Watch & Listen
The Algorithm
Paris Roubaix – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris%E2%80%93Roubaix
New Music
Panchiko – Ginkgo
https://open.spotify.com/album/1YO3Eb228rrhTC0gKgGxSW?si=hBNiaCXdTvOGp45irEAbXw
Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE
https://open.spotify.com/album/3L3UjpXtom6T0Plt1j6l1T?si=hdwT75JuQBWvMAH36RxQUg
Guest – Kevin Stewert | Bartender
- How do I get your attention?
- What do drink orders say about people?
- Bad tinder dates?
- Bartender stories?
- Gojira – https://open.spotify.com/artist/0GDGKpJFhVpcjIGF8N6Ewt?si=WSOUyRzXQ-GVnQW7ZiU2mQ
- Wu-Tang and American Saga
Summary
In this engaging conversation, Kevin shares his journey from working in retail to becoming a bartender at the Balboa Bar and Grill in San Diego. He discusses the role of a bar back, the intricacies of crafting drinks, and the importance of connecting with customers. The conversation also delves into the flow state experienced while bartending and entertaining stories from the bar, including navigating customer preferences and memorable interactions. In this engaging conversation, the hosts share humorous and insightful stories from their experiences in the bar industry, discussing everything from awkward encounters between patrons to the changing drinking habits of younger generations. They also delve into the music that sets the atmosphere in bars, highlighting the diverse tastes of both bartenders and customers. In this engaging conversation, the hosts delve into their diverse music preferences, discussing everything from hip hop to metal, and the impact of music on their lives. They share insights on how to effectively close a bar, the challenges of finding new music, and the artistry behind lyricism in rap. The discussion also highlights unique music discoveries, including Panchiko and Black MIDI, showcasing the evolving landscape of music and the joy of sharing recommendations.
takeaways
- Kevin transitioned from retail to bartending, finding joy in the change.
- The role of a bar back is crucial for a smooth bartending experience.
- Crafting drinks can lead to a flow state, enhancing the bartending experience.
- Understanding customer preferences is key to providing great service.
- Bartending is not just about drinks; it’s about connecting with people.
- Kevin enjoys the social aspect of bartending, meeting new people regularly.
- The bar environment can lead to unexpected and entertaining stories.
- Navigating drink orders requires skill and intuition from bartenders.
- The camaraderie among staff can create a seamless work experience.
- Kevin’s experiences highlight the art and culture of bartending. Awkward encounters can lead to unexpected connections.
- Younger generations are drinking less and opting for non-alcoholic options.
- Bartenders often have to navigate difficult customer interactions.
- The music played in bars can greatly influence the atmosphere.
- Classic rock is often seen as the most unoffensive bar music.
- Gojira is a standout band that has gained attention recently.
- Bartenders have unique stories that reflect the culture of their establishments.
- The dynamics of drinking culture are shifting with each generation.
- Humor can diffuse tense situations in a bar setting.
- Regulars who don’t drink still contribute to the bar’s social environment. Molly loves a band reminiscent of the Beastie Boys.
- Run the Jewels and Wu Tang are favorites for their hard-hitting style.
- The Hulu series ‘Wu Tang: An American Saga’ is a well-made reenactment.
- Closing time at a bar involves clear communication and music management.
- Playing unexpected music can effectively encourage patrons to leave.
- Discovering new music often comes from recommendations and personal connections.
- Panchiko’s story of rediscovery is a testament to the music’s lasting impact.
- Black MIDI’s genre is hard to define but intriguing to explore.
- Lyricism in rap can be both clever and entertaining.
- Prof’s music combines humor with serious lyricism, making it enjoyable.
Transcript
Kevin (00:00)
Right? Well, it’s that their, that their brand or something. Anyway, one of, one of our thing. Yeah. Yeah.
Vince Marotte (00:03)
Yeah, Kroger bought every- they bought everybody.
my audio working now? Thanks. Now I’m elite. Well, cool.
The J-Man (00:10)
Yeah, yeah, I was working before too.
Kevin (00:12)
I heard you. You sound…
The J-Man (00:15)
It sounds like
it. Yeah.
Kevin (00:17)
Yeah, you sound a little more filtered now. Yeah.
The J-Man (00:19)
Yeah, like ABC Studios all of a sudden.
Vince Marotte (00:22)
Because my headphones
were my microphone for the first part of the podcast I didn’t turn on this mic so I’ve been talking into nothing for for half an hour but It worked I I can’t I can’t tell until it’s all over But let’s talk let’s let’s back up kev. How’d you get into this? Like what’s the what’s the route? What’s your story?
The J-Man (00:29)
Did the other one work? Did the other one work? Okay, it all worked. Okay, okay.
Kevin (00:30)
It worked.
Yeah.
Honestly,
so I was, I was working at Vans at the time, just doing retail, which is horrible. But I got a bunch of cool shit out of it. 50 % off, but I was working there. Yeah, exactly. I know. Well, yes, I was working there and I was like, you know, I’m gonna…
Vince Marotte (00:50)
Right.
Yeah.
I still have stuff from working in retail like wetsuits and working at a shop.
Kevin (01:10)
I’d like some weekends free and my wife, Molly works at a very neighborhood staple bar. She’s been there about 15, 16 years up the street from her house. And one of the bartenders there was getting, was getting together, making a bar menu for this new place. I was about to open in Bankers Hill, you know, whatever down the, down the way.
This is all irrelevant to you. These neighborhoods, I’m just trying to do it up here. But, and so he’s like, Hey, so we’re going to have music. We’re going to do this. And, so on weekends, we’re going to have music. So we’re going to need a door guy. And I was like, okay. They’re like, you want to do it? I was like, sure. I’ll do, know, Friday and Saturday, if you need it. They’re like, cool. So I go into like, meet with the, with the owner before they were even open. I was just went into, know, do a little, I pretty much have the job, but he wanted to meet me and see, you know,
Vince Marotte (01:40)
Yeah.
The J-Man (01:41)
good.
Kevin (02:07)
see what I was about. And it was actually hilarious because I had like broken my foot a little before that skateboarding. So I walk up with a cane. This guy like kind of gives me the eye like, so you’re supposed to my door guy and you got like a cane and you’re hobbling and I was like, it’s a skateboarding injury. I’ll be fine and give me like a week and I’ll be on my foot. And he’s like, okay. Yeah, that kind of threw me off anyway.
Vince Marotte (02:16)
Nice.
Yeah.
Right.
Kevin (02:35)
So I started as a door guy, started doing that and I’d say three weeks, maybe probably under a month into it. He’s like, Hey, we’ve never had a bar back here before, uh, but we’re getting busier. Do you want to try to jump in the bar next week and you know, learn the, learn the system? And I’m like, yeah, sure. And this was all in 2015. So it’s been just over 10 years there. And yeah, from being a bar back.
He’s just like, by the way, we need someone to do this shift bartending. So good luck, And so I just got thrown into the.
Vince Marotte (03:12)
I was hoping the
cane would factor in here for, you know, like, I’m keeping the cane for suckers who don’t know what time it is.
Kevin (03:18)
You know, I still have
the cane. Yeah, I guess the cane had nothing to do with it. I just thought it was a funny thing that I was supposed to be the door guy and I walk in with a cane. But yeah, now I’m here 10 years later.
Vince Marotte (03:26)
That’s good. No that good storytelling is detail. Yeah, it’s Okay, I’ve heard the term bar back
and I have a vague understanding of what a bar back is Get tell tell me what that is
Kevin (03:40)
So
a bar back’s just basically the bartender’s assistant. They typically don’t pour, but they’ll fill your ice, get you a new bottle once this one’s out, fill up your mixers, garnishes, you know what I mean? Just kind of set you up and make sure that everything is ready for the bartender to just be at
Vince Marotte (03:47)
Okay.
