
01:35:01,800 --> 01:35:04,720
unbelievable stories.
And I just wanted you to know

1815
01:35:04,720 --> 01:35:06,880
what you're doing for the use of
this business.

1816
01:35:06,880 --> 01:35:09,720
That's cool.
And I was like, holy shit, man.

1817
01:35:09,800 --> 01:35:13,280
Like if somebody could just say
that once a week, I'd keep doing

1818
01:35:13,280 --> 01:35:15,560
this forever.
Like, you know, I drop all the

1819
01:35:15,560 --> 01:35:21,440
sponsors not hitter.
Yeah, but but you know I.

1820
01:35:21,440 --> 01:35:23,520
Mean it's to me, that's what
it's all.

1821
01:35:23,520 --> 01:35:26,440
About it's that someone's
getting something from it.

1822
01:35:26,520 --> 01:35:30,200
And so that was the idea of
Gears of Gear.

1823
01:35:30,800 --> 01:35:33,480
That's still the idea.
Like so many people started

1824
01:35:33,480 --> 01:35:36,320
podcasts at the front end of the
pandemic.

1825
01:35:36,640 --> 01:35:39,520
Cuz what else am I gonna do?
I'm gonna start a podcast.

1826
01:35:39,520 --> 01:35:41,000
Let's do that.
Yeah.

1827
01:35:41,000 --> 01:35:42,640
But you didn't.
You didn't stop Marcel.

1828
01:35:42,640 --> 01:35:43,880
You've kept, you've kept it
going.

1829
01:35:43,880 --> 01:35:45,040
You've kept it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1830
01:35:45,040 --> 01:35:47,560
Relevant and interesting and
forward-looking.

1831
01:35:47,640 --> 01:35:50,200
Yeah, Yeah, well done mate.
Well, and we're still trying to

1832
01:35:50,200 --> 01:35:52,320
keep evolving it like we're
we're adding a couple.

1833
01:35:52,320 --> 01:35:57,120
Wrinkles right now we're we're
we're working on some cool stuff

1834
01:35:57,240 --> 01:36:02,000
using some AI as well.
And so, yeah, I mean, to me,

1835
01:36:02,240 --> 01:36:06,280
like if and when I ever sell my
company, Geezer of Gear is going

1836
01:36:06,280 --> 01:36:09,400
to become my retirement fun gig.
You know, it's what I'm going to

1837
01:36:09,400 --> 01:36:11,360
keep doing because I love having
conversations.

1838
01:36:11,640 --> 01:36:16,040
God knows I love to talk.
But what most people don't know

1839
01:36:16,040 --> 01:36:17,760
is that I really actually love
to listen.

1840
01:36:17,760 --> 01:36:20,960
I love hearing stories and ideas
and thoughts and all of that

1841
01:36:20,960 --> 01:36:22,320
stuff.
Well, this business too, that's

1842
01:36:22,320 --> 01:36:24,560
a great plan too, because you,
you really don't.

1843
01:36:25,000 --> 01:36:27,520
Get out of this business.
You know, I, I, I just, I

1844
01:36:27,520 --> 01:36:31,240
recently just did a new contract
and part of that contract was,

1845
01:36:31,640 --> 01:36:34,840
you know, what do I do after
this certain time?

1846
01:36:35,360 --> 01:36:39,160
Because we're just not the kind
of, you know, we, we have so

1847
01:36:39,160 --> 01:36:42,920
many personal connections with
the people that we work with and

1848
01:36:42,920 --> 01:36:45,840
so many people that we're
bringing up and working with.

1849
01:36:46,080 --> 01:36:49,240
You don't just, I mean, maybe,
maybe you could, I don't know.

1850
01:36:49,400 --> 01:36:51,680
You don't just walk away from
like, I look at the guy like

1851
01:36:51,680 --> 01:36:56,400
Jerry Harris, you know, Jerry
has made arguably probably as

1852
01:36:56,400 --> 01:36:59,720
much or more of a bankroll and
is on it.

1853
01:36:59,720 --> 01:37:02,600
It doesn't have to work at all.
But this is what he does.

1854
01:37:02,720 --> 01:37:06,520
He started as a, as, as a
stagehand and he, he got

1855
01:37:06,520 --> 01:37:09,560
opportunities and he found
scenes and he drove through them

1856
01:37:09,560 --> 01:37:12,640
and he, he found a problem and
provided solutions, which is

1857
01:37:12,640 --> 01:37:15,240
what we do.
And he, you know, I was on a a

1858
01:37:15,240 --> 01:37:19,160
call with him for an hour on
Sunday morning yesterday in the

1859
01:37:19,160 --> 01:37:21,560
middle of the holiday vacation.
We're talking about stuff.

1860
01:37:21,760 --> 01:37:25,400
It's just what we do.
So, you know, that's a great way

1861
01:37:25,400 --> 01:37:28,000
for you to stay connected.
Oh, hell yeah.

1862
01:37:28,000 --> 01:37:29,160
I'm envious.
Very good.

1863
01:37:29,360 --> 01:37:32,440
No, but you know what I mean.
And who would?

1864
01:37:32,440 --> 01:37:35,960
Not want to be connected.
Like 90% of the people that I

1865
01:37:35,960 --> 01:37:40,600
talked to, I really like and I
really enjoy and I look up to

1866
01:37:40,600 --> 01:37:44,680
them and, and it's my honor
having those people on the

1867
01:37:44,680 --> 01:37:47,040
podcast.
The other 10%, you know, little

1868
01:37:47,040 --> 01:37:51,440
iffy, but the 90%, the 90% takes
care of the other 10.

1869
01:37:51,440 --> 01:37:54,720
Hey, if you if you hit 9 out of
10 hits of bet, you'd be in the

1870
01:37:54,720 --> 01:37:56,560
hall.
Of fame right there there is

1871
01:37:56,560 --> 01:38:00,440
that 10% that makes this a job.
You know the other 90%.

1872
01:38:00,440 --> 01:38:02,560
It's really fun.
It breaks up my day, my week,

1873
01:38:02,560 --> 01:38:03,840
whatever.
I love doing it.