Right.
squeezing limes.
Kevin (04:08)
as efficient as possible.
The J-Man (04:10)
That’s gotta
Vince Marotte (04:10)
Right.
The J-Man (04:10)
be a tough kind of dance though. Like I can see that being like, it could go sideways quick, man. Cause you have that expectation of keeping the flow. There’s gotta be like a flow state that as Vince mentioned. Yeah.
Kevin (04:12)
Dude, it’s a, it’s it’s brutal.
Yeah.
Yep.
Vince Marotte (04:22)
You gotta be in sync.
Kevin (04:23)
There is,
and that’s the thing about like, so where I work, we don’t have bar backs. He literally just created that position to get me behind the bar and get me trained and stuff. So I was the first and last bar back there, but yeah, where I work, I do everything. If a keg blows, I got to change it. I got to get my own ice. got to, I do all the heavy lifting and the talking and the drink making and the cleaning and the busing, you know,
Vince Marotte (04:33)
Right.
Right?
Kevin (04:52)
It’s kind of brutal, but for the most part, it’s a pretty easy few hundred bucks every day, you
Vince Marotte (05:02)
Yeah,
I mean it gets it’s social like that. You know when I was there when I was there a couple months ago, you know watching you operate you just For me it was just seemed so natural for you and just knowing you it’s like that that’s Why you know, this this is perfect kevin is doing art right in front of me And that and that it was it was awesome to see that when it’s natural. I was telling telling john earlier like I can tell when a bartender is naturally a bartender like it’s
Kevin (05:06)
Yeah, I love that part.
Yeah.
Vince Marotte (05:32)
It’s their thing. It’s creative. Or someone who’s playing the part of a bartender. And I can tell the difference.
Kevin (05:33)
I-
It’s true. Which
is funny because one of my good friends that works with us has never barged into before, but now he does with us. And he always likes to say he’s all, well, that’s what you get on a personality hire, you know, he’s good at that part. But sometimes I’m like, bro, come on. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Now the bar backing part that sucks.
Vince Marotte (05:44)
Yeah.
Ha ha ha!
I’m a hockey player, but I’m playing golf today. Yeah.
Kevin (06:04)
This is honestly the only bar I’ve ever worked at. So I don’t know how I know how a lot of places work just cause I have a bunch of friends in the industry and I’ll go hang out at places, but this is the only one I’ve ever worked at. So I’ve never had to be like a gnarly bar back or. You know, change some people. only have four taps. Some people have 50 to a hundred taps. it’s like pretty small operation, but pretty damn busy.
Vince Marotte (06:07)
Right.
The J-Man (06:08)
you
Vince Marotte (06:27)
Right.
Yeah, it’s not the yard house over there. It’s a perfect little bar. It’s a perfect little bar. What’s your bar called? Just for a bunny. Where is it?
Kevin (06:34)
It’s fun, No, yeah. It’s fun though. Yeah. It’s called
the Balboa Bar and Grill in Bankers Hill, San Diego. Yeah. Voted best burger. No. At one point I was, you know, trying to get my pocket in the place a little, then COVID happened and I was like, you know, we almost shut down. We pretty much announced that we were going to shut down.
The J-Man (06:42)
Oh cool. Are you the owner there?
Vince Marotte (07:02)
Right.
Kevin (07:02)
And
we got saved by expanding. But yeah, after COVID, I was like, I’m just going to be the bartender guy. Yeah.
Vince Marotte (07:09)
Yeah, what the headache headache of having an ownership stake
Well, then let’s let’s talk drink orders Do you? You know, i’m gonna i’m gonna throw my wife under the bus because we’ve been driving for years trying to figure out what her go-to drink orders because I know I have it i’ll read the bar, you know if it’s a if it’s a you know dive bar, know, i’m gonna get a beer or You know, it’s assuming i’m not driving and I can drink at will
Kevin (07:16)
Yes.
Yeah.
Vince Marotte (07:38)
When I was at your place, I was driving, so I couldn’t really get into it. But about a dive bar, I’m just, and I read the bartender, I’m like, I’m just gonna stick with a Jack and Coke because I don’t trust your game. And if it’s a more legit bar, like a hotel bar with pretty good liquor, I’ll get a Manhattan, sometimes I’ll get a maple Manhattan. Or when it’s an elite bar, I have a drink that…
Kevin (07:38)
Yes, yes.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Vince Marotte (08:05)
You know is is chartreuse based that I love and I go for that one You know, I think we talked about the variant the yeah, the final say variant which is got rye Yeah, that’s my go-to at a nice bar. But know, my wife is I gotta have a conversation with bartender every time I don’t like it fruity, you know, and sometimes she it’s hit or miss we haven’t found like her go-to You know, how do you read people’s drink orders?
Kevin (08:10)
You know, last word, final word.
The J-Man (08:13)
I don’t say, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Kevin (08:14)
I’ll say
Okay.
Yeah.
You know, if people are like that and they’re like, well, I’m like, what do you typically drink? I’ll start with that question. And then, cause I need to know something. I don’t know this person, you know, I’m not going to assume this girl wants a margarita because it’s summer and she’s blonde. I’m who knows, maybe she’s going to have a beer and a shot of Yeager. never know. So I always, if they’re uncertain,
Vince Marotte (08:44)
Right.
Right.
Right.
The J-Man (09:01)
Yeah, or or a truly or
a truly but yeah.
Kevin (09:03)
Yeah, exactly. Hey, we’re a white club already.
Vince Marotte (09:03)
You
Yeah.
Kevin (09:07)
No, but uh, every time someone’s like that, I’ll be like, you know, what do typically drink? they’re like, I don’t know. was like, do you want a beer or do you want liquor or cocktail? And they’re like, yeah, cocktail. And I’m like, do you want something sweet? And there’s just those, you just got to kind of nudge them in the right direction. I’m like, okay, well, do you want to taste it more like tequila or you want to just do a vodka drink? And then, you know, just, and then they, they’re, they’re wheels start turning. They’re like,
Vince Marotte (09:22)
Right.
Kevin (09:31)
Oh, that’s right. I had that one. I don’t know. There was this and that I was like, you know, I’ll make something like that. I’ll get you a game later or something. And it’s just like an easy one to drink and they love it. It just
Vince Marotte (09:38)
Right.
The J-Man (09:40)
You get the mat
in a cup and you just pour whatever’s in the mat into the cup. Yes.
Kevin (09:42)
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Vince Marotte (09:44)
Yeah.
Kevin (09:47)
Unless it’s the beginning of the shift, I’m sorry I don’t have much in there. But yeah, you gotta guide people, you know? Because some people, it’s as if they’ve never walked outside their house before. You know? Some people just need their hand held and that’s fine.
Vince Marotte (10:05)
Those people are always
in the self checkout line at the grocery store. Have you, have you ever used money before or bought something?
Kevin (10:08)
Yeah.
The J-Man (10:09)
you
Kevin (10:12)
Yeah. Or yeah,
it’s the same with like talking on the phone with people because we have, we take phone orders for our food, which is like a huge part of our business. And sometimes I’m just like, okay, I, I spoke. It is your turn. Have you talked on the phone before, But you know, that’s
Vince Marotte (10:19)
Right.
Ha ha ha!
It’s just,
there’s generational thing there happening. What’s the, is there a drink when someone or is it like, I know you’re, you’re disciplined and you’re not roll, not rolling your eyes, but, but, inside you’re dying. What are those drinks? I want to avoid those.
Kevin (10:36)
True.
that you like, Mentally rolling my eyes.
So really anything you have to muddle, which we streamlined one of our, we have this jalapeno margarita and it’s great. It’s got the jalapeno and the pineapple juice and it’s delicious, but we used to muddle it, but we streamlined that. Now we just infuse the tequila with the jalapeno. So it’s like, okay, no more muddling.
Vince Marotte (10:52)
Okay.
Right.
Right.
Kevin (11:17)
Even that’s kind of a pain in the ass dream because you got to rim it. Then there’s a bunch of different steps than shake it. But it’s really just the muddling and making something. Sometimes it’s just pouring a shot because I don’t want to help anyone because I want to go home. But you won’t see it on my face.
Vince Marotte (11:21)
Right.
So like a traditional
old-fashioned, you’re muddling, right? And then you’re muddling with, what’s that minty kind of thing in the Tom Collins? What’s that guy?
Kevin (11:39)
Yeah, the-
Well, mean, you
also don’t get it wrong or don’t get me wrong. I do make drinks for a living, but I am no mixologist. know a lot of cocktails, but I’m not a fancy bartender. So,
Vince Marotte (11:54)
Right. Yeah.
No.
You’re the every man, but you’re also not the dive bar. I’ll just open you a tall boy of PBR. Yeah. Yeah.
Kevin (12:07)
No, I love when that happens. It’s very easy, but,
but no, can, I can, I can make cocktails, but there’s just so many.
Vince Marotte (12:14)
Right.
Kevin (12:17)
There’s also drinks. I’ll tell someone I’m like, I’m not sure how to make that. I’ve heard of it. If you want, could Google it. If not, you can get something else if you’d like. I’m sorry. And they’re like, no problem. 10 out of 10 times. They’re like, it’s fine. But pretty much in my bar, any sort of drink that you have to muddle or rim because sometimes people will get the jalapeno margarita, but they’ll want it with mezcal and we don’t have that infused. So then I still have to muddle it.
Vince Marotte (12:25)
Right. Right.
Right?
Uhhhh
Kevin (12:48)
And, like, what are they called again? bloody Marys. Those are pretty annoying if you’re not set up for it because we’re not really that place. I mean, yeah, pretty much. I’m people do it. Yeah. And it’s exactly, dude, I put whole ass burgers on there. It’s crazy. But the worst thing about.
Vince Marotte (12:57)
Who’s drinking those at night? I’m kicking that guy out. This isn’t brunch, bro.
The J-Man (13:02)
It’s the garnish though on a Bloody Mary
that gets exciting. Like I’ve seen some wild stuff. Yeah, pizza, chicken wings.
Vince Marotte (13:11)
Bacon, celery, ugh.
Kevin (13:18)
The worst thing about like a Bloody Mary, something like that is it is obviously a Bloody Mary, you know what I mean? And so when people see it, they’re like, shit, I didn’t know they had those. And then everyone else comes up and starts ordering them. So it’s that, it’s that domino effect. That’s pretty cool.
The J-Man (13:24)
the V8.
Vince Marotte (13:37)
Okay, tell me, is there really a difference between mezcal and tequila? Or is it just pretentiousness?
Kevin (13:46)
I mean, you’ve tasted them both, right?
Vince Marotte (13:48)
I mean, I’ve only, I don’t drink either straight up. So when I’ve had them in drinks, it’s the same to me.
Kevin (13:52)
I
So there is a difference. I don’t know exactly. You know who does know everything there is to know about tequila and mezcal is DJ. He’s the fancy bartender. I am not.
Vince Marotte (13:57)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah,
he wears the waistcoat and the rolled sleeve. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he’s like old school, yeah.
Kevin (14:12)
and his old cuffs.
But yeah, he knows all that. I know it’s also a…
geographical like, I’m pretty sure Oaxaca is where like if you say it will hawk in old fashioned, that pretty much means pardon me, a mezcal old fashioned. And it’s just a, I think it’s the way it’s stored or aged or so it’s it’s smoky. It’s yeah, I don’t know, man. I really don’t know. Google would know Google and DJ know
Vince Marotte (14:34)
Okay.
It’s the same plant basically,
The J-Man (14:44)
So,
Kevin, what I’m curious about is, know, Vince was sharing the heart of what the conversation is with all this about staying connected to culture and art and just being dudes in the middle of it all and the struggles of trying to stay connected to the things that just really give us a lot of life. Like for you with where you’re at with this, being the artist that you are.
Kevin (14:56)
Yeah. Yeah.
The J-Man (15:14)
Where do you find your expression of that within this environment of the bar that you find yourself in, whether it be, is it through, do you ever have moments when you’re just like crafting a drink and you’re just, you find yourself just putting it together like in sort of like a zone or like from this place?
Vince Marotte (15:35)
or even a conversation that just gets, you’re just like, I’m in flow right now.
Kevin (15:39)
I
mean, yeah, sometimes, honestly, it’s like working with, like, everyone who works there is my friend, you know what I mean? For the most part. And when I work with one of my best friends, that’s kind of, it’s almost like, you know, we don’t even have to like talk and it’s just this flow we have going on. Like someone will start ordering with me and my
Vince Marotte (15:51)
Right.
Kevin (16:07)
boys behind me already putting it in and then already getting the drink started. And then it’s just like this, there is like this beautiful little
Vince Marotte (16:18)
flow state.
Kevin (16:19)
Yeah, it’s just, look and I’m like, wow, three hours went by and this tip jar is just full now. And I don’t even remember. swear I just clocked in sort of thing. And it is kind of like this flow state and I love talking to people. That’s like kind of my thing when I’m at the bar, like I love meeting new people or trying to get this grumpy guy to smile. You know what I mean? Or like trying to get this loud lady to be quiet, but still have fun with me. You know what I mean? It’s just like a
Vince Marotte (16:34)
Yeah.
Right.
Kevin (16:49)
The whole flow of like the people going in and out and especially being in a town like San Diego, there’s, we’re kind of right by the airport. There’s just so many people from all over and it’s, it’s fascinating. Honestly.
Vince Marotte (16:57)
Right.
or help
a Tinder date that’s nosediving. Give me a Tinder date story.
The J-Man (17:04)
Hehehehehe
Kevin (17:05)
Oh yeah, those are rough dude.
Well, actually this wasn’t that long ago. There was this guy, he’s like, oh I’m just, waiting for someone. And I’m like, okay, well whenever you’re ready, just come on up here. I was just like clearing a plate or doing something and I was like, hey, if you want, and he’s like, no, I know, I got to order up there. just, I’m waiting for someone. And I was like, all right, kind of gave him that. He’s like, know, kind of an awkward guy. And I was like, hey, that’s cool.
Vince Marotte (17:27)
Yeah.
Kevin (17:35)
And then he was, there was like three people in the bar. was pretty, it was kind of right when I opened. And then I see this girl walk in and she kind of looks lost. I was like, this is definitely her. Anyway, so the girl walks like straight.
Vince Marotte (17:41)
Right.
Right.
At a first
glance, did they look compatible? Were they like in the same league visually? Okay.
The J-Man (17:56)
Okay.
Kevin (17:59)
No, no, they’re,
I don’t even know if they’re playing the same sport. It was, but the dude looked, he was a very sweet dude. Don’t get me wrong, but he looked like very timid and he looked uncomfortable to even be at that place. I think he probably thought it was like a restaurant, but then he saw like the bar and there was just like corn playing on the jukebox and like,
Vince Marotte (18:03)
Ha ha ha.
The J-Man (18:04)
boy.
Vince Marotte (18:14)
Right.