1874
01:38:04,120 --> 01:38:07,280
And even though sometimes my
company looks at me and goes

1875
01:38:08,040 --> 01:38:12,400
their podcast like, you know,
why aren't you creating some new

1876
01:38:12,400 --> 01:38:14,960
thing for the company instead?
Well, because this is creating

1877
01:38:14,960 --> 01:38:17,080
something myself.
I mean I I mean we, we.

1878
01:38:18,320 --> 01:38:22,760
One of my partners, Medvitz and
I did a thing at LP's last year

1879
01:38:22,920 --> 01:38:25,040
talking to a lot of up and
comers in the business.

1880
01:38:25,280 --> 01:38:28,240
You are a brand whether you want
to be or not.

1881
01:38:28,760 --> 01:38:31,400
So choose the way you want your
brand to be.

1882
01:38:31,400 --> 01:38:34,960
And, and a huge part of the Gear
Source brand is you, you know,

1883
01:38:34,960 --> 01:38:36,960
you're the, you're the brand
ambassador for Gear Source.

1884
01:38:36,960 --> 01:38:41,400
So what you're doing is, is
making a really bold, positive

1885
01:38:41,400 --> 01:38:43,360
statement about the way you
think about the business, the

1886
01:38:43,360 --> 01:38:46,280
way you think about people, that
you're a decent human being that

1887
01:38:46,280 --> 01:38:49,640
that has that has the best
interests of this industry.

1888
01:38:50,680 --> 01:38:53,600
Yeah, I think that you guys are
all this name by the way.

1889
01:38:54,400 --> 01:38:56,160
Genius, You guys are all the
same.

1890
01:38:56,160 --> 01:38:58,560
Like Eric.
Eric is elation, you know it.

1891
01:38:58,560 --> 01:39:03,440
I think 99% of people in the
touring world are in the the

1892
01:39:04,040 --> 01:39:06,600
professional lighting world.
If you ask them who's elation,

1893
01:39:06,600 --> 01:39:09,640
they'd say Eric Load or 100%
say, you know, ask any

1894
01:39:09,640 --> 01:39:12,680
production manager who's PRG,
they'll say John Wiseman.

1895
01:39:12,920 --> 01:39:16,480
And of course, you know not to
put down anyone else in your

1896
01:39:16,480 --> 01:39:20,400
glorious company, Featherstone,
but but it's because that's

1897
01:39:20,640 --> 01:39:22,320
synonymous with the brand, you
know?

1898
01:39:23,080 --> 01:39:24,360
So yeah.
I mean.

1899
01:39:24,640 --> 01:39:27,120
It the brand becomes an.
Extension of all of us,

1900
01:39:27,120 --> 01:39:30,760
obviously, but I think a lot of
people don't realize that and I

1901
01:39:30,760 --> 01:39:32,800
think that's.
Perhaps some of the insights

1902
01:39:32,800 --> 01:39:37,280
that people get from watching
pieces of gear is to go, oh, you

1903
01:39:37,280 --> 01:39:39,480
know what?
It's a great brand.

1904
01:39:39,520 --> 01:39:42,640
It's a great brand social.
Media, my friend Marcel,

1905
01:39:42,840 --> 01:39:45,600
actually does matter.
The way I position myself

1906
01:39:45,600 --> 01:39:50,040
matters that you know that it's,
it's all part of being a decent

1907
01:39:50,040 --> 01:39:52,080
human being.
And, and Wiseman, I know you're

1908
01:39:52,080 --> 01:39:55,400
a big believer of this as well.
And frankly, as are you, Eric,

1909
01:39:55,840 --> 01:39:58,360
we, we get, we get hired back as
much because of the person

1910
01:39:58,360 --> 01:40:00,440
people we are as because of the
job we did.

1911
01:40:00,440 --> 01:40:04,120
You know, it's they're like, no,
I just, and I've seen this

1912
01:40:04,520 --> 01:40:07,640
amplified post pandemic.
So many people are like, look, I

1913
01:40:07,640 --> 01:40:09,000
just, I just want to work with
people.

1914
01:40:09,000 --> 01:40:12,360
I like, I just want to work with
decent people that I can trust.

1915
01:40:12,400 --> 01:40:15,240
I don't, I when I say it, when
they say they're going to do

1916
01:40:15,240 --> 01:40:17,120
something, it's done.
When I asked them to do

1917
01:40:17,120 --> 01:40:18,440
something, it's done.
They're going to do it.

1918
01:40:18,440 --> 01:40:20,080
When they say they're going to
do it for how much money, they

1919
01:40:20,080 --> 01:40:21,840
said they're going to do it.
And if it screws up, they're

1920
01:40:21,840 --> 01:40:23,880
going to come to me with a plan
for how to fix it.

1921
01:40:24,440 --> 01:40:27,280
You know, you know, we are the
brand and then this.

1922
01:40:27,360 --> 01:40:31,920
Is that's like what you're doing
for gear sources is just huge.

1923
01:40:31,960 --> 01:40:35,480
And I, you know, I, I, I hope
that you really know that I'll

1924
01:40:35,480 --> 01:40:38,600
tell you one of the epiphany
what I had when I figured out

1925
01:40:38,600 --> 01:40:43,240
that, that I was representing
whoever I happen to be owning or

1926
01:40:43,240 --> 01:40:47,680
working for whatever the time I
was in a court case and the

1927
01:40:47,680 --> 01:40:52,160
witness was on the stand and the
opposing counsel said to them,

1928
01:40:52,840 --> 01:40:56,120
Hey, so because they said I had
stole all this information.

1929
01:40:56,120 --> 01:41:02,800
And they said, hey, so when John
Wiseman was the CEO of XL video

1930
01:41:03,360 --> 01:41:07,720
and the client, the, the, the
witness said, what's XL video?

1931
01:41:08,800 --> 01:41:10,920
And the guy almost dropped his
fucking notepad.

1932
01:41:10,960 --> 01:41:13,800
And I was like, huh?
And they, and, and then, then

1933
01:41:14,440 --> 01:41:16,960
the lawyer's like this is like,
you know, this guy's getting

1934
01:41:16,960 --> 01:41:19,280
like 1200 bucks an hour, right?
He's supposed to be the best of

1935
01:41:19,280 --> 01:41:21,560
the best.
He goes, well, you know, XO

1936
01:41:21,560 --> 01:41:23,880
video, John Wiseman was the CEO
of XO Video.