The J-Man (18:19)
Yeah.
Kevin (18:21)
This girl walks in and she seems like, you know, pretty cool. She has a couple like tattoos and she walks in like pretty confident. She’s like, Hey, how you doing? I was like, cool. Um, whenever you’re ready, just come up. then she’s all, yeah, I’m meeting someone here. And I was like, cool. That’s what I hear. And he, walks right past this guy. And so I was like, maybe she doesn’t know what he looks like, or maybe he lied. I don’t know. He walks right. Yeah. Someone lied.
Vince Marotte (18:45)
Or somebody lied, yeah.
Kevin (18:48)
So she walks right past goes, there’s like two steps that go down into this like lower area with more tables and a pool table and like TVs. so she walks down there and you can’t write this shit. Like there’s a wall between them and she’s sitting at the same side at the same table. And I’m, like, I’m pretty sure they’re waiting for each other. There is an opening, but, but the opening is like right here.
The J-Man (19:07)
guys
Vince Marotte (19:10)
And there’s like an opening. Yeah.
The J-Man (19:14)
It’s like being at a urinal.
Kevin (19:16)
It’s like right. Yeah. And they’re like right next to each other. And I was like, this is hilarious. I’m going to go see if I can help anyone out in this situation. So I go up to him first. And I was like, do you know what this person’s name is? And then he said like, oh, Sarah, I don’t know, Sarah or something. And I was like, okay. And I go like this. I’m like, Sarah. And she, she’s all, oh no, I’m not Sarah. And I was like, oh.
Vince Marotte (19:17)
Right.
The J-Man (19:18)
you
Vince Marotte (19:23)
Right.
Mm-hmm.
Kevin (19:45)
I was trying so hard to make this happen right now. And there was, and it happened to not be her, but then at the same time, both their dates like showed up. And then the girl that was with the dude was like pretty, cute and sweet and timid like him. was like, this is perfect. Let’s put you in the quiet corner over here. But the whole time I was so convinced that they were just blissfully just sitting there waiting behind this.
Vince Marotte (19:48)
no.
The J-Man (20:04)
my gosh. What?
Vince Marotte (20:04)
Right.
The J-Man (20:10)
there for each other.
Vince Marotte (20:13)
Ha ha ha!
Kevin (20:15)
behind
this wall, not even knowing each other were there, but I’ve seen some. Yeah. I think the, I think the, the girl that was down there, I think she knew the person. The other one looked like it was pretty new and they, you know, they, they both kind of, you know, at first and then, you know, and then they kind of loosened up and had a couple of drinks and they’re having fun. I was like, I like to see the transition of that too, or the people that just get off work and they’re just like, just like a Jack and Coke.
Vince Marotte (20:18)
Did their separate dates seem to go okay? Not good.
Right. Right.
Kevin (20:45)
And then like two Jack and Cokes later, they’re like, yeah, I’ll do another one, man. And they’re like smiling. I was like, good for you, man. You’re not at the office anymore. Yeah.
Vince Marotte (20:49)
This is working. Now
on that tip, are the young people, yourself included, the young people drinking? The numbers say they’re not drinking as much as they used to.
Kevin (21:03)
dudes.
You know, that is funny. I’ve I’ve also like seen that and to be honest, I see it both ways. I do I do have a lot of people coming in getting NA beers, believe it or not. And then a lot of people just getting like, waters or sodas, but they’re there for a while. Like, I have a bunch of regulars that don’t drink that hang out for like two hours and just hang out and watch.
Vince Marotte (21:17)
Right.
Right.
Right.
Kevin (21:31)
sports or hockey or, you know, TV and, and then leave and have like a burger. But there’s a lot. Yeah. And my, and like the millennials, it, it’s kind of 50 50. Cause most people don’t really, the cool thing is I see both ways. Cause we do have food, which is like our main thing kind of, but we are a full bar. So some people come to drink, some people come to eat and some people come to do both, but.
Vince Marotte (21:56)
Right.
Kevin (22:02)
in yeah people my age I feel like are drinking less. I think it’s more like not my age like younger. I think this more like like Gen Z are drinking less like the kids they’ll come in they’re like no I’m good and I’m like but you’re so cool looking and good for you you don’t need to drink.
Vince Marotte (22:11)
Yeah, the… Yeah. Yep.
The J-Man (22:18)
the
Vince Marotte (22:19)
Well, the Gen Z have grown up in an era,
especially in California and some states where they’ve had access to the sticky icky, the devil’s lettuce, the jazz cabbage. Which is better in my opinion. As I get older, for me, if I’m going to drink after about 7 p.m., am counting on a bad night’s sleep, even if it’s just a couple drinks. Because I’ve never really liked to get drunk because it’s
Kevin (22:27)
Yeah, they’re California sober.
The J-Man (22:30)
Yeah.
Kevin (22:41)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Vince Marotte (22:47)
I feel terrible the next day and I value my sleep so much. So drinking is a very social thing for me. I might go weeks without it, but the THC, you know, I’d feel much better on that than I do on alcohol. But it sounds like the Gen Z’s and Alphas are drinking way less. I’d be… For better or worse.
Kevin (22:49)
Yeah.
Sleep’s great.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes, I agree with that. It is weird though, because I don’t hang out with them, so I don’t know. But the ones that come in, I guess, now that you mention it, don’t drink as much. But yeah, that is weird. I have seen that.
Vince Marotte (23:19)
Right.
The J-Man (23:27)
I wonder if
people just think it’s, you know, realize it’s cheaper just to buy a bottle and mix it up at home, you know, that money playing a part of that.
Kevin (23:34)
I mean
Vince Marotte (23:35)
We pregame a little bit home, yeah.
Kevin (23:37)
Yeah,
I should. tell people that sometimes I’m like, are you like, you know, someone who’s there, obviously not having a good time. And I’m like, you’re not talking to anyone. You’re not doing anything. Why don’t you just do this at home? I mean, no offense. You can be here. I’ll take your money all day, but dog, you could have bought it. Yeah. I mean, yeah, exactly.
Vince Marotte (23:44)
Yeah.
not efficient. 30-packet PBR is 18 bucks or something like that.
The J-Man (24:00)
Yeah
Vince Marotte (24:06)
Well give me, give us a bartender, give us some bartender stories. The wild, the wild stuff.
Kevin (24:07)
But.
Well, so, this is one of my all time favorite stories. So this was around, this was like Halloween weekend. This was when we were just, Vince, I know you’ve been there. You sat at the bar. So it used to be just that shotgun style bar from like the door to the back and the sides weren’t open. So it was just small bars. this, we didn’t have a lot of room and it was pretty busy.
Vince Marotte (24:20)
Nice, nice.
Yeah.
Right.
Kevin (24:43)
And we had this rule, which is crazy. It’s not crazy, but it’s crazy that it has to be a rule. When people order to go, they have to take it to go, you know what I mean? Sort of thing, because that’s like cutting the line. If I have the whole place just packed full, I’m like, literally have nowhere for you to sit, I can…
Vince Marotte (24:52)
Ha ha ha.
Call ahead, grab it, yeah.
Kevin (25:12)
You know, you wait for a table when you go to a restaurant, don’t you? Okay, I get it that it’s like bar service, whatever. But there’s nowhere to sit and I can’t put plates on the ground. You know what I mean? So we often when we were small, this doesn’t happen much anymore because we have way more seating. We would have to be like, okay, well, I can do something to go unless you want to wait for a table to open up. And then people will be like, okay, I’ll do it to go. And so
Vince Marotte (25:14)
Right.
Right.