1937
01:41:23,880 --> 01:41:26,520
And then then he left and
started chaos.

1938
01:41:27,160 --> 01:41:29,240
And the witness goes, what's
chaos?

1939
01:41:31,400 --> 01:41:33,600
And I.
And the guy goes, well, you

1940
01:41:33,600 --> 01:41:35,720
know, that's this.
And so now he's explaining to

1941
01:41:35,720 --> 01:41:37,200
the IT was Tommy Lee, by the
way.

1942
01:41:37,320 --> 01:41:41,280
He's explaining to the witness
and, and, and, and, and Tommy

1943
01:41:41,280 --> 01:41:43,880
goes, I, I, I don't know where
John works.

1944
01:41:43,880 --> 01:41:45,320
I don't have any idea where he
works.

1945
01:41:45,320 --> 01:41:47,320
He goes, he's the best in the
business.

1946
01:41:47,320 --> 01:41:49,440
He's on every show with us since
1984.

1947
01:41:49,440 --> 01:41:52,560
He said me and Pamela and, and,
and Dylan and Jagger, we just go

1948
01:41:52,560 --> 01:41:55,320
down to his house and we have a
barbecue and I asked him what's

1949
01:41:55,320 --> 01:41:57,360
the coolest stuff and he just
takes care of it.

1950
01:41:57,360 --> 01:41:59,880
He goes I, I, I trust John.
I, I have no idea.

1951
01:42:00,080 --> 01:42:04,320
I have no idea where he that's
that's a great story and that.

1952
01:42:04,680 --> 01:42:07,880
That you could put that on any
one of you guys and.

1953
01:42:07,880 --> 01:42:11,120
That's how important it is.
And, well, Tommy Lee wasn't at

1954
01:42:11,120 --> 01:42:15,840
my divorce hearings.
Or, you know, I I was, I was at

1955
01:42:15,840 --> 01:42:20,360
his famous people like no, but
it doesn't matter who it was.

1956
01:42:20,360 --> 01:42:22,920
It was just.
It was it was, it was that was a

1957
01:42:22,920 --> 01:42:25,520
person who's saying and they
could have been anybody that

1958
01:42:25,520 --> 01:42:29,440
just said I when he said I don't
know where he works, I thought,

1959
01:42:29,600 --> 01:42:31,960
wow, OK, that that's pretty
cool.

1960
01:42:31,960 --> 01:42:34,480
I must be doing something right.
Yeah, that is cool.

1961
01:42:34,880 --> 01:42:39,080
Well, you know, I mean.
The fact that I could probably

1962
01:42:39,080 --> 01:42:44,520
call any one of you three guys
and say I've got this idea and

1963
01:42:44,680 --> 01:42:47,840
not only will you hear me out,
but you'll jump in head first

1964
01:42:47,840 --> 01:42:51,160
most of the time because you
know that A, I'll probably

1965
01:42:51,160 --> 01:42:55,320
protect you as a brand and B,
I'll try and make it as as

1966
01:42:55,480 --> 01:42:57,960
minimally painful as I possibly
can.

1967
01:42:58,160 --> 01:43:00,040
And hopefully there will be a
positive outcome.

1968
01:43:00,360 --> 01:43:04,720
And I think these are earned.
This isn't earned credibility

1969
01:43:04,720 --> 01:43:07,400
that each of us has.
And and it's not that easy to

1970
01:43:07,400 --> 01:43:09,120
get.
And you know, we're all very,

1971
01:43:09,160 --> 01:43:11,480
we're all very blessed.
We are blessed.

1972
01:43:11,480 --> 01:43:13,000
And we've worked hard for it too
though.

1973
01:43:13,600 --> 01:43:15,240
So.
But we love our job.

1974
01:43:15,240 --> 01:43:16,720
Keep doing it.
Let's keep doing it.

1975
01:43:16,960 --> 01:43:18,800
You keep.
Doing the podcast, you know

1976
01:43:18,800 --> 01:43:21,160
we'll.
Keep sponsoring as long as we'll

1977
01:43:21,240 --> 01:43:23,280
be coming up.
I heard that I.

1978
01:43:23,280 --> 01:43:25,640
Heard that I got it in.
Writing now the transcript, I'm

1979
01:43:25,640 --> 01:43:26,760
going.
To send it to you so you can

1980
01:43:26,760 --> 01:43:31,680
sign the bottom.
No, obviously, obviously we we

1981
01:43:31,680 --> 01:43:35,080
appreciate the sponsors because
it makes it so that I can now

1982
01:43:35,280 --> 01:43:40,800
have a life still because Sarah
takes care of so much stuff.

1983
01:43:40,840 --> 01:43:42,360
She's just doing a great job in
my films.

1984
01:43:43,400 --> 01:43:45,600
Yeah, thank.
You she's she's dead.

1985
01:43:45,600 --> 01:43:48,200
After this podcast, she would
no, no, no, she was.

1986
01:43:48,760 --> 01:43:50,920
We came to her with the idea.
She was, she was like.

1987
01:43:51,080 --> 01:43:55,080
You can't do this.
You you think you think she had

1988
01:43:55,080 --> 01:43:58,240
a.
Chance of saying no, no to us.

1989
01:43:58,520 --> 01:44:00,360
Yeah.
Well, it was funny because the

1990
01:44:00,520 --> 01:44:02,760
this morning I was like, where?
Are the show notes for this

1991
01:44:02,760 --> 01:44:06,080
podcast because you know,
usually there's like she's got

1992
01:44:06,080 --> 01:44:09,200
an agenda and I don't follow it,
but at least there's there's

1993
01:44:09,880 --> 01:44:11,920
bread crumbs there and she said
she.

1994
01:44:11,920 --> 01:44:13,840
Said them to us, mate.
We've got all the show notes.

1995
01:44:13,840 --> 01:44:16,200
Yeah, well, I didn't.
You know, I'm like, where's?

1996
01:44:16,480 --> 01:44:18,880
The, you know, those, Oh no,
these guys, they've got some

1997
01:44:18,880 --> 01:44:21,920
ideas of some stuff that they
wanted to talk about, you know,

1998
01:44:21,920 --> 01:44:25,200
Well, Merry Christmas, pal.
And yeah, I know it's.

1999
01:44:25,200 --> 01:44:28,080
Amazing that you guys did this.
I appreciate it so much and we

2000
01:44:28,080 --> 01:44:30,440
love you pal, as much as I
really love about you 3.

2001
01:44:36,840 --> 01:44:40,040
I do, you know, honestly, I.
Do have some crazy stories?

2002
01:44:40,040 --> 01:44:44,480
As far as how I've survived
life, let alone business and

2003
01:44:44,480 --> 01:44:47,040
everything else, you know, I it
doesn't make sense.

2004
01:44:47,040 --> 01:44:49,160
I didn't take a straight line,
put it that way.

2005
01:44:49,320 --> 01:44:52,360
Nor did.
Well, certainly not wise men.

2006
01:44:53,400 --> 01:44:56,240
John Featherstone.
I actually, yeah, you took a

2007
01:44:56,240 --> 01:44:58,080
relatively straight line, I
guess.

2008
01:44:58,240 --> 01:45:00,200
You know what, though?
I got to tell you when John did

2009
01:45:00,200 --> 01:45:03,040
what he did, when he.
You know, because he, he was

2010
01:45:03,720 --> 01:45:07,800
extremely in demand in the
rock'n'roll world.

2011
01:45:08,160 --> 01:45:11,320
And I honestly didn't really
know that he was doing the, the

2012
01:45:11,320 --> 01:45:13,760
we caught more of a straight
gig, right?

2013
01:45:14,000 --> 01:45:17,720
And, and, and, and when, when
he, when he started light

2014
01:45:17,720 --> 01:45:21,640
switch, I it it, it really kind
of, I kind of thought because,

2015
01:45:21,640 --> 01:45:22,880
you know, I'm thinking like
this.

2016
01:45:22,880 --> 01:45:25,920
And John was clearly, you know,
thinking like this.

2017
01:45:25,920 --> 01:45:28,720
And I was in this and I thought,
OK, well, that's interesting,

2018
01:45:29,160 --> 01:45:32,400
you know, and then I started to
think and I saw some of the jobs

2019
01:45:32,400 --> 01:45:33,920
you were doing.
Of course, I, I would think I

2020
01:45:33,920 --> 01:45:36,680
was working with Medvits right
around that time too.

2021
01:45:37,080 --> 01:45:40,480
And I and I and I, I had.
An epiphany.

2022
01:45:40,480 --> 01:45:44,160
On you there, John, I thought,
smart motherfucker, man, there's

2023
01:45:44,160 --> 01:45:48,400
lights everywhere.
Yeah, and it's.

2024
01:45:48,400 --> 01:45:51,600
Not always a race to the bottom.
Yeah, yeah, also true.

2025
01:45:51,800 --> 01:45:54,480
Yeah, also true margins.
Yeah, when you sell a guitar,

2026
01:45:54,480 --> 01:45:56,560
you sell one guitar.
When you sell lighting, it's.

2027
01:45:56,560 --> 01:45:58,840
A whole system?
Yeah, exactly.

2028
01:45:59,400 --> 01:46:01,000
Well, that was yield to your
trigger.

2029
01:46:01,000 --> 01:46:02,400
Point Marcel.
So yeah.

2030
01:46:02,400 --> 01:46:03,840
And.
There was some stuff you shared

2031
01:46:03,840 --> 01:46:06,360
though, that I didn't know,
Marcel, so it was really, really

2032
01:46:06,360 --> 01:46:07,840
great for this.
He's a friend of yours.

2033
01:46:07,840 --> 01:46:10,720
Hearing your origin story, it's
important.

2034
01:46:10,720 --> 01:46:13,560
And I think, you know, we're
we're all parents.

2035
01:46:13,560 --> 01:46:16,920
And I think one of the things
that's really great is we can

2036
01:46:16,920 --> 01:46:18,680
all look at our stories and
there were things that at the

2037
01:46:18,680 --> 01:46:20,360
time felt like they were going
to be the end of the world and

2038
01:46:20,360 --> 01:46:22,440
they weren't like you were
saying, Wiseman.

2039
01:46:22,680 --> 01:46:25,400
And I think that's really
important for people that, you

2040
01:46:25,400 --> 01:46:27,960
know, may or may not be
listening to a bunch of old

2041
01:46:27,960 --> 01:46:30,680
effers talk about this, but the
things that you think are going

2042
01:46:30,680 --> 01:46:32,040
to be the end of the world or
not.

2043
01:46:32,040 --> 01:46:34,920
And that's a huge part that I
know we've all shown up for our

2044
01:46:34,920 --> 01:46:37,080
kids.
From a parent standpoint, it's

2045
01:46:37,080 --> 01:46:39,640
like it's it really is going to
be OK.

2046
01:46:39,800 --> 01:46:40,560
Yeah.
You know this.

2047
01:46:40,600 --> 01:46:43,920
I wanted, I wanted to, I wanted
to echo that earlier.

2048
01:46:43,920 --> 01:46:45,320
Earlier when we were talking.
About.

2049
01:46:45,320 --> 01:46:48,680
Losing deals, winning deals.
I lose and win deals every day

2050
01:46:48,680 --> 01:46:51,760
here, you know, And the
winning's much funner.

2051
01:46:51,760 --> 01:46:55,800
More fun, Believe me, I went to
the football game Friday night.

2052
01:46:55,840 --> 01:46:58,120
I didn't expect our team to win.
They came back and won.

2053
01:46:58,120 --> 01:47:00,920
You know, it's AI had no control
over that, but it was great to

2054
01:47:00,920 --> 01:47:02,480
be there.
So you don't have any kind of

2055
01:47:02,480 --> 01:47:04,640
show of this.
You know who you know really.

2056
01:47:04,680 --> 01:47:07,360
Don't actually really that the.
Same thing that you just said,

2057
01:47:07,360 --> 01:47:08,800
Erica, and she said it really
well.

2058
01:47:08,800 --> 01:47:10,240
And I'm not a huge fan or
anything.

2059
01:47:10,240 --> 01:47:13,120
But Cher, I saw her being
interviewed once and she said

2060
01:47:13,320 --> 01:47:14,680
I've been rich and I've been
poor.