Kevin (25:42)
this big, this group of like probably eight or nine people, which was big when, when it was a smaller place. Again, it was like Halloween weekend. Yeah, exactly. was a pretty big group and they were all together. And so they’re all, they all agreed. They’re like, okay, yeah, we’ll do it to go. And then this table opened up. This was one of those guys that immediately I was like, this guy’s going to be a problem. So a few of them already ordered, including this gentleman I’m going to tell you about. Then I.
Vince Marotte (25:49)
That’s big anywhere, yeah.
Right.
Kevin (26:12)
A small table opened up, but I already had a couple that was waiting for that table. So the guy went and he sat down at that table and was like, this is my table. And the couple walked up or they came up to me and they’re like, yeah, I thought we were going to, was like, yes, that is your table. Hold on. So I walked around the bar and I went to him. was like, hey, bud, these young folks were waiting for that table. If you want to get up, you can get the, you already ordered your thing to go, but you know, we’ll see. And then he’s all.
Vince Marotte (26:15)
Right.
Kevin (26:42)
just zero to 60. He’s like, this fucking table I just sat down just getting and I was like, all right, this is going to be fine. I was like, I was like, yeah, man. I told them they were next. They ordered before you. That’s their table because they ordered it for here. You ordered it to go. And I also told you if you order it to go, you have to take it to go. So you don’t need a table. And then his wife’s like, are you fucking serious? And I was like, yes, I’m serious.
Vince Marotte (26:44)
Ha
The J-Man (26:49)
man.
Kevin (27:10)
And then I went back around and they got up from the table and the poor couple like sat down like, I’m sorry. didn’t mean to stir shit up. I’m like, felt bad for them because I’m like, it’s not your fault. This guy’s just being an asshole. And so I went back to the take more orders because I was in the middle of that. And then the people, some people they were with like the end of their group, I was just about to take their order. were the next ones. And right as I took their order, they were very nice. They were very sweet. they’re like,
Vince Marotte (27:16)
Yeah.
The J-Man (27:17)
jeez.
Kevin (27:38)
Cool, thank you. And then Mike left the tip right there. And the guy walks up, the asshole guy walks up and he’s like, no. And he’s like, don’t waste your money here and grabs the tip. And I grabbed his arm. was like, that is my money now. That is not your money or their money. They gave it to me as a tip. And I took it out of his hand. And he’s like, fuck that, fuck that. None of us are going here. I was like, all right, cancel this guy’s thing. And I was like, well, you can leave.
wife comes up and she’s like, I was like, you can also leave, get the fuck out of my bar is pretty much what I said. And they’re like, okay. And then just like, they got out. And before they left, this is the point of the story. This, I was wearing a strawberry costume and he’s like, well, I don’t want you. And so I was being, I know that’s why I brought up, that’s why I brought up the Halloween weekend. So I was wearing a strawberry and I was being dead serious with this guy with a little, with a little.
Vince Marotte (28:25)
That’s relevant information!
The J-Man (28:28)
Plot twist.
Ha
ha ha!
Kevin (28:38)
things
off in a big like pretty much a throw over strawberry thing. And I’m just arguing with this guy and he’s like, you know what, I don’t want your food you fucking strawberry. And like throws the money back on the table and just leaves. Also, I don’t know, man. And everyone else was like, sorry, that guy’s an asshole. And I like your strawberry costume. I was like, I’m like, thank you. And then the guy sitting at the bar was like,
The J-Man (28:41)
Ha!
Hahaha!
Vince Marotte (28:52)
are you yelling at a strawberry?
The J-Man (28:54)
Yeah.
Hahaha!
Kevin (29:04)
Did you just do all of that wearing a strawberry costume? I was like, I did. I didn’t even think about it, but toughest strawberry run.
The J-Man (29:06)
No.
Vince Marotte (29:08)
That’s elite.
The J-Man (29:11)
it.
I wanted to have seen that moment when you grabbed his arm and looked at him and said, that’s my money with with the strawberry.
Vince Marotte (29:12)
That’s elite.
Kevin (29:18)
Well, that’s the thing. Yeah,
this guy was a big guy too, whatever.
The J-Man (29:23)
Did he have
anything on? Was he dressed as a
Kevin (29:25)
No, no, he had like a couple of them were like this one girl was like, believe it or not, like a, a nurse. yeah, sexy nurse. And then they were like, probably I’d say Vince, they’re probably your age. If that’s around your age too. I’m in 2029. You’re around there. Yeah. But, it was just funny being called a fucking strawberry.
The J-Man (29:36)
boy. boy.
Vince Marotte (29:54)
That’s amazing.
The J-Man (29:54)
my god.
Kevin (29:55)
And it’s like
as if I didn’t know I was wearing that. And he had nothing else to say.
Vince Marotte (29:58)
Does
it work to like, I’ve never been in that situation where I’ve had to like deal with a bad customer, you know, my short time in retail. But, you know, when they’re with a bigger party, is it better to like go to somebody else versus the main perpetrator? Be like, hey, take care of your boy.
Kevin (30:08)
Yeah.
So I will start there. I’ll be like, hey, is he good? know, kind of ask. And most of the time, there’s some, I always pick someone who I’m like, all right, this person definitely has their shit together a little more than everyone else and is probably the babysitter. Cause we’re not always the first stop, you know? But I’ll usually go to them and be like, hey, is your boy good? And almost every single time,
Vince Marotte (30:18)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kevin (30:47)
they have a touch of like embarrassment back there. So they’re always immediately like, yeah, don’t worry. He’s not going to drink anymore. She’s not, they’re done. And I’m like, all right, well I’m holding you to that and I’ll tell them. And then they really feel like they have to, you know, so it is good to go to someone first sometimes unless it’s just egregious. Like this guy went around bat or went to this area downstairs.
Vince Marotte (30:50)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The J-Man (31:04)
Keep them in check.
Vince Marotte (31:08)
Right.
Kevin (31:16)
and just started peeing inside. It’s like, it’s stuff like that where, or if someone brings their own alcohol and I’m like, Nope, get out of here. Because it’s like a big no-no.
Vince Marotte (31:18)
UGH
The J-Man (31:18)
boy.
Vince Marotte (31:27)
feel like the peeing is a call the police situation.
Kevin (31:30)
Yeah,
well, I got the guy out. I literally just grabbed him and dragged him out. It was like a, no, was a bundle of grapes. No, that was a, No, I was just trying to see how to navigate through people and not get like pee on my leg, But no, I wasn’t dressed as anything.
Vince Marotte (31:37)
Were you dressed as a strawberry for the pier? No.
The J-Man (31:44)
fruit of the loom
Vince Marotte (31:46)
Ba-dum-tsh.
Right?
Kevin (31:59)
I actually wasn’t even wearing clothes, I don’t think. Yeah. yeah.
Vince Marotte (32:01)
Right. Let’s let’s talk music bar music. So just set the scene
for everybody. Like the Balboa is it’s a pretty like I would say standard bar. You know, it’s not like it’s not a I would. Yeah, I wouldn’t call it a dive bar. And it’s not like the the quiet, you know, speakeasy with, you know, twenty eight dollar without ten. You know, it’s in there. We’re like in a fairly good liquor selection. Not not not super
Kevin (32:13)
Yeah, like you guys were talking about, right?
It has dive tendencies.
Vince Marotte (32:31)
you know, tap heavy, just a solid bar. Good neighborhood bar, yeah. And so just set the tone there. What’s the music? What’s the good stuff? What’s the annoying stuff?
Kevin (32:33)
Yeah, just kind of a little bit of everything.
The J-Man (32:45)
Is it customer driven?
do you have a thing, an app?