2061
01:47:14,680 --> 01:47:17,440
Rich is better.
I've been I've been 50 and I've

2062
01:47:17,440 --> 01:47:19,480
been 6050 is better.
Yeah.

2063
01:47:20,640 --> 01:47:23,600
And I mean, it was just a great
way of saying it, you know, but

2064
01:47:24,080 --> 01:47:28,280
it's like life goes on, right?
And and you just keep pointing N

2065
01:47:28,280 --> 01:47:31,080
my problem like it's the
weirdest thing because people

2066
01:47:31,080 --> 01:47:33,680
are like, are you getting ready
to start thinking about winding

2067
01:47:33,680 --> 01:47:35,400
it down?
I get asked that too.

2068
01:47:35,440 --> 01:47:37,640
You know how people who are 60
years.

2069
01:47:37,640 --> 01:47:40,440
Old you're supposed to.
Be thinking about your

2070
01:47:40,440 --> 01:47:43,120
retirement and, and you're
supposed to be desperately

2071
01:47:43,120 --> 01:47:47,280
trying to get to the end.
Like, oh, I've only got 29 more

2072
01:47:47,280 --> 01:47:50,200
days left of my retire or of
working and then I get to

2073
01:47:50,200 --> 01:47:51,920
retire.
I dread it.

2074
01:47:52,080 --> 01:47:55,560
Like I dread the concept.
I, I wake up thinking, I wish I

2075
01:47:55,560 --> 01:47:58,280
had 20 extra years because I got
too many things to do.

2076
01:47:58,280 --> 01:48:02,000
Like I got so many ideas for how
I'd love to expand Gears of

2077
01:48:02,000 --> 01:48:05,120
gear, so many ideas for other
things that I want to do.

2078
01:48:05,240 --> 01:48:07,720
And I'm going to run out of
time, unfortunately.

2079
01:48:08,120 --> 01:48:11,320
I know, I know, it is a cliche,
but 6060.

2080
01:48:11,320 --> 01:48:14,480
Isn't really the new 5060, is
the new 40?

2081
01:48:14,480 --> 01:48:17,240
It really, it really is.
Yeah, Yeah, I remember talking.

2082
01:48:17,240 --> 01:48:21,200
To a really close buddy of mine
and we were probably both around

2083
01:48:21,200 --> 01:48:25,360
45 and he, you know, he kind of
got introspected and he goes

2084
01:48:25,520 --> 01:48:30,040
Weisman.
So how the 40s fucking amazing.

2085
01:48:30,040 --> 01:48:31,640
I would have never.
Thought this right.

2086
01:48:31,880 --> 01:48:34,520
It's like I thought it was over
by then and right, it's having a

2087
01:48:34,520 --> 01:48:37,560
great time.
And now, you know, in my 60s, I

2088
01:48:37,560 --> 01:48:40,640
turned 66 this year.
You know, I, I think there's

2089
01:48:40,640 --> 01:48:42,840
something about this business
too that keeps us young.

2090
01:48:43,000 --> 01:48:45,520
It's probably because we don't
sit still.

2091
01:48:46,240 --> 01:48:48,680
There's, there's all, you know,
like I don't go to a.

2092
01:48:48,680 --> 01:48:52,160
Desk at 9:00.
And get off at 5 and go home.

2093
01:48:52,160 --> 01:48:56,200
And, you know, and.
And is as as great as that

2094
01:48:56,200 --> 01:49:00,240
sounds to me, I would slit my
wrists.

2095
01:49:00,640 --> 01:49:02,640
Yeah.
If I'd had if, if that's what my

2096
01:49:02,640 --> 01:49:06,280
life was, if I had Saturday and
Sunday off, what the hell would

2097
01:49:06,280 --> 01:49:08,640
I do?
Like, I belong to a Country Club

2098
01:49:08,640 --> 01:49:10,200
and I play golf about three
times.

2099
01:49:10,200 --> 01:49:13,680
Yeah, but I play 3 * a year
because who the fuck has six

2100
01:49:13,680 --> 01:49:17,280
hours besides you, Eric?
So, you know, oh, if you had

2101
01:49:17,280 --> 01:49:18,680
Saturday and Sunday off, you
drive.

2102
01:49:18,680 --> 01:49:19,920
Tracy.
Crazy.

2103
01:49:20,160 --> 01:49:23,120
Oh she, she goes nuts.
You love them slabbing yourself.

2104
01:49:23,280 --> 01:49:24,640
Yeah, but you know what I think
it is?

2105
01:49:24,640 --> 01:49:28,520
I think there's something.
Fundamental about what we do, no

2106
01:49:28,520 --> 01:49:34,040
matter where we are in the path
of the process of delivering

2107
01:49:34,040 --> 01:49:38,200
entertainment, we work in an
industry that is at its core

2108
01:49:38,480 --> 01:49:40,200
focused on people enjoying
themselves.

2109
01:49:40,560 --> 01:49:44,120
And I think if you lose sight of
that, then you've lost sight of

2110
01:49:44,120 --> 01:49:47,320
the most fundamental thing.
The fundamental thing we do is

2111
01:49:47,320 --> 01:49:49,840
we impact.
Whether it's Eric you empowering

2112
01:49:49,840 --> 01:49:52,800
me, or Wiseman you empowering me
to empower an artist, or Marcel

2113
01:49:52,800 --> 01:49:55,520
you doing this or however it
works, the end result is

2114
01:49:55,520 --> 01:49:58,840
somebody putting their ass in a
seat and having a good time.

2115
01:49:59,040 --> 01:50:01,120
Bro, is there anything better
than house lights?

2116
01:50:01,520 --> 01:50:04,320
Oh my God.
It's you talk about the.

2117
01:50:04,320 --> 01:50:06,520
Narcotical law.
I mean the moment House Place

2118
01:50:06,520 --> 01:50:10,280
goes out, you know what Wiseman
I I saw having a good.

2119
01:50:10,280 --> 01:50:14,200
Time I saw it from Wiseman in
New York, he had seen that show

2120
01:50:14,200 --> 01:50:17,000
like friggin I don't know, 10
times by then.

2121
01:50:17,040 --> 01:50:19,840
Yeah.
And the look on your face, John,

2122
01:50:20,200 --> 01:50:22,920
like it was just like the first
time you've ever seen a rock

2123
01:50:22,920 --> 01:50:25,960
concert or it was Electric man
and it still, it still is.

2124
01:50:26,160 --> 01:50:29,360
I mean, but.
I could tell the joy was real.

2125
01:50:29,680 --> 01:50:31,400
Like it wasn't some bullshit
thing.

2126
01:50:31,400 --> 01:50:34,200
Like, you know, I'm collecting
another paycheck this week or

2127
01:50:34,200 --> 01:50:37,280
whatever.
It was like, wow, I love what I

2128
01:50:37,280 --> 01:50:38,880
do.
I love what I'm saying.

2129
01:50:38,920 --> 01:50:41,400
And it was.
And it was cool because like I,

2130
01:50:41,400 --> 01:50:44,280
I, I.
I felt, and this really shows

2131
01:50:44,280 --> 01:50:47,360
the like the childish thinking
that I think we all get to

2132
01:50:47,360 --> 01:50:51,360
continue with right.
So I, I know I've got this show

2133
01:50:51,360 --> 01:50:55,160
that I'm at, that I, that I, I,
I have a lot of personal

2134
01:50:55,160 --> 01:50:58,880
connection to, but there's the
music is the personal connection

2135
01:50:58,880 --> 01:51:01,960
that goes back to when I was a
kid and had headphones on and

2136
01:51:01,960 --> 01:51:03,560
was listening to Dark Side of
the Moon.

2137
01:51:03,560 --> 01:51:07,080
And I was like, what the fuck is
right?

2138
01:51:07,360 --> 01:51:11,920
And so there I am.
What, 50 years later, yeah, 50

2139
01:51:11,920 --> 01:51:15,840
years later and, and the, the,
the, the emotional tie to the

2140
01:51:15,840 --> 01:51:18,120
music, 'cause I can't, I was
never a guitar player, never

2141
01:51:18,120 --> 01:51:19,240
singer.
I couldn't play anything.

2142
01:51:19,560 --> 01:51:24,000
And and it but it was just, it's
the fabric of my DNA has always

2143
01:51:24,000 --> 01:51:26,400
been music, right?
And then and then I'm able to

2144
01:51:26,400 --> 01:51:29,360
call Marcel and go, dude, come
be my guest.

2145
01:51:29,840 --> 01:51:34,560
Call Mochrie, come be my guest.
And and and I got to live it

2146
01:51:34,560 --> 01:51:36,360
through you guys.
Yeah, right.

2147
01:51:37,400 --> 01:51:39,720
Yeah, that was well, Marcel.
You had you had Mark.

2148
01:51:39,720 --> 01:51:42,680
You had Mark on your podcast.
And just having him talk about

2149
01:51:42,680 --> 01:51:47,080
it and the show, and also then
seeing stuff on social media and

2150
01:51:47,080 --> 01:51:49,080
stuff.
I mean, I was blown away just

2151
01:51:49,080 --> 01:51:51,240
watching that, right?
So I can imagine what it was

2152
01:51:51,240 --> 01:51:53,240
like to be there.
So yeah, it's too bad that you

2153
01:51:53,240 --> 01:51:55,480
didn't see it there because that
really.

2154
01:51:56,520 --> 01:51:59,360
It's like if I don't see another
concert for a while, I hate to

2155
01:51:59,360 --> 01:52:02,920
say it, but I think, you know,
that was sort of the pinnacle

2156
01:52:02,920 --> 01:52:04,400
for me.
Well, and I thought of you and

2157
01:52:04,400 --> 01:52:06,320
Mochery because I know you're
both guitar.

2158
01:52:06,320 --> 01:52:11,480
Players yeah and I thought OK
here's the guitar solo yeah of

2159
01:52:11,600 --> 01:52:15,440
of our lives and I know that
these guys will appreciate and

2160
01:52:15,440 --> 01:52:18,480
I'm going to get and this to
here here I am an old man you

2161
01:52:18,480 --> 01:52:23,560
know at a gig really digging
watching you guys watch it

2162
01:52:23,640 --> 01:52:25,520
that's awesome that's the best
feeling that living.

2163
01:52:25,520 --> 01:52:29,720
Vicariously, Yeah.
Before, before we dive out of

2164
01:52:29,720 --> 01:52:32,440
this thing, I want to ask.
You guys something I want to I

2165
01:52:32,440 --> 01:52:35,720
want a 2025 prediction two
weeks.

2166
01:52:35,720 --> 01:52:38,280
It's going to last two weeks.
That's it, from each one of.

2167
01:52:38,280 --> 01:52:40,640
You I want to.
I want I.

2168
01:52:40,640 --> 01:52:44,120
Want a 2025 prediction?
One thing that you think is

2169
01:52:44,120 --> 01:52:47,400
going to happen related to our
industry, not politics or

2170
01:52:47,400 --> 01:52:50,360
anything, wars or anything else
you don't.

2171
01:52:50,360 --> 01:52:52,560
Best not to go there.
Yeah, yeah, we.

2172
01:52:52,560 --> 01:52:54,320
Don't need to.
And what's up with plane

2173
01:52:54,320 --> 01:52:57,520
crashes?
Jesus Christ like how the heck

2174
01:52:57,520 --> 01:53:00,320
how those drones sure like
became a non item.

2175
01:53:00,320 --> 01:53:02,840
All of a sudden, didn't I?
Isn't it funny how things like

2176
01:53:02,840 --> 01:53:04,280
that just.
Gone.

2177
01:53:04,760 --> 01:53:07,040
Yeah, yeah.
That's the news cycle these.

2178
01:53:07,040 --> 01:53:08,880
Days.
But give me a prediction.

2179
01:53:09,200 --> 01:53:12,360
One, give you a prediction.
I think it's going to be a great

2180
01:53:12,360 --> 01:53:13,680
year for our industry.
I I.

2181
01:53:13,760 --> 01:53:18,160
I think we've been in a
transition out of this sort of

2182
01:53:18,160 --> 01:53:21,520
post pandemic revenge
entertainment euphoria and it

2183
01:53:21,520 --> 01:53:24,120
feels like and, and, and Eric
and John, I don't know if it

2184
01:53:24,120 --> 01:53:26,760
feels the same to you.
It feels like we with some

2185
01:53:26,760 --> 01:53:30,400
stability is coming back and
it's not just everything's on

2186
01:53:30,400 --> 01:53:33,120
fire and it's a frenzy and Oh my
God, every job on top of every

2187
01:53:33,120 --> 01:53:34,880
other job and everyone's just
running around with their hair

2188
01:53:34,880 --> 01:53:38,320
on fire that we're finding a
good sustainable level.