Kevin (32:48)
So
I, so typically we have, I don’t know. don’t even know if this is whatever. It’s probably legal. Anyway, we have Spotify just on an iPad. So we just play Spotify and we have this huge, my buddy and I curated this huge playlist. Just that’s longer than anyone’s shift. So it’s great. There’s kind of a bunch of everything.
Vince Marotte (32:56)
Yeah. Right. Right.
Well, that they’ll
get audited every once in while. just, you’ll just get billed every once in a while. Like an auditor will literally walk in the bar and listen and then get a sense. Okay. This is how much they owe the, the, the licensing company that distributes. Yeah.
Kevin (33:16)
Yeah.
Yes.
We also have an AMI jukebox, so that’s like the internet one. So every once in a while…
Vince Marotte (33:27)
Right. Right.
Kevin (33:33)
We’ll get people that, I don’t know, a lot of times people don’t even touch it, but you know, on weekend nights, someone will be like, all right, I’m to do this. And I have the remote. I can skip it if I want to. I typically don’t like to do that. Some others that will be, uh, will remain nameless. I wanna they skip anything if they don’t want to hear it, which is kind of rude. They’re there paying my rent, you know, but I’d say
Vince Marotte (33:44)
Right.
Right.
Kevin (34:01)
There’s a big, depending on who’s working.
Vince Marotte (34:04)
Right.
Kevin (34:07)
It’s actually drastic between different bartenders. Now that I think about it, cause there’s, there’s the guy who just plays, you look at him, you’d never think this. There’s a guy who just plays either white boy reggae or country. And then no white boy reggae, like, like pepper revolution and you know, all those, I don’t know, those Southern California like
The J-Man (34:11)
Interesting.
Vince Marotte (34:22)
Like Bob Marley is white boy reggae or like we’re talking like Alba Rosie.
Okay.
Kevin (34:35)
OB bands. Anyway, so he plays all that stuff. And then someone else plays like kind of stonery, doom metal and like, red thing and just all these, which is cool. I like, I like most of these things. And then me and my buddy usually play kind of a mix of everything. There’s like a bunch of Brit pop. There’s a bunch of just old punk. There’s
Vince Marotte (34:36)
Right.
Right.
Kevin (35:03)
you know, nostalgic, like pop punk early 2000s or like 90s alternative bunch of third eye blind and you know, really just anything you could think of that that is that you can hear without it just being you know, it’s just like, it’s not intrusive. It’s kind like classic rock. If you hear that anywhere, you’re like, I don’t care. I know this song and it’s not bothering me.
Vince Marotte (35:06)
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah, you-
We make fun of the classic rock all
The J-Man (35:28)
Yeah.
Vince Marotte (35:29)
the time because it’s the most unoffensive music. When you’re at like an event, when you’re at like an event, you know, and people want to just play just the most creatively bankrupt, unoffensive music, it almost always ends up being classic rock and they might throw in like a, like a run DMC hip hop song. Right. Like, just mix it up.
Kevin (35:32)
Yes, that’s my point. Yeah.
Yeah, just to be fun. Yeah.
Vince Marotte (35:52)
But what are you listening to lately? Kev? What’s your earworm lately? What are you spinning when it’s you? picking it.
Kevin (35:55)
Sure.
I have so I have so many, you know, I love so many different genres and so much. Um, but I just cannot stop listening to go Giro lately. I don’t know if you know it is metal. Yeah, they’re they’re French. So yeah, they’re French. Yes. Yes. So when I saw that headline, it’s G.
Vince Marotte (36:04)
Right.
As do we.
What is, that sounds like metal, that has a metal name to it.
is that the band that played at the Olympic ceremony? Okay. Okay. How do I spell that? I need to add it to the show notes.
The J-Man (36:23)
wow.
Kevin (36:28)
O J I R A
Vince Marotte (36:32)
Yeah, no, they went hard at the Olympic ceremony.
Kevin (36:32)
Gojira. So
when I saw that headline, it’s like Gojira to play the I thought it was like satire. I was like, there’s no, there’s no way. And then sure enough, I saw the ceremony. I was like, no shit, they really did.
Vince Marotte (36:46)
Dude, that was the
greatest opening ceremony ever.
Kevin (36:49)
dude is fabulous anyway so they’ve been flooding me my also i’m an apple music guy sorry i’m not a spotify guy but i know you know but a lot of that and i i just get on these hip-hop kicks man always
The J-Man (36:50)
it
Vince Marotte (36:59)
It’s okay. It’s all the same.
What’s the
hip-hop? Anything new? Because I’m always looking for the new hip-hop. Plenty old stuff.
Kevin (37:15)
No.
Molly, my wife, she loves… Shit, what are they called? They’re like the new Beastie Boys, pretty much. Joey Valenzembri or something?
Vince Marotte (37:27)
I know who you’re talking about Yeah,
I know you’re talking about but I’ve only really heard it once I’m like that sounds like the Beastie Boys
Kevin (37:34)
Yeah, she likes them. They’re like newer. I know this isn’t like new new, but run the jewels is always great. You know? Yeah, run the jewels rule. Oh, speaking of which I got. We got tickets for San Diego for Wu Tang and run the jewels in June or July. Yeah, the sports arena. gonna be it’s gonna be dope. But yeah, I’ll I’ll just get random hip hop, you know, but listening to a lot of metal and just
Vince Marotte (37:43)
I love Run the Jewels.
It’s on my list.
The J-Man (37:52)
man, that’s awesome.
Vince Marotte (37:58)
Right.
Kevin (38:03)
Just anything, I’m all over the place, man.
Vince Marotte (38:06)
But I sense you like the harder music of the harder varieties from metal hip hop. You have be run the jewels Wu Tang, you know, they’re they’re the metal of hip hop. You know, I’ve been on I’ve been on a liquid swords like I’ve been spinning that for like a month straight, like nonstop.
Kevin (38:10)
I do. Yeah, I a lot of hardcore.
Yeah, exactly. Dude.
Did you
see that Hulu series?
Vince Marotte (38:27)
No!
Kevin (38:28)
it’s, it’s so it’s a drama. It’s yeah. Yeah. It’s called Wu Tang and American Saga. And there’s three seasons of it. It’s actually, it’s good, man. Yeah. It’s, it’s, yeah, it’s a reenactment and it’s yeah. So there’s like actors and some of the casting is just like, that is ODB. You know what I mean? It’s fabulous. Yeah.
Vince Marotte (38:30)
yeah, I saw commercials for it but I never went and I saw it.
Yeah.
Is it like a dramatic reenactment or is it document documentary? Okay.
The J-Man (38:50)
That’s cool. Is it good? Have you found yourself watching all of it, binging it?
Vince Marotte (38:51)
down there.
Kevin (38:55)
I watched
The J-Man (38:55)
Sweet.
Kevin (38:56)
it all and I binged the hell out of it. was like, all right, this is pretty sick. Cause it goes through, cause I know so much about Wu Tang and all the lyrics and their story and where they came from, where this guy’s from, Method Man, you know what I mean? I know all of that and it’s just so fun to see it in the story. feel like, you’re like, that’s, you know, that’s the MPV they were talking about in that song, you know?
Vince Marotte (39:05)
Right.
Kevin (39:22)
There’s a bunch of like lyrical shit they kind of bring up and you’re like, that was a little Easter egg. Cause they say that in this song. It’s kind of cool though. It’s a very, it’s a well-made show and it’s, think it’s like directed by RZA and some of them are written by different, yeah, different members, but it’s good. Good show. Wu-Tang, an American Saga. Hulu, Hulu original.
Vince Marotte (39:28)
Right.
No, big, yeah, big, big fan. No, I dig it.