2189
01:53:38,480 --> 01:53:41,600
It's 2019, but larger, Yes,
sustainable.

2190
01:53:41,600 --> 01:53:45,760
Growth I think is, is what?
I'm optimistic for for 2025.

2191
01:53:46,400 --> 01:53:47,600
Cool.
And that's what we're that's

2192
01:53:47,600 --> 01:53:50,160
what we're planning for.
I think it's, you know.

2193
01:53:50,760 --> 01:53:55,080
This year's been a challenging
year and you know, some people

2194
01:53:55,880 --> 01:53:58,880
have done better than others
this year, but you know I.

2195
01:53:58,880 --> 01:54:01,320
Think next year.
It's going to be more.

2196
01:54:02,720 --> 01:54:05,800
It's just going to be easier.
It's what I'm hoping for next

2197
01:54:05,800 --> 01:54:08,200
year.
I don't tell you what prediction

2198
01:54:08,200 --> 01:54:11,240
for me, you know.
Your mouths to God's ears

2199
01:54:11,480 --> 01:54:14,720
because there there was the
coming out of the pandemic.

2200
01:54:14,720 --> 01:54:18,920
Do you know 2023 was just balls
to the wall.

2201
01:54:18,920 --> 01:54:22,200
It was euphoria.
It was it was it was what's

2202
01:54:22,200 --> 01:54:23,520
that?
There was a there was a term

2203
01:54:23,520 --> 01:54:28,200
that Paul Volcker, Norm
Greenspan, you know, use where

2204
01:54:28,200 --> 01:54:32,040
it was irrational exuberance.
Remember that one?

2205
01:54:32,720 --> 01:54:38,440
OK, so which which then 24 was,
you know, a pretty shit year to

2206
01:54:38,440 --> 01:54:43,640
tell you the truth And and you
know, it's all relative, right?

2207
01:54:43,640 --> 01:54:45,800
So when?
When you we have a board.

2208
01:54:45,840 --> 01:54:51,000
So when you come out of a
irrationally exuberant year and

2209
01:54:51,000 --> 01:54:55,480
of course the the nature of
business is how you going to add

2210
01:54:55,480 --> 01:54:59,320
8 to 10% on top of that.
And it's like I remember saying,

2211
01:54:59,320 --> 01:55:01,040
not going to happen.
And they're like, why?

2212
01:55:01,040 --> 01:55:05,840
And I go, well, because how
many, how many $1000 concert

2213
01:55:05,840 --> 01:55:12,040
tickets, babysitters, bag of
pot, T-shirts, popcorn, parking,

2214
01:55:12,520 --> 01:55:14,600
can these people do?
They're, they're burnt, you

2215
01:55:14,600 --> 01:55:17,520
know, the economies, eggs, eggs
are five times as much.

2216
01:55:17,520 --> 01:55:20,800
And I said, I, I said this last
year, I said, you know, and,

2217
01:55:20,880 --> 01:55:23,880
and, and people are, they're,
you know, they, they got their

2218
01:55:23,880 --> 01:55:26,880
fix and they're going to take a
little bit of a rest.

2219
01:55:27,120 --> 01:55:32,680
And, you know, and so 2024 never
stacked up to what, you know, we

2220
01:55:32,680 --> 01:55:35,800
were supposed to do.
And it's always disappointing.

2221
01:55:36,680 --> 01:55:39,760
And I, I I'm trying not to have
that irrational exuberance about

2222
01:55:39,760 --> 01:55:42,400
2025, but I will mirror you
guys.

2223
01:55:42,880 --> 01:55:45,960
It feels more normal.
Yeah.

2224
01:55:45,960 --> 01:55:48,360
Like we've got a ditch.
And we've just now kind of.

2225
01:55:48,600 --> 01:55:51,800
Yeah.
Yeah, it's the the we we

2226
01:55:51,800 --> 01:55:53,440
overcorrected.
Yeah.

2227
01:55:53,440 --> 01:55:56,600
And then we overcorrected, Yeah.
And now I think it's going to go

2228
01:55:56,600 --> 01:55:58,680
back up to something sustainable
Exactly.

2229
01:55:58,680 --> 01:56:01,200
So that that's that's.
My wish and hope for everybody

2230
01:56:01,200 --> 01:56:03,560
to.
Do well, I agree with you and my

2231
01:56:03,560 --> 01:56:06,320
my prediction is that.
We're, and this is going to be a

2232
01:56:06,320 --> 01:56:11,560
shock coming from me, but we're
going to see the early entrance

2233
01:56:11,560 --> 01:56:16,200
of AI in our industry.
I'd I'd love to do an AI Geez,

2234
01:56:16,200 --> 01:56:17,240
as a game with you.
I have some.

2235
01:56:17,240 --> 01:56:19,520
Strong feelings about AI that I
think will surprise you.

2236
01:56:19,720 --> 01:56:22,040
Yeah, we'll, we'll do it soon
because, you know, it's

2237
01:56:22,040 --> 01:56:23,960
obviously a favorite.
Tool we want to show up.

2238
01:56:23,960 --> 01:56:26,240
AI can just do the old episode
on its own by the.

2239
01:56:26,280 --> 01:56:29,360
Way if any of you guys ever
it's.

2240
01:56:29,360 --> 01:56:33,560
Like the coolest AI tool of the
week, or of the month or of the

2241
01:56:33,560 --> 01:56:36,240
year or whatever.
Just call me and I'll send it to

2242
01:56:36,520 --> 01:56:40,840
fucking hate the idea I hate.
It you fucking hate it and I'll

2243
01:56:40,840 --> 01:56:42,840
tell you what it's.
Like somebody talking.

2244
01:56:42,840 --> 01:56:45,800
To me about and I just said I
look at you know what, I am

2245
01:56:45,800 --> 01:56:50,280
really glad that I'm old, but
didn't you have a robot digging

2246
01:56:50,280 --> 01:56:52,320
around in your ass though?
Yeah.

2247
01:56:52,480 --> 01:56:54,160
Yeah, but I wasn't involved in
that.

2248
01:56:54,360 --> 01:56:56,160
You set.
You set this one out, all right,

2249
01:56:56,520 --> 01:56:57,720
You set this.
One out, John.

2250
01:56:57,960 --> 01:57:00,280
You know what I got?
I got the shot of Michael.

2251
01:57:00,280 --> 01:57:04,680
Jackson's propofol, the happy
milk and I and I woke and I woke

2252
01:57:04,680 --> 01:57:06,120
up.
Curative Cancer.

2253
01:57:06,120 --> 01:57:07,440
So.
I'm happy.

2254
01:57:07,680 --> 01:57:09,360
That's fine.
But you know what?

2255
01:57:09,360 --> 01:57:11,360
That was the doctor in a
different room.

2256
01:57:11,400 --> 01:57:13,480
Selective.
You like selective AI.

2257
01:57:13,480 --> 01:57:14,120
You like it?
Where?

2258
01:57:14,200 --> 01:57:15,960
If you like it, but you don't
like it where you don't like it,

2259
01:57:15,960 --> 01:57:19,040
I just I don't want no, I don't
want to learn how to run the

2260
01:57:19,040 --> 01:57:21,360
fucking.
AII want someone else to do it

2261
01:57:21,600 --> 01:57:25,000
right.
I'm glad I'm old because I'm

2262
01:57:25,000 --> 01:57:28,840
still having trouble.
I want my flip phone back OK.

2263
01:57:29,000 --> 01:57:31,120
The good news is AI removes
effort.

2264
01:57:31,120 --> 01:57:34,040
It doesn't add effort.
So it's removing effort, it's

2265
01:57:34,080 --> 01:57:36,600
where's the worst switch?
How do you turn it on?

2266
01:57:37,040 --> 01:57:38,400
I'll show you.
I'll show you like.

2267
01:57:38,600 --> 01:57:40,240
No.
Yeah, Wiseman.

2268
01:57:40,520 --> 01:57:43,760
Right, I think, I think 22.
Parts of that prediction, I

2269
01:57:43,760 --> 01:57:45,600
think.
We're going to see AI creep into

2270
01:57:45,600 --> 01:57:48,960
some console technology.
But I also think we're going to

2271
01:57:48,960 --> 01:57:52,280
start, and Eric won't confirm
nor deny this, but I think we're

2272
01:57:52,280 --> 01:57:55,960
going to start seeing AI at the
fixture level where fixtures

2273
01:57:56,040 --> 01:58:00,040
take away some of the brains
from the console and that goes

2274
01:58:00,040 --> 01:58:02,640
back to the model distributed
processing.

2275
01:58:02,640 --> 01:58:04,760
It's distributed.
Powerful model we're going to

2276
01:58:04,760 --> 01:58:08,800
see, we're going to see some AI
based distributing distributed

2277
01:58:08,800 --> 01:58:11,280
processing.
In the lights, the part that I'm

2278
01:58:11,760 --> 01:58:14,920
the part, I think that I'm more.
Curious about I have a friend

2279
01:58:14,920 --> 01:58:18,320
who's like super computer guy
right and we we were hanging out

2280
01:58:18,320 --> 01:58:23,880
one day and he was telling me Oh
yeah, I got I made a band I go

2281
01:58:23,880 --> 01:58:27,760
oh, you're in a band now Oh
yeah, it it, it's and it was all

2282
01:58:27,920 --> 01:58:32,040
AI generated and he goes watch
we're we're we're sitting on my

2283
01:58:32,040 --> 01:58:35,920
boat and just floating and he
and he starts telling this thing

2284
01:58:37,000 --> 01:58:39,240
write me a country song.
I want to kind of sound like

2285
01:58:39,240 --> 01:58:41,360
this.
And he's he's talking to his

2286
01:58:41,360 --> 01:58:45,000
phone, right.
And a fucking a country song

2287
01:58:45,000 --> 01:58:48,960
with slide guitar and and it's
great song.

2288
01:58:49,160 --> 01:58:51,880
And he goes, yeah, that's I'm
going to, I got to find a way to

2289
01:58:51,880 --> 01:58:53,560
tour this.
And I'm like, yeah, well, you

2290
01:58:53,560 --> 01:58:55,120
can't.
The cat's out of the bag.

2291
01:58:55,120 --> 01:58:57,160
That's called Suno.
And it's really easy.

2292
01:58:57,200 --> 01:58:59,920
That was a year ago.
You could say, tell the singer,

2293
01:58:59,920 --> 01:59:01,960
I want the singer to have an
English accent.

2294
01:59:02,240 --> 01:59:06,400
And no, I want you want that.
I want the singer to be you.

2295
01:59:06,400 --> 01:59:08,920
Know I want the singer.
To be a woman instead of a man.

2296
01:59:09,040 --> 01:59:12,320
I mean, you can just I want the
singer to be on time.

2297
01:59:12,880 --> 01:59:14,760
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Or off time.

2298
01:59:15,040 --> 01:59:17,640
How about make it off?
Time that'd be even funnier yeah

2299
01:59:18,000 --> 01:59:22,440
alright guys I I love you guys
to death we love you too so kind

2300
01:59:22,440 --> 01:59:24,480
of you to do it I'm still.
Going to kill and fire.

2301
01:59:24,480 --> 01:59:27,360
And crush Sarah.
But Oh no, don't do any of those

2302
01:59:27,360 --> 01:59:28,720
things.
You know what, pal?

2303
01:59:28,880 --> 01:59:29,880
You.
Don't have that.

2304
01:59:29,880 --> 01:59:31,400
You don't.
You don't have that in you.

2305
01:59:31,800 --> 01:59:35,040
No, I know I don't.
No, I appreciate it the.

2306
01:59:35,160 --> 01:59:38,280
The love has been felt good, so
that's the intent.

2307
01:59:38,680 --> 01:59:39,640
Thank you guys.
Happy new.

2308
01:59:39,720 --> 01:59:41,320
Year.
Alright, take care.

2309
01:59:41,720 --> 02:00:18,120
Bye bye.
The.

2310
02:00:54,760 --> 02:00:54,840
The.