And then, okay, so it’s time to close the bar. You gotta turn the lights on. People are still there. are you, how do you chase the people out? What’s the song?
Kevin (39:52)
Yeah.
So I always, if we close at 10, last call is 9.30, which a lot of days we do, don’t, you know, and then if we close at one on some days, 12.30 is last call. So I start by, I just pause the music or wait till the song’s over. I, you know, I pause it and I straight up yell. I’ll tell people like right in front me, I’m like, Hey, don’t be alarmed. I’m gonna yell right now.
I’ll do my whole, all right, guys, last call, last call. was like, food is completely done. If you want to get another drink or to close out, come up and see me. Other than that, last call. And I was like, trust me. I pretty much always say, trust me, you will know when I want you out of here. Because I give them, I give them, you know, they got half hour to finish their stuff. Some people like just got their food. So, you know, and then turn the music back on and then everyone, you know,
The J-Man (40:39)
Yeah.
Vince Marotte (40:39)
Hahaha
Kevin (40:52)
the pianist keeps playing like in the
Vince Marotte (40:57)
All time eat ya.
The J-Man (40:58)
Heh.
Kevin (40:58)
Yeah, when the doors open,
The J-Man (40:59)
Heh.
Kevin (41:00)
he stops record scratch. But, I don’t know. People are pretty good about it, but sometimes, you know, I’ll turn on the lights after a few minutes after I call last call, usually 10 minutes after I’ll turn the lights up. And then people are just like, okay, but some people, man, I cannot. They’re just the awareness is non-existent.
Like everyone around them just leaving, going away, doing their thing. And they’re just like, yeah. And they’re, they’ve taken two sips off their beer. I’m like, bro, you’ve been here 25 minutes and you have taken two sips of your beer. I was like, you gotta go. But, uh, people are honestly like almost with everything. People are pretty cool, but I don’t, I don’t play a particular song, but once, once there’s, when there’s people in there, like more than I want to be in there, I will, I’ll start to.
Vince Marotte (41:38)
You
Yeah.
Kevin (41:55)
gently turn the music down and you know gradually and then people will notice I don’t have to yell as loud as I did before and then I’ll just turn it off if this and then I’ll just be like I’ll give them a 10-minute I’ll give them the five-minute warning just be like all right guys drink them up I got to go back to my dogs and you mention your dogs what yeah not really but if I mention my dogs what
Vince Marotte (42:12)
You got bright lights? Yeah. You got some bright lights you can just like make.
The J-Man (42:16)
Flicker around. Man, would drive me
out of there so fast if you struck up closing time. I’d be like, I’m out. Here’s my money, keep the change, I’m out of here,
Kevin (42:24)
I know.
There is like
Vince Marotte (42:28)
I used to work
Kevin (42:29)
kind of… Yeah. You have to murder…
Vince Marotte (42:29)
at Qualcomm at the Murph and they played that on the Oregon when everybody’s leading every game at the Padres game. So I used to be the guy that walked around the stands with all the souvenirs and sold them when I was in college. And it was a gig. closing time, the Oregon, that was always, okay, that was my time to go out to the rail station and sell more stuff to people on their way out. Right.
Kevin (42:35)
Yeah.
Yeah.
yeah.
That’s hilarious.
yeah, that was a good indicator. You’re like,
it is that time, let’s go.
Vince Marotte (42:58)
Yeah, no, and
you know, knew when Trevor Hoffman was coming out because he had his song, he played Hell’s Bells every time. I’m like, okay, it’s getting close to the end of the game. Trevor’s going out, he’s our closer. And so, you know, kind of, I love it.
Kevin (43:02)
yeah.
Hell’s bells.
Yeah. It would, it’s funny.
Sometimes I’ll like, I’ll do, you know, I’ll, turn it down and then sometimes I’ll just be like, you know what? I’m just going to play some grind core black metal right now and really loud. And some people are like, they’ll have the nerve. We close in like five minutes and people are like, can you turn this down? I’m like, Nope, I’m good. And then I just turned my back to them and they’re like, well then we’re leaving. I’m like, perfect.
Vince Marotte (43:25)
Yeah.
The J-Man (43:32)
Turn that down.
Vince Marotte (43:35)
Hahaha!
The J-Man (43:39)
That was the
point.
Kevin (43:41)
Yeah.
Vince Marotte (43:42)
Well, I’m gonna I’m gonna text you some new music kev because I always like turn people on something interesting I Right and that’s that’s why
Kevin (43:43)
I know. People go. Yeah. I’m so bad at new music, dude. So I need that.
Vince Marotte (43:51)
we did this because we’re trying to discover new stuff So I’m sending a link to the band Panchiko which was in our they have a new album out this week or last week There they have an amazing story that we’ve talked about earlier on the podcast and it’s shoegaze music I sent I sent you their EP which is kind of quiet You know EP
Kevin (43:54)
Yeah.
Cool.
Okay, yeah.
their e-pay. Yeah.
Vince Marotte (44:11)
I think of
the, it’s called Death Metal, but it’s not Death Metal. It’s shoegaze music and it’s very noodley and spacey. It’s kind of like some of your quieter early radio head or old school, know, really old Pink Floyd from like the, from the Sid Barrett days.
Kevin (44:15)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
Where,
what era are they? Are they like newer? Are they zoomers?
Vince Marotte (44:30)
That’s what’s funny. This album, these
songs they made in 97 or 2000, then they went and got careers. They were done with music. And then their music was there. An old record was found at like a Goodwill in 2016 and someone, this is dope. And they put it online and it took them better part of four years to find the band. And now they’re back and they put out a new album. like, it’s a cool story. And it’s really interesting music. I dig it.
Kevin (44:36)
shit.
That’s quite the story. That’s way cool.
The J-Man (44:52)
Super cool.
Vince Marotte (45:00)
But if I was going to chase people out of the bar, I would play black MIDI because it is so disorienting even more than like black metal because it’s like
Kevin (45:01)
Yeah.
The J-Man (45:08)
yeah, it’s wild.
Kevin (45:08)
black MIDI.
Is that,
is that like the, the electronic sort of like the, I don’t know. Yeah, there’s no John.
Vince Marotte (45:18)
It is indescribable, the genre. is indescribable. It’s like
The J-Man (45:22)
It’s hard to
Vince Marotte (45:23)
it’s it’s metal plus like almost like Jam Band. But then it goes into like big band era like like Glenn Campbell, like almost crooner singing. It. is it is. But it’s when you sit down and listen to it, it’s it makes me smile because every change like, you know, they’re going through this bar, this measure.
The J-Man (45:23)
grasp.
Kevin (45:34)
Dude, you’re describing like a fever dream.
The J-Man (45:37)
Yeah
Kevin (45:46)
Yeah.
Vince Marotte (45:47)
Every change is so different and so surprising and unexpected that you laugh. You’re like, it’s super hard to listen to, but like it would make everybody in the room stop talking and be like, what the hell is going on? I don’t, my son turned me on to, he’s into all the weird stuff. so, which is how I found Panchico. know, having teenagers helps you find music. And Black MIDI, he’s got his own solo album out now, John, but it…
Kevin (46:00)
How does one get into that?
Yeah.
Alright.
That’s
The J-Man (46:15)
Yeah.
Kevin (46:15)
the artist’s name.
The J-Man (46:15)
wow.
Vince Marotte (46:16)
that black media is the most interesting thing I’ve heard in music in years.
The J-Man (46:22)
It reminded
Kevin (46:23)
I’m gonna try that.
The J-Man (46:23)
me a little bit of Mr. Bongo the first time I heard it.
Kevin (46:27)
Okay. Okay.
Vince Marotte (46:27)
Yeah, it’s even got that West Coast,
you know, that that kind of suicidal tendencies, you know, Mr. Bungle, you know, infectious grooves vibe.
Kevin (46:34)
I can’t even.
I’m like really trying to put it together.
Vince Marotte (46:41)
You can’t.
The J-Man (46:42)
Yeah, I think
Kevin (46:42)
Until I
like I can’t hear it unless I hear it. All right.
The J-Man (46:44)
it’s very abstract.
Vince Marotte (46:46)
I’m going to send you
an Apple Music link to Black MIDI too.
Kevin (46:50)
black midi dude. Okay, I’m gonna try that one out. I’ll report back.
The J-Man (46:50)
That could be a great music to run people out on. Because it would make people like
just watch them. I would assume they were going to get physically uncomfortable like they wouldn’t know what to do.
Kevin (46:58)
Just uncomfortable. Yeah. I
already love that.
Vince Marotte (47:02)
It’s
it’s bizarre like it’s intriguing. I’ve tried I’ve tried I want to like it, but I don’t understand it But but I can’t not it’s but I don’t I can’t say I don’t like it like I constant I’ve I’ve been messing with it for a year and it’s like this is so Like I got up I play it people just to just to surprise them like you’ve never heard anything like this And the musicianship is elite like it’s really freaking good like they’ll go to like, you know 16ths like drum
Kevin (47:09)
Yeah.
No?
The J-Man (47:25)
Yeah.
Vince Marotte (47:31)
you know, guitar like, and then it’ll just slow down. Then it’ll slow down and on like a jazz swing movement. Like it’s crazy. It’s crazy. So disoriented or well, there you go. Black MIDI.
The J-Man (47:33)
You
Kevin (47:34)
That’s insane.
The J-Man (47:37)
You
Kevin (47:42)
Well, I’m definitely
gonna try it. So I work tonight. Maybe I’ll try that. no, not there it closed, sorry. Or I’ll just put it on anyway in the middle of the dinner rush, see what happens.
Vince Marotte (47:50)
Uh, well, Panchiko
is the, is the ambient, like that’s worth the, worth the, worth the play. So, so I sent you that and then Black MIDI, you just need to listen to that today. just, just because it is so, it’s delightful because it’s so different and there’s no way to understand it. And that’s why I love it. Right. So, well, there you go. Kevin, thanks for being on the pod, man.
Kevin (47:57)
Yeah, I’m done with that one.
Yes.
The J-Man (48:04)
Get a sampler.
Kevin (48:07)
I will.
There’s no rules, Love it.
Yeah, dude. Yeah, we’ll do. Yeah, I was gonna say we’ll get I want to get we’ll get more into a little more music and get into like some movies. We talked about the Wu-Tang show a little but yeah, check that out. It’s awesome. Yeah, you too. And then we’ll talk soon.
Vince Marotte (48:19)
What to have you back? So, because we didn’t get even get into the movies yet and that’ll be…
Yeah, that’d be awesome. I’d like to get into, I’d like to get to the Wu Tang. So, so there you go.
The J-Man (48:32)
Sweet. It’s good to meet you, man.
Vince Marotte (48:39)
I’ll send you a prof link to us. I’ll you one more link. So you got shoegaze, you got black MIDI, whatever that is. I’m gonna send you prof. He’s my favorite rap discovery of the last year.
Kevin (48:44)
Yeah, whatever that is.
The J-Man (48:46)
He’s awesome.
Kevin (48:48)
Okay, see,
The J-Man (48:49)
I’m glad you introduced me to him for sure.
Kevin (48:51)
I don’t see much, all the new music I find is not rap or hip-hop. It’s always some like 20 year olds.
Vince Marotte (49:02)
because the rap is really hard to find the good stuff, especially if you like, if you like what we like, you like Run the Jewels, Wu Tang, the prof is different. He raps hard, but he also brings in just this, this fun kind of ridiculousness, not like Lil Dicky where it’s just all kind of mostly all humor, but almost Lil Dicky. Like, so it’s, he’s got street cred cause he’s been doing this for years and can rap hard.
Kevin (49:05)
I know, man.
The J-Man (49:11)
Yeah.
Kevin (49:13)
Yeah.
The J-Man (49:15)
Super clever.
Kevin (49:21)
Yeah, yeah. Okay.
Vince Marotte (49:29)
but he also had seems to be having more fun and is working harder than anybody I’ve seen since since Wu Tang. So he gives it all.
Kevin (49:36)
Well done.
The J-Man (49:37)
Yeah, I have gone back and
listened to him so many times since you introduced me to him. Like he’s definitely… Yeah.
Vince Marotte (49:42)
That’s my fit PROF
Kevin (49:42)
Would you say prof?
Vince Marotte (49:44)
what he’s a white dude from Minneapolis.
Kevin (49:45)
Prof.
The J-Man (49:48)
And
Kevin (49:48)
Is he white?
The J-Man (49:49)
his
videos are awesome. I love artists that care about their music videos still. And his music videos are great. They go hand in hand.
Vince Marotte (49:53)
His videos are His last
Kevin (49:54)
Yes.
Vince Marotte (49:56)
his last two albums are just front to back just Bangers absolute bangers and it’s all over the freaking place. I don’t even know where to start with prof So I’m gonna send you a link to his most recent album called horse. Got a red red man’s on there He has a lot of
Kevin (50:06)
All
Hell yeah. nice,
so he’s got some of the homies on there, that’s cool.
Vince Marotte (50:15)
Yeah,
no, he’s got a lot of singles. He’s playing Red Rocks in a few weeks. JPEG Mafia, The Mexican OT, and Norman Sanner all opening for him. So he’s in there, like the people know, but like he’s fully independent. And he’s just so, I love good lyricists. If you like the woo, you like good, you love lyricism and that’s what he’s best at. the way his flow, it’s like the first, gosh.
Kevin (50:26)
sorry.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes.
Vince Marotte (50:45)
Yeah, so you got I’m gonna send you a song and I’m gonna send you I’m gonna send you an album So I’m gonna send you force and I’m gonna send you the if you’re gonna understand prof You have to listen to a song called squad goals. That’s the last thing I’m gonna send you So it’s gonna be the first thing in your text messages that song Perfectly exemplifies what he does in the first measure before it gets the chorus He’s gonna flow change like five times like Eminem level lyricist and it’s
Kevin (50:46)
Alright.
Perfect.
Yeah.
Vince Marotte (51:13)
It’s hard and it’s funny and it’s freaking witty. It’s amazing.
Kevin (51:19)
You know what really does it for how does you have good beats?
Vince Marotte (51:23)
It’s incredible that song. Yeah, you’re gonna love it. The hook is just stupid So squad goals listen to that if you like that then go try the other stuff, but that song is
The J-Man (51:24)
Yeah.
Kevin (51:25)
Okay, cool. Yeah.
Alright.
Well, it doesn’t matter what
I like, I have to try Black MIDI. I’m still like so intrigued by that, so.
Vince Marotte (51:39)
Yes, because yeah, so that’s in there.
The J-Man (51:39)
yeah.
wild
Vince Marotte (51:43)
Yeah,
so there you got you got some homework to kind of put the headphones on here while you Take the dog for a walk but man love having you on here. Yeah movies next time. We’ll have to get you back in a in month or two Awesome We’ll stay gold homie
The J-Man (51:44)
wild ride
Kevin (51:48)
I
Hell yeah.
Yeah, I’m down. I’m always ready. If it’s not too old or too
early, you know, I spark tenders. But yes.
Vince Marotte (52:02)
Thank